Half Way Home

 1) With most NHL teams having played close to half their 2013-14 schedule we decided to do what we did at-quarter-pole. Basically taking each teams record and project an 82 game season point total based upon each teams current point total/games played. As we wrote then, These are NOT Predictions, they are Projections! Also remember with this season's realignment there is also a new playoff seeding format so the top 8 teams won't necessarily be the 8 playoff teams

2) First in the East:

Pittsburgh-118
Boston-113
Tampa Bay- 105
Montreal- 100
Washington- 95
Detroit-92
Toronto-90
Philadelphia-86
__________________________
NY rangers- 82
New Jersey-82
Columbus-80
Ottawa-78
Carolina-78
Florida-72
NY Islanders- 64
Buffalo- 55

3) Next the West:

St. Louis-123
Anaheim-122
Chicago-122
San Jose-117
Los Angeles- 114
Colorado-108
Vancouver-107
Phoenix- 101
________________________
Dallas-97
Minnesota-90
Winnipeg-82
Nashville-80
Calgary-71
Edmonton-60

 4) Analysis:

• The first thing that struck us with these numbers is how few points (at this juncture) it will take to make the playoffs in the East, (86). That would be 8-10 points fewer than in the previous post Bettman lock out seasons, and a whopping 15 points less than what it may take out West. Yet another not so subtle reminder of where the best teams are!


• Year to year there really isn't a huge difference in the top 8 in the West (outside of Nashville's  fall, and Detroit now in the East. In the East the 'biggest loser would be Mr Bettman with all 3 NY metro teams on the outside of the playoff spot and their back to back yankee stadium games a month away.

Week 13 Results

Week 13 is complete.  Not a bad showing on a relatively light schedule for a Saturday. For the day we went 5-3 to bring the total to 94-49 for a 13 week winning % of  .657.  Look for our week 14 picks next week when 12 games will be at stake as the 2014 part of the 2013-14 season begins.
As a;ways, keep it here for all the latest!

Week 13 Picks

1) We at Fauxrumors hope you got all you wanted for X-mas. What we want is it continue our nearly half a season of great picking!  For the first 12 weeks we have a 89-46 record or a .659 winning percentage

Ottawa VS Boston: Boston

 Montreal VS Tampa Bay: Lightning

 Detroit vs Florida: Red Wings  (Lock of the Week)

 New Jersey vs NY Islanders: Devils

 St. Louis vs Chicago: Blues

 Nashville VS Los Angeles: Kings

 Anaheim VS Phoenix: Ducks

 Philadelphia VS Edmonton: Flyers

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!

1) Firstly we here at FAUXRUMORS want to thank each and every one of our many loyal readers. We wouldn't be here without you!


2) During this all too long hockey hiatus, we at the FAUXRUMORS group, want to wish all of you and yours the best this holiday season! We will be back, in earnest.  Until then we at FAUXRUMORS want to say :MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Week 12 Results

What a rebound week for us here at Fauxrumors. For the day/night we went an awesome 11-1 to bring the season total to 89-46 or a .659 winning percentage.  We got our lock to bring that stat to an astounding 11-1 or .917 winning edge.  We will try to duplicate this weeks results next Saturday when a relatively light post X-mas schedule of 8 games are set to be played.
The x-mas trade freeze is in effect so no movement is expected, but sources tell us that significant deals' might be seen in January as the Olympic trade freeze will end just a little over a week prior to the NHL Trade deadline.
As always keep it here for all the latest!!

Week 12 Picks

1) We will try to end the 'schnide' today for our first week above .500 in the past 3 when we pick today's games.  For the season we thus far are 78-45 for a .634 winning %, and 10-1 in our Locks of the Week.

Pittsburgh VS Calgary: Penguins

 Phoenix VS Ottawa: Coyotes

 Los Angeles VS Colorado: Kings

 Boston VS Buffalo: Bruins

 Detroit VS Toronto: Red wings

 Tampa Bay VS Carolina: Lightning

 Anaheim VS NY Islanders: Ducks

New Jersey VS Washington: Devils

 Columbus VS Philadelphia: Flyers

 Montreal VS Nashville: Habitants

 St. Louis VS Edmonton: Blues (Lock of the Week)

 San Jose VS Dallas: Sharks

Diluting The product?

1) Our reaction to the NHL's greed in adding outdoor games after five successful Winter Classics, was we were skeptical that this would work out.. The Winter Classic will kick off the games on New Year's Day, as Toronto and Detroit meet at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. In later January, between the Superbowl run up: Anaheim will face off against the Kings at Dodger Stadium in the first outdoor game staged by the NHL west of the Mississippi. Then, Yankee Stadium will host a pair of games with the Rangers, one against the Devils on Jan. 26 and against the Islanders three days later. In March, Chicago's Soldier Field will host the Blackhawks and Penguins, and Ottawa and Vancouver will take an outdoor game to Vancouver's BC Place.

2)  The Winter Classic has become the crown jewel of the NHL's season. From 2008 through 2012, the Winter Classic at times eclipsed both the NHL All-Star Game and several playoff matchups. For example, according to StubHub, the 2011 Winter Classic outsold Games 2, 3, 5 and 7 of the Stanley Cup finals that season. Previously, the 2010 Winter Classic outsold Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals, and the 2008 Winter Classic was the second-best-selling game of the entire regular season.When it comes to television ratings, the Winter Classic has also bested the All-Star Game and some Stanley Cup games.

3) The 2011 Winter Classic (in Pittsburgh with the Pens playing the rival Capitals) was played in prime time because of weather, which pitted it against the Fiesta Bowl and the Rose Bowl. Regardless, the Winter Classic saw its ratings rise by 8 percent to a 2.9, dominating the 1.2 from the All-Star Game. The 2011 Winter Classic also had better ratings than Games 1 and 3 of the 2010 Stanley Cup finals.. Can that success be duplicated with five additional outdoor games, however?
The Winter Classic will always be a special national game on the New Year's Day holiday where everyone celebrates the game no matter your rooting interests.WE understand the reasoning that the Stadium Series is focused more on lighting up the local market and community at a different time of the year. When you attend these events and witness the impact on the club's popularity, TV ratings, merchandise, media coverage, fan engagement and, maybe most important of all, the millions of dollars of revenue generated in the local economy, the games are way too important to wait 10 or 15 years either to return or to wait for a turn to host.

4) The NHL  says these additional games aren't all about the teams, however. They're also potentially part of a larger strategy by the league for a bigger television contract next time around.
The games are events that will capture eyeballs, possibly on national television, which is extremely valuable for the NHL. The league does a fairly good job of generating revenues via game-day attendance -- with the exception of a few franchises in small non-hockey markets -- but the real payoff for the league would be a bigger national television contract. While some of our insiders tell us that indeed the outdoor games are part of a strategy to get a larger television contract, it clearly is premature right now since the NHL's current television contract with NBC expires following the 2020-2021 season.  In our opinion the NHL has 'jumped the shark' and displayed greed that will haunt them when there is diminishing return when they try this multiple out door game strategy annually

Week 11 Results

I guess it had to happen, our first sub .500 week.  We went 5-7 for an overall record of  78-45 which translates into a .634 winning %. We did manage to win our lock to extend that record to 10-1. We hope to not stay down long when we get right back at this again next week when another 12 games will be decided.
As always keep it here for all the latest

Week 11 Picks

1) We try to get back to our winning ways today.  We are still way over the mendoza line for the year at 73-38 for a .658 winning %. 

Calgary VS Buffalo: Flames
 
  Los Angeles VS Ottawa: Kings

 Dallas VS Winnipeg: Stars

 Toronto VS Chicago: BlackHawks

 Pittsburgh VS Detroit: Penguins

 New Jersey VS Tampa Bay: Lightning

 Montreal VS NY Islanders: Islanders

 St. Louis VS Columbus: Blues (Lock of the Week)

 Nashville VS San Jose: Sharks

 Carolina VS Phoenix: Coyotes

 Minnesota VS Colorado; Avalanche

 Vancouver VS Boston: Bruins

Week 10 Results

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.  We were feeling really good about things until we came back to Earth last night with a 6-6 effort.  We are now 73-38 for a .658 winning %.  Still overall an excellant record and much better compared with previous seasons.  We will try to get back on track next week when an even dozen games will be up for grabs!
As always keep it here for all the latest

Week 10 Picks

1) Amazingly we are into our 10th week on play. Can we maintain our torrid pace here. We have a great   67-32  record or .677 winning %

Dallas VS Philadelphia: Flyers

Boston VS Pittsburgh: Penguins

 Montreal VS Buffalo: Habitants (Lock of the Week)

 Toronto VS Ottawa: Maple Leafs

 Florida VS Detroit: Redwings

 Winnipeg VS Tampa Bay: Lightning

 Washington VS Nashville: Capitals

 New Jersey VS NY Rangers: Rangers

 Anaheim VS St. Louis: Ducks

 Calgary VS Edmonton: Flames

 Los Angeles VS NY Islanders: Kings

Week 9 Results

Just when we thought we couldn't get any better we have a day like yesterday!  We went an astounding  10-1 for the day/night for a now amazing   67-32  record or .677 winning %.  If not for the Kings we would have had a perfect score.  We will attempt the impossible next week when 11 games will be played.
As always keep it here for all the latest

Week 9 Picks

1) Another week, another chance to continue our mastery.  For the record we take a 57-31 .648 winning % into today's action.

NY Rangers VS Vancouver: Rangers

 Boston VS Columbus: Bruins

 Montreal VS Toronto: Habitants

 Pittsburgh VS Florida: Penguins (Lock of the Week)

 New Jersey VS Buffalo: Devils

 Washington VS NY Islanders : Capitals

 Philadelphia VS Nashville: Flyers

 Chicago VS Phoenix: BlackHawks

 Colorado VS Minnesota: Avalanche

 Calgary VS Los Angeles: Kings

 San Jose VS Anaheim: Ducks

Edmonton: Same Old, Getting old Fast!!

1)Who cares about draft picks anymore? Honestly. If you are an Oilers fan, you have seen enough of highly touted draft picks. You have had your share of hearing about Hope, ie (Hall Omark Paajarvi Eberle) OK, Omark is having a fantastic season in Oklahoma City, but is still not helping the NHL when he’s there. Paajarvi is struggling to crack the St. Luis Blues team, so who cares.  Hall has been off to a slow start, and Jordan Eberle leads the team in points… with a mere 15 points in 20 games.
 
2) Firstly Who on this Oilers’ team could GM Craig MacTavish feel are the core. The players to build around? You would have to think that it would be  Hall,  Eberle,  Nugent-Hopkins, Yakupov,  Schultz, Devan Dubnyk but then who else? That’s 6 players. Perhaps he also meant Sam Gagner, whom he often speaks so highly of, maybe even Ales Hemsky, but MacT explicitly said that he was looking to move Hemsky. But ultimately, these 8 forwards are far too similar, there is not enough diversity amongst those players, they are all too much the same.

3)  If MacT thinks that he needs to keep all 8 or 9 players that he has identified as essential, he has to be joking. But of course, having a fire sale and trading off everyone won’t help much either. Setting the team back on this never ending rebuild won’t be the answer. Moving one or two players along with a pick or two, may help to round out the team, allowing MacT to obtain some missing complementary pieces. But in order to do that, MacT can’t say all 8 or 9 players as essential.
The fans in Edmonton are demanding playoffs, not the draft lottery. Who can blame them?

4) Knowing how desperate the Oilers’ front office is to get better, the Oilers have a difficult task in trading their top pick, one of their stars and in return gaining key pieces, pieces that are highly coveted around the league. There are not a lot of top line players or top 4 defencemen traded because few if any are available, and there are no guarantees that any moves will help the team. But MacT feels the team is only 3 or 4 pieces away??  Reall??

5) Ultimately the Oilers are in a terrible position. They look worse this year than ever, partly due to injury and partly due to bad goaltending to start the year. They are getting booed off of their home ice, they can’t buy a goal, and they have just traded their biggest and best shot blocking defenceman. To the Calgary Flames.“There is a lot of optimism around the league in terms of our ability to turn things around” MacTavish remarked, but the problem is that the optimism is disappearing in Edmonton. Especially when any players who are mentioned in possible trades are quick to speak up and say that Edmonton is on their no trade list, Edmonton is a city they will not go to. Optimism is running out. Perhaps McTavishs time is running out too?

Week 8 Results

Wow, what a turn around!  We went from the outhouse to the Penthouse. Back to our winning ways.  On the day we went an awesome 8-2 for a   57-31 .648 winning %. We also got our 'Lock' correct to go 7-1 on the season.
We of course will be back here next week when 11 games will be played.
As always, keep it here for all the latest

Week 8 Picks

1) Two months into the NHL season. A quarter of the season done.  We hope to improve on last weeks debacle. Thus far, despite last week we are a very solid 49-29 a .628 winning %.

Boston VS Carolina : Bruins (Lock of the Week)

Minnesota VS Winnipeg : Wild

Toronto VS Washington : Capitals

Montreal VS Pittsburgh: Penguins

Ottawa VS Detroit : Red Wings

Philadelphia VS NY Islanders: Flyers

 St. Louis VS Dallas: Blues

NY Rangers VS Nashville : Rangers

 Anaheim VS Phoenix: Ducks

 Chicago VS Vancouver: BlackHawks

 Colorado VS Los Angeles: Kings

 San Jose VS New Jersey: Sharks

At The Quarter Pole!

1) With nearly all teams having now played 20% of their schedules  we decided as we usually do when there is a full NHL season to project  (NOT predict) the finals standings. Obviously there is plenty of time for teams outside of the playoffs to get back in, but some trends are clearly becoming evident. This is NOT a Prediction!! We merely are projecting an 82 game season point total based upon each teams current point total/games played. Although we delineated the top 8, with the new playoff structure, its not a done deal that he 8th seeded team would qualify if the season ended today

2) First in the East:

Boston-113
Tampa Bay-109
Toronto-105
Pittsburgh-104
Detroit-93
Washington-93
Montreal- 89
New Jersey-82
______________
NY Rangers-78
Carolina-78
Ottawa-74
Philadelphia-74
Colorado- 70
NY Islanders-70
Florida-60
Buffalo- 39

3) Next the West:

St. Louis- 127
Colorado- 123
Chicago-119
San Jose-121
Phoenix-121
LA- 116
Dallas- 98
Vancouver-93
Nashville 86
Winnipeg- 82
Calgary-67
Edmonton-50

4) Again this is a PROJECTION not prediction. Some interesting story lines  seeing teams like Tampa, Colorado and Phoenix off to better than expected starts, while teams like Philadelphia, Rangers, Nashville, surprisingly struggling after a quarter of the season completed.  As always occurs many of these same teams will either go back down or upwards to their expected positions by season's end.  We will do a post like this at the half way mark.  Look for that in late December and compare.
As always, keep it here for all the latest!

Week 7 Results

Week 7 results are in and its NOT pretty.  I guess we were due to have a week like this. WE had a horrendous night going 2-7 on the day to go 49-29 a .628 winning %.  We also had our first blemish on our locks to now be 6-1 after 7 weeks.  We will get right back on the horse next week when a big 12 games are scheduled.
As always keep it here for all the latest

Week 7 Picks

1) The pressure is on.  We can't possibly continue to do this well can we?  For the record after 6 full weeks of picks we are 47-22 for a .681 winning %

 Toronto VS Buffalo: Maple Leafs
 
NY Rangers VS Montreal : Habitants

 New Jersey VS Pittsburgh: Penguins

NY Islanders VS Detroit : Redwings

St. Louis VS Carolina: Blues

 Nashville VS Chicago: BlackHawks

 Phoenix VS Tampa Bay: Lightning

 Florida VS Colorado: Avalanche (Lock of the Week)

Edmonton VS Calgary: Flames

Free To Blog? Thank a Vet!

1) As we like to remind readers: "Besides:

• Ending Communism


• Ending Slavery


• Saving the world from Totalitarianism Fascism and Terrorism
  

War never solved a thing?!?"

Week 6 Results

Week 6 is completed.  For the week we went an incredible 8-2 to elevate our season long totals to 47-22 for a .681 winning %.  We also continued our 'Lock' mastery by winning that choice to now be 6-0.  We will be back here next week (7) when 9 games are on the schedule.
As always keep it here for all the latest

Week 6 Picks

 1) Wow, we're already into week 6 of the season.  Ten big games to pick.  We bring our impressive 39-20, for a  .661 winning %.into the day hoping to at least maintain this unprecedented pace!

Philadelphia VS Edmonton: Flyers


Ottawa VS Florida : Senators


 Boston VS Toronto: Bruins (Lock of the week)


Tampa Bay VS Detroit: Redwings


 Minnesota VS Carolina: Wild

 Columbus VS NY Islanders: Islanders

 St. Louis VS Pittsburgh: Blues

 Chicago VS Dallas: BlackHawks

 Phoenix VS Washington: Coyotes

 Los Angeles Vs Vancouver: Kings

Why Have a Rookie salary cap?

1) In the old days it could be argued that the league needed to reign in the salaries of entry level players.  Else we'd see NFL-like hold outs where players, especially top line talent, would either demand outrageous money or demand their rights be traded (Lindros).  However these days with their being a hard salary cap in place for ALL players it seems there is little need to have yet another cap for entry level players.  Teams are already limited on what they can pay so a new player wouldn't have unlimited leverage like before.

2) Now, we can understand the limit on allowing players to become UFA until they have played a number of seasons within an organization.  However the NHL will soon have to wake up to the fact that the burgeoning rival European league, the KHL can give these same youngsters higher salaries, tax free.  We don't anticipate your average Canadian junior star to bolt for Eastern Europe, but you can bet your bottom ruble that the same won't be said for young Euros.

3) An already slow drain of Euro talent could hasten. While some jingoistic types might like this, we at Fauxrumors want the NHL to continue to be The best hockey league in the world. To do that they need to attract/retain the best players. We feel the rookie salary cap is now duplicitous and no longer necessary.  What do you think?

Week 5 Results

1) Another pretty dam good night for us.  On the balance we went 9-4 on the busy day to bring the 5 week total to 39-20, for an impressive .661 winning %.  We also elevated our Locks to 5-0!  Look for us again next Saturday when 10 games will be played.
As always keep it here for all the latest!!

WEEK 5 PICKS

1) Big day here for week 5 of the NHL season where we have an allotment of 13 games slated for later today/night.  We bring our formidable 4 week record of  30-16, a .652 winning percentage into the following contests.

Chicago VS Winnipeg : BlackHawks

 Anaheim VS Buffalo : Ducks

Tampa Bay VS St. Louis: Blues

Philadelphia VS New Jersey: Flyers

 NY Islanders VS Boston : Bruins

NY Rangers VS Carolina: Rangers

Washington VS Florida : Capitals

Pittsburgh VS Columbus : Penguins

Vancouver VS Toronto : Canucks

Colorado VS Montreal: Avalanche

 Detroit VS Edmonton : RedWings (Lock of the Week)

Nashville VS  Los Angeles  : Kings

 Phoenix VS San Jose: Sharks

Trade Analysis and Thanks!

1) WE at Fauxrumors before we analyze the recent sabres-Islanders transaction want to send out a HUGE Thank you to our sources who allowed us to alert our readers about the trade days before it transpired! One especially loyal source gave us most of the details we were able to share with you.  If not for these folks we wouldn't be able to relay our now world famous faux-rumors. A big heart felt Thanks!

2) As for the trade, we believe the Islanders over paid, and in general lost the trade for a variety of reasons.  The aspect that won't become apparent right away is the immediate loss of team chemistry the Isles dealt away with Matt Moulson.  Although his production has gone under the radar, his numbers  compared to Thomas Vanek are comparable. So in that regard the trade is a wash in our opinion. However, in addition to probably ruinng team chemistry for a lateral move, and not addressing the true team need-defense- Garth Snow also dealt away 2 potentially big draft picks. A first rounder in 2014 and a 2nd in 2015. We're told the Isles have the option to push the 1st round pick to 2015.

3) Nice coup for Buffalo who  have no post season hopes.  The acquisition of Moulson gives them another chip to trade before the deadline to a contending team looking to bolster their PP AND they also pocket 2 high draft picks. One of which could end up being a 'lottery pick' if the Isles once again stumble in November.  The only way the Isles win or even break even here is if Vanek propels them into the post season and they win a round, AND they can re-sign him for a reasonable size and term deal. All of those scenarios are improbable. The Isles could slip into the playoffs but it would be highly unlikely they would advance with this defense. Its also unlikely Vanek would settle for anything less than what he'd get on the open market next summer when the salary cap might exceed 70 million. We're talking 8 years 65+ million, or even more.  In our opinion the Isles will rue the day they made this deal and add that to the Neiterreiter debacle, Snow will have managed to squander 2 big assets!

Week 4 Results

Week 4 is in the rear view mirror. Not quite as good as we had been doing the first 3 weeks. For the night we went 6-5 to bring the 4 week total to 30-16, a .652 winning percentage. Still well above where we expected.  Additionally, we won our 'lock' to go 4-0 on the young season. Look for us back here next week when 13 games are up for grabs.
As always keep it here for all the latest!

Week 4 Picks

1) Amazingly we are over a month into the 2013-2014 season.  Tonight there are 11 big games to be decided. As always we make our picks of each. Thus far this season we have gotten off to a very fast start going an impressive  24-11 for a winning % of .685, and 3-0 in our weekly 'locks'. Here are today's picks

Phoenix VS Edmonton: Coyotes

New Jersey VS Boston: Bruins


Toronto VS Pittsburgh :Penguins

San Jose VS Montreal:  Sharks

NY Rangers VS Detroit: Redwings

 Tampa Bay VS Buffalo: Lightning  (Lock of the Week)

 Philadelphia VS NY Islanders: Flyers

 Winnipeg VS Dallas: Stars

 Minnesota VS Chicago: BlackHawks

 St. Louis VS Nashville: Blues

 Calgary VS Washington: Flame

Sabre Trade Ratteling

1) The word we are hearing from around the league is that a few teams are already on the verge of making a deal. One western scout tells Fauxrumors that we should expect a "significant trade" before the week is out, or certainly soon thereafter. While he wouldn't go on the record to identify the player(s)/teams involved he did hint it was 2 Eastern teams that have been at or near the bottom of the standings.

 2) We weren't content to let that rumor stand so we have been digging furiously since that report/source first gave us that info 48 hours ago. So we started asking further to other trusted sources who have broken other deals with us in the past and from what we can discern one of the teams is definitely the Buffalo Sabres. Now, while that's hardly shocking it seems quite early to already be throwing in the towel, but this source tells Fauxrumors that the potential return on this soon to be UFA player would be so much more than they could get later in the season that they are going to be proactive and try to consummate the deal sooner rather than later

 3) The first thing we assumed was that this must involve goalie Ryan Miller, who is set to be an UFA and hasn't been shy about wanting a fresh start elsewhere. However we are hearing it is more likely to be their other high value trade target in Thomas Vanek! Vanek, like Miller is set to become a UFA this next summer and would probably be a prized addition to a team making a Cup run. However, as stated earlier, the Sabres have apparently been offered more than they feel they would have otherwise received were they to wait till February. We're also told the Sabres would be willing to eat some of Vanek's salary to entice a low budget team. When we heard that we immediately thought could this potential deal involve the NY Islanders? Stay tuned to Fauxrumors as this develops.

Week 3 Results

A big night of NHL action is completed. For the day we went a very strong 9-4 to bring our season total to 24-11 for a winning % of .685. A very fast start indeed!  Additionally we remain unblemished on our Locks, winning that match to go to 3-0. Look for us back here again next Saturday when there will be 11 games to be decided.
As always keep it here for all the latest!

Week 3 Picks

1) Already into the 3rd Saturday of the NHL season.   Lots of games on tap with 13 on the schedule. To remind folks we bring a very strong record of 15-7  or a .682  winning %

Pittsburgh VS Vancouver : canucks

 Edmonton VS Ottawa  : Senators

Colorado VS Buffalo  : Avalanche

Nashville VS Montreal : Habitants

 Boston VS Tampa Bay :Bruins  (Lock of the Week)

Florida VS Minnesota  Panthers

New Jersey VS NY Rangers  Devils

Carolina VS NY Islanders:  Hurricanes

Washington VS Columbus :Capitals

Chicago VS Toronto: BlackHawks

Phoenix VS Detroit: Redwings

 San Jose VS Calgary: Sharks

 Los Angeles VS Dallas: Kings

Who Gets The Ax First- 2013 Edition

1) A popular annual post we do here at Fauxrumors is our annual 'Who will Get the Axe First. With the season underway the inevitable discussions will commence as to what coaches are on the proverbial 'hot seat'. With that in mind we'll go through the 30 current coaches and discuss who is pretty secure (as NHL coaches go), who is teetering on the brink, and the rest in between.

 2) If this season is anything typical, about 25-30% of the current head coaches will no longer have their jobs by this time next season. Like in previous years, we'll simply go alphabetically in the East then in the West: To simplify/quantify this we will use a scale 0-10. Zero-being very safe, and 10-being close to out the door. At this stage there are no 10's (yet)
 
 East
 Claude Julien (Boston Bruins)- (1) The reigning Eastern Confrence champs/ Stanley Cup runner-up coach, Claude is still quite safe  Barring an incredible collapse he should have little trouble finishing out the season as the B's bench boss

 Ron Rolston (Buffalo Sabres) (5) Entering his 1st season behind the Sabres bench, he is in a very bad spot as a rookie head coach.  The team will likely be a bottom feeder. The GM who hired him (Regier) is also on the hot seat, so he easily could be one and done(if he lasts that long!

Kirk Muller (Carolina Hurricanes) (3) Entering his 4th NHL season, Kirk should be safe if the teams stays in the playoff hunt. If its south, and players like Semin play uninspired then Kirk might not make it through the season before Rutherford cans him.

Todd Richards (Columbus Blue Jackets) (3) After their near miss in making the playoffs last spring and a new look management team expectations in Columbus are to see that improvement to contunue.  If for some reason they struggle and take a step backwards Todd might be the scapegoat

Mike Babcock (Detroit Red Wing) (2) Entering his 10th season guiding the Motor city sextet, Mike is one of the best in the business. However the team's old guard now retired/getting old, the lineup is in flux so a playoff spot not a guarentee for the first time in memory.  Still, unless they fall into the bottom escelan Mike's job should be safe

 Kevin Dineen (Florida Panthers) (5) The highly successful AHL coach enters his3rd season the NHL. Now that the management has spent a few bucks they want results If they get off to (another) slow start Dineen might be watching games on TV

Michel Therrien (Montreal Canadians) (4) Seldomly are Habs' coaches less than a 4 as they play in the hockey pressure cooker known as Quebec. They always expect to make the playoffs, but few are expecting a Presidents trophy so as long as they hang around the top 6- 8 or so, Michel should be safe. Besides he can speak French!

Peter DeBoer (NJ Devils) (6) As we remind folks these are the Lamarello Devils where no coach is safe no matter the record it seems. DeBoer is a good coach who may be entering his 4th season with the team. If the Devils don't stay in the top 8 and appear destined for a bottom finish, which in our opinion is entirely possible, Peter won't see April

 Jack Capuano (NY Islanders) (3) There are some expectations now, especially with last springs excitement, but realistically they still are lacking in many areas. However as long as the team competes hard and doesn't embarrass themselves early on with a long losing streak, Jack should be OK.

 Alain Vigneault (NY Rangers) (3) Usually Ranger coaches had been always in jeopardy of losing their jobs, but after the Torts-Alain 'trade' the coach will be given some limited latitude to put in his own system with his new team. So as long as the BlueShirts stay in the top 8 Alain should be safe.

 Paul MacLean (Ottawa Senators) (3)Now in his 4th season as  head coach who theoretically should have little to worry about, but playing North of the border you are always under the microscope.  We believe he should be OK

Peter Laviolette (Philadelphia Flyers) (7) Very, high expectations along with what we think are the  players getting increasingly tired of Peter. Laviolette's caustic personality might mean Peter's  job could be tenuous.  If the preseason is any indicator, it might be sooner rather than later

Dan Bylsma (Pittsburgh Penguins) (3) Not long ago was one of the safest coaches in the East. The former Jack Adams winner runs a tight, loyal and successful team. Liked equally by the stars and grunts. Not an easy task! However, with recent playoff disappointments, a prolonged losing skid could make dan vulnerable for the first time in years.

Jon Cooper (TB Lightning) (2) The only situation we can see that would make new coach Cooper vulnerable is if the Bolts get off to a aweful start. Unlikely, since we believe they will be quite better than last season. Jon should make it through the season unscathed.

  Randy Carlyle (Toronto Maple Leafs) (5) Unlike all Canadian cities, where hockey coaches are under intense scrutiny, the pressure in TO is exponentially higher. With last springs surprise surge there will be expectations. If not met, the former Norris Trophy and Cup winner in Anaheim might again be looking for work

 Adam Oates (Washington Capitals) (3) Even in town-mediocrity, they expect a winning season every now and then. If the team stays relevent, and with their talent they should stay in the race Otes job will be secure for the regular season anyway



 West

  Bruce Boudreau (Anaheim Duck) (2) The team had a rebirth since Gabby came on board 3 years ago. Despite playoff failure we can't see the team letting him go unless they struggle mightily early on, and with that lineup, that seems unlikely

Bob Hartley (Calgary Flame) (3) Few realistcally expect the Flames to compete in the tough Western Conference for a playoff spot so while the Flames might finish 12 or less in the west, Bob's job probably would be safe for the season

 Joel Quenneville (Chicago Blackhawk) (0) The two time and reigning Cup champ coach entering his 18th season in the league has one of the safest positions. With his league wide respect and recent success it would an off ice issue to have him lose his job

  Patrick Roy (Colorado Avalanche) (2) St. Patrick should be safe as he will have at least some measure of a Honeymoon in The Mile High City.  If the younsters buy into his system, the Av's might see a resurgence of success



  Lindy Ruff (Dallas Star) (2) After a near life time in the Buffalo organization. Lindy moves west to Dallas. Difficult team to get a read on. In some ways they are as good as any of the other playoff bubble teams, so unless they fall off the map, Lindy should be safe

Dallas Eakins (Edmonton Oiler) (4) Brought in to give solid no nonsense guidence to the 'kids' It may be exciting to the fans but management wants to see the team show signs of improvement. Howevera bottom overall finish won't sit well. Dallas better hope the kids start to mature

Darryl Sutter (Los Angeles King) (1)The man behind the bench for the past 4 seasons accruing a good 52- 29 record, and ofcourse a Stanley Cup. After a Final 4 appearence last spring and a loaded lineup returning, we fully expect Sutter to keep his job all season

Mike Yeo (Minnesota Wild) (4) Clearly the honeymoon period in Minny for Mike is over. The Wild have added expensive talent and the fans up north are as rabid as the come south of the border and another near miss and especially a bad start could be the end of yeo's tenure in the Twin Cities

Barry Trotz (Nashville Predator) (4) The only coach the franchise has ever known. Despite low playoff success he still manages to get his team to the post season despite a cap floor payroll and an anemic offense. The organization will probably only consider a change if they appear to be taking a huge step back.

Dave Tippett (Phoenix Coyote) (3) Now into his 6th season in the desert we believe the combination of his success coupled with therecent  franchise ownership turmoil will make Dave';s job safe through the season, barring a complete flop.

Ken Hitchcock (St. Louis Blues) (2) Unlike the past 2 years the pressure will be elevated this season. Fans are getting restless as the team seems ready to finally contend for a Cup.  Injuries have hurt but management and fans alike expect nothing less than a trip to the conference finals. Anything less and Cpt Kangaroo might be gonzo

Todd McClellan (San Jose Shark) (2) With a record of 220 108 the past 8 seasons, few coaches can boast such a winning % However post season success continues to allude the club.  Highly unlikely that Todd is replaced as coach during the regular season, but.  WE can see the team losing patience if they lose in the first round

 John Tortorella (Vancouver Canuck) (1) The former Cup/Adams winner (swapped with the Rangers coach) will probably survive almost any calamity that is thrust upon him this season. Unless The Twins' ask him to be fired(not gonna happen) his job is safe for the season!

.Claude Noel (Winnipeg Jets) (6) He is no longer a rookie head coach in the city's first season back with hockey.  The honeymoon is over.  If the team slides deeply out of contention and doesn't compete hard nightly Claude might be outed early.

Week 2 Results

Week 2 is through.  We had a decent night going a solid 7-4 on the day/night to bring the season total to 15-7 for a gaudy .682 winning %.  Additionally we got our lock correct to bring that stat to 2-0 on the young season.  Look for another round of picks next Saturday when a 'Baker's dozen' (13) games will be on the schedule. As always keep It here for all the latest!

Picks- Week 2

1) Its week 2 of the new NHL season. Another busy day ahead with 11 games on the docket. We bring our 8-3 record or a  .730 winning % into the day.  Here are our picks.

Boston VS Columbus : Bruins

Toronto VS Edmonton : Maple Leafs

Detroit VS Philadelphia : Flyers

Pittsburgh VS Tampa Bay: Penguins

Colorado VS, Washington: Avalanche

Chicago VS Buffalo: BlackHawks (Lock of the Week)

St. Louis VS NY Rangers : Rangers

Nashville VS NY Islanders : Islanders

Minnesota VS, Dallas: Stars

 Montreal VS Vancouver: Habitants

San Jose VS Ottawa  Sharks

Week 1- Results

1) Week one is in the books and on the day night we went a very strong 8-3.  Great way to start off the season for sure. We even got our 'Lock' correct.  WE will be back at it next Saturday when another 11 games will be at stake!
As always keep it here for all the latest!!

Week 1 Picks

1) Yes, the NHL season is finally underway, and today/tonight is the first of our ever popular weekly picks. To review, we pick the winner of every game in the NHL each Saturday(usually the busiest day on the schedule)regardless of pnt spread. Our stated goal is to get as far above .500 as possible. Its harder than you think. Play along if you like. We also project one game as our "Lock of The Week". A game that we feel particularly strong about. So without further ado, here is the docket of 11 games:

 Boston vs Detroit: Bruins

 Toronto VS Ottawa Maple leafs

 Montreal VS Philadelphia: Flyers

 Columbus VS NY Islanders Islanders

Pittsburgh VS Buffalo: Penguins (Lock of the Week)

 Tampa Bay VS Chicago: Black hawks

 St. Louis VS Florida:Blues

 Dallas VS Washington: Stars

Anaheim VS Minnesota: Ducks

Vancouver VS Edmonton:Canucks

San Jose VS Phoenix: Shark

2013-2014 Season Predictions!

1)With the Off season thankfully now behind us its off to the first full NHL season in 2 years! As we have done since 2006, we at fauxrumors will dip our own toes into the pool of predictions. Whats new this season are the divisional format. Two divisions of 8 teams in the East, and 2 of seven teams out west. There still will be 8 teams qualifying for the post season, but there will be a vastly different format to pick those top 8. Only the top 3 finishers of each division are guaranteed a playoff berth. The remaining 2 'at large' bids could come from either division. Setting the stage for season long battles for playoff positioning, and hopefully a season's worth of top notch hockey for us fans.

2) Without further ado, here are projected order of finish for each of the 4 divisions with projected point totals next to each team.
 First The East:
 1) Boston-110
 2) Pittsburgh- 105
 3) Detroit- 103
 4) NY Rangers- 100
 5) Washington-98
6) Columbus- 97
7) Toronto- 95
8) Ottawa- 94
 ----------------------
 9) NY Islanders- 92
 10) Montreal- 89
 11) Philadelphia- 84
12) Tampa Bay- 80
13) Carolina- 79
 14) Buffalo- 75
 15) New Jersey- 74
 16) Florida- 70

 3) Now the West(Only 14 teams)
 1) Chicago- 111
2) LA- 107
3) Stl- 105
4) SJ- 102
5) Anaheim- 101
 6) Vancouver- 98
 7) Edmonton- 97
8) Nashville- 95
---------------------------
9) Colorado- 91
10) Minnisota- 82
 11) Winnipeg- 79
 12) Phoenix- 77
13) Dallas- 76
14) Calgary- 73

Gretzky Trade Anniversary.......ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

1) We take it from the plethora of media reporting of a quarter century old trade that there is little else to discuss in hockey. While we are in the 'Dog Days" of August that is essentially true, we also are annoyed with the wall to wall coverage the 25 year old trade is receiving.  It seems every person involved in the deal from The Great One  all the way down to every player involved in the deal is getting interviewed by every hockey publication/media outlet.  Overkill might be a bit of an under statement.

2) We were especially amused by interviews of Jimmy Carson. The player regarded as the "center piece" of the the deal going TO Edmonton. The Michigan native basically blamed the trade on his career downfall.  The inanity of that is he scored 49 goals/100 points in his first season with The Oil! Jimmy's problem one exec with knowledge of the situation was and is "he's a selfish and self absorbed jerk".  He was beloved and fit in well with the LA lifestyle and was shocked at having to play in the 'Siberia' known as northern Alberta.  So he demanded a trade.If the process helping Edmonton win another Cup. (Oilers got Graves, Klima and Joe Murphy in the deal) But 20+ years later who cares about the whining of a has-been?!?

3) WE refuse to do any recap on the actual deal other than to say that its too bad more deals of this magnitude don't take place more often. At the time it really shook up the NHL and gave it good publicity in cities is rarely got any good acknowledgement. These days the salary cap has led to a paucity of big deals that in our opinion isn't good for the game.  In the mean time can we start to discuss actual hockey and not reminiscing about trades that are ancient?

Happy Birthday To Us!!

1 ) WE NEVER thought we would still be here to go into year 7! Yes, this blog is now SEVEN years old! Its amazing that we have reached this milestone. When we made our first post (inspired by the late summer drivel/rumours of the time)
 http://newfaux.blogspot.com/2006/08/making-up-shit.html   we never in our wildest dreams believed this would become what it has. We especially didn't think we'd still be at this when the dark days when our now vanquished blog enemy hacked and stole the original FAUXRUMORS blog. Though its still is out there for his sick amusement, its of little consequence to us now. We have long since moved on when we restarted things again in March 2007. In retrospect he did us a favour, as we feel this forced us to improve/upgrade the blog in many ways since then.


2) With over 1100+ original FAUX posts and growing to our credit since that first fateful blog entry, and hundreds of  thousand hits (and growing fast) we are proud of what we have grown here the past 7 years. As we were then, (and always will be) we are a totally FREE site/blog. We decline all advertising offers. For one, honestly we don't need the income, but more importantly, we feel that accepting money would be the wrong perception. We don't want to become Eklund. Selling nonsense/made up crap to sad/loser people. We look forward to the beginning of our EIGHTH year! Thanks to all of you!

As always, keep it here for the latest!

Save the Dates!

 Just some brief house keeping for our readers.  Below are the important dates to remember for the upcoming NHL season.

Aug. 2 - 4: Non-compliance buyout period on contracts

 Sept. 11 Start of training camp

 Sept. 13: Exhibition games begin

 Oct. 1: Opening Night of 2013-14 regular season

 Nov. 11: Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Night

 Dec. 24 - 26: Holiday Break

Dec. 26 - Jan. 5: 2014 World Junior Championship in Malmo, Sweden

Feb. 9 - 25: Olympic Break

March 3: NHL Trade Deadline

Apr. 13: Last day of regular season

Apr. 15: NHL Draft Lottery Apr. 16: Stanley Cup Playoffs begin

 May 9 - 25: World Championship in Belarus

June 27 - 28: 2014 NHL Draft in Philadelphia

Over Paid/Rated!!

 

1) What is it about Jay Boumeester that teams just feel obligated to throw money after the very mediocre defensemen?  His over rating started early going as a first round selection, third overall, of the Florida Panthers at the 2002 Entry draft. He did have a decent, but not spectatcular rookie season when he scored 20 points and was named to the NHL All rookie team in 2003.  He played seven seasons in the Panthers peaking in 2005-06 when he scored 46 points. he also has scored 10+ goals 3 times before being traded to the Calgary Flames in 2009, with whom he played four seasons.  His production fell to below 30 points/season there despite getting a hefty five-year, $33 million contract from Calgary.

2) To his credit he does hold the longest active NHL Iron man streak, having appeared in 635 consecutive regular season games as of the end of the 2013 NHL season.   Bouwmeester also played in the 2007 and 2009 NHL All Star games. However he has never really been a true top NHL defensemen, not having ever even been a Norris Trophy Finalist.  Despite this he has consistently been paid as such. Thus far he has made in excess of 35 million dollars!  Fast forward to this weekend when despite his diminishing production the St Louis Blues decided that Bouwmeester deserved a nice extension along the lines of 5 years 5.4 million/per!  To make that deal worse they threw in a "No Trade clause" on top of that already hefty paycheque.  Perhaps at age 29 Jay will finally start to play like a top defensemen in the NHL? 

5 Years No Nutz!

1) Firstly apologies to new FR readers. we originally were not going to commemorate our blog victory over the delusional moron known as Hockeynutz.  http://imhockeynutz.blogspot.com/
 However, being that today is the five year anniversary that that imbecile finally gave up his insane/ perverse fascination with this blog we simply couldn't allow it to go by without mention.


2) For those who have become readers in the past year or so and are unaware of what occurred not long after this blog started almost 7 years ago until July 2008, an individual(s) located in the Calgary Alberta region (determined by IP address) quickly became amazingly obsessed with everything that we wrote here. He'd comment on almost every post we'd make with accusations of plagiarism, etc. He even started to make up several blog names to additionally comment here. The pinnacle of his audacity occurred in February of 2007 when employing the help of a computer hacker (or himself?) he stole our original blog. We hesitate to publish what it became, but to illustrate what kind of a sicko this guy is, we will.  http://fauxrumors.blogspot.com/

3)As you can see even after he stopped his blog he briefly continued the ruse of mirroring this blog on the old site. FR's new approach of comment moderation coupled with alerting everyone of his tactics must have made his job near impossible and he slowly has lost interest. (Perhaps his parents took his computer away? LOL) We still occasionally see him pop up and use the Fauxrumors name on other sites to try to discredit the blog, or use new made up screen names and comment here. Thankfully never to success. We have long since moved on and continue to grow. As we come close to our 6th anniversary of doing this, we want to thank everyone who has assisted us in this endeavour!

As always, keep it here for all the latest!

Shut Up Luongo!

1) With the recent and shocking Corey Schneider trade to New Jersey it appeared to all that the on going goalie soap opera in Vancouver had finally come to an end. Albeit not the conclusion most anticipated. Most analysts figured that the Canucks would either trade him out right or failing that would use one of their 'compliance buy-outs on the oft maligned Whop-Frog goalie.  The 34 year old is under contract until the 2021-2022 season concludes! Yes you read that correctly. Mr Luongo will be the ripe old age of 42 when this onerous deal concludes. Any wonder why the Canucks couldn't find a taker? 


2) Now to his credit Luongo annually puts up decent, if not very good numbers. His cap hit of 5.3 million is in line with a starting NHL goalie. Its the length of the deal that had fellow GM's cringing. If it had 4 or less years remaining, there is NO doubt that he would NOT be a Caunuck today. In essence he was the boobie prize. Neither party wants the current situation, but neither party can do much about it. Which brings me to the very reason why I'm writing this post. Post Schneider trade Luongo tweeted (no he wasn't hacked!) that he was "considering his options". To that we screamed WTF does that mean?? Your options Roberto are to either play another 8 years and collect your approximately 50 million left on your deal or retire. That's it, end of sentence/story. No other "options" exist sir. Believe me, if there were "Options" they would have been exercised LONG ago by Vancouver!  So shut up and stop a few pucks and enjoy the money!

Draft/Trade/Buy-out Preview Issue

1) Just days ago, the Chicago Blackhawks were hoisting the Stanley Cup following a rousing final round with the Boston Bruins. But there's no living in the past in the NHL, especially this season. It's already onto the 2013-14 season with the NHL draft. The lockout forced the league to conduct all seven rounds in one day.  Additionally we will discuss possible trades, and other maneuvers that might take place now that the NHL is in "off season mode".

2) The draft we are being told by countless NHL scouts/execs is one of the best in many years. From talking with some insiders we are told the likely top 5 selections, most likely to have an immediate impact in the NHL in 2013-2014 are as follows.

1- Colorado Avalanche Will likely select Nathan MacKinnon. The Halifax Center who they believe will be another player added to their burgeoning core of youngsters


2-Florida Panthers in a stunner I'm told will NOT select Seth Jones, but in need of offensive star power will grab Finn(Russian?) Center Aleksander Barkov.  We don't like that and perhaps GM Tallon will come to his senses and take the better Jones?  Stay tuned

3- Tampa Bay- Not surprisingly they also will forgo Jones having previously grabbed a defender early in the draft in Vic Hedman Instead Yzerman we're told will grab McKinnon's linemate at Halifax, Jon Drouin.  He could be the player with the biggest initial impact, but again Jones will have the better career.

4- Nashville-   David Poile, barring a team changing their selection (unlikely) will 'step in shit' when the see Seth Jones still available to them at #4. The wily old GM will NOT make the same mistake his younger counterparts made in front of him and will add the son of former NBA star Popeye Jones to their already solid defense corps

5- Carolina- Barring a trade which is still very possible. Canes GM Rutherford has been shopping this pick for weeks now. The Canes would likely pick the safest player left, and that is Swede Elias Lindholm.

3) Now we're hearing lots of trade rumours and I'm sure you will read tonnes of them on that rag of a site known as Eklund, etc. However we are old that few block busters wil take place and instead a majority will be trading up or down for picks and lesser NHLplayers for a pick here and there. that said we are hearing that a BIG deal has already been consummated but is being held back until it can be formally announced to the folks in attendance at the draft in Newark NJ. Specifically that NJ has traded it 1st pick (9th overall) to Vancouver for Corey Schneider!!  Yes, take that to the bank folks the Luongo-Schneider soap opera is about to end with the most astounding result- Luongo STAYS a Canuck!

4) The next rumor to discuss and it dove tails well with the above story; is the 'complience buyout" period has commenced.  Teams can buyout up to 2 contracts without any cap hit.  Many felt that Luongo would be an obvious candidate but with the upcoming trade of Schneider its extremely unlikely that the Canucks would dispose of BOTH of their goalies. especially with a paucity of decent UFA goalies available (more on that later)  With that in mind here are the players we are hearing will be getting an early present of guaranteed money AND UFA status. Some have already been announced.

 Danny Briere- No shocker as the Flyers need cap space
Ilya Bryzgalov- Again no shocker as Ilya has been a HUDGE disappointment in Philly, while the guy they jettisoned, Sergei Bobrovsky won a Vezina!
Vincent Lecavalier- This was a shocker, but makes cap sense. Vinny wins-wins here. In a bad UFA class he suddenly looks like a good option for teams. If all goes as planned the Flyers will use that Brierre/Bryzgalov savings to land Vinny with (another) dumb long term contract.
Mike Komisarek- Although not yet announced, it won't be a shock that the Long Island native will be bought out. He wasn't even on the NHL team this year.
Mikhail Gabovsky- This IS a shocker of sorts. The Leafs have yet to confirm this, but well paced sources tell fauxrumors that the Russian will be given his walking papers shortly.  Oddly he had a very solid playoffs and appeared to be turning the corner on his career.
Rick DiPietro- Another NON-shocker. The goalie for life's career is all but over and he had another 8 years left on his bloated 15 year contract
Johan Hedberg- With the upcoming Schneider trade the devs will need to clear their crease of the 48 year old Swede
Tomas Kaberle- The habs will very shortly announce they are parting ways with the Czech defender to clear up cap space.
Jeff Schultz- The Caps no longer feel the need to retain his services and his play didn't reflect his pay, so bye bye Jeff.

4) Post draft/free agency etc we will be compiling our annual off season report cards for all 30 teams based upon how they drafted/retained/signed free agents,etc and how they stack up now compared to when they last played. Since the free agency period is elongated we will probably not have that post out until mid/late July. Ofcourse as other issues/stories break we will have it here, as always first and Faux!

Black Hawks Champs of the NHL!!

1) Two goals. Seventeen seconds apart. A second Stanley Cup victory in four seasons for the Chicago Black Hawks! An amazing turn of events that had the Hawks a mere 76 seconds from having to go home to play a Game 7. In that short span the Hawks turned defeat into eternal glory!  Stunning the Boston players and their fans and starting their premature celebration.  The team that set an NHL record with a 24-game unbeaten streak to start the lockout-shortened season won three straight games after falling behind 2-1 in the best-of-seven finals, rallying from a deficit in the series and in its finale.

2) The Blackhawks opened the season on a 21-0-3 streak and coasted to the Presidents' Trophy that goes to the team with the best regular-season record. But regular-season excellence has not translated into playoff success: Chicago is the first team with the best record to win the Cup since the 2008 Red Wings.   The Blackhawks went through Minnesota in five games and Detroit in seven, rallying in the Western Conference semifinals from a 3-1 deficit and winning Game 7 in overtime. They got through the defending NHL champion LA Kings  in five games to return to the Cup finals, where Boston was waiting.  The Blackhawks won the first game at home in three overtimes but dropped Game 2 in  another overtime,  and fell behind 2-1 in the series when it returned to Boston. But since then, it's been all Chicago.  It seemed Boston had to play almost perfect hockey to win those 2 games, and there was no way they could continue to hold back the clearly superioir team. You 2013 Stanley Cup champions---- The Chicago Black Hawks!!