Tag: NHL (Page 4 of 16)

      2009 NHL Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins

      October 2, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Pittsburgh Penguins…

      SUMMER SPLASH

      * Although much of the team on and off the ice remains intact, some impact-player personnel have changed. It will present some challenges for the Penguins but will also make camp and the pre-season an opportunity to reinforce the teams’ goal of defending the Cup while also adding some new flavor and tweaks to chemistry and line pairings.

      * OUT – Major players skating elsewhere this season: Petr Sykora (RW), Hal Gill (D), Rob Scuderi (D), and backup goalie Mathieu Giron. The biggest loss for Pittsburgh is along the blue line but the organization feels it is deep on defense. Also departed are wingers Chris Minard, Jeff Taffe and much-anticipated but rarely-skated, Janne Pesonen. Miroslav Satan is still unsigned and probably won’t be playing for the Pens this season.

      * IN – Jay McKee (D) was signed in to help sure up defense. Other defenders signed were Nate Guenin and Chris Lee. The right wing was also addressed by signing Chris Conner and Wade Brookbank. Mike Rupp (LW) was also added to the mix. To replace the backup goalie, they signed former Capital, Brent Johnson. Free agent Ryan Bayda, previously with the Hurricanes, is in camp with Pittsburgh. And don’t forget the Penguins signed Bill Guerin at the trade deadline last season and will now contribute to veteran leadership and offensive production for a full campaign with his new club.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      2009 NHL Preview: Phoenix Coyotes

      October 2, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Phoenix Coyotes…

      SUMMER SPLASH

      * Wow. What a summer it’s been for hockey in the desert. Or the potential vanishing of the same. If you have yet to hear/read about the current bankruptcy hearings in court for the Phoenix Coyotes, all you really need to know at this point is the Phoenix (Glendale) Coyotes are staying put. For now. For a brief history, there’s this: New arena built far from fan-base and team does not win enough games to convince locals to drive to Glendale. Guy from Canada wants to buy the team and park it near Toronto. NHL doesn’t want to move/close/admit defeat/whatever with the club in Phoenix and now, temporarily, owns the franchise. It’s a nasty affair and is still unsettled, but an emergency meeting for the parties involved has been called for by the federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the case. For more on this recent development, see the Coyotes site here.

      * Everything typed above could change with the stroke of a pen from a judge. Everything typed above could change if this team comes out of the gates strong this season, wins and the fans remember where they put their car keys. The area is a tough market for a ‘fourth’ sport and this may be a case of sports-saturation. But considering this part of the southwestern US houses what are lovingly referred to as ‘Snow Birds’, you would think some of these Canadian and Michigan ex-pats would get their butts in the seats and enjoy some hockey. I’m just saying…

      * Bridging the gap between management maneuvers and player moves, is the coach. In short, Wayne Gretzky may or may not still be the coach of the Coyotes. With his ties in ownership of the team and part of the bankruptcy filing, Gretzky is low-profile these days (read:AWOL) and the Coyotes are working through camp and the pre-season without him. Assistant coach Ulf Samuelsson is acting as head coach while the true status of Gretzky is unknown. He is still listed as the coach but is not coaching and the local media and fans are thinking a fresh start (no Great Big Salary behind the bench) might be the right skate forward.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      2009 NHL Preview: Philadelphia Flyers

      October 2, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Philadelphia Flyers…

      SUMMER SPLASH

      * Salary cap issues in Philadelphia put management in the mode of tackling the business end of an appropriate budget while under the belief this team is built to win NOW. A pivotal player from last season, Mike Knuble, went to Washington as a result of operating procedures.

      * The biggest news from the summer was the deal Philly made to acquire Chris Pronger from the Ducks. The cost was hefty, though as the Flyers dealt Joffrey Lupul and future defenseman, Luca Sbisa. They also had to give up their first round pick for the 2009 draft but feel Pronger may be the missing piece on the blue line to help take the team progress deeper into the playoffs (and past PA-rival Pittsburgh). But perhaps the Flyers felt plenty-stocked on current, producing first round picks to make the move. See below in the Frozen Pill’s Fantasy Dose for examples on why Philadelphia believes the current team is the one to win with.

      * Another key addition over the summer was the signing of Colorado’s Ian Laperriere. The Bully-quotient just went up on Broad St. How this will affect one major area of on-ice concern from last season (the undisciplined play and time spent in the penalty box) remains to be seen. One would think, adversely. And so far, in the pre-season, the nasties have it.

      * Goalie Swap! OUT are Marty Biron (NYI) and Antero Niittymaki (TBL). IN are (he’s back…), Ray Emery (NHL_exile) and Brian Boucher (SJS). The choices here are the results of a money-conscience team willing to take some chances…hoping the awesomeness assembled in front of the crease infects the play in the blue paint, too. More on this next in the Fantasy Dose, below.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      2009 NHL Preview: Ottawa Senators

      October 2, 2009 /



      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. Here is the OGA preview for the Ottawa Senators…

      Team Play: ISSUE – (Hopefully) A lack of distractions… Ahhhh! Refreshing to be over it, eh? It should go without saying the presence of Dany Heatley would have been a HUGE distraction on many levels for this team. We would like to begin this section of Ottawa’s SPR by saying he is no longer here, and short of tobloidists and ambulance chasers who want to know what that ‘thing’ was that caused so much bad blood nobody has really told us about, the Hockey world should move on. And that is precisely what we will do here in breaking down the team…

      A combination of several sources indicates a possible No. 1 line of Alfredsson -Spezza-Michalek from left to right, and Foligno-Fisher-Kovalev on No. 2. The No. 1 trio was tested Friday, 18 September and produced a goal by Michalek from Spezza and Alexandre Picard for The Sens’ first pre-season, even-strength goal. Line No. 2 was clicking against Montreal Saturday night, 19 September with a combined 4 Gs and 6 As by game’s end. It must be noted if the No. 1 and 2 combos stick, a question arises as to where to fit Jonathan Cheechoo. The FoxSports web site’s depth charts indicate Cheechoo is the No.3 RW and Chris Neil comes in on the No. 4 line. It is not showing Shean Donovan who is down the depth charts at best and may be on the outs in a personal worst case scenario. As a bottom line, some wingers are going to have to try another side or be the best ones in their current slot in camp in order to stay on the roster with the big club.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      2009 NHL Preview: New York Rangers

      October 2, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the New York Rangers…

      Team Play: ISSUE – It’s all about the “G”, baby. Last season, the Rangers’ biggest challenge was finding the back of the net. With just four 20+ goal scorers, led by Markus Naslund with 24 (Nik Antropov (28) doesn’t count, as he scored 21 of his goals in a Maple Leafs’ sweater), New York was one of only two playoff teams with a negative goal differential in the regular season (Columbus being the other). In fact, the Blueshirts’ 210 goals in 08-09 tied them with the Lightning for 25th in the NHL.

      Two of the Rangers’ four “snipers” – Nikolai Zherdev and Markus Naslund – won’t be back. In an effort to not just fill those holes in the lineup, but also to increase scoring, GM Glen Sather rolled the dice over the summer. On 1 July, he signed oft-injured sharpshooter Marian Gaborik. Should Gaby’s groin/hip/whatever hold up (he has yet to play in a preseason game due to a ‘tender groin’), he should be just what the doctor ordered: Gaborik has averaged better than a point per game in each of the last four seasons. On the downside, he’s only played more than 65 games once in those four seasons.

      The day before signing Gaborik, Sather pulled the trigger on a significant trade, sending underachieving pivot Scott Gomez to Montreal for winger Christopher Higgins, a proven 20+ man. On 9 July, Slats signed another 20+ club member, Ales Kotalik. Less than a week later, the Rangers dealt centerman Lauri Korpikoski to Phoenix for speedy winger Enver Lisin, who has been one of the Blueshirts’ best skaters in September, and should join the 20+ club in 09-10. More recently, New York added veteran forward Vinny Prospal, boosting the number of proven or potential 20+ goal scorers on the roster to eight – nine if you count holdout center Brandon Dubinsky. Thus, the New York Rangers enter the 09-10 season with significantly increased firepower for new Coach John Tortorella’s up-tempo “Safe is Death” system. The economy may still be in the toilet, but things are looking up on Broadway.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

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