Jan 18
AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez
Jiri Hudler of the Detroit Red Wings takes a page out of Henrik Zetterberg’s book as he pulls of a one handed deke on netminder Richard Bachman. Hudler’s goal was the one and only of the shootout which saw the Dallas Stars lose their third game in a row. The Wings, on the other hand, have won 4 games in a row and currently sit on top of a highly competitive Central Division.
Jan 17
Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images
Dallas Stars’ Kari Lehtonen gets deked and scored on by St. Louis Blues’ forward T.J. Oshie. Oshie’s goal midway through the third period put the Blues up in an eventual 1 – 0 victory. The victory has put the Blues at the top of the Western Conference with 60 points; a place no one predicted them to be at this season. Media is beginning to hail Head Coach Ken Hitchcock for his role in the change of play of the Blues, picking him early to win the Jack Adams Award. The Jack Adams award is an annual award presented by the National Hockey League Broadcasters’ Association to the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.
With the NHL Players Association’s veto of the proposed realignment plan last Friday, the Board of Governors will now go back to the drawing board in the coming weeks and months to conceive a new schedule that will meet the demans of teams and players alike for the 2013-14 season. However, their options for a new realignment plan remain limited and they may be forced to go with the easiest solution – move one team East.
The original problem came about because the Atlanta Thrashers, an Eastern Conference team, moved to Winnipeg where they should be a Western Conference team. Thus, an easy solution for this problem would be to move one team East to replace Winnipeg. That’s likely the route that the Board of Governors will attempt to take with a new realignment plan. But which team should move East?
The Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars all expressed interest in switching conferences. Of all of these candidates, Dallas is the western-most team, which makes it unlikely that they will move to the Eastern Conference ahead of teams that are physically located further east than Dallas.
Winnipeg would likely join the Central Division, meaning that Detroit, Nashville or Columbus would have to move to accommodate the Jets. Supposedly Detroit was promised a spot in the East if the opportunity came about. But with such a big fan base spread country-wide, several franchises in the West would be reluctant to lose Detroit and the fans they draw when they come to play. Much to the dismay of Detroit fans who have to endure late-night playoff games against Western Conference foe, Detroit probably will not move East any time soon.
This leaves Nashville and Columbus. If Columbus moves, it would make sense to put them in the Northeast Division or the Atlantic Division where they would be physically closer to their division opponents. But this move would create a chain reaction that displaces teams and causes each division in the East to realign until someone can fill the spot vacated by the Thrashers in the Southeast Division – most likely Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, two teams the NHL won’t want to split up thanks to their long standing, in-state rivalry.
The most likely option then would be to move the Nashville Predators directly into the Southeast Division. The Predators are currently the closest team to the other teams in the Southeast Division, and their travel to Florida to face the Lightning or Panthers wouldn’t be any worse than what Washington currently endures. The move would keep the two-conference, six-division format that the players are used to and would keep the same playoff format. Plus, this would be an easy implementation for the league by basically plugging Nashville into Winnipeg’s old spot. There’s no reason why this couldn’t be approved and implemented next season with the schedule makers basically swapping Nashville for Winnipeg on the schedule.
With a complete, league-wide realignment plan vetoed by the NHLPA, the Board of Governors will probably look to make a simple switch that brings one team East and moves Winnipeg West where they ought to be. In terms of travel and location, moving Nashville into the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference makes the most sense.
With the NHL Board of Governors meeting next week in Pebble Beach, California, fans may finally get their long-awaited answer as to how the league plans to deal with realignment next season after the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg this past summer, throwing the league out of whack as Winnipeg is playing in Atlanta’s Eastern Conference spot but should rightfully be a Western Conference team.
It appears as if there are two front-running suggestions right now. The first involves an even swap where Detroit would move to the East and Winnipeg to the West. This would be the simplest move for the NHL to make, which means it will never happen.
The other suggestion involves a complete realignment that shifts away from the two-conference, six-division standard and instead implements a four-division league where two of the divisions have seven teams and the other two have eight. If this idea is agreed upon, it’s likely that the Board of Governors will also alter the schedule so that each team plays every other team at home and on the road at least once during the regular season.
As a hockey fan, I’m more intrigued by the complete reformation. It would certainly be more fun from a fan’s point of view to play every team at home at least once. That way, fans all over can see Steve Stamkos, Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and countless others at their home arena once every season. Plus, this proposal would also include two rounds of divisional playoffs – something that should increase the bad blood between division rivals. If this strategy could produce rivalry playoff matchups even remotely to the level of Detroit-Colorado in the late 1990’s, I’m all for it.
The problem is that two-thirds of the Board of Governors has to approve whatever method they propose. That’s probably the most likely reason why they will not adopt a simply strategy where Detroit moves to the East and Winnipeg to the West. Too many Western Conference general managers like having Detroit come to their arena twice a season to help draw in fans. Add in the fact that each team will also play host to Crosby, Ovechkin and Stamkos and you’re looking at a big increase in profits during those games.
The other reason why I believe they will adopt a complete restructuring involves the Phoenix Coyotes. The city of Glendale, where the Coyotes’ arena resides, has stated they will not pay for the Coyotes any longer. Unless there is a buyer in place by the end of this season, the Coyotes will likely be on the move. If the general managers agree to a straight Detroit-for-Winnipeg swap, they could be in the exact same position next season if Phoenix moves East (although I hear Las Vegas and Washington are possible destinations if Phoenix moves).
For the time being, however, I am still holding out hope that the league will adopt my strategy that drops two teams completely and moves to four, seven-team divisions. Sorry Phoenix and Columbus, you are the weakest links. Goodbye.
Mike Ribeiro is definitely one of the most exciting hockey players to watch during the shootout. Last night against Phoenix, he lived up to the hype once again with a great goal. I would imagine it’s a pretty difficult move to pull off, but he definitely made it look easy. Take a look below and let us know what you think.
If you have ever wanted to purchase a hockey team, now is your chance.
There are various media reports stating the Dallas Stars is now for sale pending the team filing for bankruptcy. A source familiar with the team and the situation say that owner Tom Hicks planned to file for bankruptcy as early as today as a means to start the auction process has been approved by the majority of the team’s creditors. There are already a couple bidders lined up to purchase the team, including a team led by Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi. Gaglardi is the chairman and CEO of Sandman Hotels, Inns & Suites.
This is a growing trend in sports as the Stars are the fifth major professional sports team to file for bankruptcy in the last two years, joining fellow NHL member Phoenix Coyotes and MLB’s Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers. The Coyotes are still owned by the National Hockey League and is still looking for a buyer that will keep the team in Arizona.
Hicks, 65, fell off the Forbes list of billionaires in 2010. In 2009 his worth was reported to be at around $1 Billion. He also previously owned the Texas Rangers and Liverpool FC of the English Premier League. He and Montreal Canadiens owner George N. Gillet Jr. purchased Liverpool FC in February 2007 and sold the team in October 2010 to a New England-based group led by Boston Red Sox owner John Henry. Hicks’s holding company for the Stars and the Rangers defaulted on $525 million in loans after missing interest payments, according to Bloomberg data.
The Rangers were sold to a group led by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan in a transaction worth about $575 million. The winning bidder of the Dallas Stars will also receive 50 percent ownership of American Airlines arena. The other 50 percent is controlled by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
At this rate, little league baseball and youth hockey parents may want to think twice if Hicks offers to purchase or sponsor their team.
Former Dallas Stars forward Fabian Brunnstrom has signed a professional tryout contract with the Detroit Red Wings, according to the Detroit News and MLIve.com.
Brunnstrom, once a highly sought-after free agent from Sweden, signed with the Dallas Stars in 2008 after several teams courted the young forward – including the Red Wings. He debuted in 2008 with the Stars and registered a hat trick in his first NHL game. Brunnstrom finished the season with 17 goals and 12 assists in 55 games.
However, Brunnstrom’s stock fell considerably the next season when he managed only two goals and nine assists in 44 games with the Stars, which ultimately prompted the team to place Brunnstrom on waivers and assign him to their AHL affiliate. Brunnstrom was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs last season. He was assigned to the team’s minor league affiliate and never cracked the Leaf’s roster.
“Things just haven’t gone the way he wanted to. He actually approached us and said he’d like another opportunity,” said Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill. “He knows now what it takes to be a pro after it probably caught him a little off guard being a younger guy from Sweden.”
“I think he just said, ‘You know what, if I’m going to have a chance to be a pro maybe I can do it in Detroit.’ We said, ‘You’re welcome to come and try out,’ and he accepted.”
Detroit already has 13 forwards under contract for next season and Cory Emmerton is out of minor league options, meaning he will be exposed to waivers if the team tries to send him back to the AHL. Brunnstrom will need to beat out Emmerton, at the very least, in order to stay with the club.
“It’s about competition, and if he comes in and plays better than someone else, we’ll find a place (for him),” said Nill. “Things probably haven’t gone as he would have liked, but this is an opportunity.”
Nill said that there have been no discussions yet about Brunnstrom possibly playing with Detroit’s minor league affiliate in Grand Rapids if he doesn’t make the roster.
“I really haven’t talked to him about that,” Nill said. “His focus is to come here and make the Red Wings and we’ll go from there.”
Jul 16
If Modano retires, life won't be so bad spending time with wife Willa Ford.
With the free agency pool depleted of all the big names, with the exceptions of both Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty, it is easy to miss the remaining crop of players. Once such player is that of veteran Mike Modano, who, will be faced with a decision to retire or not.
Modano, who is currently 41 years of age, broke into the NHL in the ’80-’90 season with the Minnesota North Stars. His impact on the team was immediately felt. Playing 80 games, Modano posted 29 goals and 46 assists for an impressive 75 point season. Today, the veteran has accumulated 561 goals and 813 assists in 1,499 games played. His production holds the record for most goals (561) and most points (1,374) by an American-born player in NHL history. In the ’98 – ’99 season, Modano lead the Dallas Stars to their first ever Stanley Cup Championship, the only to his name currently.
Last season Modano played for the Detroit Red Wings, his first non Minnesota North Stars/ Dallas Stars team. In 40 games played, he totaled an unimpressive 15 points. Fans would credit the low production to a string of bad luck. Modano suffered a cut tendon in his wrist from the skate of Columbus Blue Jacket’s R.J. Umberger. Ultimately needing surgey, Modano’s injury sidelined him for 41 games.
The bad luck seemed to continue after returning to the ice as Red Wing’s Head Coach Mike Babcock scratched Modano on multiple occasions to rotate younger, grittier players into the lineup. Ultimately, Modano was such a last resort that at one point in the playoffs, Babcock opted go with a injured Johan Franzen who could barely skate, instead of a healthy Modano. For many, the writing was on the wall for the veteran player.
The critics would say the fairytale ending with the Dallas Stars is over, his legacy slightly damaged this past season. Perhaps it is time to hang up the skates, acknowledge his best years are behind him, and begin a respectable after career-career in the front office of the Dallas Stars organization.
The fans would point out he will not be the workhorse of yesteryear, but put him on the third line and give him some powerplay time, Modano will surely produce 30 points in an injury free season.
Modano is expected to make a decision within the next few weeks if he plans to come back for another season as a player. It seems unlikely that the Detroit Red Wings will sign him, but other teams would most likely express interest in the still, very talented player.
With a lack of quality scorers in this year’s free agent pool, some NHL teams may choose to look outside the box for sleeper players ready to contribute to their team. That’s what Finnish scoring leader Janne Lahti is hoping anyway.
Lahti is gaining attention as a possible sleeper in this year’s free agency pool after having played in the Finnish hockey league the past three seasons. Last year, Lahti racked up 37 goals and 59 points in 59 games with Jokerit Helsinky.
Th
is wouldn’t be Lahti’s first go-around with North American hockey, however. Lahti spent a season with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League in 2007-08, but struggled at times and only managed a meager nine goals and nine assists in 65 games.
Rumors are swirling that Lahti is weighing offers from several NHL clubs right now with the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings being the frontrunners for his services, but a decision will need to be made soon as June 15 is the deadline to sign European players for NHL teams. New Jersey probably holds an advantage over Detroit as Lahti could immediately step in and claim a roster spot with the Devils where the Red Wings would possibly choose to put Lahti back in the AHL to see what he is capable of and allow him to acclimate to the North American style if he doesn’t earn a roster spot out of training camp – something that is highly unlikely as Detroit has an abundance of players right now both waiting to crack their lineup and hoping to return instead of being forced into retirement.
Several other teams are looking for quality scoring and could get in on the hunt today or tomorrow before Lahti makes a decision. The Kings, Rangers and Maple Leafs have all expressed interest in beefing up their offense this offseason.
Landing a highly coveted European free agent comes with its risks. Several years ago, Fabian Brunnstrom was a relative nobody garnering a lot of attention from NHL clubs. After being courted by several teams, Brunnstrom decided to sign with the Dallas Stars where he was offered an immediate roster spot. Brunnstrom struggled and has spent most of his career in the minors since signing in 2008-09.
Ville Leino was another highly coveted European free agent when he signed with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008 after posting 77 points in the Finnish league. Leino came in with high promise but never fully panned out with the Wings but found himself a home with the Philadelphia Flyers where he was a key component in their Stanley Cup playoffs run last season. Leino followed up that performance with 19 goals and 53 points this past season and could still have more potential in the future.
General Managers with a lot of spending money this offseason just got some good news – Brad Richards will be hitting the free agent market.
With management and ownership of the Dallas Stars in a state of flux, the team has decided not to offer star center Brad Richards a contract this offseason with Richards set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Richards posted 28 goals and 49 assists in 77 games with the Stars last season. He tallied 91 total points the season before.
“We have had talks with Brad throughout the year, and he’s not going to sign with us unless we have the ownership situation resolved, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen by the start of free agency,” general manager Joe Nieuwendyk told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
At 31-years-old, Richards is in the prime of his career and already has one Stanley Cup championship with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 where he also won the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP. His resume speaks for itself, but in a year where there is very little offensive talent in the free agent pool, Richards will be highly coveted around the league.
However, after making $7.8 million last season, Richards could be outside the price range of many general managers. However, it’s highly likely that Richards could sign a long-term deal with a team that front-loads his contract to help keep the annual salary cap hit lower. A lot will depend on Richards and whether he wants to play for a contender or if he wants to seek out a big pay day.
Several teams appear to have the cap space to adsorb a big salary like Brad Richards, but many of them are teams currently in the rebuilding process. The Florida Panthers currently have the most cap space with $41 million available and could offer Richards a hefty contract, but Richards would likely have to endure several years of rebuilding and regrouping before Florida becomes a contender. With $27.8 million in cap space, the Colorado Avalanche could be a possible destination. The team has a lot of good, young talent and Richards could really help put the team over the edge. But don’t count out the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings or the Toronto Maple Leafs as contenders for Richards. Both the Leafs and Kings have been itching for a solid forward for several years with rumors swirling that the Kings heavily courted Kovalchuk last season before he signed with New Jersey. The Leafs would love to get Phil Kessel a proper center while the Rangers would love to get the same for Marion Gaborik and Richards would be a huge boost in offense for either team.
All hope is not lost for the Stars, however. The team will likely trade negotiating rights for Richards to another team, although Richards would still need to waive his no-trade clause for that to occur. The team that lands the rights to Richards will be able to solely negotiate with Richards before the free agency period opens. While this is certainly not a new option for teams preparing to lose their star players, teams looking to acquire the negotiating rights run a risk of giving up something for nothing if a player has no intention to sign with that club. This happened last season when Montreal landed the negotiating rights for goalie Dan Ellis from Nashville in exchange for forward Sergie Kostitsyn and future considerations. Ellis rebuked Montreal’s offers and signed with the Lightning at the open of free agency instead. If nothing else, the Stars will likely get draft picks in exchange for Richards’ negotiating rights before the NHL Entry Draft later this month.
