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Posts Tagged Florida Panthers

HWB Goes to Vegas – Needs Your Expertise

Dec 15

Posted by EB in Soap Box | 2 Comments

It's OK, I can bet on games unlike someone else...

Hockey World Blog will be taking a trip to Las Vegas and asks for our readership’s help. Well, 1/4 of HWB that is.

This Saturday I will be in Vegas and plan on placing some wagers on the games. Although I feel I have an idea of who’s hot and who’s not, it is always nice to get a few other opinions.

First, understanding how to bet. I plan to bet on the moneyline, those of which are not determined. The best way to explain a moneyline is to give an example. Last night’s game between the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators had a moneyline of Bruins -190 and Senators +165. This is saying that the Bruins are favored in the matchup. If you are to bet $190 on the Bruins, you will win $100. On the flip side, if you are to bet $100 on the Senators, you will win $165.

Further complexing the moneyline, you are able to parlay your bet. A parlay is a multiple-team bet in which you pick anywhere from 2-10 games and you need to hit on every one of them in order for the total bet to be a success. The payouts for these types of bets escalate based on the number of individual games you add, where a two-team parlay pays out around 2.5-to-1 and a 10-teamer hits at about 300-to-1. For example, say a bettor likes the Edmonton Oilers +160 and the Florida Panthers -130. If the bettor places a $10 wager, they essentially would have a $10 bet on the Oilers +160, which will return $26 should the Oilers win, and then would have $26 on the Panthers -130. Should the Panthers also win, the bettor has turned a $10 wager into $46. Adding a little more math to the mix, to figure out winnings, it is best to turn the odds into decimals. To do this, for positive odds such as +160, you would take 160/100 to get 1.6. Multiply 1.6 by your bet amount ($10) to win $16 on top of your bet of $10 to come up with the $26. If the odds are negative, such as -130, you would take 100/130 to equal .77. Multiple .77 by the $26 to win $20, add the $26 bet and you now have your $46.

OK, tough stuff is out of the way. The fact is the moneylines have yet to be set for Saturday’s games so I am unable to truthfully figure out any winnings on bets placed. I do however need to know what our readers think of the matchups. Out of the games listed below for Saturday, let me know what 3 games you would pick for individual moneylines. Also, pick one parlay of 3 teams. The games are as follows:

Boston @ Philadelphia
Vancouver @ Toronto
New Jersey @ Montreal
Buffalo @ Pittsburgh
Anaheim @ Winnipeg
Los Angeles @ Detroit
Tampa Bay @ Columbus
St. Louis @ Nashville
NY Islanders @ Minnesota
NY Rangers @ Phoenix
Washington @ Colorado
Edmonton @ San Jose

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Zach Parise Likely to Play Elsewhere

Dec 6

Posted by EB in Rumors | 3 Comments

Zach Parise may be a New Jersey Devil today, but come trade deadline or free agency, expect him to be on the move.

New Jersey Devil fans have it tough, real tough. If it is not bad enough that the Devils are currently sitting 12th in the standings in the East, young superstar Zach Parise is likely to play for another team come trade deadline or in the off-season.

The Minnesota native Zach Parise is coming into his production years at the age of 27. Playing 7 seasons with the Devils, it is time for some new scenery. With a Silver medal under his belt from 2010, Parise wants a Stanley Cup ring, that of which the Devils won’t do for quite some time.

The Devils of old were once a powerhouse team. Hard hitting defender Scott Stevens, a younger Martin Brodeur between the pipes and head coach Jacques Lemaire made every team cringe. How the years have passed, as the Devils of new are nothing but a pushover. Last year the team missed the playoffs by 12 points. To this day the team is once again sitting on the outside looking in. An argument could be that they are only 2 points back from 8th, but the Eastern Conference is a tricky beast.

My how a few acquisitions, trades and years makes a difference. The Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs have surprised the hockey community as both are currently sitting in playoff spots. It seems Brian Burke’s master plan to take over the hockey world is finally taking form. (insert lightning/thunder/evil laugh now) On the flip side, the Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning, all three teams who made the playoffs last season, are currently on the outside looking in. The Devils competition is only going to get tougher.

Over a quarter way in, Parise has only 16 points in 25 games. His total is from a combined 7 goals and 9 assists, a rather poor total for such a player of his caliber. On top of that, Parise has a plus minus rating of negative 10, second to worst on the team, that of which belongs to Ilya Kovalchuk with a negative 11.

Devil fans enjoy the season while it lasts, despite the slow plummet to miss the playoffs yet again. Parise is on the move come trade deadline or free agency. If you are lucky another team will be offering a trade and you can get some depth and draft picks.

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Florida Panthers

Sep 11

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Additions: Scottie Upshall, Tomas Kopecky, Tomas Fleishmann, Kris Versteeg, Sean Bergenheim, Brian Campbell, Ed Jovanovski, Jose Theodore

Key Offseason Losses: Dennis Wideman, Marty Reasoner, Michael Frolik, Tomas Vokoun

Last Season Ranking: 15th in East

Stephen Weiss and David Booth are the only 2 from last year's top 6 forwards. Might need an ice breaker.

Stephen Weiss and David Booth are the only 2 from last year's top 6 forwards. Might need an ice breaker.

Offense: The Florida Panthers have made a complete overhaul of their team replacing four of their top six forwards. Sometimes too much change is a bad thing, but with the team missing the playoffs year after year, change is just what the doctor ordered.

Scottie Upshall has had a respectable 30 point per season career, but for many, believe he is capable of doing a lot more. The difficulty for Upshall is staying healthy which has seen him play all but one full season over his career. A fast, strong skater, it will be nice to see if he pairs up with Stephen Weiss and David Booth. If so, his fantasy stock could rise as a sleeper pick.

Florida’s additions were nothing of any great superstars, but of all talented players that can chip in. Going with the thought that the sum is greater than the parts, the team has added depth with Tomas Kopecky, Tomas Flesichmann and Kris Versteeg. Together, the three combined for 48 goals, 71 assists to total 119 points. This should greatly improve the Panthers top two lines if the new players can gel with one another.

Defense: Like the offense, the Panthers have tweaked their top two defensive pairings.

Puck moving defenseman Brian Campbell is capable of putting up 50 points if he can stay healthy. The forecast may not look so good as he has had shortened seasons for the past two years.

Veteran Ed Jovanoski has been added and will balance the team out with some grit and hard work. He is a player you at to play against but would love to have on your team. A downside he is getting older, but the positive, he plays younger than what he is.

The Panthers still have some talented players that will pair with either of the two previous mentioned. Dmitry Kulikov is coming into his third season as a professional and looks to better his last year’s stats of 6 goals and 20 assists. Similarly, Keaton Ellerby is also coming into his third season as a professional and had 2 goals and 10 assists last year. Both young players will help ease the burden of old age on the added veteran defenseman.

Goaltending: The Panthers have always had a good goalie, but never a team in front of him. Tomas Vokoun has headed to the Washington Capitals as the Panthers have picked up Jose Theodore to take the number one spot. Theodore had some great seasons in Washington, notching 62 wins in 104 games played over two seasons. Although he is the same age as Vokoun, Theodore looks to be more acrobatic and should add greater value to the team.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Not playoff bound. Oh how we miss you Florida, please return sometime soon to the playoffs with your rubber rats.

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NHL team bottle coolers

Aug 10

Posted by Chris in Gear, News | No Comments

There may be no better way to sit back and relax on a hot summer day while you await the beginning of training camp (only six weeks to go!) than with a cold beer in your hand. However, with August in full swing and the potential for 90 degree weather, or over 100 in some areas like Phoenix where it’s projected to swelter to 100+ degrees every day this week, keeping your beer cold could be an issue. Thankfully, the NHL is incredibly in touch with the needs of their fan base.

Their solution? NHL team bottle cooler jackets.

These zip up beer bottle jackets feature diving-weight neoprene construction that helps keep your beer cooler for longer. Basically it’s a wetsuit for your beer. The zip up construction creates a snug fit on domestic and imported 12 oz. bottles and also allows for easy access when you’re putting in a new bottle or taking out an old one.

Most of the designs are actually pretty intricate and really awesome looking, making them fancy additions to any fan’s collection. Unfortunately, both the Boston Bruins and the Winnipeg Jets are both absent from the collection.

The bottle jackets retail for $32.99, which seems kind of steep initially, but they come in packs of three to help you get more bang for your buck. At this time, there doesn’t appear to be any option to mix and match or buy bottle jackets individually, options that will hopefully appear soon because there are several very cool looking designs that would be awesome to own. Division or Conference packages would also be welcome additions to the collection.

Head over to the shop at NHL.com to check out your favorite team’s designs.

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Brad Richards will not be offered a contract by the Dallas Stars

Jun 2

Posted by Chris in News, Rumors | 3 Comments

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.

 

 

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NHL Stanley Cup Finals facts and other fun trivia

Jun 1

Posted by Chris in News, Soap Box | 1 Comment

The Stanley Cup playoffs are a long, exhausting grind. The process takes nearly two months to complete with teams playing every other night in hard-fought, physical battles where players are tested to the extreme both mentally and physically. It’s no wonder that some say the Stanley Cup is the toughest trophy to win in professional sports. With the Stanley Cup Finals set to begin tonight in Vancouver, here are some interesting facts about past Stanley Cup winners and losers – including some history about this year’s combatants.

  •  The Boston Bruins, one of the Original Six teams, have one of the worst Stanley Cup track records with a dismal .294 winning percentage. In 17 previous appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Bruins have won five times with their last victory coming in 1972. This will be the team’s sixth Stanley Cup Finals appearance since their last victory.  
  • The Vancouver Canucks have never won the Stanley Cup. The team made two previous appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals since joining the NHL in 1970 – once in 1982 and the second time in 1994.
  • Only two teams currently in the NHL have never lost in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Colorado Avalanche made two appearances, winning the Stanley Cup in both 1996 and 2001, while the Tampa Bay Lightning won their only appearance in the Finals in 2004. 
  • Six teams have never made an appearance in the Finals: the Columbus Blue Jackets (nine seasons), Minnesota Wild (nine seasons), Atlanta Thrashers (10 seasons), Nashville Predators (11 seasons), San Jose Sharks (18 seasons) and Phoenix Coyotes (13 seasons, and 17 seasons as the Winnipeg Jets).
  • In addition to those teams, another seven teams have appeared in the Finals but never won the Stanley Cup: the Vancouver Canucks (two appearances), St. Louis Blues (three appearances), Buffalo Sabres (two appearances), Florida Panthers (one appearance), Los Angeles Kings (one appearance), Ottawa Senators (one appearance) and the Washington Capitals (one appearance).
  • The Montreal Canadiens are the most decorated team in the NHL with an incredible 24 Stanley Cup championships in 34 appearances. The last time the team won the Stanley Cup was in 1993, which was also their last appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals as well.
  • Henri “The Rocket” Richard has won the most Stanley Cups as a player with 11.
  • Mark Messier is the only player to captain two different teams to a Stanley Cup championship. He captained both the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers to championships.  

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Nathan Horton is Boston Bruins’ MVP

May 25

Posted by EB in Soap Box | 3 Comments

The Boston Bruins are up 3 games to 2 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning. What seems to be in a good place having home ice advantage if needed for game 7, the Bruins could not have made it this far without the help of forward Nathan Horton.

Horton’s career started in the 2003-2004 season with the not-so-solid Florida Panthers. While there, Horton immediately stepped onto the ice and had a positive impact. In his rookie season, Nathan had 14 goals and 8 assists for 22 points in 55 games. In the six seasons with the Panthers, Horton had 5 seasons above the 45 point mark and a career high of 62 points in back-to-back seasons from 2006-2008.

Today, Horton calls Boston home after competing in his first of three year deal. In the 80 games played, Horton had a balanced year with 26 goals and 27 assists for a total of 53 points. Overall, he had a +29 rating, the best of any Bruins offense.

The real news is that this is Horton’s first NHL playoffs. Yes, his first, the time where the men are separated form the boys. Quite common, new players experiencing the faster, tougher playoff tempo fall short of their fan’s and team’s expectations. Horton however has risen to the occasion with 7 goals and 7 assists in the 16 games played, 2 of which were game winning goals. His stats are second to only Patrice Bergeron.

At 6’2″ and 229 pounds, Horton is a physical and dominating presence. Factor in that he is coming into his peak years at 25 years old, now is better than any for the Bruins to have him don the black and yellow B. With his big presence and stats to back it up, Horton is by far the Boston Bruins MVP.

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The Biggest Trade Deadline Deals

Mar 7

Posted by Matt in News | No Comments

To the casual NHL fan, the 2011 trade deadline was quite uneventful. The biggest move you might have heard about would be Dustin Penner to Los Angeles. But that’s not all that happened. Here’s a breakdown of some of the highlights from the 2011 NHL trade deadline.

To Capitals: Jason Arnott
To Devils: David Steckel, 2nd Round Draft Pick (2012)

The Capitals acquire a veteran to the game, and a player with the leadership qualities they will desperately need to make a run in the playoffs. Arnott has been in those situations before, won a Stanley Cup and he’s definitely going to be hungry to get back there. He’ll be a great asset to a team looking to make an impact in the playoffs.

The Devils make out pretty nicely from this trade as well. They get a younger player in Steckel, as well as a future draft pick to help their rebuilding process. While it remains unlikely that the Devils will be able to squeeze into the playoffs, they have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL as of late. Throughout February, the Devils picked up 11 wins, and points in 12 of 13 games.

To Sabres: Brad Boyes
To Blues: 2nd Round Draft Pick

Boyes, a right winger, will surely make an impact for a Sabres team who wished to add another potent scorer. While Boyes was stuck in a scoring drought last season, he has seemed to find his scoring touch again this year. Through 66 games, the winger already has as many goals as he scored in all 82 games last season, and has more assists and points. Good news for Sabres fans, Boyes has fit in and found chemistry right away, picking up four points in four games thus far with his new squad.

The Blues have all but given up on the playoffs this season. Injuries to T.J. Oshie for much of the season, as well as David Perron, who has not played since early November, have been a crushing blow. They’ll regroup in the off season, and the players will come back healthy and ready to make a push for a playoff run next season. The additional draft pick will help add an additional prospect for the future, which certainly never hurts, or can be used as trade bait itself later on.

To Thrashers: Radek Dvorak, 5th Round Draft Pick
To Panthers: Niclas Bergfors, Patrick Rissmiller

I’m going to call this one a win for the Florida Panthers. Picking up the talented young Niclas Bergfors will be a great move. In his rookie season, Bergfors snatched up 44 points playing 81 games for the Devils and Thrashers. This season, he started hot, but has lost consistency as of late. The good news, for Panthers fans, is Bergfors just turned 24 today. He still has time to develop, and if his work ethic is good, he’ll see plenty of ice time alongside Florida’s best players.

The Thrashers, on the other hand, have fallen pretty hard after a great start and there’s no shot at the playoffs now. They have pretty much thrown in the towel already, and Dvorak can’t do much to help.

We’ve seen bigger moves at past deadlines, but the impacts of this seasons deadline will be felt throughout the league. What team do you think made the biggest move at the deadline?

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General Managers to Meet Today

Nov 9

Posted by Eddie in News | No Comments

Today in Toronto, the General Managers of NHL franchises are get to have their fall meeting and they have several topics to discuss. Meetings like this tend to get the ball rolling for their next meeting in March, where rules tend get created or modified for the next season. For example, it was last November’s fall meeting where the issue of head shots was brought up and the end result was Rule 48 being in effect this season. Issues on the table include format change for this year’s All-Star game in Raleigh, changing the venue for the scouting combine and if the league should adapt a policy for players using social media. Coyotes GM Don Maloney is proposing adding guidelines for players using social media.

The NHL is the only professional sports league in North America that doesn’t have a policy for players who use forms of social media including Facebook and Twitter. It’s both good and bad that the NHL doesn’t have any concrete policies regarding social media. It means that players haven’t abused the system but it will only take one incident to make the casual hockey or sports fan think “How come it’s taken them so long to put something on the books.”

Another issue to be discussed is potentially changing the format for overtime. There was an increase in games decided via the shootout last season as 15 percent of games went to the shootout compared to 12.9 percent in 2008-09. What Red Wings GM Ken Holland is proposing is eight minutes of OT, with the first four minutes being played four-on-four while the last four minutes being played three-on-three before proceeding to the shootout.

Panthers GM Dale Tallon is perhaps proposing the most bizarre issue and that is giving the coaches a challenge for plays that result in goals. His team was on the wrong end of a blown call earlier this season when goalie Scott Clemmenson was ran over by Leafs player Colton Orr on a play that resulted in a goal and was not penalized for goaltender interference. Despite winning the game because of that call, Toronto coach Ron Wilson is not in favor of a coaches challenge because it will make the referees look bad and that you can’t run and make a new rule every time something controversial happens.

He also said “If you watch half the goals, the goalie’s been touched or pulled or something. … Am I going to throw that red flag on one goal a game because I can? I’ll probably win. I don’t know personally if that’s what we should be doing. It’s hard enough to score in our league right now.”

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Hockey World Blog Season Previews 2010: Florida Panthers

Sep 11

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

nothing much to get excited about with Florida this year unless another flasher sighting happens.

Nothing much to get excited about with Florida this year. That is unless you watch intently for another flasher sighting.

Key Offseason Losses: Keith Ballard, Nathan Horton

Key Offseason Additions: Christopher Higgins, Dennis Wideman, Steven Reinprecht

Last Season Ranking: 14th, East

Offense: The Florida Panthers have a talented core in Stephen Weiss and David Booth. Weiss picked up 60 points last season to carry the team in the absence of David Booth’s injury from Philadelphia Flyer’s Mike Richards head shot. The two, if healthy, should each post 50+ points in a competition for the team’s point leader.

Florida lost their 3rd main man Nathan Horton, yet picked up veteran players Christopher Higgins and Steven Reinprecht. Together the two will add some experience, as well as the ability to put the puck in the net.Reinprecht had 16 goals and 22 assists last year with the Phoenix Coyotes while Higgins is coming off of two mediocre seasons, but has the ability to post 40+ points.

Returning players to keep an eye on are Michael Frolik and his balanced play style as well as Cory Stillman and his veteran point production performance.

Defense: The bad news; the team lost Keith Ballard to the Vancouver Canucks. Ballard was a solid defender and a good setup man. The good news; the team has gained an equally talented Dennis Wideman from the Boston Bruins. Wideman had 30 points last season with 11 of those being power play assists, a much needed addition for the Panthers.

Wideman will be lining leading point defender Bryan McCabe. McCabe had 43 points last season with the expectation of doing even better this year.

The downfall though comes after the first pairing, the Panthers have no one really worth mentioning. Perhaps their management team forgot the saying, “Defense wins championships”.

Goaltending: Starter Tomas Vokoun will get the majority of starts while sharing the net with backup Scott Clemmensen. The two together should be able to post some good numbers despite having weak defense. Vokoun has a career .916 save percentage and had a respectable 7 shutouts last season.

Season Outlook: The Florida Panthers had a tough break last season with the injury to star player David Booth. Losing one of your top players always hurts, but this year he is back and healthy. The team added some key role players and some veteran presence that always helps any team. Still though the offensive talent will go to waste with the lack of depth in defense. It will be short of a miracle if the team makes the post season.

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