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Three more concussions confirmed today for NHL players

Dec 27

Posted by Chris in News | No Comments

Concussions continue to ravage the NHL as another three players were announced to be suffering from concussions or concussion-like symptoms today.

Nashville Predators defenseman Shea Weber and Los Angeles Kings forward Simon Gagne will both sit after being diagnosed with concussions while Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman John-Michael Liles was placed on the IR with concussion-like symptoms.

It’s unsure how long any of these players will be sidelined, although in every situation the team and players are hopeful that it won’t be for a significant amount of time.

Weber will likely be the biggest loss of the three. Not only is he team captain, but he also leads the Predators in points with 29 in 35 games to go along with his team-leading plus-14 rating.

“There’s no official timetable for his return, but he’s feeling better and I’m hoping there’s a chance for him to return Friday,” head coach BarryTrotz said. “But we’ll see.”

Weber apparently suffered his concussion after taking a hard hit from Mark Fistric this past Friday when the Predators took on the Dallas Stars. Weber appeared fine after the game but left practice early on Monday and missed Nashville’s game against the Red Wings Monday night. The team confirmed today that Weber was suffering from a concussion and will be monitored on a daily basis.

Similarly, Liles suffered his injury after a big hit from Buffalo’s Paul Gaustad last Thursday. After visiting the dressing room following the hit, Liles returned to finish the game but missed the following contest on Friday against the New York Islanders. The Leafs placed Liles on injured reserve after he was unable to skate with the team on Monday or Tuesday at practice.

“We’re shutting him down for a few days,” said Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson. “He was better today, but not ready to go and if we run into a crisis we’ve gotta have another defenceman available – in case of illness or another injury.

Liles has been one of Toronto’s most consistent defenseman with seven goals and 17 assists in 34 games this season. He has averaged more than 21 minutes of ice time per game.

Simon Gagne was injured during the first period of the Kings victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday night. Gagne left the ice during the first period and returned in the second, but he ultimately left the game during the third period and did not return. While the team referred to the injury as an “upper-body” injury, TSN.ca has reported that Gagne indeed suffered a concussion.

Weber, Liles and Gagne are just the latest in a string of concussions to hit the NHL recently. Sidney Crosby is back on the shelf with concussion-like symptoms with no time-table for a return while Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux recently returned from a four-game absence thanks to a concussion sustained on Dec. 10 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It was also reported today that New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal has been cleared to practice with contact nearly 10 months after being sidelined by a hit delivered by his brother Eric of the Carolina Hurricanes. This is a positive step in Staal’s recover, although a timetable for his return is still up in the air.

 

 

 

 

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs

Sep 8

Posted by EB in Season Previews | 3 Comments

Key Offseason Additions: Tim Connolly, Matthew Lombardi, John Michael-Liles, Cody Franson

Key Offseason Losses: Kris Versteeg, Jean-Sebastian Giguere

Last Season Ranking: 10th in East

Offense: The Toronto Maples Leafs have made two impressive off-season additions that should greatly foster their offensive talent.

First, Tim Connolly. Connolly is a top line center who battled injuries last year with the Buffalo Sabres. With a healthy season, Connolly could set up winger Phil Kessel, easily combining for over 120 points. The key though, if Connolly can stay healthy.

The second addition, which many will underrate, is that of Matthew Lombardi. Lombardi has had a really up and down career, with his 2009-2010 season with the Phoenix Coyotes a career high of 19 goals, 34 assists to total 53 points. But, like Connolly, the key is for him to stay healthy. Lombardi missed nearly all of last season with a concussion. Concussion symptoms are no joke, Sidney Crosby has brought light to that.

The remainder of the supporting cast is surprisingly good. Joffrey Lupul looks to bounce back from back problems, Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur both look to better last year’s career high performances, and young talents Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri look to balance out the third line with talented depth.

Defense: General Manager Brian Burke did a good job to better the defense with veteran John-Michael Lieles and young talent Cody Franson. Last year’s seasons combined totaled 14 goals and 61 assists. The stats do not lie, both players can move the puck.

Toronto's fate rests on the hands of goaltender James Reimer. Will he follow the sophomore curse?

The additions will put a much needed pressure on big name player Dion Phaneuf. Phaneuf had trouble in Calgary before coming to Toronto, often perceived as an arrogant player. It is still a debate if he is all that he hyped up to be, but with only 8 goals and 22 assists last year, expect him to step up his game this upcoming season.

Luke Schenn is coming into his 4th season with the Maple Leafs and will most likely improve upon his 5 goals and 17 assists last year. Schenn is a young, big 6′-2″ defender who has some hands and some speed. Possibly paired with Phaneuf, his stock is rising in playoff pools. Sure he won’t be your top defender, but looking for some depth, he will most likely put up 25 assists this year.

Goaltending: If it is one thing that the Maple Leafs are lacking it is goaltending. Losing veteran Jean-Sebastian Giguere is going to hurt, even if he only did put up a 11-11-4 record and a 2.87 goals against average. His veteran presence will be missed, especially if James Reimer has to carry the load.

Reimer last year had a remarkable rookie season with a 20-10-5 season and a 2.60 goals against average. The problem now is that he is in his sophomore year, and if anyone knows anything, the second year for goaltenders tend to take nose dives.

Playing backup will be big 6’3″ Jonas Gustavsson. Gustavsson has the talent to be a great goaltender, but last seasons 13 loses trumping his 6 wins, he needs to step it up. Throwing out a wild prediction, factoring in Reimer’s sophomore status, Gustavsson will become the number 1 goalie.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Not playoff bound. It is the Leafs after all.

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Brian Rafalski Out Indefinitely, Help!

Oct 13

Posted by Eddie in Fantasy | 5 Comments

My condolances go out to you fantasy players in 100 percent of ESPN.com and 97 percent of Yahoo! fantasy hockey leagues. Chris, you are included too as you already had Andre Markov on the IR. But I can’t really fault you there as I recall you drafting Markov knowing he is out until Thanksgiving due to his offseason surgery. But back to Rafalski, he is out for an unclear amount of time as he underwent a knee scope Tuesday afternoon. The scope was to repair a knee he injured 19 years ago. Not bad for a 37-year-old NHL defenseman who has played in two Stanley Cup finals and an Olympic gold medal game in each of the last three seasons.

Another conrtibuting factor to the arthroscopic surgery was that he underwent back surgery in the offseason which prevented him from strength training his legs in the weight room. Factor that with the rigors of training camp could have lingered the pain in the knee. “He had a little pain and just decided that it hadn’t reacted the way it had in the past,” Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said. “They just decided they need to have a quick look and clean up whatever they need to clean up. They didn’t think it (would be) very long, but who knows once they get in there?”

With Brian Rafalski out for a while, there are still quality defensemen available in your fantasy league.

With Brian Rafalski out for a while, there are still quality defensemen available in your fantasy league.

So the big question for all you fantasy players out there is “Who can I pick up to replace Rafalski?” Here’s some answers to the big question. Below is a sampling of defenseman that are most likely available in your fantasy league who can put up the stats necessary for you to win your weekly matchups.

Jordan Leopold- Buffalo

Leopold is only picked up in 20 percent of Yahoo! and 30 percent of ESPN.com leagues. Why am I suggesting such a low taken player? Because he’s one of two (Alex Goligoski being the other) with two goals on the season thats less than a week old. He was only projected to score 23 points on the season, but he is ahead of that curve with four in less than a week. He plays on a pairing with young superstar Tyler Myers so he could see a lot of points playing with the reigning Calder Trophy winner.

James Wisniewski- New York Islanders
He will be useful to pick up after the weekend because he is suspended for two games after his recent incident where he made an obscene gesture at Rangers forward Sean Avery. But on the other hand, he is taken in 47 percent of Yahoo! leagues. He has three points this season and looks like he can “blow” the puck past opposing goalies with his hard shot from the point.

John-Michael Liles- Colorado

The former Michigan State Spartan is likely to be available in your Yahoo! league as he is surprisingly available in 45 percent of leagues. In the last week he has gotten off to a fast start with five assists. Yahoo! also has ranked him as the 13th best fantasy player in the league since the season began. He had yet to light the lamp, but he has a +4 rating, five shots on goal and one power play point. If your league has blocked shots as a stat, he’s worth a look as he’s had eight blocked shots.

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Colorado Avalanche

Sep 24

Posted by Chris in Season Previews | 1 Comment

The Colorado Avalanche are in the middle of unchartered territory coming into this season. With Joe Sakic retiring over the summer, Colorado has lost pretty much every connection to the almost unbeatable franchise that dominated the hockey world in the mid-to-late 90’s. While things may look gloomy in Colorado this season, the team looks to have a promising future.

stastny.paul Milan Hejduk, the 33-year-old right wing who has been with the Avs since 1998, will come into this season and be counted on to help lead this team both on and off the ice. While Hejduk is no pushover on the ice and is capable of producing 50-70 points this season, the real budding stars of this team is 23-year-old Paul Stastny. In three years with the club, Stastny has accumulated 185 points in 193 games, including 63 goals. This kid has talent and can play both sides of the puck, finishing last season with a plus-17 rating. Already sporting the assistant captains “A”, Stastny very well could be next in line for the “C” when veteran Adam Foote retires.

Wojtek Wolski is another up-and-comer making a name for himself in the NHL. In three seasons with the Avs, Wolski has put up 40 or more points in each season and once reached 50. But he needs to be better at both ends as he sported a minus-13 rating last season. He has moves and he likes to show them off during shootouts. It will be interesting to see how he performs this year when there is more pressure on him to produce.

Defense is probably where the Avalanche looks strongest right now. Adam Foote, Ruslan Salei, John-Michael Liles and Tom Preissing are all veteran names setting up shop on the blue line this season. Kyle Quincey, the much-traveled defenseman who is with his third team in two seasons, enjoyed a breakout year when the Detroit Red Wings dealt him to the Los Angeles Kings at the beginning of last season. With the Kings, Quincy put up 38 points in 72 games. Not bad for a rookie. Quincey should enjoy continued success with the Avalanche this season, especially playing with some of the veteran names listed above.

Craig Anderson will definitely be an upgrade in goal over Peter Budaj, who struggles heavily with consistency. A career backup goaltender, Anderson has proven himself worthy of a number one spot and Colorado gave him his chance. The defense in front of him will be better than he dealt with in Florida, where he spent the last three seasons, so expect Anderson to have a pretty decent year in Colorado.

The X-factor coming into this season may very well be Matt Duchene, the 3rd overall draft pick from this past summers NHL draft. At only 18 years of age, Duchene is fighting hard to make the roster and show what he’s capable of. While it might be advantageous to give him a year or two in the minors to improve his skill, Duchene had a great training camp and has played well in the preseason, too. Expect Duchene to stay with the club for the first few games of the regular season. If he shines, he’ll be up for good. If not, he’s a great asset only a few years away from the big time.

Colorado is used to success, but in the midst of the rebuilding process, success might still be a few years away. The foundation is there for this team to succeed, and once management adds a few more key pieces they could be set for deep runs into the post season. This season may not be their season, but they have a bright future that seems to be in good hands.

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