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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Detroit Red Wings

Sep 29

Posted by Chris in Season Previews | 3 Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Brian Rafalski (retirement), Kris Draper (retired), Chris Osgood (retired), Ruslan Salei

Key Offseason Additions: Ian White, Mike Commodore

Last Season Ranking: 3rd in the West

Offense: Top line scoring isn’t a problem in Detroit with guys like Datsyuk and Zetterberg in the lineup. If both players stay healthy, they are both capable of producing at a point-per-game pace. Don’t worry about them. Instead, this is the year for guys like Filppula and Hudler to prove their worth.

Detroit fans have been waiting for a breakout season from Valtteri Filppula. He has the skill, he has the hockey sense, now he just needs to put it together into one cohesive season. At the very least, Filppula should be a 20-goal, 50 point player with the Wings. He has yet to top 40 points in a single season. This could be his year if he centers the second line with Henrik Zetterberg on the wing. Filppula so far has impressed in the preseason and needs to carry that confidence into the regular season.

Hudler had a disappointing season last year after returning from the KHL. Fans called for Hudler to be traded, and Hudler responded with intense offseason workouts with UFC trainers. The result? Well, Hudler is in a contract year and the Wings expect him to be back into the 20 goal, 50 point range again. Coach Mike Babcock has alternated Hudler on Datsyuk’s wing at times this preseason, which could spark his offensive production if it carries over into the regular season. If Hudler doesn’t produce, however, he will likely be on the trading block come March.

The Wings would love to see more consistency from Johan Franzen, who scored five goals in one game against the Ottawa Senators last season and then went scoreless for more than 20 games. But Franzen, along with Dan Cleary and Todd Bertuzzi, provide the Wings with solid depth scoring. Expect the Wings to be among the league leaders in goals scored per game again this season.

Defense: Hockeytown breathed a collective sigh of relief when Nick Lidstrom announced his return, especially after Brian Rafalski blindsided Wings fans by announcing his retirement. But this season may be the year of a different Nik as Niklas Kronwall looks to shoulder more responsibility.

Kronwall will get heavy minutes this season and will fill roles usually occupied by Lidstrom on the penalty kill. Coach Mike Babcock wants to use Lidstrom sparingly, leaving room for Kronwall to blossom into a top defender.

Newcomer Ian White has bounced around the league the past few years, but he may finally find a home with the Wings where he will be counted on to help replace some of the offense the team lost when Rafalski retired. White, a good puck-moving defenseman, will see power play time and will likely be paired with Lidstrom this year, putting the chances of having a career season offensively firmly within reach.

Mike Commodore will help add some toughness and grit to the blue line, something the Wings lacked previosuly, while Jakub Kindl will likely challenge Commodore for the 6th spot on the blue line. Kindl has shown promise in limited playing time in the past and needs to prove his merits as an NHL defenseman.

Goaltending: Playing with the Wings, a goalie doesn’t have to steal many games. But Jimmy Howard was a big reason why the Wings were able to force a Game 7 against the San Jose Sharks in the spring. Coming into his third full NHL season, Howard needs to show more of that poise consistently throughout the season. This isn’t a make-or-break year for Howard, but he’s shown how good he can be and now he needs to realize that potential all season long. Expect Howard to win 30+ games this season.

Behind Howard will be a familiar face in Ty Conklin, a former Wing returning to the squad after a stint with St. Louis. If nothing else, Conklin is solid and capable when he’s called upon and should be a great addition to the roster.

Playoff Prediction: Playoff bound. The Wings are contenders, and with $5 million in cap space they could be big trade-deadline buyers as well. The team looks solid now and they could look even better when the playoffs start in April.

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Free Agency Opening Day Recap

Jul 2

Posted by Eddie in News | 1 Comment

Yesterday was one of the first day of NHL free agency. Several teams made a splash, none bigger than the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers not only win the Jaromir Jagr sweepstakes, but they also acquired defenseman Andreas Lilja and forward Maxime Talbot. Because of those moves, they had to part ways with Ville Leino, Sean O’Donnell, and Daniel Carcillo. Goalie Brian Boucher was the odd-man out when the team signed Illya Bryzgalov last week. Boucher signed with Carolina. Kris Versteeg was also traded to Florida after a short 27-game stint in the black & orange.

Joel Ward made $1.5 million in Nashville in 2010-11. He will average double that amount in Washington over the next four years.

In addition to the Flyers, the Washington Capitals overhauled their roster today as they parted ways with forwards Andrew Joudrey, Marco Sturm, and Boyd Gordon and upgraded with Joel Ward and defenseman Roman Hamerlik. Ward previously played with Nashville where he scored 13 points in 12 playoff games in 2011. He scored big with a four-year, $12 million deal. Hamerlik had 31 assists on the blue line in Montreal last season, and landed a two-year, $7 million contract in the District.

Two teams also added multiple goalies, with those being Columbus (Mark Dekanich and Curtis Sanford) and Colorado (J.S. Giguere and Semyon Varlomov). Other notable backstops that changed teams include Mike Smith (Phoenix), Brian Elliott (St. Louis), Jose Theodore (Florida), Mathieu Garon (Tampa Bay), and Peter Budaj (Montreal).

Coming off the best season of his career, 27-year-old James Wisniewski returns to the Central division after spending last season with Montreal and the New York Islanders. He signed a six-year, $33 million contract with Columbus after the Blue Jackets traded for his rights (similiar to Chrisian Ehrhoff earlier this week) from the Canadiens. The Habs traded his negotiating rights for a seventh-round draft pick in 2012 on Wednesday, but with the condition that if Wisniewski signs with Columbus the compensation would increase to a fifth-round pick.

Of teams in the Central, the Blackhawks made the most moves, as they signed O’Donnell and Carcillo from the Flyers to one-season deals. They also signed veterans Andrew Brunette and Jamal Mayers to one-year contracts as well. Brunette came from Minnesota where he scores 18 goals and recorded 28 assists. The team also signed 32-year-old Brett McLean, who spent the last two seasons in the Swiss League.

Detroit only added one player in forward Mike Commodore from down Columbus. The bizarre angle of this story is that Commodore and Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock were previously together when Babcock coached Anaheim’s AHL affiliate and had Commodore as a player. Back in ’09, Commodore, 31, publicly accused Babcock of having being an obstacle in Commodore’s career. Commodore told the Detroit Free Press Friday he spoke with Detroit’s bench boss and the issue is now currently water under the bridge.

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Columbus Blue Jackets

Sep 27

Posted by Eddie in Season Previews | No Comments

Both Rick Nash (L) and Steve Mason will need to continue the career seasons each had in 2009 to keep Columbus a playoff contender.

Both Rick Nash (L) and Steve Mason need to continue career seasons each had in 2009 to keep Columbus a playoff contender.

Making progress is what the Blue Jackets did last season, and will be looking forward to do this season. It took them their 10th season in the NHL to make the playoffs. Their playoff run was short-lived as they took on the Detroit Red Wings and got swept in four games.

Columbus also made progress as it re-signed captain and superstar Rick Nash to an eight-year, 62.4 Million contract extension that will keep him in Ohio until 2017-18. It’s considered a major accomplishment as Nash had his pick in where he wanted to go.

Expectations are high from not only the fan base in central Ohio, but within the organization as well. They can only make more progress this season by not only making the playoffs, but winning a couple games and even winning a series.

The Blue Jackets do have the pieces to contend in the difficult Western Conference. The Blue Jackets also enter the season with their top-six forwards set in place. In addition to Nash, they have Kristian Huselius and Derick Brassard on the top line. It’s going to be interesting to see a healthy Brassard as he missed the last 50 games due to injury. The second line will feature R.J. Umberger, Antoine Vermette, and Jakub Voracek. A rookie last season, Voracek had a quiet but respectable season as he recorded 38 points. Look for top prospect Nikita Filatov and new addition Sami Pahlsson to make significant contributions to the third and fourth lines.

On defense, there may not be any big names you have heard before other than Mike Commodore, but management stayed the course during the trade deadline and the off-season. The unit is mostly a stay-at-home unit who isn’t overly aggressive on offense. They are missing a player who is multi-dimensional and with $7 Million of cap space left going into the season, they have the ability to make a move if they are in contention for the playoffs around the deadline. Having someone who can quarterback a power play is crucial for them as they were last in the NHL on the power play at 12.7 percent.

Columbus did find a gem in goal with Steve Mason. A player who didn’t play a full season because of injury, Mason was the reason the team made the playoffs. Winning the Calder Trophy as top rookie, Mason led the league in shutouts with 10 in only 61 games. It will be interesting to see how this season will be for him. Can he continue the hot streak or suffer the sophomore slump? To aid Mason, the team signed veteran Mathieu Garon as backup.

The outlook for Columbus is pretty good. The re-signing of Nash did create a buzz around the city and did sell a few more season tickets, but they need to continue to make progress to have Columbus become a free-agent destination. In the division, they will be more competitive. It won’t be the match ups against Detroit and Chicago that will determine its fate, but it will be how they play against Nashville and St. Louis as both teams got better in the off season while Columbus stayed the course. Will it pay off with a playoff appearance? Only time will tell.

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