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New York Rangers trade Erik Christensen to Minnesota Wild

Feb 3

Posted by Chris in News | No Comments

The New York Rangers traded forward Erik Christensen and a conditional 7th round draft pick in 2013 to the Minnesota Wild for forward Casey Wellman, who will be immediately assigned to the minors.

The move was announced around noon by the Rangers via their official Facebook page.

Christensen, a depth forward, will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season barring a contract extension with the Minnesota Wild. He had five points in only 20 games with the Rangers this season.

This will be Christensen’s fifth team in his short NHL career, with previous stops in Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Anaheim and most recently with the Rangers. His most productive season came in 2006-07 when he split time between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Christensen posted 18 goals and added 15 assists for 33 points in 61 games with the Penguins that season. He contributed 11 goals and 16 assists for the Rangers last season in 63 games.

The move could be the first of many for both teams, as the Rangers are rumored to be looking to add offensive depth to their roster before the trade deadline. This could be tricky as the Rangers only have a little bit of wiggle room with roughly $1 million in available cap space. Christensen’s contract frees up another $925,000, and more moves could be on the way to help free up space.

While not a huge move, Chistensen gives Minnesota some depth and could be a signal that the Wild, who are currently clinging to the 8th and final playoff seed in the Western Conference, could be buyers at the trade deadline as they look to secure a playoff berth. There have been suggestions that the Wild could look to deal defenseman Marek Zidlicky before the trade deadline as well.

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NHL Photo of the Day

Jan 20

Posted by EB in Media, News, NHL Photo of the Day | No Comments

 

Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images

Toronto Maple Leaf’s Joffrey Lupul carries the puck last night against the Minnesota Wild. Toronto took down the Wild by a score of 4 – 1. Both teams have had unexpected success this year. The Wild jumped out in front early but has seen a slow and painful fall as of late, currently sitting in 9th place. Toronto has followed the same path, currently in 9th place in the Eastern Conference.

Lupul currently leads the Maple Leafs with 51 points, a combination of 20 goals and 31 assists. His career high is only 2 points away. Last night alone he had 3 assists. Rocking the Reebok swag and Easton stick, Lupul is going to break his career high point total and possibly help take the Maple Leafs to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Patrick Kane Shootout Goal vs. Minnesota

Dec 15

Posted by Matt in Media | 2 Comments

It’s still early in the season, but I think we may have found an early favorite for shootout goal of the year. Last night, Patrick Kane dazzled and amazed fans with his shootout goal against Niklas Backstrom of the Minnesota Wild. Kane’s game winner saw him put his lightning quick hands on display as he deked back and forth several times before finally baiting Backstrom completely out of position and slamming the puck home in a wide open net.

Back in September, Patrick Kane said he was ready to elevate his game to the next level. With shootout goals like this one, it looks like he is well on his way. Take a look at Patrick Kane’s shootout goal vs. Minnesota below and leave us a comment with your thoughts.

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Devin Setoguchi Placed on IR

Dec 8

Posted by EB in News | No Comments

The surprising Minnesota Wild has been dealt a blow as right winger Devin Setoguchi has been placed on the injured reserve.

The Wild has been a top story to follow this season as they are currently leading the Western Conference. With a record of 18-7-3 for a total of 39 points, it seems their playoff drought has finally come to an end. Minnesota’s last playoff appearance came during the 2007-2008 season where they lost in the first round to the Colorado Avalanche.

Setoguchi left in the first period of Tuesday’s game at San Jose with a lower-body injury. He is tied for a team leading 8 goals. Setoguchi has five helpers to put his point total to 13. Setoguchi has been averaging close to 17 minutes a game, a contributing part to the teams success. Still, Setoguchi has room for improvement with a team worst plus minus of negative 7.

The loss of Setoguchi will definitely hurt the Wild in their dominance of the West, but will they be able to hold onto their lead? Setoguchi’s injury is still unknown to be a lengthy or short one, but at the least, the winger will have to miss 7 days from being placed on injured reserve. The time off will see Setoguchi missing that of 3 more Wild games. The team plays the Los Angelese Kings tonight, the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday and the Winnipeg Jets next Tuesday. Tonight’s matchup will be a good test as the Wild will also be missing forward Cal Clutterbuck who is out with a thigh injury.

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51-Year-Old Dresses as Emergency Goalie for Wild

Nov 23

Posted by Eddie in News | No Comments

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From the department of “Things you’d have to see to believe”, the Minnesota Wild was without a backup goalie this afternoon prior to hosting the Nashville Predators. Starting backstop Niklas Backstrom had to miss tonight’s game for personal reasons. This meant Josh Harding would get the nod in goal while Matt Hackett boarded a flight to Minneapolis from the AHL affiliate in Houston.

The team wasn’t sure if he could make it to the game on time, so they quickly made a phone call to 51-year-old Paul Deutsch. You must wonder, “Where did they get a 51-year-old goalie from”? Well, Deutsch is a friend and former high school teammate of former assistant coach Mike Ramsey, and has been used in many practices when one of the top goalies gets an off day. He runs a screen printing and embroidery store in the area, and because the team wasn’t allowed to sign a goalie with professional experience they signed Deutsch to a Amateur Tryout contract today.

When you play senior men’s hockey and you show up to the rink, and there is no goalie….there is no game. So that’s how I started playing. – Paul Deutsch, who started playing goalie at age 37.

To make the story more strange, Deutsch was planning on being in attendance at Xcel Energy Center with his daughters hockey team. Now they were able to watch him face a few shots in warm-ups. Unlike with Cinderella, Midnight came before the puck dropped as he was scratched after warm-ups when Hackett arrived for bench duties.

Not often does a emergency backup goalie fields questions from the media, but Deutsch did. Check out the video from Fox Sports North below. Last year, Matt Caputo of the New York Times wrote a feature story on emergency backup goalies.

 

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Free Agency Recap: Independence Day

Jul 4

Posted by Eddie in News | 3 Comments

Sunday was a quiet day on the free agency front, the transactions of note was defenseman Derrick Meech going from Detroit to Winnipeg. Meech was a regular in the lineup during the franchises appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2008 and 2009, but has spent most of his time with the AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids since then. Another notable transaction was forward Niclas Bergfors switching conferences as he goes from Florida to Nashville.

The big bomb was dropped late Sunday night when San Jose traded star forward Dany Heatley to Minnesota for Martin Havlat. The trade was one of the biggest transactions of the early transfer period. The two were actually teammates with the Ottawa Senators the first seasons after the 2005 lockout. The trade will give Minnesota a franchise player, something they have not had since Marian Gaborik left in 2009. San Jose hopes to get someone with the playoff drive and experience that could help push them over the top as they have lost in the conference finals each of the last two seasons. Havlat has played in the postseasons twice since the lockout; in 2006 when Ottawa was upset in the second round by Buffalo and 2009 when Chicago lost in the conference finals to Detroit. Last season he played 78 games, scored 22 goals and recorded 40 assists. Heatley wasn’t as productive in 2010-11 as he was in 2009-10, but only two seasons in San Jose. Last season he scored 26 goals in 80 games but was largely absent during the postseason when he scored three goals in 18 games. During the 2010 playoffs he was even more absent when he lit the lamp 39 times in 82 games but scored twice in 14 playoff games.

Heatley also ranked first in the NHL in power-play goals (128) and game-winning goals (58), third in goals (325) and fifth in points (689) since he entered the League in 2001. Minnesota scored just 206 goals last season, the fifth-lowest total in the League.
Today on July 4, there were a few free agent transactions of note. Goalie Curtis McElinney signed with Phoenix. It will be his fourth-team in the span of his five seasons. The 6-foot-2, 197-pound goalie has made 67 NHL appearances in that time, posting a 18-26-4 record with a 3.13 goals against average (GAA) and a .898 save percentage. The free-agency pool for goalies is even smaller as several teams are looking for help in net.

In addition, Fan-attacking forward Rick Rypien is staying in Canada but is changing teams as he signed a deal with Winnipeg. He is 27 years old and played in 119 career games in the NHL with the Canucks from 2005 to 2011 where he has scored 16 points and 226 penalty minutes.

The Jets were pretty busy in the first few days of free agency, as they signed six players over the holiday weekend.

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NHL Stanley Cup Finals facts and other fun trivia

Jun 1

Posted by Chris in News, Soap Box | No Comments

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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Mikael Granlund Lacrosse-Style Goal at World Championships

May 13

Posted by Eddie in Media | No Comments

For those who haven’t been following, the IIHF World Championships have been played the last couple weeks in Slovakia. Games featuring the US and Canada have been seen on Versus along with solid studio commentary by Zach Parise of the New Jersey Devils (the guy might have a future in broadcasting someday). The United States got punked by Jaromir Jagr and the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals while the red Maple Leafs fell to the Russians in their quarterfinal matchup. On the other hand, this is a must-see goal by Mikael Grandlund of Finland in todays semifinals against Russia.

For those who are unfamiliar with Granlund, he is 19 years old and was a first round (ninth overall) pick of the Minnesota Wild. His regular season team is Helsingin IFK in Helsinki, Finland. They are known to produce many NHL players including Tim Thomas, Brian Rafalski, Olli Jokinen, Christian and Jarkko Ruutu. Last season, he scored 13 goals and had 27 assists in 43 games during the regular season. He was injured with a concussion for two months this season, missing the 2011 World Juniors and a chunk of the regular season. His stat line this season was eight goals and 28 assists in 39 games. They play 60 regular season games in the SM-Liiga. He is in his first international tournament with the Senior National Team in Finland, and he is tied for sixth in points with eight in the World Championships.

This goal doesn’t need much explaining, other than he scoops the puck and scores from behind the net. It was the first goal of the game early in the second period as the Fins went on to defeat the Russians 3-0. They will take on Sweden in Sundays Gold Medal game, as Sweden defeated the Czech Republic this afternoon.

This link of the video is not in English, but has many slow motion replays.

And if you want to hear the commentary in English, NHL.com posted the video below to their website.

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NHL playoffs already in sight at quarter-season mark

Nov 28

Posted by Chris in News | No Comments

By the end of November when the U.S. Thanksgiving arrives, most teams have had time to mesh, time to get back into the grind of the long NHL season and teams and players have had ample time to learn new systems of play. By the end of November, every team in the NHL has played at least 20 games – something that coaches and players alike will tell you is a good point of reference for how a team will do in the long run of the season. In fact, with only one quarter of the NHL season gone, statistics show that most playoff spots have already been decided and if your team is currently outside looking in, you might be in for a long summer next year.

According to an analysis done by the Toronto Star that utilized NHL statistics dating back to 1993, 77.5 percent of the teams that hold a playoff spot at the U.S. Thanksgiving end up making the playoffs at the end of the season. Only 22.5 percent of the teams outside looking in at Thanksgiving make it back into the playoff fold.

The news gets worse for fans of teams like the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers. The analysis also found that 84 percent of the teams that had 17 points or fewer at the Thanksgiving holiday failed to make the postseason. Meanwhile, 89 percent of the teams that had 28 or more points at the same point in time made the playoffs. This statistic bodes well for teams like Columbus, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Washington, Philadelphia and Detroit.

Former NHL player Brendan Shanahan, who currently serves as the vice-president of hockey and business development for the NHL, broke down the stats and commented on the bleak outlook for teams currently outside the playoff picture.

“If you go into a third period leading the game, more often than not, you win that game,” said Shanahan.

But if you don’t have the lead, “it doesn’t mean you’re out of it. All you’re thinking about is winning. You’re not thinking about statistics. You’ve got to focus on that 22.5 per cent, that it can be me.”

With over 50 games still remaining in the regular season, there is still a lot of wiggle room for bubble teams to move in and out of contention before playoffs begin. In fact, only four points currently separate the 12th place Minnesota Wild from the 4th place Columbus Blue Jackets in the Western Conference.

“The teams that have gotten off to a good start are rewarded in some sense, with improving their odds,” said Shanahan. “It doesn’t mean the door is closed, it doesn’t mean they can rest, and it doesn’t mean the teams behind them are out.”

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Tuesday’s Take: b. Lee

Nov 23

Posted by EB in Soap Box | No Comments

Here at HockeyWorldBlog.com, we strive to bring some information that we feel you the reader will find valuable. Be it Eddie’s knowledge of all things hockey, Matt’s sneak peek of upcoming gear and equipment, Chris’ well written articles that makes the rest of our writing look like a 6th grade book report, or perhaps even my ruffling of feathers of the likes of Minnesota Wild fans. More importantly, all four of us look to interact with you the reader.

We are in our second year now at HWB and we value our audience, especially those who like sharing their opinions. One of those commenter have gone a miss and we are beginning to become a little worried. The name is b. Lee.

b. Lee was one of our very first active readers and commenter. As another one of our VIP readers and commenter mentioned, Tony A, we miss b. Lee’s ability to take any situation and turn it into the, well… put b. Lee’s own spin on it.

In a heart felt plea, in the most manly way of course, if anyone knows the whereabouts of b. Lee, please let b. Lee know we miss him/her.

So, readers know that at HWB we value your reading and comments. Be it here or on our Facebook page. And if you go a stray, like b. Lee, we may even write an article about you as well.

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