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Fantasy Friday: Goalie Stats

Jan 6

Posted by Chris in Fantasy | No Comments

Today we are going to forgo The Hot List (although we still recommend looking into Daniel Alfredsson if you haven’t already) and will instead focus on more team-oriented stats and how they relate to goalies. Goalie stats are some of the hardest to predict in Fantasy Hockey. Now, the specifics may change from league to league, but overall goalies are usually rewarded for wins and punished for allowing goals. By looking at some of the overall team stats, managers may be able to better formulate a plan of attack and predict how their goalie may do on any given night.

Most leagues will punish goals allowed in some capacity. If you’re league does, then you may want to know which teams are more likely to score on any given night.

Eight teams in the league currently score, on average, three or more goals per game. If you’re goalie is facing one of those teams, you can pretty much expect at least three goals to slip through. Those eight teams are:

Boston (3.65)

Philadelphia (3.42)

Detroit (3.26)

Vancouver (3.24)

Chicago (3.20)

Toronto (3.15)

Pittsburgh (3.10)

Ottawa (3.0)

Leagues will also reward or punish goalies based on the number of shots faced. This may be a simple ‘shots faced’ stat, or represent itself in the form of save percentage or goals against average. These five teams lead the league in shots per game:

San Jose (34.8)

Pittsburgh (33.7)

Detroit (33.1)

Chicago (32.7)

Boston (32.5)

You’ll notice that three of the teams on the shots per game list are also on the goals scored per game list. Before starting your goalie against any of those teams, you may want to determine if you will gain more points by facing more shots or lose more points by letting in more goals.

One of the most popular goalie stats in Fantasy Hockey is wins. And, depending on how your league’s point system is set up, goalie wins can make or break your week in head-to-head matchups. So it’s important to know who your goalie is most likely to beat. These next five teams have the most losses in the NHL:

Columbus (24)

Anaheim (22)

Edmonton (21)

Carolina (21)

Calgary (19)

On the other side, these five teams lead the league in wins:

Boston (26)

NY Rangers (25)

Vancouver (25)

Detroit (25)

Chicago (24)

Taking all of these stats into consideration, the four teams that you will likely want to avoid playing your goalie against are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawk, Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings. Not only are they likely to beat you, but they are likely to score three or more goals on you as well.

All of these stats are available on NHL.com and can be useful tools when trying to decide whether to play your goalie against a given opponent. Goalie stats are some of the toughest to predict, but having knowledge of these stats can help you determine the best course of action when it comes to goalie plays.

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Ottawa Senators Playoff Caliber?

Dec 23

Posted by EB in News, Soap Box | No Comments

The unlikely Ottawa Senators are making a push for the playoffs after winning three straight games. Playing tonight against the struggling Carolina Hurricanes, the Senators have a chance to go into the holiday break with winning four in a row and in a playoff spot.

The Senators had an overhaul in the off-season by hiring new Head Coach Paul Maclean. Maclean came from a much talented Detroit Red Wings to a rather depth deprived, lacking intensity Ottawa Senators. His intentions were to bring a Detroit style of play with an increased grit and toughness. So far, the change seems to be helping.

Jumping out of the gate this season the Senators won one game our of their first six. Bouncing back, the team won six in a row to close out October. November turned into be a little of a struggle, only winning five games of the twelve which the losing ways carried into December. The team seems to be righting the ship though with a possibility of winning their fourth game in a row, and close out three remaining games in December with wins.

Like every team in the NHL, the team’s success is directly tied to the play of the veterans. Captain Daniel Alfredsson is currently on a roll with 7 points in his last three games. Assistant Captain Jason Spezza still continues to be the backbone of the team with 37 points in 35 games and leading all forwards on the Senators with an average of 19:47 minutes of ice time a game. Young, but now considered a veteran, defender Erik Karlsson has an impressive 33 points in 35 games and a plus minus of zero with his team leading 25 minutes and 22 seconds average per game. That ice time happens to be 11th most in the league.

The Senators are on a roll and hope to continue that into the holiday and into the new year. Whether or not they are capable of doing so is another thing. The team continues to have injury problems from star players like Alfredsson and Milan Michalek, as well as a shaky 3.32 goals against average netminder in Craig Anderson. Will the Senators make playoffs? Not quite sure. Is it possible? Considering the Eastern Conference is all out of sorts with the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning both out of a playoff spot currently, you never quite know what can happen.

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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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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Ottawa Senators

Sep 13

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

Offseason Losses: Ryan Shannon

Offseason Additions: Zenon Konopka, Nikita Filatov, Alex Auld

Last Season Ranking: 13th in the East

Erik Karlsson becomes a RFA after this season. Can Ottawa wrap him up long term if they miss the playoffs again?

 

Offense: The Ottawa Senators are one of those unique teams who missed the payoffs by quite a bit and have decided to make minimal changes to their roster. Wishful thinking perhaps?

The offense still rests on the shoulders of superstars Daniel Alfreddson and Jason Spezza. Alfredsson is coming off of a back injury that took him out for a quarter of last season. Still, he was capable of marking 31 points in 54 games; 14 goals and 17 assists. A healthy Alfredsson will booster the club with his typical 70 point range production. Spezza will be a player most appreciative of a healthy Alfredsson, that is if he is capable of staying healthy himself. Spezza suffered a right shoulder injury taking him out of 20 games last season. The injury did not seem to hinder him, once returning to the lineup, Spezza had a respectable 21 goals and 36 assists in 62 games played.

Still, with healthy superstars, the team lacks any depth to be competitive. Milan Michalek should wing the top line with both Alfredsson and Spezza, but after that, who are these guys?

Bobby Butler looks to complete a full season and has potential to be a good player. Mika Zibanejad might be a fun name to attempt to say, but he is a rookie drafted in the first round, 6th overall in the 2011 draft. Playing only 26 games in the Swedish league, his NHL caliber of play is still unproven. Oh yeah, he is only 18. Sticking with the young guys, the team has signed trouble maker Nikita Filatov from the Columbus Blue Jackets. I won’t lie, I thought Filatov was supposed to be the real deal, hence me drafting him later last year for my fantasy team. He turned out to be a young Sergei Fedorov without the talent.

Defense: Ottawa has a mediocre defensive squad to match the mediocre offense. Veteran Sergei Gonchar looks to prove his worth after only contributing 27 points. Comparing to the year previous, Gonchar helped the Pittsburgh Penguins with 11 goals and 39 assists for 50 points. To his defense, 20 of his 27 points with Ottawa last year did come on the power play, something he should meet and hopefully beat this year. Note to team, learn to dive like the Vancouver Canucks to gain more man advantage time.

The future of the organization rests with young and talented Erik Karlsson. Karlsson is only in his third year, with his first totaling 26 points, and his second, 45 points. Don’t expect him to jump to 60 points, but it is likely he will slightly increase his last year’s point total. Karlsson becomes a restricted free agent after this year, which the Seantors will of course do everything to keep him in Ottawa. Still, with Nick Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings possibly retiring after this year, expect the Wings to put in an offer if Ottawa cannot wrap him up.

Goaltending: Craig Anderson and Alex Auld are expected to split time until one proves to be the number one goalie. Both have potential of taking that spot, so expect a goalie war throughout the whole season. This, for Senators’ fans, is a positive.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Not playoff bound.

New Head Coach Paul MacLean, coming from the Detroit Red Wings, will have his work cut out with a depth deprived, young, unproven squad. For Senators fans, don’t expect too much this year.

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Red Wings Searching for Assistant Coaches

Jun 17

Posted by Eddie in Behind the Bench, News | No Comments

Paul MacLean (L) and Mike Babcock during their time with the Detroit Red Wings.

After losing in the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season, Detroit bench boss Mike Babcock knew changes had to be made. They struggled on defense as they ranked in the middle of the pack in many defensive categories during the regular season such as penalty kill (17th), shots allowed per game (16th) and winning percentage when leading after two periods (14th). There will be roster turnover just like any other team, but there were changes to be made on the bench as well. Assistant coach Brad McCrimmon was not retained after the season after his contract expired and both sides agreed to a split. He is now head coach of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Russian KHL after three seasons in Detroit.

The second coaching change came this week when former Red Wings defenseman Paul MacLean left to become the bench boss in Ottawa. Mike Babcock has a good record of former assistants doing well in recent years as Todd MacLellan had turned the San Jose franchise around into a near mirror-image of the Red Wings.

MacLean and Babcock have been together for eight seasons, dating back to Anaheim. His previous work with the Ducks is also where he was under current Senators GM (and former Red Wings coach) Bryan Murray. In his press conference where he was announced as head coach, he vowed to bring the leadership necessary for them to win. He wants to bring a hard-working, physical style of hockey to Canada’s capital.

“The way we play is probably going to be a little similar (to Detroit),” MacLean said. “You have to play 200 feet. The game is not played in 100-foot increments … you have to be able to skate the whole rink, so we’ll skate the whole rink and play good defense. But we’re going to come out and attack the net and make sure we’re putting pressure on the opposition and making sure they’d have to make good plays in order to have an opportunity to beat us.”

There are several names associated with the assistant coaching search in Detroit. A Monday report on MLive.com reported that the Red Wings could target two NHL coaches who were fired this past season: Todd Richards (Minnesota) and Peter DeBoer (Florida). DeBoer would be an interesting selection as he has previous coaching experience in the Detroit area as he coached the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League in the mid-1990′s.

Other names that were floated around were Gerard Gallant and Bob Boughner. Both were former Red Wings draft picks and have experience winning in the CHL as well as NHL coaching experience. Gallant led Saint John to the Memorial Cup this season and was named CHL Coach of the Year. He was previously a head coach in Columbus.

Boughner resigned recently after one season as an assistant in Columbus. Before that, he led the Windsor Spitfires to multiple Memorial Cup championships.

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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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Busy Friday highlighted by big trades

Feb 19

Posted by Chris in News, Rumors | 2 Comments

The Boston Bruins were big winners Friday night after making some roster overhauls and landing one of the biggest trade-deadline targets this season in defenseman Tomas Kaberle. The Bruins weren’t the only active team, however, as the Atlanta Thrashers, Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricane and Colorado Avalanche also made moves.

It was widely expected that Kaberle, who had a no-trade clause on his contract, would be moved by the Maple Leafs this season instead of risking losing Kaberle to free agency for nothing in return. The return ended up being pretty significant as the Leafs received prospect forward Joe Colborne in addition to the Bruins’ first-round draft pick at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and a conditional second round pick in 2012. But the Bruins were willing to take the hit in order to grab a puck-moving defenseman like Kaberle. The extra offensive push that Kaberle provides should help spark the Bruins’ offense, especially on the power play where Kaberle already has 22 assists.

In order to fit Kaberle under the salary cap, the Bruins made another move with the Atlanta Thrashers where they acquired forward Rich Peverley and defenseman Boris Valabik in exchange for forward Blake Wheeler and defenseman Mark Stuart. With 34 points in 59 games with the Thrashers, Peverley will help offset the loss of injured center Marc Savard in Boston and will give the Bruins another scoring center and good face-off guy.

The Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche clicked for a deal when they exchanged goalies yesterday afternoon. The Avalanche sent goaltender Craig Anderson to Ottawa in exchange for goaltender Brian Elliott. Both goalies are set to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season and this may be more of a money move than anything else. In fact, rumors surfaced immediately that the Senators may turn around and try to trade Anderson again as Ottawa is selling off most of their assets in an attempt to rebuild their program. But at 29-years-old, Anderson would be a solid goalie to try and rebuild your program with.

Colorado wasn’t done, however, as the team made another significant move early this morning by sending forward Chris Stewart, defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and a conditional 2011 or 2012 second-round draft pick to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for defenseman Erik Johnson (pictured), forward Jay McClement and a conditional 2011 or 2012 first-round draft pick.

With the moves that Colorado is making, it would appear as if the team is pulling themselves out of the playoff race for this season but gearing up for a strong run next year. Johnson will be a huge addition to the blue line for the Avs and still has another year on his contract before becoming a restricted free agent in 2012. When the rest of the team’s blue line gets healthy, the Avs could have a very deep, very solid defensive unit on the ice next season. Plus, the team could have anywhere between $10 and $16 million in available cap space heading into free agency this summer in order to bring in some quality scoring to help replace the loss of Stewart.

With nine days still remaining until the trade deadline, more big moves are still expected. Keep an eye on the Senators as more trades could still be coming. Will they decide to move players like Spezza and Alfredsson? And who can afford Spezza’s hefty cap hit? Brad Richards of Dallas keeps popping up in trade rumors as well. Many pundits think he will not re-sign in Dallas and the Stars, despite being in playoff contention, don’t want to lose Richards for nothing. But the real fun of trade deadline time are the unexpected moves, like the one that Colorado and St. Louis just completed. If nothing else, expect more of the unexpected in the days to come.

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Hockey World Blog Season Previews 2010: Ottawa Senators

Sep 13

Posted by Matt in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Anton Volchenkov, Matt Cullen

Key Offseason Additions: Sergei Gonchar

Last Season Ranking: 5th in East

Offense:

The Ottawa Senators return essentially the same guys up front which lead them to a postseason birth, as well as another early playoff exit, last year. The biggest loss up front for the Sens is Matt Cullen, a trade deadline pick up last season. He didn’t add a whole lot coming down the stretch, but was effective in the playoffs as he picked up 8 points in 6 games against the Penguins.

Jason Spezza and Daniel AlfredssonReturning scorers for the Senators include Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek, Alex Kovalev, and Mike Fisher. Alfredsson had another outstanding season last year, posting point per game numbers, while missing 12 regular season games. Jason Spezza saw time on the IR as well. If he can stay healthy the entire season, he could head back up near the 80-90 point range, and continue his domination as the Sens top center. Milan Michalek made an impact last season, his first in Ottawa, as a 20 goal scorer. However, he too spent a great deal of time injured. Playing alongside Alfredsson or Spezza, he shouldn’t have a big problem contributing offensively. Kovalev struggled to find his true scoring touch last season, but it remains to be seen if he’s on the decline, or can still make plays. As one of the most skilled puck handlers in the game, he should rebound and find his touch again this season, at least enough to score his 600th career assist (22 away) and 1000th career point (10 away).

Both Mike Fisher and Peter Regin had impressive seasons last year, and both will look to build on that success heavily. Regin, entering only his 2nd full season in the NHL, proved last season that he deserves a spot on one of the top two scoring lines. If any of the aforementioned players fall in to a drought, Regin could make his way up the depth chart quite quickly. He should see more time on the power play this season as well.

Providing some great scoring depth, as well as grit and toughness, are Chris Neil and Jarkko Ruutu. Neither player is going to light up the score sheet with points every game, but they definitely will in penalty minutes. Both players know how to agitate, and get under their opponents skin very well. They’ll be sure to drop the gloves for any reason, whether its protecting their own star players, or just to give the team an energy boost. Definitely great assets to an offensively skilled team.

Defense:

While the Senators lost star defenseman Anton Volchenkov to free agency, they picked up Sergei Gonchar to replace him. Gonchar is one of the games elite defenseman and will fit in great playing alongside Spezza and Alfredsson. His contribution on the top power play unit will be felt as well. Last season, he picked up 30 power play points with the Penguins, and should improve upon those numbers if he stays healthy this season. Complimenting Gonchar will be a core group of solid defenseman. Chris Phillips is a big body, a great shut down player and will be very responsible defensively. Filip Kiba is another big body to man the blue line, and will be effective on the power play as well. He has good vision and moves the puck well on the break out. Erik Karlsson should improve upon last years marks, and maybe make his way up the depth chart. He’s a young defenseman (20 years old) from Sweden, but had a great rookie season with the Sens as he posted 26 points in 60 games. At only 5’11”, he needs to pack on the muscle to be more effective defensively, but his contributions will surely be felt as a fast puck moving defenseman on the power play.

Goaltending:

Splitting time between the pipes this season will be Brian Elliot and Pascal Leclaire. Elliot ran the show for the majority of last season, but Leclaire saw his fair share of time as well, starting 31 games. It still doesn’t look like Ottawa has a true number one in yet, so the goalie battle may ensue again in 2010-11. We’ll see if this brings out the best in both goalies, or if the rotational system gets real old, real fast.

Season Outlook:

The Senators are a hungry team, and bring back a number of highly skilled players on offense. Players like Spezza, Michalek and Kovalev need to produce like they’re supposed to, and stay healthy, for the rest of the offense to kick in to high gear. The top power play unit could be one of the best in the league with Gonchar joining Spezza and Alfredsson. They will  be very dangerous. The question mark remains in goal, as it was for last season. If we see either Elliot or Leclaire develop in to a true number one goalie, things are looking good for the Senators. They should remain in about the same position as last year, as long as the team stays healthy. They simply can’t afford to lose a player like Spezza for any extended amount of time if they want to make a run. Come playoff time, the Senators could be kicking on all cylinders, and are definitely capable of surprising a few people.

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Bertuzzi playing hard ball with Wings; Cheechoo to be bought out?

Jun 10

Posted by Chris in Rumors | No Comments

It appears as if unrestricted free agent Todd Bertuzzi may opt to test the open market to see if any more lucrative offers come along than the two-year deal that the Red Wings offered that is most likely worth around the $1.5 million per season that Bertuzzi made this past year.

Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland appeared on the “NHL Live” radio program where he touched upon several topics including his ongoing negotiations with Bertuzzi and his agent Pat Morris.

“We have interest in him coming back,” Holland said of Bertuzzi. “I think he’s interested in coming back. But it’s a cap world. We only have so much to offer.”

Prior to this past season, Bertuzzi had spent time in a Wings uniform once before after he was acquired from Florida at the trade deadline in 2007. When the season ended, indications were that Bertuzzi was interested in staying and that the Wings were interested in keeping him. However, Bertuzzi left the organization during the free agency period to sign a two-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks for $8 million. Bertuzzi was later placed on waivers by the Ducks.

“We’ll continue to talk to him,” Holland said. “We’d like to have him back, but obviously, there’s gotta be a fit financially for the player and for us. Talks are ongoing. We’ll see where they go.”

In other news, reports are also circulating that the Ottawa Senators are looking to buy out the contract of forward Jonathan Cheechoo when the NHL buyout period begins next week. During that time, each team has a two week window in which they can buy out players for 2/3 of the value of their current salary to be paid over two-times the length of the agreed deal. Cheechoo is signed for $3.5 million for next season which would give the Senators a cap hit of $1,165,500 cap hit for the next 2 seasons.

Cheechoo came to Ottawa last summer as a part of the Dany Heatley trade that sent Heatley to San Jose in exchange for Cheechoo, forward Milan Michalek and a fifth round draft pick in the upcoming draft. The 29-year-old finished the season with five goals and nine assists for 14 points in 61 games with the Senators. Cheechoo also spent time with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, where he totalled another 14 points in 25 games.

Cheechoo’s best performance came in 2005-2006 when he tallied 56 goals and 93 points in 82 games for the San Jose Sharks alongside center Joe Thornton. Since that season, Cheechoo’s numbers have steadily declined.

No word yet on where Cheechoo could end up, although several teams could look to sign Cheechoo later this summer to add depth to their lineup for a low cost. One interesting scenario would be if the Pittsburgh Penguins took a chance and signed Cheechoo for cheap this summer. Pittsburgh has taken chances on wingers in the past who fell to the late stages of free agency, such as Miroslav Satan, to experiment and see if they thrive alongside Sidney Crosby, who the Penguins are constantly trying to match with a suitable winger. Cheechoo had his best season alongside center Joe Thornton in San Jose and could possibly rejuvenate his career alongside Sidney Crosby.

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Cullen to the Senators

Feb 12

Posted by EB in News | No Comments

Matt Cullen, a Stanley Cup winner, is moving to Ottawa in a recent trade.

Matt Cullen, a Stanley Cup winner, is moving to Ottawa in a recent trade.

One of the hottest team’s in the NHL as of late, the Ottawa Senators, have added center Matt Cullen form the Carolina Hurricanes. The trade also included defenseman Alexandre Picard and a second round draft pick to the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Senators are hot, red hot, taking down the Washington Capitals last night and posting a 9-1-0 record in their last 10 games. What started as a shaky season with the loss of Dany Heatley to the San Jose Sharks in the off season, injuries to star forwards Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, has turned into a winning machine who currently sits top of the Northeast division.

The addition of Cullen will make the Senators even more of a Cup contender. Cullen is a veteran at the age of 33 and has already won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes. Cullen currently has 40 points in 60 games played, 28 of those being assists. What will be most beneficial to the Senators will be Cullen’s ability to produce on the powerplay.

My Habs fan buddy will be unhappy, but I think I may have my playoff team to root for in the East this year. With this addition, expect the Ottawa freight train to keep on rolling over the competition. Also, expect Cullen’s stock to rise in fantasy leagues. If he is a free agent currently, you may want to think about picking him up.

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