Category — NHL

At its announcement press conference for the 2011 Winter Classic in Pittsburgh, the NHL declared the Penguins-Washington Capitals rivalry as the “fiercest” in the NHL.

I think this is preposterous. Let me know if you agree by answering the poll below. If your favorite rivalry isn’t listed, write it in the comments section.

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Turco

The Dallas Star made it official today when general manager Joe Nieuwendyk announced that the team and unrestricted free agent goaltender Marty Turco are going to go separate ways. (Read that sentence without getting the Journey song in your head while reading the rest of this entry.)

Anyway, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Turco would be on the open market when the Stars went out and acquired Kari Lehtonen. But now it’s official, and with Turco out there you have to figure there will be one less landing spot for Tim Thomas, if the Bruins decide to shop the ’09 Vezina winner this summer. [Read more →]

Found this in Chris Johnston’s Toronto season recap:

“He’s got to start working out and get himself in the best shape he’s ever been in his life, be totally committed to it,” said Wilson. “So that he doesn’t suffer some of these injuries … He’s got a summer where he can make himself stronger, get himself fitter, so when the season starts he’s in the best shape of his life and he can maximize his God-given abilities.” [Read more →]

Rask

Remember a year ago when a trio of Bruins left Las Vegas with major hardware?

Well, this season’s NHL Awards show will probably be lacking in Bruins presence, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some black-and-gold candidates that could factor in the voting. But the reign of Zdeno Chara at Norris Trophy winner, Tim Thomas as Vezina Trophy winner and Claude Julien as Jack Adams Trophy victor are obviously going to end after Boston’s disappointing season.

As always voting on all the awards is a difficult task. Below is a look at my ballot cast as a voting member of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. [Read more →]

Guerin

In the immediate aftermath of the Matt Cooke hit on Marc Savard, I was highly critical of the other players in the NHL, in particular Cooke’s teammates, who never seem to speak out about predatory hits unless it happens to them or someone on their teams.

Well, a couple veteran players have finally decided they’ve seen enough of their colleagues go down because of blatant attempts to injury by other players. In Edmonton, defenseman Sheldon Souray had some great points in a piece by Mark Spector at Sportsnet.ca. Cooke’s teammate Bill Guerin also spoke out to urge an all-out ban on hits to the head.

It’s about time some guys realized that the next time, they could be on the wrong end of a hit to the head and it’d be better to legislate those plays out first.

Campbell

Some might look at NHL discipline czar Colin Campbell’s inconsistent and incoherent decisions when it comes to suspensions and fines and think he’s mad as a hatter. But now we know for sure he’s more like another character from “Alice in Wonderland.”

By saying that there was no way to punish Pittsburgh forward Matt Cooke for his concussion-causing blow to Bruins center Marc Savard last Sunday, Campbell was in effect declaring: “Off with their heads!”

Now, physical resemblances between Campbell and The Red Queen (shown here as played by Helena Bonham Carter) aside, here’s what Campbell told TSN about his decision to let Cooke get away with the hit unscathed even though he suspended twice in the last year for similar hits.

The Red Queen

“I know Matt Cooke is a repeat offender, he’s been suspended twice in the last year,” Campbell said. “I can’t suspend Matt Cooke for being a repeat offender, I have to find a reason. Right now our rules say that shoulders to head are legal. Matt Cooke did not jump, and did not do anything that we found illegal in his actions even though again you don’t like what happened. [Read more →]

The NHL today released its complete schedule for the 2009 preseason. The Boston Bruins open their exhibition schedule Tuesday, Sept. 15 at the New York Rangers.

Here is the complete schedule: [Read more →]

A couple days ago, I asked you to vote for which regular season home Boston Bruins game — other than the 2010 Winter Classic — you were looking forward to the most. By an overwhelming amount, you picked the Nov. 5 date with Montreal, proving that old habits die hard.

To me, the Oct. 3 game against Carolina brings with it the most anticipation, and not just because of the anger that was stoked last spring with Scott Walker’s sucker-punch of Aaron Ward. That will definitely be the lead story in that contest, a plot that undoubtedly end with Bruins winger Shawn Thornton, who made some remarks about payback during the playoffs, taking on Walker (who will oblige because he, by all accounts, is a pretty honest player) much to the delight of the crowd. And then bygones will be bygones. [Read more →]

Versteeg

Former Boston Bruins draft pick Kris Versteeg, who was a restricted free agent, signed a three-year, $9 million deal with the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday. Some are figuring Versteeg is a solid comparable to Bruins restricted free agent winger Phil Kessel. So let’s take a look at the career numbers for both.

Kris Versteeg
Year   GP  G-A-Pts.   +/-
07-08 13   2-2-4          -1
08-09 78   22-31-53   +15

Phil Kessel
Year    GP  G-A-Pts.    +/-
06-07 70 11-18-29     -12
07-08  82 19-18=37   -6
08-09  70 36-24-60   +23 [Read more →]

It has been a lazy weekend for NHL GMs.

The Fourth of July weekend here in the U.S. brought very little hockey news here and in Canada.

Of the list of unrestricted free agents I posted Friday, only Ruslan Fedotenko put his name on a new contract (he decided to stay with Pittsburgh). So here’s a look at that list again, keeping in mind that the Boston Bruins still need to finish deals with restricted free agents Phil Kessel and Matt Hunwick. Hunwick could file for arbitration by 5 p.m. tonight. [Read more →]

Leopold

For those who missed it, Nik Antropov (Atlanta) and Jordan Leopold (Fla.) were among the unrestricted free agents to put their names on the bottom line yesterday.

So here’s an updated look at the list of available UFAs, with a * for players the Bruins might be interested in and a # for ones they would want if they cleared some cap space.

Remember the Bruins have about $4.5 million of cap space left and still have to come to terms with restricted free agents Phil Kessel and Matt Hunwick. [Read more →]

The line forms now for day-after signings.

The first day of free agency is behind us and most of the biggest names have gotten their deals done. But just like the day after Christmas, there are still toys to be had. Here is a look at some of the best names still remaining as far as unrestricted free agents. Players with a * are guys the Boston Bruins might be interested in as of now, whille guys with  # are ones that would be interesting if the Bruins cleared cap space via trade first.

Defensemen
Dmitri Kalinin
Jordan Leopold*
Francois Beauchemin#
Sergei Zubov
Denis Seidenberg*
Paul Mara
Derek Morris* [Read more →]

Just a quick note about the deal that Toronto and Atlanta swung today, with the major players being Pavel Kubina to Atlanta and Garnet Exelby going to the Maple Leafs. Also headed for Toronto is forward Colin Stuart, the brother of Boston Bruins defenseman Mark Stuart.

Colin has been back and forth between the AHL and the NHL the last two seasons. But if he sticks with Toronto, there’s a chance six battles of the brothers Stuart in the 2009-10 season. Those battles have been the only reason to watch many of the Bruins-Thrashers games the last two seasons. Mark Stuart, a defensive defenseman, even scored two goals in one game in one of the matchups against his brother’s club.

Cole

It looks like the Carolina Hurricanes, who ousted the Boston Bruins in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals in seven games, are going to look similar to their 2008-09 edition when they return for the upcoming campaign.

Today they re-signed veteran winger Erik Cole to a two-year deal worth a reported $5.8 million. The veteran had decided to test the waters as an unrestricted free agent but didn’t wait all that long after noon today to figure out what we all already — he belongs with the ‘Canes. Although he was a ghost in the playoffs, Cole’s only success has come with Carolina, more specifically with Eric Staal centering his line. Depending on what they do with fellow UFA Chad LaRose, the ‘Canes could be back with the same forward corps the next time they cross paths with the Bruins.

Here are a couple more of my quick-hit thoughts on the day so far: [Read more →]

Knuble

The Washington Capitals, who like the Boston Bruins fell in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs after an outstanding regular season, figure to be a threat in the East for years to come. Today they bolstered their front line by signing Mike Knuble away from Philadelphia to a two-year deal worth a reported $5.6 million.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Knuble, a former Bruins winger, could’ve fit the bill for the Bruins, who are always looking to get bigger up front. Boston’s hope is that Byron Bitz continues to develop into the type of player the soon-to-be-37 Knuble has been for a number of years.

So far Boston has been silent in the free-agent market.