Marc Staal happy about Rangers summer

From Steve Zipay of Newsday:

"I'm excited about the guys we got," he said. "Redden's an All-Star, a great player, he'll really be good. I know Naslund from watching him when I was growing up [in Thunder Bay, Ontario]. He's got experience, he's been on the power play." Asked about the critics who believe Naslund, at 35, is no longer the force he once was, Staal said, "Maybe a change of scenery will be good for him."

Staal also was pleased with the return of defenseman Michal Rozsival. "I got pretty comfortable playing with him last year," Staal said, noting that he had no preference for a pairing with either Redden or Rozsival. "It's not up to me, but I want to play as much as I can, so I can probably get the minutes with either of those guys."

Read the entire article here.

We should set up a back and forth between Larry Brooks and Marc Staal debating the merits of each NYR off-season move. You can't tell me that wouldn't be a hoot!

Sather no longer averse to no-trade/no-move clauses

From Larry Brooks of the NY Post:

Before last summer, Sather had a policy against no-trade or no-move clauses. Then he gave a full five-year no-move to Chris Drury, in addition to $7.05M per. Oh well. Live and learn.

Except this year, there are two more exceptions. Somehow, $8M over two years wasn't enough to get Markus Naslund to agree to come to New York, so what did Sather do? The GM gave Naslund, who will be 35 at the end of the month and is coming off two consecutive disappointing seasons in Vancouver, a full no-move clause.

Hello?

It also seems Wade Redden needed a sweetener to take his $39M, seven-year deal. So the GM gave the defenseman the annual right to give management a list of eight teams to which he cannot be traded, and it will just be unfortunate if Atlanta should want him in a deal for Ilya Kovalchuk, won't it?

Brutal.

Read more from Brooks here.

When in the heat of negotiations, it looks like Sather felt he needed to include these no-trade/no-move clauses to get certain deals done. They may comeback to cause trouble for Sather, or if the Rangers contend like he hopes, they may have no affect at all. Time will tell...

Looking at the 2008/09 Rangers

From Larry Brooks of the NY Post:

There will be a gust of fresh air next season but it's impossible to immediately judge what the wind blew in this week. Wade Redden had a bad year in a deteriorating environment in Ottawa and Markus Naslund had a disappointing season in Vancouver. The Rangers, who gave Redden a six-year deal at $6.5M per and Naslund a two-year deal at $4M per, are heavily invested in the theory that a change of scenery will revitalize careers that went stale.

And who knows about Nikolai Zherdev, about as unpredictable as they come? Will Zherdev shine in the spotlight or will he melt? Will New York ignite him or overwhelm him after knowing only Columbus? Will he be an all-for-one, one-for-all guy here, and if not, will the Rangers have the presence in the room to correct or cope with that?

Read more from Brooks here.

This is the beauty of sports. No one knows how these three players will respond to the pressures and change of environment that New York will present. Nonetheless, the Rangers management obviously felt that the team, as it was constructed last season, was not good enough to make it to the Finals.

Gillis wasn't comfortable courting Naslund

From Matthew Sekeras of the Globe & Mail:

They say friends know when to say "when," and besides being the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, Mike Gillis is also Markus Naslund's former agent and his friend.

That Naslund's 12-year relationship with the NHL team had to end this week was evident to all, a divorce where even the kids agree it's for the best. Gillis knew it, Naslund knew it, and the fans knew it. And so, the Canucks' captain, career leading scorer, and arguably the franchise's best player, leaves for the bright lights of Manhattan with an air of inevitability.

"I don't feel comfortable with it because I like Markus so much and I wish it was different," Gillis said yesterday. "It's unfortunate. Markus is a really good friend of mine."

Read the entire article here.

This had to be an awkward situation for both sides. However, it seems both sides were content with the outcome and will maintain a close friendship.

Rangers add Nalsund and Kalinin

FROM TSN:

Markus Naslund is off the available list for free agents, as the Swedish winger has signed a 2-year contract with the New York Rangers. New York has also inked defencemen Dmitri Kalinin to a one-year deal.

Here is the link to the story.

Naslund will be a nice addition playing alongside Scott Gomez. While he is not the player he once was, he is still capable of scoring 30+ goals while playing on a line with one of the top 5 set-up men in the entire league. This also likely means that Jagr is out of the running, but you never know.

Kalinin is a solid second or third pairing defenceman on the Rangers. He certainly will sufficiently replace Backman. He is a solid puck-mover, not overly physical but has good size.

Rangers pursuing Sundin and Naslund as package

From John Dellapina of the NY Daily News:

Three years after emerging from the lockout with a Czech-centric team, one league source who should know insists the Rangers are pursuing both Mats Sundin and Markus Naslund. Perhaps Glen Sather’s plan is to stock up on as many players as possible from the reigning World Cup or Olympic champions.

Read more about the Rangers here.

Naslund has slowed down the last few years, but playing with Sundin may make him do a 180. This would be quite the dynamic duo for the Rangers and probably wouldn't be as risky or expensive as some other moves the team could make.

Unselfishness Cost Dave Nonis His Job

Over the past couple days, many people have chimed in with their opinion on the Dave Nonis firing. While there is support both for and against the move, I am going to count myself in the "against the move" camp. To me, it is quite simple what cost Dave Nonis his job--he's not selfish.

Bear with me for a second here. Let's all think back to right before last season's trade deadline. Does anyone remember Don Waddell's pre-deadline moves? His trade of draft picks for soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Keith Tkachuk. Or, better yet, his trade of Braydon Coburn for Alexei Zhitnik. Both these moves were short-sighted, and lopsided in the other team's favor; however, Waddell's team made the playoffs last season. Forget the fact that they were swept easily by the Rangers, they made the playoffs! Isn't that terrific! A team made the playoffs and was out in four games.

You know, all I keep hearing about Dave Nonis was that he missed the playoffs in two of his three seasons as GM of the Canucks. But does anyone honestly think that if the Canucks snuck into the playoffs, that they could have beat the Red Wings or the Sharks? C'mon now. The team just was not good enough.

Now, I'm not here to absolve Nonis of all the blame. He did put this team together and the group completely lacked secondary scoring. That, rightfully, falls on his shoulders. But his solid defensive corps was injured all year, and if they had been healthy, they'd surely have made the playoffs. However, as we have pointed out, the team wasn't going to win this season regardless. Sometimes you just aren't good enough.

That brings us to this summer. If you look closely, you will notice that Nonis (try saying that fives times over) did not mortgage the team's future. In fact, he held onto all the team's top prospects. He did what was right for the organization, not himself. Surely, Nonis could have sold off his team's cheap assets to get into the playoffs. If that happened, Nonis would have been to the playoffs in two of the last three seasons. He probably would have saved his job just like Don Waddell did. But, unselfishly, he didn't. He put the organization and team first, and was building for the future. A future he hoped would include a Stanley Cup, not just some measly playoff birth.

The action by the Vancouver ownership was unfortunate. The team is heading into this summer having just less than ten million dollars to spend on offense, with Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison coming off the books. Moreover, Nonis was apparently close to securing much sought after Swede Fabian Brunnstrom's services. In short, the team was moving in the right direction, and had room to grow. Now, however, uncertainty is abound and no one, maybe not even ownership, knows what the vision of the organization is.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

News You Can Use Late in the Day

1. Taking Note tells us that the Regina Pats may be close to acquiring Swedish standout Robin Figren.
2. Scott Burnside of ESPN says that the USA Hockey Jr. Program needs an overhaul.
3. Steve Downie will not be suspended for his sucker punch on Jason Blake.
4. Bob Gainey says that he is satisfied with the Habs play thus far.
5. Teemu Selanne has resumed skating in the Anaheim area.
6. Islanders top pick and recent U. of Minnesota defector Kyle Okposo has been assigned to Bridgeport of the AHL.
7. Al Strachan notes that finding a top-calibre goalie is the key to success for most GM's. Wonderful news for all GM's, I wonder what Strachan thinks about acquiring good goal scorers and elite defensemen?
8. Spector with his predictions for 2008. Pretty standard stuff here, but can Markus Naslund still be considered a sought after UFA?
9. Eric Duhatschek tells us about the US Women's Under-18 team, which features some girls with famous last names.
10. The Canadian Junior team now has to adjust to life back in the CHL (and NCAA).
11. Kent Gilchrist tells us that Canadian Jr. A teams want to be compensated when their players are drafted by the NHL.
12. Patrice Bergeron is recovering, slowly but surely.
13. The Bluejackets have recalled Steve Mason on an emergency basis.
14. Chicago Steel forward Andy Miele has left the Steel for Miami-Ohio.
15. The NHL Notebook from faceoff.com.
16. Ed Willes gives us his Monday Morning Musings, with a scathing look at the aforementioned Markus Naslund.
17. Canada's Under-22 Women's team has captured the European Air Canada Cup.
18. Jason Kay says that Fenway should get the next outdoor NHL game.
19. The Penguins have recalled Ryan Lannon and Ryan Stone from Wilkes-Barre.If Sidney keeps up this modelling work, they may need to recall more guys.
20. The Hot or Not list from the CHL.
21. A round-up of Monday night's WHL action.
22. Ken Campbell thinks the Broad Street Bullies have officially returned.
23. A look at US Women's College Hockey.
24. The Power Rankings from Canadian Jr. A hockey.
25. A look at the goings on of CIS Hockey in Canada.

Nightly Recap - Leaf Nation Needs to Go Away

Montreal 4 - Toronto 3 (SO) - Toronto loses for the fourth consecutive game and are now at the bottom of the Eastern conference. Fans and media have been calling for the head of John Ferguson Jr. Why now? Could they not have seen this coming before the season? It was clear that his team was not going to make the playoffs? Illegal Curve's Richard Pollock predicted that it would be a difficult road to the playoffs in the preseason. Leaf fans have finally come to the realization that the product on the ice is awful and that something needs to be done. I am sick and tired of hearing about it every time the Leafs lose. TSN, I don't need to see seven hours of coverage on what should be done to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. Leaf Nation needs to go away.

Anyways, to the game. Jason Blake had two assists for the Leafs and Alex Kovalev had two goals for the Canadiens. Andrei Kostitsyn scored the shootout winner for the Habs. Super rookie Carey Price stopped 43 of 46 to improve his record to 6-2-1. I don't have any numbers on hand, but it seems to me more often than not a Leafs Habs game will go into a shootout.

Detroit 5 - Calgary 3 - Pavel Datsuyk scored two goals and added an assist for the Red Wings. Tomas Holmstrom scored his 13th of the year with a helper. Niklas Lidstrom posted two assists and Chris Osgood made 19 saves in the win. After allowing 3 goals on 15 shots, Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff was pulled in favor of Curtis McElhinney who stopped 18 of 20. Jarome Iginla's three assists was not enough for the Flames who have four wins and nine losses in the month of November.

Vancouver 4 - Anaheim 0 - In the much overhyped return of Todd Bertuzzi to GM Place the Ducks lay a goose egg. After an abysmal season last year, Markus Naslund is returning to form scoring his 11th goal of the year and adding an assist. Ryan Kessler, Henrik Sedin, Mattias Ohlund and Matt Cooke all had two points for the Canucks. Roberto Luongo stopped 26 for his second straight shutout.

Tomorrow's Games
7:00pm STL@BUF, PHI@CAR, DAL@NJ, OTT@NYI, FLA@WSH
8:00pm PHX@MIN
8:30pm TB@CHI
9:30pm EDM@COL
10:30pm LA@SJ

Nightly Recap

Montreal 4 - NY Islanders 1: Chris Higgins, a native of Long Island had a goal and an assist and Steve Begin had 2 goals. Cris Huet stopped 44 of 45 shots in the win. (Wow!)

Philadelphia 6 - Carolina 3: Danny Briere had three goals and one assist, and Mike Knuble had one goal and two assists. Marty Biron stopped 32 of 35 in the win. Matt Cullen had 3 points for the Hurricanes, who now have lost three of their past four.

Florida 5 - Columbus 2 - Rosti Olesz had two goals and an assist, Nathan Horton and Stephen Weiss each had two assists for the Panthers. Tomas Vokoun made 34 saves in the win. The Blue Jackets have now won one in their last eight games.

Atlanta 5 - Washington 1 - Ilya Kovalchuk continues to be a monster for the Thrashers, he put up two goals and two assists tonight, he has 11 points in his past four games. Rookie Tobias Endstrom had three assists and Marian Hossa had two. Washington has now lost five consecutive games.

Buffalo 4 - Ottawa 1 - Buffalo got three first period goals from Michael Ryan, Ales Kotalik and Derek Roy, and that was it . Roy and Thomas Vanek each had two points on the night for the Sabres. It was Ottawa's fourth loss on the season.

NY Rangers 2 - Tampa Bay 1 - Henrik Lundqvist was 16 seconds away from his fifth shutout but it was spoiled by Michel Ouellet. Vinny Lecavaliers eight game streak of multi point games was snapped tonight. Fedor Tyutin and Colton Orr scored for the Rangers.

New Jersey 2 - Pittsburgh 1 - Zach Parise scored two powerplay goals for the Devils, while Martin Brodeur earned his 501st career win . Pittsburgh has now lost six of their past seven. New Jersey leads the season series against Pittsburgh 3 - 1.

Detroit 3 - St Louis 0 - Chris Osgood made a whopping 12 saves to earn his 44th career shutout. Henrik Zetterberg scored his 15th of the year. The Blues snapped their 4 game win streak.

Vancouver 4 - Minnesota 2 - Markus Naslund was in top form tonight, netting a hat-trick. The Sedin Twins had two assists each. Marian Gaborik scored both goals for the Wild, fantasy owners rejoiced.

Dallas 2 - Anaheim 1 - Mike Smith stopped 17 of 18 for the Stars in the win. Mike Modano was honoured in pre-game ceremonies for passing Phil Housley for most points by a US born player. He responded by scoring his 513th career goal, also a record for American born players.

Phoenix 4 - Los Angeles 1 - Mike York scored two goals for the 'Yoters. Ilya Bryzgalov won his second game in a Phoenix uniform, defeating the Kings for the second time.

Tomorrow's Games (all times Eastern)
7:30pm PIT@OTT
8:00pm DET@NSH
9:00pm CHI@CGY, COL@EDM

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our American readers.

Unbalancing Act

When the lockout ended, the NHL implemented a new schedule format. The unbalanced schedule saw teams face division opponents eight times during the season, while facing only ten non-conference opponents. This upset the teams/fans that did not benefit from hosting stars like Crosby and Ovechkin.

Each year since, there has been growing support for changing the format to ensure that every team play against eachother at least once. It appears that the NHL has finally recognized the need to change the schedule as a new format was agreed on in principle at today's Board of Governors meetings in Chicago . The NHL Board of Governors need 2/3rds majority to adopt the new schedule format, but TSN reports that Gary Bettman was confident he would get those votes. (Bettman was also confident that Florida and Nashville were viable hockey markets, but I think he may be right this time). The voting will take place in November.

This move is long overdue. The new format will ensure that the league's stars, like Crosby, play in every arena at least once a season. As eight of the top ten scorers last year were from Eastern Conference teams, fans in Western Conference cities did not get the opportunity to see many of the elite players in the NHL.

In addition to schedule changes, headshots were also front and centre at today's meetings. Colin Campbell and the NHL announced that they will be monitoring headshots more closely this season. This can only be a good thing. Each year there are a number of hits to the head which are by definition "clean" hits, but, in my opinion, should have no place in the game. Last year, many players suffered severe head injuries as a result of direct hits to the head. To name a few; Pittsburgh's Colby Armstrong here and here and by Raffi Torres here. Players are getting carted off on stretchers with career threatening concussions. The NHL does not want retired players to end up like NFLers . It is inevitable that this year someone will get hit in the head by a "clean" check and suffer serious injuries. Unfortunately, it may take someone to die of head injuries for the NHL to finally take action on headshots. I hope for the safety of the players and the game that they start punishing players like Colby Armstrong for going for hits to the head.

In other news
In a contract year, the aging star Markus Naslund is looking to rebound. The Swedish winger posted an abysmal season last year recording 24 goals and 36 assists and looked lethargic at times. Hopefully he can rebound to his 48 goal season of 02-03. I mean, this guy was on the cover of NHL 2005 and has been on the decline since the lockout. The Canucks need him to return to form this year.

Dustin Penner is feeling the pressure in Edmonton. When you become overpaid in a desperate move by a desperate GM, he doesn't have much choice but to feel the pressure to perform at a high level. I'm curious what return Brian Burke will get out of all those picks in next years draft, if history repeats itself, it should be good a good move for Burke to have not re-signed Penner.

See you in the morning

-remis

Morning Musings: Evaluating the Canucks

(Note: The morning papers can be found at the bottom of this post below my evaluation of the Vancouver Canucks)

After pulling off one of the most lopsided trades of all-time in the summer of 2006, Dave Nonis saw his Vancouver Canucks bow out in the second round of the playoffs to the eventual Stanley Cup champions in Anaheim. While a second round exit can be seen as progress, Nonis had the job, this off-season, of trying to push his team to the next level. As Nonis knows, once your team takes a giant step forward in the standings, expectations only increase, especially in a hockey hotbed like Vancouver.

Here are six questions that people have about the Canucks heading into 2007/08?

Does the team have enough offense to contend for the Stanley Cup?
Not likely. Creating offense was the Canucks' biggest problem during the playoffs and all the team added up-front during the off-season was Ryan Shannon, Brad Isbister and Byron Ritchie. Needless to say, that is not a list of forwards that will suddenly instill fear into opponents. Some may cite the possible rebound seasons of Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund but, in reality, what reason do we have to believe that they will suddenly return to pre-lockout form? If anything, they are both a year older and their play should fall-off.

Was the addition of Aaron Miller significant?
It is hard to say the addition of a defenseman who is likely to play sixth defenseman minutes is significant, but playing in a Canadian city can do that. Jokes aside, Miller is an upgrade over Rory Fitzpatrick and the other end of the bench defensemen he will play in place of. The Canucks top four defense is very strong and Miller should be able to handle an increased workload if one of the defensemen were to go down to injury.

Can the Sedin twins each crack the 100 point plateau?
Anything is possible, and with their progression over the past couple of years the twins have begun to carry the Canucks' offense. Nonetheless, the 100 point plateau is generally reserved for the creme de la creme and the Sedins seem more likely to slot in around the 85-90 point range.

Was Kevin Bieksa's breakout season a fluke?
Coming into last season's training camp, Bieksa was just hoping to crack the Canucks' roster. It is fair to say he did far more than just that, as the Grimsby, Ontario native cracked the team's top-four defensive rotation and was a consistent workhorse all season long. Bieksa is no fluke, he proved his worth for a couple of seasons with the AHL's Manitoba Moose and used that experience in the minors to better himself in all areas of the game. The 26 year old rearguard was given a three-year contract extension this off-season that will take his tenure with the Canucks through at least 2011-2012. Expect another solid season from the gritty Bieksa.

Do questions 1-4 even matter if Roberto Luongo has a sub-par campaign?
In short, no. Roberto Luongo is the best goaltender in the NHL and, some believe (including this writer) that Luongo was the sole reason that the Canucks advanced to the second round of the playoffs and had a 100+ point year in the standings. It is a fairly simple equation in Vancouver, if Luongo plays up to his capabilities, the Canucks have a chance to make a Stanley Cup run; if he doesn't play up to his capabilities, the Canucks will be fighting for a playoff spot.

Can the Canucks win the Stanley Cup?
They weren't good enough to win it last year as they exhibited by just squeaking by an overrated Dallas squad and then getting dominated in round two by Anaheim. The Canucks have a very good one through six defense and the best goaltender in the world, but their offense leaves much to be desired. There is always a chance that Luongo becomes simply unbeatable and takes the team on a long playoff run; however, it says here that the world-class goaltender can only do so much and the team is most likely headed for another second round exit.

On to the morning papers:

• In an attempt to ratchet up training camp competition, Alain Vigneault said the only players with guaranteed roster spots in camp are Roberto Luongo and the Sedin twins; Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province has the story.
• The pressure is on Markus Naslund this season to help increase the Canucks' offensive output after a disappointing 2006/07.
• The last thing head coach Alain Vigneault wants his team to do is look ahead to the playoffs before even making it writes Bob Mackin of the Vancouver Sun.
• Alexander Ovechkin is awfully excited to get the season underway and says he's in the best shape of his young career.
• Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the story of Andy Murray's long and inspiring journey to become a head coach in the NHL.
• In one of the better reads this morning, Toronto Star columnist Damien Cox believes the NHL necessarily put the clamp down on Mark Bell.
• In light of the Mark Bell suspension, Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail has an interesting article this morning on athletes indiscretions and poor business for the NHL.
• Dave Shoalts of the Globe & Mail believes that Gary Bettman needs to be more consistent in levying his suspensions, therefore, forewarning other NHL'ers when their actions will be worthy of suspension.
• Aaron Ward is now fully integrated in the Boston community and is looking forward to getting the season underway writes Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe.
• Kevin Paul Dupont has the story of the Bruins' most recent acquisition Petteri Nokelainen (trying spelling that name correctly!) and the attributes that the organization feels he can bring to the table. That being said, there are few spots up-for-grabs at Bruins' training camp.
• There are some questions as to whether the winner of the Flames' second goaltending spot will actually start the season in Calgary or as the starter for team's AHL affiliate in Quad City.
• Mike Keenan has high expectactions for his veterans heading into camp writes Steve Macfarlane of the Calgary Sun.
• It looks like both Dustin Boyd and Cam Cunning have made a good first impression on head coach Mike Keenan writes Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald.
• Without the distractions that come with defending the Stanley Cup the Carolina Hurricanes are focused on bouncing back from a subpar 2006/07 season; Luke Decock of the News Observer has the details.
• The Dallas Morning News has an interview with Brenden Morrow conducted by the fans.
• The Red Wings plan to split up Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk this season writes George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press.
• Mike Illitch, owner of the Red Wings, is looking forward to getting back to a more balanced schedule after the 2007/08 season. (Writer's note: Thank goodness. This unbalanced schedule needs to go.)
• Noah Welch, the player that the Panthers acquired for Gary Roberts at last season's trade deadline, has signed a new two-year contract.
• Derek Armstrong of the Kings has always been a team player and he is proving that once again with his willingness to take a reduced role in 2007/08 with all the off-season acquisitions Dean Lombardi brought in.
• Michael Russo of Star-Tribune has questions and answers on the 2007/08 season for the Minnesota Wild.
• The Nashville Predators named Jason Arnott captain on Wednesday and Arnott couldn't have been happier writes John Glennon of the Tennessean. (Writer's note: Why did Steve Sullivan get passed over?)
• As Pat Hickey details in this morning's Montreal Gazette, if you are attempting to crack the Canadiens' roster, rest must not be part of your vocabulary.
• Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger previews the 2007/08 version of the New Jersey Devils.
• Tom Renney expects to contend for a championship this season, a far cry from his early days on Broadway; John Dellapina of the Daily News has the story.
• Chris Stevenson has the story of Martin Gerber's new black helmet (Writer's note: You know you are in Canada when...).
• The Senators want to guard against complacency and comeback hungrier this season writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen.
• Jim Gontonio details the story of Bill Thomas and his attempts to make the Coyotes in this morning's Arizona Republic. However, Thomas won't be without lots of competition from the 50 plus players the Coyotes have at camp.
• Flyers' coach John Stevens is keeping a close on the rookie battles at camp, and with few spots up for grabs, you better be on your game to make the Flyers.
• Even with increased expectations, Pens' coach Michel Therrien doesn't plan on changing his training camp routine writes Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• Apparently Ron Wilson is not a man without a plan, as the veteran coach has only three things that he wants to make a decision on in Sharks' camp.
• Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune answers five burning questions surrounding the Lightning heading into 2007/08.
• According to Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun, John Ferguson Jr. is unafraid of free agency.
• Do the Leafs lack hometown supporters? Matthew Chung of the Toronto Star provides us with the real answer.