Are old free agents worth the price?

From Dave Staples of the Edmonton Journal:

In the summer of '07, there was a group of old hockey players with great reputations that could be signed as free agents, exciting names that excited fans across the NHL: Michael Nylander, Jason Blake, Paul Kariya, Keith Tkachuk, Brendan Shanahan, Bill Guerin, Chris Drury, Brian Rafalski, Sheldon Souray, Ryan Smyth, Roman Hamrlik, Ray Whitney, Todd Bertuzzi.

But, after one season, how many of these players provided good value for the teams that signed them?

Read the entire post from Cult of Hockey here.

Staples makes a sound argument for being extremely cautious when throwing big money at aging free agents.

You have to admire Jason Blake

From Tim Wharnsby of the Globe & Mail:

For the first time, Blake discussed in depth what affect the news of being diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) a few days before the season opener had on him. CML is a rare form of leukemia, and Blake took – and continues to take – medication that effectively combated his condition, but caused him to lose 10 pounds in the first three weeks.

The weight loss was a huge factor in his play because he already is small at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds. He admitted he lost battles for the puck that he would normally win because he was too light on his feet.

Plus, there was the mental anguish of dealing with the stunning news of being diagnosed with CML.

“When I came to training camp I was so focused and excited, but then was kicked to the curb with some news,” Blake said. “It took me a while to figure it out, that things were going to be OK.”

Read the entire article here.

Reading articles like these helps put the game in the proper perspective for people who don't realize that in the end, hockey is just a game.

NHL Morning Papers (Sunday Edition)

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• The Thrashers are no longer a threat to make the playoffs, but that does not mean they took yesterday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Panthers very easily.
• The Bruins ended their losing streak with a win over the undisciplined Capitals on Saturday afternoon, writes Fluto Shinwaza. Shane Hnidy was the Bruins' difference-maker without even scoring a goal last night. Meanwhile, here is Kevin Paul Dupont's usual Sunday notes column.
• Buffalo was happy they were able to battle back and record an important point versus Carolina last night, unfortunately, their penalty troubles led to a 4-3 overtime loss. Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News opines that Gary Bettman's plan for parity is working perfectly.
• The Hurricanes finally capitalized on their eighth power play of the game to defeat the visiting Sabres in overtime. In other Canes news, it appears Frantisek Kaberle has returned to his old form.
• According to Larry Brooks of the NY Post, Glen Sather turned down an offer of Steve Bernier for Sean Avery at the trade deadline. John Dellapina of the NY Daily News has an interesting feature on Rangers goaltending coach Benoit Allaire.
• The Flyers rode four power play goals to a convincing 4-1 victory over the visiting Islanders, writes Joe Logan. Meantime, Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if the NHL's point system needs to be tweaked.
• Both the Crosby/Ovechkin and the Malkin/Ovechkin rivalries are renewed this afternoon, writes Shelly Anderson. Marian Hossa will not suit up this afternoon.
• The Leafs allowed a last minute goal to the Devils last night at the Air Canada Centre, and with that, probably kissed their slim playoff hopes goodbye. Damien Cox points out that the Leafs haven't had a shutdown defensive pair or checking line in a long time. Off the ice, Jason Blake feels lucky everyday.
• There are a couple of interesting story lines heading into today's Tampa/Columbus game.
• The Senators ended their West Coast road trip on a positive note last night, writes Bruce Garrioch. Erin Nicks wonders if Mike Fisher is a suitable second line center.
• After last night's loss to the Flyers, the Islanders are now seven points back of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
• Zach Parise almost single-handedly led the Devils to a 2-1 road victory over Toronto, writes Rich Chere.
• The Habs aren't even playing their best, but they are still winning, writes Pat Hickey. In roster news, it looks like unhappy forward Mikhail Grabovski will be returned to Hamilton of the AHL.
• The Panthers kept their slim playoff chances alive with a resilient come-from-behind victory over the Thrashers last night.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• With Corey Perry on the shelf for six weeks, the Ducks are hoping Bobby Ryan can help fill the void.
• Ken Hitchcock didn't care that his players had to trek through a lot of snow to get to practice on Saturday, as he sent the team home after an intense lecture. Here are the Jackets' probable lines for today's game versus Tampa.
• "We're kidding ourselves if we think we're going to play deep into the playoffs doing the things we're doing right now," said Stars captain Brenden Morrow after his team's 3-1 loss to Colorado on Saturday.
• Darren McCarty is in Detroit but the veteran is currently sidelined with a rib injury that is restricting his ability to practice. McCarty is not the only Red Wing who is going to miss Sunday's game, writes Helene St. James.
• The Habs played in Los Angeles for the first time in four years last night, and apparently it wasn't as much of a road game as many would think.
• The Wild play eight of their final thirteen games on home-ice, however, their play at home needs to improve if they are going to secure a playoff spot, writes Kent Youngblood.
• In Nashville, the Predators are concerned that David Legwand's foot may be broken.
• The Sharks are gunning for their ninth straight victory today at the Wild, writes David Pollak.
• Brad Boyes tallied twice last night, but he didn't get any help as his team lost 4-2 at Vancouver. The Blues have realized their chances of the playoffs are slim to none, so they have opted to start playing their youngsters in place of some veterans like Martin Rucinsky.
• Craig Conroy is done talking about the Flames' slow starts, writes Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald. Jarome Iglinla's next goal will set the franchise record for the Flames.
• Every game is huge for the Blackhawks, who are six points back of a playoff spot with only fourteen games remaining, writes Chris Kuc.
• The Avalanche made it six victories in a row last night, in their 3-1 come-from-behind victory over the Stars. On the injury front, Adam Foote is questionable for tonight's rematch versus Dallas.
• Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal has a nice story on the Oilers' rookie duo of Cogliano and Gagner.
• "We didn't do enough to win, simple as that," said Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky, after his team's 4-2 home loss to the Senators.
• Alex Burrows was huge for the Canucks yesterday, helping his team to a 4-2 victory over the visiting Blues and taking the team within two points of the division lead. Burrows' play was important, but Brad Isbister was the star last night, writes Elliot Pap.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

Morning Musings

Here are the morning papers:

• Due to injuries to Scott Walker and Eric Cole, the Hurricanes played last night's game versus Philadelphia with 10 forwards and 7 seven defensemen. Speaking of Cole, he missed last night's 3-2 overtime loss with a foot injury he sustained playing soccer before the game.
• The Thrashers can't seem to mount any kind of consistent offensive attack writes Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Custance also lists the possible candidates to take over behind the Atlanta bench in this morning's paper.
• The Ducks lost to the Stars 3-1 last night and the fact of the matter is they just flat-out can't score writes Dan Wood of the Orange County Register.
• As Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald tells us, the gritty Bruins outworked the Rangers in yesterday afternoon's 1-0 shootout victory. No surprise that Phil Kessel scored the winning goal in the shootout as he is the Bruins "closer" when it comes to those situations. In other Bruins' news, forward Chuck Kobasew is finally healthy and has been able to prove his worth so far this young season.
• Kevin Paul Dupont's usual Sunday article can be found here.
• The Sabres just didn't get the bounces last night in Montreal writes John Vogl of the Buffalo News.
• Last night's 4-1 victory over the Oilers was the most complete game that Calgary has played all season. Meanwhile, Flames' coach Mike Keenan wants Oilers' forward Raffi Torres suspended for his hit on the Flames' David Moss.
• Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune says that the Hawks gave viewers north of the border an idea of the progress the Blackhawks organization is demonstrating these days. (Writer's note: Or, viewers got a chance to watch a terribly played hockey game between a well below par Maple Leafs squad and a young Chicago team that had no business winning this game with all the weak goals they scored last night.) Jonathan Toews is surprising many, including himself, with his production thus far.
• Jordan Leopold talks about the old days in his home state of Minnesota with Terry Frei of the Denver Post. (Writer's note: On a more positive note, he didn't get hurt during the interview.)
• The Blue Jackets are improving at puck management says coach Ken Hitchcock and that is one of the main reasons they are keeping the puck out of their own net. Here are the Blue Jackets' probable lines for tonight's game.
• Even though the Ducks are struggling, the Stars view last night's victory as significant writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• The Red Wings defeated the Coyotes 5-2 last evening and their goaltender Dominik Hasek says they "dominated whole 60 minutes." In other Red Wings' news, the team is looking to sign forward Daniel Cleary to a contract extension.
• The Oilers' struggling powerplay was one of the many reasons they were defeated by the Flames 4-1 last night. Coach Craig MacTavish coached his 500th game last night and more importantly, he implied that Sam Gagner is staying with the club.
• Panthers' goaltender Tomas Vokoun says that the Senators outplayed the Panthers in every aspect of the game in last night's 4-1 loss. The Panthers somehow only won 22% of their draws on the night, which is one of the main reasons they got it handed to them.
• Roman Hamrlik stole the show last night for the Habs in their 4-2 victory over the Sabres.
• Earlier this season the Predators couldn't stop pucks from entering their net, now that they have clamped down on their goals against, they can't score writes John Glennon of the Tennessean.
• Former Devil Bill Guerin scored the overtime winner with seconds remaining on the clock as the Islander upended the Devils 4-3 on Saturday night. The Devils only played 40 minutes of hockey and that is not good enough in the NHL says Brent Sutter. Sutter did get a bit sentimental about his time with the Islanders and his return to Uniondale after the game.
• The Rangers lost to the Bruins in a shootout 1-0 on Saturday afternoon. With all their firepower, Larry Brooks of the NY Post wonders how the Rangers have been shutout in 15 of the 21 periods they have played this season.
• Here is Larry Brooks' Sunday morning Slap Shots piece.
• With a week off before their next game, the Islanders were happy to have been able to get the victory last night over the Devils after blowing their 2 goal lead in the third period.
• The Sens continue to play like well-oiled machine that they are as last night night they defeated the Panthers 4-1. Everyone loves Chris Kelly writes Eric Nicks of the Ottawa Sun.
• The Flyers defeated the Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime and continue to play like one of the elite teams in the league opines Joe Juliano in this morning's Philadelphia Inquirer.
• The Coyotes have lost three straight games and Shane Doan says he needs to be better if the team expects to breakout of its current slump. After the game, coach Wayne Gretzky made it clear that goaltending is not the problem in Phoenix so far this season.
• The first battle of the season between Ovechkin/Crosby goes to Crosby as the young superstar assisted on his team's game winning goal to lead the Penguins to a 2-1 victory.
• Jeremy Roenick ended last night's contest on the Sharks' first line and ended up scoring the game winner as the Sharks beat the Predators 3-0.
• The Blues were impressed with the play of their opponents in their 3-1 loss to the Wild last night. The Blues' Eric Brewer returned from injury last night to play against the Wild.
• Lightning coach John Tortorella is happy with his new line combinations writes Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune. The new lines worked well last night as the Bolts pasted the Thrashers 6-2 to remain unbeaten at home.
• After blowing another game last night, Leafs' coach Paul Maurice says the Leafs' problems are mental, not physical right now. (Writer's note: In today's day of trapping, clogging the neutral zone and dropping five guys below the red line, how does a team give up 5 goals in one period?????????? That's horrid.) As Jason Blake says about when the Leafs get the lead heading into the third, "(W)e sit back, don't play as hard and that's why you take penalties."
• Alexander Ovechkin understands that the Capitals have to generate more offense if they expect to end their four game losing skid writes Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Morning Musings

After an exciting Saturday night of hockey, which included an inordinate amount of high-scoring games, there is much to read about this Sunday morning.

Here are the morning papers:

• The Rangers allowed three goals in 52 seconds in the second period and were defeated by the defending Eastern Conference champion Senators 3-1. The Rangers don't face the Senators again until December and John Dellapina of the New York Daily News wonders if New York will be up to the challenge of competing with the Senators. Larry Brooks of the NY Post previews the new look NHLPA under soon-to-be-named leader Paul Kelly in his Sunday Slap Shots column.
• With last night's win over the Rangers, the Senators finished off a stretch of seven games in eleven days with a 6-1 record. Martin Gerber was terrific for the Sens last night, turning aside 35 of 36 shots.
• Even though Sidney Crosby was the star of the Leafs/Pens games with two goals, the most exciting moment of the night, without question, was seeing Jason Blake score his first goal of the campaign. Even though Crosby had "struggled" to start the season, it wasn't something he was overly worried about writes Rose Dimanno of the Toronto Star. Some good news for Leaf fans, second-line center Kyle Wellwood is approximately a week away from returning to the team's lineup after undergoing hernia surgery three weeks ago.
• As Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains, Sidney Crosby will score many goals before his career is over, but none may be easier than the winning goal he potted last night versus the Maple Leafs. Penguins' coach Michel Therrien believes Marc-Andre Fleury can play better than he has so far this season.
• The Canucks, unsurprisingly, were led to victory last night by Roberto Luongo and the Sedin twins writes Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province. Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun affirms the fact that Luongo was on top of his game in the team's 4-1 victory over the Oilers.
• So far this season, the Oilers have allowed the opponent to score the game's first goal in five of their six contests writes Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun. Youngster Robbie Schremp has improved his defensive game which is one of the reasons he is up with the big club attempting to carve out a consistent roster spot at the NHL level. Meanwhile, Jim Matheson has a great piece about the out-of-work John Muckler in this morning's Edmonton Journal.
• The Flames inserted Eric Goddard into the lineup for toughness, yet the hulking winger made the move pay off offensively as he scored the game's winning goal early in the third period. Martin Gelinas wanted to sign with the Flames this past summer but Darryl Sutter waited too long to make a move, prompting Gelinas to sign in Nashville; Steve Macfarlane of the Calgary Sun has the story.
• The Predators have been turning the puck over too much writes John Glennon of the Tennessean. Although Chris Mason hasn't exactly helped matters with his poor play in between the pipes these past three games.
• The Bruins demonstrated strong character in their last second 2-1 victory over the Sharks last night. Manny Fernandez is confused as to why he can't stop the puck these days writes Stephen Harris of the Boston Herald.
• It's not a Sunday without Kevin Paul Dupont's usual notes column which can be found here.
• Marc-Edouard Vlasic's clearing attempt hit a stanchion that separates the plexiglass and that indirectly led to the Bruins' game-winning goal with under fifteen seconds remaining in the game.
• The Sabres thoroughly dominated the visiting Capitals last night winning the game 7-3 at the HSBC Arena writes John Vogl of the Buffalo News.
• Capitals' coach Glen Hanlon was unhappy after the Capitals second straight loss and explained that this is "the third game in a row where we've been embarrassingly outshot."
• The Devils are relieved to have finally registered their first victory of the season, narrowly averting matching the 1983/84 Devils' team that had only one win in its first five games. Patrik Elias was the hero, scoring with under 30 seconds left in regulation time to give the Devils the 6-5 victory over Atlanta.
• As Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes, Bob Hartley is not worried about his job security, he is worried about his team.
• Olli Jokinen proved why he is captain of the Panthers on Saturday night leading the team to a 6-4 victory over the rival Lightning.
• The Lightning just can't seem to win in South Florida writes Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune. Injured Dan Boyle appreciates the different perspective a player can get while watching games from the press box.
• The Hurricans accomplished the impressive feat of going 3 for 3 on their Eastern Canadian road trip; Luke Decock of the News Observer has the story. Meanwhile, with the way the Canes have been playing, Decock wonders if the team's five day break in their schedule could come at a worse time.
• Aside from Cristobal Huet, the Habs didn't impress anyone in their home debut writes Red Fisher in this morning's Montreal Gazette. Kevin Mio of the Gazette provides readers with a Q & A with Habs' defenseman Mike Komisarek.
• The Wild were lucky to be facing a young Coyotes squad on Saturday night because they somehow squeaked out a late victory against Gretzky and Co.
• Only 12,000 fans were on hand to witness the Coyotes blow their third period lead to the undefeated Wild writes Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic. (Writer's note: But don't worry, the NHL doesn't have an attendance problem...)
• The Flyers defeated the Islanders 3-1 and proved to their home crowd that they can forget about 2006/07 because this is a whole new season.
• The Islanders got bad news yesterday when they learned that forward Jon Sim will undergo complete reconstruction of his knee and miss the entire 2007/08 season.
• Joe Sakic doesn't age, at least not to our knowledge, as the veteran scored a hat trick last night in leading the Avalanche to a convincing 5-1 victory over the Blue Jackets. In other Avs' news, Jordan Leopold has missed the team's past two games with a minor hip injury. (Writer's note: Jordan Leopold is missing time? I think it is at the point where he has become the Martin Havlat of defensemen).
• The Blue Jackets didn't match the Avs' sense of urgency writes Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch.
• The Blackhawks scored two powerplay goals in their 2-1 overtime victory over the Stars on Saturday night.
• Stars' rookie Tobias Stephan was starting his first ever NHL game and after facing an amazingly high total of 40 shots, it can only be described as baptism by fire.
• With all their defensive injuries, Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Dispatch wonders if St. Louis defensemen are cursed?
• After their debacle against the Bruins on Friday night, the Kings have been focusing on improving their penalty kill.
• Readers of the Detroit Free Press give their answers as to why there is a lack of buzz surrounding the Red Wings.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Morning Musings: NHL Schedule

After commending the NHL for not competing with the NFLover ratings on Sundays, I have to say that I don't understand what the league is doing with the rest of its opening week schedule. Last night, for example, the league only scheduled one game. One game! It was a Tuesday night, with the only prospective competition being MLB playoffs (Although baseball's first round ended Monday, the NHL television schedule is completed mid-summer). While I realize that MLB playoffs garner much attention, Tuesday is a day without NFL or college football. Additionally, the NBA has not even started its regular season action. For some reason, the NHL decides that one game on a Tuesday and twelve games on a Wednesday makes more sense than six games each night? If MLB playoffs were the reason for the light Tuesday night schedule, then how does one explain twelve games the next night, where MLB, in theory, could have been playing the latter games of a 1st round playoff matchup. If the league expects to succeed in the United States then it just cannot have one game on Versus on a Tuesday, between non-draws like Carolina and Toronto. It's as simple as that.

On to the morning papers:

• After losing to Washington over the weekend, the Hurricanes looked like an entirely different team Tuesday night handing the Leafs an embarrassing 7-1 defeat. Cam Ward exacted his revenge on the Leafs after they embarrassed him last season with 4 goals on 19 shots in late March.
• Damien Cox of the Toronto Star says the Leafs have already hit rock bottom and it's not even Halloween yet. Mats Sundin called the Leafs' effort "unacceptable." Coach Paul Maurice said all the Leafs were poor across the board.
• Jason Blake is going to fight his cancer head-on with determination he has demonstrated his entire life. Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun has a must-read article on the inspiration that Jason Blake will provide to many in his fight against cancer.
• Paul Ranger has become a horse on the Lightning blue line with the loss of Dan Boyle writes Erik Erlendsson in this morning's Tampa Tribune.
• A real sellout is expected for the Blues' home opener tonight; instead of last season's ticket giveaway, this year the tickets have actually been purchased. Paul Kariya faces off versus his former Predator teammates for the first time since signing with the Blues this off-season.
• As David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News explains, it appears that Sharks' coach Ron Wilson has reverted back to his old lines for tonight's game against the Blackhawks.
• Brooks Orpik has the tough task of shutting down Saku Koivu tonight as the Penguins take on the Habs. Even with lingering foot pain, Sidney Crosby is not going to pass up the chance to face the Canadiens who were his favorite team growing up.
• Keith Ballard is doing a great job of demonstrating why he is one of Wayne Gretzky's favorites in Phoenix. Coach Gretzky thinks newest Coyote Freddy Meyer fits into the team well because he adds speed and energy.
• After all their team building, the Flyers get a chance to get back on the ice tonight when they face off against the Canucks at GM Place.
• As Alan Panzeri tells us in this morning's Ottawa Citizen, Martin Gerber's new mask has arrived, freshly painted, however the Swiss netminder doesn't think he is going to put it to immediate use because of the team's success when he wears his plain black helmet. Gerber seems to have finally adjusted to the added pressure that goes along with playing in Canada writes Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Meanwhile, John Paddock has no immediate plans to break up the Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson line (a.k.a. the Pizza line).
• There is no guarantee that newest Isle Bryan Berard will be in the lineup versus the Rangers tonight writes Greg Logan of Newsday.
• John Dellapina of the NY Daily News provides readers with Rangers' coach Tom Renney's explanation about why he will most likely go with Jason Strudwick in the lineup tonight over Paul Mara. Larry Brooks of the NY Post is critical of Renney saying that he believes the coach is using Jason Strudwick as a crutch.
• Mark Everson of the NY Post admires Devils' coach Brent Sutter's movement away from matching lines but says that utilizing John Madden in a checking role right now may give the Devils their best chance to win because of the struggles of their other offensive forwards. The Devils spent much of their Tuesday practice focusing on defensive positioning writes Colin Stephenson of the Newark Star-Ledger.
• The Predators realize that facing the Blues no longer means an easy two points. Here are notes about both teams heading into tonight's game.
• Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette previews Carey Price's much awaited season debut in Pittsburgh tonight. Price admits he'll be a little nervous, but the cool netminder says "it's just another game."
• Pierre-Marc Bouchard is striving to be more consistent this season writes Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune.
• After scoring two easy tap ins on Saturday night, it comes as no surprise that Dustin Brown loves playing with Anze Kopitar.
• Richard Zednik is back from injury and should add some much needed speed to the Panthers top line.
• The Oilers aren't exactly excited to see Derek Boogard for the first time in 2007/08. The Oilers hope to improve on their recent record against the Wild writes Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun.
• The Red Wings are disappointed they will be playing in front of their third below capacity home-crowd tonight when they host the Flames. In other Wings' news, goaltender Dominik Hasek has a sore knee and may have to miss tonight's game.
• The Stars expect Mike Ribiero to make his season debut tonight against the Kings writes Mike Hieka of the Dallas Morning News.
• When Ken Hitchock arrived in Columbus he was not happy with the team's fitness scores and he takes pride in the team's improved fitness since his arrival. The Jackets expect to have Mike Peca in their lineup for the first time this season when they face-off against the Coyotes tonight.
• Milan Hedjuk has made a point of making Jaroslav Hlinka's transition to North America a lot easier.
• Jonathan Toews will make his NHL debut tonight in Chicago writes Chris Kuc of Chicago Tribune.
• The Flames are hoping to make up for their lackluster performance at the Joe Louis Arena in the 2006/07 playoffs tonight when they visit Detroit. Craig Conroy of the Flames calls tonight's game versus Detroit "huge."
• According to coach Bob Hartley, Thrashers' star forward Marian Hossa is "very doubtful" for tonight's game against the Sens after injuring his groin in practice on Monday. Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution opines that the Thrashers' slow start can be attributed to a lack of effort.
• The Ducks will finally raise the Stanley Cup banner tonight writes Dan Wood of the Orange County Register.
• According to Bruins' coach Claude Julien, forward Marc Savard "is probably out" for tonight's game against the Ducks.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.