Wojtek Wolski - The Forgotten Soph

The unabashed and highly deserved love-fest for all things Stastny has ramped up in Colorado, along with the buzz around the sudden re-emergence of a not-totally-putrid Jose Theodore, and the discussions of the flowing mullets of Smyth and Hannan. One thing many people have overlooked is the play of the OTHER super sophomore in Colorado’s lineup, Wojtek Wolski (pronounced VOY-teck WOHL-skee). He’s been overshadowed by the phenomenal play of Paul Stastny, but has quietly improved upon the pace (7G/8A/15P in 17 games) of his stellar numbers from last season (22G/28A/50P in 76 games). Opponents who overlook his contributions tend to do so at their own peril.

He started the season on the 3rd line with Marek Svatos, but has spent time with Brunette and Sakic on the 1st line, and lately Wolski has found a home on the 2nd line with Son of Stastny and the Duke (Milan Hejduk). Apparently, Paul has some kind of Eastern European fetish, which compared to taking pictures of your junk and then posting it on the intra-webs, isn’t that bad!

Wolski, the 21st pick in the absolutely LOADED 2004 Entry Draft, is a talented skater and has great hands. He’s defensive work seems to have improved this season, and he doesn’t look or play as small as he did in his short run in the 05-06 playoffs after jumping directly from his 128 point season in the OHL. He de-jocked Kipper in a shootout this year (see above) and has had an immediate impact on every line he’s played on this year. He currently leads the Avalanche and is tied for first in the league with three game-winning goals, is tied for the team lead with a +10 rating, ranks 3rd in both goals and points, and has points in nine of his last 10 games (5G/7A). He seems to be heating up just as the Avs enter an important (some would say “must-win”) road trip. The Avalanche faithful (including myself) are excited to see if Wolski can continue his development into a dangerous NHL sniper.

You're not quite there yet, Jose...

If you think it's weird that Colorado Avalanche goaltender Jose Theodore is letting in less than 3 goals per game in Colorado and stopping at least 9 shots out of 10, you're seriously not alone.

The former Hart and Vezina winner was dealt to the Avalanche 2 seasons ago by his hometown Montreal Canadiens, the same year he was made the richest goalie to ever tend goal by Canadiens GM Bob Gainey with a brand new 3-year/$17 million deal.

Theodore floundered in Montreal terribly, and posted mediocre numbers as the team continued its embarrassing downward slide in the standings.
With newly acquired goaltender Cristobal Huet pushing Theodore for playing time, the French media being all over him for his little Paris Hilton scandal, coach Claude Julien getting blamed for Theodore's paltry performance, costing him his job, and a newborn child on the way as well as problems related to his uncle's loansharking business, Jose Theodore was a troubled young man.
The icing on the cake came when Theodore broke his ankle by falling down the stairs in front of his home one morning in that January, putting him on the injured reserve for the rest of the season as well as sparking talk that his injury was purposely "done" for his terrible season to end, highlighted by a recent 8-2 home loss to the Carolina Hurricanes that proved to be his last in the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge uniform.

At that point, it was doubtful rumours persisting that Gainey would unload Theodore and his huge contract would happen, but big G surprised us all once again.
While Huet rode the Habs net and Gainey coached his team up the standings behind the bench, Jose Theodore was a lost memory, and was written off for good the eve of the 2006 trade deadline, as he was surprisingly sent to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for equally struggling goaltender David Aebischer in a move many so called "experts" called the second coming of Patrick Roy in the Rocky Mountain state.
Gainey had successfully gotten rid of $17 million.

While Theodore tended to his injury down in Denver, Cristobal Huet carried the Canadiens to the playoffs and put up a strong performance in a series the Canadiens should have won against the eventual Stanley Cup Champs Hurricanes and in a series that dramatically saw a team fall apart as its captain did after a highstick to the orbital bone in Game 3 by Justin Williams.
That was evidently the turning point of the matchup that saw Carolina climb back from a 2-0 deficit, to beat the Canadiens in 6.

A few weeks later, the Avalanche and Jose Theodore took the plane home after losing in the Western semi-final in spectacular fashion to the San Jose Sharks.

In the month that followed, Cristobal Huet striked a new deal with the Canadiens, inking a 2-year/$5.75 million deal.
Theodore likely caused, however, then Avs GM Pierre Lacroix to resign, after wrongfully acquiring Theodore in a trade that still glares to this day in the hearts and salary cap of the Colorado Avalanche and their fans as a lopsided one.

The next season, Huet posted respectable numbers en route to a first career all-star selection while Theodore was just as bad as he had been in Montreal in a backup role to Peter Budaj.
Theodore earned the nickname of Jose "Threeofour" and was known to let in an inordinate number of goals on low shot totals (ex: 4 goals on 26 shots, 3 goals on 24 shots).
With new GM Francois Giguere manning the deck for Colorado, fans were itching for management to buy out the Quebecois goalie for his immense $5.5 million salary to be tossed out the window and forgotten.
This obviously did not happen and it is much easier said than done, as for Theodore to pass up that kind of money (knowing he likely won't ever get anything remotely close to that again) would be ridiculous.

The 2007-2008 season is just a month old, and Theodore is doing a lot more than he did in previous seasons with Colorado, pushing Peter Budaj for playing time in the Avs' goaltending tandem.
I'm trying to say this is a nice comeback, feel good story, but sorry, it's not.
The 31-year old netminder is 4-2-1 with a low GAA of 2.30 and a .920 SPCT%, both very remarkable results.
He is looking like the old Jose the Habs wished they could've had for the $17 million they invested in him at the time (actually, no, Huet rocks...and for his salary, he's a steal) and his play is looking less and less shaky, and more and more productive and confident.

It's only 7 games, I know, but (and I'm trying REAL hard to say this with a straight face) he needs to prove he can be brilliant over the course of one whole season, as you could argue that his last "great" year came in 2003-2004, in the last year of the pre-lockout era.

Formerly dubbed "The Franchise" by the Hockey news for the Canadiens, Theodore isn't quite there yet, but it's "nice" to see he's finally earning a fraction of his paycheck, at least for Avs fans.

-BBeR

League Inconsistant with Flagrant Penalties

Lost in all the noise of the Avalanche bouncing back from a horrible loss to the Blues by beating Columbus 5-1, of Joe Sakic bagging a hat trick, of Peter Budaj and Pascal Leclaire putting on clinics at both ends of the ice, of Rick Nash displaying the skills of the rapidly disappearing power forward genre, was ANOTHER flagrant use of the stick. In the waning moments of the third period, with Colorado in control, the role-players and depth guys for the Avs were seeing increased ice-time, including some unlikely PP time for some. Columbus blueliner Duvie Westcott was dry-humping Avs forward Wyatt Smith to the left of Leclaire well behind the play when Scott "Captain Caveman" Parker skated over to do some policing as the refs were apparently enjoying the snuff film on ice. Before Parker has time to utter any catchy one-liners he gets cross-checked in the face by Westcott. Parker was bloodied by the cheap shot, but didn't go down. He then proceeded to have an Incredible Hulk-like rage-fest. Thankfully, all-around good guy and humanitarian Ian Laperriere stepped in to prevent Parker from ending Westcott.

Westcott got 2 plus 10, Parker got 2 for apparently bleeding too much. Now, I know that it was a preventive measure to keep things from getting out of hand, and I commend the refs. A few seconds later, Columbus "tough-guy" Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (6'-2", 211 lbs) decides that with Parker off the ice he has free reign to prove his manhood. He takes a run at, and then attempts to rough up, Jaroslav Hlinka (5'-10, 185 lbs). Hlinka has great hands, but I doubt they've ever been balled up in fists in his entire life. The play further enraged Parker who had to be restrained again by teammates to prevent him from leaving the box. Tollefsen and Parker both get the gate in order to avoid incident, and the game ends shortly thereafter.

Now, anybody reading the NHL propaganda would believe that they want to protect players and keep these kind of flagrant cross-checks and stick-work out of the game, right? I mean, didn't' they just hand down lengthy suspensions for Downie and Boulerice? Therefore, a lengthy suspension for Westcott would be forthcoming, right? Wrong. No discussion immediately after the game or in the ensuing three days has indicated any meaningful penalty for Westcott's dangerous act. Instead, he gets the proverbial wrist-slap of a $1000 US fine. That'll teach him!

I have several problems with this, and none of them stem from my unabashed man-love for the Avs.

• The league has effectively taken the stand that Parker is not as important as Dean McAmmond or Ryan Kessler, who also were victims of vicious cross-checks and dangerous blows to the head this season. As I've noted elsewhere, conspiracy theorists will point to this as another example of the NHL attempting to weed-out enforcers and tough-guys.

• Since the only difference between the Kessler, McAmmond, and Parker hits was that Parker didn't go down in a heap on the ice due to the hit, whether the league meant to or not, they are implying that suspensions will only be handed out if damage is done. This inadvertently encourages diving in my opinion. Following the old Gordan Bombay tactic of "Take the hit, act hurt, get indignant." Not a good direction for the league.

• The Avalanche broadcasters were reveling in the look of bat-crap crazy rage that Parker had following the incident. They were talking about Parker "taking notes" for the next game against Columbus. Having been on the receiving end of misplaced "revenge" just a few years ago with the Bertuzzi-Moore incident, I expected them to be better than that.

• Tollefsen is leading the running for "Wuss-of-the-Year" for backing down from a fight with Parker earlier in the period and then showing his manhood against Hlinka. Tollefsen if first-class all the way...

• I foresee lengthy suspensions for somebody following what will likely be ugly incidents that occur in the next Avs-BJ's tilt. Proper league action to address the first incident (the Westcott cross-check) would have prevented that, but the NHL has again missed the boat. This will INVARIABLY lead to more of the stellar, unbiased press coverage from the media that the league seems to not be able to keep away from.

• To the best of my knowledge, Westcott has not sent a thank-you note to Lappy thanking him for saving his life. You figure a nice Hallmark at the least since Duvie would have likely required a closed casket if Lappy hadn't stepped in. How rude...

All-in-all, the lack of any cohesive disciplinary action by the NHL has again shown the league office's inconsistent application of the rules of the league. Don't they understand that the ACTION should warrant punishment just as much as, if not more than, the result? That is the only way that stuff like this will be weeded out of the game.

Avalanche Blogger Roundtable

A varitable gaggle of Colorado Avalanche bloggers have gotten mildly organized this offseason in order to present you, the descerning hockey fans, all the unsanctioned Avalanche information you could possibly need leading up the the NHL 2007-2008 season. We've tabbed Joe at Mile High Hockey and DearLordStanley as the central hub for this little shindig, so please take a minute to peruse the question list and then click away to read all of our scribbles as we gear up for hockey season. BTW, this is BY FAR the longest Q/A of the group of questions. Be patient. We like to hear ourselves type...

Question #1. What scenario do you see playing out for the goaltending situation this season? Will Budaj be the man, will Theo rise to the occasion, or will a trade be made?

• Babe Oje - Budaj will be the starter and will be almost as good as he was at the end of last season, with streaks that are better. I see Jose being a solid backup, not making any big mistakes. This leaves open the possibility that a team could trade for him with his expiring contract for the playoff run. The Avs give up Jose and pay a portion of his contract, while getting back a top goalie prospect in return.
  
• Mike @ BBnR-- I see this playing out similar to last season, but at an acceleratedpace. Coach Q. has said as much in several interviews. Theo will be given the opportunities to show consistency early and often, but rather than wait until after the Christmas break to see how the cookie crumbles, I figure Jose has till mid-November before he's relegated to the pine and Budaj is bonified and shouldering the bulk of the load. Theo would have to show stability, aggressive play, an improvement on his rebound control, and most importantly, garner some support and confidence from his teammates before he's anything but the back-up for the majority of the season. I don't see it happening. I personally figure he'll ride out the season, collecting a paycheck as the backup, and start seriously re-thinking hockey during next summer. I wish he'd return to his MVP form, but he's had every opportunity and hasn't capitalized as yet.
  Budaj is young, but I think the club has more confidence in him than they do Theodore. I, like most die-hard Avs fans, expect him to continue his progresses this season. Hopefully, the improvement in the defensive core should help this. I hope he has an understanding with Coach Q. and management that they have to give Theo a chance to justify the money they are paying him, and it doesn't set his development back. This is a delicate situation. Unfortunately, Coach Q. doesn't' have the best reputation with developing or nurturing netminders. After Budaj, the cupboard gets pretty bare, pretty quick. Every other prospect is a couple of years away from the show and much as everyone is high in Weiman, when was the last time a talented goalie was discovered in the Central Hockey League? Should Budaj falter, and Theo not step up, one of the two of them is likely going to be going the other way in a deal that would bring in Bryzgalov or (shudder) Gerber around the trade deadline.


• Dario - In professional sports, following an icon at the most important position on the team is the proverbial kiss of death. John Elway syndrome has seen two Bronco quarterback victims since his retirement. To date, the Avalanche have yet to find the man in net that can play out of Patrick Roy's shadow. We've seen Aebischer, Sauve, Salo, and to this point Theodore, all pale in comparison. It was long thought that the heir apparent to Roy's legacy in Denver would be Phillipe Sauve, not David Aebischer. While Abby shined in the AHL and quickly won a backup job to Roy, Sauve stumbled and never lived up to his draft position hype (number 38 in 1998). Along came the first pick in 2001 (at number 63) in Peter Budaj. Despite his solid performances for the Hershey Bears, he split time with Sauve. At times Budaj was clearly the better of the goaltenders with the AHL Bears but Sauve still split duties. I'm sure to this day there could be arguments that the Avalanche put pressure on their Bear coaches to develop Sauve but of course that's all water under the bridge.
  So where am I going with all this? My point is that Budaj has played his entire professional career in the shadow of a player who's supposedly the better goaltender. He split time with Sauve and last year he split time with Theodore. To his credit this has never soured him. He is without a doubt the perfect goalie to be treated like a second class citizen because it seems to not affect the man one bit. This complicated formula makes him the perfect goaltender for coach Q, who would have otherwise ruined another goaltender at this point. Budaj has kept his career stats at very respectable numbers, never having slipped above 3 GAA or under .900 save %. He's displayed remarkable consistency behind a remarkably inconsistent defensive core and some streaks of horrible goal support.
  In the end, Budaj isn't anything like Roy. He's not controversial, he doesn't bark orders at his defensemen, he doesn't have a cocky bone in his body and he doesn't give fans any cohesive link to what they believe is a winning formula that they know from Roy. I think he's destined to be run out of town if he doesn't take the Avalanche deep in to the playoffs. As far as Theodore is concerned, he's got everything to prove. His reputation is built on the dead puck era in the Eastern Conference. It's built on the hopes that Roy can be recreated via the magic of trading with Montreal. It's built on the blind trust in a 29 year old man who claimed at the time he had been taking Propecia for EIGHT years! Maybe he's been concerned about his flowing locks since he was 21 and maybe we are supposed to believe that eliminating the testosterone from his system after eight years isn't going to affect him. Maybe we are all supposed to believe knee surgery on a goalie is just a "minor procedure". Or maybe, we can just admit that Jose Theodore is the backup, call Budaj the starter and even go so far as to bring up a different back up goalie if Jose can't perform in a backup role. Just hope to high heaven that Jose shows flashes of brilliance so after January 1st (when new contracts don't count against the existing years salary cap) the Avs can trade Jose to some sucker in the Eastern conference that's ready to make a playoff push.


• Justin - Peter Budaj is the clear-cut #1 goaltender for this team and will be all season long. This will hold true because he excels in areas that Jose Theodore really struggles. These non-physical attributes include mental strength, poise, determination and most importantly, work ethic.
  The main reason that Budaj raised his game last year from "unproven goalie" to "young superstar" is simply how hard he worked in practice, both on and off the ice. Sure, genes can take you really far in the game of hockey, but what separates an elite goaltender from an average one is what type of work ethic you display and how you react to situations that are beyond your control. Honestly, Budaj just wanted it more last year, and that's why he got it. Sure, Theodore was distracted by numerous off-ice controversies, but if you watched this team practice at all last year, it was very noticeable that Budaj wanted the starting job more than Theodore. He worked harder, he didn't give up on plays and he stayed on the ice later and worked harder in the weight room. I truly believe that Budaj displayed the character it takes to win a Stanley Cup. He also has the culpability to be a real team leader in the locker room. I do not believe that "playing in the shadows" of Patrick Roy or other goaltenders has had any type of effect on his game or how people view him as an Avalanche goaltender. Budaj is his own man. He plays in a different era - a different game - a different time.
  Mental strength is the biggest difference between Budaj's success and Theodore's lack of production and consistency. Already this season it will be Jose's major issue, due to the fact that he's missed all of training camp and has yet to strap on the pads this pre-season. Theodore's on-ice timing proves he will be relegated as Budaj's backup and will stay that way. Yes, there may be times when Theodore could have a string of good games (especially if they are against Vancouver, Edmonton and Phoenix in succession), but knee surgery is difficult to overcome, especially when you are forced to miss training camp. It doesn't matter how good you are - if you miss training camp - your timing becomes a huge issue. As a former ACHA goaltender, I can tell you that consistent practice and work with your goalie coach is the key to prolonged success at any level. Honestly, a few awesome games do not cut it at the professional level. You have to display consistency by preparing the same way, practicing at a high level all the time and mentally staying tough for an entire season. Budaj is solid with all of these mental components, Theodore is not. Budaj attacks his game by going after the problems and working hard in practice to correct them. Theodore expects the answers to come his way, to fall in his lap. It's noticeable when you see how they work at practice and how they play after letting in a bad goal or having a bad game. It's not the goal you just let in that matters, it's the next shot you face. It's not always how you play, but how you approach the game.
  Physically, Budaj has a definite advantage that will see him stay as the Avalanche's starter. He's stronger, more flexible and has a bigger, wider butterfly. His angles are better because he plays higher up in his crease and he doesn't let players push him around when the Avs are on the penalty kill. Not only does he play bigger in the net, but he has the flexibility to dominate games, no matter how good the team in front of him is playing. One giant statistic that helps prove this point is the number of times each goalie was scored on while short-handed. Theodore allowed almost two times as many goals against while the Avs were killing penalties compared to Budaj. Why? Because Theodore does not have the type of physical presence that Budaj has. He's easier to screen, he gives up more rebounds, he relies more on reactions than solid positioning. Sure, in the old NHL, that would hold up. Today? Not a chance.
  So to simplify my response, the age-old adage of "you play like you practice" really holds true for Avalanche goaltenders. All last season I watched this team practice and the amount of work that Budaj put into his game compared to Theodore was startling. Budaj wants it more. He deserves it.
  I also believe that Tyler Weiman's time has come. This guy was simply outstanding in training camp and honestly he outplayed Mike Wall AND Budaj. In response to what Mike said about Central Hockey League goaltenders making it to the NHL? Well, he didn't belong in the CHL. That league was not much of a challenge for him, thus his total dominance in the 2004-2005 season. Sure, he has to prove that he belongs in the NHL, but he certainly has the ability to be Budaj's backup. He is consistent, he is composed and he is solid. He's wise, makes good decisions, and has playoff experience. He knows how to help a team win a Championship.
  Depending on Theodore's bum knee, Weiman will certainly see some playing time this season. I honestly believe he will surprise many people around the NHL when he gets that first NHL regular season start. I'll always remember how he played against the Red Wings during last year's pre-season game.


• Joe @ MHH - I wish Jose Theodore would go away. Budaj is the man, whether it takes Coach Q five games or thirty to realize this. Theodore was an elite goalie (kind of) for one season, and his time has passed, no matter how many chances he is given or how many games the Avs have to lose because of it. Let Budaj go to work. He's already proven he can shoulder the burden of starting nearly every game. I know he's getting old, but I hope Coach Q's memory still includes the last 19 games (15-2-2 record) of last season.


• Draft Dodger - Budaj is certainly the man at the start of the season. That was going to happen even before Theodore had surgery, forcing him to miss camp. Theodore will get some chances though, and I think he's going to be a little more prepared to take advantage of those chances. Last season, Theo looked awful. His confidence was nonexistent. More importantly, he seemed unable to stay focused for a full sixty minutes and gave up far too many soft goals (hello, Martin LaPointe). He's had the entire offseason to get his head in the right place, and I think he will be substantially better. Theo is a free agent next summer, and, with a rebound this year, would be one of the few marquee goalies on the market. Whether it's intentional or not, players often seem to play better when they are playing for a contract. We've been fooled by Theodore in the past, but I, for one, think he's going to be much better this year.
  He still won't supplant Budaj, though. I'm a big fan of the way Budaj plays. He is incredibly steady. He won't make the acrobatic, highlight-reel save that often, but that's mostly because he always seems to be in the right position to make the easy save. I remember a point last season when we were playing the Flames. Calgary has this play with the man advantage where they overload the left side of the ice and then sneak someone (often Kristian Huselius) behind the defenseman on the right side to get wide open at the back door of the net. The Avalanche were getting burned repeatedly by this play. No one on the ice could see this play unfolding. No one, that is, but Budaj. While everyone else was watching Iginla with the puck, Budaj was getting positioned to move across the crease. He studies the game, and it shows.
  Perhaps I'm chasing a fool's dream, but I think Theodore is going to rebound and Budaj will continue to improve, making this tandem an area of strength for the team this year, not a question mark. Really.


• Tapeleg - Well, it would take an act of sheer insanity on the behalf of Coach Q. to not start strong with Peter Budaj. For one thing, barring a total meltdown, he is the future of the franchise in goal, at least for a little while. In fact, he is the best of all scenarios right now. He is inexpensive, has proven himself as having ability, and is trade bait if absolutely necessary. His performance last season has earned him a shot, and it's his to lose. His performance the previous season, backing up David Aebischer, will be the only question mark looming.
  As for Theo, a six million dollar salary is hard to ignore in all regards. It makes him difficult to ignore (if you are paying him that much, you might as well use him), hard to trade, and difficult to manage. I believe he will ride out the season with the Avalanche, unless one of the goalies in the system (Weiman or Wall) really step up to the plate and deliver some serious goods. If Theo stumbles as bad as everyone thinks he will, he may be a healthy scratch for a few games. But I don't see him going anywhere. Not unless he goes to Chicago. Those guys will take anyone.
  Then again, he may surprise us all.


• Post Pessimist - Status quo -- the job is Budaj's to lose, and noone's gonna trade for Theo, so when 2007-08 comes to an end I think we'll still be seeing Budaj starting with Theodore in the Ron Tugnutt position. The most I'm hoping for out of Jose is that he gets a few hot streaks this year, in order to win a few games and push Budaj, but I'm not seeing a return to form for him even in my most optimistic scenarios.


• Shane - Budaj will be the #1 out of the gate, especially as Theodore is coming off of a knee scope. Quenneville is on record as saying the #1 is up for grabs but who is he kidding. Obviously if a starter struggles and the backup outplays him, you put in the backup but I don't see that happening this year.
  If Theodore gets back into form, gets his mind back in the game and truly wants it again then we could see a 1a/1b situation where they split the games close to 50/50. It sounds like Theodore wants it this year. But it sounded like that last year as well so I'm not too optimistic about this scenario playing out.
  If Budaj is the man and never lets go all season, it will be all the better and will save my sanity while reading the official site's message board. I hope.
  It would be great to see Weiman get some action in a regular season game but unless Theodore has a setback, he'll likely spend the season with the Monsters.
  I won't delve into Budaj playing in Roy's shadow as it appears it doesn't bother him and the other bloggers have done a great job on that point already.


• Jibblescribbits - While I have spent time discussing a trade for Bryzgalov, IF Budaj fails; the fact of the matter is I don't see Budaj failing this season. He's a good goalie, and he played well last season, especially towards the end. I expect him to play well and consistent throughout the season. The reason I personally spend so much time worrying about Budaj is because a) the NHL is strung with good young goalies who play phenomenally for a few months and flame out (and our backup is a great example, Cam Ward, and more than you can count). b) Our safety plan is non-existent. If Budaj does fail it's scary.
  Budaj will play well, but Theo will get ice time for two reasons. The first being that Budaj is young and shouldn't be expected to handle the workload that a Brodeur or Luongo faces. So it's a necessity to play Theo even if it's less than ideal. The second is that Avs management is going to try and squeeze the most value out of Theo they can get. The Avs are going to play him and hope he looks like a serviceable goalie, hoping to sucker someone into giving them something, anything, for him. They hope a team like Tampa or Atlanta will have a playoff push coming up and think "he's looked decent this season, maybe he can stop the bleeding in back until we get to the playoffs". Desperate teams do desperate measures, which is how we ended up with Theo in the first place.


• Jori - This summer I was visited by extended family in Quebec. One of my uncles used to be a hockey coach and it just so happens that Jose Theodore was briefly under his tutelage as a young player. He believes that Theodore's problems are mental and in terms of pure talent, he's one of the league's best. Despite my uncle's opinion, I have zero faith in Jose Theodore. I never liked his acquisition in the first place and his salary has caused the team to sacrifice in other areas. Theodore has a lot to prove. He knows he'll have to turn things around to ensure another fat contract. Even if Theodore finds a modicum of success, I hope the Avalanche walk away next summer; just wash their hands of Theodore entirely.
  I like Peter Budaj and he should start the bulk of games for the Avalanche this season. Yet, I have doubts as to whether he is ready to carry a full load. Budaj is still young and will be prone to inconsistencies. The biggest obstacle may be the coach, who has a quick trigger finger when it comes to pulling goaltenders. We all remember the Aebischer/Budaj/Kolesnik fiasco from two seasons ago. Sure, you can say that Quenneville has never had a legitimate number one goaltender to work with, but the way he handles goaltenders as a whole instills little confidence.
  Ultimately, I think Budaj will do fine for the Avs this year. Theodore is the x-factor. Yet, I get the feeling Colorado will be looking at other goaltending options in 08-09 and thankfully the team will have some cap room in which to maneuver.

Avalanche Roundtable

Coming at the beginning of October, myself and several of the respected Avs bloggers on the intrawebs are participating in a roundtable discussion to kick off the 2007-2008 NHL season. Some of the bloggers will be familiar to Avs readers, some (like myself) maybe not as much. We hope to tie the great Avalanche online community a little closer together and have some fun while we’re at it. We’ve got plenty to talk about including the goaltending situation, new faces (both rookies and impact free agents), fearless prognostication for the new season, and unabashed Joe Sakic worshipping. Hopefully, the Avalanche faithful will find the discussion lively, entertaining, and informative. We hope to help generate a buzz for our beloved Avs as they enter the new season with the eyes on the ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup. See you in October.

Caught in His Own Duck Trap, Will Burke Lowe-r “The Finger”?

They say “it’s lonely at the top”. This certainly appears to be the case for general manager, Brian Burke, of the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks, who appears to have gotten tangled up in a Duck trap of his own making. Not knowing the status of returning/retiring stars Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer, combined with tight salary cap numbers, the Ducks inadvertently left duckling, Dustin Penner, ripe for poachers. Enter Edmonton general manager, Kevin Lowe, whose final bazooka shot in this year’s RFA hunting season, is a bulls-eye aimed right at the beak of Penner.

Burke has publicly ripped into Lowe for what he calls “an act of desperation by a general manager who is fighting to keep his job". Burke’s beef seems to be more about the amount of the Oilers offer sheet to Penner (reportedly 5 years for $21.25 million), as opposed to the act of trying to snatch the young Duck from his Anaheim nest. Burke complained that “this is the second time this year in my opinion Edmonton have offered a grossly inflated salary for a player, and it impacts on all 30 teams”.

It’s amazing to me how times have changed, when in the past, it was always the big market teams – led by the fiscally irresponsible Rangers – who were accused by small market teams, like Edmonton, of inflating player salaries by overpaying for talent. Now, the new salary cap system creates the opportunity for a small market team - whose obscure northern location is as inviting to free agents as a bad case of Pneumonic Plague - to turn the system upside-down (or at least sideways) and grossly overpay for a player who has scored all of 45 points in his fledgling 82 game regular season career.

Regardless of which frozen pond (Edmonton’s or Anaheim’s) Penner ends up skating on for the next 5 years, there are two certainties: 1) he will be earning an average of over $4 million per year, and 2) his contract, inked in unchartered waters, will have a rippling effect on future RFA contract negotiations between NHL teams and their young, potential stars.

Burke isn’t tipping his hand on which way is leaning on this issue – other than to indicate that he must confer with ownership before making the call. No matter the outcome, this should certainly be an amusing week for all of us as the Thursday deadline approaches for the Ducks final decision. Something tells me that, regardless of when Burke and the Ducks make up their minds, this one is going to go down to the final minutes - partially because this ordeal has gotten so personal between Burke and Lowe that Burke has even ripped Lowe for the timing of his attempted heist. Burke said "I thought Kevin would have called me and told me it was coming. I thought that was gutless…I think it's a classless move timing-wise”.

Brian, maybe it’s just me, but I never knew that there was a polite way to forcefully clip a Duck’s feathers. But it’s another thought that I have that really has me eagerly anticipating the Thursday Duck-Oiler shootout. Given the bad blood that has developed between Burke and Lowe, I keeping wondering whether the “Dustin Duel” will end up like the infamous “Sakic Skirmish” of 1997, when Rangers general manager, Neil Smith, unsuccessfully attempted to pillage the cash-strapped Avalanche with a front-loaded RFA offer to Joe Sakic.

That week-long event climaxed with Colorado general manager, Pierre Lacroix, sending a last minute fax to the Rangers (just to stick it to Smith), indicating that they had matched the offer sheet to Sakic. As an appreciative gesture to Smith and the Rangers for further f__king up their financial affairs, Lacroix’s fax included the legendary 1976 picture of vice-president, Nelson Rockefeller, “Giving the Finger” to a group of political hecklers in New York.

As D-Day approaches, we can only wonder whether Burke will handle his hardship with humility and class, or whether he will strike Kevin with a Lowe blow. Let’s all keep “The Fingers” crossed.

Courtesy of The Hockey Humorist - http://hockeyhumorist.blogspot.com/

All Reader Feedback is Appreciated!

Why the Avs?

It's the slow news time of the NHL season, and since I just recently joined the BBeR family, I figured I'd post a little (Ok, more than a little) something about myself and my trek to becoming a hockey, NHL, and especially, Colorado Avalanche fan.

So how did it happen?

I don't know really. I wasn't exposed to hockey all that much during my formative years, but I definately remember one of the first hockey cards I ever saw being Joe Sakic in the blue Nords jersey. I remember wondering what those weird symbols were, you know the ones that looked like the ones on the Saints helmets. So I looked them up (in an antiquated tome of knowledge known as 'Encyclopedia Britanica) and learned a little about french-speaking parts of Canada, a little about hockey, and a little about the NHL.

Years passed, and growing up in Wyoming, the only pro team that was considered local was the Denver Broncos. They had a stud quarterback in Elway, were always decent, but always losing in the end. Still, there were some great seasons in there. I naively pledged to support all Colorado teams at this point in my life. In the interum, I still followed hockey, and the NHL and kinda kept my eyes on every team, but I still remember liking the uniqueness of the Nordiques. The name was different than anything else in pro sports. My first name is French, so that probably didn't hurt. I had unwittingly started down a long, winding road to an obsession that continues today.

Not long after my family relocated to south Mississippi, pro sports became really big in Denver. The Rockies and Avs were instant hits, and I dilagently followed their first few seasons. It was (and still is) easier to follow the Avs rather than the Rockies, due to them winning a lot out of the gate, plus that fact that I had a least a passing familiarity with the team and its players.
Anyway, by the time I was in high school, having never played the game, and only seen it on TV, I started trying to convince my younger brothers and friends what a great game it was. Roller-blading lead to pick-up up games of inline hockey in my drive-way.

Jump to college, and I'm able to follow the game more due to the freedoms that come with college life. I take a vested interest in the newest Avalanche players, notably Chris Drury and Milan Hejduk. Drury stood out to me with his lifelong tendancy to be a winner. My vested interest soon turned into full-blown fandom when the Avs continued to carve a swath through the NHL every year, coming close, but just a little short of the promised land. Then the Bourque trade and the pieces started to come together. So close.

The next year saw Blake join the team at the deadline and push the Avs into another gear. Victory! I even remember my mom calling me up during the SC Finals and asking me what Roy was doing skating out of the crease, turning over the puck, and putting the Avs in a hole. I didn't even know she knew what hockey was. I asked why she was watching, and she said because she knew it was important to me, since it's all I talked about the last month! She then stated that every time she tuned into the game, something bad happened. I remember screaming in a somewhat high-pitched voice "THEN STOP WATCHING!" Even when she was visiting my younger brothers and I during the weekend of Game 7, she sat on a couch in the back of the room so she couldn't see the game, and consequently jinx the outcome. Well, it worked. Yes, Avsnation, you have me to thank for that Cup in 2001. Me and my mom.

A couple of years later, I teamed up with some 'Yankees' and 'Canucks' that were going to the same college and we started an inline hockey league in 2003 that is still going today. I picked goalie because the league was in desperate need of netminders. Obsession number two kicked in to full gear. After getting married (and subsequently brainwashing my wife into being a hockey fan, but not an Avs fan), graduating with my Masters (finally), and relocating to Oklahoma, I finally got the chance to play ice hockey. It was a long strange trip, but I loved every second of it, even the Theo Fleury experiment. I started following Avstalk shortly after the lockout, then Jibbles, then DLS, and finally Draft Dodger. I figured if I was going to post a comment on each blog every day, I should just start writing one myself. That's how I hooked up with BBeR as the Avs "correspondent". Recently, a couple of those guys have teamed up with Mile High Hockey. I hope other Avs fans will give it a look. Heck, any hockey fans should drop by, even Red Wings fans!

So far, I've had a blast writing my few additions to the site, and I'm looking forward to the season. I hope to contribute regularly, and I'll do my best to bring more great quality to this little corner of the hockey world.

Svatos' Sophmore Slump (say that three times fast!!)

The only recent meaninful news out of Denver is of the re-signing of Marek Svatos. Many of you may remember that Svatos was the third man to the rookie scoring bonanza in 05-06, trailing phenoms Crosby and Ovechkin. During his first full season in the show, he tied Joe Sakic for the team lead in goals (32), tied a club record shared by pretty much the entire Statsny family for rookie goals, and tied the NHL record for rookie game-winning goals. Not bad for the 227th (7th round) pick of the 2001 draft. Last year he had what can only be described as a textbook case of the dreaded sophmore slump. His points total dipped from 50 pts in 05-06 (in 61 games) to 30 in 06-07 (in 66 games), with the major hit coming in his goals total which dropped from 32 to 15.

Well, the first question you ask when you see this kind of thing is why the drop? The short answer is he didn't produce, and two younger players did (Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski). Interestingly, Wolski would have been this year's Svatos, except Paul Stastny had to go on that ridiculous streak and have a famous last name... A closer look at his stats showed his shooting percentage plummet from 19.4% during the 05-06 campaign to a dismal 8.4% this season. A couple of e-mails with the always knowledgable Forechecker revealed that his shot quality took a pretty good hit also. His expected goals in 06-07 was 23.29, slightly higher than his 05-06 value of 22.3. It appears that Svatos overperformed in 05-06 and swung the other way this year. It's important to note that comparing year-to-year can be a crap-shoot at best.

If memory serves, Svatos got plenty of PP time in 05-06 and spent lots of time on a line with Steve Konowalchuk, who retired due to health reasons before the 06-07 season. The emergence of Statsny and Wolski robbed him of ice time and PP time, and he was shuffled around with multiple linemates during the season. Whether the slump came as a result of the shuffling, or lead to it can get into a bit of a chicken/egg scenario. He's also had lingering shoulder issues in his short career. Perhaps he pushed himself through pain early in the season and paid for it down the stretch. Quenneville and Co. made him a healthy scratch several times to try and light a fire under him, with mixed results.

In the salary cap era, we also have to talk dollars when it comes to player evaluation. Svatos' new deal ($1.2 million) is actually a raise from his previous seasons earnings ($1.05 million). Why the raise if he's struggling? Like others have said, I think this is likely a show of faith by management to a young, developing player without a long-term commitment. All in all, I like this signing, as it's WAY too early to give up on a young player who had the potential to be a point-per-game player.

Why Shattenkirk Was the Best Name in the NHL Draft

This past weekend the NHL draft came and went. This was actually the first draft I can remember watching with any interest, simply because I knew about it ahead of time and NHL hockey has become an accepted obsession in my household these last two years (more on this at a later date). Anyway, I had a smidgen of knowledge about some of the highly touted picks, but my main reason for watching was to use my highly scientific methods to determine who has the best NAME for the NHL. That is, which players SOUND like NHL'ers to me? Why is this important? One of my social gaffs is to give NHL player names to hostesses at restaurants just to see how they attempt to pronounce and spell them. Sadly, Ponikarovsky is too easy to sound out phonetically. Anyway, here are my thoughts on the some of the draftees and names, all meant to be in good fun:

PATRICK KANE - Sounds like the alter ego for a superhero. Trust me, I've read a ton of comics and this name would fit perfectly for any cape or cowl created after say 1989. Subsequently, he'll need super-powers because the 'Hawks will likely be firmly on his shoulders in a couple of years.
JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK - I don't know why, but this kid's name makes me think of Dawson's Creek. That can't be good for hockey in general or the Flyers.
KYLE TURRIS - Strong name, but doesn't really jump out at ya. Kinda like the Coyotes. They SOUND like they would be a strong team, but ...For some reason I also say his name with a bad Scottish accent when I say it out loud. Good times.
THOMAS HICKEY - If this kid doesn't have bulletproof skin after having grown up with a name that is synonymous with teenagers making out in the back of cars, he has real issues. Then again, so do the Kings. This may be my favorite so far.
KARL ALZNER - Sounds like a cross between Pilsner beer and Alzheimer’s. I dub thee Karl "the forgetful Drunk" Alzner!! No that doesn't really work... Still, if forgetful drunks can be the mayor of DC, maybe this kid will turn out OK for the Caps.
JAKUB VORACEK - This kid should be a voracious checker. I mean, look at his name!!! Couldn't the BJ's demand their money back due to false advertising if he turns out to be soft?
ZACH HAMILL - The mysterious love child of Zak from "Saved by the Bell" and Dorothy Hamill. Or was it Mark Hamill from Star Wars? Wouldn't it be cool if he spoke in the Joker's voice and was a great gymnast? Then maybe Boston could get some of their fans back.
LARS ELLER - Wasn't this guy a James Bond villain once? Really? No? Coulda swore...
KEVIN SHATTENKIRK - Wow. Just wow. Tons of possibilities here. Like when he destroys some fool into the boards, you can say "He just Shattenkirk-ed that dude!" or if he dangles the puck and puts a ridiculous move on a goalie you can exclaim "He was Shattenkirk-ed out of his jock!"
ALEXEI CHEREPANOV - Share-a-pawn-off?? I don't know, that sounds questionable to me...
IAN COLE - His name sounds like a Blue to me for some reason. Strong, understated. Playing for the Golden Dome next season.
ANGELO ESPOSITO - One of the best names in the draft. Do his friends call him Angel? Like the vampire? He'd have to have some special abilities to be taken by the Pens, who have plenty of depth at center. I questioned this pick because I just don't see him on this team.
RILEY NASH - My son's name plus "Nash". I have a bias against the name Nash ever since that horrible show with Don Johnson and Cheech. Terrible TV. Mixed bag with this name though. Sounds hockey-ish though. Only the Oilers will know for sure.
JONATHON BLUM - If his hockey career doesn't take off, I could definitely see his name on the letterhead of an accounting firm somewhere. And God knows Nashville could use an accountant right now...
MIKAEL BACKLUND - I wish my first name was spelled like that. Noooooooooooooooo, my dad had to drop the 'a' from the traditional spelling of Michael, so I got to start every first day of school with "Michelle? Michelle?" Thanks, pops. Thanks for nothing.
NICHOLAS PETRECKI - I'm a fan of the name Nicholas, as it's my little brother's name. "Nick Petrecki" could play havoc with some hostesses. This name has potential.
JAMES O'BRIEN - He's going to be a Golden Gopher next year. Plus, this is like the 5th name that sounds like I would run into him at one of my wife's family reunions. I wasn't aware that there were this many strong hockey genes from Ireland and Scotland. No wonder Theo Fleury played over there!

And the winner? Gotta go with Shattenkirk. There's even a loose possibility that there will be William Shatner references in his future. That and he's an Avalanche prospect now, so I have to like him! Unfortunately, he's also an "offensive-minded" defenseman, which they seem to have a wealth of these days. I'm not the first to comment on this, nor will I likely be the last. Still, Shattenkirk isn't expected to fill a need next season for the Avs, but is more of a depth pick, in my opinion.

5 questions on the Habs...

Decisions...decisions, the Montreal Canadiens success lies in GM Bob Gainey's hands, as he prepares to head into, perhaps, the most difficult and demanding offseason of his life.

Hey everyone,

Jibblescribbits recently sent me 5 questions about the Habs, and I thought they'd be interesting enough to share with you, but beware, this is long and painful for some Canadiens fans out there.

Once he gets his official link out, I'll let you know here.

Here are my answers, via e-mail.

First thanks for taking the time to answer some questions about certain Habs, and their play last season. I am looking at certain teams, and their potential unrestricted free agents.
I can look at NHL.com for stats, but I like getting a first hand account of the players, and how fans of the team feel about those players.

1) So as I can see, Montreal has 3 potential Free Agents that I think the Avs might have at least an inkling of interest in. Niinimaa, Souray, and Bonk. Which ones would you rather keep, and why? If you had to let one go who would you let go of first?

There's no question the Canadiens would love to retain Souray, but, his sudden explosion onto the scoresheet last season will make him a hot commodity, should he hit the open market.
We all know he scored the most goals since Al McInnis did it about a decade ago, and broke a franchise records for goals scored on the powerplay, but he also was a complete black hole in his own end.

He was relied on way way too much by Guy Carbonneau, and a few of his bonehead plays may have cost us a couple of wins.

Nevertheless, Souray's offensive production was his main weapon, and fans loved it when he would get the puck at the point, wind up and just BAM, smash it in there.

Soon after though, teams learned that the Habs' no.1 ranked powerplay in the NHL was all because of Sheldon Souray, and his booming 95-100 mph slapshot.
I'd love to retain him, but if reports that the Habs offered him $4,5 million per season are indeed true, sayanora Sheldon, no way he's going to make less than Andrei Markov (5,75 per season), and if anything, he'll make more.

Personally, I'd like to keep Bonk, he's a great 2-way forward and played perhaps some of the best defensive hockey of his career, of his life, last season under Guy Carbonneau.
Originally acquired to provided a ''sized'' offensive output as the team's checking line centre, Bonk did the complete opposite and played inspired 2-way hockey, even if the Canadiens originaly got him to perform score-wise.

Still, Bonk was a pleaseant surprise last year after a horrific first season with the Canadiens back in 2005-2006.

He's a great guy, gets along well with the players and he is by far Carbonneau's favourite player out there, Bonk made $2,5 million last season, and that money was given to him while he was back in Ottawa, in the pre-lockout years, when his role as a forward was clear: Crash the net, and score.
Now, not so much, Bonk still uses his size and puckhandling skills to his advantage, but he is definitely not the player he used to be with the Senators.

Janne Niinimaa is expendable.
I was actually jumping up and down when I heard the Habs got him for the princess that is Mike Ribeiro, but I was quickly silenced as he really just turned out to be a totally different player than his days with Philly, Edmonton and the Islanders.
He played well in the second half, and after Craig Rivet was dealt, he earned more playing time and even got some powerplay time, but, he only had 3 points to show for it.
There are also reports out there that he will return to Finland next season and play for Karpat, I'm not sure what his current status is, but, if he can get more money and start in Finland, rather than earn minimum wage and be a 7th defenceman in the NHL, he'll go back to his country, and that may be good for him too, as he just didn't seem to be in the game last year.

At $2,7 million, he was also the team's highest paid defenceman, and only second behind Patrice Brisebois as the NHL's most expensive depth defencemen.

To directly answer your question, definitely Radek Bonk and if God allows it, Sheldon Souray.
If I was Bob Gainey, I'd let go of both and go after a guy like Danny Briere or now, Alexei Yashin, rather than give them a ridiculous amount of money, only to see them (more specifically, Souray) underachieve.

2) On some of the Avs boards Souray has been called an overhyped product of Eastern/Montreal Media.
The general thought is that he is excellent on the powerplay, but is a defensive liability the rest of the time. His team worst -28 rating (an overated stat to be sure) would tend to point to this. Is this a fair assessment?

Haha, these guys have obviously never watched Souray play.

Souray, is not a no.1 defenceman, like the Habs treated him last year, he is at best an upper tier no.3-4 defenceman with a no.1 defenceman status on the powerplay.

Souray was not overhyped by the Montreal media, far from that actually, he was actually underhyped most of the time as the Quebecois media thought that guys like Sergei Samsonov, Alex Kovalev, Andrei Markov and especially, quebecers Guillaume Latendresse and Maxim Lapierre were more important than Souray.

The only time the media overhyped Souray was near the trade deadline and in the final games of the regular season, when they realized that good ol' Bob may not be able to retain him.

His -28 rating is also deceiving,

When the Habs lost Mathieu Dandenault, Francis Bouillon, Craig Rivet and even Andrei Markov to injuries, they had no choice but to rely on Souray to lead the way, and as a result, he was on the ice for most of the goals scored and most of them that were scored against, had he been treated like a n.3 defenceman, his +/- would certainly be a lot better, just because he'd have played less.

So, increased playing time during the Habs second half slump led to his terrifying +/- rating (and those of Saku Koivu and Michael Ryder).
Ryder and Koivu were also first liners for the entire season and received a lot of playing time as well, you have Guy Carbonneau to blame for Souray's -28 rating and playing these guys so much.

3) Souray is getting all the attention, but how good is Niinimaa?
He had a -13 rating last season, but that is a deceiving statistic to be sure.
His 3 points in only 41 games played is worrisome, but is he a good defensive defensiveman that was usually stuck against top opposition and with a crappy partner (like Souray)?
Or was that partially his fault too?

Janne Niinimaa was a terrible defenceman for the Habs last year.
And no, he is no longer a solid defensive defenceman and seems to have lost all of his offensive instinct.

He is nervous with the puck and has trouble getting it out of his own end, he also took stupid holding and hooking penalties on more than one occasion, when he got a chance to play.
Niinimaa played with Sheldon Souray and Francis Bouillon, and that's all you need to know, both are not very good defencemen and Niinimaa's sloppy footwork didn't help his cause either.
He is also no longer the smooth Finnish skater of the pre-lockout era, he looks so uncomfortable skating backwards, it's actually kind of pathetic.

So in a word, no, you don't need Niinimaa and I don't think any other team in their right mind would want Niinimaa at this point.

4) I know you would love to get rid of Samsonov. What happened? Is he that bad an apple, or is it just a clash of styles (him and Guy Carbeneau). His salary is pretty daunting to a guy perceived to be a cancer, but the Avs could afford to take a chance with him. What would Montreal want in return? Would it even be worth the Avs wild? (remember you're not trying to swindle me, I'm not making the decisions so be honest :) )
First off, you ask any other Habs fan, he will tell you straight out the Sergei Samsonov sucks.

At first look, yes, he sucked bad last year, but that wasn't completely his fault.
We thought we knew what Bob Gainey had given us with Samsonov: a goal scorer and the perfect Russian linemate for Alex Kovalev.

That turned out to be the complete opposite, Samsonov did not score goals, far from that, and had one of the longest goal-scoring drought of his career, one that surpassed the likes of 20-games and made Habs fans feel like it would never end.
He was officially scratched for good in mid-February, after a horrible performance against the Atlanta Thrashers, who blew the Habs away bad.

There's no question Gainey is doing everything he can to dump Sammy, and I'm even hearing that Chicago would be intereted.
I don't care who it is, as long as anyone takes him and if we do get anything back from him, I'm happy, otherwise, play him, he's getting paid a lot of money to sit in the press box, and I think he would be just A LITTLE INCY WINCY BIT more valuable on the ice than in his street clothes.

And if the Avs did want to make a pitch for him, then they'd have to give up someone like Ken Klee, or Mark Rycroft in the same deal.
I can see someone giving up a checking line player and an overpaid defenceman for him, there had been rumours that the Hawks would give up Aucoin and Lapointe for him, but that's just going off the chart.
Giguere could take a chance on him, but don't expect production, especially if he's paired with the wrong guys.
A move to a place pressure-free (or, at least with less pressure) than Montreal could soothe Samsonov and bring back his old ways.

UPDATE: Gainey traded Samsonov to the 'Hawks, like I had said, and totally won out on another deal!
Adios Sammy, and it wouldn't surprise me if his production is much better in Michigan than it was up here, especially with a better coach in Denis Savard and a dead fanbase like the 'Hawks's, who demand simply nothing out of their players.

5) What would you like to see Montreal do? They don't seem to have a boatload of Free Agent money if they resign all their FA's, and this was a team that didn't make the playoffs last season. How are they going to accomplish that next season?

I'd like to see the Habs get a quality 1st-2nd line scorer with some size, but that'll be difficult to get, since it seems when it comes to size, the Habs either are hugely under average, or just can't find a way to bring any in.
Regardless of his size, Daniel Briere is the guy the Habs should target, and I'm not saying this like a Habs fan and I like him, I'm saying it since it's the truth.
Gainey said he'd aggressively pursue FA's, and if he can nail Briere, Gomez or even Bill Guerin, I'd be a happy duckling.
And no, if reports out of Montreal here are true (and what Bob Gainey quietly mentioned to the media), then don't expect the Habs to make any fatherly attemps to sign Mike Johnson, Radek Bonk and especially, Janne Niinimaa (gone) and David Aebsicher (gone for 2 months now).
Johnson and Bonk would be nice to retain, as I said above, but, there's only so much money Gainey wants to target to his UFA (Briere), and this may not leave much left for them two.
Barring any change in heart on Gainey's side, these guys, and their total 2007 salary of around $4.4 million combined will be tossed out the window, and that is really too bad.

I just hope the Canadiens don't pull another Samsonov but bring in some real, hard-core talent, something Habs fans have been waiting for a long time, a really long time, and hopefully, something we've waited for even longer, our old buddy Stanley...

Thanks for this, I had fun writing this and I know it's a bit long!

--BBR

Free-agent market trimmed yet again...

Man, at this rate, there'll be nothing left for teams to feast on and me to write about!

Following suit to Pavel Datysuk, two other big-name free-agents have been officially taken off the list.

The list no longer includes the Avs Captain Joe Sakic and the talented bleu-liner from Ottawa who goes by the name of Anton Volchenkov.

TSN reports that Volchenkov has signed a three-year deal, it was announced by Sens GM John Muckler in the last hour.

"Anton has been one of our top defencemen all season," GM John Muckler said in a statement. "We're pleased to have secured him for the next three years, two of which were restricted and the third season when Anton would have been an unrestricted free agent."

Ouch, imagine him being restricted for the next two seasons, with the arbitrators giving away money like there's no tomorrow, he could have possibly made more than he's going to make over the next three years.

No wonder Muckler's happy, although contract details have yet to be released, instead of paying along the lines of $2-2.5 million (that's what I expect he got), he'd probably have to pay about a million and maybe more.

If that were to happen, then he'd be in a sticky situation, just like the Sabres were last off-season when an arbitrator award JP Dumont $2.5 million.

The Sabres just couldn't afford it and they let him go to Nashville.

Except for Muckler, it could have been a much more serious loss.

The loss could've been one of his two top-notch defencemen, namely Chris Phillips (since they'd have less money to keep him) or the man in question Anton Volchenkov (see the Dumont situation.)

Anyhow, great signing by Muckler and it remains to be seen how much he's going to be putting in his bank account in the next three years.

The announcement comes just 2 days before the Senators playoff quest begins at the Scotia Bank Place against number 87 and the Penguins.

Volchenkov, 25, is having a career year for the Senators, who drafted him 21st overall back in 2000.

He only had one goal, but has picked up a high 18 assists and an equally career marker with 19 points.

A more impressive stat, is his +37 mark, which ranks 5th in the NHL.

His play has picked up in the second half, after a slow start which led to many trade rumours involving the young Russian.

-Joe Sakic has re-signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche, per the Denver Post.

The classy Canadian forward, has shown that he still has scoring power left in the tank.

Sakic, 37, is having a phenomenal year with 36 goals and 64 assists, his highest total since he amassed 118 back in 2000-2001.

He made $5.75 million last year and there's no indication he'd make any less this upcoming season.

Avs giving Flames plenty of problems...

The Colorado Avalanche are hot.
Period, no fancy-schmancy adjectives to be employed here, simply, red hot.

That is something the Calgary Flames have not been in the last few weeks.

They have won only 3 games in the month of March and have seen their seemingly huge lead in the Northwest Division and Western Conference diminish.
On their heels now, they have lost their last 3 games in a row.

The losses have fueled more speculation on the Flames' coaching staff part, that GM Darryl Sutter would dismiss head coach Jim Playfair and take over himself the head coaching duties.
Sutter was quick to downplay these rumours.

Despite his team's struggles, the Flames still remain in a playoff position but if their current trend continues, they can find themselves playing golf early this year, something many didn't, couldn't even imagine back in January and February, as the Flames were riding Mile-high, posting 8-3-2 and 7-4-3 records respectively, that's in total 15-7-5.

Well, maybe I did exaggerate when I said nobody couldn't "imagine" them not making it, but anyway, we were all under the impression this was the way they'd finish the season, on that kind of note.

The hockey world has seen the Flames fall mightily down the Western Conference standings...no, I meant "PLUMMET" as they have gone from "top team" to "crap team".

The Calgary Flames also got another bullet in their heart, as the Colorado Avalanche have won 8 of their last 10 games and have only lost one in regulation in that process.
Helped by Paul Stastny's 20-game point streak (now over, was pointless in Colorado's 4-3 win over the Canucks 2 days ago), Joe Sakic's "still going strong" season and Milan Hejduk's recent rejuvenation have put the Avalanche only 4 points behind the extinguished Flames.

With Peter Budaj regaining his confidence and Jose Theodore becoming the best bench-warmer in the NHL, the Avalanche could be in posession of a playoff spot by the end of the week.

The Flames are not alone in the "fallen down in the standings" category, many other teams include the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild and New York Islanders.

Things have gotten so bad in Calgary, that Miikka Kiprusoff has to get his girls to pump up the slumped Dion Phaneuf, who's lost that magic he showed in his rookie season.

While Paul Stastny flourishes with the Avalanche, brother Yan can only watch.

After Paul Stastny extended his franchise record 17-game point streak with 2 assists en route to a 3-2 victory over the devious Buffalo Sabres, father Peter must've been proud and brother Yan must've been jealous.

It looks like Paul Stastny has inherited his hockey magic from his father Peter Stastny, whose career with the Quebec Nordiques left many in awe.


A second round draft choice in 2005, Paul has 22 goals and 43 assists this season for a total of 65 points.

He trails early season Calder favourite Evgeni Malkin, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, by only 4 points and don't be surprised to see him win rookie of the year after his recent success.
Malkin hasn't inspired me much this season, I can see he's a developping young player, but I don't think he's as great as everyone thought he was going to be. I also don't believe he's lived up to the hype that's come with him from Russia.

Stastny is on a current 17-game point streak and who knows how much longer that'll last.
He could be making a late push to win the Calder trophy, despite the Avs' stumble this season in the standings.

Meanwhile, down in a town name Peoria, brother Yan can only watch in jealousy as his brother's NHL career unfolds successfully.

Yan Stastny was an 8th round pick by the Boston Bruins, and in those rounds it's a guessing game. Looks like they guessed wrong, Yan Stastny was traded to the Oilers before he even laced them up in Beantown.

In 2005-2006, with the Oilers, he never got accustomed to his surroundings, dressed for 3 games, was pointless and -1.

He was then traded back to the team that had dumped him, the Boston Bruins, along with checking center Marty Reasoner in exchange for Sergei Samsonov.
Stastny had his chance now, the Bruins were willing to offer him a checking line role, and again, he busted.
In 17 games, he only scored once and added 3 assists for a measly total of 5 points and was -2.

People then started to realize that he's not what his father was, but the Bruins were still willing to give him a shot.

You guessed it...he disappointed mightily, with only 2 assists in 21 games and a -3 rating, the Bruins had enough of this Stastny for a lifetime, shipping him to the surging St. Louis Blues for a mid-round pick.

Right now, Yan Stastny is in Peoria, the Blues' farm team, and you have to figure if he can't even win a job in St. Louis, that he won't win one anywhere.

The closest he'll probably ever get to the NHL again, unless some team is really desperate, is through his television screen.

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

Can Karlis Skrastins's streak be over?

The new "iron man" among NHL defencemen, Karlis Skrastins of the Colorado Avalanche, saw his streak come to an end yesterday as he sat out the game versus the Ducks due to a knee injury.

TSN Ice Chips today, quote: " Karlis Skrastins (right knee) is scheduled to be examined in Denver today, and possibly undergo an MRI exam. - Denver Post"

Here is a more elaborate take from Yahoo! Sports

Hope his MRI reveals nothing's wrong.

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

8 scouts last night at Kings-Avs game...

Over at the Denver Post, Terry Frei just reported 8 teams (rumoured to be Chicago, Vancouver, St. Louis, NY Rangers, Dallas, Boston, Columbus and Tampa Bay) were in attendance for last night's Kings-Avalanche game).

The possible shoppings from both teams are believed to be:

Brent Sopel: Los Angeles is rumoured not to want a mountain of players for him, most likely a mid-round draft pick. Sopel can be an affordable option for teams wanting to bolster their blue line. He is also more affordable than Sheldon Souray.

Aaron Miller: Might attract some attention for teams in need of depth...

Ossi Vaananen: With the injury to defenceman Jordan Leopold, Vaananen's chances of being dealt have likely diminished, unless the Avs make a same position swap and trade Vaananen for another defenceman.

Ken Klee: Klee is aging quickly and he has not been as effective this season as he was with Toronto and New Jersey last season. If he is dealt, he will be for at best a mid-late round pick for teams seeking depth.
Don't look for teams to sacrifice much or trade any young players such as New Jersey did (Aleksander Suglobov)last season.

Ian Laperriere: Slight drop-off from last season, Laperriere is a checking centre with a light offensive side.