“Tell her it’s not bad like last time.”

The entire Caniac nation collectively held its breathe last night during the game vs. the Panthers. It had nothing to do with a goal. Nothing to do with a diving penalty. I don't think anyone remembered there was a game to be played. Most people are familiar with Erik Cole's injury that took place in March of '06. Brooks Orpik hit Cole from behind into the boards, and hard too. Even though Cole skated off the ice that day, he suffered a fractured vertebra. Most people remember holding their breathe during game 6 of the 2006 Stanley Cup finals when Cole first came back from that injury. Most Caniacs still fall silent any time Cole takes a hit.

Last night was a real test for our breath-holding skills. Cole was trying to outskate one of the Panthers to get a breakaway on Vokoun with the game tied at 3-3. Cole was held up and I watched as #26's feet came out from under him and he went headfirst into Vokoun and laid face-first on the ice.
It is a really helpless feeling when you have to sit there and all you can do is plead with Erik Cole through the TV to get up, unsuccessfully I might add.
Apparently he first told Vokoun that his neck was hurting him and just kept repeating that to him as Vokoun called the trainers over to the ice.
After 10 minutes or so, he was wheeled off on a stretcher to the standing ovation of 12,000 or so Panthers fans and the tapping of both teams' sticks. When asked if he wanted someone to call his wife he told them, “Tell her it’s not bad like last time.” He later said that as he was rolled under the scoreboard his only thought was "No Penalty?! Get serious."

The 'Canes played 8 minutes of grit hockey and Cory Stillman scored his second of the night to make the final score 4-3.

At about 12am it was released that Cole's CAT scan had come out negative for any injury to his neck and he was clear to fly to Tampa Bay with the team, who had postponed their flight until their teammate could rejoin them.
Cole is getting other tests done today and he will have to have them cleared by the medical staff here in NC before he is allowed to play again.
My guess is that as long as he is cleared by the medical staff here, we will see him back on the ice for Friday night's home game against the Thrashers.

*I want to post a special thanks to the fans from many of our rivalry teams for extending their wishes for Cole and his family. All of the thoughts and prayers were greatly appreciated!

Let's go Canes!

Tasty Brownie! Kings ink young phenom to 6-year extension among others

The future is now for the Kings

There have been a few contract extensions handed out in the NHL recently, topping the list are the Los Angeles Kings, who signed forward Dustin Brown to a 6-year contract extension today.

The former 13th overall pick from the 2003 draft has 4 goals and 4 assists so far in 11 games with the Kings and has been a star on the rise ever since his definitive entry to the NHL in 2005-2006, putting up 14 and 17 goal seasons since then.
His points total have been on a uprise as well...from 28 to 46, and if his current pace continues, he will finish the season in the 70-point area.

Brown is poised to become a 30-40 goal scorer with huge upside, and he's a mainstay in Los Angeles for at least 6 more years.
All this at such a young age, the 22-year old Ithaca, New York native will turn 23 on November 4th.

Kings GM Dean Lombardi on "Brownie":

Dustin is an integral part of what we are building here with the Kings.
We like how he competes; we like his toughness; and we are very pleased with how his overall game has developed.

"An integral part" is not far off with guys like Mike Cammalleri (10 G, 3 A), sophomore sensation Anze Kopitar (4 G, 8 A) and star Alex Frolov (3 G, 7 A) all destined for superstardom (or at least come close to it).

On defence? They're well equiped with former Hurricanes prospect Jack Johnson (1 G, 1 A), veteran goldie Rob Blake (1 G, 4 A), the dangerous Lubomir Visnovsky (1 G, 7 A) to go along with new faces Brad Stuart (1 G, 2 A), Tom Preissing (0 G, 2 A) and another guy who's been around a while, Jaroslav Modry (0 G, 1 A).

On paper? They're awesome...but the defence has had its own problems this year totally a paltry -14 rating with Modry being the only blueliner in the plus column (+4).

Kings fans are calling for Rob Blake's head because of his shoddy defensive work and inconsistent performance on the attack...Stuart and Preissing are off to slow starts...Johnson is still adapting with Visnovsky and Modry leading the way.

The future is definitely bright in sunny LA, but can the Kings finally pull out of their misery with the younglings and big names picked up this offseason?

Their current 5-6 start could be better, but if you look at last year, it could be worse.

They have the talent, time to fully exploit it...look for the Kings to be serious contenders now or possibly in the near future

Draper stays in Detroit:
The Red Wings have retained former Selke winner Kris Draper, signing the 36-year old to a new 3-year contract that will pay him $1.6 million per season.

Kenny Holland calls Draper an essential part of the team's core:
Kris has been such an important part of this organization's success.
We are fortunate to have secured a player with his leadership qualities and work ethic for the next three seasons.

He has 5 assists to start the season and has put up double digits in goals for the past 4 campaigns.

Minnesota locks up Burns:
Brent Burns is only 22 but already a force on Minnesota's blueline.
The Wild locked him up to a 4-year contract worth about $14.2 million or an average payout of $3.55 million per season.
Minnesota's former 1st round pick is +6 this season and hopes to repeat the +16 rating he put up last year.

I like Doug Risebrough's reasoning when it comes to these big long deals being thrown around:
Long-term contracts are about projection now.
Not about what they'll make, but their ability to earn it and make things happen during the length of the contract.

Panthers sign Cullimore:
The Florida Panthers have reportedly signed defenceman Jassen Cullimore to a 1-year contract including a 2-week conditioning stint in the minors, likely to replace the injured Noah Welch as the team's 7-8 defenceman.

Markov to Russia:
The Danny Markov free-agent saga is officially over...the veteran signed a contract to play in Russia with Dynamo for the upcoming season and TSN reports that his deal includes an out clause that would allow him to come to North America and sign with another team next summer.
Markov was rumoured to be seeking between $2.5 and $3.5 million, but teams like the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders backed out because of salary cap constraints.

-BBeR

Panthers new apparel unveiled...

New Florida Panthers jerseys were released earlier today, and many fans aren't too pleased with this change of look.





I'm not too amazed or blown away by these last two additions.
The Rangers jersey (posted yesterday) was a lot worse than their current one with the slanted lettering and this Panthers jersey looks OK but too Wal-Marty for my tastes.

-BBeR

A flurry of deals...Vokoun, Toskala, Aucoin and Bell...

Just got home, and realized that some huge deals have been pulled off in the last few hours, especially in the goalie market.

For starters, the Nashville Predators traded goalie Tomas Vokoun to the Florida Panthers, about an hour and a half ago, in exchange for a first round pick and two second rounders.

Vokoun agreed to waive his no-trade clause to be dealt to the Panthers.

The Czech goaltender had a in-and-out 2005-2006 season.
He got injured for about 2 months early into the year but remained his usual solid self when he returned.
Chris Mason, however, proved to be too good to sit on the bench down the stretch and for the entire playoffs in GM David Poile's eyes.

As a result, Poile has chosen him as the team's number one goalie heading into next season.
Mason broke out of a backup role to post all-star like numbers.
I think a 2.38 GAA, 24 wins, a .925 save percentage and 5 shutouts in 40 games is pretty wicked.

Vokoun had a nearly identical season to Mason's, posting 27 wins, a .920 save percentage, a 2.40 GAA and 5 shutouts in 44 games.

But, in the end, Poile dealt Vokoun and showed the hockey world that money is still talking.

Vokoun will be paid an average of $5.5 million over the next 4 seasons, while the thrifty Mason will earn only $1.25 million over the 2 coming seasons, before being eligible to hit the open market at the end of 07/08.

That, faithful fanatics, explains the entire logic and reason behind this deal.

Vokoun is an established no. 1 goalie, something Florida hasn't had since Roberto Luongo, and certainly something they didn't get from the terrible Alex Auld and the party-wild Eddie Belfour last year.
Time will only tell how he adjusts to Eastern Conference teams and especially his new team, which is a huge downgrade from the dominating and powerful Predators he played for in the recent years.

It wasn't Manny Fernandez, or Tomas Vokoun but, hallelujah! The Toronto Maple Leafs have FINALLY gotten a respectable goalie.

And GM John Ferguson Jr. has just silenced his critics and some sour (aren't they all?) Leafs fans by getting top-notch 'tender Vesa Toskala from the cross-continent Sharks to go along with tough-hitting and scoring forward (see Blackhawks days) Mark Bell.

But it's worth mentioning Bell had a pathetic season on the scoresheet, scoring only 11 times and ending up in the coach's doghouse during the Sharks playoff run in favour of youngsters Ryane Clowe and Patrick Rissmiller.

I'm also feeling lazy today, and don't really want to write this up myself, but here are the complex details concerning the picks San Jose gets, courtesy of the Globe link above:

The deal, which includes forward Mark Bell going to Toronto, has cost the Leafs a conditional first-round selection, 2007 second-round choice and 2009 fourth-round picks. The Sharks can choose whether to take Toronto's first choice tonight (13th overall) or the 2008 first-round selection. If the Sharks choose the latter condition and the Leafs have a top-10 pick next June, the Sharks have to wait until 2009 for Toronto's first-rounder.

And where does this leave Andrew Raycroft, whom the Leafs gave top goalie prospect Tuukka Rask to the B's so he can go back to his Calder days, and be their solid number one goalie.
He did neither, and had a very streaky season in goal.

Toskala didn't quite repeat his terrific 2005-2006 year, he was good, but not better than the wall named Evgeni Nabokov, who re-claimed top-goalie status after losing it in the previous year.

Adrian Aucoin's miserable and injury-raddled days in Chicago are over.

TSN is reporting that the Flames will acquire the former star defenceman from Chicago, along with a seventh round choice for defenceman Andrei Zyuzin and prospect Steve Marr.
Zyuzin was a quite "gets the job done" type player for Calgary last year, and was well-liked by the media and fans.

Aucoin, on the other hand, was not.

Constantly booed, injury and lost on the ice, Aucoin's tenure in Chicago has stained his successful career, and has erased all memory of his glorious Islanders days as a top scoring point man.

His hefty salary of $4 million over the next couple years is also a major cap hit in Darryl Sutter's books, and the Flames clever GM must be praying this pans out for him.

Aucoin may be a replacement for impending UFA's Roman Hamrlik or Brad Stuart, one of which is expected to pack his bags and play elswhere next year with the most likely being Stuart.

And that's all for now!

If anything else happens, you'll hear from me later or if I'm still lazy, tomorrow.

--BBR

Walker, Rivet and Horton off the market, Emery to have surgery...

The Florida Panthers have re-signed restricted free-agent forward Nathan Horton.

The deal will pay out a total of $24 million to the 22-year old over 6 seasons.

The signing, per TSN, officially ends all speculation that Horton will be dealt at tomorrow's NHL Entry Draft in Columbus.

Horton had a spectacular season at such a young age, ammasing 31 goals and putting up 31 assists while appearing in all 82 games.

A star on the rise, Horton's season was awesome on the scoresheet, but some off-ice rumours a few months before the deadline, which consisted of Horton's unhappiness in the Sunshine State and his desire to be dealt to a contender, prompted speculation he would be dealt at the trade deadline (didn't happen) or at the draft.

-Craig Rivet really like the weather in Western California, and he's going to be there for another 4 seasons.

The Sharks officially signed their hard-hitting defenceman to a 4-year $14 million contract, a potential UFA, Rivet fit in well with the Sharks and broke out in the playoffs as the team's leading defenceman.

Rivet was traded to San Jose on the eve of the trade deadline, in exchange for Josh Gorges and the Shark's 1st round draft choice (23rd overall)

-The Hurricanes also re-signed forward Scott Walker to a 3-year $7.5 million contract, yesterday.

That comes out to about $2.5 million per season.

The 33-year old was eligible for UFA status on July 1st; he had a decent season in Carolina, but nothing compared to his old Nashville days, scoring 21 goals and adding 31 helpers in 81 games.

"Keeping Scott in Carolina was one of our top priorities this off-season," Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford said in a statement. "He brings skill and grit to our forward lines and he has become one of our team's leaders on and off the ice."

"It was one of the best experiences that I had in renegotiating. I felt really wanted," Walker said. "I like my role, but I also like the way the team is set up for the future, and I think we have a chance to win."

-And to top this transaction segment off, goaltender Ray Emery will undergo surgery for his wrist, which he hurt in November and re-aggravated in the playoffs.

He is not expected to miss the beginning of the regular-season, TSN says he will be out 2-3 months.

Emery, a restricted free-agent, made 925K last year and will likely seek a substantial raise from new Sens GM Bryan Murray, Emery's agent was quoted on TSN's Off the Record with Michael Landsberg that his client might receive an offer sheet soon, and that many teams would be interested in doing so, especially 2-3 teams that he obviously didn't name.

--BBR

Thursday NHL Morning Roundup...

NHL Scores Wrapup for Wednesday March 21st, 2007
Washington 2 at Buffalo 5
Philadelphia 0 at NY Rangers 5
San Jose 4 at Chicago 1
Colorado 5 at Edmonton 1
Nashville 0 at Vancouver 2
Dallas 4 at Los Angeles 2

Eastern Conference Standings

-Wow, this looks like it'll go down to the wire! A week ago, I thought the Islanders were all but out, but lookie now, they're sitting in 11th place! Ryan Smyth isn't the force he was in Edmonton and Alexei Yashin's now the line 4 centre...Ted Nolan better get his team's act together, this is not time for a team to go into a slump.

-There are some easy matchups for some East teams tonight...the Habs are in Boston to play the sulking Bruins, the 'Canes are playing the Caps, who lost to the Sabres on TSN yesterday and the Sens are facing the Panthers, although Jacques Martin's squad just refuses to lose!

-Some not in favour are the Isles-Penguins matchup, hopefully the Pens will beat them so the Habs can move up...the Penguins are really a true comeback story, I could only laugh when I heard their name be mentioned a few months ago, but not anymore, they are now legitimate contenders, and in the same position my Habs were 2 and a half months ago...the Thrashers are on the verge of clinching their first ever playoff berth and they have a tough task in front of them as they face the always tough Sharks...

-The Leafs are idle tonight and they still have a game in hand over the Habs, but all I can say is "good luck" as they face the East-leading Sabres tomorrow...

-The Avalanche are red-hot right now, but that doesn't come into account for this game as they still beat the now turned pityful Oilers 5-1...the Oilers have dropped 12 in a row and it looks like Ryan Smyth really had a huge impact on this club, more than I thought...Edmonton sets a franchise record for consecutive losses, beating out the 1993 Oilers who lost 11 in a row...the Avs still sit 4 points behind the Flames, who beat the always powerful Red Wings 2-1 a few days ago...

-Denis Savard is a good coach, but he can't stop the Blackhawks from floundering...this teams needs a major shake-up and a wake up call: "Hello! You are an NHL TEAM! Get into the playoffs already!

Bertuzzi practices with Wings minor league team

Todd Bertuzzi made it through his first practice with the Griffins this
morning with no problems. He said his back feels fine and he hopes to make his
Red Wings debut next week, perhaps against Columbus on Thursday.

Full story

It'll be interesting to see how he progresses.

Why Gary Roberts should have ended up in Toronto.

Bruce Garrioch from the Ottawa Sun, is reporting that John Muckler was upset at the Panthers in his attempts to acquire Gary Roberts, who was later dealt to Pittsburgh, "because nobody is sure if Florida coach and GM Jacques Martin and assistant GM Randy Sexton were bargaining in good faith."
John Ferguson Jr., also, was not happy for being left out in the cold for the Roberts sweepstakes by the Panthers management.
And to add controversy to this, Garrioch claims "there's a strong feeling" that Jacques Martin did not want to help out his former club, or his former rival club for that matter.

You know what, I agree.

It seems very odd that Gary Roberts, who raved about going to an Ontario-based team, ends up going to the Penguins because they offered "the best deal"!
Are you really kidding me Jacques Martin? Noah Welch was the best you can get for a highly-sought player?

On Monday, Darren Dreger told Gord Miller that the Leafs had offered up a 2nd and 4th round pick along with a prospect (which could have been Brendan Bell, and as the Leafs lost out on Roberts, he was later traded to the 'Yotes for Yanic Perreault.)
This seems more than fair for a declining 40-year old player with just 29 points this year.

Noah Welch, don't get me wrong, is a nice young defenceman; but offering up Brendan Bell along with two very decent picks seems a lot more fair. Admit it Jacques, you didn't want him going to Toronto.

And with the ridiculous asking price given to Ottawa (Antoine Vermette or Patrick Eaves and a 1st round pick), admit you didn't want him going to your old Senators either.
John Muckler had complained on Monday that the prices going out there we're "outrageous"and that he would not overpay to bring in a rental player.

Well, it sounds pretty outrageous to include the words : Vermette, and, 1st, for, Roberts, in the same sentence.
Muckler might have been talking about this outrageous asking price and referring to Gary Roberts as the rental player.

Furthermore, there is nothing to cover up, Jacques Martin is cheap for deliberately not cooperating with John Ferguson Jr. and John Muckler; the first by rejecting a perfectly expensive offer which sees the Leafs giving up some part of the future for a quick-fix, and the other by reportedly telling John Muckler something even more unbelievable: that he wanted Antoine Vermette or Patrick Eaves along with the Sens 1st rounder for Roberts.

And all Martin got was Noah Welch...

The facts are there under our noses; read 'em and believe 'em.

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

The Cherry on the Puck Bag...

I hope you all enjoyed my 6 hour live online coverage, I sure had fun and I hope you enjoyed reading.

Now here's what I have to say about certain things:

Ryan Smyth an Islander: This hit me from Planet Mars, wow, boy was I surprised; Smyth is a great guy and in this situation, I disagree with Pierre McGuire, Lowe should have pushed harder to sign Smyth. They dealt Pronger at the beginning of the season and you'd think with the cap space they freed up that they'd be able to re-sign their key player. Guess not!
The Oilers got some nice young talent back in Nilsson and O'Marra to go along with a first-round pick, but none of that compensates for this costly loss of "the Oiler".
This is huge, it seemed like there would be no surprises this year and we got one 32 minutes after the 3 PM Trade Deadline.
It remains however to be seen if the Islanders can re-sign him and if this move is the end of Jason Blake in Garth Snow's camp?

Sharks look meaner with Guerin:
Bill Guerin's name was officially off the trade market
around noon today with the San Jose Sharks winning out on the jewel of this trade deadline, Bill Guerin.

He came cheaper to San Jose than Tkachuk to Atlanta, the Blues got a 1st round pick, checker Ville Niemienen and a minor-league prospect.

That's all! And Guerin has more points than Tkachuk. Tkachuk went for a 1st, 3rd, 2nd and a much better player in Glen Metropolit than Ville Niemienen.

The Sharks seem set for the playoffs now, they got Craig Rivet from the Canadiens, he should be a great pickup;

Billy Guerin will probably play with Patrick Marleau and with Vesa Toskala nursing a groing injury, the Sharks still have an excellent goalie in Evgeni Nabokov.

Bertuzzi looks to make impact in Detroit...for Panthers' sake:
Todd Bertuzzi played only 7 games as a Panther and was traded today to the Detroit Red Wings who beat out the Nashville Predators and the Anaheim Ducks for his services.
Holland acquires the controversial winger in hope he excels on a Cup hungry Red Wing team.
Bertuzzi says his back is not yet at 100 % but nonetheless, he should still end up playing for them.
It may take some time for him to adgust but, all and all, he'll probably make an impact down the stretch and during the playoffs.
Now, the Red Wings sent a conditional pick to Jacques Martins' Panthers; if Bertuzzi excels with his new team, the Panthers could get a second round pick; if he takes them to the Cup Final, Florida gets a 1st round pick.
Ingenious move by Kenny Holland, who structured this move perfectly, so his team doesn't suffer if Bertuzzi stumbles. And if he does, the Panthers, at best, will get a 4th or 3rd round pick.
And this is,

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge

Roberts for Welch seems like a done deal

After many reports yesterday and an update from TSN's Bob McKenzie this morning, the Pittsburgh Penguins (according to Sportsnet) have acquired veteran forward Gary Roberts for young defenceman Noah Welch and that the deal is done.

Roberts has 13 goals and 16 assists this season for a total of 29 points and hosts a +5 rating.

Roberts' agent reports that his client has waived his no-trade clause and has accepted a trade to Florida after discussing it intently with his family yesterday.
The agent expects an annoucement later today...

This is a very good move on both teams, Gary Roberts has that offensive touch mixed in with a seasoned veteran mindset and on top of it, with a lot of playoff experience.

The Penguins haven't made the playoffs in a while and it'll be interesting to see in what way Roberts will contribute.

Heading the other way is young highly touted defenceman Noah Welch, who's been up-and-down this season between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

He has 1 goal and 1 assist and is +1 in 22 games with Pittsburgh this season.

After a great finish to last season (3 points in 5 games); the Penguins figured Welch would improve on that, however, he dissapointed with just 2 points.

The Panthers hope Welch can score like he has in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season with 6 goals and 15 assists for a total of 21 in 27 games and posts a cool +8.

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge

Updates on Guerin and Roberts

Check back regurlarly during the day as I'll be live-blogging the event from my couch, computer screen and here, for breaking trades and instant analysis.

Gary Roberts

FIRST UPDATE: Sportsnet's now reporting this is a done deal and an announcement should come later today.

TSN's Bob McKenzie is reportedly saying that Gary Roberts has waived his no-trade clause and that could make way for yesterday's rumoured Penguins-Panthers swap; he says the deal should be announced and that it will be a Noah Welch-Gary Roberts deal (see article on him yesterday for more info on Welch).
And as I said yesterday, Welch is going to be a decent pickup from Pittsburgh for the Cats; this deal seems pretty fair on both sides: Pittsburgh is aquiring a scoring vet with a lot of playoff experience, something that'll come in handy in Pittsburgh's eventual playoff run and the Panthers stick to their plan of rebuilding around a young player core.

Bruce Garrioch is writing that the Sens are still in the mix for Roberts but aren't willing to give up a hefty amount for him (Muckler made that clear yesterday).

And it looks like the Miami Herald is just adding on something we've known: that Roberts wants a 1-year contract extension.

Bill Guerin

The saga which is Bill Guerin has taken an unexpected little twist, similar to Doug Weight's last season, Jeremy Rutherford is reporting that the Blues have talked to Guerin's agent about the possiblility of dealing him and of him returning as a free-agent in the offseason.
I've been thinking about this all along as Guerin wouldn't mind returning to play with Weight and potentially Keith Tkachuk again.

Guerin is now the king of the current trade market, which thanks to yesterday's flurry of deals, has melted considerably. Any team eyeing him will have to pay a steep price as the Ducks and Sharks are battling each other for him, both willing to deal a first-rounder and pick.

Have the Penguins acquired Gary Roberts?

Fifth Update: Darren Dreger reported during tonight's Habs-Leafs game that the Leafs have offered a 2nd and 4th round pick along with a prospect...the plot thickens. This may interest Florida and benifit them more...

Fourth Update: the Globe and Mail reports they have learned that the Penguins have offered up "Noah Welch to the Panthers for Gary Roberts."
Note: Welch has been back-and-forth through Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season and has not managed to hold down a roster spot for young. He has lost ground as a prospect and was considered last season a top defensive prospect for the Penguins

Third Update:
"TFP has learned that the Pittsburgh Penguins are finalizing a trade with the Florida Panthers in exchange for veteran Gary Roberts. The trade is not yet completed. Details to follow.."

--The Fourth Period.com

Second Update:
It's official: Penguins hunting down Roberts.
--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

First Update:
--Eklund
"I am hearing that the Roberts situation is big mess, I doubt seriously this deal happens."

Original article:
Apparently, "sources" tell TSN that the Florida Panthers have agreed to trade Gary Roberts and have asked him to waive his no trade clause.

Ready for this?

IT IS NOT WITH OTTAWA OR TORONTO!

Yep, we all heard rumours of him being shipped back to an Ontario-based team, but no, maybe TSN says the Penguins have the most interest in him, who knows, and I don't think Roberts is that crazy not to accept an offer to play for a contending team with guys like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Ryan Whitney and Marc-Andre Fleury.
And they aren't short of veterans either, Mark Recchi is there.

But it would surprise me if this is Bob Gainey's idea of a "surprise", what? A guy can dream, can't he?

I'll be watching this closely.


Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.