Death at Blues game...

A 72-year-old man, whose name was not released, died of an apparent heart attack in the upper bowl of the Scottrade Center toward the end of the game. Details weren't immediately available... (AP)

Wow, that is sad indeed...makes me wonder how badly he felt about the Blues having another crappy season...oh well, rest in peace...

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.

Career -57 player number 6 on TSN's top 10 Most Wanted List.

On today's TSN Tradecentre '07 show (which was relatively good); the panel presented the viewers with a "list" of the top 10 most wanted players by GM's on trade deadline day.

Here is the list:

1. Bill Guerin
2. Owen Nolan
3. Sheldon Souray
4. Jason Blake
5. Martin Gelinas
6. Jamal Mayers (?)
7. Todd Bertuzzi
8. Gary Roberts
9. Georges Laraque
10. Dainius Zubrus

I heard all day long Pierre McGuire saying that it was near centaincy that the Maple Leafs would acquire...wait for it...Jamal Mayers?!

I was thinking to myself "What the hell?". He's ranked, for some reason number 6 on TSN's list ahead of Bertuzzi, Roberts, Laraque and Zubrus; all of whom are better players than Mayers.
I understand the defensive aspects involved in Mayers' game, but really, putting him ahead of those guys might want to make me define TSN as "a little out of their sanity".

Jamal Mayers has 16 points this season (7 goals and 9 assists) and on defence, is a horrible -16 despite the Blues success under new head coach Andy Murray, who took over at the midway mark of the season.
The guy has 125 points in 495 career NHL games and is -57. That's right...-57

Makes me want to not think what Gord Miller has been smoking these past few days, or McGuire for that matter stating "defensive aspects" as an asset of his...or maybe he meant "fighting"?

Take a look at this great fight with Jordin Tootoo:

Hope you enjoyed this,

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

(P.S.)Feedback needed on my new logo

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

Tkachuk shakes up trade market...

Drum roll please...tomorrow's the NHL Trade Deadline we have all been waiting for and which my blog has been spouting out articles for.

FIRST UPDATE: John Muckler was recently quoted by TSN/CP as to that he would not overpay during tomorrow's trade deadline such as Don Waddell and Doug Wilson did to acquire UFA veterans Keith Tkachuk and Craig Rivet.

"After talking to our scouts and talking to our coaching staff, yes we do have a game plan and yes we'd like to do certain things, but the prices are too high right now," Muckler said today following the Senators' practice".

Muckler's is rumoured to be seeking a forward and a defenceman.
--------------------------------

Tkachuk trade shakes up trade market

Bruce Garrioch, for the Ottawa Sun, posted an interesting article in this morning's Sun. He claims that Keith Tkachuk's trade to Atlanta has shaken up the trade market due to the price they paid for him (I discussed that here yesterday). "GMs like Ottawa's John Muckler, Tampa's Jay Feaster, Buffalo's Darcy Regier, Toronto's John Ferguson Jr. and Montreal's Bob Gainey must now decide how they're going to react", wrote Garrioch.

If the Sens rumours involving the acquisition of Gary Roberts for a first round pick and Antoine Vermette are true; we may be witnessing a huge change in the approach to trade deadline dealings that GM's now must learn to confront.

Wow, that is insane!
I was really shocked also at what the Canadiens got for Craig Rivet last night: a first round pick and a young defenceman! All for a potential UFA with defensive problems.

Garrioch also writes that "GM's phones went off the hook, after the Thrashers acquired Keith Tkachuk"
From Garrioch's article: "A lot of guys are worried after what Waddell did," added another GM. "They thought the prices would drop by now and they haven't come down.

"Guys are still giving up the No. 1 picks and players to get unrestricted free agents. It's a big price to pay."

Let's take a wait-and-see approach as we inch closer to deadline day on how these deals will affect the huge names and potential seeking teams out there. It'll definitely be interesting to see how much the Blues will get for Bill Guerin...

TSN/Eklund: 9 players on waivers.

EDIT: TSN just reported this, it is official.

It is Eklund, so until this becomes official (if it does) ...take it with a grain of salt:

He claims a reliable source has informed him that, 9 players have been put on waivers and here they are:

"Brian Boucher, Bryan Berard, Michael Leighton, Denis Hamel, Jason Krog, Niko Kapanen, Marc Chouinard, Aaron Downey, and Petr Cajanek"

Some very interesting names in there, especially Berard, Kapanen, Boucher and Cajanek.

Berard requested a deal out of Columbus, maybe putting him on waivers is the first step, although, I would not understand any logic behind this since Columbus would lose one of its top defencemen and get absolutely nothing in return.

Expect most of these names will likely be claimed.

The Bill Guerin Watch.

Paul, over at Kukla's Korner cited: "Bob McKenzie was just on NHL Live and mentioned Detroit, Atlanta, Ottawa along with the Sharks being in the running for Bill Guerin. He would not be surprised if a deal was done today"

Aww, the GM's have gotta stop trading away, or else, there will be nothing left for Trade Deadline Day!

Anyway, McKenzie was just on the Team 990 here in Montreal and he mentioned some of this. However, it is very interesting to see the Thrashers name be in that list of teams (there are probably more too).

First they acquire Tkachuk for a huge price (Metropolit, 1st round, 3rd round and 2008 2nd round). Since St. Louis is asking for a prospect and a bunch of picks (per RDS), I'm wondering what they have left to give up for Guerin? Next year's first rounder? 2009's first rounder? The Zamboni and the women's bathroom?

If Waddell swings a deal that will send more picks to Saint-Louis, he should damn well be fired.
If he does do what I suggested (next year's pick) -although that probably won't happen- he would be throwing the Thrashers future away just so he can get two players who are in their late 30's and on top of it, would attract a lot of attention on the free-agent market.

Guerin ain't going to Atlanta, I guarantee it.

The Red Wings could use Guerin since Dan Cleary's been kinda "cold" for the last, say 2 months?
The Sharks, well, we know about 'em, but, they gave up their first rounder to Montreal last night, and it could be difficult for them to land him without sacrificing young players such as Joe Pavelski, Matt Carle or Marc-Antoine Vlasic...

The Senators have been on the up since Christmas and now are in posession solidly of a playoff spot, but, as we know, the East is known to be kinda tight and thin on the edges this season. After all, only 3 points seperate the 10th and 6th spot. Guerin might be a good fit here and he would definitely give John Muckler the presence of a playoff experienced vet amongst some young Senators.
He brings experience, strength, leadership and scoring ability (see 2006-2007 season stats...) to the table along with a sharp defensive side.

RDS, the french sister of TSN of Quebec, recently said the Canadiens also could be involved in negotiations with the St. Louis Blues; although this is likely less reliable (no pun intended), Hockeybuzz.com recently mentioned Montreal being in the race for Guerin.

Take these last two with a grain of salt, as RDS only suggested the Canadiens are involved and Eklund is a Habs fan and his trade rumours are usually biased.

And to top this off and to add more spark to the fire...Jeff Gordon reported out of St. Louis on his blog, that the Blues may sign Guerin to a 2-year contract extension.

And this is for your latest hockey news...

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.

Thrashers hope Tkachuk and Zhitnik are the solution

The Atlanta Thrashers hope their slump will soon be over and that the acquisition of highly-sought star forward Keith Tkachuk was worth the price they paid to acquire him.
The trade was reported early this morning, with reports coming from TSN's Darren Dreger, Paul Kukkla and Eklund.

Tkachuk, who is eligible for unrestricted free-agency in the offseason has notched 43 points (20 goals, 23 assists) in 61 games with St. Louis this season and was their second-leading scorer (behind Bill Guerin) at the time of the trade.

The Thrashers gave up surprising forward Glen Metropolit, whom after a slow start, finally put up decent numbers with the Thrashers, a first and third round pick in this year's draft and a secound rounder in 2008 for Tkachuk.

Mind you, the second rounder in '08 will only be valid if Tkachuk re-signs with the Thrashers this offseason.

Atlanta's current trading spree is disturbing me.
These trades seem like a "quick-fix".
It's true the Thrashers have lost ground in their playoff run; recently dropping out of the division leading spot to 6th in the Eastern Conference and if things keep up, in danger of falling out of the franchise's potential first playoff run ever.

First they give up young defenceman Braydon Coburn to get the aging Alexei Zhitnik from the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday.
Coburn had not developped as fast as Atlanta would have hoped, however, he is still young and there is no reason to doubt him emerging in Philly.

It is the second time Zhitnik has been traded this season (from New York to Philadelphia; from Philadelphia to Atlanta). On top of it all, they sacrifice 3 major picks for the next two seasons in hope a declining but "he's still got it" overweight man in Keith Tkachuk can lift the team out if it's current funk.

If Zhitnik and Tkachuk don't pan out, look for Don Waddell endure a series of hangovers, and, to seem professional, he commented well on the situation:

“The first deal, truthfully, we really needed a defenceman and I really wanted to get that done,” Waddell told The Canadian Press. “Then I knew what I had in terms of assets to put a package together for Keith. I called (Blues GM) Larry Pleau after I was done the Philly deal and we started talking even more and more late into the night about getting this deal done.”
Tkachuk fills the No. 1 need for Atlanta since training camp began: a No. 1 centre.
“He’s a top-line guy,” said Waddell. “He brings competitiveness to our team, he plays with grit. And our intention right off the bat is to play him with (Ilya) Kovalchuk. We think they can make things happen.”

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge...