According to an online French website, hosting a live-draft blog, the Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators finalized a deal about an hour ago that would send defenceman Wade Redden to Edmonton for top Canadian prospect that many of you of know very well thanks to international junior play, Andrew Cogliano and a roster player.
Fanatique.ca's live blog reports that the deal is in place as of 12:10 PM and that it should be announced very soon.
"(23h07) Après une première ronde sans échange majeur, les discussions sont plus qu'intenses entre les directeurs-généraux de la ligue. Wade Redden pourrait quitter Ottawa pour Edmonton en retour d'Andrew Cogliano et d'un joueur. "
I'm still wondering how credible this website is.
It seems like a valued site with lots of interesting information, but I wonder...
If this were true, then the Oilers would be paying a hefty price to acquire a seemingly overrated defenceman, who has lost nearly all of his offensive prowess he showed during the 2005-2006 campaign.
Last season, he was inconsistent and often injured, and managed to have his worst season since 2001-2002, when he scored only 34 points.
His +/- rating difference equalled his 2001-2002 points total, dropping a whopping 34 points (from +35 to +1) while his powerplay numbers suffered and fell 11 points from last season.
I guess Kevin Lowe really is desperate for a solid defenceman, even if it is Wade Redden, to offer up one of his brightest young lights.
The same site confirms speculation that the Sharks would acquire the rights to Chris Drury, re-sign him and trade Patrick Marleau to the Canadiens.
Anyone have any info to share, regarding the site's credibility?
Stay tuned folks...
23 June 2007
Redden for Cogliano in the works?
GM's are busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy...
Yep, GM's are busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy at this time of year.
Not only do they have to work with their scouting department to pick a single player out of a thousand and pray to God he becomes a star and hope that they didn't just choose the next Patrick Stefan, but those moody guys in tight suits also have to deal with their players, trades and contracts.
Here's my shopping list of the trades and signings GM's have announced over the past 2 days, and they are in chronological order, with the most recent one being at the top of the list and in red.
SATURDAY, JUNE 23rd
Ryan Shannon moves from Anaheim to Vancouver.
Jason King moves from Vancouver to Anaheim.
Minor-league winger Jesse Schultz moves from Vancouver to Atlanta.
Minor-league defenceman Jimmy Sharrow moves from Atlanta to Vancouver.
Minor-league centre Stephen Dixon moves from Pittsburgh to Anaheim.
Minor-league centre Tim Brent moves from Anaheim to Pittsburgh.
Kent Huskins is staying in Anaheim for 2 more seasons ($1.25 million)
Sean O'Donnell is staying in Anaheim for 2 more seasons ($1.25 million)
Alyn McCauley is packing him bags and will move out of Los Angeles. (buy-out)
Chris Thorburn moves from Pittsburgh to Atlanta.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FRIDAY, June 22nd
Tomas Vokoun moves from Nashville to Florida.
Dean McCammond is staying in Ottawa for a at least 3 more seasons (est. $1.5-$2.5 million)
Tyler Arnason is staying in Colorado for two more seasons (est. $1.5-$2 million)
Gary Roberts is staying in Pittsburgh for one more season ($2.5 million)
Mark Recchi is staying in Pittsburgh for one more season ($2 million)
Vesa Toskala moves from San Jose to Toronto.
Mark Bell moves from San Jose to Toronto.
Andrei Zyuzin moves from Calgary to Chicago.
Adrian Aucoin moves from Chicago to Calgary.
Check back throught the day, as the list will be updated.
--BBR
The "New NHL" uniform and logo concept...
The NHL is rapidly changing, and RBK Hockey is leading the way in the appearance department.
After shockingly overtaking hockey God manufacturers, CCM and Koho 3 years ago and revolutionizing the way hockey equipment looks and feels, they're at it again.
But this time, it's in a delicate category named "jersey", and if their presentation at the ASG is any indication, then the hockey world will be the first professional sports league to don such an advanced piece of fabric technology.
But just how revolutionnary will the new NHL jersey be?
If you missed their little promo at the ASG, here is RBK's concept of that advanced piece of fabric technology.
The Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals are the first to reveal their "new" jerseys for the upcoming season.
Techincally, the Bruins have a new logo, and their jersey will essentially be the same in terms of colours and design.
The Capitals, however, have gotten out of that dark and ugly jersey they have worn for so many years.
Oh and it was dark...play-by-play men and commentators have trouble reading the player's name and number behind the jersey.
Presenting your 2007-2008 Washington Capitals jersey
(If you have Adobe Flash Player installed, go to Washington's website and check out "the way it should be" for yourself)
From left to right: Ben Clymer, Brian Pothier, Chris Clark and Jeff Schultz.
And I guess we can read the numbers now too:
An excerpt of the "Bruins new jersey" article per the Boston Globe.com
Today, the Boston Bruins will unveil the new Reebok uniform, the first NHL team to show off the sleek look with tighter-fitting jerseys and advanced moisture technology. The Bruins also are one of six teams that are using the introduction of the uniform to change their logo and striping, bringing back a vintage look reminiscent of the Bobby Orr era and showing that the redesign is about profit as well as performance.
Alright, I'll get to the point already, here's what the Bruins' 2007-2008 logos will look like, and if you're curious, here's how the B's logo has evolved over the years (for some reason, the link to bruins.com doesn't work anymore)
10 April 2007
Hawks win first overall choice in upcoming draft...
The Chicago Blackhawks have won the first overall pick according to multiple sources.
Poor Flyers, they have a horrific year and still can't win the first one.
The bottom five had already been determined in a pre-lotto:
1. Philadelphia
2. Phoenix
3. LA Kings
4. Washington
5. Chicago
And the Hawks win...the Flyers will likely pick second.
Here's the most updated rankings from ISS:
1. Jakub Voracek, RW
2. Patrick Kane, RW
3. Alexei Cherepanov, RW
4. Kyle Turris, C
5. James Van Riemsdyk, LW
6. Karl Alzner, D
7. Sam Gagner, C
8. Maxim Mayorov, LW
9. Keaton Ellerby, D
10. Logan Couture, C
11. Angelo Esposito, C
12. Colton Gillies, C
13. Nick Petrecki, D
14. Joakim Andersson, C
15. Alex Plante, D
Hope this pick will compensate for all the "missed chances" that the Hawks had of getting Ovechkin and Malkin.
I can see Patrick Kane going to the Hawks...
Wouldn't it be nice if the Caps got Cherepanov to compliment Ovechkin and Backstrom?
Wow.
27 March 2007
Ovechkin, meet your new linemate: Nicklas Bäckström
No, not the guy who's taken over as the number one guy in the Wild's net...it's Nicklas Bäckström, the first 4th overall pick taken in the new NHL era by the Washington Capitals.
"Washington selects...Nicklas Bäckström"
Those were the words Caps owner Ted Leonsis's good boy and ever-famous, Alexander Ovechkin said with a big grin accross his face as he was anointed to announce the Capitals 4th overall pick, just a year after they gained him 1st overall.
And now, he's coming to the NHL according to multiple Swedish publications.
First of all, to end all speculation, Bäckström is Swedish and the other Backstrom is Finnish, bitter hockey rivals. (you've never seen Saku Koivu and Mats Sundin gets some words in, huh?)
And to avoid confusion in this post: Nicklas Bäckström is the Swedish forward and Niklas Backstrom is the Finn netminder.
Now...Bäckström proudly walked up to that podium, shook big boss Ted Leonsis's hand, boss George McPhee's hand and their boss Alexander Ovechkin's hand.
His draft position, 4th, is also his position in the top chosen Swedish players in an NHL Entry Draft.
He sits in 4th place behind Mats Sundin (1), Daniel (2) and Henrik Sedin (3), who were taken 1st, 2nd and 3rd overall respectively.
Bäckström nearly made it to the NHL this season, the Washington Capitals offered him a contract in the summer of 2006 and he officially turned it down in July to remain in another elite Swedish league, Elitserin, with Brynäs IF.
His statistics haven't been amazing with Brynäs IF, and despite being named Rookie of the Year in 2006 and Junior Hockey Player of 2006, he only put up 40 points in 45 games, 12 of those being goals, in his current season.
Those are respectable numbers, but not the kind the Capitals would like to see transition over to North America...
It’s always difficult to take European scoring stats and compare them with what would happen in North America, he has always excelled in international play anyway...19 points in 24 games.
Nevertheless, scouts rave about Bäckström's talent:
An extremely talented two-way center born 1987. Bäckström stands out with his tremendous hockey sense and soft hands. His technical skills are very good and one of his trademarks is the way he moves the puck into the offensive zone. He stickhandles really well through traffic. Offensively his passing skills are superb. His flip passes are perhaps a bit risky, His shot is decent, although it can and should be improved, and although he is still more of a playmaker than a scorer, he has a pretty good scoring touch.
Defensively Bäckström takes care of his responsibilities and is a rather good penalty killer. He could use some work on his conditioning and skating. Not slow by any means, but there is some room for improvement. Bäckström is not an overly physical player, but he is pretty strong and tough to knock the puck off. Has the tools to become a high-quality NHLer in the future.
"More of a playmaker than a scorer" is probably why George McPhee is hot about this kid, he's going to set up Ovechkin for, who knows how long?
5 years, 10 years , 15 years?
Dainius Zubrus was decent this year in giving Ovechkin his chances, but Nicklas Bäckström is prepped to be even better.
Wanna meet him?
YouTube has a nice intro video on him.
With the Capitals in need of some sort of lofty miracle, Nicklas Bäckström is most likely the next stone to help turn around a miserable Washington Capitals hockey team.
16 March 2007
Hello, my name is Henrik and here's my twin brother Daniel...
Daniel Sedin (left) and Henrik Sedin (right) are both making huge strides with the Canucks this season...
The Vancouver Canucks were a failing team, desperate for some young talent.
And on June 26th, 1999 they were ready to make a move.
After a season which saw them accumulate 47 losses and a mere 58 points, they were determined to gain a little more respect.
Just a little respect.
On this date in 1999, they changed the look of their prospect repertoire, certain Swedes by the name of Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin whom were both 2nd and 3rd overall picks respectively.
But who were these kids some asked? "The twin brothers from MoDo in Sweden."
Scouts were impressed with the twins' offensive ability in Sweden, however they did not put up huge numbers: Henrik had 47 points in 50 games before being drafted and Daniel was slightly worse with 45 points in 50 games. While fans drooled over the possibility of another Sutter. But most importantly, experts proudly promoted that this had better have been carefully chosen pair of draft choices, as the Canucks were floundering and had just dissapointed big-time with 47 losses, they needed some kind of consolation for that.
The Canucks drafted potentially high-impact players, but more interestingly, they had taken two brothers with two consecutive picks.
Their careers started off a little slow for highly-picked draftees but nevertheless, expectations were still high for the dynamic duo.
However, things began to go bleak when the pair failed to reach 55 points in their first four NHL seasons after being taken very high in the draft.
The highest they ever got to were back in 2003-2004, the last pre-lockout season, the last "Old-NHL" season when Daniel broke the bank and recorded 54 points while Henrik presented only a slight improvement over the previous seasons with 42 points.
"What's going on? Why aren't they the superstars they should be? Did we screw up by choosing 50 point players 2nd and 3rd overall?"
I have to admit, I was kind of reluctant to accept that they would ever accomplish the goals fans around the nation expected of them.
It wasn't a particularly talent-filled draft choice pool that year, with Patrick Stefan going 1st overall to the new Atlanta Thrashers and many other nobodies taken further on.
The most notable pick of the draft was probably the Senators' selection of Martin Havlat 26th overall in the 1st round, the rest either did not accomplish what had been planned for them or simply were flops.
The biggest flop being Patrick Stefan, now with the Dallas Stars, who was probably the worst first overall pick ever.
Wait!
The new NHL proved to be a career-saving, career-ending or career-changing experience for many players.
In the career-saving: Jaromir Jagr...Cristobal Huet...Martin Straka...Mats Sundin... just to name a few, turned their careers around after going downhill for a few years.
But then there was the career-changing which saw Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin turn the heat up and finally post star numbers with 71 and 75 points each. Henrik's proved to be a playmaker more than a scorer, with 57 assists last season and currently 57, they have proved to make up the majority of his point totals. Daniel has emerged into a scorer who finishes the plays up with the help of his linemate brother, netting 22 goals last season and currently 31.
And the great duo just proved they are what the Canucks drafted them to be: talented players, and that's what you get from Daniel and Henrik Sedin.
And what has people talking these days is also their clutch performances, last week, Henrik scored the game-winning goal against the Sharks about a minute into the game a week ago and yesterday, Daniel scored the winner in a similar time span against the Blues. They each had 1 goal and 1 assist in a 3-2 overtime win against the falling Blues.
Scoring...playmaking...energy...clutch...what more can they give? Time will only tell and blossom the pair into great and offensive leading players.
Oh, and they're both making the same amount of money each year too, funny indeed, one isn't beating out the other, at least not yet...
