NHL Trade Deadline Update - The Flames have the most to gain in Western Canada

With the Vancouver Canucks 15 points ahead of 9th place Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers 15 points behind 8th place L.A. Kings, the role of buyer and seller has been determined for the 3 Canadian teams. The Oilers plan to continue the youth movement and the Canucks are gearing up for another run at Lord Stanley's mug. That just leaves the Flames.

Calgary is in a dog fight for the playoffs as 9 points separate 6th to 13th. The Phoenix Coyotes are tied with the Kings for 8th with 65 points each and just 2 points behind sit the Flames. Calgary has no cap space and adding a piece to get over the hump will not be easy. The Flames desperately need a second line center and players that could be offered up in a trade would be Lee Stempniak, who is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and Blake Comeau who is under performing at a $2.5 million cap hit. Moving Matt Stajan may be a pipe dream as he has a no trade clause, however getting someone to take on his $3.5 million salary may be harder than getting him to waive the no trade.

The Vancouver Canucks have been coasting through the regular season as they sit 2nd in the west 4 points behind Detroit. There is no cap space, so to add a player without shedding some salary will be impossible. The Canucks are mentioned to be involved in the Rick Nash trade rumors but the price maybe too high as Cory Schneider and Cody Hodgson plus more are said to be the asking price. Vancouver is already deep and with Sami Salo and Aaron Rome the only UFA's this summer, don't expect much movement. Shipping Keith Ballard and his $4.2 million contract out of town would be an amazing feat by GM Mike Gillis.

Perhaps the most exciting team in the NHL is also one of the youngest, the Edmonton Oilers are clearly out of the playoff race and the youth movement has been on for a few years. With a young group of exciting forwards already in place, look for the Oilers to target prospects for their blue line. Ales Hemsky is the best asset the Oilers have that they would be willing to part with, as his contract expires at the end of this year. Ryan Smyth's contract is up as well but he has made it clear he wants to be in Edmonton. Expect him to resign at a discounted price. Unloading Shawn Horcoff and his huge salary would be a blessing, however Horcoff has a no movement clause through next season. It looks like Oilers fans will have to put up with him for another season.

- Mike Lord

Valentines' Day is a Time to Celebrate our Love of Rivalries

The NHL has some of the best rivalries in professional sports.  These rivalries  bring out the best in players, fans and teams.  Fans have watched NHL legends star in rivalries which are in the highlight reels for generations to come.     

This tradition of hardcore rivalries lives well and prospers in today's NHL.  From left to right on the dial we have some pretty decent rivalries which keep fans on the edge of their seats.

In Western, Canada you have the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers which have seen incredible battles.  Luongo and the Nucks can look forward to growing competition to the kiddie brigade in Edmonton.  The young Oilers have some incredible talent which should challenge Vancouver which are perennial Cup contenders.

In the rest of Canada the focus of hockey fans is on two other teams. The Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens are pretty much the center piece rivalry for Canadian hockey fans and the rest of the NHL.  Ever since their Original Six days; these squads have been bashing out some hardcore hockey.  No matter who is ahead of who in the standings; a Leafs versus Habs game is a treat for fans around the league.

American NHL fans tune in to see clashes between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers as well as games between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks.  These four teams lay it down large ad leave the blood , sweat and tears on the rink. 

Other note worthy rivalries include:

Red Wings versus Stars (on tonight)

and

Rangers versus Bruins (on tonight)

So enough about flowers, chocolates, and movies like The Notebook; it's time to dig your teeth into something you can really love. Tune out and tune in to watch some of the best rivalries the NHL has to offer.  Who says hockey isn't about love ?

   

Check out Grant Robinson and his take on Gagner, Malkin, Kovalchuk, and more

Cant get enough NHL? Check out our writer Grant Robinson's podcast in which he discusses what is going on around the NHL! Click the link below!

http://grantrobinson.podbean.com/2012/02/09/going-deep-nhl-roundup-feb-8th/

 

This week’s episode of Going Deep is focused solely on the NHL. In the intro Grant comments on what has been going on around the league, and which players and teams are hot and cold. Grant has got some great insight that you have to check out. The 5 main subjects of the show are:

1) The record-breaking performance of Sam Gagner (Starts 16 minutes in)
2) Evgeni Malkin being the front-runner for the Hart trophy thus far (24)
3) Ilya Kovalchuk & how he has made the Devils the league’s hottest team (29)
4) Potential trade deadline targets: Grabovski & Nabokov (36)
5) The playoff chances/odds of the Habs & Leafs (45)

Hope you enjoyed the podcast, if you have any comments, suggestions, or topics you would like covered next week, feel free to leave a comment or tweet Grant @TheSportsGrind

Leafs Slip by the Oliers

I thought I was watching a little bit of the Oilers from the 80's tonight but then as the game went on between the 'New' Leafs and the 'Very Young' Edmonton Oilers I realized, no we are in the year 2012.

What was shaping up to be a barn burner at the ACC in Toronto tonight really turned out to be a team (insert Leafs here) that is on the move upwards and another team (insert...ya you know who...) who is trying really hard to stay a float.

The Oilers are going to be a real good team eventually in time. Young hockey studs they have but what is missing is the vets to lead them to the next level and that is what the Leafs have now.

Before the fans in the platinum's at the ACC could settle in for the start of the game the score was tied at 1-1. With a goal from Eberle of the Oilers and a bullet of a snap shot from Clark MacArthur of the Leafs we could tell this was going to be a fast pace game with some good scoring chances. At 13:45 of the 1st Toronto went up by one on a goal from young Jake Gardiner and then less then four minutes later Edmonton's Jordan Eberle recorded his second of the evening and weren't even done the first period yet.

Going into the second period all evened up I think this is when the Leafs decided we better get it going or these young bucks will be going at us hard. Quickly into the second period Phil Kessel jumped on a loose puck and fired home his 28th. Following him was Bozak counting on his 10th of year. At the 13 minute mark Jeff Petry brought the Oilers back to one but the rejuvenated Jeffery Lupul, his 21st made the score 5-3 for the home team Leafs.

The third period was exciting with full of chances from both teams but James Riemer shut the door for his club and with less then 2 minutes remaining in the game Kessel fired one into the empty net from just inside the red to end the game 6-3 for your home town hero's.

The fans in T.O were shown what a up and coming team can be looking like as the Oilers fired 30 shots at the Leafs. While Leafs countered back with the same amount but truly had the better scoring chances through out the evenings match.

So the Leafs hop on a jet plane and are off to Winnipeg to do battle with the Jets. You can catch it on Sportsnet with game time at 8:30pm. This will be a good time for the Leafs to keep on winning and to put a little breathing room between them and the Jets.

See you all after the game!

Coach Nye

NHL Round Up - Highlighted by the Winter Classic

The big game of the afternoon was of course the 2012 Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.The Flyers played host to the New York Rangers infront of a crowd of almost 47,000. With only 2 points separating the teams at the top of the Atlantic division and a fierce rivalry between them there was more at stake here than people might have thought. This wasn’t just a showcase game, both teams wanted the points and the bragging rights over their rivals.

It was a fast and furious 1^st period without either team getting off the mark. Lundqvist was playing exceptionally well in the Rangers net and it took until 12.26 of the 2^nd period before the Flyers finally got the opening goal of the game.

It was Brayden Schenn’s 1^st NHL goal and what a game to get it in as he picked up a rebound in the crease off a Matt Carle shot and slammed it into the gaping net.

It was quickly 2-0 as Claude Giroux was sent through by Maxime Talbot and he went forehand to backhand to beat Lundqvist high over his blocker shoulder.

The Rangers took only 30 seconds though to get the score back to 2-1 as Mike Rupp snapped a shot from between the circles low past Bobrovsky who was screened by Meszaros. Rupp celebrated with a Jagr style salute which seemed to upset some of the Flyers players on the ice.

Ironically, Jaromir Jagr had seemed to pick up some sort of injury towards the end of the 1st which had limited him to only 7.06 of ice time. Most of that was through the 1^st period as he was seen very little in the 2^nd and not at all in the 3^rd.

It was the 3^rd period where things really hotted up as Mike Rupp got his 2^nd of the game at 2.41. He squeezed a puck stick side on Bobrovsky where there really didn’t seem any room to do so.

Brad Richards gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead at 5.21 of the period as he received the puck at the top of the crease on a smart pass from Dubinsky and buried the puck into the back of the net.

Both teams then continued to create chances but none better than the Flyers chance to level the game with just under 20 seconds left as they were awarded a penalty shot with Ryan McDonagh adjudged to have covered the puck with his hand in the crease. The responsibility fell to Danny Briere but Lundqvist had been outstanding all game and was once again as he saved the shot and denied us all an extra 5 minutes of this wonderful event.

The Rangers came away with the 3-2 win, extending their lead in the Atlantic Division to 4 points whilst making it a 3-0 record against the Flyers this season.

In Vancouver, the Canucks hosted the San Jose Sharks and this game needed a shoot out to decide it. Jannik Hansen gave Vancouver the lead with just under 5 minutes left in the 1^st period. He lead a 3 on 1 break out for the Canucks and although it looked like he had made a mess of it he somehow still managed to slide the puck on net and in off the San Jose defender Dan McGill who was diving in front of the net.

Vancouver edged the 1^st period without creating any clear cut chances despite having 3 powerplay opportunities.

Ben Ferriero levelled the game 94 seconds into the 2^nd period as he swept in the puck right on the doorstep as Bieksa had blocked one shot with his foot and stayed down by the side of the net.

San Jose started to create some momentum after the equaliser and Luongo fended off 6 shots on a Sharks powerplay soon after including a fantastic glove save from Thornton as the forward fired from point blank range.

Patrick Marleau gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead midway through the game. The Sharks pressure paid off as he picked up on a rebound from a Braun shot and back handed it past Luongo.

Thornton had a great chance to make it 3-1 but Luongo pulled off a pad save as the Sharks captain skated behind the Canucks defence and in on the netminder.

Hodgson then had a great chance for the Canucks as Joe Thornton gave the puck away on his own blue line and Hodgson went 1 on 1 with Niemi. The netminder managed to deflect the puck over with his arm as Hodgson tried to go high gloveside.

Vancouver had over a minute 5 on 3 at the start of the 3^rd period as Burns and DeMurs sat for 2 minutes each but despite putting 4 shots on net they couldn’t find an equaliser at that point.

They finally got the equaliser with 8.25 left as Hodgson scored on the Canucks 6^th powerplay of the game. Hamhuis got the puck out of the corner to Hodgson and he fired a one timer lower across Niemi and into the corner. Bieksa picked up the 2^nd assist on the goal to extend his point scoring streak to 16 games.

The game stayed at 2-2 as both Luongo and Niemi fended off everything thrown at them for the remainder of the period. A 5 minute OT period couldn’t separate the teams either and it was decided on penalty shots. 

Burrows went 1^st and missed as Niemi poke checked the puck away as he approached the net and then Luongo saved from Clowe as he tried to go stick side.

Hodgson went to his back hand side but Niemi saved with his blocker then Pavelski was shut out as he tried to go five hole on Luongo.

Kesler went right down the centre on Niemi and had the Sharks netminder backing into his net only to wrist the puck against the inside of the post which left Handzus with the chance to win it for San Jose. He did just that as he deked backhand to forehand and shot the puck past Luongo stick side.

In Ottawa the Senators staged a 3^rd period comeback against the New Jersey Devils to tie up the game 2-2 before taking it 3-2 in Overtime.

The Devils built a 2-0 2^nd period lead as Zubrus forced home a puck after Anderson had made a pad save on a Sykora attempt and then Clarkson tapped in a puck that Zajac had forced in behind the Senators netminder.

Spezza halved the advantaged a minute and a half into the 3^rd period as he found some speed going in on Brodeur to fire the puck past him with ease.

It was Erik Condra who tied the game on a short handed play with just over 6 minutes of the game left as he fired from the wing and the puck somehow found a way through Brodeur.

That left it to Captain Daniel Alfredsson to win it 4 minutes into the overtime period as he fired the puck high stick side from the face off circle and into the net. It was a powerplay goal as Clarkson was serving a 2 minute hooking call and the Senators picked up the extra point.

In Chicago the Blackhawks were looking for some sort of revenge on the Edmonton Oilers after being battered 9-2 in their previous meeting in Edmonton. Things didn’t go to plan though and the Oilers took the 2 points with a 4-3 win.

Chicago had taken a 1^st period lead as Toews beat Dubynk with a soft wrist shot that went straight through the Oilers goalie but 2 powerplay goals at the mid point of the 2^nd saw the Oilers turn the game around. It was a 5 minute major penalty on Daniel Carcillo for boarding that saw the Blackhawks man thrown out and the Oilers get the powerplay chances.

First it was Ryan Smyth who put in the puck after a goal mouth scramble and then Taylor Hall fired in from an acute angle to give the Oilers a lead.

Andrew Brunette levelled the game at 12.39 of the 2^nd as he tipped in a Hjalmarsson shot infront of Dubynk but Andy Sutton scored the Oilers 3^rd before the end of the period as he found himself alone infront of the Blackhawks net to fire past Corey Crawford.

Ben Eager made it 4-2 at 8.17 of the 3^rd as he swept a back handed shot across Crawford and in at the far post. This would prove to be the game winning goal and make some amends for his performance against Minnesota in the previous game.

Jimmy Hayes made it 4-3 with 4 minutes left to give the Oilers a scare towards the end but an equaliser could not be found. However, it was a 1^st NHL goal for Hayes in only his 2^nd game.

It was a low scoring affair between the LA Kings and the Colorado Avalanche as the Avs took a 2-1 win after a shoot out.

LA had taken a 2^nd period lead through a Dustin Brown goal, the forward picking up a pass from behind the net from Kopitar and backhanding through Varlamov in the Avalanche net.

Ryan O’Reilly scored his 10^th of the season to level the game in the 3^rd period as he snapped the puck in off the far post with just over 5 minutes left.

It finished 1-1 after the overtime period and Milan Hejduk was the only one to stick his penalty shot inbetween the pipes and he took the extra point for Colorado.

- Adam Yates

Neil Tucker is all over the EPL and EIHL Action

Hand is Announced as New GB Coach For New Year

It was a busy time in British ice hockey over the New Year period. The EIHL continued to play as did the EPL and there was news off ice as well.

Ice Hockey UK announced on Friday (30^th December) that the new Great Britain coach would be Tony Hand. Hand a 1986 draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers is currently the head coach of EPL side Manchester Phoenix. Whilst Hand is widely recognised as the greatest ever British player his coaching career began at the British National League Dundee Stars before moving on to roles with Belfast, Edinburgh and Manchester in the EIHL before making the move with Manchester into the EPL as well as being an assistant coach to Paul Thompson with the national side for a spell.

Elsewhere there was less positive news. Firstly the EPL title contenders the Slough Jets have released Tom Carlon due to financial reasons. The Jets are currently second in the EPL standings but stated that poor ticket sales and lower attendances were to blame. The forward has been snapped up by the Peterborough Phantoms for the remainder of the season.

Also in the EPL the Swindon Wildcats have announced the signing of former Basingstoke netminder, Dean Skinns. Skinns will play as back for the injuried Thomas Murdy.

Meanwhile in the third tier English National League the Oxford City Stars ENL1 team has been forced to resign. The Stars blamed the fact that 8 senior players had decided to quit the team as the main reason for their withdrawal. The Stars ENL2 side though will continue to operate.

On the ice a busy New Year’s weekend saw the Belfast Giants take a 3 point lead over Nottingham in the EIHL table. However Sheffield remain hot on their heels as they recorded a somewhat fortuitous victory over the Coventry Blaze. Luke Fulgham the former Blaze player grabbing a brace for his new team.

There was also a win for Fife in the Forth Derby. The Flyers beating the Capitals on penalties in the Hogmanay clash at Murrayfield. Fellow strugglers Dundee however lost their tie against Braehead thanks to a Clan comeback. Those results now mean that the Flyers are tied on points with the Stars for last place in the EIHL. The Flyers and Capitals will return the favour in Kirkcaldy on Bank Holiday Monday.

In the EPL it was a bad New Year for those sides at top of the table. Both Milton Keynes and Slough lost their Friday night games whilst table toppers Guildford lost both their games over the period. The Flames however remain on top of the table with a 6 point gap.

Now that you are up to date with the entire goings on in British hockey I would like to wish all the readers a Happy New Year and hope you continue to follow the EIHL, EPL and British ice hockey. I will be back with the game day reviews, Get Real Guide To and some more opinion piece as well.

Neil Tucker

www.bluelinehockeyblog.wordpress.com

December Means World Juniors

Well the calendar turned over to December and that means Santa Claus is putting the finishing touches on his preparations for the big day, so to are the 10 teams participating in this years World Under 20 Hockey Championships held in Edmonton and Calgary beginning on Boxing Day.

The 2 finalist from last year's event in Buffalo released their final selection camp rosters on Monday. Russia invited 28 players to their camp which runs December 7-18. Yevgeni Kuznetsov, from Traktor Chelyabinsk, headlines the players invited to the camp in Russia. Kuznetsov currently has 22 points in 28 games for his KHL club. Team Russia leaves for Canada on December 18th and will be joined by players, yet to be named, who are currently playing in the CHL. Of the expected players to be invited Sarnia Sting's (OHL) Nail Yakupov and Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) Mikhail Grigorenko, stand the best chance to make the squad. Both players are currently among the league leaders in points with 46 each.

Canada looks to avenge its gold medal loss to the Russians as they open their final selection camp on December 10th in Calgary. As always at this time of year it is not so much about who is in camp for team Canada but which players are not. There are several candidates who find themselves with full time employment in the NHL and will most likely not be released. Ryan Nugent Hopkins leads that list. The leading rookie scorer is cruising at a point a game pace for the Edmonton Oilers and will most definitely be staying put as are other rookies Sean Couturier of Philadelphia and Ryan Johansen of Columbus. Second year stars like Tyler Seguin (Boston) and Jeff Skinner (Carolina) are off to great starts this season and it would be a pipe dream to see them on the Canadian roster.

Of the eligible NHL players who might be released to Hockey Canada, Anaheim's Devante Smith Pelley and Montreal Canadiens Michael Bournival are the best bets. Brett Connolly (Tampa Bay) and Erik Gudbranson (Florida) are possibilities but their play to date says otherwise.

Of the 41 players who were invited to camp, 2 of them just hope to be healthy enough to participate in the 3 exhibition games beginning December 19th. Jonathan Huberdeau of the Saint John Sea Dogs is as close to a guarantee as you can get to make the team, that is if his fractured foot heals in time. Huberdeau is still about 2 weeks away. Everett Silvertips defenceman Ryan Murray has been skating the last 10 days or so but is still recovering from a high ankle sprain. Murray is not expected to play before the evaluation camp.

Canada has 3 returning players from 2011. Mark Visentin is 1 of 4 goaltenders and the other 2 are forwards Jaden Schwartz and Quinton Howden. The defence will most likely feature all new players and look to Brandon Gormley of the Moncton Wildcats and Ryan Murphy of the Kitchener Rangers to be the front runners for spots. Some of the notable forwards that will take to the ice are Mark Schiefle of the Barrie Colts. Schiefle had an extended training camp with the Winnipeg Jets before being returned to the OHL. Another Barrie Colt, Tanner Pearson is tearing up the OHL this season and leading the league in scoring with 57 points in 26 games. Pearson is draft eligible in 2012. Another pair of Saint John Seadogs worth keeping and eye on are Zack Phillips and Nathan Beaulieu. Both are having good seasons for the defending Memorial Cup Champs. WHL scoring leader Mark Stone has been invited as well. Stone has 60 points in 29 games for his Brandon Wheat Kings.

The bronze medallist from 2011, USA, will release their preliminary roster on Monday Dec 5th at 5:30pm EST on the NHL Network.

- Mike Lord

Giroux and Nugent-Hopkins Shine in Friday Action in the NHL

The youth movement in the NHL was in the spotlight on Friday in the victory of the Flyers over the Habs and the Oilers over the Wild.  The youngsters which are shining in this new NHL season are showing in the scorecards on a nightly basis.

Claude Giroux is proving to be a sensation for this year's edition of the Philadelphia Flyers.  The guys is a machine.  He tallied two more goals against the Habs in a 3-1 victory on Friday night.  The kid is young, fast, and he has great hockey sense.  He is the leader of the youth movement in Philly and we think he could easily become the heart and soul of the Flyers for years to come.  The burden on Giroux was huge after the blockbuster trades by Philly in the post season.  His maturity in dealing with the new responsibilities should give Flyer fans something to look forward to for years.

The young guns for the Edmonton OIlers came to life on Friday night again and carried the Alberta boys to a 5-2 win over the Wild.  Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Taylor Hall notched goals for Edmonton for a team that seems to be a clear contender in their division.  The success in Edmonton is the product of years of planning with smart drafting and trades.  The kids on the Oilers squad are the future of hockey in this great market and the addition of Ryan Smyth has proven to be the leadership influence which was needed to get to the next level.  We really this team and the fact that they can bounce back from adversity so easily.  Just like Giroux in Philadelphia; Nugent-Hopkins and Hall show maturity beyond their years and unlimited potential.