The cats split the first two games of the 2009-10 NHL season. From AP-
The Florida Panthers on Monday signed unrestricted free-agent center Dominic Moore to a one-year deal worth $1.1 million.
The signing adds more depth down the middle for the Panthers, who also acquired Steve Reinprecht during the offseason before signing him to a three-year-deal.
Moore posted 12 goals and 29 assists in 63 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs before being traded to the Buffalo Sabres at last season’s trade deadline. He had just three points in 18 games in Buffalo.
The 29-year-old center has 35 goals and 100 points in 305 career NHL games.
The Panthers are thin at Center. They have Gregory Campbell, Bryan Campbell, Steve Reinprecht, Kamil Kreps, and Shawn Matthias. Weiss is a good player, but his faceoff winning percentage was poor in 2008-09. Campbell is coming off his best year ever, Reinprecht I think is just a run of the mill player, Kreps has shown little in his NHL career so far, and Matthias is very green but a good prospect. Moore will help the Panthers win more faceoffs, and I think his acquisition is a good one. Who will the Panthers cut or send down to Rochester to make room on the roster? I’d keep Matthias over Kreps but I’m betting the Panthers do the reverse.
He played in the NHL for 20 years with 4 different clubs and was one of the last remaining Winnipeg Jets to still be active. Enjoy your retirement Teppo.
Veteran defenseman Teppo Numminen will retire after 20 seasons in the NHL.
The 41-year-old Finn was an unrestricted free agent after playing the last four seasons in Buffalo Sabres. He also had stops in Winnipeg, Phoenix and Dallas during his career.
He made the announcement Wednesday, saying “playing hockey in the NHL and also for my country, Finland, was very enjoyable.”
The three-time All-Star had 17 points in 57 games for the Sabres last season. In 1,372 career games, he recorded 117 goals and 520 assists.
“I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to play with and against the best players in the world for so many years,” Numminen said.
Numminen accumulated six medals in his international hockey career with Finland, including a silver at the 2006 Turin Olympics.
How safe does this acquisition make Rick DiPietro’s hold on the #1 Goalie job for the team?
The New York Islanders have agreed to terms with goalie Martin Biron on a one-year deal.
Biron was 29-19-5 for the Flyers last season, with a 2.76 goals-against average, and led Philadelphia to the Eastern Conference finals against Pittsburgh.
“Adding Marty gives us three bona fide No. 1 goalies,” general manager Garth Snow said in a statement. “We learned about the importance of stability in our lineup from last year and he now allows us to have another quality starter.”
The 6-foot-3 goalie has a career 2.59 GAA in 433 NHL games with Philadelphia and Buffalo.
Biron is a good goalie as is DiPietro. DiPietro’s problem may be high expectations. He was taken #1 overall in the 2000 entry draft. That, and the fact the Islanders are one of the worst NHL teams at present, make me believe there will be a tussle for the starting goalie job in Nassau County.
The Philadelphia Flyers have completed the task of reshuffling their goalies in the offseason. They signed Ray Emery, Martin Biron signed with the Islanders, and #2 Goalie Antero Nittymaki is now with Tampa. Overall I don’t see the Flyers better or worse off at Goalie but am still puzzled by the Washington Capitals sitting on their hands this off season when it is pretty much universal their goaltending is in need of an upgrade.
The upcoming schedule was released yesterday. Right away I noticed something interesting. Florida has a home and home series with Nashville.
Nov 28 and Mar 29 are when the Panthers and Predators play next season.
What I find interesting is- Florida is playing Nashville home and home for the second straight season. In 2008-09, the Panthers and Predators played on November 1st and December 23rd.
In light of the way the NHL season is set up, namely that any Eastern or Western conference team plays only play 3 home and homes in any season, Florida and Nashville shouldn’t meet home and home more than once every five years 15 western conference teams divided by 3 home and home series equals five.
Here’s a link to the 2009-10 schedule. Anyone have theories as to what happened here or am I off base?
National politics and the NHL. How often do these two mix? From AP-
U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York are opposed to the Phoenix Coyotes relocating to southern Ontario because it would have a potential “crippling” effect on the Buffalo Sabres.
In a letter sent to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Thursday, the two Democrats sided with the league in its bid to prevent Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie from purchasing the bankrupt Coyotes and moving them to Hamilton, Ontario, located about 45 minutes west of Buffalo.
The Sabres, one of the NHL’s strongest U.S. small-market franchises, generate about 20 percent of their revenue from across the border.
The NHL has asked a bankruptcy judge to uphold the league’s right to determine who owns a franchise and where it plays.
Will the Coyotes play anywhere next year. A Ottawa Sun journalist has some serious doubts.
The judge asked the sides to report back on May 27, a week from today. I can predict with near certainty that nothing will come of that mediation. Moyes isn’t about to relinquish his apparent ownership and the NHL isn’t about to allow him to put the team into bankruptcy. Try finding middle ground there.
If it’s not bad enough that Moyes and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman have no trust in each other, the judge did say he would discuss relocation — what he called the “hot-button issue” — on June 22, more than a month from now, which was immediately followed by the NHL lawyer indicating the league would not approve the movement of a franchise for next season at such a late date.
That date all but ensures Balsillie and Hamilton are out for next season.
It could also mean the Coyotes are out for next season.
That is the difficulty the NHL must come to grips with. You can’t move the Coyotes by late June and you can’t sell tickets in Phoenix for a franchise nobody can say for certain will be there. It is a double-edged sword, with both sides stabbing at the league.
The NHL has had to step in before to keep a team afloat. It was the Ottawa Senators around 15 years ago. NHL owners will croak first before allowing Jim Balsillie, I think the same will go for keeping the franchise known as the Coyotes alive in some form or another till a suitable owner can be found.
As for Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, I understand their interest in trying to protect the Sabres. The team is a New York based business and in no way compares to this fool congressman who has a Congressional committee investigating the College bowl system.
The Florida Panthers played their 41st game of the NHL season last night. A 4-2 win over division rival Carolina Panthers. Before I make some comments, here are the standings
First I can safely conclude the NY Islanders, Tampa Bay, Ottawa, and Atlanta are out of the playoff picture. Toronto faces a uphill battle, but I won’t count them out yet.
Look where Pittsburgh is only one year after making the Stanley Cup finals. What is going on up there? They recently had a five-game losing streak at home.
They aren’t the only recent memory Stanley Cup final team fallen on hard times. Ottawa who made it in the 06-07 looks to be re-building. How did anyone in Senator management think Alex Doug Auld and Martin Gerber were playoff quality goalies?
Tampa Bay has gotten out of the cellar. Two wins against Florida in late December helped. Will Rick Tocchet still be coaching next season?
Florida has its best record at the half way since the 1999-2000 season, or the last time they went to the playoffs. I had high hopes for Florida last year only to see them dashed. Could they make it this year?
Definitely. The teams immediately ahead of them are beatable. If Florida sneaks in as the 7th or 8th seed, they are most likely to get buzz sawed by Boston or Montreal.(Though Florida does have a good record against Goalie Tim Thomas and are the only NHL team with a lifetime winning record against the Canadians. )
Some miscellaneous Florida notes-
Their defensemen have scored more goals than any other team in the Eastern Conference
Florida has gained at least 1 pt in every game Gregory Campbell has scored in.
Yesterday’s game marked just the 3rd time ever Florida went without a penalty in a game.
Tomas Vokoun now has 201 career wins as a goalie.
Florida has a very good goalie at Rochester that the name eludes me. Would Florida consider a deal for Craig Anderson and bring up the rookie before the season ends? Anderson is a free agent at the end of the year and not expected to be back.
Florida signed a multi-year agreement with Fox Sports Florida which as a result have more Panther games on television.(I got NHL Center Ice too, so I rarely miss a game unless there is no television at all) That’s good news. Now I would like FSN to stop showing upcoming programming promos while play is happening on ice. Those idiotic spinning pucks fill 1/8th of the television screen and often interfere with watching play. Every time I see this crap I feel like screaming at the television.
It is not known if his victim will need a rabies shot. From AP-
The NHL acted swiftly after what happened in the first period of Buffalo’s 4-2 home win. Peters started the skirmish by shoving the palm of his glove into Ruutu’s face and pushing him into the boards at the Senators’ bench.
Ruutu responded by chomping down on Peters’ glove, catching his teeth on the player’s thumb, which is not padded. The force of Ruutu’s bite broke the skin and drew blood on the Peters’ right thumb. As Peters pulled away in pain, his glove was ripped off by Ruutu’s bite.
Peters was penalized for sparking the skirmish. Ruutu was not penalized.
Biting isn’t some kind of penalty? Only in the NHL.
Here’s the video of the incident
To be honest two games is a slap on the wrist, even with the lost salary. Suspend him for a couple of months. This behavior doesn’t belong in pro sports.
They have won one of their last fifteen games. From the Tampa Tribune-
Even when handed a gift, the Lightning find a way to fumble with the bow.
Tampa Bay was handed a pair of power plays on questionable calls late in Wednesday’s 4-2 loss to Buffalo, but came away empty to continue the team’s losing ways. Thomas Vanek scored twice, giving him 11 goals against the Lightning in the past seven meetings between the teams.
Tampa Bay lost its fourth consecutive game and saw its winless streak reach nine games (0-7-2), the longest stretch of games without a victory since Jan. 12-29, 2001. Overall, the Lightning have one victory in the past 15 games (1-10-4) as they sink deeper into the depths of the league standings.
Tampa is giving the rest of the NHL and hockey fans a textbook lesson in how not to win NHL games. A team needs more than one great scorer(Vincent Lecavalier) and top line. Goaltending and defense matter.
No question, ‘The Dominator’ was a great goalie(but if given a choice, I’d take Martin Brodeur) and is destined for the Hall of Fame. This after Hasek had to wait seven years after his being selected in the NHL Draft before being able to play in the NHL. That mostly due to the fact he was born in Czechoslovakia which was still behind the Iron Curtain.
That’s in the past for Hasek, who is 43 years old now. Good luck in retirement Dominator.
DETROIT — The passion that made Dominik Hasek great is gone.
So, the goaltender known as the Dominator said goodbye to the Detroit Red Wings and NHL.
“Physically, I’m felling great — as well as ever,” Hasek said Monday as he announced his retirement. “I just don’t feel that I’m ready to compete on the highest level.
“I need motivation. Right now, I don’t feel it’s there and I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”
Hasek rarely did disappoint during his 16 seasons, becoming the first goalie to be a two-time MVP. He won six Vezina Trophies, trailing only Jacques Plante’s total by one.
Hasek’s announcement came five days after the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup over Pittsburgh.
Detroit general manager Ken Holland said Hasek’s place in history is secured, calling him not only one of the greatest goalies of his era — along with Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur — but also one of the best in NHL history.
Historically Dom-inant
Dominik Hasek spent his NHL career known as the Dominator. Looking at where his numbers rank among other goalies, it’s not hard to see why Hasek is considered a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
“He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” Holland said.
Former Red Wings great Steve Yzerman agreed.
“You’re splitting hairs if you pick one between Dom, Roy and Brodeur because they all had different styles,” said Yzerman, a team executive and former teammate of Hasek’s. “It’s like comparing Mercedes, Ferrari to Porsche.”
Hasek lost his job during Detroit’s run to the Cup, getting benched for good during the opening-round series in favor of Chris Osgood. The 43-year-old from the Czech Republic insisted he would’ve retired even if he stayed in net throughout the playoffs.
“I am leaving this game feeling very, very happy,” he said.
Holland didn’t try to persuade Hasek to return for another season.
“There was nothing to discuss,” Holland said. “Dom was completely at peace with the decision that he had made.”
Holland said minor league goalie Jimmy Howard might get a shot to be Osgood’s backup next season, but didn’t rule out adding a veteran via trade or free agency.
Hasek won 389 games with the Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres and Chicago Blackhawks, who drafted him in the 10th round in 1983 and had to wait until the 1990-91 season to get him on the ice. Chicago kept him just two seasons, then watched him become one of the game’s greats in Buffalo.
Hasek ranks 10th in NHL history in wins, ninth in goals against average, 18th in games and is tied for sixth in shutouts.
He won 65 playoff games, including 16 in 2002 when he won his first Stanley Cup with Detroit.
“It was our goaltender who made the difference that year,” Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch said.
Hasek led the Czech Republic to gold at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, was injured while playing for his country in 2006 and laughed when asked if he would come out of retirement to play in 2010 in Vancouver.
He plans to return to the Czech Republic soon with his wife and daughter, leaving his son behind to attend Michigan State University.
One of Hasek’s most impressive feats was the six Vezina Awards he won as the NHL’s best goaltender in a single season.
During this past regular season, Hasek won 27 games and had a 2.14 goals-against average while alternating with Osgood in net.
Detroit coach Mike Babcock chose to start Hasek in the playoffs — saying “Dom’s not going to struggle” — then pulled him in favor of Osgood during Game 4 of the first round against the Nashville Predators.
Osgood won his first nine games as a starter in the postseason and finished with a 14-4 record and a league-low 1.55 goals-against average, keeping Hasek on the bench.
After an injury-shortened season with the Senators, Hasek returned to the Red Wings two years ago.
He signed a one-year contract worth $750,000 in 2006 and made $900,000 in bonuses. He chose to stick around last summer with a one-year contract worth more than $2 million in base salary with a chance to earn an additional $2 million in bonuses.
Detroit acquired Hasek the first time in 2001 in a trade with Buffalo, where he had been since 1992. He backstopped the Red Wings to the championship during his first season in Detroit, then retired.
They beat the New York Rangers last night to pull within 5 points of the Division lead.
SUNRISE – Panthers captain Olli Jokinen had not scored in eight games but had been finding ways to contribute during Florida’s five-game win streak.
Friday, Jokinen took a more direct role, scoring the winning goal as the Panthers beat the Rangers 3-2 to stretch their win streak to six games.
It was a matchup between the NHL’s two hottest teams, and it was the Panthers who remained doused New York, which had not lost in regulation in 13 games and was 10-0-3 during that five-week stretch.
Does the Sun-Sentinel’s Ted Hutton ever study the NHL besides the Florida Panthers. The San Jose Sharks had won 10 games in a row going into last night. That makes them one of the hottest two teams in the NHL, and Florida not.
The Panthers had not won six in a row since March 17-29 of 2006 when they won seven straight.
The Panthers also closed to within five points of division-leading Carolina, which lost to Buffalo on Friday.
The Hurricanes got their heads handed to them by Buffalo on Friday, 7-1. Carolina is still in control over its own destiny, Florida only has two games left with the Hurricanes this season.
Pretty amazing Florida has never won more than seven in a row. They did however begin the 96-97 season(The season after their Stanley Cup appearance) with a seventeen game unbeaten streak. That was in the days before shootouts and the current NHL scoring system.
The Panthers’ penalty kill was crucial in the closing minutes, as they had to fend off two Rangers power plays.
The Panthers have nine games remaining in the regular season, all against Southeast Division foes.
“It’s good to have the nine games in the division. You have a little more control over your own fate,” Martin said.
The penalty kill at the end of the game was big. About a month ago Florida blew four two goal leads(three of them in the 3rd period) in a very short stretch of time. The Panthers showed last night they can close a big game.
Can this team keep doing it and make the playoffs? Florida has the talent, but their the worst underacheivers in the Eastern conference. The team’s injuries have been bad enough, but the Panthers just seem to play scared too often. I don’t want to get my hopes up too high about this team, since they’ve let me down regularly this season.
If Florida doesn’t make the playoffs, Jacques Martin may well be done with Florida as its head coach and even GM. I’ve got mixed feelings about that, but will address the subject at another time.
