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Have the Sharks found the player tyoo lead them to a Stanley Cup? From AP-
The Ottawa Senators traded disgruntled winger Dany Heatley to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, ending a lingering dispute with a player who felt he was not being used properly by the team.
The Sharks gave up Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second-round pick. Ottawa also sent a fifth-round pick to San Jose.
The trade on the opening day of training camp ends a clash that has overshadowed the Senators in recent months.
The 28-year-old Heatley said he wanted out of Ottawa because he wasn’t being used properly. But he angered fans when he refused to waive a no-trade clause to move to Edmonton.
“When I signed in Ottawa two years ago, I felt it was to be an integral part of the team,” Heatley said in August. “Over the last two years and more recently over the past year, I feel my role was diminished. This past season, it diminished a lot more.
“I’m a player who can play in a lot of different situations. I don’t feel I was given that role on the team. I’d like the opportunity to go somewhere where I can play to the best of my capabilities and be the player I can be.”
The Sharks beef up their offense by acquiring a former 50-goal scorer. Heatley had 39 goals and 33 assists last season.
Heatley has 260 goals and 283 assists in 507 regular games, split between Atlanta and Ottawa. He is due to make $8 million this year.
Michalek, a 24-year-old winger from the Czech Republic, had 23 goals and 24 assists in 77 games last season. His salary is $3.5 million this year.
The 29-year-old Cheechoo, a hard-nosed winger, had 12 goals and 17 assists last season. He’s due to make $3.5 million this season.
From the point of view of what talent was exchanged, San Jose came out on top. When everything else is considered, I think Ottawa was a winner. Heatley is a very unhappy person in Ottaw, even though he was the Senators leading scorer and the team’s first or second most valuable player on ice.(A strong argument can be made that Forward Daniel Alfredsson is better than Heatley.) Heatley wanted out of Ottawa, claiming his role was diminished there but how so was it diminished. What’s really at play here is that Heatley is a troubled young man. His reckless driving killed his best friend and teammate Dan Snyder in 2003. NHL fans and Snyder’s family forgave Heatley but I’m pretty certain Heatley hasn’t been able to forgive himself and that’s why he asked for a trade from Atlanta in 2005 and his most recent trade out of 2009. He’s looking for a place to be comfortable. Heatley will never be comfortable anywhere he lives till he forgives himself. I don’t think that will happen before his hockey days are over. Playing the sport is a constant reminder of his friend who unlike him can’t play the sport they both loved so much.
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?
The team with the best record in the 2008-09 NHL regular season has been eliminated from the playoffs. From AP-
Right when the opening puck dropped, Ryan Getzlaf and Joe Thornton dropped gloves. The star centers’ simmering dislike erupted into a brawl dominated by Thornton, who pummeled Getzlaf with at least two flush blows to the face.
Getzlaf took it and smiled, knowing he still could win the only important fight.
And that’s exactly what happened in the waning minutes of Game 6. Getzlaf scored the knockout goal as the eighth-seeded Anaheim Ducks ousted the not-so-mighty San Jose Sharks from the postseason with a 4-1 victory Monday night.
Top To Bottom
With a 3-1 loss to Anaheim, the San Jose Sharks became the fourth team to go from winning the Presidents’ Trophy to first-round elimination in the NHL playoffs.
Season Winner Points Result
2008-09 Sharks 117 lost to Ducks
2005-06 Red Wings 124 lost to Oilers
1999-00 Blues 114 lost to Sharks
1990-91 Hawks 106 lost to North Stars
Teemu Selanne and Francois Beauchemin put Anaheim ahead with their first playoff goals on fortunate deflections 43 seconds apart in the second period, and the Ducks coolly finished off the Presidents’ Trophy winners in an upset that could resonate for years in this juicy in-state rivalry.
*****
Jonas Hiller made 36 saves to finish his phenomenal playoff series debut for the Ducks, who won a fight-filled clincher to complete a remarkable playoff upset two years after winning the franchise’s only Stanley Cup.
The clubs’ final meeting was a slugfest with 60 total penalty minutes and a long series of brawls between Anaheim’s goals and Hiller’s saves. It all started with the stunning fight between Getzlaf and Thornton, who traded shoves and harsh words two days earlier in San Jose.
San Jose was showing its frustration out of being beaten by their in state rival. Personally I thought Anaheim was capable of winning this series, and thought this was the series most likely to see an upset(After the Rangers-Capitals).
Hiller was brilliant in goal and should get most of the credit for Anaheim’s advancement to the next round. San Jose out shot the Ducks in each of the six games of their series.
The Western conference semi-finals are set now, as the other remaining series ended last night also.
Chicago downed injury-riddled Calgary 4-1 in Monday’s Game 6 to take the series 4-2. The Blackhawks’ previous playoff series win was a four-game sweep of Calgary back in 1996.
The Blackhawks were simply relieved after Monday’s game to have earned their first road win in the series and get a breather before facing the well-rested Vancouver Canucks in the next round.
I thought Chicago would win this series, which they did. Now here are my semi-final round predictions-
Detroit beats Anaheim 4-0. The Ducks magic runs out.
Chicago beats Vancouver 4-3. The superior scoring ability of the Blackhawks trumps Roberto Luongo in goal for the Canucks.
He hasn’t played a NHL game since the 2002-03 season. From AP-
Claude Lemieux signed a contract with the San Jose Sharks on Monday after spending the past month with their top minor-league affiliate, giving another boost to his NHL comeback hopes.
The 43-year-old Lemieux signed with the Worcester Sharks on Nov. 25 after a five-year absence from pro hockey. The four-time Stanley Cup winner’s new contract is a two-way deal, allowing him to play in San Jose or Worcester.
San Jose general manager Doug Wilson said Lemieux will stay with the Worcester Sharks if he clears waivers Tuesday after signing his new deal. He has two goals, four assists and 12 penalty minutes in 14 games in the minors.
“This is simply the next step in the evaluation process with Claude,” Wilson said.
Lemieux played parts of 20 seasons in the NHL, winning titles with Montreal (1986), New Jersey (1995 and 2000) and Colorado (1996). He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP in 1995, and his 80 postseason goals rank ninth in league history.
Lemieux was a great player in his day, but five years away from the NHL is likely to leave him deficient as a player. MLB players(Jackie Jensen, Bruce Bochte, and many other) who came back after losing a whole season have had struggles. Two goals in 14 minor league games doesn’t exactly scream he is ready for a comeback either.
The last time a NHL team reached this mark in only 29 games was almost 80 years ago. From AP-
San Jose captain Patrick Marleau stepped up in the locker room after the second period — and the ice in yet another Sharks victory.
Marleau scored twice, including the winner with just over 5 minutes to play, in the NHL-leading Sharks’ 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.
“We feel like we’re never out of it,” Marleau said. “When we find ourselves down a couple of goals, we remind ourselves to stick with the game plan.”
Sharks coach Todd McLellen said it started with the players taking responsibility.
“The leadership on this club right now is tremendous,” McLellen said. “No one was letting anybody off the hook. They held themselves responsible. The coaches didn’t say anything.”
The win gave the Sharks 50 points, tying them for the NHL record for fewest games to 50 points. In the 1929-30 season, the Boston Bruins also earned 50 points in 29 games by starting the season 25-4-0.
The Sharks are 24-3-2 for the year. One of those three defeats was against Florida. Does that mean I should expect a San Jose-Florida Stanley Cup? It is nice to dream.
A David Booth hat trick was the key to the victory. After last night’s win, Florida has a record of 5-8-1. More importantly, the Panthers five-game road trip is at an end. Florida has home games this week against Tampa and Detroit.
Florida’s win last night marked the second time the cats have been able to beat a high flying California team. Their last win before Anaheim, came against the San Jose Sharks. After their loss to Florida, the Sharks ran off a 7-game winning streak that only came to an end last night.
As nice as the win was last night,(I watched the game. Memo to FSN- Cut out the idiotic in game commercials that fill 20% of the television screen while the puck is in play. They are very disruptive when it comes to watching a hockey game) Florida didn’t play much different than they have all this season. No offense(Other than David Booth), poor special teams, and way too many shots on goal allowed. Last night it was 45-26. You can’t keep asking Goalies Tomas Vokoun and Craig Anderson to be almost perfect every game. It still looks like a long year for South Florida hockey fans.
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How did anyone think Tampa Bay could be a Stanley Cup contender this year? linked with OTB Sports
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He will have knee surgery on Monday. From AP-
SUNRISE, Fla. — Florida defenseman Bryan Allen is set to have surgery on his left knee Monday and will be out indefinitely.
Allen, one of the Panthers’ three alternate captains, has been out since playing in the Panthers’ first two games of the season. He underwent surgery on the knee in the summer and sat out all but the last of Florida’s preseason games.
The Panthers are still without defenseman Bryan McCabe, who has been out since the season opener Oct. 10 because of a back injury. Panthers general manager Jacques Martin said McCabe is making progress and the team is hoping he can begin practicing next week.
Martin also said the Panthers have had discussions with veteran defenseman Jassen Cullimore, who played with the team last season but wasn’t re-signed.
Allen’s abscence is already being felt. Over the last two games, Florida opponents Ottawa and San Jose took 90 shots on goal. So much for the purpose of the Olli Jokinen deal which was to decrease the pressure on Florida goaltenders.
Florida plays St. Louis tonight. Having played in Florida last night, and then Missouri tonight, I expect Craig Anderson to be in goal. If he isn’t, Coach Peter DeBoer has to be taking direction from GM Jacques Martin. Martin showed little confidence in Anderson, and as of now DeBoer seems to be following his predecessor’s lead.
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He was fired by San Jose less than a month ago. From AP-
TORONTO — Ron Wilson was introduced Tuesday as the new coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, less than a month after he was fired by the San Jose Sharks.
The 53-year-old Wilson appeared at a Tuesday news conference at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre after signing a four-year deal.
Wilson was fired May 12 by San Jose after the Sharks lost to the Dallas Stars in the second round of the playoffs. He succeeds Paul Maurice, who was fired by Toronto last month after missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
“I’m the happiest person in the National Hockey League today,” Wilson said. “I’m fulfilling a dream.
Wilson played for Toronto back in the 70’s. In addition he coached at Anaheim and Washington before his stint in San Jose.
Can Wilson succeed in Toronto? The Maple Leafs have been mired mostly in mediocrity for a time span that predates Ron Wilson’s time as player with the team. The Leafs have Mats Sundin, but not a whole lot else that stands out. This dream job stands a good chance of ending up as a nightmare.
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.
From top to bottom, the standings
Detroit Red Wings 51-37-10-4-78
San Jose Sharks 50-28-15-7-63
Dallas Stars 54-29-20-5-63
Anaheim Ducks 53-27 20-6-60
Minnesota Wild 50-28-19-3-59
Calgary Flames 50-25-17-8-58
Vancouver Canucks 51-26-20-5-57
Colorado Avalanche 50-26-20-4-56
Phoenix Coyotes 50-27-21-2-56
Columbus Blue Jackets 52-25-21-6-56
Nashville Predators 51-25-21-5-55
St Louis Blues 49-23-19-7-53
Edmonton Oilers 53-23-25-5-51
Chicago Blackhawks 50-23-23-4-50
Los Angeles Kings 52-20-29-3-43
Note- The numbers above from left to right are- Games played, wins, losses, Overtime losses, total points
Teams in Bold are Northwest Division teams
I think its more than reason to say Detroit, San Jose, Dallas, and Anaheim are going to make the playoffs, while the LA Kings have no chance. Edmonton’s chances are slim also.
The closest division is the Northwest. Three points separate first to fourth place. I like Vancouver because of Goalie Roberto Luongo. The division is both talented and very tight and I could see anyone but Edmonton could come out on top and deservingly so. The Avalanche, Wild, Canucks nor Flames rate as mediocre or badly underacheiving teams unlike members of the Southeast Division.
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