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Both teams missed last year’s playoffs. Will this deal reverse either Florida or Toronto’s recent fortunes?
General Manager Jacques Martin set out this summer to improve the Panthers’ defense. Instead, he has remade it.
Martin completed the third significant off-season addition to his defense Tuesday, acquiring former All-Star and Olympian Bryan McCabe from Toronto for oft-injured defenseman Mike Van Ryn. The Panthers also received a fourth-round pick in the 2010 draft.
The deal was rumored for weeks, but McCabe – who has a no-trade clause – would not approve the trade until he received a $2 million bonus he was due from the Maple Leafs on Monday.
The other new defensemen for the Panthers are Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton, both acquired from Phoenix in the draft-day deal that sent Olli Jokinen to the Coyotes. All three newcomers are expected to play in a top-six rotation that also figures to include Jay Bouwmeester, Bryan Allen and Noah Welch or Karlis Skrastins.
Florida has certainly bolstered its defense, but lost its leading scorer Olli Jokinen in the process. No signifigant scorer was brought in to fill that gap. Therefore I don’t see this deal propelling Florida to the playoffs in the 2008-09 season. As for Toronto, I don’t have any opinion on their playoff chances this season.
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.
It was the biggest margin of victory in team history.
TORONTO — The Panthers’ most one-sided win in franchise history also happened to be one of the most surprising.
In a battle between two teams with injury-depleted rosters, Florida got a hat trick from Richard Zednik and five points from Brett McLean to rout Toronto 8-0 Tuesday night at the Air Canada Centre.
*****
The Panthers had five previous wins in franchise history by six goals, three of them 6-0 shutouts.
Florida scored three goals in the opening 8:19 of the second period to take a 4-0 lead, then poured it on with four more in the third, when the Maple Leafs showed their frustration by instigating three fights.
Toronto pretty much quit after Florida made it 3-0. After it became 4-0, The Maple Leafs coach pulled the starting goalie Vesa Toskala for one who hasn’t won a game since November. Not a good sign.
The third period got ugly with fights. Florida scoring goals on both a 5-3 and 5-4 power plays as a result.
You can’t read too much into last night’s win. Toronto has the second worst record in the Southeast conference. Key players are hurt, or suspended. However Florida has always had trouble with the Maple Leafs. This was like only the Panthers’ 3rd win in the last 12 games between the two teams, and the first during the 07-08.
The bigger news in regards to last night’s game may be this-
The win helped tighten the already close Southeast Division, with Florida (25-25-5) trailing co-leaders Carolina and Atlanta by just one point with a game in hand. Both the Hurricanes and Thrashers lost Tuesday night.
Florida’s three-game winning streak to within a point of the Division lead. Carolina and Atlanta have played one more game than the cats, which is the good news. On the negative side, Washington has played one less game than Florida.
It’s close, darn close. If Florida can win the division, the Eastern division is up for grabs. Ottawa isn’t playing up to snuff and if that doesn’t chang, and Carolina doesn’t make the playoffs, only Pittsburgh particularly worries me in the conference so far as the Panthers go.
It also was Florida’s 11th victory in its past 16 road games and improved its road record to 14-13-1. Only four Panthers teams have won more than 14 road games; the record is 18, held by the inaugural 1993-94 team. The team has 14 road games left this season.
Florida’s road record at least tells me this team can compete, if they want to. Right now the cats have won three in a row, including two on the road. The next three games are at Ottawa, Buffalo, and then Boston. Three games in four days starting tomorrow night. If the Panthers can win two of these, their season may well have turned.
Across Canada and the US, General Managers are already evaluating their team in preparation for Feb. 26th. For the Columbus GM Scott Howson, the big decision is what to do in regards to goaltender Pascal Leclaire. From the Columbus Dispatch-
The next three weeks are crucial for the Blue Jackets, who must decide whether they are a playoff-caliber club and a buyer or a seller at the Feb. 26 trade deadline.
On Feb. 27, the off-ice focus should shift to re-signing goaltender Pascal Leclaire, who is set to become a restricted free agent July 1.
First, a little background.
In the old NHL, there was a gentleman’s agreement that general managers wouldn’t poach other clubs’ restricted free agents by signing them to offer sheets. In the new NHL, gentlemen have gone the way of enforcers, which is to say there aren’t as many left.
Last summer, Edmonton general manager Kevin Lowe extended offer sheets to Buffalo’s Thomas Vanek and Anaheim’s Dustin Penner. The Sabres matched the Vanek offer (seven years, $50 million), but the Ducks let Penner leave for five years, $21.25 million. And a new day dawned.
Offer sheets used to be rare. There were only seven of note between 1990 and 2006. Now, it’s considered another way, albeit an expensive one, of adding star power.
Many have assumed that offer sheets could be extended for the likes of pending restricted free agents Shea Weber, Dion Phaneuf, Corey Perry, Matt Stajan and Alexander Semin, among others.
Does anybody doubt that Leclaire would be near the top of that list?
I might. Leclaire is having an exceptional 07-08 but what was his record like before this year?
59 games played 17 wins 32 losses 0 Overtime losses 3.13 Goals against average .905 save percentage
Those statistics are below average for a starting NHL goaltender. I could also add that Leclaire wasn’t even the starting goalie for the Blue Jackets in 06-07. Instead Fredrik Norrena did most of the net work for Columbus, playing in 55 games.
Could Leclaire have blossomed into a top goalie? Perhaps, but part of one season proves nothing. With his being a restricted free agent and Columbus in contention for a playoff spot, I wouldn’t trade the goalie. That’s unless some team wants to trade the farm to get Leclaire. That will happen sometimes. Nashvile last year traded three players to get the oft injured Peter Forsberg just before the trading deadline. What is Forsberg doing these days?
Update- Another player rumored to be on the trading block is Toronto’s Mats Sundin. He is 36 years old and still a good scorer, Sundin does however have a no trade clause in his contract is a unrestricted free agent at season’s end. A team trading for Sundin could see the Swede take a hike a little over four months after acquiring him.
If Toronto does trade Sundin, lay odds it is to a Western Conference team and definitely not Maple Leaf Division rival, the Ottawa Senators.
The Maple Leaf forward did it as he left the penalty box during a game last night.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nik Antropov has been suspended for three games for throwing his stick in the direction of the referees when he left the penalty box after the Carolina Hurricanes won Thursday night, 3-2, in overtime.
It was the culmination of a difficult night for the Maple Leafs, who were seething about the officiating after the game in Raleigh, N.C.
Nik Antropov, who has played in all 53 Maple Leafs games this season, will miss three after throwing his stick toward the referees.
Antropov was called for hooking Cory Stillman with 2:36 left in overtime, and Rod Brind’Amour scored the winner during the power play. When Antropov departed from the penalty box, he slammed his stick on the ice, then tossed it along the boards, but toward the referees. He was assessed two game misconduct penalties, the second of which was for abuse of an official and carries an automatic three-game suspension.
Antropov, 27, has played in all 53 Leafs games this season and has 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists), second-best on the team behind only captain Mats Sundin.
According to the NHL rulebook, a three-game suspension is levied when “any player or goalkeeper who, by his actions, physically demeans an official or physically threatens an official by [but not limited to] throwing a stick or any other piece of equipment.”
NHL senior vice president of hockey operations Mike Murphy confirmed from the league office in Toronto that Antropov would be suspended for three games, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail.
I haven’t seen a video of the incident, but if Antropov threw his stick anywhere in the direction of the refs, the Maple Leaf player has gotten off lightly for his actions. Not surprisingly, since the NHL has handed out light penalties for far worse actions than Antropov’s. That the league contiues this policy may not be anything new, but I feel outrage should still be expressed till the NHL does something about these hooligans.
From top to bottom, the standings
Ottawa Senators 51 32-15-4-68
Montréal Canadiens 50-27-15-8-62
Philadelphia Flyers 49-28-16-5-61
Pittsburgh Penguins 50 28-18-4-60
New Jersey Devils 50-28-19-3-59
Boston Bruins 50-26-19-5-57
New York Islanders 51-24-21-6-54
New York Rangers 52-24-22-6- 54
Carolina Hurricanes 53-25-24-4-54
Washington Capitals 51-23-23-5-51
Atlanta Thrashers 52-23-25-4-50
Buffalo Sabres 49-22-21-6-50
Florida Panthers 51-22-24-5-49
Toronto Maple Leafs 52-20-24-8-48
Tampa Bay Lightning 51-20-26-5-45
Note- The numbers above from left to right are- Games played, wins, losses, Overtime losses, total points
Teams in Bold are Southeast Division teams
First of all barring a complete collapse by these teams, you have to think Ottawa, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Montreal are locks to make the playoffs. You can probably also toss Boston in.
The rest of the conference is pretty wide open. The only teams that appear to have little chance are Tampa and Toronto.
The Southeast Division is wide open. It is also a division likely to send only one team to the playoffs. First to fourth place is separated by a measly 5 pts, and the 4th place team Florida has played two less games than division leader Carolina. That would point to Florida having a good chance to make the playoffs for the first time in 8 years. On the other hand, there is the team’s listless play of late, only 4 wins in 14 games and this from today’s Palm Beach Post.
The Panthers, who return to action tonight against Buffalo following the All-Star break, say they are determined to end their agonizing playoff drought.
But some observers think the Panthers haven’t exhibited enough determination to reach the post-season for the first time since April 2000.
To put it more bluntly, some critics think they are soft.
“This team plays too much on the perimeter; I haven’t seen the willingness to get their noses dirty and do the dirty work,” said NHL broadcaster John Vanbiesbrouck, who starred in the nets for the Panthers when they reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1996.
“Winning isn’t easy. You’ve got to make up your mind you’re going to do whatever it takes to get there and play like that every night.”
I’m not totally sure if Vanbiesbrouck is right in what he says. Florida has blown at least five games this year in the last minute of play. They’ve also played games where they either quit or showed little effort. I’ve missed only a handful of games on television this year, Florida has the talent to win the division and even make a run in the playoffs. The only teams I worry about in the conference are Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Carolina and Toronto (The Maple Leaf oversized defensemen seem to intimidate the Panthers) when Florida faces them.
I question if the Panthers has the desire, and perhaps the coaching. Why the hell did the team send Shawn Matthias back to the minors? He scored two goals in four NHL games, two of which Jacques Martin barely played him in, and 21 in 32 games of OHL play before his callup. I rather have Matthias on the roster than the overrated Brett McLean or Kamil Kreps. After all, Kreps has just 4 goals in 45 games played!
Boy am I getting gloomy about this Panthers team.
They won last night, marking for the fist time this season that the team has a winning record.
Thursday night’s Panthers-Hurricanes game might as well have been played on a roller coaster, it had so many ups and downs.
In the end, the final up went to Florida, which registered a 5-4 victory at the BankAtlantic Center, taking the lead for good on Brett McLean’s goal midway through the third period.
Back home after winning three of four games on the road and facing the Southeast Division leaders, the Panthers had nothing but opportunity in front of them. A win would cut into their five-point division deficit and set an energizing tone for a year-end schedule that features four of five games at the BankAtlantic Center.
It looked bleak when Carolina took a 3-1 lead after the first period, but the Panthers rallied for their third consecutive victory. They now trail the Hurricanes by just three points.
I have felt from Opening Night, that this Panther team is capable of taking the Southeast Division. That the team is right on Carolina’s back at the moment says something(Other than the SE division being mediocre) about how Florida has come this far. They’ve been plagued by injuries this year, particularly to defensemen(Three are out at this time, and its not known when any will be back) but all through this the team has pulled themselves over .500. Yes I still worry about the lack of punch the team has, their tendency to sit on a lead, and whether they give up when they fall behind. As to the last, maybe we’ve seen the end of it. For Florida was down 3-1 a little over 16 minutes into the game. The Panthers then stormed back.
The Eastern Conference playoff picture stands like this. Teams in italics are Southeast division teams
1- Ottawa 22-8-3 47 pts
2- Boston 18-12-4 40
T3- Montreal 17-12-5 39
T3- Carolina 18-15-3
T3- New Jersey 18-13-3 39
6 NY Rangers 17-14-3 37
T7 Florida 17-16-2 36
T7 Pittsburgh 17-15-2
T9 with 35 pts Buffalo and Philadelphia(32 games played each) and Toronto(35 games)
T12 with 33 pts Atlanta and Tampa Bay in 34 and 35 games respectively.
You can look at it one of two ways. Florida is four pts out of 2nd place in the conference or that the cats are just a game or two from being in 10th place because of the fewer games played by Buffalo and Philadelphia. As I see the conference, Florida can play as well as anyone with the exception of Ottawa, and arguably Carolina and New Jersey. The cats, who are notoriously bad as a road team, are 8-9-1. When you factor in injuries and the Panthers road record, this team could finish as high as 2nd in the conference, but more likely 4th or 5th. I think my preseason prediction of Florida making the playoffs for the first time since 2000, is looking better and better.
He did however score three goals while playing in England during the 2004-05 NHL lockout. From AP-
TORONTO – The last time Wade Belak scored an NHL goal, Jean Chretien had just finished his final term as prime minister, a Canadian dollar was worth less than an American one and, well, it was a very long time ago.
Nearly four years — and one lockout — later, Wade Belak found the back of the net again, helping the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Nashville Predators 3-1 Tuesday night.
His last goal is far enough in the past — 143 games ago, not counting the three he scored in England during the lockout — that even Belak would have had to look it up.
“God, I don’t know when it was,” Belak said after his 407th NHL game — and career goal No. 8.
For the record, his seventh came on Dec. 20, 2003.
The clock resets for Belak now. How long before goal #9? I’d predict not before the 2008-09 NHL season. How about you?
Low goal scoring defensemen are hardly unusual in the NHL. Rod Langway is in the Hall of Fame and he had more seasons with zero goals and seasons with goals scored.
All NHL teams will meet again once every season. From AP-
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – The NHL’s board of governors approved the sale of the Nashville Predators and changed the league’s scheduling format Thursday night to allow every team to face each other at least once every season.
Paul Kelly, the new executive director of the NHL Players Association, also addressed the league’s owners during a late-afternoon session to open the board’s two-day meeting at an elite resort on the Northern California coast.
After a three-year experiment in developing rivalries in hockey’s far-flung outposts, the NHL voted to go back to the scheduling format used before the 2004-05 lockout, most notably decreasing the current eight games against every team’s divisional opponents to six.
Starting next season, teams will play just 24 total games against their four divisional foes, 40 against the rest of the conference and 18 against the other conference — one game against all 15 foes, and three home-and-home series against wild-card opponents.
First let me state, my interest in hockey was only rekindled in the last year. Otherwise I had watched little of the sport since the end of the NY Islanders Dynasty in the early to mid eighties.
The arrangement where teams didn’t all meet seemed dumb to me. Fans in the west miss out on seeing players like Sidney Crosby and fans in the east miss getting to see……. well see what problem I have. LOL, make that former Florida Panther and ace goaltender Roberto Luongo. Now I can learn about the LA Kings, San Jose Sharks etc. To be honest I’m sick of Atlanta. You would be too if you had to see the Thrashers and Panthers cross sticks eight times a year.
Hanlon is the second Southeast division coach to be fired this season. Atlanta Thrashers coach Bob Hartley was the first.
ARLINGTON, Va. – Glen Hanlon was fired as coach of the NHL-worst Washington Capitals on Thursday, with the team off to its slowest start in 26 years.
Hanlon, in his fourth season at the helm, was told of the decision a day after loud boos and chants of “Fire Hanlon!” echoed through the arena during a 5-1 home loss to the Atlanta Thrashers, Washington’s fifth consecutive defeat.
He will be replaced on an interim basis by Bruce Boudreau, the coach of the Hershey Bears, Washington’s American Hockey League affiliate.
Boudreau was to run the Capitals’ practice Thursday morning, then make his NHL coaching debut Friday at Philadelphia.
Boudreau, who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks, is familiar with several of the Capitals’ players, having coached seven current members of the roster at Hershey, which he led to the 2006 Calder Cup title.
He takes over a club that is 6-14-1 for 13 points, four fewer than any other team in the league through Wednesday. After beginning the season 3-0, the Capitals have lost nine of 10 games, and 15 of 18, leaving them with their lowest 21-game point total since having 12 in the 1981-82 season.
Expectations among the Capitals — from team owner Ted Leonsis right down to star forward Alex Ovechkin and other players — were high entering the season, because of the addition of a few free agents and the team’s top pick in the 2006 draft.
But other than Ovechkin, the team has had plenty of trouble scoring, and the problems have spread to other areas in recent games. Washington keeps falling behind and failing to recover, going 1-10-1 when opponents score first, and turnovers and poor line changes have been increasing.
Hanlon leaves his first NHL head coaching job with a 78-123-9-29 record.
I think Hanlon is partly the victim of unrealistic expectations. Coming into the season, I thought the Capitals were the weakest team in the Southeast Division.
There’s talk in the South Florida media of Jacques Martin’s job with the Florida Panthers being in danger. Looking around the NHL, coaches don’t have much job security. I still think the Panthers will get on the right track this year.
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