FanHouse

NHL Season Preview: Washington Capitals

Jon — 2008-10-01T08:00:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Capitals, NHL General

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NHL Season Preview: Carolina Hurricanes

Jon — 2008-09-23T08:00:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Hurricanes, NHL General

Welcome to the NHL FanHouse 2008-09 season preview. While other sites are previewing "30 teams in 30 days," we decided to take advantage of the extra time off before the start of the season to bring you all 30 previews over the next three weeks. We're counting down in reverse order of finish from last season in each conference every weekday from now until October 3. Look for an Eastern Conference preview every morning and a Western Conference preview every afternoon. Click here to read them all.

Who's In: Anton Babchuk, D (FA-Europe); Josef Melichar, D (FA-Europe); Jeff O'Neill, F (FA); Joni Pitkanen, D (Trade-EDM)

Who's Out: Keith Aucoin, C (FA-WSH); Erik Cole, LW (Trade-EDM); John Grahame, G (FA-Europe); Jeff Hamilton, C (FA-CHI AHL); Bret Hedican, D (UFA); Darcy Hordichuk, LW (Trade-NSH; FA-VAN); Trevor Letowski, F (UFA); David Tanabe, D (UFA); Glen Wesley, D (Retired)

What's Changed: Um... the jerseys they'll wear for 15 home games this year? Other than that, it's hard to see much that's likely to be different from a season ago in Carolina, and that begins with the team's luck.

The Hurricanes lost a whopping 333 man games to injury in 2007-08, and have already picked up where they left off, as winger Justin "Lebowski Rug" Williams will miss four-to-six months with a torn Achilles tendon, an injury that comes on the heels (no pun intended) of a season in which a torn ACL limited him to just 37 games.

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NHL Season Preview: Florida Panthers

Jon — 2008-09-19T08:00:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Panthers, NHL General

Welcome to the NHL FanHouse 2008-09 season preview. While other sites are previewing "30 teams in 30 days," we decided to take advantage of the extra time off before the start of the season to bring you all 30 previews over the next three weeks. We're counting down in reverse order of finish from last season in each conference every weekday from now until October 3. Look for an Eastern Conference preview every morning and a Western Conference preview every afternoon. Click here to read them all.

Who's In: Keith Ballard, D (Trade-PHX); Nick Boynton, D (Trade-PHX); Peter DeBoer, Head Coach; Bryan McCabe, D (Trade-TOR); Cory Stillman, LW/RW (FA-OTT)

Who's Out: Jassen Cullimore, D (UFA); Magnus Johansson, D (FA-Europe); Olli Jokinen, C (Trade-PHX); Branislav Mezei, D (FA-Europe); Steve Montador, D (FA-ANA); Jozef Stumpel, C (FA-Europe); Mike Van Ryn, D (Trade-TOR)

What's Changed: More than you might think.

Gone is the captain and ~~somewhat frightening~~ face of the franchise over the past seven playoff-less seasons, Olli Jokinen, a player who has become synonymous with losing in the NHL as he is the current holder of the League's longest personal playoff drought. Ready to debut behind the Panther bench is a head coach who has compiled a 539-248-60-31 record in the Ontario Hockey League over the past 13 seasons, winning two OHL and one CHL Coach of the Year awards along the way. Out with the losing, in with the winning... on paper, at least. But Peter DeBoer will have his work cut out for him, as he inherits a Florida squad that allowed the second-most shots on goal in the League last season and finished 20th in goals scored (and traded away its leading scorer).

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NHL Season Preview: Atlanta Thrashers

Jon — 2008-09-16T08:00:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Thrashers, NHL General

Welcome to the NHL FanHouse 2008-09 season preview. While other sites are previewing "30 teams in 30 days," we decided to take advantage of the extra time off before the start of the season to bring you all 30 previews over the next three weeks. We're counting down in reverse order of finish from last season in each conference every weekday from now until October 3. Look for an Eastern Conference preview every morning and a Western Conference preview every afternoon. Click here to read them all.

Who's In: John Anderson, Head Coach; Zach Bogosian, D (Draft-2008); Ron Hainsey, D (FA-CBJ); Marty Reasoner, C (FA-EDM); Jason Williams, RW (FA-CHI)

Who's Out: Darren Haydar, F (FA-DET); Bobby Holik, C (FA-NJ); Jason Krog, C/W (FA-~~Europe~~VAN); Joel Kwiatkowski, D (FA-Europe); Steve McCarthy, D (FA-Europe); Mark Popovic, D (FA-Europe); Mark Recchi, RW (FA-TB); Alexei Zhitnik, D (FA-Europe)

What's Changed: Not enough.

Atlanta is a team that finished the 2007-08 season 22nd in the League in goals scored (and that was with sixty games of Marian Hossa)... and added Jason Williams and Marty Reasoner up front. The Thrashers gave up the most goals in the League... and added Ron Hainsey (he of the eighth-worst plus-minus among all NHL defensemen over the past two seasons) to the blueline.

But hey, it's not all bad -- the Thrash can feel pretty confident that they're near the front of the line when it comes to picking up other teams' trash. Time to plan the parade, eh?

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NHL Season Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning

Jon — 2008-09-15T10:00:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Lightning, NHL General

Welcome to the NHL FanHouse 2008-09 season preview. While other sites are previewing "30 teams in 30 days," we decided to take advantage of the extra time off before the start of the season to bring you all 30 previews over the next three weeks. We're counting down in reverse order of finish from last season in each conference every weekday from now until October 3. Look for an Eastern Conference preview every morning and a Western Conference preview every afternoon. Click here to read them all.

Who's In: Matt Carle, D (Trade-SJ); Adam Hall, F (FA-PIT); Olaf Kolzig, G (FA-WSH); Ryan Malone, LW (Trade-PIT); Barry Melrose, Head Coach (FA-ESPN); Andrej Meszaros, D (Trade-OTT); Vaclav Prospal, LW (FA-PHI); Mark Recchi, RW (FA-ATL); Gary Roberts, LW (Trade-PIT); Steven Stamkos, C (Draft-2008); Radim Vrbata, RW (FA-PHX)

Who's Out: Dan Boyle, D (Trade-SJ); Mathieu Darche, LW (FA-BUF); Doug Janik, D (FA-CHI); Filip Kuba, D (Trade-OTT); Brad Lukowich, D (Trade-SJ); Alex Picard, D (Trade-OTT); Andre Roy, F (FA-CGY); John Tortorella, Head Coach (Fired)

What's Changed: Oh, not much. Tampa only has a new hands-on ownership group (giddy up!), a new old head coach, the number one pick from the summer's entry draft, a new mega-deal for its franchise player, a recently minted elite defenseman, the best top six forwards in the League, various other new parts and a fresh crop of ice girls. Oh, and to top it all off, the Lightning will open the regular season overseas with a pair of games in Prague.

Got all that?

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Do The Bolts Have the League's Best Top Six?

Jon — 2008-09-07T14:43:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Capitals, Hurricanes, Lightning, NHL General

A week ago I thought that challenging the accuracy of a statement made by a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning front office would make for an interesting blog post. Now I'm thinking that the increasing opportunity for such challenges would make for an interesting blog. Or an interesting 24-hour cable news channel.

One week after Bolts' veep of hockey ops Brian Lawton put Andrej Meszaros among the game's elite blueliners (on a sidenote, you've gotta at least appreciate a number two who's actually willing to talk to the press), Lightning owner Oren Koules announced to the world that his team has the best top two lines in hockey:

"We take a lot of pride in knowing our top six forwards, who we believe are the best top six forwards in the league, all have three years or more on their contracts."

Assuming that the players to whom Koules is referring are Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Steve Stamkos, Vaclav Prospal, Ryan Malone and Radim Vrbata, is Koules accurate in his assessment, or is he just blowing smoke? Does he even have the top six forwards in the Southeast Division? Let's look at it position-by-position.

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Welcome To Tampa, Land of Hyperbole

Jon — 2008-08-30T17:15:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Lightning, Senators, NHL General

Late Friday night the Andrej Meszaros mini-series came to its dramatic conclusion when the Ottawa Senators sent the restricted free agent to Tampa Bay in exchange for defensemen Filip Kuba and Alexandre Picard and a first round pick. The Bolts wasted no time signing the 22-year-old rearguard to a six-year/$4 million deal and over-selling their new acquisition to anyone within earshot:

"Andrej is an elite player ... no doubt about it," [Bolts vice president of hockey operations Brian] Lawton said.

Really? Elite? Let's take a closer look at that assertion.

Senators GM Bryan Murray referred to Meszaros' play over the past two seasons as "[leaving] a lot to be desired" (not something you typically hear of the game's top defensemen), and the numbers certainly represent something a lot closer to "pretty good player" than "time to adjust the game plan, we're facing Andrej Meszaros tonight" -- Meszaros finished last season 25th among the League's defensemen in scoring and 68th in that group in plus/minus. He was 80th in ice time, 35th in power-play scoring and 100th in shooting percentage.

Perhaps someday Andrej Meszaros will be an elite player (of course, so too might Alex Picard or the player Ottawa selects with that first round draft pick). But to call Meszaros, a blueliner who has yet to have 40 points in an NHL season or play in an All-Star Game, an "elite player" doesn't pass the laugh test. Then again, what would a circus be without laughter?

Check out Puck Daddy for much more on the trade.

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Lightning Strike College Hockey Classic

Jon — 2008-08-29T15:45:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Lightning, NHL General

Around this time of year two summers ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning were boasting about their commitment to sponsor a brand spankin' new annual four-team college hockey tournament:

"As we prepare to host the NCAA Frozen Four in 2012, we look forward to establishing a regular college hockey presence in Tampa Bay," said Ron Campbell, president of the Tampa Bay Lightning and the St. Pete Times Forum.

That was then, and this (via INCH) is now:

The Tampa Bay Lightning has zapped the Lightning College Hockey Classic.

Two and out... classic indeed (for the record, Notre Dame, which has co-hosted the event since its inception, and UMass will go down in history as the only two teams to ever win the event).

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The Silver Lining in a Cloud-Filled Blueland?

Jon — 2008-08-24T14:12:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Thrashers, NHL General, NHL Economics

Know what's great about being both terrible and cheap? You've got the inside track on other teams' garbage.

This, apparently, is the state of media spin in Atlanta, where hockey fans have seen Dany Heatley turn into Marian Hossa turn into a couple of role players and a pair of mediocre prospects, all in the span of less than three years, and await the perhaps likely depature of Ilya Kovalchuk in 676 days or sooner (but who's counting?). As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Bill Tiller wrote last week:

According to nhlnumbers.com, there are a few teams that are currently at or above the salary cap. So, teams like Philadelphia, Washington, Calgary, Anaheim, Chicago, San Jose...and even Dallas, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Boston, the Rangers and New Jersey could be looking to shed some payroll. In doing so, they are more than likely going to be seeking prospects and/or draft picks along with lower-priced NHL players in return.

I would think that the GMs of those teams are going to be far more willing to make such deals with teams that they...perceive...will finish very low in the standing. That would give them a higher pick, possibly even the first pick, in next summer's entry draft. Thus, they would be getting more in return for the player they were willing to part ways with.

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'Canes Bloggers Miss Their DeCock

Jon — 2008-08-18T21:26:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Hurricanes, NHL General, NHL Media Watch

You can say what you want about hockey in Raleigh, but without question the team has one of the better beat writers in the sport covering the local team for The News & Observer.

Make that "the team had one of the better beat writers in the sport." You see, Luke DeCock has graduated from his duties covering the 'Canes to the vaunted position of "columnist."

Good for Luke. Bad for 'Canes fans. Or at least so say the bloggers.

Here, for example, is the reaction over at red & black hockey from a post entitled "N&O takes two steps backwards":

In [DeCock's] place, the N&O has slotted former NC State Wolfpack beat writer Chip Alexander, who admits that he doesn't know a thing about hockey. This is a huge, huge mistake. There are other writers on the staff (I'm specifically looking at Lorenzo Perez) who are far more capable....

If I were a Raleighite and/or a subscriber to the print edition of the N&O, I would angrily cancel my subscription to the paper.

People still subscribe to newspapers?

But the reaction of the day comes from The Acid Queen, who offers this typically restrained musing on the change:

[Alexander's] first post to Lord Stanley's Blog where he bragged about knowing the ACC and NCSU better than Luke has not exactly won friends and influenced people either. I mean, really-LSB is a hockey blog. WHO CARES ABOUT THE ACC OR STATE (unless you're talking about their damn fine hockey club), ya freakin' toolbox?

Welcome to the beat and the hockey blogosphere, Chip! Keep your head up -- it's rough out there.

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Alright, Steven Stamkos, Take Your Pick

Jon — 2008-08-14T16:41:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Lightning, NHL General

Who says the Tampa Bay Lightning are going too veteran-heavy with their rebuild?

Much has been made of the Bolts' summer so far, as the team has bought up plenty of older talent on the free agent market to go along with their prized rookie-to-be. But while they may be getting a bit older in some areas, the team is bringing in plenty of *ahem* fresh talent elsewhere, namely with the announcement of their 2008-09 Lightning Girls roster, a squad that will feature seven veterans and seven rookies.

Obviously, this is a group that will benefit from the strong veteran leadership of girls like Karen G. and Crystal R., but will get a much needed boost with the addition of youngsters like Cindy C. and Kara P. as they try to deal with the loss of departed 2007 Ice Princess finalist ToniLynn, among others.

As expected, it's shaping up to be an interesting year in Tampa, both on and just off the ice.

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Hockey In the Land of the Olympics

Jon — 2008-08-06T09:55:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Sharks, NHL General

With the Summer Olympics nearly underway, forgive us hockey fans for not yet being fully in the spirit of the Games.

Michael Phelps is impressive and all, but we prefer our water frozen and skated upon. Field hockey? Close, but no cigar. And while the NHL is not without its divers, we prefer our reverse three-and-a-half somersaults to be accompanied by unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. "8.8.08" may have meaning to most sports fans, but to puckheads it's just "the day after Sidney Crosby's 21st birthday."

With a little finesse, however, there are hockey tie-ins, even in Beijing in August. And come September? Well, Shanghai will become Hockeytown, China as the Sharks open their season at the end of the month.

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Fedorov And the 500-Goal Club

Jon — 2008-08-05T16:54:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Capitals, NHL General

An interesting post over at Five Hole Fanatics (via Puck Daddy) wonders aloud whether certain players from hockey's "Dead Puck Era" are going to reach the somewhat magical 500-goal milestone and join an exclusive club that currently boasts just 41 members. In an effort to continue our recent push to bring you all things Fedorov, we'll take a look at the man who is closest to becoming the club's next member. Per FHF:

Sergei Fedorov is at 472 career goals, 28 goals short. Can he get 28 this year in Washington? Its been 3 seasons since Fedorov has scored as many as 28/yr. Even playing with Ovechkin, he'll be 39 in December and this is the last year of his contract.

Twenty-eight goals may not sound like an enormous amount, but it's just one less than Fedorov has scored in his past two full seasons (in 141 games) and a total reached by just 41 NHLers in 2007-08. And before you dismiss the Russian's last two seasons as merely the result of playing in Ken Hitchcock's defensive system, note that he barely scored at a nine-goal/82-games pace for the Caps, and that was with potential 2008-09 minutes roadblocks Michael Nylander and Chris Clark on the shelf the entire time.

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Tavares Gets "Creative"... and Questioned

Jon — 2008-08-04T08:08:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: NHL General, NHL Economics

"Creative Artists Agency (CAA) -- a longtime superpower of actors, directors, writers, musicians and entertainment/corporate deal-making -- has built CAA Sports from concept to colossus." - USAToday, 4/6/07

Turn on any sporting event these days and you're likely to see an athlete represented by CAA Sports (and if you don't during the action, you're sure to catch a few during the commercial breaks). LeBron. Manning. Jeter. Beckham. Fedorov. CAA clients all.

In two short years, CAA Sports has added a remarkable stable of high-end athletes to an already mind-boggling group of clients from the world of entertainment (where else can you see a name like Sidney Crosby sandwiched between the likes of Harry Connick, Jr. and Tom Cruise on a client roster?), and the list keeps growing daily (well, other than perhaps on the day that Matt Leinart canned the agency).

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Is Pascal Leclaire the Next Martin Brodeur?

Jon — 2008-08-01T06:24:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Blue Jackets, Devils, NHL General

There's a meme that has been circulating among hockey blogs and message boards for probably as long as those forums have existed that basically asserts that Martin Brodeur isn't a particularly talented netminder and that his frequently gaudy numbers are merely the result of playing in a painfully boring, but effective, defensive system. At least that's the meme in its current form, as the causal clause has had to be tweaked a few times (from "playing for Jacques Lemaire" to "playing behind Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer" to the more generic way it's repeated now) in order to isolate the true reason behind Marty's perennially minuscule goals against average (which is most certainly not the result of, you know, talent).

But whether or not Martin Brodeur is a fraud is a discussion for another day. Today we're taking a look at a guy -- Pascal Leclaire -- who just might be the heir apparent to Brodeur's throne. No, not in terms of all those wins, Cups, ~~wives~~ and Vezinas (though who knows?), but in terms of being called out as merely the beneficiary of a painfully boring, but effective, defensive system.

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Am I Excited For the Convention? Does an Elephant Poop on the Wild?

Jon — 2008-07-31T21:03:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Minnesota, Wild, NHL General

Just over a month from now, the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota will play host to the 2008 Republican National Convention for four nights. Forty-one nights out of the year (and a couple more, depending on how hard they're willing to work in the Spring), the building serves as home ice for the Minnesota Wild. The mildly disturbing image above (via Wonkette) combines the two equally entertaining events (zing!) by poorly photoshopping the GOP's traditional mascot over (we think) Wild forward James Sheppard.

Since the NHL season won't open for more than a month after John McCain and friends leave town, there can only be one explanation for the inclusion of this picture in the confab's promotional material -- a subliminal campaign by the Wild to make newly re-acquired Andrew Brunette look like a decent skater by comparison. Well-played, Minny. Well-played.

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Scotty To Chi-Town: What They're Not Saying

Jon — 2008-07-31T17:02:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Blackhawks, Red Wings, NHL General

What They're Not Saying is a collection of made-up quotations attributed to real people.

As noted earlier today, Scotty Bowman has left his cozy perch atop Mt. Red Wing to become rival Chicago's new Senior Advisor, Hockey Operations. Here's a sampling of reactions to the move from around the League:

"Did it just get hot in here or is it me?" - Denis Savard, Blackhawks Head Coach

"That's a good decision for him if it makes him happy, but just a month and change after it was first reported... why the rush, Scotty?" - Mats Sundin, Unrestricted Free Agent

"I'll miss watching Matlock and catching the early bird special with him, but the kid's gotta do what he's gotta do." - Chris Chelios, Detroit Red Wings

"We didn't want him anyway. Everything here's cool." - ~~Baghdad Bob~~ Cliff Fletcher, Toronto Maple Leafs GM

I'm sure you've heard or seen some responses that I've missed -- share 'em in the comments.

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Something's Bruin in the Upper Deck

Jon — 2008-07-27T12:12:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Bruins, NHL General, NHL Economics

You've gotta hand it to the Boston Bruins when it comes to innovative marketing strategies -- not only are they offering their fans the opportunity to sit in some of the worst seats in the house and gorge themselves on bottom-of-the-barrel arena fare all season long, but they're using a football fan from Kentucky with a web cam to spread the word. What, was Tay Zonday unavailable?

Year-old web humor aside, take the B's up on their offer for an all-you-can-eat season ticket in, say, Row 2 of Section 328 and you're only paying $3 more per game than you would for a similar view from a comparable spot in Section 319, and the poor sap sitting in that seat has to pay out of pocket for each hot dog, soda and order of nachos he needs to make his night at the rink complete. Imagine the savings if you're, say, Joey Chesnut. Or Keith Tkachuk.

The unfortunate reality is that the Bruins are a team that hasn't played to more than 87% capacity over the course of a season since at least 1999-2000 and finished this past season with worse home attendance than Atlanta and Florida (among 25 other teams), so maybe giving away "food" will help in the effort to fill the seats with more of some of hockey's better fans. And perhaps getting the message out via unconventional means such as viral video (or *ahem* unwitting bloggers) will also pay off for the B's. Combine these ideas with a couple of obviously concerted efforts to make watching the games on television nearly unbearable and the Bruins may fill the building yet.

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Fightin' Fedorov's Fists of Fury?

Jon — 2008-07-26T11:52:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: Canucks, Devils, NHL Fights

Perhaps Fedor Fedorov wants to be known as "the tough" Fedorov.

At 6'4" and 230 pounds, the Devils' pivot is a good two inches and 23 pounds bigger than his more celebrated older brother (the two are pictured at right), and he certainly has a bit of fiestiness to him that Sergei hasn't displayed (on the score sheet, at least) since he last dropped the gloves with Kelly Kisio back in 1992.

The younger Fedorov had 117 penalty minutes in 49 games in the RSL last season, at least fifteen of which came as the result of this scrap with former Washington Capitals wannabe pest Darcy Verot (who, to his own ~~dis~~credit, racked up a whopping 511 PIMs in just 43 games), and has already had his first scrap since coming back across the Atlantic, getting into a dust-up with Devils prospect Harry Young (who had 17 fights in the OHL last season) on the fourth day of Jersey's development camp.

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O Brother's Talent, Where Art Thou?

Jon — 2008-07-22T20:22:00 00:00

by Jon

Filed under: General NHL, Devils

Assuming that Fedor Fedorov is actually allowed to play in the NHL this season, he'll be picking up a torch he dropped when he last skated in an NHL game back on Halloween, 2005. Fedorov will be carrying on the great hockey tradition of being the far less talented of two brothers, in his case stinking relative to his nearest relative, Capitals pivot Sergei.

The standard-bearer in this tragicomic club, of course, is Brent Gretzky, he of the 13-game NHL career in which he fell just 2,853 points shy of his older brother's all-time regular season scoring record. But the Fedorov brothers are certainly up there in terms of total point differential, with a current differential of 1,144.

What makes each member of this grouping of brotherly busts noteworthy is that they had the talent (or perhaps merely the name) to get to the show, but nowhere near the skills of their superior siblings. They're hockey's Neil Connery. Puck's Jackie Jackson. The NHL's fat Kardashian sister.

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