Hurricanes Claim Nodl

Carolina Hurricanes Claim Andreas Nodl Off Of Waivers

LW. Andreas Nodl Age: 24 Height: 6-1  Weight: 196 CONTRACT:  Cap-Hit: $845,000  Expires: 2013 Important Facts: - This past off-season he signed a two-year extension with Philadelphia - Has only one point so far this season - One of only six Austrian born players to have played in the NHL

Reaction:

The Hurricanes are clearly doing anything they possibly can to spark this team. They fired their coach, and are trying to tweak their roster as well. Their first roster move was claiming forward, Andreas Nodl off of waivers. Nodl was originally a Flyers 2nd round draft pick in 2006 and has played for the club full-time for the past two seasons. Nodl is a defensive specialist who will surely help the Hurricanes penalty kill. His best asset is his skating (which seems to be the common skill of Austrian players) which enables him to stay in position almost always. He won't provide much offensively, but if he is played in the right situations the Hurricanes will be happy with him as a bottom-six winger. I think he will do well with the Hurricanes, and from their perspective there really is nothing to lose from this.

Pandolfo Out 4-6 Weeks

Jay Pandolfo Out Four To Six Weeks With A Broken Foot:

According to Arthur Staple, Jay Pandolfo has suffered a broken foot and will miss the next four to six weeks. Pandolfo was one of two camp invites that ended up on the regular season roster (the other being Steve Staios) and although he hasn't been a game changer, he has not been a liability at all. He has been great on the penalty kill and has given a hundred percent every game, unlike some other veteran off-season acquisitions. At his age though, he was usually not much of a factor in even-strength situations. I hate to see any player, especially a hard-working Islander, go down with an injury, but I am very happy that there will be a spot open for Nino Niederreiter now. Judging by Nino's tweet during Friday's game (you can see that here) he has been given very little in the way of answers regarding his status and how he can get back into the line-up. The last thing you want a top prospect like Nino doing is second guessing himself, and I think he's begun to do that. Its imperative that the Islanders make a decision with Niederreiter and either insert him in the line-up or return him to the 'dub' and with this injury the Islanders have a clear opportunity to get him back in the line-up.

Lightning Re-Sign Dana Tyrell

Lightning Sign Dana Tyrell To A Two-Year Extension
Official Lightning Press Release

The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed forward Dana Tyrell to a two-year, one-way contract covering the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons today, Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman announced. Tyrell, 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, was recalled to the Lightning from the Norfolk Admirals on November 23. Since then he has played in two games, recording one assist while averaging 10:02 in ice time. Prior to his recall Tyrell had played in all 18 games for the Admirals, recording four goals and nine points with a plus-3 rating. He made his NHL debut last season, skating in 78 games while recording six goals and 15 points. He ranked fifth among league rookie forwards last season in blocked shots with 33 and led all Lightning first-year players for goals, assists, points, hits (47) and takeaways (21). Tyrell also made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in 2011, appearing in four games of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal against the Pittsburgh Penguins before being injured. He returned to play in three games of the Eastern Conference Final against the Boston Bruins. A native of Airdrie, Alberta, Tyrell played in 240 career junior games with the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League. During his career at Prince George he amassed 81 goals and 179 points. Tyrell was selected to the 2009 Canadian World Junior Championship squad but was hurt in an exhibition game against Sweden. Tyrell, 22, was selected by the Lightning in the second round, 47th overall, of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

PattyB Thoughts:
I am pretty surprised they decided to re-sign Tyrell so early, especially considering that they gave him a one-way contract. Don't get me wrong, I think Tyrell will be a good NHL'er, but a move like this could be risky. My guess is that Lightning management expects Tyrell to do really well from here on out, and they thought it would be best to get him locked up before he breaks out. That may very well end up happening, but I think its still risky to give him a two-year, one-way contract this early on. Once the money terms are released I think it'll be a bit easier to truly rate this signing.

Bruce Boudreau Firing Imminent?

Capitals Management Close To Firing Bruce Boudreau

As first noted by IncarceratedBob (here), it appears that the Washington Capitals are nearing a coaching change. The Caps have been dramatically underperforming and considering that it was made clear before the season began that the Stanley Cup was their one and only goal, it cannot last much longer. It appears that Capitals coach, Bruce Boudreau, has been the source of some major problems in the locker room as according to IBN the Europeans are very unhappy playing for Boudreau while some of the North American players are still backing him. In an environment like that with the locker room split it is impossible to win and unfortunately for Boudreau the only way that tension in the room is solved is for him to be relieved. Its been said that Capitals brass will be giving him an ultimatum and if he fails to win the next game or two he will be replaced. The likely candidate to replace Boudreau is former Caps pugilist, Dale Hunter (one of the most hated men in Islanders history).


EDIT (11/28/2011-8:40 AM): This morning it was officially announced that Bruce Boudreau has been terminated by the Washington Capitals. Dale Hunter has left his position with the London Knights and has been given the head coaching duties in Washington. He will join the team for practice this morning. 

Comeau Claimed On Waivers

Isles Decide To Cut Ties With Comeau;

Lost On Waivers To The Calgary Flames

Following the 2010-11 National Hockey League season, Blake Comeau was thought of as an above average NHL'er. Islanders fans were confident that Comeau would be an asset to the organization in one way or another. Some thought he would be a great source of secondary scoring that would help boost the club into the playoffs, while others thought he'd be better served as a trading chip that would enable the Isles to acquire a top-four defenseman. Unfortunately, neither one worked out as Blake Comeau fell short of every expectation set for him this year. 

In 16 games for the Islanders he had NO points, yup thats right NONE...to truly put that in perspective Comeau is in a group of only nine other NHL players that have played at least 16 games and have zero points. Of those nine, two of them didn't have any NHL action in the 2010-11 season, while the other seven who did play in the NHL last year had an average of a little less than 10 points on the season. When you take into account that Comeau had nearly five times that, it truly becomes eye opening. 

I would say that eighty percent of the time he was on the ice this year he was a bit of a liability and unfortunately that ruined every hope of him being an asset in some capacity for the Islanders. With the tremendous struggles of the team thus far, I don't blame Garth Snow in the least for wanting to wake up the team and get out the under achievers as soon as possible and quite honestly I expect to see a few more veterans following Comeau's footsteps towards waivers. 

Blake Comeau's time with the Islanders has been a peculiar one, with many ups and many downs. I mean at one point last year it looked like he might have been a waiver casualty as well when he started out the year in Scott Gordon's dog house and Charles Wang's press box. Of coarse that quickly changed once Gordon left and Jack Capuano was introduced as the interim coach at which point the always inconsistent Comeau decided to start playing. It truly is amazing how inconsistent Comeau was throughout his Islanders career, I look at my 2010-11 Season Review of Comeau and my 11/17/2011 Game Review and when you read my comments on Comeau and its hard to believe that I am talking about the same player.

With this decision also comes the departure of one of the final remaining players from the Mike Milbury era as now only Frans Nielsen and Rick DiPietro are left. I personally wish Blake Comeau all the luck in the world with the Flames, but I just don't see Comeau as a player that will ever truly succeed at the NHL level with how maddeningly inconsistent his play is.

Haley's Back!!!

Islanders Recall Micheal Haley From Bridgeport (AHL)
Having Mark Eaton out for six weeks will hurt an already weak Islanders defense and I am really not looking forward to seeing Mike Mottau play every day, but on the bright side his injury enabled the Isles to recall a player and they chose to call-up Micheal Haley. Following his call-up last year, the season changed and hopefully the same thing happens this time around. I'm not banking on it, but its possible. Even if it doesn't turn the season around, I am one hundred percent sure it will help the team at least a little. The Isles have been pushed around all season, and its about time they got some more muscle out there. Like we heard last night, this team is fragile, and I think having some hard asses in the line-up last year to help players physically and mentally, made a big difference and trying to do that again can only help. 

Isles Player Moves Big Reason For Tough Start

My Thoughts On The Islanders Struggles And What Caused Them
The life of an Islanders fan is never easy, but this year has been particularly hard. Towards the end of last year it looked as though the NY Islanders were turning a corner and with another summer of development and maturation, the playoffs in 2011-12 seemed realistic. As I am sure you all know it has not gone according to plan, at least not thus far. The unfortunate part of this season has been that a majority of the teams younger players that were thought to be big pieces of the "core" have regressed considerably. I mean during the off-season many Isles fans were expecting Kyle Okposo to possibly be named captain, yet now those same fans think he should be moved. There is no doubting that he has not lived up to expectations this year, but its not only him. Josh Bailey, although he has played a bit better as of late, has been a big disappointment, Blake Comeau has been horrible, Frans Nielsen looks like a completely different player, Andrew MacDonald has been playing like a bottom-pairing defenseman at-best, and the list goes on-and-on. Honestly there has only been two players who have been good this season. That list includes John Tavares and Matt Martin...yup that is it. No one else has been living up to what was expected. My personal opinion on this whole fiasco is that there is many reasons why this season has been a failure, but the most predominant are the roster moves that were made during the off-season. Its pretty obvious that Garth Snow had a terrible summer, he brought in veterans, but aside from Steve Staios (which was really lucky IMO), each and every one was known to be way past their prime. He made no additions to the club that made the team better, no first line winger for John Tavares, no top-four defenseman, and no legitimate second line center. While those needs went unaddressed, he let a few major pieces of the team's heart from last season walk out. Zenon Konopka was undoubtedly the heart and soul in that locker room and his optimism did wonders for the young Islanders. Yet he let him leave and replaced him with Marty Reasoner, who has the worst plus/minus on the team with a minus-13 and only has one point. He has been one of the worst players for the Islanders, and he provides no physicality at all. Another player who was a big part of the teams feisty new culture from last season, Micheal Haley, was cut and started the season in Bridgeport. Now I don't know about you, but from that alone I could easily tell that it would create a big problem as it left the Islanders lacking that leadership in the room and that feisty physicality on the ice that the team became so well known for at the end of last season. I am a fan of Garth Snow, but you have to question many of his decisions he made during the 2011 off-season because I think its fairly obvious that a large portion of them are directly to blame for the rough start so far.

Capuano Pulls A "Herb Brooks"

Jack Capuano Justifiably Irate, Pulls A "Herb Brooks" On Islanders

Let me start off by saying that I will not be doing any review of last nights Islander game because there was almost nothing to discuss. Simply put, the Islanders did not care. There was zero effort and a complete lack of interest in the game. I honestly cannot think of one moment in the entire 60 minutes that I was impressed by something an Islanders player did. 

Surprisingly enough Jack Capuano agreed and had one of his most spirited post-game press conferences in his coaching career (LINK). He made it clear that he would not stand for that type of play, and from what I've learned he wasn't just saying that as many coaches often do. It seems as though Capuano had so much fire in his belly that he decided to punish the players that night. After all the press conferences and interviews wrapped up, he decided to put all the players in the same room, at which point he made the players sit and watch the entire 60 minute (non) effort by the team. Once he was done, he was even more fired up and he brought the players back out onto the Coliseum ice. He had every single player skate very hard until around 2AM. 

Yesterday morning "Miracle" was on, so maybe Capuano was channeling his inner Herb Brooks, but what ever it was that pushed his decision, I am very happy it did. Last year there were some members of the Islanders who thought the Isles locker room felt like a "country club", and I believe its more than necessary to do things like this to change that, and make each player feel a bit more accountable.

When I heard about it this morning, I will honestly say my respect level for Jack Capuano sky rocketed. Its very nice to see that the players are being held accountable, and that he won't let this failure continue. I am desperately hoping this wakes the team up a bit because the game last night against the Bruins had to be one of the worst games; start to finish, that I have seen played by the Islanders in a long time. I expect and hope that there is a better effort on Monday against the Penguins. If there isn't, I will expect a big move to come before Wednesday's game. The Islanders coaching staff and management are very upset with how this team has performed and are looking at many options to improve.

Isles Goalie Situation

If We Didn't Have Bad Luck, We Wouldn't Have Any Luck At All:

The Story Of The NY Islanders

If it wasn't so depressing, I would find this hysterical. Just a week ago, the Islanders were having some serious trouble with goaltenders; they had too many of them. On Long Island, there was Evgeni Nabokov, Al Montoya, and Rick DiPietro. Down in Bridgeport, there was Mikko Koskinen, Kevin Poulin, and Anders Nilsson. The three goalie problem on LI was nearing its closure as supposedly Garth Snow was coming close to trading Nabokov. Similarly the Islanders were able to figure out a way to fix the AHL logjam by loaning Mikko Koskinen to a team in Finland. Things were finally beginning to get sorted out in regards to goaltending problems and then suddenly everything changed dramatically. In Thursday's game Evgeni Nabokov went down with a hip-injury that will most likely keep him out for the next month. Then friday night news began to leak that Al Montoya also was injured and will be out for a little while. So now out of the three NHL goalies, only DiPietro is healthy and able to play and of those three AHL goalies, one will be backing up DiPietro (Anders Nilsson), one will be carrying the entire work load in Bridgeport (Kevin Poulin), and the other was loaned before the injuries took place, to a team in Finland (Mikko Koskinen). In a matter of a few days the Isles went from being overwhelmed with goalies to having a crisis in which they lacked goalies. This type of thing would only happen to the Islanders.

11/17/2011 Islanders Game Review

Islanders 2011-2012 Game 16 Vs. Canadiens Review:

WIN: Isles 4-3 Canadiens

Record: 5-8-3

Summary:

This win was extremely important for the Isles, and they did it while facing a bit of adversity. Early in the game Evgeni Nabokov went down to block a shot and immediately looked like he was in some serious pain. He left the game and the Isles were forced to put Rick DiPietro in net, which was not the sight most Islanders fans were hoping to see. DiPietro came in as the Isles were on the penalty kill and he played surprisingly well give in the situation. The first period was scoreless, but the Islanders were playing very well. Then in the 2nd it seemed like everything changed and literally every bounce was going the Islanders way. Peter Budaj made a mistake while handling the puck behind his net and ended up turning it over to PA Parenteau who just buried it in an open net. Following that, the onslaught began as the Islanders scored two more goals in the next 10 minutes. Unfortunately the Islanders handed back the momentum  following their third goal. About 6 minutes after that Islander goal, Mike Mottau turned the puck over in his own end and it was just put right into the Isles net. Then just 3 minutes or so later, Mike Mottau once again made an awful turnover that led to a Canadiens goal. With the Canadiens just one goal down and with all the momentum, Matt Moulson knocked home a gorgeous set-up pass from John Tavares with just under two minutes left in the 2nd. That goal was essential as it gave the Islanders a bit more control of the game heading into the third period. Late in the third the Habs were able to put up one more goal on the power play, but were never able to get the equalizer. This was a good game, and aside from a few miscues, it was definitely something positive. 

Three Positive Players Of The Game:

1- Matt Martin- 

I don't care that he didn't get a star, he was still the player that made the most impact in my mind. Early on in the game, John Tavares got nailed with a questionable hit from Yannick Weber, and no one answered the bell to stand up for JT. After Weber got out of the box, Matt Martin went up to him and while playing the game tried to entice him to fight. Weber never dropped the mitts, but it was sure nice to see someone do something about that hit. As usual MM was throwing his body around and creating turnovers, but in this game he showed some of his great offensive skills. He had two assists in this game and both were fairly nice plays. So far he and John Tavares are tied in my opinion, for the most effective Islander this season.

2- Jay Pandolfo- 

One of the better nights he's had with the Islanders. His line looked great and he was getting to the open ice all night. His 100th NHL goal was nice and his two-way play was terrific.

3- Rick DiPietro- 

Coming in cold like that is hard, but doing it on the PK is even harder. He overcame that hurtle, and was very solid throughout the night. There were some extremely nice saves he made that kept the Islanders ahead of the Habs and he recorded an assist on the Matt Moulson goal.

Three Negative Players Of The Game:

1- Mike Mottau- 

Oh my god, Bruno Gervais would be an upgrade over Mottau. He has been just awful all year long and this may have been the worst of em all. His two turnovers were terrible and led directly to the goals by the Canadiens. He came very close to blowing this game for the Islanders. He needs to stay in the press box.

2- Blake Comeau- 

This was also a horrible night for Comeau who just looked lost out there in this game. He wasn't crashing the net or following up on his hits, he was just floating out there. He was also a minus-2, which continued his streak of consecutive games with a negative plus/minus. This game was his 7th straight with a minus and his play continues to get worse. I think its time to get Okposo back into the line-up in place of Comeau.

3- Marty Reasoner- 

I have been very unhappy with this pick-up and his contribution to the team is nonexistent. I mean what is he doing to improve the team? He has no toughness, no point production, he's not anything special in the face-off dot, and he's not great on the PK…in this one he was a minus-2 and was very quiet. 

Filatov Returning To Russia?

Nikita Filatov Returning to Russia?

The more I hear about the situation, the more it seems as though Nikita Filatov has had it with the NHL. He was very unhappy with the Blue Jackets and with the Senators he was expecting things to change immediately, and unfortunately for him they didn't. He found himself once again demoted to the AHL, and is now beginning to turn away from the idea of playing in North America. The Senators have asked him to wait out the month before deciding, but he is growing a bit impatient.

Filatov's tenure in North America has been bumpy and according to people involved he has been very difficult with his coaches and teammates. A story actually came out this morning that I find hysterical, but it truly shows how misguided and over-confident Filatov has been. The story was shared on Twitter this morning by Aaron Portzline (Columbus Blue Jackets Beat Writer) and it reads as follows; 

True story about Filatov, was just given clearance to share: One of his many previous coaches calls him into room with video guy for one-on-one film work to show him instance where they want him to crash the net and get to rebounds, create scoring chances. After four or five clips, Filatov steps back from the monitor, looks at the coaches and says, flatly: "Filly don't do rebounds."

With that arrogance, especially from an unestablished prospect, its no surprise that he hasn't been able to stay at the NHL level. That 2008 NHL draft sure produced quite a few busts, and in my opinion I think its safe to say that Filatov falls into that bust category.

11/13/2011 Islanders Game Review

Islanders 2011-2012 Game 14 @ Canucks Review:

LOSS: Isles 1-4 Canucks

Record: 4-7-3

Summary:

This losing has gotten a bit ridiculous, and this game really highlighted the biggest flaws of this team. As is the trend as of late, the Islanders began the game looking flat and proceeded to give up a goal on the first shot against. That is the fourth time in the past six games that the Isles have given up a goal on the first shot. It really is almost comical how horrible that is and in my opinion its a big reason for the losing streak. Its mighty hard to start every single game down by a goal, and be expected to come back and win. Overall there are a lot of problems with this team that were overlooked by management and its almost impossible for a fan to pin-point each one. Jack Capuano was understandably upset after the game and I think his anger is long over due. If the Islanders come out with a poor effort tomorrow and/or on Thursday I would expect some big changes. Islanders management is very unhappy with the team thus far and I think if it continues there might be some notable players pushed out. 

Three Positive Players Of The Game:

1- Michael Grabner- 

He is looking a lot better as of late, almost to the level he was at last season. His jump has been good and he has been getting involved in many offensive plays. 

2- Steve Staios- 

Was the best defenseman for the Isles by far. He broke up a few odd-man rushes and was playing a very gritty game. Out of all the failed veteran acquisitions, its nice that we have at least one who has worked out well.

3- Matt Martin- 

Aside from John Tavares, he has been the most consistent and useful Islander player night in and night out.

Three Negative Players Of The Game:

1- Mark Eaton- 

For a little while he was playing good hockey, but as of late he has returned back to his bad play. In this one, I counted 4 shifts where he was a liability on the ice. He just seems like he turns off all of his awareness sometimes.

2- Mike Mottau- 

Why is this guy still in the line-up, sure he made some nice breakout passes in this one, but his defensive-zone coverage is simply atrocious.  

3- Frans Nielsen- 

He has been so underwhelming this year that its ridiculous. There were some really important moments in this game where he should have stepped up and made an impact and he failed on nearly all.

11/10/2011 Islanders Game Review

Islanders 2011-2012 Game 13 @ Avalanche Review:

OT LOSS: Isles 3-4 Avalanche

Record: 4-6-3

Summary:

This loss and the entire night for that matter, really stung the Islanders and their fan base. In a game that seemed so promising with the Islanders at one point being up three to zero over the Avalanche, things got bad very quickly. Sure it was nice to see Streit with a solid two-assist night, Josh Bailey's first goal of the season, and Matt Martin's protection of John Tavares, but anything positive in this game was overshadowed by this horrendous collapse. Al Montoya played a great game facing 51 shots and only letting in 4 for a total of 47 saves. Now that great goaltending is terrific, but when you factor in the 24 blocked shots the Islanders were credited with, that means that there was 75 shooting attempts for the Avalanche in this game. The Islanders cannot let that happen, and more importantly the coaching staff cannot let that garbage continue. Along with that, the third period was just inexcusable. The first two periods were very good for the Islanders, but then suddenly in the third it looked like another team had thrown on some Islanders sweaters. After that display, I believe the coaching staff and veteran players on the team really have some big questions to answer because the lack of motivation was disgusting. 

Now despite the horrific third period performance by the Islanders, some of the blame has got to fall on the referees. As of late there has been some extremely questionable calls going against the Islanders and its costing the Islanders a lot of points. The Avalanche had an obvious game plan it seems, and that plan was to run Al Montoya all night. It resulted in two goalie interference penalties, but when Al Montoya did seemingly nothing and the butt-end of his stick hit an Avalanche players face, the referees decided to call it high-sticking and this all took place….(wait for it)….in overtime. As you would expect with the Islanders luck, the Avs scored the game-winning goal on that power play. This is the 2nd time in the Islanders first 13 games that a sketchy penalty was called against the Islanders in overtime which has led to the opposing team scoring on the following power play. In this particular game it seemed as though the refs were calling anything they could against the Islanders throughout the night. 

So the game was awful, but I have got to mention the events that took place following the Isles on-ice meltdown. Immediately following the game rumors began to circulate that the Islanders had traded Evgeni Nabokov to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Fedor Tyutin. Of coarse if you know Tyutin and Nabokov you would know that the rumored trade would be heavily favored to the Islanders. It seemed a bit too good to be true, I mean Tyutin is exactly what this team needs; a big, all-around defenseman who is in his prime and established as someone who can play top-four minutes, and getting him for an aging, temperamental goaltender who has been underwhelming at times would be fantastic. That skepticism seemed to be proven wrong when the Newsday Islanders beat writer, Arthur Staple, re-tweeted the source of the rumor. Immediately following that, I began to get giddy with excitement because it was then mentioned on the Islanders post-game report. It seemed like it was a done deal and the Isles had pulled off a tremendous move. Unfortunately I forgot the one thing that Islanders fans need to remember; never truly believe anything positive until you have seen the trade, signing, building, etc. first hand. 

Quickly following that on-air report and various other sources of the trade, it became very clear that something was wrong with this. Numerous team officials had refuted the report and the source of the original rumor had said that he may have jumped the gun on announcing it as done. Then the most trusted man in hockey media, Bob McKenzie, ruined all hope of the deal by saying it was 100% not happening, at least that night. That, along with the meltdown of a game, produced probably the most depressing night for Islanders fans in a very long time. The Islanders right now are in the desperate need of some good fortune whether it be a big win or a nice trade, it has to happen soon because things are getting rough for the fan base. 

Three Positive Players Of The Game:

1- Mark Streit- 

He is an absolute force in the offensive zone, almost every scoring chance for the Islanders was at one point helped along by Streit and that holds true in this game where he had two assists. 

2- Josh Bailey- 

Little by little, Josh Bailey is beginning to look better and this game was a very important step for him. He finally got his first goal of the season and he looked good in the first period. Unfortunately his play in the third period seemed a bit like what he was doing earlier in the year, but I'll give him a pass on that because the entire team looked awful in the third. 

3- Al Montoya- 

Ok sure, one or two of the goals he let up should have been stopped, but he made 47 saves for gods sake. He is by far the best goaltender the Islanders have and in my opinion he is the key to getting out of this massive slump we're in.

Three Negative Players Of The Game:

1- Mike Mottau- 

I am very unhappy that Capuano chose Mottau over Jurcina, and I believe this decision was one of the big reasons behind the collapse. Jurcina is very calming, he uses his size well and is usually very simplistic in his decisions, while Mottau is the complete opposite. He complicates everything and looked rough in this game.

2- Marty Reasoner- 

C'mon Reasoner…he had provided very little thus far and as of right now I am very disappointed the Isles didn't retain Konopka for this spot. If I was Snow, I'd call-up Haley ASAP and sit Reasoner.

3- Kyle Okposo- 

He didn't play bad at all, he actually played good….but he NEEDS to start putting some points up on the board. He is supposed to be a big piece of this club, yet he has 3 assists and no goals in 13 games.

Jackets And Blues Swap Defensemen

Trade Details:

The St.Louis Blues acquired Kris Russell from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Nikita Nikitin

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St.Louis Blues Acquire:

D. Kris Russell Age: 24 Height: 5-10  Weight: 185 CONTRACT:  Cap-Hit: $1,300,000  Expires: 2013 Important Facts: -Named the 2006-07 Defenseman Of The Year for all of Canadian Major Junior Hockey. -The 2010-11 season (last year) was his best year (statistically) of his pro career. -Despite playing 12 games this season with the worst team in the NHL so far, he only is a minus-1. -Had the 2nd most blocked shot on of anyone on the Blue Jackets in 2010-11

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Columbus Blue Jackets Acquire:

D. Nikita Nikitin Age: 25 Height: 6-3  Weight: 215 CONTRACT:  Cap-Hit: $600,000  Expires: 2012 Important Facts: -Despite being 25 years old, he has only been in North America for one year -Played 6 seasons in the KHL (also known as Russian Elite League for some of his time there) for the Omsk organization.

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Analysis:

Odd move for the Blue Jackets, especially give-in the struggles the team has had. When news began to leak that the Jackets were nearing a move most believed that Columbus would be getting a goaltender as Steve Mason has been putrid, but then it became known that it was actually a swap of defensemen. The Jackets ended up trading Kris Russell to the Blues for Nikita Nikitin. The Blue Jackets said the reasoning behind this move was that they felt they needed a more defense-orientated defenseman. Theres no doubting that Russell is an offensive-defenseman, but he has proven himself at the NHL level through a handful of seasons while the defenseman they get back in Nikita Nikitin might be labeled a defensive defenseman, but has only played part of an NHL season despite being older than Russell. The biggest complaints from Blues fans was his poor defensive zone coverage this season which for a defensive defenseman is their bread and butter. That is shown by his minus-5 +/-, which was the only negative plus/minus of any Blues defenseman. The Blues were happy to make the move when they found out they would only have to give up Nikitin, but the biggest pushing factor behind this was the new Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, who was very clear that Russell was one of "his guys" during his time with the Blue Jackets. He wanted the Blues to try and pick him up, and I definitely expect Russell to be given a big role under Hitchcock give-in his familiarity with Hitch's system and their comfortability with each other. I really like Russell and I think we will see him excel with the Blues.

Waiver Update-11/10/2011

Waiver Update-11/10/2011:

Edmonton Oilers Claim Taylor Chorney From The St.Louis Blues

D. Taylor Chorney Age: 24 Height: 5-11  Weight: 182 CONTRACT:  Cap-Hit: $735,000  Two-Way Clause: $735,000 (NHL Salary), $62,500 (AHL Salary) Expires: 2012 Important Facts: -  Was drafted by the Oilers and spent three years in their organization - Has had major problems with his right knee that caused him to miss 10 games so far this season, and 19 games last season. - Has not had good plus/minus numbers through his pro-career, as of now he is a minus-30 in 58 NHL games, and is a minus-50 in 146 AHL games.

Reaction:

A month ago to the day, the Edmonton Oilers decided to waive Taylor Chorney and the next day he was claimed by the St.Louis Blues. Since that time, the Oilers have had a plethora of injuries to their back-end and they were in need of a defenseman as they did not want to keep Colten Teubert up for an extended period of time. He should play in the next few days as there will be little to no time needed to get him accustomed to the Oilers system give-in the fact that he played with them just a short time ago.

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Anaheim Ducks Claim Ben Maxwell From The Winnipeg Jets

C. Ben Maxwell Age: 23 Height: 6-1  Weight: 195 CONTRACT:  Cap-Hit: $715,000  Two-Way Clause: $715,000 (NHL Salary), $62,500 (AHL Salary) Expires: 2012 Important Facts: -  3rd organization in four years pro - Has been dominant in the AHL with 143 points in 179 games and an overall plus/minus of plus-15. - Defense orientated center

Reaction:

Ben Maxwell is a good defensive forward, but has struggled at the NHL level thus far. In the AHL, he not only is a very good back checker, but he has put up a lot of points. At just twenty-three years old he has a lot of time to reach his potential, and I believe he could be a solid bottom-six forward. The Ducks have been struggling so maybe adding a good defensive forward will do some good for them.

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Calgary Flames Place Niklas Hagman On Waivers

Reaction:

Hagman is an odd player, he works hard, but just can't get his skills to shine like they had in years past. He was a major piece in the Dion Phaneuf trade, and since then he has been underwhelming and was actually waived last year. At that time he cleared, but this time around I expect him to be claimed mainly because he is on the last year of his contract so if a team needed a winger, they could pick him up for the short-term with relatively little risk. So far this season, despite getting minimal ice-time, he hasn't been bad and has put up four points in eight games. I think that if he was put in the right situation he might do well.

Rangers, Caps Swap Prospects

Rangers, Caps Complete Minor Prospect Swap

To Washington: Tomas Kundratek To New York: Francois Bouchard

Reaction:

This is a lot more interesting than most minor trades, and although the average fan might overlook it, both teams will find some real usefulness from this move. The Capitals acquired twenty-one year old Tomas Kundratek, who stands tall at 6-foot-2, 201 pounds. He was a third-round pick back in the 2008 NHL draft and is currently playing in his 2nd pro-season. He has very nice upside as a potential all-around 2nd pairing defenseman. With two more seasons in the American Hockey League he should be ready to play full-time in the NHL. The player that the Caps sent to acquire Kundratek, was Francois Bouchard. The twenty-three year old Bouchard, was the Capitals second-round pick in 2006 and is the younger brother of Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Bouchard's play has been rapidly declining since his career year in 2009-10. During that season he had 52 points in 77 games, but in 2010-11 he had that point total cut in half. He ended the year with only 24 points and so far this season, things have gotten even worse. He has yet to record a point this season and is currently a minus-4. His place in the Capitals depth chart has been steadily lowered and it finally forced a trade. Luckily for the Capitals, they were able to get a pretty good prospect in-return. The Rangers are hoping that Bouchard will be able to recapture his success from 2009-10, but as of now it definitely looks as though the Capitals got the better end of this deal.

Waiver Update-11/8/2011

Waiver Update-11/8/2011

Mark Fraser (NJ Devils): Clears Waivers

Reaction:

This is the second time he has cleared waivers this season, and just like last time he will remain with the big club. This waiver move was really done just to provide flexibility for the Devils if they need to send someone down because now Fraser is eligible to be reassigned without going through waivers (only for a certain amount of time).

Rod Pelley (NJ Devils): Clears Waivers

Reaction:

Along with Fraser, this is the second time he has cleared waivers this year. His situation exactly mirrors that of Fraser's as he will remain with the Devils for the foreseeable future. Now by having Pelley eligible to be reassigned without waivers, the Devils could make adjustments to their forward too as they can send down Pelley if need be.

Tampa Bay Places Mattias Ritola On $125 Waivers

Reaction:

By being placed on $125 waivers Ritola becomes eligible to have his contract terminated. Usually when that happens at this point in the year, its because the player wants to go to Europe, but apparently in this situation it will cause him to go overseas, and its not a result of him going overseas. According to the St. Petersburg Times, Ritola, after clearing waivers about a week ago, refused to report to Norfolk of the AHL. The Lightning then decided to suspend him and then subsequently place him on unconditional waivers, otherwise known as $125 waivers. The 24-year old has said he will probably be returning to Sweden. Its a shame his career has ended up like this as he was once a fairly highly regarded prospect. 

11/7/2011 Islanders Game Review

Islanders 2011-2012 Game 12 @ Bruins Review:

LOSS: Isles 2-5 Bruins

Record: 4-6-2

Summary:

Another bad start was a big reason for the team's loss in this game. Only a minute and thirty-two seconds into the game the Bruins were able to get a very questionable goal past Evgeni Nabokov. Quickly the Islanders tied it up just a few minutes later, but it was in vein as the Bruins then put two goals up mid-way through the first. Nabokov looked bad, and was promptly replaced by Al Montoya. According to Chris Botta, the Islanders wanted to showcase Nabokov in this game, but unfortunately all it did was lower his value. Once Montoya got in the net, things seemed to change for the Islanders. Late in the first Michael Grabner put a nice shot past Rask and it was once again a game. Unfortunately that was the last goal the Islanders were able to score. In the second, they held on by a thread and without Montoya standing on his head it could have easily been a blow-out much earlier on in the game. During the second intermission the Versus analysts were stunned that the Isles were actually still in this game because the Bruins had dominated them. That shock wore off though, as the Bruins came out in the third and put up two very quick goals and then towards the end of the 3rd they scored the empty netter on an Islanders power play. Speaking of the power play…it was atrocious. The Isles were 0 for 4, including two great opportunities in the 2nd period to tie the game. The lack of creativity on the power play is troubling and if I were Doug Weight I'd be telling the players to stop with this fancy crap and just get the puck to the net. This was a rough game for the team, and as Mike Milbury pointed out, especially for the veterans of the team. Brian Rolston, in my opinion the teams biggest underachiever, was a major negative factor in this one. In almost seventeen minutes of ice-time, he was a minus-3 and for a guy that is supposed to be producing and leading, this will not and should not continue. 

Three Positive Players Of The Game:

1- Michael Grabner- 

His speed was on full force last night and so was his offensive creativity. He had two points (a goal and an assist), and during the first period was making some very nice plays. It seems no matter who is on the first line it will remain successful and I personally believe that attributed to my 2nd player of the game

2- John Tavares- 

Even though he only had one assist, he was very solid in all three zones. There was one flaw to his play during the night, but I believe it was more on Mark Streit than it was on him. Anyway he had numerous take-away's and made a gorgeous play on the assist on Grabner's goal. He is playing a very consistent brand of hockey. 

3- Matt Moulson- 

As you can probably tell, I thought the first line played well and Matt Moulson was a big proponent to that. He made a beautiful deflection on a Steve Staios shot and continued to get to the areas on the ice you need to be to score score some goals.

Three Negative Players Of The Game:

1- Brian Rolston- 

I am getting really tired of having our highest payed player as the worst guy on the ice. He needs to pick it up soon or I think there has to be something done because this cannot continue to go on.

2- Mark Eaton- 

Not one of his better games, he looked lost out there a bit and was a big reason for the opening goal by the Bruins. He didn't seem as aware as he's been this season and his outlet passes were unimpressive. I can clearly remember at least two breakout passes that were either intercepted or deflected by the Bruins forecheckers. 

3- Frans Nielsen- 

He has been incredibly inconsistent this season and it continued last night as he put up a terrible minus-2. His play in his own end was not what you would be expecting from a guy like him and he turned over the puck in the neutral zone at least three times.