Os tubares do San Jose migraro mais de 56.000 milhas, ele tabulates, quando o only os Islanders de New York viajar mais menos do que os tampes (28.321 milhas). Of course, if the league wised up and reconstituted the Patrick division, there’d be even less travel for the team. Perhaps someone in Congress during our leaders’ energy deliberations this year will offer that as an amendment.

It is sort of an interesting question — could entrenched high oil prices force not just the NHL but other leagues to realign toward bus and train-friendly distances within divisions? Obviously, there are limitations with what can be achieved on that front out West. But in the years ahead, as there is certain to be no short-term solution to America’s vexing energy challenges, we may see something like multiple games played against a common opponent, especially on weekends, as in Canadian Major Juniors.

The Caps are also aided this season by a modest slate of games on back-to-back nights — just eight such over the 82-game schedule: one in October, three in November; two in January; and just one in February and March.

Filed in National Hockey League, New York Islanders, San Jose Sharks, The Great Old Patrick Division, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (5)

OFB Poll: Most Appealing Game

By The OFB Team
Friday, July 18, 2008
Which home game in the 2008-2009 season is the most appealing?
  • Add an Answer
View Results
Filed in Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, National Hockey League, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (9)

Your Presence Is Requested - 2008-09 Washington Capitals Schedule

By The OFB Team
Thursday, July 17, 2008

The NHL released the regular season schedule for all 30 teams today. The NHL will open its 91st season in Stockholm, Sweden and Prague, Czech Republic with a pair of games between the Rangers and Lightning in Prague and the Senators and Penguins in Stockholm on October 4th and 5th.

Washington Captials - secondary logoThe Capitals begin the season on the road in Atlanta on Friday, October 10th with the first home game the next day against Cristobal Huet and the Chicago Blackhawks.  Olaf Kolig visits the Phone Booth for the first time on November 10th.

This season’s schedule is under a new matrix that has each team to playing six games against each team in its division (24 games), four games against the non-division teams within its conference (40 games), and 18 non-Conference games — at least one game against each club in the other conference (15 games) and three home-and-home series against non-Conference teams.

Some schedule notes:

All thirty teams will be in action on the same day on Saturday,  October 25th.

The 2009 Winter Classic will take place on January 1st at Chicago’s Wrigley Field with the Blackhawks facing the Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Redwings.

The NHL All-Star Game will be held in Montreal’s Bell Centre on January 2tth.  Montreal will also host the 2009 Entry Draft on June 26th and 27th.

Hockey Day In Canada returns to its all-Canadian lineup on Februay 21st with Ottawa at Montreal, Vancouver at Toronto, and Calgary at Edmonton.

[Full Capitals Schedule after the break.]

Continue reading ›

Filed in Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Atlantic Division, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Central Division, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Eastern Conference, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Northeast Division, Northwest Division, Ottawa Senators, Pacific Division, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, Southeast Division, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Western Conference| Permalink| Comments (13)

Preseason Schedule Released

By The OFB Team
Monday, July 14, 2008

The Capitals announced their preseason schedule today with three home games.

Date Opponent Location Time
Wed., Sept. 24 @ Carolina RBC Center, Raleigh, N.C. 7 p.m.
Thurs., Sept. 25 Carolina Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 7 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 27 @ Boston TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Mass. 4 p.m.
Mon., Sept. 29 @ New Jersey TBD 7 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 1 @ Philadelphia Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pa. 7 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 3 Philadelphia Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 7 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 5 Boston Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 5 p.m.
Filed in Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (1)

ESPY - Best NHL Player

By The OFB Team
Monday, July 7, 2008

Alex Ovechkin has been nominated for yet another award. Alex is looking to add the ESPY for Best NHL Player to his mantle already sporting trophies with the names Ross, Richard, Hard, and Pearson. What makes the ESPY a bit different is that award winners are selected exclusively through an online fan balloting conducted from amongst candidates selected by the ESPY Select Nominating Committee

Voting is set to end this week, so be sure to visit espys.tv and make sure the award does not go to one of the other nominees — Sidney Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk, Jarome Igilna and Evgeni Malkin.

The 2008 ESPY Awards will be held on Sunday, July 20, at the Nokia Theater L.A. Live in Los Angeles and will be hosted by Justin Timberlake.

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, ESPN, Evgeni Malkin, Hockey, National Hockey League, Sidney Crosby, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (9)

Jaromir, We Hardly Knew Ya, and I’m Not Sure We’ll Miss You

By pucksandbooks
Sunday, July 6, 2008

There was, seemingly, a continent-wide silence over the weekend associated with Jaromir Jagr’s departure from the NHL. Indeed, the latest flareup between Oilers GM Kevin Lowe and Ducks’ GM Brian Burke seems to have made a larger impression on the hockey world this weekend than has Jagr’s departure.

It seems oddly fitting that on Independence weekend the Capitals and the NHL would finally be liberated from the seemingly interminable and onerous payoffs to Jaromir Jagr, one of the sport’s ultimate mercenaries.

Back in January 2004, the Caps dealt the underachieving, isolated, and insufferable Jagr to the New York Rangers for Anson Carter and a promise to pay off $20 million of the $44 million remaining on his godawful contract. The deal of course occurred pre-lockout, and at the time Jagr was earning $11 million annually; meaning, that Ted Leonsis was on the hook for a tidy $5 million each season in payments to the Rangers for the duration of the deal. The new CBA that ended the lockout in 2005 included a 24-percent rollback in player salaries, so that payoff sum got sheared off a bit, but both practically speaking and especially symbolically, the Capitals were still tethered to the misanthropic mercenary, through the 2007-08 season, and that association stung.

Word arrived this weekend that Jagr had in essence ended his NHL career, in signing with Avangard Omsk of the new Russian elite pro hockey league. The terms — apparently two years and $7 million per season, tax free — mean that Jagr is back up to the equivalent of $11 million in annual salary. He spent this decade as a temperamental gun for hire, so this new agreement is fitting. Puck daddy’s overview on Jagr’s career, in which daddy terms #68’s tenure in D.C. “the near career suicide,” includes a generous helping of reader comments that seem to capture all of the at-arm’s-length regard Jagr engendered in his NHL career. Including, especially, this sentiment: “Good riddance.”

It’s remarkable that the NHL’s ninth all-time scorer could amass as massive a movement of malignant sentiments as he did, but he did.

Jagr’s was an NHL career of two careers: his years in Pittsburgh, where he brilliantly partnered with Mario Lemieux, catapulting the Penguins to two Stanley Cups, and where he won four consecutive Art Ross trophies; and those that followed, in Washington and New York, where he showed flashes of his dominant past but most often earned reviews that he was slowing down and grossly overpaid. This was especially true of his aborted stay in D.C.

Even in Pittsburgh Jagr has no shortage of detractors. Near the end of his run there he made no secret of his wish to play in the NHL’s largest market. Pittsburghers become particularly parochial over such sentiments. Jagr never seemed vested in the Penguins, emotionally or otherwise — certainly not like Mario Lemieux always has been. It’s distinctly possible that in about 7 or 8 years’ time Jagr will be regarded there as merely the fourth best forward to play in Pittsburgh — a stunning possibility, when you consider his scoring standing in the league’s history. Jagr is one of only 16 players to score 600 goals; only the 12th player to surpass 1,500 points; and only Mike Gartner is a rival to Jagr’s tally of 15 consecutive seasons with 30 or more goals. He is the only player to score goals in 53 different NHL arenas.

But for all of his red lamp lighting, he possessed an uncanny ability to leave you cold. Hockey is in many respects the ultimate team sport, in which a goal scorer typically celebrates lavishly in the arms of his teammates. Jagr seemed to celebrate many of the goals he scored with the detachment of a hitman.

It is true that the Washington Capitals today would not have Alexander Ovechkin were it not for the ruinous run of Jagr in D.C. It is therefore fitting that hockey fans here have in Ovechkin the outsized personality, a total team-first dynamo, one who is also disarmingly modest and an irrationally exuberant scoring celebrator. He is the antidote to Jaromir Jagr, our tonic from those two-and-a-half seasons of tumult.

In so many ways Jagr was an extraordinary paradox. He accumulated 1,599 points in his NHL career; that he is a mortal lock for the Hall of Fame is beyond dispute. And yet, he departs the NHL and it’s news on hockey pages for all of 12 hours, before the next free agent signing bumps it. He had fans by the thousands who wore sweaters bearing his name, but he seldom had spirited defenders. Serious hockey fans never ragged on his skill set, but even at the height of his brilliance he seemed to engender a detachment from fans. Most often you got the sense that if there was such a thing as hockey player really in it mostly for the money, Jaromir Jagr was that hockey player.

Now near 37, he’s crossing an ocean, and turning his back on the planet’s best league, for more of it.

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Former Coaches & Players, Hockey Hall of Fame, Jaromir Jagr, Morning cup-a-joe, National Hockey League, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (6)

Mullets Are Not Us: The Free Agent Race Out of Pittsburgh

By The OFB Team
Monday, June 30, 2008

What do you conclude from the decisions made by all four of Pittsburgh's name free agents -- Marian Hossa, Brooks Orpik, Ryan Malone, and Gary Roberts -- to take their playing services elsewhere for 2008-09? Contrast that with the reactions to playing in D.C. articulated this spring by new, free agent arrivals Sergei Fedorov and Cristobal Huet.
View Results

Filed in Atlantic Division, Cristobal Huet, Eastern Conference, Free Agents, OFB Polls, Pittsburgh Penguins, Sergei Fedorov, Sidney Crosby| Permalink| Comments (13)

Eminger Signed - by Philadelphia

By OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki)
Sunday, June 29, 2008

Steve Eminger will be wearing black and orange next season after signing a one-year deal today.

Unless he manages to find the Flyers’ doghouse as he did in Washington, I’m betting he gets more ice time in Philly this year than he did in D.C. — UFA Jason Smith is likely departing, Mike Rathje is in questionable health, and traffic cone Derian Hatcher (how appropriate that he wears orange) is of dubious value at his age even when healthy, and with an injured knee and broken leg last season he’s slower than ever.

“I’m happy to get the deal worked out and excited about being part of the organization,” Eminger said. “I can’t wait for the start of the season to get things going.”

Here’s wishing Eminger well . . . just not when the Capitals are his opponent.

Filed in Philadelphia Flyers, Steve Eminger| Permalink| Comments (0)

We Could Use a Few Signings, Couldn’t We?

By pucksandbooks
Friday, June 27, 2008

These are salad days for salaries in the NHL. Yesterday came word that the salary cap for 2008-09 would rise to $56.7 million, with a salary floor ($40.7 million) higher than the league’s cap just back three seasons ago, in the first post-lockout regular season.  Stunning. As the salary cap is directly linked to the league’s revenues, which are directly linked to its gate receipts, it’s seems clear that a few folks other than Tiger Woods and Tony Kornheiser are interested in hockey.  

Meanwhile, there remain outstanding — unsigned — some necessarily expensive parts to 2008-09 for the Washington Capitals. The tally: Christobal Huet, Brooks Laich, Shaone Morrisonn, and Mike Green. Boyd Gordon and Eric Fehr need new deals, too, but I don’t imagine those will be that expensive. Right now both Matt Cooke and Sergei Fedorov look like salary cap casualties, luxuries likely unaffordable in ‘08. Since I last wrote about matters financial Capitals’ GM George McPhee has managed to sheer off about $2 million in payroll for next season by dealing Steve Eminger to Philadelphia and buying out Ben Clymer. (Ray Shero’s fruitless negotiations with Marian Hossa this month apparently have sheared off $7-8 million from the Penguins’ payroll for next season.)

However, it’s beginning to look like McPhee will need that $2 million to pay Mike Green just in the autumn portion of the calandar next season.

Ah yes, Mike Green. For the congenitally white-knuckled of Caps’ fans, his breakout season in 2007-08, combined with apparently every name New York Ranger leaving Broadway, portends his departure and the swift end of hockey’s renaissance in Washington. But count me among those who think it far from a certainty that Green’s gonna attract a bevy of offer sheets next Tuesday.

For one thing, as great as his game looks, Green’s had only one big-number season, and the price in first-round draft picks for signing him would be exorbitant (as many as five). Additionally, both the owner and the general manager are on record stating that the club will match whatever offer comes Green’s way. For another, offer sheets for restricted free agents (see Tomas Vanek) are in a very real sense one GM’s performing labor for a colleague. Lastly, Green, though a young and inexperienced great talent just as Dustin Penner was last summer, is a primary building block for a contending Caps’ club. Penner wasn’t last summer, nor is he today, one of the 50 best forwards in the NHL. Penner’s was a stupid contract conceived by a stupid GM. Brian Burke allowed stupidity to reign supreme for a moment, but his Ducks won’t soon be looking up at the Oil in the standings.

In Green the Caps know what they’ve got – an already impressive no. 1 rearguard whom they were awfully lucky to nab with a 29th pick in the ‘04 draft, one who has a great deal of progression and maturity ahead of him. Likely, too, Mike Green also knows what he’s got in D.C., and specifically in Bruce Boudreau’s system: the green light to pile up points for a really big deal around the time he’s in his prime. 

Mike Green will get signed alright. But it won’t come cheap. In fact, Team Green may be pointing to Alexander Semin’s 2009-10 salary ($5 million) and understandably if myopically bargaining that Green’s of greater value to the team than Semin. In an ideal world, Team Green would acknowledge the client’s youth and inexperience and appreciable development still ahead and ask to be made the team’s highest paid defenseman . . . but not like say Anaheim’s best defenseman.

Few however imagine ideal worlds with attorneys and player agents in them.  

Speaking of interesting contracts, remember that “home team discount” deal Sidney Crosby signed? It will pay him $7.5 million in 2013. The thinking here is that Sidney will be a pretty good hockey player in 2013, when he’s still not yet 30 years old. Do you know how many NHLers will be earning more than $7.5 million then? (Mike Green might well be one.) One of them will be Vinny Lecavalier, according to ESPN. Indeed, as early as 2009-10, Crosby may not even be the highest paid Penguin. The intrigue with the Penguins never ends.  

Given the number and prominence of Capitals’ restricted free agents, this wasn’t supposed to be an easy summer of negotiating for GMGM. It was made tougher by the breakout seasons by Laich and Green, as well as Morrisonn’s emergence as a top-pairing performer. And while last weekend was filled with the promise of securing hockey’s future, this one is about placating the present. It’s messy but necessary business.

It’s a time to be anxious but not a time to be pessimistic. 

Filed in Alexander Semin, Boyd Gordon, Brooks Laich, Cristobal Huet, Eric Fehr, Evgeni Malkin, Free Agents, Front Office, George McPhee, Matt Cooke, Mike Green, National Hockey League, Pittsburgh Penguins, Sergei Fedorov, Shaone Morrisonn, Sidney Crosby, Steve Eminger, Ted Leonsis, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (35)

Another Solid Draft Hauling in Adherence with the Blueprint

By pucksandbooks
Monday, June 23, 2008

So how did the Caps do at the draft this weekend? One answer is, a lot better than the Islanders and especially Pittsburgh. Here’s a Hockeysfuture reflection from an Isles’ fan attending a Friday night draft party, grading out his team’s labor in Ottawa:

“NYI-On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the worst they are in negative numbers.

“I was at the draft party. The place was furious when they traded the 5th pick, but when they got nothing of value back from the Leaf’s the place really started to flip out.

“Then when the Isles traded the 7th pick to the Preds—again for nothing much in return—of the 1,000 or so fans in attendence—at least 500 got up and walked out in disgust and silence. They did not even boo.

“When they selected Bailey—you could hear a rat piss on cotton in Argentina. Then—everyone left in disgust.”

At least the Isles, eventually, belatedly, made some selections. Pittsburgh goes on the clock for the first time late this Tuesday morning. In this draft, you just wanted to be in the mix (and not, like Garth Snow, trying to trade out of it), with some picks among the top 75 or so prospects. The Caps were, they had a specific strategy — players targeted for the team’s draft positions — and they landed their targets.

In their last five drafts, the Caps have accumulated 10 first-round picks. And if you listened to General Manager George McPhee’s post-draft reflections on Saturday, he’d have you believe there’s an 11th in the tally — Dmitry Kugryskev, a CSKA-2 teammate of sixth-overall selection Nikita Filatov.

“We thought he may have gone somewhere in the first round,” McPhee said after Saturday’s drafting has been completed. Alluding to the absence of a transfer agreement with Russia, McPhee added that Kugryskev certainly would have gone higher “in the old NHL.”

Over the weekend McPhee also noted that the Caps enjoy a distinct drafting advantage by virtue of having Alexander Ovechkin. While most other organizations in rounds 1 and 2 will understandably be wary of selecting Russians then in the absence of a transfer agreement, and now the formation of the Continental Hockey League as a bigger, better-paying version of the RSL, the Caps as they interview Russian prospects can gauge interest in the youngsters’ willinginess to come over and skate with their nation’s hero. Kugryskev is one such prospect.

“I dream about the NHL every day of my life. It’s my dream,” Kugryskev said recently.

With respect to his new Russian winger, McPhee probably wasn’t just whistling that 30-team, post-draft sunshine tune that’s a staple of every draft’s conclusion, either. Last season the right winger scored 58 points in 35 games with CSKA-2. His lottery pick teammate Filatov had 66 points in 34 games. He’s renowed for his worth ethic.

The Capitals were going to trade out of round 1 Friday if neither of Anton Gustafsson nor John Carlson had been available. They landed both. They also had multiple trade offers when their turn came up late in round 2. McPhee actually called a timeout to ponder them but ultimately judged what was available (Kugryskev and Eric Mestery) as more valuable. So the Caps landed their primary targets and then, while with offers in hand to move away from the draft’s still rich realm, they judged their draft list delivering them better value and they selected, solidly.

The Carlson selection in particular may prove to be a sage one. Already blessed with a pro physique, the mobile, two-way reargruard was an intrigue prospect for this draft. His size and all-around game drew universal commendation from NHL organizations, but competing in the United States Hockey League, and competing in a draft chock full of bluechip defenders, Carlson was a candidate to be there late in round one.

Charlie Skjodt, his coach with the Indiana Ice of the USHL, told the Newark Star-Ledger before the draft, “I’d be shocked if he isn’t selected in the first round . . . without a doubt, he’s going to be a star in the NHL.” Carlson’s already served as an assistant captain on a U.S. select team and is likely a strong candidate to represent the U.S. in future World Under-20 tourneys.

The Capitals are currently ranked sixth by Hockeysfuture for the strength of their prospect holdings. If you’re at the very top of that list it likely means you’re drafting too high, too often too consecutively each June. With their work this past weekend the Capitals are a safe bet to remain in the top 10 of the HF ranking. That seems about where they’d want to be: not a lottery regular but with a farm chock full of promise and able fill-ins for injured players on the parent roster. And it’s this quality and depth that is central to the Caps’ tenet of building and replenishing largely from within.

It’s worth noting, too, the success the Caps are now having in drafts’ later rounds. Among recent signees are Mathieu Perreault (6th round, ‘06), Oskar Osala (4th round, ‘06), Andrew Joudrey (8th round, ‘03), Daren Maschesney (5th round, ‘05), Patrick McNeill (4th round, ‘05), Travis Morin (9th round, ‘04), and Andrew Gordon (7th round, ‘04).

The Capitals today are an experienced drafting organization; McPhee and Ross Mahoney have been together 10 years now. They’ve made their share of mistakes in June in years past, which the GM has aknowledged, but they’re enjoying more success these days. That continued this past weekend in Ottawa.

Filed in DraftGeek, Entry Draft, Morning cup-a-joe, National Hockey League, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Prospects, Schadenfreude, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (11)

First-Round Flops Over the Years

By pucksandbooks
Friday, June 20, 2008

No team can get it right in round one every year, even drafting very high. And at times all teams get it really wrong then. A survey such as this is a powerful reminder of the crapshoot that is selecting 18-year-old hockey players. However, it is also an invitation for fans to react with, “What the *@^* were you thinking?”

I’ve included picks made by the Whale with those of the Hurricanes, and of those made by the Nordiques in association with Colorado, to even out the survey period. No need however to add Winnipeg to Phoenix’s draft woes — the Desert Dogs know how to screw the draft pooch up high all on their own. Take a look:

Team Player Picked Comment Studs Selected After
Anaheim Stanislav Chistov (5th, 2001) The ‘07 Cup win offers serious salve for the Stanislav screwup Mike Komisarek, Pascal Leclaire, R.J. Umberger, Ales Hemsky, Mike Cammalleri
Atlanta Patrick Stefan (no.1, 1999) The ‘99 harvest wasn’t swell to be sure, but this still is a serious stinker The Sedin twins, Martin Havlat
Boston Lars Jonsson (7th, 2000) A good recipe for Swedish meatballs would have delivered more Brooks Orpik, Alexander Frolov, Anton Volchenkov, Niklas Kronvall
Buffalo Shawn Anderson, (5th, 1986) This was a Shawn of the Dead selection Vincent Damphousse, Brian Leetch, Craig Janney, Teppo Numminen
Calgary Bryan Deasley (19th, 1987) The Flames’ no. 1 from ‘86, George Pelawa, died in a motorcycle crash that summer, making this a two-year strikeout stretch John LaClair, Eric Desjardins, Mathieu Schneider, Stephane Matteau
Carolina/Hartford Fred Arthur (8th, 1980) No relation to Bea Arthur, except in NHL impact Paul Coffey, Brent Sutter, Craig Ludwig, Steve Larmer, Andy Moog, Jari Kurri
Chicago Tony Tanti (12th, 1981) Wirtz maybe thought he’d sign cheap? Al MacInnis, Chris Chelios, Mike Vernon, John Vanbiesbrouck
Colorado/Quebec Aniel Dore (5th, 1988) Who doesn’t own an Aniel Dore Nordiques’ sweater? Jeremy Roenick, Teemu Selanne, Rob Blake, Rod Brind’Amour, Martin Gelinas
Columbus Alexander Picard (8th, 2004) Inspector Clousseau isn’t going to look into this pick — he made it Alexander Radulov, Drew Stafford, Andrej Meszaros, Wojtek Wolski
Dallas Jason Bacashihua (26th, 2001) Played with the ECHL’s Johnston Chiefs in ‘07-08, which for a first-rounder seven years after being drafted is a fairly moderate pace of development Derek Roy, Fedor Tyutin, Mike Cammalleri, Jason Pominville, Dave Steckel
Detroit Shawn Burr (7th, 1984) I thought briefly of exluding the Wings from this exercise, they draft so well, and you have to go back a bit to find a serious screwup Shane Corson, Sylvain Cote, Gary Roberts, Kevin Hatcher, Scott Mellanby
Edmonton Marc-Antoine Pouliot (22nd, 2003) Overlooked this scouting report by the rest of the league: “Thin, weak, won’t hit or backcheck or play in traffic. Other than that, he’s dandy.” Mike Richards, Corey Perry, Patrice Bergeron, Matt Carle
Florida Petr Taticek (9th, 2002) Why no postseasons in Sunrise, Cats’ fans ask? Look at this pick Alexander Semin, Chris Higgins, Alexander Steen, Cam Ward
Los Angeles Wally McBean (4th, 1987) Not a new lunch item at MickeyD’s Joe Sakic, Andrew Cassels, Mathieu Schneider, Luke Richardson
Minnesota (Wild/Stars) Brian Lawton (no. 1, 1983) The bridesmaid to Daigle Pat LaFontaine, Steve Yzerman, Tom Barrasso, Cam Neely
Montreal Terry Ryan (8th, 1995) Terry Hatcher would have looked better here Jarome Iginla, J.S. Giguere, Petr Sykora, Martin Biron
Nashville Brian Finley (6th, 1999) The day the music stopped in Honkeytonkville Barret Jackman, Martin Havlat, Mike Commodore, David Tanabe
New Jersey Adrian Foster (28th, 2001) Yo, Adrian! Legend has it that Foster wasn’t even on other teams’ lists — anywhere! Fedor Tyutin, Mike Cammalleri, Peter Budaj, Ray Emery, Patrick Sharp
NY Islanders Dave Chyzowski (2nd, 1989) Can’t blame Mad Mike for this one — he didn’t arrive until ‘95 Bill Guerin, Pavel Bure, Olaf Kolzig, Stu Barnes
NY Rangers Hugh Jessiman (12th, 2003) Hughe mistake! Brent Seabrook, Steve Bernier, Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf
Ottawa Alexander Daigle (no. 1, 1993) The Mother of all Misses; to “Daigle” in round one is every GM’s nightmare Chris Pronger, Paul Kariya, Todd Bertuzzi, Brendan Witt, Adam Deadmarsh
Philadelphia Claude Boivin (14th, 1988) Philly does real well in the first round; this year, not so much Rob Blake, Alexander Mogilny, Tony Amonte, Bret Hedican, Tie Domi
Phoenix Blake Wheeler ( 5th, 2004) Wheeler of misfortune; think Gretz & co. reached here? Rostislav Olesz, Alexander Radulov, Drew Stafford, Wojtek Wolski
Pittsburgh Zarley Zalapski (4th, 1980) ZZ FlopTop and agonizing alliteration Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, Steve Larmer, Craig Ludwig, Brent Sutter
San Jose Pat Falloon (2nd, 1991) Plus, Pat had to don that original San Jose teal sweater on the ‘91 draft stage Scott Niedermayer, Peter Forsberg, Martin Lapointe, Brian Rolston, Alexei Kovalev
St. Louis Perry Turnbull (2nd, 1979) 188 goals in an NHL career is nothing to snicker at, but methinks Ray Bourque would have helped out more Ray Bourque, Mike Gartner, Brian Propp, Kevin Lowe
Tampa Alexander Svitov (3rd, 2001) Tampa (Nikita Alexeev) hasn’t exactly struck Lightning with first-round Russians Pascal Leclaire, Alex Hemsky, R.J. Umberger, Shaone Morrisonn
Toronto Gary Nylund (3rd, 1982) This is the stuff of Cup droughts Scott Stevens, Phil Housley, Dave Andreychuk, Doug Gilmour
Vancouver Jere Gillis (4th, 1978) The Canucks have no home-grown Hall of Famers, including Gillis Mark Napier, Don Maloney, Doug Wilson, Bengt Gustafsson
Washington Greg Joly ( no.1, 1974) Good Golly what a stinker! “The next Bobby Orr” it was said of Joly in ‘74. Umm, not so much. Clark Gillies, Pierre Larouche, Bryan Trottier, Doug Riesbrough
Filed in Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, DraftGeek, Edmonton Oilers, Entry Draft, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (4)

A Draft Hole Impacting the Washington-Pittsburgh Rivalry Years Hence?

By The OFB Team
Monday, June 16, 2008

Below you will find the order of selection for next weekend’s first four rounds of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, held in Ottawa. You will note from our highlighting in bold the wealth of selections the Capitals enjoy — six picks among the first 93 of the draft. This draft is universally regarded as distinctive for the quality of its depth; there will be solid NHL contributors selected liberally throughout rounds one, two, and three.

We would have you take particular note of the absence of any selections in the high-end range by your 2008 Eastern Conference champion. Their first pick arrives after 119 other 18-year-olds have been plucked.

The Penguins’ American League affiliate in Wilkes Barre-Scranton raced all the way to the Calder Cup finals this month, but unlike the Hershey Bears’ appearances there in 2006 and 2007, the junior Penguins aren’t believed to be chock full of promising young future talent for the parent club — that talent’s already in Pittsburgh. One reason they’re missing both high picks this year and high-end talent on the farm was February’s trade for Marian Hossa and Hal Gill as well as last year’s acquisition of geriatric Gary Roberts.

Penguins’ GM Ray Shero has his share of challenges this summer: 13 unrestricted and 4 restricted free agents to ink for next season. While it’s not impossible for teams to acquire young talent after round 3 of the NHL Entry Draft, the odds plummet precipitously. One’s thing’s for sure: 29 other NHL clubs will be helping themselves from this talent-rich draft before the Penguins do. As recent rebuilders, they’re ahead of the Capitals in both achievement and status, but that gap could close a healthy bit this summer.

  ROUND 1   ROUND 2   ROUND 3   ROUND 4
1 Tampa Bay 31 Florida (from T.B.) 62 Tampa Bay 92 Los Angeles (from T.B.)
2 Los Angeles 32 Los Angeles 63 Los Angeles 93 Washington (from L.A.)
3 Atlanta 33 St. Louis (from ATL) 64 Atlanta 94 Atlanta
4 St. Louis 34 St. Louis 65 St. Louis 95 St. Louis
5 NY Islanders 35 Phoenix 66 NY Islanders 96 NY Islanders
6 Columbus 36 NY Islanders 67 Columbus 97 Columbus
7 Toronto 37 Columbus 68 Toronto 98 Toronto
8 Phoenix 38 Phoenix (from TOR) 69 Phoenix 99 Phoenix
9 Nashville (from FLA) 39 Phoenix 70 Toronto (from FLA) 100 Florida
10 Vancouver 40 Nashville (from FLA) 71 Anaheim (from VAN) 101 Los Angeles (from VAN)
11 Chicago 41 Vancouver 72 Chicago 102 Chicago
12 Anaheim (from EDM) 42 Ottawa (from CHI) 73 NY Islanders (from EDM-ANA) 103 Edmonton
13 Buffalo 43 Anaheim (from EDM) 74 Buffalo 104 Buffalo
14 Carolina 44 Buffalo 75 NY Rangers (from CAR) 105 Carolina
15 Nashville 45 Carolina 76 Nashville 106 Nashville
16 Boston 46 Nashville 77 Boston 107 Boston
17 Calgary 47 Boston 78 Calgary 108 Calgary
18 Ottawa 48 Los Angeles (from CGY) 79 Ottawa 109 Ottawa
19 Columbus (from COL) 49 Phoenix (from OTT) 80 Florida (from COL) 110 Colorado
20 NY Rangers 50 Colorado 81 Los Angeles (from NYR) 111 St. Louis (from NYR)
21 New Jersey 51 NY Rangers 82 New Jersey 112 New Jersey
22 Edmonton (from ANA) 52 New Jersey 83 Anaheim 113 Anaheim
23 Washington 53 NY Islanders (from ANA-EDM) 84 Washington 114 Calgary (from WSH-BOS)
24 Minnesota 54 Washington 85 Anaheim (from MIN) 115 Minnesota
25 Montreal 55 Minnesota 86 Montreal 116 Montreal
26 Buffalo (from S.J.) 56 Montreal 87 St. Louis (from S.J.) 117 San Jose
27 Philadelphia 57 Washington (from S.J.) 88 Los Angeles (from PHI) 118 Philadelphia
28 Los Angeles (from DAL) 58 Washington (from PHI) 89 Dallas 119 Ottawa (from DAL-T.B.)
29 Atlanta (from PIT) 59 Dallas 90 Phoenix (from PIT) 120 Pittsburgh
30 Detroit 60 Toronto (from PIT) 91 Detroit 121 Detroit
    61 Los Angeles (from DET)        

ENTRY DRAFT ORDER OF SELECTION NOTES
Round 1

  • Pick 29 (Pittsburgh to Atlanta): Pittsburgh traded RW Colby Armstrong, C Erik Christensen, C Angelo Esposito and its 1st-round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft to Atlanta for RW Marian Hossa and RW Pascal Dupuis (Feb. 26, 2008).

Round 2

  • Pick 57 (San Jose to Washington): San Jose traded Carolina’s 2nd-round pick in the 2007 Entry Draft (previously acquired) and San Jose’s 2nd-round pick in 2008 to Washington for Buffalo’s 1st-round pick in 2007 (previously acquired) (June 22, 2007).
  • Pick 58 (Philadelphia to Washington): Washington traded Carolina’s 2nd-round pick in the 2007 Entry Draft (previously acquired) to Philadelphia for Nashville’s 3rd-round pick in 2007 (previously acquired) and Philadelphia’s 2nd-round pick in 2008 (June 23, 2007).

Round 3

  • Pick 90 (Pittsburgh to Phoenix): Pittsburgh traded LW Dan Carcillo and its 3rd-round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft to Phoenix for RW Georges Laraque (Feb. 27, 2007).

Round 4

  • Pick 93 (Los Angeles to Washington): Washington traded its 4th-round pick in the 2007 Entry Draft to Los Angeles for Los Angeles’ 6th-round pick in 2007 and 4th-round pick in 2008 (June 23, 2007).
  • Pick 114 (Washington to Boston, conditional to Calgary):
    (1) Washington to Boston: Boston traded D Milan Jurcina to Washington for Washington’s 4th-round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft (Feb. 1, 2007).
    (2) Boston to Calgary, conditional: Calgary traded D Andrew Ference and RW Chuck Kobasew to Boston for D Brad Stuart, C Wayne Primeau and a conditional pick in the 2008 Entry Draft.
Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, DraftGeek, Entry Draft, Hershey Bears, National Hockey League, Pittsburgh Penguins, Schadenfreude, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (8)

Cut It Out

By DC Sports Chick
Thursday, June 12, 2008

Washington vs. Pittsburgh. Caps vs. Pens. Ovechkin vs. Crosby. And now, The Hair Cuttery vs. Supercuts.
As seen in State College, PA
It’s just another chapter in the Caps-Pens rivalry.

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby| Permalink| Comments (2)

Finals’ Agony Is the Order of the Spring in PA

By The OFB Team
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

We’d be remiss if we failed today to congratulate the Chicago Wolves on doubling the pleasure of our Schadenfreude Spring, in sending yet another Penguins’ team — last night it was Pittsburgh’s affiliate in Wilkes Barre-Scranton — to a playoff finals disappointment. The Wolves claimed the American League’s Calder Cup 4 games to 2 over the mini-mullets. Added to the parent club’s Stanley Cup shortcoming last week, this is doubly delicious. Could there be a crunch-time character issue rampant in the Penguins’ organization, in so uniformly failing in finals’ play?

Filed in American Hockey League, Calder Cup, Minor Pro Hockey, Mullets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Schadenfreude| Permalink| Comments (5)

Ryan Malone, a Battered Face of Courage

By pucksandbooks
Friday, June 6, 2008

I write today in praise of a Penguin. It’s true. Penguins’ right wing Ryan Malone redefined courage in these just completed Stanley Cup Finals - even by hockey’s heightened standards of beaten up bravado. He had his nose already broken and swollen before he absorbed a further face-disfiguring trauma to it via a slapshot from the point while standing in the crease in front of Chris Osgood in game 5. You may have heard NBC’s Mike Emerick acknowledge that Malone “had his face rebuilt yesterday.”

Malone actually returned to Monday night’s game 5 after receiving medical treatment. God knows how.

Doc wasn’t speaking colloquially to his television audience, either. Years back in the NHL playoffs the Stars’ Mike Modano had his nose obliterated much like Malone, and like Malone, had to have it rebuilt. Dallas’ medical and training staff used cork to try and stabilize all the shattered bone in Modano’s face. Like Malone, Modano returned to action, missing only a few shifts. Malone may or may not have had a similar remedy this week, but NBC cameras were rather generous in illustrating his plight between shifts. It appeared as if he had blood-absorbing sponge-gauze and or some stabilizing foam pad tucked within his nostrils. The principal challenge for hockey players in such circumstances is getting air through their nostrils during and immediately after their shifts - executing fundamental respiration.

Those of us suffering from seasonal allergies know how tough nostril breathing can be on days of high pollen counts. Imagine if you were trying to chase Henrik Zetterberg down with a collapsed nasal cavity and clumps of dried blood clotting what little air passages remained!

And it isn’t just during elite athletic competition that dire discomfort sets it. A nose fractured far less seriously than was Malone’s is a serious impediment to nighttime rest. It isn’t just blocked air passages that thwart deep sleep - traditional tossing and turning that bring the damaged area into contact with even the softest pillows occasion nightmare-like screams. Ryan Malone’s suffering the last week off the ice likely was almost equal to that of his shifts on it.

Photo as seen on The Pens BlogMost remarkable about Malone’s perseverance through pain was his shieldless-ness in Game 6. He skated the entire game with his badly damaged face fully exposed. If you think that the Red Wings accorded Malone some softened deference in their checking of him out of consideration of his condition, you don’t know hockey very well.

You have to imagine that the Penguins’ medical staff urged Malone to don a protective visor. But in the case of a half shield, those easily and commonly get pushed back into players’ faces during corner and crease scrums, which wouldn’t have been a real pleasant experience for Malone. The full shields fog up in winter rinks, and given the conditions in the Igloo Wednesday night, Malone may have judged that more an impediment than aid. Whatever his thinking, he sure skated with remarkable bravery and guts.

It’s also true that on some level he could even have been risking his life. A nose can get bashed in so badly that it causes death. You don’t want bone fragments piercing the brain, for instance. I’m no karate expert, but I believe there is a black belt move made with a partially closed fist — the purpose of which is to deliver a blow to a specific area of the nose that sends bone fragments into the brain, immediately killing the opponent.

Malone’s bravery and determination during the Stanley Cup Finals showcased anew hockey’s unrivaled ethos of courage and guts. Other pro sports of course have their instances of unbelievable acts of playing through pain. The Los Angeles Rams’ linebacker Jack Youngblood played a postseason on a broken leg. One of my favorite stories of an athlete persevering through pain is San Francisco 49ers’ safety Ronnie Lott choosing to have the tip of a badly mangled finger amputated at halftime rather than miss the rest of the game. Imagine!

Still, I don’t know of another sport whose athletes so commonly and selflessly ignore injury trauma with the legacy of hockey. Ryan Malone is the latest in that legacy.

Filed in Morning cup-a-joe, Pittsburgh Penguins, Stanley Cup Playoffs| Permalink| Comments (4)

On the Stanley Cup Road, It’s No HoJo Lodging for the Wings

By pucksandbooks
Tuesday, June 3, 2008

One reason the Red Wings may not be terribly disappointed to play Game 6: a potential return to the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, “one of only 21 hotels and resorts in the world to host AAA Five-Diamond lodging and dining.” The team took up residence there last week, for Games 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh. And thanks in part to Gary Bettman’s postseason scheduling, the Wings enjoyed an unhurried stay.

If it was the Wings’ mission to get away from the distractions of downtown Pittsburgh (such as they exist), they’d have a tough time bettering themselves than in Nemacolin’s isolated pampering. The resort, located about 45 minutes from Pittsburgh, is situated on 3,000 acres, features its own private airfield, a Pete Dye-designed golf course, and black bear and buffalo roaming about the property. Rooms at Nemacolin can fetch $700 a night. At that rate, Mike Babcock’s crew, you’d think, was highly unlikely to encounter the typical Penguins ruffian-fan, and in point of fact the resort enforces a strict prohibition against extreme mullets.  

In an interesting irony, Nemacolin is the official resort of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Be fun to know if the Wings selected the site as a thumb in the nose of their Finals foes or if the Pens actually had a recommending hand in selecting it for the visitors.

Among the guests late last week at the resort was a contingent of Washington lobbyists, a few of whom read OFB.

“I was checking in and all of a sudden I see a stream of hockey players line up behind me,” one told me. “I knew it was Detroit because each player had ‘Red Wings’ on his bag.”

“What was so funny was for the rest of the time we were there when we’d ask about the Red Wings everyone on staff would reply ‘What hockey players?’ They were in button-lipped mode alright.”

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