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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 logo The 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.]

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)

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)

TSN: More Russians to Washington

By The OFB Team

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

TSN is reporting on air that the Capitals have acquired C Sergei Fedorov. Early reports are for draft picks.

Details to follow.

[1:20 p.m. Update] TSN: Blue Jackets trade Fedorov to Capitals

[1:30 p.m. Update] TSN: The Caps have parted with 2007 second-round pick defenseman Ted Ruth to acquire Fedorov.

[1:41pm Update] Per the Washington Capitals press release:

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Washington Capitals have acquired center Sergei Fedorov from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Washington draft pick Theo Ruth, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.

Fedorov (SAIR-gay FEH-duh-rahf), 38, is in his 17th NHL season. The six-time NHL All-Star won three Stanley Cups as a member of the Detroit Red Wings (1997, ‘98 and 2002), won the Hart Trophy as the league MVP in 1994 and won the Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward in 1994 and ‘96. A 6′2″, 207-pound native of Pskov, Russia, Fedorov has nine goals and 28 points in 50 games this season for the Blue Jackets.

Fedorov has averaged nearly a point per game in his career, with 1,133 points (470 goals, 663 assists) in 1,178 games with Detroit, Anaheim and Columbus. One of the most decorated Russian-born players in history, he has played in two Olympics, two World Cups, a Canada Cup and three World Junior Championships. He was the first Russian born and trained player to play 1,000 NHL games.

Detroit’s fourth choice, 74th overall, in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, Fedorov played 13 seasons with Detroit before signing with Anaheim as a free agent in 2003. Columbus acquired him via trade on Nov. 15, 2005. In NHL history he ranks 47th in career points (10th among active players), 50th in career goals (12th among active players) and 54th in career assists (13th among active players). Fedorov’s career plus/minus rating of +259 ranks second among all active forwards, trailing only Jaromir Jagr (+272).

Ruth was a second-round selection of the Capitals, 46th overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. The defenseman is currently a freshman at Notre Dame in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

Filed in Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL Trades, TSN, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (14)

Slapshot Mechanics in Columbus

By OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki)

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Just read an article by Kevin Maywood of The Columbus Dispatch yesterday–perhaps inspired by Alex Ovechkin’s impending visit that night?–on the mechanics of the hockey slapshot.

“They compress the stick into the ice 6 to 10 inches behind the puck; that bows the stick, storing energy,” said Terry Walker, a physics professor at Ohio State University.

“The key . . . is the speed they push the stick into the ice.”

Try that with a golf club.

The telltale sign of the slap shot is its sound — a “click-click” just before most of us see the puck flying into the net or gobbled up by a goaltender’s glove.

Click here for the story, here for video of slapshot and goaltender demonstrations, and here for a graphic illustrating the evolution of the hockey stick. Nice work, Dispatch!

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Columbus Blue Jackets, Media, Print, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (2)

Still No Back-to-Back Regulation Losses Under Boudreau - Caps 4 / Blue Jackets 3 - OT

By The OFB Team

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Filed in 2 Points, Bruce Boudreau, Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (14)

Rick Nash Gets His Freak On

By The OFB Team

Friday, January 18, 2008

We don’t know if this is a full-on challenge to Alex’s ‘Goal’ (also against Phoenix) or if in fact it might be a clearly superior act of virtuosity. We do know it’s a showcase of sick skill and that you’ll enjoy watching it.

If you are having problems with the video above, you can view this version from the NHL.

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Columbus Blue Jackets, Video Clips| Permalink| Comments (10)

Quarter Mark Report Card

By pucksandbooks

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

My three stars of the season’s first quarter are:

(3) Pascal Leclaire — the backstopper of the BlueJackets, disbelievingly into playoff contention, with a .940 save percentage, 1.59 goals-against (second-best in the league) and five shutouts. He’s my Vezina Trophy winner for the first quarter;

(2) Henrik Zetterberg — previously a terrific scoring forward, now a superstar, and clearly a more dynamic talent up front for the Wings than Pavel Datsyuk. Soon to be paid so?;

(1) Vincent Lecavalier — simply having his best season as a pro, the league’s leading scorer with 32 pts.; dominating his opposition and making what was believed to be a top-heavy corps of Bolts’ forwards into a first line that’s so good it matters little what contributions, if any, follow. He’s my Hart Trophy winner for the first quarter.

Honorable mention: Jarome Iginla (26 points in 19 games) is having an MVP quality season, but he’s laboring on a struggling Flames club. And Comcast, for coming through with NHL CenterIce, the NHL Network, and Lisa Hillary.

Cup'pa Joe Falling stars:

(3) the Washington Capitals

(2) Marc Andre Fleury

(1) Reebok

Midwest Mojo: Rebuilds in Chicago and St. Louis are ahead of pace and impressive. Patrick Kane is my Calder Trophy winner for the first quarter. Robert Lang, with 19 points in 20 games, and skating a +7, is giving the Hawks precisely the kind of productive, veteran leadership they’d hoped for on the top line. Still, the Hawks have issues — in their back end. They’ve surrendered 61 goals, and both Khabibulin and Lalime sport sub-.900 save percentages. But after a decade of dreariness, the Hawks are fun to watch again. The leading scorers for the Blues are greybeards Paul Kariya and Keith Tkachuk. After that, it’s a lunchpail outfit that’s outworking its opponents. There’s a lot of youth of that roster, so it may strengthen as the season progrsses. And what of Clumbus, the claimers of Jiri Novotny and Kris Beech? They are eighth in the West, and 6-2-1 at home.

In the East, Montreal and the Islanders have been stunning success stories. It’s a balanced attack in Montreal: the Habs already have eight players in double digits in scoring. And remember how everybody in hockey was pitying the Isles after the opening hours of free agency, when guys like Jason Blake, Tom Poti, and Viktor Kozlov bolted? Ted Nolan is working his second consecutive miracle on the Isle.

Might in the Michaels. Mike Richards and Mike Cammalleri have staked out take-it-to-the-bank All Star game selections. Richards (23 points in 19 games) is Philadelphia’s most consistent and dynamic performer, a point-per-game player who this season has transitioned from promising youngster to elite, captain-quality talent. His three shorthanded tallies lead the league. Cammalleri (12 goals, 7 assists) is beginning to look a lot like the Western conference’s version of Martin St. Louis.

Jolly Ole Productive St. Nik. Nik Antropov is healthy and playing virtually a point-a-game hockey for the Leafs, and skating a +9. Who knew he could? He had 33 points last season, and a high of 16 goals and 29 assists in 2002-03. Obviously he’s on pace for a career year. Alex Kovalev is on pace for 40 goals. Meanwhile, Jonathon Cheeechoo has just 3 goals in 21 games for the Sharks. Jaromir Jagr, I’m sad to report, is on pace for 16 goals this season, and Chris Drury (3 goals!) even less. Still, their Rangers have seriously heated up in the Atlantic.

Jeremy Roenick — remember him? — is outscoring Mike Modano, Brendan Shanahan, Thomas Vanek, Drury, Chris Higgins, Brian Gionta, and Patrick Marleau. One of the reasons Tampa was able to survive the loss of Dan Boyle for much of the season’s first quarter was the play of Paul Ranger: 4 goals, a +11, and an able distributor on the power play point.

It sure appears as if Peter Forsberg has played his last game in the NHL, and perhaps in pro hockey period. Next stop, the Hall of Fame. Less honorably sidelined, in my judgment, are Scott Niedermayer and Teamu Selanne, who appear to want to allow their Ducks teammates to shoulder the early regular season’s bumps and bruises before perhaps rejoining them for the stretch run and postseason. I’m sorry, but hockey players play hockey when hockey starts, not finishes. Without them, the defending champion Ducks are holding it together rather well.

Guy Carbonneau and Ted Nolan share the Jack Adams Trophy for the season’s first quarter, from my vantage. Honorable mention: Ken Hitchcock.

Filed in Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Eastern Conference, Lisa Hillary, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Morning cup-a-joe, Nashville Predators, National Hockey League, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby, St. Louis Blues, Western Conference| Permalink| Comments (0)

OFB Season Preview

By The OFB Team

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

What would a band of hockey bloggers be without predictions for the new NHL season?

We don’t claim to possess either a crystal ball or spy’s eyes inside the training camps of 29 other clubs, but we thought it might be helpful to our readers to compile a list of offseason (and late last season) player movement, in a concise file, and have a little fun offering up none-too-accountable “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down” forecasts for all 30 teams.

Basically, a team earned a “Thumbs up” if we thought its manuevering and maturation suggested that it’d improved upon its 2006-07 points total. Clubs that “stayed pat” or engineered boneheaded signings and/or inexplicable, high-end free agent farewells were awarded “Thumbs down.”

So we’ve provided everything “primer” a puckhead could need here.

Except the beer.


Team	Comings	Goings	Youth is Served	Verdict
	Mathieu Schneider	Selanne and Neidermeyer (for now?), Dustin Penner	Bobby Ryan
	Eric Perrin, Ken Klee, Todd White	Scott Mellanby, Shane Hnidy, Glen Metropolit, Keith Tkachuk, Denis Hamel, Eric Belanger,	Bryan Little (?)
	Glen Metropolit, Aaron Ward, Peter Schaefer	Shane Donovan	Matt Lashoff (?)
	Jocelyn Thibault	Almost everyone	Dan Paille, Drew Stafford
	Adrian Aucoin, David Hale, Cory Sarich, Owen Nolan	Tony Amonte, Jeff Friesen, Roman Hamrlik, Brad Stuart, Andrei Zyuzin	Eric Nystrom (?)
	Matt Cullen	Jack Johnson, Anson Carter, David Tanabe	None	Hmm . . .
	Brent Spoel, Robert Lang, Sergei Samsanov, Andrei Zyuzin, Yanic Perreault	Michal Handzus, Adrian Aucoin, Peter Bondra, Jason Cullimore	Jonathon Toews, Patrick Kane, Jack Skille
	Scott Hannan, Ryan Smyth,	Ken Klee, Pierre Turgeon, Ossi Vaananen, Patrice Brisebois	None
	Michael Peca, Jiri Novotny	Brian Boucher, Bryan Berard	Gilbert Brule, Derick Brassard (?)	Hmm . . .
	Todd Fedoruk	Matthew Barnaby, Jon Klemm, Eric Lindros, Ladislav Nagy, Patrik Stefan, Darryl Sydor	Niklas Grossman
	Brian Rafalski, Dallas Drake	Robert Lang, Todd Bertuzzi, Kyle Calder, Danny Markov, Mathieu Schneider	Igor Grigorenko
	Sheldon Souray, Joni Pitkanen, Dustin Penner, Denis Grebeshkov, Dick Tarnstrom	Ryan Smyth, Joffrey Lupul, Petr Sykora, Jason Smith	Sam Gagner, Ryan O’Marra (?)	Hmm . . .
	Richard Zednik, Radek Dvorak, Tomas Vokoun	Ed Belfour, Alex Auld, Martin Gelinas, Chris Gratton, Todd Bertuzzi	None
	Brad Stuart, Tom Preissing, Kyle Calder, Michal Handzus, Ladislav Nagy	Mathieu Garon, Jamie Heward, Tom Kostopoulos, Jamie Lundmark, Aaron Miller	Jonathon Bernier, Jack Johnson
	Eric Belanger, Sean Hill,	Manny Fernandez, Todd White	Benoit Pouliot (?)	Hmm . . .
	Roman Hamrlik, Bryan Smolinski, Tom Kostopoulos	Sheldon Souray, Radek Bonk, Sergei Samsanov, Mike Johnson	Carey Price, Kyle Chipchura, Andrei Kostitsyn
	Martin Gelinas, Radek Bonk	Almost everyone	Ville Koistinen, Kevin Klein (?)
	Dainius Zubrus, Vitali Vishnevski, Kevin Weekes, Karel Rachunek	Scott Gomez, Brian Rafalski	Nicklas Bergfors (?)
	Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie, Ruslan Fedotenko	Almost everyone	Sean Bergenheim (?)
	Scott Gomez, Chris Drury	Michael Nylander, Karel Rachunek, Matt Cullen, Kevin Weekes, Brad Isbister	Marc Staal, Ryan Callahan (?)
	Shean Donovan, Luke Richardson, Denis Hamel	Mike Comrie, Tom Preissing, Peter Schaefer, Oleg Saprykin	Nick Foligno, Brian Lee
	Daniel Briere, Joffrey Lupul, Jason Smith, Martin Biron, Scott Upshall, Kimo Timonen	Peter Forsberg, Joni Pitkanen, Kyle Calder, Robert Esche, Todd Fedoruk, Mike York	Braydon Coburn, Ryan Parent
	Alex Auld, Radim Vrbata, Niko Kapanen, Mike York	Owen Nolan, Jeremy Roenick, Curtis Joseph, Mike Ricci	Peter Mueller
	Darryl Sydor, Gary Roberts, Petr Sykora	Eric Cairns, Joel Kwiatkowski, Jocelyn Thibault, Michel Ouellet, Nils Ekman, Josef Melichar	Kristopher Letang
	Craig Rivet, Jeremy Roenick	Scott Hannan, Bill Guerin, Vesa Toskala	None	Hmm . . .
	Paul Kariya, Keith Tkachuk	Radek Dvorek, Dallas Drake, Glen Metropolit, Jamie Rivers	Erik Johnson
	Michel Ouellet, Chris Gratton, Jan Hlavac	Cory Sarich, Ruslan Fedotenko, Eric Perrin	Karri Ramo (?)
	Jason Blake, Mark Bell, Vesa Toskala	Jeff O’Neill, Michael Peca, Yanic Perreault, J.S. Aubin	Jiri Tlusty (?)
	Brad Isbister, Ryan Shannon	Bryan Smolinski, Brent Sopel, Jan Bulis, Rory Fitzpatrick,	Luc Bourdon (?)
	Michael Nylander, Viktor Kozlov, Tom Poti	Dainius Zubrus, Kris Beech, Bryan Muir, Jiri Novotny	Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green, Tomas Fleischmann

Filed in Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, 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 (6)

I’m a Free Agent. Do I Want To Sign in D.C. This Summer?

By pucksandbooks

Monday, April 16, 2007

Already the Doom and Gloom set is sure that the Caps are longshot suitors for super-talented UFAS this summer. Their thinking is: no one would want to come and live here, and play for this cursed franchise, when offers from the league’s elite and non-rebuilding are considered. Their conclusion is that Caps’ management is necessarily in a position of having to “overpay” guys to lure them here. And even that, most often, won’t be good enough. I wonder. Cherry Blossoms

I make no pretense that the Caps are on level skating with the negotiating likes of say the Rags or Wings (although living and raising a family in Detroit ain’t all it isn’t cracked up to be). And while D.C. has its downsides — brutal traffic, ungodly expensive housing, Kornheiser and Wilbon — it’s far from Dubuque on a Friday night.

I wonder at when and how the “DC is a dead-end destination to play” sentiment allegedly took hold. It certainly hasn’t held Danny Snyder back. And I’m quite sure I don’t agree with it.

That the Caps’ room is as tight-knit a bunch as it is, and no less than AO himself has recently intimated that he wants to play his entire career here, certainly seems to suggest otherwise. It took Milan Jurcina all of about two weeks to profess a deep attachment to his new teammates and the town he arrived in, and he left what a lot of folks think is one of the better cities in all of the country.

I wonder, too, at folks’ dismissal of AO as a recruiting card. I tend to think him a powerful one, and that all those high-profile media accounts of his talking to Pavel Datsyuk at the All Star game, etc., in part drove Wings’ management to the contract largesse it did. With my own eyes I saw how attached visitors from Pittsburgh and Buffalo were to Chinatown after recent games — we couldn’t get the [expletives] to leave. I would definitely agree that Mr. Leonsis would have a hard time pitching his team to free agents were the Caps still in the Cap Centre — the Prince George’s County nightlife, relative to the District’s, leaving one unfulfilled.

Pittsburgh is definitely an unpleasant place to play and live because it has no economy, and generally no one wants to live there (that’s why they all live here — what do you call a Pens’ fan living in Pittsburgh? Unemployed), and for at least another couple of years it has a godforsaken rink; Gary Roberts initially did refuse to go there six weeks ago. But ultimately guys will want to skate with Crosby and Malkin and Staal, as they will with best-in-the-world talents like our Alexes and Backstrom and likely others. Continue reading ›

Filed in Boston Bruins, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, National Hockey League, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, Washington Post| Permalink| Comments (6)

Lottery Footrace

By Gustafsson

Friday, March 23, 2007

Today, the NHL announced that its Draft Lottery will be held at high noon on April 10th at the league offices in New York. The results will be announced immediately afterward.

Teams that did not make the playoffs (or those that acquired the first-round picks of those non-playoff teams) will participate in the lottery. However, only the worst 5 teams in the league will be eligible for the top pick, as a team may not move up more than four positions in the draft order.

The current percentage chance of being selected in the Draft Drawing is as follows, based on team finish:

30th………..25.0%
29th………..18.8%
28th………..14.2%
27th………..10.7%
26th………….8.1%
25th………….6.2%
24th………….4.7%
23rd………….3.6%
22nd…………2.7%
21st………….2.1%
20th………….1.5%
19th………….1.1%
18th………….0.8%
17th………….0.5%

Currently it is a foot race for the second best chance at the top pick as Philly looks like a lock for the worst this year. Here’s the standings before tonight’s games.

League Standings
Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OT	PTS
24	EDMONTON	74	30	37	7	67
24	COLUMBUS	74	30	37	7	67
26	WASHINGTON	75	26	36	13	65
27	LOS ANGELES	74	25	35	14	64
28	CHICAGO	73	27	37	9	63
29	PHOENIX	74	29	41	4	62
30	PHILADELPHIA	74	20	43	11	51

Thanks to Paul Kukla for the primary assist.

Filed in Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, Entry Draft, Los Angeles Kings, National Hockey League, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (0)

The Hockey News Team Prospect Rankings

By The OFB Team

Thursday, March 8, 2007

The latest issue of The Hockey News has ranked all 30 NHL team’s prospect systems. They have defined prospects as players under 22 years of age as of January 31, 2007. This ranking does not take into account any movement of players at the trade deadline. Note that three of the Caps’ Southeast Division rivals bring up the bottom-5 rear.

Pittsburgh [Last Year's Ranking - 1]
Washington [7]
Nashville [6]
Los Angeles [10]
Chicago [8]
Boston [12]
Anaheim [2]
St. Louis [28]
Montreal [17]
N.Y. Rangers [19]

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, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Prospects, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, The Hockey News, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (6)

Vegas Odds

By Gustafsson

Sunday, March 4, 2007

Mrs. Gustafsson just returned from Las Vegas and brought me the Bellagio’s Odds to Win the 2007 Stanley Cup. I’ve combined that sheet with the one I picked up in November.

Odds to Win the 2007 Stanley Cup
Team	Line as of 27 Feb 07	Line on 7 Nov 07	Opening Line 19 Jun 06
Anaheim Ducks	4/1	7/1	15/1
Buffalo Sabres	4/1	7/1	12/1
Nashville Predators	5/1	18/1	18/1
Ottawa Senators	7/1	8/1	5/1
Detroit Red Wings	8/1	8/1	6/1
San Jose Sharks	8/1	4/1	10/1
New Jersey Devils	9/1	10/1	8/1
Calgary Flames	10/1	18/1	12/1
Pittsburgh Penguins	10/1	12/1	75/1
Dallas Stars	12/1	6/1	10/1
Tampa Bay Lightning	15/1	30/1	20/1
Vancouver Canucks	15/1	20/1	20/1
Carolina Hurricanes	18/1	10/1	8/1
Atlanta Thrashers	20/1	18/1	30/1
New York Rangers	22/1	20/1	15/1
Toronto Maple Leafs	22/1	22/1	25/1
Minnesota Wild	25/1	8/1	50/1
Montreal Canadiens	28/1	15/1	20/1
Colorado Avalanche	35/1	22/1	18/1
Edmonton Oilers	40/1	18/1	15/1
New York Islanders	50/1	50/1	50/1
Boston Bruins	100/1	50/1	50/1
Phoenix Coyotes	100/1	80/1	40/1
Florida Panthers	125/1	50/1	40/1
St. Louis Blues	125/1	75/1	100/1
Chicago Blackhawks	150/1	75/1	75/1
*Washington* *Capitals*	*150/1*	*75/1*	*75/1*
Columbus Blue Jackets	200/1	75/1	50/1
Los Angeles Kings	500/1	50/1	25/1
Philadelphia Flyers	500/1	50/1	12/1

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, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Stanley Cup, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs,