31 julho, 2008

Arquivos da categoria: Minnesota selvagem

Sua presença é pedida - a programação 2008-09 dos capitais de Washington

Pela equipe de OFB
Quinta-feira, julho 17, 2008

O NHL liberou a programação regular da estação para todas as 30 equipes hoje. O NHL abrirá sua 91st estação em Éstocolmo, Sweden e Praga, república Czech com um par dos jogos entre os Rangers e o relâmpago em Praga e os Senators e os pinguins em Éstocolmo outubro 4o e em 5o.

Washington Captials - logo secundárioOs capitais começam a estação na estrada em Atlanta em sexta-feira, outubro 10o com o primeiro jogo home no dia seguinte de encontro Cristobal Huet e a Chicago Blackhawks.   Olaf Kolig visita a cabine de telefone para a primeira vez sobre novembro 10o.

A programação desta estação está sob uma matriz nova que tenha cada equipe a jogar seis jogos de encontro a cada equipe em sua divisão (24 jogos), quatro jogos de encontro às equipes da non-divisão dentro de sua conferência (40 jogos), e 18 jogos da non-Conferência - pelo menos um jogo de encontro a cada clube na outra conferência (15 jogos) e três séries do repouso-e-repouso de encontro às equipes da non-Conferência.

Algumas notas da programação:

Todas as trinta equipes estarão na ação no mesmo dia em sábado,   Outubro 25o.

Clássico de 2009 invernos ocorrerá janeiro em 1o no campo de Wrigley de Chicago com o Blackhawks enfrentar o campeão Detroit Redwings do copo de Stanley.

O jogo da Todo-Estrela de NHL será prendido no centro de Bell de Montreal em janeiro 2tth.   Montreal hospedará também o esboço 2009 da entrada junho 26o e em 27o.

O dia do Hockey em Canadá retorna a seu lineup todo-Canadense em Februay 21o com Ottawa em Montreal, Vancôver em Toronto, e em Calgary em Edmonton.

[Programação cheia dos capitais após a ruptura.]

Continue o› da leitura

Arquivado dentro Patos de Anaheim, Atlanta Thrashers, Divisão Atlantic, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Flamas de Calgary, Furacões de Carolina, Divisão central, Chicago Blackhawks, Avalanche de Colorado, Revestimentos do azul de Columbo, Estrelas de Dallas, Asas do vermelho de Detroit, Conferência oriental, Oilers de Edmonton, 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)

Well His Name Isn’t Gary Fretman

By The OFB Team
Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The NHL ownership scandals continue; and it’s beyond Boots Del Baggio and his shady tactics for buying the Nashville Predators . . . Anaheim Ducks owner Henry Samueli has pleaded guilty to lying to federal authorities. Gary Bettman seemed unperturbed:

“The Samuelis have been terrific owners. They’re perhaps the most community-minded and charitable people in all of Orange County,” Bettman said. “I am not going to fret about something that may or may not be substantiated at the end of the day.”

Read all about it at The Star.

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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)

Backstrom’s Team 4 / Backstrom’s Team 1 - Wild Night for Laich

By The OFB Team
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Filed in 2 Points, Minnesota Wild, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (12)

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 JoeFalling 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 Thumbs Down
Eric Perrin, Ken Klee, Todd White Scott Mellanby, Shane Hnidy,
Glen Metropolit, Keith Tkachuk,
Denis Hamel, Eric Belanger,		 Bryan Little (?) Thumbs Down
Glen Metropolit, Aaron Ward,
Peter Schaefer		 Shane Donovan Matt Lashoff (?) Thumbs Down
Jocelyn Thibault Almost everyone Dan Paille, Drew Stafford Thumbs Down
Adrian Aucoin, David Hale,
Cory Sarich, Owen Nolan		 Tony Amonte, Jeff Friesen,
Roman Hamrlik, Brad Stuart,
Andrei Zyuzin		 Eric Nystrom (?) Thumbs Down
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		 Thumbs Up
Scott Hannan, Ryan Smyth, Ken Klee, Pierre Turgeon,
Ossi Vaananen, Patrice Brisebois		 None Thumbs Up
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 Thumbs Down
Brian Rafalski, Dallas Drake Robert Lang, Todd Bertuzzi,
Kyle Calder, Danny Markov,
Mathieu Schneider		 Igor Grigorenko Thumbs Down
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 Thumbs Up
Brad Stuart, Tom Preissing,
Kyle Calder, Michal Handzus,
Ladislav Nagy		 Mathieu Garon, Jamie Heward,
Tom Kostopoulos, Jamie Lundmark,
Aaron Miller		 Jonathon Bernier, Jack Johnson Thumbs Up
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		 Thumbs Down
Martin Gelinas, Radek Bonk Almost everyone Ville Koistinen, Kevin Klein (?) Thumbs Down
Dainius Zubrus, Vitali Vishnevski,
Kevin Weekes, Karel Rachunek		 Scott Gomez, Brian Rafalski Nicklas Bergfors (?) Thumbs Down
Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie,
Ruslan Fedotenko		 Almost everyone Sean Bergenheim (?) Thumbs Down
Scott Gomez, Chris Drury Michael Nylander, Karel Rachunek,
Matt Cullen, Kevin Weekes,
Brad Isbister		 Marc Staal, Ryan Callahan (?) Thumbs Up
Shean Donovan, Luke Richardson,
Denis Hamel		 Mike Comrie, Tom Preissing,
Peter Schaefer, Oleg Saprykin		 Nick Foligno, Brian Lee Thumbs Down
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 Thumbs Up
Alex Auld, Radim Vrbata,
Niko Kapanen, Mike York		 Owen Nolan, Jeremy Roenick,
Curtis Joseph, Mike Ricci		 Peter Mueller Thumbs Down
Darryl Sydor, Gary Roberts,
Petr Sykora		 Eric Cairns, Joel Kwiatkowski,
Jocelyn Thibault, Michel Ouellet,
Nils Ekman, Josef Melichar		 Kristopher Letang Thumbs Up
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 Thumbs Up
Michel Ouellet, Chris Gratton,
Jan Hlavac		 Cory Sarich, Ruslan Fedotenko,
Eric Perrin		 Karri Ramo (?) Thumbs Down
Jason Blake, Mark Bell, Vesa Toskala Jeff O’Neill, Michael Peca,
Yanic Perreault, J.S. Aubin		 Jiri Tlusty (?) Thumbs Down
Brad Isbister, Ryan Shannon Bryan Smolinski, Brent Sopel, Jan Bulis, Rory Fitzpatrick, Luc Bourdon (?) Thumbs Down
Michael Nylander, Viktor Kozlov,
Tom Poti		 Dainius Zubrus, Kris Beech,
Bryan Muir, Jiri Novotny		 Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green,
Tomas Fleischmann		 Thumbs Up
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Knee-jerks: Playoffs Opening Night

By OFB
Thursday, April 12, 2007

And a fresh reminder why the NHL postseason is the most exciting and most grueling time in sports — and that’s just for the fans. Two overtime games, including a ruining-of-the-next-workday fourth overtime game in Vancouver, a more ‘tame’ second overtime game, a defensive contest and a goal-fest comprised the second season’s opening night.kneejerk

A few thoughts from the night’s contests:

  • The Ottawa Senators’ breakout could be used as a teaching video. Quick, crisp, and decisive.
  • It’s hard not to wonder how Marc-Andre Fleury will react to his first playoff start. He could go a long way to ridding himself of his reputation for cracking under pressure if he bounces back the rest of the series.
  • Speaking of goalies making their first playoff starts: Roberto Luongo of Vancouver’s evening? 76 shots faced, 4 goals allowed. It’s okay, Rob, they usually aren’t all this long.
  • Talk about knee-jerk: Scott Hartnell’s knee-to-knee hit on Jonathan Cheechoo  which undoubtedly merited Hartnell’s ejection, and a suspension is not out of the question  did serious damage to Cheechoo. He left the ice without putting any weight on that knee. Cheechoo would be a huge loss for San Jose. The Preds-Sharks rivalry just got uglier.
  • Chris Pronger logged a Herculean 30+ minutes last night, in a non-OT game. Ride your horses, indeed.
  • I do have a minor quibble with Versus’ coverage last night  they didn’t show the replay of a penalty in the Ottawa/Pittsburgh game in order to show their ‘Keys To The Game’ graphic. I know there is a storyline to sell, but coming out of a break might have been a better time to run that.
  • Always good to hear Joe B. calling a game.

An eventful night to start things off and help everyone reset their sleep patterns. With goalie heroics and letdowns, defensive lockdowns and offensive explosions, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Filed in Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, National Hockey League, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Vancouver Canucks, Versus| Permalink| Comments (2)

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.

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

Continue reading ›

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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

spacer

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What are the odds?

By Gustafsson
Tuesday, November 21, 2006

I recently returned from business travel to Las Vegas. While exploring the MGM Grand, I picked up a sheet titled Odds to Win the 2007 Stanley Cup. I’m not sure how frequently they update the odds, but this sheet from last week has the current line dated 7 November 2006.

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

Oh… and doubling down on 11 doesn’t always work.

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