http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/blog.php?382-Hot-off-the-Presses fantasy hockey, hockey pools, fantasy hockey coach, pool guide, hockey pool, nhl, prospects, hockey en Fri, 24 May 2013 07:26:40 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/blog.php?382-Hot-off-the-Presses http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?185-NHL-Winter-Classic-is-the-NHL-going-to-hurt-it-if-it-expands-to-rapidly Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:21:28 GMT *Note:* I am sorry that it has been about 4 months since I have posted, I have been working on other projects and this took the back burner to those.... Note: I am sorry that it has been about 4 months since I have posted, I have been working on other projects and this took the back burner to those. I will try to post more often on here.

Blog:

There are rumors out there this morning that the NHL is looking into doing 6 outdoor games next season, 2 for the Rangers which would be against the Islanders and Devils in late January, on for the Kings in LA, one in Canada, and one on New Years Day in Detroit, Michigan.

And while most hockey fans love this event, there is such a thing as going too far with pushing a product, for example Apple and its iPhone's annual release or the annual release of video games such as Call of Duty.

So how can the NHL avoid overdoing it? Well for one, instead of pushing it to six, they should experiment with 2 in the US and one in Canada if they want to expand the spectacle. Not push it to six and risk the long term longevity of the event which has been a New Years Day staple since 2008 outside of the disgrace that happened this prior winter. I personally think the NHL should keep it to one event in the United States and one event in Canada that way it still feels special, them trying to over-do it.

One can only hope the NHL wises up and realizes what a gem it has, it has something that even a more popular sport like the NBA doesn't have, so it would be a shame to see it watered down because of over-exposure.
What do you think? Would the NHL be ruining the Winter Classic if they played 6 outdoor games in the 2013-2014 season? ]]> Blogger Gesterling http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?185-NHL-Winter-Classic-is-the-NHL-going-to-hurt-it-if-it-expands-to-rapidly http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?179-Early-impressions-from-the-NHL Thu, 24 Jan 2013 01:08:59 GMT Greetings from a very cold Rhode Island (12° F, and -11° C for my friends in Canada reading this blog). I wanted to drop in and do a blog about the... Greetings from a very cold Rhode Island (12° F, and -11° C for my friends in Canada reading this blog). I wanted to drop in and do a blog about the early season surprises in both a good and bad way.

First off we should discuss teams that are struggling badly out of the gate. These teams include the Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, and the most shocking of them all is the New York Rangers (though some might say the Vancouver Canucks are the most shocking, to each his own there).

Let's start with the Flyers, they are struggling badly. Why? Well I think it has a lot to do with the quality of their opponents, consider this, their opponents have been Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and New Jersey. Throw in the injuries and the inconsistent Ilya Brysgalov and you have a heck of a mess. And now with the recent mess with Brayden Schenn getting suspended things are going to be a little tougher when the return to the ice on Thursday in their home opener against the Rangers.

Speaking of the Rangers, they are also in a little trouble going 0-2 in their first two tilts, Saturday at Boston and Sunday in their home opener against the surging Penguins. The Rangers are not getting the goaltending they need from Henrik Lundquist and their offense has only mustered up 4 goals. If Lundquist is going to play like this then the Rangers need their offense to start scoring goals.

The next team to look into is the Calgary Flames, they have started out 0-2 with losses to San Jose and Anaheim on Sunday and Monday. They got thoroughly dominated by the Sharks but they played an close 5-4 game against the Ducks. They have a chance for their first win against the also winless Vancouver Canucks Wednesday night.

That leads me perfectly to the Canucks, they are 0-1-1 this season with losses to Anaheim 7-3, and a shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers. The Canucks seemed sluggish against the Ducks but played well against the Oilers and earned a point. As I stated above their next game is against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday Night.

Now to the Southeast division, both the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals are 0-2 to start the season. Carolina is 0-2 with losses to Florida and Tampa Bay, their next game is a home and home against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday and Friday. Meanwhile Washington has losses to Tampa Bay and Winnipeg and they play Montreal at home on Thursday night and at New Jersey on Friday. I would write more on these teams but I have not seen much of them in action this season limiting me on what I can write for these teams.

The last of the struggling teams is Detroit. The Red Wings got shellacked 6-0 to open their season against the St. Louis Blues. The Red Wings then followed that with a shootout win over Columbus on Monday before falling to Dallas on Tuesday night 2-1. The Red Wings scare me from how bad they look this season. Certainly it is only three games into the season, but their only win came in a nail biter against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Red Wings have a chance to bounce back in their upcoming games against Minnesota on Friday and Chicago at the United Center on Sunday.

(No disrespect to Columbus, they have had a good start to their season and that is great for the fanbase, but no one expected much from them. However I said to coach Guthe a little while ago that Columbus might benefit from a shortened season. It all depends on how the new pieces fit into the system they run.)

Impressive starts come from San Jose, Chicago, Boston, Tampa Bay, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Anaheim, St. Louis and Minnesota; first off let's start in the Northeast Division.

Ottawa has started off 2-0 this season with wins over Winnipeg and Florida outscoring their opponents 8-1 in the process. If you ask me if you score 4 goals per game and allow just 0.50 you will be in good shape. One thing that has impressed me is the play of Craig Anderson who has posted a 0.50 GAA and a .983 Saves% and another player is Kyle Turris who has 3 goals in the Senators first two games. Ottawa has games upcoming against Florida and Tampa Bay on Thursday and Friday before playing another division outside of the Southeast on Sunday when they play Pittsburgh.

Boston has also jumped off to a 2-0 start this year beating the New York Rangers on Saturday 3-1 and winning 2-1 in a shootout on Monday versus Winnipeg. The Bruins have gotten superb goaltending from new starter Tuukka Rask who has posted a 0.96 GAA and a .958 Saves%. The Bruins play the Rangers on Wednesday night and the Islanders on Friday night.

Pittsburgh has impressed with wins over the Flyers and Rangers in back to back days. Neither of those games can or will be considered easy for the Penguins. And they have done it in impressive fashion. Malkin has 4 assists, Neal has 3 goals, and both goalies have 1 win. The Penguins next play on Wednesday against Toronto in their home opener.

The last of the Eastern teams is the somewhat shocking Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning went from playing in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011 to a miserable year in 2012. This year they are 2-1-0 with wins over Washington and Carolina, while having a let down on Monday against the Islanders. The key to their success has been Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos and Cory Conacher all having 5 points each with Vincent Lecavalier adding 4 points and decent goaltending from Garon and Lindback. Tampa next plays Ottawa on Friday.

Now onto the West, we start with Anaheim because they are a surprising 2-0 with wins over Vancouver and Calgary, Saku Koivu and Daniel Winnik each have 5 points which includes 4 goals for Winnik, with Getzlaf and Selenne with 4 points each. Anaheim dominated Vancouver 7-3 in their opener on Saturday as I mentioned and their next game is their home opener against the Canucks, I know Vancouver will want some revenge.

Another Pacific division team doing great is San Jose, they are 2-0 with wins over Calgary on Sunday and Edmonton on Tuesday. In the game on Tuesday they scored 6 first period goals on Dubynk and the Oilers including 3 on the power play, Edmonton's only first period goal was a power play tally. The leading scorers for San Jose are Marleau, Thornton and Couture with 5 points each. The Sharks home opener is Thursday against the Coyotes.

Onto the Central and you have to look at Chicago, they are 3-0-0 to start the season. They have beat LA, Phoenix, and St. Louis as the Blackhawks are rolling. Lead by offensive leaders of Kane and Hossa who have 5 points each. Corey Crawford has been good was well allowing just four goals in two games.

The next team is the St. Louis Blues, they are 2-1-0, with wins over Detroit and Nashville with their only loss as I mentioned above is to Chicago. The success has come from the newcomer Vladimir Tarasenko who has 5 points including 3 goals including a 2 goal game against the Red Wings. Also of note Kevin Shattenkirk has 5 assists. Their next game is at home against Nashville on Thursday.

And lastly of the teams off to a hot start is Minnesota. After spending almost $200M US dollars on Independence Day in the US on Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. Parise is tied for the team lead for points with 4 including 3 assists, the other player with 4 points is Dany Heatley who has 3 goals himself. The offense has been good and the goaltending duo of Josh Harding and Nick Backstrom is doing a lot of good things allowing just 5 goals. Minnesota has games against Detroit and St. Louis on Friday and Sunday respectively.

That is the end of this list. What do you think will happen with the struggling teams? And can hot teams like Tampa and Anaheim keep things up? ]]> Blogger Gesterling http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?179-Early-impressions-from-the-NHL http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?178-Weekend-Wrap-Up-for-January-19th-and-20th Mon, 21 Jan 2013 18:09:38 GMT In case you haven't heard the NHL is officially underway with a flurry of meaningful games for the next 14 weeks and 1 day (99 days). Over the weekend a few intriguing match ups took place including the Rangers going to Boston and playing the Bruins, this was after an afternoon tilt between the Penguins and Flyers in Philadelphia on the opening day that ended with a Ducks 7-3 win over Vancouver who is surprisingly 0-2 to start that season.

I took away a lot from the opening weekend but I will give you the most important ones:

• Big teams are off to 0-2 starts including both the Rangers, Canucks (though one was in a shootout), and Flyers.
• Henrik Lundqvist has a Goals Against Average of over 5. Lundqvist is far from the only goalie who has struggled, but he is most notable to this point.
• St Louis made Detroit look real bad, the main concern for me is will they bounce back? They looked horrible in a 6-0 rout on Saturday night against the Blues.
• Speaking of the Blues, they look primed for another good season if the opener is any indication. Vladimir Tarasenko looked amazing in his first game in the NHL. The Blues I feel have a legitimate shot of winning the Central division again.
• Pittsburgh is off to a hot start, winning both of their games against the Flyers on Saturday and the Rangers on Sunday. Along with Pittsburgh Chicago is also perfect at 2-0.
• Montreal is 0-1 but the most concerning part for them has to be the absence of PK Subban who is holding out for a new contract. The Canadiens lost to Toronto on Saturday night 2-1.

That is a list of the notable stories from the NHL in my eyes from this past weekend. What was yours? Sound off in the comments. ]]> Blogger Gesterling http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?178-Weekend-Wrap-Up-for-January-19th-and-20th http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?166-NHL-Lockout-Appears-primed-to-drag-on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 23:29:17 GMT Attachment 1241 (http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1241)Coming into Thursday there was a sense of hope for NHL fans, the*... Coming into Thursday there was a sense of hope for NHL fans, the NHL made an offer on Tuesday which seemed like it was a start of what could be potentially season saving negotiations. What transpired on Thursday was the exact opposite, not only were the NHLPA's counter offers rejected, but they were pretty much laughed at by the NHL.

While no details have yet to be told about the players various offers (there were 3 different proposals) unlike when the NHL laid out their offer publicly which came off to some as a publicity stunt and when you look at it, the NHL was still asking for the players to take a 7% cut from the 57% of Hockey Related Revenue as they had previously been making down to 50%, but also it was a step in the right direction. So we thought, even with that offer the players would be out of $1.6 Billion from the 6 year offer according to Donald Fehr, who if you think of it never proved as much, and to complicate things even more so is that Fehr seems to have no idea what exactly Hockey Related Revenue is. So how can the fans take that seriously. Also how can you negotiate this long without a firm idea of what it is? Isn't that counter productive? With that said, does anyone have any idea what exactly HRR consists of? I am really starting to wonder. To me it seems like a phrase thrown out there out of no where just to have something to bicker over.

When this whole lock out began a little over a month ago I had a hope this season would be played even if it is an abbreviated one. Now you have to wonder, can these guys get their acts together before we have a repeat of 2004-2005? It still doesn't make any sense in my eyes that the owners insist on having this lock out, did they not learn from 2004-2005? Granted the fans came back, some right away and some over time, but when your sport is finally back on solid ground it seems foolish to me that they would put that on the line. Do they want the fans to be mad at them? Is that it?

This lock out is horrible PR for the league, and if fans stay away for good this time, who'd blame them? I certainly can't. As a fan myself I will come back, not to support the owners or the players, but rather the sport of hockey. Sure there are other ways of doing that, I understand there is the AHL, NCAA, and CHL around. But the AHL charges a lot of their internet package to watch games, the NCAA doesn't really have much media to watch outside of national coverage on NBC Sports Network and sparingly on CBS Sports Network. The AHL has no consistent hockey coverage in the USA on any national channel.

So if you are a die hard hockey fan in the United States your options are very limited, especially if you live in a city like Providence which has no AHL coverage at all outside of a NHL Network game late in the season. The NCAA gets local coverage once in a blue moon but it is nothing like the NHL or AHL in terms of skill. The CHL is showing a few games on NHL Network so that has been good, but again the overall amount of coverage is weak.

So who really loses out? The hockey fans in the USA. Outside of Chicago anyway, they get a lot of Chicago Wolves broadcasts. ]]> Blogger Gesterling http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?166-NHL-Lockout-Appears-primed-to-drag-on http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?165-The-lock-out-is-now-officially-effecting-the-fans-of-the-NHL Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:39:05 GMT Fellow Hockey Fans, I think we can all agree that this NHL Lock out is now effecting us, the fans. To bring it to you in a better context, it is... Fellow Hockey Fans,

I think we can all agree that this NHL Lock out is now effecting us, the fans. To bring it to you in a better context, it is effecting us now more so today than it did when it was officially put into effect a little less than 4 weeks ago. Because today would have been game day in 8 markets, in all four time zones and in both the USA and Canada. Rivalry games like the Bruins-Flyers and Canucks-Flames would have been on the slate, but today we sit here hoping for some good news in regards to the NHL lock out. And while games from October 10-24 have been cancelled already, another block of games is probably soon to follow.

At the time of this writing the NHL and NHLPA appear to have made some progress on the secondary issues while they remain far apart on the main issues. It isn't hard to imagine, for me anyway, the NHL playing this season. But that can only happen if both sides are committed to the process, and so far I don't see full commitment from either side which is scary.

Firstly the NHL side seems committed to airing the dirty laundry in the open, which is counter productive in many ways none of which I need to go over since it is pretty common knowledge.

Secondly on the NHLPA side, I feel that if the NHLPA was as committed to getting something done in a fast and timely manner like they made it out to seem, then having their players choose to play in other leagues overseas would be an extreme contradiction of what they publicly tried to present.

On both sides of the coin their is a certain level of frustration on my end, not that it makes a difference as to how the fans feel to these owners and players despite the public apologies for missing the first couple weeks of the season already. If they really cared we would have a deal by now instead of having them not meet for almost two weeks like what happened.

Listen I don't want to come here and rip the league, by tonight I am beyond frustrated with the men in charge of the NHL and NHLPA, because tonight we should all be watching the NHL openers, but instead we're here wondering if the 2012-2013 NHL season will even have an opener. And if so, when? ]]> Blogger Gesterling http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?165-The-lock-out-is-now-officially-effecting-the-fans-of-the-NHL http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?164-Locked-Out-So-now-what Sun, 16 Sep 2012 03:59:00 GMT Now that the NHL lock out is official, what are you plans to kill the time during the proceedings? Do you plan on continuing to support the NHL after... Now that the NHL lock out is official, what are you plans to kill the time during the proceedings? Do you plan on continuing to support the NHL after the lock out is over?

Personally, I will take this time to play through NHL 13's GM connected mode on PS3 while I wait for the NHL to finally hit the ice. I would love to see AHL or CHL games but none are usually on TV and the leagues charge a boatload to watch them online legally. So I guess I will be without live hockey unless NHL Network or NBC Sports Network here in the US carries one of those two leagues games.

Canadian fans are lucky though, because they have the CHL which gets solid coverage, whereas where I am there is no CHL games outside of one or two here and there on NHL Network which is usually during the Memorial Cup. The AHL is not carried nationally in the States on a regular basis either, in fact the NHL Network also plays a few games a season for that league on Sunday afternoons. The AHL Calder Cup Finals was actually carried by CBS Sports Network. So that is two possible options for the AHL and one option for the CHL to fill the void in the NHL's absence here in America.

So I pose this question to Canadian and American hockey fans alike, how do you plan on surviving the lock out? And what recourse will be taken if a season is lost completely do to this labor dispute? ]]> Blogger Gesterling http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?164-Locked-Out-So-now-what http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?162-CBA-update Mon, 10 Sep 2012 23:08:38 GMT Just a quick CBA update; There have been informal meetings that took place last weekend, no new meetings are scheduled. And the NHLPA is trying to... Just a quick CBA update;

There have been informal meetings that took place last weekend, no new meetings are scheduled. And the NHLPA is trying to take legal action to block the lockout in the provinces of Alberta and Quebec. The move could be considered the first punch if you will in what could be an ugly lock out if it is proceeded, which is expected at this point.

A personal take on this is that I am not convinced a lock out is avoidable, and further then that is that I can see opening night missed. And if the NHL and NHLPA decide to go to war from Saturday onward we could be talking about half a season being missed. It happened with the NBA in the fall of 2011, there is no reason to think the NHL cannot or will not follow it up with something similar.

I do not think this lock out had to happen, the NHL and NHLPA were in no rush to get to the bargaining table. They should have had more time to discuss things but they stalled and now the fans of the sport have to suffer with the consequences again just like 2004-2005 but only hopefully not an entire season again. Honestly I would be shocked if we lost the entire 2012-2013 season, especially with the way the league has been gaining popularity, which is why I am disappointed and somewhat shocked that the league is in this position. ]]> Blogger Gesterling http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?162-CBA-update http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?161-Sound-off-Current-CBA-expiring Sat, 08 Sep 2012 00:58:45 GMT With 8 days left in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement nearing expiration, and a lock out all but almost a certainty, what will you do if... With 8 days left in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement nearing expiration, and a lock out all but almost a certainty, what will you do if there is a lock out? Will you give the NHL another chance?

Personally I will give the league another chance because I love hockey to much, not so much the politics of the game. But with a delay in the season once every six years is not that big of a deal to me. Ideally though there would be labor peace between both sides.

Anyway the floor is yours, air your frustrations here. But please keep it clean and civil. ]]> Blogger Gesterling http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?161-Sound-off-Current-CBA-expiring http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?160-Focusing-on-3-Underrated-forwards Thu, 16 Aug 2012 18:40:08 GMT These are guys I feel get less attention than they deserve, these guys are either grinders or defensive forwards that contribute a lot to a team that... These are guys I feel get less attention than they deserve, these guys are either grinders or defensive forwards that contribute a lot to a team that may need solid penalty killers.

Also let me say that these players may or may not be good contributors to a fantasy hockey team. If you have a deep team and want good plus/minus numbers these guys may be able to help you out.

Vladimir Sobotka, C, St. Louis Blues

Vladimir Sobotka, I am a big fan of Vladimir's he is 5'10" and he plays like he is a 6'6" bone crunching machine. Not only is "little big man" a good hitter he is also a good defensive forward and he could also net you a few points on the score sheet. He is a consistent player and one of those players that can contribute solid 3rd line minutes with a high tempo and a good output.

2012 Stats: 73GP, 5G, 15A, 20Pts, +12, 42 PIM

Colin Fraser, C, Los Angeles Kings

Colin Fraser before the Stanley Cup playoffs wasn't well known around the league among hockey fans, but I have always liked his rough tumble style. He is also a good defender, but unlike Sobotka don't expect him to put up many points on the score sheet, his career high for any regular season is 7 goals in 2009-2010 with the Blackhawks in which he also notched a career high in assists with 12 and points with 19. Fraser is not a player of which that will win you a fantasy league and I certainly won't recommend a pick up unless he is the best option out there. But I still respect his game.

2012 Stats: 67GP, 2G, 6A, 8pts, -2, 67PIM

Shawn Thornton, W, Boston Bruins

Shawn Thornton of the Boston Bruins is a really under-rated player in my mind. Everyone views Thornton as just a tough guy, but he can also produce a little offensively and his defense is decent (not good like Fraser or Sobotka). Thornton I feel could be a good guy to pick up if you are in a deep league and need a penalty minute guy but also want a few points. Thornton in 2011 had 10 goals and 10 assists before falling off in 2012. But he has shown flashes of good offensive skill which would make him a better candidate than guys like Zenon Konopka for the role of picking up penalty minutes.

2012 Stats: 81GP, 5G, 8A, 13Pts, -7, 154 PIM


There are several players that could have made this list. But these three really stick out to me. And remember this list pretty much just covers third or fourth line players. Not under-rated top line forwards. There are plenty of opinions on how under or over rated top line or second line players are. So I will leave that open for debate in another blog. ]]> Blogger Gesterling http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?160-Focusing-on-3-Underrated-forwards http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?155-Report-Nash-to-Rangers Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:05:32 GMT The Rangers have traded centers C *Artem Anisimov*, C *Brandon Dubinsky*, D *Tim Erixon* and a 1st round pick to Columbus for W *Rick Nash*. The...

The Rangers have traded centers C Artem Anisimov, C Brandon Dubinsky, D Tim Erixon and a 1st round pick to Columbus for W Rick Nash.

The Rangers add scoring, and Columbus in my mind gets 2 good centers, a prospect defender and a 1st round pick.

This just begs the question, what is the price for Bobby Ryan? We'll see. ]]> Blogger Gesterling http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?155-Report-Nash-to-Rangers http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?153-Shea-Weber-CBA-talks-and-Some-Thoughts-on-both-situations Thu, 19 Jul 2012 23:57:23 GMT Attachment 1059 (http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1059)Reports are in saying that the Philadelphia Flyers have agreed to... Reports are in saying that the Philadelphia Flyers have agreed to terms with D Shea Weber on a 14 year, $110M deal which averages $7.85M per season. I have a couple of thoughts on this news.

Which are:

1. Will Nashville match the offer? Another could be, can they afford not to? I mean lets look at it this way, if they don't they'd be down two defensemen this off-season without anyone nearly the skill level coming back. However on the flip side if Nashville wanted to just say "screw it" and try rebuilding those 4 first round draft picks would be a good way to do it. However is that fair to Pekka Rinne who had just signed a long term agreement to say in Nashville? Absolutely not. So Nashville has to make a choice and do so within a week.

2. What does this move mean for the CBA talks? One of the owner proposals the owners presented last Friday has a clause in it that states max contract length would five years. Isn't this kind of a middle finger by the Flyers to this proposal? I kind of like this move if this is a way for the Flyers to say "we don't like the max contract being that short" however should the Flyers get Weber in this case they would be locking up a potential hall of fame caliber player.

In other news, last Friday the NHL owners presented the players with an offer for a new CBA and it was a very low ball offer from the league. Below are some details reported by media outlets:

• Players take of hockey related income would fall down from 57% to 46%
• Players would need to wait 10 years to become unrestricted free agents
• There would be no such thing as salary arbitration
• Salary Bonus' would be eliminated
• All years on a contract would be required to be for the same amount of money for the length of the entire contract

The players have not accepted the offer, and it appears highly unlikely that they will. With that said, why should they? The NHL is trying its best to put as much money in their pockets while screwing over the players to do so. Here is my problem with this, the NHLPA was unhappy about the last deal they signed, so there is no way this first offer was going to be accepted. It worries me however because the NHL said this is a serious offer. Are you kidding me NHL? You call that a serious offer? Come on now. If the NHL doesn't give in on their stance we in all honesty could be looking at a lock out for the second time in 8 years.

I don't think it will come to that though, I want to believe the NHL is more sensible than that. I didn't think the league would survive the first one, I have even more doubt that it can survive a second lock out. ]]> Blogger Gesterling http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?153-Shea-Weber-CBA-talks-and-Some-Thoughts-on-both-situations http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?150-Recent-Signings Fri, 13 Jul 2012 01:58:46 GMT Notable recent signings made over the last couple of days.

Team	Player	Years	Salary	Cap Hit	Stats
Boston	Matt Barkowski	1	$660k	$660k	AHL: 50GP, 3G, 19A, 22PTS
San Jose	Marc-Edouard Vlasic	5	$21.25M	$4.25M	82 GP, 4G, 19A
Ottawa	Chris Neil	3	N/A	N/A	71GP, 13G, 15A, 178PIM
Montreal	Aaron Palushaj	1	N/A	N/A	38GP, 1G, 4A
Dallas	Richard Bachman	1	$625k	$625k	18GP, 8-5-1, 2.77GAA, .910 Sv%
Washington	Wojtek Wolski	1	$600k	$600k	31GP, 4G, 8A
San Jose	John McCarthy	2	N/A	N/A	10 GP, -2
San Jose	Frazer McLaren	1	N/A	N/A	7GP, 9PIM
San Jose	T.J. Galiardi	1	N/A	N/A	69GP, 9G, 6A, 53PIM
Anaheim	Teemu Selanne	1	$4.50M	$4.50M	82GP, 26G, 40A
Carolina	Marc-Andre Gragnani	1	$800k	$800k	58GP, 2G, 13A, +6

]]> Blogger Gesterling http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?150-Recent-Signings http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?149-Off-Season-Winners-and-Losers Thu, 12 Jul 2012 01:36:16 GMT This is my list of the off-season winners and losers. And I am basing this information on the draft and free agency to date. *Winners:* ... This is my list of the off-season winners and losers. And I am basing this information on the draft and free agency to date.

Winners:

Minnesota
What can I say that is not already obvious? Adding Suter and Parise makes them a dangerous team all of a sudden. One of the problems I saw with Minnesota was goal scoring and I think Zach Parise complements the Wild perfectly. It will be interesting to see if he plays with Dany Heatley or if they try to spread the offense around. And even if they try to spread the offense around, will Parise play with Mikko Koivu or will have play with the second line? That is a tough question to answer at this point. Ryan Suter is a nice piece to add on defense. Although the Wild had a good defense last season Suter also adds a some scoring from the point which should take a little pressure off of the forwards.

Outside of those two Minnesota also added two role players whom I think will make a difference, not because they add goal scoring but they add an element that I feel will help them one way or another. The first player is Torrey Mitchell, he is a solid third or fourth line guy, he never really panned out in San Jose but I think he has potential to put up some decent scoring numbers with the Wild since there is less pressure to perform because Minnesota's center position is not as deep as San Jose. And the other player is Zenon Konopka, he adds grit and physicality to the Wild and I feel they could use a guy like him. The last true fighter they had is probably the likes of the late Derek Boogaard.

Pittsburgh
This is a tough one for me because I like what Pittsburgh has done this off-season even though in all honesty I don't feel like they improved their team any, in fact, I think they might have taken a temporary hit in terms of skill. First off the trade of Jordan Staal was a pretty interesting move, and one that had to be made. Pittsburgh had no need for three great centers, so trading Staal only helped them long term because they got back a really good center in Brandon Sutter, and also added a prospect defenseman Brian Dumoulin and added Derrick Pouliot with the draft pick acquired in the trade. Short term this may not help Pittsburgh much now but down the road if the prospects pan out this trade could very well end up looking like a steal for Pittsburgh. However should the defensemen end up being duds I think the Penguins could end up losing this trade.

Outside of that move Pittsburgh also had Steve Sullivan and Aaron Asham leave the team without really replacing them. Tanner Glass was signed and can replace Asham but nothing they have brought in can replace Sullivan unless they have a prospect in their system that can fill the net with 20 goals, which I don't believe that they do.

One other move Pittsburgh made was trading for and signing veteran goalie Tomas Vokoun to a 2 year, $4M deal.

Dallas
Dallas was already a solid team coming into this off-season and they have had possibly the best free agent period to date adding Jaromir Jagr and Ray Whitney. Dallas certainly did not get any younger but if the Stars get the most out of both players they added some pretty legitimate scoring to their roster.

On a downside for Dallas they lost a tough customer in center Adam Burish. Otherwise the Stars have had a simple yet effective off-season thanks to smart roster moves.

Losers:

Boston
How can the Bruins not do anything this off-season. Every free agent addition thus far has been relatively small. In fact outside of Tuukka Rask getting re-signed, their biggest move was trading Zach Hamill for Chris Bourque. Actually if you look at the Bruins off-season it has been a pretty big disaster.

Let's start with Tim Thomas informing the Bruins that he is taking this season off, that put the Bruins on a tailspin right off the bat. And since then it has seemed as if the Bruins are accomplishing nothing to improve their team. And by that I don't mean trading/signing a goalie, because I think Rask can hold the fort with Anton Khodubin as the back-up.

As a fan of the Bruins, I would like to see the Bruins add secondary scoring in the form of a guy like Brad Boyes , who has signed with the Islanders, because he could have added some goal scoring on the third line, or even the second line.

The Bruins however seemed convinced that they have the answers internally, and to an extent I agree. I think Jordan Caron can fill Benoit Pouliot's shoes. And after losing Joesph Corvo I think the Bruins are going to give Doug Hamilton a shot at the NHL level. The Bruins have depth should Hamilton not pan out with today's signing of Garnett Exelby.

Detroit
Detroit needs to be on this list. Their off-season was supposed to be a smash hit, landing either Parise or Suter (who as mentioned above signed with Minnesota). Detroit has since signed Jordin Tootoo and Mikeal Samuelsson to add depth to their team but they lost a key player off of their roster in Juri Hudler who has signed with the Calgary Flames.

Detroit has also lost long time blue liner Nicklas Lidstrom due to retirement. And Detroit has yet to fill that large gap left by his departure. Because while Lidstrom was not in his prime anymore, he was still a great defenseman and that is hard to replace. Great defensemen don't grow on trees and Detroit really had no hope of replacing him unless they signed Ryan Suter.

So where could Detroit go now? Well the free agent market is thin on defense, so the only real place they can go is on the trade market and look. But who can Detroit realistically get that is as good as Lidstrom? No one. And the free agent market offers nothing close to as good as Nick Lidstrom.

So I feel like the Wings are best off looking internally and hoping one of their current defensemen can fill the void. The closest to that point I can see is Niklas Kronwall although I don't think he is what they need to fill the void.

I propose a new defensive oriented system for Detroit now with the gaps in defense currently persists. I think Detroit will also need their forward group to assume a more defensive style as well.

Other moves for Detroit include adding Jonas Gustavsson via free agency.

Toronto
The Maple Leafs continue to disappoint their fans with their lack of movement. Their best move is bringing in James Van Riemsdyk for Luke Schenn. However Toronto seems to think JVR can fill their center deficiencies. Well for their sake I hope the Maple Leafs are right, because Phil Kessel can really take a big step if he can be the number one center on that team.

Another player I think could break through is Joe Colborne who came over from Boston in the Tomas Kaberle trade. I think this guy is the best center prospect Boston had when they made that deal in March 2011.

Outside of the Van Reimsdyk trade Toronto signed center Jay McClement to a 4 year deal which I actually liked because he is a solid player. Toronto also cut ties with F Colby Armstrong.

Final Thoughts:
Although I picked three winners and three losers I think other teams did well for themselves to such as Montreal adding some toughness signing Brandon Prust.

The Islanders almost made the list by adding Brad Boyes and Matt Carkner. However losing P.A. Parenteau hurt that.

Colorado has had a strong off-season as well signing the a fore mentioned P.A. Parenteau, Greg Zanon and John Mitchell but losing Jay McClement and Kevin Porter hurt their chances of making this list.

The Devils have also had a busy and interesting off-season adding Krystofer Barch, and losing Alexei Ponikarovsky and Eric Boulton, I am not sure how much the Barch for Boulton switch will matter but losing a role player like Ponikarovsky is a tough loss.

I could go team by team and analyze all the moves to death but that would take to long and it isn't worth it, I think I picked six teams who deserved to be talked about either positively or negatively and talked about them in a nice way that will offer an opinion on them to this point. There is still a couple months left in summer and I am sure that will provide us with something new and unusual. ]]> Blogger Gesterling http://www.fantasyhockeycoach.com/entry.php?149-Off-Season-Winners-and-Losers