Bleacher Report - Articles by Dwight Fidler

Blue Jackets: Offseason Report

Dwight Fidler — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:15:39 -0400

After the Blue Jackets made their first playoff appearance, more will be expected in the coming season. It was best for them to see an early exit from their 2009 playoff run. This keeps the team and fans at an reasonable expectation level for the future. Even so, they will not only be expected to make the playoffs again, but now must make a push for a second round appearance in 2009-2010.

How can they do that? What deals do they need to make?

UFAs: Manny Malhotra, Jason Williams, Michael Peca, Chris Gratton, Christian Backman, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen
RFAs: Jiri Novotny, Marc Methot, Wade Dubielewicz

Anyone they don't sign needs a replacement, but beyond Malhotra and Williams, there isn't much that can't be easily replaced. Gratton might be worth keeping as a support player.

Rick Nash is entering into a contract year and even more will be expected of him to snag that high-profile contract. As well, if the Blue Jackets organization let negotiations slide for too long, it could seriously hamper Nash and the rest of the team. They should make their intentions toward "the face of the franchise" clear very quickly, whether it's to sign or trade him.

After winning the Calder trophy as rookie of the year, Columbus will have its fingers crossed that goalie Steve Mason doesn't get the sophomore jinx. He will have a lot of pressure this season and a solid backup goalie as well as veteran goalie. Great coaching is also a must for this team to succeed.

The new NHL has taught us that a team can be a contender and even win the Stanley Cup without a superstar goalie, so other aspects of the team need some serious discussion.

Rostislav Klesla, who is now 27 years old, has not fulfilled the expectations as a fourth overall draft pick in 2000. The question is really whether or not they can receive some substance in a trade.

What prospects can make the jump? Columbus has affiliations with the Johnstown Chiefs (ECHL) and the Syracuse Crunch (AHL). Russian Nikita Filatov (drafted sixth overall 2008) is learning how to play a physical game as he fills out his six foot frame and has a high flying top gear when he wants it. He could be developed into the play making forward the team needs.

The Blue Jackets' 2009 First Round Draft pick John Moore scored 14 goals and added 25 assists for 39 points and 50 penalty minutes in 57 games with Chicago of the United States Hockey League during the 2008-09 season. He was named the USHL Defenseman of the Year and ranked fourth among league defensemen in scoring. It is arguable whether he is ready to make the leap into the NHL yet, but some have called him the steal of this year's draft.

Moore has previously said that he's committed to attending college and playing NCAA hockey at Colorado College, but upon being drafted he pulled back a bit and mentioned he would discuss it with the organization first. The development camp should decide his fate.

The Free Agency market? Columbus has cap room to spare, so they have an opportunity to be aggressive in the free agent market this season.

R.J. Umberger gives them a solid supporting role player, while Mike Commodore is a steady defensemen. Still, Nash needs help up front. I don't think they can afford to take chances with an expensive player like Marian Gaborik or a trade for Dany Heatley, but giving UFA Saku Koivu from the Montreal Canadiens a home would set the offense up well. He's just the player Nash needs around him.

They could also steal some UFA players like Steve Sullivan, Radek Bonk, Steve Begin, Vernon Fiddler, Stephane Yelle, Todd Bertuzzi, Chris Neil, Tom Kostopolous, Jason Ward, Wade Brookbank, Rhett Warrener, Francis Bouillon, or Curtis Joseph—all of whom are affordable and would fit in well on this team.

Of the players already returning, Kristian Huselius is streaky and unreliable, but still a 20-goal scoring second line player for them; Derick Brassard was being called a rookie of the year candidate before his season-ending injury; Raffi Torres seems essential but has also suffered from injury problems recently; Fredrik Modin is another player who misses a lot of games, but on a team with few premiere forwards, he fits in; Antoine Vermette looks like a solid piece to the puzzle in improving the team; Jakub Voracek may very well develop into the play maker they need over time; Jared Boll is their pugilist, and whether or not they keep him, someone should fill that role.

We've already mentioned Nash and Commodore, but Commodore has proven that even after signing a long-term contract, he can perform as expected. He isn't the fastest player, but his positioning and hockey sense seem to put him where he needs to be. Steve Mason generally takes care of the rest.

Columbus has a solid foundation in their on-ice staff. Head Coach Ken Hitchcock will take the team into the future along with his Development Coach Tyler Wright. The rest of the staff, while solid, are not spectacular.

There is a lot of hope in Columbus, but they need to work hard to see any fruition to their potential.

The Stanley Cup Final 2009 Game Seven: Pittsburgh at Detroit

Dwight Fidler — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:54:48 -0400

Game seven for the Stanley Cup itself! Either team can take it, but the Detroit Red Wings have home ice advantage and Chris Osgood has been getting sharper. The Pittsburgh Penguins have the momentum, but Detroit are excellent momentum killers and have been calm and playing as if wins are just expected through the playoffs. Are they as hungry as the Penguins? Line Changes: Miroslav Satan playing and Petr Sykora not playing.

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Red Wings-Penguins: Stanley Cup Finals 2009, Game Five

Dwight Fidler — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:50:01 -0400

We're back in the Jos Louis Arena in Detroit. Pavel Datsyuk is finally back in the Detroit Red Wings' lineup. He will be starting on the wing unless he looks good and Babcock plans to move him to centre. If Datsyuk doesn't look good, he stays as a winger. The media keeps harping on the Wings being tired, but I think they'll be quite rested now. Detroit will get the last change now. Will they go back to line-matching? Zetterberg was moving hard in the warm-up, and Crosby looked focused. Will the Penguins break Detroit out of their slow-speed box as they did last game? Can Detroit put a stop to Pittsburgh's momentum? Is there an irony in that Detroit has more Swedish players than any other nationality and Pittsburgh started their season in Sweden?

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Stanley Cup Finals 2009: Game 4 - Detroit @ Pittsburgh

Dwight Fidler — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:42:24 -0400

Pregame We're back at Mellon arena for game 4 (Detroit up 2-1 in the series)! Kris Draper back in. He should add some needed speed but he also makes poor decisions. Draper can put some fear into opposing players, because he's willing to take knees or other bad hits to hurt an opponent. Pavel Datsyuk had a 90 minute skate but won't be in the lineup. Niklas Lidstrom isn't as noticeable as some of the other stars during the games - but not being noticed can be a good sign for a defensemen as it means he isn't making an error. Still, he isn't stepping up and making all-star moves - he's just playing competent hockey. The pre-game question is: Can Pittsburgh make this a series?

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Penguins-Red Wings: Game Three Recap

Dwight Fidler — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:45:12 -0400

Pregame This is game three of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit red Wings. Detroit won both home games and leads the series 2-0. This is the first game of the series at Melon Arena in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh crowd was LOUD! As the players skated before the anthem, you could see the Detroit player's looking up in awe. Mario Lemieux dropped the ceremonial faceoff between Lidstrom and Crosby.

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Stanley Cup Finals Go to Pittsburgh for Game Three

Dwight Fidler — Sun, 31 May 2009 23:06:45 -0400

Malkin, Crosby, Staal, and Fleury are doing everything possible. Pittsburgh needs the other 16 players to step up and fill their roles!

They need more heart, and most of all they need to give Fleury a chance by clearing those guys screening him. The defensemen need to pick the puck off the faceoff and keep it in the zone.

Detroit needs to just keep doing what they're doing—which is protect Osgood, and deal with his crazy rebounds and fumbling with the puck.

Ericsson, Stuart, and Rafalski are all playing Stellar. Lidstrom seems to only pop out when he's needed. Helm is on fire too and Franzen is playing above expectations.

Kronwall has been steady. Abdelkader is not a detriment! They've been screening Fleury well and agitating the opponents while skating away afterwards. Discipline!

The Pens MUST come out with all guns firing next game, and not let up no matter what happens. If they can start physical and get under the skin of guys like Zetterberg and Maltby, they could steal a game.

All in all, everything is going Babcock's way!

NHL 2009 Stanley Cup Finals Game One: Red Wings Lead Pens 1-0

Dwight Fidler — Sun, 31 May 2009 00:18:09 -0400

Game 1: Penguins @ Red Wings

PRELIM: There has been a lot said about Datsyuk and Draper being out of the lineup (replaced by Ville Leino and Justin Abdelkader)—but little about the loss of player's through transactions for the Pens (Malone/Roberts).

Pens go with eleven forwards and seven defensemen to double shift Malkin or Crosby.

They show in the warm-up how weird the puck can bounce off the boards and mess up a goalie. Will the Wings take advantage of this and will the Pens be ready for it.

PERIOD 1: The Pens come out flying and do everything they can to keep up the momentum while Detroit works hard to slow the game down. While they're getting some outside shots clearly seen by Fleury—they seem a little lost without Datsyuk. Fleury helps out his teammates by playing the puck A LOT to keep the momentum up.

Detroit tries to match Zetterberg to Crosby and keeps Lidstrom off the ice when Crosby is on. As the period moves past the halfway mark, Detroit seems to alter tactics by trying to pick up their pace. As this happens, the Pens show a more physical presence by taking advantage of their slower adversaries but leaving openings here and there for the Wings to make a few futile moves.

Zetterberg tries to line up Crosby and Crosby levels him. So Zetterberg goes after Crosby to rough him up with his stick. No call.

Stuart shoots behind the net and a weird bounce off the boards somehow gets past Fleury and into the net. It looked like a fluke, but gives some life to a team close to being dominated.

Remember how the puck bounces off these boards though? Detroit takes this life and puts a lot of pressure on the Penguins for a couple minutes. Now the Penguins are slowing down.

The Pens are winning the battles along the boards during the first. The refs are letting a lot go—roughing, cross-checking, hooking, hits after the play, retaliations. None of them really affected the play of the game nor were likely to injure but things are getting more physical.

Osgood fumbles the puck half a dozen times probably giving many Wings fans heart attacks. Fedotenko finally makes him pay for it (yeah, Osgood fumbled a shot right to him). Detroit seems to respond by slashing every Penguins player they see. No calls. The Pens respond in kind. No complaints about the reffing.

Detroit is all about slowing things down and working on defense while waiting for opportune shots - mistakes by the other team. Pittsburgh really isn't showing they're talented enough overall to make up for it. (Tied 1-1 after one)

Period Stars:
Orpick
Ericsson
Holmstrom
Stuart

Period No Stars:
Hossa
Zetterberg
Maltby
Osgood

PERIOD 2: Osgood just barely deflects a Malkin breakaway shot off the end of his glove—after fumbling a puck down where Stuart saved him shortly before.

The Wings get a couple penalties—obvious calls. Adams gets called on a hook that they weren't calling in the first. Staal and Fleury are playing amazing. Holmstrom is also working the front of the net extremely well. Things get a little rough as Detroit rushes Fleury and the Pens knock them down and away. For all this "rough" talk, they all skate away after.

Jokinen obviously dives after skating up the ice—no call. Osgood actually controls a clean shot from the point. Staal shows some more fire. The Pens call a time-out to give their defenseman a break. It seems to aid Detroit, however, as they immediately put on the pressure following the timeout and hard work gives them a goal - even if it was a behind the net bounce off the goalie. (2-1 Red Wings after two periods)

Period Stars:
Staal
Stuart
Holmstrom

Period No-Stars:
Samuelsson

PERIOD 3: Helm came out firing this period (almost invisible the first two periods). Abdelkader gets his first Stanley Cup playoff goal. A crazy bounce sent the puck over Staal right into Abdelkader's hand who tossed it in front of the net and whacked the bouncing puck (on it's side) over Fleury's surprised shoulder.

The Pens come back strong but are not able to put one in. The puck lands on the back of a sprawled Osgood within the blue paint and Zetterberg put his hand on the puck to cover it—but the referee didn't notice (Crosby did). The Wings now fold back into the trap. The Penguins continue to dominate the play, but can't get any decent scoring chances. The Pens try for the funny board bounce into the goalie but fail to capitalize.

Fleury comes out and makes an incredible (and incredibly dangerous) play. Malkin and Crosby start pouring it on with less than four minutes left. Maltby shows his intelligence coming onto the ice from the bench with no lid. It stopped the play—no penalty.

Kennedy is blatantly cross-checked by Stuart with time winding down—no call. Hossa misses the empty net twice! Franzen misses as well.

Zetterberg can't get his shot to the net. Less than a minute left and the Wings get an icing call. Both teams are tired. Lidstrom iced the puck again. Lidstrom was a huge factor in the last few minutes (not so much earlier in the game). (Wings win 3-1)

Period Stars:
Helm
Lidstrom
Fedotenko
Eaton

Period No-Stars:
Satan
Staal
Gonchar
Osgood
Maltby

Afterword: While Crosby didn't make any of my "period star lists" he did play a solid game throughout. He was a physical presence, intimidating, controlling the puck, and making skillful moves. The Penguins played well, but the bounces went Detroit's way. Detroit was able to recover from a start that made them look lost and then slow much of the game down to a very boring pace—which allowed them to shut down the Penguins skill.

Game Stars:
Tomas Holmstrom
Sidney Crosby

Game No-Stars:
Chris Osgood
Kirk Maltby
Miroslav Satan

NHL 2009 Stanley Cup Finals: Preliminary Notes

Dwight Fidler — Sun, 31 May 2009 00:04:48 -0400

Detroit is chasing the Leafs for Stanley Cup championships, and a win this year still keeps them a Cup behind their Maple Leaf rivals, and at a lower percentage of wins. Detroit will stay third on the Cup list either way—but want to get closer to the Leafs. The Penguins would make a jump from being tied for seventh to being tied for sixth.

Mario Lemieux had a lot of accolades for Sidney Crosby, saying Crosby is more mature and talented than Lemieux was at his age.

Detroit wants to prove that in the "new NHL" a team doesn't need a star goalie, and that they can win it all using mostly Scandinavian players.

Pittsburgh wants to prove that superstars make the game.

Coaching is going to be a major factor in this series, as will momentum. The Penguins want the fastest play possible and any drop in momentum, like timeouts, that will hurt them. Detroit wants a slow, controlled game played out tactically.

Selected Category Edges:

Coaching: Detroit
Skaters: Detroit (depth, teamwork, offense/defense)
Experience: Detroit
Discipline: Detroit

Star Power: Pittsburgh
Goaltending: Pittsburgh

Heart: Even