Bleacher Report - Articles by Jason Hackett

Kiprusoff: Jim Carey Syndrome

Jason Hackett — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:10:21 -0500

We all know about Miikka Kiprusoff's rise to fame following his trade to Calgary from San Jose during the '03/'04 season. Not only did he bring the Flames to one win from hoisting the cup, he recorded a G.A.A. record of 1.70 (despite being through just 38 games). (Darryl) Sutter found a diamond in the rough in Miikka and the following season he did post a 2.07 G.A.A. with a save percentage of .923. All seemed well between the pipes for the Flames.

However, each subsequent season following the lockout, the Flames netminder has found himself with dismal starts each season. Which of course will find his G.A.A. rise and his save-percentage drop. Most have put this down to bad off-season conditioning, being over-played, slowing down with age, or the scouts from other clubs doing their jobs. I would like to add a couple more ideas to the pot, change in personnel and what I call "Jim Carey" syndrome.

Jim Carey (the goalie, not the actor) syndrome is a condition where a goalie rises to fame for a season or two, only to drop off the face of the planet within a couple seasons. Jim Carey is one such goalie where after a rather good rookie campaign with Washington, the second season found him winning the Vezina trophy. Yet three seasons later, the 25 year-old was no longer playing professional hockey.

Miikka Kiprusoff could be one candidate to do something similar. He has lasted more than a couple of seasons and is much older then 25, but he is following a similar path. Miikka is just four NHL seasons from his record-setting season and yet his G.A.A. is almost double from 1.70 to 3.01 at current standing. Plus a drop in save percentage from .933 to .895, stellar numbers to struggling to keep the starting role.

Another candidate for such a decline in change in personnel. The Flames have gone from Darryl Sutter to Jim Playfair to Mike Keenan since the team went to the finals in 2004. Three very different minds, three different playing styles, from a defensive minded coach in Sutter, to a more free wheeling Jim Playfair to an old regime in Mike Keenan. Most of the Flames wins in '03/04 were one goal games, they were defense first, offense second. It showed in their stats: 200 goals for and 176 against. As well, factor in defensive core changes, changes on offense, and the Flames are a completely different team now to just five years ago. Defense first, offense second has left for play-making offense.

Why Kiprusoff is not the same goalie as five years ago is anyone's guess. Scouts do have more intelligence on him, he is older (but wiser), he is playing almost twice as many games in one season as he used to. The team's mentality has changed from defense to a balance of offense and defense can take its toll.

There have been sprinkles of the Kiprusoff of old, but is it time to move on? My guess is not yet. The Flames will need to replace Kipper with someone who can bring in that elite level. There is definitely a lot of options out there for suitable replacements. There are teams looking for a change in net or looking to dump movable assets. However, in a cap system any player making $8.5 million this season is not an easy move.

I believe this could be the last season for many key figures on the Flames bench if it is another early-round exit in the playoffs. At $8.5 million, Kipper is not an easy move, but next year he is only slated to make $7 million, still not easy, but $1.5 million does make a big difference, especially if the cap ceiling rises again. It will most likely be Keenan that takes the pink slip, but if Kipper cannot turn his season around he might be trading the flaming "C" for a new logo.

Much Ado About Avery

Jason Hackett — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:04:26 -0500

There has been much talk about Sean Avery lately. From his "boring" comment about Flames star Jarome Iginla to his crude remark about his former lover Elisha Cuthbert and her current relationship with Flames stud defenseman Dion Phaneuf. The question of all is "why is anyone surprised?"

This is a classic Sean Avery tactic prior to a match, getting under the skin of one of their players. Was it too far? To make that statement public for all of the hockey world to hear, it probably was too crude for most to care for. In the grand scheme of things though, he could have said a lot worse. For anyone in a relationship where an ex becomes involved, it is normally not a pleasant situation.

You must remember a couple things about Sean Avery:

1. This kind of disregard for good taste in the eyes of others is what he is trying to accomplish. He is an agitator at heart, in his mind his role on any team is to put the other team off of their game. No one can deny that, he is not a dominant player size wise, he is not a prolific goal scorer, he is a career third-line agitator. There are some who say that he could produce more if he would stay out of trouble, but that is not his style. He is more of a thorn-in-the-side sort of player, knocking the opposition's star players off their game. The only problem is that it is throwing off his own teammates' game more then the opposition's.

2. This is not the first time, and it probably will not be the last time. From early on in his NHL career, Avery would open his mouth to anyone who would listen. Who listens to disgruntled, outspoken players more than the media? Well they all do, but the media takes it public. From his hatred for the NHLPA, to his hatred for French Canadian players, to public disregard towards his coaches, to the relationship of other players, he has made his thoughts known.

3. After signing a four year, $15 million dollar contract, the Stars will not be cutting him loose like many on his team would like. If guys like Mike Modano go public about his disgust of you, people listen. Modano is not one to go public about much so when he does, people turn their heads. I can see Hull trying to tame him, but I do not see it changing much (at least not for long). I can see them trying to dump him onto someone else, but who wants a $3.75 million-a-year agitator who will cause more harm to himself and your team then the other team? Ultimately, I see him going on waivers and spending some time in the AHL. That is until he finds dirt on a player down there and looks for a reporter to talk to.

What makes Avery different from any other agitator out there? He shoots his mouth when the cameras are around. Plain and simple, if you talk to any former or current agitator out there, they have all said things on the ice they are regretful of. There is the key difference: on the ice. We all know that Avery shoots his mouth on the ice, he cannot even deny that. However, he takes his "on ice" talk to the locker room and to the reporters. That is where most agitators draw the line, once they leave the ice surface/bench, the gloves stay on.

What I would like to see done is the good old fashioned way of handling players like this: A good old fashioned beat down. Will it happen? I doubt Avery is willing to drop the gloves with the likes of Phaneuf or Iginla and for good reason.

Have you ever bad-mouthed someone's girlfriend or mother then got into a fight with that person? The rage and fury that comes out is next to none. What I do expect is a lot of extra attention to Avery from the big guns of his opponents. He will eventually get what is coming to him, I just hope the match is televised!

Tony Granato Back as Head Coach in Colorado: Second Time Around the Charm?

Jason Hackett — Thu, 22 May 2008 05:59:52 -0400

The Colorado Avalanche announced that their short search for a new head coach is over. They came to terms with one of their current assistant coaches Tony Granato to replace Joel Quenneville. The problem is that this isn't his first stint as head coach with the Avs.

Under Granato's tutelage, the Avalanche had a great regular season post of 100 points or more, but failed to make it past the first round in 2003 and the second round of the playoffs in 2004. Considered a failure in terms of postseason results, the Avalanche demoted Granato back to assistant coach.

So what will be any different this time around? Probably not a whole lot compared to this season, especially with how unpredictable the Northwest division is these days.

Last season the difference between first and fifth in the NW division was just 10 points. You go on a hot streak you move up to first, you loose a couple you drop out of the playoffs. Not an easy going division by any means.

If you also look at the Avalanches today compared to 2004, as Tanguay is gone, Sakic is getting old and probably won’t put up the same numbers as before. Hejduk is very unpredictable as per his seasonal performance, and Forsberg isn't able to dress every game. Blake is gone and Foote isn't the same as before.

The fire power isn't there as it once was, and unless they make a splash in the free agent market, there won't be much change in that standard. A big upside though is their defensive play combined with Theodore's return to his Vezina trophy self and the excellent play of Budaj will be a force to be reckoned with next season.

The big problem I have is the fact that he was fired four years ago for a reason. He wasn't able to bring his troops to the next level as in a cup.

So four years later, what has changed? Is he a better coach then Quenneville? I don't think so; mind you we only have two seasons of head coaching experience to draw from. I believe the Avalanche pulled the trigger too quickly with Quenneville and even quicker to promote Granato for the second time in his stint with Colorado.

Washington Capitals: Three's a Crowd Between the Pipes

Jason Hackett — Sat, 17 May 2008 03:48:26 -0400

It has been a decade since the Washington Capitals had a different starting goaltender (the dreaded Jim Carey) than Olaf Kolzig. For a decade, Kolzig has been an household name for any hockey fan in the D.C. area.

When you thought about the Capitals, the first name that came to mind was Kolzig, or his nickname Kolzilla! All good things must come to an end, however, and come July 1, Kolzig will leave the organization with no plans on ever coming back!

With the Capitals in the race for the playoffs, Kolzig was looking forward to the playoff push, just like any other Capitals' player at the time. With Ovechkin leading the charge, Kolzig was making the much-needed saves game in and game out. Come the trade deadline, however, things were going to change!

The Canadiens decided to trade potential UFA Cristobal Huet to Washington for a second-round pick. People in Washington and Montreal were stunned! With Carey Price so young and with no NHL playoff experience, no one would have thought Huet would be available, especially after the Canadiens sent Price down to the minors just a few weeks earlier!

No one expected the Capitals to be in the market for a goaltender. Most "experts" were looking for Washington to add more depth and firepower to their squad. The "Price was Right" for both Washington and Montreal, and the deal was done.

The trade sent shockwaves throughout the NHL. The question became, who was Washington's No. 1? Simply put, it was Huet. With his stellar numbers in Montreal, there was no question that Huet was the No. 1 goalie after his first start. They rode Huet down the playoff stretch and into the first round, where they exited at the hands of the Flyers.

Meanwhile, Washington's former backup, Brent Johnson, was outraged by the move and elected not to travel with the team. Olaf Kolzig announced that he wouldn't negotiate a new contract with Washington and would contemplate retirement.

With Huet's contract expiring and considering his numbers this year, I think he will test the Free Agent market. So the only netminder they have under contract is Johnson, who they haven't been on the greatest of terms with lately, and I wouldn't count on him for the starting position with the Capitals.

So this trade does have the potential to put the Capitals into a hole between the pipes. As it stands right now, there isn't a lot of starter material in the UFA market. The big names out there are Kolzig (who may retire, but definitely won’t return to Washington), Cristobal Huet, Jose Theodore (who has revitalized his career this season), and Hasek (who can't play an entire season, since he's injury-riddled at age 42). With Ty Conklin's great season with Pittsburgh, there is potential to include him in that list, but the jury is still out on him!

The upside, of course, is the number of UFA's Washington has this off-season. Other then Kolzig and Huet, the Caps only have Fedorov, Cooke, Bradley, Cassivi, and Quintan Laing.

Most notable is Fedorov, who seemingly likes playing in Washington and will re-sign for significantly less than his current $6 million contract.

The downside is that the Capitals also need to re-sign their restricted free agents, most notably Eminger and Greene.

So the off-season should be interesting for the Capitals! After trading for Huet and giving him the reins in net, the Capitals lost their franchise goaltender in Kolzig (who everyone knows would have re-signed rather easily) for an unrestricted free agent. After winning the division and making the playoffs for the first time in five years, the fans/owners/players will be expecting more next season!

After all the momentum and the great run into the playoffs, I do believe that the Capitals might have taken a step backwards this season. Having a huge void in net will not help this franchise!

With no goaltending prospects reading to make the big jump to the NHL, and the only NHL capable goalie in their system being career back-up Brent Johnson, the outlook is not good. Look for the Capitals to offer Huet a huge offer to keep him in Washington. If he goes elsewhere, hold your breath, 'cause it will be a bumpy ride!

As for Olaf Kolzig, there is a large chance that he may retire. At his age it wouldn't shock anyone. I do believe though, that there will be many teams calling his agent come July 1. He can be valuable to any franchise, whether it be a starter or a backup.

One would have to believe that a strong suitor for Kolzig would be the Capitals' division rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Starving for a number one goaltender since they let Khabibulin slip to free agency, Kolzig would be a great fit for that organization.

We all know that the Kings are desperate for a goaltender. With such a young team, it would help that franchise to have a stable goaltender in net!

The Senators have long been rumoured to be looking for a goaltender to make that big save at a crucial time. With Emery on his way out the door, Kolzig could battle with Gerber for the No. 1 position in Canada's capital city.

There are teams out there that could use his services, so I would be surprised if Kolzig does indeed retire this offseason!

Does Cujo Still Have Bite?: The Market for Curtis Joseph

Jason Hackett — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 07:09:29 -0500

Curtis Joseph hasn't played a NHL game in almost a year, yet he is the hottest commodity available at the moment. As the push for the playoffs is starting to heat up, Curtis made it known that he is looking for work. Tendering potential offers, and lowering them down to just two: San Jose and Calgary.

Both teams are in need of a veteran back-up as neither team's back-up has any noteworthy NHL experience. Going deep into the playoffs is demanding on any goaltender and with both team's divisions as tight as they have been in years, one injury to your starter could dump your playoff chances.

Curtis Joseph has been known for his stints in Edmonton, Toronto and in Detroit, but most recently he was starting goaltender for Phoenix for a couple of years. As well as starting goalie for team Canada in Spengler Cup, where they won just a couple weeks ago.

The 18 year veteran of Keswick, Ont would bring much experience to either team with 913 regular season games and 131 playoff games under his belt. Experience, leadership and a desire to win at any cost is what Joseph brings to either club. A viable back-up who can be used sparing down the stretch to give your starter a rest and still be able to win you the game.

My best guess would be a signing in San Jose. With all the rumblings of turmoil between Flames coach Mike Keenan and Miika Kipprusoff, plus the bad blood between Joseph and Keenan back in their days in St. Louis probably be a big factor. Both teams are probably playoff bound with strong teams and could use him a couple of games down the stretch, but don't expect much playing time unless Kipprusoff or Nabokov go down with injury.

Another thought would be if either team would offer him a job after the season is through. There is no doubt that Cujo will never be a number one goaltender any more at his age, but his experiences in the league, going through being not drafting to leading Toronto to one game from the Stanley Cup finals could be useful. If either team offers him a scouting position or something along those lines would most likely make him sign with that team.

Ovechkin Fallout: Are Long-Term Contracts Becoming an NHL Epidemic?

Jason Hackett — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 05:27:22 -0500

There is a growing trend this year in the NHL, and it is not a pretty sight.

Originally, a rule held that teams couldn't re-sign their players under 23 to extended contracts until their contract had ended. Teams would retain those players' rights, but they could also be sent offer sheets from other teams.

General managers complained. And the owners demanded a change to rule.

Thus, the league's current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) states teams can re-sign their players under 23 to contract extensions.

So what's the problem? One would think that the ability to re-sign their youth would be a good thing for the many young franchises in the NHL.

Well, hold your horses.

In a growing trend, many of the league's great young talents are being locked up for extended periods.

Although many will say this trend it started with goaltender Rick DiPietro, who signed a 15-year contract with the New York Islanders last season, the Isles' owner did the contract and not GM Garth Snow. Most in the league called it a lapse in judgment, but while the length of the contract was called into question, no one thought it would be a snow ball effect.

But one by one, young guns across the league are inking long-term deals. No one can argue that Alexander Ovechkin is a great player—one of the league's best—but will he be in 13 years, at the end of his new contract with the Washington Capitals? Will he sustain a career ending injury? Will he defect to Europe?

Ovechkin might love Washington now, but how many people at his age know what they want when they are in their mid-thirties?

The Capitals obviously feel that not only is Ovechkin their future, and that they cannot risk losing him to free agency after just seven seasons.

This is understandable. Gone are the days were you can retain a player's right until he is 30 in the NHL.

Consequently, GMs are not only putting more emphasis on youth, but are also desperate to keep them for as long as humanly possible, as is evident with many recent deals—including Ryan Getzlaf's with Anaheim (5 years), Mike Richards' with Philadelphia (12 years), Dustin Brown's with Los Angeles (6 years), and many more.

But the trend isn't limited to the younger players. Veteran restricted and unrestricted free agents are being offered or re-signed to extended contracts, such as Mike Ribeiro (5 years), David Legwand (7 years), and Daniel Briere (7 years).

It is a growing trend that needs to be address by the league, before it gets out of hand.

[Ed. note: Until the Gretzky picture, you need to develop a case for WHY this is a bad thing? Is it because too much can go wrong with longer contracts? Is it because longer contracts tie teams' hands? Develop that, and we can work on this section.]

The problem is that the general managers won't bring it up, as they are the ones that wanted the rule change to begin with—they obviously don't see anything wrong with it!

So it will be up to the league itself to make the changes, but expect the NHLPA to put its foot down on this one, as these contracts greatly benefit the players.

Even more alarming will be prospects being signed to a max of three years (which I agree with)—will this become the norm for the higher echelon players? Or even better yet, what will happen to the under 23 year olds who contracts are coming up this season? With players like Marc-Andre Fleury, Mike Green, Henrik Lundqvist, Jay Bouwmeester, and Pascal Leclaire all looking to be re-signed, who will get the long term contracts? Florida will definitely be looking to sign Bouwmeester long term, and the same goes for the Rangers' Vezina candidate Henrik Lundqvist.

So what is the solution? Well, there are a couple different ideas that are floating through my little head. First, the league could put a cap on the max length of a contract to, let's say, 5 years. Second, have an unlimited max length on a contract for just one player per team, and make it an automatic no trade clause for the first 65% of the contract—force teams to bite the bullet for a good proportion of the contract.

It bears mentioning that long-term deals are not competely new to the league—Wayne Gretzky still holds the record for contract length with the Oilers back in 1979, for a grand total of 21 years.

Yes, that's right: The Great One was supposed to be an Oiler until 1999!

Of course, we all know that didn't come true—he was dealt to Los Angeles, sparking the NHL's expansion into the southern United States.

However, it remains to be seen what this current trend in long-term contracts will spark.

Once a Predator, Now Out in the "Minnesota" Wild

Jason Hackett — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 06:51:15 -0500

In a "Wild" turn of events, former Nashville Predators' owner Craig Leipold has reached an agreement to purchase a majority stake in Minnesota Sports and Entertainment.

Minnesota Sports and Entertainment is the company that owns the Minnesota Wild franchise, the Excel Energy Arena, the Wild's AHL affiliate in Houston, and the Minnesota Swarm of the NLL.

After losing a reported 70 million dollars while owning the Nashville Predators, Leipold was reluctant to sell the team to an owner that wished to relocate the Predators. So instead of cutting his losses or even requesting to move the franchise, he sold the Predators to a group of Nashville businessmen.

Less then half a year later, the Predators are still losing money, but Leipold is running a different NHL Franchise.

Personally, I would assume that Leipold knew Bettman wouldn't let the Predators leave Nashville, which is why he would do a sell and purchase within the same organization (the NHL). He already had a franchise, almost complete control of it, yet he sold it and putting all of his money into one basket. It isn't a done deal by any means as the Board of Governors could still reject the bid. I think this is a strong possibility after Leipold sold one franchise only to buy another.

If the deal goes through, I believe this could only benefit the Wild, and maybe even give them more cash flow into their personal salary cap. Something that they have been doing in the last couple of years, but when the team sells out every home game and is a winning team, more money could benefit the team. It would make it easier to bring in outside talent, re-sign their own players, and more money into advertising, etc.

Side note: Does anyone know of some one ever owning two different franchises? This doesn't include any re-locations (Hartford-Carolina, Quebec-Colorado, etc).

The Habs: A Midseason Review

Jason Hackett — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 04:36:12 -0500

After being slated for battling deadlast in just about every pre-season report this season, the Montreal Canadiens not only have proven the critics wrong, but really have nothing to complain about.

Since the beginning of time the Canadiens have been one of the NHL premier franchises as far as fan base is concerned. Since day one the Habs fans have found reasons to complain, anything sort of the Stanley Cup is unacceptable. Their fans have been known for being very out spoken for every aspect of the team. From their farm team not producing enough products, to the Captain not respecting their culture, to the GM not bringing in the talent to compete. This off-season and season has been no different. The Habs have been calling the Bob Gainey's head after he was unsuccessful in bringing in home grown talent Daniel Briere this off-season, or anything other then Smolinski and Hamrlik. To go along with the fact that he was unable to dump Alex Kovalev the poster boy for failure at the time for Habs fans. To go along with around 99% of hockey writers out there writing off the Habs this season, the fan were furious.

So as the season began their was much to be desired in the eyes of the fans. Most of the focus went to Smolinski as Gainey's only FA acquisition to solve the Habs poor offense. Along with new comer Carey Price, sophmore Gulliame Latendresse, the return of Michael Ryder, their scape goat Alex Kovalev, and their Captain Saku Koivu. The habs faithful were still believing that their team would capture their 25th cup this season. To this I even heard Habs fans saying that they rather have Price then Crosby, or that Latendresse is the team's saviour as they compare him to Maurice "le Rocket" Richard. Many argument were brought up over these any many more statements as the season started out.

As October rolled in the Habs started off the season with a win in Carolina but a loss to their hated rivals, the Maple Leafs of Toronto. The end of October say the Habs sitting with 6 wins out of 11 games, including a 4 game winning streak. The fans were mildly happy, but mainly from the 4 game winning streak that showed their team can win consecutive games.

Unlike October the Habs were completely inconsistent, as they were unable to win more then one game in a row, as the habs literally had a win, loose, win, loose result throughout the entire month. This month saw another loss to Toronto, 2 losses to Buffalo and Ottawa, but 5 and 7 goal games in Philly and Boston respectively. The Habs were never able to gain any momentum, but never went into a loosing streak and some how managed to hang around the top of the North East division, just points behind Ottawa.

December saw a little more consistency as the Habs were able to win back to back games twice, but also saw a couple mini loosing streaks. Loosing to teams that they should be able to beat (Nashville, Florida, Tampa) is never easy to grasp, but were able to beat division rivals Leafs and Bruins. This time of year the Canadiens were called out by Hall of Famer and former Habs Guy "the Flower" LeFleur. The Habs legend had said the problem with the Habs is that they have four lines of four line caliber players. A sentiment retold for the last couple of seasons by the Canadiens' fan-base. Yet the Canadiens were sitting not only in a playoff spot but in 4th in the East for most of the month.

So far this month, the Habs have had the same sort of results, win one, loose one, win one. There team has no momentum, they are not winning a lot, but they are not loosing alot either.

On the player side of things, the Habs' fan's old scape goat (Kovalev) has turn out his best season in a couple of years as he leads the team in goals, points, and power play goals. Corey Price turned in a better then expected season, but was recently sent down to play more game in the farm. Huet isn't quite up to his old form, but still the number one in net for the Canadiens. Michael Ryder was been dropped to the 2nd line, 3rd line then 4th line and isn't a scoring threat anymore. Expect him to be gone by the trade deadline. They have been getting good seasons out of Plekanec, Koivu and Higgins. Danny Markov is once again a scoring threat this season from the Blueline. Just as happy the Habs are with Price, they couldn't be any happier with Mark Streit as not only is he just about surpassed his career high in goals, assists and points, but he is almost matching Markov's totals so far this year. The 9th round pick is proving a lot of people wrong this season. Last but not least, Mike Komisarek is proving to everyone that he is a dominant stay at home defenseman as he is amongst the leaders league wide in hits and shots blocked.

With all not being said, what do the Habs need to bring the team to that next level? I believe that the fans want some major changes to the team or to the front office. I doubt that will happen as long as the Habs are in a playoff position. Bob Gainey has already said that he is happy with the season, and I can't really blame him. From my calculations the Canadiens have about 20 more points then what was expected from them this season. So why would they worry? Without being able to string together some wins the Habs will go into the playoffs and loose. You need momentum to go anywhere in the Playoffs and the Canadiens have been unable to win more then 2 games in a row and are hard pressed to win just 2 in a row. There saving grace this season is the OT/SO lose point system where it doesn't show up in the standings as a loss. Go back to the pre-shootout era and the Habs would have 19 wins and 19 losses, a big difference from the 8 games above .500 they sit at today. So what do they need? A reality check, they need to loose 4 or 5 in a row so maybe the team will either be woken up and try to string together some winning streaks, or a big trade to shake up the roster.

Then again for a team of "4th liners" even at .500 you really can't complain!

As the second half of the season comes in, look for more roster shuffling as I doubt Gainey will be able to bring in any top tier talent at the deadline. If he can't do it for "free" doing it at a price would be that much harder. The Hamilton Bulldogs do have some talent the Habs can bring up, but there isn't really any diamonds in the rough (other then price) that they can call up that would change the outcome of the game. Halak is obviously expendable, but the question becomes does anyone want him? The same goes for Michael Ryder an UFA at seasons end. Halak's call up is most likely to give him some playing time to temp more teams into calling Gainey for the price tag then anything else. However, there isn't many teams looking for goalies this year, and there have been a handful of experienced goaltenders go through waivers with no takers and can be had for next to nothing through re-entry waivers.

If nothing is change in the front office of in the locker-room, expect the same thing as the rest of the season, a win a loss a win a loss, etc. A key injury to any of their scoring threats could send them into a tail spin unless Ryder picks up the pace. With an injury I would expect the Habs to tank like they did last season. Then again, if Gainey is smart enough to pull off any trade (Halak, Ryder to Tampa for anything, just a hint to you Gainey) to bring in a rental or some depth the Canadiens might be able to ride out the rest of the season and into the playoffs!

Red Wings Extend Osgood's Stay in Detroit

Jason Hackett — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:07:49 -0500

He won the Stanley Cup with Detroit many moons ago, and was the figurehead of Red Wings netminders.

A few seasons later, he was cast aside by Detroit, who derided him as a has-been.

A couple of years later, the Wings were unable to sign any of the top free agent goaltenders, and reluctantly brought Osgood back in order to add experience to the roster.

He wasn't voted into the All-Star Game this year, despite having a stellar season, and leading the Red Wings to tops in the West once again. However, with Luongo dropping out of the All-Star Game to await the birth of his child, the hockey world will most likely see Chris Osgood start the third period of the midseason classic for the Western Conference.

The only thing that makes this day even better for Osgood is the news that the Red Wings have signed the netminder to a new contract, almost doubling his salary from this season.

The only surprising part would be how little Osgood asked for when negotiating his salary. After making just $800,000 this season, he now will be earning $1.5 million for each of the next three seasons. Quite modest for the league's top goalie this season, stat wise.

But Osgood might say that he is modest, and knows that if it wasn't for the Red Wings giving him another chance, he would most likely not be in the big leagues last season, this season, or next season.

NHL Waiver Wire: The Saga of Sergei Samsonov

Jason Hackett — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:24:04 -0500

Sergei Samsonov was once known as the Beantown Sniper.

He was a threat to score on any given shift, and was slated to break out with a 40- or even a 50-goal campaign.

Five years and six different teams later, the 3.5 million dollar man has been tossed aside more often than not.

So what happened to this former prodigy?

Maybe it was the simple fact that Samsonov never fit into the new system. Or maybe he snapped under the pressure, or had been artificially boosted by playing with the likes of Joe Thornton for a couple of years.

Whatever it was, Sergei Samsonov is now no more than a huge hit to a team's payroll.

His $3.5 million salary makes him one of the most expensive checking-line wingers in the game. After claiming him off waivers from Chicago, the Hurricanes became Samsonov's fifth team in less then five years (Boston, Edmonton, Montreal, Chicago, Carolina).

So far this season, he has yet to register a goal, and is on pace for just 10 points, or $350 thousand per point.

In his fifth year in Boston, Samsonov's ice time started to diminish, his points dipped, and at the trade deadline he was dealt to Edmonton. He delivered 16 points in 19 games—not bad, but the Oilers were hoping for much more.

During the 2006 offseason, Samsonov elected to sign with the Canadiens for a two-year deal. What the Canadiens got was a $3.5 million bench-warmer who registered nine goals through 63 games.

The fans in Montreal debated who was more useless—Samsonov or Alexei Kovalev. Much to everyone's relief, the former was dealt to Chicago before the end of the season.

Once again a team was seduced by Samsonov's potential.

Once again a team was sorely mistaken.

The Blackhawks thought the former first-round pick (eighth overall in 1997) could help Martin Havlat and Robert Lang on their first line. Instead, after his worst start to a season at any level, Samsonov was placed on waivers and claimed by Carolina.

After claiming him from reentry waivers, the Hurricanes will only be dinged for half of Samsonov's salary. Even then, $1.7 million a season is quite a lot for four assists.

I'm guessing that Samsonov will be either the third or fourth line LW in Carolina, as the 'Canes have Whitney and Stillman on the left side, and both are putting up numbers.

Chad Larose is more of a checking winger, so with Ladd struggling, he can be sent down without going through waivers.

Unless a team is blind and dumb and offers Samsonov another $3 million dollar per season after his current contract expires, I doubt he'll be in North America next year.

With very little interest in his services, I'd expect him to go back to Europe to finish off his career.

Former GM Muckler Itching to Return to the NHL

Jason Hackett — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:54:15 -0500

After bringing the Ottawa Senators to just inches away from the Stanley Cup, long-time GM John Muckler was given his walking papers.

He turned the team into a playoff contender, something that the Senators never were before.

However, it had been five years, and the Sens wanted a change.

"Out the door and into the wilderness" is nothing new for John, who has been let go enough times to walk blindfolded to the unemployment office. As he gets older, he knows that his time is limited—but after 60 years in hockey, he still wants another crack at guiding a team to the Stanley Cup.

If you take a look around the league, there are a couple of teams who could part ways with their current GM. The franchises which obviously fit this description are Tampa Bay, Florida, and Atlanta—all of whom are perennial underperformers, and are growing tired of being labeled as such.

Although no one ever mentions Tampa's GM to be endangered, three guys taking up the majority of the franchise's salary cap and the team dead last in the East at this point in the season doesn't sit well with anyone in the organization.

The question isn't whether or not a team will be looking for a new general manager, but if anyone would be willing to give the aging John Muckler another chance.