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Bryan McCabe Traded to Rangers

February 26, 2011   Adam Gretz   No comments

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In the middle of what will be their 10th consecutive non-playoff season, the Florida Panthers continued to unload veteran players on Saturday by sending defenseman Bryan McCabe to the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Tim Kennedy and a third-round draft pick according to TSN. It’s Florida’s third major trade in the past month and follows the recent deals that saw it trade Michael Frolik to Chicago and Cory Stillman to Carolina.

The Stillman and McCabe trades didn’t result in much of a return (the Panthers received Ryan Carter and a fifth-round pick for Stillman), but when you’re trying to dump veterans that you’re likely to lose as free agents on July 1, something has to be better than nothing.

McCabe, 35, is in the last year of his contract and had to waive his no-trade clause to accept the trade to New York. He’ll give the Rangers a puck-moving, offensive presence — although sometimes an erratic one — on their blue line, having tallied five goals and 17 assists in 48 games this season.

New York will be on the hook for a pro rated cap hit of about $1.3 million for the remainder of the season.

 

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Cory Stillman Traded to Carolina

February 24, 2011   Adam Gretz   No comments

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It’s been a day for reunions, or something like that.

On the same afternoon that Alexei Kovalev was re-acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Carolina Hurricanes went out and brought back one of the key players on their only Stanley Cup winning team, trading Ryan Carter and a fifth-round draft pick to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Cory Stillman, via TSN’s Bob McKenzie.

Stillman, 37, was a key cog on the 2005-06 cup-winning Carolina team, scoring 20 goals in the regular season (and finishing tied for second on the team in scoring with 76 points) while also averaging over a point-per-game in the postseason. His game has slowed down a bit over the past five years and his production level has declined, but he’ll bring some Stanley Cup experience (he owns two rings, one with Carolina and one with Tampa Bay) to the Hurricanes roster. It’s also a definitive sign that the Hurricanes, the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference as of Thursday afternoon, are buyers heading into Monday’s deadline.

 

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Alexei Kovalev Traded to Penguins

February 24, 2011   Adam Gretz   No comments

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In the aftermath of Monday’s trade that saw the Penguins send Alex Goligoski to Dallas for James Neal and Matt Niskanen, Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero made it pretty clear he would still like to add another forward to his roster. On Thursday, he did just that by sending a conditional draft pick to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for veteran forward Alexei Kovalev. According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the draft pick is a conditional seventh-round pick that would turn into a sixth-round selection if the Penguins advance beyond the first round of the postseason.

Kovalev’s name had been connected to the Penguins in trade speculation for a couple of months, and on Thursday the speculation finally became reality. The Russian winger spent parts of five seasons with the Penguins between 1998 and 2003, recording some of his most productive seasons to date. He scored 149 of his 426 career goals in his first stint with the Penguins, including a career-high 44 during the 2000-01 season.

Will a return to the city and team that hosted his best days rejuvenate the 38-year-old Kovalev? For the price Pittsburgh paid — next to nothing — it’s certainly a gamble worth taking, especially with a roster that has been ravaged by injuries for much of the season and is in desperate need for some quick, short-term offense. Playing without some combination of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Mark Letestu, Dustin Jeffrey, and Eric Tangradi (as well as recently injured defenseman Paul Martin and Brooks Orpik), the Penguins have scored more than three goals just once in their past 16 games, and have dropped three in a row and seven of their past nine.

 

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Erik Johnson Helps Beat His Former Team; Peter Stastny Rips Trade

February 23, 2011   Adam Gretz   No comments

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Prior to Tuesday’s Colorado-St. Louis game, a match up that featured the two teams involved in one of the biggest trades of the season, newly acquired Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson said he wanted to make his former general manager (Doug Armstrong) regret trading him. Meanwhile, the Hall of Fame father of one of his new teammates was having his own regrets about the deal.

The Blues, of course, sent Johnson to Colorado last Saturday in a shocking blockbuster trade that involved three recent first-round draft picks (and a future first-round pick), including Johnson, a former No. 1 overall selection.

Said Johnson, via Adrian Dater of the Denver Post (complete video can be seen by clicking here), “I want to make them regret trading Erik Johnson. There’s no doubt about that and I say that with the utmost respect in the world for them. I respect Doug Armstrong, I respect John Davidson, everybody I met here in this city. At the end of the day, I want them to be kicking themselves for trading me.”

The Avalanche ended up winning Tuesday’s game in St. Louis by a 4-3 margin, thanks in part to a goal from Johnson himself late in the third period to break a 2-2 tie. After picking off a St. Louis clearing attempt along the boards, Johnson worked the puck to the middle of the ice, held off a defender, and ripped a shot from between the circles past Blues goaltender Ty Conklin. It was nice illustration of the talent, upside and ability that made Johnson a top pick in the draft, and also made him a highly coveted asset in a trade.

 

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Pierre-Marc Bouchard Shows Spin-o-Rama Is Also Unstoppable During Regulation

February 22, 2011   Adam Gretz   No comments

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Even though we haven’t seen many over the past couple of weeks, the spin-o-rama move has become a popular weapon for skaters during tie-breaking shootouts. It’s proven to be pretty much unstoppable for goalies, and one has to wonder — as our Chris Botta did last month — when some pissed off goalie is just going to go lose it and take out a shooter trying to pull it off.

During Minnesota’s 4-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night, Wild forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard found himself on a breakway late in the third period and decided to give the move a shot during an actual game. It’s not often that you see somebody try it when there are other players on the ice, but Bouchard did, and to no surprise, managed to score with it, tallying his sixth goal of the season beating Nikolai Khabibulin.

Check it out…

 

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Eric Staal Gets a Shot On His Brother, Marc Staal (Video)

February 22, 2011   Adam Gretz   No comments

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Eric and Marc Staal are two of the three Staal brothers currently playing in the NHL (Jordan is the third), a fact that will get shoved down your throat until you can’t possibly take it anymore every time two of them face off.

On Tuesday, Eric’s Hurricanes were hosting Marc’s Rangers (a 4-3 Rangers win), and with less than a minute to play in the second period of a 1-1 game, Eric had an opportunity to dish out a major league hit on his younger brother and didn’t let the opportunity go to waste, dropping him with a huge hit along the boards.

 

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Michal Neuvirth Dominates in Capitals Win

February 21, 2011   Adam Gretz   No comments

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There is no denying that the Washington Capitals are an improved team defensively this season. Look no further than the fact they entered Monday night with the No. 7 ranking in goals allowed per game (up from 15th a year ago) and owned the No. 5 penalty kill in the league (up from 25th).

Tuesday’s 1-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, however, wasn’t about defensive improvement. It was about one player, and one player only: Goaltender Michal Neuvirth.

The 22-year-old was simply the best player on the ice from start to finish, stopping all 39 shots he faced against an injury-depleted Penguins team. Washington spent much of the night pinned in its own end and getting outshot by a 39-24 margin, including a 14-3 disadvantage in the third period. In the end, though, it didn’t matter as the Penguins couldn’t find a way to solve Neuvirth.

 

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James Neal, Matt Niskanen Traded to Pittsburgh for Alex Goligoski

February 21, 2011   Adam Gretz   No comments

On Monday morning TSN’s Darren Dreger caused quite a stir when he reported on trade talks between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Dallas Stars that involved a potential James Neal for Alex Goligoski swap. Soon, Penguins beat writers were all over the news and it was a hot topic of discussion for much of the morning. By Monday afternoon, the out-of-nowhere rumor was a reality as the Stars not only sent the 23-year-old Neal to Pittsburgh, they also added in defenseman Matt Niskanen in exchange for Goligoski, as first reported by TSN’s Bob McKenzie.

The meat of the deal, Neal for Goligoski, is a perfect match for the two clubs as they both deal from a position of strength to fill a position of weakness. It’s a classic example of it. The Penguins, even before their mid-season run of injuries, could have used more scoring from their wing positions. while they boasted a rather large assortment of defensemen including Kris Letang, Brooks Oprik and free agent additions Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek. That quartet made Goligoski easier to give up in a deal.

The Stars, meanwhile, had the exact opposite situation with an impressive collection of forwards and a blue line that could desperately use a young, puck-moving rearguard that’s also capable of quarterbacking a power play for the long haul. (They also save quite a bit of cash, which could have also played a big part in the deal as pointed out ESPN’s EJ Hradek). Enter the 25-year-old Goligoski.

 

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NHL Trade Deadline: Pittsburgh Penguins

February 21, 2011   Adam Gretz   No comments

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When all is said and done with this season the question asked about the Pittsburgh Penguins may turn out to be what if? As in, what if this team wasn’t ravaged by a series of mid-season injuries that depleted their collection of forwards?

Sidney Crosby, having perhaps the best year of his career, hasn’t played a game since early January with a concussion, while Evgeni Malkin is done for the season with a torn ACL and MCL. Injuries to other forwards like Chris Kunitz, Mark Letestu and Arron Asham have left the Penguins line combinations looking like something out of the American Hockey League over the past couple of weeks, complete with players like Dustin Jeffrey (also hurt), Eric Tangradi (also hurt) Brett Sterling, Tim Wallace, Joe Vitale, and Ryan Craig.

Even the replacements for the replacements have gone down with injuries.

 

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NHL Trade Deadline: Philadelphia Flyers

February 21, 2011   Adam Gretz   No comments

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Last year the Philadelphia Flyers needed a shootout win over the New York Rangers on the last day of the regular season to get into the playoffs. From there, they went on a surprising run as a No. 7 seed to the Stanley Cup Final where they ultimately lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. It’s been a bit of a different story this season as they’ve been one of the best teams in the NHL from day one, and head into the week leading up to the trade deadline as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, in complete control for home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

They have one of the deepest groups of forwards in the NHL (already four players with at least 50 points and a fifth, Ville Leino, with 40) and a strong defense anchored by Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen. The front office has invested large chunks of money in impact players, so the cap situation is going to limit what general manager Paul Holmgren can do to tinker with his squad.

 

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