Today is a sad day at NHL Hot Stove as we close up shop.

I would like to thank every one who has ever contributed, commented and read our site. It was a fantastic ride which unfortunately we can no longer keep up.

Myself and David Strehle are taking on bigger roles at RLDHockey.net while Dustin Leed and The Hockey Guys has been generous enough to give a home to our other excellent contributors. Please be kind enough to give both sites a read.

The NHL announced tonight that they will change their current six-division setup into four conferences. For the first time since 1998, the League’s board of governors reached an agreement that not only alters the current outlook but also will allow every team to play a home-and-home series. The NHLPA will still need to approve the realignment but that appears to be a formality at this point.

These four conferences break down as the following:

Conference 1

Vancouver Canucks
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Anaheim Ducks
Colorado Avalanche
Phoenix Coyotes

Conference 2

Winnipeg Jets
Detroit Red Wings
Chicago Blackhawks
St. Louis Blues
Nashville Predators
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild

Conference 3

Toronto Maple Leafs
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Florida Panthers
Tampa Bay Lightning

Conference 4

Pittsburgh Penguins
Philadelphia Flyers
New York Rangers
New York Islanders
New Jersey Devils
Carolina Hurricanes
Washington Capitals

The current playoff configuration will also change with the first two playoff series coming within the Conference. However, eight teams will still make the show but there should be much more parity. For example, a team in a ‘weaker’ division would not be allowed to grab the third seed if they narrowly make the playoffs.

Furthermore, the schedule works out well for all teams. Home-and-home series should account for roughly 44-46 games with the remaining games getting played in rivalries within the conference. This change, as well as keeping natural rivals like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia; Chicago and Detroit; Calgary and Edmonton; should pave way for more excitement and interest around North America.

Now that we have the details down, let’s get to the fun part. What do we name these conferences? Do they get the old names: Norris, Campbell, Adams and Patrick? Do we rename them something more current like Gretzky, Lemieux, Howe and Orr? Put your vote in below and give some write-ins into the comments.

By Alexander Monaghan
President

By Dan4th Nicholas (Flickr: Eric Brewer)

Eric Brewer will face the St. Louis Blues for the first time since March 30th, 2004 on Saturday night, slightly nine months after getting traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 19th captain in team history was jettisoned from the Gateway to the West in exchange for a third round pick and defensive prospect Brock Beukeboom — a third round pick himself and son of former NHLer Jeff Beukeboom.

Although the Blues finished only 10 points out of a playoff seed, GM Doug Armstrong knew at the trade deadline the team would finish outside of the playoff picture. Brewer, an unrestricted free agent at the time (re-signed with the Bolts this June), became the casualty to proper asset management, leaving a young team for a contender in the Lightning.

In Tampa, the 32-year-old has thrived — playing a physical, two-way game and frequently lining up on the top power play unit. He leads all Lightning skaters in time of ice this season and led them in TOI/G last year. While with the Blues he still played the heavy minutes — leading the team in TOI/G in three of his five-plus seasons, finishing second twice — but playing on a contender with the League’s spotlight attached has given him his due.

As a former opponent of Brewer, Bolts GM Steve Yzerman knew what he was getting via trade. From The St. Petersburg Times, in February:

“He’s a very poised defenseman, a big guy who moves well,” Yzerman said. “He makes the good first pass. He’s a steady, reliable, good defenseman. I think he’s a very versatile guy who can play either side, a valuable player.”

Not only has Brewer been versatile and valuable, he’s been the stabilizing force on the team’s blue line. Most importantly, he fits in, just like he did in St. Louis.

Wearing a Blues sweater, the Vernon, British Columbia posted career highs in goals while establishing himself as a vital defender who could hit, block shots, play physically and contribute offensively. Clearly there would be no ill will against the team that gave him such a responsibility. Under former head coach he earned captaincy due to his lauded leadership qualities which have clearly translated its way over to the Southeast Division powerhouse.

When asked, Brewer was nothing but exuberant when discussing his former club. “I played with a lot of them for a long time and we had some really good times there. I have nothing but good things to say about their organization,” Brewer said to TampaBayLightning.com. Unlike most players who feel like they have something to prove, Brewer and the Blues know each other well and should provide the audience with gamesmanship at its best.

Should be an excellent game to watch if not to see how Brewer reacts but also to see defensive masterminds Guy Boucher and Ken Hitchcock fight to maintain the under.

By Alexander Monaghan
President

Yesterday, we let you in on our contest to play a ‘One Day FREE Fantasy Contest‘ to win $100 in cash prizes from Draft Steet. Well, I signed up, How about you?

Here’s my lineup, I challenge you to beat this roster:

LW: Zach Parise — $11,018
LW: Daniel Sedin — $14,799

RW: Bryan Little — $5,941
RW: Martin St. Louis — $13,081

C: Mark Letestu — $5,990
C: Valtteri Filppula — $6,118

D: Niklas Kronwall — $6,547
D: P.K. Subban — $7,817

G: Jonathan Quick — $20,665
G: Brian Gionta — $7,976

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If you haven’t heard, there is a new trend in the world of fantasy sports. Fantasy enthusiasts all over the country are now participating in daily fantasy leagues for cash on DraftStreet.com. We’ve partnered up with Draftstreet to do a FREE one-day fantasy league with $100 in prizes exclusively for NHL Hot Stove readers.

This is a salary cap league where everyone tries to assemble the best team out of the available players. You will have a $100,000 budget to build a team of 2 LW’s, 2 RW’s, 2 Center’s, 2 Defensive players, 1 Goalie, and a FLEX. Each NHL player has been allocated a price based on their expected fantasy performance. For example, star LW Alex Ovechkin costs $14,331 where as RW Jarome Iginla costs $12,256.

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By Danny Di Nicolantonio

Monday night the Tampa Bay Lightning traveled to Washington D.C. to take on the Capitals for the first time in this early campaign. Washington was certainly hungry to get a win against these same Bolts that knocked them out of last year’s playoffs in what was a four game sweep. Throughout the game this was not one of those times where anyone could say stranger things have happened because well – things haven’t.

It was an evening of debuts; Tomas Vokoun for the Capitals and Bruno Gervais for the Lightning, and the first goal of the game involved the both of them. Gervais assisted on a Teddy Purcell goal 2:22 into the first period on a shot that was taken from behind the goal line, deflected off of defensemen Mike Green and past Vokoun.

Marcus Johansson got credit for the equalizer on a wrap-around goal after his initial shot was deflected by Eric Brewer off the end boards that goaltender Dwayne Roloson attempted to cover up with his glove but Johansson was able to poke the puck free leaving Roloson well out of position.

Gervais added a bad angle goal of his own; throwing a shot off the back of Vokoun as he left a big enough gap between his body and the post to get the puck to land in the back of the net.

After Dennis Wideman tied the game up at 2-2 toward the end of the first period, it was Dominic Moore of the Lightning that got his club back on top early in the second period. The scoring chance began off of a faceoff win by Moore and the hard work of his linemates, Brett Connolly and Ryan Shannon who set him up for a rocket of a shot from just inside the right circle.

Another puck was thrown from the corner by Brett Clark toward Vokoun that hit off of his skate and trickled into the back of the net giving the Lightning a 5-4 lead late in the third. “It’s been a long, long time since I feel as bad as I feel today,” Vokoun said. “I should have lost – hands down – 99 out of 100 games – and I won it.”

Washington’s Jason Chimera scored two goals – first gave the Capitals a 4-3 lead in third period, and his second came with 2:44 left in regulation that tied the game one more time at 5-5 and sent the game to overtime.

Roloson stopped 38 of 43 shots he faced but was not able to hold off Matt Hendricks and Alexander Semin in the shootout that resulted in the 6-5 loss. “The craziest in all my years of playing.” Roloson said.

Perfect Penalty Kill: Tampa Bay is the most penalized team three games into the season, but they have not had to pay the consequences as they have now killed off 18 of 18 power plays.

After playing three games in four nights the Lightning will now have two days off before taking on the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum on Thursday.

Injury Update: D – Mattias Ohlund who has been on injured reserved since the beginning of the season will have knee surgery and is expected to miss 1-2 months.

Draft Pick Signed: Tampa Bay signed 7th round draft pick (208th overall) in the 2011 draft Ondrej Palat to a three-year, entry-level contract.

By Jeff Quirin
NHL Hot Stove Associate Editor

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Did you miss NHL on the Fly this week? Couldn’t catch all the games? Well, if you love goal scoring, NHL Hot Stove has you covered. Here are some of the best finishes of the first week of NHL action in the 2011-12 season.

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Number Five

Anze Kopitar (LA Kings) with a great forehand backhand move to beat Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres) after a pretty cross ice pass.

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Number Four

Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning) rifles his 300th career goal past good friend Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins) on a breakaway.

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Number Three

Brad Marchand (Boston Bruins) with a terrific partial breakaway move to beat Ilya Bryzgalov (Philadelphia Flyers).

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Number Two

Claude Giroux (Boston Bruins) attacks Tom Thomas (Boston Bruins) with a brilliant backhand forehand marker.

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Number One

Brad Richards (New York Rangers) roofs the puck over Jonas Hiller (Anaheim Ducks).

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Just had to throw one more in for good measure. Welcome back to the NHL Mr. Lombardi.

Matthew Lombardi (Toronto Maple Leafs) beats Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens) for a shorthanded goal. His first goal after missing virtually all of the 2010-11 season with a concussion.

By Danny Di Nicolantonio

The 2011-12 regular season opened for the Tampa Bay Lightning in Raleigh, North Carolina, against the team they had knocked out of the eighth and final playoff spot last season; the Carolina Hurricanes.

Last year’s Calder Trophy winner Jeff Skinner got the scoring started after he picked the pocket of Matt Gilroy, able to generate a scoring chance that led to him putting a rebound past goaltender Dwayne Roloson.

Roloson, who turns 42 years old on October 12th, faced 33 shots and stopped 32, including some that could be considered grand larceny while earning his 215th career win.  ”It’s all about focusing on what we’ve got to do to win hockey games,” Roloson said. “Last year’s last year, and this year’s this year.  We focus on the now.”

Carolina’s momentum would be taken away by 5’ 9” Martin St.Louis, after he was able to sneak the puck past a sprawling Cam Ward and the Carolina defense out of position to tie the game at 1-1 at the 5:19 mark of the second period.  Ward stopped 29 of 34 shots faced.

Tampa Bay got another goal with less than three minutes to go in the second during a 5-on-3 power play with Justin Faulk and Jussi Jokinen in the box for interference and unsportsmanlike conduct respectfully.  It only took 19 seconds for Vincent Lecavalier to show off his baseball skills, batting the puck into the back of the net.  ”Honestly, we got some fortunate bounces with the 5-on-3, and we took care of it,” St. Louis said.

During the third period the Lightning extended their lead to 4-1 with goals from Steve Downie and Adam Hall just 10 seconds apart. Ryan Malone added a goal of his own on an odd man rush that put the Lightning up 5-1.

One thing better than the power play—the penalty kill as the Lightning killed off all five of the Hurricanes’ man-advantages.

Tampa Bay got goals from five different players, and had 12 players record at least one point in Friday night’s 5-1 victory.

The Lightning are back in action Saturday night as they travel to the TD Garden in Boston to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Bruins.

After falling to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins in the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Final, the Tampa Bay Lightning are ready to start the 2011-12 campaign in search of getting back to the playoffs and once again contending for Lord Stanley’s Cup.

When free agency opened on July 1st, general manager Steve Yzerman did not hold back as he began to make the necessary moves to fill the holes that were created by those players that had left and signed with other teams.

Steven Stamkos re-signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning for five year/$37.5 million on July 19th. Stamkos finished the 2010-11 season with 45 goals, 45 assists for 91 points. In his NHL career he has 119 goals, 113 goals, 232 points.

Who’s Out: LW – Simon Gagne (LAK), LW – Sean Bergenheim (FLA), LW – Chris Durno (CAR), D – Matt Smaby (ANA), D – Randy Jones (WPG), and G – Mike Smith (PHO).

Who’s In: RW – Ryan Shannon, LW – Alexandre Picard, C – Trevor Smith, C – Tom Pyatt, D – Matt Gilroy, D – Bruno Gervais, and G – Mathieu Garon.

Player on the rise: Teddy Purcell. Purcell, 26, recorded career numbers playing in 81 regular season games in 2010-11 (17G – 34A – 51PTS). During the playoffs, his production continued recording six goals, 11 assists for 17 points in 18 games played.

Player to keep an eye on: Ryan Shannon. The 5’ 9” forward played in 79 regular season games with the Ottawa Senators last year and recorded 11 goals, 16 assists. Shannon has gone from sleeper to a quality production player. Could possibly be seen playing with his idol, Martin St. Louis.

Tampa Bay will start the season with their longest road trip during 2011-12 and do not open at home until October 17th vs. Florida Panthers.

Dates to Remember: Oct. 8th at Boston Bruins; Oct. 10th at Washington Capitals; and then the six games against the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 29th, Nov. 14th, Feb. 2nd, Feb. 23rd, Mar. 31st, and on APR. 7th. The former Atlanta Thrashers team has lost 11 straight against the Bolts. Tampa Bay will try and prevent them from exiting the Southeast Division on a high note and keeping that streak alive.

The team itself is not the only thing getting Lightning fans excited as the St. Pete Times Forum has undergone renovations during this offseason estimated at $35 million. The transformation will be noticed prior to entering the arena as a new grand entry on the west side, which is still under construction and will feature a newly designed box office and merchandise store. Every fan will enjoy new seats as they have all been replaced; and something that will especially benefit those on the Terrace Level will be an 11,000 square foot outdoor deck overlooking downtown Tampa. Eight suites on the plaza level open up to the renovated main concourse which includes new flooring and concessions. Two Terrace level sections have been removed creating space for a performance stage that includes a pipe organ. Two coils have been installed and will shoot lightning 25 feet across the arena in each direction.

Improvements in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning throughout the arena for the comfort of the fans and improving ice conditions for players. Lightning players will be treated to an enhanced team locker room.

Offense:

Martin St. Louis – Steven Stamkos – Ryan Malone
Teddy Purcell – Vincent Lecavalier – Ryan Shannon
Steve Downie – Nate Thompson – Dana Tyrell
Adam Hall – Tom Pyatt – Dominic Moore
Mattias Ritola

Defense:

Eric Brewer – Victor Hedman
Brett Clark – Pavel Kubina
Matt Gilroy – Bruno Gervais
Marc-Andre Bergeron

*Mattias Ohlund is currently on Injured Reserve.

Goaltenders:

Dwayne Roloson
Mathieu Garon

Coaching Staff/Front Office

Head Coach: Guy Boucher
Assistant Coach: Dan Lacroix
Assistant Coach: Martin Raymond
Goaltending Coach: Frantz Jean
Video Coach: Nigel Kirwan

General Manager: Steve Yzerman
CEO: Tod Leiweke
Chairman/Governor: Jeff Vinik

Danny Di Nicolantonio

The Tampa Bay Lightning has announced a reduction in their training camp roster by 27 today. 26 remain including two goaltenders, nine defensemen and 15 forwards. Recently signed, Daniel Milan will be returning to the Moncton wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, all others will report to the American Hockey League Affiliate, Norfolk Admirals. The Lightning have two preseason games remaining, both against Montreal on September 29th and October 1st.

*- Players that must clear waivers prior to being assigned

Number Player Assigned To
3 PETIOT, Richard* Norfolk (AHL)
15 ASHTON, Carter Norfolk (AHL)
17 OUELLET, Michel* Norfolk (AHL)
24 SMITH, Trevor* Norfolk (AHL)
28 PICARD, Alexandre* Norfolk (AHL)
31 JANUS, Jaroslav Norfolk (AHL)
34 WYMAN, JT* Norfolk (AHL)
36 CONACHER, Cory Norfolk (AHL)
38 HUTCHINGS, Alex Norfolk (AHL)
39 FORNATARO, Matt Norfolk (AHL)
40 TOKARSKI, Dustin Norfolk (AHL)
41 NEILSON, Eric Norfolk (AHL)
43 WRIGHT, James Norfolk (AHL)
48 VERNACE, Michael* Norfolk (AHL)
50 BARBERIO, Mark Norfolk (AHL)
51 QUICK, Kevin Norfolk (AHL)
55 DIMMEN, Jeff Norfolk (AHL)
59 ANGELIDIS, Mike* Norfolk (AHL)
62 DEVOS, Philip-Michael Norfolk (AHL)
63 JOHNSON, Tyler Norfolk (AHL)
64 LANDRY, Charles Norfolk (AHL)
71 PANIK, Richard Norfolk (AHL)
73 MILAN, Daniel Moncton (QMJHL)
74 PALAT, Ondrej Norfolk (AHL)
75 GUDAS, Radko Norfolk (AHL)
76 LABRIE, Pierre-Cedric Norfolk (AHL)