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.

By Patrick Powell

On Friday morning, Pierre Gauthier took the bait that the Carolina Hurricanes had been reportedly dangling for weeks: defenseman Tomas Kaberle.

As a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kaberle distinguished himself as one of the premier, offensive defenseman in the League. Considering the Leafs’ failed to make the playoffs since the lockout, Kaberle was the subject of trade rumors for years. The Boston Bruins paid a bounty for his services and the Czech defender hoisted the Cup for the first time in his career last June. However, most people will tell you they won in spite of him, not because of him.

Kaberle left the Leafs in second place on the club’s all time scoring list among defensemen (Borje Salming is the current leader). His primary assets are his vision and passing on the power play, as evidenced by his career stats.

Nevertheless, the deficiencies in Kaberle’s game have been his decision-making in his own end and his proclivity to making turnovers. In an interview with TSN following his retirement, former Flyers’ captain Keith Primeau discussed how one of the Flyers’ primary strategies in the 2004 Eastern Conference Semis against Kaberle’s leafs was to put the put into Kaberle’s corner and make his chase the puck. The Flyers’ strategy worked well, and other teams have challenged Kaberle early and often as well. Since the 2007-2008 season, Kaberle has had but one plus season — plus-4 last season, minus-2 with Leafs and plus-6 with Bruins. Kaberle did post a plus-8 in the Bruins’ Cup run last spring, but he averaged less than 16 minutes per game in 14 of the 25 games played.

Despite not signing a contract on July 1st his reputation and family ties to the organization was enough for GM Jim Rutherford to offer the 33-year-old a three-year deal worth $4.25 million per season. Given his defensive issues and offensive inconsistency, most NHL insiders wondered who would take a shot at him, most felt no team would take on his contract. Gauthier rolled the dice by dealing oft-injured veteran Jaroslav Spacek for the Kaberle knowing he only produced nine assists in 29 games with a poor minus-12.

Kaberle becomes the primary quarterback on the Canadiens’ power play with Andrei Markov expected to miss closer to nine weeks following this week’s surgery. The Canadiens’ power play has suffered with the absence of Markov, operating at only 11.4 percent which ranks 28th in the NHL. Without Markov the team desperately needed a left-handed shot to take his place at the point.

These Habs have struggled but are hoping they can get by with a little more offense. Adding Kaberle makes the team a bit more skilled but it could also add another liability to the lineup. Canadiens’ fans on Twitter already started the #FireGauthier hashtag which clearly summarizes their feelings on the deal.

Kaberle will need time to adjust to a new system. He may not have that time due to the impatience of the team’s faithful and panicked management.

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

On Saturday, Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty delivered a nasty blindside to the face, or notably the nose, of Pittsburgh Penguins d-man Kris Letang. The hit, which was one of the most discussed plays of the weekend, earned the top-line left wing a three-game suspension.

Before we move forward, here’s Brendan Shanahan to explain exactly why Max will sit out this entire calendar week.

Shanahan explains that Pacioretty delivered an illegal hit to the head of Letang. Despite the danger Letang put himself in by skating through the middle of the ice, Shanahan opines that no player should have their head become the principle contact of a hit. The onus was on Pacioretty to not make the hit to the head.

In addition, Pacioretty had the time to re-position himself in order to not hit Letang directly in the head. Shanahan would call his failure to make that adjustment ‘reckless’.

After the hit, Pacioretty sounded apologetic for his blunder. “I’m sorry for what happened and I’m glad he’s okay,” Pacioretty explained. Assorted members of the Penguins would comment on the hit but at the end of the day, they won. Despite Letang being day-to-day due to the hit, there is not as much ill will between the players as perhaps there was between the starting goalies.

They earned a hard-fought victory and the last thing they needed is more concussion talk or emphasis away from anything but winning games. Sidney Crosby wouldn’t really even go there. However, in Montreal the discussion carries on.

Pacioretty gets three games while Ryan Malone was not suspended for his hit which has kept Chris Campoli out of nearly every regular season game. That same argument could then be carried over to the infamous Zdeno Chara hit, which garnered no suspension under Colin Campbell even though it was not a head shot.

Putting aside our vitriol over blown calls, the bigger question is: Why wasn’t Pacioretty more careful?

He obviously knows how a hit of that stature can knock a hockey player out for significant periods of time and therefore his hit was beyond reckless, it was irresponsible. Jimmy Murphy of ESPN Boston, via Twitter, went so far as to call Pacioretty a hypocrite for making a hit he preached against for most of last season.

Hypocrite may be a bit too far in this case. The guy suffered an unfortunate injury which would not happen in 99 of 100 attempts. Furthermore, he said something remotely stupid wise age of 23. At 23, were you an all-knowing and diplomatic individual? Moreover, do you have a pressure-filled job in which your every move was scrutinized and examined? Probably not.

Remember, at the ripe age of 18 he likened himself to Jed Ortmeyer on live television (for those keeping score at home he already has more career goals than Ortmeyer).

Pacioretty is a professional athlete playing in arguably the capitol of professional hockey. And while he may be the savior of a fledgling offense and a shot machine, he’s far from perfect and still growing into himself as a player. Reckless, irresponsible even stupid, yes. Hypocrite he is not.

By Alexander Monaghan
President 

Tasteless but justified.

Approximately one hour before tonight’s home game against the Philadelphia Flyers, members of the Montreal Canadiens were informed assistant coach Perry Pearn was relieved of his duties. In charge of mostly special teams, Pearn’s influence over the club clearly failed as the Habs boasted a 9.4 percent PP efficiency rate – 29th in the League. However, the manner in which they relieved their coach was simply unbecoming of a first-class organization like the Habs.

If you were to read any main stream media outlet today in an attempt to gain some puck knowledge, you would have seen pundits debating whether coach Jacques Martin would get the ax. Currently sitting dead last in the Eastern Conference, with only one more point than the Columbus Blue Jackets, fans in Montreal deserve better. Nay, they demand it. With 24 Stanley Cups they hold the same expectation as the New York Yankees in baseball: making the playoffs is a prerequisite, contending for the Cup is simply expected.

Just three short seasons ago, Martin (with some help from Jaroslav Halak) guided a hard-working team to the Eastern Conference Finals, eventually falling to the Flyers. Fielding a roster with mostly free agents and the now-berated Scott Gomez, the bench boss was able to lead this team to elite play, far better than anyone outside the Province of Quebec expected. He did so by having his players wear a hard hat and his starting goalie stand on his head every game.

At least he still has the goaltending. Well, just not yet. Last season, Carey Price posted a beyond-impressive 2.04 GAA at 5×5 (taking special teams out of the equation) on his way to elite status as a starting goalie. His elite standing certainly qualifies him as a player who can elevate his team yet he simply has not been able to thus far. So far the British Columbia native sports a 2.55 GAA at 5×5 with only struggling starting goalies like Steve Mason, Roberto Luongo, Ondrej Pavelec and Craig Anderson looking worse. In summary, Price has not been himself and has not made Martin look good.

Furthermore, a regression in the team’s power play — a unit which accounted for 27 percent of the team’s total production — hurts. It hurt bad enough that it became the scapegoat but it is clearly not the team’s only issue. They play a tight, mistake-orientated system which emphasizes two-way play and accountability. Taking advantage of power play opportunities leads to more scoring and therefore a better opportunity to win.

However, all of these pieces need to fall into place in order to get the W. The losing started with a poor power play but with one stick hitting the ice, the rest comes into question. Should the team not begin winning, then team owner Geoff Molson should consider letting Martin go, or giving GM Pierre Gauthier the OK rater. If the team then doesn’t react, Gauthier’s reign likely comes to an end. Following two relatively successful seasons, a knee-jerk reaction of tearing down the entire system is perhaps hasty following eight games. Nevertheless, firing a respected member of the hockey community who has coached in the NHL over the last 15 seasons was a tasteless move for an otherwise classy organization.

By Alexander Monaghan
President

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Dear 2011 NHL Off-Season,

What the hell?

No, wait, wait. That came out wrong. Let me start over…

What the hell?!

You’ve been all over the place this summer. Granted, maybe we fans should have seen it coming, what with Brian Rafalski from the Detroit Red Wings retiring and the Philadelphia Flyers shipping off Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, then signing Ilya Bryzgalov for like $16 million/season (I mean, did they see how he played in the playoffs? Wait, I’m getting off-topic.); Teemu Selanne, however, is still taking his sweet time deciding what he’s doing, per normal, and it wouldn’t be a complete off-season without an esteemed veteran toying with everyone – just look at what Jaromir Jagr pulled, debating between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit, then both teams pulling out, then Philadelphia snagging him.

Let’s not forget about the Brad Richards debates. Oh. And then Chris Osgood, Kris Draper, and Adam Foote retired as well. I’m sure I’m missing some guys in there, too.

Do you even want me to bring up all the tragedies? What could hurt a community more? Three players passing away out of the blue and creating horrific headlines for the hockey community and disgusting revelations about the life of an enforcer in the NHL, and then we had that plane crash in Russia that killed an entire hockey team.

The hockey community was – and still is, for that matter – shaken to its core. Red Wings fans didn’t anticipate this off-season being so horrific, but with three veteran players bowing out and then Brad McCrimmon, Ruslan Salei, and former prospect Stefan Liv on that fated Russian plane…what could really make it any worse?

Okay, Off-season, maybe we can’t blame you entirely. Perhaps we should have seen you coming; after all, the post-season should have been some sort of indication. Each round was littered with sweeps, upsets, seven-game series, suspensions, fights, and several teams coming back from 3-0 deficits only to lose it in the seventh game.

Heck, even the regular season should have warned us! The New Jersey Devils tanking and Ilya Kovalchuk doing nothing for so long, the Toronto Maple Leafs actually being undefeated at the start of the season, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby both going down with lengthy injuries, the Washington Capitals having a terrible winless streak, those few weeks in the middle of the season with goalie fights, bench-clearing brawls, seven players in the box at the same time, and 157 penalty minutes just in one game, and who can forget Montreal Canadiens fans calling the cops on Zdeno Chara‘s hit on Max Pacioretty that makes us all cringe in pain just thinking about it?

So I guess it all really boils down to this:

Dear 2011-2012 NHL Regular season,

PLEASE DON’T SUCK.

Sincerely,

Hockey fans around the world.

PS – To the upcoming season – we know you’ll suck at some point for various reasons, so at least don’t give us as many heart attacks. Let us at least have our good health.

Christina Roberts
NHLHS Detroit Red Wings Correspondent
Twitter: @franzenmuth
Email: christina.roberts@nhlhotstove.com

By Jeff Quirin
NHLHS Associate Editor

Every season several players rise from the depths of obscurity in all its various forms. In this premier series of the X List I take a look at the top 10 players to come out of obscurity and forge their way into (back into in some cases) the NHL limelight. Here are numbers 7 and 8.

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Image via Scott Neer (TSNPhotography)

8. Matt D’Agostini – Forward – St. Louis Blues

In the “what have you done for my lately” paradigm that the NHL operates in these days many players are chewed up and spit out by the rigors of the world’s top league. Score at nearly a 20 goal pace as a rookie in a split season? So what. No growing pains allowed. Move out if spent out.

This was the life of Matt D’Agostini while with the Montreal Canadiens. After netting 12 goals in 53 games for the 2008-09 Habs he fell out of role and favor come 2009-10. Struggling to register two goals and four points in 40 appearances. As front offices often do they trade in for a new model hoping the seed they receive in return is not for a lemon tree.

As St. Louis Blues sent prospect winger Aaron Palushaj the other way, they weren’t really sure what to do with D’Agostini. He would finish out the remainder of the season as a healthy scratch. Dressing for only seven games between March 3rd and April 10th, 2010. Coming in to the subsequent training camp the Sault Ste. Marie native wasn’t sure where he would be playing. Peoria (the AHL), St. Louis or sent packing once again.

As things often do, they work out for those who put forth the effort. Vladimir Sobotka, acquired via trade at the 2010 draft, would miss the start of the season due to injury. D’Agostini used the preseason to demonstrate he could capably fill Sobotka fourth center role in the between time. A role he flourished in, as much as one can as a depth fodder. Once the injury bug took hold of the lineup Dags was given an opportunity to skate on the top line with power forward David Backes and shifty offensive do-it-all threat Andy McDonald. The three sparked with an instant chemistry that became the most consistent trio the Blues iced all season.

D’Agostini’s impressive numbers, 21 goals and 46 points in 82 games, matched with his minimalist salary, $550,000, propelled him to the top of the blue light special list. Now armed with a two year, $3.3 million dollar vote of confidence and the questionable future of David Perron, the sky is the limit for the quick footed sniper. He’s slated to return to the top line on the right of Backes along with McDonald and his 14 power play points will ensure he continues to see man advantage minutes. Positioning D’Agostini to skip over the breakout season hangover.

Image via Scott Neer (TSNPhotography)

7. Lars Eller – Forward – Montreal Canadiens

How can a former 13th overall selection who was traded for a playoff hero in arguably the most crazed hockey market in the world be “obscure”? Easy. Carey Price’s 2010-11 performance surpassed Jaroslav Halak’s 2009-10. PK Subban is the flashiest developing prospect in the league. A veteran club run by a veteran’s head coach buried Lars Eller on the 4th line. In aggregate effect, he is the low man on the totem pole.

Climbing up Jacques Martin’s depth chart will not be easy. Established scorers and impact players like Mike Cammalleri, Tomas Plekanec, Scott Gomez and captain Brian Gionta will likely get the benefit of the doubt when ice time is in question. The window to the top six closes even further when adding summer singing Eric Cole and the Habs 2003 1st round pick Andrei Kostitsyn.

But all isn’t lost so soon for the young forward from Denmark. That first round pick label props doors open, too.

Though Gomez carries the highest salary cap hit on the books, production has not been matching his paycheck. Last season he scored just seven goals and registered only 38 points in 80 games. In a system where defensive responsibility is at a premium Gomez is not maximized as his team worst Minus-15 rating shows. To carry a top two center workload a stronger performance is needed.

Eller’s two-way game potential is what lead him to his high draft ranking. Not only was he considered to be a highly skilled offensive playmaker, but also a solid defender who could take care of business in his own end. Although the game in Sweden, where Eller played junior hockey, differs from the North American version, defensive instincts do not change.

Another year of physical and mental maturity will lead to better execution, especially in his own end, which makes the coaches job of of determining playing time much more difficult. With winning in Montreal being a life or death affair every season the team cannot afford to reward Gomez’s regression simply because of his contract. If Eller performs up to his potential after fully settling in to his new surroundings the first step to stardom is in his reach.

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Thanks for reading. As always you are welcome to follow me on Twitter: @JTQ_1.

Where to begin…

I guess the best place to start is with my shock and dismay that the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHoF) has, for the second straight year, overlooked Pat Burns. The first year, not that it was excusable in any form, was somewhat understandable because of the huge emotional sentiment to vote him in. I could see not wanting to vote him in based on sentiment but instead on merit. His numbers more than speak for themselves, and I won’t go into those again as I’ve listed them many times in the past. I will however mention that he has as good or better numbers than some of the current members of the HHoF.

I also won’t get into too much debate over other worthy coaches that still haven’t been elected. Fred Shero comes to mind. If two Stanley Cups and essentially revolutionizing the way the game is coached isn’t enough to deserve election, what is? Shero was the first coach to effectively use game footage as a means of coaching, the first to use an assistant and one of the first to embrace systematic plays which are all staples in the modern NHL. Surely having that kind of impact on the game deserves recognition, doesn’t it?
This article; however is not to discuss the merits of other deserving coaches. It is to try and find some reasoning behind the Hall’s decision to not elect Burns…again. To do that, I think we need to go back to the beginning.

During his first year of eligibility, Burns was up against some formidable competition. Namely Shero and Mike Keenan, each deserving in their own right, but for different reasons. Shero for the ones mentioned above, Keenan for his 672 wins and one Jack Adams Award. How do you choose one and not the others? Or better put, who do you leave out, since the Hall can elect twomembers for the “Builders” Category? With Jimmy Devellano and Daryl Seaman having been elected as builders in the 2010 HHoF Class, who do you replace and with who? It’s a very tough selection process, as was witnessed by the inaugural 2010 NHLHS HoF Class, and look for the 2nd annual NHLHS HoF Class to be up soon. With Burns obviously being the sentimental vote last year, would it have been fair to Devellano, Seaman, Shero or Keenan? Taking sentiment out of the vote, Burns still has the numbers to deserve selection to the Hall.
Not wanting to be looked upon as succumbing to sentiment, as stated earlier, it’s understandable why Burns wasn’t elected in his first year of eligibility, while he was still alive and battling cancer, to somewhat attempt to enjoy his place in history. Would it have been a shot of adrenaline to his spirits? Yes. Would it have made a difference to a man who never needed the acceptance of others? No. Would it have shown the world that the voting members of the HHoF had a heart? Yes. In the end, does it mean that Burns won’t eventually get elected to the HHoF? No. If Burns’ health wasn’t as dire as it was, would there have been such an outrage that he wasn’t elected last year? That’s where it gets tough to answer and we will unfortunately never know the answer to that question.

Having gone through all the sadness and tears of not being elected and of his untimely passing last year, I will try not to dwell on it too much and instead look towards the 2011 HHoF Class and its snubbing of Burns…again.

With no one elected to the “Builders” category in the 2011 HHoF Class, it’s even harder to understand why Burns wasn’t chosen. Yes, Shero and Keenan are still eligible. And yes, both are also deserving of selection to the Hall. It is here that it gets tough to choose two of the three. Do you look at wins? In which case Keenan (672) and Burns (501) get the nod. Or do you look at Stanley Cups? Shero (two) and Burns (one) win this round though. Do you look at Jack Adams Awards? The 3 that Burns has puts him head and shoulders above both Keenan (one) and Shero (one) here. Or, do you look at impact to the game? Shero definitely gets the vote here, with arguments for both Burns and Keenan getting the second spot. Regardless of what stats you want to look at though, Burns should be in. As I stated in one of my previous Burns / HHoF articles, the “standard” for coaches has generally been accepted as 500 wins and a Stanley Cup. Of the two deserving coaches, only Burns meets both criteria. Throw in his three Jack Adams Awards, with three different teams, and it should be a lock.

So with those credentials, how are we 2 classes removed from his first year of eligibility and he’s still on the outside looking in?

With the Hall members not required to give any explanation or reasoning for how they vote, we will never be quite sure of this. All we can do is wait patiently for them to get it right and select Pat Burns to the Hockey Hall of Fame. My eyes, and those of many others I’m sure, will swell with tears of pride and joy when that day finally comes.