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 Alexander Monaghan
President 

By Matt Boulton from Vancouver, Canada

…but they really should.

Roberto Luongo will have 10 years left on his contract after this season with an annual cap hit of $5.33 million. The 32-year-0ld is just a season removed from being a Vezina Trophy finalist, but none of that matters now.

During last season’s Stanley Cup Finals, he looked spooked and at times couldn’t track the puck. Much like the Olympics — another platform he was highly scrutinized — Bobby Lu fought off the puck, leading his doubters to pile on the jeers. The veteran was slumping, and continued to slump in this season’s early going, while his backup. Cory Schneider, simply looked much better. Something needs to be done, and, in theory, the worse goalie needs to go.

That exact thought process is why Ek****-esque rumor monger Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Sun claims the Vancouver Canucks have dangled their longtime goaler. While we agree that it would be proper asset management to get rid of such an expensive player when Schneider can handle the job at a much cheaper rate, it would also be poor asset management to give away an elite player for close to nothing.

In his 11th season as a starting goalie, the Montreal native is on pace for his second-worst career GAA with a 2.90 not to mention he could post a sub-.900 save percentage for the first time in his NHL career. Nevertheless, he will not finish with those totals, or anything worse than those for that matter.

This season, Luongo was especially bad in October — a month in which he is typically awful. This October, he posted an atrocious 3.54 GAA and .869 SV%, but still only finished the month with an even 3-3-1 record. Keep in mind he kept this team in the game without Ryan Kesler, Mason Raymond, and an otherwise awake hockey team. If the Boston Bruins had a hangover, then the Canucks were on life support with an IV in their arm. They were as close to lifeless as you could get, which led to an all-time low by Luongo.

By Iwona Erskine-Kellie from Vancouver, Canada

Since then, however, Bobby Lu has been just fine. He lost only two starts in November — with a tidy 2.30/.924 — before getting hurt, and only allowed one goal over his last two starts. He’s allowed three goals only twice over his last seven starts which started once the dreaded ‘O’ month ended.

Right now, the Canucks are back in a familiar situation. They have one of the better goalies in the League and arguably the best backup. While it’s fun to speculate whether he will go to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Vincent Lecavalier or to the New Jersey Devils as the heir apparent to Martin Brodeur, it simply does not make sense for the ‘Nucks to trade away a core member of their team while they attempt to win the League’s highest prize.

Luongo is on the upswing and with a miraculous run could challenge yet again for the Vezina Trophy. However, he will need to overcome injury concerns that knocked him out for six games last month and most recently the team’s 6-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche. Such concerns could keep both Luongo and Schneider in Green and Blue for the foreseeable future in order to ensure the team has a top-notch netminder in their crease at all times.

So yes, expect these trade rumors to continue in vein. In fact, Garrioch hedged his statement  and later tried to explain that Schneider would indeed be on his way out of British Columbia. While that may be a situation that eventually plays out (likely not this season), this one-two combination is simply carrying this team back to the top of the standings.

The Canucks are a fully working being at this point and GM Mike Gillis would be foolish to do anything but add to the NHL team, not subtract. Even though the Sedin twins may be the brain and Kesler is the heart, stable goaltending is the backbone of this club, and without it they simply will not survive.

By Alexander Monaghan
President

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images North America

Apparently Anaheim Ducks left wing Bobby Ryan is on the trading block.

First reported by Sportnet’s Nick Kypreos, via Twitter, last night, there can’t be a single team that does not want a scoring winger of his pedigree — if it was not for Sidney Crosby, Ryan would have been the first overall pick in 2005. The Cherry Hill, New Jersey native has been incredibly disappointing through 23 games, scoring only seven goals and 11 points. Those totals project for 25 goals and 39 points, which would be the lowest totals of his young career and would guarantee the Ducks on the outside of the playoff picture.

Yesterday, Ryan was moved to offensive mecca known as the third line where he will flank 1-career goal scorer Ben Maxwell and an over-the-hill Niklas Hagman. Head coach Randy Carlyle phrased the move as an attempt to stimulate offense from the bottom lines. Considering the currently configured bottom lines have combined for all of three goals, it makes sense. Yet it makes you wonder, why only Ryan? Why was he the only player shifted around when the second line stays completely in tact and Ryan Getzlaf remains glued to Corey Perry.

The reason is simple: Ryan needs a wake-up call. He’s a stalled engine in need of a boost and this line change was supposed to fix that. Furthermore, trade rumors will do even more to get his motor running.

As a good teammate you will hear him go on about his new linemates, citing Hagman’s deceptive shot and Maxwell’s underrated playmaking ability but you have to think not playing with the now ‘Big-2′ is eating him up. As Eric Stephens of The OC Register Ducks Blog noted, Ryan “put on his best face” while giving his opinion on the switch. He can’t be happy with his play, his situation or the standing of the entire team.

So what is GM Bob Murray to do with his struggling winger? Is he supposed to package him for some much-needed offensive and defensive depth? Well, Bob, that would be ill-advised.

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images North America

While every team will want to enter the Bobby Ryan Sweepstakes, they will have to overpay the Ducks in order for Murray to get good value for him. Look no farther than what the Atlanta Thrashers got for Ilya Kovalchuk — a depth defenseman, KHL forward, checking-line prospect and a late first rounder. You could argue that many of those pieces were unproven. Then the Dion Phaneuf megadeal is more to your liking, which translates to an overpaid fourth liner, a waiver-wire quality winger, checking-line forward and a serviceable offensive defenseman.

Simply put, you rarely get what you need for a superstar. While the two offseason blockbusters in Philadelphia seem to be doing relatively well, the Flyers were able to trade their two young studs at a time where teams are retooling and exploring other options– their individual values were at their peak, not the valley that Ryan currently resides in. There are probably only a handful of teams willing to retool on-the-fly despite the high-potential they could add.

Nevertheless, we’ve seen some solid proposals bandied about. Jeremy Gover of Cell Block 303 took a stab at Ryan’s value recently in a proposal that likely still does not suit the Ducks’ needs in full.

According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the team is looking for a second line center, top four defender, a top prospect and a draft pick. Their projected cap space is just over $3.6 million which would, in theory, allow them to take on some salary if they weren’t already at their budget. Elliotte Friedman notes in his 30 Thoughts that they are indeed ‘stretched to the limit‘.

Refining that original proposal, the team is looking for something like Colin Wilson, Ryan Ellis, Kevin Klein and a first rounder. While that would satisfy Murray’s asking price and add some depth to the club, it would also deplete the team’s top-level skill without really replacing Ryan. Not to mention, the Preds would be trading three NHL bodies for one that may or may not work out in their sweater.

Such is the case for most NHL teams who likely wouldn’t risk most of their depth and some young, valuable assets for a player who seems lost right now.

The New York Rangers are another team that is kicking the tires on Ryan, as first reported by Larry Brooks of the NY Post, via Twitter. Brooksie would later hedge his statement and describe the talks as preliminary with Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh declared untouchable. From there, that leaves Brandon Dubinsky and a list of b-level prospects that likely don’t seal the deal. Not to mention, Ryan and Dubinsky aren’t struggling that much to necessitate a change of scenery, hockey trade.

We could list off another 27 teams who fit the same bill, the perfect deal simply is not out there. Do the Ducks take worse than his market value or just try to gut through it?

Kent Wilson of Puck Prospectus did an entire article on Bobby Ryan’s value with and without Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry determining that Ryan’s numbers are better because of the duo and they are better because of him. In addition, Carlyle tended to play Ryan more in the offensive zone to help his chances of succeeding. This analysis was done last season, when the Big 3 was working on all cylinders. In the fourth year of their tenure, they simply are not working.

These things happen. Big lines work and then they don’t. Ask Dany Heatley on the CASH line; ask Heatley on the Burger Line. The hottest line one year is figured out the next. By my count, these guys have had three excellent seasons together which forced Murray to commit just under a quarter of his salary cap to three players.

What happens when the three aren’t producing? You split them up, via line change or via trade. That trade simply does not look like it’s there making the rumors and shuffling motivation for the rest of the team to improve. If they can’t they have two options: rebuild or retool like the Tampa Bay Lightning did under GM Steve Yzerman — a task much easier said than done.

Two NHL sources, including RDS’ Renaud Lavoie, are reporting that Columbus Blue Jackets’ center Jeff Carter has demanded a trade. Nevertheless, Carter’s agent Rick Curran has denied the rumors.

Carter arrived in Columbus over the summer in a blockbuster deal with the Philadelphia Flyers which landed the rights to Jakub Voracek and the eighth pick in the 2011 draft (Sean Couturier) in Philadelphia. The Blue Jackets have been seeking a center to play with superstar right wing Rick Nash ever since they drafted Nash. Carter was a curious choice because he typically prefers to shoot first, and he has never been known as an adept passer.

Through seven games with the Blue Jackets, Carter registered only three assists in seven games. He missed seven games earlier this season with a broken foot. In addition he also missed time in the 2010 and 2011 playoffs due to a broken foot, so he is developing a reputation for being “injury prone.”

By comparison, Voracek has three goals and nine assists in 17 games, and Couturier has five goals and three assists in 17 games. Voracek has been improving of late, and he has earned time on the point on the Flyers’ top power play unit. Couturier has quickly developed into one of the best young penalty killers in the game. The defensively responsible center is leading the Flyers with a plus-7 rating

The Blue Jackets own the NHL’s worst record at 3-13-1. Their goal differential is immense as they’ve scored 38 goals (only the Islanders, who have played two less games, have scored less) and have allowed 64 goals (only Carolina, 67 in 19 games, and Ottawa, 66 in 19 games, have allowed more).

In fairness, Carter has not had adequate time to develop chemistry with Nash; his contract may prove difficult to move as it runs through the spring of 2022 at an average annual value of just over $5.2 million.

Blue Jackets’ General Manager Scott Howson, head coach Scott Arniel, and captain Rick Nash convinced Carter to come to Columbus (they came to his house at the Jersey shore to coax him into going to Columbus with them). Now, they may have to put another sales job on their downtrodden center.

Assuming that the conclusion of meetings with Carter and Curran is irreconcilable differences the most likely trading partners would be teams with ample cap space (or an expensive star to flip) and a need to sell a young star to their fanbase. Rumors have linked the Toronto Maple Leafs to Carter for several years. In order to complete a trade for Carter, the Leafs would need to relinquish about $4 million cap space.

Other potential options may include Colorado (over $15 million in available cap space and a young nucleus for growth), Long Island (Islanders have over $14 million in available cap space and a need to sell a young team to their fans while trying to build a new arena), and Ottawa, which would put Carter closer to his home (London, Ontario).

Perhaps Carter made his request out of frustration, and he will relent in the upcoming days. The rumors may not be even true. If he is adamant in his wish, however; then the Blue Jackets will have to deal with yet another crisis in a season which may already be lost.

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 George E. Norkus

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a problem between the pipes. And unless management is willing to make a move to bolster their goaltending in the short-term, the Leafs’ fast start could soon become a distant memory.

It’s been 19 days since James Reimer was elbowed in the head by Montreal’s Brian Gionta, an injury originally classified as “whiplash”, which forced the Leafs #1 netminder to the sidelines. Now, almost three weeks later, Reimer (4-0-1, 2.58, .912) is still not close to returning to the nets, reduced to off-ice workouts after suffering setbacks in his rehab, his injury re-classified as “upper body”, or in other words, a concussion.

Reimer, who signed a 3-year deal in the offseason with Toronto, was undoubtedly the key to the Leafs early season success, keeping them in games with big saves and his overall steady play. His replacements during his absence – Jonas Gustavsson (4-4-0, 3.78, .878) and rookie Ben Scrivens (1-1-0, 4.05, .867) – clearly do not appear up to the task. And if Tuesday night’s 5-1 loss at the hands of the Florida Panthers at the ACC was any indication, Head Coach Ron Wilson has run out of options in his attempt to fill the void left from Reimer’s injury.

Gustavsson, now in his third (and apparently final) year with the Leafs, has been terribly inconsistent in goal this season, if not downright terrible. It now appears “The Monster” has fully lost the confidence of Wilson, who unceremoniously yanked the 27-year-old after he allowed two bad goals in 0:19 seconds during the 2nd period vs. Florida to put the game out of reach. This decision was on the heels of Wilson electing to go with the untested Scrivens in back-to-back starts last week, a surprising move that left Gustavsson alienated on the bench and Wilson with egg on his face, after Scrivens, who granted was lights out in a 38-save effort at Columbus in his victorious NHL debut last Thursday, came crashing down to earth in a 7-0 loss against the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins Saturday night. He followed up that performance by allowing two bad goals in mop-up duty against the Panthers.

The urgency of the situation is highlighted by the tremendous pressure on Wilson and GM Brian Burke to win now. For Wilson, he’s coaching for a contract, his future fortunes in Toronto hinging on the team’s ability to continue to make solid strides and build on their hot start, after failing to make the playoffs in each of his three previous seasons behind the Leafs bench. Burke is equally invested in the dire need for team success in 2011-12, as upper management along with the Stanley Cup-starved fan base won’t tolerate any more losing seasons.

With Reimer’s status uncertain, and his return in the foreseeable future in doubt, Burke may need to pull the trigger on a deal to shore up the Leafs goaltending right now. One name that’s being thrown out there is New York Islanders’ Evgeni Nabokov, who would be reunited with Wilson from their time together in San Jose. Nabokov (1-3-0, 2.81, .911), who’s in desperate need of a change of scenery, could undoubtedly step in and be the #1 in the short-term, with the added bonus of creating a solid duo in net for Toronto upon Reimer’s return.

Another name being mentioned is Florida’s Scott Clemmensen, who’s just returned to the Sunshine State after coming off of knee surgery. Clemmensen is expendable, following rookie Jacob Markstrom‘s impressive performance with the Panthers this season, prior to him being sent down to San Antonio (AHL) to make room for Clemmensen. The 34-year-old career backup would be making his second go-round with Toronto, after playing 3 games in a Leafs uniform in 2007-08. But the truth is, Clemenssen’s only ever had one solid season in the NHL (he won 25 games in 39 starts for New Jersey in 2008-09), so he’s a bit of a risk for Burke, even though he likely wouldn’t cost the team much more than a 5th or 6th round pick.

And don’t forget, Marty Turco‘s out there looking for work too.

What do you think the Leafs should do to solve their goaltending woes? Ride it out with their current guys, or hit the trade market and go after someone?

Follow Dan following the Leafs all season long on Twitter @Dan_Berlin

By Alexander Monaghan
President

Photo Credit: Jay LaPrete / Associated Press

Coach Scott Arniel is a well respected member of the hockey community. A veteran of 730 NHL games, the Kingston, Ont. native made the leap from player to coach relatively smoothly. He braved the ranks as an IHL player/coach, NHL assistant coach, AHL head coach and finally NHL head coach over the span of 15 years. Arniel makes for a great story when succeeding — like he did when he won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the top coach in the AHL.

Sadly, he has not worked out with the Columbus Blue Jackets. After taking over for Claude Noel at the beginning of the 2010-2011 season, Arniel led his team to a 34-35-13 record which placed the team last in the Central Division — a feat they have surprisingly only achieved four times over their team history but twice in the last two years en route to a third straight last-place finish. In short, the state of their team is in shambles just three seasons removed from their first playoff birth.

Their struggles have led to much speculation that President Mike Priest would replace both GM Scott Howson and Arniel. In fact, just weeks ago Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch reported the team would bring in Ken Hitchcock and Craig Button. Well, those changes still have not been made but the Blue Jackets continue their free fall as they sit dead last in the standings with only five points earned over 14 games.

Perhaps Arniel gets a chance to see what happens once Jeff Carter, Kristian Huselius, Mark Dekanich, Jared Boll and Radek Martinek all return. However, we don’t feel the bench boss will be given all that time. Let’s take a look at the candidates to take his job for the remainder of the season.

1. Todd Richards

Richards has experience as a head coach in the NHL, manning the Minnesota Wild for two seasons. He led his team to a solid but unspectacular 77-71-16 record even though the team failed to make the playoffs in both years. As a former assistant coach of the San Jose Sharks organization he knows how to handle talented players like Carter and captain Rick Nash. More importantly he would know the Western Conference very well. If the team is looking for a guy to keep them respectable for the rest of the season, selecting Richards would be a decent choice.

2. Dan Hinote

Hinote may be raw as he joined the team’s coaching staff in July 2010 but he would certainly make for a player’s coach. Howson brought him on following a successful playing career which included a Stanley Cup ring as an energy player. Although never the superstar on any of his many stops, the US-born forward coach bring a strong work ethic along with some much needed team discipline. Considering the club is still very young — their average age is 26 which includes 32-year-old injured goalie Curtis Sanford — a fresh look could go a long way.

3. Rob Riley

Typically when a hockey club fires a coach, they look for internal options. While Hinote and Richards may be solid options, the organization may think outside the box and select their minor league head coach Riley. A former scout in the organization, Riley is certainly familiar with the stable of young players on the team. Even though the Springfield Falcons failed to make the AHL playoffs last season — his first year as head coach — he has their current roster playing .500 hockey. More importantly, he would add a face the team currently does not see on an every day basis and promote a worthy internal option.

4. Marc Crawford

From internal to external, Crawford represents one of the more out-of-the-box options. A win-now oriented coach, the Belleville, Ontario native most recently coached for the Dallas Stars, failing to make the playoffs in either of his two seasons there. Before that he did the same over two seasons with the Los Angeles Kings. Nevertheless, he could work simply because this Blue Jackets team can probably win now and this coach has won with less. He motivated the Stars to be much better than their record last season, pushing them into their current direction. He may be able to do the same in Columbus if he gets bored of his cushy office job.

5. Davis Payne

As mentioned much earlier in the article, the team was rumored to be looking at Hitchcock. Well why not go after the guy he replaced? Payne would be motivated to go after the team that just spurned them and got solid efforts from veterans like Alex Steen, Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner as well as most of the blue line. If he could substitute those players in his system for Carter, Nash and Vinny Prospal while helping their depleted defensive corps, there could be some more notches in the win column. Also, it could be a way to stick it to Doug Armstrong, who supposedly stole Hitchcock at the 11th hour.

–

While we hate discussing a person getting the ax, these topics are the nature of the current media landscape. In these troubling economic times we can only hope nobody loses their job as unemployment rates skyrocket to the estimated 9 percent in the US. Regardless, should Arniel and Howson not be able to turn this season around, they likely both could be headed for analyst jobs or ‘advisory positions’ within the organization.

All the onus should not be solely on Arniel as Howson has assembled two of the worst teams in team history. Their expansion years were sadly more acclaimed simply because everyone expected much less from them. In fact, if you subtract a miraculous rookie season by Steve Mason, Ohio’s favorite hockey team could be looking at no playoff berths over their 11 year existence.

Speaking of Mason, a good deal of their problems could be blamed on him as well. The great Greg Wyshynski, via Twitter, explained that Mason allowed a goal in the first 1:38 twice this season in only 13 starts! Last year he allowed a goal in the first 2:11 of the first two games as well, helping them get off to awful starts in the early going.

This team is broken and needs some fixing. The first likely solution will be Arniel’s firing as they try to give this team some possible life. Trading for pivot Mark Letestu was a decent hockey move but the team will need a bit more help to get back to respectability.

By Alexander Monaghan
President

By Resolute (Own work)

The New York Rangers certainly bolstered their blue line today, agreeing to terms with unrestricted free agent Anton Stralman. After not receiving a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Stralman hit the market as a UFA. He then failed to sign with the New Jersey Devils following their preseason, returning home to Sweden while he mulled over options. Although talks remained open between the two sides, Stralman ultimately decided on the Rangers due to their need on the blue line.

Injuries to Marc Staal and previously Michael Sauer severely hurt the team’s depth, forcing them to claim Jeff Woywitka and dress minor leaguer Brendan Bell; their next option was Stu Bickell. Due to their relatively inexperienced blue line, coach John Tortorella ultimately decided to play Wotwitka in favor of rookie Tim Erixon, leaving their NHL-capable depth somewhat barren. This signing helps the team rotate defensemen as Steve Eminger, Woywitka and Stralman figure to play on the third defensive pairing.

In addition, Stralman could help the team offensively as he has shown promise on the power play with the Blue Jackets. The Rangers have displayed a better power play than in year’s past but continue to mix around their point men. With Michael Del Zotto and Brad Richards mostly playing on the top unit, look for Stralman to spell second power play unit with either Dan Girardi, Sauer or Ryan McDonagh.

Most importantly, he’s Swedish — so we like him. Considering the team had no other Swedish players following the demotion of Erixon, it should be nice for Henrik Lundqvist to scream in his native tongue every once in a while. See below the team’s official press release.

New York, November 5, 2011 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with free agent defenseman Anton Stralman.

Stralman, 25, has skated in 212 career NHL contests over four seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets, registering 11 goals and 63 assists for 74 points, along with 97 penalty minutes.  He enjoyed his most productive season in 2009-10 with Columbus, establishing career-highs in games played (73), goals (six), assists (28), points (34), power play goals (four), power play assists (18), power play points (22), shots on goal (121) and penalty minutes (37).  He led all Columbus defensemen in points, assists, power play goals, power play assists and power play points, and tied for second among team defensemen in goals that season.  He also led the team in power play assists, tied for second in power play points and fifth in power play goals.  Stralman posted a career-high, four-game point streak from January 16, 2010 vs. Chicago to January 21, 2010 at Boston, tallying five assists over the span.  He also registered a career-high, six multi-point performances.

Last season, Stralman registered one goal and 17 assists for 18 points, along with 22 penalty minutes in 51 games with Columbus.  He tallied a career-high, three points (three assists) on April 1 vs. Chicago.  The 5-11, 193-pounder made his NHL debut on October 23, 2007 vs. Atlanta, and recorded three goals and six assists in 50 games as a rookie with Toronto in 2007-08.  Stralman registered his first career NHL point with an assist on January 10, 2008 at Los Angeles, and notched his first career NHL goal on March 21, 2008 at Buffalo.

The Tibro, Sweden native was originally selected as Toronto’s seventh round choice, 216th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

By Patrick Powell

Through Wednesday night’s action, every NHL team save the New York Islanders has reached double digits in games played for the 2011-2012 campaign. Every team is beginning to develop an identity, and General Managers are watching closely to determine whether it may be time for a trade.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the early stages of the season is the young Edmonton Oilers. 2011 first overall draft pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 18, has taken a firm hold of the club’s first line center position through eleven games. Nuge, as he is known, recently earned NHL Rookie of the Month honors for his stellar play in October (five goals and 11 points) while playing with fellow youngsters Taylor Hall, 19, and Jordan Eberle, 21. The entry-level contracts of Hall and Eberle will expire after the 2013 season. Currently, the Oilers have approximately $3.5 million in available cap space (per CapGeek).

Despite being in first place in the Northwest Division, the Oilers are getting paltry contributions from forwards other than the young first liners and 35-year-old perennial fan favorite, Ryan Smyth (five goals, 10 points). Oft-injured Ales Hemsky has dressed for only two games thus far, but he may be available sometime during the Oilers’ current road trip. Hemsky is a dazzling player when healthy, but his $4.1 cap hit through next season may render him expendable this season. Team captain Shawn Horcoff has done well in the faceoff circle, and lead the team’s penalty killing efforts (Oilers rank fifth in the NHL entering Thursday’s action). Horcoff is an interesting story because despite his effectiveness in the faceoff circles and in the dressing room, he carries a humongous $5.5 million cap hit. His contract runs through the spring of 2015, so given that the top trio will probably be in the market for substantial raises, the Oilers may have to make some tough decisions over the next couple of years.

The Oilers have allowed an NHL-low 18 goals through Thursday’s games. A big reason for Edmonton’s early success is the play of goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, who leads the NHL with a 1.12 goals-against average.

Despite their limited number of offensive threats, the Oilers seem to believe that they will get a boost from Hemsky, and that Ryan Jones will begin to emerge as a threat on the third line. Given that Edmonton’s most coveted trading chips are young forwards Sam Gagner and Linus Omark (who was demoted to the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons on Wednesday), rumors have swirled that the Oilers are talking to teams such as the Blue Jackets and Rangers about a blueliner.

Speculation from league sources is that the Oilers are eyeing Marc Methot ($3 million cap hit) of the Blue Jackets and Ryan McDonagh ($1.3 million cap hit) or Daniel Girardi ($3.325 million cap hit) of the Rangers. Mathematically speaking, a straight up trade involving Sam Gagner ($2.275 million) and any one of the aforementioned players would keep the Oilers under the cap.
The Oilers may be wise to acquire a young blueliner in exchange for an extraneous forward.  

Given GM Steve Tambellini’s tricky cap situation in the next couple seasons, he needs to be careful to avoid creating further difficulties in re-signing Hall, Eberle, and Nugent-Hopkins when their entry-level deals expire.

Patrick Powell
Salary Cap Analyst 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File: David_Booth.jpg

In analyzing this deal , the proverbial “elephant in the room” is the disparity in age and potential upside of the players involved. Booth is 26, Reinprecht is 35, Samuelsson is 34, and Sturm is 33. The latter two seem on the downsides of their respective careers whereas Reinprecht, who has probably peaked as well, will remain dead weight in the AHL. Booth clearly has the highest potential of any player in the deal, but he arguably also carries the greatest health risk due to his 54 game campaign in 2009-2010 after suffering multiple concussions.

Reinprecht had been playing in the AHL, and recently reported to Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. As a result, his full season cap hit of $2.05 million will not adversely affect the Canucks, who are now within $87,000 of the cap. Booth carries a full year cap hit of $4.25 million versus $2.5 million for Samuelsson and $2.25 million for Sturm.

The Panthers still have over $9 million in salary cap space, and they now have the maximum of 23 players on their active roster. GM Dale Tallon added experience to a young roster with this move but moreover cleared future cap space. He was not afraid to make a move that sends away potential in return for flexibility, which begs the question: Will we see more deals like this?

Booth is currently signed through 2015 as he previously committed himself to the Panthers just one season before Tallon took over the team. He was traded before his production severely dropped off, which makes the deal somewhat unique. A similar deal in length, like Shawn Horcoff‘s pact with the Edmonton Oilers, certainly would not relate since the pivot lost most of his trade value when he signed his new deal. The same should be said for Scott Gomez, whose contract extends through 2014 but is already the most discussed topic in Montreal.

A similar deal to the Booth trade could be the Calgary Flames moving players like Curtis Glencross, Rene Bourque or less likely Olli Jokinen, David Moss and Niklas Hagman. GM Jay Feaster would be willing to sacrifice potential (let’s face it outside of Roman Horak, Mikael Backlund and T.J. Brodie there are no young options) for added salary flexibility for the future. Building around their younger players looks like the right way to go as the front office in Calgary finally understands cap efficiency.

Another interesting option is left wing Blake Comeau, who may have permanently found coach Jack Capuano’s doghouse. The former 47th overall pick scored more than Booth last season and as Chris Botta of The New York Times hinted, via Twitter, Comeau’s value is severely decreasing with decreased playing time. This scenario may perfectly mirror that of Booth’s as Comeau could help a contender in need of secondary scoring while preventing GM Garth Snow from investing further resources on a depreciating asset down the line.

The next option for another blockbuster could involve the currently held out Kyle Turris. We know he wants to be traded and GM Don Maloney may be forced to trade him at below his market value in order to get some usable assets for him this season. Furthermore, his subtraction would clear salary cap space for the future as the team would not have to pay him in excess of $4 million this year and likely more down the road — especially when considering his unproven talents.

Then again, the Panthers and Canucks could hook up once more. In fact, one would be foolish to rule out Mikael Samuelsson getting sent back to Vancouver once healthy as he did work in coach Alain Vigneault‘s system. Of course, this trade would not be the second, or the third even between these teams in recent years.

This deal marks the second blockbuster involving these clubs but fourth transaction in recent memory. In 2006, the Canucks acquired starting goalie Roberto Luongo, defenseman Lukas Krajicek, and sixth round draft choice (Canucks drafted Sergei Shirokov) in exchange for forward Todd Bertuzzi, goaltender Alex Auld, and defenseman Bryan Allen. Other players like Keith Ballard, Michael Grabner and Christopher Higgins have also switched jerseys over the last couple of seasons.

As Bill pointed out in his piece, Tallon sought to send a message to his young Panthers’ club with this move: you need to perform to stay. Will this message reverberate to other teams in the league? For example, the Blue Jackets (0-7-1) Sharks (3-3-0), Flames (2-4-1), Canadiens (1-4-2), and Bruins (3-5-0) have all performed below expectations in the early going. Players with these teams, particularly those earning over $4 million per season, may feel the heat from Tallon’s move. Perhaps GMs from these teams will ensure to cite David Booth as an example to demonstrate that subpar efforts will not be tolerated, and that no player is safe.

Alexander Monaghan also contributed to this article.