After clinching a playoff spot with a win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Nashville Predators had to wait until the final day of the NHL season to discover their opponent in the first round.  AFter a loss from the Chicago Blackhawks Sunday afternoon, it was determined – the Nashville Predators will face off against the Anaheim Ducks starting on Wednesday night in the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

Nashville won the season series against Anaheim 3-1, while outscoring them 17-11 during those 4 games.

Why Nashville can win: Nashville’s top defensive pairing of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter finished the season at a combined +27. Pekka Rinne finished the season with a 3-0 record against the Ducks, as well as second in the NHL in Save Percentage at .930% and third in Goals Against Average at 2.12. For Anaheim, it looks like former Predator Dan Ellis will get the start in net due to Jonas Hiller still recovering from vertigo, and Ray Emery suffering from a lower body injury and is listed as questionable.

Why Nashville can lose: Anaheim enters the playoffs with a power play that ended the season third in the NHL at 23.5%, while Nashville enters the playoffs with a penalty kill that ended the season fifth in the NHL at 84.9%. It’s going to be a battle to see which team’s special team can conquer the others. The top defensive pairing for the Preds will have their hands full against a line that boasts the winner of the Rocket Richard trophy in Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan. The top line in the NHL combined for a total of 103 goals.

Why Anaheim can win: It’s no question that the Anaheim Ducks boast the best line in hockey with Perry, Ryan and Getzlaf. They bring every aspect to the table that you look for in a line, power, speed and the ability to score the big goal. Not a lot of teams can match the tempo that these guys bring, which makes them tough to play against. Then they send out a line featuring two of the better veterans in the NHL in Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu. Selanne had another great year and will have to continue his success to help out the top line.

Why Anaheim can lose: With a young defensive core, led by Cam Fowler and Lubomir Visnovsky, who put up 50 assists for 68 points very quietly this year, the Ducks will have to play strong defence in front of their revolving door of net minders. Nashville is set in goal with Rinne and the Ducks will have Ellis starting the series. Ellis is not exactly someone that exudes confidence in the team in front of him, so if Ellis fails, it’s likely the Ducks will fail with him. The Ducks chances would be a lot better to move on if they had the likes of Hiller or Emery in net.

Tyler Davis
NHLHS Nashville Predators Correspondent
Email: davis.tylerb@gmail.com
Twitter: @Trebek14

Brandon Macdonald
NHLHS Editor-in-chief
bmacdonald@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter @bMacdonald8

The situation still looks shaky for the Los Angeles Kings as they attempt to head into the playoffs on a high-point. While the Kings clenched a playoff spot with their last win against Phoenix, it is still unknown at which seed they will enter into the playoffs at. Tonight’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks did not help. What this loss did do was help the Ducks clench a playoff spot of their own. This game also showed that even at 40 years old, Teemu Selanne still has that “Finnish Flash” to his game.

The Kings and Ducks played game one of a back-to-back home finale, playing on both team’s Fan Appreciation Day. Starting out strong, the Kings seemed to dominate the first period and played their style and tempo of hockey. The Ducks found themselves hard-pressed to quickly enter the offensive zone and get quality shots at Kings Goaltender Jonathan Quick.

Ryan Smyth would put the Kings on the scoreboard first when he jumped on a rebound given up by Ducks Goaltender Dan Ellis. Kings Captain Dustin Brown took the initial shot which was blocked by Ellis, but it was Smyth who would capitalize when Ellis got tangled up with his own defenseman, Sheldon Brookbank.

Coming into the second period, the Kings still played a decently defensive game but Selanne found his first goal of the night off a rebound from Quick. Selanne was left alone as the defense and Quick attempted to stop Luca Sbisa’s previous attempt, but the rebound would find its’ way to a waiting Selanne.

Selanne would get the second goal in the third thanks to teammate Saku Koivu. While losing his balance and falling to the ice, Koivu connected a perfect pass to Selanne, who beat a sprawling Quick to the glove side. This made for Selanne’s 31^st goal of the season and 637^th of his career, giving him 80 points in 72 games. Selanne will also now be one of three players in NHL history to play an entire season at age 40 or older with more points than games played.

Sadly, the lack of offense was the Kings’ downfall. While they did a great job at shutting down the Ducks’ top line of Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan, and Corey Perry, the Kings were unable to generate much offense of their own.

The Kings will get a chance for redemption Saturday night in a rematch that will serve as the final game in the Freeway Faceoff series and the Kings’ final home game.

Chris Van Deusen
NHLHS Los Angeles Kings Correspondent
Twitter: @TheCrazyWhls

Trade Deadline less then 24 hours away and for the San Jose Sharks, it spells their last chance to acquire another stable goalie to back up Antti Niemi. Why are they in the hunt for a goalie? At some point, the Sharks are going to want to give Niemi a rest, but with Antero Niittymaki out indefinitely with a lower body injury and Worcester Sharks goalie, Alex Stalock done for the season, San Jose has Worcester backup Carter Hutton filling in. Hutton who has never played in an NHL game before will be eligible for free agency after this season as well.

So let’s take a look at who is currently sitting on waivers:

Ty Conklin (7-6-3)

Even with Jaroslav Halak, who’s been out since February 17th with a hand injury, the Blues still went ahead and put Conklin on waivers. So why was Conklin put on waivers when he is only making $1.4 million this season, and slated to become a UFA on July 1st? Halak, who is making $2.75 million, is signed through 2013/14 and became eligible to return to the ice on the 22nd, but it currently listed as day to day. They’ve also got Ben Bishop on the roster. Bishop makes $850,000 this season and is set to be a RFA. They’ll be definitely looking to resign the young goal tender.

Why he would be good for San Jose – Conklin backstopped both Pittsburgh and Detroit to the Stanley Cup Finals in back to back seasons albeit failing to actually win the Cup. Playing along side current Stanley Cup Champion, Niemi, you have nearly 48 combined games of playoff experience for the past three seasons.

Why he wouldn’t be good for San Jose - Having played for six different teams over ten seasons. Raises some eyebrows, yes?

Curtis McElhinney (6-9-1)

Traded by the Anaheim Ducks to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Dan Ellis on Thursday, placed on waivers on Saturday. This I don’t understand, McElhinney makes $570K, where as Dwayne Roloson and Mike Smith make a combined $5.4 million. All are scheduled to become UFA’s, and out of the three, McElhinney would be the least likely to jump in salary much.

Why he would be good for San Jose - He’s still a pretty young goalie at 27 years old with a career 3.21 GAA and .895 SV%

Why he wouldn’t be good for San Jose – See above. With stats like that, you’re better off having a rookie goalie in net.

Pascal Leclaire (4-7-1)

The Senators seem to be on the right track with this move, getting rid of their highest paid goal tender. Leclaire makes $4.8 million and is set to be a UFA. He’d ask for a increase in salary, but with the salary increase of Milan Michalek and the salaries of Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson, they might have to make moves. On February 18th, they traded for Craig Anderson and he posted a 47 save shutout in his first start. Backing up Anderson is Robin Lehner who makes $900K through 2012/13.  Anderson, a UFA as well at the end of the season, won’t get much of a increase if the Sens don’t make the playoffs.

Why he would be good for San Jose – 173 games played over 7 seasons, 61 wins, 10 shutouts. Career 2.89 GAA with .904 SV%. It’s almost like finding the perfect goalie.

Why he wouldn’t be good for San Jose – His salary. Plain and simple. San Jose just doesn’t have the space to pick him up.

—

Sure there are plenty of other and more suitable goalies out there that San Jose could look at. Take Tomas Vokoun for example. The Florida Panthers are in a rebuilding stage, and Vokoun is their highest paid player taking up $6.3 million dollars of their cap. He’ll be a UFA come July 1st and the Panthers might be looking to move him to clear space.  That moves also forces Florida to fend for another goalie themselves. Downside to trading for Vokoun? San Jose would have to clear major space to take on that contract. That means sending at least two roster players to Florida or making separate trades to accommodate.

For that price, San Jose, I say don’t do it. Pluck a man off waivers and sign him for cheap. Please and Thank You.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had been presented with another test Friday night and against a team that was riding an eight game winning streak with the resurgent Devils in town attempting to keep their playoff hopes alive. Throughout the first period the Lightning and Devils both were able to generate scoring chances, but neither would be able to capitalize as the applied pressure from the defenses and some stellar play from the goaltenders.
After a scoreless first period the Lightning were able to jump ahead by two early in the second. Martin St.Louis and Simon Gagne’s goals that beat Johan Hedberg were developed quite similarly, right after an offensive zone face-off win.
Hedberg came into this game with a 0.33GAA, .984SV% in his last three games played. Though, he had two goals against in this one, he had made some superb saves to keep his club in the game. He finished the night stopping 28 of 30 shots faced and recorded a loss for the first time in 4 games.
New Jersey got within one after getting a goal from Mark Fayne from the point. His goal assisted by Ilya Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac. Devils were only able to get 20 shots on net and Dwayne Roloson knew that even though the shot total was down, he needed to be stellar to hold off a Devils rally as he did to earn his win as a member of the Bolts.
The Tampa Bay Lightning finished their 12-game home stand 7-3-2 and increased their Southeast Division lead to 5 points ahead of the Washington Capitals.
After trading G-Dan Ellis to the Anaheim Ducks for G-Curtis McElhinney on Thursday, the Lightning put Mike Smith on re-entry waiver, and cleared. He was then recalled from Norfolk(AHL) and was available as the backup to Roloson. In regards to what this trade does; this provides General Manager, Steve Yzerman with some flexibility in his cap space for Monday’s trade deadline at 3PM EST.
The Lightning will take on John Torterella’s New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday at 1PM.

The Nashville Predators may not be your fantasy team’s first choice, but in reality, they are getting the job done.

Despite continuously fighting injuries, the Predators are 9-3 in their last 12 games while posting 60 points at the halfway point of the season, sitting in 4th place in a very tough Western conference.  What stands out more than anything about this though is not where they are in the standings, but how they have gotten there.  They have not done it with superstars, but with guys who come in and grind every night to make this team successful.

A major part of the Predators recent success has been winger Sergei Kostitsyn. Kostitsyn was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens in a deal for forward Dustin Boyd and goaltender Dan Ellis at the end of June.  Kostitsyn, also known to most Predator fans as SK74, came to Nashville looking to make a fresh start after having a controversy filled stint in Montreal that saw him bounce back and forth between the Canadiens and the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL.

It took awhile for him to warm up due to a foot injury suffered during preseason scoring only two goals and and one assist in his first 19 games.  However, he has finally found his role and is thriving in the Predators system.  Kostitsyn is coming off of a recent 5 game goal streak as well as a 6 game point streak and has accumulated 25 points at the mid point of the season besting his previous season points total of 18.  He and Colin Wilson are currently the teams second leading goal scorers behind Patric Hornqvist with 12.

Nick Spaling is another one that has stepped up and provided a spark this season.  Spaling did not record his first NHL goal until December 13, 2010 against the New York Islanders.  Since then, he has scored three goals, and has tallied two assists on the season as well.  Spaling has really shown his strength as a member a penalty kill unit that ranks 5th in the NHL at 83.2%.

Jerred Smithson has really had to step up and prove himself this season after much speculation that he wouldn’t even make it out of training camp this summer.  After a questionable training camp, Smithson has posted 9 points so far this season (five goals/four assists) in 49 games played.  Smithson has also stepped up and been a vital part of the penalty kill unit.  Because of his hard work this season, and the leadership he shows on and off the ice, Smithson was awarded with a new two-year, 1.2 million dollar contract extension with the Predators earlier this month.

Current mid-season changes have also helped.  Winger Marek Svatos, who was claimed by Nashville off waivers on December 29, 2010 from the St. Louis Blues, has really begun to find his role on the team on a line consisting of David Legwand and Colin Wilson.  Svatos has posted three points (one goal/two assists) in just seven games with the Predators.

Recent call ups Chris Mueller and Matt Halischuk have provided a spark for a fourth line that was lacking in offense.  Halischuk has three points (one goal/two assists) in four games played, while Mueller has posted three assists in 12 games.  They have been linemates with a struggling JP Dumont, who has begun to find his offensive spark again due to the speed and talent he has been charged with mentoring.

Another reason for their success is the play of goaltender Pekka Rinne.  Despite battling a lower body injury to start the season and missing 11 games,  Rinne has posted an overall record of 17-12-4.  He has also posted a save percentage of .928 and goals against average of 2.11 per game.  These numbers are good enough for second place in the NHL in both save % and GAA behind Boston’s Tim Thomas.  Ask any Predators fan, and they will tell you that Rinne deserves the Vezina trophy this season.  He has definitely put himself in the right place for consideration, and as long as he continues to play this way and post these numbers.

The Nashville Predators are not a team of superstars, and have had to find success in the most unlikely of places so far this season.  It looks as though this will be the theme of the season for the pesky Predators who continue to claw their way through the Western conference and hopefully land themselves a spot in the playoffs.

Tyler Davis

NHLHS Nashville Predators Correspondent

Twitter: @Trebek14

Email: davis.tylerb@gmail.com

When reading the title of this column, the first thought for most readers will probably go back to the last game of the 2009-10 season.  On that day, the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers very playoff existence came down to the outcome of a single shootout.

But this shootout is with regards to a very strange game played between the Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning in South Philly last night. 

It was one of those nights where the goals came fast and furious.  Two goal leads quickly evaporated as the contest became a statistical haven for almost all of the players.  That is, with the exception of the goaltenders, whose save percentages took an absolute beating.

It was a night where the unexpected became commonplace.

Philadelphia came into the game having won seven consecutive contests on home ice.  Their overall defense had been a strong point, having yielded just over two goals per game – just 41 in 19 contests. 

Andreas Nodl and Nikolay Zherdev each scored goals within 42 seconds before the game was barely five minutes old, and at 2-0, it appeared Philly was well on their way to extending their win streak over an injury-riddled Lightning squad.

When the dust settled on the wild and wacky first two periods, the game was tied at 7-7.  Instead of recapping the onslaught of goals, here are some thoughts on the aftermath of those first two frames:

Periods One & Two

- The first period ended with the Flyers leading 5-4.  The nine goals tied a Philadelphia club record for most goals scored by both teams in one period.  The 7-7 score at the end of the second appeared to be more of an NFL game between the Eagles and Buccaneers than anything resembling NHL hockey.

But maybe some in the National Hockey League offices in New York City had a smile on their faces, because the cry of low scoring NHL contests are being heard once again from coast to coast.

- Lightning netminder Dan Ellis, who made his fifth start in the last six Bolts’ contests, was yanked after giving up a goal to Scott Hartnell at 15:31 of the first.  His night ended after giving up four goals on just 10 shots. 

Mike Smith didn’t fair much better, as Danny Briere beat him just two and a half minutes later to give Philly a 5-3 lead.

The Lightning possess two solid goaltenders, but head coach Guy Boucher does not believe in labels.  Instead of having a number one and a back up, Boucher prefers to have netminders “A” and “B”, and just go with the hot hand. 

Each time it appears that one will take over the reigns as the “starter”, they falter and the other excels.  Expect Smith to start Saturday night in Buffalo.

- Sticking to the crease position, Flyers’ rookie sensation Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled in favor of backup Brian Boucher to start the second period.  

Starting his 12th straight game, Bobrovsky has been the subject of much speculation in the Philadelphia media over the past week or so.  Some are suggesting that head coach Peter Laviolette may just be burning the 22-year-old Russian out by not giving him a break.

Last night was Boucher’s first game action since October 25th, or roughly three and a half weeks ago.  But he didn’t look any more rested than Bobrovsky, as “Boosh” allowed four goals on 22 shots over the final two periods.

With the imminent return of Michael Leighton from a preseason back injury, it will be interesting to see who gets the start against the Capitals in Washington on Saturday night.

Also concerning the return of Leighton – if Boucher doesn’t start Saturday, has he played his last game in the Orange-and-Black?

- Zherdev was perhaps the best Philly player last night, scoring two goals and assisting on another.  And all in less than nine minutes of ice time.

Zherdev has has now scored five goals and six points, and is a +5 in his last eight contests. 

He also has recorded 27 shots on goal in those eight games, three of which he saw less than 10 minutes of TOI.

- Through the second period, all but three Flyers’ skaters – Ville Leino, Kimmo Timonen, and Jody Shelley - had registered at least one point. 

Shelley had originally been credited with the goal on an Andrej Meszaros shot from the point that appeared to glance off of Shelley’s skate.  But after being reviewed during the second intermission, Meszaros had finally been credited with his first goal as a Flyer.

Meszaros had been announced as a goal scorer several times this season, but each time had been changed after review showed a Philadelphia player tipped the shot on the way past the opposing netminder.  Meszaros has been good about it, keeping a smile on his face and joking around about it.

Amid all of the chaos and confusion that were the first two periods, there were two things that were actually the status quo and very much expected – the lethal nature of the Tampa Bay power play, and the greatness of one of the NHL’s brightest rising stars Steven Stamkos.

Stamkos was perfect, as he recorded the hat trick on just three shots on goal.  He now has an NHL-leading 19 goals and is also leading the way with 10 power play markers.

“Stammer” is an absolute force and a threat to score every shift he is on the ice.  The netminders had no chance on any of the goals he scored, between the speed and pinpoint accuracy of the shots.

Stamkos also added two assists.  His five point night leaves him atop the NHL point leaders with 34. 

If there is anyone making a consistent push for the Hart Trophy in the first quarter of the season, it’s number 91 in Tampa.

- The Lightning power play is a unit that you don’t want to give numerous opportunities.  The Flyers did, and paid the consequences.  Tamp Bay went 3-9 with the man advantage, helping to erase Flyers’ leads in the process. 

Martin St. Louis had a big night in assisting on five power play goals, three on the power play.  The only bad thing about only being on the ice for goals scored when your team has the man advantage is that despite the five point night, St. Louis finished the evening with a -1 rating.

- Special teams were Philadelphia’s downfall on this night, as they not only yielded the three power play markers, but went 0-4 on their own man advantages. 

As a matter of fact, the Flyers have a very common theme over the course of their last six contests regarding their penalty-killing unit. 

In going 3-2-1 in those six games, Philly have held the opposition without a power play goal in all three wins (combined 0-7).  But in the games they have lost (0-2-1), the Flyers have given up seven man advantage goals in 22 opportunities.

These numbers over the course of the last six tell us two things.  In the three wins, Philadelphia played a very disciplined game, yielding just seven power plays for the opposing clubs.  In the three losses, the Flyers gave up 22 power play chances, giving up as many PP goals in those three games as they had given up PP opportunities in their three wins.

It is no coincidence that the three games Philadelphia lost, playing undisciplined hockey and suffering the consequences of the opposition’s PP units were the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens.  All three clubs have deadly weapons when a man up and definitely used it to their advantage in defeating the Flyers.

And by the way, the Flyers’ next opponents just happen to be the Capitals in Washington Saturday night, and the Canadiens in Philly on Monday.  Laviolette will be preaching discipline, discipline, discipline, even though that will be a tough sell for the game against Montreal after the chippy affair the two teams had on Tuesday night.

Third Period

Yes, there was actually a third period played last night, and this was when sanity was restored.  No longer did the game appear to be mimicking one of those lackluster track meet sprints called NHL All Star Games, and the clubs’ defenses tightened up in front of their respective goaltenders.

There was but one goal scored and was tallied by the Tampa Bay fourth line. 

Nate Thompson was able to shovel a rebound past Boucher just over five minutes into the final frame, and it gave the Lightning their first lead of the night.  And it was one that they would not relinquish.

The closest the Flyers would come to tying the game was with the clubs skating four-on-four in the contest’s waning moments.  With Boucher pulled for an extra attacker, Briere tried a wraparound with 12.9 seconds that rattled around Smith’s pad along the goal line, but the netminder was able to control and freeze the puck.

It was a wild night, indeed, and one that Philadelphia had better be able to shake off the affects of as they head into the next two tough games.  If they attempt to play a similar run-and-gun style with the Caps, there could be all kinds of records falling Saturday night.

Taking a Flyer:  Over the first 30 minutes of last night’s game, the Flyers scored on seven of their first 19 shots on goal.  But over the last 30 minutes, they failed to score on any of their 13 shots…Meszaros took a horrible penalty late in the game by low-bridging Bolts’ forward Dana Tyrell.  The hit was dangerous - the impact was squarely to Tyrell’s knees.  It was reminiscent of many hits by a hated figure in Philadelphia hockey circles named Darius Kasparaitis…with so many goals scored, it was surprising to see Leino held pointless.  But after recording two assists last week after the announcement of Jeff Carter’s new 11-year, $58 million contract, Leino has put up just one assist in the last three games.  Think the desire to also be re-signed is possibly weighing on his mind?…defenseman Sean O’ Donnell led all skaters with a +3 rating…Nodl, who came into this season with a total of one goal and five points in 48 career NHL games, now has four goals and seven points this year.  Included in his 2010-11 totals are three goals and six points in his last seven contests…the Lightning were playing without injured captain Vincent Lecavalier (hand), ex-Flyers Simon Gagne (neck) and Randy Jones (lower body), and defenseman Matt Smaby (ankle).  They were also without the services of Mattias Ritola, who was suspended for a hit on the New York Islanders’ Matt Moulson on Wednesday night.  The Flyers were without Dan Carcillo (sprained knee).

David Strehle
NHLHS Philadelphia Flyers Correspondent
dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @PhilaDAVEia

You can already feel the influence that Steve Yzerman is having on this organization from the top down.  Yzerman played the game confident and prepared, you can feel that influence from the players as they talk about their own expectations coming into camp.  There is also a building momentum within the community; the crowds at the training facility on Saturday morning were huge.  So what should everyone expect this team to look like when heading on the ice for the home opener against Atlanta, let’s take a look ahead?

Leadership: Guy Boucher is going to get his chance to prove that he is the Next “Big Thing” in the NHL.  Boucher comes to camp this year as the most sought after coach in the offseason.  He brings an up temp and high energy system to Tampa; but it’s his preparation and attention to detail that will lead to success for Boucher.  He has gone so far as not to talk about his system in detail this offseason, he didn’t want to give his opposing coaches a jump start on how to defend his team.  Boucher should bring a player friendly system to the ice, and along with Yzerman, Tampa could be a desired destination for free agents in the future.

Forwards: This team offensively should be very fun to watch going into the season.  On paper they are as talented with their top 6 forwards as any team in the Eastern Conference.  They have 4 guys who have scored 40 goals or in a season with Lecavalier, St Louis, Simon Gagne and last year’s Rocket Richard trophy winner Steven Stamkos (who tied for the award with Sidney Crosby w/ 51 goals).  There are not too many teams in the league who can boast that kind of  fire power.

Defense: One of the areas that were affected most by Yzerman was on defense.  Yzerman was able to rid the team of bad contracts and over all inconsistent play from defensiveman Andrej Meszaros and veteran Matt Walker.  He replaced them with steady guys Pavel Kubina, who returns back to Tampa where he had his most success, and Brett Clark who comes over from Colorado.  Both guys are good in their own zone and have some offensive skill as well.   Number 2 draft pick last year Victor Hedman along with Mike Lundin and Matt Smaby should pay huge benefits this year, having Kubina and Clark along with Mattias Ohlund on the back line, teaching them how to play the game in the NHL.

Goaltending: As with most teams it’s goaltending that a team will live and die with on a nightly basis.   The Lightning are no different, this team has struggled in between the pipes since the departure of Nikolai Khabibulin.  The team hoped that Mike Smith was going to be the answer to the question, when he was acquired in the trade for Brad Richards.  Injuries and inconsistent play has stunted his growth the last year two years.  So the team in the offseason brought in Dan Ellis from the Nashville Predators, a good friend of fellow goaltender Mike Smith, to compete for the number one position in 2010.   Ellis or Smith, one of those guys needs to step and grab the reins right from the start, if the team truly wants to compete for a spot in the playoffs.

Battles in Camp: For a team that has been so pitiful the last few years there is a lot of talent and surprisingly not as many spots open for battles heading into camp.  It is the bottom 4 wing positions that should be up for competition.  There is a mixture of vets along with a number of highly thought of young kids in the mix for those slots.  The front runners should come from Adam Hall, former member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Eric Perrin, on the Stanley Cup team in 04, along with this year’s number one pick Brett Connolly, who surprised a lot of people in prospect camp.

Prediction: This team should be in the playoffs this year and will battle the Washington Capitals for the Southeastern division title.  Ellis is going to be the piece that brings this team together on the back end.  Not sure that it can host the cup once again, but making the tourney in the first year for Yzerman would have to be considered a successful campaign.

Dave Jarvis
NHLHS Credentialed Tampa Bay Lightning Correspondent
djarvis@nhlhotstove.com

To the average hockey fan, the 2010 off-season has been one of confusion, discomfort and overall disgust. Many teams attempted to make their clubs better but failed.

For some teams failing is putting it a bit overboard as if you look around the league there are still a few clubs in transition – rebuilding from within.

One team that does not fall into this mess are the Southeast Divison Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Bolts, one of the biggest winners this off-season, started at the top – the NHL level – and continued through the ranks.  Player movement, organizational brass changes and a positive vibe from the new look team has helped create quite the stir from sunny Florida.

It started with Steve Yzerman getting the call to be the clubs new general manager.  From there, Yzerman brought in a new head coach, a few new faces and has helped build an excitement among the fanbase as well as the roster for the Bolts.

Guy Boucher, the one time AHL head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs was brought in due to his style to create a more aggressive play from the team.

The first order of business after appointing a new head coach was securing a one-two punch, if you will, between the pipes in the sunshine state. Yzerman, even with the man on radar to man the posts having his rights owned by another team until July 1st, had his target.

Dan Ellis was brought in to compete along with Mike Smith for the starting goaltender position after it was known that Antero Niittymaki would no longer be a part of the plan. If Ellis plays anything this season like Craig Anderson performed for Colorado last season, the Bolts are in a very solid position in net.

If all else fails, down the line, the trade that sent Kari Ramo to the Canadiens for Cedric Desjardens will prove to be one of Yzerman’s smartest moves as this team moves forward.  But for now, we will not talk about that what if’s and the potential of the youngsters. Just note that this was a very solid move for the organization.

From there we witnessed the signing of Pavel Kubina, the sending off of both Andrej Meszaros and Matt Walker and the acquisition of Simon Gagne.

Two big names to jump on board with an already solid cast of players in Tampa.

Gagne brings a veteran presence who plays an aggressive two way style. He has proven to be a 30 goal scorer when healthy on a constant basis.

Kubina comes back “home” and will provide an upgrade over both players from the blue line that Tampa shipped out.  Not only will Kubina help patrol the blue line and chip in offensively, but he will be ideal in further development of young, promising d-man Victor Hedman.

Brett Clark, another solid defensive signing by the organization, adds yet another veteran presence to the defensive group in Tampa. Something they have lacked for a few years now – solid players, not just depth players.

Dominic Moore, signed as a free agent out of Montreal, will provide solid two way play as either the third or fourth line center for the club. He has been a solid player throughout most of his career, chipping in the occasional goal offensively while being a presence in both the faceoff circle and in his own end of the ice.

To think all of these are simple additions to an already star studded lineup with Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Ryan Malone as well as other rising stars for the club.

Other minor signings to help out on the depth chart have taken place through the course of the summer as well as the Bolts inked Mike Vernace, Mathieu Roy, Sean Bergenheim, Vladimir Mihalik, Chris Durno, Marc-Antoine Pouliot and just yesterday they also added Randy Jones who spent last season with the Los Angeles Kings.

The Lightning have come to terms with all their restricted free agents that they kept in their plans and the season is ready to begin from a roster standpoint.

Will Yzermans new product help create fireworks from one of the most proactive divisions in all of the NHL in 2010-11?  Only time will tell but this writer feels that the improvements made by the club will absolutely help they compete for a playoff spot as April comes rolling around in the 2011 calendar year.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS writer
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_AC

It appears that Boston Bruins forward Trent Whitfield will miss the entire 2010-11 season with a torn achilles.

It was reported by Comcast Sports New England that Whitfield sustained the injury while working out. Whitfield played 20 games, including four playoff games, in the 09-10 season for Boston and registered just one assist. In 52 games with the Providence Bruins, of the AHL, he tallied 17 goals for 43 points.

The journeyman centre was not likely to crack the Bruins roster and would end up playing another year in Providence. Boston already has a logjam up the middle and it wasn’t likely he would beat out Daniel Paille for the fourth line job.

In the 1996 NHL entry draft the Bruins selected Whitfield in the fourth round, but he also spent time with the Washington Capitals, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues before returning to Boston in 2009.

It is not a significant loss by any means for the Bruins, although his leadership and experience can’t hurt to have in a young locker room.

Whitfield will be a UFA at the end of the upcoming season.

Brandon Macdonald
NHLHS Boston Bruins Correspondent
bmacdonald@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter @bMacdonald8

After the Philadelphia Flyers’ game six overtime loss clinched the Stanley Cup for the Chicago Blackhawks, GM Paul Holmgren vowed that changes would be made during the course of the offseason.

True to his word, Holmgren added two new faces at forward and three on defense through free agent signings and trades in July.

Here is a breakdown of Homer’s offseason moves:

NEW ARRIVALS:

FORWARDS:  Nikolai Zherdev and Jody Shelley (both free agent signings)

DEFENSEMEN:  Andrej Meszaros (acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning), Matt Walker (acquired in the Simon Gagne deal with Lightning), and Sean O’Donnell (free agent).

Surprisingly, there was no change made in net.  Michael Leighton, an unrestricted free agent at last season’s end, was re-signed to a two-year, $3.1 million pact.  Leighton did a fantastic job for the club last season, but Holmgren appeared a little more than ticked off that Leighton when Leighton failed to stop Patrick Kane’s winner from a poor angle in OT.

Most thought that is was almost a guarantee that Holmgren would sign one of the free agent goaltenders, most notably Marty Turco, Evgeni Nabokov, Chris Mason, Dan Ellis, or Antero Niittymaki.

The crease may not be totally resolved for the 2010-11 season just yet, though.  After Chicago balked at the $2.75 million award from Antti Niemi’s arbitration hearing, they allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent.

While Holmgren’s assurances that the Flyers have no interest in Niemi, the possibility still lingers.  Especially if Niemi remains unsigned after the regular season commences and the team doesn’t perform well in front of Leighton or Brian Boucher.  But of course if Holmgren does reconsider and Niemi becomes a target, the domino effect of salary-induced adjustments to the roster will then occur, as the Flyers are within $327,ooo of the upper cap limit (according to CapGeek.com)

DEPARTURES:

FORWARDS:  Gagne (traded to Tampa Bay) and Arron Asham (allowed to sign elsewhere as an UFA).

DEFENSEMEN:  Ryan Parent (traded to the Nashville Predators), Lukas Krajicek and Danny Syvret (both allowed to sign elsewhere as UFA).

CONCLUSION:  Holmgren’s free agent signings meant that someone had to go, and that ended up being Gagne.  The 30-year-old winger was the longest-tenured player in Philadelphia sports, but his $5.25 million deal, injury history, and pending free agency after the 2010-11 season made him expendable.  And this after his heroics in the Boston Bruins playoff series bolstered a mind-blowing comeback for the Orange-and-Black from 0-3 down.

Taking Gagne’s spot, Zherdev may be just what the team has been lacking.  Gagne is a great, two-way forward, always defensively responsible.  But he fits the same mold as most of the Philly forwards.  Zherdev, in his first year back from the KHL, has the game-breaking speed and offensive talent that has been lacking.  With the continued building of the team’s defense and the forwards responsibility in their own end, Zherdev will have the ability to take the occasional offensive gamble.  Already having seasons of 27 and 26 goals in the NHL, Zherdev may be in the perfect situation to experience a breakout year.

Shelley brings an element that was missing from the Flyers’ roster the past couple of seasons, a true enforcer.  While Asham, Ian Laperriere, Daniel Carcillo can throw ‘em from time-to-time, none of them wear the shield of enforcer.  But Philly will lose some offense in the tradeoff, as Asham scored 18 goals in his two seasons in Philadelphia, while Shelley scored just four over the same span.

The defense should be stronger.  Holmgren has taken a lot of heat for his acquisition of Meszaros and Walker from the Lightning, as the two make nearly $6 million combined and disappointed greatly in Tampa.  And neither will likely be in the top four.  Meszaros, 6′ 2″, 223 pounds, should benefit from not having nearly as much pressure and responsibility thrust upon him as he did on a bad Bolts team.  Meszaros looks to be a number five defenseman, or if Braydon Coburn falters and plays like he did during the regular season last year, Meszaros could find himself as Kimmo Timonen’s partner on the second pairing.

Walker, at 6′ 3″ and 214 pounds, looks to be the sixth or seventh defenseman, possibly paired with Meszaros.  Playing on an up-and-coming Chicago Blackhawks team two seasons ago, Walker had his best NHL season.  But on a weaker Lightning team last year, his play suffered.  He may have found a better situation in Philly.

O’ Donnell will be a welcomed addition.  At 6′ 3″ and 237 pounds, O’ Donnell is another huge body on the Flyers’ blue line.  He is another shut down defenseman, and has a history with Chris Pronger.  The two were teammates on the 2007 Anaheim Ducks Stanley Cup-winning team.  But he will turn 39 in the first couple of weeks of the season, so logging 20 minutes per night during the regular season won’t be in the plans.  A third pairing or even spot use as a seventh may be in the offing.

The average size of a Flyers defenseman is now over 6′ 2″ tall and in excess of 212 pounds.

Right now, the roster is looking like this:

Centers:  Mike Richards, Claude Giroux, Danny Briere, Blair Betts, Darroll Powe

Right Wing:  Zherdev, Jeff Carter, Shelley, Laperriere

Left Wing:  Ville Leino, Scott Hartnell, Carcillo, James van Riemsdyk

Defense Pairings: Pronger-Matt Carle, Timonen-Coburn, Meszaros-O’ Donnell/Walker, O’ Donnell/Walker-Bartulis

Goaltending:  Leighton, Boucher

Extras:  Riley Cote (LW), possibly Mike Testwuide (RW)

David Strehle
NHLHS Flyers Correspondent / NHL Writer
dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @PhilaDAVEia