(May 23, 2009 - Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America)

This morning the Carolina Hurricanes announced the firing of head coach Paul Maurice for the second time. Through 25 games, the long-time Cane was en route to his third straight season without a playoff berth. Something needed to give and GM Jim Rutherford was not willing to blow up an entire team in order to spare his friend.

On paper, the Canes are an awful team. Their 60 goals forced rank dead-middle at 15th in the League while their 81 goals allowed are worst in the League. The goals allowed can’t even be blamed on luck as their even-strength save percentage is right in the middle as well. Their time of possession ranked a below-average 21st mainly due to a poor, but somehow improved 49.5 faceoff percentage. On paper, this team needed to be fixed.

Nevertheless, Rutherford chose not to make a single personnel move with regards to his players. Instead, he told Maurice to make good with the parts given to him. To employ 5-goal scorer Alexei Ponikarovsky on the top two lines, rely on grinder Chad LaRose to score goals (which he actually did) and to shuffle Anthony Stewart — whose scored all of 22 goals in 206 NHL games — around the lineup.

Last season, LaRose was able to help the shutdown process with Patrick Dwyer and Brandon Sutter. This season he was forced to step up due to the inconsistency of Stewart, Ponikarovsky and prospects Zac Dalpe and Zach Boychuk. When questioned, Rutherford acknowledging that he would need at least another two forwards to slot into the top nine in order to get back into the mix. “We look at it a lot harder when things aren’t going good. In an ideal world we would like to have one top-six forward and one top-nine forward. If we can trade a defenseman for a top-9 forward, we will do that.”

So why was all of the onus put on arguably the best coach in franchise history? Likely because budget constraints simply would not allow Rutherford to make the necessary changes.

Photo Credit: PuckPress.com

One of the bigger problems was letting go Erik Cole this past offseason. As one of the top producers over the last couple of seasons he no longer slotted into their budget. While he may seem like nothing more than a gritty and speedy winger who tops out at 25-30 goals, his chemistry with captain Eric Staal is clearly missed. Playing in the South with a constrained payroll, Rutherford could not offer his unrestricted free agent the money he needed, keeping the Canes at the bottom of the salary cap standings.

When Maurice took the reigns back from Peter Laviolette, he coached a much more skilled team. While current Canes like Ruutu, Staal, LaRose, Joni Pitkanen, Tim Gleason and Cam Ward remain on the roster, skilled players like Rod Brind’Amour, Ray Whitney, Sergei Samsonov, Dennis Seidenberg, Joe Corvo, Anton Babchuk and Matt Cullen have all left or retired. The departure of these players left a gaping wound, one that Maurice or any other coach simply could not put a bandage over.

Rutherford thought he filled a reasonable amount of holes with his offseason moves. “The new guys for the most part have filled the roles that we wanted them to. Adding the backup goalie [Brian Boucher] and fourth line center [Tim Brent] and Ponikarovsky. [Tomas] Kaberle started slow but his game has been better the last three weeks or so.” At this point, he can’t be happy with the veteran players the team has lost. Due to budgetary constraints and inability to get quality players at a discount rate this team would have a problem winning with any coach.

Firing Paul Maurice is the first step for Rutherford to assess exactly what he has. Hiring Kirk Muller is all about a change in culture. The Canes have won in the past and they certainly are a team that wants to win as soon as this season. And nobody wants to win more than Rutherford. “From a team concept point of few even in years where we haven’t made the playoffs and some of those years we’ve been close and we’ve been real very fortunate with real character guys who want to win at all costs.” As currently constructed, they simply don’t have the team they want.

“Can Kirk pull these guys together and get them to step their game up? If he can thats good for this group. if that doesn’t happen, we have a lot more work to do,” Rutherford later explained. That question is apropos: If Muller can instill a winning environment, there will be some changes made. If he can’t there will be some wholesale changes.

Unfortunately, a good hockey guy in Paul Maurice falls victim to a poorly constructed team whose top guns could not step up this season. He will surely catch on with some team very soon as coaches with his track record don’t last too long on free agency.

Welcome all you Wild puck heads out there, I hope you all had a great holiday season, mine was nuts. It has been a while since I have had a chance to write anything but WOW! Talk about a bi-polar season for the Wild. One day you’re talking about playoffs the next it’s draft picks, then back to playoffs. Not saying that this is not exciting at all, but how many people in Minnesota have high blood pressure because of this besides me?

The Wild are three points out of 4th in the West and back in the chase for a playoff spot. With a 7-2-1 record in the last 10 games, they are only second to Vancouver (9-0-1), while accumulating points in eight out of their last nine road games 6-1-2. This team is firing on all cylinders and very focused right now. Last year the Wild won a total of 13 road games, not winning their 10th till March and now already have 10 in the books.

Throughout these 10 games the Wild have notched wins against potential playoff teams in Colorado, San Jose, Phoenix, and Boston.

Tomorrow they look for another big win in Pittsburgh to take on the Sidney Crosby-less Penguins in hopes of adding to their road record and gaining more ground in the West.

Sounds like Jose Theodore is going to get the call in net again for the Wild tomorrow with Niklas Backstrom still questionable. Theodore is 18-4-3 with a 2.41 GAA, and .914 SV% lifetime versus the Pens. The Wild will be looking for another big showing from Theo like they got from him in Boston last night.

Taking on the Northeast Division leaders last night the Wild were looking to continue their dominance of the Bruins. The Wild have never lost in Boston (6-0-0) and in one of the most exciting and energetic games the team has played all year long, they kept the streak alive. Winning 3-1, the Wild outscored Boston 33-16 lifetime and held them to 0-4 on the PP while continuing a streak where they have never allowed the Bruins score on the PP (0-35).

During the run their blue line is stepped it up offensively and put the puck in net. Cam Barker broke his scoring drought when he beat Jason LaBarbera for 6-5 OT win in Phoenix. Clayton Stoner scored his first career goal when he dumped the puck in the New Jersey  Devils zone, where the puck took a crazy hop off the boards and into the Devils net for the game winner.

The Wild are also getting points from Nick Schultz and Brent Burns. Burns is tied for the team lead in goals with 12.

Besides putting pucks in the net, the Wild have relied on two call ups from their AHL affiliate Huston Aeros in Jared Spurgeon and Marco Scandella. These two have stepped up their game for the team when they have needed them to.

With Marek Zidlicky out for a longer than anyone thought, Scandella and Spurgon have filled the gap flawlessly. Both are getting valuable ice time and mentoring by Greg Zanon, Burns and Schultz and should turn out to be solid pieces down the road for this team.

If the doubters thought that Cal Clutterbuck was a one dimensional player, he has proved them wrong. Not only is he leading the league in hits for the third year in a row, he is also tied with Burns for the most goals on the team (12). The one huge change is that he has been completely clutch on the ice this season, five of his 12 goals have tied games while four have given them the lead.

Hitting the halfway point in the season the Wild will need to continue the intensity that they showed against the Bruins if they want to make the playoffs. This team is hitting a very hard part of their schedule six out of the next nine games are against playoff teams while four are against Northwest divisional opponents.

Mikko Koivu and Martin Havlat are going to continue to be points leaders, but will need help from the likes of Clutterbuck, Burns, Matt Cullen and Andrew Brunette to keep the run going. There is not a lot that I would change on this team at the moment and hope that Coach Richards sees it the same way.

Minnesota is hungry for a playoff berth and the Wild are showing they can be a tough, gritty team even while missing key players to injury.

Josh Sargent
NHLHS Minnesota Wild Correspondent
Twitter: Josh_Sargent

As most people know, I am a diehard Wild fan who yes will admit has been known to drink the kool-aid from time to time, but I am also realistic too. Over this season, if you are a Wild fan or just like to watch the team you probably feel like I do: stuck on a rollercoaster that never stops, only going up and down. As frustrating as those highs and lows can be it can be just as troublesome when the GM tells the team “Win or there will be changes.”

Yes, this team is lacking in areas and here are the biggest areas that I feel need to be addressed. By no means are these going to be quick fixes but if you look around the League the top teams have “it”.

Lack of a true enforcer

The loss of Derek Boogaard and John Scott are hurting the team more than they thought it would. That case was proven when they went into Dallas last Friday and Steve Ott basically did anything that he wanted. From harassing Martin Havlat and Pierre-Marc Bouchard to literally crashing the net and running over Jose Theodore a couple times. Ott was given the first star of the game due to the fact he did anything that he wanted to and he scored a goal as well. Not having someone who could “force” him to play clean may have cost the Wild a win that night.
Yet the presence of a tough guy not only gives your team protection but also caused disruption to the game plans of others as Ott did to the Wild. Later in Boogaards time with Minnesota he learned that, whenever the team would face off with Edmonton it seem that he knew what to do to get under their skin. Big hits and constant harassment gave way to bigger plays to Koivu and Gaborik. Heading out on this West coast road trip I don’t see the next couple games being any different. There is not a single player on the Wild roster that can step up to some of the heavy weights in the West. As much as I respect Brad Staubitz he is not the kind of person that is going to keep a team in check and be a physical presence on the ice. If the Wild can find someone, anyone, to fill this roll it will give players like Havlat, PMB, Cullen, and Koivu space to make plays and score goals.

Lack of talented youth

Since the departure of Marian Gaborik the threat to score at will for this team has left with him. There is no future super star on this team at the moment that can spark to life into this team. Now that is not to say they don’t have talent on the team with Guillaume Latendresse, Bouchard, and Havlat but Latendresse is the youngest of the three and we have yet to see what he can do for a full season. Vancouver has Ryan Kesler and Colorado Paul Stastny that they both have built solid teams around, while Edmonton has two in Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall who will bring them back to the playoffs in years to come. Minnesota has… Mikael Granlund. Who?? Exactly. Granlund is 18yrs old playing professionally in Finland drafted by the Wild last spring. Though he does have plenty of potential nobody is clamoring to get him up to the NHL level as soon as possible. Not seeing him play personally I can’t say that he won’t be a solid player in the future but it doesn’t feel like we have this next big thing waiting in the wings.

Lack of solid leadership

Yes this is a slight knock on our captain but when he gets upset that fellow Finn and BFF Antti Miettinen wasn’t going to be play on his top line you have to question him a bit. There is no doubt that everyone regards the Minnesota Wild as Mikko’s team I just don’t see him taking a solid leadership role on the ice this season and holding teammates responsible for  blown assignments or faulty play.

Maybe Jaques Lemaire did have it right, he would chose the team captain by committee. Every month he would pick the player that was stepping up and leading the team in games and practices. This team is full of savvy vets who have been on this team for years and to not see a Brunette, Koivu, Burns, or even Schultz step up and call out the team and expect more of them is ridiculous. One of these players needs to step up and take charge of the team, without solid leadership this team is going to go nowhere.

Coaching Decisions

Now this isn’t to say that Todd Richards is not a good coach or that he doesn’t know what he is doing, but with over a third of the season over with “What is he doing?”
Game after game thus far Coach Richards has not been able to make game time adjustments to help his team. Mixing lines has never been a strong suit for him but continually keeping lines together and not mixing them up is starting to do more harm than good. How often have we seen this year the Wild come out flying in the first with speed and determination only to get completely stopped in the 2nd and shutdown in the 3rd. One of his biggest decision gaffs being when he kept Niklas Backstom in net after he gave up 4 goals in the 2nd period to Colorado only to give up 2 more in the third and lost 7-4.

A big question on the Coaching is how well do the players listen and trust them? I’m pretty sure about this but when you have to bring in a Spec. Ops Army Ranger into the locker room to inspire the team you are not do a good job at it. If the players decide to quit on Richard we might as well shut down the season now, having a frustrated Owner and GM is only going to force them to make trades and fire people. Although I don’t want to see that, on the bright side we’ll probably have a high draft pick come spring.

Josh Sargent
NHLHS Minnesota Wild Correspondent
Twitter: @Josh_Sargent

In a season full of breaking traditions, the Minnesota Wild are looking to continue one facing off against the Atlanta Thrashers. The Wild are 6-1-2 lifetime playing against Atlanta and look to add another win to this 4 game road trip when the go into Phillips arena.

Coming into this game the Thrashers are 6-6-3 with 15 points on the season and currently on a 3 game skid. Atlanta has a 3.00 GG while sitting at the bottom of the league giving up 3.60 GAA. Their power play and penalty killing are complete opposites. While ranking 4th in the league on the PP at 26.1% they are killing 75.5% of their penalties putting them at 27th.

Minnesota on the other hand is 7-4-2 with 16 points and coming off a great road win in Columbus 3-2. The Wild are scoring 2.46 GG and 4th in the league in goals against at 2.15. Their power play has been where they have won games ranking 2nd at 27.1% while 8th in the league killing 86.4% of their penalties.

The goalie matchups for the game are looking like Chris Mason for the Thrashers and Niklas Backstrom for the Wild. Mason, after having a rough game against Ottawa where he was pulled after giving up 4 goals on 18 shots and was replaced by Ondrej Pavelec, has a 3.66 GAA and .903 SV%. Backstom on the other hand is playing lights out with a 1.80 GAA and .941 SV%. It is easy to say that Backstrom is playing his best hockey and is a big advantage for the Wild.

This game will feature 3 of the NHL’s biggest defensive talent in Atlanta’s Dustin Byfuglien, Tobias Enstrom, and the Wild’s Brent Burns. Byfuglien and Enstrom have amassed a combined 26 points putting them in the top 3 for the team in total points. Brent Burns has 8 points on the season and had his first multi goal game of his career scoring twice against Columbus. Byfuglien and Burns sit at the top of the board with 5 goals each among the league’s defensemen. Both teams will rely heavily on these players to step up big in this game. While Atlanta’s 2 are more of a scoring threat Burns has been able to shut down the league’s top talent and will look to do so again.

Although Atlanta has a big scoring threat in Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, Tobi Enstrom, and Evander Kane they are not without holes. Evander Kane and Nik Antropov have a combined plus/minus ranking of -21. The Wild will look to exploit this by the play of their second line with the skill of Martin Havlat and the awareness of Matt Cullen.

Staying out of the box for the Wild and capitalizing on the man advantage will be key for them to win. Atlanta’s power play and the Wild Penalty kill should be a great matchup but one I don’t wish to see. Playing physical Minnesota will look to put their highly rank power play on the ice against the Thrasher 27th ranked penalty kill.

My keys to the game for the Wild to win are:
- Mikko Koivu who has been a solid 2 way player for the Wild so far this season notching a point in 11 out of 13 games. Look for him to be very physical and test the goaltending of the Thrashers.
- Niklas Backstom will look to continue is quietly amazing season. If Backstrom can keep the Thrashers to 1-2 goals the Wild have a strong chance to come out with a win.
- Matt Cullen on the power play for the Wild this season has been what this team needs. A strong leader and decisive decision maker his play at point has made the Wild a force on the man advantage.

Game notes: Martin Havlat has only 1 goal on the season which makes him tied now with Derek Boogaard…..ok that might be a small cheap shot. Antti Miettinen seems to have the green light to play but don’t expect him back on the first line, Coach Todd Richards seems to like having Cal Clutterbuck playing with Andrew Brunette and Mikko Koivu. The Wild have recalled Cody Almond from their AHL affiliate the Houston Aeros. Guillaume Latendresse, Chuck Kobasew, and Marek Zidlicky are reported to be out this game with injuries.

Josh Sargent

NHLHS Minnesota Wild Correspondent

Twitter: @Josh_Sargent

I get it, it is early in the season but 7-4-2, that is the record of the Minnesota Wild after the first month of the hockey season and 6-3-1 in the last 10 games. Most Hockey enthusiasts and fans coming into the season never expected this, yet here it is. Starting the season the Wild were but one thing, inconsistently consistent. Now it looks as if this team has found its ice legs; and are playing as a top team in the Western Conference not just the Northwest Division.

Why is this team doing so well? Answer, solid play from key players. Last year was full of change. Players that needed to be on the ice could not due to injury or just not playing up to par in the new system. Year two and familiarity is setting in, players are back, and the team seems to be coming together more. Here are the players I feel are making this team what it is……a possible contender.

Cal Clutterbuck. I know what you’re thinking, “WHAT! You must be out of your mind; in the last 2 seasons combined he has less than 40 points!” Yes that is true, but the one thing that Cal brings to this team every night without exception is his physical play. There isn’t a player on this team other than him that makes it his personal goal to crush their opponent and throw them off their game. He has led the league in hits the last 2 years with 356 in 08-09 and 318 last season, this year he is already at the top of the list with 62. Despite being called “Cal Buttercup” by a certain Canadian icon Cal set the record for hits in that 08-09 season. The best play by far was his last game Vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets when he took out 2 of their player with one hit, got to the top of the crease, and scored the game winning goal. His aggressiveness on the ice makes up for what you don’t see on the box score.

Mikko Koivu. Mikko has matured into one of the top two way players and arguably the best Finn in the NHL right now surpassing his brother Saku Koivu. Before the departure of Marion Gaborik everyone was staying that it was Gabby’s team but on the ice you could see who the player respected and trusted. Last year at the beginning of the Todd Richards era, Koivu was made the first permanent Captain in franchise history. Koivu has continued to improve his game year after year finishing with 71 points last year when the team was down. This year it is not unreasonable to say that he could have up to 80-90 points at the end of this season being that he is already on pace for it. Signing a big deal in the offseason the Wild will have his leadership and playmaking ability to build off of for the next 7 years.

Matt Cullen. The big offseason acquisition Stanley Cup Champion, Matt Cullen comes back to play Hockey for his home state. At the time of the signing Cullen he said “That it just feels right.” Coach Richards has used Cullen more than any other player on the Wild. Cullen centers the second line for the team with Martin Havlat and Guillaume Latendresse on his wings. On the power play he is point man at the blue line breaking down the oppositions PK making the team the second most potent team on the power play in the league, and also plays on the teams top ten penalty kill. Although he is not a “big” name that fans were screaming for in the offseason he is what this team needed. Second to only Mikko in points this year with 12, Matt is focused on breaking personal records and helping this team make a solid run at the Cup.

Brent Burns. In a season last year filled with injury Burns is coming back to what fans have expected and known is there in being a dominate defensive player. Tied for 4th in points on the team Burns had his first multi goal game playing Columbus where he scored twice on the power play. As much as people put into scoring and player points the best games he has played this year have been against Washington and San Jose. Versus Washington he was able to shut down the high flying Alexander Ovechkin. Throughout the game you could see how frustrated Alex was getting not being able to get by Burns’s long reach and physical play. Playing San Jose he didn’t have just one player to worry about but the top line in the league with Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Danny Heatley. Playing solid defense he was able to help the Wild to a big shutout at home. With a bright future here Brent is a defensive force that teams will have to game plan for every time they face the Wild.

Niklas Backstrom. Coming into the season the big questions were, “Can he find a way back to his old form and was he just another product of the Jaques Lemaire system?” Well, the main reason why the Wild are where they are can be found between the pipes. Backstrom has been a dominate player in big time situations when the team has been undisciplined and in penalty trouble. With his 1.80 GAA and .941 save percentage Backstrom has been slowly and quietly climbing the ranks of top goalies in the league this year. His play versus the Sharks gave him his first shutout win in 41 home games and first since Coach Richards has taken over. Everyone in hockey knows that a team can excel or die by how the goalie plays and if Niklas can continue to play at top for is it too far out of the question for this team to make a solid run to and in the playoffs.

Those are my top players on the team right now and you may think it is way too early to be talking playoffs but in honesty this team needs to be thinking about it every night. They walk a fine line of being really good and really bad. Any kind of early season slip ups will cost this team down the road when it really matters. All 5 of these players can keep the momentum going, if they can set up and motivate the rest of the team it could be a great year if not the front office better reduce ticket prices

Josh Sargent
Twitter: @Josh_Sargent

Ottawa Senators by Luca Vacca of LeafsWire

The Ottawa Senators have a very steep mountain to climb if they want to advance past the first round of the 2010 NHL playoffs. After drawing Pittsburgh as their opponent, Ottawa will be tasked with shutting down two of the premier players in the league, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Couple that with an impressive supporting cast of forwards, a dangerously offensive blueline, and a proven playoff goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury, the odds look insurmountable for Ottawa. However, Ottawa does have the potential to upset the defending Stanley Cup champions, and heres how.

In terms of defense, the Penguins blueline leaves much to be desired. Althought they compete at a high offensive level each game, they have such shortcomings in keeping pucks out, it just might be Ottawa’s saving grace.  Daniel Alfredsson once again led his team in points this year, with Jason Spezza falling far behind due to injury. The absence of Heatley on a team that never really regained the lost offence really hurts, but the Senators have perservered. They have stocked their team up with pre trade deadline acquisitions (Andy Sutton, Matt Cullen, etc.) and look poised to make a run at the later playoff rounds. The only big uncertainty for them is their stability in net. Brian Elliot has played better as of late, but can he continue and translate it into post-season success. Pascal Leclaire has had a year to forget in Ottawa, and Brian Elliott is the only legitimate goaltending option they have.

In terms of their roster, Ottawa heads into the playoffs with Filip Kuba and Alexei Kovalev sidelined. Kuba was a significant part of their defense, and although Kovalev did little during the season, it would have been interesting to see what he could have done come playoff time.

In conclusion, the odds are stacked greatly against Ottawa, but the Penguins aren’t perfect, and the Senators might just find a way to dethrone the champion Penguins.

Pittsburgh Penguins by Joe Depto

To earn victory in the postseason, you need both experience and goaltending. The Penguins have the Ottawa Senators beat in spades in both categories. Over half of Pittsburgh’s roster has Stanley Cup Finals experience, 11 of which have been with the Penguins both of their Cup Finals appearances the last two seasons, including a championship team last season (In fact, only five players from the Penguins current roster were not part of last year’s team that beat Detroit for the cup).

Goaltending will also be imperative in this, and every, NHL playoff series. Bar none, Marc-Andre Fleury has been the NHL’s finest postseason goalie both of the last two seasons, winning 30 playoff games in two seasons; earning two Finals appearances and one cup run in the process. He also features a impressive 2.29 GAA in his two most recent postseasons (44 games played over that span of time). Pittsburgh will have a significant edge in this department over Ottawa goalie Brian Elliott, who will be making his NHL Playoff debut between the pipes for the Senators this evening.

Up front, the Penguins will have even the underrated Ottawa forwards ousted with gusto. Players like Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson have earned their place in Senators lore, including winning a Prince of Wales trophy of their own in 2007. But Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby is hockey’s most heralded champion for a reason, as is last year’s Conn Smythe award winning center Evgeni Malkin. These superstars, along with Jordan Staal, will make it impossible for the Senators to get their desired matchups and, eventually, proper offensive production.

Ottawa features a bruised and depleted blueline. As talented as Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov have been for the Sens, lacking Alex Kovalev and Filip Kuba at defense will add insult to injury when the Pens stars step into the spotlight. Pittsburgh’s defense has been maddeningly inconsistent at times this series, but with 4 out of their 6 blueliners Cup-Final-tested, they will be ready for the Ottawa Senators when the puck drops for Game 1. These two teams have met in the playoffs in the last 3 out of 4 years. For the second time out of those three match-ups, expect the Pens to have their satisfaction.

After enduring four long games on the bench after a few previous stints watching from the press box, Ranger forward Ales Kotalik would like a trade.  Jim Schmiedeberg of Blueshirt Banter describes the full story as Kotalik seems destined for a new destination.

The short explanation says Kotalik will not honor a March autograph session because he would like to be moved and preferably to a Western Conference team.  At 31-years old and two more years left on his contract his value must be at an all-time low.

Through 44 games the enigmatic power forward posted 22 points, with 16 coming with the man advantage.

Coach John Tortorella brought him in after watching him on the Sabres and admiring his powerful one-timer.  He designed a powerplay system surrounded around Kotalik and rookie Michael Del Zotto, hoping the young defenseman would feed his counterpart often and successfully.  Through the first twelve games he played at a point-per-game pace which really discounts his numbers over the remaining 32 games.

His 22 points place him sixth on the team in scoring which speaks more on the Rangers inability to score when he struggles than his role on the team.  Still there must be a need for a four time 20-goal scorer somewhere out there.

Last year he fetched a 2nd round pick from the Oilers terminating his tenure in Buffalo.  Considering Kotalik only potted 43 points last year, his 40 point pace seems surprisingly consistent.  Regardless, GM Glen Sather most likely will dump his salary with two more years of a flat 3 million dollar cap hit.

Sather dumped Matt Cullen to the Hurricanes with three years remaining at a similar salary.  Cullen only fetched a 3rd round pick, an AHL player and a mid-level prospect.  At best the Rangers look at a 3rd round pick and some help for the Wolfpack.  Calgary and possibly Colorado or Anaheim likely would require help on the wing come deadline day or if these rumors prove true even sooner.

Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Editor
amonaghan@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @NHLHotStove

The Carolina Hurricanes, currently clawing and scratching their way out of the cellar within Eastern Conference, face some tough decisions down the road. From now until March 3rd, one of two things will happen.

Either the Hurricanes perform a miracle on ice similar to the St. Louis Blues of last year, or they pull the trigger on sending veteran players to playoff bound teams.  In return the Hurricanes will acquire pieces, whether it be picks or prospects, to build their future.

One player takes precedence above the rest, Ray Whitney, who at 37 years of age still plays an effective, playmaking role.

A comparable scenario to a Whitney caliber player would be to revisit the trade made between the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins for Bill Guerin.  An older UFA who can support a top six role on any team but whose age restricts his immediate value.

The Islanders received a conditional pick for their captain, which would be fair value for the Canes. Depending on where the Penguins finished the season determined the round of the pick. If the Hurricanes moved Whitney to a legitimate cup contender, a conditional pick would be almost necessary.

Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford needs to figure out what brings more value to this team and what direction they want to go next year.  Do they need the sentimental pick, a returning 38-year-old winger, or a potential 2nd or 3rd round draft pick.

Current rumors list Vancouver, Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles as interested parties.  The most recent rumor, circulating on various outlets, would send him to Vancouver for a second round pick.

This trade would be a welcome addition for the Canucks and their second line, as Mason Raymond fights inconsistency.  Ryan Kesler could use a playmaking wing to boost his offensive output.

From NEWSOBSERVER.COM:

Chip Alexander reports Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos is now looking ahead to next season, expecting the Hurricanes roster will be younger and the team’s budget to be leaner as the club rebuilds around Eric Staal and Cam Ward. Karmanos said at the end of the season they’ll sit down with aging captain Rod Brind’Amour, who has one more season remaining on his contract, to discuss his future. Karmanos also said head coach Paul Maurice won’t be replaced.

These words from Chip Alexander almost ensure Matt Cullen, Ray Whitney and probably Joe Corvo will wear different jerseys come March 3rd. With that, expect a trade over the next couple of weeks.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS Senior Writer
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @ACHockeyGuys

Just a couple of trade rumors going around the league.

• The Columbus Blue Jackets are not looking to make a move at the moment according to Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch.  As of this writing only two teams have less wins than the Blue Jackets in the last ten games, the Oilers and Hurricanes.
  GM Scott Howson believes the team as it is currently constructed needs to and should improve.  If we profile Howson a bit we can see he tends to bring in younger players via trade, picking up Fedor Tyutin and Antoine Vermette in separate deals last season.  If he was to make a move like this, it would likely have to be later in the year when more teams fall out of the race.  It could also involve moving a valuable young player who has fallen out of favor such as he did with Pascal Leclaire and Nikolai Zherdev.  Nikolai Filatov anybody?
• Chris Botta’s Islanders Point Blank reports that the Islanders will spend cap room to make the playoffs.  As Botta mentions, the Isles need two top six forwards preferably a center and left wing.  With their salary cap situation the way it is, GM Garth Snow can make a salary dump type move and acquire a good player without giving up a high draft pick or solid prospect.  A quick look around the League renders very few clear-cut sellers.  Pure speculation but Paul Kariya or Matt Cullen would make sense if their teams decide to sell.
• Chip Alexander’s Canes Now says the Hurricanes have no easy way out of their current situation.  Mired by injuries, they sit in dead last in the Eastern Conference and have won only three out of their last ten games.  So what is GM Jim Rutherford to do?  Bob Harwood of Canes Country lists his speculated options in his recent discussion.  Tough call on what is the best way out of the team’s funk, it certainly feels like the calm before the storm, or in this case Hurricane.

Based on Matthew Pouliot’s series on Circling the Bases, I have decided restore the rosters for every NHL team.  Like Pouliot, I have established some ground rules for my selections.

1. Each team contains players they originally drafted or signed before any other NHL team.  This includes players drafted and not signed, as well as European free agents coming over at an older age.
2. I have chosen to leave retired players off the list, and lean toward players in the AHL rather than those deported (KHL, SEL, DEL, etc.).

Essentially I am choosing the best available players for a team to succeed in the current NHL season.  All 30 teams will be covered, with grades assigned to forwards, defense and goaltending.  After all 30 articles are written, they will be ranked in order.  This series’ intent is to reward or shame NHL scouts.

The lineup for the Anaheim Ducks is as follows.

Forwards:

The forward core for the Ducks is extremely deep. Their top 9 combines skill, speed and toughness making a combination that few other teams have rivaled.  In addition to the Ducks great drafting, they successfully signed and implemented undrafted free agents into their roster.

Bobby Ryan - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry

Paul Kariya - Andy MacDonald - Dustin Penner

Chris Kunitz - Matt Cullen - Joffrey Lupul

Drew Miller - Ryan Shannon - Trent Hunter

Ex.  Ryan Carter, Matt Belesky, Andrew Ebbett, PA Parenteau

The top line, which ironically is the Ducks’ current first line, produces one of the most effective lines in hockey.  In addition, the second line of Kariya – MacDonald – Penner features a speed/skill element with a tough power forward able to bang home the garbage goals.  The bottom six consists of several defensively responsible players, most of which could play on any third line in hockey.  Trent Hunter could be a future Selke winner and he is relegated to the fourth line.

Grade: A

Defense:

Despite the abundance of NHL forward developed by the Ducks system, the scouts make up for it by barely developing six NHL defenders.

Ladislav Smid – Ruslan Salei

Shane O’Brien – Jordon Leopold

Brendan Mikkelson – Mark Popovic

The group produced hardly could fill out an NHL D-corps.  Brendan Mikkelson and Mark Popovic are currently bottom pairing players on bottom feeding teams, raising the question of whether or not they would cut it on a more competitive team.  Shane O’Brien could handle top 4 duty, however he is also better suited on the last pairing due to mental gaffes.  Both Leopold and Salei are adequate defenders although likely past their primes, meanwhile Smid has first pairing potential but is unproven.  Niclas Havelid returned overseas before this season, he would slightly improve this weakness.

Grade: D

Goaltenders:

Like their forward group, the Ducks developed high-end talent in this area.

Ilya Bryzgalov

Jonas Hiller

Bryzgalov is among the league leaders in GAA this year, while Hiller proved himself last year fully capable of backstopping a playoff team.  Although neither tender is elite, they both are consistent and adequate starters which should see a ton of goal support.

Grade: B+

I hope you enjoyed reading this, I will attempt to get all 30 articles done as soon as possible.  Feel free to leave some feedback!

-Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Founder
thehotstove@gmail.com