Flyers’ Eternal Search Continues, Holmgren Looks for Goaltender
NHLHS Philadelphia Flyers Correspondent David Strehle takes a look at Flyers GM Paul Holmgren’s new (and old) mission, to find a franchise goaltender.
For the Philadelphia Flyers it is a seemingly never-ending search, a generational attempt to find that one franchise netminder with which to call their own.
Through the years, we have seen the likes of Tommy Soderstrom, Dominic Roussel, Garth Snow, Jean-Marc Pelletier, Maxime Ouellet, Brian Boucher (in his first stint with the club), Roman Cechmanek, Antero Niittymaki, and Robert Esche anointed as the heir to the throne.
Categories: 30 Team Series, Around the League, Atlantic, Eastern Conference, Eastern Conference, NHLHS Features, Philadelphia Flyers Tags: Alex Auld, Andrew Raycroft, Antero Niittymaki, bob clarke, Brian Boucher, Carey Price, Chris Mason, Dan Ellis, Dan Hamhuis, Dean Lombardi, dominic roussel, Eric Lindros, Evgeni Nabokov, Garth Snow, Jaroslav Halak, Jeff Carter, jena-marc pelletier, Johan Backlund, Johan Hedberg, John Vanbiesbrouck, Jonathan Bernier, Jonathan Quick, Jose Theodore, Josh Harding, Manny Legace, Martin Biron, Marty Turco, maxime ouellet, Michael Leighton, Miikka Kiprusoff, mike liut, Mike Smith, NHL, Niklas Backstrom, Patrick Lalime, Paul Holmgren, Pekka Rinne, Peter Budaj, Peter Laviolette, Philadelphia Flyers, Ray Emery, Robert Esche, roman cechmanek, Ron Hextall, Sean Burke, tommy soderstrom, Vesa Toskala
Canucks Clinch NW Division Crown
With a 4-3 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, the Canucks clinched their 2nd straight Northwest Division title and their 3rd in the last 4 years.
Ryan Kesler opened the scoring at 5:02 of the 1st period with a short-handed goal with assists going to Sami Salo and Alex Burrows. For Burrows, that was his league leading 7th shorthanded point of the season.
Categories: Around the League, By Teams, NHLHS Features, Northwest, Vancouver Canucks, Western Conference Tags: Alex Burrows, Alexander Edler, Alexander Ovechkin, Andrew Brunette, Antti Miettinen, Cody Almond, Henrik Sedin, Kevin Bieksa, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Niklas Backstrom, Roberto Luongo, Ryan Kesler, Sami Salo
Flyers Cough Up Two-Goal, Third Period Lead in Devastating OT Loss
NHLHS writer Dave Strehle takes a look at the Philadelphia Flyers’ latest disaster in which they blew a two-goal lead in the third period in an eventual 4-3 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild.
In a game that was a must-win, the Philadelphia Flyers grabbed a quick lead but once again found a way to lose in the end. Finding themselves in unfamiliar territory, the Orange-and-Black led for almost the entire game. But they sat back and allowed the Minnesota Wild to get back into the game.
Categories: NHLHS Features, Philadelphia Flyers Tags: Brian Boucher, Ian Laperriere, Jeff Carter, kyle brodziak, Marek Zidlicky, Minnesota Wild, NHL, Niklas Backstrom, oscars bartulis, Philadelphia Flyers, Simon Gagne
Ushering in a New Generation: Minnesota Wild
In our newest feature, Ushering in a New Generation, our talented writer Katlyn Gambill takes a deeper look into team success based on a player’s age. Today, she looks at the Minnesota Wild, who are for the sixth oldest team in the league.
As the sixth oldest team in the National Hockey League, the Minnesota Wild (average age of 27.96 years) sit five points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Categories: 30 Team Series, NHLHS Features, Ushering in a New Generation Tags: Andrew Brunette, Chuck Kobasew, Clayton Stoner, Martin Havlat, Mikko Koivu, Minnesota Wild, Niklas Backstrom, Owen Nolan, Pierre-Marc Bouchard
NHL Players in the Olympics
The title says it all. This article will be no more than a comprehensive list of NHL (and some other players owned by NHL teams) players set to participate in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Categories: Olympic Coverage Tags: Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Sulzer, Andrei Kostitsyn, Andrei Markov, Andrej Meszaros, Andrej Sekera, Andres Ambuhl, Antero Niittymaki, Anton Volchenkov, Antti Miettinen, Bobby Ryan, Brenden Morrow, Brent Seabrook, Brian Rafalski, Brooks Orpik, Chris Drury, Chris Pronger, Christian Ehrhoff, Corey Perry, Dan Boyle, Daniel Alfredsson, Daniel Sedin, Dany Heatley, David Backes, David Krejci, Denis Grebeshkov, Dennis Seidenberg, Douglas Murray, Drew Doughty, Duncan Keith, Dustin Brown, Eric Johnson, Eric Staal, Evgeni Malkin, Evgeni Nabokov, Fedor Tyutin, Filip Kuba, Fredrik Modin, Henrik Lundqvist, Henrik Sedin, Henrik Tallinder, Henrik Zetterberg, Ilya Bryzgalov, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jack Johnson, Jamie Langenbrunner, Jan Hejda, Jarkko Ruutu, Jarome Iginla, Jaroslav Halak, Jere Lehtinen, Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Johnny Oduya, Jon Quick, Jonas Gustavsson, Jonas Hiller, Jonathan Toews, Joni Pitkanen, Karlis Skrastins, Kaspars Daugavins, Kimmo Timonen, Loui Eriksson, Lubomir Visnovsky, Luca Sbisa, Marc Andre Fleury, Marcel Goc, Marco Sturm, Marek Zidlicky, Marian Gaborik, Marian Hossa, Mark Streit, Martin Brodeur, Martin Erat, Martin Havlat, Martins Karsums, Mattias Ohlund, Maxim Afinogenov, Michal Handzus, Miikka Kiprusoff, Mike Komisarek, Mike Richards, Mikhail Grabovski, Mikko Koivu, Milan Jurcina, Milan Michalek, Miroslav Satan, Nicklas Backstrom, Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Backstrom, Niklas Hagman, Niklas Kronwall, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, Olli Jokinen, Ondrej Pavelec, Oskars Bartulis, Patric Hornqvist, Patrice Bergeron, Patrick Kane, Patrick Marleau, Patrik Elias, Paul Martin, Paul Stastny, Pavel Datsyuk, Pavel Kubina, Pavol Demitra, Peter Budaj, Phil Kessel, Rick Nash, Roberto Luongo, Roman Polak, Ruslan Salei, Ryan Callahan, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Ryan Malone, Ryan Miller, Ryan Suter, Saku Koivu, Sami Lepisto, Sami Salo, Samuel Pahlsson, Scott Niedermayer, Semyon Varlamov, Sergei Gonchar, Sergei Kostitsyn, Shea Weber, Sidney Crosby, Teemu Selanne, Thomas Greiss, Tim Thomas, Tobias Enstrom, Tomas Fleischmann, Tomas Holmstrom, Tomas Kaberle, Tomas Kopecky, Tomas Plekanec, Tomas Vokoun, Toni Lydman, Tuomo Ruutu, Valtteri Filppula, Yannick Weber, Zach Parise, Zbynek Michalek, Zdeno Chara
Final Destination: Scott Niedermayer
Some players around the League find themselves at a career crossroad. A crossroad with tough decisions to make regarding ongoing speculation of their final season. Speculation whether to stay on a sinking ship and finish at the bottom of the sea or leaving one’s comfort zone in an attempt to stay on top. Certainly no easy decision for any player
While Scott Niedermayer ponders his future in hockey he continues another solid year in his famed career. The same cannot be said for the Anaheim Ducks, who sit 13th in the Western Conference despite coming off a come from behind victory against the Colorado Avalanche. The team finds themselves as of this writing a mere five points behind the eighth seed.
The asking price for the captain should be reasonable, as he would strictly be a playoff rental. However, GM Brian Murray can acquire a potential piece or pieces to build for a brighter future in sunny Anaheim.
A quick look around the league shows there are a few teams in need of Niedermayer’s services. At 37, he still is one of the best defensemen in the game and a huge piece for a few teams looking for that extra push into serious cup contention.
Lets take a closer look at which teams could trade for Niedermayer in order to bring home Lord Stanley’s Cup. Even though he already carries four Stanley Cup rings to his credit, every player in this league starts the season with one goal in mind.
Categories: Anaheim Ducks, Atlantic, By Teams, Central, Chicago Blackhawks, Eastern Conference, Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, Pacific, Philadelphia Flyers, Southeast, Washington Capitals, Western Conference Tags: Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Anaheim Ducks, Andry Greene, Brian Murray, Bryce Salvador, Chicago Blackhawks, Chris Pronger, George McPhee, Johnny Oduya, Los Angeles Kings, Lou Lamoriello, Martin Brodeur, Mike Green, Mike Knuble, New Jersey Devils, Niklas Backstrom, Paul Holmgren, Paul Martin, Philadelphia Flyers, Ray Emery, Rob Niedermayer, Scott Niedermayer, Stan Bowman, Tom Poti, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals, Wayne Gretzky
What’s Eating Steve Mason?
Has the ghost of Jim Carey come to haunt last year’s Calder Trophy winner?
Say it isn’t so!
For those unfamiliar, Carey was a star NHL netminder in Washington for two brilliant seasons in the mid-90s, before being traded and subsequently fading into hockey obscurity faster than you can say….uh…er…Jim Carey.
Speaking for Canadian hockey fans everywhere, there were visions of greatness for the lad from Oakville, Ontario as he ascended the stage last June at the NHL awards ceremony to accept his trophy. With a humbling level of modesty and graciousness, he bowed to Tim Thomas in the Vezina race but we all believed that one day his day would come.
Could the script have been written more perfectly?
As a Canadian kid with a stellar hockey pedigree he dominated and won gold at the 2008 WJC. He started last season in Syracuse recovering from off-season knee surgery, logically it would take a year in the minors for development and tuning. However, a month into the season and after only a few minor league starts, he got the call to Columbus due to Pascal Leclaire injuring his ankle.
After winning his first NHL game, he went on to get his first NHL shutout several games later. Through November and December Mason played brilliantly, winning Rookie-of-the Month honour for both months. The wins and shutouts began piling up and Leclaire, having returned from injury, had a front row seat from the bench. Coach Ken Hitchcock rode the hot hand through the season and Mason’s hand never cooled down. In March ’09 GM Scott Howson traded the injury prone Leclaire to Ottawa, confident that their goalie of the future was in fact their goalie of the present.
How could this fine specimen of a goaltender NOT be the real deal?
Categories: 30 Team Series, Around the League Tags: Henrik Lundqvist, Jim Carey, Ken Hitchcock, Marc Andre Fleury, Martin Brodeur, Niklas Backstrom, Pascal Leclaire, Roberto Luongo, Scott Howson, Steve Mason, Steve Yzerman, Tim Thomas
