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.

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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 PicktownGolfer (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)

In the last three games, #CBJ G Steve Mason has allowed a goal on the opponent’s 2nd shot (MIN), 2nd shot (VAN) and 3rd shot (COL).

While this poor start may appear to be a coincidence, those of use who remember last season’s ‘NHL Premier’ recall Mason giving up similar early goals overseas.

In his first game of the season, Mason surrendered a goal to San Jose Sharks forward Torrey Mitchell with only 2:11 elapsed in the first period. The following tilt, Devin Setoguchi lit the lamp at 2:02 of the first. Even though the Blue Jackets managed to come away with two points over those two contests, it was an uphill battle, and furthermore the team has not been so fortunate this season with only one point through four.

GM Scott Howson does an excellent job in assembling a team. He does an even better job of letting his coach manage the day-to-day duties, filling the holes as necessary. His typical modus operandi involves trading or acquiring younger players, typically in their prime or about to hit it. He did this when he acquired R.J. Umberger, Antoine Vermette, Fedor Tyutin and more recently Jeff Carter and James Wisniewski. In short, Howson has assembled a fine team which could stay competitive despite playing in arguably the toughest Division in hockey.

The problem, whether coach Scott Arniel can see it or not, is Steve Mason. In fact, he believes unnecessary pressure, not his starting goalie, is the problem. Recently Arniel took down the Western Conference standings — a smart move considering his club sits at the very bottom. From Puck-Rakers Blog:

Here’s Arniel: “I liked the fact that it was up where you could see it. But last year we did notice, when we were playing really well in January and we won three games in a row, or four games in a row … we never moved (in the standings). It was a little bit of a downer for us when we were still playing well.”

Arniel has part of that statement right as last season they never moved up in the standings no matter how well they played.

Most of their general malaise was due to how far the club already sank. Mason lost seven one-goal games in a year where the team finished 16 games out of the playoffs. Those games didn’t make a difference, or wouldn’t have rather, but the 12 losses of three goals or more in games Mason started certainly did.

This club doesn’t light the lamp at an elite level but their early deficits and demoralizing losses certainly don’t bolster confidence in the locker room. At least Arniel realizes this as the team sent down promising rookie Cam Atkinson because they don’t want to hinder his development. Fellow rookies David Savard and Ryan Johansen also have been spared tough minutes since it really doesn’t help them to lose even if it is against NHL competition.

The way Howson runs this team he could eventually produce something special. If the club can develop chemistry they could be good for a few seasons and spare Rick Nash of a career of never winning a playoff game. Acquiring rookie Mark Dekanich — a 25-year-old netminder who dominated the AHL — was a bright move on Howson’s part. Should the Vancouver native find himself healthy, he could just earn the starting job with a chance to right the ship.

Over this past offseason, the team addressed every weakness except for one. Should they find that final piece, they could give the rest of the Central Division a run for its respective standing.

By Jeff Quirin
NHL Hot Stove Associate Editor

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The hockey blogging community is the strongest its ever been and grows daily. From aspiring journalists to devoted fans who all want to share their unique perspectives on their favorite teams and push their material out across the net. Yet, they remain the greatest asset to the NHL with the weakest capitalization. So when opportunity presents itself to engage some of the best around and maybe add one more drop in the “acceptance of bloggers” bucket, I jump on it.

More often than not this will take the form of a Q&A. It’s concise and simple. As Associate Editor I hope to bring more of this style of content throughout the season to expose the readers of NHL Hot Stove to a wide array ideas and hockey points of view they may not have otherwise.

In this season’s first such venture five bloggers covering the five Central Division clubs have answered ten questions relating to the near future of the division.

Bringing the cannon to the party, is Columbus Blue Jackets fan and blogger Martin Poston of the Martini Hockey blog. You can follow him on Twitter: @MartiniHockey.

One of Smashville’s finest scribes, Mark Willoughby of Hockey Independent and The View From 111, has the Nashville Predators covered. You can follow him on Twitter: @TheViewfrom111.

Two of NHL Hot Stove’s own cover the top dogs in the Central. Ryan Hackett with the Chicago Blackhawks and Christina Roberts with the Detroit Red Wings. You can follow Ryan on Twitter: @Hawknut and Christina on Twitter: @Franzenmuth.

Normally I would dish out the thoughts from a St. Louis Blues pov, but for this post Brian Heanchen of Hank’s Sports Blog will take over. You can follow him on Twitter: @Brian_Haenchen

To the questions.

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Question 1. Who is the front runner to win the Central Division? The Detroit Red Wings or Chicago Blackhawks?

Martin Poston:Red Wings, easily. I’m not among those ready to anoint Chicago as a threat to the throne just yet. Corey Crawford had a breakout season for sure. Whether or not he can continue that success will determine whether the Blackhawks even make the Playoffs this year. And that’s not a given by any means.

Mark Willoughby: The front runner to win the Central is the Detroit Red Wings. The team still has the components to win the division: a solid netminder; sound defense; and forwards that know how to score. That being said, the Wings are going to net their backup goalie to give them some quality starts to spell Jimmy Howard. And as with every team in the division, they will have to stay healthy. A critical injury is all that separates any of the teams from contending and being an also-ran.

Christina Roberts: I’ve got to put in a little bias and say the Red Wings. While we may have lost some key players like Brian Rafalski, Kris Draper, and Chris Osgood, we picked up some pretty good guys like Ian White, Mike Commodore, and Ty Conklin (who was good before when he was on our team). We haven’t lost our core players, and Nick Lidstrom is still playing as good as ever. Chicago was a little shaky last year, especially with Toews having a rough first half, and losing so many guys in the off-season hurt them a lot. I definitely wouldn’t count Chicago out of it, though.

Ryan Hackett: Way to make me sound biased right off the bat here, Jeff. I say it has to be the Blackhawks. They’re as deep as ever, and they added some much-needed toughness. The goaltending situation is solid with Crawford getting a nice extension, and they’ve had a nice long offseason to get healthy and hungry.

Brian Haenchen: Detroit Red Wings. Personally, I’m not sold on the Blackhawks. Corey Crawford showed a lot of potential in his rookie season and I expect him to continue performing at a high level this season. However, the pieces around him are not going to be enough for the Hawks to dethrone the Red Wings.

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Question 2. Between Nashville, St. Louis and Columbus, who has the best chance at unseating the top two and why?

MP: If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to never count out Nashville. True, they lost some quality guys (and withstood an arbitration nightmare with Shea Weber) and didn’t add much in Free Agency in terms of marquee talent. However, Barry Trotz has proven to be a coach who can do a lot with less. They might even threaten Detroit in April.

MW: Nashville has the best chance of unseating the Wings as the top team in the Division. The Predators have the best goalie in the Division and one of the best in the NHL. The defense will be replacing a few components on the third and fourth pairing, but although young, these players will be immensely talented. The big question for the Predators is the forward group- more specifically, can they score goals? I think they will be able to do so, at least enough to win. Last season, the Predators went 4-2 against the Wings and were 3-3 against the Blackhawks.

CR: Nashville has always scared me. While St. Louis and Columbus have added components to their rosters, they both still have problems with injuries and until they overcome that, they won’t be scaring the Red Wings anytime soon (minus those handful of games us Wings fans like to block out that were, what, 8-0 and 10-3? Something ridiculous like that). Regardless, I think Nashville is still a force to be reckoned with. And Shea Weber scares me.

RH: Definitely Nashville. Their style of play really gums up the works of the fast, high-scoring offenses of Detroit and Chicago and their first playoff series win has to have them thirsty to get back there.

BH: The Saint Louis Blues have the best chance of those teams to finish among the top 2 in the Central…as long as they can stay healthy. Player to watch: Patrik Berglund. Berglund bounced back from a disappointing sophomore season, scoring a career high in goals. Do not forget about Jaroslav Halak, who will benefit from having that one full season as starting net minder under his belt.

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Question 3. Who made the best and worst off season moves?

MP: Columbus’ top-to-bottom audit of the organization led to a lot of offseason changes, and GM Scott Howson pounced in June with an unprecedented boldness, acquiring Jeff Carter and James Wisniewski via trade, then making the sale with Wiz in the final hours before free agency. It’s hard to call anyone’s offseason the “worst,” but Nashville’s offseason was rough, that was for sure. The team has tended to be frugal in the past, and going to arbitration with Weber burned them badly. However, accepting the huge arbitration award and keeping Shea Weber was about the best move they could make under the circumstances. Chicago didn’t add much more to help themselves, other than an aging forward in Andrew Brunette and a reason for opponents to watch their back when Dan Carcillo is on the ice. Some call it grit. I call it a suspension waiting to happen.

MW: The team that made the best off-season moves in the Division would have to be Columbus Blue Jackets. The addition of Jeff Carter up front and James Wisniewski on the blue line will certainly bolster their roster. Carter will add scoring punch to go along with Rick Nash, which has been desperately needed by the Jackets. The measure of this acquisition will be Carter’s mental approach to playing in Columbus and his presence in the locker room. If both are good, then this move by Scott Howson will be remembered as a turning point for the franchise. If Carter turns out to be a negative in both areas, the trade will also be remembered as a turning point, but not in a good way.

CR: I would have to say Columbus made the best moves. They jumped on opportunities to sign two awesome players: James Wisniewski and Jeff Carter. The worst moves…honestly, you could say the Red Wings. They didn’t make any super spectacular moves like everyone thought they would, what with Rafalski’s salary opening up. That’s not to say their moves were bad, just not as good as everyone else’s.

RH: The best: Columbus. Adding James Wisniewski at the blue line was a bit risky, especially at that salary, but could potentially pay big dividends, but the acquisition of Jeff Carter could finally relieve some of the pressure on Rick Nash. Worst: Nashville. The moves in the Central were altogether good, I just thought the Preds did the least amount of good, and possibly fractured their long-term relationship with defenseman Shea Weber.

BH: By adding Jeff Carter, a player not known for his play-making abilities, and sticking him on a line with Rick Nash, a prolific forward who can do it all, Columbus turned themselves into a serious playoff contender.

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Question 4. By season’s end, which potential one-two punch stands to push Pavel Datsyuk/Henrik Zetterberg for the best in the division: Jeff Carter/Rick Nash, David Backes/Chris Stewart, Patric Hornqvist/Martin Erat or Jonathan Toews/Patrick Kane?

MP: Ah, the “one-two punch.” So invaluable to a team. Tough choice here. It’s hard not to go with Toews and Kane. However, Nash and Carter are going to turn some heads this year as the forward lines mesh in Columbus.

MW: Until someone in the division can step up and surpass their production, the best one-two punch in the Division is Toews and Kane. I think they will be again this season.

CR: Toews/Kane is always a good one-two punch that has the potential to give the Euro Twins a run for their money, assuming they both stay healthy. I can see Carter/Nash being absolutely insane, though. Nash is dangerous and giving him someone on his line that will easily complement him.

RH: Again, I’m going to sound like an absolute homer here, but I say it’s Toews & Kane. They have the championship experience and the depth behind them to have career years once again, and barring injury, could be the top duo in not just the division, but the entire NHL.

BH: As much as it pains me to say it, Toews and Kane will push Datsyuk and Zetterberg for the best one-two punch in the division. Those two players are something special.

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Question 5. By season’s end the top starting netminder in the Central will be: Jimmy Howard, Pekka Rinne, Jaroslav Halak, Corey Crawford or Steve Mason?

MP: Howard.

MW: The top starting netminder at the end of the season will once again be Pekka Rinne.

CR: I’d have to go with either Jimmy Howard or Pekka Rinne. Rinne always tends to annoy me when the Wings play against him because he seems to stand on his head and make phenomenal saves. He’s had a few solid years, too, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he were top. But don’t forget that Howard was up for the Calder two years ago with fairly solid numbers. His stats may have taken a slight beating last year in comparison, but he still wound up with the same amount of wins. It’ll be a tough battle for both goaltenders.

RH: I think it’s a two-horse race here between Pekka Rinne and Corey Crawford, with my early vote going to Rinne. If he even approaches the season he had last year, he’s going to take the Predators far.

BH: Jaroslav Halak. That full season as a starting goalie will do wonders for his confidence.

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Question 6. If any of the five head coaches are fired, who will be first and why?

MP: I’m not sure anyone is really on the hot-seat during the season, unless someone has an absolutely  disastrous October/November. If Chicago winds up the odd team out in the Central (which I think will put four teams in this year), then maybe Quenneville.

MW: No Central Division coach will be fired this season.

CR: Either Columbus’s head coach or St. Louis’s. Mike Babcock, Joel Quenneville, and Barry Trotz’s jobs are all pretty much safe. Neither coach has been around for a super long time, and both are vying for playoff spots. If either team falters too much, I can see a head coach cut from the roster…

RH: Well we can throw out Mike Babcock and Joel Quenneville right away, as they’ve cemented their jobs for a few years. No one does more with less than Barry Trotz, so I doubt he’s on the hot seat. That leaves Davis Payne in St. Louis and Scott Arniel in Columbus, and Arniel has only had the job a year, so he’s got a little bit longer of a leash.

BH: I do not think any of the five coaches will be fired.

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Question 7. The Predators will make the playoffs again, if…

MP: …they get off to a hot start at the beginning of the season. After that, they have to keep playing their brand of hockey. Consistency will be the key, especially playing in the Central.

MW: The Predators will make the playoffs if A) they stay healthy and B) their young forwards step up and produce scoring. I’m looking at you, Colin Wilson, Blake Geoffrion, and Nick Spalding.

CR: The Predators will make the playoffs again if they stay healthy and focused.

RH: If Hornqvist can stay healthy and have near a career year and Rinne is a Vezina contender once again. Not necessarily a finalist, but at least in the conversation.

BH: The Predators will make the playoffs again, if Pekka Rinne can match his performance from last season (33 wins in 64 starts, 2.12 GAA).

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Question 8. The Blues will make the playoffs, if…

MP: …Halak gets better in net and steals more games. Also, if aging veterans Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner make the most of their one-year deals and provide leadership and scoring on the ice.

MW: The Blues make the playoffs if they can keep from going into some kind of mental funk that has seemed to plague them over the past few seasons. What’s up with not being able to win in your own barn?

CR: The Blues will make the playoffs if their roster stays healthy. Last year, I had them pegged as sixth in the conference come playoff time. But look at how many of their players went down with injuries and how well they fared once everyone came back.

RH: They either improve their penalty kill or stay out of the box and T.J. Oshie stops acting like Randy Moss and plays up to his enormous potential.

BH: The Blues will make the playoffs again, if they can stay healthy.

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Question 9. The Blue Jackets will make the playoffs, if…

MP: …Steve Mason rediscovers his rookie form, and if Jeff Carter and James Wisniewski deliver in the roles for which the Blue Jackets are paying them so handsomely. The Jackets have the personnel to roll out two threatening scoring lines, and possibly a third.

MW: The Blue Jackets will make the playoffs if Steve Mason returns to form from 2 years ago and if these guys get selective amnesia and forget their rather forgettable history up to this point.

CR: The Blue Jackets will make the playoffs if their expensive purchases over this past off-season pay off. And if Steve Mason has a season similar to his Calder-winning season.

RH: Nash and Carter can both eclipse the 60 -point mark and Mason returns to solid form.

BH: The Blue Jackets will make the playoffs, if the tandem of Jeff Carter and Rick Nash can live up to their lofty expectations.

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Question 10. What will be the final standings in the division?

MP: I’m not kidding, it’s a tough call on this. The Central will put four teams in the Playoffs (all five, if one of the Cali teams in the Pacific falters). The Central Division will reside in the top nine, and if it comes to this, the Blues edge out Chicago: 1. Detroit, 2. Nashville, 3. Columbus, 4. St. Louis, 5. Chicago.

MW: 1. Detroit, 2. Nashville, 3. Chicago, 4. St. Louis, 5. Columbus.

CR: Final standings in the division (this is tough): 1) Red Wings 2) Blackhawks 3) Columbus 4) Nashville 5) St. Louis. I think this will be one of the closest races in recent years.

RH: Chicago, Nashville, Detroit, Columbus, St. Louis (Sorry Jeff…)

BH: 1. Detroit, 2. Nashville, 3. Saint Louis, 4. Columbus, 5. Chicago. I think Detroit will run away with it, but Nashville, Saint Louis, Columbus, and Chicago will all finish within 10-15 points of one another.

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Much has been said. Conclusions to draw?

- The Red Wings and Blackhawks are still the king of the mountain.

- Predators are a scrappy bunch who cannot be left for dead and will push on the top two. Maintaining what they have is the key, besides more goals.

- Won’t believe the Blues can do it till they actually do it.

- Kane and Toews are the top duo not named Datsyuk/Zetterberg.

- Doesn’t seem likely that a coach is fired.

- Goaltending is a significant concern for all five teams.

- Much love for the Carter trade and for Pekka Rinne.

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Not sure when the next Q&A will be, but some ideas are in the works. Have a topic you’d like to see discussed? Contact me via Twitter, @JTQ_1.

Thanks for reading.

By Danny Di Nicolantonio

You want to play fantasy hockey, and think you have what it takes to win?  Well, you’ll be one step closer to winning your league after this week’s fantasy hockey preview series.  There is no better place to start than the guys between the pipes:  Goaltenders.

During most drafts you will be required to have two starting goaltender roster spots, then one or two backup slots on the bench.  Even though forwards are the first to be drafted in the beginning, there are statistics out there that indicate goaltenders are going toward the backend of that first round.

Depending on the size of the league you are in, the average being 8-12 teams per league, and where you are positioned to pick, this will help you develop a strategy for the draft.  Logically the reason why we see goaltenders picked toward the end of the first round is because, the draft is about to head back in the other direction giving this team two picks fairly close together, if not back to back.  As a result, it gives a team the opportunity to select a forward and a goaltender right off the bat.  There are players in the league that I refer to as “trend setters”, and these are the teams that may not have had an opportunity to select a star player at the beginning of the draft and may nab two goaltenders with their first two picks that create a wave of three or four goaltenders being selected.

There are many factors that go into ranking and drafting a goaltender that include, risk, reward, age, prone to injury.

Ranked Goaltenders 2011-2012 Fantasy Hockey:

Player Team GP SA GA GAA W L OT SV SV% Shutouts
Tim Thomas BOS 57 1811 112 2.00 35 11 9 1699 0.938 9
Roberto Luongo VAN 60 1753 126 2.11 38 15 7 1627 0.928 4
Pekka Rinne NSH 64 1905 134 2.12 33 22 9 1771 0.930 6
Tomas Vokoun WSH 57 1753 137 2.55 22 28 5 1616 0.922 6
Jonathan Quick LAK 61 1631 134 2.24 35 22 3 1497 0.918 6
Henrik Lundqvist NYR 68 1965 152 2.28 36 27 5 1813 0.923 11
Ryan Miller BUF 66 1964 165 2.59 34 22 8 1799 0.916 5
Corey Crawford CHI 57 1545 128 2.30 33 18 6 1417 0.917 4
Jimmy Howard DET 63 1830 168 2.79 37 17 5 1662 0.908 2
Marc-Andre Fleury PIT 65 1742 143 2.32 36 20 5 1599 0.918 3
Carey Price MTL 72 2147 165 2.35 38 28 6 1982 0.923 8
Ilya Bryzgalov PHI 68 2125 168 2.48 36 20 10 1957 0.921 7
Antti Niemi SJS 60 1741 140 2.38 35 18 6 1601 0.920 6
Miikka Kiprusoff CGY 71 1935 182 2.63 37 24 6 1753 0.906 6
Dwayne Roloson TBL 54 1596 138 2.59 24 25 5 1458 0.914 4
Cam Ward CAR 74 2375 184 2.56 37 26 10 2191 0.923 4
Steve Mason CBJ 54 1541 153 3.03 24 21 7 1388 0.901 3
Martin Brodeur NJD 56 1313 127 2.45 23 26 3 1186 0.903 6
Kari Lehtonen DAL 69 2043 175 2.55 34 24 11 1868 0.914 3
Jonas Hiller ANA 49 1493 114 2.56 26 16 3 1379 0.924 5
James Reimer TOR 37 1134 90 2.60 20 10 5 1044 0.921 3
Mike Smith PHX 22 576 58 2.90 13 6 1 518 0.899 1
Ondrej Pavelec WPG 58 1558 147 2.73 21 23 9 1558 0.914 4
Niklas Backstrom MIN 51 1566 132 2.66 22 23 5 1434 0.916 3
Jaroslav Halak STL 57 1518 136 2.48 27 21 7 1382 0.910 7
Craig Anderson OTT 51 1546 135 2.66 24 20 4 1411 0.918 2
Nikolai Khabibulin EDM 47 1389 153 3.40 10 32 4 1236 0.890 2

We’ll take an in-depth look at defensemen tomorrow, left and right wingers on Thursday, and centers on Friday.

After an eventful first weekend to the Free Agency period, many Nashville Predators fans are left scratching their heads and with many mixed emotions.

Early last week the Predators announced they would not be re-signing veteran winger Steve Sullivan to a new contract.  Only three days later, the Preds dropped another surprise when they announced they were going to buy out long time Predator J.P. Dumont.  But, due to nagging injury problems for both players, the move was a necessary one.  Dumont and Sullivan were both very loved and respected members of the Nashville community and are going to be greatly missed by the fans here.

When you couple these surprise departures with the allegations that arose last week of improperly submitted offer sheets to RFA’s, the future of the Preds has many fans worried.  Involved in this snag are RFA’s Sergei Kostitsyn, Matt Halischuk, Nick Spaling, and Cal O’Reilly.  Also involved are AHLers Linus Klasen who will be headed to Europe next season, Andreas Thuresson, and Chris Mueller.  Thuresson was traded on Saturday to the New York Rangers in exchange for AHLer Brodie Dupont.  For more on the RFA snag, read this story posted by Section303.

As July 1st rolled around, Predators fans wondered what was going to happen next to an already in question team.  It didn’t take long for the first domino in the Predators Free Agency pool to fall.  Center Marcel Goc left Nashville and signed a 3 year $5.19 million deal with the Florida Panthers.  Goc missed a portion of the season due to several shoulder injuries, but will be sorely missed at the center spot.  Not long after this news, Sullivan announced via Twitter that he was now a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sullivan signed a one-year deal worth $1.5 million.

That same afternoon, winger Joel Ward, who had really made a name for himself during this years playoffs notching 13 points in 12 games, inked a deal with the Washington Capitals for four-years worth $12 million.  Also departing from the Predators was depth goalie Mark Dekanich.  Dex as he is better known as, signed a one-year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets after posting an AHL best .931 save percentage.  Dekanich will be battling with Steve Mason for the starting job in Columbus.

On Sunday, the Predators front office decided to drop another bomb on its fans.  They announced that they had traded center Matthew Lombardi and defenseman Cody Franson to the Toronto Maple Leafs in return for defenseman Brett Lebda and minor leaguer Robert Slaney.  Lombardi only skated in two games for the Predators last season after suffering a season ending concussion, making it the third of his career.  Losing Franson means losing experience on the blue line, but more importantly losing a very good power play specialist.  It remains to see how this trade will work out for the Preds due to the fact that Slaney has never seen any NHL ice time, and Lebda who is a third line d-man at best.

Later Sunday afternoon, Nashville announced it had signed forward and goal scorer Niclas Bergfors to a one-year contract worth $575,000.  It appears as though the Predators are beginning to add some scoring in the event that the RFA hearing set for July 8th does not go Nashville’s way.

After a quiet 4th of July, the Predators announced Tuesday afternoon that they had signed two forwards in Zach Stortini from the Edmonton Oilers, and free agent Kyle Wilson.  Stortini spent most of last season in the AHL after spending 2007-2010 with the Oilers.  This is most likely a depth move by the Preds, and will see Stortini end up in Milwaukee unless, once again, the Preds are bitten by the RFA snag.  Wilson however, is the most likely of the two to see NHL ice time this coming season.  After bouncing from the Wild to the Capitals, he finally landed with the Blue Jackets where he notched 11 points in just 32 games.

While Nashville has started shoring up its depth, fans are still waiting for the announcement that team captain Shea Weber has signed his new deal.  Along with this, fans are waiting for GM David Poile to announce a big offensive signing due to all of the salary dumping and space clearing he has been doing so far.  Until that announcement is made, many fans are anxiously shifting in their seats wondering what’s next for their beloved Preds.

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

There are many ways to describe the St. Louis Blues Blues loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets Wednesday night.

Defeated. Destroyed. Demolished.

There is no sugar coating to an 8-1 loss to an inter-division opponent. Columbus started the game at a playoff level intensity and put the pedal to the floor for 60 minutes. No answer came from the visiting bench. A rarity in the first 13 games of the season.

Goals came early and often from all angles. In one case, literally. An odd angle shot for the second of the game came from the end red line and bounced off a cheating Jaroslav Halak and in to the net. As if the Nathan Horton post shot early in the Boston game five days prior wasn’t enough of a reminder to be aware 100 per cent of the time. It’s been said by those around Montreal that Halak has an absent minded game every five or six starts. Hopefully that’s out of the way now so another streak can begin. However, Ty Conklin wasn’t much better. The duo combined to allow eight goals on 35 shots against.

Neither netminder was given much support either. The battered and beaten crew on defense resmbled the Mighty Ducks first game under Gordon Bombay. Poor mental decision making leading to odd man breaks and several breakaways. Of which Jakub Voracek buried both while streaking in behind the Eric Brewer and Erik Johnson pairing.

The other five defenders didn’t fair much better. Nikita Nikitin and Ian Cole both struggled as did Alex Pietrangelo. Some kudos should go to Tyson Strachan and Nathan Oystrick. Ther were only a minus-1 and showed more fire and heart throughout the game than their blueline bretheren. Still, the overall effort in terms of play by the defense was well below the standard set.

Where one trend reversed, another continued.

An out of sync power play and stick choking skill players failed to score a goal. It was the combined efforts of super grinders Vladimir Sobotka and BJ Crombeen who producede the lone goal. Andy McDonald, David Backes and Brad Boyes combine for four goals in 39 games with a salary of $11.2 million. If the Blues are to survive till the All-Star break when all the long term injuries should return, those well paid need to live up to their pay checks.

Speaking of long term injuries, add leading scorer TJ Oshie to that list. During the Cam Janssen gifted power play (for taking liberties with RJ Umberger), Voracek allows a puck to ring around the boards past him. As Oshie goes up to pressure the point man the Columbus winger sticks out his rear end and knocks down Oshie. A scrum forms and as Oshie heads in Sami Pahlsson grabs him from behind. Oshie ends upgoing down with his left leg underneath him. There was no pressure on the leg as he is helped off the ice. Result? fractured ankle and surgery. Abscence likely measured in months, not weeks.

I do not believe Pahlsson attempted to injure Oshie, but its very peculiar that he tried to restrain him from behind. Most of the time, 99.9% of the time, the players face each other. That said, is it fair to ask that if Janssen doesn’t take a redicilous penalty roughing Umberger after the whistle, does Voracek interfere with Oshie and Pahlsson grab him?

There is no time to dwell on either loss. A bigger rival visits Scottrade Thursday. The Nashville Predators are wounded and thale losing side in five straight.

Blues’ Davis Payne is now facing his toughest challenged as a head coach. Down six regular players and the those healthy are struggling on the offensive half of the ice. Finding a way to CTRL-ALT-Delete the memories of his crew is imperative. How and if the Blues survive their first crisis will clarify if their success is for real and sustainable.

Per Lou Korac the expected lineup may look like the following:

Steen-McDonald-Backes
D’Agostini-Berglund-Boyes
Porter-McClement-Crombeen
Drazenovic-Sobotka-Janssen

Brewer-Johnson
Niktin-Pietrangelo
Oystrick-Strachan

Jaroslav Halak

- Korac says David Payne confirmed Chris Porter on the McClement line. Sounds like a shutdown line.

- Expect multiple Forwards to be double shifter with Drazenovic and Sobotka. A line that might pack a surprising scoring punch. Don’t be surprised if Drazenovic and Sobotka take a few shifts to the left of McClement as well.

- Carlo Colaiacovo skated Thursday morning, but won’t likely be back till Monday’s national game on Versus against the Colorado Avalanche.

- Brad Winchester skated at the morning skate as well, but is out for this contest.

- No news on David Perron. Still day to day and is progressing.

- Anyone wonder if Jordin Tootoo is a target this evening? Not to injure of course, but a little payback would be in order.

Don’t forget to thank a veteran on this day. Rememer those who have sacrificed so much for all of us to enjoy our freedom.

As always, you are invited to follow @618_STLBlues and @BlueNoteZone on Twitter for in game updates and Blues news.

Sparks are sure to fly, like an “Oshie’d” Rick Nash, as Central Divison Rivals meet for the first time this season. Which surprise team will come out on top? The Conference leading St. Louis Blues or the Columbus Blue Jackets?

Given each teams low GAA totals (Blues at 1.43 and Blue Jacket at 2.47), the game will boil down to goaltending and puck management. Two hallmarks of the Blues early season success.

Goaltending has too been a strength for Columbus, but when it’s Matheiu Garon between the pipes. He was the second star of the week and has a season record of 4-1-0, 1.28 GAA and a .951 Save Precentage. Against the Blues Garon is 2-1-1 with a 2.64 GAA and .912 Save Percentage. Yet, head coach Scott Arneil is going with Steve Mason. Who is 2-5-1 record with a 3.22 GAA and .878 Save Percentage lifetime against the Blues.

This could be excellent news for a group of slumping goal scorers. Both David Backes and Brad Boyes have struggled throughout the 2010-11 season. The puck just won’t go behind opposing netminders. That may change Wednesday night. The two have combined for 18 goals in 46 career games against the Blue Jackets. With top threat David Perron out for his third straight game, someone other than Alex Steen needs to pick up the slack.

Perhaps those goal will come on the power play? Jump staring a unit slowly fading on life support it seems minus Carlo Colaiacovo. Perhaps the only area where Erik Johnson and Alwx Pietrangelo have consistently struggled? Neither has been a much needed power play quarterback in Carlo’s absence. Reports indicate that the former Maple Leaf is progressing, but isn’t ready for action by any stretch.

Brad Winchester is still a little banged up from the San Jose game. He was expected to travel to Columbus. If he is unable to play, Davis Paybe has no problems dressing seven defensemen for the third consecutive game. That likely means Nikita Nikitin and Ian Cole will both dress.

Expect Eric Brewer and Johnson to draw shutdown duty against the Jackets top line of Jakub Voracek, Derick Brassard and Rick Nash.

The Blues lineup should look something like:

Andy McDonald -David Backes-TJ Oshie
Alex Steen-Patrik Berglund-Brad Boyes
Matt D’Agostini-Jay McClement-BJ Crombeen
7th Defenseman-Vladimir Sobotka-Cam Janssen

Eric Brewer-Erik Johnson
Nikita Nikitin-Alex Pietrangelo
Nathan Oystrick-Tyson Strachan
Ian Cole

Jaroslav Halak

-

As always, you are invited to follow @618_STLBlues and @BlueNoteZone on Twitter for in game updates and Blues news.

At the beginning of the season there is always more questions than answers, such is life in pro-sports. But there seem to be quite a few for the Columbus Blue Jackets this year.

A few of the biggies are:

1)      Will Steve Mason return to Calder trophy-winning form?

2)      Will Nash return to the top of the NHL scoring chart?

3)       Will the team need to cancel their tee times again?

After being playoff-bound for the first time in the franchise’s history in the 2008-09 season, the Blue Jackets dropped from 92 points to just 79, good enough for 14^th in the West.

This season, rookie head coach Scott Arniel will try and re-energize what is a potentially lethal offense in Columbus, and show that the Jackets can bang with the big boys in the West by taking what has been a passive unit and turning up the intensity.

One member of the youth-infused Blue Jackets offensive that might be relied upon heavily is Jakub Voracek, 21, who saw his point totals grow last season on a losing team. The young Czech’s totals should rise again this year with Arniel implementing a more aggressive team strategy.

An increase in offense by Voracek would do wonders to help Nash, whose numbers also fell last season, but the return of Nikita Filatov, 20, should be of great help as well.

The young Russian only had two goals in 13 games with the Jackets last season, but everyone in Columbus hopes in a full season Filatov can contribute to the offense, especially on the power play.

Bringing some balance of age and leadership to the young Blue Jacket’s ship is off-season acquisition, and former Oilers captain, Ethan Moreau.

Jared Boll, 24, who had the worst of his three seasons in the NHL last year, told bluejackets.com, “Brining in Ethan is huge for us…He’s been around. He’s a real veteran guy and when he talks, people listen.”

Let’s not forget, Moreau’s Oilers did make it to the Stanley Cup finals. Though, they didn’t win, he knows what it takes to get there.

The Jackets are a young team, but they are not using that as an excuse this time around.

“No one’s really a rookie anymore. Everyone’s played and been around so we can’t use that excuse we’re a young team. We have to grow up and show it on the ice,” Boll said, in the same bluejackets.com interview.

With all eyes on Chicago, Vancouver and San Jose in the West, Nash and Co. will look to borrow from the book of Phoenix and turn some heads, both in Sweden and North America.

Aaron Jankowski
NHLHS Columbus Blue Jackets Correspondent
Aaron.Jankowski@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @aaJankowski

Central

• Antti Niemi got the hook just twelve shots into the game.  Of course, the score was already 3-0.  ”Lot of (tough) bounces,” Niemi said.
• Speaking of bad bounces, Steve Mason delivered another mediocre performance giving up an early and soft goal as the Jackets lost 4-2.  Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch notes Mason has not won consecutive starts since October 17th.
• The Wings squandered a two goal lead eventually falling to the Kings 3-2.  ”We stopped skating; we got outworked,” said captain Nicklas Lidstrom.  Good to see that type of honesty from the veteran.
• Coach Barry Trotz would like to stop rotating his goaltenders and use Pekka Rinne as his starter.  Makes sense as Dan Ellis makes more than the young Finnish netminder.  However, Trotz would not rule out Ellis winning the job. “They dictate who plays, not me. A lot of decisions that coaches make are based on players’ performance. If someone starts taking the ball and running with it, then we’ll go with them.”
• For the third time this year the Blues lost a 3-0 lead on home ice.  ”It’s a terrible third period,” said goalie Chris Mason. “We got caught without a third guy high against the Getzlaf-Perry unit, they scored a goal to get back in the game and had the momentum for the rest of the game.”

Northwest

• Darryl Sutter will not shake up his team despite the outcry from fans and the media.  ”The last 10 we haven’t played very well, and we need to play better,” Sutter explained.
• Ryan Stoa continues to ride the shuttle from Lake Erie to Colorado.  The former University of Minnesota player knows this transition comes with making the team.  ”It’s still my first year. Hopefully, there are many more to come. But I realize the situation I’m in,” said Stoa.
• The Oilers demoted Taylor Chorney after one game.  All signs point to Steve Staios and Ladislav Smid recovering from head trauma, Joanne Ireland of The Edmonton Journal reports.
• The troika of Antti Miettinen, Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette regained their scoring touch as the Wild defeated the Blue Jackets 4-2. “When you’re struggling, you look to those guys,” coach Todd Richards said.
• Roberto Luongo stole in the show in the Canucks 5-1 victory over the Blackhawks.  ”You can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We have to keep winning,” said the Canucks captain.

Pacific

• James Wisniewski used baby powder to loosen his hands and eventually deliver the shootout winner last night.  ”My gloves get real sticky when they start getting wet so they don’t slide on my stick,” Wisniewski said.
• Mike Heika of The Dallas Morning News analyzes impending UFA Marty Turco.
• The PA at Joe Louis Arena mistakenly called Brad Richardson a different but similar name: Brad Richards.  ”They’re both good players,” linemate Anze Kopitar offered. “Richie’s been huge for us with his intensity and his energy every night. He’s been playing a really solid game.”
• Alexander Semin led the Capitals past his Olympic teammate Ilya Bryzgalov with a 4-2 victory. “He’s got some of the best vision in the league,” said teammate Eric Fehr.
• The Sharks win streak grew to five games as Russian starter Evgeni Nabokov defeated United States starter Ryan Miller.  ”He’s a good goalie,” said Joe Pavelski about his future netminder.

Hat tip to the now defunct Illegal Curve for their permission in taking over this daily series.

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

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.

You would expect a more talented roster with nine first round picks and eight of those in the top 10.  Unfortunately, this is a very green team with Rick Nash the most experienced of the Blue Jackets draft picks.  While that fact would not necessarily be a bad thing to have, the next player on the list played almost half the games and already left your organization, definitely a bad thing.

On a team that for the most part is still waiting for their prospects to develop, it’s hard to say exactly what their strength is.

Forwards:

So many players playing out of position and on lines that they should not be on which speaks volumes about the Blue Jackets drafting struggles.  Nash is the only established NHLer playing where he should be.  The forward corps is full of potential, but potential only gets you in the door.  Producing is what keeps you on the roster.

Rick Nash – Gilbert Brule – Jakub Voracek

Nikita Filatov – Derick Brassard – Tim Jackman

Alexandre Picard – Dan Fritsche – Jared Boll

Tom Sestito – Andrew Murray – Derek Dorsett

Bench - Maksim Mayorov

With very little production help for Nash, this team is going to struggle to score goals.  Providing Filatov returns to the Blue Jackets next season, and Ken Hitchcock loosens his reigns, Nash may finally get some scoring help.  Filatov is a naturally gifted scorer and I watched in amazement a few years ago as he dazzled in the World Juniors for Russia, scoring eight goals in 2009.  With six top 10 draft picks, you hope that this squad can fulfill its potential.  Only time will tell.

Grade: C

Defence:

Definitely not the strength of the scouting staff to say the least.  With only 1 bona fide Top four defensemen drafted, this corps is going to give up a lot of shots.  Hopefully they buy the goalies very nice Christmas presents.

Rostislav Klesla – Aaron Johnson

Ole-Kristian Tollefsen – Kris Russell

Marc Methot – John Moore

It was a struggle to find 6 NHL calibre defensemen that the Blue Jackets have drafted and I’m still struggling to find them.  Aside from Klesla, who’s currently on the IR, the defence is filled with 3rd pair defensemen at best.  Top pick John Moore has yet to play an NHL game and is currently playing in the OHL.

Grade: C-

Goaltenders:

If I had to pick an area of drafting strength, I guess I’d have to say it was in between the pipes.  Leclaire and Mason could be a very formidable duo on any roster.  I don’t think I can stress COULD any more then I’m about to.

Pascal Leclaire

Steve Mason

Dan LaCosta

With both goalies having career save percentages hovering around .900 and a very inexperienced defence corps playing in front of them, they will constantly be facing 35-40 shots a night and giving up 3+ goals a game.  Combine that with a forward group that is going to be struggling to score goals and it means both goalies are going to have to improve significantly for Columbus to have any success.  Mason currently is in the middle of what hopefully will just be a sophomore slump.  If he can find the “I don’t know what” that he had in his rookie campaign that produced a 33-20-0-7 record with 2.29 GAA and 10 shutouts, the goaltending situation in Columbus greatly improves.  If Leclaire can remember that stopping a puck with your face hurts when you’re not wearing a mask and can get into more than a handful of games, the situation almost takes care of itself.

Here’s hoping 2010-2011 is better for Blue Jackets goalies then 2009-2010 was.

Grade: B-

Jose Simoes
NHLHS Storyteller
jsimoes@nhlhotstove.com