By Bill Whitehead

SUNRISE, Fla. — With training camp closer to its end than its beginning, the Florida Panthers are prepared to play their final preseason game tonight in Dallas. It’s a rematch of Tuesday’s contest with the Stars, who prevailed 4-3 in overtime. The result, however, wasn’t what was significant. Here are three things we learned from the last exhibition game at BankAtlantic Center:

Tomas Kopecky and Shawn Matthias create havoc
Kopecky, a summer acquisition from Chicago, and Matthias, whom the team has been hoping to have a breakout year, stood out against Dallas. Kopecky was a fantasy league favorite in the first period — he had the primary assist on Florida’s first goal by Tomas Fleischmann and was camped in front of Stars’ netminder Kari Lehtonen for much of the first half of the period, which resulted in a pair of goaltender interferences. A writer in the press box asked me who Kopecky reminded me of. I answered, “Brooks Laich.” My colleague responded, “Tomas Holmstrom.” Take your pick. Bottom line, it’s been a while since Florida fans have watched a Panther player do what Kopecky does — screen, agitate and work in those dirty areas. It’s the kind of thing that was expected of Byron Bitz but never happened.

As for Matthias, here’s a player at a pivotal point in his career. Florida folded on Kenndal McArdle in the offseason, and it’s time for Matthias to blossom into the player folks think he can be else suffer a similar fate. But Matthias, 23, showed a spark against Dallas, being in the middle of seemingly everything. He even dropped the gloves with Brenden Dillon in a messy third period after teammate Tim Kennedy was boarded by Ryan Garbutt. All of No. 18′s play caught the attention of Florida head coach Kevin Dineen, including coming to Kennedy’s aid after the cheapshot.

“I sure liked the way that Shawn Matthias stepped up,” Dineen said. “He’s a guy who’s trying to establish or solidify his spot on the roster. I think he played a heckuva hockey game.”

Opportunity is knocking. Who will answer?
the loss of two key players this week — goalie Scott Clemmensen (knee) and center Mike Santorelli (shoulder) — the chance for someone to step up and gain some valuable playing time is there for the taking. Goalies Jacob Markstrom and Tyler Plante played against Dallas. The young Swede Markstrom was exceptional in stopping all 10 shots he faced as Florida held a 1-0 lead in the first 30 minutes. Plante relieved Markstrom and was nothing short of dreadful, yielding two goals in his first three minutes of play. One goalie made the best of the chance to be Florida’s backup to Jose Theodore, the other squandered it.

With Santorelli out, the spotlight intensifies on 18-year-old forward Jonathan Huberdeau, who hacked in a goal at the doorstep to cut Florida’s lead to 3-2 with four minutes remaining in regulation. It’s looking more and more like the former Saint John Sea Dog will at least break camp with the team and get the opportunity to show — maybe repeat is a better word — what he has done so far in preseason. He has shown that his skill level and passing abilities are as good as advertised; now he just needs to finish camp strong. Defenseman Erik Gudbranson is another player who is making his best case to be with the Panthers when they take the ice at that dinosaur of an arena in Nassau County next Saturday.

“You know, our first couple rounds of shifts, our first six or eight shifts, were not good,” said Dineen. “We lost pretty much every face-off and didn’t have a lot of jump. I didn’t like the way we started the game, with the exception of (Markstrom). He was game-ready and certainly played a heckuva game. All that goaltenders ever look for is opportunity, and he had his tonight and had a really good showing for his 30 minutes.

“You know what kind of character Erik Gudbranson brings on a nightly basis. I think he was a really solid player out there and looked beyond his years.”

We’ve Got Your Back
The last thing you really want to see late in a preseason game is the cheapshot Kennedy suffered, which resulted in his visor cutting him, but the positive was Florida’s reaction. Every skater in blue on the ice quickly piled on to get at Garbutt. And three minutes earlier, Kris Versteeg showed he could be a pesky Panther when he fought Alex Goligoski in front of Florida’s bench. Fighting in the preseason?

“It builds a little chemistry for our team,” said defenseman Brian Campbell.

As I was leaving, Florida general manager Dale Tallon and I happened to exit adjacent elevators at the same time. We walked outside and engaged in small talk about minor non-hockey stuff — well, golf really — but eventually of course the discussion came back to the Cats. Emphatically, he made his point about how the club just refused to quit down 3-1, displaying the character that has been missing the past few seasons in tight situations. Tallon repeatedly pointed out that this team was not simply going to roll over or go away.

That may have been the most important thing learned from Tuesday.

By Bill Whitehead
NHLHS Florida Panthers Credentialed Correspondent
Twitter: @BillWhiteheadFL
Email: BillWhiteheadFL@hotmail.com

The preseason is a time where rookies and young players look to solidify spots on the club and for veterans to get their timing back and get ready for another grind of a long NHL season. The Ranger lineup will be as follows:

Frolov | Stepan | Gaborik
Dubisnky | Christensen | Zuccarello
Fedotenko | Kennedy | Prust
Boogaard | Boyle | Weise

Staal | Girardi
Semenov | Rozsival
Sauer | McDonagh

Biron
Johnson

This game is a very good chance for Ranger fans to get their first live look at college standout Derek Stepan as he gets the first crack at centering the top unit that features wingers Alex Frolov and Marian Gaborik. It is also the NHL debut for speedy winger Mats Zuccarello, who led the SEL in scoring last year. Ryan McDonagh will also be making his preseason debut. The Wisconsin star defenseman is hopeful to crack the Rangers blueline this year. He has been a standout in the scrimmages thus far, so a strong preseason should give the young defenseman a spot on opening night.

Other players that need a strong preseason to make the club include centers Tim Kennedy and Brian Boyle and left winger Ruslan Fedotenko. Tryout defenseman Alexei Semenov will also suit up for the preseason opener in hopes of landing one of the 7 spots pm the blueline for the 2010-2011 season.

Starting in net for the Rangers will be Martin Biron, with Chad Johnson relieving him. John Tortorella wants to give Biron a taste of MSG early in the preseason so that the veteran backup will be comfortable playing at MSG once the games count for real.

The New York Rangers will enter training camp with a plethora of new faces.  Similar to last season, they will enter it without a top young player in Marc Staal.  The two sides still have failed to reach an agreement in the midst of one of the more competitive Rangers camps in recent years.  The coaching staff sees Staal as a key piece to the puzzle, hopefully the team’s brass agrees on the matter.

Ruslan Fedotenko, Garnett Exelby and Alexei Semenov will all try to make the team for the first time.  Last year, Semenov actually made the squad as a seventh defenseman before failing to sign his offer on the supposed advice of his wife.  This year he will look to beat out a number of suitors including Matt Gilroy, Wade Redden, Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko, Steve Eminger, Mike Sauer and Exelby.  Fedotenko will look to impress his former coach and show some of that flair that led to two Stanley Cup victories.  In years past, coach John Tortorella has spoken about how hot his former winger got in the playoffs and how the Rangers could use that in pivotal times.

Like we said, it will be one of the more competitive camps in years.  However, quantity rarely means quality and the Rangers have a pretty poor track record when it comes to reviving careers.

In addition to the tryout players, the team’s recent additions will also need to vie for playing time.  Former Buffalo Sabres winger Tim Kennedy signed a two-way contract but held a role of third line left wing last year.  On this Rangers team that title firmly belongs to Sean Avery, or will it? The same notion holds true for top prospect and recent signing Mats Zuccarello-Aasen, who although looking like one of the top prospects this season could start his North American career in Hartford.

Chris Drury, Brandon Prust and Derek Boogaard will all likely play on the fourth line and seemingly have little to worry about in regards to playing time.  Prust and Boogaard could be pushed by Dale Weiss, Dane Byers or Brodie Dupont who all like to get into dirty areas and have no fears about dropping the gloves.

The few remaining players who will not need to fight for a spot on the team would be Ryan Callahan, Daniel Girardi, Alexander Frolov, Brandon Dubinsky, Vinny Prospal, Michal Rozsival, Michael Del Zotto and Marian Gaborik.  Other players like Artem Anisimov, Todd White, Erik Christensen and Brian Boyle could play anywhere between the first and fourth lines depending on their production.

Should be an interesting training camp for the Rangers.  The increased competition and plethora of forward signings and tryouts could be an excellent way to get everything possible out of their roster. It also could be a way of GM Glen Sather to hide some of his mistakes and cover up others.

With the National Hockey League free agent period coming to a simmer, Islanders GM Garth Snow shocked the hockey world yet again with another potential ace up his sleeve.

What is starting to become more and more of a trend, the general manager decided to generate an e-mail to NHL player agents stating that any of the players they have available – and those who are willing to – may attend the New York Islanders training camp and pre-season period on a try-out basis.

What these remaining UFA players that are attempting to stay within the NHL will come to realize is that they should all witness this as a major competition to earn another NHL contract.

On the flip side, it will create a stronger and much improved competition from those currently on the roster attempting to make the NHL roster come October.

Now, when you think of the potential names that could very well be on this invitation list – there is potential for a “steal” or two especially when names like Miroslav Satan, Jose Theodore, Tim Kennedy, Slava Kozlov, Clarke MacArthur, Raffi Torres, Manny Legace, Jonathan Cheechoo, Arron Asham, Robert Nilsson, and Patrick O’Sullivan – to name a few – are all still available.

However, I encourage all fans of the New York Islanders to stay as realistic about this as possible. This “list” was a general e-mail sent out to all player agents which in turn means that each player has the option to appear at training camp, but it is not likely that all will.  It would be a viable insurance policy if Theodore remains unsigned and shows up to camp prepared to battle for a paycheck and potential roster spot barring Rick DiPietro health issues.

Do not expect Antti Niemi to be an option here, as Katie Strang has tweeted that the New York Islanders have no interest in the Stanley Cup winning, young netminder.

The only real way anyone will see another netminder signed or brought into the system by the club will be if they fear Nathan Lawson, who performed very well at the AHL level last season, is not prepared for the NHL.  Mikko Koskinen and Kevin Poulin will develop through the ranks, however be prepared for when the time comes for one of the two to battle out on the ice in their quest at becoming an NHL netminder. Both have number one capabilities, however we all know the difference between potential and actual performances.

Strang also tweeted that a “list” will be available in the near future as to who exactly was invited. Just another reason to be excited about the upcoming season which is now right around the corner.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS New York Islanders Correspondent
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_AC

In a surprise move yesterday, the Buffalo Sabres placed recently signed forward Tim Kennedy on waivers, shortly after signing him to a one-year, $1 million arbitration contract.

Teams had 24 hours to claim the 24-year-old South Buffalo native off waivers. After no team claimed him, the Sabres called an afternoon press conference Tuesday and announced their plans to buy his contract out.

Kennedy is now a free agent, but will receive $333,333 from the Sabres for the buy-out.

The team had no choice but to accept Kennedy’s arbitration, since it was below the maximum $1.4 million walk-away limit. Team officials said the outcome of his hearing was more than they anticipated, which is why they placed him on waivers and bought him out.

Word has it that the team’s offer was roughly $830,000, and they were ‘very close’ to a deal at the time of arbitration. Kennedy knew at the time of his arbitration that there was a chance he’d be placed on waivers, but player and fans alike didn’t expect the move.

Kennedy played 78 games in his rookie season, accumulating 10 goals and 16 assists. He ended the season with a -3 rating and 50 penalty minutes.

Melissa Kania
NHLHS Buffalo Sabres Correspondent
mkania@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @melissakania

Just over 48 hours later, the results of Tim Kennedy’s arbitration hearing are in.

Arbitrators announced a 1-year, $1 million deal for Kennedy with the Sabres on Thursday.

In a normal case, the team would have 48 hours after the arbitrator’s decision is announced to either pick up the contract, or walk away, allowing Kennedy to become an unrestricted free agent.

However, Kennedy’s case is different because his award is too low. The new CBA has a minimum walk-away figure for this year of $1,611,180. The figure was originally $1,042,173 when the CBA went into effective, and has increased based on the league’s average salary increase.

Since Kennedy’s contract is for less than that, the team does not have the option of walking away, confirming that the Buffalo native will remain with his hometown team for at least another year.

Kennedy had 10 goals and 16 assists in 78 games last season, including three game-winning goals. The 24-year-old spent most of the 2008-2009 season with the Portland Pirates of the AHL, where he tallied 18 goals and 49 assists, as well as 67 penalty minutes.

Melissa Kania
NHLHS Buffalo Sabres Correspondent
mkania@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @melissakania

With arbitration hearings underway, the Buffalo Sabres met with arbitrators on Tuesday to settle Tim Kennedy‘s case.

A ruling is expected within 48 hours, and the team can either accept the ruling and sign Kennedy, or walk away, letting him become an unrestricted free agent.

According to reports, the team offered Kennedy around $700,000 for a one-year deal, which includes a $635,000 base salary and a mandatory ten percent raise. A multi-year contract would offer a higher base salary.

It’s believed that Kennedy is looking for more than $1 million per season, and maybe as much as $1.4 million depending on the length of the deal.

After the ruling is announced on Thursday, the question lies: is he worth it? The 24-year-old Buffalo native had 10 goals, including 3 game winners, in 78 games last season. He tied for 9th on the team with 26 points.

He played one game with the Buffalo club in 2008-2009, and spent most of the season playing with the Portland Pirates (AHL). In 73 games there, he had 18 goals and 49 assists and 67 penalty minutes.

Last week, Patrick Kaleta avoided arbitration and signed a two-year deal with the team. The aggressive forward will earn $860,000 in the 2010-11 season, and $955,000 in the 2011-2012 season. Kaleta made $522,000 last season and was scheduled to meet with arbitrators on July 29.

Kaleta had 10 goals and 5 assists in 55 games last season. He also had 89 penalty minutes in a season where he faced several injuries. He missed games with flu-like symptoms (1), a neck injury (3), and an upper body injury (6). Kaleta was suspended two games for delivering a hit from behind. The Angola, NY native also posted his first career multi-point and multi-goal games on October 13 and December 12.

Kaleta also led the team in short-handed goals last season.

Melissa Kania
NHLHS Buffalo Sabres Correspondent
mkania@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @melissakania

Hey all, this is Melissa, your new Buffalo Sabres correspondent for NHL HotStove. With just over two months before training camp and preseason begins, teams are looking to the future and improving through free agency and – in some cases – trades.

The Sabres entered free agency with a handful of players to deal with, and as free agency began on July 1, they lost two key defense. Henrik Tallinder, who had been a member of the organization since being drafted in 1997, quickly signed a four year deal with the New Jersey Devils. The deal will pay him an average of $3.375 million per year. Defenseman Toni Lydman also signed with the Anaheim Ducks for a deal that will pay him $9 million over three years.

On the same day the Sabres signed defenseman Jordan Leopold who played with the Pittsburgh Penguins at the end of last season. Leopold signed for a three year, $3 million/yr contract. The 29-year-old knew current Sabres forward Thomas Vanek, and contacted him for advice before agreeing to sign with the Sabres.

The team later re-signed enforcer Cody McCormick, who played most of last season with the Sabres’ AHL team, to a one year, $500,000 contract. Young defenseman Mike Weber, who has a chance to play with the big club this season, accepted his qualifying offer, and the team also signed Derek Whitmore.

To the surprise of many fans, the team chose to resign goaltender Patrick Lalime to a one-year deal. There were talks that the team would not sign a goaltender, and instead bring up Jhonas Enroth from the AHL, but this new deal allows Enroth one more year of experience in the AHL before probably coming up to the NHL next season.

The Sabres lost left winger Philip Gogulla, as he decided to return home to play in Germany. Defenseman Mike Kostka is also reportedly not returning to the team. Both players were in Portland (AHL) last season.

The biggest splash in the team’s offseason thus far has been the signing of forward Rob Niedermayer to a one-year, $1.15 million deal on July 7. Niedermayer adds veteran experience to an otherwise fairly young team. He had 10 goals and 12 assists in 71 games last season with the New Jersey Devils. Niedermayer also won a Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2006-07.

On July 16, the team announced that they have signed UFA Tim Conboy, who spent the last three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, to a one-year deal.

The Sabres are far from done this off-season. Hometown forward Tim Kennedy is taking the team to arbitration. The team is also taking Angola native Patrick Kaleta to arbitration, a rare move that ensures Kaleta will suit up for the blue and gold next season.

They also have a couple free agents still on their radar, including Raffi Torres, who was a disappointment with just five assists in 14 games with the team last season. Adam Mair, Matt Ellis, Jeff Cowan and Joe DiPenta round out the UFAs for the team. Mark Mancari, Matt Generous, Marc-Andre Gragnani and goaltender JP Lamoureux are all restricted free agents.

Melissa Kania
NHLHS Buffalo Sabres Correspondent
mkania@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @

I previously skipped over the Sabres, so here they are.

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 Sabres rely heavily on their drafting and development of young players in order to keep their payroll down. Due to their restrictions monetarily, the team has succeeded in producing a vast amount of NHL regulars as well as some well regarded players.  Overall, there really is no weaknesses to their lineup from the net on out.  A mostly young core, this team greatly resembles the team currently constructed but with more depth and much improved blueline.

The lineup for the Buffalo Sabres is as follows.

Forwards:

The forward core consists of a good mix of young players.  As these players continue to develop, the team will only get better and better much like the current roster.

Thomas Vanek – Derek Roy – Jason Pominville

Clarke MacArthur – Tyler Ennis / Nathan Gerbe / Tim Kennedy – Drew Stafford

Daniel Paille – Paul Gaustad – Maxim Afinogenov

Ales Kotalik – Wayne Primeau – Patrick Kaleta

Extra(s): Brad May, Andrew Peters, Mike Zigomanis, Mark Mancari

The only glaring hole is the second line center.  I chose to let three highly touted prospects fight it out for a spot.  Those three smallish centers are a large part of the future in Buffalo therefore we can see why some other players like Afinogenov and Paille are no longer with the organization.  Although their forward core may appear to be impressive, and by all means it is, in no way does it compare to the plethora of NHL defensemen the team drafted and developed.

Grade: B+

Defense:

The Sabres probably have the best defensive core in the league.  Although they drafted so many good defensemen, it is mainly the bottom of the depth chart that are still with the team.

Brian Campbell – Dennis Widemann

Tyler Myers – Keith Ballard

Cory Sarich – Henrik Tallinder

Extra(s): Nathan Paetsch, Jay McKee, Chris Butler, Andrej Sekera, Jan Hejda

Every defenseman listed is a capable NHL defender. One would be hard pressed to find a better top four around the league.  It is just unfortunate that three out of the top four are out of the organization.  Sadly Wideman elected free agency before playing a single game for the team while Ballard yielded Steve Reinprecht ironically a solid 2nd line center.  Traded for Steve Bernier and a first round pick (Ennis), Campbell moved to San Jose to play with his close friend Joe Thornton.  An honestly decent trade, one which helped the Sabres even more in the long run.

Grade: A+

Goaltenders:

The Sabres produced perhaps the best goaltender in all of hockey.  In fact, the situation with this team closely resembles the same roster as the team’s post-lockout team.

Ryan Miller

Martin Biron

Extra: Jonas Enroth

As of this writing, Miller leads all goalies with a 1.83 GAA, .939 SV% and four shutouts through 26 games.  He clearly is the best tender to represent team USA in the Olympics and a strong contender for the Vezina.  Biron is still the same goalie who led the Flyers to the ECF two years ago.  He can string together an impressive string of wins regardless of his playing situation as shown in the past.

Grade: A

Hope you enjoyed this version of Restoring the Rosters.  You can help NHLHS stay alive by visiting our sponsors to the left.

Follow me on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates

-Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Founder
thehotstove@gmail.com