Jul 10 2009
The Capitals have signed former Stars forward Brendan Morrison. According to the Washington Post, the deal is worth $1.5 million for one year.
In 81 games last season with the Ducks and Stars Morrison had 31 points (16 goals, 15 assists).
EN Says: This is an odd signing. Bad even.
The Capitals have some obvious issues on defense and failed to address them at all this offseason. They did make a solid signing with former Flyers forward Mike Knuble. And in all fairness, they did need to find a way to replace Sergei Fedorov on the second line and signing Morrison is an attempt at that, but they needed to bring in someone on defense. With Knuble and Morrison under wraps, Washington has no cap space to address its blue line.
Hopefully for Washington's sake, some prospects like Karl Alzner are ready for the NHL.
Getting back to Morrison, he's over the hill. His play and his production has steadily declined since the early part of this decade when he centered an elite line with Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi in Vancouver. And he was given every opportunity to produce in Anaheim last season while being teamed up with the likes of Teemu Selanne, Chris Kunitz and Bobby Ryan. He just didn't do it.
Maybe joining a high-flying team like Washington will give Morrison's career a shot in the arm, but on paper, this is not the signing the Capitals needed.
(Photo: Harry How/Getty Images)
Jul 10 2009
Well, it looks like the Penguins are right on the verge of signing Jay McKee to a one-year deal, so let's get to know him.
McKee, 31, is not coming here for his offensive abilities. He had eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 69 games last season with St. Louis. He's never scored more than five goals in a season and his career-high in points is 17.
His games is defense. He was seventh in the NHL last season in blocked shots with 185. For the sake of perspective, Rob Scuderi led the Penguins last season with 164. He has finished in the top ten in three of the past four seasons. In 2005-06, his final season in Buffalo, he led the league with 241.
As PensBurgh points out, McKee (6-foot-4, 203 pounds) also averaged 3:18 minutes of penalty-killing time last season for the Blues who had the third-best penalty killing percentage at 83.8 percent.
But don't think of this guy as a carbon copy of Scuderi. He has a little bit of Brooks Orpik in his game:
McKee is also more than willing to drop the gloves.
He even made Gary Roberts bleed once in a brawl:
To borrow a quote from "Dodgeball," no one makes Gary Roberts bleed his own blood.
And just in case you needed any extra incentive to like McKee, he once beat the Flyers with an overtime goal in the 2001 playoffs:
The biggest issue with McKee is his durability. Be a physical shot blocking defensive player will wear on you. Here is his injury history since 2000 from The Hockey News:
6/29/2009 Contract bought out by the St. Louis Blues.
1/13/2009 Missed 11 games (broken finger).
12/17/2008 Broken finger, sidelined indefinitely.
3/28/2008 Missed 3 games (foot injury).
3/20/2008 Foot injury, day-to-day.
3/18/2008 Missed 3 games (foot injury).
3/11/2008 Foot injury, day-to-day.
10/17/2007 Missed 4 games (fractured right foot).
9/27/2007 Fractured right foot, late October.
4/09/2007 Missed the last 19 games of the regular season (hip injury).
3/01/2007 Hip injury, day-to-day.
2/27/2007 Missed 18 games (lower body injury).
1/14/2007 Lower body injury, sidelined indefinitely.
11/30/2006 Missed 16 games (fractured right hand).
10/21/2006 Fractured right hand, late November.
10/20/2006 Missed 6 games (knee injury).
9/23/2006 Knee injury, day-to-day.
6/01/2006 Missed Game 7 of Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes (infection).
6/01/2006 Infection, day-to-day.
11/19/2005 Missed 6 games (foot injury).
11/05/2005 Foot injury, day-to-day.
3/10/2004 Missed 18 games (knee injury).
1/25/2004 Knee injury, sidelined indefinitely.
1/24/2004 Knee injury, left Saturday's game.
1/22/2004 Missed 6 games (knee injury).
1/09/2004 Knee injury, day-to-day.
12/19/2003 Missed 13 games (knee injury).
11/20/2003 Knee injury, day-to-day.
3/28/2003 Missed 20 games (knee injury).
3/18/2003 Knee injury, sidelined indefinitely.
2/16/2003 Knee injury, mid-March.
2/15/2003 Knee injury, left Saturday's game.
1/03/2003 Missed 1 game (flu).
12/31/2002 Flu, day-to-day.
12/23/2002 Missed 1 game (charley horse).
12/21/2002 Charley horse, day-to-day.
12/04/2002 Missed 1 game (knee injury).
11/30/2002 Knee injury, day-to-day.
1/25/2002 Missed 1 game (flu).
1/23/2002 Flu, day-to-day.
5/10/2001 Missed the last 5 games of Round Two against Pittsburgh (concussion).
4/30/2001 Concussion, day-to-day.
3/24/2001 Missed 3 games (wrist injury).
3/17/2001 Wrist injury, day-to-day.
12/08/2000 Missed 5 games (concussion).
11/28/2000 Concussion, day-to-day.
But as we saw last season with the Penguins, defensemen get hurt. That why it's important to have depth.
So Jay McKee is like Rob Scuderi in some ways but he's a different player in many other fashions.
UPDATE: McKee has signed. No official word yet on financial terms though we've seen $800,000 thrown around by a number of outlets.
(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Jul 10 2009
We were hesitant to write anything about Joe Sakic's retirement until yesterday when it became official. Not only did we wish against reality that Sakic would announce he was coming back for another season, we also hoped he would proclaim to the world that he would move the entire Avalanche franchise back to Quebec for one last magical season.
But alas, Burnaby Joe has hung up his skates.
There shouldn't be a hockey fan of any alligience who isn't saddened by this expected news.
Seemingly no fan base, outside of Detroit, Vancouver and maybe Dallas, had a problem with Sakic. And even with those fans in rival markets, Sakic wasn't reviled the way Sidney Crosby is in places like Detroit or Philadelphia. About the worse thing you ever heard about Sakic was fear of his wrist shot when the game was on the line.
We're going to miss Sakic quite a bit as hockey fans. There was something about the Avalanche teams of the mid 1990s to early 2000s that seemed to excite anyone interested in the sport. When most teams were trying to bog down play and win games, 2-1, in the "dead puck" era, the Avalanche was trying to run and gun and beat you with 5-2 scores. And Sakic was the centerpiece of that offensive approach. When Avalanche games were on ESPN or ESPN2, you knew you would see something fun. You would see hockey played "correctly."
Sakic was one of the final few links to not only the Nordiques, but the high-flying brand of hockey of the 1980s and early 1990s. His first season with 100 points or more was 1989-90 when he had 102 for the sad-sack Nordiques who only won 12 games. That 102 points was good enough for 11th in the league's scoring race. Eleventh. Mario Lemieux had 123 for heaven's sake and was fourth.
That's probably what most people will remember about Sakic. His production. He just scored. Regardless of the era, he produced points. He had six 100 points seasons including one two seasons ago at the age of 37. That's an impressive feat considering he played much of his career when clutching and grabbing were essentially legal forms of defense.
The Penguins sure won't miss him. He ripped them up for 63 points in 40 career games.
The part of Sakic's game we'll always remember is his clutch, clutch scoring. Give him a few inches or a few seconds in the slot, he could bury a wrist shot on any goaltender in any game of consequence. He holds the NHL record for playoff overtime goals with eight. To put that into perspective, Gordie Howe, Mark Messier and Mario Lemieux never scored in a playoff overtime.
Additionally, Sakic's total of 19 career game-winning playoff goals is the fourth-best mark in NHL history.
If you're a hockey fan, you should feel a little like this kid in this video today. Hockey got a little less fun with Joe Sakic stepping away.
(Photos: Avalanche-Photobucket; Nordiques-The Quebec Nordiques Unoffiical Home Page)
Jul 10 2009
Penguins
-"When the Penguins come calling, it catches your attention." - Pat Morris, the agent for free agent defenseman Jay McKee (above).
-Franklin Hockey League in Munhall will be holding a charity tournament Aug. 1. All proceeds will go to the Mario Lemieux Foundation.
Atlantic Division
-New Rangers forward Ales Kotalik (right) talked to former Rangers and Penguins forwards Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka before signing with New York.
-The Devils acquired forward Tim Sestito from the Oilers in exchange for a conditional draft pick.
-The Flyers promoted their AHL coach, John Paddock, to assistant general manager and hired former Maple Leafs goaltender Jeff Reese as goaltending coach.
Northeast DIvision
-The Sabres re-signed forward Matt Ellis to a one-year contract.
Southeast Division
-The Lightning signed rookie defenseman Victor Hedman to a three-year entry-level contract. Hedman was the second overall pick in this year's draft.
-For some reason, the Lightning doesn't want to bring back forward Radim Vrbata after he bailed on them last season.
-The Hurricanes signed former Maple Leafs defenseman Jay Harrison to a one-year two-way contract.
Central Division
-Red Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom is still sore about losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.
-With Marian Hossa, Mikael Samuelsson and other gone, Red Wings forwards Justin Abdelkader (right), Darren Helm and VIlle Leino will finally have a legit chance to make the roster out of camp.
-The Blues have brought on former Blackhawks goaltender Darren Pang as a broadcaster. He previously served as a televison commentator for the Coyotes.
-St. Louis re-signed goaltender Hannu Toivonen.
-The Blackhawks re-signed forward Peter MacArthur and signed former Lightning defenseman Richard Petiot to one-year contracts.
-Chicago general manager and former Penguins defenseman Dale Tallon admitted his team made a mistake in sending qualifying offers to his team's restricted free agents.
Northwest Division
-The Wild signed defenseman Tyler Cuma, a first-round pick in 2008, to a three-year contract worth $2.625 million.
-New Rangers forward Marian Gaborik claims the Wild never formally made him an offer.
-Joe Sakic's retirement will make it easier for the Avalanche's top pick in this year's draft, Matt Duchene (right), to make the roster out of camp.
-The Oilers put their rookies and prospects through a boot camp.
Pacific Division
-The Ducks signed former Panthers defenseman Nick Boynton to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million.
(Photo: McKee-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Kotalik-Dave Sanford/Getty Images; Abdelkader-Harry How/Getty Images; Gaborik-Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Jul 09 2009
We've seen the item on former Blues defenseman Jay McKee. With all due respect to the outlet reporting it, we're holding off on addressing it until we see something a little bit more concrete.
Jul 09 2009
The Rangers signed former Oilers forward Ales Kotalik. Terms were not disclosed.
Kotalik had 43 points (20 goals, 23 assists) in 75 games last season with the Sabres and Oilers last season.
EN Says: Assuming the terms were sensible (something which is never a safe assumption with the Rangers), this is a nice signing. Kotalik's a solid No. 2 scoring wing. He's fairly consistent when it comes to scoring as he's hit the 20-goal mark four out of the past seven seasons. And while his numbers (2 for 6) in the shootout aren't stellar, he does provide an option in that area.
UPDATE: TSN has the deal as three-years for a total of $3 million.
A 20-goal threat for $1 million a year? We'll take that any day.
EDIT: TSN has updated the total. It's three years for $9 million total. That's a lot for a guy who does nothing but scores 20 goals a season. Kotalik is a very one-dimensional player.
(Photo: Dave Sandford/Getty Images)
Jul 09 2009
The Penguins' preseason schedule was announced:
Friday, Sept. 18, vs. Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 21, at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 22, at Toronto, 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 24, at Columbus, 7:00 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 25, vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 27, at Detroit, 5:00 p.m.
Sept. 27 might be the most intense preseason game ever. We assume NBC will be picking it up.
Jul 09 2009
We've hardly been kind to Martin Biron in this forum.
We've allowed our bitterness towards his former team wipe out any objectivity we might display in our little corner of the Internet.
But despite our bias against the Flyers, we have to admit, he's an above average goaltender. We'll even say he's a good goaltender.
He's not someone who will help you win a Stanley Cup. The past two seasons have established that. But he's definitely good enough to get you to the playoffs and he can even win a round or two. You could do far worse than having Martin Biron in between the pipes.
That's what makes his continued unemployment a little bit startling to us.
In a league where the likes of Jose Theodore continually gets chance after chance to accomplish little of consequence, how is it Martin Biron is still looking for a job a week into the free agency signing period?
Granted, a lot of teams are feeling the crunch of the salary cap this year and there are worries about if the cap could fall in upcoming seasons, but at $3.5 million per season (Biron's cap number last season), Biron could be the difference between a team making the playoffs or not.
If you ask us, Biron would offer the following teams an upgrade were they to pursue his services:
> Thrashers - Atlanta General manage Don Waddell has been trying to shop starter Kari Lehtonen (right) and prospect Ondrej Pavelec. When he's not injured, Lehtonen is wildly inconsistent. Pavelec has never really gotten a fair chance to nail down an NHL job. Johan Hedberg is entrenched as a sturdy back up. Biron would provide stability at a position constantly in flux for this franchise.
> Kings - There might not be a better fit for Biron. The Kings historically have never had outstanding goaltending. Outside of some excellent spells by Rogie Vachon and Kelly Hrudey, goaltending has always been an issue for Los Angeles. Currently, Jonathan Quick and Erik Ersberg are manning the net while prospect Jonathan Bernier is still developing. The Kings have $8.4 million in salary cap space. They could easily afford Biron who could make them a playoff team. He'd be a nice veteran addition - like Ryan Smyth and Rob Scuderi - to a solid young core of guys like Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty and others.
> Coyotes - It's amazing what a few nice playoff games can do for you. When he was a member of the Ducks, Ilya Bryzgalov (right) was able to play a few postseason games in place of Jean-Sebastien Giguere. He was excellent for the most part in those few games and was able to turn that into a contract that pays him over $4 million a season. Granted, the Coyotes have a lot of problems much bigger than goaltending, but Biron would provide an upgrade over Bryzgalov in our book.
> Lightning - It might not be fair to pick on Mike Smith who was fantastic for the Lightning last season despite having a garbage team around him. But Smith's very unproven. Signing Biron to a short-term deal might be a wise decision for the Lightning, especially considering Smith's concussion issues last season.
And we only considered teams where personnel and salary issues wouldn't be an issue. If you just went nuts and paid not attention to those concerns, here's our hypothetical "Martin Biron is better than their goaltender" list:
> Blackhawks - Biron is 1-0 in playoff series all-time versus Cristobal Huet. Additionally, that's one more playoff series than Huet has ever won as a starter.
> Avalanche - Biron may not be an ideal fit for a team clearly rebuilding. But a tandem of Craig Anderson and Peter Budaj isn't a fit for any NHL team under any circumstances.
> Panthers - Tomas Vokoun might be one of the most overrated players in the NHL. He's never won a playoff series in the NHL. And he has a big cap number at $5.7 million.
> Canadiens - Carey Price will be an elite goaltender one day assuming the pressure of playing in Montreal doesn't eat him up. But if we had to play a hockey game for everything in the world this afternoon, we'd call Biron before we'd call Price.
> Islanders - When he's healthy, Rick DiPietro is a franchise player. But he's not healthy.
> Senators - Pascal Leclaire could be the franchise goaltender the Senators have been looking for since they came back into the league in the early 1990s. Or he could be the next Patrick Lalime. Until Leclaire proves himself, we'll go with the established Biron.
> Flyers - It's fair to say it was proven the Flyers were never going to beat the rival Penguins in a playoff series with Biron after the past two seasons. Change was needed. But downgrading was not the right change. Ray Emery (right) < Martin Biron.
> Blues - We feel kind of mean for picking on Chris Mason. He was the Blues' MVP down the stretch and helped them get into the playoffs. But he was dumped by Nashville in favor of some schmoe named Dan Ellis. Give us Biron.
> Maple Leafs - It's tough to tell what Vesa Toskala can do as a starter since his two seasons in Toronto have been under mostly dire circumstances. And he played with a pretty severe hip injury much of last season. But he's the same age essentially as Biron and a little bit pricier.
We're not trying to make Biron out to be the next Bill Durnan, but we just can't help but wonder why he's still looking for work when he's affordable and accomplished.
(Photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images; Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images; Bryzgalov-Photobucket; Emery-Photobucket)
Jul 09 2009
Penguins
-If someone tries to sell you an autographed photo of Sidney Crosby (right), a Tim Horton's in Alberta might want to have a word with you.
-If you happen to be in Thomson Park in North Bay, Ont. July 23 and you happen to be a fan of the Stanley Cup and Mike Yeo... good news.
Atlantic Division
-Speaking of former Flyers goaltender, former Penguins shooter tutor Antero Niittymaki has signed with Atlant Moscow Oblast in the KHL.
-That whole "signing Chris Pronger to a seven-year deal" thing the Flyers did the other day? One problem...
-The Rangers signed restricted free agent forward Brian Boyle. He was acquired from the Kings in a trade at the draft.
Northeast Division
-Forward Saku Koivu will be missed in Montreal.
Southeast Division
-The Lightning continued to address its defense and signed former Wild blueliner Kurtis Foster to a one-year deal worth $600,000.
-The Thrashers re-signed restricted free agent forward Jim Slater to a one-year deal.
-Leave it to Thrashers defenseman and former Penguin Joel Kwiatkowski to set off a new round of ill will between the NHL and KHL.
-The Hurricanes signed former Coyotes forward Steve Goertzen to a one-year two-way deal. The team also re-signed defenseman Casey Borer and goaltender Justin Peters to one-year two-way contracts.
-Kudos to the Panthers for "getting it." They lowered ticket prices.
Central Division
-The Red Wings' depth took another hit. Forward Jiri Hudler signed a two-year deal with Moscow Dynamo of the KHL.
-Detroit signed former Canadiens defenseman Doug Janik.
Northwest Division
-The Avalanche signed former Islanders defenseman Brett Skinner and re-signed forward Philippe Dupuis.
-The Wild signed former Islanders defenseman Jamie Fraser and former Maple Leafs defenseman Jaime Sifers to one-year contracts.
Pacific Division
-That Lemieux guy retired. Aaaagain. No not that one. The evil one (right).
-The Stars acquired goaltender Alex Auld from the Senators for a sixth-round pick in the 2010 draft.
(Photos: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images; Lemieux-Paul Sancya/Associated Press)
Jul 08 2009
The Ducks have signed former Canadiens captain Saku Koivu to a one-year deal worth $3.25 million.
The 34-year-old center had 50 points (16 goals, 34 assists) in 65 games last season. He won 54.1 percent of his faceoffs.
EN Says: Interesting signing by the Ducks. Especially considering some of the losses they've had on defense. They've always had a void on the second line and he should work with well with friend and fellow Fin Teemu Selanne, but one would think they might want to spend whatever cap space they have left on replacing the likes of Chris Pronger and Francois Beauchemin on defense.
(Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)
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