Time For More Teams In Canada

from Mark Moore at the Hockey News, Drained by a yearlong lockout, fan support for hockey in the U.S. has waned. After three full seasons back, the effect has lingered to a point where one must wonder if it’s permanent.In places such as Nashville, Phoenix, Atlanta and South Florida that were among the latest to get franchises, enough time has passed for the novelty of a new game in town to have worn off. Meanwhile, for a variety of reasons that are identifiable, but are a separate story for another day, hockey has not penetrated very deeply into those populations.In the broader picture, the U.S. economy has been suffering. The war in Iraq, the sub-prime mortgage debacle and political conflict have all put a drag on things. Maybe those issues can be fixed quick, maybe they can’t.Other problems such as the decline of the American manufacturing industry, a growing scarcity of key natural resources such as oil and water, and an aging population certainly will not.What is of note in terms of NHL franchise location is that none of these troubles have equivalent parallels north of the 49th parallel.read on

Stone ready for the NHL?

Tom Venesky of the Wilkes-BarreTimes Leaderhas a good piece today on Penguins prospect Ryan Stone, the team's second-round draft pick in 2003.Basically, it explains that after years of waiting for hisopportunity, this is Stone's best chance to stick with the Penguins full time.It's also probably his last chance. Should he not make the team out of trainingcamp, he would need to clear waivers in order for the team to send himback to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.From our vantage point, we think the Penguins need Stone.He's a physical player with some decent size (6-foot-2, 199 pounds) who can play a powerforward type of game. Plus Stone doesn't mind getting his knuckles bloody. Hehad ten fights between the/nhl and AHL last season. He also seems to have a healthy dislike for the Flyers organization which certainly won't hurt his cause:(Please visit the site to view this media)(Please visit the site to view this media)Additionally, Stone can provide offense on occasion:(Please visit the site to view this media)(Please visit the site to view this media)("Softer than yogurt" might be the greatest call ever.)Considering the losses of Adam Hall, Georges Laraque, RyanMalone, Gary Roberts and Jarkko Ruutu, Stone, a restricted free agent after this season, is exactly the player the Penguinsneed to compliment the finesse of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Petr Sykora andothers. He won't make Penguins fans forget Ruutu or Roberts, but he's certainlycapable of replacing some their toughness.If nothing else, Stone's presence on the roster would besomething of a rarity for the Penguins. Only a handful of players drafted inthe second round by the Penguins have played at least 82 games for the team. Andnone of them have been "recent" selections. Stone and Alex Goligoski(2004), each have a chance to change that trend and end the franchise's "curse" of poor second-round picks.A look at every second-round pick in the history of thefranchise and how many regular season games they suited up for in a Penguinsjersey: PlayerYeardraftedGamesPlayed Greg Malone1976495Russ Anderson1975353Wayne Bianchin1973264Colin Campbell1973243Jim Hamilton197795Steve Gatzos198189Todd Charlesworth198386Rick Kessell196983Jacques Cossette197464Paul Marshall197959Matt Murley199959Richard Park199458Tim Hrynewich198255Bernie Lukowich197253Shane Endicott200045John Stewart197040Lee Giffin198527Noah Welch200127Rusty Fitzgerald199125Ron Snell19687Dave Capuano19866Brian McKenzie19716Ryan Stone20036Mike Meeker19784Pavel Skrbek19964Alex Goligoski20043Dominic Pittis19931Rick Tabaracci19871Brian Gaffaney19970Michael Gergen20050Marc Hussey19920Paul Laus19890Mark Major19880Ondrej Nemec20020Johannes Salmonsson20040Carl Sneep20060Jeremy Van Hoof19990Keven Veilleux20070Alexander Zevakhin19980 (Photo: BruceBennett/Getty Images)EMPTY NETTER ASSISTSPenguins-Penguins forward Sidney Crosby was awarded with an Order ofNova Scotia Award.To us, that sounds like something you would give someone you would trust indefending your land from marauding invaders.-The Sidney CrosbyShowfound a picture of the award.-The/nhl will be using that "Is This They Year?" campaignagain in its advertising.Crosby will be featured in the national ads.-The Penguins' center ice design won a contest over at Icethetics.-The Hockey News is holding a tournament involving the logos of seemingly any organized hockey team in existence. The Penguins aren't doing too well in the first round. You can vote here. (Kudos to EN Reader Jennifer Nelson of Virginia for the find.)-Tiger Woods? Roger Federer? Brett Favre? They're only halfas good as Janne Pesonen.-Former Penguins goaltender Paul Harrison was awarded with aCommissioner's Comendation from the OntarioProvincial Police.-EN Reader Jarrett Rathke of Milwaukee noticed something rather... um... unoriginal... about the logo of HC Slovan Bratislava a team in the Slovak Extraliga, Slovakia's highest professional hockey league: That use to the Capitals' shade of blue is a complete rip off.Atlantic Division-Former Flyers forward Eric Lindros explained why he won'tbe attending a puppy-drowning ceremony at the Spectrum.Northeast Division-The Senators signed former Canucks forward Brad Isbister toa one-year two-way deal.-Apparently, Empty Netters is a good source for amateurhockey news in Western New York.Southeast Division-The Thrashers signed 2008 first-round pick Zach Bogosian.-The Hurricanes will unveil their third jersey next week.-Forward Jeff O'Neill isn't exactly a lock to make theHurricanes roster this season.-The Lightning's season ticket sales are down this year.Central Division-The Blues signed 2008 first-round pick Alex Pietrangelo.He is a cousin of former Penguins goaltender Frank Pietrangelo.-Red Wings coach Mike Babcock isn't planning on playing forwardsPavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg on the same line together.-Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard got to spend a day withthe Stanley Cup.Northwest Division-The Canucks will retire the jersey of former captain TrevorLinden.-New Canucks enforcer Darcy Hordichuk spent some time withmixed martial artist Chuck Liddell.-Former Wild forward Mark Parrish is still looking for work.Pacific Division-The Kings signed restricted free agent forward Jarett Stollto a four-year deal worth $14.4 million.Stoll's rights were acquired from Edmontonin a June trade.-New Sharks defenseman Rob Blake wishes he were five yearsyounger.Norris Division-The KHL is mad at the/nhl again.-Remember when the/nhl cited rising ticket prices a reasonfor staging the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season?We don't either.Source

Here We Go Again

With training camps not to far away, must be time to talk about fixing hockey. And for many in Canada, that means bringing more/nhl franchises north of the border. Mark Moore writes at the Hockey News online site that "relocating teams from Nashville, Phoenix, Atlanta and South Florida toWinnipeg, Quebec City, Halifax and Southern Ontario would give Canada10 teams, or one-third, just as it had in the Original Six era.'' No one can dispute the Canadian economy is strong and is all but fueling whatever growth the/nhl is experiencing right now. But we're a long way away from teams in the lower 48 up and moving. Sure, a team may find its way to a suburb of Toronto in the next decade and there would be worse places to put a team than Winnipeg or Halifax (from a selling tickets point of view, not when it comes to travel.) But the/nhl isn't pulling up stakes any time soon, unless it's to Kansas City or Las Vegas, American cities who either have a spanking new arena or are in the process of getting one. Taking a team out of the U.S. and moving it to Canada isn't going to get the/nhl on ESPN any faster, isn't going to help the long-term growth of this league in the States. The/nhl hasn't given up on teams like the Panthers -- who do have plenty of problems but seem intent on figuring out a way to make it a go -- Thrashers, Preds and Coyotes. And they shouldn't. The game is growing in these places, only not as fast as some would like. The/nhl would be wise to continue showing patience in these markets. -- Here's Capitals owner Ted Leonsis' take on talk of canning some teams. Fun read. DAILY LYNX -- Speaking of Canada, the Canadiens are exploring the option of playing a game at Olympic Stadium in 2009. The former home of the Expos will need a lot of work, but the Canadiens have plenty of money. Talk is of opening the roof to have a true outdoor game. My pick to drop the first puck? Andre Dawson, Gary Carter, Tim Raines and Warren 'Call Me Homie!' Cromartie. With the Marlins off, Dave Van Horne could call the game as well. Don't think Jeff Loria and Dave Samson will be invited for the festivities. -- Tarik El-Bashir at the Washington Post says the Caps are going to have a couple cool bobblehead giveaways this year featuring coach Bruce Broudreau and Alex Ovechkin. Hope those are on Panther night. -- John Tortorella wasn't out of work for long, although he won't behind any bench this season. Torts, fired by the Bolts a few months back, gets to pontificate on the game for TSN for at least one season -- while the Lightning pay him for not coaching them. He'll be back on the bench next year. -- Old pal Mike Russo goes to the practice rink and finds a bunch of/nhl guys working out, including the Panthers' Keith Ballard. But Mike don't care about the Panthers no more (OK, that's not true), so he talks to Marian Gaborik about coming into the season with a one-year deal. Good stuff.Source

Two get year in jail for extortion

Two get year in jail for extortion: A formernhl player and his brother were sentenced on Wednesday to one year in jail and three years of probation in connection with the attempted extortion of an Oakland County attorney. John DePalma, 44, of Brownstown Township, and Lawrence "Larry" DePalma In the "REALLY Ex-Shark" sighting category... Larry DePalma played for the sharks in the early, cow palace years, never more than a bit player on a team full of bit players. And now he's going to go to jail for a while.... 20 games in 92-93, followed by a long and not terribly notable career in the old IHL. But then, that pretty much sums up that season's team, although a number of them went on to better futures than DePalma. Kelly Kisio was all that kept the early sharks from absolute disaster (and hasn't gotten enough recognition here in the Bay area for his early contributions, IMHO), and is now GM and co-coach of the Calgary Hitmen. Dean Evason is an assistant coach for the Capitals. Jeff Odgers is now a color guy for the Thrashers Doug Wilson is the Sharks GM. Brian Lawton was a player agent, just signed on as GM of the Lightning. Brian Hayward is color guy for the Ducks. David maley went on to be captain of the San Francisco Spiders of the IHL (something he'll never live down), helped develop the facilities that support roller hockey leagues here in the bay area, and acts as a fill-in color guy for Sharks radio. Rob Zettler is now assistant coach for the Leafs under Ron Wilson Jeff Hackett is goaltending coach for the Avalanche, and is considered a major reason for the rebirth of Jose Theodore. If you thin about it, given how BAD that team was, that's an impressive lineup of people still involved in hockey at thenhl level. Lots of "character" guys. Even more surprising is that a couple of players from that team are still active: Sandis Ozolinsh played for the Sharks last season, and hasn't (to my knowledge) officially retired, although the chances of him returning to thenhl this season are at best slim. Wade Flaherty played one game for the Sharks that year, and is still an active goaltender in the AHL; his last game in thenhl was 02-03, but he's been signed by Vancouver, and now Chicago, as their minor league depth guy, and in 06 was an all-star in the AHL. Of all the players you might expect to still be playing at a high level after all these years, I don't think he'd be high on my list (but more power to him!) (hat tip: kukla)Source

THN's Projected NHL Standings for 2008-09.

Recently I posted The Score Sports Forecaster’s projected standings for the 2008-09 season. The Hockey News’ 2008-09 Yearbook recently hit the stands,which contained their projected standings. See below: Western Conference1. Detroit Red Wings2. San Jose Sharks3. Minnesota Wild4. Dallas Stars 5. Anaheim Ducks6. Edmonton Oilers7. Chicago Blackhawks8. Calgary Flames9. Nashville Predators10. Phoenix Coyotes11. Vancouver Canucks12. Columbus Blue Jackets13. Los Angeles Kings14. Colorado Avalanche15. St. Louis BluesEastern Conference1. Montreal Canadiens2. Pittsburgh Penguins3. Washington Capitals4. Philadelphia Flyers5. Ottawa Senators 6. New York Rangers7. New Jersey Devils8. Carolina Hurricanes9. Tampa Bay Lightning10. Boston Bruins11. Buffalo Sabres 12. Florida Panthers13. Atlanta Thrashers 14. Toronto Maple Leafs15. New York Islanders Compared to The Score’s ranking, there are little significantdifference of opinion between the two publications over which teams will makethe playoffs, how those teams will place and which ones won’t make thepost-season dance. The biggest difference of opinion is THN has the Canadiensfinishing first in the East (The Score picked the Flyers) and the Coyotesmissing the playoffs (The Score picked them to make it over the Wild). As for the rest, the two publications both rank the RedWings as topping the West, and while there’s some difference in where theirprojected playoffs clubs finish in the standings they’ve picked the same teams(the difference between the Coyotes and Wild aside).Again, I'll be posting my predictions for the upcoming season standings in late September as most if not all of the rosters should be set by that point. Discuss!29 CommentsSource

Former SCSU star Hartigan playing for Dinamo Riga

Check out this blog post by former SCSU star Mark Hartigan it kind of reminds me of my days in Europe when you just pointed to something on the menu and ordered. You never know what you are going to get. Their season also sounds like a death march 7 games in 10 days. I could see how a player could wear down fast.Welcome to my first Insider Blog. I’m writing to you from Riga, Latvia, where I will be suiting up this season for Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League, alongside my buddy and former Columbus teammate Duvie Westcott, not tomention a couple other exers.Even though it’s the middle of summer, thingshave been real busy for me. I left Minnesota last week, getting on a plane at 7:30 pm and landing in Amsterdam at 11 a.m. the next morning. Duvie and I had a nine-hour layover in Amsterdam, so we rented a hotel room at the airport to get some sleep.The beds were smaller than a single – I mean, if you roll halfway over, you’re on the floor – and the funny thing was the beds were pushed together, so Duvie pushed them apart and faced them towards the TV. We got comfy and turned on the TV to find the only channel worth watching was CNN – also the only one we could understand. Duvie and I eventually made it to our next flight that had us landing in Riga at 11:30 p.m.We were met at the airport by the team GM and Dimitri, our European agent. Dimitri took us to the hotel, where we will be staying until Aug. 20. It’s one of the nicest places I have ever stayed. The hotel has only been open for about a month, it’s very modern and all the staff speak English.The next day Duvie and I explored the downtown (which is where our hotel is). We came to realize that Riga is a beautiful, clean, safe and active city. Riga is on the Baltic Sea, so they get weather very similar to Vancouver; lots of rain in the winter and very little snow, but I will confirm that in later blogs. Riga also has an English movie theater with all the latest films (this will come in handy).Now about the food...half the time Duvie and I have no idea what we are ordering. We just point at the menu and say "this one please" and sure enough, it tastes excellent. We have not yet had a bad meal. The food is also quite expensive just like everything here.On the ice, so far the practices have been the same as in North America except for the language barrier between the coach and myself. He is Slovakian and can speak Russian, Slovakian and very broken English. Duvie and I always try starting at the back of the line in practice to get a sense of what to do in the drill. We have already had two games here in Riga. Our team has won both, so I hope this is a sign of good things to come during the regular season. The team has a total of 12 exhibition games in August and will be starting the regular season Sept. 2. The first game is 5,000 miles away from Riga (against Amur Khabarovsk, 45 miles from the Chinese border) completely on the other side of Russia. We will be playing seven games in 10 days on that trip, I believe. Duvie and I arrived on July 29 and I am happy to say my wife Melissa and daughter Ava arrived Aug. 5. And, of course, the first thing the two of them did was sleep. Well, time to wake up the family and go out to some more restaurants in this neat city. Maybe next time I will talk a little about the old city, which is more than 800 years old. This is where all the action is downtown. Time to go and explore. Goodbye from Riga,Mark.Mark Hartigan won the past two Stanley Cups with Anaheim and Detroit andhas also played for Atlanta and Columbus in his career. He is beginning hisfirst season in the KHL with Dinamo Riga.Source

Snow to name the next coach of Islanders soon.

Don Lucia's favorite GM Garth Snow is expected to name his new head coach this week. This has turned out to be quite the drama and I am dying to find out who it is going to be. That being said I expect the Islanders to be cellar dwellars this season. Source: Snow has narrowed his list to threeBY GREG LOGAN----(snip)-----After a painstaking interview process in which he spoke with eight known candidates and contacted a few others, an source indicated Snow has narrowed his list to three finalists. Former Atlanta coach Bob Hartley, former Toronto coach Paul Maurice and current AHL Providence coach Scott Gordon still are in the running, and Snow is expected to name one as the Isles' next coach early this week.Although former Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella and former Colorado coach Joel Quenneville were regarded as the most high-profile candidates when Snow's search began because of their consistent winning records, any handicapper judging by the criteria set by the Isles' GM probably would have picked the same three finalists Snow settled on. When he parted ways with Nolan, Snow cited "philosophical differences" over the direction of the franchise as the reason.Snow made a firm commitment last season to a patient, long-term approach to fashioning a championship contender by developing the top young prospects in the organization and building through the draft as opposed to relying on free agency to provide a quick fix. The coach he chooses must share the same, and he must be able to communicate equally well with management and players.Source