HockeyFanLand

It is a well known fact that hockey goalies are a breed apart.  Many of them have odd habits and generally speaking are not like the skaters on their teams.  After all, if you spent your career, your life's work, willingly watching players launch pucks from the point at you at 90+ MPH, you gotta be a different kind of person.

Proving this point, Boston Bruins Goalie, two time Vezina winner and 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Tim Thomas, declined the invitation to go with his teammates to the White House and be congratulated for their Cup win by President Barack Obama.  Thomas said his reason was "the federal government is  threatening the rights, liberties and property of the people."   This action has ruffled feathers as some people were offended that Thomas would do this.  Added to this situation is the fact that  the Bruins have been trying to replace Thomas since the day he showed up and have been unable too given that he was the best goalie they had at the time and has been the best goalie in hockey for at least the last three years (with some time off for injury).  I think they really want Tuukka Rask to start, however they have to go with Thomas because the guy does not quit.  He wins and wins and in the end, that is what matters.  The Bruins could use this incident to deal Thomas in the offseason, they certainly would have some takers (What about the Leafs?  They could find some room and he already knows Phil Kessel!). 

The thing I am wondering is, does it really matter?  Did Thomas really do anything wrong here?  I would definitely say no.  Anyone who objects is probably doing so for partisan political reasons.  Would those same people have objected if a player had done so when George W. Bush was President?  Do those same people support the right of the Occupy movement to protest in their way.  This is the United States of Amerca and we have the right of political expression.  All of us do, even hockey players.

I have read various reports suggesting that Edmonton Oilers head coach Tom Renney maybe on the hot seat. 

The Edmonton Oilers have just five wins in their last 25 games, still, I have hard time believing Renney's seat is producing any heat.  Sure, there is only a few months left on his contract, and coaches are usually the scapegoat in a lot of situations. For me, this is a different case. ownership is well aware  this franchise is in a long-term rebuild. one thing that Tom Renney is renowned for the ability to teach young players.  

Most tellingly perhaps, GM Steve Tambellini-- rumored to be in talks regarding his own extension at present -- is quick to publicly toot Renney's horn.

Tom Renney's response to being on the hot seat:

“I’m not worried about that,” said the Oilers coach. “I can’t be. I’m not one of those guys to dwell on my own circumstances or put it in the forefront or worry about it so it gets in the way of my job. I think that’s counterproductive.

“I’m going to do my job, I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’ll just keep going until somebody says OK, hand in the keys.”

What do you think,  Is Tom Renney on the hot seat in Edmonton?

Personally, I don't think so. I don't want to use injuries as an excuse but they must be taken into account. Plus, The franchise players are all in their late teens, early twenties. The veterans are all overpaid and not as talented as their cap hit suggests. This time around they should shoulder the blame.

It doesn't matter who the coach is they must get the pieces to surround the kid line.

Steve Tambellini is more likely to be in trouble... if he doesn't provide these pieces for Renney to work with...

I can't wait for the Ales Hemsky trade! 

For live updates follow @hockeyfanland on Twitter.

DETROIT (AP) — Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen scored in the second period, and the Detroit Red Wings beat the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Monday night for their 17th straight home win — the NHL’s longest single-season streak in 36 years.

The Red Wings’ spurt is the league’s fourth longest. Detroit (33-15-1) has won seven in a row overall and leads the NHL with 67 points.

Niklas Kronwall sealed the win with a power-play goal with 3:03 left. Jimmy Howard made 21 saves to earn his NHL-leading 30th win.

St. Louis had won four straight, and lost in regulation for the first time since a Dec. 31 defeat at Detroit. Jaroslav Halak, who had won a career-high seven in a row, made 25 saves.

Scott Nichol put the Blues ahead midway through the first period, but they couldn’t get the puck past Howard again.

Detroit is three wins away at home from matching the league record of 20, set by the Boston Bruins during the 1929-30 season, and matched by Philadelphia in 1976. The Red Wings are 20-2-1 at home this season and haven’t lost there since Nov. 3.

The Blues are 23-6-6 since coach Ken Hitchcock replaced the fired Davis Payne.

PREDATORS 4, BLUE JACKETS 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Mike Fisher scored two goals, and Nashville beat Columbus for its third straight victory and 11th in 13 games.

The Predators wrapped up their season series with Columbus by going 5-0-1. Fisher has scored six of his 11 goals against the Blue Jackets.

Matt Halischuk and Patric Hornqvist both scored, and Ryan Suter had two assists as Nashville won for the 12th time in 14 home games. Pekka Rinne stopped 25 shots for a franchise-record and career-high eighth straight victory.

Rick Nash scored for Columbus to avoid the shutout.

MAPLE LEAFS 3, ISLANDERS 0

TORONTO (AP) — Matthew Lombardi scored two goals and Jonas Gustavsson made 25 saves as Toronto beat the New York Islanders in the first game of a home-and-home series.

Phil Kessel also scored for Toronto (24-19-5), which moved into an eighth-place tie in the Eastern Conference with the idle Washington Capitals.

The Leafs stopped Islanders forward John Tavares’ 12-game point streak — the longest run in the NHL this season — and snapped a three-game winning streak for New York (19-22-6). Tavares notched eight goals and 13 assists during his spurt, and helped the Islanders to an 8-4 mark.

It was the third shutout of the season for Gustavsson, who has started nine of Toronto’s past 10 games. The Maple Leafs, who had lost four of five, outshot New York 35-25.

HURRICANES 2, JETS 1

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jeff Skinner and Tim Brent scored first-period goals for Carolina, which held off Winnipeg and won its third straight at home.

Kyle Wellwood scored at 13:47 of the second period for the Jets’ only goal.

Cam Ward stopped 29 shots for his 18th win. Winnipeg’s Chris Mason, who played in his 300th NHL game, made 14 saves.

The Jets had won the previous three matchups with Carolina this season.

KINGS 4, SENATORS 1

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kyle Clifford had a goal and an assist, Jonathan Quick made 27 saves, and Los Angeles rolled into its All-Star break with a victory over Ottawa.

Trevor Lewis scored on a penalty shot and Jack Johnson scored during a two-man advantage for the Kings, who moved even with San Jose atop the Pacific Division after earning a point for the 16th time in 18 games.

Quick headed to his first All-Star game appearance in style, shutting down the Senators’ powerful lineup until captain Daniel Alfredsson’s power-play goal with 11:23 to play. His teammates had already built a four-goal lead and chased Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson by breaking out of the latest scoring slump for the NHL’s lowest-scoring team.

Anderson stopped 22 shots before Alex Auld replaced him to start the third period for the Senators, who lost on both of their Southern California stops during their six-game trip.

Willie Mitchell scored Los Angeles’ first goal in the clubs’ only meeting of the season. Drew Doughty and Colin Fraser had two assists apiece in the Kings’ final game before an eight-day break.

OILERS 2, SHARKS 1, SO

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Taylor Hall scored the winning goal in a shootout and Edmonton snapped a three-game skid by beating Pacific Division-leading San Jose.

Edmonton’s Devan Dubnyk was the first star of the game, stopping 44 shots through overtime and three more in the shootout.

Jordan Eberle scored in regulation for the Oilers (18-26-4), who won for the second time in 10 games and sixth in 26 outings.

Logan Couture had the lone goal for the Sharks (26-14-6), who have lost three straight and four of five. Thomas Greiss made 17 saves in a matchup of backup goalies.

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Alex Ovechkin laid a pretty nasty hit on Zbenyk Michalek during Sunday's game between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, which left commentators instantly speculating on whether Ovechkin would feel the wrath of NHL discipline czar Brendan Shanahan. There's going to be a disciplinary hearing today, NHL.com reports.

Now, while Ovechkin wasn't penalized on the play, he left his feet which led to his shoulder hitting Michalek's head. But Michalek was fine so, as Puck Daddy's Greg Wyshynski writes, "Without an injury, we'd wager there won't be [a suspension]."

Meanwhile, Michalek's agent, Allan Walsh, got into the action, tweeting, "There is no place in our game for this kind of hit." But even with Shanahan's heavy handedness thus far, it's tough to see Ovehckin missing games for the hit.

The HockeyFanland Insight

It is my belief that if Brendan Shanahan is holding a hearing on this incident it should carry a 1-2 game suspension. If this indeed happens it sends a unified message  Brendan Shanahan does not consider preferential treatment for players based on star status within the NHL. in addition, Alex Ovechkin left his feet on the play, and has been suspended in the past. This has to be taken into account when the sentence is handed out, like it is for every other player in this situation. 

At the very least, there should have been a penalty assessed on the play. There should be some recourse for a referee who misses an obvious call such as this one.

Related Link

Will Ovechkin be disciplined for his leaping hit on Michalek? 

Update: Alex Ovechkin suspended 3 games

For live updates follow @hockeyfanland on Twitter.

Just a couple quick trade hitters for you:

This from ESPN's Lebrun:

Nearly every buyer you talk to lists a top-six forward as an item on their wish list before the Feb. 27 trade deadline.

What the trade market needs is more teams to declare themselves sellers and out of the playoff race. But it’s still too early for that. That’s what happens with so much parity in the standings.

Potential top-six forwards available? Again, it doesn’t mean all these players will move, but these are names we’ve heard that could be in play: Derek Roy, Brad Boyes and Drew Stafford in Buffalo; Vaclav Prospal, Antoine Vermette and Kristian Huselius in Columbus; Ales Hemsky in Edmonton; Tuomo Ruutu in Carolina; and the suddenly hot Jason Blake in Anaheim.

If there is one thing the Jackets do have available it's top 6 forwards. Goaltenders? Who would want those guys? Defense? Won't trade the ones they want and nobody wants the ones we'd trade.

So back to the forwards. Prospal, Phalsson and Juice are all unrestricted free agents. That's like gold at the trade deadline b/c nobody wants the baggage/complications that players with long term deals bring. Rentals allow teams to add to their rosters without giving anything up (other than futures) and keep that financial flexibility for offseason moves.

That doesn't mean guys with longer terms deals can't be moved. Afterall, we moved Klelsa at last year's deadline. Vermette (3yrs @ 3.75mil); Carter (10yrs @ 5.27); Nash (7yrs @ 7.8); Umberger (5yrs @ 4.6), despite lackluster years, would all draw interest on the open market. But moving those guys to playoff teams (ie buyers) who often do not want to subtract from their rosters, just add, is more complex b/c the majority do not have the available cap space.

If I was betting man here is what I'll guess will go down by the deadline. And remember -- there are not a lot of sellers. In fact, I count only 8 of 30 teams realistically out of the playoff hunt at this stage. That is only 26% of the league who are selling granted there is still more than a month to go before the deadline. Plenty of time for other teams to put up the for sale sign. Anyhow -- here it is:

Prospal - late first to 2nd.

Pahlsson - 3rd to 4th rounder.

Juice - 3rd rounder (assuming healthy).

Those guys are all definitely gone. The biggest question is when? The longer we wait the higher the price. However, the longer we wait the higher the risk of injury.

I just can't see any Jackets with long term contracts moved until the leadership of this organization is addressed first. The one exception IMO may be Jeff Carter. I have a feeling both sides may jump on the first exit ramp that is a good offer. Toronto is my guess -- especially if deals for heavily rumored guys like Bobby Ryan and JVR fall through. Would have to be a similar deal to what we gave up though -- young blue chipper plus high draft pick. Example. Luke Schenn plus a 1st? Schenn plus Kadri?

This from Darren Dreger's latest mailbag:

The contenders and pretenders are being filtered out by the day! Which teams do you feel are on the verge of doing a complete rebuilding (as opposed to re-tooling on the fly) after this season?

Steve

Hillsborough, NB

A: Steve - while there will be teams who clearly fall in to the category of "seller" between now and the NHL Trade Deadline, it's unlikely any team will fully embrace a full rebuild. The Columbus Blue Jackets may come close as this organization's annual quest for an identity and winning combination has yet again fallen short. Jeff Carter, Antoine Vermette and Derick Brassard will likely be among those dangled and despite the constant denials from the player, agent and management, I'm sure Rick Nash's name will surface in discussions leading up to the deadline. There will be many teams who may move key players, such as Buffalo, Carolina, Montreal and Tampa Bay in the East. While in the West, Minnesota's free-fall will soon have to be addressed to keep the Wild in the mix. Anaheim and Calgary may also be active in the coming weeks. Calgary will do everything it can to make the playoffs this season and with nine players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on July 1, Jay Feaster and the Flames are facing a natural rebuild in the offseason. As we identified Thursday on the NHL on TSN, there are at least eight teams in the market for a Top 6 forward. It's a seller's market right now and prices are high for all players which is why the the trading game appears to be on hold.

Sounds like reality has finally slapped Derger in the face regarding Rick Nash. Of course everyone is going to deny it publicly - it's how the game is played.

I've said it a 1000 times on this blog, but when there is this kind of long term systemic failure within an organization every option should be explored and that certainly includes a possible trade of Rick Nash. If this organization isn't listening to offers for RicK Nash then they aren't doing their jobs. But again, no trade of this magnitude should be consummated until the leadership problems are addressed first.

-LTL

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San Jose Sharks' GM Doug Wilson always seems to come alive this time of year. With a little over a month before the NHL Trade Deadline, rumors of Wilson on the trade prowl have crept into the Twitterfeeds, blogs and rumor mills of Hockey Nation.

Not content to wait until the offseason, the St. Louis Blues locked up All-Star Goalie Brian Elliot for two more years on Wednesday.  For a team that is so committed to defense, I am happy to see them make this commitment to Elliot.  At 15-5-1 with a goals against average of 1.68, a .937 save percentage and five shutouts, Elliot has responded excellently to his new team.  Furthermore, Jaroslav Halak has also been playing excellent hockey of late, giving the Blues a fabulous one-two punch in net.  Given the Blues excellent progress so far (60 points-good for third in the NHL), this show of confidence in Elliot can only make him more comfortable.  Its full speed ahead for the Blues, let's hold on and enjoy the ride.  Go Blues!