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The newest Philadelphia Flyer, Pavel Kubina has expressed his interest in staying with the team beyond this season. Kubina told the Philadelphia Inquirer he would prefer to re-sign rather than market himself a free-agent this summer.

"It's a great organization and a great team and always has been one of the top teams in the league," Kubina said. "I'm 34 years old and it's a great opportunity to play for a team like that."

"If I play well for this team and they want me, I don't want to go anywhere and test the water," he said. "That is the way I am and hopefully, it will go that way."

Pavel Kubina brings some interesting elements to the Philadelphia Flyers blueline. A player build with size and strength who plays with an edge. Kubina is 6-foot-4, 258-pounds and he's not afraid to use his assets to his advantage.  In addition, Kubina has won the Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The element the Philadelphia Flyers like most about their new acquisition is that he's a righthanded shot.  

"He's a righthanded shot so that is something different to our back unit that we don't have," Laviolette said. "Plus his experience, he has won a cup before and what he is able to bring to the table from a physical standpoint will be an important fact."

Pavel Kubina seems very happy with his current situation. However, we will see how long that lasts. It is believed that no matter what Kubina does, he will be asked to accept a pay cut to stay in Philadelphia beyond this season.

Will he be happy then?

We will have to wait and see if the Philadelphia Flyers are ultimately happy with the product he provides on the ice... In the short-term, I would suggest adding Pavel Kubina to your fantasy hockey rosters.

For live updates follow @hockeyfanland on Twitter.

The St. Louis Blues have been nothing short of awesome under Ken Hitchcock. It’s scary to think how good they might be doing had they not had that slow start before Hitch arrived. St. Louis currently sits very comfortably in 4th place in the West, five points back of the Red Wings for the division and conference leads with one game in hand. They also sit 5 points up on the 5th place Predators. It’s a nice spot to be in for the Blues, who really looked awful out of the gate. The team interestingly enough is now chasing the modern day record for goals allowed in a single season, currently held by the 2003-04 Devils, with 164 goals against. Ahh what a record. Back to the dead puck era.

Under Hitchock, the Blues have gone 30-8-7 … a phenomenal record. During that time, they have scored 2.57 goals per game, middle of the pack, but have given up just a paltry 1.78 goals against. That’s the key to the Blues game by far. Above, the Devils finished the year with an even 2.00 goals against record over the 82 game schedule. St. Louis has currently allowed 117 goals against through 59 games. That leaves them then with 23 games to go and they can only allow 47 goals to tie the record. That’s a pace of 2.04 goals against per game. No problem right under the Hitchcock system that’s allowed just 80 goals through 45 games. The Blues on definitely on pace to set a new record for stinginess in a single season. They are just getting better too … in 10 February games, they have allowed just 15 goals against. An amazing pace.

Have to think that if Hitchcock had been in place all year, the Blues could well be leading the league in the standings right now. It’s amazing what he’s done to get his young team to buy into his system. That and of course the awesome play by Elliott and now Halak. Halak stumbled out of the gates but he has recovered big time and now has his GAA to 1.97. Elliott of course has a ridiculous GAA of 1.56, but he has faced the ‘easier’ teams lately. It’s going to be a lot of fun to see how the Blues finish up. Pretty nice having either goalie in your Fantasy pools this year.

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The NHL’s Detroit Red Wings are definitely king of the castle when it comes to their home rink of  Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings set a brand new league record by winning for the 21st consecutive time at home on Feb. 14 with a 3-1 victory against the Dallas Stars.

The old mark was set by the Boston Bruins in the 1929/30 season and then equalled by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975/76 when both clubs won 20 straight in their home rinks. The last time Detroit lost at home was back on November 3 when the Calgary Flames topped them 4-1.

Journeyman goaltender Joey MacDonald helped the team set the record after watching the first 17 games of the streak from his couch at home. MacDonald was playing for the Red Wings American Hockey League (AHL) farm team in Grand Rapids, Michigan when he was called up by the NHL team after regular goaltender Jimmy Howard broke a finger.

Howard had been in net for all 17 wins until MacDonald took over. MacDonald said he never dreamed he’d be a part of the record since the Red Wings backup goaltender is Ty Conklin. However, Red Wings brass felt Conklin was playing was inconsistently and gave the 31-year-old MacDonald a chance to shine. MacDonald made 20 saves against the Stars and lost his shutout bid with just 33 seconds remaining in the game. After the game Red Wings fans remained in the arena and chanted “Joey, Joey.”

Detroit coach Mike Babcock said the team never talked about the record before the game as the club was just concentrating on getting two points to stay on top of the NHL standings. However, he did say the organization is thrilled with the new record as everybody from ownership down worked hard to set it.

It may have set the mark for excellence in the NHL, but compared to the other three major North American sports 21 straight home wins is the lowest on the totem pole. The Pittsburgh Pirates MLB team won 24 in a row at home in 1978 and the Boston Red Sox matched it 10 years later. In the NFL, the Miami Dolphins hold the record with 27 consecutive home victories which they compiled between 1971 and 1974 and the NBA’s 1995/96 edition of the Chicago Bulls hold the record in basketball with 37.

The Red Wings have the opportunity to match or break these marks if they can keep their streak alive. Ironically, the club also holds the NHL record for most consecutive road wins with 12. During the 21-game home streak Detroit has outscored the opposition 84-31. Three of the games were won in penalty shootouts and one was won in overtime. The Bruins won two games in overtime when they set the previous record, while Philadelphia won all 20 of their contests in regulation time.

A post by Ian Palmer from Feed Crossing.

Be sure to check out other great articles at Hockey/Baseball Talk.

Hal Gill has been dealt to the Nashville Predators. Gill, along with a 2013 5th round draft pick, leaves the Habs who now welcome aboard forwards Robert Slaney, a 2nd round pick in 2012, and Blake Geoffrion, son of Danny, grandson of Boom Boom, and great-grandson of Howie Morenz. Talk about a guy with Hab bloodlines.

Gill was a leader with the Habs, a character guy, and will be missed because of this. But he was slower than molasses, and the way Alexei Emelin and Raphael Diaz have found their way on the the blueline, Gill’s time had come. So long, Hal. You’re a good guy.

PRESS RELEASE

MONTREAL (February 17, 2012) – Montreal Canadiens general manager, Pierre Gauthier, announced today the acquisition of forwards Blake Geoffrion and Robert Slaney, as well as a second round draft pick in 2012 from the Nashville Predators, in return for defenseman Hal Gill and a conditional fifth round draft pick in 2013.

The 24-year old Geoffrion played 22 games with the Predators this season. He registered three assists, 29 hits and 17 penalty minutes, playing an average of 10 minutes and 20 seconds per game. In his second year in professional hockey this season, he also played with the AHL Milwaukee Admirals recording nine points, including two goals, in 20 games.

The 6’01?’, 190 lbs left winger has collected 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists) in 42 regular season games in the NHL.  Geoffrion displays a career +1 plus/minus differential. He added two assists in 12 playoff games in 2010-11, along with a +1 plus/minus ratio.

A native of Plantation, Florida, Geoffrion was drafted in the second round, 56th overall by the Predators at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He was awarded the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, as the Top U.S. Collegiate Player in 2010.

Slaney, 23, notched one assist in nine games with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, and 18 points (11 goals, 7 assists) in 30 games with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones this season.

A product of the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles the 6’02’’, 203 lbs left winger registered eight assists in 52 career games in the AHL. Slaney added 53 points (19 goals, 34 assists) in 113 career games in the ECHL.

The Upper Cove Island, Newfoundland native Slaney signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 14, 2009. He was acquired from Toronto by the Predators on July 3, 2011.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank Hal Gill for his contribution to our team over the last three seasons. His leadership and commitment were much appreciated. I wish him the best of luck with his new team. We are also very pleased to have acquired a second round draft selection in 2012 and two young prospects for our organization. We look forward to working together with Blake Geoffrion and Robert Slaney to continue their progression,” said Canadiens’ general manager Pierre Gauthier.

Hal Gill played 53 games this season with the Canadiens registering eight points (1 goal, 7 assists). He recorded 48 hits and 122 blocked shots, playing an average of 16 minutes and 44 seconds per game.

Since joining the NHL, Gill has recorded 179 points (36 goals and 143 helpers) and maintained a +43 plus/minus ratio in 1,047 NHL regular season games.

For more great articles, be sure to visit Dennis-Kane.com.

There isn't a team in the NHL that wouldn't want to have Rick Nash on it's roster -- but only a few might be willing to relinquish what's being asked for in return. Ahead of the trade deadline, or later in the summer, the price for the current captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets is expected to be steep.

Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports the Blue Jackets are rumored to want "at least one young roster player along with a combination of top prospects and quality draft picks" for Nash. Thus far, the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs are presumed to be on Nash's thumbs-up list. Holding a no-movement clause, the star winger has the final say in where he eventually ends up.

The Rangers might be able satisfy the Jackets' trade demands by offering Brandon Dubinsky, prospect Chris Kreider and a No.1 pick. The Leafs and Sharks have enough organizational depth to stay in the conversation. However, the Kings may have a mild advantage over the rest in the potential offering of Jonathan Bernier. The Blue Jackets need a reliable No.1 goaltender in the worst way. The club that's willing to ship one over may have the edge.

The HockeyFanLand Insight

As tantalizing as it would be to get a No.1 goaltender of Jonathan Bernier's ilk; something the Columbus Blue Jackets desperately need, is it smart to trade a former first overall pick to your direct Western Conference competition? In my head, the answer is a resounding NO.

If I was Blue Jacket' management... the New York Rangers offers sound sweet. However, in a few years, the NHL landscape might look completely different. So, if the top goaltending prospect is dangled in your face. It might be too hard to resist right now. Whatever the case is, we all know, the return for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a Rick Nash trade is going to be hefty.

That's why it is important to take your time in this decision-making process...Of course, in the end, it is Rick Nash that holds all the cards.

For live updates follow @hockeyfanland on Twitter.

With predawn practices in unheated rinks, hockey has always been a cruel sport.

It's even more cruel when you're a goaltender.

"It's a position built on a negative," says Ed Walsh, the long-time goaltender coach at UMass Lowell and Dartmouth who has helped send five goalies to the NHL, including the River Hawks' 1994 All-American and Hobey Baker Finalist, Dwayne Roloson. "The puck goes into the net, you're the last guy it went by, so you're to blame.

"You can't win a hockey game as a goalie. You're not the kid scoring the winning goal. You can only keep your team in the game."

Walsh believes that those negatives, along with the expense of buying equipment for goalies in a tough economy, have led to a goaltending crisis that reaches down to the lowest amateur levels of organized hockey. If the crisis isn't addressed quickly, in a few years the entire sport could be crippled.

"I've been training goaltenders seven days a week from September to April, even when I was coaching at Lowell," says Walsh, who has also mentored current River Hawk Doug Carr, the top-ranked goalie in Hockey East, since he was 12 years old. "Sometimes we coaches get caught in our own little world where we're not looking outside the box all the time and seeing what's happening.

"I work with 11 towns and associations in this area, and last year I had a bunch of towns and associations -- some of which I wasn't even working with -- calling me and saying: 'Walshie, can you

 help us? We don't have a mite goalie. We don't have a PeeWee goalie.' I even saw advertisements in the papers for goalies.

"So I started calling around, talking to guys like Robb Stauber out in Minnesota who played 12 years in the NHL, and he said it's the same out there. They're losing goalies at the lowest levels.

"I called several other places and, sure enough, it is an issue. I think parents are trending their kids away from the position."

To try and reverse the trend, Walsh revived an old idea he had about 15 years ago, and it has quickly caught on in the bastions of a half-dozen NHL teams.

"About 15 years ago I came up with this idea for a goaltender's competition," he says. "Back then it was just an idea to do something fun. But when this started happening, I said we've got to do something about this, and we've got to do something fast."

So Walsh created the International Goaltending Competition, details of which can be found at igcompetition.com.

"The competition I designed is based on a Disney model, something super-cool, real exciting, and with its own championship with goalies going head to head with one another," Walsh explains.

Goalies engage in skill competitions, get first-class treatment, and coaching tips from elite goalies. There are six regional competitions in Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, and Toronto as well as Boston (which will be held in Tewksbury), and the NHL teams in those areas, who have the foresight to read the ugly graffiti on the wall, are jumping on board.

"They'll all have a presence at the competitions and will be doing outreach for us. The Tampa Bay Lightning will be doing it for us in Orlando," Walsh says.

It's expected that about 900 goalies will be participating in the six regionals.

The top three winners in each age bracket and division in their regional will gather for the finals in Orlando. Top goalies in the lower divisions and age brackets will receive medals, while older goalies in the junior, high school, and prep divisions will be competing for college scholarship money.

"Goalies finally have something created just for them," says Walsh, who has trained more than a 100 goalies who have gone on to play at the college level. "At this point, we're just trying to retain the goalies we already have. But the long-range idea is to excite kids to become goalies.

"This took me out of college coaching after 18 years. That's how important I think this is."

He's not alone.

"I used to go to hockey rinks and ask if they'd display literature for my hockey school," Walsh remembers, "and they'd say: 'Are you buying ice time from us? No? Of course you can't put your stuff in here.'

"Now, with this concept, I go to any rink and they say: 'Of course you can put it up,' because they understand we're trying to help the game and promote goaltending."

As Sam Gagner's recent hot streak came to an end against Ottawa on Saturday, another athletic hot streak was well underway.

Being described as Linsanity, New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin has broken out in the last 6 games, scoring 20 points or better in each performance, including 38 points against the LA Lakers. As a former high school basketball coach, I knew the full value of giving the ball to the guy with the hot hand. If a player was on fire, I would be sure to have him on the floor as much as possible and get the ball to him in continually. You can never be sure when that rhythm a player was feeling might end, so winning often depended on getting the most out of that player while you could. Lin's coach knows that, which is why he has gone from playing 6 or 7 minutes a game up to 36-45 minutes per game, with the points flowing from his additional time on the court.

Oilers coach Tom Renney has gone a different route however, choosing to play Shawn Horcoff and even goal-less Magnus Paajarvi more often than the NHL's hottest player. The night Sam Gagner scored 8 points, he logged just over 17 minutes of ice time. That same night Shawn Horcoff had over 22 minutes of ice time and was held off the scoresheet. Similar efforts were turned in by Ryan Jones (14 minutes, 0 points) and Eric Belanger (15 minutes, 0 points). So you figure Gagner would earn more ice the next night, right? Wrongo. Gagner picked up right where he left off, with 3 points in the first period against Detroit. By then Renney had seen enough. Gagner would go on to play over 16 minutes, while Horcoff played 22 (0 points), Jones played 17 (0 points) and Belanger played 17 (0 points). With 11 points in 2 games, Gagner was firmly the hottest player in the league, which made him a go-to player against Toronto. He earned one assist on 19 minutes, while his teammates Horcoff, Jones and Belanger were held off he score sheet over 17, 16 and 17 minutes, respectively. At this point, Gagner must have been feelin like Rodney Dangerfield. No respect. That didn't slow him down, though, as he netted a pair of goals against Detroit in 16 minutes of action.

Care to guess how that other trio of forwards did? You got it: Horcoff had 0 points (22 minutes), Jones had 0 points (9 minutes) and Belanger had 0 points (14 minutes). Renney even went so far as to give Magnus Paajarvi, who had yet to score a goal this season, more ice time than Gagner at 18 minutes (and while he did tally one assist, it was on a Gagner goal). Finally the streak was broken against Ottawa. Gagner again played 17 minutes and was held pointless. So were Jones (16 minutes) and Belanger (16 minutes), while Horcoff and Paajarvi had 3 points and 2 points on 18 minutes and 15 minutes, respectively.

Perhaps Tom Renney's plan of riding Shawn Horcoff is finally paying off. To recap, in the last five games, we saw: Ryan Jones, 72 minutes, 0 points Eric Belanger 79 minutes, 0 points Magnus Paajarvi, 33 minutes, 3 points Shawn Horcoff, 101 minutes, 3 points Sam Gagner, 86 minutes, 14 points (about 1 point every 6 minutes)

Can someone please explain to me why Sam Gagner wasn't out there playing at least 20-25 minutes a game during this streak? What else does a guy have to do to earn some ice time on this garbage team?