Mikhail Grigorenko is about to embark on his second rookie season.
The Russian center played 25 games with the Buffalo Sabres last season.
New season. New coach. Fresh new start.
I've been seeing a lot of Grigorenko and his two besties Nikita Zadorov and Andrey Makarov at the rink and around town in Buffalo this summer. The Sabres selected Zadorov with the 16th overall pick in the first round of June's NHL Entry Draft. Makarov was signed as a free agent last September. Grigorenko feels more at home in Buffalo at this time than he did at this time last summer after he was drafted 12th overall by the Sabres in the 1st round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
Grigo spoke with NHL.com last week when he was in Toronto for the NHLPA Rookie Showcase. Grigo was one of 27 NHL rookies who were invited to participate in the all-rookie marketing event.
Grigo turned 19 in May, and he's feeling a lot more at ease. He's healthy. Last summer, Grigo was recovering from the ill effects of a bad bout with mononucleosis, a condition that sapped him of his energy and strength and caused him to miss the pre-draft conditioning testing at the NHL Scouting Combine in Toronto.
"Last year was kind of tough. I didn't have a good summer with the mono. I had the draft and so much travelling with the Russia-Canada Summit Series," Grigorenko said.
"I didn't have any routine to stay in training. It was kind of hard."
This summer, has much more structure in his game. His routine is very simple: skate, skate, skate, and then play shinny. Grigorenko has been skating with Sabres coaching coach Dawn Braid. He's added more strength to his 6'3", 210 lb. frame. He's moving faster, forward and backwards, and he's stronger than he was in his 25 game audition with the Sabres in 2012.
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Grigorenko confessed that the Lindy Ruff coaching change really taught him the value of having to prove himself.
"The coach changing was kind of hard for me. With Lindy Ruff, I was doing better and better," Grigorenko said. "Once Ron Rolston came into the team, I needed to do it all over again. I needed to earn my ice time again because it was a new coaching staff. I was doing better and better but finally they decided it's better for me to play in the playoffs in junior."
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All told, Grigorenko played upwards of 90 games between August 2012 and May 2013. He participated in the Canada-Russia Summit Series last August, then reported to Quebec City for Remparts training camp in September. He played at a high level for Patrick Roy and the Remps from October to December. Then, it was off to Ufa, Russia to represent his country at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. when the WJCs ended, he reported to Buffalo where he earned a roster spot with the Sabres. In mid-March, he was sent back to Quebec City after being a health scratch in many games after the Roslton coaching change. He led the Remparts in scoring during their two round playoff run. When the Remps were eliminated from their playoffs, he returned to Buffalo to finish out the string of regular season games. No playoffs in Buffalo earned him a trip down the I-90 to Rochester, where he played three playoff games for the Amerks.
"The end of the season was a little weird," Grigorenko said. "I was sent back to juniors and then back to the NHL after I played in Rochester a little bit. I played a lot of games and that's exactly what I needed, to play a lot of games. I think next year will be a little easier. I think next season is going to be good."
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Grigorenko is setting realistic goals for himself for the 2013-14 season. He knows that nothing is going to be given to him. he's going to have to earn his 5 on 5 ice time and his PP minutes. With RFA center Cody Hogdson still unsigned, Grigorenko has to prepare himself to play the top line center position vs. fellow Russian Pavel Datsyuk on opening night in Detroit.
"Just to make the NHL and to hopefully have my spot on the power play, probably be the first- or second-line center, is my goal," Grigorenko said.
"To have 50 points would be great for me. If it's 30, I'm not going to be sad. I don't see myself as an AHL third-liner."
"It doesn’t mean just because I'm young I will play hockey. I need to be good," he said. "I'm pretty sure I'll have a good opportunity to show the coaches and everybody that I can create a lot of offense. Everything depends on me."
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"It's a little different. I'm going into kind of a second rookie year," Grigorenko said. "I'm a rookie with some experience. I think it's good."
The good news for Eastern opponents is that Daniel Alfredsson will no longer be an Ottawa Senator. The bad news is that Alfredsson will still be a pain in the ass to play against as a Detroit Red Wing. Alfredsson's controversial departure from Kanata is the thing of legend. The long time Sens captain was wooed away from retirement by the Red Wings. After the sting of the Alfredsson switcheroo had subsided, Sens GM Bryan Murray went to work and made a blockbuster trade shocked the hockey world. Murray identified, then closed the deal for hot-shot perennial 30 goal scorer Bobby Ryan.
On Friday, Sens head coach Paul MacLean spoke with his team's website about the emotional roller coaster that his team has lived through this off season with tumult of the Alfredsson loss to the glee and elation of the Ryan trade.
MacLean loves the Ryan trade. In trademark MacLean fashion, he will not commit to telling the media who Ryan's line mates will be in 2013-14.
I'm excited about the opportunity he brings to us as someone that's a bonafide guy that's scored 35 goals in the league. He shoots the puck in the net and that's something we haven't had really since I've been here. I think that's exciting. The chemistry he gets, is it going to be with Jason Spezza or Kyle Turris or Mika (Zibanejad), whoever he gets the best chemistry with is who we're going to play him with, but I think having someone with that ability is certainly going to help our team's confidence as far as it comes to scoring goals.
Thanks, Sens TV
Spezza missed 43 games in 2012-13 regular season games due to back surgery.
He's looking to rebound with a big bounce back offensive season in 2013-14.
Spezza was omitted from Team Canada's Sochi Olympic Orientation Camp on Calgary last week,.
"For me, I'm more excited just to play," Spezza after a recent informal scrimmage at the Bell Sensplex.
"I missed the full season, and I have high expectations that when I'm healthy I can play well. It's not my focus, by no means. It's a little bit of motivation. Maybe it gives me a little chip on my shoulder. But it's not my motivation for success this year."
Renaud Lavoie reports that Crawford's extension is for $36 million guaranteed.
Thats a $6 million per season cap hit. Talk about risky business, especially after he failed so badly in 2011-12.
This much is true:
2014 UFA goalies to be Ryan Miller, Henrik Lundqvist, and James Reimer must be loving the fact that the at times erratic Crawford just signed a 6x6 extension with the Blackhawks.
I like Crawford's skills, however, I have a huge problem with him being a $36 million guaranteed goalie. The LA Kings and Boston Bruins exposed Crawford's wonky glove hand in the 2013 Western Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals.
Crawford's .932 save % ranked him 7th of all NHL playoff goalies in 2013.
Crawford should thank his lucky stars that he has been blessed to play with snipers Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa, Bickell, Seabrook, and Keith.
The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that they have agreed to terms with goaltender Corey Crawford on a six-year contract extension, through the end of the 2019-20 National Hockey League season.
VP/GM Stan Bowman: "We need to have a top-notch goaltender in our organization, and we've got one in-house." #Blackhawks
Crawford, 28, posted a 16-7 record with one shutout, a league-best 1.84 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage in 23 post-season games while helping the Blackhawks capture the 2013 Stanley Cup Championship. He registered a 19-5-5 record with three shutouts, a 1.94 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage in 30 regular-season appearances last season with the Blackhawks, while earning his first William M. Jennings Trophy (along with Ray Emery) as the goaltender on the club allowing the fewest goals against during the 2012-13 season. Crawford ranked third in the NHL in goals-against average, fifth in save percentage, and ranked 11th in wins and shutouts during the regular season.
The Montreal, Quebec, native has earned an 83-43-19 record with eight shutouts, a 2.40 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage in 152 career games with Chicago from 2005 to 2013. Crawford was originally selected by the Blackhawks in the second round, 52nd overall, of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.
Ryan Miller can cross yet another NHL team off his bucket list now that the Chicago Blackhawks have locked up Corey Crawford for six more seasons.
The 33 year old Miller will become UFA on July 1, 2014.
There are very few teams who have the available cap space and the the need for a goalie right now.
Colorado's has Semyon Varlamov who will be RFA on 7/1/14, and JS Giguere who will be UFA next July.
Miller and his agent Mike Liut have very few options in terms of NHL teams who need to upgrade their goal tending right now. Philly, NY Islanders, Colorado, Washington, St. Louis, Edmonton, Tampa, Florida are the teams with glaring goal tending needs.
The contending teams like Chicago, LA, San Jose, Anaheim, Detroit, Vancouver, Boston, New Jersey, Minnesota, have re-signed their goalies to long term extensions. The NY Rangers will not allow Henrik Lundqvist to go to the UFA market next summer. Hank will be getting his bank in the very near future.
Miller's situation in Buffalo is nowhere near as zany as Robert Luongo's was in Vancouver last season.
Luongo has a full no trade clause and has nine years remaining on his current contract. Miller will be UFA on July 1, 2014.
Miller has a limited no movement clause which allows him the opportunity to submit a list of 8 NHL teams that he has no interest in playing for.
Miller talked about his current contract situation last week at Team USA Olympic Orientaion Camp on Washington:
"You want to have a certain amount of control if you can, especially if you negotiated limitations on your movement," Miller said. "You've earned that. It is as valuable as currency when you're doing a contract. Some guys will take less money to have stability. It is definitely something you earn and you have the right to try and use it. I would like to have at least some say in where I go just because Buffalo is all I've known and I have a life outside of that. You'd like to have input, but ultimately in my situation I don't have complete control like maybe Luongo did. It is a business, and I'm an asset. I just hope it is cut and dry if that's the case. If they want me and feel like I'm the player they need, I'm just going to be there to do the job."
Miller said that he's not adverse to re-signing with the Sabres, However, his agent and the Sabres haven't had any recent conversations regarding a contract extension.
"I'm not closed off to the possibility. I understand the situation in the NHL. There's not a lot of goaltending jobs and they're getting filled up by long-term contracts. I'm not going to try and close too many avenues at this point."
The Edmonton Oilers have quite an explosive, young battalion of forwards, don't they?
Whats not to envy about a lineup that boasts of supremely skilled snipers in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Nail Yakupov, Sam Gagner? There's no denying that the Oilers will score buckets full of goals this season. The thought process in the City Of Champions heading into training camp is that the Oilers forwards will have to score from the hash marks out to the slot and the face off circles this season. Don't expect Dallas Eakins' team to penetrate the interior D of its opponents to create scoring from the filthy areas on the ice. Though Eakins will be preaching the "take to the net gospel", he doesn't have a wide-bodied, fearless forward to play that type of role on his roster right now.The Oilers currently have a "Help Wanted: Net-Front Forward" sign hanging outside their barn.
The Oilers forwards, for all of their immense talent and scoring excesses, are sadly deficient in one critical area: big forward(s) who can take the puck hard to the net. If you are an Edmonton Oiler fan today, you are scratching your head when you ponder which of your small forwards will play the role of net front beast while playing man-up and 5 on 5 this season. Is it Eberle? Hall? Yakupov? Gagner? RNH?
Which Oilers forward is willing to stand in the blue paint and get his legs hacked, slashed, gashed and kicked out from underneath him on a shift-by-shift basis, for all 82 games?
Is there an Oilers forward who is brave and crazy enough to take the rock to the net and take a physical beating in the process? NHL hockey is hard hockey. Forwards are asked to give of themselves and to sacrifice for the good of the team by taking a beating every game as they are asked by their coaches to ignore the violence and pain and to set screens, fight for 50-50 pucks, establish a low-post presence in the crease, and tip/re-direct point shots. The winning teams have self-less, beat-up forwards who commit to playing demolition derby for sixty minutes a game. Their reward for playing such and dangerous style is not the greasy goals that clunk off their skate hockey pants, nor is it the assists that they earn from running the gauntlet through 6'3 240 pound D men with bad intentions and delivering the biscuit to the basket for a line mate to tap-in for an easy goal. The reward for playing the role of Hell-bent-for-leather forward is the shiners under his eyes, the chipped teeth, the 8 inch round purple bruises and the red welts on their torsos and legs. The fans in the arena never see what the boys in the room see. The shirtless warriors who walk around with bags of ice Ace bandaged to extremities. The bigger the bag of ice, the more respect that the net-front forward earns from his teammates.
So, I ask you Oiler fan, who is your net-front warrior going to be this season?
David Staples of The Cult of Hockeywrote recently that he feels that the Oilers have yet to identify the forward who will play the thankless role of net-front forward this season. Time's a wasting. Training camp opens in ten days.
The Oilers weren’t strong at this task in 2013. Magnus Paajarvi was the team leader. In fact, Paajarvi, now traded to the St. Louis Blues, was improving on taking the puck hard to the net, so much so that at even strength, no Oilers forward came close to putting up as many hard plays at the net in 2013. Paajarvi often lowered his shoulder and drove the puck into the blue paint and sometimes screened the goalie on shots as well.
Paajarvi made 26 such hard plays on scoring chances ar even strength in 2013. Next best was Jordan Eberle with 15, but Eberle played more even-strength minutes. He put up 0.30 hard plays at the net per 15, while Paajarvi put up 0.75 per 15.
Next best was Ryan Jones, 0.44 per 15, then Ryan Smyth, 0.36 per 15.
Paajarvi isn’t the only Oilers forward with a high number of hard plays at the net on scoring chances to be sent packing in recent years. Horcoff, Dustin Penner and Teemu Hartikainen were also strongish in this category, especially on the power play, where they did a good job of screening and jamming opposing goalies.
In the short 2013 season, burly Hartikainen did by far the best job of it, making 4.2 hard plays at the net on Oilers scoring chances for every 15 minutes of power play time. But Hartikainen never won the trust of the coaching staff, he also got hurt, and he’s playing in Russia this year.
Next best was Paajarvi, who made 3.1 hard plays per 15 power-play minutes. Horcoff was at 1.7 per 15. Horcoff had likely lost enough skill to age and injury that he was no longer a strong choice for power play time.
The Oilers still have Smyth, who has made a career out of making hard plays at the net, but he’s likely in the same boat as Horcoff, having lost enough skill due to age to make him a question mark on the power play. In a pinch, he might have to do, though Ryan Jones put up excellent numbers in 2010-11 when it comes to making hard plays on power plays. That year Jones made 4.6 per 15. He followed it up with a decent 2.7 per 15 in 2011-12, before getting pretty much shut out of power play time last year.
The Oilers can do three things to fix the problem:
1). First year head coach Eakins can demand that his smaller, finesse forwards will have to learn to play out of character by taking every puck hard to the net every shift.
2). Craig MacTavish can make a trade to deliver the missing ingredient to Edmonton.
3). MacT can also sign UFA Brenden Morrow.
MacT would be wise to inquire about a special breed of cat who is fearless and earns his millions in the blue ice: Buffalo's Thomas Vanek.
Congrats to Buffalo Sabres rookie Zemgus Girgensons for being named to Team Latvia's Sochi Olympic preliminary 53 man roster.
Girgensons played well for Latvia at the IIHF World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden in April. He was selected 14th overall by the Buffalo Sabres at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Girgensons bypassed an NCAA college career to sign with the Buffalo Sabres to pursue his NHL dreams. He played the 2012-2013 season in AHL Rochester. Girgensons will challenge for a roster spot at Buffalo's training camp this month.
Team Latvia head coach Ted Nolan has selected his Sochi Olympics roster.
According to Baltic-Course.com, here is the tentative 53 man roster for Team Latvia.
At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, competing for the fourth Games in a row will be the Latvian men's ice hockey team, and Head Coach Ted Nolan announced today the initial team of 53 players – six goalkeepers, 18 defenders and 29 forwards, informs LETA.
Among those selected – the legendary [41-year-old] Sandis Ozolins, who was instrumental in Latvia's qualifying for Sochi back in February.
The Sochi team will debut November 8-9 in "Arena Riga" against the Russian national team. In December, Latvia will play friendly games in Germany against its national team.
Latvia's first game at the Olympics will be versus Switzerland February 12.
Here is the roster (subject to change):
Goalkeepers: Edgars Masalskis, Maris Jucers, Ervins Mustukovs, Kristers Gudlevskis, Janis Kalnins, Elvis Merzlikins;
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