My how the times have changed, Ovechkin pubbing Malkin
“No words,” Russian teammate Alex Ovechkin said of Evgeni Malkin in
The Globe and Mail. “You can see it. I think right now he’s the best and I don’t think anybody can stop him.”
Malkin scored three times Saturday in the World Championships semifinals against host Finland in a 6-2 victory. He also netted a 15-minute hat trick earlier in the tournament against Sweden.
Malkin briefly left the ice after crashing into the end board and apparently injuring his left arm. “I came back and it was nothing bad,” said Malkin. “After I scored. Slapshot is good.”
The Penguins forward has a chance to win the Art Ross Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award along with a potential haul here that is likely to include the world championship MVP award and a gold or silver medal.
Chances are he’d trade all of those accolades for a Conn Smythe Trophy.
How crazy is it for Ovechkin, of all people, to be singing the praises as the best player in the world.
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The Memorial Cup continues Saturday night, with the Saint John Sea Dogs taking on the London Knights. Here’s a
link to the official Memorial Cup Web site.
Keep an eye on London defenseman Scott Harrington. He could be wearing a Penguins sweater at some point in 2012-13.
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Thirty-year-old Alexandre Giroux will probably never get a true NHL chance, even in the Blue Jackets organization. Giroux has 392 goals and 753 points (including the playoffs) in parts of 10 seasons and 824 AHL contests. He has six goals and 12 points in 48 career NHL games.
Speaking of Columbus, the team compiled the sixth-highest cap hit in 2011-12. Kristian Huselius’s $4.75 million salary will come off the books. Still, how can a team so regularly bad be so close to the cap?
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Did you know Jordan Staal scored more goals (25) than his brother Eric (24) in 2011-12 despite missing 20 games? Big brother Eric suited up for all 82 Carolina games.
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SI’s Stu Hackel pens an ominous story entitled
.
It’s far from a sure thing how the game’s labor relations will play out. The two sides have yet to begin negotiating the new agreement, but the owners are obligated under the terms of the current CBA to notify the players 120 days before its expiration if they want to make changes or terminate it. No one is exactly sure what the owners want to change or how difficult it will be to achieve their desires through negotiation.
Any negotiations involving union leader Donald Fehr promise to be a real treat for hockey fans and team owners. Fehr’s brother, Steve, has already made these statements.
‘…Wait a minute, we already gave at the office.’
“We made massive concessions last time that were designed to fix your so-called problems. If it has not fixed your so-called problems, we need to have a long, hard discussion about what those problems are and what we should do about it.”
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Dustin Jeffrey: Past, Present & Future
Jeffrey first broke into the NHL at age 20 in 2008-09. He totaled a goal and three points in 14 games. A season later, Jeffrey played in just one scoreless game for the Pens.
In 2010-11, Jeffrey showed a bit of what he could do, scoring seven goals and five assists in 25 games. He didn’t see much time as a top-six forward (except for a short stint between Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis), but he did get some power-play time. Jeffrey also showed that he has the ability to kill penalties and take faceoffs.
GM Ray Shero spoke highly of Jeffrey in March of 2011
here.
Three weeks later, however, Jeffrey tore the ACL in his right knee and his season was over.
For the three seasons Jeffrey played for the Baby Penguins, he totaled 153 points (52, 101) in 180 regular-season AHL contests.
His recovery from knee surgery took longer than expected. Jeffrey saw action in six games from Oct. 20 to Nov. 3 but did not point. It was obvious that his knee wasn’t close to 100 percent. He didn’t return for more than two months after that, coming back Jan. 11.
Half of his season’s six points (in 26 games) came against the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 20. Jeffrey potted two goals and an assist against the Habs. He played in just one game after Feb. 26.
What’s interesting is that he took part in practices for many of the games in March and April. The Penguins didn’t have much to say about Jeffrey. Was he still hurt, was he in coach Dan Byslma’s doghouse?
Or did his play simply not warrant his being in the starting lineup. Jeffrey would’ve had to pass through waivers to be sent back to Wilkes-Barre.
There was also some rumbling that the team wasn’t happy with Jeffrey. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able find the link from Dave Molinari using a Google search.
Whatever the reasoning for keeping Jeffrey inactive, what does his 2012-13 season project to be?
He’ll receive $575K and then become a restricted free agent.
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Dustin Jeffrey questions for you?
1. Do you see Jeffrey with the Pens in 2012-13 or do you think he’ll get traded?
2. What kind of a role/line will Jeffrey have, provided he doesn’t get moved?
3. Will he serve as a center or wing?
4. What do you think his ceiling is, from a point perspective?
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Have a great Saturday/Sunday & treasure life!
JT
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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