What’s with Team USA? Can’t anybody get along?
First it was Brian Burke publicly slagging Bobby Ryan . Now its Ryan Kesler pounding the snot out of Dustin Brown.
What the H*E*Double Hockey Sticks!
That’s The Code.
Thanks, Kings TV
Its no secret that the Vancouver Canucks and L.A. Kings gave got a burning hate on for one another right now. It makes for entertaining hockey! Brown and Kesler dropped the gloves six seconds into the second period. Brown must have known that he’d have to fight considering how he wiped out Roberto Luongo nine days ago. Luongo jacked up his ankle in the collision with Brown. Was the collision with Luongo an accident? Is anything ever accidental with Brown?
The Canucks lost the game 1-0. Who scored the game’s only goal? Public enemy numero uno. Brown. Love him or hate him, Brown always delivers in the clutch!
In a few weeks, Kesler and Brown will align forces for Team USA to try to defeat Luongo and Team Canada.
I love hockey.
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"Please return to your seats, the captain has turned on the "seat belt sign". Please move your chairs and tray tables to the upright position and prepare for a choppy landing".
On Saturday, Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Chevyldayof canned Claude Noel and replaced him with interim head coach Paul Maurice. The move was badly needed. The Jets players quit on Noel in a similar fashion that the Washington Capitals once quit on their former bench boss Bruce Boudreau. Its easier to turf the head coach than it is to trade 23 players.
“I think we still need to acquire pieces to either establish a larger core, or maybe move some pieces that re-establish some different things,… Chevyldayof said Monday afternoon on TSN Drive with Dave Naylor on TSN 1050.
“This is still a project that’s in the works.…
"Chevy's" a patient man. Patient to a fault. He and Jets ownership were very loyal to Noel.His players struggled mightily to grasp his system and his high defensive expectations. Now the Jets are charged with the task of having to back skate in order to make amends with their passionate loyal, rabid, fan base.
There may be further changes in The Peg that will provide additions by subtraction.
The 12th place Jets are in need of an infusion of leadership and scoring. Maurice will no doubt be dropping in the 1-3-3 Trap for the remainder of the season in an effort to salvage the season by reducing the amount of shots that Ondrej Pavelec and Al Montoya have to handle each game.
Chevyldayof will likely continue to change the culture of his under achieving team. Buffalo's new GM Tim Murray said last week that his team is in last place, therefore all players can be traded. The same can be said of "Chevy's" team which is barely scraping the bottom of the Western standings.
Evander Kane and Dustin Byfuglien have been are two players who could be traded away in exchange for top six scoring, goaltending and D depth.
Kane is a 30 goal scorer at age 22 and is inked through 2017-18 with an AAV of $5.25 million. The Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Minnesota Wild, and LA Kings have all had their eyes in the sky on Kane this season. Despite his injuries and alleged healthy scratches early this season, Kane is still a red-hot commodity on the trade market as 30 goal scorers are hard to find. With the decline in goal scoring and teams collapsing five men between the face off circles in front of their goalies, a guy like Kane is a wanted man.
Byfuglien , 28, is signed through 2015-16, an AAV of $5.2 million. I'm told that the Montreal Canadiens are interested in "Big Buff". Habs GM Marc Bergevin and AGM Rick Dudley win a Stanley Cup with Byfuglien in the not too distant past.
Chevyldayof doesn't have to trade a key player or two. He may be overwhelmed in a good way by the amount of interest that players like Kane and Byfuglien generate on the trade market in the weeks to come.
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Speaking of 30 goal scorer who are attracting mucho attention in the final weeks before the NHL trade deadline, Matt Moulson and Thomas Vanek are in a position to create a ton buzz.
Moulson and Vanek were traded for one another on October 27. Since then, each left winger has found his scoring touch with his respective new team.
Vanek played 13 games for Buffalo and scored 4 goals, 5 assists for 9 points. He was -5. Since the trade, Vanek has scored 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points in 31 games. He's +13 on Long Island. In 44 games, Vanek has scored 15 goals and added 24 assists for 39 points.
Moulson scored 6 goals and 3 assists for 9 points in 11 games. He was -3. In 31 games since the trade, he's scored 8 goals and added 10 assists. He's -9. In 44 games, he's scored 14 goals and added 13 helpers for 27 points.
Vanek is surely feeling the love of playing with line mate NHL MVP candidate John Tavares who himself has scored 21 goals and 35 assists for 56 points in 46 games played. Vanek also gets the extra bump of playing with the red hot Kyle Okposo.
The Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, Winnipeg Jets, and Tampa Lightning are interested in Vanek
Moulson is on the radar screens of the LA kings, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, and a couple of other NHL clubs.
What's the compensation for UFA-s-to-be Moulson and/or Vanek?
Look at the Jason Pominville comp from the 2013 NHL trade deadline deal that sent the then UFA-to-be right winger to Minney from Buffalo for a 1st round pick, a 2nd round pick and two organizational prospects.
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After Monday’s practice, Sabres head coach Ted Nolan was asked to address the Mikhail Grigorenko situation.
“We can’t control what people do and what they say, but we can certainly control how we’re going to run this organization and what we feel is necessary for the development of young players.…
Grigorenko is not age-appropriate for the American Hockey League until next season therefore, he must play in Buffalo or in The Q this season. On Saturday morning, the Sabres brass and Nolan met with Grigo and it was decided after the meeting that Quebec is the best place for him to get experience and playing time right now.
“The tail can’t wag the dog; the dog wags the tail…, Nolan said.
“We feel as an organization it’s best for him to develop in junior hockey. That’s not taking anything away from him. He’s got some skills and he’s got some ability. But in order to play at this level we just need a little bit more.…
Thanks, Sabres.com
Nolan, a huge supporter of Canadian major junior hockey, made his bones coaching in the Soo and in Moncton, has cited the example of Montreal’s Norris Trophy winning D star, PK Subban as it relates to a young player with talent honing his skills and learning to play the right way while playing against players with equal or greater skill and desire in his own age group.
“Junior hockey’s a good place to develop,… Nolan said. “I know P.K. Subban played four years in Bellville. He turned out pretty good.…
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