The Phaneuf and Giguere Trade: A Second Look
If by chance you haven’t heard and are hearing about it here on The Doctors first, the Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired defenseman Dion Phaneuf from the Calgary Flames and net-minder John Sebastian Giguere from Anaheim. It’s a major development that needs a little extra analyzing.
I’m rather intrigued by the two acquisitions by Maple Leaf GM Brian Burke. He sacrificed over 100 points in scoring offense to get one of the premiere defensemen in the National Hockey League with Phaneuf. From NHL.com:
“We are in buying and selling mode,” Burke said during his morning press conference to announce a deal for Phaneuf, who come aboard with two other players from the Calgary Flames in exchange for four players.
The complete deal was Phaneuf, right wing Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect Keith Aulie to Toronto for forwards Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White.”
If it was possible to be a buyer AND seller at this point in the season, Burke has it perfected. They didn’t exactly acquire Phanuef for his scoring prowess, but more for his aggressive, hard hitting style of play that makes many an NHL rookie nervous (ask Kyle Okposo, even though he’s not a rookie anymore). Phaneuf has the ability to score, especially on the power play, but he will in no way compensate for the offense heading to Calgary. Stajan and Hagman should get plenty of playing time with the Flames and should provide a much needed boost in offense that the Flames have been missing for the last few weeks. Burke was definitely a buyer in this trade, but no doubt at a steep cost.
I like the Giguere deal. He is a proven winner with experience. Vesa Toskala has been shaky at best this season, but it has been enough to keep the Leafs in contention in a floundering Eastern Conference. Though they’re 11 points out at the time of the trade, nothing is impossible. But again, it goes back to the scoring. After everything the Leafs just lost in offense, do they still have enough time to chip away at 8th place? At this point, it looks iffy for them to climb the ladder, but if Burke “bought” Phaneuf and Giguere to “sell” for next year, then the2010-11 Leafs already look like a solid club ready to contend for the postseason again.
Leafs make first blockbuster deal, acquire Phanuef and Giguere
Brian Burke makes two significant moves to open up the deadline dealing in 2010:
Sunday morning, Burke remade the Maple Leafs with two bold moves, acquiring defenseman Dion Phaneuf and goalie J.S. Giguere in separate trades.
“We are in buying and selling mode,” Burke said during his morning press conference to announce a deal for Phaneuf, who come aboard with two other players from the Calgary Flames in exchange for four players.
The complete deal was Phaneuf, right wing Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect Keith Aulie to Toronto for forwards Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White.
Burke was back at the podium later in the day to announce the acquisition of Giguere from the Anaheim Ducks, Burke’s most recent post before assuming the reigns in Toronto last season. Sent to Anaheim were goalie Vesa Toskala and winger Jason Blake.
Wow. The struggles of the Toronto Maple leads obviously came to a head, and Burke made some aggressive deals to improve his team. The Leafs did give up a ton in this trade, but Dion Phaneuf and Giguere make this team much better. Anaheim is breathing a sigh of relief, because they had just recently signed Jonas Hiller to a huge, $18mil extension, and Giggy was sitting on a no-trade clause. If they couldn’t manage to trade him, they’d have to buy out the remainder of his contract.
Calgary is also struggling, and while Phanuef is a talented player, Matt Stajan, Ian White, Jamal Mayers, and Niklas Hagman add a ton of depth to a struggling Flames roster. Toronto gave up a lot in this deal, but I think this is a solid move from Burke – Dion Phanuef is a skilled, two-way defenseman, and J.S Giguere, although he’s had his own struggles in Anaheim, is a Conn Smythe Trophy winner.
These “Pups” Have Bite
I’m not a big cliché guy. Every now and then, sure but only if completely necessary. Here, it’s not necessary. I’m not going to tell you about the bark and bite in a dog or the fight in a dog. Though those are fitting words for the Phoenix Coyotes, it goes beyond that. Simply put, the Phoenix Coyotes have a lot of bite in them. For years, many have referred to them as the “Desert Dogs.” This season, the franchise is going with a marketing slogan that appeals to the youth of the team: “Coyotes Hockey – A New Breed.” Take a look down the Coyote roster this season, and you’ll see a lot kids who are nothing more than “pups.” (Yes, full pun intended). They’re not all young pups, though. Five players on the roster are over the age of 30, the oldest being NHL journeyman Robert Lang at 39 (Now with his 8th NHL team). Captain Shane Doan, 33, is the last charter member of the Phoenix Coyotes that made the move from Winnipeg. For the most part, though, this team is just a bunch of pups… pups with plenty of bark in their bite, or however the saying goes.
So what’s with all the talk about the bite in the dog and the size of the bark and every other cliché I could possibly get wrong? The Coyotes stunned a slightly less than packed Joe Lewis Arena last night by erasing a 4-2 deficit with under two minutes to go. Keith Yandle’s weak wrist shot on the power play fluttered past a screened Jimmy Howard to make it 4-3 with about a minute and a half to go in regulation. Now, since dad came into the room and thought it was cool to change the channel, I didn’t see the JoVo Cop’s game tying goal. I did manage to see Doan’s game winner in overtime and that was the result of some hard work in the slot by the Coyotes. As a Blues fan, it never breaks my heart to see Detroit lose like this. However, I’m a self proclaimed hockey purist and I like to think I know a lot about the rest of this league, especially the Western Conference. I know good hockey when I see it and it’s hard to ignore the Coyotes right now. These pups are growing up before our eyes as we saw on Tuesday Night in Detroit.
Two of the hottest young stars in the desert are defenseman Keith Yandle, 23, and Martin Hanzal, 22. They are just two in a cast of several youngsters including Peter Mueller (21), Lauri Korpikoski (23) and the team leader in scoring, Scottie Upshall at the age of 26. Upshall leads the team with 18 goals heading into Thursday Night’s home date with the Calgary Flames (which they won 3-2). We learned a lot about these kids in the comeback against Detroit; the resiliency of this team could be what the Coyotes were missing down the stretch last season. For you hockey purists that keep tabs on previous seasons, you know the Coyotes were sitting pretty between the fourth and sixth seed for awhile. It was around this same time, late January and into February that they sat in the thick of the playoff race. Sadly, I believe Adam and I were single handedly responsible for sending the Phoenix Coyotes into a tail spin mid February. Ironically, it was after an impressive 6-3 win over Detroit in the desert. I made the observation that they were playing very well amidst all the adversity, what with the possibility of moving back to Canada and all. They were playing well with some young talent. I proudly proclaimed that this team was headed to the playoffs. Sadly, the Coyotes were on the wrong side of the eighth seed within about two weeks. I have yet to issue a formal apology to the city of Phoenix. In any case, much of that young talent remains intact here in ‘09/’10.
The real question here is will the youth and inexperience catch up with the Coyotes once again like it did last season? In fears of sending the Coyotes into a free fall again, I’ll refrain from telling you I think they have what it takes again. With that being said, they are better than last season. That can be attributed to a man whom I’ve yet to mention, head coach Dave Tippet. A new system and style of play is in place from a guy who has helped the Dallas Stars get into the playoffs multiple times. So with the alpha dogs in Shane Doan and Robert Lang leading the way, how far can they lead these pups into the spring? At this point in time, a home ice series as a four seed is completely within reach. However, I don’t think they need a four seed to impress anyone. The Pacific Division title may be out of reach at this point, but the Coyotes believe they can run with anyone. This team has already made plenty of noise to this point; you can bet by season’s end, the entire Western Conference will hear just how loud the bark is in the Phoenix Coyotes.
Claude Giroux Scores Amazing Goal
I saw this highlight on Sportscenter, and I had to repost it here. Check out this fantastic goal by dangler Claude Giroux:
I’ve got no clue why Johan Hedberg was so far out of the crease on this play – he got way too aggressive with his angles and Giroux made him pay for it. Overall, the Flyers have been a pretty big disappointment so far this year. They’re just barely in the playoff hunt, and at the beginning of the season, tons of people had them pegged as the 2010 Cup favorite. Lucky for them, the East isn’t incredibly tough right now, and they have time to work towards a higher playoff seed.
Cruel Intention: The Intent to Blow Rule and Other Officiating Blunders
First off, allow me this opportunity to say how pleased I am to be able to contribute to this rapidly growing website. I hope to help this community grow and flourish for quite some time. Now that the intro is out of the way, let’s talk a little hockey.
When it comes to this great sport, I have an opinion about everything; rules, players, teams, parody and even salaries. In any case, I happen to have an opinion about this ridiculous rule with the referees losing site of the puck in the middle of a scrum in front of the net. It kind of goes hand in hand with the “intent to blow” rule with the whistle. Since they can’t go back and reverse a call on replay in which the whistle blew AFTER the puck crosses the line. So what am I getting at here? Do you have any idea how many goals have been disallowed because of this rule? A lot.
This may seem like old news to many of you, but the most recent example comes from an MLK Day matinee with the Devils and Islanders. Without getting too bogged down in details, the official behind the Devil net tried to maintain a clean view of the puck while Richard Park of the Islanders tried to get a shot off. On the game’s telecast, it is obvious that Devil net minder Marty Brodeur never once had possession of the puck to warrant a stoppage in play. My understanding of the rule is that if at any point during a play like this that an official loses the puck, it’s at his discretion to blow the play dead. In most cases (This case as no exception), the play was blown dead as the puck crossed the line into the goal. In this case for the Islanders, the goal was disallowed immediately because the official lost the puck, though it was never covered by Brodeur. I can imagine what some of you may be thinking about if you’re reading that; the Islanders won 4-0 and this goal wouldn’t have made any difference in the end result. I’ll give you that much. However, this issue is about a matter of principle. I understand it’s probably difficult, let alone impossible to amend a rule like this. It’s a judgment call. There’s no such thing as a perfectly officiated game.
I’ve posted the game’s highlight video below for you those of you that may have missed this officiating blunder. This one ranks pretty high among missed calls, no-calls, and just blatant lapses in judgment. Pay attention to the puck and you should be able to see that it never stopped moving and was never covered up. Fast forward to the 23 second mark of the highlight. Notice Doug Weight saying his piece about the play. The guy really shows why he’s wearing that C on his jersey for an otherwise young Islander team.
Like I said, had the play rolled on and had Richard Park been awarded the goal, all it really would’ve done was make the final 5-0 instead of 4-0. However, if this rule isn’t tweaked in some fashion, some of these premature whistles and the “intent-to-blow” rule are going to pull critical goals off the board in some key situations. Lucky for this scrappy Islanders team, no harm done. It’s just one less goal Richard Park can claim to his season total.
Ryan Miller’s Mask Revealed for 2010 Olympics
It’s probably safe to assume Ryan Miller has the starting goaltending job wrapped up for Team USA – and pictures of his mask leaked today. Check it out:
Warwick Mask & Equipment Inc created the design for Miller, and it’s pretty solid. The only way it could better embody the American spirit is if it had a sixer of Budweiser and a cheeseburger etched on it as well.
Sergei Zinoviev Scores a Ridiculous Goal
It’s actually a challenge to see exactly how this goal sneaks in. Can you catch it?
Zinoviev is a KHL forward for Salavat Yulaev, and he somehow manages to deflect the initial shot into the net while he’s falling down. It’s not often you see a goal on a one-handed deflection – especially not while the player is laying on the ground. Absolutely crazy. Is this the leading ‘goal of the year’ candidate already?
Tampa Bay Lightning = Broke
Oui vey! The BOLTS are in trouble.
“The degree of Tampa Bay’s difficulties came to light Thursday, when the SportsBusiness Daily Web site reported television rights holder Sun Sports in April advanced the team $2 million to help it meet last season’s final payroll. It also reported the league helped Tampa Bay meet January’s obligations by advancing it some of the revenue sharing money it will receive after the season.
All that against a backdrop that includes estranged owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie and a team for sale that, according to media reports, is in default on its debt to former owner Palace Sports & Entertainment.”
It’s similar to the situation that came to light in Phoenix last season; the NHL was propping up the Coyotes financially, in order to keep lenders at bay. After the NHL’s $2 Million dollar bailout for Tampa Bay, the relocation rumor mill has already started up. The Lightning have good reason to worry, their average attendance (15,019) is 23rd in the league, and the owners (Barrie and Koules) are putting the team up for sale. It’s not a pretty picture, but it’s still far too early to sound the relocation alarm.
If we learned anything from the Coyotes-Balsillie situation last year, it’s that the league (Bettman especially) will fight tooth and nail with lengthy legal proceedings to keep a southern-expansion team in place. Tampa Bay will be no exception, as the league has already gone out of pocket to keep the Bolts afloat. While I’ve always been a supporter of adding more teams in Canada, a move (if it ever happens) won’t happen until at least 2012.
Again, this is all speculation, and at very worst, the relocation is in its very earliest stages, but considering that the NHL (purportedly) makes 30% of its total profit from its six Canadian franchises – it’s probably prudent for the league to look into moving its failing, southern organizations.
(update: some commenters brought up some issues with another article I linked to about where the team could move. The original article has been taken down from its own site, so I doubt it’s credible. Citation removed.)
Trade Deadline Rumors: Who Could be Dealt?
The hockey world is about to be engulfed in Olympic fever, but there’s a ton of key players in the league who are on the trading block. Who is your team looking for? Who is your team willing to part with?
Sam McCaig for THN blogged about each of the 30 NHL teams, and put together a short list of the personnel that could be on the move. I covered the ‘Kovalchuk to Chicago’ rumor a week ago, and while it’s not clear where he’ll end up, it’s likely that he won’t resign in Atlanta – which would force Waddell’s hand.
“A player with Kovalchuk’s size, speed and skill set doesn’t come along often; if the Thrashers can’t sign him, they’re forced to trade him because the team needs to set itself up for a post-Kovalchuk reality (i.e. they can’t lose him for nothing). It’s not a good situation if you’re a Thrashers fan – but if you’re a supporter of the team that lands Kovalchuk, it might be a memorable spring.”
You’d have to figure only the big-market teams with the cap space to take Illya would be in the running, and the Ottawa Sun purports to have the short list of teams interested (take with a grain of salt, they’ve been very wrong before):
“This will come down to the deadline, with at least 6 teams involved; Flames, Capitals, Blackhawks, Bruins, Kings and Rangers.”
We know the Kings made a serious run at Marian Hossa when he wanted out of Detroit, so it makes sense that Los Angeles would chase after another big-name forward. The Bruins have been struggling offensively, notching a league-worst 2.37 Goals per Game percentage. Kovalchuk would give Boston a desperately needed breath of fresh air in their top six.
St. Louis (barring yet another huge second-half run) doesn’t appear to be making the post-season in the highly competitive Western Conference, so the Blues will probably be dumping talent and salary when the trade deadline rolls around. Vancouver is supposedly interested in Paul Kariya, and pretty much any contender who needs a veteran power forward will be looking at Keith Tkachuk – he’d definitely come cheap and have a decent impact on a playoff-bound squad.
Toronto is in a similar position; they’re sitting at 28th in the league, and are looking to add some picks to replace the two first-rounders they lost in the Kessel trade.
The Leafs are prime candidates to move some bodies between now and March 3. Center Matt Stajan and winger Alexei Ponikarovsky, both UFAs this summer, might not be top-line talents, but they’d fit in nicely as support players. And, of course, there’s Tomas Kaberle. The mobile Leafs defenseman is under contract for one more season, but the right package of players, prospects and draft picks might pry him loose (assuming he wants to be traded).
Ponikarovsky would fill out a second or third line quite nicely, and Matt Stajan is a highly-underrated forward who Burke would probably deal for a handful of picks. Teams in rebuilding years like the Leafs often deal the most during the deadline, and Toronto needs future considerations more than anything during these formative years.
There are a couple of goaltenders available, but the Nashville Predators are knee-deep in goaltending talent, and they’ll have to make a choice this deadline on which keeper they want to resign – Rinne or Ellis.
‘This year, Ellis and Rinne are splitting time for a Nashville team that’s focused on the playoff picture. Problem is, both stoppers are UFA-eligible. Nashville probably wants to re-sign Rinne as he’s younger, bigger and comes with a better pedigree. Of course, he’ll probably be more expensive, too, so maybe the Preds will opt for Ellis.’
This year, it seems like most of the major contenders are set for goaltenders – but if Detroit is looking to shore up their goaltending situation, they might pick up either Ellis or Rinne as a solid backup for their future franchise goaltender, Jimmy Howard. Osgood has been an absolute sieve in his starts this year, and the Wings administration has made it clear that Howard will be the go-to guy in the future.
Finally, the Avalanche have planted themselves in playoff contention, and by all appearances, they should be able to lock up a spot in the middle of the post-season picture. Don’t forget about the Coyotes, though. This time last year, Phoenix was sitting comfortably in 5th place in the West, when they suddenly hit a terrible losing streak and eventually dropped to last place in the conference. If a similar fate would befall Colorado in the second half, there’s a handful of players they would likely drop:
‘Look for pesky winger Darcy Tucker or depth scorer Marek Svatos to be up for grabs. Veteran D-man Adam Foote knows a bit about playoff intensity and Ruslan Salei has seen his share of pressure-packed post-seasons, too. Brett Clark is another Avs blueliner who can play 20-plus minutes a night.’
Power-forwards like Tucker are worth their weight in gold when the deadline rolls around, and Svatos is the kind of dangler that has streaky success in the playoffs (i.e Fernado Pisani) – his great hands, explosive speed, and timely goal scoring would be an asset to nearly any contender. I’ve also read some speculation about Colorado entertaining offers for Anderson, but I doubt they’d considering parting with him unless a perfect deal came around.
The 2010 trade deadline is going to be filled with some great deals – expect some noteworthy and significant moves that will shake up the league for sure.
9 Year-Old Russian Kids Clear the Benches
Maybe the Russian winters make these kids so tough? I coached my little brother’s 10-under team, and I never saw a single kid willing to fight like all these youngsters.
Clearly, #14 in yellow kicks this thing off (at about :22 in), and after that, it turns into a bench-clearing frenzy. The youtube video from RT claims that 707 minutes of penalty time were handed out, which is quite impressive for kids that haven’t hit double-digits yet.
