With injuries to NHL-regular forwards Paul Kariya, Andy McDonald, T.J. Oshie and Dan Hinote, the St. Louis Blues have had to mix and match players throughout the entire season.  Blues fans have seen the likes of Rivermen Cam Paddock, Brad Winchester, Steve Regier and Chris Porter so far in 2008, not to mention the waiver wire going directly through the Blues, as tough guys David Koci and B.J. Crombeen were picked up at different points (Koci has since been dropped).  With all of these players bouncing around between Peoria and St. Louis, why have there not been any Lemtyugov sightings for Blues fans?

The Blues feel that they got quite a steal on Lemtyugov when they drafted him in the seventh round in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.  This near-23 year old owns a powerful and accurate wrist shot, along with the ability to get open for a pass at any given time.  He is also known as a strong two-way player, taking responsibility in his own zone when needed.  Nikolay has been the best scoring presence this season for the Peoria Rivermen as well, tallying five goals and fourteen assists in 23 games, which is tops for the AHL club.  Sporting number four in Peoria, this kid has been used in every situation.  Lemtyugov is great at killing penalties and setting up the power-play. 

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“We want him to get better, but we needed to obviously part ways with Sean. It's amicable. The Stars need to move on; the team needs to move on…”

Comments made by Dallas Stars co-general manager Brett Hull tell the tale of Avery’s future and how the team has decided to rip away his chances of playing with the organization again.  This decision by Stars’ management puts an end to a 23-game stint for Avery with the Texas team, who are currently 11-14-4, placing them last in the Western Conference.

In case you have been living under a rock with your fingers in your ears for the past three weeks, Sean Avery was suspended six games and given anger management class for his comments before facing the Calgary Flames on December 2nd when he made this statement to Calgary media:

Continue reading "Weighing in on Sean Avery"