Jeff Ponder's NHL Hockey fan blog

Vancouver is the heavy favorite heading into the 2011 NHL playoffs to win the Stanley Cup.  Their Northwest Division foes can vouch for that.

 The Vancouver Canucks, who won the President’s Trophy by a landslide-ten points over the East’s Washington Capitals, posted an impressive 54-19-9 record for a league-leading 117 points in the regular season.  Obviously, the Canucks head into the Quarterfinal Series as the top seed in the Western Conference where they will meet the eighth-seeded Chicago Blackhawks.  But how much did Vancouver playing in the Northwest Division help bloat their point total?

The Northwest Division, which features the Canucks, Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers, saw only one of its teams make the playoffs.  This is the only division in the NHL to do so.

Continue reading "Weak Northwest Division Could Benefit Blackhawks"

We can finally put all of these Kaberle rumors to rest.

The Boston Bruins officially announced on Friday morning that the club has acquired defenseman Tomas Kaberle from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for prospect center Joe Colborne, the Bruins first-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and a conditional second-round pick.  Toronto takes control of the Bruins own second round pick in 2012 if the Bruins can reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 2011 or if they re-sign Kaberle this summer (Kaberle is an unrestricted free-agent at the end of the season).

Kaberle has three goals and 35 assists for 38 points on the season, while posting a -3 rating on a Maple Leaf team that has seen 29 more pucks go in their net than on opposing teams’ nets.

Kaberle has been the subject of trade talks for about a year now, dating back to last season’s trade deadline.  He was a long-time member of the Maple Leafs and his now-former teammates only had positive things to say about the 32-year old defenseman.

Continue reading "Kaberle solidifies a Well-Rounded Boston Defense"

The point is getting pretty clear right about now.

The New York Islanders turned some heads in late-January when they claimed former NHL all-star Evgeni Nabokov off waivers.  That is not what the media is talking about though; after all, NHL followers are used to players getting claimed off waivers after playing in Europe, getting a contract from an NHL team then having to go through the NHL’s questionable waiver process.  Just ask the St. Louis Blues.

Nabokov was obviously upset over the Islanders’ decision to claim him, hanging up on Islanders’ GM Garth Snow when he called him for the first time (Nabokov claims he thought he was a member of the media).  He refused to report to practice, staying in his home in California.  After hanging up on Snow, Nabokov found a media member at ESPN.com that he trusted to tell his side of the story.

Continue reading "“Wow, what’s the point?”"

Jamie Langenbrunner gets to go from the bottom straight to the top. 

The Devils, who are sitting in the NHL cellar with a 10-28-2 record for 22 points, moved their captain Friday morning. Jamie Langenbrunner was sent to the Dallas Stars, the team from which he was originally acquired.

Devils President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello recently fired Head Coach John MacLean in hopes of reviving the Devils’ season, but the Atlantic Division team has responded with just a 1-6-0 since the firing, including a disastrous -13 goal differential.

In return, the Devils received a conditional third-round draft pick in 2011, which could become a second-round draft pick if the Stars win a first-round playoff series, or if Dallas decides to re-sign Langenbrunner at season’s end.

Continue reading "Langenbrunner is a Star Reborn"

What else can go wrong for Craig Anderson?

After suffering a freak knee-injury in warm-ups on October 26, Anderson was the victim of a groin injury Wednesday against Vancouver.  The knee injury came when Anderson was doing a routine wrap-up in warm-ups that consists of all of the Avalanche skaters converging on Anderson in the crease, trying to shove a puck past him.  But Anderson came out of the shuffle with a knee injury that sidelined him ten games, in which the Avalanche went 6-3-1 and outscored their opponents 38-27 during his absence.  Anderson came back with a swift punch to the New York Rangers, stopping 25 out of 26 shots, including a fantastic sprawling save on Marc Staal in the slot.  The Avalanche went on to demolish the Rangers 5-1.  Things were looking very bright in Denver, as the Avalanche played brilliantly without Anderson, and then the star goalie makes a return in a convincing win.  Things sure can change in just a few short days.

Continue reading "Colorado May Struggle Without Anderson"

As a four-time Stanley Cup champion and Olympic hero, Scott Niedermayer hung up the skates for good in June.  This is probably not a surprise to Ducks fans, who have seen their long-time captain toy with the idea of retirement since mid-2007 every season.

"We were joking on the way in that maybe I changed my mind on the way here," Niedermayer said after the press conference that decided his fate. 

But the Ducks’ defense is no laughing matter; the team has been left in shambles.  Looking at the depth of the team, the top defensive pairing going into 2010-11 is Lubomir Visnovsky and Andy Sutton.  The second pairing would likely be Luca Sbisa and Paul Mara; while occupying the third pairing would be Brett Festerling and Sheldon Brookbank (Toni Lydman recently came down with an injury in camp).  Simply put, the Ducks are going to have the weakest defense in the league.

Continue reading "Niedermayer Not the Hero Everyone May Think He Is"

It looks like the Devils were more worried about a defensive game than an Ilya Kovalchuk game.

 New Jersey got one of the best shot-blockers in the league.  But don't think that the team is the only winner here; Volchenkov has to be happy that he won't have to block those Brian Rolston bombs anymore.  The Russian defenseman was yet another piece that the Devils knew they needed.  He really brings more of a competitive edge to New Jersey as the league's best shot-blocker.

Henrik Tallinder is a former Buffalo defenseman that can put fear into opposing offenses.  His 6'3” stature doesn't even speak for how well he keeps forwards out of the play.  He also is a smooth skater that possesses soft hands to make some long stretch passes out of his zone.  New Jersey knew what they wanted when they went after this guy.

Continue reading "New Jersey Devils Sign Anton Volchenkov to a 6-year, $25.5M Contract and Henrik Tallinder to a 4-year, $13.5M Deal"

After gobbling up Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel, Ben Eager and Andrew Ladd from the Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks, the Thrashers have signed Chris Mason, formerly of the St. Louis Blues.

Mason had a good season in 2009-10, posting a 30-22-8 record with a .913 save percentage and a 2.53 GAA.  He is best at stopping shooters on side-to-side movement, and can also make that spectacular save when needed.  The only knock on Mason may be his rebound control; many goals allowed last season were on second or third shots.

The Thrashers may have gotten a steal on Mason though.  The Canadian goaltender commanded $3.50 last season, and even turned down an extension from St. Louis before the Blues acquired Jaroslav Halak from Montreal, reportedly worth around $3.70 million.  Now signing at a cap-hit of $1.85 million, Mason joins Ondrej Pavelec as the goaltending tandem for the Thrashers. 

Continue reading "Atlanta Signs Chris Mason to a 2-year, $3.7M Deal"

Shane Doan and Ed Jovanovski may have help on the veteran end of things in Phoenix.

Ray Whitney, the long-time member of the Carolina Hurricanes, has decided to sign a 2-year deal that will place him in a young locker room full of impressionable faces. 

The 38-year old right-winger proved last season that he can still be a big-game player; scoring 21 goals and five game-winners at his age is quite impressive. 

The Coyotes will be without forward Matthew Lombardi, who hit the free-agent market today, so bringing in another forward who knows how to get the job done could be vital to this franchise.  The Coyotes had their biggest season in 2009-10 and they look like they were not finished there.

Continue reading "Phoenix Signs Ray Whitney to a 2-year, $6M Deal"

The boys in blue found a way to get even meaner on Thursday.

On a team that already sends out Sean Avery, Brandon Prust and Aaron Voros every night, the Rangers went after one of the toughest guys in the league.  Boogaard, after being involved in many rumors of him heading to the Detroit Red Wings, gladly accepted a big contract for a big man (6'8” 257 lbs.). 

After scoring four assists and 107 penalty minutes in 57 games played last season for the Minnesota Wild, Boogaard will be happy to earn his money when playing sparingly.  The slow-footed Saskatoon native will probably see a lot of time riding the bench since the Rangers' roster is stacked with players who are tough but can still skate with a lot of talent in the league. 

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Continue reading "New York Rangers Sign Derek Boogaard to a 4-year, $6.5M Contract"