I was asked my opinion on this, but I can’t give an opinion since I don’t understand it!

We’d like to offer you the new rule of point estimation for hockey matches. The point estimation should be made according to the results and the matches with different results should be estimated in different way. The teams should be added the premium percent of point for thrown pucks by decreasing arithmetical progression.

In case of 2 points estimation system the match ended in 1 puck difference will be estimated ordinary by 2 and 0 point. The 2nd and next pucks differences should be estimated by the percent: the 2nd puck difference _ by 30% of point, the 3rd – by 25% of point, the 4th – by 20% of point, the 5th – by 15% of point, the 6th – by 10% of point, the 7th and next pucks – by 5-5%. The winners should be added these percent and the losers should be taken out them and they move into minus.

Continue reading "You Figure It Out"

Kurtis Foster feels he has a lot to prove and will try to do that with his new team, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The former Peterborough Petes’ defenceman made a comeback last season from a career-threatening leg injury, but the Minnesota Wild chose not to offer him a contract at season’s end.

Foster missed nearly a year of hockey after shattering his femur in a gruesome collision with the boards when he tripped racing for an icing call in a game against the San Jose Sharks. He played 10 games with the Wild last season, registering a goal, six points and a plus-seven rating.

Foster said new management in Minnesota seemed uninterested in re-signing him so he moved on inking a one-year deal with Tampa.

“I decided Tampa was the best opportunity,” Foster told The Examiner yesterday. “I talked to their GM (Brian Lawton) and he didn’t guarantee me anything, but he said if I came in great shape, work hard and play the way they think I can play, I’ll play a lot of minutes. That’s what I was looking for.”

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“We are thrilled to be able to take this next step with Victor today,” said Lawton upon making the announcement. “He has a bright future and we intend on him being a member of the Lightning for a long time. We are excited to get his signing behind us so he can solely focus on hockey and the continued development of his game.”

from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

His voice quavering almost as soon as he reached the podium, Joe Sakic made it official today – after a distinguished 20-year career, he is retiring from the NHL

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also from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

“He’s had an outstanding, brilliant career,” Gretzky said. “He’s been a tremendous asset to the National Hockey League. He’s been a Stanley Cup champion and just as important he was a huge part of the [Olympic] gold medal in 2002.

“He was a winner. The thing about Joe is he did it with so much class and so much dignity. He is very humble, very quiet, almost shy. But when he got on the ice he was dynamic and very unselfish. The thing about Joe is that he worked hard every shift, every game.”

more

What they are saying about Joe Sakic and the top 10 Sakic moments below…

Continue reading "All Joe Sakic"

Bernie Federko is out of the Blues’ broadcast booth after 12 seasons and will be replaced by Darren Pang, who has been an analyst for NBC, ESPN, ESPN2, ABC and Canada’s TSN.

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Ales Kotalik, an unrestricted free agent right wing who has averaged over 20 goals for the past four NHL seasons, will continue his NHL career in New York. On Thursday, he agreed to terms on a new contract with the Rangers. More details to come.

NEW YORK/TORONTO – NHL Network will be live at 3 p.m. ET today to provide coverage of the announcement of the retirement of Joe Sakic, the long-time captain of the Colorado Avalanche. The two-hour live program will feature an in-depth look at Sakic’s 20-year NHL career and will be hosted by Dan Pollard and analyst Dave Reid, who played with Sakic on the Colorado Avalanche’s 2001 Stanley Cup winning team. Additional guests scheduled to call in to the show include Ray Bourque, Steve Yzerman and Peter Forsberg.

Continue reading "The NHL Network & Joe Sakic"

My take is a player like Alex Tanguay, still on the market, would appear out of Detroit’s reach. But what about former Wings forward Robert Lang? He might be had for cheap given that he’s recovering from a serious Achilles’ heel injury.

-Pierre LeBrun of ESPN on a replacement for Hudler.  What do you think Wings fans?

More on Hudler and some Zherdev talk too…

10. Mario Lemieux

The icon of Pittsburgh’s 1991 and ‘92 Stanley Cup champions did not have speed. But even without that fundamental building block of excitement, he was thrilling because of his unique ability to take time and make it stand still....

9. Dominik Hasek

A goaltender? Sure. Hasek was from the Czech Republic but he probably vacationed on Mars. For 16 seasons beginning in 1990, he tended the nets like an extraterrestrial, playing a style that had its own internal logic even if the rest of the world had no idea what he was doing....

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This would be an interesting situation. Antero Niittymaki, formerly of the Flyers, was not given a qualifying offer because of some concerns about hip problems the past few seasons for which he had surgery in September 2008. There are also reports he is being courted by Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, though no signing has been announced.

Lightning GM Brian Lawton has decliend to say who the team is after, but said an offer has been extended and a decision is expected soon.

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Anaheim’s search for a veteran defenseman has led to the signing of former Panthers defenseman Nick Boynton to a one-year contract.

Nothing impressed me more about Joe than the sheer drive he displayed every time he took to the ice,” Marc Crawford, now coach of the Dallas Stars, told CBCSports.ca.

Crawford should know, having coached Sakic for four seasons and winning a Stanley Cup together in 1996. Calling him a natural leader, Crawford said Sakic had a great hockey mind, and understood the game better than most of his contemporaries.

“It’s funny, because I never felt I really coached him; it was more like I collaborated with him,” Crawford explained.

Possessing brilliant hockey instincts, Sakic went about his business in a workmanlike fashion, becoming one of the premier players in the NHL in the process.

Playing against him was no picnic, according to former Edmonton Oilers forward Craig Simpson.

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Blake, 39, finished his 18th NHL season in 2008-09, recording 45 points (10 goals, 35 assists) in 73 games with San Jose.  He finished eighth among League defensemen in shots with 198 and tied for 16th in points. Blake recorded his 500th NHL career assist on Jan. 9 at Edmonton, placing him 22nd all-time for assists amongst NHL defensemen. He was selected as the Seagate “Sharks Player of the Month” for November, leading all League defensemen for the month with 16 points (five goals, 11 assists).

“Rob’s performance this past season speaks for itself,” said Wilson.  “He’s a true professional, a leader that has been a captain in the League and still plays at an elite level.  The way that he carries himself day-in and day-out is something that every player in our locker room should try to mirror.”

SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson announced today that the team has re-signed Group III unrestricted free agent defenseman Kent Huskins to a two-year contract. In keeping with club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Kent played an important role on a Stanley Cup winning team and knows what it takes to win,” said Wilson.  “He is a player that can play in all situations and does whatever is necessary to get the job done on this ice.”

In mid-July, most NHL people get themselves as far from an ice rink as possible. For them and those who report and comment on them, the summertime is all about decompression, rejuvenation and reflection.

We can’t help you unwind or juvenate, but we have all kinds of reflecting going on up in this hizzy – whatever a hizzy might be. And what better way to reflect on the 2008-09 season than by handing out a few of our own honors that may or may not be named The Proteau’s Types Awards for years to come.

PROTEAU’S TYPE FOR FEEL-BEST STORY OF THE YEAR:
Runners-up: The St. Louis Blues’ late-season run; Tim Thomas’ career year; The Columbus Blue Jackets’ first-ever playoff appearance; Steve Sullivan’s long-shot comeback.

Winner: The Renaissance of the Chicago Blackhawks.

From the hugely successful 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field to the increased talent level that powered them to an appearance in the Western Conference final, there was little that didn’t go better than planned for the Hawks last year.

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“It is appropriate and deserving that we launch the season by honoring Joe’s accomplishments,” said Avalanche President Pierre Lacroix.  “It will be a tremendous event for a very special person and hockey player.  We can’t put into words what he meant to this franchise and to our hockey fans.

“Joe’s numbers and records speak for themselves.  He’s been the face of the franchise for two complete decades and his impact on this team and this city cannot be overstated.  By retiring number 19, we are honoring one of the finest professionals in the history of the National Hockey League and we are bidding farewell to one of the greatest individuals in pro sports.”

Sakic’s 19 will be the third sweater number to be retired in the 14-year history of the Colorado Avalanche, joining Ray Bourque (77) and Patrick Roy (33).  Sakic will be the seventh player in franchise history to have his sweater number retired, as the Quebec Nordiques retired the jerseys of Peter Stastny (26), Michel Goulet (16), Marc Tardif (8) and J.C. Tremblay (3).

“After having the privilege of playing for 20 years, I’m leaving the game of hockey with nothing but great memories and a sense of accomplishment,” said Sakic.  “The game has given me more than I ever dreamed of, and for that I am truly grateful.”

Continue reading "Sakic Officially Retires"

Rich Evans, agent for Lightning right wing Radim Vrbata, said his client “100 percent” wants to return to the NHL next season. That leaves Vrbata in a bit of a pickle as Tampa Bay GM Brian Lawton said Vrbata does not fit into the team’s plans, and Vrbata will end up in AHL Norfolk if he cannot be moved to another team.

Toward that end, Lawton said he has given Evans permission to search the league for a team that will pick up Vrbata’s contract that pays $3 million for the next two years.

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from Chad Ford and Marc Stein of ESPN,

The deal, according to sources, calls for the Mavericks to acquire Marion and Kris Humphries from Toronto and Greg Buckner from Memphis, with Marion to receive a five-year contract worth an estimated $39 million. Buckner has had two previous stints with the Mavericks but is likely to be released, sources said.

The Grizzlies will land Jerry Stackhouse from Dallas and a substantial cash payment to buy out Stackhouse’s contract. Only $2 million of Stackhouse’s $7.25 million salary next season is guaranteed, as long as he is waived by Aug. 10.

The Raptors will receive Devean George and Antoine Wright from the Mavericks, while also preserving their $5.9 million mid-level exception for the coming season by turning their acquisition of Turkoglu—who is getting a five-year deal worth an estimated $53 million—into a sign-and-trade as opposed to an outright signing.

We’d all have to be fluent in capology.

The Bruins locked up their version of Jason Spezza (Krejci is more competitive and well-rounded) for less than half the Ottawa playmaker’s $7 million annual payday.

Even if Larry Kelly, Krejci’s agent, believed he could have done better, his client made it known that $3.75 million per season will do quite well, thank you very much.

“Larry thinks I could get a little more,’’ said Krejci, who was rehabbing at Ristuccia Arena yesterday following hip surgery June 4. “But this is good money for me. I never even dreamed about this much money. I think it was a good deal for me, even if I could get a little more. I’m very happy with the money I got.’’

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Updates on Sergei Zubov, Anton Babchuk, Tuomo Ruutu and Antero Niittymaki, and the latest on the Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets.

NEWSOBSERVER.COM: Javier Serna reports Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford hopes to re-sign RFA forward Tuomto Ruutu to a two-or-three year contract, which could be announced as early as today, but he’s less hopeful of re-signing Anton Babchuk.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Babchuk doesn’t have arbitration rights so if Rutherford cannot get Babchuk under contract in the coming weeks the blueliner may very well be dealt, provided he doesn’t head to the KHL for more money.

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