dlbalr

Last night, the Bulldogs evened their preseason record at 1-1 with a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Roadrunners. Jerome Marois led the team with a hat trick, giving him 4 goals on the preseason. Jozef Balej and Eric Laplante added singles. (No assist details were provided.) Michel-Bergevin Robinson stopped 38 of 40 shots for the victory. The powerplay was 4/10. The next 3 games are vs St. John's (Oct 2, 3, 5). http://www.canoe.ca/Bulldogs/News/2003/09/.../29/212531.html

Nieuwendyk tips a point shot from Colaiacovo on the powerplay at 13:20. 1-0 Leafs, 6 minutes left in the first.

First, here's the goal summary: 1) TOR Nieuwendyk (Colaiacovo) 13:20 PPG (1st) 2) TOR Domi (Stajan, Belak) 14:41 (2nd) 3) TOR Stajan (Colaiacovo) 10:41 (3rd) 4) MON Plekanic (Dagenais, Perezhogin) 18:00 (3rd) Now, the lineup for tonight's game: Dagenais-Perreault-Audette Hossa-Plekanic-Perezhogin Ryder-Juneau-Ward Carpentier-Higgins-Ferland Traverse-Brisebois Dykhuis-Hainsey Bouillon-Komisarek Garon Damphousse Like the last game, I'll edit this post to show the scoring summary. FINAL SCORE: 3-1 Toronto 3 STARS: 1) Belfour 2) Stajan 3) Perrott EDIT: Editing scoring summary [Edited on 2003/9/30 by dlbalr]

Brisebois on the PP from Ryder and Bulis at 10:55. First time in a long time that Brisebois wasn't booed (standing 'O' from some...) [Edited on 2003/9/28 by dlbalr]

Last night, Hamilton played their first preseason game of the season, losing 3-1 to the expansion Toronto Roadrunners. Jerome Marois scored for the Dogs, while Olivier Michaud stopped 26 of 29 shots in a losing cause. Next game for Hamilton is tomorrow night vs Toronto; the game can be heard on 820 CHAM In other news, Eero Somervuori has been assigned to Hamilton from Tampa Bay, joining Jeremy Van Hoof and Andreas Holmqvist in that respect. http://www.canoe.ca/Bulldogs/News/2003/09/.../27/211113.html

Souray scores on shot from the point, from Hossa and Zednik at 16:33. BTW, Martin Biron is in net now for the Sabres.

First, the goals so far: 1) MON Hossa (Souray, Ribeiro) 13:32 (1st) 2) BUF Brown (Tallinder, Zhitnik) :40 (2nd) 3) MON Souray (Hossa, Zednik) 16:33 (2nd) 4) MON Brisebois (Ryder, Bulis) PP 10:55 (3rd) Now, the lines: Hossa-Ribeiro-Zednik Bulis-Perreault-Ryder Sundstrom-Juneau-Dackell Dwyer-Ward-Ferland Souray-Rivet Markov-Komisarek Bouillon-Brisebois Theodore Damphousse EDIT: Updating scoring summary... [Edited on 2003/9/28 by dlbalr]

Saku Koivu: 71 games away from 500, 57 points away from 400. Richard Zednik: 69 games away from 500. Jan Bulis: 72 games away from 400, 31 points away from 250. Yanic Perreault: 21 goals away from 200, 3 assists away from 200, 24 points away from 400. Niklas Sundstrom: 71 games away from 700. Donald Audette: 16 games away from 700, 12 points away from 500. Chad Kilger: 41 games away from 500. Joe Juneau: 42 games away from 800, 43 points away from 600. (That one may be a stretch...) Andreas Dackell: 47 games away from 600, 13 goals away from 100. Andrei Markov: 2 games away from 200, 16 points away from 100. Patrice Brisebois: 80 games away from 800. Craig Rivet: 63 games away from 500, 11 points away from 100. Stephane Quintal: 36 games away from 1000, 15 points away from 250. Karl Dykhuis: 65 games away from 700, 17 points away from 150. Patrick Traverse: 22 games away from 300. Jose Theodore: 9 wins away from 100, 52 games away from 300. Gordie Dwyer: 1 goal away from, well, 1. If anyone else can think of any other potential milestones or notable statistical achievement, post them here, and I'll update this list.

This goal: Dwyer from Ward and Hainsey at 6:50. However, as I was updating the score, the Sens have scored again. Bonk from Smrek at 7:23. 3-2 Senators, roughly 8 minutes into the 2nd. Edit: Fichaud injured stick hand, left game. Theodore back in goal now. Theodore gets a nice ovation upon returning to the ice. [Edited on 2003/9/21 by dlbalr]

Rivet from Juneau and Ryder at 3:04 of the second...I believe it was a PP goal. Also, Fichaud is now in net, replacing Theodore to start the second. 2-1 Senators, roughly 5 mins into the second.

I'm really interested in seeing how Higgins and Ryder do tonight, I have a good feeling about those two... As for the B's, I've heard plenty about Toivonen, it'll be interesting to see how he performs (hopefully badly)

My picks: Washington over Pittsburgh Tampa Bay over Atlanta As to not jinx the Habs, I won't pick a winner of our game Vancouver over Minnesota Edmonton over Calgary Dallas over Colorado Ducks over Kings

A lot of the names didn't really surprise me, except for Shasby and Milroy. I thought Milroy would get into an exhibition game or two. The juniors were no surprise at all, and Marois/Thinel are border-line AHL'ers at the moment, and Larrivee and Co will be preparing for training camp in Hamilton sometime in the next week (20th I think). Still plenty of more cuts to happen...

Hnilicka replaces french-born Cristobal Huet as the Kings' backup goalie. This move surprises me a bit, as one of the reasons that LA released Storr was because they felt Huet was ready to be a full-time NHL backup, I guess he isn't. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=54022

You're right puck, Damphousse is wearing #31, if you look closely in one of your photos you can somewhat see Damphousse's name (get a magnifying glass to be sure as I did...) White Team at bench

Click the link below for the complete list of players attending camp, plus the Canadiens' practice/exhibition schedule: EDIT : SPAM REMOVED (edit : sorry dlbalr , we dont like linking to the competition) [Edited on 2003-9-11 by puck7x]

This really isn't surprising, no one was interested in him last season, and he's not healthy, so it's time for him to go. Source: http://www.rds.ca

Home Jersey? Away Jersey? Well, the logo isn't all that different, but the uniform colours certainly are, especially the red for home and of course, white for the road (as is new league policy). Are the uniforms better, worse, just as good or just as ugly as before?

Actually puck, I believe the deadline to sign him was June 1st. As for Himelfarb, he wasn't worth keeping, he was a soft, undersized centre who couldn't play defence and cheated too often in the neutral zone. I've seen him play for a few seasons now and he's getting worse by the year, not better. I'm very thankful the Colts traded him away...

Team: Vancouver Canucks Conference: Western Division: Northwest Points (Rk): 104(4) In: Dallas Eakins, Martin Grenier, Johan Hedberg, Jiri Slegr, Magnus Arvedson, Mike Keane, Jason Lehoux Out: Martin Brochu, Trevor Letowski, Murray Baron, Trent Klatt, Herbert Vasiljevs, John Craighead, Regan Darby, Darrell Hay, Chris Herperger, Denis Martynyuk, Bryan Helmer, Peter Skudra, Nolan Baumgartner, Darren Langdon Comments: After a solid 2002-03 season, the Canucks did very little to improve or subtract from the team, GM Brian Burke believing the core doesn’t need to be tinkered with. A couple of surprises occurred recently, the first being the signing of 1st round pick Ryan Kesler. The team feels he is ready for the NHL already, and could start the season on the 3rd line. The second surprise, although to some it’s a relief, was the acquisition of goalie Johan Hedberg from Pittsburgh. Hedberg is a quality goalie and should push Dan Cloutier for the #1 job. Currently, offence is a concern, at least beyond the front line. Last year’s top unit in Markus Naslund, Brendan Morrison and Todd Bertuzzi return, but after them, there is a large drop-off. The Sedin twins (Daniel and Henrik) have shown flashes that they can be offensive threats, but are also extremely inconsistent. Trevor Linden can still produce offensively, but age is starting to catch up with him. The team hopes Matt Cooke can produce similar numbers to last season (17-25-42). Rookies Kesler, Brandon Reid and Jason King will likely be counted on to produce, although they will likely end up seeing 4th line time, or they’ll be in the press box. The team is set defensively, with Ed Jovanovski (A.K.A. JovoCop) returning to lead a solid corps. Mattias Ohlund is finally healthy, and should be able to put up the numbers he has in the past. Sami Salo, Brent Sopel and Marek Malik are all solid two-way d-men as well, and should complement Jovanovski and Ohlund nicely. Bryan Allen should finally get a full-time job as the number 6 defenceman, while it will be a fight between Nolan Baumgartner, Mikko Jokela and Rene Vydareny for the #7 spot. Cloutier and Hedberg will man the nets this season; both feel they are rightfully the top goalie in the organization, so one has to wonder how the Canucks are going to work this one out. As it stands, it’s currently Cloutier’s job to lose. Next Steps: Since the team is set in goal and on defence, Vancouver can focus on pursuing a goal-scoring forward. There are a lot of forwards on the team who are solid defensively, so the Canucks can afford to move one to get a player who can score some goals. If something happens to a member of their top line, the Canucks will be in a heap of trouble in a hurry. Grade: B+ ____________________________________________________________________ Team: Washington Capitals Conference: Eastern Division: Southeast Points (Rk): 92(6) In: Andrej Podkonicky, John Gruden, François Methot, Petr Sykora, Alexander Riazantsev, Darcy Verot, Scott Pellerin, Michael Pudlick Out: Sergei Berezin, Calle Johansson, Ken Klee, Chris Ferraro, Peter Ferraro, Dmitry Yushkevich, Colin Forbes, Ivan Ciernik, Joel Kwiatkowski, Mark Murphy, Todd Rohloff, Krystofer Barch, Nathan Forster, Josh Green, Ryan Vanbuskirk, Mike Farrell, Glen Metropolit, Trent Whitfield Comments: For Capital fans, it was a disappointing offseason, as Washington lost 8 players who spent time in the NHL last season (not including Yushkevich), while gaining no one who could claim the same. It seems that Washington is going to allow the youngsters to play this year, particularly on defence, in which only 3 regulars return from last season, Sergei Gonchar, Brendan Witt and Jason Doig. The team also lost a few regulars on offence, but the team has enough depth to replace them, so that shouldn’t be a problem. Speaking of offence, there are plenty of players who can supply it, although none can really produce on a regular basis. The enigmatic Jaromir Jagr is back, and fans hope he can repeat his performance towards the end of the regular season. He has a solid supporting cast in Robert Lang, Michael Nylander and Peter Bondra; the team hopes the latter can rebound from a sub-par season. Dainius Zubrus, Kip Miller, Steve Konowalchuk and Jeff Halpern all can put the puck in the net as well. Rookies Owen Fussey and Graham Mink are expected to add some character to Washington’s lineup this season. On defence, there is a large, gaping hole. Besides Gonchar, Witt and Doig, the cupboard is bare. Those expected to fill the voids are Nolan Yonkman, Josef Boumedienne, Rick Berry and Jakub Cutta. All of these players have seen NHL action, but not over a full season, which could prove disastrous in the long run. The team is also hoping Steve Eminger can win a full-time spot this year, after playing 17 games with the big club last year. The team is solid in goal. Olaf Kolzig is back after a solid season last year, in which he appeared in 66 games. His workload should be smaller this season, with backup Sebastian Charpentier ready to play his first full season in the big leagues. Next Steps: This one is blatantly obvious, go get a defenceman (or two, or three, or even four). In order for this team to make the playoffs again this season, the Caps must be able to play well defensively. With forwards like Jagr and Bondra who are weak defensively to begin with, this becomes even greater a concern. Grade: C- ____________________________________________________________________ Offseason Winners (A+ - A-): Anaheim Improved somewhat (B+ - B-): Atlanta, Buffalo, Colorado, Columbus, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minnesota, New York Rangers, Phoenix, Tampa Bay, Vancouver Didn’t get much worse than before: (C+ - C-): Boston, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Dallas, Edmonton, Florida, Montreal, New Jersey, New York Islanders, Ottawa, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Jose, Toronto, Washington Teams getting ready for post-CBA era (D+ - D-): Nashville, Pittsburgh Next team to be reviewed: None, it's over, it's finally over!!! WOO HOO!!! *Feel free to comment on any of these reports [Edited on 2003/10/6 by dlbalr]

Q60, I sent you a U2U regarding the NFL pool. It pertains to player positions just so you know. In case you're wondering, you'll find it on the top right-hand corner of the page. (It would be great if you could get back to me by later today if possible.) Thanks.

Well first of all, it's nice to have him under contract, when you're dealing with Don Meehan (Markov's agent), it can be scary. I can tell you what Markov will be paid for this season, $1.3 million dollars (not including bonus clauses) http://www.nhlpa.com/Content/THE_PLAYERS/p...io1.asp?ID=6880 As for what he makes the second year, no confirmations as of yet, but I read he signed a 2 yr, $3.1 mil deal, so if that's the case, he'll make $1.8 mil in 2004-05.

Oleg Tverdovsky has joined the Avangard Omsk team in Russia. It is reported that it's a one-year deal, and that there is a clause that states that he cannot sign a deal with an NHL team or any other club. English Translation: The negotiations of the 27-year defender of Oleg Tverdovskiy with the "advance guard" continued approximately one month.The main thing, on what insisted Omsk cloud/club, cannot be speech about the so-called insurance contract.If hockey player signs agreement, he plays in the championship of Russia during that period, which is indicated in the agreement. - the contract, which concluded Tverdovskiy, differs from that, which during July signed another Of nKhLovets - Danil Markov with The "ladoy", explained yesterday the agent of hockey player Sergey Isakov in the conversation with the correspondent "Se" by Aleksandr SHAPIRO.- in the agreement Of tverdovskogo to eat a point/item, that into the nearest two seasons it has a right to conclude contract not with one of clubs NKHL or Russia.Nowhere, besides Omsk, it within this period play will be. - from the Russian clouds/clubs In tverdovskim was interested only "advance guard"? - there was two additional proposals, but the management/manual of "advance guard" proved to be most interested in its services. - when Tverdovskiy does fly to Omsk? - on Monday.On 31 August in the composition of its new command will conduct the first match - on blinov's memorial. Oleg IS TVERDOVSKIY, The defender Of "advance guard": - I in earnest intended to return to Russia, and the proposal of "advance guard" me completely arranged.this is one of the leading clouds/clubs of the country, in composition of which it would be desirable to earn medals.As far as to me it is known, key role in the fact that the signing of contract became possible, played the chairman of the council of the directors of cloud/club novel Abramovich. http://www.sport-express.ru/art.shtml?73049

Team: St. Louis Blues Conference: Western Division: Central Points (Rk): 99(5) In: Mike Danton, Levente Szuper, Jeff Heerema Out: Rich Pilon, Shjon Podein, Martin Rucinsky, Steve Dubinsky, Daniel Corso, Robert Davis, Jason Dawe, Cory Stillman, Tyson Nash, Valeri Bure, Fred Brathwaite Comments: The Blues have cleaned house after a very strange year in which 7 goalies were used, 2 flu bugs were encountered and a variety of weird injuries were suffered. 5 regular forwards are out, with only Mike Danton (who hasn’t played since around December) to replace them. For the first time in several years, the amount of depth on this team is being questioned. The team still has Keith Tkachuk, Pavol Demitra and Doug Weight to lead the way, but there is a significant drop-off after that. Also returning are sophomores Petr Cajanek and Eric Boguniecki, who will be expected to repeat last year’s numbers. Veterans Dallas Drake and Scott Mellanby are also back and give this team 2 decent scoring lines. A couple of rookies will have a chance to crack the lineup, John Pohl and the last player to score a regular season goal on Patrick Roy, Peter Sejna. The team’s defence will improve immensely simply with the return of Chris Pronger. The ageless Al MacInnis is also back, as is Calder Trophy winner Barret Jackman. Alex Khavanov, Bryce Salvador and Jeff Finley round out the top-6. There will be a battle for the 7th and final spot, between rookie Matt Walker and the player with the longest current goalless streak, Christian Laflamme. Both have to clear waivers this season, so expect them to give Walker a shot for now. In goal, there are 2 solid goalies in Chris Osgood and Brent Johnson. Both are capable of being the number 1, however both are also quite inconsistent. Both goalies have also stated that they won’t settle for being the backup, so St. Louis’ training camp will be very interesting. Next Steps: There are no current immediate needs for the Blues, although one will surface at the end of training camp. Whoever the backup goalie is will be expected to request a trade, which may cause some dissension in the dressing room. If St. Louis decides to deal one of the goalies, they should look to acquire a solid two-way forward, especially if Pohl and Sejna aren’t ready and/or Cajanek and Boguniecki have setbacks. Grade: C- ____________________________________________________________________ Team: San Jose Sharks Conference: Western Division: Pacific Points (Rk): 73(14) In: Scott Parker, Alexander Korolyuk, Nils Ekman Out: Adam Graves, Teemu Selanne, Mark Messier, Ryan Kraft, Jeff Nelson, Scott Thomas, John Jakopin, Marc Kielkucki, Eric Laplante, Craig Mischler, Chad Wiseman Comments: Things continue to spiral downward for the Sharks; after a disastrous 2002-03 season, they get worse, not better. Out are two key players from last season in Teemu Selanne and Adam Graves, although the latter is currently trying to negotiate a contract to remain with San Jose. The team added Scott Parker on draft day to address a lack of toughness, and finally coaxed Alexander Korolyuk to end his holdout and return to North America. The team hopes that Korolyuk can produce some offence from the team’s second or third line. With the loss of Selanne and the trading away of Owen Nolan last season, there is a noticeable hole on offence. Returning are Vincent Damphousse, Patrick Marleau and Marco Sturm, giving the team some offensive weapons. Checkers Alyn McCauley, Mike Ricci and Scott Thornton will be expected to produce offence with some more consistency than was shown last season. Korolyuk, along with youngsters Mark Smith and Niko Dimitrakos are also expected to produce in order for the Sharks to have any chance at making the playoffs. Rookies Miroslav Zalesak, Marcel Goc and Brad Boyes all are expected to challenge for spots at camp, although there are no guarantees that any of them will start the season with the Sharks. On defence, there is a little more depth with Brad Stuart and Kyle McLaren returning for full seasons. San Jose also has Mike Rathje and Scott Hannan, giving the team a decent top-4. Prospects will be given the chance to fill the other 3 spots; the most likely candidates being Jim Fahey, Christian Ehrhoff and Rob Davison. Jesse Fibiger should also get a long look. In goal, there is a lot of potential, but at the same time, a lot of inconsistency. Evgeni Nabokov must rebound from a rough season in order for this team to have any success. Vesa Toskala and Miikka Kiprusoff will fight for the backup role. Next Steps: With the quality depth and potential in goal and on defence, the Sharks can focus on going after some offensive talent. With only 3 proven goalscorers in the organization, there is an immediate need for some help. Youngsters will be able to step up in a few years, but they’re not ready yet, possibly with the exception of Dimitrakos. Without another goalscorer, it may be another rough year for San Jose. Grade: C- ____________________________________________________________________ Team: Tampa Bay Lightning Conference: Eastern Division: Southeast Points (Rk): 93(5) In: Cory Stillman, Pascal Trepanier Out: Vaclav Prospal, Stanislav Neckar, Kristian Kudroc, Matt Elich, Kenton Smith, Harlon Pratt, Corey Foster, Boyd Kane, Ryan Tobler, Marc Bergevin, Sheldon Keefe Comments: Dubbed by many media outlets as last season’s Carolina (at least of the Eastern Conference), the Lightning haven’t done too many changes in the hopes of returning to the postseason. However, the team did lose leading scorer Vaclav Prospal, as well as defencemen Stan Neckar and Marc Bergevin. GM Jay Feaster however, did a decent job in replacing those players, acquiring Cory Stillman from St. Louis for a second-round draft pick, and signing Pascal Trepanier as a 6th defenceman. Despite losing Prospal, there are still quite a few players who can put the puck in the net such as Brad Richards and Vincent Lecavalier. They create a solid 1-2 punch at centre, and will have quality wingers in Stillman, Fredrik Modin and Martin St. Louis. Dave Andreychuk is back for another campaign and can be counted on for around 15 goals. Youngsters Ruslan Fedotenko, Nikita Alexeev and Alex Svitov all should see regular ice time this year. Finnish rookie Eero Somervuori will get a long look this year. On defence, there are plenty of capable players, however there isn’t a household name in the mix. Dan Boyle is back after scoring a career-high 53 points last year, but he won’t put up the same numbers again this year. Pavel Kubina, Jassen Cullimore and Brad Lukowich are solid in their own end, and can put the puck in the net every so often as well. Cory Sarich and Trepanier round out the top-6. Rookies Andreas Holmqvist and Gerard Dicaire are expected to compete for the #7 role. In goal, the team is set with Nikolai Khabibulin returning for another season. He will be pushed by John Grahame who has been the #1 goalie before in his career and believes he should be the main man in Tampa Bay. Next Steps: The team is deep at all positions, at least at the NHL level. For yet another season, Tampa does not have their own farm team. They lost Springfield as their joint affiliate with Phoenix, so they have reached agreements with Hamilton (Montreal) and Hershey (Colorado), however they can only send 10 players combined to these 2 teams. This means that only half of their prospects have an AHL home this season, which could stifle the other players’ development. The Lightning need to find an AHL affiliate for these other players for this season, and then need to get a team of their own for next year. Grade: B- ____________________________________________________________________ Team: Toronto Maple Leafs Conference: Eastern Division: Northeast Points (Rk): 98(4) In: Bryan Marchment, Harold Druken, Joe Nieuwendyk, Ken Klee, Petr Tenkrat Out: Doug Doull, Anders Eriksson, Jonas Hoglund, Jyrki Lumme, Morgan Warren, Shayne Corson, Doug Gilmour, Phil Housley, Glen Wesley, Craig Mills, Ryan Bonni, Dmitri Yakushin, Paul Healey, Petr Svoboda, Robert Svehla, Travis Green Comments: After a season in which the Leafs failed to live up to their expectations, they managed to find a way to take a step backward. The defence corps lost 4 regulars this summer, replacing them with Bryan Marchment and Ken Klee. Without Robert Svehla, Phil Housley, Jyrki Lumme and Glen Wesley, there is a noticeable hole on the blueline. The Leafs also lost a pair of regular forwards in Jonas Hoglund and Paul Healey, but they can be easily replaced. Once again, there is no shortage of offence, with Mats Sundin, Alexander Mogilny, Owen Nolan and Gary Roberts all returning for another season. Nikolai Antropov is expected to continue his development and at least match last season’s numbers (19-26-45). Darcy Tucker, Mikael Renberg and Robert Reichel are all capable of scoring, however all are also extremely inconsistent, and Joe Nieuwendyk is always solid. Alexei Ponikarovsky should finally get a chance to stick with the Leafs on a full time basis. Defence is where the Leafs will have problems this season. Returning are Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe, who both can get the job done at both ends of the ice. Marchment and Klee comprise the second tandem, while who’s on the 3rd pairing is anyone’s guess. Karel Pilar was supposed to get the spot, but health issues have crept up on him again, so his status heading into the season is uncertain. Aki Berg will make the team, and Ric Jackman and Wade Belak should be given a chance to stick with the club unless the Leafs decide that bringing rookies in may be more beneficial. If that’s the case, expect Brendan Bell, Carlo Colaiacovo and Pierre Hedin to get a look. The Leafs should be solid in goal, with steady veteran Ed Belfour coming back between the pipes, with Trevor Kidd backing him up. Expect Kidd to rebound from a rough 2002-03 season. Next Steps: The Leafs are in dire need of bringing in a veteran defenceman. If McCabe or Kaberle goes down, there could be a disastrous problem. Toronto needs to get their GM situation sorted out. As it stands, St. Louis Vice-President of Hockey Operations John Ferguson Jr. is expected to be named the new GM sometime soon. However, reports now say that current GM Pat Quinn is holding the announcement up. They need to get this deal done and soon. Grade: C- [Edited on 2003/10/5 by dlbalr]

Team: Ottawa Senators Conference: Eastern Division: Northeast Points (Rk): 113(1) In: Shaun Sutter, Daniel Corso, Peter Smrek, Glen Metropolit, Denis Hamel Out: Magnus Arvedson, Rob Ray, Jeff Ulmer, Bob Wren, David Hymovitz, Dean Melanson, Joey Tetarenko, Dennis Bonvie, Mathieu Chouinard, Toni Dahlman, Chris Bala, Wade Brookbank Comments: It was the season Senators fans were waiting for: when the team finally lives up to expectations and goes far in the playoffs. Furthermore, the team will now have a new owner in place in billionaire Eugene Melnyk (the sale should be completed in the next week or two). On the ice, there aren’t really any significant losses, although some could argue the loss of winger Magnus Arvedson could be a problem. However, a full season out of Bryan Smolinski (acquired at the trade deadline) will offset his offence at least. Defensively, there isn’t anyone to fill Arvedson’s void, but the team as a whole is solid in their own end, so there shouldn’t be a problem there. On offence, there is plenty of firepower in Marian Hossa, Daniel Alfredsson, Todd White, Martin Havlat, Radek Bonk and Smolinski. Add to that full seasons from Petr Schastlivy and Jason Spezza, and offence will definitely not be a concern for the Senators this season. On defence, the team is also solid, with Wade Redden, Zdeno Chara, Karel Rachunek and Chris Phillips. Sophomore Anton Volchenkov will get more of an opportunity to perform this year, while veteran Curtis Leschyshyn rounds out the top-6. Brian Pothier, Shane Hnidy and Peter Smrek will fight for the number 7 role. In goal, Patrick Lalime returns after a stellar year and will be counted on to put up similar numbers this year. Martin Prusek should be the backup again this season, although if he doesn’t have a good camp, Ray Emery could get the job. Next Steps: A noticeable weakness when looking at the Senators’ roster is their lack of depth on the left wing. Currently, Vaclav Varada is pencilled in as the top player at that position, but he is better suited for third-line duty. Expect Radek Bonk to be moved to the left side again this season and/or one of the other centres to be dealt for a left winger. Grade: C ____________________________________________________________________ Team: Philadelphia Flyers Conference: Eastern Division: Atlantic Points (Rk): 107 (3) In: Jeff Hackett, Boyd Kane, Mike Peluso, Mike Murphy, Joni Pitkanen Out: Joe Sacco, Ryan Bast, Dan Peters, Brad Tiley, Ian Forbes, Mark Greig, David Harlock, Mike Lephart, Jamie Wright, Matt Zultek, Roman Cechmanek, Marty Murray, Mike Siklenka Comments: GM Bobby Clarke made some noise this summer by dealing away goalie Roman Cechmanek to the Kings for just a second-round pick. Clarke then said he’d sign/acquire a high-profile netminder but ended up with Jeff Hackett, who started last season as the backup goalie in Montreal. He claims that Hackett was the best goalie available, but only time will tell if that statement is correct. The team also re-signed defenceman Eric Desjardins and centre Claude Lapointe, players who played key roles in the Flyers first-round playoff victory over Toronto. The fact that Philadelphia has problems scoring is mind-boggling, especially with the likes of Simon Gagne, John LeClair, Sami Kapanen, Jeremy Roenick, Tony Amonte and Mark Recchi on the roster. The team also has veteran Keith Primeau, as well as youngsters Michal Handzus and Justin Williams on the team, which makes it hard to believe that the Flyers had the fewest goals of any team who made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference last season. On defence, the heart of the corps is back, with Desjardins, Kim Johnsson, Eric Weinrich and Marcus Ragnarsson all returning for this season. The team lost Dmitry Yuskevich to free agency, but Joni Pitkanen should be able to step in despite not playing any games in the minors. If Pitkanen isn’t ready, then Jim Vandermeer should get a regular spot on the team. Chris Therien rounds out the teams’ solid blueline. Youngsters Jeff Woywitka and Dennis Seidenberg will also fight for spots this season. In goal there is a question mark in Hackett, can he return to top form as he was a few years ago, or will health be an issue again this season? If Hackett goes down, Robert Esche can step in and fill in for a while, but consistency has plagued him in the past. Next Steps: The Flyers have a shortage of players who are responsible in their own end. In order to keep goals allowed down this season in front of Hackett, the Flyers must bring in another forward who can play the penalty kill, or Philly’s going to be burned shorthanded this season. Grade: C ____________________________________________________________________ Team: Phoenix Coyotes Conference: Western Division: Pacific Points (Rk): 78(11) In: Cale Hulse, Daniel Cleary, Chris Ferraro, Peter Ferraro, Nikos Tselios, David Tanabe, Igor Knyazev, Tyson Nash, Mike Sillinger, Bryan Helmer, Kiel McLeod Out: Scott Pellerin, Paul Ranheim, Kelly Buchberger, Jason Bonsignore, Peter Fabus, Brent Gauvreau, Sergei Kuznetsov, Ryan Lauzon, Jay Leach, Deron Quint, Brad Ralph, Colin Zulianello, Dan Smith, Teppo Numminen, Danill Markov, Drake Berehowsky, Martin Grenier, Todd Simpson Comments: Phoenix GM Mike Barnett stated in late June that he felt the team needed more depth, in case the team was plagued by the injury bug again (they lost 462 games to injury last season). He certainly has done so, bringing in Cale Hulse, Dan Cleary and Tyson Nash without moving anyone off the roster. Barnett also brought in Chris and Peter Ferraro, as well as Nik Tselios to stock the farm team (Springfield-AHL). Furthermore, Barnett saved a bundle of cash, shipping off defencemen Teppo Numminen and Danny Markov in return for Mike Sillinger and David Tanabe. The team certainly will have a different look this season, and I’m not just talking about their new logo. Offensively, the team has plenty of potential 20-30 goal scorers, but not a game breaker in the mix. Some fans would argue that Shane Doan fits that bill, but inconsistency plagues him too often. The lone remaining player from the Keith Tkachuk trade, Ladislav Nagy has improved each season, and many feel he is capable of reaching the 30-goal plateau this year, after scoring 22 last season. The team is extremely deep down the middle, with Daymond Langkow, Chris Gratton, Sillinger and Jan Hrdina as the team’s top-4. “Prospects “ Jeff Taffe and Krys Kolanos are also centremen, but if they want to see regular NHL duty this year, they may have to play somewhere on the wing. Besides Doan and Nagy, the wings aren’t so deep. Perennial underachiever Brian Savage is slotted to be the 2nd line left winger, while Mike Johnson is expected to play on the right side of line 2. Johnson’s numbers should decline after a solid 63 points last season. On defence, there’s plenty of depth. A problem for Phoenix is that there isn’t a number 1 in the bunch. Ossi Vaananen and Paul Mara are both quality defenders, but after that there isn’t much. Hulse and Tanabe should see 16-18 minutes per game, while Brad Ference and Radoslav Suchy will log quality minutes. In goal, there is a logjam, at least with who will be the backup. Injury-prone netminder Sean Burke will be the number 1, while Zac Bierk and Brian Boucher will fight for the backup spot. Ultimately, each’s performance at training camp will decide who stays and who goes. Next Steps: Phoenix’s most pressing need is to move one of Bierk/Boucher, preferably for a player who can play one of the wings, however the market for either of these goalies is limited for the time being. The Coyotes also need to figure out what to do with their centre logjam, currently Hrdina is pencilled in as a 4th liner, however that’s not what they acquired him for. He needs to be dealt, or someone else needs to move to the wing. Grade: B- ____________________________________________________________________ Team: Pittsburgh Penguins Conference: Eastern Division: Atlantic Points (Rk): 65(14) In: Mike Eastwood, Kelly Buchberger, Marc Bergevin, Martin Brochu, Patrick Boileau, Reid Simpson, Drake Berehowsky Out: Kent Manderville, Jamie Pushor, Brendan Buckley, Jason MacDonald, Ville Nieminen, Joel Bouchard, Mattias Johansson, Hans Jonsson, Alexandre Daigle, Robbie Tallas, Shawn Heins, Richard Lintner, Mikael Samuelsson, Micki DuPont, Johan Hedberg Comments: The Wilkes-Barre Scranton-oops, I mean Pittsburgh Penguins, certainly have done what GM Craig Patrick said they would-cut salary. Out are basically anyone who had a one-way contract last season, with the exception of the team’s front line and top defence pairing. Granted, the team did bring in veterans Mike Eastwood and Kelly Buchberger to give the team some leadership, but that’s about all they can provide at this point in their careers. The team also re-acquired Marc Bergevin from Tampa Bay, who will provide a physical presence on the blue-line. Offensively, there is currently very little “NHL depth”, but there are plenty of rookies who can step in and make an impact. Mario Lemieux returns for another season, and has capable, albeit injury-prone linemates in Martin Straka and Alexsey Morozov. Then, the young guys come in. Aside from Eastwood, Buchberger and Matt Bradley, every other forward expected to be on the Penguins roster either spent time in the minors, or cleared waivers and could have been sent down last season. Tomas Surovy, Rico Fata and Ramzi Abid are expected to play on the top 2 lines at times this season (or be sent to the minors). On defence, there is a little more depth, but no real emerging star in the mix. Dick Tarnstrom returns after posting a stellar 41 points last season; 25 on the powerplay. He is joined by Bergevin, Josef Melichar and Michal Rozsival, giving the team a respectable top-4. Minor-leaguers Dan Focht, Ross Lupascuk and Brooks Orpik will round out the corps, the latter 2 getting a real chance for the 1st time. In goal, there is just as big a question mark as at the other positions. With Johan Hedberg being dealt, the recently re-signed Sebastian Caron becomes the team's number 1 goaltender, with J.S. Aubin backing him up. This could be the league's worst 1-2 tandem this season, unless something is done. Next Steps: Patrick claims that the team still needs to cut payroll, so anyone with a salary over $1 million except for Lemieux could be on the move. The most likely candidate is Straka. In return, the team should try to acquire either a solid stay-at-home defenceman or a top-6 forward, however the likelihood is that they’ll get prospects and/or draft picks. Also, given the team's current goaltending situation, a goalie would be nice to acquire. Grade: D [Edited on 2003/10/6 by dlbalr]