dlbalr

It seems that Martti Järventie will not be coming back to North America after all. It sounds like he opted not to go play for Hamilton, and that possibly his contract has been bought out by the Canadiens. (Please keep in mind I don't speak Finnish, so I had to use an online translator to figure out this article. I'd post what the translation was, but half of it is in another language, so even I don't get it.)

A couple of things to update this time, firstly, the results of our most recent tournament. We qualified for the 'C' semi-finals, that's all I'm going to say about that. The way we got there is quite strange... As for league play, the regular season ended this past Thursday, and to no one's surprise, we ended on a losing streak. Here are the final standings: Team Wins Loss Ties Pts Vasey 15 3 3 33 Wyevale 15 5 1 31 Minesing 15 5 1 31 Toanche 11 9 1 23 Wyebridge 10 10 1 21 Base Borden 5 15 1 11 Perkinsfield 4 14 3 11 Toanche Jr's 3 17 1 7 (Sorry for the poor quality of the standings, I can't align the colums.) Playoffs begin tonight, we're in a best 3 of 5 series vs Vasey. So when we're swept and humiliated, we'll then focus on our final tournament, the provincial championships, which we're hosting by the way. The tourney runs from August 15th-17th.

Well, Kudroc's no longer with the team as he was signed by Florida in July, and Polushin hasn't been signed yet. My 4 picks would have to be: Andreas Holmqvist Jean-François Soucy Gerard Dicaire One of Nikita Alexeev/Sheldon Keefe/Alexander Svitov (2 of these players were always with the Lightning last season, while the other was in the minors.)

Each day this month, I will review and comment on what a certain NHL team has done so far this offseason, through both free agency and trades, plus anything else I feel is relevant. I will put 4 team reports per post just to make the thread a little more friendly to read. Also, team reviews will be updated in the event of a significant trade/signing, so be sure to review previous team reports. So, without further ado, here is the 1st team report: ____________________________________________________________________ Team: Anaheim Mighty Ducks Conference: Western Division: Pacific Points (Rk): 95(7) In: Chris Armstrong, Vaclav Prospal, Sergei Fedorov, Mike Mottau, Casey Hankinson, Chris Kunitz, Craig Johnson, Todd Simpson Out: Denny Lambert, Fredrik Olausson, Steve Thomas, German Titov, Adam Oates, Paul Kariya, Francis Belanger, Josh Dewolf, Chris O'Sullivan, Mike Brown, Marc Chouinard, Ben Guite, Peter Podhradsky, Kevin Sawyer, Jarrett Smith, Rob Valicevic, Brendan Yarema, Travis Brigley Comments: Unlike many other teams who have made it to the Stanley Cup Final in the past, the Ducks have made several major changes so far this summer. Two players off the teams’ front line are out, most notably fan-favourite Paul Kariya, who took a drastic pay cut to go to Colorado, along with centre Adam Oates, who did not have his option picked up by the club. However, Ducks GM Bryan Murray was able to replace these two key players, by adding arguably the best free agent on the market in centre Sergei Fedorov, as well as winger/centre Vaclav Prospal, who had a career high 79 points with the Lightning last season. Players like Petr Sykora, Stanislav Chistov and Mike Leclerc give the team solid offensive depth behind Prospal and Fedorov, while Sandis Ozolinsh, Keith Carney and Nic Havelid pose as a solid top-3. Role players Ruslan Salei, Kurt Sauer and Vitali Vishnevski all return as well. In goal, there is J.S. Giguere, who has a big question mark looming. Will he repeat last year's stellar performance, or will his large contract affect his play, like some claim was the case for Canadiens' netminder Jose Theodore? Behind him, there are a pair of quickly developing goalies in Martin Gerber in Ilja Bryzgalov. Either could win the backup role in camp, although the job will likely go to the incumbent Gerber. Next Steps: With all restricted free agents locked up, GM Bryan Murray can pretty much sit back and "relax". With no noticeable holes on the team at the moment, the Ducks look solid heading into the 2003-04 season. Grade: A- ____________________________________________________________________ Team: Atlanta Thrashers Conference: Eastern Division: Southeast Points (Rk): 74(11) In: Brian Swanson, Ivan Majesky, Tommi Santala, Randy Robitaille, Bill Lindsay, Greg Hawgood, Jason Bonsignore, Brendan Yarema, Ronald Petrovicky, Jani Hurme, Shawn Heins Out: Andreas Karlsson, Dallas Eakins, Tony Hrkac, Jeff Odgers, Damian Rhodes, Ben Simon, Jean-Pierre Vigier, Lubos Bartecko, Mark Hartigan, Jeff Farkas, Uwe Krupp, Milan Hnilicka Comments: The Thrashers for the most part, stayed put this summer, their most notable move having re-signed 70-point man Slava Kozlov to a multi-year deal. Atlanta did make a move on draft day to improve their defence, acquiring defenceman Ivan Majesky from Florida for a 2nd round pick. The Thrashers will have the core of their team back from last season (Heatley, Kovalchuk, Kozlov, McEachern, and Stefan), and will be banking on youngsters such as Santala and Kamil Piros, as well as recently signed Randy Robitaille to supply offence beyond the second line. Defence remains a concern for this young franchise however, as the team’s top four of Tremblay, Kaberle, Sutton, and Majesky are young and relatively unproven. Expect rookie Garnet Exelby to play a big role on D this season. In goal, both Pasi Nurminen and Byron Dafoe return and will battle for the number-1 job. Waiver draft pickup Jani Hurme will also fight for a spot. Prediction: Dafoe is the odd man out. As for those wondering whether Kari Lehtonen is ready, the answer is probably (at least in a backup role). However, a second question is, do the Thrashers want him now? The answer to that is no, Dafoe gives the team a veteran, albeit overpaid, goalie who will be useful down the stretch. Next Steps: This team needs to acquire a solid veteran defenceman, as this is the team’s biggest concern. Last season, they brought in both Uwe Krupp and Richard Smehlik, but the former lasted just a handful of games and has since retired, while the latter didn’t last the whole season before being dealt to New Jersey as a salary dump. All Atlanta needs here is a solid, yet unspectacular veteran who knows his role and can help the young ones develop while bringing leadership to the dressing room. Grade: B- ____________________________________________________________________ Team: Boston Bruins Conference: Eastern Division: Northeast Points (Rk): 87(7) In: Ted Donato, Doug Doull, Eddy Campbell, Milan Jurcina, Sandy McCarthy, Felix Potvin, Jay Leach, Blake Bellefeuille, Travis Green Out: Jozef Stumpel, Jeff Hackett, Don Sweeney, Lee Goren, Chris Kelleher, Tim Thomas, Darren Van Oene, Sean Brown, Brantt Myhres, Mattias Karlin, Krzysztof Oliwa, Bryan Berard (Team rejected arbitration award), Marty McInnis, Steve Shields Comments: Unlike last season, the Bruins have a number 1 goalie in the organization, unfortunately, the problem for them is that it's Felix Potvin, an injury-prone goalie who has regressed the past few seasons. The team has also lost a top-6 forward during the summer for a second straight season. Granted, Stumpel is nowhere near as significant a loss as Bill Guerin (left in 2002), but will nonetheless affect the offence this season. Despite losing "Stumpy", the team’s offence remains in decent shape, as a healthy Sergei Samsonov should offset the loss of his production. Other than that, the forward ranks look pretty much the same, with Joe Thornton, Glem Murray, Brian Rolston and Mike Knuble all returning. There is a small hole on defence, with Bryan Berard no longer in the organization, and Jonathan Girard out for the season. That being said, the top-4 remains intact, in Hal Gill, Nick Boynton, Dan McGillis, and Sean O'Donnell returning. The other 2 spots should go to rookies Shaone Morrisonn and Jeff Jillson. Potvin takes over as the number 1 netminder, while promising youngster Andrew Raycroft finally gets a chance to prove himself at the NHL level. Next Steps: With all restricted free agents locked up, GM Mike O'Connell needs to focus on getting a defenceman to replace the departed Bryan Berard. Berard's replacement: likely to be Bryan Berard, since no one else is persuing him at the moment. Grade: C-____________________________________________________________________ Team: Buffalo Sabres Conference: Eastern Division: Northeast Points (Rk): 72 (12) In: David Cullen, Domenic Pittis, Andy Delmore, Chris Drury Out: Denis Hamel, Doug Houda, Tom Askey, Francois Methot, Peter Ratchuk, Radoslav Hecl, Keith Ballard, Steven Reinprecht, Rhett Warrener Comments: With a new owner in place, the Sabres can finally go out and get some players to improve the team, particularly on offence. So far, they have done so, getting Chris Drury to complement Miro Satan and Daniel Briere, as well as acquiring Andy Delmore to supply some offence from the defence. Despite adding Drury, the offence will likely again be limited to only the top 2 lines as there is still minimal depth on the 3rd and 4th lines. On defence, with the exception of Alexei Zhitnik, this blueline corps is young and inexperienced, which could be a problem as the season progresses. In goal, there is a logjam, with Biron as the incumbent starter, but both Ryan Miller and Mika Noronen are ready to become full-time NHL goalies. Buffalo may try to move one of their goalies to acquire some veteran blueline help, or another top-6 forward. Next Steps: The Sabres have yet to re-sign their top player in Miro Satan, currently playing in Slovakia, and stating he will hold out if necessary. If Buffalo wants to go anywhere but the golf course in April, they've got to get him under contract. Also, the Sabres need to move one of their goalies to get rid of that logjam in goal. Expect Biron to be the one on the move, although Buffalo would likely prefer to move Noronen instead, but his trade value at the moment is limited. Grade: B+ [Edited on 2003/10/6 by dlbalr]

The Bulldogs have announced that they will name their 2003-04 coaching staff tomorrow morning. http://www.hamiltonbulldogs.com/web_pages/.../pr30072003.php Gainey and Savard will be in attendance.

This is a good read, some positive comments about our guys, however, there were a few negative ones that surprised me a bit. The article also shows some stats from the AHL 2002-03 season. http://www.hockeysfuture.com/article.php?s...hreaded&order=0 [Edited on 2003/7/29 by dlbalr]

To Vancouver: Martin Grenier To Phoenix: Bryan Helmer http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=48475

Here's another update, and in these past few weeks, something out of the ordinary happened-we won! Twice at that! About 3 weeks ago, we beat C.F.B. Borden Athletics (who are currently last) 5-3, and just last night, we pulled off the biggest upset of the season, defeating the current league leaders Minesing by a score of 6-2. (We lost the first 2 games versus them by a combined score of 17-0.) Through 18 games, our record is a humiliating 3-14-1 for 7 points, good for 7th overall (out of 8 teams). However, we have 2 games left vs C.F.B. Borden (a double-header Monday) and our final game is against the new league leaders-Vasey before the playoffs begin. This weekend, we travel to Meaford, Ontario for another ball tournament, where first prize wins $1200. So needless to say, I won't be around for a day or two because of it.

I'm interested in joining. I sent you a U2U through this site as well as sending you an e-mail. [Edited on 2003/7/22 by dlbalr]

Today, Boston signed Ted Donato to a 1 year contract. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/202/spor...e_Bruins+.shtml

We traded the 109th overall pick (Andreas Valdix) to Washington for the 113th overall pick (Corey Locke) and the 217th overall pick (Oskari Korpikari). All we did is get an extra pick for sliding down 4 spots in the 4th round, and it sounds like we still got the guy we wanted.

It's that time again, NFL season is coming soon. Last year, some members of this board were involved in a pool and I was wondering if there are intentions to do so again this season. I'm interested in having a pool again, although it seems the site we used last year is no longer hosting a free game. ( http://fantasy.nfl.com ) Yahoo, however, has a NFL pool that's free that doesn't seem too bad. ( http://www.yahoo.com/s/25496 ) Anyone know of any other sites that run free pools? Is there anyone else interested in participating in another one of these, or is willing to become the commissioner of one? (I wouldn't mind running one, but I have other committments, so the most I can be is a participant.)

Because it contains Canadian teams and may actually attract viewers, there's no way that ESPN will televise the game. Most likely, they'll show a re-run of the Delaware Dart Championships or something like that. I do believe TSN will have coverage of the game, so that'll suit the Canadian viewers at least...

Do you have a source on that? I know he went to Finland during the season (had him in my pool then ), and my sources all have him listed as going to Finland.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=47477 [Edited on 2003/7/17 by dlbalr]

Date Opponent Location Time (EST) Thursday, Oct. 9 @ Ottawa Corel Centre 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11 @ Toronto Air Canada Centre 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14 Washington Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16 Pittsburgh Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18 Toronto Bell Centre 7:00 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20 Detroit Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23 NY Islanders Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 Ottawa Bell Centre 7:00 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27 @ Philadelphia First Union Center 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28 Boston Bell Centre 7:00 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30 @ Boston FleetCenter 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1 NY Rangers Bell Centre 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4 Edmonton Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7 @ Buffalo HSBC Arena 8:00 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8 Buffalo Bell Centre 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11 Columbus Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13 @ NY Islanders Nassau Coliseum 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15 @ Ottawa Corel Centre 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18 @ Vancouver GM Place 10:00 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20 @ Calgary Pengrowth Saddledome 10:00 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 @ Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25 Vancouver Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28 @ Washington MCI Center 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29 Florida Bell Centre 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2 Tampa Bay Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5 @ Carolina Entertainment and Sports Arena 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 Carolina Bell Centre 7:00 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8 Philadelphia Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10 @ NY Rangers Madison Square Garden 7:00 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12 @ Florida Office Depot Center 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13 @ Tampa Bay St. Pete Times Forum 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16 Boston Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18 Nashville Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20 @ Toronto Air Canada Centre 7:00 p.m. Monday, Dec. 22 Pittsburgh Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23 @ Washington MCI Center 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 27 @ Carolina Entertainment and Sports Arena 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 29 @ Atlanta Philips Arena 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31 @ Dallas American Airlines Center 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3 Atlanta Bell Centre 2:00 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 4 Washington Bell Centre 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6 Buffalo Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8 Tampa Bay Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10 @ Pittsburgh Mellon Arena 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13 St. Louis Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14 @ Atlanta Philips Arena 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17 NY Rangers Bell Centre 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20 @ Philadelphia First Union Center 7:00 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23 @ New Jersey Continental Airlines Arena 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24 Toronto Bell Centre 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27 @ Buffalo HSBC Arena 7:00 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29 @ Minnesota Xcel Energy Centre 8:00 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31 Boston Bell Centre 2:00 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1 Chicago Bell Centre 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3 @ Pittsburgh Mellon Arena 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5 NY Islanders Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10 @ Florida Office Depot Center 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 @ Tampa Bay St. Pete Times Forum 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14 @ Ottawa Corel Centre 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17 Atlanta Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19 Calgary Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21 @ Toronto Air Canada Centre 7:00 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23 @ NY Rangers Madison Square Garden 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24 Ottawa Bell Centre 7:00 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26 @ Boston FleetCenter 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 Carolina Bell Centre 7:00 p.m. Monday, March 1 New Jersey Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 3 @ San Jose HP Pavilion at San Jose 10:30 p.m. Friday, March 5 @ Phoenix America West Arena 10:00 p.m. Saturday, March 6 @ Los Angeles Staples Center 10:00 p.m. Monday, March 8 @ Anaheim Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim 10:30 p.m. Thursday, March 11 Florida Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 13 Toronto Bell Centre 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 16 Colorado Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 19 @ New Jersey Continental Airlines Arena 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 20 New Jersey Bell Centre 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 24 @ Buffalo HSBC Arena 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 25 Ottawa Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 27 @ Boston FleetCenter 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 31 @ NY Islanders Nassau Coliseum 7:00 p.m. Thursday, April 1 Philadelphia Bell Centre 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 3 Buffalo Bell Centre 7:00 p.m. http://www.canadiens.com/english/presse/co...dex.cfm?id=1772

Niclas Havelid (ANA) Pasi Nurminen (ATL) Marc Savard (ATL) Bryan Berard (BOS) Hal Gill (BOS) Settled Bryan Rolston (BOS) Steve Begin (BUF) Settled Eric Boulton (BUF) Settled Toni Lydman (CAL) Peter Worrell (COL) Settled Richard Matvichuk (DAL) Ryan Smyth (EDM) Jaroslav Bednar (FLA) Settled Maxim Kuznetsov (LA) Settled Manny Fernandez (MIN) Settled Antti Laaksonen (MIN) Settled Willie Mitchell (MIN) Kimmo Timonen (NAS) Arron Asham (NYI) Settled Anson Carter (NYR) Tom Poti (NYR) Josh Langfeld (OTT) Zac Bierk (PHX) Settled Mike Johnson (PHX) Daymond Langkow (PHX) Dick Tarnstrom (PIT) Settled Pavol Demitra (STL) John Grahame (TB) Settled Cory Stillman (TB) Bryan Helmer (VAN) Michael Nylander (WAS) *Settled means that the player re-signed a contract prior to his arbitration hearing. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature.asp?fid=7545 [Edited on 2003/8/2 by dlbalr]

It better be because he's injured, as Stokes' performance on Saturday certainly doesn't merit more playing time. (He had negative yardage and a fumble.) Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Stokes as a runningback, he's certainly agile enough, although that along with his size are negatives. Couldn't hurt, especially the way we're going through RB's...

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/hockey/...sports-panthers The article also talks about Dudley's take on some of Florida's RFA's, if anyone's interested.

A 1 yr, $2.5 million dollar deal according to Sportsnet. http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/article.jsp...715_141327_4628

http://www.tsn.ca/news_story.asp?ID=47390 Today is the day for European prospects to sign with their NHL affiliate, or else they're obligated by contract to play another season "back home". If a team wishes to sign a European prospect after today, they will have to pay financial compensation to that players' other team (from overseas). Other European prospects to sign with their NHL affiliates are Antti Miettinen and Mathias Tjarnqvist, who both have signed with Dallas, Niklas Kronvall who joined Detroit, and Jakub Koreis, who signed a 3 year deal with Phoenix. Also, Kirill Koltsov signed with Vancouver, although this occurred late last night and Denis Grebeshkov signed a contract with the L.A. Kings. [Edited on 2003/7/16 by dlbalr]

Daniel Pugh has been promoted from the practice squad and will start this Saturday vs Calgary. Lapointe is still at least 2 weeks away BTW... http://www.tsn.ca/news_story.asp?ID=47386&hubName=main

He was one of the higher profile guys left, don't forget Brian Leetch is still out there. I agree though, I highly doubt that the Rangers actually have a budget.

deVries signed a 4 year, $13 million dollar deal. He makes $4.2 mil this season, $3.1 next year, $3 mil in 2005-06, and $2.7 mil in 2006-07. The Rangers actually have a budget??? WOW! http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=47327

Prospects refers to junior-aged players (18-20 years old.) This means that if we want to sign Kastsitsyn, we'd have to do so before Tuesday. As for UFA prospects, there's no deadline in which to sign them, as they are, like many others, unrestricted free agents.