Archive for the ‘BREAKING’ Category

Ryan Getzlaf re-signs with the Anaheim Ducks for all the years and most of the money

Posted by Justin Bourne under BREAKING on Mar 08, 2013

Anaheim Ducks v Phoenix Coyotes

It’s official:

Ryan Getzlaf has re-signed with the Anaheim Ducks for eight years, the maximum amount of years allowed under the new CBA. He’ll earn 66 million dollars, for an average annual cap hit of $8.25M. With the cap going down to just over 64 million next year, that is a massive deal (12% of the their cap next season).

From the Ducks website:

“We are very happy to have Ryan committed to this franchise long-term,” said Ducks Executive Vice President/General Manager Bob Murray. “He has often expressed his interest to stay in Anaheim for his entire career, a goal we share. He is a leader, a proven winner, and possesses a skill set that’s hard to find. This is a great day for the Ducks.”

Now, all they have to do is trade Corey Perry, and they’ll be laughing!

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He’ll join Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, and Eric Staal as players with a cap hit above eight million dollars a year.

26 Comments

It appears we have our 2014 Winter Classic sweaters

Posted by Justin Bourne under BREAKING, Hey Neat on Feb 22, 2013

ddd

With word coming down that the 2014 Winter Classic will go ahead as (it was) planned (in 2013), it’s officially time to focus on the fun stuff, like will HBO’s 24/7 be back, and what will the sweaters look like? Well, if SportsLogos.net is to be believed as it often is, the jerseys above are what you’ll be seeing. They’re not crazy popular in the office, but I’ll tell ya – I kinda like ‘em.

The numbers on the back of the Red Wings jersey are especially sharp: Read the rest of this entry »

31 Comments

Zach Redmond transported to hospital after skate cut to leg

Posted by Justin Bourne under BREAKING, Twitter Scrapbook on Feb 21, 2013

Toronto Maple Leafs v Winnipeg Jets

The Winnipeg Jets’ Zach Redmond has been transported to hospital after taking a skate cut to his leg in Carolina practice today. Here’s their beat writer Ed Tait:

Read the rest of this entry »

14 Comments

Lindy Ruff has been let go by the Buffalo Sabres

Posted by Justin Bourne under BREAKING, Fired on Feb 20, 2013

Colorado Avalanche v Buffalo Sabres

Lindy Ruff was the NHL’s longest tenured NHL coach until today, when he was fired by the Buffalo Sabres. He’d been at the helm in Buffalo since 1997-98 (think Donald Audette and Alexei Zhitnik), losing in the Stanley Cup Final on the controversial Brett Hull goal in just his second season. He coached a total of 1065 games for the organization, and compiled a 562-452-78-84 record (yes, there were actual ties allowed at one point) along the way. He was also named the NHL’s coach of the year in 2006-2007.

During his time in Buffalo, there were 170 coaching changes around the NHL. Barry Trotz is now the NHL’s current longest-running coach (with Mike Babcock and Alain Vigneault in his rear-view mirror.)

The problem for Ruff this year was pretty simple: the team got a new owner, threw some money at a pretty good team, compiled a pretty good roster, and promptly headed in the wrong direction.

We talked about it on the podcast today:

When you can’t find an obvious reason or two for a decent roster failing, down comes the guillotine on the coach. Their goaltender, Ryan Miller, is world class. He’s having an off-year, and still has a .915, a hair above league average. Their d-corps is better than a lot of teams – Tyler Myres, Christian Erhoff, Robyn Regehr, Jordan Leopold and others. They have some skilled players like Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Cody Hodgson, and Tyler Ennis. They have toughness in guys like Steve Ott and Marcus Foligno (I won’t mention their hired thug). They just…haven’t won.

Miller certainly could have been better, and probably will be, but this was simply a group playing below expectations, and the organization has been growing impatient for some real success for awhile now. I like Lindy Ruff as a coach and a man, but the team was due for a new voice, some new ideas, and a new direction. At the very least, this is the large-scale version of  ”pulling the goalie in a game” to say “wake the hell up” to your team, and to let them know that if things don’t change soon, more changes were be made. Ruff, ironically, had been hinting at “big changes” himself pretty recently.

15 Comments

After 9 NHL games, Viktor Fasth has a contract extension, excellent agent

Posted by Justin Bourne under BREAKING, Contracts, News on Feb 20, 2013

Anaheim Ducks v Colorado Avalanche

Viktor Fasth is a 30 year old first-year goalie for the Anaheim Ducks (technically not a “rookie” due to age), and he is off to a ridiculously good start. Here’s how the Ducks’ website describes what he’s done in the NHL so far:

Fasth, 30 (8/8/82), has appeared in nine contests for Anaheim this season, posting a perfect 8-0-0 record (one no decision) with a 1.78 goals-against average (GAA) and a .933 save percentage (SV%). The 6-0, 186-pound netminder is just the third goaltender in NHL history to win his first eight-or-more career decisions (also Ray Emery with Ottawa, an NHL record 9-0-0 from 2003-05 and Bob Froese with Philadelphia, 8-0-0 in Jan. 1983). Co-leading the NHL in wins, Fasth also ranks sixth in GAA and tied for seventh in SV%. He recorded his first career shutout at Colorado on Feb. 6, stopping all 31 shots he faced in a 3-0 decision. Signed as a free agent on May 21, 2012, Fasth made his NHL debut on Jan. 26, making 19 saves in a 3-2 shootout win over Nashville at Honda Center.

So uh, yeah. He’s off to a good start.

Because of that, the Ducks have extended him for two years, $5.8 million ($2.9M per), which is pretty amazing for a guy who has played so few NHL games. Almost as amazing as getting a team to negotiate a new deal for your client before he’s lost a game, let alone played a season. Stick-tap to dude’s agent.

More from the Ducks’ release:

“Viktor has proven himself not only this year in the NHL, but the previous two seasons as the top goaltender in Sweden,” said Ducks Executive Vice President/General Manager Bob Murray. “We are pleased to be able to keep him and feel fortunate to have two top NHL goaltenders going forward.”

With Hiller under contract until 2014 for $4.5M per, and John Gibson (of the US World Junior team) waiting in the wings, it looks like the Ducks are, and will be, set in net for some time being.

…And I’m sorry, but I refuse to make a “That was Fasth” pun. REFUSE.

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2 Comments

Could the PK Subban contract situation end in a trade?

Posted by Justin Bourne under BREAKING, Canadiens, News, PK Subban on Jan 23, 2013

Because I hate unanswered headlines, the simple answer is “yes.” Yes it could.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie was discussing possible end-games for the PK Subban/Marc Bergevin contract stand-off tonight during the first period of the Leafs/Penguins game, when he said he figured “trade” to be the most likely outcome of the situation. And with desperate teams panicking about their defense in the early going – Detroit, in particular, comes to mind – who knows what the Habs could get in return. And hey, while I’m mindlessly bandying about teams, Philly could use a little help on the back-end too. Anyway, that’s where we’re at – insiders thinking the PK Subban situation could end poorly.

Woosh. Read the rest of this entry »

55 Comments

Nino Niederreiter has requested a trade from the New York Islanders

Posted by Justin Bourne under BREAKING on Jan 22, 2013

Katie Strang of ESPNNewYork was first to report the news: Nino Niederreiter, a talented young forward on the New York Islanders’ payroll wants out.

He was drafted fifth overall in 2010, and spent time with the Islanders almost immediately. He played nine games in 2010-11, before being sent back to junior, as the Islanders didn’t want to burn a year of his entry-level deal, which they would’ve done had he hit 10 games. The next season he stayed up for the year (55 games in all) and struggled mightily (to go with a terrible run of shooting luck), tallying only a single goal.

This season, it seemed, Niederreiter had finally found his stride. In 39 AHL games (AHL-plus, really, given the amount of NHLers that were down there), he ran up 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points. The problem, you see, is that he’s still in the AHL, which has to be frustrating for a player ready to be in The Bigs who still can’t get the call despite being in the Islanders system.

Here’s what Strang wrote today:

His agent informed Islanders general manager Garth Snow of the request last week, the source said, although Snow is not believed to be amenable to doing a deal — at least at the moment.

There has been growing concern about Niederreiter’s development since last season. Although the young prospect appeared in 55 games for the Islanders, he was used in a limited role. He managed only one goal, causing many to feel he’d be better off playing in Bridgeport and to speculate that the team could be keeping him around for cap purposes (i.e. his entry-level contract bonuses helped the team hover slightly above the cap floor).

During the lockout, Niederreiter began the year in Bridgeport and has flourished, leaving him and his camp baffled as to why he didn’t get a chance to crack the roster.

In a nutshell, Niederreiter was miffed at not being invited to main camp – and why the fuck wouldn’t he be, he was on the team the year before – and has finally had enough of being jerked around.

It’s tough to trade a guy who clearly wants out, as the Coyotes learned with Kyle Turris, but it seems like at some point, this has to happen. Terrible, terrible news for Islanders fans.

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23 Comments
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