Johan Franzen, who played well in the playoffs last season and had his breakthrough season in 2008-2009 has really shown he can step up when it really matters. He leads the Red Wings with 18 points, half of which come from goals. He has been the biggest asset to Detroit in these playoffs. 

Chris Osgood has also been outstanding. Many doubted his play because of his season stats and most people do not look at him as a Stanley Cup goalie even after last season. He has shown that he is more than capable though. His stats may not be up there with Fleury or even Khabibulin but his 0.922 save percentage and 2.06 goals against average have proven to be strong enough, even without Brian Rafalski in the first five games of the Anaheim series. 

Scoring has been coming from other unexpected places. Pavel Datsyuk has been seldom seen in these playoffs and has been held to just five points in 12 games. Second and third line players like Dan Cleary, Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler have stepped up their game and have combined for 27 points in only 12 games.

Detroit was able to take game 1 of its series against Chicago because of these backup goal scorers. The series is not over yet though, not by a long shot. Detroit won the season series against the Black Hawks 4-2 but they lost the last two meetings. Detroit will need to keep up with the speed and skill of Chicago’s young players like Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews. Chicago’s young blue liners like Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook will also need to be contained. Veterans Brian Campbell and Martin Havlat pose major threats offensively as they have combined for 22 points in twelve games. 

Detroit’s goal-tending has to remain rock solid and their go-to offence-men like Datsyuk have to step up in order for them to win three more games in this series.

If Malkin’s suspect play in the first two games of the second round was an isolated incident, it would be easy to chalk it up to a couple off nights. However, combined with his lacklustre performance in last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, and you have to wonder if the Penguins have a case of “Jumbo Gino” on their hands.

Here’s hoping that Malkin breaks out in a big way and is able to show Ovechkin and Crosby that another superstar came to play in this series, too.

This did not quite come out of nowhere. You get that impression from Brent Sutter but I refuse to believe it. The bottom line is the New Jersey Devils came up short pretty much since Game 1. Even when they won…you were left with the feeling that it could fall apart. Tonight it did. Two strategic mistakes in the final seconds led to two goals by Carolina. Just like that, the Devils went from winning to OT to regulation Game 7 loss in one of the most cruelest ways imaginable.

However, the reality is the Devils were not good enough. Guys like Niklas Havelid, Colin White, etc…etc. are not defensemen you want to hang your hat on. There is a reason why this team had to score a ton in the regular season. These guys are just NOT GOOD! I will say it once and I will say it again. Look back to Game 5 when they just BARELY held on to a 1-0 win against Carolina. The defense sat back and let Carolina do whatever it wanted to. That is not acceptable and nor will it ever be acceptable!

People are going to second guess Martin Brodeur again and say he cannot win the big game. That is also nonsense! What simply happened is this team got caught with the deer in headlights look. Instead of recovering like a good team would when they got scored on…they let something happen that was even more improbable and that was give up a series winner in regulation. One cannot fault Brodeur for what happened there. The defensive breakdowns were many like they were all series. What happened was they kind of got lost in the shuffle until the most crucial moment of the season.

Again this team is too built for the regular season and not enough for the postseason. One line and a grizzled vet showed up tonight (Brendan Shanahan had 2 assists). There are going to need to be some pretty drastic changes. The first starts at defense. Because that is the main core of where the problems lie in Jersey!

First off…whatever it takes to make Colin White go away….do it! Colin has been a nice player for NJ for a long while but hey this is a business and its time to get better. There are guys like Steve Montador and Jay Bouwmeester who will be UFA’s among others. Throw a line out there….buy out White if you have to but this team needs a major overhaul on D. I can live with Bryce Salvador to a point but if by some miracle Jay-Bo does come to New Jersey…then its time to ship out Paul Martin as well. Cut the salary and send him to Minnesota. After that, make sure Mr. Havelid has a nice long walk off a short pier and bring up Matt Corrente from Lowell. Surely this will not fix all the problem on the Devils’ blueline but hey it is a start.

Next up…Rolston, Elias, and Gionta are not too bad together but Patrik Elias has to learn to SCORE in the playoffs again. It seemed Elias missed several glorious chances in this series that he normally would not miss. Patrik had a bad series…it is okay to say it. You cannot miss wide open nets like Elias did in this series if you want to be considered an elite player again. Until he lights the lamp enough when it counts…Patrik will just be another regular season performer. Lou Lamoriello will likely mend whatever fences with Brian Gionta and will offer him a deal. Question is will Gionta take it? If not, Lou Lams could go out into the UFA market. At this point….it could not hurt.

The fourth line was not too bad….Rupp and Clarkson were not so good tonight for whatever reason but overall during the season David Clarkson started to make those slow steps to becoming a better NHL player. I think next year he breaks the 20 goal barrier and with some more time on the extra man…he could get close to 25 goals. The duo makes for a nice energy line and hopefully they can find someone in Lowell to make a trio because Bobby Holik likely will not be back. At 2.5 million he is too expensive to have. In the end, the Holik reunion tour did not work.

Now whatever it takes to break up Madden and Pandolfo…..do it! The team is getting older and older and honestly for as hard as these two work….2003 is now 6 years ago. They are beginning to show their age together on the ice. John Madden paired with a younger gritty forward could work. However either Madden or Pandolfo or both may go and I would rather it be Pandolfo. Madden is too valuable on short handed situations still.

If that is not enough…oh believe me there is much more. It is now apparent and needed to take a deeper look at this farm system. When you are ranked at the bottom of the prospect heap…worse than teams like Colorado….its time to take a second look. I will never figure out why John Carlson was not taken over Mr. Tedenby. Everyone has seen what Carlson did with London of the OHL this year. Time to see where scouting can be improved because that once vaunted Devils scouting has slipped several rungs in the past few years.

Do a system’s check. Its like taking a car out and giving it a full tune-up after say 50,000 miles. The Devils are now six years removed from a Stanley Cup and for most fans and franchises…that would be a great thing. However for this fan…it is not! It really is time to take a look at all parts of this organization. Is Brent Sutter really the right coach for this team? Could John MacLean be replaced for a more NHL savvy assistant? From goaltending coaches to personnel…..this checkup needs to be done and done quickly. The draft is coming up in late June and July 1st is the free agent frenzy.

Can the Devils learn something from this? Yes they can but only if they really take a deep look in the mirror and realize what they have become is not the team they envisioned at the start of the 2008-2009 season. Ultimately that divergence led to their eventual and sudden downfall.

As a Hurricanes fan, I resigned myself to the likelihood Carolina wouldn’t make the playoffs and just sat back watched their mediocrity.  I was busy on trade deadline day, work and all, but did happen to catch (YAY Google Reader) that JR had traded Justin Williams to LA for hometown kid Patrick O’Sullivan.  O’Sullivan then traded to Edmonton for former ‘Cane and fan favorite, Erik Cole.  I almost did a happy dance, but I was at work.

So what has happened to the ‘Canes since the return of Cole?  In the two games he’s been back, they’ve outscored opponents (Calgary and Tampa) 15-4.  Cole was the heart and soul of this team and getting him back is huge.  He served as mentor to a then-teenaged Eric Staal and those two have been BFFs since.  Staal’s lackluster performance so far this season I personally blame on Cole being gone.  With Cole back, and he and Staal on the same line, Eric Staal has 8 points (4-4-8).  He is rejuvinated having Cole on the ice.  Cole creates time and space that allows Staal to be the superstar he is.  Cole himself has 5 points in 2 games back (1-4-5).  Cole never quite found his niche in Edmonton and didn’t have chemistry with anyone there like he has with Staal.

Will ‘Canes make the playoffs now?  Hard to say, as of this writing, they are sitting in 7th place in the East.  Hard to say if the excitement of the last couple games will continue, will Cole’s presence continue to lift this team up?  Will goaltending stay strong?  I wish I knew, in the meantime, I’ll just be excited the Eric/k’s are reunited.

Pride is good in small doses, but never something to depend on. With last nights’ varying adjustments in pride, attitude, and stripping away false senses of security, the bottom eight of both Conferences as well as that elusive shot at the Prize of the West, are anything but solid.

The firestorm from Calgary arrived in Charlotte, and an eager Canes band, newly re-united with Eric Cole proceeded to put them out like a dog soaking a lit cigarette in the street. Any boost the recent trade deadline produced, coupled with the win over Philadelphia was sufficiently damped.

I don’t think this was truly much more than a bad shift of the moon and just one of those nights that the best intentions go awry. Calgary was at least present during the game, but flat. They certainly owed their goaltender Curtis McElhinney more than they have delivered to him in his 13 NHL appearances.

On the flipside, it has been nice to see Sergei Samsonov in the similar form he was as an Edmonton Oiler, with the Moscow native netting 2 points, and the game winning goal.

While not an utterly critical game for the Flames, it was a necessary duece for the Hurricanes, who remain on the cusp of a Playoff hunt.

The Great One led his pack of canine-like creatures into the Herd to tangle in Buffalo. And now you know what it sounds like when a great crushing occurs.

Even with the best efforts of Ilya Bryzgalov and one of my favorite defencemen, Ken Klee, Maxim Afinegenov and the Slug pack pulled a win out of the hat. Even if watching Klee bank Afinegenov off of the boards like a five cent bouncy ball made me hold me breath for a moment.

With one point and one game separating the Sabres once again from the Stanley Cup Playoffs it was a do or die game delivered to throngs of blue and gold from familiar names like Jason Pominville and Tim Connolly. Having Patrick Lalime minding the net for Buffalo’s injured Miller Time hasn’t been a bad call on Lindy Ruff’s part, either.

A Sabres win tonight against Ottawa will bounce Pittsburgh out of the Top 8, and Buffalo into the golden block.

Nothing says retribution like playing against the team that traded you only two weeks before. But for Mathieu Schneider, it’s a full circle come to life as the current Habs defenceman plays on the roster of the very man who centered his 1993 Stanley Cup victory against the Los Angeles Kings, Guy Carbonneau. It would not only be the last time the Canadiens would hold the Cup, but the last time they would even see the Stanley Cup Finals since.

Unfortunately, with the way Les Habitats played in Philips Arena, minus the obvious work of Schneider and excellent goaltending of Cary Price, Playoff dreams could potentially slip away. The play was lackluster and uninspired at best.

Atlanta, however, actually brought a game to the arena to give the fans something other than the door prizes to take home. At the worst, it would have made a South Park caricature.

Carbo believes that the Habs brought some effort. I didn’t see it. Except for when young Zach Bogosian took a healthy beating with a smile on the assaulting Hab’s face. That was like warm cocoa on a cold winter night.

Skate ‘em, Carbo, for old time’s sake.

St. Louis met the Lightning at home in Tampa Bay’s St. Pete Times Forum, where they proceeded to sing a song of good ole hockey that gave the Bolts the blues. In typical fashion, Tampa responded to a 3 goal deficit in the third period with their own set of three to force overtime.

But there would be no tacos.

First, they were in Tampa. Second, in sudden death overtime, a forth goal was the night’s limit.

Since that made no sense to most hockey greenhorns, I’ll explain it. Before the infamous Hockey Lockout of 2004-2005, local Taco Bell restaurants in the St. Louis area offered thirty-five cent tacos the day following a Blues game when the Blues scored five goals or more. On the forth goal, the crowd would begin to chant, “We Want TACOS!”

And I’m going to miss Gary Roberts. It was an honor to have him grace the Bolts jersey.

In a must-win battle for the potential 8th seed in the West, the Dallas Stars and 10th ranked Anaheim Ducks met in a battle royale. The Stars, in an onslaught once again spearheaded by Ribiero and backended by Marty Turco, show us what the Dallas Stars do best on the ice, divide and conquer.

They continually kept Anaheim split on the forecheck, drove a triangle pattern to the net, and somehow it worked. I haven’t seen much of Anaheim this year, but it appears the Ducks are flying south, with the Stars rising into the eighth slot. With the matchup of Edmonton and Toronto, the future of that slot remains insecure.

The bottom ranks of the East and West are shifting day to day, so get ready for March’s Hairy Ride to the Finish.

And that, my friends, is hockey as we know it.

And yes, I love this job. Thanks to Alin Mateescu and staff for bringing me to RMT.

Arguably, the best fan-centric franchise in the NHL resides at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. In their fledgling nine years, as of January 3rd, 2009, the Wild have sold out every home game in their arena’s history. They have also retired only one jersey in that nine year history. It chokes me up to think about it, because when I look deeply into my inner canuck, I realize that this is simply the way things should be in our great sport.

The Minnesota Wild will never have a player with the number 1 on their jersey, because that star player is their fans.

If you drive north for three hours, you are still in Wild territory. You will also find yourself in the presence of the World’s Largest Hockey Stick, in Eveleth, Minnesota.

Waivers. There’s something disheartening about that word, one that makes a player rethink their history, hope for the future, and attempt to avoid a sense of misery. It’s not a trade, a trade has a larger sense of respect to it.

Yet, there he was. He had been to the Stanley Cup Playoffs with Anaheim, in the megolithic age of players like Steve Rucchin, Paul Kariya, and Niclas Havelid, back when the Ducks actually had a logo.

He had a ring with the Carolina Hurricanes, when against a storm of attacks from the League’s best in Chris Pronger, Michael Peca, and Ryan Smyth, he was allowed to have his day with Lord Stanley’s Cup.

And yet again, the silver taste on his lips hung as he chased it, once again in the Playoffs with Ottawa as a Senator.

Then, he found himself on waivers.

There’s something brewing in Toronto, and as much as many of us outside of Burke’s domain have ridiculed him, we saw, as Alex Ovechkin also watched from the sidelines, a sense of urgency and fury that we should not so quickly expect from a currently bottom third ranked team.

Ovechkin’s good, but I’m gaining faith in the Swiss Martin Gerber. For a goaltender who has been to the Playoffs with every team he’s played on, this could be a sign, Toronto.

It’s easy to get a big head. You have the contract, get to date the pretty models, and if you are proactive enough, you find yourself in the news quite a bit. It’s all cake until your only claim to fame is the “Most Hated Player in Hockey”. Bettman gets kudos. I’ve been watching the interviews, watching the play of our titled anti-hero, and I have to say, the guy I used to despise is growing on me.

I can’t believe I’m truly beginning to like Sean Avery. Finally, the guy has come to actually play hockey.

If I had nothing to like about the Rangers before, as a Bolt fan first and foremost, I have to say Torty is an excellent fit. Maybe with these and the new trades of Antropov from Toronto, and Morris from Phoenix, there will be a Rangers team Mark Messier can once again respect.

The West is nothing less than a horse race to the finish every year. I am pleased to actually see the Blue Jackets gracing the Top 8, for the first time in their history. Although the Wild have tasted Playoff hockey, Columbus has not, even with the incredible talents of Rick Nash and the former defenceman Sergei Fedorov. With Kristian Huselius and the newly acquired Antoine Vermette, expect more firepower from the already impressive arsenal to reach into May.

While the Jackets suffered a visceral defeat from a determined Predators team, don’t count them out. We certainly have not seen the last of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

He won a Stanley Cup, and then found himself traded to the Flyers for some upshot named Rick Tocchet. You know where I’m going with this. He won a second Stanley Cup with our aforementioned Martin Gerber. He has been to more teams than even he would care to name, and in just over a calendar year, has now played on four different teams: the Penguins, Thrashers, Tampa Bay, and now called forth to add to an already impressive Boston Bruins. While his service as a player under the coaching of the very upstart in 1992 that placed him with the Flyers, Mark Recchi is the man you call when you need something solid, something with heart. Having Recchi on your roster is the same as loading up with sorghum syrup before a happy day of logging.

Playing Boston was rough before. Now it’s like playing the Bruins on crack, with the Jolly Green Giant for a Captain.

Don’t feed the Bears, folks.

The Atlanta Thrashers have a new motto: “When you care enough to get rid of the very best”. First it was Mathieu Schneider to Montreal (who will be in Atlanta to clean their collective clocks tonight), now Niclas Havelid to New Jersey. If there is a player more professional and dedicated to his sport and his fanbase, I’d like to meet them.

For me, since I have met Havelid personally, this is a well-deserved move, both for Havelid and New Jersey. He taught my son that you can’t touch the Cup until you win it. So when it came to Atlanta, the little one wouldn’t. Perhaps this is his year. He certainly belongs on a team of the Devils’ caliber.

Now that God is back in the net, this should all get very interesting.

Tonight, Carolina and Buffalo are in must-win games, and the fate of Dallas-Anaheim hangs in the balance with each team striving to displace Edmonton for 8th seed in the West. The gangly roots of the Playoff Beard are beginning to grow.

And that, my friends, is hockey as we know it.

The point was the New Jersey Devils made their move on Monday….acquiring Niclas Havelid from the Atlanta Thrashers for Anssi Salmela and a minor prospect. It was the kind of move that probably needed to make for defensive depth given the high trade returns meted out on Wednesday…it was likely the best move GM Lou Lamoriello could have made. Ideally in a market of few sellers and many buyers…one had to see that coming.

Everyone remembers the guns and butter theory of economics. When the balance is optimum….that is when the economy does best. It is very similar to the success of the fate of a hockey team. For a hockey team, it is weapons that can score and the butter to defend. The issue that the New Jersey Devils had was defense and clearly they addressed it their way.

Now players like Pandolfo and Clemmensen did not get traded….maybe there just was not a market for them. Notice just how much of a dud this trade deadline actually was. Other than that 4-way trade and the Jokinen trade…it was just a lot of dumping and exchanging. Maybe New Jersey was the smartest of all in not getting too involved and making their move while the asking price was low.

So in the trade that was made…..it was a solid one for the New Jersey Devils. Getting Havelid will make the defense that much stronger in facing some of those top offensive lines out there. Could they have made another move perhaps? Yes…maybe! That does knock down the Devils overall grade a little bit. I just cannot give them an A on this one.

What grade do they get? Well they get some praise for the Havelid trade but it would have been nice to pawn off Clemmensen and/or Pandolfo for maybe some draft picks. So overall…..they get a B because getting Brodeur back was the highlight of this deadline…a rested Brodeur at that!

Jordan Staal is a hometown favorite, and expected to become an all-star caliber player.  Would the Pens trade Staal. 

Many fans last year did not expect Colby Armstrong to be dealt, he was also a fan favorite and he was close to Sidney Crosby.  I don’t think Staal is untouchable, however I cannot see a deal the Pens can make that will imporve their slim chances at making another Stanly Cup Finals Run. 

Ray Shero so far has looked like a savior.  The Hossa Deal last year proved he can make the tough decisions.  The Chris Kunitz deal this year showed he can make trades that give immediate returns.  I am not sure if he wants to press his luck and deal away Staal and his potential for just a small chance of getting to the big show again this year.

What got them there? Well honestly a resilient offense and timely goaltending from someone not named Martin Brodeur for most of the season is what got the Devils to this point. When Brodeur went down on November 1st…did anyone expect them to be in this position? No! Scott Clemmensen did an incredible job under the worst circumstances with 25 wins for Jersey. However he did tail off the last 10 days sort of like he did the first 10. Patrik Elias has 65 points for the team and Zach Parise has 73 points. The Devils, in all, have scored 186 goals in 61 games which is good for 3.05 goals per game. As an oh by the way Jamie Langenbrunner, the captain has chipped in with 52 points including 19 goals and 5 GWG’s….he is a clutch man when clutch is needed. Travis Zajac in his third year also has 52 points which has been a huge surprise for a team that did not expect quite that much from him.

Now what got them there to me is a simple philosophy that quite a few people forgot about. That started during last year’s playoff series in Game 3 where the Devils decided to play a little more of a run and gun style. They would go on to lose to the Rangers in five games but it set the stage for this season. Signing Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik helped play a big part in that. Now they have not produced in the way expected but they have been effective. Effective works as most know! Still this team does have some needs and that is a cold reality as team vie for the Stanley Cup come April.

What they need? It looks like the team needs a defenseman for starters. The goaltending is obviously covered. Never hurts to have an all-world netminder….ever! Ideally the Devils need a two way defenseman to create some more offense while being able to muscle guys out of Brodeur’s way. A guy like Jay-Bo wouldn’t hurt but the reality may dictate more a return of Scott Niedermayer or Jordan Leopold and even that might not be all that likely. After all, that is the whole point of a wish list. You wish for it but it does not mean you will get it. Sad commentary on life that your team cannot always get what they want.

This team could use another scoring forward especially if Brian Gionta really is as digruntled as people have said. That of course depends on who you read and who you ask. The Devils could bring up someone from Lowell if they really had to. It would not hurt to get a little younger as Gionta is having a nice season but should have just about a point a game with who he is playing. He did nearly score 50 once but that seems like eons ago! Rolson has also been a bit of a disappointment in that sense…people just expected more I guess. Maybe it will come next year but for chemistry’s sake a 2nd line scorer couldn’t hurt. Who could they get? Well Gabork is out…how about maybe a Tim Connolly perhaps. Time will tell.

What Will They Get? Not sure truthfully….there are so many wild rumors out there that usually the quiet ones are hard to gauge. This time of year really is like a “Christmas” of sorts for teams as they find out what they will have to work with as they go into battle for the Stanley Cup! Leopold might be the most practical and affordable but will the Devils have enough “goods” to aim higher? Brian Gionta and a pick or two, toss in a Pandolfo and the Devils might be able to address their needs. Then again the trade deadline is like high stakes poker….sometimes you have to go all in to get what you want.

Come Wednesday Evening we will see what the Devils wind up getting. Will it be enough? I do not know but surely we will be back with analysis of the Devils Trade Deadline as well as the NHL Trade Deadline. Enjoy the hockey till then!

It started when the Leafs took him in the first round, 10th overall, when many believed he would be an early second-rounder.

But he had a very dominant season in the second tier of the then, RSL, and so the Leafs went out of their way to make him a part of their future.

He went from being No. 11 to No. 80, but the injuries would never escape him.

Today, he is considered by many as our only legitimate Top Six forward, although the recent play of Jason Blake, would have him too, being considered in that class. 

With the recent remarks by Brian Burke, stating that Big Nik should basically not expect a contract renewal, where does Antropov go next? It is almost an absolute guarantee that he will be donning the colours of a different team come the end of March 4—but for who, where, and what will HE do there?

Obviously, we fans are most concerned by the first two—who are we getting in return, and where is he going? However it is amusing to wonder how he will do once he goes to the new city. Obviously, we as Leafs fans should not really care how he does, just as long as what we received for him is adequate.

So I’ll go through my three opinions, on those three questions, but I ask anyone who chooses to read this, to state their opinions as well.

Who Will The Leafs Receive In Return? Where Is Antropov Going?

This is pure speculation, and we all have our own opinions on his worth, and who we’d want in return.

If I were the GM of the Maple Leafs, and I’m moving Antropov, I’d be starting with an offer for a second-round pick and a prospect. This would entice a number of “buyers” to consider him as a great option. As a result, I would have the opportunity to field numerous offers, and create bidding wars.

Hopefully when all is said and done, Antropov will be heading to another city, with either a first-round pick coming back our way, or a second-round pick and a good prospect. Considering the rumours of where Leafs scouts have been, I would hope that the Flyers, Bruins, Blue Jackets, and Penguins show considerable interest.

The pick is a pick, but the thought of the prospect in return, is something I would wonder about.

The Flyers have a few considerable options in the prospect field. Considering it is Antropov, JVR is untouchable in this trade, perhaps if it was Kaberle going to the city of brotherly love. Claude Giroux would be a great option, and considering the second-round pick, should be a higher choice, he would be an excellent player for the Leafs to look at.

The Bruins also have some good young prospects coming up as well. When I first think of the Bruins’ prospect pool, Brad Marchand first comes to mind, for obviously his Canadian heroics. But a guy like Zach Hamill would also be highly touted by me, if I’m dealing with the Bruins.

The Blue Jackets have an excellent crop of impact prospects, most notably the likes of Brassard and Filatov. Again, its Antropov, not Kaberle, so we need to be reasonable. Perhaps, a guy like Cody Goulobef would serve us well.  The Blue Jackets also have apparent interest in Kubina.

You could also throw the Penguins’ hat into the Antropov sweepstakes, considering they lack secondary scoring. It would be difficult to acquire their first round pick, but perhaps a second-round pick and a good young player/prospect. It’s a tough call, but if Burke really wanted Staal, he could definitely attempt to expand the deal to include another payer and Antropov, and maybe the Penguins’ bite.

What Will He Do There?

Any team that acquires Antropov gets a quality big forward, who at times does not play big. He would be an excellent addition to any power-play unit, either first or second, due to his excellent ability to tip the puck, screen, and be a big body in front of the net. He brings something similar to what Holmstrom brings to the Detroit power play, but with more skill along the boards, and the ability to generate offense.

He has apparently cured the injury bug (KNOCK ON WOOD), and should be capable of the rigorous grind of the playoffs.

With the comments made by Burke, about not expecting to offer Antropov a contract for next season, and that he should look at a change of scenery, as a GM of the team that acquires him, I see it as a great thing.

I’d be less worried of the Hossa factor with the Penguins, because Antropov’s number-one destination of choice going into July 1,would have been the Maple Leafs. With them apparently out of the picture, Antropov is much more likely to choose to resign. 

Overall, Nik Antropov is a guy that is expected to find a new home come March 4th, but who, where, and what he will do there, is still uncertain. About as uncertain as his health has been in the past. 

————–

Crazy Trade Thought Of The Day:

To Detroit:

Vesa Toskala

Domenic Moore

To Toronto:

Thomas McCollum 

Chris Osgood 

Daniel Cleary

Guerin to the Capitals is a done deal in my books… expect an announcement tomorrow. 

Leafs News:

NHL News

Jamal Mayers has got some interest. The Red Wings are the most likely team to acquire him. San Jose, Calgary, and Pittsburgh are interested. 

According to CBC Hotstove, Ian White was involved in a trade idea, but Burke quickly declined. I will try to find out who and what was involved. 

Bill Guerin is on his way off the Island. He was pulled out of the lineup, prior to the game, and word is that he will be dealt to an Eastern Conference team. No Devils, Flyers, or Bruins, apparently. I have heard that Buffalo, Montreal, or Carolina could be involved.

Derek Morris is not going to play until he is dealt. He will be dealt shortly. Montreal leading that race, I am told, but Boston and New Jersey very interested. Boston’s situation may depend on a couple bigger fish (Kaberle and Pronger).

I’ll be back tomorrow with some more updates.

Thanks, 

Maurizio Zambito

Kunitz has been tagged a “top six forward” by Penguins GM Ray Shero and he seems pretty pleased about the deal.  He did not specifically say that the deal was  to get someone to team up with Sid.

The deal net the Pens a solid Winger and Tangradi, a Philadelphia native, who is a highly touted prospect who has 87 points (38 goals, 49 assists) in 52 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s Belleville Bulls this season. Anaheim drafted him 42nd overall in 2007.

The Penguins have a great deal of depth currently at the blue line with the return of Sergi Gonchar.  Whitney has not played up to expectations this year.  With the emergence of Kris Letang and withand Alex Goligoski and his development this year, it gave The Pens one extra defense man to try to get a top forward like Chris Kunitz.  Kunitz, 29, scored 16 goals and recorded 19 assists to go with 55 penalty minutes in 62 games this season with the Ducks. He was part of their 2007 Stanley Cup winning team and this season was their leader with 148 hits.

Kunitz is expected to play tonight at Chicago.

The game was scattered with missed opportunities for both teams.  The Pens played well and looked sharp, but for the longest time could not find the net to save their lives.  The Netminders were very impressive, Yann Danis stopped 27 shots for the Islanders and Marc-Andre Fleury had 21 saves in his shutout performance.  It was Petr Sykora who snapped the scoreless tie with 2:28 remaining in the third period, lifting the Penguins to the 1-0 triumph over the Islanders.

The goal may have been Pittsburgh’s biggest score of the season because it keeps them right in the hunt. A loss or overtime loss to the Islanders would have been a crushing defeat.  To a team struggeling to find its identity this late in the season. 

The Penguins did climb a little higher in the standings with the win but there is no time to stop and rest. Now the Penguins will embark on an 11-day road trip through Chicago, Dallas, Tampay Bay, Florida and Washington. This will be a critical week in the Penguins season and the playoffs are on the line.

A Roadtrip like this is what will make or break the Pens this season.  Even though only 5 points seperate them from the 5th place Monreal Canadiens, they seem far removed from the Easten Conference Champions of last year.

Tortorella is a fiery coach, maybe that’s what the Rangers need, it’s true most of them are underperforming, but we can’t get too picky on a team that has lacked quality finishers all year long.

On the other hand Renney, is NOT  a bad coach, but his style, in my humble opinion, isn’t what the Rangers need right now.

I really wonder if Tortorella is in time to change the course the Rangers are taking this season, I’m not saying he can’t, because in my mind he is the best US born coach right now.

As for Renney, I wish him good luck, he has the mind to coach in the NHL again, but with free agent coach Pat Quinn wanting an NHL job he may have to wait.

TSN is reporting that the trade consists of Schneider and a conditional draft pick to Montreal, to the Atalanta Thrashers goes a 2nd round pick this year and a 3rd round pick in 2010.

I think that the Toronto Maple Leafs organization and Brian Burke think too highly of the Kazakhstan-born right winger and therefore will be expecting too much in return. Unless something spectacular occurs between now and the March 4 trade deadline or some team has faith in his skills and makes Burke an offer that he just can not refuse, every trade offer will not be what Burke expects and Nik Antropov will still be a Leaf. The numbers that Antropov has put up so far this year have been a lot better when compared to his statistics from last year but that is only because his teammates rely more heavily on him now with the departure of Mats Sundin and the fact that the Leafs do not have one player that can be considered their “sniper”.

When reporters asked Antropov about the trade rumors surrounding him, he replied with this statement: “The trade stuff probably is in the back of my mind,” Antropov admitted. “But it is not in my control. That is up to Brian Burke.” All that Nik Antropov can think about is the task at hand, that being helping the team put up a few more wins on the board as the Leafs try to make a push for the playoffs, which is highly unlikely this season considering the way the team has been playing. I think that if Antropov strives to do his best for the rest of the season, he will make a name for himself and have a better chance of being signed this off season when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

On the other hand, Ron Wilson has a different point of view of the right winger:

“When you look at his numbers, they’re not unlike his other years in the NHL,” Wilson said. “He doesn’t have someone of Mats Sundin’s magnitude to play with, so I actually think he’s having a pretty good year. He had a slump that he seems to go through every season — a period in December and January when he struggled to score. A lot of players have things like that. But, where we’re going in the future is an entirely different story. We’ve got to get younger; we’ve got to get quicker; we’ve got to get meaner. In many cases, we’ve got to get more skilled. So, there’s going to be a lot of changes, and we’ve talked about that all year. I don’t think this [Antropov discussion] should be a revelation to anyone,” Wilson went on to say.

 All we can do is wait until the deadline approaches to see whether Nik Antropov will have a change of scenery or will lace up his skates as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs – the waiting begins!