Sorry Guys

The work I have been doing over at Blueshirt Banter is just too time consuming to keep this blog up as of right now. If I start a comback you all all be the first to know. Make sure you check out my writing (I’m Joe Fortunato) over at BlueshirtBanter.com

A lesson on heart

Well now that the Stanley Cup playoffs are over, with the Pittsburgh Penguins hoisting the cup, there is a shining lesson to be seen by the rest of the league. And no it has nothing to do with the Penguins. Marian Hossa, perennial superstar, signed a one year deal with the Red Wings in order to get a shot at the cup; and he got one. But you wouldn’t know he wanted to win if you watched his play.

Oh sure when the playoffs began he talked about how important it was for him, how much he wanted it, but none of that translated to his play on this ice. He was un-inspired throughout the entire finals, and mainly invisible in the championship series. No goals and just three assists (two of them coming in game 5’s 5-0 rout) in the final series, a series where I didn’t see him hustle one bit. Not exactly the effort you wanted to see from a guy who signed a one year deal for a cup; it was as though he expected Detroit to do it for him not with him.

But there is a lesson in this, a lesson which the Rangers should thank their lucky stars they didn’t have to find out the hard way. When you sign a free agent, he has to want it. In a city that cares so much about blue collar work on and off the ice, it is important to sign players who are more than just “great hockey players.” They have to have heart, they have to have grit, and they have to want it. It isn’t necessarily the cup but it is the winning nature that you would expect to find anyone who is lucky enough to don a professional jersey, no matter the profession, to have. And Hossa simply doesn’t have it.  

There are things that get teams, and players, through gritty game 7’s and tough opening round series. Those things are players who have heart, who have grit, and who are willing to leave it all on the ice no matter what the score. If you’re a Ranger fan think Callahan, Dubinsky, Lundqvist, Staal, Betts, Orr, Sjostrom as the players that have that heart. If you’re a fan of another team think Zetterburgh, Eric Staal or St. Louis just to name a few. Those are the players you want on your team, guys who are hungry enough to give a damn every single time they play.

Maybe it takes signing guys who have never won a cup, or maybe it takes the intelligence and the free agent savvy to know who will have that hunger no matter how many rings they have. But even as you read that last sentence remember that Marian Hossa was a Detroit Red Wing, a team who has been the golden standard for churning prospects into superstars and signing free agents who will actually help their cause.

At the end of the day the real lesson is knowing who will help your team, not just in the regular season but in the playoffs as well. And having more heart than anyone else on the ice is a great indication on players who play great in the playoffs, even if they don’t put up points (hockey is about more than the stat-sheet folks). Did Hossa have to put up 15 goals and 15 assists in order to keep me from writing this article? No, but he needed to play with heart and he needed to play with grit. A perfect  example is Crosby himself, he had an atrocious final series point-wise, 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points in 7 games, but he was all over the ice hitting, blocking shots and trying. He wanted it, he had that fire burning inside him.

Did Hossa want to win the cup? Obviously, in fact I bet he wanted to win it just as badly as Crosby. But when the two players stepped onto the ice Crosby played harder than Hossa by a long shot, and after the lesson I just described you can probably guess whose name you’ll find on the cup.

Possible Rangers 2010: Marian Hossa

It’s no surprise that the talk of last year’s free agency will once again be a hot topic come July 1st. In today’s sports its downright shocking that a player in his prime would sign a one year deal, especially when they had to turn down an 8 year 90 million dollar contract in order to accept it.  But that’s what again free agent Marian Hossa did last season, a move that was scrutinized and debated right up until the Finals. He did it for a shot at the Cup and that’s exactly what he is currently playing for.

Hossa once again had an impressive year, scoring 40 goals and adding 31 assists for 71 points in just 74 games. He has registered 80 or more points in 4 of his last 6 years, he registered 100 once (in 2006-2007). He has really started showing up for the playoffs scoring 6 goals and adding 8 assists in this year 18 games and in his career he now has 75 points in 93 playoff games.    

Since Hossa is one of the better snipers in the league you can bet that he puts up power play goals. He notched 10 this year and has 77 power plays goals in his last 6 seasons. He would most definitely help the power play become more lethal, and he would fit the bill of a player that other teams have to watch out for. Hossa generally avoids the injury bug, especially since he has played in 72 or more games for the past ten seasons.

The deal Hossa put his name on was a one year 7.25 million dollar contract. You can be relatively sure that he will receive the same amount of dollars this year, although I do believe he will sign more than a one year deal. There have been rumors of Detroit wanting to resign him but they may not be able to offer him the kind of deal he wants, especially with the huge raises they just gave to Zetterberg and Franzen.

This time being a GM isn’t going to be easy. Can Hossa help? Yes. Will he flounder under the bright lights of Broadway? No he is currently succeeding in Hockeytown.  But can you justify offering another 5-7 year deal for a player that is turning 31? Can the Rangers afford to offer anyone, even perennial superstar Marian Hossa, a deal that long with Redden, Drury and Gomez taking up nearly half the cap? You’re call. Have at it in the comments!

Possible Rangers 2010: Brian Gionta

When the free agency period opens all teams go through the same debate on what they should do. There are usually two schools of thought: do we try to compliment the players we already have or do we look for new players to fill our vital roles. This year the Rangers have the same dilemma, especially with their lack of production from their top line center Scott Gomez. But this year’s answer might be a little close to home. Brian Gionta.

Now before you all go: “no way, not another Devil” hear this out. Scott Gomez’s best years were with Brian Gionta on his wing. That year, 2005-06, Gionta had 48 goals and 41 assists while Gomez had 33 goals and 51 assists. The past two years, since Gomez joined the Rangers, Gionta’s production has spiraled into the ground. There have been constant whispers that Gionta misses the pure-bred feeder that the Devils haven’t been able to replace since Gomez left. Especially since Gionta was the closes thing to a sniper the Devils had—before Parise was a household name of course.

This year was pretty productive for the 30 year old winger as he amassed 20 goals and 40 assists for 60 points in 81 games. The past four years he has scored 46 power play goals, which is definitely something the Rangers need help with. Gionta also has serious playoff experience too, scoring 40 points in 67 playoff games. In a free agent market in which many top flight players—Hossa, Gaborik, the Sedin’s—will see huge contracts throw their way, Gionta might be relatively affordable(I’m thinking 5 million ish a year).

Now Giontas numbers haven’t been great but they have been solid. He has scored at least 20 goals the past five years, and has had at least 50 points three of the past four years. He doesn’t take penalties and he is also schooled in the Devils “everyone before me” attitude. He also knows how to take care of both sides of the ice—also part of that Devil schooling—seeing as how he is a plus 62 in his career. He also shows a lot of heart and would definitely fit into John Tortorella’s hard working system.

So again play GM. Does it make sense to sign a guy mainly to help one of your top players start performing up to snuff? Is it worth the risk of signing a guy who may only put up 20-25 goals a year if he doesn’t click with Gomez? And let’s be honest the Rangers haven’t had the best luck in signing ex-Devils—the name Holik comes to mind (hang on while I puke). Regardless do you take a risk on this one? How much is too much for Gionta? Would he even be worth it? Have at it in the comments!

Stanley Cup Preview

Well here we are yet again, the Stanley Cup finals. This year is a rematch between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins, which should make little Gary Bettman sleep just a little more soundly. But regardless let’s get down to my predictions, but first lets break down the series.

Offense: And the first segment is probably the toughest. Which side do you take? The Penguins have one of the most dangerous offenses in the league, especially with Malkin and Crosby at the helm. But they also have other scorers like Petr Sykora, Chris Kunitz, Bill Guerin, Sergei Gonchar and Miroslav Satan. Crosby and Malkin are obviously great scorers and set-up guys and Guerin has been nothing short of brilliant playing with Crosby. They are a very dangerous team five on five and would be a shoe-in for the advantage in a series when it comes to offense right?

Well yes unless they are facing the Detroit Red Wings. Aside from Pavel Datsyuk, and Marian Hossa they have other scorers like Thomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen, Brian Rafalski, Henrik Zetterberg and Nik Lidstrom. The Red Wings are chock full of players who can put the puck in the net, and they too are dangerous five on five. This one was tough but it’s hard to go against Detroit. Detroit clearly has some of the best finishers in the league, even more so than Pittsburgh.
Advantage Detroit.

Defense: This section gets a little tricky. For starters then Penguins have a very good core of defenders including the big bruisers Hal Gill and Brooks Orpik (whom both have considerable playoff experience).  They also have Maxime Talbot, Mark Eaton and Chris Letang as steady two way defenseman. And of course in the offensive category they have Sergei Gonchar and Philippe Boucher. What does this make? A very solid and steady two way group of defenseman. Gonchar has one of the best shots from the point and don’t forget about Boucher back there on the blue line, when he plays (He did have 51 points a few years back).

The Red Wings have the ever reliable Nik Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski to not only lead their offense but take care of their own zone as well. Niklas Kronwall, Andreas Lilja, Chris Chelios, Jonathan Ericsson, Brett Lebda are the other names patrolling the blue line for Detroit. At first glance you have to give the advantage to the Wings but with the injuries they have right now, including Lidstrom being banged up, and the Penguins having a younger D corps I have to give the advantage to the Penguins.
Advantage Pittsburgh.

Goaltending:  We come to the biggest section of them all, the goaltenders. In net for the Penguins is Marc-Andre Fleury, the 24 year old net-minder who has had a solid post season. Last year, in the Penguins Stanley Cup finals run, Fleury was the main reason why they made it as far as they did; standing on his head in nearly every game. This playoffs is different, not because he isn’t playing well but because his team is playing better around him. Thus far he has shut down the high powered Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes; getting through all three series with a 2.65 GAA and .912 save percentage. Fleury is also quite playoff savvy because of last year’s playoff run; especially since his best games came in the finals.

For Detroit it’s business as usual with the 36 year old Chris Osgood, who has been sensational in the playoffs. In his 16 playoff games Osgood is sporting a 2.06 GAA and a .925 save percentage. This is quite impressive considering he completely shut down the Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks and the very high scoring Chicago Blackhawks. Osgood only surrendered 10 goals in his 5 games against Chicago in the Western conference finals, he also sported a .930 save percentage. Osgood just seems to be getting better as the season goes on, which is good for Detroit fans. To me this is also a really close call but it’s hard to go against Chris Osgood in this year’s playoffs.
Advantage Detroit.

Power Play: Pittsburgh is a dangerous power play team. With the combination of Crosby and Malkin up front and Gonchar on the point it almost doesn’t matter who the other two players are. But this year that was not the case. Pittsburgh only sported a 17.2% on the power play, good for 20^th overall in the league. Thus far in the post season they are rocking a 19.3%, which is a nice little improvement.

As for Detroit they finished the year 1^st overall with 25.5%. Hossa, Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Rafalski and Zetterberg are just a few names that give opponents goalies nightmares when they sleep. Thus far in the playoffs Detroit has stayed pat converting on 25.7% of their power plays. Oh also there was a period of time this year when Detroit was converting power plays at 33.3%, enough said.
Advantage Detroit.

Penalty Kill: When you think of Pittsburgh you usually don’t think defense but this year they were very solid, especially on the penalty kill. The Penguins killed off 82.7% of their penalties, good for 8^th overall in the league. Hal Gill and Brooks Orpik are mainstays in the defensive core of players that Pittsburgh kills penalties with and they are always a threat to score shorthanded. In the playoffs the Penguins have improved that number sporting an 83.6% success rate.

The penalty kill has been a problem for the Wings since day one. Detroit only killed off 78.3% of their penalties, which ranked them 25^th in the league. So far in the playoffs Detroit has been even worse only killing off 73.7%. This one’s not even close.
Advantage Pittsburgh.

Fatigue/Health: Lets be completely honest here, Pittsburgh has completely avoided the injury bug and has cruised through most of their opponents. Pittsburgh has no major injuries to talk about and is definitely coming into this finals relatively fresh.

Detroit, on the other hand, cannot boast anything of the sort. With two of their top 6 players banged up, Lindstrom and Datsyuk, they definitely could have used the rest; and they didn’t get it. This one goes to the Penguins, they are much younger and much better off to win a final series.
Advantage Pittsburgh.  

Coaching: Dan Bylsma replaced Therrien as the coach of the Penguins in the latter half of the season. Bylsma couldn’t have been much more successful going 18-3-4 in his first 25 games.

Mike Babcock, coach of the Red Wings, is sporting a .707 winning percentage since he took over in 2005. Since Babcock has been this deep in the playoffs before and Bylsma has not this is an easy one.
Advantage Detroit.  

 

Official Prediction: To me the Wings are too playoff savvy to let this one pass by. The Penguins have a lot of pressure on them to win, especially since they lost last year. I expect this to be a great, very evenly played out, series; but in the end I have to lean towards Detroit. They have been here before, they have won before, and I think they are going to do it again. 
Detroit in 7.  

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Possible Rangers 2010: The Sedin Twins

Ah the allure of Swedish twins, even hockey can’t keep itself away. Nothing but questions are surrounding Daniel and Henrik Sedin before they hit the free agent market this July. The biggest question is: will they sign together or will they part ways for the first time in their career?

In 1999 Vancouver used their 2^nd and 3^rd overall picks to take the twins, the first time twins had ever been drafted back to back in NHL history. Now the 28 year old wingers are hot topics for this year’s free agency.

Rumors have been swirling since the start of the year-that the twins will only sign together. (More than likely staying with the Nucks.) That could be a scary concept for two guys who might be able to command 6.5-7.5 million dollars each. I mean really now, what team has 13-15 million dollars in cap room for only two players right now; especially with the cap regressing next year? There are also rumors swirling that the twins would be willing to take a pay cut in order to stay together.

So where do you take the risk if you had to choose one over the other? The two are quite obviously fantastic hockey players with each other but how would they do on their own? They complement each other nicely but would a new team without their twin brother suit them?

Henrik, more of the feeder, finished this season with 22 goals and 60 assists for 82 points. In his career he has 109 goals 351 assists for 460 points in 646 games.  It should be noted that this was the first season Henrik ever amassed more than 20 goals, his previous season high was 18. It should also be noted that he has posted 57, 71, 61 and 60 assists his last 4 years. In this year’s playoffs he had 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points in 10 games. But aside from this year’s playoffs Henrik is not a playoff performer. Excluding this year’s totals he only has 20 points in 43 games.

Daniel, the goal scorer of the two, finished this season with 31 goals and 51 assists for 82 points. In his career he has 179 goals and 283 assists for 462 points in 642 games. This year in the playoffs he had 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points in 10 games. But other than that playoff blip he also has had terrible post seasons. Not counting this year’s totals he only has 18 points in 43 games. Not good.

Together this year the two combined for 53 goals and 111 assists for 164 points.

So go ahead and play GM again. In my opinion Daniel is the most well rounded of the two, but again are you going to take the risk of signing one without the other? Would you, as a GM, be willing to sign both of them to big contracts? What would be your limits and why? Or would you just take a pass on both of them? Could the Rangers even afford both? Have at it!

Possible Rangers 2010: Marian Gaborik

In the second edition of “Scouting the Free Agents” we are going to look at one of the biggest question marks of the off-season: Marian Gaborik. The 27 year old Minnesota Wild right winger is going to draw a lot of attention, mainly because of his scoring prowess. A lot of teams can use his skill, but is he worth the risk?

Let’s start with the positives. Gaborik, when healthy, is certainty one of the best scorers in the league. He has scored 30 or more goals 5 times in his 8 year NHL tenure; he has notched 40 once. Probably the most impressive stat is how quickly he scored his goals. In 2006-2007 he scored 30 goals and 27 assists for 57 points in 48 games. Last year, although he only played in 17 games, he scored 13 goals and added 10 assists. The man is quite obviously a point machine. If you need more evidence of his goal scoring ability: you all may remember his little five goal outburst against the Rangers two years ago. He is a playoff performer as well. In 29 playoff games he has 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points. In 2003 he has 9 goals and 8 assists in 18 playoff games, so he doesn’t disappear when it counts.

Now onto the negatives. Gaborik is probably the definition of injury prone. Since the lockout he has played in 207 of a possible 328 games. This past regular season he only dressed for 17 games. Let me share with you a few of the big injuries on TSN.CA’s injury list for Gaborik.

• March 09: Missed 38 games (hip surgery)
• December 08: Groin injury sidelined indefinitely
• December 08: Missed 27 games (back injury)
• January 07: Missed 34 games (Groin Strain)
• October 06: Groin injury sidelined indefinitely

Okay so here is where you get to play GM. Do you take the risk on a guy who will probably command upwards of 6 million a year (I’m low balling because he was injured all of his contract year) but has a definite scoring touch? Or do you let him walk to another team even though you need all the power play help you can get? I think that because of his injury’s he might sign for about 6 million a year. Can the Rangers afford to let a 40 goal scorer who is only signing a 6 million dollar contract walk? What would you do in this situation (notice how I’m staying neutral)? Post your thoughts in the comments below and let the discussions begin!

Possible Rangers 2010: Martin Havlat

The off-season brings one of the most exciting times in hockey, the free agency period. Now you all know what I think the Rangers should do this off-season, but the Rangers do have other options they can look into. So through the rest of this month all the way up to July 1^st (when free agency opens) we will be giving you weekly reports on players the Rangers might be interested in signing. So let’s dive right in with: Martin Havlat.

The former Ottawa Senator-now Chicago Blackhawk-winger will be one of the prized free agents to hit the open market. Havlat is a brilliant player who has a great scoring touch along with great on-ice vision. This season he played in 81 games registering 29 goals and 48 assists for 77 points. Thus far in the playoffs he has played in 11 games notching 5 goals-one game winner-and 6 assists. He has great speed and does play with a little bit of an edge. The guy makes his own space and has awesome hands; he will be a great addition to wherever he ends up going.

On the plus side Havlat is only 28 years old and he is a prolific goal scorer. The Rangers could definitely use his help on the power play, especially because the guy shoots from anywhere. He has tons of playoff experience playing in 62 games. In those 62 games he has19 goals and 26 assists for 45 points, of those 19 goals 6 were game winners. He would be a great addition to both the regular season and the playoffs … if he could remain healthy.

Staying healthy has rarely been easy for him. This season Havlat played in 81 games, a career high.  Last season Havlat only dressed for 35 games, the year before he dressed for 56, and three years ago he only played 18 games. Havlat is no doubt one of the better players in the league when he is healthy, but he is very injury prone. Is it worth risking a high salary on a player who has only stayed healthy one season?

Currently Havlat is making 6 million dollars a year on the Blackhawks. I would have to assume he will be offered roughly 6.5-7 on the open market. Unfortunately if this is the case then he will be too expensive for the Rangers to afford. Plus with his injury liability he really isn’t worth 7 million a year. If he would put his name onto paper for 6 million a year I say sign him, In the end he will probably be too rich for the Rangers blood, but they may take a look at him if other moves are made to clear cap room.

2nd Round Playoff Updates

Yes that’s right its playoff update time. For those of you who participated in the 2^nd round playoff pick-em’ pay close attention because points are on the line. Okay, lets dive in.

Boston(1) vs. Carolina(6): After last night’s convincing 4-1 victory the Carolina Hurricanes have a 3-1 series lead over the top-of-the-East Boston Bruins.   Staal, no not Marc, has been all over the ice with four goals and one assist in the four games. But the real story has been Jussi Jokinen who has three game winning goals this playoffs, and two this series. Game five is in Boston with the Bruins on the brink of elimination. Be sure to check out Stanley Cup of Chowder for Bruin news and Canes Country for Hurricane news.  

Washington(2) vs. Pittsburgh(4): After storming out to a 2-0 series lead Washington has dropped their last two, and this series is now tied. Both Ovechkin and Crosby have been playing their hearts out to try and show up the other. Versus announcers, by the way, are having trouble announcing the games because they don’t know which side to hype up like is the next coming of Jesus.  Regardless this series has been unbelievable and you should watch it if you can. Head on over to Pensburgh for more Penguin info and Japers Rink for more Capital info.

Detroit(2) vs. Anaheim(8): After Anaheim’s stunning destruction of the Sharks it was widely considered that they would once again be swept by the Wings. But the series is tied 2-2 and at one point the Ducks were leading. Ryan Getzlaf is playing like a man possessed with 3 goals and 13 assists for 16 points in 10 playoff games. And yes, that’s good enough for most points in the playoffs. It should be interesting to see how this one plays out the rest of the way. Game five is in Detroit though and it is a biggie. Mosey on over to Winging it in Motown for more Wing information and Battle of California for more Duck information.

Vancouver(3) vs. Chicago(4): This is by far the best series of the playoffs. It has been back and forth, its currently tied 2-2, and it has been exciting. Chicago is my favorite team in the playoffs right now and I hope they go all the way. Sundin, who I hope never sees a cup, has one goal and four assists in his 6 playoff games. This series has a lot of hockey left to play so it should start getting even better soon. Look into Nucks misconduct for more Vancouver information and Second City Hockey for more Chicago information.