Subject :Scott Cullen takes a look at the top stories from January 10th through January 16th, including All-S
Scott Cullen takes a look at the top stories from January 10th through January 16th, including All-Star Game rosters, Pekka Rinne hurt, numbers retired, Boston bouncing back and more. Vancouver Canucks Jerseys . ALL STARS As the NHL prepares to hold its All-Star weekend, January 24-25 in Columbus, the rosters were filled out, with 36 players joining the six voted-in starters -- Chicagos Corey Crawford, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Buffalos Zemgus Girgensons. Also named to the All-Star game: Forwards: Patrice Bergeron, Sidney Crosby, Patrik Elias, Nick Foligno, Ryan Getzlaf, Claude Giroux, Ryan Johansen, Tyler Johnson, Phil Kessel, Anze Kopitar, Evgeni Malkin, Rick Nash, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Alex Ovechkin, Bobby Ryan, Tyler Seguin, Steven Stamkos, Vladimir Tarasenko, John Tavares, Jakub Voracek, Radim Vrbata Defence: Brent Burns, Dustin Byfuglien, Drew Doughty, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Justin Faulk, Mark Giordano, Erik Johnson, Kevin Shattenkirk, Ryan Suter, Shea Weber Goaltenders: Sergei Bobrovsky, Jimmy Howard, Roberto Luongo, Carey Price, Pekka Rinne. Then, with Howard and Rinne injured, Marc-Andre Fleury and Jaroslav Halak were selected to play in the game. The captains, for the draft proceedings of the event, will be Jonathan Toews and Nick Foligno, representing the host Columbus Blue Jackets. As with any All-Star proceeding, there is also the matter of which players were snubbed, or at least those that deserved the honour and, for whatever reason, were not selected. In the case of the NHL, trying to include a representative from every team leads to some dubious choices. So, who else might have warranted a spot? Up front, Joe Pavelski, Nicklas Backstrom, Filip Forsberg and Jamie Benn would all have a reasonable claim. On defence, P.K. Subban, Erik Karlsson and Alex Pietrangelo would not be out of place. They probably rectified a goaltending miss by including Marc-Andre Fleury, who is having the best year of his career. Braden Holtby or Craig Anderson might be the closest thing to a snub by the time we get through eight goaltenders already named to the game. RINNE HURT The frontrunner for the Vezina Trophy as the leagues best goaltender, and a viable Hart Trophy candidate as league MVP, Nashvilles Pekka Rinne is out for the next 3-5 weeks with a knee injury. While Rinne (29-6-2, 1.96 GAA, .931 SV%, .945 EV SV%) has been the best puckstopper in the league this season, and there is a notable drop-off in quality from Rinne to Carter Hutton and Marek Mazanec, the Predators have improved enough in other areas that they shouldnt be a complete wreck without Rinne. They have improved from a 48% possession team last season to nearly 53% this year, and have more scoring than they have in years past -- theyre 3.00 goals per game this season is their highest rate since 2006-2007 (3.24). Given the quality of their division, the Predators wont have to collapse to still lose their spot at the top of the Central, but they should be able to survive the next month or so without their best player this season. TEEMU TIME The Anaheim Ducks honoured Teemu Selanne, raising his No. 8 to the rafters. In 966 career games with the Ducks, Selanne scored 457 goals and 988 points and his two tours of duty with the Ducks (1995-2001 and 2005-2014) provided many of the finest moments of his career, including a Stanley Cup in 2007 and five seasons with at least 40 goals, leading the league in both 1997-1998 and 1998-1999. Over the course of his career, Selanne scored 684 goals (ranks 11th all-time) and accumulated 1457 points (ranks 15th) in 1451 games. On top of all that, Selanne is universally-praised by players and media alike as a great guy. Rave reviews all around for a future Hall of Famer. DOMINATOR HONOURED The Buffalo Sabres retired Dominik Haseks number 39, an honour that may seem a little overdue, given his importance to the franchise. Buffalo acquired Hasek from the Chicago Blackhawks for goaltender Stephane Beauregard and a fourth-round pick (which turned out to be Eric Daze) in 1992. He had two unremarkable seasons with the Sabres before emerging as the clubs starting goaltender in 1993-1994. From that season through 1998-1999, there was no goaltender on the planet that was in Haseks league and he nearly dragged the Sabres to a Stanley Cup in 1999. Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur were the closest to Hasek in save percentage over those years and they werent particularly close. Using Hockey References Goals Saved Above Average measure, Hasek saved more than 295 goals above average in that six-year span. Roy (140) and Brodeur (102), while great, were a long way from having that kind of impact. Following his time in Buffalo, Hasek had some good years with the Detroit Red wings, winning the Stanley Cup in 2002 and earning another Cup ring -- making four playoff starts as a 43-year-old -- in 2008. He last played professionally with Moscow Spartak in the KHL in 2010-2011, playing in 46 of 54 games as a 46-year-old. He was acrobatic, quirky, and the best goaltender in the world in the 1990s. BRUINS ARE BACK It wasnt the easiest first half of the season for the Boston Bruins, who had won 19 of 40 games as of January 4, struggling while they missed defenceman Zdeno Chara and centre David Krejci for stretches due to injuries. Now, however, the Bruins have won five straight, and have two regulation losses in their past 16 games, climbing into playoff position in the Eastern Conference -- something that was assumed before the season started, but had been cast into doubt as the Bruins failed to generate consistent results. Goaltender Tuukka Rask is playing better and the Bruins are relatively healthy, but theyve also received a boost in the form of 18-year-old rookie winger David Pastrnak, who had back-to-back two-goal games last week. Pastrnak somehow lasted until the 25th pick in last summers draft and he has already shown that he has high-end skill not befitting a late first-round pick. He had 27 points (10 G, 17 A) and 74 shots on goal in 24 AHL games, and managed one assist in an earlier five-game trial with the Bruins before he was loaned to the Czech team at the World Junior Hockey Championships. After scoring seven points (1 G, 6 A) in the World Juniors, Pastrnak returned to Boston, where hes taken up the right wing spot on a line with Milan Lucic and David Krejci. Its a lot to ask for an 18-year-old to play a signficant role on a contending team, but in his very small NHL sample, Pastrnak has passed the eye test and the analytics test, carrying better than 60% of shot attempts during 5-on-5 play. Even if hes not going to keep piling up two-goal games, he should be able to play a regular role with the Bruins for the rest of the season. VALUE PLAY Winnipeg signing free agent C Mathieu Perreault to a three-year, $9-million contract last summer is turning into one of the best decisions made by this franchise. The smallish centre, who has moved to play wing with Michael Frolik and Mark Scheifele, scored four goals in an 8-2 win over Florida Tuesday. Whats so remarkable is how dramatically Perreaults numbers jumped after a slow start to the year, as he opened the year with no goals and three assists in 19 games, then followed with 26 points (15 G, 11 A) in the next 25 games. All this production caught the attention of smart guys (and wise guys). THE WILD LIFE Coming into the season, expectations were relatively high for the Minnesota Wild, who lost in the second round of last years playoffs to the Chicago Blackhawks. They opened the year as a dominant possession team (a league-leading 57.3% score-adjusted Corsi in October), but their goaltending was a mess and its only become more of a problem now that the possession numbers have been in steady decline (50.3% since November 1). Prior to Thursdays 7-0 win at Buffalo, the Wild had two regulation wins in the previous 16 games and, falling out of the playoff race, speculation has been heating up about the future of head coach Mike Yeo. The biggest problem for the Wild, which affects Yeos job security, has been goaltending, as Darcy Kuemper, Niklas Backstrom and John Curry have combined to give the Wild the leagues worst save percentage (.898) during 5-on-5 play. As a result, the Wild traded a third-round pick to Arizona this week for Devan Dubnyk, who has rebounded after a miserable 2013-14 season. Even if Dubnyk does stabilize the situation in net for Minnesota, they are now seven points out of a playoff spot, so they are starting an uphill climb. FIRE SALE IN THE DESERT After the Coyotes dealt Dubnyk, reports surfaced that would be the first of several changes to come for a team with new ownership and virtually no chance at the playoffs. With no postseason on the horizon, its a given that pending unrestricted free agents like centre Antoine Vermette and defenceman Zbynek Michalek could be moved, but if the Coyotes decide to make defenceman Keith Yandle available, that would drive some interesting, high-stakes trade discussion. In any case, the Coyotes can focus on their future, which will include a high first-round pick in 2015 as well as prospects Max Domi and Christian Dvorak, who are thought of quite highly by some. CRAIGS LIST TSNs resident scout Craig Button offered up his top drafted NHL prospects, with Domi leading the way after his strong showing at the World Juniors. That might raise some eyebrows, given that Domi was the 12th overall pick in 2013, but there will be a lot of time for these players to establish their games, and values, at the NHL level. I know, as well as anyone, how rankings are not met with universal acceptance, but come on, Craig, wheres Pastrnak? (I kid.) CHANGING LEAFS The immediate returns for new Maple Leafs head coach Peter Horacheck have not been ideal. On one hand, the Leafs have gone from a 44% possession team under Randy Carlyle to 47.6% in five games under Horachek, but the Leafs have managed just one win and scored a total of eight goals in those five games. To be reasonable, expectations should not have been high for a struggling (and injured) Leafs team going to California, and they lived down to those expectations, but the fanbase isnt reveling in improved possession if they arent able to score or, at least once in a while, win. Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca Pavel Bure Canucks Jersey . His brother — Red Lake chiropractor Richard Radford — is en route to Sochi to cheer on his younger brother. "Ive been getting texts from Eric and he just says the atmosphere is amazing, its special,” he said. Brandon Sutter Canucks Jersey .Y. -- Sore nose and all, Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 5-3 on Friday night, snapping the Penguins mini-slump and slowing the Sabres late-season surge. METAIRIE, La. -- All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints met Tuesday for arbitration on his contract. Graham filed a grievance through the players union. He contends he should be considered a wide receiver, not a tight end, when the team designated him with the 2014 franchise tag. The difference in salary would be more than $5 million. Arbitrator Stephen Burbank is conducting the meetings that also involve the NFL Players Association, the NFLs Management Council, and the Saints. No ruling is expected immediately. The Saints gave Graham the franchise tag for about $7 million as a tight end, the position he has been listed at for his entire four-year career. But he believes because he often is split out away from the tackle, he is a wide receiver. Igor Larionov Canucks Jersey. That franchise tag is worth about $12.3 million. According to an analysis by ESPN Stats and Information, Graham lined up split on 67 per cent of his snaps: 45 per cent of the time in the slot and 22 per cent out wide. But the Saints note that he made the All-Pro team and the Pro Bowl as a tight end and was drafted as a tight end. Such disputes are not frequent, but draw lots of attention because they can set a precedent. Baltimores Terrell Suggs, the 2011 Defensive Player of the Year, argued in 2008 that he should be tagged as an end, not a linebacker. The difference back then was about $800,000. Suggs wound up signing a new deal with the Ravens, then helped them win the 2012 NFL championship. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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