Quick history lesson. There have been eight teams that have relocated within the last 30 years. Half of them were in existence for under 10 years prior to changing cities. Minnesota is the only franchise that lasted for over 20 years before relocating. They're also the only one of the nine who had playoff success - they made it to the Cup finals (twice) which is something that none of the others have done. Minnesota is also the one that got a team back soonafter the Stars relocated, much like the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. (Atlanta got a team too although it was almost 20 years later).
The Pittsburgh Penguins have lasted for 40 years, have won 20 playoff rounds and of course two Stanley Cups. You don't move a franchise that has been that successful and has developed a loyal fanbase for 40 years unless you're damn sure there are no other options that will allow you to keep the team there. And make no mistake, right now it's very much looking like there ARE options.
Here's the summary:
1976 California/Oakland Seals move to Cleveland and become the Cleveland Barons
# of seasons in existance: 9
# of playoff rounds won: 0
1976 Kansas City Scouts move to Denver and become the Colorado Rockies
# of seasons in existance: 2
# of playoff rounds won: 0
1980 Atlanta Flames move to Calgary
# of seasons in existance: 8
# of playoff rounds won: 0
1981 Colorado Rockies move to New Jersey
# of seasons in existance: 6
# of playoff rounds won: 0
1993 Minnesota North Stars move to Dallas
# of seasons in existance: 26
# of playoff rounds won: 14
* Two trips to the Cup finals
1995 Quebec Nordiques move to Denver and become the Colorado Avalanche
# of seasons in existance: 16
# of playoff rounds won: 6
1996 Winnipeg Jets move to Phoenix and become the Phoenix Coyotes
# of seasons in existance: 17
# of playoff rounds won: 2
1997 Hartford Whalers move to Raleigh, NC and become the Carolina Hurricanes
# of seasons in existance: 18
# of playoff rounds won: 1
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
# of seasons in existance: 40
# of playoff rounds won: 20
* Two Stanley Cups
***
Defending Jim Vandermeer
Now that he's had a chance to cool down and watch the tape, here's hoping that Paul Maurice gives Jim Vandermeer a call to apologize for his comments from last night. I'm a big Peca fan and like Maurice too and I know where he was coming from last night, BUT...
Firstly, the hit was not Vandermeer's fault in the least bit. Secondly, the comments about Vandermeer being a minor leaguer were not only out of line but they were also untrue. In fact, Vandermeer played 76 games last year for Chicago (6 goals and 24 points, -2) and he has played in 34 games this year.
Going into tonight, Vandermeer has played the fourth-most minutes for the Hawks this year (608) and was second in even-strength minutes (486). He has averaged almost 18 minutes a game this year and was at close to 22 last year. That and he hasn't played in the minors since the lockout year. Vandermeer is a hardworking guy who was not drafted and had to fight to prove himself in this league every shift and every game. He's played 180 games and has become an every-day player in this league.
If Maurice wants to criticize guys who were recently in the minors and/or belong in the minors, he could have just looked down the bench tonight at half his roster:
JS Aubin, Bates Battaglia, Wade Belak, Carlo Colaiacovo, Kris Newbury, Ben Ondrus, Johnny Pohl, Alex Steen, Alexander Suglobov, Ian White
While TSN and Sportsnet originally reported a torn MCL and well as a fractured tibia, they are no longer mentioning the ligament damage in their stories, which is huge for Peca. At least this is just a three-month recovery, rather than a 8-12 month recovery.
***
Now to tonight's games - we had three shutouts, three OT games and seven one-goal games:
San Jose 4, Calgary 1
I mentioned a Michalek injury scare from last game and not only did it not end up being serious but he scored a goal and was the first star. Either Milan's the reincarnation of Bobby Baun or he's fine..
Tonight was Nabokov's turn and he was fantastic once again. Of his 18 starts, Evgeni's given up two or less on 13 occasions. How much longer before Phoenix makes them an offer they can't refuse?
Calgary's ice time was pretty unbalanced with 5 players receiving under 10 minutes of ice time. A significant injury to any of their top four (Phaneur, Regehr, Warrener or Ferrence) would be a huge blow to this team that relies on them very very much.
Good to see Scott Hannan pickup the empty netter. He is so underrated and doesn't get enough credit. Tonight he led all Sharks with 26:30 of ice time.
The Sharks stayed out of the box - Calgary didn't have any PPs tonight.
***
Phoenix 2, Anaheim 0
Was that really Mikael Tellqvist shutting out Anaheim? After giving up 17 in his last four starts, Telly was perfect against the league's best.
Maybe the Leafs can package Aubin and Tyson Nash to try and get him back (just joking.. we've all seen this out of Mikael before - he gets your hopes up and then let's you down the next game).
This one was scoreless in the third until Doan scored with just over 5 minutes left and Sjostrom scored 13 seconds later.
Roenick was a late scratch but it was reported as a "personal family illness" that was approved by Barnett and Gretzky. Let's hope that this isn't anything too serious and the Roenick's are able to enjoy the holiday season (I was critical a little while ago but I'm still a big fan).
Owen Nolan picked up an assist and is now on a 5-game point streak. After a slow start he's actually played quite well and he has three shorthanded goals too.
***
Colorado 3, Chicago 2
Chicago couldn't pull off the win on back-to-back nights but they did hang around with the rested Avs who hadn't played since Tuesday due to the snow.
Theodore got the win and has now played well in four of his last five. At this point he's still being outplayed by Budaj but he can get the job back if he continues to play well.
The Avs got a pair from Wolski and now have eight players with 9+ goals. At some point I wouldn't be surprised to see them make a move for another defenceman.
Havlat didn't get a point for the second straight game. I read he was battling the flu during the week so it's possible that this had something to do with it.
***
St. Louis 3, Buffalo 2 (OT)
First I want to let you guys know that I'll be in Buffalo on Thursday for the Canes-Sabres game. The last time I was in that building, Briere scored in OT of game six of the conference finals. Needless to say I'm really looking forward to going back to see these two teams play...
Three wins in a row - if the Blues keep this up they'll have to make a song called "Blue Hot". You've got to see this video if you don't get that reference..
Last time Weight was in Buffalo (which was the game I was at) he was taking the penalty that cost his team the game and then blaming everyone but himself. Tonight he setup Guerin for the OT winner.
Jay McKee led the team with 23+ minutes of ice time in his return to Buffalo. He was also a -2.
Guerin had a pair and is now up to 15 on the year. With an affordable contract ($2 mil) and UFA status at the end of the year, the Blues will get a lot of calls on this guy. I wouldn't be surprised if they sit on him until the deadline and try to make a deal similar to the Weight trade from last year.
Are the Sabres slumping? Well they've not lost three out of four so I guess you could say that but it's a very long season and this is still a great team.
***
Nashville 7, Los Angeles 0
Cloutier was shelled once again, lost the game and then his composure. He got himself an early exist when he speared and then tried to fight Hartnell in the third. For a second I thought he was going to try and take off his skate and chase down Hartnell..
In his 22 starts, Cloutier has allowed 4+ goals in 13. He's not the only one at fault here but that certainly doesn't give the team much of a chance to win on both nights. At what point do you send him down and try to allow him to find his confidence in the AHL? I'm quite confident that nobody would pick him up, given his contract status.
Arnott, Dumont and Legwand each had a pair while Sullivan and Radulov each had three assists.
This is a very deep and dangerous team, folks..
The Preds actually had two penalty shots tonight on Cloutier - Legwand scored and Kariya was stopped.
Kopitar was kept off the scoreboard but he did have 8 shots on goal.
***
Minnesota 3, Detroit 2 (OT)
The North Stars (can we have the Stars and the North Stars??) responded well and earned a split in the home-and-home vs Detroit.
This one was scoreless until the third. After Detroit took the lead late in the third, Mark Parrish scored 16 seconds later to tie the game and send it into OT.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored the winner in OT and he continues to improve. It's easy to forget that the kid is just 22..
Schneider's point streak was snapped, as was Cleary's two game GWG streak.
***
Dallas 3, Edmonton 2
The Stars jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held on to win.
Klemm scored his first of the year after moving to the wing earlier this week. My best friend thinks that the Leafs should try Kaberle on the wing so they'll have somebody to play with Sundin. Not the worst idea I've hurt although I can't see it happening.
Barnaby picked up his 300th career point. Pretty impressive for a player with Barnaby's talent. He also has 2551 penalty minutes.
Lindros had two assists but played under 10 minutes. He'd been pointless in six straight going into tonight.
Not too long ago, Marc-Andre Bergeron was in MacTavish's doghouse. Credit to M-A for playing out of it amidst all the trade talks.
***
Carolina 3, Florida 2 (OT)
Florida outshot the Canes but Carolina snuck away with the two points thanks to John Grahame, who has been very inconsistent in his hand-full of starts.
Carolina may have the best top seven up front but still need help on D. Stillman may be the most likely candidate as he's affordable ($1.75 mil) and still has a year left on his contract.
The Panthers have a kid named Janis Sprukts, who played his fourth career game. The kid's definitely got a cool name so let's hope he sticks with the team.
Glen Wesley played his 800th game with the franchise - hard to believe that 12 years ago they acquired him for three 1st rounders (Samsonov, McLaren & Aitken)
***
Tampa Bay 4, NY Rangers 3
Denis got the hook in this one but it was the Rangers and Lundqvist who fell apart in the third.
The Rangers were up 3-0 going into period #3 and proceeded to blow the lead in under 6 minutes and give up the winner half-way through the third.
Boyle had three goals and an assist - a huge night for the Bolts' d-man. I would take him over Kubina any day of the week.
Andre Roy picked up just 2 minutes in penalties but spent even less time on the ice (1:14). The Lightning had two other players (Tarnasky - who gets the award for best last name this is similar to mine, and Taylor) who played under 4 minutes.
***
Washington 3, Toronto 2
The Leafs are now on another losing streak - this one has reached three games thus far.
They didn't play badly tonight, but on paper and on the ice Toronto just isn't a very good team. Yes they do have four guys up out front but none of those four would be on the top two lines of a top team.
Sundin was awesome - 2 goals (one on a penalty shot) and 10 shots. He did his best to will the team to victory but there just wasn't anyone else who could puck the puck in the net.
Always a treat when OV comes to town..
***
NY Islanders 4, Columbus 0
For the second time this month, Dipietro has followed up a five goal thrashing with a shutout. That is a great sign for those who have him in their keeper league and plan to hold onto him for a while. Or for those who locked him up to a 15-year deal (Those jokes never really get old, do they?)
Columbus was tired after playing the previous night against Vancouver but that's not an excuse because the Isles also played the prior night.
Jody Shelley played just 1:24 - two shifts in the first period. Seriously if these guys aren't good enough to play then these teams need to find kids who can.
New York is 6-0 on the second night of back-to-back games. That's a very impressive stat for Nolan's boys.
Anson Carter didn't take a shift after the midway point in the game. Anyone know what happened to him?
***
Boston 4, Montreal 2
The Bruins broke open a tie game in the third when Milan Jurcina and Stan Chistov scored 1:11 apart. That was the first of the year for Jurcina and second for Chistov.
Montreal's five-game winning streak was snapped at the Bruins continue to impress (most of the time).
Scary moment when the Bruins' Andrew Alberts took a stick in his left eyes and had lost vision temporarily. According to the game story he is already improving, which is great news.
The Bruins chose a good time to step up and play well as they had 17,565 fans in the building. Hopefully some of the non-frequent patrons will come back soon as this team is quite good..
***
Atlanta 5, New Jersey 2
Bad news for NJ as Elias was a late scratch with an apparent foot injury.
It got even worse as the Thrashers got goals from five different players (Hnidy, Holik, Kovalchuk, Kozlov and McCarthy.
***
Ottawa 6, Philadelphia 3
Through two periods we saw quite a few unlikely scorers - Corvo, Eager, Carter, Philips, Hamel and Calder.
In the third it was Alfredsson who stepped up and carried his team to victory.
Philly came out strong but became flatter and flatter as the game went on.
I'm not sure what's more surprising, the past that Gerber played and won or the fact that Carter and Calder scored in the same game.
This one was closer than the score indicated - it was actually tied in the third until Hatcher made yet another brutal play.
Alfredsson played very well. He will need to lead this team with Spezza out and he got off to a good start today.
***
Movie Review: The Good Shepherd
When I read this week that this was "The Godfather" for CIA movies I was even more excited to see it. I must say that this one did not disappoint. In my opinion it was better than "The Departed" and was the best movie I've seen in a long time. De Niro did a fantastic job and although it was close to three hours it really left me wanting more. Also I think it will be even better the second viewing because there was quite a lot to absorb. My only problem with this movie was the casting of the "I am very sneaky", "Can I touch your feet" guy from "Mr Deeds" in a fairly significant role. I couldn't stop laughing whenever I saw him.
I won't reveal any plot details but if you saw the movie, let me know what you think.
Also saw "Thank You for Smoking" this afternoon after the Sens-Flyers game. It was definitely interesting although not quite as good as expected. The highlight was seeing both Todd Packer and Jan Levinson (no Gould) appearing in small roles.
One more note for 24 fans - I read today that (one-armed) Chase may be coming back for Season Six. Only a couple more weeks to go until the big two-night, four hour premiere!
Join the Discussion:
»