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Bolts Active On First Day of Free Agency

By jdelator | July 1, 2009 | JC De La Torre's Tampa Bay Sports Blog

The Tampa Bay Lightning continued the retooling of their suspect blue line with three signings on the first day of free agency. Tampa Bay re-signed defenseman Lukas Krajicek. Krajicek led the Lightning in points and blocked shots by a defenseman. The Lightning followed up that move with their biggest of the day, securing veteran defenseman Mattias Ohlund to a seven year $26.25 million dollar contract. The 32 year old Swede was signed as a mentor for first round draft choice Viktor Hedman. Ohlund, 6-foot-2, 227 pounds, has skated in 770 career NHL games, all with Vancouver. He has amassed 93 career goals and 325 points with 36 power play goals and 19 game-winning goals. He was second on the Vancouver Canucks in plus/minus with a plus-14 rating. Tampa Bay wrapped up day one with the signing of gutty former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Matt Walker. The 29 year old signed a four year deal at $1.7 million...

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Vinny a Bolt for Life, Team Focuses on Free Agency

By jdelator | July 1, 2009 | JC De La Torre's Tampa Bay Sports Blog

The clock struck midnight on the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings and other suitors of the Tampa Bay Lightning's team captain Vincent Lecavalier. The superstar's no movement clause kicked in today and likely guaranteeing the player will be a member of the squad for the duration of his contract. The movement clause is different than a "no trade" clause in that with a no trade clause, which requires a player's consent before a trade involving that player is made. If a player has a no-movement clause, the player cannot be traded, waived, or sent down to the minors without that player's approval. The eleven year, $85 million dollar contract will take Lecavalier to his 40th birthday. The team could ask Lecavalier to waive his clause but typically a player with this type of contract will not remove it. Published reports in Canada that indicated Lecavalier was close to being dealt to Montreal...

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Lightning Address Several Positions in Draft's 2nd Day

By jdelator | June 28, 2009 | JC De La Torre's Tampa Bay Sports Blog

After drafting defenseman Viktor Hedman and Forward Carter Ashton on day one of the draft, the Lightning went back to work trying to replenish a minor league system that was short on talented forwards and goaltenders. On day two, Tampa Bay took two wingers, two goalies, and one defenseman to round out this year's class. These capsules are courtesy of the excellent Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times Richard Panik Pos: RW Round (overall): 2 (52) Age: 18 Ht/Wt: 6-2/203 Hometown: Martin, Slovakia Details: Had 10 goals and 19 points in 16 games for Trinec of the Czech elite league, and battled shoulder and knee injuries. ... Had two goals, five points in seven games for Slovakia at the world junior championship. ... Will play for OHL Windsor. ... Always ties his left skate before his right. Player personnel director Jim Hammett: "He has a real set...

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Lightning Trade Up in the 1st For Carter Ashton

By jdelator | June 26, 2009 | JC De La Torre's Tampa Bay Sports Blog

The Tampa Bay Lightning traded their 2nd round pick, #32 overall and their #75 overall to Detroit for the #29 pick and selected forward Carter Ashton out of Lethbridge of the WHL. Ashton is 6'3", 205 lbs. Here's the scouting report from Central Scouting - NHL Director of Central Scouting E.J. McGuire"Carter is a solid prototypical power forward; he knows the game and really is astute at the power-play and penalty kill, offensive and defensive parts of his game. He has been complimented for being hockey smart, perhaps the savvy coming from his dad who played 998 games in the NHL."Lethbridge Hurricanes head coach Michael Dyck"He is a power forward, for a big guy he skates well, he's strong, he's got a pretty good skill set, he shoots the puck pretty well and he goes to the net hard. I think that is essentially why he's had success this...

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Lightning Fans, Meet Viktor Hedman

By jdelator | June 26, 2009 | JC De La Torre's Tampa Bay Sports Blog

Great look from YouTube on the Lightning's top pick - Viktor Hedman ...

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Lightning Select Hedman with 1st Round Pick

By jdelator | June 26, 2009 | JC De La Torre's Tampa Bay Sports Blog

With the 2nd overall selection in the 2009 NHL draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected defenseman Viktor Hedman, from Modo and WJC in the Swedish Elite League. Hedman is 6' 5", 211 lbs, shoots left and according to TSN.ca, scouts have this to say about him: Director of European Scouting Goran Stubb: "For being that young, he's very mature, and he's big, but moves like a smaller guy. Very mobile, and his puck sense is excellent. Hedman is dominating the game, playing on the first defense pair on MODO. He's playing around 20 minutes per game." NHL Director of Central Scouting E.J. McGuire: "Victor Hedman brings to his game unsurpassed combinations of size, explosiveness in his skating, quickness and offensive ability. He is indeed the whole package and that just might get him the number one selection overall." I'm thrilled with this pick as it immediately strengthens the greatest...

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TBSB Tweets the NHL Draft

By jdelator | June 26, 2009 | JC De La Torre's Tampa Bay Sports Blog

Hey folks, just wanted to let you know we will be tweeting the NHL draft. You can follow us here - http://twitter.com/jcdelatorre Twitter Updates follow me on Twitter There's much intrigue about what the Lightning are going to do so be sure to stay tuned!...

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44 NHL Mocks Munched: Final NHL Database Consensus

By PennSkinsFan | June 26, 2009 | DC Pro Sports Report

We have completed the final update to the 2009 NHL Mock Draft Database. The Database is wayyyyy bigger than it was in 2008. We now have listed a whopping 72 NHL mock drafts, including 44 updated since June 19, 2009. 59 of the NHL mocks updated in the month of June. We than each and every mock draft site and writer for their contributions to the NHL draft coverage. We were extremely pleased to list their links and spread the word of the NHL Draft, which commences tonight at 7PM on TSN/Versus. The Database traffic has been phenomenal this year and we are looking forward to an even better 2010 NHL Mock Database. And yes, that will get started as soon as the first 2010...

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A Week of NHL Playoffs Has Taught Us...

By Alan Smodic | April 22, 2009 | MVN Outsider

A week into the NHL Playoffs and only one series has been decided as of today -- a sweep of the St. Louis Blues by the Vancouver Canucks. I didn't think the Canucks would sweep, but I did believe they'd win.With their series win in mind from last night, we'll begin there.Vancouver wins 4-0 against St. Louis - Hockey fans knew at the beginning of this series that Roberto Luongo was good. The sweep just cements that fact. Luongo is a beast between the pipes and it's not out of the question to think that he could carry the Canucks to another series win. It's too early to tell what team Vancouver would play in the second round, but don't be surprised if it's able to advance.Detroit up 3-0 against Columbus - This series is over. If it doesn't end in a sweep Thursday night, I'll be surprised. I picked...Read more

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Quest for the Cup, Who's Your Pick?

By Alan Smodic | April 14, 2009 | MVN Outsider

In keeping tradition with the bracketology craze of college basketball, Faceoff-Factor and The Pensblog joined forces with an idea to create "Rinkotology" in an effort to raise money for the Mario Lemieux Foundation.As the name suggests, it works just the same as your NCAA March Madness pool... simply go to Rinkotology and fill out a bracket. But please donate at least $5 -- the foundation is a very worthy cause.With the introduction out of the way, let me break down my Rinkotology picks and see where I think this NHL Playoff season may be headed. Keep in mind that I've never once won a pool like this and my picks will probably not even happen. And as a Pens fan, I hope they don't happen, because I'd like to see them win it all. But I digress...Western Conference:The West is always Detroit's to lose. Just because San Jose finished the...Read more

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NHL Stock Market - Duck Hunt in the Western Conference

By Grant Beery | April 7, 2009 | MVN Outsider

RisingCam WardCarolina goalie Cam Ward is has made 27 straight starts, and coach Paul Maurice has no plans to stop him now. In those 27 starts, Ward has gone 18-6-2, including an 8 game win streak. The NHL named him the top star of March, and that nod probably has a lot to do with the comfort zone Ward's play has put his team in when it comes to the standings. This will be the Canes' first appearance in the postseason since 2006, but Ward isn't looking towards the future just yet. "I'm excited to know that we're going to have that chance to return to the playoffs. This is where the work just begins. We've worked extremely hard to get ourselves in this position, and I'm excited for everybody, but we need to bear down in these last three games. I can't express that enough." - Cam WardThat's a...Read more

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Top 10 Nice Guys of the NHL

By Grant Beery | March 14, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Last week, I brought you the black sheep of the NHL. This week, to give both sides a fair shake, I'm going to show you the nicest fellas ever to play the game.10. Alexander OvechkinOvechkin is probably the one player that enjoys playing the most. With every goal he scores he shows sheer excitement in his celebration. At the most recent All-Star Game, Ovechkin took the opportunity to have fun and put on a show for the crowd. While some have criticized Alex's casual attitude as showboating, it's really just a player enjoying his time in the NHL.9. Mark MessierPlaying 25 years in the NHL and the last active WHA player, Messier exemplified an older style of hockey. One of the most accomplished players in the league as well, Messier won 6 Stanley Cups and is the only professional athlete to be the captain of two different championship teams.Off the...Read more

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NHL Rumor Mill - What Exactly is a Staged Fight?

By Grant Beery | March 10, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Right now the 30 general managers of the NHL are meeting in Naples, FL to discuss a multitude of topics, but fighting will be at the forefront. The GMs would like to get rid of staged fights during games, which are predetermined bouts between two players that aren't in retaliation for anything; they just fight because that's what they're paid to do.At least that's what I think it is. I asked some fellow hockey fans on Twitter to give me their take on what they think a staged fight is."A boxing match""Wrestling"Okay, so apparently the people I follow on Twitter are just a bunch of smart asses. Moving on...Number CrunchersHere's some data the league put together on fighting in the NHL:21.6% - Number of fights this season have happened immediately following a faceoff, which is a 30 percent increase since 2000.23.6% - Number of fights started in defense of...Read more

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Deadline Passes Without Blockbuster Deal

By Alan Smodic | March 4, 2009 | MVN Outsider

The 2009 NHL trade deadline passed about three hours ago. The top story this year? ... well, take your pick. It pretty much depends on what team you follow.This time last year, the Pittsburgh Penguins made the splash of the day, acquiring Marian Hossa from the Thrashers for a slew of players. A "sexy" deal, as one radio personality put it. An equivalent to that one was not pulled today.But that doesn't mean that some playoff-bound, or playoff-dreaming teams didn't improve their rosters. Some notables today:The Calgary Flames made arguably the biggest move, adding F Olli Jokinen and D Jordan Leopold. The Pittsburgh Penguins were back at it again. GM Ray Shero already added Chris Kunitz in the Ryan Whitney trade last week. Today, amid some other small moves, he added veteran winger Bill Guerin in exchange for a conditional draft pick.Eastern Conference leading Boston Bruins added some veteran presence...Read more

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The NHL Trade Deadline Edition of the Power Poll

By Bryan Thiel | February 26, 2009 | MVN Outsider

With the Trade Deadline just around the corner in the NHL season, you can imagine what this week's theme is.This week we took a look at who each team might be trading (which is for a majority of clubs because they either feature a tradeable player or are on the fringe of decided whether they're buying or selling) or in a few cases, what the team needs. We also tossed in a few speculations just for fun.30. New York Islanders--(-19 points, Last week: -20 points): The New York Islanders could've been making a few moves at the deadline, but after getting ravaged by the injury bug, it's hard to finger who might be moved.Both Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger had potential (being free agents this offseason) but a season-ending injury for Sillinger and a sprained MCL for Weight means the probability for a deal is low (for Sillinger there's nothing,...Read more

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NHL Power Poll: First Year Wonders and Flounders

By Bryan Thiel | February 20, 2009 | MVN Outsider

This week we're looking at rookies: Surprising and depressing performances from the league's first-year players on every single team.All stats are as of Thursday afternoon, before any games were played.30. New York Islanders--(-20 points, Last week: -17 points): Right now the New York Islanders are eyeing up the best odds at the first overall draft pick this June. The question is, do they take John Tavares and pair him up with this year's rookies Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo (Who've combined for 36 points in 77 games), or do they take Victor Hedman and stock up on the back end.Basically it depends on the day: The Isles have scored the fewest goals in the league and allowed the third-most goals in the league.29. Tampa Bay Lightning--2 points (Last week, 4 points): Over the past few weeks, the Tampa Bay Lightning have begun implementing a "plan" for Steven Stamkos' development.Looks like...Read more

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