Although the offseason isn’t over yet and perhaps another few free agent signings are expected (Please, Ray Shero, give us another year of Guerin!), it’s time to look ahead to training camp…or maybe that’s just me, impatient for hockey! I’ve been speculating lately about who will fill some roster spot for the Penguins. Who’s in the running? Who do I predict will be on the roster come October?

Here’s the roster with new summer acquisitions:

Kunitz—Crosby—
Rupp—Malkin—Talbot
Cooke—Staal—Kennedy
Godard—Adams—Dupuis

Orpik—Letang
Michalek—Martin
Goligoski—McKee

Fleury
Johnson

Who will fill up the empty spots? Are there any spots that aren’t safe? Here’s what I think.

DEFENSE:

Shero has been priming Ben Lovejoy for the big leagues for years. He’s finally ready. I think he’s on the roster this fall if he performs at his level at training camp. I think he takes McKee’s spot and McKee is the 7th defenseman….unless he is traded. McKee is a great veteran presence in the locker room. He knows his role and he plays it well. He’s also a solid player to put in if one of the younger guys (Letang, Lovejoy, Goligoski) has a slump. It will be a fool proof way of giving that player a kick in the rear while still providing solid help on the blue line. A possibility for the spot I gave to Lovejoy is Deryk Engelland. He proved last season on his call-ups to the big show that he can hold his own. He’s gritty and tough and tends to be a defender of the team through good, hard hits and a good bought of fisticuffs once in awhile.

GOALTENDING:

Fleury is the concrete number one. He’s part of the core of the team and won’t be thrown out of that starting seat. Johnson is a better than solid backup. He’s definitely an improvement over Dany Sabourin and I feel better about him in net than even Mathieu Garon, who finished the 2009 Cup-winning season with the Pens. The real question is which AHL goalie will be called to assist if Fleury or Johnson sustains an injury. Based on performance from last season, I would feel better about Brad Thiessen taking up that role. John Curry is a great goalie but last year he showed that he’s easily flustered. Until he can learn to control this (and his rebounds), I would be more confident with Thiessen in the net. Much depends on performance in training camp and also in Wilkes-Barre.

OFFENSE:

There are a few candidates for the hole in the first line. This position will most certainly be determined by performance in training camp. My favorite for the position is Eric Tangradi. Acquired from Anaheim in the Chris Kunitz/Ryan Whitney trade in 2009, the 21 year old winger is big and skilled. He will get pucks to Sid and getting his captain room. This leads to higher production from Sid and points for himself. There is also the possibility that the organization wants to give Tangradi another year to develop and Dupuis or Rupp will move up to the top line. Then there will be a spot open on the third or fourth line. Mark Letestu showed his skill in the corners last season and is good at getting the puck on the stick of his teammates. Chris Conner, although only 5’8”, plays big. His size makes him speedy and he’s a physical presence despite his stature. Dustin Jeffery, with his great hands and clever play-making ability could snag the spot with a good showing at camp.

All of this, of course, is all speculation. More will be concrete as the season moves closer. I look forward to updating my predictions during camp!

Erika Zimmerman
NHLHS writer
ezimmerman@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @hattrickkane

After falling to the Philadelphia Flyers in a shootout on the final day of the regular season the Rangers missed the playoffs by a single point for the first time since the 2003-04 season. As expected with the Rangers cap woes it has been a relatively quiet offseason for the Blueshirts.

GM Glen Sather has made several solid moves to help re-vamp the Blueshirts in hopes they can challenge for a playoff spot next season. Just minutes after noon on July 1, the Rangers agreed to terms with backup goaltender Martin Biron, formerly of the New York Islanders, to a 2 year deal worth 1.75 million. The Rangers also inked fighter extraordinaire Derek Boogaard to an extremely questionable deal of 4 years and 6.5 million. The Rangers then signed free agent left winger Alexander Frolov formerly of the Los Angeles Kings, who was widely regarded as the second best winger on the market behind Ilya Kovalchuk.

In addition to those three signings Sather also re-signed pending UFA Vinny Prospal to a 1 year deal worth 1.1 million with another 1 million in performance bonuses, which was allowable to him being that he is over 35 years of age. The team also brought back Erik Christensen (2 years, 1.95 million), Brandon Prust ( 2 years, 1.6 million), Dan Girardi (4 years, 13.3 million) leaving only RFA defenseman Marc Staal left to be signed by the New York Rangers. The Rangers have also signed highly touted winger Mats Zuccarello-Aasen, formerly of Modo of the Swedish Elite League.

In other moves, the Rangers shipped Aaron Voros and Ryan Hillier to the Anaheim Ducks for veteran defenseman Steve Eminger. Glen Sather also successfully convinced Wisconsin standouts Derek Stepan (center) and Ryan McDonagh (defenseman) to step away from their college careers in order to turn pro in hopes of making the team out of training camp in the fall.

The question on every Rangers fans mind has been what will happen to Wade Redden come September, where he can be waived and demoted to Hartford of the AHL where his 6.5 million cap hit will be removed. At this point it looks like that is highly likely as the team only has 1.4 million in cap space left and RFA defenseman Marc Staal still to sign. In addition, the team can use another veteran defenseman who will sign at a cheaper rate than Redden’s massive contract.

For the remainder of the offseason, the Rangers goals are to sign Marc Staal to a 5-6 year contract worth approximately 4 million per season, sign a veteran defenseman and try and acquire a top 2 center (Brad Richards has long been a rumored target).

As the offseason concludes and the Rangers continue to tweak their roster check in for all the updates and analysis. I will also provide the line-up that I would like to see on opening night in the near future.

Jason Arbeitman
NHLHS New York Rangers Correspondent
jarbeitman@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @NYfan1610

If you’re JUST joining in on the fun of reading a summer recap for the Habs, I strongly suggest you go ahead and read part 1 right here: http://nhlhotstove.com/canadiens-summer-recap-part-1/

Now if you’re ready for the part of the summer recap where I get all pissy and angry against one of the players I dislike the most around the league, then you’re certainly going to want to read on.

The Sergei Kostitsyn trade

June 29^th 2010 marked the beginning of a huge party in many Montreal homes: Sergei Kostitsyn, the player I deem the most cancerous in the locker room in the AHL and second in the NHL (trailing Olli Jokinen, of course), was traded to the Nashville Predators for forward Dustin Boyd and goaltender Dan Ellis. Not two days later, the Habs signed Boyd to a one year contract.

Dan Ellis, on the other hand, was not signed by les Canadiens’ management and became a free agent on July 1^st, leading him to sign a two year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightening. Ellis claimed many reasons leading to not sign in Montreal, one being money, and the second being that he wasn’t comfortable playing behind Carey Price and having to mentor him.

The Habs obtained in Dustin Boyd a gritty, hard hitting and intense forward who can effectively replace the unsigned free agent Glen Metropolit, who is getting old now. Boyd brings a fresh blast of youth to the 3^rd and 4^th lines, all the while playing at a level equal to, if not superior, Glen Metropolit’s.

Yet for me, the biggest gain in this trade for the Habs was being able to get rid of the most difficult of the Kostitsyn brothers. Ever since they acquire him, Sergei has been nothing but trouble in the locker room, and his off-ice antics have been a shame to the team and fans alike, as he has always seemed to take his position on the team as granted. Certainly, the young man has a lot of time ahead of him to develop into a much better player, yet the way he has acted during his young career, i.e. missing team buses, not showing up to practices or storming out of them, etc, have deeply hampered his development as a player and as a teammate.

Sergei is one of those players who I believe will be much better off somewhere else than in Montreal. What he needs is a change of scenery and to play in a new city where the expectations on him are not as high, but where management will still keep a close eye on him to make sure that he is able to focus on hockey and keep himself out of trouble off the ice (see: Sergei’s “friendly” relationship with Montreal mobster Pasquale Mangiola). He was a lost case in Montreal, and the change of scenery will probably help, but at worse well… the Preds will be stuck with a fat hunk of problems on their lap. But hey, at least we Montrealers won’t have to read about it in the newspaper anymore, right? The Journal de Montréal is just going to have to find some other retarded stories to put on their front page!

Oh, and in case you missed it and you’re worried, the Habs replaced potential-second-goalie-who-skipped-town Dan Ellis with another massive goalie (6’5) Alex Auld. Hopefully, the journeyman of seven nhl teams will provide some leadership and mentoring for young Carey Price the way Pierre Gauthier (Habs GM) had hoped Dan Ellis would.

Christopher Nardi
NHLHS Montreal Canadiens Correspondent
cnardi@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @dragonlancehuma

Just over 48 hours later, the results of Tim Kennedy’s arbitration hearing are in.

Arbitrators announced a 1-year, $1 million deal for Kennedy with the Sabres on Thursday.

In a normal case, the team would have 48 hours after the arbitrator’s decision is announced to either pick up the contract, or walk away, allowing Kennedy to become an unrestricted free agent.

However, Kennedy’s case is different because his award is too low. The new CBA has a minimum walk-away figure for this year of $1,611,180. The figure was originally $1,042,173 when the CBA went into effective, and has increased based on the league’s average salary increase.

Since Kennedy’s contract is for less than that, the team does not have the option of walking away, confirming that the Buffalo native will remain with his hometown team for at least another year.

Kennedy had 10 goals and 16 assists in 78 games last season, including three game-winning goals. The 24-year-old spent most of the 2008-2009 season with the Portland Pirates of the AHL, where he tallied 18 goals and 49 assists, as well as 67 penalty minutes.

Melissa Kania
NHLHS Buffalo Sabres Correspondent
mkania@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @melissakania

The additions of Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, Jordan Eberle and the highly touted #1 overall pick Taylor Hall one would expect Sam Gagner to have a break out year in his upcoming 4th NHL season.

In his previous 3 years he has managed 49, 41, and 41 points respectively for a total of 131 points in 224 games. He is yet to show his offensive capabilities like he did with the London Knights of the OHL but of course this is the NHL not juniors.

In Sam’s defense he has played up to par with the rest of his draft class perhaps minus Patrick Kane but he is very comparable  stats wise to players like James Van Riemsdyk, Kyle Turris and David Perron. Gagner was drafted 6th overall in the 2007 NHL entry draft class.

The Edmonton Oilers are in a rebuild mode with a superabundance of young players coming in and are fairly deep in the minor system in regards to forwards. Defense is another story but it’s a start for the Oilers who finished dead last overall in the NHL last season.

The mixture of veterans like Dustin Penner, Shawn Horcoff, Nikolai Khabibulin and Ales Hemsky plus a defensive core with Ladislav Smid,Taylor Chorney, Kurtis Foster and Ryan Whitney along with a tough guy like Jim Vandermeer anchoring the back end should prove to be quite an exciting team this up coming season.

Sam could be playing on a number of different lines this season and the match-ups are endless. Could you see Gagner centering players like Hemsky and Penner? Or perhaps on a line with Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle? This upcoming season for the Edmonton Oilers will be an exciting one especially watching these young kids gel into full time NHL players. The question is can the Oilers keep the puck out of their own net? The offense will be there but the defense is the main question at stake.

If  Sam stays healthy and gets ample power-play time which I would assume he would, I would project Sam getting 25 goals and 40 assists this upcoming season in what looks to be an offensive and dynamic forward line up.

Trent Kondo
NHLHS Edmonton Oilers Correspondent
tkondo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @TK0N

With arbitration hearings underway, the Buffalo Sabres met with arbitrators on Tuesday to settle Tim Kennedy‘s case.

A ruling is expected within 48 hours, and the team can either accept the ruling and sign Kennedy, or walk away, letting him become an unrestricted free agent.

According to reports, the team offered Kennedy around $700,000 for a one-year deal, which includes a $635,000 base salary and a mandatory ten percent raise. A multi-year contract would offer a higher base salary.

It’s believed that Kennedy is looking for more than $1 million per season, and maybe as much as $1.4 million depending on the length of the deal.

After the ruling is announced on Thursday, the question lies: is he worth it? The 24-year-old Buffalo native had 10 goals, including 3 game winners, in 78 games last season. He tied for 9th on the team with 26 points.

He played one game with the Buffalo club in 2008-2009, and spent most of the season playing with the Portland Pirates (AHL). In 73 games there, he had 18 goals and 49 assists and 67 penalty minutes.

Last week, Patrick Kaleta avoided arbitration and signed a two-year deal with the team. The aggressive forward will earn $860,000 in the 2010-11 season, and $955,000 in the 2011-2012 season. Kaleta made $522,000 last season and was scheduled to meet with arbitrators on July 29.

Kaleta had 10 goals and 5 assists in 55 games last season. He also had 89 penalty minutes in a season where he faced several injuries. He missed games with flu-like symptoms (1), a neck injury (3), and an upper body injury (6). Kaleta was suspended two games for delivering a hit from behind. The Angola, NY native also posted his first career multi-point and multi-goal games on October 13 and December 12.

Kaleta also led the team in short-handed goals last season.

Melissa Kania
NHLHS Buffalo Sabres Correspondent
mkania@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @melissakania

Is it just me or did the southeast division get a little tougher? I do believe they did. I get to see the southeast division a lot here in Washington and as I noted earlier in the year, the Capitals were pretty dominant last season but I’d say change is blowing  in the wind.

While the Tampa Bay Lightning have had Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier, you have to admit that the arrival of Steven Stamkos and the evolution of Steve Downie added some extra flare to their goalscoring. But this upcoming season they get a seasoned veteran who knows how to deposit 30 goals a year into the back of the net. Hello, Simon Gagne.  If that doesn’t prove to you that TBL is emerging as stronger, I get it. Gagne has one year left on his contract and you are thinking disposable. Don’t dismiss them so fast.

Two words: Steve Yzerman. Those two words when strung together with the term GM means long-term emerging threat to me and I think it should to you too. Look for TBL to build and look for them to be a hard working team on a mission.

Still not convinced that the Southeast division got tougher? The Atlanta Thrashers. I don’t know that they’re going to be the second coming of Chicago (and I don’t believe that they will) but I believe they did an outstanding job bringing in some well needed goalscoring and presence.  Take a look at who they’ve acquired and tell me they didn’t improve. I dare you to.

What am I doing bringing all this up? After all these points don’t you think the Capitals now have a bit of a different focus going into the new season? I think they do. Something tells me they may have to work a little harder this year earning the division title. Now before anyone jumps down my throat I didn’t say they won’t. I’m merely saying it will be a little harder trying to get there this upcoming season.

Jodie Smola
NHLHS Washington Capitals Correspondent
jsmola@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @phillysunshine

According to Andy Strickland and Jeremy Rutherford the St. Louis Blues have sent enforcer DJ King to the Washington Capitals. King agreed to a two-year contract extension totaling $1.25 million prior to the trade.

King was the Blues 6th Round pick (190th overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Since making his NHL debut on October 5th, 2006 King has appeared in 101 games with the St. Louis Blues. In that time frame he has accumulated 4 goals, 9 points and 185 penalty minutes.

While one of the strongest and fiercest fighters in the NHL – he has slowly fallen out of favor in St. Louis. Back to back injury plagued seasons and the growth of local boy come home Cam Janssen have limited DJ’s opportunities to play. Only appearing in 13 NHL games the last two years.

In his last full season King appeared to possess the skill required to take a regular shift every night. After the long term shoulder injury in 2007 King came to camp on 2009 looking to make his way back to the roster. By that time Janssen had taken his fair share of punches and endeared himself to many a Blues fan. Much of the fanbase had grown to believe in Cam as the better option for an enforcer and Cam backed it up at camp. His skating, stickhandling and hockey sense all noticeably improved. Janssen still has far to go, but has quickly hit the same playing level as DJ King.

It appears that the local appeal and lack of injury history turned the table in Janssen’s favor.

In return the Blues acquire Stefan Della Rovere. He was the Caps 7th Round pick (204th overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. The 5’11, 200-pound forward has a large amount of winning experience. He was a member of the 2009 Canadian WJC Gold Medal team and the 2010 Silver Medal team. HE captained the Barrie Colts in to a deep OHL playoff run. To close out his 2010 season he played for the 2010 Calder Cup winning Hershey Bears of the AHL. In 230 OHL games, Stefan registered 138 points (65 goals, 73 assists) and 479 penalty minutes.

Yes, 479 penalty minutes. For those of you who took in the last two U-20 World Junior Championships you know what I am talking about. Della Rovere was a Grade-A pest for Team Canada. He is an aggressive and tough forward who will get under opponents skin. There is the potential for a the thin line between right and wrong to be crossed. However, the same can be said of any player of his ilk. His game lives on the edge and teams benefit because of it.

He is not Patrice Cormier.

This is another solid deal made by Doug Armstrong. Turning an unnecessary surplus in to quality depth. Della Rovere has shown he can play at the highest levels and will get a shot in St. Louis. At age 20, he will not be heading back to the OHL. The expectation for now is that he will compete against Vlad Sobotka, Brad Winchester and BJ Crombeen for time on the energy lines. Most likely he will start the season with the Blues AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen.

You can find the full release from the Blues on their Official Website.

Jeff Quirin
NHLHS St. Louis Blues Correspondent
jquirin@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @MuSigma45

Well, the New York Islanders have added $2.45 million dollars towards hitting the cap floor within the NHL and their salary cap structure.

As Isles nation patiently waited for the arbitration hearing for Matt Moulson, the team surprised everyone yesterday by announcing that they will avoid just that.

During the course of his first full National Hockey League season, Moulson found himself skating as a top line forward, playing wingman to rookie sensation Jonathan Tavares.

It was instant chemistry. Of course there is some history between the two, but to skate on a top line together in the National Hockey League paid unexpected dividends.

Moulson scored a career high 30 goals as well as adding 18 assists for a total for 48 points.

What Islanders fans will need to realize is that if Clarke MacArthur, one time skater for the Atlanta Thrashers, received $2.4 million from an arbitrator, the Islanders grabbed themselves a deal by avoiding arbitration with Moulson. Although it is only a one year deal, it gives both the organization and player an opportunity to analyze how the future will be.

I do agree with much of the fanbase who wonder why it was not a longer extension but have no fear because not every team has a Tavares to play with.  The young guns up front for the Islanders, as well as the depth chart for the organization should provide enough security to a player in order to keep him on board.

What I mean is, Moulson, whether he scores 30 goals again or not, will likely be extended by the Islanders at a fair market value when the time comes.  If he scores between 20 and 24 goals he will likely stay within the same salary range (between $2 – $2.5 million).  If he hits 30 goals or more again this season he will get a raise from the $2.45 the Islanders awarded him for this upcoming season.

The chemistry will likely continue between Moulson and Tavares, and I do not see Moulson bolting at the end of his contract. I think it is more likely to see an extension handed out in season.

Of course, only time will tell.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS New York Islanders Correspondent
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_AC

The 2008-2009 season was not a good one for the Atlanta Thrashers, finishing third to last in the Eastern Conference with a record of 35-41-6.  There were a few bright spots that year, like the end of the year flurry to finish on a high note, or the 20+ goal seasons of six players: Ilya Kovalchuk, Colby Armstrong, Slava Kozlov, Rich Peverley, Todd White, and Bryan Little.

Granted, it wasn’t enough to help pull the Thrashers into the playoffs, but many fans assumed that it would be something to build on for the next season.

The 2009-2010 season was built on high expectations.  After the offensive push at the end of the previous season, many felt that John Anderson’s system was working and working well.  And then something happened.  Offensive output from Kovalchuk was the same, and Nik Antropov and Maxim Afinogenov were both adding offensive output, but the other 20+ goal scorers from the previous seasons were mired in a slump.  Todd White only managed 7 goals (though it was revealed after the season that he was playing with a separated shoulder).  Kozlov was a scratch for about a third of the season.  Peverley’s goal production dipped slightly, while Armstrong’s returned to a normal 15 goals.

Bryan Little, though, was considered to make the 2009-2010 season a sequel to the prior one.  In 2008-2009, Little scored 31 goals in a rapid fire season that no one expected from the then-sophomore hockey player.  As often happens, however, after that kind of a season, people assumed that Little wouldn’t significantly drop off in production the next year.  He did.  Production dipped down to only 13 goals on the season.  He wasn’t getting the powerplay time that added to his goal total any more, nor was he playing on a line with White and Kozlov.  None of the members of the “Little-White-Russian” line were effective last season, and none of them benefitted from playing with the others.

This season, obviously, Little will again have new line-mates, possibly being centered by Antropov and playing with Niclas Bergfors on the other wing.  New linemates, one of which is big and can cover Little, and the other of which is a scoring playmaker as well, should encourage Little to light the lamp a bit more often.  Antropov was an assist machine last season, tallying up 43 helpers on the top line.  That number might drop a bit thanks to the loss of Kovalchuk, but after the February trade, Antropov picked up scoring duties and still continued getting the puck to his teammates.

New, consistent linemates are not the only thing that should help Little recover a bit of his scoring pace.  Former coach John Anderson was let go partially due to a lack of growth from the younger players, especially Little.  New head coach Craig Ramsay and associate head coach John Torchetti are both noted for working with younger players; Torchetti’s work in Chicago is especially praiseworthy.  A new look coaching staff, a new set-up on ice, and a dose of confidence, and Bryan Little should be good to go.

Laura Astorian
NHLHS Atlanta Thrashers Correspondent
lastorian@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @hildymac