Popularity on the Rise

Sheldon Souray has not seen NHL action in over a year. He has not played a full 82-game season in over three years. However, that is not enough to shy away a few NHL from franchises from claiming him off waivers, and bolstering their blue line. Sourays' cap hit for the remainder of the season is only 2.7 million dollars which would fit under most team's salary cap at this point of the season. Initial reports suggested Souray was likely heading to New Jersey, a team more than likely out of the playoffs with not much left to play for at this point. New reports today say the the Columbus Blue Jackets along with the San Jose Sharks have scheduled meetings with Souray to get his take on where he would go and want to play. He has been known to be demoted or sent down to a team and not play simply because he doesn't want to go there. The Devils, Blue Jackets, and Sharks dont want to take that risk and have a 2.7 million dollar cap hit on a player who isn't interested in playing for the team. The first team on the waiver wire that would have the chance to make the claim on Souray is New Jersey, followed by Columbus, and finally San Jose. Will be an interesting day to see where Souray ends up. My guess is the Sharks.

Flyers/Rangers Update

Boucher just went down in pain. Bobrosky coming in relief. If Boucher is seriously hurt, this could throw a huge curveball into trades that take place. Philly would have two choices. Either trying to deal for Vokoun from Florida, or calling Leighton back up, (Leighton would have to clear waivers to rejoin the team, and with all the teams in need of a goalie right now, it is highly unlikely Leighton would clear waivers.)

-Boucher allows a goal, ironically to Stephan, just a minute after he takes shot to the head from Stephan. He clearly is injured. Will see how long Philly decides to keep him in.

Deadline Update

-Am hearing the New Jersey may be putting a claim in on Souray sometime today.

-Hemsky asking price seems huge right now. Edmonton asking for a 1st round pick, NHL roster player, and a top prospect in the farm system.

-Schenn from LA to Toronto seems like it may be happening soon. Graboski alone with a pick may be the asking price for the Kings if they move Schenn.

Hockey Day In America (Update)

Best game on TV right now is the Rangers/Flyers game. Physical, fast paced hockey game with scoring chances going both ways. Really looking forward to the Pens/Hawks game at 330. Two teams struggling to find their way right now and the Hawks on the outside looking in for the playoff picture....

If the Caps pull the trigger and get Vokoun do they really become any more of a threat in the East? They have a weak back end on defense and Ovechkin is struggling to find his game right now. Vokoun will help them sure up the penalty kill, but they will not advance out of the east past Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and now Boston without going out and acquiring a strong D-Man. Deadline sits 9 days away. Should be an interesting week.

-Without picking up Vokoun and a strong D-Man on the market, say Lilies from Colorado, this is how the season will end up for Capitals fans....again.

Hockey Day in America

Lots of good games today for Hockey Day Across America 2011. Washington travels to Buffalo, Division clash between the Flyers and Rangers, Western Conference battle between the Red Wings and Wild, and finally the last two games of the night, Pittsburgh visits Chicago, and the Heritage Classic wraps things up at 630.

-Will teams be active today in making moves? 9 days until the trade deadline.

-Will Washington make a move to get Vokoun?

-Pittsburgh and Chicago have played each other once each of the past two years. The winner of that regular season game has gone on to be the eventual Stanley Cup Champion.

Compare and Contrast.

On the eve of the Heritage Classic, I started to be curious. What will althe hockey media be talking about on Monday morning? Will they be comparing ratings of the game, or will they be talking about which ice surface was better? Or will the discussion be about a more competitive game, or better outdoor hockey weather?

The truth is, as much as the analyst might be comparing the two early Monday morning, there is no similarities between the two besides the fact they are both outdoor hockey games.

The ratings will more than likely be better for the Heritage classic than they were for the Winter Classic. If your reading this, you probably think I am crazy, and don't know what I'm talking about. How could ratings for a game in the middle of Northwestern Canada get better rankings than a game in Pittsburgh between hockeys two brightest stars? The answer is that the Heritage Classic will be broadcast throughout Canada on TSN. Canada is much more serious about their hockey than we are in America, and almost all of the country will be tuned in tomorrow night, as this is there moment to shine. Especially when you consider the fact a Canadian team has not reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 6 years, and has not lifted the Cup in 19 years.

A guaranteed fact is that you will hear about how the ice surface was much better for the Heritage Classic than it was for the Winter Classic, even though the same people created the ice surfaces. The fore casted weather for faceoff tomorrow night in Calgary is 28 degrees with an 80% chance of snow. The fore casted weather for faceoff in Pittsburgh was 40 degrees, with a 70% chance of rain. Having a "Classic Game" in a city that has a better chance of colder temperatures and snowy conditions makes the focus shift more from the ice, and more towards the game. This is a risk that the NHL took having the game in Pittsburgh, and even though the rain held off for most of the game, the ice still got bad at some points. The NHL will learn from this, and be better equipped to handle it in the future.

On a closing thought, even though the star power in tomorrow nights game lacked what the Winter Classic had, Canada will gladly appreciate seeing Cammalari against Iginla. Of course it isn't Crosby against Ovechkin, but it is their pride and joy, and they will make sure it is done right in hopes of getting another game in Canada next year. It will be exciting to watch, and a competitive game.

Back and Better Than Ever...Well, at least one of us.

I have been away from blogging for awhile now, but now I am back. One person who isn't back is Penguins Captain, Sidney Crosby. Crosby has been dealing with concussion like symptoms for over a month now after getting a concussion on January 1st when Capitals forward David Steckel blindsided Crosby and intentionally dipped his shoulder to hit his head. Crosby returned to the game, but never looked like himself for the remainder of the contest. Just 4 days later, Crosby was in the lineup as the Penguins played Tampa Bay at the Consol Energy Center. He got yet another concussion as Lightning forward Victor Headman drove Crosby into the boards from behind, with his head taking most of the impact. Since then, we as the hockey public have not seen Crosby play a game.

This situation draws 2 questions.

1- As fans of the NHL, what rule do we need to implement into the the league to try and rid of the head shots.

2- As fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins, what do we want Ray Shero to do? Will we be upset if he does not pull the trigger on a trade and packs in the season while lacking the firepower of Crosby and Malkin? Or will we be more upset if he dishes assets to teams to acquire players when there is a good chance we may be bounced in the first round of the playoffs?

The answers to these questions are simple. The NHL must come down on the players who take head shots hard. We can not act like this is the 1970's, (yes Colin Campbell, that is completely directed towards you) and suspend them for 5 or 6 games. For example, David Steckel should be suspended for the total amount of games Crosby is out, doubled, without pay. This will send a clear message throughout the league that the head shots are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The punishment seems harsh, but someone has to be the "whipping boy" is this situation.

Then, we move on the Penguins situation. Ray Shero is in a lose-lose situation here. If he does not make a trade and bring in a big time player, there is the crowd that will think packing in the season is never the right thing to do in professional sports, and the crowd that likes the move and thinks it may help us in the playoffs.

On the other hand, if he does make a trade, there is the crowd that will badger him about giving away assets when the team really has no shot of advancing far into the playoffs this year, and the crowd that thinks the trade may help us, and may push us into the playoffs and give us a real shot of contending.

The bottom line is, Shero is the only one who knows what to do in this situation. He does not have the job of General Manager of one of the most prestigious franchises in professional hockey because he is indecisive about making moves. If he believes this team can go deep into the playoffs with Crosby back on the team and not making a move, he will act accordingly. If he believes Crosby may not return, and the best thing is to use the extra 17.4 million dollars of cap space to bring in two players that can score on a nightly basis, he will go out and make the move. The Penguins have been rumored or linked to Edmenton forwards Dustin Penner and Ales Hemsky most heavily so far. The trade deadline is in 10 days. My honest feel for the situation is that if Shero believes Crosby is shut down for the season, he will not risk losing young core players, and will take his chances in the playoffs with what he has. We will find out soon what Ray Shero is thinking as the deadline looms.