This and That

So this year's Free Agency period hasn't been the most exciting. Personally my top 3 signings are Hamhuis to the Canucks (like we didn't see that coming), Gonchar to the Sens (as a Sens fan, I really like this move) and Volchenkov to the Devils (surprising but good move).

The one big UFA remains to be Ilya Kovalchuk who believe it or not is still without a team, main reason is because he is rumoured to be seeking $10 million/year. My opinion is he won't be getting that money but any rumours of him going to the KHL should be dismissed (even if they id offer him $36 million over 4 years). I highly doubt a player with Ilya's talent and relatively young age is going to give up playing in the NHL for the money, not at this stage in his career anyways. I'm still a fan of Kovy but to be honest the longer he thinks he's worth more than Crosby, Malkin and Ovechkin the less respect people will have for him. Good news is his agent Jay Grossman just tweeted that Kovalchuk will be making his decision today!

Some news and rumours from around the league:
1) Taylor Hall has signed an entry level contract with the Oilers today according to Twitter it's 3 years 900k/year
2) Any rumours of Zherdev to Toronto and Pens trading Staal should be completely ignored
3) Bryan Murray continues talks with the Sutton camp, I'm hoping something can be done for cheap soon
4) According to Dmitry Chesnokov Evgeni Nabokov is confirmed to be in talks with club SKA from the KHL, if true I'm very surprised...I thought there would be more demand for a goalie like Nabby in the NHL.
5) Aaron Asham not expected to return to the Flyers and is probably looking for a raise

Seidenberg Extension

Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg (28 years old) has signed a 4 year extension with the Boston Bruins worth $13 million. I think that's a pretty good signing for the B's as long as it doesn't impede with the signing of either Stuart or Boychuk as they are becoming fan favourite and are looking like they are developing nicely in Boston.

Seidenberg set career highs in games played (79), assists (28) and points (32) and led the NHL in blocked shots with 215 this season in Boston. His two greatest assets are his hits and shot blocking abilities, which are essential in any team's defense core imo.

The Never-Ending Spezza Drama

UPDATE: Just found out this Facebook group/page from Ottawa fans who want to rally to keep Spezza. An amazing step forward to drown the voices of all those Spezza haters, I just hope this catches on and actually happens. Thanks to @CassiieD for this link: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=133266120016899

After the Sens got eliminated in 6 games to the Stanley Cup champs, Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray had his usual "exit" interviews. Jason Spezza was reportedly not happy with being blamed for all the team's woes and constantly being booed by his own fans. Not surprisingly, the Ottawa Sun decided to twist the whole story up into a Jason Spezza trade request dilemma.

To be honest, I don't understand why Murray made the content of that meeting public out of all the players' meetings, what was he trying to accomplish? If Murray trades Spezza two things will happen a) He'll get half the return that he should get b) Mike Fisher will be Ottawa's new whipping boy just because that's how things turn out with some Ottawa fans. The truth of the matter is that other than Spezza we have no real "stars", yes we have Alfie but he's more than just that, he's an Ottawa legend but also on the verge of retirement. Whether you like it or not, Jason Spezza is the future of this team. He's also turning 27 in 10 days meaning he's just getting into his prime.

Fans can rant all they want but the truth is nobody is more responsible for the excessive Spezza hate around town more than the media. It seems that it would kill one of our beloved Ottawa journalists to write something positive about the team and when there's nothing negative to say about the team, they make sure they come up with something. The problem is, they also represent a very small fraction of fans who just want to see big moves and don't appreciate what we have here while true fans remain unspoken for the most part.

July 1st, 2010 is when Spezza's NTC kicks in (assuming he's still in Ottawa), I'd like to say that we won't hear many rumours afterwards but I'm sure something will come up with him. Spezza currently in Toronto has denied the rumours that he wants out, there is no reason why he shouldn't be upset with the fans but a) Murray should've kept it a secret and b) the media needs to stop twisting things for their own amusement. All I know is trading Jason Spezza was, is and never will be a good deal from a Senators perspective.

Oilers sign Svensson-Paajarvi

According to Jeff Marek of CBC the Edmonton Oilers have signed one of there top prospects. Swedish forward Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi has signed an entry level deal with the Oilers. He's spent the last 3 years in the Swedish elite league and put up totals of 134 games, 20 goals and 29 assists. Those numbers are considerable good for a player in his early 20's. He was selected 10th overall by Edmonton at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Lidstrom sticking in Detroit

According to TSN, the Detroit Red Wings have re-signed defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom to a 1 year deal worth just over 6 million dollars.

Entertainment At Its Peak!

This Stanley Cup Finals series has been quite fun to watch. No I'm not talking about the goals, hits or saves but something even better: post and pre game players comments.

Let me start with my personal favourite: Chris Pronger. He had heard enough of Byfuglien (honestly I think he's jealous :p) and was blasting all media asking about him prior to game 2. And then after game 2 he was seen yet again taking the game puck and when asked he told them it's in the garbage where it belongs! Ya right Pronger, how about that towel you threw at Eager after the game, where does that belong. Apparently, Pronger got pissed when Eager told him he could keep the puck (The Hawks want the Cup instead ;) ).

Then comes Briere, it's one thing to lose but it's another when you lose and then criticize the amazing play of the opposing goaltender. Briere said Niemi wasn't all that great and wasn't tested enough, did Briere watch the last half of the game? Obviously not!

And then of course there was Carcillo saying he was going to come in and run around without taking penalties. He was running around alright, in circles around himself and that penalty box didn't have to miss him for too long.

The Flyers are claiming they are getting to the Hawks (by taking away game pucks and having Carcillo hit boards) but if their comments indicate anything, it is the complete opposite. The Flyers are mad, and have no idea what they're doing. Stay classy Philly and try to focus on the hockey.

Pond Hockey

Brent Sopel said it best last night when he compared last night's game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals to a pond hockey game. We have come to the point where the best of the east are playing the best of the west (regardless of regular season standings) so tons of offense is expected. However, steady goaltending and tight defense is also the norm at such a level of the playoffs. Having 11 goals in one playoff game is rare as it is, but in a Stanley Cup final? Probably unheard of in a long time now.

We can't argue that the long break has affected both teams, especially the boys in net but if last night's game indicated anything it would be that the Hawks hate losing more than any other team. Both the Hawks' and Flyers' top lines were MIA last night with Toews and Kane a -3 but the difference was the Hawks incredible depth and willingness to fight back and win. Even though the game could've gone either way and there was no domination by a single team I still felt like the Hawks were the better team for the most part.

I think the hype of the Pronger/Byfuglien match up will live up to its expectations. I also think Pronger isn't aware of how big and difficult Byfuglien is. While Pronger may be hated around the league, anyone who knows anything about hockey will respect his defensive skills however, this team is faster, more determined and stronger than any team he's played this post season.

A big part of why I think this game was worse off for the Hawks were the stupid penalties. Yes, Bolland did score a beauty while shorthanded but so did Hatnell on another unnecessary Hawks penalty to tie the game up. The Hawks play best when they're disciplined and the Flyers play best when the other teams make the mistakes the Blackhawks and previously Montreal did.

We can't argue that the goaltending was beyond horrendous. The only goalie who showed any interest in stopping a puck was Brian Boucher who unfortunately for the Flyers was brought in too little too late and still let in the game winning goal. The entertaining aspect of this series is that both Niemi and the Hawks are known to come back firing after a bad game which despite the win they still played a bad game by their standards. On the other hand, Leighton and Co. are no easy team either, after their embarrassing loss against Montreal, they came back more determined and came out with a shutout. So who will steal the show in game 2? Will it be the home team again or will Leighton and the Flyers get a split to go home with? My prediction is this will be no short series and Flyers will get the split and take Game 2 by a score of 4-2.