NHL Hockey: Four More Teams by 2017?

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According to Chris Peters of CBS Sports, the NHL could add as many as four more teams by 2017. The more you look into this deal, the more it looks like a possibility. The NHL in Las Vegas could be a big draw.

Chris Peters, CBS Sports -- Here's why it's not completely outlandish to envision Vegas as a future NHL city. For one, they have two open spots in the Western Conference to even things out and bring some competitive balance. The Eastern Conference currently has 16 teams, while the West has 14. If the NHL expanded to the most long-rumored top candidate of Seattle, that would help even things out. It's definitely not as simple as that, though.

Another barrier for Las Vegas would have been an arena, but that may no longer be an issue. The city has been home to minor-league hockey for years, but now Vegas is in the process of building a new arena however with the aim of bringing either an NHL or NBA team to Vegas.

MGM and AEG, owner of the Los Angeles Kings, are teaming up on the project that broke ground in Las Vegas in May. The new arena is due to open in 2016 and will have 20,000 seats, but a projected capacity of 17,500 for hockey. The company building the arena, ICON, is also building the Edmonton Oilers' new arena. Kings great Luc Robitaille was on hand at the ground-breaking.

The markets listed seem like good choices. I do like adding more teams in Canada. One city that stands out is Toronto. 

NHL expansion – four teams added by 2017, Quebec City, Toronto, Seattle, and Las Vegas $1.4b in expansion fees — Howard Bloom (@SportsBizNews) August 27, 2014

43 Days until the NHL season - Links...

There are 43 days until the NHL season begins.


UND football starts in two days and six - nine freshmen could end up having their red shirts pulled.


The UND football insider has the two-deep depth chart for the UND football team.


The UND Hockey team took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. To date, that's the best one that I have seen.


Apparently, the Penguins aren't in a hurry to re-sign their goalie.


Talk is starting to emerge about the NHL in Seattle.

NHL Hockey:Forty Four Days

Checking out the calendar, there's 44 days until the hockey season begins.

NHL Hockey: Top UFA's

Checking out Cap Geek, there's not a lot out there as far as Unrestricted Free Agents. Lot of over 30-year old players out there looking for a team.

Can San Jose Live Up To Lofty Expectations In 2014-2015?

s/t to Guest Writer Mitchell Sansader.

For the last few seasons, the San Jose Sharks have been one of the most successful teams in the Western Conference in the NHL. They have a lot of talent on offense and defense, but they have been unable to break through and actually win a Stanley Cup up to this point. While there are many people expecting them to have success this upcoming year, there are reasons to be a little bit concerned.

 

Everything looked good last year when they were able to accumulate 111 points in the regular season. However, a 1st round playoff exit definitely has people a little bit worried about the future. They have plenty of fantasy hockey talent, but they are in the middle of a tough stage. They are not exactly rebuilding, but they are trying to make a few

 

The biggest thorn in the side for San Jose has been the Los Angeles Kings. For the last 2 seasons, the Western Conference rival has not been out of the playoffs. The potential is definitely there for San Jose to get by Los Angeles, and it all starts with fantasy hockey standouts Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. They need to be better players in pressure situations in order for everything to come together. The Pacific division is definitely not going to get any easier anytime soon, so it will take an entire team effort to have success.

 

There will certainly be some optimism surrounding the squad, but there is really no reason to be optimistic about what they bring to the table. It is much easier to count on other teams in the Pacific division that have had success in the playoffs before. San Jose needs to prove themselves before they can truly move into that elite team status.

Penguins' Crosby healing nicely

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The NHL and it's fans are breathing a sigh of relief. The face of the NHL is healing and hopefully, he will be okay when the NHL season begins.

NHL.com -- Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said Friday he is pleased with the way his injured right wrist has responded to treatment.

"It's good," Crosby told The Associated Press in Estero, Fla., where he has been working out. "You want to see how things progress throughout the summer once you start skating and get back to that regular routine. You want to see how it reacts, so I'm happy with the way it's gone."

The Penguins in early July said Crosby had been receiving treatment for a wrist injury he sustained last season. Crosby's agent, Pat Brisson, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Crosby opted for an injection rather than surgery, which was not ruled out. Brisson said Crosby was injured in March.

Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said in July that Crosby would be ready for training camp.

After leading the NHL in scoring during the regular season with 104 points, Crosby had one goal and eight points in 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He did not have a point in the Penguins' final three games, all losses, after they took a 3-1 series lead against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Second Round.

NHL to Seattle?

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From Nicholas Goss of NESN.com. It would appear that the city of Seattle could be in the running for getting an NHL franchise. To me, Seattle seems like a logical home for an NHL franchise and could become an instant rival with the Vancouver Canucks.

According to King 5, Coleman has met with several important people involved with the NHL and the City of Seattle.

“It’s clear Coleman has the support of the NHL. One league executive describes him as “the real deal,” and he was flanked by the NHL’s top leaders during a clandestine meeting in Seattle back in May,” King 5’s Chris Daniels writes.

Getting a new arena built in Seattle appears, at least at the moment, dependent on the existence of an NBA tenant, and there’s no indication that pro basketball will be returning to Seattle anytime soon.

Daniels also reports that Coleman and Chris Hansen, who wants to bring an NBA team to Seattle with a new arena, have spoken. (NESN.com)

NHL Hockey: Most Hated Team...

These maps have been making it's way around the internet, is there really any question who the fans hate? My question is, how are the Detroit Red Wings so hated in the West? There's no question who the fans in Canada hate.

Stanley Cup coming to UND, Ralph Engelstad Arena

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Matt Greene is bringing Lord Stanley's Cup to Grand Forks, ND.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup, the oldest championship in North American professional team sports, is coming to Ralph Engelstad Arena.

The iconic trophy will accompany former University of North Dakota men’s hockey captain Matt Greene to Grand Forks on Tuesday, Aug. 12 for a public viewing at Engelstad Arena. Greene and his Los Angeles Kings captured their second Stanley Cup championship in three years when they defeated the New York Rangers in five games in the Stanley Cup Finals in June.

The Cup will be on display in the main lobby of Engelstad Arena from 12-3 p.m. Central. Fans will have the opportunity to take photographs with the Cup and take home a free special commemorative flyer. A video highlight package featuring Greene and the Kings will also run on the video screens in the lobby.

Greene, an assistant captain with the Kings, played at North Dakota 2002-03 through 2004-05. He captained the 2005 Fighting Sioux team to the NCAA Frozen Four championship game in Columbus, Ohio. In his three years at UND, Greene appeared in 122 games, collecting three goals and 28 assists.

 

Subban Remains Unsigned

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P.K. Subban is still a restricted free agent without a contract. The Hab’s defenseman isn’t saying anything about his contract negotiations either.

“I’ll answer one question about the negotiation,” Subban told a media scrum at Royal Montreal Golf Club.“It’s been kept pretty quiet the whole time and it’s going to remain that way until a deal is done.” (Brenda, Branswell, Habs Inside/Out)

“As of right now today I’m sitting here and trying to just enjoy the day. Just not thinking about anything,” he said. Apparently, Subban wants to remain a Hab for life.

"Obviously I remain adamant on remaining in Montreal and being a Montreal Canadien, and not just for a long time but hopefully for the rest of my career, and be a lifer there," Subban told Breakfast Television in Toronto earlier this week. "I really enjoy playing there." (NHL.COM)

It looks like Subban could get one of the most lucrative contracts in the Montreal Canadiens history.

We're talking, of course, about P.K. Subban and what's sure to be the most lucrative deal in franchise history. One that will likely bring the defenseman $10 million a season—or more—at some point during the agreement. (Allan Muir, Sports Illustrated)

Fox Sports, Group of San Jose Sharks fans outraged over team's recruitment of 'Ice Girls'

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Seriously? You've got to be kidding me? Now Ice Girls are offensive? Doh-kay! Here's the facebook page link.

Brent Smiley, Fox Sports -- A coalition of San Jose Sharks fans have formed the group "Say No to Sharks Ice Girls" in response to the team's proposed uniform change for its co-ed ice team.

Previously, members of the Sharks ice team wore full outfits that did not expose any skin, while this year's uniforms for the ladies "May be form fitting with some skin exposure." Males would not expose their possibly hairy midriffs.

At least 1,108 persons and counting think the proposed change for women and not men is offensive, sexist and "reinforces a negative double-standard where men are taken seriously but women are sexualized and objectified."

Claude Giroux busted for grabbing cops buttocks

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Ruh, roh! Claude Giroux was arrested for grabbing the buttocks of an Ottawa police officer. This is a story made for the tabloid news. Also, alcohol was a factor.

Danielle Bell,Ottawa Sun -- Philadelphia Flyers star Claude Giroux has been released from jail after being arrested for allegedly grabbing the buttocks of a police officer.

Sources say Giroux was arrested for repeatedly grabbing the male police officer's butt during an incident at a downtown Ottawa bar. Alcohol is believed to have been involved.

A witness and sources say the incident occurred at The Great Canadian Cabin in the Byward Market club district.

NHL Compliance buyouts

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Buffalo:   Ville Leino $4.5M
Chicago:   Steve Montador $2.75M, Rostislav Olesz $3.125M
Dallas:   Aaron Rome $1.5M
Detroit:   Carlo Colaiacovo $2.5M
Edmonton:   Eric Belanger $1.75M
Minnesota:  Tom Gilbert $4M
Montreal:   Scott Gomez $7.357M,  Tomas Kaberle $4.25M
Nashville:  Hal Gill $2M
New Jersey: Johan Hedberg $1.4M
NY Islanders: Rick DiPietro $4.5M
NY Rangers:  Wade Redden $6.5M
Philadelphia:  Danny Briere $6.5M,  Ilya Bryzgalov $5.667M
Tampa Bay:  Vincent Lecavalier $7.727M
Toronto:   Mike Komisarek $4.5M,   Mikhail Grabovski $5.5M
Vancouver:   Keith Ballard $4.2M,  David Booth $4.25M
Washington:  Jeff Schultz $2.75M

Here's a list of the Compliance Buyouts. Under the new CBA each team is allowed two of them.

NHL Hockey: Fourth Line Players Expected to Contribute

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I have said this in the past, fourth line players in the NHL are going to need to be able to fight and actually play the game of hockey. Gone are the days of the two fights, and three shift players. One dimensional goons like John Scotts aren’t going to have a job much longer because they’re a waste of a roster spot.

Amalie Benjamin, Boston Globe – The real question, perhaps, is whether the concept of the fourth line is shifting toward more skill, as the Bruins saw in the second round of the postseason, when the Canadiens got production from their fourth line (Brandon Prust, Daniel Briere, Dale Weise) and the Bruins did not.

That was the role the Bruins’ Merlot line played in the past, notably in the Stanley Cup Final against Vancouver, when they helped turn around Game 7. It was a line emulated throughout hockey, as teams realized they needed to roll four lines, as the Bruins did, to be successful.

With that in mind, it will be telling to see what happens to the large number of free agent enforcers this summer, with quite a few set to be unrestricted, a quirk of enforcers mostly getting short-term contracts. In addition to Thornton, George Parros, Paul Bissonnette, Kevin Westgarth and John Scott, among others, are without deals.

“I think if you look across the league, you look at more and more teams rolling four lines and getting some production out of the fourth line, like we’ve had for a number of years,” Neely said.

Humor: Simpson's NHL Hockey

Is Pierre Maguire going to the Pens?

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I would imagine that NHL hockey fans in the USA would cheer on such a move, unless you're a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Think of it this way, NHL fans in the USA would no longer have to listen to NBC Sports NHL analyst Pierre Maguire as he annoys fans from between the players boxes. As a regular NHL viewer, I would applaud such a move.

Bob Pompeani Show --- Scotty Bowman worked closely with NBC Sports NHL analyst Pierre Maguire who has been rumored to be a possible candidate for the open general manager position with the Pens.

He tells Bob that Maguire has been a candidate recently for many open positions and that he has a real desire to return to a team.

“He has a good broad knowledge of amateur hockey,” Bowman said. “But the big thing he has going for him for me is that he has a lot of connections. He has kept up with the hockey league. He is a hard worker. His knowledge of the NHL would be very high for sure.”

NHL Hockey: Evolution of the game?

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I have said in the past, that players that score 30 goals and fight will be a premium some day. I still stand by the assertion. The one dimensional goons (that can only fight) are going to be a thing of the past. Moving forward, in the years ahead, players will need to actually play hockey and contribute to their team in some way.  The John Scotts of the world are going to be on the NHL's unemployment line, very soon. There will still be fighting, just less of it.

Fluto Shinzawa, Boston Globe -- But it takes an agreement to fight. If a skilled team doesn’t have a slugger, the opponent’s tough guy has no dance partner. Through attrition, the fighter is becoming irrelevant. Heavyweights such as Thornton, Scott (Buffalo), Micheal Haley (Rangers), George Parros (Montreal), Mike Rupp (Minnesota), Cam Janssen (New Jersey), Steve MacIntyre (Edmonton), Ben Eager (Edmonton), Paul Bissonnette (Phoenix), and Kevin Westgarth (Calgary) will become unrestricted free agents this summer. Some of these players may be on their final NHL contracts.

“The fisticuff trend — this doesn’t characterize Thorty as just a fighter, because he’s contributed on that line and that line has had a lot of success in the past — we’re definitely trending away from that style,” Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said.

The Bruins are in transition. Thornton is doubtful to return. Paille and Campbell will enter the final year of their contracts. This could be the beginning of refreshing the fourth line to keep pace with Chicago’s innovation.

Paille is a good No. 4 left wing. He’s fast, kills penalties, and is good in battles. Justin Florek could replace Thornton on the right side. Florek is big and smart. He’s strong on the walls. He can also kill penalties.

Former NCAA Hockey Players lead the Stanley Cup Playoffs

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Points
1.	Zach Parise-MIN	11
2.	Paul Stastny-COL	10
	Nathan MacKinnon-COL	10
	Anze Kopitar-LAK	10
5.	Jonathan Toews-CHI	8
	Brent Seabrook-CHI	8
	Matt Niskanen-PIT	8
	Paul Martin-PIT	8
	Evgeni Malkin-PIT	8
	Patrick Kane-CHI

Six of top ten Stanley Cup Playoffs Points Leaders have NCAA Experience. Two of the top 10 are from University of North Dakota.  

Prediction for Wild vs. Blackhawks

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How the Wild win…

The Minnesota Wild will beat the Chicago Blackhawks if they continue to play their systems like they did against the Colorado Avalanche. This past season, the Wild had a 3-2 record against the Blackhawks. One of the Wild’s two losses was a shootout loss. So, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that the Wild could win this series. Just like the series against the Av’s, the Wild are going to be the under dogs. They need to embrace this, and use it in their favor.

The key to beating the Blackhawks, play disciplined, smart hockey. They cannot take foolish, selfish, retaliation penalties. The Wild will need to stay out the penalty box if they want to win this series.

Defensively: the Wild need to protect their goaltender. Make that area nose bleed alley, smartly. It’s imperative that the Wild keep the Blackhawks on the perimeter. They do not want to allow them to get to the blue paint, or roam freely in the slot, unchallenged. The Blackhawks will cash in on those opportunities.

The Blackhawks are a fast skating team that comes at you in waves, and the Wild defensemen need to keep the Blackhawks forwards in front of them. Up front, former North Dakota forward Jonathan Toews (3g-4a—7pts) and former Michigan State Spartan Duncan Keith (2g-5a—7pts) lead the Blackhawk in points. No slouch himself, Patrick Kane is in third place with (3g-3a—6pts). Leading the Wild in points against the Blackhawks this season: Jason Pominville (4g-1a—5pts), Mikael Granlund (0g-4a—4pts), Matt Cooke (2g-1a—3pts). Note, Cooke is unavailable for the first three games because of his suspension. He returns from his seven-game suspension in time for game four.

Wild lose if…

The Wild will lose if they fail to play disciplined hockey. They cannot get caught up in the extra bravo sierra. They can’t lose their wits about them. They need to play under control and not respond to the Andrew Shaw’s antics. Also, the Wild will lose if they start running around, trying to check the Blackhawks out of the building. The Blues tried to do this in the first round and it didn’t work. That’s not the Wild’s game, they’re more successful when they play a high pressure, fore-check game.

I am going out on a limb, Wild win series in 6 games.

Denver Post finally responds to Patrick Bordeleau's dirty leg check on Jared Spurgeon

Nice to see that the Denver Post "finally" decided to pick up this story. Our buddy Adrian Dater from the Denver Post is Johnny on the spot for this story.

But, yeah, it looks a lot like the Cooke hit on Barrie, and let’s not be naive here: we all knew the Avs would maybe try something in retaliation for losing one of their best players to a dirty hit. As I said before and I’ll keep saying: you’re looking in the wrong place if you’re looking to the NHL for fairness and civility.

Adrian Dater explains his reasons for calling Matt Cooke a Gutless Puke.

When I referred to Matt Cooke as a “gutless puke” earlier, I was doing so in reference to an old line Cam Neely used about Claude Lemieux once, and has since become a common hockey saying for anyone people don’t like. It wasn’t meant to be taken so literally.

Let's clear, I have called Minnesota Wild Matt Cooke worse than that. I just was kind of shocked to see a major newspaper in a major market use those kind of words to explain a National Hockey League player. First, the Avalanche employed their share of objectionable players as well.