A Quick bit of news (RW77)

A little news today on the NHL side of things with one WCHA connection:

David Fischer...bababa BUST!

Just in case you weren't aware of it, former Gopher Defenseman David Fischer is a first round bust. He was a bust in Minnesota and Canadians GM Gauthier confirmed that he's an NHL bust as well. He told David's representative that they have no intention of signing him and will get a compensatory pick in the 2011 Entry Draft (20th pick of the second round to correlate with the draft position of Fischer).

This isn't all that surprising. Fischer never played as well as he did prior to Minnesota. He never improved. He just was a big body and no appreciable talent beyond his stellar years prior to playing for the Gophers.

This year seems to be the year of Finger Pointing. Whose fault is it about Fischer's stalling in development? In this case, I think Minnesota is off the hook. Fischer's freshman year wasn't stellar to begin with. I truly think he came to Minnesota peaked out developmentally and the coaching staff couldn't do a darn thing.

Will another team sign him? Maybe to a minor league deal. He'd certainly be cheap.

If I were Fischer's representative and David wanted to continue playing hockey, I'd look overseas. Try to get into the Finnish Elite League or perhaps the KHL.

I feel for David as a person. It wasn't his fault that the Canadiens saw something in him that wasn't there.


Blackhawks Situation Update

The San Jose Sharks just signed off Niclas Hjalmarrssen to a 4 year $14 million contract. The Hawks have 7 days to match it or they'll get San Jose's 1st and 3rd round picks in the 2011 draft.

This is nothing more than the cap mess rearing its ugly head again.

And it gets worse.

Rumors have been circulating that they may even drop Antti Niemi if the Arbitration goes bad for the Hawks.

I'm not sure how bad this would be overall. Niemi played well, but he still was the weakest link to the Hawks Cup run. Losing Hjalmarrssen seems to be the worst scenario.

The problem is timing. If the Hawks knew what arbitration would bring before the 7 days were up, it would more than likely have a huge impact on what they decide to do regarding Niemi and Hjalmarrssen.

The question is: could they find another diamond in the rough overseas? If so, then letting Niemi go might be ok. You throw your chips in with Toivonen and bring in that diamond from overseas. Huet is done regardless. I can't see them wanting to keep that sieve around even if Niemi is gone.

I guess what I'm saying is that I think the Hawks have to match the offer sheet laid by San Jose. Defensemen are at a premium this offseason and I think that they can recover better in goaltending than defense.

We'll see what happens. I just hope Bowman doesn't change his mind and decide to drop Niemi and throw his chips in on Huet. They already did that twice and failed both times.

Bruins look to resign Stuart and Wheeler

I hope the Boston Bruins resign the former C.C. Tigers star Mark Stuart because he is a decent defenseman that plays a gritty game and will stick up for teammates and drop the gloves “if” he has to. As far as Blake Wheeler goes, I hope the Boston Bruins trade Wheeler to another team.

I was unimpressed with the former Minnesota Gopher Blake Wheelers play at the end of last season and during the Stanley Cup playoffs, the guy is your prototypical former Gopher, a soft player that doesn’t like to hit and plays a finesse game (albeit, not well either). Sure, Blake Wheeler is a big body but he lacks grit or much in the way of offensive talent. Like I said in a tweet last spring, "Wheeler couldn’t score in a brothel" and he lacks the ability to finish in the offensive zone, that makes him an offensive liability. Wheeler's strong point is he can play on the penalty kill and he is strong defensively.

[The Bruins Blog] The agent for restricted free agent Bruins winger Blake Wheeler and defenseman Mark Stuart, Matt Keator, said he plans to speak with Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli this weekend about both his clients, as the deadline to file for arbitration approaches 5 p.m. Monday.

Both players are eligible for arbitration.

“We’ll talk over the weekend and Monday and see where things go,” Keator told TheBruinsBlog.net.

Chiarelli said on Thursday he was confident he could re-sign Wheeler, Stuart and fellow restricted free agent Gregory Campbell and stay under the salary cap, even if it would be a “little tight.”

Joe Pavelski's OT goal against the Avs

Not a former Fighting Sioux hockey player but a former WCHA star. Former Wisconsin Badger Hockey player Joe Pavelski scored the game winning goal against the Colorado Av's last night to even the series with the Av's 2-2. Seriously, what a shot to end the game by the former Badger forward. Pavelsi blew the puck past Anderson, making him look like a rented goalie.

The Pipeline Show - Brock Nelson and Vandy

The Pipeline Show 1260 AM Edmonton with Dean Millard and Guy Flaming is a first class hockey show that hits on many issues surrounding the NHL as well as college and junior hockey.

Listen to what Brock Nelson had to say about his future and when we might see him in a Fighting Sioux hockey jersey.  [Click to listen]

Listen to Chris VandeVelde and his plans for the Future. Also Cornell Big Red Forward and Oiler's first round draft choice Riley Nash discusses his future with the Oilers. [Click to listen]