Is Kessel on the trading block?

It appears that Phil Kessel might be on the trading block in Boston. The Bruins are rumored to be in the running for Marian Hossa and they would need to trade some salary to get Hossa.

The Bruins owe right wing Glen Murray $4.15 million and goalie Manny Fernandez $4.3 million this coming season while less-expensive players like forwards P.J. Axelsson and Phil Kessel [stats] are rumored to be on the trading block, which could also open valuable cap space.

"We do have some commitments out there, contractual commitments that put us at cap number that we can’t go after a $10 million (a year) player," Chiarelli added. "In that sense, if we decided to go after a $10 million player, we’d be in trouble."

A new cap figure for all NHL teams is expected to be announced shortly. The signing period for signing unrestricted free agents, such as Hossa, begins July 1 and teams like the Bruins are attempting to clear cap space in order to sign them.

"I’m not feeling squeezed but we’d have to move some money around to go after a really, really marquee player," Chiarelli said.

Kyle Okposo to make NHL Debute? We will soon find out.

(AP Photo)
It appears that the Kyle Okposo era might begin as soon as next Tuesday night when the islanders play the Toronto Maple Leafs. I might have to tune to see how his NHL debute goes.

BY GREG LOGAN
(read the rest of the story here)
Eight players who have dressed for a game in Bridgeport this season are on the Islanders' current roster. But not the one on whom Islanders fans are pinning their hopes for the future.

That's about to change. No official announcement has been made, but all indications suggest Kyle Okposo, the seventh overall pick in the 2006 draft, likely will make his Islanders debut against Toronto Tuesday night at Nassau Coliseum.

Okposo left the University of Minnesota in January to sign a three-year entry level deal with the Isles. If he plays 10 NHL games, that deal begins this season. If he plays nine or less, next season is considered the first year of his contract. After the Isles' game Saturday night in Montreal, they will have only nine games left on the schedule, and since they are 13th in the Eastern Conference playoff race, it makes sense to evaluate Okposo against NHL competition to aid planning for next season.

Coach Ted Nolan said it's up to general manager Garth Snow to make the decision, but his smile said it all when asked if he would like to see Okposo come up. "Definitely," Nolan said. "Why not? But he's playing pretty well down there, and maybe a good finish down there [would be best]. He could just ride it out and try to get that team in the playoffs and give him a little taste. But here, it would also be good."

Golden Gophers coach Don Lucia claimed the Islanders pressured Okposo to go pro at the time of his signing. Snow fired back angrily, saying the 6-foot-1, 203-pound right wing could get better coaching and speed his development in the Isles' organization.

It was well-known in Minneapolis that Okposo was unhappy playing for Lucia and was languishing. But in 27 games with Bridgeport, Okposo is off to a solid start with eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points. He might not be the finisher the Islanders need at this point, but his playmaking abilities have been impressive and he requires a lot of defensive attention.

The fall out of the Kyle Okposo defection

I have been following this story on the internet for the last couple of day and I am wondering if the wheels aren't coming off in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is an ugly incident that just isn’t going to go away any time soon. Kyle Okposo the Islander’s number one draft picks leaves college to sign a professional contract with the Islanders. Don Lucia takes issues with Kyle signing a professional contract in the middle of his sophomore season and calls the New York Islanders out. Garth Snow not to be out done, shoots back with accusations about the Gophers not being good for Kyle’s development.

There seems to be a developing on going story line in Minnesota. It’s like an on going soap opera that just keeps getting more interesting. (1st) the Gophers lose the Regional game against Holy Cross during the 2005-2006 season. (2nd) Then during the off season the Gophers lose Phil Kessel after playing just one season to the Boston Bruins who drafted him 5th over all in the first round, (3rd) this past summer the Gophers three more underclassmen, two players to the NHL/AHL (Alex Goligoski and Eric Johnson) and also one player to Major Juniors (Jim O’brien). Now the Gophers lose a player only after 1 ½ years. One has to ask what the heck in going on at Minnesota?
What a horrible way to end the first half of the season, and Minus Okposo, I just don’t see it getting any better for the Gophers in the second half, even with the return of Mike Jersey Pop Carmin.

Here is what Garth Snow had to say about Kyle Okposo's development at the University of Minnesota and more specifically about Coach Don Lucia. It isn't very flattering. This is a train wreck folks.

New York Islanders General Manager Garth Snow on Thursday criticized Don Lucia's coaching, saying that was the reason sophomore Kyle Okposo is leaving the Gophers hockey program and negotiating a contract with the Islanders.

"Quite frankly, we weren't happy with the program there," Snow said in a telephone interview. "They have a responsibility to coach, to make Kyle a better player, and they were not doing that."

Asked for specifics, Snow said, "[Okposo] just wasn't getting better -- bottom line. And to me, that's the frustrating part. We entrusted the coach there to turn him into a better hockey player, and it wasn't happening. We feel more comfortable in him developing right under our watch."

Here is what Lucia had to say.

Notified of Snow's comments Thursday, Lucia e-mailed the Star Tribune via the University's sports information department.

"I am proud of all the success of our program," the coach's statement read. "I believe our staff does an excellent job of developing our players on and off the ice.

"We have had numerous players sign and play in the NHL, but just as important many more move on to have successful careers after graduating from the University of Minnesota. We have always and will continue to work to ensure our players reach their potential on the ice and in the classroom."

Links to the Story

Lucia and Snow Star and Tribune article.

Prospect Okposo ready to join Islanders from TSN.

Grand Forks Herald beat writer check in with this blog

Okposo Opts Out, Signs With Isles

The Chickens finally come home to roost

For Sioux fans this day took a long time in coming.
This has been covered a bit on the college Hockey Blog sphere and when I first saw it, the incident kind of sounded like an urban legend, it was almost like it was too good to be true. Sioux fans and other hockey fans are already asking; where do we get the You Tube Video of this incident? We want proof for closure. As a rabid Sioux fan, of course I was hoping it was true because I felt it was a long time in coming. Now finally this incident can be put to bed as justice has finally been served.

It took a couple of seasons but Matt Greene finally got a shot at Oilers prospect Geoff Paukovich and made the most of it.

Here's the deal, back in 2004-05 in the WCHA Final Five, Paukovich playing for the Denver Pioneers crushed Greene's teammate Robbie Bina of North Dakota with an ugly hit that broke Bina's neck. (Bina has since returned to play). Greene, the Fighting Sioux's captain, exchanged words with Paukovich telling him their would be a day of reckoning at a later date. (Note:this would be the politically correct translation of what was said!).

As you all know you can't fight in College hockey but you can in a conditioning camp.
Paukovich now an Oilers prospect showed up at Clare Drake Arena the other day for the U. of A. Conditioning Camp, and Greene of course is an Oilers regular. Greene was late for a session, and the two were slated to be on the same team, when he saw Paukovich in a drill. Greene immediately skated over to Paukovich and told him the day of reckoning had arrived and proceeded to according to onlookers..make short work of Paukovich. The one-sided tilt lasted 15-20 seconds. The two shook hands after the fight. Classic!

Bob Stauffer
Team 1260

For college hockey fans that aren't very familiar with the incident in question this link kind of put the whole incident in perspective from more of a journalistic point of view.

This article put it all in perspective as well...

The incident
The moment came early in the second period with Denver controlling the puck while the referee had his arm in the air ready to blow the play dead as soon as North Dakota touched the puck. It’s a scene played out in rinks around the globe often, but on this afternoon in the heat of the battle, something went wrong.
As the puck came free along the boards, sophomore defenseman Robbie Bina reached to touch it thus triggering the whistle and stopping the play. But when the 5’8 180 lb Bina played the puck, he was simultaneously hit from behind by Paukovich, crashing heavily into the boards.

“It was a delayed penalty touch up and Bina got hit from behind, that’s it,” Greene bluntly stated, clearly still bothered by the memory. “He was two feet off the boards and got hit from behind and it was a delayed penalty call, so as soon as Robbie touches the puck, which he did, the whistle blows and that’s it. I don’t want to point fingers or anything, but from where I was sitting, it didn’t look like it needed to happen.”

Bina lay motionless for a period of time before being carried off the ice, the extent of his injuries not immediately known. Oiler VP of Hockey Operations Kevin Prendergast, who was in attendance that night, wasn’t aware of the severity of the injury until it came up in casual conversation with Hockey’s Future a day or two later back in Edmonton.

“The way he went into the boards, his stick slammed so loudly that I thought it sounded worse than it was,” said Prendergast. “Clearly, I was wrong.”

The result to Bina was a broken neck and possibly the end of his playing career. On the other hand, for the momentary lapse of judgment, Paukovich was given a one-game suspension by the NCAA and another from his coach. However, it should be pointed out that at the time of the incident, the only penalty given to the Denver forward was a two-minute minor for boarding. Whether it was the blown call by the ref, the hit itself or something else, North Dakota’s captain reacted immediately.

“It’s tough, you know, you’ve got your buddy lying on the ice and you can’t do anything about it,” Greene said with frustration in his voice. “If I would have done anything about it I would have had three minutes more in penalties than Paukovich had for breaking the kid’s neck plus a game misconduct and it was at a time when we were dealing with single elimination games for the rest of the year.”

“It was tough to swallow, Robbie’s one of my best friends on the team but regardless of being a teammate or not, you never want to get too personal with things. But when you see a guy every day in classes and then you see him take a hit like that, it kind of messes with your mind,” he added. “I was frustrated, but there wasn’t much you could do about it in that game.”

Paukovich, who was genuinely and deeply regretful for his actions, says his memory of the incident is still largely a blur but clearly recalls Greene’s reaction.

“I was kind of in a daze but… he was pissed” the rookie described. “He and I had some words and that kind of set the stage for the National Championship game. He wasn’t a very big fan of mine after that, that’s for sure.”

Bina missed the rest of the tournament schedule, but was in attendance providing emotional support for his team all the way to the NCAA finals held in Columbus. The prognosis for the diminutive forward is still unclear and at last contact Bina was still wearing both a neck brace and a never fading smile, a trait Greene admires immensely.

“His personality through the whole thing has been unbelievable, a guy that had every reason to be down with just the fact that we were playing in the National Championship game and he was in the stands wearing a neck brace where he would have been playing,” praised Greene. “He never lost the smile off his face, he always came around happy and was always cracking jokes and even now when I go for lunch with him, he’s a great guy.”

Paukovich struggled emotionally after the hit and although he played his way through to the end of the year, some say he was clearly not the same player on the ice.

“That really bothered Geoff in a big way, it’s going to take him some time to recover emotionally,” Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said during an Edmonton radio interview on the TEAM 1260 in April. “He was able to play for us in the Frozen Four and played pretty well but you could tell he was being very careful.”

“It wasn’t a deliberate thing, he’s a very physical player but he’s not a dirty player,” defended Prendergast. “The incident was unfortunate but he didn’t mean to injure him. We talked to him after the game and you could see it in his eyes that it had rattled him, when you see a kid taken off the ice on a stretcher it affects you.”

The Goon's perspective on the incident

This is what I wrote on Siouxsports.com

The Hit on Robbie Bina was right across the ice from my seat in the club level, I saw the whole incident as it unfolded, and it was by far one of the dirtiest plays that I have ever seen in all of my days of watching college hockey. I have witnessed a few incidents like this in the NHL but not in the college game. The fact the Don Adam only called a two minute penalty should have been the end of that refs career as an on the ice official. Also if you watched the film of the hit you will see Pauko smirking in the box.

The fact that it took so long for a wrong to be righted is puzzling to me, Paukovich should have been challenged the minute he stepped out of the penalty box at the Final Five. I look at Paukovich as being just as bad as Todd Bertuzzi, Ulfie Sammuelson or a Claude Lemieux. They are disgusting players and all will get or got what was coming to them. Live by the sword and die by the sword.

The Player Sioux Fans love to Hate, Geoff Paukovich Signs with the Oilers

Much to the chagrin of Fighting Sioux hockey fans Lets Go DU is reporting that DU bad boy Geoff Paukovich is forgoing his senior year of college to sign an professional contract with the Edmonton Oilers.

For Sioux fans this is a bitter sweet moment because we will never get to see Pauko get his due, at least in the college ranks. Geoff Paukovich will be remembered most for his dirty hit on beloved Sioux defender Robbie Bina that nearly left Bina paralized during the 2005 semi final game of the WCHA Final Five. It's not an understatement to say that he won't be missed in Grand Forks, ND.

Most Sioux fans will remember Geoff Paukovich for his being on the wrong end of a vicious cup check from Sioux tough guy Mike Prpich.

Goon's World would like to wish Geoff good luck in the professional ranks. My advice to Paukovich is to clean up his act and play hockey straight up, because if you cheap someone at the next level you won't be able to hide behind the refs and turtle, someone along the way will come to collect...

Here is an interesting story on Toby Peterson

I found this story on line about former C.C. Tiger's player Toby Peterson and current Edmonton Oiler. Toby talks about his day to day life and dealing with type 1 diabetes. While living with diabetes can't be easy, imagine living with the diabetes and while playing hockey in the NHL. That would have to be even be more challenging. Toby actually plays the game wearing an insulin pump. Toby Peterson played at C.C. from 1996-2000 scoring 128 point in 138 games.

Former DU Pioneer Goalie Wade Dubielewicz Resigns with Islanders

Former DU star Wade Dubielewicz was (like most of us can spell that without looking it up on line) was resigned by the New York Islanders. Looks like Mike Dunham might be done (no pun intended)on long island. Dubie was one of the major reasons the Islanders made the playoffs earlier this spring when their starting goalie Rick DiPietro went down with a concussion Wade stepped in and went 4-0. The contract is a one way deal too.

In case anyone forgot about this game at the end of the season, wining their final game to get into the playoffs, with Dubielwicz stoning the Devils in the shootout. The Shootout

The New York Islanders have signed goaltender Wade Dubielewicz, who led the team to a playoff berth this season with four straight wins in the final week, to a one-way NHL contract for 2007-08. The man they call "Dubie" is expected to share the nets next season with Islanders No. 1 goaltender Rick DiPietro.

"Wade really earned this opportunity," said Islanders general manager Garth Snow. "He has developed steadily with each season in Bridgeport and played well whenever the Islanders needed him. And, of course, Wade's play down the stretch was instrumental in our team making the playoffs. We're very excited that he'll be an Islander next season."

Dubielewicz was named NHL's First Star of the Week for the last week of the regular season by earning four wins in four games, including two in the shootout. For the week Dubielewicz was 4-0 with a 1.93 GAA and a .934 save percentage. Prior to this season the 28-year old Dubielewicz played in 9 games for the Islanders.

Over four full seasons with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers – the Islanders' American Hockey League affiliate – Dubielewicz was 58-52-8 with a 2.48 GAA and a .919 save percentage and 13 shutouts.

"I've been a part of the Islanders family my entire pro career and I had no interest in going anywhere else," said Dubielewicz. "My family and I are thrilled at the opportunity Garth Snow and Ted Nolan have given me, and I'm very appreciative of that. I'd also like to thank everyone involved with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for helping me along the way. Although it's a big plus knowing I'll be an Islander next year, my plan is to come to camp in the best shape of my life and be ready for a great season for our team."