San Jose Sharks Signing and Tradings

We've heard from a lot of teams that made big impact moves early in the off-season and coming into the NHL Entry Draft. One team that stands out is the San Jose Sharks. Boy, what a work of load they did, resigning a few players and letting a few go. Let me clarify who was let go. They told goaltender Evgeni Nabokov to not come back. They said they needed to work on their free agents like Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski. We'll get to those players in a second but do you think Nabokov should be surprised? Not really, because the Sharks don't have the kind of money to pay Nabokov for another lump of years, which they save on their other big free-agents. Plus, they felt that some of his problems in the faceoff might have told them not to bring him back after the contract expires.
So that wraps up the bad news. Now for the good news. The Sharks did indeed resign Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski to four-year deals, keeping them off the free agent market. These two players have been some of the many San Jose Sharks that have helped them to get to the conference finals. They also resigned pending free agents Scott Nichol and Niclas Wallin.
So to answer this question: Did Doug Wilson do enough to help the Sharks out this enough? Well, there are some problems. Since you said goodbye to Nabokov, you're going to need another goaltender to help mix the Sharks back into groove. You can think Thomas Greiss can handle that number one job, but I doubt he's ready to become one. Also, there might be a bit of a loose plug at defense. Plus, you guys traded Brad Staubitz to the Minnesota Wild, who was a big impact on the way this team operated. Getting those positions checked on will not be easy but for a long summer ahead, it shouldn't be that much of a problem.

Did Canadiens Make the Right Move in Trading Halak?

He was the best goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens in these playoffs. He led them to a Eastern Conference Final against the Philadelphia Flyers. He was able to outduel every player on the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins, two elite powerhouses. He seemed like the right fit for Montreal. He could lead his team to the final. And now he is with someone else. That's right, the Montreal Canadiens have finally dealt him to the St. Louis Blues. This pretty much cleared up the talks about a questionable goaltending controversy in Montreal. Apparently, the Canadiens thought that Carey Price was a better goaltender than Jaroslav Halak. From my viewpoint, it was the wrong move for them.
Jaroslav Halak was probably the Montreal Canadiens's best goaltender in recent years. Now with him being gone and Carey Price most likely taking that number one job, do the Canadiens have a chance at playoffs again next season? Or will the trade of Halak hurt them? It will not help. This was actually a poor move. The Canadiens gave away a superstar goalie for two youngsters that didn't play well with St. Louis.
I'm sure the Canadiens thought they were making the right move, but some experts and myself think otherwise. Well, that might be one of the many moves that the Montreal Canadiens accidentally make. We'll see who else they trade down the road and if it has a major impact on the Canadiens club.

"How Did the Blackhawks Do It?" and some news

It was the longest Cup drought in the history of the NHL. So long some Blackhawks were beginning to think that the Flyers would win Game 6 after they tied it up late in the third period. It went to overtime. That's when the Blackhawks decided that enough was enough and guess who delivered the Stanley Cup for their team? The best player on that team, Patrick Kane. Yes. His decisive game-winning goal had to be reviewed because it was finally confirmed a goal and the Stanley Cup for the Chicago Blackhawks. You know, at the beginning of the year, I was like Jeremy Roenick. He predicted the Blackhawks weren't going to win because of their goaltending issues between Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi. Well guess what, Mr. Roenick, you were wrong and I was only partially wrong. I had doubts but I quickly overcame those doubts by like, around November or so. That's because I kept watching those Blackhawks and what they were doing. I even saw two of their games down at Honda Center in Anaheim and LA on November 27 and 28. Even though they were shut out in Anaheim and lost in a shootout in LA, there was something going on with this team. It seemed like they were fitting all the pieces together into place and you know what. It paid off for the team. The drought is over and the Blackhawks have a Stanley Cup. But how did they do it in the playoffs? You might be asking that question yourself. I know the reason. Good goaltending by Antti Niemi, superb defensive skills by Duncan Keith and the rest of that defense, the emergence of a power player by Dustin Byfuglien, and of course, the outstanding play made by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the one who won the team the cup. That's how they won. Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks. You earned the cup, thanks to hard work all season.
Since it's now officially the off-season, you might think my blog will shut down until the pre-season or regular season begins. Hold your horses, fans. This blog does not shut down for anything. I might occasionally not blog now and again, but it never dies. We have plenty of news circling around the NHL in its off-season. Coaching moves, player talk, and the works is what's going to fill this blog site for the next few months. You may choose to forget about this blog for a few months, but for loyal fans, thanks for tagging along. Enjoy the summer and for some of you, we'll see you again in September. For the others, I'll talk to you on the next blog post.

Will the Flyers Make It a Series Again in Game 3?

Game 1 was a back-and-forth game with so much scoring and not very much defense. The Blackhawks were able to take Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Game 2, emphasis on defense and goaltending suddenly became the key, keeping it low scoring and both defenses on their feet. The Blackhawks took a 2-0 series lead with a 2-1 win two nights ago. Now it's Game 3, and the series is moving to the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. It always helps to wonder what results we will get from both teams that looked pretty good in Game 2. Obviously, anything can happen, but give a little credit to the Philadelphia Flyers. Sure, goaltender Michael Leighton didn't look his best, but there were worse times during the playoffs. The Blackhawks really stepped up, because they knew that the Philadelphia defense was going to tighten up so they did as well, just to make sure it wasn't an advantage. But for Game 3, will the defense carry on for both teams or will this end up like a Game 1 massacre? There is a possibility that it could go either way. Both teams know how to score well when their goaltenders aren't lighting the lamps, while on the flip side, the defenses tighten up again and make it a low-scoring game. For Peter Laviolette, head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, he knows he needs to do both in order to salvage a win in this series, but so are the Blackhawks, who are vying for a title since the 60s. Look for these two teams to perform well in Game 3, but there can be no small errors for both teams. One of those errors could lead to a devastating goal or potentially a really bad cost for the Stanley Cup. Well, who do I have to pick it? I say the Philadelphia Flyers. One: they're at home. Two: Michael Leighton has been outstanding in net. Three: They can't afford to go down 3-0 in the series (or maybe). Four: Since they're at home, they have their own goal horn and own crowd. The offense and defense will be tough, but the Flyers ultimately win Game 3. Watch the game tonight at 5:00 on Versus. We'll see if the Flyers rebound or the Blackhawks steal the show.