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  • Speculating on Whether Regehr Should be Traded by the Flames reggie

    Based on a few comments on the Illegal Curve radio show, I put up a post on Matchsticks & Gasoline yesterday about the Flames potential to trade Regehr and why it’s time to do so.

    The article is posted here.

    Below is an excerpt from the article.

    “Now before everyone gets their guard up and says Regehr is [...]

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  • Posted on HP: NHL Team Architecture nashville draft

    Here is a study that I did for Hockey Prospectus on NHL Team Architecture.  Obviously since I posted it on HP, I believe they have a great site, so definitely take a look at some of the material from their other great writers too.

    Front Office Focus – NHL Team Architecture 

    What is the best way to [...]

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  • Jay Bouwmeester: Disappointment or Not Used Properly? J-Bo

    This is a story I posted on Matchsticks & Gasoline as part of our player preview series.  Come take a look at some of the other articles if you’re interested.

    Sometimes things just don’t work out like we thought.  Items bought on eBay looked better in the picture than when they arrive in the mail, your [...]

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  • Fireman Ed Should Pour a Stiff Drink fireman ed

    Rex Ryan may be the king of the F-bombs, but he better use as many as he can during the regular season.  The Jets won’t be making the playoffs.

    The Jets used up all their luck last year.  There are no playoff-bound cakewalk games at the end of this season’s schedule.  Opposing kickers are all out [...]

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  • What is Darrelle Revis Worth to the Jets? revis

    Revis Island can be a lonely place for receivers.  At the moment it’s also a lonely place for a Darrelle Revis.  The man who was hands-down the best defensive player in the league last year is not practicing or spending time with his teammates, and it HAS to be a frustrating way to follow up [...]

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Kovalchuk’s Contract: Published on Puck Prospectus

kovy

A review of Kovalchuk’s contract that I wrote for Puck Prospectus on Wednesday.  I was away for a few days so didn’t have time to share it here until now.

Front Office Focus – Is the NHL doing the Devils a Favor with the Kovalchuk contract?

All H-E-double-hockey-sticks has broken loose with the NHL rejecting Ilya Kovalchuk’s [...]

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Mikko Koivu’s New Contract: Seems Inflated

koivu

Yesterday over at Behind the Net, Gabe made a post about Mikko Koivu’s contract extension with the Wild.  In the comments, there was some great debate about how the contract compared to those signed by Tomas Plekanec and Nicklas Backstrom.  Given that I’d written up reviews of both contracts here and here, I figured it [...]

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Published on Puck Prospectus: The Flames Big FA Moves

jokinen flames

Here is the story as published on Puck Prospectus today.

Front Office Focus – The Flames Free Agent Moves

Free agency frequently brings a variety of deals that range from astute to downright absurd.  This year’s free agency period was no different.

While there are a variety of teams that have appeared to alter their talent level significantly [...]

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NHL Free Agency - A Look at Value

chris mason

We’re almost a week into Free Agency at this point and there is no way to declare who has won or lost, just like we should never declare the winner of the NHL draft two days after it’s happened. 

That said, we can definitely evaluate the dollars spent at various positions and the deals that seem [...]

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The NHL's Most Intriguing Free Agents

volchenkov

Let’s put it this way.  I don’t give a flying puck where LeBron is going on July 1st.  I care about celebrating Canada Day and seeing where NHL free agents end up.  As a fan, there are always players that are more fun to track than others, since they could have a big impact on [...]

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Published on Puck Prospectus: The Tomas Plekanec Contract

Here is the latest analysis I wrote for the great team at Puck Prospectus.  Feel free to read it over there with this link or continue reading below. 

The reason I wanted to explore the contract value was the initial reaction so many people had to the dollar figure.  I personally felt it was WAY too much [...]

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Published on Puck Prospectus: Questions facing the Flyers GM

holmgren-pronger

I have to admit that I’m pretty excited today.  The great people over at Puck Prospectus have agreed to publish one of my articles.  A special thanks to Timo Seppa for all his ideas and help along with Andrew Rothstein for agreeing to publish it.

For those of you that have never been to PP’s site, [...]

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The Stanley Cup Finals by the Numbers...so far

leighton

After watching the ‘Hawks appear to decimate the Flyers in Game 5, I couldn’t help but think that the last few games had seemed so different from the beginning of the series.  The ‘Hawks just seemed more aggressive with the puck and appeared to control the play more.  Now if I was a TV announcer, [...]

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NHL Stanley Cup Finals Prediction

hawks-flyers

I can’t lie to you, I was awesome in the conference finals.  No, I didn’t actually play any games, but I picked those series bang on.  Sure a monkey or a coin could do the same thing 25% of the time, but just let me gloat.  Just a little more….a few more minutes….OK, I’m good, [...]

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Evaluating Nicklas Backstrom’s New Contract

backstrom

While the playoffs are in full gear, a fairly interesting piece of news was announced in the NHL in the last week.  Nicklas Backstrom signed a 10-year deal with the Washington Capitals that ensures they have their top pair of he and Alex Ovechkin intact for a very long time.

At first, $67 million over 10 [...]

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NHL Western Conference Final Prediction

Sharks vs Hawks

If you missed my predictions for the Eastern Conference Finals, go take a look.

The East Finals will be flooded with stories about which Cinderella has the more dainty glass slipper.  Here’s a tip for you though, it doesn’t matter.  The West has two powerhouse teams playing and whomever wins the West will win the Cup. 

Just [...]

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NHL Eastern Conference Final Prediction

habs-flyers

We’ve just hit my favorite part of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the conference finals.  We’re down to only four deserving teams and it’s now possible to watch every game left without ending up in a divorce. 

The real question, as always, is who will win.  Here is my Eastern Conference prediction, and I’ll try to post [...]

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Jumbo Joe Finally Breaks Through….Or Maybe Not

Sharks_Thornton_Skates_0755

Not since 1987 has a Shark gotten his revenge like this.  But that was on the silver screen and this is on the frozen stage.

“Jumbo” Joe Thornton was shipped out of Boston for his failure to lead the Bruins to the promised land.  And since his arrival in San Jose, he’s been a regular season [...]

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Did the Capitals Choke or did the Habs win it?

halak and ovie

A breakdown of the series between Montreal and Washington, including shot differential, shot blocking, powerplay and goaltending. Jaroslav Halak and Alex Ovechkin figure [...]

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Hollywood is no Hockey Hell Hole

Kopitar

For the last 8 years the LA Kings have missed out on the playoffs and have been treated like the younger, less successful Golden State brother by the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks. 

 At one time, the Kings were the talk of the town.  Wayne Gretzky isn’t around to boost the team reputation any more, [...]

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Boston Bruins Hold a Stacked Deck After the Draft Lottery

Boston_Bruins_v_c4cf

Looking at the results of the NHL draft lottery, it’s easy to conclude that the Edmonton Oilers and the Boston Bruins were the big winners.

Both Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin are considered sure-fire prospects at the center position and both will likely be ready for their first NHL duty next season.

For the Oilers, winning the [...]

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General Manager Analysis - Darryl Sutter

Darryl_Sutter_bites_d0a5

A breakdown and analysis of Darryl Sutter’s tenure as the Calgary Flames GM in the categories of the draft, talent acquisition, team success, value and many [...]

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A Great Statistical Breakdown of Sidney Crosby's Affect on Hockey

For those who enjoy the affect of advanced statistics on the way we view hockey, I think you’ll find this both inspirational and extremely eye-opening.  It provides a shockingly insightful peek into the best player in the world.

Some of the findings may be difficult to comprehend at first, but they’re eye-opening to say the least. 

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NHL Eastern Conference Playoff Picture

This post is Part 2 to my Western Conference Playoff Picture.  Take a look to get the background on why I’ve included the different stats in my analysis.

Check out the Eastern Conference standings and stats below.

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NHL Western Conference Playoff Picture

doughty

Analysis and predictions on who will make the playoffs in the NHL’s Western [...]

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