Hockey

Rob Rossi makes a legitimate (believe it or not) case for Kris Letang's days as a Penguin coming to an end in his recent article. (http://triblive.com/mobile/4210621-96/letang-shero-penguins). Rossi also demonstrates Ray Shero's tendency to act quickly when contract negotiations fail or stall (see Hamhuis, Staal). So, the question becomes: Should contract negotiations not proceed at a reasonable pace, is trading Letang during the offseason in the Penguins best interest? The team-first purely-hockey-based answer is that it would depend on the return the Penguins get in a trade, and how they replace a top-2 D-man and Norris candidate in their lineup. As a fan who truly loves to watch Letang play in the Vegas Gold and Black, I say if they are unable to reach an agreement they MUST trade Kris Letang. I have one reason why I say this: Max Talbot. I can see it now. The 2013-14 season draws to a close and free agency begins. Kris Letang is one of the big names on the market. Does anyone believe the Flyers wouldn't do whatever it takes to sign him? Can't you just picture Kris Letang in Orange and Black? Doesn't it make you sick to your stomach? Yes, the Kris Letang fan in me wants him traded. I want him traded to a west coast team that will sign him to the 7-8 year deal he wants. I want the draft picks/prospects/top-4 D-man they will get for him instead of letting him walk for no return. And, for the love of God, I never want to see him with that awful winged P on his chest. Rob Rossi makes a legitimate (believe it or not) case for Kris Letang's days as a Penguin coming to an end in his recent article. (http://triblive.com/mobile/4210621-96/letang-shero-penguins). Rossi also demonstrates Ray Shero's tendency to act quickly when contract negotiations fail or stall (see Hamhuis, Staal). So, the question becomes: Should contract negotiations not proceed at a reasonable pace, is trading Letang during the offseason in the Penguins best interest? The team-first purely-hockey-based answer is that it would depend on the return the Penguins get in a trade, and how they replace a top-2 D-man and Norris candidate in their lineup. As a fan who truly loves to watch Letang play in the Vegas Gold and Black, I say if they are unable to reach an agreement they MUST trade Kris Letang. I have one reason why I say this: Max Talbot. I can see it now. The 2013-14 season draws to a close and free agency begins. Kris Letang is one of the big names on the market. Does anyone believe the Flyers wouldn't do whatever it takes to sign him? Can't you just picture Kris Letang in Orange and Black? Doesn't it make you sick to your stomach? Yes, the Kris Letang fan in me wants him traded. I want him traded to a west coast team that will sign him to the 7-8 year deal he wants. I want the draft picks/prospects/top-4 D-man they will get for him instead of letting him walk for no return. And, for the love of God, I never want to see him with that awful winged P on his chest.

Coyotes News Conflicting Reports: Coyotes and Dave Tippett Agree in Principle on New Contract (UPDATED) - Five For HowlingConflicting reports emerge about how close a deal may be. Phoenix Coyotes and Dave Tippett continue to work on new deal - AZCentral.comAnother take on a not yet finalized deal for the Coyotes head coach. O Captain, My Captain: Top 10 Captains in the NHL | The Hockey WritersShane Doan comes in at # 3 on this list. Pirates News Coyotes Agree to Contract Extensions for Portland Pirates' Coaching Staff - PhoenixCoyotes.comPortland staff was in limbo too. Gladiators News Trade completed with Orlando - GwinnettGladiators.comThe Gwinnett Gladiators have traded forward Tyler Murovich as well as defensemen Tristin Llewellyn and Ryan Donald to the Orlando Solar Bears to complete the trade that brought forward Ryan Ginand to Gwinnett on March 7th. Glads Season Ending Roster - GwinnettGladiators.comThe seven players include goaltender Jody O’Neill, defenseman Sacha Guimond and forwards Yuri Bouharevich, Alex Belzile, Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Andy Brandt and Justin Bowers. News From Around the Hockey World Avalanche to pass on Seth Jones to take forward, Joe Sakic says - The Denver PostDo you agree with this decision? Report: Flyers will buy out Briere, Bryzgalov another story | ProHockeyTalkMaybe they won't buy out Bryz after all. NHL rumors: Kings shopping Jonathan Bernier; Flyers, Isles in mix - CBSSports.comRumors of a Sean Couturier for Bernier swap have emerged as well. Report: Flyers, Ducks talking about Bobby Ryan | ProHockeyTalkLots of talk out of Philadelphia this week. Grand Rapids Griffins win Calder Cup - NHL.com The Detroit Red Wings AHL affiliate won their first Calder Cup, the AHL's grand prize, on Tuesday. Ottawa Senators' arena re-named Canadian Tire Centre - ESPNMay overtake Jobing.com Arena for worst arena name in hockey. Slava Voynov, Kings agree on six-year extension for $25 million - CBSSports.comThe young defenseman will be sticking around in Los Angeles a little while longer. Preds stay busy, ink Henderson to two-year, $1.1 million deal | ProHockeyTalk26-year-old made his NHL debut last season. Report: Bruins’ Bourque, Avs’ Vincour jump to KHL | ProHockeyTalkThey'll suit up for AK Bars Kazan next season. Florida Panthers trade prospect Corban Knight to the Flames for a fourth-round pick - Litter Box Cats2013 Hobey Baker nominee's rights have been traded to Calgary for the 97th overall pick. New York Rangers Rumors: Ulf Samuelsson To Join Alain Vigneault Behind The Bench? - Blueshirt BanterWill the former Coyotes Associate Coach take a job in NYC? The Final Howl Soldier reunites with family, meets newborn son at Game 2 in Chicago (Video) | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! SportsA great moment. Not the first time the Blackhawks have done something like this.

Michael Ivins-USA TODAY Sports If the Chicago Blackhawks goal was to do better than the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Boston Bruins, then mission success.  If the Blackhawks goal was to win the Stanley Cup – they have just a few hours to figure out how to fix their powerplay, score on Tuukka Rask, and out muscle and perform the Boston Bruins.  Possible?  Sure.  Going to happen?  Probably not.  Daniel Paille continues to get a lot of good press which is bad for Darcy Regier.  Terry Pegula asked what has Darcy done wrong.  Trading Daniel Paille for starters.  More important Terry – what has Darcy done right?  [Bleacher Report]. Ron Rolston is in no rush to develop a plan to rebuild who the Buffalo Sabres are on the ice.  He is still trying to figure out who will work with him behind the bench.  [WGR550]. Win One For the Gipper.  The year was 1928 when that speech was given to the players at Notre Dame before a game against Army.  Boston has embraced that for Gregory Campbell in 2013 - who broke his leg blocking a shot, and will not see anytime in the finals.  [Yahoo Sports]. Speaking of the gipper, will Marian Hossa be back in the lineup for game four – and does he have what it takes to lift the Blackhawks to succcess and turn this into a best of three series?  [Boston Globe].

Around the Wide Wide World of Hockey Relaxed Blackhawks not feeling the heat - but they should - Chicago Sun-Times It's not time to panic yet but...you know what? Go ahead and panic. If for no other reason than my personal entertainment. Avalanche to pass on Seth Jones to take forward, Joe Sakic says - The Denver Post What if he slips to #4? Good news for Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings | Detroit Free Press Reports indicate he saw Dirk's KHL Super Schedule and decided to stay here. A solid decision. Chicago radio station says the Blackhawks were "raped basically" | Awful Announcing I know sometimes it can be hard to tell if you're crossing the line. But if you're about to joke about or compare something to rape, you might want to take a second and think about it before you hit "send". Mike Milbury: wrong again - Stanley Cup of Chowder What? Say it ain't so! What Nate Silver's NHL Would Look Like-Buzzfeed Has he considered that the good people of Montreal are going to watch (or Google search!?!) hockey regardless of how many teams are physically in that city? Perhaps the way to grow the sport is to create fans (customers) in places where there aren't many? Blackhawks lose money while winning games - Crain's Chicago Business I have a solution: All the Blackhawks fans promise to never come to Nashville ever again, and instead go to games in Chicago. Ticket prices go up with demand, the team turns a profit, and we get a pleasant arena experience for Hawks games. Don't thank me...solving problems is just what I do. Bobrovsky Romps to Vezina Victory -- Dollars or Rubles to Follow? | The Hockey Writers Dollars. Report: Flyers, Ducks talking about Bobby Ryan | ProHockeyTalk This would be a great hockey trade, but they are aware of their cap "situation", right? DJ Gallo shares his Misery Rankings - ESPN Nashville is in the Top 10. I blame the Titans.

Boston has a 2-1 series lead.

Curtis Lazar Position: Centre Team: Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) Age: 18 Date of Birth: February 2nd, 1995 Place of Birth: Vernon, BC (Canada) Ht: 5'11" Wt: 194 lbs Shoots: Right 2012-2013 Regular Season Stats GP G A Pts PIM +/- 72 38 23 61 47 25 2012-2013 Playoffs Stats GP G A Pts PIM +/- 22 9 2 11 20 -2 I'll be honest - I didn't know Curtis Lazar from a hole in the ground when I started to write him up, but the more I look, the more I like what I see. Regarded as one of the best defensive forwards in this draft, he's slightly undersized, but seems to be growing into his frame and flourishing in the Dub. He's got a package of skills and talents that make me think he's going to be a solid NHLer before too long, and he's the kind of player you could see taking a Patrice Bergeron style role - a skilled shutdown player who can also contribute some significant scoring. Scouting Reports: Lazar is a well-rounded forward, with the benefit of having one of the smallest risk factors in this draft (in terms of probability of becoming an NHL player). He is an above-average skater who can flash plus ability in that area. He covers a lot of ice due to his tremendous work ethic, as he is always moving his feet. He can change gears quickly, and he picks up speed well. Despite being a tad undersized, he is a solid, physical player who is good on the forecheck Corey Pronman, Hockey Prospectus Stylistically Lazar reminds us of Ryan Kesler. He plays the effective two way game and is much more a goal scorer than a playmaker from the centre position. A very straight ahead north-south style, and the ability to work in the dirty areas of the rink are his hallmarks. As far as potential goes, Lazar, if he reaches his ceiling can be an effective #2 centre, capable of playing big minutes and matchups in the NHL. Ben Kerr, Last Word On Sports Why He'd Be A Good Fit In Columbus: The recent wisdom is that you don't find Centres through trade. You have to grow them through the draft. The Blue Jackets are blessed with Ryan Johansen and Boone Jenner, but it never hurts to stock up on skilled, two way players who can manage the game from either end of the ice. Even if his size is a bit of a concern, it's clear that Lazar has the skating ability and vision to play in the NHL, and all reports are that he brings the kind of leadership and character that we want to see in a first round pick. If Columbus hangs on to the #19 pick and Lazar is on the board, don't be shocked to hear his name called. Lazar In Action: Video courtesy YouTube user "DumbassShello"

WHO IS THIS GUY? Dan Hamhuis (aka Hammer, Ham Damhuis, Ham Solo. Or, Hammer Time! when he scores or decks somebody) Born: Smithers, BC. Paradise. Only cool cats are born here. Drafted: 12th overall by the Nashville Predators in 2001. Yes, the Predators draft defencemen better than Jewel sings. Position: Defence Shoots: Left Height: 6'1" Weight: 209 lbs Contract Status: 3 more years left on his current contract. Cap Hit: $4,500,000 WHAT DID HE DO? This is going to sound like a Smithers bias, but I do believe Hamhuis was the Canucks' best defenceman this past season. It was supposed to be Alexander Edler but...nope. I think that Hamhuis was better defensively than any Canuck. I know he had some stellar numbers defensively and offensively. Let's take a closer look. I will only say a little about the Round 1 exit. Hamhuis scored 1 goal and 2 points in 4 games, which was more than any of the Canucks defenceman. His even +/- was second only to Jason Garrison...another BC Boy. His 9 hits ranked him 7th on the team in the playoffs. His 8 penalty minutes tied him for 2nd with Kevin Bieksa. Only that goon Daniel Sedin had more PIMs. But f*** the playoffs. Let's look at the regular season. Hammer played 47 of 48 games this season. He scored 4 goals and 24 points, which was 5th best on the team and the most amongst Canucks defencemen. His .51 points per game was better than his .45 points per game in 2011-12. Edler had 22 points and >500,000 death threats. Hamhuis' 20 assists ranked him 3rd on the team behind the brothers Sedin. Impressive. He scored 2 goals and 8 points in the month of April. One of his goals was shorthanded. He used the Force on the Coyotes: His other 3 goals: Versus Calgary: Versus the Kings (Burrows assists on this one too): Versus the Ducks: His +9 ranked him 6th on the team and 2nd amongst the defencemen. He was +4 in home games and +5 on the road. Jason Garrison was an astounding +18. Maybe Garrison was the best defensively.....hard to say. From a bit of a different perspective, the team scored 48 goals while Hammer was on the ice, which ranked him 4th. But Hammer was rock bottom when it came to goals scored against while he was on the ice. Hamhuis and Garrison were where on the ice for 14 power play goals scored against, which was most on the team, but keep in mind that those 2 played a hell of a lot of penalty kill minutes. Dan averaged 23:23 ice time per game which was 2nd only to Alexander Edler. With all that ice time he was only 10th on the team with 61 shots (4th amongst the defencemen). I have a theory on that mediocrity but I will save it for a section below. He averaged 2:12 on the power play, which was less than Edler and Garrison. If I recall correctly, he was never consistently on the top unit or 2nd unit. He was bounced around. Only Chris Tanev had less penalty minutes than Hamhuis (10 PIMs to Dan's 12). That is more disciplined than he has been in the past by a small margin. I like NHL.com's real-time stats, but I don't really trust the totals, or those counting them. Regardless of that, here are some more stats: -Hamhuis' 47 hits ranked him 8th on the team. -His 63 blocked shots ranked him 2nd behind Edler. -His 43 missed shots ranked him 3rd. -His 31 giveaways were the most on the team. Damn it, Dan! No, wait. The stat guys are full of shit. -His 20 takeaways ranked him 3rd. If you are an advanced stats buff then head over to Behind The Net to see where Hammer ranks with CORSI, PDO, etc. One thing that stands out to me, and I don't think that it's a surprise to anyone, is that Hamhuis plays a lot of minutes against the other teams' top lines. If I am getting those stats correct, he played more against the other teams' top players than any other Canucks defenceman. The team's on ice shooting percentage was high with him on the ice (yea man, that happens when you play with the Sedins) however, the team's on-ice save percentage while he was on the ice was low.

The AHL playoffs concluded tonight. Look back at the first round here, second round here and third round here. Here are the final round results: Grand Rapids Griffins defeat Syracuse Crunch four games to two. Grand Rapids is the Detroit Red Wings farm club and Syracuse belongs to Tampa Bay. This was a series where Grand Rapids ran out to a 3-0 lead and then had trouble closing out the series. On their third try tonight they beat Syracuse by a score of 5-2. Tomas Tatar led Grand Rapids in scoring with 21 points. Jan Mursak and Luke Glendening also made solid offensive showings. Chad Billins led their defence. Petr Mrazek did all of the goaltending for Grand Rapids. Syracuse was led offensively by Ondrej Palat, who with 26 points led the playoffs. Tyler Johnson also was a significant offensive player. Mark Barberio led their defence. Cedrick Desjardins was their goaltender. Tomas Tatar wins the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP. I think it is an example of the MVP being given to a player on the winning team despite the fact Ondrej Palat had a better playoff. It is very rare that a position player from a losing team wins playoff MVP - it has only happened once in the NHL.

When the Colorado Avalanche won the draft lottery and the right to select defenceman Seth Jones -- the top-ranked prospect, according to central scouting -- most had the immediate sense that this was probably what they would do. After all, the Avs got six goals from their blueline in 2013, and only one defenceman, Tyson Barrie, scored more than one (he scored two). A franchise defenceman -- say, a Seth Jones type, not unlike, I don't know, Seth Jones -- would do them a lot of good. But they won't be drafting Seth Jones. According to General Manager Joe Sakic, the Avalanche will likely be drafting one of Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, or Alexander Barkov. "If we do pick first, we're leaning more toward one of those three forwards," Sakic told the Denver Post, adding, "We feel those three forwards are just too good to pass up." Well. I'm having a hard time with this. Granted, MacKinnon, Drouin and Barkov all appear to have incredible futures in the NHL, but drafting Jones isn't just a matter of drafting for organizational need. Sure, the Avalanche have a glaring, Seth Jones-sized hole in their makeup like when a cartoon character escapes through a wall, but Jones is still the top-ranked guy. According to most scouts, he's the one that's too good to pass up. In other words, whichever approach you take into the draft, making Jones an Avalanche is the logical course of action. If Sakic's being completely forthcoming here, this is a head-scratcher. Furthermore, why would Sakic be completely forthcoming here, anyway? Weren't the Avalanche interested in potentially trading down if the price was right? If they had come to a consensus that they weren't going to be drafting Seth Jones, it seems to me that the intelligent course of action would have been to keep mum and see if you could get anything from one of the three teams below you in exchange for the right to draft a guy you weren't going to take anyway. Or maybe there's some other game Sakic is playing. Perhaps he's attempting to mislead in order to tease a big trade offer from a GM lusting after one of the three forwards? Adrian Dater doesn't think so. He thinks the Avalanche just really, really like Nathan MacKinnon. I think, as of now, that MacKinnon is the favorite. But we’ll see what the next nine days bring. A lot of of you have emailed or tweeted me tonight: maybe the Avs are just posturing? Maybe they’re trying to run some interference, that what they really want to do is take Jones, but want to let everyone think they’ll take a forward instead and therefore draw some bigger offer from another team that, say, really lusts after MacKinnon or one of the other two. Anything’s possible in this business, but I don’t think so. We'll have to see how this all shakes out at the draft. But here's one thing we know for sure: the revamped Avalanche front office remains fascinating.

Setting the stage for Game 4 of the series tonight at TD Garden.