Wednesday March 19, 2008
Luc LeBlanc - 5:12 PM ADT
When you hear the words young stars in the NHL you immediately think of all-star players such as Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Jonathan Towes and Carey Price.
The league is filled with a plethora of young talent. It would be easy to glorify the work of those all-star rookies who are already tearing up the NHL. In this case, the names of Patrick Kane, Nicklas Backstrom and Sam Gagner come to mind. Here’s a list of “The Others”. All the young stars that are flying under the radar this year.
1) Braydon Coburn (Defense) – Philadelphia Flyers
Drafted in the 1st round by Atlanta in the 2003 draft, Braydon Coburn development wasn’t spectacular. The towering 6 foot 5 defenseman only played 38 games with the Thrashers before he was sent to the Flyers for Alexei Zhitnik last season.
This season Coburn exploded with the youthful Flyers. Coburn worked his way into a top-4 defenseman. His stats are excellent as well with 8 goals and 26 assists for 34 pts and a plus/minus of 18.
The Flyers made a great move acquiring him last season.
2) Brandon Dubinsky (Center) – New York Rangers
The young 21-year-old center is playing in his first full season with the Rangers. He’s been flying high since the all-star break. In his last 14 games, Dubinsky has 13 points adding to his great first year totals.
3) Matt Niskanen (Defense) – Dallas Stars
Another defenseman makes the list as Matt Niskanen his having a great rookie year with the Dallas Stars. In his first season, Niskanen has a total of 23 pts, including 6 goals. Not bad for a first year defenseman.
He probably won’t win the Calder this year, but his great play in Dallas should definitely be recognized.
Wednesday March 5, 2008
Luc LeBlanc - 12:10 PM AST
The freshly cut grass, the warm spring sun, the sound of the bats as they hit baseballs into the sky can only mean one thing.
Spring Training.
All major league baseball training camps are in full swing. Here are four stories to watch in the coming weeks.
1) New Manager Joe Girardi is in his first season with the Yankees after replacing long time manager Joe Torre. Only time will tell if this change will help the Yankees playoff hopes.
2) Still in the Big Apple, the Mets acquired in the off-season all-star pitcher Johan Santana from the Twins. Will this move place the Mets among the elite teams in the National League? It should definitely help.
3) Will the Toronto Blue Jays finally make the playoffs? They are certainly trying. With the additions of A.J. Burnett and B.J. Ryan last season most fans in Toronto were hoping for the best but after another disappointing season the Jays are set to try again in 2008.
4) The Colorado Rockies exploded onto the baseball scene last year, going all the way to the World Series. All eyes will be on Colorado this year. This team is young and looking to repeat as National League Champions.
Opening day is at the end of the month. Glad to have baseball back.
Wednesday February 27, 2008
Luc LeBlanc - 2:44 PM AST
Yesterday was the NHL trade deadline and with lots of teams buying and selling there was lots of action from plenty of teams.
Two teams made blockbuster deals on “Trade Deadline Day”. Much to the disappointment of the Montreal Canadiens, Marian Hossa was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins in what seemed like an 11th hour deal. Pittsburgh looks to be gearing up for a big playoff run with Evgeni Malkin firing on all cylinders and Sidney Crosby returning from injury.
The other big deal was in Dallas. They won the Brad Richards sweepstakes by acquiring the high-priced forward from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Richards will solidify the Stars offence looking for that extra punch up front.
Another interesting story was in Colorado, where the Avalanche was going for a more retro look for this year playoff push. On Monday the Avs signed often injured star Peter Foresberg for the remainder of the season. Yesterday, general manager Francois Giguere acquired defenseman Adam Foote from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Both players won cups in Colorado earlier in their career.
The San Jose Sharks also made a big splash when they traded former Moncton Wildcats forward Steve Bernier and a 1st round pick to Buffalo for coveted puck-moving defenseman Brian Campbell. This is a great move for the Sharks since they were on the market for a defenseman to run the power play.
I also believe this is a good trade for Buffalo in the long term. Bernier offensive abilities mixed with his crash & bang style looks like a good fit for the Sabres.
Washington loaded up by acquiring a few veteran players. The Capitols and Canadiens made the most surprising move of the day when Montreal goaltender Christobal Huet was sent to the Capitols for a 2nd round pick in 2009. They also acquired Sergei Fedorov and Matt Cooke.
The Leafs we’re fairly quiet dealing defenseman Hal Gill and forwards Chad Kilger & Wade Belak for draft picks.
The Wings and the Ducks as they fight for first place in the West did only minor moves.
The Oilers and Flames were quiet on Tuesday with no transactions to report.
In Ottawa, after acquiring Corey Stillman and Mike Commodore earlier this month made only one deal at the deadline. Martin Lapointe leaves the Blackhawks for Ottawa to add experience and grit to the Senators.
After all the action of Tuesday who are the winners and losers?
First the winners …
I personally liked the way the Tampa Bay Lightning sold their assets such as Brad Richards and Vaclav Prospal (traded to Philadelphia) for good young players and draft picks. Moving theses big salaries allowed the team to keep defenseman Dan Boyle.
Anytime you get a big name player you’re considered a winner in most eyes. Therefore, the Sharks, Penguins and Stars fall in this category.
And the losers …
I didn’t like the moves the Blue Jackets made. What kind of message do you send to your fan base when you’ve never played a playoff game in franchise history by trading away Adam Foote and Sergei Fedorov. They are still in the playoff hunt but I suppose that they chose to get something for theses players rather than loose them to unrestricted free agency.
In the end, the best moves are probably the ones most teams didn't make.
