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Tagged: Florida Panthers

Shinny: CHBWFHP Update and Can Someone Tell Wayne Gretzky His Daughter is Blowing Up Twitter?

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Shinny: CHBWFHP Update and Can Someone Tell Wayne Gretzky His Daughter is Blowing Up Twitter?

We’re back! Did you miss us? (Don’t answer that question.) Let’s check in on where we stand in the inaugural Canucks Hockey Blog Writers Fantasy Hockey Pool (or as it shall be dubbed this week, the “Can Someone Please Tell Wayne Gretzky His Daughter is Blowing Up Twitter Invitational”). Remember, you can check out our pool here. Onto the standings:   1. 2 Sedins, 0 Cups (Tom) – 95 points As 2 Sedins, 0 Cups continues its historic run towards the first CHBWFHP championship, I would just like to make it known that this win is all the more sweet...

Out of Town Notebook: Trap Debate and Thoughts on the Fly

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Out of Town Notebook: Trap Debate and Thoughts on the Fly

One of the silliest debates to be waged across the NHL some time is Philadelphia’s “outrage” and in-game protest of Tampa’s 1-3-1 system. From Mike Milbury walking off the air to a quickie TSN poll of league GMs siding with the Flyers, the Lightning are taking a lot of heat for their passive forecheck. Here’s the thing. 1) The passive forecheck is employed all over the league, and has been for decades. Roughly half of all NHL teams use a 1-3-1 forecheck in their gameplan. The 70s Canadiens, the 80s Oilers, the 90s Red Wings – they all used a version of...

Out of Town Notebook: A Modest Proposal for NHL Realignment

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Out of Town Notebook: A Modest Proposal for NHL Realignment

Dear Gary (aka Bettman-in-da-house, aka Mr. Commish, aka Saviour-of-Winnipeg), Not to go all Peaches and Herb (or Jeremy Roenick), but “realignment and it feels so good!” NHL realignment is the hot talk around the league right now, and I know reviews are mixed concerning your latest plan to re-shape the NHL. Personally, I like what you’ve reportedly done: The first round of the playoffs features divisional play (1 vs 4, 2 vs 3). After the first round, the remaining teams are seeded 1-4, with 1 playing 4, 2 vs 3, etc. Now, the Penguins and Flyers hate this proposal, because...

A History of Canucks/Panters Trades: Pavel Rockets To Florida

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A History of Canucks/Panters Trades: Pavel Rockets To Florida

A few days ago, we explored the first of many trades between the Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers, which was the exchange of Jesse Belanger to the Canucks for a third-round draft choice in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. While Belanger only played for a short time in Vancouver and wasn’t offered a contract the following year, the third-round pick the Canucks gave up started a domino effect throughout the Panthers organization from the way they drafted to the players they traded for, the results of which can still be seen on the current Panthers roster and farm system. Today,...

A History of Canucks/Panthers Trades: Who the Heck is Jesse Belanger?

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A History of Canucks/Panthers Trades: Who the Heck is Jesse Belanger?

When a friend starring at his smartphone told me that the Canucks made a trade with the Florida Panthers, I could swear I saw a glitch in the Matrix. Seriously, this has happened so many times in recent years, it actually does give me some deja vu. The Vancouver-Florida connection continued this past Saturday with news that the Panthers had sent David Booth, Steve Reinprecht and a third-round draft pick in the 2013 draft (which is the same pick the Canucks sent to Florida at the deadline last year for Chris Higgins) in exchange for Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm....

Canucks acquire David Booth from Panthers

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Canucks acquire David Booth from Panthers

If you were one of those Canucks fans that wanted to be unique and get a Marco Sturm jersey, you might want to tell the Canucks Team Store to cancel your order. Canucks general manager Mike Gillis apparently does care about what other people say about his team, and the critics’ longstanding issues about Vancouver’s lack of a second-line winger can now be silenced, at least for now. The team announced shortly after their win against the Minnesota Wild that they had made a four-player trade with the Florida Panthers, sending the oft-injured Mikael Samuelsson and the ineffective Marco Sturm...

Out of Town Notebook: Random Thoughts from the NHL’s First Week

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Out of Town Notebook: Random Thoughts from the NHL’s First Week

A collection of hockey thoughts and observations as one settles into a new NHL hockey season: It should be clear to anyone who has watched the Senators play that Paul Maclean hasn’t had any more luck than Cory Clouston at motivating Sergei Gonchar. No one gives up on puck battles quicker than he does. One week doesn’t make an NHL season, but as of today the Senators look an awful lot like the worst team in the NHL. Speaking of NHL defensemen, Sheldon Souray’s big shot has already helped the Dallas Stars. However, Souray also looks a step slower than he...

Out-of-Town Notebook: 2011/2012 Season Predictions and Prognostications

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Out-of-Town Notebook: 2011/2012 Season Predictions and Prognostications

After more than a month of review, analysis, and rankings, it’s time to predict what will actually happen in the upcoming NHL season. If you take all things into consideration, one thing becomes abundantly clear – parity. No team is very strong at each position (coach, goalie, defence, forward), and most teams are only a shade better or worse than another. It looks like all the same teams that made the playoffs last year have a good chance of making it again this year. As we’ve discussed though, it’s rare that there’s so little change in the standings from year-to-year. Injuries...

Season Preview: Ranking the Eastern Conference Goalies

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Season Preview: Ranking the Eastern Conference Goalies

Any discussion of the New Jersey Devils chances this year is riddled with questions: Is Peter DeBoer a good coach?  Is the team going bankrupt or not? Do Adam Lambert and Adam Larsson look anything alike? Is this Zach Parise’s last year with the team? When will Travis Zajac be back? Yet the biggest question of them all is “what can Devils fans expect from Martin Brodeur.” Brodeur, arguably the best goalie of his generation, enters the season as a 39-year old. Like the rest of his team, Brodeur’s pre- (2.84 GAA, .895 SVPT) and post- (1.84, .919) all-star game...

Season Preview: Ranking the Eastern Conference Forwards

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Season Preview: Ranking the Eastern Conference Forwards

Yesterday I talked about the Western Conference (and Two and a Half Men..which I will never talk about again willingly).  Let’s take a look at the Eastern Conference rankings today. A quick note on all of these rankings. Each likely starting player and coach was given a letter grade (in a player’s case based on their likely contribution, previous performance and ability). Each letter grade had a numerical value, and a team’s ranking is a result of a team’s total score in that particular area (coaching, defence, forwards, and goaltenders).  A+ Grade Pittsburgh Last Year (A) If Sidney Crosby’s healthy,...

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