The Fifth Liners

Florida Panthers   fans beware:  Scott Gomez   is coming to a town near you!! Today it was announced that the flagging 33 year old center has joined the Panthers on a one year deal. A Calder Trophy winner after his impressive rookie season in 1999 with the New Jersey Devils , his initial career was successful and he won the 2003 Stanley Cup with the Devils. But after a disasterous spell with the Montreal Canadiens , he failed to live up his big bucks contract and was frequently criticised by the media and the Habs fans for lack of effort and goal scoring and posted only 108 points in his three year spell (including a career low 11 points in 2011-12) which also included a year long goal drought from February 2011 to February 2012. Annoyed by his low progress, he was promptly waived by the Canadiens in January this year and spent last season at the San Jose Sharks where he has faired little better posting only 2 goals and 15 points! Will this team bring about a redemp...

Mike's question this week was "Which Teams do you predict will top each Conference- Will your predictions be affected by the Conference shake up?" (Special thanks to Mrs Laybourne for suggesting this). Well that it is an interesting question as this years realignment could have big effects on each teams performance- ok let's go to work Eastern Conference  At first glance you would say that the Pittsburgh Penguins will be the out and out favourites to top this conference due to their free scoring offense and this year this could well be the case- but their inclusion in the newly formed Metropolitan Division with team such as the New Jersey Devils , New York Rangers , Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers could well prove a hard affair as each team possesses a unique mix of strength and skill and as we saw last year in the playoffs, the Penguins struggled against the Boston Bruins in these conditions.  In the Atlantic Division, the Bruins could well be ...

Chicago Blackhawks centre Michal Handzus will be missing for action for a while at least  after reportedly tearing his MCL in his wrist during the final against the Boston Bruins . Speaking directly to NHL.com , Handzus stated that his wrist in still in a cast he expects to be out of action for at least another four weeks. The Slovakian was acquired by the Hawks from San Jose Sharks at the NHL trade deadline and became something of a lucky item for them and helped Chicago capture their third Stanley cup, finishing the playoffs with three goals and 8 assists (thats 9 more points than his regular season as a Shark brought) and was rewarded with a new one year deal on July 5th. Here's to a swift recovery Michal- from both of us here at Seven Days in Hockey!

Alex's question this week is: 'Dallas may have a cool new logo, but what do they need to make next year a success?' My default answer is always 'score more goals'. But that doesn't seem to be the Stars' problem. In the Western Conference last season, the Stars were unable to grab a playoff place. Finishing 11th in the conference. Annoyingly for Stars fans, if the playoff places were decided by goals for, the Stars would have finished seventh. As they outscored the Detroit Red Wings and the Minnesota Wild.  Jamie Benn, Ray Whitney, Jaromir Jagr and Loui Eriksson all scored in double figures, although goal leader Jagr is now plying his trade for the New Jersey Devils.  So what's the answer? Well, Tomas Kaberle is. Not just Kaberle but a few other defensemen too. The Stars finished the season having conceded 12 more goals than they'd scored.  Kaberle is now on the market as an unrestricted free agent and there's plenty more experienced skaters lo...

Russian Rocket Pavel Bure will become the fourth player in Vancouver Canucks history to have his number raised to the rafters after the franchise announced it will retire his number 10 jersey. This man has truly truly earned this honour and after being drafted 113th overall in 1989 and during his time as a Canuck between 1992-1998 he holds one of the most impressive scoring records with 478 points in 428 games! But it will be the magic of our Stanley Cup final run in 1994 which will forever hold him in our hearts as combined with the offense power of Trevor Linden, Vancouver pushed the New York Rangers all the way in game 7 and we're only just denied with a 3-2 loss at Madison Square Garden. In 2012 Bure was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame and it was an honour well deserved after a successful 12 NHL career- but I have a feeling this honour will be one that really warms the Moscow ace's heart! Congratulations Pavel, you're forever a Canuck!!

As Mike's previous two post pointed out, the NHL will be a very different place come the 2013-14 season with the Eastern and Western conference have undergone a dramatic re-alignment and now it has become far more simplied with the East sporting two separate divisions with the Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions and the West also having two divisions with the Pacific and Central Division. With new leagues come new rivalrys are long gone are the days of the dull Southwestern Division and sadly Vancouver will not fight for a sixth straight Northwest Division. But what will the big match ups be? Let's take a look in more detail. Atlantic Division  This division promises plenty of thrills with the Detroit Red Wings , Boston Bruins , Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens doing battle for a playoff place- there is no love lost between Leafs and Habs fans and this fixture never fails to entertain. But the clash that will have everyone talking will be when the Ottawa Senators...

41 year old veteran Jaromir Jagr will continue in the NHL for at least another season as yesterday he signed a one year deal with the New Jersey Devils . Last season Jagr played for both the Dallas Stars and the Boston Bruins , whom he helped reach the Stanley Cup final and was considered by many to be one of their best players during the play offs. Even in his ageing years, Jagr continues to be an assets to the teams he turns out for and ever since being drafted 5th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990 he has scored over 1,688 points in over 1,391 regular season games in a career spanning 19 years for over six differents teams. During his career he has also won back to back Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh in 1991 and 1992. The Devils should feel fortunate to have this man to boost their attack.

Here we looked at the teams in the Western Conference, now let's look at the Eastern. Detroit and Columbus move from west to east and Winnipeg makes the trip the other way. So what does this look like in reality? Metropolitan Division Carolina Hurricanes Columbus Blue Jackets New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals Atlantic Division Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Detroit Red Wings Florida Panthers Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators Tampa Bay Lightning Toronto Maple Leafs

With the new schedules come the new divisions, instead of being three divisions in each conference, there's now only two. With the changes will come new rivalries, which Alex will talk about later.  Let's start with the Western Conference. The Western has 14 teams while the Eastern currently has 16. This accommodates for the expansion in the west that the NHL has been looking for. Detroit and Columbus have moved over to the Eastern while Winnipeg makes the sensible move west.  Pacific Division Anaheim Ducks Calgary Flames Edmonton Oilers Los Angeles Kings Phoenix Coyotes San Jose Sharks Vancouver Canucks Dallas leaves the old Pacific Division, but three of the Canadian teams; Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary have joined it from the disbanded Northwest Division.  Central Division Chicago Blackhawks Colorado Avalanche Dallas Stars Minnesota Wild Nashville Predators St. Louis Blues Winnipeg Jets With Colom...

It's here everyone!! The NHL regular season schedule has been officially drawn up and come October the great sport of hockey shall again be gracing our world! This season promises to be one of the best yet as the Chicago Blackhawks aim for Stanley Cup number 4 and sees the arrivals of Nathan Mackinnon , Seth Jones and Aleksander Barkov as well as the departure of Ilya Kovalchuk . It also see the new division realignment which ensures that all 30 teams will play each of the 30 arenas at least once this season. The playoffs will start from April 16th onwards. Between February 9-25 will see an Olympic break as the 2014 Winter Olympics commence in Sochi, Russia (which once again the British Hockey Team will not be invited to) with the Canadians aiming to defend their gold medal from Vancouver 2010. Ironically the Vancouver Canucks begins where the last one ended away to San Jose Sharks at the newly named SAP Center on October 3rd with our home opener against the Edmonton Oiler...

Los Angeles Kings Captain Dustin Brown will seemingly spend the remainder of his career with the franchise after penning an 8 year deal today which will see him through to the end of the 2021-22 season, financial details of the signing havent been released. Brown has become a vital figure for LA since being drafted 13th overall in 2003 and so far in his career has gained an impressive points total of 181 goals and 388 points in 641 games as well as 31 points in 50 playoff games. He was made team captain in 2008 and led the Kings to their first ever Stanley Cup win in 2012 after a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils and in doing so became only the second born American captain to hoist the cup. Kings fans will be delighted to hear this news and we can expect Browns #23 jersey to be raised to the rafters some point in the future- as you were Dustin!

Do not adjust your screen. Pic from twitter. It's for summer only. The Bridgestone Arena is doing it for the kids so they can skate on gold. Jokes aside, it looks kinda cool.

The Detroit Red Wings  announced this week that they've re-signed defenseman Brendan Smith to a two year contract. The big Canadian put up good numbers last season and as a Wings fan, it's good to the team getting things tied up before the training camp starts in less than two months. Rumour has it that Ken Holland wants to get Gustav Nyquist and Joakim Andersson 's contracts sewn up too. No word on Damien Brunner yet who remains one of the best UFAs currently still available. Good news on the injury front though, Darren Helm is back and skating with the team. Albeit not 100% yet.

Dustin Penner has officially joined his former team the Anaheim Ducks yesterday on a one year contract worth $2 million. He previously left the Honda Center back in 2007 to join the Edmonton Oilers on a five year deal but in February 2011 he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings where he won a Stanley Cup in 2012! A solid winger, Penner has so far amassed 137 goals and 275 points since his debut NHL season in 2006 and the 30 year has admitted that it was his desire to return to Anaheim as he never really wanted to leave in the first place. His return will aid the Ducks hope of another playoff place next year as he rejoins R yan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and together these three could make an interesting forward line!

OK that's not strictly true, the Blues took home the Presidents' Trophy 13 years ago but of the original six and the expansion six, the Blues are the only team never to have lifted the Stanley Cup. Why is that? Alex's most recent question (one that he's had to remind me several times) is: "St. Louis are an established team but they are still without a cup, what can they do?" St. Louis hasn't made a cup final appearance since the 69/70 season but until recently, would rarely miss a post-season. So what can the boys from Missouri do differently if they want to pick up the trophy this season? The frustrating thing about being a Blues fan is the the team is pretty good. I'd guess. Getting to the playoffs would be a good start. Of the last 10 playoffs, the Blues appeared in five of them; reaching the conference semifinals and losing the the LA Kings in 11/12. After exhaustive research (wikipedia mostly); I reckon there's two things St. Louis ...

Its official, Ilya Kovalchuk has signed for SKA St Petersberg in the Kontinental Hockey League on a four year deal! He had previously played for them during the NHL lockout last season during which he had captained the team. The native Russian created shockwaves last week when he announced his retirement from the NHL at just 30 after a successful 12 year stint playing for the Atlanta Thrashers and New Jersey Devils (whom he signed a 15 year for $100 million). But their loss is Russian Hockey's gain and we could well see a high influx of players returning home in the coming years. All the best Ilya! Hopefully one day you will have us round for tea if we're visiting our lovely Russian fans!

Yesterday while deep in enjoyment watching robots fighting gigantic beasts in Pacific Rim, my phone buzzed and when opening it I was asked a question by Mike which struck close to home as the question read, "What's it gonna take for the Canucks to take home the Stanley Cup this season?" being a Vancouver fan this one that needs some serious analysis, so to work I go. The short answer to this question would be 'a hell of a lot!' and after reaching the 2011 Stanley Cup final, the last two season have been a massive disappointment under Alain Vigneault which lead to his dismissal this May. John Tortorella has been appointed as the new Head Coach of the Franchise and I'm certain that journalists up and down North America are thrilled about more imminent explosions! Previously I have expressed both my delight and upmost fear about this appointment because although JT brings with him a Stanley Cup win, he has also failed to raise his game when need while coach o...

No your eyes are not playing tricks on you, because yesterday in a shock move, New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk has announced his retirement from the NHL at the age of just 30! The Russian was only 3 years into a $77 Million 15 year agreement at the Prudential Center but according to Devils GM Lou Lamiorello , Kovalchuk has signed his voluntary retirement papers officially voiding the deal! This opens the door to more speculation as to whether he will return to his native Russia to play in the KHL, Kovalchuk played for SKA St Petersburg during last season’s lockout and has been alleged to have been considering returning home for some time. A 1 st overall pick by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2001, Kovalchuk has amassed an impressive points records in the NHL with over 417 goals and 816 points overall. He was also a winner of the Rocket Richard Scoring Trophy back in 2004 after a 41 goal season. He joined New Jersey in 2010 and has enjoyed the best spell of his career...

The Detroit Red Wings has a proud heritage of Hall of Famers, and now two more are being inducted to join such royalty as Steve Yzerman , Dino Ciccarelli and Sid Abel . Chris Chelios played 10 seasons and lifted the Stanley Cup twice for Detroit, he also picked up an Olympic medal and several James Norris Memorial Trophies. As well as a heap of other awards and  recognitions. The defenseman clocked up 1,651 games and 185 goals in his NHL career. This is the first year he's eligible for Hall of Fame status. Brendan Shanahan holds the unofficial record for Gordie Howe Hat Tricks at 17 which is reason enough to be inducted. Add to that the three Stanley Cups he lifted with Detroit and the huge amount of work he's done off the ice, it's criminal that he wasn't inducted earlier.

David Perron will be become another exciting addition to the new starting Edmonton Oilers franchise as it was announced today that he had been traded from the St Louis Blues in exchange for Magnus Paajarvi and a 2014 second round pick. This brings to an end a successful six year period for Perron who has impressed there since being draft 26th overall in 2007 and leaves behind stats of 198 points in over 340 games. Although after hitting the 50 point mark in 2009, his hockey career was halted by a severe concussion in the 2010-11 season that caused him to miss a number of games, but Perron has come back strongly initially but only registered 25 points in 48 games last season! But although it was widely believed that the Blues would win a Stanley Cup with their side getting ever impressive, this hasn't been delivered and at only 25, Perron is hungry for success and with Edmonton's young offensive line, this move could see his dreams come true finally!

The HP Pavillion is no more. Behold the SAP Center at San Jose. SAP, which is apparently some sort of software company has bought the naming rights for the HP Pavillion for a cool $8.375 million in a five year deal. Whatever. It's still the Shark Tank.

Whilst in the midst of a busy workday this saturday just gone, Mike pointed out a fact which is not only fascinating but deeply puzzling, he said "You know a Canadian team hasn't lifted the cup for 20 years?" This is a damn good point and one that ultimately leaves us baffled- but what is the reason for this current drought? Let's have a look in more detail, Cast your mind back to the night of June 9th 1993 where the Montreal Canadiens swept aside a Wayne Gretzky inspired Los Angeles Kings by four games to ones to claim their 24th Stanley Cup win and as Habs Captain Guy Carbonneau hoisted the cup at the Montreal Forum, little did we know that this would the be the last time to date that a Canadian team would be engraved on the trophy!  Since then the cup has been an all American affair and in between these twenty years we have seen four deserved wins by Detroit Red Wings , three Scott Stevens inspired cup wins by the New Jersey Devils and two cup wins each b...

Alex's question of the week was "out of the top four draft picks, which team will benefit the most?" Damn good question Alex, so let's have a look. First of all, no team did badly in the draft. At least on paper. So who went where? 1st: Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche 2nd: Aleksander Barkov - Florida Panthers 3rd: Jonathan Drouin - Tampa Bay 4th: Seth Jones - Nashville Predators Colorado Avalanche The Avs need several good forwards and several good defencemen to be successful. MacKinnon definitely adds strength to Colorado's forward line but one man does not make a team. I think MacKinnon will struggle to post the sort of numbers he's currently scoring in the lower levels.  Florida Panthers Aleksander Barkov has already played against the big boys in the Finnish SM Liiga so he'll have an advantage when he lines up for the Panthers. Tampa Bay Lightning The Lightning will expect to do well with Drouin. With Stamkos and F...

The Boston Bruins re-shaping has just been given a big shot in the arm after it was announced that 35 year star winger Jarome Iginla has joined the team. Iginla has reportedly signed a 1 year contract with the Bruins as he seeks his first Stanley Cup win in his 16 year playing career. After many winless years at the Calgary Flames , Iginla decided to spread his wins last season and was courted by many big name clubs before finally decided to move to the Pittsburgh Penguins which at the time was seen by many as a good decision as the Pens possessed the leagues best offense. But after being swept in the Eastern Conference final, Iginla has once again decided to move on to a newer challenge and the Bruins are certainly getting a man who has a burning desire to add silverware of his impressive NHL record which currently stands at 530 goal in 1,232 games. Upon signing for the organisation, Iginla said "My family and I are very, very excited to be joining the Bruins organization...

My brain melted a little bit yesterday when I saw the news that Daniel Alfredsson had left the Ottawa Senators to move to the Detroit Red Wings . We've discussed on this  here blog  what the Gothenburg native would do when his contract came to an end. Although at the time the speculation was that he'd probably retire. Of course as part of the Detroit faithful, I'm pleased with the signing, although there are echoes of Mike Modano's final NHL season. While Modano lifted the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars, Alfredsson has never lifted the cup and despite playing over 1000 games with the Sens, he's only been to the final once.  Hence why he's made the move to the Joe instead of hanging up his skates for good. Alfredsson wants his shot at getting his name engraved on Lord Stanley's Cup. The 1 year deal is worth 5.5 million. Like Daniel Alfredsson, Stephen Weiss  has also spent his whole NHL career at a single club. The 30 year old has been at t...

The Columbus Blue Jackets have landed a major score as today it was announced they have signed Boston Bruins Winger Nathan Horton on a seven year deal worth $37 Million! Previously one of my top 3 UFA's in a previous post it seems the Jackets have been thinking ahead and in Horton they have a man who could potentially revitalize a side struggling to score since the departure of Rick Nash last year. Horton brings an  impressive record across to Ohio and last year recorded 13 goals and 22 points in  48 games last year and previously was a Stanley Cup winner in 2011 with the Bruins. Upon joining Horton was quoted as saying "This is a team on the rise with great players and I'm looking forward to being a part of it," With Gaborik and Horton on the wings we could potentially see a drastic rise in fortunes for a side with only one play-off appearence to their name. 

July 4th seems to been a one with plenty of fireworks in Massachussets as today it was announced that Tyler Seguin, the Boston Bruins number 2 pick of 2010 has been traded along with Rich Peverley and defensemen Ryan Button have been traded to the Dallas Stars for forward Loui Eriksson and three prospects Joseph Morrow , Reilly Smith and Matt Fraser . This trade my come to a surprise to many Bruins fans as Seguin has been highly rated during his time at the TD Garden and currently his career stats currently stand at 56 goals and 121 points in 203 career games. Though on reflection for a second overall pick his career has begun at a rather slow pace and during the playoffs he hit the back of the net only once, but recorded the second highest shot total with 70 shots! But for a flagging team like Dallas, this could well be a major score and at only 21 Seguin could well re-ignite this franchise which is in dire need of goals after a season to forget last year. Loui Erikkson coul...

It appears that the New York Islanders have finally lost patience with goalie Rick Di Pietro and it has now officially been announced that they will use one of their two compliance buyouts on the remaining 8 years of DiPietro's 15 year deal. A former 1st overall pick back in the 2000 NHL Draft, DiPietro has struggled to stay injury tree during his time at the Islanders and hasnt been able to play more than 50 games per season over the last five years earning him the nickname 'Rickity DiPietro' and this season he only managed 3 games before being re-assigned to AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers - though he does stand second overall behind Billy Smith in terms of games started by a goalie with 318! Now officially a free agent it will be interesting to see how DiPietro rebuilds his career from this point

After having the remaining 7 years of his Tampa Bay Lightning contract bought out last week, Vincent Lecavalier has now signed a multiyear agreement with the Philadelphia Flyers . According to TSN, the deal will span for 5 years at a cost of $22.5 millions The 33 year old former 1 draft pick from 1998 brings 14 years of NHL experience to a Flyers team in dire need to offensive quality and his stats of 387 goals , 874 points and 4 All Star appearences will sure aide this cause and with Philly looking to add experienced heads after the acquisition of Mark Streit previously, we might well see an improvement at the Wells Fargo Arena!

Nathan Mackinnon was selected as the 1st overall pick by the Colorado Avalanche in New Jersey last night, after an impressive season with the Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior League it came as little surprise to many and capped an impressive comeback after a knee injury during the World Junior Championships had threatened to lower his ranking. Young Finnish centre Aleksander Barkov was chosen as the second selection by the Florida Panthers and Mackinnon's Halifax team mate, Jonathan Drouin was picked as the third overall choice by Tampa Bay Lightning . Biggest surprise of the night came when original number one prediction Seth Jones was only selected fourth by the Nashville Predators . Swedish centre Elias Lindholm was the fifth choice for the Carolina Hurricanes while Sean Monahan was added to the Calgary Flames at sixth overall. There was a shake up at  the 9th overall pick as the Vancouver Canucks unexpectedly traded Cory Schneider to the New Jersey...