The Fifth Liners

Winners Buffalo Sabres  In two short days, Dan Bylsma 's new reign in Buffalo already seems a lot brighter. Not only did they selected hot prospect Jack Eichel second overall, but they also pulled off an excellent trade with Colorado swapping Ryan O'Reilly and Jamie McGinn for Nikita Zadarov, Mikhail Grigorenko and J.T Compher. The day before they also acquired Robin Lehner and David Legwand in a trade with Ottawa for the 21st pick! Already their depth quality looks far more impressive than last season. With a top line included, Kane, Bogosian and Eichel, this might be a time to scale back on the Sabres related jokes on this blog. Edmonton Oilers Having the first overall pick, selecting Connor McDavid was a guaranteed high point. But new GM Peter Chiarelli also smartly acquired the services of goalie Cam Talbot for New York. While old team the Bruins (we'll get to them later) took a hit, Edmonton is now in the beginning stages of building a team that is actua...

Finally Dan Bylsma 's exodus from the NHL has ended. Today it was announced that he has been appointed the 17th head coach of the Buffalo Sabres . His hiring will no doubt come as positive news to Sabres fan, who are still aggrieved at losing out on Babcock. Here is a statement of intention by Sabres management to improve the dour situation at the First Niagara Centre. But the real question will remain, can Bylsma wring any life out this dying team? Although his previous life at Pittsburgh didn't have a happy ending, Bylsma still gave away with an impressive record. His team took home a Stanley Cup in 2009 and in each of his five seasons in charge, they reached the playoffs. But sadly despite having some of the NHL's elite players, he failed to replicate his cup win and slowly tested the patience of fans and management alike. What the Sabres off him is a completely clean slate and the possibility of having Jack Eichel on the roster. Having coached this same player at the...

It seems good news comes in pairs for Pittsburgh Penguin s fans this week because after Dan Bylsma was renewed as Head Coach, it has been revealed that Evgeni Malkin has signed a 8 year deal worth $76 Million! A Hart Trophy winner in 2012, as well as the winner of many Art Ross Trophy's as leading scorer he has more than proven his worth to the organisation after being picked second overall in 2004 (only Ovechkin stood in his way that year) and has had four seasons where has scored over 30 years and three 100 scoring points seasons too. Did I mention he's only 26 as well! This new deal at $9.5 Million per year official makes Malkin the highest earning member of the team, Pittsburgh clearly wants to hang onto this one for the future! Mike's Edit. Extending Malkin's contract was a genius move for the Pens. It's clear from all the trades and the extending of Bylsma's contract that the Pens' leadership really mean business come next season. Although the t...

There are certain questions in sport that are difficult to answer, Why is Harry Redknapp allowed to manage? Why has Tebow gone to the Pats and should the Penguins' failure to get to the Stanley Cup Final be laid at Dan Bylsma's door? First of all, let's look at why he should stay... 1. The Penguins finished top of the Eastern Conference. It was never in doubt which team would take the top spot in the conference. The Pens finished nine points above the Canadiens and won the exact same number of games as the Chicago Blackhawks. 2. The shooters were on target. Only nine of the Pens' 31 rostered skaters failed to score in the regular season (and three of those finished the season with different teams). Five skaters putto  double figures on the board. In total the Pens scored 165 goals. More than any other team. 3. Great trades. Brendan Morrow, Jarome Iginla, Jussi Jokinen, Douglas Murray and Mark Eaton were all picked up this year and contributed 19 g...

Pittsburgh Penguins ' goalie Tomas Vokoun  is currently the go-to man between the sticks, however after he conceded three goals in 12 minutes against the Boston Bruins and was pulled, it looked like it would be Marc-Andre Fleury's time to shine. Not so. The Pens' coach Dan Bylsma has publicly backed Vokoun and announced that he'll be the starting keeper in tonight's game. It's pretty rare that Byslma publicly backs anyone. No pressure eh Tomas?