Introduction To Offensive Production: New Look Bruins Defense Ready To Shine

Remember when the best defensemen Boston had to offer was the 6'7 pylon known as Hal Gill and a Brian Leetch just above the age to receive the senior discount at your local Dunkin' Donuts? Oh my, how thing's change.

The official transformation of the Boston blue-line continues into their third year into 2009-10 under head coach Claude Julien and continuing to be anchored by team captain and Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara.

Under Julien and the ever-so-loved defensive trap style of play, the Bruins have gone from 13th to 8th and from 8th to 1st. While Boston has seen a drastic increase in offensive production from their forwards, the focus of their play remains to be on a strong defense that reduces the oppositions scoring chances greatly.

The rock of the defense, as previously mentioned, is behemoth and the tallest player in NHL history, Zdeno Chara. The Slovak blue-liner, who was harshly ridiculed for his poor play under Dave Lewis in 2006-07 has blossomed under Claude Julien and has seen an overall rise in his level of play due in large part to less minutes per game. Along with increasing his powerplay productivity, Chara has become a more effective penalty killer and taken less unnecessary penalties in the process of attempting to save the day.

Alongside Chara for close to three seasons was veteran defensemen and three-time Stanley Cup champion Aaron Ward. Admired in Boston for his no-nonsense attitude and down-and-dirty style of play, Ward gained popularity rapidly in the Hub of Hockey, spawning a short-lived series of t-shirt's depicting fans as members of the "Psych Ward". However, with his rather unfriendly 2.5 million dollar salary counting against the Boston cap in 2009-10, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli made the call and sent the 36-year old back to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Patrick Eaves and a 4th round draft choice.

While Eaves was quickly bought out, the plan of utilizing the newly freed up cap space to sign Phil Kessel was steadily gaining momentum. It came as a surprise to Boston fans across the map as the money was instead used to bring in puck-moving defensemen Derek Morris on a one year contract worth 3.3 million dollars.

Adding another piece of the puzzle, Morris is expected to bring an added presence on the powerplay to take the pressure off Bruins such as Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman to carry the play from the point. Despite his upside, Morris is coming off a rather disappointing season split between Phoenix and the better of the two New York's. In 75 total games last season, Morris tallied 20 points, five of which coming on the powerplay.

As Morris added at the annual "State of the Bruins" meeting at the TD Garden, it's become more about winning than anything else for him and with an attitude like that and willingness to buy into the Julien system, it'll certainly be interesting to see how he performs for the Bruins in 2009-10.

Behind the two headliners on the blue-line, the B's may possess one of the best unsung hero-defensemen in Dennis Wideman. The former oft-criticized defensemen known for his failure in the shootout had a breakout year in 2008-09, scoring 50 points and finishing with a stellar +32. Although his slapshot is still on par with Happy Gilmore when it comes to accuracy, the Ontario native certainly knows how to dish the puck around on the powerplay and has 30 assists on the powerplay over the past two seasons to prove it.

Likely to be paired with Wideman is outspoken activist and gritty defensemen Andrew Ference. Originally acquired in a trade that sent him and teammate Chuck Kobasew to Boston for Wayne Primeau and Brad Stuart, Ference has been the epitome of a team player. Whether he's fighting Sean Avery, Sidney Crosby or carbon emissions, Ference has never been afraid to voice his opinion and let his play do the talking.

While the 5'11 defensemen isn't afraid to lay his body on the line, injuries have hindered Ference throughout his tenure as a Bruin. Considering the fact that this is the final year of Ference's deal, expect the 30 year old to leave it all on the ice even more.

Seemingly poised to breakout is Bruins' "caveman" and bruising defensemen, Mark Stuart. Boston's first round selection from the 2003 NHL Draft, Stuart is coming off his best season with the big club. A natural leader, Stuart experienced an increase in offensive output, more than doubling his point total from all of the season before while remaining to be one of the baddest son-of-a-guns to lace them up on a nightly basis.

Hoping to continue to make strides in the NHL as an offensive defensemen despite his lack of a spleen is Matt Hunwick. The 24 year old is coming off a mini-breakout season in Boston where he passed Matt Lashoff on the depth chart and contributed 27 points in 53 games, including an impressive +15. The seventh round pick from the 2004 NHL Draft, Hunwick was also used sparingly as a forward and could perhaps see more time up there if the Bruins elect to use him as a hybrid of sorts similar to Ian White in Toronto or perhaps Dustin Byfuglien in Chicago.

Joining the big club in Boston is Providence Bruins stand-out and Eddie Shore Award winner, Johnny Boychuk. The arrival of Boychuk into Boston although expected, comes at the cost of fan favorite Shane Hnidy, who earned the nickname "Sheriff" and was actually a popular jersey among the Garden crowd. With the Sheriff now in Minnesota with the new-look Wild, the time for Boychuk to fight his way into the NHL line-up is upon us. Boychuk's numbers in the American Hockey League are nothing but promising seeing as how the 25 year old put up 20 goals and 66 points in 78 games for Providence in 2008-09.

On the farm, the Bruins have new faces with limited NHL experience such as Drew Fata and Andy Wozniewski ready to get the call in the event of a rash of injuries striking the boys on Causeway Street (and no, not the five dollar hat guy). Fata, who has eight games of NHL experience under his belt, all with the New York Islanders, is a known tough guy who's never too shy to drop the gloves in defense of his teammates. Loathed in Toronto, Wozniewski will provide a big body on the Providence blue-line is likely to spend the full season down in the AHL unless a plague of injuries finds their way to Boston.

Along with these NHL-fringers, the Bruins also have Adam McQuaid under contract for the upcoming season and could use him as an emergency call-up to fill in with Boston with his 6'4 frame and physical style of play.

Regardless of the offensive surge in Boston, the Claude Julien philosophy promotes a strong foundation on the blue line. Expect to see more of the same grit, passion, physicality and an added offensive boost from the blue-line of the Garden for the good guys this season.

The Vezina & The Flash: Boston Looks To Goalies For Anchoring

Not since the days of Andy Moog and Reggie Lemelin (Apologies to Andrew Raycroft and Hannu Toivonen) were the Bruins considered to have as much strength in net as they did in 2008-09. The goaltender duo of Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez proved to be the best in the National Hockey League, taking home the Jennings Trophy for fewest goals against along with Tim Thomas leaving Vegas with the Vezina trophy in June.

Heading into the off-season, it was pretty much a known fact that Fernandez wouldn't be returning to the Bruins for a third season with the club. The 35 year old, who was acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Wild back in 2007, was seemingly in a do-or-die moment when it came to his health. Fernandez, who was sidelined for 78 games of the 2007-08 season with a severe knee injury that required surgery had just one more chance to prove he could perform at a high level in a contract year with Boston.

As the rigorous schedule of a National Hockey League season took it's toll on Fernandez's back and knees, the netminder often referred to as "The Mexican" (he's from Canada, go figure) seemed ready for what could be one final go 'round with Boston.

Fernandez performed admirably in 2008-09, finishing with a 16-8-3 record and a .910 save percentage for the Boston Bruins. Manny's big moment in Boston come in October and didn't end until December as Fernandez performed exceedingly well in a platoon role with Tim Thomas, going 12-2-1 in the 2008 calendar year with a 1.94 goals against average.

The lack of playing time that followed Fernandez in 2009 was due in large part to the success of Tim Thomas along with what was considered either a back sprain, although rumored to be an "attitude issue" that limited 'Mandez' to just 12 appearances in the second half of the season. Fernandez went on to finish the season poorly, dropping four of his last six games.

Obviously, the play of Tim Thomas went on to lead to both zero appearances in the postseason for Manny and a Vezina Trophy for the 35 year old Thomas. The Michigan-native and perhaps one of the best stories in Bruins history put up career highs in all categories with his 36-11-7 record and league leading .933 save percentage and 2.10 goals against average. His strong play in 2008-09 led to the once dubbed "poor-man's Dom Hasek" goaltender to receive a four year contract worth 20 million dollars.

Heading into this season, Thomas is clearly the number one starter for the Bruins for the fourth year in a row. However, Thomas will have new competition on the bench as prized Finnish goaltender Tuukka Rask has finally cracked the big league line-up and joined Boston. Rask, who was originally acquired from Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Andrew Raycroft in what's considered the biggest steal in recent Bruins trade history has spent the past two seasons playing for the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League. In his two seasons of seasoning with the P-Bruins, Rask posted a 60-33-6 record and 2.42 goals against average.

Last season, Rask joined the Bruins for a brief stint and participated in one game during the entire season. This one game proved to be the best of Rask's short NHL career thus far. The Finnish Flash held the New York Rangers off the scoresheet, stopping all 35 shots his faced from the blue-shirts offense. His shut-out on January 31st sparked great internet banter from every wannabe-expert who believed that Rask should have either traded Fernandez to make room for Rask, and or give the reins of the starting job to Rask.

Ignoring the hype from the know-nothings who dub Rask as the Finnish version of Roberto Luongo, there's still a lot to look forward to when it comes to Tuukka. On the surface, Rask appears to be that perfectly mechanical goaltender that every NHL G.M salivates over. At just 22 years old, it's very possible and entirely likely that Rask will only get better with time.

The Boston Bruins are expected to continue to limit the workload of Tim Thomas for stamina purposes while giving Rask his first real taste of the National Hockey League. My realistic expectations of Thomas is to play around 55 games around while Rask will get in for 25, perhaps a little more or less if he is to live up to the hype.

On the farm, the Providence Bruins will have the ability to select through a plethora of goaltending options throughout the year in Dany Sabourin, Kevin Regan and newly signed Matt Dalton. While Sabourin is expected to be the number one for Providence, P-Bruins coach Rob Murray will undoubtedly try to give Matt Dalton a good look while UNH-alum and Boston native Kevin Regan re-cooperates from off-season hip surgery.

Something worthy to note, the Boston Bruins likely have the two most volatile-tempered goaltenders in the crease this season thanks to Tuukka's affection for throwing milk-crates whereas Thomas has a tendency to flip nets off their moorings, tackle forwards, knock down wingers, and chase after agitators when things don't go quite his way.

"Hey, What Happened To 30 In 30?"

Good question, I'll give you credit.

Over the past two weeks or so, I've had many e-mails, texts, Facebook messages and the like asking me the same thing. That same thing is of course, "What happened to the rest of your 30 teams in 30 days?". My simple answer? College, work, more college and even more work.

Since starting school about two weeks ago, I've had a difficult time finding the time, or making the time to devote serious time to teams such as the St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators and Anaheim Ducks. Some of the blogs got done, others? Not so much. However, with Bruins season now (almost) upon us, the time to blog is back.

In the end, I apologize to my readers who were looking forward to seeing my thoughts on the Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks, and even the Carolina Hurricanes. If the Chronicles From The Garden were a three-piece team, or perhaps even a two-piece team, this task would have ultimately gotten done. As any Chicago Cubs fan would say, there's always next year.

Forget about the other 29 teams because right now, it's all Bruins baby. Tonight will begin my three part preview of the Boston Bruins in 2009-'10.

Ty

Final Farewell To A Legend: Bruins Broadcast Legend Cusick Passes Away

It may be over twelve years since we've heard announcer Fred Cusick yell "SCORE!", but the memories left with us of Cusick's 35+ years in the Boston Bruins booth have continued to live on with the club through the years.

Sadly, it was revealed this morning that Cusick, who had been battling cancer at the age of 90 had lost his battle with the disease and passed away early today in his Massachusetts home. Arguably Boston's most famous announcer (Johnny Most being the best competition), Cusick was just one day away from his introduction into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

During his 36 years in the booth for Boston, Cusick called what is considered the most formative years in Bruins history. He was the premier announcer for the club during both the Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque and Cam Neely era's and called both of the last two B's Stanley Cup victories in the 1970's.

Thanks to his phenomenal work when it came to calling the games and bringing the excitement to your television set, Cusick was the first American broadcaster inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and was also a recipient of the Lester Patrick Award in his career.

Besides his obvious goal calls still heard during most Boston pregame videos, the patented enthusiastic "score" call that Cusick became famous for has transcended into the game calling of current Bruins broadcaster and fan-favorite/loathed Jack Edwards.

Hockey heaven has found their voice.

30 Teams In 30 Days: Stop, Hiller Time?

When realizing the success of the Anaheim Ducks in this past decade, it's somewhat reminiscent of the Reese's Puffs commercial.."Hockey? In Anaheim?".

Just two seasons removed from their Stanley Cup Championship season, the Ducks were a team seemingly relying on their age time and time again. Would Selanne be back with his ugly JOFA helmet? Would Niedermayer shave his Santa beard and lace 'em up for another season?

The answer to both of these much-pondered queries was a profound yes as both Selanne and Niedermayer provided key clutch performances to propel the Ducks into the NHL Playoffs for a fourth straight season.

In the playoffs, the Anaheim Ducks and young goaltender Jonas Hiller quickly became the top story of the first round as they eliminated the 2009 Presidents Trophy winner and heavily favorited San Jose Sharks out of the first round in six games. On top of having an added advantage as they took on the NHL's perennial choke-artists in the post-season, the breakout of Jonas Hiller is giving Duck fans more than just a few reasons to smile.

After holding San Jose to just 10 goals in six games in the post-season, the 27 year old Swiss netminder finished with a 7-6 record with an impressive 2.23 goals against average, which should stand out even more considering his particularly unfavorable match-up's against both the Sharks and Red Wings on an eighth seeded club.

As the club was sent home following a Game 7 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, the off-season topic of what to do with aging defensemen and top dollar defensemen Chris Pronger loomed over the Ducks much like the 6'7" shadow he casts. On the day of the 2009 NHL Draft, this issue was addressed head on as Pronger was sent to Philadelphia in exchange for draft picks and former Ducks forward Joffrey Lupul.

Lupul is coming off his best season with the Flyers where he put up 50 points in 79 games for the black and orange. While Lupul's contract is more of a headache than relief as the 25 year old is set to make 4,250,000 a season through the 2012-'13 season.

As time would tell, this move was just a precursor to a fresh summer makeover done by Ducks GM and chair-tossing fan Bob Murray.

Although the club's youth was beginning to shine with the breakout season of rookie Bobby Ryan, the Ducks were still in the midst of losing veteran leadership up front with the departures of Rob Niedermayer and Sammy Pahlsson through free agency. As one defensive minded Scandanavia based center was exiting town, a one of greater hype was about to step into Anaheim.

Surely stating our initial shock and confusion at the Ducks' signing of Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu didn't quite give it enough justice. All NHL fans heard throughout the entire off-season was that Saku was bound to end up in Minnesota to play with his brother Mikko and be the second line center that the Wild direly needed. If it wasn't the Wild, it seemed to be Montreal. Quite frankly, the idea of Koivu going to Anaheim had the makings of an NHL09 trade coming to life in the form of a rumor mill.

Koivu is coming off another Koivu-like season in Montreal where the Finnish forward put up at least 50 points for the sixth straight season. Regardless of injuries holding the 34-year old center to just 65 games, Koivu's 50 points were good for third on the Habs roster.

Following the major additions of Lupul and Koivu and some key departures with Pronger, Niedermayer and Pahlsson, the Ducks went out and added role players Nick Boynton, Evgeny Artyukhin and Leafs goaltending prospect Justin Pogge.

Barring any trades, the Ducks' line-up should go as follows come opening night.

Corey Perry - Ryan Getzlaf - Teemu Selanne
Bobby Ryan - Saku Koivu - Joffrey Lupul
Ryan Carter - Todd Marchant - Evgeny Artyukhin
Mike Brown - Petteri Nokelainen - George Parros
Extra Skater: Andrew Ebbett

Scott Niedermayer - Ryan Whitney
Nick Boynton - James Wisniewski
Sheldon Brookbank - Steve Eminger
Extra Skater: Luca Sbisa

Jonas Hiller
J.S Giguere

Perhaps it's the added Finnish influence, or maybe it's the varying facial hair on this team which makes them so fun to watch. I believe that this year the Ducks will significantly improve with a steady goaltending situation in place for the 2009-'10 season and continuing progression of Jonas Hiller into a stud goaltender in the NHL.

Players To Watch: A player to keep a close eye on is Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The 32 year old is coming off a troubling season where he finished with a 19-18-6 record and was a bench warmer for the first time in his tenure with the Ducks in the playoffs. If Hiller continues his success and wins the starting job over Giggy, how will the Quebec native take it? Will he willfully accept the role of a back-up goalie or will the Ducks begin to look to move their six million dollar goaltender?

Prediction: 2nd in Pacific Division. 6th in Western Conference.

30 Teams In 30 Days: Ruff's Sabres On The Rebound

Has it become a fact that Lindy Ruff is the most versatile, underrated and perhaps best coach in the National Hockey League? Love him or hate him (I certainly don't like him) the man has gotten the job done with what he's been given time and time again. As Ruff heads into his 12th year of coaching the Buffalo Sabres, can the Sabres break their recent skid of two consecutive playoff-less years in upstate New York?

It's been a hell of a fall from the 2006-07 season in Buffalo, where the Sabres finished with the best record in the NHL and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, only to be ousted by Ottawa. Since then, with the departure of Daniel Briere along with Chris Drury, the Sabres have failed to make it beyond the regular season and are looking to reverse their fortunes with some new faces and continuing youth movement.

During their 2008-09 campaign, the worst possible injuries struck the Sabres when Thomas Vanek missed time with a broken jaw only to be followed goaltender Ryan Miller going down in late February with a sprained ankle. Miller's ankle kept the 29-year old All-Star out of action for 13 games, complete with the worst timing possible. Those 13 games proved to be a pivotal turning point as the Sabres went 4-7-2 without Miller during this stretch and essentially fell out of the race for a playoff berth.

As the off-season struck, the need for Buffalo seemed to reside on the blue-line. Veteran Teppo Numminen was bound for retirement after 20+ years in the NHL while powerplay blue-liner Jaroslav Spacek was hitting the market as a free agent. The Sabres addressed their need for a defensemen when they signed Bruins defensemen Steve Montador to a two-year contract worth just over three million in total.

Montador, who was simply a train wreck in Boston could be either a productive second pairing defensemen or an overpaid third liner. However, with the Sabres loss of Numminen and Spacek, Montador will surely be given chances to succeed. In 2008-09, Montador finished with an impressive +17 between Anaheim and Boston, but struggled with the Bruins and had just one single point with the Bruins in 13 games with the club following the trading deadline.

Following the addition of Montador, the Sabres went out and brought seemingly castawayed NHL defensemen Joe DiPenta back to North America on a one year deal worth NHL minimum. DiPenta, a member of the 2006-07 Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks had a solid season in the Swedish Elite League, putting up 6 points in 47 games for one of Frolunda's clubs. The former Boston University Terrier will most likely be the Sabres seventh defensemen and a discount for what he could bring to the table.

2009-10 also marks the return of an old friend to Buffalo, forward Mike Grier. Before jetting off to San Jose to join Joe Thornton and the Sharks, Greir spent the entire 2005-06 season with the Sabres as they advanced to Eastern Conference Finals. In the following off-season, Grier left Buffalo on what seemed to be bad terms with the franchise. Grier averaged 26 points in three seasons with the Sharks and was honored as an alternate captain throughout his tenure. Grier's seemingly ready to forget the past and pick up where he left off in Buffalo, leading with his strong, physical and poised style of play.

It appears that the Bruins aren't the only NHL club with restricted free agent winger woes as the Sabres and Drew Stafford have yet to agree on a deal as the countdown to the season begins. Just like Phil Kessel, Stafford is coming off a break-out season where he set new career highs in goals with 20, assists with 25 and powerplay goals with nine. Confusion is arises when you try to figure out as to why he has yet to be signed, the Sabres have over five million left in cap space, so why isn't this 45 point man signed yet? With the rumored asking price closer to being four million dollars, it doesn't take a genius to see why Sabres GM Darcy Regier isn't willing to devote large money to an unproven forward.

Here is how the Sabres line-up should shake up on opening night.

Thomas Vanek - Tim Connolly - Jason Pominville
Jochen Hecht - Derek Roy - Clarke MacArthur
Daniel Paille - Paul Gaustad - Mike Grier
Nathan Gerbe - Adam Mair - Patrick Kaleta
Extra Skater: Tim Kennedy

Craig Rivet - Henrik Tallinder
Steve Montador - Toni Lydman
Nathan Paetsch - Andrej Sekera
Extra Skater: Joe DiPenta

Ryan Miller
Patrick Lalime

Barring another injury to Ryan Miller, Lindy Ruff's Sabres should return to the playoffs led by offensive juggernaut Thomas Vanek. Their top nine forwards look to possess great qualities of being complete players (a must for the Lindy Ruff system) and if you add in Drew Stafford, this team looks to be one that will continue to give the Boston Bruins trouble yet again.

Players To Watch: Former Boston College standout and Hobey Baker winner Nathan Gerbe is without a doubt the Sabres biggest x-factor heading into 2009-10. Gerbe tallied just a single point in 10 games with the big club in 2008-09, but the 5'6 forward has shown a high level of play in Portland with the Pirates of the AHL. If Gerbe can produce when given his chances, he'll definitely be logging much more than fourth line minutes. Another player to keep your eyes on is top line center Tim Connolly, who was given a two year extension worth nine million in total. Despite his great production of 88 points in total, Connolly has played in just 98 games in the past three seasons. If health becomes an issue for Connolly again, the Sabres will rely on their youth yet again.

Prediction: 3rd in Northeast Division. 8th in Eastern Conference.

Bruins Winter Classic Jersey Leak?

On the right is a picture of Tim Thomas and one of the Boston Bruins ice girls or Carrie Milbank of NHL.com as one commentor pointed out (any confirmation is greatly appreciated). Notice anything askew? No, it's not Thomas' new watch, it's the jersey. Poising the question, is this the Boston Bruins 2010 Winter Classic jersey?

If so, here's a few pro's and con's of the jersey that the Bruins will don when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park on New Year's Day.

Pro's

• Very reminscent of the photo's from the early Johnny Bucyk era and jersey sold on Willie O'Ree appreciation day. Everyone loves the Chief and diversity.
• The sleeve patterns don't stray too far away from the Bruins current scheme. Same goes for the shoulders.
• The jersey numbering and letter will most likely be white with black outlining, which should look absolutely awesome.
• Incorporates all of the Boston Bruins normal colors, with what looks to be some added brown on the spokes of the 'B'.

Con's

• This 'B' is far too cartoon-ish for a serious Bruins fan.
• Doesn't this look an awful lot like the old Providence throwback jerseys?
• We know that the Bruins were trying to go for a Pittsburgh look with the powder blue, something that would incorporate older colors but still be very popular among the fans, so maybe our expectations were a bit over the top for the (possible) end result.

Overall, this jersey gets a thumbs up from me if this will be the one worn by the Bruins on New Year's Day. Despite the fact that it may not be this one, or this one, or this one (thank Eddie Shore), it'll still be better than whatever the Flyers could possibly put together looking at their jersey history. Bright orange? Not a good look unless you're working the tarmac at Logan Airport.

30 Teams In 30 Days: Wild Expectations In Minnesota

Remember in that 1990's movie "Jingle All The Way" where Arnold Schwarzenegger was a Minnesota-native trying desperately to find a Turboman doll for his son for Christmas in order to one up neighbor Phil Hartman? Well, I suppose the Minnesota Wild were in the same boat this off-season in the busy Northwest Division.

Following the somewhat surprising retirement of head coach Jacques Lemaire (psych) and firing of GM Doug Riseborough it was clear that the Minnesota Wild, known for their overwhelmingly boring defensive trap style of play, were heading in a new direction.

Honestly, who could blame them? It's not often that you finish second in goals against in the National Hockey League and tops in your conference and miss the playoffs. The Wild's apathetic offense essentially left Vezina-nominee Niklas Backstrom out to dry night in and night out, and the ironic part was that Backstrom actually stood up to the challenge admirably.

Although the Wild were just one year removed from their Northwest Division title, the 2008-09 club just didn't seem to have the same killer instinct. Most notably, players such as Pierre-Marc Bouchard struggled to achieve the same success from the year before while key offensive weapons Marian Gaborik and Brent Burns both missed highly significant amounts of time with injuries.

Marian Gaborik, the franchise's all time leader in goals, assists and points was held to just 17 games in 2008-09 but made great use of his ice time with 23 points and a +3. However, despite his contributions to the franchise since day one of their existence a decision was made and Gaborik was let go into the free agent class of 2009. This move seemingly made sense at the same time, until the Wild found their hopeful replacement for Gaborik within hours.

Martin Havlat, the former Chicago Blackhawk and 77-point man last season for the surging 'Hawks was signed to a six year deal that paid him 30 million dollars in total. It makes sense right, they're replacing the injury prone Marian Gaborik with an even more injury prone winger..wait, what?

Now a Ranger, the oft-injured Gaborik has played in just 207 games since the 2005-06 season (an average of 51.x games a season), but seems like a seasoned veteran compared to Havlat's 190 over that same span. Despite both players producing relatively good numbers when healthy, the concept of being healthy has been for the most part very elusive and hard to find.

Other additions to the Wild include Bruins defensemen Shane Hnidy, who's coming off a respectable season as the club's seventh defensemen. The "Sheriff" finished with 12 points and +6 for the Northeast Division winning Boston Bruins.

Heading into a new season with a new, faster tempo under new coach Todd Richards, the Wild line-up should go as follows.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard - Mikko Koivu - Martin Havlat
Andrew Brunette - Eric Belanger - Antti Miettinen
Owen Nolan - James Sheppard - Kyle Brodziak
Cal Clutterbuck - Derek Boogard - Benoit Pouliot
Extra Skater: Craig Weller

Brent Burns - Marek Zidlicky
Greg Zanon - Kim Johnsson
Nick Schultz - Shane Hnidy
Extra Skater: John Scott

Niklas Backstrom
Josh Harding

I'm a big fan of the top line, top defensive pairing and goaltender, but after that it gets very questionable when it comes to what you're going to get as far as production.

Players To Watch: Can James Sheppard avoid another rough season and begin to develop into the promising center that the Wild need to anchor their second line? Can Martin Havlat put together a second straight fully healthy season for the first time in well, his career?

Prediction: 3rd in Northwest Division. 9th in Western Conference.

Report: Bruins & Phil Kessel Done Negotiating

Show Phil the money, right Peter?

Evidently not as Boston.com Bruins blogger K.P Dupont is reporting that Kessel and agent Wade Arnott are done in attempting to reach a deal on a new contract with the Boston Bruins.

To say the two sides have been in disagreement through their negotiations would be putting it lightly as the two sides have almost had no communication according to Kessel's agent. However, reports also indicate that the Bruins have made several offers to Phil all of which varying in length, money, options and perhaps even Garden Gold gift cards and free hats? Regardless of where this saga is bound to turn next, the idea of Phil Kessel and the Bruins coming to an agreement is becoming more of a pipe-dream or pipe-nightmare depending on your stance when it comes to the 21-year old sniper.

Kessel, who achieved career highs in virtually every offensive category in 2008-09 is coming off a 36 goal season and an even more impressive post-season where he had 6goals and 11 points in 11 games. Despite Kessel's success with the club this past season, the winger remains unsigned, but why?

Firstly touching on the 36 goals, keep in mind 22 of them were assisted by 60+ assist man Marc Savard. As something I've vehemently preached, how are we to tell that Phil Kessel could produce without Savard setting him up? Without playing with Savard, Kessel's highest goal total was 19, achieved in 82 games of the 2007-08 season. Especially considering Savard's possibility of leaving Boston when his deal expires, the risk of devoting big money to a player only capable of producing with a number one center is there and could hurt the Bruins greatly.

As a professional athlete, the idea of getting your big payday is understandable after you put together a great season, but it's also something that the Bruins do not have the luxury of doing without having to sacrifice a significant piece of the future. With Kessel's rumored four to five million dollar per year asking price, the Bruins would not only have to move Chuck Kobasew or Marco Sturm on top of Andrew Ference but they'd also have to move someone in the following summer.

This would definitely create issues as Bruins wingers (and more well rounded players) Milan Lucic and Blake Wheeler are up for new contracts at the seasons end. On top of Lucic and Wheeler, the Bruins also have to give new contracts to defensemen and epitomized Bruin Mark Stuart and goaltender of tomorrow Tuukka Rask.

In typical hockey internet fashion, as Kessel remains unsigned the list of teams rumored to have interest is growing. Included in this list of teams and likely to be the favorite are the Toronto Maple Leafs, managed by local boy Brian Burke.

Normally where there's smoke, there's no fire in Toronto but with Burke's recent move of reacquiring the Leafs' 2010 second round pick, the idea of an offer sheet heading Kessel's way from Leaf Nation is seemingly more likely and the odds on favorite as of right now. Next to the Leafs, the list of teams interested are rumored to include the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks.

Despite the rumored interest with Toronto, the problems of Burke giving big money to Kessel would reside in the fact that the Leafs lack a number one center to feed the puck to Kessel. While both Mikhali Grabovski and Matt Stajan are coming off solid seasons, they are simply not in the same caliber or held in the same breath that Bruins center Marc Savard is.

After Toronto, both the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks would have to arguably move key pieces to obtain Kessel. In New York, after the addition of Marian Gaborik, the Rangers have little to no wiggle room left (1.1 million to be exact) to even sign their own restricted free agent Brandon Dubinsky so a trade or offer sheet for Kessel from the Rangers seems very unlikely.

In San Jose, the Sharks have close to four million dollars left in cap space and with Joe Pavelski and Devin Setoguchi on the rise (and up for new deals next summer) they could arguably create a very strong line of the future with the addition of Kessel. If the Sharks are able to either move Marleau or not re-sign him to a new deal when the (former) captain's 6.8 million dollar contract comes off the books the Sharks would be in the clear to add Kessel without any problems.

Personally, I think that with Sturm's return to the line-up along with continuing development of Blake Wheeler, Milan Lucic and David Krejci that Phil Kessel's not a must have on this club if the price is too high, which it appears to be. The Boston Bruins as is are very thin on defense and any trade that will likely send Andrew Ference out of town will hurt the club more than help with Johnny Boychuk and Andy Wozniewksi being next in line to fill in for the big club. Phil Kessel, despite his talent has seemingly been out of place in Boston under Claude Julien and has repeatedly been rumored to be dangled as trading bait at the trade deadline.

Does Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli not believe in Kessel? It's entirely possible, but who could blame him? Kessel, despite being a player with supreme offensive skills, has not shown to be a complete hockey player that'll fit within the Bruins system and in his three seasons with the Bruins has had his stretches of poor play and questionable decision making skills.

As the Bruins head into the upcoming NHL season, the question marks of what magic the club will work with limited cap space following the '09-10 campaign will grow even larger than the year before and the headache of inconsistency that Phil Kessel could be is something the Bruins do not need for years to come.

With the NHL season three weeks away, expect the fate of Phil Kessel and possible future with the Bruins to be decided sooner rather than later before cap space becomes a priority and legitimate issue for many of Kessel's potential suitors.

30 Teams In 30 Days: To Match A Predators Defense

These ain't your older brother's Nashville Predators. Chances are, they're better, or worse, depending on your brother's age of course.

In just their eleventh year in the National Hockey League, the Predators are looking for their fifth trip to the NHL Playoffs, where anything is possible right? It's entirely possible that the Predators have made a secret blood-pact with Satan to continuously torture their fans as they've never made it out of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

Despite their lack of regular season success which lead to no playoffs in Nashville for the first time since 2003, there were quite a few shining moments.

For one, the rise of goaltender Pekka Rinne is sure to be a ray of hope in Tennessee. The 26 year old Finnish phenom is coming off a great rookie season with his 29-15-4 record and 2.38 goals against average. Although being rated just a 77 in NHL09 (take that, NHL09 creators!) the play of Rinne nearly propelled the Predators into the post-season. However it was too little too late as the team couldn't obtain a solid offensive output night in and night out.

A large reason for the drop off in goals can ultimately be traced back to the departure of the top line forward and promising scorer Alexander Radulov for the KHL of Russia. Nashville's first round choice from the 2004 NHL Draft, Radulov was beginning to build a reputation as a clutch performer with eight points in 10 career playoff games. After jet-setting away to his homeland, the pressure was put on Martin Erat to step up as the team's number right winger.

To put it in simpler terms, although Erat is a very solid up and coming player he is nowhere near ready to becoming a team's number one forward and scoring presence.

Following the conclusion to the Dany Heatley saga (thank god) it appears that the newest player in the line of fire for any and all hockey rumors is Bruins winger Phil Kessel. Naturally, with over 15 million dollars in cap space available at their disposal, could the Predators be setting up an offer sheet and/or trade for the Bruins leading goal scorer?

First mentioned by Nashville writer John Glennon, it appears that the Bruins and Predators are very interested in working out a trade for the 21 year old forward. Beyond the obvious set of draft picks and prospects, do the Predators possess anything that could possibly win the bidding war between them and Maple Leafs for Phil The (inconsistent) Thrill?

A wild and considerably unlikely proposition could be the idea of the Bruins obtaining Alexander Radulov's rights and attempting the 23 year old forward to return to the NHL with a Stanley Cup contending team.

Rumors are rumors, but comments made by Predators GM David Poile indicate that the Predators are indeed interesting and could become a major player in the Kessel-sweepstakes. "He's a young player that scores goals,and that's very much of interest to us.''

Barring any movement on the Kessel front by the Predators, this is how their line-up should go come opening night.

J.P Dumont - Jason Arnott - Martin Erat
Joel Ward - David Legwand - Steve Sullivan
Ryan Jones - Ben Guite - Jordin Tootoo
Colin Wilson - Marcel Goc - Jerred Smithson
Extra Skaters: Patric Hornqvist and Wade Belak

Shea Weber - Ryan Suter
Kevin Klein - Dan Hamsuis
Cody Franson - Alex Sulzer
Extra Skater: Jonathon Blum

Pekka Rinne
Dan Ellis

Although I love the Predators top two defensive pairings, the team is simply not ready for a big playoff push in a very tough division. While the powerhouses of the Central are expected to remain in the control of Chicago and Detroit, up and coming teams such as the St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets should make it even harder for the Preds to compete this year.

Players To Watch: Will Pekka Rinne continue to develop into a stud goaltender for Nashville or will his struggles lead to a platooning role with Dan Ellis? Don't expect Rinne to repeat his seven shutout performance in 2009-10, but he should still be on pace for the same record wise and prove to be NHL capable. It'll also be interesting to see how right winger Steve Sullivan plays now that the 2009 Masterton Trophy winner is fully recovered from back surgery that kept him out of nearly two seasons in the NHL.

Prediction: 5th in Central Division. 13th in Western Conference.

30 Teams In 30 Days: New Wall Built In Edmonton

Is it as hard for you to believe that the Edmonton Oilers are just three years removed from almost winning the Stanley Cup as it is for me?

2008-09 brought more of the same for Oilers fans as the team faltered, due in large part to not having that one player needed to take over the pace of the game and score a big goal or make a huge save. The Oilers were built around the team concept, and had been for several years, but the team concept was simply not getting the job done past April in one of the league's best divisions.

Following their failure to beat the Hurricanes in Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup and trade of Chris Pronger out of town thanks to his wife's distaste for the city, the word in Edmonton was that the team needed that one superstar player mentioned to carry them towards the Cup. Three full seasons later, there's still no star in Oil Country.

Regardless of the failing effort, the Oilers almost got their star. Then again, almost doesn't count for anything in the National Hockey League. On July 1st, rumors circulated and the wheels seemed to be in motion as Edmonton was poised to land Senators star Dany Heatley in a trade by giving up Andrew Cogliano, Ladislav Smid and Dustin Penner. Just as quickly as Edmonton had their arms open ready to welcome the two-time 50-goal scoring Heatley to Alberta, Heatley opted to use his no trade clause and block the move to Edmonton.

Despite their failed attempt at landing Heatley, the Oilers had no time to sit still and play the waiting game as with Dwayne Roloson's expired contract the Oilers were in need of a goaltender.

The Oilers then wasted no time in nabbing arguably the best free agent goalie as they quickly signed Chicago Blackhawks netminder Nikolai Khabibulin to a four year contract worth 15 million dollars. Khabibulin is coming off a great year in Chicago where he went 25-8-7 with a .919 save percentage. The biggest doubt with the Bulin Wall has certainly become his durability considering that Khabibulin missed two stretches of games during the 2008-09 campaign.

The Wall's biggest injury undoubtedly came in the NHL Playoffs, where he posted an 8-6 record and 2.93 goals against average before being replaced by Cristobal Huet due to a lower body injury in the Western Conference Finals. It's very possible that a healthy 'Bulin could have powered the 'Hawks past the Red Wings but thanks to an injury, that idea was slayed by Darren Helm's overtime goal in Game 5 which ended Chicago's bid for their first Stanley Cup in 47 years.

Next to Khabibulin's arrival and Roloson's departure, the Oilers have stood pat on the ice but added a "Pat" behind the bench with the addition of Pat Quinn as head coach. Quinn is taking over for former Bruin Craig MacTavish, who was relieved of his duties as Edmonton bench boss after the team finished with a 35-38-9 record and fourth in the Northwest Division. This is Quinn's fifth tenure as head coach in the NHL and in has made 15 playoff appearances in 19 seasons as a head coach.

Quinn is sure to provide an added element of aggressiveness to the Oilers attack, but just how good will/can the Oilers be in 2009-10?

Here's how their line-up should go when they take the ice at Rexall Place.

Patrick O'Sullivan - Shawn Horcoff - Ales Hemsky

Ethan Moreau - Sam Gagner - Dustin Penner

Andrew Cogliano - Mike Comrie - Fernando Pisani

Zack Stortini - Marc Pouliot - Robert Nilsson

Extra Skater: Jean Jacques

Sheldon Souray - Lubomir Visnovsky

Tom Gilbert - Denis Grebeshkov

Steve Staios - Ladislav Smid

Extra Skater: Jason Strudwick

Nikolai Khabibulin

Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers

This team still needs their superstar. It's as simple as that, with the additions in Calgary, Vancouver and Minnesota the Oilers simply won't have enough to compete with the elite of the division, let alone the conference.

Players To Watch: Will Ales Hemsky continue his trend of becoming better than the year before? The alternate captain and chipped tooth-enthusiast is coming off a 66 point season and will be looked upon to carry even more of the Oilers offense this season.

Prediction: 4th in Northwest Division. 11th in Western Conference.

Bruins Sign Defensemen Wozniewski

Here come the Stephane Yelle and Glen Metropolit-like signings.

Today, the Boston Bruins have announced that they've agreed to terms with blue-liner Andy Wozniewski on a one-year contract with the club. This is the fourth club for the 29-year old defensemen within the past two seasons. After finishing the 2007-08 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Wozniewski signed with the St. Louis Blues and was subsequently traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins during the trading deadline.

Wozniewski spent all but except for one game in the American Hockey League between the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins and Peoria Rivermen. In his one NHL game with the Blues in 2008-09, Wozniewski played just under seven minutes and was credited for one hit.

In the AHL, Wozniewski tallied 21 points in 74 games between two AHL affiliates and had an impressive postseason for the Rivermen with his 2 points and +1 in 6 games for the Blues farm team.

Although these AHL numbers may not shine out as greatly as those of Johnny Boychuk, what Wozniewski brought to the Maple Leafs in his last relevant season in the National Hockey League is very noteworthy for a player bound to be a seventh defensemen for the Bruins, if that. On top of having nine points in 48 games for Toronto, Wozniewski didn't shy away from the rough stuff as the big blue-liner was tallied for 43 hits along with 56 blocked shots.

There's no need for an outcry of how this move will take cap space away from signing Phil Kessel because this signing is without question for 550,000 dollars or less.

The beauty of this signing is that it gives the B's another "fringe" player in the event of a rash of injuries striking the Bruins. The mentioned "fringe" are players who are good enough to be top players at the AHL level while also having the talent to fill in on an NHL squad for a short stint. The Bruins now have two presumably waiting in Providence with Drew Fata and now Wozniewski.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of this move for what it brings. In short, Wozniewski is a 6'5 behemoth signed as a cheap insurance policy. Similar to Hnidy, Wozniewski's size will be his biggest strength for the club. If all goes as planned, Wozniewski will only make an appearance for Providence this season. Worst case scenario, he's thrown into a familiar division and defensemen friendly system.

30 Teams In 30 Days: Ottawa & The Heater Bound To Breakup?

Remember that devastatingly powerful line-up featuring Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley? If you told anyone that two years later, that line would be in jeopardy due to a trade request, surely you would've been ridiculed and seemingly exiled from any sort of discussion. However, is it those people who are now on the brink of having the last laugh?

Were the Senators in the process of rebuilding before the 2008-09 season began? One could argue that the replacement of Wade Redden with Jason Smith was a sign that yes, they were on the fall. Just as fast as that thought crept into your mind, the Sens made an upgrade on the blue-line by trading away Andrej Meszaros to Tampa Bay for Filip Kuba. The mystery continued to grow on into the regular season until they took to the ice and we saw how truly terrible this team was destined to be.

It may have been the lack of scoring beyond the top line, the poor and aged defense or the inconsistent goaltending of Martin Gerber and Alex Auld? Simply put, whatever it was, needed to be fixed as soon as the season ended. The 2008-09 Ottawa Senators went on to finish fourth in the Northeast Division and out of the playoffs for the first time since the 1995-96 season.

Without question the Sens biggest need was, well, everything.

Addressing perhaps their most important need the Senators traded for Blue Jackets goaltender Pascal Leclaire at the NHL trading deadline. As Leclaire sat at home and recovered from ankle surgery, the Senators continued to give Brian Elliott a test run in the NHL. Elliott played surprisingly well on a poor team, finishing with a 16-8-3 record and .900 save percentage.

During his last fully healthy season for Columbus, Leclaire had an NHL leading 10 shutouts and 24 win season for the Jackets. The duo of Elliott and Leclaire should be key components in the rebuilding of the Senators with these two players possessing great potential to be stars in this league for years to come.

On the back end, the Senators defense was simply too old. Chris Philips, Jason Smith, and Luke Richardson (who retired after just two games) are simply beyond their prime and have arguably, with the exception of Jason Smith, lost their legs. In a market seemingly barren of young NHL defensemen, the Senators made no changes to the defense and will hope for the best without veteran Jason Smith patrolling the ice.

Making the biggest arrival into Ottawa in 2009 is definitely going to be that of Alex Kovalev, who for years tormented the Ottawa Senators and rest of the Northeast Division for that matter with the Montreal Canadiens. Known for his simply remarkable techniques with the stick and smooth skating, but also for his rather lazy-bug attitude, Kovalev has joined the Senators on a two year contract that will pay him a total of 10 million dollars.

Kovalev is coming off what many consider a down year in Montreal where the part-time captain struggled to play at a high level night in and night out and put up 26 goals and finished with 65 points and a -5. Despite the 19 point drop off from the year before, Kovalev still has the skills, leaving the only question to be his work ethic and desire to give it his all for a club with almost no direction for the upcoming season.

Ahead of Kovalev in the newspapers has been the request by Dany Heatley to be traded out of town and to a contender. After refusing a trade that would've sent the disgruntled 39-goal scorer to Edmonton in exchange for Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid it was beginning to appear as if Dany Heatley was going to create a distraction in the Senators locker room and simply wasn't going to be well liked (hell, the desire to be traded went as far as refusing to go to teammate Jason Spezza's wedding).

Heatley's refusal rendered the question among most, including myself, "Why request the trade if you're just going to say no?" and Heatley's motivations were becoming very clear. He wanted to go to an immediate contender, not a team who needs him in order to be a contender. Simply put, he's quickly becoming one of the NHL's few prima-donna's.

Is Heatley the missing piece for the San Jose Sharks, Philadelphia Flyers or New York Rangers? It's very possible, but with all three of teams lacking the cap space and/or players willing to waive their no trade clauses a move to any of these cities seems unlikely. Wherever Heatley may end up (Ottawa being my bet), the price tag for the 28 year old coming off his worst offensive season since 2003-04 is still going to an extraordinarily high one considering his seven and a half million dollar cap hit from now until the end of the 2013-14 season.

The on-going Heatley saga has even irked captain Daniel Alfredsson, who recently suggested that Heatley be traded immediately for the best interest of the team and to avoid creating a distraction for the club once they return to action. Will Heatley be moved? Or better yet, can he be moved? As the season draws closer and closer, the idea of Heatley staying a Senator and creating a distraction is becoming more likely.

Considering that as of right now no Heatley trade is in place, this should be the Senators opening night line-up in 2009-10.

Daniel Alfredsson - Jason Spezza - Dany Heatley

Nick Foligno - Mike Fisher - Alex Kovalev

Jarkko Ruutu - Chris Kelly - Chris Neil

Christoph Schubert - Ryan Shannon - Jesse Winchester

Extra Skaters: Cody Bass & Martin St. Pierre

Chris Phillips - Filip Kuba

Chris Campoli - Alexandre Picard

Brian Lee - Anton Volchenkov

Extra Skater: Erik Karlsson

Pascal Leclaire

Brian Elliott

Despite the addition of Kovalev and arrival of a healthy Leclaire, this team is among the bottom of the barrel not only in the division, but in the Eastern Conference. Once again, the defense will be lit up by all four of the divisional opponents along with the rest of the NHL. The offense, although slightly improved, still lacks the depth to hang with the league's best on a night in and night out basis.

Players To Watch: Firstly and most importantly, goaltenders Pascal Leclaire and Brian Elliott should be two netminders to keep an eye on and present the second most interesting case of a goalie core next to the Ray Emery and Brian Boucher combo in Philly. Elliott, while experience success as a rookie on a bad team has still yet to prove if he is indeed the number one goaltender of tomorrow whereas Leclaire is looking to bounce back and return to form with a fully healed ankle. It'll also be entertaining to see how the fans react to and treat Dany Heatley if he is indeed not traded before the season starts.

Prediction: 5th in Northeast Division. 12th in Eastern Conference.

30 Teams In 30 Days: These Stars Still Shine

Welcome to Dallas, home of Mike Modano..for 15 seasons.

Not often do we see a team drop off as drastically as the Dallas Stars did in transition from their 2007-08 near Stanley Cup berth to their 12th place finish in the Western Conference in 2008-09. Although the losing happens on the ice, the roster and coaching staff simply cannot be held 100 percent responsible for the horrid start the Dallas Stars got to.

By far the biggest addition to the Stars during the free agency frenzy of over-payment of 2008 was Rangers pest and arguably the league's most hated man, Sean Avery. The 29-year old Avery was moving to his fourth team in just seven years in the National Hockey League and was never one to shy away from the cameras.

Known more so for his on-ice antics, fashion-designer aspirations and the now legendary "Avery Rule", Avery was anticipated to bring an added edge to the Stars line-up, an edge that Stars GM Brett Hull felt was needed for the Lone Star State's hockey club. The results were in fact just the opposite as on November 30th would be the last time Avery ever suited up for the Stars.

Prior to a game against the Calgary Flames on the road, Avery gathered reporters around him and mentioned how it had become a "common theme for players to date his sloppy seconds", which was of course referring to Elisha Cuthbert, current girlfriend of Flames defensemen Dion Phaneuf and ex-girlfriend of Sean Avery. The NHL suspended the agitator indefinitely and the Stars ultimately bought out Avery's four year contract.

With a member of Avery on the roster, the Stars were just 8-11-4 and were seemingly disconnected with one another on the ice. Avery's signing ultimately rests on the shoulders of Brett Hull, a former player who was once a teammate of Avery in Detroit. As many Stars players admitted, when Avery departed with the club the team felt united and as if a distraction in their locker room was now gone and they went on to finish with a 36-35-11 record.

Playing a large factor in the downfall of the Stars last season were injuries to key players. Most notably, captain Brendan Morrow was held to just 18 games before his season was cut short due to a torn ACL in his knee. After Morrow, the list got longer and included key players such as Sergei Zubov, Brad Richards and Selke-trophy winner Jere Lehtinen. With the bad, comes the good as these injuries opened the doors for players like James Neal, Loui Eriksson and Matt Niskanen to shine for an injury riddled club.

Going into the 2009 off-season, the Stars realized they were in need of some serious help on the blue line with Zubov unlikely to return and the surging offenses of the Pacific Division.

Stars new General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk wasted no time making his changes to the team one year removed from the Western Conference Finals. For starters, Joe sent coach Dave Tippett packing in favor for Marc Crawford, who last coached the dreadful 2007-08 Los Angeles Kings. Crawford comes into the Stars system with a 470-361-100 record with a Stanley Cup championship to boot.

Considering the presumably healthy line-up in Dallas, the changes to the forwards were not needed direly as they were in both defense and goaltending. On defense, the Stars biggest additions will be Karlis Skrastins and Jeff Woywitka and in net backing up Marty Turco will be journeyman Alex Auld.

Personally, I think the trade for Alex Auld was a great move by the Dallas Stars. His price tag was cheap as he was acquired for the Stars sixth round pick in the 2010 Draft and what he brings to the table for one million dollars is more than a bargain. In no way is that an insult to the goaltending of Marty Turco, but a solid back-up may be exactly what he needs behind him considering his 2008-09 numbers.

For the Stars this past season, Turco played in a career high 74 games and had career worsts in goals against average, save percentage and losses. His final numbers of 33-31-10 indicate that Turco indeed does need a solid and proven NHL back-up to stabilize his workload. Auld seems to fit that bill perfectly as he put together a solid season for the mediocre Senators with his 16-18-7 record and .911 save percentage.

With the Stars healthy and ready to rebound, their opening night line-up looks to be a large improvement from last season's injury plagued squad.

Brendan Morrow - Brad Richards - Loui Eriksson

Mike Ribiero - Mike Modano - Jere Lehtinen

James Neal - Steve Ott - Fabian Brunnstrom

Brian Sutherby - Krys Barch - Toby Petersen

Extra Skater: Tom Wandell

Trevor Daley - Matt Niskanen

Stephane Robidas - Karlis Skrastins

Mark Fistric - Nicklas Grossman

Extra Skater: Jeff Woywitka

Marty Turco

Alex Auld

If, emphasize the if, this team can stay healthy they will be back in the playoff picture and playing more than just 82 games this season. Look for Crawford to really light a fire under this team like he during his Colorado days.

Players To Watch: A player to watch for certain is defensemen Trevor Daley. He's seemingly becoming better and better with every additional year in Dallas. With Zubov in the KHL, Daley has officially become the Stars number one defensemen and will be expected to up his point total from the year before. Another player to watch will be Loui Eriksson, the 24 year old Swede is coming off a 63 point season, doubling his total from the year before. Eriksson will without question be defended against with more awareness of his skills following that 36 goal performance. Can he produce those stats again or was he just a beneficiary of a role bigger than his talent.

Prediction: 3rd in Pacific Division. 8th in Western Conference.

30 Teams In 30 Days: A Tougher Toronto In '09

Hello Toronto, this is Brian Burke. He's here to fix the cataclysmic series of bad events happening here in recent years and end a near 45-year drought.

Upon the arrival of the 2008-09 NHL season, the Maple Leafs were without a familiar face in not just Toronto, but all of Ontario. Putting a name to the face leads you to 38 year old forward Mats Sundin. The Leafs all-time point leader, Sundin left Toronto, a place he called home and captained for 13 seasons and was officially a free agent. Sundin was still chasing the ever elusive Stanley Cup, a goal he's yet to even come close to in his entire 18 year career.

Following Sundin's departure, fellow Leafs teammates Andrew Raycroft and gritty forward Darcy Tucker left the club through free agency and after a trade that sent Bryan McCabe packing for Florida, the Leafs seemed to be in serious trouble heading into their 91st year of hockey.

The additions to the Maple Leafs in 2008 included defensemen Jeff Finger, Stars forward Niklas Hagman and Montreal-castaway Mikhali Grabovski. Despite these additions, the Leafs couldn't compete in this year's Eastern Conference. The team's lack of a solid goaltender was undoubtedly their biggest downfall as Vesa Toskala spent significant amounts of time on the injured reserve while Curtis Joseph continued to provide loss after loss. This lack of goaltending put the Leafs in the unfortunate situation of rushing Justin Pogge to the NHL along with trading for veterans Martin Gerber and Olaf Kolzig to try and sure up the holes in the crease.

Heading into the summer of 2009, Leafs fans were anxious to see how Brian Burke was going to put his stamp on the club as this was his first real off-season with the club. Burke wasted no time in drafting Nazem Kadri, despite his apparent desire to create another brother combo in Toronto like he did with the Sedin's in Vancouver and Niedermayer's in Anaheim with his interest in drafting Brayden Schenn.

Burke's biggest splash was ultimately made through free agency with size being a major need for the Maple Leafs in his eyes, something he has preached about for years. Addressing this issue, the Leafs signed Mike Komisarek away from their rival Montreal Canadiens with a four year contract worth four and a half million dollars a season. To complement the signing of Komisarek, the Leafs were also able to add former Anaheim defensemen Francois Beauchemin to the roster through free agency. In what was a somewhat expected move, the Leafs then sent defensemen and alternate captain Pavel Kubina to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Colin Stuart and Garnet Exelby.

In true Burke fashion, the Maple Leafs now had a large set of bigger defensemen with great physical styles of play. Adding to the bigger squad, the signing of Colton Orr to a four-year contract had the Leafs already looking to be a far grittier team in 2009.

The biggest problem remained in the crease of the Air Canada Center. The Leafs goaltending was simply horrid in 2008-09 and Vesa Toskala (and his deceptive record of 22-17-11) was a headache to watch every night and Curtis Joseph, or what's left of him anyhow was no relief. The idea that the Leafs still needed a legitimate number one goaltender for the future remained.

Insert Jonas Gustavsson. Also known as "The Monster" in Sweden, the 24 year old goaltender simply dominated the Swedish Elite League yet again in 2008-09 with his 1.96 GAA and even more impressive and record setting 1.03 GAA, .961 save percentage and 5 shutouts in the SEL Playoffs. Although many rumors indicated Gustavsson was heading to Vancouver to replace former Boston College goaltender Cory Schneider, the Monster signed a one year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs and will become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2009-10 season.

If Gustavsson is to falter, which has become a relatively more common thing involving European goaltenders who dominate their leagues overseas the Leafs have insurance policy Joey McDonald waiting down in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies.

As it stands right now, the Maple Leafs have just over two million in cap space and with the reacquiring of their 2010 second round pick from the Chicago Blackhawks it appears as if Brian Burke is preparing to make a big run at Boston sniper and restricted free agent Phil Kessel. If Boston and Toronto are to work out a deal involving the 21 year old forward, Toronto would gain a first line type player they desperately need while Boston would likely obtain the Leafs first three draft choices from the 2010 Draft.

However, with 2010 expected to be one of the poorer draft classes in recent years the idea of Boston matching the offer in order to work out a trade with Toronto seems likely. This will definitely be a story to keep your eyes on as the NHL season draws closer.

Here is how the Leafs line-up should shake up come October 3rd.

Jason Blake - Mikhali Grabovski - Lee Stempniak

Niklas Hagman - Matt Stajan - Alexei Ponikarovsky

Nikolai Kulemin - Jiri Tlusty - Jamal Mayers

Colton Orr - John Mitchell - Wayne Primeau

Extra Skater: Rickard Wallin

Mike Komisarek - Tomas Kaberle

Luke Schenn - Francois Beauchemin

Jeff Finger - Ian White

Extra Skaters: Mike Van Ryn, Garnet Exelby

Vesa Toskala
Jonas Gustavsson

This team essentially needs a superstar forward in order to make a serious run for the playoffs. Is Kessel that player? It's entirely possible, but still may not be enough and will be a total non-factor until he's officially out of Boston and into Toronto. The defense for the Leafs may be stronger, but it may be a great idea for Burke to look to shop Kaberle for some help on the forward front. It's still too early for the Burke Plan to become a plan lasting into mid-April and will continue to be in process of building a complete team in Toronto this season.

Players To Watch: Luke Schenn, it'll be interesting to see how the 19 year old performs in his second season in the NHL. Him being a prized possession of Brian Burke only tells you good things about his future. Jonas Gustavsson is also an obvious player to be watching for Toronto this season, just how does the Monster handle the NHL? Will he be the next Henrik Lundqvist, or the next Hannu Toivonen?

Prediction: 4th in Northeast Division. 9th in Eastern Conference.

30 Teams In 30 Days: Hockey's Desertion In Phoenix

When the game of hockey is mentioned in the same breath as the word Phoenix, the simple response I have is often "When will the torture end?". For years now, the idea of hockey continuing to be a winter tradition in the state of Arizona is becoming a fading thought and could soon be a memory of the past.

The debacle known as the Phoenix Coyotes franchise has been a long, painful and Balsillie-filled adventure with little to no action. Although the fact remains that the Coyotes are indeed a franchise in debt, the prospect of moving the team out of Phoenix into a better suited hockey market is simply not being toyed with by the NHL. But, why not?

It's entirely possible that the NHL doesn't want to admit their faults, and their robbery of a team out of Winnipeg and into the dry-heat of Arizona. It's also widely known that the NHL has been supporting the 'Yotes financially since November of 2008. After news of this broke, Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes filed for bankruptcy and rumors of the team moving to Hamilton, Ontario ran rampant over the internet.

A key (wanna-be) factor in this has been Canadian multi-billionaire Jim Balsillie. He's repeatedly stated his desire to move the club, as this is now his third attempt at buying an NHL franchise (the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins being the first two swing and misses) and has the same intentions of moving the team to Canada, particularly Hamilton, every time. Despite Balsillie's bid for the club, it appears that the NHL will once again assume controls and continue to fund the existence of hockey in the Copper State.

On the ice, the Coyotes were about as ugly as their attendance situation, which only drew an average of 10,943 people at the turnstiles rather than the announced average of 14,866 which is just plain untrue. The team stumbled throughout the entire season, traded away their "difference makers" and finished tied with the Los Angeles Kings for the second worst record in the Western Conference.

The Coyotes 2008 off-season was anchored by the addition of career-long Florida forward Olli Jokinen, who was coming off a 71 point season in Florida and was sent packing to Arizona after being considered dead weight in the Panthers rebuilding phase. Along with Jokinen, the 'Yotes also added enforcer Brian McGrattan and defensemen Kurt Sauer. With Jokinen set to become the center Shane Doan needed, the Coyotes seemed poised to become a dark horse in the 2008-09 season.

The results however, indicated a team in dire need of a new direction. The team struggled from the get-go and finished with just 79 points in the Western Conference, finishing fourth in the Pacific Division for the second straight year. After the trade deadline led to puck-moving defensemen Derek Morris being shipped out to New York while Jokinen was Calgary bound, it was clear this was just the beginning of the demolition of the 'Yotes.

Taking their first step towards the future in Phoenix, or wherever they're likely to move to, the Coyotes drafted Oliver Ekman-Larsson with the sixth overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. Ekman-Larsson is a Swedish-born defensemen gifted with a great hockey sense and valuable offensive strength, a necessity in the new-era National Hockey League. During the 2008-09 season, Ekman-Larsson played with Leksands IF in Sweden and finished with with 17 points in 39 games.

Besides Ekman-Larsson, the Coyotes have been very quiet this off-season due in large part to their uncertain future. In addition to Oliver, the Coyotes added forwards Vern Fiddler, Taylor Pyatt and blue-liners Jim Vandermeer and Adrian Aucoin and former divisional foe goaltender Jason LaBarbera.

The biggest addition for the Coyotes was Radim Vrbata. Many of you will remember Vrbata as the forward who left the woefully-bad Tampa Bay Lightning early in the 2008-09 season to "clear his head" back home..where he signed with a hometown club of the Czech league and put up 17 points in 18 games. It'll be interesting to see how Vrbata performs back in the Gretzky system.

Here's how the line-up should go for the Coyotes opening night match-up in Los Angeles on October 3rd.

Radim Vrbata - Kyle Turris - Shane Doan

Mikkel Boedker - Matt Lombardi - Peter Mueller

Petr Prucha - Martin Hanzal - Viktor Tikhonov

Taylor Pyatt - Vern Fiddler - Lauri Korpikoski

Extra Skaters: Daniel Winnik and Kevin Porter

Ed Jovanovski - Jim Vandermeer

Adrian Aucoin - Keith Yandle

Kurt Sauer - Zbynek Michalek

Extra Skater: Matt Jones

Ilya Bryzgalov

Jason LaBarbera

Simply put, this team looks to be one of the worst in the league. The offense is too soft, the defense is too old and slow and the goaltending is very suspect. It'll be interesting to see if Doan and/or Jovanovski are moved during this year's trading deadline as they could both be considered very valuable pieces to a team's push towards the Cup. Unfortunately for Phoenix, it won't be there.

Players To Watch: The Coyotes first round selection from the 2007 NHL Draft Kyle Turris is one player on a fairly miserable team that you should keep tabs on in 2009-10. The 20-year old is coming off a mediocre 20 points in 63 games for the big club in 2008-09 and was even sent down to San Antonio of the AHL in February due to his poor numbers, where he posted 7 points in 8 games before being called back up. Does the British Columbia native now begin to show his potential with more expected ice time or will he continue to fizzle and become an after thought?

Prediction: 5th in Pacific Division. 15th in Western Conference.

Bruins & Julien Agree To Contract Extension

Waking up this morning, Bruins fans can't help but be happy that the coaching carousel of Boston Bruins head coaches is seemingly over. During a morning press conference at the TD Garden on Friday, the Boston Bruins announced that they had agreed to terms with head coach Claude Julien on a multi-year contract extension.

Following the firing of Dave Lewis after just one season (turns out the dump, chase, dump, chase again and ride Thomas for 60+ games system didn't work too well) the Bruins were in need of a total revamping behind the bench. As rumors swirled throughout the web that included names such as Mike Milbury, Scott Gordon and even Ray Bourque as taking over behind the Boston bench, it was former Montreal and New Jersey coach Claude Julien who received the nod of approval from Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli.

Upon his arrival to Boston in the summer of 2007, many questioned how well Julien's defensive trap system would work in Boston considering the Bruins lack of a premier goalie such as Martin Brodeur or the Jose Theodore from 2003-04. However, to say Julien has worked wonders with the tools and roster he's been given would be putting it lightly.

Since his introduction into the Bruins coaching staff, Julien has teamed up with Bob Essensa to transform Tim Thomas from a "lucky" goaltender with no set style to a Vezina winning goaltender who has a better sense of where he should be at all times and how to better utilize his defense in front of him. Under Julien, including the playoffs, Thomas has a 74-38-13 record in the defensive system. Along with the favorable record, Thomas boasts a 2.27 GAA and .927 SV% in regular season play along with eight shutouts.

Julien's style of play not helped out the Bruins goaltenders, but the captain of the Bruins has arguably benfitted the most from the system Julien has placed into the Boston line-up. During the Dave Lewis era, it's often believed that Zdeno Chara was simply logging too many minutes out there, therefore making him less effective. Under Claude Julien, Zdeno Chara's has been noticably better due to less ice time and in both seasons Chara has seen his point totals go up. Chara's biggest achievement in the Julien system thus far has undoubtedly been taking home the Norris Trophy in 2009.

Along with the improvements of Chara and Thomas under Julien, players such as Marc Savard, David Krejci and Marco Sturm have become much better two-way players and have seen their overall play thrive.

In Julien's two seasons as Boston's bench-boss, the team's overall record has dramatically improved from the year before. However, it's tough to top a 116-point regular season and both Claude and Chiarelli realize the potential of the team taking a step back from that total in 2009-'10. Touching on it during the press conference, Julien mentioned the idea of needing to be ready for every team to come at them even more so because they're now one of the league's elite.

There's not much improvement left for Julien to make in the regular season, but this team and Claude's true test will come if and when the team can make a serious run in the playoffs. Despite the success throughout his career, Julien has yet to coach a team beyond the second round of the NHL Playoffs. However, with this year's club seemingly ready to go already it's very possible that Julien will have yet another chance to advance to a Conference Finals appearance in 2009-10.

The players bought into the system of digging deep, fighting for every possession and being fundamentally sound and it's both the fans and Julien who are reaping the benefits as the club heads into this season as the odds on favorite in both the Northeast Division and arguably the Eastern Conference.

30 Teams In 30 Days: Quickly On The Rise In L.A

Could we be about to witness the next Columbus Blue Jackets circa 2008-09? Although the 2008-09 campaign didn't go as successful as planned for the Kings as they finished with the second fewest points in the Western Conference, there were many positives to take with the defeats. For one, the club finished just 12 points out away from the eighth seeded Anaheim Ducks and Kings fans were able to witness their goaltender of the future, Jonathan Quick.

The 23-year old UMass alum got his first real taste of the NHL in 2008-09, starting in 41 games for the Kings after beginning the year in Manchester. Before getting the call to the City of Angels, Quick was in the midst of posting seemingly average numbers for the Monarchs with his 6-5-2 record and goals against average just under 2.70 before an injury to seemingly solidified starter Erik Ersberg struck and Quick got the call. Quick went on to steal the job away from Ersberg and finished with a 21-18-2 record with a 2.48 goals against average and 4 shutouts.

Going into 2009, he is undoubtedly the starter for the Los Angeles Kings and should continue to develop into a number one goalie for the Southern California based hockey club.

Other than Quick, it seemed that the team was lacking an added edge. Perhaps it was Sean O'Donnell's team leading +2 (yes, the highest +/- on the team was a +2.) or maybe it was the lack of depth on the entire roster. Whatever it was, it can be argued that the Kings are now looking to continue building off what they've already gained this summer.

Firstly, the team continued their additions to what appears to be a strong future when they drafted Brayden Schenn with the fifth overall pick in this year's draft. Schenn, brother of Maple Leaf defensemen Luke Schenn has been billed by scouts as a forward who possesses strong two-way capabilities along with a great work ethic. Schenn is coming off his best season with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League where he scored 88 points in 70 games and finished his season with 18 points in 12 playoff games.

Schenn will be added to an already strong group of future Kings players of tomorrow and will be classified in the same breath as Thomas Hickey, Colten Teubert and Oscar Moller.

Following another successful draft, the Kings were entering the NHL off-season with more money than any team in the Western Conference to spend on additional scoring, blue-line help and possibly another goaltender to complement Jonathan Quick in the event of a Raycroft-like collapse.

The Kings wasted no time adding help on the woeful blue-line when they signed Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen Rob Scuderi to a four year deal worth over 13 million dollars. The 30 year old Scuderi set career highs in assists (15), points (16) and +/- (+23) in 2008-09 and led the Pens in blocked shots with 164. Scuderi is expected to bolster the Kings already strong penalty kill, which finished with the seventh best penalty kill in the NHL.

After adding Scuderi, the Kings still needed another offensive threat to be able to score goal for goal with divisional foes such as the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks, who possess two of most feared offensive units in the National Hockey League today. As time went on, the Kings couldn't keep sitting on their hands and striking out on free agent after free agent as they went out and grabbed Ryan Smyth away from the Colorado Avalanche in a trade.

The arrival of Smyth meant the departure of defensemen Kyle Quincey, a solid offensive defensemen but with the addition of Smyth the Kings are hoping to have created a very solid top six. Despite the large contract Smyth brings to Los Angeles, the 33 year old is coming off a rebound season where he scored 26 goals for the Av's.

Even with these additions, the Kings rumor mill kept on buzzing about one superstar on the block, Dany Heatley. The disgruntled Ottawa forward has publicly stated his desire to be traded repeatedly and seemingly the Kings are on a short list of clubs with the cap space available to add Heatley without sacrificing a pivotal player of today such as Anze Kopitar or Dustin Brown. However, it appears unlikely that Heatley will be bound for L.A and it's questionable as to whether he'd even accept a trade to Los Angeles after blocking a move that would've sent him to Edmonton, a better club.

For Los Angeles, the future of the crease seems to solely be on Jonathan Quick, but with Erik Ersberg being the current back-up option, the idea of adding a veteran netminder as an insurance policy should be on the agenda for Kings GM Dean Lombardi.

Two names that stick out are Blues goaltender Manny Legace and Bruins butterfly goalie Manny Fernandez. Despite both player's recent injury history, they remained unsigned and can likely be had for cheap money at this point. Fernandez is coming off a revival in Boston where he posted a 16-8-3 record with a .910 save percentage which included a torrid stretch of success in November and into December. For Fernandez, the downside comes with his injury history as an aggravated back held him to minimal playing time from January and onward.

Legace, the former All-Star netminder experienced a fall from grace in 2009 when he was placed on waivers and subsequently demoted to the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL. Before the demotion, Legace went 13-9-2 with a goals against average over three and a save percentage under .900. Although contracts for either seem very unlikely and foolish as of right now, an invitation to Kings training camp could prove to be helpful for the Kings.

When the Kings return to the ice for their 42nd season in the NHL in their quest for their first Stanley Cup in club history, their line-up should go as follows.

Ryan Smyth - Anze Kopitar - Dustin Brown

Alexander Frolov - Michal Handzus - Justin Williams

Brad Richardson - Jarret Stoll - Wayne Simmonds

Raitis Ivanans - Oscar Moller - Teddy Purcell

Extra Skaters: John Zeiler, Trevor Lewis

Jack Johnson - Rob Scuderi

Sean O'Donnell - Drew Doughty

Matt Greene - Thomas Hickey

Extra Skater: Peter Harrold

Jonathan Quick

Erik Ersberg

The additions of Scuderi and Smyth will certainly help the Kings as they begin to incorporate their youth and add veterans at the same time. Although they've upgraded since last season, the Kings still aren't deep enough to compete with the elite of the Pacific.

Players To Watch: The most blatantly obvious name is Jonathan Quick, who's looking to avoid an Andrew Raycroft like sophmore slump this season for the Kings. Another player to watch will be Ryan Smyth, who stumbled in Colorado for two seasons before being moved to Los Angeles. Smyth is expected to log top-six minutes with the Kings and will undoubtedly get his chances.

Prediction: 4th in the Pacific Division. 12th in the Western Conference.