30 Teams In 30 Days: The Tavares Era Set To Begin On The Isle

To say that the 2008-09 New York Islanders were dreadfully awful would be an understatement. However, considering their loss of 582 man games to injury, the Isles were seemingly already out of the race for a playoff spot and were in the race for John Tavares. Luckily for them, this was the one race that the Isles actually won in 2009.

Notably the injuries struck the Islanders key players and veteran leaders as Mike Sillinger missed 75 games, Doug Weight missed 29 games, Trent Hunter missed 27 games and face-of-the-franchise goaltender Rick DiPietro missed 77 games.

The injuries to DiPietro, who's under contract until the end of the 2022 NHL season, essentially threw the Islanders goaltending department to the wolves of the Eastern Conference. As former Bruins goaltender Joey McDonald was given the starting nod for Scott Gordon's club, the team also relied heavily on Yann Danis and even used Peter Mannino when the injuries piled on.

Despite the lack of success in 2008-09, a ray of light is hopefully showing for the Islanders in the form of 2009 NHL Draft number one overall pick John Tavares. The 18-year old Tavares totaled 104 points in 56 games between the Oshawa Generals and London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League in 2008-09 and tallied 15 points in 6 games for Team Canada in the World Juniors, where he won the MVP award.

Along with Tavares, the Islanders also nabbed promising defensemen Calvin de Haan with the 12th overall pick in the Draft. Although de Haan is expected to remain in the Ontario Hockey League for at least one more season to continue his development, his offensive upside and potential to be a defensive stud make him a valuable asset towards the future.

Tavares, who's drawn many comparisons to Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is expected to play alongside Kyle Okposo, the Islanders other prized young forward in the hopes that they will create a one-two punch for the future.

As the draft concluded, the Islanders appeared to have their number one center of tomorrow, but with the status of Rick DiPietro's knee relatively unknown the Islanders needed a goaltender. They addressed this issue with the signing of Oilers goaltender Dwayne Roloson to a two year deal worth five million dollars. Roloson went 28-24-9 for the Oil with a 2.77 GAA with a .915 SV%. Roloson's biggest contributions for the Oilers in 2008-09 was his 36 straight starts for the Oilers in their attempt to make the playoffs.

When the Roloson signing was made official, the Islanders goaltender core appeared set. However, the additional signing of Marty Biron to a one year deal worth 1.4 million dollars, the idea that Rick DiPietro wouldn't be playing in the 2009-10 NHL season seemed likely. Biron, who's spent two a half seasons in the Atlantic Division playing against the Islanders, went 29-19-5 for the Flyers with 2.76 GAA.

With DiPietro not yet cleared to practice more than just light skating, the Isles appeared ready to roll with a Biron-Roloson tandem in 2009-10.

The newest news regarding the Islanders without the word "lighthouse" or "project" in it involves the retiring of 17-year NHL veteran Mike Sillinger. The 1,000 game veteran Sillinger had spent three seasons on Long Island where he put up a total of 87 points in 141 games. However, hip injuries put an end to the 38-year old's career as he announced his retirement last week.

Sillinger's departure gives the Islanders 15 million dollars remaining in cap space as they still lack serious depth on the wings and on the blue-line. A player who seems to have interest in returning to New York is free agent right winger Miroslav Satan. The 34-year old winger, who spent three seasons with the Islanders before joining the Penguins in 2008-09, is coming off a season where he put up 36 points in 65 games for Dan Bylsma's Pittsburgh Penguins.

Along with Satan, some free agent defensemen that could help the Islanders on the cheap are Mathieu Dandenault, Marc-Andre Bergeron and even Rhett Warrener. All remain unsigned as of today and could be a solid depth signing for around a million dollars or even less.

Barring any moves from here until their season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 3rd, the Islanders line-up is expected to go as follows.

Sean Bergenheim - John Tavares - Kyle Okposo

Blake Comeau - Doug Weight - Trent Hunter

Jeff Tambellini - Josh Bailey - Richard Park

Jon Sim - Frans Nielsen - Joel Rechlicz

Extra Skaters: Nate Thompson and Tim Jackman

Mark Streit - Andy Sutton

Brendan Witt - Radek Martinek

Freddy Meyer - Bruno Gervais

Extra Skater: Jack Hillen

Dwayne Roloson

Martin Biron

Basically, the rebuilding of the Islanders will continue on into 2009-10 as this team doesn't have enough strength from the blue-line and offensive depth to compete for a playoff spot.

Prediction: 5th in the Atlantic Division, 15th in the Eastern Conference.

UNCONFIRMED: Bruins To Sign Bouillon

Coming in from CKAC radio in Montreal, reports are indicating that the Bruins are on the verge of signing former Canadiens defensemen Francis Bouillon to a contract. Of course, this signing is currently unconfirmed and as you may or may not remember, rumors had Bouillon signing with the New York Rangers about two weeks ago so take this for what's it worth.

However if the reports are true and Bouillon is set to become a Bruin, this fills the need for a seventh defensemen on the Boston roster. With the departure of Aaron Ward via trade and loss of Steve Montador (thank you) along with Shane Hnidy to free agency the Bruins defensive depth went out the window and the B's were left with just six NHL defensemen.

Bouillon is known as a scrappy, smaller statured defensemen who's not afraid to throw his body around. In 54 games for the Canadiens this year, Bouillon had 9 points and finished with a -7. The 5'8 defensemen was also credited with 112 hits and 55 blocked shots in these 54 games.

For Bruins fans, Bouillon is probably best known for his fight with at-the-time Bruins enforcer Jeremy Reich. That scrap can be viewed here.

If this report is true, this will be the third former Montreal Canadien that's played for Claude Julien in Montreal to be added to the B's roster. Michael Ryder being the first, Steve Begin being the second and now Francis Bouillon.

Two And Done: Kovalev Wants To Retire A Hab?

Perhaps this wasn't the best way to endear yourself to a new city, but he's Alexei Kovalev, right? During a charity event in the city he called home for five years, Kovalev mentioned his visits back to Montreal throughout the off-season and stated the following,

"Every time you see a fan on the street, they're really disappointed. That's why I say, maybe after two years I'll be back again. It definitely would be nice to retire here.".

Simply put, the Ottawa Senators are quickly becoming the NHL's biggest mess. Between Dany Heatley's riff with the organization becoming so personal that the superstar refuses to go to teammates weddings and the fact that Ottawa's completely fallen from grace following their near capture of the 2007 Stanley Cup, it appears that the hope for the 2009-10 Sens is already fading.

Perhaps it wasn't the quote that got under the skin of Senators fans (okay, it definitely was) but doesn't it already seem as if the 36-year old sniper has no interest in becoming the leader in Ottawa that he initially billed himself as to the fans of the red and black?

To go from "wanting to have a sit down talk with Heatley to keep him a Sen" to "longing to retire in Montreal" is simply Alex being Alex. He's seemingly taking his rather strangely mysterious approach to the game of hockey of flipping, flopping (and diving) between efforts on a given night and applied it to how he feels about being a Senator.

In the interview, Kovalev went on to mention his desire to return to Montreal during this off-season until Bob Gainey pulled the offer from the table following his signing of Brian Gionta to a five year contract. Kovalev went on to wait for what felt like weeks before signing a two year deal with the Ottawa Senators worth 10 million dollars. Despite these comments, Kovalev reiterated his desire for Heatley to remain in Ottawa with him. If his desire becomes reality, Kovalev's addition into the Ottawa line-up gives the Senators some greatly needed secondary scoring to complement their top line of Heatley-Spezza and captain Daniel Alfredsson.

However, I'm not expecting this to be the case. This an Ottawa club already starting off in the hole and relaying on Pascal Leclaire and a weak defense to compete in the high-powered goal scoring Eastern Conference.

Have fun Ottawa, you're going to losing one Heatley headache and take on a new home-sickened Kovalev one.

Leafs Invite Former Bruin Jason Allison To Camp

Perhaps a footnote if happening in any other month, but with the dreadfully slow month of hockey news in August this stuck out. It appears that, according to the Toronto Globe & Mail that the Toronto Maple Leafs have invited former Bruins captain Jason Allison to their camp on a try-out basis.
If you reside on the West coast, you probably remember Jason Allison best from his tenure with the Kings, where he, Adam Deadmarsh and Ziggy Palffy created the "LAPD" line for the early 2000's Kings team. However, if you're from Boston you remember Allison as the consistent performer and buffer of captains between Ray Bourque and Joe Thornton.

Throughout his tenure with the B's, Allison was a consistent performer for a well, average Boston club. In his fully healthy seasons in the Hub, Allison put up 76 points or more and even in an injury-riddled season that held him to just 37 games, Allison continued to perform strongly and finished with 28 points.

Allison's best stat with Boston was undoubtedly his playoff numbers. The 6'3 center scored 19 points in 18 career playoff games in Boston.

As he left Boston and went on to Los Angeles, Allison continued to be a strong performer before a neck injury shortened his 2002-03 campaign and subsequently kept him off the ice in 2003-04. Allison's return to the NHL came in 2005-06 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he was expected to provide an added veteran presence and size to the Toronto line-up.

Despite his 60 points in 66 games for Toronto, Leafs fans were not pleased with the seemingly lackadaisical effort Allison seemed to put out on the ice. In the midst of personal problems within his family, Allison left the game and hasn't returned since.

However, Leafs GM Brian Burke is willing to role on the dice and grant Allison an invitation to Leafs camp on a try-out basis. Does the 34-year old Allison still have the legs and skill to compete in the NHL? Can the Leafs pull off a Claude Lemieux to San Jose like move and add this veteran on a two-way contract?

Either way, it's a win-win for up and coming Toronto Maple Leafs.

NHL10: Providing Another Year Of Muting Your TV

Since the introduction of the XBOX360 and PS3 (Sorry Wii, your hockey games are just abysmally bad) the EA Sports series of NHL games has been a sports gaming revolution. The same cannot be said for the soundtrack, or "EA TRAX" provided on the games menu and options screens.

With the release of the track listing of NHL10, it seems as if the trend will continue on into this year's game. I've decided to listen to each track and provides links for you to do the same and give a review. The grades are based on how annoying the song will get for the chronic NHL gamers like myself, how well it fits the game and how it would sound over the PA of a stadium during gameplay.

1) Alexisonfire - Young Cardinals

This song seems to fit the bill of the NHL games. It's fast, aggressive and raw. This song may not be as heavy as NHL06's American Head Charge or Avenged Sevenfold but it gets the job done for not being overbearingly irritating. Grade: B.

2) Cancer Bats - Deathsmarch

Ready for my bias? Cancer Bats have been one of my favorite bands lately and this was a perfect song for this game. The gang vocals on the choruses and heavy guitar riffs from this Canadian hardcore band could seemingly make perfect music as a team is coming onto the ice. Grade: A-.

3) CKY - Hellions On Parade

Personally, I've never been one for CKY. However, this song isn't overpowering dreadful. The only complaints for me comes when the guitar stops shredding and resorts to the typical boring CKY riffage. Grade: B-.

4) Disco Ensemble - Golden Years

Every year's game has featured a pop punk song or two. This year is no exception, they may not be GOB's "I Hear You Calling" from NHL 2002, but this song will do. It's downfall lies within the likelihood of the vocals getting irritating by one month into the game. Grade: B.

5) DragonForce - Heroes Of Our Time

Despite the guitar stylings of Mr. Herman Li, this song is simply too long for a video game. Can you imagine this being a random teams goal song or even hearing this in the building? I respect the music, but talk about unfitting. By the second week, I'll be looking for a "skip" button. Grade: C-.

6) Earl Greyhound - Oye Vaiya

This is absolutely perfect menu music. How it will sound in the game itself is still unknown to me. The bluesy and alternative sound along with vocals should make this a good song for in between face-off's. Grade: B.

7) Green Day - Know Your Enemy

When I think of Green Day and hockey, I think of "Welcome To Paradise" being a staple of the Boston Bruins pre-game skate soundtrack. What I don't think of however, is the ringtone-esque favorable Green Day circa 2009. This song does not fit this game, it could fit Madden10 or possibly even a baseball game, but Green Day singing about an enemy repeatedly is simply going to annoy the hell out of me and everyone else playing this game. Could this song get any more repetitive? Grade: D-.

8) Me Talk Pretty - Wake Up, Wake Up

Perhaps it was Courtney Love's song "Make Me Over" from the old NHL "Rock The Rink" game on Playstation 1 that sparked the idea of featuring girl bands in their games. Or maybe it was Paramore's "Misery Business" from NHL08? Either way, EA decided to head for that route yet again with Me Talk Pretty's "Wake Up, Wake Up".

This song sounds like a Flyleaf imitation more than anything else. Considering my disdain for Flyleaf, I simply do not like this song. Despite the cool guitar solo near the song's close, this track is still too whiny for a hockey game. It doesn't help that the singer spends much of the song seemingly making a cry into the microphone. Grade: C-.

9) Ministry - Keys To The City

Wow, this song should be in NHL99. The industrial sounding guitar and Marilyn Manson-esque vocals seemingly fit it perfectly, no?

I had a problem with this song, for a number of reasons. For one, it sucks. Secondly, it's about the Chicago Blackhawks. If it wasn't bad enough that Patrick "20 Cents" Kane is on the cover, we're going to have a hear a song about how good Tony Esposito and this band bleeds red, white and black? This track also claims that Chicago has the best fans in the NHL and teams need to come to Chicago to see how hockey is played.

It may be catchy, but it's still a poor choice. Grade: D+.

10) MxPx - Kids In America

This song is just plain awful. Who thought this was a good idea to record, let alone put in a hockey game. The fact that this is about the 4,502nd time this song has been covered doesn't help their case. Grade: F.

11) Nickelback - Burn It To The Ground

The continuing shoving of Nickelback down the throats of the world. The guitar in this song seemingly sounds exactly like that in the Ministry song also featured in the game. Wayne Gretzky may have been in your video for "RockStar" Nickelback, but you'll simply never be accepted as a serious rock band by most, including myself.

Despite my personal distaste for Nickelback, this song is plausible to be heard in an NHL arena. Grade: C.

12) Papa Roach - Into The Light

The Pennywise like bass intro reminded me of NHL06 and the vocals were nothing special, but nothing to hate either. It fits the NHL-bill of being heavy and the drums remind me a lot of something you'd hear in any of the NHL games. Grade: B-.

13) Priestess - Raccoon Eyes

Same old stuff if you ask me. Grade: D+.

14) Rancid - The Bravest Kids

I used to be a big Rancid fan, then as time went on I realized how simple every song was and how they never really changed what they were doing from song to song. This song represents my point quite easily considering you can't tell the difference between this track off the new album and anything off the first album.

The good part is, this song's only two minutes long. Grade: D.

15) The Scorpions - Rock You Like A Hurricane

This song will be difficult to stomach considering in hockey terms, you can't hear this without thinking of those (foolish) Hurricane fans at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. However, this song still kicks you in the face, 25 years later. The fact that you actually hear this song at most hockey games only makes it more fitting.

Grade: A.

16) Thousand Foot Krutch - Fire It Up

This is just straight up heavy. Very fitting for this game. Grade: A.

Personally, I find this soundtrack to be hit or miss thus far. There's quite a few songs I know I'll never listen to such as Green Day, Dragonforce and Rancid but there's also a few that I'm curious to hear in the game and at certain points. In all likelihood, we set our own personal playlists into the game when we buy it about a week in and this soundtrack is never heard again until you're at the main menu.

Along with the new features and soundtrack, I'm looking forward to NHL10 for the idea of never having to hear "Cheap and Cheerful" ever again.

10 Worst Contracts In The NHL

August, as always has been a quiet month in the National Hockey League. While some are participating in Olympic training camps for their respective countries, others sit at home and unwind with their friends and family. For Boston forward Phil Kessel, the waiting game continues as he's still without a contract as the Bruins are just 39 days away from taking to the ice for their first game of the 2009-10 season. While it's rumored that Kessel's asking price is preventing the 21 year old from being signed, it's a good time to look at the ten worst contracts currently active in the NHL.

10) Michael Nylander (Washington Capitals) - For many B's die-hards, Michael Nylander is known as the other half of the Bruins trade deadline acquisitions from the 2003-04 season (the other being Sergei Gonchar) and was the Bruins best offensive presence in their seven game series loss to the Montreal Canadiens. In what appeared to be typical shrewd-Bruins-front-office, the B's made no effort to keep the center and let him walk.

After the lock-out concluded, Nylander became a Ranger and put together two solid seasons in Manhattan where he scored 162 points in 160 games, only to jet off to Washington on a four-year deal that paid him 19.5 million dollars over the next four seasons. Nylander has been unable to stay healthy and has found himself a healthy scratch and in Caps coach Bruce Boudreau's doghouse.

Nylander's -19 and dissatisfying 70 points in 112 games for the Capitals truly show how far this Swedish superstar has fallen. With a 4.875 million dollar cap hit through 2010-11, it's likely that Nylander could be in a buy-out situation and jet off to the KHL for a tax-free paycheck and playing time, something he can't find in the nation's capital.

9) Ryan Smyth (Los Angeles Kings) - To be fair to the purple-and-black that reside in California, this signing wasn't the doings of Kings GM Dean Lombardi. However, when Ryan Smyth was signed to a five-year, 31+ million dollar contract by the Colorado Avalanche the eyebrows of NHL fans were collectively raised and for good reason. The question marks behind throwing over an annual salary north of six million dollars for a player who'd only cracked 70+ points one time in his 12 year career seemed to give off the notion that the Av's were in trouble. That was undoubtedly the case and Smyth produced just 40 goals in total throughout his two seasons in Denver.

In a cap space clearing move for a rebuilding club, Colorado sent the sensitive winger out of town where Smyth is hoping to regain his scoring touch in scorer's-friendly Pacific Division with the Los Angeles Kings. He's likely to be playing with Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown and is looking to reach the 70 point plateau. If he is to continue to falter, his 6.25 million cap hit through the 2011-12 could cripple the Kings development into a solid contender.

8) Chris Drury (New York Rangers) - When the New York Rangers stole away the Sabres captain and vocal leader, the move seemed to be a good one for the blueshirts in their attempt to add veteran depth to complement players such as Jagr, Shanahan and Lundqvist but simply put, this has not been 35,250,000 dollars well spent. Despite Drury's career highs in both goals and points in his final year with the Buffalo Sabres, that success has not transpired into success with the Rangers.

In 2006-07, Chris Drury was simply a force for the Presidents Trophy winning Buffalo Sabres. His 37 goals, 17 of which scored on the powerplay, which are both career highs to this day and leadership propelled the Sabres to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second year in a row, only to lose yet again but this time to the Ottawa Senators. Undoubtedly, the Sabres captain was considered among the top free agents available on July 1st, 2007.

However, what he's brought to the Rangers has been simply disappointing compared to what was expected. In two seasons on Pennsylvania Plaza, Drury has posted a total of just 114 points in 163 games for the Rangers with a -11. Drury's lack of anything offensively comes as a surprise when considering he's led the Rangers in shifts per game and has averaged 3:45 minutes of time on ice on the powerplay in two years in Manhattan.

Drury's current cap hit is at 7.050 million dollars a season and will not be coming off New York's checkbook until the conclusion of the 2011-12 NHL season. Was Drury the best captain 32-million dollars could buy for a perennial bubble-team? Glen Sather apparently thinks so.

7) Jeff Finger (Toronto Maple Leafs) - If this wasn't a desperate measure to keep the fans from completely giving up on the 2008-09 Maple Leafs then I'm not sure what would be? Oh yeah, it'd be actually signing Jeff Finger to this contract.

Heading into the free agency frenzy of 2008, Jeff Finger was coming off a solid season for the Colorado Avalanche where he put up 19 points in 72 games and finished with a +12 from the blue-line. Finger, never really the puck-mover made his living getting down and dirty for the Av's, his 121 hits were tops for the 2007-08 club and his 117 blocked shots were good for fourth on the club. Despite these impressive defensive stats, the coffee mugs of Leafs Nation had to without-question shatter on their living room floors when they saw that Jeff Finger was now a member of the blue and white with a four-year contract worth 14 million dollars.

The Finger era in Toronto began in 2008-09, as the 29-year old Michigan native scored 23 points and finished with a -7 on a horrid goaltended team in Ontario. With a contract deeming Finger virtually immovable and the Leafs additions of Exelby, Beauchemin and Komisarek to their blue-line the necessity of Finger simply does not exist. Finger isn't set to come off the Leafs books until 2012, making his contract one of the worst in the National Hockey League.

6) Joffrey Lupul (Anaheim Ducks) - What do Michael Ryder, Brad Boyes, Ales Hemsky and Johan Franzen all have in common? They all make less money than Joffrey Lupul. What do these players also have in common with Joffrey Lupul? They all finished with more points than him in 2008-09. Joffrey Lupul provides great secondary scoring on any club, and that's not really a topic for discussion, but is his production really worthy of 4.25 million dollars a year until 2013?

That question is answered by a simple no considering he's career high in points came in 2005-06 with the Ducks (53). However, in what has seemingly become Flyers-ritual, Lupul was awarded with a monstrous contract well above his market value in order to keep the Alberta native in Philly.

Lupul was sent back to Anaheim in a deal where the Flyers acquired Chris Pronger (only to give him a ridiculous contract as well) and is now officially on the Ducks cap until the conclusion of the 2012-13 NHL season. With guys like Bobby Ryan, Jonas Hiller, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu up for new contracts at the end of this upcoming season, Lupul's contract could hinder the Ducks from being able to re-sign their expected-to-be key players.

5) Wade Redden (New York Rangers) - If I were to ever meet Wade Redden, I'd probably ask him how it feels to be the sixth highest paid defensemen in the NHL.

After all, I'm quite sure the answer would be simple considering he's doing close to nothing and earning a 6,500,000 dollar salary from here until 2014. Redden's performance in his first year with the Rangers was simply dismal, his 28 points and -5 weren't even as embarrassing as his team-defenseman high 40 giveaways.

And we thought Ottawa screwed up when they opted to re-sign Wade Redden over Zdeno Chara in the 2006 off-season. Leave it to Glen Sather to once again prove why the Rangers will be forever basking in the glory of the 1994 Stanley Cup, because it ain't comin' back to Manhattan anytime soon with these wildly gross and reckless over-payments of players.

4) Daniel Briere (Philadelphia Flyers) - In your mind, this signing looks to be a phenomenal one for the Flyers, you know why? Because you have the thought of Briere's performance with the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres embedded in your mind because, well, it was simply a thrill to witness.

When the Quebec native signed an 8-year deal worth 52 million dollars, the idea that the Flyers were on their way to becoming an elite team in the Eastern Conference grew. In 2007-08, Briere didn't disappoint the Flyer faithful as he put up 72 points in 79 games, 37 of which coming on the powerplay. Briere also carried much of the Flyers offense towards their push towards the Conference Finals where he scored 16 points in 17 games.

Injuries struck the 31-year old in 2008-09, as he was held to just 25 points in 29 games. However, it's not the injuries that make this signing so poor, it's the fact that Briere's no-movement clause and annual cap-hit of 6.5 million dollars from now until 2015 really stifles the Flyers ability to add anyone to their roster without having to move a star of equal or greater value. Especially if the Flyers are to continue to develop strong youth players within their organization (Carter, Richards and Giroux to name a few).

3) Brian Campbell (Chicago Blackhawks) - There's no debating that Chicago needed a top defensemen, but a top defensemen for eight years?

Often longer contracts mean smaller cap hits, making the idea of an eight year contract somewhat, loosely plausible. However, Campbell's 7.1 million dollar cap hit is doing nothing but hurting the 'Hawks for years to come. With Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Jack Skille, Andrew Ladd and Adam Burish being the top names for players up for new contracts following the 2009-10 season, the idea of Campbell's cap-hit for years to come is simply nauseating for any Chicago fan.

The difficulties are created within the idea that Chicago won't move Hossa after signing him to a 12 year deal and Cristobal Huet is unlikely to get dealt considering there's no one within the Blackhawks system ready to take over as the number one goaltender. When factoring this in, the likelihood of the Blackhawks being able to keep Kane and Toews for years to come grows unlikely. Along with that, the idea of unloading Campbell's contract and getting anything of equal value in return is just as unlikely.

For the Blackhawks, it appears that 2009-10 is either Stanley Cup or bust.

2) Scott Gomez (Montreal Canadiens) - Ladies and gentlemen, one of the most overrated players in the National Hockey League, Scott Gomez.

Continuing with the Glen Sather trend, the idea of Scott Gomez making 51,500,000 over the next eight years almost seems laughable. Here's a player who thrived under a defensive-trap system and was coming off a season where he registered his lowest point total since the end of the league's work stoppage. However, this didn't stop the Rangers front office from over-paying for the crafty powerplay specialist.

Gomez didn't fail to not disappoint during his tenure with the Rangers before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens. Despite Gomez's 40+ assists and 16 goals in both seasons with the Rangers, the stats don't even come close to fitting the price-tag Gomez is marked for until 2014.

Can Gomez be the number one center the Canadiens need or will it be another year of mediocrity in hockey's most demanding city? I'm thinking it'll be the latter of the two.

1) Rick DiPietro (New York Islanders) - Just when you thought the Islanders couldn't be more upsetting to their fans. The signing of Rick DiPietro to a fifteen, yes fifteen year contract is enough to make the stomaches of even the most faithful Isles fans turn.

Taken with the number one overall pick in the 2000 NHL Draft by New York (over Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik) the hope for DiPietro was that he was going to be the savior for the Islanders franchise and return them to a competitive level in the Eastern Conference. To say things haven't gone as planned would be an understatement.

DiPietro may be 67+ million dollars richer and has another 12 years of guaranteed money, but he's simply doing nothing to help the Islanders as of right now and possibly for the foreseeable future. With the signing of Marty Biron and Dwayne Roloson, it appears that Rick DiPietro will once again be out for the season for the Isles will a knee injury.

Congratulations Garth, your god awful signing of DiPietro will more than likely, actually strike that, will undoubtedly outlive your tenure as Islanders general manager, but your impact to the club for years to come will unfortunately haunt Long Island, or perhaps Kansas City.

Odd Manny Out: Where Will Fernandez Sign?

For Bruins netminder Manny Fernandez, the 2008-09 season was a renaissance of sorts. No, he didn't win the Vezina, play in the playoffs or be a consistent starter (due in large part to the spectacular play of Tim Thomas). However, what Fernandez did do was revitalize the idea of a future in the NHL.

Coming off a disasterous 2007-08 campaign where Fernandez played in just 4 games, going 2-2-0 with a 3.93 GAA before injuring his knee during practice. The knee, an injury that nagged the butterfly goalie in Minnesota would go on the keep Fernandez out of the Bruins next 73 games of the season. To put it simply, 2008-09 was in all likelihood Manny's last chance to put together a strong season if he had hopes for another contract in the National Hockey League.

Fernandez answered the call in 2008-09, putting together a solid season inbetween the iron for the Bruins, going 16-8-3 with a .910 SV%. Fernandez's best stretch for the black and gold came in November through December. In these two months, as the Bruins were on a tear Fernandez posted a 12-1-0 record with a 1.47 GAA.

Despite the success in 2008, Fernandez was unable to post stats on par with that into the second leg of the season in 2009. In 2009, Manny went 4-6-2 and was held to limited ice time due to a nagging back injury and Thomas' Vezina-worthy play. However, with Fernandez currently still among a vast sea of free agent goaltenders, where will Manny be playing in 2009-10?

One thing's for sure, it won't be Boston. After another year of seasoning in Providence, it's officially Tuukka Time (to ride the bench) in the Hub of Hockey. Rask is coming off yet another successful season for the Baby B's. In two seasons with Providence, Rask boasts a 60-33-6 record with five shut-out's and a .910 SV%. If Tuukka flops in this contract year, the Bruins have Dany Sabourin waiting in the wings down in Providence on a two-way contract.

As the Fernandez era draws to a close in Boston, what seems next for the 35 year old?

Recently, rumors have ran rampant about Fernandez signing a deal with the Montreal Canadiens. This rumor was generated largely because of the report that Fernandez was buying a home in Montreal. Despite this rumor's emergence, Fernandez is a Canada native and it's entirely possible he just enjoys the city of Montreal. However, an idea that gives this rumor some possible validity is the idea that Montreal is willing to send Tomas Plekanec along with back-up netminder Jaroslav Halak to San Jose in exchange for number one center Patrick Marleau.

Speaking of everyone's favorite northern California team, the San Jose Sharks are a team who could also use the services of Manny Fernandez as an insurance option to Sharks M.V.P Evgeni Nabokov. Although Nabokov has averaged 67 games in between the iron for the Sharks, one would think the lack of success in the playoffs has left Sharks GM Doug Murray contemplating whether or not more rest for Nabokov would be better for the Sharks come April, May and hopefully for them, June. If so, the Sharks best bet may not be to rely on Thomas Greiss in the event of an injury to Nabby, who currently has just three games of NHL experience under his belt, where he's gone 0-1-1 and has allowed 7 goals in 50 shots.

After Montreal and San Jose, a possible option for Fernandez may reside in Detroit. Considering the departure of Ty Conklin to St. Louis and Detroit's love of experienced NHL goaltenders, Fernandez could possibly be an option to ride the pine and fill in for Chris Osgood when needed. However, the age of both Fernandez and Osgood could play a factor in durability, a potentially large issue for the defending champions of the Western Conference.

A dark horse in Manny's search may be the Los Angeles Kings. While the Kings appear to have their man of the future in Jonathan Quick, a veteran such as Fernandez could be a positive mentor to the 23 year old goalie who nearly snuck the Kings into the playoffs.

Wherever he goes, Manny Fernandez is sure to provide a solid spot as a netminder who could easily play 20 to 30 games at a highly competitive level for a playoff caliber team. Given his injury history it's near impossible that Fernandez can be a full time starter for any NHL club. Given the rather barren market and dwindling cap space, it is very likely that Fernandez could be had on the cheap and as it currently stands he is perhaps the best available goalie still on the market considering the struggles of both Manny Legace and Olaf Kolzig in 2008-09.




While he may not have an NHL team yet, it appears as if Manny Fernandez landed a job doing commercials to get his name out there for potential suitors. (No, it's not really Mandez in the commercial, although this goaltender does sport a number 35 on his jersey).

Phil Kessel: A (Potentially) Necessary Evil

The mystery that has been Phil Kessel has lead the city of Boston to jumping with joy, clenching their fists in agony, cursing his name and then going back to loving him all in the same game. The elusive and skillful skater experienced a tremendous breakthrough in Boston over the course of this past season, but with a month of free agency in the books, the 21 year old winger is without a contract by the Bruins, or any other NHL team for that matter.

From being sidelined from games due to cancer treatment to scoring the game winning goal in the shootout in his first game back, from being benched in the Bruins 2008 Playoffs for his lackluster play to scoring two pivotal goals in the magical Game 6 Boston win, it seems that Phil Kessel has experienced a career worth of tests in just three years with the club.

As he's continued his progression as one of the Northeast Division's premier snipers (look out Kovalev). Beckoning the question, why haven't the Bruins or any other team signed the goal scoring phenom yet?

If Kessel would like to point the blame for why another team hasn't approached him with a contract, that blame would have to be pointed to Oilers General Manager Kevin Lowe. Following the Anaheim Ducks demolition of the Ottawa Senators to capture the 2007 Stanley Cup, the Ducks had a plethora of issues regarding their restricted and unrestricted free agents. As Dustin Penner came off a 45 point season where he put 29 goals past 'tenders, he was up for a new contract as one of the Ducks restricted free agents.

Knowing the level of talent Penner seemed to possess, Kevin Lowe put his offer sheet on the table for the Manitoba native. The offer sheet was not matched by the Ducks, as their highly touted young gun left the Honda Center for Edmonton with a five year contract that paid him 4.25 million dollars a season. In two seasons with the Oil, the 26 year old has seen his goal totals drop in each season, making the signing a rather questionable move by Lowe considering the draft picks lost along with the compensation.

Along with Penner, the Oilers sent it an offer sheet to Buffalo star Thomas Vanek for a 7-year deal worth 50 million dollars. The Sabres matched the deal, a price they didn't want to pay just yet, but had to in order to keep their young star. Since these events, Lowe has become an unpopular character among fellow General Managers and offer sheets for restricted free agents are considered messy and can be incredibly risky for what you're giving up.

Even without offer sheets being potentially dangerous moves, another reason Kessel hasn't gained considerable interest with a legitimate contract from a team is due in large part to his recent shoulder surgery. There's no denying that Kessel is a pure shooter, he relies on his shot to make his money. Now, with his recovery from a torn rotator cuff that required surgery expected to keep him out of a line-up until at least December.

Forget the recovery, the question remains, will Kessel still be as lethal as he was in 2008-09? With a smaller frame and non-physical style of play, the chance of Kessel becoming an injury-prone Eastern Conference version of Marian Gaborik during his days in Minnesota is there, whether we'd like to address it or not. Although Bruins players such as Zdeno Chara have come back strongly from shoulder surgery, the concern resides in the Bruins front office when it comes to Kessel's surgery.

Despite not being able ready for the start of the 2009-10, the price tag the Wisconsin native has placed on himself is both justified and not justified. With the rumored price tag between 3.9-5 million dollars a season, is Kessel truly in the position to dictate his own price?

Sure he had 36 goals in 2008-09, and probably would have had 40 if he wasn't stricken with mono in December, but after just one good season is he really worth the money? The stats would indicate he is as the players around Kessel average 6.5 million dollars, but those players with the exception of Loui Eriksson and Jeff Carter have been putting up consistent totals for years, something Kessel hasn't done by any means.

A knock on Kessel's success could undoubtedly be attributed to who he played with throughout the season. Playing with Savard, arguably the Eastern Conference's best playmaking center not named Sidney Crosby. Out of Kessel's 36 regular season goals, 22 of them were assisted by Marc Savard. Now, without Savard, Kessel's highest goal total was 19, that's just over half of what Kessel produced without Savard centering his line.

Now, let's say for argument's sake that Savard doesn't return to Boston when his contract expires following the 2009-10 season and Kessel's production dips dramatically despite being among the highest paid forwards. The reaction in Boston will be that of pure frustration for a player who can look either very good or very, very bad.

There's no denying that Kessel had made great strides into becoming a more complete player, but truth be told, he's still not a complete player. He may thrive on the powerplay, but his defense is still very shaky, he has no physicality in his play and has been oft criticized for not fitting in the Bruins system. Despite all of that, there's no question that Phil Kessel is a necessary evil for the Boston Bruins going forward.

That being said, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli will undoubtedly have to unload either Marco Sturm, Chuck Kobasew or even Michael Ryder in order to keep Kessel in a Bruins uniform.

Marco Sturm, who missed much of the 2008-09 campaign with a major knee injury would seem to be the obvious choice, but with the lack of depth the left wing position and Sturm's 13 points in 19 games last year, he should be back in black and gold with an 'A' on his jersey. Michael Ryder, the Bruins biggest addition in the 2008 off-season seems unlikely as well considering that it's entirely likely that if the Bruins were to trade Ryder, the city of Boston would become a free-agent-free zone because guys wouldn't want to be traded just one year into a contract they signed. Along with that, Ryder's 27 goals on the right side are nothing to sneeze at and he simply seems to thrive off playing under the Claude Julien system.

It currently seems that the odd man out will be grinding forward Chuck Kobasew. Acquired in a trade with Calgary that also sent the Bruins defensemen Andrew Ference, Kobasew has demonstrated strong two-way play when healthy, however, his health has been an issue during his tenure in the Hub of Hockey. Kobasew has missed 30 regular season games in just a little over two years with the club, but when healthy Kobasew has become a great contributor. He's scored over 20 goals in both seasons with the Bruins and had 6 points in 11 playoff games with the Bruins.

With a cap hit of just 2.33 million dollars, Chuck Kobasew seems like the perfect fit for a club in the Western Conference looking for some secondary scoring. Teams such as Vancouver, Edmonton and even San Jose stick out as team's who could afford Kobasew's services.

With two months remaining until the Bruins take to the Garden ice for opening night against the Washington Capitals, the club is sure to make progress with Kessel and explore their options as September is sure to rapidly approach.