Predators Open Trade Deadline Day, Reunite Kostitsyn Brothers

Trade Deadline Day 2012 has officially opened with the first trade heading into the 3 p.m. final curtain. The Nashville Predators, in hopes of upping their offensive game going into the final stretch of the season, have reunited a couple of brothers. Andrei Kostitsyn moves from the Montreal Canadiens to play once again with his brother Sergei, and the Habs will get a 2013 second round draft pick and the conditional selection they previously dealt to the Predators in exchange for defenseman Hal Gill.

This is undoubtedly a risky move for the Predators. Kostitsyn has been an underwhelming player for the Canadiens in recent years, failing to meet the mid-to-high 20-goal mark he achieved back during the 2008-09 season. Although far from the only reason, it is a significant one why the Canadiens are sitting last right now in the Eastern Conference. There is no guarantee his production will change just because he's back with his brother considering that experiment failed during their days in Montreal together.

But, we all like to play the change of scenery card. And that could be something Kostitsyn needs - a change in culture. The Predators are rarely one of those high-scoring teams in the NHL, making a player with even 20-goal potential highly valuable. If he can just stay within himself without having to face the same pressure that comes from wearing a Habs uniform, it could result in some more pucks going into the net for him.

And for such a relatively low cost, Kostitsyn is a low-risk pickup. He can just be let go at the end of the season as an unrestricted free agent should things not work out.

For Montreal, this was simply a way to dump a bit of salary from an underperforming players while adding a pick or two to their pile. The Habs are 10 points out of the final playoff spot with under 20 games to go and little hope to leap over the other teams in front of them. Looking forward to the draft and next season is really the way to go. With Kostitsyn set to go on the market this summer and no reason to re-sign him, it only made sense to get a pick or two in his place.

Setoguchi, Markov Get Three-Year Deals to Stay Put

The blockbuster news of the day is naturally Philadelphia dealing away their top players for the ability to sign goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. But the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens were also busy in this pre-draft phase of the NHL offseason, tendering three-year deals to particular pending free agents.

The Sharks inked right wing Devin Setoguchi, who was set to become a restricted free agent on July 1, to a three-year deal worth $9 million. He will count as an annual $3 million cap hit, but will make $2.75 million next season, $3 million in 2012-13 and $3.25 million in 2013-14. Setoguchi earned $1.8 million on a one-year deal with the Sharks last season.

He is coming off a 22-goal campaign that saw him heat up in the second half of the season after leaving a bit to be desired in the early goings. He added an impressive sevel goals in the playoffs, including two overtime game winners. The Sharks would love to see the 24-year old put up more of a consistent effort over the course of an 82-game schedule. But what he is able to produce when on his game makes him worth the extension, which could even be deemed a nice little discount if he gets back to his 2008-09 form.

The Sharks now possess a payroll of $55,337,500, leaving them with just under $9 million in cap space to fill up the roster.

Montreal also dished out a three-year contract of their own. Despite racking up injuries that only allowed him to play a total of 52 games over the last two seasons, defenseman Andrei Markov decided to avoid unrestricted free agency and instead re-upped with the team he's played for his entire career for $17.25 million. He will see $5.75 million in each year of the deal, which is equal to what he made in each of the last four seasons and the annual cap hit against the Canadiens' payroll.

Drafted by Montreal in the sixth round (162nd overall), Markov has spent each of his 10 NHL seasons with the organization. Unfortunately, knee injuries have been a detriment to him and have caused the 32-year old, two-time All Star to miss all but seven games last season. He suffered a season-ending injury to his right one back on Nov. 13. Montreal is obviously hoping Markov can avoid the bad luck that has plagued him in the health department recently, as he brings a strong offensive presence from the blue line - especially on the power play - to their lineup. In his last "healthy" year in 2008-09, Markov potted 12 goals and 52 assists for 64 points in 78 games. He notched career-highs of 16 goals and 10 power play markers a season earlier.

The Canadiens still have just under $15 million left to play around with under the salary cap.

Pacioretty Stretchered Off Ice After Being Sent Into Boards By Chara



It's almost commonplace in the NHL today to see some pretty scary things go down. The physical play throughout the league has come under constant scrutiny, especially with abundance of industries - especially those of the concussion variety. The Tuesday evening showdown between the Northeast Division rival Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins is sure to put another black mark on the game and lead to endless debate over who is at fault, if anyone is at all.

With approximately 20 seconds remaining in the second period, Max Pacioretty and Zdeno Chara partook in a race for the puck near the blue line by Montreal's zone. Pacioretty chipped the puck down the ice and skated close the boards, where Chara met up with him and rode him into the glass extension separating the two benches. Pacioretty immediately fell to the ice, squirming at first before remaining completely motionless.

As Pacioretty was stretchered off the ice by practically all available medical personnel, the officials elected to call a close to the second period with 15.8 seconds remaining. A smart move considering the obvious all-around concern for the fallen Hab. For the incident, Chara was given a five-minute interference major, a game misconduct and a very big bullseye on his back for the next time these two teams square off on March 24.

Pacioretty was taken to a nearby hospital and it has since been reported by the Canadiens that he was moving his hands and feet, regained consciousness and was talking. That's pretty much as good as anybody could ask for right now considering the how devastating it looked when his head went crashing into the glass.

While the primary concern is Pacioretty's health, there is sure to be plenty of focus over what happens to Chara now. Was this a purposeful play on the defenseman's part, or was it simply an accident resulting from Pacioretty's own momentum and location?

It's going to be very difficult to pin this down as an intended hit by Chara, who I don't believe is the kind of player seeking to injury others. He's a big man who plays a physical game, but he's not known for succumbing to dirty plays. He's always better player and person than that.

But there is history between these two players from when Pacioretty scored an overtime game-winner in Montreal back in early January. And revenge is always a motive to make even smart people do dumb things.

Plus, there are certain aspects of the play that make me question just how accidental it was.

Chara looks up as he's riding Pacioretty across the boards and should have full awareness of where he is on the ice and the nearby surroundings. It should be clear to him that the glass extension is right there. Plus, this wasn't a simple check into the boards, whereby Chara runs his body into Pacioretty. Instead, he pushes Pacioretty with his hands in a matter that appears to be aiming for that extension.

Of course, this is all speculation on my end (noted by the shoulds in italics), which is what all analysts are doing at the moment. But certain intracies of that play don't smell right to me and are hard to overlook in favor of granting Chara absolute innocence. And by simply saying it was all just a matter of time and place, there's almost an element of blame being put on Pacioretty for nothing being in a different spot on the ice to accept the hit.

My gut tells me the NHL will review the play, but won't ultimately hand down a suspension. Chara was remorseful and called the incident "unfortunate" several times, according to Connor McKenna of Team 990 in Montreal. And, again, he doesn't have the reputation for being the kind of player to pull of dirty hits.

But there will still be a lot of debate as to whether Chara should receive some sort of extra punishment or if what went down Tuesday night was just a by-product of being in the moment.

A Reason Why The NHL NEEDS Ray Emery

Goalie fights are always fun. Though rare, few things in hockey are more exciting than watching one goalie rush down from his crease to the opposition's in order to lay the hurt into the other team's netminder. And even with all of the pads that they wear, it's not always just fun and games for these guys when they do decide to drop the glove and blocker. Sometimes, they do get hurt. Just ask Rick DiPietro, if he can even hear you after getting his face destroyed with a one-punch KO from Pittsburgh Penguins backup Brent Johnson.

Just one week after that scrap that, surprise surprise, put DiPietro back on injured reserve, fans were treated to yet another goalie brawl. I use the term 'brawl" loosely on this one. This time it was between Montreal Canadiens starter Carey Price and a man who should be lock to pick up the Vezina this year, Boston Bruins starter Tim Thomas. Unfortunately, this fight was a major letdown and shows that not every goaltender is capable of living up to the standards set by Dan Cloutier and Ray Emery as it pertains to goalie fights.

That was simply awful and makes me even more thanful that the Anaheim Ducks signed Emery. Here's to hoping Emery proves himself in the AHL to get a callup. The NHL needs him desperately to set things right in the world of goalie fights!

Cammalleri Gets One Game Suspension For Slash

Eventually, a day will come when players in the National Hockey League understand that sticks were not introduced to the game to go slapping away at the other human beings on the ice. Unfortunately, that day is not today.

In an exhibition games between the Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders on Oct. 2, Habs left wing Michael Cammalleri became upset with the Islanders first round pick back in June, Nino Niederreiter, after a hard check near the boards. He thus decided to swipe his stick across the face of Niederreiter and followed that up with a slash the back of Niederreiter's left foot. The video of the incident can be seen below, with tremendous French commentary to accompany it:

As a result of this infraction, Colin Campbell held a conference call with Cammalleri earlier today to dish out a punishment on top of the five-minute major and game misconduct he received during the actual contest. Campbell dished out a one game suspension, which will also cost Cammalleri a day's pay of $32,258.06 to be placed in the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund. 

Blues Get Halak Locked Up With Four-Year Deal

 

Looking to complete the process that will have Jaroslav Halak sport the crease for the St. Louis Blues, the team announced on Tuesday that he was signed to a four-year, $15 million contract. The contract will have an annual cap hit of $3.75 million but pay out salaries of $2.75 million next season, $3.5 million in 2011-12, $4.25 million in 2012-13 and $4.5 million in 2013-14.

Halak was acquired by the Blues via a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on June 17 that sent Lars Eller and Ian Schultz to the Habs in return. The Canadiens chose to deal Halak after a superhero performance in the playoffs, where he backstopped the team to a Conference Finals appearance. With both Carey Price and he entering restricted free agency and looked upon as No. 1 options, the Canadiens stuck with their fifth overall selection from 2005 and dealt Halak.

Luckily for St. Louis, Halak was excited about the move and believes he can help the organization.

"I've been looking forward to playing in St. Louis ever since the trade was announced," Halak said in a statement by the Blues. "I believe in my abilities and hope to do some good things for the Blues."

Halak looks to build off a career year last season. He outplayed Price to move into the starting goaltender position and award the Canadiens with a 26-13-5 record in 45 appearances. He also posted five shutouts and a league ranked fourth save percentage of .924. In the playoffs, he went 9-9 with a 2.55 goals against average and .923 percentage as he led the Canadiens past two favorites in the Eastern Conference - Washington and Pittsburgh - before succumbing to the Flyers in the third round.

With a four-year deal in place, the Blues have some security that their netminding position is in order. Previously, Chris Mason was the Blues' starter and did an admirable job. But at 34 years of age, he was never going to be a long-term option and that made it easy for St. Louis to pull the trigger on a deal for the 25-year old Halak when he was made available. Mason signed a two-year deal with the Thrashers on July 1.

Armstrong To Leafs, Niittymaki To Sharks, Auld To Montreal, O'Donnell To Flyers

 

~ Penguins fans probably would have love to have him back, but the winger most compatible with Sidney Crosby that was dealt to Atlanta in the Marian Hossa trade is now heading to Toronto on a three-year, $9 million deal. That's right, Colby Armstrong is the second top-six forward acquired by Brian Burke in the past two days (Kris Versteeg being the first.) He made $2.4 million last year, so this represents a $600,000 raise and is pretty equal to the output he provides. Armstrong is a gritty two-way player with 20-goal potential.

~ The San Jose Sharks cut the line on Evgeni Nabokov because they wanted to seek cheaper options than the $5- to 6-million he will probably find somewhere in free agency. Well, they found one, and it comes in the form of ex-Flyer/Lightning netminder Antero Niittymaki. He is on board for two years at $2 million per, which drastically lower than what Nabokov likely would have cost. But I do fear in this case that the Sharks will get what they pay for. Niittymaki is good and posted 21 wins with Tampa last year in 49 games played. But he's still just a better-than-average backup and will fail to win over 40 games a season like Nabokov did three years in a row if asked to shoulder a heavy load in San Jose.

~ Forget Dan Ellis, people. His lacking French-speaking skills won't be necessary. The Montreal Canadiens went another route for their No. 1A/2 goalie next season with Alexander Auld. Auld, who was a waiver acquisition for the Rangers late last year, is a more-than-adequate backup who will push Carey Price. Auld is there for one year at $1 million, which is by far a cheaper rate than what St. Louis will now have to dish out for Jaroslav Halak.

~ Apparently the Philadelphia Flyers need an army of defensemen, because they have quite a few and just added another. Veteran Sean O'Donnell is coming to Philly on a one-year deal worth $1 million, plus games played incentives. He's a good stay-at-home defender and worth it at that price. But the signing still begs the question, why? Or ... who's being dealt?

Canadiens, Predators Exchange The Rights To Kostitsyn, Ellis

 

With unrestricted free agency less than 48 hours way, teams are trying to get one final leg up on the competition for soon-to-be free agents. On Tuesday afternoon, the Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators participated in an exchange of rights for players and future considerations. The Predators dealt goaltender Dan Ellis, forward Dustin Boyd and future considerations to the Canadiens in exchange for Sergei Kostitsyn and future considerations. Kostitsyn and Boyd are set to become restricted free agents, while Ellis will be of the unrestricted variety.

The Canadiens hope to sign Ellis prior to the opening of free agency at noon on July 1, when any organization can make a play for his services. There isn't much time to get that done, but a Twitter post by Ellis indicated he is excited about the idea of joining the Habs:

Very excited about the trade! Its an honor to be part of a team with such great tradition and passion! Hope we can figure something out!

The team plans to either utilize the 29-year old as a backup or an equal employee in net with Carey Price, who was extended a qualifying offer by the Habs and will soon become a restricted free agent.

Ellis is the latest victim of a constant rotating door of goaltenders in Nashville. He had a tremendous rookie campaign in 2007-08, going 23-10-3 with a 2.34 goals against average, .924 save percentage and six shutouts. But his play slipped over the past two years and Pekka Rinne emerged as the new No. 1 in Nashville, making him expendable.

Boyd, 23, will provide depth at the forward position as a dependable two-way center or forward. He is not a dynamic offensive contributor, but scored 11 goals in each of the last two seasons and 20- to 25-point capability.

Going the other way is Kostitsyn, who is the younger brother of Andrei Kostitsyn. The 23-year old Belarusian has endless offensive potential but an attitude that prevents him from fully reaching it. In three NHL seasons, he has yet to reach the 10-goal plateau and has been unable to avoid a stint in the AHL as a way of maturing his game and him as an individual. According to TSN, the troublesome winger has been suspended by the organization in the past and criticized by teammates for lack of effort and other behavior matters.

Kostitsyn will need to grow up and get his game on course if he is to help a Predators organization in need of an offensive boost. He has the skills and ability to be a top-notch scorer and playmaker. But if his attitude continues to get in the way, he will be just as much of a frustration for Nashville as he was to the Canadiens.

News From Around The Crease

 

~ TSN's Darren Dreger is reporting that the Toronto Maple Leafs have received at least five offers for defenseman Tomas Kaberle. As they stand, none are good enough for General Manager Brian Burke to accept. But some finagling between the draft on Friday and the middle of July, when Kaberle's no trade clause is back in effect, could entice Burke to pull the trigger.

It is believed Burke is looking for a first round pick in a deal, but that is not necessarily a deal breaker. More importantly, Burke wants a scoring threat that can be plugged right into the lineup. While it's likely Kaberle will end up being traded, it is still possible that the Maple Leafs could retain his services and sign him to an extension.

~ The Phoenix Coyotes would like to build upon their shocking turnaround last season and have already made moves to bring back some key components, such as defenseman Keith Aucion, left wing Taylor Pyatt and left wing Scottie Upshall. General Manager Don Maloney focused his attention on mid-season acquisition Wojtek Wolski on Thusday, signing the 24-year old winger to a two-year, $7.6 million contract. The deal will pay Wolski $3.8 million per season - a raise from the $3.1 million he earned last year.

Wolski was acquired by the Coyotes from the Colorado Avalanche at the trade deadline this past March. The Avs received Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter in the deal. In 18 regular season games following the trade, Wolski netted six goals and a point-per-game pace, while adding five points in seven postseason games against the Detroit Red Wings. He totaled 23 goals and 65 points last year between the Avalanche and Coyotes.

News From Around The Crease

~ He has flirted with the idea of retirement many times over the past few years. But the temptation to play always seemed to win out. Now, it seems the time is finally right for Scott Niedermayer to hang up the skates for good. After 18 years in the NHL and numerous appearances on the international level, the 36-year old future Hall of Famer announced his retirement on Tuesday.

Niedermayer’s career has been on a year-by-year basis ever since he led the Anaheim Ducks to a Stanley Cup Championship in 2007. He was not able to lead Anaheim to the promised land again, but still put up three more productive seasons that included a 59-point campaign (the third-highest total of his career) in 2008-09 and an another Gold Medal winning appearance for Team Canada during this past winter’s Olympics.

His legacy will be as one of the game’s best offensive defenseman. Even on a defensive-minded New Jersey Devils squad, Niedermayer was able to exhibit his incredible offensive instincts from the blue line. He was a great skater, ran power plays extremely well, led by example and was a character guy – as shown during his free agency period in 2005 when he chose to leave the team he was drafted by and played for over 13 years to help his brother win a Cup in Anaheim.

At the NHL level, Niedermayer has attained a plethora of accomplishments. On top of four Stanley Cups between his time with the New Jersey Devils and Ducks, he has also taken claim to the Conn Smythe Trophy, a Norris Memorial Award and five All-Star Game appearances. For Team Canada, Niedermayer sports two Olympic Gold Medals, an IIHF World Championships Gold Medal and a first place finish in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Even in juniors, Niedermayer was a stud – winning the Memorial Cup as a member of the Kamloops Blazers and making two Western Hockey League First All-Star Teams.

At 36 years old and coming off season where he notched 48 points, it’s safe to say Niedermayer still had something left in the tank and could have easily stepped right back into the Ducks’, or any other team’s, lineup. But after missing the playoffs this past spring – only the second time in his career not playing in the postseason, Niedermayer felt it was finally time to move on.

Niedermayer will remain with the Ducks as a consultant to general manager Bob Murray.

Montreal Sends Playoff Hero To Blues

 

There was going to come a time during this offseason where the Montreal Canadiens needed to establish who their No. 1 goaltender was, and then get rid of the other guy. That decision came on Thursday, when the first blockbuster deal of the summer was announced. Montreal decided to stick with Carey Price, and in doing so pulled the trigger on a trade that sent the rights to Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues for forwards Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.

Halak, who will be a restricted free agent on July 1, was most recently a playoff hero for the Canadiens. As the eighth seed, Montreal was expected to be bounced by the Washington Capitals in the first round. But the Habs shocked the world by sending Alexander Ovechkin and Co. home early after a seven-game series. Then they moved on to eliminate the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games, as well. Montreal was hardly a match for the Philadelphia Flyers in the Conference Finals. But the fact that the team even got there after having to play two Eastern Conference favorites was an accomplishment in itself.

And the very reason for Montreal bunking the odds and getting as deep as it did in the playoffs was the quality goaltending received from Halak. He literally stole the show on several occasions as he was leading the Canadiens to victory.

Even during the regular season, Halak proved to be the more stable force in between the pipes for Montreal. He went 26-13-5 in 45 games played, sporting a 2.40 goals against average, a fourth-ranked save percentage at .924 and five shutouts.

None of that matters in the business world of hockey, though. In that world, great play equates to great trade value, and that’s all Montreal saw in him when it came time to pick their starter. It was a move that shocked the Montreal fans. It shocked Halak. And it even shocked now former-Blues goaltender Chris Mason.

As Promised, Canadiens Buy Out Georges Laraque

Just as they promised they would do back in January, the Montreal Canadiens have bought out the final year of Georges Laraques three-year, $4.5 million contract. This will cost the Habs a cap hit of $1 million (two-thirds of his remaining salary) divided evenly at $500,000 in each of the next two seasons.

On January 21, the Habs discontinued any association with the enforcer. He was cited as a distraction to the team and was absent from all activities with the Canadiens despite remaining on their 23-man roster. Laraque didn't produce much offensively, scoring just five points total in the two years he played for Montreal. His main purpose was to fight and he didn't even do that very often, accumulating just 89 penalty minutes with the Habs. In Laraques defense here, many players were smart enough to avoid fighting him - thus the decrease in fighting majors.

At 33 years old, Laraque is certainly on the tail end of his productivity. But he remains one of the most dangerous and effective enforcers in the NHL, and should provide any team in need of a physical boost plenty of it. And if he's willing to sign for $1 million or less, he's definitely worth it.