A most unexpected return… posted by Andy Charles

While most of the hockey world was reading about Dany Heatley’s monster move to the San Jose Sharks last week, it became clear that a former NHL favorite was about to try his luck at an unlikely comeback.

No, it’s not Jeremy Roenick a month after his retirement, and it’s not Claude Lemieux at the age of about 80, but the man most opponents loved to hate and his fans loved to love, Theo Fleury.

Fleury is back at training camp with the Calgary Flames, apparently determined to have at least one more season back in the NHL to end his career on his own terms, not in the way it had previously looked like ending back in 2003 before the work stoppage.

His path back to the league was cleared last week when he was granted reinstatement after a meeting with Commissioner Gary Bettman, as he was still under indefinite suspension over substance abuse issues that dogged the years towards what had been assumed to be the end of his career.

Fleury’s last organized professional hockey came in Britain’s Elite League with the Belfast Giants, and as for much of his career he was a success, being named Player of the Year by the British Ice Hockey Writers’ Association. He piled up an amazing 74 points in only 34 games and unsurprising racked up 270 penalty minutes before leaving after complaining about the standard of refereeing.

But Calgary is where Fleury calls his hockey home, after 11 seasons with the Flames which included a Stanley Cup in his first season and two other campaigns where he scored more than 100 points and eight seasons with over 100 minutes in the penalty box.
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The Drama is Over; Heatley Dealt to Sharks posted by Jeff Ponder

Ottawa hockey writers can finally take a small break from their hectic summer before the season starts.  Dany Heatley has officially been moved.

It was announced Saturday afternoon that after many talks with the San Jose Sharks, Heatley and a fifth round pick have been traded to the Sharks for right-winger Jonathan Cheechoo, left-winger Milan Michalek and a second round draft choice in 2010.

''I'm excited obviously, I'm excited to be a Shark,'' Heatley said. ''I want to thank everyone in Ottawa, the organization the fans, and the city. I had a great four years here (and) I'm happy to move on.''

The Sharks are happy to bring in the gifted goal scorer, after much publicity about how they would react to their first-round upset loss to the eighth-seeded Anaheim Ducks last season.  The Sharks have just recently addressed their problem, sending defensemen Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich to Vancouver for a few prospects and now bringing in Heatley to help the scoring from the wings.

While losing Michalek and Cheechoo has the potential to hurt the Sharks with scoring from the third and fourth lines, Heatley will add a powerful punch to an already strong first or second line.  Star center Joe Thornton has been the part of an ongoing experiment in San Jose which involves rotating different skaters on his line to find a good fit for the big center.  Thornton found chemistry with forward Patrick Marleau and winger Devin Setoguchi throughout different parts of last season, but this move allows Marleau to move back to his more-comfortable center position so that the Sharks can have a more balanced attack.  If Heatley can find chemistry with “Jumbo Joe,” hockey fans could be seeing the greatest duo in the league this season.
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A fond farewell to Roenick (mostly!) posted by Andy Charles

The National Hockey League lost one of its greatest recent players last week when Jeremy Roenick finally announced his retirement after a glorious 20-year career at the highest level.

Roenick is widely regarded as one of, if not the, best players to come out of the United States and should be a shoo-in for the Hockey Hall of Fame when his name appears on the ballot in a few years time.

The 39-year-old was not just a fine player, but one full of passion for the sport and he should have a job to walk into in some lucky organisation in the near future – most likely the Chicago Blackhawks where Roenick began his career.

Roenick recently admitted his one regret in hockey was leaving the Windy City in the first place, the move coming in a trade with the Phoenix Coyotes for Alexei Zhamnov and Craig Mills, and he is widely expected, according to hockey betting, to take on an ambassadorial role with the franchise fairly soon.

Sadly Roenick never tasted Stanley Cup glory, but he ends his career as the third highest US scorer in history, behind only Mike Modano and Keith Tkachuk, but his overall game and importance to the team he was on at the time increases his importance within the game.

Roenick scored 513 goals and added 703 assists for a total of 1,216 points with 1,463 penalty minutes in an amazing 1,363 regular-season games. He also contributed 122 playoff points and went to a couple of Olympic Games, winning a silver in 2002.

“Jeremy Roenick will be remembered as one of the most dynamic players to ever play in the NHL,” said San Jose Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson – the Sharks were the final stop on Roenick’s odyssey.

San Jose Sharks Say Goodbye to Mike Grier and others. posted by Dan Vado

It’s July 1st and the NHL Free Agent season has begun. Our home team San Jose Sharks have begun the process of addition with a little subtraction letting several players go to make room for the player who will become the latest in a long string of players who will get the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Below is my look at the recent departures and whether I think the Sharks are Gonne Miss ‘Em (G) or Not Gonna Miss ‘Em (NG).

Marcel Goc (C): A former first round pick, Goc was one of several German players on the Sharks, Goc got off to a good start career-wise when, after spending the entire 03/04 season in Cleveland he was called up during the Sharks  2004 playoffs where he assisted on a clinching goal in the St. Louis series and scored the series-clinching goal against the Avalanche in the conference semi-finals. But, that seems to have been the high-point for Goc who never really had anything other than a mediocre regular season after that and has been particularly absent in the last two playoffs as he put up zero points in those last two Stanley Cup campaigns. Goc is a guy who really needs a change of scenery at this point, he is a good kid though so on a personal level he’s a G, but on the ice, particularly in the playoffs he’s an NG. 

Thomas Plihal (LW) - Given opportunities to make an impression, Plihal never did. He may end up back in the Sharks minor league system at some point as I do not see many NHL teams taking him other than to fill a roster spot. Sometimes it seemed like Plihal forgot to look for his on switch. NG

Detroit Red Wings say Bye bye to Chris Chelios posted by Dan Vado

The Detroit Red Wings announced that they would not be offering 47 year old D-Man Chris Chelios a new contract, ending his run with that team.

Watching Chelios in the last couple of years was amazing, here is a guy, virtually my age, banging away with the best and the youngest of them in the NHL. I am sure that, if he wanted to, he could find a slot on another team, but should he? I think no.

Chelios has a chance to go out virtually on top. While the Wings did not win the Stanley Cup this year, he still played a decent number of minutes and proved what a person could do when motivated and driven to stay in shape. He is an inspiration  to not just athletes, but to anyone approaching or just past middle-age who thinks getting out of the bed in the morning counts as a sit-up.

 He truly has nothing left to prove, so winding up playing on the third line in Tampa or Los Angeles would just put a black mark on his illustrious career. Chelios has a lot to offer hockey and he should find a way to stick around, but not as a player.

 But, who am I to say. 

San Jose Sharks Captains, look back and look forward. posted by Dan Vado

There is no equivalent to the NHL Captain in any other major US professional sport. The man who has a "C" on his sweater has a unique position, both in terms of rules and expectations. The team captain in hockey is the only player who is allowed to discuss penalties with a referee and he becomes the on-ice representative of the coach and the entire team, thus he is identified with the C (or an A for alternate captains who serve as sort of co-captains and can speak to the officials in place of the regular captain). You see these guys standing in front of the scorers tables waiting for the official to sort out penalties.
But the job also dictates that the Captain become the locker room leader of the team. Calling people out when they are not playing up to their abilities and making sure everyone is focused on the jobs and tasks at hand. The Sharks have had some interesting choices in terms of people who have had that C on their chest.
Doug Wilson, 1991–93No brainer here. The team brought Wilson into give the Sharks some leadership and legitmacy. Tough spot to come into, being the captain on an expansion team. Nobody expects much from the team and sometimes the players do not expect much from themselves. The thing I remember about the first Sharks teams was that they played with heart and passion, which I think was a reflection of their Captains influence. Wilson is now the GM and needs to find a way to ignite his team the way he did. I say he puts on his skates and gets out there with the boys and shows what a motivated player is capable of doing. Bob Errey, 1993–95Errey was an inspired choice, just as the trade to get him said "we mean to start winning" so did putting the C on his sweater serve notice to all the players on the team that it was time to have a winning attitude. Sharks make the playoffs for the first time under his watch. His 16 keys to playoff success should be read by the entire current Sharks roster, especially #11: Play Bigger. Jeff Odgers, 1995–96Odgers was a logical choice after Errey from an emotional point of view. He was a gamer, hard-nosed, respected by his teammates and good in the locker room. But, sometimes you need your captain to put the team on his shoulders, and he was not up to that task. Had he stuck around he probably would have wound up being a healthy scratch most of the time, and you can't have your Captain up in the pressbox. Still, even THAt would have been an improvement over what followed.
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Western Conference Rolls Along! posted by Joshua Tarkoff

I have a confession to make. I love the Canucks. I really have loved them ever since the worst trade in NHL history when my beloved Panthers gave Luongo away for nothing. I know he is great and that team has a ton of fast guys with a lot of talent. For some reason, I really want them to win. What a job they did last night finishing off the Blues. Hey some big time people picked the Blues to win, since they were so hot coming down the stretch. So,no prediction is even needed for Vancouver. All I know is, I do not know of any team that wants to face the Canucks in the 2nd round.

Onto the series that are still going on...Sharks/Ducks. What a series this is. I think this is the best one we have going (no disrespect to NJ/CAR). It is a bit tough in Florida to be able to watch all of this series, but every second that I have seen has been awesome. Huge hits, I mean huge and every goal has been hard fought. I think this series will come down to who makes the least number of mistakes. That was especially true last night. Both teams are solid and the difference is going to be very small. I have to go with SJ here, they did not win President's trophy for nothing. 7 games, but this will take its toll on whoever ends up winning here.

Detroit is quietly doing its championship thing as usual. They really are an amazing organization. For years I know I have thought they were too old, but somehow they keep on doing it. Hossa this year has been a huge add on and he continues to shine in the playoffs. The series with the Bluejackets will not last much longer, although I must give them a hand for making it into the playoffs this year. It is just unfortunate that they ran into Detroit. 

Blues are Surging in Wild, Wild West posted by Jeff Ponder

Just a few weeks ago, the St. Louis Blues could not find a way to win when it was needed, and were considered to be out of the playoff picture by almost everyone.  But a recent rush by this young team has proven otherwise.  After wins against Los Angeles, Vancouver and two huge wins against Columbus in a home-and-home series, this team looks serious about a playoff push.  They are now clinging to the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference.

There are many factors as to why this team has been rejuvenated as of late.  “The Kid Line,” consisting of youngsters David Perron, T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund, has terrified opposing goaltenders night in and night out, the defense has stepped up their play and Chris Mason has been stellar between the pipes.  The most important reason for the success of this team has been the damaging team play.  Every line is finally clicking and every player is contributing in their own way.

The Kid Line has been the offensive force driving the Blues right now.  This line has been broken up many different times this season due to poor fore-checking and the inability to connect on passes.  But they seem to have brought it all together, scoring nineteen points in their last four games between all three players.  T.J. Oshie provided possibly the goal of the year against Vancouver last Thursday, when he beat many defenders singlehandedly, then roofed it over a sprawled Roberto Luongo.  Perron scored on the game-clinching fourth shootout round against Columbus Saturday night in St. Louis.  Berglund provided the Blues’ big fourth goal against Columbus on Sunday, slamming a backhand against standout rookie goalie Steve Mason. All three players have been spectacular, and are expected to stay that way in the Blues’ last six games of the regular season.
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A little bit of everything, Blues, NCAA, and baseball posted by Ryan Turner

1. On Tuesday night, the Blues didn't waste any time erasing the bad memories from Saturday's game against the Panthers. They got on the board just 59 seconds into the contest on a laser of a wrist shot from David Backes. Later in the first period, David Perron and Brad Winchester would each add another goal, tripling the Blues' total of first period goals from their previous 11 games in just one frame.

The Stars kept coming back, cutting the three-goal deficit to two twice before the Blues finally got it to a 5-2 lead. The third period was scoreless, but the fans already had their free blizzards and the Blues already had their two points since they managed to play smart in the third, not needing to take chances with a three-goal lead.

The Blues are now just three points out of the seven slot in the Western Conference behind the Oilers and they have a game in hand on the Predators who hold the eighth slot, also three points ahead of St. Louis. The club continued to get solid play out of goaltender Chris Mason. The two goals he allowed weren’t great ones, but he still limited the damage and didn’t let anything in until it was already 3-0. The Blues also got more strong play from the “Kid line.” Perron’s finally starting to play with urgency. On what looked to be an innocent play where the Stars were just going to carry the puck out of their zone, Perron dove, whipped his stick around on the ice, and knocked the puck away. T.J. Oshie got control of it outside the Dallas zone, made a great move to get around a Stars defender, and then set up Perron for a shot on a wide open net. Perron put it right in the center of the goal, putting St. Louis up 4-1 midway through the second period. The teams would swap goals one more time, with “Big Walt” (Keith Tkachuk) getting a tally on the power play, tying him for 10th all-time with Joe Sakic for career power play goals.

Playoff Hopes are Unnecessary posted by Jeff Ponder

The St. Louis Blues have made a recent push to make the playoffs, climbing out of the cellar of the Western Conference to six points out of the 8th and final seed.  As of late, Blues media and fans are talking about a possible playoff run, putting the team in the big dance for the first time since 2004.  Are these dreams necessary?  Should Blues fans even want a playoff try this season?

Currently, the Blues have 58 points which places them 14th in the Western Conference, while the Minnesota Wild, currently in 8th, have 64 points.  The pace that the Conference is going has the 8th seed ending the season with about 90 points.  The Blues will need to go about 16-7-0 the remainder of the season to have a chance of making it.  Keep in mind the Blues still have 3 games against the Red Wings, 1 against the Blackhawks and Sharks, as well as playing six of their last seven games on the road.

STLToday.com recently asked all of the Blues analysts to answer a question of what the Blues need to do to make a strong playoff attempt.  Most responded with thoughts on Chris Mason needing to be the absolute strongest player in the lineup and also with the goal-scoring being positively top-notch.  The biggest question mark I see with the Blues is their lackluster defense.  Yes, Mason will need to be strong, but every team that has ever had a chance of winning the Stanley Cup has always shown gritty and hard-nosed defense to their opponent.  Granted, the Blues have allowed just 28.7 shots per game against, which places them seventh in the league.  But the quality of those shots is what is troublesome for me to swallow.  Currently, Blues goaltending is being subjected to odd-man rushes and forwards are being forced to cover a roaming defenseman much too often.  It may just be the coaching system put in place by Andy Murray, which seems to always have one of our defenseman behind the opposing team’s net, leaving a forward covering back on the blue-line.  This kind of pressure in the offensive zone must stop in order for the Blues to make a playoff push.

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