San Jose Signs Antero Niittymaki to a 2 year, $4M Contract posted by Jeff Ponder

San Jose got their starting netminder... sorta.

Antero Niitymaki, the former Flyer and Lightning goalie, has reached an agreement with the West Coast team.  But what does this mean for the Sharks?

The Finnish goaltender had a so-so season in 2009-10, finishing with a .909 save percentage and a 2.87 GAA in 49 games for the Lightning.  This is about what he has posted for the past couple of seasons.  He never seems to be a game-stealer, nor does he really ever cause your team to lose.  This may not be what the Sharks need.

After trading former starter Evgeni Nabokov's rights to Philadelphia and watching captain and star defenseman Rob Blake retire a few days ago, San Jose GM Doug Wilson had to make a move to improve defensively.  I doubt this is what most people have in mind when thinking about an improvement over Nabokov.  Niittymaki will play well enough for the Sharks to get victories, but he is far from being a top-goalie in the league.  All that the Sharks did now is give backup netminder Thomas Greiss hope of being a NHL starter next season. 

This looks like a reenactment of the Sharks' tandem of Nabokov and Vesa Toskala from a few years back.  The only difference is that its a tandem of backups instead of a tandem of game-savers.Continue reading "San Jose Signs Antero Niittymaki ..."

Free Agency Spoilers posted by Jeff Ponder

Time to jump on the bandwagon – I have compiled a list of what I think will happen in early July during the free-agent frenzy in the NHL.  Some are just thoughts to consider, but I have a few strong beliefs compiled in here as well.  But you really have to ponder over how often us hockey bloggers are actually correct.

-Ilya Kovalchuk is easily the biggest name available in this year's free-agency period.  Considering his rejection of a huge contract extension in Atlanta and his inability to move the Devils past the first round of the playoffs, Kovalchuk will most likely be playing in yet another new city.  This player thrives on open rink and finding holes, so expect him to stay in the high-flying East.  He will be getting a raise from his current $6.39 million/year salary, especially considering the Sharks just gave Patrick Marleau, a less-talented scoring forward, a contract worth $27.6 million spanning over four seasons. Teams will be reaching deep into their pocket books for this guy.  But don't take Kovalchuk's rejection to Atlanta personal; the guy wants to win.  Teams with cap room to spare and a will to capture hockey's holy grail will be the front-runner's for Kovalchuk's services.

Possible destinations:  Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning

-Evgeni Nabokov saw his contract traded to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, ending his long-stint with the San Jose Sharks as their top netminder.  But will he sign with Philly?  As of Monday, Don Meehan, Nabokov's agent, said that the Flyers have made no progress in signing the goaltender.  His services would be an extraordinary help to the Flyers, despite Michael Leighton's superb job as the starter in the playoffs.  The Flyers did well with Leighton, but having a sure-fire number one goaltender will only bolster the high-powered roster.  I expect the Flyers to shed salary or work out a deal with Nabby now to put him in a Flyers uniform.  Maybe not today, maybe not even tomorrow, but Nabokov will be a Flyer to start the 2010-11 season.
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Blackhawks Reach For the Cup posted by Richard Kagan

It's been a long time, since 1961, that the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, one of the most revered trophies in all of sport.  You start out in the late summer in training camp, go to pre-season in late September and start playing by mid October.  The season ends in April.  Then it's a second season of breathless, fast-paced, high energy hockey, the playoffs, which runs for eight weeks.  If your team wins the Stanley Cup, you truly earn it.

Chicago has a shot again.  The last time they were this close was in 1992.  But "Super Mario" played for Pittsburgh, and his will and play picked up the Penguins. 

The Hawks won yesterday's game 4-2.  They scored four straight goals to blow by a stubborn and pesky San Jose Sharks team.  They swept the Sharks in 4 games, but they were not easy wins.  Last year the Blackhawks lost to Detroit in the Conference Finals.  That playoff series gave this team a learning lesson that it took to heart.  And, it is paying off now.

Captain Jonathan Toews is a young man, but he's the captain of this young team.  John Madden was brought in to gave this team some seasoning.  He played for two Devils' teams that won the Stanley Cup.  Madden plays hard every shift he is on the ice.  The surprise of these playoffs has been the stellar goaltending of Antti Niemi and the key goals scored by lumbering Dustin Byfuglien.  Buff is big.  But his overtime goal in game 3 wasn't scored on bigness but stealth as he streaked toward San Jose's goals to get a great feed and scored quickly.  Hawks won a tough one.

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. 

AP Source: Announcement expected on Coyotes sale (Yahoo! Sports)

PHOENIX (AP) A person with knowledge of the situation says a tentative deal by the NHL to sell the Phoenix Coyotes to former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison is expected to be announced before Monday night's playoff game against the Nashville Predators. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Sharks owners disappointed in early playoff exit (Yahoo! Sports)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) The owners of the San Jose Sharks gave general manager Doug Wilson a vote of confidence to make changes after a disappointing early playoff exit. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Sharks owners disappointed in early exit (Yahoo! Sports)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) The owners of the San Jose Sharks called the team's first-round playoff exit unacceptable and say they are confident general manager Doug Wilson will make the changes needed to get the team back to an elite level. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Sharks pack up after early exit (Yahoo! Sports)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) The players packed up their lockers, took their exit physicals and departed for the summer far earlier than the San Jose Sharks had the previous two seasons. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Blues rule out G Halak for 2 games (Yahoo! Sports)

[read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports