It’s been 15 years since the Winnipeg Jets packed up their things, moved down to the desert and became the Phoenix Coyotes. And while the Coyotes will remain put for now, it turns out Winnipeg will once again have an NHL franchise.
An agreement to sell the Atlanta Thrashers to a Winnipeg group is done. A formal announcement is planned for Tuesday, confirming the sale and transfer of the Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment, a company that plans to relocate the franchise back to the Manitoba capital. True North, which owns and operates the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League and the MTS Centre arena, reportedly purchased the franchise for $160 million.
With only three games left in the season for the majority of teams, it’s hard to believe that there are still eight playoff spots that have yet to be clinched. However, tonight there are two divisions and four playoff spots on the line. Here is a look at a handful of games with playoff-clinching implications.
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Playoff Possibilities for Several Teams in Action Tonight
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The bottom of the Eastern Conference standings are finally starting to get interesting. But the New York Rangers are doing their best to make sure they don’t have to go through the same drama as last season when they were eliminated from playoff contention on the final day of the regular season.
The Rangers entered play today with 72 points, just one point ahead of the eighth-place Carolina Hurricanes. With four other teams vying for the final seat at the table, the Rangers are doing their best to distance themselves from the pack. Today’s matinee affair against the Philadelphia Flyers—the same team that eliminated the Rangers from playoff contention last season—provided the Broadway Blue-shirts were the perfect opportunity to create some separation in the standings.
by Ben on December 20, 2010
Fantasy hockey may not have the same rabid following as the NFL, but that doesn’t mean that they’re aren’t 35-year-old grown men that love to live vicariously through their favorite NHLers.
Personally, I couldn’t tell you the first thing about fantasy sports; i.e., why it’s so popular, how the drafts work, why there are so many individuals who willingly waste their time participating in it, ect. But the one positive thing about all of the fantasy dweebs is their stats. Not only do fantasy stats provide some extra insight into the game of hockey, but they are usually dead-on with their placements and predictions.
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Byfuglien is every fantasy player’s dream
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by Ben on November 29, 2010
When the Atlanta Thrashers began the post-Kovalchuck era by making several key trades with the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks during the offseason, no one could have guessed that they would have winded up with the NHL’s highest scoring defenseman. This has to do in large part with the fact that when they made the trade for Dustin Byfuglien he had just finished making his name as one of the premier power forwards in the league. As a forward, Byfuglien scored 17 regular-season goals for Chicago last season as well as 11 goals in 22 playoff games en route to the Stanley Cup.
by Ben on October 28, 2010
The date is quickly approaching for teams with young teenage prospects to decide whether or not they want to keep their talented prospects up with the big club or send them down to their respective junior teams. The deadline for 2010 draft picks varies. Teams can return their teenage players to their junior team at any time, but doing so before they play in their 10th game delays the start of their entry-level contract. Entry-level contracts last for three years for players 21 and under. Deciding on what to do with an 18-year-old’s future isn’t easy, so there are a couple of clubs that have a big decision ahead of them in the next couple of days.
