Thursday night began probably like almost every other game night for Montreal Canadiens forward Mike Cammalleri. However, midway through the second period of the Habs’ game against Eastern Conference rival Boston Bruins, Cammalleri felt a tap on his shoulder and was told to head back to the dressing room and that there would be a cab waiting for him outside to take him back to the team’s hotel in Boston.
He had been traded.
In the middle of a game.
The coaching carousel in the NHL continued over the weekend when the Montreal Canadiens fired Jacques Martin and replaced him with Randy Cunneyworth on an interim basis.
“I met Mr. Martin very early this morning,” Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier said at a news conference Saturday morning. “I can tell you I didn’t sleep much last night.”
This had to do in part with the fact that Martin and Gautheir have been good friends for quite some time. But the reality is that the Canadiens had entered this season with high exceptions to compete for the Northeast Division title. However, at 13-13-7, they have fallen into last place in the division.
The Carolina Hurricanes continue to make changes.
And like their recent coaching change, the latest trade isn’t too much of a surprise, either.
The Hurricanes traded defenseman Tomas Kaberle to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday morning for fellow defenseman Jaroslav Spacek.
After winning the lottery and getting dealt from the Toronto Maples to the Boston Bruins during last season’s trade deadline, Kaberle was fortunate enough to be part of the B’s Cup-winning season. Using that as leverage and a selling point for potential free-agent bidders during the offseason, the ‘Canes made Kaberle a key piece of their offseason makeover by signing the 33-year-old defenseman to a three-year, $12.75 million contract.
Up in Montreal, everything for the Canadians begins and ends with Carey Price.
He was tied for the NHL lead with 38 wins this past season—the first Canadiens goalie to lead the League in wins since Patrick Roy tied for the League lead with 31 wins in 1989.
But despite his impressive season, Price and the Canadians were outplayed by Tim Thomas and the Boston Bruins in their first-round series of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nathan Horton’s series-winning OT goal in Game 7 would send the Habs home wondering what could have been if a bounce or two had hone their way.
Although the Stanley Cup Playoffs have everyone in the hockey world captivated at the moment, the other 28 teams in the league aren’t wasting any time in preparing for next season.
On Tuesday night, the Philadelphia Flyers acquired Ilya Bryzgalov’s negotiating rights from the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for left wing Matt Clackson, a third-round pick in 2012 and a conditional draft pick.
The Flyers are hoping that Bryzgalov can finally be the answer to the goaltending woes that have plagued the team for the better part of the last decade. The carousel of goaltenders in Philly continued this past season, with rookie Sergei Bobrovsky, Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher having all split time between the pipes.
I am happy to announce a new promotion here at Hockey Tickets Online. Beginning in October 2011, we will giving away way two tickets each month to a regular season NHL game.
To enter, simply leave your name and email address below. Once you are entered into the contest, your will be eligible to win tickets every month.
Congratulations to Eric who is our October ticket winner. Eric gets two tickets to the Panthers v Penguins game in November.
2011 EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
#1 Washington Capitals vs. #8 New York Rangers
Wednesday, April 13 at Washington, 7:30 p.m. TSN, VERSUS (JIP)
Friday, April 15 at Washington, 7:30 p.m. TSN, VERSUS
Sunday, April 17 at New York, 3:00 p.m. NBC (HD), TSN
Wednesday, April 20 at New York, 7:00 p.m. TSN, VERSUS
*Saturday, April 23 at Washington, 3:00 p.m. TSN, NBC (HD)
*Monday, April 25 at New York, TBD TSN
*Wednesday, April 27 at Washington, TBD TSN
#2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. #7 Buffalo Sabres
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.
I was among the majority who found it unfathomable when the Montreal Canadians decided to trade goaltender Jaroslav Halak—the centerpiece to the Habs surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season—to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a couple of players they never had heard of in Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.
So the burning question left in everyone’s minds: if goaltending is everything in the NHL, why would Canadians GM Pierre Gauthier basically give away the hottest goalie in the league for free?
The NHL is receiving an unusually large amount of press coverage today. But the topic is an unfortunate one.
After being taken off in a stretcher during last night’s game, it has been determined that Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty suffered a severe concussion and a non-displaced fractured fourth cervical vertebra in his neck. Pacioretty laid motionless on the ice for several minutes after being hit into a glass partition between the benches by Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara.
Now the debate has been raging over whether or not the NHL made the correct call in not imposing any sort of supplemental discipline against Chara.
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