While much of the focus leading up to the NHL’s Feb. 27 trade deadline continues to be on where Rick Nash will be dealt, another interesting rumor is beginning to take shape involving another current member of the Columbus Blue Jackets: Jeff Carter.
It’s been no secret that Carter has been unhappy since he set foot in Columbus. It’s also been made public knowledge recently that the Jackets have been trying trade the forward and the remainder of his 11-year, $58 million contract he originally signed with the Flyers.
Jeremy Roenick, one of the most colorful and charismatic players in NHL history, entered the Coyotes‘ Ring of Honor on Saturday.
The Coyotes put together a great montage of classic JR moments and testimonials from former teammates expressing their appreciation for one of the greatest US-born players in NHL history. Roenick was also given several gifts, including the special mask attachment he wore to protect his broken jaw in Game 7 of the postseason series against the St. Louis Blues.
Roenick also excited the standing-room only crowd at Jobing.com arena by commenting on the future of the franchise.
The Phoenix Coyotes are 6-2-2 over their last 10 games, but it doesn’t matter. Heck, even if they were able to keep putting W’s in the win column to make the playoffs, muster some Cinderella magic to ride through the postseason and complete an improbable run by winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, it still wouldn’t matter.
As it stands right now, all signs point to the Coyotes leaving the desert for good at the end of this season.
It turns out the Anaheim Ducks aren’t roasted poultry just yet.
Although most hockey pundits considered them to be dead in the water after a horrific month of December, the Ducks have cut in half what was once a 20-point gap between them and the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference thanks to an 11-2-2 run.
Owen Nolan knew this day was coming, he had just tried to delay it for as long as possible. That’s because he knew how tough it would be for him to walk away from the game he truly loves.
“I was very fortunate to play 18 seasons, 1,200 games in the League, and today I’m announcing my retirement,” an emotional Nolan said at a press conference Tuesday at HP Pavilion. ”I guess I’ve known this day was here for a while. When your body won’t do what your mind and your heart is willing to do, it’s time to move on. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I’ve had the opportunity to play with some great players and great teammates.”
If you didn’t catch the Kings-Blue Jackets game last night at Staples Center, Los Angeles won 3-2 thanks to a goal from Drew Doughty in the final second of the third period.
Actually, as it turns out, he didn’t.
On-ice officials reviewed the goal and found that the puck crossed the goal line with four-tenths of a second on the clock. However, upon further review by the War Room in Toronto after the game was already decided, it was spotted that at the 1.8 second mark, the clock inexplicably stopped. Therefore, Doughty’s wrister technically should not have counted.
If you happened to drop in on the Anaheim Ducks’ Tuesday practice at the Honda Center, you would have seen a rare sight for the team this season: smiles.
The team is finally enjoying showing up to the rink as a result of their recent 5-0-1 surge, their first six-game points streak in the standings since November 2010.
After winning just five games through the months of November and December, the Ducks are finally starting to resemble a hockey team. Over the course of their six-game stretch, they have scored 25 goals and allowed 11. In January, they have scored 26 goals in seven games (3.71 per game), second in the NHL behind the Boston Bruins (29 goals in seven games: 4.14 average.)
Professional sports leagues, with the exception of the NFL the Pro Bowl, typically frown upon the idea of having their star players miss their respective All-Star games.
The NHL is no different.
Back in 2009, Detroit Red Wings stars Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk were given a one-game “suspension” for skipping out on the All-Star Game in Montreal because of a League mandate that excused injury only if a player missed the game immediately preceding the All-Star break. While the punishment may seem a bit extreme, you can’t blame the league for wanting to promote its star players.
With the NHL trade deadline just about a month away, more and more rumors are beginning to surface regarding some key players. However, due to the fact that the standings are so tight right now in both conferences, we may not see much activity until the final weeks leading up to the Feb. 27 deadline. Nevertheless, here are some of the names that are currently linked to various rumors—some of which may actually be true.
James van Riemsdyk and Luke Schenn
This rumor started running wild last week when a report came out of Philadelphia claiming Flyers director of player personnel Don Luce scouted the Leafs in recent games.
There is no doubt in anybody’s mind that Teemu Selanne is an All-Star player through and through.
He also happens to be an All-Star person in real life.
As the 41-year-old Selanne continues to defy his age and to produce and perform in this, his 19th season in the NHL, it comes as no surprise that the Finnish Flash was presented with the opportunity to make his 11th career All-Star Game appearance.
However, Selanne instead lobbied that his Anaheim Ducks teammate, Corey Perry, was much more deserving of the nomination to represent the Ducks for the 2012 NHL All-Star Game Jan. 29 at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa.
While much of the focus leading up to the NHL’s Feb. 27 trade deadline continues to be on where Rick Nash will be dealt, another interesting rumor is beginning to take shape involving another current member of the Columbus Blue Jackets: Jeff Carter.
