The Edmonton Oilers have decided to take a chance on Ryan Smyth for two more seasons.
On Sunday, the opening day of NHL free agency, the Oilers re-signed Smyth to a two year deal worth $4.5 million. Smyth had 19 goals and 27 assists in 82 games this season.
Expect to see Smyth play more of a checking and leadership role for the Oilers, now that they have a ton of scoring up front. However I would still like to see him have significant minutes on the powerplay as he continues to be an intimidating presence in front of the net.
The Oilers also re-signed enforcer Darcy Hordichuk to a one year deal worth $850,000.
There were a few significant signings on Sunday as well. Ray Whitney signed a 2 year deal worth $9 million with Dallas from Phoenix. Whitney, a native of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, recorded 77 points last season despite being 40 years of age.
This week on 15 Minutes of Fame we’re talking NHL realignment and how the Coyotes might mess it all up, another big week of “Shanabans,” and lots of controversy in the NBA as the new CBA comes into effect.
In the GABBYs: Tiger Woods, the Marlins and Angels, MLSE, dress codes, Tyler Seguin and Bob Vander Weide. The Punchline this week is Patrick Chan!
The Nashville Predators now have some added toughness to go along with Jordin Tootoo.
Yesterday the Predators signed enforcer Zack Stortini to a one year deal worth $550,000.
Stortini became a little expendable from the Oilers, when they were able to sign Ben Eager and Darcy Hordichuk and acquire Andy Sutton from the Anaheim Ducks for Kurtis Foster. With the acquisition of these three enforcers, there’s no doubt in my mind that Oilers’ General Manager Steve Tambellini took the time to read the brilliant article written by anysportanytime’s Terry Nistor back in the fall.
Last season Stortini had four assists and 76 penalty minutes for the Oilers in 32 games. In his career he has 718 penalty minutes in 256 career games.
The Predators also signed winger Niclas Bergfors to a one year deal worth $575,000. Last year he had 12 goals and 24 assists with the Atlanta Thrashers and Florida Panthers. He will be relied upon to provide offense to the team after they traded center Matthew Lombardi and defenceman Cody Franson to Toronto for defenceman Brett Lebda and forward Robert Slaney.
In other signings, the Ottawa Senators also got significantly tougher with the acquisition of enforcer Zenon Konopka from the New York Islanders to a one year deal worth $700,000. Konopka led the National Hockey League in penalty minutes with 307 in 2010-11.
When the puck drops in Nashville tonight for game four of the Western Conference Semi-Final between the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks, I hope I will not be hearing whistles every time Predator power forward Jordin Tootoo is on the ice.
Throughout the season, fans have been blowing train whistles in the crowd during games to honour Tootoo, a native of Churchill, Manitoba who was raised in Nunavut.
I find it completely irritating, and I think the majority of the players would agree. I bet many of them can’t always tell where the whistles are coming from–whether it’s from the crowd or the referee.
The Nashville Predators have advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
Sunday evening in Tennessee, the Predators defeated the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 to win the best-out-of-seven Western Quarterfinal Series 4-2.
Once again, it was an unsung hero that came up huge. Second year center Nick Spaling of Palmerston, Ontario, the Predators’ 2nd round pick, 58th overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, scored twice, including the game winning goal at 4:53 of the third period. Spaling had never scored in the postseason before and had only eight career regular season goals in 102 games.
Another Predator that was huge in Game Six was Jordin Tootoo. The Churchill, Manitoba native who was raised in Nunavut, now has four assists in his last two games. Humorously, he also has 22 penalty minutes in the playoffs. Tootoo now has a career high five playoff points in 2011.
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