Henrik Lundqvist (Robert Kowal, Wikimedia Commons)
The 2012 NHL Award Ceremony takes place tonight in Las Vegas with Nickelback performing.
Let’s see how well I do:
HART–The question here is should the Hart Trophy go to a goalie? The answer this season is yes. Henrik Lundqvist was the primary reason the New York Rangers led the Eastern Conference in points. You can’t give the Hart to a player that missed the playoffs (Steven Stamkos) and in Pittsburgh, when healthy Sidney Crosby is just as valuable to the Penguins as Evgeni Malkin.
VEZINA–If Lundqvist wins the Hart, he’ll win the Vezina too.
NORRIS–Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators had more assists than Zdeno Chara and Shea Weber had points.
It’s that time again folks – we’re back with a fresh episode of everyone’s favorite internet sports show: 15 Minutes of Fame!
This week on the show we’re talking about another concussion-filled week in the NHL, and going through the list of hired and fired coaches from around the league. As well, we react to the big news from last week in the CFL: The Edmonton Eskimos traded quarterback Ricky Ray, the face of the franchise, to the Toronto Argonauts.
In the GABBYs: Derek Jeter, Tebowing, Patrick Chan, the National Basketball League, fighting in hockey, Jerry Sandusky’s lawyers. The Punchline this week is the washrooms at the MTS Centre!
The Columbus Blue Jackets have traded defenceman Kris Russell to the Saint Louis Blues for defenceman Nikita Nikitin.
Russell, a Caroline, Alberta native, an hour north of Calgary, had two goals and one assist in 12 games for Columbus this season. Russell will be reunited with new Blues’ head coach Ken Hitchcock, who was named to his position last weekend after spending four years coaching the Blue Jackets.
Nikitin had no points in seven games and was a -5.
Russell is more of an offensive-minded defenceman that hasn’t completely developed into the player many thought he might become. He has 76 goals and 120 assists in 196 games.
Russell won two Gold medals for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships (2006 in Vancouver and 2007 in Leksand, Sweden).
The St. Louis Blues rather surprised the hockey world yesterday with the firing of Davis Payne as their head coach and with the announcement of Ken Hitchcock as his replacement.
Hitchcock, an Edmonton native, has previous coaching experience with the Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars, where he has gone 534-350-158 since 1995.
In 1999, Hitchcock was the head coach of the Dallas Stars when they won their only Stanley Cup in franchise history, defeating the Buffalo Sabres in six games.
The reason why the move was a surprise is for four reasons.
The Blues had got off to a bit of a slow start at 6-7, but that didn’t really seem like all that bad of a record after 13 games.
The second reason is that Hitchcock didn’t accomplish a significant amount in his last coaching chance in Columbus, as the Blue Jackets missed the playoffs three of four years.
The third reason is that there has been some concern by hockey experts that Hitchcock has not adjusted his coaching style well enough to the newer offensive-minded NHL. Don’t forget, the time where Hitchcock was most successful in the NHL was during a time when defense took precedence.
Finally, there had been a lot of talk by CBC on Saturday night that he might replace Scott Arniel in Columbus. The Blue Jackets have the worst record in the NHL at 2-11-1.
The New Jersey Devils have named Peter DeBoer as their head coach, replacing the retired Jacques Lemaire.
DeBoer spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the Florida Panthers, posting a record of 103-107-36. Even though the Panthers recorded 93 points in 2009 with DeBoer as their head coach, Florida missed the playoffs.
A native of Dunnville, Ontario, DeBoer had an outstanding coaching career in the Ontario Hockey League coaching the Detroit Whalers, Plymouth Whalers and Kitchener Rangers. He posted a record of 539-248-91.
With the Plymouth Whalers, DeBoer was twice named the Ontario Hockey League coach of the year in 1999 and 2000.
While with the Rangers, DeBoer won a Memorial Cup in 2003 and advanced to the Memorial Cup Final in 2008, where Kitchener lost to the Spokane Chiefs 4-1 in the Championship Game.
According to TSN, Devils’ General Manager Lou Lamoriello chose DeBoer over Ken Hitchcock, Adam Oates, Michel Therrien and Guy Carbonneau.
DeBoer was fired by the Florida Panthers on April 10, 2011 and replaced by Kevin Dineen.
The weekend was headlined by the Oilers reacquiring Ryan Smyth, the Flames trading Robyn Regehr, and the two blockbuster deals involving the Philadelphia Flyers.
But there were some others. Let’s take a look at the other moves.
On Saturday, the Columbus Blue Jackets traded left winger Nikita Filatov to the Ottawa Senators for a third round draft pick. Filatov is overrated. He never fit into Columbus’ offensive game plan, so why would I think he could fit in to any other team in the NHL? He only has six goals and seven assists in 44 games. If he couldn’t play for Ken Hitchcock or Scott Arniel, he won’t for Paul MacLean.
The New York Islanders traded defenceman Bruno Gervais to the Tampa Bay Lightning for future considerations. I think a lot more about Gervais than Filatov. Even though he is a career -60, he has played six seasons with the struggling Islanders. I like his ability to block shots. He has 182 of them in the last two years.
The Florida Panthers acquired defenceman Brian Campbell from the Chicago Blackhawks for right winger Rostislav Olesz. Campbell has played in 626 career games, and at one time was considered an elite NHL defenceman. Despite reduced offensive production the last two years, he still was a +46 on a solid Blackhawks’ team. Olesz only had six goals and 11 assists last year, and I don’t see his production improve significantly in Chicago.
Edmonton native Ken Hitchcock will be coaching Team Canada at the World Men’s Hockey Championship from April 29-May 15 in Bartislava, Slovakia.
Hitchcock was an assistant coach for Mike Babcock on Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver when Canada struck gold.
Hitchcock has a wealth of National Hockey League coaching experience. He has previously coached the Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets. Hitchcock. 59, won the 1999 Stanley Cup while coaching the Stars, and has a career record behind the bench of 534-350-158.
It is interesting that Hitchcock took the Team Canada position, because I thought he would be a leading candidate in Ottawa and New Jersey where there are currently job openings.
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