According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the Dallas Stars have fired Joe Nieuwendyk as their general manager.
Nieuwendyk was the Stars general manager for four seasons, and during that time went 143-117-34. Despite some success, the Stars failed to make the postseason every year while he was at general manager.
This past season, the Stars seemed to lack direction and a strategic game plan. They brought in veterans Jaromir Jagr and Ray Whitney, and then dealt Jagr to Boston while they were still in striking distance for a playoff spot. Nieuwendyk also traded the team captain Brenden Morrow to Pittsburgh and formidable sniper Derek Roy to Vancouver.
The Dallas Stars got a great first period en route to a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Monday.
Former Edmonton Oiler Erik Cole, former Calgary Flame Eric Nystrom and Loui Eriksson scored for Dallas in a span of five minutes in the opening period to give the Stars a 3-0 lead.
The Flames marched back in the second period with a pair of their own before Eriksson sealed the game for the Stars with a game winning goal with 8:30 left.
The biggest free agent signing of the day was also the one of the oldest free agents left on the market.
On Tuesday it was announced that the Dallas Stars have signed Jaromir Jagr to a one year del worth $4.55 million.
Jagr had a very solid year last season recording 54 points in 73 games and showed the hockey world he still has something left in the tank after playing in the Kontinental Hockey League for three years.
Jagr now joins Ray Whitney as the two top six forwards the Stars signed in free agency. The Stars two prolific offensive acquisitions are a combined 80 years of age.
Dallas did pick up Derek Roy from Buffalo via a trade earlier in the week and acquired Cody Eakin and a second round pick for Mike Ribeiro in a trade with Washington, but it just seems a little strange that the Stars feel they have to win now, rather than going through a bit of a transitional youth movement. Don’t forget. Dallas has not made the playoffs now since 2008.
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.
The Phoenix Coyotes are going to their very first Western Conference Final in franchise history.
On Monday night, the Coyotes defeated the Nashville Predators 2-1 in game five of the Western Conference Semi-Final.
Defenceman Derek Morris, a former Calgary Flame who was born in Edmonton, got the Coyotes on the board early in the second period and then over ten minutes later Martin Hanzal put the Coyotes up 2-0.
Another area where Phoenix dominated was in the faceoff circle. Antoine Vermette and Boyd Gordon went a combined 24-8.
The Coyotes continued to get good news off the ice as well. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced plans are in place to sell the team to former San Jose Sharks Chief Executive Officer Greg Jamison.
David Perron (Matthieu Masquelet, Wikimedia Commons)
Round Two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs gets underway this weekend with the Conference Semi-Finals about to begin.
The series I will be most interested in is the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings. Can Darryl Sutter incorporate a similar game plan to shock the Blues like he did the Vancouver Canucks? The Blues looked great in beating the San Jose Sharks in five games and look even more dangerous in the playoffs than they did in the regular season because they are very healthy. Andy McDonald, Alexander Steen and David Perron, who all missed considerable time during the regular season, combined for 14 playoff points in five games.
As for the Kings, captain Dustin Brown was their best player against the Canucks. He led the team with five points and was very physical along the way.
Game one is Saturday night at 5:30pm on TSN. My pick is Blues in five. Here are the other events I’ll be watching:
Saturday–ATP–Barcelona Open Semi-Finals–(3) David Ferrer–ESP vs. (11) Milos Raonic–CAN–5:30am–Sportsnet One–Milos Raonic won the match of his career on Friday, defeating Andy Murray of Great Britain in straight sets in the Barcelona Open quarterfinals. On Saturday, he will try and defeat another elite player in Spain’s David Ferrer. The Spaniard is 3-0 against Raonic including a victory in the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2011. Spaniards Fernando Verdasco is playing Rafael Nadal in the other semi-final.
This week on the show we start out with the topic that’s on everyone’s mind – the feud between the Pittsburgh Penguins & the Philadelphia Flyers (and to a lesser extent, the Pens & the Rangers). We also look at a couple of fines handed down to coaches this week (including Edmonton’s Tom Renney) and we run down the upcoming match-ups in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
In the GABBYs: Mike Smith, Ray Whitney, Joey Votto, Alistair Overeem, the Orlando Magic & fans of the University of Kentucky. The Punchline this week is the Baltimore Orioles!
Another week has come and gone in the National Hockey League, which means it’s time for another look at the top goals from around the rinks!
This time on the GOTW, Lightning strikes against the Ducks, a captain comes up big in overtime, a grizzled veteran shows off some silky hands, a Senator undresses a Capital and a Penguin undresses an entire team!
Let’s go!
5. Teddy Purcell
This beauty goal from the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Teddy Purcell (starts at the 1:30 mark) begins with a nifty toe drag and ends with a backhander to the top shelf – what a beauty!
(Check out the REST OF THE BEST after the jump!) (more…)
Nikolai Khabibulin (Dan Nicholas, Wikimedia Commons)
From every angle possible, it is a great time to be an Edmonton Oilers fan. The kids are producing. The veterans are producing. The entire team is buying into Tom Renney’s defensive-minded system and Nikolai Khabibulin has been completely spectacular.
On Saturday night, the Oilers (8-2-2), visit the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena (CBC, 8pm). Edmonton is currently tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for first place in the Western Conference. They have also only given up 18 goals all season long, five fewer than second place Dallas at 23 goals. The recent play of Khabibulin led Brad May of Rogers Sportsnet to say last night that Khabibulin right now “is the best goaltender in the NHL.”
The Coyotes meanwhile are trying to get to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third year in a row. The last two seasons they have lost to the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. So far in 2011-12, they are 6-4-2, and tied with the Nashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings for fifth place in the Western Conference.
The Coyotes’ top player this season is Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta native Ray Whitney, who leads Phoenix with five goals, seven assists.
Here are the other events I’ll be watching this weekend:
This weekend we’ll find out the answer to major question on many Canadian sports’ fans minds.
Who will play in the 98th Grey Cup next Sunday in Edmonton?
The Montreal Alouettes and the Toronto Argonauts will battle in the Eastern Final at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium (Sunday, 11am, TSN), and the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders will duel at McMahon Stadium in Calgary for the Western Final (Sunday, 2:30pm. TSN).
In the East, the Alouettes are disappointed they only had three players selected to the CFL All-Star Team– guard Scott Flory, linebacker Chip Cox and defensive end John Bowman.
It will be interesting to see how Montreal rebounds after losing 30-4 to Toronto in the final week of the regular season. I know Anthony Calvillo, Ben Cahoon, Kerry Watkins, S.J. Green, Jamel Richardson and Avon Cobourne were not in the lineup, but it will be interesting to see how the Alouettes respond after their major offensive core haven’t played since October 29.
According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the Dallas Stars have fired Joe Nieuwendyk as their general manager.
Another week has come and gone in the National Hockey League, which means it’s time for another look at the top goals from around the rinks!
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