Ponds and Pucks

Many online outlets are reporting that Peter Forsberg is close to retirement.

Forsberg has reportedly pulled out of the Karjala Cup after only an hour of skating, saying his ankle didn’t “feel good.”

Forsberg later allegedly told reporters everything from “I just can’t do it” to saying he “made a fool of himself.”

TSN has more retirement comments.

The Globe and Mail article has some more info as well.

According to ESPN, Detroit, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Dallas, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Colorado are all interested in Forsberg.

All my Forsberg issues aside (and there are many), I just don’t see why Ottawa, Detroit or Philly would be interested in a pricey, injury-prone player who is nearing the end of his career (and likely wants a lengthy contract). Vancouver, LA.. ok, I totally get why they’d be willing.

Either way, it may never happen. And that really sucks. No matter what you think of the guy, this is never a cool way to end your career, especially if you were looking for a Jeremy Roenick-type resurgence.

Peter Forsberg, Karjala Cup, Jeremy Roenick

Leafs fans chanting “Let’s Go Raptors” during the Leafs 7-1 loss to Washington? Ouch. What is wrong with the Leafs that they can’t seem to string a series of wins together at home? They keep blaming defensive woes, but registering a single goal a game isn’t going to help matters much either. Whatever doesn’t kill you will make you….. ah nevermind.

Ovechkin got his 7th and 8th if you’re keeping score. Pretty much everyone else on the Capitals got in on the fun as well, with 6 different goal scorers.

And Leafs fans? NBA opens tonight. Maybe the Raptors will fare….. nah.

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On the other end of the goaltending spectrum, the Flames locked up former Vezina trophy winner Miikka Kiprusoff yesterday, paying a paltry $35 million over 6 years. What a brilliant move. Kipper may be starting slow, but by November he usually shakes off the rust and carries the Flames the rest of the season.

Give Flames GM Darryl Sutter a lot of credit: 2 years ago the Flames were looking at having to resign 3 major UFAs in 2008 — Jarome Iginla, Robyn Regher and Kiprusoff, plus one RFA in Dion Phaneuf. The 3 UFAs are now locked into long-term contracts (Iginla and Regher each signed for 5 years), and the Flames can focus entirely on Phaneuf.

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Philly’s Randy Jones has been suspended 2 games for his hit on Patrice Bergeron. Is it just me, or is that a complete waste of time? Clearly the Flyers didn’t care enough about a pair of 20 game (or more) suspension to clean up their act. Granted, this hit was a lot different. Fact is, the Flyers are successful right now, and their rough play (insert 70s Broadstreet Bullies reference here) is part of the reason they’re doing so well. Why on earth would they stop now?

If the NHL is going to hand out a suspension to deter these actions, they should make it, you know, an actual deterrent.

Ovechkin, Miikka Kiprusoff, Darryl Sutter, Jarome Iginla, Robyn Regher, Dion Phaneuf, Randy Jones, Patrice Bergeron, Broadstreet Bullies

Colorado Avalanche at Edmonton Oilers - Colorado is 4-4-0, Edmonton is 3-5-0, but the real story is Ryan Smyth’s return to Edmonton. Sentiments are expressed much better at Covered In Oil, and the news side is covered much better at KuklasKorner. Battle Of Alberta also chimes in. Don’t underestimate what Smyth meant to Oiler fans.

Nashville Predators at Los Angeles Kings - Nashville is 2-5-0 and LA is 3-6-0. Both teams have gotten to a slow start this season, especially former contender Nashville, now stuck in a 5 game losing streak. LA is turning it around slowly, stopping their own five game skid with a convincing win against Vancouver. No word on if the game will be affected by the fires in the area. Even though they’re likely not close to the arena, there are enough roads closed and confusion in the area. Prayers to anyone in So. Cal right now.

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Here we go again: The Peter Forsberg rumor mill is alive and well. We’re back to Ottawa, since Petey will only play for a contender. Oh, and he wants a 3-year deal worth $5 million a season.

Disclaimer: I’ve never been much of a Forsberg fan, but that might a result of having to play the Avs 8 times a season when they seemed to own all the talent in the division. Or maybe it was the way he would crumple to the ice if someone looked at him wrong and the refs would buy it every time…. but I digress. Ottawa seems to be churning along fine without Peter The Great, and may not have the cap room to make a 3 year commitment. Colorado (Forsberg’s other choice), may not want him enough to give in either. So then what?

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The Leafs woes continue as they’ve now lost Darcy Tucker to a knee injury. Tucker will be wearing a brace, and will be out indefinitely.

That really sucks for Toronto. Tucker is annoying as all get-out, but he’s clearly a key member of the Toronto club. Losing him indefinitely isn’t going to help the Leafs ship right itself.

Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Ryan Smyth, Peter Forsberg, Darcy Tucker

Tonight’s games:

NY Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins - Rangers are 2-4-1, Pens are 4-3-0. Jordan Staal and Marc Staal will be playing against each other for the first time. Rangers recently lost Straka to injury and are in a 3-game losing skid, while the Pens are hoping to extend their winning streak to 3.

Atlanta Thrashers at Toronto Maple Leafs - Atlanta is 1-7-0, while Toronto is 3-4-2. Both teams have had disappointing starts, Atlanta’s coach was fired last week. The rest is too depressing to mention, between defensive woes and goaltending nightmares, winless streaks and goals against. Click the link if you really want to know. Or skip the whole thing and watch Family Guy instead.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Chicago Blackhawks - Columbus is 3-3-1, Chicago is (5-3-0). These division rivals have languished at the bottom of the league for years, so it’s nice to see some improvement on both sides. Chicago’s highly touted rookies Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have made all the difference, and are both among team leaders for points. Columbus goalie Pascal Leclaire already has an amazing 3 shutouts this season, and Rick Nash is leading the team with 5 goals.

Anaheim Ducks at St. Louis Blues - Ducks are 4-5-1, Blues are 4-2-0. Blues are another Central division team that has taken off early in the season thanks to free agent signing Paul Kariya and to solid netminding from Manny Legace. The Ducks are struggling and currently mired in their longest season-opening road losing streak ever.

NY Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Jordan Staal, Marc Staal, Straka, Atlanta Thrashers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Pascal Leclaire, Rick Nash, Anaheim Ducks, St. Louis Blues, Paul Kariya, Manny Legace

San Jose 4 - Calgary 1 — so much for the battle of the goalies. Nabokov nearly posted his second shutout in as many games, and Kiprusoff experienced his first yanking at the hands of Mike Keenan this season. Kipper was far from the problem, however. The rest of the Flames didn’t seem ready for the game, with [tag]Eric Goddard/[tag] having the best night of them all. Goddard got into two fights and had a goal called back. Battle of Alberta has more.

Vancouver 1 - Carolina 3 — Vancouver saw their road unbeaten string end and Carolina just keeps rolling. The win brings Carolina to 5-1-3, enough to be one of the better teams in the league without bringing attention to how good they are. Well, Vancouver knows now. More Canucks analysis at Canucks Hockey Blog.

Boston 1 - Montreal 6 — Ouch. I really thought the Bruins were going to do it this time. It looked like all the stars were aligning for them. But instead Montreal had 6 different goal scorers and broke the Bruins four-game winning streak, and kept the strange curse the Habs hold over the Bruins intact. A Theory Of Ice.

So it looks like all the games last night that were supposed to be interesting matchups turned out to be one-sided blow outs. I actually was relieved to turn the TV over to CSI: Miami, where the episode suspiciously featured the death of a Florida athlete named “Doug McClain.” I know the Tampa Bay Lightning’s new owner is Doug MacLean and is best known for his (lack of) coaching abilities, but….

San Jose, Calgary, Nabokov, Kiprusoff, Mike Keenan, Vancouver, Carolina, Boston, Montreal, Bruins

FanNation has posted a “shortlist” for the next Atlanta Thrashers head coach.

It looks like pretty much every other list floating around the hockey rumor-sphere — it begins with and highlights Pat Quinn and the works its way to the oft-discussed choice of Brad McCrimmon. But there’s a couple of other names in there too.

My money’s on Quinn, not because he’s the best choice, but because he’s a name, and one players respect. I’d still love to see McCrimmon get it though.

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While the rest of the city of Boston is celebrating the Red Sox and their trip to the World Series, some die-hard hockey fans are still rubbing their hands in glee at the Bruins/Habs game tonight.

The Bruins are going into the legendary match-up with the upper hand for the first time in….. well, a really long time. To Bruins fans a chance to beat their Montreal nemesis is the ultimate bonus to Boston’s strongest start in years.

Finally acquiring a number one goaltender in Manny Fernandez has likely been a huge reason for such a great start. Oh wait, Tim Thomas has been the one manning the pipes? Go figure…

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Games tonight:

Vancouver at Carolina - Vancouver is 4-4-0, Carolina is 4-1-3. Ryan Kesler broke out against the Blue Jackets with 2 goals the other night, while Justin Williams is leading the ‘Canes with 11 points.

Boston at Montreal - Boston is on a 4 game winning streak, Montreal broke a 3 game losing streak on Saturday when they beat Buffalo. Boston’s D has been particularly strong, allowing only an average of 2.14 goals a game. Montreal’s defense got a boost from free agent signing Roman Hamrlik as he potted a goal and two assists on Saturday.

San Jose at Calgary - San Jose is 4-3-1 (4-1-1 when Roenick plays, 0-2-0 when he doesn’t), Calgary is 4-2-2. Nabokov is coming off a shutout Saturday and has two career shutouts against the Flames. Flames beat their provincial rivals the Oilers on Saturday and are riding Jarome Iginla’s 5 game point streak.

Atlanta Thrashers, Pat Quinn, Brad McCrimmon, Red Sox, World Series, Manny Fernandez, Tim Thomas, Ryan Kesler, Justin Williams, Roman Hamrlik, Nabokov, Jarome Iginla

Everyone who thought Jeremy Roenick would have an effective season with the San Jose Sharks after they pulled him out of retirement, raise your hand. Yeah, me too.

But the reality is, Roenick is holding his own. He scored his 498th career goal against Nashville on Saturday night, and nearly got his 499th. The Sharks are more successful with Roenick in the lineup (4-1-1 when Roenick plays, 0-2-0 when he sits). Sure, he’s not in every game thanks to a bum knee, but if fans know anything about JR, it’s that keeping him out of a game does not mean he’s not making his presence known to his teammates.

I’ve had a love/hate things for Roenick for years. I respect any guy who speaks his mind in a league where there are far too many sports cliches and stock answers, even if I don’t like 90 per cent of what Roenick says. But I’m rooting for him to get goals number 499, 500, 501 and beyond.

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Fox Sports has a fun story on whether 500 goals still means anything. Especially fun is the 500-goal trivia in the middle, with gems such as which goalie has allowed the most 500-goal markers (Patrick Roy).

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Saku Koivu is no longer the only Koivu in town. Mikko Koivu has long languished in relative (no pun intended) obscurity in Minnesota. Sure, everyone knew about him, but beyond his famous older brother and the fact he wasn’t a bust and showed up on the scoresheet once in a while, the younger Koivu was often overlooked, or at least not given the due he deserved.

Not anymore.

Now that Minnesota is turning heads and dominating the west, Koivu has become tough to disregard.

Jeremy Roenick, San Jose Sharks, Patrick Roy, Saku Koivu, Mikko Koivu

Why does it take something like a cancer diagnoses to remember there are things more important in hockey than goals, points, ice time, hockey pools or bonuses? Once Jason Blake went public with his leukemia diagnoses, everything else just seemed like background noise.

The most amazing thing about the way this story has come out is the upbeat nature of everyone: the team, the doctors, and Blake himself. Leafs head coach Paul Maurice nailed it when he said “It’s an unusual sentence to hear — the first word is cancer, the next word is leukemia, and then everything should be all right. I’m not familiar with the condition so it was new that something like this would be as treatable and for such a positive sentence to come after such a negative sentence, it takes a little while to get your head around it.”

The Leafs are the subject of much derision and abuse from fans throughout the season (and that’s just in Toronto), but no one ever wishes anything serious to happen to these guys. As it shows in the article, Blake and his family have been through a lot already. Here’s hoping this is the end of it.

Ironically, this is also the 10th Anniversary of the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer campaign. Throughout the season all 30 teams will be involved in fund-raisers and public awareness of local cancer charities. There is also the annual online auction, where player goodies such as game worn jerseys and other memorabilia is available for bidding.

Jason Blake, Paul Maurice

The Blackhawks had one task this season — only one simple task if they were to take advantage of the impressive off-season moves they made.

Stay healthy.

During training camp, rookie phenom Jonathan Toews[tag] took a puck to the finger and missed the rest of camp, and — so far — the season opener. Another player, [tag]Ryan Stokes, was hurt the same night when his face was cut open after falling into a pile of players (Stokes did not remain with the Hawks).

Now, after one game (a 1-0 win against Minnesota) the Hawks have lost yet another key player in Martin Havlat.

Havlat left the game in the third period after colliding with a couple of Wild players in front of the Minnesota net, and when he reappeared, his arm was in a sling. There’s concern about his shoulder. The x-ray results will come today.

FanHouse has a great post about the injury, along with a discussion about Havlat’s medical record over the years (he hasn’t played more than 68 games in a season since 2003).

Guess it’s up to new acquisitions Sergei Samsonov, Yanic Perrault and Robert Lang to step up and fill in the gap. That’s what the make the big bucks for, right?

Hopefully Havlat’s injury is minor and he’s back on the ice by next week. Hopefully the Hawks are getting this injury nonsense out of the way early. But this is cutting it too close waaaaay too early for the Hawks.

I love the Hawks, I really do. They have some of the best (and most under-appreciated) fans in the league. But wow, just wow. As far as sports curses go, this one is a doozy.

Jonathan Toews[tag] took a puck to the finger and missed the rest of camp, and — so far — the season opener. Another player, [tag]Ryan Stokes, Martin Havlat, Sergei Samsonov, Yanic Perrault, Robert Lang

Really late on today’s post and for that I apologize — it was unpreventable. How about I make it up with *2* NHL preview posts tomorrow? Ok? Ok, deal.

As for news today, there wasn’t a lot of news out there that wasn’t the Jon Klemm signing. Except this little tidbit out of St. Louis — St. Louis to Offer Free Food and Drink During January Game.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

I’ll leave alone the obvious joke that the Blues will be playing the talent-depleted Nashville Predators that night, and step away from the desperation to get butts into seats remark and I’ll just wonder how the NHL let this go on.

Wait, they did this last year?

Wait, beer is not part of the promo?

I’m sorry what was the point again?

Mark Bell has plead guilty to charges of drunk driving causing injury and hit and run.

The charges are from an incident in San Jose last September. Bell will be sentenced to 6 months in October, and will serve the sentence at the end of the season.

Hold on….he’s going to be sentenced to 6 months but not served until April at the earliest? Going to jail is never a good thing, but what a sweet deal to say “Yeah, I’m not really available until this spring….”

This man has plead guilty to a crime. He has admitted to driving while drunk, hurting another person and fleeing. This is not his first or even second offense. He told Leafs’ GM John Ferguson he hoped it would “take care of itself”. This man should not be allowed to continue to make his millions on the ice as long as his confessed crime has gone unpunished.

Celebrities and other well-known figures get special treatment — there’s no denying that. And it could be argued that Bell’s jail time could have a negative impact on the team itself (Bell was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs over the summer), but that’s something the team needs to address and deal with.

Tell me this… you think Bell is going to a focused player come the end of the season? Do you think his mind is going to be on making the playoffs or winning the Stanley Cup?

Or is he going to be focusing too hard on what he’s got lined up when his season ends? How much distraction could his pending jail time cause the team?

What if the Leafs (God forbid) win the Cup? Does he show up for jail the next day?

Players have missed seasons or parts of seasons for a lot less serious matters than this. Bell should serve his time now, like anyone else would have to, and then be ready to focus on his team when they need him the most.

Mark Bell, San Jose, Toronto Maple Leafs

The rumors of Michael Peca signing with the New York Rangers continue. This one seems especially persistent. Among others, Mirtle, was blogging about this last week.

My question is, doesn’t the cap turn into an issue if they sign Peca?

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AOL Fanhouse hits the nail on the head regarding all the Forsberg rumors swirling around, the latest being out of Ottawa.

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Another excellent round-up of the remaining notable free agents…

Michael Peca, New York Rangers

Mike Ricci announced his retirement at a charity golf tournament yesterday, capping a 16 year career.

I have a lot of respect for the guy to know when it’s too crazy to continue. I’m sure he did everything in his power to get back into the ice, but when you’re talking neck injuries, and have a family to consider, you have to know when to say enough. I’m not sure enough players know that line.

Alex Auld has signed with the Phoenix Coyotes, where he will compete for the starting goalie spot. You know, if I’m a Coyotes fan, I’m not sure knowing Alex Auld is in contention to be the starting goalie is going to make me feel that much better about the upcoming season. But that might be unfair — Auld actually has a winning record (46-44-13) over 5 seasons, and that includes a recent stint with the Florida Panthers, so that’s pretty amazing.

My big memory of Auld is that he saved my ass in my hockey pool a couple of years ago when Cloutier went down with a 4 month injury and I picked up Auld in desperation. I guess that says something.

Mike Ricci, Alex Auld, Phoenix Coyotes, Florida Panthers

• Cost to buy the Tampa Bay Lightning: $206 million. Listening to John Tortorella slam the team’s previous owner? Priceless. (Fan590 audio link is here).
• Edmonton Oilers resign Brodziak and Roy. Craig Simpson’s out, Brodziak and Roy are in. Somehow I think they’re going to need a little more to get back into the playoffs.
• By the way, Simpson is now saying he’s leaving coaching because he realized he’d never be the next Scotty Bowman. There’s so many snarky comments I can make there I’m not even sure where to start…
• Staal brothers offered deal. And why not? Young men busted for drinking too much at a campground during a stag…. I know a lot of guys who call that “Saturday”.
• Hawks extend Savard’s stay. Good on ‘em. One of the best things to happen to the Hawks in years.
• Bruins sign their first round draft pick, Zach Hamill. The Bruins need this kid, both for their team and to keep their fans’ hopes alive.
• Hawks sign James Wisniewski. The Hawks on the other hand destroyed their fans’ hopes years ago…
• Coyotes ink Joel Perrault. Coyotes continue to be a mystery team… how will they do this year?
• CHL Schedule released. Colorado Eagles will begin their defense of the CHL championship title.
• Karel Pilar signs with Thrashers. Pilar’s been out of the NHL for nearly two years battling a heart condition.
• Chris Chelios testifies in murder trial. Nothing funny here. A former Cheli’s restaurant employee murdered two of his former co-workers, one right after Chelios spoke with her.
• Ducks’ Joe DiPenta thrills sick kids with Stanley Cup. Feel-good Cup story of the week.

Tampa Bay Lightning, John Tortorella, Edmonton Oilers, Zach Hamill, James Wisniewski, Coyotes, Joel Perrault, Colorado Eagles, Karel Pilar, Thrashers, Chris Chelios

Craig Simpson has left the Oilers to join the CBC broadcast team, reports the Globe and Mail, and Sportsnet.ca, among others.

I know the Oilers aren’t exactly looking, ahem, stable, right now, but I can’t remember the last time someone voluntarily left an NHL job to join a broadcaster.

This comes about a week after the Sharkspage blog reported Drew Remenda was rejoining the SJ Sharks broadcast team. It’s good for the Sharks fans, but I really liked Remenda. I got to catch him on Fox broadcasts on Centre Ice and he seemed like one of the few Fox announcers who not only knew what was going on, but was fair in his commentary.

The good news is, it looks like Simpson will be working the west coast broadcasts with Jim Hughson, which means no more Greg Millen in the west (Millen will join Bob Cole and Harry Neale). That might be the best news of the summer.

Oiler fans at Oilfans.com don’t seem too broken up about the loss of Simpson… the comments range from “Now we’ll make the playoffs” to “most excellent news.”

I guess Oiler fans need *something* to be happy about.

Craig Simpson, CBC, Drew Remenda