Who's Better? Howe or Hull?

I am now going to discuss two Original Six era players: Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull, and try to answer the question: Who's Better?
Gordie Howe, superstar for the Detroit Red Wings in the Original Six era of the NHL, scored 801 goals, 1049 assists, and 1850 points during his incredible 26 year career. He had a GPG of .45 and an APG of .59, and a PPG of 1.05. He has 747 Goals Created, and a .46 GCPG over his entire career. His point shares are as follows: 186.6 OPS, 30.5 DPS, 217.1 PS. Per season, they average to 7.17 OPS per season, 1.17 DPS per season, and 8.35 PS per season. Over 157 playoff games, Gordie Howe amassed 68 goals, 92 assists, and 160 points. This means he had a playoff GPG of .433, a playoff APG of .585, and a playoff PPG of 1.01. He won 6 point scoring titles, led the league in goals 5 times, 3 times led the league in assists, and won 4 Stanley Cups during his career.
Bobby Hull, Chicago Blackhawks hero, scored 610 NHL goals and racked up 560 assists for 1170 total points during his career. He had 485 Goals Created as well. Over the course of 16 seasons, Bobby Hull recorded a GPG of .57, and APG of .53, and a PPG of 1.10. He also had a GCPG of .46, identical to Howe's. Bobby Hull's Point Share statistics are as follows: 115.9 OPS, 19.7 DPS, and 135.7 PS. This, per season, is 7.24 OPS per season, 1.23 DPS per season, and 8.48 PPS per season. Over the course of 119 playoff games, Bobby Hull scored 62 goals and had 67 assists for 129 points. This gives him a playoff GPG of .52, a playoff APG of .56, and a playoff PPG of 1.1. He won 3 point scoring titles, led the league in goals 7 times, and won one Stanley Cup during his career.
But what does this all  mean? Looking at all these statistics, we can see that Bobby Hull, although he did not score as many goals as Howe, had a higher GPG than Howe did. If Bobby Hull had played as many seasons as Howe did, he would have been likely to pass up Howe in total goals scored. However, Howe does have the assist advantage over Bobby Hull. The PPG advantage goes to Hull. Hull beats Howe in 2 of those 3 categories. In terms of Point Shares Per Season, the two are very close. Howe's 7.17 OPS falls short of Hull's 7.24, but only by .07. Hull has a higher average DPS per season as well as a higher PS per season, winning all 3 categories, albeit by slim margins. Looking at playoff performance, we see that Hull averages more goals and points than Howe, but not more assists, very similar to the regular season. Statistically, Hull seems to have the advantage over Howe from a per game and per season standpoint.
Now, something needs to be said of Gordie Howe's longevity. The man played 26 NHL seasons, as well as 6 WHA seasons. That is 32 professional hockey seasons. He retired from pro hockey at the age of 51, the oldest NHL player in history. He still managed to score 15 goals and have 26 assists at age 51, which is simply incredible. This being said, Hull's 16 seasons are nothing to scoff at. Howe also won 3 more Cups than Hull, but again, just like Crosby vs Ovechkin, it takes a TEAM to win the Stanley Cup, not just one player.
THE WINNER:
Gordie Howe. This one was tough. I was thinking about Bobby Hull due to his higher averages, but then I noticed: the two have the SAME Goals Created Per Game at .46. This means that over 26 seasons, Gordie Howe was able to create the same average of goals per season as Bobby Hull did over 16 seasons. This clearly show's Howe's unmatched consistency and longevity in a tough league. His 4 Stanley Cups and assisting abilities also helped him win this round, although again it was very close.

Daniel Alfredsson Returns For Another Year

The Ottawa Senators have announced that Daniel Alfredsson will return for thr upcoming season. Alfredsson scored 27 goals and added 32 assists last year in 75 games for his Senators. He had 23 Goals Created (a stat I discussed in my last post) and an Offensive Point Share of 5.7, as well as a Defensive Point Share of 1.8 for a total Point Share of 7.5. Alfredsson has 416 Goals and 666 Assists in his career. He also has 408 Goals Created, a career OPS of 97.4 and a DPS of 27.8 for a total PS of 125.2

Who's Better? Ovechkin or Crosby REVISED

Who's Better? Ovechkin or Crosby

While the debate has been going on for years, I still think it is relevant in today’s game, and I will attempt to dissect the two players and let YOU decide who is better. Let’s start with goals. Ovechkin, in his career, has never dipped below thirty goals, has dipped below 40 only twice, and has hit 65 in one season. He led the league in goals twice in a row, with 65 and 56. He has 339 career goals in 553 career games, giving him a GPG of .613, placing him at number 6 all-time, and ahead of Wayne Gretzky. Crosby has dipped below thirty goals, albeit only twice, and both times he was injured for at least 29 games. He scored 51 goals in 2010, giving him that year’s scoring title. Crosby has scored 223 goals in 434 games, for a GPG of .513, making him 18th all-time. Now let’s move to assists. Ovechkin has only dipped below 40 assists one time, when he had 27 last year. He has never led the league in assists. He has 340 assists in 553 career games, giving him an APG of .614, 52nd all-time. Crosby has dipped below 40 assists twice, but he was injured for at least half of the season when these drops occurred. Crosby has hit 84 assists in one season, but has never led the league in assists. He has 386 assists in 434 career games for an APG of .889, good for 5th all time. Points wise, Ovechkin has broken the 100 point barrier 4 times in his career, his highest being a league-leading 112 points, the only time he has led the league in that category. He has 679 points in 553 career games for a PPG of 1.23, good for 13th all-time. Crosby has broken the 100 point barrier 4 times as well, his highest being 120 points, which led the league. This is the only time he has led the league in points. He has 609 points in 434 career games, giving him a PPG of 1.40, good for 4th all time. Given these statistics, it is hard to say who is the better player. While Ovechkin scores more goals than Crosby by a wide margin, Crosby also racks up more assists, by a wider margin, giving him a higher PPG than Ovechkin. But is that a clear indicator that Crosby is better? Let’s try another statistic. This one is called Goals Created. Goals created is a statistic calculated by adding goals  to 0.5 times assists, then multiplying by team goals divided by team goals plus 0.5 times team assists. It is a helpful tool in determining how valuable a player is to their team. When looking at these two players’ GC’s, we see that Ovechkin has led the league in Goals Created 3 years, all of them in a row, with 48, 45, and 43 goals created. He has 278 Goals Created in his career in 553 career games, giving him a GCPG of .503. Crosby has never led the league in goals created, and has 222 in his career in 434 games, for a GCPG of .511. Crosby has a slight edge over Ovechkin in this regard as well! In addition, Ovechkin has never won the Stanley Cup, while Crosby has (Although keep in mind it takes a whole team to win the Cup, not just one player!) Crosby has reached the Finals twice, while Ovechkin has not made it past the second round. Again, the same thing applies, it takes a whole team to win the Cup, not just one player. Let us now look at playoff performance from these two players. Ovechkin has 30 Goals in 51 Playoff games, for a Playoff GPG of .588, while Crosby boasts a .485 Playoff GPG. However, we see again that Crosby leads in APG and PPG even in the playoffs, with .838 and 1.32, respectively to Ovechkin’s .568 and 1.16, respectively.
There are a few final statistics we can utilize to see who is the better player. These are called Point Shares. There are Offensive, Defensive, and Total Point Shares. A Point Share is best described as an estimate of the number of points contributed by a player, due to their offense, defense, or both. Visit here to learn about how to calculate a point share. To make things quick, here are the Offensive, Defensive, and Total Point Shares for each player:
Ovechkin: OPS=75.8, DPS=14.5, PS=90.3
Crosby: OPS=61.2, DPS=12.6, PS=73.8
Here, we see that Ovechkin is better in all three categories!
So who is the the better player? That is for YOU to decide!

Matchup of the Day: 2008 Red Wings vs 1997 Red Wings

Two Stanley Cup winning Red Wings teams go head to head in this whatifsports.com matchup. Here's who comes out on top:

GAME 1	1997	2008
Powerplay - Goal scored by Pavel Datsyuk assisted by Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom	0	1
Goal scored by Valtteri Filppula assisted by Brett Lebda and Matt Ellis	0	2
Johan Franzen shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Tomas Holmstrom	0	3
Goal scored by Darren McCarty assisted by Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan	1	3
GAME 2	1997	2008
Goal scored by Vladimir Konstantinov assisted by Darren McCarty and Igor Larionov	1	0
Powerplay - Goal scored by Brendan Shanahan assisted by Darren McCarty and Viacheslav Fetisov	2	0
Henrik Zetterberg shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Pavel Datsyuk	2	1
Goal scored by Steve Yzerman assisted by Darren McCarty and Brendan Shanahan	3	1
Goal scored by Brian Rafalski assisted by Mikael Samuelsson and Pavel Datsyuk	3	2
GAME 3	1997	2008
Goal scored by Nicklas Lidstrom assisted by Johan Franzen and Brian Rafalski	0	1
Goal scored by Sergei Fedorov assisted by Bob Rouse and Vladimir Konstantinov	1	1
Goal scored by Jiri Hudler assisted by Brian Rafalski	1	2
Goal scored by Sergei Fedorov assisted by Viacheslav Fetisov and Tomas Sandstrom	2	2
Goal scored by Mikael Samuelsson assisted by Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg	2	3
Goal scored by Henrik Zetterberg assisted by Pavel Datsyuk and Brad Stuart	2	4
Goal scored by Henrik Zetterberg assisted by Brian Rafalski and Nicklas Lidstrom	2	5
GAME 4	1997	2008
Goal scored by Bob Errey assisted by Igor Larionov and Martin Lapointe	1	0
Goal scored by Pavel Datsyuk assisted by Mikael Samuelsson and Henrik Zetterberg	1	1
Goal scored by Henrik Zetterberg assisted by Chris Chelios and Brad Stuart	1	2
Goal scored by Brendan Shanahan assisted by Vladimir Konstantinov and Tim Taylor	2	2
Powerplay - Goal scored by Pavel Datsyuk assisted by Tomas Kopecky and Henrik Zetterberg	2	3
GAME 5	1997	2008
Goal scored by Henrik Zetterberg assisted by Pavel Datsyuk and Daniel Cleary	0	1
Goal scored by Sergei Fedorov assisted by Viacheslav Fetisov and Tomas Sandstrom	1	1
Goal scored by Daniel Cleary assisted by Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg	1	2
Goal scored by Mikael Samuelsson assisted by Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom	1	3
Shorthanded - Goal scored by Brendan Shanahan assisted by Vladimir Konstantinov and Nicklas Lidstrom	2	3
Powerplay - Goal scored by Pavel Datsyuk assisted by Henrik Zetterberg	2	4
THE 2008 RED WINGS WIN THE SERIES 4-1
MVP: Henrick Zetterberg with 5 Goals and 6 Assists

Matchup of the Day: 1972 Bruins vs 2011 Bruins

Today's matchup pits the two most recent Stanley Cup winning Bruins teams against each other to see who reigns supreme. Here are the results:

GAME 1	1972	2011
Powerplay - Goal scored by Bobby Orr assisted by Fred Stanfield and Ed Westfall	1	0
Blake Wheeler shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Tomas Kaberle	1	1
Goal scored by Rich Peverley assisted by Zdeno Chara	1	2
Goal scored by Milan Lucic assisted by Nathan Horton	1	3
Goal scored by Patrice Bergeron assisted by Tomas Kaberle and Milan Lucic	1	4
Goal scored by Wayne Cashman assisted by Phil Esposito and Ken Hodge	2	4
GAME 2	1972	2011
Goal scored by Carol Vadnais assisted by Phil Esposito	1	0
Brad Marchand shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Shawn Thornton	1	1
Goal scored by Zdeno Chara assisted by Tomas Kaberle and Nathan Horton	1	2
Goal scored by Ed Westfall assisted by Garnet Bailey	2	2
Goal scored by Phil Esposito assisted by Ken Hodge and Wayne Cashman	3	2
Goal scored by Mike Walton assisted by Garnet Bailey and Bobby Orr	4	2
GAME 3	1972	2011
Goal scored by Bobby Orr assisted by Reggie Leach and Mike Walton	1	0
Goal scored by Derek Sanderson assisted by Dallas Smith and Bobby Orr	2	0
Goal scored by Tomas Kaberle assisted by Zdeno Chara and Blake Wheeler	2	1
Powerplay - Goal scored by Ivan Boldirev assisted by Bobby Orr and Dallas Smith	3	1
GAME 4	1972	2011
Dallas Smith shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Phil Esposito	1	0
Goal scored by Gregory Campbell assisted by Mark Recchi and Chris Kelly	1	1
Goal scored by Mike Walton assisted by Reggie Leach and Don Awrey	2	1
Goal scored by Wayne Cashman assisted by Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais	3	1
Shorthanded - Rick Smith shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Don Awrey	4	1
Goal scored by Phil Esposito assisted by Carol Vadnais and Wayne Cashman	5	1
GAME 5	1972	2011
Goal scored by Gregory Campbell assisted by Tomas Kaberle and Zdeno Chara	0	1
Powerplay - Goal scored by Tyler Seguin assisted by Nathan Horton	0	2
Goal scored by Milan Lucic assisted by Tomas Kaberle and Nathan Horton	0	3
Goal scored by Phil Esposito assisted by Ken Hodge and Wayne Cashman	1	3
Goal scored by Carol Vadnais assisted by Phil Esposito and Ed Westfall	2	3
Goal scored by Brad Marchand assisted by Shawn Thornton and Blake Wheeler	2	4
GAME 6	1972	2011
Powerplay - Goal scored by Tyler Seguin assisted by David Krejci and Nathan Horton	0	1
Goal scored by Milan Lucic assisted by Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara	0	2
GAME 7	1972	2011
Goal scored by John Bucyk assisted by Bobby Orr and Terry O'Reilly	1	0
Goal scored by Andrew Ference assisted by Mark Recchi and Chris Kelly	1	1
Goal scored by John Bucyk assisted by Derek Sanderson and Dallas Smith	2	1
Goal scored by Mark Recchi assisted by Dennis Seidenberg and Chris Kelly	2	2
Goal scored by Zdeno Chara assisted by Tomas Kaberle and Blake Wheeler	2	3
Empty net goal scored by Matt Hunwick assisted by Dennis Seidenberg and Rich Peverley	2	4
THE 2011 BRUINS WIN THE SERIES 4-3
MVP:Tim Thomas with 4 Wins and a Shutout

Matchup of the Day: 2009 Penguins vs 1992 Penguins

 My whatifsports.com matchup of today showcases both Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby in an epic showdown between two very offensively powered Penguins teams. Who will come out on top?

GAME 1	1992	2009
Shorthanded - Mario Lemieux shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Kevin Stevens	1	0
Powerplay(2) - Goal scored by Sidney Crosby assisted by Alex Goligoski and Evgeni Malkin	1	1
Goal scored by Mario Lemieux assisted by Kevin Stevens and Rick Tocchet	2	1
Goal scored by Ron Francis assisted by Ulf Samuelsson and Gordie Roberts	3	1
Goal scored by Larry Murphy assisted by Joe Mullen and Phil Bourque	4	1
Goal scored by Mario Lemieux assisted by Kevin Stevens and Rick Tocchet.	5	1
Goal scored by Petr Sykora assisted by Chris Kunitz and Evgeni Malkin	5	2
Goal scored by Petr Sykora assisted by Chris Kunitz and Evgeni Malkin	5	3
GAME 2	1992	2009
Goal scored by Mario Lemieux assisted by Rick Tocchet and Gordie Roberts	1	0
Powerplay - Goal scored by Sidney Crosby	1	1
Powerplay - Goal scored by Evgeni Malkin	1	2
Powerplay - Goal scored by Max Talbot assisted by Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby	1	3
Goal scored by Ulf Samuelsson assisted by Kevin Stevens and Rick Tocchet	2	3
Goal scored by Petr Sykora assisted by Chris Kunitz and Brooks Orpik	2	4
Goal scored by Chris Kunitz assisted by Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik	2	5
Powerplay - Sidney Crosby shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Evgeni Malkin	3	6
Goal scored by Joe Mullen	3	6
Goal scored by Evgeni Malkin assisted by Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang	3	7
Goal scored by Kris Letang assisted by Miroslav Satan	3	8
Goal scored by Evgeni Malkin assisted by Petr Sykora.	3	9
GAME 3	1992	2009
Goal scored by Joe Mullen	1	0
Goal scored by Mario Lemieux assisted by Larry Murphy and Grant Jennings	2	0
Goal scored by Chris Kunitz assisted by Evgeni Malkin and Hal Gill	2	1
Jordan Staal shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Miroslav Satan	2	2
Shorthanded - Goal scored by Mario Lemieux assisted by Kevin Stevens	3	2
Shorthanded - Goal scored by Mario Lemieux assisted by Kevin Stevens and Ulf Samuelsson.	4	2
Goal scored by Mark Recchi assisted by Larry Murphy	5	2
Goal scored by Petr Sykora assisted by Chris Kunitz and Evgeni Malkin	5	3
Goal scored by Kevin Stevens assisted by Mario Lemieux	6	3
Goal scored by Bill Guerin assisted by Ruslan Fedotenko	6	4
GAME 4	1992	2009
Goal scored by Kevin Stevens assisted by Mario Lemieux and Gordie Roberts	1	0
Goal scored by Jordan Staal assisted by Miroslav Satan and Brooks Orpik	1	1
Powerplay - Goal scored by Mark Recchi assisted by Gordie Roberts and Bob Errey	2	1
Powerplay - Evgeni Malkin shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Sergei Gonchar	2	2
Goal scored by Mario Lemieux assisted by Kevin Stevens and Gordie Roberts	3	2
Goal scored by Grant Jennings assisted by Mario Lemieux and Rick Tocchet	4	2
Kevin Stevens shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Paul Coffey	5	2
Powerplay - Goal scored by Evgeni Malkin assisted by Sidney Crosby and Alex Goligoski	5	3
Goal scored by Chris Kunitz assisted by Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora	5	4
Goal scored by Joe Mullen assisted by Paul Coffey and Phil Bourque	6	4
GAME 5	1992	2009
Goal scored by Miroslav Satan assisted by Kris Letang	0	1
Goal scored by Petr Sykora assisted by Chris Kunitz	0	2
Goal scored by Evgeni Malkin assisted by Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang	0	3
Goal scored by Larry Murphy assisted by Kevin Stevens and Rick Tocchet	1	3
GAME 6	1992	2009
Goal scored by Joe Mullen assisted by Larry Murphy	1	0
Goal scored by Kevin Stevens assisted by Mario Lemieux and Rick Tocchet	2	0
Goal scored by Chris Kunitz assisted by Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik	2	1
Kris Letang shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Evgeni Malkin	2	2
Goal scored by Jordan Staal assisted by Matt Cooke and Mark Eaton	2	3
Goal scored by Rick Tocchet assisted by Kevin Stevens and Gordie Roberts	3	3
Goal scored by Phil Bourque assisted by Ulf Samuelsson and Bryan Trottier	4	3
Empty net goal scored by Bob Errey	5	3
THE 1992 PENGUINS WIN THE SERIES 4-2
MVP: Mario Lemieux with 8 Goals and 3 Assists

Matchup of the Day: 1961 Blackhawks vs 2010 Blackhawks

Using whatifsports.com and their NHL simulation, I set up a matchup between the 2010 Blackhawks and the 1961 Blackhawks, two Stanley Cup winning teams. Here is how the 7 game series played out:
GAME 1 1961 2010 Stan Mikita shoots and scores on the rebound 1 0 Goal scored by Ron Murphy assisted by Dollard St-Laurent and Ed Litzenberger 2 0 Goal scored by Troy Brouwer assisted by Niklas Hjalmarsson and Andrew Ebbett 2 1 Goal scored by Duncan Keith assisted by Brent Seabrook and Kris Versteeg 2 2 Goal scored by Jonathan Toews assisted by Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith 2 3 OT 1 GAME 2 1961 2010 Goal scored by Jonathan Toews assisted by Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith 0 1 Goal scored by Dustin Byfuglien assisted by Cam Barker and Brian Campbell 0 2 Jonathan Toews shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Patrick Kane 0 3 Powerplay - Goal scored by Patrick Kane assisted by Duncan Keith and Kim Johnsson 0 4 GAME 3 1961 2010 Goal scored by Kenny Wharram assisted by Ab McDonald and Stan Mikita 1 0 Goal scored by Patrick Kane assisted by Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jonathan Toews 1 1 Goal scored by Troy Brouwer assisted by Niklas Hjalmarsson and Andrew Ladd 1 2 Powerplay - Patrick Sharp shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Patrick Kane 1 3 Powerplay - Goal scored by Stan Mikita assisted by Kenny Wharram and Moose Vasko 2 3 Powerplay - Goal scored by Jonathan Toews assisted by Patrick Sharp 2 4 GAME 4 1961 2010 Goal scored by Pierre Pilote assisted by Tod Sloan and Moose Vasko 1 0 Goal scored by Patrick Sharp assisted by Brian Campbell and Patrick Kane 1 1 Powerplay - Goal scored by Patrick Kane assisted by Jonathan Toews and Brian Campbell 1 2 Ab McDonald shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Stan Mikita 2 2 Powerplay - Jonathan Toews shoots and scores on the rebound assisted by Patrick Sharp 2 3 Goal scored by Colin Fraser assisted by Brian Campbell and Cam Barker 2 4 THE 2010 BLACKHAWKS WIN THE SERIES 4-0 MVP: Antti Niemi with 4 wins and a shutout

Breaking News: Weber stays with Preds

The Predators have matched the offer sheet from the Flyers and keep Shea Weber, according the NHL.com

Rick Nash To Rangers!

Rick Nash has been traded to the New York Rangers for Anisimov, Erixon, Dubinsky, and a First Round Pick. My first reaction to this trade is FINALLY! The Rick Nash Saga has gone on long enough in my opinion and it is about time that he got traded. I'm going to break down the trade for you so that you realize just how much each team got.
Rangers: The New York Rangers pretty much knew what they wanted out of Rick Nash: A strong, powerful winger who can finish plays and rack up some goals for their squad. Look for Nash to get more goals AND assists this year, as he is playing with more competent players in Richards and Gaborik to form perhaps the best line in the Eastern Conference. Nash will bring a great offensive presence to the already powerful New York team and now New York might be my Cup favorites (we will have to see)
On the other side of the coin, Columbus gets a great deal for Nash. Sure, they had to trade their franchise player, but in return they got Anisimov, who I see being a possible 30 goal scorer in the future, with all the ice time he will get in Columbus, Erixon, a capable defenseman with room to grow and mature, and Dubinsky, a very strong hitter and a player who contributes both offensively and defensively, and a 2013 First Round Pick, which, if the Blue Jackets are lucky, could be a great player in the future, as draft picks are hard to judge sometimes.
The Winner in the Deal: It's tough to see any clear winner here. I think each team benefits in their own way, but I have to go with the Rangers here, because they got exactly what they needed in Rick Nash, and the fans will love his strength and his powerful style of play. While the Blue Jackets picked up some great young talent, I believe the immediate winner will be New York on this one.

Don't Be Shy!

Hello everybody! I just wanted to say this: DON'T BE SHY! I love when you comment on my posts. I'll take any input you give and I'll read every comment! Please do comment, share, +1, anything! Thank you!

Vezina Winner Prediction

I want to start this off by saying that goalie performance is incredibly hard to predict. I have based my predictions of of a formula that I created for judging the value of a goalie to his team. Judging by my formula, I predict Brian Elliot to win the Vezina trophy next year.

Weber Signs Offer Sheet With Flyers

Shea Weber, superstar defenseman for the Nashville Predators, has signed an offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers for 14 years and $110 Million. The Predators now have seven days to make up their minds on whether or not they should, or even could, match the offer the Flyers have presented. There are a few interesting questions raised with this occurance. The first is obvious: Will the Predators match the offer that the Flyers have given Weber? Here's where the question gets interesting: Should the Predators choose to let Weber go to the Flyers, they would receive about 4 first round draft picks. Those are FIRST ROUND draft picks. The Preds have a decision to make. Second, if Weber does end up in Philly, do the Preds make the playoffs without him? They already lost Suter to Minnesota. If they did make the playoffs, would they go very far? In my opinion, the Predators are going to have to match this offer. They can't afford to lose Shea Weber, as they have already lost Suter. If they want to be where they were last year or better, Shea Weber has to stay in Nashville.

Predictions: Art Ross, Norris, and Selke Trophy Winners

Hey everybody! This will change some of my earlier predictions, but due to my statistical analysis of the players in the NHL, I predict the following trophy winners:
Art Ross: Sidney Crosby
Selke: Pavel Datsyuk
Norris: Kris Letang

The Rick Nash Saga: Where Will He Go?

Well, first of all, I want to say sorry for my lack of posting as of late. I am currently working on my predictions for the upcoming season and am working hard to make a decision on where each team will rank next year. Second, I want to say that this whole Rick Nash thing is very similar to the Ilya Kovalchuk decision 2 years ago. The same hype, not much known about the situation, and a big name player moving (or not moving). This time it is different, however, because Nash is to be traded and he will not be on the same team as he was last season, unlike the Kovalchuk signing, in which he signed with the same team as the previous year, the New Jersey Devils. Commenting on Rick Nash, I'm going to go right out there and say he is the best power forward in the game today. He may not have performed as well as he could have last year, but imagine him on a team like Pittsburgh, Detroit, San Jose, Boston, or the New York Rangers? It would really boost his scoring total playing on a line with other very skilled players, especially ones like Crosby, Datsyuk, or Thornton, all three being brilliant playmakers. I cannot comment on where he will go, but I will say this: Wherever he DOES go, he will make an immediate impact with his big body and scoring ability. I want to see Rick Nash in the playoffs again, because I think he can do some real damage.

Happy 4th of July!

BIG NEWS: Parise and Suter to Minnesota!

What's up readers? I got the news earlier that Parise AND Suter were headed to Minnesota,  both on 13 year contracts. My first reaction was disbelief. I had no idea Minnesota could get so good so quickly. Look at their roster now. Parise, Suter, Koivu, Setoguchi, Heatley, and Backstrom. This is a playoff roster for sure. I truly believe that Minnesota could have a chance at the CUP, with this radical aquisition. Just prepare, because the West is about to become the WILD West.

Jaromir Jagr Traded to Dallas Stars!

Mike here with some breaking news: Jaromir Jagr has been traded to the Dallas Stars, with a 1 year, $4.5 million contract. In my opinion, if I'm Jagr, what was I thinking choosing the Stars? Are they a playoff contender? I'm assuming he wants to win a Stanley Cup. Doesn't he want to go to a team with a better chance than the Dallas Stars? Nothing against the Stars, mind you, I like them, but I don't think they have a real chance to win the Stanley Cup. (I DO miss their old jerseys. Both the one with the big star on it and the old North Stars jerseys, but I digress). The point is Jagr perhaps wants a bigger scoring role on the team. In addition, would I pay $4.5 million for a player who was once perhaps the best in the game, but now is getting too old and isn't the player he once was? No. I would not. Same with Brodeur. It would be hard for me to fork over that much money for someone who is that old.

Goal of the Day 7/1/12: Patrick Kane vs Minnesota

Patrick Kane's shootout goal over Minnesota is one of the best I have ever seen. His arsenal of dangles is almost unmatched and he has a flare for the creative and the over-the-top.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukvoxs3Foto

Happy Canada Day!

Hello out there! Just wanted to wish any of my Canadian readers a happy Canada Day! Have fun and stay safe!