As a sports writer, and a huge hockey fan, there are very few moments that pull you out of the zone that is your love for hockey.  Monday night, though, was one of those moments.  Playing in Russia, Alexei Cherepanov, a 19 year old prospect for the New York Rangers, playing for Avangard Omsk alongside his hero Jaromir Jagr, collapsed suddenly on the bench.  His heart had stopped, and after attempts to regain a heartbeat, Cherepanov did not awaken, and had passed on.

This comes as a huge shock to not only the New York Rangers, but the hockey world itself.  This was a young kid with a bright future.  Jaromir Jagr, after leaving the Rangers to play in Russia, joined Cherepanov on Avangard Omsk.  Jagr quickly became Cherepanov’s idol, and the two would often remain on the ice after practice to continue training.  Jagr had even told Tom Renney, head coach of the Rangers, that at his current playing level, Cherepanov could have played on the Rangers 2nd line.

The death also comes as a shock to me as I write this.  I had spent countless weeks 2 years ago during the Flyers breakdown season, hoping the Flyers would draft Alexei.  Cherepanov’s draft ranking fell, and eventually went midway in the first to the New York Rangers.  I remember distinctly telling my friend Tom, a huge Rangers fan, that that pick was a steal, he easily was a top 10 player, and that Cherepanov was going to be big.

From both myself and BleepingIdiots.com, we wish all the love and support to Cherepanov’s friends and family in these trying times.

Moving on, Toronto fans should be overjoyed.  Brian McCabe is gone, and cap space has opened up!  McCabe was set to take a $5.75 million cap hit onto the Toronto, a team that is desperate to get its young guns going.  With McCabe gone and the possibility of Sundin leaving as well, a good $8 million will be freed up, though later than I’m sure Toronto wanted.  In the deal that sent McCabe to Florida, Toronto also gives up a 4th round pick in 2010, and in return get Mike Van Ryn.  Van Ryn missed plenty of time due to injury last season, only playing in 20 games.  He only had 2 points last season, but produced roughly 30 points the 2 seasons prior.  He also is a cap hit of $2.9 million, thus opening up nearly $3 million.  Toronto wins in this trade.  They desperately needed to open up space, and they made a good move.  Still, a smart move was made by Florida, who waited until September 1 because Toronto had to pay McCabe a $2 million bonus that he was still owed by that date.

Other tidbits to note:

-Chris Chelios is reported to be signing one more year with the Red Wings, thus extended the long running gag that the word “retire” does not exist in Chelios’ vocabulary.

-The Kings have signed Jarret Stoll to a four-year, $14.4 million contract!  Good signing!   Stoll was picked up in a deal that brough Matt Greene and Stoll to L.A. from Edmonton in exchange for Lubomir Visnovsky back in June.  

-The Bruins have signed Stephane Yelle to a one year, $750,000 contract.  Last season, Yelle put up 12 points in 74 games.

-The Thrashers have signed Zach Bogosian to a multi-year deal.  The rest of the deal is disclosed according to team policy.  Bogosian was drafted 3rd overall by Atlanta in this years draft.

-The Senators have signed Brad Isbister to a one-year deal.  It’s a two-way, so Isbister has the ability to be sent to the minors without clearing waivers.  Last season, Isbister put up 11 points in 55 games.

-Trevor Linden will have his number (16) retired by the Canucks this season.

-Marian Gaborik has mentioned that he liked it in Minnesota, but is willing to accept options from other teams, as he has yet to sign, and is unsure how he will fit in with the Wild.

“I like it here, I am willing to stay here, but I also know what my options are if we won’t agree on the terms.  I’m not saying I’m leaving. I’m not saying I’m staying. I’m saying I have one year left on my contract.”

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That’s all for now!  Enjoy the weekend.  Go watch some NFL, football season’s back!

Still, Icethetics has “sources” that apparently have given information on the third jersey’s information.  They can be found here:

http://icethetics.blogspot.com/2008/08/on-ice-dates-for-third-jerseys.html

Another good source is Howard Berger from HockeyBuzz.com:

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=16358

Rumored Maple Leafs 3rd Jersey

Now one thing has caught me off guard, and that’s how most teams will be apparently unveiling the jerseys during the season.  This strikes me as odd because it doesn’t seem like a smart business tactic.

The supposed photo showing the new Flyers third jersey.

Specifically what annoys me is the Flyers.  The rumor is their third jersey will be a return to the retro look from the 60’s, which is great.  Only thing is supposedly they’re going to reveal it on November 28.  But, the Flyers will be returning to the Spectrum, where up until the mid 90’s the Flyers played, one last time, during the preseason, on September 27th.  This will be the absolute final game in the Spectrum for the Flyers.  Wouldn’t it seem fitting to wear the third “retro” jersey in the original home where that jersey was worn.  We’ll see.

As for the Sharks, CEO Greg Jamison shed a little bit of light on the Sharks’ website:

There is a good chance it will be black. It is still being decided on. I can tell you we get input from the fans, staff and the players. The players were very involved in the jerseys for this year. I think the third jersey will be very neat.

And the Hurricanes?:

The Canes hope to unveil their new, NHL-approved alternate jerseys — expected to be black with the team’s secondary, waving-flag logo on the chest — at the Caniac Carnival in September and could wear them on the ice as early as Oct. 13 against Detroit.

The Kings are even supposedly giving out free third jerseys to every season ticket holder.

So far, 14 teams are listed with supposed release dates, with 13 of them being in November.  Five other teams haven’t had any news on them.  That leaves 19 of 30 teams total with third jerseys.

Rumored Bruins Third Jersey

Worth getting excited for?  I think so.  Supposedly the Sabres are going back to their Retro jersey as well, which is worth getting excited for.  Pittsburgh’s third jerseys will supposedly be the ones used during the Winter Classic earlier this year.  The Leafs and Vancouver will also supposedly have jerseys with vintage logos.  The Coyotes have also made a new logo featuring a leaping coyote, which will be featured.  The Bruins are rumored to incorporate the new Bear logo they reveals as their 2nd logo last year, which is on the shoulders of their current jerseys.

But is it worth buying them?  Depends on the team.  Some I think will definitely be must buys for some fans, others may be fairly bland and you may want to wait for a price drop until you consider investing in one (and we all know hockey jerseys’ prices are usually high, so it IS an investment).  Until the releases, we have to pretty much wait and see…

Click more to continue reading…

Winners: They know what they’re doing

Buffalo Sabres –

Buffalo’s moves leave me with a feeling of indifference this offseason.  In all honesty, Teppo Numminen’s heart still scares me, but I hope he keeps playing.  Still, the Sabres made some good moves by bringing in Craig Rivet through trade with San Jose, and they signed Gaustad.  Oh, and they signed Ryan Miller to a long term contract.  Ryan Miller is easily a top 5 goalie in my opinion.  I originally had Buffalo as a “Unknown” team but after thinking it through, they’ve earned the winner status by locking up their star goaltender for years and continuing to slowly improve.

Boston Bruins –

Boston didn’t do much, but the little they did was impressive.  They re-signed Mark Stuart, which will keep Bruins fans happy I’m sure.  They also signed free agent Michael Ryder, who had decent numbers when playing in Montreal.  They also signed Martin St. Pierre, who’s put up an average above one point per game in the last 2 season in the AHL.  Dennis Wideman should stiffen up the blue line, along with Johnny Boychuk, who was acquired from Colorado through trade.  Expect better things from Boston this year.

New York Rangers –

The Rangers definitely made some good off-season moves considering Jagr was pretty much expected to go (and he did).  With the cap space that would have been spent on Jagr, they invested on stiffening up their D-line by signing Wade Redden.  They also acquired two excellent forwards, Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche, from Columbus for Tyutin and Backman.  I think the Rangers won out in this trade.  They’ve also signed Markus Naslund, who still has a lot left in him, while also re-signing Nigel Dawes, backup goalie Steve Valiquette, Paul Mara, and Nigel Dawes.  I think a combo of Mara and Redden may be a good defensive pairing that few will reckon with.  The Rangers have greatly improved their team, and I’d expect them to have a much bigger impact this year in an Atlantic division that shows no mercy.

Pittsburgh Penguins –

Ugh.  As a Flyers fan do I really have to be un-biased.  Damn.  Sorry Brian.  I hate the Pens, a whole lot, but I have to admit, they did make good moves.  Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko sign, and Pascal Dupuis comes back after a short time in Atlanta.  Remember the Pens did lose Ryan Malone, whom had a big impact last year.  Brooks Orpik and Mark Eaton also return, and Matt Cooke joins the Pens from the Caps.  Every inch of my being hates to admit this, and this is truly painful to write, but the Pens did great moves and earn the right to be considered a winner.  They’re easily considered one of the teams to take the Eastern Conference again this year, so as always, keep an eye on them.

Tampa Bay Lightning –

Tampa, first off, in recent news, just took in Andrej Meszaros, who was a RFA for Ottawa, and signed him for 6 years.  That’s a beautiful move, hands down, in the trade where they gave up Kuba and Picard.  Oh yeah, did I mention a guy that we know from the draft known as Steve Stamkos was drafted first overall this year, and I’ll add him into this description because he should (hopefully) be starting for the Lightning.  The Lightning’s new owners have done a great job with the team, adding on Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts.  Other notable additions are Vaclav Prospal, who is back after a rental in Philadelphia, as well as signing Radim Vrbata, Adam Hall, Chris Gratton, and Mark Recchi.  They’ve also acquired Matt Carle from San Jose, and have also signed goalie Olaf Kolzig.  Keep an eye on the Lightning this year.  Their new owners have something up their sleeve, and have perked my interests.

Montreal Canadian –

Alex.  F***in.  Tanguary.  Montreal could easily make it into the winners just off that signing alone.  On top of that, they bring in Laraque to toughen up the team, goalie Marc Denis to back up Carey Price, and have re-signed Maxim Lapierre, who shined in the few games he had after coming up from the AHL (14 points in 19 games….impressive!).  Montreal is incredibly improved and should have no problem picking up where they left off last season.

Washington Capitals –

The Caps made a vital move in locking up Mike Green, a phenomenal defensemen, and a likely future all-star, for 4 more years.  On top of that, one of Russia’s most famous players, Sergei Federov, re-signed and will continue his career at least one more year in Washington.  Plus, Jose Theodore has been signed and will fill in the gap that Cristobal Huet left when he went off to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks.  Brooks Laich, Shaone Morrisonn, and Boyd Gordon re-join the squad also.  As with Montreal, expect the Caps to be a greatly improved team to come out at the start of the season with a lot of steam.

Losers: Teams that might leave their fans going “WTF?”

Atlanta Thrashers –

Hedburg and “Let Them In” Kari Lehtonen are still around.  Eric Boulton’s sticking around.  Other than that, Marty Reasoner, I guess.  That being said, as a horrible team, the Thrashers needed to pull the Flyers and Tampa Bay strategy of signing big names to give the fans hope.  That being said, they did nothing to write home about, and they will likely remain a bottom-feeder of the league this year.

New Jersey Devils –

Their biggest move is Brian Rolston, who I admit will fit in, but not the biggest impact player.  Pandolfo’s been re-signed, and they brough Scott Clemmensen back, whom apparently missed his job of sitting the bench 75 out of the 82 nights a year that he had with NJ back in 2006/2007.  They’ve also signed Bryce Salvador and Bobby Holik, an overrated defenseman and a washed up forward.  Except for Rolston, the Devils did nothing to get their fans excited.  I still have the belief that Lou is the best GM (not coach, though) in the league, and as always, I think he has something up his sleeve.  That, and the Devils always remain to be a strong team, so just because they get a bad grade in off-season moves doesn’t mean you should count them out.  But to be fair, the Devils have never been a team to make big moves in the off-season.

Toronto Maple Leafs –

Ryan Hollweg joins from trade, and you sign Jeff Finger.  Yawn.  Other than that, it’s worth noting the Leafs signed goaltender Curtis Joseph, which assuming he still isn’t in the “washed-up” category, should improve goaltending for Toronto.  Regardless, they’re about to lose Sundin, most likely, and possibly McCabe, so maybe they’ll make some moves once that cap space clears up.  Until then, FAIL.

New York Islanders –

The Islanders continue to be, as my friend Dave put it, the Island of Misfit Toys.  Random signings.  Veteran Doug Weight, whom is starting to fade off over the horizon, has signed.  On top of that, Mark Streit joins the team for a ridiculous amount of money for what he’s worth ($4.1 million per).  Jeff Tambellini also signs.  Other than that, nothing big.  In a really competitive Atlantic division, the Islanders didn’t do nearly enough to catch up with the rest of the division, so they’ll be thrown into the loser category and will likely finish last in the division, as expected.

Unknowns: We’ll see…

Ottawa Senators –

After losing Ray Emery, the Senators made a move for a goalie by signing Alex Auld, which though not the best goalie, should fit in nicely.  They’ve also re-signed Antoine Vermette and Chris Kelly, and also managed to sign Jason Smith (which as a Flyers fan, I can tell you will do wonders in terms of adding some grit to a team).   They did lose Meszaros, though.  A mix of good moves and bad moves, Ottawa was originally in my winner list until the Meszaros trade.

Carolina Hurricanes –

Wade Brookbank re-signing and Joni Pitkanen joining the team through trade is the only big news to Hurricanes this season.  Pitkanen has been problematic in the past and who knows what will happen with him in Carolina.  Regardless, nothing too big happened that has me excited.  Carolina is still a great team, just they’ve earned the unknown spot in terms of off-season moves.

Florida Panthers –

I’m still anxious to see how Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton fit into the Panthers, after the Olli Jokinen trade on draft day.  They’ve re-sign Rostislav Olesz  and the incredibly hyped Jay Bouwmeester, which are vital.  The only thing is for a horrible Florida team, they’ve made moves, and good moves, but not enough moves in my opinion.  That’s the only reason they’ve made it into the unknowns, otherwise consider them in the win.  This team needs a turn around, and quickly, or they’ll keep proving (along with Tampa Bay) why people think there shouldn’t be any NHL teams in Florida.

Philadelphia Flyers –

And last but not least, my favorite team.  I’m gonna get torn a new one for not putting them in the winners category, but there’s still a few question marks with the Flyers in terms of the new guys (the rest of the team is fine, I have no doubt about that).  Jeff Carter re-signed, which was absolutely vital to locking up the young guns in Philly.  Randy Jones and Riley Cote re-sign, and Arron Asham signs, making the chance of having a Cote-Downie-Asham line a scary possibility.  Lupul is re-signed as well, but his health has me concerned after being knocked out for about 20 games last season in a hit from teammate Derian Hatcher.  Also, Ossi Vaananen and Steve Eminger join the squad, as well as various signings on defense.  I have zero clue what the Flyers are doing with their defense with all the signings, but Eminger and Vaananen should be on the starting team, I just don’t know how well they’ll fit in or if they’ll step up, which is why the Flyers are in the unknowns.  Was Eminger a fluke in the playoffs for Washington or is he the real deal?  The Flyers are on the bubble for the winner category, but as a fan, I want to see how well it works before I get my hopes up.

Winners: The teams that greatly improved

Calgary Flames -

The Flames were one of the teams that I was on the bubble about whether to include them on the Winners list or the Unknowns list.  Langkow has been re-signed, as well as Craig Conroy.  They recently acquired Andre Roy, as well as the power forward we all know as Todd Bertuzzi.  They’ve also re-signed Jim Vandermeer, a player who was supposed to be washed-up, that once paired with Dion Phaneuf, really shined.  They were in my unknowns category until I noticed they picked up Michael Cammalleri from L.A.  Calgary’s greatly improved this off season.

Colorado Avalanche –

Colorado won’t be known for it’s trading capability this off-season.  Instead, remember them as the team that made sure that the vital parts of their team from last year remain on their team in this upcoming season.  The obvious signing was Joe Sakic, who signed on Wednesday.  Other notable signs are Liles, Wolski and Svatos.  Colorado also re-acquired Adam Foote, yet again, and will also add on Darcy Tucker to harden up the team.  Expect newly acquired Andrew Raycroft to step in where Theodore left off, and considering he had nearly nothing to work with in Boston and Toronto, I’m expecting him to finally start putting up the numbers he’s capable of in Denver.

Columbus Blue Jackets –

Columbus gets a lot of respect from me in terms of their off-season moves.  They’ve brought in some big names to help out their team, including Mike Commodore, Kristian Huselius, and R.J. Umberger.  They’ve also brought in Michael Peca, and veteran Mike York, which York could be a good or bad thing, but should help considering he is a veteran.  Re-signing Pascal Leclaire was critical, and Columbus now still has their goalie.  Expect Columbus to finally start having an impact this year.

Detroit Red Wings –

Oh, Detroit.  2007/2008 champions, how can you get any better?  Oh that’s right, SIGN MARIAN HOSSA.  Detroit’s officially the team where if players finally want to get to hoist the cup, they just flock to the team.  Chelios is still unsigned at this point, but then again I don’t think hurricanes, tornadoes, and volcanoes could get him to retire.  Brad Stuart and Andreas Lilja also return.  Simply put, Detroit’s going to continue this year as another team in the running for the Cup.  Don’t be surprised if they repeat this season.

Minnesota Wild –

Minnesota goes down as one of my favorite teams in the West, and regardless of my feelings for the team, they barely squeezed into the winner category.  Well, they’ve signed Andrew Brunette and Owen Nolan, two veterans that will help stabilize the team.  They’ve also acquired Marc-Andre Bergeron and Marek Zidlicky through trades.  These trades are the biggest things for the Wild in a long time.  To be fair, my friend pointed out that the Wild lost both Demitra and Rolston to free agency, which is true, but I don’t think either had any intention on staying, and so what it’s worth, I think Minnesota made some very credible moves.

Chicago Blackhawks –

Chicago did a great job signing Cristobal Huet, and of course, Brian Campbell.  That alone is enough to push them into the winners category.  Regardless, with Kane and Toews entering sophomore years, Chicago should be an improved team to reckon with.

Losers: The teams that either got worse, or didn’t do $#!^

Dallas Stars –

You’re biggest signing this year was a GAP model who interned for Vogue Magazine (Sean Avery).  For a tough guy, he sounds like a real pansy.  Regardless, for Dallas, if that was your best signing, you did little to nothing to improve your teams playing ability.  Stu Barnes also retires and becomes an assistant coach?  Player to management?  Look everyone, the Stars are doing a pretty good impression of the Islanders.

Los Angeles Kings –

As a crappy team, they really didn’t do anything, except lose players like Lubomir Visnovsky and Brad Richardson.  Anyone hear the sound of a toilet flushing?

Nashville Predators –

Sign Ryan Suter and Shea Weber to absurd contracts.  As far as I’m concerned, they’re still unproven, but I’d love them to prove me wrong.  Just remember Nashville wouldn’t be in this situation if they never traded for Forsberg, which in the end, gave the Flyers 4 spectacular players…

Unknowns: Who knows??

St. Louis Blues –

Ok, I never really followed the team.  A lot of decent signings, including Yan Stastny and Steve Regier, who are both good.  Still, a lot still has to go down, like the Blues need to come together, gain chemistry, and dig out of the grave they’re in.  If the rumors of Shanny coming to the Blues turn out to be true, I’d move the Blues up to the “winner” category.

Anaheim Ducks –

They did lose Marc-Andre Bergeron to the Wild.  Still, Corey Perry’s sticking around, and they did acquire Brendan Morrison and Steve Montador.  Still, the winners of the Cup two years ago still have a lot of work ahead of them.

Edmonton Oilers –

The Oilers did a great job signing some small name players, and don’t take that the wrong way.  They also improved by acquiring Erik Cole from the Hurricanes by getting rid of the problematic Joni Pitkanen.  They’ve also gained Visnovsky from the Kings.  A slightly improved team, not worthy of earning the winner status, but definitely a team you should keep an eye on.

Phoenix Coyotes –

Olli Jokinen.  That’s all I need to say.  Still, Phoenix is an unproven team and in my opinion, you can put a ton of good players on Phoenix and until I see consistent winning I’m always going to be questioning them.  They did add in Todd Fedoruk, who should help in the locker room, as well as Brian McGratten and Kurt Sauer.  I kind of feel bad for Olli Jokinen.  This is starting to look like it’s going to be the Panthers, version 2.0 for Olli Jokinen.

San Jose Sharks –

One of the better teams in the unknowns, as they kept Goc and Roenick.  JR goes down as one of my top 10 favorite players.  They also got Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich, who will be eating up cap room, and they lost Matt Carle, one of the best up and coming defensemen in my opinion.  San Jose is STILL a strong team, but how they’ll actually execute everything is still up in the air.

Vancouver Canucks –

Kyle Wellwood, Steve Bernier, Pavel Demitra, and JASON KROG!?!?  And Nolan Baumgartner???  Vancouver wins the Black and White award, awarded to the team that signs some amazing players and some players that are total crap.  That being said, 1 + (-1) = 0, which plops them right into the unknown.

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Well, that would be it.  Expect my analysis of the East to come roaming in sometime before Friday.  Enjoy.

Imagine Brett Favre meets Bizarro-world.

At the end of the NHL season, Colorado’s management told Joe Sakic to take his time choosing if returning to the Avalanche (or to the NHL/hockey at all) was an option.  This included if his time off to make a decision even went into training camp.  Everything was pretty much set up the total opposite of the Brett Favre situation; Management wants him to stick around, and is willing to give him anything he needs.  After all, he’s been the face of the team for so long now, they owe him that much, right?  Sakic finally made his decision on Wednesday by signing with the Avalanche for one more year, making this his 20th season, a deal that will cost the Avalanche $6 million.  Sakic, as you can guess, is worth every penny.  Sakic brings both a presence on the ice and in the locker room.  In 19 seasons, Sakic averages nearly 72 games per season, and has 623 goals and 1003 assists (1363 Games Played).  You can’t argue with a player that puts up a point per game.

Even at his age, playing in a league where young guns dominate, he still managed 40 points last season.  Why is this important?  In terms of veterans, there were 4 big names that come to mind.  Sakic is number one.  Number two, Jaromir Jagr, has signed in Russia, and let’s face it, the Rangers could never afford him, and he was offered good money to play in Russia.

The other two?  Shanahan and Sundin.  Shanahan has yet to sign with anyone, though he is supposedly willing to take offers from the Rangers, and the most buzz appears to be centered around his return to the St. Louis Blues.

As for Sundin?  I don’t think the world’s top scientists could figure out what he’s thinking right now.  Sundin’s situation is leaving a bad taste in hockey fans’ (specifically Maple Leafs fans) mouths.  Does he want to play or not?  NHL or No?  PICK SOMETHING ALREADY.  Players like this need to remember that they’re being paid to PLAY A SPORT, an occupation that many would kill for.

Back on topic, and to sum up, Sakic’s signing was a great move for the Aves and also for Sakic.  He remains with the same organization for 20 years now, where he has been the backbone of the team.