The Minnesota Wild have found their man. It is announced today that the Wild have named Todd Richards as the new head coach. The Wild are taking a huge risk with Richards, who has just 1 year NHL experience behind the bench as an assistant coach for the San Jose Sharks last season. Richards will replace Jacques Lemaire, who resigned in April, possibly ending the defense first style of play the Wild are known for. This change in coaching follows the recent firing of Dave Tippett and hiring of Marc Crawford by the Dallas Stars.
No, there wont be any dancing involved and barring some strange twilight zone scenario you probably wont see any telescopes either. There will be Stars though.
For hardcore Dallas Stars fans this year has been pretty hard to watch, in fact possibly one of the hardest in recent years. From the get-go this has been a year when the Stars simply were not meant to go super-nova. It all started right back at the start of the season when Brett Hull announced with a big smile on his face that the team signed Sean Avery to a contract worth twice his value for years double what you’d think right through and continued til recently when Brad Richards broke his wrist, only to break the OTHER one on his first game back! Losing Captain Brendan Morrow sure didn’t help with the teams grand plans either, nor did Zubov being out for all but 10 games and a multitude of other injuries to players like Lehtinen, Parrish & Brunnstrom. In fact at recent count over 300 man hours of games have been lost to injuries this season.
This season’s Dallas Stars remind me of the old nursery rhyme… “Twinkle Twinkle little star, how i wonder what you are”.
Who are you? Or, to be more accurate, what are you expected to be?
Brad Richards injury had the team turning to Mike Modano to fill his role. All of a sudden the 38 year old who has spent much of the past 2 seasons on the 3rd line as a checking center was expected to play 22+ minutes on the 2nd line and do so like he was in his prime. Forgive me, but while Mike is a legend and still one of the best in the game, he’s not the guy he was when the Stars won the cup in ‘99.
The blue line suffered all year long with rookie mistakes, lackluster performances and a vast constellation of turnovers, pun intended. It’s no wonder either considering you have Stephane Robidas and Nicklas Grossman expected to play #1 Defenseman minutes with the same skill, tenacity and patience that Zubov delivered.
All that aside, mediocre defensive performances and less “punchy” top lines can still win games. Afterall, the last line of defense is none other than “the wall”, Marty Turco. Surely after his standout performances in last years playoffs he could help carry this depleted & fatigued to a playoff spot. Right? Normally, yes but it would appear at some time between game 1 and game 71 of this season Marty Turco forgot how to stop pucks on a consistent basis. With no quality back-up goalie to challenge Marty for the net, it appears even Marty forgot who he is.
What a year! Many Stars fans will be happier when this season ends than they were when Sean Avery got the boot out of big D.
What now? Clearly this team needs a change. The Two-Headed Snake of Brett Hull and Les Jackson did not impress fans when they failed to deliver a #1 defenseman at the trade deadline, instead opting to get Brenden Morrison to replace Brad Richards. An ok move, but not one that really helped this struggling team.
The off season is now the focus for many Stars fans. What will this team get? What do they need? Who will stay or go? Here are some interesting points to ponder…
Sergei Zubov and Jere Lehtinen’s contracts are both up this year. Both are top players if they’re not injured. Is the risk too much to re-sign them? I believe both are worth keeping hold of if the price is right. Neither of these guys are able to ask for big contracts due to their ongoing injuries, but the cost of not re-signing them could be too high.
Mike Modano has another year on his contract but many fans believe he’s done and should retire. I disagree. Age slows him down, but doesn’t deaden his passion. The team should not rely on Mike to be the player he was 10 years ago.
Even if Zubov returns, he’s no longer able to be relied on as the #1 defenseman. Should the Stars make a post season trade to get a Bouwmeester, Kaberle or Redden?
With Brian Sutherby getting a contract extension, does that mean Joel Lundqvist is one the way out? Maybe we could send him to the Rangers in a deal to bring Redden here. Brothers unite!
Marty Turco no longer has a NTC i believe after his dismall play this year, so could the team look to ship him out?
If i were to make just one change to the current Dallas Stars system, it would be this. I would remove Brett Hull from the GM position and put him somewhere else. While the co-GM situation was great for a while, the Sean Avery incident proved that Brett Hull is not, and possibly never will be a good General Manager of an NHL team.
I leave you with this thought. If the Dallas Stars had never signed Sean Avery, how do you believe the team would look right now?
Mike Green of the Washington Capitals says no to the NHL Hall of Fame, who asked for his record setting stick. Green scored goals in 8 consecutive games, an NHL record.
Tampa Bay rookie Steven Stamkos scored his first NHL career hat trick today, but it wasn’t enough as the Lightning went down to the Chicago Blackhawks.
1 year on from the accident that almost ended his NHL career, Richard Zednik put up 2 goals in the Panthers 5-4 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
As predicted, the Dallas Stars waived Sean Avery to the AHL yesterday. The New York Rangers have agreed to take him on in their farm team, the Hartford Wolf Pack. Many believe the Rangers may agree to take Avery off re-entry waivers if he performs well in Hartford.
Andy McDonald returned to the Ice today after a 36 game break due to a fractured leg, and did so with a 2 point outing, putting up a goal and an assist in the Blues 6-4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
Boston Bruins lose Petteri Nokelainen and Chuck Kobawew to injuries after todays 5-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks. Nokelainen was high-sticked by Shark’s Dan Boyle and immediate left the ice. Boyle did not receive a penalty on the play. Kobasew left he ice early with an apparent leg injury.
St Louis Blues LW Paul Kariya underwent a second surgery on his hip today. It is unsure if he will return this season.
Toronto Maple Leafs put Mike Van Ryn on IR today. Van Ryn had an MRI Monday, but no major damage was found. The team is purported to be playing it safe.
Video of the day:
Photo of the day: St. Louis Blues‘ Chris Mason, right, shoves Vancouver
Canucks‘ Steve Bernier away from the crease in the
third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Feb. 10,
2009, in St. Louis. The Canucks beat the Blues 6-4.
One of the biggest surprises this season has been the shocking start by the Dallas Stars.
Always a solid defensive team which dominated on both the power play and penalty kill, the Stars this season have been anything but good.
Sitting at the bottom of the West for much of the season, many are wondering if they have what it takes to bounce back and make the top eight.
Sadly, the Stars are without solid power-forward and captain Brenden Morrow and the ageless puck-moving master of the blue line, Sergei Zubov. As such, their power play has lacked power and their penalty kill has been riddled with more holes than a war-torn building.
But there is hope. Now that the Avery situation is a thing of the past, the team looks to be bouncing back. They’re 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, and have moved up three spots on the ladder to be just three points out of the top eight. Parity truly is their friend this season.
Most people would agree that the Stars have the line-up, and the potential to get a big streak going and dominate the latter part of the season. Marty Turco must have gone hunting lately as he appears to have found his game.
Brad Richards is leading the team with his quality playmaking and the youngsters Loui Eriksson and James Neal have stepped up to impress even the most negative of Stars fans.
Let’s not forget Mike Modano, either. At 38 he’s playing like he’s in his 20s. Each shift he takes he does so with passion and a die-hard attitude that screams “never say die”. Best of all, he smiles.
You can see that he’s enjoying the game again, and it’s showing in his game. He’s stepped up take on an offensive role after being in a checking role for the last season or so.
On the blue line, Robidas and Daley are leading by example, and the young guys, Grossman and Niskanen are improving their games.
And what of Fabian Brunnstrom, you may ask? He’s getting his game on also. Inconsistent maybe, but when you watch him play and you watch him score you see he’s a pure goal scorer. He has the type of natural talent you see in players like Kovalchuk, Hossa and Ovechkin.
He’s working on his defensive game, and is working his way into a more prominant role on this team. Give him time, i have no doubt he’ll be a force on this team in the coming year or so.
So the question is… can they do it? Can they come out of this hole they find themselves in and ride a solid challenge for the Cup?
Of course they can. I firmly believe teams like Detroit and San Jose are probably watching the Stars carefully, because they know all too well what this team can do if it gets it’s game on.
Avery NOT in Substance Abuse ProgramClassic Contrary to a published report, Sean Avery has not been put into Stage 1 of the joint NHL-NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Modification Program. But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen at some point in the near future, perhaps in a matter of days or weeks. (The Full Story on TSN)
Bettman: Avery’s words “disgusting & Offensive”
The Dallas Stars have made the best of a bad situation by cutting loose disgraced winger Sean Avery, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday. “They’re supportive of him getting the counselling he’s getting, they’re continuing to pay his contract, and I think it became obvious that that was an uncomfortable situation for everybody, so they’ve all decided to move on,” he said. “I think that was a very professional way to handle it.” (The Full Story on TSN)
Hordichuk meant no offense towards Linden
Rugged Vancouver forward Darcy Hordichuk says he meant no disrespect toward Trevor Linden when he made a reference to the former Canuck captain in a recent interview. (The Full Story on TSN)
Forsberg hopes for post-season return
Peter Forsberg says he wants to try the NHL one more time. According to the Denver Post, Forsberg hopes to participate in the 2009 NHL playoffs, and he would like to do so in a Colorado jersey. (The Full Story on TSN)
Suspensions:
None
Trades & Transactions:
Fredrik Norrena (G – Columbus) Demoted to AHL (Syracuse, NY)
Injuries:
Nathan Horton (C – Panthers) Ankle. Should return Tuesday.
Ryan Whitney (D – Pittsburgh) Should return next week.
Bob McCown reported yesterday Mats Sundin has decided to join the New York Rangers. McCown’s source – said to be close to the situation – believes the decision will be made public later this week.
The Minnesota Wild have found their man. It is announced today that the Wild have named Todd Richards as the new head coach. The Wild are taking a huge risk with Richards, who has just 1 year NHL experience behind the bench as an assistant coach for the San Jose Sharks last season. Richards will replace Jacques Lemaire, who resigned in April, possibly ending the defense first style of play the Wild are known for. This change in coaching follows the recent firing of Dave Tippett and hiring of Marc Crawford by the Dallas Stars.
