Habs backup goalie Jaroslav Halak has gotten more ice time than franchise goalie Carey Price, which might mean the latter player will soon be traded.  More and more, it appears management is pushing to see if Halak has what it takes to be a top NHL goalie, and he’s definitely shown flashes.  Price was supposed to be Montreal’s goalie of today and the future, things just aren’t working out that way.  The 2005 fifth overall draft pick took the NHL by storm in his rookie year, with a .920 save percentage in 41 games played and an average of a Quality Start per game.  Unfortunately, goaltending performances fluctuate from season to season more often than at any other position, and too many expectations were placed on the British Columbia native too soon.  The past year has been nothing short of a disaster for Price, but maybe he will get a second chance to prove he’s a starting goalie elsewhere.

The St.Louis Blues’ Alex Pietrangelo and Darryl Sydor appeared to be competing against each other for a spot on the team, both of them appear to be locks to make the squad — at least for the early part of the season.  Sydor is a much-needed veteran on the blue line, with Eric Brewer unavailable and Jay McKee gone.   Pietrangelo, the Blues’ top prospect, will at least get a nine-game tryout early on in the season because that will still allow him to be returned to his junior team without starting his NHL clock.

Washington Capitals’ stars Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Mike Green all got their first action of the season yesterday, and they all looked rusty.  Their timing was off and they all looked sluggish, I guess that’s why you have preseason games.  The Caps are hoping this year to overcome the hump that has been preventing them from getting to the Stanley Cup Finals.  Last year they blew a chance to advance in the playoffs when they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup winner, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Marian Gaborik made his debut for the New York Rangers against the Detroit Red Wings yesterday, and coach John Tortorella finally got to insert his new winger into the lineup.  Gaborik, who sat out the first four preseason games with a sore groin, played alongside newly acquired Vaclav Prospal and Christopher Higgins.  But Higgins played well with Chris Drury and Ales Kotalik in previous games, so it could be a sign that Tortorella is still experimenting with different combinations.

The Sharks were lead by a balanced scoring attack that saw 6 players score 20+ goals led by their captain Patrick Marleau with 38 goals and sophomore sensation Devin Setoguchi with 31 goals.  Last year also saw a resurgence of both defenseman Dan Boyle tallying 57 points and Rob Blake puting up 45 points especially on the 3rd ranked power play where they combined for 54 points.

Up front this team is fast, deep, and excels in scoring the difficult goals, exemplified by their top scorer Joe Thornton with 86 points.  Big Joe has been dynamic since his trade to the Sharks and will once again be asked to be the team leader on the ice and especially on the power play where he had a team high 11 goals and 35 points.  The team will also expect bigger things from their improving young guns, Setoguchi and Joe Pavleski, who are both restricted free agents at the end of the season and both coming off career seasons last year.

This year, the Sharks’ blueline will be helped dramatically by the continued development of  Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who, at just 22, is entering his fourth NHL season.  The Montreal native took another step forward last season, putting up single-season bests with six goals, 30 assists and a plus-15 rating.

Once again this team will be evaluated on the playoff success.  We all know they are talented and should win the Pacific Division for the third straight year.  If they come out slow, or are not playing to expectations right before the trade deadline, don’t be surprised if Doug Wilson pulls the trigger on trading Patrick Marleau or Evgeni Nabokov as the GM has said change is needed for this team that constantly does not live up to their potential.

While he didn’t notch 50 goals, as he did in 2007-2008, Jarome Iginla scored 35 goals and 89 points and he’s averaged nearly 94 points per season over the last three years, second-best among NHL wingers (behind Alex Ovechkin) in that time.  However, Iginla’s consistency at both ends of the rink can be better.  Not many players in the league surpassed expectations like Rene Bourque, who notched a career-best 40 points and plus-18 rating despite missing 24 games with an ankle injury.  Bourque is a solid two-way winger and penalty killer, who showed more offensive flair than anticipated.  Like Bourque, Curtis Glencross was an off-season acquisition that paid off handsomely.  Glencross is a high-energy winger who gets in quickly on the forecheck to create scoring opportunities, offering a little offensive upside for a checking winger.  Ageless Craig Conroy had a tremendous season, registering 48 points and a plus-20 rating while providing his usually reliable two-way game.  He’ll be 38 next season, and is entering the final year of his current contract, but Conroy’s a safe bet as the third line center.

As I mentioned earlier Bouwmeester and Phaneuf will provide a strong 1st pair on the blueline as well as the powerplay.  Phaneuf can be an intimidating presence, but needs to learn how to pick his spots so that he doesn’t get caught out of position and can handle one of the league’s heaviest workloads.  Cory Sarich is rock solid and durable on the blueline and his 20 points and plus-12 rating from last season represented career-bests.

While netminder Miikka Kiprusoff has been incredibly durable, averaging 75 games per season over the last four years in Calgary, his goals against average and save percentage have declined every year; perhaps an indication that he’s not at his best when carrying such a heavy load.  For better or worse, the Flames are committed long-term to Kiprusoff, so they had better find a way to reverse the trend.

Former player-turned-agent Mike Gillis showed a lot of immediate moxie after taking over as GM.  One of his best moves was keeping the faith with Vigneault during trying times, and he was able to lock up the Sedin twins and sign Mikael Samuelsson.  They still have Roberto Luongo, of course, and the Canucks and Calgary Flames will benefit from what is becoming a bottom-heavy division, reminiscent of the Central of a few years ago.

The offense is well taken care of now that the Sedin twins Daniel and Henrik have re-signed with the team with a pair of five-year contacts worth $6.1 million a season with no-movement clauses included.  Playing side by side for the Canucks, the duo has amassed 288 goals, 634 assists, and 922 points in 1,288 games combined.  The 2008-2009 season was arguably their best year yet, with Daniel leading the Canucks in goal scoring with 31 - the second highest output of his career - while Henrik had a career-high 22 goals. Both finished with 82 points on the season.  A late season move onto the wing with the Sedins elevated Alex Burrows from checking winger to prime sniper for a couple of months and, as a result, he ended up as the only NHLer with more than 20 goals, 50 points, a plus-20 rating and 150 penalty minutes. 

Ryan Kesler continued his steady improvement and, not unlike Burrows, discovered an unexpected scoring touch in the second half of the season (scoring 34 points in 34 games after the All-Star break), while often playing with Mats Sundin and Pavol Demitra.  Kesler is one of the better checking centres in the game, but now that he’s added an offensive dimension, he can be an impact player at both ends of the rink.  Samuelsson, 32, recorded 40 points in 81 games last season and 10 points in 23 playoff games with Detroit through to the 2009 Stanley Cup Final.  he’ll make a fine adition to the canucks and will probably end up plaing on the 2nd line.  The Canucks also will likely count on Cody Hodgson, last year’s 10th overall pick, to not only make the jump to the NHL, but to play a prominent role.  No one can argue that Vancouver doesn’t have the depth to go far.

The Vancouver Canucks signed right-winger Sergei Shirokov to an NHL contract to help out the Canucks with another scorer.  Shirokov, 23, had 17 goals and 41 points in 56 games with CSKA Moscow of the KHL in 2008-09.  He has also played in two world junior championships with Russia in 2005 and 2006. In 12 tournament games he had seven goals and six assists.  Shirokov, a five-foot-10, 176-pound native of Moscow, was selected 163rd overall by the Canucks in the 2006 NHL draft.

When it comes to the defense, Alexander Edler has developed beautifully in his first three pro seasons, now quarterbacking the power play in addition to providing crisp first passes and sound defensive play. He can use his size even more as he matures, but Edler is already a terrific building block for this unit.  Oft-injured Sami Salo has played more than 70 games only twice in his ten NHL seasons, which helps to keep his contributions under the radar, but he’s a solid top-four defenseman with one of the league’s hardest shots from the point.  32-year-old shutdown defenseman Willie Mitchell is coming off the best season of his career, tallying a career-high 23 points along with a career-best plus-29 rating.  Mitchell handles the toughest defensive assignments and while his lack of speed can be exposed on occasion, his strength and competitiveness make him a handful for the league’s top forwards.  Kevin Bieksa enjoyed a bounceback season, notching a career-high 43 points and leading Canucks defenceman with more than 23 minutes of ice time per game while regularly playing with a proverbial burr under his saddle.  For Bieksa to take the next step in his development, he needs to do a better job picking his spots because his defensive play can suffer as a result of his over-aggressive nature and, as a result, he tied for worst among Canucks blueliners at minus-4.

Th Canucks selected 5′8″ 175 lb center Jordan Schroeder out of Minnesota of the WCHA with the 22nd overall pick in the 2009 NHL draft.  He’s a dynamic player, a leader and a type of player that has developed into a complete offensive and defensive threat every time he is on the ice.  He has a rocket of a wrist shot and he can beat you by putting the puck in the net, going around a defender, or freezing the goaltender and passing it off to one of his wingers.  The concern is going to be his overall size, like there was with current NHL stars such as Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta and with Patrick Kane, but at the same age he is probably a little thicker and a little bit more compact than they were.  He’s a great hockey player who should have a successful NHL career.

Last but certainly not least Vancouver’s goaltending situation.  Though his season came to an inglorious halt in the second round of the playoffs, surrendering seven goals in the deciding game against Chicago, Roberto Luongo had another strong season between the pipes for the Canucks, ranking second in the league in shutouts with 9 while finishing fifth in both goals against average and save percentage.  Luongo, 30 is entering the final year of a four-year, $27 million contract and is coming off a 2008-09 campaign where he posted a 33-13-7 record.  However as of this post GM Gillis and Luongo are philosophically very close to a contract extension.  Luongo, 30 is entering the final year of a four-year, $27 million contract.  He is coming off a 2008-09 campaign where he posted a 33-13-7 record.  After two impressive seasons in the American Hockey League, Cory Schneider could be ready to make the jump to the NHL and be a competent and reliable backup.  This would also make financial sense for the Canucks as they are very close to their cap limit.

With what we saw last year from this talented team is that they have all the tools to make a run at the Stanley cup Trophy.  Having all the right tools helps and the Canucks definitely have them.   The season can’t get here fast enough for me to see how this team performs.  I’ve always said that the NHL would be more successful if a Canadian team goes deep into the playoffs and even wins it all but that is a story and discussion for another time.

Though he managed just five goals before the All-Star break, David Perron is a rising star with slick hands and a steadily improving all-around game.  When the Blues matched the offer sheet to power forward David Backes last summer, they surely hoped he would respond with a good season, though no one could have reasonably expected 31 goals. Backes plays with an edge, but it wouldn’t hurt for him to play with a tad more discipline.  T.J. Oshie made an immediate impact with the Blues, playing a frenetic hard-hitting style and showing signs of future stardom, though he’ll need to stay healthy if he’s going to reach his potential.  Veteran Kariya only played 11 games before he was sidelined with a hip injury, but he was on the verge of return when the Blues were bounced from the postseason. Kariya’s game has been in decline in recent seasons, but he had 15 points in 11 games last season so, if he’s healthy, he could be a productive scorer.  Shifty McDonald creates chances with his speed, but he’s also minus-30 in 98 games with the Blues, so he could stand to get better without the puck. Nevertheless, like Kariya, McDonald is a valuable veteran leader for the younger Blues forwards.

Somewhere between the promising young snipers and the veteran scorers, Brad Boyes slides in, having scored 76 goals over the last two seasons with the Blues.  While his minus-20 rating last season was discouraging, Boyes was a plus player after the All-Star break, as the Blues started moving in the right direction as a team.  Not only did Patrik Berglund show impressive offensive ability as a rookie, but his all-around game was much more refined than that of most rookies.  With more ice time and maturity, Berglund has the size and skill to be an impact player.

St. Louis suffered from an utter lack of offense from the blue line last year.  Their top six defensemen (Carlo Colaiacovo, Barret Jackman, Jeff Woywitka, Roman Polak, Jay McKee and Mike Weaver) combined to score 12 goals, and none of them had more than 89 shots on goal.  But the club’s blue-line firepower should be helped by the simple return of young stud D Erik Johnson, who missed the entire season due to a knee injury.  The first overall pick in the 2006 NHL draft, Johnson tore both the ACL and MCL in his right knee as a result of a freak accident sustained while getting out of a golf cart at a team outing.  After surgery and rehabilitation, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Johnson reportedly looked good in drills during the club’s early July, pro-orientation camp.

Mason took over the starting goaltending job and ignited the Blues’ strong finish to the season, setting career highs in wins (27) and shutouts (6).  It’s up to him to hold down the number one job for a full season, something the 33-year-old has yet to do in his NHL career.

David Rundblad, a rugged 6′2″ 195 lbs defenseman from Sweden was who St. Louis selected with the 17th pick in the NHL draft.  has a very good shot. He is a right-handed shot and he is used on the power play, even in the (Elite) League despite being a young player. He is a very smart player. He could be a little more physical in his game, but that is something that he is learning.  Let’s remember that he’s only 18 years old.

With young players like Johnson, Perron, Oshie, Berglund and Backes only figuring to get better, expectations are going to be higher for the Blues, next season and for several years beyond.  It seems like a Stanley Cup run could be in the Blues’ near future.  More importantly, they announced that this franchise is once again relevant.

But perhaps the biggest change that the Blackhawks made this offseason has been the signing of former Detroit Red Wing and Pittsburgh Penguins star forward Marian Hossa.  Hossa will surely be a boost to an offense that also saw its best offensive player Martin Havlat depart for the Minnesota Wild when free agency started this summer.  All in all the Blackhawks offense is definitely the teams major strength.

Now the defense.  While he’s been overlooked at times, Brent Seabrook’s standout performance in the postseason should ensure that is no longer the case. He’s durable, having missed just one game in the last three seasons, and handles big minutes against the opposition’s best. Seabrook could contribute more offensively, but there’s little to complain about following his career-best plus-23 season.  Smooth-skating Duncan Keith continues to improve, finishing last season with career highs in points (44) and plus-minus (plus-33). Though he doesn’t have ideal size, Keith is a difference-maker on the blueline and is entering his prime, so he should be a fixture for the Blackhawks.

The one area where the Blackhawks are below average is killing penalties.  They’re going to have to be able to shut down other teams’ powerplay units if they want to ensure themselves a place in the Stanley Cup finals.  For sure you have to be able to shut down the Red Wings which has proved to be a very difficult task.    Fourth-line centre Adam Burish doesn’t offer a lot of scoring, with 17 points in 156 career games, but he’s an in-your-face agitator; a useful player at a reasonable price who if used right can be a huge plus to the penalty killing unit.  Look for the Blackhawks to improve in this area during the season.

It was surprising enough when the Blackhawks shelled out big money for goaltender Cristobal Huet as a free agent last summer, especially since they already had Nikolai Khabibulin under contract and Chicago was firmly committed to opening the season with Huet as the number one goaltender.  However, a slow start from Huet provided Khabibulin an opportunity for redemption and he responded with his best season in a Blackhawk uniform and then parlayed that into a multi-year multi-million dollar deal with the Edmonton Oilers.  Huet still has to prove he’s worth his huge deal in the wake of Khabibulin’s departure.  If not then the Blackhawks have internal options available to take over for Huet, as Antti Niemi and Corey Crawford are both on the verge of being ready for NHL action.

Chicago will once again make it deep into the playoffs because their core is extremely strong.  Anything less than making it to the cup finals will surely be a major disappointment to the team, its management and all its fans because this team is primed and ready for greatness.

The departure of Marian Hossa, Jiri Hudler and Mikael Samuelsson means that the Wings will have to make up for the offensive output that those players provided.  Hossa’s departure paves the way for Johan Franzen to join Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk at the elite level.  Franzen’s scoring has gone up each of the last four years.  He could end up being Detroit’s key to fighting off the Chicago Blackhawks for the division title this year.  As for the rest of Detroit’s fire power it seems that after a good, not great, regular season, Zetterberg re-established his credentials as one of the top two-way players in the game with his outstanding work in the playoffs. Not only is Zetterberg a gifted offensive performer, but he is a sound performer in all three zones.

Few players in the league can match the exceptional puckhandling skills of Datsyuk, the slick Russian center who tied his career-high with 97 points last season and has recorded a rating of at least plus-25 for four straight seasons. Datsyuk may have struggled in the postseason, but still dazzled on occasion with his creative offensive moves.  Let’s not forget that he was playing hurt.

The Red Wings had only one real weakness in 2008-09: their penalty killing.  They ranked 25th in the NHL with a 78.29 percent kill rate.  I think Darren Helm and Jonathan Ericsson will help improve the club’s penalty-killing unit.  The PK unit also would benefit from a better regular season performance by starting goalie Chris Osgood.

As for the defensive unit Nicklas Lidstrom performs at a level of consistency that is above and beyond the rest of the league and the 39-year-old was tremendous again last season.  While it may not have necessarily been another Norris Trophy campaign, Lidstrom provides a security blanket for the entire franchise.  In his mid-30s, Brian Rafalski has continued to perform at a high level, putting up a career-high 59 points last season.  He may get outmuscled at times, but his mobility and puckhandling skills are an ideal fit for the Wings’ puck control style of play.  In my opinion, Ericsson stands among the best young defensemen in the game.  He’s a strong skater who is smooth with the puck and isn’t intimidated by the physical game.  Watching him, you can’t help but think he has learned a lot from Detroit captain and fellow countryman Lidstrom.  Clearly, Ericsson is a keeper who figures to be patrolling the Wings’ blue line for years to come.

When it come to goaltending the Red Wings are going to stick with who they’ve got.  On the heels of what was the worst regular season of his career, Osgood’s strong playoff performance should provide some measure of confidence in his ability going into next season.  Even at his best, Osgood doesn’t need to steal games for the Wings, just provide stable and consistent netminding.

The Florida Panthers locked up one of their young cornerstones by signing forward David Booth to a six-year contract worth $25.5 million.  Booth led the Panthers with a career-best 31 goals along with a personal-high of 60 points in 72 games.  In three seasons, all with Florida, the 24-year-old has recorded 56 goals and 110 points in 193 games.  The Panthers also have re-signed winger Radek Dvorak to a two-year deal averaging $1.7 million a season.  Dvorak played 81 games with the Panthers last season, scoring 15 goals and 36 points.  Stephen Weiss’s gradual development since he was drafted fourth overall in 2001 has led to his being underrated in recent seasons, but that shouldn’t be the case any longer after he put up a career-high 61 points and plus-19 rating last season. Weiss needs to keep improving offensively if he’s wants to become a true top NHL centerman.

Goaltending was an obvious strength for the Panthers last season, allowing the most shots in the league, yet tied for ninth in goals against.  Tomas Vokoun was brilliant at times and finished with a career-best six shutouts and .926 save percentage.  If he’s not an elite NHL goaltender, he’s not too far off that level.

With the 14th pick in the NHL draft the Panthers selected defenseman Dmitry Kulikov.  He’s a great skater who can carry and shoot the puck well.  He’s strong, he can take big hits and they don’t seem to bother him.  He knows when to join the rush and recognizes the holes but he plays defense first.  He shoots the puck well on the powerplay and I believe that he will have cracked the panther lineup early next year.

Florida’s really not that far off from challenging for a playoff spot but if they have any aspirations of really contending for the Stanley Cup trophy then all of their young core will have to rise to  a level of play beyond anyone’s wild expectations.  We’ll see if the Panther’s can pull it off.  Stranger things have happened.

Rumor has it that the top offer Alex Tanguay has received is $1.2 million.  If it’s true, it’s a fraction of the $5.375 million he made last season with the Canadiens.  The Florida Panthers were rumored to be the favorites to sign Tanguay after all the other teams reportedly dropped out.  Then the New York Islanders jumped in on the fun, and now it seems that the Tampa Bay  Lightning have as well.  Maybe Tanquay can get a bidding war started.  I’m sure that’s what he is hoping for!

The KHL appears ready to dig in their heels over Jiri Hudler.  On Thursday, the Russian league officially registered Hudler’s contract with HC Dynamo Moscow.  The 25-year-old Czech Republic native signed a two-year, $10 million offer to play in the Kontinental Hockey League on July 8 after reportedly rejecting a five-year deal worth $3 million to remain with the Detroit Red Wings.  This comes after KHL president Alexander Medvedev said the Russian league wouldn’t register Hudler’s contract until his arbitration case with the Red Wings is over — and it’s not over.  The KHL stated that they registered the contract due to the absence of a transfer agreement between the KHL and NHL, as well as the absence of a valid contract for Hudler with any NHL club.  The Russian league also stated the move was necessary to confirm that they were ready to start negotiations with the NHL on the status of restricted free agents and on any other aspects of general agreement on transfers of players between the KHL and NHL.

Here we go again, the KHL Russia’s premier league is at it again.  They’re stealing players form the NHL.  After a 16-year NHL career, Sergei Zubov is heading home as the 39-year old blueliner has signed with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL.  Zubov, who has spent his last 12 seasons with the Stars, only played 10 games with Dallas in 2008-09 because of a hip injury that required surgery.  In those 10 contests, he recorded four assists.  Known as one of the better puck-moving defenceman and power play specialists of the last decade, Zubov has 152 goals and 619 assists in 1068 career games.  He helped the New York Rangers capture the Stanley Cup in 1994 then helped lead the Dallas Stars to their first Cup in franchise history in 1999.

Kyle Wellwood will be returning to Vancouver for a second year after the Canucks announced the signing of the centerman following his arbitration hearing.  It’s a one-year deal worth $1.2 million, a slight raise from the $1 million Wellwood earned with the Canucks last season.

The Ottawa Senators rejected a deal that could’ve rid them of disgruntled forward Dany Heatley.  The San Jose Sharks offered Jonathan Cheechoo and Christian Erhoff as part of a trade, but Sens GM Bryan Murraywas not interested.  The Edmonton Oiler’s are the only other team that really wanted Heatley.  Heatley is still holding out at his home in Kewlona, BC hoping Ottawa can accomidate his wish by trading him.  I think that Heatley is a baby, you sign a contract, you honor that contract.  It sets a terrible example of being a teammate and will create problems with future teammates who may question his commitment.  Either way Heatley has not painted a pretty picture for himself.