Blog Archives
Trading Grabner before the expansion draft might be necessary
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Out of all of the new additions the Rangers added to their team this offseason, Michael Grabner has blown expectations out of the water. Along with defenseman Nick Holden, these two have helped provide offense and consistent two-way play on cheap, cap-friendly contracts.
When Grabner was signed to a two-year deal, it seemed like he would wind up being a fourth line player who is great at killing penalties and could chip in with some offense. The stories about how he scored 34 goals in his rookie season, 20 goals another year and then 16 goals in the 2012-13 lockout season popped up, as did the ones about how he was fast but couldn’t score on breakaways or finish his chances.
Fast forward to today, and Michael Grabner leads the team with 19 goals after being awarded a hat trick in the Jan. 7 win over the Blue Jackets. That was his second hat trick of the year, and he now has more goals than Evgeni Malkin, Joe Pavelski, Connor McDavid, James Neal, Phil Kessel and more. Read the rest of this entry
NHL expansion looms; Having fun with a hypothetical expansion draft this summer
John Dundon
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
This past summer talks between the National Hockey League and potential expansion franchises in either Las Vegas or Quebec City (or both) had heated up significantly. For expansion to occur it would mean that an expansion draft would have to take place for the first time since 2000. It has been reported that the league is likely to announce plans for expansion as early as June of this year, before the NHL entry draft.
TSN’s Darren Dreger has reported that if an expansion draft were to take place, each team would have the right to protect several key players of their choosing. Dreger tweeted Wednesday that teams would be given the option of protecting either: A) three defensemen, seven forwards and one goalie OR B) eight skaters and one goalie. There are a lot of smaller details that have not yet been nailed down by the league, but this would likely be the main framework of an expansion draft.
While there are a lot of areas lacking clarity, the league has begun notifying teams on the potential ideas for the draft itself. It is expected that if there is a one team expansion, each team will lose one player. In the event of a two team expansion, each team loses two. It sounds like something out of a video game. It has also been speculated that players with no-move clauses will NOT be eligible for the potential drafters. The feeling among teams is that one expansion bid will be accepted by the Board of Governors and Las Vegas will be the next NHL city. Read the rest of this entry
Quick Hits: NHL Expansion, Patrick Kane off NHL cover, Rangers goalie prospects
Bobby Bevilacqua
Some interesting stories from around the league have come out in the past few days, including some news about the Rangers goalie prospects.
NHL Expansion takes another step forward
Gery Bettman has invited the ownership groups in Las Vegas and Quebec to enter Phase Two of the expansion process. Photo courtesy of Trevor Hogan/Associated Press.
As many people know, the NHL is looking to expand the amount of teams in the league for the first time since 2000, when the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets played their first games in franchise history.
While 16 separate groups/individuals were interested in creating a new team, only two cites had filed an application; Las Vegas and Quebec. Las Vegas has never had an NHL team before, while the small Quebec City was host to the Nordiques from 1979 to 1995, when they became the Colorado Avalanche. Read the rest of this entry
Around the League: Overtime changed, coach’s challenge, Schedule released, expansion?
Bobby Bevilacqua
The NHL announced the move to 3-on-3 overtime hockey for the 2015-16 season, which means that guys like Rick Nash will have plenty of room to work with. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
With the NHL draft looming, and the end-of-season meeting taking place between the league’s GMs, the NHL made some changes to the overtime rules in the regular season, and discussed some other potential changes as well.
The first change will begin at the start of next season, with the overtime rules being changed in an effort to make the shootout less frequent. The NHL will feature 3-on-3 overtime play in hopes that more space on the ice and less players will lead to more scoring chances, more odd man rushes, and more goals.
The format that will be used in the NHL next season is different than what was seen in the AHL this year. In the AHL, they played 4-on-4 hockey for three minutes, and then switched to 3-on-3 for the final four minutes. The NHL will have just one five minute overtime period, with 3-on-3 played for the entire time. Read the rest of this entry
therangerzone.com 