FTS - 12/19/08

TOP STORY

FINALLY!

(Photo Credit: AP)

Mats Sundin will soon call Vancouver home

The former Toronto Maple Leafs captain announced his long-awaited decision yesterday and ended months of speculation about where he would end up by signing with the Canucks. Sundin had considered retirement following last season, but a number of teams still expressed interest in him. He narrowed his choices in recent weeks to the Canucks and the New York Rangers, who didn't have nearly enough cap space to compete with Vancouver's lucrative offer.

Sundin met with the Rangers last weekend and attended a game at Madison Square Garden as part of a promotion for a poker website. Despite wooing from fellow Swedes on the Rangers such as goalie Henrik Lundqvist, forward Markus Naslund (the longtime Canucks captain who signed with New York in the summer), and Fredrik Sjostrom, Sundin picked Vancouver over New York. "I am truly excited to be joining the Canucks," the 37-year-old Sundin said. "Once I made the decision to return to play a few weeks ago, the Vancouver opportunity was simply the best overall fit. I want to thank (general manager) Mike Gillis and the entire Canucks organization for their professionalism throughout this entire process."

The Canucks had offered Sundin a two-year, $20 million deal but Sundin had repeatedly stated that he was only looking for a one-year contract. Gillis confirmed that the Canucks and Sundin agreed to a one-year deal, but said there had been changes made to the original offer. He declined to elaborate. If it was still worth $10 million for this season, Sundin would receive a prorated amount of about $5 million. He earned $5.5 million with Toronto last season. "From Day One it was totally about the team," Gillis said a news conference. "Money was always secondary. When it came down to the final decision, the resolution of how we are going to do this, it was about the team. "We were really selling him on a style of play that I believe in and that I think will be successful here. He likes the idea of joining a team that is committed to that style of play. That was really the selling point for us." Sundin is expected to play on a line Pavol Demitra and Kyle Wellwood. That leaves the Canucks with a strong second unit featuring Swedish twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin with Jannik Hansen, Taylor Pyatt or Steve Bernier.

Well I think I speak for all the readers of this blog when I say that it's nice to finally have this put to bed. It wasn't on the scale of Roger Clemens or Brett Favre taking their sweet-ass time to make a decision, but it was nearing that. At the end of the day, I think Vancouver was the better fit for him than the Rangers. The one thing Vancouver was missing was a well-rounded player who can do all the little things on the ice. They also needed a leader besides Luongo. That all adds up to Mats Sundin. In an abover-average division, the Canucks are now in the drivers seat (barring any major changes). He would have been a pretty good fit on the Rangers, but they would have had to give up too much of their future to take a chance on a guy that only has one or two years left. If Chicago had a little more experience on their roster, they would have been the best fit. The Blackhawks are still a couple of years away from being true contenders though. At the end of the day, Mats will have an immediate impact on this team and he will quickly become a fan-favorite in the Pacific-Northwest.

OTHER HEADLINES

-Dallas Stars veteran D Sergei Zubov will undergo hip surgery in January that will keep him out indefinitely. Zubov, 38, was placed on the IR last week due the injury. He has missed the last eight games and was also absent for all of training camp and the season's first 12 contests due to pre-season hip surgery. Zubov has recorded four assists in 10 games this season for a disappointing Dallas club. The highest-scoring Russian-born D in NHL history, Zubov is the only blueliner in the league to record at least 30 assists in each of the last 12 seasons. For his career, Zubov has registered 152 goals and 771 points in 1,068 games with the Rangers, Penguins and Stars.

-St. Louis Blues defenseman and captain Eric Brewer will be out indefinitely with a herniated disc in his back. Brewer will undergo surgery Friday. The 29-year-old has recorded one goal and five assists in 28 games this season and has not played since December 11 against the Kings. In 10 seasons with the Islanders, Oilers and Blues, Brewer has 179 points in 623 games.

-Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere has left the Anaheim Ducks to return home to Montreal following his father's death. Claude Giguere died Monday. Giguere will miss tonights game at Edmonton and will rejoin the Ducks before Monday night's game at Vancouver. In a related move, the Ducks recalled goaltender David LeNeveu from the AHL's Iowa Chops. Giguere remained on the bench in Tuesday night's 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers, replaced by Jonas Hiller.

LAST NIGHT'S RECAP

Boston Bruins (22-5-4) over the Toronto Maple Leafs (12-13-6) 8-5
TOP PERFORMER = Bruins C David Krejci - 3 Goals
-If you like scoring, then this Northeast Division match-up was the game for you. Marco Sturm and David Krejci (PPG) put Boston up 2-0 in the 1st period before Pavel Kubina answered back with a PPG to make it 2-1 heading in to the intermission. In the 2nd period, Marc Savard (PPG), Krejci and Kessel (20th of the season) made it 5-1 before Alexei Ponikaorvsky, Nik Antropov and Mikhail Grabovski answered back with three Maple Leafs goals to make it 5-4. Phil Kessel scored his second goal of the game, but Jason Blake would score his 6th on the power play to make it 6-5 heading in to the 2nd intermission (if you're counting at home, 8 combined goals in the 2nd period). In the 3rd period, Michael Ryder and Krejci scored to make it 8-5. The Bruins have won 12 straight home games, their longest run since an 11-game home winning streak from Dec. 5, 1982, to Jan. 29, 1983. Boston has won each of its last 11 home games by at least two goals, the longest such streak in the NHL in 16 years. The last team with a 10-game streak was the Kings in 1992 (Oct. 15 to Dec. 5). The last team with a streak longer than 10 games was the Penguins spanning two seasons in 1975 (11 games, Feb. 26 to Oct. 18).

Carolina Hurricanes (15-12-5) over the Florida Panthers (14-13-4) 2-1 (OT)
TOP PERFORMER = Hurricanes D Joe Corvo - 1 Goal, 1 Assist (GWG)
-Justin Williams put Carolina on the board first in the 1st period with a power play goal set up by Ray Whitney and Joe Corvo. In the 3rd period, Cory Stillman tied the game on a set up from Kamil Kreps and Ville Peltonen. In overtime, Joe Corvo scored on a sweet backhand. Ray Whitney earned his 2nd assist of the game on the GWG and Rod Brind'Amour notched his 700th career assist on the goal. Hurricanes G Cam Ward made 19 saves in the win while Tomas Vokoun turned away 35 shots in the loss. The Hurricanes activated D Anton Babchuk (elbow) from injured reserve, but he didn't play for the fourth straight game.

Montreal Canadiens (17-9-5) over the Philadelphia Flyers (17-8-6) 5-2
TOP PERFORMER = Canadiens RW Alexei Kovalev - 1 Goal (900th career point)
-The Canadiens jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 1st period thanks to goals from Matt D'Agostini, Sergei Kostitsyn (PPG), and Steve Begin. Aaron Asham scored the Flyers first goal to make it 3-1 heading in to the intermission. In the 2nd period, Alexei Kovalev scored his 7th of the season and career point #900 to make it 4-1. In the 3rd period, Braydon Coburn inched Philly closer, but Guillaume Latendresse put the nail in the coffin on the power play. Jaroslav Halak made 29 saves in the win. Philadelphia center Mike Richards ended an eight-game point streak. The Flyers captain had seven goals and eight assists in that stretch.

Washington Capitals (20-10-3) over the St. Louis Blues (12-16-3) 4-2
TOP PERFORMER = Capitals LW Viktor Kozlov - 2 Goals, 1 Assist
-Viktor Kozlov opened the scoring in the 1st period on a feed from Nicklas Backstrom. In the 2nd period, David Backes ties the game for St. Louis midway through the period. Kozlov would score again and Tomas Fleischmann added his 11th of the season with :40 of one another late in the period to make it 3-1 head in to the 2nd intermission. In the 3rd, Alexander Ovechkin scored his 20th goal of the season on the power play :13 in to the period. Brad Winchester scored his 3rd of the season midway through the 3rd, but that would be all for the Blues. Capitals G Simeon Valamov earned his 2nd win of the season with 29 saves. Since Oct. 28, Washington is 15-1-0 in games in which it scores the first goal and 1-6-2 when its opponent scores first. Caps winger Alexander Semin left with 11 minutes remaining in the game after being crosschecked from behind by Backes near the boards. Boudreau said Semin would be re-evaluated Friday. St. Louis defenseman Tyson Strachan made his NHL debut.

Pittsburgh Penguins (17-10-4) over the Atlanta Thrashers (10-17-4) 6-3
TOP PERFORMER = Penguins C Evgeni Malkin - 2 Goals, 2 Assists
-Matt Cooke and Evgeni Malkin scored the first two goals of the games to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead midway through the first period. Marty Reasoner scored with :39 remaining to make it 2-1 heading in to the intermission. In the 2nd period, Jordan Staal and Miroslav Satan scored back to back power play goals to make it 4-1. Atlanta C Bryan Little scored his own PPG to cut the lead to two, but Phillipe Boucher made it 5-2 heading in to the 2nd intermission. Colby Armstrong made it 5-3, but Evgeni Malkin sealed the deal with an empty-netter. Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves in his first game back between the pipes sinced 11/15. The Penguins went 5-6-2 without him in the lineup. The win started a stretch of four games in six days for Pittsburgh while the Thrashers fell to 3-10-2 in their last 15 games.

Detroit Red Wings (21-6-4) over the San Jose Sharks (25-4-3) 6-0
TOP PERFORMER = Red Wings G Ty Conklin - 24 Saves (Shutout)
-You didn't misread the score and it isn't a typo. The Red Wings basically bitch-smacked the Sharks up and down the ice throughout the whole game. Johan Franzen scored his 14th of the season and Pavel Datsyuk scored his first of two goals in the 1st period (Datsyuk also had two assists). In the 2nd period, Marian Hossa potted his 17th of the season in the 2nd period. In the 3rd period, Valtteri Filppula, Datsyuk and Brad Stuart all scored in the 3rd period to finish the brow-beating. Ty Conklin turned in an impressive performance for his 6th career shutout and San Jose's 2nd straight loss. center Joe Pavelski came back after a two-game absence caused by a lower body injury. Detroit has earned points in 16 of its last 20 games.

Colorado Avalanche (16-15-1) over the Tampa Bay Lightning (7-15-9) 2-1 (SO)
TOP PERFORMER = Avalanche G Andrew Raycroft - 37 Saves
-Paul Stastny scored his 9th goal of the season in the 1st period on a set up from Ryan Smith and Milan Hejduk. Jeff Halpern scored his first goal of the season in the 2nd period from Marek Malik and Andrej Meszaros. In the shootout, Milan Hejduk was awarded a SOG after Lightning G Mike Smith (34 saves) was penalized for throwing his stick. Smith's stick came loose when he was making a save on Hejduk's backhander. After discussing the play for several minutes, the officials awarded the goal. "They huddled to make the decision to see if they felt the stick was thrown," NHL senior vice president of hockey operations Mike Murphy said in a phone interview from Toronto. "And if a stick is thrown, as outlined in Rule 26.4, they can award a goal and that's what they did in this case. There was a strong feeling that his stick was thrown." As Tampa Bay interim coach Rick Tocchet argued the call, some fans threw debris onto the ice. After Martin St. Louis failed to score on the Lightning's final shootout attempt, several players continued arguing with referees Tim Peel and Brian Pochmara. "I know it's a quick game and things happen fast, but there's four refs on the ice, not one," Smith said. "They have the angles covered. I made the save and then I had to drop the stick because my stick was going to come up in the air. You can't make that call at that point in the game. The save was already made."

Dallas Stars (13-14-4) over the Columbus Blue Jackets (14-14-4) 6-5 (SO)
TOP PERFORMER = Stars LW Loui Eriksson - 3 Goals (first career hat trick)
-This was a see-saw game from beginning to end. Rick Nash (w/ an extra attacker), Louis Eriksson, Derrick Brassard (PPG), and Eriksson again alternated goals to tie the game at 2 heading in to the 1st intermission. In the 2nd period, Loui Eriksson completed his hat trick on the power play and James Neal (PPG) made it a 4-2 score. RJ Umberger, Brad Richards, and Kristian Huselius alternated goals to make it 5-4 heading in to the 2nd intermission. In the 3rd period, Rick Nash scored his 2nd goal of the game with 2:46 remaining to force OT. The Blue Jackets thought they netted the winning goal 13 seconds into overtime on Manny Malhotra's apparent goal, but after a video review, officials ruled the puck was kicked into the net (I was watching the game at this point, it was a goal). In the shootout, Mike Ribeiro and Brad Richards both scored to give the Stars their 6th win in their past 9 games.

Phoenix Coyotes (15-13-4) over the Nashville Predators (15-13-3) 2-1
TOP PERFORMER = Coyotes C Kyle Turris - 2 Goals
-Kyle Turris scored with ten seconds remaining in the 1st period on a set up from Ed Jovanovski. In the 2nd period, Vernon Fiddler would tie the game on a backhander from Rich Peverly and Shea Weber. In the 3rd period, Turris scored his 2nd goal (and the eventual game winner) with the assists from Enver Lisin and Zbynek Michalek. The Coyotes have earned points in a season-high five straight games, including a pair of overtime losses.

RUMOR MILL

-Now that the Mats Sundin saga is finally over, here are some rumored guys who were almost moved by the Rangers to get under the cap to make the deal happen:
~The Rangers tried to move Brandon Dubinsky to the Blue Jackets
~The Rangers tried to trade Michal Rozsival and others to Dallas for Sean Avery
As a Rangers fan, I'm glad that none of these deals happened to make Sundin deal happen.

-Now that the first shot has been fired, look for guys like Jay Bouwmeester, Marian Gaborik and Jason Spezza to be moved soon.

-It looks the Red Wings and Blues will be one of the match-ups opening the NHL regular season overseas. The caveat is that Detroit only wants to do it if it's in Sweden since they have a few Swedes on their roster. The rumor is they want to do two other match-ups overseas in addition to Detroit-St. Louis.

AROUND THE BOARDS

-Carolina Hurricanes forward Dan LaCouture is believed to have left the team for Russia, however, the Hurricanes remain unclear as to which Kontinental Hockey League team LaCouture is attempting to join. The Hurricanes intend on suspending LaCouture, who was signed as a free agent in October, if he doesn't have an immediate change of heart. If LaCouture walks away from his contract with the Hurricanes this will fuel the ongoing feud between the KHL and the National Hockey League as, once again, the Kontinental Hockey League would have apparently abandoned its policy of respecting NHL contracts. The 31-year old veteran has played in 11 games this season with the Hurricanes and has scored two goals. - CREDIT DARREN DREGER - TSN

-Bridgestone Tires will be the title sponsor of the 2009 NHL Winter Classic between the Red Wings and Blackhawks at Wrigley Field.

TONIGHT'S ACTION
Ottawa (11-13-5) @ New Jersey (17-9-3) - 7PM
Los Angeles (13-12-6) @ Buffalo (15-13-3) - 7:30PM
NY Islanders (10-18-3) @ Minnesota (15-13-2) - 8PM
% Chicago (16-6-7) @ Calgary (18-11-3) - 9PM
Anaheim (17-12-3) @ Edmonton (14-14-2) - 9PM

% = Game of the Night
^ALL TIMES EASTERN

*My weekly power rankings, "PLUS/MINUS", comes out Monday evenings

~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes Wednesday evenings

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