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2013 NHL Predictions
It is that time of year again. The time when hockey fans make predictions that probably will not be correct, but we do it anyway because it’s fun. For the 2013 campaign I decided to bring in two hardcore hockey fans from different websites. One covers video games and entertainment while the other follows the greatest sport in the world. Please give a warm welcome to the predictions of Rudy Colon from Kona’s Korner and Rob McMahon, formally a writer for Sunshine State Hockey, who is now with Penalty Box Radio.
Two out of the three of us seem to agree on each category, and surprisingly we all share the same views on three divisions: the Northeast, Southeast, and Pacific. Since we cover the Florida Panthers here at Sunshine State Hockey it is important to focus on the Southeast division for a moment. The reason all three of us are in agreement on our prediction is because the Hurricanes just looks so good on paper. Carolina went out and acquired Jordan Staal to add scoring depth at the center position, not to mention the fact that he should have some decent chemistry with his brother Eric. Add them with the likes of Alex Semin, who is still a legit scoring threat, a maturing Jeff Skinner, an emerging number one defenseman in Justin Faulk, and Stanley Cup/Conn Smythe winning goaltender Cam Ward and it is clear why all three of us chose Carolina to win the Southeast.
Will our predictions hold true or are they doomed to fail? Only time will tell. Until then, let’s just enjoy the fact that we finally have NHL hockey back.
Suter And Parise Go Wild, Sign 13 Year Deals With Minnesota
The two biggest names on the free agency market have finally been claimed, and surprisingly they both went to the same team. It was announced just minutes ago that defenseman Ryan Suter and forward Zach Parise have signed with the Minnesota Wild. Both players received the exact same contract of 13 years, $98 million, roughly $7.5 million a season. At the start of free agency on July 1st the Minnesota Wild made their interest in the two UFA’s apparent by tweeting that they made offers to both men. Minnesota general manager Chuck Fletcher got what he wanted as both Parise and Suter signed on with the Wild, shaking up the entire National Hockey League.
With both Ryan Suter and Zach Parise off the market it is believed that the rest of the big named free agents will sign in the coming days.
Top 10 Moments Of The 2011-2012 Season: #8
Another day has passed which means it is time to add another memorable moment to our countdown of the top 10 moments from Florida’s 2011-2012 season. So far we have seen exactly what happens to the Jets when they invite the Panthers to Winnipeg and how much pull GM Dale Tallon has over players in the NHL. In today’s reveal of #8 we will highlight a moment that is special to one specific player on the roster, Stephen Weiss.
#8 – Weiss plays in game #614, passes Dvorak on Panthers all-time games played list (February 23rd, 2012)
If Stephen Weiss was not considered “Mr. Panther” before playing in game number 614 of his career, all with the Panthers, than he certainly was after. Once the puck dropped on that game against the Minnesota Wild Weiss became the franchise leader in games played for the Cats, passing Radek Dvorak (613).
“It’s been a long road,” said Weiss to the Miami Herald. “But for the most part, I’m very happy to still be here and seeing this team get closer to where it needs to be.”
#9 is clearly the face of the franchise. For those who do not know, or do not remember, Weiss was drafted fourth overall during round one of the 2001 National Hockey League entry draft held at, surprise, the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, FL. From that day forward the Toronto, ON born center has played every game of his career in a Panthers uniform, including his first playoff game this season, his 10th in the NHL.
Browse through all of the links and watch the videos above to see all that moment #8 has to offer. Do not forget to come back tomorrow when we reveal #7 on our top 10.
- Florida Panthers coverage of moment #8
- Miami Herald coverage of moment #8
- Photo gallery 1 from moment #8
- Photo gallery 2 from moment #8
Source(s): Florida Panthers, Miami Herald
Oilers Win Third Straight Draft Lottery
The Edmonton Oilers may have issues winning on the ice but they certainly know how to win when it comes to the draft lottery. The NHL held their annual draft lottery earlier this evening and the Oilers came out on top for the third year in a row, even though the Columbus Blue Jackets had the best chance of winning. After tonight’s lottery the draft order for the bottom 14 teams shapes up like this:
2012 NHL Draft Order
1. Edmonton Oilers
2. Columbus Blue Jackets
3. Montreal Canadiens
4. New York Islanders
5. Toronto Maple Leafs
6. Anaheim Ducks
7. Minnesota Wild
8. Carolina Hurricanes
9. Winnipeg Jets
10. Tampa Bay Lightning
11. Washington Capitals (From Colorado)
12. Buffalo Sabres
13. Dallas Stars
14. Calgary Flames
The remaining draft order of the first round will be determined after the playoffs are finished.
NHL Trade Deadline 2012 – Live!
Welcome to Sunshine State Hockey’s live coverage of the 2012 National Hockey League trade deadline. There are so many big questions to be answered today. Will the Columbus Blue Jackets trade Rick Nash? Will Toronto get their goaltender? How will Florida react to being buyers for the first time in years? All of these questions and more will be answered by 3:00 PM EST, so keep checking back.
10:30 AM – Good morning everyone. It is time to get our live coverage of the 2012 NHL trade deadline started. There hasn’t been any moves yet but we are sure the action will pick up soon.
10:35 AM – Rumors right now have Andrei Kostitsyn being dealt to Nashville, stay tuned.
10:45 AM – Who are some players that could find a new home today? Rick Nash – CBJ, Jonathan Bernier – LAK, Josh Harding – MIN, Jaroslav Spacek – CAR, Paul Gaustad – BUF.
10:45 AM – The first trade of the day: Nashville trades a 2nd round pick and a conditional 5th round pick in 2013 to Montreal for Andrei Kostitsyn.
10:50 AM – Some bad news for the Capitals as Nicklas Backstrom has been placed on long-term IR.
10:52 AM – Here’s a picture of the Panthers trade “war room” tweeted earlier by Florida’s official Twitter account. http://ow.ly/i/tPNJ
11:02 AM – The word out of Florida right now is that a lot of teams are interested in Jason Garrison. Tallon will not move him though unless he get’s a very good return.
11:25 AM – Here are some good twitter accounts to follow for all of your trade deadline day needs: @SSH_Marc, @OnFrozenPond, @DarrenDreger, @Real_ESPNLeBrun, @TSNBobMcKenzie
11:30 AM – Very slow start to the day. We all can only hope for more deals soon or else this is going to be a long day.
11:50 AM – Here is TSN’s list of trade bait for today’s deadline: Trade Bait.
12:00 PM – It is now noon which means that there are only three hours left before the deadline. There has still been only one trade made today, so let’s hope that changes.
12:05 PM – The Jets have claimed Grant Clitsome off of waivers from Columbus.
12:45 PM – Everyone still awake?
12:46 PM – We have our second trade of the day. The Red Wings trade Mike Commodore to Tampa for a conditional 7th round pick.
1:00 PM – Oilers trade Tom Gilbert to the Wild for Nick Schultz.
1:01 PM – This deadline is so slow that TSN’s live trade tracker has died.
1:10 PM – Minnesota Star Tribune writer Michael Russo just tweeted that “Nick Schultz wasn’t even told by #mnwild that he was traded before #oilers tweeted it. Pretty ticked off organization here”. Yikes.
1:15 PM – Time to make some lunch. Our live coverage will be back at 1:30 PM unless a trade breaks in the next 15 minutes.
1:35 PM – We are back and haven’t missed anything.
1:37 PM – Toronto has dealt Keith Aulie to the Lightning for Carter Ashton.
1:57 PM – The Avalanche trade Daniel Winnik, TJ Galiardi, and a 7th round pick to San Jose for Jamie McGinn, Mike Connolly, and Michael Sgarbossa.
2:00 PM – Ottawa trades Brian Lee to the Lightning for Matt Gilroy.
2:04 PM – The Blue Jackets trade Sami Pahlsson to the Vancouver Canucks for two 4th round picks (years TBA).
2:08 PM – Johnny Oduya has been traded by the Jets to Chicago for a 2nd and 3rd round pick in 2013.
2:10 PM – Things are starting to heat up with 50 minutes left before the 3:00 PM deadline, including talks about Rick Nash.
2:30 PM – 30 minutes left before the deadline.
2:50 PM – 10 minutes remaining…
2:58 PM – Brian Rolston and Mike Motteau have been traded from the Islanders to Boston for Yannick Riendeau and Marc Cantin.
3:00 PM – The deadline has passed.
3:01 PM – Paul Gaustad and a 4th round pick sent to Nashville from Buffalo for a 1st round pick.
3:10 PM – Panthers GM Dale Tallon says that he made a lot of phone calls but didn’t do anything. Dale is satisfied with the team he has.
3:11 PM – Bruins acquire Greg Zanon from Minnesota for Steve Kampfer.
3:17 PM - Confirmed: Rangers get John Scott from the Hawks for a 5th round pick.
3:24 PM – Toronto makes a minor league deal by trading Dale Mitchell to Anaheim for Mark Fraser.
3:30 PM - Brian Burke does not like phones going off during his press conference.
3:35 PM - Buffalo acquires Cody Hodgson and Alexander Sulzer from Vancouver for Zack Kassian and MA Gragnani. There still might be more.
4:00 PM – Canucks get Andrew Gordon from the Ducks for Sebastian Erixon.
4:20 PM – Well folks we are going to cut our coverage of the 2012 NHL trade deadline ten minutes short. Today was something, that’s for sure. Check back with Sunshine State Hockey over the next couple of days for more coverage of this seasons trade deadline.
