And now it’s time for the news!
Winnipeg Jets News
The Hockey News: Pavelec Jetting out of Winnipeg?. Hold your horses Winnipeg fans, nothing is done quite yet. Rumors are afloat that Pavelec has received an offer from a KHL team for a one year big money contract. Pavelec, an RFA going into next season, has little leverage in bargaining with the Jets. The threat of running to the KHL is very clearly being used as a bargaining ploy. Exactly how much exactly is Pavelec worth? IC’s Richard Pollock wrote this piece back in February “Establishing Ondrej Pavelec’s Market Value“, which is a valuable resource.
Sportsnet.ca: Report: KHL team pursuing Jets’ Pavelec. Same report as above that is making the rounds. This could be one of the heartbreaking things that come with having an NHL team. By all accounts Pavelec enjoyed his time in Winnipeg, but the name of that AC/DC song is “Money Talks”.
Stanley Cup News
Fire & Ice: Devils enjoying watching Brodeur turn back the clock; Expecting an early push from Kings in Game 6. Well of course the Devils should expect an early push from the Kings in game six. It’s GAME SIX…OF THE STANLEY CUP FINALS. I wouldn’t expect the Devils to expect the Kings just to lay down.
SI.com: Devils’ adjustments push Stanley Cup Final to game 6. These are two evenly matched teams, while Los Angeles got off to a quick start, things have regressed to the mean and now the Devils are in position to force a game seven. Full credit to Peter DeBoer and the Devils for making it this close. Their “why not us” mantra reeks of the Red Sox “idiots” when they were down 3-0 to the Yankees back in the 2004 ALCS.
SI.com: Kings Stanley Cup Final run a sign of inclusive times in sports. SI’s Michael Farber, who made waves last week when he finally joined twitter gives his lengthy tee up of tonight’s Stanley Cup Final match.
Globe & Mail: Kings insist team remains confident. The Kings will have to take that confidence to the ice if they want to have any shot of winning.
Toronto Star: Devils brace for porn star appearance. She has made a name for herself this playoffs as the boobs behind Peter DeBoer, the internet phenomenon that is Taylor Stevens will be behind the Devils bench for game 6. If the game fails to live up to the hype, at least there will be some eye candy.(And not just coming from Kings anthem singer Pia Toscano, or super-fan Jessica Alba Alyssa Milano).
Player News
USA Today: Flyers’ Van Riemsdyk says he isn’t trying to hold up trade. Paul Holmgren voiced his displeasure with the young forward after the Flyers were eliminated from the playoffs. It was previously discussed on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show that Van Riemsdyk should be a player for the Jets to target in a trade.
The Hockey News: Room for Staal in Pittsburgh? With several top first round draft picks in the early 2000’s, the Penguins are about to face the same problem the Oilers could potentially face down the road. Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Fleury and Staal are all elite players who will command top dollar. With Staal relegated to the third line behind 87 and 71, it may be too expensive for them to keep the younger Staal around. (Who is definitely not better than Eric).
CBC.ca: Keeping Crosby is risky business for Penguins. Elliotte Friedman’s 30 Thoughts of the Week is always an enjoyable read, and he prefaces it with a discussion on the potential insurance issues regarding Crosby’s next contract. Concussion problems or not, the upside is too high for the Penguins not to extend Crosby’s contract.
MLive.com: Red Wings prepared to make Jiri Hudler a contract offer. Bob Duff of the Windsor Star appeared on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show last week and said that the Red Wings will most likely offer Hudler a contract that will be less than what he could get on the open market. David Jones just signed a four year, $16 million contract with Detroit, which Ansar Khan points out here, could be the benchmark for Hudler. The Czech forward will have to make the decision if he wants to take the money or be a part of a winning organization.
Sportsnet.ca: Doan given hockey stick made of Skittles. Not sure how this is news, but it looks delicious. All we need to do now is get Dave Minuk & Ezra Ginsburg of Illegal Curve a hockey stick made of M&M’s.
Sportsnet.ca: Ducks parting ways with Blake, Hagman. This should free up about $7 million for the Ducks next season.
Coaching & Management
Edmonton Journal: Oilers add MacT to front office. He will be the Senior VP of Hockey Operations. On Saturday’s Illegal Curve Hockey Show with Gabe Desjardins it was discussed that hockey people might not be the best people to run an organization and teams may want to start gravitating towards business people. It looks like the Oilers have found two for the price of one (a hockey + business mind) as MacTavish earned a Masters Degree in Business from Queens University.
NHL Draft
TSN: Samuelsson makes his mark in final Craig’s list ranking. Craig Button a frequent guest of the Illegal Curve Hockey Show updates his “Craig’s List” monthly with the top sixty prospects. View the whole list at www.tsn.ca/craigslist. Samuelsson is the son of former NHLer Ulf Samuelsson who jumped from 54th to 29th on Button’s list. No word on where Cam Neely’s son ranks on the list.
CSN Philly: Top forward prospects. A nice primer to get you acquainted with the talent available.
