What team beat writers are saying this afternoon:
- Take a look at the Bruins’ possible opening night lineup. That team is pretty stacked and it doesn’t even include Kessel and Krejci. Granted there still are some concerns on defense, but the Bruins should, once again, be a dominant force in the Eastern Conference.
- Tony Amonte has been named to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. One of the best snipers of his era. Amonte had tremendous speed and a great goal-scoring touch. His assist totals never added up, but he was a scoring force for the Blackhawks for years. One of the more exciting players to watch in the 90s, in my opinion. Also inducted into the U.S. HHOF, John LeClair, Frank Zamboni, Tom Barrasso and the 1998 U.S. Women’s Olympic Team.
- Will the Habs power play be better next season? A healthy Markov, along with Mike Cammalleri, and Jaroslav Spacek should help improve the team’s man-advantage. Although the losses of Kovalev and Koivu shouldn’t be ignored.
- Here is a list, courtesy of Seth Rorabugh over at Empty Netters, of the players in the NHL who have only played with one team their entire career. These types of players are few and far between in this era. Some consider this unforutnate, others consider it a positive; I’m not really sure where I stand on the matter. I like player movement, but I also like identifying a player with a particular team. Either way, I don’t see this changing in the near future. Especially with Bettman and Daly most likely looking to cut down on these long terms contracts during the next CBA negotations.
- The Lightning are going to buy out Vaclav Prospal. So, last summer they thought he was worthy of a four-year deal, now they buy him out? Did that much change in Prospal’s game? I’m going to say–not likely. I just don’t understand these transactions. Where is the long-term vision in the Bay Area????
