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From The Rink is SBN's blog on all things hockey. Originally founded by James Mirtle, FTR is currently managed and edited by Mike Chen.

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Cory Lavalette

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In The Rafters

In this space, we wanted to honor FTR founder James Mirtle by retiring his number. But since he's not wearing a number, we're putting the sportcoat from his photo in the rafters.

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Thanks for everything, James!


We're moving: FTR integrates with SBN Hockey Hub

Here's a pretty big programming announcement: starting Monday, From The Rink will be integrated into the SB Nation hockey hub. If you're curious why, it's really to consolidate writers and resources into a central NHL site for the network. Nothing will really change for readers except that the posts will be at SBNation.com/NHL rather than here (and I believe FromTheRink.com will redirect there). A few other notes:

-If you read FTR via RSS feed, that will change. You'll need to update your feed to the SB Nation NHL Features feed. Also, if you want to receive breaking news, SB Nation NHL Headlines is also worth subscribing to. Note: As of right now, the Feedburner for the Features feed appears to be down. SBN's tech team is aware of the issue.

-If you get your post notifications via Twitter, the FTR Twitter account will stay active. There are some magic interwebs wormholes that will work out, so this might not be the smoothest transition. Same goes for Facebook.

-The archive of FTR posts should be imported over to SBN Hockey. That means that whenever you need to hear the best of uncensored NHL TV broadcasts, you should still be able to find it.

-Finally, with all of the linking out that SBN Hockey does to our network sites, along with the new AM recaps, it's been decided by the higher ups that the Gameday posts will be redundant. From a content perspective, that makes sense, but that means that the six people out there that liked the daily indie rock tunes will miss out. Never fear, dedicated hockey/music half-dozen, I'll figure a way to incorporate good music from obscure bands into the posts.

14 comments  |  1 recs | 

WHL: Top prospects, mic'd up, win FREE tix, plus: a question for YOU

Several WHL players made a respectable showing at the 2011 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects game earlier this week in Toronto. 13 WHL players took part in the skills competition and game, which gives scouts and teams a good look at the top players going in the NHL Entry Draft this summer. No surprise, the Portland Winterhawks sent the most players (4), but it was Red Deer Rebels forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who turned the most heads. Nugent- Hopkins played a strong game all-round and contributed two assists to be named player of the game for Team Orr, which beat Team Cherry by a decisive 7-1 score. Portland's Sven Bartschi scored a goal and an assist for Team Orr. Seattle Thunderbirds' forward Colin Jacobs also had an assist for Orr. Winterhawk Ty Rattie assisted on Team Cherry's only goal. Brandon Wheat Kings goaltender Liam Liston stopped all 18 shots during the 29:30 he played in the first and part of the second period for Team Orr, while Saskatoon Blades defenseman Duncan Siemans showed how tough he is by squaring off with Vancouver Giants d-man David Musil. Regina Pats' defenseman Myles Bell won the skills competition for hardest shot, at 98.4 mph.

Continue reading this post »

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Aggregated NHL Power Rankings: Week 15

For the first time in the Aggregated NHL Power Rankings, we've got a significant amount of zero movement from last week. The Vancouver Canucks retain the top spot, but the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings also keep their second and third spot, respectively. In fact, the biggest change was for the surging Phoenix Coyotes, who jumped up eight spots. Everyone else is five or under.

Does that mean things are starting to settle? You're starting to see a little bit of separation in the Western Conference, and you're also looking at some teams beginning to consider their trade options as we head past the 50-game mark.

Here are your rankings.

Rank Team Last Diff
1  Vancouver Canucks 1 0
2  Philadelphia Flyers 2 0
3  Detroit Red Wings 3 0
4  Pittsburgh Penguins 6 2
5  Dallas Stars 6 1
6  Boston Bruins 10 4
7  Washington Capitals 4 -3
8  Phoenix Coyotes 16 8
9  Nashville Predators 9 0
10  Tampa Bay Lightning 5 -5
11  Chicago Blackhawks 13 2
12  Montreal Canadiens 12 0
13  New York Rangers 8 -5
14  Anaheim Ducks 11 -3
15  Carolina Hurricanes 18 3
16  Colorado Avalanche 16 0
17  Atlanta Thrashers 14 -3
18  Los Angeles Kings 19 1
19  Minnesota Wild 14 -5
20  San Jose Sharks 21 1
21  St. Louis Blues 20 -1
22  Florida Panthers 25 3
23  Calgary Flames 25 2
24  Buffalo Sabres 22 -2
25  Toronto Maple Leafs 23 -2
26  Columbus Blue Jackets 24 -2
27  New York Islanders 27 0
28  Ottawa Senators 28 0
29  Edmonton Oilers 29 0
30  New Jersey Devils 30 0

Coming up after the jump, conference rankings and the always popular mega-spreadsheet.

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SBN Gameday: Face To Face On High Places

Tonight's soundtrack: Face To Face On High Places by School Of Seven Bells -- Because there are a number of playoff-affecting games tonight in both conferences. Grab a Newcastle Brown Ale and get your remote handy for channel flipping, it's going to be a busy and fun night.

New York Rangers at Carolina Hurricanes, 7 PM ET
So, is Marian Gaborik out of John Tortorella's doghouse now? When will Carolina get out of the ninth-place hump?

Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins, 7 PM ET
Buffalo will have to discover another source for offense with Drew Stafford out. Does Peter Chiarelli frequent SBN's Stanley Cup of Chowder blog?

Anaheim Ducks at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 PM ET
Do the Ducks need to get more forward depth like their California brothers? The always-frank Ron Wilson talks glowingly about the last Toronto game.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Atlanta Thrashers, 7 PM ET
Tampa's got a big chance to pad their divisional lead tonight. Will the Thrashers miss Ben Eager at all?

Pittsburgh Penguins at New Jersey Devils, 7 PM ET
No Evgeni Malkin, no Sidney Crosby, so who will center the Penguins top line? The Devils will have to strategize a little differently without Pittsburgh's top guns to shut down.

Washington Capitals at New York Islanders, 7 PM ET
How has young Mathieu Perrault fared this season compared to last? Kyle Okposo is back, and that prompts a Total Recall reference over at Lighthouse Hockey. "Hey Kyle, see you at the party!"

Ottawa Senators at Philadelphia Flyers, 7 PM ET
Considering where the Sens are at, maybe it's time to get nostalgic about John Muckler. Get your vote in on the Name That Line contest for Scott Hartnell, Danny Briere, and Ville Leino.

Detroit Red Wings at St. Louis Blues, 8 PM ET
Jimmy Howard returns tonight for Detroit and he'll probably be motivated by those Evgeni Nabokov rumors. The Blues have lost out on KHL re-treads thanks to the waiver wire, but is that a bad thing?

Nashville Predators at Colorado Avalanche, 9 PM ET
In a team with no #1 line, a new #1 line has formed for Nashville. Colorado is looking for three in a row tonight.

Dallas Stars at Edmonton Oilers, 9 PM ET
Is the Dallas media finally realizing that they've got a pretty good team? The Oilers don't seem to know how to handle their concussion issue.

San Jose Sharks at Vancouver Canucks, 10 PM ET
Despite winning two straight, tonight is a definition game for San Jose. Vancouver says hello to Kyle Wellwood. Please refrain from the fat jokes, he's a slim 180 pounds now!

Phoenix Coyotes at Los Angeles Kings, 10:30 PM ET
Tonight is the first of back-to-backs for Phoenix. Since Thanksgiving, the Kings have been the worst team in the Western Conference. Ouch.

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What if Sidney Crosby were to skip the NHL All-Star Weekend in protest?

Earlier this week, a report said that Sidney Crosby may skip the NHL's All-Star Game festivities to protest the lack of calls for headshots (this story has since been updated from its original release). That's not exactly a Sidney Crosby-like action, so of course the report was immediately suspect. Still, it caused enough of an uproar - probably because quite a few people wanted to believe it, for various reasons - that it was splashed all over the hockey firmament, all the same.

Naturally, it was later refuted. Crosby himself was quoted as saying that if he could go to Raleigh, that he would go. He still may not be able to play, however, because his concussion symptoms are still lingering.

But let's pretend for a moment that it was true - that the NHL's marquee player, Sidney Crosby, would use the All-Star Game to protest an inadequately addressed league issue.

We all know that head shots are a problem. And we all know that officiating is horrifically inconsistent. (And no, it's not just for your team that the on-ice officials are calling/not calling stupid things; it's everybody.) And don't even get me started on Colin Campbell and his "Wheel of Justice".

The only way that's going to change is for someone like Crosby to stage a protest. Or all of the players invited to join him and stage a protest. We all know that the NHL's Board of Governors - the people with the real power to change things - don't listen to the fans. The other alternative is for it to be one more discussion point in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) talks.

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6 comments  |  1 recs | 

SBN Gameday: Mis-shapes

Tonight's soundtrack: Mis-shapes by Pulp -- Slim pickings tonight, though Columbus and Florida are both on that cusp of staying in or falling out of the playoff hunt, which should make for an interesting head-to-head match-up.

Game of the Night: Columbus Blue Jackets at Florida Panthers, 7:30 PM ET
Columbus is playing a team with a worse power play than they have. Florida needs better goaltending tonight than what they got against Atlanta.

Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Rangers, 7 PM ET
Check out an interview with the red-hot James Reimer and other Leafs prospects. The Rangers will have to cope without the services of Brandon Dubinsky for up to four weeks.

Minnesota Wild at Calgary Flames, 9:30 PM ET
What happens when your turn on the Hockey Wilderness Rumor Generator 2000? Jarome Iginla will be sitting out of this year's All-Star festivities.

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Trade deadline primer: Impending UFAs on losing teams

It seems like just yesterday we were watching the World Junior Championships and gearing up for the Winter Classic. However, it's already mid-January, and that means there's only a few more weeks before the NHL trade deadline hits. You can be certain that tires are being kicked, though both Jay Feaster of the Calgary Flames and Brian Burke of the Toronto Maple Leafs are more than happy to public talk about the lack of realistic deals coming their way.

From both Feaster and Burke, it sounds like teams want to match up both cap hit and skill in a deal, though you can bet on things loosening up as the trade deadline nears. Usually, it just takes the first domino to fall before things really get going. While there are certainly big-name question marks, the easiest trade fodder is the impending UFA, as their contract will be done come June and there aren't any worries about lingering cap hits.

In short, the following players have the potential to be hired guns. Of course, not all of them come with the cap hit or skill to be in it, but you can bet that GMs on losing teams want to get anything in return for assets that will disappear in a few months.

The following lists are impending UFAs from teams that are essentially out of the playoff race. That's the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, and Florida Panthers out east. Out west, the Edmonton Oilers are really the only team that factor into that, but let's throw the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jacket in there as well just to round out the list.

The positional lists are sorted by team and cap hit (descending), along with any notes about injuries. All values are courtesy the good folks at NHL Numbers and all injury updates are from TSN.

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SBN Gameday: Far Out And Gone

Tonight's soundtrack: Far Gone And Out by Jesus & Mary Chain -- with the Wings/Pens and Ducks/Sens tonight, it's the battle of former Finals match-ups. Of course, the Wings/Pens game will probably hold a little more drama than the Ducks/Sens.

Game of the Night 1: Washington Capitals at Philadelphia Flyers, 7 PM ET
This week's edition of Caps Ups & Downs. GM Paul Holmgren apparently has a new three-year extension in Philadelphia.

Game of the Night 2:  Detroit Red Wings at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 PM ET
Detroit is hoping for fewer weird bounces than the last game against Columbus. If you haven't seen it, here's a link to the original David Shoalts piece about Sidney Crosby possibly skipping the All-Star Game.

Boston Bruins at Carolina Hurricanes, 7 PM ET
It's the mid-season grades for the Bruins. Carolina is looking to avenge an embarrassing 7-0 loss to Boston.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7:30 PM ET
Nobody wants Mike Commodore for half-price. Don't forget that Columbus was in the running for Guy Boucher during the off-season.

Anaheim Ducks at Ottawa Senators, 7:30 PM ET
Anaheim has played some of its best hockey this season without Ryan Getzlaf. A quick guide to fixing Ottawa's terrible breakout.

Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres, 7:30 PM ET
Montreal's last win against Calgary was more difficult than expected. Ruff is going all Herb Brooks on the Sabres in practice.

Los Angeles Kings at St. Louis Blues, 8 PM ET
Should the Kings get yet another new jersey design? TJ Oshie may return tonight for St. Louis.

Nashville Predators at Phoenix Coyotes, 8 PM ET
Nashville will bid for the NCAA Frozen Four tournament. Phoenix's last game was their first 2011 regulation loss.

Vancouver Canucks at Colorado Avalanche, 9 PM ET
Has the scoring dried up in Vancouver? Here's an in-depth chart of split stats so far for Colorado.

Minnesota Wild at Edmonton Oilers, 9:30 PM ET
How have Minnesota's left wings recently fared? Maybe Todd Richards should study the Jacques Lemaire playbook.

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