The start of the season is only two days away, and we're going to see some old faces suit up in an NHL uniform again. On the other hand, there will also be some players we've grown accustomed to seeing that will be out of a job for a brief period of time, it seems.
THEY'RE BAAAACK!
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| Petr Sykora is only 33 points away from 700 in his NHL career. |
Among the players the NHL did without during the 2010-11 campaign that hope to see some regular ice this season, are the Czech center/winger Petr Sykora, and one of only two South Korean players in NHL history, Richard Park.
The sharpshooting Sykora was signed to a tryout contract by the team that originally drafted him in 1995, the New Jersey Devils, on September 13th. Not much was expected of Sykora, seeing as he fizzled out in Pittsburgh down the stretch, became a healthy scratch in all but one playoff game under Dan Bylsma during the Penguins' 2009 Stanley Cup run, then could only manage to survive 14 games and post 3 points with the Minnesota Wild in 2009-10 before being released, and didn't even play in the National Hockey League last year.
The 32 year-old turned some heads at training camp though, playing well enough for the Devils to sign him to a one-year deal, which also prompted them to trade center David Steckel to Toronto for a 4th round draft pick so they could open up a roster spot for Sykora. This seems like a terrible deal for the Devils at first, but if Sykora can have even 1/3 of the production he had when he played in New Jersey earlier in his career, I suposse it could pay off. Sykora is rumored to play on a line with Patrik Elias and Zach Parise at the start of the season.
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| Richard Park (above) and Jim Paek are the only two players in NHL history to come from South Korea. Both were drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins. |
Like Sykora, Richard Park is suiting up again for the team that drafted him some odd years ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Park was signed by the Penguins in late July (even though it took until September for the news to break,) after spending last season with Geneve Servette in Switzerland. Park is a penalty killing monster, which will make up for the Penguins' loss of a great penalty killer in Max Talbot, but unlike Sykora, Park hasn't lost nearly as much of his speed. This is good news for Pittsburgh, because this means Park will fit in even more with Coach Bylsma's system.
Even though Park has made the Pens' roster after training camp and preseason, he still has a high probability of being a healthy scratch for most of the season. He will be competing all season for a 4th line roster spot with Arron Asham, Craig Adams, Mark Letestu, Joe Vitale, Steve MacIntyre, and once Dustin Jeffrey once he comes off of IR (not to mention Sidney Crosby, who goes without saying will take a roster spot when he's healthy again, too.)
Other returning former NHL-ers weren't quite as impressive as Sykora and Park, though.
year-old and former All-Star Owen Nolan was signed by the defending Western Conference Champions, the Vancouver Canucks, on a tryout basis, but could not make the team. You can't blame the guy though, Vancouver is kind of a really deep team to begin with, and Nolan's best years are behind him. Nolan spent all of last season with Zurich of the Swiss-A League, and he is most likely headed back there again.
The Winnipeg Jets brought back goaltender David Aebischer after spending three seasons in Switzerland. Aebischer was solid in camp and during his preseason appearances, was signed to a deal, but ultimately assigned to the Jets' AHL affiliate, the St. John's Ice Caps. Aebischer would have needed to beat out Ondrej Pavelec or Chris Mason for a job with the NHL team, but that just wasn't bound to happen. Still, the Jets' will have an ok back-up if Pavelec or Mason were to go down at any time during the year.
GOING... GOING... GONE! HE IS OUTTA HERE!!!
Yesterday, the New York Rangers placed fan favorite and league-wide villian Sean Avery on waivers. As of today, Sean Avery has since cleared waivers and didn't appear to draw much attention from other teams. Avery, who has 244 points in 11 NHL seasons, is far more notorious for his antics on and off the ice as opposed to his play (as you well know.) The Rangers were the only organization that ever seemed to tire of his ways, and were also the only team to come to his aid when his locker room attitude and behavior were questioned. It seemed as if bad news and criticism would come rushing like waterfalls from every other team he has played for. So now that New York has sent him through the waiver wire with seemingly no teams potentially interested in Mr. Avery's services, the question needs to be asked... where will Sean Avery be playing next in the NHL?
Anyone calling this the end of Avery's NHL career is foolish, because there's always another team foolish enough to take a chance on guys like these. Plus, if a team lacking grit loses a few players to injury, it wouldn't be crazy to say Sean Avery would get a call. As far as his Ranger-organization future is concerned, ESPN's Pierre LeBrun has reported that Avery will report to Hartford, but only if he can't find work elsewhere. Avery's agent is supossedly speaking to several European teams.
Now, even Toronto's GM, Brian Burke, has come out and said, "I don't see a fit with this player on our team", and Burke himself is a bit notorious around the league (and the Toronto market especially) for some suspect moves and acquisitions. You know Dallas wants nothing to do with him after the "sloppy seconds" fiasco in 2008. He's a player that would fit Philadelphia Flyer-hockey if they had some players get banged up long-term, but after famous run-in with Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds in the preseason, you can count that one out for sure, too. Is a return to Los Angeles possible? Maybe, but does a team like LA who is trying to make a deep playoff run for the first time since 1993 need the distractions that Sean Avery will bring to the locker room among the 2nd largest media market in America? (Rhetorical question. But if you really need an answer it's: "NO".)
So now, hockey fans, all we can do now is sit and wait to see where in the world one of the most controversial, but captivating figures the NHL will be playing next.
In Other News
- MTL claims Blair Betts of of waivers. Betts is one of the league's primier penalty killers, but had trouble making the Flyer's roster this season.
- NJD names Zack Parise captain, becoming one of 5 NHL captains from the United States. Story here: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=594513
- NYI and veteran left wing Jay Pandolfo agree to a one-year contract. Pandolfo played 12 games for the Springfield Falcons, the Phoenix Coyotes AHL affiliate, and had 6 points.
- Another shipment of counterfeit Jets sweaters were seized by Canadian Border Patrol. Seriously people, I know they're expensive, but stop buying the phonies. Story here: http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=377461
