"The Finnisher" Strikes Again!

 Is there anyone in the NHL more clutch for $3 million a year than the Carolina Hurricanes' Jussi Jokinen?

  His heroics in the 2008-09 Stanley Cup Playoffs and ever-present shootout abilities have earned him the nickname "The Finnisher", a testament to his explosion of scoring late in games as well as a reference to his homecountry of Finland.  It was Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs, and the New Jersey Devils had battled back from a 3-goal deficit in the 3rd period to tie the game.  The game was certainly headed into overtime, until Jussi Jokinen tipped a shot from Dennis Seidenberg behind Devils' legendary goaltender Martin Brodeur with only 0.2 seconds left in the game.  After a legthy review, the latest game-winning goal in regulation of a playoff game was upheld, and Jokinen had his first career playoff goal.  That's quite a way to tie a series and restore some hope in your home barn, but Jokinen was far from done.

 Days later, Carolina was down by one goal to the Devils in Game 7 of that same series, when Jokinen scored on an off-angle one-timer with 1:20 left to tie the game at 3 a piece.  Captain Eric Staal then scored only 48 seconds later to suddenly take the lead, and eventually win the game for Carolina to advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  The Hurricanes turned a seemingly inevitable defeat into victory in a matter of seconds, and Jussi Jokinen led the charge.

 One round later, Carolina was at home in Game 3 with the Boston Bruins, when, that's right, you guessed it, JUSSI JOKINEN scored early in overtime to win the game and take a 2-1 lead in the series.  The Cardiac 'Canes cinderella run was abrubly conculded after being swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins and a beast-mode Evgeni Malkin, but Mr. Jokinen had certainly made a name for himself.
 Well, last night, The Finnisher was at it again!  Carolina was down by a goal to the Washington Capitals, when the Hurricanes attempted the age-old last gas effort of pulling their goalie for an extra attacker.  No surprise, Jussi Jokinen stepped onto the ice, and, no surprise, Jussi Jokinen scored with 1:19 left quite a nifty goal to tie the game.  The Hurricanes would eventually lose the game in overtime, but seeing The Finnisher kick a stray pass up to his feet and bury the game-tying goal made me reminisce about all of his previous heroics that just seem to be uncanny for him now.

 Jokinen has 28 shootout goals in his career, which is the most of all-time in the NHL.  He also punches in with a 46.7% conversion rate, and when you consider he's taken 60 shootout attempts (2nd most all-time,) that's really, really good.  Unfortunately, I could not find any statistics online regarding overtime-forcing goals, which seem to be his specialty.  But from memory I can recall another instance in Pittsburgh during the 2010-11 season, where he scored the 3rd goal of a 3-goal comeback with the goalie pulled to force OT in the CONSOL Energy Center.  Of course, when this happened, my mind flashed back to his heroics during the 'Canes 2008-09 playoff campaign, just as they did yesterday night.

 You always expect the Crosbys, Ovechkins, Datsyuks, Lidstroms, Webers, Charas, etc., to come up big for you when you need them to.  They should!  They're among the highest paid and talked-about players the NHL has.  On the other hand, is there anyone you'd want on your team late in games that you'd only have to shell out low-millions to have on your roster than Jussi Jokinen?  The Finnisher's resume speaks for itself as his legend grows season by season.

Celebrate Old Times

 The NHL season kicked-off yesterday night, with two nationally televised games on Versus, and "coincidentally", both games featured both teams from last year's Stanley Cup Final.  The Boston Bruins took on the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Vancouver Canucks opened their year against the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Both games had a pre-game banner raising ceremony in front of their home fans, but the Stanley Cup Champion Bruins' celebration sort of rubbed me the wrong way...
 The pre-game ceremony began with a moving highlight reel following the Bruins' playoff journey en route to becoming eventual Cup Champs.  The video sent chills all over my body, reliving Boston's highs and lows of the 2010-11 playoff campaign.  Falling down 2 games to 0 against heated rival Montréal in the first round, then forcing a Game 7 overtime victory, the sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers, a thrilling Eastern Conference Finals and one-goal Game 7 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning, falling down 2 game to 0 against the Canucks, only to unload on Roberto Luongo at home, and then eventually win Lord Stanley's Cup in Game 7 of the Finals.  Beautiful.  After the video ended, a tarp hanging from the jumbotron fell to the ice and magically revealed the Boston's 2010-11 Stanley Cup Champions banner.  Then... I'm not too sure about how I feel regarding what happened next.

Photo by Brian Babineau / Getty Images

 The Garden's PA announcer introduced the Bruins, and captain Zdeno Chara led the team onto the ice via the zamboni doors, Stanley Cup in hand.  You read that right, Stanley- Cup- in- hand.  The crowd goes wild, of course, so maybe Chara is just going to skate to center ice and gently place Lord Stanley on a podium with a spolight shining down on its sacred silver.  Wrong.  The Bruins continued to parade around the ice, passing the Cup off one player to another, in similar fashion to the traditional celebration that takes place immediately after a team wins the Stanley Cup.
 Although it was nice to see since retired players Mark Recchi and Shane Hnidy suited up in B's uniforms one last time with the Cup over their heads in front of the home crowd, I couldn't help but sit a bit uncomfortably as this procession took place.  Yes, you ARE the Stanley Cup Champions.  Yes, this IS the pre-game ceremony commemorating your victory.  But this is also a NEW SEASON, not some summer block party on Portland Street.  That was an accomplishment, a great one at that, made in 2010-11.  Boston, as of yesterday night, you were officially in 2011-12.
 It just seemed a bit taboo to carry around the Cup right before any game of any kind, and quite frankly I was a bit surprised it happened among a culture as superstitious as hockey culture (I mean, let's not forget Def Leppard's gaffe during their concert before Detroit's hope opener the season after winning in 2007-08, a mistake that some believe cursed the Wings and Marian "Judas" Hossa, but that's another story.)  I do not know of any other team doing anything like this during a banner raising ceremony, but maybe there is a precendent for it.  I remember in 2009-10, the Cup just sat silently, still, but ever-present at center ice in Pittsburgh after they had won the season before.
 The rest of the ceremony in Boston was moving and went very well, but the team's celebration with The Cup sat in the back of my mind until the game began.  Maybe I'm just a tradionalist, another fool who believes in all of the superstitions, curses, and magic held within the game of hockey, but it all just seemed... not good.  I will not blame the Bruins' loss that night on their antics with the Cup, but i'm sure I will be thinking about it if they miss the playoffs, are eliminated from the playoffs, Tim Thomas has an off year, or really anything goes wrong.
 Bottom line is, it just seemed a bit faux pas for a hockey team to do to me.  Am I alone on this?  What do you think?

Revolving Door

 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.

Petr Sykora is only 33 points away
from 700 in his NHL career.

THEY'RE BAAAACK!

 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.

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

Youth Movement

 Well, first things first, I guess I have to announce the official opening of The Hart of Hockey blog!  This is the website's inaugural post, and hopefully we have many, many more to come.  The point of this blog is to keep the update the masses on the latest NHL news as well debate and discuss those very topics. Comments are always welcome!

 Now then, business. The NHL 2011 draft picks have already had the opportunity to show their stuff in their respective organizations' training camps and preseason matches.  As we creep closer to the beginning of the regular season, questions are always raised about the immediate future of a team's draft picks.  A lot of movement has finally taken place as of this morning, and the 2011 draft selections have already created some of the most interesting stories going into the season.  Let's take a closer look at where many of the most intriguing young talents in the game will be spending the month of October.

MARK SCHEIFELE
Let's begin with arguably the most impressive rookie in this year's preseason, 18 year-old Barrie Colts product, Mark Scheifele.  People expected this kid to be good, but no one could have forseen him playing this well this soon.
 Since coming to Jets camp, Scheifele has shown poise, a great attitude, and scoring touch.  The people of Winnipeg are already high on this teenager, expecting him to be a prolific goal scorer in years to come.  However, despite netting 4 goals, it's been his vision on the ice that has truly stood out.  Scheifele has 4 assists to go along with his goals, which puts him 2nd amoung all NHL players in preseason scoring, and if they kept a separate statistic of "really good passes" or "plays made", he would have been among the top in those departments, too.
 Despite these impressive stats and his performance on the ice, the most distressing number on his resume is "18." As in his age.  Like all of the players in this post, they're all extremely young, and one has to wonder is they need that extra year or two to develop into the best player they can be.
 Winnipeg signed Scheifele to an entry-level contract at a cap hit of $1.625 early in the morning, October 3rd.  This has garunteed Scheifele a stay of up to 9 games, and then the Jets need to decide if thet want to keep his youth on the roster, or sent him back to the OHL.  Gabriel Landeskog was scouted as the only player who was sure to be NHL-ready at the draft, but Scheifele has quickly made the citizens of the 'Peg debate whether to keep him the big leagues or let him spend the rest of the year in Barrie to further develop his already impressive skill set.  Debate this all you want, Jets fans and hockey fans alike, but it lools as if Mark Scheifele is set for an 82 game season in the National Hockey League.  However, his play in those first few games will be the real deciding factor for the Jets staff.

RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS
 This year's first overall selection by the Edmonton Oilers has been the focus of many discussions regarding a player making an NHL roster or playing an extra year in juniors.  RNH, also 18 years of age, has been heavily scrutinized for his weight.  At the draft, he was 6'0", and a miniscule 150 lbs.  Now since the draft, RNH has bolstered up to 171 according to his profile on TSN, but that still is concerning to many (to put that in perspective, Detroit's speedy RW Chris Conner is recorded at 5'8", 180 lbs.  And let me tell you, 5'8" is probably on tip toes.)
 What The Nuge may lack in girth and muscle, he more than makes up for in ability. RNH has tallied 5 assists and 1 goal in 5 games played throughout the Oilers' preseason campaign, showcasing his playmaking abilities.  On top of his reputation of a 1st overall draft selection, a reputation he will never be able to shake his entire career, he has been compared by many to Pavel Datsyuk.  Whoah.  What a compliment.  It's one thing to be taken 1st overall in the NHL Draft, but to be compared to one of the elite players of a generation so frequently let's you know this kid is truly the real deal.  With that being said, RNH has visibly been tossed around a bit in moments during some of his exhibition appearences.
 Edmonton has already announced Nugent-Hopkins will appear on the Oilers' opening night roster, so he will finally get to experience true-blue, professional-pace, professional-power hockey.  Unless he can put up Datsyukian numbers in those first few games, the safe thing to do with The Nuge is to send him back to the WHL with the Red Deer Rebels to further develop (and by "develop," I mean get stronger, and get more physical.)  The Oilers already have great young players in Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Magnus Pääjärvi, Sam Ganger, and Linus Omark, there's no reason at all to rush this kid.

MIKA ZIBANEJAD

 Now here's an interesting hockey player.  This is a guy who was drafted 6th overall, and signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators as early as July 13th.  However, he has no U20 World Juniors experience to look back on, and he only put up 9 points in 26 games with Djurgårdens IF's top team in Sweden.  Am I missing something here?  Granted, he was only 17 years-old at the time, but for such low statistics, the hype for the kid never stops.  Scouts were buzzing about him pre and post-draft.  According to Matias Strozyk of eliteprospects.com, Zibanejad is, "A very skilled center/winger with good hands and a terrific eye for the game. A modern power forward with good skating. Likes to go into heavy traffic and play physically. Takes care of defensive duties well and has strong face-off skills."
 Zibanejad is only 18 years-old, but the potential seems to be there.  What's interesting is, Zibanejad has no ties with any OHL, QMJHL, or WHL teams, so if he doesn't make Ottawa's roster for the whole year (which I highly doubt he will,) will he go back to Djurgårdens, or just play international juniors with Sweden?  Not to mention, a franchise in an intense rebuilding mode like Ottawa will want to know when all of this potential is ready for the prime time...

GABRIEL LANDESKOG
 Initially believed to be the only player taken in the first round assured of making the big league roster, Landeskog's camp has taken a back seat to the stories of Mark Scheifele with the revived Jets, and 1st overall selection Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.  Still, Landeskog has performed well at Avs camp, and wasn't on the team's most recent roster cuts on October 2nd.
 What seems a bit off the wall about Landeskog's story, is his OHL team, the Kitchner Rangers, actually dropped him from their official roster anticipating he would make Colorado's official line-up.  The NHL is a funny place, there are never gauranteed roster spots for any player if someone else is better for the team. Avs management was also counting on the Swede to shine, because the team had previously stated they would like to sign Landeskog so they could hit the mandatory salary cap floor.
 Colorado did sign Landeskog to a three-year entry-level deal, with a lofty $3,575,000 cap hit. [capgeek.com]
 I guess it goes without saying that with no junior team to fall back on, and such a heavy deal for a kid who hasn't played one minute of regular season action, Landeskog is the only player in this post we can say for sure will spend the entire season with the NHL squad.

JONATHAN HUBERDEAU & JOE MORROW
 Two defensemen taken in the 1st round of this year's draft won't even be able to spark debate over whether they should make a roster after a few games or not, because as of yesterday morning, they have already been sent back to their respective junior squads.  Jonathan Huberdeau of the Florida Panthers and Joe Morrow of the Pittsburgh Penguins had promising camps, but will not play in any NHL games this season.
 Huberdeau, the 3rd overall selection in the 2011 Draft, put home 3 power play goals for the Panthers in 3 preseason games, but was also a -3 during those games.  The Panthers are doing the right thing here by sending this kid back to the QMJHL, and that's not because Huberdeau played terrible hockey.  It's just what's best for his future as a hockey player and a Florida Panther.  The St. John Sea Dogs defenseman needs to add a bit more physical attributes to his game, along with the fact he needs to literally grow physically, as well.  After hearing the news, Huberdeau even said himself in an interview that he was getting beat a few too many times and getting knocked around physically.  Contract negotiations did not motivate this move.

 Joe Morrow, on the other hand, does have a contract with his team, he just will not be playing with them during the course of the 2011-12 season.  Morrow had a particularly impressive camp and preseason with the Penguins, but Pittsburgh's defense corps are too deep for this kid to crack the roster this early.  Some people thought with veteran defenseman Brooks Orpik coming off of offseason surgery, Morrow would have been able to stay with the the club for a few games... before ultimately being sent down to the WHL anyway.
 This scenario was not meant to be, as it seems Orpik will be good to go at some point during the first two weeks of the Penguins' season, if not for the opener in Vancouver.  Dan Bylsma has chosen to roll with his already stunningly deep defense until then, leaving Penguins fans to wait one more year to see if Morrow can continue his unexpected success with the team.

BRANDON SAAD
 Here's a name you'd think would have been at the top of this post if you asked anyone what they thought of him about a year ago.  He's also a player that you'd think would be completely off of this post's radar if you asked anyone a month ago.  Yet here we are, talking up Brandon Saad once again.
 As long as I have been following hockey, I don't think I have ever seen someone's draft stock plummet harder and quicker than Saad's did.  A natural goal scorer once believed to be a top 5 draft pick, Saad fell all the way to the 43rd overall selection in the 2nd round after an atrocious second-half of the season with the Saginaw Spirit.
 Brandon Saad brought his A-game to Blackhawks camp though, and has earned himself a regular season roster spot witht the team.  After dressing in all of the Hawks' preseason games, Saad never really showed that "Top 5" talent he was once believed to have, but he sure played well enough to raise some eyebrows in the hockey community and to impress Coach Quenneville.
 Saad will most probably only stick around for 9 games with Chicago at best before he should sent back to Saginaw.  Ultimately, that is what's best for his career, but he certainly has already exceeded some pro-level expectations enough to bring his name back into focus.

Notable AHL-underage 2011 draft picks signed to a contract: Adam Larsson (NJD), Sean Couturier (PHI), Ryan Murphy (CAR), Ryan Strome (NYI), and JT Miller (NYR)

UPDATE!!! (10/5/11, 12:41pm)
 Reports are swirling that Brandon Saad has not only signed with the Chicago Blackhawks, but many are speculating that he will play on the Hawks' top line along side Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp.  Wow.  I personally still believe Saad should be sent back to the OHL after several games in the big time, but wow, if you want a young gun to get used to the NHL, there's really no better way to do it than to pair him up with one of the league's elite players/leaders and another scoring machine like the kid is supossed to develop into.  If Saad can produce with Toews and Sharp, he may be up in the NHL longer than anyone would have thought on draft day.