tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-322542292011-04-21T16:45:59.302-04:00In depth analysis of trades, signings, injuries and more.chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.comBlogger341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1158117119179809222006-09-12T23:10:00.000-04:002006-09-12T23:12:08.616-04:00

As I prepare my stats and more for the upcoming NHL season, I've realized that blogger.com simply won't fullfill my needs. My blog has been transfered to www.nhlanalysis.com/wordpress as of tonight.

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1158096143809177952006-09-12T17:12:00.000-04:002006-09-12T17:22:23.816-04:00

I'll be abandoning blogger and putting up a new webpage within the next week, and fine tuning it from then on. This will be my first solo project for designing and maintaining a webpage (gasp!) so please bear with me.In the meantime, my team data database is ready to go and just waiting for games to start so I can start entering data. I've also just about completed a "beta" individual player

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1157690383751613682006-09-08T00:09:00.000-04:002006-09-08T00:39:44.123-04:00

Now that all 30 teams have been reviewed, I'll be spending the rest of the summer finishing up my power rankings, statistical databases, and other tools to get all ready for the season. In the meantime, I'll be posting at least a couple times a week with a deeper look at some of the big signings and moves, or of course with a look at any new signings or news that does crop up.While we wait for

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1157679513659381242006-09-07T21:11:00.000-04:002006-09-07T21:38:33.846-04:00

Additions: Nick Boynton, Ed Jovanoski, Georges Laraque, Mike Morrison, Jeremy Roenick, Travis Roche, Owen Nolan, Mike ZigomanisSubtractions: Paul Mara, Mike Johnson, Geoff SandersonAnalysisPhoenix was quite active during the summer, which I for one actually found quite surprising. The Coyotes actually did fairly well early in the season before Ladislav Nagy was injured and the betting scandal

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1157643527211721602006-09-07T11:05:00.000-04:002006-09-07T11:38:47.570-04:00

Additions: Rob Blake, Dan Cloutier, Peter Harrold, Alyn McCauley, Patrick O'Sullivan, Scott Thornton, Brian Willsie, Raitis IvanansSubtractions: Luc Robitaille, Joe Corvo, Pavol Demitra, Mark Parrish, Jeremy RoenickAnalysisI can't quite follow the plan in Los Angeles this summer. Many of their moves - trading star forward Pavol Demitra for young stud O'Sullivan, letting Jeremy Roenick and others

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1157498661577266922006-09-05T18:56:00.000-04:002006-09-05T19:24:21.880-04:00

Additions: Chris Pronger, Michael Leighton, Shawn ThorntonSubtractions: Ruslan Salei, Jeff Friesen, Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav SmidAnalysisImproving on a team that comes so close to the Stanley Cup finals is always tricky, but the newly minted Ducks managed to make a splash in a big way when they acquired big Chris Pronger from the same Edmonton Oilers who bounced them from the playoffs. While they

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1157330937676671942006-09-03T20:08:00.000-04:002006-09-03T20:48:57.873-04:00

Additions: Curtis Brown, Mike Grier, Mark Bell, Patrick Traverse, Graham Mink, Mathieu BironSubtractions: Aly McCauley, Scott Thornton, Tom Priessing, Josh Hennessy, Matt Carkner, Michael VernaceAnalysisLast year the Sharks pulled a real fast one getting Joe Thornton out of Boston for three solid players from what turned out to be a surprisingly deep team. Thornton really deserved better than

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1157166368212763492006-09-01T22:45:00.000-04:002006-09-01T23:06:08.226-04:00

Additions: Matthew Barnaby, Michael Green, Jeff Halpern, Jaroslav Modry, Patrik Stefan, Darryl Sydor, Eric LindrosSubtractions: Jason Arnott, Bill Guerin, Johan Hedberg, Niko Kapanen, Willie Mitchell, Patrick TraverseAnalysisDallas needs to get its post-season record back on track. They have been a fairly dominant team in the regular season for a number of years but have not recently been able

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1157081900098482012006-08-31T23:20:00.000-04:002006-08-31T23:38:20.113-04:00

Additions: Keith Carney, Pavol Demitra, Kim Johnsson, Mark Parrish, Branko Radivojevic, Wyatt SmithSubtractions: Filip Kuba, Patrick O'Sullivan, Randy Robitaille, Daniel Tjarnavist, Andrei Zyuzin, Kyle Wanvig, Andrei NazarovAnalysisMinnesota is a team on the upswing. I for one am glad about that, as the fans in Minnesota have been very patient thus far. A number of years of slow, patient

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1156998036314806572006-08-31T00:00:00.000-04:002006-08-31T00:20:36.350-04:00

Additions: Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek, Willie Mitchell, Marc Choinard, Taylor Pyatt, Jan Bulis, Yannick TremblaySubtractions: Alex Auld, Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen, Nolan Baumgartner, Keith Carney, Dan Cloutier, Jarkko Ruutu, Eric WeinrichAnalysisVancouver was not supposed to miss the playoffs last year, plain and simple. They were expected to be a contender and make a long run through the

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1156909941835263952006-08-29T23:36:00.000-04:002006-08-29T23:54:15.810-04:00

Additions: Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid, Marty Reasoner, Daniel Tjarnqvist, Jan Hejda, Petr SykoraSubtractions: Chris Pronger, Ty Conklin, Georges Laraque, Jaroslav Spacek, Sergei Samsonov, Michael Peca, Dan SmithAnalysisLast year's Cinderella Team, the Edmonton faithful got to watch the team that came within one game of the Stanley Cup get pretty solidly dismantled in the offseason. From the

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1156885853579539592006-08-29T16:42:00.000-04:002006-08-29T17:10:53.773-04:00

Additions: Tyler Arnason, Jordan Leopold, Michael Vernace, Matt Murley, Ben Guite, Mark Rycroft, Michal VernaceSubtractions: Rob Blake, Dan Hinote, Alex TanguayAnalysisColorado is a team undergoing a major changing of the guard at all positions on the ice. It started a few years ago with the retirement of Patrick Roy, continued last summer when Rob Blake left for Columbus and Peter Forseberg

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1156742171625857132006-08-28T00:58:00.000-04:002006-08-28T01:16:11.653-04:00

Additions: Jamie McLennan, Alex Tanguay, Jeff Friesen, Andrei Zyuzin, Brad FerenceSubtractions: Shean Donovan, Jordan Leopold, Craig MacDonald, Chris SimonAnalysisFor the past few years, Calgary has been well known as a nearly impregnable team, with stalwart Miikka Kiprusoff in net and a very strong defence in front of him. Little has changed on the back half of the team, as Kipper will of

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1156647042209132372006-08-26T22:18:00.000-04:002006-08-26T22:50:42.220-04:00

Additions: Bill Guerin, Dan Hinote, Jay McKee, Dough Weight, Martin Rucinsky, Manny legaceSubtractions: Patrick Lalime, Mark Rycroft, Jeff Hoggan, Dean McAmmond, Kevin Dallman, Brendan Buckley, Trevor ByrneAnalysisSt. Louis managed to beat out Pittsburgh, Columbus and Chicago for last place last year, ending a streak of playoff appearances that was almost legendary. Admitting the season was a

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1156565608599264282006-08-25T23:45:00.000-04:002006-08-26T00:13:28.650-04:00

Additions: Denis Arkhipov, Patrick Lalime, Martin Havlat, Bryan Smolinski, Craig MacDonald, Sebastien Caron, Michal Handzus, Reed LowSubtractions: Craig Anderson, Curtis Brown, Matthew Barnaby, Mark Cullen, Mark Bell, Michal Barinka, Shawn Thornton, Kyle Calder, Jason MorganAnalysisFew teams underwent as many changes as the Blackhawks this summer. Given their disapointing season (understatement

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1156476420683912862006-08-24T23:09:00.000-04:002006-08-24T23:27:00.693-04:00

Additions: Ty Conklin, Anders Eriksson, Tomas Kloucek, Fredrik Modin, Fredrik Norrena, Filip NovakSubtractions: Andy Delmore, Marc Denis, Trevor Letowski, Michael RuppAnalysisLast year was a dissapointing season for Columbus. After bringing veteran defenceman Adam Foote in, the Blue Jackets were expected to compete for their first post-season appearance. They fell short, to say the least.Things

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1156395837358534542006-08-24T00:38:00.000-04:002006-08-24T01:03:57.366-04:00

Additions: Jason Arnott, Josef VasicekSubtractions: Denis Arkhipov, Mark Eaton, Darren Haydar, Mike Sillinger, Brendan Witt, Scott Walker, Adam Hall, Danny Markov, Greg Johnson, Yannic Perrault (expected)AnalysisNashville has had a young, fast team for a number of years now, and they've quietly continued to build their team up for as long as they've been in the league. They resigned a large

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1156217589128802412006-08-21T23:06:00.000-04:002006-08-21T23:33:09.136-04:00

Additions: Matt Hussey, Dan Smith, Dominik Hasek, Krys Kolanos, Danny Markov, Dan SmithSubtractions: Steve Yzerman, Mark Mowers, Brendan Shanahan, Manny Legace, Don MacLeanAnalysisDetroit is a team for whom anything less than the Stanely Cup is considered a failure. They are also a team undergoing a major changing of the guard this summer. With Steve Yzerman's retirement and Shanahan's

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1156131094430154882006-08-20T23:11:00.000-04:002006-08-20T23:31:34.473-04:00

Additions: Brian Pothier, Richard Zednik, Donald Brashear, Trevor Byrns, Alexandre Giroux, Petr Taticek, Peter Vandemeer, Chad WisemanSubtractions: Jeff Halpern, Brian Wilsie, Mathieu Biron, Boyd Kane, Nolan YonkmanWashington sure is lucky they have Ovenchkin locked up at under a million dollars for the next two years. They're also lucky that once those two years are over, they can finally stop

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1156042425413367982006-08-19T22:21:00.000-04:002006-08-19T22:54:13.503-04:00

Additions: Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Auld, Bryan Allen, Ville Peltonen, Ruslan Salei, Ed BelfourSubtractions: Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek, Jamie McLennan, Jamie Allison, Jon Sim, Serge PayerAnalysisFlorida is a team that underwent some major renovations since they last played hockey. Gone is all star goaltender Roberto Luongo, the man who played 75 of Florida's 82 games last season. His

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1155960068295056212006-08-18T23:36:00.000-04:002006-08-19T00:01:08.316-04:00

Additions: Fred Brathwaite, Darren Haydar, Johan Hedberg, Niko Kapanen, Glen Metropolit, Steve Rucchin, Jon Sim, Kyle Wanvig, Vitaly VishnevskiSubtractions: Jaroslav Modry, Tomas Kloucek, Marc Savard, Patrik Stefan, Karl StewartAnalysisWhile I don't feel that Atlanta has the depth or experience to make an extended run in the playoffs, they should be a very dangerous team in the regular season and

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1155873478957664522006-08-17T23:42:00.000-04:002006-08-17T23:59:17.840-04:00

Additions: Andy Delmore, Mark Denis, Doug Janik, Filip Kuba, Luke RichardsonSubtractions: John Grahame, Pavel Kubina, Fredrik Modin, Darryl Sydor, Shane WillisAnalysisHands up who was surprised when Brad Richards received a $7.8 million per year for 5 years deal earlier this season. Ok, everyone. Moving on.Whether Richards deserves that kind of money or not (short version: no way, but Tampa

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1155780274930994562006-08-16T21:42:00.000-04:002006-08-17T00:44:21.486-04:00

ADDITIONS: John Grahame; Trevor Letowski; Scott Walker; Shane Willis; Pat DwyerSUBTRACTIONS: Martin Gerber; Matt Cullen; Aaron Ward; Doug Weight; Josef Vasicek; Mark RecchiAnalysisWell, first off let's get the easy prediction out of the way first: Carolina will not do as well next year. However, they will have a very strong team for years to come.A number of the changes will not be really felt:

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1155696771684525742006-08-15T22:37:00.000-04:002006-08-15T22:55:02.196-04:00

Additions: Mark Eaton, Jarkko Ruutu, Patrick Ehelechner, Nils Ekman, Dominic Moore, Mark RecchiSubtractions: Andy HilAnalysis:Ahh, Pittsburgh. The team of big "P" potential for how many years now? How many top draft picks have they had who weres supposed to save the team and catapult them into the playoffs? And yet Pittsburgh has remained mired in the basement of the standings for year after

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1155614142872480252006-08-14T23:41:00.000-04:002006-08-14T23:55:42.880-04:00

Additions: Andy Hilbert; Mike Sillinger; Brendan Witt; Tom Poti; Chris Simon; Rick BerrySubtractions: Wyatt Smith; Garth SnowAnalysisThe Islanders started out of the off-season gate with all the right moves. Witt and Poti are two defencemen who will vastly improve the blueline for next season, with Witt being counted upon to shore up the defensive coverage and Poti quarterbacking the powerplay

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1155527801910511272006-08-13T23:38:00.000-04:002006-08-13T23:56:41.920-04:00

Additions: Matt Cullen, Aaron Ward, Brendan Shanahan, Adam HallSubtractions: Michael Green, Steve Rucchin, Tom Poti, Dominic Moore, Petr SykoraAnalysisOne of the most surprisingly successful teams last season, the Rangers were initially expected to be a bottom feeder. And while the team was swept out of the first round of the playoffs by rival NJ, the season had to be considered a success for

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1155425358282491962006-08-12T19:06:00.000-04:002006-08-12T19:29:18.293-04:00

Additions: Baumgartner, Cullen, Jonnson, Murray, Robitaille, Corse, Sanderson, CalderSubtractions: Kim Johnsson, Radivojevic, Brashear, HandzusAnalysisAs soon as the Flyers grabbed Forseberg last summer, I made the prediction that if they got solid goaltending, they would be THE team to beat. Well, I was right about goaltending being one issue. I, like many people, missed how important foot

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1155349033386204472006-08-11T21:54:00.000-04:002006-08-11T22:17:13.396-04:00

Notable Additions: Michael RuppSubtractions: Bobby AllenAnalysisAfter locking up a few key free agents - Brodeur midway through last season, Elias, White and Langenbrunner as early into free agency as Lou could manage - New Jersey has been quietly scrambling to get its affairs in order. And no wonder, with a team salary already over the $44 million dollar cap and several key players still

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1155269545443750112006-08-10T23:57:00.000-04:002006-08-11T00:12:25.470-04:00

Notable Additions: Zdeno Chara, Shean Donovan, Paul Mara, Mark Mowers, Tukka Rask, Marc SavardSubtractions: Nick Boynton, Hal Gill, Andrew Raycroft, Marty ReasonerAnalysisThe two big gambles Boston took this year were Chara and Savard. Chara was the most sought after defencemen of a very high profile free agent pool this summer, but that doesn't excuse the massive overpayment Boston shelled out

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1155188294440492472006-08-10T01:04:00.000-04:002006-08-10T01:38:14.496-04:00

Notable Additions: Hal Gill, Pavel Kubina, Andrew Raycroft, Michael PecaSubtractions: Tukka Rask, Eric Lindros, Jason Allison, Aki Berg, Alexander Khavanov, Luke Richardson, Ed Belfour, Clarke WilmAnalysisWho were the real Leafs last year - the team that went 1-7 against divisional rival Ottawa, including numerous blowout losses, or the team that finished 9-1-2 to be the hottest team not in the

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1155072300664135232006-08-08T17:14:00.000-04:002006-08-08T17:25:00.676-04:00

Notable Additions: Samsonov, JohnsonSubtractions: Sundstrom, ZednikAnalysisMontreal last season was a textbook example of how important goaltending is to success in the NHL. The early season success of Theodore meant that Montreal started the season off very well. When Theodore faltered, so did the Habs.Huet and Abeischer is a solid if unspectacular tandem for next season. If either of those

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1154991887778890862006-08-07T18:46:00.000-04:002006-08-07T19:36:59.160-04:00

Notable Additions: SpacekNotable Subtractions: Mike Grier, Jay Mckee, Taylor Pyatt, JanikAnalysisBuffalo was a surprisingly successful team last year. They avoided adding free agents last summer because they needed to keep their salaries in check, and the management was likely as surprised as the rest of the league at their success. I can't see them matching their success, though they should

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1154911293761947352006-08-06T20:17:00.000-04:002006-08-06T20:41:33.790-04:00

Additions Since Last Year: Preissing, Barinka, Hennessy, Gerber, CorvoSubtractions: Hasek, Havlat, Chara, Arnason, Varada, Pothier, MorrisonAnalysis:Ottawa went into the offseason knowing they were going to lose some big players. They did so but did a pretty good job of signing who they could while adding yet more talented young players with potential to help fill in the gaps down the road. The

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32254229.post-1154827516058847382006-08-05T21:19:00.000-04:002006-08-05T21:25:16.070-04:00

While the offseason is hardly the obvious choice for starting up a hockey blog, this particular offseason has been one of the most entertaining and interesting in many years. With training camp only a few weeks away, the remainder of the summer offers an excellent time to analyze the changes that have occured around the league since Carolina took home the Stanley Cup.So for the next few weeks,

chochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02786998406541023347noreply@blogger.com0