Once again, Five for Howling will be at court tweeting via @OdinMercer for today’s emergency court hearing. Also checkout @theYotesdiva, @hkyfn and, if you must, @YotesGurl
Phoenix Coyotes’ Scottie Upshall (8) shoots to score on Dallas Stars’ Tobias Stephan (31), of Switzerland, in the first period of an NHL hockey game Monday, March 30, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Coyotes today announced that they have resigned both Scottie Upshall and Josh Tordjman to one year deals. While the Team didn’t realease the numbers on what each signed for, Capgeek.com has Upshall signed for 1.5 million, and after the season he’d still be a restricted free agent. Tordjman was signed for just over half a million, if he plays in the NHL. Chances are he won’t be seeing much time in Phoenix. He’ll also be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
Both deals are solid for all sides in my opinion. In Upshall’s case, he wanted more money after a career season. 1.5 is okay money for someone that’s only just started to show what he can do. Having just the one year deal both allows him to show he can replicate last year’s success and keeps him an RFA so the Coyotes aren’t losing an asset at year’s end.
Tordjman was honestly lucky to get much of anything. I was surprised that the team actually kept him on after some of his performances last year. With Montoya looking to be the starter in San Antonio at the moment, Tordjman is really going to have to make an impression simply to get starts down on the farm team.
As most have already seen the NHL Board of Governors met today to go over the proposed bids from each of the groups involved in the Coyotes sale. Jerry Reinsdorf, Ice Edge and representatives from PSE were all in Chicago awaiting all of this today. In the end, the League said unanimously said “YES!” to Reinsdorf, Unanimously said “No!” to Balsillie and said “Um… What is this?” To Ice Edge’s letter. So what’s that mean for all the parties involved?
Reinsdorf- All systems are go as of now for the first auction a week from today. He has the NHL’s full support an offer that makes sense and if you look at how much teams have sold for, it’s actually not a bad price. Of course we can also look forward to objections from Moyes and PSE. The Reinsdorf deal keeps every game here in Phoenix, takes care of the creditors outside of Jerry Moyes and likely Wayne Gretzky are if not paid, are negotiated with secure the debts and set up repayment. Gretzky would also be out as head coach which fans in the valley have been waiting for.
Jim Balsillie/PSE- It comes as no surprise to anyone that the Board rejected his application today. I’m pretty sure they were actually counting on it. Now they can actually make all those anti-trust claims that they tried to make earlier. The previous decision from the judge was based on the fact that they had not been wronged because the NHL hadn’t made an actual decision. Now that they have PSE could move forward on the claims should the court not go for the Reinsdorf bid. The statements from PSE basically say as much and that they’ll keep up the fight for Canada to have more hockey. I mean… Hamilton to have more hockey. I mean… Jim to have real live NHLers to practice with.
Ice Edge Hockey- They basically got told what their offer is. Incomplete. There were reports of them actually having meetings earlier in the week to raise the 10 million dollars they want to use to pay off some of the smaller creditors. We’ve also learned more about who’s involved with the group. We have John Breslow who was linked to rumors of an offer earlier in the summer and Anthony LeBlanc a former executive at… lemme check… Research-in-Motion. Where have I heard that before… Oh Yeah. Balsillie’s friggin company! There are some other guys too, but one guy involved in the current mess of an ownership group and one guy who used to work for the guy that wants to take our team to Hamilton. That sounds like a super idea. Oh and they want to play games in Saskatoon or Halifax. Including Playoff games! Let’s find ways to hurt hockey in the valley even more guys. They can probably expect objections from PSE and Moyes as well. In addition I wouldn’t be surprised to hear objections from the City of Glendale and other vendors too for the economic damage playing games elsewhere would do.
Don Maloney told The Sporting News’ Craig Custance that they were very interested in the Former Colorado and Montreal winger. He also addressed the uncertainty on what he has to work with budget wise.
FILE - In this April 9, 2009, file photo, Florida Panthers left wing David Booth, right, skates against Atlanta Thrashers defenseman Zach Bogosian, rear, during an NHL hockey game in Atlanta. The Panthers agreed to a six-year contract extension with Booth, shortly after the young forward became a restricted free agent on Wednesday, July 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith, File)
Over the next couple of weeks, Five for Howling will be attempting to figure out who our possible rivals around the league could be. Does that necessarily mean that we have the level of hate and malice like Montreal - Toronto? Probably not, but hopefully it will at least generate some debate as to who the teams are that our team and fans get geared up for. In the end we’ll have one top Eastern Conference rival and about three Western Conference teams. I’ll give some of the recent history between the teams to get things going. I’m breaking things down by division just because it’s easier. We’ll start today with the Southeast Division and continue with the rest of the East during the week. Next week we’ll continue with the Western Conference. Be sure to vote in the poll and tell all your friends!
While the record shows the Coyotes‘ dominance over the Thrashers, they’ve been in a lot of close games. Of the 12 games they’ve played 5 have been decided by only one goal and one has ended in a tie. There aren’t really any player specific rivalries to speak of and with only 12 all time meetings there hasn’t been much time to relly go up against them.
Memorable Moments: In the only meeting between the two teams in the 06-07 season the Coyotes faced the Thrashers in Atlanta. Curtis Joseph was getting lit up through the first two periods and the defense wasn’t helping any. The Thrashers scored 4 unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead into the second intermission. Coming out in the third, the Coyotes quickly put another goal on the board with a Ladislav Nagy goal just 2:14 in. Shane Doan and Owen Nolan added goals to tie and send it into overtime. In the extra frame Yannik Perrault would put in the game winner on a looong pass from Zbynek Michalek.
Carolina Hurricanes - All time record against: 7-4-2-2 (Only counting CAR record)
All time we may lead the series against the Hurricanes, but the last couple of years they’ve absolutely blasted us when we’ve played. There’s again, no personal connections yet (Though we’ll have a Staal too. Really they’re brothers?) and without them it’s hard to build a long distance rivalry like this.
Memorable Moments: Last year the Hurricanes just creamed us. At one of the low points of the season, after the All-star Break, they visited Jobing.com Arena. It looked like we’d be okay halfway through the game, having come back to tie things up 2-2. Suddenly everything started going wrong though and the Canes would rattle off 5 more goals in the last 30 minutes to beat us 7-2. Not a positive for our team, but certainly something that sticks with you the next time you play.
The Panthers fleeced us last year in the Olli Jokinen deal. Taking Keith Ballardand his mighty hipcheck and giving us a guy that played like crap. Our bad for making the deal, but come on!
Memorable Moments: Last Year’s game against the Panthers. While not necessarily making a huge rivalry, was a big game for my favorite young guy Mikkel Boedker. He scored twice in the game including one with some nifty moves to make it 4-1
Well we just traded them David Hale and Todd Fedoruk for Radim Vrbata, which looks good to them now, but wait until they see them on the ice. Then we should have something going. The rivalry will be there simply for making them watch Hale man the blueline. They also have head coach Rick Tochett, former assistant coach here in Phoenix, also of gambling ring fame. The Lightning have actually owned the Coyotes over the last few years. Before last season They had won 6 games in a row against us dating back to 2001. Last year we finally managed to beat them 3-2.
*EDIT* jpfdeuce of Raw Charge pointed out a couple of notable Lightning-Coyotes moments that I missed (Hey I was in college doing… stuff). Most notable, a hit by SHane Doan that ended Petr Svoboda’s career and the Nikolai Khabibulin trade in 2001 that gave us Mike Johnson, Paul Mara, Ruslan Zainullin and NY Islanders’ 2nd round choice that turned into Matthew Spiller. Then Khabibulin stopped throwing a temper tantrum and sucking and played excelent for them. While none of the guys we have even play for us any more.
Memorable Moments: Last year when we finally beat the Bolts’ streak against us. Doan got one rolling over Smith and Mueller put it in for a very NHL 09 video game feel to it.
According to some of the PSE attorneys in the Coyotes Bankruptcy case, we lost last season against the Capitals. No seriously. They said that in court. We won last year 2-1. Glad they were paying attention. I’m not sure we have a level of hate for the Capitals for a real rivalry, heck I was rooting for them in the playoffs until they got KOed. Alex Ovechkin though has the nasty habit of scoring great goals against us.
Memorable Moments: On Martin Luther King Day in a Matinee against the Coyotes Ovechikin scored this goal which was repeated on all major sports networks for the next year and change. I respect the hell out of the guy, but man do I hate playing against him.
So who do you think the most rival worthy team is out of the Southeast? Be sure to vote in the poll and discuss.
Phoenix Coyotes left wing Todd Fedoruk, top, fights with San Jose Sharks Left Wing Travis Moen during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif. Thursday, April 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
This afternoon, the Coyotes traded defenseman David Hale and left wing Todd Fedoruk to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for right wing Radim Vrbata.
Vrbata had issues last year after signing a big 3 year 9 million dollar deal with Tampa Bay. In 18 NHL games he scored 3 goals and had 3 assists. He asked the team for leave to go back and play in the Czech Republic and they allowed him to leave since he wasn’t producing and it meant they didn’t have to pay him. While in the Czech Republic he split time between HC Bílí Tyg?i Liberec and Mlada Boleslav BK. In 21 combined games he went 10-8-18. Earlier in the summer he said that he was looking to return to the NHL, but the Lightning pretty much said he wouldn’t be playing for them unless it was in the minors. In his season with the Coyotes he did very well, especially with Martin Hanzal, with 27-29-56 to show for it. If he can even approach that form again it would be a nice gain for the Coyotes. He may be somewhat over priced, but we’ve got plenty of cap space and could use some goal production.
As for Hale and Fedoruk I don’t think anyone will be broken up over their departure. Fedoruk was a solid checking line player who could pitch in a goal or two here or there, but Hale on the blueline was never something that turned out well. Though he did finally score his first NHL goal with us last season, he just always seemed to simply take up space on the ice and not in a good way. He was a constant healthy scratch, playing 48 games last season, mostly when Derek Morris went down with an injury or when Ken Klee needed a game off.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Starting Monday Five for Howling will be attempting to identify who our biggest rivals in the league are. We’ll be going division by division starting in the Southeast. May as well get some of the ones without big rivals out of the way as a warm up eh? Anyhow, be sure to stop by all next week to vote and add your 2-cents.
Links for today:
The Coyotes signed RFA Keith Yandle to a 2 year deal worth 2.4 million dollars. 1.1 million in the first year, 1.3 in the second. Glad we got him squared away. It’s been rough having to have him forced to get his experience too early up in the NHL, but he’s grown into his role over time. Hopefully he’s the solid dman we need him to be.
The Flames picked up Nigel Dawes off of waivers. This one confuses me. If we weren’t going to keep him, why not trade the rights to someone? That’s what we did for Lisin. It’s not like GMDM to just let players walk.
The Globe and Mail has more on the 2nd group of bidders that are now in the mix. Unfortunately they want to keep Gretzky around. Please not as coach guys… enough is enough.
Speaking of Gretzky, he’s agreed to be deposed. Though he wasn’t a lot of considerations for doing so and it’ll be focused on the amount the team has paid him and how much he is owed.
Be sure to check out the NHL superschedule the Dirk from On the Forecheck made. It breaks down just how much teams have to travel and how many back to backs they have. We ended up 3rd in most miles traveled. Hopefully we have the road record of 07-08 though.
Finally, Timothy Gassen, filmmaker and creator of “Gretzky, Indy & The W.H.A.”, writes this article about being a fan in Arizona right now. Needless to say, it ain’t easy right now. (Login may be required)
Got any more links or stories you think should be included? Then be sure to put them in the comments.
Los Angeles Kings’ Kyle Calder (19 Left) defends against Phoenix Coyotes’ Shane Doan (19) during the first period of their NHL hockey game in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Hector Mata)
THe NHL released all regular season schedules this morning including for our Phoenix Coyotes. Oddly, the Preseason schedule is still nowhere to be found on the Coyotes site yet. The Coyotes will open the regular season on Saturday October 3 against the LA Kings, Followed by an East Coast trip to play against the Penguins on the 7th and against Buffalo on the 8th.
The full schedule and breakdown can be found after the Jump
Some of the highlights of this year’s schedule:
4 game home stand October 15 - 24 against the Blues, Bruins, Red Wings and Kings. Hopefully Wheeler gets into the lineup for that Bruins game. Doan will check his friggin head off.
November 12th - The Canadiens visit Glendale - Not really a rivalry, but plenty of silly touques will be around.
Novemeber 21st - vs. Flyers - Fans get to welcome Danny Carcillo back and boo Pronger everytime he touches the puck.
I was having a great day until I came home to seeing that we had traded speedy Enver to the Rangers… I’m sure Korpikoski is a very good player. Heck he’s a former 1st round pick. But Enver, while lacking in the defense department was a fast little guy that would constantly have the opposition taking penalties for hooking and slashing simply because they couldn’t keep up. It’s a shame that he didn’t seem to fit with the team’s plans. I was looking forward to the Lisin - Turris - Boedker line making opposing lines dizzy.
I’m still stuck on the fact that his name is Lauri. I get that he’s from Finland and all, but still, that’s gotta get you some razzing in the room. Korpikoski was the 19th overall pick by the Rangers in 2004. Our current GM Don Maloney was the one that drafted him to the team when he was with New York. Rangers fans think he’s got plenty of upside and he could be a good fit for our young team. He’s still a fast skater, though not as fast as Lisin. He has experience on the PK as well as faceoffs. More importantly he played almost a full season on a team that made it to the playoffs. While young, that type of experience is important for the guys to learn from.
Oh Enver. It makes me sad to say goodbye. There was so much potential for you here. You were a blur on the ice. If only the defensive skills had been there, maybe Gretzky would have given you more of a chance. I hope you get plenty of Ice time in New York and that the fans treat you well. Don’t listen to any thing that Sean Avery guy tells you. No matter what anyone says he dresses like a douche and acts like one too. Also, don’t date any of his exes, that never ends well. Maybe hang out with Nikolai Zherdev, seems like a good enough guy and he’s from Russia. We’ll miss you here buddy. Good Luck…*tear….
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