We here (and by 'we' it's just me and Matt) want to wish you all a Happy New Year. 2008 has been filled with wonderful hockey moments and we are sure that 2009 will be just as exciting and hopefully even more.

We would also like to take this moment to apologize for the lack of updates as of recently. Since we are still in our first year with Around The Net we have a lot to learn. One thing we have experienced is just how difficult it is to keep up with all of the happenings with the NHL and our own personal lifes around the holidays. We promise that next year we will be more prepared and will not be taking such a ridiculous long time to post news.

With that said, now it is time to look at the second half of the NHL season. Please keep in mind that any information/news/rumors/nhl randomness you might have to please send it our way. We need visitors like you to become the best!

I just got done reading a very informative article written by  Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe. Although, this article really just speaks to what is common-knowledge for most NHL fans and that is "fighting". Many people view fighting as the thorn in the side of the NHL. It makes the league look like WWE and is just not necessary in sports.

In many sports, at the very first sign of a fight or "disagreement" officals will make sure they get in between it for it escalates. This is not the case in the NHL and Shinzawa goes into a lengthy article about the origins of fighting and how it is viewed.

I feel like this article is a must-read for a lot of people who do not truly understand the "fighting" portion of hockey. It might just change their mind...probably not but if it can at least shed some more insight into the area.

Click here to read the article.

It's official.  The Sean Avery experiment in Dallas is officially over.  While I've never disliked Avery, he went too far this time.  I don't mean the insults he threw Phaneuf's way (actually those were kind of funny), he embarrassed a respected franchise and made legend Brett Hull look stupid.  If the kid can get his head right, and I hope he can, some team will take a chance on him.  Here's the press release:

Frisco, Tex. -- The Dallas Stars today announced that forward Sean Avery will not return to the NHL team. Representatives for both Avery and the Stars said they would continue to work together in support of Avery during “this critical time” for the player. All parties said there is a clear understanding that a return to the Stars is not in the best interest of either the hockey club or Avery.

Sean needs to focus on his own well-being while the Stars hockey team must focus on playing hockey and competing for a playoff spot,” said Stars Co-General Manager Brett Hull. “Everyone understands that Sean will not return to the Dallas Stars. We all need to move forward.”

Stars management also said the team would not seek to challenge Avery’s contract under the conduct clause included in the Standard Player’s Contract. The agreement’s Paragraph 2 (e) directs all NHL players “to refrain from conduct detrimental to the best interest of the Club, the League or professional hockey generally.” Avery was suspended by the NHL last week for comments he made prior to a game with Calgary.

“The message here is: no distractions. Sean can focus on resolving his personal issues,” said Hull, “and the Stars will have closure on this episode. The team needs to put its energies into winning.” The Stars said the team will continue to honor Avery’s contract while exploring all options for his hockey future consistent with the terms of his counseling.

"We do care about Sean and want what is best for him,” said Hull. “We’ve agreed to do what we can to help find him a place to play hockey once he addresses his personal issues.”

The Lightning and Barry Melrose saga continued yesterday as Melrose sounded off against his former employer and hopes "they don't win another game all season."  If you'd like to read some of the interview, check out TBO.com's synopsis.  I see problems on several fronts.

Ownership
The new owners want to everything they possibly can to put money in their pockets.  They made a huge investment in purchasing a team that was going nowhere with the hopes they could turn it around.  This is made all the more difficult with a fan base that changes allegiances when their "other team" comes to town.  So they go out and turn the roster upside down, bring in high profile free agents along with a high profile coach to try to put more fans in the seats.  How can you blame them?  They also pour a large amount of money into a marketing campaign to highlight their No.1 pick and expect him to be played.  Then they try to lend help to a coach that feels he doesn't need help and the friction begins.

Melrose
Here's a guy who has been out of coaching for over a decade.  He's only been analyzing the game on TV.  I'm sure he knows the game of hockey, he was a player before he was a coach.  But what was his resume before he got hired to be the Lightning head coach.  Coach of the L.A. Kings from 1992 to 1995.  During that time, he had players like Luc Robataille and Wayne Gretzky.  He comes to a team that has Vinny Lecavalier and the No.1 pick Steve Stamkos.  He tries to put in a system that is foreign to the players.  The players aren't getting the ice time they feel they deserve which is compounded by the fact that the owners went out and signed an overabundance of forwards in the offseason.  The coach tries to make everyone happy while he himself gets frustrated.   More friction.

Players
What happens when you sacrifice defense for offense and the offense doesn't show up?  Easy answer: you lose and look bad in doing so.  In a team sport, when the players aren't happy, it shows.  The Lightning had the same coach and the same system for a long time.  Along comes the new guy who tries to change the philosophy and is a little more old school, and it rubs some players the wrong way.  If you're the owner of a team, and your best player is complaining about the coach, how can you not listen?  There is also the issue of chemistry.  When you only keep 6 players on your team from the previous year, you have give them time to come together as a unit.  Then as they are starting to gel, you turn over the roster some more disrupting the chemistry again.

In my opinion, the everyone is to blame here and it's the fans that suffer.  The Lightning are just plain bad and I don't see them getting better this year short of a miracle.  I see two options for this team.  Option 1: they get rid of the dead weight and expiring contracts to clear cap space while obtaining draft picks or prospects.  Or option 2: stick with what they have and hope that a year together will mean a better season next year.

An interesting article from the Globe and Mail discusses the NHL's economic future.  It seems that while the league and the sport have felt a rejuvenation these last few years, the upcoming years may be difficult.  The New York Islanders future depends on the approval of a new arena which will be made all the more difficult with the economy the way it is.  The Phoenix Coyotes future depends on their owner's business, Swift Transportation which is experiencing an economic downturn.  Other teams' owners like the Predators, Panthers, and Lightning are having difficulty making ends meet.  Even perennial powerhouses Detroit and New Jersey are feeling the pressure even though both are stable financially.

The future isn't all doom and gloom.  According to the article, two-thirds of the NHL are "operating comfortably within the current economic framework, including all six based in Canada."  Most GMs also believe that the salary cap will not be affected due to all the money that has been "banked" from previous years, even though attendance is down for 17 clubs.  I could go on and summarize the whole article, but I really hated doing that high school.  I do recommend you go and check out the article, it's linked above.  It provides an interesting insight into the economic future of the sport we love.

While browsing the internet the other day, I ran across the Sports Illustrated Vault which has a very cool image gallery of 52 goalie masks from around the NHL. All of the masks are designed by the goalie themselves so the design says something about the player as well. Check it out and feel free to post on what design you think is the best.

Link: NHL Goalie Masks

I just read a very interesting article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, by Bob Smizik, discussing if "fighting" still has a place in the NHL. He brings up how if the NHL wants to expand it's hold on the sports market, the fighting must go. To potential fans, fighting can look to be ridiculous and not needed. Check out the article as Bob brings up some very interesting points. Feel free to discuss!

NHL: Quit pulling punches on fighting 

After the Tampa Bay Lightning picked Steven Stamkos with the 1st overall pick in this years draft, there was all sorts of discussion on how he could be the new face of the Lightning. There were billboards around the bay area asking "Seen Stamkos?".

It appears to be a fairly legit question now.

Stamkos has averaged just 9 minutes, 47 seconds of ice time, has just three shots on goal and zero points. However, this is not entirely Stamkos' fault. So far the Lightning have been spending a lot of time with penalty killing, which Stamkos is not a part of yet. Barry Melrose has admitted to want Stamkos on the ice on average of 12 - 15 minutes per game. So far, that hasn't happened.

The Lightning are going to have to find a way to get Stamkos on the ice more so that he has the opportunity to contribute. This could be done by putting him on the power-play unit, but so far he hasn't seen any of that either, except in practice.

Plenty of time left, but the point is that the Lightning need to give Stamkos a chance to show what he can do.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had one of, if not the most, active offseason in the NHL. Only a few players from last years team remains. New owners, new coach, new players = success? Well, there is plenty of the NHL season left to decide the answer to that question.

Early signs, however, are not looking good. So far the Lightning have allowed shot totals of 41, 39 and 46. They also have yet to win a game. They did manage to pick up a point with their overtime loss, but that was after leading the game 3-0. Not a good start by any means, but it is just the beginning of the NHL season.

Of course, it is waaaay too early to start making judgements on the offseason moves, but the Lightning are going to have to improve all aspects of their game if they want to start winning games.

As Matt had mentioned in a previous post, the 2008-2009 NHL season has begun. Along with the NHL, the AHL is about to hit the ice as well. The Chicago Wolves will open the American Hockey League's 73rd season. They are the current Calder Cup champions and are looking to repeat. Unfortunately, history does not look promising for the Wolves as the last AHL team to win back-to-back Calder Cup championships were the Springfield Indians in the 1990 and 1991 seasons.

The AHL is a lot more unpredictable because of the constant flow of players being moved up and down from the NHL. The AHL, after all, is hockey's top developmental league. The Wolves open their season Saturday on the road against the Houston Aeros. The AHL's three Canadian teams will begin Friday, with the Toronto Marlies hosting the Binghamton Senators. The Hamilton Bulldogs will be visiting the Manitoba Moose as well.

With all of that said, the puck offically drops with two games on Wednesday. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will host the Hershey Bears. The Penguins were defeated by the Wolves in the Calder Cup Championship and are looking to have another shot (just like their NHL affiliate). The Providence Bruins will take on the Lowell Devils.

So, let's get ready for some hockey!

Rosters are starting to take shape.  Players are sharpening their skates and taping their sticks.  Yes folks, the NHL season is here again!  The games over in Europe are done with the Rangers sweeping the Lightning and a split in the Ottawa/Pittsburgh.  I know I'll be sitting in front of my TV Thursday, with my Center Ice package, enjoying the start of the season.  And don't forget to check back here as we'll keep you up to date on the goings on around the league.

TheStar.com has a very interesting article about Vesa Toskala. Even though we was snubbed from the starting spot on the first and last games last year, Toskala showed a lot of talent and potential. Unfortunately, with Sundin gone, Vesa Toskala will have to be even better. For Toronto to have a chance at the playoffs they are going to need some good play from their goalies and they are hoping that Toskala is the answer.

 Luckily, Toskala will have some new changes around him that should hopefully provide some additional confidence. Since last year, he now has a new head coach, a new goalie coach, a new backup, and some new defencemen in front of him. Toronto is a team that is hoping that it can recover from it's poor play last year, but to do that they will need to huge season from Toskala.

Is it just me, or is this ongoing saga of will he or won't he with Mats Sundin eerily similar to the whole Brett Favre circus from a few months back.  Let me preface what I'm going to say with I've always thought of Sundin as a class guy on top of being one of the best players in the game.
 
This all started at the trading deadline when he wouldn't wave his no-trade clause.  Toronto clearly wanted to move in another direction and knew they couldn't afford (or didn't want to) a contract of player who's been on the decline and will be another year older this season.  Hmm, Green Bay wanted to move in another direction with a young QB they drafted several years ago, while an aging legend with a big contract held the team in limbo on whether or not he was going to stay around after the season.
 
Once the season was over and free agency began, it looked like there would be a bidding war for his services.  It was rumored as many as six teams were vying for his services.  Then Sundin said he would make a decision by the beginning of August.  Well that date came and went and still no decision.  Then we hear that he's leaning toward retirement, holding the three teams still interested hostage.  When Lord Favre finally decided to come out of retirement after holding the Packers hostage, multiple teams expressed their interest in his services.
 
Now I've even heard that Bob Gainey has talked to the big Swede about playing versus retiring, and when he was asked if Sundin wanted to play for Montreal, Gainey's answer was "He didn't say no."  If it's taken him this long to decide, I believe he still has the desire to play.  Sundin should take a cue from Joe Sakic.  If the desire is there, even a little bit, he'll regret retiring.
 
I for one got tired of the Favre media circus by day two.  In my opinion, it tarnished the legend of a great QB and I think some of shine of Mats Sundin's class has been tarnished as well. 

In Lyle "Spector" Richardson's article on Fox Sports website, it is discussed how the Tampa Bay Lightning might have "potential" problems with their defense...

You think? So far, the Tampa Bay Lightning (in my opinion at least) have made the biggest splash this offseason, signing players like Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Mark Recchi, Vaclav Prospal, Olaf Kolzig, and signing #1 draft pick Steven Stamkos. Who they have not signed however, are defensemen.

I think the new ownership has completed their goal of improving this team, but it still shocks me on how little they have improved their defense. Like most sports, the common phrase is "Defense wins championships". The article that Spector writes is an article that brings out the problems that Tampa Bay has not resolved.

If you have a chance, check out the article. The only thing I disagree with is that this is a "potential problem". It is definitely a problem.

Post what you think in the comments.