Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins could possibly miss a large chunk of this season due to lingering issues regarding a concussion he incurred on March 7th after being hit Penguins Forward, Matt Cooke.
What better way to get through the week than with a little reminder of the puck world – if only we all got paid to skate around and hit each other.
Pre-season hockey games began last night: I’ll make sure to wake you all up when the real stuff begins. However, there have been still been some significant headlines and stories emerging from training camps in the past week.
The Washington Capitals signed defenseman Tom Poti to a two-year extension. The 12-year veteran will receive $3 million next season and $2.75 million in 2012-2013. Poti ranked 11th in the NHL in the plus/minus category, a stat heralded by many hockey experts as a key way to examine players (especially defenseman), with a +26 ranking on the season. The plus/minus stat essentially looks at the goal outcome while a certain player was on the ice: in a given game, if the Capitals lost 4-3, but Poti was only on the ice for 2 of the Capitals goals and one of the opponents goals, his plus/minus rating would be a +1 on the day. Poti told the Washington Post that he gave up some money in order to play for a team with a serious chance at winning not just one but multiple Stanley Cups.
Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins could miss the entire season according to ESPNBoston.com, due to post-concussion syndrome stemming from a hit he suffered on March 7th of last season. However, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli denied the ESPN report that Savard could miss the entire season, commenting “it is contradictory and untrue,” in an interview with the Boston Globe.
The NHL altered their rulebook in order to prevent hits to the head. With swirling talks day in and day out about the concussion epidemic in the NFL and the danger of maple bats in baseball, fans should appreciate the NHL and commissioner Gary Bettman for stepping up and implementing policies that protect their players. Far too many times last season, hockey highlights found their way onto Sports Center simply because another player suffered a hard check from the side or behind that left them lying unconsciously on the ground.
Rapid Fire
Chris Drury, captain of the New York Rangers, will miss the beginning of the season due to a broken index finger he suffered while blocking a shot. Drury is expected to be out for roughly 4 weeks, which means he’ll likely miss the first 3 or 4 games.
2nd overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, and who many view as the top prospect joining the league, Bruins forward Tyler Seguin appears ready to fill whatever role coach Claude Julien asks of him.
Florida Panthers veterans hope that dropping the gloves during training camp will spark an intensity in the locker room that turns around the poor performance on the ice of recent teams.
After starting off his last two summer vacations on the wrong foot, Marian Hossa finally relaxed with the Cup and savored the taste of victory this summer after winning it all with the Blackhawks last June.
New Wild forward, John Madden, will continue to prove himself in Minnesota, just like he’s done his entire life.
No comments:
Post a Comment