Burke To East Coast?

After the press conference its sounds as though Brian Burke WILL be heading to the East Coast. He wants to see his kids more often and is tired of going back and forth....west coast to east coast. LET THE TO LEAFS RUMORS BEGIN!

TSN GUYS (PIERRE MCGUIRE,DARREN DREGER AND BOB MCKENZIE) ARE QUICK TO POINT OUT THAT THIS IS NO SLAM DUNK. Mckenzie is saying at least a week before anything substantial goes down.

VOTE FOR >>>>>????

HEY guys NHL ALL-STAR GAME FAN BALLOTING HAS KICKED OFF TODAY....HOCKEYBUMS WOULD LIKE TO ADOPT A WILD CARD FOR EXAMPLE RECENT YEARS: Vote For Rory(Fitzpatrick) or Vote For Wade(Belak).... HELP US FIND A WILDCARD:

anyone....

Also start voting at vote.nhl.com NOW!

Scotty

GIVE A GOOD PICK: Perry,Sharp,Keith

STUPID/FUNNY PICK: Belak, Fitzpatrick...

Crazy goal by Mike Ribeiro

For those who haven't seen it yet, here's the shootout goal scored by Ribeiro in Dallas' 3-2 OT loss to the Kings:

Veteran defenseman Keith Carney retires

After 17 years in NHL veteran Keith Carney hangs his skates. In 1,018 games, he notched 45 goals and 228 points. He played for Minnesota, Vancouver, Phoenix, Anaheim, Buffalo and Chicago. He reached the Stanley Cup final with the Mighty Ducks in 2003.

Brendan Morrow will not be suspended

Dustin Brown received a five-minute boarding penalty and a game misconduct for checking Mike Ribeiro into the boards after the Dallas center took a slap slot from the right point that left him off balance on the follow-through during yesterday's game between the Stars and the Kings.

Morrow then initiated a fight with Brown that resulted in an instigator penalty and a game misconduct for Morrow. The fight happened with 1 minute left to the game.

The NHL has rescinded its one game suspension to Brenden Morrow. Morrow was set to receive an automatic one game suspension for drawing an instigator penalty on Brown. The league also rescinded the automatic $10,000 fine to coach Dave Tippett.

Jarkko Ruutu suspended 2 games

Ottawa forward Jarkko Ruutu has been been suspended 2 games without pay by the NHL for his blindsided hit on Montreal Maxim Lapierre. Ruutu delivered an elbow to his head.

Lapierre did not appear to suffer any injury on the play and Ruutu was assessed a two-minute minor for charging. He had to hustle Francis Bouillon right after the play to pay for his dirty hit. Both players received major penalties.

Ruutu was later assessed a 10-minute misconduct with less than 10 minutes to the game. He waved to the crowd as he left the ice:

BREAKING NEWS: BURKE OUT AS DUCKS GM

Anaheim Ducks General Manager Brian Burke is "out", and Bob Murray will be his replacement, according to TSN.ca

Burke refused to accept the organization's contract extension they offered to him a short time ago. His reasoning behind the move seems to be family motivated.

LIVE BURKE NEWS UPDATES ALL DAY LONG HERE ON HOCKEY-BUMS

4:05PM Josh is speculating that the Kings could be in the mix to land Brian Burke when he starts fielding offers from other teams. The Leafs are probably the likeliable landing spot for, although teams would ditch their GMs to go after Burke.

I'm not sure about the KIngs, because if he has family issues around Anaheim, maybe LA wouldn't be a viable spot then.

4:00PM Bob Murray seems very esctatic to be taking on his new role, and has nothing but respect for the man who brought him to Anaheim (Burke).

1:58PM Sportsnet (Canada) says that the press conference will be issued at 12:30 PT, and the only thing they mention is that the conference is related to the general manager position. TSN has broke the news that the GM switch between Burke and Murray is indeed occuring.

1:54PM: We have our Josh the King trying to get the latest info for you all, as to why this is occuring and if it has anything to do with any opportunity to become the Leafs GM

1:52PM: TSN'S latest briefing:

The Anaheim Ducks have called a news conference for this afternoon to
announce that Bob Murray is taking over as general manager for Brian Burke.

More info as it comes in.

Literal Analysis -- "Almost Perfect"...

So what does a die-hard Habs fan with an English Lit. degree and perhaps too much time on his hands do?

1. Eat, Sleep and Breathe the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge...

2. Devote himself to the cause of producing totally unnecessary blogs about his beloved Canadiens (but hey, at least I'm beginning to make use of that lengthy and expensive education!)...

3. 'Borrow' ideas from other writers (what do you think English Lit. is all about?)... thanks to Four Habs Fans for the contextual bullet-point inspiration (check out their Game Previews), by the way...

4. Attempt to be clever by molding said 'borrowed' ideas into a  format that echoes his own background of literary study while putting a previously unseen spin on recaps of games that have already been covered by umpteen different media outlets...

So with that being said, welcome one and all to the first of many 'Literal Analyses' of the night that was in Hab-land... you'll notice I've structured my past two entries in a similarly literary fashion, providing a 'Foreword' and 'Afterword' for last night's game.

With a little tinkering and maybe some luck, I hope my current vision of a Coles Notes style synopsis of games will translate effectively... anyways, here goes:

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

SETTING: Montreal's Bell Centre, to its usual capacity crowd of 21,273 fans.

PLOT: Two teams looking to put it all together clashed in a fast, skilled and physical affair last night, with the Canadiens emerging victorious after playing what was easily their most complete game of the 2008-09 season. Montreal battled for every puck, from end to end, and got the better of an Ottawa club that also competed very hard from start to finish.

HEROES:  Chris Higgins scored his first career NHL hat-trick, skating hard and making the most of his opportunities with 3 highlight-reel goals (2 of which were on breakaways). Carey Price was perfect, stopping 28 shots for his first shutout of the season, and had to be especially sharp against Ottawa's Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley in particular, who were both buzzing around the Canadiens' net all night long. Finally, the Montreal Media got the in-game 3-Star Selection exactly right by naming Josh Gorges the night's 3rd Star; Gorges was an absolute rock on the blueline last night, making great one-on-one plays, winning battles, completing smart and effective passes out of his own end, and aggressively defending his blue-line. Gorges simply epitomized the Canadiens' effort last night, and was rightfully recognized for it.

ANTAGONISTS: Jarkko Ruutu finished the game with 9 PIM, a 10-minute misconduct and a failed attempt at decapitating Maxime Lapierre... the hit is currently under review by league officials. Following his ejection from the game with 8 minutes remaining in the 3rd, Ruutu waved goodbye to Montreal fans, confirming earlier suspicions that he is in fact completely devoid of class. Aside from this, Ottawa's persistent crashing of the net and Montreal's aggressive forecheck were equally disconcerting for the opposing team.

CLIMAX: Though a high-intensity affair from start to finish, Montreal's penalty kill following Robert Lang's delay-of-game penalty in the latter half of the second period should be singled out as the tipping point in this contest. Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev, on a rare shift together, were brilliant with the puck and controlled the play in Ottawa's zone to the thunderous approval of the Bell Centre faithful. Immediately following the conclusion of Lang's penalty, Higgins potted a pretty feed from Sergei Kostitsyn to make the score 2-0 and take control of the game's momentum for good.

DÉNOUEMENT: Guillaume Latendresse threw a dart into the top corner off a draw at the 15:39 mark of the 2nd period, and Montreal never let up with a commanding lead, finishing with a 4-0 win after Higgins' third marker late in the final frame.

THEMES: Following their dismal performances in Columbus and Toronto, Montreal's players absorbed the coaching staff's message and took it upon themselves to right the ship. Hard work and discipline ruled the day as the Canadiens managed to out-skate and out-will the Ottawa Senators. The Habs wanted this one, and it showed, as they put together their best 60-minutes of the season.

Afterword -- A Deserving Victory...

All eyes were on the Canadiens in the Bell Centre this evening, every one of them waiting to see how the team would respond after a dismal showing in Toronto this past Saturday.

Far from disappointing, the Canadiens treated their hometown faithful (in their first opportunity to see the Habs on home ice in over two weeks) to the best 60 minutes of hockey the club has pieced together all season long.

Montreal came flying out of the gate and looked like the strong, skilled team that most prognosticators have been telling us all about. Opening the scoring midway through the first frame with a short-handed goal after reeling in Saku Koivu's hail-mary pass, Christopher Higgins completed his first career hat-trick late in the third period with another spectacular breakaway goal.

Ottawa, too, put together a solid game, but continued to suffer from a lack of secondary offense and could not solve Carey Price on a night in which the 21 year old goaltender was simply spectacular. Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley were both very good, but could not slip one past the determined Price.

At the end of the day, Montreal's crisp puck-moving and aggressive physical play outmatched Ottawa in the first of 6 (and maybe more, heading into May or June) battles between the two teams this season. As expected, both teams were looking to make an early statement and played a very hard-fought and amazingly entertaining game.

By a slimmer margin than the final score would lead you to believe, Montreal was the better team tonight and for the first time in some time, deserved to win.

Kings New 3rd Jersey Logo

This jacket will be worn by the Kings cheer girls. The logo is what will be on a all black jersey. They sure could have done better.

Oilers claim Boulerice off waivers

From the Edmonton Oilers:

General Manager Steve Tambellini announced today that the Edmonton Oilers have claimed forward Jesse Boulerice off waivers from the Colorado Avalanche and have placed left winger Steve MacIntyre on the NHL Injured Reserve List. [...]

Boulerice has played 170 NHL games with Philadelphia, Carolina and St. Louis, scoring 8-2-10 with 333 penalty minutes. He spent his first full season in the NHL with Carolina in 2002-03 and played a career-high 76 games with the Hurricanes in 2003-04.

Blake Scratched Again

The Toronto Maple Leafs have scratched forward Jason Blake for the 2nd time this season. He reportedly left the arena absolutely disgusted. I must say that he's had a chance to redeem himself after the first healthy scratch and in my opinion he has not. What do you leaf fans think because in my opinion he deserves it and Ron Wilson is doing the right thing.

Foreword -- Montreal vs. Ottawa...

For the first time this season, division rivals Montreal and Ottawa will face off against one another tonight at the Bell Centre.

Montreal goes into the game coming off of a very disappointing weekend that saw them fall to Columbus in a shootout then Toronto, the following night, in what coach, Guy Carbonneau, has called the most embarrassing game he has been a part of in his 2 1/2 years behind the bench of the Canadiens.

Ottawa enters tonight's contest after losing to Carolina last Friday, but have been very hot of late (4-1-1 in their last 6 games) in front of surprise standout starter, Alex Auld, who currently leads the league in GAA.

Both teams will ice a healthy roster tonight, though neither has seen consistent production from their top players so far in this young season:

- For Ottawa, Dany Heatley continues to score goals like they're going out of style, though Jason Spezza has been struggling with only 1 point in his last 5 games. The Senators have been consistently plagued by a lack of secondary scoring, and will need Mike Fisher and Antoine Vermette in particular to supply more offense.

- Despite the hype surrounding their ability to ice three offensive lines this season, the Habs have not had more than one effective line on any given night. Alex Tanguay continues to lead the team in scoring with 7 goals and is tied with Andrei Markov atop the club's point leaders with 14. Expected to be dynamic threats for the Canadiens, Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn have been lackluster to date and will need to inject more intensity into their games. The Kostitsyn factor will be particularly relevant in the case of older brother, Andrei, whose return to top form will be vital to the resurgence of last season's top trio alongside Alex Kovalev and Thomas Plekanec.

Having endured heavy criticism following their seeming complacency against Columbus and Toronto, Montreal will look to rebound in a big way tonight by putting together a more complete game, from end to end. Ottawa, meanwhile, is making a concerted effort to silence the naysayers and will be looking to make a statement of their own against divisional foes on a National Stage (TSN; 7:00 p.m.).

Whichever team can find a way to fire on all cylinders (as neither has been able to do thus far) will emerge victorious from what promises to be a hard-fought and highly entertaining game.

Niedermayer To Re-Sign With Ducks?+ Shanny Update

Turns out it was not Sundin, It was Scott Niedermayer

Just got this email from a source:

I just got back from the Ducks practice and the word is he(Scott Niedermayers) will sign a new one year deal to keep through 2009-10. A few different sources told me he wants a one year deal because he wants to play in next years Olympics.


Its getting heated up! Adding fuel to the fire Sundin Sold his Toronto Home...

SHANAHAN UPDATE: Im still hearing the New Jersey Devils are the front runners. Philly are still very much in the mix with Chicago trailing them.

Matchups of the night

Pittsburgh (8-4-2) at Detroit (9-2-2)
The first game between the Stanley Cups finals and the first time Marian Hossa will face his former team. We all know that Hossa turned down lengthy contracts to sign a one-year $7 M with the Red Wings. Hossa is the Wings' to scorer this season with 17 points (8 goals) in 13 games.

Evgeny Malkin is off to a rocket start this season with 22 points (4 goals) in 14 games. Crosby has 16 points in 14 games for the Penguins. Chris Osgood will face M-A Fleury.

My prediction: Detroit will win 4-3 in OT. Hossa will notch 1 goal and 1 assist.

Ottawa (6-6-2) at Montreal (8-2-2)
The first game of the season between the Northeast rivals. The Habs were off to a fast start before stumbling a bit in the past few games, espcially against the Blue Jackets and the Maple Leafs over the last weekend. The Senators have been very inconsistent this season.

Dany Heatley leads the Sens in scoring with 15 points (9 goals). As for the Habs, Alex Tanguay (7 goals) and Andrei Markov (13 assists) lead the team with 14 points apiece. Alex Auld and Carey Price will be in goal.

My prediction: Montreal will win 4-2 with a stellar performance from Price.

Who's Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers?

Coming from back-to-back wins in New Jersey and New York, where he blocked 77 of the 80 shots he received, Jean-François Drouin-Deslauriers is starting to turn heads.

The young Oilers netminder is slowly making a name for himself and vying for more starts in the NHL's only ménage à trois with Mathieu Garon and Dwayne Roloson.

In 4 games this season with the Oilers, Drouin-Deslauriers, has 3 wins to go with a 1,71 GAA and .951 Save %.

The 24 year-old goalie from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, spent the past two seasons in the AHL with the Springfield Falcons and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Penguins where he won a total of 48 games.

The 6'4'' 200 lb Drouin-Deslauriers was drafted by the Oilers in the 2nd round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He signed a one-way two-year contract with the Oilers worth $1,250,00 M ($625,000 per season) this summer. Therefore, Edmonton GM Steve Tambellini had to keep him in the NHL to start the season.

Deslauriers' emergence will allow Tambellini to shop Dwayne Roloson before the trade deadline, without fear of going with a Garon-Deslauriers tandem in the playoffs (should the Oilers make it).

Drouin-Deslauriers is only owned in 2% of Yahoo's Fantasy Leagues, so it's time to pluck him off waivers.

Sabres 3rd jersey in 09-10? 10-11?

What is it? Is it a slug? Is it a hairpiece? Most people don't know, hell, most people won't have to care, IF the rumors are true. Talk has recently arised about the Buffalo Sabres 3rd jerseys becoming the Sabres main jersey. Conformation? Well, when on WGR550, Larry Quinn stated that it might be a possibility for the Sabres to change. Wouldn't it be nice if it did?

I'l keep you updated

AJ

Trade rumors

A few trade rumors from around the league:

The Penguins are reportedly interested in Nashville's Martin Erat. The Preds are asking for 2-3 young players in return. Alex Goligoski would be one of them.

The Vancouver are interested in Flyers' forward Jeoffrey Lupul, they would send Matthias Ohlund in return (he as a no-trade clause though). The Flyers would prefer to send Mike Knuble.

Kari Lehtonen is rumored to be on the block. He will start the Thrashers' next game as Ondrej Pavelec was to the AHL. The Thrashers are looking for a young forward in return.

The Senators are quietly shopping Mike Fisher, who's starting to heat up at just the right time for Bryan Murray. The Sens are looking for defensive depth. Forget about the Spezza for Khabibulin, it's just a dumb rumor.

The Maple Leafs are not shopping Jeff Finger contrary to the rumors around the league. With Van Ryn's injury look for Finger to get an increased workload. The Leafs are shopping Ian White and Carlo Colaiacovo. The Blues are interested in Colaiacovo.

Brendan Shanahan will make his decision this week, maybe even on Wednesday.
Shanny wants to play for a team from the Northeast to be close to his family in NY. However, the Flyers, Hawks, Blues, Devils and Senators have shown interest in him. My bet is on the Devils, as New Jersey's offense has been lackluster recently.

2008 Hall of Fame class

Yesterday was the 2008 Hall of Fame inductees ceremony, which was held at the HHOF in Toronto. Let's have a look at the inductees:

Glenn Anderson comes from Burnaby, B.C. where he played for the Bellingham Blazers and the University of Denver before being drafted by the Edmonton Oilers 69th overall in the 1979 entry draft. He played in Edmonton for 11 seasons, until the 1990-91 season. Glenn was consistently near the top of the NHL in scoring and thrived in the playoffs, scoring overtime winners and game-clinching goals in each of Edmonton's five marches to the Stanley Cup between 1984 and 1990. In 1991, Anderson was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he became one of the Leafs' top scorers and once again a playoff leader, as Toronto made it to within one game of the Cup final in 1993, losing in 7 games against the LA Kings.

He played 1,129 games, recording 498 goals and 1,099 points. He scored 93 playoffs goals throughout his illustrious career.

Igor Larionov was already one of the top hockey players in the world when he made his NHL debut in 1989 at the age of 29. A native of Voskresensk in the former USSR, Larionov won eight consecutive Russian League Championships with CSKA Moscow in the Soviet Elite League and was named Player of the Year in 1988. He captured eight gold medals in international play, including two Olympic gold medals (1984 and 1988). Igor played for the Vancouver Canucks from 1989 to 1992, the San Jose Sharks from 1993 to 1995 and then the Detroit Red Wings for eight seasons — including three Stanley Cup championships. Larionov was part on the KLM line with Sergei Makarov and Vladimir Krutov.

He played 921 games in the NHL, notching 169 goals and 644 points.

In the Builder Category, former Western Hockey League Commissioner Ed Chynoweth was elected posthumously. The native of Dodsland, Saskatchewan became the first full-time President of the Western Canada Hockey League (now WHL) in November of 1972. He was a founder of the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League (now CHL) in 1973 and served as CHL President for 20 years. Ed Chynoweth passed away on April 22nd, 2008. His son Dean, who played 10 years in the NHL was at the ceremony in place of his father.

Ray Scapinello was elected in the Referee/Linesman Category. He played minor hockey in Hespeler, Ontario and after retiring from Junior C hockey he began his career as an official as a 20-year-old in Guelph. Three years later in 1971, Ray began his career as an NHL linesman. He was named the NHL's "best in the business" a record 20 times. In 33 years as an NHL official — 2,508 regular season and 426 playoffs games — Scapinello never missed a game.

Source: Legends of Hockey

A Great Weekend in Coyotes Country

Panthers @ Coyotes

Hockey Night in Phoenix saw the Coyotes take on the Florida Panthers at Jobing.com arena in Glendale for the teams' first and only game of the season. The Panthers got the scoring started in the first with a wrister from Richard Zednik assisted by Ville Peltonen & former Coyote Nick Boynton. Boyton was sent to Florida with Keith Ballard over the summer in exchange for center Olli Jokinen. The score stayed at 1-0 Panthers through-out the first with the Coyotes out shooting the Panthers 14 to 8.

The Coyotes woke up in the second with a beautiful wrist shot from Peter Mueller assisted by Olli Jokinen and Keith Yandle. Later in the 2nd came a goal by rookie Mikkel Boedker assisted by Daniel Winnik and Keith Yandle. They clenched the victory in the 3rd with an unassisted goal by Olli Jokinen and then another by Mikkel Boedker, Martin Hanzal getting the assist on that one.

Quite a few nteresting things to note about the match-up....

• *The only Coyotes penalty for the night was a 2 minute minor for too many men on the ice, served by Steven Reinprecht. The Panthers' Brian McCabe spent the night attempting to provoke the Coyotes Daniel Carcillo. Carcillo kept his cool, McCabe sat in the box twice.
  
• *This was Olli Jokinen's first meeting with his former team since being traded to the Coyotes over the summer. Jokinen was voted the first star of the game by fans at Jobing.com Arena. 2nd Star: Mikkel Boedker, 3rd Star: Keith Yandle. Defenseman Keith Yandle sat out the last 4 games as a healthy scratch. He came back Saturday night with a vengeance.
  
• *Panthers head coach Peter DeBoer was Boedker's coach last year when he played for the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL.
  
• *Gretzky & Co. tried hard to set up a hat trick for Boedker at the end of the third. Good attempt, but the puck couldn't find the back of the net. Shout-out to Brian McCabe who took a puck to the face and a puck to the crotch at the end of the third after Panther's goaltender Tomas Vokoun was pulled to allow for an extra attacker on the ice. He saw the Coyotes setting up that hat trick for Boedker and he made it his mission to not allow it to happen. Kudos McCabe, your pretty hardcore...
  
• *After the Panthers game, the Coyotes had gone 4 straight games without allowing a power-play goal.
  
• *The game marked Kurt Sauer's 300th career NHL game. Way to go Kurt!

Sharks @ Coyotes

The odds were stacked against the Coyotes as they returned to Jobing.com Arena Sunday night to take on the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks are one of the best teams in the NHL right now, the Coyotes were playing their second of a back to back game weekend & they were taking on goaltender Brian Boucher; who had only allowed only one goal in 3 games. Bourcher's record changed Sunday night. This game was probably the biggest test for the Coyotes so far this season; and they passed with flying colors. Or should I say flying pucks?

Once again, the opposition scored the first goal. The goal came during a San Jose power play, breaking the Coyotes 4 game penalty killing record. Dan Boyle scored first then Ryan Clowe followed suit, scoring on yet another San Jose power play later in the first. Coyotes rookie Viktor Tikhonov started up the scoring for Phoenix with his first career NHL goal. Tikhonov's parents were sitting across the isle from me at the arena during Sunday night's game. The look on his mother's face when Teeks scored his first NHL goal was absolutely priceless. I can't even begin to describe it...

Scoring Summary from phoenixcoyotes.com
1st Period Scoring
04:15 PPG - Dan Boyle (4) Slap Shot - Assists: Ryane Clowe (5) & Marc-Edouard Vlasic (7)
10:30 PPG - Ryane Clowe (9) Wrist Shot - Assists: Christian Ehrhoff (10) & Rob Blake (7)
12:07 Viktor Tikhonov (1) Wrist Shot - Assists: Martin Hanzal (6) & Todd Fedoruk (2)
12:34 Olli Jokinen (6) Wrap-Around - Assists: Zbynek Michalek (4) & Peter Mueller (5)
2nd Period Scoring
02:02 PPG - Peter Mueller (5) Tip-In - Assists: Olli Jokinen (9)
3rd Period Scoring 19:42
PPG - Olli Jokinen (7) Wrist Shot - Assists: Shane Doan (6) & Ed Jovanovski (1)

The Coyotes will now hit the road for more back to back games, taking on the Blue Jackets on Wednesday and the Wild on Thursday. They return home to face the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. Which is a game that we here at home have been anticipating since the release of the schedule. Sean Avery and Daniel Carcillo meet for the first time...

Note:

• *Daniel Carcillo was struck in the face by the stick of Dan Boyle late in the third period. The extent of Carcillo's injury is not known at this time.

GO COYOTES!!!

Lightning-Caps

This game will mark the return of Olaf Kolzig to Washington where he played all of his 16 NHL years. Ollie The Goalie is very emotional about his game as it's gonna be the first time he'll be wearing the visitor's uniform in D.C.

Brent Johnson will be between the pipes for tonight's matchup.
Johnson will be playing in his fourth straight game. He's done everything in his power to take advantage of Jose Theodore's slow start to the season. Johnson currently has a 3-1-2 record with a 2.12 GAA and .929 save percentage. Johnson was Kolzig's back-up last season...

Look for a goaltending duel tonight, especially since Lecavalier and Ovechkin are off to slow starts this season.

My prediction: Capitals win it 4-2, with Ovechkin scoring a pair of goals.

Kostopoulos suspended 3 games

Canadiens forward Tom Kostopoulos received a three-game suspension from the NHL following his boarding penalty on Mike Van Ryn. He will forfeit $32,926 because of his suspension.

Do you think it's a fair suspension?

I believe it's a fair suspension considering what Jones receive for his crosscheck on Bergeron last year.

Thanks To The TEAM 990

Big props to Team 990 Montreal's Sports Authority The NHL Tonight Show for having me as a guest last night. I had a great time and I look forward to doing their show again.

If you get a chance listen in on Saturday nights for the latest hockey updates !!

Kostopoulos Hit Under Review

Tom Kostopoulos' hit on Leafs d-man Mike Van Ryn will or is being reviewed by the league as I write this. It was no doubt dirty and as Fred said Van Ryn will likely be out about a month. Heres a video of the hit:



TELL US WHAT YOU THINK, SHOULD HE BE SUSPENDED, FINED OR BOTH AND IF SUSPENDED HOW LONG? EXPLAIN....

Van Ryn probably out a month

Leafs defenseman Mike Van Ryn will be OUT for about one month following a vicious check from behind from Habs forward Tom Kostopoulos during yesterday's contest.

Van Ryn suffered a concussion, a broken nose and a broken hand.

Kostopoulos felt very bad after as he didn't want to hurt Van Ryn who turned his back to Kosto just before he got checked into the boards face first similar to Randy Jones' hit on Patrice Bergeron last season.

Kostopoulos received a 5 minute major for boarding and was ejected from the game.

Expect Kostopoulos to receive a 2 or 3-game suspension for this act.

Ticket Contest, Clock Is Ticking

Hey Everyone, The contest for the Florida Panthers tickets is coming down to the line. SEND IN YOUR ENTRIES ASAP! YOUR TOP 5 PANTHERS PLAYERS IN HISTORY TO hockeybums@yahoo.ca, You must be able to attend the game.THE WINNER RECEIVES 2 TICKETS TO THE GAME.

Kari Lehtonen on the block?

According to the Hockey Night In Canada crew, Thrashers goalie Kari Lehtonen is on the trading block. The Thrashers are very pleased with the work of the young goalie Ondrej Pavelej and they decided to give him more games. Look for Don Waddell to be very aggressive in the upcoming weeks.

Colorado could very well be interested and send a young forward and a draft pick in return. Young, but inconsistent, forward Marek Svatos is on the trading block. With the emergence of T.J. Hensick Svatos is expendable.

Peter Budaj and Andrew Raycroft have been far from good this season, even though Budaj recording a shutout tonight vs Nashville.

Stay tuned.

Sundin Back To Leafs?

I now have heard the following IN THE SUNDIN RACE,These come from what ive heard throughout the summer and now:

Montreal(OUT)

Rangers(OUT,THEY DONT HAVE CAP SPACE)

Toronto(IN)

Vancouver(OUT)

Anaheim(About To Enter Sweepstakes)

Ottawa(OUT)

SOUNDS AS THOUGH SUNDIN WILL HEAD BACK TO THE LEAFS.

BIG STEP FOR HOCKEY-BUMS AND LIVE CHAT 8:30pm TONIGHT

ANNOUNCEMENT:

I WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE HOCKEYBUMS OWN JOSH JOHNSON, OUR WEST COAST GUY WILL APPEAR ON THE TEAM 990 MONTREALS SPORTS AUTHORITY AT 9:25pm EASTERN TIME ON "THE NHL TONIGHT SHOW".

CHECK UR OUT!

Scotty

HOCKEYBUMS LIVE CHAT TONIGHT AT 8:30pm TO DISCUSS ALL THE LATEST HAPPENINGS!

Lightning trade Matt Carle to Flyers

The Tampa Bay Lightning have traded young defenseman Matt Carle in exchange for forward Steve Downie and defenseman Steve Eminger.

Carle is a young puck moving defenseman that was having trouble offensively for the Lightning this season.

Carle had a career-high 42 points in 2006-07 during his rookie season with the Sharks.

He was acquired with Ty Wishart in exchange for Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich during the summer.