Würzel

Today, the band Motörhead lost a member of  its extensive family with the death of Würzel.  Born Mick Burston, he would be best known as one of the guitarists in Motörhead from 1984 until 1995.  The pinnacle of his time in the band?  See for yourself:

Anaheim Everywhere

Going through the closet of the franchise now simply known as the Anaheim Ducks, the wordy logo that adorns the front of their current jerseys doesn't exactly leave much to the imagination...other than the webbed "D."  If you want to look for something to blame for that, look no further than the picture you see here.  What you see here is Corey Perry, long before he became a Hart Trophy winner, wearing what was the last alternate jersey the Ducks would fashion before dropping the "Mighty" from their name.  Considering the team's history with alternate jerseys until 2006, this was sadly the best looking one of the bunch, with the "Wild Wing" and the far too busy threads that followed after that debacle, as you can see in the picture below (the two on the right).

The New Jersey Blues

Last year was to have been St. Louis' breakthrough year as far as being perennial playoff contenders go.  A funny thing happened along the way, and it was an all too familiar refrain for the Blues: injuries.  The prized acquisition from last year Jaroslav Halak struggled with injuries, both personally and to his teammates around him, and the Blues ended up missing the playoffs...again.  The Blues hope this year is different, and to that end, signed two players who have a lot of miles on them, as well as a few Stanley Cup rings in Jamie Langenbrunner and Jason Arnott.  Both are coming off of down years, which if you were watching the New Jersey Devils last year, is not surprising, but both will provide veteran leadership that was missing when Eric Brewer was traded at the deadline and a winning mentality that was sorely lacking everywhere except in goal. What does this mean for the youngsters on the Blues?  Plenty, if they want to know how to win, and given the talent potential from players such as Alex Pietrangelo, Chris Stewart, and David Backes, St. Louis has a lot of ability, but needs a way to harness that potential, and that is where Langenbrunner and Arnott, both former captains (and one of them could be named captain for this upcoming season), will figure into the equation.

Carolina Man

What does three years and $12.75 million buy you?  If you're the Carolina Hurricanes, it buys you a Stanley Cup winner who has posted good numbers from the blue line, which is exactly what Tomas Kaberle happens to be.  The long time Maple Leaf was traded at the deadline last season to Boston, where he didn't exactly light up the stat sheets like he did in Toronto, but he did get to raise the Stanley Cup, something that another long time Maple Leaf Mats Sundin never did, despite having that chance when he was given an opportunity to play for a contending team at the deadline in the 2007-08 season.  Kaberle will now join the team that his older brother Frantisek used to play for and won a Stanley Cup with in Carolina.  Though he is 33, Kaberle could be the power play quarterback that Carolina needs and one that he wasn't in his short time in Boston.  Carolina is also less of a pressure cooker than Toronto or Boston, which should be a good thing for a guy who is used to the pressure and (mostly) succeeding.  The only issue: the dollar figures for the contract.  $4 million a year (on average) sounds a little excessive, but given that most teams seem to overpay for talent this year (and every other year), this deal sounds relatively sane.

Dog Days of Summer

Since the hockey news is mostly limited to free agent signings, and many of them aren't significant enough to even dissect here, that leaves a pretty big hole to fill for things to post here.  So, for your amusement (or not), here's some really bad poetry:

Wild Days

I've been absent for a few days while the free agency period has begun with owners overpaying for players (read: Brad Richards' 9 year, $60 million deal with the Rangers and James Wisniewski's 6 year, $33 million deal with Columbus) and fans of their teams scratching their heads at some of the signings (see: Jaromir Jagr signing with Philadelphia).  In an attempt to keep everything rational, I have not put thoughts to the blog and other than the small update on favorite players leaving the Canucks (both Tanner Glass and Rick Rypien signed with Winnipeg over the weekend, which actually increases my like for the new Winnipeg team), have said nothing about the signings.  Today, that changes, though today's thought subject is actually a trade.

This morning, the San Jose Sharks made a trade with (wait for it) the Minnesota Wild, where Dany Heatley and Martin Havlat switched places.  What does this mean?  Well, the Wild get a player who can score goals and is looking to redeem himself after a so-so last season.  The Wild get a second-tier star who was actually an All-Star last season and can set up goals for the likes of Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton.  That is not the reason why I am writing this piece, though.  No, it's about Heatley, and the potential that has still yet to be realized.  Sure, you know about his playoff failures in recent years, but it goes beyond that.  It began with his first three seasons in Atlanta, where his potential was first realized in his rookie year, where he edged out then-teammate Ilya Kovalchuk for the Calder Trophy.  The following year, he was the MVP of the All-Star Game and looked well on his way to superstardom.  Then, one fateful night in late September, the car he was driving was involved in an accident that killed teammate Dan Snyder.  Heatley would miss half of the season while recovering from injuries in that accident.

Prior to the 2005-06 season, Heatley was traded to Ottawa in a deal that saw Marian Hossa go to Atlanta.  His goal totals in Ottawa were 50, 50, 41, and 39 in his time there.  The last season, however, saw him clash with coach Cory Clouston over playing time.  While asking for a trade, he nixed a trade in the offseason that would have sent him to Edmonton.  He would eventually be traded to San Jose prior to the 2009-10 season. In his two seasons with San Jose, he amassed 39 and 26 goals.  In San Jose, the numbers don't tell the whole story, as he was demoted to the second line in favor of Devin Setoguchi, who ironically, was traded to Minnesota a week earlier.  Questions about his skating also came to surface last season, as he was eventually demoted to third line duties in the playoffs.

Going to Minnesota, he won't have the likes of Joe Thornton on the same line, but he should definitely be motivated because Minnesota is as hockey mad as the people in San Jose and Ottawa, and clearly, this trade was performance related, and despite having a few more points than the guy he was traded for, the Sharks wanted better skating, which to them, necessitated his trade.  Heatley has a chance to be the face of the Minnesota Wild, and I would love to be able to see that happen, but he has to help himself, not just on the ice, but also off of it.

Market Time

With the turn of the calendar to July, this is when the hockey talk slows to a total crawl.  It is also the day in which the free agency period begins, and before this year's free agency market even began, a few potential names were taken off.  You know the names that will be up for grabs, so today's piece will be about those who were supposed to be on the market, but were signed prior to today.  To that end, the list of players signed prior to today and how it impacts the team they signed with will be listed below.

Kevin Bieksa: What a strange season it's been for Bieksa.  From being rumored to be involved in a trade to Columbus to his Gordie Howe hat trick against San Jose in the playoffs, he is now signed to the Canucks for five more years at what can be best described as a "hometown discount."  He was the best Canucks defenseman last year, and with Dan Hamhuis as his blue line partner, Bieksa will offer some offense and will even drop the gloves.

Maxim Lapierre: When it comes to the bottom two lines on the Canucks, none fit the description better than mid-season acquisition Lapierre.  The definition of "villain," he was a great fit for the team, particularly in the playoffs.  Two more years of Lapierre is great for Vancouver and bad for everyone else.

Ilya Bryzgalov: Traded to Philadelphia before he hit free agency, he was signed to a nine year deal by the Flyers.  To do this, the Flyers traded away Jeff Carter and Mike Richards in separate deals.  Seemingly, the Flyers are not done dealing, but nine years is way too much for any goaltender, let alone one who doesn't have the playoff pedigree a playoff contender like the Flyers covet.

Christian Ehrhoff: Traded twice, to the New York Islanders and then to Buffalo, he was eventually signed to a 10 year, $40 million dollar deal by Buffalo.  Buffalo still needs forward help in terms of offense, but Ehrhoff will be a good addition to a blue line that has a shutdown defenseman (Robyn Regehr) and a promising tower of power (Tyler Myers).

Brooks Laich:  Signed to a 6 year deal by Washington, he is the heart and soul type of player every team would love to have, and Washington was wise to keep him before he hit free agency.

Dwayne Roloson: Tampa Bay will still need someone to spell him for at least a game a week, but Roloson is exactly the player Tampa Bay needs while they develop their young players in goal.  And he can still steal a game or two if needed.

Tomas Kopecky: Overshadowed by the likes of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Marian Hossa, Kopecky was traded to Florida before free agency, and was signed to a deal by the Panthers.

Jussi Jokinen: Carolina needs offense, and Jokinen has scored 30 goals in a season recently for the Hurricanes.  Not on the level of Eric Staal, but a definite solid second line player, and a wise re-signing.