Jeff Carter? Kovie?

In my opinion the Avs had three big problems last year:

1) Lack of a consistent point-a-game type of player
2) Giving up too many shots
3) Overworking Anderson

Avs have a lot of work heading into this season. Obviously the Avs already have Anderson and Budaj so the only real solution to B is just play Budaj more often.

Not too much the Avs can do about 2. Maybe sign a defenseman but the Avs already have six guys and a ton of prospects on D.

So the best way to go is grab one or two guys who can score a lot. My answer would be Jeff Carter and Kovie. The Avs have the cap room. Philly is desperate to get rid of cap space. Kovie will score a point-plus per game. If the Avs want to be cheaper than go for Sharp. Chicago needs cap space but not so much after ripping off the Thrashers.

What should the Avs do at the deadline?

Wolski Statsny Stewart
? Duchene Hejduk
Galiardi O'Reilly Yip
McLeod Hendricks Tucker

It seems to me there is only one whole in the Avs roster and that is a second line winger. You could also say there is a need for a hard shooting point man on the powerplay but I like Quincey and think he can take on that role.

Its hard for me to say this personally because I was a huge fan of both players but Liles and Svatos possibly Salei have to go. Even if they go for picks it would be a good idea. The Avs backend is just too crowded to justify having 8 defensemen. I think it would be a good idea for the Avs to go after either Teemu Selänne or Ray Whitney at the deadline. The Avs need a good 2nd line forward (preferably left wing but if the right player comes up I'm sure the Avs should just take it aka Selänne.

I doubt the Avs will get either player though. Most likely they will trade Svatos and lines for picks. But I think a lot of teams looking to rebuild would love to give Svatos and Liles a shot. They're still young and have had good success in the past. Avs need an experienced and steady winger. Selänne would be my preference but since his first go around with the Avs didn't go so well both sides might be reluctant.

Goalie Gluttons

One particularly interesting thing I've noticed in the NHL recently that nobody is talking about is why some teams need a goalie desperately (Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Tampa) and why there are so many teams with too many goalies (Islanders, Montreal, and Boston).

It seems to me a potential trades should be in the mix. However there are two big problems.

1) Most teams with too much goalie talent are playoff teams that like the insurance of having a backup who can step into the role of a started when injuries hit.
2) Teams that need a goalie have little hope of making the playoffs.

The big exceptions to the above rules are Ottawa and the Islanders. Islanders are not a team still in rebuilding mode and Ottawa should be rebuilding but are still in a playoff spot.

Therefore, I would expect the Islanders to ship Biron to Ottawa for some prospects or draft picks. Ottawa doesn't have a great number of developing talent but at least the Islanders are realistic. I guess the backfire of DePietro's contract is making them more conservative.

This is no guarantee it is mostly wild speculation on my part.

Though what interests me is when Montreal will trade Halak. My guess would be Tampa or Edmonton and throw in the Caps as a dark horse.

Ballard's epic fail

I'm at a loss for words as to describe how stupid this is. First of all, the good news is Vokoun is ok. Second, way to take out my fantasy goalie Ballard. Like that situation can't get any worse. Third, like the Panther's could make themselves any worse.

Michael Liambas Hit On Ben Fanelli

This is a totally brutal hit:



Players should be kicked out of hockey for that. There was no play there. Rangers are up 2-0. Liambas starts his stride out side the face-off circle and plows him into the glass. Both a charging and boarding penalties. This is not as bad as what Marty McSorely did to Donald Brashear or what Todd Bertuzzi did to Steve Moore (the biggest injustice in hockey history in my opinion).

Still with a rash of head hunting in hockey recently maybe its time for the NHL to come closer to the NCAA (can't believe I'm saying the NCAA does a good thing but that's another story). Anyway its time the Chris Simons of the world get a reality check.

Feature on Dani Furlong

This is my feature that was published in The Metropolitan:

When one envisions hockey many stereotypes come to mind of Canadian boys beating on each other over frozen water. However, when one meets Metro hockey's one female on-ice representative, forward Dani Furlong, many stereotypes are broken. Coming from Tampa Bay, Florida where her father worked for the Lightning of the NHL Dani grew up playing hockey with her two brothers starting at age five. Her last experience with coed hockey was when she was 14. From then on Furlong has played exclusively on women's teams. 

"(Men's hockey) is a little faster and more physical," Furlong said.

Though standing at 5'3'' Furlong is not afraid of the physical play to the surprise of some of her teammates. She plays primarily forechecker on the checking line.

Furlong plans applying her experience with Metro to play division one women's hockey at Northwestern University. She was originally recruited for Northeastern* out of high school. In high school her hockey resume includes playing for a boarding school in Massachusetts and winning a national championship in 2003. After deciding nursing school wasn't for her she moved out to Colorado to pursue a career in sports journalism. She is currently works with the Met report. 

"I did not know one person out here," Furlong said.

However, quickly made friends with her teammates and is treated as one of the guys.

"She's the best girl on the team!" Forward Dan Golden joke during an interview.

At first she said some of the guys were a bit more careful around when playing with her but that quickly went away by the second day of tryouts. During games the players on the other team don't really treat her much differently.

Though a female hockey player from Florida might be a surprise, the most impressive thing about Furlong is her style of play and not her biography. She is widely considered to be one of the smartest hockey players on the team. 

"We have a had five girls tryout out for the team before but in those cases it was clear that none of them would be able to make it," said head coach Ryan Callahan. "She's smart and plays the game very well."

Though the team was originally mum on whether or not Furlong would making the final roster assistant coach Curtis Duffus knew she would make the final roster.

"I am personally very impressed and surprised," said Duffus. "She handily made the team."

After making the final roster Furlong has not been a disappointment. The checking forward has two assists and three games.

*Made a mistake on the published version that Furlong politely corrected for me. The incorrect version says Northwestern.

Good article on the Broncos salary cap

I really don't know much about football and my knowledge of the salary cap structure in the NFL is really limited. Basically, I'm just a casual football fan. Anyway this is a great article on the Broncos cap space. I definitely think it is worth your time.