It wasn't long ago when Todd Bertuzzi, Markus Naslund, and Brendan Morrison were the talk of the league. They were arguably the best line in hockey during the 2002-03 season as the trio not only set career highs, but collectively posted 119 goals and 133 assists for 252 points. Not bad for one line. But since the lockout and the Steve Moore incident, every single one of their careers began to go downhill with a heap of steam.
Today, Todd Bertuzzi is still searching for a team to sign with for the upcoming season, Markus Naslund has announced his retirement, and Brendan Morrison is signed up to play for his fourth team since the start of the 2007-08 season after finding his way through trades and waiver claims. It's difficult to imagine the 34 year olds career to start elevating once again at this stage.
The main critical assement of the trios abilities on and off the ice start and end with the Steve Moore incident. It took place on February 16th of 2004, and following the lockout, none could return to their previous dominance on the ice. Bertuzzi was shipped off to Florida, hoping for a change of scenery, but constant injury problems plagued his career in the Sunshine State. He was then dealt to the Red Wings for a cup run, in which he posted 3 goals in 16 games. Bertuzzi was considered washed out and past his prime. A free agency signing with Anaheim watched the veteran power forward hit a 40 point season, followed by a year with the Calgary Flames with a 15 goal and 44 point campaign.
Naslund's goal totals continued to drop on a year to year basis after the Moore incident. He fell out of the 40+ goal plateau, into a legitimate 30 goal man, but after only 2 years after the unfortunate occurance, Naslund watched his performance dip to a high of 25 goals and no more than 60 points. After one season into his two year deal with the Rangers, Naslund had enough and retired from the game in North America.
Brendan Morrison has found it difficult discovering any sort of chemistry with any team he's played for, including the Canucks, the very team he thrived under after that night on February 16th of 2004. Only once in the last four years has he broken the 20 goal plateau, and while he's known for his playmaking abilities, he's only mustered up 56 assists in his last 120 games. But many believe he still has a chance to be an effective second line player in the NHL. After being claimed on waivers by the Dallas Stars at the deadline, Morrison posted 6 goals and 3 assists in his final 19 games, nearly matching his 10 goal performance throughout his 62 games playing for Anaheim.
The Washington Capitals and their fans know it won't be the 2002-03 Morrison that will be showing up to play on their 2nd line, but they sure would be pleased if he could get a few more years out of his career by breaking out of his 4 year rut. Morrison still has the touch, it's just a matter of his lack of confidence over shadowing his talent.
Micheal A. Aldred
michealaldred@hotmail.com
Monday, July 13, 2009
Morrison Capitalizing on Opportunity
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
"Monster" Leafs, Ducks aren't "Finnished"
The Toronto Maple Leafs have come to terms on a 1 year $810,000 contract with swedish goaltender Jonas Gustavsson. The 24 year old is considered the best goaltender outside of the NHL today and looks to prove that he is indeed one of the best goaltenders in the game period. He'll get his chance next season as he joins the Maple Leafs organization as their 1B position in net.
Last season, Gustavsson was far and away the best goaltender in the Swedish Elite League as he posted a 1.96 goals against average and a 0.932 save percentage in the regular season and set a shutout streak record during the playoffs. He's scheduled to become the immediate backup to Vesa Toskala but since it is Toskala's spot to lose, or perhaps Gustavsson's spot to gain, it's difficult to imagine Jonas not playing consecutive nights early in the season.
The Anaheim Ducks also added more veteran presence to the dressing room as long-time friend of Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu, joins the fold. He signed a 1 year 3.25M dollar contract after spending 13 years in Montreal. It's unlikely the two will play on the same line, but their chemistry in World Hockey events could prove to be the fuel to fire for a great second line scoring tandem.
There are still plenty of options out there for teams in terms of free agent signings as Alex Tanguay, Derek Morris, Todd Bertuzzi, Dennis Seidenberg, Robert Lang, Christian Backman, and god forbid, Mats Sundin are atop the popular names on the market, not including Brendan Shanahan. And if teams want a little grit and more suspensions, the scoring dynamo that is Ryan Hollweg is still waiting by the phone.
Micheal A. Aldred
michealaldred@hotmail.com
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Beauchemin in Kaberle out? Good On Senators
Brian Burke was at it again Monday as he signed UFA defenseman Francois Beauchemin to a 3 year 10M dollar contract. The 29 year old adds that much more to the defensive and physical fold the Leafs are currently building. Now if they could only get a stable goaltender in net, Toronto could be a dangerous team to play against next season.
Jonas Gustavsson is expected to make his decision on where he will sign tomorrow. The front runners are the Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars, but with Marty Turco in net for Dallas, you'd have to wonder what would coax the "Monster" in signing on for a year to ride the pine behind Marty.
The Senators also took a splash into free agency on Monday by signing sniper forward Alex Kovalev to a 2 year 10M dollar contract. While it is not a discount of any kind, it's just that much more talent being stripped away from the newly renovated Montreal Canadiens. The decision not to retain past key players such as Sheldon Souray, Mark Streit, Mike Komisarek, Saku Koivu and now Alex Kovalev will prove to either be the best decision Gainey has ever made, or by far the worst.
Also on the Senators front, it's believed that Eugene Melnyk and Brian Murray no longer give a shit about the Heatley fold. They'd like to part ways with the demanding forward, but also understand that making him wait around for a while isn't necessarily a bad thing either. Heatley needs an ego check because it's now as big as his old Ferrari.
The Chicago Blackhawks avoided any possible spills with defenseman Cam Barker by signing him to a 3 year contract today. The NHL concluded it's investigation on the Blackhawks qualifying offers to their RFAs and fearing it would lead to the players becoming UFAs, the Chicago front office jumped the gun and began negotiating deals left and right to lock them up. Maybe next time they'll remember to follow proper procedure instead of chasing down Marion "I'll-never-win-a-cup" Hossa.
Micheal A. Aldred
michealaldred@hotmail.com
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Quick Hits (Leafs, Heatley, Antropov, Beauchemin)
Antropov signs a 4 year 16M dollar contract with the Thrashers, and reports suggest that Ilya Kovalchuk played a significant part in getting this signing done.
The Leafs are now pursuing Manny Malhotra in the UFA sweepstakes in hopes to land his services as the third line center, which is good news or bad news depending on how you look at it for forward Matt Stajan.
There are also a few rumors floating around by the major media outlets suggesting that talks are back on between Chiarelli and Burke regarding movement of Kaberle to the Boston Bruins. That said, the Canucks and Kings are also believed to be interested should either team not land the services of UFA defenseman Francois Beauchemin.
What makes this even more strange is Burke is also in on the bidding for Beauchemin should he move Kaberle. It's getting fishy.
As for the Dany Heatley saga, it's being reported he will make a decision tonight. He refused to waive his NTC last night before the midnight deadline for his 4M dollar bonus because he felt no other organization should be on the hook for a bonus he earned with the Senators. There have also been reports that Heatley purchased a Canadian flag yesterday to celebrate the Canada Day festivities, but he will wait a week before he decides whether or not he wants to wave it.
Micheal A. Aldred
michealaldred@hotmail.com
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Leafs Sign Komisarek
The Leafs got rid of Kubina's contract and added Komisarek. I'd call that a good trade off.
Mike Aldred
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Heatley to Edmonton Done?
It is being reported by TSN that Dany Heatley has been asked to waive his NTC in order to be dealt to the Edmonton Oilers for the speculated return of Andrew Cogliano, Ladislav Smid, and Dustin Penner.
If he does waive, the Senators are off the hook for a $4M bonus he was to be paid tomorrow.
The projected top line for Edmonton would be Shawn Horcoff, Dany Heatley and Ales Hemsky.
Micheal A. Aldred
michealaldred@hotmail.com
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