Sheppard Shipped to Sharks
Nova Scotia’s own James Sheppard will find himself with a new organization when he returns to hockey. Sheppard has not played for the Minnesota Wild since suffering a knee injury in an incident with all-terrain vehicle. A change of scenery may be a blessing for Sheppard who has not lived up to his ninth overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. I believe there may have also been some hard feelings following the accident that led to the current injury.
via The Star Tribune
Sheppard, 24, was suspended all of last season after breaking his left kneecap in an all-terrain vehicle accident. Sheppard, a restricted free agent drafted ninth overall in 2006, had his qualifying offer expire when he didn’t sign a new contract by the July 15 deadline.
However, it’s believed the trade was on hold because just before that Sheppard underwent a second operation on his knee. Sheppard is not expected to be ready in time for training camp.
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Sheppard, who was rushed to the NHL from Cape Breton at age 19, scored 11 goals and 49 points in 224 games for the Wild. Of the seven players taken in 2006 by the Wild, only Cal Clutterbuck and Kyle Medvec are still in the system.
NHL Trade Deadline: Feelin’ the Pressure?
WARNING: The following contains speculation, analysis and opinion and may not be suitable for some viewers. Viewer Discretion Advised
I was going to do a preview for the NHL Trade Deadline (AKA: Sillinger Day), but it seems a post mortem is in order.
There’s been 38 trades since the start of the season, but all those are not really “Deadline Deals”. Early season moves are often more about moving surplus roster players or contracts to teams that need to fill positions or are better able to absorb the contracts. These moves typically are not about adding something to improve your team, but moving out the deadwood.
So what is a “Deadline Deal”? And what more should we expect before the deadline?
Blue Jays add Escobar, Say Goodbye to Gonzalez
Alex Anthopolous (hereafter known as AA, because I am lucky I spelled his name correct once) doesn’t seem to know how to take time off.
Wednesday, saw AA use the last day of the All-Star break to continue addressing the organization’s weaknesses and add to the young core he has been developing. He traded shortstop Alex Gonzalez, along with minor leaguers, Tim Collins and Tyler Pastornicky to Atlanta for shortstop Yunel Escobar and pitcher Jo-Jo “The Psychic Network” Reyes.
Sens sign Gonchar; Still work to do
UPDATED SATURDAY JULY 3RD DISCUSSING THE DEFENCE
With the addition of Sergei Gonchar to the lineup, the Ottawa Senators have added a significant piece to their backend. Gonchar is arguably the best offensive defenseman the Senators have ever had.
Ottawa GM Bryan Murray took an aggressive run at Gonchar, calling him at 12:01 ET on July 1st to inquire about his services. Gonchar was seeking a four year deal from his previous team, the Pittsburgh Penquins, but they were reluctant to give that kind of term to the 36 year old. While Murray and the Sens might have liked to get Gonchar on a shorter term, consider it the cost of doing business to acquire one of the top offensive D-man of the era (second only to Nik Lidstrom really).
Ottawa will be unable to do much else in the free agent market after committing that much cap space to Gonchar. Murray will now turn his attention to signing some key restricted free agents.
Running Spezza Out of Town
Been busy with other stuff for a while, so I haven’t had a chance to blog.
The situation surrounding Jason Spezza and the Ottawa Senators has been ratcheting up my blogging ire over the past couple weeks and has nearly hit the boiling point in the past 48 hours.
Rumours persist that Spezza will be traded due to his dissatisfaction with the way the season ended and the reaction he received from the fans and the media. Frankly, after reviewing what is being said in the Ottawa media, particularly the Ottawa Sun, I can’t blame him for being open to a trade.
Highly Touted 