What a great game last night for Canada, as Canada has now won two straight world junior tournaments. Most of these kids are 18, which means Canada should already be favored to win their third straight world juniors next year. How excited are the Toronto Maple Leafs right now? They have Pogge, who led Canada to gold, and they have Rask, who stole the bronze for Finland, and was named the tournaments top goalie. The future looks bright behind Eddie Belfour in Toronto.
Ryan Malone is being shopped by the Penguins, and he will get a lot of interest. A Toronto paper this morning suggests the Leafs will make a strong pitch for him, while I am hearing Colorado, New Jersey and Montreal are all interested. He's cheap salary wise, and could be had for a mid-round draft pick.
Mogilny cleared waivers, and is now being shopped. He is now suspended, which means his salary will not count towards the cap. There is a rumour floating around that he will be sent to the minors until the playoffs, but if this happens, I would be shocked, and disgusted as that is very unfair to Mogilny. Toronto, Buffalo, Ottawa, Boston and Columbus have all shown interest, but Mogilny's price tag is too high. Re-Entry waivers would cut his price in half, and may be the way the Devils go. Speaking of the Devils, Elias has two goals and four assists in two games. Not bad for not playing all season.
Dave Andreychuk is apparently being lightly shopped around the league, though I do not expect anyone to pick him up. One rumour I did hear was that a few teams are interested in adding him to add some veteran leadership, but the price is too high for someone like that. I don't expect him to be moved.
Vancouver continues to loose, and with each loss, they come closer to making a big trade to shake things up. Morrison's name has come up a lot, and we all know the Canucks could use another goalie. Something should happen in Vancouver soon.
Atlanta is currently tied with Montreal for the last playoff spot in the East. There is no doubt in my mind that Atlanta will find a way to make the playoffs this year, and once in, they could be a serious threat to anyone they play.
Power Rankings return next week. A look at this week's big movers? Toronto and Philly are the top two teams in the East as far as moving up goes. Toronto is 8-2 in their last 10, including 6 straight wins, while the Flyers are now just a point behind the Sens for first in the East, going 8-0-2 in their last 10. Atlanta has gone 6-2-2 in their last ten, some thanks to the return of a good goaltender. As for the West, LA seems to be back in the groove, going 8-1-1 in their last ten, moving them into second in the West, just one point behind the Red Wings. The Wild have gone 7-3 in their last 10, hoping to battle their way into a playoff spot soon. They're currently 5 points behind Colorado for the 8th playoff spot.
Speaking of Colorado in 8th, it shows how times have changed. Teams that were previous top three teams, are currently fighting for their playoff lives. In the East, New Jersey sits 10th, while Boston sits in 13th. On the flip side, Buffalo has the third most points in the East with 56. Looking at the West, San Jose is in 12th, while St.Louis sits in 14th. On the flip side, LA sits 2nd, while Edmonton is in 6th. Vancouver cannot be happy in 7th, and I don't even remember ever seeing Colorado as low as 8th. If the Avs don't make the playoffs, things could get ugly in Colorado.
I want to say a big thank you to Cdog, as he has taken over as the main site updater. The main page has been updated every day, and he will be now taking over updating the articles on the page, which means they should go up very soon after they sent to me. Cdog has become a main part of the hockeyleaks staff, and we are so lucky to have him. Also, we will have some new media for you all to listen to next week, as I will be back on Blueline Hockey Talk Radio. Look for that around the end of next week.
Thats all for now, email me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com if you would like to write for us, as we are always looking for new writers. Questions and Comments are always welcomed, as I try my best to respond to each one. Have a great Friday everyone!
