Pacific Division Discussion

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Post any little shit you wanna say about it.
 

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The San Jose Sharks were probably disappointed with Michal Handzus last season, but CSNBayArea.com’s Kevin Kurz reports that the big center was hampered by a hip injury.

Kurz reports that Handzus received an “injection” following the Sharks’ first-round exit, which helped him contribute to a silver medal-winning Slovakian team at the 2012 World Championships.

Perhaps Hanzdus’ issues weren’t just physical, though. Kurz also points out that he entered the 2011-12 season shortly after losing close friend Pavol Demitra, who died in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crash.

Last season was a difficult one for Handzus even before it began, as his good friend and countryman Pavol Demitra was killed in the Lokomotiv plane crash in September. Demitra had served as Handzus’ best man in his wedding shortly before the tragedy. As a result, Handzus was a late arrival to training camp while attending to matters that were much more important at the time than hockey.
With one year left on his contract, Handzus should have a chance to redeem himself next season.
 

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According to LA Kings Insider, Jonathan Quick has undergone a “minor” back surgery for an inflammatory cyst and a disc fragment.

He’ll need at least six weeks to recover, although Kings assistant GM Ron Hextall still thinks that Quick should be ready “sometime around” training camp.

Of course, that’s working under the assumption that training camp will start on time.

It was initially recommend that Quick undergo therapy to deal with his back issue, but Hextall said that his recovery “wasn’t coming along quite like we hoped, so the next step was to go this route.”

Quick’s contributions were absolutely vital to the Kings’ Stanley Cup-winning run. He captured the Conn Smythe Trophy after posting a 1.41 GAA and .946 save percentage in 20 playoff starts.

It will be interesting to see if the Kings still opt to trade backup netminder Jonathan Bernier over the summer. Bernier would like to be traded after Quick got a 10-year contract extension.

It seems likely that Bernier will be dealt eventually, but they might decide to go into training camp with him as an insurance policy in case Quick encounters some kind of complication.
 

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Taylor Hall‘s first two seasons have been riddled with injuries. He dealt with a high ankle sprain that ended his rookie campaign and his sophomore season ended prematurely due to a combination of a concussion and his shoulder injury.

Still, based on an Edmonton Sun report, four months after his shoulder surgery, he’s skating and seems to be optimistic about the future.

“The surgery was tough. They didn’t just do it arthroscopically, they cut me open and moved the bone around. I have a three-inch scar on my shoulder,” Hall said. He later added, “But now it feels like I have a brand new shoulder. It’s exciting for me because I haven’t really had that in the last two years.”

Hall said there were some games last season where the pain would be enough to “hamper” him a little bit.

“Sometimes when I went into the boards I would have to lose the battle because I knew if I put my shoulder a certain way it would kind of pop out,” Hall said. “Now I won’t have that.”

All the same, Hall resisted having the surgery earlier because he wanted to finish the season. He wasn’t able to complete the 2011-12 campaign anyways, but he thinks he will be available for the start of 2012-13.

Maybe his third season will finally be his first full campaign. That might be enough to push the questions about his durability aside.
 

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Ryan Whitney
is not a happy member of the Edmonton Oilers. The veteran defenseman will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game tonight against Dallas.​
According to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, Whitney won’t request a trade out of Edmonton, but he thinks one is possible.​
“They’re paying me a lot of money and I’m not playing,” said Whitney, 29, who’s in the final year of a six-year, $24 million contract.​
Whitney isn’t the only healthy veteran that will be sitting and watching tonight. Forward Ryan Smyth has also been scratched by Oilers head coach Ralph Krueger.​
Smyth respectfully declined to speak to the media today. The 36-year-old took three minor penalties in Edmonton’s last game, a 3-1 victory over Columbus on Sunday.​
“It’s extremely difficult,”​
said Krueger
on his decision to scratch Smyth. “But whether it’s popular or not is not the driving force.”​
 

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A couple of old characters have returned to the Phoenix Coyotes ownership soap opera.​
Per the Arizona Republic, Anthony LeBlanc (Ice Edge Holdings) and Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer have teamed up and are “exploring options” with regards to purchasing the team from the NHL.​
LeBlanc would serve as the front man for the investment group, which eventually could include five or six investors, he said.
Hulsizer confirmed his involvement in the venture but deferred further comment to LeBlanc.
Their intent would be to keep the team in Glendale, which would be a blow to possible suitors in Seattle, Quebec and elsewhere who hope to lure a National Hockey League team.
You may recall Hulsizer came close to buying the team a couple of years ago, only to have his efforts thwarted by the Goldwater Institute.​
LeBlanc has been in touch with the City of Glendale and thinks there’s a new deal to be made that would keep the Coyotes playing at Jobing.com Arena, even if it’s not as sweet as the deal that Greg Jamison recently saw expire.​
“We understand that there are some cash constraints, but at the same time, we can’t do a deal that wouldn’t be economically feasible for us,” LeBlanc told the paper. “It’s a verbose way of saying, ‘Look, we understand that it won’t be the same deal, but we’re trying to find a middle ground that would make sense for both sides.’”​
 

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Colorado players are starting to appear resigned to the fact Ryan O’Reilly has worn an Avalanche jersey for the last time.​
O’Reilly — a 22-year-old restricted free agent forward that scored a team high 55 points last season — is currently mired in a contract dispute with the Avs.​
Lately, it seems more and more likely the end result of the dispute will be a trade.
This morning, Colorado defenseman Shane O’Brien, who considers O’Reilly one of his closest friends, told the Denver Post that the situation isn’t great, but it’s “the business we live in.”​
“He’s making a decision maybe he’ll regret. Maybe he won’t,” said O’Brien. “It all depends on how it works out for him. It’s the bad side of hockey, the business side that no one likes. But I can see both sides of the dilemma . . . It’s gotten ugly. It sucks, definitely sucks, but it is what it is and we’re going to move forward as a group. We got a good group in here. We’re going to stick together, work our way out of this and hopefully start winning some hockey games.”​
 

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A couple of clubs have used their off days to promote players from the American Hockey League.​
In Phoenix, Coyotes GM Don Maloney announced the club has recalled defenseman David Rundbladfrom the Portland Pirates.​
A former first-round pick (17th overall, 2009), Rundblad was leading all Portland defensemen in scoring at the time of his promotion and was fourth on the team in points, with 25.​
To make room for Rundblad, the Coyotes sent down defenseman​
Michael Stone
.​
 

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The Vancouver Canucks announced today that center​
Manny Malhotra
has been placed on injured reserve and will miss the remainder of the season.​
Malhotra, 32, suffered a serious eye injury in March of 2011 when he was struck with a puck. While he returned for six games of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals, played 78 games in 2011-12 (plus five playoff games) and has appeared in nine games this season, his on-ice role has been limited since the injury.​
“The long term health of Manny Malhotra is of utmost importance to our organization,” said Canucks general manager Mike Gillis in a release. “Throughout his career Manny has showcased his indispensability through skilled play, being a consummate professional and leader in the room while also continuously giving back to the community. Manny will continue to be a valued member of our organization.”​
Malhotra is in the final year of a three-year, $7.5 million contract.​
The above news coincides with the expected return of center Ryan Kesler, who was reportedly wearing a contact jersey today at practice and skating on a line with Chris Higgins and Zack Kassian.​
The Canucks host Dallas Friday night.​
 

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Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter​
told John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor
that he hasn’t decided if he’ll roll with​
Jonathan Quick
, 27, or​
Jonathan Bernier
, 24, in net on Friday. He does know that he wants more from the defending Conn Smythe winner, though.​
“Really haven’t thought about it. I haven’t even gotten to that yet,” Sutter said. “Bernie’s coming off a strong game. And we need Jonathan (Quick) to be – I’m not jumping out and saying anything special – we need him to play a hell of a lot better than he has. Our goals against, our save percentage, all that stuff is not where it has to be.”​
The Kings also provided updates, especially on defense. You can read more about Keaton Ellerby, 24, andSlava Voynov, 23, in the post, but here are some injury bits:​
  • Sutter said that Alec Martinez, 25, could possibly go on the injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. It sounds like he’ll miss at least one week.
  • The Kings’ head coach had a rather sardonic take on how Willie Mitchell, 35, is progressing with his knee injury.
“Willie Mitchell – I have no update,” Sutter said. “The only thing I can tell you is historically he’s a player who has missed significant periods of time in his career, and it appears that he’s historically doing that again.”​
Well, then …​
 

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Colorado captain​
Gabriel Landeskog
took a small step today in his recovery from a head injury, with​
the Denver Post reporting
the 20-year-old “skated for an unspecified length of time at the team’s practice facility, with Avs medical personnel looking on.”​
The club would only tell the paper that Landeskog is “going through the process” of recovery.​
Landeskog — the 2011-12 rookie of the year — was hurt on Jan. 26 when he was leveled by San Jose defenseman Brad Stuart.
In the meantime, he seems to be maintaining a positive attitude.​
 

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Los Angeles general manager Dean Lombardi​
recently sat down with LA Kings Insider
to discuss all things defense — the injuries on the Kings blueline, the lack of available rearguards across the league and, most interestingly, his own marquee defenseman,​
Drew Doughty
.​
Once known for his questionable dedication to fitness (see here and here), Doughty came into this year’s abbreviated training in good shape after hiring a personal trainer to work with him during the lockout.​
Here’s what Lombardi had to say:​
“What I’m so happy with Drew is that he showed up in shape. When I talk about the growth of these kids, that alone – because Drew two years ago, given those months off, we all saw what he was his first two years pro. That’s the first thing I say. He’s definitely grown up.
“Secondly, look at the minutes he’s playing. He’s still not where he needs to be physically to deal with those minutes. That’ll come. In junior hockey, he played 40 minutes [a night]. Eventually you want him to get there, but he’s playing an awful lot of minutes now, and quite frankly…he wouldn’t be playing those minutes if we were healthy.
“I think with Drew, the thing I’ve noticed, given that he’s started to take care of himself off the ice.”
In an odd twist, Doughty recently spoke with the LA Times about how unhappy he was with his start to the campaign.​
“I’m not happy about some things — not scoring points, I haven’t scored a goal yet — it isn’t a good thing,” Doughty told the paper. “Sometimes bounces just don’t go your way. We’re not scoring a lot of even-strength goals.​
“And if you’re playing a lot of minutes, pretty much half the game, you’re going to be out there for goals against.”​
Doughty has just four assists through 11 games this year but is averaging 27:38 in ice time per game, second in the NHL to former Kings teammate Jack Johnson, who is averaging over 28 a night for the Blue Jackets.​
Note: It should be mentioned that, in speaking about Doughty’s offseason, Lombardi made no mention of thesexual assault allegation made against Doughty, or the subsequent investigation.​
Though to be fair, the incident might not have required mention, as the LA District Attorney’s office chose not to file charges in mid-July, citing that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.​
 

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The San Jose Sharks started the season a perfect 7-0-0.​

Since then, they’ve gone 0-4-3.

That slide has brought up what feels like an annual rite of passage in the Bay Area — talks of GM Doug Wilson shaking things up via trade.

Just one catch: Wilson says it ain’t gonna happen.

“The answer lies within that room,” Wilson told the San Jose Mercury News, pointing to the Sharks’ dressing room. “If we hadn’t seen the glimpse of the seven-game start, that would tell you something.

“There are other teams that have gone through phases of losing some games, other very good, talented teams out there that are not on top of their game to the level they want to be.”

“We’re more concerned about our group and getting back to the things that led us to the first seven games.”

All that said, let’s not forget that Wilson has a lengthy history of dealmaking.

Since 2011 he’s brought in the likes of Ben Eager, Ian White, Brent Burns, Martin Havlat, TJ Galiardi,Daniel Winnik and Brad Stuart while shipping out Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi, Jamie McGinn, Brad Staubitz and Charlie Coyle.

Now, though, he appears unwilling to move any pieces — though part of that could be out of his control.

The Sharks have a number of key players locked into no-movement clauses (Havlat, Burns, Joe Thornton,Patrick Marleau, Michal Handzus, Dan Boyle) and the prospect cupboard isn’t exactly stocked.

San Jose has made just two first-round selections since 2007 and one of them, Coyle, has already been moved.

As for dealing future picks? Wilson has first-rounders at his disposal, but is thin in the middle rounds. At the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, for example, San Jose will be without its third- and fourth-round selections.

Back on the ice, things don’t promise to get any easier for the Sharks in the near future.

They play 12 of their next 17 on the road, which includes a stretch of seven of eight away from the Shark Tank from Mar. 10-25.
 

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