3:30 Update...Bloggin For a While

5:18 I'm headed for a break. I'll be back at 6.

5:12 Buffalo fans, how do you feel about all this?

5:11 Briere says that other teams offered him more cash per year.

5:01 FLORIDA HAS SIGNED RADEK DVORAK TO A 2-YEAR DEAL.

4:57 It'll be interesting to see if the Devils re-sign Johnny Oduya in the wake of the Rafalski walk.

4:49 TFP is reporting Pat Quinn may be the next Devil coach. Ugh.

Also, Canes and Kings in the market for Brad Stuart.

4:46 Rumor is that Souray's getting close to a decision. Devils and Kings are big in the running.

4:40 SCOTT NIEDERMAYER HAS TOLD BRIAN BURKE THAT HE IS LEANING TOWARD RETIREMENT!

4:37 That's a real smart signing by the Hawks. Does that mean they've given up on Zeus?

4:36 No Panic Yanic (! at the Disco) Perrault signs with the Hawks. 1 Year/1.5 Mill.

4:34 Alexei Morozov announced that he'll stay in Russia for another season.

4:32 The Caps are looking into bringing back Michael Nylander.

4:28 Haha, speculators. TFP reports that NJ is after Souray now that Raffy has signed in Detroit.

Just a word for the Red Wings: If you love pathetic point shots, your in for a great year.

4:24 Devils may have a shot in the Gomez race again.

4:12 Look for the possibility of Roman Hamrlik signing with New Jersey, or one of the other lower-tiered D-men (Hannan, Stuart) or even Souray.

4:05 SARICH TO CALGARY, 5 YEARS, 18 MILLION.

4:04 RAFALSKI TO DETROIT, 5 YEARS, 30 MILLION.

4:04 It's calm..for now.

3:57 Final note on Briere: The contract features a no movement clause.

3:53 DO NOT LISTEN TO ANY REPORTS OF GOMEZ TO THE RANGERS UNTIL TSN OR SPORTSNET SAYS IT.

WFAN is airing a Mets game at the moment. They likely did little research (if any) and likely mentioned it in passing during a station ID. This is by no means a done deal.

3:51 Rafalski has an offer from Edmonton, they're waiting his answer.

3:48 Official word on Briere's Salary: 8 Years, 52 Million. He'll be a 10 million dollar man for the 07-08 season.

3:47 WFAN in NY is reporting Gomez to the Rangers. Discard it for now, WFAN is by no means a trusted hockey source. And it's also the Devils flagship, so I don't think they'd get the info before TSN or SN.

3:44 TSN REPORTS THAT DANIEL BRIERE's DEAL IS 8 LONG YEARS, between 48-56 million in salary.

3:41 Denis Grebeshkov re-signs with the Oilers. So the Ryan Smyth deal wasn't a TOTAL failure. Ok...it was.

3:40 Toronto is talking to Kariya, Smyth and Blake. Likely topics: What a playoff game Post-Lockout looks like.

3:37 THE FAN 960 is REPORTING THE THE FLAMES HAVE SIGNED CORY SARICH

3:33 GOMEZ RUMORED TO THE LEAFS FOR 5 YEARS.

3:31 BREAKING NEWS: FLYERS GET BRIERE! SPORTSNET.CA REPORTS

3:30 Back at the helm, I see I've missed nothing. I'll update some rumors momentarily.

2:30 Update, Blog it for now

3:02 SHORT BREAK FOR DINNER, BACK SOON!

3:01 Chris at The Arena Program informed me that Schnieder signing opens up the possibility of ANA signing Drury if Niedtoretire (Sorry, slightly bitter Devs fan still) and Selanne hang it up. Certainly he has the cash to go head-to head with anyone.

2:58 One more on Burke, he still has $9 Mill in cap room, $15-16 mill if Nieds decides to hang it up.

2:56 If Nieds returns, you can just put him and Pronger out there every other shift, and have Beauchemin and Schnieder out with a little O'Donnell and DiPenta mixed in. Either way, the Ducks are set for another serious run.

2:54 Now we might see some dominoes fall. Watch the rest of the day go by without an inking. Brian Burke = God frankly. If your a Ducks fan, and you don't a golden shrine made in his image yet, your nuts.

2:53 The Ducks have signed Matheiu Schnieder, 2 years

Year 1: 5.5 Mill
Year 2: 5.75 Mill

Very interesting.

2:49 The FAN 590 in Toronto is reporting that Brian Rafalski and Philly are talking and getting very close.

2:48 Shout out to AllDucks.com, and all the members reading the stuff over there. Thanks for reading. I have a feeling Ryan Smyth and Daniel Briere are going to take their time. This is just pure speculation, but I think Drury might get done today, same with Gomer.

2:42 6 Years, $24 Million for Ryan Whitney in Pittsburgh.

2:41 Still not sure if the Jokinen for Tanguay rumor is true.

2:36 Atlanta could still be busy, trying to re-up Slava Kozlov.

2:35 Many sources are saying Schneider to the Isles, or possibly Anaheim. Detroit will likely re-up if they can't get Brian Rafalski.

2:30
Tom Poti - WSH - 4 years, 3.5 Mill per
Brett McLean - FLA - 3 years
Richard Zednik - FLA - 4 yers
Ryan Whitney - PIT - TBA

BoNY LiveBlog 1PM Reset! Breaking News!

2:00 PM SEE YOU AT 3:00 PM!!!!! THANK YOU FOR COMING!

1:59 PM The guys try to excuse wasting your last 3 hours. I say...it was just fun speculating.

1:59 PM Drury will likely be the first domino, says Pierre.

1:58 PM Bertuzzi and Lang are ones to watch. Shanahan as well.

1:58 PM They repeat the numbers again.

1:57 PM Parise and Emery may be RFA candidates.

1:56 PM They scrape the bottom of the bottle talking about RFA Offer Sheets.

1:54 PM The Edmonton Oilers are in the mix for a trade.

1:53 PM Chris Drury may be meeting with LA face-to-face right now. LA, MTL, STL, PHI and NYR are in the mix. McKenzie says Gomez and Rafalski will be signed by 6PM.

1:51 PM White was not ranked among TFP's Top 30 UFA, and scored 13 goals last season. Atlanta has made all the signings today. All 2.

1:50 PM Yeah, breathtaking, eh? 10 minutes to go.

1:48 PM BREAKING NEWS: Atlanta Signs Todd White, 4 year/9.5 Million.

1:47 PM The Reporters are as dull as The Sports Reporters...who knew?

1:46 PM They blab about choices players make when they decide on a team.

1:45 PM More The Reporters.

1:44 PM Doug says the big key is self-imposed GM budgets, and not the cap.

1:43 PM Doug bets Michel Ouelett's had many offers today.

1:42 PM Petr Sykora
Pierre: Pittsburgh
Doug: Detroit

Michel Ouelett: Atlanta
Pierre: Atlanta
Keith: Washington

1:41 PM Michal Handzus
Pierre and Keith: Stay in Chicago
Doug: Columbus

Tom Poti
Keith: Calgary
Pierre: Rangers (Not a chance)

1:40 PM Bill Guerin
Jonesy: Ottawa

Brad Stuart
Doug: LA

1:39 PM More right fits for players.
Matheiu Schnieder
Pierre & Keith: Detroit

Slava Kozlov
Doug: Detroit

1:37 PM COMMERCIAL

1:36 PM RUMOR: ALEX TANGUAY TO FLA FOR OLLI JOKINEN

1:33 PM More stuff on Iginla. 4 or 5 year deal.

1:33 PM BoNY PROGRAM NOTE: I WILL BE GOING OFFLINE FROM 2-3PM, BUT WILL BE BACK FROM 3PM till the rest of the day for updates. Keep tuning in to Battle of NY for the latest news! And we've got 27 minutes of blogging to go!

1:30 PM Commercial Again.

1:28 PM Answering TSN's question, I'd take Thornton over JI any day.

1:26 PM Treading through filler material right now.

1:24 PM Danny Briere's received 9 offers, narrowed them down to 5.

1:23 PM Miller says teams are dropping out right now as the prices go higher.

1:21 PM Who could use Drury the most? LA. Los Angeles apathy is at an all-time high, they need a good, proven winner, and an American kid. Hmm, who could fit that bill.

1:20 PM Commercial.

1:19 PM Souray's hair will land him in NY according to Dougie.

1:18 PM Brian Rafalski
Pierre: Detroit
Doug: Some US City

1:16 PM 1 Year Deal for Jackman btw.

1:15 PM Chris Drury:
Pierre: San Jose
Doug: Colorado
Keith: Los Angeles

1:14 PM They're talking about good destinations for the Top 5. Pierre says Gomez would be a good fit in VanCity or Philly. I still don't think Gomez will stay in the East. MacLean says LA. He'd look good feeding Anze Kopitar.

1:13 PM Commercial.

1:11 PM Hopefully Jumbo Joe and Iggy will return the dollar values to normalcy now. Probably not.

1:09 PM Briere and Drury have likely narrowed it down to Philly, LA, and Montreal. Ryan Smyth's received offers from 9 teams. BREAKING NEWS: Jarome Iginla close to signing a 4-year extension, 7 million a year. THN Reports.

1:08 PM Reported offer for Briere from MTL would be 6 yrs./$42 Mill. Briere and Drury are in LA right now.

1:08 PM KT's tried calling Paul Kariya, but he wouldn't take the call. BREAKING NEWS: Barrett Jackman re-signs in St. Louis. Tkachuk is surprised.

1:07 PM Yeah, Tkachuk should use his experience with Team USA to base free agent acquisitions on.

1:06 PM They'res the Tkachuk phone again. They're talking to him now, from his kids baseball tournament in Kansas City, with cheers in the background. Keith bullshits Duthie about "possibly" coming back to STL.

1:05 PM Talking Head goes on about news you already know. Dupuis, Tkachuk, Jumbo Joe.

1:04 PM Looks like this'll be nothing but a scare. They go to a SportsCenter update. I thought we left VERSUS to get away from SportsCenter.

1:04 PM Here we go.

1:01 PM DAMN YOU CLIFFHANGER!

1:00 PM Still with the friggin' HHOF. Enough already.

12PM BoNY Free Agent Frenzy Livebloggers

12:59 PM I'll reset with the breaking news in the next post!

12:59 PM McGuire says he's got a signing "Coming Forward"

12:58 PM God dammit, talk about Mike Modano's Hall of Fame chances when he retires, how about that.

12:58 PM BREAKING NEWS: BUT THEY WON'T TELL US!

12:57 PM Hockey Hall of Fame Talk. Pierre would take Belfour, Zubov over Joseph, Blake for the HHOF.

12:54 PM Commercial

12:53 PM 16-20, Handzus, Poti, Hamrlik, Sykora, Ouelett.

12:53 PM TSN's 11-15, Schneider, Zubrus, Kozlov, Stuart, Guerin

12:52 PM The reporters say Boston's moves will hurt team chemistry.

12:51 PM Devils fans? What do you think of Alex Auld for 15 games at under $1 Mill?

12:50 PM Gomer rumored to St. Louis, Chris at the Arena program reported at possibly 7 mill a year.

12:49 PM The Reporters debating Hasek. Dougie took a shot at Hull for his shots at CBJ on NBC last year.

12:46 PM Commercial.

12:44 PM Duthie references THN's Player Poll for a 4th time.

12:43 PM Leafs Lunch is saying Gomez will sign 7 years/7 mill a year with NYR/PHI.

12:42 PM Any UFA's, if you're taking a look at NJ...look at this beauty!

http://www.newjerseydevils.com/njd/prucenter/view-cam.php

12:41 PM Kevin Lowe is interested in Rafalski, maybe Souray, Hamrlik. Gomez is interested apparently, close to home. He'll be looking at Drury and Briere.

12:40 PM James Duthie's Gospel is apparently the THN Players' Pool. The same one where 65% of players said they'd accept a homosexual teammate. Sure. Edmonton is the 2nd least desirable place to make money and play hockey apparently.

12:39 PM Edmonton has re-signed Dick Tarnstrom, who played in Switzerland after spending 05-06 in PIT and EDM, as they turn their focus to the Oil.

12:38 PM COMMERCIAL.

12:37 PM Sheldon Souray could come to New Jersey, and start an NJ version of their pizza place in MTL. I'd happily come. I always love a fresh take on pizza.

12:34 PM Duthie thinks Crosby should be the next $10 million player. I sort of agree.

Battle of New York INSIDER's PERSECTIVE

Mike Chen, Battle of California:

I'm guessing they'll nail down Marleau for about $6 million per year and I don't think that any oftheir forward signings (if they do try to get anyone) will be for morethan Marleau's contract. That's just an educated guess.

And contrary to what Keith Jones says, I do think it's possible tograb Drury and keep them together IF Drury takes about $6 million togo to a contender. Cheechoo's locked in for cheap and they've gotenough young talent as long as a FA forward isn't hemmed in for morethan 3 years. I don't think this'll happen though, and I think SJ willfocus on D.

My guess is that SJ's budget will be about 45 mil.

12:33 PM Calgary may be looking at Scott Hannan.

12:32 PM TSN doesn't use any eye candy reporters. Dude in CGY says D.Sutter has 11-12 Mill under the cap. If you've got Jarome Iginla, Mikka Kiprusoff, Daymond Langkow becoming a UFA possibly next year, and Dion Phaneuf an RFA, you save a little money.

12:31 PM New Jersey will be a scary place if it's without Gomer or Raffy next year. There may be shots fired in the rink instead of outside. Sorry, bad joke, I'll be here all week.

12:30 PM Dreger says all the coveted players will take their time.

12:28 PM Gord Miller's Wild Card of the Day: Brian Rafalski. All of them seem genuinely surprised that he's still on the market. Bob says the phones are going crazy for him.

12:26 PM Commercial.

12:23 PM Players apparently love it in SJ. California is going to be a force to reckoned with in the hockey world for some time.

12:22 PM Joe Thornton - "California Rocks".

12:21 PM Jumbo Joe loves SJ, apparently not enough to live there. He's on the line with Duthie right now.

12:20 PM Kudos to Thornton. Based on what we've been seeing, he could've easily commanded $10 Million. Now the worry goes to Marleau. What do you think the Sharks will do? Leave comments, E-Mail at SMLepore@comcast.net, and IM at Incudude530.

12:19 PM BREAKING NEWS: THE SHARKS HAVE SIGNED JOE THORNTON TO A 3-YEAR EXTENSION, WORTH $7.2 Million A SEASON

12:19 PM Pierre McGuire argues that, complaining about his lack of playoff production. The panel chooses Scott Hannan over Brad Stuart.

12:18 PM Doug says, at 27, Danny Briere's the only guy that's worth the big bucks.

12:16 PM Kyle Calder may be an ideal guy for the Canucks.

12:14 PM They check in on VANCity right now. 'Nucks would like to be 2 mill under, giving Dave Nonis 7 mill to work with. They apparently need another forward.

12:11 PM COMMERCIAL. Back after this.

12:11 PM Remember when BUF could've had Briere for 5 yrs/$25 mill last year?

12:09 PM TSN's going through the Top 5's again.

12:08 PM Front-loading contracts will kill small market teams, says Dreger.

12:07 PM Miller, McKenzie and Dreger say there's a possible $10 million with the flexible salaries.

12:05 PM The guys talk about Rafalski's value, saying that a team might make a mistake overpaying him. Once agian, they remind us that the cap is $50.3 mill, the floor is $34.3 mill, and the max salary is $10.06 Mill, sadly.

12:04 PM Keith and Doug won't shut up about COL, but they're very right.

12:03 PM Dougie Mac says the GM calls the agent, and asks for permission to talk to the player. I like Doug MacLean, but I disagree with a lot of what he says. Pierre says STL will have a big draw. I reported last night on KK that Scotty Gomez might be interested there.

12:02 PM Recap of what's happened so far...nothing, unless you count Pascal Dupuis re-upping for $800K in ATL. Keith Tkachuk and Manny Fernandez went back to STL and were traded to MIN yesterday. That cell phone during the fatty Tkachuk interview's annoying.

BoNY Liveblog: The NHL UFA Frenzy

12:00 Noon THE TAMPERING PERIOD ENDS! General Managers may now show interest in unrestricted free agents. Blah blah blah. Let's see where the first domino falls. My pick? Michal Handzus.

11:59 AM Commercial as we hit 12!

11:57 AM Pierre McGuire says John Paddock should coach the Sens. Dale Hunter and Patrick Roy are Jonesy's choices, and former teammates. Dougie says Murray should do both.

11:56 AM Doug MacLean says bigger creases, Pierre McGuire says no, Keith Jones says no.

11:55 AM Can we not talk about Phil Esposito right now?

11:54 AM Haha, Jonesy's dumb. Jonesy, PMac say Xenophobia caused Cherri's drop. DMac says it's the right call.

11:53 AM We go back to P-to-the-Mac-G's raving lunacy about Alexei Cherepanov's consistent bridesmaid status. They're doing something called the Wednesday-Night Quiz.

11:51 AM They're using all their commercials for before the start so that they can have time to break stories when they want.

11:50 AM Technically, he's not even a Bruin for another 10 minutes, since Boston would be over the 06-07 cap.

11:48 AM Manny Fernandez on the line with JDuth. Am I the only person who thinks this move isn't a great idea?

11:47 AM They suggest that if you deal UFA, they can't go back to the team for a certain time period.

11:46 AM The reporters are Canada's answer to ESPN's The Sports Reporters. Dave Hodge, Damien Cox, Michael Farber and Steve Simmons debate the "rent-a-player" system.

11:45 AM A Reminder, drop me a line at E-Mail SMLepore@comcast.net, AIM Incudude530 or leave a comment if you have any questions!

11:41 AM Lindros is no longer a gamble because he's a 4th liner. Dougie Mac says he'll have a hard time finding a job. Commercial.

11:41 AM Forsberg could go back to Philly or Denver at a bargain.

11:40 AM Pierre says not Montreal, but other teams will risk on Yashin.

11:38 AM Matheiu Schnieder and Dainus Zubrus are possibilities for Les Habs.

11:37 AM Habs are looking for 2 d-men and a top 6 forward.

11:37 AM Gainey's got some room to play, but will have to deal with some arbitrations.

11:36 AM The gang is talking Habs right now.

11:34 AM Another break. We're halfway to Noon.

11:33 AM Wow, they're really given it to MacLean about this stuff.

11:32 AM I think Jonesy's lost me on the fact that Toronto still sucks.

11:31 AM Pascal Dupuis (ATL) has re-signed for 1 year, $808,000. I like Dupuis a lot, he'll provide them energy off the 4th line.

11:30 AM They have the money for Ryan Smyth, and would be interested in Jason Blake and Paul Kariya.

11:30 AM JFJ is looking to dump Kubina or McCabe.

11:29 AM JFJ has about $6 mill in wiggle room. $8 mill counting the 10% overage.

11:28 AM Back and headed to Toronto.

11:27 AM Commercial

11:26 AM TFP's 10 Best Available (Teams Interested in Parens):

1. D. Briere (BUF, MTL, NSH, MTL, WSH, LA, EDM, SJ, PHX, CHI)
2. S. Gomez (NJ, WSH, LA, CHI, EDM, PHX, PHI, VAN, TOR)
3. P. Forsberg (NSH, PHI, COL, VAN)
4. C. Drury (BUF, ATL, PHI, WSH, TOR, CHI, SJ, NSH, COL, BOS, MTL, NYR, CAR, LA)
5. S. Souray (MTL, LA, PHI, WSH, FLA, ANA, SJ)
6. R. Smyth (NYI, EDM, TOR, PHI, PHX, VAN, COL, CGY, DET, NYR, DAL, ANA, OTT, SJ)
7. J. Blake (NYI, NYR, VAN, ATL, MTL, DAL, TOR, STL, EDM, CHI)
8. S. Hannan (SJ, PIT, ATL)
9. T. Bertuzzi (DET, FLA, PHX, MTL, TOR, BOS)
10. P. Kariya (NSH, VAN, ANA, MTL, OTT, TOR, NYI)

11:22 AM The Sens will let Oleg Saprykin go. MacLean says OTT's in the worst cap shape of any team, and Redden's "Not goin' anywhere".

11:21 AM Phoenix has placed Dave Scatchard on waivers.

11:20 AM TSN's James Cybulski says Redden, Emery, Schaefer and Corvo could be on the block in Ottawa. Redden is the most likely moved due to his salary.

11:18 AM They're looking at needs for all 6 Canadian Teams. This is a good time to remind you that TFP is your source for all the chatter. Right now, they're reporting that MTL is after Daniel Briere.

11:18 AM We're Back.

11:16 AM Commercial. Back after the break.

11:14 AM Is it just me, or is Brian Burke much smarter than everyone else in hockey?

11:13 AM BRIAN BURKE! Says he hasn't heard from Nieds or Teemu. He's giving them as much time as they want.

11:13 AM Cool, the NHL takes privy over NASCAR and Boxing here.

11:12 AM Pittsburgh, Toronto and Vancouver will all be players according to Miller and Duthie.

11:12 AM More rankings:

6. Sheldon Souray
7. Scott Hannan
8. Paul Kariya
9. Jason Blake
10. Michael Nylander

11:12 AM Pierre is shocked that Rafalski hasn't resigned with the Devils yet.

11:11 AM Duthie and McGuire are naming the Top UFAs.

5. Brian Rafalski
4. Daniel Briere
3. Ryan Smyth
2. Chris Drury
1. Scott Gomez

11:10 AM Miller points out that if your team missed the playoffs more than once recently, you have no shot at signing anyone.

11:10 AM Bob says the Sharks want to sign Joe Thornton first, before they take care of anything.

11:09 AM Gord Miller, Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger have their own insider's studio. They make jokes about Blackberries and Hamilton and whatnot. Dreger points out that their are some key players who need to look into re-signing (Crosby, Heatley, Ovechkin, Emery, etc.).

11:07 AM Note that the salary floor is $34.3 mill, the cap $50.3 mill, and the max player salary is $10.06 million. Doug MacLean say no one will make $10 Mill. MacLean says no one should make $10 mill, but players might be able to command $8 mill.

11:06 AM Pierre says that Toronto's John Ferguson, Calgary's Daryl Sutter and Edmonton's Kevin Lowe will be active. Jonesy says his Flyers, the Sharks, the Rags, the Avs, and the Kings will be active. The Avs will be active because they have what every team wants.

11:05 AM Doug MacLean, Keith Jones (!) and Pierre McGuire are the panel for today. Duthie points out that this is the youngest UFA Class ever.

11:04 AM Also talk of the deal between Minnesota and Boston for Manny Fernandez.

11:04 AM Quick talk about Keith Tkachuk's re-signing

11:03 AM Souray also in that group, Kariya as well, Jason Blake...really? Nylander, now we're just going Tier 2.

11:01 AM The panel is hosted by James Duthie and right now they're showing highlights of the top UFA prizes, Briere, Drury, Gomez, etc.

11:00 AM Let's rumble!

10:54 AM Remember to leave comments and questions, I will look for an answer.

10:52 AM Just so that no one is comfused, please note that what we'll be watching is TSN's "Free Agent Frenzy" show on NHL.com (and TSN and TSN.ca in Canada) with the myriad of TSN hockey experts and Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger, and Pierre McGuire on cell phones live on camera.

Should be fun! See you in 7 minutes or so!

10:43 AM "The frenzy! The greatest experience in life and I missed it"
-Dr. John Zoidberg

Don't miss out on all the hooplah, we'll be ready to go with Free Agent Frenzy coverage in about 15 minutes tops.

Free Agent Frenzy Liveblog -- Spending 3 Hours on NHL.com so you can spend them here!

I'll be liveblogging TSN's Free Agent Frenzy show, which will be simulcast on NHL.com, and I'll be poking thru the rumors surrounding the draft.

Right now, the big report is that Manny Fernandez will be dealt to Boston the minute the clock strikes 12 Noon and the cap moves to $50 million.

See you at 11:00 AM tomorrow!

Stevens a HHOF!!!!!!!

Well done and well deserved Scotty!

Day 2 DraftCap/Milbury Talk

Neil Best told me that NBC is talking to former Islanders Coach/GM/Coach Again/Coach for a short time/GM Mike Milbury about filling Brett Hull's arrogant ass in the NBC studio chair with Clement and Ferraro. Would be a good move for NBC if they could do it.

Here are the rest of the locals Day 2 Draft Picks:

New Jersey

57	N.J	MIKE HOEFFEL	4/9/1989	North Oaks, MN	US	6' 2"	186	USDP	USA U-18	W	L
79	N.J (from CGY)	NICK PALMIERI	7/12/1989	Utica, NY	US	6' 2"	212	OHL	ERIE	RW	R
87	N.J	CORBIN MCPHERSON	9/7/1988	Folsom, CA	US	6' 4"	210	BCHL	COWICHAN VALLEY	D	R
117	N.J	MATT HALISCHUK	6/1/1988	Toronto, ON	CA	5' 10"	173	OHL	KITCHENER	RW	R
177	N.J	VILI SOPANEN	10/21/1987	Valkeala, Finland	FI	6' 4"	209	FINLAND	PELICANS	W	R
207	N.J	RYAN MOLLE	1/29/1989	Winnipeg, MB	CA	6' 2"	190	WHL	SWIFT CURRENT	D

NY Rangers

17	NYR	ALEXEI CHEREPANOV	1/15/1989	Barnaul, Russia	RU	6' 1"	183	RUSSIA	OMSK	RW	L
48	NYR	ANTOINE LAFLEUR	12/12/1988	Gatineau, QC	CA	6' 4"	186	QMJHL	PEI	G	L
138	NYR	MAX CAMPBELL	12/21/1988	Strathroy, ON	CA	6' 0"	170	WJRB	STRATHROY	C	L
168	NYR	CARL HAGELIN	8/23/1988	Sodertalje, Sweden	SE	5' 11"	176	SWE-JR.	SODERTALJE JR.	LW	L
193	NYR (from MTL)	DAVID SKOKAN	12/6/1988	Poprad, Slovakia	SK	6' 0"	191	QMJHL	RIMOUSKI	C	L
198	NYR	DANNY HOBBS	6/21/1989	Ottawa, ON	CA	5' 11"	178	USHL	OHIO	C/RW	L

NY Islanders

62	NYI (from PHI)	MARK KATIC	5/9/1989	Timmins, ON	CA	5' 9"	180	OHL	SARNIA	D	L
76	NYI	JASON GREGOIRE	2/24/1989	Winnipeg, MB	CA	5' 10"	175	USHL	LINCOLN	LW	L
106	NYI	MAXIM GRATCHEV	9/26/1988	Novosibirsk, Russia	RU	5' 10"	196	QMJHL	RIMOUSKI	LW	L
166	NYI	BLAKE KESSEL	4/13/1989	Madison, WI	US	6' 0"	210	USHL	WATERLOO	D	R
196	NYI	SIMON LACROIX	5/29/1989	Ottawa, ON	CA	6' 1"	172	QMJHL	SHAWINIGAN	D	R

Recap

I'll tell you something folks. You saved this blog tonight.

I was very unsure whether this blog would stick around through next season. I just didn't feel like we had enough writers who could sustain it on a daily basis. It's been very spotty since the Conf. Finals started, and it's mostly my fault. This draft liveblog was really a last resort to see how much interest we could draw.

And frankly folks, you saved it. We're well over a 1,000 hits, double our previous record in one day. The site has never been busier. You have made us a hockey destination.

Since I have your attention, here are my plans for the future:

-I will be liveblogging Free agent signing Sunday from 11:30 Am - 3PM on Sunday, July 1. Hopefully you'll all join me for that.

-I will be updating free agent news daily from July 1 - July 8.

-After that, I am vacationing. Not just from blogging, but from all my commitments to columns and whatnots. I do not plan to return until I've moved into the dorms at college, August 28th will re-set.

-As for the staff, this is a big one!

-I will be back. Derek and Rob have an open invitation to return in their curret capacities. I have a feeling Derek might want to scale back to a couple days a week, and Rob is only around once a week. So this is an open call, ANYONE WHO IS A RANGERS or ISLANDERS fan willing to blog on each team at least once a day during the regular season, please E-Mail me at SMLepore@comcast.net. All we require is a sample blog and writing skills. If you'd like to be a part of liveblogs like this, you'll be included if you join the Battle of New York team.

- I am also looking for a weekly Devils columnist. Someone who's interested in writing a weekly roundup of all things red & black, a la Rob's column. Again, e-mail at SMLepore@comcast.net if interested.

-With that, I give you the first 30 picks of the NHL draft:

1 - Patrick Kane - Chicago Blackhawks - RW
2 - James Van Riemsdyk -Philadelphia Flyers - LW
3 - Kyle Turris - Phoenix Coyotes - C
4 - Thomas Hickey - Los Angeles Kings - D
5 - Karl Alzner - Washington Capitals - D
6 - Sam Gagner - Edmonton Oilers - C
7 - Jakob Voracek - Columbus Blue Jackets - C
8 - Zach Hamill - Boston Bruins - C
9 - Logan Couture - San Jose Sharks - C
10 - Keaton Ellerby - Florida Panthers - D
11 - Brandon Sutter - Carolina Hurricanes - C
12 - Ryan McDonagh - Montreal Canadiens - D
13 - Lars Eller - St. Louis Blues - LW
14 - Kevin Shattenkirk - Colorado Avalanche - D
15 - Alex Plante - Edmonton Oilers - D
16 - Colton Gillies - Minnesota Wild - C
17 - Alexei Cherepanov - New York Rangers - RW
18 - Ian Cole - St. Louis Blues - D
19 - Logan MacMillan - Anaheim Ducks - C
20 - Angelo Esposito - Pittsburgh Penguins - C
21 - Riley Nash - Edmonton Oilers - C
22 - Max Pacioretty - Montreal Canadiens - LW
23 - Jonathan Blum - Nashville Predators - D
24 - Mikael Backlund - Calgary Flames - D
25 - Patrick White - Vancouver Canucks - C
26 - David Perron - St. Louis Blues - LW
27 - Brendan Smith - Detroit Red Wings - D
28 - Nick Petrecki - San Jose Sharks - D
29 - Jim O'Brien - Ottawa Senators - C
30 - Nick Ross - Phoenix Coyotes - D

Have a great night!

BoNY LiveBlog Part 2 - 9:00 PM

10:30 PM NHL.com will stream the NHL Draft's Rounds 2-7 will be on NHL.com, as TSN's coverage is done.

10:25 PM I'm shocked VERSUS is still on.

10:24 PM Long commercial break.

10:19 PM Big headline today is how Cherepanov and Esposity fell to great teams.

10:16 PM Just a thank you to everyone who read the liveblog tonight. Thanks to my contributors, Mike Chen and Lyle Richardson. I'll be working on Day 2 from 10-12 PM tomorrow, see if we can't get Derek in after that. This has been a lot of fun and I will certainly do it again. I'll liveblog any action till 11PM, when I'll post a full recap.

10:15 PM Phoenix at the podium. Nick Ross, who worships Scott Stevens and Chuck Lidell.

10:12 PM Coyotes on the clock.

10:10 PM Jimmy O'Brien from the University of Minnesota. Fast-tracked his way to Minnesota. Youngest player in the NCAA. Ottawa will have to choose between defense and forward.

10:10 PM Ottawa to the podium.

10:09 PM Looks like VERSUS hasn't dumped out yet. Shocker.

10:06 PM Ottawa is next.

10:05 PM Washington TRADES their pick to San Jose, and they take Nick Petrecki of Omaha of USHL. I had him higher. Bobby Orr is his agent.

10:02 PM Washington is up next with the pick they received in the Dianus Zubrus trade.

9:59 PM INSIDER's PERSPECTIVE:

Lyle Richardson, Spector's Hockey:

I'm just surprised that Esposito and Cherepanov went as low as they did. I understand the Russian transfer agreement ( rather, the lack of one) was an issue but like Pierre Mcguire I expected him to go in the top ten. At least it worked out for Esposito going to Pittsburgh where he'll fit in well. I wasn't surprised that the Habs passed over Esposito for Ryan McDonagh, since the Canadiens lack defensive depth in their system. I was also a little surprised that Hickey went as high as he did, otherwise, not too many other surprises.

I think the lack of trade activity during the first round gave it an anti-climatic feel, especially after all the movement that occured in the 24 hours leading up to it.

9:58 PM Steve picks another one right! Smith's girlfriend has a gap in her teeth.

9:57 PM Stevie Y Picks Brendan Smith!

9:55 PM David "White Skates" Perron. That's a great influence on a young hockey player (Womp womp waaaaaaamp).

9:54 PM Detroit is on the clock.

9:53 PM David Perron, whom many had going higher, goes at #24.

9:51 PM NOW The Blues are up. They have #26.

9:48 PM Patrick White. A little off the board, USHL's Tri-City (Gomer!) #46 on the TSN list. #60 by THN, #23 by THN and NHL Central Scouting.

9:48 PM VanCity to the podium.

9:47 PM Vancouver is up next.

9:45 PM St. Louis has 2 of the next 4 picks.

9:45 PM Backlund had injury troubles last year, but is 100% healed.

9:44 PM Coming back from a short break, Mikael Backlund is headed to the Calgary Flames. I had him going much higher, this is a steal for Iron Mike and Calgary

9:38 PM Calgary is up.

9:37 PM Nashville selects Jonathan Blum.

9:35 PM Nashville to the podium. This is an interesting pick.

9:33 PM Nashville's next.

9:32 PM Max Pacioretty from Connecticut, of the USHL (Sioux City). Headed to UMich.

9:30 PM The Canadiens are next at #22.

9:27 PM Riley Nash of the BCHL (Kyle Turris' League). Edmonton obviously wanted him. He'll be the 2nd of 3 Tier 2 Jr. Players taken.

9:26 PM Edmonton heads to the podium.

9:25 PM Edmonton is up.

9:24 PM TRADE! Oilers and PHX look to be involved. Phoenix trades #21 for #30 and #36 (Rd. 2)

9:19 PM Angelo Esposito to the Pens!

9:15 PM Pens to the podium.

9:14 PM Pens are up. Do they dare take Esposito?

9:12 PM Logan McMillan. PEI kid (Woo spector!) son of former NHLer Bobby McMillan, nephew of former NHLer Billy McMillan.

9:12 PM Now, Anaheim is up.

9:09 PM 3rd US NTDP player in the first 18.

9:08 PM St. Louis goes off the board with Ian Cole from the US NTDP. Interesting pick. A proud day for USA Hockey.

9:07 PM Backlund, Esposito, Petrecki and Perron are the Top 4 available.

9:06 PM STL is up again.

9:06 PM I like this Chere..Trade! CGY trades #18 to STL for #24 and #70 (Rd.3)

9:02 PM Cherepanov finally. His favorite player is some guy who wears #68. An absoulte steal if he heads to the NHL next year. Oh, an absolute score for the Rags. Will try to get some thoughts from Derek before the night is over.

9:02 PM Alexei Cherepanov!

9:01 PM Rangers at the Podium.

9:00 PM and the Rangers are on the clock. Still nothing big yet.

Battle of NY Draft LiveBlog

8:57 PM Colton Gillies to Minnesota. Clarke Gillies' nephew. I will be re-starting for the next post.

8:57 PM Minnesota to the podium.

8:56 PM INSIDER's PERSPECTIVE

Mike Chen, Battle of California


Sometimes, the Sharks make trades up to zero in on someone whom theythink will have even the tiniest chance of being taken by someoneelse. Logan Coutre (who, by the way, has an awesome porn name) waspenned anywhere from 10-15 in most of the draft stuff I saw, so forSan Jose to grab him at 9 means that Wilson & Co. really, really,ridiculously wanted him. The forward depth of the organization'sprospects is drying up, pretty much because players like Bernier,Michalek, and Pavelski have already made the big club.

Courtre's a character and grit guy with skill, which is big with theSharks' staff. I don't know if the comparison to Jonathan Cheechoo isaccurate, but I can see parallels in their personality that must havefit the scouting staff's liking. I'm assuming the first thing they'llbe doing is sending him to power skating school.

If Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton are signed to multi-yearextensions, Courtre won't get an opportunity to get serious scoringplaying time for the next few years. That's fine for now cause he'llneed time to develop, but Courtre will have to seriously turn someheads or experiment with wing if he hopes to crack the Sharks lineupover the next 3-4 years.

8:55 PM They're saying this is where it ends for Esposito or Cherepanov...Possibly Colton Gillies.

8:54 PM Minnesota is up.

8:53 PM Trade the #16 to Minnesota for picks #19 and 42.

8:53 PM TRADE!

8:52 PM Anaheim is up.

8:50 PM Plante out of Calgary of the WHL.

8:50 PM Alex Plante, and Lepore calls it!

8:50 PM Edmonton to the podium.

8:49 PM This is the pick EDM got from the Isles.

8:48 PM A MINOR TRADE. Pens deal Chris Thorbrun to ATL for a 3rd rounder.

8:47 PM Another cliffhanger.

8:46 PM Edmonton is up next. Let's see if Lou goes to work here. Hey, I'm just saying.

8:45 PM KEVIN SHATTENKIRK. Another American kid. From New Rochelle, New York.

8:45 PM Avs to the Podium.

8:43 PM Avs are on the clock.

8:41 PM Lars Eller. I thought this would be Mikael Backlund. But the Danish kid gets in at #13 to St. Louis. Should be interesting.

8:40 PM Blues to the podium.

8:37 PM St. Louis is on the board again. We'll be getting Mike Chen's take on the Sharks pick shortly...

8:35 PM RYAN MCDONAGH to HABS. Mr. Hockey in Minnesota, Esposito and Cherepanov fall past #12. Doug McLean calls him the sleeper of the draft. His uncle is Super Bowl winning QB Steve Walsh.

8:30 PM BRANDON SUTTER. Very interesting. The 9th Sutter to the NHL.

8:29 PM Carolina to the podium.

8:28 PM Carolina is on the clock. This could be Espo.

8:24 PM Keaton Ellerby. Interestinly, I had him going #7 to the CBJ.

8:23 PM After a quick break, we're back and the Cats are at the podium.

8:17 PM Logan Couture. Of the Ottawa 67's. Out of the OHL. A character pick.

8:15 PM San Jose heading to the podium. Could this be Cherepanov?

8:14 PM A TRADE!!! St. Louis Trades the #9 to San Jose for the #13 and their 2nd this year and their 3rd next year. San Jose's on the clock.

8:11 PM New Boston jerseys. Next up is St. Louis, San Jose looks to be involved in something.

8:09 PM Zach Hamill! Ryan the temp goes at #8.

8:08 PM Cam Neely at the podium

8:05 PM Boston is up. I think they might get Esposito.

8:04 PM Jakub Voracek is the first Euro to go into the draft.

8:03 PM Jakub Voracek!

8:01 PM Or not, CBJ is on the podium.

8:00 PM Apparently Bettman is going to announce something.

7:55 PM Columbus is on the clock.

7:54 PM Edmonton take Sam Gagner, son of Dave, out of London of the OHL.

7:53 PM Oilers are headed to the podium.

7:50 PM Edmonton is on the clock. This will be interesting.

7:49 PM It's Alzner! Karl Alzner of the WHL at #5.

7:48 PM Washington is on the podium. Wyshynski says Alzner.

7:46 PM Pittsburgh may be dealing with ATL. This will be a curious pick for the Caps.

7:42 PM I had Hickey going at #22. Washington's on the clock. New Jersey alert.

7:41 PM WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA? Thomas Hickey, a defenseman from Seattle of the WHL. 5'11'', 182 lbs. at D. The first shocker of the draft. 6 teams had him as a 2nd rounder.

7:40 PM Kings to the podium.

7:36 PM Turris is headed to America, to play at the U. of Wisconsin. The worry is that he's not dominant vs. Top Tier players.

7:35 PM Kyle Turris to PHX!

7:34 PM Gretzky at the podium to standing ovations.

7:32 PM Coyotes are looking to start from scratch.

7:30 PM The Coyotes are on the clock. Holmgren says JvR reminds him of John LeClair.

7:29 PM This is the first time ever that Americans have gone 1-2.

7:28 PM Americans go 1-2 as the Flyers take JvR outta the National Team Dev. Program. Many compare him to Rick Nash, but Doug MacLean questions that. Some say he may be the most NHL ready player.

7:27 PM JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK!

7:26 PM Philly's at the podium.

7:23 PM Kane reminds many of Pavel Datsyuk, the worries are about his size. I say, with Brian Gionta scoring bunches of goals, it's not a worry.

7:21 PM Pat Kane it is! Patrick Kane of London of the OHL. This is the 1st time that two consecutive Americans will be drafted at #1.

7:20 PM Here we go, Chicago at the podium....

7:19 PM Booos for the Hawks

7:16 PM Booooooooooo! Bettman steps to the podium.

7:15 PM Apparently Craig Leipold has advised that the NHL not approve the sale of the Preds to Jim Ballsillie. Everyone on the team, however, can get the hell out.

7:14 PM Apparently it's curious that Bettman han't addressed the crowd yet, there's no clock or anything. A deal perhaps?

7:13 PM Eric McErlain reports that Nationwide Arena is full.

7:11 PM Habs are talking with CBJ, ANA and SJ.

7:08PM Dennis Bernstein says the Hawks should hold on to the 1st pick.

7:05 PM Montreal and Anaheim are looking to make a deal according to TFP.

7:04 PM Eric Duatscheck says it may be almost done.

7:00 PM HERE WE GO!

6:57 PM The Latest from Greg Wyshynski at the NHL Fanhouse (NHL.AOLSPORTSBLOG.com)

"Latest rumor on the floor is Phoenix trading for the top pick and selecting Kyle Turris (C, Burnaby, BCHL), in exchange for a position player (Derrek Morris?) and the No. 3 pick. This could open the door for the Philadelphia Flyers to potentially take Patrick Kane (RW, London, OHL) or James vanRiemsdyk (D, US U-18, USDP).
Ah, but the latest? That the deal has fallen through, and Chicago will take Kane. Stay tuned..."

Ah, the fun of rumors.

6:55 PM New rumor is that the roster player is Boynton headed to CHI. However, some are denying that it is happening.

6:51 PM Once again, EDMONTON and PHILADELPHIA are interested in Gomez for a trade and sign. The report is that the Devils are not returning the Flyers calls, but are seriously talking with the Oilers.

6:42 PM This draft special is very depressing I must say. Anyway, here are the rules for our rumors. All rumor sites, TSN, TFP, HockeyBuzz, will be used and taken with a grain of salt. Right now HB is reporting that Phoenix has Traded a roster player for the #1 pick from Chicago. Phoenix will take Turris, Philly will take van Riemsdyk and Chi-Town at #3 would take Kane.

6:30 PM Here we go folks, the NHL Draft is 30 minutes away. Right now, VERSUS is airing an all access special on the St. Louis Blues which I saw on the Blues website. Boy it mustg suck to be a Blues scout, based on this. Right now, there is a lot of news flowing around, and it'll be interesting to see where the night takes us. The big thing were following right now is the Washington Caps jersey unveiling. Even though you've all already seen it on a billion different blogs.

Leave questions for myself and Patricia (Who will suit up shortly for the blogging) in the comments section and one of us will try and respond.

The LiveBlog Will Start Shortly

We'll be getting going in a few minutes.

News

Florida Panthers have grabbed Tomas Vokoun from Nashville for a 1st rounder and a couple more picks.

Chicago's 1st has two serious offers from the West, as per TFP.

We'll be liveblogging from 6:30 on.

SFM/BoNY Mock Draft

Here's the mock draft I did for SFM, note that it was complete prior to the Sharks/Leafs trade:

I'll probably end up wrong with the #1, as I've been told CHI's starting leaning toward Kane, but we will see.

Pittsburgh has signed Mark Recchi (2 mill) and Gary Roberts (2.5 Mill)

1. Chicago - Kyle Turris (BCHL)
2. Philadelphia - James van Riemsdyk (USNTDP)
3. Phoenix - Patrick Kane, C (OHL)
4. Los Angeles - Karl Alzner, D (WHL)
5. Washington - Sam Gagner, C (OHL)
6. Edmonton - Jakub Voracek, RW (WHL)
7. Columbus - Keaton Ellerby, D (WHL)
8. Boston - Angelo Esposito, C (QMJHL)
9. St. Louis - Alexei Cherepanov, RW (Russia)
10. Florida - Zach Hamill, C (WHL)
11. Minnesota - Ryan McDonagh, D (Minn. HS)
12. Montreal - Logan Couture, C (OHL)
13. San Jose - Mikael Backlund, C (Sweden)
14. Colorado - Kevin Shatenkirk, D (USNTDP)
15. Edmonton - Alex Plante, D (WHL)
16. Anaheim - Nick Petrecki, D (USHL)
17. NY Rangers - Maxim Mayorov, RW (Russia)
18. Calgary - Brandon Sutter, RW (WHL)
19. Minnesota - Colton Gillies, LW (WHL)
20. Pittsburgh - Max Pacioretty, LW (USHL)
21. Phoenix - David Perron, LW (QMJHL)
22. Montreal - Thomas Hickey, D (WHL)
23. Nashville - Tommy Cross, D (CT HS)
24. St. Louis - Jon Blum, D (WHL)
25. Vancouver - Brett McLean, LW (OHL)
26. St. Louis - Oscar Moller, C (WHL)
27. Detroit - Nick Ross, D (WHL)
28. Washington - Akim Aliu, RW (OHL)
29. Ottawa - Brandon Smith, D (QJPHL)
30. Edmonton - Dana Tyrell, C (WHL)

Deals and Rumors

SJ Gets: Toronto's 1st (#13) and 2nd Round picks this year and a 4th rounder next year.

TOR Gets: Vesa Toskala (G) and Mark Bell (C)

BoNY Exclusive: Insider's Perspective
Mike Chen, Battle of California:

I'm not sure how this will play out since Wilson's
basically said he sees it as a 1-10 type thing before a huge dropoff.
They may package that #1 for something else or move up, so I'll wait
for it to happen before contributing my thoughts on the deal.

The more I think about it, though, the more I like it. It frees up
enough cap space to have some flexibility with free agents, Bell was a
healthy scratch/4th liner at this point with emotional problems from
his DUI, and they got a lot of commodities to try and create a deal.
Just gotta hope Wilson turns it into something further.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Other Rumors: Reportedly Edmonton is speaking to Gomez about either a sign and trade or his exclusive negotiang rights. Philadelphia was rumored to be involved but has said that they haven't asked about it. Fernandez and Bryzgalov talks are heating up.

Expect Atlanta to make a move today.

Welcome...

Patricia Greuter of 2-man Advantage will be joining me for the liveblogging action tomorrow!

The 2-man (which is now kind of 3-man) awesomeness combining with ours will be some show!


Follow up that awesome news with some awesome rumors!


RUMORS ROUNDUP (From TFP): Adrian Aucoin to Calgary, little in return but the riddance of his 4 million dollar salary...Minnesota has received as many as 4 offers for Manny Fernandez...The Kings may make a deal...The Panthers are looking into Ilya Bryzgalov and Chris Mason.

Goodnight all!

First News of the Evening

J.S. Giguere re-signs with the Ducks, 4 Years, 24 Mill:

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=211485&hubname=

Nathan Hortan gets 6 years, 24 Mill from the Panthers:

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=211469&hubname=

Ray Emery undergoes Succesful wrist surgery:

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=211451&hubname=


DRAFT RUMORS: Right now, the Lightning, Panthers, Canucks and Ducks look to be the most looking to deal on Draft night...The Caps will pick Karl Alzner if he's available at #5.

Battle of New York Draft Coverage! (Post #600)

Battle of New York will be liveblogging the VERSUS (aka the simulcast of TSN) coverage of the NHL draft this Friday from 6:00 - 10:00 PM. I will be digging around the web, with the assistance of many, on the hunt for truth and rumors, and I hope you will join me!

BoNY Awards Picks

Enjoy the ceremony tonight at 7 on VERSUS.

Hart Trophy (MVP)
Steve: Brodeur
Derek: Luongo
WINNER: CROSBY

Pearson Award (Players' MVP)
Steve: Lecavalier
Derek: Crosby
WINNER: CROSBY

Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year)
Steve: Malkin
Derek: Malkin
WINNER: MALKIN

Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward)
Steve: Pandolfo
Derek: Pahlsson
WINNER: Brind'Amour

Jack Adams Award (Coach of the Year)
Steve: Vinneagault
Derek: Therrien
WINNER: Vinnegault

Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman)
Steve: Lidstrom
Derek: Lidstrom
WINNER: LIDSTROM

Lady Byng Trophy (Most Gentlemanly Player)
Steve: Sakic
Derek: Sakic
WINNER: DATSYUK

Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie)
Steve: Brodeur
Derek: Brodeur
WINNER: Brodeur

Enjoy the show!

Ducks Pimpslap Sens in Game 5

That's it. Ducks Win. 6-2. Great stuff at the end is always.

Head to the NHL Fanhouse for words and VERSUS.com for vids.

Bye-Bye Yashin

The Isles have finally, finally bought out the contract of Alexei Yashin, who didn't come close to a point a game in his bloated, overpaid, dramafilled tenure with NYI. The Isles will take a 2.2 Million cap hit for the next four years, but should return some goodwill from their fans, who have hated Yashin since the day he got here.

In the scams and flams dep't. someone needs to get Andy Greene a better agent. He re-signed with the Devs for 2 years at $600,000 a year. Really? For a guy who was solid enough to get decent ice time in every playoff game? That's it? This reeks of kool-aid.

Game 5 tonight. NBC. Ducks with a chance to bring home Lord Stanley's Cup. This is what it's all about. I don't think Ottawa will bring it back to the Skank.

But for hockey's sake, let's hope for more games, eh?

Maybe this'll end up being one of those shocking 5-0 road wins that you sometimes see in Game 5's. Eh, maybe not. It's been fun anyway. Enjoy your hockey.

Game 4 Tonight

NBC, 8 PM. Enjoy the Game Chris Pronger.

It's a Series -- For Now

Sens take Game 3 5-3.

What a fantastic game filled with offensive scoring chances and fights and rough play. All the stuff that makes me proud to be a hockey fan.

Game 3

Ducks lead 2-0. The series shifts to Ottawa and NBC. Doc, Eddie and Pierre with the call. Bill, Ray and Brett live in Ottawa for the pre-game, intermissions and post.

LIVE PRE-GAME AND POST-GAME is at NBCSPORTS.com, plus a streaming interactive feature all night long.

Chris Kunitz is in the lineup tonight for the Ducks, in a shocking turn of events as he makes his way back from a broken hand.

Enjoy it at 8PM.

Battle of New York News

Since the NHL season could be over as soon as Wednesday, let's give you an update as to where the site will be over Summer Vacation.

We, of course, will be doing Awards coverage June 13-June 15.

June 17-June 22, I will be revealing #'s 30-1 of my NHL First Round Mock Draft. Derek will have his analysis as well, and we will likely liveblog as much of the draft as VERSUS broadcasts, if there is no Devs draft party.

June 23 we will be keeping an eye on Day 2 of the Draft.

June 25 - June 30 We will preview UFA day.

July 1 We will be liveblogging UFA Activity.

July 2 - July 8 We will keep you posted on UFA activity as it happens. Press Conferences and such.

On July 9th or until all the Devs and Rags UFAs are signed (As late as July 30th), Battle of New York will go on a long-deserved and long in length hiatus, as long as Scott Gomez has signed by then.

I cannot promise that all 3 of us will be back next season, but I can tell you that Battle of New York will return on September 1st once the hiatus begins.

Until all of this, Enjoy the hockey!

Finally! Game 1 Tonight

The Senators battle the Ducks in Orange County at The Pond. 8PM start time on VERSUS and VERSUS HD. Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk with the call.

Check out my preview, including a further look at Elgin Alexander Fraser, at SFM

For more Finals coverage, including BoNY Friend Greg Wyshynski's liveblog of Game 1, head to the NHL Fanhouse over at AOL

Here's our friend Earl Sleek from Battle of California with an exclusive look at why the Ducks DESERVE to win this series:

Why the Ducks deserve Lord's Stanley's Cup

On a personal level, we have Teemu Selanne, playing in his first cup finals at age 37. Teemu has been a tremendous story for the league, starting from his 76-goal rookie performance, to his winning the inaugural Rocket Richard trophy, to his international scoring for Team Finland, to the Masterson resurgence of last year. He has been heavily checked, cut up, and bruised this playoff year, but he can't hide the excitement of playing for the ultimate prize.

Add to that J.S. Giguere, Chris Pronger, Rob Niedermayer, and Sammy Pahlsson, four veteran NHLers who have all fallen one game short of Lord Stanley's Cup, only to watch another team savor it.

From a team perspective, Brian Burke and Randy Carlyle deserve a Cup for their aggressive and no-nonsense approach to team-building, especially for a team whose budget puts them significantly below the salary cap ceiling. They have incorporated talented kids in with talented veterans, providing clearly defined roles and a hard-working attitude. The team architects are certainly cup-worthy.

Anaheim fans have endured the mockery of all "legitimate" hockey fans throughout their first decade, and have watched a team fight its way through early (necessary) playoff defeats—the team has lost in all four rounds of the playoffs. No team on the left coast has ever won a Cup, somewhat thanks to travel disadvantages; should hockey's ultimate prize finally extend coast-to-coast, it should mean promising things for the health of the Anaheim hockey market and the whole western continent as well.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you very much Earl, for even more info check out our linemate sites Battle of California and Battle of Ontario

Enjoy the game everybody!

Sens Look to Win For Littlest Fan

This one really got to me folks. I'm sure it will do the same for you.



http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...7a-9344a27212f4



Littlest fan's final joy sees Ottawa Senators off to Cup



Katie Lewis, with files from Ken Warren, Ottawa Citizen CanWest News Service



Tuesday, May 22, 2007



CREDIT: CanWest files



OTTAWA -- In the end, it was a hockey game Elgin-Alexander Fraser was not going to miss.



The three-year-old spent his last hours at home, nestled between family and friends on a mattress on the living-room floor in front of the television watching the Ottawa Senators reach the Stanley Cup finals.



His right lung had collapsed and he breathed loudly, wheezing. When it became too hard to keep his heavy-lidded eyes open, because of the morphine, his family whispered the play-by-plays to him.



"Go if you want to go now bud," said his father, Hamish Fraser to his wee son, who weighed just over 30 pounds. "You don't have to hang on."



But that night, Elgin saw the Senators win.



Two hours later, as his mother and father tightly held his hands and told him they loved him, he softly closed his eyes.



Afterwards, his mother Victoria Fraser washed him, clipped his nails and dressed him in a grey Senators jogging suit. She then cradled him in her arms for over an hour.



"Everything that happened just seemed to fall into place and everything felt right at that moment," she said.



Elgin died of a rare form of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma, and had captured the emotions of thousands who raised funds to fight cancer at charity events for him.



"He went peacefully," said his father, adding that his son loved hockey "more than anything," and was the Senator's biggest fan.



And they loved him too.



Elgin met the Senators after his family was introduced to Chris Phillips, a defenceman and father of two, and his wife, Erin Phillips, through mutual friends.



In April, Elgin found himself in a front-row seat at a practice as part of one of his final wishes. At the time, Mr. Fisher held Elgin while skating around the ice. Elgin also got a tour of the dressing room. Since then, Elgin had been to more than eight Senators games, including their final home game against the Buffalo Sabres last Wednesday.



Elgin's father said his son's room is littered with Senators paraphernalia -- from jerseys, to hockey sticks, to goalie masks."He loved to tear around and pretend to be players on the team," he said.



On Thursday, Senators centre Mike Fisher visited Elgin at home in Carleton Place, Ont. They watched a movie and played with toy cars, because Elgin was too weak to pick up his hockey stick.



Fraser talked to his son on the phone during the visit and asked Elgin to ask Fisher if the Senators were going to win the Stanley Cup.



"Okay, Dad, hold on," said Elgin over the phone.



"Mike," said Elgin, "You're going to win the Stanley Cup, right?"



"We sure are buddy," came the reply.



"Dad, he said yes," said Elgin, recalled Fraser.



Sunday, Fisher said he was saddened by the news and that he had thought about Elgin before the hockey game on Saturday night.



"The impact he had on me was incredible. With the things he went through and how well he handled them," said Fisher. "I was blessed to spend some time with him. He's in a better place, for sure."



Elgin was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system, when he was nine months old. He went through a flurry of treatments, radiation, chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant and finally went into remission. Bad news came in January, as the cancer came back as the growing tumours took over his stomach and vertebrae.



By the end, Elgin's back was almost a solid mass of tumours, with fluid leaking into his lungs.



His doctors had told his family on Monday they didn't expect him to make it through the weekend.



Despite his pain, Elgin still managed to go to the Senators game on Wednesday, along with his mother, father and eight-month-old sister Alysston.



The brave little boy was decked out in his red Senators jersey, a sawed off hockey stick clenched tight in his hand.



"He didn't take his eyes off the game," said Fraser.



After the game, Elgin met some of the players, including Fisher, Ray Emery and Chris Phillips.



Phillips told Elgin that night that the Senators were going to win the next game on Saturday for him.



They did.



Elgin's funeral will be held on Thursday at the Carleton Place Arena.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------



If you're not in tears yet, watch this TSN report, and you will be.

http://broadband.tsn.ca/tsn/?id=348&vid=8024

Anaheim-Ottawa Final

Should be great stuff. Interestingly, both teams in this year's final are followed by Battle sites.

Perhaps Jay Jardine or Earl Sleek will pop in and give us a little insiders perspective if their kind enough, or if I'm not too lazy to keep from asking.

We'll be blogging more frequently as we get to Monday.

Ducks-Wings Tonight, SCF Schedule

Before we start, the Cup Finals schedule was released today. It will be a Monday-Wednesday-Saturday rotation, starting Monday and Wednesday on VERSUS, then Saturday-Monday-Wednesday-Saturday-Monday on NBC.

Frankly, Derek wanted it to start earlier. I wanted it to stay on 5/29 like it was originally planned. We would've had to wait 5 days for the final, but then we'd have only had 1 2-day break instead of two. It'll be really hard to get into this series. At least the two 2-day breaks will be travel days, so the more media members can attend.

Advantage Detroit if they can win two in a row.

Game 6 is tonight. There is a precedent for this. 5 Years ago, down 3-2 to Colorado in the height of that rivalry, on the road, they get the win at Pepsi Center and go on to the Finals. I think they can win tonight. Good luck to our friends on both sides, like Paul Kukla and the KK gang, and Earl Sleek and Co. at Battle of California. 9PM Tonight. It is on!

My Thoughts

There are many reasons the Sabres fell short to the Senators as Ottawa exacted sweet revenge on their Northeastern archrivals by winning in basically the same cruel fashion as Buffalo did last year.

I'll just cut to the chase as to why:

1.Alfredsson, Spezza and Heatley couldn't be contained. All Spring, the dangerous top line trio has been unreal. It continued in this series. Buffalo did accomplish a minor miracle by shutting them out in their one-goal win in Game 4. Right now, no line is better. Alfredsson in particular has really raised his level. He's silenced many critics.

2.Ottawa defense wasn't broken. If you watched this series, you know what I'm referring to. Steve can certainly relate as can Pens' fans. The Sens D was very stingy against Buffalo preventing great scoring opportunities and limiting shots. With blocked shot machine Anton Volchenkov getting in the path of many and breaking up plays, it made Ray Emery's life much easier. The Ottawa netminder hasn't had to steal many games. Today was one of the few he was required to make some tough saves.

3.Special teams not so special. Sure, Buffalo found a way to silence Ottawa's power play the last three games. But their PP was nothing special only connecting twice all series with both coming via the two-man advantage. They had a couple of chances to win today's game in regulation on it but couldn't. In Game 2, they had a PP in OT but got nothing done before losing on a Joe Corvo blast. It hurt them at key instances.

4.Role reversal. Plain and simple, Buffalo was victimized the same way they upset Ottawa as a fourth seed last year. Three one-goal defeats and lost twice in OT. Last year, they won all three games which went to OT including Jason Pominville's shorthanded clincher. Every game aside from Game 1 (4-2 loss) was decided by one goal. It was eerily similar last year. And also, the road team after winning the first three dropped Game 4 on their own home ice only to win on the road in sudden death and clinch. Go figure.

5.The Sens were the more determined team. Buffalo showed this in the last two games, finally doing whatever it took to win including blocking 21 shots to only Ottawa's 7 yesterday. Problem was they didn't have that same will or desperation early in this series which put them in the 0-3 hole.


For more Game 5 analysis and series discussion, please check out our commentary over at Hitting Back.

Senators Headed to the Finals

They take Game 5 3-2.

Brett Hull on why Buffalo lost: "Too many Europeans".

I think Buffalo needs to get tougher. Let Briere walk, pay up for Drury, and add Sheldon Souray on the defense.

Sabres forced to the wall Tonight

On VERSUS, 7:00 pm... Does anyone really think the Sabres won't make this at least somewhat interesting? I say let's head back to Buffalo for Game 5.

Ratings?!?!?!?!?!

They want ratings?!?!?!?!?! Screw the damn ratings!!!!!!!!! I'm so fed up of this dreaded word which has absolutely no freaking meaning when it comes to our sport.

They crave for people to watch? Then maybe they shouldn't have locked out the players! It really did a lot of good. And no. I'm not referring to three years ago but back in 1994 instead. They had a hot product back then which was getting people talking. Even rappers such as Snoop Dogg were wearing jerseys. Who could forget the Canucks one he wore?

The sad truth is the NHL screwed itself here. They will never ever get the kind of media attention they want. Is the sport exciting? I think so. Is it great? Depends. If you took away the 4 blind mice, it could be.


The playoffs are still great and arguably the toughest in all sports to win. The players sacrifice their bodies in an attempt to get their hands on the most prestigous trophy aside from the Wimbledon crown. The Stanley Cup!


But as the game continues to remain where they are, it's awfully hard to get the kind of attention it deserves.


Here in the city that never sleeps, you have this thing called baseball and as long as the Mets or Yanks are good, they'll steal the backpages. It was a freaking disgrace that Michal Rozsival's multiple OT winner didn't make the back page for one paper. It's just sad in general how much what the baseball teams so early in their season dictate what goes on.

They want ratings? Go fucking watch baseball or football. I give up.


Ratings are never going to happen with our sport. It's time for this absurd talk to finally die.


I'm Derek Felix and I've spoken my piece!

Ottawa takes Game 2

Boy, someone needs to wake up this Buffalo team. Corvo wins it on a long slapper from Joe Corvo, who has a killer one-time. 4-3 in 5 periods.

2-0 Senators, and the NHL haters lick their lips at another Canadian team in the finals to diss the ratings of. Pray for Detroit!

WCF Preview

Here's my take on this series between 1 Detroit vs 2 Anaheim:

WC Preview

This series will feature all three Norris candidates as Ducks’ tandem Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger are set to do battle against Nicklas Lidstrom. The 37 year-old Lidstrom has won the Norris four times during his illustrious 16-year career. The Swede is arguably the best defenseman of his era. In terms of consistency, no one has been better. Offensively and defensively, the Detroit captain has been a tower of strength on the blueline.

Pronger and Niedermayer have also both taken home a Norris in their outstanding careers. Both are perennial All Stars who can impact a game both offensively and defensively. Pronger does it with sheer physicality while Niedermayer does it with effortless skating and speed. They certainly pose a huge challenge to Lidstrom and Co. if they’re to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

Just a note. I went 4-for-4 in Round 2 on my site. Not too shabby after an inauspicious first round.


This also is the first time Detroit has seen Anaheim since Giguere stoned them in that shocking first round sweep in 2003.

Elias Sues Former Agents

From TSN.ca

New Jersey Devil forward Patrik Elias has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit in New Jersey Federal Court against his former agents, Mark Gandler and Todd Diamond, sources tell TSN.
The court documents were reportedly filed yesterday in New Jersey.

In the suit, Elias alleges fraud, embezzlement, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of US Federal Securities Laws.

Elias has not been represented by Gandler and Diamond for several years.

Elias is being represented by San Francisco lawyer Ed King, who specializes in cases involving professional athletes suing their representatives.


Details to follow.

Western Finals Start Tonight

This will be epic folks. Anaheim and Detroit at 7:30 on VERSUS. Doc and Eddie O. with the call. It will be a war out there everyone.

Game 1 Postgame Analysis

If anyone is interested in my thoughts, I'll be continuing postgame coverage of the Conference Finals over at my site.

An excerpt from last night:

2.Special teams was the difference:

PP: Ott- 2 of 6 Buf- 0 of 5

PK: Ott- 5 of 5, 1 SHG Buf- 4 of 6, 2 PPG allowed

3.With a PPG tonight, for the first time in his postseason career, Alfredsson has scored in three consecutive games. Clearly, the Ottawa captain is playing the best hockey of his career in an attempt to silence many critics.

4.Due in large part to all the penalties his team killed, Buffalo top center Daniel Briere took only 20 shifts (15:33 TOI) and was a non-factor finishing minus-two with no shots.

Hope ya'll check it out!

Ottawa takes Game 1

Honestly, Buffalo had their chances tonight. They could have taken Game 1, they were not all that worse, but they gave Ottawa an opening and Ottawa showed a killer instict which we've never seen from them before in a playoff series by taking it 5-2.

More tomorrow.

ECF Preview

Here's an excerpt courtesy of my site:

Last year, the Sabres despite as many as four starting defensemen hurt lost to the Hurricanes in a hard fought seven games. I’ll never forget my diehard buddy Brian’s reaction when Carolina won. It was a tirade of epic proportions. Who could blame him?

A Buffalo fan could only take so much pain and heartache.

The Sabres’ opponent knows something about that. Since coming to the NHL as an expansion team in 1992-93, Ottawa has built a solid foundation by making the postseason 10 consecutive seasons since ‘96-97 when they upset the top seeded Devils in six games.

The Final Four Begins...

Buffalo and Ottawa tonight at 7 at the HSBC in BUF on VERSUS and MOJO HD. Not sure whether they are going with Team Emrick or Team Beninati to call it. My guess: Two American markets will get Doc and Edzo over Buffalo and a Canadian team.

I will be covering the Eastern Final, while Derek will check in with the Western series between Anaheim and Detroit.

Sens Eliminate Devs

Here's part of my post series analysis on what took place last night at The Swamp courtesy of Hitting Back:

So why did the outcome turn out this way?

1.Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson couldn’t be stopped. The Devils continued to insist on matching the Madden line against them. They should’ve seen that it wasn’t working. I’d have scratched the plan tonight. They needed to do whatever it took to score goals and win. Lamoriello and his assistants failed here.

2.In this series, Brodeur had the clear edge over his younger opponent at the opposite end of the rink. He admitted that he had to be better after Game 4. It just never materialized. Whatever rebounds Emery let out were cleared by his D. And Marty might have been overworked because he continued to let in odd goals which hurt his team. He definitely needs a lighter load next year.

3.In the first round victory over Tampa, Parise was awesome scoring six goals. The super soph was blanketed in this round against a more defensive oriented opponent. Credit the checking of Mike Fisher because he saw a lot of Zach’s line. The Ottawa blueline also did a solid job along the walls shutting them down.

4.As predicted, the Ottawa blueline was more involved offensively. More active on the forecheck due to effective pinching, they made an impact. In particular, Preissing who just killed the Devils in key moments such as Game 3 and tonight. They also were more steady in their end and didn’t turn the puck over as much.

5.Devils’ captain Elias tried hard in the four games he got into but couldn’t find the back of the net. He was sharpest in the elimination game tallying an assist and also getting robbed point blank by Emery in the final minute. Clearly, he wasn’t himself in this series and hurt the play of linemates Gomez and Gionta. One goal in 10 playoff games isn’t very Elias-esque. Even if he did finish 1-9-10, they needed him to finish more.

6.Anton Volchenkov. End of discussion. The Russian tower on the Ottawa D dominated this series by blocking a ton of shots including four more tonight. His teammates also chipped in and made it extremely difficult on the Devils to get shots through. In the clincher, they blocked 25 or 14 more than their desperate opponents. In fact, Volchenkov, Wade Redden (6) and Preissing (5) combined to block four more shots than the entire Devils roster (15-11).

Game 4 Tonight

The Devils need to get some offense on the inside tonight. They're playing Joe Thornton hockey, everything on the perimeter. Game on VERSUS tonight, scroll down to find your local VERSUS station.

Go DEVILS!

Locals Nominated for Awards

Pando for the Selke.

Marty for Hart and Vezina.

Lundqvist for the Vezina.

Good luck to all!