The Vancouver Canucks have announced a contract extension for Ryan Kesler. The terms of the deal are $30 million over six years and appear to be a steal for a future Selke Trophy winner who will rack up over 70 points this year. This Canucks team is headed into a solid future where their core players (Roberto Luongo, Daniel & Henrik Sedin, Alex Burrows) are all locked up for extended years.
Nathan Horton returned from injury and picked up 2 assists in just over 21 minutes of icetime. Michal Repik was sent back to the AHL to make room on the roster for Horton.
The Carolina Hurricanes have signed 2008 2nd round pick (48th overall) Zac Dalpe to a 3-year entry level deal. Dalpe has had a couple solid season's with the NCAA's Ohio State University and has solid offensive upside. The Hurricanes, who are starting to embark on a bit of a youth movement, have a few guys ahead of him on the depth chart so the team will likely start Dalpe in the AHL next season. Dalpe has already been assigned to the AHL's Albany River Rats and will join the team to finish of this year.
Another notch on the bedpost for Antti Niemi, who shut out the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. OK, so we all know of the goaltending controversy going on in Chicago right now but am I the only one who is absolutely stunned that the team started Corey Crawford on Wednesday? I know the Hawks were playing back-to-backs and that Cristobal Huet was out with the flu, but this team badly needs either Niemi or Huet to catch fire. Makes zero sense to me to even bother with Crawford at this point of the season.
Erik Johnson has 2 goals and 8 points in his last 12 games, but he's also a -3 over that span. His 33 points in 68 games this season is pretty much spot in with his rookie year in 2007-08 but I'm expecting a big breakout for him next season as the entire Blues team should improve. The arrival of Alex Pietrangelo will help as well, and it is expected the two defensemen will man the 1st unit powerplay.
The Nashville Predators really spread around the icetime on Thursday night against the Wild, as Jerred Smithson (16:49) and Dustin Boyd (16:17) were the only forwards to to see over 16 minutes. Of course, this had more to do with the team being up 4-0 early in the second period than anything. Colin Wilson scored his 6th goal in the last 13 games and also added an assist. Patric Hornqvist continues to stay hot after not scoring in 10 games. He scored his 27th of the season in a two-point night and now has 4 goals and 6 points in his past 5 games.
Should the Washington Capitals be worried about goaltending down the stretch? Semyon Varlamov has been downright brutal for his past 5 starts, and lost again Thursday night against the Hurricanes. Well, according to Jose Theodore the team shouldn't be concerned. Over his past 17 starts, Theodore has an amazing 15-0-0-2 record. He'll get the start on Saturday night and at this point should be the heavy favourite to be leaned on in the playoffs.
Mathieu Schneider picked up his first two points (both assists) as a member of the Phoenix Coyotes and led the team in icetime with just over 24 minutes. Could this be a repeat of his stretch last year with the Canadiens? It's certainly a possibility as it's clear the Coyotes are going to be leaning on veterans into the playoffs. He could be a decent (albeit risky) flyer if you are seriously hurting for defensemen help in your fantasy league playoffs.
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