Notes from a Night of Hockey - 10/06/06

Florida Panthers 8 - Boston Bruins 3
I've got some bad news folks: It is entirely possible that I have no idea what I'm talking about. I'll give you a minute to let that one sink in... Okay, ready? Todd Bertuzzi had a goal and three assists in his debut in Florida, in spite of the fact that I quite clearly stated in my Panthers preview that the trade for Bertuzzi was a poor dicision. The nerve of some people. Joe Nieuwendyk added two goals as the Panthers made the Bruins look just plain silly.
Vancouver Canucks 3 - Columbus Blue Jackets 2 (OT)
Double your pleasure, double your fun. Or some other such cliched saying about twins. Henrik Sedin had the assist and Daniel Sedin had the goal in overtime for the Canucks, who are now 2-0.The idea of having a pair of identical twins on the ice at the same time playing for the same team always seemed a little unfair to me. I would think it would be somewhat confusing for the other team.
New Jersey Devils 4 - Carolina Hurricanes 0
The Hurricanes lost for the second straight game to a team that they eliminated from the playoffs last year. After winning 31 games at home last season, Carolina is now 0-2 (or rather 0-1-1, ugh) at home so far this year.

Other scores:
Buffalo 5 - Montreal 4 (SO)
Anaheim 4 - Los Angeles 3

NHL Preview: Florida Panthers

We're halfway through September and you know what that means: Part thirteen of our thirty part series previewing the new hockey year. Today? The Florida Panthers.

When history looks back at the summer of 2006, what it will remember best is Evgeni Malkin's Midnight Ride and the Disaster of Long Island. What will get lost in all the haze is the truly entertaining teams of the NHL offseason, the Florida Panthers. The Panthers entered the offseason with a slew of needs to be filled. The only position on the ice that they could be truly confident in was goaltending. Robert Luongo was one of the elite goaltenders in the league, if not the outright best. While his numbers weren't especially gaudy when compared to other elite goaltenders in places like Calgary or New York, after adjusting for the fact that the defense allowed shot totals well above the thirty per game mark his numbers probably ranked with some of the best to ever play the game. He was the type of player that a GM can build a franchise around. Or, in the case of Mike Keenan, the type of player that can be traded for a sociopathic power forward.

In a deal that shocked the world (or at least some parts of Western Canada) Keenan traded his premier goalie to Vancouver for much maligned winger Todd "Batshit Crazy" Bertuzzi. The end result of the deal is that the Panthers now have more question marks than they did at the end of the season back in April. Yet somehow people were still surprised when Keenan got the boot resigned earlier this month.

It's a shame too. Keenan actually did a decent job of bolstering the defense, which would have given Luongo a chance to really flourish. Instead, the defense is now responsible for protecting former Maple Leaf Ed Belfour, who signed with the Panthers because they were the closest team to his new retirement home. It's a tough task for the Florida defense, given the fact that Belfour may very well break into tiny little pieces if a puck should actually hit him. If Belfour goes down, his backup is Bertuzzi trade afterthought Alex Auld, who brings to the table one year of experience as a starter on an otherwise playoff-worthy Canucks team.

Of course, Belfour could stay healthy and perform with some of his former skill in net, and the change of scenery might help Bertuzzi break out of the season-long funk he found himself in after being reinstated to the league. Combined with the newly bolstered defensive corps and the return of Olli Jokinen and his big new contract, such an occurance could result in the Panthers' first playoff berth in seven years.

To follow all the excitement in South Florida, check out Panthers Den for all your blogging needs.

Don't Let the Door Hit You On the Way Out

Yesterday, the Vancouver Canucks traded much-maligned winger Todd Bertuzzi to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Roberto Luongo. There were some other players and picks involved, but I don't know enough about any of them to comment, so I'm going to focus on the two stars of this deal.

I don't really know how I feel about this one. On the one hand, I think the Panthers are insane to trade away possibly the best goalie the league will see over the next ten years. On the other hand, I'm not really sure how much having an elite goaltender really matters in Bettman's new NHL. What I do know is that, as a Capitals fan, I will certainly be glad not to have to see Luongo on a regular basis again, whereas Bertuzzi? Not so much. He just doesn't seem to me to be the player he once was ever since the Steve Moore incident.

On the other side, Vancouver addresses the one thing that has consistently been a problem for them, picking up an elite (the elite?) goaltender. I think they definitely come out on top in this deal.

EDIT: It appears that Luongo wasn't even aware he was going to be traded. In fact, he thought he had agreed to a long term deal. My favorite quote from him? "I'm really looking forward to the opportunity of making a run at the Stanley Cup, something I never had a chance to do in my prior seasons in Florida."

Trading your franchise's best player after giving him the impression that he was going to be signed to a long term deal and then having him take swipes at your franchise immediately after said trade does not a good impression make. I can see now why Luongo (and several other Panthers) were hesitant to ink long term deals during the season.