SB Nation - Michael Peca

On This Day In Canucks History: November 26

Yankee Canuck — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:00:14 -0000

November 26, 1986: Petri Skriko scores his third (!) hat trick in eight days, propelling Vancouver to a 5-3 victory over Los Angeles. Skriko scored 12 goals and added two assists in a span of five games, making it the "hottest" scoring period of any player in Canuck history. His scoring streak also made him the first Canuck named NHL Player of the Month.

One of the most decorated players in Finnish hockey history, Skriko played 472 games and scored 373 points for Vancouver over seven seasons. He lead Vancouver in scoring twice and had four consecutive 30-goal seasons.

In January 1991 Skriko was traded to Boston for a 2nd round pick in the 1992 draft which Vancouver used the pick to pick Michael Peca. Skriko would play a few more seasons with Boston, Winnipeg and San Jose before returning to Finland. According to Wikipedia, Skriko is currently a scout for the Washington Capitals.

(And - son of a bitch - 24 years later Vancouver is facing the Kings and would just love to see a single goal, much less a hat trick. The winds of fate await you gentlemen.)

LHinks: Training Camp jitters, Peca still hunting

Dominik — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:31:33 -0000

More photos » by John Dunn - AP

You ready for man-hugs? I am SO ready for man-hugs.

Browse more photos »

Happy End of Holiday Weekend. Mondays stink -- but they're a little better when they're actually Tuesdays.

Islanders players are skating on Long Island. John Tavares has arrived. In four days, they'll be skating in Saskatoon. In six days, they'll be playing a game in Vancouver -- televised (on NHL Network). This is really happening: The season is really around the corner. We're about to sort our Joensuus from our Martins from our DiBenedettos. Respect. (P.S. How the hell do you get to Saskatoon?)

If you missed it, we had a few things to consider around here this past weekend, from ~~fawning over~~ grading Mark Streit to comparing today to the Season Previews of 15 years ago, to commending former Penalty Shot Zeus Shawn Bates on his Colorado tryout invite. And via FanPost, a bit of dreaming about what the end of Garth Snow's rebuild plan might look like.

Elsewhere:

Did I mention John Tavares has arrived and is skating with teammates? [Newsday]
I kinda get the feeling that Matt Martin really wants to make the club, and really won't be offering any hometown discount when it's his turn to get paid. [IslandersPointBlank]
A former Islanders captain is still looking for a team. Screw you, Darcy Tucker. [Buffalo News]
B.D. expands on the Lighthouse-stalling news from the weekend. As with yesterday's LHinks about Nick's bit, I feel like I'm going to use that phrase again a time or two. [Islanders Independent]
Not totally Isles-related, but Chris Botta at Fanhouse has great thoughts from Pens coach Dan Bylsma on his approach to the job and sudden rise from deposed Isles assistant to Pens ubermensch.
Not at all Isles-related, but the Stefan Legein story is really interesting. Good on the Blue Jackets prospect for calling timeout when needed -- and good on him for coming back when he thought the time was right.

Look for more previews and history and report cards and general jibber-jabber this week. The discussions have been great, so keep it up -- and newbies and lurkers: Jump in at any time. Gotta get our navel-gazing and big picture musing in before the actual games narrow our focus to the usual "stick it up Koharski's..." fare.

Florida Panthers up the middle: Center of a troubled universe?

Whale4ever — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:21:49 -0000

Most of the shouting has - thankfully - died down from the fever pitch we saw two weeks ago regarding free agency. The Cats made no significant waves (though I still find myself quietly cheering the Scott Clemmensen signing) beyond getting a decent, albeit late, return on Jay Bouwmeester's rights, locking up center Steven Reinprecht, and making everyone a bit nervous by going long on Jordan Leopold. But it all got done. Not to mention a few modest-though-hopeful draft picks were made by Scott Luce's staff under immense pressure from a front office which could only have been in turmoil, thanks to Montreal's new head coach.

More after the wormhole-of-fun...

Actually, that part makes me the most snickeringly positive about the future of the club. These scouthing guys and gals had to react to a quickly evolving situation. No longer were Jacques Martin's meandering defensive proclivities the order of the day. Want proof? Of the Cats' seven picks, six were forwards; only 14th-overall Dmitry Kulikov (ranked by many as a top-ten prospect) works the blueline. Every fan should sleep a little better.

And so we venture back to free agency, and specifically the center position. For quite some time - the "loss" of Olli Jokinen comes to mind - the Panthers have been jockeying either second-line (sometimes less) centers or transplanted wingers to the meat spot in the top trio sandwich. While this was undoubtedly done out of necessity last year (giving Nathan Horton a shot at his old junior spot was one reason, not blowing out the salary structure being another), the upcoming season has a new set of expectations associated with it. The playoffs are, quite simply, stand back : the only goal. Wash, rinse, repeat. Sounds rather familiar to me as well.

It's safe to assume most Panthers Faithful can be divided into two camps when discussing the situation at Center:

those who are comfortable with where the roster stands now (including prospects from Rochester), hoping for the rapid development of some and serious breakouts from others, while...
...the other contingent wants a splash, the Big Free Agent, some semblence of a newsmaking deal to shake the foundations a bit.

It's really no secret where I stand: building from within is a perfectly respectable strategy. The Cats have been doing it - haphazardly - for years, only that many of the expected pieces either failed to pan out (Anthony Stewart, Branislav Mezei) or were squeezed by the differing strategies of three very dissimilar management staffs in the past six years (Kristian Huselius, Niklas Hagman).

Would I love to see a mammoth move made by Randy Sexton and company to shore up the middle? Of course. But I'm not losing sleep over it. And until a full-time GM is named, don't waste your nights stressing over it either. When the big money is spent, it won't be with an interim's signature on Alan Cohen's check.

I'm perfectly comfortable waiting this out; a successful season - built on the efforts of some long-awaited Big Years by the up-and-comers - is realistic, given the talent within. The club has a solid core in place - finally - at the forward ranks, with a little work remaining at left wing (in this case Alex Tanguay looks oh so tempting), but the conversation always drifts back to center.

Stephen Weiss: A nice season by the perenial number two - he led the team in scoring - may have finally cemented his front-line status. Recent talk of a Booth-Weiss-Horton Sunrise Express reunion (made possible by the addition of Reinprecht) could very well have the center back for good at the top of the positional depth chart.

Steven Reinprecht: A career second-liner, he has produced erratically, though due to various injuries (which in itself is rather terrifying). His point totals have been consistent with games-played. A Cup winner and "character guy" which the Panthers have been in relentless pursuit of in recent days, he has serious potential with a Michael Frolik/Cory Stillman shotgun setup.

Gregory Campbell: One third of the killer "CPR" line is now just about gone (awaiting confirmation on Ville Peltonen's expected departure to Europe), Campbell worked wonders with Radek Dvorak in all defensive situations. In Nick Boynton's absence, "Soup" never hesitated to drop the gloves in defense of a teammate, so his role as third-line center is well-defined and - for the moment - untouchable.

Nick Tarnasky: The return for Wade Belak. Tough dood with sweet hands had some moments in 2008-09, just not many. Sharing ice time was a factor.

Kamil Kreps: Quick but serviceable fourth-liner; his 19 points in 66 games - on very few minutes per night - are actually a revelation. Given real time, who knows? Probably holding the fort for...

Shawn Matthias: Even in the event this kid completely busts, Detroit's Ken Holland will never hear the end of trading his rights for Todd Bertuzzi at the 2007 trade deadline. He won't be a bust, though, even after a rough start in Rochester last year. With a season of pro hockey to his resume, lots of folks are expecting a serious push to make the big club in camp.

Jeff Taffe: Yahoo! and the Panthers official site have him listed at left wing, while ESPN - in all their WWL goodness, pegged him at center. I hate deferring to Bristol's largest tax shelter, but for the purposes of this piece, we'll call him a center as well. Hey...any guy who can produce at better than a point-per-game pace is worth looking at, and I'll be damned if he doesn't create some headaches for everyone under Reinprecht on the depth chart during camp. Those are numbers.

No one else of note down on the farm at this point. Who's available at the Free Agent Center bazaar? Check it out (via Mirtle's most recent Top 100):

Robert Lang: Serious points over the years, and he's played with some top talent. But he's older than I am. That's not a good thing. KHL or bust, baby.
Mats Sundin: Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Moving along...
Jason Williams: Decent numbers - in fact, pretty darned good - but his only having played 80 games once in ten years hurts him. Forget that...his next highest total for a single season is 58. Sucks.
Manny Malhotra: No offense, but we're sinking fast. In his defense, Manny has many admirers, and did a lot where few tools were available in Columbus. Going into his 13th season at age 29.
Dominic Moore: Well-travelled and not outstanding in any specific category. Greg Campbell, minus the stability.
Mike Comrie: Surprised he fell this far? Though talented at his trade, yet another victim of games-lost-to-injury.

That's really it, unless Mike Sillinger and Michael Peca can still be summarized as "big names". How much dinero would you throw at any of these guys, and how might they be an improvement on what Florida already holds? Speak!

Poll

Centers: Sign one or stay the course?

Take no prisoners: go for it in the FA marketplace

45 votes

Hang tight: there's enough talent to handle the load

22 votes

67 votes | Poll has closed

2009 NHL Free Agency / Teams by Cap Space / Unsigned UFA's and RFA's

Robert L — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:19:41 -0000

This is a listing of NHL teams by order of remaining cap space as of July 4. The Islanders top the list with approximately $23M left to spend. The Sharks have just under $2M remaining. The list is helpful in determining which team are closest to filling out their 2009-10 lineup. As one can see, there is much work to be done at both ends of the spectrum. The numbers figures are based on totals given by NHL Numbers.com.

1 - New York Islanders: $23.265 (18)

UFA: Andy Hilbert C 28, Dean McAmmond C 36, Mike Sillinger C 38, Thomas Pock D 27, Yann Danis G 28, Joey MacDonald G 29.

RFA: Nate Thompson C 24, Jeremy Colliton C 24, Jamie Fraser D 23, Jack Hillen D 23.

2 - Phoenix Coyotes: $21.972 (18)

UFA: Brian McGrattan R 27, Dmitri Kalinin D 29, Ken Klee D 38.

RFA: Nigel Dawes L 24, Joakim Lindstrom C 25, Enver Lisin R 23, Scottie Upshall R 25, Daniel Winnik C 24, Keith Yandle D 22.

3 - Atlanta Thrashers: $19.599 (15)

RFA: Eric Perrin C 33.

UFA: Kari Lehtonen G 25, Colby Armstrong R 26, Jim Slater C 26, Boris Valabik D 23.

4 - Nashville Predators: $17.913 (16)

UFA: Radek Bonk C 33, Scott Nichol C 34, Greg de Vries D 36.

RFA: Ryan Jones R 25, Antti Pihlstrom L 24,.

5 - New York Rangers: $16.436 (13)

UFA: Blair Betts C 29, Mark Bell L 28, Patrick Rissmiller C 30, Paul Mara D 29, Derek Morris D 30.

RFA: Christopher Higgins R 26, Ryan Callahan R 24, Brandon Dubinsky C 23, Lauri Korpikoski L 22, Nikolai Zherdev L 24, Corey Potter D 25.

6 - Anaheim Ducks: $14.295 (17)

UFA: Rob Niedermayer F 34, Todd Marchant C 33, Francois Beauchemin D 29, Bret Hedican D 38.

RFA: James Wisniewski D 25.

7 - Tampa Bay Lightning: $14.295 (17)

UFA: Matt Pettinger L 28, Wade Brookbank L 31, Jason Ward R 30, Marek Malik D 34, Josef Melichar D 30, Cory Murphy D 31, Noah Welch D 26.

RFA: Martins Karsums R 23, Radek Smolenak L 22, Matt Lashoff D 22, Matt Smaby D 24, Mike Lundin D 24, Karri Ramo G 22, Mike McKenna G 26.

8 - Columbus Blue Jackets: $13.313 (20)

UFA: Chris Gratton C 33, Manny Malhotra C 29, Michael Peca C 35, Jason Williams C 28, Christian Backman D 29.

RFA: Jiri Novotny C 25, Marc Methot D 24, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen D 25.

9 - Dallas Stars: $13.193 (19)

UFA: Sergei Zubov D 38, Brendan Morrison C 33, Joel Lundqvist C 27, Mark Parrish R 32, Landon Wilson R 34, Tobias Stephan G 25, Darryl Sydor D 37.

RFA: Mark Fistric D 23.

10 - St. Louis Blues: $12.295 (22)

UFA: Trent Whitfield C 32, Dan Hinote R 32, Jay McKee D 31, Manny Legace G 36.

RFA: Brandon Crombeen R 23, Chris Porter C 25, Steve Regier L 24, Roman Polak D 23, Jeff Woywitka D 25, Marek Schwarz G 23.

11 - New Jersey Devils: $12.129

UFA: Brendan Shanahan L 40, Kevin Weekes G 34, Niclas Havelid D NJ.

RFA: Travis Zajac C 24.

12 - Toronto Maple Leafs: $12.022 (20)

UFA: Brad May L 37, Bates Battaglia L 33, Andre Deveaux C 25, Boyd Devereaux C 31, Jeff Hamilton C 31, Kris Newbury C 27, Ben Ondrus R 27, Jay Harrison D 26, Jamie Heward D 38, Martin Gerber G 34, Olaf Kolzig G 39, Curtis Joseph G 42.

RFA: Jeremy Williams R 25, Justin Pogge G 23, Jaime Sifers D 26, Ryan Hollweg C 26.

13 - Chicago Blackhawks: $11.797

UFA: Aaron Johnson D 26.

RFA: Cam Barker D 23, Troy Brouwer R 23, Ben Eager L 25, Colin Fraser C 24, Kris Versteeg R 23.

14 - Colorado Avalanche: $11.654 (15)

UFA: Joe Sakic F 39, Ben Guite R 30, Brian Willsie R 31, Andrew Raycroft G 29.

RFA: Kyle Cumiskey D 22, David Jones R 24, Cody McCormick C 26.

15 - Montreal Canadiens: $10.454 (16)

UFA: Alexei Kovalev F 36, Saku Koivu C 34, Alex Tanguay L 29, Robert Lang C 38, Mathieu Schneider D 40, Tom Kostopoulos R 30, Mathieu Dandenault D 33, Patrice Brisebois D 38, Francis Bouillon D 33, Marc Denis G 31.

RFA: Tomas Plekanec C 26, Matt D'Agostini R 22, Guillaume Latendresse R 22, Kyle Chipchura C 23, Gregory Stewart L 23.

16 - Los Angeles Kings: $10.285 (21)

UFA: Derek Armstrong F 36, Denis Gauthier D 32, Kyle Calder L 30.

RFA: Jack Johnson D 22, Teddy Purcell R 23.

17 - Washington Capitals: $9.720 (15)

UFA: Viktor Kozlov C 34, Alexandre Giroux C 28, Bryan Helmer D 26, Brent Johnson G 32.

RFA: Jeff Schultz D 23, Shaone Morrisonn D 26, Milan Jurcina D 26, Eric Fehr R 23, Boyd Gordon R 25.

18 - Buffalo Sabres: $8.976 (16)

UFA: Matt Ellis L 24, Dominic Moore C 28, Andrew Peters L 29, Teppo Numminen D 40, Maxim Afinogeno F 29,

RFA: Andrej Sekera D 23, Drew Stafford R 23, Clarke MacArthur L 24, Patrick Kaleta R 23.

19 - Florida Panthers: $8.405 (18)

UFA: Ville Peltonen L 36, Richard Zednik L 33, Jassen Cullimore D 36, Nick Boynton D 30.

RFA: Anthony Stewart C 24, Steve Eminger D 25, Tanner Glass L 25.

20 - Carolina Hurricanes: $8.083 (18)

UFA: Ryan Bayda L 28, Dennis Seidenberg D 27.

RFA: Tuomo Ruutu C 26, Anton Babchuk D 25.

21 - Vancouver Canucks: $7.282 (18)

UFA: Mats Sundin C 38, Jason Krog C 33, Rob Davison D 29, Ossi Vaananen D 28, Curtis Sanford G 29, Michel Ouellet R 27.

RFA: Shane O' Brien D 25. Kyle Wellwood C 26, Jannik Hansen R 23.

22 - Minnesota Wild: $6.296 (20)

UFA: Stephane Veilleux L 27, Krys Kolanos C 27, Marc-Andre Bergeron D 28, Kurtis Foster D 27, Martin Skoula D 29.

RFA: Dan Fritsche C 23, Benoit Pouliot L 22, Kyle Brodziak C 25, Josh Harding G 25.

23 - Edmonton Oilers: $6.404 (20)

UFA: Ales Kotalik R 30, Dany Sabourin G 28.

RFA: Liam Reddox L 23, Gilbert Brule C 22, Ryan Potulny C 24, Rob Schremp C 22, Denis Grebeshkov D 25, Ladislav Smid D 23.

24 - Detroit Red Wings: $5.554 (16)

UFA: Darren McCarty R 37, Aaron Downey R 34, Chris Chelios D 47.

RFA: Jiri Hudler C 25, Ville Leino L 25.

25 - Boston Bruins: $5.340 (18)

UFA: Stephane Yelle F 35, P.J. Axelsson L 34, Manny Fernandez G 34.

RFA: Phil Kessel F 21, Matt Hunwick D 24.

26 - Ottawa Senators: $4.649 (22)

UFA: Mike Comrie C 28.

RFA: Brendan Bell D 26, Brian Elliott G 24.

27 - Pittsburgh Penguins: $3.137 (19)

UFA: Mike Zigomanis C 28, James Connor L 26, Miroslav Satan L 34, Petr Sykora R 32, Janne Pesonen L 27, Philippe Boucher D 36.

RFA: Paul Bissonnette R 24, Tim Wallace R 24, Ben Lovejoy D 25, John Curry G 25.

28 - Calgary Flames: $3.053 (19)

UFA: Todd Bertuzzi R 34, Andre Roy R 34, Rhett Warrener D 33.

RFA: Dustin Boyd C 22.

29 - Philadelphia Flyers: $2.125 (20)

UFA: Josh Gratton L 26, Boyd Kane L 31, Andrew Alberts D 28, Lasse Kukkonen D 27, Martin Biron G 31, Antero Niittymaki G 29.

RFA: Jared Ross C 26, Danny Syvret D 24.

30 - San Jose Sharks: $1.774 (16)

UFA: Claude Lemieux R 43, Jeremy Roenick C 39, Tom Cavanagh R 27, Alexei Semenov D 28, Mike Grier R 34, Marcel Goc C 25, Tomas Plihal L 26, Lukas Kaspar L 23.

RFA: Torrey Mitchell C 24, Thomas Greiss G 23, Brad Staubitz R 24.

2009 NHL Free Agents: Are Any Effective PK Specialists Left?

The Falconer — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:16:15 -0000

The Thrashers PK unit was 2nd worst in the NHL last season allowing 88 Power Play Goals Against! The recent re-signing of Chris Thorburn did not address this pressing problem since he never plays on the PK. As the Free Agent Frenzy continues further along and the top prizes are signed teams will turn to bargain hunting.

If the Thrashers were to look for a Forward who could play on a checking line, which of the forwards left has a track record of helping his team on the PK? To answer that question I looked at all the UFA who played at least 120 minutes short handed in 2009 (I included Mike Zigomanis since he was hurt much of the year, but played a lot of minutes when healthy).

Next I pulled out each players individual Short Handed Goals Against Average. This gives is a very basic measure of which players were out on the ice when their team experienced success on the PK. This isn't a perfect measure since it doesn't adjust for goalie quality, but it can give us a rough idea.

One more draw back to SH GAA is that a couple of "bad" or "unlucky" goals can move the number because of the small number of minutes played. For example, PLAYER X was on the ice for 200 SH minutes and he was on the ice for 20 PKGA for a SH GAA of 6.00. Let's say he had some unusually bad puck luck one season and 3 extra goals found the back of the net giving him 23 PKGA/200 SH TOI which would push his SH GAA by nearly one goal to 6.90. So depending on how much you think luck plays a role the numbers below are either useful or pretty meaningless. Because of the sample size problem I favor looking at two season's worth of data. Why? Because the random luck aspect should decrease as your data sample grows larger.

OK, so how are the most effective PK Free Agents left? Stephane Veillieux and Dan Hinote were the only two guys to post strong SH GAA in back to back seasons. Guys to avoid Dominic Moore, Andy Hilbert and Eric Perrin--these guys were terrible unlucky, have really sucky teammates or they simply are not all that effective. None of these guys is all that famous, but if the Thrashers should add Veillieux or Hinote in the coming weeks you should get excited. Marchant has posted back to back better than average numbers but he has a "reputation" that will likely cause him to be more expensive than Veillieux or Hinote.

Player	2009 Team	2009 SH TOI	2008 SH GAA	2009 SH GAA
Todd Marchant	ANA	273	5.92	5.78
Eric Perrin	ATL	256	7.13	8.46
Rob Niedermayer	ANA	249	6.24	7.00
Blair Betts	NYR	241	5.98	3.51
Manny Malhotra	CBJ	217	6.35	6.42
Ville Peltonen	FLA	197	7.58	4.38
Travis Moen	SJS	193	5.59	7.75
Dominic Moore	BUF	187	6.82	10.65
PJ Axelsson	BOS	187	6.61	5.36
Michael Peca	CBJ	184	5.18	6.92
Andy Hilbert	NYI	180	6.54	8.45
Stephane Veilleux	MIN	170	5.10	3.87
Stephane Yelle	BOS	165	7.46	6.48
Taylor Pyatt	VAN	158	6.07	4.64
Mike Grier	SJS	154	5.15	6.74
Tom Kostopoulos	MTL	145	6.06	5.03
Dan Hinote	STL	129	3.30	4.68
Ryan Bayda	CAR	126	6.41	5.75
Mike Zigomanis	PIT	2:51	5.70	6.15

2009 Free Agency: Blue Jackets Round-up

Andy Newman — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:54:18 -0000

Here at The Cannon we've already done a Free Agency Preview, we've looked at the Blue Jackets unrestricted free agents and restricted free agents, and earlier today we looked at some names the Blue Jackets could target at the beginning of free agency.

This post will serve as a quick round-up or cheat sheet for all the information. A guide to quickly reference for all your Blue Jackets free agency needs starting this Wednesday, July 1st.

Pending Unrestricted Free Agents: Manny Malhotra, Jason Williams, Michael Peca, Chris Gratton, Craig MacDonald, Mike York, Christian Backman, Aaron Rome, Wade Dubielewicz.

Pending Restricted Free Agents: Alexandre Picard, Jiri Novotny, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, Marc Methot, Dan LaCosta.

Salary cap space: $17 million (Salary cap: $56.8 million)

Projected budget: $50 million (Current salary spent: $40 million)

Key Needs: The Blue Jackets desperately need more skill on the blueline to help the power play. They'll be looking for an offensive defenseman, a back-up goaltender to play behind Steve Mason, and a checking-line center or two. With an overabundance of wingers, if they make a trade involving a 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 swap of forwards for a defenseman, the Blue Jackets may also be in the market for a bottom six winger.

Potential Targets: Johnny Oduya, Dennis Seidenberg, Francois Beauchemin, Ty Conklin, Scott Clemmensen, Craig Anderson, Antero Niittymaki, Samuel Pahlsson, Manny Malhotra, Vernon Fiddler, Jiri Hudler, Chad LaRose.

What our Central Division rivals are thinking: Detroit Red Wings at Winging It In Motown, Chicago Blackhawks at Second City Hockey, Nashville Predators at On The Forecheck, and St. Louis Blues at St. Louis Game Time.

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda. Draft Day Do-Overs.

gallagher — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:15 -0000

More photos » by Paul Chiasson - AP

Helllloooo! Helllloooo! Helllloooo! Hello! If someone showed up with a sports almanac and a smoking Delorean, would you listen to his advice on which guy you should draft? We would.

Browse more photos »

Ah, draft day. We remember way back in 2006 when we were vehemently arguing whether the Blues should be taking Erik Johnson first overall or if the Blues should skip conventional wisdom and draft either Jordan Staal or Jonathan Toews or Phil Kessel instead.

This year it's Islanders fans who have to suffer through the "Is Tavares the next Sakic or is he the next Daigle?" discussion. Poor/lucky bastards.

For the record, we're firmly in the Erik Johnson camp, but the discussion did cause us some questioning. What if we could go back to 1989 (the year that Back To The Future II was released), in a stolen suped-up Delorean with a 2009 sports almanac, Biff Tannen-style and hand over a list to the Blues' management team? What if we gave them the ability to look at the careers of the 18-year-olds before they ever stepped onto NHL ice?

Who could they have picked?

Leaving out the really deep, surprising picks (look, everyone could have picked Datsyuk and/or Zetterberg, we get it), here's who the Blues picked with their first choice in each of the last 19 years... and who they would have chosen (from players taken within one round's worth of picks) if we had a time-traveling sports car. Damn we loved that movie. Now we just wish it was real.

1989 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, ninth overall, defenseman Jason Marshall from the Vernon Lakers.

1989 Re-Do: The Blues select center Bobby Holik (actually drafted one pick later, 10th overall by New Jersey)

Bobby Holik

#16 / New Jersey Devils

Height: 6-4

Weight: 230

Born: Jan 01, 1971

1990 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 33rd overall (2nd round), left wing Craig Johnson from Hill-Murray High School.

1990 Re-Do: The Blues select center Doug Weight (actually drafted one pick later, 34th overall by New York Rangers)

Doug Weight

#93 / Center / New York Islanders

Height: 5-11

Weight: 196

Born: Jan 21, 1971

1991 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 27th overall, defenseman Steve Staios from Niagara Falls.

1991 Re-Do: The Blues select defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh (actually drafted three picks later, 30th overall by San Jose)

1992 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 38th overall, center Igor Korolev from Moscow Dynamo

1992 Re-Do: The Blues select center Michael Peca (actually drafted two picks later, 40th overall by Vancouver)

Michael Peca

#19 / Center / Columbus Blue Jackets

Height: 5-11

Weight: 183

Born: Mar 26, 1974

1993 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 37th overall, left wing Maxim Bets from the Spokane Chiefs.

1993 Re-Do: The Blues select defenseman Bryan McCabe (actually drafted three picks later, 40th overall by New York Islanders)

Bryan McCabe

#24 / Defenseman / Florida Panthers

Height: 6-2

Weight: 220

Born: Jun 08, 1975

1994 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 68th overall, center Stephane Roy from Val d'Or Foreors

1994 Re-Do: The Blues select center Chris Drury (actually drafted four picks later, 72nd overall by Quebec)

Chris Drury

#23 / Center / New York Rangers

Height: 5-10

Weight: 190

Born: Aug 20, 1976

1995 NHL Entyry Draft

The Blues select, 49th overall, center Jochen Hecht from Mannheim.

1995 Re-Do: The Blues select Jochen Hecht. Within the next 26 picks (one round's worth in 1995), Hecht has had the longest and most prolific career of anyone else selcted after him.

Jochen Hecht

#55 / Center / Buffalo Sabres

Height: 6-1

Weight: 191

Born: Jun 21, 1977

1996 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 14th overall, center Marty Reasoner from Boston College

1996 Re-Do: The Blues select center Marco Sturm (actually drafted seven picks later, 21st overall by San Jose). Despite the availabilty of Daniel Briere, we take the rugged German over the fragile French Canadien.

Marco Sturm

#16 / Left Wing / Boston Bruins

Height: 6-0

Weight: 194

Born: Sep 08, 1978

1997 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 40th overall, center Tyler Renette from North Bay

1997 Re-Do: The Blues select Kristian Huselius (actually drafted 7 spots later, 47th overall by Florida)

Kristian Huselius

#20 / Left Wing / Columbus Blue Jackets

Height: 6-1

Weight: 179

Born: Nov 10, 1978

1998 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 24th overall, defenseman Christian Backman from Vastra Frolunda

1998 Re-Do: The Blues select center Scott Gomez (actually drafted three picks later, 27th overall by New Jersey)

Scott Gomez

#19 / Center / New York Rangers

Height: 5-11

Weight: 200

Born: Dec 23, 1979

1999 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 17th overall, defenseman Barret Jackman from Regina

1999 Re-Do: The Blues select Barret Jackman. Within the next 28 picks (one round's worth in 1999), no one compares to Jackman's solid NHL resume.

Barret Jackman

#5 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-0

Weight: 203

Born: Mar 05, 1981

2000 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 30th overall, center Jeff Taffe from the University of Minnesota

2000 Re-Do: The Blues select defenseman Nick Schultz (actually selected three picks later, 33rd overall by Minnesota Wild)

Nick Schultz

#55 / Defenseman / Minnesota Wild

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Born: Aug 25, 1982

2001 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 57th overall, center Jay McClement from Brampton

2001 Re-Do: The Blues select Jay McClement. Tomas Plekanec, taken 14 picks later by Montreal, is a close second, but we feel like we're watching an underrated Selke Trophy winner develop right before our eyes in Silent Jay McClement.

Jay McClement

#18 / Center / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-1

Weight: 201

Born: Mar 02, 1983

2002 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 48th overall, center Alexei Shkotov from Elemash

2002 Re-Do: The Blues select defenseman Duncan Keith (actually selected six picks later, 54th overall by Chicago)

Duncan Keith

#2 / Defenseman / Chicago Blackhawks

Height: 6-1

Weight: 194

Born: Jul 16, 1983

2003 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 30th overall, defenseman Shawn Belle from Tri-City

2003 Re-Do: Lots of good players to choose from (Patrice Bergeron and Kevin Klein among them, but the Blues select defenseman Shea Weber (actually selected 19 picks later, 49th overall by Nashville)

Shea Weber

#6 / Defenseman / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-3

Weight: 213

Born: Aug 14, 1985

2004 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 17th overall, goalie Marek Schwarz from Sparta Praha

2004 Re-Do: The Blues select center Travis Zajac (actually selected three picks later, 20th overall by New Jersey)

Travis Zajac

#19 / Center / New Jersey Devils

Height: 6-2

Weight: 200

Born: May 13, 1985

2005 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 24th overall, center T. J. Oshie from Warroad High School

2005 Re-Do: The Blues select center Paul Stastny (actually selected 20 picks later, 44th overall by Colorado). It makes us want to vomit too, but the Blues' alumnus offspring and offensive sparkplug would rival the Teej's popularity if he was wearing a Bluenote.

Paul Stastny

#26 / Center / Colorado Avalanche

Height: 6-0

Weight: 205

Born: Dec 27, 1985

2006 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 1st overall, defenseman Erik Johnson from the USNDTP

2006 Re-Do: The Blues select Erik Johnson. As Blues Director of Amateur Scouting Jarmo Kekalainen has said, if all things are equal between players and one is a forward and one is a defenseman, always take the defenseman. Golf cart-lost season aside, we'll take Johnson's future over Jordan Staal (2nd overall; Pittsburgh), Jonathan Toews (3rd overall; Chicago), Niklas Backstrom (4th overall; Washington) and Phil Kessel (5th overall; Boston).

Erik Johnson

#6 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-4

Weight: 219

Born: Mar 21, 1988

2007 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 13th overall, center Lars Eller from Frolunda

2007 Re-Do: The Blues select Lars Eller. Despite the fact that he has yet to suit up for a single NHL game, the only player who has out-performed him at this point is one David Perron. Knowing what we know, thanks to our time-traveling ~~cocaine-fueled~~ plutonium fueled car and sports almanac, we re-select Eller here and pick up Perron at a discount with the 26th overall pick.

Lars Eller

#61 / Center / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-0

Weight: 198

Born: May 08, 1989

2008 NHL Entry Draft

The Blues select, 4th overall, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo from Niagara

2008 Re-Do: The Blues, hindered by an almanac that only covers up to this draft, decide to pass on Nikita Filatov and instead select Alex Pietrangelo because according to Jarmo 3:16, "When Thy Lord Giveth Two Players Of Equal Upside, Thee Wilst Always Select Thyselves a Defenseman."

Alex Pietrangelo

#27 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-3

Weight: 206

Born: Jan 18, 1990

And so, Doc Brown, there you have it. The flux capacitor did its job and Biff and his almanac did theirs. Now there's nothing left but to keep these guys together and build your dynasty. Good luck, god speed and know this: we plan to win a shit-ton of money off of this, so don't fuck it up.

And as a Segue to That Reminder...

Brandon Bibb — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:22:05 -0000

...They're still bitter in Buffalo.

Sabres forward 1989-2003 Rob Ray said, "Yeah it is, and I don't think you ever lose it. You realize how difficult it is to get there, and how difficult it is to win."

Sabres captain 1997-2000 Michael Peca said, "You reflect back there after it's mentioned, and it makes you think of a whole bunch of things sometimes you thought were in the past but are just as much in the forefront of your mind as they've always been."

[...]

Peca said, "That goal, there was never any video review. I remember watching Bill

McCreary the referee at the window of the penalty box, and eventually he just put his hands up and skated off the ice. He figured there was no way we were going to get a review or a call on that goal."

This piece was written by a WIVB sports anchor, Paul Peck. I'm sure Paul probably falls into that 99% of people living in Western New York who think the goal shouldn't have counted. And probably, 70% of the hockey populace.

And you know, I'm fine with that I guess. If you haven't figured out why the goal was legit after 10 years, you never will.

Which is funny, because Peck accidentally validates the goal in the first few paragraphs of the story.

At 1:30 a.m., Brett Hull grabbed his own rebound, and with his left foot in the crease, beat Dominik Hasek for the series clinching goal.

Emphasis mine.

But I'm not going to get back into that.

Once again, if you can't understand how the fact that I've emphasized above made the goal legit, you never will.

Or how two wins in a Stanley Cup Final doesn't validate your claim that that call robbed your city of hockey's most celebrated chalice.

1999 Cup Finals Remix: The State of the Sabres

Zachary Zielonka — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:09:13 -0000

June 19th is the ten year anniversary of Game Six of the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals. For the next week, we will take a look at the teams and the times during those Stanley Cup Finals.

via photos.upi.com

The Buffalo Sabres were heading into the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals riding with a lot of confidence. That can be easy when you have one of the world's best goaltenders in net. Dominik Hasek was probably the best goaltender in the NHL during the 1998-99 season. In fact he won his third straight Vezina trophy that season. He also had his career best season that year, having a 1.87 GAA and .905 SV%. Hasek led a team that was full of non-household players, players that are good but are not well known around the league. Michael Peca, Miroslav Satan, and Alexei Zhitnik were the stallworts to this team that just kept winning.

This team was coming off a fairly controversial season that saw them lose their award winning coach and GM due to tension between the two. During the 1997 season, that tension spilled over to elite goaltender Dominik Hasek and Jim Kelley which led to a lockeroom altercation between the two. The 1998 season saw a new GM, Darcy Regier, and new coach, Lindy Ruff take the Sabres to the Conference Finals only to lose in six games to the Washington Capitals.

New GM Regier made some moves at the trade deadline to shore up some holes in the lineup. He sent superpest Matthew Barnaby to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Stu Barnes and picked up Joe Juneau from the Washington Capitals. Both Juneau and Barnes were key to the Sabres as they made the run to the playoffs. Barnes had 7 goals in 21 playoff games that season and Juneau had three goals and 11 points in 20 playoff games.

The Sabres went 38-27-17 which was good for 91 points. This put them fourth in the Northeastern Conference and seventh in the Eastern Conference heading into the playoffs. From there the Sabres made quick work of the second seed Ottawa Senators, sweeping them in four games, and the Boston Bruins, beating them in five. This setup a conference final matchup between two bitter rivals, the Sabres and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Pat Quinn was behind the bench for the Sabres and the Leafs were led by captain Mats Sundin. The Sabres took care of the Leafs as well in five games heading to their first Stanley Cup Final in twenty-four years.

Blue Jackets unrestricted free agents

Andy Newman — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:00:15 -0000

More photos » by Paul Vernon - AP

Browse more photos »

Just a quick look at the Blue Jackets upcoming free agents, their salary from this past year, and a quick note on their performance. The first part of this list will include all unrestricted free agents. All numbers were found on NHLnumbers.com. Salary is listed in parenthesis in millions of dollars.

Manny Malhotra (1.500) - Top priority among unrestricted free agents. Versatile third line center that has played well when called on for top line duty. The biggest question mark will be how much does he expect to make. He's not a top line center, but played well enough to be next to Rick Nash for the majority of the season. One of the top face-off men in the NHL.

Jason Williams (2.200) - played extremely well in Columbus after a bad start in Atlanta. Does he want to be a complimentary player on a good team making an average salary, or does he want to cash in again and go through the motions playing for a bad team? He was one of the more clutch players on the Blue Jackets roster, behind perhaps only RJ Umberger. A right-handed shot, too.

Mike Peca (1.315) - His role and effectiveness has diminished greatly in just the last year. He was no longer a top face-off man, and was often outspoken in the media despite being one of the poorer performers on the team.

Chris Gratton (1.250) - Only a couple games played for the Blue Jackets. A late waiver pick-up by Columbus, did not find a role here, but look OK in the games he played. Most of his season was spent with Tampa Bay's AHL affiliate.

Craig MacDonald (.515) - One of the top Crunch call-ups during a key stretch halfway through the season that kept playoff hopes alive. But the Crunch may need some different veteran faces, something didn't work right this year. He wouldn't see more than a few games in Columbus if re-signed.

Mike York (.750) - Played poorly when called up. Not sure if there's much left in the tank. 6 teams in the last 9 years. He most recent good season in the NHL was 2005-06 when he had 52 points in 75 games. The last 4 seasons he hasn't put up more than 14 points in a year.

Christian Backman (3.400) - Can I have the number of your agent?

Aaron Rome (.544) - Wasn't as impressive this year as last, but is a solid defenseman to have when needed. There will be some decisions to make when it comes to retaining guys like Rome and Tollefsen.

Wade Dubielewicz (.500) - Couldn't ask for a better teammate. There just wasn't enough trust in his ability to have him relieve Mason. Phone number will be on speed dial if other options fall through.

Tomorrow, I will look at the Blue Jackets restricted free agents. Who would you keep?

SB Nation - Michael Peca

On This Day In Canucks History: November 26

LHinks: Training Camp jitters, Peca still hunting

Florida Panthers up the middle: Center of a troubled universe?

Centers: Sign one or stay the course?

Take no prisoners: go for it in the FA marketplace

Hang tight: there's enough talent to handle the load

2009 NHL Free Agency / Teams by Cap Space / Unsigned UFA's and RFA's

2009 NHL Free Agents: Are Any Effective PK Specialists Left?

2009 Free Agency: Blue Jackets Round-up

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda. Draft Day Do-Overs.

#16 / New Jersey Devils

Doug Weight #93 / Center / New York Islanders Height: 5-11 Weight: 196 Born: Jan 21, 1971 1991 NHL Entry Draft

#93 / Center / New York Islanders

#19 / Center / Columbus Blue Jackets

Bryan McCabe #24 / Defenseman / Florida Panthers Height: 6-2 Weight: 220 Born: Jun 08, 1975 1994 NHL Entry Draft

#24 / Defenseman / Florida Panthers

Chris Drury #23 / Center / New York Rangers Height: 5-10 Weight: 190 Born: Aug 20, 1976 1995 NHL Entyry Draft

#23 / Center / New York Rangers

Jochen Hecht #55 / Center / Buffalo Sabres Height: 6-1 Weight: 191 Born: Jun 21, 1977 1996 NHL Entry Draft

#55 / Center / Buffalo Sabres

Marco Sturm #16 / Left Wing / Boston Bruins Height: 6-0 Weight: 194 Born: Sep 08, 1978 1997 NHL Entry Draft

#16 / Left Wing / Boston Bruins

Kristian Huselius #20 / Left Wing / Columbus Blue Jackets Height: 6-1 Weight: 179 Born: Nov 10, 1978 1998 NHL Entry Draft

#20 / Left Wing / Columbus Blue Jackets

Scott Gomez #19 / Center / New York Rangers Height: 5-11 Weight: 200 Born: Dec 23, 1979 1999 NHL Entry Draft

#19 / Center / New York Rangers

Barret Jackman #5 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues Height: 6-0 Weight: 203 Born: Mar 05, 1981 2000 NHL Entry Draft

#5 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Nick Schultz #55 / Defenseman / Minnesota Wild Height: 6-1 Weight: 200 Born: Aug 25, 1982 2001 NHL Entry Draft

#55 / Defenseman / Minnesota Wild

#18 / Center / St. Louis Blues

Duncan Keith #2 / Defenseman / Chicago Blackhawks Height: 6-1 Weight: 194 Born: Jul 16, 1983 2003 NHL Entry Draft

#2 / Defenseman / Chicago Blackhawks

Shea Weber #6 / Defenseman / Nashville Predators Height: 6-3 Weight: 213 Born: Aug 14, 1985 2004 NHL Entry Draft

#6 / Defenseman / Nashville Predators

Travis Zajac #19 / Center / New Jersey Devils Height: 6-2 Weight: 200 Born: May 13, 1985 2005 NHL Entry Draft

#19 / Center / New Jersey Devils

#26 / Center / Colorado Avalanche

Erik Johnson #6 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues Height: 6-4 Weight: 219 Born: Mar 21, 1988 2007 NHL Entry Draft

#6 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Lars Eller #61 / Center / St. Louis Blues Height: 6-0 Weight: 198 Born: May 08, 1989 2008 NHL Entry Draft

#61 / Center / St. Louis Blues

#27 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

And as a Segue to That Reminder...

1999 Cup Finals Remix: The State of the Sabres

Blue Jackets unrestricted free agents

Doug Weight

#93 / Center / New York Islanders

Height: 5-11

Weight: 196

Born: Jan 21, 1971

1991 NHL Entry Draft

Bryan McCabe

#24 / Defenseman / Florida Panthers

Height: 6-2

Weight: 220

Born: Jun 08, 1975

1994 NHL Entry Draft

Chris Drury

#23 / Center / New York Rangers

Height: 5-10

Weight: 190

Born: Aug 20, 1976

1995 NHL Entyry Draft

Jochen Hecht

#55 / Center / Buffalo Sabres

Height: 6-1

Weight: 191

Born: Jun 21, 1977

1996 NHL Entry Draft

Marco Sturm

#16 / Left Wing / Boston Bruins

Height: 6-0

Weight: 194

Born: Sep 08, 1978

1997 NHL Entry Draft

Kristian Huselius

#20 / Left Wing / Columbus Blue Jackets

Height: 6-1

Weight: 179

Born: Nov 10, 1978

1998 NHL Entry Draft

Scott Gomez

#19 / Center / New York Rangers

Height: 5-11

Weight: 200

Born: Dec 23, 1979

1999 NHL Entry Draft

Barret Jackman

#5 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-0

Weight: 203

Born: Mar 05, 1981

2000 NHL Entry Draft

Nick Schultz

#55 / Defenseman / Minnesota Wild

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Born: Aug 25, 1982

2001 NHL Entry Draft

Duncan Keith

#2 / Defenseman / Chicago Blackhawks

Height: 6-1

Weight: 194

Born: Jul 16, 1983

2003 NHL Entry Draft

Shea Weber

#6 / Defenseman / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-3

Weight: 213

Born: Aug 14, 1985

2004 NHL Entry Draft

Travis Zajac

#19 / Center / New Jersey Devils

Height: 6-2

Weight: 200

Born: May 13, 1985

2005 NHL Entry Draft

Erik Johnson

#6 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-4

Weight: 219

Born: Mar 21, 1988

2007 NHL Entry Draft

Lars Eller

#61 / Center / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-0

Weight: 198

Born: May 08, 1989

2008 NHL Entry Draft