Why Do NHL Fans Bet On Proline?

It amazes me every time I look at the PROLINE odds when I’m at my local convenient store.  As you may know, I am an avid online sports bettor and actually have an NHL betting tips website where I post my predictions daily.  So when I see how horrible the odds are at PROLINE it really starts to make me angry as I think of all the suckers out there that the Ontario government is basically taking advantage of.

For those of you who don’t know, PROLINE is a betting game run by the Ontario provincial government.  It actually classified a “sports lottery” and bettors are only able to make parlay bets of between 3 and 6 selections.  I assume this it to make it more lottery-esque, but also to give the appearance of the possibility of big wins.

Anyways, when I was writing my predictions for my NHL predictions site today I chose 4 teams that I thought would win tonight and found their odds at two of my favourite sportsbooks, 5Dimes.com and Sports Interaction.  I included these odds with my write-up so that my visitors would know the odds I am betting at.  Then, just for fun I went to the PROLINE website and checked the payout of a 4 team parlay using the same four selections to see the difference in price.  Here is what I found:

Payout at Online Sportsbooks with 4 team Parlay

Predators 2.20
Lightning 1.746
Oilers 2.55
Canucks 1.80

With a $20 wager the payout online would be (2.20 x 1.746 x 2.55 x 1.80 x 20) $352.62.  A very healthy payout for four games that I believe will have these outcomes.  Now look at the PROLINE payout….

Payout at PROLINE with 4 team Parlay

Predators 2.10
Lightning 1.40
Oilers 2.20
Canucks 1.60

With a $20 wager the payout at PROLINE would be (2.10 x 1.40 x 2.20 x 1.60 x 20) $206.98 with the same picks on PROLINE.  So with a $20 wager on this 4 team NHL parlay bet you would make $145 more betting online!

But wait there’s more! Not only is the payout almost double at an online sportsbook than with PROLINE, but if any of your teams win in a shootout then the PROLINE ticket is a loser, while your online sportsbook parlay bet is still a winner.  That’s right, if any game goes to a shootout then it is considered a “draw” in the eyes of PROLINE.

So Why Do NHL Fans Bet On Proline?

The only reason I can come up with is they are simply ignorant to just how awful the PROLINE odds are and how much more money they could be making online.  Either that or they want to be ignorant and not actually know how much money they waste betting on PROLINE every year.  I just want to be able to shake everyone who bets on PROLINE and tell them there’s a better way.  A better way then paying yet another “ignorance” tax to the Ontario Government.

You can sign up at SportsInteraction.com and actually earn a profit, or at the very least lose less money than you do at PROLINE.  Plus you get all the perks that  come with an online sports betting account.  The sign up bonus ($125 at SportsInteraction.com), the promotions, the wide selection of odds, the convenience of not having to go to your local convenience store to get your winnings, not having to worry about where you left your winning ticket and much, much more.

This post was made to try to educate Canadians about PROLINE and that there is a much better option.  Visit SportsInteraction.com to set up an account today and start actually having a chance to profit betting on the NHL.

What Are The Ottawa Senators Playoff Chances At The Midway Point?

As we all know the Senators were ranked 30th in the league in almost any “power rankings” article or list you read prior to the season starting.  Then the Senators came out of the gate and went 1-5-0 in their first six games and all the so called “experts” were saying we told you so and Senators fans were bracing themselves for a long season.  Since then the Sens have gone 20-10-5 and currently sit in 5th position in the Eastern Conference with 47 points in 41 games.  The position might not be as accurate as it seems however, because the Senators have played more games than any other team in the East, but if you look at points per game played they are still slotted in at the 7th position (Penguins and Capitals jump ahead).  If the season ended today and every team went by points per game played the Senators would be facing the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs.

Can They Keep It Up?

If the Senators can do the exact same in the second half of the season they would finish with 94 points, which would surely earn them a playoff spot.  Last season 94 points would have resulted in an 8th place finish, while the year before it would have resulted in a 5th place finish (which just so happened to be where the Sens finished that season with exactly 94 points).

So the question becomes can they do at least the same in the second half.  In my opinion, yes and possibly even better.  As mentioned earlier the Sens got off to a horrible start and that likely will not happen in this second half, which means they will not have to be “catching up” the entire time.

The Kyle Turris trade filled a whole that was created when Regin was injured and so far Turris has looked fairly good and I only expect him to get better as his confidence builds (his beauty tip goal last night should help this).  In net Anderson has been playing tremendously, but the team does need Auld to win a game here and there to give Anderson some time off now and then.

The third and fourth line players on the Senators have been over performing compared to preseason analysis, which is a big reason the Sens have been playing so well and I don’t see this slowing down anytime soon.  Eric Condra and Zack Smith are two great penalty killers with offensive upside, each of whom are big +’s on the team.  Another big surprise would have to be the play of Jared Cowen who could easily be in a competition with Karlsson as the team’s top d-man.  The two compliment each other so well and they should be a great tandem on the back end for the Senators moving forward.

Do The Sens Have A Chance at the Stanley Cup?

The oddsmakers still do not believe in the Senators this season.  Sportsbook 5Dimes.com has the Senators at +10,000 odds to win the Cup, which is only better than 6 other teams.  Even teams that are almost out of the playoff hunt such as the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning have shorter odds.  If you do want to place a bet at 5Dimes, make sure you use a 5Dimes marketing code to get the best bonus possible.

In my opinion the Senators don’t have a great shot at the Stanley Cup this year, but nothing is out of the question.  Craig Anderson could stand on his head and the team has the offensive fire power and experience to make something happen if they do make the playoffs.  The big bad Bruins would be extremely hard to beat however.

NHL Conference Realignment Pros and Cons

Huge news in the hockey world last night as the Board of Governors met and agreed on a new conference realignment in the NHL.  The realignment removes the current 2-conferences, 6-division format and replaces it with an entirely new 4-conference format.  Two of the conferences have 8 teams, while 2 have 7 teams.  The top 4 teams in each conference will make the playoffs and the first two rounds of the playoffs will be inter-conference, with a Conference Champion being crowned after the 2 rounds.  This change is quite dramatic, so let’s take a look at some of the positive and negative ways it will affect the NHL:

PROS

Home and Away With All Teams – This is a definite pro for the league and the fans.  With the new alignment every team will play home and away against every other team in the NHL.  This will allow fans in every NHL city to have Sidney Crosby or Steven Stamkos come to their city to play hockey.

New Conference Rivalries Will Form – At the current time the divisions each contain 5 teams.  Teams play against their divisional foes 6 times per year.  With the current alignment this means that each team has 4 teams that they play often and can build rivalries against.  However, once the playoffs come the teams can play anyone from their Conference.  With the new alignment teams will play a greater number of teams a greater number of times.  By that I mean in the 7-team Conferences teams will play 6 different teams 6 times, which adds 2 more teams that can be regular season rivals.  Also, in the playoffs teams will often face each other year after year, which should build hate and result in more heated first and second round series between teams that despise each other.

Time Zones – Current Western Conference teams that are in the eastern end of the continent (Detroit, Minnesota, Dallas) have problems with time zones with regard to their away games.  Dallas even has to play divisional games in time zones that are 2 hours different.  This new format should allow teams to play more games closer to their home city, which will result in less time zone problems.  This also means that fans out West won’t have to place as many mobile sports bets because they are still at work when their team starts playing as often.

Relocation Much Easier – This isn’t a big plus, but if teams move it is much easier to adjust a four-conference system than the current 6 division system with 2 conferences.  For example, if Phoenix does end up moving to eastern Canada, that team could just be added to one of the 7-team conferences and there would be no hassle.

CONS

Travel – Teams will likely have more travel with the new alignment because they will be heading to every other NHL city each season.  That being said the new alignment might allow for schedule makers to schedule road trips for teams where they can hit cities on the way, which should help battle the travel expense problem.

Best Teams Don’t Make Playoffs – With the new alignment the LA Kings would have missed the playoffs last year even though they had more points than the Stars.  This will be a regular occurrence when certain divisions are superior to others.

Playoff Races Aren’t As Exciting – Last season the playoff races in both Conferences were very exciting, but if you look at how the races would have played out in the new 4-conference format it becomes much less interesting.  The playoff races are the second most exciting time of the NHL season, next to the playoffs and the races in the new alignment won’t be nearly as exciting.

Care About Less Teams – I’m a fan of the Ottawa Senators and at the moment I care about how every team in the Eastern Conference does because it affects the Sens chances of making the playoffs.  With the new alignment I will only care about the 6 other teams in their Conference, which will make things somewhat less interesting for fans.

Underrated and Overrated NHL Teams

If you read this blog often then you probably know I’m an avid NHL bettor who does fairly well (I’ve been on a cold streak lately, but still up on the season).  One of the best ways to make money betting on NHL games is to wager on teams that are underrated in the eyes of the public and the bookmakers.  If you followed my NHL betting site you would notice I wager on the same teams very often and against the same teams very often.  That’s because my views of NHL teams differ from the publics views and if my views are more correct then I will be winning more money than I lose online.  Here are a few teams that I find underrated or overrated at the moment.

Underrated – Ottawa Senators

The Senators were ranked 30th on almost every power ranking that you could find prior to the season.  They are now around 22 or so on most, but when looking at the odds you will still notice that the Senators are almost always the underdogs because they public and the bookmakers still don’t believe in the team.  Just today the Senators at home was a pick’em game against at Lightning team that is 4-8-2 on the road and on a 3 game losing streak.

Underrated – St. Louis Blues

The Blues have been great since changing coaches this season and they have the personnel to continue to perform.  The odds haven’t quite caught up to their recent success, so you can still find some great odds for the Blues.  I expect the Blues to make the playoffs and put up a good showing once there.

Overrated – Colorado Avalanche

The Avs are the worst team in the league according to me.  They are on a 3 game winning streak right now, but I have made a lot of money betting against the Avs this year.  I haven’t bet against them recently because the odds had caught up with them when they were playing so poorly, but now that they have won some games I expect some sharp bets against the Avs in the future.

Overrated – Winnipeg Jets

The Jets are another team that I generally don’t like to bet on.  I see the Jets as a bottom 3 team in the Eastern Conference, but with all of the press surrounding the team this season it seems like they are favourites or considered contenders in games when they really shouldn’t be.  In fact, last Tuesday the Jets were hosting the Senators and even though I was out of town the odds were so good that I went online to one of my favourite iphone betting sites and placed a bet on the Senators at +110 to defeat the Jets.

The teams that are underrated and overrated can change quickly throughout the season and as an NHL bettor you have to be ready to change with them.  The NHL is a very streaky league, especially for young teams and one thing that I take into account when placing my bets is a teams current streak and how they are playing heading into the game.  Overrated/underrated views is just one ingredient to use when placing NHL bets.

Thoughts and Surprises One Month Into The NHL Season

I haven’t made a post in a while, but that’s not to say I haven’t been following the NHL season this year.  I’ve been a little bit busy with some other NHL related sites so I haven’t had the chance to post here at Hockey Opinions as much as I would like.  That being said my main NHL site NHL Betting Tips is doing really well mainly because my daily NHL predictions have been on fire, at least for the past two weeks.  I’m currently up over 10 units on the season and I suggest anyone who is interested in betting on hockey follow my plays because I’m on a heater at the moment.

The first month has been very eventful with a lot of surprises in the NHL.

Ottawa Senators Surprise October

Everyone had the Sens pegged in as #30 in the preseason power rankings and in the first 6 games all of these so called “experts” were patting themselves on the backs saying “I told you so” and “I’m a genius”.  Being a Sens fan it made me a little sick to see everyone telling me that they were going to be one of the worst teams in NHL history, that they expected them to get the fewest points of any team since the lockout.  Ridiculous comments and I knew better, but I still wanted my Sens to step up and deliver.  Lucky for me it happened and the Senators pulled off a 6 game winning streak to finish the month with a (7-5-0) record for 4th in the Eastern Conference.  They even topped it off with a win over the rival Leafs.  The Senators have been preaching “compete” throughout the winning streak and they did just that.  Their methods of victory were almost more impressive than the actual results.  Of their 7 win this season 3 came in shootouts (2 as the result of epic 3rd period comebacks) and 2 came within the last 5 seconds of regulation to not allow their opponents a point.  In the Columbus game they were down by a goal with 40 seconds left before scoring 2 in regulation to keep the Blue Jackets without a win.  It’s been epic and everyone is stepping up including Gonchar and Kuba who were horrible last season.  It will be interesting to see how November shapes up.  They lost their first one against the Bruins, but here is hoping they bounce back.

Colorado Avalanche Surprise October

I was chirping experts for having the Sens as 30th on the power rankings so now is when I have to swallow my pride and admit that I had the Avs as 30th and they proved me wrong in October.  The Avalanche finished the month with a 7-4-0 record that included a 5 game win streak that had them sitting at 5-1-0 after 6 games.  A big thanks has to go to Semyon Varlamov who is 5-3-0 with a .924 save percentage and a shutout.  I thought it was one of the dumbest trades in history to trade for Varlamov and his nearly $3,000,000 contract for a first and second round pick when he has never even been a legit starter in the NHL.  Not to mention that I thought the pick would at least be a lottery after the way the Avs finished last year.  So far so good though for Varly and the Avs, but I have to say I still have my doubts and I expect them to plummet at some point soon.

Boston Bruins Surprise October

Who would have thought the defending Stanley Cup Champions would be in 2nd last place in the league after October with a 3-7-0 record.  I for one did not, but that’s where the defending champs found themselves.  That being said the Bruins were losing tight games, are in the top 5 in shots per game and the top half in shots against per game.  The Bruins beat the Sens to start out November the way they wanted, but they do have some catching up to do, which is hard in this league, even only after 1 month.

Those are my thoughts on a few surprises from the first month of the NHL season.  I am going to be continuing to put up my NHL predictions at NHLBettingTips.com so check out the site daily if you like to bet on hockey!

How Will the Ottawa Senators Do This Season?

Most so called “experts” have the Senators finishing near the basement of the Eastern Conference, and even the league.  Even NHL12 has the Sens as clearly the worst team in the league in terms of team stats (which is a real bummer because it makes it much more difficult for me to play with my team) – that’s right the Sens are my team so take this article with a grain of salt.  Personally, I think the Sens have a legit shot to battle for a playoff position until the end of the year.  I have them slotted in around 8th – 10th in terms of the Eastern Conference power rankings, and as you can see, that 8th place is in there so they have a shot at the playoffs.

Here Is Why

The Senators top 7 defencemen are actually very solid and I wouldn’t trade them for the top 7 d-men on at least 20 other teams in the league.  You have Erik Karlsson, a young guy with about as much playmaking talent as a d-man could have.  He will make sure that the Sens score powerplay goals and you can expect his plus-minus to be much better this year, as his defensive game improves.  Add in Sergei Gonchar, who we all know can be a top guy on any team if he plays like he has throughout his career and the Sens powerplays should have two legitimate quarterbacks.  Then you have Chris Phillips who has been a top shutdown guy his entire year and who anchored his team to the cup finals only a few years ago.  Alright, I don’t like Filip Kuba, but that is the only slot in the top 7 I’m not fond of.  Matt Carkner is the perfect 6th d-man on a team, with a toughness and presence that can help against rough opposition, and then you have two rookies who are ready for the big time.  David Rundblad was the Swedish Elite League’s top d-man last season and you can tell by watching him play that he will be another great puck mover from the back-end and he is a 3rd legit powerplay quarterback.  Then Jared Cowen, who is showing shades of Tyler Myers, is another big guy who can shutdown down low and has already showed he has the ability to provide offense with his two goals in the first preseason game.  The Sens are fine at the back end and they will get the puck to their forwards.

The goaltending situation is also solved.  Craig Anderson slipped a little at the start of last season, but the Avs are a worse team than the Sens and he showed in his games with the Senators he still has what it takes.  Anderson is a legitimate number 1 goaltender who has the ability to steal games, a few of which will be needed for the Senators to make the playoffs this season.

The Problem

The problem lies in the forwards.  Spezza can’t do it all.  Alfredsson and Michalek need to play at their best and then other goals have to come from the likes of Foligno, Butler, Regin and hopefully Filatov.  A few of these lesser known Senators will break out this year with the absence of Fisher and Kelly, but this is necessary for the team to win games.  I hope that GM Brian Murray doesn’t just keep Greening and Condra at the big club because he signed them to one-way contracts even if guys like Da Costa, Filatov, etc are more deserving and are better pieces to the puzzle.  The Senators need goals from up front.  Spezza and Alffy can’t do it all.

I think the Senators will surprise some people this year.  They have nothing to lose, with a young team that is eager to win and many players that know how to win from their Binghamton Calder Cup last season.  I for one am going to check out some sports gambling sites and hopefully find some great odds for the Senators throughout the season, due to the fact they are being underestimated by the masses.

Shea Weber’s Arbitration Decision Right On The Money

Shea Weber and the Nashville Predators couldn’t have been further away heading into Tuesday’s arbitration hearing.  Sources said that Nashville was offering around $4.75 million per season, while Weber was asking for $8.5 million.  As it turned out Weber’s request was much closer to what the arbitration hearing decided Weber was worth when he was given $7.5 million for the season.  Since this was a team-appointed arbitration hearing (which can only be done once in a players career), the Predators didn’t have a choice to walk away from the contract and make Weber a free agent.  That being said there was no real chance that the Predators would have walked away from such an elite player and the captain of their team.  Even if the owners decided they couldn’t afford to keep Weber, I can think of 29 other teams in the NHL that would be chopping at the bit to get Weber on the team, and these 29 teams would have happily paid the $7.5 million contract, while also giving Nashville many assets in return.

Weber Deserves His $7.5 Million

With this 1 year, $7.5 million contract Weber has become the highest paid defenseman in the National Hockey League.  As for the people who think that the highest paid defenseman should be the best, that theory is flawed because there are many things to consider.  First of all, when the other d-men earned their contract (their season(s) leading into that contract and the salary cap at the time).  And second of all, the length and situation of the contract.

Shea Weber

Last season, Weber had 16 goals and 48 points with a +7 rating and was a finalist for the Norris trophy, coming 2nd in voting, just 9 points back of Nicklas Lidstrom.  This Norris candidacy shows that Weber does more on the ice than just put up points, he is an all around defenseman that usually matches up against the top players on opposing teams.  Since the 06-07 season, Weber is tied with Mike Green for the most defenseman goals.  Weber was also a key player in helping Nashville make it to the second round for the first time in team history, he scored 5 points and was a +3 in 12 games.

Weber earned $7.5 million for 1 season.  Salary Cap $64.3 million.

Dion Phaneuf

Phaneuf scored 60 points, including 17 goals and had a +12 rating the season before his contract, which began in the 08-09 season.  Phaneuf also had 7 points in 7 playoff games and was a -2, but the Flames lost in the first round.  Phaneuf was a very similar player to Weber, but he did score a few more points, and he was also a runner up for the Norris, just like Weber.  One year contracts are usually more lucrative for the player because there is no job security and the cap hit percentage of 11.66% of the cap, is very close to the 11.46% percentage of the cap that Phaneuf’s salary demanded that year.

Phaneuf earned a cap hit of $6.5 million for 6 seasons.  Salary Cap $56.7 million.

Zdeno Chara

Chara signed a contract prior to this season that holds a $6.917 million cap hit with a 7 year length.  That being said Chara earns $8.5 million this year and the final 2 years of his contract only earn him $9 million total, which shows that this is another one of the front heavy contracts that have become popular in the NHL.  Chara is currently 34, so this contract brings him to his 41st birthday.  There is a good chance that Chara doesn’t play the final two years of his contract, which is probably why the amount is lower.  With this theory (if Chara does not play the final 2 years of his contract), he is earning $7.3 million per season, which is very close to what Weber earned.  Add in the job security Chara receives by signing long term and I would say Weber would have much preferred the contract that Chara received.  Chara is also a very good comparison, because he was also a Norris trophy candidate and his contract begins the same year as Weber’s.

Weber’s cap hit is the highest in the league, but it’s hard to look at just the cap hit nowadays when so many teams are doing the front heavy contracts.  Weber is actually the fifth highest paid defenseman this season, behind Chara ($8.5 million that we mentioned before), Pronger ($7.6 million), Keith ($8 million) and Ehrhoff ($10 million this season with a $4 million cap hit – don’t know how teams get away with this).

Weber is worth every penny and when you include the variables such as the length (1 year means no job security), the salary cap (cap increased $4.9 million over just last season) and the other comparable players front heavy contracts you can see that Weber could have easily justified the $8.5 million that he was asking.

It will be interesting to see how the Nashville Predators do next year.  I’m not going to go and put down $100 on them winning the cup, but with Weber in place they could definitely win a lot of games and once again return to the playoffs.  A new betting tool that will be fun to try next season is live hockey betting.  When you’re watching a hockey game you can see the momentum swings, as well as key injuries or anything that could affect how the game may turn out.  Now with in play hockey betting you can use this information to make a profit!

2012 Stanley Cup Favourites

The Boston Bruins have won the Cup, the entry draft has completed and free agent frenzy is winding to a halt.  The only place I can get my NHL fix is thinking about next season and which teams have the best shot at lifting the Stanley Cup.  I check out 5Dimes.com to see the Stanley Cup odds for next season and it really got me thinking about which teams have a legit shot.  Here are a few teams I like to go far next season and who I will be placing wagers on because their odds are too good to pass up:

Chicago Blackhawks @ +1500

The Blackhawks are the 8th favourites to win the Stanley Cup next season and I personally have them slotted much higher.  I don’t necessarily think they will finish atop their division or even have home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but the Blackhawks have the pieces in place to be a contender every year.  If they score the goal in overtime of game 7 against Vancouver this season I can guarantee that their odds would be closer to 10/1 right now.  People are quick to forget how a team played and instead just remember that they lost in the first round.  The Blackhawks have the top two lines in the NHL, with possibly the exception of San Jose, and their top defensemen are elite and will be hungry to get back to the top.  The loss of Brian Campbell will hurt this team more than most people think, but Nick Leddy is ready to step up with more ice time and Hjalmarsson should play better than he did last season when he let his play slip slightly.  The additions of Brunette, Carcillo and Mayers should bolster the teams depth and tenacity up front, but it really comes down to the fact that Kane, Toews, Hossa, Sharp and Bolland are just too good.  Corey Crawford is no slouch in goal either.  If the Blackhawks can get the best out of their players and add a bit more depth on defense they should have a very good chance to win the Cup this season.

San Jose Sharks @ +1200

The Sharks are the 6th rated team according to the oddsmakers.  They have made the Conference Finals two years in a row, but haven’t put up much of a fight at that stage.  The Sharks were just too slow and lacked the depth on defense both years.  The addition of Brent Burns should help the defense and take some of the responsibility away from Dan Boyle, while the Havlat for Heatley trade will bring more speed and and greater drive to win when it matters most.  The Sharks still have some positions open for depth forwards and they could do with adding a solid shutdown defenseman with speed.  Niemi is solid in goal, having already won a Stanley Cup, so it’s really the depth up front and the defensive d-men that this team is lacking in order to become a Stanley Cup Champion.  I have confidence that Doug Wilson will address these needs.  I’ve liked what he’s done so far this summer.

For Those Interested…

Here are the odds for the other 8 from the top 10 at 5Dimes.com.  Once it gets past them there really is no hope for finding a Cup Champion.

• Vancouver Canucks +675
• Pittsburgh Penguins +850
• Washington Capitals +1000
• Boston Bruins +1100
• Philadelphia Flyers +1100
• Detroit Red Wings +1250
• LA Kings +1700
• Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning +2000 each

**On an unrelated note a friend of mine is starting a Financial Spread Betting website. Just wanted to give him a little shout out.

San Jose Sharks Win the Havlat for Heatley Trade

The San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild once again came out of nowhere announcing a blockbuster deal last night that will send Dany Heatley to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Martin Havlat (the two teams dealt Burns for Setoguchi a few days earlier).  I’ve taken a look at this deal from a variety of perspectives and have to say that the Sharks definitely seem to have made a solid move here, but the Wild also needed a shake up and if they can get the best out of Dany Heatley the deal could work for both teams.

The Money

Dany Heatley has 3 years left on his deal that carries a cap hit of $7.5 Million, while Havlat has 4 years left on a deal that has a $5 M cap hit per season.  This more than compensates for the $0.5 M extra the Sharks took on with the Burns for Setoguchi swap and leaves the Sharks with $2M of space left to work with.  This cash can be used to add some depth to the bottom 6 forwards as well as add some stronger defensive d-men for crucial situations (the defense of the Sharks were outplayed against the Canucks this playoffs).

Winner: San Jose Sharks

The Needs

Doug Wilson came out and said that the Sharks needed to add speed to their top 6 forwards and Marty Havlat is one of the quicker players in the league and has breakaway type speed.  Needless to say that Dany Heatley’s game is not built around speed and it seemed like he lost a step the past couple seasons.  With Brunette likely to not resign in Minnesota the Wild needed a similar player to score goals around the net.  Heatley can do this and he also has a superior shot to Brunette if he can get to the open spots.  Koivu is known more of a hardnose working type player that has the skills to score, but by no means is he known as your typical playmaker like Heatley has had with Thornton and Spezza over the past several seasons.  Havlat and Koivu never really had a chance to mesh their styles of play because the Koivu/Brunette/Miettinen line was so strong and had been together for several years.  Heatley should definitely get the chance to play with Koivu and it will be interesting to see if the two mesh.

Winner: Remains to be seen

Better All Around Player

Martin Havlat is a very underrated player in the league for a variety of reasons.  Number one Havlat is known as a player who is always one hit away from injury.  That argument may not be fair as he has adjusted his game in recent years and has averaged 77 games each season over those past few seasons.  Havlat has also never played with as talented as players as himself.  In Minnesota Havlat was not on the top line due to their previous chemistry and instead usually lined up with Latendresse, Clutterbuck or Brodziak.  In Chicago it was much of the same with Havlat playing mostly with Dave Bolland, Andrew Ladd and other second tier players compared to himself (and Kane, Toews and Sharp), yet Havlat still led the team in scoring in both the regular season and the playoffs.  Even back in Ottawa Havlat was generally the 3rd RW on the depth chart behind Alfredsson and Hossa.  Havlat has the ability to make players around him better and has shown throughout his career that he does not need superstar teammates to produce.

Heatley on the other hand has typically had top tier linemates and it seems like his best days are behind him.  Heatley set the bar pretty high in Ottawa with a high points per game output of about 1.25 points/game, but this has dwindled of late and last season he only managed 0.8 points per game and even less in the playoffs.

Havlat will be able to play with any of the solid top 6 forwards on the Sharks, while it remains to be seen if Heatley will produce without an elite playmaking center.

Winner: San Jose Sharks

Playoff Performance

Havlat lives for the playoffs and he stated that playing for a top quality team and being able to play in the playoffs was the reason he waived his no movement clause.  If you watched any of the Blackhawks Conference Finals run in Havlat’s last year with the team you will know he brings it when it matters most.  His 15 points in 16 games led the team (even though he missed a couple games in the Detroit series from the Kronwall hit – which he did try to comeback from the next game showing his heart).  In his last 26 playoff games Havlat has 28 points and many of these were very important points for the team including a few series winning goals that I remember (overtime against Calgary in round 1 with the Blackhawks, overtime against Philly in round 1 with the Senators – just off the top of my head).

Heatley had a horrible playoffs last season scoring 9 points in 18 games and just not looking dangerous whatsoever.  He did have a good playoffs when the Senators made the Cup Finals a few years back, but Heatley just doesn’t seem to be the same player with the same drive.

Winner: It’s hard to say when we will likely only see Havlat in the playoffs over the next few seasons, but I’m sure he won’t disappoint – San Jose Sharks

I for one see this as a great move for the San Jose Sharks and I am even going to go as far as place a wager at an online betting site for the San Jose Sharks to win the Stanley Cup next season with the help of Havlat and Burns!

Can Luongo Bounce Back?

Roberto Luongo made 30 saves on 38 shots in game 3 of the Stanley Cup playoffs in Boston.  Alain Vigneault apparently did not feel that his goaltender needed to be pulled from the game when it got out of hand.  This could be a tactical decision to show his goaltender that he and the entire team will be sticking with him throughout this series no matter what.  In game four in the Chicago series, Luongo let in 6 goals on 28 shots before being pulled in the third period.  Luongo did not bounce back favourably allowing 4 goals on 12 shots and being pulled early in the second period in game 5.  In game 6 of that series Vigneault went with Schneider, who played a decent game before being injured when he was beaten on a penalty shot by Frolik.  Luongo only allowed one goal in that game, but it was an important one scored by Ben Smith in overtime.  It took these 3 straight losses before Luongo stepped up his game allowing only 1 goal in game seven against the Blackhawks.

Since that first round series Luongo has looked fairly sharp, playing solid for the most part, while allowing a few soft goals here and there.  In the 8-1 shellacking by Boston, however, Luongo did not look sharp at all.  He should have saved at least half of the 8 goals and I am interested to see which Luongo we see tonight.

I half expect the Bruins to come out with another high scoring affair, which is why I’m looking at the -1.5 line for the Bruins tonight at +248.  This line is from 5Dimes and could be considered similar to spread betting bonuses because the juice is reduced, which makes this likely the best Bruins puck line you will find.

Luongo has shown the ability in the past to bounce back from bad games, but he has also shown many instances where he plays just as bad the second time around.  Which Luongo will we see tonight in Boston?  Who do you think will show up?

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