Since our last update, the B's beat the Buffalo Sabres on the road, but came up short in back-to-back games agains the Washington Capitals and red-hot St. Louis Blues, who beat the Bruins at home in a shootout after the black and gold lost a 5-3 road contest to the Caps.
The Bruins currently sit fifth in the Eastern Conference with 15 points, tied with four other teams with the same amount of points. However, they have two games-in-hand on the Rangers (sixth), three games each on Ottawa and Atlanta (seventh and eighth) and four games on the Pittsburgh, who would be out at 9th in the conference if the season ended today. Luckily for the Pens, they still have 67 games to get back on track.
The Leafs have been mediocre, but not as bad as the Panthers, Islanders, Sabres and cellar-dwelling Devils, who are in big, big trouble without Zach Parise for about three months. The good news for the Leafs is that they have 13 points-- just two out of a playoff spot and already have as many wins (five) as they did in the first week of December last year.
The rank putridness of the three teams at the bottom of the conference standings leads us to believe that the Leafs, while they probably will not make the playoffs this year, will hover around the 10th pick when all is said and done. If it gets anywhere near the top-five, then B's fans can consider it gravy.
On the downside, the Minnesota Wild went 3-0 this week- bumping them up from ninth-worst a week ago to ninth-best in the span of seven days. Their second-round pick (Chuck Kobasew) went from 39th at this time last week to 52nd...what a difference a week can make! Conversely, the Phoenix third-rounder (Derek Morris) moved up one spot from 67 to 66. Florida will be picking in Boston's third-round spot to close out the Nathan Horton trade.
Now, for the B's draft picks via standings watch:
1st Round
9th overall- Toronto (13 points; 5-5-3)- Completes Phil Kessel trade.
18th overall- Boston (15 points; 7-3-1)
2nd Round
18th overall- Boston (15 points; 7-3-1)
2nd Round
48th overall- Boston
52nd overall- Minnesota (16 points; 7-4-2)- Completes Chuck Kobasew trade.
3rd Round
52nd overall- Minnesota (16 points; 7-4-2)- Completes Chuck Kobasew trade.
3rd Round
66th overall- Phoenix (12 points; 4-5-4) - Completes Derek Morris trade.
Boston pick traded to Florida; Completes Nathan Horton deal
4th Round
108th overall- Boston
5th Round
138th overall- Boston
6th Round
168th overall- Boston
7th Round
4th Round
108th overall- Boston
5th Round
138th overall- Boston
6th Round
168th overall- Boston
7th Round
Pick traded to Chicago (Zach Trotman)
Kirk,
ReplyDeleteHave you got the story on Ryan Spooner? I read that he was sent home from his team and is awaiting a trade.
Go over to www.hockeyjournal.com
ReplyDeleteI posted there on my blog.
He wasn't "sent" home-- he informed the team that he was seeking a trade and left. In junior, amateurs don't get paid, so he's not under contract and not obligated to play for the Petes. It sounds bad, but happens all the time (players leaving until a trade is made) because sticking around leaves the GM with no impetus/sense of urgency to make a deal, while placing the player at risk of suffering an injury that would scuttle any potential trade.
I'm told that London is in the mix to try and acquire him and put him at center with Jared Knight, which would be great news for Bruins fans, but there are other teams with offers in. So, it will be up to Petes GM Dave Reid to figure out what he wants to do.
But yeah-- for more, check out the Kirk's Call blog @ hj.com. I'm told it wasn't a bad or disciplinary situation with Spooner-- he's just trying to affect a better situation on what has been a bad team for three years now and using what little leverage he has to try and find a better situation. Jamie Arniel was pretty much in the same boat- went home from Guelph until they traded him to Sarnia-- it's just the way things tend to work with junior players.
Thanks for the clarification - I didn't mean "sent home" in a negative sense, BTW... I hope he winds up in London with Knight!
ReplyDeleteThe plot thickens-- coach slammed him in an interview, so not sure what to think. I thought Spooner took the high road on his way out, but the coach Mike Pelino certainly made his thoughts known here.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2836483