Red Wings Roll The Dice With Hasek
By: SBRforum Staff
8/7/2006 11:13:34 AM
The Ottawa Senators’ loss is the Detroit Red Wings’ gain. Or is it? The Sens passed on bringing goaltender Dominik Hasek back into the fold for the 2006/07 NHL season, deciding they were better off without the enigmatic and oft-injured keeper. However, The Dominator wasn’t unemployed for long, as the Red Wings signed him to a free-agent deal for yet another go-around in Motown.
But does Hasek have anything left in the tank? He only lasted half a season up in Ottawa, as an injury suffered during the Olympics knocked him out fo
Red Wings Roll The Dice With Hasek
r the remainder of the NHL season and the entire playoffs. Sens management decided they were better off signing Martin Gerber to be their new starter. The Red Wings, though, opted to gamble that Hasek could contribute between the pipes.
What do the oddsmakers think? Well, at VIP.com the Senators and the Red Wings are pegged with the top odds to win the 2006/07 Stanley Cup. Ottawa and Gerber are listed at 15/2 right now, while Detroit and Hasek sit just back at 17/2. Along with dropping Hasek, the Sens also said goodbye to defenseman Zdeno Chara and forward Martin Havlat in the offseason, while Detroit lost heart-and-soul guys Steve Yzerman (retirement) and Brendan Shanahan (free agent).
That means both teams will look a bit different on the ice this season, but as the oddsmakers suggest they should still both be upper-echelon teams. The Sens retained core players Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Wade Redden, and Dany Heatley, while the Red Wings have Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetterberg to lead the way in the upcoming season.
Hockey fans in the Carolinas, though, have to be wondering what their team has to do to get some respect. The defending-champion Hurricanes dropped a couple of over-the-hill scorers (Mark Recchi, Doug Weight) and their backup goaltender (Gerber) from their Cup-winning team, but the rest of the roster is largely intact. However, the Canes are only pegged at 10/1 odds to repeat as champs at VIP.com.
That’s the same odds given to the Buffalo Sabres, and it’s slightly worse than the line posted for the Calgary Flames (9/1). The Flames made a splash this summer by picking up star winger Alex Tanguay from the Colorado Avalanche to help out Jarome Iginla on offense. With one of the league’s top defense corps already supporting stud goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff, a bolstered Calgary attack could make them deadly.
Other short Cup odds at VIP.com right now include the New Jersey Devils (12/1), San Jose Sharks (15/1), Anaheim Ducks (15/1), Vancouver Canucks (16/1), Philadelphia Flyers (16/1), Dallas Stars (20/1), and Tampa Bay Lightning (20/1). The Ducks and Canucks made two of the biggest moves in the offseason, with Anaheim picking up defenseman Chris Pronger and Vancouver adding goaltender Roberto Luongo.
Pronger’s old team, the Edmonton Oilers, are way back at 50/1 despite making it to the Cup finals last season. Along with the hulking (and, apparently, sulking) defenseman, the Oilers also lost forwards Michael Peca and Sergei Samsonov and defenseman Jaroslav Spacek. However, they did pick up sniper Joffrey Lupul from the Ducks in the Pronger deal, and he should play a big role.
Luongo’s old team, the Florida Panthers, sit at 35/1 at VIP.com; respectable odds for a team that missed the playoffs last season and subsequently replaced their star goaltender with a tandem of the unproven Alex Auld and the ancient Ed Belfour. But with forward Todd Bertuzzi now on the roster (thanks to the Luongo deal) the Panthers should at least put up more goals this season.
The New York Rangers (25/1), Nashville Predators (25/1), Colorado Avalanche (30/1), and Montreal Canadiens (30/1) are the other teams above Florida on the odds list, while the Atlanta Thrashers (40/1), Columbus Blue Jackets (40/1), Los Angeles Kings (50/1), Phoenix Coyotes (50/1), and Toronto Maple Leafs (50/1) are farther down the chart.
Also sitting at 50/1 odds at VIP.com are the New York Islanders and the Boston Bruins, two teams that made a lot of headlines in the past few months. The Islanders, of course, hired and fired Neil Smith from the General Manager position practically before he could settle into his Long Island office, while the Bruins snagged Chara with a big contract and also managed to lure forward Marc Savard away from the Thrashers.
The Minnesota Wild made some big offseason moves as well, trading for forward Pavol Demitra and signing forward Mark Parrish and defenseman Kim Johnsson as free agents. That could make the Wild’s 60/1 Cup odds tempting for many bettors. Only four teams have been given longer odds than Minnesota at VIP.com at this point - the Washington Capitals (75/1), Chicago Blackhawks (100/1), Pittsburgh Penguins (100/1), and St. Louis Blues (100/1).
By: SBRforum Staff
8/7/2006 11:13:34 AM
The Ottawa Senators’ loss is the Detroit Red Wings’ gain. Or is it? The Sens passed on bringing goaltender Dominik Hasek back into the fold for the 2006/07 NHL season, deciding they were better off without the enigmatic and oft-injured keeper. However, The Dominator wasn’t unemployed for long, as the Red Wings signed him to a free-agent deal for yet another go-around in Motown.
But does Hasek have anything left in the tank? He only lasted half a season up in Ottawa, as an injury suffered during the Olympics knocked him out fo
Red Wings Roll The Dice With Hasek
r the remainder of the NHL season and the entire playoffs. Sens management decided they were better off signing Martin Gerber to be their new starter. The Red Wings, though, opted to gamble that Hasek could contribute between the pipes.
What do the oddsmakers think? Well, at VIP.com the Senators and the Red Wings are pegged with the top odds to win the 2006/07 Stanley Cup. Ottawa and Gerber are listed at 15/2 right now, while Detroit and Hasek sit just back at 17/2. Along with dropping Hasek, the Sens also said goodbye to defenseman Zdeno Chara and forward Martin Havlat in the offseason, while Detroit lost heart-and-soul guys Steve Yzerman (retirement) and Brendan Shanahan (free agent).
That means both teams will look a bit different on the ice this season, but as the oddsmakers suggest they should still both be upper-echelon teams. The Sens retained core players Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Wade Redden, and Dany Heatley, while the Red Wings have Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetterberg to lead the way in the upcoming season.
Hockey fans in the Carolinas, though, have to be wondering what their team has to do to get some respect. The defending-champion Hurricanes dropped a couple of over-the-hill scorers (Mark Recchi, Doug Weight) and their backup goaltender (Gerber) from their Cup-winning team, but the rest of the roster is largely intact. However, the Canes are only pegged at 10/1 odds to repeat as champs at VIP.com.
That’s the same odds given to the Buffalo Sabres, and it’s slightly worse than the line posted for the Calgary Flames (9/1). The Flames made a splash this summer by picking up star winger Alex Tanguay from the Colorado Avalanche to help out Jarome Iginla on offense. With one of the league’s top defense corps already supporting stud goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff, a bolstered Calgary attack could make them deadly.
Other short Cup odds at VIP.com right now include the New Jersey Devils (12/1), San Jose Sharks (15/1), Anaheim Ducks (15/1), Vancouver Canucks (16/1), Philadelphia Flyers (16/1), Dallas Stars (20/1), and Tampa Bay Lightning (20/1). The Ducks and Canucks made two of the biggest moves in the offseason, with Anaheim picking up defenseman Chris Pronger and Vancouver adding goaltender Roberto Luongo.
Pronger’s old team, the Edmonton Oilers, are way back at 50/1 despite making it to the Cup finals last season. Along with the hulking (and, apparently, sulking) defenseman, the Oilers also lost forwards Michael Peca and Sergei Samsonov and defenseman Jaroslav Spacek. However, they did pick up sniper Joffrey Lupul from the Ducks in the Pronger deal, and he should play a big role.
Luongo’s old team, the Florida Panthers, sit at 35/1 at VIP.com; respectable odds for a team that missed the playoffs last season and subsequently replaced their star goaltender with a tandem of the unproven Alex Auld and the ancient Ed Belfour. But with forward Todd Bertuzzi now on the roster (thanks to the Luongo deal) the Panthers should at least put up more goals this season.
The New York Rangers (25/1), Nashville Predators (25/1), Colorado Avalanche (30/1), and Montreal Canadiens (30/1) are the other teams above Florida on the odds list, while the Atlanta Thrashers (40/1), Columbus Blue Jackets (40/1), Los Angeles Kings (50/1), Phoenix Coyotes (50/1), and Toronto Maple Leafs (50/1) are farther down the chart.
Also sitting at 50/1 odds at VIP.com are the New York Islanders and the Boston Bruins, two teams that made a lot of headlines in the past few months. The Islanders, of course, hired and fired Neil Smith from the General Manager position practically before he could settle into his Long Island office, while the Bruins snagged Chara with a big contract and also managed to lure forward Marc Savard away from the Thrashers.
The Minnesota Wild made some big offseason moves as well, trading for forward Pavol Demitra and signing forward Mark Parrish and defenseman Kim Johnsson as free agents. That could make the Wild’s 60/1 Cup odds tempting for many bettors. Only four teams have been given longer odds than Minnesota at VIP.com at this point - the Washington Capitals (75/1), Chicago Blackhawks (100/1), Pittsburgh Penguins (100/1), and St. Louis Blues (100/1).