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Tarnstrom awarded $1.6 million contract

TSN.ca Staff

8/28/2005 10:45:39 AM

PITTSBURGH (AP) - An arbitrator ruled that Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Dick Tarnstrom should make $1.6 million US this season.

The team now has 48 hours to respond to the arbitrator's award, which was announced Saturday. General manager Craig Patrick won't announce the team's plans for Tarnstrom until Monday, according to a team spokesman.

Tarnstrom's agent Mark Stowe said the defenceman is hoping to stay in Pittsburgh, and would prefer to work out a multi-year contract with the team. Tarnstrom was the Penguins' leading scorer with 52 points (16 goals, 36 assists) in 2003-04.

"He's already bought a car and is getting Pennsylvania license plates," Stowe said. "I think that shows his intent."

If the Penguins reject the arbitrator's award, they won't receive compensation if he signs with another team. The Penguins could also trade Tarnstrom while they still control his rights.

Tarnstrom will become an unrestricted free agent after this season, even if the Penguins accept the arbitrator's award.

"He still wants to play in Pittsburgh, even beyond this year," Stowe said. "It makes a lot of sense to tie a guy like that up for a few years."

If the Penguins sign Tarnstrom for $1.6 million, he would become the team's fifth-highest paid player this season, behind four high-profile free agents the Penguins signed during the NHL lockout. Sergei Gonchar and Zigmund Palffy are scheduled to make $3.5 million each, Mark Recchi will make $2.2 million, and John LeClair signed for $2.1 million.

The Penguins have about $21 million committed to salaries this season, not counting pending deals for owner/player Mario Lemieux and overall No. 1 draft pick Sidney Crosby, who are both expected to sign contracts worth more than Tarnstrom's award.
 

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Wow. I knew Therien was liked but honestly, especially with Hitch's system, he wasn't that good. But hey 7th d-man...I can semi-live with. Semi.

I've seen Knuble. He's not that great IMHO. But we'll see. Stevenson I guess for fighting perhaps. No idea really why Clarkie picked him but hey it's not like he's doing it too much off waviers.

Well with Somik going back to Europe, sort of closes the window on showcasing himself in the NHL. Still time in Europe might do him good. Sim, I agree, is now where near as good as Somik. Raddy I can take because he and Somik did play on a line together and had some decent chemistry.
 

The reason for the rule is that goaltenders stopping the puck interrupted the flow of the dump and chase. Dump the puck in, goaltender gets the puck when it goes behind the net and leaves it there for a defender (or passes it to one) instead of allowing it to travel along the boards to an attacker coming on the other side of the ice.
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Except the goaltender is still allowed to play the puck directly behind the net, which includes impeding the dump and chase. What they can no longer do is pick up the puck anywhere else behind the goal line.

The only new rule I really like is the elimination of clutching and grabbing.
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There is no new rule that is addressing this. It's just a commitment from the league, that it will happen. I'm not holding my breath.
 

'Father' of NHL's Quebec Nordiques dead at 79

Copied from www.NHL.com

8:56 AM EDT, 08/27/2005

QUEBEC (AP) - Marius Fortier, the man known as the father of the Quebec Nordiques, died Friday after a brief illness. He was 79.

"I am very sad because I just lost my best friend in the world," said Peter Stastny, former captain of the NHL team that eventually became the Colorado Avalanche.

The title of "father of the Nordiques" stuck from the time the team was born in 1972. With five partners Fortier helped Quebec City earn a franchise in the now-defunct World Hockey Association.

"Marius Fortier clearly deserved the title as father of the Nordiques," Stastny said.

Guy Lafleur, who played for both the Nordiques and the Montreal Canadiens, said Fortier was one-of-a-kind.

"He was the father of the Nordiques and the father of the players," he said.

The team's adventure with the WHA lasted seven years and led, in 1979, to expansion into the NHL.

Not satisfied with just being one of the team's founders, Fortier also was its first general manager. One of his first decisions - naming superstar Maurice Richard head coach - surprised Quebec's sporting world. Richard lasted just two games behind the bench.
 

devilbat said:
Except the goaltender is still allowed to play the puck directly behind the net, which includes impeding the dump and chase. What they can no longer do is pick up the puck anywhere else behind the goal line.
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That was my point. It won't be effective at stopping the goalies from doing what they do to impede offense.

devilbat said:
There is no new rule that is addressing this. It's just a commitment from the league, that it will happen. I'm not holding my breath.
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No, not a rule, per se, but it's "part of the package deal", as we heard over and over when the new rules were announced. If they don't keep this commitment (and hopefully the creation of the commitee to oversee it assures that it will), the new rule changes will do nothing to make the game better, and may in fact make it worse.
 

That was my point. It won't be effective at stopping the goalies from doing what they do to impede offense.
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Absolutely it will. The area where goalies are allowed to play the puck is located directly behind the net. This will impede any and all forward passes.
 

devilbat said:
Absolutely it will. The area where goalies are allowed to play the puck is located directly behind the net. This will impede any and all forward passes.
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That hinders the three or four teams with the good puck handling goalies. The rest of the teams saw the goalie give up the puck while out of position fairly often when passing forward, resulting in an easy goal.

What it doesn't impede is what happens 90% of the time when goalies stop the puck behind the net. Goalie stops the puck from getting to the offense and either keeps it himself or slides it over to a defender.

So what it stops is a) easy goals with no goalie in the net and b) forward passing by goalies, helping their team's offence. What it allows is interuption of the offence's attack. Not sure how this helps make the NHL more exciting. Their either should have left it alone, or ruled that goalies can't leave their crease to play the puck. This half-assed idea probably won't work. Damn, I'm starting to sound like Belfour. I'll shut up now. :p
 

Transactions for Monday, August 29th

Columbus Blue Jackets - Signed forward Alexandre Picard and goaltender Tomas Popperle to entry-level contracts.

Edmonton Oilers - Signed defenceman Danny Syvret to an entry-level contract.

Nashville Predators - Re-signed restricted free agent forward Martin Erat.

Pittsburgh Penguins - Re-signed restricted free agent defenceman Dick Tarnstrom to one-year contract awarded by arbitrator on August 27.
 
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Oilers sign Knights defenceman Syvret

TSN.ca Staff

8/29/2005 6:44:04 PM

The Edmonton Oilers have agreed with defenceman Danny Syvret on a three-year entry-level contract.

The 5'11", 203 pound blueliner was the Oilers 3rd choice in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Syvret enjoyed a highly successful season in 2004-05 as he captained the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) to a record setting 59-7-2 regular season record and the Memorial Cup championship.

In 62 games with the Knights, the 20-year-old native of Millgrove, Ontario scored 23-46-69 with 33 PIM to finish fifth on the London scoring list. He added 5-15-20 in 18 playoff games, helping the Knights claim the OHL crown with a 16-2 post-season mark.

At the Memorial Cup tournament, Syvret finished tied for ninth in tournament scoring with 1-4-5 in four games as London won the national title before the hometown fans in London, Ontario with a 4-0 victory over the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL. He was selected to the Memorial Cup all-tournament team.

Named the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and OHL Defenceman of the Year in 2004-05, Syvret was named to both the CHL and OHL first all-star teams and was a member of the gold medal winning Team Canada at the 2005 IIHF World Junior Championship.

In three seasons with London from 2002-03 to 2004-05, Syvret scored 34-88-122 with 96 PIM in 198 career games.
 

Oilers acquire Stastny from Bruins

Sports Ticker

8/30/2005 2:47:22 PM

EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) - The Edmonton Oilers acquired forward Yan Stastny from the Boston Bruins for a fourth-round pick in 2006 on Tuesday and signed him to a two-year contract.

The Oilers previously had acquired the draft pick from the Bruins when they traded away left wing Brad Isbister on August 1. Financial terms of the deal were not released for Stastny, who is the son of Hall of Famer Peter Stastny.

The elder Stastny played 15 seasons with the Quebec Nordiques, New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues between 1980-1995, collecting 450 goals and 1,239 points in 977 regular-season games.

Yan Stastny, an eighth-round pick in 2002, has played the last two seasons with Nurnberg of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, notching 33 goals and 50 assists along with 143 penalty minutes in 95 games. Last past season, the 22-year-old Canadian finished fourth in the DEL in scoring with 54 points in 51 games.

Prior to his stint in Germany, Yan Stastny played collegiately at Notre Dame, recording 40 points in 72 games between 2001-02 and 2002-03.
 

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