Each off-season, a number of former NHL stars face the difficult decision of whether to return to the ice or hang up the skates for good. Sometimes injuries might force their hand – Paul Kariya called it a career in June due to his ongoing struggles with concussions – and other times they might just realize that the league has passed them by (Kris Draper).
Along with the aforementioned Draper and Kariya, this summer has also seen the retirements of former Edmonton Oilers captain Doug Weight, three-time Selke winner Jere Lehtinen, and beloved Calgary Flames veteran Craig Conroy. There are still a number of players, though, that could – or should – call it a career.
Mike Modano, C
One of the greatest American-born players in history, Modano spent 2010-11 bouncing between the injured list and the Red Wings’ third line, and it all but appeared he was playing for one last shot at a Cup after an illustrious 20-year career with the Stars. Modano has little to gain by playing another season – he already holds virtually every scoring record for U.S.-born players – and shouldn’t sully his career by bouncing around the league as a rental player.
Likely decision: Retirement
Wade Redden, D
Redden has fallen a long way from his 50-point season for the Ottawa Senators in 2005-06. After signing a lucrative deal with the Rangers in 2008, his play rapidly deteriorated to the point where he found himself in the AHL last season. He was a productive member of the Connecticut Whale, but a 34-year-old two-time NHL All-Star shouldn’t be trying to stretch his career out in the minor leagues. Redden considered retirement last summer; this year he goes through with it.
Likely decision: Retirement
Marc Savard, C
It’s a shame, but Bruins centre Marc Savard’s late-blooming career might be coming to an end. One of the better offensive players of the post-lockout NHL, Savard has spent the majority of the last two seasons on injured reserve. Most alarmingly, he has suffered two concussions since March 2010, and has shown symptoms of post-concussion syndrome. He still has the ability to contribute on the ice but will likely give up the game before it takes an even greater toll on his mental health. At least he goes out as a Stanley Cup champion.
Likely decision: Retirement
Marty Turco, G
Turco was expected to be the primary netminder for the Blackhawks as they looked to defend their Cup championship in 2010-11 but was ineffective and eventually replaced by Corey Crawford. Currently without a contract, Turco could be a decent one-year rental for a team in need of a veteran back-up, but the fat lady appears to be warming up backstage for the former Dallas All-Star.
Likely decision: One more season

While the sports world gears up for the frenzy of a two-week NFL free agency period, the NHL is recovering from some offseason insanity of its own. A thin crop of unrestricted free agents, combined with front offices eager to make a big offseason splash, led to a free agency period that more closely resembled a bunch of drunk millionaires making it rain in Vegas than a group of talent evaluators making savvy business decisions.

Still, if you sort through the James Wisniewskis and Tomas Kopeckys, there were a number of reasonable, smart signings, even if their contract numbers were slightly inflated by the nature of the market.

5. Buffalo Sabres sign Christian Ehrhoff (10 years/$40 million) – Yes, 10 years is a very long time, but $4-million a year isn’t a huge paycheque for an offensively gifted defenseman who appears to be just entering his prime (career-high 50 points last year as a 28-year-old). The Sabres really opened the chequebook this year, and locking up Ehrhoff was their best move.

4. Toronto Maple Leafs sign Tim Connolly (2 years/$10-million) – Leafs’ GM Brian Burke spent the opening weekend of free agency visiting Canadian troops in Afghanistan, perhaps to distance himself from what he accurately predicted would be an orgy of overspending. Burke did consider going after Brad Richards, the big fish in this off-season’s small pond, but didn’t want to mortgage the future of the franchise to land a 31-year-old forward. Instead, Burke extended a much smaller offer to Tim Connolly, an exceptional playmaker who has been beset by injuries throughout his career. When healthy, he scores nearly a point-per-game – which would be a great value at $4.75 million per year. Of course, if he ends up on the disabled list again, the short length of the contract won’t handcuff the franchise.

3. Chicago Blackhawks sign Andrew Brunette (1 year/$2-million) – The Hawks lost a lot of the grit that helped win them the 2009 Stanley Cup when they started bumping up against the salary cap, resulting in a disappointing 2010 season. GM Stan Bowman set out to surround his talented core of forwards with guys willing to do the dirty work, and signing Brunette was an excellent step in that direction. The reliable 37-year-old left wing has averaged 60 points per season over the last 6 years, and his rugged style should contrast nicely opposite Marian Hossa on the Hawks second line. He hasn’t missed a game since the 2001-2002 season.

2. New York Rangers sign Brad Richards (9 years/$60-million) – Richards was the big target this offseason, a legitimate first-line centre and leader who brings Cup-winning credentials and a broad skill set to New York. The front-loaded contract will allow the Rangers to buy him out during its last few years if his skills have noticeably deteriorated (he’ll be in his late 30s).

1. Washington Capitals sign Tomas Vokoun (1 year/$1.5 million) – The cheapest deal on this list could be the one that makes the biggest difference in 2011-2012. The Capitals were hamstrung by the lack of a reliable option in net, as neither Semyon Varlamov or Michal Neuvirth really staked a claim to the job. Even at 35, Vokoun is still one of the league’s top netminders, and joining the Capitals should give him the best opportunity of his career to play deep into the playoffs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, mired in so negativity for so long now, emerged from the 2011 NHL All-Star Break as a suddenly competitive, energetic young team, coming within a few games of stealing the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Led by the surprisingly stellar play of rookie goaltender James Reimer – he of the league’s greatest nickname, Optimus Reim – the Leafs went 18-7-6 after February 1st, possibly giving Toronto’s rabid fanbase a sneak preview of the team Brian Burke is trying to build.

Phil Kessel, expected to be the Leafs’ top scorer, rounded into form after a first half spent battling inconsistency and the media, finishing with 64 points and captain Dion Phaneuf starting looking like the top-pairing defenseman he’s supposed to be.

Naturally, the run sent the Toronto-centric hockey world into a tizzy, as the Leafs’ efforts headlined NHL news sites for weeks. While they still ended up missing the playoffs for a franchise-record sixth straight season, hockey’s most valuable team ended the season amid an atypical cloud of optimism.

“Next year, it’ll come together next year,” was the mantra repeated by fans in April and May, and then in June the conversation turned to what GM Brian Burke would do with the team’s valuable cap space in a thin free agent market. Would he break the bank for Brad Richards? Would they land a top-four D-man like James Wisniewski?

Who would be the piece that finally propels the Leafs out of the cellar of the NHL standings and back into the post-season?

Turns out the answer is, um, Tim Connolly.

Burke wasn’t going to be baited into handcuffing himself with a bad contract or two in the irresponsible 2011 free agent market, so instead focused on making small tweaks here and there while locking up Reimer for the foreseeable future, rewarding his second-half efforts with a reasonable 3-year, $5.4-million contract. The talented but injury-prone Connolly was the closest thing to a “splash” Burke made. When healthy, Connolly is a borderline first-line centre who makes plays and scores very naturally; unfortunately, he hasn’t played over 73 NHL games in a season since 2002-2003.

Burke’s smaller deals involved getting rid of overpaid players like Brett Lebda and Jean-Sebastian Giguere while adding affordable pieces like John-Michael Liles and Cody Franson.

It’s evident that Burke is counting on the upward trend of last season to continue in 2011-12 and crossing his fingers that young players like Clarke MacArthur, Nazem Kadri and Kessel continue to improve.
Naturally, the most important question for next season is whether Reimer can prove his successful run last year wasn’t just a fluke. He’s going to be under intense scrutiny now, and the Toronto hockey media can be vicious. If he turns out to be the real deal, the pieces Burke has assembled might be able to come together in front of him and slip into one of the lower playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

PayPerHead.com, an online sportsbook service provider for local agents, today unveiled a new campaign featuring Vince Curatola, Johnny Sack of The Sopranos fame.

The campaign leads with Vince asking “Five bucks head, that’s what I wanna pay…” and the website, featuring video and voice overs by Vince, walks you through the product, the process and the competition.

“Five bucks a head is really an industry first given our level of service,” a spokesman from PayPerHead.com explained. “And we very carefully and in great detail delineate on the website exactly what you get and at what price level at PayPerHead versus the other serious players, such as Bookie Buddy”.

You get a tremendous amount of price per head betting services, including not only the traditional online sportsbook but an optional casino, live poker, in game live betting, mobile betting, tools for managing players and their funds, layoff and scalp accounts, even a “sharp check.” “We have the sharpest lines out there and one of the most experienced stages anywhere offshore,” the spokesman said, “so if we start seeing sharp action from one of your players, we can give you a heads up. What you want to do with him is up to you.”

The choice of Vince Curatola was an interesting one. “We always liked Vince’s character on The Sopranos, as John “Johnny Sack” Sacramoni,” the PayPerHead spokesman said. “He had a certain style, classy, but not over the top; there’s a calmness and authority about him that we really admire.  He brings that serious business demeanor to PayPerHead.com, the first sportsbook-service to EVER feature any kind of celebrity in its marketing.”

With post-up books like BetUS, Sportsbook.com and SportsInteraction stopping taking US players, Bodog and others struggling with “Ecom” processing problems, the street scene is heating up and players are posting daily in forums looking for a “local out.” Players want the huge selection of markets, including live in-game betting, and the convenience of anytime betting online or via their mobile, but more and more say “they want to bet online but prefer to settle in cash on Monday.”

Is this the future of online sports betting? It very well could be. And with firms like PayPerHead.com investing in marketing in an unprecedented way (celebs, who’d have thunk it?!) and in product (they also offer live poker, casino and in-game betting), expect to see this sector grow significantly this season.

For more information, see PayPerHead.com.

World Cup betting players know how much a good goalkeeper can affect their team’s chances, and the same happens in the NHL, where a pair of goalies are outplaying their counterparts, and it has resulted in 2-0 series leads.

Michael Leighton is playing out of his mind right now for Philadelphia, stopping all 58 shots, like MMA fighter on the defensive in a UFC 116 betting match up,  as the Flyers outscored Montreal 9-0 in the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals.  Leighton has now on a shutout streak of 165:50, and he was especially big in the first period of Game 2, when he turned back all 16 Montreal shots.  Leighton is only in nets because Brian Boucher got hurt in Game 5 of their series with Boston, but he’s paying huge dividends right now for the Flyers.

Antti Niemi was thought to be the weak link for Chicago heading into the playoffs, but he has allowed just three goals on 72 shots over the first two games as the Blackhawks won both games in San Jose in the Western Conference.  Niemi was on fire in Game 1′s 2-1 win as he made 44 saves, and he’s outplayed San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov by a substantial margin.  Now, he’ll just have to step up his game at home as Niemi is just 3-3 at the United Center so far in the playoffs.  The Blackhawks have a massive opportunity heading home with a 2-0 lead, and Niemi will be the key to their betting odds for the rest of the series

The race for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, like Champions League Betting, is going down to the wire. By the looks of it, Montreal is sitting comfortably with 87 points and two games to go. It is unlikely that they will miss the playoffs this year.

That leaves the Flyers, the Bruins, and the Rangers to battle for the last two spots.

The Rangers had a convincing victory over the Leafs on Wednesday night and by doing so kept there playoff hopes alive. They have two games remaining and sit in ninth with 84 points.

Boston has three games to go with them taking on the Sabres tonight. Buffalo is a tough team to beat so Boston will have to show a lot of desperation. The Bruins sit uncomfortably in eighth place with 85 points.

Finally, the Flyers, sitting in seventh place with 87 points, have two games left on their schedule. They face the Rangers next on Friday night. This will definitely be a game to watch. The Rangers have a chance to tie the Flyers in points on Friday night with a win in regulation time.

It gets better. The Flyers and Rangers will face off again on Sunday April 11^th for their final game of the season. If the Rangers win on Friday, then this game will most likely decide which one of the two teams makes it to the playoffs. You will have to plan your masters betting strategy while watching this game. It is unlikely for the Bruins to lose all three remaining games, so this game would be a real showdown.

Prediction

The Flyers are an experienced team and are unlikely to lose two straight games to the Rangers. It will be interesting to see what the NHL odds for this will look like. Both teams will certainly be playing with a lot of desperation. The only thing to save the Rangers at this point would have to be the brilliant play of Henrik Lundqvis. His skills and experience may prove to be the defining factor.

In NHL news, the book per head saga surrounding the proposed rule change regarding headshots continues.

Although it is unclear when exactly it will come into effect, it appears likely that the rule will be in place before the end of this season. The players however, want more discussion before there is any agreement to a new permanent rule change. While the players are in support of a temporary ban to provide a solution for the remainder of the season, the NHL’s competition committee has made it clear their desire for talks this summer before any new permanent regulations are put into place.

The competition committee is made up of five players, four general managers and one owner. Their assent is required for any rule change – from there, the rule must be approved by the NHL’s 30 governors. In the case of a mid-season rule change, such as the proposed tweaking, a unanimous vote of approval is required from the governors. Were this a sporting contest, sportsbook cappers would consider the rule-change a lock at this point.

The rule change calls for a minor or major penalty to be assessed for “blindside” hits to the head, with all such hits subject to an automatic review by the league’s hockey-operations department. The move comes on the heels of a series of brutal blindside hits in recent memory, with the most recent being Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke’s hit on Boston’s Marc Savard – a blindside check which left Savard out cold and out of competition after suffering a concussion.

NHL playoff sports betting is picking up and so are the injuries to playoff teams. Some of the betting tips being given are to wait until the week before the playoffs to see who is healthy and who is not.

The Chicago Blackhawks are 5 to 1 favorites to win the Stanley Cup, but in the last week they have been racked with injuries on defense. A few days after Alexander Ovechkin violently ended the season of Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell, Anaheim player James Wisniewski took out Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook with a crushing upper body hit that left Seabrook limp on the ice. It is unknown how long Seabrook will be out or if he will miss the playoffs.

In an update on the Brian Campbell hit, Alexander Ovechkin has said that he did not mean to hurt Campbell and is apologetic about the defenseman’s injuries. Ovechkin claims it was a clean hit and he is confused as to why he was suspended. The incident has caused the NHL rules committee to re-evaluate penalties for hits to the head.

High-scoring winger Mikael Samuelsson was knocked out of the game against the New York Islanders after sustaining an upper body check. Samuelsson has 30 goals for the Canucks this season and his offense would be sorely missed in the playoffs.

The goalie injuries keep piling up in Philadelphia. Just a couple of weeks ago starting goalie Ray Emery was lost to the team for the season because of hip surgery. Michael Leighton stepped in and took over the number one spot. In a recent game against Nashville Leighton injured his ankle and is scheduled to undergo an MRI to see how badly he is hurt. It is unknown at this point how long Leighton will be out and the Flyers have him listed as day-to-day.

National Hockey League disciplinarian Colin Campbell has stated that Pittsburgh Penguins winger Matt Cooke will not be suspended for his hit on Boston Bruins center Marc Savard, which didn’t surprise too many online betting cappers for some reason.

Campbell made the announcement from Boca Raton, Florida, where the annual general managers meetings are currently taking place.

Cooke delivered a blindside shoulder to the head of Savard with five minutes to play in Pittsburgh’s 2-1 win on Sunday. The Bruins’ pivot hit the ice hard and laid motionless for several minutes while medical staff attended to him, before being taken off the ice on a stretcher.

The 32-year old had since been diagnosed with a grade two concussion, and is out indefinitely for Boston. Savard has admitted to suffering from constant headaches and exhaustion in the days since the hit took place. Doctors continue to monitor his progress.

The incident forced the issue of shots to the head to the top of the agenda in discussions at this week’s meetings. Currently, there is no rule in place that forbids players making shoulder contact to the head of an opponent, as long as it is within the rules of the game. However, a group of eight GM’s proposed yesterday a rule that will forbid players to make contact to the head of a defenseless opponent, and will forward the proposition to the league’s competition committee for approval.

In a recent independent medical study, it was revealed that 200 NHL players have suffered concussions over the past two seasons.