The Trade Deadline Looms: Eastern Conference Edition

While thinking about how to attack this potentially insane trade deadline I came up with far too many scenarios to put into just one post.  So, with that in mind I’m going to try and focus on a few teams in the Eastern Conference, teams looking to add.  This is likely going to be extremely difficult as there is a lot of potential cross over from players moving between conferences, but I’m going to do my best here.

Pittsburgh Penguins:

The Penguins are a logical place to start as they have a history of making deadline moves.  At this point in the season they’re 4^th place in the Metro and holding onto the final wild card spot in the east.  One big rumor I have heard is that they’ll be looking to move Derick Brassard out as he has not been a fit since being acquired at last years deadline.  But in moving him out, they’ll likely be looking for a player, particularly a center, of at least equal caliber.  And I think I have found such a player, unfortunately this requires jumping over to the Western Conference (hey, I said I’d try and keep it to one conference).  When looking through TSN’s Trade Bait list, one center really jumped out at me for this role with the Pens, that player is Brayden Schenn. 

Ranking of Scheen via TSN

Ranking of Brassard via TSN

Why this Schenn for Brassard swap?  For starters, both are having down years, Brassard with only 14pts and Schenn with 24pts so far this season.  Brassard is on an expiring contract, Schenn has one more season at $5.13M, only $.13M more than Pit is paying Brassard. But Schenn is also younger and brings a bit of everything with his game.  During his four full time seasons in Philly Schenn had averaged .625PPG, but also brought a lot of physicality and gritty.  And just last year playing as a 1^st line center he showed he has some more offensive talent in his back pocket as he amassed his first 70pt season.  Putting a player like that in the line up as a 3^rd line center behind Crosby and Malkin, you’re bound to end up with some mismatches.  The biggest problem is just wondering if all the Flyers orange is out of his system.

I would also expect the Pens to make a move for a depth defenseman.  Someone who is defensively reliable and can make a solid outlet pass at the very least.  They’ll be expecting Justin Shultz back into their line up just before the deadline which will be a fantastic boost but adding a depth player never hurts.  Maybe someone like Nick Jensen out of Detroit could be a low-cost addition as they make their push to the playoffs.

Carolina Hurricanes:

The Hurricanes are one of those teams that are truly in a battle for a wild card spot at this point and have made a recent move to help them in swapping out Rask for Niederreiter, something tells me they’re not done yet.  As of this season they are under new ownership and overall front office management so I would expect them to press hard to make a splash.  They also have plenty of chips to trade in the way of picks and prospects, not to mention salary cap space.

This is a young team that has a whole lot going for it.  They lead the league in shots for (SF/G) and against (SA/G) per game at 35.8 and 27.9 respectively.  But their PP and PK are not very good at all, with a PP at 16.8% and a PK at 79.9, both are in the bottom half of the league. So, they’ll be looking for someone who can help in both of those areas and after trading Rask away, perhaps someone who can take over the role of the number two center…I’ve found just the guy.

Ranking of Duchene out of the top-45 trade bait players via TSN

Matt Duchene, the number one player on TSN’s Trade Bait list, a 28-year-old center on an expiring contract and having a damn fine season on a dumpster fire of a team up in frigid Ottawa. In 41 games this season Duchene has 20G and 47Pts.  He only has 8Pts on the PP which tells you that he is getting it done at 5-on-5, and he has an incredible face off percentage this season winning 55% of his draws so far. And with Ottawa being a team on the rebuild they could reap major benefits of what a team like Carolina could give up for a player of Duchene’s caliber.

The price will most certainly include a 1^st round pick, potentially a 2^nd or 3^rd as well, and you can plan on a prospect being included as well.  With the plethora of defensemen in Carolina’s system my money would be on Jake Bean or Adam Fox being on the move.  Expect Martin Necas to be in discussion as well, but if he were on the move then I can’t imagine another pick than the 1^st rounder in play.

I did mention Carolina looking for help on the PK as well and since Duchene doesn’t really cover that area, I would expect a depth move there.  Someone like Luke Glendenning could be in play there as well.  He has been contributing offensively this year more so than most and is relied upon defensively and on the PK here in Detroit.  He is typically very good on faceoffs as well with a 56.5 winning percentage this season, which can be a clutch play late in a game when preserving a lead.  He shouldn’t cost more than a 2^nd-3^rd round pick as well.

Toronto Maple Leafs:

The Maple Leafs are one of the strongest contenders in the eastern conference with the offensive fire power that rivals any other team in the league.  They’re tied for 3^rd in the league in goals for per game (GF/G) at 3.6 and the goals against (GA/G) at a very respectable 2.9, but that is mostly because they have possession of the puck usually more than their opponents.  But they’re still somehow being outshot on average with a 31.4 SF/G and a 32.6 SA/G.  That’s a number they’ll look to bring down as I would imagine they’ll be looking to add a defensively oriented defenseman.

The problem to the Leafs is their contract situation, they won’t be able to take on a player with money if there is term on his deal after this season, at least not much money. With that in mind I have three players who may fit the needs of the Toronto, and I’m going off the board with two of them. One player from the trade bait list is Jake Muzzin of the L.A. Kings. The other two players are Dylan DeMelo of Ottawa and my favorite of the three, Rako Gudas of the Flyers.

Ranking of Muzzin via TSN

Let’s start with Muzzin, he is a former Stanley Cup Champion with the Kings in 2014 and in 2012 he was with the team on their championship run although he didn’t play. In the three years since the 2014 season he has had two 40+ Pt seasons and is on pace for his third this year.  He has the championship pedigree they would be looking for, he also leads the Kings in hits and blocked shots so far this season. As far as his contract situation goes, he has one year left at $4 million.

Dylan DeMelo stat line

Going off the board I’ll start with Dylan DeMelo.  He is a 25-year-old, right shot (Babcock loves that already) middle pairing, defenseman with the struggling Sens.  His stats put him a little out of the limelight, but he isn’t an offensively minded player.   With 14Pts in 45 games, you’re not looking for him to put the puck in the net but keep it out of yours.  And with a Plus/Minus of +15 on a nearly last place team…he is surely doing something right.  He is also 3^rd on the team in hits and 4^th in blocked shots, he would be 3^rd on the Leafs in both of those categories as well.  He is in a good situation with his contract as far as it relates to the Leafs with 1 more year at only $900K.

Rako Gudas stat line via TSN

And finally, we arrive at Rako Gudas, the often-controversial Flyers defenseman.  He is another guy who isn’t going to produce like crazy on the offensive side of things, though he does have a cannon of a shot, did I mention he is a righty as well?  But what he does best is play a hard, mean, physical game that rivals anyone else in the league.  He does it so well that he has been known to cross the line from time to time and has been suspended three times and have many other calls from the Dept. of Player Safety. Though it has been nearly one full year since he has had any run ins with the ‘law’ he still maintains his physical style of play as he is tied for 3^rd in the league in hits with 148!  That would be almost double the leader on Toronto. And with all the youth and skill on the team, they could benefit greatly from having a player like this patrolling their blueline.  And of note, Gudas is only 28 with one more year on his deal at $3.35 million on his deal.

Of the three potentials here, I personally like Gudas the best and he may only cost them a 2^nd or 3^rd round pick.  But it will be interesting to see who they do choose to add at the deadline this year as they’re in a highly competitive race in the Atlantic Division and all the teams they’re competing with will be adding to their line ups as well. 

This is just a small taste of some of what could transpire come February 25^th when we reach the NHL’s trade deadline.  All I know is every year something shocking happens and this season should be no exception.  Once again as well, I feel it is important to note that these are my thoughts and bold predictions if you will.  And I know there are plenty of other teams in the Eastern Conference, but I just can’t cover and try and predict what they’re all going to do.  With that, I’ll leave it to you to ponder what moves the other teams in the conference could make and I’ll be serving up some ideas for teams in the Western Conference next. 

The Trade Deadline Looms - Detroit Edition

What a crazy year it has been in the NHL.  From teams seeming almost unbeatable, to teams going 12 game losing streaks, to what looks like at least 30 different players scoring 30 or more goals by seasons end, and a goalie carousel of epic proportions...the season is moving so fast it is almost impossible to keep up.  And just like that we're just over a month away from the NHL trade deadline which is set to for Monday, February 25th.  With some teams making moves already, we're going to look first at how this seasons deadline could affect the Detroit Red Wings.

The first thing to note when figuring out what the Wings are planning to do is identify if they're likely to be buyers (a team looking to improve right now) or sellers (a team looking to build for the future).  Clearly the Wings are a team in a latter category and will be sellers at deadline.  Which means now it is time to figure out, what goods are for sale...four names jump right out at me, as they have been the focus of some rumors for quite some time now.  Those names are Nyquist, Vanek, Green, and Howard, but that is just to get us started. 

#25 Defenseman Mike Green, Anthony Mantha, #14 Gustav Nyquist celebrate a goal being scored.

Nyquist, who is usually a high 40 -mid 50-point scorer throughout his career is currently on pace for about 68 points as he already has put up 40 points so far this season.  He has never been a top line guy but has thrived over the years when he has been able to play against other 2nd and 3rd line players, it's a mismatch he has taken advantage of for quite some time.  It has come out to the press in the last few days that the asking price for the him begins at a 1st round pick in return, which has been given up for worst players.  To be honest, I wouldn't mind a 2nd round pick, if a good prospect was coming back the other way as well. 

So where could he end up?  I originally had St. Louis lined up for him a year or so ago as a replacement to Robby Fabbri when he tore his ACL, but that never happened.  And with where the Blues are now, I don't see them as buyers either.  Out west I think there are two teams who could use a solid scoring winger who many think should be contenders already.  One being Edmonton, imagine him on the wing of McJesus or Driasatil.  He could really help to add some offence to the struggling team.  Word is that they are open to trading former 4th overall pick in Puljujarvi.  So perhaps him and a 2nd round pick could work out, but I'd prefer a defense man in return, perhaps Evan Bouchard...but I'm dreaming there. 

The other team out west would be the Nashville Predators.  They're a team that sits 2nd in the Central Division and 4th in the Western Conference.  And while they're 2nd in the division in goals for, their PP could use some improvement.  A solid depth player who does well in space, like you'd get on a PP, could be a major asset to a team expecting to make a very deep run in this year’s playoffs.  Now what comes back, a 1st or a 2nd round pick has already been established...but what about prospects.  They have 2 high end forward prospects who I would love, but I don't think you're going to pry away Pettersson or Tolvanen from them.  Looking at players on the defensive side, I'll take one Dante Fabbro please.  But keep in mind as well, we could just get multiple picks like we did with Tatar last season. 

Moving on from the Goose, we have Vanek who was signed this summer for one purpose and that was to acquire assets at the trade deadline, and that's exactly what he will do.  He isn't the same guy he was when he signed his major contract with Minnesota, but he is serviceable on the 3rd line and still a big time PP guy who is still good for 20 goals in a season.   

In the case of Vanek, I see three main teams who may be interested in him as a PP specialist.  One being the Preds who we just talked about.  The others are the Vegas Golden Knights and the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Vegas is a team who has struggled to put the puck in the net this year as they have had some major players out of the lineup for some time.  And with the Blue Jackets, this is a team that is very deep up front and adding Vanek shouldn't upset the apple cart so to speak.  It could also show commitment to winning to both Panarin and Bobrovsky who are both free agent to be players and trade bait in their own right.  But my money is on both players staying right now and Vanek ending up there for a 3rd round pick. 

Moving on from the forwards we jump now to defense man Mike Green.  Green has been a prolific offensive defenseman throughout his career and is formerly a 30-goal score, but that was a decade ago.  Since coming to Detroit from Washington he has put up 104 PTS in 212 games over his first three seasons.  In this, his fourth season, he currently has 4G-15A for 19PTs, in 27 games, if he played all 82 games this year, he would have been on pace for 57 pts, his highest point total since 07-08, where he put up 56 PTS.  He also followed that up the next two seasons with 70PT campaigns.  But now at 33 years old, where does this former Norris candidate, right handed, offensive defenseman, and power play specialist, fit in the league? (That's a lot to consider, not to mention he has 1 more year on his current contract as well.)

I've identified 4 possible destinations for Green, the Leaf’s, Avalanche, Knights, and Islanders.  All of these teams have been selected because they could use an improved power play, for the most part.  While the Av's and Leaf’s both have top-10 ranked PP's, it never hurts to add depth to the special teams and both teams are a bit thin on defense.  In the Leaf’s case we also know how Mike Babcock covets right handed defenseman as well.  As for the Knights and the Islanders, both teams need to improve their PP's if they're looking to go on a deep run in the playoffs this year. It would also help the Islanders make a real push to make the playoffs this year, even though they currently sit 1st in the Metro (somehow) at this moment. 

For the Leaf’s it would be a hard deal to pull off due to the term left on Greens contract going into next season, so they're out for me.  While I think Colorado could be a great fit, they don't have the forward depth either, so maybe we could send Green with Goose or Vanek as well...then maybe...we can pry Ottawa's 1st round pick out of Joe Sakic’s hands...getting that pick from Colorado would leave Detroit with two 1st round picks that will be lottery picks in this years draft, both likely being in the top-5.  So this would have to be considered a blockbuster of a trade even if it is just two players for one draft pick.  And while I'm a dreamer when it comes to these things, this one is a true pipe dream as I don't see them giving up this important of a draft pick therefore Colorado is out as well.  

The Knights are a good team with solid forward depth and could use the boost on a 2nd unit power play as well, plus there is a trade history there between the two GM's.  The recent trade history goes back to just last season where Detroit sent Tatar to Vegas for three draft picks.  Vegas has since gone on to send Tatar to Montreal for Max Pacioretty who is finally finding his groove out in the desert.  And though they have plenty of picks available to send back, they're a bit thin in prospects. 

So, my vote goes to the Islanders.  Making this move would prove that they consider themselves a serious contender in the Metro Division and would presumably improve their PP which currently ranks at 25th in the league.  They also have some major bargaining chips to send back as well outside of draft picks. Personally, I would be pushing for USA NTDP alumni players such as Bode Wilde, Kieffer Bellows, or Oliver Wahlstrom.  These are all players I have seen live over the past 3 seasons working with USA Hockey and I can tell you that these guys are all the real deal.  My favorite of the bunch is Bode Wilde though.  When trying to compare him when talking to people who haven't been able to see him play live, I tend to use the comparison that he is like Brad Stuart combined with Nick Kronwall when the played as a pairing during the 2008 Wings cup run.  But I would gladly be happy with any of those players listed, or some combination of picks.

Now onto the goaltender, Jimmy Howard.  Goalies are a tricky one when it comes to trades, usually they happen in the off-season because a team who would be a contender generally already has a bonafide starting goalie in their net.  But as we've seen in my Goalie Conundrum articles, the goalie situations are not as clear cut as they seem...so perhaps there could be a home for Jimmy on a potential contender or a team looking to make a playoff push.

I think there could be 3 or 4 teams he could be a fit for but most of them are out of the playoff picture at this point.  In the east I could see Pittsburgh as a fit based on Matt Murray's history of injuries.  Casey DeSmith has certainly held his own, but if Murray isn't good to go Howard could prove a reliable veteran backup to DeSmith.  His contract is up after this season as well so that isn't something that could hinder his attractiveness if the Pens were looking for a veteran goalie. 

Also, in the east I see Florida as a real fit.  The Panthers consistently out shoot their opponents, but they are just not able to keep the puck out of the net this year.  Both Luongo and Reimer have some atrocious stats for a team that was expected to make the playoffs this season.  Both net minders have over 3.00 GAA and under .900 SV%.  Howard on the other hand has a 2.78 GAA and a .915 SV% which is right on for his career average...for one of the worst teams in the league this year.  Though Florida is out of the playoffs now, adding Howard could help them push for a wild card spot if they can keep the puck out of their own net a bit better.  And they also have 2-3 games in hand on most teams out of the east which should help as well.

Looking out west I see similar situations to Florida's in Arizona and St. Louis.  While both are out of the playoffs and have a low percentage chance of making it at this point a big problem they both have is that they’re not getting good goaltending. And with how tight the race is in the west, if either team could manage to go on a nice little winning streak, they could easily steal a wild card spot as the top wild card spot and the last place team are only separated by 10 PTs...that's 5 games. 

So, while it is unlikely that Howard will get moved at this time and the apparent asking price is a 1st round pick, but I wouldn't put money on him being moved.  If he just so happens to get shipped out of town, I would imagine one of these teams could be a suitor for him.  And if I were one that is out of the playoffs at this moment, I'd make the move for him right now...there isn't a game to waste at this point. 

And while there aren't many players off limits from the Wings who could be moved these players have been the prime candidates throughout the season and in past years as well.  We have about a month to see what will or will not transpire.  I don't have any insider info on how this will all play out, this is purely my own outside the box speculation and maybe a bit of wishful thinking as well.  All I know is that I have called players being moved in the past, but now I intend to start getting it all in writing.  As for what's next, I'll be looking at some key trade bait players from different teams throughout the league and see if I can gauge where they could end up as well.

UFC 232 - The End of the Year, The End of an Era. Part 2

Catching back up to where we left off in part one we are jumping right into the exciting Welterweight bout between Carlos Condit and Micheal Chiesa.  Chiesa moved up in weight here from Lightweight and looked phenomenal, physically as well as in his performance. And to the dismay of me, submitted Condit early in the 2nd round with a 1 handed Kimura.  This was the fight in which I was hoping that Condit, who is always one of the most brutal warriors out there, was going to get things back on track after losing four straight fights, but this was not the case.

Condit is the 4th fighter on my list to be considered and End of an Era fighter from this amazing night.  Condit is a fighter who should be remember for his epic wars and highlight reel KO's.  Coming into the UFC from the WEC he was the Welterweight Champion and had a 23-4 record, every win was a finish. Of those finishes 13 were submissions and 10 KO/TKO and only one fight had even gone to a decision.  But since joining the UFC he has only managed a 7-9 record, and gone to a decision 7 of those times (2-5 in those fights).

With only two wins since 2013, and the last being in May of 2015, we may have arrived at the point where Condit hangs up the gloves and calls it a career.  He is a man who fought the way we wish everyone wished fighters would and put it all on the line in all 43 of his career MMA fights.  He also competed as a professional kick-boxer amassing a 3-1 record, the lose coming to Andy Souwer, one of the best ever.  His MMA record now stands at 30-13, but may forever be scared by the five straight loses.  But he should be remember as the ultimate competitor, a fierce warrior, The Natural Born Killer, and Champion.  If this it for Condit, may his legend live on forever.

As for fighters being remembered as Champions, I now take you to the Co-Main Event of the evening.  A title fight the pit Champion vs Champion, as Amanda Nunes moved up in weight from Women's Bantamweight to take on Cris 'Cyborg' in the Women's Featherweight division.  And holy hell what a 51 seconds it was, as both fighters are known to be heavy handed knockout artists, we got the knockout, just maybe not the one we we're used to.

Cris Cyborg, who has been the terror of female MMA for over a decade, was the one who ended up on the receiving end of the now 'Champ Champ' right hand.  Both Cyborg and Nunes, who has dominated most of the women she has faced in the bantamweight division, came out swinging for the fences intermediately, with both fighters being rocked.  But Nunes was the one who was able to maintain her composure as she landed right hand over right hand, dropping Cyborg 4 times including the finish.

Nunes now has to be considered as the greatest female fighter in MMA history with this win.  She is a true KO artist and the first multi-division champ.  Though there aren't many contenders in the featherweight division, bantamweight may be a different story.  The division has notable fighters such as Holly Holm, Raquel Pennington, and Cat Zingano (who fought this night at featherweight as previously mentioned).  But it seems the next test may come from Ketlen Vieira, but time will tell who the Lioness faces next.

And last but not least, we reach the main event, likely the most anticipated fight(and rematch) of the year, for the Light-Heavyweight title, Jon "Bones" Jones vs Alexander "The Mauler" Gustafsson.  But to say this fight lived up to the hype is a complete bold faced lie.  The 1st fight between the 2 was an absolute war that went the distance with Jones winning a unanimous decision back in 2013.  But this time is was no contest at all, Jones basically wiped the floor with Gustafsson.

Jon came into the fight, after basically a year and a half off, and was calm, cool, and collected the entire time.  He maintained his distance perfectly and elude nearly all of Gustafssons boxing, all the while landing his own shots and immobilizing Gus with a brutal low kick.  Then in the 3rd round he changed it up, nailed a take down, and from there is was game over as he finished Gus earning a TKO.  To say it he made a world class fighter look like a bum would be accurate.  His movement and timing were a thing of beauty and he hardly broke a sweat.  And now that he is back, with his title around the waist, he is moving on the next one already.

Jones is already slated to take on the 3rd ranked Anthony Smith in March at UFC 235.  Smith who has won 6 of his last 7 fights has shot up the Light-Heavyweight Rankings like a cannon since moving up in weight 3 fights ago.  And those fights include 2 1st round KO and a 3rd round sub.  Smith could very well be a solid challenger to Jones seeing as he has been in the game a long time (31-13 record), but in those 13 loses he has been KO's 8 times and Submitted 4.

Those KO's will take their tole over time and he certainly goes to war when he fights and stepping in against a fighter the caliber of Jones, he'll certainly have his hands full.  And of his 23 wins Jon has 10 KO/TKOs and 6 Subs on his record.  Not to mention he is one of the most dynamic fighters the game has ever seen.  He uses his reach just as good, if not better, than any fighter before him.  He is elusive, yet aggressive at the perfect times.  But most of all, he is mean and enjoys putting a hurt on people just as much as winning and I have no doubt that is what he'll be looking to do to Smith, and make a statement to everyone in the sport at the same time.

And with that we have wrapped up not only the year of 2018 but also potentially wrapped up a few careers from fighters that have defined an epic era of MMA.  With the legacy of the sport growing and a new year and era of fighters upon us.  We should be anticipating a great year of fights to come!  And it all kicks off in two weeks on January 19th when we have a headlining super fight on ESPN as Henry Cejudo defends his Flyweight Championship against the Bantamweight Champion T.J. Dillashaw!

UFC 232 - The End of the Year, The End of an Era. Part 1

Time to mix this bad by up a bit and talk about some MMA! And what better way to start than to talk about the year end event of UFC 232!!!  What an incredible night it was. Full of highs and lows for both fighters and fans.  The line up was stacked with former and current champions, and its the former champions that lead me to partially title this The End of an Era.  But lets just talk about the night that was and assess as we go over some of the highlights of the card.

In the early prelims that were on UFC Fight Pass we had Uriah Hall.  Hall has been best known for his highlight knockouts but has had trouble with consistence and putting it together when it mattered most.  But this night he returned to his highlight knockout ways with a beautiful counter right hand that knocked Bevon Lewis out cold before he hit the mat.  But the real highlight came after the fight in his post fight speech.

Hall became very emotional as he talked with Rogan as he let everyone know he was dedicating this fight to his sister who has been battling depression caused by life in general.  With the epidemic that is depression going on around the world today, its stands out when an elite athlete is publicly talking about at center stage.  And for him how he used his sisters depression as motivation for himself to help show her that even when you have failed on the biggest stage, you can over come it.   Which is something many of us are dealing with.  We feel like we're trapped in a brick cage with 4 walls and no ceiling, but the walls are 20 feet tall.  You can see the light but don't know how to get there.  His message was pretty clear as well; life is hard, failure is going to happen, possibly over and over, but you have to keep standing up.  This was likely the true highlight of the night, out side of the official action.

Moving on from there we go to the Prelims on Fox Sports which was kicked by Ryan Hall and B.J. Penn!  This was a short lived fight as Ryan Hall submitted, yes submitted, B.J. in under 3 minutes with a heel hook.  This was 100% the 1st of 4 of the "end of an era" fights for the night as the now 40 year old Penn is likely/hopefully going hang up the gloves for good.  This isn't to discredit Hall at all either, his performance was phenomenal and to submit Penn has to put you in high standing in the BJJ game as no one had done that in MMA before.  But it has Penn is far from his prime is also an understatement.

To get right to it, because there is no easy way, is to say Penn has only won 1 fight in the last 9 years. That fight was when he KO'd Matt Hughes at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the 1st UFC event in the Detroit area and one I'm proud to say I was at.  But other than that he hasn't won since his stoppage win over Diego Sanchez at UFC 107 back in 2009!  With that fight his record at the time was 15-5-1.  And of those loses were to some of the best there has ever been.  BJ, a natural lightweight fighter has 2 loses to GSP at Welterweight, 1 to Hughes at Welterweight, and 1 to Machida at Light-Heavyweight.  Yes, you read that right, BJ fought Machida at Light-Heavyweight. During this time period as well he won the Welterweight title by choking out Matt Hughes, left the UFC and came back after a few years and returned to claim the Lightweight title, and defended it 3 times.

Once Penn lost the Lightweight title is when the wheel feel off though.  Frankie Edgar stepped up on the big stage, not once, but twice as he stole the belt and then defended it against Penn in back to back fights.  Since then Penns record has diminished to 16-13-2, which looks less than ordinary, and far less than extraordinary, which is what Penn was in his prime. He was a man who took on all chalengers, licked his opponents blood off his gloves.  He became the 2nd multi-division champion in UFC history.  It is believed that he earned his Black Belt in BJJ in roughly 3 years, the fastest ever.  And he is the 1st non-Brazilian to win the BJJ World Championship in 2000.  These are the things B.J. should be remembered for, but I fear now, his legacy may be tarnished to the younger generations.

Two fights later on the prelims was a fight I was looking forward to big time, that was Cat Zingano vs Megan Anderson.  Anderson is the new girl on the block looking to establish herself in the women's featherweight division. While Zingano was moving up from Bantamweight to challenge Anderson.  All the stats going into the fight were on Zinganos side, but the size advantage was 100% on Andersons as she towered over Zingano.  Unfortunately it was a short fight that never really got to get going.  Anderson caught Zingano with her toes right in the eyes causing the fight to be over before it really going started.  Megan gets the TKO win technically, but it may be turned into a NC, we'll see.  Hopefully they'll get the chance to go at it again sometime.

Moving on up from there we have a Heavyweight tilt between Walt Harris and Andrei Arlovski!  This is the 2nd the "End of and Era" fights and the last fight before the main card.  There was a time when B.J. Penn and Andrei Arlovski wouldn't be anything other than headliners, now they're on the prelims, time is a cruel mistress.  Unlike Penn, Arlovski had a pretty decent performance though he dropped a 5 round decision to Harris.  Arlovski won the striking battle on this night but it was the take downs of Harris that really won him the fight.

Andrei though is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and was known as a fierce and vicious striker.  Though he has had a career full of ups and downs, he is another fighter who may be calling it quits sometime soon.  Since 2016 he has had 10 fights and lost 8 of them, and 3 straight now.  He has been KO/TKO'd 10 times in his career as well and his record now stands at 27-18 with 1 NC.  Without those last 10 fight his record would look so much better, 25-10, but unfortunately that is not the case.  And he, like Penn, may become one of the forgotten former champions that help start it all.

Now we are live on the PPV Main card and it opened with a great fight in the Featherweight division between Chad Mendes and Alexander Volkanovski.  Two very equal opponents, both with similar physical atributes in height and reach, and very similar records.  Both fighters came in with 18 wins under their belts, though Mendes has had 4 losses in his career and Volkanovski has only 1 at this point. Unfortunately for Mendes he was TKO'd late in the 2nd round, and with that lose has since announced his retirement.

Mendes becomes the 3rd of the 4 fighters that could be considered End of an Era fighters.  Though he is not a former champion or have the same pedigree as the first two, he certainly had a career worth remember and some bouts that should go down in history.  In his 4 loses leading up to this fight, one was to Edgar, one was to McGregor, and two to Aldo. All three of those men will go down as all time greats, if they're not held in that standard already.  And his second fight with Aldo, a 5-round war, should be in contention for one of the greatest MMA fights of all time.  And though he never held a championship in the UFC he was always considered a contender and a threat.  Nearly every fight he had was an exciting scrap and he came to fight every time.  I'll be sad to see him go.

That said, from what little I know at this point about Volkanovski, it seems as though the Featherweight division has gained a new contender.  Coming into the fight he was ranked at number 10 in the division (Mendes was 5th).  And with this win he has catapulted himself into the 4th spot, behind Ortega, Aldo, and Edgar. With Ortega having just lost to the champ, Holloway, Aldo set to fight Moicano (5th ranked fighter), and Edgar pressuring the UFC for a title shot, it looks like his next match up could be against Cub Swanson or possibly Yair Rodriguez, and what a fight those could be.  With a good showing and a win in his next match-up, no matter whom it is against, I feel he'll be next in line to challenge for the title.

Due to the length of this entire post I have decided to cut it half for easier reading.  To read more about the main card of this magnificent event check out Part 2 of UFC 232 - The End of the Year, End of an Era.

The Goalie Conundrum: Part Two

We pick up where we left last, talking about the strange happenings in net throughout the NHL.  We last discussed what has been going on in Philly with the Flyers and the emergence of Carter Hart.  As well as the insanity that is Calgary with Mike Smith and David Rittich. Now we move back out west to figure out what happened in Edmonton with Cam Talbot and how Mikko Koskinen has stolen the net.

Looking at Edmonton's record there is no doubt that there are problems up in Canada.  They're a team that lacks scoring depth and defensive depth, now after making some questionable trades their depth may be worse now.  Last season they faltered hard after making the playoffs the year before, for the 1st time in 11 seasons at that point, and now it looks like they'll be on the outside looking in for a 2nd straight year, failing to meet expectations.  One key reason they team has been failing these last 2 seasons is goal tending. 

Koskinen vs Talbot H2H Numbers.  Via TSN.com as of 1/1/19

4 seasons ago Cam Talbot was brought in at the ripe age of 28 after serving as a very impressive back up to Henrik Lundqvist in New York.  He was full of promise after compiling 33 Wins in 57 GP and 53 Starts.  He also had incredibly impressive numbers posting a .931 SV% and an even 2.00 GAA, and 8 SO to boot.  So he was expected to be the back bone of the Oilers for the next decade.  Since arriving in Edmonton though he has had a rough go of it, but goalies always catch the blame, just like a QB in the NFL.

Talbot combined stats during time with the NYR.  Via hockeyreference.com.

The 1st 3 seasons in Edmonton have been like a roller coast though.  Talbot, over the 3 seasons, went 94-80-16 with a .914 SV% and a 2.65 GAA.  Not the best numbers, but well for a team that doesn't play much defense. But last season, the 3rd, he fell of the wagon hard.  In 67 games he was 31-31-3 with a .908 SV% and a 3.02 GAA, numbers that are much worse than the league average and this season has not been any better.  After 38 games so far he has only played started 20 of them, far off his normal pace, so clearly he is not trusted in net and splitting time.  As for his numbers, well they're not good.  In 20 games he has a 7-11-2 record with a .892 SV% and a 3.30 GAA...so in comes Mikko Koskinen.

Mikko Koskinen was a FA signing over the summer from Finland who previously only had 4 games of NHL experience and that was some time ago.  But about 1/3 of a season is all it took for him to play a starting job for a struggling team.  So far in his 18 starts this season he has gone 11-6-1 with a .918 SV% and a 2.52 GAA.  Decent numbers but it seems the wheels may be falling off for him as well seeing as he has dropped his last 3 games in a row putting up a .848 SV% in those games with a 4.00 GAA in those games.  But taking those out of the equation he has been pretty stellar going 11-3-1 with a .930 SV% and a 2.06 GAA...that's damn good and includes 3 SO.

This is going to lead to some interesting developments in the coming months for the Oilers.  1st off they're 4 pts out of a wild card spot in the playoffs with a few games in hand on a few teams.  But they just made some defensive trades that many feel made them weaker on the blue line.  Being a team that was already weak defensively as a whole, this doesn't bode well for their chances of making the playoffs.  But there is also the fact that both of these goalies will be free agents after this season is up.  Talbot is going to be 32 going into next season and will be coming off a 4.16 million dollar deal.  Koskinen will be 31 next season and has a nice 2.5 million dollar deal right now.  One way or another it seems he'll be due for a raise this summer.  In Talbot's case the Jury is surely out, but I'm sure he'll have a team to play for next year.  The question is...will that team be Edmonton?