Down the Frozen River

Tag: Colby Kephart

  • Detroit Red Wings 2017-2018 Season Preview

    Detroit Red Wings

    33-36-13, 79 points, 7th in Atlantic (‘16-‘17)

    Key additions: Trevor Daley, Luke Witkowski 

    Key subtractions: Tomas Jurco (signed with Chicago), Steve Ott (Retired), Thomas Vanek (Signed with VAN)

    Unsigned: Andreas Athanasiou

    Offseason Analysis: The Detroit Red Wings’ offseason was spent trying to keep their current players. With contracts due to Tomas Tatar and Andreas Athanasiou, the Wings needed to shore up some of their core players. They managed this when they signed Tatar to a four-year contract worth $5.3 million AAV.

    However, they still are dropping the ball on Athanasiou – he still remains unsigned. This a player who scored 18 goals and registered and 11 assists only a season ago, even when playing with the seventh-worst offense in the league. The 6’ 2”, 23-year-old center has a few options from KHL teams if the Wings can never reach an agreement, but I think there are a few teams in the NHL itching to get their hands on this player. If the Wings want to have a successful offseason, they need to make this deal happen.

    The reason this deal is taking so long is because of Detroit’s lack of cap space. They are very tight to the cap and still have to sign a few players. One of the major offseason moves the Wings made was signing two-time Stanley Cup Champion Trevor Daley to a three-year deal worth $3.1 million AAV. The addition of Daley should help this team defensively and give them a leader in the locker room.

    As for the offseason as whole, the loss of Thomas Vanek seems like a big loss to that group of forwards. This team struggles offensively as it is losing a top 6 forward is going to hurt them even more.

    Red Wings fans aren’t going to like this next part: I still don’t think the Wings are a playoff team. They added defensively, but they lost offensively. I think you need to look at some of the dead weight with big contracts. The management team in Detroit needs to find a way to get the contracts off the books. They also need the younger prospects, like Tyler Bertuzzi and others, to step up and produce on smaller contracts. If they can make this happen, maybe Detroit can find a hint of playoffs in next few seasons. As for this year, all the other teams in the division got better and I see the Wings at the bottom of the table.

    Offseason Grade: C-

  • Buffalo Sabres 2017-2018 Season Preview

    Buffalo Sabres

    33-37-12, 78 points, 8th in Atlantic (‘16-‘17)

    Key Additions: Viktor Antipin, Nathan Beaulieu, Seth Griffith, Chad Johnson, Jacob Josefson, Jason Pominville, Benoit Pouliot, Marco Scandella, Phil Housley (Coach), Jason Botterill (GM)

    Key Subtractions: Tyler Ennis (Traded to Minnesota), Marcus Foligno (Traded to Minnesota), Dmitry Kulikov (Signed with Winnipeg), Dan Bylsma (Fired), Tim Murray (Fired)

    Unsigned: Cody Franson

    Offseason Analysis: The Buffalo Sabres had a busy offseason to say the least, as both General Manager Tim Murray and Head Coach Dan Byslma were fired following the club’s sixth-straight season missing the playoffs. The search for a new GM led Owner Terry Pegula to former player Jason Botterill, who continued the trend of hiring former players by offering former Sabres great Phil Housley his first NHL head coaching job. Housley was an assistant coach with the Nashville Predators for the past four seasons, helping to lead the club to its first Stanley Cup Finals appearance. This was a smart move to hire a former blue liner to lead the team, as he should bring Buffalo a smooth-skating team that allows the defensemen, Rasmus Ristolainen in particular, to carry the puck up ice similar to Nashville’s style.

    The Sabres have struggled defensively for years now, so it was no surprise that Botterill’s first goal was to fix that issue. He started by signing KHL free agent defenseman Viktor Antipin, but didn’t stop there: he also acquired Nathan Beaulieu from Montreal for a 3rd round pick. Botterill still saw the need for a top pair defenseman, so he traded Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno and a 3rd round pick to the Minnesota Wild for Marco Scandella, fan-favorite Jason Pominville and a 4th round pick.

    Although Botterill addressed the Sabres’ defensive issues early in summer, he didn’t neglect his other positions. Among his most important additions are Benoit Pouliot, Chad Johnson and Jacob Josefson.

    All in all, the Sabres’ offseason look pretty solid. They didn’t go out and overspend on any major free agents.

    That being said, they still have a big hole among their top 6 forwards. Specifically, the need for a left wing is paramount, and it has top prospects Justin Bailey, Nicholas Baptiste and Alexander Nylander all itching for the chance to play with the big boys. I personally believe Nylander stands the best chance. He is a natural left wing and has added some needed muscle this offseason. A solid camp from him could see him playing on the left with Jack Eichel or Ryan O’Reilly.

    Offseason Grade: B+

    Overall, the Sabres had a tremendous offseason and I think the fans will see a better product on the ice this season. With a healthy Eichel and strong defense, I think the Sabres should be a playoff team.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #67- Offseason Extensions

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #67- Offseason Extensions

    Haim, Wimbledon, baseball and everything but hockey. The Original Trio explore many facets of the extensions that have been signed by players over the last couple of weeks including Carey Price, Connor McDavid and Martin Jones, as well as breakdown the Arizona Coyotes hiring of Rick Tocchet as head coach.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #66- Winners, Losers and Hurrhawks

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #66- Winners, Losers and Hurrhawks

    Entering the fifth day of free agency in the 2017 offseason, The Original Trio pick winners and losers of free agency, trades made since July 1st and predict the 2017-2018 season standings for all 31 NHL teams. Also, Connor McDavid signed his 8-year, $12.5 million AAV extension with the Edmonton Oilers after we finished recording.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #65-Overpay Players 2K17

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #65-Overpay Players 2K17

    The Original Trio recap the Expansion Draft, Entry Draft and previous week in NHL news, as well as preview this year’s free agency scene. Colby rants about Montreal’s defense. Jimmy Hayes was bought out after we finished recording. The Oilers are about to pay way too much money (and they aren’t even signing a free agent to do so).

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #64– Vegas, adidas and awardus

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #64– Vegas, adidas and awardus

    The Original Trio address a variety of topics from the last week around the NHL, including the Jonathan Drouin trade, the Mike Smith trade, the Nathan Beaulieu trade, Marian Hossa‘s skin disorder, awards, new adidas jerseys, Vegas and more. Also discussed, Brass Bonanza and the amazing article The Hockey Writer’s Jeff Yerger wrote on Wednesday. This week’s episode contains part of “Tequila” from the album Color in Music 1 by Jacques Ysaye and His Orchestra.

  • Completely Biased DTFR Awards for Our Egos (Part Two)

    The NHL’s annual awards ceremony is in a week, so to help kick off all of the excitement surrounding the primetime event in Las Vegas, I present to you our annual in-house awards. These things will never gather dust as they don’t even exist to begin with, so nobody has to worry about clogging up shelf space for Down the Frozen River participation trophies.

    We weren’t able to afford Joe Manganiello’s hosting services, but if you’re a fan of said actor, don’t fret, because he is hosting this year’s NHL Awards Ceremony on NBCSN next Wednesday (June 21st) at 8 p.m. ET.

     

    Simply Existed Award— presented by me to all of our members for simply existing– Frank Fanelli, Jordan Dettrow, Connor Keith and Colby Kephart

    All of these people helped make Down the Frozen River exist over the past season.

    Hot Air Award– presented by me to our crew member with the most bold predictions and hot takes this season on the Down the Frozen River Podcast— Colby Kephart

    Colby became the two-time defending recipient of this award for having gone on many rants over the course of the third season of the Down the Frozen River Podcast.

    Content-King Award— presented by me to our crew member with the most content/best quality content on a consistent basis this season– Connor Keith

    For the second year in a row, Connor provided the best content on the site with his continued Game of the Day column. Connor also wrote some great stuff on panthers.com this season for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, if you’re interested.

    The “Technically Can’t Give Yourself an Award” Award— presented by me to myself so I can feel included too– Nick Lanciani

    While I wasn’t always able to provide the most coverage, I managed to stick to a (mostly) routine schedule of hosting the Down the Frozen River Podcast, write a few good things here and there and spent a good portion of the season at TD Garden. Pending career opportunities, I may or may not produce more thoughts on the blog in the near future.

    Thanks to everyone– yes, that includes you, the reader– who made the 2016-2017 NHL season the best one yet! Be sure to tune in to our offseason content and keep in touch for all of our latest news, notes and potential career moves.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #63– We Should Totally Be GMs

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #63– We Should Totally Be GMs

    The Original Trio wraps up this year’s Stanley Cup Final takes and final thoughts. Colby, Connor and Nick make their Vegas Golden Knights predictions known with the official Down the Frozen River mock 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Also, Florida hired a new head coach and Colby ranted about Sidney Crosby.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #62– The Original Three

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #62– The Original Three

    The Original Trio discusses the ongoing Stanley Cup Final and all of Smashville’s boisterous madness. Additionally discussed, delay of game penalties, Pekka Rinne, Matthew Murray, Marc-Andre Fleury, the latest shockwave out of Seattle and the upcoming Expansion Draft procedure for the Vegas Golden Knights.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #59– We’re Baseball Guys Now

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #59– We’re Baseball Guys Now

    Colby makes his return to the podcast for the first time since… Anyway, Nick and Colby discuss the ongoing 2017 Eastern and Western Conference Finals matchups between Pittsburgh and Ottawa, as well as Anaheim and Nashville. Nick makes several plugs for brands that should sponsor the podcast and invites Ilya Bryzgalov to join the show for an episode. Also discussed, Buffalo stuff and why Dallas shouldn’t trade the 3rd overall pick.