Down the Frozen River

Tag: Colby Kephart

  • The End

    The End

    By now I’m sure most of you are aware that everyone’s life has become too busy to keep Down the Frozen River going.

    Down the Frozen River- Smaller Circular Logo

    Colby’s gone on to do things in minor league baseball with the Charlotte Knights,

    Connor’s doin’ work from his couch after wrapping up a season with the Carolina Panthers as a contributor for panthers.com,

    Frank’s got a gig with Student Union Sports,

    Jordan’s been teaching it up in Ohio,

    and I’ve had the most incredible time of my life creating this blog and making things happen for you, the reader, the listener and my favorite audience.

    Our full-time operations are coming to an end, but we may still produce some content around here from time to time. As of now, we plan to bring you some playoff content, but not nearly as in depth as in years past.

    Thank you for your support over the last few years. We had an incredible run.

    Play us out, Fenway Park organist, Josh Kantor! Thank you all.

  • March 4 – Day 136 – Goalie Battle 101

    by Colby Kephart

    It’s a takeover, with Connor Keith out of town the DTFR Game of the Day will be covered by the one and only Colby Kephart and boy are you all in for a huge let down if you usually read the Game of the Day.

    So now that you all know this isn’t going to end well let’s get started. There are ten games on the schedule for tonight and there are some good ones highlighted by Columbus Blue Jackets vs Ottawa Senators, Chicago Blackhawks vs Nashville Predators and the Philadelphia Flyers vs Washington Capitals.

    New York Rangers Logo

    However, the game I have selected is the New York Rangers vs Montreal Canadiens at 7pm. The Rangers enter the night with a 41-21-2 record and are coming off a win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.

    The Canadiens enter with an 36-21-8 record and are coming off a late game winner from Paul Byron on Thursday night vs the Predators.

    Henrik Lundqvist had a tremendous night against the Bruins, only allowing one goal and having made a bunch of great saves. Lundqvist has a .913 save percentage and a 2.63 goals against average entering Saturday. He struggled in the month of February but his play has been great early in March.

    Unknown-1This goalie battle is both ways as Canadiens goalie Carey Price is not scrub either. Price has struggled in the month of January and has since bounced back.

    Like Lundqvist, he also only allowed one goal in an emotional night against former teammate P.K Subban. Entering today’s matchup against New York, Price has a .921 save percentage and a 2.34 goals against average.

    Some key players to watch tonight for the Rangers would be Rick Nash– who has 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points in 52 games– and Kevin Hayes. The better Hayes has 15 goals and 28 assists for 43 points in 59 games.

    For the Canadiens, look no further than their captain Max Pacioretty who has 31 goals and 25 assists for 56 points in 65 games played. Pacioretty has had help from offseason addition Alexander Radulov. Radulov has 15 goals and 31 assists for 46 points in 63 games this season.

    A good ole fashion goalie battle should bring a close game. In my first ever Game of the Day, I’m going with the New York Rangers thanks to a big performance by Lundqvist.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #48- Winter Edition (feat. Colby Kephart)

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #48- Winter Edition (feat. Colby Kephart)

    In a special surprise- special edition- of the DTFR Podcast, Nick and Colby discuss Calder Trophy favorites, coaching changes, trade deadline predictions and more.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #46- The End (Part One)

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #46- The End (Part One)

    Colby and Nick discuss Taylor Hall, John Scott, Marek Svatos, the Winnipeg Jets, the Ottawa Senators and more on this week’s episode.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #45- Agree to Disagree

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #45- Agree to Disagree

    Colby and Nick discuss the firing of Gerard Gallant, the Vegas Golden Knights and more as they agree to disagree on many things in this episode. Also appearing, whatever our suitemates were doing in the background that may or may not have been picked up on the microphone (our apologies).

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #44- Keep It Together, Man

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #44- Keep It Together, Man

    We should not have done a podcast this week in hindsight. Operating on little sleep, Colby and Nick discuss the Arizona Coyotes new arena deal, NHL Olympic participation, the Carolina Hurricanes organization woes and more. Next week is a week off for the Down the Frozen River Podcast, so look forward to actually having to talk to your relatives on Thanksgiving instead of listening to us.

  • Colby’s Corner Trouba Trouble

    Jacob Trouba is a confusing guy who caused the Winnipeg Jets a lot of trouble for nothing. He pulled a Jonathan Drouin and it was very much uncalled for. If I was one of his teammates, I wouldn’t welcome him back with open arms.

    For those of you who weren’t aware of the Jacob Trouba story, this is Unknown-4what you missed: Before this season started, Trouba, a restricted free agent, requested a trade because he wanted to play right side defense. He felt it was his best position and for him to get better as a player he needed to play the right side.

    Trouba, being 22 years old and supposedly the future of the Jets defense, shocked many people that he would want out. A lot of people still felt it was cap related; he was supposed to get a contract comparable to Rasmus Ristolainen, Seth Jones, and Morgan Rielly, 5 to 6 years with $5 million to $6 million average annual value (per year). The Jets were tight on cap space and it was unclear if they could afford to pay him that much.

    A lot of interest from the league started up with teams like the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings showing a lot of interest in the young man. People waited months for a trade to happen and to see Trouba moved out of Winniepeg.

    Then November 7th comes around and boom! Trouba signs a 2-year, 3 million dollar AAV deal with the Jets and rescinds his trade request.

    THREE MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR, are you kidding me? He will get some time on right side defense, but it won’t last with Tyler Myers and Dustin Byfuglien both needing to play right side too. I say he pulled a Jonny Drouin, he requested a trade to show his team his value and yet he never wanted to be traded. This has to be the most ridiculous outcome to a player hold-out ever.

    Let’s see what he got from it:

    Play right handed defense= temporarily, due to injuries

    His comparable value= at least two million under it and three years short

    Loyal fan base= a lot of people pissed off

    Play full season= nope, already missed 15 games

    By my calculations, he got nothing right here. I would turn to my agent and ask what the hell happened? Now there is still some hope. Many people believe he is easier to trade now. Hockey remembers when Kyle Turris wanted out of Phoenix; he had to sign a deal and then months later he was traded. So there is still some hope for Trouba, but for right now I am left scratching my head and asking: What are you doing, Trouba? 

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #43- Last Week This Week

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #43- Last Week This Week

    Colby and Nick talk John Scott vs. Raffi Torres, the New York Rangers, Vancouver vs. Toronto, the Winnipeg Jets, Marek Svatos and more. Also our suitemates made their usual weekly appearance by using the bathroom and being loud.

  • Colby’s Corner Situation on the Island

    The New York Islanders have found themselves another player situation, this time with goalies. And yes, of course, goalies, considering how this season has gone. This situation is very interesting however as the Islanders have three goalies on their New York Islanders Logoactive roster. They are Jaroslav Halak, Thomas Greiss and Jean-Francois Berube. Two of the goalies (Halak and Berube) are represented by sports agent Allan Walsh.

    Allan Walsh took to Twitter calling out the Islanders for using a three-goalie system. It was unclear which player was unhappy with the system. Walsh said players aren’t getting enough practice time to stay sharp and they are starting a goalie most times with only one solid day of practice.

    Garth Snow, GM of the Islanders, made it clear to everyone that Halak is available to other teams, essentially saying ‘if you need a goalie we will give you Halak’. Now last word on the interest of Halak was that two teams have inquired about the asking price. Halak currently has 2 years, $9 million cap hit remaining.

    The current stats of the goalies are:

    Greiss 5GP- 2-3-0  .908 S%  2.87 GAA

    Halak 6 GP 2-3-1  .908 S%  2.94 GAA

    Berube DNP

    Here are my thoughts…

    First of all, if you’re thinking, just send Berube down, that’s not going to happen because they are worried that he will get claimed off waivers. The Islanders think Berube is their goalie of the future and they don’t want to risk losing him.

    Next if you think the agent should’ve kept his mouth shut you are again wrong! Walsh needed to voice this opinion; one if not both of his clients are unhappy with this situation. There are only two nets at practice. That means one goalie is standing around or rotating in. Halak wasn’t at a morning skate and then started a game that night. How does that make sense? This team didn’t change that much in the off season losing Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, and Matt Martin. They found replacements for most with Andrew Ladd and Jason Chimera. This team is better than 4 wins.

    I am okay with Snow shopping Halak to teams; something needs to change and trading one of the goalies solves these issues. Now I am wondering which teams are interested. My guess is the Kings and Hurricanes. I highly doubt Halak would like Carolina as a new home but he would love LA. I also don’t think Walsh is mad about this happening. He had an issue, he said something to get it to change.

    As for the Islanders point of view, first give Berube a start and see what happens. If he shines, then pull the trigger on a deal. If he falls on his face, then maybe reconsider your future. If you do trade Halak away and Greiss becomes your new number one, good luck with that. Don’t get me wrong, he is a decent goalie, but I don’t think he is number one goalie material. I think something needs to happen soon before all players get more upset and they fall further in the standings.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #41- Edmonton and Halloween (feat. Mark Recchi- the pug)

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #41- Edmonton and Halloween (feat. Mark Recchi- the pug)

    Frank’s dog, Recchi, joins the DTFR crew this week as they discuss the Edmonton Oilers hot start, Halloween likes and dislikes and more on this week’s episode of the Down the Frozen River Podcast.