Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Avs' MacKinnon finds new home
By Dhiren MahibanSep 6, 2014, 10:30 AM EDT
Part of any successful young player's transition to the NHL is having veterans around to help with the adjustment.
Many of the game's young stars have lived with older players their first few years in the league to help adjust to life off the ice.
Sidney Crosby lived with Penguins legend, and part owner, Mario Lemieux for many years.
In Philadelphia Sean Couturier lived with then Flyers veteran Daniel Briere and in Montreal, Brendan Gallagher was the house guest of veteran defenseman Josh Gorges until his trade in the off-season.
In Colorado, Avalanche rookie Nathan MacKinnon lived with veteran goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere last season. The living arrangement helped the first overall selection from the 2013 NHL Draft score 24 goals and 63 points leading him to a Calder Trophy win as the league's top rookie.
However, with Giguere retiring, MacKinnon had to make alternate arrangements for the 2014-15 season.
The 19-year-old tweeted he has moved into veteran forward Max Talbot's place for the upcoming season:
All moved in to @Max25talbot's house! #godfather
— Nathan Mackinnon (@Mackinnon9) September 6, 2014
For the sake of fans in Colorado, lets hope its a match made in heaven as the Avalanche look to replicate their impressive 112 point campaign from 2013-14.
Related: Look out: MacKinnon described as stronger, more explosive
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Tags: Brendan Gallagher, Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Avalanche, Daniel Briere, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Josh Georges, Josh Gorges, Mario Lemieux, Max Talbot, Montreal Canadiens, Nathan MacKinnon, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Sean Couturier, Sidney Crosby
Sakic on Giguere: 'His achievements speak for themselves'
By Joe YerdonAug 21, 2014, 6:24 PM EDT
Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere made his retirement from the NHL official on Thursday.
After 16 seasons in the NHL that spanned from playing for the Hartford Whalers, Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and ultimately the Colorado Avalanche – calling it quits at the age of 37 is just fine. He ends his career with 262 career wins, a Conn Smythe Trophy in 2003 and a Stanley Cup in 2007.
Colorado Avalanche president of hockey operations Joe Sakic had this to say about Giguere riding off into the sunset:
"On behalf of the Colorado Avalanche, I would like to congratulate Jean-Sebastien on an outstanding hockey career. His achievements speak for themselves, from winning the Stanley Cup to winning the Conn Smythe, Jiggy was always a top-notch goaltender. He was also a very important part of our team during the past three seasons, providing veteran leadership and stability in net. We wish him and his family the best of luck."
After being a first-round pick by the Whalers in 1995 (13th overall), he managed to have quite the career and was the face of a Ducks team for nine seasons backstopping them to two Stanley Cup Final appearances. Getting to have a Hockey Hall of Famer like Sakic to say some nice parting words upon retirement makes for a pretty nice gift.
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Tags: Colorado Avalanche, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Joe Sakic
King Henrik and the mythical hot goalie
By Joe PosnanskiMay 27, 2014, 1:54 PM EDT
NEW YORK — It takes Tao to play goalie in the National Hockey League, and it's possible that nobody understands this better at the moment than a well-dressed, guitar-playing, restaurant-owning, Swedish magazine cover model named Henrik Lundqvist. For nine years now, no goalie on earth has been as consistently good as Lundqvist. There are various numbers that show this to be true, and we will get to those.
Still, for nine years in the NHL, there is one thing Henrik Lundqvist has never been. He has never been the hot goalie.
Jonathan Quick has been the hot goalie. Tim Thomas has been the hot goalie. Corey Crawford has been the hot goalie. Jean-Sebastien Giguere, basically out of nowhere, has been the hot goalie. Patrick Roy … Marty Brodeur … Ed Belfour … you know the names. You also know what the hot goalie means. Every now and again, a goalie will take over the playoffs. Against odds and logic, he stops everything. He stands on his head. He gets inside opponents' heads. He defeats teams before games even begin. He keeps stopping pucks all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
Even for those people driven by numbers and data, the hot goalie is an almost mythical creature — some brilliant and chance concoction of skill and focus and luck and providence. Lundqvist has never quite had the formula. He led Sweden to an Olympic gold medal when he was 23 years old. He has been a brilliant goaltender season after season, and he has raised his game in the biggest moments, including in the playoffs.
Somehow, though, he has never quite been the hot goalie all the way through.
Then: It takes a beautiful sense of Tao to play goalie in the NHL. And Henrik Lundqvist intends to be the hot goalie by not trying to be the hot goalie.
The New York media surrounds Henrik Lundqvist because he is, by far, the most interesting person on the New York sports scene these days. Derek Jeter is roaming the country picking up parting gifts, Eli Manning is trying to find himself after leading the NFL in interceptions again and Carmelo Anthony might stay or might go — and there seems no consensus which way the city is rooting.
Then there's Lundqvist … if a casting call went out for someone to play the perfect New York sports hero, the director would take one look at Lundqvist and send everybody else home. The guy has been on People Magazine's 100 most beautiful people list. The guy dresses for Polo ads. The guy played guitar in a rock band. He owns a restaurant in Tribeca. He's Namath in a goalie mask. He's DiMaggio in pads.
So the reporters and cameras surround him and try to get him to talk about his recent genius. The Rangers are one victory away from the first Stanley Cup Final since the Mark Messier team 20 years ago. It would be only their second appearance in the Final since ESPN was launched in 1979.
MORE: Motivation easy for Rangers | Therrien decries Habs' weak power play
The big reason is Lundqvist. He has been alternately great and extraordinary in these playoffs. Twice, the Rangers have been forced to play a Game 7. Twice, Lundqvist was legendary. In the first round Game 7, he stopped 26 of 27 shots on goal against the Flyers — this just one game after he had been pulled in the third period. "I didn't think about the last game," he said, because he never does.
In the conference semifinal Game 7 against a desperate Pittsburgh team trying to live up to expectations, Lundqvist stopped 35 of 36 shots and left witnesses with their jaws dropped. The Penguins had led the series three games to one; this seemed to be Sidney Crosby's chance to win another Stanley Cup after five disappointing years. The Penguins scored just three more goals the rest of the series. They had no idea how to beat Lundqvist.
And in Game 7, Lundqvist was almost impenetrable as the Penguins made a frantic effort to save themselves. This was the fifth straight time the Rangers won a Game 7 with Lundqvist in goal. That is an NHL record.
"His 35 saves," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said morosely afterward, "are the difference in the game."
The Rangers lead this Montreal series, 3-1, and Lundqvist has at times gone to an even higher level. In Game 2, the Canadiens fired 41 shots at him, attacking him from all sides. He saved 40 of them. Ten times he saved shots from 10-feet and in.
"The reason we lost the game tonight was Lundqvist," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said plainly afterward. "Lundqvist was phenomenal. Phenomenal. Stole the game."
He was so good that game, in fact, that Montreal's P.K. Subban made a salient point that gets to the heart of the hot goalie: NOBODY is that good.
"Sometimes, the puck doesn't go in," Subban told the Toronto Star. "In the past, we've done those same things and the puck's gone in. So, I mean, is he playing well? Yeah, but we're doing a good job. Some of it is luck, as well. He's getting a little bit lucky. But that's what you need in the playoffs."
Of course, the "luck" part of that quote made a direct flight to New York, where people immediately raced over to Lundqvist to get him to respond. Luck? Was Subban even watching? Was this just sour grapes? Did he dare suggest that King Henrik, who has been all-but-unbeatable for weeks, had been lucky? All around the Rangers' locker room, the Subban quote was kicked and pummeled and mocked and questioned. But a funny thing happened when people presented it to Lundqvist.
WATCH: Lundqvist steals Game 2 | Is King Henrik just 'lucky'?
The key has been his teammates, he said.
The idea that a goaltender carries a team is ridiculous, he said.
And as for the luck part? Well …
"You definitely need luck," he said. "It's a fast game. There are so many things you can't control."
Wait, Henrik Lundqvist was agreeing with Subban?
"You do everything you can to be prepared," he said. "And you will take some luck too."
Here's something you probably know: Goaltending has been getting better rapidly in the NHL. The league starting counting shots on goals in 1983 — that first year the goalies save percentage was .873. It is 40 points higher now.
Save percentages every five years:
1983-84: .873
There was a drop in save percentage in the middle 2000s. Eric Tulsky, one of the brightest hockey analysts anywhere (and one of the smartest people period — the guy has a bachelor's degree in chemistry and physics from Harvard; a Ph.D in chemistry from Berkeley) explains that the drop directly related to a huge increase in power plays in 2005-06. The league, you will remember, started calling the game more closely in an effort to negate some of the advantages of the neutral zone trap and increase scoring. There was an average of 5.85 power plays per team that year, the all-time record. More power plays create more goals and lower save percentages.
But power plays have gone way down (this year there was only an average of 3.27 power play opportunities, the second lowest since the NHL began keeping track 50 years ago). And goalies are saving shots at an all-time rate.
MORE: Watch live Stanley Cup Playoff games | Channel Finder | NHL on NBC
Put it this way: Between 1983-92, not one of the nine goalies who won the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender had a save percentage as good as the AVERAGE NHL goalie this season.
There are many reasons for goalies stopping more pucks. Bigger pads certainly play a role (though as Tulsky points out, the NHL mandated smaller pads this year, but five-on-five save percentages were actually a touch higher than last year). Better technique and film study and smarter play on angles plays a role. There are people around the league who insist that players are blocking more shots and so making the goalie's job a little bit easier, though the data on this is a bit muddled.
And, of course, hockey is a very different game from those crazy scoring days in the 1980s and early '90s. Here's something fun to think about: Players are getting about as many shots on goal as they did in those high-scoring days. There are just many fewer pucks going in the net. Between 1983-93, players had 11 different seasons with 70-plus goals — Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull, Alexander Mogliny and even the ageless Teemu Selanne among them. Since 1994, there have been so many great scorers, bur there have been no 70-goal seasons. You can break down the changes many different ways, but this much seems to be true: Goalies are much better at keeping pucks out.
What does this mean for the game? Well, goalies across the NHL are playing better — the gap between the top and the bottom is shrinking. In 1990, just as an example, Patrick Roy's .912 save percentage was 32 points better than league average. This year, Boston's Tuukka Rask had a .930 save percentage, the best for any goalie with 40 or more games. But that was only 16 points above average.
And so: Theories abound. Some say goalies are now expendable — they say that teams should not invest huge money in goaltenders because average goaltenders perform almost as well as good ones. Then, some say the shrinking gap has made consistently elite goaltending even MORE valuable because teams simply cannot score enough goals to win with a mediocre goalie.
MORE: Rangers can punch Final ticket | Gearing up for Game 5
You certainly don't have to convince anyone in New York about the importance of Lundqvist. He has been the most consistent of goalies — his career .920 save percentage is the best among active goalies and second-best all time (behind Hasek). He has twice led the conference in shutouts, and he has won the Vezina Trophy. But more to the point: Before he settled in goal for New York, the Rangers had not made the playoffs seven consecutive years. They've only missed the playoffs once since then and they reached the conference final two years ago. Now, they are on the brink of the Stanley Cup Final.
And that's the final frontier for King Henrik, the one thing that keeps Lundqvist from being the biggest sports star in New York. Those other kings of New York — Namath, Jeter, Reggie, LT, Seaver, Clyde, even Dwight Gooden — won championships. And now, it's left for Lundqvist to do that hardest and most indescribable thing: Be the hot goalie all the way to the end.
Eric Tulski tends to work off the data. So does Tom Tango, who has consulted for various NHL teams as well as his better-known role as one of baseball's leading sabermetricians. Point is, these are guys who focus on what they can see and count rather than on those suspect platitudes like heart and guts and grit and the vague talent to win.
Both, though, concede that a hot goalie is hugely important come playoff time. And both concede that the hot goalie concept is something that boggles the mind.
"It's hard to tell whether the goalie was hot," Tango says, "or simply was getting all the bounces."
"Over this 30 year span," Tulsky says, "we've never seen a spread in goalies large enough that talent would be anywhere as significant as randomness. … All of which is a long-winded way of saying that how hot a goalie is (or, as Tom notes, whatever transient factors might go into a goalie appearing to be hot) is the dominant factor on a team's playoff save percentage."
Nobody questions that Lundqvist COULD be hot enough to carry the Rangers the rest of the way. Nobody questions his brilliance. As his backup Cam Talbot says, "Sometimes he makes a save, and your jaw just kind of drops. You're in awe."
But can Lundqvist stay hot? The best part of the question is that the one person who doesn't seem to worry about it is Lundqvist himself. He's an intense person by nature, someone who thinks about his job more or less every minute. Talbot says that, even though he sits right next to Lundqvist in the locker room, and even though he is constantly watching Lundqvist to learn about the position, he and Henrik don't talk very much.
"He's always in the moment," Talbot says. "He's always thinking about what he needs to be doing. It's really amazing to see. … He doesn't really talk very much."
"Silence is a source of great strength," the Chinese philosopher and poet Lao Tzu said.
And Lundqvist doesn't believe in the hot goalie. He doesn't want all the credit people keep trying to give him. He doesn't ever believe that things are under control. He never relaxes but he tries not to worry either.
"A good traveler," Lao Tzu said, "has no fixed plans and no intent on arriving."
"All it takes is one bad bounce," Henrik Lundqvist says of giving up goals. That's the thing that is always out there for an NHL goaltender. One bad bounce. Good goaltenders give up a lot of goals on bad bounces. Hot goaltenders somehow don't. How do you prevent bad bounces? You don't. And you do. That's the Tao of it.
"Act without expectation," Lao Tzu said.
"Don't think about what's ahead," Lundqvist said. "Do your job."
The wise man is one who knows what he does not know," Lao Tzu said.
"My job is just to stop pucks," Lundqvist said. "That's all."
Tags: Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Cam Talbot, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Corey Crawford, Dallas Stars, Henrik Lundqvist, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings, Marty Brodeur, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, P.K. Subban, Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby, Teemu Selanne, Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask
Get your game notes: Rangers at Flyers
By Mike HalfordApr 25, 2014, 11:15 AM EDT
Tonight on CNBC, it's the Philadelphia Flyers hosting the New York Rangers starting at 7 p.m. ET. Following are some game notes, as compiled by the NHL on NBC research team:
• The Rangers, who earned a franchise-record 25 road wins during the regular season, enter tonight's Game 4 looking to make it back-to-back wins in Philadelphia following Tuesday's 4-1 win. The Rangers-Flyers is the only series of playoffs' first round that has yet to produce a one-goal game, thanks in part to Wayne Simmonds' empty-net goal that sealed the Flyers' 4-2 win in Game 2.
• Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who has stopped 66 of 71 shots this series (.930 save percentage), has 32 career victories in the playoffs; only three goaltenders in the 2014 postseason have more – Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury (47), San Jose's Antti Niemi (35) and Colorado backup Jean-Sebastien Giguere (33). His counterpart, Flyers goalie Steve Mason, will be looking for his first career playoff win. Mason will get his first start since suffering an upper-body injury in a collision with Pittsburgh's Jayson Megna on April 12. Mason finished Game 3 in relief of Ray Emery, stopping all three shots in 7:15.
• Claude Giroux, the Flyers' leading scorer during the regular season (28-58=86 points, third in NHL), has gone without a goal in his last 13 games vs. the Rangers (10 regular season, three postseason). During that span, he has 12 assists (two in this series) and 18 shots on goal (two in this series). The Flyers are 5-8 in those games (1-2 in this series).
• Flyers winger Scott Hartnell, fresh off his seventh career 20-goal season and fifth as a Flyer, has yet to score in the playoffs and has not scored since March 28, a span of 12 games (nine regular-season, three playoffs). It is the longest Hartnell has gone without scoring since a 21-game stretch spanning the 2009-10 regular season and playoffs (12 reg. season, nine playoffs). This season, the Flyers were 15-1-2 when Hartnell scored a goal.
• Philadelphia has been held to a single goal in two of this series' first three games. The last time the Flyers scored fewer than two goals three times in a single playoff series was in 2004, when they lost to Tampa Bay in seven games in the Eastern Conference final (13 series ago).
• Rangers winger Martin St. Louis has points (2-3=5) in all three games of the series. The 38-year-old St. Louis, who had one goal and seven assists in 19 regular-season games after being acquired from Tampa Bay in exchange for Ryan Callahan, has produced his first three multi-point games as a Ranger in his last five games (two regular season, three postseason.
• After scoring only one goal on 42 shots on goal during the 2013 playoffs, Rangers winger Rick Nash has gone goalless in his first 18 shots this postseason. Nash is one of four 25-goal scorers in the 2013-14 regular season with 18 or more shots on goal this postseason, but no goals. Marian Hossa (21), Zach Parise (19) and Patrick Sharp (18) are the others. His postseason goal drought stands at 15 games.
Tags: Antti Niemi, Chicago Blackhawks, Claude Giroux, Colorado Avalanche, Henrik Lundqvist, Jayson Megna, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Marc-Andre Fleury, Marian Hossa, Martin St. Louis, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Patrick Sharp, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ray Emery, Rick Nash, Ryan Callahan, San Jose Sharks, Scott Hartnell, Steve Mason, Tampa Bay Lightning, Wayne Simmonds, Zach Parise
Not for nothing, but the Avs haven't scored on Kuemper yet
Through the first two games of the Colorado-Minnesota series, most of the focus was on the Avs' top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Paul Stastny and Gabriel Landeskog — a trio that combined for seven goals and 13 points.
But is it worth mentioning all of that production came against Ilya Bryzgalov?
Probably, yes.
Since taking over for Bryz 11:59 into the second period of Game 2, Darcy Kuemper has faced 36 Avalanche shots over the span of 91 minutes — and stopped all 36 shots over those 91 minutes. He recorded the Wild's first-ever playoff shutout in Game 3 and seems to be a different goalie from the one that struggled at times during the regular season.
"[Kuemper's] in a different place now," Wild head coach Mike Yeo said, per the Minnesota Star-Tribune. "The difference is when we put him into this game tonight, we knew he was ready."
Now this isn't to say Kuemper's been a world-beater. The guys in front of him played a very solid game on Monday, outshooting the Avs by more than 2-to-1 (46-to-22, to be specific) while killing all four Colorado power play opportunities with aplomb.
This does make you wonder, though — how much of Colorado's early offensive success came from the fact Bryzgalov was the one trying to prevent it?
Do consider what Avs head coach Patrick Roy said prior to the series…
Roy made clear before the series started that the Avs have "a lot of info" on Bryzgalov. Avs goalie coach Francois Allaire was Bryzgalov's goalie coach once upon a time in Anaheim, and Avs backup Jean-Sebastien Giguere was the Ducks' No. 1 at the time.
On this narrative, it's worth noting that despite being Central Division rivals and playing each other five times, the Avs didn't see Kuemper once this season. Josh Harding was in goal for the first three games, Niklas Backstrom for the final two.
Finally, there's how Yeo has handled the switch. While he never openly criticized Bryzgalov's play — even backing the Russian 'tender following a rough Game 1 loss — he's been very vocal about how confident and sound Kuemper looks.
"It's not just the saves he's making, but the way he's making saves," Yeo said prior to Game 3. "[Kuemper] looked really confident in practice."
More confident than this, perhaps?
Tags: Colorado Avalanche, Darcy Kuemper, Gabriel Landeskog, Ilya Bryzgalov, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Josh Harding, Minnesota Wild, Nathan MacKinnon, Niklas Backstrom, Paul Stastny
Avs' MacKinnon finds new home September 6, 2014 10:30 am EDT Sakic on Giguere: 'His achievements speak for themselves' August 21, 2014 6:24 pm EDT King Henrik and the mythical hot goalie May 27, 2014 1:54 pm EDT Get your game notes: Rangers at Flyers April 25, 2014 11:15 am EDT Not for nothing, but the Avs haven't scored on Kuemper yet April 23, 2014 2:33 pm EDT Get your game notes: Stars at Ducks April 18, 2014 12:53 pm EDT Video: Ducks fans salute Selanne's final regular season game April 13, 2014 11:58 pm EDT Vanek, Habs explode in third, ruin Roy's return to Montreal March 18, 2014 10:23 pm EDT Report: Avalanche ink Berra to three-year extension March 14, 2014 9:50 am EDT PHT Morning Skate: Colorado's Giguere talking retirement March 12, 2014 8:15 am EDT Avs send second-rounder to Calgary for Berra March 5, 2014 4:01 pm EST NHL on NBCSN: Kings eager to start fresh vs. Avs February 26, 2014 9:06 am EST Bedeviled: Avs continue New Jersey's late-game woes February 3, 2014 10:11 pm EST PHT Morning Skate: Avs injuries piling up January 16, 2014 10:41 am EST Giguere out with back spasms, Avs recall Aittokallio January 13, 2014 2:20 pm EST Cause for concern in Colorado? January 8, 2014 2:22 pm EST Giguere agrees with Roy critique: 'I have not been playing my best' January 8, 2014 10:18 am EST Snubbed earlier by Czech Olympic team, Hudler helps Flames beat Avalanche January 7, 2014 2:00 am EST Not so Jiggy with it: Giguere 'needs to be better,' says Roy January 7, 2014 1:12 am EST Goalie nods: Bobrovsky gets first start in over a month, Lundqvist back for Rangers January 6, 2014 3:00 pm EST Prophecy fulfilled? Hawks destroy Avs December 27, 2013 10:55 pm EST Goalie nods: Grubauer goes for Caps, Peters for 'Canes December 27, 2013 3:31 pm EST Goalie nods: Bryzgalov back in, Luongo looks to 'exorcise that demon' December 17, 2013 3:27 pm EST Avs change course, go with Giguere on Sunday December 8, 2013 7:24 pm EST Goalie nods: Varlamov aims to rebound after eight-goal night December 8, 2013 1:59 pm EST Roy after Avs victory: 'It was an important win for us' December 7, 2013 12:15 am EST Avalanche goalie Varlamov kept in for eight goals December 6, 2013 2:15 am EST Miller, Hiller top list of pending UFA goalies December 4, 2013 4:14 pm EST Avs top Parise, Wild 3-1 November 29, 2013 8:52 pm EST Wild, Avs go back-to-back starting tonight November 29, 2013 11:44 am EST Video: This week's top bloopers November 18, 2013 8:09 pm EST Stewart defends decision to fight Sarich after Avs bash him November 16, 2013 3:49 pm EST Video: Steen continues his nearly goal-per-game start November 15, 2013 9:51 am EST Avs rip Stewart after Sarich scrap, celebration November 15, 2013 12:42 am EST Goalie nods: Poulin starts again, Scrivens goes for L.A. November 14, 2013 2:03 pm EST Goalie nods: Break out your backups November 2, 2013 5:05 pm EDT Get your game notes: Bruins at Penguins October 30, 2013 11:46 am EDT Duchene: Avalanche players knew Sacco's style of play 'would fail' October 28, 2013 9:28 am EDT Video: Giguere's glove save on Kunitz helps Avs shut out Penguins October 21, 2013 10:44 pm EDT Get your game notes: Avalanche at Penguins October 21, 2013 4:36 pm EDT