Lecavalier traded!

With the trade deadline looming and Vinny Lecavalier slated for unrestricted free agency after this season, the Spurs decided to move him tonight to the Victoria Ronin of GM Paul Canosa.
GM Canosa called tonight wondering about the availability of some of the unrestricted free agents on the Denver roster.
After some back and forth possibilities thrown around, GM Poelker decided to move Vinny to the Ronin for young wingers Max Pacioretty and Ludvig Rensfeldt.
"Hey, it's tough to see Vinny go, but with the current play of the other two primary UFAs, Gionta and Smyth, it appears to be the best move for the franchise. Now I'll be able to make a choice between one of the two for a UFA resign instead of picking one of three. We expect Pacioretty to step in and help us on the wing next season with Rensfeldt hitting the show sometime in the next several years" said GM Poelker.

Dasher Notes
Currently the Spurs find themselves in 5th place with 63 points in 52 gp. They are 5 points behind the Dayton Musicmen who blew past them like a comet in their meteoric rise the past few weeks. The Crusaders are 10 points up on 'em in first place with 73 points. Coming up fast are the Killers & the defending Champion Renegades 3 points back. The dogfight will continue the second half.
With the trade of Lecavalier, Andy McDonald has been moved to the 2nd line Center position for the time being. He'll take over centering Ryan Smyth & Brandon Yip.

Spurs at Midseason

Spurs at Midseason

Currently the Spurs find themselves in the rareified air of 4th place in the CCHL standings with 58 points in 45 games. The last two games have seen them score 20 goals!

Yes, another surprise as well, has been the individual performances of some players in addition to the overall team performance.
As of game 45 of the season, Center Paul Stastny is first in scoring and first in assists. He leads the league with 80 points, 6 ahead of Stamkos of Copenhagen and also leads the league in assists with 64, an amazing 22 ahead of Joe Thornton of Dayton.
Other team leaders see the surprising Gionta with 35 goals, currently tied for 3rd in the league, while his linemate Upshall has 30, currently tied for 6th in the league. As you probably have surmised, they are centered by Stastny.

Along the blueline, John-Michael Liles is tied for 2nd in the league in scoring among defensemen with 44 points. Free agent signee Tomas Kaberle is also tied for 2nd with 44 points. The dynamic duo since being paired together. Visnovsky has 12 goals, which ties him for 3rd in the the league among defensemen goal scoring.




Dasher Notes
Recent free agent signee Keith Aucoin has been a pleasant surprise to date. Plying his trade at the center position, he has scored 14 points in 10 games with a +/- of +9. He has 7 goals and 7 assists as well as one game winner.
All this while only averaging 10.2 minutes of ice time per game.
He has currently been elevated to the 3rd line centering Marc-Andre Bergeron and Brandon Yip.
Unfortunately, the signing of free agent Robbie Earl (below article) has been a bust to date.

Spurs sign FA Robbie Earl

The Spurs decided to sign free agent left winger Robbie Earl recently. This is a curious move in that the Spurs have a quite a few wingers of the same stature.
When approached the GM said, "While I realize some think, "where is he going to play?", I'm sure Coach Q will get use out of Robbie. Considering his energy and his recent numbers in the AHL, we figure he was worth a 2 year contract at the bargain price of $550k per season. A gamble, sure, but a cheap one. If he continues to do well in the AHL I doubt the Wild in the NHL will be able to ignore bringing him up to the show."

Dasher Notes
Recently the Spurs' were on a bit of a roll with a 5 game unbeaten streak behind Pekka Rinne in net. Curiously, Coach Q decided to go with Brodeur and the club is now 1-2 since inserting Marty as the starting goalie. Coach Q said, "Well, Marty is a vet. Sure he's had a couple of rough games but I'm sure he'll turn it around. I was getting concerned about Rinne's fatigue and figured I'd better get Marty in for a few. Of course, I expected better out of him."
A couple of weeks ago or so the Spurs' floated most of their UFAs on the league trade wire, except for blueliner Steve Staios as reported earlier, the response has been underwhelming, at best.

Staios traded to M'men

Blueliner Steve Staios was moved to the Dayton Musicmen for a 3rd rounder and an influx of cash.
A curious move in that Staios was the 'D' in Defense for the Spurs' defense corps.
However, with UFA looming in the offseason and the Musicmen collecting pieces for a Cup run, why not?

Dasher Notes
With this move the Spurs' have decided any hopes of a decent finish are probably out the window. Therefore, all of the pending UFAs other than Brian Gionta were put on the block. Those being peddled include some big names in the history of the Spurs' franchise. Lecavalier, Smyth, McCabe & Laperriere. All members of the '08 Cup winning club. That group also included Staios.

McCabe Re-Joins Spurs

Earlier today the phone rang and it was the new GM of the Bismark, No Dak Ibex on the line. Joe D., (not to be confused with Joltin Joe Dimaggio), was wondering if blueliner Bryan McCabe was of interest. After a quick bit of research GM Poelker of the Spurs decided to part with a 2nd Rounder for the veteran offensive blueliner and $1.5 million to help offset part of the salary coming into the payroll.
GM Poelker said, "Hey, I know some folks think we need defensive minded rearguards. But when McCabe was made available I figured....why not. Sometimes the best defense is a good offence. Plus, Bryan was a key member our '08 Cup winning club, so he knows our system."
McCabe is added to an already offensive minded group of blueliners that include Tomas Kaberle, Lubomir Visnovsky and John-Michael Liles.
The starting defense corps is rounded out by the defensive minded vet Steve Staios and his blueline partner rookie Ryan Wilson.
At press time it appears that this deal will relegate veteran defenseman Sami Salo to the pressbox for the time being.

Dasher Notes
Bryan McCabe will pair up with John-Michael according to Coach Q. If this doesn't work out he has other options in mind. McCabe will be a UFA after the season. Whether he remains a Spur is not a question that can be answered at this early date.

Spurs 2010-11 Edition

Gone are vets Burnaby Joe, Shanny, Saku Koivu and a few others from the playoff run last season.
To restock the cupboard the Spurs delved into the free agent market in a big way during the offseason bringing in several vets.
The highlight of the signings was blueliner Tomas Kaberle to a 3 year $24 million+ contract. That's a lotta lettuce....eh!?!
Also brought into the Spurs organization via free agency were Center pivot Andy McDonald ($17.1 mil over 3yrs), RW Miroslav Satan ($1.1 mil one year) and Winger Mike Comrie ($3.825 mil over 3yrs).
Brought in via trades for draft picks during the offseason with Prague and Reykjavik respectively, were oft injured wingers Justin Williams and Scottie Upshall. GM Poelker is hoping for big things from this pair providing they can remain healthy. It's a gamble for sure.
Last May Denver & Thunder Bay got together on a 6 player one draft pick deal after several days of discussion.
Going out the door of the Denver Coliseum was the highly regarded youngster Milan Lucic (left pic), prospect center pivot Brandon Pirri and Denver's 5th rounder in the 2010 entry draft.
Coming from Thunder Bay were wingers Bryan Little and David Perron along with Denver University Pioneer prospects Patrick Wiercioch (D) and winger Rhett Rakhshani.
Lucic & Piri were a lot to part with but the players who were brought in should eventually appease the Spurs' faithful.
It's hoped, of course, that Bryan Little can return to his 30 goal form with Perron fulfilling the potential he has flashed at times.
The 20 year old Wiercioch (right pic) is currently patrolling the blueline for the AHL's Binghamton Senators having opted for a pro career after 2 years at DU. It's hoped he makes the jump to the CCHL in a couple of years.
His fellow Pioneer, Rakhshani, is also in the AHL but with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers after completing his studies at DU in time for graduation early last summer. If he can pickup at the pro level where he left off in his senior year at DU, (21g, 29a in 41gp), he should be manning the wing on the right side shortly for the Spurs' for years to come.
Another newcomer is rookie blueliner Ryan Wilson (lower right pic) who was just picked up yesterday in the annual CCHL waiver draft. Amazingly, Coach Quenneville is making noise about him supplanting vet Sami Salo after only seeing a few film clips of his play. We'll see if Coach Q hasn't lost his marbles...eh
Future Hall of Famer Marty Brodeur is back for another tout of duty between the pipes along with his partner Pekka Rinne.
They split goaltender duty last season and Coach Q figures this will probably be the routine this season also. After all, Marty's gettin a bit long in the tooth. But there's still plenty of gas in the tank...no doubt!

Dasher Notes
While this club is certainly defensively challenged, they should provide enough offense to keep the Denver Coliseum faithful entertained this season. Another foray into the playoffs is not out of the question.

Shanahan Pots 20th

(AP) Denver, CO
Brendan Shanahan potted his 20th marker today in what can only be described as a successful final campaign for him in the CCHL. The aging Shanahan has already announced his plans to retire at the conclusion of the Denver Spurs' season, whenever that is. Said Shanahan, "When GM Poelker offered me a contract to play with Joe Sakic in Denver I couldn't pass it up. I decided to play one more season . Playing with Joe occasionally in my final CCHL season has been great. Having Joe on the ice for my 20th in my final season...well...it's special." While Sakic didn't register a helper on Shanny's 20th, he was assisted by Gionta & Hunwick, he had been elevated recently to Sakic's 2nd line due to an injury to portsider Marco Sturm. Marco Sturm...that's another story. Shanny, an old portsider himself, had been plying his trade of late at right wing with sporadic duty at lw on the 3rd line. No doubt, he still has the stones for the left side.

As for the aforementioned Sakic, Joe is also in his final CCHL campaign despite the 2 year contract he was given by the club as a free agent signee prior to the season. Heck, consider it a bonus for the '08 Cup! Currently Captain Joe, who scored his 17th in the same game, has 55 points in 67 games along with a +/- of +22. Quite a respectable farewell tour in the CCHL for Super Joe also...eh?!?!?

In relation to 'that's another story', near the end of the trade deadline Poelker made a move due to the Spurs' position in the reshaped CCHL. The Spurs have surprised some folks around Denver because many of the prognosticators didn't pick them to be so high in the standings this late in the season. Frankly, neither did I.
Poelker said, "Hey, as was just stated, didn't think we'd be where we were at the time either so when some talent came across my ticker as the trade deadline was coming up, I made some inquiries figuring I might be able to beef up a bit for the playoffs."
What was brought in has certainly 'beefed 'em up' as Poelker put it because the Spurs are currently on a 6 game win streak, their longest of the season. And have won 9 of their last 10. This has elevated them to 5th in the standings. Certainly a good time to get hot (5 games remaining in the regular season). Hopefully saying this doesn't put in the jinx because it would be great to finish the season with 100 pts since this type of performance wasn't expected.
Getting back to the deadline deals, portsider Sturm (currently injured) and rearguard Craig Rivet were brought in from the Niagara Falls Thunder (GM Bobby Nicol) and have been an integral part of the current success. Rivet was inserted at the first 1st D pair with Liles upon arrival, while Sturm has seen time with Captain Joe on the 2nd line along with PP & PK time. Not only has their play helped, but having a couple more leaders as evidenced by their 'A' (Sturm) and 'C' (Rivet) with former clubs doesn't hurt either. With Sturm's recent injury, Shanahan, as previously mentioned has been moved to the 2nd line LW. Rookie Milan Lucic, who was the 2nd line LW until Sturm's arrival, is currently being rested since this is his first full season of the rigors of the CCHL. GM/Coach Poelker wants him rested for the upcoming playoffs.
Also coming over in the deal with Sturm and Rivet was center Maxim Lapierre (right pic) who's being utilized with Ian Laperriere on the top PK unit. Yep...it's the 'Lappy Brigade'!!

Another surprise of late has been the play of winger Jamie Lundmark. A few weeks ago due to an injury to Shanny, he was inserted on the 3rd line with Lucic & Koivu and boy, did he respond. At one point he had burned the lamp 6 times over 2 games!!
In the last game when Shanny got his 20th, Jamie potted the first goal of the game, a 7-3 win over Copenhagen and the often maligned Andrew Raycroft, his 15th of the season!.
It appears Poelker has some decisions to make come playoff time with so many playing so well of late.
It's a nice 'problem' to have....eh?!?!?
Stay tuned for the upcoming CCHL Playoffs!!

Dasher Notes
In an unrelated deal, the Spurs sent top reargusrd prospect Bobby Sanguinetti to Victoria for thei 2nd rounder in the 2010 CCHL Entry Draft, another near deadline deal. While Sanguinetti was a prize prospect in the Denver organization, the 2nd rounder should replace his upside adequately.
The 5 remaining games of the regular season will see the Spurs play Springfield & Budapest on the road, league leading River Cities at home, then Long Island & Calgary on the road to close out the season. So, 4 of the last 5 on the road to close the season. The Spurs' will have to become Road Warriors of the highest magnitude to reach the century mark.

Reported by Peter Puckhead (voice of the Spurs)