blank'/> THE PUCK REPORT: January 2010

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

2010 NHL Playoff Projections - 41 Games Played

With half of the NHL regular season in the books, playoff projections predicated on midpoint performance are presented below.














Projected 2010 NHL Playoff Picture At 41 Games
EASTWEST
TeamW Pts Pace TeamW Pts Pace
1. NJD
30
61
1.49
1. CHI
28
59
1.44
2. BUF
26
56
1.36
2. SJS
27
59
1.44
3. WAS
24
54
1.32
3. PHO
25
53
1.29
4. PIT
26
53
1.29
4. CGY
24
53
1.29
5. BOS
21
49
1.19
5. COL
23
52
1.27
6. OTT
21
46
1.12
6. VAN
25
51
1.24
7. NYR
19
43
1.05
7. NAS
24
51
1.24
8. ATL
18
42
1.02
8. LAK
24
51
1.24
9. TBL
16
42
1.02
9. DET
21
48
1.17
10. MTL
19
41
1.00
10. DAL
18
47
1.15
11. PHI
19
41
1.00
11. MIN
20
43
1.05
12. NYI
17
39
0.95
12. STL
17
40
0.97
13. FLA
16
39
0.95
13. ANA
16
39
0.95
14. TOR
13
37
0.90
14. CLB
15
38
0.93
15. CAR
11
29
0.71
15. EDM
16
36
0.89


Since 2005, the playoff threshold has hovered around 41 wins and 94 points for each conference. Extrapolating mid-season standings for '09-'10, however, teams will need to best this in the West (48W, 102Pts) though may settle for historically less out East (36W, 84Pts).


The chart below reflects the points and pace needed for the postseason by the bottom seven should present patterns hold for the second half.








Points Needed In Final 41 Games

EAST

WEST
Team
Pts
Pace
Team
Pts
Pace
9. TBL
42
1.02
9. DET
54
1.32
10. MTL
43
1.05
10. DAL
55
1.34
11. PHI
43
1.05
11. MIN
59
1.44
12. NYI
45
1.10
12. STL
62
1.51
13. FLA
45
1.10
13. ANA
63
1.54
14. TOR
47
1.15
14. CLB
64
1.56
15. CAR
55
1.34
15. EDM
66
1.61


Amazingly five out West (MIN, STL, ANA, CLB, EDM) must meet or beat the first half pace of the conference leaders (SJS, CHI). The weaker East, on the other hand, offers teams more opportunity to overcome their slow start, though Carolina must best Washington's front 41 to qualify.


Will the West maintain it's aggressive point pace? Is the East as soft as they seem? Stay tuned. For now, this is where it's at.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

2010 Olympic Hockey Rosters By NHL Salary

Having analyzed the Olympic hockey rosters by NHL team and by league, it's time to tally salary. Using figures from NHL Numbers, the chart below outlines the total NHL salary and average NHL salary for each nation.

Team:----'---Total ----- Average
CAN (23): $123.6m --'- $5.4m
USA (23): -$80.9m ---' $3.5m
SWE (19):-'$72.3m ---'-$3.8m
RUS (14): -'$69.4m -''--$5.0m
FIN (18):'''-$59.9m ''''''-$3.3m
CZE (16): '''$53.2m -'---$3.3m
SLO (12): -'$46.5m -'---$3.9m
GER (6):---$10.6m -'---$1.8m
BLS (4): ---$9.9m --'---$2.5m
SUI (2): --'''$5.4m -'----$2.7m
LAT (2): ---$1.6m ------$0.8m
NOR (1):--''$0.6m---'''' $0.6m

From 1 to 23 NHL players per 23 man roster, the total NHL salary per team ranges from $0.6m to $123.6m, respectively. In terms of average NHL salary per team, Canada ($5.4m) and Russia ($5m) lead with the next five countries (Finland, Czech Republic, USA, Sweden, Slovakia) clustering at $3.3m to $3.9m per NHL player.

To put these dollars in perspective, the NHL salary cap for the '09-'10 season is set at $56.8m. If a NHL team were to spend the entire $56.8m the average roster player pay would be approximately $2.5m. Of the Olympic squads, 5 of 12 outspend this $56.8m marker (Canada, USA, Sweden, Russia, Finland) on NHL roster members alone and all but three (Germany, Latvia, Norway) match or best the $2.5m player average.

The purpose of studying NHL salary totals and averages on Olympic rosters is to appraise the quantity and quality, respectively, of talent from the world's best league skating in the Games. Though not always congruous with performance, salary often speaks to the integrity of ingredients which when combined with international experience and team chemistry tend to harvest medals in Olympic tournaments.

When the gold medal is awarded in 57 days the role of NHL salary will be told. Until then, it's just another proposition upon which to ponder.

Friday, January 1, 2010

2010 Olympic Hockey Rosters By League

Since the Winter Olympics first welcomed professional players in 1998, the NHL has supplied a wealth of talent to the tournament. This year is no exception. The chart below outlines the contributions of various leagues to the 12 teams participating in the 2010 Olympic Games.










































































































































































NHLKHLDELNLASELGELBOCAHLOther
CAN23















USA23















SWE191



3







FIN184



1







CZE165











2
RUS149













SLO128

1







1
GER6

16







1

BLS414







5



SUI31

161



2

LAT2162





12

NOR113

116



1
Total141592117166654

Over half of the 276 skaters are from the NHL (51.1%) with the remainder residing in the KHL (21.4%), DEL German League (7.6%), NLA Swiss League (6.2%), SEL Swedish League (5.8%), GET Norwegian League (2.2%), BOC Belarus League (2.2%), AHL (1.8%), and other leagues (Czech 2, Slovakian 1, Finnish 1) (1.4%), respectively. Only one Olympian, Miroslav Satan, is currently an unrestricted free agent.

The puck drops on men's hockey at the 2010 Olympic Games in 46 days.

2010 Olympic Hockey Rosters By NHL Team

**For 2014 Olympic Hockey Rosters By NHL Team, click here**

Of the 276 players named to the 12 teams in the 2010 Winter Olympics, 141 are from the NHL. The table below outlines who loaned whom.

ANA (8): Getzlaf, Hiller, S. Koivu, Niedermayer, Perry, Ryan, Sbisa,
                   Selanne
SJS (8): Boyle, Greiss, Heatley, Marleau, Murray, Nabokov, Pavelski,
                 Thornton
DET (7): Datsyuk, Filppula, Holmstrom, Kronwall, Lidstrorm, Rafalski,
                  Zetterberg
VAN (7): Demitra, Ehrhoff, Kesler, Luongo, Salo, D. Sedin, H. Sedin
CHI (6): Hossa, Kane, Keith, Kopecky, Seabrook, Toews
CLB (6): Hejda, Jurcina, Modin, Nash, Pahlsson, Tyutin
NAS (6): Erat, Goc, Hornqvist, Suter, Sulzer, Weber
NJD (6): Brodeur, Elias, Langenbrunner, Martin, Oduya, Parise
TOR (6): Grabovsky, Gustavsson, Hagman, Kaberle, Kessel, Komisarek
ATL (5): Afinogenov, Enstrom, Kovalchuk, Kubina, Pavelec
BOS (5): Bergeron, Chara, Krejci, Sturm, Thomas
LAK (5): Brown, Doughty, Handzus, J. Johnson, Quick
MIN (5): Backstrom, Havlat, M. Koivu, Miettinen, Zidlicky
MTL (5): Halak, A. Kostitsyn, S. Kostitsyn, Markov, Plekanec
OTT (5): Alfredsson, Kuba, M. Michalek, J. Ruutu, Volchenkov
PHI (5): Bartulis, Pronger, Richards, Timonen, Tollefsen
PIT (5): Crosby, Gonchar, Fleury, Malkin, Orpik
WAS (5): Backstrom, Fleischman, Ovechkin, Semin, Varlamov
BUF (4): Lydman, Miller, Sekera, Tallinder
DAL (4): Eriksson, Lehtinen, Morrow, Skrastins
NYR (4): Callahan, Drury, Gaborik, Lundqvist
TBL (4): Malone, Meszaros, Nittymaki, Ohlund
CAR (3): Pitkanen, T. Ruutu, Staal
CGY (3): Iginla, Jokinen, Kiprusoff
COL (3): Budaj, Salei, Stastny
PHX (3): Bryzgalov, Lepisto, Z. Michalek
STL (3): Backes, E. Johnson, Polak
EDM (2): Grebeshkov, Visnovsky
FLA (2): Seidenberg, Vokoun
NYI (1): Streit

On average, each NHL team pledged 4.67 players to 2010 Winter Olympic rosters with the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks loaning the most (8) and the New York Islanders lending the least (1).

The first match in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games is February 16, 2010.