Bruins' House Cleaning

Sunday, February 7th

Richards & Wolski Out Lang & Knuble In

Following a sluggish to the season fans were beginning to wonder if Joe was going to do anything to try and spark life into the team. Word came that a deal was announced that has people scratching their heads in Boston. The deal announced that 2nd line center Brad Richards for Robert Lang prospect Lars Eller's and a handful of draft picks. Is Joe unloading for the future this early in the season? Not something that the fans in Boston deserve. Now if this is just the first move of more then ok, but not this by itself. Joe was asked during his meeting with the press about this and he stated:

Rumours coming from the Fleet center has several other names popping up as possible moves including Miroslav Satan, Brian Gionta, Kurtis Foster. We caught wind of another rumour coming from Ecklund that Patrice Bergeron's name was being mentioned in a move out west. Reports also have coach Hartley in the hot seat. The next few days or weeks should be pretty interesting to see what transpires.

Captains & Alternates Made Interesting

Saturday, February 6th

Name Your Captains For A Shot At Bonus Training Camp Points

NSHL Commissioner Jay kaShman announced a new rule on Saturday night which will make use of the Captain & Alternates feature in STHS. Starting immediately, if teams name their Captain and Alternates and keep those players until the end of the year, they're entitled to two extra Training Camp points.

The rule also allows for an extra point to be awarded if the three players named to the team's Captaincy have an EX and LD average of 80 or above. That means there's a potential for teams to earn themselves an extra three Training Camp points simply for naming and keeping their captains!

Normally this rule would go into effect for the start of the season but the league is allowing all teams until Wednesday, February 10th to submit the names of their Captains & Alternates with their lines e-mail. As well as physically stating who the Captains are in the e-mail, GMs should also take the time to name them in their roster screen itself following the on-screen directions provided in the sim.

After Wednesday's update, no more teams will be eligible for the extra Training Camp points.

Brand New Feature:  The NSHL Trade Block

Saturday, February 6th

NSHLPA Goss Unveils New Feature

After months of discussion on a possible new feature, the league office finally put together a plan they liked for a brand new monthly feature, The NSHL Trade Block.

The idea stems from the recent upgrade in the activity level on the NSHL Forum, thanks in large part to Chicago Blackhawks GM Darryl Miller who has put together new ideas like individual team article sections and the very popular Poll Zone.

The NSHL Trade Block is the idea of current NSHL Player Agent The Goss who used ideas found in the video game NHL10 from EA SPORTS. The feature will enable teams to submit regular updates to their trade block which not only earns them free advertising but can put some cash in their pockets at the same time.

To start with, each team has four different areas they can post information in (Looking For, Offering, Names On The Block and Team Outlook). In each category of the first two categories a team can select a maximum two positions (Centre, Winger, Forward, Defense, Goalie, Prospects, Picks) and then choose as many descriptor words that apply to that position.

For example:

LOOKING FOR
Goalie
* Starter
* Rental
* Veteran

In the third column which is entitled 'Names On The Block' a team can list a maximum of two players or picks on their roster already that they're possibly shopping.

The final column a GM can edit is called 'Team Outlook' and allows the GM to put a label on his team's current situation ('Contender', 'Making the Playoffs', 'Cost Cutting' etc), giving interested teams an overall idea of what they're looking to do.

No GM is required to participate but those that do get a potential bigger share of the $240,000.00 pie that's given out by the league with each submission.

All submissions are to be sent to nshlpa@jaykashman.net or ericgosselin@live.com so that The Goss can update the chart and submit it to the league. Any area that has descriptors not listed by the league or has too many positions listed will be edited down.

The NSHL Trade Block can be found here.

NOTE - The NSHLPA's Sharks and Commissioner's Maple Leafs have posted their 'NSHL Trade Blocks' as examples.

Blues Add Richards From Boston & Continue To Win!

Friday, February 5th

14 Straight Wins For St Louis

The St Louis Blues have gone on an incredible 14-0 run over the past few weeks and on Friday night outlasted another hot team, the Buffalo Sabres who fell to the Los Angeles Kings 5-3 at home.

The Blues have been led by perennial Vezina candidate Martin Brodeur in what many believe will end up being a career year for the veteran goaltender, who just a few seasons ago was ironically the star for the Sabres before coming over in a deal for current Sabres goalie, Carey Price.

Tomorrow St Louis is in Toronto for a date with the Maple Leafs who have put together a little streak of their own going 4-0. The Blues will have a new body on their roster as well as on Friday the team traded for defensive forward Brad Richards from the Boston Bruins. The Blues sent veteran Robert Lang, prospect Lars Eller and a handful of picks to the Bruins who have been struggling of late.

It Had To End Some Time...

The Sabres had won 12 in a row up until their date with the Kings, a game where they had the lead twice but gave it away in the 3rd Period when they were simply out played. GM Perlis has been very impressed with the teams efforts during the streak and knew the streak had to end eventually even though it was a fun ride while it lasted.

Buffalo has a date with the San Jose Sharks on Day 34 which will be simulated Saturday morning. The team is expected to try and start another lengthy win streak with a victory at home.

New STHS Client Available

Saturday, January 30th

All GMs Encouraged To Update To Version 0.9.5

During the past week Simon has updated the STHS Client file to version 0.9.5 and fixed a number of bugs. Although the majority of the bugs don't directly affect NSHL games, all GMs are encouraged to use the latest version of the program to ensure the league's as bug free as can be.

Which version are you using? The easiest way to tell is to check the transactions page the day after your lines are loaded to see which version the program says you're running. Any older versions of the Client feature some bugs that have since been fixed which makes updating all the more important.

To download the latest version of the STHS Client File click here!

Confirmed Schedule Upgrade

Saturday, January 30th

Recent Poll Zone Poll Brings About Change

The NSHL Suits took the results of a recent poll featured on the NSHL Forum's Poll Zone very seriously and quickly proceeded to make positive changes to an already greatly improved schedule.

Right now, the league believes some teams play as many as 9 back-to-back dates while some play as few as 3 which is too wide a margin in the NSHL Suits' eyes. The Suits are optimistic they can have the number dwindled down to an average of 5 or 6 per team maximum which should decrease fatigue and injuries at the same time.

IIHF Transfer Fee Rule Adjustment

Saturday, January 30th

Unrestricted IIHF Players Retire From the NSHL

NSHL Commissioner Jay kaShman announced on Saturday that in a new agreement with the IIHF the NSHL's policy on IIHF players playing in North America will be changing slightly.

Starting this off-season, players that are 30 or older that are considered IIHF 'loans' (not playing in the NHL anymore) and are subjected to a 10% tax, will retire from the NSHL upon conclusion of their contracts. This means any player playing in the NSHL this season that's over 30 and whose contract expires, and who does not play in the NHL during the entire NSHL IX schedule, will retire.

The NSHL believes no team is really directly affected by this rule change as a 30+ year old player, IIHF loan or otherwise hits the open market regardless of the new rule so there's never a guarantee a team gets that player back.

The league has said it will honour keeping restricted age players (29 and under) available to NSHL teams when their contracts expired with the stipulation that they're qualified by their team.

Canucks Remain On Top

Wednesday, January 27th

Defending Champs Proving Their Worth

The first ever Shootout Tournament was won by a team who no one expected to pull it off, the Vancouver Canucks. They surprised a lot of people, including themselves, and took the event raising a lot of speculation across the league that the tournament layout didn't work.

This past off-season the league re-modelled the event and added regular season qualifying and still at 3-0 in shootouts this year, the Vancouver Canucks are ranked #1 early on. The Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals sit tied for 2nd at 2-0 while the St Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins are tied for 4th at 1-0.

The 16 top teams in regular season shootouts will be invited to participate in the second edition of the Shootout Tournament during this year's All-Star Classic in Los Angeles. Once the tournament commences it's single-elimination so initial seeding is important.

The tournament qualifying rankings can be tracked throughout the season at the Shootout Tournament page or by clicking here.

Canucks Remain On Top

Wednesday, January 27th

Defending Champs Proving Their Worth

The first ever Shootout Tournament was won by a team who no one expected to pull it off, the Vancouver Canucks. They surprised a lot of people, including themselves, and took the event raising a lot of speculation across the league that the tournament layout didn't work.

This past off-season the league re-modelled the event and added regular season qualifying and still at 3-0 in shootouts this year, the Vancouver Canucks are ranked #1 early on. The Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals sit tied for 2nd at 2-0 while the St Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins are tied for 4th at 1-0.

The 16 top teams in regular season shootouts will be invited to participate in the second edition of the Shootout Tournament during this year's All-Star Classic in Los Angeles. Once the tournament commences it's single-elimination so initial seeding is important.

The tournament qualifying rankings can be tracked throughout the season at the Shootout Tournament page or by clicking here.

Bitterman's Beef

with Gary Bitterman

Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to my corner of the world, Bitterman's Beef, with your host, me!

Some people may call me a 'Yes Man!' but I tend to disagree. My name is Gary Bitterman, Commissioner of the National Hockey League which is North America's #1 sport on ice, all thanks to me. You know what they say hockey fans, 'there's no 'I' in 'Team' but there's 'ME' in every of the 30 franchises in the NHL today.

Here's my beef this week folks:

Here's Why Your Team Sucks

That's one hell of a headline isn't it? It's not meant to say that every team in the league is terrible or even bad, but there is an explanation!

Follow my lead for just a moment. Open up the NSHL standing page and take a look at the teams in the bottom 1/3 of the league. Next, open up the GM Contact page and filter through the bottom 1/3 of the teams in the number of times they submitted lines. The Washington Capitals have a .389 Win % and have submitted lines 3 times. The Columbus Blue Jackets (.389) twice. The New Jersey Devils (.361) twice. The Vancouver Canucks (.278) five times. Hmm.

The logic doesn't always apply (Ottawa and Anaheim seem to submit lines frequently) but it seems fairly logical that submitting often can help your team stay out of the basement or more likely, not submitting often handicaps your team and puts them where they belong!

I'll give credit where credit is due, your Commissioner has tried his damndest to rid the league of the inactive however the point has to be heard that NSHL Suit or not, get on the ball or get out of the game.

Backing The Truck Up

Take my words however you will but you will notice since my last article on bankruptcy a number of teams have resorted to emptying their PRO rosters of high valued contracts, including Columbus, Detroit and Pittsburgh. My article and the timing of these moves comes rather coincidental don't it?

I sit and I wonder to myself: 'Self, have these GMs making contract dumping moves learned anything from all this?' And then I respond to myself: 'Self, no, not bloody likely.'

Take your shiniest quarter, go to the bookies and put down a bet that says at least one of the top five highest paid signings or acquisitions this off-season will belong to either Columbus, Detroit or Pittsburgh.

I spoke of a cap in my last article and after had a lengthy discussion with your commissioner and dare I say, I've sort of had my mind changed. GMs here could not even get their rosters suited so they had a guy on waivers before demoting him earlier this year, how could they possibly sort themselves out under a cap!!

I apologize if what I say strikes too close to home for any of you, but lets get with it! We'd sit back and watch more teams sit over the cap paying constant fines or holding up games because they couldn't find the switch on the wall to turn the lights on!!

In a once in a lifetime event, in this very article, I'm going to retract what I said last time and say this as my farewell: This league doesn't need a cap after all, it needs another wake-up call like the Stars last year. Let'em go bankrupt and let'em learn.

Did something Gary talked about sound like something that warrants discussion? Talk about it here.

CBA & Free Agent System Discussion Well Under Way

Sunday, January 24th

Open Discussions Are Making Progress on the Forum

A handful of the league's 24 GMs are actively talking about possible 'upgrades' to the NSHL's existing CBA and Free Agent System for this off-season's Free Agent Market. The talks are focused at the moment on re-vamping prospect contract requirements and the possible addition of option years and signing bonuses to the free agent process and therefore, further enhancing the free agent signing experience.

With the positive discussion moving along over the past week the NSHL Commissioner believes the new ideas could be put to a vote sometime this week. It's believed the league would like to have all possible adjustments to the CBA and Free Agent System finalized and in place by the All-Star Classic so everyone's on the same page for the entire second half of the season.

For changes to either the CBA or the Free Agent System to go into place, 20 of the league's 24 GMs must vote in favour of the changes.

Get involved in the discussion HERE and have your voice heard BEFORE THE VOTE!