Week of March 25th to 31st: Sunday Afternoon Papers (pre-trip talk)

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Sunday Afternoon, March 31st Jets, Hurricanes and NHL news:

Jets news:

Winnipeg Free Press: Byfuglien’s game a roller coaster. As Buff goes, so go the Jets. This will be evident as they play a critical three game in four nights stretch on the road this week.

Winnipeg Sun: Big Buff has to be more consistent. More Buff talk. Have you noticed a downgrade in his play? Is this the ebb and flow of an accelerated regular season?

CBC: Things to watch for in the final 12 games of the season. Five thoughts on the team as they head into the stretch run. Covers scheduling, Jets upcoming home stand, GM Cheveldayoff as a buyer or seller, the Olli Jokinen experience and has captain Ladd run out of gas?

Illegal Curve: Examining Winnipeg Jets trade options as deadline day approaches. What are the Winnipeg Jets trade deadline needs? We discussed this in-depth on Saturday's Illegal Curve Hockey Show on TSN Radio 1290.

Illegal Curve: Coach Noel pre-trip presser. Guys who weren’t on the ice were just for maintenance? Slater and Peluso are only guys not traveling. How close is Stuart? Does he get busier with trade deadline upcoming? Top line has been playing well but not scoring goals…concern? Does trade deadline impact the room? Dustin Byfuglien’s play. Expectations from the Rangers. Not getting too high or low after a win or loss – scheduling or maturing? Ends scrum talks about play of Pavelec.

Illegal Curve: Jets players pre-trip. We have audio from Dustin Byfuglien, Ondrej Pavelec, Mark Stuart and Ron Hainsey.

Illegal Curve: Winnipeg Jets Morning Papers. If you missed any of the Jets news from this morning, including a very interesting piece on Mark Scheifele, we have you covered.

NHL news:

TSN: Crosby out indefinitely with a broken jaw. It was the March of the Penguins as Pittsburgh won all 15 contests they played in the month. While it is not yet April the above headline is not an April Fools joke as they have lost their captain indefinitely with what looked like a horrifically painful injury during Saturday’s game against the Islanders.

Buffalo News: Vanek wants to stay with Sabres but would ‘look the other direction’ if Buffalo decides on long-term rebuild. While a team like Buffalo doesn’t want to get rid of a player like Vanek if they decide to rebuild this team, he could go a long way to securing some assets to help get the process started.

For the Jets and NHL news click here.

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Monday Papers

Monday, March 25th Jets news:

Jets news:

Winnipeg Free Press: Staying ahead powers Jets past their woes. There is no time to take your foot off the gas at this point in the season. Take a look at the standings, they are too close to take any nights off.

Winnipeg Free Press: Captain Ladd steering this ship. Ladd and his first line mates played an excellent 200 foot game yesterday. They pretty much were everywhere all game long and this type of effort is going to be needed to continue to propel this team forward.

Winnipeg Free Press: Pavs leaves praise to others. We have used a lot of space in the papers to praise the nightly effort of Ondrej the Giant. His numbers are not elite with a GAA of 2.83 (49th), SV% of 9.02 (52nd) but clearly numbers don’t tell you everything you need to know about a player. He has stood tall when this team needed him and as we saw again last night, made critical saves to maintain momentum for his team.

Winnipeg Sun: As Pavelec goes, so go Jets. There is no question that he has been the MVP of this team. If not for Pavelec, who knows where the Jets would be right now. Ted also covers Jets scoring first, coaching sympathy, frank injury talk and bad penalties.

Winnipeg Sun: Tobias Enstrom back in force. He scored the game winning goal last night and was a force to be reckoned with all over the place. He quarterbacked the power play and showed why he was so important to this team.

Winnipeg Sun: Pavelec all class. Always nice to read these types of stories about the players who make Winnipeg their home during the season.

Jets on a Deadline – Jets 3 Lightning 2:

Winnipeg Jets: Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ladd, Ondrej Pavelec and Bryan Little.

Coach Noel post-game presser. Following his team’s 3-2 win over the Lightning, coach Noel spoke with the media.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Assistant coach Daniel Laxcroix, Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis.

Illegal Curve Post-game podcast from the Press box: Guest Host Michael Remis and Analyst Richard Pollock break down the Jets play against the Lightning.

Jets on a Deadline: Game recaps, post-game audio, video highlights and the NHL.com 3 Stars of the night.

Jets affiliate and prospect news:

TSN: Maxwell scores twice as IceCaps defeat Monarchs. Looks like Eric O’Dell could bear some further watching as he keeps adding to his goal scoring streak.

University of Michigan: U-M bid for 23 ends in Final CCHA. Trouba’s Wolverines are out, but he was named to the all-tournament team.

NHL news:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Penguins complete trade for Dallas captain Morrow. The Pens, who are riding a 12 game winning streak, finished off a big deal to add some depth for a long playoff run.

Star-Ledger: Devils Ilya Kovalchuk out two to four weeks. Just as the Devils were starting to get going (having won last two games), they lose a major part of their team.

For the Jets and NHL news click here.

Illegal Curve Hockey Show Replay:

Part 1: Recap of Capitals 6-1 victory over the Jets. Ondrej Pavelec’s workload and line combinations. The Jets remaining schedule. Southeast Division schedule. Olli Jokinen’s production on the power play (or lack thereof). What to do with Alex Burmistrov.

Part 2: Would you trade Ron Hainsey if; the Jets were 3rd in the conference, 8th in the conference, within 2 points of a playoff spot, more than 3 points outside a playoff spot? Interview with Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. Interview with Mark Guy of Newport Sports Management (Corey Perry’s agent). Players who might be dealt at the trade deadline. The market for goalies at the trade deadline. Rapid Fire: Suspensions. Cheers & Jeers.

 

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Tuesday Papers

Tuesday, March 26th Jets news:

Note: Make sure to @ tweet @illegalcurve with your guess during tonight’s game you can win IC Gear by participating in our twitter Game Winning Goal contest. Remember that for your vote to qualify you must send in your guess by hashtaging (#) our Game Winning Goal (GWG) contest. (i.e. #ICGWG Andrew Ladd).

Jets news:

Illegal Curve: Coach Noel pre-game from PNC Arena. Using this game as a springboard. Riding Ondrej Pavelec (Could he play all 15 remaining games?). Stuart remains day to day. Hainsey ready to go. Does he look back at previous games (against Carolina) to prepare for tonight? Hurricanes rested and ready.

Winnipeg Free Press: Ondrej finds a way. It is why we have sayings like Ondrej the Giant or Pavelectricity. Despite his heavy workload, the Jets #1 goalie continues to thrive.

Winnipeg Free Press: Trouba pondering going pro? This rumour has been making the rounds since the University of Michigan Wolverines playoffs ended. Seemed like a long shot at the beginning of the season, but who knows. We will look at the potential ramifications of this decision on Wednesday’s NHL Mid-Week with Illegal Curve Hockey on TSN Radio 1290.

Winnipeg Free Press: Trade deadline could be big for the Jets… or not. How the Jets play this week will likely be the determining factor if Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff decides to be a buyer or seller.

Winnipeg Sun: Trouba may take run at pro. While the thought of adding a stud defenceman to the squad has Jets fans salivating, he may still require some seasoning before jumping to the NHL level.

Winnipeg Sun: Little coming up big. He had been quiet before Sunday’s game against the Lightning with just three assists in his previous eight games. However he simply played a sensational game on Sunday, one in which he was noticeable all over the ice. The Jets are going to need him to maintain this level if they want to make playoffs.

Winnipeg Sun: Jets under pressure from Hurricanes. Carolina has been sitting, waiting for Winnipeg since they lost 4-1 to the New Jersey Devils last Thursday. They have lost five straight (one in a shootout) but also hold three games in hand on the Jets and sit just four points back.

Winnipeg Sun: Hurricanes trainers recount Jets’ Zach Redmond’s accident. Some real heroism on all fronts as everyone joined in to save the life of the young Jets player.

The Hockey Writers: The Top 10 Most Underrated NHL Players. Looks like a member of the Winnipeg Jets was #1 on this list.

Jets opposition (Hurricanes) news:

News and Observer: Canes sign Alexander Semin to 5-year extension. A big move by a self-described budget team.

News and Observer: Rested Canes refocused, ready for Jets. They have had plenty of time off to get ready for one of the most important games of the season.

NHL news:

Tampa Bay Tribune: Lightning hire Cooper as head coach. Steve Yzerman had a couple of options and chose to promote from within. He gets a coach who knows these players, although one without NHL coaching experience.

For the Jets and NHL news click here.

 

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Wednesday Papers

Wednesday, March 27th Jets news:

Note: Tune into the NHL Mid-Week Show on TSN Radio 1290 tonight from 6 pm to 7 pm as the guys, joined by yours truly who will be sitting in for Drew Mindell, to discuss all the latest NHL news. Guests: Mike Colligan (The Hockey Writers), Mike Harrington (Buffalo News).

Jets news:

Globe and Mail: 52+ points or bust. Based on Mirtle’s math the Jets need to simply play .500 hockey for the stretch run to get into the playoffs. Considering they have been playing .600+ hockey over their last 10 games, this shouldn’t prove too tall a task.

USA Today: Buyer or seller? Team-by-team look at trade deadline. Kevin Allen looks at all 30 NHL teams and labels the Jets as neither buyers or sellers but as traders.

Illegal Curve: Coach Noel from Pittsburgh. Update on injuries (Stuart is probable and/or possible, Wright – IR, Peluso – week-to-week, Slater – not on trip). Happy with the way they opened the game last night in Carolina? Would a trade impact team chemistry? Guarding against guys looking too far down the road? How do the Jets handle the Penguins? Has he done a lot differently since the Capitals losses? Is his strategy of resting players paying off?

Winnipeg Free Press: Jets show intensity, Carolina does not. I thought it was an even 1st period, Carolina controlled play for first 10 minutes of the 2nd, and then it became the Jets show. Pretty well played road game by Winnipeg. And pretty nice Real Housewives reference by Gary.

Winnipeg Free Press: Kane & Co. whip Canes. The Jets could start a roll this week that could propel them into the post season if they keep this up.

CBC: Fans can start saving for playoff tickets. The beauty of the Eastern Conference is that every time a team looks to have found its way, they flounder just as quickly. Not one team from 8th spot New York Rangers (35 points) to the 14th spot Philadelphia Flyers (28 points) have risen to the occasion and played consistent hockey. Sports Club Stats has moved the Jets chances at post season play up 17% to 76.2%.

TSN: Win gives Winnipeg some cushion in Southeast. A Jets win over Carolina, coupled with losses by Washington and Florida were very good news as Winnipeg continues their quest to win the Southeast division.

Winnipeg Sun: Jokinen breaks scoring drought. He hadn’t scored since February 26th and it must have been a considerable weight off his back.

Winnipeg Sun: Kudos for Kane. He provided this team with something they desperately needed, which was secondary scoring. He ended the night with one goal and three assists.

Winnipeg Sun: Jets handle Hurricanes, extend division lead. Check out the above standings. While the Jets have played more games than most of their competition, they continue to get critical points when they need them. Despite the two bad losses at home to Washington, the Jets have continued on a torrid pace having gone 8-3-1 over their last 12 games.

Jets on a Deadline – Jets 4 Hurricanes 1:

Jets on a Deadline: Game recaps, post-game coach Noel comments, video highlights and the NHL.com 3 Stars of the night.

Jets affiliate and prospect news:

St. John’s IceCaps: Preview IceCaps at Devils. Despite a modest two-game winning streak, the Caps are sitting in 14th in the Eastern Conference and are well behind a playoff spot.

Hockey’s Futures: Top 50 of 2013 rankings. Scheifele ranked #33 and Trouba ranked #37.

Detroit Free Press: Wolverines Red Berenson looks back on season. If you missed the news yesterday, the speculation in Winnipeg was whether or not Jacob Trouba would turn pro. Here are coach Berenson’s comments about the Jets #1 draft pick in 2012.

NHL news:

Winnipeg Free Press: Seeing the light on visors. After seeing what their brother has gone through, seems like a no-brainer that the Staal brothers made the decision to wear visors.

The Hockey Writers: Why did the Penguins acquire Brenden Morrow? Sometimes a player brings intangibles to the game which cannot be quantified by a stats page. We will ask Mike more about this deal as well as other moves made by Pittsburgh tonight when he joins us on NHL Mid-Week on TSN Radio 1290.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Penguins’ win streak reaches 13, Fleury forced to leave game after collision. Sounds like the Penguins and Canadiens played a relatively heavy game as the two Eastern powerhouses threw everything they had at each other (including opposition players it would appear). Bad news for the Pens could be good news for Winnipeg as the team that loves to bust streaks will be in the steel city on Thursday.

Calgary Herald: Report has Kiprusoff refusing to leave Calgary if traded. The sideshow in Calgary continues as attempts to rebuild hit a snag as longtime goalie Kiprusoff reportedly put his foot down on being traded.

Globe and Mail: Onus on Feaster to create Iginla bidding war. With the success of the Pittsburgh Penguins, you know that the rest of the elite teams are going to be dying to get themselves a player of Iginla’s pedigree. Driving up the cost can go a long way to re-building the reputation of the Calgary GM, which took a big hit as a result of the O’Reiley offer sheet debacle.

For the Jets and NHL news click here.

 

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Thursday Papers

Thursday, March 28th Jets and NHL news:

Note: Make sure to @ tweet @illegalcurve with your guess during tonight’s game you can win IC Gear by participating in our twitter Game Winning Goal contest. Remember that for your vote to qualify you must send in your guess by hashtaging (#) our Game Winning Goal (GWG) contest. (i.e. #ICGWG Enstrom).

Jets news:

Illegal Curve: Examining Winnipeg Jets prospect Jacob Trouba’s options. Since his NCAA season with the University of Michigan Wolverines ended with a loss to Notre Dame, there has been wild speculation as to the path the Jets number one pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft will take.

CBC: 3 best trades for Winnipeg ahead of deadline. Would you like to see Ribeiro setting up Kane?

Winnipeg Free Press: Looking for a new label. The Jets are masters of their own destiny for the remainder of the season and if things play out as expected they don’t even need to play spectacular hockey to get to the playoffs.

Winnipeg Free Press: Yummy, healthy food for players. A little information on the way in which players prepare for games.

Winnipeg Sun: How will Winnipeg Jets measure up to mighty Penguins? There is a huge debate as to what coach Noel should do tonight in terms of which goalie to start. Some believe this would be the perfect game to give Pavelec his first night off since the first week of March believing the Jets have little chance to beat the Pens. As well you could save him for the more important game against the Hurricanes on Saturday at the MTS Centre. Others would suggest that with Pavelec in goal, the Jets have best chance to get some all important points to solidify their hold on the Southeast. Update: It will be Montoya in net tonight. Read more with Ezzy’s preview.

Winnipeg Sun: City of horrors for Jets. A long history of losing for the combined Thrashers and Jets franchise in the Steel city. Can the Jets end that streak in addition to the Penguins 13 game winning streak? Stay tuned to find out.

Winnipeg Sun: Winnipeg Jets know Penguins can be beaten. The Jets know better than to try and play a run and gun style with Pittsburgh. Expect them to try and grind down the Penguins with a greasy goal or two to give them a chance for the win.

Globe and Mail: 52+ points or bust. Based on Mirtle’s math the Jets need to simply play .500 hockey for the stretch run to get into the playoffs. Considering they have been playing .600+ hockey over their last 10 games, this shouldn’t prove too tall a task.

USA Today: Buyer or seller? Team-by-team look at trade deadline. Kevin Allen looks at all 30 NHL teams and labels the Jets as neither buyers or sellers but as traders.

Jets affiliate and prospect news:

IceCaps official site: Red-hot Gagnon, O’Dell power IceCaps to victory. Just when it looks like the IceCaps season was over, they start ripping off some wins. The strong play of Eric O’Dell who has scored in six straight games (an IceCaps record) and has recorded 25 goals (also an IceCaps record) is helping propel this team forward although they still have a huge mountain (10 points back of 8th spot) to climb.

NHL.com: Colts down Frontenacs to sweep first-round matchup. Mark Scheifele helped lead his team to a four game sweep in the first-round. He finished last night with one goal and two assists.

Jets opposition (Penguins) news:

Pittsburgh Tribune: Penguins go all in and acquire Jarome Iginla. Before Calgary GM Jay Feaster broke the news that Iggy was off to Pittsburgh it was being reported that Iginla was going to Boston. About 40 minutes after the 1st “official” trade report of Iginla to the Bruins, Feaster held a presser wherein he announced that they had in fact traded Iginla to Pittsburgh. A wild night. The Pens are certainly going all-in to try and win their second Stanley Cup in five years. EA Sports put out this image.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: New defenseman Murray’s game — keep the hits coming. A big rugged presence which will add some sand paper for what many in Pittsburgh expect to be a long post season.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Kris Letang goes on injured reserve. Doesn’t appear to be too serious although he will obviously not be playing tonight against the Jets.

Winnipeg Free Press: The Hart Trophy front-runner Is Sid better than ever? He is playing inspired hockey right now and with the cast of characters around him that GM Ray Shero has provided, should be able to do some significant damage in the post-season. This could be Gary’s best ever ending to one of his columns.

NHL news:

Globe and Mail: Chance at elusive Cup ring deciding factor in Iginla’s move to Pittsburgh. While there appear to be a number of Canadian teams headed for the post-season, you can expect many fans to become quasi Pens fans once their team get eliminated. Much like Ray Bourque did when he left Boston for Colorado, you have to think many NHL fans (aside from those in Philadelphia and Boston) would be happy to see a great ambassador for the game win the Stanley Cup. Eric Duhatschek offers up his thoughts on the move.

Boston Globe: Jarome Iginla deal falls apart. Taking a look at the deal from the Boston perspective.

SI.com: Coyotes on the move? Relocation could throw a wrench in the realignment plans if the Yotes were to move to an Eastern location like Quebec City. While rumours of their demise have been many, the situation cannot remain unresolved any longer. Of course Glendale City Council just hired a new firm to help find Jobing.com a new arena management firm. Might be too little too late in the desert.

Globe and Mail: Geeks no more, ‘capologists’ become integral part of any trade. Interesting to read about the roles many assistant GMs take on with their teams.

Globe and Mail: Eastern conference standings tease ratings gold for the CBC. Four Canadian teams in the East, all with very good chances to make it to the playoffs. Could make for some intriguing 1st round match-ups.

Globe and Mail: Red Wings, Sens lead NHL in games lost to injury. Amazingly both these teams remain in the thick of the playoff race in their respective conferences. A testament to the coaching ability of Mike Babcock and Paul MacLean.

For the Jets and NHL news click here.

NHL Mid-Week with Illegal Curve Replay:

Replay: Interview with Mike Colligan of The Hockey Writers (re; Penguins). Assessing Jacob Trouba’s options (to turn pro, or return to the NCAA). Interview with Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. The firing of Guy Boucher and hiring of Jon Cooper.

 

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Thursday Afternoon links, March 28th Jets and NHL news:

Note: Make sure to @ tweet @illegalcurve with your guess during tonight’s game you can win IC Gear by participating in our twitter Game Winning Goal contest. Remember that for your vote to qualify you must send in your guess by hashtaging (#) our Game Winning Goal (GWG) contest. (i.e. #ICGWG Enstrom).

Jets news:

Winnipeg Free Press: Jets find Penguins in circus mode after acquisition of Iginla. Will this distraction even the playing field? Of course word is Malkin returns tonight so that probably evens things out.

Winnipeg Sun: Montoya back between the pipes. He will seeing his first game action since March 7th. Big chance for the Big Cubano to steal a couple of points for the Jets.

Illegal Curve: Examining Winnipeg Jets prospect Jacob Trouba’s options. Since his NCAA season with the University of Michigan Wolverines ended with a loss to Notre Dame, there has been wild speculation as to the path the Jets number one pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft will take. We examined his options.

Illegal Curve: Game day preview of Jets vs. Penguins. The Southeast Division-leading Jets play the red hot and re-tooled Pittsburgh Penguins tonight looking to end Pittsburgh’s 13-game winning streak.

Illegal Curve: Winnipeg Jets Morning Papers. If you missed any of the Jets news from this morning, we have you covered.

Jets opposition (Penguins) news:

CBC: GM Ray Shero a master of deadline deals. He certainly knows how to make a flair.

USA Today: Why Penguins are loading up for Cup run. Kevin Allen looks at 10 reasons why the Penguins are loading up for a deep Cup run. Kevin will be joining us on Saturday’s Illegal Curve Hockey Show on TSN Radio 1290.

Pittsburgh Tribune: Iginla ‘wanted’ Penguins. It is going to be quite the intimidating roster when the Penguins visit opposing buildings.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Shero, Bylsma discuss how Iginla will fit in with Penguins. How excited was Dan Bylsma when he got the news that Iginla would be coming to Pittsburgh and not the Bruins?

For the Jets and Penguins news click here.

 

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Friday Papers

Friday, March 29th Jets, prospect and NHL news:

Note: Tune into the Illegal Curve Hockey Show on TSN Radio 1290 on Saturday as the guys (and myself) discuss all the latest Winnipeg Jets and NHL news. Take note that the show starts at 8 am until 11 am as a result of the Jets game beginning at 2 pm. Guests: Kevin Allen (USA Today), Craig Button (TSN) and Chip Alexander (News and Observer).

Jets news:

Winnipeg Free Press: Jets not cup contenders. If you measure yourself against a team like the Penguins than it is pretty, pretty difficult to stand up to the test. Can the Jets win against the Penguins, absolutely! But a long series facing a tough Pittsburgh/Boston/Montreal team would be problematic.

TSN: Jets power play struggles in loss to Penguins. Associating the word power with the Jets special teams seems like a mistake. Currently sitting 26th in the NHL converting at an anemic 14.4%.

Winnipeg Sun: No penalties for Jets. While they didn’t do anything noteworthy on the score sheet, they also didn’t take a single penalty for the first time in the combined Thrashers/Jets history. Pretty crazy to think that in all those years they didn’t have a single clean game before last night.

Winnipeg Sun: Penguins pound Jets, but Winnipeg remains six points ahead of Carolina in Southeast. The Jets win by virtue of the ineptitude of the rest of the East and you won’t hear anyone complaining about it. While it was a brutal loss to a clearly superior Penguins team, the bottom Eastern teams continue to fail to significantly gain ground. The hottest team outside the playoffs right now are the New York…Islanders, winners of three straight.

Winnipeg Sun: Winnipeg Jets didn’t look all that interested against Penguins. After the Jets failed to score, despite carrying the play for the initial 10 minutes and once Pittsburgh got a couple of goals, you got the sense that defeat was creeping onto the Winnipeg bench. Paul also looks at the Jets five on three blues, Buffs adventures, Kane’s had better nights, Burmi over handling the puck and seniority rules in dressing room.

Pittsburgh Tribune: Tangradi happier in Winnipeg. Tangradi had a number of good opportunities to scores against his old team, including a 3rd period breakaway.

Illegal Curve: Jets on a Deadline. Game recaps, post-game audio, video highlights and the NHL.com 3 Stars of the night.

Jets affiliate and prospect news:

Barrie Examiner: Brothers in arms. If you want to get to see a different side of Jets 2011 first round draft choice Mark Scheifele read this article.

Calgary Herald: Broncos captain Lowry and Iginla family friend reflects on deal. Jets fans will certainly not complain if they can have a Jarome Iginla type player from Adam Lowry, as he continues his development. Unfortunately for Adam Lowry and his Swift Current Bronco teammates, they lost Game 5 of their opening series to the Calgary Hitmen last night.

Illegal Curve: Examining Winnipeg Jets prospect Jacob Trouba’s options. Since his NCAA season with the University of Michigan Wolverines ended with a loss to Notre Dame, there has been wild speculation as to the path the Jets number one pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft will take. We broke down the four options on NHL Mid-Week on TSN Radio 1290.

NHL news:

Globe and Mail: Imagination soars at playoff possibilities after Sens shutout Rangers. Roy MacGregor is an excellent writer and as per usual pens a great read. This time, while breaking down the Sens and Rangers snooze-fest, he focuses on what a high level of Canadian content might look like in the playoffs.

Globe and Mail: Latest white knight in Coyotes saga will want incentives. Just when you think it is done, the Coyotes find another ‘prospective buyer’. With all the excitement that the Iginla story received, the Drama in the Desert news seemed to be pushed aside. Now the focus is back on the potential relocation of the team from Arizona as the NHL no longer wants to hemorrhage money since the City of Glendale will no longer provide the 25 million dollar cushion.

CBC: Time for Flames to be more careful. Calgary is not the same place it used to be. They seem to be the butt of many jokes around the league these days. Elliotte Friedman gives his thoughts on the situation in cow-town.

For the Jets, prospect and Penguins news click here.

 

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Friday Afternoon links

Friday Afternoon, March 29th Jets and Hurricanes news:

Note: Tune into the Illegal Curve Hockey Show on TSN Radio 1290 on Saturday as the guys (and myself) discuss all the latest Winnipeg Jets and NHL news. Take note that the show starts at 8 am until 11 am as a result of the Jets game beginning at 2 pm. Guests: Kevin Allen (USA Today), Craig Button (TSN) and Chip Alexander (News and Observer).

Jets news:

Winnipeg Free Press: Pavelec rested, ready. The busiest member of the Winnipeg Jets is tired…about being asked if he is tired!! He is quite ready and excited for the stretch run as his team gets ready to face division rival Carolina on Saturday.

Winnipeg Sun: Friday Jets chat. Ken brings you up to speed on what happened at the MTS Centre today.

CBC: Team should hold onto Ron Hainsey. The talk around Winnipeg is about the return you could get for Ron Hainsey. We have heard some suggest a 1st round pick (which seems high) although with some of these teams that is the basically a low 2nd round pick. At the same time, who steps in and takes his spot? Seems difficult to find someone on the current roster able to handle those types of minutes. We will know by next Wednesday what the Jets brass decides to do, but until then #Hainseywatch continues.

Illegal Curve: Coach Noel audio. Injury update (Wright – day-to-day. Stuart – day-to-day. Peluso – week-to-week. Slater – week-to-week +. Redmond – Expected in-town in early April). Hainsey & Antropov on maintenance days (jokes – not being traded). Can he put yesterday away and move forward. Does he think his team competed well? Did he get an explanation as to why Malkin’s goal counted? Good chance to widen the gap tomorrow. Comfort level (“Even if it did hit, I wouldn’t tell you until the season was overâ€) What does he take from the last game against Hurricanes? Good to see the discipline in last night’s game? Will Pavelec start against Hurricanes? Did Evander Kane shoot the puck at the ref and was he warned about it? Ends scrum with this: “Have a good…..Fridayâ€.

Illegal Curve: Winnipeg Jets players audio. Scrums with Mark Stuart, Evander Kane and Ondrej Pavelec.

Illegal Curve: Winnipeg Jets Morning Papers. If you missed any of the Jets news from this morning, including a very interesting piece on Mark Scheifele, we have you covered.

Jets opponent (Hurricanes) news:

News and Observer: Skinner struggles for consistency. It appears he still hasn’t gotten back to the game he was playing prior to the second concussion of his career. We will be having Chip Alexander on tomorrow’s Illegal Curve Hockey Show so we will ask him about this during the interview.

For the Jets and Hurricanes news click here.

 

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Saturday Papers

Saturday, March 30th Jets, Hurricanes and NHL news:

Note: Tune into the Illegal Curve Hockey Show on TSN Radio 1290 today as the guys (and myself) discuss all the latest Winnipeg Jets and NHL news. Take note that the show starts at 8 am until 11 am as a result of the Jets game beginning at 2 pm. Guests: Kevin Allen (USA Today), Craig Button (TSN) and Chip Alexander (News and Observer).

Jets news:

Winnipeg Free Press: Zach has your back, Jets. He is the face of this franchise and will be for years to come. He has embraced this team and community on and off the ice without a second thought since he first arrived in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg Free Press: Hoping to feed off playoff fervour. The atmosphere at the MTS Centre is unbelievable during regular season games, so one can only imagine the party atmosphere that would take place during a playoff game. Especially considering it would be the first NHL playoff action this team has seen in 15+ years.

Winnipeg Free Press: Coach fits in a rare practice. It was a quick one yesterday, lasting just 33 minutes, but just what this team needed to erase the memory of the Pittsburgh game from their minds and to get this team focused on the Carolina Hurricanes.

Winnipeg Free Press: Seed of Doubt. Ed takes a look at the decisions facing GM Kevin Cheveldayoff including what the Jets have, what they need, trade bait or key components, right king of deal, wrong kind of deal and who might be available.

Winnipeg Free Press: The Jets at the Deadline. Not to be confused with our Jets on a Deadline posts which recaps the Jets games, in this article Ed takes a look at the status of the players on the Jets’ current roster and whether they may be on the move or staying put.

Winnipeg Free Press: Pavelec rested, ready. You could tell that Ondrej wasn’t going to be happy answering questions about being ready and well rested by the media yesterday. He takes umbrage with the notion that he cannot be ready to go whenever called upon.

Winnipeg Sun: Cheveldayoff should stick to his guns, give Jets a chance in playoffs. Do they stay or do they trade now? That is the question that GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and his staff will be asking themselves over the next few days as we get ready for trade deadline on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Jets will have played three games by the evening of April 2nd (Home to Hurricanes, Visiting Rangers and Islanders) so we should have a better idea of potential playoff positioning. It makes sense to wait and see where you team is positioned and also to drive up the value for teams desperate to get something done before the trade deadline.

Winnipeg Sun: Too good to trade? This organization won’t be making any blockbuster deals because they know that they are still, to use coach Noel’s terminology “aways away†from being Stanley Cup contenders. So there is little point blowing up the long term approach for the potential one or two rounds of playoff action that might result from same.

Winnipeg Sun: Bogosian, Jets have moved on. The Jets have a six point division lead over the Hurricanes (although Carolina has played three fewer games) and all the players know the importance of today’s game.

Winnipeg Sun: The goal? Scoring says forwards. The Jets have 88 goals for this season while giving up 103. They have the worst differential (-15) of any team currently in the playoff picture by a wide margin (New Jersey -8). Quite simply put this team needs to produce more offence with the big players (Wheeler, Little, Kane, Ladd – combined two goals in last five games) having to step up and start putting the puck into the net consistently.

Globe and Mail: Around the Rinks. Eric Duhatscek talks a little about the Jets situation as well as the positioning they have in the Southeast.

Illegal Curve: Coach Noel audio. Injury update (Wright – day-to-day. Stuart – day-to-day. Peluso – week-to-week. Slater – week-to-week +. Redmond – Expected in-town in early April). Hainsey & Antropov on maintenance days (jokes – not being traded). Can he put yesterday away and move forward. Does he think his team competed well? Did he get an explanation as to why Malkin’s goal counted? Good chance to widen the gap tomorrow. Comfort level (“Even if it did hit, I wouldn’t tell you until the season was overâ€) What does he take from the last game against Hurricanes? Good to see the discipline in last night’s game? Will Pavelec start against Hurricanes? Did Evander Kane shoot the puck at the ref and was he warned about it?

Illegal Curve: Jets players audio. Audio following yesterday’s skate from Mark Stuart, Ondrej Pavelec and Evander Kane.

Opposition (Hurricanes) news:

News and Observer: Skinner struggles for consistency. It appears he still hasn’t gotten back to the game he was playing prior to the second concussion of his career. We will be having Chip Alexander on tomorrow’s Illegal Curve Hockey Show so we will ask him about this during the interview.

NHL news:

Calgary Herald: Attention turns to Bouwmeester now that Iginla has been dealt. The next big trade piece to be sent in the Flames fire sale?

Dallas Morning News: Jaromir Jagr earns 1000th assist, Stars gain revenge on Wild, 5-3. He is eighth on the NHL all-time scoring chart. Based on his assists alone he would be ahead of all active players with the exception of Teemu Selanne (1426), Joe Thornton (1108), Daniel Alfredsson (1102), Jarome Iginla (1095) and his team mate who got the primary assist on Jagr’s 1000th assist, Ray Whitney (1016).

Newsday: Lubomir Visnovsky, Islanders agree to two-year, $9.5-million contract extension. They got off to a rocky start but it looks like Visnovsky has settled on Long Island.

For the Jets, Hurricanes and NHL news click here.

 

[ICdave]

Sunday Papers

Note: Stay tuned to IC as Dave will be at practice today to get more player reactions before they head out on this road trip.

Sunday, March 31st Jets, Hurricanes and NHL news:

Jets news:

Winnipeg Free Press: Parade to penalty box kills Jets momentum. You just cannot afford to take the penalties the Jets took in the second half of the 2nd period and expect to win the game. The amount of energy they had expended as the period concluded was evident by their sluggish start to the 3rd. Once again they gave up a quick and momentum sucking goal to the opposition.

Winnipeg Free Press: Big Buff continues to come up short. Buff can easily be the best player on the ice and it would be impossible to get him to agree that he should be used less to conserve his energy. Part of the responsibility of a coach is getting the best out of your players so it is imperative that coach Noel gets Buff working optimally.

Winnipeg Free Press: Southeast Division tightens as Hurricanes beat Jets 3-1. The positive that can be taken is the Jets still have one of the easier schedules of their games remaining. Many of their Southeast division opponents still have multiple dates with Boston, Pittsburgh and Montreal.

TSN: Jets lead but Southeast Division still up for grabs. Perhaps heading on the road for a few games will be just what the doctor ordered for this team. According to Sports Club Stats the Jets playoff odds after the loss to the Hurricanes dropped them 13.8% to 56.7%.

Winnipeg Sun: Canes pound Jets. It was just a terrible loss for the Jets who continue to struggle against the Southeast division (Seven wins and seven losses). They have had opportunities to put the Capitals and Hurricanes well behind them and have failed to show that killer instinct.

Winnipeg Sun: Jets couldn’t get a handle on Hurricanes’ stormy momentum. I spoke to Ondrej Pavelec following the game and we discussed the penalties the team took in the 2nd period and how that impacted the team. (You can hear his comments below). Has to be disappointing to have such discipline against the Penguins on Thursday and then do the exact opposite against a division rival.

Jets on a Deadline – Hurricanes 3 Jets 1:

Winnipeg Jets audio: Zach Bogosian, Blake Wheeler, Ondrej Pavelec and Andrew Ladd.

Coach Noel post-game presser: Following his team’s 3-1 loss to the Hurricanes, coach Noel spoke with the media..

Carolina Hurricanes: Coach Kirk Muller and Eric Staal.

Illegal Curve Post-game podcast from the Press box: Guest Host Michael Remis and Analyst Richard Pollock break down the Jets play against the Hurricanes.

Jets on a Deadline: Game recaps, post-game audio, video highlights and the NHL.com 3 Stars of the night.

NHL news:

CBC: Taylor Hall breaks Gretzky’s fastest hat trick record, Oilers blank Canucks. Something remarkable when you can say you have eclipsed a record held by the greatest player of all time.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Crosby goes down, but Penguins keep streak going. It was a horrific looking injury to the best player in the game. But somehow these Pens just keep winning as they buried the Islanders for their 15th straight victory.

Globe and Mail: Why Huberdeau stands out among NHL rookies. Been a decent rookie crop this season but Huberdeau has stood one when we have watched the Jets take on the Panthers this season.

For the Jets and NHL news click here.