NHL: Forbes Releases List of Each Team's Value; Maple Leafs Leading the Way

Forbes magazine has once again determined that the Toronto Maple Leafs are the National Hockey League's most valuable team.

The magazine released its annual Business Of Hockey list on Wednesday, ranking each NHL team by its value.

At number one, the Maple Leafs are reportedly worth a total of $505 million. Forbes says the Maple Leafs' total revenue was about $187 million to go along with $82.5 million in operating income.
The Maple Leafs finished 29th in the league last season, going 30-38-14.


The New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins round out the top five, at $461, $408, $315 and $302 million respectively. The Philadelphia Flyers ($301 million), Chicago Blackhawks ($300 million), Vancouver Canucks ($262 million), Pittsburgh Penguins ($235 million) and Dallas Stars ($227 million) round out the top-ten.

For the complete list, click here.

**Follow Lukas on Twitter @SportsHazeLukas for breaking hockey news and rumors, as well as Toronto Maple Leafs game updates.
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New York Rangers Can't Find A Way To Win Against Sidney Crosby and The Penguins

Monday night, the New York Rangers squared off with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second time this season.
The Rangers were victorious in the first game in Pittsburgh, but this time it would be the Penguins winning, and evening the season series at 1-1.
The Penguins defeated the Rangers 3-1 Monday night, bringing their win streak to seven, while snapping the Rangers win streak at two.
Here are some post-game notes.

Sidney Crosby-Slewfoot Incident(s)
The Pittsburgh Penguins captain is most known for his spectacular scoring plays, and for his dominant play on the ice. But in last nights game, the NHL's top superstar sunk down a few levels, throwing two cheap shots in the game.
First, a slewfoot on Rangers forward, Ryan Callahan, in the first period of the game, which went completely unseen and uncalled.
The second time was late in the third period on Rangers agitator, Sean Avery. This time a penalty was called on Crosby for his illegal action.
Will the NHL take a look at the incidents? Probably not, they have never taken a look at anything Crosby has done illegally.
Should they take a look at the incidents? Yes, they definitely should. One of the NHL's dirtiest plays was made twice in one game, by one player: Sidney Crosby.

Marian Gaborik
Gaborik returned to the lineup after missing one game with the flu, and he was arguably the best player on the ice for the New York Rangers.

Henrik Lundqvist
Lundqvist struggled on two of the three Pittsburgh goals, which both took place back-to-back in the midst of the second period.
On one, Lundqvist was screened, and the other was just a slow reaction coming from the Rangers top goaltender.

Overall
Overall the game was not a very fan-friendly one, and was not very exciting for the most part. Definitely not a game you would expect to see from two division rivals.

Where Next?
Next, the Rangers will play a home-and-home series against the New York Islanders, game one being played at the Coliseum on Thursday, followed by a game at Madison Square Garden on Friday.

Game Day- Tampa Bay Visit Toronto

The Lightning take their talent to Toronto to pay a visit to the struggling Leafs. Toronto's record this year is 8-11-3, and losers of two straight. The Lightning on the other hand are 13-8-3 after losing in a shootout to Atlanta on Saturday. In the only previous meeting of the season Tampa blanked the Leafs 4-0 at the St. Pete Times Forum.

The Leafs are coming off a shutout to the Senators and have only scored one goal in their last two games. They have however won three straight at home and have scored twelve goals in those games. The Lightning have lost two straight on the road with a combined total of eight goals allowed in those games.

Starting Goalies (Expected): GP W L OTL SO GAA SV%

Jonas Gustavsson 11 3 6 1 0 2.45 .917

Dan Ellis 14 5 4 3 2 2.85 .895


I expect a very fast paced game as both teams are known for their quickness. Steven Stamkos hasn't scored in two games, but expect him to pick up a goal or two in Toronto. The Lightning's main concern has to be Mikhael Grabvoski who always has a knack to pick up points against the Bolts.

Predictions:5-3 Lightning

Three Stars:

1. Steven Stamkos- 2 goals 1 assist

2. Nikolai Kulemin- 1 goal 1 assist

3. Martin St. Louis- 2 assists

& be sure to follow Braden @OTCBraden to stay up to date with everything Bolts related.

New York Rangers Updates on Henrik Lundqvist, Marian Gaborik, and Derek Boogaard

Here are the latest updates on the New York Rangers.

Henrik Lundqvist
Henrik Lundqvist will start for the Rangers tonight when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Lundqvist has won two-straight games for the Rangers, including a 3-0 shutout win against the Florida Panthers.

Marian Gaborik
Gaborik will be a game-time decision for the Rangers, as he is still feeling effects of the flu.

Derek Boogaard
Boogaard will sit out for the third straight game with shoulder soreness.

That's all for now.

New York Rangers Return to MSG set to Take On The Pittsburgh Penguins

Monday night, the New York Rangers will return home after a three game road trip in which they won two of them, including a 3-0 shutout over the Florida Panthers Friday night.

Here are some pregame notes.

Henrik Lundqvist or Martin Biron
Lundqvist has started the Rangers previous three games, winning two of them with a shutout included.
Lundqvist is the expected starter for the Rangers, but anything can change come the morning skate.
Marian Gaborik and Derek Boogaard
Marian Gaborik missed the Rangers last game against the Nashville Predators, Saturday night, due to an illness (believed to be the flu). Whether or not Gaborik plays tonight is currently unknown.
Boogaard has missed two straight games with shoulder soreness, and his status for tonight's game is also unknown.
Offense-Defense Comibinations
Expect the lineup to remain the same for the Rangers (as it was against the Predators), unless one of Marian Gaborik or Derek Boogaard are able to return.
If one of the two forwards do return for tonight's game, one of the Rangers seven defensemen will be forced to sit out (Matt Gilroy is the likely candidate).

If there are any roster or lineup changes, expect an update sometime this afternoon.

Is it Time for VIncent Lecavalier to go?

There has been a debate for the last two years, if Vincent Lecavalier should be traded, and I believe the time is now. Even though he is injured for another four to five weeks , I believe there would be some teams interested in his services. The last two years Lecavalier has been linked to trade talks with several teams, but the deals have fallen through. He has had a respectable start to the season, before the injury and this could add to his trade value. Vincent has lost favour with the fans and most are calling for a trade.

Lecavalier had nine points in fourteen games before suffering a broken hand in a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals, and is on injured reserved for an estimated two to three weeks. He was playing on the second line, and only had three goals in the season. The Lightning have not missed Lecavalier going 5-3 in the games since. Steven Stamkos has emerged as the new star for Lightning leading the NHL in goals and points with 38. With the Lightning emerging as a playoff contender, Lecavalier should be traded to add some depth on the blue line and some draft picks.

Vincent has not scored thirty goals in the past two seasons, and has 9 seasons left on his contract with a cap hit of 7.7 million. A change in scenery might be welcomed by Lecavalier who has a no trade clause. In the past Montreal(Lecavalier's home province) has been linked to trades for Lecavalier, but they have lost significant cap space and Tampa would have to be willing to accept large cap players to make the deal work. A potential deal could be: Vincent Lecavlier to the Montreal Canadiens for Roman Hamrlik, Ben Maxwell and a first round pick (via capgeek.com). This deal would be very hard to pull off but could help both teams in different areas. Montreal would get the large center they've been criticized about and Tampa would get some defensive depth to help the young defenders.

That is just one trade the Lightning could make, but don't expect them to trade Vincent, unless Yzerman gets a deal he can't resist. I know many fans who have been disappointed with Lecavalier, and I too expect much more for a player who is getting paid 10 million for the next six seasons, but unless something large happens, Vinny may stay in the Sunshine State for another couple of seasons.

Follow Braden @OTCBraden on twitter to stay update with the Tampa Bay Lightning

Chicago's Goaltending: Is there a plan for Marty Turco and Corey Crawford?

There has been a lot of finger-pointing with regard to the Blackhawks' slow start this season. Some want to believe that it is due to the long season leading up to the Cup win. Others believe that that defense, and at times the offense, need to show up consistently for a game. Others still want to blame Marty Turco and Corey Crawford.

While all of these points are valid ones, the question that came to mind while reading some Chicago columnists earlier today was this; What truly is the plan for Turco and Crawford? While the contract and arbitration issues with Antti Niemi were heating up, the Hawks were watching Marty Turco out of the corner of their eye.

With a one year contract, my questions are these: Why is he here? What's his purpose? What is the plan? It is relatively clear that he isn't here to battle No. 2 goaltender Corey Crawford for the No. 1 spot. Is he here to play Osgood to Howard, a la the Detroit Red Wings? Was Turco brought in for the year to be a mentor to Crawford? Was he brought in as a stop-gap because we simply needed a goaltender?

If that is the case, it would make sense to gradually see the playing time for the two to gradually equal out and eventually see Crawford move into the No. 1 spot by the end of the season. Yet, I am not getting the warm fuzzies over this scenario. How often do we hear Turco talk about mentoring Crawford?

Another interesting aspect of Turco's arrival is that he has moved his entire family here with him from Dallas, the only home the kids have ever known. If there is only a one year contract, six-to-eight months in a calendar year, it seems odd that Turco would uproot his family, the kids in particular. Is it possible that Bowman has left the door open for more than what the press and public have been told?

Bowman and the Blackhawks front office have worked hard selling Turco to the fans. Starting with a large press conference in late August and lots of public events, including helping paint the Blackhawk logo on the United Center Ice. The need to "sell" Turco to the fan base was certainly a smart move considering how much fans fell in love with former goaltender Antti Niemi during the Cup run last year.

Yet here we are, 25 games into the season and the stats on these two goaltenders are interesting:

(Source: Official Blackhawks website)

	Games	GAA	Min.	SV%
Turco	18	2.90	1056	.904
Crawford	7	2.39	401	.916

This is going to be a rebuilding year, that is pretty clear. Defending the Cup just doesn't seem realistic. So, why not use it to give Crawford some consistent time in net to gain the experience that he will certainly need next year? Turco, while a great guy and great leader in the locker room, certainly isn't living up to Bowman's billing of him when he arrived. If there was some plan for Turco and Crawford, it may certainly need to be taken back to the drawing board.

Is it time for Coach Q to start giving Crawford more time in net?