What does Murray's injury mean for Penguins?

Today it was announced that Matt Murray has suffered a broken hand and will be out between 3 and 6 weeks. It is likely that it is the later as the Penguins won't want to rush him and will take their time getting him back rather than risk further problems down the line. With Murray out though the back-up spot becomes open for a short period of time.

Fleury will of course be the starter now for the period that Murray is out giving him a solid chance to reclaim his starting position back. Should he perform well it would be hard to take it away from him but I think Fleury is the starter in the Penguins mind already. Matt Murray is still young at just 22 years old and could do with a whole season to see if last seasons run wasn't just a good run.

The third wheel from last year, Jeff Zatkoff, has departed to pastures new in Los Angeles to become the Kings new backup goaltender. This opens up a spot in Wilkes-Barre too. The Penguins drafted a number of goalies between the 2012 and 2013 NHL Drafts. Murray being one of those goalies, the other two being Jarry and Maguire.

We can expect Jarry and Maguire to spend the season in the AHL alongside Wilkes-Barres third choice goalie, Casey DeSmith. Maguire is unfortunately injured at the moment but It is possible that Jarry and Maguire also see time in Wheeling purely for game time. The Penguins currently have Leland Irving on a PTO during camp too so if he signed it could complicate things a little more. Saying that, last year the Baby Pens had four goalies to call on throughout the season.

Jim Rutherford has mentioned that the Penguins could dip into the waiver wire to pick someone up after camps are completed for the brief period but I don't see a need to do that. I think the best course of action would be give Tristan Jarry the backup role and in turn give him a couple of games. Then when Murray comes back he can take Jarry's spot who in turn would return to WBS.

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EA NHL heading in right direction

NHL17 has been out for around a week now and I have now had a chance to look at all of the games modes, those new and those returning from the previous iterations. Originally I was a bit sceptical about buying the game as I didn't feel like it had been advertised much and as such there wasn't enough information as to the changes that should make me buy it. Maybe that is because  I live in the UK.

The game, compared to last year, is a lot smoother and cleaner in terms of presentation. Last year saw the first step to a new layout with more colour instead of a dark setting that made reading text hard and I think the contrast of the coloured menus alongside a dark background works better than NHL17. For me, it is too bright but I get why it has been done.

The menus are still simplistic in finding what you want though and their main aim is to be easy to navigate reducing time spent in the menus. There are some modes where it feels like more could be held on single screens, such as the banal requirement to go to your collection to add to sets in Hockey Ultimate Team. Franchise Mode has a few extra tabs too, especially in the player section for free agents or trading. It is something EA should look at.

In terms of actually gameplay, it is similar in terms of game presentation but there are some distinct and more subtle differences to NHL16. You can tell that goaltenders have been worked on as there are clear new animations which open more unique ways to score, or miss. Shooting feels the same and there are aspects of defence, particularly hitting that feels the same and there appears to be a strong weakness and ease to score in repetitive ways, the AI doesn't adapt as it should.



One of the big issues that people have had with this years version is the seemingly worsening ratings for players that have no real life replication if they were to be used. There seems to be no actual thought process behind them rather than just whacking numbers in to make a certain total. They need to revamp the way they rate players, especially when you compare the way that MLB and FIFA do theirs. In those series, players might be low rated but low rated players may be skilled in certain areas that make them worthwhile.

There are new features in various modes. The biggest addition was probably the inclusion of ECHL teams, which is nice to see. Sadly, they're not in the GM mode so you can't send prospects or players from your AHL team down to get playing time. Draft Champions is a new twist on the FIFA FUT Draft too in that you can draft any of a range of top players and play with them to earn some rewards to use in Hockey Ultimate team. It expands the mode and makes it more open.

There's also a new mode completely outside of HUT in the World Cup of Hockey which allows you to take any nation involved in the 8 team tournament and take them to World success. It would have been a big problem and surprise if NHL didn't include it seeing as it is the leagues premiere tournament. It is a great mode and works realistically to real life and is enjoyable to play.

In all, I think there are enough changes to make it worthwhile but it does feel like they could have done better in some areas. I would say there is a clear improvement from last year in actual gameplay and you should buy it if you want a hockey game to play. Overall, I'd give it 6.5/10.

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World Cup of Hockey final rundown

The World Cup of Hockey is just hours away and with all the exhibition games complete attention is turning now to the competition proper with Team USA kicking off the tournament against Team Europe tomorrow at 3:30pm EST. That game is followed by Czech Republic v Canada at 8:00pm

Pittsburgh have a number of interests in the tournament and after hosting the final exhibition games for some teams yesterday the attention is now shifting to the players. The usual suspects are appearing with ties to Pittsburgh with Crosby heading Team Canada and Malkin playing a big part in Team Russia as they looked to come out of a fairly even Group B.

Patric Hornqvist and Olli Maatta are both appearing for their respective Scandinavian nations in Sweden and Finland whilst young star Matt Murray has been given the starting spot for Team North America ahead of Gibson. Many feel that Phil Kessel should have been part of Team USA but with him recovering from a hand injury sustained in the play offs it is best he doesn't player.  Not that John Tortorella could see skill in front of him.

I think it is clear that the two weakest teams in the tournament will be Team Europe and the Czech Republic. Although saying that, Team Europe beat Sweden 6-2 yesterday. Whilst an exhibition game it will give them a bit of hope that they can get some results. Especially if Draisatl can play like he did, scoring a hat-trick.

Czech Republic's team is seemingly devoid of skilled players to pick from and with the likes of Jagr and Elias retired from international duty they need to start looking for the next generation. David Pastrnak at 20 is the youngest but he is one of only four players aged under 25. The Czech Republic also have too players in Jordan and Nakladal that are free agents.

I feel like this tournament will lead up to a USA-Canada final with Canada besting the USA in three games. Canada will top Group A with three straight wins followed by Team USA. The rest of the group will be filled out with Team Europe with the Czechs dead last in my opinion.

From Group B I can see a very tight group and I reckon Russia will miss out with Team North America living up to their pre-tournament hype. Between Sweden and Finland it is incredibly tight to call and really is a coin toss. The game between the two on the 20th will be the decider and looking at the two rosters,  I would have to give it to Sweden. With them winning the group and losing to Team USA in the semi-final.

I'm looking forward to it starting tonight and hopefully it is a good tournament. I just wish it was bigger and more global.

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World Cup of Hockey shows NHL's lack of desire in expanding interest

The World Cup of Hockey is just around the corner and the interest and fervour is building with exhibition games starting this Thursday. For Canadians it is a huge interest and it is also being promoted massively in America. Whilst there is some interest in Sweden, Finland and Russia it is nowhere near the same level as in North America. As for Europe, whilst they have two teams in the Czech Republic and Team Europe the interest just isn't there.

As someone who lives in the UK I haven't seen any advertisement at all here, I don't know if that is the same in continental Europe but I feel like the exclusion of a number of teams and making it 8 teams instead of 12 is affecting the global appeal of the tournament. It is as if this tournament is just for the North American market and it isn't a tournament targeted at all those involved, which is a shame.

The biggest issue I have with this tournament is the inclusion of the two gimmick teams in Team North America and Team Europe. Whilst I'm sure they'll both play well and give everything to win it seems a bit insulting to the likes of Switzerland and Slovakia to exclude them in place of the above teams.

The idea of international tournaments is that those who take part compete for their nations pride. What national pride is there in a group of players thrown together competing? They're even having to come up with a national anthem for the team, which will probably end up being Ode to Joy as that is the official European Union anthem.

This tournament could have been handled better by those in charge but it really is just a tournament for the NHL to distance themselves from the Olympics and give themselves their own money making cash cow to milk every four years. I'm hoping that they will remain in the Olympics and hold the World Cup in four year cycles between them.

I also hope that they'll expand it to 12 teams and invite a number of European teams along with Japan and South Korea. It would give it a much more global feel and could even be open to qualification. But this being the NHL they seem to not really care about the European market where they should be looking to latch onto. It is just over a month until the new season and yet there is no news on a TV deal for the UK, a market which has seen a real boom in interest in the NFL thanks to constant advertising and coverage. The NHL is missing out and it goes deeper than the World Cup of Hockey.

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