AGRI Biz

Written By: Mark ôThe Hard Hitterö RitterThanks for the memories Jiri Tlusty, we (Leaf fans) hardly knew you!TSN is reporting, what I had suspected for some time was going to happen (and just one day after I questioned whether or not the Carolina Hurricanes were about to make a deal)ùthe Toronto Maple Leafs have traded forward Jiri Tlusty. In return, the Leafs get Hurricanes prospect Philippe Paradis.The move should hardly ...

Written By: Mark ôThe Hard Hitterö Ritter The landscape for the Carolina Hurricanes does not look good. Marred in a five-game losing streak, the Hurricanes have looked out of sync, out of breath, and outclassed. With a record of 5-17-5 on the season, the Canes look to have the ôcovetedö 30th overall position all wrapped up and, unless there is a drastic change in their fortunes, ...

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter   For the Flyers, the 2009-10 season has been like a roller coaster ride.   First there were the huge climbs at the beginning of the season, when the team got off to a 3-0 start. That was followed by a steep fall with three losses in a row, followed by a massive climb, winning seven out of eight games, and back to the lows again.   The only ...

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter Selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the No. 32 pick in the 2007 NHL entry draft, Stefan Legein has had a lot of ups and downs in his somehow uneventful professional hockey career.Sure, there were the headlines when he announced he was quitting hockey in the summer of 2008, and more recently, he made another splash when he was traded from the ...

Written By: Mark ôThe Hard Hitterö Ritter Admittedly, the Philadelphia FlyersÆ first quarter of the 2009-10 season has not been without flaws. There was the miserable 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers back in October and, more recently, the horrific 6-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks. Yet, for the most part, the Flyers have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend, as do many ...

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter When you visited the Ottawa Senators website last season the Senators slogan, “A Force United,” was very prevalent. This season, the slogan has disappeared from the site and with it has gone Dany Heatley’s scoring and Jason Spezza’s status as an elite NHL player. Through 20 games, Spezza has an alarming one goal to show for his efforts. To be ...

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter At 6’2” and 196 pounds, Carl Gunnarsson is hard to miss. Thank goodness the Toronto Maple Leafs spotted him in the seventh round (194th overall) in the 2007 NHL entry draft, because the 23 year-old has “got’s skillz”. In case you missed it, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning Wednesday night by a score of 4-3. ...

The Chicago Blackhawks will get a look at their prized free agent signee, Marian Hossa, tonight when the Hawks face the red hot San Jose Sharks, a tilt that should be one for the ages.   Hossa, who signed a 12-year deal with the Hawks, reportedly worth well over $62 million dollars, has been sidelined since having shoulder surgery July 24th . He is expected to play alongside Jonathan Toews and Patrick ...

When the Philadelphia Flyers departed on their five game road trip expectations were high, and rightly so. Up to that point, the Flyers had amassed a very impressive 11-5-1 record, good enough for third in the Atlantic Division and 11th overall in the NHL standings. Fast forward to game four of the five game road trip and the Flyers are now tied with the New York Islanders and ...

Every NHL team features their fair share of ôStarsö. For the Philadelphia Flyers, that list includes Chris Pronger, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Matt Carle, and Ray Emery. Star players are a key part to any team's success. With that said, it is the players that do the ôlittle thingsö that, while sometimes are overlooked, are more often than not the key cog in a team's success; in ...