Blackhawks sell high on Byfuglien

Hockey Betting Lines

06/24/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For a few weeks during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, some folks were calling Dustin Byfuglien the best power forward in the NHL.

It's unlikely Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman agreed entirely with that sentiment, since he opted to trade Byfuglien to Atlanta in a blockbuster deal early Thursday morning.

Byfuglien, along with defenseman Brent Sopel and forwards Ben Eager and Akim Aliu, were dealt to the Thrashers for Atlanta's first round pick (24th overall) in this weekend's NHL Entry Draft, the 54th pick, and forwards Marty Reasoner, Jeremy Morin, and Joey Crabb.

This trade has just about everything to do with Chicago's salary cap situation. Byfuglien is scheduled to make $3 million this season in the final year of his contract and the Blackhawks obviously did not feel they could afford to re-sign the bulky winger next year. Also, with the draft picks they gave up, we can also infer that Atlanta has every intention of keeping Byfuglien around long-term.

The Blackhawks already have devoted loads of money to players like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Brian Campbell and others, so it makes sense they decided to trade Byfuglien now because they must believe his value will never be higher than it as at present.

But, the fact that the deal makes fiscal sense for the Blackhawks doesn't necessarily mean that Chicago won't wind up regretting this trade. After all, we are just weeks removed from a solid performance by Byfuglien in the Stanley Cup Finals, which ended with the Hawks celebrating their first title in 49 years.

Byfuglien tallied six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in six games against Philadelphia in the Cup Finals and, as the series wore on, he was able to turn the tables on the Flyers and especially defenseman Chris Pronger.

A 6-foot-4, 257-pound Minnesota native, Byfuglien is a unique talent in the NHL. He is the heaviest player in the league, but also has a great deal of offensive talent and tremendously soft hands for a big man. His offensive skill was obviously a key factor in Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville's decision to skate Byfuglien on the top line with Toews and Kane for most of the playoffs.

The Thrashers, meanwhile, opted to give up quite a bit to land this package from Chicago and may have been more than a little swayed by Byfuglien's ability to draw fans to Philips Arena. The Thrashers were 28th in the NHL in average attendance last year and needed to add some recognizable faces to try and offset the loss of former Atlanta superstar Ilya Kovalchuk, who was dealt before last season's trade deadline.

The addition of Byfuglien and Eager also should make Atlanta a much more physical team and the acquisition of Sopel will add some solid depth to the blue line.

Atlanta is just hoping Byfuglien can continue producing the way he did in the playoffs, where he recorded 11 goals and 16 points in 22 games. However, he has never scored 20 goals or recorded 40 points in a season and Byfuglien is coming off a year in which he tallied just 17 goals and 17 assists in 82 games. The 25-year-old certainly has shown flashes of dominance throughout his career with Chicago, but he'll need to be a more consistent point-producer to justify this trade for Atlanta.

In the end, this could not have been a trade that the Blackhawks were dying to pull off, but simply a move that needed to be made. Of course, Byfuglien became a very popular player in Chicago and fans are generally not receptive to salary dumps, but Bowman understands the Blackhawks need to improve their cap health. Trading a guy with one year left on his contract that you won't be able to re-sign is a good way to start that process. It won't hurt that the Blackhawks also gained a few draft picks and an intriguing prospect like Morin to boot.

This is just one of many difficult decisions Bowman will have to make in order to maintain the defending champions' status as viable Cup contenders. Still, the moves are unlikely to change Chicago's probable position as the top pick to win the West, and possibly a repeat Cup winner.

Byfuglien is a nice weapon to have, but ultimately he was deemed not as essential to the Blackhawks' future success as Toews, Kane and company. Hard to argue with that line of thinking.

HENRIK HAS A HART

A few months back when the finalist for the NHL Awards were announced, I voiced my support for Vancouver forward Henrik Sedin as my pick for the Hart Trophy. Guess I can tell the truth now, that I didn't believe Sedin would actually win the league's MVP award given that his competition was Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. I still believed he deserved it, though, and so did the Pro Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) members who voted on the Hart Memorial Trophy.

Sedin's Hart win was the biggest surprise of NHL Awards night, and the voting reflected what a close race it was. Sedin garnered 894 voting points compared to 834 for Ovechkin, making it the closest vote since Jose Theodore defeated Jarome Iginla for the Hart in 2002.

Sedin led the NHL in points during the 2009-10 campaign, but that's not what impressed me the most about his season. Henrik, who of course plays on the same line for the Canucks with his identical twin brother Daniel, has always been known as the playmaker, while Daniel has generally taken care of the goal scoring.

However, when Daniel missed 18 games with a broken foot in October and November, Henrik showed there is more to his game than nifty passing. Henrik notched 10 goals and eight assists during his brother's absence, becoming the goal-scorer Vancouver needed with Daniel out of the lineup.

It was that ability to alter his game in such a dramatic way that set Henrik apart from the pack this year in my estimation. Sure, he's not as deadly an offensive player as Ovechkin or Crosby, but Henrik showed an uncanny ability to adjust when his team needed production from him the most. Obviously, the players thought differently, as Ovechkin won the Ted Lindsay Award, which is the league's other MVP Award and chosen by the NHLPA.

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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

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Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.