Busy Hurricanes ink Staal

Hockey Betting Lines

07/01/2006 - Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes continued their busy off-season as they signed forward Eric Staal to a three-year deal, goaltender John Grahame to a two-year contract and defenseman Mike Commodore to a two- year deal on Saturday.

Staal, the team's leading scorer in the regular season and overall in the playoffs, will make $4 million in 2006-07, $4.5 million in 2007-08 and $5 million in 2008-09.

Last season, Staal, 21, became the first player to notch a 100-point season in a Carolina Hurricanes uniform, and the first player to post at least 100 points in a season since Ron Francis had 101 in 1989-90 when the team was in Hartford. Also, Staal's 45 goals during the regular season set a team record. He also notched 55 assists in the regular season and led all point scorers in the playoffs with 28 points (nine goals and 19 assists). He had a 15-game point streak in the playoffs.

The Hurricanes drafted Staal with the second overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and he has notched 56 goals and 75 assists in 163 games.

"Eric has developed into one of the premier scorers and playmakers in the National Hockey League," said Carolina president and general manager Jim Rutherford. "He led our team in goals, assists and points last year, and he had a fantastic postseason, making big plays at key times. He is one of the centerpieces for the Hurricanes and we are glad to have him under contract for the next few seasons."

Commodore, 26, established career highs in games played (72), goals (three) and assists (10) last season for the Hurricanes. Originally a second round pick of New Jersey in the 1999 draft, he has played five seasons and has four goals and 16 assists in 147 games with stints in New Jersey, Calgary and Carolina.

His contract will pay him $1.2 million in 2006-07 and $1.3 million in 2007-08.

Grahame will replace Martin Gerber, who became an unrestricted free agent earlier on Saturday.

In six NHL seasons with Boston and Tampa Bay, Grahame has a record of 82-66-14 with a 2.69 goals-against average and 12 shutouts. Last season with the Lightning he had a 29-22-1 record with a 3.06 GAA and five shutouts.

Grahame's contract will pay him $1.4 million each season.

"With the departure of Marty Gerber to free agency, John completes our goaltending tandem for the next two years," said Rutherford.

The three signings on Saturday make it seven players that Carolina has signed in the past two days. On Friday, the club agreed to a four-year contract with forward Justin Williams, a four-year deal with defenseman Niclas Wallin, a three-year deal with forward Craig Adams and a two-year contract with defenseman Andrew Hutchinson.

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Betting Football

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.