Chitter Chatter

A few random notes about some players and a random thought about the Bruins. A positive, intriguing thought that was half answered in an article I read earlier, but I'm going to save that for later. First line up....

Arbitration
The Devils have officially taken Zach Parise to arbitration. Nothing shocking here, since everyone not living under a rock knew this was going to happen. They had months to work something out with him and now they need even more time. I believe their up against the cap salary issue is why they are doing this, but I really hope they get this done. If they don't make him happy, the Devils have potentially lost their next decade captain after this season. Not a good idea at all.

Shea Weber of the Predators has also been taken to arbitration, but this team has the opposite problem of the Devils. They have money to spend so I'm guessing terms and money weren't matching up between the two. Rumor is he also just got a new agent. Guessing some guys don't get that sometimes you'll get further faster with the old standby who knew you better and had worked with your team previously. Why not change agents after you've signed your massive contract? I'll never understand because it's just so backwards to me.

Side Note: A Tim Tebow commercial just came on and it bothered me to no end. His Jockey ad in ESPN the Mag also makes me crazy. In fact, anything related to him makes me nuts. Rant over.

Second Line....

Lace 'em up or hang 'em up
6 time Norris Trophy Winner Niklas Lidstrom has informed the Red Wings that he will inform them in Vegas on his playing decision. At least he is doing this before we need to hold an ESPN hour long show called "The Decision" at a Boys and Girls Club in Detroit. Wait, that only happens in basketball and look how that turned out. Seriously though he has had an amazing career and I hope he only retires if that's what he truly feels is best for his family and himself. He is nominated for his 7th Norris Trophy and is up against Shea Weber and newly minted Stanley Cup Champ Zdeno Chara.

Mark Recchi who just won Cup number 3 already has announced his retirement. In fact his announcement came so quickly after (as most expected) that I was starting to wonder if he said it the moment he did a victory lap with it. Have to admit, it's nice to see a guy who played for so many years because of their love for the game go out on top.

3rd Line...

Country/Hop-Hip Party Anyone?
Vegas is the place to be this week with the NHL awards back in town for the 3rd go around. While there the boys will enjoy some gambling, drinking, fine dining and being serenaded by Dierks Bentley and Far East Movement. Can not think of two more opposite acts to choose. Obviously each player has their taste but this is Country and Electro Hip Hop with no in between. Of course some guys will probably still be drunk from the night before and probably just cruise through Vegas in a never ending drunken stupor so they might not notice this odd pairing of musicians. Wonder what Disco Dan will think of this? He'll be in town waiting to see if he won the Jack Adams. If losing your starting lineup and still making the playoffs was the only criteria he'd be a shoe-in. Still think he has a great chance at winning it. Remember this was only his 2nd full season with the Pens.

Cup Galore!
Now that you've sat through all the mumble jumble (or scrolled down if you were smart) here is a thought about the Bruins and the Cup after some more jibber jabber. Since a whopping 4 days have passed since the Bruin's took their first drink from the Cup, we've had some time to reflect on all things hockey, Bruins and Vancouver riotville.

The way the Canuck fans acted is intolerable and was childish. They acted like they were bombed and the pictures of the streets with people all over and fires gave me flashbacks to 9/11 and that is just uncalled for. Obviously this was not the team acting, only their over zealous fans but that was just unreal. There was no need to riot, set cars ablaze or any of the other antics they displayed. I'd be embarrassed if I was from Vancouver and our city was shown like that. Thankfully the guys on ice have been able to fly under the radar and grovel in the protection of their own homes.

Concussions have been playing a headline role in the NHL and NFL the past season or so and it's like a bad car crash I can't stop wondering about. I have a minor obsession with knowing the status of Marc Savard and since I knew that he didn't fly to Vancouver, I had begun to wonder if he got his chance to have a few minutes with the Cup back in Boston which brought me to this wild thought and fact: Marc Savard as of this moment in time is NOT a Stanley Cup champ. His name as of today will not be joining his teammates and past winners all because of his concussion (which is my obsession).

The NHL states that the rules for your name joining immorality on the Cup is that you play 41 regular season games or at least 1 final game. There is no loop-hole or injury clause for inclusion on the Cup, which got me wondering if the Bruins' in their alcohol induced stupors had realized this detail. They had I discovered via an article I read this morning and they said they will figure out the petition process to get Savard and injured teammate Steve Kampfer's names included on the Cup. Oddly enough the NHL does acknowledge in its Cup inclusion process that the backup goalie has no criteria since most backups play 20-30 games at most. Nice to see they didn't forget the back up, but there needs to be a clause for an injured player and his chance to be acknowledged as a Champion.