So I decided to take a long weekend away from life and major changes have been going on in the hockey world. The first of which is.....
The Shiny New Toy has a name finally- The Winnipeg Jets (2.0). They are still logo-less and handed their draft picks a standard black jersey with the NHL shield on the front. Imagine waiting your entire life to hear your name picked by a team and all you get is a generic black jersey while everyone else gets a real team one. Takes some of the thrill away I'd think, but at least these guys knew what their team name was which was a step up from moments before the draft began. Winnipeg is taking baby steps obviously and by the time training camp opens, they will have hopefully leaked their colors to us. In the meantime....
The Flyers decided on Thursday that baby steps won't bring home a Stanley Cup and decided to speed up the process by trading Captain Mike Richard to LA and Jeff Carter to Columbus. The cap money saved by moving them allowed the team to sign goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to a 9 year $51 million dollar deal. Bryzgalov is clearly who the Flyers are banking on instead of a tandum of young goalies, but the Western conference is different than the Eastern. He played less games because of more travel out West and the Flyers are going to be relying on him to need less rest due to an easier travel schedule and play more games. He was good goalie on a decent team in Phoenix, but I have a feeling Flyers nation is going to put the weight of the world on this guy. I hope he doesn't collapse under it because Philadelphia fans are some of the most brutal in the country, regardless of the sport. At least he will have his choice of parks to visit when he needs some quiet time.
I think the real winner in this trade were the Blue Jackets. They finally have a big name player with the stats to back it up to play with Rick Nash, even if it took Carter over 4 days to come out of his shell and announce he was happy about the future. Of course not without pointing fingers at Holmgren and beginning a war of words with his former GM. Wouldn't you love to see the Blue Jackets in the East to play against the Flyers more often. Carter has some serious fire in him now. Hopefully it's contagious to his new teammates at the very least.
Speaking of wondering which team would benefit coming East after this season, the NHL is forging ahead with the concept of changing up the alignment. It is actually a decent idea and definitely will have a positive impact on the travel schedule, especially for the Western Conference teams. There is no way to split the country evenly to make every team happy, but this be the first step in that direction. Since we are at least a season away from that and have other pressing matters at hand, like #jagrwatch, we are going to move on from this topic for now.
#jagrwatch is reaching epic proportions on twitter and should be crashing down sometime tomorrow. The Penguins made a one-year offer to Jagr today, days after the Red Wings gave him their offer. Since he waited for the Penguins to make an offer, this just reaffirms that idea of Jagr rejoining the team that drafted him. He was rumored to have spoken with Lemiuex and apparently still owns a house in the Pittsburgh area. He was too lazy to sell it he claims, yet he left the Peguins a decade ago. I really wonder if a man who was too lazy to sell his house in a city he hasn't lived in in 10 years has much desire to search for a place in Detroit for 1 year (the term of the contract he is seeking). If you can't figure out my guess on this, please click the x in the upper right corner of this page. Jagr playing on a team with Crosby and Malkin? Yes please. Shero signed Mike Comrie last year and I think we all forgot he existed and the Kovalev experiement at the trade deadline did just as well. Jagr can only be an improvement plus he's still playing at an NHL level. Yes, he will cost more than half a million dollars (Comrie) or a late round draft pick (Kovalev) and might inspire some fans to bring back some of the worst hair ever seen, but he's worth the experimental price Shero might have to dish out. Plus it's a cool side story for Crosby to say he played with both Lemieux and Jagr during his career, since they were both playing in the NHL before Crosby was on his first real team (unless 3year olds in Canada have hockey teams to join. I'd believe anything since they are nuts about hockey up there.)
The Penguins have also been busy shaping the rest of the roster. Shero decided to not qualify Tyler Kennedy who is looking for a payday after a season that allowed him more playing time and therefore better stats than usual. Shero still wants him back, but he won't overpay. Whatever Shero says goes because he has made few missteps since being named GM of the Pens. Max Talbot wants to test the market (not really shocking) but I can't say I'll be surprised whether he leaves or not. Unless another team gives him something drastically better than the Penguins offer, it really is a crap shoot. A Jagr signing could really help shape the loose ends of the roster. Pascal Dupuis inked his new deal today for 2 years at $1.5 a season. He took the hometown discount to stay which I had a feeling would happen. Crosby most likely wanted him back and Dupuis has 4 kids that are young and I'd guess 3 of them only know Pittsburgh since they are so young. Most guys with a family like that tend to stick around, especially when they have a solid team around them. Few guys will walk away from a team that's a contender every year later in their career unless they are clashing with players and management. Plus how can you let him walk after he made 24/7 history with his "f**k you Geno" greeting out of the blue. There's a quote we need the back story too!
Mike Rupp and Aaron Asham are also UFA's and we haven't heard much on that front. I'll take Rupp and let Asham walk. Other than Rupp's hockey grinding ability, he has a physical size we need since the overall team stature seems to be shrinking rapidly. Dustin Jeffery should be getting his shot with the big club come training camp, as should Eric Tangradi which would be good because they are bigger guys. Sadly I believe Tangradi will be once again be in WBS. There just seems to be something off with him when he gets called up. Maybe a summer of non-stop coffee will help him (per his twitter, he's a coffee addict).
Back to #jagrwatch and hopefully when the dust settles, he will be in a Pens uniform again. Friday is July 1. Free agency begins then. Monday is 4th of July. This is shaping up to be a busy long weekend. October will be here soon(ish). I have also given up on wondering about the NFL and it's status. At this point a football season will be a bonus. Sort of like the Black Friday game NBC is giving us. Till next time..
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Awards Time
Tomorrow night is the annual awards show. Won't be watching due to scheduling conflicts (and the minor detail that I don't have Versus currently) . Makes sense that the NHL channel wouldn't air their own awards show. Of all the awards being handed out, the one I have the strongest opinion on is the Jack Adams. "Disco" Dan Bylsma has done alot with a little after the injury bug plagued the Penguins. Bylsma he coached a rag-tag team of AHL call-ups to play with grinders while his starting roster enjoyed a vacation on the IR. Any coach who can get a team with this variety of players to win any game, let alone make the playoffs should be a shoe in. The Penguins big 3 of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal played exactly 1 game together due to an assortment of injuries. And it was in that lone game (the Winter Classic) that seemed to have opened the injury flood gates, starting with El Captain and his head.
Leading up to the Winter Classic HBO followed the team around for the series 24/7 and showed the world why everyone wanted to play for Disco Dan. He made practices fun, losses bearable and never once seemed to think everyone else was the problem. The team camaraderie amongst the players and coaches made you think that they were invincible. Not a single piece of bad news seemed to register on Bylsma's radar. From the injuries to the suspensions to fight night with the Isles, nothing seemed to faze him and that to me is amazing. If I was allowed to vote, he'd have mine.
All the votes were tallied prior to the playoffs so nothing that happened since the regular season ended counts towards these awards. So even though now Tim Thomas would for sure be the Vezina winner, I still think Luongo has a shot at it for his during season performance. This is why it's probably good the awards are voted prior to the playoffs when someone decides to make up for a lackluster year with a Cup winning performance!
Till next time...
Leading up to the Winter Classic HBO followed the team around for the series 24/7 and showed the world why everyone wanted to play for Disco Dan. He made practices fun, losses bearable and never once seemed to think everyone else was the problem. The team camaraderie amongst the players and coaches made you think that they were invincible. Not a single piece of bad news seemed to register on Bylsma's radar. From the injuries to the suspensions to fight night with the Isles, nothing seemed to faze him and that to me is amazing. If I was allowed to vote, he'd have mine.
All the votes were tallied prior to the playoffs so nothing that happened since the regular season ended counts towards these awards. So even though now Tim Thomas would for sure be the Vezina winner, I still think Luongo has a shot at it for his during season performance. This is why it's probably good the awards are voted prior to the playoffs when someone decides to make up for a lackluster year with a Cup winning performance!
Till next time...
Sunday, June 19, 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Game 7 Aftermath
The great thing about this being a blog I choose to do, as opposed to being paid to do, is that I can ignore facts I don't want to address. Such as the fact that the Bruins won the Stanley Cup. Wait, just did acknowledge it and that's about all I will say about them winning it. The Stanley Cup winners in my mind will read as follows: '08-Detroit, '09- Pittsburgh, '10-Chicago, '11-vacant in my brain, '12- TBD. Their '11 cup win is in good company though with the RedSox World Series and the Patriots Superbowls. (I know the Celtics won the big one recently also but I don't pay attention to the NBA as a rule so this doesn't register on my radar). Take it or leave it. I never thought Colin Campbell should have been able to discipline any player since every decision would indirectly affect his son and his team (aka the Bruins). I also wondered where the refs were and why Luongo forgot to stand on his head when one of the twins and Kesler were rumored to be playing with major injuries. Questions that will never be answered.
I am choosing to believe that Nathan Horton tainted the Canucks chances with his pouring of Boston water on the clean Canadian ice. Also were was Marc Savard? Horton and his "severe" concussion were able to travel across the country but Savard who was also labeled severe hasn't been seen in public to my knowledge. Did the Bruins play up Horton's status to get Rome suspended? All I know is Crosby and Savard were hidden in the bat cave for months because of lights, noise and general life bothering them, but Horton traveled on the team plane and remembered to bring the water. I've got nothing.
In the aftermath of this game 7 meltdown, the fans of Vancouver also decided to act as responsible as possible and start rioting. And I thought my filing of this in the black hole was bad. Unreal. This is the place that put on an amazing Olympics and rallied behind the Canucks for this Cup, yet they couldn't just walk out understandably upset and a cue from me and file this under the cup that never happened. Nope. Riot time. Just wow.
In other news.....
The Capitals and Arturs Irbe parted ways not long ago and today announced a tag team of coaches to deal with a 3 man goalie rotation. A tag team of coaches sounds like their second best off season idea, right after not firing F-Bomb Boudreau. 3 goalies and 1 goalie coach didn't work last season, so naturally adding in another coach to the equation will fix this mess. I can't wait to watch the Capitals continue to spiral all of this talent out of control. Wonder if anyone has pointed out to them that this was a playoff season handed to them on golden platter since they didn't have to go through Pittsburgh en route to a Cup. Talk about a wasted opportunity.
GM George McPhee is going to have his hands full with trying to figure out how to make this cap work for him. He has more talented players than most teams and they all have proven their worth, but there's just not enough money to go around. Other teams have figured out how to make the cap work to their advantage but the Capitals seem to be struggling. They need a number crunching genius, not a brooding GM in a trench coat. Ted Leonis is never going to have the Stanley Cup he thinks he deserves without making some major changes. The on ice product isn't matching up to the talent on paper and something needs to change and it needs to happen quickly.
We are a week away from seeing players not named Ovi or Crosby take home some awards from Vegas. This probably saved Sid some dough on renting to the U-Haul he was poised to need as of December to get all his would-be loot home. Don't worry though, he still set an NHL record for most points in the fewest games by a teams top point getter- even while hiding in his bat cave for half the season concussed. He had a whopping 66 points in 41 games, which was 16 better than Kris Letang who played the entire season. To think what could have been.....
We are also just under 2 weeks away from UFA's deadline date before they can flirt with other teams. Since this is a weak off season for blockbuster trades (see Kovalchuk, Ilya cira summer 2010) someone, somewhere is going to be generously over paid. This does seem to be the summer of the goalie though and Philly already made a big splash with acquiring Ilya Bryzgalov from the Coyotes, because like the Capitals they can't figure out which of the young guns is going to be "the man". Hint: none of these guys will ever gain any confidence if they don't get to start more than 2 games in a row and then ride the bench for the next week. Leonis will not be hanging with the Cup next summer of he keeps a cast of goalies. Tim Thomas was a one man show for the Bruins and he deserved the Conn Smythe but there's no way you win the Cup without being able to say who your goalie is.
Even when the Penguins went through the early season MAF drama, they never planted a seed of doubt in him that he wasn't their franchise goalie and number one on the depth chart. Johnson did get more starts than usual in this period, but he supported MAF though it by playing solid, and never once did Blysma say "I don't know who my number 1 is". Sports are just as much mental as they are physical. It's hard to hear your not the starting man but eventually a decision needs to be made before its too late.
Can't wait for #isitoctoberyet to start trending on twitter hardcore. Welcome to summer everyone. Back to baseball for the time being I suppose since there's little else. No wonder baseball lasts forever, it needs to fill the random voids of other sports till the playoffs when I actually care again (for the 3rd time in the season. Beginning, middle and end of course). And WHERE IS FOOTBALL???? I might start to actually go through withdrawal soon.
I am choosing to believe that Nathan Horton tainted the Canucks chances with his pouring of Boston water on the clean Canadian ice. Also were was Marc Savard? Horton and his "severe" concussion were able to travel across the country but Savard who was also labeled severe hasn't been seen in public to my knowledge. Did the Bruins play up Horton's status to get Rome suspended? All I know is Crosby and Savard were hidden in the bat cave for months because of lights, noise and general life bothering them, but Horton traveled on the team plane and remembered to bring the water. I've got nothing.
In the aftermath of this game 7 meltdown, the fans of Vancouver also decided to act as responsible as possible and start rioting. And I thought my filing of this in the black hole was bad. Unreal. This is the place that put on an amazing Olympics and rallied behind the Canucks for this Cup, yet they couldn't just walk out understandably upset and a cue from me and file this under the cup that never happened. Nope. Riot time. Just wow.
In other news.....
The Capitals and Arturs Irbe parted ways not long ago and today announced a tag team of coaches to deal with a 3 man goalie rotation. A tag team of coaches sounds like their second best off season idea, right after not firing F-Bomb Boudreau. 3 goalies and 1 goalie coach didn't work last season, so naturally adding in another coach to the equation will fix this mess. I can't wait to watch the Capitals continue to spiral all of this talent out of control. Wonder if anyone has pointed out to them that this was a playoff season handed to them on golden platter since they didn't have to go through Pittsburgh en route to a Cup. Talk about a wasted opportunity.
GM George McPhee is going to have his hands full with trying to figure out how to make this cap work for him. He has more talented players than most teams and they all have proven their worth, but there's just not enough money to go around. Other teams have figured out how to make the cap work to their advantage but the Capitals seem to be struggling. They need a number crunching genius, not a brooding GM in a trench coat. Ted Leonis is never going to have the Stanley Cup he thinks he deserves without making some major changes. The on ice product isn't matching up to the talent on paper and something needs to change and it needs to happen quickly.
We are a week away from seeing players not named Ovi or Crosby take home some awards from Vegas. This probably saved Sid some dough on renting to the U-Haul he was poised to need as of December to get all his would-be loot home. Don't worry though, he still set an NHL record for most points in the fewest games by a teams top point getter- even while hiding in his bat cave for half the season concussed. He had a whopping 66 points in 41 games, which was 16 better than Kris Letang who played the entire season. To think what could have been.....
We are also just under 2 weeks away from UFA's deadline date before they can flirt with other teams. Since this is a weak off season for blockbuster trades (see Kovalchuk, Ilya cira summer 2010) someone, somewhere is going to be generously over paid. This does seem to be the summer of the goalie though and Philly already made a big splash with acquiring Ilya Bryzgalov from the Coyotes, because like the Capitals they can't figure out which of the young guns is going to be "the man". Hint: none of these guys will ever gain any confidence if they don't get to start more than 2 games in a row and then ride the bench for the next week. Leonis will not be hanging with the Cup next summer of he keeps a cast of goalies. Tim Thomas was a one man show for the Bruins and he deserved the Conn Smythe but there's no way you win the Cup without being able to say who your goalie is.
Even when the Penguins went through the early season MAF drama, they never planted a seed of doubt in him that he wasn't their franchise goalie and number one on the depth chart. Johnson did get more starts than usual in this period, but he supported MAF though it by playing solid, and never once did Blysma say "I don't know who my number 1 is". Sports are just as much mental as they are physical. It's hard to hear your not the starting man but eventually a decision needs to be made before its too late.
Can't wait for #isitoctoberyet to start trending on twitter hardcore. Welcome to summer everyone. Back to baseball for the time being I suppose since there's little else. No wonder baseball lasts forever, it needs to fill the random voids of other sports till the playoffs when I actually care again (for the 3rd time in the season. Beginning, middle and end of course). And WHERE IS FOOTBALL???? I might start to actually go through withdrawal soon.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
No Love for Beantown?
Good read here on why many people don't want to see Boston victorious tonight. As a native New Yorker, this sums up my opinion also. I have been pulling for the Canucks since the beginning of the playoffs though and even if a different US based team was playing, I'd still be pulling for the Canucks.
This is it
As Game 7 is finally upon us, NBC has managed to give me a serious scheduling conflict- Game 7 or the first full episode of my summertime favorite So You Think You Can Dance. This is a major issue in my book, since Game 7 should have been over a week ago, if only they hadn't decided to take trips to Europe in between each game. There was no reason for this. Nothing was on TV last night, or pretty much any night they deemed inappropriate for hockey. I think they do this to test me and see where my loyalty lies.
While waiting for what has seemed like the longest final round in the history of all sports to end, there has been plenty of time to analyze all sorts of fun trends in this series. Like the city of Boston actually being the Canucks kryptonite. Have you ever seen a team fall apart like they do there, yet put on a goal-tending clinic next game in their home confines? It is like watching the entire team play Jekyll and Hyde depending on which country they are in.
How about Loungo letting in more goals by the B's when on the road than his team can muster in this entire series, yet shutting the door to the Bruins goal factory when home? I also like the cool trend of the Olympic-Stanley Cup connection. Every time Canada has hosted an Olympics, the Canadian team in the finals the following year has won the Cup. No pressure or anything Vancouver, except that everyone in town would like to have the worlds largest party for hockey a year after winning the Gold.
While waiting for what has seemed like the longest final round in the history of all sports to end, there has been plenty of time to analyze all sorts of fun trends in this series. Like the city of Boston actually being the Canucks kryptonite. Have you ever seen a team fall apart like they do there, yet put on a goal-tending clinic next game in their home confines? It is like watching the entire team play Jekyll and Hyde depending on which country they are in.
How about Loungo letting in more goals by the B's when on the road than his team can muster in this entire series, yet shutting the door to the Bruins goal factory when home? I also like the cool trend of the Olympic-Stanley Cup connection. Every time Canada has hosted an Olympics, the Canadian team in the finals the following year has won the Cup. No pressure or anything Vancouver, except that everyone in town would like to have the worlds largest party for hockey a year after winning the Gold.
Concussion and Injury Report
Nathan Horton is flying cross country, enjoying sunshine and noisy, wild arenas all while suffering from a "severe" concussion. I have no words for this. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Nil.
Mason Raymond is out for months on end with a vertebrae compression fracture. I'm no doctor but that just sounds horrible and painful. For the record, his injurer Johnny Boychuk has inflicted suspension, fines or talks from the NHL. Aaron Rome will be watching Boychuk from the press box try to destroy his time one last night, while concussed Horton parties in some capacity in Vancouver tonight. I'm so confused as usual.
Player Signings
Craig Adams has been locked up by the Pens for two more years. This was a no-brainer for all parties involved. Now what to do about Max Talbot, Pascal Dupuis and Mike Rupp. Even with the cap going up, there's not room for all of them, and there's lots of guys who got a taste of the NHL this season from Wilkes-Barre hoping to make the team out of camp. Can't also forget those young guys are cheap labor compared to the vets. Will Talbot and Dupuis stay for lesser money and a shorter term than what want or will they cash out when they can?
I have just managed to do something crazy to my browser so I am ending this now before I delete this without meaning too The font size has become miniscule and my toolbar is MIA. Eeek.
Tomorrow we shall have a new Stanley Cup Champ and that will begin a new round of party pictures. Recently the cup has swam in Mario Lemieux's pool and was party animal Patrick Kane's wingman last summer. Can't wait to see where it goes next!
Nathan Horton is flying cross country, enjoying sunshine and noisy, wild arenas all while suffering from a "severe" concussion. I have no words for this. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Nil.
Mason Raymond is out for months on end with a vertebrae compression fracture. I'm no doctor but that just sounds horrible and painful. For the record, his injurer Johnny Boychuk has inflicted suspension, fines or talks from the NHL. Aaron Rome will be watching Boychuk from the press box try to destroy his time one last night, while concussed Horton parties in some capacity in Vancouver tonight. I'm so confused as usual.
Player Signings
Craig Adams has been locked up by the Pens for two more years. This was a no-brainer for all parties involved. Now what to do about Max Talbot, Pascal Dupuis and Mike Rupp. Even with the cap going up, there's not room for all of them, and there's lots of guys who got a taste of the NHL this season from Wilkes-Barre hoping to make the team out of camp. Can't also forget those young guys are cheap labor compared to the vets. Will Talbot and Dupuis stay for lesser money and a shorter term than what want or will they cash out when they can?
I have just managed to do something crazy to my browser so I am ending this now before I delete this without meaning too The font size has become miniscule and my toolbar is MIA. Eeek.
Tomorrow we shall have a new Stanley Cup Champ and that will begin a new round of party pictures. Recently the cup has swam in Mario Lemieux's pool and was party animal Patrick Kane's wingman last summer. Can't wait to see where it goes next!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
The lazy, hazy days....
BTW- This was written in a serious time crunch. Pretend it's perfect with no typos and grammer issues for just this once. Thanks :)
The temperature and humid outside ensure me that summer is in full swing and I'm sure the temperature in Vancouver is reaching epic heights since the entire city is on the verge of having one of the biggest parties ever. But before they get to party, will they need a game 7?
Last night I realized their first 2 games were won in thrilling fashion, before they headed to Beantown to have some sort of meltdown where they allowed the B's to score more goals in one night than they can probably muster this entire series. Does going back to Beantown mean another high scoring fest for the Bruins? And if so does this mean the Canucks win by another 1 goal shutout in game 7. Could the Stanley Cup champs be the team that score no more than 2 handfuls worth of goals? That has to be some sort of record. I personally am hoping Luongo stands on his head one last time, and this time does it in Boston.
While Vancouver works on planning their biggest party this year, Winnipeg (Shiny New Toy) still is nameless. I'm over the speculation, just give these guys a name. They are courting their captain to sign a new deal with them but he doesn't even know who he is employed by (True North doesn't count). What does the top of that paperwork look like? Is it a fill in the blank paper for when the answers finally come rolling in? I really do wonder about some of the most random things sometimes.
Another displaced team also has a new home, this time the AHL Manitoba Moose who were kicked out of town when True North brought the SNT back to Winnipeg. Apparently there was little doubt St. John's was the destination since they have the arena and fan base as they were once home to a different team, so congrats to St. John's. True North is keeping trendy with nameless teams though as their new AHL affiliate is St. John's and the name Moose is not sticking. Without researching, I think this means there will be some shuffling for affiliations next season since I'm positive the Moose were never affiliated with Atlanta. Wonder who just lost their AHL team? I'll research for next time and when the team agreements are finalized for next season, I will be sure to post the list. I think they have to have everything submitted by the end of the month for that. (I'd look it all up now but I'm time crunched)
Final Notes- The Devils might be headed to arbitration with Parise. You can look at this every way you want. Play devils (haha) advocate and it makes sense. Get him signed to a lower 1 year deal to hold over to the new cap is announced, more money comes off the books and of course by then the new CBA should be completed. He will make something close to what he gets now since last season is a wash with that knee injury. Maybe he isn't bothered by this idea but I think I would be slightly annoyed by it. The only team he's ever played for can't just say hey, we aren't comfortable doing a mulit-year deal till we clear more cap space instead of saying it without letting a judge say it. He's the unofficial choice by teammates and fans to be the Captain, which has been vacant since Jamie Lagenbrunner was traded for picks to the Stars. I understand the Devils needing to not have a repeat of last year with Ilya Kovalchuk, but this might be going too far.
Luongo alluded to the goal that got by Tim Thomas as something he could have made easily. He was referring to in that they play polar opposite goalie styles but it was still a little jab at Thomas. Hate it or love it, it was pretty funny.
...And Time.
The temperature and humid outside ensure me that summer is in full swing and I'm sure the temperature in Vancouver is reaching epic heights since the entire city is on the verge of having one of the biggest parties ever. But before they get to party, will they need a game 7?
Last night I realized their first 2 games were won in thrilling fashion, before they headed to Beantown to have some sort of meltdown where they allowed the B's to score more goals in one night than they can probably muster this entire series. Does going back to Beantown mean another high scoring fest for the Bruins? And if so does this mean the Canucks win by another 1 goal shutout in game 7. Could the Stanley Cup champs be the team that score no more than 2 handfuls worth of goals? That has to be some sort of record. I personally am hoping Luongo stands on his head one last time, and this time does it in Boston.
While Vancouver works on planning their biggest party this year, Winnipeg (Shiny New Toy) still is nameless. I'm over the speculation, just give these guys a name. They are courting their captain to sign a new deal with them but he doesn't even know who he is employed by (True North doesn't count). What does the top of that paperwork look like? Is it a fill in the blank paper for when the answers finally come rolling in? I really do wonder about some of the most random things sometimes.
Another displaced team also has a new home, this time the AHL Manitoba Moose who were kicked out of town when True North brought the SNT back to Winnipeg. Apparently there was little doubt St. John's was the destination since they have the arena and fan base as they were once home to a different team, so congrats to St. John's. True North is keeping trendy with nameless teams though as their new AHL affiliate is St. John's and the name Moose is not sticking. Without researching, I think this means there will be some shuffling for affiliations next season since I'm positive the Moose were never affiliated with Atlanta. Wonder who just lost their AHL team? I'll research for next time and when the team agreements are finalized for next season, I will be sure to post the list. I think they have to have everything submitted by the end of the month for that. (I'd look it all up now but I'm time crunched)
Final Notes- The Devils might be headed to arbitration with Parise. You can look at this every way you want. Play devils (haha) advocate and it makes sense. Get him signed to a lower 1 year deal to hold over to the new cap is announced, more money comes off the books and of course by then the new CBA should be completed. He will make something close to what he gets now since last season is a wash with that knee injury. Maybe he isn't bothered by this idea but I think I would be slightly annoyed by it. The only team he's ever played for can't just say hey, we aren't comfortable doing a mulit-year deal till we clear more cap space instead of saying it without letting a judge say it. He's the unofficial choice by teammates and fans to be the Captain, which has been vacant since Jamie Lagenbrunner was traded for picks to the Stars. I understand the Devils needing to not have a repeat of last year with Ilya Kovalchuk, but this might be going too far.
Luongo alluded to the goal that got by Tim Thomas as something he could have made easily. He was referring to in that they play polar opposite goalie styles but it was still a little jab at Thomas. Hate it or love it, it was pretty funny.
...And Time.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Catch up time
A few happenings have occurred in the past week so a recap is in order.
Somethings Gotta Give
Brad Richards won't be a Star or a Ranger. The Stars won't sign him and he won't sign with them without a secure owner. The Rangers won't overpay (good call by them, they can get some younger, cheaper guys that can learn their system) and I'm guessing the Coyotes are off the list because of ownership issues. Of course, the Blue Jackets aren't looking to secure anymore so they are probably a no go. Richards also was being rather picky with where he would be playing city wise so this has major potential to become the saga of this off-season. What city will make his highness happy while still paying him the $7million he feels he deserves. Can't wait to meet this team! I'm also thinking the Devils are out since last season's drama was enough for them. Plus they need to get Parise signed yesterday.
Treading the Gray Area
Brendan Shanahan has officially taken the reigns from Colin Campbell as discipline czar. I love this, FYI. I think Shanahan has the brains to be in charge of such decisions and since he's closely removed from playing, he gets the game and the changes it's taken over the past decade. I do worry this will ruin his image, life and happiness. Interrupting Rule 48 is like being a color blind person in a color coded store- it's a complete and utter free for all. Draw a straw and that's the call currently under Campbell. Even though he does remove himself from games his son plays in, something has always just seemed wrong about the whole thing. A call he makes against another team can eventually affect his sons team and it always just seemed strange if you ask me. I think Shanahan will bring a new approach and be a breathe of fresh air for the suspensions, et al. When Crosby went down with a concussion, he was one of the first players to reach out to check on him and offer some advice/support. It just goes to show his level of respect for current players. I will pray for him every night that he doesn't wake up thinking "I wish I never took this position" and maybe mail him a bottle of scotch or whiskey or whatever will keep him from jumping off the bridge.
Building for the Future
Pittsburgh announced today that they have officially signed all their coaches from the NHL through the AHL rankings to mulit-year deals. I think Ray Shero is one insanely smart business man and makes some amazing decisions to ensure that the Penguins will continue to be considered an elite team in the league. Signing all their coaches ensures that the system they have in place will be continued. Each of the guys learns one system that is used both in the AHL and NHL and this makes their call-ups so routine it's like they are an extension of each other. Now having all the coaches (that were all already on the same page having each been hired or referred by one another) together for the long term just makes their foundation that much more solid. If you ever needed a reason to want your NHL club to own it's AHL team just look up in the sporting dictionary: Penguins, Pittsburgh.
Concussion Gate: Part 1943483 (of the 2010-11 season)
Google it or find it on Puck Daddy here but here's the latest reason why we need Brendan Shanahan to swoop in and save the day. Lots of opinions on whether or not Aaron Rome should have been suspended. Based on this video, yes. If you want to compare his hit to a hit he received against the Sharks and that outcome (no suspension for the guy who leveled him) who knows what to do. This one seems much worse in general so I do believe he should be suspended. His suspenstion is for a whopping 4 games. That means if this goes 4 more games, the rest of the season. At worst, 2 more games in the beginning of next season. Matt Cooke received 10 plus first round of the playoffs for his elbow that didn't injure anyone, so up to 17 games. Nathan Horton laid on the ice like he was never going to move again and Rome got 4. I need help understanding the justice here. Just because he's not Cooke who plays on the invisible line of being a "dirty player" he seems to have had the past affect his ruling, but we are comparing apples and oranges in every way possible. It's hard to say that if a player is concussed then the player who did the concussing should be out for x number of games, but Cooke's careless late elbow cost him more than Rome's late hit that might affect Horton's career sooner than later. Mike Murphy handed out this suspension since Campbell is relieved of his duties forever and Shanahan doesn't begin his reign till next season (did he breathe a sigh of relief or what??). I hope Shanahan is given free reign to clean house start from the bottom next season and can figure out a way to make some sense of these senseless suspensions.
Headaches: Concussions vs Sinus
Sidney Crosby has reappeared on our radar again and this time he's to say he had a sinus infection, not a concussion related setback. This is nice to hear. Sinus infection headaches can be pretty brutal and even if he really did experience a setback, this is a reasoning that will probably make some fans feel better about the state of the Kid. It does seem like a probable reason, especially since he was spotted enjoying a vacation to Cannes Film Festival. I'm thinking you can't fly to Europe with a non-stop headache. That's over 6 hours and even first class can't make that feel any better. If he didn't have a sinus infection then the Penguins must have the best vault of story lines in town. (Malkin actually missed a number of games before his season ending injury because of a sinus infection). Regardless of what we chose to believe, he's alive and breathing in the Canadian air while trying to figure out how top his half-season assault on league records. A topic trending among hockey players on twitter is often #isitseptemberyet. Most people can't wait to see what he will be up to. Ovi, the puck is in your zone. What do you plan on doing after your teams epic meltdown against the Lightening?
Random Ramblings...(on anything I feel like)
NBC will hold onto Olympic broadcasting rights. I like this and enjoy Bob Costas' story time etc. I would like this even more if they somehow had written in there more games would be aired on NBC all season since I don't get versus and have to rely on Tweets and NHL Game Center for anything aired on Versus. Hopefully they won't manage to air the Olympics on Versus and will keep it on NBC.
With the NFL lockout still holding strong, I am beginning to wonder if we will have football and if we do, how will the quality be?At this point the rookies usually have play books, have begun some mini camps and have actually had a full conversation with their coach. Coaches don't even know the players middle name or nickname yet. What about Mr. Sensitive and Mr. Asshole for personality disorders? Can we foresee some serious conflicts if this season does happen? Don't envy the coaches this season one bit.
Could care less about the NBA but if they lockout and the NFL stays locked out, will NBC and the NHL capitalize on this MAJOR once in a lifetime chance to showcase hockey to it's fullest?? Doubt it, but one can hope. On facebook there's a group of people prepared to boycott week 1 if there is one to make a small statement. Even though most people won't notice, I can understand why some people would do this as they are annoyed with billionaires locking out millionaires. It just don't register on the average Joe's radar. We are football fans, but watching a game on Sunday is a luxury and enjoyable way to spend the day, but we don't get money for doing it and can somehow survive since we somehow do it the other 8 months of the year.
Till next time...
#isitseptemberyet
Somethings Gotta Give
Brad Richards won't be a Star or a Ranger. The Stars won't sign him and he won't sign with them without a secure owner. The Rangers won't overpay (good call by them, they can get some younger, cheaper guys that can learn their system) and I'm guessing the Coyotes are off the list because of ownership issues. Of course, the Blue Jackets aren't looking to secure anymore so they are probably a no go. Richards also was being rather picky with where he would be playing city wise so this has major potential to become the saga of this off-season. What city will make his highness happy while still paying him the $7million he feels he deserves. Can't wait to meet this team! I'm also thinking the Devils are out since last season's drama was enough for them. Plus they need to get Parise signed yesterday.
Treading the Gray Area
Brendan Shanahan has officially taken the reigns from Colin Campbell as discipline czar. I love this, FYI. I think Shanahan has the brains to be in charge of such decisions and since he's closely removed from playing, he gets the game and the changes it's taken over the past decade. I do worry this will ruin his image, life and happiness. Interrupting Rule 48 is like being a color blind person in a color coded store- it's a complete and utter free for all. Draw a straw and that's the call currently under Campbell. Even though he does remove himself from games his son plays in, something has always just seemed wrong about the whole thing. A call he makes against another team can eventually affect his sons team and it always just seemed strange if you ask me. I think Shanahan will bring a new approach and be a breathe of fresh air for the suspensions, et al. When Crosby went down with a concussion, he was one of the first players to reach out to check on him and offer some advice/support. It just goes to show his level of respect for current players. I will pray for him every night that he doesn't wake up thinking "I wish I never took this position" and maybe mail him a bottle of scotch or whiskey or whatever will keep him from jumping off the bridge.
Building for the Future
Pittsburgh announced today that they have officially signed all their coaches from the NHL through the AHL rankings to mulit-year deals. I think Ray Shero is one insanely smart business man and makes some amazing decisions to ensure that the Penguins will continue to be considered an elite team in the league. Signing all their coaches ensures that the system they have in place will be continued. Each of the guys learns one system that is used both in the AHL and NHL and this makes their call-ups so routine it's like they are an extension of each other. Now having all the coaches (that were all already on the same page having each been hired or referred by one another) together for the long term just makes their foundation that much more solid. If you ever needed a reason to want your NHL club to own it's AHL team just look up in the sporting dictionary: Penguins, Pittsburgh.
Concussion Gate: Part 1943483 (of the 2010-11 season)
Google it or find it on Puck Daddy here but here's the latest reason why we need Brendan Shanahan to swoop in and save the day. Lots of opinions on whether or not Aaron Rome should have been suspended. Based on this video, yes. If you want to compare his hit to a hit he received against the Sharks and that outcome (no suspension for the guy who leveled him) who knows what to do. This one seems much worse in general so I do believe he should be suspended. His suspenstion is for a whopping 4 games. That means if this goes 4 more games, the rest of the season. At worst, 2 more games in the beginning of next season. Matt Cooke received 10 plus first round of the playoffs for his elbow that didn't injure anyone, so up to 17 games. Nathan Horton laid on the ice like he was never going to move again and Rome got 4. I need help understanding the justice here. Just because he's not Cooke who plays on the invisible line of being a "dirty player" he seems to have had the past affect his ruling, but we are comparing apples and oranges in every way possible. It's hard to say that if a player is concussed then the player who did the concussing should be out for x number of games, but Cooke's careless late elbow cost him more than Rome's late hit that might affect Horton's career sooner than later. Mike Murphy handed out this suspension since Campbell is relieved of his duties forever and Shanahan doesn't begin his reign till next season (did he breathe a sigh of relief or what??). I hope Shanahan is given free reign to clean house start from the bottom next season and can figure out a way to make some sense of these senseless suspensions.
Headaches: Concussions vs Sinus
Sidney Crosby has reappeared on our radar again and this time he's to say he had a sinus infection, not a concussion related setback. This is nice to hear. Sinus infection headaches can be pretty brutal and even if he really did experience a setback, this is a reasoning that will probably make some fans feel better about the state of the Kid. It does seem like a probable reason, especially since he was spotted enjoying a vacation to Cannes Film Festival. I'm thinking you can't fly to Europe with a non-stop headache. That's over 6 hours and even first class can't make that feel any better. If he didn't have a sinus infection then the Penguins must have the best vault of story lines in town. (Malkin actually missed a number of games before his season ending injury because of a sinus infection). Regardless of what we chose to believe, he's alive and breathing in the Canadian air while trying to figure out how top his half-season assault on league records. A topic trending among hockey players on twitter is often #isitseptemberyet. Most people can't wait to see what he will be up to. Ovi, the puck is in your zone. What do you plan on doing after your teams epic meltdown against the Lightening?
Random Ramblings...(on anything I feel like)
NBC will hold onto Olympic broadcasting rights. I like this and enjoy Bob Costas' story time etc. I would like this even more if they somehow had written in there more games would be aired on NBC all season since I don't get versus and have to rely on Tweets and NHL Game Center for anything aired on Versus. Hopefully they won't manage to air the Olympics on Versus and will keep it on NBC.
With the NFL lockout still holding strong, I am beginning to wonder if we will have football and if we do, how will the quality be?At this point the rookies usually have play books, have begun some mini camps and have actually had a full conversation with their coach. Coaches don't even know the players middle name or nickname yet. What about Mr. Sensitive and Mr. Asshole for personality disorders? Can we foresee some serious conflicts if this season does happen? Don't envy the coaches this season one bit.
Could care less about the NBA but if they lockout and the NFL stays locked out, will NBC and the NHL capitalize on this MAJOR once in a lifetime chance to showcase hockey to it's fullest?? Doubt it, but one can hope. On facebook there's a group of people prepared to boycott week 1 if there is one to make a small statement. Even though most people won't notice, I can understand why some people would do this as they are annoyed with billionaires locking out millionaires. It just don't register on the average Joe's radar. We are football fans, but watching a game on Sunday is a luxury and enjoyable way to spend the day, but we don't get money for doing it and can somehow survive since we somehow do it the other 8 months of the year.
Till next time...
#isitseptemberyet
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