You guys know how much I like Pumpy...yet I would punch him in the face if it meant Lou would become the NYR GM.

hey, we got salmella back too. guess he replaced oduya next year, if he ever develops (devils traded salmella for havelid last year)

How the hell does Lou do it?!

also, the teams swapped 2nds. so assuming the thrashers dont make the playoffs now, the devils dont drop THAT far without their 1st rounder.

My roommate is an Avs fan and goes on and on about him. And dudes on the fourth line. Having seen a few of their games now, he's the real deal.

As for the Devils trade, I think it's a net positive. I mean, Marty isn't gonna be able to do this for another three years. If they're gonna go after it, seems like it's worth pushing for it.

You like Pumpy???:eek: :eek:


:D

Interesting trade there... I think I like what Atlanta pulled off, although I've never been a huge fan of Kovalchuk for whatever reason. Should be interesting to see how Kovalchuk fits in on a team that historically has stressed being responsible in your own zone, back-checking, etc.

he's actually playing on the 2nd line right now, with fellow rookies Duchene Galiardi. he's a good little player. not a top 6 guy in the long run, but he's playing pretty well at the moment

It's like Rookie Central over there. (over there being like a few blocks from the house...)

it's pretty crazy. it's a young team and most of the youngsters are playing really, really well.

Next up for auction, Lot #13. This item is the fine veteran left winger, Ray Whitney, aka "The Wizard." 16 goals, 25 assists. Yes, a -5 in +/-, but considering just about everyone on his team is a "-" this year, it's not so bad. Would make a good addition to any Stanley Cup contender.

This lot has a minimum reserve that must be met to negate a "no trade clause". Do I have any opening bids?

Except he's almost always a "-" player. I wouldn't touch a guy like that if I ran a contending team.

NSFW but so fucking funny.

Now this is loyalty!

The700Level.com - Philly Sports & Minutiae: A Flyers Fan's Pickle

Go Caps!

Not NHL but if you have the Big 10 Network, Michigan and Wisconsin are playing outside at Camp Randall at 6:30 est Saturday.

After going back on his decision to stay away from the Leafs for the month of February, I thinking ML is regretting that now.

The Leafs just collapsed and blew a 2 goal lead in the last 3 mins of the game to the Devils.

Brian Burke's youngest son passed away today in a car accident.
Condolences to Burke and the Leaf family

RIP Brendan Burke.

As I said earlier I grew up with Brendan and his brother. He was a good man and taken far, far too soon. My heart goes out to his family. Just devastating news.

Beautiful

Except, he left the part out of his letter that he hasn't gotten laid since 1975.

Leino to Philly, OK Tollefson and a 5th to Detroit.

I have seen the Wings alot this year, so can't speak on Leino...but Tollefson?

Edit to add-- Wings subsequently release Tollefson


I'll be the first to accuse Detroit of tanking!

;)

I would've taken a bag of pucks for Tollefson.

Leino has been a total disappoint so far this season. They need to salary dump because both Franzen and Lilja are due back soon.

Pens lose to Habs 5-3. Flying to Newark, then busing into Washington.

This is epic, by the way.

I particularly like that he's putting sunglasses over a pair of sunglasses

SI

Back to back shut outs for Jiggy...Wow....where has this guy been all my life.

Hmm...Montreal as a kid, then New York, then Calgary, and then a long time in Anaheim. Do a youtube search for "Giguere" and "Stanley Cup". ;)

I was wondering if anyone else particularly liked that part. By far my favorite.

Ridiculously good Pens-Caps game today. I really hope these 2 meet in the playoffs again, although I fear the result won't be the same as last year.

Argh. When I got called into work, it was a ho-hum 2-0 game and I miss the fun part :(

SI

Pretty good story they did just at the beginning of Pens-Caps

The Pens flight left Montreal at 7:00, landed in Newark and bussed into DC. They arrive in DC about 2:30, the players to the hotel, the staff to the arena to get the room ready. At 4:30, the equipment guys decide they'll just sleep in the arena rather than go back to the hotel...along with one additional helper.

Christopher Shero, Ray's 14 year old son. That had to be a pretty great trip to be on.

The on-then-off trade of Niclas Wallin from Carolina to San Jose is finally on, thus beginning the process of tearing down and rebuilding the Hurricanes. Carolina sent a 2010 fifth round pick along with Wallin in exchange for San Jose's second round pick that they picked up from Buffalo.

Really stinks that they blew the Alberta leg of the road trip they just finished up. Had Carolina won both those games instead of losing both, then they'd be on an eight-game streak and, remarkably, just six points out of the playoffs. Ten points is probably too much with the time left and the number of teams ahead of them. Delusional, I know, but given how crappy the East is this year, not as far-fetched as it could have been. I think that if trends hold, the last two or three teams in the East aren't going to crack 90 points this year and the eighth place team may not get much more than 85.

You trying to lure Ken Daneyko into here?

UNCALLED FOR

This is my 20th post in this thread. I'm pretty sure at least 17 of them have been for the sole purpose of getting some kind of reaction out of Pumpy.





Arena Football was destined to fail.

What the hell, man! Did you get the clap from me and you're still bitter about it? Or, in hockey terms, did your team get Scott Gomez from my team and you're still bitter about it?

Ah, it all makes sense now...

Speaking of which...Bob Gainey just stepped down as GM of the Habs.

Scott Gomez is a disease.

thought this was a joke. what gm steps down with like 4 games left before the trade deadline? forced out?

also, love this tsn poll about gainey:

what was gaineys best move as gm?

-trading for kovalev
-getting huet and bonk from la
-hiring carbonneau
-getting gorges
-signing cammalleri
-drafting price


not the biggest moves in the world...

DownGoesBrown

Gainey is "voluntarily" stepping down as GM in the same way I "voluntarily" leave the bar after the bouncer tells me he's throwing me out.

What, no talk of the Carter hit?

another shoulder to head "legal" hit. what can you do?

First off, I am glad the kid is okay. I heard he was walking around in the locker room after the game and never had to go to the hospital.

But any Devils fan who has a problem with this hit is a hypocrite. Their beloved Scott Stevens made a living hitting people this way and even ended a few careers (Eric Lindros for one) and he was cheered every time.

I thought it was shoulder to shoulder with the brunt of the damage happening when he hit the ice face first.

It's hockey. People get hit. At least in my opinion, it didn't appear to be malicious, so I just shrug it off. Yeah, it sucks, but it happens sometimes. No need for me to get into a rage about it.

I haven't seen the hit since last night, but I agree with Sak that it appeared most of the damage came from Salmela hitting the ice, not from taking Carter's shoulder.

Well, the damage hitting the ice likely happened because he appeared to be out cold BEFORE hitting the ice.

Either way, crappy result after a clean hit, IMO. I just wonder if the guy is out cold if Carter is wearing shoulder pads like the ones I used to wear 20 years ago...mostly cloth/foam with little or no rock hard plastic??

I think you make a great point about the padding!

well, scott stevens hit them from the front. carter was behind salmela

he didnt mean to hurt him, and salmela had his head down, but there was no way he could see it coming.

just an unfortunate play, really.

Kari Lehtonen to Dallas for defenceman Ivan Vishnevsky and a fourth-round draft choice.

Stars fans, please enjoy your turn with the glass-groined Sta-Puft Marshmellow Goalie

So, you're saying the Thrashers got the better end of that deal, then? :)

Back in Raleigh after a four-game road trip, the Canes dump Florida, 4-1. Carolina's now won 7 of 9. Great, fellas. Nice you could figure it all out after eviscerating your season before Thanksgiving.

Still, given how crappy the East is this year, I'm harboring delusions that they can somehow get back into the playoff chase. Hell, had they won both games in Alberta instead of lost both, they'd have tied the franchise win streak record with nine in a row and would only be six out of the playoffs. Then again, it probably doesn't matter since it's looking very likely that Cam Ward is on the shelf for the year with back issues and I just don't see how a Manny Legace/Justin Peters combo can backstop the team for such an improbable finish (at least 17-6 to even get a sniff of the playoffs).

Nah, this is da Thrash after all. Just means the rookie will be a dud & Letonein will still be Letonein.

Before Monday the Flyers had not come back from a goal goal deficit to win a game this year but did it twice in two games against the Devils. Pretty crazy because I thought Jersey should've won both games. Especially last night they totally controlled the 3rd period out shooting the Flyers 7-1.

Flyers have won 4 of 5 against the Devils this year and it's the first time they have beat the Devils 4 times in the regular season in 20 years.

It's interesting to look at matchups and how certain teams have problems with another...

Pens have taken 4 of 5 from the Flyers
Flyers have taken 4 of 5 from the Devils
Devils have taken 4 of 4 from the Pens

the devils have problems right now, yes.

thank god the olympics are happening.

Rangers waived Brashear. Good use of dollars.

Fixed...2 of those games shouldn't even count as games played for NJ. Pens were that bad.



Are the Olympics really a good thing for NJ? Do they really need Brodeur playing another 10 games, then coming back to a condensed schedule playing probably 18 of 20 games in a 5 week period?

hey now, the devils had as many as 5 or 6 regulars out for the pitt games, too.

as for the olympics, any break helps when youve wont like 4 of 14 or so.

Thank you for letting Blair Betts walk and signing Brashear. Flyers just signed Betts to a 2 yr extension worth 700k each year.

I have a friend whose father hasn't attended a game all year because they signed Brashear after what he did to Betts. I couldn't believe Sather made that move.

Sucky time for the Florida Panther Fan

A Letter From The Owners - Florida Panthers - News

Dola

The Ottawa Senators have added forward Matt Cullen from the Carolina Hurricanes for defenceman Alexandre Picard and a second round draft pick.

All four of them must be very upset.

Hence why I used the singular version of fan :)

I kind of always liked the Panthers. Their playoff run in '96 was pretty fun, though the whole "rat trick" thing became a bit obnoxious towards the end. I was a huge fan of Paul Laus back in the day.

Apparently, the Wings are going to waive Brad May and put someone (likely Kronwall) on LTI to make cap space for the return of Adreas Lilja, who hasn't played in a year.

While it's good to see Lilja finally healthy, his return to the line-up really doesn't thrill me. So far this year, Ericsson has sort of filled the "bad give away" role Lilja held for so many years, so it will be a little scary to have two of them back there, especially if it means Kronwall sits for longer.

Maybe if you're lucky, they'll pair them together and you'll only get the bad giveaways on one shift. ;)

Cheechoo is on waivers. What a spectacular fall from the top.

Wow what happened to him!

And then they turn around and fill that "toughness" void by trading a draft pick to the Sharks for Jody Shelley.

Also, the Blackhawks begin their cap purge by sending Cam Barker to Minnesota for Kim Johnsson and prospect Nick Leddy.

Not a bad move by the Blackhawks. Johnsson is a decent enough replacement for Barker this year and he's an UFA at the end of the year and Leddy was a first round pick and, likely, still a viable prospect.

He wasn't a fast skater to begin with, and then had knee, groin and hernia injuries.

Sabres need to get their head out of their asses and get it together. Miller was rather blunt/pissed after the last game.

Pretty nasty late hit by Cam Janssen of the Blues today on Matt Bradley. One of the latest hits I've seen since... well since Janssen did this last time on Kaberle. Should be at least 5 games this time, couldn't argue with 10 or 15 to be honest.

Janssen took another run at Kaberle on Friday night. That guy is the worst thing about hockey. He has hurt people before, and he will continue to hurt people when they are defenseless. 2 goals in 200 games. Horrible even for a 1 dimensional fighter. That was a terrible hit on Bradley. He had no chance to defend himself. That's trying to put someone out. The dirtiest player in hockey today.

So I guess Getzlaf really wants to play in the Olympics. Apparently he was told unless he played and played well tonight against the Oilers he wouldn't make the team and responded with a 2 goal, 2 assist night. Hopefully the ankle doesn't flare up again afterwards and he'll be there.

No disrespect to Carter who is a very good player but I think Getzlaf is going to open some eyes at the Olympics. He's a pretty rare combination of size, stickhandling and passing and really doesn't get the respect from the rest of the league he deserves IMO.

Couldn't agree more.

After last year's playoffs, there is nobody in Detroit who doesn't appropriately respect Getzlaf, trust me. And that most certainly goes for Babcock. If Getzlaf's ankle is up to it, I would look for Babcock to give Getzlaf a lot of ice time.

Seriously? The team thought this was a good idea? I mean, I was guessing from the headline that maybe it was 2 friends who wanted some internet fake fame. But the team?

SI

Apparently they're taking "follow what the NBA does" to another level.

Interesting comments by Gonchar today. He was asked by a local reporter if every thing was okay between him and Ovechkin after the knee on knee in last year's playoffs.

Gonchar's only response was a shrug of the shoulders.

Better answer would have been "if he dies, he dies" with a thick Russian accent.

Great news for the future of a new Wings arena today as Tom Wilson, former president of the Palace Entertainment (within the Pistons) is being hired to work directly under Mike Illitch.

Fantastic.

That made my day thank you.

Got a pretty good story from a kid I work with.

He played at Robert Morris locally, interned with us 2 years ago, hired out of school this past June.

His brother is a few years younger, a junior at Duquense.

I guess his brother and a few friends have a place off campus (for the locals reading, South Side). The area is known for having tons of bars, but back in the day was where a good majority of the families of steelworkers live. So now, it's mostly older people, and then the younger crowd, like these college kids.

A few weeks back when Pittsburgh got about 2 feet of snow, his brother and friends decided they'd get a little drunk, go out get some sleds, and go sledridding on the hilly streets of the South Side.

Turns out, they meet a guy, not too much older than them, who lived in the same general area. He joined them sledridding, then bought them a keg.

That man--

Was the sledding going really poorly for them until he turned it all around by getting the shit beat out of him?

OK, Olympics are done...and about 66 hours until the trade deadline.

Who are definitely sellers? Using the limit of within 6 points of a playoff spot right now:

Panthers, Isles, Canes and Leafs in the East. Jackets and Oilers in the West.

Pens in a perfect world grab a 2nd line winger to play with Malkin and a physical dman.

I don't see them getting Ray Whitney, unless he specifically says he'll only waive his NTC to go to Pittsburgh. Otherwise, they'll get outbid. Next in queue is probably Ponikarovsky. If he can be had for a mid-level prospect and a middle round pick, he makes sense. Another option might be Raffi Torres from Columbus. Not the goal scorer Ponikarovsky is, but might be able to create room for Malkin (think Ryan Malone 2 seasons ago).

Defenseman, if they look for a big crease clearing guy, Andy Sutton from the Isles, Andrew Alberts from the Canes or one of the 8 guys who fit that role in Toronto. Skating D, one of the guys in Florida, Seidenberg or Leopold. Or, as a package deal with Torres, Milan Jurcina...although I'd love to see Jan Hejda here.

So it begins...

Florida sends Jordan Leopold (D) to Pittsburgh for a second round pick in 2010.

Blues have traded Hannu Toivonen and Danny Richmond to Chicago in exchange for Joe Fallon and Darryl Boyle

I love how the Sabres have been using a college goalie ( Andrew Loewen) for its practices since they started last Thursday with Miller gone.

Penguins call your college kid and raise you one...


Penguins Video Coordinator Fills in at Goalie - Pittsburgh Penguins - Features

Apparently (re: unconfirmed at this point) Denis Grebeshkov has been traded from the Oilers to the Predators for a 2010 2nd rounder.

Now that only leaves Moreau, Pisani, Comrie, Nilsson, O'Sullivan, Staios and Visnovsky to be moved prior to the deadline. I'd say Horcoff too, but that's a few stages past a pipe dream even unfortunately.

Hopefully some contender will take a flyer on Slava Kozlov, who asked Atlanta for a trade last week.

He's been nothing but a solid citizen for the Thrashers & I'd like to see him go somewhere and have a nice finish.

I am pretty good at this...I am wasting my talents here.


Seeing this as confirmed now. And must mean this Hamhuis to Philly stuff has some legs.

Not sure I fully understand it though, as Nashvilles is a team that is pretty deep at D with guys in the minors ready to be recalled.

Thrashers signed Chris Chelios.

There goes the end of a streak that saw Chelios only playing for original 6 teams

Good to see Cheli back in the NHL.