Can we add Aki Berg to that list?

On a side note... I wast watching Sportnet today and they said they sent Carlo down, one of the reasons they listed was that the Leafs are afriad they'd loose Belak or Berg if they put them on waivers? Seriously... who the fuck would want them?

Disagree on tucks
STRONGLY AGREE ON BELAK!!!!!

I don't hate the Leafs. In fact, I actually kind of like them. If there is no Wings game on the Centre Ice Package and the Leafs are on, odds are I will watch the Leafs' game.

I grew up watching HNiC every Saturday and, given the stong pro-Leafs bias, it's hard not to like them on some level. They're almost always an entertaining team to watch and there is usually some drama going on. I like that. The only time I ever really hated the Leafs was after that horrible Nikolai Borchevsky goal. I got over that pretty quickly though. I still hate Borchevsky. The little punk-ass bitch.

I even like Leafs' fans, but that's probably just because my exposure is limited to you fellas here. In fact, next to Avs' fans (local company of excluded of course, beacuse DD is cool), Wings' fans tend to annoy me more than any fans of any team.

heck, I don't hate the Leafs either, especially as long as they have Sundin. then again, I also like Detroit and, to a lesser extent, Vancouver, so I'm not sure I'm really normal.

I would want no part of either. However, you could easily find a quorum of Wings fans that would be clamouring for Holland to pick up Belak, just like they clamouring for Holland to pick up Oliwa when he was waved. They are panicked about the Wings lack of a "goon". They want a tough guy so badly they have lost all sense of reason. There is a large contingent of these people. Nevermind the fact that the Wings really haven't had a legitimate "goon" for years (McCarty is tough and will throw 'em down, but he's not really a goon) and that they are slowly (much to my chagrin) being phased out of the league. It just doesn't make sense to spend precious cap space on a goon who can't do anything but drop the gloves. :(

That said, I am happy to see Derek Boogaard in the league. He plays for the Wild. He's a big, massive, slow-skating fella who loves to fight. I saw him in a rookie tournament back in '00 or '01. He had a guy lined up on the boards and made a run for him. The defensemen got rid of the puck at the last minute, ducked, and Boogaard smashed through the glass and went head over heels over the boards and out of the rink. It was amazing.

I think Ottawa's McGrattan played in that that tournament too. He was a tryout for the Wings and got suspended for one of the games for attempting to be-head some guy with under a minute left in the game.

It wasn't all goons. In '01 they had Heatly, Kovalchuk, and Datsyuk in the tourney.

As an Avs' fan, no. You are not really normal.

Even my hatred for the Avs has begun to fade... Make no mistake, they are still my most hated team, but it's by default at the moment. No one has stepped up to take their place. But, that said, gone are the likes of Lemieux, Roy, Foote, Forsberg, etc. I've always really liked Joe Sakic. I like Konowalchuk. I have nothing against Rob Blake. Tanguay and Hejduk do nothing for me either way. It's just not the same anymore...

I hate the leafs.

but ML is still a cool guy. Sometimes. :)

I hate that I no longer have affinity, nor aversion, to any team(s) in the league. Stupid decade without a hometown team :(

See? One the one hand, klayman thinks I'm a cool guy. On the other hand, my wife thinks I'm an idiot. Leaf fans can't win!

Well I'm a Leafs fan... and I really like the Habs...

I'm a Habs fan and I like to hate the Leafs, but that is just because my dad is a Leaf fan, so it is more of a family-thing than a Habs- Leafs thing.

I'm from Alberta so it's against my religion to like the Leafs.

interesting Leafs game last night.

Connolly with the ever popular 1 on 4 breakaway last night to get the game winner.
and I think they need to look into leg chains or something for Belfour to keep him in the net.

I saw that goal on Sportscenter, flipping through the stations. It was impressive in that he was the only guy on the breakaway. But they were making a big deal about it being 4 on 1 which really wasn't the case because two of the Leafs were just standing there as he blew by so he really only beat 2.

SI

Ah, it's only the Leafs...we beat those guys all the damn time anyway! :cool:

Unfortunately, the Sabres run right into a fresh and waiting Senators team tonight. :( It likely won't be pretty........

They still count even if they have no heart and are making no effort to stop the other team. :)

Right, and one of those two as Aki Berg, who actually counts as a negative. So it was the equivalent of a 2-on-1 for the Sabres.

Sean Avery gets fined for diving... Avery just keeps maing it eaiser for me to hate him. Keep up the good work.

That player is a real bitch. He ranks right up there with Darcy Tucker on the hate meter.

and, like Tucker, I really liked Avery when he first came into the league, and I think they contribute a lot to their teams.

but they really need to be bitchslapped repeatedly.

I loved him back when he was with the Wings, so I guess I still have a little soft spot for him. I don't like diving and such, but I think instigators and "bad guys" add spice to the game. As much as I hate Claude Lemieux, the Wings-Avs rivaly wouldn't have been as intense and exciting if it wasn't for his asshatery.

Guys like Avery make the game more colorful.

Zubov and Jokinen win a shootout for Dallas again. A couple of sick goals.

I can tolerate the diving and instigating by themselves... it's just with Avery it's added apon a person who regularly talks out of his ass. Ass Talking + Diving = I hate you!

I agree. The game of hockey just wouldn't be the same without "pests." They really are quite colorful and are great for sparking controversy and adding that "dramatic" element to a game. You love 'em if they are one of yours and despise them if they aren't.

Avery is an ass. There is no question about this. I saw him at a Wings prospect tourney where he got his free agent tryout. I remember reading about an incident in juniors where a player attacked another player with his stick and was banned for life from the league for the incident. I was reading up on prospects playing at the tourney and it turned out Avery was the instigator of the mele that led to the lifetime suspension. Based on this, I figured Avery was a guy to watch. During the tournament it was pretty clear what he was all about and that he was good enough at it (and had enough skill too) to make the NHL

Unbelieveable.....CBJ picks up Sergei Federov and a 5th Round Pick for Tyler Wright and Francois Beachemin.

Wow....i'm still in shock over here, MacLean manages to get his first line center for pratically peanuts. I know Federov has a nice salary, but we have the cap room to do it, that's what is amazing.

can't quite get my brain around what Anaheim is doing there, unless it's to dump salary.

That's all I can think either. One thing that this does is get another Russian on the team that can help Zherdev out some. With Svitov staying in Russia this year, Nik seemed alone out there until the team got him a translator that was a former Russian NHLer. Now, he has someone on the team he can communicate with and through.

btw, anyone know of a site that lists player salaries and team payrolls? that info was easy to find in the offseason, but all seems to have disappeared.

If you go to the NHL section of tsn.ca, they have the depth charts and salaries of each team on the right side of the screen.

Strike one prospective first line center off Kevin Lowe's list. I would have thought the Oilers could have made a sweeter offer than what Columbus gave up, I just certainly hope Lowe is planning on standing still until the trade deadline.

they used to...but I'm not seeing it anymore.

Wow. That is quite the salary dump. Welcome back to the Midwest Sergei.

Fedorov is not the player he was, but still. Nice move by Columbus.

Good trade for both sides... the BJ's get their number one centre and have improved a very bad team, Federov is a question mark but I like him being on a line with Nash when he returns.

The Ducks were going to have difficulty improving their roster with Federov on the books and their overall salary situation, so this solves that problem... according to Hockey Bob over at TSN this frees up $4.5 Mill this year and next... although I'm not sure how since he's making over $6 Mill a season, unless he was due for a major salary cut next season.

Fedorov is probably my favorite non-Bruins player, and certainly the most underrated player of my lifetime.

Canes get some breaks, still get outplayed (as I saw it), yet claw out a 2-1 win in Ottawa tonight. I'll take it, considering the ass-handing they got the other night from Atlanta. 9-1 in the last 10 is still a damn fine effort considering expectations.

Do you mean now, or when he was with the Wings? Because back in his prime, he got a TON of credit for his play.

But oddly, not a lot of love in Detroit...

I grew up on the East Coast, but my perception was that Yzerman was a much bigger star, although they were pretty similiar in terms of ability. It seemed like Fedorov got the blame when the Red Wings lost, and Yzerman got the credit when they won.

I agree with Yzerman being overrated, but Federov underrated? Even as a somewhat distant NHL fan in the late 90's, my perception of him from the media was always as "the guy" in the NHL.

Yzerman is a legend in Detroit. He has earned his praise. There is no doubt about that. Sergei, on the other hand, was a bit of an enigma in Detroit. He was often blamed for "taking nights off." The knock on him was that he could take a game over at any time he wanted, but he just didn't want it. His flashy, Anna Kournikova dating ways didn't always go over in good, ole blue collar "Hockeytown." His holdout didn't help either. I don't think it was a fair knock on the guy. I think he tried hard, it just didn't always happen for him. It doesn't always happen for everyone. He always played well in the playoffs. He was a great player. Hell, I named my dog after the guy. Sergei got a bum rap for the most part in Detroit.

I didn't say Yzerman was overrated. He was a great, great player. I just think Fedorov was his equal.

Man... The Cardiac Canadiens at it again! Dominate the first two periods for a 3-0 lead, blow it in the third only to win it with 4 seconds left in OT... I need a pacemaker...

Ok. I will allow a retraction of the bolded language and pardon as you were a "somewhat distant NHL fan in the late 90s.

Read and learn:

Steve Gregory Yzerman

Steve Yzerman had all the flashy adjectives applied to him as a young, slick center when he entered the NHL. He could score the beautiful goal and his flair translated into some remarkable statistical seasons. But Yzerman's team, the Detroit Red Wings, had struggled before he arrived, and he didn't set the world on fire during his early years. Since then, though, Yzerman has become the longest serving captain in league history and dedicated himself to an all-around game, finally leading the Wings to the Stanley Cup in 1997 after 42 years of futility. At the age of 16, Yzerman moved to Peterborough to play with the OHL's Petes. He had 91 points in 56 games with Peterborough in his second year, but his numbers weren't the usual stratospheric kind registered by young phenomena in the OHL because of the team concept ingrained in the Petes by Dick Todd, the team's no-nonsense coach. Along with Pat LaFontaine and Sylvain Turgeon, Yzerman was still considered one of the top prospects as his draft year approached. He enriched that reputation with a strong performance on Canada's bronze medal team in the World Junior Championship in 1983. The year before the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, the Detroit Red Wings were bought by Mike Ilitch, who entrusted general manager Jim Devellano with the job of rebuilding the failing franchise. The Red Wings had the fourth overall pick, and Devellano's first choice was LaFontaine, a hometown boy who would surely revive the interest of the Detroit fans. But LaFontaine was picked third and Devellano selected Yzerman to be the cornerstone of the new Wings. Still only 18, Yzerman immediately established himself as an impact player with the Red Wings. In his first year, 1983-84, he set Detroit records for goals by a rookie with 39 and for points with 87. He finished second behind goalie Tom Barrasso in the Calder Trophy voting and also made the NHL's All-Rookie Team. He played in the All-Star Game after half a season in the league, making him the youngest player ever to don an All-Star sweater. His success carried over into training camp for the 1984 Canada Cup. Yzerman played so well in the camp that he couldn't be left off the team. Canada won the tournament, though Yzerman missed most of the action due to recurring tonsillitis. Yzerman continued to record impressive numbers. He had a knack for the pretty goal and began to draw fans back to the beleaguered team. He was named Red Wings captain as a 21-year-old in 1986, the youngest player ever to earn that honor. Between 1987 and 1993, he never failed to top 100 points, and five times he scored 50 goals or more while winning the Lester B. Pearson Trophy in 1988-89. He set all-time marks for Detroit when he had 65 goals, 90 assists and 155 points in 1988-89, placing third in the league scoring race behind Gretzky and Lemieux, just as he would in voting for the Hart Trophy that season. In 1994-95, the Wings ended the lockout-shortened season atop the standings, winning the Presidents' Trophy. The team coasted through the first three rounds of the playoffs undefeated on home ice. For the first time in his 11th year in the league, Yzerman was in the Stanley Cup finals. The joy didn't last long. New Jersey's stifling defense shut down Yzerman and the Wings and he had to watch Devils captain Scott Stevens hoist the Stanley Cup after a four-game sweep. Still, after so many seasons of struggling even to make the playoffs, Yzerman was being talked about as the quiet but effective leader of a surging team. Yzerman's high status was evident when his name began to surface in trade rumors in 1995. The Red Wings were a contending team, four games away from the Cup the previous season, an enviable position for which Yzerman had worked hard and sacrificed years of his career. In the spring of 1996 the center exacted a measure of revenge on Mike Keenan, the coach who'd left him off those international teams. Yzerman scored a 60-foot goal to eliminate Keenan's St. Louis Blues from the playoffs. Although the Red Wings lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the next round, Yzerman had come into his own as a leader. Yzerman was a standout player on Team Canada for the 1996 World Cup, scoring an important early round goal against Slovakia to keep the Canadian team on track and notching another in overtime in the first game of the final series against the United States. When Canada fell in the final game, however, Yzerman was once again forced to watch another team celebrate. In the 1997 playoffs, everything came together for the hard-working captain. He was a solid player at both ends of the ice as Detroit faced the Philadelphia Flyers for the Stanley Cup. In four consecutive games, the Wings were too much for the Flyers. At the end of the final game, Yzerman was the first to embrace goalie Mike Vernon. Moments later, in front of his home fans chanting "Stevie" over and over, Yzerman raised the Cup above his head, the first Red Wing to do so since 1955. The next season, Yzerman's name was engraved on another award, this time the Conn Smythe Trophy, after the Red Wings repeated as Cup champions. Yzerman was an effective checker and became a player Detroit coach Scotty Bowman could use in all situations. Yzerman's strong play continued over the next two years capturing the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 1999-00 before injuries limited the talented forward to a mere 54 games in 2000-01 and 52 games in 2001-02. Although his regular season was limited in 2001-02, Yzerman was healthy enough to take part in the Wings Stanley Cup run which landed Yzerman the third Stanley Cup ring of his career. An off-season knee operation limited Yzerman to a mere 16 games in 2002-03 and early exit in the post season. His brave efforts landed him the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. In 2003-04, the Red Wing captain returned to the lineup and was instrumental in helping his team capture the Presidents' Trophy as the top team during the regular season and would surpass the 1,700 point plateau. On the international stage, Yzerman has represented his country on numerous occasions, the first being at the 1983 World Junior Championships. In 1984, he played for Canada at the Canada Cup and in 1985, he went on to make his first of three appearances at the Worlds, the other two being in 1989 and 1990. After an appearane at the 1996 World Cup, Yzerman went on to become a two-time olympian, representing his homeland at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and the 2002 Salt Lake City Games - where he helped Canada capture its first gold medal in more than 50 years.

REGULAR SEASON PLAYOFFS Season Club League GP G A TP PIM +/- GP G A TP PIM 1980-81 Nepean Raiders CJHL 50 38 54 92 44 1981-82 Peterborough Petes OHL 58 21 43 64 65 6 0 1 1 16 1982-83 Peterborough Petes OHL 56 42 49 91 33 4 1 4 5 0 1982-83 Canada WJC-A 7 2 3 5 2 1983-84 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 39 48 87 33 -17 4 3 3 6 0 1984-85 Canada Can-Cup 4 0 0 0 0 1984-85 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 30 59 89 58 -17 3 2 1 3 2 1984-85 Canada WEC-A 10 3 4 7 6 1985-86 Detroit Red Wings NHL 51 14 28 42 16 -24 1986-87 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 31 59 90 43 -1 16 5 13 18 8 1987-88 Detroit Red Wings NHL 64 50 52 102 44 +30 3 1 3 4 6 1988-89 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 65 90 155 61 +17 6 5 5 10 2 1988-89 Canada WEC-A 8 5 7 12 2 1989-90 Detroit Red Wings NHL 79 62 65 127 79 -6 1989-90 Canada WEC-A 10 10 10 20 8 1990-91 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 51 57 108 34 -2 7 3 3 6 4 1991-92 Detroit Red Wings NHL 79 45 58 103 64 +26 11 3 5 8 12 1992-93 Detroit Red Wings NHL 84 58 79 137 44 +33 7 4 3 7 4 1993-94 Detroit Red Wings NHL 58 24 58 82 36 +11 3 1 3 4 0 1994-95 Detroit Red Wings NHL 47 12 26 38 40 +6 15 4 8 12 0 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 36 59 95 64 +29 18 8 12 20 4 1996-97 Canada W-Cup 6 2 1 3 0 1996-97 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 22 63 85 78 +22 20 7 6 13 4 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings NHL 75 24 45 69 46 +3 22 6 18 24 22 1997-98 Canada Olympics 6 1 1 2 10 1998-99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 29 45 74 42 +8 10 9 4 13 0 1999-00 Detroit Red Wings NHL 78 35 44 79 34 +28 8 0 4 4 0 2000-01 Detroit Red Wings NHL 54 18 34 52 18 +4 1 0 0 0 0 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings NHL 52 13 35 48 18 +11 23 6 17 23 10 2001-02 Canada Olympics 6 2 4 6 2 2002-03 Detroit Red Wings NHL 16 2 6 8 8 +6 4 0 1 1 2 2003-04 Detroit Red Wings NHL 75 18 33 51 46 +10 11 3 2 5 0 2004-05 2004-05 Canada W-Cup NHL Totals 1453 678 1043 1721 906 192 70 111 181 80

NHL All-Rookie Team (1984) Lester B. Pearson Award (1989) WEC-A All-Star Team (1989, 1990) Named Best Forward at WEC-A (1990) Conn Smythe Trophy (1998) NHL First All-Star Team (2000) Frank J. Selke Trophy (2000) Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (2003) Played in NHL All-Star Game (1984, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2000)

I would just like to say i dont think Yzerman is underrated in any way....he is one of the best hockey players we will ever see, and i have alot of respect for him. 1 team his whole career. Atleast we beat him in 93 :p

I love Fedorov, but he is not quite Yzerman's equal. Yzerman hit 80 pts 12 times, and topped 100 pts in six consecutive seasons. Fedorov has 5 80 pt seasons and 2 100 pt seasons. Fedorov topped 40 goals once, Yzerman 6 times. Even disregarding any "intangables" like leadership, there is no way you can call them "about equal".

the knock on Fedorov, IMO, had always been that, if other people were around to carry the load, he took it down a notch. and, sure enough, two of his best seasons were his Hart Trophy season of 93-94 and 02-03, both seasons in which Yzerman missed a substantial chunk of time.

Anyone who thinks Yzerman is overrated is a fool and not a true hockey fan, let alone ignorant about hockey history.

My opinion is that the people who say that are the people who just count goals and assists and don't recognize the total package that was Fedorov. He actually played defense for a while one year, didn't he? Watching from New England, I only saw them play a few times a year, but I was as impressed with Fedorov as with Yzerman - although I think Yzerman's greatness was easier to comprehend, more obvious.

we're generally aiming for discussions that are a bit more mature and civil in this thread.

Here here.

RPI is a true hockey fan (I mean, how else do you explain his support of the Isles? ) and has come across anything but a fool or ignorant of anything. That Yzerman thing was just a misunderstanding!

who's this Yzerman guy you're all talking about? :p

Fuck off.

or not. whatever.

And I'm not a fucking true hockey fan becaue I don't have diarrhea of the mouth (or finger) like you and DD? I've been a Wings fan since the early 80's and they broadcast 10-15 games on WXMI. I also have watched just about about every game since Center Ice has been around (and I moved from MI), so you can both shut it. I know as much about hockey as any of you losers.

Don't piss me off. :)

It's gettin' chippy in here.

Sean Avery rules!!!!! ;)

get overly defensive much?
fucking chill.

Don't troll then.

I don't know what the fuck you are talking about, and I don't care.
I asked you to tone it down, and you went off on some tough guy internet posing that has me trying to decide if I should be laughing my ass of or feeling sorry for you.

continue to make a fool out of yourself. I'll leave you alone.

Quite honestly I never have had a problem with you until you attack me; however, you don't own this thread, and what I said about Yzerman still stands. If you felt threatened by that, I think that makes YOU look like the fool, not me since you were the person offended. I specified no one. I made a general statement that I thought was fair. You got your panties in a bunch. I think that's lame. Whatever, I still don't hate you.

I still stand by my comment: Anyone who thinks such an amazing player, ambassador of the sport, and leader is an over-rated player is a loser or doesn't know hockey and is a chump and a loser. Deal with it, disagree like a man, or cry like DD. It's your choice.

... so the Leafs won last night...

Sparty, my man. My brother from another mother. I didn't say you weren't a true hockey fan. You totally are. I never mentioned it. I was just sticking up for RPI. You are wise and knowledgeable in the ways of hockey. A great hockey fan and wonderful Wings fan. Always have been. Always will be. Just sticking up for RPI, does not mean I am putting you down or, in fact, saying anything about you.

It's impossible not to piss you off. You are always pissed off. It's your natural state of being.

I'm glad Jagr is on my fantasy team. :D


EDIT: I'm glad he's scoring and all, but he doesn't look very healthy. Yeeks. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/player...e?statsId=0035

so is swearing allowed here or not, im confused :confused:

fuck no, asshole.

still has the long hair, I see. he's just wearing it on top of his head now.

I almost forgot there was another team outside of Detroit in the NHL. Thanks for reminding me.

So very true, especially in the evening when I have the occassional beer or two. ;)

Figured that was the case. ;)

Woah. The Blue Jackets just waived speedy Todd "Opie" Marchant. I guess that's how things will work nowadays? Certainly one way to dump salary.

Apparently Columbus was thinking of adding Marchant to the Fedorov deal, but they wouldn't tell him who they were thinking of trading him to, so Marchant wouldn't waive his no trade clause (what Marchant is doing with a NTC is another question entirely). Anyway, Marchant and his 3 year at around $2.5 million per year contract are available.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=143275&hubname=nhl

Fedorov Factor: Jackets waive Marchant Todd Marchant Bob McKenzie - TSN.ca Staff 11/16/2005 12:03:52 PM It hasn't taken long for the after-shock of the Sergei Fedorov trade to hit the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets are preparing to unload some salary to make way for Fedorov and veteran centre Todd Marchant, who makes $2.47 million this season, is a strong candidate to be the first out of the door. The Blue Jackets put him on waivers at 12 noon today and he's the type of player who might actually be claimed by another team. At age 32, Marchant is still considered a useful player, with terrific speed. But on the downside, he has another three years after this season left on a contract that pays him, $2.47 million, $2.47 million and $2.66 million, which may be a financial albatross many teams are not prepared to assume. But Marchant's agent Lewis Gross is continuing to work the phones trying to broker a trade for his client between the Blue Jacket and another NHL team. If he's not claimed on waivers, Marchant could still be traded. Related Info McKenzie: Two reasons to trade Fedorov Ducks deal Fedorov to Blue Jackets NHL Insider Doug MacLean 1-on-1 Marchant has a no trade clause in his contract. Sources say the player was asked to waive that clause during the negotiations between Anaheim and Columbus, but that Marchant was never told which team he might be traded to and would not waive the no-trade without more information. The deal between the Ducks and the Blue Jackets went ahead with Tyler Wright and Francois Beauchemin being shipped to Anaheim for Fedorov and a fifth-round draft pick. In any case, it would certainly appear that Marchant is done with the Blue Jackets. It will be interesting to see the reaction to that within the Blue Jackets' dressing room, where Marchant is held in high regard both for his work ethic and his leadership. Teams have 24 hours to claim Marchant. If he goes unclaimed, he could be sent to the minors. The Blue Jackets would still be responsible for the full amount of his NHL salary, but it would not count against the cap. If he were recalled from the minors and a team claimed him on re-entry waivers, the Blue Jackets would be responsible for half his NHL salary but that would count against the Blue Jackets' cap figure for the length of Marchant's contract. That would be the only way the Blue Jackets could get rid of the player and pay a portion of the salary, but it's a last resort because of the implications it could have on the Blue Jackets' cap situation in future years. The Blue Jackets do not have pressing cap issues at this time, but their payroll of more than $37 million is much higher than ownership would like it to be. Marchant's departure from the roster is a pure cost-cutting move. They will be looking to dump the salary any way they can. Meanwhile, Fedorov is likely to make his debut tonight even though he missed connnections on an overnight flight from California and wasn't scheduled to arrive in Columbus today until 12:40 p.m. local time. Fedorov indicated to his new team he wants to play tonight vs. St. Louis no matter what, but that decision won't be finalized until after Fedorov undergoes a medical.

Jagr's mathematically "projected" stats:

82 games, 74 goals, 119 pts, 41 PPG :eek:

Forsberg: 31 goals, 128 assists, 159 points, +62 :)

I pretty much dislike everything about the Fedorov and Marchant deals

Thrashers return to their non-Dunham form ... multiple penalties & a 7-3 loss with Berkhoel in goal.

I'm starting to think they believe Dunham is Michael Vick.

I used to like Bob Hartley, as a coach. But I'm losing respect for his attitude.

After the game was 5-3, you guys made a BLATANT pick -- nobody complains, obvious penalty. Then, a few moments later, there was kind of a touchy-feely hooking call through the neutral zone that shouldn't have been called, but was. Fine, tough break, you try to kill off the penalties and then maybe get your goalie off the ice to get some pressure. But Hartley bitches and moans and whines, picks up a bench minor, and then his players play lazy on the powerplay and take two LAZY penalties out front.

To cap it off, his players take his attitude of giving up as Jason Blake waltzes right around two Thrashers rubbernecking all the way through the neutral zone.

Atrocious attitude by the Thrashers and Hartley.

RPI -- I didn't see a second of the game, knew nothing except what the box score told me (i.e. the late penalty sequence). It was televised on a rimshot broadcast TV signal that isn't part of the Dish Network local station pkg & I wasn't really in the mood for a radiocast. And, now that I've looked at the supersheet & stuff, why am I not surprised that 2 of the 4 PP goals came after Andy Sutton penalties? Without at least 2 (maybe 3) more decent defensemen, this season is shaping up to be a string of ugly outings broken up by occasional glimpses of offense ... regardless of who is in goal.

Why did that occasional glimpse have to come against the Canes last Saturday? Got my evening off to a crappy start which was nicely polished off by BC's demolition of NC State. Add the Bobcats losing and only the Panthers' thrashing of the Jets on Sunday stopped a superfecta of losing for me. :)

Brian Burke + Randy Carlyle = Trading Feds for a bag of pucks.

fun end to the Phi / Atl game - Flyers led by 2 with 2 minutes left, kept taking penalties. Thrashers scored on a 5 on 3 (well, 6 on 3 with the goalie pulled), then tied it on their last gasp rush with 6 seconds left. Greg DeVries (!) wins it on a breakaway in OT.

Colorado and Anaheim are playing a good game too.

He's turned into a scoring forward trapped in the body of an mediocre defenseman.

thank you, stevie y! thank you.

Yzerman rips NHL's new rules
ESPN.com news services

Stevie Y is wondering why the NHL had to mess with a good thing.

In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Steve Yzerman spoke out about the new NHL -- and so far, he's not a fan.

"Everybody keeps saying this is great. It's not great," Yzerman told the Free Press. "It's not hockey."

In particular, Yzerman believes referees should use better judgment when calling penalties.

Yzerman made his opinion known after the Red Wings' overtime loss to the Oilers on Thursday. Although the Red Wings are 15-4-2 under the NHL's new rules, they're winless in their past three games.

A Mathieu Schneider holding penalty in the second period of Thursday night's loss irked Yzerman in particular.

"There are penalties all over," he told the newspaper. "I'll just use Mathieu Schneider's penalty as an example. He steps up and takes his guy out, and his stick gets caught and the crowd cheers so the referee puts his hand up. There has to be some discretion. The referees have to use some judgment on what is a penalty and what is not. They've taken judgment out of it and I think it's somewhat made it easy on the referees just to call anything, because there is no judgment.

"Good referees used to have good judgment. Now they've taken that out of the game. I'm not saying I'm blaming the referees for it, I just feel the whole thing has to be adjusted and they have to look at this seriously. They can't continue to call irrelevant things that have no business being called."

Yzerman, in his 22nd NHL season, has two goals and four assists for the Red Wings in 2005.

Go Stevie Go

Yzerman is overrated

Anyone who thinks Yzerman is overrated is a fool and not a true hockey fan, let alone ignorant about hockey history.

Honestly I'm really annoyed at people bashing the game because there are too many penalities. We've been over this for possibly the past five seasons, everyone wants a crack down on obstruction, and when they do it then there are too many penalities so we go back to obstruction. I'm sorry but I'd rather two seasons tainted by loads of penalities, then continue having obstructions as part of the league.

That said... I don't like that they've basiclly prevented the defence from doing anything.

Which is what confounds me a little bit ... obviously "everybody" DOESN'T want a crackdown on obstruction.

Notice that the critic is this case isn't a goalie, or a defenseman, or a coach ... it's an offensive player, someone who should theoretically GAIN from the current don't-touch-anything-anytime mentality, and yet even he recognizes what a joke the current state of affairs is.

Unlike other crackdowns in the past, I think it's pretty clear what is allowed and what isn't. I can usually spot the penalties as they happen. I don't think there are too many penalties, either. There have been some games that are just special teams affairs, but certainly not MOST games. I think it's been terrific hockey so far.

Ok... I don't think the current state of affairs is a joke...

Judging from the boxscore, the Atlanta-Toronto reunion got the main event out of the way early (Boulton vs Belak at 7:35 of the 1st period) & was fairly calm otherwise.
5-1 Leafs the final as Belfour stops 31 of 32 shots (only faced 2 SOG in the 1st 20 mins)

If the current state of affairs benefits Stevie Y so much, why is he 11th in points on his team? Mikael Samuelsson gets less ice time per game but has over twice as many points. My take is that Stevie Y doesn't like the changes because it reveals he is not the same player he once was. I haven't watched enough Red Wings games to see for myself, but that is my take. He is on a pace for 37 or 38 points over an 82 game season, which would be his lowest point total for a full season. I really think that is why he is complaining. He no longer has the skill to run and gun and was hoping he might be able to do some clutching and grabbing to extend his career even longer.

EDIT...Of course, he probably has not played as much as those younger guys and could just have a bad case of sour grapes.

I do notice that the critic is someone from the losing team. His voice also seems to be in the minority. Jon, we've had this discussion before, but Hockey is meant to be a skill sport, not a 3 yards and a cloud of dust. I wish you could find the beauty in it, but, maybe it's just not meant to be.

If I wanted to watch figure skating, I'd prefer it to be women with great legs & short skirts/dresses.

If I have been watching figure skating this season, they are pretty bad at it. I have not seen any salchows, axels, or lutzes yet. Also, where are the toe picks?

I didn't say the NHL was good figure skating, more like speed skaters trying to figure skate so they can get more style points.

Crusing the online sports page this morning & am LMAO at this promo for the AJC online classifieds

I hope you are being sarcastic, cause that's not even close to a good analysis of the kind of skating that a hockey player does.

I used to have a roommate who called Sergei Samsonov "Sarah Hughes."

The analogy was indeed fairly sarcastic, from a technical standpoint. The point is/was that I don't find the cant-touch-this skateorama style of hockey 1/10th as interesting to watch as the NHL under the previous rules (or enforcement of rules).

The non-sarcastic part of the analogy was if I just wanted to watch people skate around unmolested (Tonya Harding not withstanding) I'd watch figure skating or speed skating. But hey, I'm not a "hockey purist" or whatever the pseudo-elite like to say about people like me (and Yzerman apparently).
I just know what I find more entertaining.

It struck me yesterday how much my interest in hockey is being influenced by the time of year. NASCAR season ends today, other than a couple of players the NFL is of scant interest for me other than a passing curiosity, and the NBA struggles to be even that interesting (I'm having a hard time even getting interested in my fantasy league this year). So, for pro sports, I'm pretty much stuck with hockey even if I find the product less entertaining than it used to be.