maybe so, but they've been working on getting Bondra for what seems like months now.

But the first thing they said after the Heatley trade was that they now didn't have the money for any big signings like Bondra with the money they added plus signing Kovachuk. Now, a couple of days after Kovalchuk says he's leaning toward staying in Russia, they sign Bondra. May be that the extra money to get the job done is coming from what they thought they'd pay IK.

500 people packed a local arena and many were turned away to watch Flames' prospects on a weekday afternoon. Thank God the first exhibition game is on Friday or people around here would start going postal.

So I guess the 4 on 4 League that I saw in July here in Minnesota with NHL'ers, NCAA and Junior players wouldn't cut it either?

Penguins expect to lost $7 million this season and that figure is based on the Pens making the 2nd round of the playoffs according to Mario Lemieux.


Saw this on Kuklas,

Go Richter!

I'd like to see Richter in the studio. In every interview or appearance I've seen he always comes across as an intelligent, likeable guy. I still love that NHL commercial he did back in the day with Tim Robbins. Never failed to get a chuckle out of me.

Ronnie Francis retires.

great article here
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=136299

including a mention of how Stevens, Messier, Francis, McInnis and Larionov will all be eligible for the 2007 HOF class, with a maximum of 4 inductees each year.

Well we know who's not getting in from that group.

Trent Klatt better get in, dammit!

Next time I see Trent, I'll let him know he has a fan! :D

Klatt. Pshaw.

Another Flyer injury, Sami Kapanen has shoulder surgery and is out 10 weeks.

The NHLPA has filed a grievance for Owen Nolan.

Every preseason game will have a shootout regardless of the score. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=136421

Not really. I'm only interested in something that matters, like the NHL. I'm not enough of a hockey fan to want to follow lesser leagues or NHL players mixed with amateurs in a non-NHL setting. Just give me back the NHL and I'll be happy.

Ok, I missed this when it happened, but ran across it in the TSN NHL preview capsules:

''Justice!'' - Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz, the moment the Penguins drew the top selection in the NHL Draft Lottery.

SI

Good reviews so far on Crosby. He had 3 assists in the first training camp scrimmage playing with Recchi and Leclair.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2162877

article about Nash's injury, check the headline hehe

Free Forecaster hockey preview/fantasy magazine for anyone who's interested:

http://magazine.forecaster.ca/hockey2005/

For existing/previous readers of the hockey annual, there is no newsstand edition this year, due to early advertising deadlines and the NHL's late start, but the digital version has all the content the print version would have. We'll be back in print next year.

Acrobat reader 6.0 required...download is about 8 megs.

Very nice find....im reading it now...printed it at work, glad the boss didnt find out..hehe......Brad Richards will lead the league in scoring, with 108 points

I didn't "find" it per se...I work for the company that publishes it. :)

well nice work publishing it then....lol......i cant say i agree with everything ive read so far, but its a fun read

hopefully, you don't work in the server maintenance department...

Mirror, for those unable to reach the server. :)

http://www.fantasysports.ca/TSFHocke...06-Generic.pdf

No, I'm in HTML, not server stuff....the Hockey mag has always been our flagship product, but NONE of us were expecting the kind of response we got. Maybe the 5-10 phone calls a day the last month or so should have tipped us off, but once the pre-reg e-mails went out, and news hit some of the bigger message boards (HFBoards, fanhome.com, etc.), we were caught a little off guard.

looking forward to checking it out (when I'm on a compuer that has acrobat installed)

Blues' Tkachuk fails physical, suspended

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9373190/

ST. LOUIS - Things are not off to a good start for Keith Tkachuk and the St. Louis Blues.

According to a report by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday, Tkachuk was suspended by the Blues after failing his physical.

“He failed his physical and he’s been suspended,” Blues general manager Larry Pleau told the newspaper. “That’s all I’ll say.”

Also, in case of you hockey fans are interested, my wife took some photos at the Thrashers' training camp this past Wednesday...

Thrashers' camp photos

And here I was getting all excited to see a picture of Paul Kariya in drag :(





;)

Good pics :)

SI

Too many donuts during the lockout?

SI

According to the TSN SportsDesk anchors last night, he was described as "grossly overweight" and "grieviously overweight".

Why does Mike Dunham look like Steve Carrel to me?

Wow. I didn't notice that until now. Maybe you aren't used to seeing Dunham's face? I know I am often surprised about goalies because I rarely see their faces.

I just snagged a couple of tickets to the Flames home opener for $314 US off of eBay - midway through the second deck, just off the blue line. It's roughly the same price I paid for four other games during the year (Nashville x2, St. Louis and Anaheim). On-line sales started today but all the good games were gone so eBay was the only place.

I've never paid that much before for a single event but I just HAD to get tickets for the opener. I'm sure it will be worth it. :D

:eek:

Glad I live a little north. I paid $320 for 8 games during the year, (mid-way up in the second deck of Rexall), plus $70 for 4 others (in the upper upper bowl of Rexall).

I'll probably fork over a few more dollars to get tickets to the home opener and the night they retire Paul Coffey's number. Or maybe I can get them free from work. :)

edit: Okay, maybe I won't be going to Coffey's game. It's already sold out.

Vanek has 2 goals last night for the Sabres, looking forward to the game on Tuesday here in Minnesota I just got 4 free club tickets from a friend.

yup Vanek looked good, hopefully Miller plays lights out next time because it's MILLER TIME! :D

For those who get HDNet, their NHL schedule up to November 26 was released today:

http://www.nhl.com/news/2005/09/234932.html

Day Date Visitor Home Time (ET)
Wednesday 5-Oct Coyotes Canucks 10:00PM
Thursday 6-Oct Red Wings Blues 8:00PM
Saturday 8-Oct Bruins Penguins 7:30PM

Thursday 13-Oct Predators Coyotes 10:00PM
Saturday 15-Oct Lightning Penguins 7:30PM

Thursday 20-Oct Rangers Islanders 7:00PM
Saturday 22-Oct Hurricanes Capitals 7:00PM

Thursday 27-Oct Blackhawks Red Wings 7:30PM
Saturday 29-Oct Hurricanes Penguins 7:30PM

Thursday 3-Nov Capitals Flyers 7:00PM
Saturday 5-Nov Stars Avalanche 9:00PM

Thursday 10-Nov Flames Coyotes 9:00PM
Saturday 12-Nov Capitals Devils 1:00PM

Thursday 17-Nov Canucks Kings 10:30PM
Saturday 19-Nov Avalanche Kings 10:30PM

Thursday 24-Nov Kings Predators 8:00PM
Saturday 26-Nov Canucks Coyotes 10:00PM

Thanks for posting that, with ESPN not having hockey, HDNET is my only option for HD hockey.

So far the scoring appears to be up in the early preseason games. Not sure if that is a fact of calling more penalties, more minor leaguers or the new rules.

Cards - OLN will produce games in HD this season. Not sure what provider you use, but I would expect Comcast/TWC to have those games on InHD, and DirecTV may broadcast them on the special events channel like the baseball games.

Datsyuk is on his way to Detroit to sign a 2 year, 7 mil deal.

I think he is worth 3.5 a year, and I am glad to see he's back. I hate how it went down but he took money I think a lot of people will feel is apropriate, now lets see him earn his mega deal for when he becomes a UFA.

Isles v. Rangers on TV tomorrow! I'm psyched the fuck up!!!!

I have TWC and get the HDNET channel. So, OLN will send those HD games to InHD too? That would be great.

Has there been any shoot outs yet in the pre season. I'm curious how it is implemented and how much more ppg has there been this year?

Every preseason game has a shootout.



Buccigross again brings teh funny (its from a parody of an internet chat he was doing).

Is that compared to pre-season games from past years or regular season games from last year ? You'll have to factor in that a lot of the teams are playing prospects and AHL players in these games.

I think $3.5 million is right and given what some of the earlier deals were like (see: Mike Rathje), I think it could turn out to be a bit of a bargain, assuming Datsyuk actually does something in the playoffs (assuming, of course, the Wings make it to the post-season). It seems like the RFAs who hung around til the end, like Smyth and Datsyuk, are quickly realizing that their options are very limited and there is only so much salary left. There were some predicting that teams would be going after other team's RFAs under the new CBA since the draft pick penalties weren't that bad and draft picks have lost some value (due to the "must sign picks within 2 years" rule and the lowering of the UFA age), but that hasn't seemed to happen.

riz,

Not a scientific studay at all, just seeing the scores on the bottom line on ESPN. There were lots of 5-4 types and I saw an 8-6 game with the Flyers on Saturday plus the Wild scored 7 goals.

Todd

Nothing confirmed yet, but the rumor mill suggests that InHD will have the OLN games in HD. I guess we'll find out in 2 weeks.

Looking at the scores, I've noticed that PPG is up by an avg. 0f 2-3 ppg.

I know the exhibition season can be pretty wild & wooly with teams using odd lineups & such, but I have to tell you, after the ridiculous 8-6 game the Thrashers lost a few nights ago, my enthusiasm for this Saturday night's game is diminished a lot from where it was even a couple of weeks ago :(

If I want to see games with no defense, I'll just drive down to Macon & watch low minors hockey for $10 a ticket.

No you won't.

That franchise folded. As far as I know, there will be no professional hockey in Macon this year.