Interesting.

In one of the FOFC fantasy hockey leagues (in which my glorious team is currently in first place, mind you), I am playing what appears to be Chief Rum's squad (I assume this becuase the name of the team is something along the lines of "Stars Suk! Ducks Rule!"). At the moment, two of my players, Datsyuk and Weight are beating CR's entire team. No one else on my crappy team has a point this week. It's embarassing. Almost as embarassing as the fact that I benched Belfour in favor of Giguere. Should have known that Giguere would stink up the joint against CR's squad. BAH!

I don't really agree with that statement. When the Jets were in the NHL, they were a profitable team. Their owner just wanted to make some money and sold off the team. Ignoring their last season, their average attendance at the time was around the same as the Oilers, Canucks and Senators.

I'm not sure how big their arena was, but that may have been a limiting factor. In fact, I certainly hope it was, because as attendance has increased over the years, the Jets would be at the bottom of the barrell - even lower than Pittsburgh.

Winnipeg is now building (built?) a new arena. And there is talk that they'll go after an NHL team if the CBA improves things for smaller market cities.

Capacity at the new arena is a little small but it might work with a revamped CBA. But, I thought I read that the Moose already have dibs on it which would pretty much kill the Jets coming back.

dola,

Support for the Jets or Nordiques has never been an issue. It's the lack of an NHL-calibre arena combined with high tax rates and a local/provincial government that won't kick in any funding for a new arena. How can you compete with US locales who are offering public subsidies and no taxes for 25 years? It's ironic really, when Canada is considered "socialist".

Marc-Andre Fleury will be playing Junior Hockey this month... but it will be World Junior hockey, as Pittsburgh has agreed to let Fleury play in the tournament (and who can blame them, anything to keep him under 25 games).

Now if only they could get Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Rick Nash, Patrice Bergeron among others...

Hey...H_B...You catch that Leafs/Wings game saturday night ?


:)

No. For once this whole Brussels thing seemed to workout for me. :(

Ok, someone want to explain to me who Miikka Kiprusoff is since I just picked him up for my fantasy team? He's just kindof burst onto the scene, winning 6 of 7 and giving up exactly 1 goal in each of the 6 wins.

SI

He was the backup in San Jose for a few years. He was really highly rated and expected to challenge Nabokov as starter. Last year, when Nabokov held out, Kiprusoff got his change to be #1 and flamed out. He really didn't play well at all. I think San Jose sort of gave up on him as a future #1 at that point and shipped him to Calgary.

That's my take on Kiprusoff.

I agree with HB.

For some reason goalies flame out in SJ after a few seasons...i wonder why that is?

They apparently haveplenty of depth in net there......they have a few guys in the minors they also project as future NHL starters.

Moose Hedberg was also a Shark before he was moved to Pittsburgh 2 yearsd ago.

It's quite clear here in Calgary that Sutter is grooming him to be #1. He's only 27 with Turek and McLellan quite a few years older. Jamie's contract is up at the end of the year and it's unlikely he'll be back.

He's been "flashy" good because he's given up too many rebounds. Mikka gets the stats but our defense is where the credit should be given. That, and Shean Donovan.

Washington fires Cassidy this morning.Glen Hanlon takes over for him

Leafs 8 game win streak ends last night as they lose to the Bluenotes in OT


Wow...are the Wings eating humble pie or what?Having to recall Joseph because of injuries to both Hasek and Legace...OUCH!

Do you think they would have resigned Hasek if they knew it would cause THIS much trouble? I mean obviously they knew it would cause some unrest,But i think it is becoming a major distraction now.

I am sure Hanlon is only an interim coach, but good for old "Fly." He and Greg Stefan were the Wings' goalies when I first started watching hockey seriously. Will always have a special place in my heart.

One game back in 1987 or 1988 Hanlon took a shot right to the nuts. A full on slapper. He went down and, understandbly, didn't get up for a long, long time. The shot basically shattered his cup. From that moment on we often referred to old family jewels as "The Hanlons." I am sure he'd be honored to know that.

Humble pie? It's not humble pie we're eating it's injury cake or injury crackers or something like that. Fer fook's sake, man. Hatcher, McCarty, Hasek, Legace, Chelios, Thomas, Zetterberg, Yzerman, Whitney. Probably one or two I am missing. All of them, out. It's ridiculous.

Hasek certianly hasn't been the Hasek of old. That being said, he's been injured for most of the season. One of those chronic goalie injuries. It hasn't helped his performance. There was no real option for the Wings. It would have been insane to let Hasek walk and sign for anyone he'd like (see: THE FORCES OF DARKNESS(tm)).

The understanding NHL fan in me thinks you have a point about all those injuries.

But the realist in me notes that almost all of those guys are pretty damn old (Zetterberg excepting), so you get what you pay for. Maybe it's about time the Wings realized there is a downside to throwing money at older stars.

CR

Well, less than half of those listed can really be considered "old:" Chelios, Yzerman, Hasek, and Thomas. Then again a Wings' fan perception of "old" for a NHLer is likely drastically different than your typical NHL fan.

That being said, the old, aged Wings have held up pretty well the last few years. Yzerman's knee troubles (and Chelios as well) aside. The other elder statesmen have been surprisingly healthy.

And, by the way, the upside of "throwing money at older stars" is worth it... Trust me. ;)

Old to a Leaf fan means 45 :D

35 is still a prospect:)

Since this had made it to page 2 I figured it would be nice to say something about the Hawks-Wings game tonight. But the way the Hawks have been playing lately, I can't do a damn thing.

SI

Did anybody hear about Kevin Lowe asking Comrie to pony up $2.5 million in order to be traded?

Personally, I think it's a great idea by Lowe. Comrie should pay back most of his salary from last year (including bonuses) since he took the last half of the year and the playoffs off. But then I'm a mean spirited bastard.

And what about the reports about Cujo going to Bruins that claim the Wings will take him back at the end of the season, free of charge? That seems like a pretty good deal for the Bruins.

If Comrie wasn't playing, the Oilers shouldn't have been sending him checks, IMO. The bonuses I can understand returning a portion of, although it should be noted that the reason bonuses are given is as an incentive to sign the contract, which Comrie did. The only reason I think the bonuses could be touched is because they were an inducement to a contract Comrie partly didn't honor.

I understand Lowe's position, because this was a crappy situation for the Oilers, but he also was rather double-handed on this one. He worked out a deal with the Ducks, and then allowed them to negotiate a contract with Comrie. It was all settled and ready to go. Not once over the past several months or since Cmorie began his holdout has he mentioned pulling this last second card. And, now, after it's all set, he does this? That's just B.S.

CR

Unfortunately, the NHLPA takes a rather dim view of not paying your players, no matter how crappy they play. And just to clarify, Comrie was on the roster during the last half of the season and the playoffs, but he was busy practicing his magic act (he's got the disappearing act down pat). But it's not about paying back his salary. There is no justification for asking a player to pay back anything he earned from the previous year, and that's not what Lowe is asking for (that's just what I am asking for). The reason Lowe wants the money is the trade only nets the Oilers a prospect and a draft pick, yet he needs something right now, and that 2.5 will go toward bringing another center in. Because Comrie refuses to be reasonable (and he pulled this same shit when he came out of juniors), he's left the Oilers in a horrible situation.

As far as the deal goes, the trade isn't final until both parties agree with it. Lowe has every right to add stipulations to the trade until it is finalized (meaning until he agrees to the trade). It sucks for the Ducks but this happens all the time in the NHL with teams pulling out or changing the deal at the last minute. At least he didn't trade him to two teams at the same time.

Nobody wants to see him go as much as I do and that should tell you what kind of player he is.

I don't know enough about Comrie to say what kind of person he is, although he is going to find the Ducks to be a pretty tight group, and if he comes in with an attitude, he's going to get put in his place pretty quick.

How much was he supposed to make up until now (from September to now)? If it was $2.5 M, then I can understand the stipulation at least.

I still don't think Comrie should have been getting checks, and screw the NHLPA if they think otherwise. You don't play, the team doesn't pay. Breach of contract. That's the way it should be. If the NHLPA somehow finagled this into being legal, then the NHL execs are dumb as shit. Of course, for that same reason, the Oilers don't have any right to get that money back, because they offered that contract under those rules and accepted the risks of Comrie holding out.

As for the stipulations of the trade, there's a difference between the technicals here and the way one goes about things. The Oilers and Ducks had a deal in place, agreed to, to the point that the Ducks actually worked out a contract settlement with Comrie. You don't get to do that unless a trade in principle has been agreed to. Lowe basically shook Murray's hand and said, "He is yours, soon as you work out a deal with him."

Then when the deal was done, and everyone came back to Lowe to sign the official deal, and he drops this? Sure, the paper isn't signed, but that is just plain lowball. Had Lowe mentioned something like this before, so that all parties were aware he would want some compensation in this form, and they went into the deal fully expecting that, well, that is one thing. But he didn't even mention it. No one knew a thing about this until the deal was about to become official.

Neither Comrie nor the Ducks are responsible for finding the Oilers a replacement center. If the Oilers want a center, then they need to find someone who will give them a center for Comrie. Or get a center on their own, above and beyond any deal involving Comrie. Apparently, the Ducks' offer is the best they can get. And if Lowe keeps it up, pretty soon he won't have the Ducks' deal in place anymore, and the Oilers will continue to pay a player a lot of money while he sits on his ass and does a whole lot of nothing.

CR

dola,

BTW, I'm not trying to be unsympathtetic to the Oilers' plight. I think this whole thing sucks for them. I don't like holdouts. IMO, you sign a contract, you play it out.

But then we also know that the NHL gives a player's rights to that team all the way until he's 31, and that's a heck of a long time to not have any leverage. I am more on the Oilers side than Comrie's in the holdout, but I can at least understand Comrie's side of it.

CR

it's my understanding that Comrie was due to make ZERO between september and now. Comrie does not have a contract.

he is not Yashin. he is not refusing to honor an existing contract, he has not been able to agree on a dollar amount with the Oilers, and so remains unsigned.

not directing this at anyone at all, but I get tired of these "holdouts" getting blasted, with the suggestion that they are somehow neglecting their contractual obligations.

Thank you, DD. Well, then that turns me pretty much completely against Lowe on this one. His one "sympathy card" from me just went out the window.

That's just complete BS. Bad form, Kevin Lowe. That's Lowe-ball.

CR

Sorry Chief. All the reports I have read have said nothing of a done deal. All they say is that Lowe and Murray worked out which players would be involved, and the Ducks were able to negotiate a contract with Comrie, which they would have wanted to do before any trade was finalized anyway. If you've seen different, than I'll agree that it's low of Lowe to do, but it is still in his rights as a GM to do that. But I've seen nothing that said Lowe said the deal was done and final.

And you are right, it's not the Ducks or Comrie's responsibility to find a replacement player. It's Lowe's. And I do believe that's what he is doing. Since he can't find the right offer, he is making the best of the situation.

As for blasting 'holdouts', I will say that I am almost always on the teams side (even though it wasn't directed at me ;)). Especially small market teams in Canada, where every sub-mediocre talent thinks he can hold the team hostage since they can't afford to pay for real stars. Comrie grew up in Edmonton. He knew the financial situation of the team before he signed. He could have gone back into the draft, since he's so concerned about money now. However, he signed a pretty good contract, and the Oilers own his rights. Fair or unfair, that's the reality. And since he doesn't want to play here, too f$%#ing bad for him. He doesn't like the $2.5 million price tag? He doesn't have to play for the Ducks this year then...in fact he doesn't have to play anywhere for all I care. It's his choice, the Oilers offered their deal and he refused. The Oilers followed the rules regarding his contract, why should they be punished cause some spoiled rich kid wants a bigger piece than he is entitled to? Had Comrie shown just a tiny bit of interest in playing hockey last year, maybe the Oilers would have offered more money, or maybe they wouldn't find it so difficult to deal him right now. Instead he didn't, and his value has dropped so low it is more profitable for the Oilers to hold on to him. He made his own bed, he'll get no sympathy from me.

Here is something interesting that I saw in The Hockey News...

Florida has 11 first rounders on their roster right now.

Nathan Horton: 3rd overall by Florida in 2003
Jay Bouwmeester: 3rd overall by Florida in 2002
Olli Jokinen: 3rd overall by LA in 1997
Stephen Weiss: 4th overall by Florida in 2001
Roberto Luongo: 4th overall by Islanders in 1997
Viktor Kozlov: 6th overall by San Jose in 1993
Branislav Mezei: 10th overall by Islanders in 1999
Vaclav Nedorost: 14th overall by Colorado in 2000
Marcus Nilson: 20th overall by Florida in 1996
Mathieu Biron: 21st overall by Los Angeles in 1998
Mike Van Ryan: 26th overall by New Jersey in 1998

Crazy, no?

Lowe asking Comrie to pay 2.5 mil to make this trade happen is just f'n crazy.Lowe is out of his freakin tree,and this will NOT help during CBA negotiations.

klayman,

The Canadian Football Guy (FOFC poster) posted up a poll earlier today that had a Sporting News story on this. I don't know where he got it, but I assume it was the Sporting News web site. Anyway, the deal seems confiremd in the article, as well as the fact the Ducks have an agreement with Comrie. I don't know if the Ducks can even talk to Comrie without Edmonton's permission (isn't that tampering?), so the Oilers must have had some assurance they were doing a deal with the Ducks, if they allowed them to talk to Comrie and his agent to work out a deal.

There was also a long article about the situation in the OC Register, the local paper that covers the Ducks. I'll see if I can find it online in a second.

Here was Canadian Football Guy's copied text:

10/2003

EDMONTON (CP) - Mike Comrie's agent had a contract agreement with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks to conclude a trade from the Oilers but everything is on hold.

"We had a done deal with the Ducks," Rich Winter told the Edmonton Sun on Tuesday. "We'd concluded an agreement."

But Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe introduced a financial component as a condition of completing a trade that would have seen the Oilers get top prospect Corey Perry of the OHL's London Knights and a first-round draft pick.

In effect, Comrie was being asked to pay his own way out of Edmonton.

"I'm not going to comment on that," Lowe replied when asked if he'd sought a cash payment from Comrie as part of the trade. "I'm trying to get a deal that will address the Oilers' needs of the future and present needs."

Winter declined comment on a rumour that the Oilers were asking for as much as $2.5 million. But he did verify that a financial component had entered the equation.

Trades are difficult and circumstances change along the way, said Lowe.

Comrie, 23, earned $5 million in bonuses over the term of a three-year contract. He became a restricted free agent last July 1. He was locked out of the start of training camp Sept. 12 because he didn't have a contract.

He had 20 goals and 31 assists in 69 games last season. He scored 33 goals the previous year.

Perry is a six-foot-two, 185-pound right-winger who was drafted 28th overall by Anaheim in 2003.

The Register site asked me to register (starngely enough :) ), so I don't know if I can link straight to the OC Register article. So I will just post the article in its entirety here.

Deal for Comrie hits new Lowe

The Oilers GM wants the center to pay back some salary before going to the Ducks.

By Dan Wood


ANAHEIM – Just when the Mighty Ducks thought they had erstwhile Edmonton Oilers center Mike Comrie signed and sealed, they learned that Edmonton general manager Kevin Lowe was not prepared to deliver.

"We've agreed to the terms of a trade," Ducks general manager Bryan Murray said Wednesday. "We've agreed to the terms of a contract (with Comrie). Now it's between the Oilers and Comrie to get their differences settled."

Edmonton, which paid Comrie approximately $8 million in salary and bonuses during his 21/2 seasons with the Oilers, wants a large chunk of that money, apparently $2.535 million, back now that Comrie wants out of Edmonton.

"Because the Oilers can't set fair market value for Mike Comrie at this time, and because Mike is pushing us to make a deal, we're asking for him to top up this deal," Lowe told the Edmonton Journal. "If he doesn't want to do that, we'll wait."

Indications are that Comrie has no interest in giving in to Lowe's apparently unprecedented desire for a player to buy his way into a trade.

"I'm very shocked," Comrie told the Edmonton Journal. "I've never heard of something like this. There was no mention of this from September until now. I've heard of things happening at the 11th hour to hold up deals. This is beyond that. It's like the 13th hour. It's frustrating and very disappointing. Hopefully, we'll get through this like professionals."

While the Oilers might be willing to hold off on trading Comrie, the Ducks won't wait indefinitely.

"I haven't put a time line on it, but it certainly can't go on much longer," Murray said. "What happens all the time in our business is trade opportunities are out there if you want to pursue them. I've been kind of holding off on anything else because I knew I had a chance to do this deal."

Murray was unaware that Lowe wanted a kickback from Comrie until after the teams had agreed to the trade, and the Ducks had worked out terms of a multiyear contract with Comrie.

Murray and Lowe had discussed a potential Comrie trade for more than a month. The Ducks balked at Edmonton's initial request for rookie right wing Joffrey Lupul, as well as a later Oilers bid for left wing Andy McDonald, before the sides agreed last weekend on a deal that would involve no one from the current Ducks roster.

Right wing Corey Perry, the Ducks' second top-round selection in this year's NHL entry draft who is currently playing for London of the Ontario junior league, and a first-round pick next year appear headed Edmonton's way if the Oilers are able to resolve finances with Comrie.

A two-year University of Michigan standout who left college in 2000 to play junior hockey with Kootenay of the Western league, Comrie had 61 goals and 133 points in 192 games after signing a free-agent contract with Edmonton midway through the 2000-01 season.

Comrie, 23, nixed a $1.1275 million qualifying offer from the Oilers, his hometown team, last summer.

CR

All I have to say is "WOO!"

SI

Well it certainly sounds like Lowe was in the wrong then, from those articles. I'll still contend that it's his right to do that and at no point did he finalize the trade and then back out it. He should have been a little more forthcoming with the Ducks, however.



A contract negotiation does not mean a finalized trade. The Ducks wouldn't agree to any trade for Comrie's rights unless they knew they would be able to sign him. So allowing the Ducks to negotiate with Comrie is just good faith on the Oilers part. Just because the Ducks and Comrie worked out a deal, doesn't mean the Oilers couldn't turn around and ship him off somewhere else at the last minute. You could argue about the ethics of such a stunt, but as far as I know there is nothing in the league charter to prevent it.

As a Winnipegger I feel this isn't 100% true. Although the Jets didn't have terrible attendance, we didn't sell the place out every night or anything. Furthermore, with NHL ticket prices the way they are now (more than double what they were when we still had the Jets) I don't see any way a new NHL team could succeed here. Winnipeggers love hockey, but we are also notoriously cheap. Trying to sell seats at $50 a pop to sit in the nosebleeds isn't gonna cut it here. I can't speak to the levels of corporate sponsorship however, which I understand is a large factor in the success of a team in todays NHL.

The only way I feel a team would work in Winnipeg is if the new CBA placed a fairly low cap on salaries, such that ticket prices could fall to more reasonable levels. Interest in the new team plus the cool new downtown arena we are building would fill the house for a couple years regardless, but for longterm success a family of 4 needs to be able to go to the game for somewhere not much higher than $100. It also wouldn't hurt if the new team made it past the first round of the playoffs more than once every 20 years :D

Toobad a good guy gets the can tied to him.Paul Maurice let go by the Canes.Obviously he had to be let go...cause the team is doing shit....But...to replace him with Laviolette?Why?....i don;t see what that accomplishes?

BTW...Maurice is supposed to be one of the uber nice guys in the NHL,expect him to get another coaching job real fast.While i'mon that topic...Laviolette is upposed to be one of the all time Assholes.Maybe that's why they made the change.

Maybe Rutherford should figure out why he has a tender in the ECHL making over 2 mil a season(Irbe),Perhaps THAT's what's wrong in Carolina.

DOLA.

R.I.P Keith Magnusson...killed in a car crash yesterday in Toronto.The car was driven by former NHL'er Rob Ramage.Ramage has been charged with impared driving causing death.They were coming back from a funeral for a former collegue.

Another sad day for the NHL.:(

damn

Wow. What's wrong with the Flames lately?

In Sutter We Trust.

A quick Christmas carol for everyone:
http://www.gravylegs.com/cartoons/santadomi4.html

Santa,

Please let the Stars last three games be an indicator for a turn around. Thanks.

Sachmo

The Iginla rumours are rampant these days in Calgary. Everyone knows that he needs to be qualified at $7 million before July 1st, 2004 in order for the team to retain his rights. The options:

1) qualify him @ $7 million
2) trade him at the trade deadline
3) let him be an UFA and try and resign him post-CBA
4) let him be an UFA and use the $7 million elsewhere
5) work on renegotiating a long-term deal (around $25 million/5 years is the number that keep popping up)

The vultures have been flying from other teams. Frankly #5 is what the team should be trying to do. Unfortunately, I highly doubt that Don Meehan will be amenable to restructuring the deal. Iginla has held out before on Meehan's advice (it was only a short while during training camp so people might forget that).

I might be of a minority opinion in Calgary but I think losing him would be devastating, even more so that any of Gilmour, MacInnis, Nieuwendyk, Roberts, Fleury. Iginla IS the franchise, and for whatever reason, one of the most popular players to ever play here. I have heard people refer to him as "our Steve Yzerman" with the hope he remains here his entire career.

$7 million is a lot of money for a small-market team but I think losing him would cost the organization even more. Cancelled season tickets, less game-day walk up, less merchandising (the only new jerseys I see anyone wear are with #12), and generally less notoriety around the league translating to less interest in showing the team on TV. Yes, we're on a roll but the fans still want to see #12. We could be winning without him but the team loses any drawing card without him.

Unless the offer is outstanding, I wouldn't be trading him either. The best I've heard is something like Gagne/Handzus/Comrie, Williams and Vandermeer from Philly for Iginla and Conroy/Gauthier. Frankly, no trade will satisfy me and I think the Flames should shock the NHL and pony up the $7 million if they can't renegotiate. I'd offer a base salary of $25 million/5 years with HUGE team and personal bonuses that would make up or exceed the difference.

Fleury left on bad terms; I'd hate to see Iginla do the same.

Can't see them letting Iggy go.CBA will help the Flames for sure,or else you will see some teams like the Fames fold.

BTW..Sutter has got those boys playing their asses off.Where is Turek gonna go when he gets back?h

Another team...

St.Johns?

:D

Dola or is it St.john

I always get those 2 mixed up:)

It was Saint John, but I think they folded that team and are operating without an AHL farm team. Besides, I don't think Turek would clear waivers anyway. I hear the Flyers are really interested in him, why I don't know.

Yeah, we're sharing an affiliate with Carolina - the Lowell Lock Monsters.

Turek will get his playing time when he comes back and odds are McLellan is the odd man out.

I would think that they would unload Turek's salary to support the Keep Iggy Fund, especially since the way they've played during the last month. Of course, they might wait and see if Kiprusoff comes down to earth, but I think they will bite on the first half decent offer that comes in for Turek.

I thought I would talk a little about last night's Avs-Ducks game. It was one us Ducks fans had had circled on our calendars for months. Considering that was the first time Kariya was supposed to come back to Anaheim.

Of course, the bastard has got himself hurt and hasn't been playing hardly at all this season, so we didn't get to see him. We did get to see the first performance by Jiggy this year that was reminescent of last year's playoffs and his first shut out. He saved 38 shots and was fantastic. He also had to deal with a razor-thin edge because Aebischer was also fantastic. If it wasn't for a fantastic give-and-go between Federov and Sykora after a lengthy power play from a major that included numerous Ducks' shots and a one-minute-plus stint of 5-on-3 hockey, I'm not sure we would have even gotten that, and this one would have gone down to a 0-0 tie.

The reason for this post, though, isn't to talk about that so much as to talk about the fans' reaction to Selanne, who was an integral part of Kariya moving to Colorado. Two or three weeks ago, the Ducks played the Wings in Detroit, and big Wings fan Honolulu Blue talked about being disappointed in the Wings fans booing Federov every chance they got. I have to say I feel the same about the heartless fans last night.

They booed Selanne mercilessly. I was disgusted. It disheartens me that I am int he same fan group as the people who attended last night's game. I think booing Paul would have been justified--not only was the whole affair of his signing with Colorado rather sneaky, but the guy promised to bring a Cup to Anaheim--as a Duck. Selanne, though, left the Ducks almost three years ago by another's decision--he was dealt to San Jose. He made no promises to Ducks fans this past offseason, and was free to go wherever he chose. I don't like that he ended up in Colorado, but that's his decision to make and I am fine with that.

It troubles me that these fans would not remember what that guy meant to this team. He has been a fan's true dream. The guy is always smiling and joking around. He loves Orange County (and yes, the fans), and still has a place out here. He has always gone out of his way to do charity work and to sign autographs and be the ultimate hockey promoter. I met him once at an autograph signing, and the reason I met him was because he ignored a team official pleading with him to leave and go to the team bus at the end of a fan event, and instead continued signing autographs for a long line of fans, well after he was obligated to do so.

There were a lot of classless Ducks fans in that arena last night, and I am ashamed to be in some way related to them. :(

To me, Selanne represents everything that si right about hockey. Hopefully, they will eventually come to see that.

Chief Rum

They never will.

This always bugs me as well. I've never understood why you boo someone who was traded away from your team unless they were publicly criticizing them or yelling to be traded. It's out of their hands if the owner/GM decide to do something like that and it really gets me when fans hold that against a player.

SI

On a completely unrelated note...

I was listening to a hockey show up here and someone brought up the fact that Gretsky once commented that the sweetest hands he had ever seen belonged to the Magic Man, Kent Nilsson. Apparently, Nilsson could, from the opposing blue line, hit a pop can resting on the cross bar. HNIC got a wind of this and wanted to get it on TV show the camera crew showed up and he did it on his first take.

686 points in 553 games, and still holds Flames' records in most assists and points in one season. Everyone I've ever heard speak of him always comment that he had as much talent as Wayne but very little heart and only played when he wanted to.

I finally go to see my first live NHL game in just under two years tonight. Got some tickets to the Wings/Blues game. A decent game, nothing too thrilling, but good to see the Wings pull it out. It must be said that St. Louis was without some big guns (e.g., Tkachuk).

I keep reading about Datsyuk. Leading the league in points. Completely on fire. Playing perhaps the best hockey in the league at the moment. I haven't been able to confirm it until now, but the kid is playing out of his mind. He got a goal and assist tonight (Wings won 2-1). His goal was unassisted and he basically created the second goal all on his own. He looks incredibly composed and does amazing, amazing things with the puck. It's a sight to see. I can't say I am all that surprised. I saw him at a prospect tournament back in 2000. While watching the tournament it was clear that Datsyuk was one of three best players in the tournament. The other two being Heatley and Kovalchuk. He was that good. Good to see him develop and really become one of league's brightest young stars.

I hate to see this too - really a turnoff to me to watch a Kings/Avs game and see Rob Blake get bood mercilessly everytime he touches the puck, all because he was TRADED after he and the Kings couldn't work out an extension agreement.

kind of a long drive from Belgium, isn't it?

He took the subway...got there in no time...no traffic ya know :D

That trans-Atlantic subway is great. Brussels is one of the first stops in Europe so you're basically guaranteed a seat. So long as you have a good book, time flies right on by.

How old is the paper by the time you finish it? :D

Time to bump because the world demanded it.

SI

Congratulations to the US World Junior Team on winning the silver medal. ;)

ROTF!!!

Great competition so far...i hope the finals live up to the rest of the tourny.

The Wings beat the Ducks. Fedorov appeared to be a non-factor, but that was based only on a reading of the box score. I am still not 100% convinced that this Red Wings team has what it takes to win it all. I still don't know what to make of the goaltending. Legace and CuJo have played well, but neither instill great confidence come April. As for Hasek, who the hell knows. He hasn't been healthy in the NHL since 2002.

This all sounds good to my ears :D

I should probably eat crow but no one in the US knows they've won gold. ;)

Though "technically" not in the U.S. at the moment, I know. :D A good win for the U.S. who went unbeaten in the tourney. Sad to see it come on a total fluke goal, but what can you do?

The Vice President of the tournament said it was like the 1980 "Miracle On Ice." Well, yes it was a big and somewhat surprising win for the U.S., but that's going a wee bit overboard, methinks. It's not like the Miracle on Ice for many, many, many reasons. 1) Karim's right. No one knows about it. 2) This wasn't a bunch of college kids against a bunch of world-class veterans. This was a bunch of kids versus a bunch of kids. 3) The Canadian junior team, while good, isn't anything close to the Soviet Machine of that era. How many Olympic gold medals had they won in say, the 20 year span between 1960 and 1980? Hell if I know, but a lot. 4) It was at the height of the Cold War. A battle between opposing nations. This was a battle between America and it's 51st state.

Anyway. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! :D

I don't think it was surprising at all, Team USA was one of the favourites heading into the tournament. I have to admit, I knew little about the American team before the tournament, but Zach Parise was amazing. He should have a very bright future (and now that I think about it, with him and Petr Vrana... the Devils had an amazing draft).

One thing that still confuses me is why Canada didn't play Crosby more in the gold medal game (and the tournament in general). He was barely given a chance. Yes, he's the youngest player on the team, but he's also one of the best.

I concor..The US was the favorite going into this tourny,So saying it was a miricle on ice is a huge strech...but it may have the same impact that the miricle on ice had...which is perhaps more kids will be interested in playing hockey instead of other games.

The "hothouse" program the US has set up in Michigan has been a huge success if they can keep producing kids like this.

I watched the Canadian feed of the game yesterday on my Center Ice package. USNTDP is valuable, but, Parise, Murray and Stafford never had anything to do with it, they all came out of Shattuck-St Mary's which Crosby played at last year. Murray played his senior year of HS hockey with Salmon Arm in the BCHL. What has changed in US hockey the last 10 years or so is the mindset of HS hockey players going to the USHL or leagues similar to this to get more games in before they go to college hockey. Minnesota HS hockey, which is the crown jewel of HS hockey in the US has had to establish a fall "Elite League" to keep players from fleeing to Ann Arbor or to the USHL.

I'm sure that most don't know about the gold, most US hockey people are into the NHL only, here in Minnesota though, we have paid attention to the tournament, so a gold isn't so shocking, we knew that the team was favored. We see it as a victory for College Hockey. Maybe more kids will see that our college programs can be just as good of a springboard to NHL careers as Major Junior hockey.

And to think that i drafted this guy into my FOFC fantasy hockey team and dropped him after poor performance the first couple games...what a dumb ass move that was...

Hmmm... Dunno which FOFC league you're in or I'm in, but I picked Datsyuk on waivers shortly after the season began. If we're in the same league, thanks for cuttin' him, my man. :)

bumping this back - this is the 4th longest thread at the FOFC. 3rd is in site. (Call it the Ron Francis thread?)

Next week we are going to Rochester NY for a wedding. We'd been planning to go a day early to give us time to drive. Well, my wife revealed tonight that she has tickets for the Bruins/Sabres game next Thursday. We're actually going to Buffalo that day, staying over, then zipping over to Rochester the next day.

Looking forward to it - the seats seem pretty good. Any tips on parking or other things I should know about Buffalo?

Hey DD,

I just got back from the Sabres/Senators game tonight (my Sabres just ended their 11 game unbeaten streak!). There's great parking just off the Elm Street exit at Seneca Street, right across the road from Dunn Tire Park (where the Bisons play). It's a short walk to the HSBC Arena from there. I suggest parking a bit away from the building if you want to get out of there without the traffic and still see the end of the game and it's only $5.00. If you're not concerned about that, there's parking right beside the arena for a reasonable fee (about $10.00).

Lots of great places to eat around the HSBC. A favourite spot is Pettybones Bar and Grille, which is on the second floor of Dunn Tire Park (great chicken wings).

Any other questions, just ask away. Enjoy the game!

HSBC is a great place to watch the game....saw the Pens with Jagr play there a few years ago....btw..Rob Ray can't skate to save his life...you can't notice it on tv...but up close he skates like a 10 yerar old.

hrm...maybe thats wht he no longer plays :)

7 million people watched the Gold Medal Game in Canada. Considering it was the first work day of the new year, that's pretty impressive.

ditto Peter Worrell.

and thanks, Noskillz - that info is very helpful

Not sure where you got that info from... but only 1.31 million watched. Last years game was watched by 3.45 million.

Local sports radio reported that but it wouldn't be the first time they've been wrong... They probably recanted later in the day like they usually do.

What the hell is wrong with Mike Modano???

maybe that didn't take into account the exchange rate?

The burden of leadership is just too great for the young man...

The Stars are not going to make the playoffs.

Not sure I'd go that far yet. They certainly have played crappily (the only teams who have scored less goals is Columbus, Pittsburgh and Carolina), and they certainly aren't the elite team people have been saying they are for the last two years. But they still are a good team, and could definitely pull it all together in the second half - way too many guys underperforming on this team right now not to.

Speaking of "what the hell happened to"...Pierre Turgeon? This guy has cracked 80 points 8 times in his career...currently on pace to maybe hit 25.

Turgeon is misused in Dallas. He can't get the ice time he needs to get going, hence he's always stuck in low gear. Shame really, since we pay him 8 million dollars a year.

On paper, the Stars are an elite. Guerin, Arnott, Modano, Zubov, Turco, et all. In reality, they are just names. Sort of the New York Rangers for the Southwest.

I would take Dallas ANY day over the StRangers.

Seems only fitting since the Oilers aren't going to make the playoffs for sure. :p

well, my wife and I are back from our Buffalo/Rochester trip. The Sabres/Bruins game we went to wasn't much of a game...but I'll give my observations anyways.

Buffalo seemed to be a nice little city, at least the downtown part where we were. We weren't all that far from HSBC, but, as it was -22 fucking degrees, we drove down and parked at the lot NoSkillz recommended (completely by accident). I can't get over paying only $5 to park - it's $20 in Boston. To see our AHL games it's freaking $10.

Nice arena - I really liked the look of the place. Our seats were pretty good - the last row of the lower bowl, behind one of the nets. One thing though - the seats were REALLY crammed together. I know I had a small man, but I'm not freaking Louie Anderson - even just standing for the anthem, I couldn't stand straight without seriously getting in the way of the guy next to me (who looked like he weighed 120 lbs). We ended up sitting pretty much right in front of where Danny Gare and Rob Ray did their intermission broadcast stuff. I thought about challenging Ray to a fight...but thought better of it.

There were probably about as many Bruin fans there as Sabres fans - probably more B's jersey's, to be honest. There was some sort of Canadian promotion going on, so there was a lot of people down from across the border, including almost everyone in our section. There was one large group - apparantly a youth hockey team from Owen Sound. They all sang the Canadian anthem together, which was kind of nice...but then it went downhill from there and they became pretty annoying. Most got tossed about halfway through though for underage drinking (never seen that at the game).

The guy next to me was a Sabres fan and didn't shut up the entire game (I hate that). His running commentary on the game was annoying to both me and my wife. One hilarious moment though - when the only real excitement of the game happened (Andrew Peters fighting Doug Doull...well, pummelled is more like it). Anyways, the fight starts and this little guy next to me jumps up and starts shadow boxing a mile a minute for the entire duration of the fight. Then, he just stopped and sat back down to resume his endless commentary.

So, that's it - nice arena, nice city...wish the game had been a bit more exciting though

DD,

Glad you enjoyed the atmosphere (except for the bonehead Sabres fans! ;) ). I too enjoy the HSBC arena; big corridors, nice views of the ice surface, etc. You are right about the small seats, although I haven't had the privilege of going anywhere else with bigger seats (for instance, in Toronto at the ACC, seats are about the same size but with no cup holders...oh yeah, they're also $120.00 per ticket more expensive there too!).

Yeah, the Bruin/Sabre game was crap...but that's my Sabres for ya!

NoSkillz

Sorry, I was just excited to see you ;)

well, I think my wife's Bruins can share some of that blame.

Damn,Flyers spanked our asses this weekend.Major deficencies were shown.

Go Cliff Ronning......2 goals tonight :)

Looks like Salo asked for some talent this Christmas.

Rumors flying here in Ottawa that the Sens are about to deal for Bondra.

For who?

Don't know. One guy here swears it's Shane Hnidy, but I think he's been drinking paint thinner.

My sources (and yes, I do have sources, thanks very much) are saying that the Sens and Caps are talking, but that the rumors of a done deal are pre-mature.

Hnidy for Bondra sound way out of whack.

Exactly. Hnidy tries hard, but he couldn't play for the Leafs. And yes, I mean that as an insult.

Unless it was Hnidy, a pick and a prospect. And even then...

i could see Bondra for Fischer

Isn't Alfredsson and Hossa enough depth at right wing or has Bondra been playing LW/C for a while? I don't really follow the Caps that closely.

Bondra added to the Senators forwards is just plain sick. He needs to go to the Avs :)

Apparently it will be a 3 way deal involving the Caps'Rangers and Sens.....Bondra and Jagr are supposedly changing adresses.

rumors about Gonchar as well. would the Caps really move their 3 best skaters? does it really make sense to overhaul? I know they are tubing this year, but hell, they are in the weakest division in hockey. Any given year, they would have a chance to make the playoffs just because of that.

Ooh! For the sake of my fantasy team's plus/minus, please move Gonchar :)

SI