General Hockey Thread v3.0

[24champ]

Originally Posted by Bronx33

I thought this was a pretty sweet picture of one of malkins goals last night.

Do you happen to have the pic of Malkin skating right into Norstroms stick by any chance?

[SoCalBronco]

24champbailey,

You don't have to change your avatar. It's ok.

Plus, I like the one you have now, anyway.

[Bronx33]

You all think a sticky thread deticated just to hockey pictures is a good idea? i run into cool stuff all the time, GIFs, clips ect.

[Bronx33]

Originally Posted by 24champbailey

Do you happen to have the pic of Malkin skating right into Norstroms stick by any chance?

Nope but i will keep an eye out.

[Bronx33]

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/...ilynews_sports

ON WEDNESDAY, Colin Campbell was the soup of the day. Last night, Neil Smith sauntered into the Wachovia Center press box, a recent

escapee from the broadcast booth, now employed as a Dallas Stars scout.

That's former NHL general manager Neil Smith to you.

Formerly of the Rangers, most recently of the Islanders. Looking to get back to what he feels he does best: run a hockey team.

"I'm not going to lie," he said. "I'm happy doing this, but when the time is right, I hope someone thinks of me that way."

It's an interesting choice of words, given the events that have taken place around the

Flyers' organization over the last 2 weeks. Time is right? The

timing of Bob Clarke's resignation couldn't have come at a worse time in this modern,

salary-capped NHL. The firing of a Stanley Cup-winning coach so quickly into the season seems quirky, too.

Time is right? The personnel decisions for this team had been made. The wriggle room for the rest of the year is about the width of a penalty box. As Smith said: "The thing with these general managers now is that there is not much maneuverability. In the old days, we made mistakes, we buried them. You can't do that now."

So this is what Paul Holmgren has: a team with little confidence and a propensity to trip out of the gate each game, as it did again in last night's 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay.

This is what else he has: a team captain who really isn't a captain. Peter Forsberg might be the best hockey player on the planet, but last night, he stole a page right out of Eric Lindros' "How Not to Be Seen" manual. Remember when "E" slipped out the back door during the Stanley Cup finals? Well last night, after single-handedly sabotaging his young team's third-period

comeback with a slew of penalties that left his team searching for a tying goal while shorthanded, Forsberg did the same thing.

Not exactly, "Follow me, boys."

Yo, Keith. Sure that head of yours doesn't feel better?

So what's a Homer to do? How does Paul Holmgren wipe the

interim tag from his title? How does he prove to Ed Snider, who has already offered his job to Campbell, only to be refused, that he is the guy to right the wrongs and get this team playing to preseason expectations?

Especially since, as Holmgren said last night, "I was part of the team that brought all those guys here."

"There are enough positives

to this," he said. "I think we all believe that this team is better than the record shows. Maybe we're wrong, but right now

we're thinking we have to get this group headed in the right

direction."

Or at least headed in the same direction. Right now, they run

into one another a lot, seem

surprised to see one another at times, and overall, play NHL hockey as if they all just met 5 minutes ago on the local pond. Pucks fired over and wide of the net, rushed passes that just missed - "Our confidence right now is not very high," Simon Gagne said afterward. "And it seems it falls really quick if the other team starts out playing

better than us.

"The beginning of the third was pretty much how we have to play. But we need to do it for 60 minutes. And you need to learn that."

The Flyers pulled from a 3-0 third-period hole to 3-2 before their rally was muted by Forsberg's repeated trips to the box. Clearly some of it was due to some selective and overly aggressive refereeing by Marc Joannette, but Forsberg begged for his second unsportsmanlike call. Thing is, that might have made sense in the first period, when his team needed juice. In the third, down by a goal, it was just stupid.

Still, neither Joannette nor Forsberg coughed up the insurance goal to Vincent Lecavalier behind his own goalie-less net. That would be Joni Pitkanen, one of their few defensemen who qualifies as a veteran.

"I think if you are a hockey person analyzing the Flyers' organization from a player-personnel setup, they're far from a mess," Smith said. "I actually thought they were going to be the best team in the league last year. I thought they had done the best job coming out of the lockout. I thought they were going to be one of the contenders for the Cup. I said it on TV, I can't deny it."

And why would he?

Those are the kind of words that give us hope.

And get GMs hired.

Or maybe - if Holmgren can improve things quick enough - un-interimmed.

"Right now I'm in the position," Holmgren said. "Nobody has told me I can't make trades to make the team better. That's what we're trying to do. I look at it as an opportunity that no one else has, frankly."

[Clockwork Orange]

Originally Posted by Bronx33

This is what else he has: a team captain who really isn't a captain. Peter Forsberg might be the best hockey player on the planet, but last night, he stole a page right out of Eric Lindros' "How Not to Be Seen" manual. Remember when "E" slipped out the back door during the Stanley Cup finals? Well last night, after single-handedly sabotaging his young team's third-period comeback with a slew of penalties that left his team searching for a tying goal while shorthanded, Forsberg did the same thing.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side, eh Peter?

He had to know that going to Philly was going to be a much different atmosphere than what he knew here in Colorado. Here he was basically bulletproof from criticism. The fans and media rarely took him to task for anything, other than to say that he was constantly injured. Now he's in Philly, where the fans and media are much more demanding and much more brutal if things go poorly. Wearing that C on his the front of his jersey isn't helping matters, but then he never should have been given it in the first place.

[24champ]

Stars edge Oilers after 'blown call'
Roloson argues with Peel

Roloson argues with Peel

Canadian Press

11/4/2006 2:25:26 AM

EDMONTON (CP) - Even the referee agreed the Edmonton Oilers might have gotten a bad break in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars.

With just four seconds left to play in the game, Ales Hemsky looked like he had scored on Dallas goalie Marty Turco but referee Mick McGeough called the goal off. He had blown the whistle a heartbeat before on the face-off, convinced that Shawn Horcoff had made a glove pass off the draw.

It was something the replays showed did not occur.

Upon further reflection, McGeough agreed.
Related Info

* Highlights: DAL3, EDM 2
* Oilers Report

"It was a blown call on my part," he said after the game. "It was poor judgment on my part. I thought he had his hand on the puck on the face-off but it was his stick. My judgment was poor on the play."



The soldout crowd at Rexall Place littered the ice with debris following the call.

"It was a retarded call," Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish snapped. "There is no other explanation for it. I know he is a veteran official and at times I have found his antics humorous. But if this is the product of that there is a problem.

"It was a ridiculous call. I had no idea what he had called. Nobody saw the hand pass on the play because quite clearly there wasn't one. It's beyond reason.

"He should be suspended."

While Turco was sympathetic toward the Oilers, he said he heard the whistle and had stopped moving on Hemsky's shot.

"The whistle had gone a long time before the puck went in," he said. "That's what we were going off of. It's a tough break for them. Who knows what would have happened?

"But the whistle went as he was shooting. I had already reacted to the whistle. I could have smothered it or swatted it away. I'm sure they are disappointed but by no means should that be thought of as a possible goal."

Dallas (11-2-0) opened the scoring with a controversial goal when Brenden Morrow beat Oilers (7-6-0) goaltender Dwayne Roloson with a wrist shot during a scramble in front of the Edmonton net.

Roloson contested that he had been interfered with on the play by Eric Lindros, but the goal was allowed.

"It was pretty clear what happened to me but obviously not clear enough," said Roloson, who will have to wait to try again for his 300th career NHL game on this night. "He said I touched the puck but it doesn't really matter when a guy comes in the crease and takes me out of the play and they score a goal. It's a no goal and a penalty. It was blatant."

There was no dispute on the Stars' second goal of the game.

With just under two minutes to play in the first period, Dallas broke out on a two-on-one and Stu Barnes was able to thread the puck under sprawling Oilers defenceman Jason Smith to Niklas Hagman, who had a wide open net to shoot at.

The Stars outshot Edmonton 14-5 in the first.

Edmonton came out firing to start the second and got a big break four minutes in when Ryan Smyth's shot from behind the net went in off Turco's leg.

But the Stars were able to restore their two-goal edge late in the second as a seemingly innocent point shot by Trevor Daley eluded Roloson with just 58 seconds remaining in the period.

For the second game in a row the Oilers were able to get back to within striking distance late in the match as Petr Sykora scored his eighth of the season with Roloson on the bench for the extra attacker and just 1:25 left on the clock, setting up the drama of the dying seconds.

The Oilers now head on a five-game road trip starting in Montreal on Tuesday, hoping to improve upon their away record of 1-4.

The Stars head to Vancouver for their second of a four game road swing on Monday.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=182889&hubname=nhl

Way to go Mick Magoo.

[24champ]

Originally Posted by SoCalBronco

24champbailey,

You don't have to change your avatar. It's ok.

Plus, I like the one you have now, anyway.

Yeah Double or nothing next time? Which is in what 2-3 years thanks to the excellent scheduling the NHL has done. No seriously I will put the Malkin avatar up later, bad mojo to put up a black and gold avatar with Broncos playing Steelers on sunday.

[Mtbrncofn]

Originally Posted by Clockwork Orange

The grass isn't always greener on the other side, eh Peter?

He had to know that going to Philly was going to be a much different atmosphere than what he knew here in Colorado. Here he was basically bulletproof from criticism. The fans and media rarely took him to task for anything, other than to say that he was constantly injured. Now he's in Philly, where the fans and media are much more demanding and much more brutal if things go poorly. Wearing that C on his the front of his jersey isn't helping matters, but then he never should have been given it in the first place.

This surprises me to hear you say this, CO. Why do you think he shouldn't have been given the C?

[Bronx33]

Originally Posted by 24champbailey

Yeah Double or nothing next time? Which is in what 2-3 years thanks to the excellent scheduling the NHL has done. No seriously I will put the Malkin avatar up later, bad mojo to put up a black and gold avatar with Broncos playing Steelers on sunday.

Good thinkin 24..

[Bronx33]

Sounds like McGeough is still mad about having to wear a helmet.

Heres a clip on his royal **** up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrpxnkTlAKU

[Bronx33]

Episode 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCwapv9S_rE

2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G89PFRG3log

3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P53wAyrx2ko

4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07LHckcgu8s

[Bronx33]

Interesting artical about the flyers.....


http://www.courierpostonline.com/app...TS04/611040371

Saturday, November 4, 2006

Ed Snider has not asked me to be the Flyers' next general manager, but if a few more candidates turn down his offers he just might.

Last week's botched attempt to convince Colin Campbell to take the job Bob Clarke no longer wanted spoke volumes about the state the Flyers are in these days.

Not since the early 1990s have I seen the Flyers in this much turmoil, both on the ice and in the front office. Some scouts around the NHL believe their season is unsalvageable, that the club is in such disrepair it will take years to bring it back.

They might be right.

What the Flyers really need is a new direction, and so here are 10 moves I'd make if Snider gave me free reign of the team:

1. Fire Paul Holmgren: He is an honorable guy and a team player, but this club needs a clean break from the Clarke era and keeping Holmgren would be a mistake.

After all, if Clarke is right and Holmgren has been calling most of the shots the past year or so, this team's poor start is as much Holmgren's fault as it is Clarke's.

2. Hire Ken Hitchcock as general manager: He's already making $1.1 million in each of the next three seasons, so you might as well get something in return. This might seem preposterous at first, but Hitchcock has one of the brightest minds in hockey and has an uncanny ability to evaluate talent.

He gets along well with coach John Stevens and his bark from his second-floor office will hardly be heard by players who grew tired of hearing him at practice.

3. Bring back Ron Hextall: Say what you want about bringing back old-time Flyers. Hextall, now the assistant GM in Los Angeles, is smart, knows the league as well as anyone, and bleeds orange and black. His family likes it here and with Clarke and Holmgren gone, there is no roadblock preventing him from someday being the Flyers' general manager.

4. Keep John Stevens: He is the perfect coach for a young team: demanding but not a tyrant; calm without being a pushover. The Flyers would be wise to keep this guy through what could be a long rebuilding phase.

5. Re-sign Peter Forsberg: He's either staying or he's going, and I want to know which way he's leaning. Forsberg keeps saying he's waiting for his reconstructed right foot to be 100 percent before he opens contract negotiations. He says the foot is not 100 percent; the Flyers say it is.

Maybe, just maybe, Forsberg is stalling, waiting to see if it is worth his while to remain a passenger on the Titanic. If Forsberg is not in this for the long haul -- and I'm not sure he is -- I trade him now for the best young defenseman I can find. Because the longer I wait, the less I'm going to get in return.

6. Name a new captain: Through the first month of the season, it is clear that Forsberg is uncomfortable wearing the "C" and is being asked to be something he is not.

Forsberg is a wonderful player, but he is not a captain and the Flyers are in desperate need of one.

Mike Knuble is probably the best choice in a locker room devoid of leadership. He gives effort, demands effort and is brutally honest with his evaluation of his teammates' play. Like Forsberg, he too, would need to be re-signed before his value diminishes.

7. Trade Robert Esche: I like the guy's competitiveness, but by naming Antero Niittymaki his starter against Tampa on Thursday it's clear Stevens thinks Niitty is his No. 1 goalie. If Esche can't get a start after pitching a shutout, how long will it be before he demands a trade, thereby decreasing his value?

8. Waive Derian Hatcher: I can live with Mike Rathje's deficiencies, but it's time to move Hatcher and his $3.5 million salary. Hatcher is a hard-nosed, no-nonsense guy in the locker room, but when a guy isn't playing well, he cannot lead. Hatcher's voice in the locker room has been muted by his play on the ice.

9. Trade Kyle Calder: How can a guy go from scoring 26 goals on a last-place team to scoring zero goals on a last-place team? Somebody out there must believe Calder is worth something. A prospect? A backup goalie? A bag of pucks?

10. Give myself a fat raise: With one in college and three more on the way, I sure could use another zero on my paychecks.

[Jori]

Originally Posted by 24champbailey

Way to go Mick Magoo.

He admitted he made a mistake on Edmonton radio last night. Good job Mick

[Bronx33]

Originally Posted by Jori

He admitted he made a mistake on Edmonton radio last night. Good job Mick

It's funny the faceoff ref didn't say anything or mick and his ego simply didn't care to ask him. (the faceoff ref saw the whole thing)

[24champ]

Originally Posted by Jori

He admitted he made a mistake on Edmonton radio last night. Good job Mick

Mr. Magoo is the most hated ref in LA, nobody back there is suprised by what Magoo does.

They were throwing cups full of beer and more at him!

[Bronx33]

The league is a joke...

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=182937&hubname=nhl

With just four seconds left to play in the game, Ales Hemsky looked like he had scored on Dallas goalie Marty Turco but referee Mick McGeough called the goal off. He had blown the whistle a heartbeat before on the face-off, convinced that Shawn Horcoff had made a glove pass off the draw.

"It was a retarded call," MacTavish snapped after the game. "There is no other explanation for it. I know he is a veteran official and at times I have found his antics humorous. But if this is the product of that there is a problem.

"It was a ridiculous call. I had no idea what he had called. Nobody saw the hand pass on the play because quite clearly there wasn't one. It's beyond reason.
Related Info

* Stars edge Oilers after 'blown call'
* Oilers send Mikhnov to AHL's Penguins

"He should be suspended."



"The NHL acknowledges the fact that referee Mick McGeough made the wrong call on a play late in the game, which he later admitted to the media following the game," said NHL Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell in a statement.

"While the NHL regrets the missed call, Craig MacTavish's comments after the game regarding the call were totally inappropriate and crossed the line."

Atlanta Thrashers head coach Bob Hartley, was also assessed a gross misconduct and fined $10,000 for verbal abuse of the officials at the conclusion of Friday night's game against Washington.

[Clockwork Orange]

Originally Posted by Mtbrncofn

This surprises me to hear you say this, CO. Why do you think he shouldn't have been given the C?

As great a player that he is, he's never seemed like captain material. On the ice he's a bit of a hothead, off the ice he's very reserved. He just never struck me as the type to wear the C.

[Clockwork Orange]

Originally Posted by Bronx33

Sounds like McGeough is still mad about having to wear a helmet.

Heres a clip on his royal **** up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrpxnkTlAKU

I saw the play they mentioned when Lindros interfered with Roloson, it was pretty obvious. He skated into him and knocked his stick out of his hand and the puck went by him a half second later. No call, they counted the goal. Figure that one out.

Once again, referees & umpires in every sport are accountable to no one, so it doesn't really matter how bad they screw up. Coaches and players lose their jobs for poor performance, officials can be as inept as humanly possible and never be fired.

Same old, same old.

[Bronx33]

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjourna...be51ed&k=66640

Human error happens, says head ref
Call for understanding makes sense, but offers little solace to Oilers fans
John MacKinnon, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Sunday, November 05, 2006

EDMONTON - At the end of a tough week for his offcials, especially Mick McGeough, Stephen Walkom, the NHL's director of officiating, deployed his sharp wit to try to defuse an inescapably bad situation.

Might McGeough be disciplined for whistling a non-existent hand pass by Shawn Horcoff, disallowing Ryan Smyth's apparent tying goal in the dying seconds of Edmonton's 3-2 loss to Dallas on Friday night?

"Well, I'll tell you, he's not getting a raise," Walkom said with a wry chuckle. "In all seriousness, he feels terrible right now. I think Mick answered it best. He didn't use good judgment.
NHL referee Mick McGeough admits he made a bad call during the dying seconds of Friday's Oilers game against Dallas at Rexall Place.View Larger
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"It would be very difficult for me, running a team of officials, to criticize my own guy. I actually want to praise him for taking ownership about making a mistake. It created a lot of controversy and may have cost a team a point or a game. I think it's big news because it rarely happens. And maybe that's a good thing."

Which doesn't do a damn thing for the Oilers, or their shellshocked fans, many of whom sat in stunned disbelief at Rexall Place after seeing their team apparently wipe out a 3-1 deficit with two straight goals with goalie Dwayne Roloson pulled for a sixth attacker.

An inspiring comeback wiped out by a glaring, inexplicable mistake. "Human error," Walkom called it, a term more commonly associated with horrible plane crashes or disasters at sea.

Oilers fan Jim Knutsen's response was to compose this simple message for the NHL big shots.

Dear NHL,

You owe the Edmonton Oilers one point. Your standings indicate that Dallas won the game 3-2, when in fact the Oilers tied the game with four seconds remaining. Please fix your error in the standings.

Thank you,

Jim Knutsen

Sorry, Jim.

Not going to happen.

McGeough and Walkom discussed the matter Saturday afternoon, but unlike Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish, who was fined $10,000 US for branding the call "retarded," or Atlanta Thrashers head man Bob Hartley, who was dinged a similar amount for verbal abuse of the officials after Atlanta beat Washington 4-3 Friday night, McGeough won't be disciplined. Although this can't possibly help his case to be included in the playoff rotation.

"He's the first guy to tell you that he'd like to roll back the clock and have that one back," Walkom said of McGeough, who will officiate in his 1,000th NHL game this season.

"It basically was a human error."

But once McGeough blew his whistle, the scoring play was moot, maddening as that may be for Oilers fans.

For all concerned, you hope this out-and-out flub has a short shelf life. You hope the Oilers, for example, don't miss out on the playoff tournament by a single point, not an unlikely event, given recent history.

In that doomsday scenario, a blown call in November would live in infamy forever -- fans' dreams shattered; millions in post-season revenue gone.

As it is, the league's officiating team took some verbal lumps this week, including some from Philadelphia sniper Peter Forsberg, who was upset about a non-call against Tampa and what he believed was an undeserved high-sticking call on him late in the Flyers' 5-3 loss to the Lightning on Thursday.

"When I hear Peter talk, I hear a frustrated star on a frustrated team that's losing a lot, costing his team a game with a penalty," said Walkom.

"That's tough to take responsibility for."

A bit more than one season removed from the lockout, when a broad cross-section of the NHL's stakeholders worked together to reshape the game, Walkom says he is not concerned about quality control slippage among his crew.
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"Once in a while, (teams) will lose a game because of a call that's made on the ice," Walkom said.

"In the crazy world of sport, that's almost part of the game.

"We're 200 games in -- that's one-sixth of the season -- and we're talking about one (high-sticking penalty) and one error that the official admitted was an error."

Replays showed Forsberg had committed the high-sticking infraction. And Hartley is a notorious referee-baiter, win or lose. But McGeough's gaffe was off the charts bad, softened only by the veteran's swift acknowledgment and solid reputation.

"I don't want to be in the paper every day about the officials and officiating," Walkom continued.

"But I'm not naive enough to think that it's never going to be in the paper. I've got full faith in (the officials). Our team is

actually better this year with the changes we've made. I do believe, though, that the expectation is even higher.

"The forgiveness for a missed call or an over-reaction is going to be less than last year. We are going to be expected to be better and we need to be better because the wiggle room is going to be smaller."

In Edmonton, from here on out, the wiggle room has shrunk to zero.

[Bronx33]

Now This would be funny if true it's probably not but funny anyways..

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...id=18170&rfi=6

Speaking of Forsberg, a source out of Detroit told the Daily Times the Flyers are listening to trade offers for their captain.

According to the source, the Red Wings have considerable interest and have had scouts at several Flyers games this season.

As many as five NHL scouts were slated to be present for the Flyers game against the Washington Capitals Saturday, including a representative for the Red Wings.

The source also said the Flyers have expressed interest in defensmen Mathieu Schneider and Andreas Lilja, although it wasn’t certain if they were being discussed in a deal for Forsberg.

If in fact the Flyers do move Forsberg, who is the face of the franchise, and don’t get at least some star quality in return, there is no doubt that a nuclear winter could be close behind for the Flyers.

Although, they might be having their hand forced by Forsberg at this point.

Forsberg is a free agent at the end of the season and has been deft at avoiding answering questions about signing an extension to stay in Philadelphia.

His non-answers may be a message that he has no intention of re-signing here, and maybe the Flyers have picked up on that.

Maybe they now figure they need to get something for him before he walks away in April for nothing.

But if it’s Forsberg for the aforementioned players from Detroit, it’ll be the end of an era in Philadelphia. The end of a prosperous, winning tradition that could be finalized next June with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman strolling to a podium in Ottawa and saying: "With the first selection, in the 2007 NHL entry draft, the Philadelphia Flyers select ..
©DelcoTimes 2006

[alkemical]

Sharks D did well vs the Pens.

Will be interested to see then if the pens can overcome ana

[Mtbrncofn]

It irritates me to hear that "Forsberg is the face of the franchise" crap. He was the face ( or a lot of it ) of our franchise.

Good gawd, can you imagine him in Detroit? Lord, we'd have to face him 4 times a year.

[Bronx33]

Originally Posted by Mtbrncofn

It irritates me to hear that "Forsberg is the face of the franchise" crap. He was the face ( or a lot of it ) of our franchise.

Good gawd, can you imagine him in Detroit? Lord, we'd have to face him 4 times a year.

For all the crap i took from wingie fans through the years because he was so good, i would laugh my a** off if they got him.

[Mtbrncofn]

Originally Posted by Bronx33

For all the crap i took from wingie fans through the years because he was so good, i would laugh my a** off if they got him.

Boy, you've got a point there. There's a Wing fan here ( Smiling Assassin27 ) that I've known for years now that gave me **** endlessly about him. Divealanche was his favorite site for ammo.

Even then, I still wouldn't want him there. That's just wrong.