General Hockey Thread v3.0

[Kid A]

wow, that was pretty sweet. I was able to watch the third period and it worked really well for me.

[Mtbrncofn]

Mini-Bertuzzi alert! Anyone else catch the cheap shot Scott Nichol landed on Jaro Spacek's face? That was a cheap one.

He deserves a suspension for that.

[Clockwork Orange]

I saw that. Jumped up and sucker punched him from behind.

[24champ]

Bettman needs to go...

http://www.mercextra.com/blogs/buzz/...oval/#more-275

NHL’s new unis? Among Sharks, uniform disapproval

By John Ryan
Wednesday, December 20th, 2006 at 1:51 pm in General news, Sharks/NHL.

It has been awhile since the NHL did something really dumb. But don’t worry, the folks in the league office haven’t been laughing about the NBA’s fiasco with the new ball; no, they’ve been thinking about how they can erode another of their better traditions.

This won’t be a blunder along the lines of the glowing puck, but I don’t think it’s going to be good. Think of the most distinctive symbol of the NHL. The one thing that gives the league any cool points with the general public. The sweater.

It’s changing. Not for the better, either, according to at least three prominent Sharks I surveyed today after practice, where they wore new jerseys and socks under the watchful eye of the research and development team of manufacter CCM (a subsidiary of Reebok). The Sharks apparently are early in the rotation, so expect to hear a lot of similar talk in the coming weeks.

The league is scheduled to do a big dog-and-pony show next month at the All-Star Game regarding its new jerseys and socks. In advance, each team will work out once with the new gear; players are miked for their reactions during practice and asked about their impressions afterward. According to The Plan, these opinions will then be taken into account and the uniforms adjusted, with the full rollout for the 2007-08 season. But you have to wonder, if the big debut is a month away, how many alterations can be made.

I can tell you the league is very, VERY nervous about the reaction. The suits from CCM flipped out a little bit when they realized reporters were actually listening to them talk to players five feet away in an open locker room. And standing five feet away from me, the leader of the R&D team didn’t want to talk about the changes, instead relaying answers to specific questions through a Sharks spokesman (who was standing three feet away from me, so I guess he truly was the middleman).

The double-knit polyester is being replaced by a moisture-wicking fabric, hardly an uncommon switch in the athletic world. They’re also making everything tighter.

The reasons are twofold: performance and protection.

“These are to add protection?” Jonathan Cheechoo said.

Yeah. Apparently the tighter fit holds pads into place better.

“It does do that,” Cheechoo said. “I’ll give it that. But it also gives opponents a bird’s-eye view of where your equipment stops.”

His point: For players who are injured, opponents will essentially see an MRI of the body and know exactly which spot is most vulnerable. The sweaters hide a lot of that, particularly in the playoffs.

As for performance, players will feel lighter because the water washes away instead of being absorbed. Nice for a runner. For a hockey player?

“If it gets rid of water, great, but where does the water go?” Kyle McLaren asks. “If it’s going to go down to my gloves and skates, that’s too much water.”

Now, McLaren is a large man. One of the NHL’s biggest, but not the biggest. So it’s kind of interesting that he says the jersey fit OK but he wouldn’t want to go any smaller. And what if he wanted to go a size bigger? … Uh, problem. There isn’t a size bigger. Apparently, in the faster, sleeker NHL, the size limit is 6-foot-5, 230 pounds.

It’s gotta be the … socks?

McLaren had no opinion about the socks because he wouldn’t wear them. Smith said they’re tighter but not bothersome; the biggest problem is the extra sliding once you hit the ice. I’d love to hear his reaction after wearing the stuff for three or five or seven days in a row; betcha that tightness would become a bigger problem.

Performance. Protection. How about physiques?

What the company — through the Sharks over that insurmountable five-foot cone of silence – didn’t cite as a reason was the marketing aspect. But some observers think the move toward tighter fits is meant to show off players’ bodies. It isn’t a totally irrational thought, since probably not many people know how closely Patrick Marleau resembles your basic NFL middle linebacker.

So let’s leave it to free spirit Smith, who was wearing one of the microphones and whose feedback will probably leave CCM’s ears ringing.

“When I watch Modano skating down the ice and his jersey is flowing in the wind, that’s what I want to see,” Smith said.

At the end of the day, players were asked to leave their jerseys hanging in the stalls.

“I’ll hang it right in the garbage,” Smith said.

If you love the traditional sweater, buy one this season.

Just leave the jerseys alone!

[24champ]

Interesting, Bettman wants to tinker with the Division alignment-

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=189350&hubname=nhl

Bob McKenzie with CP files

12/22/2006 5:11:30 PM

The NHL has been trying for weeks to tinker with its schedule configuration, but is now considering a significant overhaul of the face of the league that includes realignment and a reduction in the number of divisions from six to four.

Nothing is carved in stone at this point, but the NHL is floating an aggressive trial balloon to its governors for consideration. Earlier this week, six club executives, (a mix of governors, teams presidents and GMs), representing the six current divisions met in New York with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and brainstormed to produce a new-look alignment and schedule that they're taking back to other clubs in their respective divisions for feedback.

If there's enough support for it - 20 of the 30 governors would have to approve it - the changes that would take effect next season could be approved at a board meeting during the NHL All-Star Game festivities in Dallas in late January.

Sources tell TSN the proposal includes the following:

* A reduction in the number of divisions from six to four. There would still be an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference, but there would one eight-team division and one seven-team division in each conference.
* The top two teams in each division would be guaranteed the top four playoff seeds within the conference with four wild card playoff berths going to the teams with the next highest point totals.
* The four new divisions would be configured primarily along the lines of time zones. The theory is not only would this benefit teams in terms of travel, but could also boost TV ratings because game times in the same time zone would be more favorable.
* The current Northeast Division (Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Buffalo and Boston) would remain intact and add two other teams to form a seven-team division. Sources say Pittsburgh is one of those teams that would join the Northeast teams.
* The current Atlantic Division (the three New York area teams plus Philadelphia) would be melded together with four teams from the current Southeast Division (all but one of Washington, Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Florida).
* The eight-team division in the Western Conference would feature all teams in Pacific or Mountain time zones (Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose, Colorado and Phoenix).
* The seven-team division in the Western Conference would feature teams that are in either the Central or Eastern time zones.
* As for the schedule, it is said to be a little more complicated than it currently is, because of the uneven number of teams in the divisions, but each team will apparently play its division rivals six times each and its conference rivals either three or four times each and non-conference teams once each.
* The discussion paper teams received today includes Columbus flipping conferences with the Atlanta Thrashers.
* Columbus would join the Penguins in the Northeast with Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston and Buffalo.
* Atlanta would leap over to West and take the Blue Jackets place among those in the Central.

The theory is there will be some reduction in travel because of the geographic alignment by time zone, but every team will see every team at least once over the course of the season.



It will be interesting to see what feedback is provided by the various clubs as the schedule has become a hot-button issue with many teams.

"We have not yet been approached by anyone associated with the league regarding switching divisions and conferences," Thrashers GM Don Waddell said in a statement. "Therefore, we'll defer to the league and will not comment until the appropriate time.

"I will say that our organization is pleased with the current situation and our alignment in the Eastern Conference."

Im thinking there is an expansion in the works...

[Mtbrncofn]

I agree, leave the damn sweaters alone.

Good Lord, I hope there's no expansion, it's contraction we need here, not more teams! And that division thing is about wacky.

[24champ]

Originally Posted by Mtbrncofn

I agree, leave the damn sweaters alone.

Good Lord, I hope there's no expansion, it's contraction we need here, not more teams! And that division thing is about wacky.

I disagree with the contraction notion, but there are alot of interested billionares looking to bring an NHL franchise to their cities such as Hartford and some city outside of toronto ( the name escapes me) and Im basing this off of those that wanted to buy the Pens. I actually agree on the division proposal, just one condition though, name the divisions Smythe, Norris, Patrick, Adams and name the Conferences Prince of Whales and the Clarence Campbell conference like it used to be. Im sick and tired of the NHL screwing everything up by focusing on the little **** like what the players look like.

[Bronx33]

Bettman (how ****** hard is it to listen to the players?

[Bronx33]

Originally Posted by Mtbrncofn

Mini-Bertuzzi alert! Anyone else catch the cheap shot Scott Nichol landed on Jaro Spacek's face? That was a cheap one.

He deserves a suspension for that.

He got nine games to think about it.


NHL-Suspended Nashville F Scott Nichol nine games for a blind-side punch to the head of Buffalo D Jaroslav Spacek in a Dec. 21 game.

[Bronx33]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...31/1048/SPORTS

The ugly NBA fight last weekend between the Nuggets and Knicks brought up many questions, and one of them is this:

Where is the comparable moral outrage when similar melees erupt in hockey?

The NBA has swallowed the NHL whole when it comes to television exposure and media coverage. There could be a mass riot at an NHL game and few would notice because only the truly faithful are paying attention to the still-struggling league.

And even their patience is thinning.

The post-lockout honeymoon is over. The loyal diehards are turning away.

Gate receipts, hockey's financial lifeblood, are down. National television numbers are nonexistent. Even here in America's self-anointed Hockeytown, buzz has been replaced with more of a dispassionate snore. Despite the offense-friendly rule changes, scoring is down this year.Is this some residual Tigers fatigue? Or is Detroit becoming more of a basketball town?

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman might consider ditching the unbalanced schedule that results in the Wings playing the fabled Columbus Blue Jackets, what was it, six times this week? Even the most ardent Wings aficionado can take only so much of the St. Louis Blues over an extended period.

The NHL has made several missteps over the last two years. But the biggest mistake is that Bettman didn't do whatever it took to renew the NHL's relationship with ESPN after the lockout -- even if it meant paying the network for a limited schedule.

The communications monolith dictates the primary sports talking points of the day through its extensive television, radio and Internet services. And it will happily steer the discussion to sports properties with which it holds broadcast rights.

That's why it's all NFL and NBA at this time of year.

T.O. spits. Carmelo slaps. And it's all anybody talks about because it's all that anybody sees.

The NHL can't fight its way into the spotlight. Hockey would love a controversy that's debated and dissected in newspapers and chat rooms or on talk radio because it would at least prove the sport is still in the room.

It's outrageous that a regular-season matchup between the game's two biggest young guns -- Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Washington's Alexander Ovechkin -- garnered only a 0.2 national TV rating earlier this month on Versus.

That's the equivalent of roughly 150,000 households nationwide.

Nobody watched because nobody knew it was even on television. Had the game been on ESPN, the network would have created a significant buildup to the matchup. It would have drilled home the point that viewers shouldn't miss a chance to see the next generation of hockey greatness.

That's how awareness is created. That's how a fan base is stimulated and expanded.

But magnified exposure equals magnified attention -- positive and negative. Maybe the apologists screaming about a racial double standard in how NBA fights are portrayed by the media as opposed to NHL ones should try to see what really prompted so much coverage in this instance.

It was celebrity -- the celebrity of the NBA players involved in the fight, and the celebrity of the sport itself. The NBA now dwarfs the NHL so much, there's little breathing room left for hockey's beauty, and even less for its blemishes.

The NHL would love to have people talking about a good, old-fashioned hockey fight because at least people would be talking about the NHL.

[24champ]

Originally Posted by Bronx33

Bettman (how ****** hard is it to listen to the players?

he can't he has his head so far up his ass and walking backwards and taking the game with him. We need a new commish.

[Breck Bronc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1MsR...elated&search=

I was doing some fight watching at youtube and during this non-descript fight between Oli Jokinen and Brad Richards there's a great comment about Todd Bertuzzi at the 9 second mark.

[Mtbrncofn]

Originally Posted by Bronx33

He got nine games to think about it.


NHL-Suspended Nashville F Scott Nichol nine games for a blind-side punch to the head of Buffalo D Jaroslav Spacek in a Dec. 21 game.

Well deserved too. I'm actually shocked they came down that hard on him. Way to go.

[Pendejo]

Originally Posted by Breck Bronc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1MsR...elated&search=

I was doing some fight watching at youtube and during this non-descript fight between Oli Jokinen and Brad Richards there's a great comment about Todd Bertuzzi at the 9 second mark.

Bertuzzi has been running people down from behind for years. So it was a very apropos comment by the head. Aside from his most famous pearl harbor job he's also taken out Barret Jackman, and some dude from Minnesota who's name escapes me.

It's funny that a guy his size is such a pvssy b!tch.

[Bronx33]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12242006...oks.htm?page=0

TAMPA - There you have it; there, right there, that single sen tence of propaganda is the smoking gun. It captures all of the arrogance and all of the ignorance of the Gang on Sixth Avenue. These suits truly believe they invented the league. These suits think hockey began when they broke the NHLPA, instituted the hard salary cap and introduced the Sixth Avenue League.

These are the Grinches who have stolen hockey. These are the people who not only have no regard or respect for the history and heritage of the league - which, Ms. Mansur, began operations in 1917 and not 2005, and is in its 89th season, not second - but spend every waking moment attempting to eradicate any connection between this game and these players and the great tradition established long ago by the hockey warriors who came before.

They don't think they can sell the great game of hockey to the masses that have no connection to the game, so they instead present a pre-fabricated spin-off in an attempt to drive ratings. They have come up with "Joey" rather than "Friends," and instead of driving ratings, they are driving away the hard-core, longtime fan who craves passion, confrontation, and yes, even a fight or two between bitter rivals, but instead are presented with an endless succession of indecipherable penalty calls, parades to the box, and exchanges of power plays.

The hard cap was supposed to solve everything, remember? But now there is the fiasco in Pittsburgh with the Imperial Commissioner desperately attempting to keep the Penguins from relocating to Canada, even if he doesn't care if they move anywhere in the United States.

The hard cap was supposed to solve everything, remember? But Slap Shots has been told there are serious financial issues within the Nashville ownership group. Indeed, according to a pair of sources, the Predators may soon become a candidate for relocation to Kansas City.

The hard cap was supposed to solve everything, remember? But now it's the schedule that's supposedly to blame for pockets of empty seats just about everywhere, so the league might dramatically realign again.

The hard cap was supposed to solve everything, remember? But instead of tickets becoming more affordable, as the Imperial Commissioner pledged, they have become more expensive.

The hard cap was supposed to solve everything, remember? But now there's still not enough scoring and the nets might have to be enlarged.

The hard cap was supposed to solve everything, remember? But now they're even going ahead and changing the uniforms for next year. The uniforms!

Gary Bettman and his gang on Sixth Avenue would rather have Sidney Crosby wearing that eyesore new uniform of a small-market team in the States than of any team in Canada because Bettman - or his crack marketing and PR executives who have done their jobs so well- thinks that's the way to best capitalize on this remarkable teenager.

Bettman doesn't get it. The history of the NHL - the history that began in 1917 and not last year - is one of marquee and dynastic teams and of snarling rivalries. People wanted to see the Rocket, but they went to watch the Canadiens. People were drawn to Mike Bossy, but they went to see the Islanders. Bobby Orr was the greatest ever, but people went to see the Big Bad Bruins. Wayne Gretzky had star power like no other hockey player before or since, but people wanted to see the Oilers. Through the late '90s, people wanted to see the Red Wings and the Avalanche.

Mike Babcock, coach of the Red Wings, was talking the other day about how the NHL needs to find the way to sell the game to the mainstream fan, and he mentioned the Yankees and Red Sox as examples of why baseball is so popular. Sam Flood of NBC was talking about how ratings would be helped if New York and Detroit could go deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

But the collective bargaining agreement and punitive hard cap is meant to prevent teams like the Yankees and Red Sox from existing. The gang on Sixth Avenue doesn't believe in marquee teams and they don't believe in the power of big markets.

They think the league is in its sophomore season. They are the Grinches who have stolen hockey. It is past time they give it back.

[Mtbrncofn]

Nice column there. Bettman, are you listening?

[Pendejo]

Just a heads up for people who don't get the game on t.v.

The AVS/stars game will be streamed on yahoo tonight.

[Mtbrncofn]

I don't know why this strikes me as so funny, but Gagne's picture on NHL.com looks like he could be a double for someone in the nearby Amish country. Or maybe even 'Honest Abe' Gagne.

[Bronx33]

IT COMITH!

http://thestar.blogs.com/thespin/200...me_for_bo.html

A number of factors have contributed to a super-slow season of trading thus far in the NHL, with the restrictions of the salary cap system probably the No. 1 reason.

But, with the league's Christmas roster freeze over, you have to believe action will start to heat up heading towards the trade deadline.

That deadline, don't forget, has been moved up this year to Feb. 27, a full 10 days earlier in the schedule compared to last season.

Between injuries and tight races, however, GMs are starting to get antsy now.

One of the most interesting teams to watch will be the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Desert Dogs have had a decent December under Wayne Gretzky, with a win in San Jose on Thursday night bumping them to 4-4-2 in their last 10 games.

Still, the Coyotes sit eight points out of a playoff berth and skate out of the very tough Pacific Division.

So, even if Gretzky keeps them going in a better fashion than was the case earlier this year, you have to believe Phoenix will be a seller this winter.

And they have some things to sell, including unrestricted free-agents-in-waiting Shane Doan, Ladislav Nagy and Mike Comrie.

Doan, a 30-year-old power forward, would obviously be the most cherished commodity, although his goal against the Sharks on Thursday was only his seventh of the season.

At $3.4 million a year he's not crazy expensive, and he was a 30-goal shooter last year and a member of the Canadian Olympic team.

If Phoenix GM Mike Barnett chooses to move Doan, he's a player who could theoretically make a Butch Goring-like impact for a playoff team.

Imagine, for example, how Doan could change the look of a smallish Montreal Canadiens squad that's already looking very impressive these days and has excess youth - Canadian junior goalie Carey Price, Kyle Chipchura, Andrei Kosboobiesyn - to make a move.

If the Coyotes could put together that kind of a deal and then draft high next June, the Barnett-Gretzky program would get a huge boost.

Proving the best deals are usually the ones you have to wait for, meanwhile, you have to wonder if Maple Leafs GM John Ferguson would have fared better in doing a deal with Mikael Tellqvist if he'd been able to hold out a bit longer.

Anaheim is in desperate straits right now, having to make a deal to acquire goalie Sebastien Caron from Chicago to add some depth after losing Michael Leighton on waivers and seeing both Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov go down with groin problems.

Going into Friday night's game in Raleigh, the Ducks were prepared to go with Michael Wall, formerly the minor-league backup to Leighton, and ECHL callup David McKee, although they were hoping Bryzgalov might be ready to return.

Maybe Tellqvist would have been an enticing commodity for the Ducks, who have also lost defenceman Francois Beauchemin with a lacerated spleen.

Columbus, meanwhile, was just getting into the playoff hunt when Pascal LeClaire was lost for a month or more. Fredrik Norrena certainly looked less than terrific in giving up seven to the Red Wings on Thursday.

Then there's the Leafs themselves, of course, a team currently and understandably dissatisfied with the work of goalies Andrew Raycroft and Jean-Sebastien Aubin.

Tellqvist's .902 save percentage, after all, is not only better than that of Phoenix teammate Curtis Joseph, it's better than either of the Leaf goaltenders these days.

[Mtbrncofn]

So I wonder how losing Pronger will affect the Ducks?

[Pendejo]

Originally Posted by Mtbrncofn

So I wonder how losing Pronger will affect the Ducks?

I don't know Mt. I guess he'll be out about 4 weeks or so. I think they'll try to bring someone in...but they won't over pay. Personal feelings aside...Burke is clearly a pretty good GM.

Cripes. Remember a few years ago when Pronger had that terrible wrist injury...there were rumblings that his career might be over. The nasty son of a b!tch is better than ever.

[Jens1893]

Those "NHL Players are just like you and me" commercials are very funny.

[Mtbrncofn]

Originally Posted by Pendejo

I don't know Mt. I guess he'll be out about 4 weeks or so. I think they'll try to bring someone in...but they won't over pay. Personal feelings aside...Burke is clearly a pretty good GM.

Cripes. Remember a few years ago when Pronger had that terrible wrist injury...there were rumblings that his career might be over. The nasty son of a b!tch is better than ever.

I was thinking the same thing. It does seem like he's better than before.

[Mtbrncofn]

Originally Posted by Jens1893

Those "NHL Players are just like you and me" commercials are very funny.

I agree. I like them. The video game one with the Lecavalier cracks me up.

[Mtbrncofn]

Huh, apparently the Ducks already moved on picking up a cheap defenseman.

Taken from Fanhome:

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Anaheim Ducks announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has acquired defenseman Ric Jackman from the Florida Panthers in exchange for a conditional draft pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. The Ducks also announced that they have reassigned defenseman Aaron Rome to Portland, Anaheim’s primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).