Brooks on Parise, 'Devils' Parise will soon wear new jersey'

Zach Parise & his fans (Photo credit: New Jersey State Library)

This will be one of the top stories in the NHL this summer - where is Zach Parise going to sign and with what team. Personally, I hope the Boston Bruins or the the home town Minnesota Wild are going to be choices for the former Fighting Sioux  First Team All-American and star forward Parise.

Larry Brooks, New York Post --- Parise, who will turn 28 next month, could attract offers of up to 12 years. He will certainly receive front-loaded, bonus-laden offers from the Rangers and Red Wings, who have millions to spend and the inclination to do so.

The Wild will be in, though Parise might want to think more than twice about going home to join a team in which he would be the best player by leaps and bounds.

The Sharks could be in. The Maple Leafs will be, though current general manager Brian Burke doesn’t believe in front-loaded deals. The Bruins could become a serious contender. There will be others.

Given the financial realities in New Jersey, it’s almost impossible to conjure the scenario in which ownership could cut Parise a $10 million check on July 2. And again, that’s even assuming Parise’s first choice is to remain a Devil.

He is one today and will be one tonight. But once the puck is dropped, the clock will be ticking on the Devils’ season and on the captain’s career in New Jersey.

T-minus-60 and counting.

Did Cherry bite the hand that feeds him?

I am a big fan of Don Cherry, his colorful cloths and his straight talk is a quality that isn’t real prevalent in today age.

Cherry is kind of the Rush Limbaugh of NHL hockey and he can be a bit of a polarizing figure. Like Limbaugh, most fans either like him or can’t stand him there doesn’t seem to be any middle ground.

Joe Warmington, Toronto Sun — Has Toronto Maple Leafs boss Brian Burke had enough of Don Cherry?

An insider told QMI Agency Burke is tired of Cherry criticizing his team — in particular, his coach — and he is contemplating asking for a meeting with CBC brass to complain.

“He is furious at the comment Cherry made about Ron Wilson not applauding for the troops and for other things too,” said an insider. “He is fiercely loyal to his guys.”

On Jan. 14, Cherry mentioned during a broadcast that visiting New York Ranger coach John Tortorella applauded when the troops were introduced at a recent Armed Forced appreciation game at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

He also called a clapping Leafs assistant coach Rob Zettler “a good Canadian boy.”

But he said Wilson and other coaches “couldn’t have cared less.”

The Leafs president responded to an e-mail asking him if there had “been a formal complaint,” but chose to not get into the fray.

“No comment,” Burke said in a return e-mail. “All-star weekend (is) hardly the time or place for a beef like this.”

Brian Burke is a big boy and you have to wonder if he is being a bit thin skinned. Burke like Cherry has been know for his off the cuff comments as well.

Also, did Don Cherry bite the hand that feeds him? You have t wonder sometime if CBC will eventually throw Cherry under the bus or will they continue to employ the controversial figure. I am hoping the later.

Matt Frattin talks about making the Leafs out of training camp...

Goon's World would like to congratulate Matt Frattin for making the Toronto Maple Leafs opening day roster out of training camp. Toronto head coach Ron Wilson said this past week that former Fighting Sioux forward Matt Frattin is NHL ready .

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Canucks fume at ruling

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeAgain more whining from the Vancouver Canucks about the Aaron Rome suspension. I say again; imagine if the shoe was on the other foot and Boston Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton had smoked Ryan Kessler, Alex Burrows or one of the Sedin sisters twins at the blue line with a questionable check? Would they not expect the same kind of a ruling from the NHL?

Matthew Sekere; Globe and Mail ---- The Vancouver Canucks were furious with the four-game suspension handed down by the NHL to defenceman Aaron Rome Tuesday.

One day after head coach Alain Vigneault and captain Henrik Sedin admitted Rome's hit on Boston Bruins forward Nathan Horton was late, the Canucks were singing a different tune, more defiant in their characterization of the hit, and outraged at the league.

And there’s good reason for that. Several of them, in fact.

For starters was Mike Murphy’s admission that he consulted with Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, a former NHL disciplinarian, before arriving at his decision. The mere mention of Burke’s name elicits anger from the Canucks, because his relationship with team owner Francesco Aquilini is toxic.

There were other reasons: Rome’s despondency at missing the rest of the Stanley Cup final; the stiffest suspension ever administered in the final; and the lack of disciplinary consistency and perceived injustices from earlier this postseason.

If it had stopped at that, there would have been plenty of bad tidings to go around. That Burke was dragged into it only fanned the flames.

General manager Mike Gillis would not comment when asked directly about Burke’s involvement, saying only that “we’re disappointed but we’re moving on.” Reached via text message, Aquilini said he would be making no comment until after the playoffs.

“I'm talking about Brian Burke. I don't like to mention people who I deal with,” Murphy said in a press conference. “He was one gentleman who I did speak with. There's a lot of other people I spoke with, too, not just Brian.”

RW77 Rant: All Star Games, Head Shots, Physicality in Hockey and Crosby

Ok, it's been quite a while since I've had a good rant to get the blood boiling and commenters telling me how wrong I am/have a personal vendetta/etc.

So, here we go.

All Star Games: Who needs them anyways?

I was watching the AHL All Star game noticing, like the ECHL, that they're just as completely disorganized in their media coverage as the NHL as I was never quite able to find an up to date roster on who was actually on the teams. During the broadcast, they didn't seem to care about updating the player movements or rotation as well. They waxed poetic about the days of yore and bubbled nonsensically on how awesome the AHL is almost to the same effect that the NHL commentators had during the NHL All Star game. Nothing like watching meaningless hockey, showcasing a lot of stickhandling skills and the commentators not even caring provided no one scored. Instead, we watched a hockey game going on in the background of a Ron Francis interview. Whoopdedoo. I was shocked that the commentators even knew who scored at the end of the interview... or maybe the goal ended the interview. I wonder if no one scored for the rest of the second period, would the interview gone on the entire time? HEH. The NHL wants us to believe that this is not a meaningless game despite no points being awarded nor any advantage to either side winning. Yup. Keep dreaming, Bettman you pathetic loser.

Oh, and it was amazing to listen to the AHL people talk up their league. They talked about how the AHLers were every bit as good as the NHLers. Oh my goodness, that was choke on the soft drink laughing good! Do you know what you call the best AHLers? NHL players. There is no such thing as a player who is as good as the average NHL player that plays in the AHL. The AHL is a developmental pro league. Somewhere where the NHL sends players that aren't ready for the NHL yet but snatches them up when they are. Get over yourselves.

To wrap up this portion, I'll say this: The NHL All Stars Skills Competition is good. The Young Guns or Young Stars game is good. The All Star Game is a joke. Be that as it may, the NHL All Star game is still less of a joke than the Pro Bowl. As bad as the MLB All Star Game is, at least MLB is trying to find ways to make it meaningful.

Anyways, Physicality and the reason for this post. (I warned you this was a rant, right?)... During one of the intermissions, they interviewed Brian Burke about the new NHL Rule Changes. He made right to the contact to the head rule and what he said was awesome.

To paraphrase (as I can't seem to find the interview nor can I find a transcript), he said that physical play is an integral part of the sport of hockey. He favored the new head contact rule provided that's as far as it goes. He said that, though no one likes it, injuries happen in a physical sport like hockey. It's the job of the coaches and GMs to put players on the ice who can play the game right and play it safely and the role of the NHL and its officials to enforce the rules and punish improper or unsafe play.

I agree 100%. Physical play is a vital part of the game. Don't believe me? Watch a men's hockey game and then watch a women's game. Both are hockey. Both can be fun, but when you watch a hockey player deliver a great hip check and then get called 2 minutes for "checking" and realize that you are watching a young lady skating to the penalty box and wonder why you're wasting your time. Now, I am a staunch supporter of women's hockey being changed to allow checking as I believe that women can do everything just like men can... but that's a different rant.

Then he talked about Sidney Crosby's concussion. He basically said, you can have the identical hit Crosby got from Dave Steckel on ANY other NHL player and it wouldn't garner the media attention that it is getting. You know what? He's RIGHT THE EFF ON!

The media attention on Crosby's injury is INSANE. People rail me here on why I'm so anti-Crosby and this is exactly it! The media could give a flying fart about ANYONE provided that person getting injured isn't Sidney Crosby. Sure, some players (like Sean Avery, Daniel Carcillo, etc.) garner their share of dislike... but why would I want them injured? Would Sean Avery garner the same disdain if he were injured the same as Crosby is?

Look, I'm not belittling the fact that Crosby got injured. I dislike Crosby, obviously, but I don't think injury is the answer. I would rather he played his entire career injury free but that's not possible. However, I don't think we should sacrifice an integral part of the game just to protect him. Sidney isn't an idiot. He knows damn well that Hockey is a physical game. People get hit...hard. Injury is a potential every time he steps onto the ice.

The truth is that the league's media is set up to be just a circus surrounding Crosby, the Penguins, and Ovechkin (in that order). Everyone else is just supporting cast members. And, like a broken record, I'll say this isn't necessarily Crosby's fault. Sure, he whines to the media on occasion, but I can understand that. He's simply playing to the media's adoration of him. The NHL uses him as a money maker and he certainly obliges their every whim. And I admit that his ability is pretty much epic.