Luke Johnson picked 11th in USHL draft

Central Knight's sophmore forward Luke Johnson was picked 11th in the USHL draft. Luke is the son of former Fighting Sioux star Steve Johnson and current coach of the Fargo Force.

1 DubuqueBarber, RileyRWLivonia, MI5.10179Compuware(T1Min)Feb 07/94
2 MuskegonCockerill, GarretRDBrighton, MI5.11170Compuware(T1Min)Feb 19/94
3 Sioux FallsMoore, BryanCMatthews, NC5.11175Carolina(NAPHL)May 25/94
4 Waterloo (From Sioux City)Hinostroza, VincentCBartlett, IL5.08144Chi Mission(T1Min)Apr 03/94
5 OmahaChlapik, AdamC6.00190Jr. Kings(T1Maj)Feb 04/94
6 Des MoinesKoules, MilesRWLos Angeles, CA5.10171Shattuck U16(MinnM)Jun 25/94
7 IndianaPolesello, RobertCBolton, Ont.5.06160Tor Jr. Canadians(GTHLMn)Apr 27/94
8 FargoWade, JustinRDAurora, IL6.01196Chi Mission(T1Min)Apr 13/94
9 Green BayStoick, GavinRWLittleton, CO6.02189Thunderbirds(T1Min)Jul 02/94
10 Waterloo (From Tri-City)Stepan, ZachCBalsam Lake, WI5.11155Shattuck U16(MinnM)Jan 06/94
11 Lincoln Johnson, LukeCGrand Forks, ND5.09149GF Central(ND-HS)Sep 19/94

Eulogy: Remembering the 2009-10 Boston Bruins

This was posted on Puck Daddy yesterday and as a Bruins fan it becomes more funny as the day elapse after the infamous and historic choke job. When people look back at the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs people will remember how the Bruins lost a 3-0 series lead and a 3-0 lead in game seven.

We come here not to merely bury the 2010 Boston Bruins in a lovely sun-kissed corner of Milan Lucic's(notes) caged enclosure, but to celebrate their exceptional life and extraordinary demise. While we remember most Bruins teams of the past as dull, cheap and usually lacking in championships and charisma, the 2010 model has left this mortal coil leaving a season's worth of memories to savour.

Always desperate for scoring, but more desperate to save noted skinflint owner Jeremy Jacobs a few dollars in the long run, the 2010 Bruins began their life in a protracted off-season salary dispute with 36-goal scorer Phil Kessel(notes). Unwilling or unable to see that their undeniable lack of scoring punch would cripple them, and hamstrung by Jacobs' cheap ways and the asinine contracts handed out to perennial 15-goal thug Lucic and defending Vezina Trophy winner and corndog eating champion of Genesee County, Michigan, Tim Thomas(notes), the Bruins traded Kessel to their division rival Toronto for a package that included what turned out to be the 2nd overall pick in this year's draft. We eagerly anticipate history repeating itself in 3-5 years when Taylor Hall demands fair market value and is promptly Joe Thortoned or Kesseled away.

As we look fondly back on the 2010 Bruins, some notable memories come to mind. The evening Boston played their traditional role of whipping boy to Montreal during the Canadiens' 100th anniversary game celebration was a moment to cherish. The New Year was rung in with the Bruins hosting the Winter Classic versus the Flyers at a jam-packed Fenway Park. The majority of Bostonians attended because they heard "Fenway" and assumed their beloved Red Sox were involved; a collective 'hell, we-ah already he-ah" resulted in the sell-out crowd of drunken Southies sticking around to see the Bruins beat the Flyers 2-1 in retro-chic uniforms designed by noted fashionista and former Bruin winger Cam "played a gay trucker opposite Jim Carrey" Neely. [Read the rest of the story]

Too many men is only one reason...

Just for the record, the reason the Bruins lost this series is they failed to put up a good effort after they won the 3rd game of the series, they didn't put up a very good effort after that game. After game three the Flyers beat the Bruins in all three zones of the ice. The Flyers played with fire the Bruins were listless.

Everyone I talk to mentions the too many men on the ice penalty but it's more than that, it's about a team that stopped playing as a team and started playing like individuals. The too many men on the ice is just one minor thing that happened along the way to the EPIC failure. The more I hear Barry Melrose talk the more I think the guy is out to lunch.

Five keys to failure

1.) Didn't play disciplined hockey, lacked leadership.
2.) Didn't cash in on offensive opportunities.
3.) Too many turn overs that lead to scoring opportunities for the Flyers.
4.) Too many passengers not pulling their weight.
5.) Poor defensive efforts at key times in the games.

The loss left the Bruins one of three teams in NHL history to blow a best-of-seven series after holding a 3-0 lead.

"The bottom line is we had a 3-0 lead in the series, we had a 3-0 lead tonight, and we blew them both," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "We have to take the responsibility that goes with it. Everyone."

There's no word. No phrase. No historical statistic. No excuse that can be made to describe the second coming of the Boston Massacre.

Visions of Ruth, Dent, Buckner, Boone and Manning quickly entered one's mind at the sight of Bruins players sitting at their locker room stalls, wary and trying to comprehend how something like this could happen. [ESPN.COM]

Will Savard own up?

Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.COM wrote this article about the Bruins star Marc Savard needing to own up for his costly mistake that led to the historic game winning goal and epic collapse. I don't think Savard's mistake is the sole reason the Bruins lost that game, while some of the onus should be on Savard there are other reasons (mulitple) the Bruins lost the game and series. I honestly don't see Savard owning up for his mistake.

BOSTON – There's a golden opportunity approaching for one of the Bruins to step and do the right thing when the players pack up their lockers, sit in for exit interviews and shut it down for the summer after crumbling against the Flyers.

The B's will meet Tuesday morning and go their separate ways, and it will provide the stage for Marc Savard to speak up and prove he learned something amid one of the worst playoff collapses in sports history.

The B's center will have the chance to own up to the critical mistake he made in the third period of Game Seven when he waved his stick for a line change, looked away from the bench after his replacement, Vladimir Sobotka, didn't immediately come over the boards and then skated deep into the play while Sobotka hopped onto the ice to replace him.

Bruins coach Claude Julien admitted as much amid the rubble of Game Seven when he said that "a player waved for a change then changed his mind." That "player" was Savard, who requesting a line change and then experienced a sudden change of heart in the middle of a change.
In terms of Ice Hockey 101, that mistake was on Savard for not immediately getting off the ice.

Forget about the timing of the play, and whether the call was appropriate or not in the throes of a tied Game Seven during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Forget also about the four hooking calls against Savard in the series and how far his game dropped after Game 3 -- the player came back from a Grade 2 concussion after two months and shouldn't have been expected to be in peak form. Those are side issues, of course, but it was the correct call with six Bruins skaters on the ice and referees under a directive to call "too many men on the ice" much more stringently than in years past.

There were 33 "too many men" penalties called after two rounds of playoffs this season, compared to only 17 through all four rounds last year.

The penalty led to a Simon Gagne third-period goal that gave the Flyers their winning margin. [CSNNE.com]

Lindsay Lohan's latest club tantrum

I saw this on another blog and I thought I would share it with you. Why does it seem like trouble always follows Sean Avery around?

Lindsay Lohan started another fight in a club -- this time with New York Ranger skaters Aaron Voros and Sean Avery at 1Oak. The troubled starlet threw a drink over Voros' model girlfriend, Jessica Stam, and then tried to get all three thrown out of the Wildfox fall-collection party the other night. A spy relates, "Lindsay threw a fit because she wanted to be at their table near the DJ. But she claimed she didn't want to sit with Aaron and said, 'He's my ex-boyfriend. I don't want him anywhere near me.' Voros denied knowing her. A drink then flew in Jessica's face, and Lindsay demanded their table be moved out. Club bosses refused and tried to calm her down. Stam, Voros and Avery were shocked but didn't retaliate, and Lindsay left shortly afterward." We await Lohan's inevitable denial, but we have multiple witnesses. A different source said "Lindsay threw a fit. There was total drama for absolutely no reason." [Link to the story]

Second round highlights (or painful memories)

I suppose it's a matter of perspective, if your team lost in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoff it wouldn't be a highlight video. For me there are way too many clips of Flyers forwards scoring goals, also there are way too many clips where the Flyers are blowing by the Bruins defense like they were pylons and scoring. I have to admit that I have enjoyed watching the second round of the playoffs, because it has been one of the better playoff round in some time.

Hockey Night in Canada; Scott Oake with Gary Bettman (2010-05-11)

This is why a lot of people don't like Gary Bettman, and neither do I. Bettman is one of the most pompous, smug and arrogant people and he is not good for the NHL. The NHL has been doing this dance with the Phoenix Coyotes for a long time and blowing 30 million dollars a year in losses. It's almost like Bettman is going to go down with the Phoenix Coyotes just to prove a point. The guy should run for congress because he fails to ever answer a question directly.

Hacks, agitators and goons; men of dishonor...

There has been a discussion over on Sioux Sports and Hockey Wilderness about players that you hate to play against because they play on the edge, are seen as agitators or even players that are cheap and commit disgusting acts. I have also seen the argument where you’d love to have these players on your team but don’t like them when they play against your team. That’s up for debate and usually seems to be a never ending discussion that takes place from year to year.

I would not cheer for the Boston Bruins or the Minnesota Wild if they signed a hack like Matt Cooke, Todd Bertuzzi or Daniel Carcillo, they would no longer be my favorite teams. There is no way. I would also hope that my favorite team would not challenge my loyalties by signing a questionable player like this. There is too many good players out there to even entertain signing one of these morons.

here are some phrases that get tossed around in sports debate so often that we come to simply over look them. It goes beyond cliche to simply being a part of the vernacular, to being generally accepted as fact. These phrases are sometimes over simplified reaction to a complicated topic, or they are used to simply brush off the opinion of someone you really don't have an argument against.

One of those phrases is, "You would love him if he were on your team." this is almost always in response to the outcry over a player such as Derek Boogaard, Patrik Kaleta, Todd Bertuzzi, Jarkko Ruttu, or in the case of this post, Matt Cooke.

Make the jump and let's discuss, shall we. You really don't have anything better to do, right?

All of this stems from a link that came across Twitter via @Tepherguy. In the upcoming Hockey News issue is a cover story about the top 12 free agents, and Matt Cooke appears to be at the top of that list. The cover of the issue even reads "Matt Cooke is Hockey's Biggest $*&#!... and You'd Love Him if he Played for Your Team."

This phrase is pervasive. It is said about every pest in the NHL, and it is said about every guy who has ever been suspended. Even friend of the blog Greg Wyshynski has said it about Daniel Carcillo.[Read the whole article here]

The players name changes but their brutal gutless cheap acts remain the same. I am sure you can come up with a list of your own, my list includes thugs, players/hacks like Daniel Carcillo, Todd Bertuzzi, Scott Hartnell, Alex Burroughs, Matt Cooke, just to name a few. They're thugs players that are all cut from the same thread. These players lack honor ussualy hide behind a half shield and is no limit to the cheap acts they will commit.

Also, I would include players from the past like Uber Hacks Ulfie "the Turtle" Samuelsson and Claude "the Fraud" Lemieux. Eventually these players get what is coming to them, the hockey code demands it, live by the sword die by the sword. You might even cheer when you see it happen. Matt Cooke got what was coming to him in these three incidents [Kane becomes an instant hero] and [Duncan Keith gives it back to Cooke] and finally [Dustin Brown smokes Matt Cooke]. Lastly, how many people in Boston wanted to give Tie Domi a medal after he smoked Ulfie Samelsson.

Sabres Prospects on Corey Fienhage

Here is what the Sabres Prospect had to say on Cory Fienhage's status at UND. Not really anything new but reinforces that Fienhage will probably not be back next season. I always wondered why Corey doesn't do what Quinn Fylling take a year off from college and go play a year of hockey USHL and then come back to UND after this class of Senior Defensemen graduate. There is probably also a good chance that UND would probably lose Ben Blood as well.

when the University of North Dakota began stockpiling defensive recruits like Derek Forbort and Dillon Simpson, we began to think long and hard about the impact it would all have on Sabres 2008 third-rounder, Corey Fienhage. When Fienhage was sat late in the year in favor of forward-turned-defenseman Matt Davidson, those thoughts intensified.

When we reported that Fienhage was placed on the protected list by the WHL's Kamloops Blazers, the writing was seemingly being scribbled on the proverbial wall.

But when Fighting Sioux junior Chay Genoway announced that he would be returning to the team in 2010-11, the message on the wall stated that Fienhage was outsy.

Nothing is official, but whispers around Grand Forks are suggesting that Fienhage is as good as gone (along with Isles prospect David Toews). Fienhage needs to play, and since he didn't get in the lineup last season until Genoway suffered a concussion, it isn't too difficult to connect the dots.

My question is where does Fienhage go? If he opts for the WHL, his window to earn a deal is cut down to one season. Another option sees him seek a scholarship elsewhere, thus sending him to the USHL for a season of Jr. A to retain his NCAA eligibility, and in turn allow the Sabres to keep his rights for a longer term.

Fienhage is rugged and tough, and I would be eager to watch his game translate to the WHL. However, Fienhage is just 20 and needs consistent reps after playing a scant 39 games over two seasons with the Sioux. Couple that with the fact that the Sabres blueline prospect cupboard is already crowded, and I fully expect the Sabres to advise him to somehow stay in school.

Another episode of the Redwing77 Good, Bad, and Ugly

Hello again, everyone. It's time for a second round playoff series of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

THE GOOD

Jaroslav Halak - Uh... Hey Crosby, whatcha think of me now? I know they typically give the playoff MVP to a player who plays in the Stanley Cup Finals, but I'm not sure if it won't be the true this year should the Habs lose to the Flyers. This guy has been THE goaltender of the post season. PERIOD. He's simply outstanding. He's also laid to rest the debate about Carey Price, who is just a different version of current (perhaps now ex-) Avalanche goaltender Peter Budaj. Big hype, no game. In any case, I may not be the biggest fan of the Habs, but I am a big fan of a goaltender who is dominant. Hello Halak. Please bolt Montreal and come to Detroit. Not likely nor would Detroit (I think)...but...

The Flyers - You have to be good to win 4 straight in the playoffs. Especially when you have 2 career disappointments as your starting goaltender and 1 career disappointment (and probable nutcase) either injured or in reserve (Ray Emery). Now, I'm not down on Michael Leighton. I think he's a quality guy, but I never thought he'd be #1 material. Ok, he still isn't. However, he and Brian Boucher get the Ty Conklin Award for the postseason (most unlikely career backups to win a series with a team). Simon Gagne was fantastic. Michael Richards again proves he's a good leader. Danny Carcillo is still a worthless hack that should be banned from the game.

San Jose - Detroit wasn't really in this series, but they were playing awfully well coming into it. And the Sharks simply blew them out of the (frozen) water. Nabakov has always (to me) been a good goaltender with some unfortunate streaky tendencies and bad luck but he managed to hold things together for another round.

Chicago - Don't know if they belong here or in the bad category, but I put them here for two reasons. Reason #1: They advanced. It doesn't have to be pretty (and it wasn't, I assure you) but it just has to happen and it did. Reason #2: Jonathon Toews. Patrick Kane always gets top billing and Toews always gets the last laugh. Captain Serious has been SERIOUSLY good this post season, even out point scoring Bettman's Golden Godchild Sidney Crosby. He's surely a contender with Halak for playoff MVP. They face a test against the Sharks. Chicago won the regular season matchup against the Sharks winning 3 of 4, but required OT to win 2 of those 3 wins.

Jonathon Toews - See "Chicago" but yeah. He deserves his own record. Halak may be the goaltender of the playoffs thus far, but Toews is the skater of the playoffs thus far. He's outscored Crosby and all others. He may not have the playoff lead in goals, but he's done very well all things considered. I guess what I like about him the most is that, though he can score highlight reel goals, most of his playoff goals seem to be of the "hard work bang to the net" variety. Detroit has a huge problem with players who can't seem to get it through their heads that a garbage goal and a Sportscenter #1 play of the day goal is still worth the same amount of points.

THE BAD

Detroit Red Wings - You gotta play for EVERY playoff round in the books, not just the opening round. We squeaked past the Coyotes and got gobbled by the Sharks. Oh well.

Vancouver - Supposedly dominant, surprisingly undisciplined. Luongo was ok. Team D was meh. Season is over.

Pittsburgh Penguins - What can I say? Luck isn't everything, but apparently that's the only way the Pens fans can term their series loss to the Habs. Oh yeah, giving up 4 goals in 2 periods and really not even showing up to Game 7 might be something to look at. By the way, if you want to know why Fleury made my list of Top overrated goaltenders, you can look to Game 7 as a great example. Getting beat is one thing, but not even playing your best in Game 7? SIEVE!

THE UGLY

Boston Bruins - HEY! We've got a 3-0 game lead in this series. The Flyers will roll over, right? RIGHT? Anyone? Blake Wheeler was awful. The Bruins offense was pathetic. Tukka Rask was human. Boston Bruins choked so bad that Buckner (thanks for the analogy Goon) said "WHEW! I only screwed up once! I'm off the hook now!"

Danny Carcillo - At least Matt Cooke is out of the playoffs. This utter disgrace to the game still gets to go on to play the Habs. Well, maybe he'll go pick on Scotty Gomez or Plekanec and then fall down holding his face the next time Hal Gill hip checks him? Or maybe he'll hold his finger and cry the next time he two hand slashes a Hab player and the player takes exception? Who knows, but if Cooke is a lowlife bully, Carcillo is a cowardly nancyboy hack artist. I loved the fact that he dressed up for halloween as the GEICO caveman. It's a perfect match for his intelligence.

KPD gets it right, Awful (Boston Bruins)

I am not usually a fan of Kevin Paul Dupont's work but this article seems to set the tone on how I am sure most Boston Bruins fans are feeling today. Worse than awful, framed in shame; this is how I would describe last night's effort. Epic fail and brutal also comes to mind.

Awful? Worse than awful. The Bruins tomorrow night should be playing in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, but instead they are framed in shame after last night’s diabolical 4-3 loss to the Flyers.

“We had a 3-0 lead in the series. We had a 3-0 lead tonight. And we blew both,’’ said coach Claude Julien. “There are no excuses.’’

In a season-ender that will live with them forever and a day, like the ball that rolled between Bill Buckner’s legs in the 1986 World Series, the Bruins essentially dismissed themselves from the 2010 postseason — and they underscored their own undoing by getting caught for having too many men on the ice with 11:10 gone in the third period.

Too many men. Haunting. Almost sadistic. A ghost from more than three decades ago, dating to an identical call at the Montreal Forum in 1979, revisited the Boston bench on Causeway Street, and had Vladimir Sobotka jumping on the ice as a sixth, and most unwanted, Boston skater. Only 1:42 later, Simon Gagne used the power-play advantage to pot the winner, completing one of the most dramatic comebacks in Stanley Cup history for the Flyers, and driving a stake into the heart of Bruins fandom.
[Boston Globe]

Lucic (X2)

Milan Lucic missed a slough of games this season with various injuries and started to re-emerge as the go to power forward in the Bruins line up. Last night in a losing effort Lucic scored two goals. [Click to view second goal]

Bruins post game press conference

This one doesn't require a lot of analysis, it is what it is.

Future Bruin Taylor Hall?

There is a good chance that with the Bruins having Toronto's first round pick via the Phil Kessel trade that Bruins fans could be watching Taylor Hall play for the Bruins next season.

Choke job complete in Boston

Well that was a lot of fun to watch. Yeah not! Nothing like watching your favorite team implode right before your very eyes. It was very painful to watch. I think I saw someone refer to these types of epic losses as a arena explosion over on Twitter.

Here is the break down of the numbers - six (6) men on the ice, one (1) too many. Four (4) losses in a row, not impressive. Having the opposition score four (4) unanswered goals, words can't explain. Losing a three (3) game to zero (0) series lead - epic failure. Finally choking away a three (3) goal lead priceless. In conclusion only three (3) teams have lost after being up 3-0, the Bruins are now part of history. I had a bad feeling this game and an upset stomach all day waiting for the game.

Personally, I don't think the Bruins took advantage of their opportunities when they had a chance and in retrospect the first nail in the coffin was not winning game four Philly when they had their chance to end the series. They had a power play in overtime and failed to cash in. I think it's time for the Bruin's owner to conduct a house cleaning and get ride of the head coach and the General Manager.

SHAUN THORNTON:
On the too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty: "Well, I want to play a couple more years in this league so I don't want to bad mouth them too much, but I do think . . . I had a pretty good seat for the third period, and I was close to where the guy was changing and I think it was very, very, very gutsy call with seven minutes left with all of the other [expletive] that's going on out there.

On trying to put the season in perspective after a devastating loss: "I know everyone wrote us off after that last Pittsburgh game [in which the team was criticized for sluggish play and for not standing up to Matt Cooke, who had previously given Marc Savard a concussion on a questionable hit] and I know everyone did a great job of coming together and jelling and turning the season around. As far as the 3-0 thing goes . . . it'll be made out to be a little more because of the 3-0 lead, but if we we're down 3-2 it would be regarded with a different mentality. We let Game 6 get away and Game 7 with a one-goal edge, so it's one of those things you have to live with."

Players in the half shield?

Recently the American Hockey Coaches Association had their annual convention in Florida last month and one of the items that caught my attention is that the American Hockey Coaches Association are in favor of allowing their players to wear the half shield/visor instead of the bird cage or full shield. Personally I think this is a great idea and it would clean the game up a bit because I believe players feel like they are invincible when they wear the full mask/bird cage.

I never understood why the players in the USHL, NAHL are allowed to wear the half shield if they wanted to but the NCAA Division 1 hockey players were not? This decision defies logic because the college kids who are usually older aren’t able to make that personnel decision for themselves? The minute these players leave college hockey they switch over to the visor/half shield. Seriously! These aren’t minor youth hockey players in bantams, and squirts these are adult males. I also don’t buy the argument that the ever so all powerful dictatorship known as the NCAA some how knows better than the experienced coaches and players.

Behind that is a debate that ties into the current emphasis on concussion prevention. Half shield proponents say players show more respect for others when they know they’re wearing less facial protection, and point out that they’re the norm in junior hockey and in the competing Canadian major junior system. Opponents cite the risks of taking off the lower-face protection.

The topic came up at the recent American Hockey Coaches Association convention in Florida, and Karr said he believes that nearly 100 percent of the coaching body is in favor of a move to half shields.

Even if the rules committee went along with it, any decision still would have to get through the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel.[Read the whole article here]

Bruins in need of a Heimlich Maneuver

I hope the Bruins find some intestinal fortitude and find a way to win tonight’s game so they don’t go down as a bunch of chokers. Only two other teams have lost a series after going up 3-0 so this would go down as being a epic failure/choke job.

In three straight games, the Bruins have blown tires in their attempts to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Tonight, they are down to their last spare.

With one more loss to the Flyers, the Bruins not only will have their season come to a close, they will also enter the NHL record book as only the third team to gag up a 3-0 lead and lose a playoff series. It is company they have no desire to join.

“It’s going to be a big game, probably for most of us, the biggest game of our careers,’’ said Zdeno Chara. “We just have to enjoy it.
[Read the rest of the article]

Certification of Standing Rock petition will take time

There seems to be a new twist with each issue that arises down on the Standing Rock Reservation. From my perspective it almost appears that the full press/stall is on and that there are members of the tribal council that do not want to allow a vote/referendum on University of North Dakota’s use of the Fighting Sioux nickname.

Fighting Sioux nickname supporters on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation met with tribal officials this week, hoping to expedite a membership vote on the name and logo. But they’ve run into significant procedural hurdles.

“We’re not even talking about the petition yet,” Tribal Chairman Charles Murphy said Thursday.

“We have a petition with 1,004 signatures, but we have to go through a process of getting it certified,” he said.

Nickname supporters submitted the petition bearing 1,004 names of tribal members who want to vote on whether Standing Rock should endorse UND’s continued use of the Sioux name.

But the tribal council won’t consider the petition until its signatures have been certified, and Tribal Secretary Adele White said Thursday that she can’t begin to certify the names until the council provides her with a certification process.

The tribe has no formal guidelines in place to deal with such an issue, White said.

“We need to draft a policy for certification,” she said. “They have to give me a process to set the criteria for a vote like this — when to hold the vote, whether it would be advisory or not.”
[Read the rest of the story]

Choice for Devils: It's Parise or Kovalchuk

I would put money on the Devils resigning former Fighting Sioux star Zach Parise and not resigning Ilya Kovalchuk. I think on it’s face this pair of transactions would be a no brainier. Duh! Zach Parise is a team players and a loyal Devil, Ilya Kovalchuk (a rent a player at the trade deadline) is a self centered me type player that turned down 70 million over ten seasons  with his former team. Almost Latrell Sprewell like and how the moron once made the ridiculous comment that he couldn’t feed his family on 7 million a year. If the Devils decided to Trade Parise they could get a lot of value back in a trade, but I couldn't see the Devils trading one of the faces of their organization. It's been nice knowing you Ilya.

Besides picking a coach again, the Devils have another major decision on their hands, which left wing to shower millions upon. They can't afford both Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk after next season, not without shortchanging other more-needed positions, and they need to choose now.

Underscoring the imminent nature of that choice, The Post has learned that Parise is dropping his current agent and is seeking a new adviser to guide him through this vital summer.

In the next six weeks, the Devils had better find out which they can best do: extend Parise's walk-year contract (officially after July 1, but they're free to do everything but file the deal before then), or sign Kovalchuk before he reaches unrestricted free agency on July 1.


PICK ONE: The Devils must decide whether they want to extend the contract of Zach Parise (pictured) or re-sign Ilya Kovalchuk before he reaches unrestricted free agency on July 1. It's a crossroads decision as important to the future of the franchise as the selection of another coach, and it would be an upset if the choice is Kovalchuk over Parise.

Kovalchuk did turn down $70 million over seven years from Atlanta, yet it's clear that money doesn't trump everything with him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be playing for peanuts as Russia's captain at the World Championships in Germany, risking injury and his summertime fortune.

Still, to expect him to take a pay cut from last year's $7.5 million is unrealistic. If he walks, general manager Lou Lamoriello's impulse buy with Anssi Salmela, costing Jersey Johnny Oduya, Niklas Bergfors, prospect Patrice Cormier and a first-rounder, will prove to have been in vain.

Parise, widely regarded as a future Devils captain, becomes unrestricted after he earns $5 million next season. Failure to extend Parise, which would likely be the case if they sign Kovalchuk, would open the issue of trading Parise as the most-desirable-ever rental at the deadline, regaining the future that was lost Feb. 4.

"I put Parise in the same sentence with [Alex] Ovechkin and [Sidney] Crosby," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren told The Post before the start of the playoffs, talking about him as a postseason opponent, but giving a clear indication of Parise's value.

It seems unlikely that Kovalchuk would sign for much less than $8 million a year, or Parise under $7 million per. If those conservative figures prove valid, the Devils would be devoting $29 million in cap space to left wings Kovalchuk, Parise, Patrik Elias ($6 million hit), Brian Rolston ($5 million) and shifted-out Dainius Zubrus ($3.4 million), half the foreseeable limit, just at one position.
[Read the whole article here]

This should get you in the mood for game 7

This is the band that played at the Winter Classic back on New Years Day. This should get you in the mood for tomorrow night's game. Dirty Water by the Standells is the song the Bruins will play tomorrow night after they win game seven.

Ok I am confused...

All right it wasn't that long ago that Barry Melrose said that the Bruins were the best team left in the Stanley Cup playoffs and now a few short days later mullet man says he likes the Flyers to take this series.

Bruins have a 50-50 chance...

I give the Boston Bruins have a 50/50 chance of winning the hockey game tomorrow night against the Broad Street Bulleys. Looking at the numbers the Bruins are 9-9 in game sevens.

WILMINGTON — The Bruins are about to play in their 19th Game 7 in team history on Friday night against the Flyers. It will be the 15th Game 7 on home ice and the second time they have been taken to a Game 7 after leading a series three games to none (1939 against the Rangers was the last time). It is the fourth time they have been taken to a Game 7 after holding a three games to one advantage (1939 Rangers, 1992 Sabres, 2004 Canadiens).

The Bruins hold a 9-9 record overall in Game 7s and are 9-5 at home. They are 2-2 when the game is decided in overtime, such as last season in the semifinals against Carolina. The Bruins have lost three straight Game 7s after winning their previous six and this will be the first time they face the Flyers in an ultimate game.

Coach Claude Julien is 1-2 lifetime in Game 7s while Flyers coach Peter Laviolette is 2-1. Julien’s lone win came over the Bruins when he was the coach of Montreal in 2004. Steve Begin (2-0), Mark Recchi (4-3) and Dennis Seidenberg (2-1) are the only Bruins players to have winning records in Game 7s while captain Zdeno Chara is 0-4

Winnipeg still 'ready, willing and able' (links)

Here is a really nice story that I found in today's Face off. I still think the NHL will end up in Winnipeg and ground work is being laid right now as we speak. There are too many NHL teams in places that aren't hockey markets bleeding money.

Still, few were willing to concede defeat following Glendale city council's decision to pay up to US$25- million to the NHL to run the team out of Jobing.comArena for another season, if a buyer for the struggling franchise is not secured by then. Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz said there was still a good chance the city would have a team in the next three years.

"There are still several markets in the NHL in the United States that are bleeding and I don't think they'll be able to stop the bleeding," he told reporters in Winnipeg yesterday. "It's important for us to be ready, willing and able when the time comes."

Rumours that the time has come have washed over the prairies in ebbs and flows ever since the Jets moved to Phoenix in 1996. This week, it was reported the NHL had a contingency schedule for next season that included Winnipeg.

Darren Ford, who runs JetsOwner.com,a website championing the Jets' return, said this week's smoke was as close as he has seen to fire. "I think we are very close. I still remain having a very good vibe," Ford said. "I know the moods remains positive and whether that means [a team will move to Winnipeg] for next season or not, I don't know. But there are so many other teams bleeding red ink, this could be the domino effect we've all been waiting for."

A source close to NHL officials told the National Post that the Coyotes would be moving to Winnipeg if an arena lease was not successfully negotiated with the city of Glendale.

Commissioner Gary Bettman, appearing on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada on Monday night to dispel some of the rumours surrounding the Coyotes soap opera, said the league has been in discussion with Winnipeg for some time
[Faceoff.com]

Links

The case for Winnipeg; [the Globe and Mail]

Watchdog on trail of money transfer to NHL; [the Globe and Mail]

Glendale follows one bad decision with another; [the Globe and Mail]

There's still a fighting chance Coyotes may yet wind up in 'Peg; [Winnipeg Free Press]

Clock's ticking on Coyotes; [Winnipeg Free Press]

Gary Bettman: Smarmy little toad [Click to listen to podcast]

Les Habitants win game 7 against Gary Bettman's Penguins

If you didn't watch the game last night here are the highlights. I wonder if Gary Bettman’s sphincter tightened today with the thought of his favorite team being eliminated last night by the Montreal Canadians.

While I get it, Sidney “Cindy” Crosby is the current face of the NHL and I understand that the NHL wants to squeeze all the money it can out of Crosby’s likeness most of us are tired of his crybaby antics and whining. Forgive us if we enjoy the Penguins demise today. Yeah, I know! My team is in the middle of a historic choke job but I am going to enjoy the moment.

The Claude Julien spin; the winner moves on...

Wow! That's profound, the winner moves on. As a Bruins fan I am not a happy camper this morning, the Bruins are very close to being the only the third team to lose a series after being up 3-0. I think if the Boston Bruins lose this series the GM and the head coach should be gone.

This team needs a shake up in a bad way, this team is stagnant and diseased. The Bruins are playing way too conservative and they need to get a lead in the next game or they are done, they have no answers for the Flyers if they get behind.

Last night’s the Bruins effort was putrid and unacceptable until the Hapless Bad News Bears decided to play the last two minutes of the third period. You can not win a hockey game when you don’t play for the first. Philly was good and they were on top of the Bruins all night, especially when they were killing a penalty.

This statement by Shawn Thornton disturbs me.

Said Shawn Thornton: “I’d much rather be going back to Boston for Game 7 than coming here. We’ll leave it all out there (tomorrow) night, and we’ll see what happens.”

The Bruins has three opportunites to end this series and failed. Now they want to leave it on the ice in game seven? Unacceptable.

Lots of passengers on the B's

Daniel Paille - 1 assist in the last 5 games. That's unacceptable, time to send Buffalo's first round bust to the wavier wire/unemployment line when the season is over.

Miroslav Satan - no points in three games, I would like to see his funny dance sometime soon again. All of a sudden the last three games is looking 35 and slow.

Blake Wheeler - hands of stone and worthless inside the slot, couldn’t score in a brothel. RFA in the off season, I would like to see if the Bruins can trade him for a first or second round draft choice that might actually play every game instead of disappearing for periods of time. Ironically Wheelers Plays just like he did when he was with the Gophers, has a good game and then is invisible the next four games. The last three games Wheeler is (0g-1a-1pts) and a minus -2. That is unacceptable.

Patrice Bergeron - the Bruins leading scorer has been held pointless in the last two games. For the Bruins to be successful Bergy has to be a leader and make plays.

Michael Ryder - has been unimpressive, invisible and brutal are the three words that I would use to explain his play. The Bruins couldn’t get a bag of game used pucks for him right now. Ryder has a paltry one goal in the last five games. Yeah! That's right! Ryder has been utterly worthless...

Pierre McGuire, NHL GM?

I bet most people didn’t know that Pierre McGuire was a college hockey coach? Also, nothing spells potential disaster more than hiring a person to a management position that was a failure has a coach (54 W - 70 L - 7 T). I think Pierre should stick to doing television for NBC and TSN.

I had thought that Minnesota’s flirtation with TV analyst Pierre McGuire for their top hockey job was an aberration, but apparently a second NHL franchise is considering him as a potential general manager. John Boruk, who covers the Flyers for CSN Philly, tweeted that according to a good source, McGuire has now interviewed twice for the vacant general manager position in Tampa Bay (g/t SBN).

McGuire is not totally without actual hockey experience; he was an assistant coach in the NCAA before jumping to a similar job with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He also briefly coached the Hartford Whalers before being fired midway through his first season in the job. From Hartford he moved on to Ottawa where he spent a couple of seasons. He got into broadcasting after an unsuccessful season coaching the ECHL’s Baton Rouge Kingfish. [the Score]

Glendale OKs Deal To Keep Hockey Team

I am beginning to wonder if the city of Winnipeg wasn't used a pawn to get the city of Glendale to cover the Coyotes losses up to 25 million dollars? We will see in the coming weeks where this is heading. Here is another interesting perspective on this matter from on Frozen Blog.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Glendale City Council unanimously agreed to cover up to $25 million in operating expenses for the Phoenix Coyotes during the 2010-11 season during its meeting Tuesday night.

Council members agreed to create user fees in their sports and entertainment district to cover the hockey team's costs.

The city will only instate the fees if the National Hockey League fails to find a new owner for the franchise by September.

The city said it is still negotiating with two potential owners for the hockey team.

Glendale and NHL officials said they were optimistic they would secure a new owner this summer.

If Glendale did not agree to cover the team's operating costs, NHL officials were considering moving the team back to Winnipeg, Canada.

Dozens of fans showed up to Tuesday's city council meeting to support the team

May 10th, 2010 Coach's Corner

Back by popular demand.

Check out this hit...

Vladimir Sobotka smokes Danny Briere, that was probably the hit of the series so far. There have been a couple of questionable hits on both ends of the ice so it's nice to see a nice legal stiff check for a change.

UND nickname supporters say issue not dead

This article was in yesterday's Minot Daily News. Looks like the petition in question was tabled just because Chairman Charles Murphy was not at the meeting due to a death in his family and the petition will be addressed at a later meeting.

FARGO (AP) - Supporters of the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname and logo continue to hold out hope for its survival, even as UND President Robert Kelley maps out plans to retire the moniker.

The North Dakota Board of Education has voted to scrap the nickname, after the Grand Forks school waged a four-year legal battle with the NCAA. An agreement with the governing body of college sports would allow UND to keep the logo if it gets approval from the state's two namesake tribes, Spirit Lake and Standing Rock.

Last year, 67 percent of the Spirit Lake Sioux tribal members who voted endorsed the nickname's continued use.

Higher education board president Richie Smith said if the Standing Rock tribe votes in favor of the nickname before the Nov. 30 deadline set in the NCAA settlement, the board would likely revisit the issue. The board earlier added a provision requiring the two tribes to sign 30-year agreements for use of the name.

''If we get those 30-year agreements, I think we have a deal,'' Smith said.

Tribal backers at Standing Rock have turned in petitions with 1,004 signatures asking the council to approve an election. Tom Iron, former tribal vice chairman and nickname supporter, said the issue was tabled at a recent council meeting because Chairman Charles Murphy was absent due to a death in the family.

''Mr. Murphy told us to hold off until he gets home and we'll take care of it,'' said Iron, who lives in McLaughlin, S.D. ''He's very much concerned about what the people want because they submitted a petition with more than a thousand signatures.''

Another nickname supporter, former Standing Rock council member Archie Fool Bear, said the debate will rage on until the tribe has a vote.

''I'm hoping this council sees the light and says, 'Hey, the people want a say on this issue. Let's give it to them,''' Fool Bear said. ''And get away from the constant day-after-day and year-after-year haggling over the same thing like it's that terrible.'' [Minot Daily News]

Savard put a bull’s eye on his back...

I think that Bruins Center Marc Savard has put the bull’s eye firmly on his back with his post game comments last night. Apparently the fans in Philly are not happy with Savard as well. In a way I do agree with Savard because the Flyers have been taking runs at him all series long, it has been blatantly obvious from the drop of the first puck during game one.

In game four during the second period Marc Savard had the puck behind the Flyers net, Mark Richards went hard at Savard but luckily he missed, I can’t even imagine what would have happened if Richards had connected? I do admit that the Begin hit on Giroux was unnecessary and some might say it was dirty. Rough play is part of hockey and there has been questionable hits on both ends of the ice during this series and I don’t think the Flyers have the high moral ground based on their tarnished reputation. The reffing in this series has been questionable at best. I do think this series is going to heat up even more in the next game.

Ice Edge out; True North silent

Here is another twist in the Phoenix Coyotes possibly relocating back to Winnipeg. This seems to be a fluid ever changing story.

Monday night's late-breaking news that Ice Edge Holdings has stepped away from its negotiations with the city of Glendale didn't change the no comment stance the organization has taken on the subject of the NHL returning to Winnipeg.

Don't be surprised, however, if phone discussions and meetings were keeping True North chairman Mark Chipman and his people busy after the news began emanating from Phoenix.

"Talks have broken off," Ice Edge Holdings chief operating officer Daryl Jones told the Free Press late Monday night. "We were adamant about needing exclusivity in these negotiations and they haven't provided it. I'm not totally surprised. We've been dealing with this for a while. We thought we had agreed to certain things and expected them in writing. That didn't materialize."

Ice Edge had been working with Glendale city council to draft a lease agreement that was agreeable to both parties. Once a lease was agreed upon, Ice Edge had hoped to buy the Coyotes from the NHL, which purchased the club out of bankruptcy last fall.

Glendale city council is still expected to vote on a request to satisfy a number of NHL demands, including one that would see the city put together a financial guarantee to cover any losses incurred by the Coyotes for the 2010-11 season if the NHL is forced to operate the team for a second season.

"No comment," was all True North Sports and Entertainment communications director Scott Brown had to say when reached Monday and asked about the latest developments in Phoenix.

Ice Edge stepping out of the deal will leave Glendale city council with the choice of agreeing to cover losses for next season while the NHL tries to find a new buyer or to refuse the option and likely see the Coyotes relocated to a new city.

The hockey world is waiting to see what unfolds as the NHL and the city of Glendale battle in an attempt to keep hockey in the desert. True North is sitting off to the side and watching with interest like a duck on a pond, all calm on the surface but paddling furiously below the waterline.

Should the Coyotes become available for relocation, the NHL and True North are in position to act fast and come to a quick agreement. A deal to purchase an NHL team usually takes months but Chipman and his team have been working alongside the NHL for some time and the majority of work on such a pact has been done. [Winnipeg Free Press]

Ice Edge breaks off talks to buy Coyotes

This is good news if you're hoping thast the Coyotes end up back in Winnipeg. The Coyotes have been a dismal failure in Phoenix and have lost a lot of money and should have never moved from Winnipeg in my opinion.

WINNIPEG — Ice Edge Holdings have walked away from the table in their bid to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes.

"Talks have broken off," Ice Edge chief operating office Daryl Jones told the Free Press late Monday night.

Glendale council meeting on Coyotes deal "We were adamant about needing exclusivity in these negotiations and they haven't provided it. I'm not totally surprised. We've been dealing with this for a while. We thought we had agreed to certain things and expected them in writing. That didn't materialize."

Ice Edge had been working with Glendale city council to draft a lease agreement that was amenable to both parties. Once a lease was agreed upon, Ice Edge had hoped to purchase the Coyotes from the NHL, who purchased the club out of bankruptcy last fall.

Glendale city council is still expected to vote on a request to satisfy a number of NHL demands, including one that would see the city put together a financial guarantee to cover any losses incurred by the Coyotes for the 2010-11 season if the NHL is forced to operate the team for a second season. [Winnipeg Free Press]

Melrose: Bruins are best team remaining

I am getting worried now and I don't know if I agree with Melrose, the Boston Bruins are a beat up team and are missing two of their top six forwards in David Krejci and Marco Sturm.

Flyers defenseman takes out his own goaltender.

This is how the Flyers goaltender Brian Boucher was hurt in tonight's game, he was run over by his own defenseman... The goal mouth is a high traffic area and I am surprised more goaltenders aren't hurt.

Carcillo out for game 5?

Fan favorite (yeah right) Daniel "the Hack" Carcillo is out for game five after getting smoked by Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk if I can find the video I will post it. LGM's boy Jon Kalinski could replace the Flyers hack Daniel Carcillo in the Flyers line up on Monday.

VOORHEES, N.J. -- Goalie Michael Leighton practiced Sunday here at SkateZone, the Flyers' suburban practice rink, as starter Brian Boucher's backup, but forward Danny Carcillo, who was injured in the Flyers'5-4 overtime victory Friday night, did not practice and may miss Game 5 Monday in Boston (7 p.m., VERSUS, TSN2).

The Flyers staved off elimination Friday night when Simon Gagne, who missed the previous four games with a broken foot, scored at 14:40 of overtime. The Flyers now trail the , 3-1.

If Carcillo, who sat on the bench for the third period and overtime, can't play, his likely replacement is Jon Kalinski, a left wing who can play center and who brings some grit. That's necessary when you're replacing a player nicknamed "Car Bomb."

Carcillo was rocked early in the first period by a check thrown by Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk, but played on through the final minutes of the second period.

Toews rides a wave of optimism back to Chicago

Here is a nice story about former Fighting Sioux star and Chicago Blackhawk Jonathan Toews that was in today's Vancouver Globe and Mail.

Jonathan Toews looks remarkably alert at this moment, minutes after emerging from the Chicago Blackhawks’ triumphant charter flight home. This is the blessing of youth - and a sharp contrast to bleary-eyed teammate Patrick Sharp, who took the first turn at the microphone at Signature Flight Support, near O’Hare airport, where the team’s charter from Vancouver landed late Saturday afternoon.

One day earlier, Toews drove a stake through the hearts of the Canucks’ playoff hopes with a brilliant five-point performance. This afternoon, Toews was explaining why the team cannot take anything for granted heading into Sunday’s fifth game, a possible elimination game with Chicago ahead 3-1 in the series. Toews said all the right things: The Blackhawks will take nothing for granted. The final game is always the most difficult to win. Etc. etc. There is a reason why teammate Patrick Kane calls Toews Mr. Serious. There is an uncommon gravitas about the Blackhawks' young captain that seems oddly out of step with his age, 22.

But it doesn't take away from this stark reality: That for the second season in a row, the Blackhawks’ emerging young nucleus of players is outperforming its opposite numbers with the Canucks. Toews and Kane have done a better job of both leading and marshaling their troops than the Sedins have done on the other side; and as coach Alain Vigneault so memorably put it the other night, Roberto Luongo has been the second best goaltender in this series. Ouch.

Toews suggested Saturday that points on the score sheet seem to fascinate everyone, but it isn’t always indicative of how someone’s playing. Fair enough - although in the last three games, as he took over the playoff scoring lead, the points have been hard to ignore, 17 in all in his last seven games; 18 in 11 games at GM Place, counting the Olympics. A pretty impressive run here.

“Some nights, you’re not going to play your best and everything kinda goes in for you,” said Toews. “Obviously, (Friday) night was one of those nights where you’re around the net and everything seems to find you. Pucks are coming to you, and you get lucky. [Read the rest of the story]

Bruins let one slip away. Game 5 tomorrow in Boston

The Bruins went down 3-1 before they tied the game again only to go down 4-3 again before tying the game in the waning moments of the third period. I don’t think it’s unfair to say that the Bruins were on their heels for most of the game and gave up too many untimely goals.

Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask was solid and kept the Bruins in the game and because of his play almost pulled out the series sweep. The Boston Bruins got a power play on a boarding call that would have been a much harsher penalty if it hadn't transpired during the overtime period during the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Flyers were taking runs at Marc Savard and Mike Richards tried to run Savard in the Bruins end during the first period only to miss/whiff.

Lost Legend; Car crash cut short career of Flames' next big star...

Stick tap to Moose Richards. Almost 25 years ago Bemidji High School classmates lost a good friend, an awesome teammate, a great guy. George was three sport Letterman in Hockey, Football and Baseball, he was very good at all three sports, probably could have played division one in all of them. I had the pleasure of playing football with Big George in 1985 at Bemidji High School, when our football team won the conference title. Tom Cochrane and Red Rider from the album Victory Day dedicated the song the Big Leagues to George.

Summer of 1986: I was stationed in Stuttgart Germany and I remember getting a letter from an old friend Sean Sace who informed me that Big George had been killed in a car accident. My father sent me the Hockey News magazine in the mail that covered George's funeral. George's funeral made the front page of the hockey news. It was a tragic ending to young life. [Link to a tribute to big George]

Since they’ve been asked to pose at their son’s gravesite, they pose.

Four pucks neatly lined up on the headstone don’t surprise the parents. Happens all the time. They cannot explain how pucks get there. They just appear.

“Kids. Friends,” says Winnie, shrugging.

Restless, the Pelawas pick at the sap on the headstone. The camera clicks.


George Dale Pelawa, six foot three and 245 pounds, had been approaching Paul Bunyan’s dimensions, literally and figuratively. The broad-shouldered teen was threatening the mythical lumberjack’s poster-boy status in these parts.

But the burgeoning

legend, a three-sport

standout, died in a car crash, Aug. 30, 1986.

“Many think of the wasted career, but he’s been our shining star for years,” Lyman Brink, assistant coach at Bemidji High School, said a week after the accident. “We now have to think of his wonderful past.”

First, though, came grief for a future flattened.

Fans in Minnesota mourned — George had been named Mr. Hockey as the best high-school player in the state.

Fans in North Dakota mourned — George had accepted a scholarship to the UND, which was loading up for a national-title run.

Fans in Calgary mourned — George had been selected by the Flames in the first round of the National Hockey League draft.

But there is no mourning like a family’s.

“It was a long time ago, pretty near a quarter-century,” says Frank, wiping his eyes, “but still . . . .”


When a stranger phoned on a spring-day afternoon, the Pelawas had listened patiently to the rambling request.

Boiled down — would they be willing to talk about their dead boy?

They were more than willing, as it turns out, but barely able. The collision that ripped the artery off George’s heart had irreparably crushed theirs.

“It’s like yesterday in many ways,” says Winnie. “If somebody has a disease or something, you’re prepared. But when it’s sudden like that. . . . Your children aren’t supposed to go before you.”

If the topic is so painful, so wrenching, why extend the invitation into their home?

Simple.

Because they want people to remember George, their George.

When Flames prospect Mickey Renaud died suddenly of a heart condition eight months after the 2007 NHL draft, the Pelawa story got retold. Similarities between the barrel-chested forwards — bright futures, sudden ends — were jarring.

But, given the passage of time, many in Calgary had been unaware of the 1986 tragedy.

Frank understands.

“It rolls over so much, you know, one year turns into . . . ” he starts, before succumbing to tears and, for not the only time, leaving the kitchen table to grab a breather in the living room.

Whispers Winnie: “Since the stroke, Frank gets so emotional.”

Which becomes the day’s rhythm — reporter apologizing for the intrusion, parents apologizing for the sorrow.

It makes for frequent pauses, with only the coffee pot’s gurgles filling the silence. Told numerous times the interview can be delayed, Winnie and Frank shake their heads.

They’re dedicated to this cause — a tribute for their son. So they answer all questions.

They keep alive the George Pelawa Memorial Scholarship. The Flames honoured their 20-year commitment to the award, but that ended in 2007. Since then the parents have quietly and happily shelled out $1,000 for the annual prize.

“Calgary carried it . . . which is very nice,” says Winnie. “When that quit, we picked it up, continued it. We never thought much about it, then, all of a sudden, the 20 years were up. So we just decided to carry it through.”

But that’s a lot of money, isn’t it?

“Well, it’s worth it,” she insists, despite the couple’s modest income — Frank, 67, is a retired mechanic; Winnie, 61, works for Beltrami County Public Health. “Till we die or we can’t afford it . . . we’ll keep it going.”

This came as news to Flames president Ken King, who says the team plans to revisit the legacy program “based on what we now understand to be the current situation. We’ve talked to the people down there and we think there’s something we can do.”

Meanwhile, George’s childhood chums — determined not to let the parents foot the bill — have begun raising funds.

“Maybe in 20 years,” says Keith Dahl, “there’ll be a whole new group that’s heard of him . . . if you keep the scholarship going.”
[Read more]

Two Sioux may Bolt for Major Juniors (Redwing77)

Early Reports are filtering in that two Sioux players will be leaving UND to play Canadian Major Juniors.

The first one is New York Islander draftee David Toews. The second? Buffalo draftee Corey Fienhage.

To me, this is always a sad event even if it is justifiable.

David Toews never quite grew into being the type of player UND fans thought he'd become. However, that's not truly fair. It was no secret that David wasn't his older brother. It was also no secret that David plays a different style of game than Jonny. David still has some great skills, such as a good shot and stick handling, but couldn't crack the lineup. With the talent coming in, it would make it even more difficult for him to make the lineup. So, he's opting to the major juniors.

Brad Schlossman ponders whether or not he'll go to the WHL or the QMJHL. I, for one, hopes he goes to Brandon of the WHL, the team that drafted him in 2005. I hope the Q whithers and dies... ok, maybe not... well... I hope the trifecta of evil do anyways (Moncton of the QMJHL, London of the OHL, and Red Deer of the WHL). I think it just makes sense for David to play for a team close to home. [Link to the Grand Forks Herald Story]

Corey Fienhage is truly a hard luck case. He comes in early, gets railed by the fans (just like just about every defenseman who has come in young... Lee, Smaby, Finley are just a few like Corey). He never quite plays poorly. In fact, he played really well last season until inexplicably he gets benched in favor of Brent Davidson, a winger converted to D earlier that year.

How does that happen? Something must be going on in practice of off the ice, though I have no proof. There's no reports of attitude but there has been grumblings about work ethic.

It's too bad. I like Fienhage. I think he's a good, solid, defensive defenseman that has good size.

It's always tough to lose good guys but with only 2 seniors leaving, there's not a whole lot of playing time to be had.

Who will come in to replace them?

Well, in my opinion, I think no one should. We have an abundance of wingers and D now that Genoway is returning.

I've read that we have abotu 14 or 15 wingers (including Derek Rodwell) and 8 or 9 defensemen (including Forbort and Simpson).

If we did bring in one last winger, my choice would be Fargo Force forward Colton St. Clair. I would have thought Danny Mattson would be the guy but he's seemingly pulled a Mike Fink on us and has seemed to regress once leaving Minnesota High School.

I don't pretend to know how this is all going to work out, but in Hakstol I trust.

An End of the Year for the Red Wings (RW77)

Ok, it's no surprise to any of the Goon's World regulars that I represent one (if not the only) Red Wings fan on this Blog, but I'm going to lament the good and the bad and ponder the offseason for my Wings in this post.

I admit this is about where I picked the Red Wings to exit the playoffs. I just wished it was in Game 7.

This team went through a ton of ups and downs and, insodoing, came a long way towards establishing a new (but still old) identity.

Last year it was the Penguins that endured a ton of injuries and prevailed. The media was all over the excuse when the Pens lost too. If Gonchar were healthy... if Malkin and Crosby were 100%... etc. This year, the Red Wings lost a TON of players to injury. In my opinion, far more talent was lost this year by the Red Wings to injury than to the Penguins last season.

However, unlike the Penguins, the added implosion of Chris Osgood and the underperformance of the Team D (partially because of Osgood) proved too much in the end.

They were jokes for much of the season, flirting with the final playoff spot but never quite being serious about getting it until very late in the season. Despite the punch line, this competitiveness is remarkable because they lost so much talent to injury and those that remained underperformed. I would have placed them fading into oblivion if I hadn't known better. That doesn't mean I didn't have any doubt about the playoffs. On the contrary, for much of the year, I had the Red Wings placing 9th, only a few points out of the 8th spot.

When the Wings came on strong and managed to finish 5th or 6th (for some reason I can't remember exactly), I was impressed. They were playing awesome hockey. And Jimmy Howard was doing Detroit and the NCAA alumni proud with his play.

In the end the Sharks were just too good for the Red Wings. I think it comes down to depth. I just see the Sharks as being the team with more depth right now than Detroit. They were able to use that depth to their advantage in this series.

So what does this offseason have in store for Detroit?

Here is a list of pending Detroit Free Agents:

Jason Williams (Center)
Tomas Holmstrom (Wing)
Kirk Maltby (Wing)
Todd Bertuzzi (Wing)
Nick Lidstrom (Defense)
Andreas Lilja (Defense)
Brett Lebda (Defense)

Rumors have it that Kirk Maltby is going to retire. I really don't see Williams or Bertuzzi being a big "must sign" either. The big question marks lie in Holmstrom and Lidstrom.

I think the Wings need Holmstrom's grit and knack for getting under the skin of the opposition. He's mouthy, a punk for sure, but at least he's not cheap like Carcillo or Cooke. Lilja and Lebda could probably be resigned for cheap...or they could go in a different direction.

What I WOULD like to see is we replace Williams with someone like John Madden. I know that is replacing what is considered a scoring center with a gritty checking center, but Madden is superb on faceoffs and great defensively and not bad in the offensive zone. However, he is expensive and he's 37 years old. If the Wings wanted to replace him with a scoring winger, I'd expect them to go after someone like Tomas Plekanec or Matthew Lombardi (if they have the money).

In truth, I'm not sure which direction they are going to go because I'm not the guy who understands the whole salary cap and math side of putting a team together. So I listed 3 high priced guys without knowing if the Wings could even sign any of them under the cap.

One thing I did notice is that Osgood is NOT a free agent. I assumed he was. Unfortunately, that means one of two things:

1. Hope he retires
2. Hope Detroit finds a way to buy him out

The guy just can't play anymore. And I'd rather not spend Osgood's salary on a backup... at least I wouldn't if I were the GM.

Instead, I'd like to bring in someone like Michael Leighton or a long shot like Dany Sabourin because they are relatively young, cheap, and in the case of Leighton, had a pretty decent season. Leighton, to me, screams Ty Conklin. And IMO, Conklin should still be backing up in Detroit.

Who knows which direction the Wings will go? But I do know that next year they'll still be a top contender.

Coyotes saga paints a poor picture of league

This is a follow up story to the blog post that I posted earlier today. More of the unfolding drama. I do have to agree with the author of this tory this does make the NHL look a little silly. Also, there seems to be something to the story that David Thomson and Mark Chipman of True North Sports and Entertainment Ltd. are leading a group to move to the Coyotes back to Winnipeg.

And while espn.com reported the city and Ice Edge had agreed on a new lease agreement that would keep the team in the desert through next year, at least, the agreement on covering operating losses still needs to be debated by Glendale city council. Still, Winnipeg seems to be back on the back burner, for now. The Reinsdorf deal, meanwhile, was always a joke; it required the creation of a special taxation zone that would convey to the gracious saviour of the team approximately US$65-million over the next three years to put towards the purchase price, and another US$100-million over seven years to cover operating losses.

Not only that, but it included control of the arena, the right to leave after five years, and a guarantee that Reinsdorf would get US$103-million back in any sale of the team. It was not a credible business arrangement; it was a charity.


And that is where this league was going. In its final attempt to keep a team in a non-traditional market -- or at least, in the display of something resembling an attempt --the NHL seems to have been reduced to proposing municipal blackmail.

Thus the best-case scenario for the Coyotes to stay in the desert is that the business receives publicly funded indemnification against losses. If only the auto industry had been smart enough to write that into their deals with the state of Michigan. Then again, it worked for much of Wall Street.

So what does this tell the next canary in the NHL's overexpanded, misaligned coal mine? What does this tell to the owners and city councils entangled with teams like Atlanta, Nashville, Columbus, Florida -- located outside Miami -- or the New York Islanders, the last of whom are currently fighting for a new building that may never come?

What it says is that if you are a Jerry Moyes, the league will sell you down the river once the money runs out, and if you are a Glendale, you will be held hostage. Oh, and if you want to move a team into the Toronto area you're out of luck, because that's being saved for expansion. Hell of a way to do business. Step right up and own a team, folks.

But we Canadians won't care about how it looks; if Winnipeg is ever finally made whole, hockey-wise, the elation will steamroll any worries about precedent, or that the building is too small, or what happens should the loonie dip back to 65 cents U.S. And as long as Mr. Thomson and his partners agree to absorb any financial losses in private, then all that's fine. [Read the whole story]