Creative contracts.

Here is an interesting take on way of working players salaries in under the cap. The Bruins might have to do this to keep two of their young guns David Krejci and Phil Kessel. Both players are going to get fat contracts after having great seasons.

The Boston Bruins meanwhile are a team which has over $47 million committed to next season’s payroll but have two quality forwards in Phil Kessel and David Krejci set to become restricted free agents.

If both seek raises over $4 million per season – and given their performances this season it would be reasonable to expect they will– retaining Kessel and Krejci could put a serious squeeze on the Bruins remaining cap space next season.

The front-loaded contract would address that problem. The Bruins could re-sign these two to affordable salaries, lock up both well beyond their eligibility age for unrestricted free agency and provide the Bruins with a more affordable cap hit next season.

Of course lengthy deals do come with risk. The player might no longer be an effective performer by the tail end of the deal, or certainly not one worth the cap space he’ll be eating up by that time.
(read the rest of the article)

Sean Avery a scratch tonight.

Here is what is really funny John Tortorella benches Sean Avery to send him a messagne and the Capitals score two goals in the first period and another one in the second period so far. Yeah how is that working for you Torts?

In yet another sign that John Tortorella is in total charge, the Rangers head coach scratched Sean Avery, a game after his two egregious third-period penalties almost cost the Rangers dearly in Game 5. Aaron Voros is in, not sure of the lines yet, expect Voros to play on the fourth... Avery had dressed in all 22 games---including the four playoff games---since being summoned from Hartford in early March, but apparently Tortorella lost his patience.
(from the Blue notes)

Is Saku Koivu going to be a Wild?

One of the things we kept hearing this season was the speculation that Saku Koivu might want to be a member of the Minnesota Wild joining his brother Mikko. From reading his comment it sounds like Saku wants to remain a member of the Habs. My next question is; do the Wild need another third line forward that is past his prime?

Koivu said if his vision of the future meshed with that of the team, he expected to have a deal, ideally for two of three seasons, before he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He added that if there’s no deal before the deadline, he will probably be playing elsewhere next season.

When Koivu was asked if joining his younger brother, Mikko, in Minnesota was an option, he said: “It would be amazing in one way to play with him on the same team. But on the other hand, he’s at the point where he has his own career. He’s making a name for himself and in some ways, it’s easier for him and I’d like to keep it that way. But it’s tempting to think about playing on the same NHL team with him and having some success.”
(Read the Whole Article here)

Who do the Bruins want next?

Here are the Bruin's records against team they could face in the next round. The Bruins have had good luck against all teams they could face in the second round. It would be fun to see Lucic beating up on Sean "Sloppy Seconds" Avery if he hasn't been banished to the press box by the time the second round comes around. If the Bruins face off against the Flyers it would bring the Patrice Bergeron against Randy Jones matchup.

Bruins vs. Rangers (2-1-1)
Bruins vs. Hurricanes (4-0-0)
Bruins vs. Penguins (2-1-1)
Bruins vs. Flyers (2-1-1)

Don Cherry on Avery.

This was posted over on KuklasKorner.com Don Cherry was less than impressed after last night's game. You have to wonder if Sloppy Seconds is running out of rope to hang himself. What is the point of playing Avery if he keeps taking really stupid penalties. Why not play within the rules Avery? Running people and chopping them in the face is bush league. I guess you can't get a leopard to change his spots eh?

Oshie and Backes to the Worlds

Nice to see a couple of former WCHA players get to play for their country at the World Championships. Now that the St Louis Blues have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs Backes and Oshie will give the USA some more offense. Oshie and Backes will join former WCHA stars, Keith Ballard Minnesota, Matt Niskanen UMD, Ryan Suter Wisconsin, Jason Blake UND, Kyle Okposo Minnesota, Drew Stafford UND, Colin Stuart, Colorado College.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- St. Louis Blues forwards David Backes and T.J. Oshie have been added to the 2009 U.S. Men's National Team roster for the 2009 World Championships.

Team USA will compete in the tournament in Berne and Zurich-Kloten, Switzerland April 24-May 10.

Backes posted career highs in points (54), goals (31), assists (23), power-play goals (6), shorthanded goals (2) and shots (208) in 82 games for the Blues this season. Backes also added 1 goal and 2 assists in four playoff games.

Backes is making his third consecutive IIHF Men's World Championship appearance, having played in the tournament in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, he tallied one assist in six games, while he notched three points (1-2) in seven games in 2007.

Oshie skated in 57 regular-season games with the Blues during his rookie season. His 39 points (14-25) ranked ninth among all NHL rookies and he finished third among rookies in points per game. Additionally, Oshie skated in all four Blues playoff games.

Oshie will be making his first IIHF Men's World Championship appearance. Oshie previously represented the U.S. at the 2006 IIHF World Junior Championship, scoring one goal in seven games.

Team USA will begin play in the 2009 IIHF Men's World Championship Saturday (April 25) at 10:15 a.m. EDT against Latvia. The United States will play two additional preliminary-round games against Austria (April 27) and Sweden (April 29) before the qualification round begins.

Wild Banged up

Check the list of walking wounded for the Minnesota Wild seems like most of them will be rehabing injuires for a good part of the summer. They will be lucky to field a full team next fall. You have to wonder if the push to make the playoffs took a big toll on the Wild. I don't know how they could have competed if they had made the playoffs.

Look at this rehab list as of now:

Niklas Backstrom — out four to six months following hip surgery Friday

Brent Burns — post-concussion syndrome and shoulder surgery Thursday that will require four months to heal.

Andrew Brunette — reconstructive knee surgery, out four to six months

Derek Boogaard — shoulder surgery Tuesday, out two months

Pierre-Marc Bouchard — concussion

(the way the B’s are dropping, Marc-Andre Bergeron better be careful walking across the street)

Nick Schultz — concussion

Tyler Cuma — still recovering from knee surgery

Oops, forgot Dan Fritsche - broken collarbone

Oh, and I forgot a fairly major one: Mikko Koivu — sprained knee
(Read Mike Russo's whole blog post here)

A couple of Ivy League Alum drop the mitts.

This was the best fight that I have seen during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Doug Murray is from Cornell and George Parros is a Princeton grad. Who says the Ivy League players can't fight? When the playoffs begin you see less fight and more of the unnecessary crap like face washes and stick work.

Komisarek and Lucic.

You would think after a while that Michael Komisarek would get tired of getting his ass kicked by Milan Lucic. Since Komisarek is done for the season I don't expect him to get a suspension for breaking a stick over Lucic's face.

Was Kessel offsides?

Phil Kessel scored his fourth goal of the series as the Boston Bruins buried the Montreal Canadians finishing the sweep. This is the first time since 1998-1999 season that the Bruins have advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. So it was nice after 10 years to see the Habs get closed out in (4) four games.

It appears that on the third Bruin goal Phil Kessel was offsides when he crossed the blue line. Seriously, it wouldn't have mattered because after the Habs scored the first goal the Bruins scored four unanswered goals.

Wheeler is not a Calder Trophy candidate.

Ironically Blake Wheeler (21-24-45) was beat out by Chicago's Kris Versteeg who was a Bruins prospect until the Bruins traded him to Chicago for former Fighting Sioux star Brandon Bochenski. I also wonder if the Bruin's GM would regret that move or not?

Blake Wheeler was not among the three finalists announced today for the Calder Trophy as the league's Rookie of the Year. The three finalists are Anaheim's Bobby Ryan (36-31-67), Chicago's Kris Versteeg (22-31-53), and Columbus's Steve Mason (Record 33-20-7 GAA 2.29 Sv%.916).

Wheeler (21 goals) got off to a hot start, but his stick cooled off in the second half. Mason is considered the favorite to win the award.

Wheeler could still make the All-Rookie Team and receive a $212,500 bonus.

GF Herald Employee Says Wearing Sioux Logo Like Being in Blackface

Goon invited me to post here now and then. Usually I blog politics at SayAnythingblog.com. While that's a strong political blog, it doesn't necessarily get to many UND athletics or hockey fans.

Thanks for the invite. Here's my first post on Goon's excellent hockey blog.



I wish the opposition, like Grand Forks Herald employee Tu Uyen Tran, would realize they lost the racism angle when they lost yesterday's vote.

There were tons of people [tribe members] wearing Fighting Sioux gear, too, which impressed me. I tried to envision what nickname opponents must think seeing that and it would be like a black man in blackface.

Give up the whole you know better than us meme. You don't. You ignored the UND commissioned survey that showed strong support for the name. You ignored the Sports Illustrated poll that showed the same thing.

Now, after smearing someone who's been so generous to the community who's no longer around to defend themselves this guy is smearing everyone (and it's a lot of people) who proudly wear the Fighting Sioux logo.

To address the issue, no it's nothing like blackface. We wear the Sioux logo with pride. The blackface was meant to belittle and demean black people. It's not that hard to understand.

Time will tell if the majority on the reservation and in the community get their way. However it's time the Herald and the other self appointed elites drop the whole racist meme.

Video of Ryan Bayda's goal.

Former Sioux and current Carolina Hurrican Ryan Bayda doesn't score a lot of goals playing for the Huricanes on the fourth line but this is a pretty goal. Make that Bayda's second goal of the series against the Devils.

Strong support for Fighting Sioux name at Spirit Lake .

Well that is kind of how I expected the vote to go today. It also kind of reaffirms the Sports Illustrated poll that came out a few years back that the anti-logo people tried to shoot holes in. I am now hoping that the Standing Rock Tribal council will let their members be allowed to have a vote on Fighting Sioux name. Of course the anti-Fighting Sioux logo people will continue to fight but they were handed an pretty resounding defeat tonight. It will be interesting to see how the anti-logo people spin this. This also doesn't mean anything if the Standing Rock Tribe is not allowed to vote by Ron His Horse Thunder. Then in essence we are still back at at square one with the NCAA and Myles Brand breathing down UND's neck.

Spirit Lake voters overwhelmingly support UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname
By: Tu-Uyen Tran ---- Grand Forks Herald

The Herald is still trying to verify the results with election judges. But nickname supporter Eunice Davidson said her source at the ballot counting site said the unofficial results are 774 “yes” and 378 “no,” giving the nickname 67 percent of the vote.

Nickname opponents had portrayed the issue as a battle against racism, but voters simply did not see it that way. Some said they had heard what opponents had to say and it did not sway them.

UND needs the blessings of the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes to keep the nickname as part of its settlement with the NCAA, which opposes Indian mascots.

Nickname supporters in Standing Rock are working to get that tribe to support the nickname, too, but the Tribal Council has resisted a referendum.

A Spirit Lake nickname opponent, Terry Morgan, said his group will continue to fight the nickname, but he’s not sure how yet

Jeremy Morin to the OHL.

From the World of Junior Hockey Blog. This is what most were saying in the first place so now we can get back to our regularly scheduled programing. It had been mentioed that Morin was looking at going the NCAA route (UND and BU) but he had OHL written all over him.

Press Release

Fresh off of winning a Gold Medal at the 2009 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Fargo, North Dakota, Jeremy Morin has signed an Ontario Hockey League contract with the Kitchener Rangers.

Morin led team U.S.A. with six goals in seven games, placing him tied for fourth in over-all tournament scoring.

At six-foot-one and 192 pounds, Jeremy is a right-shot left winger who has played the last two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Burish, "I hope to have a beer with him after the season."

I suppose if Burish breaks anymore sticks over his buddies upper body their friendship might be in jeopardy. LOL. This next game is going to get rough and this is what makes the playoffs exciting and fun to watch. I also want to know why Burish doesn't get suspended but Lucic does? Seems to be a little inconsistency here. To break a stick Burish had to hit him pretty damn hard.

The status of Bourque, whose name just kept popping up Tuesday, may be gamesmanship on the part of Keenan, who said the winger from Lac La Biche, Alta., was "day to day to day as a result of the incident last night."

The Flames head coach insisted Monday that Burish injured Bourque with a "blatant" cross-check to the face, although replays showed the stick broke over Bourque's chest and shoulder. Bourque was not made available to the media Tuesday to clarify his status.

"I don't think I crossed the line," Burish said. "I did what needed to be done. It's playoff hockey. It's the same reason they're hitting our guys and they come at me and the same reason I'm going at them.

"Mike Keenan called it a cross-check to the head. It wasn't too close to the head. I think he was wrong."

Burish and Bourque were Blackhawks teammates last year before Bourque's trade to Calgary. They also played together at Wisconsin.

"I'm still going to hopefully have a beer with him after the season is done, but he's not my friend on the ice," Burish said.
(Read the whole article here)

Gainey to Habs fans to stop booing the US anthem.

I am not sure why the Hab's fans feel the need to boo the American Anthem, I don't see a logical reason to do this. If anything it lacks class and is uncalled for. The same crap happened last year during the Flyers and Habs series. Hey Habs fans have some class stop booing the United States National Anthem.

BROSSARD, Quebec (AP)—Bob Gainey is asking Montreal Canadiens fans to stop booing the United States national anthem.

Just because the hometown team is on the verge of being swept out of the Eastern Conference playoffs by the Boston Bruins, fans shouldn’t take out their frustration on their neighbor to the south.

Gainey, the coach and general manager of the struggling Canadiens, urged those who booed Monday during “The Star Spangled Banner” before Game 3 to find other ways to voice their support for Montreal.

“I feel like there’s a confusion there with our fans,” Gainey said Tuesday. “They feel like booing the anthem is supporting our team, in that the anthem represents the Boston team.

“And I think if they could separate those two things, then we could respect the anthem of the United States of America and they could still participate loudly in whatever way they want to disrupt the Bruins.”

Many fans booed the U.S. anthem at the Bell Centre on Monday night, even though others tried to drown them out with chants of “Go Habs Go.”

Similar booing has been heard during the playoffs in recent years. In the past, the Canadiens responded with a taped appeal on the scoreboard from Hall of Famer Jean Beliveau, asking fans to respect the anthems of the U.S. and Canada. That curtailed the booing somewhat at subsequent games.

Burish cross check on Bourque

Props to Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy for the video. I watched this transpire at the end of last night's game. It was interesting to see two former Wisconsin Badgers getting after it as they had dropped proverbial gloves and were ready to go. The only thing stopping the fight was the ref stepped in and broke up the fight. If I was the Chicago coach I would have sent Burish out as well. That's hockey.

Adam Burish and Rene Bourque were actually team mates at Wisconsin as well at Chicago last season.

The league will probably look at this to determine if there should be a suspension or not. In my opinion I don't believe one is warranted, come on hockey is a physical sport.

Sean Avery punches Simeon Varlamov

I am so glad that Sean Avery is back in the NHL it gives us something to talk about and he is quite entertaining to watch. I guess you could also say that Sean "sloppy seconds" Avery is up to his old tricks again taking an impressive 4 minors and a ten minute misconduct.

The more entertaining fact is Avery is talking smack to a person that speak no english at all.

Bruins put Habs on the brink.

Nothing would be more pleasing to me than to see the Boston Bruins beat/eliminate the Montreal Canadiens in their 100th year of existence. For the Boston Bruins Phil Kessel remains hot against the Habs as he got his third goal of the series and his seventh goal in 5 games against the Hab's. Actually make that ten point in his last five games against Les Habs.

Now it's a matter of how many games it takes the Bruins to close out the Habs. This season the Bruins have owned the Hab's going 8-0-1 losing one game in a shootout.