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]