Game Misconduct

Thrashers to Jets

2011-07-13T07:19:00.000-07:00

An NHL franchise in a non-traditional hockey market faced financial troubles and was moved. No, not the Coyotes. They're still a mess. And they might be the Seattle Coyotes real soon....or something.
The Atlanta Thrashers had a poor drawing for much of their time in the NHL. In fact they're average attendance figures not only never cracked the top 10, they never cracked the bottom 10. (http://espn.go.com/nhl/attendance). When you're first year is as bad (14-57-12) as that awful inaugural Ottawa Senators season, it doesn't generate a whole lot of excitement. And from their doomed first season the team never really caught on. I'm sure there are some die-hard Thrashers fans that are sitting in bars drinking and crying, but not enough of them were crying AT the games.
Regardless of the standings the team had tragedy on their hands early on when Dany Heatley crashed that car that killed up and coming star Dan Snyder. Then Heatley was dealt to Ottawa and the Thrashers got Marian Hossa. Then Hossa left. And Kovalchuk left. And Konowalchuk retired and they were left with no under rated genuine superstar for the last 2 years. Their best goaltender ever might have been super journeyman Johan Hedburg. How sad is that?
And so the team is relocating like a thief in the night. There was about 3 months of Tom Glavine clamoring for a new ownership group to keep the team in Atlanta and then *POOF* there were the Jets in Winnipeg. The saga of the Phoenix Coyotes tricked us all into thinking there would be years of drama and money problems before any team would leave, and that lulled us all into believing that there was no immediacy in relocations. And now? No one is sure what the freaking hold up in Phoenix is.
I'm all for the overall health of the NHL. I would like to see all 30 teams with a rabid and healthy fanbase, because watching games in empty barns is depressing. I'm all for there being a Winnipeg Jets again. I'm just not sure how I feel about the Atlanta Thrashers becoming the Winnipeg Jets or as they're being called up there the Jets 2.0.
But what exactly will the Jets 2.0 be? Will they be the same sad sack sorry team the Thrashers were? Will they be the same sad sack team the Jets 1.0 were? Will any of that matter in Canada?

I'm left with a lot of questions I just can not answer such as: Will the new Jets be worth a shit or just another Edmonton Oilers? Will the fans show up even though the Jets might suck? Will Atlanta ever get another team? Will that team also be the Thrashers? How long will we have to wait to buy bargain basement Thrashers sweaters?
But here's the real important question: Can True North navigate a mediocre at best team into the new era of the NHL and lead them to victory?

I feel bad for Atlanta hockey fans just as I felt bad for Minnesota hockey fans when the North Stars left. Which reminds me: How healthy is the future for the Dallas Stars?

With franchises uprooting so easily it begs the question of how safe is any team in financial trouble? Will we see Columbus, Phoenix, Dallas, Florida, or even Edmonton moving in the next five years? What does that do to the overall landscape of the NHL?

What's left?

2011-07-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

From Stan Bowman's super secret to-do list:

1.Dump Campbell's retarded contract
2. Pick the most NHL ready looking player in the draft
3. Get rid of Troy Brouwer
4. Get bigger Blackhawks to fill roster
5. Sign "WTF!?!?!?" player
6. Crank call Dale Tallon and ask if he's interested in Toews before giggling and hanging up
7. Let Flyers in on Bobby Clarke's secretly Paul Holmgren joke. (maybe wait until November?)
8. Call Detroit and ask them if Rafalski will be logging all of that ice time again this year
9. Call St Louis and remind them to dry clean their Stanley Cup banners for opening day. Act surprised when they say they don't have any.
10. Call Nashville and ask them if they still have Peter Forsberg or any of the mess he made of their future.
11. Rest on Laurels.
12. Rest on Hardies.
13. Call Doug Wilson and ask him if he seriously just traded a DUI for an IR. Act shocked.
14. Talk to dad. Pretend to listen to story about the year they got screwed by the refs and lost to Philly. Remind him your team got screwed by the refs AND BEAT Philly and won a Cup.
15. Call Brian Burke ask him how excited he was to get Brad Richards. Tell him you didn't know that. You were accidentally out of the country on free agent day.
16. Call Paul Holmgren and ask if he wants to unload any more proven talent for a handful of bullshit and promises.
17. Announce Claude Giroux trade.
18. Send obscenely ridiculous offer sheet to Stankos just to fuck with Stevie Y.
19. Call city of Glendale just to make sure as sure can be that the Coyotes will be playing there before buying plain tickets.
20. Tell Eddie O. his game analysis skills have been traded to Winnipeg. Post his breakdown on YouTube.
21. Call Montreal and demand Price and Kostitsyn while screaming in German.
22. Call Minnesota and ask if they'd be willing to throw in some hotdish on that Johnsson for Barker trade. If they say no beg for Juicy Lucy.
23. Remind Brunette he'll have to play in April and May now. Assure him that there is in fact hockey in April and May.
24. Call Kevin Lowe ask him who he's going to draft #1 overall next summer.
25. Call George McPhee tell him you understand cap crunch. Tell him if it would help them out would be willing to take Ovechkin off their hands.
26. Call Ottawa just to chat about Alexander Daigle's progress. Try not to snicker too much.
27. Thank Lou Lamoriello for making that contract you gave Campbell not look as ridiculous last Summer.
28. See if Colorado would be interested in Cristobel Huet.
29. Introduce new bargaining chip Semyon Varlamov.
30. Trade Varlamov.
31. Tell Sather it's really too bad they just let Drury go, because you would have given him a 1st round draft pick in trade.
32. Call Detroit. Tell them bullshit.

What the F@c* are the Flyers doing?!?!?!

2011-07-05T18:21:00.001-07:00

I think everyone remembers Bobby Clarke being a terrible General Manager for the Flyers. The only thing he did that wasn't complete garbage was raping the Nashville Predators with Forsberg.
But watching the Flyers maneuver around doing whatever it is that Holmgren is trying to accomplish is reminiscent of the Bobby Clarke era.
More or less the team has been gutted. With Carter, Richards, Leino, and to a much smaller extant Versteeg all getting the gate; over 25% of their goal scoring got the boot. Their replacements? A prospect, a couple never weres, and a has been. If Jagr scores more than 10 goals or finishes more than 20 games I'll honestly be shocked.
I really don't understand the positioning here. Even if the reported rumors of a divided locker room between Carter, Richards, and Pronger are true. I think you're better off giving Pronger the gate at his age.
I predict the Flyers finish close to the lowly Islanders this season. Even with the "upgrade" in net of Bryzgalov, it's just not enough. Don't get me wrong Giroux and Briere will still be there, but the heart has been wrenched out of not just the team but their fans as well. I'll be shocked if this doesn't go down as the summer the Flyers' hopes died.

Those are just my thoughts. I could be wrong, but I'll never admit it.

The CHI FAF review

2011-07-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was both Canada day and the Free Agent Frenzy. No time for parades just 12 hours in front of TSN to see where your favorite players are going and who your team is getting. Unless of course you're a Flyers fan then you're still a bit lost. I wanted to make a flow chart to show all of the Philly roster changes, but I don't have 10 feet worth of blog space to bore you all with the details of why Jagr's mulletlessness is no replacement for Carter OR Richards. Besides let's talk about the only team that really matters--The Chicago Blackhawks.

Because I didn't mention it earlier the Blackhawks traded a draft pick to Buffalo for defenseman Steve Montador. With a name like a late 70's truck-car maybe the Pontiac rip off of the Ranchero(?), he brought some much needed size. While I'm never crazy about trading away draft picks, we desperately needed some size and an over haul and a 7th round draft pick for an NHL ready defenseman is a pretty decent deal. Thanks, Suckers.

Jamal Mayers. We didn't give up anything but a couple of measely dollars to get the guy, and I'm pretty sure he isn't coming for his goal scoring abilities. He does have a good size and will most likely man our 4th line. So decent pick up considering our lack of grit last year.

Sean O'Donnell. We didn't have to give up much to get a 6th or 7th d-man in Sean. He'll turn 40 right before the season starts so I imagine this will be his last season.

Andrew Brunette. Despite his pitiful +/- I'm going to let that slide considering how garbage the Wild have been the last two or three seasons. With 20+ goals in almost every season of his career. He adds some depth to most likely our 3rd line that we seemed to be missing all year.

Now rumor has it we MIGHT be re-signing John Madden, which in my opinion would be awesome. We need a guy like Madden that can almost guarantee a face off win and play that 4th line center position with heart and grit.

MY RUMOR: Andrew Ladd will return to the Blackhawks. Brouwer failed to deliver in the grit category and we shipped him off to Washington for a draft pick. So Laddy would be my go to guy on returning to fill a spot leading our 3rd line although I wouldn't be shocked to see him garner some 2nd or even 1st line time.

THE WORST: Dan Carcillo. I have no idea why we signed this guy. Even for a year it seems like flushing money down the crapper for no good reason. UNLESS he gets packaged and shipped out for something substantial.

The END: We still have some cap money to play with, and we need an NHL backup. Who that will be is anybody's guess. And we probably need at least one more D-man and one more top 6 forward unless they have someone in Rockford in mind. I guess we'll all have to wait and see.

The Draft and some Soup

2011-06-30T14:42:00.001-07:00

So for anyone that doesn't the NHL draft was last Friday and Saturday. If you didn't know when the draft was you probably didn't miss anything unless you're just the biggest Pierre Maguire fan on the face of the earth in which case you had the fan club meeting in your closet. The same closet Pierre Maguire hides in at night to watch you sleep.
Sorry got distracted. What I meant to say was That if you didn't know when the draft was you probably have no clue who the guys that got drafted are. Which is fine, because neither did I. The great thing about watching the draft if you're as clueless about the players being drafted as I am is that every team is trading players and the Canucks were getting boo'ed by the Minnesota faithful.
First of all let's talk about the #1 overall pick. The Oilers pretend that they don't tank seasons to get that pick, but let's be honest running an AHL team with an over the hill goaltender out there and then not winning shit is no surprise to anybody except Craig MacTavish.
Got that out of the way!
I want to say that out of everyone at the draft there was only one kid drafted that looks like he's ready to lace 'em up, hit the ice, and bang. Who could that kid be? None other than the Blackhawks' 1st draft pick: Mark McNeil. Seriously he doesn't look like somebody's little brother trying on daddy's jersey. Dude's a man. Which is good. We could use a Center with his size and I'm guessing he can bang. And we need some Bangers. NEED bangers.

As happy as I was about our 1st pick of the draft I was even more excited about us unloading $7.1mil worth of overpaid salary cap hell. AKA Brian Campbell. We can thank the Cap floor and teams absolutely needing to get there for us moving Campbell. Everyone I know said we'd never move him because of the size and duration of his contract. Not only do I not have to put up with Soupy, but I also get to rub everyone's faces right in it. Suck it. Suck it long. Suck it hard.
With Soupy going to Florida and Chicago receiving wounded warrior Rusty Olesz or cap relief in return means we can actually put something on our 3rd and 4th lines which were pretty much decimated this past season. But overall it means I don't have to watch a defenseman not play defense. I don't have to see 7million dollars of "WTF is he doing?!?!?!?!" when he tries those worthless end to end rushes.
So in short the Blackhawks drafted well (I assume), got rid of Campbell (HOORAY!), and Pierre Maguirre is in your closet.

thoughts

2011-06-28T11:09:00.001-07:00

I've been lazy and I really have no excuse for not writing a damned thing in this for like 2 years. I've had a lot of time to ruminate and here's some things I may have missed writing about over the last two years and their hypothetical headlines:

1. Blackhawks squeeze past Nashville looking to lose to Canucks.
2. Blackhawks cream those Canuckle heads, Sedins cry in unison.
3. Sharks don't bother showing up for WCF.
4. Those cheap punks from Syracuse Philadelphia!
5. Holy fucking shit Blackhawks land on fucking moon!
6. I may have been drunk last night.....
7. WTF happened to the Blackhawks roster!?!?!?!?
8. At least we got Pisani! He's going to be GREAT!
9. Let's trade Pisani for a used puck bag!
10. Have we traded Campbell yet!?!?!?
11. Why can't someone fuse Bolland's back with a titanium exoskeleton much like a Terminator?
12. For Fuck's sake! Can we just clinch that 8th spot or what!?!?!?!\
13. who shot J.R. Ewing? OR Thanks for blowing it in Minneapolis.
14. Why am I watching this shit?!?!?!
15. Hey we got a chance against this Vancouver team!
16. Well.....shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!
17. Thank GOD the Bruins won!

I think that about brings us up to speed more or less. Tomorrow look for my thoughts on the Campbell trade, the draft, and whatever it is that Flyers are trying to pull.

Trade deadline Suggestions.

2009-03-28T14:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is late. But I'm transferring it over from Facebook.

1. Scott Stevens' elbow to STL for a Paul Kariya concussion
2. DUstin Byfuglien to Phoenix for Ollie Jokinen
3. Dominic Moore to the Ottawa Senators for Anton Volchenkov
4. Jon Sims picked up by Chicago Blackhawks
5. Martin Brodeur to Patrick Roy for a boatload of cash
6. Sean Avery to Dallas for Tony Romo to the Giants
7. Brian Campbell to Progresso soup for 3 cases of Southwestern Chicken soup
8. Kieth Tkachuk to the glue factory
9. Doug Weight to Shady Pines retirement home for 3 Snuggees and some Geritol
10. Barry Trotz' head to the Nashville zoo for a baboon's ass
11. Chris Drury to Buffalo for some self respect for the Rangers
12. Scotty Gomez to the INS
13. Don Cherry's suit to Rudy Ray Moore for some hoes
14. Ryan Smyth to Calgary for nothing. God just hates the Oilers.
15. Your mom for a conditional 6th round pick
16. Barry Melrose to Tampa Bay for a new hair do (Bubba Bryant)
17. Jiri Tlusty to playgirl, Hugh Hefner to NY to replace Avery (Amanda Perry)
18. Mike Milbury's hair to ned in 7th grade for a pocket protector
19. Brett Hull trades co-GM Les Jackson to McDonald's for a year's supply of Big Macs (Erin Holliday)
20. Chelios to an Adirondack chair for some back issues of Hockey News and a pair of Reggie Dunlop pants.
21. Claude Lemiux's skating abilty for Baby Huey's goal tending skills and a flock of 'migratory' Candian geese.
22.

Dear Wayne

2009-02-18T08:03:00.000-08:00

Dear Wayne Gretzky,

Your legacy as a scoring center is cast in solid gold and sitting in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Everyone knows your name, knows your face, knows what you did for the league in the 80's and early 90's. You're an icon.
But you are not a coach. I understand how hard it is to let go of the game that has given you so much, and no one is asking you to. But you do not belong behind the bench. With a 132-150-22 record up until now it is obvious that you own the lower end of mediocrity.
Perhaps it is time to move to the front office and be an ambassador of the sport before you run an entire franchise into the ground. The Phoenix Coyotes have a decent talent pool. You actually have a pretty good team, but you are dis-servicing them by not bringing in a good coach.
So Wayne please retire from coaching anything above peewees or the odd celebrity game. It's not your forte.

--Angry in Illinois

I pop off at the mouth

2008-12-16T21:17:00.000-08:00

It's hard to win 9-2 graciously. What am I supposed to say? They played a hell of a game? Fuck that! How could I? when you give up 9 goals, no matter how flukey they are, on home ice; you suck. That's right. I said it. The Oilers suck.
It's been a long time since they were a dynasty. It's been a Pete Pocklington trading Gretzky to California 20th year anniversary long time. I hear the fans whine about Craig MacTavish, but last time I checked Craig doesn't lace them up. He does however stand ineffectively on the bench like Barry Melrose did in Tampa. But the team lacks the ability to follow through, play heads up, and keep pucks out of the net as evidenced by last night's game.
But the Oilers are not alone. You know who else sucks? The Phoenix Coyotes. We gave them a 7-1 ass whipping too. And we did the same thing last season when we threw them a 6-0 skull-crackin'. At least once per season we don't just beat them, we embarrass the shit out of them. This year we were also treated to Gretzky running his suck about rookie winger Kris Versteeg after the game.
I never liked Wayne much as a player (which I've been over before), but as coach I think he's an embarrassment. Seriously, the guy should retire and be an ambassador of hockey or something.
Talk about a sore loser in WAY over his head.
I can only look ahead to the next blow out raping we hand a team. So until then I'm gonna be waiting ever ready with vigilance and some beers. Later, All.

Building the team

2008-12-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

This is how you make a contender like the 2008-2009 Chicago Blackhawks. Carefully. You build it on the backs of broken seasons, hardships gone but not forgotten, and state wide liver damage of your fans. 3 years ago no one would have mentioned the Chicago Blackhawks and the Playoffs in the same breath unless it was the punchline to a joke or just some wishful thinking. Now the team is not only a contender for the Playoffs but the question is "How far will they go?" So I thought I'd break it down where this team came from.

The Draft is the best place to refill the cupboards efficiently without the risk of signing a big money bust on the free agency market. But drafting excellently takes not just good, but great scouting. This is where Dale Tallon's insistence on doubling the budget for scouting on his first day of being a General Manager comes into play. It's easy to see where the scouts came in towards how, when, and who they drafted. Patrick Kane at 1st overall is a no-brainer so was Johnny Toews at 3rd overall, assuming he's still left out there. But the true genius comes in snagging a guy like Dustin Byfuglien in the 8th round or super pest/grinder Adam Burrish in the 9th and then watching them crack the NHL line up legitimately.

Drafting
Dave Bolland- DRAFTED 2nd round draft pick (32nd overall) in the 2004 draft
Troy Brower- DRAFTED 7th round draft pick (214th overall) in the 2004 draft
Adam Burrish- DRAFTED 9th round draft pick (282nd overall) in the 2002 draft
Dustin Byfuglien- DRAFTED 8th round draft pick (245th overall) in the 2003 draft
Patrick Kane- DRAFTED 1st round pick (1st overall) in the 2007 Draft
Johnny Toews DRAFTED 1st round pick (3rd overall) in the 2006 draft
Cam Barker DRAFTED 1st round (3rd overall) in the 2004 draft
Duncan Kieth DRAFTED 2nd round pick (54th overall) in the 2002 draft
Brent Seabrook DRAFTED 1st round (14th overall) in the 2003 draft
James Wisniewski DRAFTED 5th round pick (156th overall) in the 2002 draft

So you drafted a dud and signed a bust, huh? Well chances are someone deeply and thoroughly believes that that bust or dud simply needs a change of scenery or a different system and will be willing to make a deal unless you're trying to shop Sean Avery around. Trading wisely can build a core of players to play the 3rd and 4th lines and occassionally you get lucky and put a Patrick Sharp in your line up for next to nothing. I would like to take a minute here to deeply thank Bobby Clarke for his contributions to the Chicago Blackhawks, and for taking some of the deadest weight we've ever had.
TRADING
Craig Adams- Acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes for a conditional Draft pick last season.
Ben Eager- Acquired from the Philedelphia Flyers for defenseman Jim Vandermeer (now in Calgary)
Colin Fraser- Acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers with Jim Vandermeer and a 2nd round pick for Alexi Zhamnov and a 4th round pick.
Martin Havlat- Acquired from the Ottawa Senators with Bryan Smolinski for Micheal Barinka, Mark Bell, Tom Preissing and Josh Hennessy and a 2008 2nd round draft pick through San Jose
Andrew Ladd Acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes for Tuomo Ruutu (Chicago's 2001 1st round [9th overall] draft pick).
Patrick Sharp Acquired from the Philadephia Flyers with Eric Meloche for Matt Ellison and a 3rd round draft pick in the 2006 draft
Kris Versteeg Acquired from the Boston Bruins for Brandon Bochenski

So you drafted some youth, traded for some energy, but you need some much missing veteran depth to replace your duds and losers that got traded away, huh? Free Agency is the place for you to go assuming you can stomach a big contract, attract the right kind of attention from the player you want, and have a viable destination for him to go. The free agent market is a dangerous and surprising place. You have everything from the small dollar surprise such as Walker and Johnson to the mid-level contributor such as a Brent Sopel all the way to the "Holy Grail" acquisition of a Brian Campbell.
Free Agent Signings
Brian Campbell Free Agent signing before the 08-09 campaign
Aaron Johnson Free Agent signing before the 08-09 campaign
Brent Sopel Free Agent signing before the 07-08 campaign
Matt Walker Free Agent signing before the 08-09 campaign
Chrisotbel Huet Free Agent signing before the 08-09 campaign
Nikolai Khabibulin Free Agent signing before the 05-06 campaign

I hope you all have learned something about building a team of players that will compete at a high level. But more importantly I hope my little exercise leaves you with a better understanding of how the Chicago Blackhawks went from the bottom to the middle and now onward towards the top.

*Thanks to NHL.com and ChicagoBlackhawks.com for all acquisitions and transactions information.

Social causes and Awareness

2008-12-14T10:01:00.000-08:00

Did you know for just 4 quarters a day, you can give some NHL players a much needed salary boost?
Peter at the Sens Army Blog has spearheaded a directive to shower these hard working men with some much needed adoration and pay raises. So get behind this important social cause.
Won't you Help?

http://sensarmy.blogspot.com/2008/11/no-habs-no-tomas-fleischmann.html

Some cool Blackhawks stats.

2008-12-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

I don't know how close anyone else pays attention to this stuff, but currently.

1. The Blackhawks have the #4 slot in the Western Conference. We would be ranked 3rd in a strictly points ranking tied with Calgary but having played less games
a.) 14 wins 6 losses and 7 OT losses
2. 9th in the league in points. That's right! We cracked the top 10.
3. We're tied with Detroit for 2nd in Goals per game with 3.48
4. 8th in Goals Against average with 2.63
5. 8th in the powerplay. Which is amazing for those that remember how abysmal our PP has been the last few seasons.
6. 8th ranked PK. The PK has always been a strong suit for us. It's good to know the grinders can still shut the game down for our opposition.
7. 10th in shots per game with 30.7 We're FINALLY getting shots on net.
8. 3rd in the league with 94 goals!
9. 12th in Goals Against with 42. Which means we have outscored our opponents by 50 goals so far this season! How about that?
10. Patrick Kane is ranked 12th in the league with 33 points! I guess Kaner has never heard of a "Sophmore Slump".
11. Patrick Sharp is ranked 6th league-wide in goals with 16 while Kaner's taking the 12th slot with 13.
12. Brian Campbell is ranked 12th among Defensemen in points with 20, and 19th in goals for Defensemen with 4.

Let's break down the Blackhawks goals.

Patrick Sharp has scored 17%
Patrick Kane has scored 14%
Jonathan Toews has scored 9%
Defensemen have contributed 17% of our goals.

I think the team is starting to look pretty damn good out there except for the game against Colorado on Friday which we still won. I'm kind of a nerd about numbers like this. Thought I'd just share my findings.

* All stats based off of NHL.com's Stat tracker.

Forgive me

2008-12-09T11:35:00.001-08:00

So anyone that knows me, knows that I have spent the last 3 or 4 years throwing Nikolai Khabibulin under the bus. And in some ways he really had it coming.
But I digress. THIS year, Khabibulin has actually played up to not just his contract but also to his billing as a Stanley Cup winning caliber goaltender. So I'm giving up on the bus tossing. I'm letting go of my compulsion to mention his name every time someone says they need goaltending. I'm going to be civil to my good friend, Nikolai. I'll even be down right nice.
No foolin'!

Hands down, Niko has played like a man possessed. I don't know if it's because it's a contract year or if it's because Huet is right there. But he has been so damn good he is the only Western Conference goaltender I feel has the right to bitch if he doesn't go to the All Star game. Seriously. He's been that damn good and that damn dominant.

So Niko, here's to perestroika. Let's be friends. Hands Across America, and all that jazz.

Holy shitballs!

2008-10-16T10:22:00.000-07:00

I'm riding high on last night's victory. I'm giving myself the 4th star for that shred piece I did on my team on Tuesday. I think it really lit the fire under them. Okay probably not.

Anyway so I figure the first 3 games were a complete fluke, and now we're back on track. But then someone sends me a link to the unexpected article. Denis Savard fired. Joel Quennville hired. It's probably the biggest bomb shell that's been dropped in a long time.

I'm thoroughly convinced this happened because I was prepared and wrote my Panel Blog for my partner website "The Arena Program" early.

Last time I wrote early the Blackhawks snagged Scotty Bowman.

I don't know what to think of all these happenings. Savvy out? On one hand I'm sort of happy, because we obviously were outcoached the first three games. On the other hand I really liked Savard's attitude and personality. I'm gonna miss Savvy as head coach. I really am.

But if Joel can get the PP going, the team steps up another level, makes the playoffs, and goes deep in said playoffs; I think it would be a welcome change. In addition on the "other hand", Getting a REAL head coach for the first time since before the lockout is a step in the right direction. I'm not sure how much I like the timing though.

I guess they liked the anticipation, twists, and turns so much they wanted to continue the feeling.
That's all I got for today. So until next time, Keep your stick down, and don't leave your feet.

3 down. 79 more to go?

2008-10-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

After three games, the Chicago Blackhawks have taken home ONE whole point. Somehow I don't think this was the start the front office was hoping for. Let me break it down for you, and tell you how to beat the Blackhawks.
I'd say outshoot them, but you'll probably get that done anyway. Quality chances are easier to outnumber too. The entire offense shows a lack of chemistry in the offensive zone. Set up your defense to clog the middle and then just send the challenges to which ever side the Blackhawks are leaning towards in the overload (which seems to be their only offensive strategy). If you play the Blackhawks aggressively in your own defensive zone there's a good chance you can either pick off a pass or get a take away. Don't worry too much getting out of your own end.
Once you get the puck the entire Chicago forecheck wusses out and tries to return immediately to defense. Which should sound tough on you, but they're like swiss cheese in the neutral zone and play an extremely unaggressive backcheck. Often eschewing challenging the other team by playing a tight box in the defensive zone. Stick to the walls. I don't think the Blackhawks have won a single battle along the boards. Behind the net is all yours.
If Christobel Huet is in net just keep shooting pucks between his legs or move the puck right to left quickly with a one timer. Half the time he can't get over in time. The other times he gets there but doesn't see the shot anyway.
Make sure you body check as much as possible within the rules. For whatever reason the Blackhawks just give up at some point in the game and that's all to your benefit.

I think that's what I got so far. Hopefully next week I can do one on how the Blackhawks are kicking your team's ass.

Blackhawks Season Preview

2008-10-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

Last season the Blackhawks were relevant and competitive for the first time in a LONG time. Hockey is back in Chicago, baby! Last year was both the rookie campaign AND the breakout year for both Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. The two 1st round pick rookies made good with the big club and definitely rejuvenated the entire franchise on every level. Dustin Byfuglien was the other big new name for the franchise having a breakout year himself. This year will be a proving year for all three to cement their legacies as high caliber NHL talent.

The Defense has been fairly strong the last few years as Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook have been the anchors that the blueline strength has leaned on. With Brent Sopel coming in last season to lend a much needed veteran presence, the Defensive core got that much stronger on the depth chart. This season the highest rated free agent defenseman, Brian Campbell, signed a big contract to come be a Blackhawk. Whether Brian is the last piece of the puzzle or not is yet to be seen, but at $7.1 million per year expectations will be high. The depth at the #5/#6 spot was filled out last year nicely by James "Wiz" Wisniewski. But Wiz is out until probably December healing up from his 3rd knee surgery. While Cam Barker played defense for 45 games last season, he has been sent down to the AHL partner in Rockford. Rumors suggest Cam will return to the NHL as early as this weekend. The other surprise on the blueline is defensive specialist Niklas Hjalmarsson. With only 13 NHL games under his belt last season, Niklas will surprise in my opinion. I expect good things on the Blueline this year over all.

On the Free Agent Frenzy day (July 1st) Dale Tallon (Blackhawks GM)surprised and shocked the NHL by signing Christobel Huet while already having Nikolai Khabibulin under contract. With $13 mil worth of starting goaltending, it is most likely that one will be dealt. Rumors have abounded that Khabibulin will be traded, but no substantial action has taken place yet. Having two starting goaltenders has pushed back the promotion of either Corey Crawford or Antii Niemi for now. Look for Khabibulin to be dealt and both Crawford and Niemi to make appearances in the NHL. If it's Crawford, expect big things from the talented netminder who shut out the Ducks for his first NHL career win. But keep a close eye on camp stand out Niemi, as he has shown alot of promise.

Robert Lang being dealt left the veteran presence on the Forward lines thinner. Craig Adams is the oldest Forward on the team at a measely 30 years old. But don't let the youthfulness on the club fool you. Kane and Toews have already been mentioned at only 20 years old a piece. They might not be legal to buy beers, but they can still play. No doubt about that. Dustin Byfuglien switched up to Forward from Defenseman last season and has slowly developed into a more competent and able power forward. Martin Havlat claims he's ready to play 82+ games this season, but I wouldn't take that to Vegas. Though possibly the most talented forward on the team, his career has been plagued by a string of injuries. IF Havlat was to remain healthy he would no doubt lead the team in scoring and be a giant boost to the entire offense.

It will be a DO or DIE year for 2005 1st round pick Jack Skille. Many expect big things from him, but at this point in his career and contract, it's breakout or move on for him. Dave Bolland will make his first full season debut having made the NHL roster for this year. Kris Versteeg will also make his first full season debut this year with Colin Fraser. With question marks having over these players' heads it will make for an interesting season. Whether they will be up to the challenge is up to them.

Andrew Ladd was the surprise mid season addition last year when the Blackhawks unexpectedly traded energy player Tuomo Ruutu. After coming to Chicago his game caught fire and he clicked with the game style played in Chicago. Whether that was a fluke will be seen this season. I suspect him to come out ready to go and surprise.

Patrick Sharp was snubbed in All Star voting last year for I imagine the last time in his career. Every season has seen Patrick's play improve by leaps and bounds. With a penchant for stickhandling into and through traffic and a dangerous shot, Sharp earned himself an "A" on his sweater. This year he should get the respect and esteem he deserves after flying under the radar last season.

I could not possibly skip over either Adam Burrish or Ben Eager. Eager will begin the season with a 3 game suspension. If he doesn't step it up, he'll be playing Rockford before the season is over. While Adam Burrish also spends his share of time in the box, his super pest game and razor tongue get results without suspensions. I have a sneaking hunch that Adam will find the back of the net more than 4 times this year. Despite being a defensive specialist and a pest, he possesses a high level of skill for the game. My advice is to never take your eye of the guy when he's on the ice.

I expect the Blackhawks to come out hard and heavy from the word "Go!" this season. Having only missed the Playoffs by a measely 3 points last season, they'll be playing for blood this season. Finally having put the "C" on a player and giving a nod to leadership will be strong. Whether 20 year old Jonathan Toews is up for the challenge of being a Captain in the NHL is yet to be seen, but the players seem to be behind him all the way. Whether that unification will pay off is not known. At any rate I can assure you that Blackhawks hockey will be an exciting entertainment outlet for all Hockey afficiandos. Tune in Friday October 10th to see the Blackhawks kick their season off against fellow Original 6 franchise the New York Rangers.

Khabi waived

2008-09-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

It's been rumored that Nikolai Khabibulin has been waived by the Blackhawks.
I hope we fucking trade his ass for something worth a used puck bag or better.

Who's pulling the strings?

2008-09-24T05:13:00.000-07:00

I sometimes wonder what the *insert favorite obscenity here* is going on in the front office in Chicago. I've complained non-stop about the fact that we over-signed Brian Campbell and picked up extraneous goaltending depth with Christobal Huet. But I think in a lot of ways Dale Tallon has done a good job, assuming we declare a "mulligan" on his first year which would have been the first year after the lockout. This summer though has boggled my mind endlessly, which has led me to question who's really calling the shots.

We all know the sports world is a dog eat dog world and an old boys playground. Since John McDonough became President of Operations, the front office choices have somewhat boggled my mind. We all know that Dale and Denis Savard aren't "John's Guys". To say he didn't select them. He's just stuck with them for right now. In back to back years Mr. McDonough has become the President of Operations for two Chicago sports teams. The year before he did the same job for the Chicago Cubs. You can almost draw a straight line and follow the same system of player movements between the two franchises as he took over the reigns. First step is to make a giant hoopla about how great the fans are and how giant the team is. Done and done. Step two sign ridiculously huge contract with biggest name on free agent market. Done and Done. Step three fire manager and bring in new guy. Done with the Cubs. Not done with the Blackhawks yet.

John got offf his script a bit by bringing in Scotty Bowman. It was a shock and surprise to hear that Scotty was coming to Chicago's front office. I was actually excited about a move that would bring a proven winner to Chicago as would any true fan. However I find it hard to believe that Scotty Bowman is going to be part of any franchise that isn't going to give him alot of say in how things run or what things are done. The guy knows what he's doing. I can't imagine he's sitting in his office not saying a word about anything.

So what I really want to know is: "Who's pulling the strings?". Is it the GM (Dale Tallon), The President of hockey operations (John McDonough), or the special advisor (Scotty Bowman)? Because it seems like there are almost too many hands in the soup kettle.

Your team Sucks!

2008-09-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

That's right! Your team sucks! They won't go to the Playoffs and I'll tell you why!

New Jersey Devils- The Devils will miss the Playoffs because the ESPN Hockey "guru" said so. Also Marty might go down hurt or perform in the regular season like he did last post season. Despite adding Brian Rolston still not enough scoring!
New York Islanders- The Islanders will miss the Playoffs because the new coach won't be ready for the Big spotlight of the NHL. Also Mark Streit will pout and be a grump when they make him play forward instead of D.
New York Rangers- The Rangers will miss the playoffs because they lost 3 of their biggest producers. Now that Avery is gone, the Devils will beat them up while Colton Orr cries.
Philadelphia Flyers- The Flyers will miss the Playoffs after coming out strong at the beginning of the season. Then the Injury Ninja will attack. First it will be Biron going down. After a quick scramble Robert Esche will return just in time to prove he hasn't learned anything playing over seas. Then the team will lose just because we all know that Philly teams are pre-dispossessed to blow it in the end just to piss off their fans!
Pittsburgh Penguins- The Pens will be lost when Malkin is kept in Russia over some crappy little visa issue. Then Crosby will go down with a broken leg again. But Ryan Malone will step up.....Oh Wait! No. Gary Roberts! He'll step up.....oh yeah. Well Then the Pens score about 55 points in the standings and draft Tavares as #1 over all next year!
Boston Bruins- Tim Thomas is their starting goal tender. Is that enough reason? Thought so!
Buffalo Sabres- Because they are the Sabres and their fans deserve better. That's why. But Drury and Briere will be dynamite! Just not in Buffalo!
Montreal Canadiens- Les Habs will miss the playoffs when Carey Price proves he's really just Patrick Lalime in disguise. Too many forwards with not enough playing time will destroy the locker room chemistry.
Ottawa Senators- Gerber plays net. Ruutu and Alfredsson jailed after spirited argument of Sweden vs. Finland. AHL call ups not enough to save playoff hopes.
Toronto Maple Leafs- Mark Bell "Falls off the Wagon" brings Jeff Finger and Vesa Toskala along for "GTA 5: Hit and Run".
Atlanta Thrashers- Kozlov and Kovalchuk fax copies of new KHL contracts back to Atlanta with "HA HA HA!" written on them
Carolina Hurricanes- OK. More seriously. Roddy B and Justin Williams never quite return from injuries and surgeries and never see the NHL roster this season.
Florida Panthers- After losing Jokinen in that trade the Jokes one them. They never regain anything resembling an offense and are done before they begin.
Tampa Bay Lightning- Vincent LeCavillier is benched after his refusal to grow the "Mandatory team mullet". the "C" sewn onto Barry Melrose's suit jacket as he's not used to talking without an embroidered logo on his jacket.
Washington Capitals- Four words- Jose Theodore in net.
Chicago Blackhawks- Left holding the Khabi-bag they make zero moves for more NHL quality forwards. the Kids and Sharp score the only team goals.
Columbus Blue Jackets- Ken Hitchcock shaves off the mustache, loses all power. Rick Nash demands trade.
Detroit Red Wings- Lidstrom's less than physical play exposed, Conklin and Osgood pay the price. Still not as big as Hossa being KO'ed by Dustin Byfuglien's left shoulder. Game over, man! GAME OVER!
Nashville Predators- Talent fire saled as the team attempts to sneak out of town for the greener pasures of Kansas City.
St Louis Blues- Keith Tkachuk eats all of the team's food one day during training camp. The Resulting brawl leaves 3 hurt, and 1 critically hurt Manny Legace.
Calgary Flames- As Kiprosoff loses his game and lets too many goals go by, the team actually falls asleep on the bench watching their own boring play style.
Colorado Avalanche- Budaj or Raycroft? Which one would you rather point fingers at?
Edmonton Oilers- Gretzky, Messier, Fuhr, and a Stanley Cup Ring all sold to LA for Pocklington's grand children.
Minnesota Wild- Demitra and Rolston don't resign and....OH WAIT!
Vancouver Canucks- Play tired after waiting up all night for secret crush Mats Sundin to return calls.
Anaheim Ducks- Owner jailed for fraud. Team sold back to Disney who names Gordon Bombay as head coach.
Dallas Stars- Mr. Drama-Sean Avery-gets into locker room ruckus with Marty Turco taking both players out for the season. Avery hangs around in the locker room talking about how awesome Vogue is.
Los Angeles Kings- After trading Kopitar for Khabibulin on accident their Play Off time golf tee time is solidified in concrete!
Phoenix Coyotes- Gretzky loses control and respect from the team after temper tantrum over not leading the league in goals, assists, or points.
San Jose Sharks- New Coach's "I'm Okay, You're Okay!" philosophy not bought into by team.

And that's why your team sucks and won't make it to the Playoffs!
The truth is I have no real knowledge on whether or not your team is gonna make the playoffs. There's so many things that could or could not let them make it that it's hard to really call. It's all guesstimations. So enjoy the season....unless you're a Wings fan. No one likes a show off!

Conspiracy Theory

2008-09-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year when nothing is really going on. Which perfectly goes hand in hand with the rumor mill, the speculation factory, and the conspiracy theory workshop all ramping up to the highest possible out put. Everyone has an idea, gut feeling, or hunch and they think you want to hear it. Most of what you're going to hear is complete horse puckey. So be careful out there kids.

The thing that irks me the most is that I am waiting for a very special episode where Dad (as played by Dale Tallon) sends his eldest son off (as played by Nikolai Khabibulin). It'll be the Season Finale. The whole season will end with a she-bang and a cliff hanger as everyone waits to see how everything comes out the next season.

But all of the "Insider information" I'm getting is only slightly less reliable than Wikipedia. The Conspiracy Theory bloggers are going full bore with no real leads.

There isn't any real hint beyond mind numbingly obvious speculations. I know alot of people think that Lang was dealt for cap space, and I won't deny that. HOWEVER, in my opinion it was step one of forcing someone's hand (LA?) to make a move for Khabibulin. If we deal Khabibulin we would have the room to bring a big contract player in. There's a small possibilty that Khabibulin will still get dealt with a big name with a big contract returning our way. But who that team would be is in question. I have a suspicion Khabi will be netminding in Colorado with either Budaj or Raycroft and a draft pick heading back to Chicago.

With the open space we can sign prospect camp stand out Mike Radja to a two way contract. We also would have room to clean up another NHL expierianced forward off someone else's cap busted roster.

None of this is probably true, but I like to dream. I never wanted Nikolai Khabibulin in the beautiful Indian Headed sweater, but he's here.....for now. I really want him to go away for good, and I spend alot of my free time day dreaming about him packing his suitcase and hitting the bricks. But hey, that's just me!

Tell your story walking, Bobby.

2008-09-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

I can't say as I'm happy to report that Mr. Robert Lang is no longer a Blackhawk. I'm guessing that you know by now that much at least. I won't go so far as to say that he was the bravest or toughest or most talented player on the team last year, but I do think he was an integral part of what the Blackhawks were trying to accomplish. Last year was a very good year for the fans despite the lack of a post season appearance, and Bobby Lang was very much a part of that team.
I can't say as to why the Blackhawks traded him instead of buying out Nikolai Khabibulin. So instead of keeping a Czech that puts pucks in nets we keep the moody Russian that can't keep pucks out of nets.
I'm pissed off. I'd elaborate but I'm saving it up for a very special episode I like to call 'Fuck you, Dale Tallon." or more accurately "Fire Dale Tallon!" coming soon. I promise.

Tis the Season

2008-09-11T10:27:00.001-07:00

It's almost Christmas Eve.....er, Pre-season. Same thing different name more or less.
This whole offseason has been a terrible plight for the hockey addicted fiends of the world.
Once the Free agent Frenzy was over it seemed like every GM in the NHL brushed their hands and said "Well that's that. Let's go golfing!". Pretty much any action going on is a snoozefest. I really don't care which second tier AHL guy has been signed by which team. I'm not alone.
But seriously, to steal a cliched 80's catch phrase Where's the Beef?
Where's the Action? Where's the suspense? You can say the whole Sundin Saga counts, but I disagree. Is an over the hill backsliding talent like Sundin's waiting game really suspense or is it the sort of story that is indicative of the boring offseason so far?
The KHL seemed like a good story line for a second. But the only real story there is Jagr pouting his way back behind the Iron Curtain. Wade Dubieliwitz and Ray Emery running off to Russia is the equivalent of a road movie made with a B-Movie budget. Add a shrug and move on.
But we can get past that if we get the Payoff. What's the Payoff? A great NHL season. At this point I'll take a mediocre season and run with it. Things this summer have gotten that bad. Usually I'm not all that set on the Pre-season. Whip dee damn doo the pre-season is here. Not this year. I'm so hard up for something worth talking about happening in the NHL I'll take the AHL call up goons going at it over a BLT sandwich in a Jimmy John's on ESPN 8 "The Ocho".
The last action to happen before they start really dropping pucks is going to be the few teams over the cap getting back under and foisting off onto LA their dregs. (Sorry Kings fans, but we both know it to be true.)

I think that's all I got this week.

The Current Roster outlook

2008-08-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

As it stands right now the Blackhawks have 10 active forwards, 7 defensemen, and 2 Goalies listed as part of their active roster. Which means we'd be 2 forwards short. 3 if you count Havlat.
Regardless I want to throw everyone a little head's up on my beloved Blackhawks squadron for this season. So let's take a quick look at the players.

Forwards
Craig Adams-Nothing much new. With only 11 points last year, unless something bizarre happens I figure to see him around the 15 point level.
Adam Burrish-I think you'll see Adam move upward from being a 3rd and 4th line agitator and he'll score around 15 goals this year. Towards the end of the season he started to show what he can do if he's given a bit of freedom.
Dustin Byfuglien- I liked this kid the very first time I saw him. While he showed his scoring touch this past year, I think he'll show how physical he can be this year without losing that touch.
Ben Eager- Had very little ice time last year as he recovered from Post-Concussion syndrome. He's a giant question mark. I'm guessing he'll pair with Burrish and the two will punish our opponents.
Martin Havlat- The rumor is he expects to play the full season this year. Don't count on it. As much as I'd love a healthy Havlat for 82+ games, I'm not expecting more than around 24 games for him this year.
Patrick Kane- I have a feeling we'll see what he can do as far as scoring goals this year. With a full NHL year under his belt and a work out regime aiming at adding muscle during this off season. I think we'll see him play a bit tougher of a game and make opponents pay.
Andrew Ladd- Had 14 goals and 30 points last season. His game started to set fire as soon as he arrived in Chicago. This guy fits our team and vice versa. I'm looking for around 20 goals and 40-45 points for Ladd.
Robert Lang- One year older. I think Lang has fit in well in Chicago. I think he'll stay around the 20-25 goal scoring range and add some real depth to our line up.
Patrick Sharp- Patrick flew under the radar with fans last season and got snubbed for an All Star slot. I'm guessing he pairs up with "The Kids" and scores another 35-40 goals this year and has somewhere around 80 points.
Jonathon Toews- I don't know how much his point output will change. It might not. It might go south a bit as the kid wears the C for his first year. Regardless it has been no secret that he has those characteristics that make him a leader, which is something we haven't had in a long time. Just having a Captain might be enough to push us into the Playoffs for the first time in a long time.
Jack Skille- After flagging in the pre-season last year, Skille was a decent call up that showed some scoring potential. I'm betting he sneaks into the line up this year. COuld be wrong though.
Ben Smith- After winning the Frozen Four Championship with Boston College, Ben Smith came to Chicago via this year's draft. Immediately he entered the prospect camp and ruined the grade curve with scoring. I think you'll see him on the regualr line up.

Defensemen
Cam Barker- Cam has two choices this year- Click or kick. Either he finally steps his game up into the potential everyone talked about him having or he gets traded. I really don't know what to think about this kid.
Brian Campbell-Campbell's production is going to hinge highly on wether or not he pairs with Seabrook or if Keith switches over to the right side. If Campbell pairs with Kieth, it might possibly be the best one-two combo defense pairing in the entire league. If Campbell gets paired with Seabrook, Campbell's output will flag.
Duncan Keith- Keith was our only All Star last year. The kid can skate and play without a doubt. At the end of the 06-07 season, Keith suddenly clicked and went from mediocre D-man into finding his game. Almost over night he became what every team's GM is looking for a puck carrying D-man that can lead the breakout.
Brent Seabrook- He is rumored to be a part of the Khabi trades, but I don't see that coming. I think his best chance is to get teamed with more defensively responsible Sopel. They teamed well a few games last year and that seemed to up his production as a defensive defenseman.
Brent Sopel- I really hope Sopel stays healthy for all 82 games this season. When he played the entire Defensive corps seemed to play better. I don't really count on him scoring a lot of goals so much as anchoring the 2nd defensive pairing well enough to be envied by about half of the NHL.
Matt Walker- Possibly will fill in for Wisniewski while Wizzer's knee heals up from post surgery. Otherwise I expect him to play in Rockford.
James Wisniewski- He is going to miss 2 or 3 months while his knee heals. After that I expect him to be a #5 or #6 D-man on the blue line.
Niklas Hjalmarsson- This Swedish kid can play. Flat out. He doesn't score alot, but he has a knack for shutting down offenses with bonecrushing hits and physical play. He's unafraid to block shots also. Sort of reminds me of a Swedish Volchenkov. And anything Volchenkov like is good.

Goaltenders
Cristobal Huet- I'm not sure why he's here. I think his productivity will depend on the defensive corps and the ability of the forwards to play Selke-like in their own zone.
Nikolai Khabibulin- He will be traded. He will be traded. He will be traded. If he isn't, I expect him to be a moody Russian much like he's been since he got to Chicago.
Corey Crawford- This kid will be the back up if Khabi gets traded. If not then I expect him to play between 5 and 10 games this year. And when he does play, he'll amaze. This kid has talent and is the real deal. I expect Huet to be the back up in 2 or 3 years.

Well I think that covers my thoughts on the current roster. Let me hear yours.
And if you have a bit of extra room on your fantasy team at the end snag up Hjalmarsson or Skille for just in case.

I'm in real pain.

2008-08-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with that ache in my bones. That need, that addiction, calling to me in the unrefusable way it does. I have a real problem. And the whole North American continent is currently dry.
It started for me a few years ago. I had heard the warnings and disregarded them in my search for a life on the edge. That fringe element in the back corner of the bar. The cool guys with that jerseys drinking beer and talking about "The game". I dabbled at first watching a few games on TV. I could quit whenever I wanted to. But I didn't. I kept pushing it. I wanted more. I was mainlining two play off games at once, flipping between channels at play stoppages. But it got worse.
I couldn't just be a voyeur anymore. I made an impulse buy at the local sports store. Just a cheap wood stick and a hockey ball, my heart racing the whole time. But that wasn't enough. I had to enhance the experience. I bought tape. I had to make the stick better, because the plastic on wood wasn't doing it for me anymore.
Then one late night with a head full of beer, I got on the Internet and ordered some rollerblades off of a website. I was an excited mess the day they showed up. I spent all of my free time at the outdoor rink talking to people just as bad off as me, maybe even worse.
That was 5 years ago. I have the shakes when it goes too long without a game on TV to alleviate my nights alone. I only feel the release when I'm watching the game on TV or at the rink out there on the ice. Yeah, I went full blown a few years ago. Playing late nights in a tucked away little rink where the rest of the addicts hide out together.
This is the worst part of the year. Nothing is really going on. The draft is over. Rookie camps are over. The Free Agent bonanza is done and gone. There's just little trades at the minor league levels going on like so much ineffectual methadone.The withdrawals are almost too much for one man to take. I know I'm not alone. Why there aren't support groups I'm not really sure.
If you're with me let me know. Together we can beat this thing. If not, can I sniff your equipment? I'm really jonesing here.

All your Bowman are belong to us.

2008-08-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

I think everyone knows by now that yesterday Scotty Bowman is now with the Blackhawks organization. When I first heard the news I didn't catch it real quick as the radio announcer had no idea the impact of what he was reading. He just sort of skipped over it. At firt I thought he said something about Stan Bowman, Scotty's son. Stan already works for us. No big deal.

Eventually it sank through what had happened. Holy crap! Scotty Bowman is in the front office! For the last year or so the organization has been saying "We're going to do everything in our power to get a Stanley Cup Championship!". I sort of believed them, but not all of our moves were in keeping with that logic. Nor where all of them all that impressive. This is the mother of all pick ups. This could be the single most important pick up the Blackhawks have had in almost the last 20 years.

No one and I mean No one has the same winning ability and know how as Scotty Bowman. 11 Stanley Cup Championships attests to that fact. I'm hoping that at the end of his 3 years in his current gig he has bare minimum 1 more Stanley Cup ring. I think Scotty coming to Chicago puts the last piece of the front office together towards a championship. Now we just need (in my opinion) a few small tweaks on the ice and we will be a true Championship threat team.

In short: Scotty is a Hawk. I'm freaking stoked. The End.

The waiting game

2008-07-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

We all know that the Blackhawks are over the cap. That's not a scoop or a revalation. But somehow they need to get back under the cap. Which means they have to dump some salary. Which means a player is going to be packing up and moving on. But Who? Who is going to be the sacrificial lamb in the name of Cap space? With rumors of Khabibulin being dealt almost a month old, I'd say he would be the guy. HOWEVER, the fact that he hasn't already been dealt leaves me wondering if anyone is remotely interested in him.
The Kings would be the most obvious choice for trading partners, however they don't have much in the way of returning players to be dealt. Which means they would need a third party willing to take draft picks for a player that the Blackhawks deemed "acceptable". I do not think that the Kings are really in much of a position to be giving up draft picks as they are obviously in the rebuilding mode right now. At least I sure hope that's what they are doing.
The second pick would be Colorado. With Peter Budaj and Andrew Raycroft as their netminders, they could use someone with a starter status rather than two back ups. They do have plenty in the players to be traded section as well. But if Colorado is our trading partner, I'm sure they are waiting for Joe Sakic to either re-sign or retire before they bring in an expensive net minder like Niko. Colorado has always been fairly focused on winning and let's face it- That ain't happening with Budaj and Raycroft. If Sakic isn't returning I could see the team going to re-building mode almost immediately, which would mean a goaltender like Niko wouldn't be in the picture. If Joe is coming back, I can see Colorado going for Khabi in an effort to make a Cup run for their Captain's (most likely) last year.
The longshots:
Atlanta: In return we get John "The Moose" Hedburg and possibly a draft pick or prospect We shed our cap space. They get a genuine starter that can show Lehtonen the way.

Nashville: They only have Dan Ellis as a true netminder right now. This one is an EXTREMELY long shot as Ellis posted better numbers than Khabibulin last year. Not to mention the team is sort of cheap (there's really no other way to put it).

St. Louis- We get Legace, they get Khabi. I would say this is a stupid trade for St Louis, but they seem to be doing the same thing Chicago did after the lockout. They might bite on this trade if we threw in Cam Barker to "bolster" their blueline. I don't see it happening, but then again I never thought I'd see the Blues suck this bad this long either.

Toronto: CuJo is a great goaltender.......5 years ago. This is the here and now. The Leafs could use someone to bolster their netminding capabilities. That could be Khabi depending on which one they get each night. I'm saying this is a LONGSHOT though. Because the Leafs seem to be rebuilding or at least "going in a different direction".

Now we get to sit and wait. When will Khabi get moved? Where's he going? What do we get in return? Mostly I'm wondering about the when part. The sooner the better in my opinion. The way I see it, Nikolai Khabibulin has ripped off the Blackhawks organization, the fans, and his team mates for the last 3 seasons. His bloated contract and overall lack of consistency have not impressed me one bit. I'm really hoping he is the one that gets dealt from the team as I don't want to think about who else it could be.

From one fan to another.

2008-07-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

I don't like Wayne Gretzky. There. I said it. I just got some scowls from some people, and others perked up their ears. People ask me why I don't care for Wayne. Simple. The way I enjoy the game. What I really enjoy about the game. What I like seeing. I love seeing a goal being scored, but to be honest I'd rather see a couple of bone crushing hits on the ice.
Which is why I'd rate Mike Grier far above Wayne as a player I'd idolize. Grier falls under my "Substance without flash" category. Being a brutally to the point kind of player really gets my attention. And Mike is all about that. Scrapping along the boards, laying people out with a crunching hit and causing havoc on the other team's offense. I like that.
Sure Wayne could score goals, but did you ever once see him throw a good hit? How about a decent hit? A mediocre hit? Yeah I didn't think so. Does Wayne strike you as a guy that would fight along the boards? Power his way in towards the net? Drop the gloves?

This is what I'm talking about. The way I see the game is very much 2-way old time hockey.
Now thanks to the Gretzky era and the NHL's move away from the goonish 70's we got the role player. Guys that only do one thing. Not every player falls into this, but it seems so many do. They are good at defense, or scoring, or fighting, but rarely more than one of these things. When you think of the great players, and I mean GREAT players, they were good or proficient enough at every aspect of the game. Bobby Hull had a massive slapshot, scored goals like no other left winger, and he was no stranger to a scrap. But 20 years later his son scored, but I can't see Brett fighting anyone older than 10. Can you?
I'm actually going somewhere with this so stay with me. The first thing I really wanted to point out was role players. Now we have them locked down. Right? You're still with me? Cool. Because now I want to talk about a different role player- The Goon. Goons come in one size-ridiculously giant. They usually have the stickhandling skills of a 4 year old, the shot of an epileptic, and the hockey sense of a kitten. They are there for one reason- to fight the other team's Goon.
Don't get me wrong. I love a good hockey fight, but watching two goons that shouldn't be playing at the Jr. High level slugging it out while eating up a real roster slot does nothing for me. I don't see how they could bring any momentum to a team by winning or losing. Look at it this way "If Derek Boogaard got KO'ed by George Parros in the street would it be news?" Fuck no it wouldn't. If Jarome Iginla got into a drunken fist fight with Ryan Smyth would THAT be news? It better be!
In the "new" NHL, if we can get rid of hooking and holding can we deep 6 the Goon in favor of letting real players fight their own fights against other PLAYERS? Every other role player is taking a hit from some where. Scorers aren't defensive enough, they don't skate through traffic. defensemen don't score enough. Whatever. The list goes on and on. But everyone turns a blind eye to the fact that there is really only a handful of fights on the ice that have fuck all to do with real player enmity. Mostly it's just two cement headed jerkoffs center ice wailing on each other because they are completely useless at every other faccet of the game!

Go back in time with me for a minute. You remember Bobby Probert? I bet you do. You should! Anyway. Sure the guy fought like a badger with rabies, but do you realize he was good for a point every 3rd regular season game and more than a point every other playoff game? Domi scored about a point every 4th regular season game and a point about every 5th playoff game. Sure they were somewhat cement headed and brawlers, but they were PLAYERS. They enhanced their presence on the ice with fighting not by making it the only thing they didn't suck shit at.

Now here's a REAL NHL worthy fight. When Iginla fought Derian Hatcher in the 03-04 Playoffs that was a real fight. When Lecavillier fought Chara, that was also a real fight. Real players stand up for themselves. Period. When a team captain fights a first pairing D-man that's a real fight. There's something on the line other than a free trip back to the press box or the minors.

I don't see how this problem of goon on goon boredom will get fixed unless it is a 30 team coach pact to leave the douches in the minors. Anyway, I know you're probably thinking "Whip dee damn doo doo! Another fighting blog!", but I had to get that shit off my chest. I just want to watch meaningful fights on the ice. I guess that's my bitch, if I wanted to watch two meatheads throw punches I'd watch the NBA.

Confusion in the face of Congratulations

2008-07-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

I am a Blackhawks fan. I've taken my beatings. Now the team is starting to rise up from the ashes of the Bill Wirtz era and into the Rocky era. There is hope or was hope. While everyone keeps clapping their hands around me, I'm skeptical. It's like being John Hurt in "1984". There's a giant "Wait a minute!" feeling that is slowly consuming me.Everyone keeps saying "Huet! Campbell! Brilliant!". Oh really? $12 mil worth of mediocre goaltending is Brilliant? Since when? I also didn't know paying a 37 year old defenseman $7.1 Mil was genius either. So maybe I have alot to learn OR (and I'm leaning towards this one) it's same old same old in Chicago. Overpaying players. And that is NOT genius.One of the things that I was looking forward to this year was that we could get good players to come to Chicago without overpaying them. I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one. So how do we celebrate our new status as a "Place to be"? We overpay to get players to come to Chicago. Brilliance (note thick sarcasm)!Regardless of the fact that we will lose $16.75 mil in salary after this season with Havlat, Khabibulin, and Lang's contracts all coming to an end. We have set an unrealistic pricetag to meet here. In my biased opinion Duncan Kieth will outshine our "big signing" of Brian Campbell. Meaning that when contract time comes (after the 09-10 season) Duncan's contract is gonna have to be huge like $1.2 Bil a year for 3 millenia or something ridiculous.Now on to my gripe about Huet. I am not opposed to new blood between the pipes nor am I oposed to Huet in particular. I'm also not opposed to giving Khabibulin the boot, throwing him under the bus, pushing him into traffic, or generally verbally abusing him like I have since he was a member of Tampa. What I am opposed to is the concept that two starters will share goaltending duties. Yeah this isn't the MLB we don't have a "rotation". We also don't have starters backing each other up morally. That crap only happens in REALLY shitty movies and not even just the bad ones like "Mighty Ducks 3"! This isn't a "feel good movie about buddies", this will be a "legendary clash of egos!". If Huet is replacing Khabi, that is fine. BUT who in their right mind signs another starting goalie while they still have one left to unload? And I do mean unload. Thanks to mathematics I figured out that we paid Khabi over $290K per win last year. Which I find ridiculous.Then we get to the draft. The whole time before hand there was only one kid rated in our range I did NOT want. Guess who we signed? The kid with an attitude problem and some injuries. Yeah genius drafting startegy! Oh but it gets better. We then spend the rest and I mean the entirety of our draft picks on defenseman. um, okay. Refilling the AHL roster with D-men? Possibly. Which almost started to make sense UNTIL we signed 3 defensemen in a row that were like #7 D-men at the best. So we have a bunch of D-men that should not be playing at the NHL all eating up non-existant cap space. Not one of these guys is gonna be ready to fill in for injured D-man James "Wiz" Wisniewski who will likely miss 5-10 games recovering from surgery.Yeah. Well anyway everyone keeps saying "The Blackhawks are going to be amazing next year!" I think we will make a powerful playoff push, but I'm not 100% on board for this "Stanley in 09 !" thought process that seems to be overpoweringly compelling to hockey fans right now. I'm happy that we're re-surging, but I'm confused as hell about out post-season strategies. I've shook my head in pure bafflement when we signed what really amounts to NHL cast offs and AHL refuse, especially when goaltending prospect Corey Crawford has not been signed. Corey has skills. I am saying that straight up. He could be a Stanley Cup winner, and that is no doubt to me. My Chicago Sports Paranoia keeps thinking we will let talent walk away and not even get a draft pick out of the deal AGAIN. When Corey gets signed and Khabi get dealt I'll relax a ton.It just doesn't stop getting better! By now that ridiculous trade rumor is swirling around that links us to the Kings and the Sens in a 3 team blockbuster trade. Let me dispell this rumor right now. NOT GONNA HAPPEN. The first tip off was that we would trade Seabrook and Khabi. Okay we JUST re-signed Seabs for 3 more years. This trade is not gonna happen. You don't re-enforce your blueline and then trade your 2nd biggest homegrown Defensive player(after Keith). Flush rumor #1. Rumor #2 is even more ludicrous as it involves both Khabi and Seabs and then gets even more Eklund-ish....er, insane by involving our top goal scorer Patrick Sharp. Let me tell you something. We might be dumb enough to overpay for Campbell, but dumping Sharp is a new kind of dumb that only a Gm for a Florida team could pull off.Someone will be hitting the skids, but it won't be Sharp or Seabrook. Stay tuned to see who that lucky target will be other than Khabi. My Spidey Sense says Barker. Oh well. I pled my case, but Koharsky is pointing at the box. I'm off for another 10. Good night folks

Confusion in the face of Congratulations

2008-07-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

I am a Blackhawks fan. I've taken my beatings. Now the team is starting to rise up from the ashes of the Bill Wirtz era and into the Rocky era. There is hope or was hope. While everyone keeps clapping their hands around me, I'm skeptical. It's like being John Hurt in "1984". There's a giant "Wait a minute!" feeling that is slowly consuming me.

Everyone keeps saying "Huet! Campbell! Brilliant!". Oh really? $12 mil worth of mediocre goaltending is Brilliant? Since when? I also didn't know paying a 37 year old defenseman $7.1 Mil was genius either. So maybe I have alot to learn OR (and I'm leaning towards this one) it's same old same old in Chicago. Overpaying players. And that is NOT genius.

One of the things that I was looking forward to this year was that we could get good players to come to Chicago without overpaying them. I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one. So how do we celebrate our new status as a "Place to be"? We overpay to get players to come to Chicago. Brilliance (note thick sarcasm)!

Regardless of the fact that we will lose $16.75 mil in salary after this season with Havlat, Khabibulin, and Lang's contracts all coming to an end. We have set an unrealistic pricetag to meet here. In my biased opinion Duncan Kieth will outshine our "big signing" of Brian Campbell. Meaning that when contract time comes (after the 09-10 season) Duncan's contract is gonna have to be huge like $1.2 Bil a year for 3 millenia or something ridiculous.

Now on to my gripe about Huet. I am not opposed to new blood between the pipes nor am I oposed to Huet in particular. I'm also not opposed to giving Khabibulin the boot, throwing him under the bus, pushing him into traffic, or generally verbally abusing him like I have since he was a member of Tampa. What I am opposed to is the concept that two starters will share goaltending duties. Yeah this isn't the MLB we don't have a "rotation". We also don't have starters backing each other up morally. That crap only happens in REALLY shitty movies and not even just the bad ones like "Mighty Ducks 3"! This isn't a "feel good movie about buddies", this will be a "legendary clash of egos!". If Huet is replacing Khabi, that is fine. BUT who in their right mind signs another starting goalie while they still have one left to unload? And I do mean unload. Thanks to mathematics I figured out that we paid Khabi over $290K per win last year. Which I find ridiculous.

Then we get to the draft. The whole time before hand there was only one kid rated in our range I did NOT want. Guess who we signed? The kid with an attitude problem and some injuries. Yeah genius drafting startegy! Oh but it gets better. We then spend the rest and I mean the entirety of our draft picks on defenseman. um, okay. Refilling the AHL roster with D-men? Possibly. Which almost started to make sense UNTIL we signed 3 defensemen in a row that were like #7 D-men at the best. So we have a bunch of D-men that should not be playing at the NHL all eating up non-existant cap space. Not one of these guys is gonna be ready to fill in for injured D-man James "Wiz" Wisniewski who will likely miss 5-10 games recovering from surgery.

Yeah. Well anyway everyone keeps saying "The Blackhawks are going to be amazing next year!" I think we will make a powerful playoff push, but I'm not 100% on board for this "Stanley in 09 !" thought process that seems to be overpoweringly compelling to hockey fans right now. I'm happy that we're re-surging, but I'm confused as hell about out post-season strategies. I've shook my head in pure bafflement when we signed what really amounts to NHL cast offs and AHL refuse, especially when goaltending prospect Corey Crawford has not been signed. Corey has skills. I am saying that straight up. He could be a Stanley Cup winner, and that is no doubt to me. My Chicago Sports Paranoia keeps thinking we will let talent walk away and not even get a draft pick out of the deal AGAIN. When Corey gets signed and Khabi get dealt I'll relax a ton.

It just doesn't stop getting better! By now that ridiculous trade rumor is swirling around that links us to the Kings and the Sens in a 3 team blockbuster trade. Let me dispell this rumor right now. NOT GONNA HAPPEN. The first tip off was that we would trade Seabrook and Khabi. Okay we JUST re-signed Seabs for 3 more years. This trade is not gonna happen. You don't re-enforce your blueline and then trade your 2nd biggest homegrown Defensive player(after Keith). Flush rumor #1. Rumor #2 is even more ludicrous as it involves both Khabi and Seabs and then gets even more Eklund-ish....er, insane by involving our top goal scorer Patrick Sharp. Let me tell you something. We might be dumb enough to overpay for Campbell, but dumping Sharp is a new kind of dumb that only a Gm for a Florida team could pull off.

Someone will be hitting the skids, but it won't be Sharp or Seabrook. Stay tuned to see who that lucky target will be other than Khabi. My Spidey Sense says Barker. Oh well. I pled my case, but Koharsky is pointing at the box. I'm off for another 10. Good night folks.

Why the owners didn't make me Commish.

2008-06-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

I have ideas. Big ideas. Unpopular but powerful ideas. I'd wield my Commish powers with Mjolnir like brutality. Secretly (most) of the fans would love me, but the owners would loathe me. But they would never outyell me. I promise. I can yell. And this is what I want to yell about right now- 30 teams. Yeah 30 fucking teams. Why? Why are there that many teams in the NHL? Seriously. Name a star player on a team other than your favorite. Now name 2 more from the SAME team. I'm talkng stars and super stars on the current roster. Did we give up competition for league parity so we can have 30 mediocre teams with a few superstars, a few stars, a few fan favorites, and a handful of underachieving role players?
I've seen the dregs of the minor leagues. There is nothing nearly entertaining about seeing IHL or ECHL games live as compared to watching true professionals in the NHL on TV. And even then, why am I watching 5-10 guys per team that have no business wearing a professional team's crest on their sweater? It's ridiculous.
To begin with the NHL-caliber talent pool is depleted. Now that Russia is starting their Soopre Leeg, or whatever the hell they're calling it, we're going to be getting less Russians in our league. But they aren't happy with just having their own countrymen on those teams. They're going after top players and prospects from all across the hockey world. The talent pool for the NHL is already thin. It's going to get worse considering the bags of cash Russia's throwing at these players. We're going to be watching some sad hockey if we continue to keep 30 teams in the NHL without a better system for replenishing these rosters with high quality players.
So this is what I think NEEDS to happen: Pare the league down. I understand the idea of spreading the "Gospel according to Gordie" across the United States and Canada for that big National television contract. So don't get me wrong. But what I am saying is, something has got to be done and soon.
So far the NHL has bounced back from the devastating adversity that was the Lockout (*shudder*), but bringing up cement headed minor leaguers to fill in missing international players' slots won't be doing anyone any favors.

So the way I see it, we pare the league back and keep a high level of play across the board. 24 teams is my prescription which means 6 teams are getting the boot. But I have greater plans than that. This is how it works:

Original 6 immunity:
Red Wings, Habs, Blackhawks, Rangers
Leafs-Team stays put, but the Teacher's Association is forced out of ownership.
Bruins-Sinden gets the boot. Let's the door hit him where the Good Lord split him

Class of 1967,1970, and 1972 Immunity:
Kings, Flyers, Penguins, Canucks, Flames
Blues: Owner is put "on notice". He has a few years to get things righted or he gets a Sinden like send off.
Sabres: Owner gets the royal ass booting. Real ownership is brought in like their fans deserve.
Islanders: Say good bye to Wang. This team needs real front office help

The Royal boot:
Lightning-Why there are TWO teams in Florida. I will never understand. Between the two of them this is the worst attended. Nevermind their Stanley Cup run.
Ducks- C'mon! It was a Disney movie! 1 Cup and a handful of playoff appearances don't a franchise make
Blue Jackets-I have never understood why there is a team in Columbus, Ohio.
Predators- Despite giving it all they have in Nashville this team is as much a late night soap opera as anything else. I'm just pulling the plug early to save the family's feelings.
Wild- Cheapness at the fans from "The State of Hockey"'s expense does nothing to impress me.

The barely made its:
Panthers-Having one of the more loyal fan bases. This team from Florida has got the right stuff going for it more or less. They might need some m ore exposure. But not fighting the Lightning for a fan base in Florida will help.
Thrashers-It was hard for me to not scratch them, but my heart is not quite black enough to swipe two franchises from the city
Caps-Having a full Arena pushes them over the hump. Of course having Alexander Ovechkin doesn't hurt.
Sens-Hey. It's Canada. They already have fans.
Oilers-The owner is on notice. Stop screwing around with the players. OR ELSE!
Sharks-Filling the Shark Tank with loud enthusiastic fans is good enough for me.
Avs-This team has filled the Pepsi Ice Center pretty much from day one. Hockey has a home in the Rocky mountains.
Devils-With all of the success they've had, the Devils aren't going anywhere.

The Not So Fasts!:
Stars:No point pretending that Dallas has been hockey mad. Why this team ever left Minnesota would boggle my mind if it weren't for the fact that I suspect a massive payoff was offered to move the team to Texas. In my world the Stars return triumphantly to Minnesota and regain the "North" to their title.
Hurricanes: Remember this is my fabntasy world. Ergo the 'Canes are forced back to Hartford by gunpoint and regain their beautiful Whalers colors and title. The Whale returns to New England.
Coyotes: Hockey in the desert? I think not. While Wayne Gretzky behind the bench is nice publicity, this is the NHL not some bush league in Peterborough. But the guy has had 3 seasons and an overall losing record. The boot should be extended. And what better place to give the "Overated one" the boot then in Canada? Specifically Winnipeg. All hail the Jets! But then again I'm a jerk like that.

So then what happens? Well you see 6 teams just got the boot, right? That means their rosters and prospects are floating in space. So what teams do is take those 6 teams' rosters and prospects and do a special draft. The talent suddenly is a bit thicker on each team already. Not to mention that teams show back up in hockey mad markets. The NHL stays on top as they were. A better product=better ratings. Better ratings=more money.
Yeah that's the way I see it. You can take your shots whenever you want. I like a good open conversation. Even a hostile one. But then again that's why I call it "Game Misconduct". I'm hitting the showers. I don't need 10 minutes in the box.

The Fantasy.

2008-06-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

This happens every year. Seriously every year, every sport, every city. Some team that's been down the crap hole in every last possible way signs some big name free agent or trades for one or whatever. Anyway they end up with this giant star on their roster of malcontents, underachievers, and life long losers. And the minute. I mean the very exact second that they ink the giant contract, "IT" starts.
Every fan of that team starts to whisper. "Player X is here to fix the whole shebang." The "Messiah" has been signed. He's going to fix everything, he's going to drive invalid elderly war vets to the arena to fill the seats. He's going to have a little star-to-grinder talk with that guy that's always effing up everything and turn him around. He can fly, he can shoot goals out of his eyes, he can use mental telepathy from the bench to save goals, he'll get all of his international friends and former team mates to come here, he'll save the orphanage, he can literally crap out a win, and sneeze a puck into the crease. And most importantly he can win a championship surrounded by the rest of the under skilled team that the GM signed.
But then the season starts. Then new whispering starts. "He's a waste of money." He can't do anything right, he punched a quadriplegic orphan in the crotch, he's a jerk, he's a loser. Why did we sign him?
Then after 2 or 3 or 4 years of slugging it out in an under developed team and decides he can't take it anymore. He leaves town and everyone hates his guts. Despite the fact he got hung out to dry and never got any real help on the wing, it's all his fault. He's Public Enemy #1. And then to make things worse he signs on with a good team and "re-finds" his touch and has a comeback. Which makes the whining even worse. He threw games, he mailed it in, he did that to us on purpose!
I find this all ridiculous.
There is no single player that can fix every problem on a franchise. Cases in point: Gretzky in LA, Gretzky in STL, Gretzky in NYR, Marcel Dionne in LA, Marcel Dionne in NYR, Guy Lafleur in NYR, Phil Esposito in NYR, Nikolai Khabibulin and Martin Havlat in CHI, Paul Kariya in STL, Peter Forsberg in Nashville, Peter Forsberg in Philly, etc. etc. etc. And there is only so much a player can take no matter how good he is or how much of a man he is.
I guess all I'm saying is this, "If your team wins the Ollie Jokinen fire sale Lottery, but doesn't have any other talent on the team; don't go nuts talking STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!". And when he doesn't bring it to you, don't smash his face in with your bitter words.
I think that is a fair request. Anyone else?

The Shit Sandwich

2008-06-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

Next year we're all going to see a disarrayed NHL or at least half of the NHL in disarray. As it seems like all of the cool kids are firing their their coaches or GMs, or just sitting there and watching as their assets slip through their fingers. All of this means that the stable and growing are going to remain stable and get stronger. There's 30 teams in the NHL, I'd like a shot at them all. Wrote a blog about it. Like to read it? Here it go:

Anaheim-Who knows if Doug Weight will retire, he should really think about it. But he's small pickings compared to the rolling drama that is the Selanne/Niedermayer soap opera. Are they coming back? Are they leaving? Who knows? The point is they're old and getting rustier everyday. What they used to be able to shoulder is more than they can handle. They're still veteran presence, but they are no longer the super star presence that could take over a game like before. The league is also on to Chris Pronger. He's a dirt bag. I'll admit it even if Don Cherry won't. I expect him to spend another couple of games sitting out a suspension. But J.S. Gigguere is possibly the most important piece of the puzzle. He's not going anywhere. The Ducks will probably still be a good team, but who knows how good. With their coach coming back and their GM not going anywhere, it might be enough stability to get them to the playoffs.

Atlanta-Once a mess. Always a mess. Other than their strong prospect pool in the AHL with the Wolves, there is nothing bright and beautiful to talk about here. Marian Hossa is GONE. And though they're getting a 1st round pick and Colby Armstrong for him, it's the the booby prize. Congrats, Thrashers. You're doomed!

Boston- If anything sinks this ship it will be their owner. Ask a Bruins fan, I mean one of the few that are left, and they'll tell you that the owner is an assclown. It's like Bill Wirtz faked his own death and changed his name to Jacobs. But what the team needs is to re-sign Glen Metropolit for starters. They could also use a bit more scoring touch. But letting Chuck Kobasew walk away would be another crime against humanity or at the very least Bruins Nation. But Boston is not screwed. They actually might pick up a bit, if Sinden undoes his man purse strings a bit and Peter Chiarelli spends his allowance wisely.

Buffalo- Ah, the Sabres. Or should it be AWWWW the Sabres? After being a red hot muscle car in 06-07 they took a giant crap as they lost Drury, Briere, and rental player Dainus Zubrus. Not only did their playoff chances buy the farm they also tried to burn it down for the insurance money. Brian Campbell was dealt this year leaving their blueline short a top pairing defenseman. Ouch. I've never understood why a team in hockey-crazy Buffalo isn't being handled properly. Or maybe the Buffaslug/Slugalo offended the Hockey gods' senses so bad they decided to curse the team. It's less painful to think about that way then the actuallity that the head office has their heads so far up their own asses that they can watch the digestion process. While I pray for the best, my recomendation is to their fans is to build a bomb shelter and hunker down for a nuclear assault. But things might not be horrendous. Ryan Miller is a fucking A student in the crease, their GM and coach are staying put (as of this moment) and the fans will be back in seats next season; allowing the franchise the chance to snag some big names off of the Free Agent Heap and throw them out on the ice. Things have a chance, just not a giganticore one like in 06-07.

Calgary- Calgary isn't in half as bad of shape as some of their counterparts. What they could use is some youthfulness on their roster and a prayer that Phaneuf doesn't run off and join the Circus. Daymond Langkow is a MUST sign UFA no doubt. And while CuJo may or may not be coming back, at 41 I don't know how much of the load he can shoulder. Otherwise Calgary will come out and play the same punishing uninspired hockey we've all dozed off watching the last couple of years.

Carolina- two years removed from a Stanley Cup Championship and bogged down even in the weaker SouthEastern Conference, they're still a mess. You may want to avert your eyes as they take on other forms.

Chicago- With no bias (yeah, right!) I tell you hands down they are the 08-09 Stanley Cup Champions. (uh huh). Only this next season will tell if last year was only a dreamy respite from the Minor League Call-Up show they've been running the last few years. They have some $ to spend on free agents, they have some prospects really banging, and a fan base again. Who knew? The real questions are- Can Khabibulin play a decent amount of games without ripping out his thigh muscles like a leg off a rotisserrie chicken? Is Savvy for real? Will the team "Commit to the Indian"? And what will anybody give us for a broken Czech sports car? I suspect Chicago will nose it's way into the playoffs this next year, but who knows how far they will make it.

Colorado- Apparently the front office thinks it's still 1998 when the Avs last won the Cup. Or at least that's the impression I get. I just keep waiting for them to announce Patrick Roy and Claude Lemieux's return. But the Retirement Home all star AVs team is coming into a new head coach and an apparently clueless GM situation. I don't their future looks bright. I suggest Sakic take the money and run. But that's just my two cents.

Columbus- I wish I could tell you Columbus is gonna suck next year, but I just don't think that will be the case. They have too much going for them. Ken Hitchcock has done a good job selling his system to the team and despite their record last year, they played a hell of a game almost every night. Rick Nash just doesn't stop getting better and he's slowly positioned himself to put the C on his sweater in the proper time unlike some young stars who are just given it because. With pretty much a full roster of 2-way players with some offensive talent, the CBJs will push hard for a playoff slot next year. Mark my words. I hope their dead wrong.

Dallas- This team doesn't stop climbing the food chain. Say what you want about their losing series to Detroit, but they made it further in the Playoffs than the year before. Turco has officially shaken the Playoff choke tag he had a few years ago. With no lynch-pin all-star free agents, Dallas has the money and the space for both young prospects and free agents to do whatever the hell they want.The Pacific Division better be scared if they know what's good for them. And the Western Conference had better take note. That's all I'm saying. Expect another big Playoff push from Dallas.

Detroit- Everyone is high on this team. Or is that everyone on this team is high? I'm not sure. I have my suspicions that both Hasek and Osgood are gone for different reasons. Osgood to end his career on a high note, and Hasek because who wants a damaged goods Prima Donna in their locker room? I have a gut feeling Chelios will not be tendered an offer and will float in the UFA zone for a bit, before someone snags him up. But he will play next year. I can almost guarentee it. If the Red Wings don't make an offer to Lidstrom they're smoking crack, but I suspect the Captain will return next year. I think they will be a good team, but not the same amount of good as they were this year. Expect goal tending woes. Just a hunch. What do I care? I'm a Blackhawks fan and know damn well that "Dee-Troit Sucks!'

Edmonton- Don't hold your breath. Somehow Edmonton wins games through a little bit of skill and a whole lot of dumb luck. This is most definately not the dynasty of the 80's team. While they may feast on division rivals Colorado and Vancouver they won't stand up to Calgary or the other half of the Western Conference that's not embroiled in a deep sludge pit. This is the part where Edmonton fans chime in together "Thanks, Pocklington." with deep sarcasm, anger, and bitterness. Yeah I know Pete don't own the team anymore, but you have to lay the blame somewhere, and I don't think the Ryan Smyth pain is numb enough to lay it there.

Florida- Almost a punchline to every bad trade joke in the world, they'll be laughing all the way to a winning season in their division with Vokoun in net. Don't get me wrong they're still a mess, but they luck out by not being in a tougher division. Maybe their GM finally wisened up after that Bert for Luongo trade enough to re-think his trades on more than just a flashiness level. I'd expect only a mildly enjoyable or mildly depressing season for the Panthers.

LA Kings- I have two words for the Kings- GOAL TENDING! Yeah maybe fill that whole up a bit? Hmmm? Maybe just a tad? Just a thought.

Minnesota- If the rumors are true and Demitra wants to make a run for it, You could drill a hole in the bottom of this boat and sink it all the way to the bottom of any one of the 10,000 lakes. Their RFA and UFA lists read like a night's line up and you can be sure that the GM is going to be super damned busy this summer. It might take some begging, crying, and pleading to get some of these deals done. But for the State of Hockey I hope the players don't sneak out in the middle of the night like they were the North Stars.

Montreal- Signing Andrei Kostitsyn should be a #1 priority this off season (uh, DUH!). They have several pieces in place already and Carey Price in net is a giant one. I'd expect them to finish top of their division no problem and possibly lead the Eastern Conference as the #1 seed, assuming their GM doesn't decide to go on vacation, turn off his cell phone, and ignore the obvious.

Nashville- Having sold the farm before the trade deadline for a broken down Volvo they thought would be a sports car, they followed that up with a fire sale. Somehow they squeaked out a quietly winning season and snuck into the Playoffs. I'm pretty sure this team keeps winning at a ghastly average rate just to ensure enough people show up to annul any ideas of moving the team. Who knows what this off season will hold for the late night cable drama that is the Nashville Predators.

New Jersey- Lou may be hitting the Kool Aid and trying to pass it off as non-Jonestown stuff, but he better wake up and smell the sulfur and brimstone. It's time to realize Pando and Clarkson need to be in the red, white, and black if the Devils are going to have any kind of team next year. Salvador might need some GM attention also. I have another red hot tip-sign some scorers! Yeah, crazy. I know. But it just might work. We all love Marty (minus Philly fans), but you can't expect him to stop every shot in every game and score the goals too. That's ridiculous.
I've heard speculation that maybe the C should switch from Langenbrunner's chest to right over Madden's heart. From the Playoff catastrophe against the Rangers that I saw, I'd have to agree. He might be the spark plug this team needs to find some of the old fire. Just a thought.

New York (Islanders)- Before the post season action really started every NHL fan was dumbfounded by the Islanders letting Wade Dubielewicz walk. The one thing I felt the Islanders really had going for them other than Poti walking was their goaltending tandem. But let's not forget this is the same team that signed their favorite son to a 15 year deal. Yeah I said 15 year deal. Let's face it. Mike Bossy, Billy Smith, Pat LaFontaine. None of them are coming back. Playing "popularity" games with the line up isn't gaining any ground. It might be time for someone with some hockey sense to buy the team or at least GM it.

New York (Rangers)- Henrik Lundquvist, Chris Drury, and Scottie Gomez. I'm done talking about the positives. Expect a new slew of faces to be wearing the sweater in the MSG. It'll be like those years before 94 when people forgot there were 3 teams in the State of New York. Okay probably not. New York has more money than God himself and if Shanahan, Jagr, and Avery all walk; the Rangers might have a shot at building a real team in the next few years. Right now their future really rests in the hands of their GM and what he feels the future faces of the club will look like. They could either be a dark horse or a dark blotch on the face of the NHL. Only time will tell. The one thing I can tell you is that King Henry will keep them in every game especially if he has some defensive help.

Ottawa- It starts with goal tending. Or does it start with finding a new coach. Or do they fire the GM and bring in somebody new? Does Sundin really go there? I doubt it. I'd expect their free agent signings to be few and far between while they answer some very big questions. Now if they get a head coach in there right away, and he sees eye to eye with the GM; they have a shot at blitzing the free agent market and putting something worth watching back out on the ice. Or they could be Alexander Daigle awesome. Who knows? The one thing everyone knows is that Redden and Emery are currently homeless and begging for contracts out on the street.

Philladelphia- A lot of fans hate the Flyers, and I can see why. They punish other teams, they don't give up, they don't lay down, and they never stop coming at you. I like their chances for a big fat playoff berth next year. They have only a few key Free Agents to sign, and some money to snag another mid level player. The coach and GM are returning and Bobby Clarke is nowhere to be seen. There is a fairly high chance we will see this team battling Montreal for the Eastern Conference Championship banner before going on to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Phoenix- I'd love to pretend like I really have an idea what's going on in Phoenix, but I don't. The only thing I know is they stole a real goaltender from Anaheim, and snagged a Rookie of the Year Candidate. They may have something going, and maybe not. But the coach isn't going anywhere. He's been given free reign to eff things up as much as he wants for as long as he wants. Maybe in 20 years he'll take them to the Playoffs, if the team hasn't relocated due to lack of care.

Pittsburgh- Congratulations Michele Theirrien you've lost the Cup. Now what are you going to do? I'll tell you what he's gonna do. Watch and cry. And then cry some more. The salary cap won't cover all of his teams free agent needs. Not to mention there may be some dissension in the locker room. You can expect energy player Orpik to be wearing someone else's sweater next year. And who knows who else will follow him. I'm not saying the Pens will suck next year, but I am saying they'll be a shadow of the team they were this year. The real question is- When the quality players hit the free agent market, how much of the team is going to get eaten up by the sharks in the frenzy? They can't all stay in the black and yellow and they won't. So what will the team look like next year? Will they still be the team on the lips of every ass kissing analyst? Doubtful.

San Jose- Jeremy Roenick already re-signed. But did he jump the gun? Not 2 weeks after he re-signed the coach got the boot. Now the search is on for a new head coach. Can the new coach kick Lazy Joe Thornton in the ass or not? Who knows if Campbell will stay or leave? The Sharks will still be a tough team, but who knows how the coaching change will affect them for the next season. Put a big black question mark over the team as they pray Anaheim takes a crap, and the Kings don't get any better. They might even be able to dazzle Phoenix away into a never ending pit of losses. But I recommend the Sharks fans hold on in their bunkers with a box of hankies and a bottle of whiskey just in case.

St Louis- Where do you start with this team? They did get better this last year, but fell quite short of expectations. Something is going wrong somewhere. The one thing that Blues fans can take solace in is the fact that the new ownership is attempting to build a team the right way through drafting and rational free agent signings. Next year should be better than this year was, but keep your expectations low. That way if the team falls it won't hurt as bad. The Upside is they should only be 2 or 3 seasons away from a solid playoff berth.

Tampa Bay- It starts with warm fuzzy feelings about a Cup win a scant 4 years ago and then gets summarily flushed down the crapper from there. Goal tending has been a major issue ever since Khabibulin left. The feud between LeCavellier and Torts has been more public than the Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson fights. But it's over now. Or is it? Has Vinny learned that he can flex his star power and run a coach out of town? Or is it that Torts was such an a-hole that any change will be positive. The team regardless is a mess. I'm sure Phil Esposito would like to punch some teeth out in the head office for what they've done to "his" team. Being in the weaker South Eastern Conference Tampa has a chance to bring in some players to fill their much needed roster. With Brad Richards and Torts gone it's pretty obvious that the team is going "In another direction". I assume that direction would be up as they can't fall that much lower. Just saying is all.

Toronto- It's hard to believe this team once won 4 consecutive Cups. Mismanagement through the years and a string of poor free agent signings have left this once proud franchise in the toilet. With no coach as of yet and only an interim GM, the team is teetering towards a 1st overall pick in the 09 draft. And that goes double if perrennial star and Captain Mats Sundin runs off. The drama doesn't stop there as the Leafs wait on good coach that "Can't win the Big one" Ron Wilson to decide if he wants to join the Leafs as head coach or not. To be honest the team is a giant mess. It's going to take at least 3 years before they get any of the turmoil figured out and tied down correctly unless they get a few people with real hockey sense to come in and clean house. Their only other choice is to rebuild and nothing in the world is truly worse than watching seasons of "Rebuilding". To be honest seeing an Original 6 team this far down is depressing. Not to mention that the team from "The center of the hockey world" should be much better than they have been. The constant ass kicking the head office gives the fans year in and year out is a tragedy and a crime against hockey.

Vancouver- The third hockey crime against Canada's population. The Vancouver franchise is pretty obviously completely clueless. After a decent Finals run in 06-07 that ended when they couldn't score. They followed it up with a season with less scoring then the year before. No one doubts that Roberto Luongo is an excellent goal tender, but like Jersey the offense isn't doing him enough favors. The dumbest move so far in the post season and possibly dumber than the one that allowed Luongo to move to Vancouver for problem child Bertuzzi was when the franchise allowed an agent to become the GM. Can you say retarded? Vancouver will be better when they get either the #1 or #2 overall draft pick in the 09 draft and the President of operations opens his eyes and fires the GM in favor of someone that has a clue. Just saying is all.

Washington- What can I say? They have Ovechkin, they brought in a new goaltender, they put some talent around the most exciting player in the NHL, and they have a coach with a clue. That might be all it takes to make them #1 in the South Eastern Conference. They'll get their shot this year assuming they keep key pieces and bring in other key Free Agent signings. They actually have a pretty easy road ahead of them compared to some of their more clueless franchise counterparts. Expect good and exciting things for the team, unless their GM drops the ball and signs Avery and Belfour.

GASP!

2008-04-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

We are scantily a few minutes away from the puck dropping on two important games for the Blackhawks. I hate not having our fate in our own hands. My breath is a bit shortened. I need to focus. I NEED a beer. But what I need even more is a Big time St Louis Blues win and an Edmonton win would be sweet too.
My nerves are shot and nothing has happened yet. No puck has been dropped, no lead has been blown, no anthems have been sung, and yet I'm just sitting here a bit hyped up, my legs keep bouncing, my toes are tapping, my body feels uncomfortable, and every joint has been cracked. TWICE!
I gotta go I'm hearing pregame goal horns. If I don't return morn my death from a heart attack.

....If they know what's good for them!

2008-04-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

That is a phrase I have been using quite frequently here lately. For instance today I have been saying "The St. Louis Blues had better fucking win!......if they know what's good for them!". Unfortunately winning a game doesn't really do shit for them. The only thing they've got to be thinking is knocking Nashville out of Playoff contention, or revenge for the game the other night when they got hosed. At any rate they better be up for tonight's game....if they know what's good for them.
I don't give a shit about the Blues or St. Louis Sports in general. All I care is that for one more day the Blackhawks' dreams of playoff contention are still alive. If St Louis could come through right here for me; I might call off that hit on Legace's knees I ordered. But then again maybe not. I'm a bit edgy right now. It's down to the wire. The Blackhawks have a slim chance of going to the Playoffs for the first time in like 6 years. It's quite simple really. All they have to do is beat Nashville once and then beat Detroit AGAIN on Sunday with the entire North American hockey community watching on TV. On the flipside Nashville cannot win another game or even have consecutive overtime losses. The Canucks can't go better than .500 and TA DA! Chicago goes to the Playoffs in a Cinerella Dream Story as a team that came out of nowhere and shored up the 8th slot. It's in the net. Oh! It's in the net. They gotta be happy with that!
Now you should get behind me and root for the Blackhawks....if you know what's good for you.

Central Division Craziness

2007-11-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

So no shit, there I was. Sitting on my couch with the booze flowing like water. Kicking back and hammering the refs for another bad game. It may or may not have been booze induced, but I'm really pissed. Regardless losing to the Colombus Blue jackets isn't my idea of a good time. 2 Nights later and the same thing is happening in Nashville Tennesse. We're once again losing to the Predators. THE PREDATORS I tell ya.But I think maybe now that the booze is long gone and the hang over is fading maybe, just maybe, stats don't lie. The Central Division is tough. Real fucking tough.
Now I'm not suggesting anyone is going to overtake the Detroit Red Wings and all of their lame majesty, but there is a real decent chance that 5 of the 8 Western Conference Playoff teams will be represented out of this division.I don't think anyone is being mystified by the juggernaut of Detroit's being there, but I didn't think Nashville or Colombus had a shot at being there. At All. But yet here they are. Nashville is bolstered by an amazing backstopper in Mason. Colombus is so big and punishing. They're literally muscling teams out of the slots, and simply stifling offenses with their defensive strategy. Ken Hitchcock must be proud. Bettman is already contemplating a rule change I'm sure.
St. Louis has been off and on this season like last season. Eric Johnson seems to be playing extremely well for a rookie defenseman in the league. Legace seems to have refound the magic as Detroit cries it's goaltender tandem woes. With Paul Kariya coming in filling a scoring hole that was there last year.
Chicago. Sweet Home Chicago. The town that Billy Sunday could NOT shut down. Well, I love the Hawks. They're gonna get the most face time here, but I don't think this is going to be the only place. They're drafting is finally paying off in spades with Toews and Kane. How can you not love these kids? But the culture in Chicago hockey is changing. Winning seems to be in the regular vocabulary. It's a breath of fresh air. So far the Hawks have gone 4-0 against Detroit for the first time in like 15 years. Seriously. I wouldn't joke about that.But beyond that it seems like they've put a winning recipe together with 2 skilled rookies in Toews and Kane. 3 Journeyman players really finding their NHL game in Seabrook, Duncan Kieth, and Patrick Sharp, and veteran leadership with Lang, Perreault, and Brent Sopel. We have a coach that seems to have shaken off the learning rust and shackles of Trent Yawney's game of last year. Fans seem to be looking at the United Center as Mecca instead of as the Black Hole of Calcutta. Seeing more fans showing their pride on off days is even cooler.
Regardless of all that it's hard to be mad at the team when they're putting their all up against Divisional rivals that have every right to think they have a shot at the playoffs. It's getting tight in there. We're not even half done and the difference between the very top and the very bottom is 5 whole points. By now most divisions have alreayd cleaned the chaff from the grain. We don't have a single dud, dog, or rollover team in the Division. Seeing that kind of caliber 32 times in one year can make a guy irritated at the Pacific Division where just not being Phoenix would get you a solid playoff spot.
Yeah right now we're where it's at. And like any dichotomy it's cool but it sucks.Well those lucky bastards that have the Center Ice Package should be jumping all over the Divisional games here.That's my red hot tip. I'm out.

Central Division Craziness

2007-11-22T22:46:00.000-08:00

So no shit, there I was. Sitting on my couch with the booze flowing like water. Kicking back and hammering the refs for another bad game. It may or may not have been booze induced, but I'm really pissed. Regardless losing to the Colombus Blue jackets isn't my idea of a good time. 2 Nights later and the same thing is happening in Nashville Tennesse. We're once again losing to the Predators. THE PREDATORS I tell ya.
But I think maybe now that the booze is long gone and the hang over is fading maybe, just maybe, stats don't lie. The Central Division is tough. Real fucking tough. Now I'm not suggesting anyone is going to overtake the Detroit Red Wings and all of their lame majesty, but there is a real decent chance that 5 of the 8 Western Conference Playoff teams will be represented out of this division.
I don't think anyone is being mystified by the juggernaut of Detroit's being there, but I didn't think Nashville or Colombus had a shot at being there. At All. But yet here they are. Nashville is bolstered by an amazing backstopper in Mason. Colombus is so big and punishing. They're literally muscling teams out of the slots, and simply stifling offenses with their defensive strategy. Ken Hitchcock must be proud. Bettman is already contemplating a rule change I'm sure.
St. Louis has been off and on this season like last season. Eric Johnson seems to be playing extremely well for a rookie defenseman in the league. Legace seems to have refound the magic as Detroit cries it's goaltender tandem woes. With Paul Kariya coming in filling a scoring hole that was there last year.
Chicago. Sweet Home Chicago. The town that Billy Sunday could NOT shut down. Well, I love the Hawks. They're gonna get the most face time here, but I don't think this is going to be the only place. They're drafting is finally paying off in spades with Toews and Kane. How can you not love these kids? But the culture in Chicago hockey is changing. Winning seems to be in the regular vocabulary. It's a breath of fresh air. So far the Hawks have gone 4-0 against Detroit for the first time in like 15 years. Seriously. I wouldn't joke about that.
But beyond that it seems like they've put a winning recipe together with 2 skilled rookies in Toews and Kane. 3 Journeyman players really finding their NHL game in Seabrook, Duncan Kieth, and Patrick Sharp, and veteran leadership with Lang, Perreault, and Brent Sopel. We have a coach that seems to have shaken off the learning rust and shackles of Trent Yawney's game of last year. Fans seem to be looking at the United Center as Mecca instead of as the Black Hole of Calcutta. Seeing more fans showing their pride on off days is even cooler.
Regardless of all that it's hard to be mad at the team when they're putting their all up against Divisional rivals that have every right to think they have a shot at the playoffs. It's getting tight in there. We're not even half done and the difference between the very top and the very bottom is 5 whole points. By now most divisions have alreayd cleaned the chaff from the grain. We don't have a single dud, dog, or rollover team in the Division. Seeing that kind of caliber 32 times in one year can make a guy irritated at the Pacific Division where just not being Phoenix would get you a solid playoff spot.
Yeah right now we're where it's at. And like any dichotomy it's cool but it sucks.
Well those lucky bastards that have the Center Ice Package should be jumping all over the Divisional games here.
That's my red hot tip. I'm out.

So what now?

2007-09-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

I've ranted and raved about what the Blackhawks have done in the past. I think I even threatened to go underground and become a guerilla fighter. But all of those plans get put on hold as we say "So long!" to our owner William "Dollar Bill" Wirtz. I'm sure you know he's now 6 feet under and feeding the worms.
But what's our future look like now? What will next year look like? Will Bill's son Pete sell us out as bad as his old man? Or will he cut lose now that he's free? There's too many questions with too few answers.
This is what I do know: Don't expect any changes this year. It's too early to make any changes. Wait for next year. Yup that's all I know. We get to play Cubs fans for the year and "Wait till Next year!" Awesome.
Here's what I'd do if I was now in charge:
1. Sign players in their primes
2. Let it be known that not only are we putting together a team for 2008-09, we are making a future where players would want to spend a chunk of their carreer.
3. Spend $ up to a reasonable margin from the gap with enough room to add a player at the deadline.
4. Remove the Home game "Blackouts", because that is lame and counter-productive
5. Start negotiating to put Blackhawks games on WGN-TV.
a.) Not only does WGN air here in Illinois, but you can watch it almost nation wide.
b.)Like the Cubs it would help build our fan base outside of the Chicagoland and Illinois region.
c.) It also sets precedence for the Atlanta Thrashers to negotiate with TBS.
d.) Builds leverage to grow the NHL's TV presence
6. Begin the Blackhawks media Blitz. Their current commercials are freaking lame. They need help

Yeah I have alot of free time to think about this kind of thing, and obviously I use alot of that free time to think about this. Well, I need to get back to staring at the wall and imagining Bobby Hull coming out of retirement. I'll get back to you later.

ALREADY!?!?!?!

2007-09-23T06:54:00.000-07:00

Crack the beers, light the funeral torches, and burn the body viking funeral style!
My hope is already dead for the season. After 4 pre-season games the Blackhawks are already back to their "We just ain't that great" ways. With a super stellar (read sarcasm) 1-2-1 record their burning the candle from both ends and people are fleeing the UC like it's the birthplace of the Apocalypse.
It's like Bill Wurtz and Dale Tallon can't stop taking a big fat crap on us fans. If they're not doing it then it's our star players getting hurt or feigning injury with all the toughness of an 8 year old girl. Wahoo. We're doomed!
So crack open the beers and kill the pain. Pains still there? You must be doing it wrong. The key is to be about half-soused at teh beginning of the 3rd period and be set to be drunker than sin by the end of the period when shit turns sour. I don't know how much more I can take of watching my team suck it up like an industrial vaccuum. It's fucking embarrassing. You want to wear your sweater and support your team, but then apply the paper bag over your head so no one knows how sad and pathetic you're really doing. At some point there's going to be a suicide watch for the entirety of Blackhawks nation. All 35 of us.
We gotta get it together for god's sake! We're the 3rd largest city in the US, a member of the Original 6 and you can't find our fans with a compass, a map, and a GPS. If Bill can't make $ from the team he has to be doing something wrong.
And so I suggest we revolt. Complete and total revolution! We'll start by booing our players at home when they lose and then follow them on the road for similar purposes. Or perhaps we go Guerilla and kid nap Bill. We hold him for a ransom of another $10 mil in salary per year.
In short: Start drinking or Viva la Revolucion!

2007-09-08T02:30:00.000-07:00

Get it together part 1

2007-08-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Every year since the lockout we have gotten a new rule or rules to guide the NHL in an effort to “fix” the problem. I have to say I disagree with that. Instead of changing rules and unveiling new flashy jerseys , perhaps they should begin with enforcing the owners to put competitive teams on the ice. With Chicago, Montreal, and Boston, half of the NHL’s Original 6, in such disrepair; It weakens the league. Period.
If Chicago could get it together you could re-invigorate the league. Don’t believe me? In football and baseball, When the Cubs and Bears do well both leagues do incredibly well. When both teams are down and out the leagues suffer. Chicago is the 3rd largest U.S. city. The Blackhawks sported one of the lowest average attendances in the NHL, while Chicagoans tuned out of hockey in droves. Losing the 3rd largest American city’s ratings because the owner is an assclown is unconscionable . It deprives the entire league of good revenue due to lack of interest when they visit other teams.
As a life long Chicago Sports fan I can tell you this. When a Chicago sports team, any sports team, starts doing well the people come out to support in droves. Chicago LOVES a winner. If the Blackhawks could become even play off contenders playing better than .500 hockey, you would see the fans venture out again. With a fresh new young team emerging, it may be a major key to seeing a rejuvenation of the post lockout NHL. It may be a big key to re-adding the 3rd largest US Market to the NHL’s assets. And the league will feel that in dollars and cents.
Boston has had it’s share of greats playing there. The list is too long to really submit. We all know them anyway. But the Bruins have fallen from a world class team to a 1st round playoff ousted team to a no show in the post season. Having an iconic team such as the Bruins sitting on the edge of being the new Blackhawks is not only sad for fans of the B’s, but also a league tragedy. Bells and alarms should be blaring in Bettman’s office on his Batman phone. Instead we see small non-traditional hockey market teams soaking up the good players . These players should be skating to the cheering of classic NHL teams’ fans not sweating it out for the uninterested.
Montreal is slightly different. While they do have a competitive team, it is nowhere near the major powerhouse it was up to the mid-90’s. With more Stanley Cup wins then any other team in the NHL, not to mention being the oldest franchise in the league; this should be a team to gauge yourself against. The past two years have not really shown that. They are no different from many middle of the road teams. They may stumble into the playoffs, but no one believes they have a chance.
The real point of this blog is this: Tradition and Pride of the Original 6 has fallen. Traditions of these teams seem like legends of a by gone era, because those years are so far behind them. When Gary Bettman and the Board of Directors finally opens their eyes and fixes these problems, will be the day the NHL launches itself forward instead of spinning in small circles gaining ground so slowly you can barely tell. Those are my thoughts.

Beer league

2007-07-22T08:23:00.000-07:00

Right now I’m chilling out and listening to some Joe Cocker, but mentally I‘m already on Sunday Night. Every Sunday night you can find me lacing my skates up good and tight, strapping on the pads, grabbing my stick, and hitting the ice for some beer league hockey. All week I look forward to the next game. It’s my addiction and my moment of Zen.
The experience starts early in the afternoon packing my gear. I start getting that feeling in my bones. It’s like a tingle growing stronger as I get closer to the arena.. But as soon as I hit the locker room door, the sensation changes. All of the excitement becomes like a cold beer drank on a porch in the summer. It’s back to the dirty jokes and bodily function humor that all men share. Nobody’s in charge in here. It’s like the parents left the junior highers in charge. The worst player on the team is just as dominant in the locker room as anybody else. This is our time to be ourselves or our immature alter egos. We get dressed, tell jokes, talk about the game on TV.
You get dressed and meander out to the glass and watch the Zamboni finish doing it’s final cycle around the ice. You talk to the guys on the other team you know. This is the last second of any friendly encounters you will have with them until the final horn blows. Soon the Zamboni doors will close and we can hit the ice.
Very little interaction with others is met out here during warm ups. You find your legs and balance, stretch out, practice your shot, stage your extra stick and water bottles. Mostly you just find that last piece of the puzzle you need to cross the line from Average Joe Shmukatelli into a hockey player. It’s inside you somewhere buried under all of the other things that puts you in your place during your everyday life. This is when you unearth it. It’s the most mental part of the night. It’s when you get really focused.
Right before the horn sounds to mark the beginning of the period we divide ourselves out into lines. Some nights we’re short a few skaters and so the lines get somewhat inventive. Sometimes you have 3 guys rotating over 2 positions. It can make for a rough night. We make our lines out. And chose a 1st and 2nd line. Sometimes you dread this part when you realize that you and your center are gonna be doing ALL the skating and hard work for your line. You pray to Gordie or one of the Bobby’s that you get that special line.
The Special line is the line where maybe 8 sentences are spoken on the bench between shifts. The chemistry is just there. It’s like running on a three man ESP. I’ve played that line twice ever. You dread the BAD line. Somehow you’re supposed to carry the line offensively and defensively. By the end of the night you want to just sleep right there.
But the game starts with a horn blow. The puck drops and you start moving your legs. don’t ever stop moving you’re legs. For as Confucius says “He who stands still is already out of the play“. Out here on the ice it’s all about puck movement. Theirs and yours. When they start moving the puck well, you have to master blanketing your man. When you start moving the puck, you have to turn on the jets and blow your guy away. You have to read and react in split seconds. Find the chemistry, make tape-to-tape passes, and set up for a one timer.
Everyone wants to put the puck in the back of the net. EVERYONE. Sometimes it’s just as good to give a tape to tape pass to your buddy that ends up with the puck in the back of their net. Watching another guy on your team feel that rush is great, but feeling that rush is like nothing else. I can’t help myself when I score. I always have to celebrate out loud., lifting my stick in the air like a conquering hero or a Mike Bossy. Either or. There’s nothing like hearing your team bang their sticks on the boards in front of your bench when you score. Nothing.
We finish the game and regardless of how you came out in the score, you know that this Rite of the Fraternal Order of the Beer League Society was worth it. You’ll do it again next week and the week after for as many years as you can still pump your legs and move your feet. It’s something that puts us apart from other people. We’ve felt the comforting chill of the ice, sacrificed our bodies, laughed, cheered, groaned, yelled, and skated for all we’re worth. On the ice I always feel like I’m living life to the fullest. And THAT is why I lace up the skates every week.

2007-06-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

When Baseball went on strike in '95 it took YEARS before it came back fully. And the World Series still gets low ratings. It takes time. So EVERYONE RELAX.Hockey is too bad ass to die! Period.
People are already starting to come around to it. And it's not that Gary Bettman's doing a damn thing for it, you can thank Itech, Jofa, and any of a number of equipment companies that have been putting out low priced quality equipment to get the good folks on the ice for the first time.
Wait 5 years and see if we're all still holding our breaths. 5 years ago I had almost forgotten about hockey. And Now I'm a FREAK. I play every Sunday, I do one on one coaching sessions with tyhe Rink Manager. I watch it whenever it's on. I own a veritable library of hockey knowledge, and DVDs. The lower priced equipment is what got me on the ice for the first time 4 years ago. The game I could never afford to play since I was a little kid so fascinated by this strange little game. I was on the ice at the tender age of 25 for the first time. Oh believe me I was sucking it up big time, but I had a giant smile on my face. And there are thousands of people just like me out there. Jofa and Itech's economic prices have been helping them get out there and loving it for the first time. Some of them are twice the age I was and playing (unbelievably) worse than I did. It's breeding familiarity with a fantastic sport. And putting new players and new fans out there every day.
If you want hockey to live and thrive share it with your friends. Break it down if you have to. My friends did it for me, because I was so rusty on the rules. I get sick and tired of hearing how the sport is dying when I KNOW for a damn fact that the USA hockey Association is admitting three to five thousand NEW members every year!
We're building up to something great. Don't let tv ratings fool you. Who watches the Finals alone, if they don't have to? No one. That's who. The Finals are like Oktoberfest and New Years all wrapped up together.
This next year is gonna be better than last year. And the year after that will be bigger again. There are cities all over this country that are putting something unique out there. But we gotta share it, with those that don't get it right away. Gotta be patient with those that don't realize how great it is. We've been so defensive for so long we forgot to share the pure exhileration of the game with others.

The game is over......until next time

2007-06-02T12:54:00.001-07:00

So I walk into my workout room, where I air out my hockey equipment, and I look at my Chicago Blackhawks sweater (jersey) just laying there on the floor inside out. "How appropriate", I thought.The season for us was over in March as we had been mathematically eliminated again. I looked at my jersey which had fallen much like our season did after Handzus got hurt for the season way back in October. My beautiful road sweater was inside out like the Blackhawks' strategy in the new NHL. We bulked up on slow movers and went with a youth movement. It was sometimes painful to watch.We (Blackhawks fans) have been watching 3rd and 4th line players play our 1st and 2nd lines and AHL roster players play our 3rd and 4th lines for the last 2 years. Which is a real shame. It's not that I think we sign bad players. Don't get me wrong. It just seems like we expect more out of them than they've ever produced before. But when we do get a player that can produce, I think we put too much on their shoulders or we don’t give them talent to play with.It hurt to see my sweater on the floor inside out like that. So I scooped my Hawks sweater up, turned it right side out, and put it on a hanger and hung it in my closet. I took a minute to really appreciate how cool the Blackhawk’s jersey really is. It’s still one of the best overall uniforms of any sport if not the best. It’s very sharp and has a killer logo right there in the middle. We have the yellow C with the crossed tomahawks behind it on the shoulders. It’s very cool. It also reminds me of the great players who have worn a ‘Hawks jersey: Hull, Mikita, both Esposito brothers, Glenn Hall, Chelios, Ted Lindsay, Kieth Magnason. The list goes on. We’ve had good teams before. Hell we’ve had GREAT teams before.It was time to look on the bright side. We have 2 very fine young Defenseman in Brent Seabrook and Duncan Kieth that are really stepping up. We have Dustin Byfuglin and Cam Barker in the wings ready to come around. We have the beginning of a very solid defensive corps.We signed Marty Havlat last year. And when he was healthy he was just amazing. This next year we'll have Jonathan Toews and I'm super stoked (yes I just said stoked) to see what he'll bring to the table. We also have Evan Brophey coming to camp after a stand out year in the OHL, and of course our first ever #1 overall draft pick this year.We also have the chance to sign a few free agents. With Dale Tallon aiming to sign another top 6 forward, next year might be alright. We did better this year than we did last year by 6 points in the standings and it seemed like we were still in the games we lost. I don't remember getting embarrassed too much this year like the year before. I do remember coming in and beating the Canucks in February in Vancouver when they were playing hot and I thought we played fantastic that night.The future might be okay. Next year we might be mourning our loss in the playoffs while secretly feeling somewhat smug with the fact that we made the playoffs.