Behind the Jersey

BtJ has a new home

2006-07-29T14:43:00.000-04:00

I will no longer uploading posts to Blogger (http://behindthejersey.blogspot.com), but this will remain up for those who find BtJ via search or from links to this blog that haven't been updated.

Please check out our new home at BehindtheJersey.com. We are still working on some things (like the Gallery), but all the old posts have been transferred and the new design and layout is up!

If your blog/website has a link to BtJ, please update it so it points towards BehindtheJersey.com - thank you for all your support!

Wings re-sign Williams for 2 more years

2006-07-27T16:57:00.000-04:00

I went to check the Detroit Red Wings website to see what it had about the Danny Markov signing. I was surprised when the first thing I saw was the announcement that the Wings had re-signed Williams for two more years before heading to arbitration and not Markov's signing.

"We are pleased to reach a deal with Jason before going to arbitration," said [GM Ken] Holland. "He took a big step forward as a NHL player last year and we look forward to even more progress in the future."

Even though I interviewed Willy for 30 minutes or so back in 2004 and he's a really nice guy, I'm not a huge fan of him especially Willy on the power play. That being said, this was his first year playing a ton of games so hopefully he'll just get better. And he is good on the shootout, which will help us in the regular season. Although I only really care about the playoffs and earning a playoff spot.

I would've been a lot happier with a one year contract, but I bet the Wings didn't pay as much as they would've via arbitration. It'll be interesting to see just how much Williams will be making.

Ansar Khan at MLive.com is reporting that Williams will be paid $1.6 million/year, which isn't bad considering how arbitration has gone this offseason.

"(Coach) Mike Babcock gave him the opportunity (last season) and Jason took advantage of it,'' Holland said. "He really established himself as an NHL player. Hopefully, he can continue to build on that confidence.
"I don't want to say what statistics we're expecting from him, but there is an opportunity for someone to take a step forward offensively."
"In the end, we felt if we could avoid (arbitration), we'd both be better served," Holland said. "In the past couple of days, as (arbitration) awards came out, a marketplace began to surface."

Holland has around $6 million to get a goaltender, winger, and to sign Johan Franzen. Ideally, Holland would like to sign Franzen for three or four more years, but it's looking like Franzen will sign a one or two year deal. Franzen will be UFA eligible in 2008.

Wing sign defenseman Danny Markov

2006-07-27T13:24:00.000-04:00

The Canadian Press has heard from a source that the Detroit Red Wings have agreed to a deal with defenseman Danny Markov. He played 58 games with Nashville last season where he had 11 assists, +9 rating, and 62 PIM. He missed some games last year due to a strained knee in mid-January and then an ankle injury on March 3rd (but returned on March 28th). Expect an official announcement later this afternoon.

If Markov can stay healthy this season, I'll be very happy with this signing.

Update: Markov agreed to a one year deal worth $2.5 million making me like this signing even more. Based on what people have said and Holland's expectations of Markov, we'll have a nice physical defensemen duo of Kronwall and Markov. I like it.

Sorry that I didn't update earlier, but Blogger was down last night when I tried to update (and this morning). I am working on transferring all my posts and stuff over to my new site so I'll let you all know when you can check it out.

Random Rambling
I went down to Cinci on Tuesday to see my surgeon. Since I can't keep perfect extension (how straight your leg can get - I'm like negative 5 degrees most of the time and you want 0 degrees), they decided to put a cast on me. I only have to wear it at night, but the actual casting process was prolly one of the most painful things I have ever experienced next to shingles pain and 24 hour post-op surgery pain. Why was it so painful? Well, my therapist had to press down on my cast as it was hardening while my ankle was propped up on a sink and my knee was suspended in mid-air. Imagine 50 pounds being pushed on your knee while it has no support and that is what I had to deal with. Yuck. I did get a free t-shirt though for my "hard work."

Wings close to signing top 4 defenseman

2006-07-26T10:46:00.000-04:00

In the middle of the Eddie to Florida article in the Detroit Free Press, this little tidbit was thrown in.

The Wings, meanwhile, are close to signing a top-four defenseman. Holland wouldn't reveal a name, but it is someone who can play 20 minutes a night, indicating a shake-up to the rotation that finished last season's playoffs. Since the newcomer wouldn't bump Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall or Mathieu Schneider, presumably Brett Lebda, Andreas Lilja and Chris Chelios would rotate as the odd man out.
The Wings are also in the market for a forward to help amend the loss of Brendan Shanahan. In the past few days Holland has made offers to restricted free agent forwards Johan Franzen and Jason Williams, the latter of whom has an arbitration hearing scheduled for Monday if no deal is reached before then.

Possibilities for this top four defenseman would include Brian Leetch, Sean Hill, and Danny Markov. For Holland to acknowledge that he's almost close to signing this guy, it means that this deal is going to happen.

The Wings are also hoping to reach a deal with Williams before he goes to arbitration because that certainly is an unpleasant experience for both sides and with the way things are going, he could garner a high salary depending on the arbitrator.

Panthers sign Belfour

2006-07-26T10:42:00.000-04:00

Psycho Eddie is no longer an option for the Detroit Red Wings, which is excellent news in my opinion. Belfour signed a one year deal with the Florida Panthers for $1.25 million, which was a lot higher than the Wings had even considered with Eddie recovering from back surgery.

"We had some interest in Belfour," Holland said. "Money was always a concern. His lower back was a risk. If we really had wanted to sign him bad enough, we would have moved. If I'd had brought him in, he'd have been intriguing -- but he's intriguing until the back goes."

So as we had previously thought, Holland will be looking for a number one goaltender via trade whether it's before the start of the season or before the trade deadline (similar to the Oilers acquiring Roloson).

Contest winner

2006-07-24T21:50:00.000-04:00

I have emailed all of the contest participants informing them of the result and now that I've heard back from the winner, I'm happy to announce that Chad will be receiving a brand new SI Commemorative Edition: Steve Yzerman issue in the mail in the next few days. Thank you to all the entries. A couple of the entrants actually wrote mini-essays so I thought I'd post them here.

Jim:

I first discovered Steve Yzerman when I was watching the Canadiens/Kings Stanley Cup finals in 93. It was my first exposure to hockey (Dallas didn't have a team yet). During one of the intermissions, they had about a 1 minute clip on Yzerman, highlighting his past couple of great statistical seasons. After they finished showing highlights and describing the kind of player and leader he was, I was enthralled.. I thought "now there's a player I can identify with". From that moment on, I've been a hockey fanatic and Red Wings faithful.
Fast forward to 2 years ago, when I was playing an exhibition game at the American Airlines Center and blew out my ACL on a meaningless play and check. Like my idol, I couldn't hang it up if I could still skate.. my team was in the midst of our best season yet, the playoffs were a little over a month away, and I was a key center, Alternate Captain and leader on our team. So I let the swelling go down, strapped on a neoprene sleeve and a full brace every game, wrapped it all in tape, and took to the ice. Once or twice a game, the knee would slip or get hit out of alignment and I'd pick myself up off the ice and hobble to the bench, laying behind it and the other players until the pain subsided. It was painful, real painful. I know how Stevie must have felt, although his injury was a bit different. Battling to get back up on a blown out knee each game, I always visualized Yzerman and what he had done, and it got me through. My memories of his on-ice perseverance literally carried me during those 2 1/2 months of pain. But upon scoring the game-winning, series and Cup-clinching goal in our playoff run, I knew I had done one thing right. I'd appropriately honored the #19 I wore on my back. Stevie's been a big part of my life since that fateful day back in 93. I'm gonna miss him.

Olah:

I think the one that most opitimizes the type of warrior leader Yzerman is came in the 2002 playoffs, in Game 3, in over-time. Set the scene:
It's after midnight. Carolina Vs Detroit. Stanley Cup Finals. The series is tied at 1 game a piece. The score is tied, 2-2. It's over-time, baby!! There are shots ringing off the posts; a quarter of an inch and the Wings are victorious. Hasek is making saves like his life depends on it. Urbe is making saves like he's 2 feet taller than he really is. Then, there's Yzerman. Skating on one leg and still working like a lion to win it for the team, to be the hero that he always is. Personafying the very definitions of leadership, guts, heroism, and sacrifice. He's simply just being himself. Doing what he knows what to do. Just playing and being himself. There it is. Yzerman gets a pass and has an open net. Before his knee buckles underneath him, Urbe makes a supernatural slide and blocks Yzerman's sure thing empty net goal.
Yzerman falls down. Does a back-wards summersault. Looks up at the sky. Swears. And, smiles as he hobbles up on one leg. That smile is my favorite moment. It's like, who else could smile at a moment like that?!? You have basically only one leg. You've played more than one game in a row with the amount of periods on the clock. You just got a sure-thing goal robbed from you. And, you just... SMILE!!! Then, you just get back up on your one leg, hobble-skate away and just go back to work. That's my favorite moment. That smile. Yzerman in a gesture. That will stick out in my head forever, anytime I think about him and his career. The SMILE.

As most Wings fans have realized, the offseason has been pretty slow for us. Posts will start to pick up when the news does. Until that happens, I will be working on transferring this blog to my domain, behindthejersey.com. I am currently waiting for my (hopefully) future host to approve the order and I will be working very hard to get it up and running in the next couple of weeks.

Over the past couple of years, I've used my dad's company's server but it was one of his non-important ones so it went down a lot and would take forever to get back up. Now, I'm hoping no problems with the new hosts and I'll be using Wordpress (no more Blogger) and hopefully add some more interactive features. If you have a suggestion, please leave a comment or drop me an email!

7/20 Notes

2006-07-20T16:30:00.000-04:00

Continue to send in entries for the SI Commemorative Edition contest by emailing me or leaving a comment (see the previous 2 posts for rules).

IwoCPO at Abel to Yzerman has an interview with MLive.com / Booth Newspaper writer Ansar Khan and his thoughts on the Wings.

Alanah at Vancouver Canucks Op Ed is participating in a Blogathon where she blogs every 30 minutes for 24 hours for charity. She's doing in on Saturday, July 29th, for the Canucks Place Children's Hospice so be sure to check out her blog and maybe even sponsor her (even a $1 pledge is great)!

It seems that Psycho Eddie may be heading to Florida and that would certainly not disappoint me. I say send him to warm Miami - at least he'll have plenty of bars/clubs to go to in his long offseason. :)

That would leave us with either our current tandem, Ozzie and Jimmy, or for us to acquire a goaltender via trade (ex. Biron).

As I've mentioned before, I've been watching/following the Tour de France although I have to admit I haven't been as diligent as I have been when Lance Armstrong and the Discovery Team were doing well. Anyways between the retirement and doping scandal, Floyd Landis (team = Phonak) was one of the top candidates to win this year's race. He remained in contention and even had the yellow jersey a couple times until yesterday when he tanked and lost 8 minutes and 8 seconds to the #1 guy. That is a huge time difference to make up with the race ending on July 23.

Anyways in today's stage (#17), Landis brokeaway early to win the stage get in the top 3 (after falling to 11th place yesterday). He's now only 30 seconds behind the guy in the yellow jersey. I'm rooting for Landis now that the Discovery team is sucking it up because he will be having a hip replacement right after the Tour. I can't imagine the pain he is fighting right now while racing.

I'm trying to come up with a hockey analogy to help you guys understand how amazing this is. It would be like winning all of the first three rounds of the playoffs either 4-0 or 3-1 and being the expected winner of the Stanley Cup finals. Then, that team loses the first 3 games only to come back and win it all. Granted, Landis hasn't won it yet, but yesterday they were all writing him off and today he could very well win it all. Quite impressive if you ask me...

I would like to apologize for the lack of real updates lately. My parents have been working really long hours lately so I get stuck with driving my brothers everywhere and doing the household responsibilities. Plus, my knee is giving me some trouble so I've been working on therapy stuff a lot and have to go to Cincinnati again next Tuesday. Plus, I'm heading up north again either tonight or tomorrow morning. I promise you that regular updates will return soon and hopefully my domain will get up in the near future as well. I'm also brainstorming new features for the blog. So thanks for your patience and understanding...Go Wings!

718 Notes

2006-07-18T16:00:00.000-04:00

Some random notes...

Apparently, interest in my SI Commemorative Edition: Steve Yzerman contest is non-existent. It's probably because none of you have time or want to write a 500 word or less "essay" on No. 19. So to make it easier for you all, email me or leave a comment with your favorite Yzerman moment whether it be the day he was drafted, a specific game, an autograph signing, etc. (plus your name and email address). I will then randomly pick one person's moment and they will win the free copy. If this still doesn't garner interest, I'll put it up on eBay. You can send in an entry through Friday night. Good luck!

I removed some ads and links while adding others including a Wings forum section on the right. I am waiting on my Dad to get my hosting for my server up, which is difficult because his working hours are only increasing. Once the host is up (we're transferring it to our house), I will be hard at work on the behindthejersey.com including some extra sections I hope to have.

Paul at Kukla's Korner has added forums to his website. Definitely check it out for good hockey talk!

IwoCPO at Abel to Yzerman is back from vacation - yay! I missed his humor, which is needed in this incredibly slow offseason for Wings fans.

SI Yzerman Edition Contest

2006-07-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

What: No. 19 Contest Where: Behind the Jersey Who: All the BtJ readers Prize: One copy of the Sports Illustrated Commemorative Edition: Steve Yzerman (and free shipping!) How do I enter? Drop me an email or leave a comment with your favorite Yzerman moment. It doesn't have to be longer than a sentence, but if you want to write feel free to go ahead because I'll post them on BtJ. I do need your name and email so I can contact you if you win. Deadline: Midnight on Friday, July 21st. Each person who submits a name will be written up on a slip of paper and then randomly selected. I will contact the person upon winning as well as make a special post on BtJ and list everyone's favorite moments to honor No. 19. Good luck!

SI Commemorative Edition: Steve Yzerman (Update)

2006-07-14T17:35:00.000-04:00

I went out and bought 15 more copies of the commemorative edition to help you guys out because my last batch of 13 went really quick. I have 6 copies up on eBay right now: Copy #1 Copy #2 Copy #3 Copy #4 Copy #5 Copy #6 If you don't have an eBay account, but have PayPal and want a copy or two, send me an email (cjhammon@umich.edu) and I'll send you a copy. I have 7 other copies that I have yet to upload to eBay. Please note that I will be out of town this weekend. I can get emails, but I will be unable to ship a copy until Monday. I would kindly like to ask that those of you who can get a copy yourself to not buy one of "mine" on eBay and save it for those who don't live in one of those four areas. Thanks!

SI Commemorative Edition: Steve Yzerman

2006-07-13T23:32:00.000-04:00

Sports Illustrated has made 300,000 copies of a special commemorative edition honoring Steve Yzerman and released them today (Thursday). These copies will be made available in Michigan, Ontario, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. This $6.99 feature is 84 pages long and includes:

Stevie's Wonder Years: In his 22 seasons in Detroit, Yzerman was the consummate franchise player.
Captain Kid: Five years into his career, Yzerman was firmly established as the leader of a surprising Detroit team.
A Career In Pictures: Snapshots from No. 19's exceptional 22-season run.
Wild Ride: Between 1997 and 2002, the Red Wings won three Stanley Cups and Yzerman led Canada to an Olympic gold medal.
The Captain By The Numbers: How valuable was Stevie Y. to the Wings? Let's count the ways.
Out Of The Darkness: Yzerman arrived in Detroit as a shy, 18-year-old center and left as the hero of Hockeytown.
The Last Word: From kid to captain, former teammate Dave Lewis describes how Yzerman learned to become the unquestioned leader of the Red Wings.

Assuming that this edition is similar to the one for Lance Armstrong last summer, I'm sure I'll enjoy it. You can get it at Barnes and Nobles, Borders, Target, Walgreen's, 7-Eleven, Meijer, Wal-Mart, and Kroger.

Can't seem to get a hold of a copy? You can always order the cover from Sports Illustrated online for $19.95 and even get it framed (for $69.95)!

Wings sign Belfour?

2006-07-12T11:46:00.000-04:00

According to a LGW forum member, he/she saw this statement on the TSN ticker: "Red Wings sign G Ed Belfour to 2 year deal worth 1.5m a season." However, the TSN website does not have anything up yet regarding this supposed signing. Plus this person is pretty new to the board and no one else has been able to confirm this so take it as you will...10 minutes after the post was made, the thread has been deleted. So hopefully this is just one big crazy rumor...

My reaction if this is true... Wow. I wasn't so crazy about a one year deal worth about $500,000 plus incentives. But 2 years for $1.5!? What happens if he gets injured (high probability) or decides to retire and we're stuck with paying that second year. Boy for wanting to keep short term contracts, Holland is doing wonderfully.

Well, I have to head out so I'll have more news/reactions when I return. Hopefully the TSN ticker is just a rumor. Gulp.

Cleary and Lebda re-sign with Detroit

2006-07-12T11:40:00.000-04:00

GM Ken Holland has re-signed two Wings in the past couple of days.

On Monday, forward Dan Cleary agreed to another two years worth $1.325 million with the Wings.

"Dan's a gritty player and we value what he brings to the team," general manager Ken Holland said.

Yesterday, defenseman Brett Lebda signed a contract for four years at $2.6 million. He's being paid $550,000 in the first two years, $650,000 in the third year, and $850,000 in the final year of the contract. The salary average, $650,000, will go against the cap each of the four years.

With these signings, Holland has decided to go with the same six defenseman as in the 2006 playoffs. I like the Lebda signing, but I just hate that Lilja is returning. Holland is supposedly looking for a physical defenseman to replace the presence of Jiri Fischer, who suffered a scary heart moment back in November. Kenny has been talking to the agent of former Predator Danny Markov.

"Brett was impressive in the time he spent with us last season," general manager Ken Holland said in a statement.
Coach Mike Babcock raved about Lebda's ability to skate with the puck, pass and play smart at both ends. Babcock showed his confidence in Lebda during the playoffs, playing him in all six games against the Oilers.
"Brett possesses the skills I think will help contribute to the success of this organization," Holland said.

Ken Holland on AM 1270

2006-07-10T17:23:00.000-04:00

Rough quotes of what GM Ken Holland had to say on AM 1270 at 5pm (Monday).

- You're not going to be able to find a Brendan Shanahan on the open market...Looking for someone to score half those goals.

- Lots of players going into arbitration...look at teams with budget problems.

- Made some offers...but weren't prepared to do what some of the contracts required.

- Want to make sure they have cap room next year when they have to re-sign Kronwall and Datsyuk.

- To go out and sign anyone for a deal more than one year, unless we really liked them, would be unwise. Want to be patient.

- We can be patient on defense with Schneider, Lidstrom, Cheli, and Kronwall. Be patient to find the right players and have financial flexibility.

- If you put Jimmy Howard in the playoffs and he let's in some bad goals and lose, it'll be tough on the young goaltender (with pressures and expectations). At the 60 game mark, we could bring him up if he's ready.

- We've struggled back and forth to both situations (Belfour and Hasek). Talked to Dom this morning and he says his groin is good. Both are very good goaltenders. It's a very close call. I don't know if you can be right or wrong in either situation until it all plays out.

- If we bring back Dom, he wants to know he's the No. 1 guy. They don't want to be in a competition. If they don't play good, they understand someone will take their job.

- We haven't agreed to terms to anybody right now.

- I don't think we're going to bring in a high profile big name guy. Long term deals...we're not comfortable with.

- Happy with Samuelsson and Lilja's play, which is why we could offer a longer term contract.

- I think Jiri Hudler is very close to being ready to play. If all of a sudden, he's good at training camp we'll find a place on our roster. We want to sign him...we're intrigued. Great hands, great hockey sense, great vision. We want to give Hudler and Kopecky a chance at training camp since they'd have to clear waivers.

- Most of the action was took by non-playoff teams who were looking to overhaul their team. We have a good nucleus...it doesn't make any sense to me to go spend a lot on a seventh forward. We didn't want to tie up that kind of money in those kind of players.

- I would never say never... I like Manny... Unfortunately we lost out in the 1st round and I decided, after talking to everyone, we wanted to make a change in goal. And Osgood was prepared to come back at a backup position. I'm stunned, like you guys, that he hasn't gotten an offer.

- He'd like to talk to players about contract extensions to see who's going to stay and who's going to test the open market next summer. I'm going to slowly work the younger players.

Sounds like Willy will be coming back if they can agree to terms (whether before or during arbitration) as Kenny said he'd be one of the Top 6 forwards. Does that scare anyone else?

Steve did tell Holland the day before July 1st so that didn't affect Holland's timing.

Unfortuntately, that interview did not help lift my confidence in Kenny. The most important point I got out of that interview was that it seems Kenny is terrified of long term deals and isn't willing to lock up salary in certain players because he wants financial flexibility...

My world is going upside down...

2006-07-09T21:48:00.000-04:00

I don't know what to say anymore. The Detroit sports scene as I knew it is turning completely upside down.

- Both the Wings and Pistons are #1 heading into the playoffs. Both teams fail to make it to the finals. The Pistons do make it to the third round while the Wings can't even win one round.

- The front page of The Detroit Free Press this morning? "The Return of Tiger Town." Yep, the Detroit Tigers are one of the best teams in the MLB at this point.

- Captain Steve Yzerman retires on July 3, 2006. On the same day, the face of the Detroit Pistons decides he's going to go to Chicago for more money. Ironically, my only Wings jersey (that's not framed) is Yzerman's and my only Pistons jersey is Wallace's.

- Six days later Shanny signs with the New York Rangers. Mitch Albom has a really nice column piece on Shanny, you can read the Monday Edition article here.

"Friends of mine have been telling me the last few days, `You know, you will always be identified as a Red Wing,' " Shanahan said. "I know that. I'm proud of all we did there."
"Steve is like a born son of Detroit," Shanahan said, laughing. "I was like the kid they adopted when I was 12 years old. It was great. I have no complaints. Detroit made me feel so special. They were like, `We'll pretend you didn't play those nine seasons before you got here.' "

- Oh, and sure the Central Division was pretty weak last season. But is it me, or do all the teams in our division (aside from Columbus) seem to be improving? I mean, even the Blackhawks!

- On the same day as Shanny's signing, the local Detroit TV stations report that we will be signing Ed Belfour tomorrow. That's right, our first "big" move of the off-season (actually our first move, period) will be signing Psycho Eddie.

It's safe to say that this is not what I expected this off-season. Even with the salary cap. I will always love the Wings and I will always be a big fan of the team, but I really hate to put an end to this era.

Now I'm not losing it like some people on the forums who believe we'll be the worse team in the league, etc. I do think we won't do as well in the regular season (at this point), but as long as we make the playoffs I don't care. The President's Trophy obviously doesn't do well for us. I am, however, concerned about our lack of action this off-season whether it was by trades or signings. I'm just praying that Holland has something up his sleeves...

Oh, here are some fan reactions to the news about Belfour:

- My dad's reaction after I told him, "It's better than having a sharp stick in the eye. And you can quote me on that." - David: "I think I might paint the walls with puke now…" - Hockeytown Red Wings (LGW): "I can't wait for the first goalie fight of the year." - To which Happy Pancake responded, "Is this Holland's gritty signing?" - Reilly: "Low risk, high reward signing. If he plays great and is healthy, awesome. If he sucks and/or gets injured, they have cap room to add another goalie down the stretch. Look alive people." - Every time you hear a goal horn, an Eagle loses its Wings.

Sloganizer.net

2006-07-09T16:12:00.000-04:00

I have to distract myself from the lack of movement in the Wings off-season (aside from re-signing 3 players and the retirement/leaving of 2 great Wings). If you want to read about Shanny, I have a post about him signing with the Rangers and another one as a tribute to his time in Detroit.

Yesterday, I made a post about the Bud Ice Penguin - dooby dooby doo.

Today, I have found this fun, time wasting, and addicting website: Sloganizer.net

For hours of mindless entertainment, type in a keyword and the website will produce a variety of slogans for you. For instance, I had "Steve Yzerman" as my first keyword. Here are some slogans for your enjoyment:

Food or Steve Yzerman? I'll have Steve Yzerman. There's a bit of Steve Yzerman in all of us. One goal, one passion - Steve Yzerman. Be inspired by Steve Yzerman. Steve Yzerman for a professional image. Steve Yzerman - living innovation. All you need is Steve Yzerman. Steve Yzerman. Making people sucessful in a changing world. You can't beat Steve Yzerman. The Steve Yzerman effect. Everything is simple with Steve Yzerman. Make the world a better place with Steve Yzerman.

Hehe. It's all about the simple pleasures in life. Let's try some other names...

Ken Holland... Every Ken Holland has a story. Ken Holland - spice up your life. Ken Holland - go for it! Ken Holland. Impossible is nothing.

Brendan Shanahan Brendan Shanahan is a never ending story. Brendan Shanahan is your friend. Bigger. Better. Brendan Shanahan. Brendan Shanahan, since 1845. (This one really made me laugh.) Brendan Shanahan moments. Don't mess with Brendan Shanahan.

Brendan Shanahan Tribute

2006-07-09T15:35:00.000-04:00

Now, I'm not going to go all crazy like I did when Steve Yzerman retired. However, I appreciate what Shanny has done for the team and he was a key component to our 3 Cup wins (particularly the first two). The day Yzerman retired, I bought an 11x14 photograph of Shanny and Yzie with their gold medals from 2002 signed by both of them. Little did I know that Shanny would actually be leaving too...

This tribute post will include video and audio clips, quotes, and Wings fan reactions. To read more about Shanny signing with the Rangers, visit my other post here.

Video Clips

Shanny breaks Adam Foote's nose.

Shanny fight against Sean Avery...

A fun Shanny and Federov commercial...

March 26th, 1997

And don't forget Shanny's part in the Statue of Liberty Roy move and goal.

Audio Courtesy of Matt at On the Wings, the Irish Jig.

Quotes Words from the mouth of Brendan Shanahan...

"I don't understand why I can't hit that ball. I mean it's this big, slow, ball & I just can't hit the thing. Maybe if I could run the bases with the bat in my hand I would enjoy it more. I could hit players as I go by, you know just a little cuff in the chin & maybe catch the next guy behind the ear." - Shanny on softball

"Watching a shootout is like admitting you watch Survivor or search the internet for porn."

"Lunch is on me" - Brendan Shanahan after signing a $26 million contract

"Over the years, Steve has come to understand I need the clicker. He says it's my security blanket."

"You know, there's nothing better than making yourself dinner and watching Thursday night TV. Also, I just got a computer. And I'm fanatical about doing the laundry. There's nothing better than a stack of fresh, clean clothes. Except maybe a good movie. You know that creepy-looking guy you stare at two seats behind you, thinking who would come to a movie by himself? That's me."

Brendan Shanahan said to the Detroit fans after winning the Stanley Cup: "When I asked for a trade at the beginning of the year, I said I was looking for a home. And I found one. I'm just grateful to everyone here. Thank you for accepting me."

"I usually call the new guy and let him know where I like to sit on the bus, tell him ways he can stay out of my way, make sure he knows not to touch any of my stuff."

The day after getting 40 stitches over his right eye because of a body-check from behind by Peter Forsberg, journalists ask the Red Wings winger if he plans on wearing a visor to protect his eyes: "No I won’t. Don Cherry will be happy but my wife will be ticked off." - May 8, 1999

"I think that pressure is part of pro sports. It's better to face pressure than to not face it at all. You have to have that kind of mentality to be a professional athlete. That is what we are trained to do. I think to a man we all know that everybody is responsible for the success."

The Blues spent the week on a working vacation in Florida. Much more vacation than work, except for Brendan Shanahan, who was arrested on a minor charge after a bar scuffle. Shanahan may get the line of the year for his quote "They told me to come down here and get myself all rested. I misunderstood and thought they said get myself arrested." - March 1995

And don't forget Shanny's impact in the 2002 playoff series versus Vancouver.

There is a story about the 2002 playoffs that has become a staple of all tributes to Yzerman. In the first round against Vancouver, the Wings lost the first two games at home. Then Yzerman gave a speech, the team won four straight and went on to win the Stanley Cup.
It is the stuff of Disney movies. But Yzerman was never a Disney-movie kind of leader, and he barely remembers the speech. When Brendan Shanahan asked Yzerman if he would address the team before Game 3, Yzerman replied, "I don't think so."
"And he said, `Maybe you should say something,' " Yzerman recalled. " `OK, I guess so.' What effect it has on players, I really don't know."

Photos

His first appearance at JLA after the lockout...

Shanahan signs with the New York Rangers

2006-07-09T13:56:00.000-04:00

Update (1:56PM): The New York Rangers are having a press conference at 2pm today to announce Shanny's signing with the Blueshirts. The Rangers website already has an article up titled, "Rangers sign 7-Time All-Star Brendan Shanahan."

"He continues to perform at an elite level and also brings outstanding leadership qualities to our organization," Rangers president and GM Glen Sather said in a release. "Brendan will be a tremendous player and person for our young players to learn from."
A source said that Shanahan made up his mind to sign with the Rangers on Saturday night even though the Red Wings had offered the same amount of money and the Montreal Canadiens had tabled more.

So we now have that $4 million to spend elsewhere. Please Mr. Holland, please, sign us some UFAs particularly a goalie, gritty forward or two, and that physical defenseman you promised.

Paul @ Kukla's Korner has some nice memories of when Shanny first game to Detroit in 1996.

The building was electric, filled with anticipation. The Wings finally had their power forward. It was rumored for weeks in Detroit, the Wings were attempting to acquire Shanahan from the Whalers. The wishes of many Wings fans came true on October 9, 1996. The final piece was in place.
Shanahan made it to the Joe with minutes to spare for the first game that season. The Wings actually held up going onto the ice so Brendan could join them. With Shanahan scoring 46 goals that year, the Wings went on to win the Cup and repeated the feat the next year.
Now he is gone, and with it the “piece” leaves a big hole in the Wings lineup. Now where do they go? Gomez in New Jersey may be an option, the Devils are cap strapped and need to move some salary. Can Anson Carter replace one of the greatest goal scores in the last 15 years?

Hockeybird likes the signing (from the Rangers perspective) for the following reasons:

I'm thrilled with the signing in that it's a one year deal and Brendan fills a void up front. Of course I would have liked to have Brendan eight years ago.

Blueshirt Bulletin tends to disagree.

Here at Blueshirt Bulletin, we believe it would be a huge mistake to take on a near-retiree even for one season when there is a glut of young forwards hoping to take the next step forward. It would send the wrong message. If, as Brooks also reports, Martin Rucinsky is close to signing another one-year deal with the Rangers, the Rangers are not in need of top-line winger, so Shanahan would only knock Petr Prucha down the depth chart, in turn knocking another young player even farther down the depth chart. If anything, the Rangers need a second line center -- signing Shanahan and moving Martin Straka to center will not work, and will be eventually abandoned. By the way, Brooks says the Rangers have no interest in Petr Sykora.

11 AM: The New York Post reports that forward Brendan Shanahan will sign a one year contract with the New York Rangers. The contract is worth around $4 million, lower than the offers made by Detroit and Montreal.

The signing, expected to be announced today, comes one day after Shanahan informed Montreal GM Bob Gainey he was rejecting his team's bid to sign him.
The Post has learned that after Shanahan had visited Manhattan on Wednesday to meet with Ranger front-office and coaching personnel - a "Welcome Brendan Shanahan" message with a visual of Shanny wearing the Blueshirt went up on the Garden Seventh Avenue marquee to coincide with his visit - the Rangers increased their original $3.5M offer in order to signal their commitment to completing the deal.

If this report is true, I am pleased that we aren't spending $4-5 million on Shanny. However, Holland has put himself in a pickle by waiting so long as many of the UFAs have been picked up.

So who do the Wings look to replace Shanny? What about that gritty forward or physical defenseman we have supposedly been searching for? And goaltending?

"Dooby dooby doo..."

2006-07-08T23:00:00.000-04:00

I came across this commercial on YouTube: Those commercials started in 1996 and lasted a couple of years, I believe. They were always played during the Stanley Cup playoffs and I saw them over and over with my family because the Wings were doing really well at that point. I may have only been 9 years old at that point, but I still remember them like it was yesterday. They are definitely my favorite commercials of all time. "Dooby dooby doo..." This website has a short description of all of the Bud Ice penguin commercials that he could remember. If you're gonna drink Bud Ice, beware of the penguins. If anyone has any of the other Bud Ice penguin commercials, please upload them to YouTube! A website on how to protect your home from the Bud Ice stealing penguins. Actually, the whole website is pretty entertaining. It's for the BIFF - Bud Ice Freedom Fighters. This next photo is from the commercial where the Bud Ice penguin is in a train. Sneaky little guy if you ask me... You can download the Bud Ice Penguin screensaver here. And yes, this is what I have to resort to when my hockey team is doing absolutely nothing in the off-season. Plus, it gets my mind off of Psycho Eddie and the fact that my favorite player retired.

Steve Yzerman Tribute (Part 2)

2006-07-06T10:55:00.000-04:00

This part of the Steve Yzerman Tribute is all about the photos and video clips. I have uploaded all of my saved Yzerman photos to a webshots account, which you can view here. If you have any photos you would like to submit, please drop me an email.

Both the photos and videos will be added as they come in. I am adding video clips to YouTube right now, but it takes awhile to upload everything.

Video Clips

The quality is a bit off (specifically the transitions), but it's still a nice tribute video.

Photo slide show with music by Aqualung, "Brighter Than Sunshine."

Yzerman's 2OT Goal vs. St. Louis Blues

Yzerman fights

No. 19 and Ozzie joking around

The Wings joking around and playing paintball, golf, and basketball.

Yzerman on ESPN's Rome is Burning

Interview with Yzerman during Game #4 vs. Oilers in 2006 playoffs

Red Wings Weekly after the lockout / segment on No. 19

Yzerman in a Ford 1989 commercial

CBC tribute to the 1998 Stanley Cup champs

More on Belfour, Shanny, and Arbitration

2006-07-05T23:10:00.000-04:00

Belfour coming to Detroit? The Wings are supposedly 2-3 days away from informing Ed Belfour of their decision. He was at Joe Louis Arena today before heading on to the doctors for his physical to see how his back is recovering from surgery in April.

"He didn't have a very good year, statistically, then got hurt at the end of the year," Holland said. "I wanted to get his back checked out. There's obviously concerns. Did he have an off-year, or can he can play another year or two? He obviously feels he has some hockey left in him."

An article that just came out by Helene St. James says that if he passes his physical (which was 3 hours long at DMC) then the Wings will make an offer. Belfour has since left Detroit.

A dark shadow has been cast over the Detroit fans...

When I first saw the photo of Eddie below, two things came to mind: (1) His nickname, "Psycho Eddie," and (2) the movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It took no stretch of the imagination for me to picture this image below:

This is stuff that can give you nightmares. Here is a sampling of Wings fans reactions over the possibility of Belfour or Hasek in net.

Hoser: And somewhere, small groups of small market fans are grinning fiendishly - their perverse joy nearly toxic: Red Wings fans agonizing over an inability to do ... anything. All Hail the Triumph of the 'new' NHL.

58Miles2Joe: If Belfour plays for the Wings, this may be the year I lockout the NHL.

Clouddead: Kenny said we needed something different, and this sure is different...I'm scared every time I look on tsn...

Crymson: Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice...you're not gonna fool me again.

Muse: I'm hoping that the Belfour exam is more out of curiosity and to be used as a negotiating tool (so we don't look too desperate - though you have to be mighty desperate to be seriously considering Crazy Eddie). I certainly hope part of his exam will include a psychological review. In fact, while they're at it, let the Psychiatrist take a look at Kenny for even considering Crazy Eddie.

Now Doomsberry is usually forecasting dark depressing days in Hockeytown and it's usually a pretty fun read. Sadly, his latest comments seem pretty easy to imagine.

Storm clouds continue to build around Hockeytown. Prepare for the worst.
The worst is yet to come. It is time for some serious preparation.

Shanahan talk Holland actually won't be hearing from Shanahan's agent until this weekend at the earliest. We have apparently offered him a one year contract for $4 million or, if he prefers, a two year contract for less money. I don't know which one I'd prefer.

One LGW user said, "Then why are they chasing Shanahan like an obsessed ex-boyfriend? I think everyone has called Shanahan but the Mayor." So true.

Update: That Helene St. James article says that both of our offers (1 year and 2 years) were for about $4 million each year. Please let this not be true. 2 years, $4 million apiece for Shanny? Come on...I'm trying to be patient Holland, I really am. But I'm struggling, I really am.

"There's not much I can say with regard to Brendan's situation," agent Rick Curran said. "Everyone realizes he has to make a decision - perhaps sooner rather than later. I have no problem saying the Wings are still very much in the picture. He has options."

Salary Arbitration Both Daniel Cleary and Jason Williams have filed for salary arbitration. Today was the deadline. The Wings and the two players have until July 20th to reach a deal. Arbitration goes from July 20th through August 4th.

Yzerman Gallery I promise a large gallery of Yzerman photos to be posted sometime tomorrow.

Shanny, Hasek, and Belfour updates

2006-07-05T08:40:00.000-04:00

As I posted yesterday evening, Ed Belfour is in town today for a physical with Wings doctors to see how his back is healing up after surgery this past spring. Ansar Khan at MLive.com is reporting that the Wings could get him for slightly higher than the league minimum:

It's prompted them to explore the possibility of signing a veteran like Belfour, if he's healthy and would agree to a deal for about $500,000, slightly more than the NHL's minimum salary, according to a league source.

The same article says that the Wings have contacted Hasek's agent for some preliminary talk.

I don't know which one is the worse of the two evils. The only positive is that we would get a goalie for pretty cheap, but that's about it...

Apparently, the Wings have offered Brendan Shanahan a one year contract worth $4 million. That's a pretty nice raise over the $2.28 million salary of last season. And why do we have to offer him this amount? This expensive salary that he has not earned because his playoff performances have been subpar! Because our UFA options are dwindling at a rapid rate and Holland believes that if we lose Shanny, we don't have a lot of choices. Now that was just speculation on my part - I don't know what Holland thinks. He's currently in LA meeting with the Kings. Montreal and St. Louis are also interested in him.

Every day that passes, I try to remember the joys of the 2001 summer offseason when we landed some nice players. Silly salary cap...

Belfour is coming in for a physical

2006-07-04T16:50:00.000-04:00

Some folks at Lets Go Wings forum heard from Kevin Allen on WDFN that Ed Belfour is coming in for a physical tomorrow. I'm kindly asking Holland to look towards a trade instead of going the Belfour/Hasek route. Please? I don't think I could better express myself than redwings1914:

Stevie has retired. Ben Wallace signed with Chicago. We are interested in bringing back Hasek Ed Belfour is coming for a physical tomorrow. Paris Hilton has a #1 hit song.
Yup, this must be the apocalypse.

On the other hand, Paul Kukla says that Mike Babcock went on Fan 590 earlier today and heard rumors that Belfour is heading to Florida. I hope Babcock is right.

The Wings are expecting a decision from Shanny within 2-3 days. Hadley on Sports reports that Brendan Shanahan is asking $5.5 million.

To date, I've learned that three teams have offered Shanahan a deal around $4 million for the upcoming campaign. Hence, it is doubtful that Shanahan will garner his asking price... even at $4 million this season there is reason to be cautious.
Shanahan is a Hall of Fame Player and one of the dozen best power forwards to ever lace the skates however considering the current state of this organization... considering a penny over $4 million would be a huge mistake.
Ottawa has offered a three-year deal... the longest term, while Boston was the first team to hit around the $4 million mark. Seeing Shanahan wear the 'Note again would be sweet however irresponsible at $5.5 million.

Each day, I see our list of potential UFA signings grow smaller and smaller. I know I should trust Holland, but we have done absolutely nothing except for re-sign 3 players. And watch one of the best of all time retire. Are there any other teams that haven't signed any new/fresh players?

Tribute to Steve Yzerman

2006-07-04T13:19:00.000-04:00

This post will be updated over the next few days with comments from various members of the media, fans, and bloggers. Once I return home tomorrow afternoon, I plan on uploading a post full of my favorite Yzerman photos, videos, and audio. Happy 4th of July to all my fellow Americans!

This is going to be a pretty long post so if you just want to see my other posts on No. 19, please check out one of the posts linked below.

Steve Yzerman: Heart of a Champion Steve Yzerman Quote Sheet Steve Yzerman retires Behind the Jersey: No. 19

You know you're a special hockey player when all of these players/coaches take their time out of the holiday weekend to stop in Detroit for your retirement announcement.

Scotty Bowman, the Wings' former head coach, came in from Chicago, where he was visiting relatives.
"Sorry, I was about 10 minutes late getting here," he told Yzerman afterward, as the two posed for photos. "But I was listening on the radio on my way in."
Mike Babcock, the current coach, flew in from his offseason home in Saskatchewan. Teammate Kris Draper left his family in Toronto and hopped on a plane to be here. Ted Lindsay was there with his wife. Igor Larionov strolled in, just ahead of a group of more than a dozen of the Wings' prospects, most of whom weren't even born when Yzerman played his first NHL game.

Bloggers Paul Kukla @ Kukla's Korner: With Yzerman in the lineup, Wings fans knew we always had a chance to win a game. Now that security blanket has left us. July 3, 2006, the day Detroit Red Wings fans shed a tear or two. We knew the day was coming and tried to convince ourselves to be prepared. But it hit us like a ton of bricks, took away our breath and left us stunned and dazed. #19 will never be seen on the ice again. I joked with a fellow blogger a week or so ago the #19 is not worn by anyone in Detroit sports, both amateur and pro, but today I am not kidding. No more #19 for anyone in Detroit, we cannot look at someone else wearing it again. Besides, who could live up to it?

IwoCPO @ Abel to Yzerman: The Captain has been through the most pressure-filled situations, dealt with pain I could certainly never imagine, swallowed emotion when necessary and made incredibly tough decisions because it was his job to do so. And yet, you got the idea yesterday that what he was doing up there on that dais was much tougher than anything he’s experienced with 19 on his back.

For now, it’s simply this: farewell to The Captain. We’ll leave the future for tomorrow. His successor can be discussed elsewhere for now. Ken Holland’s summer nap can wait one more day.

For now...I’ll say this. Steve Yzerman would have made a damned good Chief.

Matt @ On the Wings: Click on the link to read about his favorite Yzerman memories.

Brian @ On the Wings: Click on the link to read about his favorite Yzerman moments.

Joe @ Legends of Hockey: Steve Yzerman is no longer the high scoring one-man show of the Detroit Red Wings. Instead he is one of the game's most complete players ever. He is one the greatest leaders the ice has ever known. And most importantly, he is the captain of the 3 Stanley Cup Championships. One of the NHL's true all time greats, Steve Yzerman is what hockey is all about.

David Singer @ The Ice Block: Even at a presser for him, about him, he still used the word “we” over and over, as he considered his retirement from the team’s perspective. Whether it be in the front office or somewhere behind the bench, Stevie Y isn’t going anywhere, and fans in Detroit should be grateful for that. Gordie Howe may be Mr. Hockey, but Yzerman has truly become Mr. Red Wing.

James Mirtle: Yzerman's one of the few players who's been an NHL star nearly my entire life, and certainly ever since I've been following the game closely. He's an icon in the game, and a great representative of what hockey is — or at least what it should be. Looking at the ridiculous player movement the past few seasons, you wonder if another Yzerman will ever grace this league.

Is it even possible for this league to have a player named captain at 21 and play his entire 1,514-game career with the team that drafted him? For that alone, it's the end of an era.

Kevin @ Buffalo's Original Sports Blog: He has always been one of my favorite players, and the NHL is a poorer place with him not in it. True to his usual classiness, he had this to say: “I don’t want this to turn into a soap opera or an ordeal.” See you again the first day you’re eligible for the Hall. And you stay classy, Stevie Y.

Acid Queen @ Sweet Tea, Barbecue, and Bodychecks: Out of a team that I’ve held a deep-seated loathing for since age 10, he was the only one that I could never ever say anything bad about–because there just wasn’t anything bad that could be said about him. Even through the pain and heartache and anger of 2002, I still couldn’t say anything bad about the guy–because when you play the way he did on only one good leg, that’s valour right there (and you have to respect that).

That’s about the right word for it–valour. I can’t think of this man without that word coming to mind, not after 2002. It’s right up there alongside other words used in connection with him: class, dignity, and respect.

Fans

UMFan: I’ve never seen a player in any sport, with the exception of maybe Jordan, display such a drive and a determination to win than Yzerman. He did everything the right way, on and off the ice. I’m just glad I got to watch him play. The sports world, not just hockey, is losing a great icon.

Barry Steiner, Chicago: "I'm a big Hawks' fan, but I had a lot of respect for him. You have to be impressed with what they've done during his career. He's a classy player and it's a big loss for the league. He's a tremendous competitor and you have to believe he just felt he couldn't compete at the level he was accustomed to playing. It's good he can go out on his own terms."

Connie: "I have been watching you play hockey since you were with the Peterborough Petes. I was 20, you were 16. I rarely missed a Red Wings game and watched you grow with the team as a player and as a man. I cried when you were hit in the eye with the puck, I cried when you had knee surgery, I cried when you won the Stanley cups, and I cried today. You are a class act, Steve Yzerman, and you are synonymous with Hockeytown. I have wanted to meet you since the day you first skated onto the ice but never got a chance. I knew back then you were going to be something special. Thank you for 23 glorious years in Detroit. Maybe there's a chance that somehow, someday, I will still be able to meet the greatest hockey player that ever played the game. I have deep admiration and respect for you and I hope you continue to play a part in the Red Wings' successes. Thank you for being my hero for many years, as you will continue to be. God Bless you on your post-career journey. Hockeytown Loves You!"

CrazyCoach: Stevie Y was a class act. It's always hard to see players retire, but Stevie Y saw the writing on the wall, and realized it was time to go. I still can't believe he was productive after that awful knee surgery he underwent a couple seasons ago. Good job Stevie! The NHL is a different world than it was yesterday and for the past 22 seasons.

Media

Phil Coffey @ NHL.com:

But Yzerman will not be remembered for his statistics. He was far more than a point producer, he became the soul and conscience of not only the Red Wings, but to a large degree, hockey in general. Yzerman was a prime-time player in international competition, a staple on Team Canada's various rosters for Olympic and Canada Cup competitions.
Through it all -- the incredible highs and the unspeakable lows -- Yzerman played the game with a grace and humility that captured the hearts of the region's passionate puckheads. He could always be counted on for the big goal, the perfect pass, the faceoff win, the defensive wizardry that saw Detroit through a tight time.

Scott Burnside @ ESPN:

In a blue-collar, union town, Yzerman really was the lunch pail superstar. "I've been a hockey player since the age of five," he said. "I played hockey all winter and thought about hockey all summer."
He didn't particularly like dealing with the media. It was his job. And as captain, he did it, but often grudgingly and sometimes not at all. But you know what? That's small potatoes to what he did, what he meant in the dressing room, playing through pain at crucial points of the season, delivering key goals or defensive plays when it mattered most.
GMs across the NHL use Yzerman as an example when they talk to their young players about the price that has to be paid, not to be a star, but to be a winner.
Now, with the Wings at a crossroads in terms of their future, Yzerman has once again made the selfless choice. Like taking less money to play last season, Yzerman reinforced Monday that it will always be more about the team than the individual. Because, just as it was when he arrived, this is a Wings team in a state of flux.

aNHL Players / Management

Wayne Gretzky: "Steve Yzerman was a tremendous hockey player who epitomized everything good about our game. He loved the game and played with passion every night."

Mario Lemieux: Steve was a great ambassador for the game of hockey and will be sorely missed by everyone associated with the National Hockey League. Steve was a great leader, a great teammate, and most importantly a great person."

Gary Bettman: "With his leadership and determination, with his devotion to the team concept, with his refusal to accept anything less than the best, Steve Yzerman became the symbol of the Detroit Red Wings’ standard of excellence in the modern era."

Kirk Maltby: ""When I first got here, I was in awe of him, and my buddies back in Toronto couldn't believe I was his teammate. But I quickly found out that he's just an easy-going, approachable guy, whether you're a young kid trying to make it or a veteran star."

Doug Weight: "It was Gordie Howe and then Wayne Gretzky, but at an age of about 12 or 13 Steve Yzerman came into the League, and me being from Detroit, I just took a huge liking to his game and we were both centermen. And I just followed his career real closely after that."

Mike Babcock: "When you don't see him every day, you don't notice him as much. But now that I've seen him up close on a daily basis, I think he's phenomenal, and he's in the conversation with anybody that has played this game."

David Collon (Wings team doctor): "I think he's doing the right thing. I think he's put a lot of thought into it. He had a great end of the season and way to finish his career. He's got more than just his knee, too. It's just unbelievable that he's got the heart that he's got. His heart sure didn't give up."

Ken Kal (play-by-play announcer): "I remember during the playoffs in Calgary. It was the game before he got hit in the eye with the puck. It was an off day, and Steve was having breakfast at a small restaurant. He kind of gestured over and said, 'Here, sit down and have breakfast with me.' We talked for a good 45 minutes to an hour, just about life, hockey, everything. It was such a great experience to get to know the man behind No. 19 in a way that I really never had a chance to talk to him. To me, that was special in my broadcasting career."

Al Sobotka (Wings Zamboni driver): He always considered me as being part of the team. Always invited me for photos and things like that. He made that clear years ago. Makes me feel good, because I don't know if that goes on all over the league."

Mike Ilitch: An excerpt from John Niyo's article.

Ilitch, for his part, said he'd spent the weekend fretting like a kid preparing for a final exam.
"I thought, 'Oh, my. What am I going to say about him?' " said Ilitch, who tried to put it down on paper, then scrapped that idea because, as he explained Monday, "It's hard to find all the words."
"It's very emotional, especially if you do a lot of thinking about what's taken place over the 23 years," said Ilitch, who bought the Red Wings franchise in 1982, then made Yzerman his first draft pick. "You've got so much to reminisce about. Stevie talked for, what, a half hour? We could talk for a week about 23 years. It's pretty much a lifetime -- a lifetime of hockey -- is the way I look at it."

So who will be the new captain?

2006-07-04T09:38:00.000-04:00

If you want to read any posts made specifically about Steve Yzerman, please check out one of the four below. I am still compiling reactions from the media, fans, and bloggers so expect that post later this evening.

Steve Yzerman: Heart of a Champion Steve Yzerman Quote Sheet Steve Yzerman retires Behind the Jersey: No. 19

So who will be the new captain?

Most people can agree that the following are the top candidates to wear the "C" on their jersey for the Wings.

Nicklas Lidstrom Brendan Shanahan Kris Draper Chris Chelios Henrik Zetterberg

Personally, I think it'll be either Lids or Drapes. Draper is the vocal leader of the team at least off the ice. He's always the media go-to guy in whatever the circumstances. When I went to a practice and then a mock press conference down at JLA, they had two younger players available (Williams and Mowers) and then Draper. Lidstrom is our best player. He's been with the Wings all 14 seasons that he has been in the NHL.

GM Ken Holland has spoken publicly that Lidstrom is the leading candidate for the captaincy.

Lidstrom, an assistant captain with Shanahan, said last season he'd be honored to be elevated to captain, but was quick to add the many other choices in the locker room. Still, Draper, who was at Yzerman's news conference Monday, said Lidstrom would be a good choice.
"Nick is a guy who leads by example," Draper said. "He just won his fourth Norris Trophy. He's one of the best players in the game. He's a leader."
"Zetterberg will be a captain on this team one day," Holland said. "Is it now? Is the time right? (But) if Brendan comes back, he's been around a long time and he's been a leader for us. Draper is a leading candidate. We have a lot of options.
"I want to see what Steve thinks, the staff thinks, talk to Mike and I have my own thoughts, and we'll come to a conclusion. We certainly have candidates."

MLive.com also has an article about the candidates for the open position.

"We're fortunate having Steve here so long, he's been a great role model as a leader and a lot of the foot soldiers who've followed him are ready to step up and take over,'' Holland said. "They watched one of the greatest leaders and captains in the history of our sport.''
"Whoever is (the next captain) sure is in tough,'' Draper said. "But we have some great leaders in there. Stevie helped by showing what it takes to be a leader, what it takes to be prepared and be a professional.''
"I think Nick Lidstrom has got to be the leading candidate, but you can go to Kris Draper, Brendan Shanahan, even Chris Chelios on a short-term basis,'' former Wings defenseman Larry Murphy said. "But the dark horse is Henrik Zetterberg. They had great success in naming a young captain in the past (with Yzerman), why not do it again? But the odds-on favorite would have to be Nick."

Steve Yzerman: Heart of a Champion

2006-07-03T17:50:00.000-04:00

When I woke up this morning to learn that a press conference had been called for a major announcement, my heart sank. I knew captain Steve Yzerman would retire at some point, but at the end of each season I hoped he would give it one more year. On July 3, 2006, Yzerman decided it was time for him to finally hang up his skates. He’ll probably spend the first half of the year enjoying time spent with his wife Lisa and his daughters. But then, I won’t be surprised if he rejoins the organization with a position in management to help mold a team to a Stanley Cup championship.

His legacy will live on in the city of Detroit and with the Detroit Red Wings organization and its fans. I’ve already made a post dedicated to Yzerman’s long and wonderful career and some great comments about the athlete so I will use this one to comment on my favorite No. 19 moments and how he’s impacted my life.

Cancer survivors look to cyclist Lance Armstrong for inspiration. As someone who has spent years struggling with chronic knee pain, Steve Yzerman has become my daily source of inspiration. While I certainly never had a city, a team, and millions of fans waiting for my return from knee surgery, I’ve experienced the agony of rehabilitation and the frustration of a bothersome knee. The grimaces made by his face are prevalent in every person suffering from chronic pain. Yzerman’s courage and perseverance helped me do the same while recovering from any of my seven knee operations.

Whenever I am struggling to make it up the stairs, I think of Yzerman when, in 2002, he had an incredibly hard time climbing the steps of the airplane. I always thought that if Yzerman could be in that much pain and still lead the team in playoff points, then I can make it through the day, through my therapy, and live a relatively normal life. I just hate that Yzerman’s knee is the number one reason for hanging up his skates.

When I hear the name Steve Yzerman, I think of words like courage, respect, honor, discipline, dedication, leader, champion, passion, perseverance, humility, and athlete. The name Steve Yzerman is the definition of a champion. I’ve never heard a single hockey player speak of No. 19 in a negative way and I know that my fellow hockey bloggers hold a deep respect for the man they call “The Captain,” even if they personally hate the Wings. Not only is No. 19 a fantastic hockey player, who has overcome so many physical obstacles, he is a devoted family man always placing his first priority with his wife and daughters. He made sure that his personal life remained, well, personal.

Yzerman was a terrific captain who led by example whether it was by his play on the ice or how he acted away from the rink. He is a humble and selfless athlete who played with his team’s best interest at heart. When he was asked to develop into a stronger two-way player instead of mainly the offensive go-to guy, Yzerman did it and became one of the best. In his press conference, he told the media that “I feel like a little boy trying to please his parents when I step on the ice.” Yzerman wanted to make the city of Detroit and all of the Wings fans proud to be a member of Hockeytown. He helped owner Mike Ilitch change the team from “Dead Wings” to a sporting dynasty of the modern era.

I can’t begin to imagine the Detroit Red Wings without No. 19. Yzerman became captain right before I was born so I really don’t know hockey without Stevie Y. Each time Yzerman held that shiny silver Stanley Cup over his head, you couldn’t help but smile seeing one of the greatest hockey players celebrate his team’s hard work. I have fond memories of each victory, but I found it most rewarding to see Yzerman lift the Cup for his third and final time after he defeated his opponents with one leg.

While I certainly wish Yzerman had played for one more year, I’m happy that my last memories of No. 19 were seeing him skate in Joe Louis Arena for Game #2 of the first round of the 2006 playoffs. I’m pleased that he left with the fans wanting more. Yzerman was one of the best players for Detroit in the post season and I’m glad I can say that he left before the fans asked him too. I am excited to see how Yzerman shapes the organization in the future and look forward to seeing him celebrate more Stanley Cup victories down the road.

Thank you for the memories. Thank you for the inspiration. Thank you for three glorious seasons resulting in a parade downtown. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your passion for the game. Thank you for being the ultimate sports role model. Thank you for always giving 100%. Thank you for making the city of Detroit proud. Thank you for giving Wings fans a player to cheer in, to believe in, and best of all to dream with. You will always be my favorite athlete and my inspiration. Thank you.

Tomorrow... I will collect various reactions from the media, players, and fans regarding "The Decision." Look for this collection to appear sometime tomorrow.

Steve Yzerman retires

2006-07-03T14:53:00.000-04:00

In today's press conference, captain Steve Yzerman announced his retirement. After 23 years in the NHL (19 spent as captain), No. 19 has finally decided to hang up his skates. Below my initial reaction are quotes said by Yzerman, Holland, Lindsay, and Lewis during and following the press conference.

Initial Reaction Unfortunately, I am up north on holiday with my family. My internet is incredibly slow and I have to share our sole connection with my family (my brothers and I "fight" over the connection). Thus, my initial reaction will be brief. I'll write a tribute of sorts today and post it later when I can go online once more. I promise that I will have a tribute post of quotes, photos, audio, and video clips of Yzerman's career once I return from up north (July 5th). I wish that I could post it now, but it will take years to upload photographs from my connection.

I am deeply saddened that Steve Yzerman decided to retire. He became captain half a year before I was born. To me, he is the face of the organization and I will miss his presence on the ice. Little did I know that Game #2 of the Edmonton-Wings series would be Yzerman's last game at Joe Louis Arena. I remember sitting there in the upper bowl with the clock counting towards zero thinking, "This could be the last game I see of Yzerman at the Joe." I've had so many happy moments following Yzerman's career and I look forward to seeing him in management. He will always be my favorite athlete of all time and I can't think of a better role model for any hockey player growing up.

I promise to work on some sort of tribute today and will hopefully post it later tonight. But until then, here are some quotes from today's press conference at JLA.

Press Conference Ted Lindsay, Gordie Howe, Kris Draper, Mike Babcock, Ken Holland, Mike Ilitch, Jimmy D, Larry Murphy, and more sat in the Olympia Room during the press conference. While Yzerman was speaking, it really looked like Ilitch was about to cry. And Holland had his moment or two.

Quotes from Steve Yzerman during his announcement...

"It's a day of mixed emotions."

"I've enjoyed my career immensely in Detroit."

"I've finally made a definite decision on my future."

"My intention throughout the season was to retire."

"It [this season] ended in disappointment."

"I feel like a little boy trying to please his parents when I step on the ice."

"It's been a wonderful era of hockey for me."

"School was just filling time til I got to play hockey again."

"The Ilitches will do whatever they have to do."

"I want to thank Kenny for his support particularly in the past few years."

"There are very few cities that have the history and following that this city has."

"It's been a pleasure to play for an Original 6 team."

"I look forward to a lot more time with my wife Lisa and my daughters."

"The best thing that could've happened to my career was my family because they gave me perspective."

At the end of his "speech," No. 19 started getting choked up. It's the closest I've ever come to crying over hockey.

Yzerman answers questions from the media...

"Because of the condition of my knee, I've become a part time player."

"It's too difficult on my knee."

"I've been really proud to be captain of this team. Not for the number of years, but for the things we accomplished."

"Even at the age of 41, I'd go out on the ice thinking, 'I'm going to be the best player on the ice.'"

"I question my own ability to be effective out there."

"At 41, I think I've given up on improvement."

"Obviously, the opportunity to raise three Cups stands out."

"Some of the disappointments we can chuckle about."

"Winning never gets old."

"I've enjoyed coming to the rink every single day of my career."

"It's the right time to retire...my health is the number one reason."

"It's a great city for athletes to play in."

"Joe Louis Arena is a special place to play."

"There's something special about being a Red Wing."

"Looking back at it all, I tried to do the best thing for my team."

"I retire feeling like there's nothing left in the tank."

Ted Lindsay "I think he's the greatest example of what an athlete should be. How can you give advice to someone as good as he was or is?"

GM Ken Holland "He's got a great passion...I've been very lucky to develop a relationship with him...He's going to become part of the management team."

Kris Draper "He made us better players and people."

Dave Lewis "You knew whenever he went on the ice that he was going to do his best to win that game...Most of the time [in the 2002 playoffs], he couldn't even take one step on a time [up the airplane]...I saw the agony of rehab...[rough quote] The trainers never knew if he'd play that game even during warm ups."

"Major announcement" at 1pm

2006-07-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

The Detroit Red Wings have called a press conference at 1pm for a "major announcement." So what could this be?

1) Steve Yzerman announcing his retirement (why would they hold a conference just to say he'd return next year?)

2) A major trade announcement, but usually that leaks out somewhere

3) A big signing (which would probably be a goalie and that scares me because I don't like any of them available by free agency)

Unless it's Option #2 or Option #3 (for a forward or defenseman), I don't think I'm going to like this announcement. Please let it not be Option #1, yet I think that is what it's going to be and it saddens me so. If it is Option #1, could they also be announcing who the new captain is (cough-Lidstrom-cough) or will they hold off on that for awhile?

GM Ken Holland did not return any phone calls last night.

Update: Sportsnet.ca has heard that The Captain will retire.

After 22 seasons, Detroit Red Wings' captain Steve Yzerman is calling it a career, Sportsnet has learned.
The Red Wings have called a press conference for 1 pm ET on Monday where the announcement is expected to be made official.

If he does retire, I'll start working on a tribute post. Please feel free to email me your favorite Yzerman moments/comments or just send me your thoughts on #19.

Frustrated? Heck yes.

2006-07-02T10:43:00.000-04:00

So I wake up this morning to learn that we are no longer in the running for the following individuals:

- Willie Mitchell to Vancouver - Jay McKee to St. Louis - Martin Gerber to Ottawa

And what have we done since losing to the Oilers in the first round?

- Re-signed Chris Chelios - Re-signed Nicklas Lidstrom - Re-signed Chris Osgood

Wow, that must have been so hard to do over the last month and a half. I realize the days of us always signing new sweet players is over, but can't we get something? Holland says he's waiting, but for how long?

Folks, we could very well be looking at a Ozzie/Howard goaltending duo. I find that a bit scary. But if that's the case, Holland better get us a gritty forward and physical defenseman.

IwoCPO's post at A2Y about this matter is absolutely perfect. I suggest everyone goes and reads it.

Lang, Schneider, Maltby: gone. Traded, waived, bought out…whatever. Clear the rolls and move on.
Kopecky, Flippula, Hudler: up.
Howard, Liv, MacDonald: battle it out for the number 2 job then be ready to play 30 games.
Osgood: take the number 1. We have no money to spend on a real starter, so it’s yours for one more year.
Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Kronwall: It’s your team. Lead it.
Sign some hunger: Barnaby, Ward, Roenick, maybe a Salei or Witt.

And like he said, panic is certainly setting in (for me, at least).

And please Mr. Holland, do not re-sign Brendan Shanahan. And whatever you do, do not sign Ed Belfour or the Dominator (he is available now, scary I know).

Osgood re-signs for two more years

2006-07-01T17:53:00.000-04:00

Chris Osgood will stay in Detroit for at least two more years with the role of backup goaltender. TSN.ca has yet to say how much the Wings will be paying Ozzie each year.

Holland "tendered" Ozzie two offers, a one year one and a two year offer. The two year offer was supposedly for less money per year. If this is true, I'm content with Ozzie as our backup goalie for two more years. I would not think this if I at all suspected him becoming the starting goaltender.

Let me remind you all about my favorite Ozzie moment (as previously shown in the Anti-Roy post):

7/01 Wings Update

2006-07-01T13:14:00.000-04:00

More on the Lidstrom signing The Detroit newspapers have some quotes from GM Ken Holland and defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom regarding his signing a two year contract worth $7.6 million each year. He is not going to get an increase in salary even after winning his 4th Norris and didn't even ask for the salary maximum of $8.8 million. He gave us a nice hometown discount if you ask me. If Yzerman retires, I'm convinced that Lidstrom should be named the new captain after making a "move" like that.

The Detroit News:

"I wanted to stay with the Red Wings," Lidstrom said. "I never asked for the maximum (allowed in the salary cap, $8.8 million). Talking with Kenny (Holland), if I could take a little less, that would help in signing other players."
"I don't think Nick had any intention of going anywhere else, and we wanted to keep Nick as a Red Wing," Holland said. "Over the last month we discussed what was a fair contract, and what Nick could do to help our team in the new salary-cap world.
"Nick decided he was happy keeping his contract the same. We have more percentage of money to spend in the new cap. Nick has really helped us out."
"I still believe we have a Stanley Cup-caliber team," said Lidstrom, who added his desire to win a fourth Stanley Cup is a key reason he'll continue to play.

The Detroit Free Press:

"One of Kenny's arguments all along was that if I take less, we can still be a competitive team and go out and sign another player," Lidstrom said Friday via phone from Sweden. "I wanted to sign with the Wings, but I didn't want to take less than what I was making. I'm pleased with my salary. I never asked for the max. I always felt if I took a little less, we'd still have some flexibility."

What amazes me is that with 14 seasons in the NHL, Lidstrom has only missed 20 games. That's impressive if you ask me.

Brendan Shanahan Forward Brendan Shanahan has decided to test the free agent market. The Wings offered him a raise from his $2.28 million salary this year. If any other team offers him too much more, the Wings will be unable to afford him.

"Brendan wants to see what's out there," Holland said. "He knows where we're at (financially) and what we can afford."
"I'm never optimistic or pessimistic," Holland said about the chances of signing a player once he hits the open market. "Talking to Rick Curran (Shanahan's agent), Brendan owes it to himself what the market will bear for him. He knows what we want to do. Brendan will go into the open market and decide where he goes."

Steve Yzerman Even though Yzerman wanted to make a decision by today, it's not looking likely.

"I know he's in his cabin in northern Ontario, and by not hearing from him, that's telling me he's struggling with his decision," said Holland, who will not give Yzerman a deadline. "It doesn't surprise me. He has the passion and desire to play; and it's driving him to play, but he has to really decide about his knee and if he's prepared to go through everything he has to go through to play another year. Steve wants to know he's coming back to contribute, not just to come back to be back."

MLive.com:

"For me to try to put pressure on Steve to make a decision he isn't ready to make I don't think is right,'' Holland said. "So I'm prepared to wait all summer, and whatever decision he makes is fine with me, whenever he makes it. For what he's done for this city and this franchise, if he wants to take a little longer making his decision he should have that time."

Chris Osgood Apparently, Osgood has been "tendered" a one year and two year offer with the two year offer for less money. I wouldn't be surprised if we hear something today.

Qualifying Offers Detroit has made qualifying offers for Jason Williams, Johan Franzen, and Dan Cleary. Assuming they sign, they'd cost the Wings around $1.6 million.

Wings Wish List GM Holland is looking for a starting goaltender, gritty forward, and a physical defenseman. Dwayne Roloson has re-signed with Edmonton so he is no longer an option. Ed Belfour was bought out by Toronto so he's a possibility, but I'm hoping we look elsewhere (ie. Martin Gerber).

The Detroit News: "In goal, we'll look at all options," Holland said. "Anybody with experience, we're interested in."
Detroit Free Press: "I've got a little extra money to do some things," Holland said. "Over the next few days, we'll find out who's available and how much they want."

Tour de France Ranting

2006-07-01T13:09:00.000-04:00

Imagine this hypothetical situation:

The San Jose Sharks and New York Rangers are about to play each other in the Stanley Cup Finals. Now imagine the day before Game #1, a 200 page report comes out in an NHL steroid investigative report. Let's say this report named 50 NHL players, 4 of which were about to play in the Finals.

Let's say Thornton and Cheechoo were named as well as Lundqvist and Jagr. Hypothetically, the NHL has a policy that prevents any player under investigation to play until the issue is resolved. Even if the players didn't do it and there was no clear cut evidence against these players, they can't play and if their team wins, their name can't go on the Cup. So four of the best players in the Finals are unable to play - imagine how it would impact the game.

This is how I feel about the Tour de France...

Yesterday, a 200-300 page report from a Spanish doping investigation was "released." The report named 50 cyclists, 13 of which are participating in the Tour de France. Three of those nine cyclists placed second, third, and fourth in the Tour de France last year. Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso were the top contenders for this year's race and will be UNABLE to race this year. They train all year for this 23 day race and the day before it starts, they are informed they are not allowed to race.

Now, if they really did dope up, shame on them. They deserve their punishment. But if they didn't, how much does that suck? This was probably Ullrich's last year, a chance for him to earn his second Tour de France victory (his last came in 1997).

So the cyclists who came in first through fifth will NOT be racing in the Tour de France so this year's race is wide open and the three Americans (Floyd Landis, George Hincapie, and Levi Leipheimer) have a great chance to win this thing.

Last Year's Results: 1. Lance Armstrong (Retired) 2. Ivan Basson (Disqualified due to Report) 3. Jan Ullrich (Disqualified due to Report) 4. Francisco Mancebo (Disqualified due to Report) 5. Alexander Vinokourov (His team withdrew after 5 teammates were implicated)

So here's hoping that George Hincapie with Team Discovery takes advantage in this year's race.

Lidstrom signs 2 year deal with Detroit

2006-06-30T14:16:00.000-04:00

Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom has signed a two year deal with the Detroit Red Wings. He will be paid $7.6 million each year. He made the same amount this past season after taking a 24% paycut due to the CBA. To say that I'm ecstatic that he agreed to the same amount of money is an understatement.

This Weekend

2006-06-29T23:19:00.000-04:00

Hey everybody! I am heading up north bright and early tomorrow morning for the holiday weekend. I will be back Wednesday (July 5th) afternoon. I am bringing my laptop and I do have internet connection, but it's dial-up and really slow. I won't be able to check the news as often as I normally would to see if there is a big signing/trade. I will do my best to update this blog when something big happens, but it might be a few hours late. Posts will resume at a normal level when I return home. I will also continue to update the Anti-Roy post (a reader favorite) as seen below if someone sends in a nice photo, clip, joke, comment, etc. July 1st - Start of NHL free agency (come on Mr. Holland - time to step it up!) - Start of the Tour de France

The Anti-Roy Post

2006-06-28T23:15:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, retired Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy was selected in this year's class of NHL Hall of Fame inductees. To honor this day, the following post is "The Anti-Roy Post." Have a joke, photo, video, etc. of Patrick Roy, send it in through email or leave a comment! This post will be added on whenever I receive something anti-Roy.

Updated June 29, 11:00 AM: More photos added. Continue to send them in!

Updated June 29, 11:15 PM: 3 Jokes added. Added "Anti-Roy fans speak out" section. Please send in your Roy thoughts! One audio clip of The Joe taunting Roy has been added. Wow, I've had like 5x the normal number of visitors than I do on a typical day. You guys must really dislike Roy!

Video Clips!

Statue of Liberty
The oh so infamous Statue of Liberty move made after Roy believed he made a save on Steve Yzerman. Probably my most favorite anti-Roy moment because his arrogance finally got the best of him. Check it out DetroitHockey.net's clip. If anyone can upload it to YouTube or even email it to me, I'd really appreciate it!

Patrick Roy vs. Mike Vernon
This gem has Roy going after smaller Vernon. A favorite website of mine, Divealanche.com, has a homer profile for a member of the Denver media. The current one up is for Mike Haynes for memorable comments like this during the Roy-Vernon fight:

Many Denver listeners remember Mike Haynes' glaring malfunction during the Roy/Vernon fight, where the HaynesBot screamed "A right by Roy! And another right by Roy!" over and over again as the shaken, bloody-faced Dives' goalie was being helped to his feet by the officials. According to the HaynesBot's tally, Roy landed 327 punches against Vernon, who skated away unscathed.

Haha, Roy got all cut up. Vernon is 5'9" and Roy is 6'2" - and Roy loses. It's the simple joys in life people.

Patrick Roy vs. Chris Osgood
This time a much larger Roy (6'2") goes after the smaller Osgood (5'11"). And this is why Detroit likes Ozzie. Just listen to the crowd towards the end of this clip - it's beautiful! What makes these two goalie fights even more wonderful is the fact that the Wings went on to win the Cup in both years.

Osgood said the following about his fight with Roy:

“He’s a lot weaker than Vernie said he was. If he wants to come at me again, I’d be thankful to go again. I’ll learn a few techniques first."

Dominik Hasek knocks over Patrick Roy
We almost had a third goalie fight with Roy, but Hasek accidentally slipped and knocked Roy over instead.

Photographs
A collection of fun for the whole family photographs featuring the defeated Avs goaltender, Patrick Roy.

To see the last two photos in their regular paper size, please visit The Smoking Gun.

Jokes
One Roy joke and two other Avs jokes. :)

Joke #1
A first grade teacher explains to her class that she is a Colorado Avalanche fan. She asks her students to raise their hands if they are Avalanche fans too. Not really knowing what an Avalanche fan is, but wanting to be liked by their teacher, their hands fly into the air. There is, however, one exception. A little girl has not gone along with the crowd. The teacher asks her why she has decided to be different. "Because I'm not an Avalanche fan," she retorts. "Then," asks her teacher, "what are you?" "I'm a proud Detroit Red Wings Fan," boasts the little girl. The teacher is a little perturbed now, her face slightly red. She asks the little girl why she is a Wings fan. "Well, my Dad and Mom are Wings fans, so I'm a Wings fan too," she responds. The teacher is now angry. "That's no reason," she says loudly. "What if your Mom was a moron and your Dad was an idiot. What would you be then?" "Oh," says the little girl. "Well, then I'd be an Avalanche fan."

Joke #2
Four hockey fans are mountain climbing. Each climber happens to be a rabid fan of a different NHL team. As they climb higher & higher, they argue more and more about which of them is the most loyal to their particular team.

Finally, as they reach the summit, the climber from Vancouver takes a running leap and throws himself off the mountain yelling, "This is for the Vancouver Canucks!"

Not wanting to be outdone, the climber from Toronto throws himself off the mountain, shouting, "This is for the Toronto Maple Leafs!"

Seeing this, the Detroit climber walks to the edge of the cliff and yells, "This is for the Detroit Redwings" and pushes the guy from Colorado off the cliff.

Joke #3
Patrick Roy, after living a full life, died. When he got to heaven, God was showing him around. They came to a modest little house with a faded Colorado Avalanche flag in the window. "This house is yours for eternity, Pat," said God. "This is very special; not everyone gets a house up here." Patrick felt special, indeed, and walked up to his house.

On his way up the porch, he noticed another house just around the corner. It was a 3-story mansion with a bright Red and White sidewalk, a 50 ft. tall flagpole flying an enormous Detroit Red Wings flag, and in every window a Red Wings logo. In the front yard was a sign that said, "Welcome to Hockeytown."

Pat looked at God and said "God, I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but I have a question. I won three Stanley Cups, more awards than I can remember and am the winningest goalie in NHL history." God said "So what do you want to know, Pat?" "Well, why does Steve Yzerman get a better house than me?" God chuckled and said "Pat, that's not Steve's house,.......it's mine."

Anti-Roy Fans Speak Out
In this section, we have a collection of quotes from your typical Anti-Roy hockey fan.

"Yeah - his cockiness makes him great most of the time, but he sure looks like a fool when he blows it, doesn't he?"

"I HATE Patrick Roy with a passion, anything related to him makes my stomach turn."

"I miss Patty Roy in the NHL. The NHL just isn't as arrogant without him!"

"One of my foundest moments is when we were down 3-2 in the '02 WCF series against Colorado, and we scored the Statue of Liberty goal against crybaby Roy, and then Hasek not only shut out Colorado that game but also in game 7. And when Colorado's (Bob Hartley) coach called a measurement of Hasek's stick and we got a power play cause he was mad that Hasek was kicking their ass that night lol."

"Here's the thing about Patrick Roy — the madder he gets, the worse he plays. He's just an emotional guy."

A special post by Matt at On the Wings:

Is Patty Waaaah done? Former Wings coach Jaques Demers has told the Denver Post that he thinks Roy "has played his last game." Aww, wouldn't that be a shame? Especially since the Avs would have no one in net.
I'm sorry if that's a little sarcastic but if there is one player in the NHL I can't stand, it's Patrick Roy. Plus, it's my job as a Wings fan to be happy about things going bad for the Avs. Losing St. Patrick would instantly drop the Avs out of serious contention. Especially if Forsberg goes back to Sweden.

Audio
So far, we only have one audio clip. To hear the crowd at the Joe taunt Mr. Roy, please visit this website.

Websites
Divealanche.com - Their view on Roy?

Indeed, Patrick Roy's patented "Statue Of Liberty" move has made him a fan favorite... mostly among fans of other teams, since Roy often forgets to glove the puck when performing this crowd pleaser.
Likewise, Roy's puck handling skills outside the crease are the subject of much debate. Though many feel that Roy is to puckhandling what Chuck Norris is to dramatic acting, Roy's confuddlement in this area seldom prevents him from wandering out of the crease (much to the dismay and horror of anyone in the arena wearing Divealanche gear). Roy follows the puck as if he were in a state of hypnosis. Once he's begun doddering away in the corner, only the red goal light has the power to snap him out of the puck's spell. The inevitable results of this absent-minded wandering can be seen on ESPN Sportscenter at least a dozen times during any season.
Still, the fact that Roy's showboating has resulted in some huge Divealanche losses matters little to the legions of hollering Avsmonkeys. After all, it is Patrick's skills as a fighter that have made him a hero of the Divealanche nation.

Detroit Sports Rag has the top seven Wings-Roy moments. These moments include the statue of liberty, when the Wings scored 9 times on Roy while playing for Montreal, and the goalie fights.

Looking for blogs that randomly discuss their distaste for Roy? Check out Vancouver Canucks Op Ed and Abel to Yzerman.

Request
I don't know about you all, but I would love to see Alanah work her Photoshop magic at VCOE and make a nice Roy photo. It'd help make up for those two Maltby images.

"The Decision"

2006-06-28T22:47:00.000-04:00

Apparently, a Detroit Free Press article was up for about 20 minutes today online reporting that Yzerman decided to retire. That article is obviously not up anymore.

Every other source/newspaper continues to report that a decision has not been made.

A Wings Update

2006-06-26T15:05:00.000-04:00

So where do the Wings stand in regards to many important decisions facing the team and more specifically, GM Ken Holland? Goaltending As mentioned before, Manny Legace is out. Holland is hoping to re-sign Chris Osgood as the backup goaltender before July 1st. It's expected that he'll be paid around the $900,000 salary that he received for this past season.

Holland is close to signing Osgood. He plans to spend Monday in Vernon, British Columbia, where both he and Osgood have off-season homes. "I've made an offer, and I'm going to talk to Chris, so we'll see." Negotiations could be tricky if Osgood's side tries to push the case that he should get a good deal more than the $900,000 he made last season in case he becomes next season's starter, because his contract can't be incentive-laden.

AHL goalie Jimmy Howard is expected to play for the Griffins for at least another year. The other strong goaltending prospect Stefan Liv also needs another year for development before facing the big leagues.

"Now, that doesn't mean (Liv) doesn't play great in the American league and gets called up," Holland said. "But my hope is we come to training camp with two NHL goalies. If Joey MacDonald, if Jimmy Howard, if Liv -- if one of those guys really shows that they're (ready), then I can trade somebody -- that would be a nice position to be in. But we're not a developmental team. We want to develop players in the minors, and when they come to Detroit, it's because they can come in and play."

So who will become Detroit's new No. 1 goaltender? Well, Roberto Luongo and Andrew Raycroft were sent elsewhere via trades so they are no longer an option. San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov is rather unlikely because of his large contract (especially if Nicklas Lidstrom goes for the salary maximum). One option is Buffalo Sabres goaltender Martin Biron. He was disappointed that he isn't going anywhere, yet, because he feels there is a better opportunity for him to play elsewhere. And the Wings apparently asked their players what they thought of him? Interesting...

"I'm disappointed after this weekend," Biron said. "I thought there'd be a little more movement this weekend. I thought I'd be a part of it, too. Didn't happen." Word is the Detroit Red Wings are interested in Biron and have polled their players for feedback on him. "I've heard so many teams are looking for goalies," Biron said. "Detroit didn't want to re-sign Manny Legace, so they're a team that might be looking, but I don't want to speculate." "I hope something can be done fast, so I can find a place that will ask me to be their best stopper," Biron said. "It's a situation where I feel I can give more to a team than what I was asked to give the Sabres this year. You want to be at the forefront of things."

Another possible option for Detroit is Martin Gerber of the Carolina Hurricanes. IwoCPO at A2Y thinks that we could see Gerber in red and white next season and believes he can be an affordable upgrade over Manny Legace. Other possibilities include... - Ed Belfour - David Aebischer (information via Spector's)

RDS.CA: reported in the wake of the Canadiens re-signing goaltender Cristobal Huet that GM Bob Gainey is hinting a trade of goalie David Aebischer could occur within the next ten days. Spector's Note: My thanks to everyone who sent this in. It's obvious that with Huet as the Habs starter that there is no room for Aebischer, as he's not about to be comfortable as Huet's backup. It's anyone's guess where he could be dealt but the obvious assumption is the Lightning, Wings and perhaps the Blues could be interested in his services.

- Dwayne Roloson (if Edmonton doesn't re-sign him) Signing the "Four" It appears that Holland won't make a move regarding a new goaltender until four players have been signed/decided upon. - Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom (Mr. Norris himself). I think it's just a matter of time before the two sides finally agree on a number. I'm not expecting a paycut, but it would be amazing if Lidstrom could just stay put with the $7.6 million/year deal. If Lidstrom doesn't ask for the new salary maximum ($8.8), then the Wings will have some room to sign some new players as well as bring up some AHL Griffins. - As mentioned at the start of this post, Holland wants to re-sign Ozzie before July 1st. - Holland plans on talking to Steve Yzerman this week in regards to The Decision. Why do I get the feeling that we won't hear anything from The Captain until Kenny makes some deals/moves?

"I hope to meet with Steve either Wednesday or Thursday," Holland said Saturday. "Maybe he will let me know. I don't know what he's thinking."

- And to round out the four, Brendan Shanahan. Why does Holland feel an obligation to sign Shanny so soon? It doesn't even sound like he'll consider anything but re-signing Shanny (unless he decides to go elsewhere). Hmmph.

"A lot depends on what goes on this week with Shanahan and Lidstrom," Holland said. "I need to know what's going on with those negotiations, because they're obviously a big part of what goes on in Detroit. "If you look at our team, we've got six defensemen signed -- or five, but we're hoping to get Nick signed, so that would be six. We need to get another defenseman, but he's not going to be a high-end guy. Up front, it obviously depends on Shanahan. If we get Shanahan re-signed, we're looking maybe for a fourth-line player. If we don't get Brendan, we're looking obviously to get a top-six forward. And we need a goalie."

Random Thoughts Does anyone else find it wrong that Mikael Samuelsson will be making $1.2 million next year and Andreas Lilja will be making $1 million while Chris Chelios makes $850,000 and Niklas Kronwall earns $840,000? I mean I'm glad Cheli went with a lower figure because he played pretty well in the playoffs I thought. But I am so not a Lilja fan and that he makes more than Kronwall? I guess Kronwall has been injured a lot. Well, Kronwall and Pavel Datsyuk will be out re-signing worries next summer. Note: Updates after today might be a little lower for the next week. If a deal or contract signing occurs, I'll try and get on top of that ASAP. But my dad broke his hand and we think he'll have surgery this week, I hurt my knee again and have to go down to Cincinnati to see my surgeon tomorrow, and I'll be up north with family for the 4th of July weekend. Also expect to see some Tour de France news and updates from July 1st through July 23rd on this blog as I'm a big TdF fan and there is no frontrunner as in years past so it'll be very interesting.

More on the Wings draft picks

2006-06-26T14:25:00.000-04:00

I want to talk about a few more things regarding this past weekend's NHL Draft before going back to talk about trades and signings.

Cory Emmerton & Shawn Matthias Assistant GM Jim Nill also talked to Ansar Khan about some of their newly drafted players such as Cory Emmerton (41st) and Shawn Matthias (47th) as well as Jan Mursak.

"There were five guys that we liked (at No. 29). We like the move we made to move down to get two of those guys instead of one," Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill said. "We're happy with the way things unfolded, but we'll find out in 2-3 years."
"Emmerton is more of a point-producer," Nill said. "Matthias is bigger, a strong skater, gets in on the forecheck, is hard on the defense."

Emmerton Stats: - 90 points in 66 games (26 goals, 64 assists) / 10th in OHL scoring - Ranked 10th among North Americans by Central Scouting - Ranked 23rd overall by International Scouting Service (ISS)' - Voted by coaches as the OHL's smartest player

Matthias Fun Stats: - 34 points in 67 games (13 goals, 21 assists) - He got 25 points in his last 35 games - Played for Canada in the U-18 world championship

Red Wings Central has some quotes from Mr. Nill [the Nills' are family friends so it's weird just saying Nill - sorry] about Cory Emmerton and Shawn Matthias.

“He’s got very good hockey sense, good stick skills, and he’s a Red Wings type of player, the way he thinks the game,” said Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill. “We think he’s a top two line player.”
“Like all kids, strength is his issue,” said Nill. “He needs to work on his leg strength and get his skating a little bit stronger.”
“He showed a lot of maturity and showed he can compete against top players,” said Nill. “We really like his size and speed. He gets on pucks fast and has that big body. He’s a strong skater, and in the new NHL, we’re hoping he’s going to be a real tough guy to play against.”

Dick Axelsson More fun stats: - 34 points in 28 games with Huddinge [top scorer for Sweden's top U-20 level] - 157 PIM in those 28 games - Unrated by ISS and other scouting publications

Red Wings Central also has the scoop on Axelsson.

“He’s got high-end skills and the size to go with it,” Nill said. “He can skate, he’s got good hands, and he competes. We had him high on our list. If you roll the dice, you might get him in the third round, but we didn’t want to wait. We liked the guy and decided to take him.”
Despite Axelsson’s high penalty totals, Nill said he isn’t a hard-hitting physical force. The bulk of his penalty minutes resulted from misconducts, and discipline is something he needs to work on.
“With his skill, he’s got to learn to play every shift,” said Nill. “Some games, when he was going, he was unstoppable. Then we’d see three or four shifts where he wouldn’t do much. A lot of it’s maturity.”

Daniel Larsson The 20 year old Swedish goaltender was our third round pick (92nd overall) in Saturday's draft. An article by Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press wraps up the Wings picks in the draft.

"There is a real good goalie coach in Sweden, Tomas Magnusson, who has worked both with Tomas Soderstrom and Mikael Tellqvist," Andersson said. "I spoke to him about Larsson and he said he's one of the best guys since Lundqvist that he's seen. He thinks he has a lot of things going for him. He's real smooth side to side, and for a Swedish guy, he's real good with his stick, too."

The Wings will monitor his progress as he plays for Djurgarden of the Swedish Elite League. His teammate, Dick Axelsson, was Detroit's late second round pick this year.

Be sure to check out Red Wings Central on Larsson and the other Detroit draftees.

“He plays big in the net, stands up well, challenges shooters well, has the athletic ability and is very composed,” said Nill. “Now, it’s just learning the game, learning the shooters, maturing.”
Nill added that Larsson is a more technical than fellow Red Wings prospect Stefan Liv, an unorthodox stopper known for highlight-reel saves.

Nill on the Wings 7th round picks In the same article, Nill gave a few more comments on the two players that Detroit picked in the seventh round: Nick Oslund and Logan Pyett.

Nill said Oslund "will probably play in tier-2 and then go to college, so we've got him for five years. He's a big strong kid."
Pyett was on the Canadian U-18 team. "He's a skilled, small defenseman," Nill said. "We'll see where he goes."

NHL Draft = Scouts' Stanley Cup Mr. Nill also acknowledged the relief of successfully making it through this year's draft.

The draft lasted about seven hours. The Wings traded away their first-round pick, 29th overall, to get the two early second-round ones. At the end, all the men there -- Ken Holland, Jim Nill, Andersson and the rest of the scouting staff -- shook hands, as happy with their selections as they were that the event was finally over.
"These scouts have been traveling all over the world, snowstorms, everything else, driving 5-6 hours everywhere," Nill said. "This is their Stanley Cup. We had a good day."

Wings draft picks

2006-06-24T22:14:00.000-04:00

I liveblogged the first round events. Detroit originally had the 29th overall pick but traded it (and their 152nd pick) to Phoenix in exchange for two second round picks, No. 41 and 47. They retained their original second round pick (No. 62) as well. So why did the Wings trade away their first round pick?

"We don't like having first-round picks," general manger Ken Holland said, laughing. "No, we had a couple of players we liked go just ahead of us."
The Wings had eyes for center Patrik Berglund, but the Blues took him with the 25th overall pick, and another of Detroit's desirables, goaltender Leland Irving, was snapped up by Calgary at 26.
The Wings got someone they consider similar to Berglund, though, with Swedish winger Dick Axelsson at 62nd overall.

No. 41 - Cory Emmerton The 5'11.5" center weighing 177 pounds had 90 points in his 66 games played with Kingston (OHL). He was +37 and had 32 PIM in that season. Emmerton was ranked No. 5 in OHL skaters eligible for today's draft.

Jim Nill says:

"The first two guys we got, we had them going late in the first round," assistant general manager Jim Nill said. "It worked out well."
"He's a Cory Stillman-type player," Nill said. "Good skills, head for the game. Has to get stronger, but good feel for the game."

Emmerton's reaction to being drafted by the Detroit Red Wings:

Emmerton was relieved to hear his name called after sitting through a nearly three-hour first round at GM Place, and said he's looking forward to meeting Steve Yzerman and the rest of the Detroit squad.
"I just hope to learn as much as I can in the next couple of years from them, at camps," Emmerton said. "Hopefully soon I can jump in the lineup or something and learn from the players themselves...I'm more of an offensive playmaker, but I think I play well in my own end," Emmerton said. "I like to handle the puck a lot and set up guys. I think I've got good playmaking skills."
As the draft progressed, Emmerton sat watching in a suite, still wearing his Wings jersey. It turns out it wasn't so hard to give up his love for Toronto.
"I think," he said, "I just changed my mind after about 18 years. But that's OK with me."

Hockey's Future conducted an interview with Emmerton back in 2005.

Here are the various scouting reports on this player...

The Hockey News:

Scouting Report: Emmerton teamed with fellow 2006 draft-eligible prospect Chris Stewart to form a lethal combination with the Frontenacs in 2005-06. He finished first on the Frontenacs (and 11th in the OHL) with 90 points in 66 games... skates extremely well and is creative with the puck... also displays plenty of polish in the defensive zone (+37 rating in 2005-06)... needs to overcome a lack of ideal size in order to blossom in the pro game... should return for a third OHL campaign in Kingston in 2006-07, and may challenge for the scoring championship...
Impact: The Red Wings currently have an embarassment of riches down the middle, and adding Emmerton certainly didn't make things worse. This year, they will hope for an Evan McGrath-like ascension up the OHL scoring race.

Hockey's Future:

A talented playmaker with offensive flair and a nose for the net, Emmerton is the type of forward that makes those around him better. He has a knack for finding the open man, or hitting a teammate in full-stride for an offensive chance.
He has elite playmaking and passing skills and is solid on his skates. He could benefit from some extra attention on the defensive side of the game, but he projects to challenge for the OHL scoring title should he remain in the league next season, and could be a solid point-producer for years to come no matter what level he plays at.

Courtesy of TSN:

From NHL Central Scouting - Sees the puck well and moves the puck effectively through traffic...can be elusive but can also take the puck to the net while fighting through checks...plays point on the power play and is also very effective at handling the puck...an aggressive forechecker who finishes his check at every opportunity...has a hard, accurate shot. From ISS: A great two way forward coming into this year that can shut down the opponents top line while chipping in offensively. That assessment was partially correct in that he is very adept on the defensive side of the puck but he also went out and produced 90 points on a good but not great Kingston Frontenacs team that had other offensive catalysts. He seems to be a step ahead with his vision/decision making which gives him a good passing game. From TSN: Product of the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs AAA ...scored 35 goals with St. Thomas Jr. B in 2003/04...5th round pick (89th overall) by the Frontenacs...had 6 points at the U-17 tournament (3-3)...voted the smartest player in the OHL...was one of nine returning players on the U-18 that won gold at the Jr. World Cup last August...finished third in voting for the OHL's Most Sportsmanlike Player...played in the Top Prospects showcase, the ADT Canada-Russia challenge and, the OHL all-star game...plays point on PP...voted to 2004-05 OHL All Scholastic team.

CBS Ranking:

In 2005-06, Emmerton led the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs with 90 points in 66 games (11th in OHL scoring), but his draft stock dropped after disappointing performances in Sweden and in the OHL playoffs... A skilled skater, Emmerton possess pro-level speed and is highly creative with the puck... Doesn't sacrafice on defense because of offensive skills (+37 last season)... Size could become an issue at the NHL level.

McKeen's Hockey:

People do not realize how good of a shooter this guy is .. He generates a ton of assists from his slapper whether it is off the rush or playing the left point on the power play .. Defenders back off, as they know he has an extra top gear and his finishing skills are so effortless that he makes scoring appear more routine than it actually is.

Red Wings Central:

Emmerton piled up 90 points and finished 11th in Ontario Hockey League scoring, nearly double the production of Evan McGrath at the same age. He was a consensus first-rounder by most scouting publications and is a member of Canada's under-18 team. The knocks on Emmerton are below-average size and the lack of a top skating gear. Skill and creativity are his assets. He was voted as the OHL's smartest player in a coaches poll, and should easily challenge for the league's scoring title this season.

No. 47 - Shawn Matthias The Wings go with another OHL center. This 6'3", 211 pound center plays for Belleville where he had 34 points in 67 games played. He was -9 with 42 PIM. Matthias was ranked No. 24 in OHL skaters eligible for today's draft.

Jim Nill says:

"He's a real strong, aggressive, fore-checking kind of guy," Nill said. "And he can skate."
"He started out the year not playing a lot and at the end of the year, his game started to take off," Nill said.

Matthias' thoughts:

"I know I'm not ready to make the jump (to the NHL) yet," said Matthias, who hails from Mississauga, Ontario. "I still have to mature physically and develop as a player as well."

The Hockey News:

Scouting Report: Matthias is a hulking figure for the center position. In his second OHL campaign, he finished tied for fifth on the Bulls with 34 points in 67 games... it may take him a little longer than most to fully hone his skills, but he's an intriguing long-term project...

Hockey's Future:

Matthias was a late round pick in the 2004 OHL Priority Draft, as such it was surprising that he made the Belleville Bulls as an under-aged player. Used to being a top star with his Minor Midgets team (he had a 31-goal season with the Mississauga Senators Minor Midgets in 2003-04), in his freshman OHL season the big center only tallied two points (one goal) in 37 games. After a slow start last fall, Matthias really progressed as this season went along. With 34 points in 67 games, and a seven game scoring streak in January, Belleville counted on Matthias more and more as the season wore on.
In April, Matthias played for Canada in the Under-18 World Junior Championships in Sweden, where he scored one goal in seven games. However, Matthias played his best hockey all season in the playoffs for the Bulls, leading the team with three goals in their first round series which was lost against the Brampton Battalion.
Matthias is used to being overlooked and then working hard to shine. As the 2005-06 season went along, he looked like he was getting more and more comfortable in an offensive role for the Bulls.
He can skate and handle the puck, but he still needs to work on his two-way play. Never one to shy away from hard work, Matthias is considered to have NHL potential.

Courtesy of TSN:

From NHL Central Scouting - Long, fluid stride enables him to generate good top end speed...very good agility, balance and is solid on his skates...sees ice well and has good playmaking abilities...started the season as fourth line centre but made steady improvement over the season to become an offensive threat. From ISS: His size is intriguing, and he still has plenty of room to continue to fill out into his large frame. His improved foot speed, and increased acceleration with the puck helped bolster his offensive output in the second half of the season. He's not a flashy offensive player, but has shown increased confidence with the puck as the year went on. Matthias does the little things right, is strong defensively, tenacious on the fore-check and plays sound two-way hockey. From TSN: Played for U-18 in Sweden (1g and +2 in 7 games)...5th in team scoring in 2005-2006 and added 3g in 6 playoff games...Bulls 6th rounder 101st overall in 2004 OHL draft...won Bulls most improved player and most sportsmanlike player...last Bulls forward to go high in draft was Matt Stajan in 2002 (57th to TOR) and before that Jonathan Cheechoo (29th to SJ)...last Belleville forward to go in first round (Dan Cleary 13th in 1997).

CBS Ranking:

A huge, hulking player for the center position... Finished fifth in scoring with the Belleville Bulls with 13 goals and 34 points in 67 games... Very much a raw talent that will require a few years to hone his skills.

McKeen's Hockey:

Really elevated his game in the playoffs and the Under 18's .. Always making a play with the puck and is very smart and a gifted skater .. Worked hard to get up in the rankings and could provide an NHL team with a quality checking line player.

Red Wings Central:

ISS had the big, strong Matthias ranked as a first-rounder at 27th overall and compared him to Chicago Blackhawks forward Mark Bell. Although not a bruiser, Matthias is a potential two-way center. He gained more responsibility as the season progressed and saw his rankings shoot up as a result. He also earned a spot on Canada's under-18 team in April. Matthias will need to bump up his production, but has plenty of raw tools.

No. 62 - Dick Axelsson Axelsson is a 6'2", 198 pound Swedish wing who had 34 points and 157 PIM in 28 games for Huddinge in the Swedish junior elite league.

Wings scout Hakan Andersson says:

"He's a player with big potential," Swedish scout Hakan Andersson said. "Good skill, good hockey sense, good skating. The only thing he needs is to be a little more consistent. He's not lazy, but he has to learn to work every shift. Some shifts he'll go real hard and be a force on the ice, and he'll take some shifts off."

Jim Nill says:

"He's got real good skills and good size, he just needs to be more consistent," Nill said.

The Hockey News:

Scouting Report: Axelsson owns excellent size that projects very well for the NHL game... led Huddinge of the Swedish junior elite league in goals, points and penalty minutes in 2005-06... may be a future NHL power forward down the road... needs to work on his skating in order to make it...

Elite Prospects:

Axelsson has great size and is an aggressive and physical player. He has good timing in his hits. His skating, the intensity he plays with and his forechecking is quite good. Axelsson's main asset is his hockey sense and he is good at finding passing openings. At the same time he is a good scorer. Technical skills and hands are good. There is room for improvement when it comes to his defensive game and his acceleration.

CBS Ranking:

Axelsson split time in 2005-06 between the SuperElit and Division 1 for Huddridge in Sweden this past season... Combined stats from both leagues gave Axelsson 53 points in 51 games, with 34 of those in SuperElit along with 157 of his 167 penalty minutes... An aggressive, physical forward possessing good size... Good instincts and hockey sense, excellent at finding passing lanes... Needs to work on his speed and defensive responsibilities.

Red Wings Central:

Axelsson didn't see time on the Swedish under-18 team, but he was one of the leaders in scoring and penalty minutes at the country's under-20 level. He also scored 17 goals in 23 games at the third-tier men's level. Axelsson, unranked by most scouting publications, has good size could evolve into a power forward if he finds consistency. He has signed with Djurgardens and hopes to play in the Swedish Elite League this season.

No. 92 (3rd round) - Daniel Larsson A 6'0" goaltender weighing 170 pounds had a 2.67 GAA and a .916% in 28 games played with Hammarby in Sweden. I feel like I should start learning Sweden so I can read all these Swedish reports with all the Swedish players the Wings are collecting. Larsson played for the Swedish team in the World Junior Championship tournament.

Wings scout Hakan Andersson says:

"Did really well there," Wings' Swedish scout Hakan Andersson said. "They were one of the worst teams and he held them in that league." Set to play next season for Djurgardens of the Elite League.

The Hockey News:

Scouting Report: Larsson improved his draft stock with a strong performance as the No. 1 goalie for Sweden at the 2006 WJC in Vancouver... spent a big chunk of 2005-06 in the Swedish Allsvenskan (second division), and put up solid numbers... as goaltenders go, he could be a draft-day sleeper...
Impact: The Red Wings know Sweden better than virtually all other NHL organizations, so adding Larsson makes sense. They already have one Swedish netminder (Stefan Liv) ready to make his mark in the pros, so Larsson essentially replaces Liv as the overseas goalkeeping prospect.

McKeen's Hockey:

Has improved both his poise and his positional game over the last couple of years. Boasts a sharp glove hand, good agility and most importantly for this tournament, strong nerves.

Red Wings Central:

Larsson, unrated by most scouting publications, is already 20, but is coming off a strong year at Sweden's second level. He ranked among league leaders in goals-against average and save percentage, and was Sweden's starting goaltender at the world junior championship in Vancouver. Larsson is headed to Djurgarden and will look to take the next step in the Swedish Elite League. The Red Wings have terrific organizational depth in the crease, but teams can never have too many quality goaltenders.

No. 182 (Round 6) - Jan Mursak This 5'11" left wing weighs 167 pounds and plays for Budejovice in the Czech junior league. He had 32 points and 34 PIM in 48 games played.

Wings scout says:

"Did really well there," Wings' Swedish scout Hakan Andersson said. "They were one of the worst teams and he held them in that league." Set to play next season for Djurgardens of the Elite League.

Red Wings Central:

The undersized but talented winger is Slovenian-born -- a rarity -- and played in the Czech junior ranks last year. He was rated 22nd among Europeans by Central Scouting, which touts him as a fast skater with quick hands, ranking him near the top of the draft in both categories. Mursak played on a line with Anze Kopitar at the second-level world junior (under-20) championship this year and had five points in five games. He is one of those picks who could be Pavel Datsyuk. Or Dmitri Semenov.

No. 191 (Round 7) - Nick Oslund A 6'3" right wing weighing 195 pounds. He earned 51 points in 25 games while playing for Burnsville (USHSW). He was one of the 10 finalists for the Mr. Hockey award [given to the best high school hockey player] in Minnesota. He will be playing for St. Cloud State next year.

Red Wings Central:

Think potential role player. Oslund is a big, good-skating forward who likes to lay the body. His offensive upside remains to be seen. Oslund, who played for Minnesota-based Burnsville, is the first U.S. high school product drafted by the Red Wings in 13 years. He will play for the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League this coming season and has committed to St. Cloud State of the NCAA for 2007-08. The Red Wings have until 2011 to sign him, not 2008 like the team's six other draftees.

No. 212 (Round 7) - Logan Pyett A 5'10" defenseman weighing 199 pounds. He had 45 points. -14, and 89 PIM in 71 games while playing for Regina in the WHL.

McKeen's Hockey:

Scouting: right-shooting defenseman is an okay skater .. uses a smooth stride and shows solid balance as well as good lateral movement and agility .. still could use further upgrades to his backwards speed and first-step quickness .. works hard down low and shows solid reliability .. tough to beat in one-on-one situations .. demonstrates solid effectiveness when he keeps things simple .. decent defensive awareness .. doesn't join the rush too often yet nevertheless displays a regular offensive flair .. adequate puck distributor who prefers the safe plays .. plays a patient game and doesn't panic with the puck .. takes his man out of the play effectively .. good intensity and determination .. doesn't make glaring positional mistakes .. unleashes a hard shot from the point but could improve on his accuracy .. possesses solid defensive stickhandling.
U18 Jr World Cup Review: Hardworking defenseman filled a steady role on the Canadian back rows .. often used as a powerplay pointman .. not very flashy in the round-robin game against Czech Republic however did impress with his determination and tenaciousness .. duplicated his gritty showing in the gold-medal contest against the Czechs .. didn't exactly turn heads with his performance at this event, however he also didn't disappoint with any off games (5-2-0-2).

Hockey's Future:

Going about his business, Logan Pyett quietly having one of the best seasons among defensemen in the Western Hockey League.
On a Regina Pats squad that sits third in the East Division, Pyett has accumulated little fanfare en route to posting impressive numbers in his third season in the league. He’s doing it at the right time, too.
Ranked 100th among North American skaters by the Central Scouting Service, Pyett is eligible for the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, to be held in Vancouver this offseason. The rankings are something Pyett is trying to ignore, as is the draft.

Red Wings Central:

Pyett has shades of Derek Meech -- an undersized Western Canadian-developed defenseman with good all-around skills. He has shown good potential at both ends of the rink, and his 45 points in 71 games are impressive for a blueliner in his draft year (Meech didn't scored more than 38 his entire career). Pyett also had four points and 25 shots in seven games for Canada at the world under-18 championship in April. The question will always be: Can Pyett overcome his lack of size?

My Personal Reactions 1) I thought we would get some defenseman since we seem to be really strong offensively especially down the center when it comes to our prospects. All three of our second round picks were offensive players (2 centers, 1 wing).

2) I was surprised we passed on defenseman Chris Summers and gave up our first round pick even if it gave us two more second round picks. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how that plays out down the road...

3) We drafted another goaltender? Aren't we good with Stefan Liv and Jimmy Howard? Well, I guess it can never hurt to have a few solid goaltender prospects. What about bolstering our defense?

NHL Draft 2006

2006-06-24T21:01:00.000-04:00

I plan on updating throughout the draft, which starts tonight in Vancouver at 6pm Eastern time. Updates will be made to the bottom of this post. These updates will not necessarily be about every single pick, but interesting comments and notes made on the broadcast and various websites. Quotes will be as close to word for word as possible.

Here are some websites for Wings fans to check out regarding tonight's draft.

Websites
NHL.com
NHL DraftNet
TSN.ca
Red Wings Central
Lets Go Wings
Hockey's Future
The Hockey News

Blogs
Kukla's Korner
James Mirtle
Vancouver Canucks Op Ed [they'll be at the draft and will probably be posting their thoughts afterwards]

Updates:

Those of us in the US are getting the TSN coverage of the NHL Draft courtesy of OLN. To start off their coverage, TSN interviewed Panthers GM Keenan and Canucks GM Nonis regarding the blockbuster trade that took place last night. When asked about Bertuzzi and his past along with the not so great season, Keenan said we can "get him out of an atmosphere that was being counterproductive for him." Hopefully for Florida, Bertuzzi's change in place will provide a spark in his play.

The staff at NHL DraftNET had a run in with former Wings head coach Scotty Bowman.

We were just sitting around having a couple of burgers when we suddenly had a run in with a real legend. Scotty Bowman, the NHL's winningest coach in history, sat by us while wearing his gaudy Stanley Cup Championship ring. The nine time Stanley Cup champ has won 1,244 regular season games and 233 playoff games over his 30 illustrious seasons of coaching. He kindly showed us the ring, studded with red and white diamonds, which he had won during his tenure with the Detroit Red Wings. We were jealous to say the least. Who would have known that arguably the greatest coach in hockey history was sleeping just down the hall from us?

Gary Bettman just stepped out to start off the 2006 NHL Draft. He was met with loud whistling and cheering as well as plenty of booing. Haha. I enjoyed that [I'm not a Bettman fan].

St. Louis Blues have their first top ten pick since 1979 and their first overall pick ever in franchise history. So who will it be? Not surprisingly, their choice is Erik Johnson. He is the first defenseman to go first overall since 1996. "It feels great to be part of the St. Louis organization and I couldn't be happier right now," Johnson told TSN broadcasters. He then said he'll go to the training camp for the Blues if that's what they'd like him to do, but if they think it'd be better for his development to go play for the University of Missouri, that's what he'll do.

A trade between Colorado and Calgary was just announced. Left wing Alex Tanguay is heading to Calgary in exchange for defenseman Jordan Leopold, a 2006 second round pick, and a conditional second rounder in 2007 or 2008.

"Jordan is a solid defenseman and a very good skater," said Avalanche Executive Vice President and General Manager Francois Giguere. "He is a former Hobey Baker Award winner that has great playmaking abilities at both ends of the ice. He is only 25 years-old and has a bright future ahead of him. Moreover, we are hopeful that this year's second-round draft pick will become an Avalanche player in the near future," added Giguere.

Pittsburgh Penguins are not trading away their second pick. They selected Jordan Staal, younger brother to Stanley Cup champion Eric Staal. "Hopefully I can step up over the next few years and be a part of this team," Staal said. GM Ray Shero: "I want to have good people around me and good people on the ice. I don't want this team to be about two or three people, but a team." [pretty close to word for word]

The Chicago Blackhawks picked Jonathan Toews, a Winnipeg native currently playing for the University of Dakota, for their first round pick (third overall). He was really hoping to go to Chicago before he was actually selected by them. ISS has this to say about him:

He is a strong skater blessed with incredible skill and gifted with brilliant on-ice vision. He has the highest hockey IQ in his draft class and has great leadership abilities. As the season progressed it became obvious his competitiveness & desire are second to none. He's a highly skilled kid that has the ability to make the players around him better. Versatile and has played both wing and center equally well.

Alexander Ovechkin goes up on stage to help Washington announce their first pick, fourth overall, in today's draft. He was received with a loud and long cheers and applause. Ovechkin actually announced their pick. Swedish center Nicklas Backstrom is their pick. He grew up admiring Henrik Zetterberg and was pleased to play on the same line as him in the World Championships. "I'm sure he's ready to play in the NHL," Ovechkin said. Bob McKenzie's take:

"This guy is a great player and the sky's the limit. Scouts say he compares well to Peter Forsberg."

The Boston Bruins take Phil Kessel for the fifth overall pick. "The wait was pretty difficult and I'm very excited to be a Boston Bruin now," Kessel said. It was the Bruins highest pick since 1997 when they selected Joe Thornton first overall.

Columbus Blue Jackets select next. They choose center Derick Brassard. TSN had ranked him 6th overall prior to today's draft. He's apparently a great player who will help provide some scoring along with Sergei Federov. He's one of the "older" players to be available in today's draft.

Sorry, my mom ordered pizza for dinner so I had to go downstairs to eat it really quickly!

The LA Kings picked goaltender Jonathan Bernier, who was believed to be the No. 1 goalie of the draft. "To be honest, I wasn't sure how realistic it was for us [to get Roberto Luongo]," President/GM Dean Lombardi said.

The 12th pick goes to Atlanta Thrashers, who take center Bryan Little. He's their first Round 1 center since 1999. Bob McKenzie's take: "He's a solid 5-10 and 190 pounds. His hockey sense is outstanding, and brings a great deal of competitiveness."

Toronto's pick, 13th overall, goes to select center Jiri Tlusty. " He'll definitely need to work on his English: "I like Toronto, ya." NHL Center Scouting has this to say about him:

Excellent, fast, mobile skater...strong on his skates...outstanding acceleration speed...excellent overall skill level...has soft, good hands...a very good puck-handler...sniper who can score in many ways...hard working player who does not shy away from the physical part of the game.

Vancouver gets to make the next selection and the crowd at GM Place gets pretty loud as GM Dave Nonis and co. walk up to the stage. They select right wing Michael Grabner, a player of the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL. He was not expected to go quite this early in the draft. "In our opinion, the new NHL lends itself to Michael's style of play...he'll be able to put the puck in the net," GM Nonis said. The Hockey News scouting report has this to say about Grabner:

Grabner is the best Austrian available for selection for the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, and has two seasons of WHL hockey under his belt... led the Chiefs, and finished in the top 10 overall, with 36 goals in 67 games in 2005-06... owns excellent one-on-one skills and an accurate shot. Grabner knows where to go in order to score goals... needs to display greater consistency in order to maximize his potential as a goal-scorer... could flourish with a better playmaking center on his line, and a greater supporting cast overall...

Another trade: Minnesota trades 200 No. 17 draft pick and Patrick O'Sullivan to the LA Kings in exchange for Pavol Demitra. The crowd seemed shocked and it brought a smile to one of the GMs involved in the trade.

LA Kings draft center Trevor Lewis of USHL's Des Moines. He was not drafted in all seven rounds last year. Lewis will be playing for the University of Michigan this year and I'll look forward to watching him play at Yost! Central NHL Scouting has this to say about him:

Can intimidate the defence by his ability to change direction at top speed...can shoot the puck on the fly, won't hesitate to pull the trigger on the puck...scores big goals, makes big plays as the go-to guy...comes back hard to cover his man and supports his own defence down low in his own zone...good leadership qualities.

The Colorado Avalanche pick 6'2" right wing Chris Stewart. The Avs GM was booed lustily by the Vancouver crowd and it brought a smile to my face. :) Stewart's brother is Anthony of the Florida Panthers. He was not selected in the OHL Junior draft in 2003-2004 so he quit to play football. He obviously decided to return to the sport of hockey. ISS thoughts on Chris Stewart:

The ultimate result may be that Chris turns into a better NHL player then his highly touted brother Anthony. He is like a freight train coming down the wing and he has shown some offensive sense that will translate decently into the NHL because he is willing to go into traffic and pay the price.

Bob McKenzie says that he's a "linebacker on skates."

The Anaheim Ducks (it's weird to call them that) have the next pick and they choose...Mark Mitera! He's a University of Michigan defenseman and while he's not quite as offensive as his college teammate, Jack Johnson, he is a solid defensive player. He needs some "fine tuning" and will probably stay at Michigan for at least another year for his development.

From NHL Central Scouting - Is a good skater with a smooth stride...is strong on his skates and is hard to move off the puck...good backwards skater who pivots well...makes crisp first pass and likes the long pass...effective shot blocker used in all game situations...solid hitter who finishes his checks and always gives an effort. From ISS - He demonstrated some abilities that would warrant a high ranking and then all of a sudden he vanishes for a period of time. His size and strength are impressive and he does have some skills but urgency and a consistent effort are going to be required for him to fulfill his expectations.

Montreal Canadiens select David Fischer. He won the Mr. Hockey award for the top high school hockey player in Minnesota. He will be playing for the University of Minnesota. The Hockey News scouting report says this:

displays the all-around ability from the blueline that scouts love... skates extremely well and is capable of logging huge minutes... needs to make a smooth transition from high-school hockey to the WCHA... must add more bulk to maximize his pro potential... should spend at least two years with the Golden Gophers before turning pro... his right-handedness adds to his overall value...

Ahh! My laptop went psycho and took like 10 minutes to reboot and cooperate. Grr.

The Toronto Maple Leafs traded goaltending prospect Tuukka Rask to the Boston Bruins in exchange for goaltender Andrew Raycroft.

The New York Rangers select defenseman Bob Sanguinetti of the Owen Sound (OHL). His mother (I believe) has gone through 3 liver transplants so his family has been through quite an ordeal as well.

Another trade - busy day! New Jersey trades 25th pick to St. Louis for the No. 30 pick and the No. 77 pick.

The Wings selection is coming up soon. I wish Kenny could get in on some of this trading action - it's so exciting!

The St. Louis Blues select center Patrik Berglund. He won't be in the lineup for a couple of years, most likely, but he'll be a good addition for the organization. The Hockey News scouting report has this to say:

If Nicklas Backstrom is the top-rated Swede available for selection in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, then Berglund is No. 2 with a bullet... owns an outstanding frame and projects to weigh well over 200 pounds when he fills out... split the 2005-06 campaign between the Swedish junior elite league and the Allsvenskan (second division) as a member of the Vasteras IK program... displays both supreme goal-scoring ability and playmaking potential... led Sweden with four goals in six games at the 2006 World U-18 tournament on home soil... should spend most of 2006-07 in the Allsvenskan...

The Calgary Flames select Leland Irving, a goaltender in the WHL, for their 26th overall pick. He had a huge cheering section at GM Place. "At the end of the day, we wanted a goaltender and we hoped we would get him," GM Darryl Sutter said. He beat cancer at the age of 8 and is a huge Lance Armstrong fan. So what are the scouting reports saying?

From NHL Central Scouting - Strong on his skates with good balance and agility...moves well using butterfly technique and staying upright and square to the shooter...very tough to bet down low...has good rebound control...strong in the crease and doesn't get rattled by traffic that crashes in his area. From ISS - He has a big frame and uses it well. ISS has watched Leland play goal his entire minor hockey career. He is a well-rounded young man who handles pressure well. 75% butterfly, 25% reaction. Controls rebounds and recovers quickly when he goes down.

Defenseman Chris Summers is the highest ranked guy by Bob McKenzie (No. 18) left so far. Could the Wings get this guy? They need to develop their defensive prospects, plus he'll be playing for the University of Michigan. :)

The Dallas Stars use their 27th pick to draft defenseman Ivan Vishnevsky of the QMJHL. The Hockey News scouting report says,

NHL teams will look more closely at acquiring offensive defensemen going forward, so players like Vishnevsky now have added value... tied for sixth among QMJHL rookies in scoring, and finished among the top 20 defensemen in points (48 in 54 games) for the Huskies in 2005-06... is a one-way defenseman in the Sandis Ozolinsh/Sergei Gonchar mold, and will be a major asset to any team's power play... must improve his play without the puck, and needs to get stronger in order to play the pro game... is a boom-or-bust player with enough offensive upside to get first-round consideration...

The 28th pick goes to the Ottawa Senators and who will they pick? They select Nick Foligno. His dad is the coach of the Sudbury Wolves (OHL).

There is rumor that the Wings and Coyotes are mulling a trade. What? Are we really giving up our first round pick? For whom?

The Wings trade their 29th and 152nd to Phoenix in exchange for the 41st and 47th overall pick (second round picks). I bet Phoenix takes Chris Summers. TSN finally showed Kenny as well as advisor Scotty Bowman (who is the man if you ask me). Glad to know that Kenny is, in fact, there in Vancouver.

The Coyotes did pick Chris Summers for their 29th pick. The Hockey News scouting report says:

There may not be a more intriguing prospect among the 2006 draft-eligible players than Summers, whose biggest asset is versatility. An excellent skater, Summers can play either defense or forward... played exclusively as a forward at the 2006 World U-18 tournament in Sweden for Team USA, but also logged plenty of ice time as a defenseman in the NAHL in 2005-06 (17 GP, 2-2-4, 20 PIM)... will either develop into a Bret Hedican-type defenseman with closing speed and defensive smarts, or a third-line checking forward that will play important minutes at the NHL level...

OLN is signing off so that's all the coverage I have for tonight of the actual broadcast. I'll post when we find out who the Wings actually draft. Until then...

Mock Drafts and Wings Draft History

2006-06-24T13:21:00.000-04:00

Mock Drafts

Sports Illustrated's mock draft has the Wings first round pick (29th overall) getting Chris Summers. Summers is a 6-1 defenseman weighing in at 194 pounds and currently plays for the U.S. National team. He's planning on playing defense for the University of Michigan next year (Go Blue!).

The Red Wings always go for the flashy Euro in the first round, right? This year it'll be steak instead of sizzle. Summers has some zip to his game -- he's a marvelous skater -- but at heart, he's a defensive-minded guy who plays a smart, low-risk game.

TSN.ca's mock draft has the Wings picking center Patrik Berglund with their first round selection.

A solid talent who could fit well with Swedish teammates in Detroit. The Wings do their homework well.

The Hockey News also has their own mock draft and they have the Wings going with left wing Alexander Vasyunov.

Most view Vasyunov as a first-round talent, and the Red Wings are famous for finding late gems. This could be the latest in a long line of steals for Detroit. Vasyunov is several years away from the NHL, but the Wings will gamble that he'll be ready for North America within two seasons.

Wings Draft History Red Wings Central has a history of the Wings previous draft picks from 1990 through 2005.

Trades, Lidstrom, draft, and more

2006-06-24T00:45:00.000-04:00

Wow. Roberto Luongo, defenseman Lukas Krajicekis, and a 6th round draft pick are heading to Vancouver in exchange for Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen and Alexander Auld. I expected plenty to happen the weekend of the draft, but I guess I thought actual trades would come out following the draft.

Florida Panthers GM Mike Keenan is pleased with the trade outcome.

“This is a trade that addresses a number of needs for our hockey club,” Keenan said. “We’ve added an experienced and talented forward, a skilled goaltender and a strong defenseman that we expect to help our team immediately.”

Likewise, Vancouver Canucks GM Dave Nonis had to make his positive comment regarding the trade:

"We are very excited to be making this announcement today," said Nonis. "We believe that in Roberto we are getting a player who has represented his country at the highest level, has been nominated for the Vezina Trophy and has proven that he is among the elite goaltenders in the world. Lukas is a young, skilled, puck-moving defenceman who has a very bright future in this League. I would like to thank Todd, Bryan and Alex for their contributions to our hockey club over the years and wish them and their families the best of luck in the future."

Please check out Abel to Yzerman in regards to how this impacts the Wings. I really never expected us to get Luongo, although it would've been nice, so no surprise for me.

NHL Draft
Scott Burnside has his pick of the 10 things to look for in today's NHL draft. Half of them actually have to do with picks in the draft and the others are deals/decisions that could be made this weekend. Number 3 is The Decision:

The venerable Detroit captain has delayed his decision on whether to return for a 23rd NHL season long past what had been expected. Given the long lag time and the fact the Wings re-upped octogenarian defenseman Chris Chelios for one more year, look for Yzerman to return, as well. He was, when healthy, the team's best player in the team's first-round loss to eight-seeded Edmonton, something of a backhanded compliment if ever there was one. If Yzerman does return and the Wings return free-agent defenseman and Norris Trophy-winner Nicklas Lidstrom, it's hard to imagine GM Ken Holland would have room for veteran forward Brendan Shanahan, who will be an unrestricted free agent. And oh yeah, Holland needs to find a goalie having voted Manny Legace off the Red Wing island. Suffice it to say this will be a busy weekend for the Detroit GM.

I don't think we should expect The Decision this weekend as I thought Holland and Yzerman weren't meeting until after the Draft. I hope that Holland doesn't agree to anything with Shanahan just yet. If I had to pick a veteran to leave out of next season's team roster, it'd be him. I like Shanny. I like him a lot in the regular season. But he just doesn't seem to have it in the playoffs, when it really counts. And if Holland signs him AND gives him a raised, I'll be upset. I hope Holland focuses on the draft, re-signing Lidstrom, and any potential trades instead of focusing on re-signing Ozzie and Shanny. They can wait until after the weekend.

In Other News...

Nicklas Lidstrom is returning home and left without a signed contract. His agent and Holland will continue to negotiate while Lidstrom is back in Sweden.

"We had good conversations," Holland said. "We've gone back and forth the last couple of weeks with different ideas and numbers. I'm trying to convince Nick on a number, he's trying to convince me on a number. We're trying to find a compromise. I'd like to get something done (next) week."

Current Wings scout (and former head coach) Dave Lewis recently interviewed with Boston for a head coaching position. He had interviewed with the Canucks, but they decided to go elsewhere.

Former Wings coach Dave Lewis interviewed Friday for the Boston Bruins head coaching position with their incoming GM Peter Chiarelli. The Los Angeles Kings and one other unidentified club have also spoken to Lewis about an assistant coaching position.
Lewis' contract as a pro scout with the Wings expires on July 1. Holland said he's welcome to return in the same capacity if he doesn't accept a coaching job.
"I'll wait to see how everything falls out," Lewis said. "I don't want to do anything in a hurry, I want to make the right decision."
Former Toronto coach Pat Quinn interviewed with the Bruins last week and reports indicate that Lewis and Quinn could be the finalists for the job. The Bruins, however, are expected to talk to Carolina coach Peter Laviolette after his contract expires on July 1. Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos has said his club will match any offer Laviolette receives.

Update: Kukla's Korner is reporting a rumor that Carolina has re-signed head coach Peter Laviolette to a five year extension. The same Sportsnet article says that it appears Dave Lewis is "rumoured to be the frontrunner for the head coaching job in Boston, currently occupied by Mike Sullivan."

More on the NHL Awards

2006-06-23T08:30:00.000-04:00

Late last night (or early this morning), I talked about the actual NHL Awards and gave a few quotes and pictures of Nicklas Lidstrom accepting his fourth Norris in five seasons. Well, we have more Lidstrom reaction for you...

- Lidstrom earned 91 first place votes for a total of 1,152 points. He was named on all of the 129 ballots. Scott Niedermayer received 29.

- Lidstrom finished seventh in the voting for the Hart Trophy.

- He was very honored to receive the award after choosing to stay in Detroit during the lockout instead of return home to Sweden to play there.

"It does mean a lot because I wasn't sure what was going to happen after not playing last year because of the lockout, not playing anywhere," said Lidstrom in a telephone interview Thursday.
Lidstrom chose not play in Sweden during the lockout, and remained in Detroit.
"There were a lot of mornings of skating and working out at Troy (Sports Center) and that did help me," he said. "I came back this season energized and excited about playing hockey."

- Lidstrom showed his country's soccer team some support when they played England to a 2-2 tie on Tuesday.

Lidstrom came with childhood buddy Joakim Enocksson, a car sales manager in Lidstrom's hometown of Avesta. True story: Enocksson was married Saturday, and, while giving a speech at the wedding reception, Lidstrom told guests that now he and Enocksson were going on a honeymoon to Vancouver.
And since their flight had a stopover in Frankfurt, Germany, the two changed the reservations to leave two days earlier and extended their stay in Frankfurt.
Why? In order to be in Cologne on Tuesday, where they cheered Sweden to a 2-2 draw against England. "We had a great time," Lidstrom said. "Great just to be there in that atmosphere. It's such a big event."

And my brother wonders why I'm cheering for the Sweden soccer team. The US is out, and I might as well hope for some happier Swedes when it comes to contract negotiations. Anything can help, right?

- Lidstrom would like to sign a two year deal and when asked if he would take $7 million/year, "Lidstrom smiled. 'That,' he said, 'is all part of negotiations.'"

- Right now the individual accomplishments seem nice, but Lidstrom will have plenty of time to focus on those once he retires.

"I think once I retire I'm going to look back at what I've accomplished, but not right now," he said. "The way I look at it now, I'm getting ready for next season."

- GM Ken Holland and head coach Mike Babcock are singing Lidstrom's praises.

"Nick's achievements speak for themselves," Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "He'll go down as one of the greatest defensemen in this game."
But what impressed coach Mike Babcock equally as much as Lidstrom's talent was Lidstrom the person.
"There are great defensemen in this league, but he's the best," Babcock said. "He's a great player, but he's also a great man."

- Vezina Trophy (NHL's top goalkeeper) was given to Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff. However, Manny Legace actually received more points (6) toward the award than Roberto Luongo (4).

- Head coach Mike Babcock finished fifth in the voting for Jack Adams, which is an award given to the top coach, with 28 points.

Mike Ilitch on the Wings

2006-06-23T08:18:00.000-04:00

Wings owner Mike Ilitch recently did an interview with the Detroit News (mainly about the Detroit Tigers' success) and some Wings-related questions popped up:

On whether he believes Wings Captain Steve Yzerman will return or retire: "Everybody keeps saying he's taking his time so he's gonna come back. But knowing Stevie, I'm not so sure he's gonna come back. Because I don't think it would take him quite that long to make the evaluation on his physical health. But I'm guessing just like everyone."
On whether the team welcomes him back: "Oh definitely, if he wants to come back and he feels he can do the job. That's why we can't push. To be honest with you, we stopped talking about it because (GM) Kenny Holland doesn't know and I don't know. We have so much respect for him, he'll make his decision."
On the Wings' first-round playoff ouster: "I worry about it because we were the best team the whole season and we couldn't win a best of seven. What did we do wrong? Can our scouts make the difference? No more can you lay out all the money."
On whether Joe Louis Arena will be renovated or a new arena built: "My sons have been taking care of that. It's not the most accessible place but it can be done beautifully, renovation-wise. We haven't made a final decision. (For a new arena), a lot has to do with being able to put a site together."

Lidstrom & Datsyuk award winners

2006-06-23T01:38:00.000-04:00

The second trophy awarded tonight, the Lady Byng, was given to Pavel Datsyuk. He was not there to receive the trophy and head coach Mike Babcock was supposed to come up and say a word of thanks in his place. But, he didn't come up to the stage and the presenters awkwardly walked off with the award. Later in the show, Babcock was seen smiling so he was there. Very weird.

Datsyuk was named on 94 of 128 ballots and received 41 first-place votes for 669 points, finishing well ahead of 2004 Lady Byng winner Brad Richards of the Tampa Bay Lightning (442).

Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom received his fourth Norris Trophy [in just five seasons], one more than fellow teammate Chris Chelios. His thank you speech wasn't anything special, but he did say something to the tune of "we'll talk tonight" in a joking tone after thanking GM Ken Holland. He is expected to talk to Holland this weekend while in Vancouver regarding his future with the team.

It's special," Lidstrom said. "After the lockout, I wanted to come back and have a strong season and I think I did that. I'm very proud of the season I had."
Lidstrom's career year helped land him his fourth Norris Trophy in five years.
Lidstrom led all NHL defensemen in scoring with a career-high 80 points (16 goals, 64 assists), helping the Presidents' Trophy winners post a 14-0-0 record when he scored a goal. Lidstrom ranked third in the NHL in ice time per game (28:06) and posted a plus-21 rating.
"It's an honor to be among the players who have won this award," Lidstrom said, pointing to Chris Chelios, Paul Coffey and Ray Bourque. "To be mentioned with them is an awesome feeling."
Lidstrom said a combination of health and playing time has combined to make him a strong player. "Staying healthy is a big part of this and getting an opportunity to play a lot of minutes are key factors," Lidstrom said. "I play better when I play more."

Here's a couple screencaps of Nick winning the award.

t's so weird to see all these hockey players in tuxes if you ask me. For those curious, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin's tuxes were both rented [they were asked in the CBC interview before the awards show].

The award winners...
Hart Trophy, Most Valuable Player -- Joe Thornton
Calder Trophy, Top Rookie -- Alexander Ovechkin
Vezina Trophy, Top Goaltender -- Miikka Kiprusoff
Selke Trophy, Top Defensive Forward -- Rod Brind'Amour
Norris Trophy, Top Defenseman -- Nicklas Lidstrom
Lady Byng, Sportsmanship -- Pavel Datsyuk
Masterton Trophy, Perseverance and Dedication to Hockey -- Teemu Selanne
Pearson Trophy, MVP voted by NHLPA -- Jaromir Jagr
Adams Trophy, Top Coach -- Lindy Ruff
Maurice Richard Trophy, Most Goals -- Jonathon Cheechoo
King Clancy Trophy, Humanitarian Contributions -- Olaf Kolzig

Curious as to how these awards are decided?

The Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA) cast ballots for the Hart, Norris, Selke, Lady Byng and Calder Trophies. The PHWA also voted on the Masterton Trophy. The 30 NHL General Managers voted on the Vezina Trophy. The NHL Broadcasters' Association (NHLBA) submitted votes for the Jack Adams Award, and a special panel of representatives from the PHWA and NHLBA chose the King Clancy winner. Voting for these awards was conducted at the conclusion of the regular season.
Balloting results were tabulated by the accounting firm Ernst & Young, with the exception of the Masterton and King Clancy trophies. The results for these awards were tabulated by the PHWA and the National Hockey League, respectively.

Rumors: Luongo and a new Wings arena

2006-06-21T23:14:00.000-04:00

Luongo?
On one hand, Holland is saying, "He's [Pavel Datsyuk] going through a process on how to be successful in the playoffs. He loves to play hockey and he loves to compete. I believe Pavel will have a breakout in the playoffs next year that Henrik [Zetterberg] had this year...We feel we have some good building blocks, but we won't completely overhaul." He has yet to name the possibility of trading Datsyuk away. Yet, speculation about this move/rumor is running rampant around the blogosphere.

BUT, would Holland trade Datsyuk? Would Holland give up one of our "good building blocks" for a better goaltender? While the idea of having Luongo in net is appealing to me, I would not be willing to give up Datsyuk and Howard for him. Sure Datsyuk hasn't had a breakout playoff performance, yet. He did have an injury to start the playoffs and I want to see what he'll do next year (healthy) before I write him off. Plus, Howard is going to be a great goaltender (or so we believe) and I don't want to lose our first solid goalie prospect in years. We can't trade away our future for a goalie who isn't really proven come playoff time, although a good goalie. Give me a decent goaltender who doesn't have confidence issues and a gritty physical defenseman. That's what I want.

Aside from Detroit, who else is in the running for Mr. Luongo? The LA Kings. Paul at Kukla's Korner has informed the blogosphere that both Leafs Lunch and the LA Times are reporting that LA forwards Alexander Frolov and Dustin Brown and goaltender Mathieu Garon have been 'offered up' in exchange for Luongo.

New Wings Arena?
The LGW forums are full of speculation regarding the future of the Wings arena. Will they renew their contract with the Joe? Will they build a new arena? Will they fix up JLA, which is the fifth oldest NHL arena?

The arena is currently in a 30 year lease with the city of Detroit through 2009. The Detroit News speculates that naming rights and luxury boxes for a new arena could bring $10 million more a year in revenue to the Wings.

Chris Ilitch, President & CEO of Ilitch Holdings, owner of the Red Wings will have a heart-wrenching decision to make soon -- whether to consign Joe Louis Arena to the wrecker's ball.
Since it opened in December 1979, "The Joe" has been a name synonymous with hockey excellence. But renovating the old facility might be financially unfeasible compared to building a new one.
"We're conducting parallel feasibility studies," spokesman John Hahn said Tuesday. "One for rehabilitating Joe Louis, and another for building a new arena. But it's far too premature to predict any decision. We do hope to have the studies done and ready for consideration by the end of the year."

One LGW user (Sepster) summarized a recent Crain's Business Detroit article regarding the future of the Wings and JLA.

With regards to renovating the Joe, two companies that build and renovate stadiums (one of which did a cost and feasability study for the Illitch's about six years ago) said it would cost between $180 to $200 million to bring the Joe up to speed. They said that the main problem is that structurally it is completly outdated. The gentleman who's company did the cost/feasability analysis said, "there is no way I would dump $200 million down the drain to renovate that building." That, coupled with the fact that the city wants to use that area for expansion of Cobo Hall (which Olympia Entertainment also operates and whose lease also expires in 2009) pretty much requires that a new stadium will be built.
The other option, of course, is build a new stadium. The article addresses the Tiger Stadium site by saying that the land is owned by the city and that Illitch would most likely want to build on land he already controls, plus the announcement that Mayor Kilpatrick made about future reatil and residential use, squashes that idea.

Check out the rest of the summary for two locations where we might find the new arena.

We know that the new arena will be downtown because Ilitch has too much invested in the city to go elsewhere. The most popular place to put the arena would be the Ilitch owned land behind the Fox Theater. This post on LGW has two wonderful satellite photographs to help us picture where the arena could potentially go.

The Crain's article also reported that the "two companies said a 18,000 seat stadium would cost $250 million with an additional $100 million for parking structures and lots" [again, that was not an exact quote of the article]. We should an expect an announcement on this very issue by the end of the year.

A new arena sounds exciting, but I'll miss the Joe [even though it desperately needs to be updated]. And a new arena will probably result in a funky sounding name. The JLA was the perfect arena name.

Complete Wings random-ness

2006-06-21T23:06:00.000-04:00

It's been storming and raining like crazy all day. Ridiculous. Anyways, I have plenty to ramble on about so bear with me...

Wings 2006-2007 Pre-season
The Minnesota Wild announced their pre-season schedule for the upcoming season. They will face the Wings twice. The Wings have yet to announce their pre-season games.

Tuesday, September 19 - Xcel Energy Center - 7:00 PM
Wednesday, September 27 - Joe Louis Arena - 6:30 PM

The Red Wings curse?
Since the Wings won the cup in 2002 (what a glorious year), each of their opponents who have ousted Detroit in the playoffs has gone on in the finals only to lose. Curse?

Fun Wings Photos
These photos are fun for the whole family.

Draper and his two kids enjoying the summer...

In honor of me obtaining a Chris Chelios autograph today, here's Cheli trying out the sport of bobsledding.

Henrik Zetterberg enjoying his 2006 Olympic gold medal with his Swedish teammates and getting his groove on.

Kirk Maltby and Kris Draper celebrating a Cup victory.

Compuware celebration
Compuware workers met outside Detroit headquarters to watch the unveiling of the new banner celebrating the Carolina Hurricanes victory. The banner was actually made when the team was up 3-1 in the series.

Compuware spokeswoman Lisa Elkin said Tuesday it was too soon to tell when the Stanley Cup would be on display at Compuware headquarters or how the company would celebrate.

Fresh start...

2006-06-20T19:18:00.000-04:00

Last night, I decided to go out with about 20 friends who I hadn't seen since last summer and record the game. I made sure my Media Center on my laptop was going to record the game and even had it record an extra hour in case it went into OT. I get home at like 11:45pm to discover that for the first time since I got my laptop (3 weeks ago?), it failed to record my selection. Ahh! So then I try to find some clips of the celebration and goals on my TV. Nothing. ESPN was talking World Cup for an hour. Ugh. So I had to wait until I woke up this morning to see clips of the action. I won't be missing important games anymore - you can never trust computers! No more hockey games until pre-season in September. So what do we have to look forward to during the summer?

NHL Awards - June 22nd at 8pm on OLN. Why tune in? Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom was nominated for the Norris and center Pavel Datsyuk got a nod for the Lady Byng award.

NHL Draft - June 24th at 6pm on OLN. Look to see who the Wings draft especially those gems assistant GM Jim Nill and the scouting staff always seem to find and be sure to check out NHL DraftNet.

The reign of free agency will start on July 1st, 11 days from now. Hopefully, we'll see GM Ken Holland busy over this period with a new goalie and a couple other additions to the Hockeytown family. I'm eager to see what this summer has in store for Detroit.

Behind the Blog: Casonblog

2006-06-19T00:30:00.000-04:00

Today's Behind the Blog features Scott at Casonblog. His blog is a great read for all that is the Carolina Hurricanes, especially this post-season. Hopefully for his sake, he'll have a reason to celebrate tonight.

Oh, I will not be liveblogging tonight, but I'm sure Alanah will.

Q.1 – Your archives date Casonblog back to July 15, 2005. Why did you decide to start a blog dedicated to covering the Carolina Hurricanes?

The connection to the Hurricanes is one of the things I miss most since I moved to Tucson. CasonBlog was created to keep that connection going. I never thought it would amount to more than an outlet for my ravings, but folks seem to be listening in.

Q.2 – What are your thoughts / feelings / emotions heading into Game #7 of the Stanley Cup Finals after your team was up, 3-1, in the series?

Heading in I was still numb from the bad way game five ended. Got a momentary boost upon seeing Erik Cole return to the ice, but that feeling was quickly dashed. Last night was really not a painful as game five, because I guess down deep I sensed the tide was turning. Game five was the Hurricanes for the taking in OT.

Q.3 – What stereotype do you hate dealing with the most regarding your fellow Hurricane fans?

That’s a great question. Hockey fans are hockey fans. Every club has a cadre of bandwagon folks who show up when it’s the “in” thing to do. Every fan base needs time to develop. Some folks don’t want to give the Hurricane fan base that time. They believe by accident of birth in northern climes they assume some higher caste in hockey culture. The tide is changing, hundreds of thousands are leaving northern cities and migrating south and west, and many are hockey fans. Those émigrés will retain their Red Wing or Sabers, but their kids will embrace the new.

There are smart and passionate hockey fans in the Triangle, just as there are in Tampa and the ATL (much as I hate to admit the latter). I think regional media plays a major role in belittling the fan base, thereby fueling the derision of opposing fan bases. The News and Observer has run articles designed to “educate” the locals with simplistic rule breakdowns, lists of hockey buzz words and guidance on how to dress the part of a hockey fan. The put out the same drivel they put out in 2002. It’s more about their arrogance and ignorance than the fans.

Q.4 – What advice would you give to fellow bloggers, especially newcomers?

When I first started, I thought the role of the blogger was to recap or aggregate information. I thought it was about statistical breakdowns and rumor mongering. Then I went to a blog seminar last fall and one of the presenters listed what he called the “4 P’s of Blogging.” He said good blogs were all about passion, a clear point of view, perseverance, and they reflect the personality of the blogger. Right after that I discovered Jes Golbez’s Hockey Rants and realized it was Ok to tap into your darker side. So my advice would be, “to thine own self be true.”

Q.5 – What do you hope your visitors get out of reading your blog? Do you have any "blog goals" for the next year or two?

I hope people have a laugh and want to keep visiting for an irreverent take on events, personalities, and hockey culture. I do it to have a seat at the bar and be part of a conversation I really enjoy, even though I live over two thousand miles from Raleigh.

As far as goals go, I’m torn. We had a saying in the Navy, if it’s not fun; you’re not doing it right. I want it to be fun and as long as it’s fun I’ll keep it up.

The marketeer in me thinks I should craft a business model for the blog and work to generate revenue. That might come at the expense of fun. Fun rules.

Q.6 - When did you become a Carolina Hurricanes fan?

I became a Caniac during the 2001 playoffs. The Hurricanes were down three games to none, and the Devils were beating them and beating them up (déjà vu all over again?). I remember listening to game two on the radio driving down from Manassas, Virginia to Raleigh. That was the game Scott Stevens knocked out Shane Willis. During the week, I watched game three, where Stevens knocked out Ron Francis. As a former Ranger fan, I was never a fan of the Devils, so I naturally took to the Hurricanes and the whole hockey south experiment.

Q.7 – Why did the Hurricanes make it to the Stanley Cup finals this year? What do the Canes need to do to win Game #7?

Jim Rutherford/Pete Karmanos built this team for the “New NHL.” They made a lot of cost effective acquisitions in preparation for this season, and saved enough cap space to bring in veteran players at the trade deadline. They hired a dynamite coach, got great clubhouse leadership from Rod Brind ‘Amour, Glen Wesley, Kevyn Adams and Cory Stillman, and enjoyed the fruits of breakout seasons from Justin Williams, Erik Cole and Eric Staal.

To win game seven, the Hurricanes need to skate like it’s game one of the season. Somehow, they need to find a reserve of energy to put some speed and killer instinct back into their game. They need to open the ice back up and play like they believe in themselves. Screw the last two games. Start over and come out of the tunnel with the swagger and guile that got them to the Stanley Cup Finals. If they allow themselves to get bullied and take bad penalties on Monday night, it’s close but no cigar time again.

Q.8 - When did you attend your first hockey game and who was playing?

My first hockey game was a WHA game around 1977. The Cincinnati Stingers were playing the Winnipeg Jets. Bobby Hull played for the Jets. My first hockey heroes were Rick Dudley and enforcer Dale Smedsmo of the Stingers. When we played pond or street hockey, my pards and I used to trade off being Duds and Smo-The goal scorer got to be Duds and the first guy to pound him got to be Smo. I don’t remember ever seeing Barry Melrose as a Stinger.

Q.9 – Which player, do you believe, has had the greatest impact on this SCF series whether it was an Oiler's player or a Cane?

Chris Pronger. He is the constant calm in the storm and an absolute stopper on defense. They didn’t even need Jussi last night. Pronger has ice water in his veins and the reach and instinct of King Kong. Even when the Oil were down 3-1, Pronger had this look in his eyes like he had the Canes right where he wanted them.

Q.10 - Who is your favorite hockey player (either current or retired player)? Why?

My all-time favorite player is a guy named Helmut Balderis. He played for the Soviets in the 70’s and was a magician with the puck. He was the first guy I ever saw score a goal off a 360 with the puck on a breakaway. He got a sniff in the NHL with the North Stars, but was far beyond his prime.

Q.11 – What did you do to pass the time during the lockout last year?

I scanned Spector and the media outlets for a glint of hope every day. I also started playing hockey again here in Tucson.

Q.12 – What changes do you see the Hurricanes making in the offseason?

I think the Canes will let Gerber, Weight, Kaberle and Recchi go. Glen Wesley will probably retire. Hedican may as well. I think JR will try and move Oleg Tverdovsky.

I think the core of this squad in years to come will be Cam Ward, Staal (x2?), Cole, Stillman, Williams, Ladd, Commodore, Aaron Ward and Nic Wallin.

I hope the Canes make the move to shed Jack Johnson and pick up Jordan Staal with the second pick. I don’t think Johnson wants to play for Carolina, so good riddance bubba. Throw in Tverdovsky or Kaberle if they want the pot sweetened.

Q.13 – Where do you see the NHL in 5 years? Why? Is there some area that you'd like to see the NHL improve during that timespan?

In five years, I think the NHL will become more established in the south. I think the Lightning have some nice momentum going, the Capitals are building a solid team and starting to bring back fans, and the hated Thrash are going to be a consistent force in the league. I’m not sure about Nashville’s long term viability, but the lure for players to play in warmer climes, solid management running southern teams and growing fan bases will fuel this change.

Q. 14 - Which team surprised you the most this season? Disappointed you?

The Hurricanes and Sabers surprised me most. Nobody picked either to be contenders and both were top teams, wire-to-wire. I thought some of the teams that departed the playoffs without a whimper were disappointing-namely the Rangers and Avalanche.

Q.15 – Is there any hockey blog or website that you look to for inspiration?

Inspiration comes in many forms. I’m a total homer, so I really dig our little Caniac blog quinfecta. Red and Black Hockey, Sweet Tea…, Stormbringer, and the Penalty Killer are my first stops for inspiration.

I go to Hockey Rants, Covered in Oil, Japers’ Rink, Vancouver Canucks Op-Ed and Ingmar Bergman expecting to laugh. I go to Off Wing, James Mirtle, SISU and Kukla’s to be educated. When I’m looking for a little provocation, I go to Bfloblog and mudcrutch79. And I go to A2Y to see where this media is heading and to marvel at the machine IwoCPO has built in so little time.

Any additional comments?

The biggest thing CasonBlog has created for me is a connection to smart and passionate hockey fans. I really enjoy an ongoing dialog that crosses continents and perceptual and cultural barriers. I think our new media is going to change the way this sport is covered, promoted, and grown. We are an untapped resource that NHL media heads need to start paying attention to. Thanks Christy for this feature. You’ve done a lot to build this community. I’m honored to join the ranks.

Can we say momentum swing?

2006-06-17T22:50:00.000-04:00

Wow. There is 5 minutes left in Game #6 of the Stanley Cup Finals and all I can say is wow. Here are some thoughts regarding the game and its impact on the series.

I had the pregame on mute and was talking to my dad when all of a sudden I saw Erik Cole on the TV. Cole? He's back? Since when?

Can we say momentum swing? Obviously the Oilers got the momentum after scoring on a shorthanded breakaway in OT of Game #5, but they are owning tonight's game with a 4-0 lead. Carolina just better hope that they can get out of tonight's game with no more injuries and hope that the Raleigh crowd is loud.

For comments made throughout the game, check out Alanah @ VCOE. I left this comment on her post during the game:

Wow, the Canes look…wait, are they even out there on the ice? I think they all may be hiding in the penalty box.
And I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who thought Carolina’s coach looked like he was gonna explode - it reminded me of those looney tune cartoons…

Seriously, how many penalties are those Hurricanes gonna take? Gosh. There were 10 total penalties for the Canes, 4 apiece in the second and third periods. The Oilers had 7 penalties.

With the way the Oilers played tonight, you would have no idea that they were down 3-1 in a series. That team is the Comeback King and in Monday's game, they too will have a chance to win a Cup that night. You can never ever count them out.

I love watching the Rexall crowd. I got chills hearing them sing the Canadian national anthem. Then with less than five left in the game, the crowd started chanting "We Want Cup." I got goosebumps.

I may have to liveblog Monday night's game - it should be a good one.

Saturday Wings Notes

2006-06-17T12:30:00.000-04:00

The Yzerman Decision Nothing really new on this front.

“Steve’s not prepared to make a decision at this time,” Holland said. “He’s better of postponing it until he’s comfortable with the decision he makes. It’s a very difficult decision for him.”

As I mentioned in my last post, Holland is willing to give him all summer to make his decision. Obviously, he'd appreciate it if the decision was made before July 1st so Holland knows where his cap will stand before going after any free agents or mulling the trade possibilities. Yzerman is on vacation with his family and then Holland is in Vancouver for the June 24th NHL Draft so they won't talk until the week following the draft.

"But at the same time, he's making a career decision, and he really, he's the the face of the franchise. I've been here since the early 80's and Steve was here. If it takes Steve all summer, we can deal with it."

Todd Bertuzzi? While IwoCPO @ A2Y doesn't necessarily see Todd Bertuzzi coming to Hockeytown, he would love to see him in a Wings uniform by next season.

But, can you imagine Bertuzzi on a line with Zetterberg or Datsyuk? He’d score fifty. And, if he regains his nasty demeanor, Delma Huddle would go unscathed. Also, the Wings could open up Detroit’s practices to the public and every day we could watch Hearns/Hagler II as Chelios and Bert go at it.

I couldn't agree more. Sure Bertuzzi had a very bad moment, but he's paid his price. I think that a change of scenery would do for Bert and I'd be happy to offer Detroit as his new home. And Bert isn't all bad, JJ @ Canucks Hockey Blog talked about a nice Bert back in late March of this year.

6/16 Notes

2006-06-16T12:25:00.000-04:00

IwoCPO @ A2Y reminds us that 8 years ago, Detroit was celebrating its second straight Stanley Cup title. Following the win, around 1.2 million packed into downtown for the victory parade. The Pistons' most recent championship title in 2004 couldn't even garner that many fans for their parade.

Last weekend, Manny Legace was informed by GM Ken Holland that a contract will not be offered for the upcoming season. IwoCPO speculates that Toronto may be interested in Manny's services.

"I was just ... in shock," Legace said. "I got off the phone with my agent, and I'm all, bitter, and I'm like, 'Man, we're not even going to talk, or, we're not even going to give ourselves the opportunity to make a deal ...'
"And Kenny (Holland) called, and he made me feel great. It was first-class. I don't think that any other GM would do that, and it was very classy."

I don't think anyone is surprised that it looks very possible that Ozzie will return for another year as backup goaltender.

Wednesday afternoon, Rollie Thompson, the agent for Osgood, said there had been no contract negotiations between the sides but that there had been "an indicator they're interested, and we'll probably talk in two or three days."
General manager Ken Holland confirmed as much, saying, "I have interest if it fits into what we're trying to do."

GM Holland is spending his time negotiating contract deals with defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and forward Brendan Shanahan before the July 1st deadline. It's expected that Lidstrom will want the maximum, around $8 million. We won't know the maximum salary allowed until June 30th when the new salary cap amount will be released. Holland also expects Shanny to get a raise from last year's $2.28 million salary.

"I'd like Brendan to stay, and I think he'd like to stay," Holland said. "He had a tremendous season. It's the first time since '96-97 he's had 80 points."
"I'm sure he would be the first to say that he'd like to have done more in the playoffs," Holland said. "For me, I thought there was great chemistry between him and Datsyuk. Datsyuk getting injured affected him and Brendan. And with all due respect, in Game 1, (Shanahan) played with Mark Mowers. Mark isn't Pavel.
"We'd like him back. We're going to make an offer, and we're prepared to offer more than he made last year."

Ouch, poor Mark Mowers. If Shanny is re-signed, it'll be his 10th year in Detroit.

Nothing has developed on The Decision front. Holland doesn't mind if it takes Yzerman all summer to decide because "I think the club owes it to him." In John Buccigross' mailbag, he wrote a nice bit on The Captain when asked what Steve will do and I couldn't have written it better myself.

Whatever Stevie Y wants to do. Stevie Y does not sleep. He waits. Stevie Y can win a game of Monopoly without owning any property.
In fine print on the last page of the Guinness Book of World Records, it notes that all world records are held by Stevie Y, and those listed in the book are simply those who have come closest to him.
When Stevie Y goes to donate blood, he declines the syringe, and instead requests a hand gun and a bucket. Stevie Y can set ants on fire with a magnifying glass -- at night.
When Stevie Y runs with scissors, other people get hurt.
Yzerman doesn't need the money. He wouldn't play for the money. He made $1.25 million last season and he likely would make about a million next year. He had 14 goals in 61 games. I find his grit and will incredible and exemplary, and those kinds of efforts actually make me emotional. To put his humanity on the line out there is beautiful. He did not embarrass himself. The NHL is better with people like Steve Yzerman in it.
The league is losing legends so quickly, perhaps too quickly, that I'd love to see No. 19 give it one more lap. And it would be cool to retire with 700 career goals. He's eight away. He would pass Mark Messier, who retired with 694, and be one of just seven players to score 700. He's also 17 assists away from passing Adam Oates for that much anticipated "most assists by a right-handed shot" in NHL history. ESPN will break into regular scheduled poker matches as Stevie Y approaches this milestone.

Random sport ramblings...

2006-06-16T12:22:00.000-04:00

Some of my random ramblings about sporting events (outside hockey) that took place last weekend...

As I've mentioned before, I absolutely love track. The 100m and 4x100m are the most beautiful and wonderful Olympic events. Unfortunately, track goes on TV like twice a year (if that) unless it's the year of the Summer Olympics. Last Saturday, the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships took place in Sacramento, California. LSU's Xavier Carter became the first man to win both the 100m and 400m in the NCAA Championship. He ran the 400m only 45 minutes after winning the 100m with a time of 10.09 seconds. To end to his sophomore season (he's only a sophomore!), he also anchored the 4x400m and 4x100m which LSU won. What's even more amazing is the fact that he had not run the 100m since high school and he beat the best college athletes. Wow.

According to meet officials, Carter is the first to achieve four NCAA victories since Owens won both short sprints, the 220-yard low hurdles and long jump for Ohio State in 1935 and '36.
"It's really not going to hit me until a few weeks later," Carter said. "Jesse Owens, he's a legend. He's the one who started track and field. I feel honored just being put in the same sentence as Jesse Owens."

Jazil won the Belmont Stakes, the third race in the Triple Crown. Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner by 6 lengths, broke three bones in his right hind leg in the start of the Preakness (the second race). The Preakness winner, Bernardini, did not race on Saturday.

I watched at least some of the following World Cup games with my brother(s): Netherlands vs. Serbia Montenegro (Dutch win, 1-0), Argentina vs. Ivory Coast (Argentina wins, 2-1), and Trinidad & Tobago vs. Sweden (0-0 tie).

Rafael Nadal defeats Roger Federer in the French Open. Federor was looking to tie the record of four consecutive Grand Slam titles and extend his 27 consecutive Grand Slam matches in today's championship game. Nadal beat Federer 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4) and won his second French Open.

I learned a couple of things while up north this past weekend.

1) I hate being around my youngest brother David during World Cup action. Both brothers play premiere soccer and let's just say I wanted to check out another certain sporting event and was promptly yelled at for changing the channel for two seconds. The US hasn't even played yet!

2) After listening to ESPN News on XM Radio for what seemed like 30 minutes on the ride home, I had heard plenty about baseball, the NBA finals, Terrell Owens youth football camp, and World Cup soccer action, but absolutely nothing on the NHL. I couldn't even find out the score of the game until I got home and went online.

Edmonton 4, Carolina 3 (OT)

2006-06-14T23:25:00.000-04:00

Man, I hate the Oilers. First, they spoil the Wings regular season perfection with a first round exit. And if that wasn't bad enough, Pisani scores shorthanded on a breakaway in OT in Carolina where they could've won the Cup tonight. Blast those Oilers.

Random comments about this series...
- I am so enjoying watching this series. Tonight's game was fantastic with all the big hits and scoring (in part due to the 20 bazillion penalties). I actually got every single person in my family to watch the game. My youngest brother and Mom don't watch hockey unless its the Wings in the playoffs or I take my brother to a Plymouth Whalers game (OHL). It's been fun to watch.

- I'm actually starting to care. I didn't think it would be possible for me to want a team other than the Wings to win it this bad. I'm yelling at the TV, clapping, sitting here freaking out like I did during the Wings series (except not quite as bad). Plus, you add the OT element and it's perfect playoff action (made me think of the 2002 triple OT with Larionov's beauty). Plus, it doesn't hurt that everytime Ray Whitney is near the puck, I go all crazy hoping he gets the game winner. I want to win that challenge at Kukla's Korner so I can save some money on a Kronwall jersey. :)

- It's really nice to watch two teams with so much passion and aggression and fire. And actually their fans too. I realize it is obviously farther in the playoffs, but the Wings vs. Oilers series seems so lackluster in comparison. The Joe was embarassingly quiet - both the Rexall and RBC crowd would put us to shame.

- Plus, who doesn't like reading Alanah @ VCOE attemps to "liveblog?" Between not knowing if she wants the Oilers to win or not, the drinking, and her humorous self - the liveblog entries are always a favorite of mine. :) I really don't know what I'd do without her funny game comments...

- I think I may have enjoyed this game so much because I had been pain medication free since Friday night. I've taken Vicodin (1-4 pills daily) since January 2005 and went 5 whole days without anything this past week. Let's just say it's been an incredibly long 5 days. But I've had a really painful 24 hours so I got to take something tonight and somehow Vike and hockey makes the world go round. :)

- And you got to give the Oilers credit, they never give up. Between losing their starting goaltender in the first game and being down in the series, they just keep chugging along - very admirable.

Behind the Blog: Battle of Alberta

2006-06-12T18:44:00.000-04:00

Today's Behind the Blog features Matt and Sacamano, the guys who run Battle of Alberta. I apologize for not getting this up earlier today, but I had three appointments that kept me busy. This BtB is much longer than previous ones because there are two people answering each question.

Sacamano is the Edmonton Oilers fan who is looking forward to tonight's game and hoping the Oilers can tie up the series. Matt is the Calgary Flames fan who wishes he was watching his team return to the Stanley Cup Finals. Both are entertaining writers who joke around with each other, analyze interesting statistics, and provide their postgame thoughts.

Q.1 – When did you create Battle of Alberta and what made you do so?

Matt: Mid-September of 2005, a few weeks before the season started. I had been blogging more about hockey at my old general blog more, and found that it was pretty much the only thing I was interested in writing about.

The anticipation was pretty high in both Calgary and Edmonton, so this format just seemed like a good idea. It was originally going to be a bigger group weblog, but it seemed to be going well early on with just the two of us. Plus, most other good candidates for contributing to our blog already have their own.

(Alternate, more mystical answer: it came to me while eating some Taco Bell.)

Sacamano: Matt gets all the credit/blame. We both came from the world of general purpose blogging; but, I tired of that pretty quickly, and I guess Matt did too. We went to high school together in Calgary and had a few jobs together after that, so we kept in touch even though he was living down in Lethbridge while I had moved up to Edmonton. He just emailed me up one day and suggested it. Given how good the two teams looked at the start of the season and how excited folks in the two cities were after the lockout, the timing seemed perfect.

Q.2 – Do you guys ever get annoyed with one another? Especially after one team loses in the playoffs and the other goes on to another round?

Matt: Nah. Sacamano is far too lovable, and we’ve been friends for too long. The only upside to the Oilers’ run has been how much fun he’s been having.

Sacamano: I haven’t yet been annoyed by Matt – well, no more than I ever was – but maybe that is because it was my team that made it through. Actually, I was most annoyed with the fact that Calgary lost and prevented a Battle of Alberta Western Conference Final. The stars were all aligned but . . . .

Q.3 – What makes Alberta such a hockey place?

Matt: Hard to say exactly. There is about 110 years of history behind the Battle of Alberta, and minor hockey participation is pretty good too. The population threshold for a small community in this province to have a hockey arena is probably around 1000. (For a curling rink, it’s about 500).

Sacamano: I’m not sure Alberta is any more of a hockey place than anywhere else in Canada (doesn’t Saskatchewan send more players per capita to the NHL than any other province?), I just think that we were fortunate to have had two amazing teams playing each other at the same time. The legacy of the 80’s Oilers and Flames has persisted in the fanbase, which makes it a pretty fun place to follow hockey—at least when the teams are doing well.

Q.4 – What advice would you give to fellow bloggers, especially newcomers?

Matt: Do whatever you want, whatever pleases and amuses you. If it feels like work, I don’t know why you’re bothering.

Sacamano: I’m not sure I’ve been in the game long enough to really give too much advice. Like everyone says, having fun is the most important. I think format really helps with this – I got bored pretty quickly of my first general issues blog, probably because the subject matter was just way too wide open and it seemed like everyone else was doing the same thing – only better. For me, The Battle of Alberta worked well for a few reasons. First, it provides a nice anchor to a pretty narrowly defined subject, while still allowing us the opportunity to talk about hockey more broadly. Second, the “adversarial” format made it really fun. I noticed that in your Behind the Blog feature with JP (Jon) from Japers Rink, he noted: “trash talking is such an integral part of hockey and being a third-party observer to buddies (I think) dishing it back and forth in a friendly manner is great fun.” That was exactly how the BofA started – two old high school buddies poking fun at each other. It’s basically what we would have been doing anyway, so, hey, why not let other people participate too?

Q.5 – What do you hope to achieve with your blog over the next few years?

Matt: I don’t even know what we’re trying to achieve next month. See Answer #4.

Sacamano: To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what the future holds, if anything. I’ll be moving out of the country soon, and I’m just not sure I’ll have the time to devote to it, especially without the ability to check out the Oilers first hand. On the other, a whole lot of the Oilers bloggers live outside of Edmonton, and they do a fantastic job, so maybe it is possible. Frankly, the fact that we helped phrases like “The Orbs of Power” enter the general lexicon is as good a legacy as we could probably ever hope to achieve.

Q.6 - When did you become an Edmonton Oilers fan? Calgary Flames fan?

Matt: The Flames came to Calgary the same season I started playing hockey myself, right before Grade 2. It came together nicely, as my Dad got half-season tickets as well.

It’s possible that if the Flames hadn’t come for another couple of years, I would have ended up an Oil fan (shudder). My Grandpa in Edmonton was the only guy I remember back then who had an interest in pro hockey, and he was a huge Oiler fan. It could have rubbed off, were it not for the timely arrival of the Flames in Calgary.

Sacamano: Given that I grew up in Calgary, I was obviously a Flames fan first. A big Flames fan. But, somewhere around the early 90’s I basically lost interest in watching the NHL. In 1996 I moved to Edmonton which was around the time that Edmonton started pulling some first round upsets (Colorado 1998, Dallas, etc.).

It wasn’t until January 17th, 1999, however, that I became a full blown Oilers fan after winning the "Canadian Tire/Edmonton Oilers Ultimate Fan Experience": buffet dinner, stick signed by Bucky, t-shirt, cap, Oilers away sweater, $25 of certificates good for food or beer, and two lower bowl seats at this beauty of a game.

So, in short, my allegiances were purchased. I felt guilty about it for about 2 minutes. Edmonton is just a terrific sports town that it is a total blast to cheer for the local team along with everyone else.

Q.7 – Why did the Oilers make it to the Stanley Cup finals this year? And what about the Flames caused them to miss out on a repeat trip?

Matt: The Oilers are really good, I don’t know that there’s much more to say. They addressed their one brutal weakness at the trading deadline by picking up Roloson. They create a lot of scoring chances, and do a pretty decent job preventing them. Plus, they’ve been lucky: I don’t mean any particular individual bounces, just that you have to be to get this far.

In the same sense, the Flames were a bit unlucky. Also, I think the team system, or mindset, probably went too far in the Defensive direction. Their scoring was pretty good on the PP and when they got behind, but they were pretty conservative otherwise. I think they need to adjust their system to allow for more chances, odd man rushes, etc. both for and against. They have a terrific goalie and group of defensemen; I’d like to see their style of play rely a bit more on those guys making plays.

Sacamano: This one is easy. The Oilers are good, the Flames aren’t.

Q.8 - When did you attend your first hockey game and who was playing?

Matt: I went to the Flames’ 3rd ever home game at age 7, which IIRC was a 5-4 loss to the Leafs and certainly the latest I had ever stayed up in my life. Before that, I went once to a WHL game between the Calgary Wranglers (in goal: Michael Vernon) and the Billings Bighorns. I don’t remember who won, just that the snacks were good.

Sacamano: I actually have no idea. The First Oilers game I was ever at was the one that converted me. I honestly think that the first Flames game I was ever at was with Matt this season – and what a game it was! Before that, I remember going to see the Calgary Wranglers play the Brandon Wheat Kings. And I remember going to see one game with the Soviet team during the 1988 Olympics, although I can’t even remember who they were playing.

Q.9 – What first attracted you to the sport of hockey?

Matt: I was going to say that it’s way too long ago to remember, but that’s not quite right. I just was, and am: there was never anything resembling an evaluation or decision-making process. You might as well ask me why I’m heterosexual.

Sacamano: I’m not sure you really have a choice up here. I mean, of course you have a choice, but when you are introduced to hockey through a childhood of road hockey, Saturday meals around Hockey Night in Canada, and the 80’s Battle of Alberta, it would have been pretty difficult for any elementary school kid growing up in Alberta during the 70’s/80’s not to have developed some sort of attraction to the game. I’m actually one of those rare Canadian kids who didn’t ever play the game in an organized league. But I still maintain that I was one of the top street-hockey players of my generation.

Q.10 - Who is your favorite hockey player (either current or retired player)? Why?

Matt: Close call, but probably Al Macinnis. Honourable mentions go to Theo Fleury, Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts, and Jamie Macoun. My first ever favourite player was #25, Paraguay’s own Willi Plett.

Sacamano: I think the slot for favourite all-time hockey player gets filled pretty early in childhood, and it takes something pretty horrific to dislodge them. So – and this is going to get me into a whole world of trouble – I’m going to have to go with Lanny MacDonald. As a kid playing road hockey, though, I was always Guy Lafleur or Vladislav Tretiak. My Dad’s favourite team, before the Flames came to town, was always the Habs, so that is probably why.

Q.11 – What did you do to pass the time during the lockout last year?

Matt: Mainly fumed at the media. It still bothers me that so much of what the owners and Bettman said was basically taken at face value by hockey pundits. My big question to all professional hockey pundits remains: How will you evaluate whether the new CBA is successful? I don’t think many of them have given any consideration at all to this, which means next time, things won’t be different in the slightest. Even though the players surrendered unconditionally this time, whatever problems the NHL has next time negotiations begin will be laid on the players, and whatever the owners propose as a “solution” will be taken as the obvious and correct way to go by just about everyone. Again.

Sacamano: I was actually in the midst of writing a dissertation, so it was pretty good timing.

Q.12 –What are your predictions for the Stanley Cup finals?

Matt: I’m hoping for Canes in 6, but I have no idea. There’s no question that the Oil can still win even with Conkannen in net, but it’ll depend on their mindset, and again, how the bounces go.

Sacamano: I was pretty confident before the series started, and picked the Oilers in 6, but with the Oilers down two games and Roloson out, I don’t know. I’m still cautiously optimistic that they can pull it out . . .

Q.13 – Where do you see the NHL in 5 years? Why?

Matt: No idea. My fervent hope is that the NHL basically abandons their effort to gain a national presence in the U.S., and just OWNS AND LOVES their status as a power (to varying degrees) in 30 individual markets. The strength of the league is not the NHL brand per se, it’s the franchises. If there’s one thing that bugs me most about the CBA, it’s the disincentive for franchises to take risks in their own interest. Also, I expect that the quality of hockey will be excellent.

Sacamano: This is one that Matt will probably be able to address better than me because he spends more time than I do thinking and writing about the state of the game. I have a pretty short attention span and really don’t care about the behind the scenes mechanics of the game (contracts, bargaining agreements, etc.). As long as there is still a team in Edmonton I’m fine. Unlike some, I think that the NHL does a pretty good job at giving the fans quality entertainment for a reasonable price.

Q. 14 - Which team surprised you the most this season? Disappointed you?

Matt: Anaheim surprised me the most, and not just the playoff run: they were terrific for the last three-quarters of the season, and I expected them to be lousy. Disappointing, I guess the Wild. I’m glad the Flames got to punk on them over and over, but they ought to be more successful by this point. From the intensely personal, playoffs-included perspective, the answer to this question is the Oilers and the Flames.

Sacamano: The way that Vancouver ended up was pretty disappointing. Not for me, mind you. But it must have been pretty disappointing for Canucks fans. I think I’ll go with Dallas for biggest surprise, despite their early flame out in the playoffs. I really didn’t think they would rebound as well as they did this season. Having said that, I suspect that their regular season record was inflated by all of those Jussi Jokinen shootout wins, but still, they sure looked good for a while there and I was petrified of another Oilers first round loss to the Stars.

Q.15 – Is there any hockey blog or website that you look to for inspiration?

Matt: I don’t know about inspiration, and there’s about a dozen blogs that I’d rate as excellent, but I absolutely think that the two best sites are Covered in Oil (for the entertainment value) and mc79hockey (for the analysis). It’s a source of much frustration and shame for me that Oiler blogs are the best in the league (and that the Flames “blog presence” is zippo), but there you have it.

Sacamano: I think a huge part of what makes our site so fun for me has been all of the commentors from all of the other Oilers blogs. The “Oilogosphere” (as coined by Madcrutch) seems to have it all—excellent statistics oriented folks (e.g., Mudcrutch, IOF, “old” guys/gals who have seen it all (Lowetide, Cosh), “young” guys/gals who are reliving their 80’s childhood (CinO), Funny Obsessives (e.g., UIUFC), and some that have a bit of everything (BDHS, Sports Matters), etc. And they are all such terrific writers and funny people that it is hard to not be inspired by their passion. During the playoffs I’ve also been reading more of the other teams’ blogs, which has been great. The Wings fans were a tonne of fun during Round 1 (your site, Abel to Yzerman, On the Wings), Earl Sleek’s BofC is starting to bring together lots of fantastic material on the California teams. The Caniacs (e.g, Red and Black, Cason, Sweet Tea . . .) are great. During the regular season I also read a few of the Canucks blogs, which were pretty hilarious (Canucks OpEd, Canucks Hockey Blog). And then, of course, all the usual suspects that I check in on everyday like Mirtle, Razor, Off Wing Opinion, Hockey Rants, Japers’ Rink, Sisu, Sidearm Delivery -- there are just so many good sites out there. I’m sure I’ve missed a bunch.

Any additional comments?

Matt: This is a great feature, Christy, and thanks for the invite. Also, if Sacamano’s answers above are particularly combative or trash-talk-y, I take back every nice and conciliatory word I said about the Oilers.

Sacamano: Thanks a lot for inviting us. Your Behind the Blog feature is one of my favourite things on the web.

Up North

2006-06-08T22:16:00.000-04:00

I am heading up north with my family to see how our house is doing in Ludington (where the ferry called the Badger resides in MI). I have internet connection there, but I've been getting awful headaches for the past week now so I'm going to "give up" the laptop/internet and leave it at home. I'll be back sometime Sunday. Hopefully, Alanah will do some liveblogging so I can see what she thought of the game since we have one TV that really works and let's just say with two brothers who play premiere soccer, the World Cup is going to be on that TV all the time starting tomorrow at noon. Good luck to USA who got stuck with Italy, #2 ranked Czech Republic, and Ghana. Alright, enjoy Saturday's game and go Canes! (I feel so weird saying that. I really wish I could be saying go Wings. Blast those Oilers.)

NHL Fan Faceoff Panel Survey Results

2006-06-08T15:58:00.000-04:00

I take surveys periodically throughout the season for NHL Fan Faceoff. If you'd like to give your opinion, click here. Anyways, here are the results from some of the more recent surveys. These survey results were emailed out to participants in the June newsletter.

- 77% of you are interested in having coaches miked in TV games.
- 80% of you are interested in having players miked in TV games.
- 81% of you are interested in having referees miked in TV games.
- 95% of respondents are satisfied with the rule removing the red line.
- 80% of respondents are satisfied with the shootout
- 57% of respondents are satisfied with the new rule on where a goalie can play the puck.
- 71% of respondents are satisfied with the new rule that penalizes a player if he shoots the puck into the stands in his defensive zone.
- 31% of respondents think their team will win the Stanley Cup in the next three seasons.
- 29% of you think that the area that the league should focus on most in the next few years is improving television ratings.
- 68% of U.S. respondents strongly agree that the league should create a Monday Night Football type night for hockey.
- The top five young stars that fans want to see are Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Henrik Zetterberg, Henrik Ludqvist and Simon Gagne.

I'm not sure what I said regarding the "The NHL needs to improve ____ the most," but I'm pretty sure it wasn't TV ratings. I want to say I put down marketing the sport. I think a MNF type thing would be great here in the US. Canada has HNIC, but unless you get CBC or have Center Ice, you miss out on that weekly fun.

And why am I not surprised that Detroit and Colorado made the #1 NHL rivalry.

The top ten NHL rivalries as voted by you, the fans:
1. Colorado versus Detroit
2. Calgary versus Edmonton
3. Ottawa versus Toronto
4. Montreal versus Toronto
5. NY Rangers versus Philadelphia
6. NY Islanders versus NY Rangers
7. New Jersey versus NY Rangers
8. Boston versus Montreal
9. Colorado versus Vancouver
10. Dallas versus Detroit

My favorite humorous Wings videos

2006-06-08T10:43:00.000-04:00

I love these video clips - they are good for cheering you up!

Chelios looks back on his youth hockey coach (done for ESPY Award show)

An ESPN commercial featuring Shanahan and Federov

Darren McCarty doing some dancing...

Dave Lewis interviews with Vancouver

2006-06-08T07:35:00.000-04:00

Dave Lewis, former Wings assistant coach, then head coach and now scout, interviewed with the Vancouver Canucks last week regarding the head coaching spot. The interview was done while Lewis was in town for the Draft Combine. Vancouver will get back to him at the latest on June 24, the day of the 2006 NHL Draft.

"It's nothing more than conversation right now," Lewis said Wednesday. "It's a process. It's for the organization to interview you, find out who you are, what your philosophy is, to find out if you are what they're looking for."
Asked Wednesday what he'd learned over those two years, Lewis said, "I enjoyed the first time around. I'm a better coach today than when I first started, I'll put it that way."

Personally, I like Dave Lewis. He wasn't a good fit for the Wings at the head coach position, but that's because he had been the assistant coach to most of the same players for so long that it was hard for everyone to adjust to the different role. In another team and with the right support in assistant coaches, I think he could do very well. But that's just me talking, I don't know what other Wings fans or bloggers would tell you...

Blogging the SCF Game #2

2006-06-07T20:36:00.000-04:00

I had planned on liveblogging the entire game, but silly Blogger was down for the first 12 minutes of the first period. So I'm not technically liveblogging, but I'll be posting my thoughts throughout the game.

- Man this game started off on such a quick pace! It wasn't in a single end longer than another. The puck literally went from one end to the other and back again. Let me tell you, this makes the game so exciting and intense (at least for me)! What's so surprising for me is that with 6:04 left in the game, there has only been a total of 11 shots (Carolina - 6, Edmonton 5). It certainly seems like it's higher than that with the fast pace; it must be so low because of all the blocked shots.

- Jussi Markkanen is Edmonton's starting goaltender tonight, as expected.

- Andrew Ladd scored 6:21 into the first on a 2-on-1 with Eric Staal and Frantisek Kaberle earning the assists. The puck deflected off of defenseman Bergeron's skate. The goal came right after the Hurricanes finished a very successful penalty kill with numerous key blocks and Carolina goaltender Cam Ward staying solid.

- I really like the My Stanley Cup commercials, especially compared to the stupid My NHL ones. And being the Tour de France nut that I am, I cannot wait for July 1st. Too bad Lance Armstrong won't be in it this year, my money is on Ivan Basso but I'll be cheering for either Floyd Landis or George Hincappie.

End of First Period - Carolina 1, Edmonton 0

- Defenseman Kaberle scored a nice goal while on the power play to give the Hurricanes a two goal lead. It was the Oilers third penalty of the period, fourth overall. In part because of the Oilers penalties, play has been in Edmonton's end for good chunk of the period.

- The crowd seems to be pretty loud, even louder than Monday's game.

- With 2.4 seconds left in the second, Stillman takes a nice backhand shot after a deflection (or two?) to make it 3-0.

- Sorry, I've gotten this killer headache so I'll just post if something really important happens. Be sure to check out the offensive scoresheet at NHL.com.

End of Second Period - Carolina 3, Edmonton 0

- With 17:39 left, Doug Weight deflected the puck into the net with his stick (his skate deflected the puck to the blade of Weight's stick). It's the Canes game to lose. Shots are tied at 19 shots apiece. The Canes now have a four goal lead.

- Recchi made a nice deflection off of a shot from somewhere along the blue line (?) to get the Canes fifth goal 4:12 into the third. It marked the Canes third power play goal tonight.

- I think PM at Covered in Oil needs to stop watching this game before he kills himself. Trust me, I want the Canes to win, but I'd rather have a close hockey game. It's not looking good tonight for the Oilers...

- The game is over and the rest of the SCF games will be on NBC. Congrats to the Canes and all there fans!

End of the Third Period: Carolina 5, Edmonton 0

Series: Carolina leads, 2-0.

Roloson also hyperextended elbow

2006-06-07T12:55:00.000-04:00

Not only did Edmonton Oilers goaltender, Dwayne Roloson, strain his MCL in his right knee, but he also hyperextended his elbow.

"I knew right away that something bad happened," Roloson said. "I felt something pop in my knee. When (Oilers trainer) Kenny Lowe came out to find out what was going on, actually my elbow hurt more than my knee. I told him, `I don't know what I did to my elbow, but it hurts pretty bad.'"

An elbow hyperextension is basically an over straightening of the elbow.

Hyperextension of the elbow is the result of an acute injury. The mechanism is usually that of falling on an outstretched arm or hand, forcing the elbow into an overextended state. Pain is felt not only on the inside of the elbow from the stretch of the biceps, but also in the back as a result of “jamming” the bones against one another.

So what exactly is a third degree strain of the MCL? Well a third degree strain means that most of the fibers of the ligament are torn and there is a large loss of function. There are four ligaments that provide stability for the knee, the posterior and anterior cruciate ligaments (PCL & ACL) and the medial and lateral collateral ligaments (MCL & LCL). The MCL is located on the medial side of the knee. If you were to cut your body in half so that there were mirror images of you, the medial side of both knees would be the side closest to that "cutting line." The MCL provides stability for the medial side of the knee. While some may have surgery for serious cases, most MCL recoveries require rest and plenty of rehabilitation. So how do these MCL injuries typically happen?

Because the medial collateral ligament resists widening of the inside of the knee joint, the MCL is usually injured when the outside of the knee joint is struck. This action causes the outside of the knee to buckle, and the inside to widen. When the medial collateral ligament is stretched too far, it is susceptible to tearing and injury. This is the injury seen by the action of "clipping" in a football game.

The torn ligament above is an example of an MCL tear courtesy of Ortho Net.

Aside from the MCL injury , Roloson apparently has pretty nice knees.

"It's an injury that happens a lot and, unfortunately, it happened at the wrong time for me. I haven't had any bad injuries before and it was pretty funny when the doctors looked at the MRI. They asked me if I was actually a goalie because my knees were in great shape — besides the MCL."

All coaches really care about injuries is how long will it take for him to return to play.

"ACL, MCL, patella, those are the only things I know about the knee," said MacTavish. "I deal in weeks and days and series. All I can tell you is once they say he's unavailable for the rest of the series, the medical jargon is irrelevant to me."

The Green Bay Packers website actually has a nice glossary of common athletic injuries so if you're ever confused by a medical injury described in the paper, check out their website.

Roloson places no blame on Ladd or Bergeron for his injuries.

"Out of all the times I got rammed in the playoffs, that was the only time I would say that it probably wasn't a penalty," said Roloson, who doesn't need surgery but needs time to heal.

Regular season glory

2006-06-06T19:42:00.000-04:00

I think we can all admit that the Detroit Red Wings 2005-2006 regular season was pretty sweet. Unfortunately, we can't say the same thing about their postseason performance. Robert Geiman made a video montage of all the beautiful things of the past regular season with nothing to haunt us regarding the playoffs. Look back and remember what gave us all that optimism and the 20 bazillion Datsyuk moves on poor goaltenders.

Nicklas Lidstrom Autograph Signing

2006-06-06T19:27:00.000-04:00

For those living near the Detroit area, defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom will be signing autographs tomorrow (Wednesday) from 7pm to 8pm. The prices were not provided, but for more information call the number below. The address is also included. Currents 673 Franklin St Detroit, Michigan (313) 259-4800

Enjoying the Finals

2006-06-05T22:27:00.000-04:00

I missed the last round or so of NHL playoff action because I was watching my Pistons in the NBA tourney, but they're out so I'm back to hockey. I missed the first half of tonight's game due to a meeting, but I am so enjoying the second half of tonight's game! I don't have the gut wrenching feelings I did the last time I watched the Oilers play and derail my Wings dreams. I can actually enjoy the series with nothing to gain/lose. Although, I'd gladly take that feeling to be at the Joe watching the Wings play right about now...wishful thinking on my part.

I turned on the TV, it's 3-0 and the Oilers are up. With 10 minutes left in the game, it's 4-3 and the Canes are leading! Plus, former Wing Ray Whitney scored two of the four goals. I've always liked him although he wasn't the best fit with the Wings. I'm glad to see him succeed with another team. In Kukla's Korner challenge, I picked Whitney to score the series clenching goal.

The fourth goal came on a breakaway while the Hurricanes were shorthanded - impressive! Cam Ward has been fantastic and really kept the team in the game. Oh my word! I can't believe Ward just made that save on Horcoff - that was absolutely amazing!

Blast that Hemsky and his tying the game up. They showed the Rexall crowd before the goal and it looked so quiet. That's not the case anymore!

Uh oh, Roloson seems to be struggling to put weight on his right side of his body. Boy that really sucks for Edmonton. I would not want any harm to come to Rollie, he's played pretty well this postseason and if the Oilers were to win, I'd want Rollie to be playing between the pipes. Good luck to his replacement, Ty Conklin, who has to prevent the Canes from getting the lead.

90 seconds left in the third, come on Canes! I'm getting a feeling that slightly resembles the playoff rush. I love that feeling.

Wooo! There was a big mess up behind the net and the Canes captain, Rod Brind'Amour, was there to tap it in in a wraparound method to get goal #5 with 30 seconds left in the game. And the Canes win Game #1 - woohoo! Mmk, I have to get up really early so I can get to Cincinnati for my 10:30 one month post-op appointment. I probably won't be able to post at all tomorrow so I'll see ya on Wednesday!

Alanah at VCOE had some humorous observations in her non-liveblogging post that seemed an awful lot like a slightly delayed liveblog.

9:00 - Oh GOD that was fun!! Williams scores, for Carolina, terrorizes Roli stick side! I feel like celebrating. Go Canes! (Honestly, I DO find it more fun cheering for Carolina. Sometimes it pisses me off that Edmonton is going to win this series.)
6:20? - Hemsky, Hemsky, Hemsky. Those freaking European supporters will be making SUCH a fuss about this guy now. (*Sigh*) And here I just thought he was lucky. (Not really. That was a pretty goal, actually.)
3:50 - I just noticed that Conklin was in the game. I also just noticed that the score was tied. It’s possible that I’m really not very good at liveblogging. (Good thing this isn’t actually liveblogging, huh?)

Update: Apparently, Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish announced in a press conference following the game, "He [Roloson] will not be back in this series." Man that sucks. It sucks for Roloson who worked so hard to get to the finals only to have his knee blow out. It sucks because knees suck [and I can say that from personal experience]. It sucks for the Oilers because they now have to rely on a backup and one that Oilers bloggers do not have much faith in. And it sucks for the Canes because if they win, the excuse will be Roloson's knee injury. Poor Rollie.

FSN Detroit's Season in Review

2006-06-05T14:10:00.000-04:00

I had recorded FSN Detroit's Wings Season Review and watched it last night. The one hour long show featured interviews with head coach Mike Babcock, GM Ken Holland, defenseman Jiri Fischer, and a roundtable discussion including Ken Daniels, Mickey Redmond, John Niyo (of the Detroit News), and Larry Murphy. I obviously didn't have time to write down every word that was said in this review, but I did jot down what I thought was interesting/important. The quotes are pretty close to what the person said [the core/meaning is correct], but could be a little off. So here is what was said on a variety of discussions...

The Early Playoff Exit
Larry Murphy: "They weren't war ready coming up against a team like Edmonton who battled day after day...Detroit wasn't able to sustain any inside pressure [against Edmonton]."

Mickey Redmond: "They just didn't have any adversity this season at all. It was just cruise control. And when adversity came against Edmonton, they had a tough time facing it."

Mike Babcock: "Obviously, we're real proud of the regular season we've had...That I'm talking to you right now tells you we didn't get done what we needed to get done...When the pressure mounted for us [in the playoffs], we couldn't do things we normally could [in the regular season].

Ken Holland: "Everything we accomplished in the regular season never came to be in the playoffs...We're going to be judged by what we do in the playoffs. It feels like a wasted year because of the excitement and optimism we had created over the 82 games."

November 21, 2005 - The Jiri Fischer Incident
Kris Draper: "Tony basically saved Fischer's life."

Jiri Fischer: "Up until now, it's probably the best thing that has every happened to me. It's like winning the lottery. I've already won mine and I don't need to win anymore...My goal is to play hockey again [only wants to play in the NHL for the red and white]."

Roster Changes in the Offseason
Ken Holland: "We are going to make changes. We need to get grittier. We need to get a little bit bigger on the back end if we can...Manny did a lot of good things, but in the end we didn't win so we have to look at our options...He's [Pavel Datsyuk] going through a process on how to be successful in the playoffs. He loves to play hockey and he loves to compete. I believe Pavel will have a breakout in the playoffs next year that Henrik [Zetterberg] had this year...We feel we have some good building blocks, but we won't completely overhaul."

John Niyo: "I see a handful [of roster changes]."

Larry Murphy: "I think we'll see a couple more changes than we would've had the team had success."

Mickey Redmond: "The goaltender is your achilles heel. For Manny Legace, his confidence did not show in the playoffs...It's a crapshoot [regarding next year's goaltendind]. Maybe he [Holland] starts between the pipes..For the forwards, we need more speed on the outside and grit."

Ken Daniels: Do you bring back Shanahan who scores 40 goals in the regular season, but hasn't had strong playoffs recently? Or use half that money to get a guy who scores 20 goals but gives the team another dimension? [loose translation]

Will Steve Yzerman Return?
Mike Babcock: "I think he told John (R?) a few days ago that he made up his mind, but he's just waiting to meet with Kenny...Whatever he decides, I'm going to support."

Mickey Redmond: "I think Steve Yzerman will be back for two reasons. #1, going out in round one left a really sour taste in Steve's mouth...The last 45 days before he got hurt in the series, he was playing like he was 40 again. He was happy...He can play his own schedule [With no Olympic break, there will be more time in between games. Yzerman also doesn't have to play back to back games, etc.]."

Larry Murphy: "The team wants him back."

Shanahan's story about Yzerman
Brendan Shanahan: "I remember being 15 years old and Steve was in his first NHL All-Stars game. They asked Steve before the game, 'Did you go out and celebrate with some of the players before the game?' And he said, 'No, I actually went to bed early because I wanted to have a good game.' And as a 15 year old, my dad, who was still alive back then, looked down at me and said, 'That's dedication.'

Here I am now at 37 still emulating, trying to copy, as we all are, the leadership Steve goes by. So 22 years ago, I was being told by my dad to act more like Steve Yzerman and here are all of his teammates thinking about what a great leader and example he sets."

Steve Yzerman end of the season quotes
Steve Yzerman on the decision: "Throughout the season, I'd leave here thinking after a game, 'Just quit now Steve," and then there'd be another game and I'd be, 'Man, I better call Kenny - I want to play next year.' So I just keep going back and forth. And now the season is over, mayble make a decision and live with it for a few days and if I'm comfortable and stick with it. And if not, change my mind."

Steve Yzerman on his future after he retires: "I think it'll be in hockey because I really enjoy being around the game. I like the people. I have a lot of fun doing the day to day stuff pf hockey so I think I'll stay within the game."

Wings lose rights to 12 prospects

2006-06-04T14:15:00.000-04:00

By not signing 12 prospects by the 5pm Thursday (June 1) deadline, the Wings have lost rights to these players.

These are the players that have become free agents according to Matt at RedWingsCentral.com:

Andreas Jamtin - A 6'0" right wing who scored nine goals, eight assists, and 109 penalty minutes in 45 games this season. He has played in both the Swedish and Finnish elite leagues. Jamtin was our fourth choice (157th overall) in the 2001 draft.

"He's never going to be a big point-producer. He's a third- or fourth-line, tenacious, in-your-face type of player. It's important for him to get stronger and build his body up. He's a tough, hard player to play against. He's a pest on the ice." -- Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill (June 2005)

Tomek Valtonen - A 6'1" left wing who was Detroit's third choice overall in the 1998 draft. He notched 17 points and 130 PIM in 51 games during the 2005-2006 season with Jokerit in the Finnish League.

Valtonen had a breakthrough offensive season in Finland in 2003-04, and the Red Wings planned to sign him to play in the American Hockey League in 2004-05. After the NHL lockout halted those plans, Valtonen returned to Finland and has seen his play fall off slightly in recent seasons. He was not signed by the June 1, 2006, deadline and became an unrestricted free agent.

Jari Tolsa - This 6'0" left wing was drafted 90 spots ahead of Henrik Zetterberg in the 1999 draft. He had nine points and 18 PIM in 29 games while playing for Frolunda in the Swedish League during the last season.

"He's a third- or fourth-line guy who works very hard and is tenacious on the puck. He has a pretty good touch. He's not a guy that's going to skate around and run guys, but he's not afraid to get in the corners and bang around." -- Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill (May 2004)

David Engblom - This 6'1" center is a current fourth liner for AIK in the Swedish Elite League where he had 28 points in 42 games. Detroit picked him 134th overall (10th choice) in the 1995 draft.

Johan Forsander - A 6'1" left wing/center who plays for Morzine in France. In the last season, he had 36 points and 72 PIM in 26 games.

Forsander was a highly-touted prospect after breaking into the Swedish Elite League as an 18-year-old. He captained Team Sweden at the 1998 World Junior Championship and seemed poised for an offensive breakthrough in the Swedish Elite League. It never came. Forsander, a swift-skating defensive-minded winger, never recovered from a foot injury that forced him to miss the entire 2000-01 season. He signed in Germany for the 2006-07 season and is no longer property of the Red Wings.

Per Backer - A 6'1" center who was Detroit's seventh pick in the 2000 draft. He only had 3 points in 40 games while playing for the Farjestad team in the Swedish Elite League.

Christian Soderstrom - He played for Timra and later Farjestad in the 2005-2006 season where he earned 10 points in 49 games.

The Red Wings drafted Soderstrom, a long-time linemate of Henrik Zetterberg, as a 21-year-old late in the 2002 entry draft. A good skater with above-average skills and instincts, the Red Wings hoped Soderstrom might be a late-bloomer who would break through offensively. He never did. Soderstrom won a Swedish Elite League championship as a role player with Farjestad in 2005-06, but is no longer Red Wings property.

Calle Steen - A 6'0" right wing who had 19 points in 44 games playing for Leksands. He was drafted 142nd overall by Detroit in the 1998 draft.

A stocky forward with good balance, Steen likes to play a physical game and has shown good potential as a playmaker. He was a quiet prospect for many years, but finally made his Swedish Elite League debut at 23 and has since esetablished himself as a regular.

Jimmie Svensson - A 6'0" left wing who was drafted as Detroit's 10th choice in the 2000 draft. He notched 18 points (13 goals, 5 assists) in 40 games with AIK.

Svensson is a rare breed in Sweden, regularly piling up inordinate penalty-minute totals. A late pick (228th overall) in the 2000 draft, Svensson is a relentless checker who plays with a mean streak and has a big shot. While he has been a top player at Sweden's second level, he has never made much of an impact in the Swedish Elite League.

David Petrasek - A 6'3" defenseman who has 15 points in 40 games while playing under HV-71 in the Swedish league.

Drafted back in 1998 as a 22-year-old, Petrasek attended the Red Wings' training camp that year and the following season. He has established himself as a solid top-four defenseman in the Swedish Elite League with his solid skating, heavy point shot and willing physical play. But Petrasek doesn't have particularly good puck skills and is prone to both untimely giveaways and undisciplined penalties.

Johan Berggren - Another 6'3" defenseman playing in the Swedish league.

"Beggren's just a shy, reserved kid. That might come out in three or four years. We like his size and skating ability and he's got good skill." -- Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill (May 2004)

Tyler Haskins - A 6'1" center who plays for the Toronto St. Michael's Majors in the OHL where he earned 75 points in 56 games. Haskins was Detroit's fourth choice in the 2004 draft. He is eligible to re-enter the NHL draft.

"Unless he gets stronger, he's going to have some trouble (in the pros). He has the attitude where he wants to play, but that might be four or five years down the road." -- Red Wings director of amateur scouting Joe McDonnell (December 2005)

The Blog

2006-06-03T20:10:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! I hope all of your weekends are going well. I have finally bugged my dad enough to get my server back up (my dad's company runs my hosting server) and he's installing things like PHP and MySQL onto it so I can transfer this blog to my domain. I will continue to post here until the new version is complete. Since I have to rely on my dad for certain key components, this new version could easily take a month or longer. Expect a new design and some new features. I'm making this post because I wanted to ask fellow bloggers and readers of BtJ, what else would you like to see in this blog in its next version? I have some ideas of my own up my sleeve, but I'm interested in what you guys would like whether it's in design or content (aside from more posting, which I promise to work on). Thanks!

Wings sign 3 entry level contracts

2006-06-03T14:42:00.000-04:00

GM Ken Holland signed three Red Wings draft picks to entry level contracts this past week. All three are expected to play for the Wings AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapid Griffins.

Evan McGrath made a three year deal. The 5'11" center was Detroit's fourth round pick (128th overall) in the 2004 Draft. Last season, he played for the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL where he scored 37 goals and notched 77 assists in 67 games.

"It's going to be a longshot for him to make the team (in training camp) based on our depth at forward, but we want to have a spot or two open for competition," Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "He's got to learn to compete a little harder, but he's got skills, hands, hockey sense and can think the game."

Defenseman Jonathan Ericcson was signed for two years after being picked 291st overall (ninth round) in the 2002 Draft. Over the past three seasons, Ericsson has played in the Swedish Elite League for Sodertalje.

Ericsson, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound blueliner, told Norrkopings Tidningar the Red Wings want him to play in their minor-league system in the fall. He also told the paper he is ready to make the transition overseas, and feels his game would be a good fit in smaller North American rinks.
Selected with the last pick of the 2002 draft, Ericsson was a forward until five years ago and is a raw, long-term project with considerable potential.
The 22-year-old is big with a booming shot and isn’t afraid to play physical, though his all-around game has a long way to come.

The final contract was for one year with Stephan Liv, a 6'0" goaltender. The Wings made him their fourth round pick (102nd overall) in the 2000 Draft. It seems that Holland continues to like the Swedish players.

He has played for HV71 Jonkoping of the Swedish Elite League and also was the backup goaltender for Team Sweden as they captured the gold medals in both the 2006 Winter Olympics and the 2006 World Championships.

This sucks...

2006-06-02T23:03:00.000-04:00

After the Wings got knocked out by the Oilers, I turned my focus to cheering on the Pistons. Well, tonight their playoff run finished in an similar fashion (but two rounds later in the Conference finals). Both series ended with a 4-2 series defeat. And point guard Dwayne Wade played amazing even with the flu, some comparisons were drawn to Michael Jordan's Finals performance with the flu. Want more Pistons postgame reactions? Check out Detroit Bad Boys, a quality Pistons blog run by a guy named Matt.

I'm not trying to draw comparisons or extract differences between the teams. I'm just bummed that each team was ranked #1 in the league by record margins (historically) and still couldn't even make it to their respective finals. Very frustrating. Both teams were beaten by good teams, not trying to detract from our opponents' victories.

Wings:
Game #1 - Win
Game #2 - Loss
Game #3 - Loss
Game #4 - Win
Game #5 - Loss
Game #6 - Loss

Pistons:
Game #1 - Loss
Game #2 - Win
Game #3 - Loss
Game #4 - Loss
Game #5 - Win
Game #6 - Loss

So now I have no interest in the NBA finals and will pick a team to cheer for in the NHL finals. So who should it be? The Oilers or the Hurricanes? I'm still kinda bitter about the Oilers beating us. Some say I should cheer for them because then at least Detroit lost to the champs, but that won't really make me feel any better. Both Anaheim and Calgary defeated us and went on to make it to the finals only to lose the series in Game 7. It'll be interesting to see if this "trend" continues or becomes mere coincidence.

The Hurricanes have some ex-Wings and a U of M alum plus the owner (a rival of Ilitch's) owns an OHL team 5 minutes from my house, the Plymouth Whalers. I like going to Whalers games so why not support his other hockey team? Plus, the Canes have 2 former Whalers on the team (Justin Williams and Chad LaRose) while the Oilers only have 1 former Whaler (Todd Harvey). Additionally, the Canes just signed a deal with Justin Peters, one of the Whalers' goaltenders for this past season. And finally, a University of Michigan defenseman (Jack Johnson) will probably be playing for the Canes in a couple years. All signs point to cheering for the Canes and pretty much none for the Oilers. So go Canes!

Red Wings game worn jersey sale

2006-06-02T15:27:00.000-04:00

Kronwall's lucky year (kind of)

2006-06-01T20:06:00.000-04:00

Niklas Kronwall has had a pretty lucky year, for the most part.

Lucky Stuff
- Wins a gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Ice Hockey with Team Sweden and scores in the championship game.

IHWC.NET: It had to be a tremendous boost for you to play in the Olympics and score a key goal in the gold medal game.
Kronwall: Of course. That was huge. Just getting the chance to go over there, and from there, things happened so fast. It still feels kind of like a dream, looking back. It was good to be part of something that big.

Kronwall was pleased to play during the Olympic break to help speed up his recovery from knee surgery earlier that season.

"It would have been frustrating and disappointing to not have played (during the Olympic break)," Kronwall said. "When the opportunity came around (to play for Sweden), I couldn't have been happier. To play hockey at such a high-level tournament against top players, it really helped me."

- Wins gold in the 2006 World Championships and scores in the final game. He's then named MVP of the tournament.

"We just felt like there was nothing to hold back," Kronwall said. "It was the last game of the season and the world championship final. You're not tired at all, you just try to put that away and go out there and work hard."

Wings GM Ken Holland had a chance to watch Kronwall play as well as a Wings Russian prospect, Igor Grigorenko. Holland was pleased with the young defenseman's performance.

"He played very, very good," Holland said. "He played well for us in the playoffs and well here, and we look forward to having him back and skating next year."

With both the gold in the Olympics and World Championships, Sweden became the first country to do so in one year. This is probably making Jes Golbez sick right now with all this Sweden talk.

- Wins lottery in Sweden. Now I can't translate this article, but fellow LGW forum posters say that Kronwall won one million kronor (about $140,000) in the lottery. One LGW poster (Ryan Barnes!)explained how this lottery win came about:

Kronwall entered a golf tournament held for sponsors and every group of four were awarded 18 scratch lottery tickets. The winner of each hole were supposed to get a ticket. Kronwall's group decided to share the tickets and sat down to scratch them. Kronwall found out that they had won and split $140,000 four ways. Someone said he looked slightly embarrassed, although happy and surprised at the same time. Kronwall commented that he has felt lucky lately.

This causes one LGW poster to say the following: "That's it, I'm learning Swedish. Too many Swedes on our team." Now I'm debating which Wings jersey I want to buy next (since my Yzerman jersey is now autographed by Manny Legace, which I got at a public practice). I'm thinking I want to get a younger kid's jersey so Hank or Kronwall. And Kronwall has the busted knee factor, so I'm just hoping he sticks around for awhile here in Detroit. I'm also hoping that over the summer, he can get into 100% form so we can enjoy his presence on the blueline all next season.

Not So Lucky Stuff
- Tears ACL and MCL in pre-season causing him to miss 53 games, but returns in time for playoffs.

- His team gets knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, which allows him to play in the world championships.

Random Kronwall Trivia
- There is no significant meaning behind Kronwall's jersey number.

IHWC.NET: Let's talk about your jersey number with Detroit. You're wearing #55, and Larry Murphy had that number for a couple of Stanley Cups with the Wings. Are you trying to pick up some of his good vibes?
Kronwall: [laughs] No, I've got nothing to do with that, to be honest with you. When I got called up, that was the jersey they had for me. They never really asked me, and I've never asked about it either. It feels pretty good. #55 is pretty good. It makes your back look wider, I think!

- Nicklas Lidstrom was his boyhood idol.

- He went #29 overall (round one) in the 2000 NHL Draft.

- He is single and returns to Sweden every summer.

Bet you've never seen this side of The Captain...

2006-05-31T14:56:00.000-04:00

We all love The Captain, but I wonder how many of you have seen this side of him?

Two Ford commercials starring #19 from 1989 - I was only two then.

Stevie Y in an actual fight against Maguire with Probert in the mix. Yes, you've seen this at a few other blogs, but I'm the one who put it up on YouTube.com - I was just waiting until today to post it and fellow bloggers beat me to it!

Now this is a normal Yzerman moment, but I just like it so much! It's a shootout against Nashville from this past season. And while the Wings lose, Yzerman makes this critical goal and it was just beautiful. If you want to see just his shot, go to second #19!

The Wings vs. Avs Rivalry

2006-05-30T14:07:00.000-04:00

IwoCPO @ Abel to Yzerman interviewed Adrian Dater, the Denver Post's Avs guy, regarding his book Blood Feud that is coming out in October. Blood Feud is about the Wings-Avs Rivalry with a foreword by Scotty Bowman (man, I wish he was still our coach).

A2Y: Since “Blood Feud” is the work of a Denver writer, can we (Wing fans) expect an even-handed approach to this topic? Dater: Yes, you can. Like I said, I approached the book from a historian’s perspective, with a deep appreciation for both sides and how great the rivalry was. I write about the different perspectives of the media in both cities a lot in the book. I used many quotes from columnists from both cities, although probably more from my paper than any other – the Denver Post.

YouTube.com videos My personal favorite Wings-Avs rivalry video montage made by RedWingsCentral.com. This clip highlights the playoff series between the Wings and Avs in 1997 (as we know, it ends well for Wings fans). Chris Osgood vs. Patrick Roy in 1998. And this is why Wings fans like Ozzie - he took on the much larger Roy. One of the comments for this clip is the following:

Let's review: Lemieux cheapshots Draper and shows no remorse. Darren McCarty makes Lemieux turtle and shows no mercy. I don't think Lemieux has been heard from since.

And here's something for Avs fans...and if you like the Canucks, you won't like the ending...

Behind the Blog: Behind the Jersey

2006-05-29T16:40:00.000-04:00

Today’s Behind the Blog will feature me, Christy Hammond. I got a little caught up in setting up my new laptop that I forgot to send out more email interviews for BtB in time for Monday's weekly post. So I'm basically asking myself the basic questions I usually ask my previous interviewees so enjoy my laziness! Q.1 – When did you create Behind the Jersey and what made you do so? I started BtJ in the fall of 2003. At that point in time, I'd had my third knee surgery and could no longer play basketball or run track. I decided to refocus my passion for sports into sportswriting. I wrote for my high school paper and finally decided I would like to have a place to openly express my hockey opinions to people who might actually care about the Wings (my high school has always been a Pistons school). I had also recently interviewed a couple of players and the alternate governor (Denise Ilitch) of the team because my best friend was family friends with the 2nd generation Ilitch family so BtJ was a place where I could post these interviews. Q.2 – When did you start contributing to MVN, On the Wings, and FantasyHockey.com? I'm not sure when I joined OtW, but I know that it was before I started BtJ. I had come across Matt and Brian's blog and had a lot in common with Matt so I dropped him an email. After awhile, he invited me to help out with the blog and I gladly accepted the offer. I started my BtJ mirror site at MVN when I received an email from the head hockey guy at MVN. He asked if I'd be interesting in running the Wings weblog for them and I was certainly eager to gain more readers. I've been posting there since June 2005. I become a writer for FantasyHockey.com this past year after receiving an email from Ray Flowers. I write the Detroit Red Wings monthly team reports about that month's goaltending, defense, offense, and special teams. Q.3 – What's your favorite piece of Wings memorabilia? I love Wings memorabilia - I've spent too much money on it already (easily over $1000). My favorite has to be either this 16x20 Steve Yzerman autographed photograph or the Sweden Gold 2006. This 16x20 photograph shows all 5 golden Swede Red Wings players right after receiving their gold medals and it's signed by all 5 (Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Kronwall, Samuelsson, and Holmstrom). Sorry Jes Golbez, but gotta love the Swedes (the only bright spot of this season for some Wings players)! Q.4 – What advice would you give to fellow bloggers, especially newcomers? Blog for yourself. People won't always agree with you, but they're going to keep coming back to read about your opinions. For me, BtJ is an outlet and an expression of my passion for the game. If I'm busy, I don't "force" myself to blog because then I'd lose the enjoyment factor. And have fun, it'll show in your posts! Q.5 – What do you hope to achieve with your blog over the next few years? I'd obviously like to expand my readership and I'd really like to have readers who interact like Tom Benjamin's readers. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with my blog. Q.6 - When did you become a Detroit Red Wings fan? I've been a Wings fan ever since I can remember. I've always lived about a half hour outside Detroit so it's in my blood. The earliest I can remember is back in the 1993-1994 season. I don't remember events or details, but the players - Ray Sheppard, Paul Coffey, Vladimir Konstantinov, Steve Yzerman, Sergei Federov, and my favorite (at that point) Dino Cicarelli. I loved Dino and the force he was in front of the net. I actually recently purchased a 1993-1994 Wings Media Guide with 41 autographs including those individuals I just listed. Unfortunately, I was only 10 when the Wings won in '97 so I don't remember much of those victories aside from staying up late with my Dad watching the games. I never went to a game until I was 14 so I followed the team closely through the TV. The 2002 Cup win was a defining moment in my fanship. It was that season that I became an obsessed Wingnut and not just your typical fan. And as much as Hasek bothers me now, it was so amazing to have a sweet goaltender come playoff time. Plus, the 20 bazillion future Hall of Famers were pretty nice too. Q.7 – What changes, if any, do you feel necessary for the Wings to become a Cup contender? We need better goaltending. I won't be surprised if they keep Manny Legace or Chris Osgood as a backup goalie, but we cannot keep the same tandem as this past season. I don't know who Holland will get, but an Ozzie and Manny duo will not work again. We need grit and speed desperately. Our defense isn't too shabby (minus Lilja) and our offense does fine in the regular season. We just need to inject some passion or fire into the players come playoff time - I don't know how you go about fixing that unless you seriously redo the roster and have Hank, Datsyuk, and Kronwall as our building blocks. Q.8 - When did you attend your first hockey game and who was playing? I actually can't remember my first game and that's really sad. I know my first game was at the Joe and I want to say it was for my 14th birthday but I could totally be wrong. I think I've gone to less than 20 Wings games in my lifetime (7 this season). Since my 14th birthday, I've gone to every home game that the Wings have had on my birthday (January 26th). Q.9 – What first attracted you to the sport of hockey? At first, it was probably wanting to spend time with my Dad and he always followed the team especially come playoff time. I enjoyed the action of the game and you can't beat the fighting. Especially when the blood is spilling at a Wings vs. Avs game. My first years as a fan were spent in the height of the rivalry - I don't know hockey without it. For that, I hate the Avs and any current or past player of theirs (aside from Joe Sakic). Q.10 - Who is your favorite hockey player (either current or retired player)? Why? The Captain - Steve Yzerman. He's an amazing player who doesn't have the skills he did at the start of his career, but who seems to outplay the Wings every postseason with his passion and fervor for the sport. He's a leader who is honorable, respectable, and dignified. He tries to keep his private life, well private. Plus, he is my role model when it comes to fighting through debilitating knee pain. I mean he's the only professional athlete to return to their sport after an osteotomy, which is usually done to help the elderly walk. It's freaking amazing! If, and when he retires, I will be truly saddened to seem him go. He was named captain in the 1986-87 season (I was born in '87) - I don't know the Wings without him. I loved this excerpt from a Mitch Albom column right at the start of this year's playoffs about Yzie:

And now, with the younger Red Wings, I ask, do they see you that way? "Oh, it's like I'm ancient, yeah. They don't want to go for dinner where I go to dinner. They don't want to see the movies I want to see. ... Music. They're all into hip-hop and I just don't get it." What music are you into? He laughs. "The same music you're into." And that's the thing about Yzerman, isn't it? The young fans admire him because he's The Captain. The older fans admire him because he handles it with dignity. And people his own age admire him because he listens to their music -- yet he's still out there, banging with the kids. I mean, how do you not like a guy who moans of his young teammates: "They don't even know who Led Zeppelin is."

Q.11 – What did you do to pass the time during the lockout last year? I blogged and that's when I noticed people started reading my blog on a more consistent basis. It was so depressing when it looked like there might be a short season in Jan/Feb, but the negotiations fell apart. I was soo upset at that point in time - I still blame the silly owners. I also watched more TV and got addicted to a couple shows (namely House and Lost). I was also my high school's superfan, especially the guy's soccer team, so that kept me busy. My class won 10 state titles in the four years we were there in women's basketball (3 straight!), men's soccer, men's track, women's tennis (back2back), men's lax (twice), and women's soccer. And we've won countless runner-up titles because Detroit Country Day owns all. ;) Q.12 –Which team has surprised you the most this season? Disappointed you? Why? The Oilers have probably surprised me the most. I wouldn't have picked them to be close to the Conference finals at the start of the season. Now I was terrified of them before the start of the playoffs, but that fear certainly wasn't there at the beginning of the season. I don't know which team has disappointed me the most. I'm bitter that the Wings lost in the first round and still feel that the Wings had a team to make it to the finals (but the Oilers played better, not denying that). I thought the Penguins wouldn't have sucked as much as they did. I wasn't expecting an amazing season, but they were just so awful. Q.13 – Name a player who should be put in the Hockey Hall of Fame that is not currently a member. Aside from the obvious big (I mean big) name players, I'd pick Igor Larionov. Aside from being an amazing player (he wasn't called the Professor for nothing), he had a real impact on the game especially with helping to open the game up to fellow Russians. Q. 14 - Aside from hockey, what other sporting events do you enjoy watching? I watch the Detroit Pistons once in awhile during the regular season and then closely around the 2nd round of the playoffs (Deeetroit Basketballl). As much as the Lions suck, I religiously watch them play every Sunday and my fall weekends are spent at the Big House (cheering on my University of Michigan football team) and watching the NFL. During the summer, I am glued to OLN watching the Tour de France. Lance Armstrong is my second favorite athlete (behind Yzerman) and I so enjoyed watching him race over the past few years. I expect a movie to be made of his trials and victories in the years to come. It'll be interesting to see who takes it this year: Floyd Landis? George Hincappie? Ivan Basso? Jan Ullrich? Alexandre Vinokourov? Levi Leipheimer? I can't wait until July! Q.15 – Is there any hockey blogs or websites that you look to for inspiration? When it comes to opinions and humor, I absolutley love Jeff & Alanah at Vancouver Canucks Op Ed, Jes Golbez @ Hockey Rants, and IwoCPO at Abel to Yzerman. For the more newsy type (with opinions inserted), I enjoy reading James Mirtle and Off Wing. And where would I be without Paul at Kukla's Korner?

Chelios remains in Detroit for one more year

2006-05-24T09:45:00.000-04:00

44 year old defenseman, Chris Chelios, re-signed with the Red Wings for a one year contract worth $850,000. Last season, he made the same amount of money. It will be his seventh full season in Hockeytown and his 23rd in the NHL. "This is where I want to stay, because of the organization, the team, the coaching staff. This is where I want to play," Chelios said. I think most people expected GM Ken Holland to re-sign Chelios because of his strong play over the last season, especially when he stepped up after Niklas Kronwall suffered a knee injury and Jiri Fischer had the heart problem. Sadly, our oldest player was one of our better defensemen in the playoffs.

"When we had injuries to Jiri Fischer and Niklas Kronwall (last season), he really bailed us out," Holland said. "He was a big part of us finishing second in the league in goals-against average and third in penalty-killing. Those are key situations to having a successful season."

How's the rest of the defense coming along? Cory Cross, the defenseman that Oilers fans loved to poke fun at the Wings for, will not be returning to Detroit next season. Holland informed Cross that his option will not be picked up. I'm not sure hot much that option is actually worth. The Detroit Free Press says it's $912,000 while MLive says $893,000. The Wings also don't expect Jiri Fischer to get clearance to play from his heart ailment that sidelined him last season. Next year's defense will look pretty similar to that of last season's. Mathieu Schneider, Andreas Lilja, and Niklas Kronwall are all under contract and will retun for the 2006-2007 season. Chelios is returning and it looks like Lebda will be as well. "He'd have to play his way off the team," Holland said. "We think he's certainly going to make it." Now that Brad Richards signed a ridiculous contract worth $7.8 million/year for five years, Nicklas Lidstrom's agent (Don Meehan) will be vying for the maximum salary allowed. Holland hopes to start negotiations with Meehan later this week. Don't get me wrong, Richards is a great player but not enough to cost Tampa Bay around $20 million for three forwards! And with Lidstrom most likely getting his fourth Norris Trophy this season, Holland will have a hard time convincing Meehan to take a lower than max salary. Goaltending... There isn't a whole lot going on in this front. Holland hasn't had his exit interview with goaltender Manny Legace yet and hasn't made a decision on whether he will offer him a contract or not. GM Holland has talked with Chris Osgood's agent, Rollie Thompson. They plan on talking in early June. "If we don't see him as a No. 1 guy, does he want to be the backup here or pursue a No. 1 job somewhere else?" Holland said. Offense Captain Steve Yzerman's future is still undetermined, but Holland has told him that he doesn't need a decision until the middle of June.

"When he feels he's made his decision, I'm sure he will call me. He is making a decision on his career. I want him to have all the necessary time, but there is a time frame, heading into the draft on the 24th of June, that I would like to know."

Last week, Holland talked with Shanahan for a couple of hours in Latvia. "Brendan said he'll talk with his wife and his agent and get back to me. Then we'll decide if we're going to negotiate or if he wants to hit the market," Holland said. Last season, Shanny made $2.28 million and the Wings will probably be willing to make an offer similar to that, but since he's an unrestricted free agent he might get an offer from another team that the Wings won't be able to match. "I would like Brendan back, and I expressed that to him," Holland said. "But money is everything in this new CBA (collective bargaining agreement). There's a limited amount of money to spend." Prospects Forward prospect Igor Grigorenko just signed a one year contract with a Russian club for $1 million. Holland is confident he'll be able to sign Grigorenko for the 2007-2008 season. "I don't think another year in the Russian League would be all that bad for him,'' Holland said. "Skating was the area he needed the most improvement on.'' Evan McGrath, forward for Kitchener an OHL team, was the Wings fourth round draft pick in 2004. The Wings have been trying to sign a deal with McGrath for over a month. If he isn't signed by June 1st, he goes back into the draft. Staff Meeting All of Detroit's scounts and front office personnel will meet June 4-6 to talk about free agents and possible trades.

Behind the Blog: Tom Benjamin's NHL Weblog

2006-05-22T17:45:00.000-04:00

Today's Behind the Blog will feature the writer of Tom Benjamin's NHL Weblog. Tom is a very opinionated guy, which is pretty clear when you visit his blog. His readers are very passionate and love to leave comments, which are almost posts of their own. Q.1 – When did you create Tom Benjamin’s NHL Weblog and what made you do so? I started it in September of 2003. I had been annoying people with my hockey opinions on various internet message boards since the early '90s and so when blogging became big, it was a natural for me. Q.2 – Have you always been connected with CanucksCorner.com and what made you join that webite? Brian knew me because I'd played on the message board at Canucks Corner. About the time I decided to try a blog, Brian asked me to do some writing for him. It was a coincidence, but we both think it has turned out to be a good fit. Q.3 – You seem to have the most involved readers who leave passionate comments regarding whatever topic you discuss. When did you first realize that you had developed a following of hockey fans who desired that interaction with the blogger? My stuff has always drawn a fairly strong reaction in both directions. Some people really like my ideas about the sport, others really dislike them. It's great that more than a few really smart people regularly contribute comments. They produce as much content for the blog as I do. As long as everybody plays nice, it works, and so far everybody has played nice. . Q.4 – What advice would you give to fellow bloggers, especially newcomers? First Find a voice and go for a different slant. I think blogs are popular because readers crave a diversity they can't find in the mainstream media. It follows that we should be diverse. Don't take it personally. If you are going to start publishing your views - particularly ones that offer a different slant - at least some people will think you are an idiot and they will tell you so in no uncertain terms. (Sometimes, of course, at least some people will be right.) Disagreement is healthy and fun as long as nobody is mean spirited about it. Q.5 – What do you hope to achieve with your blog over the next few years? I don't have any aspirations for it. I regularly resolve to give it up. I'll be satisfied with the blog if it still exists in five years. If so, I'll probably still be regularly resolving to give it up. Q.6 - While you certainly discuss NHL issues in your blog, you are a Vancouver Canucks fan first and foremost. When did you become a Canucks fan? When the Canucks first came into the league, I promised myself I would stay loyal to the Red Wings forever. The resolution didn't last through the first season's exhibition schedule. Q.7 – What changes, if any, do you feel necessary for the Canucks to make the playoffs next year and become a Cup contender? They have to become much better without the puck. Q.8 - When did you attend your first hockey game and who was playing? My Dad took me to an exhibition game at the old Forum in Vancouver. It was the Montreal Canadiens playing against the Western Hockey League Vancouver Canucks. Q.9 – What first attracted you to the sport of hockey? Again we can blame my Dad. Every Saturday night, it was Hockey Night in Canada. In those days, the game was picked up in progress about halfway through the first period. Dad watched Bugs Bunny with me until HNIC picked up the game and then I watched hockey with him. It was the only night of the week we got to eat in front of the TV. Mom always served burgers. It was great. Q.10 - Who is your favorite hockey player (either current or retired player)? Why? Pavel Bure. I had more fun watching him play than any other single player. Q.11 – What did you do to pass the time during the lockout last year? I was blogging so I watched the labour dispute pretty closely. I watched more movies, read more books and I rekindled my relationship with baseball. Q.12 –Which team has surprised you the most this season? Disappointed you? Why? Carolina was the most positive surprise, Minnesota the most negative. I didn't think the Hurricane would be good and I thought the Wild were going to take the next step. Q.13 – Where do you see the NHL in 5 years? Why? I'm not optimistic. I have zero faith in the people who own the league. I'd like to think that the game is good enough to thrive despite the greed and incompetence, but I doubt it. Q. 14 - Of the teams left in the NHL Playoffs, who do you predict to win the Stanley Cup? Why? Anaheim, almost entirley because I'm hoping for them. Any of the four teams left could win. Any of the 16 teams that made the playoffs could have won. I like the idea of Cinderella winning once in a while, but I also think we should be able to identify a favourite and be right once in a while. Q.15 – Is there any hockey blog or website that you look to for inspiration? I read most of the blogs. Jamie Fitzpatrick, Sisu Hockey, Mudcrutch and about a dozen other bloggers I feel guilty I'm not mentioning are favourites. James Mirtle is the most likely to get rich and famous

2005-2006 Best of Goals

2006-05-21T14:33:00.000-04:00

DetroitRedWings.com has a collection of the 2005-2006 season "Best of Goals," which you can view here.

I love sports...

2006-05-18T23:53:00.000-04:00

I go through phases in my life when I watch my Wings and that's it. Other times, I am just so caught up in sports. I'm usually reminded of this passion every week when my Sports Illustrated comes in the mail. Anyways, I'm just going to ramble about various sports today, including hockey. (Oh, there will be a Behind the Blog feature up next Monday.)

The Miss Sports Blogger 2006 results are in at Sports Guy North. Alanah at Vancouver Canucks Op Ed won the contest with 41% of the votes. I am pleased to say that I came in second and Acid Queen went in third. Here's what Kent said about my blogging...

First Runner Up, with 27% of the vote was Christy (feel better and entertain us again soon!) Hammond over at Behind the Jersey. She may be the one person out there that was hurt more by the Red Wings first round shut down than I was. Instead of calling it the consolation prize, we'll say it's the Presidents Trophy. Wings fans are used to settling for that booby prize by now.

The "Final Four" of the NHL Playoffs have been determined. The Edmonton Oilers will battle with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the Western Conference finals while the Carolina Hurricanes will face-off against the Buffalo Sabres. I'm personally rooting for the Hurricanes as they were my pick to make it to the finals (but I had Detroit winning - stupid, stupid) and they have a few ex-Wings on the team. Want to know where to go for fans views on these four teams? Edmonton Oilers' bloggers: Covered in Oil, Battle of Alberta, MC79Hockey.com, Lowetide, and Irreverent Oiler Fans. Anaheim Mighty Ducks' bloggers: Battle of California (is there really no other Anaheim hockey blogs?) Carolina Hurricanes' bloggers: Red and Black Hockey, Casonblog, Lets Go Canes, Hurricane Season, and Sweet Tea, Barbecue, and Bodychecks. Buffalo Sabres' bloggers: Sabre Rattling, Sabres Fans, and BFLO Blog.

I can't believe it. The Detroit Tigers are actually doing well this season. They are on their longest winning streak since 1993 (13 years ago!) and currently lead the MLB (in win percentage) - wow. I'll probably be going to a game or two once I can actually handle the walking/stairs with my knee (so in more than 2 months).

Once the Wings got kicked out of the playoffs, I started watching the Detroit Pistons playoff games. Yikes, we're down 3-2 to Cleveland. Lebron James looks fabulous. It's not that he's scoring a bazillion points, but he just controls the floor and makes things happen. He draws the defense and then can flip the ball to a teammate. It's amazing to me that he is only one year older than me and that fricking amazing. So the Pistons need to get their act together because I don't think I can handle 2 Detroit teams "winning" the regular season and then making early round exits in the postseason. Maybe something is in the water...

Justin Gatlin recently broke the world record in the 100m dash becoming the world's fastest man with a time of 9.76 seconds (besting the previous record by .01 seconds). He had this to say in an SI article: "But I understand what it would mean to track and field if I ever tested positive or went down in some scandal. At this point that would be one of the hardest hits the sport could take. Not to have an ego about it, but it might be the KO for our sport. I know how important it is that I'm clean." In the 2004 Olympics, I was a big fan of him, Baylor's Jeremy Wariner, and Allyson Felix in the sprinting events for the USA. I love track and field (okay, mainly track) and here's where I really ramble...I ran from 5th grade to 10th grade in the 100m and 4x100m for my schools until my knee prevented future competitions. There is no better feeling in the world than bursting from the starting blocks after the gun has gone off and giving it your absolute best for those 100m. Personally, I liked the relay better. I started the relay for my school and it's the best adrenaline rush one could ever experience after you've successfully passed off the baton to the next runner). I miss it so much. For DIII in Michigan, I was 6th in my region for the 100m and 5th in the region for the 4x100m. My most memorable track moment was actually while running in the 4x400m. The 400m is the most demanding race (or the 800m) in my eyes because you have to sprint the entire way to be successful. I would ask my coach to let me run in the B relay team to improve my sprinting endurance. Before my first ACL reconstruction, I ran around 71 seconds in the 400m. Not great by any means, but not awful. After the surgery, I continued running in that race. At one relay meet, I ran the last leg and my team was 8th out of 9 teams. It was my last race of the year and I went all out to go 64 seconds and improve our placing. To improve by that much after surgery is pretty darn amazing and I'll always be proud of that personal improvement. Ok, I'm done with my rambling for today - I'm a trackster at heart so I tend to ramble about my "glory days."

Update

2006-05-16T22:31:00.000-04:00

Once again, I'm sorry for the total lack of updates. Between the Wings losing, my TV upstairs not working, and recovering from major knee surgery, I've just been a bit out of it. I continue to improve in rehab, but I've developed a skin infection on my knee and the increase in discomfort is postponing updates. I am working on updating BtJ and getting features such as Behind the Blog back up and running. Hopefully, I'll start feeling better now that I'm taking antibiotics and I can focus on working on BtJ.

NHL Playoffs - Round Two

2006-05-08T13:56:00.000-04:00

I haven't been able to watch any of the second round games because my TV doesn't work in my room and I'm on bedrest right now. Anyways, I had picked Carolina to make it into the finals so I don't care much about the Eastern Conference playoffs. I find it very interesting that the Western Conference top four seeds failed to make it into the second round - ouch. Edmonton Oilers vs. San Jose Sharks I just don't want the Oilers to go onto the next round; they made my surgery recovery a lot suckier! And yes, I'm bitter. It'll be interesting to see how the Thornton/Pronger matchup works out in future games. The Wings didn't have any problems with the Sharks (aside from the one game after the Olympics when we were missing all our Swedes) because Lidstrom and the rest of the defense were able to shut down Thornton, which apparently is the key to the game's score result. Here's some thoughts on this series from around the blogosphere... Jon @ Sharkspage: Sharks in 6

Earlier in the season when asked how he would prepare for a specific opponent, Sharks head coach Ron Wilson said "I don't care. They are going to have to prepare for us." San Jose is going to roll Cheechoo-Thornton and the MBB line with an air of confidence that they can not be stopped. The Sharks have to focus on staying out of the penalty box, and putting forth a solid 60 minute effort each night. Edmonton will have to get on the board early, and apply constant pressure on offense. If the Oilers build a lead and let the penalties stack up for S.J., they could edge the Sharks in a seven game series. On the other hand, if both coaches roll 4 lines and let the players fly on the ice, this could be the most entertaining series in the playoffs for sheer speed and offensive ability. More likely, phantom slashes and trips will result in a parade to the penalty box and a lack of 5-on-5 play.

Sacamano @ Battle of Alberta: Edmonton in 6

It looks to me like the Oil have the advantage on the back end and in net, but that San Jose has some pretty good scorers. In other words, it looks an awful lot like the last series. Calculator has all the numbers, and they pretty much confirm that the two teams are pretty well matched and it is going to be a heckuva series. Conditioning might also play a factor as the Eggheads at the NHL head office again gave Edmonton a bizarre schedule -- back to back Sunday/Monday games, and three games in four nights. I'm not sure what to think of this. Detroit seemed to have more jump than Edmonton in the OT periods, but in the short-rest afternoon games, Edmonton ran the show.

Mudcrutch79 @ mc79hockey.com: Edmonton in 6

The other way? If the hockey gods are against Edmonton. This series is close enough that I figure it comes down to whoever gets the bounces, with a possible slight edge to the Oilers based on their goaltending (which should hopefully nullify the Sharks apparently superior ES offence) and penalty kill. After witnessing the third period of the sixth game against Detroit (not to mention the Flames' humiliating home ice exit from the playoffs), I believe that the Gods are with the Oilers. Edmonton in six. I would have said five, but if the Flames have taught us anything with the asskicking that they took in front of what was apparently a crowd of 19,000 mimes on Wednesday night after their fans insufferable behaviour since their team choked the Cup away in 2003-04, it's that the Gods hate hubris.

James Mirtle: Edmonton in 6

Much like in the Ottawa-Buffalo series, the Sharks simply don't have anyone on the blueline who is even close to the calibre of blueliner as Chris Pronger. What I expect coach Craig MacTavish will do is task Pronger with neutralizing Joe Thornton, which would go a long, long way to crimping the Sharks goal scoring. At the other end, Sharks coach Ron Wilson will lean heavily on Scott Hannan and Kyle McLaren, as his remaining four defenders are all very inexperienced. What the Oilers need to do is work the forecheck on this team, press hard and generate the kind of shovel-garbage goals they got in the Detroit series. Vesa Toskala has been phenomenal in the Sharks net since February, and Dwayne Roloson needs to match his first-round performance.

Anaheim vs. Colorado As a loyal Wings fan, I hate the Avs. Ever since the rivalry, I root for anyone playing against the Avs - even if that means I root for the Mighty Ducks. Seemingly, there aren't very many Anaheim and Colorado blogs... James Mirtle: Anaheim in 6

One of the great secrets of this Ducks team is how strong defensively its forward core is. Sam Pahlsson, Rob Niedermayer and Todd Marchant all played more than 17 minutes a game in their first-round series, and it'll be that trio that tries to key on Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk and Alex Tanguay. Colorado hardly generated any offence from anyone outside of their top four forwards in the first round, which should make it easy for the Ducks to key on those players. Much like the Calgary series, this will be a low-scoring affair, and Jose Theodore is going to really have to hold the fort and now allow any bad goals.

Surgery

2006-05-04T17:52:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all of you for your good wishes regarding my knee surgery on Wednesday morning. Fortunately, it went as perfect as it could've possibly gone. - My surgeon used a previous incision (3" or so) so I'll have no new scars (he even cosmetically made it better). - He used someone's patellar tendon to replace my previously loose ACL graft (which was my own patellar tendon) and that went really smoothly. - I had a lot of scar tissue from my previous 6 surgeries. Aside from clearing out some scar tissue, a branch of one of the knee's major nerves was entrapped in scar tissue. So everytime I moved my leg, the nerve would go haywire. He burned/cut the entrapped nerve. - I'm really swollen and in a good amount of pain (especially when I move around). I just wanted to update you all on my surgery for those of you who wondered how it went. I probably won't be posting for a couple more days so see ya then!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2006-05-02T08:35:00.000-04:00

These groupings are based on how the rest of the team performed and in comparison to what they are capable of doing from the regular season's performances. The Good - Steve Yzerman: He may only have had 4 assists in the four games he played this series and a -2 rating, he was out there working harder than the rest of the team in a desperate attempt to reach the second round. A torn rib muscle (ouch) sidelined him for Game #4 and Game #5. Most people expect him to retire in the next week or two; Wings fans hope he plays for one more season. If he does retire, I had the honor to watch him play in his last game at the Joe (Sunday, Game #2) since he did not play the last time the Wings were at the Joe, Game #5.

"You're so wrapped up in the game, and then they score with a minute to go, I don't really have a whole lot of thoughts other than, it just came to a quick end," said Yzerman, who turns 41 next week and is the longest-serving captain in NHL history. "As far as my personal situation, it's best to wait a few days, then I can pretty much make a quick decision." It's amazing that such a long career -- 22 seasons, all in Detroit -- actually could end so quickly. The spirit is always willing but Yzerman's body, ravaged by injury and time, has betrayed him often, and that's likely to be the deciding factor.

- Henrik Zetterberg: Hank had twice as many goals as the second highest Detroit goal scorer with 6 goals. He had 2 PIM, 0 assists, a -2 rating, and four power play goals. Zetterberg appeared to be one of the few who saw Yzerman's vision and played at that same level. Whenever Yzerman retires, I would really consider making this guy the new captain. - Robert Lang: Sure he may not have been all that amazing during the regular season, but he's one of the few Wings who actually picked up their play. He had three goals and three assists (6 points), 2 PIM, and -2 rating. Two of his goals came while on the power play. He also won 55% of his face-offs. - Kris Draper: Draper is never going to lead the team in scoring, that's not his purpose on this team. He may not have earned a single point this series, but was one of five players to actually have a + rating (Draper: +3). And in the elimination game, Draper was out there grinding away. - Kirk Maltby: I actually noticed Maltby in the postseason. He scored two goals in Game #1, including the game winning goal in 2OT. He also had one assist for three total points this series. Like Draper, he was out there trying to generate chances. - Chris Chelios: How is this 44 year old defenseman playing better defense than guys half his age? He played with more passion and just plain better skill than many of the other defensemen. He had zero points, 6 PIM, and a +2 rating. The Bad - Pavel Datsyuk: What is with Datsyuk in the postseason? I realize he had an injury and needed to catch up, but not even one little goal? Datsyuk got three assists in the five games he played. He had 0 PIM and a 0 +/- rating. Aside from some decent scoring chances and nice set up plays to Zetterberg (who would then score), Datsyuk wasn't so hot this series. When you lead your team in points, I expect at least one goal in the playoffs. - Nick Lidstrom: What happened to Lidstrom, Mr. Norris? After a fantastic year with some high offensive numbers, Lidstrom gets two points (one goal, one assist), 2 PIM, and a -4 rating. -4! His one goal (the controversial "pick" goal) came on the power play and was also the game winning goal. - Mathieu Schneider: Surprisingly (at least in my opinion) was the fact that one of our defenseman actually led the team in points this series. Schneider had 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists). He also had 6 PIM and a -1 rating. He didn't look too sharp this series; I'm not sure how much had to do with just returning from a groin injury that looked like it hadn't even healed yet.

"We came out and did the things in the third period we didn't want to do," defenseman Mathieu Schneider said. "We didn't play well enough to win. We put ourselves in this position. The only thing that would have made this a successful season was to win the Stanley Cup."

- Manny Legace: Ah yes, the goaltender always gets blamed upon for the loss. Well, I don't think Legace was the primary reason for our loss (our team just had a total and complete meltdown). He played decent and even had some strong saves (as well as allowing some pathetic goals). But we needed him to be great. It's looking like Legace can't handle the pressure of being the starting goaltender in the playoffs. Plus his constant whining about his teammates did not help the matter. In this series, Legace had a 2.65 GAA and a .884 save percentage. His opponent's goalie, Dwayne Roloson, played these six games and ended with a 2.50 GAA and a .929 save percentage.

Manny Legace, who took the defeat hard in his first playoffs as a No. 1 goalie, summed up his mood, and possibly some of his teammates. "I feel like going out and hanging myself," Legace said. "I really feel hollow inside." On the winning goal, Legace said, "I didn't even see (Hemsky). I thought it was a one-and-one and (Samsonov) threw it across and bang, he was there."

- Brendan Shanahan: For having so much experience and actually reviving his game in the regular season, what happened? He had 40+ goals during this season and could only manage one goal and one assist in this playoff series. I wonder what he'll do this off-season: retire? Or will Holland offer a significantly reduced contract?

"We were in such control, and then to give it away like that, it's just embarrassing," Brendan Shanahan said. "It summed up the whole series. We were playing great hockey, playing great hockey, and then it was a 6-7 minute collapse. Who has an answer for that?"

The Ugly - Jason Williams: He had two points this series (1 goal, 1 assist) and that's all the good he did in the past six games. I like the guy, I've personally interviewed him and whatnot. But he had so many errors (-3 rating) that really impacted the game and series. His stupid penalty caused a power play allowing the Oilers to tie it up in the elimination game. The Wings need to get rid of him - I don't care if we have to send him to Grand Rapids, we cannot afford his mistakes and he has too many of them. - Andreas Lilja: He had one assist and a -4 rating. Yikes. His poor defensive coverage resulted in numerous goals at critical points in the game. Unfortunately, Holland recently signed him to a 2 year, 2 million dollar deal. I don't have much else to say aside from yikes. - Mikael Samuelsson: He's been streaky all year and then the Wings go and sign him to a bloody three year deal! He had one assist, -1 rating, and 6 PIM (4 of which came in the elimination game). Why did Holland not wait until the postseason to sign Samuelsson to a contract? Why? Mediocre I'm not going to detail this guys; they weren't bad/ugly but they weren't good either. - Tomas Holmstrom (3 points, 6 PIM, -1 rating) - Johan Franzen (3 points, 4 PIM, 0 rating) - Niklas Kronwall (3 points, 2 PIM, 0 rating) - Dan Cleary (1 point, 6 PIM, +2 rating) - Brett Lebda (0 points, 4 PIM, +3 rating) +/- Rating Only five Detroit players actually had a + rating in this series: Draper, Maltby, Chelios, Lebda, and Cleary. Thank You I'd like to thank all my readers for checking out my blog, especially during the postseason. I enjoy writing for BtJ and I plan to continue doing so over the summer and into the 2006-2007 regular season. I appreciated your comments on games, signings, and other random stuff I have posted on in the past. I will not have internet connection while I'm in Cincinnati for surgery. So until I return home and feel up to posting (either Thursday night or later), there will be no further updates on this blog. Please check out Abel to Yzerman, On the Wings, and Kukla's Korner for any Wings updates or playoff reactions during the next week. Also check out the blogs that I've linked to on the right side of this page for comments on playoff action around the league. Thanks again!

Game #6 - Oilers 4, Wings 3

2006-05-01T21:35:00.000-04:00

Pregame - The Captain is playing in tonight's game. Knowing that Steve Yzerman will be playing makes me feel a whole lot better about the game today. Obviously he's going to be in pain, but hopefully that will inspire the Wings into action. It will be Yzerman's 196th playoff game; his experience and passion will certainly be an asset.

Those are the types of performances that define Yzerman, who usually saves his best for the biggest games. He has become comfortable in the suffocating atmosphere that is the chase for the Stanley Cup. He has learned to push the inevitable butterflies to the side and attack these games with the steely eyed determination necessary to make a personal impact as well as set the tone for his team. "Early in my career, (I'd) be extremely nervous, where I found myself always extremely nervous without a lot of experience," said Yzerman. "I found in the last few years I've just gotten much more comfortable and you kind of know what to expect and you know what it's all about."

- We must get the first couple goals in order to establish our style of play. We also cannot afford stupid defensive errors and Lidstrom needs to be on fire tonight! Manny can't be average - he needs to be great or amazing for this series to head back to Detroit on Wednesday. The Oilers are going to be flying today with their crazy loud Rexall crowd behind them. - The Wings have over 1600 playoff game experience among the roster; let's use that veteran experience and knowledge to our advantage. - I would get such joy in seeing the Wings score a goal while Pronger was in the box. I just can't believe he has 0 PIM this series - very impressive. First Period - The first three minutes provided numerous opportunities for the Wings from the likes of Henrik Zetterberg, Kris Draper, and Pavel Datsyuk. (Shots: 4-1 in favor of Detroit) - Oilers get the first power play. Blast it. Mikael Samuelsson is heading to the box with 15:41 left in the first thanks to his hooking ability. The Oilers are 6/31 on the PP this series...The Wings were able to successfully kill this penalty. - The PP gave the Oilers some momentum and have had some nice scoring chances of their own. (Shots: 6-4 in favor of Edmonton) - Mathieu Schneider was called for high sticking so the Oilers go on the power play, again. Crap crap crap. Manny made a couple key saves and Maltby blocked the last shot of the PP. This penalty was also successfully killed by the Wings. (Shots: 12-6 in favor of Edmonton) - Zetterberg scores!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Steals the puck from Spacek (who had intercepted a Samuelsson pass) and dekes Roloson to get his 6th goal of the postseason at 14:36 into the first. Lilja was also given the assist. It's the second time this series that the Wings have scored first. When was the last game? Game #1. Wings 1, Oilers 0 - Samuelsson is going to the penalty box. Twice in one period! Ugh. Way to get the assist, but the Oilers are going to score on the power play - it's only a matter of time. We don't want to give them 25 million chances tonight. We can't afford this. - Draper and Maltby had a great shorthanded chance on the penalty kill. The two went 2 on 1, but Roloson made the save. - Chris Pronger *finally* got a penalty for interference (17:09 into the first)! Woohoo! So it's 4 on 4 for 1:20 minutes and then we'll get 40 seconds with the man advantage. It's just very comforting to know that Pronger won't be on the ice during this time. :) - Neither team scored on their respective power plays. - Obviously, I would've liked a two goal lead but at least we have a lead. And Manny has been reasonably solid tonight. End of First Period: Wings 1, Oilers 0 (Edmonton outshot Detroit, 15-10) Second Period - Apparently Cheli blocked a shot and hasn't played this period, yet. Don't know any more information than that. (a little less than 4 minutes into the second) - Spacek called for hooking Robert Lang (15:06 left in second). Lets go Wings! Man...Tomas Holmstrom called for interference - this sucks. 1:36 of 4 on 4 hockey then a short Oilers power play. No goals scored. - Shots favor Detroit, 5-1. Roloson just made a big save on Dan Cleary. Roloson has been playing pretty well tonight. - Chelios is finally back in (9:20 left). - Yzerman hit the goalpost making it two hit goalposts hit in 6 minutes. Craziness! I'm liking what I'm seeing - they aren't in their typical second period slump. - Mickey Redmond: "You gotta say it's the Dwayne Roloson show." - Pronger is going back in the penalty box thanks to a high sticking penalty. After winning the face-off, Yzerman makes a sweet pass to Robert Lang (to the left of Roloson) after receiving the pass from Lang (who got it from Schneider). Lang scores!!!!!!!!!!! What did I say about how sweet it'd be with Pronger in the box and a Wings goal? Goal came 14:02 into the second period while on the power play. Wings 2, Oilers 0 - Wings have outshot the Oilers, 10-1, this period. The Wings must keep up this intensity; we cannot afford to become lax and make costly errors. - Yzerman has been coming out to take the face-offs and then go to the bench. Yzerman has been looking fantastic today - the Captain certainly is something else! - I love this comment from someone on the Lets Go Wings forum: "Man, any more whining by the Oilers fans in the arena, and they might as well start handing out free pacifiers." I thought Horcoff really was offsides, sharp call by the officials. - Another great LGW comment about the Captain: "I think I've run out of words to describe how much I appreciate Steve Yzerman these days. What he's done tonight (in the second period especially) on that back of his is just amazing." End of Second Period: Wings 2, Edmonton 0 (Detroit outshot Edmonton, 17-2) Third Period - For a change, we're actually seeing the Wings actually playing like themselves. Let's just hope that they can keep this up in the third and make it 3-0 or 4-0! - Jason Williams took an incredibly stupid penalty; it didn't save us from a potential goal and it had no value whatsoever. Oilers PP starts with 17:17 left. And 13 seconds into the PP, Fernando Pisani scores at 2:56 into the second. He scored off of Ryan Smyth's rebound. We cannot take stupid penalties - ugh. The Wings must rebound from this; we cannot hand the momentum over to the Oilers after we've dominated for most of the game. Wings 2, Oilers 1 - We cannot lose our composure. We still have a lead, but we won't for long at this rate of stupidity. - Brett Lebda got injured and went off to the bench - from the quick look at Lebda, it appears to be shoulder related. Edit: He is now back on the ice. - Wow, the Wings have only spent 4 nights at home. While the Oilers have been in Edmonton eight nights. So much for home ice advantage. - Pisani makes a nice deke to tie the game up at two and get his second goal of the game with 13:20 left in the third. Crap. The Oilers have momentum and the Wings were playing so well in the first two periods. Ahhh. I'm panicking now; we need to go on a PP or something and get some offensive opportunities. Wings 2, Oilers 2 - Kronwall is tripped and the Wings go on the power play with 12:08 left. We have to score here to get some of the momentum and back in the game. Plus it would be nice to quiet the Rexall Crowd - man they are loud! Couple good chances in the PP, but no goal. - Wooo!! Johan Franzen drills it into the net with 9:53 left in the third for his first goal of the postseason (and the career). Cleary and Maltby were given credit for the assists. Wings 3, Oilers 2 - Lebda has now left for the training room. Shots are now even at 5 apiece. - Crap. Oilers will go on the power play. Please let the Wings kill this penalty - ahh. Dan Cleary called for interference. You can see Yzerman giving some words of advice to his teammates and then winning the face-off. - Man! The Oilers bloody scored. Manny is arguing about the call. Please no goal. Please! Crap - not looking good. There was a high stick in the play - that should've been called before. This sucks! Oh wait, there was a kicking motion by Hemsky's left foot, will they notice that? There was a high stick and kicking motion - ahhh. Wings 3, Oilers 3 - That was an awful awful awful call. The goal should not have stood and I'm bloody pissed off. The Wings better be angry too and respond! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I don't understand how that could be a goal. I realize they couldn't rule no goal because of a high stick, but the refs should've made that bloody call before Hemsky even started kicking. Absolutely fricking ridiculous. - Hemsky scores with 1:06 left in regulation. If the Wings lose, I'm going to be so pissed off. I want to cry. Who was guarding Hemsky? Man. Oilers 4, Wings 3 End of Third Period: Oilers 4, Wings 3 (Edmonton outshot Detroit, 13-9) Overall - I am so fricking upset. It would be one thing if we lost because the Wings played poorly / the Oilers played great. But that didn't happen - that third goal never should've happened. The Wings played mediocre for those first two goals, but I am sooo pissed off about the third. - The Wings deserved that game. Ahhhh. I can't even talk right now. I'm so upset and frustrated. And I am asking all Oilers fans to please not leave a comment and gloat because I am so upset about tonight's game. I'm not an idiot thinking that the Wings deserved to win all the games, they got themselves into this precarious position. But, tonight's game is a different matter. - And now I have to drive down to Cinci tomorrow morning to prepare for an incredibly sucky surgery on Wednesday. Man this totally sucks. I want to hurt something - ugh. Stats - Detroit outshot Edmonton, 36-30. - Detroit went 1/6 on the PP / Edmonton went 2/6 on the PP - Edmonton won 62% of the face-offs. Wow. - Edmonton defeats the President's Trophy winners in the series, 4-2. Final Thoughts Tonight - I'll post some more tomorrow morning before I head to Cinci after I've had the night to sleep on it. (Mainly I'll talk about who needs to go and who should stay...) - If that was Yzerman's last game...I don't even want to think about it. Please don't retire Yzie. - I would not want to be Ken Holland right now - he has a lot of work to do this off-season with this great regular season / early round playoff exit team mess. - I want to say congrats to the Oilers; they played with passion and pounced on all the Wings mistakes. Roloson played a great series and really kept them in tonight's game. While I won't be cheering for the Oilers in future playoff rounds, they did pull off an upset and it was not by luck. - Until the team learns to play a full 60 minutes of hockey in the playoff games, we're going to always be booted out in an early round. This whole series the Wings struggled to play 40 solid minutes per game, much less 60. - Someone on the LGW forum brought up a good thought, we may have been screwed over by a ref's bad call (or two or three or four) but the Wings had many chances and could never capitalize. There has been bad reffing throughout the entire series; the Wings need to learn to rise above it and still win these games. - Tonight's costly errors in defense cost the Wings those first two Oilers goals - not the refs. What happened to our coverage? While I totally disagree with the third goal standing, our coverage on the other three goals was just awful. I'm not placing complete blame on Manny. He had to deal with a breakaway, poor defensive coverage, and the puck being kicked in. He certainly wasn't great (like we needed him to be), but he was not the whole reason we lost tonight in my opinion.

Knee Surgery

2006-05-01T19:23:00.000-04:00

Quick reminder before tonight's game (which I plan on liveblogging assuming I can get my wirless internet to work): I am having an Allograft ACL Revision on Wednesday morning (8am) in Cincinnati. My orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Frank Noyes (one of the best in the business), will be removing my current screws and ACL graft (which was part of my patellar tendon). If I'm one of the small percentage who need it, he will then remove some bone from my pelvis to place into the "hole" where my previous screws where. Hopefully that won't be the case and he'll just put in someone's achilles tendon and new screws and then be done with surgery! How will this affect BtJ? - Assuming I have access to the internet from my room and am not too under the weather, I plan on still updating. - If the Wings lose tonight (which will hopefully not be the case), there might not be any updates. - I plan on watching Wednesday's game (if the Wings win tonight), but may not be able to give my postgame reactions until I feel a little better. Since I will be in Cinci, I may not even be able to watch the game if the hotel doesn't have OLN so I may be listening to the NHL.com feed if I can get internet access. - If you don't see any updates until this Friday or later (aside from tonight's game comments), that's because I couldn't get internet access and/or felt like total crap. Go Wings and good luck to all my fellow Wingnuts!

Miss Sports Blogger 2006

2006-05-01T10:30:00.000-04:00

Kent @ Sports Guy North is hosting a Miss Sports Blogger 2006 poll. All of his nominees were solely based on the writing and content of their respective blog. Unfortunately, I didn't realize the poll had started until Alanah brought it to my attention so the voting has already begun! The nominees include: - Anne Ursu @ Batgirl - Acid Queen @ Sweet Tea, Barbecue, and Bodychecks - Alanah (1/2 of the VCOE crew) @ Vancouver Canucks Op Ed - Stephanie @ Zany Sports Lady - Christy @ Behind the Jersey (that's me!) Here's why Kent nominated me:

Speaking of anti-Oilers, this blogger is a Red Wings fan through and through. Her claim to fame in my books is her Behind the Blog posts where she interviews other hockey bloggers, A classy move from a class act.

Speaking of the BtB posts, I'll be starting those back up after my knee surgery on Wednesday morning. Please go check out his website and vote in the poll on the right of the page. Whether you would like to vote for me or one of the many other awesome contestants, just go vote!

Absolute Frustration

2006-04-30T19:37:00.000-04:00

My world has been turned upside down with the Detroit sports scenario. Everything I once knew about Detroit sports teams is fading away and it all happened this past Saturday. Here's why... 1) The Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 18-1, on Saturday.. The Detroit Tigers scored 18 runs. How in the world did that happen? The Tigers are now 15-9. That's not an amazing record, but considering the past few seasons - it's a miracle! 2) Saturday was NFL Draft Day. Over the past few years, the Detroit Lions have drafted wide receivers. These players would then sign for millions of dollars and then wouldn't be able to catch half of Joey's passes (even his good ones). Many people expected for USC's quarterback, Matt Leinart, to be one of the first five drafted in this year's first round. Well, the Lions had the #9 pick and Leinart was still available. We had the option to pick up this great QB. I know the Lions have just signed two QBs, but they are only mediocre - nothing amazing. And even if we didn't keep Leinart, we could've traded him to someone with a lower pick in exchange for Ernie Sims (the guy we actually drafted) and a lower round draft pick. But no, Millen has no balls whatsoever. Ugh. Why do I watch every single Lions game even though I know they are going to lose and suck it up majorly. Ernie Sims is a Florida State linebacker who has had 5 concussions - five - in college! Plus, he's only 5'11", and we used our first pick to get this guy? We need a franchise quarterback; someone to save this team from the hell it's currently in. Leinart was available and we passed!

As with most drafts, though, there will probably be critics. Two quarterbacks, Leinart and Vanderbilt’s Jay Cutler, were selected with the following two picks and Millen said the Lions had a few trade conversations. But they were sold on Sims. "Sometimes when the right guy is there for you, you don’t move around, he may not be there," Marinelli said. "When you get the right guy and we all feel good about him, you make those picks." Sims was also arrested on a domestic violence charge last summer and ended up pleading no contest to reduced charge. He admitted that was a mistake and said, "I put it behind me."

The other two draft picks Detroit made yesterday are: - Second Round (#40 overall): Safety from Nebraska - Third Round (#74 overall): Wisconsin's running back 3) The Pistons lost their playoff game, 124 - 104. They still lead the series, 2-1. I'm not really worried about them and their playoff future; however, it was too much for me to take. A Wings and Pistons loss all in one afternoon/evening and I had to watch both of them (but really only the 2nd half of the Pistons game).

The 124 points were the most allowed by the Pistons in a regulation playoff game since they gave up 123 to Atlanta in 1991. "I wasn't frustrated by what they did," Ben Wallace said. "It was frustrating the way we were playing. We were pounding the ball down to Sheed (Rasheed Wallace) in the post early, then we went away from it. We tried to do it the hard way. We got stagnant, man. Sheed was going, we should have rode that all the way."

4) The Wings are one loss away from playoff elimination. One bloody loss! Here are reactions from Wings, Oilers, and other hockey fans from Saturday's game... Alanah and Jeff @ Vancouver Canucks Op Ed:

Alliterative Red Wing Fan Poetry: On the Wings is “disgusted” and Behind the Jersey is “depressed, discouraged, disappointed, disenchanted, downhearted, down, and desolate”. Guys, take your fingers off the trigger and breathe. Detroit is certainly capable of winning two straight. (But could someone tell Manny Legace to please shut up?)

Speaking of VCOE, they have been doing playoff jokes on the various teams since the start of the playoffs. For every team they posted a joke on, that team won 6 of 7 games. So I left them this comment: "I think it’s time for you to do a Detroit joke on Monday. We have to win that game and with your pretty decent success rate, it’s time to give it a try. Please!" So for the sake of the Wings, please send any Detroit Red Wings jokes to Alanah and Jeff (email: vancouvercanucks oped (at) gmail .com) and they will post them sometime tomorrow. Here was their response to my request: "Well, Christy, since you’re begging…! Yup, Detroit’s on the list. But that means that some of you people need to (anonymously or otherwise) send me some good Red Wings jokes! P.S. The irony of asking Red Wings fans to send me Red Wings jokes is truly fabulous." Matt Saler @ On the Wings:

As far as big games go, I don't remember a more uninspired performance by the Wings. I don't understand why they couldn't get up to play a full game in front of their fans (I suppose the tomb-like atmosphere at the Joe has something to do with that) and when they had a chance to take the lead in the series. The Oilers played great and maybe still would have won, but if the Wings had even played to half of their ability, I wouldn't feel so ripped off by this game. They put up a performance like this and I'm supposed to get all excited about Game 6? I'm supposed to have hope that they'll actually show up to play in Edmonton? Why couldn't they do it yesterday? They've been down 3-2 in a series before but that was in 2002 and it was a completely different team. That team knew how to win big games. This team seems to have forgotten. Sure, the series technically isn't over but they are going to have to play out of their minds Monday night if they even want a chance at winning. I know Edmonton will "bring it" but will the Wings? I'm not ready for another early exit. I waited two years for this? I'm tired of getting my hopes up only to have the Wings fall flat on their faces.

Helene St. James @ Detroit Free Press:

Those Red Wings. They storm through the regular season scoring on everyone, and now here they are in the playoffs, and like in previous years, goals are a problem. Despite battering Dwayne Roloson in the first period Saturday the Wings could not break him, and then the Oilers broke them. Spotting any opponent three goals in the playoffs is dangerous, and when it is to a team as good defensively as Edmonton, it is flirting with disaster. The Wings lost, 3-2, at Joe Louis Arena in Game 5 of their first-round series, and now they must win Monday night at Edmonton, or face a third straight disappointing playoff run.

Saturday's game was the first time I thought to myself, "Wow, this Roloson is really keeping Edmonton in the game." That thought was during the first period; after that, it only got worse. As always, IwoCPO at Abel to Yzerman has some great thoughts regarding Saturday's game:

But at some point, and it has to be Monday, the Wings have to gel again. Leaders have to sacrifice. Defensemen have to strengthen their games. Goalies have to erase their memories and young stars need to explode. It can’t be one or two of those factors. It has to be all of them, happening at once on Monday night. Is it likely? Maybe not. But it’s certainly possible. Edmonton has a chance to kill this thing, to crush the windpipe. How will they react? We’ll see.

He also brought up Mikael Samuelsson's playoff performance and that he had recently signed a three year deal with the Wings. I had totally forgotten and I'm so frustrated with the deal now...

Does the date March 25th mean anything to you? Let me help. That’s the day Mikael Samuelsson signed a nice 3-year deal. Anyone want to guess how many goals he’s scored since then? 2. Thanks.

Mike at Covered in Oil:

Ah, but this is where Dwayne Roloson's .935 SV% shimmers like sparkling wine. It's not like Roloson is making supersick saves in a 1997 Curtis Joseph sense; but he's definitely looking more calm and assertive than he ever has in his 20-25 games as an Oiler. His glove hand looked good, and if he popped out any rebounds Roli managed to keep them clear from the high slot. His little eyes-shut zen meditation thing between plays seems to work, and more importantly it's miles away from the scared flailing that passed for goaltending early in the season.

Yzerman and MacLean practice today

2006-04-30T18:47:00.000-04:00

The Captain, Steve Yzerman, took part in today's short practice at Rexall Place in Edmonton. I expect for Yzerman to play on Monday (Game #6 at 8pm) since it's an elimination game. He couldn't tell the reporters if he would play tomorrow night at that point in time.

"I feel better than two days ago," Yzerman said. "I’m encouraged. Hopefully I’ll feel even better for game time tomorrow." Asked if tonight being an elimination game will factor into his decision to play, Yzerman said, "Oh, no question. No question. It’s pretty simple, really, if I feel I can be an effective player, I’ll play and if I don’t, then I’m not going to play. If I’m ready to play then I will and if not, then I’ll have to step aside."

I just hope that he will play and Yzerman's last game at the Joe won't be Game #2, which was the last playoff game I attended. Additionally, the Wings called Donald MacLean, "the Grand Rapids Griffins forward who scored 56 goals this season in the AHL," on Saturday night. Upon which, he flew to Edmonton and practiced with the Wings. MacLean has only played with the Wings three times this season, but his first goal came on the power play against the Oilers on April 11.

Game #5 - Oilers 3, Wings 2

2006-04-29T18:35:00.000-04:00

I watched the game at Dockside Sports Pub in Ft. Myers Beach with about 9-12 other Wings fans; I was shocked to see such a large "crowd" at a random sports pub in Florida. The comments made during each period were what I wrote down while watching the game. So these are during the game reactions... Anyways, the game sucked. I'm depressed, discouraged, disappointed, disenchanted, downhearted, down, and desolate. The Wings have to head to Edmonton with a 2-3 series deficit. Not cool whatsoever. There are three things that scare me in this series: 1) The second period. Is it just me, or do the Wings find a way to suck it up in the second period? Edmonton scored all three goals in this afternoon's second and I'm pretty sure Detroit sucks in the second period this series. 2) Our penalty kill. Sure we had some nice 5-on-3 kills in Game #4, but the Oilers seem to always score on one of their first few power plays. 3) Chris Pronger. He's averaging 36:41 minutes per game this series and got an assist on all three Oilers' goals this afternoon First Period - To start the game off, Willy pummeled some Oiler behind the Oilers net - my check of the game. - During a Wings power play, Homer was alone in front of Roloson, but couldn't find a way to get the puck in the back of the net. - There was a 4 on 3 for about a minute producing some good scoring chances for the Wings, but no goal. - We're looking pretty good because we're applying a lot of pressure and thus getting some scoring opportunities. Manny has made some key saves, but hasn't had to deal with a lot of shots thus far in the game. - With 3:30 left in the first, we've gone 0/4 on the power play. End of First Period: Wings 0, Oilers 0 (Detroit outshot Edmonton, 11-4) Second Period - Chris Pronger takes a shot from inside the blue line whereupon Fernando Pisani flicks it into the back of the Wings net 5:16 into the second period. The Oilers have six 5 on 5 goals this series. I can't believe we have been controlling this game and then the Oilers get the first goal. Ugh. The second period is always our downfall. Oilers 1, Wings 0 - I'm enjoying this NBC feed much more than the CBC one on Thursday night. At least they aren't extremely biased in either direction...or so it seems. - With 11:26 left in the second, Stoll took a shot from the center of the face-off circle to Manny's right. The shot deflects off Ryan Smyth's leg and goes behind Manny into the net. Oilers 2, Wings 0 - The Joe is embarassingly quiet. Rexall's crowd puts the Joe's to shame. - While it's 4 on 4, Shawn Horcoff just "poked and jammed away" (according to an NBC broadcaster) to score the Oilers' third goal of the game with 7:24 left in the second. Oilers 3, Wings 0 - Manny made a nice save when Torres went on a breakaway. - A guy's wife in the pub is the granddaughter of former Wings goalie Terry Sawchuk; unfortunately, her presence did not grant us any luck. - 1:21 left in the period, Shanny gets on a breakaway and actually gets a goal!!!! An absolute miracle since he's had zero offense previously. The Wings can still do it since they are only down two goals at this point. However, I believe it was Draper who tripped some Oiler, which should've been called a penalty but then resulted in Shanny's breakaway. Like I said before, I'll take any goal we can get (tainted or not). - An Oilers shot hit the post - thank goodness that didn't go in. End of Second Period: Oilers 3, Wings 1 (Emonton outshot Detroit, 11-10) Third Period - It's not looking good. We really didn't come out flying - not a good sign. - Roloson made a really nice save on a Shanny/Draper rush (Shanny shot?) to maintain the Oilers two goal lead. - With 21.5 seconds left in the game, Henrik Zetterberg scores to give the Wings and fans a tiny minute chance of tying this game up. Datsyuk and Holmstrom were given the assists. - They left Manny in goal and then called a timeout. I believe they still left Manny in net. Why wouldn't you pull Manny? We needed that extra man! Please let me know if I am incorrect and that they in fact pulled Manny at that point in the game. End of Third Period: Oilers 3, Wings 2 (Detroit outshot Edmonton, 11-4) Overall Stats - Detroit had 32 total shots on goal / Edmonton only had 19 shots - There were 10 total penalties in the game (6 on the Oilers / 4 on the Wings) - Only one penalty came in the final period of the game, while six penalties came in the first period - Detroit won 61% of the face-offs - The three stars of the game were (in order from 1 to 3) Chris Pronger, Dwayne Roloson, and Brendan Shanahan. - Detroit went 0/6 on the power play and killed 3 of 4 penalties.