Monday Morning Recap - Sunday Evening Version

I don't really need a flashy statement here, but it's just nice to say Thank You to whomever is 'GagnerNation' and knocking Sporer out of first place. Maybe now he won't hang it over my head every chance he gets.

1 a - Daily Oiler Bashing - Well, looks like some things never change: can't score, always getting outshot, 8th spot in the conference and still can't beat their hatred rivals. On the bright side, I do give props to Deslauriers performance against Nashville. Lets just hope they can beat the basement dwelling Wild tonight, oh wait, they never beat Minni... Nevermind...

1 b - Seriously, Colorado in 1st place? Detroit in 11th? San Jose in 10th? Phoenix in 3rd? It really is the wild wild West.

1 c - Life is pretty normal out East: NYR, Washington, Pittsburgh, Phili, NJD are all in the playoffs... Boston in 11th though? Maybe Kessel meant a little more then people think...

1 d - There are only 5 undeafted teams at home: NYR (4-0-0), Colorado (2-0-0), Columbus (2-
0-0), Minnisota (1-0-0) & Atlanta (1-0-0).

1 e - There are only 5 winless teams at home: Toronto (0-3-1), Florida (0-2-0), NJD (0-2-0), NYI (0-1-1) & Montreal (0-1-0)

2 a - Ovi is 1st, Backstrom is 3rd, Semin is 4th. Wow. How did I not end up with any of those players in my draft? Infact, how did I not end up with ANY Capitals?!

2 b - DUSTIN PENNER IS IN THE TOP 23 OF SCORING!!! OH MY GOSH!!! One more point and the Oilers will have someone in the top 20 for the first time since... since... since... (Sporer, fill in the blank, I can't think back that far)...

3 - Theo Fleury... What a guy... Raped as a teenager, and THIRTY YEARS LATER decides to do something about it... Are you kidding me??? What, is that you ace up your sleeve to save your dignity? Disgusting. Did his balls just drop at the age of 41?! It's guys like him that give victims a bad name...

3 b - Fleury has no money... His side business went under... He had a gambling problem... He couldn't make the Flames' lineup... And now he releases a tell-all book?! Who does this guy think he is?! Does he have any more money making schems up his sleeve? Maybe a sex-video? And if his book doesn't sell, he can always fall back on his rape settlement. Give me a break. It's guys like this him that the NHL should distance themselves from. Nothing, but drama with this goon.

4 a - Quebec is proposing a new arena in hopes to lure back an NHL team. Calling Jim Balsillie...

4 b - I'm a fan of, not new teams, but relocating teams...

4 c - I'm also a fan of placing a team in an existing market in hopes of building up a rivalry (Quebec/Montreal), (Hamilton/Toronto/Ottawa)...

4 d - Yes, European expansion is a must in the near future. Plus, it would be neat!

5 - I'm so screwed in our pool... Royally... Hossa & Vanek are on the IR, Kovalev is having his down year, David Booth was a flash in the pants, Jonas Hillar isn't getting regular playing time and I don't have Malkin, Crosby, Ovechkin or any other Flyers, Red Wings, Penguins or Capitals... Thanks Sporer.

5 b - Anyone not named: Thornton, Heatley, Vanek or Alfredsson is trade bait on my team...

1 a - Colts: 5-0, Patriots: 3-2.

1 b - USC 50 - Notre Dame 3, they play tomorrow night... Charlie Weiss sucks for life. So does the horribley long list of Bill Belicheck's prodigees (Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Weiss)...

2 a - American Dad is a fantastic show! Just hilarious.

2 b - I watched seasons 1-9 of the Ultimate Fighter. BJ Penn is awesome. Tito Ortiz is awesome, Ken Shamrock is a doucher.

2 c - Amir Sadollah is my hero.

3 a - I think in sports, it seems like there are some common themes. For instance, out of the four major sports leagues, there is at least ONE screwed, messed up, horribley run franchise that just makes you shake your head... Oakland Raiders, Washington Nationals, New York Islanders & New York Knicks.

3 b - I think in sports, it seems like there are some common themes. For instance, out of the four major sports leagues, there is at least ONE high-profile team that everyone love to hate... Dallas Cowboys/New England Patriots, New York Yankees, Toronto Maple Leafs & LA Lakers.

4 - WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN IS ON! 237 days!!! England has already qualified along with power-houses Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Brazil & Argentina.

4 b - You readers are going to watch every minute with me. The last time it was on, I missed 10 straight days of school and was hammered by 6am. Just a fantastic time of year! Canadian hockey pride has nothing on national soccer pride. Not even in the same class.

5 - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/272156-the-next-twenty-superstar-child-athletes-and-who-they-might-become#page/1

Just watch them.

Cheers.
-Smith

p.s. Stars for Life.

NHL '10 Kick Off Blog

Readers, you can get off now, officially, get off my ass..

Draft:

Best - Hedman / TB... they lost their franchise Dman (Boyle) and have now solidified their backend to compliment Vinny, Marty and Stamkos.

Worst - Ellis / NSH... I know he was a steal at #11, but you already have Weber, Suter and Hamhuis...

Darkhorse - Schroeder / VAN... a guy who was pegged as a top 7 pick, slid to them at #22 and should be a nice running mate for Cody Hodgeson.

Free Agents:

Best - Gionta, Cammalerri, Gomez / MON... they needed to 'rebiuld' and rebuild they did...

Worst - Sullivan / NSH... HUGE injury problems, is he really a 4M player?

Darkhorse - Knuble / WSH... Has had 30, 21, 26, 34, 24, 29, 27 goals over the last 7 years, none of those years included playing with Alex The Great.

East Conference:

Winner - PHI... Pronger puts them over the top, Boston is a close 2nd...

Worst - NYI... Not even Tavares, Biron & a pair of former Oilers (Schremp, Roloson) can pull them out of the basement...

Darkhorse - TOR... They have some studs on the blueline and a 30 game winner between the pipes, if they can find a way to score goals, they might just sneak into the playoffs...

West Conference:

Winner - SJ... I have Thornton & Heatley in my pool, and TSN picked them... All I can do is cross my fingers and pray...

Worst - PHX... Too much drama... And Shane Doan sucks...

Darkhorse - LAK & DAL... TSN has them listed as #8 and #9... The Kings feature: Frolov, Kopitar, Smyth, Stoll, Brown, Moller, Doughty, J. Johnson, Hickey & Teubert... Dallas has a fresh Marty Turco.

2 a - Daily Oiler Bashing - The rich just keep getting richer. San Jose picks up Heatley, Philly lands Prongers, the 'Hawks got Hossa, Jay Bouw to the Flames. It's ridiculous. But boy, am I glad Edmonton came away the winner in the Mike Comrie sweepstakes!

2 b - The Bulin Wall will NOT be the answer for the Oilers... It's nice to see them finally get a true #1 goalie, but he's on the backside of his career and is in the conference that features: Nabokov, Kipper, Luongo, Backstrom, Mason...

3 - I really like what the Trashers did this offseason. Picking up scoring help for Kovi with Antropov, Afinogenov & Evander Kane. They also added Kubina on the back end to compliment young studs Tobias Enstrom and Zach Bogosian. And, for the umteenth time, watch out for Kari Lehtonen in goal. This COULD be the year he reaches his #2 overall selection potential...

4 - Could we see a shift in conference power? TSN has 6 East teams in the top ten (1. PIT, 2. BOS, 5. WSH, 7. CAR, 8. NJD, 9. PHI), but I have some serious problems with these rankings. How the hell can Edmonton be ranked higher the Calgary? How is Pittsburgh #1? How are the Sens so low a 24? And is Boston still really #2 after losing Kessel and is TO still only 25 after gaining Kessel?

5 - Florida is seen as an udnerdog to make the playoffs, but I don't even think they challenge for a spot. There just isnt enough depth up front or on the blue line... Booth, Weiss, Horton, Frolik, Ballard, McCabe and... That's it. Who are the other 12 players on the ice?

6 - Of those top 10 teams on TSN rankings, I took a look at teams ranked 10 - 6 and wow. I was blown away at the depth these teams have... All of them can role 3 solid line and have 4 legitimate top 4 Dmen, and all posses a goalie who can steal games on a consistent basis (sans Huet).

6 b - It pains me to say it, but Vancouver's depth is unmatched. Just look at their roster. Basically, every player is a 'name' player. Its ridiculous. Jealousy runs through my veins.

7 a - I think Columbus has the most exciting / explosive, top 3 RWs in the game: Nash, Filatov & Voracek.

7 b - I think Anaheim might have the most explosive top line in the NHL: Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf & Corey Perry. All three of those guys can top 30 goals and 80 points.

7 c - I think St. Louis has the most under-rated players in their lineup: McDonald, Boyes, Perron, Berglund, Oshie & Backes.

7 d - I wonder how Minnesota will look with a new coach and a new system. I think Brent Burns might lead the NHL Dmen in scoring because he will be able to rush the puck and push the pace knownig Nik Backstrom is stauing behind him, with a new contract.

8 a - I really wanted to have Buffalo in the top tier of teams, but their Defence reads: Lydman, Tallinder, Rivet, Sekera, Butler and Montador...

8 b - Speaking of Buffalo got me thinking about their entire division... Which brings me to Montreal. Lots of skill, speed and scoring, but just not enough grit and toughness to compete with Boston & and re-vamped Toronto.

9 - Jordin Tootoo can suck it.

9 b - Brian Burke is a genius.

10 - Should we pick a champion? Detroit has some unfinished business, but again, the goaltending... Boston looks hungry, but can they replace Kessel? San Jose is even more dangerous with Heatley now, but we know their track record... Washington will lead the league in goals, but can they stop them... I think I'm going with... Dallas. For life.

Cheers.
-Steve

Hockeytown Beatdown

The title says it all. Yep. That’s exactly what Detroit’s 5-0 victory, on Saturday was. Actually, you know what; it was more then just a beat down. It was a: drag ‘em out, curb-stomping, gun in mouth, strip you down, dress you up in a little school girl’s outfit and send you off to class without a bag lunch. I won’t comment much on the defeat because MOST of us saw the game (my fellow co-writer was too busy playing dress up with his wife*, notice the asterix) and we all watched as Detroit piled on 3 PPGs, Fleury was pulled mid-way through the 2nd period, Datsyuk returned to provide 2 assists and the Red Wings improved to 11-1 at home in the playoffs; however, I would like to mention 3 points I have noticed…

1 – Momentum means absolutely nothing in this series.
2 – Discipline means everything in this series.
3a – A 70% Datsyuk DOES make all the difference in the world.
3b – Do you need more of an example why I put Datsyuk ahead of Crosby?

One other note, the Red Wings got another break as Game 6 isn’t slated until Tuesday, giving Datsyuk an extra day to recover further. Also, if Game 7 is needed, it doesn’t go until Friday, giving players even MORE time to recover from lingering injuries.

Now, on to other news around the league…

I – The Avs hiring of Joe Sacco was a bit of a surprising one, given his lack of resume and experience, but plenty of good NHL coaches have come from the AHL: Bruce Boudreaux and Dan Bylsma immediately come to mind. Sacco takes over a team with plenty of talent and youth: Smyth, Svatos, Stastny, Liles, Wolski, Hejduk and Sakic (if he returns); however, they do have cap issues and both Raycroft and Budaj remained unsigned.

II – Ray Emery. ESPN is reporting that he will agree to term with the Flyers on a one-year deal for a ‘low salary’. This is not the same Ray Emery that self-destructed the last season; he underwent 8 weeks of behavioral training before shuffling off to the KHL, where he had impressive numbers. A 1-2 punch of Biron-Emery would greatly help the Flyers compete in a division that features Brodeur, Fleury and Lundqvist.

III – The list of names being thrown around, for the vacant Florida Panthers GM job, is a who’s-who of past NHL successes including: Doug MacLean, Neil Smith, Doug Risebrough, Rick Dudley and everyone’s favorite television ANALyst (yes, that was on purpose) Pierre Mcguire.

IV – When even the NHLPA President says it is time to ‘pull the plug’ on Phoenix, then it’s probably time, Gary.

V - http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jim_kelley/06/04/balsillie.coyotes.battle/index.html

Read the portion of this article about the character of Jim Ballsilie and the NHL’s shady past of owners… It’s just so ironic.

VI – Sports Illustrated counted down the top 10 ‘Tough, but Classy Players’… Here’s how they broke it down…

1 – Bobby Orr
2 – Brendan Shanahan
3 – Mario Lemieux
4 – Steve Yzerman
5 – Mark Messier
6 – Bryan Trottier
7 – Vinny Lecavalier
8 – Adam Graves
9 – Ian Laperriere
10 – George Parros

VII – My fellow blogger, teammate and friend, John Kyle Sporer the 3rd, told me, via text message that, he does not care about the NHL, he only cares about the Oilers.

VIII – I know the above statement may seem shocking to some people, but don’t forget, this is the same guy who missed a Maroons (yes, THE Maroons) hockey game for marriage courses and chose not to watch last nights pivotal game 5 because he was, and I quote ‘making table centers’…

Cheers.
-Smith

p.s. this is just a great picture of, possibly, the 4 greatest New York Rangers of all time.