NHLofficials.com is officially open for business. Their mission is "to have an interactive medium that will serve all participants while offering an insightful officiating perspective on the great game of hockey." Offerings range from the useful (rules) and interesting (how to become a ref), to the questionable (be the first on your block to get a NHL Official's Association Sleeveless T-shirt!) and even sublimely hilarious (Don Koharsky Wallpaper). On a personal note, I'd like to add that Don VanMassenhoven is just the dreamiest. I think it's the moustache. On a more serious note, last year's Eastern Conference champions are scrapping their team and starting over. Kapanen and a prospect for Brendl and a prospect? It's a fire sale, and don't be surprised to see more of this from the Canes. On the surface, it looks like a very bad trade for the Canes. The key, of course is whether Brendl, the 4th overall pick in 1999, can make an impact in Carolina after failing in New York and Philly. I wouldn't bet on it. Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford said that he made the trade to change the chemistry on the team. Picking up an underachiever with a reputation for laziness isn't going to help. And who knew Irbe could still pay for the Canes after being placed on Waivers? In the meantime, things continue to look grim for coach Paul Maurice, and the players seem close to mutiny after some players were singled out and made to skate until one collapsed. If it weren't for his five year, 3.75 million dollar contract Maurice would already be looking for a new job. Watching this team fall apart almost makes me relieved to be a Bruins fan. Random Sami Kapanen Trivia: Kapanen has only been in one fight. Read about it here. The papers called it a draw, but I'm pretty sure he lost.
That Koharsky wallpaper is genius. Good photoshop material, too. As for the Hurricanes, they're merely reverting to their Whale-hood...
TSN is reporting that Alexei Kovalev is a NY Ranger again.
Disappointing, but I guess that should come as a surprise to no one. It should be interesting to see if Sather can still save his own ass.
It's a little weird to see Kovalev go from the Penguins--still only four points out of the playoffs--to a team even worse than they are. Not that even with him, the Pens would have made it, or gone anywhere once they got there. Sather really is putting it all on the line, though, eh? Unless, being able to afford the $4M cash for Kovalev, he turns around and sends him somewhere else for some youngsters--which might be a better move than what he's doing.
No surprise (I was hoping he'd come to the Leafs, but no surprise that he didn't) about the deal happening, especially with Lemieux looking to "protect his interests" -- which he ranted about last week. And it's also no surprise that the money-dispensing Rangers are the ones to get the deal done (Bure being questionable for the rest of the season was likely a major factor). The thing is, were the Penguins so desperate, that they couldn't find any other team to trade with? Especially not to a team that is in direct competition with them for the last Eastern playoff spot (Rangers are 1 pt behind the Pens)? If the Pens miss the playoffs, and the Rangers make it -- this deal will be very damaging to Pittsburgh. The Pens also traded away Ference -- so it looks like they're selling.
Also, the possible sale of the Leafs could cause some interesting results. If things go as they could, the Leafs could be owned by Bell Globemedia, which also owns TSN. The constant screams about media bias in favour of the Leafs (at least in Canada) will get that much louder!
The constant screams about media bias in favour of the Leafs (at least in Canada) will get that much louder! [annoying jab] Well seriously though... what other team would be worth talking about in Canada? [/annoying jab] I'd be quite happy to see the team move out of Stavros' hands and into someone elses. No real reason, just that he seems like a real absentee owner. I don't want a Steinbrenner or Ballard type owner, but someone who seems to care a bit about the team would be nice.
This is pretty much how I felt about the trade -- except it's clearer and more concise than I could write.
Mikael Samuelsson is a good hockey player. No way the Pens came close to getting what they gave on this trade but with all of the negativity surrounding Pittsburgh, I figured I'd offer them some hope.
On a different note, has anyone else noticed the Northwest division currently has four playoff bound teams? 'Nucks, 'lanche, oil, and wild. Not that nothing will change from now until April, but its the only division that can boast of such tight competition. Definitely something to keep an eye on.
86, Samuelsson is a good third line guy, but that's its. And I'm still pretty sure that Fata is destined to be the fastest guy in the AHL. The Pens got totally screwed on this deal, and as much as I hat e to say it I have to hand it to Sather for not parting with anyone of any real importance to the team.
According the one reporter, the reason that the Leafs didn't land Kovalev wasn't just because he didn't want to play here (which is true) but because their offer was too good.
Wow! Leafs management stepped up to the plate and did too good of a job. Well, despite their failure to acquire him, at least the effort was there. Great link Grum.
Here's an article I thought presented some interesting thoughts. Some are listed below. "It's that bad in Pittsburgh, not because of high payroll, but because of impossibly low revenue. A hard cap, by the way, won't fix that. "...Philadelphia would have acquired Miro Satan and Alexei Zhitnik..." In the early-50's, the NBA had franchises in places like Fort Wayne and Rochester and Tri-Cities. The league outgrew those cities. Yesterday, Bettman admitted that the NHL has outgrown Pittsburgh."
Is that the first admission of the need for contraction? It's the first I've heard of, since he denied the need only a week or so ago.
Contraction? No. Moving the team? Possibly. The looming shadow of Paul Allen and the states of the Northwest (Washington/Oregon) appear whenever there is financially troubled franchise in hockey. I think there is going to be an interesting dance soon, between Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Miami (Panthers) and either Seattle or Portland. One of those three teams is probably going to lose a franchise, but the other two might lose a team but pick up another wandering one. I would have added Ottawa to the mix as well, but it looks like Bryden has conned the banks a third time. That's assuming "hockey Armageddon" doesn't come in 2004 and really change the landscape of hockey.
