Recent Comments by D

The money comes pouring,

Speaking of coughing at the Rangers: how many stars can you throw on a team before they actually get into the playoffs? I mean, can they gel as a team? Or will the farce continue? As for the Leafs, I'm still cautiously optimistic. I didn't think Cujo would stay; I had a mild preference for Defoe, but Belfour could turn out to be great (or not). What makes me happy is not the goalie-shuffling, but that the Leafs actually bid quite a bit on both Holik and Kasparitis - meaning they're actually ready to spend some money for once. I wouldn't mind if they held out until september and snapped up some (relatively) cheap restricted free agent Oilers.

posted by D at 09:40 PM on July 02, 2002

The money comes pouring,

How much did Crazy Eddie make with Dallas? I would assume the Leafs will pay him less, given he had a bad year (worst save percentage in the NHL amongst #1 goaltenders). I can't imagine why Holik gets $9-mil - is that the going rate for a 25-goal-scorer nowadays? Shouldn't Pavel Bure be pissed, & ask for $18-mil next chance he gets? (Granted, there are a lot of 'intangibles' with Holik, and he's not there to score goals, but still.) I also don't think Cujo was worth $9-mil a year. I don't think Detroit will be paying him that much anyway. (on preview - slightly redundant, but what the hell)

posted by D at 01:08 PM on July 02, 2002

If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is around, does it make a sound?

Interestingly, Detroit may not want Cujo: few teams other than the Leafs want to pay him $9-million for three years. Question is, is Cujo so pissed at Quinn that he'd take a pay cut just to get the hell out of the T-dot?

posted by D at 07:22 PM on June 26, 2002

Broken nose, broken cheekbone and a concussion.

Ain't no way, Succa. We've been keeping our Swedes caged up and poking them with sticks. Leafs! But hey, will the lawyers let Yushkevich play already? We desperately need someone to clear the crease now and then.

posted by D at 10:36 PM on April 30, 2002

Flyers gone...is the GM next?

Does Clarke cultivate an atmosphere of discontent for his team, or what? There was all the Lindros nastiness; recently I heard of another player complaining that Clarke made him play injured, and also that the team was unhappy with Czechmanek and wanted to play in front of Boucher. Definitely something is psychologically wrong when a team with their forwards can only score two goals in five games. No disrespect to Lalime, but yo.

posted by D at 11:39 PM on April 28, 2002

Broken nose, broken cheekbone and a concussion.

So what about the Leaf hits on Jonsson and Peca? There was a lot of debate after the game last night; some call both hits dirty, others say they were both clean, depending on one's team preference I suppose. I'm a Leafs fan and can't help but think they were clean hits. Does someone with less obvious bias have an opinion?

posted by D at 02:04 PM on April 27, 2002

Wayne Gretzky, crybaby?

Eric Duhatschek has a good column on the subject:

It looked as if Gretzky had made a calculated decision to shift attention away from his players and onto himself. As a strategy, it is one he learned from watching Sather, his former boss with the Edmonton Oilers, operate during Gretzky's early playing days.
I'll buy that for a dollar. There is some reason to what Gretz said, but he exaggerated everything so much that it really comes across as an atempt to grab attention. And it worked.

posted by D at 01:29 PM on February 20, 2002

The Biggest Sports Event of the Weekend.

I didn't grow up with hockey, but I learned to love it. In fact it was EA's NHL 93/94 that did it. After playing a great deal of it, I watched some hockey games and realized: hey! I know all the rules! I know all the players' names! I've been following rabidly since then.

posted by D at 12:24 PM on February 01, 2002