Hockey talk, hockey talk, Oi Oi Oi!

I think you're probably right.  For those of us watching, um, "rebuilding" teams I guess while it's interesting who your team might pick first in the draft, the real indicators of the future are being picked on the fourth or fifth go round, or later.....

Maxime Talbot was picked in the eighth round by Pittsburgh in aught two, 234th overall.

It was great to watch, which is something coming from someone who didn't have a team to root for.  I guess the rule changes have accomplished one thing-- made me a hockey fan instead of a Leaf fan.

I know all about designated role players in hockey. In the 70's and 80's every team had at least one. So there's no need to explain who Cashman or Linseman or Probert, Lupien, or Grimson were or what the deal was with those guys.

FYI, the knee on knee "check" on Malkin was by Helm. Re Franzen on  Crosby ... I don't see pinning a player's knee (whole leg actually, with knee exposed) to the boards as a "check" so much as an "assignment". I would like to know what words were exchanged between Franzen and Crosby during the handshakes. Seems at least one Detroit player bitched about Crosby missing a number of the handshakes, but who cares what the losers think?

One other dirty aspect of the playoffs that I objected to, and perhaps it's not just Detroit that was doing this, was the "kicking up" of the skates towards the face of opposing players. Malkin's face guard saved a nasty gash, and that wasn't the only time.

Don Cherry, commenting some years ago on the hit by Scott Stevens (who, himself, was concussed into retirement) on Eric Lindros had some wise words:

"In the regular season, they hit to hurt. In the playoffs, they hit to take you out."

I wished Victor Hedman good luck over the phone yesterday. I guess the Islanders were keen on Tavares though.

I've got my fingers crossed for Gainey. He's got something like $30M to blow shopping for some good hands at centre or even a dishmeister. I think Komisarek will find a new team.

Hopefully the leafs can snag Cammalleri from the flames. i feel like hoping for the sedin twins might be a bit too ambitious. 

Still can't believe Heatley is going to edmonton and scott gomez is headed to montreal. ugh.

The Leafs picked a 2nd generation Lebanese guy from London, Ontario.

Yes, Nazem Kadri.  His skill seems to be in setting up the goal scorer, and he did a good job doing so for Taveres last year with the Knights.

Not taking anything away from Kadri, as a GM I might have selected Ryan Ellis over Kadri, though Burke did load up on American deffencemen in subsequent rounds.  And, the American college system seems to do a good job developing offensively skilled deffencemen. 

Note Burke stayed entirely away from European talent.

As for the Brothers Sedin, I think if Burke goes public saying he wants dearly to sign them, it's a good bet that he doesn't really, and has his eye on someone else.

What the Leafs sorely need is a Marquee player that can lead by example, score, backcheck, forecheck and be a "spark plug". 

Unfortunately, such players don't exactly grow on trees.

Ah, looks like the Sedin's have re-signed with Vancouver. 

Burke is likely after goalie Gustafsson,  and lunch bucket guys Manny Malhotra, Sami Pahlsson, Todd Marchant,  Colton Orr and Chris Neil.

All in all, looks like another season with the Leafs going with four third lines.....

[url=http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=12421.html?cid=rsstsn]Hockey Canada unveils men's camp invites[/url]

Seriously, what does Marc Savard have to do to get an invite?

Scout wrote:

And why did they invite Dany Heatley?!

Hopefully not to drive the bus.

Scott Piatkowski wrote:

[url=http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=12421.html?cid=rsstsn]Hockey Canada unveils men's camp invites[/url]

 

Seriously, what does Marc Savard have to do to get an invite?

How much should I wager that he'll demand a trade soon?

Does Heatley appreciate how lucky he is not to be sitting in a USian jail cell? I think Ottawa should let him sit and sit and sit...

Love the pun.

Maybe Bobby Clarke would have him?

I saw that on the ticker on the NHL Network last night and thought it must have been a typo.

Yes, I thought the same.  In fact, before I made that  post about Hossa, I  double checked it at the NHL site.

Now, with Scott's news, it makes one wonder about Chicago.

We might want, with good reason, to use the example of the Harold Ballard era in Toronto as the worst way to manage a sports franchise.  However, all during that time Bill Wirtz in Chicago was working much the same corner as Ballard.  I had hoped his son might bring that storied franchise out of that mold, but it seems not.

al-Qa'bong wrote:

So, is that Mike Komisarek guy any good?  I read that he's supposed to be tough, but I haven't noticed him much in any games.  There must be something wrong with him, though, or he wouldn't have left Montréal who, according to what I've read on babble, has the greatest collection of athletes ever to be assembled.

Like Guy Lapointe once said about the Leafs: Theyve been nothing since 67, so who cares?

Komisarek can play rough when he wants to. He has been known to use his size for clearing away traffic infront of Price and Halak and is a decent shot blocker. Leafs will need an enforcer though as other teams will tend to want to lure Komi into the sin bin to nullify his defensive play on the ice. 

I'm not so sure size means all that much anymore. I know Don Cherry has said the Habs are too small up front before. But look at Lidstrom and Chelios, Zetterberg and Datsyuk - 5'11" on average and prolly well under 200lbs by end of the season.

Leafs should be a different team this year for sure. Same with the Habs. Some Habs fans are pretty upset about losing Kovalev, Komi etc. I just cant imagine what theyre thinking. It's not like Gainey just blew up the 56-60 Habs team, or the 1970's dynastic Habs with Lafleur, Shutt and Cournoyer. Like Gainey said, Habs just got younger and faster. I think we'll see some good hockey in Montreal and Toronto soon.

That's a bad situation with big forwards planted in front of the net. But how fast are those big forwards at sudden changes in play going the other way? 170-190 pounders should blow the doors off 'em with a fast transition game and good puck movement. It's why everyone thinks Heatley's overrated. Sure he's got the touch around the net, but he's a liability going the other way. One dimensional forward with a gift for finding the back of the net and comes at a premium.

As far as D-men go, that's what I like about Markov - he isnt real big but he can handle the puck in his own end and everywhere else he needs to.

[url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=424139&cmpid=rss-wigge]Nightmare on Helm Street[/url] Darren Helm 5'11" 175lbs soaking wet.

In a surprising move, the Chicago Blackhawks have fired general manager Dale Tallon on Tuesday, according to multiple local news sources.

The firing comes a couple of months after the Blackhawks made it to the Western Conference final for the first time since 1995.

Replacing Tallon in the GM spot will reportedly be his assistant, Stan Bowman.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2009/07/14/sp-hockey-blackhawks-ta...

[url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/2009/08/05/10373986-sun.html]Judge keeps Balsillie's hopes alive[/url]

Quote:

Wednesday, in a stunning determination, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Redfield T. Baum, who has deftly avoided any kind of controversy in this case, ordered that Balsillie's offer for the Coyotes will be considered when the club is put up for auction on Sept. 10. . .

 

The NHL's preferred bid for the Coyotes is the one headed by Chicago sportsman, Jerry Reinsdorf, who is heading up a group, although we are told none of his own money is involved with the bid, which would see the team remain in Phoenix.

 

The Reinsdorf offer, like Balsillie's offer, like a still unofficial third offer from the Ice Edge Holdings group, is conditional.

 

Reinsdorf's conditions include serious handouts from local government in Glendale, Ariz., some to the tune of $23 million US a year, which have been privately negotiated and not put before City Council or the local taxpayers.

 

That kind of political deftness may not pass the local smell test

"Who's the moron who thought hockey would be popular in the desert?"

I think It's Bettman and the rest of the NHL board. An NHL team in Hamilton would seem to be a no-brainer. It has an adequate population base, a lot of local enthusiasm for hockey, and an arena that only needs some minor renovations.

It's ridiculous that there are all those money-losing teams in the southern USA where they don't know or care about hockey. Bettman and his crew of ridiculous yes-men aren't even competent businessmen, they are flighty, irrational, silly schoolboys and what's even worse, they are anti-Canadian.

If they had any brains at all, they would accept Balsillie's bid and also get those money-losing teams out of Dixieland and into  markets that make some kind of business sense, like Winnipeg and Quebec. 

Not only will the judge stick it to Betman and the rest of those toadying hangers-on, so are the creditors lining up to get what they are owed by this bankrupt team.  This morning, on CBC radio I heard that the contractor who worked on the floors at the Phoenix arena is still waiting to be paid.

The issue here is that Balsillie pissed on Betman's front yard so Betman feels threatened by this challenge to his dominance of the NHL. Betman is obsessed, he can't let go of this irrational need to get even with Balsillie. Sigmund Freud would have called this 'castration anxiety', but however you look at it, it's just plain crazy. 

The idea to plant franchises across the southwestern U.S., in fact having a franchise in every major U.S. market was a strategy the NHL board of governors bought into when they hired Bettman, who saw this strategy employed successfully with the NBA. 

It's a model that's worked for every other American game.  Not so much for foriegn games like tennis (remember that?) soccer (real sport?  honestly?) or hockey.  (yes, the greatest game, but not American)

As much as we all love to hate Gary Bettman, I think he's done his job to his honest ability, that is to make the NHL as successfull a business as he can.  And, (damn this hurts)  for the most part he's succeeded.

And, if there's still some wind in your sails about those big bad Americans keeping poor Hamilton from having a franchise because we're stinkin' Canadians, here's a becalming fact.

Hamilton doesn't have a franchise because the Leafs have been-- contrary to business laws (but who really acknowledges them, eh Drabinsky?)  vetoeing every attempt that Hamilton has made.

So, don't hate Gary Bettman.

Hate the Ontario Teachers Pension fund.  Your teachers are the ones being so anti Canadian.