VM1138

No way it's a reasonably successful team. That leaves only Florida and Phoenix. If it's Phoenix, it makes sense. They need to rebrand in order to try to generate some sort of interest and fresh start. Florida, while being a failure, doesn't have the repeated stench of highly public misery that Phoenix does.

That article was a good one, Drapes still has game, at the very least as an extra forward. I say re-sign him for another year. He DID look good this year, and if he feels so strongly about not being done, unlike most players toward the end of their careers, let him play. He sounds like he's 100% sure he can still play, and if a guy has that sort of confidence coming off a decent season (not a terrible one like so many expected) and going the extra mile to get in shape, you really shouldn't pass it up.

I think hockey players in general are better role models. There's hardly any violence associated with them, except for maybe the very, very, very rare domestic dispute, and (in general) alcoholism is about as bad as it gets. They party hard but they also tend to be good people, unlike a lot of football, basketball, and baseball players. So yeah, I think it's great that everyone--white, black, Asian, isn't there even a native Mexican in the NHL?--is making the NHL and staying classy.

Cool article, but Popeye seemed to have an "anything but hockey" attitude early on.

8-1? What the hell? Vancouver has such trouble keeping their foot on the gas. I guess my sweep prediction was way off.

That actually makes me feel better about it, haha. Way to go, Kid.

Well that Chicago picture makes me second-guess my first appraisal of Kid Rock, haha.

Islanders to Quebec City next, that solves CBC's dilemma, haha. Then we move Florida and wait on Bettman to give up on Phoenix and the league will be in good shape.

Nice to have the "inside info!" I, too, had read about Lindsay insulting Howe's wife, but I thought I had read somewhere else it was either overstated or made up. At any rate, I had heard they had patched things up, even if they're not friends anymore, a few years back, good to hear some confirmation. And I second an earlier comment here: Tell Mr. Lindsay to get cracking on an autobiography! Not only is he significant to hockey, but he's significant to overall labor movements and such a book would be interesting and important from a historical point of view. As someone with a B.S. in History and is in the MA program, I'd be more than happy to lend my assistance.

I wonder...is there such a drop for other sports regarding teams not in the Finals watching their respective sport? Or is hockey pretty much dead for people who don't have a horse in the race?

Since when can you only have a sponsor from one brand per industry?

Prices for players are higher than they were a few years ago, I'm not so sure the "Lidstrom limit" still applies. You're just not going to get amazing talent if you impose an artificial limit like that on your team. I mean, when Lidstrom retires, are we not allowed to sign anyone for more money than Datsyuk and Zetterberg? Their contracts were signed years ago and were low even for then.

Not a big fan of his music but he seems like an all right guy, as far as anyone can tell from a public figure.

I see another relocation happening in 2012, but not expansion. They'd have to be pretty stupid to want to expand when so many teams are already struggling. Although, among the narrow minds in business, expansion is always good. If you're not expanding you're losing, right?

Why the hell would anyone want Tanguay on their team? Is it 2003?

Pavel Bure Doug Gilmour Joe Nieuwendyk Dave Andreychuk Belfour probably deserves to get in. Honestly, I don't know, other than Bure, take your pick. I don't see why Lindros should ever be included in the Hall of Fame, if ever there was a definition of flash in the pan it was him. Each year it becomes more clear to me how useless Hall of Fames are. I don't know if having annual inductions is a good thing, and I especially don't know if including so many players each year is a good thing. Sometimes it seems less like a Hall of Fame and more like some quota they have to fill. What would be truly impressive is being inducted into a Hall of Fame with less than 50 people in it.

I would love to see the Conference system abandoned altogether. I find it disappointing that western teams can never compete directly for the Cup.

Also, it's pretty well known that Winnipeg's problems stemmed from corporate support, not fan support. The fans there are fine and will support the franchise well.

The Wings don't really do much suspension-worthy, I doubt Shanny will have to be hard on them.

Even I forgot about the Finals for a little bit. I smell disastrous ratings for this final series.

I think Kenny is done signing wily veterans for now. It worked and all, bu right now the team needs more than one year contract solutions. With Rafalski gone and Lidstrom probably retiring next season, it's not about simply adding a bit of depth, it's about rebuilding the back end at the very least. The time for past-their-prime veteran signings is probably over, at least until the core is rebuilt with some longer-term deals.

Losing McCrimmon was great news. Losing MacLean, too? Bad news. Replacing one coach is hard enough and MacLean, as far as I could tell, was fantastic for the Wings.

Awesome, next season is shaping up to be a good one for the NHL and the Wings so far, I think.

What's wrong with the Buffalo one? It's not the most attractive thing, but considering it's from the 90s I don't think it's that out of place with the norm. It looks an awful lot like the 'Canes jerseys now if you ask me. And the LA jerseys look more fitting on a basketball court instead of a hockey rink. And the third jerseys like the Santa ones and the Don Cherry ones probably shouldn't be considered among the worst, simply because it seems they were done tongue in cheek, not trying to be cool like most of these did.

Honestly, I want him to make the jump. I have faith in Holland's strategy, and I'm not necessarily against over-ripening, but once in a while it's good to throw a player in the fire and see if he survives, so to speak. Smith has all the talent in the world, and he could really benefit from a year with Lidstrom, even playing limited minutes. He can always get used to big minutes as he develops over the years in the NHL. If Smith is as good as we're all hoping, he'll only be better for the bumps and mistakes he makes in the NHL level. And if he tanks, well, there's always the AHL for a conditioning year, right? Once in a while it's good to take a chance. I'd like to have a potential superstar for his whole career instead of just the last 10 years of his career for once. And honestly, if he impresses, why not just let him start the season and send him down when he's not needed? That way he doesn't just sit on the bench all season, but he doesn't have to wait until March to get in one or two games, either. I'm sure Holland could leave a little gap in the cap space to allow for this.