stevkrause

Although you never want to see a guy lose his livelihood, he's simply not an NHL caliber player... he could probably make a decent career signing 2-way deals and jumping between the AHL and NHL for a half a dozen years, but I think any NHL team would be insane to carry him on their 23 man roster given the current landscape of the NHL and what he offers...

Did I say they shouldn't have expanded? No. Don't oversimplify my point, you look like a fool. I said, and I quote: That has nothing to do with "non-traditional" markets, it has to do with doing due diligence and research before going into a non-traditional market. Hockey already failed in Atlanta before and Arizona is barely able to sustain 3 other major sports teams, not to mention the complete lack of northern transplants there at the time... California was already working with LA and there are plenty of transplants, TB was a calculated risk and so was Dallas... it's about moving it into "non-traditional" markets ONLY when it makes sense, not just for the sake of moving... Keep swinging though...

Where did you see/hear that? I find that hard to believe... I personally LOVE the SO for the regular season (think the point value needs to be fixed for what they're worth, but that's a separate issue), but playoffs need to ALWAYS be 20 minute periods of 5 on 5 until someone wins - NO EXCEPTIONS

I personally think all of the major sports should just do away with the All-Star "game" and do a weekend full of skills competitions, with the best in each category... the games themselves suck now anyway...

They only needed a hard cap because of the poor decision making to put teams where they couldn't be profitable in the first place... I didn't say that the majority would be anti-Bettman, I said the minority were old, stodgy tight asses, most of them have sold off, or passed away.... I think the BOG is probably split evenly into 3 camps right now - Anti-Bettman, Pro-Bettman and Indifferent, however, I think those indifferent could be swayed in a vote... that's all I'm saying... my point is, just because he hasn't pissed them off enough to lose his job does NOT mean he's doing his job right - To quote Office Space, he's just "doing enough to not get fired" and that is not the type of "leader" this league needs...

It's different and I don't hate it, but I still think it should go back to the days where every team sends 1 representative chosen by the coach and the following 10 roster spots per conference get voted in by the fans... then the fans can vote again out of the selected participants for starting 6... that's what I would like...

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the war room just gives the on ice official their stance on the play and the on ice official still makes the final call... if anyone has concrete wording about how this is ruled - please share... alsom and as you stated about the goalie interference, I think that the war room should be allowed to overrule ALL calls, regardless of what the ref ruled on ice.... Exactly - intent to blow needs to go away ENTIRELY... Once again - fix the current system.

Fair enough, but the pure fact is that the league has evolved into something very different than it was when he was brought in and the landscape of professional sports as a whole, not to mention the overturn of ownership on quite a few of the franchises in the league. I think if it were put to a vote on a broad scale right now, that there would be a pretty major divide on the parts of the owners, and the old, stodgy tight asses that still own the minority of teams today would be out numbered... hell, some of the most influential owners in the league already have expressed displeasure about Bettman... (Wings, Canadians, Rangers)

A GOOD commissioner is SUPPOSED to offer his ideas and thoughts (just like a lawyer) to persuade the BOG (jury) to his line of thought, which is supposed to be geared towards the best interest of the league and the sport - NOT just be a figurehead, that's wherein the problems lies... Expansion, All-Star weekend crap, re-alignment, scheduling, rule changes (trapezoid, instigator), marketing, etc, etc, etc... are ALL areas where maybe he didn't MAKE them happen, but he sure didn't stop the stupid owners for jacking them up... Also, I personally LOVE the shootout for the regular season, it's just the value it's worth that I have a problem with, so I think this is a poor example... and someone is delusional if they think that he isn't at least a large part of the problem... they need a STRONG, CONFIDENT leader, to hold the owners hands and make them make tough decisions, even when they're too scared/stupid to do so on their own - not a yes man, which Bettman is. Also, anyone who uses the example of the league making money as a sign of his success is VERY short-sighted... that's like selling something and saying, well, I made $10, so it was a victory... even though you could have gotten $100 for it - just because they're turning profits, doesn't mean they're as profitable as they COULD have been with a REAL commissioner.

How do you figure? I didn't say the owners knew what was best for them, I simply stated that he was not it... They BOG haven't gotten rid of him, because he's a yes man and a lap dog and they like that, but what they NEED is someone who will stand up to them and do what's best for the league, while STILL doing what is best for them($$)... not just rolling over for their half-cocked ideas and wants... this league should not settle for "just doing enough" when it could have "doing more than expected"

exactly, like I said above, I think a coaches challenge is pointless and redundant - They already review questionable goals and they're pretty good about going upstairs when there is any doubt in the first place... The thing that needs to be addressed, are the calls coming from the war room - As soon as it goes to the "war room", the ref should no longer have any say and the war rooms decision should be final, also, they need to get a little better at reviewing in said war room and get a better success rate... Oh, and do I even need to mention the removal of "intent to blow"? Very simple: whistle blown - play dead. no whistle - live play. done and done.

It has nothing to do with what he does - it's what he doesn't do. A good commissioner will have the stones to tell the owners when they are being idiots and stand up to them to do what's best for the league and convince them to follow his lead, even when they're too scared/stupid to do so on their own... not just roll over and do EXACTLY as the owners tell them to do... Bettman is a sniveling, little turd of a man who is nothing more than a puppet for the owners and doesn't know enough/care enough about the game to make the hard decisions and tough stands when needed. As much as I love Shanny and think he is really learning the front office job well (and may be ready in 5-10 years) you are dead on, he needs more experience in a business role, before he should even be considered for such a role...

Good, I think they need to address the current review system, not put a new one in place...

it all makes sense now!

Isn't Dryden up for re-election to Parliment in 2012? I'm still holding onto the slim hope that he'll step out of the public sector and back into the NHL and what a better position for him, than commissioner!!! Sorry to say it, and I hate to admit it... but all professional sports leagues need a cap... they just need to fix the cap...

Don't get my hopes up! The very thought of this makes me so happy I could dance... and scream... and spit... and have you ever seen someone dancing, while screaming and spitting simultaneously??!? I'll be committed for sure!

Boogard was the 3rd worst contract of the off-season and is still a better skater than McGratton... most of the other "tough guys" in today's league can skate pretty well as a matter of fact and add hard fore-checking along with their fists (at bare minimum) as well... hell, I would have rather had Downey than McGratton at this stage... name me one every day tough guy in this league today that isn't at least a good energy guy who can skate well and hit in addition to fighting...

Apples to Oranges... it was a WAY different league in 1997 and a guy could get by without being a very strong skater back then... that doesn't apply today.

He was clearing the crease very effectively last night, making good passes and looked positionally ok, he also bailed Rafalski out defensively a couple times too... he still seems to get too deep in the offensive zone at times, but if that's the trade-off to him playing with the confidence he has shown the last handful of games, I'll take it! On a sidenote, how great did Salei look last night?! That is looking like a bargain of a signing right now!

I'm sorry, the guy is one hell of a tough guy and team player, but he is a HORRIBLE hockey player at this stage in his career... he's about as slow as they come and has hands made of concrete covered in brick and then re-covered in concrete... hopefully he goes on to have a decent TV career, but he really should probably just hang them up...

I don't like it either, but I don't think we'll actually see that very much, I think Babs is going to limit Raffi's reg strength ice time since he's just coming back and it's just listed as that for D pairings... I think we're a lot more likely to see: Lidstrom-Stuart Krowall-Salei Lidstom-Ericsson Kronwall-Stuart Salei-Rafalski Kronwall-Stuart Ericsson-Salei Lidstrom-Rafalski Stuart-Kronwall Ericsson-Salei etc, etc, etc...

wow... a blue line with Lidstrom AND Bourque... can't even imagine it... also, the thought of Keenan over Bowman makes me sick to my stomach... MAJOR history changer right there Jimmy D was already pretty high, but he just went up another notch in my book...

I still hope Eaves plays tonight... that article is only speculation...