MacK_Attack

Habs won't have Kovalev due to a groin injury.

A new amendment to the CBA that forbids the use of motorized golf carts during team golf functions, of course! Those guys can afford caddies!

And yet, the Red Wings logo was ripped off from a Montreal team, so maybe there's poetic justice in there somewhere. I kid, these online logo/mask/jockstrap competitions are rather pointless. I think all of the Original Six logos are great because of their simplicity. Gives them that classic look that so many newer teams fail to capture.

TSN reporting that the severity is such that he may miss the entire season.

I sense a Mathieu Schneider-to-St. Louis trade on the horizon.

They reported the attendance as 19,483 http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20072008/GS020485.HTM

Well, they scan each ticket on the way in the door, correct? That means they know exactly which tickets have been redeemed and which ones are still outstanding. Not that any team would ever do such a thing.

Paid attendance and actual butts in the seats are often two very different numbers.

Marchant has a no-trade clause and is American.

United Center is the biggest in the U.S. , I believe. Something like 20,500 for hockey. The Bell Centre seats over 21,000 for the most seats in the NHL.

Also, Kariya's pay-cut at that point in time allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent much earlier than the required 31-years old at the time. (10-year veterans making less than the league average could opt for Group V free agency back then)

They can put him on re-entry waivers, which means if he was claimed, the Ducks and the claiming team would split Schneider's salary & cap hit 50/50. If they trade him, the team acquiring him takes on 100% of his salary.

Schneider cleared waivers; no takers.

Wayne Gretzky said today that he won't be picking the Canadian roster for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. This is more or less an endorsement for Steve Yzerman to take the job, but Gretzky says he wants to coach the team, instead. The announcement of who will be Executive Director of Canada's 2010 Olympic team will be made in a few weeks. http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2008/09/15/gretzky_2010/

Seven years, worth approx. $56 million. http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=249130&lid...os=topStory_nhl

As far as I'm aware, Detroit hasn't let anybody speak to him about a GM position yet. I know the Leafs requested permission to speak to him and Jim Nill at various points and we're denied on both accounts.

My guess is that there is some kind of back-room deal here. Gretzky publicly removes his name from the director position and in exchange, he'll be named coach of the Olympic team.

TSN reporting that Steve Yzerman will be named the Executive Director of Team Canada. http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=249597&lid...os=topStory_nhl

Sawchuk won the Vezina in 1964/65 with Johnny Bower.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=249235&lid...os=secStory_nhl

Lang will get eaten up and spit out in Montreal with his work ethic. His first slump in Montreal will not be a easy one for him.

Hockey is infinitely more popular in Europe than American football.

Sounds like the NHLPA trying to put words in Radulov's mouth in order to influence an arbitration hearing.

It's also been two months since a desperate team offered a 37-year old $10 million per season. What would they offer a 25-year old Eric Staal? He'd get a league max offer almost for sure. $8.25 million is an awful lot, but it's probably less than an open market deal, as scary as that is. That might be part of it from the Canes perspective. If they have to pay out the nose to retain a guy, they're going to want to force as many teams as they can in similar situations to do the same by creating this precedent for a 23-year old like Staal. Getting it done early gets those numbers out there and sets another benchmark for all-star players.

Final numbers are seven years, $57.75 million