NGKEIB

I'll be waiting for Eklund to give me the scoop on this one.

It must be said, that there is a difference between gunning around in a car when completely wasted, and tooling around on a moped after a few beers...

Is this an e5?

Callahan is intruiging - he's not eligible to play in GR for a while, but Kenny has already signed him to a contract! I believe that he didn't have to do this for another two years, so it is certainly a good sign. His numbers aren't that bad either. He will obviously never be anything close to a heavy, but it would be great if he could turn into a little sparkplug who can play a regular shift.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that you need to be eloquent etc. to be a good leader - I was just raising the issue that he doesn't always seem comfortable in interviews, but will be the centre of huge media attention. It will be interesting to see how he reacts.

But is he really the guy you want dealing with the scrutiny of the Toronto media? He doesn't strike me as particularly intelligent or articulate, and can appear uncomfortable in interviews.

Forsberg and Näslund both played for MoDo, without taking any money, when they saw that MoDo's season was in danger.

Ultimately, I think that Carcillo has more 'talent'. He made steps this season in terms of toning down his mania (he did have his dumb/crazy moments though) - maybe they're hoping that they can turn him into someone who can pot 10-15 goals, play a solid shift, but still have that wild edge. Bear in mind, he draws a huge number of penalties.

What happened to Cheechoo? Thornton made him about 40 goals better than he really was...

For great Forsberg videos (there are also other good tributes), search for Forsberg on this guy's page: http://www.youtube.com/user/vega21

The sad thing about Forsberg is that as far as I know it has only recently (past year or two) come out that the reason for his constant groin and foot injuries is the fact that he apparently was born with deformed feet, which over the years gave him more and more clubfoot-like symptoms. So the blame that gets laid on him for constantly being injured (whether it is because he's soft, didn't tone down his physical play as he aged etc.) are mostly unfair. He was such a dominant player back in the day. My only beef with him is that whenever anyone scores on the penalty shot that Kenta Nilsson first used, they say that Forsberg came up with it. Source is Aftonbladet: http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/hockey/internationellt/nhl/article390924.ab

I agree that right now Draper's contract isn't looking too good. I don't see what the problem is with Maltby's contract, however. If I could pick between the two right now, I would take Maltby. He proved that he can still play on the PK. Don't forget he led our team in goalscoring at one point in the season.

The first few and last few laps of Formula 1 can be interesting. Nascar?

OKT will be playing in Sweden this coming year. The Wings will make him a qualifying offer just to keep his rights.

Am I the only one who slightly disagrees with the argument that Osgood's success is a result of the Wings solid play, and that he sucked in St. Louis and New York?

Well, in Europe you can often drink before you can drive (at least in Belgium, where you need to be 16). That's not too bad. I think that this is being blown out of proportion. Is it that shocking that a twenty-one year old guy at has gotten drunk and had a fight?

I think Tampa is picking far ahead enough of Detroit for us not to worry about them stealing our picks. Let's just hope Andersson hasn't given anything away...

Haha. Sweden vs Switzerland is on right now, Sweden leading 3-0. One of the Swedish commentators just said that he thinks that Ericsson could be among the top three defensemen in the world, in terms of having a good first pass.

Just for those of you who aren't watching the Worlds, from the matches I've seen Ericsson play (I might have missed one of them) he is doing very well. Playing very calmly in his own zone, not turning the puck over and moving it very well, not to mention at times jumping up into the play. Hopefully he keeps it up and can use his newly-regained confidence at the start of next season.

Would you say that he symbolized the type of player that one 'hates when on someone else's team but loves when on one's own'?

This is off topic, but MacK, having now seen your Sakic and Fedorov signatures, I am very sorry for you...

Haha. Am I the only one who finds 'Buff' an inappropriate nickname? 'Chunky' seems to work so much better...

That would be hilarious... Holmström deflecting it with a bat between the umpire's legs. Howard letting it go between his legs. Lilja blocking it. Draper appearing out of nowhere and getting hit in the face (and having it bounce off of his beard for a home run). Dan Cloutier standing in the outfield, and Nick throwing one past him.

I think that Datsyerberger's point is a valid one - is it certain that Babcock was referring to Hudler's points, or the net point gain that his return would inspire (e.g. Cleary getting more as well)?

Is anyone else looking forward to Murray vs 'Buff'? If I could pick a team to win it would be Philly, but part of me wants a WC team to win, just as a statement that our conference is better and harder to play in.