kipwinger

Atta boy Dylark!

Toews and Ovechkin suspended for backing out of the ASG after the league condoned, and even requested, that John Scott do the same. If I were them I'd file a grievance with the union. What a joke.

Didn't Smith get banged up in the third period of the Anaheim game? What's the status with that? Maybe Jensen gets a game after all eh?

I'd be happy if they'd just swap Andersson for Callahan.

Babs tried it a few times and it didn't seems to work out. They seemed to herky jerky, like they were both trying to be the same thing at the same time. But maybe Blash can figure something else out.

Ugh. I can't believe I'm about to defend Brendan Smith. First, bottom pair defensemen (and bottom 6 forwards) are almost NEVER the reason for a bad season. The difference in quality between our bottom pair and that of...say...Washington, is marginal. If we don't make the playoffs this year it will be because none of our high end players (aside from Larkin) was comparably better than their counterparts on more successful teams. None of Dats, Z, Tatar, Nyquist, Kronwall, Green, etc. have been as good as they should be. Secondly, Smith's handpass from the bench. I'm tired of hearing about it. For two years prior to that play, I'd been regularly pointing out that Smith just wasn't very good, and was almost UNIVERSALLY met with opposition. Smith could blow coverages, turn the puck over in the d-zone, make bad pinches, or take untimely penalties and the chorus was generally, "Smitty's good. He's dynamic because of his skating. He's the only guy that will drop the gloves". People loved that dope...inexplicably. Then the handpass happened and all the same people who loved him before, started s***ting on him. But that wasn't his low point. His low point was the previous two years when he regularly sucked and everybody said "Smith's playing pretty good right now, maybe our best defenseman". Now Smith IS playing pretty good. He's rounding out his game in a way I NEVER thought he would. And people are still talking about that handpass. It was dumb. I agree. But it's far from the worst thing he's done on the ice (not that anybody had bothered to notice before). And he's far from the player he was when he did it. So can we all get back to bitching about Ericsson already?

Jesus, what the hell happened to Keith Tkachuk? He looks like the older version of himself ate the younger one. What a tub of s***.

He's convinced that this move away from enforcers is temporary, so he's probably already suffering from the effects of CTE. Lol. But on a serious note, what else is he going to say? He's pretty well locked into this career, I doubt he's ready to retire. I'm sure he thinks the risk is worth the reward if he thinks he will be back in the NHL one day.

Ouch.

I just hope he's on the ice for the opening faceoff of the first game his team plays. Also, I love that he will get his picture taken face to face with the opposing captains of each team during the ceremonial puck drops.

Its easy to understand, Smiths most recent screw up led to a goal. That tends to stick in peoples minds if you end up losing the game. But overall he's been pretty good as of late. Definitely not our biggest concern.

I regularly forget the Ottawa Senators are a National Hockey League team. If not for the occasional reference to Erik Karlsson I'd forget about them completely between each game we play against them. They're like the St. Louis Blues. Sometimes I catch myself saying "oh yeah, St. Louis has a hockey team...huh".

I see Washington play more than any team aside from the Wings. I dont hate them but I wouldn't say I root for them. I guess I'd say Columbus is my second fav. Or Winnipeg. I liked the way the BJs played under Richards, and the fan support they get. I like Winnipeg because I really like several of their individual players.

I'm glad. This was the right thing to do.

They're a modern dynasty, why wouldn't they talk about the Hawks glowingly? Everybody talked about the Wings like that when we were in their positions.

So let me get this straight, John Scott gets this entire situation thrust on him and his first thoughts were to thank his teammates and think about what a cool experience it will be for his family? What a dick. Definitely not the kind of "boy next door" role model the NHL has been pushing for years.

Just bought my shirt. FTW

That's because their coach doesn't appear to get his jollies off of being the center of a media circus.

Wasn't it just a couple of years ago that volunteering to sit out of the all star game got you a one game suspension? I recall Lidstrom and Datsyuk having to sit out a game because they chose not to go. Now the league WANTS a player to voluntarily sit out? How convenient moral ambivalence can be!

I'd can't boo because I won't be there. But I think those with media influence should champion that idea. As for me, I won't watch. Not the skills competition, not the game, nothing.

I'm also a little annoyed that Don Cherry, Mike Milbury, and the rest of the pro fighting crowd, have remained mum regarding Scott. How fickle. You're going to go on and on about how great fighting is, and then don't support a fighter that's getting railroaded. Makes you question their motives for sure.

Here's another thing I'd say about Scott. All those people who championed the "vote Scott" campaign (most notable Puck Daddy) need to do the right thing and publicize the hell out of this. Maybe even start a petition or boycott. They had as much to do with this as anyone, and it would be a shame if they threw up their hands after essentially getting him involved in this in the first place.

If the NHL, and a sizeable chunk of its fans, is going to insist that fighting is a necessary, traditional, and integral part of the game then I don't see why an individual shouldnt be voted into the all star game based on skill in this area. You can't have it both ways. Fighting can't be tacitly condoned, if not downright celebrated, while the fighters themselves are barred from receiving honors based on their ability to do this "nesessary" part of the game well. And that's to say nothing of the extremely contemptable decision to offer a man a life changing opportunity and then conspire to take it away. After all, regardless of his skill level, john Scott has devoted his entire life to loving and playing hockey. This is his hall of fame moment and he might be robbed of it. Its an absolutely awful way to treat a guy who probably loves the game more than any of us.

If he isn't allowed to go, after he was voted in and was expecting to go, I'm going to be very disappointed in all involved. Scott has done nothing but handle this graciously, made it all about the opportunity for his family, and as an end cap for a career that's coming to an end. In his statements about the game he seemed legitimately excited, and it would be REALLY screwed up to take it away from him now. I don't usually get on board the "NHL front office is the worst" train, but this would be shameful.

So I can't post links from my phone for some reason, but if you look up "Martin Fork Prospects Report" on YouTube you'll hear some interesting thoughts from Holland, Blashill, and Ryan Martin concerning Frk. For what they're worth you can look up George Malik's notes (I know) on Frk. He does an analysis of all the prospects at the development camp and main camp and has consistently noted Frks pensive approach to the game, but undeniable skill and work ethic. Hope it helps.