Heroes of Hockeytown

Pretty classy of the 'Yotes to consult with Owen before deciding to move him. They know he's going to leave for nothing at year's end, but they did the right thing by adhering to his wishes and not stressing those guys out.

So, now, the euphoria of the initial trade has worn off and I'm looking at the positives and negatives of the Bertuzzi deal. The cons are pretty numerous: he's not going to get a lot of time before the playoffs start, if this injury is a chronic one we could be in some s***, he really hasn't been himself in a couple years (though even '04 Bert would be pretty good), and he's had trouble scoring in the playoffs in his career. The positives are undeniable, though. If he can get on track, he provides everything we need: size, toughness, scoring (especially from the wing). The biggest risk isn't the price, of course, there's no risk there at all. The risk is that if he doesn't pan out, our only deadline acquisition was Williams for Calder. The way the other Western Conference powers loaded up, that puts a lot of pressure on Todd do be what we expect him to be, or we might be in trouble. All things considered, though, Holland did what he had to do: A

In case anyone was wondering, these are the specific conditions on the draft picks:

Word around the rest of the league? Ken Holland is the League's Sexiest Man. See? I can make stuff up, too.

Honest to god, I could die a happy human being if I never had to see "croy cros olol" on these boards ever again. How people can misunderstand that move so completely and totally is beyond my ability to comprehend.

Jiri, this is bench. It is made of SIT and DOWN.

Pretty easy going affair for the Wings... Calder looked great. Obviously the goal and the assist, but he drove to the net a few times and provided good jump. Pavel was sharp tonight. He and Homer continue to display good chemistry... Hasek's wanderlust pays off tonight, and boooo Hamilton for messing with the SO. Wings beat Chicago handily, ho hum, we'll do it again Friday with Hank back in the line up.

Bob was on the phone all week long. Back and forth, in and out of town. I found the plane tickets to Florida in his coat pocket. I asked him what he was up to, but all he'd tell me was, "Big surprise, you'll really like it." Well, around three o'clock this afternoon he strolls into yard, ready to spill the big news. I can barely contain my excitement! He held out his hand to mine and revealed... He had secured two tickets to Disney Land. Sweet! See you jerkwads later.

First rounder, Robert Nilsson, Ryan O'Mara for Smyth. EDIT: Echo...!

Can't wait for details on this one...

God, Bob better not f*** this up.

In a perfect world, Tkachuk and Guerin will tank it and Bert will power us through the playoffs, acquired on the strength(!) of his wonky back.

This is it. I can't wait to see this guy play.

This is a good deal. Big time reward for minimal risk.

Trust me, I feel like such a dick, but what can I say. This is a pretty OK thing. Just hope Kindl isn't going the other way.

I printed the front page screen because there are literally a dozen Bert topics up right now. Hooray for board lag! I'm such a hypocrite. I rallied against Bert the whole time but I'm so excited right now. This could be really good.

Shouldn't you be off eating light bulbs in the last car of the circus train?

Yeah. We can also lose. There, now I've pointed out the only two options in the universe.

They're is by two, and we have a game in hand. In other words, their lead is insurmountable. I'm not even sure why we try.

Just to be clear: you think Guerin = Cup?

Guerin gets moved and the Retard Rodeo comes to town again... Mods gonna be workin' overtime this afternoon.

Keep in mind that San Jose and Nashville had deeper systems, so it was easy for them to move young guys and picks for these rentals. Wings are in a tougher spot; small time moves like Calder might be all that's in store...

Just a two-way deal. First rounder, prospect for Guerin...

San Jose is Guerin's new team...

Three way deal?!