ElCapitan

I doubt it. Most of the FA signings were out of Holland's control. As for trading for negotiation rights, I can't remember so many FA's signing under those conditions as this year.

The Avs have been very entertaining to watch this year. They are fast, gritty and have a lot of good, young talent. My youngest son & I watched them play against SJ on Sunday. The beginning of the game, they played awful and were down by 2, but by the end of the 2nd they were up by 2 & ended up winning the game in OT. They just never seem to give up on the game, despite their youth. SJ, on the other hand, doesn't ever seem to play with heart, at least when I watch them play. So I wouldn't be suprised to see them get bounced in the first round...again Because I live here, it's nice to see the Avs do well, but it's hard really cheer them on simply b/c of the old rivalry.

This reminds me of what happened to Mike Modano a couple of years ago. Mike was a good leader but maybe not the best captain. As a historical note, if it happens, I think the last summer Big Joe was given the captaincy, he was soon traded to San Jose. ...I know, it means nothing.

Thanks for posting this.

Tater Salad

I don't usually read this guy but I liked what he had to say about the officiating and class. Stan Fischlers Blog on MaxHockey.com "Creepy Crosby and Other Playoff Postscripts" Creepy Crosby And Other Playoff Postscripts By Stan Fischler * CREEPY CROSBY: You would think that Bill Guerin's class would have rubbed off on Sidney Crosby by now, but it hasn't. In one of the truly crass acts of the Finals, the Penguins captain ignored his Red Wings counterpart, Nik Lidstrom, in the traditional, post-series handshake ritual. Gross, dense, obtuse -- pick any one of them -- they describe Crosby's unsportsmanlike behavior in the moments after Game Seven. Following form, the gentlemanly Detroit captain led his teammates in congratulating the new champions, awaiting Crosby. But Lidstrom waited in vain. The Kid disdainfully iced him out. Apparently, at age 21, Crosby still hasn't figured out what's right and what's wrong in this hockey business. Kris Draper, the Red Wings alternate captain, was right behind Lidstrom and couldn't believe that Sid The Immature blew off so distinguished a gentleman as Lidstrom. "Nick was waiting and waiting," Draper told an Associated Press reporter, "and Crosby didn't come over to shake his hand. That's ridiculous, especially since he's their captain. And make sure you write that I said that." Crosby's whining and petulance has only added to his spoiled-brat image which has turned off fans in virtually every precinct but Pittsburgh. Even worse, the Cup win won't change him a bit. * HOW THE FINALE WAS DECIDED: According to The Maven's observation, Game Seven was decided in the first period by a succession of events. For starters, the Red Wings came off the opening face-off like Gang Busters, hitting every Penguin in sight. It all looked good and the fans at The Joe roared their approval. There was only one problem; when the dust had cleared, the home club had nothing to show for it and this emboldened the Penguins who had won the game's first test -- staying alive in The Blitz. This was followed by a sorrowful succession of Detroit blunders: 1. A giveaway by Brian (Apple Turnover) Rafalski; 2. The first of a series of bad "clears" by Chris Osgood; 3. Endless, mindless Detroit offsides that disrupted otherwise solid attacks; 4. Red Wings second and third-liners couldn't keep pace with Jordan Staal, Tyler Kennedy, Slapsie Maxie Talbot, et. al. 5. Pavel Datsyuk must have been out to lunch at a local diner; he could not be found on the ice. Mike Babcock's boys escaped the period with a 0-0 tie but they couldn't reverse the momentum in the second; which was why Slapsie was able to open the second period so quickly with his goal. * THE UNSUNG PITTSBURGH HERO: Why all the fuss over Mario Lemieux? He just hung around the Penguins for the past few years so that he could get his elusive money. The genuine ace in the high command is Ray Shero. The diffident g.m. made key moves up and down the calendar. Start with his dumping Michel Therrien; then there was the addition of Bill Guerin who succeeded all expectations. And, finally, the selection of hard-to-spell Dan Bylsma of all the unknown coaches to run the bench. If Shero made one bad move, it was not having the guts to forbid Crosby to grow that grotesque moustache. Unforgiveable, that's what it was! * WHY A STENCH FOLLOWS THE CUP: Many media observers commented on a sudden change in officiating for the Finals. Of course, the league never allowed that there was a directive -- or a gentleman's agreement, or whatever -- to allow fouls go uncalled that previously drew whistles in the first three rounds. All of a sudden, as the last round began, it was apparent that the zebras were instructed to "let them play," which is a discreet way of saying that what once was obstruction wasn't obstruction any more. Nice; especially for the Penguins who played goon hockey from the get-go and got away with it. Evgeni (Izzy In A Tizzy) Malkin commits a suspensable foul and emerges to play the next game because -- because -- because. Oh, yeah, because he's Izzy Malkin and not Matt Cooke. And speaking of the dear boy Cooke. Has there ever been a sneakier, dirtier player who got away with more below-the-belt behavior in the Finals than Matty Boy? If it happened only once, I would be happy to overlook it but over and over again the officials cut breaks for the Penguins right down to the end. A look at Talbot's first goal in Game Seven and it' is abundantly apparent that the play began with a center ice offside that never was whistled down. And can we ever forget the Penguins getting away with six skaters for a full TWENTY-ONE seconds without a whistle being blown for too many men on the ice. This was a decisive blunder (oversight, overlook) that turned a game -- nay, the series -- in Pittsburgh's favor. Hail to the ostriches -- disguised as zebras! * WHERE WAS THE GAS MAN? Summing up his team's defeat, Mike Babcock said his club ran out of gas. Superficially, it's a logical alibi. But, no, actually it indicts the coach, himself, for blundering. He had players with plenty of fuel and let them vegetate. Justin Abdelkader starred in the first two Detroit wins. He was full of hiss and vinegar but Babcock scratched the whiz kid and he was nowhere to be found in Games Six and Seven when his speed was most needed. And when the Penguins began pushing around his Red Wings, why wouldn't the coach dress someone who never would take the crap being doled out by that Dirty Cookie named Matt. Chris Chelios would have rapped Cooke's head so hard, he'd have thought he had run into the Grand Coulee Dam, minus the water. Never mind the "out of gas" line; how about "out of coach?" Speaking of which, you can't tell me that a championship coach couldn't extract something better than what Babcock got out of Marian Hossa, the multi-multi-multi millionaire who couldn't get a multi-goal, let alone one measly red light in the last game. Then again, to score a goal would have required the Highway Robber to show up; and we know that never happened, don't we? (We sure do, Aunti Tillie, we sure do.) * NEXT YEAR: Always there's the infantile media rush to predict another Cup or Cups for the Penguins and the suggestion that other clubs will follow in the path off Pitt-style firewagon hockey. But let's not get dumb so fast. That's what happened after Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and the Blackhawks gang won The Cup in 1961. They were going to win again in 1962, 1963 and 1964. Ha! Nearly a half-century has elapsed and Chicago still hasn't won another championship. With all the talent -- including the greatest goalie I ever saw, Glenn Hall in goal -- the Blackhawks became a glittering team of high-speed also-rans. Don't be so sure that Pittsburgh will win another Cup in 48 years. Heads -- as in Crosby -- get swelled. Unrestricted free agents forget loyalty and bolt. And who says Bylsma will be able to control this collection over an entire season? (Ask Therrien.) * AU REVOIR: In the meantime, hail to the Champs and kudos to the runners-up who came out on top in a commendably key area -- CLASS. That's something that Sidney The Kidney, with all his millions, can't buy, although I'm sure that Nik Lidstrom would be glad to offer a few classes to The Whiner. For that, though, The Whiner has to be first in line; not hiding from Nice Guy Nik.

Uh...OK. Silly Troll!

I would like to see Laperrier with a winged wheel. He's tough, loyal, can play and wouldn't cost that much...but he'll probably still be wearing an Av sweater next year.

I too would be fine with Neil. I just don't want to give up anything for him. My concern is what he'd be asking for to re-sign. I'm sure it will be twice as much as he's making now (1.2 mil) I'm not sold on Voros either, but if we were to pick him up off of waivers, it would cost us nothing. If he didn't work out, he gets sent down to GR. If he does work out, then great for us. To me, he brings more than Kopecky in that he fights.

I'm not sure what happened to Varos' performance after his great start. I wouldn't mind seeing him here though. He's 27 and has a cap hit of 1 mil. thru 2010-2011.

Schneider to the Habs "The Atlanta Thrashers have traded defenceman Mathieu Schneider to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for second and third round picks. Schneider previously played for the Canadiens from the 1989-90 season to the 1994-95 campaign. This season, the New York native has 4 goals and 11 assists in 44 games. The 39 year-old was selected in the third round (44th overall) of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. A very well-traveled veteran, Schneider has had stints with the Canadiens, Islanders, Maple Leafs, Rangers, Kings, Red Wings, Ducks and Thrashers. Details to follow."

The Stars will have an AHL team in Austin in the fall. The Texas Stars.

Nice Van. I'm usually on MUD (COMITX) when I have time but I'll have to check out expeportal more. Good to see Cruiser fans in other places. Cheers :beerbuddy:

What would make this really funny, as it pertains to the brilliance of Burke, would be if the Ducks had to put Schneider on re-entry waivers.

Take away Roberts and the dollar amount of the contract, I like these kinds of contracts for older players who's roles/performance/health are in questions. It both protects the team's interest and adds incentive for the player. Edited for grammar

And we all know how well that worked out for Colorado, eh?

They were booing Bettman. It's almost become a well deserved tradition for him. Anyways, congrats to the Pens for making this an excellent series. It won't be long before it's your turn.

QFT. If Wings carry the play for the full 60 minutes, they will win. The Pen looked really bad for most of that game.

There certainly is no evidence that the NBC or the Pittsburgh announcers have "rose colored glasses" that favor the Wings. Just because you claim vast (non-NHL) experience, it doesn't make your opinion right. If a consensus of knowledgeable hockey people was asked for, away from this board, you would be in the minority...period.

I've done some soul searching. I've seen the light! I'm changin' my ways. I now know the truth about the real Don Cherry. Thanks GMRwings1983, Heaton, Opie and all you other wise sages for your wisdom & insight! :beerbuddy:

My comments are not about defending Cherry. They are about HYPERSENSITIVE people that throw out the race card any time someone says something about someone of a different nationality or race. They are about people who do not understand, or refuse to understand the definitions of certain words and then improperly throw them out because of their dislike of someone and/or to be inflammatory. This is the kind of attitude and tactic that has artificially kept the fires of racism flaming in this country, the U.S., for decades. I hate it. And for the record, I do know plenty about and have directly experienced racism. I’m a white man and I dated a black woman for almost 2 years. We caught a lot of crap for it from both perspective races. So please spare me any “you could never understand” comments. Once again, if anyone can listen to Cherry’s comments about “Sissy Euros” with any kind of discernment, they would understand that his comments are really about a STYLE OF PLAYING HOCKEY, not racism or xenophobia. You can’t even compare it to the “Black Ho” comment by Mr. Imessedup. I see that you’re 24. I can only assume that you’re either in college or are fresh out of college and know everything that there is to know about anything. Unfortunately it sounds like you’re outlook has been well shaped by liberal college professors. Hopefully someday you can grow up. Maybe a little hypersensitivity training and some real life experience will help.

I like hitting as much as anyone but as Ducks found out, it didn't win the series. The Wings focused on skill and matched the hitting aspect of the game on an as needed basis. That's a better recipe for success and curtails injuries. I'll bite. I totally disagree. According to my dictionary... Racist: Discrimination or prejudice based on race. Xenophobic: Fear and contempt of strangers or foreign peoples. Europeans & Canadians are generally the same race, especially when it comes to hockey players from across the pond. For Cherry to be racist, he would have to be discriminatory or prejudiced toward his own race. Cherry never talks about hockey in terms of race. If you listen to him, he is talking about a style of playing hockey, not about race, not about fear and contempt of people who live in other countries. Comments like yours are nothing but ignorant and/or inflammatory, just like those of a true racist. Please keep the race card in your pocket and stick to talking about hockey.

Yes, he's been off the ice for the last 3 to 4 weeks.

A used Trojan!

I too think this would be an interesting trade an good for both teams. But... Dallas Stars' Turco isn't trade bait