Hank

Hahaha! Can you give us some funny stories from when he was your coach? I just recently read a post on HF where Tony Amonte was coachign a 9 year old team in a Vegas hockey tourny. Apparently his team was overly rough and aggressive but when the opposing coach called him on it, Amonte responded "Welcome to the real world a**hole!". Nice.

I think you're on to something Gordie! Teams can buy Preds players for ticket packages! Brilliant! It's probably the only way you'll be able to get tickets sold! Lets get some money together and we'll buy 4 seasons passes for Legwand, Weber and Radulov. Heck, I'll even throw in a standing room only pass for Tootoo and then banish him to laundry duty. I don't want him in the kitchen as he might attack the dish washer without any warning while wearing knights armor.

I could be. But I don't know how anyone dispute hard evidence. They're attendance has gone down 4,000 in only 3 games since the opener. I seriously don't know how anyone can say, with a straight face, that Nashville is a good hockey town. They've had 2 prospective buyers and 1 current owner and all 3 parties have exercised or looked into seeing how they can get the team out of town. That can't be good.

All it does is show me that they're inconsistent after 4 games. They looked great against the Avs but the crap they took against Phoenix last night was horrendous. Phoenix could easily be the worst team in the NHL this year. The fact remains that the Preds have always had very poor attendance and I don't see that changing. Like I mentioned, everyone in the Nashville area knows about the teams struggles and the fact that if they don't average 14,000 fans they're as good as gone. And how has the city responded? By only buying 12,000 tickets 4 games into the season. Edmonton faced the same kind of thing a few years back. When Don Cherry personally challenged the people of Edmonton to put up or shut up, the Oilers sold out every game the rest of the season and haven't looked back. That was only 1 man challenging the city. Nashville has had countless articles and TV exposure to their plight and even held a ticket selling rally. And what did it get them??? NOTHING. I feel bad for the 6 diehard fans the city has. But it's time to let it go. The Preds had one of the best teams in the league last year and they sold like crap. They've lost a lot of key players and are in a 'reload' phase right now, while facing extinction. I don't see that helping ticket sales. It's time to let the dream die. If the Preds don't leave this year, it'll be next year or the year after that. But it will come eventually and probably in the next 5 years. For lack of a better analogy it's like begging a wife to stick around even though it's apparent to everyone else on the planet she doesn't want you anymore and is banging a guy from Kansas City, Vegas and Hamilton. The only thing keeping her around is legal documents that are soon to be annulled giving her the freedom she desperately wants.

But this is also the first time the fans have faced losing their team. And how do they respond? With indifference. And judging by how they've played the last 2 games, against two of the weaker teams in the West, I see this team struggling. If the Preds can barely draw flies while being one of the best teams in the league, how are the locals going to respond when they're team isn't as good and will more than likely move out of town? I'm making a guestimation but if all the other 29 teams were facing extinction unless they hit the 14,000 mark I'd say, outside of maybe Atlanta and Florida, all the other teams would fill the house to save the team. The declining attendance after 3 games (and yes, I'm aware it's after only 3) tells me that the fans couldn't care less about the Preds. I see this team averaging between 12-13,000 throughout the year. And in all honesty I hope that's the case. Nashville has been a disaster for the NHL. They take more revenue sharing cash than any other team, they've brought no interest to the NHL and they've been a giant eye and ear sore on the league with the fiasco of selling the club. This team seriously can't contract or move fast enough. If the NHL despises small market teams that have good fan followings imagine how they feel about small markets where the fans couldn't care less.

Great story. When I was younger I got to meet Paul Ysebaert at an autograph signing at a local mall. After getting his signature I asked if I could shake his hand (yeah, I'm that big of a nerd). He looked pleasantly surprised and said "Sure!". It was a huge thrill for me and I still have the memorabilia. I've been to other signings and like you said, a lot of the guys are kind of jerks about it not saying 'thank you' at all.

And on the heels of this article comes the announced attendance of 12,155. Attendance after 3 home games: Game 1: Opening Night, Thursday Night, vs. Colorado - 16,363 Game 2: Saturday Night, vs. Dalls - 13,079 Game 3: Wednesday vs Phoenix - 12,155 I'ts only 3 games but I really don't see this team coming close to averaging 14,000 a night. Which is funny because I read lots and lots of propaganda from Preds fans that said they had 13,500 seasons tickets sold. It's funny how both sides are saying the other one is lying. A report comes out saying the area cares nothing for hockey to which Preds fans scream "That's a lie! Nashville is a great hockey market and we support it!". And then we read attendance figures like this. Preds are done and it can't come soon enough. Please sell this team to Ballsillie and put it in a city that gives two craps about hockey.

I agree with all of this. I know that VS doesn't get the exposure but you can't argue that VS treats the NHL far better than ESPN did. But I think this horse has already been beaten far after it's death. Regarding the game itself I agree that it's a LOT better than it was a few years ago. My only wish would be that more teams would try to open things up. After 51 games this season 43% of them had one team, or both, score 1 goal or less. And 13% of them have ended with a shutout while GPG is down to 5.25. It's only 2 weeks, I know, but Bob McKenzie said on TSN's preview show that he felt, judging by last years playoffs, that defense would be trumpeted even more and we'd be seeing a lot more 2-1, 1-0 and 3-1 games this season and so far he's right. I'm just so tired of how sterile the league has become. Nobody's allowed to try anything special or take a risk to create offense. Everything from face-offs to neutral zone coverage is videotaped and analyzed to death. It's like the players are all robots, with only a select few being better at shooting or passing. But everyone back-checks with authority and blocks shots with abandon. I know that some think "scoring chances are just as exciting as goals" but I don't agree with that one iota. Goals get me excited and get me out of my seat. Oh well, I guess I have to let the brand of hockey I witnessed in the 80's pass by. It's not just that the players are stronger and faster, it has more to do with the style of hockey being played. Coaches are trying to keep their jobs and get their teams in the playoffs so the owners can get that nice fat playoff revenue. And it's been proven time and time again that defense wins games a lot more than offense. LOL! Are you serious? He sounds like a cool guy on the radio.

Punishment?

Dang! I can't watch it from work. This is at the top of my list for when I get home!

You know, no matter how many times I see McCabe do something retarded like this, I still enjoy it. He's the only reason why I like watching the Leafs. You know in every game he's going to fall over his own feet, make a horrible outlet pass right to the opposition, get burned by 3rd and 4th liners and take countless stupid penalties while pleading innocence to the ref while the player on the ice has McCabe's stick impaled in his chest. I bet you could make a good 2 hour montage of McCabe screaming at refs for 'bad calls' when the replay clearly shows that he can-opened, slashed, speared, interfered or hooked an opponent. The guy truly is priceless. Oh wait, no he's not, JFJ signed him for nearly $8M a year. Now THAT'S priceless!!! Hahahaha!

The schedule definitely is hurting attendance. I know I'd much rather watch Detroit play Toronto 8 times than the garbage that exists in the Central. Outside of Detroit, there isn't an interesting team. Sure, Nashville will probably still do alright but how can you get into a rivalry when the other teams fans couldn't care less? I still think a big reason for the lack of butts in the seats is the style of play and the makeup of this team. We're a soft team with no real 'star' to jump on. And that doesn't mean a 50 goal scoring North American. The city would happily embrace anyone that played like McCarty did in his prime, or a prime-Probert (duh, that's an easy statment to make). I love the Wings and I always will but there's something very milk-toast about the team we currently have. We need more character guys. I know I'll get slammed for saying this and labeled a fair-weather fan, but a lot of nights I find myself flipping from the Wings game to other more exciting teams. Maybe it's because I'm tired of watching them play the Blackhawks for the 24th time in 3 years, or maybe I'm tired of watching too much ticky-tack hockey, or maybe it's because the entire league knows that we sewed up the Central Division title in September. Who knows? But as of right now, the Wings regular season does seem like a formality. And it doesn't help that 40% of their games are against weak opposition that barely hold my interest. I can attest to that estimation as I was there. There was definitely no more than 15,000 people at the Joe. I like the rest of your points too. Excellent post.

Touche. P.S. Love the avatar. Stay classy Tie Domi!

I hate being a 'downer' but I couldn't help realize something after the opening week of the NHL; every team is basically the same. Now don't get me wrong, I think the quality of games has far surpassed anything that was offered during the dead-puck era. It's night and day in regards to the speed and openness of the game. But basically, because of all the money involved and too much expansion in the late 90's and early 2K's, each team is forced to play a very defense-first style. The only thing that separates the Wings from the Wild or Avs from the Devils is the amount of scorers on the top lines. But every team plays a sort of trap while not allowing any of the players to showcase any kind of creativity. In the 80's (again, I'm showing my age), it seemed that teams tried to outscore each other. It's the opposite now. I have ideas how the NHL can rectify this, but I think it's gotten to the point where I need to shutup and just enjoy any kind of hockey there is. Because I don't see any changes coming anytime soon. Coaches jobs and millions are on the line and the easiest way to win is defense. Anyone can be taught to backcheck, but not everyone can be taught to thread passes or pick top corners. Am I way off base? How does everyone else here feel? Again, I hate bashing on the NHL as it's so cliche and seems to be the most popular thing to do in pro sports. And I really, really do like the quality of play since the lockout. But I guess I long for the day where the star player on each team was gettin 25-35 minutes of ice time a night and had free reign to let their skills take over games.

I think Ron MacLean brought this up to Bettman last season and Bettman told him it will never happen. I don't know why as I like how each team has to travel the same amount. Screw Lou Lamourello!

You're not the only one. And there are a lot more teams out there that have similar looking jerseys. The Sens look like practice threads too. Not enough striping or colours.

Went to the game last night (literally walked up to the willcall window and got 2 $22 tickets - I LOVE FAIR WEATHER FANS!!! ) Anyway, the game was great, but the puck bounced so much it was like they were working with a rubber ball out there. I guess the 100 degree heat has something to do with it. Anyway, a couple of observations: 1. Datsyuk and Zetterberg need to learn when it's appropriate to shoot and when to pass. On several occasions both had glorious chances to score but elected to dish instead of shoot. 2. Zetterberg should have gotten 5 points (I have him in my pool so I expect more from him ). He made some sick plays and was easily the best Wing last night. 3. Lidstrom made 2 mistakes. Has hell frozen over? 4. Sammy is the only guy that seems to know when he should shoot. And he actually hit the net more than he missed. But he still makes bad decisions at times and is really a good 3rd line player forced to play on the top 2 lines because of lack of scoring. 5. Draper is horrible. There is no way on this planet this guy should be anywhere near a scoring line. He has NO hands and ZERO offensive instincts. Put him on the 4th line immediately. 6. Hasek still look solid. All in all, it was a fun game to watch and I felt that we really took the play to the OIlers. Edmonton only had a handful of decent chances as we controlled the play most of the night. But if Raffi Torres actually had any kind of hands, the game could have gone the Oilers way. He had at least 3 quality scoring chances, but failed to score on all of them. Also, we watched the warm-ups and I was forced to observe the Edmonton half because the buddy I went with is a big Oiles fan. There are some things that grown men shouldn't do: 1. Wear a jersey of a team that isn't even in the game. And have a name on that jersey of a player that isn't even with that team anymore. Some stoner had a Lindros Leafs jersey. I think the next time I go watch the Wings and Blackhawks I'll put on a Jeremey Roenick Coyotes jersey. 2. Grown men should not act like 10-year old star struck girls. There was one dude who had a 'Samsanov' Oilers t-shirt that would wave or give the 'black power sign' each time one of the Oilers players skated by him and made eye-contact. He had this dumb-ass grin on his face that made my buddy and I howl. I'm a big homer myself but I'm not going to watch the Wings warm up with a *** smile and wave everytime one of them notices me. If I was a player I'd be seriously creeped out.

Maybe he's still shell-shocked from Toto's cowardice?

Great point. And you like ice-cream. You're quality in my book.

I know some of this info has already been leaked but I just heard on XM that this is a very mild case of cancer (if there is such a thing) and that by taking these chemo-pills, he'll live a normal and healthy life. Blake said he's been told by doctors that it won't affect his quality of life in any way and he will be able to do everything on the ice he could do before. That's some great news for Blake and his family.

My prayers go out to him and his family. He seems like a good guy. I'm sure he'll come through with flying colours. I will be cheering for Blake to score 3 goals a game with the Leafs losing 4-3 every night.

I don't know if you can say that Stefan was a far greater bust than Daigle. At the time, Daigle had just as much fan-fare as Sidney Crosby did coming into the league. Stefan did have some hype but it was maybe a 10th of what Daigle had. Stefan was a bust no doubt, but if you did a comparison, Stefan was a Cherry bomb compared to Daigle's Hydrogen bomb. P.S. Are you ever in a good mood or are you always pissed off at the world?

First realignment: Smythe Vancouver Edmonton Calgary San Jose Anaheim Los Angeles Dallas Phoenix Norris Detroit St.Louis Toronto Minnesota Boston Chicago Colorado Adams Montreal Ottawa Buffalo Nashville Tampa Bay Carolina Florida Patrick Washington Philadelphia NY Rangers NY Islanders New Jersey Atlanta Columbus Pittsburgh - Playoff teams are decided by the top 4 teams in each division and you play out of your own division. THIS is how you build rivalries. - Drop the Instigator Rule - Only 16 skaters can dress a night. Because this will force teams to play their stars more, you'll see more offense as well as mistakes because guys won't have as much energy to backcheck like they do now. Brind'Amour has already said that there's no need for a 4th line. He feels he could play 35 minutes a night like the stars did in the 80's. And this is a 37 year old saying this. - Reduce goalie equipment drastically - the technology's there. It can happen. I think these rules will not only help open the game but also make it more exciting and build great rivalries through inter-division playoffs. I still remember some of the great wars that took place in each division come playoff time.

It's been a few years and my memory gets worse with each passing one, but I believe that draft year was considered one of the worst in two decades. The thing is, Stefan did have some talent but he was injury prone even before he was drafted and he never panned out. You could make the argument that next to Daigle, this guy was the 2nd worst bust of any #1 overall draft pick in the NHL. EDIT: I just looked at the draft that year and for being a 'bad draft year' it produced some decent NHLers; notably the Sedin twins, Tim Connolly, Barret Jackman and Martin Havlat. The buzz on the street about Stefan was that he was big and talented and we all know how much GM's like size with some skill. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1999e.html

For those that were curios this is Tootoo's former girlfriend, whom he cheated on. Kelly Pickler How does this get that ...and then F it up by cheating? This guys as ugly as he is stupid.