Hank

I'll be the zillionth person to agree with this statement too. And it must be a popular opinion if people like Scotty Bowman, Brian Murray, Damion Cox, Phil Esposito and even Ron MacLean are bringing it up. And regards to your argument hockeymom about how each team must adjust to the standard, while I agree with that, it still doesn't make the hockey any less pleasing to watch. That's my whole point. The NHL was horrible before the lockout. The brand of hockey we were forced to consume was beyond boring. And then they cleaned it up and it was great. But now it's obvious the NHL wants it to degrade back to where it was. What makes me laugh is all the hypocrites on hockey boards such as HFBoards that whined and complained about the 'new' NHL and how they were shutting their TV's off because of it. Well now they have their precious crap-hockey back and where are they? The ratings have never been worse. I thought this was 'great, old-time hockey' like they preached and spewed so much before? The Finals have been a major disapointment so far. If you had told me in January that Ottawa and Anaheim were going to play in the finals I would have been please as a hockey fan. Both teams have skill and can really skate. But the erosion of the NEW NHL rules and standards has suffocated all life and excitment out of it. hockeymom's no different than Devils fans. When you win the Cup, it's like your children. You'll always think it's beautiful no matter how ugly it is. But fans that can take a step back and view it without homerific glasses see an ugly pig. These finals are a disaster for the NHL and they only have themselves to blame.

Good post. I'm also of the opinion that it wasn't lack of officiating or non-calls that lost us that series. We had ample opportunity to put the Ducks away with several 5-on-3's. But for whatever reason, the finals have been officatied poorly. I guarentee you that Bettman and company will be looking at this. Damion Cox brought up the lack of scoring during his press conference on Monday night. Goals per game is down a whole goal compared to last years playoffs. That's an extremely significant drop and must be addressed. Regarding where the Ducks fans are? Most have left to troll the Ottawa boards I imagine. At least hockeymom has the 'balls' (or ovaries) to stick around.

I know your post is very tongue-in-cheek, and it's hard to distance yourself from your team, but hockeymom, can you seriously say that the Ducks (and Sens to a smaller extent) aren't getting away with stuff that was called all season long? Neidermayer continuelly driving forwards into the ice with crosschecks from behind, in the crease, is now legal? Holding up forechecking forwards at the line, obstructing thier path to the puck? Regardless of who wins the Cup, if the remaining games are this bad, I won't bother to watch them in their entirety, or at all.

Damion Cox of the Toronto Star sums up what all of us are saying here: http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/219840

This is true. The current lease the Preds have has 14 years left on that. However, if they don't average over 14,000 fans next season, there's a loophole in it that will allow the team to move. And considering that Hamilton has given Ballsillie exclusive rights to Copps Colasium and that Ballsilie has purchased 25 Hectares of land in Kitchener-Waterloo I'd say it's a very good bet that the team will move to Hamilton for at least 1 season while a new arena is built in KW where the team will land for good. Ballsillie dropped out of buying the Pens because Mario didn't want him to move the team. Surely Bettman and company know about his plans to bring a team to Southern Ontario. If they didn't want this move, they wouldn't approve the sale.

I have to disagre with your last statment. I thought last years finals were called very well. I'm sure this won't do anything but I sent in my complaint about the officiating in this years Finals to www.NHL.com. I've also sent in an email to home ice on XM radio (homeice@xmradio.ca) voicing my opinion. I know for a fact that the big wigs in the NHL office and plenty of players and management listen to that station religously. If they read your complaints on the air or get enough emails concerning this topic they will make mention of it. And we're not alone. Phil Esposito and Jim Tatti have an afternoon show and both Espo (especially Espo) and Tatti have been saying exactly what we've been saying. They're more concerned with the obstruction on the dumpins and the fact the defenseman have been allowed to hit forwards before they even get to the puck behind the goaline. That's been going on since day 1 in this years playoffs. Voice your opinion. You never know, it might do something.

Couldn't agree more. I love rough and tumble, CLEAN, hockey. I despised what the NHL was like before the lockout. A game between the Ducks-Preds or Devils-Wild was an instant cure for insomnia. I thought the NHL did a great job in cleaning it up by getting rid of all the hooking, holding and obstruction. But what Walkom and his staff were able to do over the past 24 months has basically been thrown out the window by what the Ducks have been able to get away with in the first 2 games of the Finals. In the end, the Ducks will win and Giggy and his pads will win the Conn Smyth by riding the size of his eqiupment and having a defense in front of him that uses hooking, holding and obstruction to stimy their opposition. I will tell you this, if the officials don't take control of this series starting with Game 3, I will not renew my membership for the Centre Ice Package. I'm not wasting one more cent on a league that continuely stabs itself in the foot. Just when I thought the NHL was finally getting it right, we're slowly regressing right back to where we were. I absolutely hated how there were two sets of rules in the past; one for the regular season and one for the playoffs. I thought last years playoffs were great in that the standard was kept right until the end. But not this year. What a shame.

I hate to agree with this, but you're right. I can't believe some of the crap Anaheim has gotten away this year in the playoffs. How many times are their dmen allowed to crosscheck people into the ice and not get a call? This was always called the last two seasons and even last years playoffs. But this year? No. How about the blatant hook Sammy got in Game 5 prior to Datsyuk taking the illfated penalty at the end of the game? It was incredibly obvious and yet wasn't called. The Ducks also do a terrific job in interfering with forecheckers when the puck is dumped in. All of this was called last season, this season and in last years playoffs. What's crazy is the Ducks still receive 7 penalties a game, but in reality you could make a case for them being shorthanded the whole game. And maybe that's where the problem lies. The officials call so much against them already, they don't want to make it overboard. But in last nights game, I thought you could have easily called 20 penalties against the Ducks. Bettman and company seriously need to look at doing everything possible to open the game up. Last nights tilt was one of the most boring exhibits of Stanley Cup Finals play I've seen since the Dead-puck era. I don't care what anyone says, scoring chances pale in comparison to actual goals. The NHL needs to either increase the size of the nets or make the goalie equipment much, much smaller. Give the choice to the goalies so they can feel the wrath from the fans. Let them decide if they want to be responsible for making such a drastic change in the game. And Stephen Walkom and his staff need to re-evaluate what's going on out there. The Ducks look like the Devils from '95 with all the garbage they're getting away with. Is this what the NHL wants only 2 years after the lockout? I've always been a supporter of the new rules and what the NHL is trying to do. But the Ducks are making a mockery of the new NHL and the officials are letting them get away with it. Call it sour grapes all you want, but I know what I'm watching out there. And it's not good hockey.

I still have to give the nod to John Fergeson Jr. The dude went and spent a hefty price to get Raycroft and now there's rumours that he's looking for his replacement already. On top of that, he spent way, way , way too much money on a blueline that is suspect at best in their own end. Meanwhile, Mats Sundin still doesn't have a decent winger to play with. I swear, if Sundin ever had a good winger to line up with, this cat would have scored over 100 points multiple years by now. Instead, he has to carry players like Ponokorovsky and Antropov. Both aren't bad players but they're 3rd liners. McCabe is completely useless in his own end and despite being in the league for over 10 years he still makes some of the dumbest decisions I've ever seen. All in all, it amazes me that JFJ still has a job. He's been completely irresponsible with their salary. They could get away with buying playoff teams in the past, but not anymore. Their horrible drafting and piss poor signings and dealings have landed them on the outside looking in for 2 straight seasons. And there's no reason to believe it won't happen again next year - which makes me very happy.

Here's a list of deals that "Mad Mike" made while with the Islanders. Some aren't that bad, but it's amazing how this guy could stockpile picks or prospects and then give them away for nothing before the players could even develop. I highlighted some that I thought were especially bad deals: Some of the deals aren't that bad, but boy did he have some stinkers. The Luongo deal really stands out. In some of the cases where we now know that he got ripped off, you could make a case that the young players he dealt hadn't shown any glimpses yet (but he had little to no patience waiting for them to blossom - which is essential in hockey considering most kids don't break out until they're in their early to mid 20's). But in that Luongo deal, everyone in hockey knew Roberto was going to be a superstar. This was his direct quote about Luongo: "We're rolling the dice here a little bit. Roberto Luongo is going to be an excellent goaltender in this league. He is a class act and a kid I know we would have been happy to ride with. But hell, I've gotta send him off." I remember one draft year that TSN covered, they had a reporter going around to each table to talk to some of the GM's. When they got to the Islanders table the guy asked Milbury "What do you say to all the critics out there that say you aren't patient enough with your kids before you deal them away?" His response? "F*** off.". No joke. I'm going to miss MIke Milbury as a GM in the NHL. He was always good for a laugh.

http://www.redwingscentral.com/prospects/ritola.html Looks like we found a replacement for Lang.

No. And here's why. Some may laugh and some might be very upset by this prospect, but the NHL is going to have larger nets within the next 2-4 years. I really, really believe it. Al Strachan (an asshat) said recently on www.thescore.ca recently that this will be coming in shortly and I believe him (you can see the video of it on that site as well). Jay Feaster was on XM204 on Friday and he said that John Tortorelli wants them also. There are also a number of other NHL people that are pushing for the idea. The whole concept is that the NHL is tired of having one player that can have such a strangle hold on a game. Only a pitcher has the same kind of control but you only see him once every 5 days. Quaterbacks were also given a similar comparison but they are an offensive weapon. Like I said, whether you hate the idea or not, larger nets are coming to the NHL sooner rather than later. And what does this have to do about Giggy? Well, if the NHL does give us larger nets in the next 2-4 years, that would mean that Giggy would most certainly still be on our roster during that time frame. And if the nets are bigger, GIggy's worth goes down a lot more than any other NHL goalie. Sure, everyones SA% and GAA will go up, but at least with other goalies such as Brodeur, DiPietro, Miller, Luongo, you get an athletic, acrobatic goalie that can and will make tough saves. Giggy doesn't do that. He's all butterfly, being big and getting in the right position. With 6-8" of wider and taller nets, he'll get lit up. How many times did we see him get beat cleanly in this series (or others) only to have the puck barely graze the post or crossbar? I can name several instances. If the net was just a little bit bigger, and not even 6-8", this series would have been a sweep for Detroit. And even with the nets we have now, he still posted a 2.83 GAA in this series. Not exactly Vezina type numbers - especially for playoffs. He'd probably have a 4.00+ GAA with bigger nets. So that's my line of thinking. It might sound retarded to some here, but I truly, truly believe the NHL is on the verge of larger nets and if I had to bet I'd say they're here by 2010. Giggy will want at least a 4 year deal, which would mean his contract would expire in the 2010-2011 season. That's at least 2 seasons of watching him wave at pucks flying in over his inflated shoulders.

I think his days of being an Oiler are over. They were $100,000 apart. If he wanted to stay an Oiler he would have. I would love it if the Wings got Smyth. He's exactly the kind of player we need. Good points. But maybe Holland is expecting players like Meech, Quincy and Ericsson to take the place of some players over the next 2 seasons. All will be cheap. And players like Grigorenko, Hudler, Emmerton, Mursak, Helm could replace expensive players like Drapes and Maltby in the future too. Regarding the comparison to Holmstrom I think there is a difference. Homer is great in front of the net, but most of his goals are off of deflections. Smyth gets those too, but he has much better hands around the net. He'll be able to score goals ala Dino Cicarelli that Homer really can't.

All good points. I had totally forgotten about Hartnell. I'd rather have him than Smyth.

I want nothing to do with O'Neill. I really like him, but it's obvious he hasn't come close to getting over his brothers death. He should retire and enjoy his time off.

I'm surprised about Calder too. I really liked this guy. It's amazing how quickly he slipped off the radar. I was convinced he had a broken hand or something major. How do you go from playing like a playoff hero to zero so quickly. If the Wings let him, Lang, Bertuzzi and possibly either Schneider or Markov go I'd love them to go after Ryan Smyth.

I think I may have been the top guy around here for giving Datsyuk a hard time about his playoff disappearences in the past. But I was really please with how he played. He hit, he worked for pucks, he did everything he could have. In fact, outside of Lang, everyone on the team took their game to the next level and that only happens when your top players do the same. Dats led by example and many followed.

Eklunds an asshot (e10)

LOL! BTW, Offsides, could you adjust your avatar so that it ONLY reads "Go Lang!". I also find it hilarioualsy ironic that your tagname is Offsides and you're a Lang supporter, considering how many times this guy drew his linemates offsides with unecessary stickhandling before entering the zone.

I think he has a clause that allows him to return to Russia if he plays X amount of games in the A. My lines (if all the signings I like come to fruition): Calder-Zetterberg-Sammuelson Homer-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi Franzen-Filpulla-Hudler Cleary-Draper-Maltby Lidstrom-Kronwall Lebda-Markov Quincy-Chelios xtras - Kopecky, Grigs, Meech, Ericsson

I will absolutely be watching the finals. And I know a lot of people are going to say I'm crazy but I think the Sens will take it in 5. Look what the Wings did to the Sharks with a depleted D corps and a banged up forward unit that featured little to no scoring from our 2nd line. The Sens roll out 4 lines better than anyone, and all of them can score. And that's not to mention their defense, which has been the best in these playoffs. Emery is the only darkspot on this roster and yet he was only able to out dual Fleury, Brodeur and Miller. Lets also remember that guys like Filp, Zetts and Datsyuk made Neidermayer and Pronger look like pilons at times. The Sens have a lot more healthy and offensive players that will do the same. Sens in 5.

One bounce our way in that final 3 minutes and this game is going to OT. Great finish and great season! Props to the Ducks. Now go Sens!

Lets give credit where it's due. The Ducks played their A+ game in the first 2 periods and it gave the Wings fits. I think the Ducks relaxed and play 'protect' hockey too much in the 3rd and it allowed us to storm back. However, if the Wings PP could have looked as organized in the 2nd period who knows what would have happened?

Trust me, if we had Schneider, Kronwall back and if Calder, Bertuzzi and Lebda were 100% (even if Kunitz and Neidermayer were 100%) this series is over in 5. I love our chances next year. We showed a crap load of heart over the past month and we've proven that we won't lie down to any team. We were the more physical and hardworking team throughout the Western Conference. We jetison Lang and add in a couple of guys and we'll be right back there next season. P.S. Dats and Zetts scored all our goals tonight. Nobody can poo-poo on them. If Lang steps up at all we win this game.

The problem is there are few guys like that in the NHL. Look at the Ducks. The only true goalscorer they have is Selanne and he's struggled for the most part in this series. If we can resign a healthy Bert that would help. But yeah, we're mainly a passing team with a lot of good passers. But Zetts can finish well and if we can get Bert back that would help.