sibiriak

Right. A player who already has a $900,000 after-tax offer from "Severstal" chooses instead to move his whole family to a foreign country for an uncertain shot to try to make the NHL. Where his first 3 years salary is capped at $870,000 max before 30+% taxes. He must be all about the money and doesn't paln to stay long. The same player has come back from a terrible injury. He never hit the same numbers in Russia as before the injury. He is now more of a set-up player, who needs others to be effective. He is not familiar with the NHL methods of training, expectations, and timetables. He has to miss the Detroit's conditioning camp because of the visa problems. That didn't help his preparations any. That must mean that he is lazy. He is not used to the pace and style of the NA game, and he doesn't speak English. In that he is unique, because every other foreigner to ever come over here is fluent in English and can fit right in the NHL style right off the boat. Mario Lemieux for instance was a complete orator when he came to Pittsburgh. And so he deserves a hearty FU from some know-it-all who never had to play for the stakes this high. Right. /sarcasm off/

Friday: Columbus @ Buffalo Carolina @ Pittsburgh Colorado @ Chicago Los Angeles @ Vancouver Saturday: NY Rangers @ Boston Chicago @ Toronto Buffalo @ Montreal Florida @ Ottawa New Jersey @ NY Islanders Carolina @ Philadelphia Pittsburgh @ Washington Atlanta @ Tampa Bay Anaheim @ Dallas Minnesota @ St Louis Detroit @ Phoenix Edmonton @ Calgary Nashville @ San Jose Sunday: Vancouver @ Columbus Colorado @ Minnesota

Friday: Washington @ NY Rangers Chicago @ Detroit Colorado @ St Louis Calgary @ Dallas Vancouver @ Edmonton Boston @ Los Angeles Saturday: Washington @ Buffalo Pittsburgh @ Toronto Carolina @ Montreal Ottawa @ NY Rangers NY Islanders @ Philadelphia New Jersey @ Atlanta Tampa Bay @ Florida Calgary @ Nashville Dallas @ Chicago Columbus @ Colorado Edmonton @ Vancouver Minnesota @ Phoenix Boston @ San Jose Sunday: Minnesota @ Anaheim Detroit @ Los Angeles

Friday: Went to the CBJ-ANA game and didn't have time to post. Saturday: Montreal @ Toronto NY Rangers @ Ottawa Buffalo @ NY Islanders Carolina @ Washington New Jersey @ Florida Anaheim @ Pittsburgh Atlanta @ Tampa Bay Philadelphia @ Edmonton Dallas @ Nashville Columbus @ Minnesota Detroit @ Chicago Boston @ Phoenix Vancouver @ Calgary St.Louis @ Los Angeles Sunday: San Jose @ Colorado Aussie, thanks for doing this again.

IIRC, it was a 7 year contract at $2 mil. per year plus 14 mil.worth of bonuses. so in the first year of that contract Fedorov made 16 mil. Not $28 mil. Not that $28 mil. isn't a whole lot of money.

He may have wanted out of Detroit. But then why negotiate any contract with them? Or, he may prefer to deal with people who keep their word, and if he thought that they had a verbal agreement, only to find out that the management reneged on it, Sergei may have decided not to do business with such people. Which of these two versions of the event is correct, I don't know. i have no data to base an opinion on. But at least the second version is less self-contradictory.

Sergei Fedorov's interview with Sport-Express, 8/17/07 translated, with some irrelevant parts omitted. Q: You so rarely visit Russia that the first question is obvious: Do you think yourself to be Russian or American? A: In my soul I am, of course, Russian. But I spent too long in America, and got used to a totally different life. In Russia, I feel that everything is kind of familiar, but still it takes a couple of weeks to adjust. Q: It appears, that you would rather stay in the US after your playing career is over? A: I've spent most of the The last 17 years there, but that was work. Naturally, I sometimes think about where I will live after my career is finished. But I can't answer this question definitevly. I still have one year left onmy contract with Columbus. Q: Do you have any plans for your after-hockey future? A: It's a difficult question. Much more difficult than it seems. I thought a lot about it, and haven't come up with anything yet. Hockey takes too much of my time and energy, both mental and physical. Naturally, I'd like to do something sports-related, possibly hockey-related. But for now those plans are very hazy. I would probably need to take a year or two off and re-think my life. Your life doesn't end with hockey, although everyone thinks that they will play hockey forever, when they are 18 or 20. Q: Are you emotionally ready to accept the fact that your career nears its end? A: Probably not. I was doing only hockey for all of the last 20 years. I think that some time in the future I will have to get over a shock of the realization that I won't have to train or prepare for the next season. Sports occupy about 90% of my time right now. I'll have to think of something to use all that time for, when I'll stop training and competing. I hope I'll come up with something, and that the new occupation would become fun. But I must tell you that I hate making long-term plans like that. Q: I often noticed that some athletes are so afraid of the moment of saying goodbye to sports that they keep playing anywhere just to postpone that moment. A: I'm not ready to play just anywhere, just to be playing. I think that my career was very successful. I've won championships, I was fortunate tohave played for strong teams with excellent teammates who helped me grow. First in Russia, then in North America, so I see no reason to cling to hockey just to be playing. If I play, I play to win. If I still have something to give, then why not? Q: Do you feel your age? A: You know,when you train with under 25s and skate not just on par, but faster then they, one doesn't notice one's age. Q: I meant, do you feel the age inside yourself? A: I realize that I'm 37 and I'm not the same player as I was 5 years ago. Some things, especially in pre-season training, are harder now. Q: Are your emotions different now? A: I think that changes with experience, both life and sport. 5 or 10 years ago I would have probably behaved differently than now, in certain situations. But I can't say that Ifeelany discomfort because of that. With experience, one just controls himself better, both in positive and negative senses of the word. Q: How did you feel about the fact that you were unable to play for Russia in the Moscow World Championships? A: I felt badly, certainly. I hoped to play. But in January I seriously injured my left elbow, and couldn't play at all for 5 weeks. Then, just after returning to the ice, I injured my right elbow. I spent the last 15 games of the season playing D, because I couldn't keep up offensively. My elbows kept hurting, I tried all kinds of pills and injections to no avail. Although, I liked playing D, on the whole. I got a lot of ice time. But I understood that the Russian nationalteam couldn't use me in that condition, even as a D-man. And I certainly couldn't have played the role that the Russian coaches planned for me. Q: Were you not invited, or did you yourself decided that you weren't ready to play for the national team? A: I decided myself. I realized that I would be physically unable to play after the end of the NHL season. Because I played the last two month held together by "spit and chicken wire". Q: Did you follow the World Championships? A: I didn't watch the first half of it at all. I was too disappointed with my season in Columbus, and by my physical condition. Perhaps, I should have paid more attention to my health earlier, because the problems turned out to be too serious to fix in the short time before the world championship. Q: Then, where did the rumors start, saying that you weren't interested in the WCH atall,and didn't even know where it was to be held? A: Think about it, how could I NOT have known about it? I was really preparing for it. I was communicatiing with the Russian coaches and federation officials. I know where this rumor comes from. We lost to Edmonton in particularly dissapointing fashion. I was very tired and upset. I kept replaying some episodes from the game in my mind. There were so many chances that we couldn't finish... Just then a Russian reporter asked me if I was going to play in the WCH. I didn't understand what he was talking about at first, "What world championship?" That was enough for him to write what he wrote. Q: Next year, the WCH is going to be played in Canada for the first time. Will you play if invited? A: Definitely. Q: Many of the Russian NHLers are returning to Russia. Why do you think that is, and is it possible that you may return too? A: We are getting older. Maybe that is why we are drawn back. Q: But the young ones are returning also? A: Perhaps they don't get the same enjoyment from playing in North America, as they do in Russia. Russian hockey is very different from NHL hockey. There's practically no "beautiful hockey" there. NHL hockey tendencies are simple. Q: And the money is not as good as it is in Russia? A: That is something I would have to research. If it comes to that. Q: How do you see your role in Columbus, since that team is not pursuing the same goals that you were accustomed to in Annaheim, and certainly in Detroit? A: The last 4 years of my career were not what you'd call stellar. I could still score in Anaheim, because tha team was good as were the teammates. Q: Are you disappointed that Anaheim won the Cup without you, when before the owners were counting on you to help the team do that? A: You see... the offense is very different from defense. Anaheim placed their bets on a goalie and two Dmen, and they played great. Q: What do you think about Columbus team? A: It's a generally young team with nevertheless high contracts and peculiar atmosphere. Q: What is peculiar about it? A: I am the oldest player, there are two more over 30s, one is 28, and the rest are in their early 20s or younger. I played with David Vyborny and Rick Nash at first, but over the long 82 game season the lines can't stay constant and I played with everyone on the team, even Dmen. Q: Most of the players who play for the Russian national team today, are from a much younger generation. Do you feel like a dinosaur among them? A: I love hockey in all its forms. I like competng for the puck, survival, victory. I like the young guys. It is interesting to play with them, show and explain things to them, even off the ice. Q: Do you get the feeling that some things are impossible to explain, because their views on hockey are very different? A: It happens. It is normal. The way that we were training, the younger generation wouldn't understand. And we couldn't explain. Some things I could show, but will they watch? Q: "Everything was better when we were young"? A: Yes, it was. I will defend that opinion anywhere. Hockey was more interesting to play and to watch, by a tremendous degree. I am sure of it. Q: Do you feel nostalgia for "Detroit"? A: I don't know. Although, I was pleasantly surprised that a jersey of Steve Yzerman, who I played with for 13 years, hangs in the "Dynamo" arena. Q: In other words,youspent the best years of your life in Detroit? A: Yes, having won 3 Cups there, I am sure about it. Q: Do you think Detroit may call you back? A: I don't know what to say. Rather, where to begin. Frankly, I didn't intend to go anywhere. But hockey is not just a game, it's a business. And when someone tries to dishonestly put one over you in that business, that mobilizes the very qualities that make you a winner. Determination, judgement, estimation of my own career. Do you see what I mean? We agreed with Detroit management on one contract, but when we came to sign it the next day, there was totally different contract on the table. This is not widely known. I didn't talk about it. But the unpleasant feeling from my separation from Detroit remained. Q: If you could live your life again, what would you do differently? A: I can only say that I was lucky. That my father got me interested in sports. That a coach from Minsk noticed me. That I was invited to play for the junior national team, and after I graduated high school, invited to join the Red Army club. I was supposed to play for Dynamo, because my junior club was in their farm system. I was lucky that Viktor Vasilievich Tikhonov gave me a chance to develop within that team, where every player, top to fourth line, was at the peak of their game. And where I got to play against outstanding goalies for those 4 years. On the other hand, that hard work, that I had to face at 16, without any hope for normal social life was difficult to endure. There was a lot of sweat and literally blood spilled. And a lot of nerves burned. But I wouldn't change anything.

I disagree! Avery is a fully grown ass by now.

In other words, you don't know any better than I do, what Yashin will be making in Russia. And yet you hurry to accuse him of being greedy. Maybe he is maybe he isn't. I will reserve judgement untiol the contract figures become known. Yashin is certainly guilty of not consistently playing up to his talent potential. I personally doubt that the reason for it is financial. Yashin always agreed to play for the Russian national team (unlike some other NHLers), for free, and even when he didn't have an NHL contract covering him in case of an injury. He held out once. Far from being the only NHL player to have done so. He was offered a huge contract by the Isles. Nobody could have lived up to that. But would you have refused in his place? So, he is inconsistent. But how many NHLers of his level are significantly more consistent? He may be in the bottom third on that score, or maybe in the bottom half. But not "the most inconsistent player ever". One could think of many "superstars" who had as many bad seasons, as outstanding ones. And only a few had many excellent seasons to almost no of the bad ones. Yashin, even inconsistent, is still a career point per game player. How many of those are around? Inconsistent? Yes. Greedy? No more than most.

The NHL ownership is a closed private club. Would you want to admit a member who refuses to respect your club's rules, traditions and customs, and is quick to involve the legal system and the media into what was supposed to be an in-house dispute? I can't really blame the owners. Baldsilla should have been more patient and diplomatic, instead of brash and confrontational. I wonder how he succeeded in business with that approach.

The way Baldsilla keeps pissing off the NHL brass, the Pens sooner move to Antarctica then Balsillie gets to own any NHL franchise.

Why is everyone assuming that Yashin would be making more money in Yaroslavl than he could have gotten here? Do any of you know what were the reported offers he received from NJ and Ottawa? If not, then all of you are just running your mouth without any info. I thought that Americans believed in "innocent until proven guilty"? Could it be that Yashin liked the respect that Lokomotiv Yaroslavl showed him, when the NHL clubs tried to lowball him (if that was indeed the case)? Also, what does the buyout money have to do with anything? For instance, would any of you expect to immediately get lower salary in your job, just because you get an inheritance or win the lottery? Very few NHLers are hurting for money. Does that mean that they all have to play for a minimum wage, since they have other sources of income? If a player gets a lucrative endorsment deal, does his team have a right to lower his salary by a corresponding amount, or expect him to accept a lower contract next time he signs? My mother taught me that it is bad manners to count monney in someone else's pockets. I still think she's right.

Well, if Gretzky is your definition of a prick, then 90% of the NHL players and athletes in general would qualify. Yashin wouldn't stand out in that crowd.

Gretzky used to wear turtlenecks.

According to Detroit News Detroit News article The Wings are considering signing Alexei Yashin and are ready to offer him up to$4 mil. a year. His reputation notwithstanding, his skills may fit the Wings system reasonably well, IMO.

If the Wings have no interest in Yashin, then why mention $4mil. (or any other number) at all?

One'd think that a Mr. Nitpicker like you would be able to tell the difference between: "The Wings are considering signing Alexei Yashin and are ready to offer him up to$4 mil. a year.", and "The Wings are prepared to offer him $4m." The first says that the Wings management is thinking about it and is willing to pay less or equal to $4mil. The second says that the Wings have decided to offer $4 mil. I only wrote the first. You somehow read the second.

Grigorenko has problems securing the ENTRY visa into the US, from the American embassy. Are the US consular officials trying to make him cross the border illegaly through Canadian wilderness somewhere?

Potatoes grow just fine in Siberia. Better than they do in Tennesee, Florida, or Georgia (state of). Apples grow fine too. And most improtantly, Urals and Siberia is where the majority of the Russian hockey players come from.

Domo arigato, mister roboto.

In the 1980s, the Tikhonov's Red Army team actually used a 1-4 defense, where one winger would be cherry picking high and taking a minimal part in the team defense. Effectively, they would defend 4 on 5 and look for a chance to spring that high forward on a breakaway. And it worked more often than not, under the old rules, no two-line pass, no extended defensive zones. Guarantee it won't work?

How do the NBA finals TV ratings compare to the last year? I bet they are lower too.

This surgery should be the next punishment for Pronger, in lieu of another 1 game suspension.

I hope you jest. Watch the hit again. It is almost as bad as the Domi's elbow on Scott Niedermayer (incidentally ) few years ago. Provide a few examples of Chara elbowing people in the head please? I didn't think so.

I don't get this guy. He abandoned his attempt to buy the Pens when the NHL told him that they won't allow him to move the team from Pittsburgh. Now he is trying to buy the Preds, why does he think that the league would let him move the team this time around?