Ed Jovanovski for the Norris

[YoungGuns1340 1]

He also said a couple weeks ago that Ryan Malone was leading the Pittsburg Penguins while Sidney Crosby was out. And of course that had nothing to do with the fact that Malkin is Russian, even though he was tearing up the league at that point.

[shadow47 1]

I don't see what the fuss is about, Jovanovski at 48 pts and Lidstrom at 57 is not much difference at all. Lids plays with an offensive juggernaut, Jovo with Phoenix, and still manages to stay close. He is also capable of physically punishing the opposition, something that Lidstrom has a surprising lack of. Not to take anything away from Lids but Cherry's statement of opinion (I'm guessing he said Jovanovski "deserved" the award as opposed to actually predicting him to win it) is not irrational. Lidstrom is the better d-man for me but someone who prefers that physical edge might not see it that way.

[eva unit zero 271]

I don't see what the fuss is about, Jovanovski at 48 pts and Lidstrom at 57 is not much difference at all. Lids plays with an offensive juggernaut, Jovo with Phoenix, and still manages to stay close. He is also capable of physically punishing the opposition, something that Lidstrom has a surprising lack of. Not to take anything away from Lids but Cherry's statement of opinion (I'm guessing he said Jovanovski "deserved" the award as opposed to actually predicting him to win it) is not irrational. Lidstrom is the better d-man for me but someone who prefers that physical edge might not see it that way.

The difference is that Lidstrom is the best defenseman in the league at BOTH ENDS.

Other guys might be close offensively or close defensively, but Lidstrom is the only name on the ballot for the Norris. He's far enough ahead of the pack that a unanimous victory wouldn't be unreasonable.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

I don't see what the fuss is about, Jovanovski at 48 pts and Lidstrom at 57 is not much difference at all. Lids plays with an offensive juggernaut, Jovo with Phoenix, and still manages to stay close. He is also capable of physically punishing the opposition, something that Lidstrom has a surprising lack of. Not to take anything away from Lids but Cherry's statement of opinion (I'm guessing he said Jovanovski "deserved" the award as opposed to actually predicting him to win it) is not irrational. Lidstrom is the better d-man for me but someone who prefers that physical edge might not see it that way.

Are you forgetting that the award goes to best DEFENSEman. Thats ALWAYS been where Jovo's talents tapered off. Offense and physicality are there, but thats not what Id want my #1 Dman to be focusing on if Im a coach. His defense game has always been suspect and this year is no different.

[Doggy 130]

I like whenever I get to hear Cherry because he can get pretty nuts. He's hilarious and passionate.

That being said, nothing against Jovanoski cause he's a solid d-man, I highly doubt he's much in the running.

Lol. You are by far the most diplomatic guy on the board. "Nothing against Jovanovski".

Dude, I don't think anyone was gonna be offended.

[KronwallCRUNCH 5]

CBC needs to just let Cherry go. They could find a much cheaper old, ranting, euro-hating lunatic on the streets of Toronto for much cheaper.

[cirov19 1]

Don Cherry is an annoying jackass. Ugh.

Not really. He's probably one of the most classy, respectful guys ever.

He just says stupid, pointless things and that's part of why he's so interesting to watch.

[wingslogo19 281]

CBC needs to just let Cherry go. They could find a much cheaper old, ranting, euro-hating lunatic on the streets of Toronto for much cheaper.

People would stop watching coach's corner.. I like Grapes

[BlueMonk 102]

I'm a big fan of Grapes, but yeah, that was insane.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

"Chris Pronger is the best defenseman in the National Hockey League" - Don Cherry.

And you don't think that he needs to go.

[gordie9 0]

Jovo has had a good year but not a Norris year. Nick , even though he missed 6 games is still the best. Look what also happened to the Wings without Nick in the line up. He will get the Norris and be in the running for the MVP.

[Chairman Maouth 97]

I'm not lying; he really did say that.

I'll try to post the video of CBC's website puts it up, but it's hard to really get access of Coaches Corner videos online. If I find the video, I'll post it.

Well maybe you're not lying, but you definitely didn't hear Don Cherry correctly. He said he should be "considered" for the Norris, not that he should win it unequivocally, hands-down like you're suggesting.

Besides, Jovanoski is having an excellent year and I agree with Cherry. Unless there's only ever 1 candidate to vote for, (which would be ludicrous and make a "vote" meaningless) Jovanoski should be considered for the Norris.

[eva unit zero 271]

Well maybe you're not lying, but you definitely didn't hear Don Cherry correctly. He said he should be "considered" for the Norris, not that he should win it unequivocally, hands-down like you're suggesting.

Besides, Jovanoski is having an excellent year and I agree with Cherry. Unless there's only ever 1 candidate to vote for, (which would be ludicrous and make a "vote" meaningless) Jovanoski should be considered for the Norris.

Jovanovski should be considered for the Norris. So Should Lilja, Lebda, and Meech. None of them should get a single vote, however.

[2probert4 8]

Just a couple of clarification. Lidstrom has not been out "for several weeks", he's only missed 6 games. Secondly, the Norris trophey balloting is done before the playoffs even start. The results are not announced until after the Cup is awarded, so winning or not winning a Cup has no bearing.

Jovanoski is Canadian and in Don Cherry's mind ANY Canadian >> any European. He's the biggest xenophobe on the planet.

I was listening to XM Home Ice this morning, and they were discussing Lidstrom, all the guys on that show (its from Toronto) said that its Lidstroms trophy again. Cherry does not like Euro's (well known) and part of Cherry's schtick is to make controversial comments so people will watch to see what's said next. Jovo is having a good year, but as Phil Esposito said "Lidstrom has 52 assists, and he's on the ice against the opposing teams top line, shutting their players down" I had read somewhere that the Penguins were pushing Gonchar for it, but lets be honest, that guy is pathetic in his own zone.

[Deke 0]

Jovanoski for the Norris? Hah, he's a good defensemen but he doesn't see the ice like Nikcy. He doesn't stop plays like Nicky. He doesn't stay out of the box like Nicky. He's just not Norris material. He doesn't shoot the puck like Nicky and he definietly does not feed the helpers like Nikcy.

Datsyuk Deserves the Norris more than Jovanovski and he isn't even eligible for it.

All this Norris trophy talk is pretty suprising to me. There's no way that it can't go to Nicky again at this point. Just no way. It's not even worth talking about.

The only way the NHL could give away the Norris to another person is if they made a new defensive trophy that was awarded to the "Defensemen who was even better than the defensemen who won the Norris trophy." I propose this trophy be called the Lidstrom trophy.

Edited March 10, 2008 by Deke

[wingslogo19 281]

The norris is a trophy for the BEST D man in the NHL, not how many points you have. Then it would be the best offense award

[Deke 0]

The norris is a trophy for the BEST D man in the NHL, not how many points you have. Then it would be the best offense award

Right, it's for the best Defensemen in the NHL. As in the player. It's not awarded to the player who just played defense the best, but for the best performance as a defensemen.

Defensemen do not just play defense, they are expected to shoot the puck at the point and often QB power plays. Part of being a good defensemen includes offensive awareness and capitalizing on offensive opportunities, but not at the expense of your defensive awareness. Great defemsemen don't let generating offense get in the way of their defense. But they can still do ti.

Lidstrom is great at defense because:

He doesn't get caught out of position.

He is fantastic at holding the puck in his offensive zone.

He passes tape to tape everytime.

He see's the ice and plays as they unfold.

If he commits a penalty, it was either accidental or was likely a smart penalty that prevented a goal.

Try and take him 1on1 and you won't out skate him, you won't out manuevar him and you'll be lucky if you get a pass off to a team mate.

He puts 100% into every minute of every shift.

Offense he can fire the puck on target, he knows when to time a shot so it doesn't get blocked and the screen is effectively used. He fires it perfectly to be tipped. He commands the blue line and walks it like no other. His passes are perfect and often generate great plays. He keeps the plays going by keeping the puck onsides.

And he does all of that without sacrificing a single bit on defense.

That's why he's the best defensemen, because he's the most complete player in the NHL.

Edited March 10, 2008 by Deke

[HoweHatTrick 0]

Right, it's for the best Defensemen in the NHL. As in the player. It's not awarded to the player who just played defense the best, but for the best performance as a defensemen.

Defensemen do not just play defense, they are expected to shoot the puck at the point and often QB power plays. Part of being a good defensemen includes offensive awareness and capitalizing on offensive opportunities, but not at the expense of your defensive awareness. Great defemsemen don't let generating offense get in the way of their defense. But they can still do ti.

Lidstrom is great at defense because:

He doesn't get caught out of position.

He is fantastic at holding the puck in his offensive zone.

He passes tape to tape everytime.

He see's the ice and plays as they unfold.

If he commits a penalty, it was either accidental or was likely a smart penalty that prevented a goal.

Try and take him 1on1 and you won't out skate him, you won't out manuevar him and you'll be lucky if you get a pass off to a team mate.

He puts 100% into every minute of every shift.

Offense he can fire the puck on target, he knows when to time a shot so it doesn't get blocked and the screen is effectively used. He fires it perfectly to be tipped. He commands the blue line and walks it like no other. His passes are perfect and often generate great plays. He keeps the plays going by keeping the puck onsides.

And he does all of that without sacrificing a single bit on defense.

That's why he's the best defensemen, because he's the most complete player in the NHL.

That's why he should also win the Hart.

[Deke 0]

That's why he should also win the Hart.

I'd like to agree with you because Nicky is probably my favorite player in the NHL, but I don't agree that he should win the Hart.

The Hart is hard for someone like Lidstrom, or anyone on a complete team like Detroit to win.

The way I look at it, and it's just my opinion, but the Hart should go to someone who basically carries the team by themselves. Nicky certainly contributes more to the Detroit organization than anyone else, but Detroit would still have several top notch defensemen and great fowards. There's no doubt that Nicky would be missed in Detroit and wouldn't be the top notch team they are today, but they wouldn't instantly drop to last place without him. Nicky holds down the defense like no other, but Detroit could still field defense without him. He makes a lot of offensive plays, but at the end of the day, it was likely someone else that put the puck in the back of the net after Nicky made the play.

A player like Alexender Ovechkin though, he basically is the Capitals. If he's not scoring and generating offense, they probably aren't winning. He carries the team and I think therefore deserves the Hart more than Nicky.

It's just too hard for a player like Nicky who has other brilliant team mates to earn the Hart. Allthough he's still the best player in the NHL.

[wingslogo19 281]

Lids is the best D man in the NHL.. END OF STORY

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Are people just now figuring out that Don Cherry is a racist who would rather see a Canadian win the Norris than a European who plays for the Wings of all teams?

[Chairman Maouth 97]

Are people just now figuring out that Don Cherry is a racist who would rather see a Canadian win the Norris than a European who plays for the Wings of all teams?

Please.

What you describe isn't racism. It's not even bigotry. If anything, it's nationalism; something that Americans also have in spades.

Edited March 10, 2008 by One of the Few

[Sergeiwasmyfav 0]

Please.

What you describe isn't racism. It's not even bigotry. If anything, it's nationalism; something that Americans also have in spades.

I agree that Cherry isn't technically racist because almost all, if not all, of the European players he openly dislikes are white. However, he is definitely a bigot in some shape or another. He doesn't like certain players because they are not Canadian. I think nationalism is being proud of your country and those that represent it. I don't think nationalism involves slamming other people because they are not from your country, which is what he does. With a few exceptions, he refuses to acknowledge the accomplishments of European players in the NHL, which is just ridiculous when you consider the contributions many have made to the sport. Then, to take it one step further, he also openly criticizes European players, and makes a point of saying why this and that aspect of their game is inferior because they are European. As I said above, this goes beyond nationalism; it is bigotry.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Please.

What you describe isn't racism. It's not even bigotry. If anything, it's nationalism; something that Americans also have in spades.

What?

Cherry isn't really hiding that fact. Racism is the same anywhere in the world, buddy. Just because it happens in Canada doesn't make it any more romantic despite what you might think.

[Saran 1]

don cherry u MORON