National Hockey League 2009 - 2010

[UberBeaver]

TNS is doing their power rankings:

30: Phoenix
29: Colorado
28: ????? I got a $20 on the Isles

Elfa - you owe me $20USD.

 

[Shawn Bonneau]

For those of you who don't know.. The Bruins are gonna win the cup

SMB

 

[No spoken words]

For those of you who don't know.. The Bruins are gonna win the cup

SMB

You should start a Bruins only thread.

See what I did there?



ZDENO CHARA 4 LYFE

 

[Shawn Bonneau]

Chara is my favorite btw

SMB

 

[UberBeaver]

For those of you who don't know.. The Bruins are gonna win the cup

SMB

The Bruins are going to the Sharks of the East, choking bastards.

When the Isle's move to KC I'll probably become a Bruins fan. Maybe the Flyers. I dunno.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

Elfa - you owe me $20USD.

I never made such bet

 

[BoMac]

The Bruins are going to the Sharks of the East, choking bastards.

When the Isle's move to KC I'll probably become a Bruins fan. Maybe the Flyers. I dunno.

Any traction at all on that new arena project, the Litehouse or whatever it's called?

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

probably not the way the economy is looking, all hopes rest on Tavares - no pressure though.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

hawks

 

[UberBeaver]

I never made such bet

Oh. Sorry. BoMac, you owe me $20.

Any traction at all on that new arena project, the Litehouse or whatever it's called?

Not really. They have meetings and people get all excited, and then it dies down. There's a hearing on 9/22, which is the same date that the Isle's are playing an exhibition in - dun dun dunaah - KC.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

I'm sorry but, The Kansas City Islanders? That doesn't even make sense...

 

[BoMac]

Oh. Sorry. BoMac, you owe me $20.

If I beat up Elfa in two weeks, would that be enough to pay back the debt?

Not really. They have meetings and people get all excited, and then it dies down. There's a hearing on 9/22, which is the same date that the Isle's are playing an exhibition in - dun dun dunaah - KC.

I sincerely hope things improve on the Island. I've said this before, but it would be good for hockey - never mind the NHL - if traditional hockey markets in the U.S. rebound. Detroit went through it's 'Dead Things' era, but now it's back. Boston is on its way up, and so is Chicago. I include the Islanders in that group. If they can somehow regain some of their lustre, it would be good for the league as a whole.

This is what has me utterly confused about the whole Coyotes saga. That team simply doesn't work in that market. Are there examples of successful franchises in non-traditional markets? Sure. There's Carolina, Anaheim, and San Jose to name a few. But why not move elsewhere where the team might be more successful?

Personally, I'm in favour of moving the Florida teams to places like Seattle, Portland, or even Milwaukee. That has a snowball's chance of working. And, of course, a return to Winnipeg and Quebec City.

 

[ladywithspinninghead]

Heatley officially off to San Jose:
TheStar.com | Hockey | Senators ship Dany Heatley to the Sharks

Can someone please tell me what he did that was so wrong? He requested a trade - so what? Did he mention it to the media before requesting it from the team? Did he sleep with Alfie's wife?

 

[UberBeaver]

I think requesting a trade is probably a bad idea unless you're in some sort of personal or legal trouble that will effect the lives of your team mates. If Heatley banged Alfie's wife, and then got caught, then yes, I'd say that was grounds to ask for a trade. But I think in Heatley's case he's just an arrogant douche bag.

 

[ladywithspinninghead]

I think requesting a trade is probably a bad idea unless you're in some sort of personal or legal trouble that will effect the lives of your team mates. If Heatley banged Alfie's wife, and then got caught, then yes, I'd say that was grounds to ask for a trade. But I think in Heatley's case he's just an arrogant douche bag.

Okay, thanks. It just seems to me that this isn't the first time this happens but I could be wrong. Or perhaps, it's usually done behind closed doors.

I always think I'm going to follow all the transactions/trades, etc during the summer but I really do lose interest. Will be interesting to see the new changes next month

That reminds me - must sign up for RDS again shortly

 

[No spoken words]

Requesting a trade is not uncommon in the sports world, not sure why it would be such a big deal now. Who knows all the reasons for his being disgruntled. Sure, the more the media gets a hold of it, the worse it seems, but pro athletes have been demanding trades for a century now.

I wish I had exciting Islander hockey to look forward to this season. I'm not all that excited, though, go figure.

 

[BoMac]

Heatley officially off to San Jose:
TheStar.com | Hockey | Senators ship Dany Heatley to the Sharks

Can someone please tell me what he did that was so wrong? He requested a trade - so what? Did he mention it to the media before requesting it from the team? Did he sleep with Alfie's wife?

Here's what he did wrong - in my opinion. First, he had signed a lucrative long-term deal the year prior, only to request a trade over what I deem to be petty reasoning (he wasn't being utilized the way he felt he should be, i.e. playing more responsible defense).

Next, not only did he request a trade, but he did so publicly, thereby handcuffing the Senators who would no longer be able to get full-value for him in return.

Finally, he used a no-trade clause to nix a deal with the Oilers, saying he wanted more "options". I'm sorry but if you request a trade, you should not be able to use the not-trade clause to gain "options". The no-trade clause is not there for that reason, and should have been nullified once he requested a trade.

And one other thing. On July 1 he accepted a $4 million signing bonus from the Senators. Obviously he had no problems accepting that from the team.

 

[No spoken words]

Yeah, well, hard to disagree with the above. Thanks for expanding, BoMac, cos simply asking for a trade is not enough to vilify a player. The above? That's enough to vilify someone!

 

[ladywithspinninghead]

Wow, yeah, I concur with NSW - what an arrogant jerk.
Too bad San Jose isn't scheduled to play in Ottawa until next season.

Thanks Bomac

 

[65980]

It's a horrible situation that there is a hierarchy wherein star players are bigger than the league. This is absurd. Star players are of course the main draw of the league, and the old-boy days of the NHL screwing the players was even worse than the situation today, but the pendulum has clearly swung too far the other way for the elite players.

I may just be bitter than yet another player (Heatley) refused to play for Edmonton (my team). Life sure is tough if you have to spend 4 months a year in a northerly city, being worshipped by everyone on the street, and making 4 or 5 million bucks to chase a puck. To correct this situation, let's let the players decide where they can play!!!

That's why it was great that Hossa failed to win the cup... well, at least he was a free agent.

 

[MrPryck2U]

Honestly, if you're an NHL player, its not a "horrible situation" as you would call it. Plenty of players in MLB have no-trade clauses in their deals, so its not really uncommon for a player to veto a trade to a team he didn't want to play for. Pro players have been eating shit from owners for years. Its about time the players wielded some power. Because guess what? Without the players, there is no league. If you're an elite player who racks up the stats, puts W's on the board and asses in the seats, then you've earned the right to play where ever you want to play.

But...

The way that Heatley handled himself clearly was a douche move. It sounds like he either didn't want to play in Canada or a small market team for that matter. Not sure how big San Jose is, but its got to be bigger than Ottawa or even Edmonton for that matter.

My hunch says that because he was a douche, bad karma is gonna bitchslap him somewhere down the road.

 

[65980]

Well, if you read my post again, you'll see I didn't really disagree with anything you said. No, it's certainly not a horrible situation for the players, but then most of us aren't NHL players. And those of us who aren't pay the salaries of those who are.

And I agree that the players need to wield some power. The players were obviously abused up until the mid-1980s. I don't think, however, that a pro-sports league can properly function if some (not even all) players are bigger than the league itself. In the same way, a society cannot properly function if some people are bigger than the law.

But yeah, Heatley's bitchslap is coming...

 

[UberBeaver]

, a society cannot properly function if some people are bigger than the law....

What if those "some people" are white males? Then the society is cool, right? Nice.


Heatley will fit on San Jose nicely. And like the rest of the team, he will choke in the playoffs -he doesn't strike me as the type of guy that can rise to the occasion. Then he'll want to go to either Detroit or Pittsburgh or whoever actually wins the cup next year.

 

[liz9640]

Heatley will fit on San Jose nicely. And like the rest of the team, he will choke in the playoffs -he doesn't strike me as the type of guy that can rise to the occasion. Then he'll want to go to either Detroit or Pittsburgh or whoever actually wins the cup next year.

I"m still waiting for San Jose to stop being a "favorite" they have a talented team but can't hack it come playoff time.

 

[UberBeaver]

Phaneuf = Douche Bag.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

how so?

 

[UberBeaver]

Left his feet, shoulder to the head, gave Okposo a concussion in a pre-season game. Then wouldn't fight anyone. Douche bag.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

that does sound like a douchey maneuver... how many game suspension do you think?

 

[UberBeaver]

0. Phaneuf is famous. They'll probably suspend the Islander that jumped off the bench that went after him though, cause even I don't know his name.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

you think? I'm thinking at least a game...