Hello, everyone. Welcome to our humble piece of Hockeytown. Our names are Matt Saler and Brian List and we’ll be your hosts as we take you through the fourth Carnival of the NHL.
First off, we’ll point you to Sharkspage, where PJ Swenson keeps you up-to-date on the San Jose Sharks, as well as boxing, car races and other sporting events in the San Jose area. PJ recently re-did the layout of his site and it’s looking pretty neat.
Next, we’ll stop at Hockey Rants, where Jes Golbez helps you get into the scary mind of an NHL General Manager. If you can take it, you’ll see the big mistakes a GM can make, such as giving $6.75 million to a goalie, $2.4 million to a forward who had one good season four years ago, and $10 million on two new players. Don’t despair, however. Jes is also kind enough to show you the good GMs, those who give just over $2 million total to two solid players rather than just throw their money around like rice at a wedding. Brett Mirtle, of Red Line Sports, chimes in, asking Jes, is any player worth the $7.8 million salary ceiling?
Zubov is certainly not worth half the salary ceiling, says Globe and Mail journalist and blogger extraordinaire, James Mirtle. The carnival erupts in agreement, but Andrew of the Stars blog takes the signing in stride.
Over here, we have Lindsey Ungar who blogs about the Buffalo Sabres at “In the Crease.” In this post, she looks for a little hope despite following a team when apparently no one wants to go to their games or join the roster. A sad story.
Moving on to a more positive booth, the venerable (in the most respectful sense of the word) Tom Benjamin takes you on a walk down memory lane and points out his old haunt: The Tom Benjamin Hockey Pages.
Recently returned Nashville Predator blogger Jason Kirk discusses his team’s need for a center here. He hasn’t said anything yet but I’m sure the Predator’s acquisition of Paul Kariya will generate a response worth reading. (Side note: are any other Wings fans starting to become a little frightened of the other teams in our division now? We are. Just a little. Please Mr. Holland, do something.)
Over at her MVN blog, Avalanche!, Melissa Tee gives Avs fans even more reason to be depressed: the new scheduling will make it even tougher for the Avs to compete now that they’ve lost Foote and Forsberg. The Northwest Division is a tough one and the loss of those two won’t make getting to the playoffs any easier.
Always a funny guy, Steve Ovadia at PuckUpdate discusses the need to pay high-end defensemen high-end salaries. He also goes in to the TV opportunities Jeremy Roenick will have in LA.
Keith from BoltsMag takes the stage in his fire-breathing routine, with Eklund, of the legendary Hockey Rumors blog, burned severely in the act.
Mike Chen describes a bizarre dream he recently had…or wait, is this Bettman’s small market dream come true?
Michael, the self-proclaimed Hockey Fanatic, pays homage to the master of ceremonies, Steve Yzerman. The carnival caravan rolls on, as Yzerman will have a goodbye tour before the show closes. The Fanatic also gives a good overview of Sidney Crosby’s Jay Leno appearance.
The show rolls into Hockey Country, where Chris McMurtry proclaims it’s the “same ol’ NHL.” Chris, we might add, has taken the hockey blogging standard to a new level, building up a massive archive of posts in a matter of days. His profile description says it all: “Someone with, perhaps, too much free time on his hands and an unhealthy passion for hockey…” A description the whole carnival of hockey bloggers could relate to.
Brandon Bibb of Grapevine’s Sports Ramblings tells of the best carnival stunts, whether it be the Mike Legg lacrosse-style goal or the Shanahan, bank-the-puck-off-the-goaltender, move.
The Hockey Rodent breaks down the Ranger payroll, and proves his skill at finding interesting links with a Straka interview from a Czech website.
Also worthy of mention is Kukla’s Korner, the emerging Drudge Report of NHL news. Paul has been posting up-to-the-minute NHL news for the last three weeks, and ‘On the Wings’ has appreciated his site as a resource for free agent moves.
Entering the stage is d-lee of red and black hockey, blogging about the Hurricanes from Greensboro, North Carolina. He’s also followed the free agency race closely, and gives a unique perspective on the moves.
Red Wings fans aren’t the only ones down on management decisions, as Jay Kumar sulks about the fate of the Leafs and wonders whether “hometown discounts” can save the team. Jason Allison enters stage right, having missed much of the last three seasons due to post-concussion symptoms and the lockout. How Allison’s groggy show comes off remains to be seen.
OtW staffer (and budding journalist?) Christy Hammond takes an early jab at the new NHL schedule format, as the Central Division (minus the Wings) grows stronger by the day with free agent signings. Those eight game outings against the likes of the Blackhawks and Predators might not turn out that easy…unless Mr. Holland gets off his butt and signs somebody! Jason Kirk enjoys the sound of that, seeing as though we lumped his beloved Preds in with the dregs of the league. That was when we had faith in Wings management and thought they knew how to…gasp…call a free agent on the phone and… actually…negotiate. Sigh.
Returning after a week-long hiatus is Carole Lee Sussman of “For the Curious…” In this post, she rounds up some of the bigger deals of the past week. Her comments are, as usual, well worth reading. She is less than impressed with what the Rangers have done this off-season but what else is new?
For anyone who doubts the popularity of the NHL or the sport of hockey, check out On the Wings: Brazil. This little-known but much appreciated partner-blog is written in Portuguese by Humberto, Marcelo, and Eduardo.
And last but certainly not least, we have our ringleader, Eric McErlain, of the prize-winning blog “Off Wing Opinion.” The master of all things sport today weighs in on the Columbus Blue Jackets’ signing of Adam Foote. He and a few others.
That’s all for now, folks. Thank you all for stopping by and we hope you enjoyed your time at the fourth Carnival of the NHL. Thanks to Eric McErlain for giving us the opportunity to host this thing. We’re looking forward to doing it again in the future and hopefully then we’ll get it published on time (again, we’re sorry). So, who’s up to host this thing next????
Matt Saler and Brian List
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