Posts filed under “NHL”

Winter Classic Announcement Coming Thursday

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According to Bob McKenzie:

Apparently, the University of Michigan regents are bringing it down to the wire, though:

Kronwall Rocks Hemsky

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In the first period tonight. Looks clean: shoulder to mostly shoulder, didn’t leave his feet except thanks to physics. That’s what it feels like to go 60-to-0 in 1.2 seconds, Ales.

And of course Nik had to answer for it with a moronic reaction from the Oilers. And the Wings did nothing with the ensuing power play. Anyway. More on that tomorrow.

Lidstrom’s NHL 36 Episode

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Someone put it up on YouTube, though the quality’s not great in spots.

I hate to link to a bootleg copy of something so well done, but the NHL hasn’t yet put up a quality version like they did with Kane’s. So, this is settling until they do.

Or until this one’s taken down.

On the All Star Game Draft

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That right there is why I wish Datsyuk could have been an assistant to either Chara or Alfredsson. Him that close to a mic for the Draft would have made it so much more entertaining.

But in that case, we wouldn’t have been able to get the little insight into what his peers think of him: first overall pick in a pretty stacked group. Chara did joke he would have gone with Lidstrom first if he’d been there, but still, it’s pretty cool for Pavel. And it did look like Alfredsson was disappointed Chara got Datsyuk, even though he was apparently obligated to select Senators first.

But poor Jimmy—selected last among the goalies. I get him being picked behind Thomas and maybe behind Quick. I might even grant Elliot, given the season he’s having. But his going after Carey Price hurt to watch. Not sure if you can read a peer statement into that the same way you can read into the first overall choice, but it’s interesting. Sorry, “Jim.”

But at least they’re on the same team, so we can pull for Team Chara, eh?

An Overblown Crisis

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Brian Finkel says the League has an identity crisis. I guess by the standard of MLB, the NBA or the NFL, sure. But those are sports that have long been about individual stars from a marketing perspective. Maybe hockey’s different. Granted, the League and NBC/Versus have put the spotlight on guys like Sydney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin over the years, but I think the strength of hockey marketing is teams. More teams than ever are playing at a high level in a game that’s faster and more skilled than ever. That’s what accounts for the growth Finkel’s sort of surprised about.

All Star Game Martyrs

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So glad the flawless records of Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk had to be sullied by The Suspension so that the League could soften its stance on All Star Game attendance over time. I guess it’s good that outcries and bad publicity worked? But this is some smelly bull.

This is not two of the League’s elder statesmen quietly declining and being allowed to skip out. This is an able-bodied young face of the League pouting and getting away with it.

Can we get those suspensions expunged from the record, though?

Extrapolating Positive Labor News

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Nick Cotsonika points out that last night’s announcement from the PA and League is a positive development in their relationship. As he says, “the union and the league fought over money – millions of dollars – and they got a deal done quietly.” He still sees plenty of cause for pessimism (as I do) about a larger CBA deal being reached by September 15th, but he’s right that this isn’t a negative sign, at least.

Something to cling to before the next public, inevitably nasty, clash.