Elliotte Friedman 31 thoughts

[mattola]

because Kassian is so raw, we all thought when the trade went down ... what the fuck does this do for the canucks this year ???

im gonna just sit back and watch how this plays out ... because we might have an answer coming sooner than later ... because Kassian has replaced Mason Raymond on the second line ... already!!! (and thank god for that!!!)

i was hoping for a raymond healthy scratch tonight. wake him up a bit


also yeah the way he left is ambiguous and stupid. so many things could be shut up by saying yep we felt it best for our career that we moved etc.. blah blah..

Im just glad we got honest to goodness prospects back for him. and ones that I feel comfortable saying will contribute (although gragnani needs more trimming)

Im just done with this level of politics on this trade. I just want to watch the new guys and hope hodgson the best (for my pool mostly)

 

[puckhead]

Behind Bryzgalov's bounce back + 30 Thoughts | Hockey | CBC Sports

3. Was curious to see how many Columbus fans took advantage of the team's offer for a "free switch" from a Jeff Carter jersey to a Jack Johnson. The number? 43. Curious to see if another team tries this promotion, although the Blue Jackets' fans certainly loved it.

25. While any potential rule changes (hybrid icing, no hand passes) can't happen until next season, it will be interesting to see how the game is officiated after the GM meetings. They have concerns about the lack of obstruction calls, embellishment (especially against the boards) and goaltender interference. At the last meeting, their concern about Lucic/Miller led to a big change. Will that happen again?

27. In addition to hybrid icing, want to see if linesmen crack down on what type of play waives off a call. GMs think it's wildly inconsistent and an "attainable" pass (as noted in the rulebook) is morphing into anything close. One exec: "Nicklas Lidstrom has to miss the net by 40 feet to get called." (Even Red Wings fans have to think that's funny.)

 

[puckhead]

Radulov return problematic + 30 Thoughts | Hockey | CBC Sports

15. Will anyone (quietly) be cheering harder for Air Force in the NCAA Tournament than Glen Sather? If the Falcons beat Boston College, winners of 15 straight, Chris Kreider becomes a New York Ranger. Very curious to see him at the NHL level when the time comes.

16. Speaking of American-based talents, several teams are waiting for West Kelowna's Justin Schultz to make a decision. Drafted by Anaheim and considered the NCAA's best prospect, he has finished his season at Wisconsin and can now join the Ducks. If he waits until the summer, though, the defenceman can become an unrestricted free agent. To Anaheim's consternation, it would be a surprise if he didn't.

30. Karlsson had two goals in his first 33 games, 17 in the last 39. Why? He stopped trying to slap it, choosing to get it through with wrist shots. He's incredibly deceptive, always keeping his head up and constantly aiming for different targets. Hrudey and PJ Stock couldn't believe Karlsson fooled Ryan Miller last week with a 25-foot wrister

 

[dash]

Quebec arena announcement ends strange week + 30 thoughts | Hockey | CBC Sports

Sunday's announcement of a $400-million arena in Quebec City by September 2015 culminated a very strange week in the NHL's version of The Odyssey - The Coyotes' Saga.

It all started with a report that the league is getting closer to initiating its "Plan B" scenarios for the franchise (Quebec City, Seattle, Kansas City, Las Vegas) should a new ownership group not be found, and soon. No reason to believe the report isn't true, but the timing is odd.

The 30 team presidents met last week with Gary Bettman and Bill Daly in Las Vegas. Apparently, Phoenix was not on the agenda. It sounds like a couple of them may have asked about it, and the response was something like, "No news, we're working on it."

According to one, "nothing was said that gave us any indication [our team] wouldn't be going to Phoenix next season...Someone asked when the schedule will be coming out and we were told it would be at the normal time." That's around the middle of June.

Also asked a couple of other moderately well-connected people if they've heard anything about the Coyotes. Similar reaction, "nothing," one of them said. "It's quiet."

That led to two other questions: First, is it possible that the Coyotes could stay in Phoenix next year under the same circumstances? Second, is the NHL drawing up multiple schedules for next season including cities that are not currently in the league?

The answers (from a couple of different places) were 1) it would be a surprise if that happened and 2) "Not yet, no."

 

[puckhead]

lol...

One of the reasons I hate my parents is that they met too late for me to cover a Montreal/Quebec playoff series, but the stories from reporters who did are fantastic.


holy shit
16. Last Thursday, Pietrangelo played a ridiculous 4:11 of the five-minute overtime in Los Angeles. His last shift (which included a power play) was 2:19. Maybe that's why he wears 27 - a tribute to Alex Kovalev's shift lengths.

 

[puckhead]

Penguins, Flyers on a collision course + 30 Thoughts | Hockey | CBC Sports

5. Asked Molson the number one reason he made the change. He thought for a few seconds before replying. "When I really looked back, it had been a long time since we'd had a really great season." What did he learn most this year: "Our fans expect excellence."


17. Upon seeing what happened to Rynnas, Glenn Healy told a hilarious story about Billy Smith. Smith's last season was David Volek's first and Volek, during one warmup, fired a bullet past Smith's ear into the top corner. While Volek skated away, proud of the shot, Smith charged and delivered a two-hander. Volek never shot high in warmup again.

26. One of the things people wondered about Muller was whether or not he would be tough on players. Asked about that, a couple of Hurricanes smiled and said, "Minnesota." That was March 17. While they wouldn't specifically reveal what happened, in the second intermission Muller let them know they were coughing up a winnable game. Carolina scored three times in the third to win 5-3.

 

[dash]

20. Obviously, the Oilers made a bad mistake when they fouled up the post-deadline recall rules and couldn't bring back Magnus Paajarvi. (It's doubly unfortunate when you consider they were trying to reward him with a few more days of an NHL salary.) Kevin Lowe took heat for ripping the four call-up limit, but he was protecting someone and figured it was better to try and muddle the issue.

How do we know it wasn't Lowe who had the final say in this decision? The only thing that we do know for sure is that Kevin Lowe can't count to four (odd since that was his jersey number).

 

[jstewismybastardson]

20. Obviously, the Oilers made a bad mistake when they fouled up the post-deadline recall rules and couldn't bring back Magnus Paajarvi. (It's doubly unfortunate when you consider they were trying to reward him with a few more days of an NHL salary.) Kevin Lowe took heat for ripping the four call-up limit, but he was protecting someone and figured it was better to try and muddle the issue.

How do we know it wasn't Lowe who had the final say in this decision? The only thing that we do know for sure is that Kevin Lowe can't count to four (odd since that was his jersey number).

i heard a rumour that Coilers tried to emergency re-call Sven Baertchi ... nice try lol

 

[puckhead]

Hockey violence, viewers on rise + 30 Thoughts | Hockey | CBC Sports

funny.
10. At one Toronto practice, Ron Wilson told his players to "get ready for 'Drill 237.'" They didn't know what it was, so he told them to skate until he blew the whistle. One of them stayed on the ice for 2:37 the previous game (also through a power play) and, to make a point, he had the whole team go that long. Needless to say, they were exhausted because -- not knowing what Wilson was doing -- they started hard.

 

[puckhead]

Ovechkin's ice time + 30 Thoughts | Hockey | CBC Sports

24. Mike Gillis and Francesco Aquilini were originally supposed to meet Thursday, and it's expected the Canucks GM will tell his owner he does not want to change coaches. There's a lot of speculation that Alain Vigneault is a goner because he left town without talking to the media. It's more likely he didn't want to talk without knowing for sure and didn't want to wait almost two weeks for that discussion to happen.

25. For Canucks fans who want Vigneault fired, my question is this: Who is available that is better? Gillis will not make the change unless that person exists. It's not his way.

27. The annual "Trade Marleau" watch is underway after the Sharks fell in the first round. Here's the problem: The players San Jose got in the Heatley/Marleau deals came in 25 goals below the players they gave up. Whatever you think of Marleau's playoff performance, if you don't make up for the 30 he scores in the regular season, do you even get to the playoffs?

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

Was surprised by this one. Would folding one team and then immediately expanding to a different city prove to be better financially for the league, Glendale, etc.? Seems like it would be a hell of a headache to deal with though in a single off season.

29. The Phoenix Coyotes will survive in Arizona if the "management fee" to run the arena gets through Glendale City Council and The Goldwater Institute. If not, there might be five guys who know what will happen: Gary Bettman, Bill Daly, John Collins and the NHL's top two financial guys, Craig Harnett and Joseph DeSousa. Cassie Campbell-Pascall mentioned the word "fold" in her blog this week. Nothing would surprise me here.

 

[dash]

The Goldwater Institute has been very quiet this go-around, are they waiting until the 11th hour before pouncing?!?

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Maybe they are sick of the soap opera like the rest of us... I'm sick of it and I'm not even a Coyotes fan.

 

[dash]

Lots of Hawks talk in this week's edition:

Quenneville uses leverage, plus 30 Thoughts | Hockey | CBC Sports

Edit: This is funny.

26. Jay Beagle lost 10 pounds in the triple overtime Game 3. He said he was doing shots of olive oil and avocado oil the next day to replace some of the "good fat." Keith Aucoin joked he lost just four pounds "because I only weigh 170."

 

[puckhead]

5. Agreed with Brendan Shanahan's decision to suspend Claude Giroux, but something about the video was off. At the 1:05 mark, he points out Giroux is "legally finished" by Mark Fayne but certainly creates the impression the Flyers forward is angry there was no call on that contact. (Giroux was actually upset Martin Brodeur wasn't penalized for illegally playing the puck.) Shanahan's trying to protect his referees, but that's misleading.


good for Elliotte for pointing that out

 

[IPostedWhat]

good for Elliotte for pointing that out

 

[puckhead]

Patrick Kane's not a laughing matter, plus 30 Thoughts | Hockey | CBC Sports

1. One situation to keep an eye on: University of Wisconsin defenceman Justin Schultz finishes classes this week. If Anaheim does not sign him by June 1, he becomes an unrestricted free agent. There will be plenty of interest in the soon-to-be 22-year-old BC boy.

10. That's why Bob Hartley could be an intriguing candidate here (WAS). Ilya Kovalchuk loved playing for him in Atlanta. He'd get 21-22 minutes a night, with the best all-around play of his career prior to New Jersey. Ovechkin listens to Kovalchuk. The balance is getting Ovechkin minutes while demanding an accountable game. Could Kovalchuk convince him Hartley can do that?

18. Asked Alexei Ponikarovsky, on his fifth team, to explain the difference between the Devils and other organizations. "Here, everyone follows the rules," he said. "On some teams, if certain players are late for the bus, it waits. Here, everyone is on time for the bus." He added that you're pretty much expected to be 10-15 minutes early.

22. Depending on how everything shakes down with Zach Parise, wonder if New Jersey might be interested in Alexander Radulov. Reasoning: the Devils are having great success with Kovalchuk. And, they have three other clients of the agent in question, Jay Grossman. (They are Kovalchuk, Volchenkov and Johan Hedberg.)

 

[awaz]

27. If I'm Paul Holmgren, I'm doing what I can to get Martin Biron back in a Flyer uniform this summer. (Biron is a UFA.) You have to get Bryzgalov the best possible backup, a team-oriented veteran who will do whatever it takes to make your starter comfortable. This is your guy. The Verizon Center has a really tight visitor's room. Biron would leave it during intermissions so Lundqvist had more room to spread out and relax. It's a small thing, but a big thing and, for all of his friendliness, Biron understands the larger picture. Plus, he'd do a lot of talking, which would also ease Bryzgalov's burden.

interesting suggestion..

 

[dash]

22. Depending on how everything shakes down with Zach Parise, wonder if New Jersey might be interested in Alexander Radulov. Reasoning: the Devils are having great success with Kovalchuk. And, they have three other clients of the agent in question, Jay Grossman. (They are Kovalchuk, Volchenkov and Johan Hedberg.)

Everybody loves a reclamation project, but Radulov is no Kovalchuk, in my opinion, the guy is a flake and he's not worth the trouble.

 

[evolver115]

27. If I'm Paul Holmgren, I'm doing what I can to get Martin Biron back in a Flyer uniform this summer. (Biron is a UFA.) You have to get Bryzgalov the best possible backup, a team-oriented veteran who will do whatever it takes to make your starter comfortable. This is your guy. The Verizon Center has a really tight visitor's room. Biron would leave it during intermissions so Lundqvist had more room to spread out and relax. It's a small thing, but a big thing and, for all of his friendliness, Biron understands the larger picture. Plus, he'd do a lot of talking, which would also ease Bryzgalov's burden.

interesting suggestion..