HLOGgers in The Hockey News

The current(september 7) issue of The Hockey News features pieces by three of our bloggers:

Bethany - pg.31
Elise - pg.32
Connie - pg.33

Congratulations ladies.

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Versus Frustrates Me

Last year the NHL on Versus decided to shut the Kings out from any type of national coverage, and once again, they decided to keep it as minimal as possible for this So Cal team. Hey, I love minimalism and everything, but only for my living spaces and furniture within. When it comes to hockey, I want more Kings exposure during more hours of the day.

For the 09-10 season, Versus decided showing one game involving the Kings was enough, but it's blatantly obvious as to why this game was chosen. If it's not obvious, then you need to open your eyes or just have me spell it out for you. This one Kings game was chosen because it was against the Chicago Blackhawks rather than any sort of potential the Kings merit.

Seriously, folks; what Kings game is going to get the most national draw possible? A game against a team that has been put through the hype ringer and drawn as thinly as possible. Yes, people can easily just get the Center Ice package to watch all things Kings, but my point here is not that. It's the fact that this team is, once again, attempting to get out of the usually damp and dusty cellar but are being stunted by a league that views this team as the red-headed step child. I really don't think giving them some national coverage it's that difficult. Why can't Versus just show a hockey double header every night of the season? I really don't think that channel is making its money through bull riding. Ultimate fighting, yes; bull riding, no.

X-posted to A Queen Among Kings

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Kings World Podcast

Hello ladies and faithful readers,

Considering posting has been slow around the hockey blogging community, we'd like to inform you that we have finally recorded a new episode for Kings World Podcast, our LA Kings podcast, and hopefully we can provide some entertainment during the slow hockey off-season.


In our 34th episode we discuss the trades and signings as well as who the Kings picked in the 2009 NHL Draft. Marie isn’t as confident as Connie that the Kings will make the playoffs, but there is always a chance the Kings can actually pull something out of their behinds. Of course, everyone looks forward to Frozen Fury coming to you this year on September 26th. Also, you will be able to hear Marie’s exciting Chicago story, which blows Patrick Kane’s out of the water!

You can listen to the podcast by visiting either of our blogs (A Queen Among Kings or Purple Crushed Velvet) or our podcast website, or by subscribing to us in iTunes. Please direct any questions, comments, or thoughts to kingsworldpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com.

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The Purgatory of the T-Shirt (The Bruins Off-Season So Far)

The Boston Bruins off-season can be best represented by the fate of my Phil Kessel t-shirt.

Said shirt was given to me by my fiance for Christmas 2008. He had searched high and low for said shirt, to no avail. The 2008-09 season was still quite young, and Kessel had his fans, but didn't have enough to make his shirt readily available. After some begging at the Bruins Pro Shop, my fiance was able to locate a Kessel shirt, and gave it to me for Christmas.

Right now, it sits in my "sports wear" drawer in my closet (you know you are a true sports fan when you must devote an entire drawer to your team related wear). I feel weird wearing it.

Because is Kessel a Bruin, or isn't he?

No matter who the Bruins have added (D Derek Morris and LW Steve Begin), and no matter who they have traded (Boston media darling Aaron Ward), the overarching obsession of the off-season has been the status of Kessel. Remember that the kid can't play until most likely December due to recovery from his shoulder injury. Remember that he was benched in the 2008 playoffs for poor performance. Remember that he isn't even 22 years old yet. Nevertheless, Kessel is the center of attention.

Will Kessel, who can't play until December, make or break the Bruins 2009-10 season? I doubt it. It is clear that the Bruins organization sees him as a expendable commodity, and have begun to round their roster accordingly. The organization values guys who aren't afraid to get into the fray - the defensive offenseman, if you will - and Kessel is not one. The Bruins are about guys who fight, who play strong defense, who aren't afraid to get hurt. Kessel is a young player that plays the American college style game - score early, score often and don't get tangled up in the excess. The Bruins seem to have no place for that style of play.

Even though Kessel may not be a burly Bruin, the Bruins would be remiss not to reserve a roster spot for a pure offensive player. As Kessel demonstrated last season, his scoring prowess can make the difference in games. You need someone to score while Thorton and Lucic are sitting in the penalty box. Also, along with Lucic, Wheeler, and Rask, you need Kessel to helm the Bruins youth movement. Savard and Chara (both 32 years old and in their 12th year in the league) are not going to be around forever, and the whole of the Bruins roster is weighted on the experienced side. Sure, you want to win now, but you also want to win in four or five years. By eliminating a key member of the young guard, the Bruins are setting them up to be without a steady scorer in a few years, post Savard. The loss of Kessel may not be the end of the world in 2009-10, but do you want to be without him in 2012-13?

So while the Bruins and Kessel attempt to figure this out - or not - my Kessel shirt sits in my drawer, collecting dust, much like the kid's Bruins jersey.

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Sunday Six

1. Who's excited for Mad Men tonight??
2. If Michael Vick was a hockey player, would you welcome him to your team?
3. What is your favorite flower or plant?
4. Nick Lachey: hot or not?
5. Xbox, Playstation or Wii?
6. Are you a Mac or a PC?

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The SLow Summer Simmer of San Jose's Offseason

The scene in downtown San Jose after waiting all off season for Doug Wilson to make a move.

Depending on who you ask, this has been a summer of disappointment. No moves, no change, Doug Wilson has abandoned us! If we take a step back from that brink, we discover that there HAVE been moves, they've just been smaller and less splashy than many Sharks fans had been hoping for or expected.

The Sharks let a few players go. Mike Grier, Marcel Goc, Riley Armstrong, Tomas Plihal, Brain Boucher, Claude Lemieux, Jeremy Roenick, Travis Moen and Alexi Semenov are all gone. Some have signed with other teams, some have retired, and others are still looking for work.

As far as signings, Kent Huskins, Ryane Clowe, Rob Blake, Scott Nichol, Thomas Greiss and Henrick Karlsson were all resigned or acquired. Scott Nicol is the only real new blood, ignoring the fact that Sharks fans have yet to see Huskins play in teal. This has made his contract, and the lack of other signings, a point of contention amongst fans, who have been hoping for big splashy firings and signings. The fact of the matter is, the Sharks are already up against the cap, and they won't have any wiggle room next year when several big name members of team teal become free agents.

It also remains to be seen whether or not it makes sense to blow up the President's Trophy winning team in 2009. Sure, they flamed out in a spectacularly embarrassing fashion in the first round of the playoffs, but they were still the best team in the league last season, even with their late season problems. The team, for all it's weaknesses, still has some great potential.

Maybe the lack of splashy signing *coughdanyheatlycoughcough* is for the best. If it means Sharks fans don't have to spend another season watching the MSM and bloggers poop all over the team when it fails to meet their expectations, fine by me. But I'm not the majority. Most fans appear to be frustrated by the lack of moves. Cap space be damned, they want big change and they want it now. Only time will tell if DW will throw cap caution to the wind, or if he will chose to ice a very similar to team to the one that showed such promise last season.

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Friday Five

Friday Five ladies:

1. Did you go on any vacations this summer?
2. Has the economy affected you in any way?
3. What's your opinion of Jim Ball-silly?
4. What's the best movie you saw this summer?
5. Have you taken up any new hobbies recently?

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Kings Have Another Boring Off Season

The Kings off-season has been b.o.r.i.n.g. Thankfully it coincided with my hectic personal summer so I feel like the off-season has been flying by without feeling like I've been missing out on all the fun. The NHL Entry Draft came and went without much fanfare. The Kings did not hold a Draft party this season for season ticket holders something I attribute to the crappy economy but was probably due to the Kings not wanting to give off the impression that having a high Draft pick is something to celebrate year after year since, of course, that would mean that the Kings still suck. The Kings aren't exactly in the top half of the league but the team is slowly getting there and hopefully next year's Draft will be even less of an event for Kings fans than the 2009 Draft.

Even without the fanfare of the 2008 Draft, I doubt the majority of Kings fans were that upset with the selection of forward Brayden Schenn. Personally, I was satisfied. There’s nothing wrong with stacking the farm system, and eventually the roster, with young quality players.

(source)

Braaaaayyyyy-den Schenn…yes, I am a jerk

The Ryan Smyth trade was definitely a huge surprise to me and, it's probably safe to say, to most Kings fans as well. In fact, that was the only surprise of the off-season but it wasn't a complete downer for the Kings community considering the Kings pretty much gave up only Kyle Quincey to acquire Smyth. One could argue that the Kings lost additional manpower since someone named Tom Preissing was also involved in the mix but he was barely on the roster last season so he will hardly be missed. The Kings have a lot of depth on the blueline so while Quincey was a dominant and productive player last year, sadly he was expendable.

The Kings made a couple other small moves, including letting go of Connie's true love, Matt Moulson and trading away Brian Boyle, who has progressed so slowly that the Kings should be given credit for giving him a chance for as long as they did. Teddy Purcell signed for an additional year and several other small fries also remained in the system.

Jack MF Johnson was the big name to re-sign this off-season and THANK GOD negotiations were completed before the start of the season (*cough*Sully*cough*). I found out about this transaction when Connie texted me while I was on my honeymoon. Yep, I got married this summer; I am officially the ball and chain. Anyway, I had been worried all summer long that Jack would get re-signed to a ridiculously unnecessary contract that he didn't deserve. I am not a fan of long contracts and paying athletes for their potential so I was slightly worried that Dean Lombardi would succumb to what seems to becoming the norm in NHL contracts. However, Deano proved why he's so f'ing awesome and came to an agreement with Jack on a two-year deal with an annual cap hit of $1.425 million. I wrote a bit about the Jack re-signing here, but overall, Jack still has a lot to prove so the contract is very telling of what Jack has done for the Kings and what he needs to do in order to be paid the big bucks. It also gives both sides an out in case one or both parties are unhappy with what will happen over the next two years.

So that's it! Boring, right? I know. I live in LA where hockey news is incredibly scarce in local news. I was recently in Minnesota and spent a couple hours at the Mall of America to kill off time before my flight back to LA. I came across the Minnesota Wild Team store and so badly wanted to buy something just because I was hockey starved. I don't care about the Wild but I wanted to buy something hockey related and be near to it. Alas, I didn't step into the store in fear of what I might do. Hockey, please come back now.

(x-posted to Purple Crushed Velvet)

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A Lot of Changes in New York

It’s been a busy summer for New York, now hasn’t it?

We had already dealt with several changes over the last season. Wade Redden, Aaron Voros and Marcus Naslund were new free agent additions (I hate Glen Sather), Lauri Korpikoski was a rookie, and Nik Zherdev was acquired last offseason via trade. Bye-bye to Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, Martin Straka, Sean Avery and Fedor Tyutin. During free agency, Nik Antropov was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a second round pick, and Derek Morris was acquired for Nigel Dawes, Dmtri Kalinin, and (remember that thing about hating Glen Sather?) Petr Prucha. Artem Anisimov served as a call up when Blair Betts was taken out by that mean old Donald Brashear. And of course, Sean Avery made his triumphant return to the NHL- and the Rangers- after not-so-pretty remarks against his ex.

We also had a coaching change (HALLELUJAH!).

So we’ve had our fair share of changes throughout the year. I know changes are inevitable, and a lot of times, for the better. But how can you possibly continue to have passion for a team when changes won’t stop? I don’t know or understand this team. And it’s hard to root for a team you can’t recognize.

Don’t worry, though. We always still have the under producers of Wade Redden, Michal Roszvial, Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. Because those are stupid, untrade-able contracts. No one will take Gomez for that salary….




Except of course for the Montreal Canadiens, who helped the Rangers start free agency off with a bang. Gomez and change was traded for Chris Higgins, a top defensive prospect, and change on June 30th. Now, I may love the New York Ranger, but I’m a Long Island girl. So seeing Smithtown native Higgins on the Rangers is a little bit like a dream come true for me. And even better, we get to dump Gomez’s huge salary off on the Canadiens.

I liked Scott. More, maybe, than most Ranger fans did considering he was raised and drafted by our hellish neighbors. But his contract, along with Drury’s and Redden’s, was so insane that it had the Rangers completely restrained by the salary cap. Being able to dump just one of those contracts is a huge step in the right direction. However, the Rangers lost some by dumping Gomez. Gomez, despite the fact that he didn’t live up to full potential in New York, was still the number one point-getter on the team. We needed a replacement.

So Sather goes out and signs… Donald Brashear?

The reaction throughout Rangerland was just not good. Brashear, who’s team just eliminated us from the playoffs, who fought Shanny in the center of MSG ice in what was probably the most memorable fight for the Rangers since the lockout, who was a Philadelphia Flyer, who just threw an extremely late hit on our Blair Betts and ended his season one game prematurely… THAT is the guy Sather signs to make all of our woes go away?

And clearly, that meant an end to good guy Colton Orr, who ended up signing with the Maple Leafs. Orr has really developed into a good fourth line player, one of the only things I will concede and give ex-Rangers coach Tom Renney credit for. It was a shame watching Orr walk out the door, and sign for cheaper than Brashear signed here. In my opinion, Orr is the better hockey player. And he has way more class than Donald Brashear.

The signing of Donald Brashear is the first time in a while that I can honestly say I don’t want to see this player in a Rangers jersey. Say what you want about Sean Avery; when Avery breaks someone’s face, maybe I’ll have a different opinion. But Brashear had bad blood with the Rangers, and a history of not playing clean. I can’t respect that. I just hope Brashear keeps his elbows down while he is in New York.

Along with Orr and Gomez, we also saw the departure of Freddie Sjostrom and Blair Betts, who were probably the best penalty killers in the entire league, and Paul Mara, who was probably my favorite Ranger after the trade deadline this season. Betts and Sjo were highly underrated. They were a huge part of the team defense, and the Rangers were top two in Pking all year thanks to their work. Mara stood up for his teammates at every chance he got. With the exception of Marc Staal, he was the only one on the blue line who really got physical. Mara was one of the few who looked like he cared 100% of the time. He also took a paycut because he wanted to be in New York. Really, who else on the Rangers would be willing to take a paycut, and then play their heart out all season? Sjo and Betts and Mara will all be missed.

In their places comes Ales Kolatik, Tyler Arason, and of course, Marion Gaborik. Although the Rangers aren’t expecting too much out of Tyler Arason, he did put up some points only two seasons ago and will probably center the fourth line. Ales Kolatik was signed to a three year deal, and will hopefully get a couple twenty goal seasons in New York. But the big name is obviously Marion Gaborik, who may or may not have groins made out of glass. Signing Gaborik obvious has some disadvantages, as the guy hasn’t been consistently healthy. However, Gaborik gives the Rangers their first real scoring threat since Jaromir Jagr. If Gaborik can stay healthy, the Rangers scoring problems will be significantly elevated.

For once, Sather signed a guy for major bucks who is actually worth those major bucks.

Having Gaborik definitely changes the complexion of the Rangers. We have our superstar that we were badly lacking last season. We have our game changer. But if Gaborik spends some significant time on the IR next year, we’re going to need some backup scoring.

In addition to Unrestricted Free Agents acquired over the deadline, the Rangers had some Restricted Free Agents they needed to take care of. Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Lauri Korpikoski, Nikolai Zherdev and Chris Higgins were all RFAs.

Korpikoski (aka the Korpedo) was shipped out to the Phoenix Coyotes for Enver Lisin. Lisin wasn’t a favorite of Wayne Gretzky’s, only seeing about forty games of action last season with a terrible +/- as a result, but has some tremendous offensive skills. I think it was unfortunate that the Rangers gave up Korpi. The kid wasn’t an offensive monster by any means, but he was very solid, especially in his own zone, and I can’t help but feel preferential towards home grown talent. Good luck to Korpi (and all the little Rangers Maloney is attempt to hoard) out in the desert.

Lisin himself was a RFA until the Rangers locked him and Chris Higgins up quickly.

Ryan Callahan filed for arbitration, although that was settled outside of court rather quickly, as did Nik Zherdev. Zherdev did make to court, which happened last Friday. He was award 3.9 mill.

About an hour ago, the Rangers decided to walk away from Z.

As disappointed as I am to see Zherdev’s potential walk out the door, there is no way Nik was worth that kind of money. Zherdev was lazy and temperamental, and disappeared completely in April. He had a difficult time earning ice time under John Tortorella, who asked for effort and energy only to receive none from Nik. It’s just a shame we get nothing for him.

But with Zherdev off the table, finally we understand the cap situation to sit down with Brandon Dubinsky and strike a deal, which is expected to happen right away now that arbitration is over. Dubinsky and Callahan should remain an integral part of this club, and hopefully Brandon can break out of his sophomore scoring slump.

Once Dubinsky is signed, the Rangers are still going to have a couple holes in their roster. Losing Morris and Mara leaves two empty slots on defense. And there is possibly one or two open roster spots up front.

Up front, Artem Anisimov, who had a strong break out season last year with the Hartford Wolfpack, is expected to make the team out of camp. On the blueline, Matt Gilroy (from Boston University, and another native Long Islander!) was signed and is expected to possibly get the nod to start the season with the Rangers. That leaves at least one defense spot available, meaning Corey Potter, Bobby Sanguinetti, Michael del Zotto, or Ryan McDonough (who came over from the Canadiens in the Gomez trade) will be fighting for that final spot.

The team certainly looks different than last year. Last year’s team had an emphasis on defense, molded like Tom Renney wanted. This year’s Rangers look much more like Tortorella wants; quick, aggressive, and with a more offensive punch. The team is so different it’s very hard to predict line mates and even how the team will play. But one things for sure; the Rangers just got a hell of a lot more exciting to watch. And for that reason alone, I’ll take the changes and learn to love this entirely new team.

And plus; anything's possible with Henrik Lundqvist.

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Busy Summer in Raleigh

Jim Rutherford has been a busy man, and the Hurricanes are shaping up to be a very competitive team for the 09-10 season. I, for one, am so excited, October cannot come soon enough.

JR's first priorities were locking up Tuomo Ruutu, Erik Cole, and Chad LaRose.

Cole was re-acquired at the trade deadline from Edmonton where he had struggled. Putting him back in the 'Canes lineup worked wonders, not only for his game, but for Eric Staal's as well. Obviously, Cole is getting older, and Staalsy will have to learn to play well without him, but for this upcoming season, at least, the Eric/k's are reunited.

Chad LaRose wanted to test the free agency market. He had a terrific 08-09 season, his best of his pro career. I think he had hopes of earning more money, but in the end, there wasn't a lot of interest in paying a gritty 3rd liner the type of money he probably wanted, and JR got him locked back up. Thank God because Rosie is a fan favorite, works his tail off, and has a heart bigger than the RBC Center.

Tuomo Ruutu will return as a 'Cane as well, which is a huge sigh of relief, he is quite the asset to have in the lineup.

Up front the 'Canes still have Matt Cullen, Scotty Walker, Eric Staal, Sergei Samsanov, Ray Whitney, and Jussi Jokinen. They also have a plethora of young guns in the system, including Zach Boychuk and Drayson Bowman.

The largest changes for the 'Canes have been on defense. The biggest deal was the trading of Patrick Eaves to Boston to reacquire Aaron Ward. Ward was an integral part of the 06 Cup run and a fan favorite. Both he and Scott Walker say they've put the punching incident from the playoffs behind them...

Dennis Seidenberg was not re-signed, which I personally don't like, but JR has a plan. Frantisek Kaberle was bought out, also makes me sad, but really, he hasn't been the same since shoulder surgery following 06 season. No other team was going to pick him up, sadly, so the general belief is that he'll end up in KHL. I hope so, I would hate it if he wasn't playing hockey.

On defense, JR also brought in Tom Kostopolous and Andrew Albers. This will add some muscle to a team that has generally not engaged in rough stuff. Under former coach Peter Laviolette, fighting wasn't necessarily forbidden, but not encouraged. Previous season, 'Canes have been built for speed and skill. But the addition of these two changed the dynamic a little bit, shows opponents that they're serious.

The D corps is rounded out with Nic Wallin, Joni Pitkanen, Joe Corvo, and Tim Gleason. Holy crap I love the 'Canes defense.

In net is Cam Ward, of course. He had a more consistent season in 08-09, and a terrific playoff run. All you haters that don't know why he got the Conn Smythe in 06, watch Ward in the playoffs, he's amazing. Michael Leighton will once again be the most gorgeous backup in the NHL. Hopefully he'll get some more playing time so that Cam can be rested a bit for playoffs, unlike this last season.

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