Flyers will face Blackhawks in Stanley Cup Finals

HockeyCrazy

May 24th, 2010
11:15 pm

Let’s not forget that former Thrasher Marian Hossa was with the losing Penguins in 2008 and then the losing Red Wings last season … we won’t even discuss the Olympics (where he was snake-bit yet again) … but now that he is with Chicago? Are the odds for or against him to finally win something, or is he the unluckiest man in hockey?
I pick the Flyers in 6. I could be wrong, but I feel the jinx is not over yet.

Brendan

May 24th, 2010
11:19 pm

WBF, answering conceptually, no Marleau is not the answer here. The reality of our situation is … we need to try out a “depth strategy.” Our ownership just doesn’t have the working capital, nor the inclination, nor the ability to understand the DYNAMICS of running an NHL team filled with star players. They tried. And failed miserably. Savard, Kaberle, Hossa, Kovalchuk … none would re-sign here. Filling the Thrashers with high-end draft picks will only work … if they can re-sign those draft picks BEYOND their RFA years. Which thus far, they haven’t done. The first five (5) first round draft selections are already gone. (Stefan, Heatley, Kovalchuk, Lehtonen, Coburn, and even Bourret, from 2005, is gone.) And who knows how long Boris Valabik will be around, before he’s packaged in some deal. The opportunity to re-sign Bryan Little beyond his RFA years is one of the upcoming tasks of this franchise. Will they succeed? Well, answering for myself, I doubt they’ll ink Little beyond his remaining RFA years. An 8-year/$32 million contract probably is ‘jumping the gun’ at this point. That kind of contract is ‘high risk, high reward.’ You OVERPAY him now, to UNDERPAY him later. But if Little falls flat, Alanta’s still on the hook for that money, and a contract they can’t unload. But, at least it would show some commitment towards their draft picks. On July 1, 2010, Zach Bogosian would be eligible for a PROACTIVE RFA contract. Once again, I wouldn’t hold my breathe for that kind of move, under this ownership, even if it does have a new occupant in Don Waddell’s old office, with a name plate that reads, “General Manager.”

What’s Marleau gonna make out on the open market. I’m thinking $7 to $8 million. GM’s get stupid in pursuit of UFA’s. For that same $8 million, maybe you could land three Tier II guys, each capable of scoring 16-18 goals-a-year? To me, the biggest things Dudley must do are as follows.

1) Develop a philosophy for the TEAM IDENTITY. We’ve never had one before. And stick to it!!!

2) Hire a coach who will run that philosophy. You do that by interviewing many, many applicants and running ‘what if’ scenarios past them. The coach that most closely resembles your philosophy about how you want the team to be run … is who you select for the job. Don’t hire Barry Melrose, then fire him 16 games into the season, since he won’t play Evander Kane 20 minutes a game. Because Barry Melrose’s approach to coaching is … “players EARN ice time. They don’t get it because of how high they went in a draft.” ?Me entienen?

3) Develop a budget, earmarking money for the trade deadline, to TWEAK, not OVERHAUL the roster at the deadline.

4) Educate the ownership. Okay, maybe that should have been # 1. If Dudley doesn’t have some very FRANK discussions with Bruce Levenson and Michael Gearon, Jr., things won’t improve. Waddell was a ’status quo, don’t rock the boat’ kinda guy, who’d do anything to keep his job. In my opinion, that approach did fundamental damage to the franchise, as the ownership sorely needed to be instructed how an NHL franchise needs to be run. Dudley, I believe, will do that. I think he’ll sit Gearon, Jr. down … and explain to him how players think, and why they won’t re-sign here, in this market, until certain things change. In the minds and notions of the Spirit, LLC “you simply throw money at a player.” Exhibit A: Marc Savard. Exhibit B: Marian Hossa, 5-years/$35 million, turned down. Exhibit C: Brian Campbell, 7-years/$56.8 million, turned down. Exhibit D: Ilya Kovalchuk, 12-years/$101 million, turned down.

Dudley has many, many things to do. If I had to bet a paycheck on who his coach will be, I’d say Torchetti, in Chicago. Luckily, I don’t bet. Though, this year, I’m 9-5 … through 14 series! Yeah!! The most important thing a GM ever does … is hire a coach. So, I hope Dudley knows what he’s doing.

TopShelfTony

May 24th, 2010
11:26 pm

By all the usual yardsticks, CHI should win the Cup.

They have four solid lines to roll, a mobile shot-blocking defence, a solid goalie who has played every playoff game, and home ice advantage.

Leighton is everyone’s great waiver-wire to Cup final story.

Hell, the Flyers are the last game shootout playoff qualifiers who are in the final.

They’ve had more players seriously injured just before the playoffs or IN the playoffs who have come back to play than I’ve had hot breakfasts! (OK, I’m a coffee and another coffee for breakfast man and my wife says coffee isn’t breakfast but never mind that.)

So the Hawks SHOULD win it, and it SHOULD be in 5 or 6 games.

But oh how I’d love to see the Flyers do it.

If they can get the Hawks to engage physically, if they can get them rattled and off their game…maybe, just maybe…they can do it in 6 or 7.

Don’t think a team so heavily favored as the Hawks are against the Flyers can lose? Remember Jersey vs Detroit? Can’t remember what year that was, but it was a sweep.

Tim Pilgram

May 24th, 2010
11:57 pm

love it Bill!!
Finally after weeks of waiting and anticipation we have the Stanley Cup Finals!! I honestly can’t believe the Flyers are in contending for the cup, unbelievable. Back in mid-April no one would have said they’d be here. The thing is, I say they’re contending because the Blackhawks will be hoisting Lord Stanley!! Here’s the proof with a prediction: http://www.lionsdenu.com/2010-stanley-cup-final-chicago-blackhawks-vs-philadelphia-flyers-preview-prediction-with-blackhawks-ice-girls-gallery/
Oh’ lol, and there is a nice gallery of the Chicago Ice Girls there too… man I wish we had ice girls in Canada haa… I wouldn’t mind the Stanley Cup back either but the Blackhawks and their fans deserve it. 49 years is a LONGG time. Congrats Chi-town!

Brendan

May 25th, 2010
12:10 am

TopShelfTony, it was 1995. And great post, by the way. I, like you, will be rooting for the Flyers. Man, what a Cinderella story. From a save by Boucher on Jokinen in Game 82’s shootout, to knocking off Jersey in five, to overcoming a 3-0 series deficit versus Boston, to now … eliminating the team (Montreal) that put Crosby, Malkin, Staal, and Ovechkin, Semin and Green into the World Championships instead of the Stanley Cup Finals.

I know Montreal fans are hurting right now. But really, they were an 8th seed. They overachieved. They should feel very proud, instead of disappointed. It usually takes 2 weeks to feel that way.

Rawhide, Philly vs. Chicago is one of the TYPES of series I really enjoy. It’s one of those, ’somebody has to win’ series that I love so much. Last Flyer Cup was 1975, 36 seasons ago. They are overdue. The Flyers have lost their last five trips to the Finals, in 1976, 1980, 1985, 1987, and 1997. It would sure suck to lose a sixth in-a-row. But, they have to be in it to win it.

For Chicago, it’s well known that they are officially on the clock, at 1961. Maple Leaf fans are getting nervous. If Chicago wins, Toronto OFFICIALLY goes on the clock at 1967. Leaf fans will be rooting for Philly, I believe. Chicago has a bit of losing history, themselves. Since 1961, the Blackhawks have lost the Finals in 1962, 1965, 1971, 1973, and 1992. By golly, that’s five straight losses. Say it with me, “it would sure suck to lose a sixth in-a-row.”

Like I said, ’somebody has to win.’ My favorite kind of series. By the way, I am taking the Blackhawks in six spirited games. I’ll be happy, truthfully, no matter who wins. I respect Chicago. They brought in the Bowmans. The results are unmistakeable, and not unforeseen. New Ownership installed better management, who hired better coaches and better scouts. The Blackhawks drafted well and made impressive UFA signings, to build this Stanley Cup winner. Ten years ago, could Chicago have attacted a Marian Hossa? A Martin Havlat? A Brian Campbell? Could they have gotten players the caliber of Toews, Kane, and Duncan Keith to simultaneously re-sign? That’s the proof that Chicago, as a franchise, turned the corner. Remember something folks, Chicago sucked just as bad as Atlanta has, for most of the time that the Thrashers have been in the league. This is just Chicago’s fourth (4th) .500 or better season in their last 10. This is just their 3rd playoff appearance in the past decade. They deserve credit for what they’ve done. They ended Detroit’s seemingly endless run of division titles. They returned to the CF. They knocked off Vancouver, yet again. And they disposed of a team that has been the # 1 seed out West for the past two seasons running. Good. Great. Amazing. Fabulous. What’s it all mean? It means Chicago wins the Cup.

I’m 9-5. I’ve already hit my numbers this year. I average 8.5 wins and 6.5 losses in the playoffs. Yes, very pedestrian results. If the Flyers win, I’ll be 9-6, and above my average. If the Blackhawks win, I’ll be 10-5. And just once in my life, I’d like to defeat my playoff picking hero, Red Light. I don’t know how long God will let me live. I might make it to 102 years old, or this could be my last year. But I’ll die happy if I defeated Red Light, even just this once. At least I could say, “I beat him one year.”

Against the coin flips, I am 3-3-7. That’s right, folks. Assigning “heads” to the higher seed and “tails” to the lower seed, then fliping the coin … has resulted in a “tie.” I haven’t flipped the coins to determine the Stanley Cup Champions just yet. But I am nervous that the coin will pick Philadelphia. For it does, and they win, I will have LOST to coin flips in my playoff picks for the 2nd straight year. “Maggie, The Monkey” retired. But I wonder if she’d be 9-5 right now?

Hockey expert

May 25th, 2010
6:02 am

Flyers in 6….Do not need a novel to explain it either.

World Be Free

May 25th, 2010
7:53 am

I am going with Chicago in 6, maybe 7. I just think the Hawks have too much for Philly, especially if Niemi can maintain his excellent goaltending. Chicago is an excellent defensive team.

Brendan, as usual, you have layed out your plan in detail and I agree with what you have stated. I am banking alot on Dudley to make the difference here that Waddell could not make during his tenture. There’s a number of GMs that have to deal with self-imposed caps that are less than the league max salary cap, so Dudley and Waddell before him are not alone. It is what you do with the $$$ that’s the difference-case in point//Nashville. Set the budget and go from there. We would all like to believe that this is Dudley’s team now. If this is the case and I am saying IF, then we know he will put his best foot forward. Viv’s column gave us a history of what Dudley has done for the last 40+ years and how he has WORKED his way to his current position. He is not the most outgoing and dynamic individual, he has succeeded through substance.

Dudley has to make Atlanta a desireable destination for current players and future recruits. If he can’t do that, with the support of management (and fans), the hockey is dead in Atlanta. Let’s not kid ourselves folks. And Duds has pointed out recently that Chicago WAS NOT a prefered destination for players until only recently. Players didn’t want to go there because Old Man Wirtz didn’t care about winning. Sounds familiar?

Marleau-I like his talent and quiet determination. I too believe he will get $7-8 Mil on the open market, probably not what we can swing especially if he is not going to be the team leader. But he is a game-changer.

we need a top defenseman. Take Kubina’s money, add a bit and go out and get Volchenkov; he’s back on the radar, rumored to Washington, but I don’t see the Caps having the $$$ to get him. He is a relatvely young top 4 defenseman that can play minutes-get him.

Spud Webb

May 25th, 2010
7:54 am

Un believable. Jeff Carter was a GOD last night. I really cannot believe that Philly is in the finals. I was the one who after game 2 in teh boston series that was saying that team was cooked. They had no fight, no spunk, NOTHING. Now, they’re playing everyshift as if its their last. I like it, hard not to root for them, even their empty netter last night was all HEART.
lol, I also was shocked that carcillo was sitting, two games in a row. I know some on this blog don’t like Dan Carcillo, but I would LOVE to have him as a thrasher!!!!!!!!
Deep team. They’ll need every bit of heart vs the hawks.
You guys see Laperriere (is that it??) for philly taking puck after puck, this after his bruised brain a month ago??? Those idiot philly fans were giving him ovation after ovation. WOW….

Spud Webb

May 25th, 2010
7:55 am

I’ll pass on Marleau, like him, but he’s not that answer here and not for the money he’s gonna command.

DWTOO

May 25th, 2010
8:00 am

At least downtown Montreal is now safe. No danger from rioting Habs fans.

You have to admire the courage of Ian Lapierre for coming back so soon after taking that shot to the face/head. However, I have to question his good sense. I wonder what Lapierre will look like when he’s in his 50’s and 60’s? You just can’t continue to take shots to the head without consequence. Did anyone see the 60 Minutes segement on head injuries in football with John Mackey? Mackey was one of the toughest guys on the field and now at age 67 he can’t communicate or even feed himself. He sits and convulses – his wife essentially has a child to take care of. All for a little glory.

rob

May 25th, 2010
8:15 am

I think the Hawks have too much speed for the Bums to stop. Gonna be interesting to see them try though, but watching the CF games I think it’s clear the Hawks seem to be on a roll. Philly gets props for making it here with all of the adversity they have faced, ESPECIALLY in net, but I think that will be their downfall.
As for the last blog, I agree with Brendan. We can’t afford ONE person who can change things here. Several above average types, but no one TRUE superstar. We need to continue to build a CORE group first. How about getting Ponikarovsky (sp) and letting Colby slink back there? Maybe the Hawks bite on our second 1st round for Versteeg (sp)? I liked Volchenkov (sp) better than Kubina for about the same money we talked about before. If we are gonna roll with the same goaltending as last year I think those would be good upgrades. Volchenkov looks like a shotblocking machine which would DEFINITELY help us out back there. I am sure Max will most likely be back, and if he can stay focused…good for us. I read a few times about a prospect we have over in Europe I believe that may be an impact next year, though can’t remember his name right now. See what the guys can do next year with just a few tweaks before going looking for a serious star. Just my thought.

glovesave29

May 25th, 2010
8:16 am

Montreal lacked size up front and Philly exploited that. The Flyers will not be able to do the same. Chicago in 6.

Mrs. Zoomo

May 25th, 2010
8:17 am

I want the Flyers to win because I want Marian “I only play on teams who have a chance to win the Cup” Hossa to be denyed once again

rob

May 25th, 2010
8:21 am

WBF,
LOL good ideas. I was interrupted while writing or they both would have posted about the same time.

rob

May 25th, 2010
8:26 am

Mrs. Z,
If it was anyone OTHER than the Bums, and I mean ANYONE, I would also be rooting with you. It was all I could do to want them to beat Ilya, but I can’t do it with Lord Stanley in the balance.

World Be Free

May 25th, 2010
8:41 am

I have hated the Flyers for 40 years, but I have alotta respect for them today. We’ve talked about Lapariere and his courage, the guy is nuts but he’s always been a team player. He’s been fighting like Dudley for years. You wonder what his body will be like at 60, with all the hits and pucks he’s taken (and dished out).

Repeat my post from last night-thanks to Bill McCreary for being the best referee of our generation-happy trails dude.

J-man

May 25th, 2010
8:59 am

The Flyers are evil personified and Mike Richards is as dirty as they come. Add to that a fan base that rivals only New York for bad behavior and it’s easy for me to root for the Black Hawks.

DWTOO

May 25th, 2010
9:09 am

Cheering for the “Hossa Hat Trick” – three losing finals teams in a row.

Red Light

May 25th, 2010
9:29 am

So, I see everyone is drinking the Laparierre Kool-Aid this morning? This kind of stuff happens every year in the NHL playoffs, it’s not a new concept and that is what makes the game what it is.

1955
Gordie Howe was so seriously injured in an on-ice incident in Game 1 of the Finals versus the Leafs that his parents were summoned from their home in Saskatchewan.

1964
After breaking his ankle blocking a shot with 10 minutes left in the 3rd, Bobby Baun refused to go to the hospital, took painkillers and played in the overtime session. He scored the game-winning goal to force Game 7, which he also played and didn’t miss a shift.

1966
Roger Crozier helped the Red Wings a 2-0 lead in the finals against the Habs series but suffered a leg injury, forcing him to miss game three. Crozier hobbled back into the crease for games 4, 5 and 6, and played valiantly despite the obvious pain and discomfort.

2008
Sergei Zubov returned from a hernia injury that had kept him out since January.

2010
Keith loses seven teeth and logged a team-high 29:02 minutes in Game 4. Belanger loses 7 or 8 teeth, has dental work between periods and comes back to play. Gagne, Betts, Carter and Laperierre all returned from injury earlier than expected. It wasn’t just Ian.

Red Light

May 25th, 2010
9:30 am

Maybe we’re watching a team of destiny, the Flyers, who have done everything it takes to advance thus far, but I think it wise to keep in mind just how bad the Eastern Conference was, not only in the regular season but in the playoffs as well. Beating New Jersey, Boston and Montreal is a nice achievement, but Chicago had the tougher road and they dominated after trailing the Preds 2 games to one.

The difference in this series, in my mind, will come down to the overuse of two 35-year-old defensemen, Pronger and Timonen, who simply won’t be as effective against Chicago’s combination of speed and size. The Flyers have five dangerous forwards- Richards, Gagne, Briere, Giroux and Carter. The Blackhawks have seven. The Flyers have four solid defenseman, the Blackhawks have five or six. If Leighton tweaks an injury, their back-up is Johan Backlund with one career NHL game under his belt. The Hawks have Huet with 129 career NHL wins. Niemi and Leighton have been special each facing about 30 shots per game.

Niemi has allowed just eight goals in his last five games, the Hawks have won their last seven games on the road, and five overall, they finished 24 points ahead of Philly during the regular season, they only have one European defenseman and just three European skaters.

If Philly wins, I’ll be shocked for the fourth consecutive series involving them. I hate ‘em. Screw ‘em. At the conclusion of the series, the Leafs will be on the clock. Brendan knocks me out because I’m a paltry 8-6 this year. But, I can see the Flyers winning Game One, Game Four and possibly Game 6. I’ll take the Hawks in 7 but I wouldn’t be shocked if they sweep or win in five either.

TableHockey

May 25th, 2010
9:30 am

Flyers have given me hope for the Thrasher’s. To go from sneaking into the play-offs to winning a series after being down 0-3 to the SCF is impressive. But I still think Chicago will take it all in 5. Hossa will finally lift the cup.

In other hockey news the early word out of Tampa is that Yzerman is their new GM. Interesting…

Midfield

May 25th, 2010
9:36 am

Peter Laviolett sure did show them. I’d be a travesty if he’s not named the coach of the year. But from the couch I lie on, it will take more than a miracle for any team to beat Chicago. I haven’t seen the team as talented since Detroit with the full Russian 5 intact. Nashville and Barry Trotz sure look like quite a hockey bunch now, don’t they?

Smoothie

May 25th, 2010
9:38 am

WBF / Brendan / Tony / Tim et al — I would love to sign a player the caliber of Volchenkov as his style of play and ability to block shots and tie up bodies for loose pucks is as good as any. However, I see a couple of problems with that strategy:

1) his agent is that asshat Jay Grossman and there’s no way in hell he allows his client to accept an offer from ATL unless it exceeds any other offer by 5 – 10 %
2) Kubina may be willing to take less money than MV, not much less, but an extra year, say 4 years instead of 3, on the contract may make the difference and keep us from breaking the bank
3) Bogosian was drafted to be our future # 1. While he may still need a year or two to develop to his full potential, can we really afford to have Zach relegated to 3rd pairing minutes or are we going to force one of Toby, Oduya or Hainsey to play 3rd pair with the bonus of PP time?

Let’s assume the minutes played distribution is something like this:

1) 24 mins
2) 22 mins
3) 20 mins
4) 20 mins
5) 19 mins
6) 15 mins (I’m assuming the 6th spot is going to be a rotation of young players, most likely, Kulda, Valabik and perhaps Vishnevskiy)

Who do you want to see get those minutes in each of those slots? Out of the following options, who do you assign to your Top 5 D slots?

a) Kubina
b) Bogosian
c) Other (UFA)
d) Enstrom
e) Hainsey
f) Oduya
g) Schubert (I know, just throwin’ it out there!)

What say you? I mean what say y’all?

World Be Free

May 25th, 2010
9:55 am

Two seasons in a row that the team that makes the finals from the Eastern Conference replaced their head coach during the season. Lav’s time out call down 3 – 0 in game 7 of the Boston series was the call of the playoffs so far.

Smoothie-I’ll get back to you on your post-food for thought. I did not know Gross-bag was Volchenkov’s snake.

Red Light

May 25th, 2010
9:59 am

No way Smoothie. Oduya won’t ever get “F” minutes. He’s at least B or C because he’s steady and doesn’t make glaring mistakes too often.

Going back to HookyBob’s post, I’ll say that players and coaches will come and go, but it’s management’s philosophy that is crucial to long-term success of any franchise, hockey or otherwise. So, my pecking order is…

1) Management
2) General manager and scouting staff
3) Coach
4) Players

Smoothie

May 25th, 2010
10:01 am

R/L – I agree with you on Oduya, but I only listed them in random order. That wasn’t my analysis, just the order in which they popped into my head. I’m looking for feedback at this point.

Tom Lysiak

May 25th, 2010
10:16 am

Amazing thing to me about Duncan Keith is he was in the dressing room less than five minutes getting novocaine. He missed seven minutes of ice time. But, he did say two of the seven were false teeth, so it was no big deal……craziness.

Chicago in five.

R. Stroz

May 25th, 2010
10:33 am

A couple of years back, Waddell said, the Thrashers are a couple of years ahead of the Flyers in rebuilding.

The thing is, I don’t remember the Thrashers reaching the Stanley Cup Finals.

DWTOO

May 25th, 2010
10:34 am

R/L – Actually after that shot to the noggin and the resulting brain bruise I’ve had said – “I’d like to enjoy my life after 55 and be able to remember my wife’s name. I’ll be cheering for you guys”. Think he’s crossed the line between bravery and stupidity.

Joe Friday

May 25th, 2010
10:45 am

“thanks to Bill McCreary for being the best referee of our generation-happy trails dude.”

I did not know he was retiring. Best ref in the game, by a mile. The game will suffer with his loss, kudos to McCreary.

Finals is a no-brainer, Bill. My favorite team has always been Philthy, I bleed orange and black. Leighton is a wall, solid players like Pronger and Carcillo who play hockey clean and hard, the way it’s supposed to be. Classiest fans in the game, a real credit to the league. Phlyers in 5.

Game 1 Sat. nite at TJs? Red Light? Bueller?

glovesave29

May 25th, 2010
11:01 am

Pronger only “plays the game right” if that can be defined as constantly jamming people in the lower back repeatedly with his stick.

Old Time Hockey

May 25th, 2010
11:10 am

Can’t wait to see Pronger and Byfuglien banging in the corners!

Bobby Baun was hurt blocking a Gordie Howe shot. Refused x-rays and scored the overtime winner to force game 7. Still refused x-rays and doctors treatment. Played game 7 (which the Leafs won), then had his ankle x-rayed to reveal severe ankle break.

These are the famous stories..there are probably hundreds of stories that no one knows about.

With the availability of performance enhancing mouthguards (they really do work!), it’s just downright ignorant for players to not wear something. Macho is one thing, but my team would be required to wear one.

Joe Friday

May 25th, 2010
11:11 am

“Pronger only “plays the game right” if that can be defined as constantly jamming people in the lower back repeatedly with his stick.”

Come on, don’t be a hater. Great guy, classy player, shocked he’s never won the Lady Byng.

Alan R.

May 25th, 2010
11:16 am

I did not know he was retiring.

He’s not. He’s signed on for one more season, at the request of the NHL.

rob

May 25th, 2010
11:19 am

“Carcillo” and “play clean and hard” is indeed contrary to each other. I can’t believe that post didn’t get stuck in pergatory!! And after our Kane blew past Pronger for a goal earlier this season, I sat back cursing, waiting for the lumber from Pronger to hit Kane somewhere season-ending later in the game. Still shocked it didn’t happen.

LAC

May 25th, 2010
11:29 am

Well let’s see… Your Atlanta Thrashers played 5 games against these two this past season and of a possible 10 points got 9. So Who Knows !!!!

Once again a FORMER Atlanta Thrasher will have their name on The Stanley Cup and we continue to sit with the Worst owners in pro sports and Still have waddell calling the shots, despite what “changes” took place !

glovesave29

May 25th, 2010
11:30 am

May be a great guy – I was surprised when I met Rob Ray, Claude Lemiuex and Dave “The Hammer” Schultz at the All Star game party at TJ’s a few years back. All were jerks on the ice, but nice as hell off of it.

STL is my hometown, so I have a bit of a soft spot for the Blues. Didn’t like Pronger then, either. He’s just a dirty player.

Hockey expert

May 25th, 2010
11:38 am

No hossa on the cup….hahahaha….he is a bad luck LOSER !!!!! the goalie from chicago, whats his name, nimoy???? is going to crack under pressure. Flyers in 6.

Spud Webb

May 25th, 2010
11:48 am

Glovesave, I was there at TJ’s for that. Shultz let me put one of his stanley cup championship rings on. I was buying Gillies shots, got a great couple of photos of that, dude can drink it up.
Ray, he was flipping awesome. Knocking the beers back with me!! Top 5 day in my life for sure. I got a ton of photos with those guys.

Joe Friday

May 25th, 2010
12:01 pm

““Carcillo” and “play clean and hard” is indeed contrary to each other.”

Come on now, misunderstood man. Another Lady Byng candidate, shocked he wasn’t nominated as well. Classiest team in the league, fans included. Orange Crush!

Lee

May 25th, 2010
12:01 pm

WHOOT WHOOT GO ‘HAWKS!

Smitty

May 25th, 2010
12:06 pm

WBF, I am surprised at you.. McCreary was a ref in the foot in the crease goal in game six.

rob

May 25th, 2010
12:16 pm

JF,
I am hoping that by your support of the Orange Crush, you are actually hoping they lose because publicly you are supporting them!! LMAO

And as for McCreary….enough said. They might as well wear orange too!!

World Be Free

May 25th, 2010
12:21 pm

Red Light-we know it wasn’t just Ian. But he had 2 pretty horrific injuries this season. On the first one, when he took a puck square to the face, he got stitched up and tried to come back on the ice when his own teammates tried to hold him back. His second major injury included a “bruised brain”. He’s a Philly Flyer, like Carter and the others that came back early from injury to contribute.

World Be Free

May 25th, 2010
12:22 pm

Smitty, I discounted that cause Dallas was going to win anyhow.

Joe Friday

May 25th, 2010
12:23 pm

“I am hoping that by your support of the Orange Crush, you are actually hoping they lose because publicly you are supporting them!!”

Shhh, the hockey gods are listening.

Go Orange.

World Be Free

May 25th, 2010
12:28 pm

Alan R-thanks for the update om McCreary. Last I heard he was hanging them up, I did not realize he signed for one more farewell tour. Not suprised the league asked him, with all the vet refs hanging them up.

Joe Friday-I am not a Flyer fan, but Pronger has made a big differnece in your team this year. I always cheer for Briere, so he continues to make Darcy Regier and Sabres management look like the clowns that they are. I think CHI is going to win, but I am sure going to enjoy this series. Should be fun.

rob

May 25th, 2010
12:46 pm

WBF,
The sacrilege you speak of Stars winning anyway!!!! This will take some time to figure out, that one hurts! Maybe someone just used your name and posted that LOL

rob

May 25th, 2010
12:48 pm

JF,
I’d do it too, but fear I would be sick just thinking about it. Your dedication is ummm, disturbing haha

GaVaHokie

May 25th, 2010
1:11 pm

Tablehockey… yep… it’s official. Steve Yzerman the new GM of Tampa.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=322598

Smitty

May 25th, 2010
1:11 pm

Has anybody noticed how well Braden Zhitnick, I mean Alexi Coburn has played? I hope Dudley remembers that trade.

World Be Free

May 25th, 2010
1:12 pm

rob-It’s the loss the the FLYERS in the 70’s that hurts alot more cause Sabres should have beat the Flyers; that darm Bernie Parent.

World Be Free

May 25th, 2010
1:42 pm

Now we have Dudley, Tallon and Stevie Y in our division. Looks like Southeast Div. has some pretty good GMs.

rob

May 25th, 2010
1:52 pm

maybe Stevie Y can show a certain overpaid player in Tampa what leadership is all about…..though I hope he doesn’t do it too good since it is our division!!! Speaking of I hope Nitty goes to the West somewhere, anywhere will do. Doesn’t Luongo need a backup or something?!?!

DWTOO

May 25th, 2010
2:00 pm

WBF – Remember “Only the Lord Saves More Than Bernie Parent”. Saw him on the BSB special on HBO.

rob

May 25th, 2010
2:07 pm

Smoothie,
about the dmen thing earlier. I was advocating getting Volchenkov to replace Kubina, if it wasn’t too far removed paywise. I think that would be a good thing for our blueline. As for the UFA spot you have posted, we have enough guys already between here and the Wolves to fill the lines out I think without going after another one.
Volchenkov/Bogo
Hainsey/Oduya
Enstrom/
Kulda,Pops,Vish,Schubert,et al can fill the rest

World Be Free

May 25th, 2010
2:29 pm

DTWOO-it’s been awhile, but I haven’t forgotten anything from that series. Sabers shoulda won that series, like the Bill shoulda beat the Giants in SB 25.

Smoothie

May 25th, 2010
2:48 pm

rob,

That (getting Volchie) would be ideal if we decide to go young on the 3rd line and can bring back Moose or a another reliable back-up for less than $2 M. Assuming we spend roughly $10 M on our four RFA’s (Bergie, Lits, C-Mac & Pavs), another $1 M on Slater, $700-800 k on Boulton or an Anthony Stewart type for the 4th line, then the bulk of the extra money (assuming a self-imposed Cap of $50-51 M) for FA could go towards wooing a player of Volchenkov’s caliber. $21.5 M for 4 years perhaps? But that still leaves us quite young and raw on the 3rd line going with Slater / Cormier / Machacek. Are you ready to do that?

Brendan

May 25th, 2010
3:11 pm

Somewhere, Ranallo10 is crying. For his personal choice to be the next Thrashers GM was Steve Yzerman, from 2008 forward. Oh well. Let’s see what he does with the Bolts. I’d be happier if he landed on some team that WASN’T in our division, so I could root for him.

Old Time Hockey

May 25th, 2010
3:20 pm

Smitty…don’t know about you, but I’ve been less than impressed with Coburn this post-season. Too many mental errors. Great talent, but haven’t seen what I thought we would from him. Not a stellar regular season…but he is logging some minutes in the playoffs. We’ll see what the finals bring.

World Be Free

May 25th, 2010
3:32 pm

Old Time on Coburn-
I am glad someone else said this first. I was hesitatnt to creitize Coburn cause of all the bloggers that look at his trading as the low point of our franchise amongst other subious events. He’s Ok, but he’s not hr defensive stud we need anyhow.

Joe Friday

May 25th, 2010
4:05 pm

dmen, like goalies, usually take forever to bloom. I would take Coburn back in a heartbeat (and I was one of the guys chasing him out of town with the pitchforks). He seems to have picked his game back up in the playoffs. It’s why I still hold high hopes for Bogosian, but he’s probably 3 or 4 years away from hitting his stride. Doughty was a freak how quickly he blossomed.

Brendan, what happened with ranallo? He just disappeared one day, I sincerely hope nothing bad happened to him.

World Be Free

May 25th, 2010
4:30 pm

Doughty and Tyler Myers

Fan from Carolina

May 25th, 2010
4:36 pm

The big question is who will Stevie Y pick as head coach. After Melrose and Tocchet it almost has to be an improvement. Good post above about Vinny too. He will either play hard this year or have the C sewn on Marty St Louis’ sweater.

rob

May 25th, 2010
4:51 pm

Smoothie,
I actually would welcome more youth. We need it to erase as much of the past as possible. More effort like Antropov, Kane, and Co. gave us, build a TEAM. There are guys on the farm that either need to PLAY here or move on for more who are ready. New coach, new GM, next year is gonna be put up or shut up time for people and will give us an accurate gauge of what we really have. Armstrong and Kozzy free up 6M+, and if Mr. White can be put on waivers and claimed…. Ponikorovsky and a Versteeg/Sharp type would round us out nicely. I actually don’t see room for Bolts anymore either. Keep our fingers crossed on Pavs! LOL

Brendan

May 25th, 2010
6:09 pm

Joe Friday. I don’t know what happened to Ranallo10. He went off to Austria with his beloved, and watched the Vienna Capitals games. After that, he disappeared into thin air. He’s been gone so long that, perhaps, we have to come up with a new name for a “Ranallo warning?” The codeword Rawhide uses to announce that a new blog is coming, so wrap up all current discussions or carry them over into the new blog.

I hope he’s doing okay. Maybe he got married and his ‘honey do’ list is something a kin to building a pyramid in Egypt. I enjoyed his insights. And your sparring with him was memorable. I hope he landed an assistant GM position with Vienna Capitals.

Your Mammy

May 25th, 2010
6:40 pm

I want the Flyers to win….I just think it would be hilarious to see Hossa to wind up on the losing side of 3 Stanley Cups 3 years in a row with 3 different teams….I don’t think that has ever been accomplished before.

Flagstaff

May 25th, 2010
6:59 pm

I hate the Flyers on principle.

However, if they were to win the Stanley Cup… I would get to say that the Thrashers were undefeated against the Stanley Cup Champions during the regular season!

World Be Free

May 25th, 2010
9:13 pm

Hey YUNG in Montreal- what’s up with Tomas Plekanec?
He was a shoe in for signing with the Habs; now I am not so sure. Canadians are wonder if he’s worth $5M.

Give Philly credit-they got Hartnell and Timonen from Nashville for what I believe was the #1 the Flyers got from the Preds for Forsberg. Nashville had to dump salary and the Flyers had room. That’s what we have to do this year, to a team that needs to dump NHL players into our arms for picks or prospects.

Good move by TB getting Stevie Y. Lawton was a stooge.

HookyBob

May 25th, 2010
10:03 pm

Rawhide,..nice picture. Is that a Christian Bros hockey stick? (Now that’s old time hockey) Looks like you shoot left too?

At last we have the SC finalists. The only bad thing about this is that portends the 9-10 season is coming to a close.

Does anyone else want this series to go 7 games?….all decided in OT? Last goal wins. Settle in for some fine hockey. I’m OK with either team winning,…as long as it is the better team (I just don’t want any fluky goals or bad penalties determining the outcome.)

What match-ups can we look for? How about Pronger & Byfuglin? Toews & Richards (Canadian Olympic teammates, maybe even linemates). The Leighton & Niemi? Lavilolette & that Vincent Price looking guy. Carcillo and Carcillo (he’s his own worst enemy). Oh,..and don’t forget each teams fans,…who can make the other guys the most uncomfortable?

Seven games would mean Duds can’t even talk to Torchetti until about June 12th. I am OK with that too.

Brendan

May 26th, 2010
12:20 am

HookyBob, I like your post above. I have no objections to a seven game series. There is potential for that. I say Chicago in six. And like you, I’m fine with whomever wins. It’s great for Chicago, and a wonderful story for them. Truly, the stars have aligned for them. Chicago didn’t have to play Detroit to win the Cup. Chicago got # 7 Nashville, a worthy opponent in the 1st round. In the CSF they got Vancouver, a solid club this year, and a # 3 seed. And then, they had to dispose of the # 1 seed, San Jose. Which they did, convincingly, in a sweep in the CF. But I repeat, Chicago never had to face the team that eliminated them last year, Detroit. And then, in the East, it wasn’t Crosby, Malkin and Staal waiting for them. Or Ovechkin, Green, Semin, and Backstrom. It’s the 7th seeded Flyers. Stars aligning themselves??? I think so.

But if Philly does win, this gives us that story for our grandkids, nieces and nephews. It really will be a case of, “Hey Grampa, tell us about the 2010 playoffs. Is it true that no one gave Philly a shot? Did anyone, wayyyyy back in 2010, ever think the Flyers could come back against Boston, down 3-0? Is it true Marc Savard returned from injury to play in that series for Boston? Is it true that Tuukka Rask had the best GAA in the NHL that year? Is it true that Ilya Kovalchuk was a rental with NJ when the Flyers upset them in 2010? Is it true that Simon Gagne, Laperriere, and Jeff Carter and Leighton all returned from injuries just in time to help propel the Flyers to the Cup? What an awesome playoffs that must have been. One for the ages, right? You watched, didn’t you? You didn’t JUST STOP WATCHING because the Thrashers were eliminated, did you????”

See, that’s what can follow, if the Flyers pull this thing off. I can’t help to root for them. But I’m no Flyer fan. If they pull this thing off, I go right back to treating them like the enemy that they are next season.

WBF, Re: Volchenkov, I’m interested in knowing if Anton would even consider coming here? If he wants to be here, fine! Great. If his only interest is money, and playing for whomever offers him the MOST $$$$, then I don’t. That’s not the kind of player the Atlanta market would do well to acquire. We’re not a market that’s about paying TOP DOLLAR to players who couldn’t get it elsewhere. No, on the contrary, we’re a market that ought to KNOW WELL AHEAD OF TIME … that we must draft well. We must cultivate our talent. We must PROACTIVELY re-sign it. We must mold and shape it into a team with purpose and identity. That’s called, ‘handling your business.’ If we were to actually do that, a lot of our other problems would simply take care of themselves. I hope Dudley is the guy who can tackle that enormous task.

Brendan

May 26th, 2010
12:27 am

RE: June 12th, to talk to Torchetti. Aren’t we cutting it a bit fine to find a coach, so soon before a draft?? I mean, isn’t it true that the Coach makes out the ’shopping list?’ And then, it’s the GM’s job to go to the store and get what’s on that list?

If Dudley has already made up his mind on Torchetti, then I’m not so worried about it. But if Dudley is actually going to conduct an exhaustive search for a Head Coach, he needs some time to properly evaluate the candidates, before the Draft. And whomever is selected to be Head Coach, needs some time to brainstorm about what his wishes are … for the draft, through each and every round. Time can be a wonderful luxury. But it may not be a luxury that we no longer have.

Brendan

May 26th, 2010
12:31 am

Sorry, I’m a bit tired. That last sentence was supposed to read, “time may be a luxury we no longer have.”

Tony C.

May 26th, 2010
2:55 am

Hossa is a Jinx….. Flyers in 7

Also, if Prongs is a “classy player”, I’m a jet-fighter pilot. I will admit to being anxious to see how he deals with Chicago’s Byfuglien.

Just saw some vid of Johansen from the Winterhawks-looks good as well-I’m still most impressed by Neidette-oh who am I foolin’ I forget howto spell the kids name-but he’s nasty too.

World Be Free

May 26th, 2010
5:51 am

Hooky Bob-didn’t even notice the Christian stick. I think I still have an old one in my garage, use it primarily for knocking down spider webs. As a player, my favorite wood stick was a Sherwood PMP, minimal whip. Still have a couple metal stick in the inventory as well.

Hope you’re having a good time in FLA Bill.

World Be Free

May 26th, 2010
7:45 am

Brendan, I am not certain if Volchenkov, or any other top UFA would come here. We talked about this last season, focusing more on tier 2 UFAs like Antropov and it worked for the Thrashers. The tier 1 guys, signed on July 1 are normally overpaid becoming a burden to their new teams in the long term. As a player, I like Volchenkov alot but in the overall picture, I don’t think ATL is his preferred destination.

We have talked about Marleau, Volchenkov, Campbell (signed) and Nabokov and what they could mean to the Thrashers. Whether they want to be here is a sell job for Dudley. Volchenkov will probably end up in Washington, which will cost the Caps Semin to free up $$$ long term. Semin was a dud in the playoffs anyhow.

ranallo10 (in AT)

May 26th, 2010
8:08 am

Somewhere, Ranallo10 is crying. For his personal choice to be the next Thrashers GM was Steve Yzerman, from 2008 forward. Oh well. Let’s see what he does with the Bolts. I’d be happier if he landed on some team that WASN’T in our division, so I could root for him.

Brendan — Good memory. I was very conflicted last night when reading the news … an obvious congratulations for Yzerman, but it’s too bad he’s with a club that will be facing Atlanta so often. I think Tampa Bay has the core in place to create a contender sooner rather than later, and his long term goals (perennial contender) are right in line with what I would expect from a new GM. Too bad Atlanta missed the boat on this one, yet again.

I honestly think Yzerman has a chance to prove himself as a top GM in the NHL (good training in Detroit under Holland et ali, cut his teeth in Canada going 3 for 3 in medals), but I’m not confident in the ability of Dudley to elevate himself to that level. Hopefully Dudley proves me wrong.

R. Stroz

May 26th, 2010
8:13 am

Welcome back Sparky. I hope all is well in AT.

ranallo10 (in AT)

May 26th, 2010
8:36 am

Thanks bud, all is well.

Joe Friday

May 26th, 2010
8:42 am

Sparky!

Red Light

May 26th, 2010
8:51 am

REALITY CHECK!!!

Volchenkov is represented by Jay Grossman. Jay Grossman knows the following teams will likely lose several defensemen to free agency or have enough cap room to offer a sweet deal: Anaheim, Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Colorado, Detroit, LA, Minny, Smashville, NJ, Ottawa, Phoenix, Pitt, San Jose, Vancouver and Washington.

That makes Atlanta choice No. 15 to No. 17 for Volchenkov, Kubina, Paul Martin and countless others. Nothing has changed in that regard so why beat yourselves up about it. Ain’t happening regardless of the GM!

World Be Free

May 26th, 2010
9:01 am

Let’s talk tier 2 UFAs compared to who they could replace. We can’t do all of these, but 2 out of 4 would be an improvement over our current roster.

Exit-Colby Armstrong-Leafs’ fan blog are clamoring for Tronna to sign him July 1. They obviously haven’t seen Colby’s play lately, his habit of taking a few games off every week. The Leafs can have him.
Insert-Lee Stepniak, who is more talented than Colby. “Step” returned to his previous form in the right situation when he went to Phoenix.

Exit-Kubina, who I don’t think will give the Thrashers the hometown discount. He’s not worth $5M over 3 years, which is what I think he’ll be asking.
Insert-Paul Martin, who is 4 years younger and can probably be had for $4M/year, a $1M savings over what we paid Kubina last year. Oduya to recruit?

Exit-Moose
Insert-Dan Ellis, who is 7 years younger than Moose, but still goalie young at 29. All depends on what the coaches think of Opie and whether he is ready to step into #1 with the right goalie coach. I would fret if they brought Moose back. This is one that could go either way.

Exit-Jimmy Slater, you got one more year of support out of me Jimmy, but it’s time to for you to head to Peoria or somewhere like that
Insert-Matthew Lombardi who has speed and skill. Tomas Plekanec may be an option here, but he may be considered tier 1 and not tier 2; he is no longer a lock to return to Montreal.

Thoughts?

Nikita

May 26th, 2010
9:04 am

My vote goes to Philly. As you guys know, I moved to PA. I am tepidly positive toward both PA teams, but since I detest Sid Crosby and Matt Cooke and I actually like Chris Pronger a lot (because he may be a jackass, but he’s also a very good player) I favor Philly. I’ve been watching them all season.

…Chicago, technically, is a better team. But they have the Hossa curse, and Philly has really performed far beyond what I would have expected from watching their season. I think they will win, but it will be in Game 7.

ranallo10 (in AT)

May 26th, 2010
9:12 am

I was somehow remiss … Joe Friday and Brendan — Everything here is good, thanks for caring. The lovely one is still unofficially part of the ranallo10 (in AT) crew, but maybe one day she’ll make an honest dude out of me… one day. As for my absence, nothing bad has happened on my end, just needed more time for work and less time for having fun with the good people on this board.

I hope I’m not too far off on the assumption that Mr. Friday is my old buddy Bob? I was hoping you would go with “The Program” as your next name. Shucks.

rob

May 26th, 2010
9:15 am

Reality sucks.
However, there is an upside to the same story, depending on who you are and how you swing it. Here’s the pitch. Come to Atlanta, where we are starting something new and need a foundation. You can be a part of that foundation, and if we can build it into something, that next round of negotiations will be huge for you. Or you can go to an already established team and be just another part of it.
Sure it won’t work on someone just in it for the money, but just might appeal to someone who wants a challenge and has the desire to be a leader and a catalyst. They just have to be sold on the fact that Atlanta is changing for the better, and while we are mostly up in the air about that, the ones who know if this is true or not are the ones who will be deciding who to go after this off season.
So I will hold out hope that somehow we can get the needed parts to the roster through draft, signing, trading this year, and cringe when they announce that Pavs/Moose are our goaltenders again LOL

rob

May 26th, 2010
9:25 am

WBF,
If Slater can stay as focused as he was last year, I would be hesitant to let him go. He was a spark that we at times lacked and was not scared to stand up for his line or take one for the team if need be. If he were to slump again I would agree though, he has had his time.

With Antro having hip problems last year, might it be better for him as a winger, and if that is the case who would center there? Not sure how bad the hip was but if he was missing practices frequently….

Red Light

May 26th, 2010
9:26 am

rob: “Sure it won’t work on someone just in it for the money, but just might appeal to someone who wants a challenge and has the desire to be a leader and a catalyst.”

I can assure you, there isn’t a Russian hockey player alive who isn’t in it for the money.

Your view is a purist’s view, one I’d like to believe in too, but it isn’t realistic. The only thing most of these guys want to be a part of is a big paycheck.

World Be Free

May 26th, 2010
9:36 am

rob-move Antro to wing and bring in Plekanec and leave Jimmy alone.

Alan R.

May 26th, 2010
9:54 am

Hey Ranallo. Welcome back, my friend!

DWTOO

May 26th, 2010
10:33 am

If having Plekanec or Lombardi meant parting ways with Slates I’d have to do that deal. Either is an upgrade over Jimmy. Not a knock on Slater, because he’s the one guy who never takes a shift off, but, these guys have more skill.

Joe Friday

May 26th, 2010
10:40 am

Ranallo, hope you get the girl “wid the program, Sparky!” and signed up to a long term contract.

But I am surely pleased to see that you are safe and sound, I had a nagging field the Austrian mafia got to you, or something. Glad to hear you’re fine. Didya see that Waddell finally got fired? Oops, I mean promoted?

“Ain’t happening regardless of the GM!”

I know, you’d think if Kubina was staying he’d have re-upped by now. We need to keep and and do upgrades and his loss will be sting. I was worried that Oduya was a replacement for Kubina, when that trade was made.

Red Light, you didn’t answer about TJs for Game 1 on Sat. nite? You up for that? Anyone else as well?

GaVaHokie

May 26th, 2010
10:50 am

WBF… I’m fine with your choices except the Slater one… Lombardi and Plekanec is more of a Top 6 move. You still need someone like Slater for your bottom pairings. So, you’d have to look at the Malhotra’s and Madden’s of the league.

Red Light

May 26th, 2010
10:54 am

Would love to Joe Friday but my next two weeks are miserable for scheduling. Lots of visitors and family in for all kinds of events, etc. It looks like my lone opportunity would be Game 7 and don’t think the series will go that long. I’ll keep you apprised if I can get loose before that.

GaVaHokie

May 26th, 2010
11:02 am

Just saw some vid of Johansen from the Winterhawks-looks good as well-I’m still most impressed by Neidette-oh who am I foolin’ I forget howto spell the kids name-but he’s nasty too.

Tony… I’m fine with those choices… I’m still high on Etem, personally. Would love to see Kane, Pevs, Bergfors, Little and Etem burning up the ice.

He reminds me a lot of Evander Kane, and is bigger than Kane was coming into the draft… Etem is 6 foot, 190 lbs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_SfNHjPANw

World Be Free

May 26th, 2010
11:04 am

GaVa- I was thinking Malholtra, as I did last summer but I did not see him on my UFA listing. Manny os one of the best faceoff men in the league and he can play all 3 forward positions, if needed.

goose

May 26th, 2010
11:04 am

Joe- maybe we haven’t resigned kubina because of the coaching situation.

It will be interesting to see what happens to Philly after the playoffs. They currently have 46.4 million tied up in 8 players. 28.3 in 5 forwards and 18.1 in three defense men. They need to sign 2 goalies, 4 defense men and 3 forwards. Somethings gotta move.

Red Light

May 26th, 2010
11:12 am

Malholtra is a UFA July 1. Current salary is $700,000. He signed a one-year deal last summer after earning $1.5 million in Columbus the prior year. But, would the Thrashers put him on the third or fourth line? He’s a lot like Marty!

J.B.

May 26th, 2010
11:15 am

I thought last off season we’d made an offer to Malhotra that was bigger than the sharks but he turned it down and essentially said he was not interested in playing here. Did I make that up? If not, why even bother talking about him.

Red Light

May 26th, 2010
11:21 am

Perhaps the reason Red Wings’ assistant coach Paul MacLean turned down the Blue Jackets job is to take over in Tampa Bay for Stevie Y? I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he or McCrimmon are finalists for the post. McCrimmon played with Yzerman for three seasons in Detroit and I’m sure he’d like to make life difficult for a certain division rival seven hours to the north that threw him under the bus.

Red Light

May 26th, 2010
11:30 am

TOP SHELF:
How difficult was it to turn down the multiyear deal Atlanta deal?
MALHOTRA reportedly turned down a four-year deal for $2 million per season last summer with Atlanta. Here’s a transcript of an interview from last Sept.
Q: How difficult was it to turn down the offer from Atlanta?

Malhotra: After being a part of Columbus and growing with the organization to where we got to a playoff spot, having that feeling, that taste in your mouth of being successful, getting to the post-season, having the opportunity to win, you never want to step back from that standpoint.

Obviously, the Sharks are a team that perennially have a good shot to be in the playoffs, to be successful. to make a run at the Cup. So it was a pretty easy decision on my part. I want to win right now.

Obviously, all the pieces are in place to a successful team. Talking to guys who have played here and are here, they had nothing but good things to say about this organization, the way the guys are treated, the guys in the room…

And then, I had really good talks with both Todd and Doug. And the team philosophy here is what you want to hear as a player, where there’s a definite focus, a definite attention to detail that, as a player, you want to be part of.

Smoothie

May 26th, 2010
11:34 am

R/L – now that would add some intrigue to the coaching rivalries in the SE Division. May be Duds will bring back his old bud John Tortorella if McCrimmon gets the job in Tampa. Speaking of McCrimmons, his brother Terry did a nice job with Brandon Wheat Kings of Memorial Cup hosting-fame this past week. Ran into a Windsor buzzsaw though.

GVH – would not mind Etem at all if we can’t get either Johansen or Nino. However, would you rather have Etem or Skinner if the other two are gone? Connolly will be in the mix too but I’m not sure I trust his hip…we need a guy who can contribute within a year or so. Etem is an interesting proposition and perhaps the right choice if mgmt is convinced that Antro and Pevs are the top 2 C for years to come.

Smoothie

May 26th, 2010
11:54 am

Oooops! I mean Kelly McCrimmon.

World Be Free

May 26th, 2010
12:02 pm

r-l/thanks I don’t know why he’s on my UFA listing. Marty and Manny ciuld be interchangable.
JB-you are correct, Manny did turn us down last year, but maybe things will be different this year. Maybe or maybe not.

Red Light

May 26th, 2010
12:04 pm

• Thrashers own the 6th overall choice of the 15 Eastern Conference teams
• Thrashers own the 4th overall pick of the 5 Southeast Division teams
• Bruins and Coyotes also have 2 first-round picks
• Boston has No. 2 and No. 15, much better than Atlanta’s combo of No. 8 and No. 24 as leverage to make a deal

Uneasy feeling?

GaVaHokie

May 26th, 2010
12:24 pm

Red Light… not too worried since most of the SE teams need Defense. If Carolina and Tampa don’t take Defense, they’re stupid.

Florida can arguably take the Best Available Player.

GaVaHokie

May 26th, 2010
12:26 pm

J.B. and Red Light… I was using Malhotra as an example of the “type” of player we need for 3rd and 4th line. I’m fully aware of that issue last summer. Malhotra is probably not an actual candidate.

Brendan

May 26th, 2010
1:40 pm

Ranallo10, a hearty welcome back. And glad to hear everything is in fine working order. If you can, don’t be a stranger on these message boards. There have been times, over the months, when I’d read a poster’s comments and think, “If Ranallo10 were here, he’d be jumping all over this post.”

Post when you can.

Brendan

May 26th, 2010
1:46 pm

I credit Malhotra for making the right choice. Instead of his season ending in April, in Atlanta, he got the Conference Finals with a contender. Manny might just stay right where he is. But that’s the beauty of being an unrestricted free agent. He’ll get to find out who’s interested in him, and for how much. Then he’ll pick where he wants to play.

In the Atlanta Spirit, LLC’s mindset, the player doesn’t pick where he wants to play; he plays where he gets paid the most. That’s not really the case. No amount of money kept Hossa or Kovalchuk here. Campbell turned down more ‘guaranteed’ money than what Chicago offered for his services. One day, perhaps they’ll understand the dynamics of the NHL and free agency. Hopefully, Dudley will sit them down and explain it to them. Dudley, being a former NHL player himself, can speak to the mindset of NHL players. The question is, “Will the Spirit even listen?”

Old Time Hockey

May 26th, 2010
1:51 pm

I make Slater my captain. Great effort every shift. Understands the game and has improved drastically over the last 2 years. Captain does not have to be the superstar…just a leader.

Tony C.

May 26th, 2010
2:05 pm

Plekanec? here? Sorry, just don’t see it happening. I mean, although everybody and their mom seems to have him walking out of MTL., I think they try and move Gomez instead… although that’s an ugly contract. Smoothie Etem does look good, but I think Dudley’s going to go with the bigger guy if it’s apples-to-apples talent wise.

Tony C.

May 26th, 2010
2:06 pm

I also see Slater as having what it takes to be our Captain (providing he continues to work the way he did to get back into the lineup). He’s also very well thought of in the room (he’s the NHLPA team-rep, you don’t get to be that guy unless the boys like you-a lot).

Joe Friday

May 26th, 2010
2:26 pm

“There have been times, over the months, when I’d read Joe Friday’s comments and think, “If Ranallo10 were here, he’d be jumping all over this post.”

I fixed your typo, Brendan.

I’d be ok with Slater as captain, has all the qualities. Shows up every night now, drops the gloves when needed, tool box guy.

glovesave29

May 26th, 2010
2:31 pm

Where’s this love for Slater coming from? I got lambasted here last summer for suggesting we keep Jim. I’ve always liked the guy…gives 100% effort on every shift, and as I said previously – he can fly and speed never slumps. I know a lot think we should get more return for a first round pick…but it’s not Slaters fault he was picked that high.

I cannot make a comment on his ability to make a good captain. He certainly shows hustle on the ice, but he might be a quiet guy in the locker room for all we know. I cannot recall seeing him yap and cheer on the bench. Sure, as Tony says he’s the team rep, but does that translate into leadership?

MB

May 26th, 2010
3:00 pm

Brendan, before we go too far on the rags-to-riches story of the Flyers, let’s not forget that they started the season as one of the favorites to either win the Cup or make it to the finals. More like a riches-to-rags-to-riches story. Or a Laviolette to the rescue story. He’s done a tremendous job getting his very talented team to play like it should have all season. They’ve shown great resilience and toughness, no doubt, but this isn’t exactly an under-manned team slogging through on nothing but heart and fortitude. Then again, I can’t stand the Flyers, so maybe I’ve blinded myself to their charms this post-season.

RL, I know some (including several players) thought McCrimmon deserved a shot at the head coach position, but I never saw evidence of him improving our defensive or PK play while he was here. Seemed like a more popular version of Steve Weekes. To me, his firing was for lack of performance as opposed to throwing him under the bus, but maybe I’m missing something.

Red Light

May 26th, 2010
3:05 pm

When looking for a captain, a proven winner and veteran of five or more seasons (preferably from Canada or the U.S.) is my first choice. Few Thrashers fit that bill.

The only current Thrashers players that won anything is Bryan Little who won the AHL championship with Chicago in ‘08.

So much for my theory!

World Be Free

May 26th, 2010
3:08 pm

Tony C-just trying to get some what if conversations going on players to get a feel for how otherd feel. I try and stay away from the statements “he’ll never come here” cause I am hoping this is going to change. All of a sudden, the SE Conference probably has the best group of GMs in the game. This may change the way players feel about coming to the sunny south and playing some hockey. But then again, maybe it won’t.

No way anyone would be dumb enough to take Gomez’s contract, that’s a real bad one.

Red Light

May 26th, 2010
3:15 pm

MB, you are missing something. In 2003-04, the vaunted defensive corps included Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, Chris Tamer, Garnet Exelby, Yannick Tremblay, Ivan Majesky, Daniel Tjarnqvist, Andy Sutton and Frantisek Kaberle. In 2005-06, they upgraded the corps with Havelid, deVries and Modry. Then came McCarthy, Zhitnik, Vishnevsky followed the next year with Enstrom, Klee, Kwiatkowski and the like. Of all those guys I listed, how many of them are still in the league? Try three of them and it’s not just because they got too old. A pretty sorry group except for a few notable exceptions.

Red Light

May 26th, 2010
3:18 pm

Of course, I forgot Zhitnik! What was I thinking?

TableHockey

May 26th, 2010
3:44 pm

Chris Viv is reporting that we have extended a one year contract to Max Afinogenov. Good to see Duds moving on our UFAs

MB

May 26th, 2010
3:57 pm

Unfortunately, RL, I didn’t miss the experience of watching that parade of defensive stalwarts come through the organization. No doubt McCrimmon was dealt less than a winning hand, but let’s just say he never seemed to be able to make chicken salad out of…um, those guys. In addition to being under-talented, that stable of blueliners rarely seemed to know what was going on…where they should be positioned, where they could expect their partner to be. Let’s face it, a lot of the time they looked like the Keystone Cops out there.

If we could claim that they were usually in the right position but just got beaten by better players that would be one thing (and would indicate solid coaching of weak talent), but most the time they just looked lost out there. Responsibility for that has to fall, at least to some degree, on McCrimmon.

World Be Free

May 26th, 2010
4:59 pm

Red Light, we need a stud defenseman

Smoothie

May 26th, 2010
5:10 pm

Very peculiar that we are only offering 1 year to Finny. Perhaps it is just a starting point to give the agent an idea of what they are willing to spend after his rebound year.

More interesting tweets from Russia via Genadi Boguslavski of sovsport.ru:

Today – “According to Kovalchuk Russian agent Yiuri Nikolaev,two KHL team Salavat and SKA offered him 3 years deal of 30 million dollars value total”

5/19 – “SKA Peterbourgh continues to negotiate w Kovalchuk & Frolov. They seriously consider this offer. Final answer will be given after Worlds”

5/17 – “Martin Gerber will return to NHL. He spent last season in KHL. According to Gerber he ready to be even back up goalie in NHL team.”

5/17 – “Slava Kozlov close to signing a contract with CSKA Moscow”

Red Light

May 26th, 2010
5:34 pm

World Be Free

Agree, but who? I like Martin. Is he a stud? Probably not. Reliable? Absolutely! The cards are stacked against the Thrashers in free agency. Development is the key but then you have to be able to keep them. Can Dudley do it? Maybe. Can Dudley and a new management team do it? Chances are much stronger.

World Be Free

May 26th, 2010
8:07 pm

Smoothie-hope it is just a starting point, but they are moving forward slowly and it’s 1 month to UFA open season.

Colby-Meehan probably asked for 4 yrs $4M/year and Duds wisely said “have at it on the open market”. Nobody is surprised and nobody is crying that’s for sure.

Red Light-a stud is what we need and there are none in the UFA market, but I still like Siedenberg as a dark horse. He played extremely well this year and i don’t think Boston has the $$$ to sign him. How about getting one via trade? Not sure with who, but we do agree we need a big body on the backline that can log minutes. I like Martin, your description is very accurate.

Smoothie

May 26th, 2010
9:59 pm

WBF – I say yes to Colonel Seidenberg!! To heck with Kubina. I love Pasha, but he probably wants 3 or 4 years and I’m not sure we can afford to stunt the growth of Zach Bogosian. We drafted him 3rd overall and with the idea of him becoming a fixture on our Top 2 pairing for years to come. I think Seids would be a perfect short-term complement for him in the meantime so he can continue to develop into the stud we expect him to be. Just make sure he gets his fair share of PP time as QB along with Ronald and Tobes. If we were to sign Dennis S. to a 2 or 3 year deal, that gives Kulda and Postma time to become NHL ready and assume more time in the event one or more of Hainsey, Oduya and Seidenberg moves on.

2010-2012: 1a) Oduya / Tobes 1b) Hainsey / Kulda 2) Bogo / Seids….7th man) Boris & Schubes?

2013 & beyond: 1) Bogo / Kulda 2) Hainsey / Tobes 3) Postma / Boris….7th man) Z. Redmond / or Cody Sol??

More importantly we could probably get Dennis to sign a 2 or 3 year deal worth $3.25 – 3.5 M / year and then have more money to either go after a top tier C or wing or leave room to absorb the salary of Patrick Sharp or Versteeg and Ben Eager. How do y’all feel about Plekanec centering our top line so Antro can slide back over to RW? Bergie / Plekanec / Antro & Kane / Pevs / Little?

World Be Free

May 26th, 2010
10:20 pm

Smoothie – I think alot will depend on what Kubina and his agnet “value” his services. He could be smart and get a good deal from Atlanta, better than what he will get on the open market but still fairly reasonable. If that’s the case, I believe Kubina will resign in Atlanta. If Pavel pulls and Colby and asks for the sky, then Siedenberg comes back into the picture. We both seem to believe Siedenberg is a better defenseman than Kubina, so the decision is which do we focus on. Kubina may have the edge, in the sense that Dudley may want to have more players under contract by the draft, prior to July 1. Siedenberg will be a good/affordable defenseman, so other teams will be in the mix. Should be interesting.

Brendan

May 26th, 2010
11:07 pm

Joe Friday, I stand corrected. There is a topic which I do recall us all discussing with much passion and vigor, you … me … Ranallo10. Remember when we weighed in on “making Kovalchuk Captain” in an effort to make him stay. I’m willing to admit I was wrong, and Ranallo10 was right. I believe it was Ranallo’s stance that making Kovy Captain wouldn’t, in and of itself, make him re-sign here. Obviously, that was true.

It was my stance that not even offering him the Captaincy would just add to the list of reasons why he’d leave the organization. In the end, Ranallo was right. The ownership is the biggest obstacle. Even in making a GM change, they still left Waddell in charge of making the decision. So, Waddell named three (3) Head Coaches, four including himself, and one (1) GM. I think Kovalchuk very privately laughs at the way the team is run. And really, I don’t blame him.

Tom

May 26th, 2010
11:52 pm

Does anyone know about this Stephen Rollins guy who wants to buy the Thrashers. According to the AP article

http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-thrashers/filmmaker-rollins-has-interest-536264.html

he is as much a fan of the team as we are. That would be a great turn of events.

He is referenced as a film maker but his resume is a bit sparse.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1087297/

Here is his bio page from his website

http://www.lightningpicturesllc.com/Executive_Roster.html

Tom

May 26th, 2010
11:53 pm

Help free my comment, the delightful and wonderful Ms Trixie!

TableHockey

May 27th, 2010
7:33 am

Wow – I wake up this morning to news that there is a potential buyer for the Thrashers that is a native Atlantan and LOVES hockey. Interested in majority ownership only.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=5224553

This could be the best news for hockey in Atlanta in a long, long time.

Tom

May 27th, 2010
8:32 am

TableHockey

I have a post of links that is stuck in moderation but my research into this guy does not make me think he will have the resources to do the deal. That is, unless he has inherited a fortune to pay for it.

His record in Hollywood is mostly in the Independent films and bit parts. It all may be a big publicity stunt.

R. Stroz

May 27th, 2010
8:35 am

TableHockey – My thoughts, thank you GOD!

R. Stroz

May 27th, 2010
8:36 am

Tom – At least he loves hockey and knows the history of hockey in Atlanta.

Red Light

May 27th, 2010
8:37 am

One item that could end up being a problem in the whole deal is whether or not to retain certain personnel from the current organization. I’m told that Rollins would only buy the team if ‘Thrash” agrees to perform in the arena without his two bodyguards. Apparently, it’s a cost cutting measure.

DWTOO

May 27th, 2010
8:39 am

Best news I’ve heard regarding this team in quite some time. Just what we need – a hockey fan from Atlanta interested in owning the team. No more Octo Cluster. Hope this goes thru.

DWTOO

May 27th, 2010
8:40 am

R/L – Maybe you volunteer to escort Thrash? That’d save a couple of bucks.

TableHockey

May 27th, 2010
8:40 am

Interesting Tom – I guess until we hear more I can at least hope that he inherited a fortune to fund it. Waited a long time for an owner that actually cares about hockey…

ranallo10 (in AT)

May 27th, 2010
8:51 am

Brendan — That’s a humbling post, no need to eat so much crow. I will be wrong with my guess of a July 1 re-signing in Atlanta.

Speaking of past conversations, how are your feelings on Gaborik after this past season of his in New York? Any changes on that front?

Joe Friday — Someone around here has to challenge you on occasion … it just seems I’m the only one who enjoyed it

Smoothie

May 27th, 2010
9:35 am

On the subject of Rollins: sounds like he is mega-passionate about hockey in ATL (what a refreshing breath of fresh air!) and if he can find the loot, then bring it on. However, we better hope he’s a trust-fund baby cuz there isn’t any evidence to support his success as a movie producer as documented by our friends over at the Chronicle: http://bluelandchronicle.blogspot.com/2010/05/asg-has-suitor.html

Joe Friday

May 27th, 2010
9:45 am

“I have a post of links that is stuck in moderation but my research into this guy does not make me think he will have the resources to do the deal. That is, unless he has inherited a fortune to pay for it.”

Did you check out the guy’s web site: http://www.lightningpicturesllc.com/Home_Page.html

To call it low budget would be insulting to the word low. Hockey fan from Atlanta would be awesome to have as an owner, but if he can’t even afford to build a web site, and he’s a media guy!?!, not sure that’s who we need.

“Someone around here has to challenge you on occasion … it just seems I’m the only one who enjoyed it”

I figured you as a glutton for punishment ) I’m glad doing a shoutout for you brought you out of the woodwork. I was truly worried that something bad happened to you. After all those novels you wrote defending Waddell, it’s good to see you come back and face the music.

Seeing the big splash we’re making with our impending UFAs is a gasp, 1 year contract!!! offered to Afinogenov makes it seem that the more things change, the more they’re staying the same. Anyone care to guess why they only are offering 1 year to him? Starting point? Nah. More like, take it or leave it, we’re staying cheap until we sell the club. That one year contract offer reeks of Don Waddell’s hands all over it.

Smoothie

May 27th, 2010
10:03 am

Joe F – true that! His website sucks, the movie trailer for American Identity was insultingly bad and I think this guy is nothing but a poser. Goodness gracious, I appreciate his passion for hockey, but I hope to hell he has some business ventures behind the scenes, so to speak, to make him a quasi-legitimate player. I don’t know.

And thank you for stepping up and saying what I was feeling about the 1 year contract offer to Max. Again, bush league, amateur hour kind of negotiating tactics. The guy played his butt off for you for basically league minimum and you can’t even offer him a 2 year deal??? And if you are using the 1 year salary as a “starting point”, why bother reporting it as an offer “on the table” that is being reviewed? Makes it sound more like a final offer. Why not just say “negotiations have begun in earnest” and ask his agent to not disclose any terms yet?? Weird.

ranallo10 (in AT)

May 27th, 2010
10:15 am

My girlfriend would probably agree that “glutton for punishment” is a fine assessment.

Cliff Fletcher

May 27th, 2010
10:30 am

Don’t get your hopes us folks-I ain’t buying anything about this guy.

glovesave29

May 27th, 2010
11:23 am

Seems like others here did the same research I did. I cannot see how an independent film producer can afford to get into the high cash world of pro sports ownership. Love that he has a passion for the team and for the city…but this is biting off waaaaaay more than he can chew. To me, this would be means to an end – the end being the team being sold and moved out of town when he comes to the realization that he’s in over his head and he needs to get out ASAP.

JLH

May 27th, 2010
11:58 am

I wonder if Rollins is the grandson of Wayne Rollins, of Rollins Inc……. Atlanta based multi-millionaires, Orkin, etc….. Emory School of Public Health named after him…….

Malcolm Forbes

May 27th, 2010
12:03 pm

Well, who wouldn’t want to buy a team with ticket revenues of $600,000 per game, an average of 18,400 television viewers per game (8,000 households multiplied by 2.3 viewers/household), virtually non-existent merchandise sales, a track record of inability to re-sign players, a president who has made every personnel decision during the past 11 years, a scouting staff with one guy who has ever played the game at the professional level, a season ticket holder base just into four digits, a lease agreement with an arena 20 miles away from the geographic heart of its fan base, a flagship radio station that can barely be heard outside of that 20-mile radius, 15 other radio station affiliates and one major media outlet that covers nearly all of its games?

World Be Free

May 27th, 2010
12:06 pm

It would be cool if it were Henry Rollins; a grundge/metalhead rocker owner with a few tattoos. This other Rollins sounds too far fetched to have the jack to be an owner.

Schroeder

May 27th, 2010
12:43 pm

Back to Rawhide’s stick,christian bros and sher-wood,Nah,preferred KOHO or CANADIEN,Lighter, a little less whip.I found alittle more control and easier for quick wrister.Sorry to digress.Don’t think Mr Rollins has the scratch to pull that kind of trigger.Hope I’m wrong,sure would be nice to have a fan as an owner,instead of a bunch of dorky mindless cheapskates.

World Be Free

May 27th, 2010
12:47 pm

Schroeder, I liked Canadians too but I was never a fan of Koho; had most of my success with PMPs, real siff, never whippy. I like Jofas when they came out with the fiberglass reinforced inside the blade. They were tough to break, but they got real whippy after awhile.

alex

May 27th, 2010
12:49 pm

disagree with one year offer to max. it’s to expensive. should be 3 month offer and max should pay levenson for his beer playing for free. like i said managment of this organization is brilliant. heard some folks want pay doctors with chicken. so the best hockey players in the world going to come to play for levenson, waddell, dudley team for chicken, brilliant. bringing up stanley cup in atlanta right now

Red Light

May 27th, 2010
1:11 pm

Remember the old Victoriaville models that wouldn’t break even if a truck ran over them? Not much torque but the best ever for slashing an opponent on the calves! Went Koho, Sherwood, Christian Bros., Canadien route too, but for some reason gravitated to the Titan model later. They’re still waiting for me in my garage.

World Be Free

May 27th, 2010
1:36 pm

Red Light-TITAN! That’s what I meant, not Jofa. They had the fiberglass in the blade. Seems like a long time ago cause it was.

Sage of Bluesland

May 27th, 2010
2:21 pm

“…And thank you for stepping up and saying what I was feeling about the 1 year contract offer to Max. Again, bush league, amateur hour kind of negotiating tactics….”

I agree with Smoothie, for once…Maybe he will finally concede that this organization, led by Don Waddell, is still an abomination? Maybe he will agree that subsidizing this embarrassing incompetence doesn’t make things get better at all–it just reinforces the ineptitude shown for over a decade of existence?

I’m not holding my breath on that one…just like I’m not holding out any hope whatsoever for “Duds” or the grand puppet-master himself, lisping-bumbling-blustering Donnie…

Smoothie

May 27th, 2010
2:51 pm

Feel free to hold your breath…no one cares.

Red Light

May 27th, 2010
3:09 pm

Another verse from the Gospel according to Redundancy!

glovesave29

May 27th, 2010
3:50 pm

I am a fan of the old Victoriaville Vanbiesbrouk model. Had the perfect 14 lie, 25.5″ paddle and a wicked mid curve. Those suckers would last the whole damn season. Though I wish they came in black instead of white…it kinda ruined the “all black, Darth Vader look” I had going on at the time

glovesave29

May 27th, 2010
3:54 pm

I don’t get it Sage, you bust on Wadell for doing the same thing over and over and getting the results that he does…yet you practice the exact same methods. How ’bout YOU lead the way for ol Donnie and write SOMETHING different for a change. Give us some insight here….

Joe Friday

May 27th, 2010
4:14 pm

I got your insight right he-ah . . . my Broad Street Bullies are gonna win the Cup!

World Be Free

May 27th, 2010
4:41 pm

Glovesave-they last until you break them over a forward’s ankles!
Back in the day, we’d call that a light tap!

Sage-back in your hole now!

glovesave29

May 27th, 2010
5:21 pm

WBF – us goalies NEVER do things like that. I’ve never covered up a rebound and “accidentally” fallen onto and broken a forwards stick. Kick saves NEVER double as trips. The hard fiberglass insert in the blocker is not to be used as a weapon either!!!

HookyBob

May 27th, 2010
6:34 pm

So,…looking forward to Saturday,…what is each team’s weakness, or weakest link?

Red Light

May 27th, 2010
6:43 pm

Joe Friday…which NHL team don’t you like besides NYR? We know San Jose, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Philly and Atlanta are on the thumbs-up side of the ledger, and I assume the Rangers are nearer to Hell in your view. But, what about the other 24?

Brendan

May 27th, 2010
6:52 pm

Ranallo10, I will also be incorrect on my guess of Kovalchuk re-signing in Atlanta on June 30th. The only team Kovy can re-sign with on June 30, 2010 is New Jersey, lest they trade his rights for some 24-48 hour window to another team to make a deal. If I were Kovy, why not wait ’til July 1?? I mean, you’ve waited this long, right? What’s a few more hours?

Can’t believe the Finals still haven’t started. What are we waiting for???

Sage of Bluesland

May 27th, 2010
8:25 pm

Wow–such anger issues…It must hurt to be so wrong so often about such basic things?

Oh well, go back to your wittle line-changes and the pipe-dreams that maybe this time things will be different, children…

(It does make me laugh, though…)

Smoothie

May 27th, 2010
9:18 pm

Its “wittle wine changes” damn it! Get it right you douche! Jeeez.

World Be Free

May 28th, 2010
8:15 am

I am sorry Sage-sorry I paid any attention to one of your childish posts. The best thing to do with a snake like you is just ignore you, which I will from this point forward.

Joe Friday

May 28th, 2010
9:43 am

“which NHL team don’t you like besides NYR? We know San Jose, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Philly and Atlanta are on the thumbs-up side of the ledger”

Come on, Red Light, you can figure it out! I told you in an earlier blog but mabye you missed it, let me see if I can help you here via another avenue that the hockey gods may not be monitoring

Alan R.

May 28th, 2010
9:51 am

How ’bout YOU lead the way for ol Donnie and write SOMETHING different for a change

He considers himself a “sheep herder,” not a “sheep leader.” Don’t look for the faux “sage” to do anything except bluster on about sheep, while using baby talk. The only thing he’s good for around here is comic relief, although a couple others would have you believe otherwise.

Flyers will face Blackhawks in Stanley Cup Finals

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Flyers will face Blackhawks in Stanley Cup Finals

169 comments Add your comment

About Atlanta Thrashers: Ice Man

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