Buff with Cup in Thrasher blue – Bad karma or good omen?
First off, I’m going to say up front that today’s topic probably is much ado about nothing…mountains vs. molehills and all that. But seeing that we are still in the middle of August – we are still awaiting the latest chapter in “As The Kovalchuk Turns” – it seems as though this summer’s version of the “Will Tomas Kaberle Be Traded?” game will end up like last year’s – and, let’s face it, we have just done possible Thrashers lineups to-freakin’-death…I figured what the heck.
Dustin Byfuglien sports his new Thrashers jersey while spending his day with the Stanley Cup (TwitPix/Ben Hankinson)
Anywhoooo…have you seen these photos of Dustin Byfuglien spending his day with the Stanley Cup in his hometown of Roseau, Minnee-SOH-Tah. His agent Ben Hankinson posted them recently via TwitPic.
Nice shots. But at first glance at these photographs, something just didn’t seem ’right’ to me.
An NHL player…with the Stanley Cup…wearing a Thrashers jersey.
If nothing else, it certainly makes for an interesting visual.
Like so many others, I followed Byfuglien closely last spring when he and the Chicago Blackhawks made their successful push through the playoffs. And when my crackberry lit up in June informing me that he and a couple other Hawks had been traded for by Atlanta, I was thrilled.
But since that time, whenever I pictured Byfuglien in my mind…the mental image painted still had him in that classic red jersey of the Chicago Blackhawks. So having the first image of Buff in Thrashers blue being one of him holding Lord Stanley’s Cup triumphantly over his head was indeed eye-catching.
Also, I have to admit it’s nice to see that D-Buff is more than willing to sport his new colors during his special day with the Cup. I suppose one could take away from this the fact that he’s taking kindly to the thought of playing in Atlanta. Of course, knowing that so many of his Stanley Cup-winning teammates will be on hand to help him through any transition period has to be comforting.
Byfuglien's wearing of Thrasher blue while with the Stanley Cup is...
- Good omen: Makes for a good picture of future possibilities (47%, 136 Votes)
- Bad karma: It just isn't 'right' (22%, 65 Votes)
- What was that you said about mountains and molehills? (31%, 88 Votes)
Total Voters: 289
Loading ...Because of this maybe, just maybe, to some the sight of Buff with the Cup in Thrasher blue is good thing…a good omen, as it were. I mean, a player hoisting the Cup in an Atlanta jersey isn’t exactly something we in Thrasherville are accustomed to, if ya get my drift?
Uh-huh, maybe. But at the risk of sounding too much like a curmudgeon, let me tell you why these pictures have me reaching for some salt to toss over my left shoulder.
To me, there is something not quite ‘kosher’ about seeing your team’s jersey on a player lifting the Cup when he won it with another team. This is especially true when your team has never actually won the Cup. More correctly stated… never even been within sniffing distance of the Cup.
Now, I’m not really “superstitious” mind you. Oh sure, I may never wash my jersey when the Thrashers are playing well. And even when I do it’s the only item in the washer, it’s hung up to dry with the crest facing north toward the hockey Mecca of the NHL Hall of Fame in Toronto. Also, I only eat at the Chick-Fil-A at CNN Center before home games. Oh yeah, and I must…MUST…MUST salute he The Blueland Chronicle boys when passing by their perch in section 317 on way to my ‘far closer to the ice than theirs’ seat. Plus, I may be prone to switching places on the couch if the Thrashers are not playing well during a road game. Oh, and if I wear a new item of clothing to a game and the Thrashers lose not only do I never wear it there again, it actually gets sent to Goodwill or The Salvation Army. That is, of course, if I don’t actually sacrifice it as a burn offering upon the alter to the hockey gods constructed in my back yard.
But I am NOT superstitious.
What I am, however, is a person who believes that there is something to this whole “karma” business. As such, I don’t like messing with it. And seeing this photo of Buff in a Thrashers jersey with the Stanley Cup… well, let’s just say I felt a disturbance in the force. The karma force.
…shudders…
Plus, I’m just not so sure this will sit well with the hockey gods. And since I can’t burn Byfuglien’s new #33 sweater on an altar to counter this possible breach of hockey etiquette, I would suggest that he and/or his agent send a few cases of Moosehead beer to them for appeasement purposes.
You know, just to be on the safe side.
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282 comments Add your comment
Jack
August 18th, 2010
3:33 pm
glovesave Ilike 1-3 rules you mentioned changing.
Jack
August 18th, 2010
3:35 pm
Its interesting to note that they can’t keep a CFL teambut think they can keep a NHL team.
kracker
August 18th, 2010
3:42 pm
The single faceoff circle configuration just doesn’t look right, though it might make for really interesting and dangerous FO pulls. There would be no slot!
The blueline in the pics is only 24″ wide not 36″ like I guessed above.
The trapezoid I am ok with. I prefer the goalie playing at the net. Agree, no SH icing. I keep penalty durations as they are. If my team is down 1 and gets a penalty with a few minutes to go, I’m heading for the door. It’s tough enough as it is to come back. Agree, no touch up icing. It it a long season. This is a sensible way to give the players a break.
Sage of Bluesland
August 18th, 2010
3:54 pm
Brendan–to answer your question, every year is a “build year” with bumbling Donny still in the building…You should know better…
Flames–I want to go back and see precisely what you said in this thread that has all the sheep in a tizzy…I will–but I’m not offended in the least…In fact, I wish you would go down the hall and give that lisping idiot a kick in the pants for me…
Too bad all he would do is laugh at the sheep who still haven’t recognized what’s going on–and with how handsomely he gets paid, I would laugh too.
It’s a shame, maybe Sara can serve up a spweadsheet on GM (or Team Presidents, if you are so inclined to bewieve) salaries? I would be eternally grateful….
kracker
August 18th, 2010
3:54 pm
Wait a minute, Glovesave. If you are short-handed (on the PK) there is already no icing, right? So what did I just agree to? lol
glovesave29
August 18th, 2010
4:06 pm
My thought is that you are giving an advantage to a team that is killing a penalty that the even strength or power play team does not get, and that is not right. If you are shorthanded, you cannot just ice the puck without the play being called dead and a faceoff in your zone.
I hate the trapezoid. Some goalies are good puck handlers. Can you imagine Rick DiPietro (for those who were at the All Star skill competition will remember) hitting a player in stride on a long breakout now that the red line is out of play? I hate any rule that limits the athletic abilities of the player.
As for playing the full two minutes shorthanded…think of how many of the players will think twice before taking a dumb penalty. The team is at much more risk, and what player wants to be the subject of the ire of their teammates / fans should they give up multiple PP goals? Way fewer Pronger jabs in the lower back, or silly offensive zone interference penalties.
Sara, please do the spreadsheet Sage has asked for. Please add another column in if for how many times he has said the EXACT same thing on this blog. Break it down by season and month…and yearly too while you are at it. Also add a column for the total number of times he has called each indiviual poster a sheep…tally the total on that too. One last column for the number of times her has referred to the spreadsheet that you posted some 3 years ago. Thanks. ‘Pre-sheee-yate it!
Joe Friday
August 18th, 2010
4:23 pm
Come on, guys. Goodness. There were several of you guys that guessed we would sign Ramsay, several of us that guessed Torchetti, and most of us who knew that Dudley would go after former Hawks.
But I’l play along. Email addys don’t mean dick, Viv only has to look at the IP address anyone of us post from and he can tell where we work.
So, now that Flames posted on Rawhide’s blog and Rawhide can see his IP, Rawhide knows the answer. Is he posting “down the hall” and in the Spirit’s offices, or is this Eklund Jr? I’d actually like to know because if a Spirit employee just called out his boss who is the Club President as this “I personally think DW is jealous” I’d like to buy Flames a beer or three . . .
World Be Free
August 18th, 2010
4:27 pm
Very entertaining reading this afternoon-I think everyone is ready for a transaction of some sort, something concrete to talk about.
schroeder
August 18th, 2010
4:27 pm
GEEZ, How pathetic. Am I the only one that pictures SAGE being able to play the lead for RAINMAN 2. “I’m a very good driver….yeah………..K-mart sucks……..15 minutes to Wapner” Same thing over and over and over. Better yet I picture him as Milton ” I believe you have my stapler” Flames;thank you for all your insight,please don’t get in any trouble but anything you can find out is most appreciated by this blog,any news is good news.
rob
August 18th, 2010
4:33 pm
no SH icing?!?!? c’mon guys. All this rule tweaking is silly. If it ain’t broke…… As a goalie I know why GS doesn’t like the trapazoid, but that was a good rule change, as was the 2 line pass. Both made the game faster and brought more offensive minded play to the game which was good.
Flames, I think the doubters just don’t like not being the lead on the blog here. It is comical watching who wants to participate and who wants to be Rawhide Jr. LOL The dog days of summer have descended and everyone is frustrated by the lack of action or the perceived lack thereof. I wish we could get some info from Duds/Ramsey on what they think about the pieces we have and if they think that will be enough for now. We have a TON of new pieces and they need to be sorted and evaluated IMO before we keep making moves just to make moves. Unless something comes up we just CAN’T pass up.
glovesave29
August 18th, 2010
4:40 pm
But Rob, you are giving a team a DISTINCT advantage by allowing icing. Why? You were penalized for breaking the rules, then given an advantage for the very same reason. It just makes no sense.
As a goalie, I am a bit biased, that is true. But the two line pass is damaging to goalies and I like that rule. I make long passes out all the time, in fact I use a reverse curve and low lie like Jon Casey of the Stars used to do. I can easily flip the puck the length of the ice. When the other team goes for a change, I have the winger go to the opposite side of the rink and hit him with a long outlet pass. Again – don’t like any rule that limits a players athletic talents.
What’s wrong with a bit of tweaking now and again? They have installed touch up offsides, sure as hell beats the old way of the puck having to clear the zone…that slowed everything down.
GaVaHokie
August 18th, 2010
4:46 pm
Schroeder… actually, It’s more like this for me re: Sage…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yFSpml8oSw
Badger Bob
August 18th, 2010
4:46 pm
Best entertainment on the web, this blog is. A living soap opera, with good guys and bad guys and evil villains, secret identities and a healthy sprinkling of humor. And a bit of hockey, too. Rock on, Rawhide!
Zombie Steve
August 18th, 2010
4:51 pm
Speaking of Rawhide, where is he?! I’m starting to twitch and need a blog fix. Damn you, August!
Darkhorse
August 18th, 2010
4:55 pm
Badger Bob-It’s kinda like the Justice League vs the Legion of Doom around here sometimes. I think the roster needs one more legit Superman, Flash or Green Lantern to round us out and be ready for battle. Pipe dream is Sharp or Iginla.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MCrnKZ3yf0
schroeder
August 18th, 2010
4:59 pm
rob,to a degree I think your arguments in regard to the roster are valid. Most on this blog are basing their opinions on past performances in other systems on other teams.we can only speculate how they will perform together here. I personally would like to see Stempniak here based on his post trade performance.That being said,who’s to say that Ladd and Buff both turn out to be 35 goal apiece players.Nobody knows until they hit the ice together.I would sure like a little insurance. If someone would have told me that Prado would make the all-star team this year,I would have told them to “STEP AWAY FROM THE BONG!!!!” What if Bergfors pots 40 this year,who knows. I believe that you will see that some of these guys that we got fron Chi. will be more productive here than there,more ice time,less pressure etc. Roster tweaking is an inexact science and I trust DUDS to put together a good team,but we all have had enough of the status quo for 10 years. That is why we are looking for more scoring.
Alan R.
August 18th, 2010
5:00 pm
Viv only has to look at the IP address anyone of us post from and he can tell where we work.
By that logic, I work for Nuvox. As someone who works in the technology sector, I can tell you with certainty that it goes far beyond simply looking at the IP address.
Badger Bob
August 18th, 2010
5:03 pm
Dallas Stars plus 50% of American Airlines Arena = almost $300 million. Forbes had them worth $246M last year, but I can’t tell if that includes the arena or not.
Badger Bob
August 18th, 2010
5:08 pm
And Alan, I work for Google. Darkhorse, I’m thinking we need Robin or another trusty side-kick. Like RL posted, a serious set up man would be good on a team that’s looking like it has speed and net presence. That’s one way to get our 15 goal guys to 25, and our 25 goal guys to 35.
Still looking for a move with the Roons for that additional legit top-6 forward we need…
Jack
August 18th, 2010
5:15 pm
We now have a new sponsor. this Blog is provided by Nuvox. Nuvox providing Blogs to Bloggers 50 miliion strong.
Sara
August 18th, 2010
5:20 pm
Glovesave – I luvs ya and all but I learned my lesson already that some people aren’t even worth the 30 seconds it would take to read their comments. However it is nice to know Sage still thinks of me now and again.
Badger Bob
August 18th, 2010
5:43 pm
Dallas Stars (Forbes value $246M) plus 50% of American Airlines Arena ($420 M new in 2001) is way more than what Mr. Hicks reportedly just sold the two of them for. He is desperate for cash, so perhaps this isn’t a good indicator of NHL team and arena values. Having Mark Cuban in the owners circle would sure liven things up!
lemon drop the gloves
August 18th, 2010
6:05 pm
i have watched big buff since he came to chicago and started as a d-man. he is a liability on d and hawks were down in series against nashville in first round until campbell returned from ovechkin hit and replaced buff on backline. he is not a strong backwards skater. trust me – i have seen him play over 200 games and he is no better on d than what you have already including the likes of kulda who should make team. buff is no doubt a forward with great wheels and more than a player who stands in front screening the goalie. also, don’t understand all the cormier hype as he has minimal minor league experience (0 points in 9 games in 2010 playoffs with wolves after suspension). machacek is ready now as i stated before with two full consistent pro-seasons under his belt. well-liked in the room from what i can gather. duds watched similar type players (brouwer, versteeg, bickell, dowell, and skille) take time to develop with rockford (hawks ahl affiliate) and contribute with hawks enroute to cup. cormier is not the guy to rush to the show – especially with his lack of experience. derek lee is a huge addition to your braves. consumate team guy who still has gas in the tank and is a gold glover.
Flames
August 18th, 2010
6:58 pm
I have never said I am down the hall from Duds office. Smoothie started that about a month ago. I work in the mail room ; )
Jack
August 18th, 2010
7:07 pm
How about Wad’s office?
Afterall he is use to being in the basement
Flames
August 18th, 2010
7:28 pm
Joe Friday- Three beers sounds about right. Sage- Thanks for being a good sport. On a serious note I could get some people in trouble. Guys I am a fan just like you. Who I really am doesn’t matter. If my information is bad then throw me under the bus. If it is good then be happy. Like Smoothie has always said” take it with a grain of salt”. Go Thrashers. Now I have to go sort the mail
kracker
August 18th, 2010
7:47 pm
If the proposal is to disallow icing by the SH team, I am definitely against that. Disallowing line changes at ES can be problematic, it could be disastrous for a defending team on the PK and much worse yet on double minors or 5 minute majors. I think this would overly-tire certain players, hampering line changes going forward. Goalies would face more rubber.
I suppose allowing line changes by the PK team would alleviate excessive player fatigue but then what have we accomplished? After a stoppage in play and player changes, the puck will be played in the attacking zone where it usually end up anyway following icing and player changes. Moreover, assuring the attacking team a free ride into the zone will penalize the short-handed team twice. Make that three times if they can’t change players.
Alan R.
August 18th, 2010
7:53 pm
Badger Bob – OSHI– GET OUT! Google?! Can you put in a good word for me?
Nate
August 18th, 2010
8:41 pm
lmao Who is the man behind the curtain??? ooooooh. This blog is entertaining to say the least.
World Be Free
August 18th, 2010
9:06 pm
No icing while shorthanded? Sweet, just like the WHA rules in the 70’s. Does put more power in the refs’ hands, which is scary since most of those clowns can’t read or write.
World Be Free
August 18th, 2010
9:09 pm
Stepniak won’t becoming here. He wants too much money, based on the way he played in the 2nd half of last season. we cannot forget the 2 seasons he basically figure skated in Tronna, having played his way out of St. Louis.
Rawhide
August 18th, 2010
10:21 pm
Zombie Steve – Ask, and ye shall receive.