So...I was 50% right.
Dear god I was wrong on the first point; feels like just about every big
Let's take a cynical, yet honest look at what the aftermath is:
>> Fuck The Rangers
I know Jes beat me to it last night noting that, once again, Sather and his cretins have made it incredibly easy to hate their team. For losing Nylander, they came up with Drury (5 years, $32.25mil) and Gomez (7 years, $51.5mil). Chuck in the prima donna Jagr, assclown Avery and a wonky headed Shanahan in there and you have all the makings of the old Messier days when names beat youth and what looks great on paper beats building from within. Now, that said, the Rangers DID build from within for two straight seasons so they do have guys like Tyutin, Hossa & Prucha in there, but the fact remains that after yesterday, its once again fashionable and damn appropriate to hate these assholes (here's hoping Lundqvist gets an RFA offer that is simply obscene).
>> The Flyers Apparently Do Not Want To Blow Again
There is something really funny about what the Flyers have done. First it was raping
>> Get the Sylvia Plath Poems Ready For
…when it rains shit, it REALLY does rain shit. I feel the worst for the Sabres fans who have watched their core guys who grew up on the team all leave in the span of two years (we like Pyatt though I won’t lie). NJ lost key guys on both offense and defense (Rafalski) and Garth Snow suddenly has nothing on his team other then a goalie with 14 years left on his contract. Some Devils fans seem to be taking it well. Feel free to buy these fans some beers if you see them, next year could be pretty rough.
So this and this is how Lowe is going to right the good ship HMS Oiltown? To top it all off, they missed their chance at Smyth but get to see him 8 times a year thanks to Bettman. Well, it’s a start. Enjoy your latest expensive mess.
>> And Challenging the Canucks for the NW Title Will Be…
No, not the Flames. It’ll be the perennial enemy Colorado Avalanche who I’d argue quietly may have had the best day yesterday, getting both Smyth for five years and Scott Hannan for four. Smyth joins an offense that already had Sakic, Hejduk, Wolski, Svatos and Stastny firing on all cylinders at the end of last season. Hannan, Liles and Leopold in the back? Christ. At least their goalies are still questionable/laughable.
>> Speaking Of
…not a peep. Unless you count losing Sabourin from whence he came. It’s killer fun to watch all these names fly around while your team who, last I checked, still cannot score (23rd-ranked offense and a power play which went 4-for-64 in the postseason.)….come the morning after STILL cannot score and technically got weaker in the strongest position it has. OK Nonis, time to go fishing for the smaller trout now.
>> So Help Me God
…if Niedermayer doesn’t retire and the Ducks have three top defenders starting next year for them instead of a paltry two, I won’t have enough curse words to formulate a coherent enough sentence to actually convey a logical assessment of how much I am not happy with that.
Update: They have Bertuzzi now too. My original statement stands unedited yet with far more emphasis now.
>> Stupid Is As Stupid Does
Blake to
"Put it this way: When you looked at the Blues a week ago, and then you look now, we're a little better hockey club. This should send vibrations through the organization that, 'Man we're getting better.'"
The team had Al MacInnis, Doug Weight, Tkachuk and owner Dave Checketts speak with Kariya.
"I think he felt wanted," Davidson said. "Knowing Paul, he could have gone elsewhere for more (money). But I think he felt wanted by the club. In our discussions, he asked lot of questions about the city and the franchise. He's had experience with (Blues coach) Andy (
WOW. You guys are in the wrong profession…someone out there has a bridge to no where that needs to be sold off.
By adding Sykora and Sydor this morning, the Pens and revamped Flyer and Ranger teams make the Atlantic division amazingly stacked with talent. If you can’t sell out the Battle of Pennsylvania games or a Pens/Rangers game now, someone in their marketing division should be fired.
All of my wrath aside, sounded like a great day for hockey fans yesterday. Especially good for Ranger, Flyer & Avalanche fans. Not so hot for us Canuck fans as not only did all the big names fly around and some, like Smyth, back into the NW but middle tier guys like Kozlov (now with the Caps) and White (now with Atlanta) are off the table too. I guess we have to wait for our turn at the big table next year when presumably there’d be a shot at inking a guy like Heatley, Lidstrom or Iginla (ya right).
4 comments:
Sabres fans who have watched their core guys who grew up on the team all leave in the span of two years (we like Pyatt though I won’t lie).
I think it's pretty safe to say that Pyatt is the least missed of all the players who have left the Sabres, so I'm glad he's worked out so well for Vancouver. :)
yeah, I'm sure you guys had bigger concerns then him. In fact, I think he gets forgotten a lot so that's why I say it too :)
There are still a couple guys left to nab, although none of them will cause as much of an impact as the major ones that went around yesterday. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Handzus is still free, and though he is not the biggest of names, he should fit okay into a defensive system, and he had something like 8 points in 8 games last year. A point-per-game centre to pair with Nazzy, as well as someone who isn't liable to ruin the team? That sounds like it could be a decent consolation, by me.
Sad to see Sabby go... his 5 minutes of fame against the Ducks was some of the best backup work I've seen, especially on the 'Nucks. But oh well, maybe we'll snatch up Auld again, since the Panthers have left him in their dust.
The trade by Edmonton in order to get Pitkanen could turn out okay if Lupul doesn't pick things up some. Pitkanen is young and well worth someone like Smith, since he'll contribute a goodly number of points and could develop into a top defenseman. As for Colorado, I have to say that I was impressed... and scared. The moves by the Avs will fit right in with their late-season momentum, unlike the Rangers' acquisitions, who, as you said, should just help in ruining the team chemistry that was finally developing in New York.
Oh, and one final note on the Ducks: They don't have three top guys right now, they have at least 4. Beauchemin is one of the most under-rated players in the league, but the fact that he averaged more icetime in the playoffs than either Pronger or Niedermayer is pretty telling. I would take him over many top defensemen in the league. If their captain doesn't leave the NHL, then the Ducks will have the single most stacked defense corps in I don't know how long. Although, if I were Burke, I'd pay a hitman to take out Pronger after his stupid semantics. Gah, I hate him so!
Handzus signed with LA yesterday (along with Nagy and Calder for that matter). And I agree Beauchemin is underrated, but Pronger, Nieds and Schneider are a cut above him I think. But regardless, if that's the top four AND they have Bertuzzi up front, sweet christ it's almost unfair. The Ducks are going to spend so much time in the box next year...that would be good news if you followed a team that could f'ing score on the man advantage.
As far as Vancouver goes, I'm willing to bet they'll take some vet on defense and let Bourdon or someone else from Manitoba shore up the blueline. Up front, I'm really starting to think he'll take a run at Fedotenko since he's got project (a la Pyatt) written all over him.
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