SBNation.com User Blog: Apocalyptic0n3

NHL Rink Broken Down

Apocalyptic0n3 — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 01:22:36 -0000

Iginla Adds Red Wings to Short List

Apocalyptic0n3 — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 03:33:37 -0000

Iginla Adds Red Wings to Short List

Iginla gave his list of teams he would accept a trade to this morning and I was personally surprised to see the Wings were not on it. Apparently he has amended the list and added the Wings.

Ian White Out 2-3 Weeks

Apocalyptic0n3 — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:31:36 -0000

Ian White Out 2-3 Weeks

Per Ted Kulfan, looks like we are down yet another defenseman.

My Issue With The Way WE Handled This Escapade

Apocalyptic0n3 — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 18:30:03 -0000

So by now, I assume everyone is aware that both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter have signed with the Minnesota Wild. It sucks, but they both signed deals roughly $7 million north of what we were willing to offer. I'm not necessarily mad that we lost out on them, especially knowing that both Holland and Ilitch would have to swallow the extra cap/salary respectively, but I will not deny that I am upset.

I am upset that we lost out on the coveted free agents. Upset that... well, what the fuck do we do now? We have no elite defender, our backup plan for a top 6 forward is a more consistent version of Johan Franzen or a player that many would consider very non-Wing-ish. Yes, non-Wing-ish. But most of all, I am upset with the way we, you, me, the Detroit media, this site, Red Wings fans everywhere, handled this all.

Before I go any further, I want to point out that I am as guilty of this as anyone. I have been at the forefront, at least on Winging It In Motown, of this push to land a top tier free agent. Nearly three years ago, I pegged Shea Weber as my ideal Red Wing and that idea spread like wild fire through the ranks and soon we were foaming at the mouth for him. After last summer and seeing Weber getting that massive deal in arbitration, I switched sights to his linemate, Ryan Suter. Again, that idea spread like wildfire. And while my third target, Alexander Semin, wasn't as well-accepted by the masses, it still added fuel to the flames.

So, with that said, on to business. We have behaved like Flyers and Blues fans during the last few weeks. Everyone foaming at the mouth for Suter and Parise. We were not alone in that regard; no, Wild fans, Penguins fans, Flyers fans, hell, half the league was crazy about getting these two and I don't think anyone can blame them. We, however, have acted like impatient children waiting for their parents to say they can have a sleep over with a friend for the very first time.

For the last week, there have been reports upon reports, comments upon comments, tweets upon thousands of tweets regarding these two. It was what you would expect. But as things go closer to July 1st, steam picked up. Every time a new team entered the fray, we immediately pounced on their reporters and their fans as if they were the enemy here when they weren't. They were in the same boat as us, waiting to hear "YES!" for that super special first sleepover. Every time a new report was released saying they were leaning towards any option besides Detroit, we immediately tried to discredit them. I am as guilty of this as JJ or George Malik (Malik) or Ansar Khan or any other of the dozens of Red Wings bloggers and writers out there.

Then the worst happened — absolutely freaking nothing. July 1st came and went and we had nothing other than a report saying Suter had chosen Detroit from a reporter who later reported a half dozen other teams had been chosen (can someone take away that guy's badge please?). And, as soon as Suter's agent let everyone know that no response was coming, the anger rose. Why is he waiting? He should have decided today. What's Plan B? Who does he think he is? We were rabid.

Then another day went by without a response. Well, other than that Parise and Suter would wait another day. And then yesterday came and... suddenly there was a gleam of possibility in the sky reflecting off the side of one of Ilitch's planes. Once again, we were foaming at the mouth. All of a sudden, our once-classy media, bloggers, and fans were little better than Hollywood paparazzi. Spy photos from the runway of our delegation leaving their car and entering the plane. Really? People wondering what Suter was doing. Where he was. Why he hadn't made a statement yet.

And then today, judgement day, came. This morning, I saw what was left of the class we once celebrated by commenting on our non-existent monocles leave this great hockey nation. This morning, reading comments and tweets, I saw that we were now blaming Parise and Suter for making us wait on them. That it was their fault that things were not panning out the way we wanted. I saw people claiming that these two weren't making 'hockey decisions,' they were making personal ones and that they were, essentially, bad people for it.

That honestly angered me. They were deciding where they would spend the next decades of their lives living and working. That is a personal decision. I don't care how upset, anxious, what-have-you you are, that does not make them bad people. Their lives come first, not hockey.

As fans, I think we forget that these people are not members of our team. Or opponents. Or enemies. They're people and the decision they make is going to affect them far more than it will ever affect the Red Wings or any other team in the league or you.

Honestly, I think we should be championing these two. They did this right. They weighed each option as if their life depended on it and, in the end, chose what was best for them. We were spurned. Yes, we were. And we will feel it for seasons to come. But, in the end, these two are not the ones who should feel ashamed by this decision, it is us. You, me, the dozens of writers out there that helped fuel these flames. We lost our class throughout all of this, and, in my eyes at any rate, it will take a long time to recover from it. But I look forward to it. I look forward to helping urge our great team back to greatness and us along with it.

(I want to note that I am indeed very upset, so some of this may sound like a raving lunatic and I apologize for and accept any raving lunatic comments you may make.)

The Issues With The Top Free Agents

Apocalyptic0n3 — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 05:01:32 -0000

July is almost upon us and, for the first time in ten years, the Wings are going to be players. It's not that we have the money (which we do), or the cap space (which we do), or even the draw for free agents (which we do), it's that we absolutely must be players and make gigantic acquisitions if we want any chance of making it anywhere.

There are issues with our top targets, however. It's not that they are also everyone else's top targets (which they are) or that a dozen other teams need them just as badly as we do (which there are) or that there is more money elsewhere (ask Ed Jovanovski... there is), it's that we are not in a great position to bargain with any of them.

I speak of four free agents. Our top four. The four that many of us believe we must sign two of. Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Shea Weber, and Alexander Semin.

Shea Weber - I'll start off with the easiest one. Shea Weber will absolutely not be a Wing this season. No way, no how. He's a restricted free agent making $7.5M. A perennial Norris Trophy candidate who happens to be in our division on a team that each year claims their goal is to beat us. Even if we signed him to a monster $8M for 10 years deal, I think the Predators would match us. The cheap owners in Nashville will do whatever it takes to keep him. If anything, Weber will sign another 1 year deal for similar money and become a free agent next year, if he is not ecstatic with the three and a half nights he spent playing with the Wonder Child that is Alexander Radulov, that is.

Ryan Suter - From one Predator to the next. The biggest difference between Weber and Suter, other than Suter's lack of instinctive head bashing, is that Suter is a UFA. Where he goes is his own choice, but don't think that automatically makes us front runners. Again, the Predators will do whatever they can to keep us from getting better. Many member of the media openly wondered if the Paul Gaustad acquisition was done solely to keep us from acquiring him that same day, for instance. I sincerely doubt they will try to get Suter to take a cheap deal here. They will throw everything they possibly can at him, even if it means some poor finances for a few seasons. Suter may have the final say here, but Nashville will definitely give him a strong second option to consider.

Alexander Semin - As I was discussing with Taylor last night, Semin is the player I am most curious about. He was downright amazing playing with Datsyuk at the Worlds and he is a Franzen-like diamond-in-the-rough. Unlike the first two in this list, the biggest reason we may not be able to sign Semin is not his current team. To be rather honest, I don't think the Capitals stand any chance at resigning him again. He wants playing time and to be a more central part of an offense. Which I suppose we could offer to him.

But the reason we may lose out on Semin is not the Capitals, but a player who formerly played for both the Wings and Capitals. Yes, Sergei Fedorov mentioned both Semin and the Wonder Child by name (or religious nickname, I suppose) in saying he wanted them to come back home and play for CSKA Moscow, the Red Freaking Army. Perhaps playing with Datsyuk (or even with Malkin on the Penguins) will be enough to keep him in the States, but I find it unlikely.

Zach Parise - Besides the absolutely need for Suter thanks to the loss of perfection itself, most Wings fans (and, frankly, fans of every team) agree that Parise is the absolute necessity for the team. A born leader, an offensive power house, and a potentially perfect linemate for Datsyuk. He's everything we could dream of. Problem is that, well, he's everything that everyone everywhere could dream of, especially in New Jersey. Parise is 3 games away from winning a Stanley Cup right now. An unlikely proposition (I've had Kings in 5 since the beginning, sticking to it. They win tomorrow), but I am sure he will see it as a good step.

Besides the Devils absolutely throwing as much as possible into resigning him (I doubt the Wings could make an offer they will not match, even with their financial troubles. Thankfully he is a UFA), there is one thing that no one seems to consider — Martin Brodeur. Yes, arguably the greatest goalie of all time (Sorry, Martin. I think Sawchuck, Esposito, Roy, and Hasek have you beat) is the biggest threat to the Wings signing Parise. Brodeur has played his entire career with the Devils and is very open about his dedication to the team, and I worry that it has rubbed off on Parise and other Devils. For those of you who don't think this matters, please look at what players like Lidstrom, Yzerman, and Holmstrom did for the current core of the Red Wings.

Now, I don't think we will be shut out here. I am personally pulling for the miracle and signing Parise, Suter, AND Semin. I mean, seriously, imagine a Top 6 that includes Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Semin, Franzen, and Parise with the 6th spot being Filppula or Nyquist. Unbeatable. But I'm also prepared to be disappointed. There are strong forces playing against us, and 29 other teams, on July 1. Hopefully we get three out of four and laugh as Wonder Child goes back to Soviet Russia. Hopefully.

Hakan Andersson says Brad Stuart Not Returning

Apocalyptic0n3 — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 13:59:40 -0000

Hakan Andersson says Brad Stuart Not Returning

Malik posted a report this morning that European scouting legend Hakan Andersson has said Brad Stuart will not be returning next season and that Kyle Quincey was reacquired to be his replacement

Also, Malik

Columbus "Listening to Offers" for Nash

Apocalyptic0n3 — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:56:18 -0000

Columbus "Listening to Offers" for Nash

Looks like Nash may want out. Only reason the Jackets would start listening is because Nash has said he will waive his no movement clause if traded to a team he likes.

Darren Dreger says that Columbus will want young roster players in return and it would obviously have to be a city that Nash wants to play for. What say you, the Wings faithful?

Ales Hemsky Rumors

Apocalyptic0n3 — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:56:37 -0000

There are a TON of rumors circulating right now that the Wings are about to pull the trigger on a Hemsky deal with Edmonton. Malik reports that the "braintrust" for the Wings is currently meeting in Vegas and no deal will happen until those meetings conclude, but this has been gaining heat since The Edmonton Journal first reports on it at the end of December. It's been a while since I have heard a rumor so strong circulating the Wings, so I am going to give it a bit more credit than the usual fare (generally involving Nashville defensemen).

His career stats aren't terrible, that much is for sure. For the most part, he's a point-per-game player, though his stats have seen a hit this season due to these two guys named Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. That said, health is a major issue for him. He's played in 523 of 702 possible games in his 8 year career and he has missed 1/4 of this season.

His cap hit is $4.1 million, so we can definitely absorb him with our cap space. This is the final year of his deal, though, so this could just end up being a rental.

So... what does everyone think of Hemsky? Would he be a good trade? What is he worth?

His cap hit is $4.1 million, so we can definitely absorb him with our cap space. This is the final year of his deal, though, so this could just end up being a rental.

So... what does everyone think of Hemsky? Would he be a good trade? What is he worth?

Say what you will about the team and how badly we just beat them and Derek Meech... Winnipeg was a...

Apocalyptic0n3 — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 09:49:28 -0000

Say what you will about the team and how badly we just beat them and Derek Meech... Winnipeg was a class act in welcoming back Teammu Selanne in what will likely be his final time playing in the city. It's almost on the level of what Minnesota did for Modano.

Chris Wilcox Signs With Celtics

Apocalyptic0n3 — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 02:21:14 -0000

Chris Wilcox Signs With Celtics

So long, Wilcox.

Caron Butler to visit Pistons?

Apocalyptic0n3 — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:28:33 -0000

Caron Butler to visit Pistons?

Looks like we might be meeting with another swingman...

Quick Hits: Tonight, We Make Science

Apocalyptic0n3 — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:27:07 -0000

All Star ballots were released yesterday. Only snub for the Wings, as far as I am concerned, is Jimmy Howard, who is quietly having the strongest year of his career. To be fair, though, I didn't expect him (nor Niklas Kronwall) to be candidates, so I will take what I can get. [Puck Daddy]
It would appear that Henrik Zetterberg believes that the Flyers did the right thing against the Lightning's 1-3-1 trap by holding onto the puck until the Lightning made a move. [MLive]
Fun stat of the day: Nicklas Lidstrom is +527 over his career compared to Ilya Kovalchuck.. [Puck Daddy]
As unlikely as it sounds, Red Wings Front is pointing out that Tomas Holmstrom is moving his way back up the forward lines. [Red Wings Front]
On Monday, former Red Wings defenseman, partner of Lidstrom, Brad McCrimmon, and Konstantinov at various times, Mark Howe will join his father, Mr. Hockey himself, in the Hockey Hall of Fame. [MLive]
TPL has updated their excellent "Gradient of Failure." If Lidstrom was any better, he'd be off the chart. [The Production Line]
The Blue Jackets traded Kris Russell to the Blues last night for Nikita Nikitin (what are the odds this guy is a super secret Russian agent that likes to smoke?). Separate reports were out there that they had also traded Fedor Tyutin to the Islanders for Evgeni Nabakov, but nothing happened officially on that front. [The Cannon]
Ever the Stat Geeks, Arctic Ice Hockey shows the bias given to the home team when awarding assists. While I think this may be more consequential than anything, an 8% dip on the penalty kill may be outside an expected margin for error. [Arctic Ice Hockey]
theScore wonders who has the worst shot in the NHL. Hint: if you paid attention, he is the one trade I would go back in time and undo. [theScore]
This Lightning fan wants the media to back off his team's actions against the Flyers like they backed off the puck. [Raw Charge]
As any team (even the Wings) does during bouts of losing, fans of the Capitals are trying to lay blame on whomever they can. This fanpost goes directly after Alexander Semin, not at all a surprise given fan hate of him in recent memory. [Japers' Rink]
Icethetics has what looks to be the official Winter Classic jersey for the Flyers, and I love it. [Icethetics]
Late Addition: NHL.com has a feature on Nicklas Lidstrom and his hot start. Best part of the article is when a reporter asked Babcock whether TPH's start was "fluky", and survived the death stare. [NHL.com]

Discussion of the Day: Let's have a prediction today. Yesterday, Yahoo! posted an article from AP writer Dan Gelston that talks about how young the core American players are and how we have finally hit that next wave, nearly 30 years after the last wave of American hockey began. Is this current crop good enough to face the likes of Canada (with its 500 All Stars), Sweden (featuring 3 T-900s), and Russia (with all its... vodka)? What do you see happening at the 2014 Olympics in Russia?

Quick Hits: Mule in a Hat

Apocalyptic0n3 — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:00:16 -0000

So, I chose a bad night not to skip school. 5-2 with a hat trick from the Mule and more scoring from TPH? I'm sad that school got in the way of that. Don't forget the curly fries today. [The Production Line - MLive - Detroit Free Press - Mile High Hockey - Nightmare on Helm Street]
This is just an awesome read about the experience of Joe Louis Arena. [The Score]
With realignment a month away, Puck Daddy has posted a visual look at every single league alignment since 1967. [Puck Daddy]
The Blues shutout the Blakchawks 3-0 in Ken Hitchcock's debut behind the bench. I have to admit, I was rooting for them to win. I root for every Blackhawks opponent to win. [St. Louis Game Time]
Sidney Crosby may finally be on the verge of returning. [Yahoo! Sports]
Speaking of the Penguins, they traded Mark Letestu to the Blue Jackets for a fourth round pick yesterday. [Pensburgh]
Copper and Blue point out something that has always been a limiting factor for the Canadiens: their preference for players, coaches, GMs, and personnel who speak French. I know it's a big part of your identity, Montreal, but you shouldn't choose spoken language over the people that give you the best chance to win. [Copper and Blue]
Mike Knuble doesn't sound too confident in his Capitals right now, questioning their commitment. Don't worry, Mike, it'll get better when you have a T-1000 and a weird cross between a horse and donkey score a bunch of goals for you. [Washington Post]
A Junior player received a 20 game suspension for a hit that likely would have seen a similar Shanaban, if not more. That is the kind of hit that makes you cringe. [Pro Hockey Talk]

Discussion of the Day: Do you think last night will be followed by another cold streak from Johan Franzen? He himself has said he doesn't like scoring this much all at once because he has a tough time scoring afterward. Let's hope he has a hat trick every night.

Quick Hits: Riiiiiiitoooooolaaaaa

Apocalyptic0n3 — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:15:32 -0000

Like NOHS, I was pretty surprised when I saw a tweet over the weekend talking about Konstantinov painting. It's hardly something I would expect him to be doing, but it does seem like a great way to rehab. [Nightmare on Helm Street]
Here's a kind reminder (and a good interview to boot): Mr. Mickey Redmond goes to the Hall of Fame in a week. [Detroit Free Press]
USA Today points out that we are not in the clear yet, after ending our losing streak. Our upcoming schedule is pretty damn tough. [USA Today]
Malik, yes that Malik, is back and the first article get to link to from him is about how he believes Nicklas Lidstrom may be playing the best regular season hockey of his career this season. That is a pretty big suggestion for a player who is 41 and unanimously considered the second greatest defenseman of all time. Also, Malik. [The Malik Report]
Stevie Y is lucky that Holland is not spiteful. Mattias Ritola, previously plucked off waivers from the Wings, cleared waivers over the weekend to be assigned to the Lightning AHL affiliate. [Raw Charge]
Completely unrelated to absolutely anything, but I am giving Col. Hans Landa some love. [YouTube]
You snooze, you lose, Columbus. The Blue Jackets who, as of Friday, were still looking to clean house and re-hire Ken Hitchcock as head coach to save a few bucks (he is still under contract with him), decided to wait a few days and, in the process, lost their man. The Blues fired head coach David Payne and replaced him with Hitchcock yesterday, only days after saying that they were confident an upcoming string of home games would turn things around and that there was no reason to make changes this season. Go figure. [St. Louis Game Time]
This is surprising. The majority of analysts (I link to just two sources, but I have read many more this weekend) believe the Predators will now put all focus on signing Shea Weber to a long term deal and that a trade for Ryan Suter is most likely. I figured they would sign Suter, the UFA, and wait on Weber, the RFA, just because they stand to lose more otherwise. [Red Light District - Ottawa Sun]
SI writes that hits to the head are still controversial , mainly because of some inconsistent Shanahans. [Red Light]
Some more off-topicness (though considerably less awkward than the last bit), but parent company Vox Media (formerly SB Nation) launched a new site last week. The Verge, a project from a group of Engadget defectors, launched last week to nearly universal acclaim. Be sure to give it a look. (for those of you wondering, hopefully this will be the end of issues most other Vox/SBN blogs have experienced during the final stages of The Verge's development) [The Verge]

Discussion of the Day: Mickey Redmond. Just talk about him. He deserves the love (though not as much as Col. Hans Landa, I think).

Quick Hits: We Need More Science

Apocalyptic0n3 — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 09:11:15 -0000

Sounds like I should be happy that I was not able to watch last night's games. Either way, here are a few recaps for those that, like myself, were unable to see the game. All I know is that we are beginning to upset Cave and that is unacceptable. [MLive - Detroit Free Press - The Production Line]
At least Gustav Nyquist enjoyed his one game stint with the Wings, his NHL debut. He described it as 'awesome.' [MLive]
As you may have heard, the Predators broke with their customs yesterday and didn't screw over one of their players in contract negotiations as they signed franchise goalie Pekka Rinne to a 7 year, $49 million deal. Reaction to the deal has been mixed, though most are of the opinion that his all but solidifies that they will have to cut one of their two star defenseman loose at the end of the season. [On The Forecheck]
Speaking of Rinne, the Predators most recent re-signing knows how to celebrate a newly signed contract. Too bad Niklas Kronwall didn't do similar earlier this week. [On The Forecheck]
You be the judge: Danny Briere had a controversial shootout winner last night against the Devils. Did he come to a complete stop? Should the goal have counted? [Puck Daddy]
NBC suggests that the Flames should blow up their team in favor of a youth movement and that holdout-RFA Kyle Turris may be the man to lead it. The Flames could do worse than having a man who refuses to sign a deal worth his play lead a youth movement. I can't think of anything that would be worse, but I am sure it is there. [NBC's Pro Hockey Talk]
I can honestly say that Shanahan has disappointed me with his suspension of Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta. The fact that he has done this multiple times in the past should have warranted a ten game suspension. He's purposefully targeting heads with his helmet and it is a dangerous play. Four games for this is simply not enough. [Die By The Blade]
As NBC's Pro Hockey Talk points out, the NHL stands to gain a lot of ground in both revenue and ratings as the NBA lockout continues to eat away at their season. Which I suppose is only fair; Bettman's mentor, NBA commissioner David Stern, enjoyed a nice rise during the NHL lockout of 2005. [NBC's Pro Hockey Talk]

Discussion of the Day: Is it time for a roster shakeup? Six straight losses and just one goal per game. Should Holland try something drastic like trading for someone? Who is there to get, even?

Quick Hits: We're On Pace For 88 Points

Apocalyptic0n3 — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:07:47 -0000

Goods new, everyone. Niklas Kronwall is okay and will play tonight. [MLive]
Kronwalll has also given Mikko Koivu a vote of confidence, saying that there should not have been a penalty on the hit. He says that it was both of them moving in just the right way for the elbow to make contact and that it was not intentional. [MLive]
Speaking of those two, SB Nation examines whether or not Koivu interfered with Kronwall before the game winning goal. [SB Nation]
In other news, Babcock is going to really shuffle lines from the sounds of it. It's looking like we will play with a top line of Hudler-Datsyuk-Cleary, as he splits up the Eurotwins. That has been one of my ideal lines all season long and we have not seen enough of it, in my opinion. [Detroit Free Press]
There is a new episode of Fake Henrik Zetterberg up and today, Mr. Fakeberg discusses life with Fake Dikembe Mutombo (who has the longest name in history, by the way). [Fake Henrik Zetterberg]
The Datsyukian Geek — which has the second best Wings blog name behind Nightmare on Helm Street — puts forth the frustrations everyone is feeling in not-so-eloquent terms. [The Datsyukian Geek]
NBC's latest wake up call is for Hank and they are absolutely right: we need him to be our best player and we need him to do it now. [NBC Pro Hockey Talk]
Let's just make this clear: last week, I jokingly suggested we should bring back Dominik Hasek and play him instead of Ty Conklin. I was joking. Completely. I do not want Hasek to return again. I was joking. Do not come back, Dom. I was joking. [NHL.com]
Icethetics, one of my favorite sites on the web, posted a new jersey concept yesterday. This is exactly how the Jets jersey should have looked. The designer took an outdated logo and jersey design, and modernized it respectfully and with attention to detail. In my opinion, this would have been one of the best jerseys in the league. [Icethetics]
NBC is rallying for the Capitals to fire head coach Bruce Boudreau. Wait... they're actually praising his changes. That's odd. I write that first statement out of habit at this point. [NBC Pro Hockey Talk]
Dan Carcillo isn't changing his play style despite the Shanabans. Unfortunately for him, I get the feeling not doing so will lead to a Chris Simon-type blackballing by teams in the league. [ESPN]
The pilot of the plane carrying the Lokomotiv KHL team, as well as former Red Wings Brad McCrimmon, Ruslan Salei, and Stefan Liv, crashed in September due to a pilot error that was apparently encouraged by the airliner as a way to decrease takeoff times. [The Globe and Mail]

Discussion of the Day: What lines do you want to see Babcock play tonight in an attempt to jumpstart our play?

Quick Hits: Playing Like We're Columbus Edition

Apocalyptic0n3 — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:55:55 -0000

Today's header image: the gradient of failure, brought to you by the guys over at TPL. [The Production Line]
How do you celebrate signing a 7 year extension? By getting hit in the head in your first game after signing said extension, of course. Niklas Kronwall will be re-evaluated today and hopefully does not have a concussion. [MLive]
Sean Avery cleared re-entry waivers yesterday, as pretty much everyone expected him to. The former Wing will play for the Rangers soon and still has a chance to prove my bold prediction right and play in more games than Chris Pronger, who is still having trouble with his eyes. [Blue Shirt Banter]
This was brought up in the comments yesterday, but it needs to be brought up again. The slow burning feud between Joe Thornton, who called the Rangers soft, and John Torotella, who didn't believe his apology and explanation, is entertaining beyond all doubt. Yesterday, Tortorella told the media that Thornton "hasn't won a g--damn thing in this league," and now everyone either loves or hates him, depending on your stance about Thornton. [Puck Daddy]
Andre Agassi dressed up for Halloween as Mr. T, bodypaint and all, and there is a mild roar of protest compared to Raffi Torres, who dressed up as Jay-Z and the opposition sounded like a wailing banshee. Go figure. [NBC Sports]
Oilers defenseman Andy Sutton got a five game suspension for a hit to the head of Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche. I am glad Shanny has not slowed down the Shanabans. [Puck Daddy]
Forbes profiled the 10 billionaire owners in the NHL (there's only 10? Seems small) and, of course, Mike Ilitch is in there with over $2 billion. [NBC Sports]

Discussion of the Day: What are your expectations for Mr. Nyquist the rest of the season, specifically games played? What about in the foreseeable future?

Quick Hits: The Wings Are Killing Your Fantasy Team Edition

Apocalyptic0n3 — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:13:45 -0000

Danny Cleary isn't scoring and he knows it. He says he's trying to find a rhythm, but so far nothing has worked. [Detroit Fee Press]
Scrappy Octopus wonders if yesterdays changes, Niklas Kronwall signing an extension and Gustav Nyquist being called up, are what we need to wake up and play some hockey. I hope so, because we are in trouble if it isn't. [Scrappy Octopus]
There is even more backlash over yesterday's plagiarism as Nick from Nick on Sports tackles the issue. [Nick on Sports]
NBC Sports has ten players killing your fantasy team, and the top two are Red Wings. As usual, the Red Wings have been pretty terrible in terms of fantasy numbers this season. [NBC Sports]
Raffi Torres is apologizing for his Halloween costume and his agent is saying it was harmless. Did neither of them think that wearing blackface might anger some people? [TSN]
Funny moment of the day: a Swedish player scores, hugs an opposing player in celebration, and is promptly punched in the face for doing so. [Puck Daddy]
Won't even sugar coat this one: this article from PHT introducing estranged NBA fans to hockey is one of the most hilarious things I have read in ages. You can get a little taste below. [NBC Sports]

The Canadiens are one of the most revered franchises in all of professional sports and widely known as the NHL’s classiest organization. Last week they fired their assistant coach 90 minutes before a game

Vancouver police charged 163 people yesterday. All involved are accused of disorderly conduct following the Canucks loss to the Bruins in June. [Puck Daddy]
Are we really going to do this before we even hit 15 games played? Pensburgh is already looking at the Rocket Richard race. [Pensburgh]
If you have Ville Leino on your fantasy team, now may be the time to start him. He's been moved onto the top line in an effort to jumpstart his season. [Die By the Blade]
Imagine you have a player who likes to talk. A player who provides the media with endless quantities of hilarious quotes that get printed the moment they leave his mouth. A player whose words often get him into trouble. How do you handle him? Well, if you're the Flyers, you make sure Ilya Bryzgalov is only allowed to speak after games. [Broad Street Hockey]

Discussion of the Day: Introduce NBA fans looking for something to watch to the NHL.

The Wings' Cap Position

Apocalyptic0n3 — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:34:43 -0000

With this morning's great news that newly-appointed alternate captain Niklas Kronwall had signed a 7 year extension carrying just a $4.75 million cap hit, one thing was certain — Ken Holland has expertly placed the Red Wings cap-wise. The Wings still rank 19th in the league in total salary and will have nearly $5 million in cap space to play with this season, possibly getting a rental or even something more long term.

What is really shocking, however, is where we are long term. With the cap currently at $64.3 million, and expected to rise yet again next season, we are looking at nearly $25 million to re-sign players and, for just the third time since the lockout, attempt to make a splash in the free agent market.

After the jump, we'll take a look at our free agents for next summer, our needs after these free agents are signed or let go, and who there is for Ken Holland to look at.

Let's begin with the list of free agents. The Perfect Human, Nicklas Lidstrom, is a free agent yet again. As he has for a few years now, Lidstrom signed another one year deal this past summer to extend his career and we'll likely have to sit and bite our nails for a few weeks after the season ends to find out if our captain will return for his 21st season. He'll be 42 years old when he makes the decision and, as the league's eldest player (beating out Teammu Selanne by two months), it would not be a huge surprise if he does decide to call it a career. As such, how we play this free agency will depend entirely on what his decision is.

Remaining free agents are Tomas Holmstrom, Todd Bertuzzi, Jiri Hudler, Brad Stuart, Fabian Brunnstrom, Mike Commodore, and Ty Conklin. Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader are our RFAs. In Grand Rapids, there aren't any worthwhile prospects with contracts ending, unless you are that high on Chris Conner.

With his diminished role on the team, aging body, and how slow he has been skating, I think it is almost certain that we are seeing the final season of Tomas Holmstrom. While his net-front presence will be missed, it has become abundantly clear that he is too much of a defensive liability to keep just for powerplays. Danny Cleary and Johan Franzen have been putting some time in in front of the opposing net minders this season, so hopefully they can make up for what we lose there in some amount.

It also likely that Bertuzzi will retire, though I wouldn't call it a certainty at this point. He still has some game left in him and has seemed to re-awaken playing with the young legs of Helm and Abdelkader on the third incarnation of Two Kids and an Old Goat. If he does return, I would expect a cap hit of about $1.5 million. And at that hit, the only thing holding us back from signing him would be who is ready to take his spot (more on that in a minute).

It is not too far of a reach to say that Commodore will not return next season. His issue is roster space. Brendan Smith is NHL-ready and were this any other club, he'd have played every game this season minus the suspension. Commodore is simply not good enough to hold on to at that point. I expect the same with Ty Conklin. With Joey MacDonald on a one-way deal next season and the cap space we have, it is highly unlikely that Conklin will return for a third season with the team. Given his play thus far and the lack of interest in him since the trade deadline, I wouldn't be surprised if he retires.

Fabian Brunnstrom will have to work hard for another contract because, like Bertuzzi, there is some strong competition and very few open spots. If Brunnstrom returns, his cap hit will likely float in under $1 million. Hudler, who pretty much everyone had dismissed before the season, is playing surprisingly well and is much, much, much tougher than in previous seasons, apparently that MMA training helped. If he continues this play throughout the season, I highly doubt Holland lets him walk. Hudler's cap hit is hard to determine, though, because he has not played up to his current one yet (though he will if he continues this play). Because of that, I'll give him his current $2.875.

Brad Stuart is the most interesting name on the list, because we truly do not know what will happen with him. He has, in the eyes of many, lived up to his contract and the faith that Kenny put in him in 2008 when he traded for him and signed him to a 4 year deal. The issue is that Smith will be with the team next season and there is no way we let him play as the 7th defender, unless Holland believes that Kronwall and Stuart is a championship caliber first pairing. My guess is that, unless we trade either Jonathan Ericsson or Jakub Kindl, Stuart will be let go regardless of Lidstrom's decision.

Last, but not least, are our two restricted free agents, Helm and Abdelkader. I firmly believe that Helm will be resigned before the season ends. There is untapped potential in him and he is already 2nd line worthy. An Ericsson-ish deal sounds about right for Helm (if you are Holland), so for calculations, I will give him a 3 year, $9 million deal. I suspect Holland will tender an offer sheet to Abdelkader and let him test the market. I don't foresee Abs being more than a career grinder in the league and to lose him would not hurt us that much.

Assuming we re-sign Helm, Hudler, and Abdelkader and Lidstrom retires, that is $15,332,956 left. With that cap space, we will still have to sign a top tier defender (who may or may not be Stuart), possibly a top forward, and a backup goalie, unless you are comfortable with Joey Mac handling those duties.

The forward corps is pretty full, especially given that Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist should already be playing with the Wings but are being held up due to lack of roster spots. It is highly unlikely they play another season in Grand Rapids, which could spell the end for someone like Jan Mursak or Drew Miller, who may need to be dealt to make room for players who may already be more talented.

The top free agent forwards — and frequently mentioned as being Detroit-bound — are Zach Parise and Alexander Semin. Writers for both ESPN and TSN have said in the past that they believe Parise will be a Wing before free agency even begins, so that would assume a trade for him. And, frankly, if we are to get Parise, that would be best. Trading away Hudler or Filppula, a prospect, and some picks for him if the Devils know they can't resign him again would be a dream come true.

Shea Weber was so last season.
My new dream Wing? This guy.

There is one interesting name on the free agent list that I think would look perfect on our second line, however: Mikhail Grabovski, currently playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The man is, arguably, the best powerplay man in the league, and that is something we desperately need. He'll be just 28 and should be available for around $4.5 million a year.

Assuming we go that route and deal away either Mursak, Emmerton, or Miller, that leaves us with $9.5 million in cap space with 14 forwards signed. On defense, every Wings fan seems to want to rob the Nashville Predators to get us our next top defender. I won't explain things, so we'll just knock off another $6 million for either Shea Weber or Ryan Suter and you can all be happy. Though, do be aware that Weber is still an RFA and we would have to give up assets to get him.

My dream backup for Jimmy Howard has been, since the trade deadline last season, Michael Leighton of the Flyers. He's currently in the minors behind Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky, and that is unlikely to change. He's available and he should be attainable for much less than the $3.7 million in cap space we will have.

Obviously, this team would be a dream lineup. I think it is unlikely that Holland would let so many of his projects, specifically Brad Stuart, go. However, I do hope that we can sign Grabovski if Toronto does not lock him up long term as they should. You can see the full lineup here on CapGeek.

Given our free agent situation that I detailed above, who do you think will stay and go over the next 8 months? Who are your dream free agents?

All salaries, cap hits, and contract details gathered from CapGeek.

Kronwall Signs 7 Year Extension

Apocalyptic0n3 — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:28:25 -0000

Kronwall Signs 7 Year Extension

No word on cap hit yet, but Holland agreeing this early likely means it's at a good hit. Kronwall a Wing for life? I can get behind that.

UPDATE: That was quick. Per McKenzie, it is $4.75 million per season. Go Ken Freaking Holland.

Quick Hits: The Ducks Are Upset and the Hockey Gods Are Cruel

Apocalyptic0n3 — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:03:15 -0000

The Scrappy Octopus has a pretty good article on what it means to wear the Winged Wheel. [Scrappy Octopus]
If you're interested, Snipe Snipe, Dangle Dangle has a photo caption contest up with a picture of Justin Abdelkdar pu...or getting a new... I'll just let you decide for yourself what the hell he is doing. [Snipe Snipe, Dangle Dangle]
Tomas Holmstrom, who had a very nice goal waived off on Friday, believes that disallowed goals should be reviewable and I can see why — the man would be in Jaromir Jagr range if they were. [MLive]
Speaking of Jaromir Jagr, he had another 2 goal night on Saturday and has moved within 50 goals of one of the greatest milestones in sports: 700 goals. Who here sees him hitting it? [Broad Street Hockey]
NBC Sports has a recap of a realignment plan that CBC reported over the weekend. This plan is drastically different than any of the other plans being discussed and is apparently "gaining steam." The plan is a 4 division, 2 conference layout with 1 home and 1 away game against each team outside the division and the rest of your games played within the division. The first two rounds of the playoffs would also be divisional opponents only. The amount of divisional play would likely lead to a resurgence in divisional rivalries and, generally, a more exciting season. The Board of Governors will vote on realignment at the league meeting in December. [NBC Sports]
Expect the Blue Jackets, owners of a beautiful 2-9-1 record, to start with a clean managerial slate today. NBC reports the Jackets are expected to fire their entire coaching and front office staffs today and the likely replacement for behind-the-bench is a familiar face in Columbus: Ken Hitchcock. [NBC Sports]
Arctic Ice Hockey wonders how useful +/- is. [Arctic Ice Hockey]
We haven't even played the Ducks yet and they are already getting on my nerves. The team is up in arms over the Francois Beauchemin suspension with everyone from the coach to lowly donut man commenting on the injustice being done to them. Now Ryan Getzlaf is stepping up and saying that Jordin Tootoo shouldn't be allowed int he league. Yes, you read that right, he's trying to support his suspended teammate by saying the teammate of the person Beuachemin hit should not be on the ice. Getzlaf needs to take a class on logical reasoning. [OC Register]
Pension Plan Puppets looks at the Leafs defensive strategy of 'fronting' which is apparently less successful than anyone believes. [Pension Plan Puppets]
Joe Nieuwendyk is heading to the Hall of Fame and the Stars honored him with a very well-done ceremony. [Defending Big D]
The Hockey Gods are cruel. The man who we had hoped would be our backup for the foreseeable future, Evgeni Nabokov, is quietly have a great season in Long Island. [Lighthouse Hockey]
Sean Avery will be placed on re-entry waivers today. Odds he gets picked up? About as good as the Wings sending Pavel Datsyuk through waivers. [Blue Shirt Banter]

Discussion of the Day: What do you think of this latest realignment plan?

Quick Hits: Tiberius Jr. and the On-Going Goalie Crisis

Apocalyptic0n3 — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:22:27 -0000

Hey, look, only three days between games this time around. We play the Sharks tonight and Babcock is breaking up our dream line. Yes, Two Kids and a Goat 3.0 will play apart for the first time this season because Babcock was not impressed with Patrick Eaves and Tomas Holmstrom on the same line. Emmerton and Brunnstrom will sit. [Red Wings Front - MLive]
Less than a week old, little Tiberius watched his first Red Wings game with his father. I think Ty Conklin may have ensured the little one does not follow in his father's footsteps as a goalie, however. [Detroit Free Press]
NOHS looks at and tries to determine why Henrik Zetterberg is struggling. My guess? Preoccupied with his desk job. [Nightmare on Helm Street]
Ty Conklin has gotten his fair share of criticism after his last two starts. A lot of it is warranted and, frankly, a lot of it has come from me (I do remember asking if he "shat the bed" against Columbus), but the Wizard of Os defends him and makes me wonder if I have been unfair. [Wizard of Os]
With the single greatest explanation of a soft goal ever, Carey Price "Bill Bucknered" a faceoff draw and allowed his own teammates faceoff win to go into the net. Now, that is just the kind of season that Montreal is having and I can't really blame something like this on the goalie — it does happen a few times a year — but saying he "just Bill Bucknered" the puck while playing the Bruins is hilarious. Price got a load of respect from me for that. [Puck Daddy]
Kyle Turris has apparently asked for a trade (and may or may not have done so at the beginning of negotiations) and Coyotes GM Don Maloney says he will not trade Turris under any circumstances. As you may have seen on Twitter, I am a huge fan of this move; in the words of the Winkelvii, "Let's gut the friggin' nerd." [TSN]
Inspired by a recent writer proposing they trade Roberto Luongo to the Lightning for Vincent Lecavlier, Nucks Misconduct thinks they should trade Luongo for St. Louis instead. If you said that with a French accent, you would be wrong. [Nucks Misconduct]
Anaheim Calling confuses me. Just yesterday I posted a link to an article where they call this year's Ducks the deepest the team has been since they had Chris Pronger and Scott Neidermayer. Now, they are trying to analyze their defense and a "growing problem" of letting goals go in while on the ice. Make up your minds, guys. [Anaheim Calling]
I'm going to call it right now: there is another goalie controversy brewing. If you remember the previously reported list, Vancouver, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Phoenix, Toronto, Columbus, and even Detroit have had issues with their goalie tandem, mainly one of their goalies not being up to par. I think it might be safe to re-add the Flyers to the list as Ilya Bryzgalov had a .600 GAA and Sergei Bobrovsky had a .666 GAA against the Jets. Yes, the Flyers allowed the Jets to score 9 goals. [Broadstreet Hockey]

Discussion of the Day: Let's stick with the goalie issue. There are countless fans unhappy with their current goalie situation. As I mentioned above, between 1/6 and 1/3 of the teams seem to have this issue right now. Will this issue resolve itself? Will we see a load of trades happening to try and fix this? Can you think of any ways any of these teams can solve their issues? Sound off in the comments and come up with your best solution of Roberto Luongo.

Quick Hits: More and More Goalie Controversies

Apocalyptic0n3 — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:05:19 -0000

Yesterday was supposed to be a day off for the Red Wings, but Mike Babcock called a practice in response to their play on Tuesday. Hopefully this will wake some of ours guys up before we play San Jose. [Detroit Free Press]
Jan Mursak had his cast taken off yesterday. He is still quite a ways away from returning, however, as he won't be cleared to wear skates for another six weeks. [Red Wings Fronts]
Mike Modano is... a little odd without hockey. [NBC Sports]
NOHS is holding a Red Wings costume contest for Halloween. If you enter, be sure to post a picture on here. We'd love to see. [Nightmare on Helm Street]
Senators rookie sensation Mika Zibanejad has been sent back to Sweden for the year and ruined one of Jeff's bold prediction. [Silver Seven]
In a surprise move, the Canadiens fired assistant coach Perry Pearn yesterday. Why he was fired instead of head coach Jacques Martin is a mystery. Don't expect Pearn to be jobless for long, though, many have him pegged as the assistant coach most likely to get a head coaching job. [ESPN]
The city of Edmonton approved a monstrous new arena deal for the Oilers yesterday that makes the team, at least in one way, better than the Islanders. Congratulations! [NBC Sports]
Looks like Drew Doughty should return either tonight or Saturday; he's been cleared for full practice. [LA Kings Insider]
Anaheim Calling believes their team is the deepest since '09. I don't see it. They still have one great defenseman, two average defensemen, and 3 sub-par defensemen. That isn't very much depth in my eyes, especially when you are trying to compare it to a team that had both Scott Neidermayer and Chris Pronger.
Not to upstage Roberto Luongo, who is on his way to a Patrick Roy exit from Vancouver, Jaroslav Halak is having a similar problem with his backup, Brian Elliott of all people, in St. Louis and is great danger of losing his starting position. Elliott might be a good pickup for your fantasy team. [Puck Daddy]
The Winter Classic alumni game may be more interesting than the big game itself. Eric Lindros confirmed yesterday that he will lace up and play, all but confirming the legendary Legion of Doom will play together once more. [Broadstreet Hockey]

Discussion of the Day: Which former Red Wings line would you like to see reunited for an event like the Winter Classic alumni game? (hint: the correct answer is The Russian Five with Sergei Fedorov on defense and Pavel Datsyuk taking his place as a forward)

Quick Hits: More Visor Chat and TSN's Favorite Rookie

Apocalyptic0n3 — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 09:33:02 -0000

I neither saw the game nor want to talk about it, so here are some recaps. [Detroit Free Press - Yahoo! - MLive - The Production Line]
The Wings were asked about visors last night and it seems like players are in favor of it being by choice, and I am not surprised (nor do I think they are wrong to think that). [Detroit Free Press]
For those of you curious, it looks like Todd Bertuzzi, Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen, Ian White, Mike Commodore, and Jonathan Ericsson are the only Red Wings who do not wear a visor. Anyone else? [@bradonweb]
This is kind of interesting: a food blog is ranking NHL teams by how good their food and drink is. They posted numbers #10–5 yesterday and the Red Wings rank in at #8. [Food Republic]
JJ announced yet another upgrade to Hockey CSSI yesterday: you can now view events by time elapsed. [Hockey CSSI]
I didn't expect to see this one when I woke up: Copper & Blue has apparently forgotten to drink the kool-aid because they think that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, first overall pick by the Oilers and one of the most successful players of the young season, should be sent back down the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL. I'm personally on the fence. While it would be great to put him through the system (I subscribe fully to the Wings philosophy of over-ripening players), the Oilers need him now and he is definitely ready for the NHL. I don't think the Oilers can make the wrong decision with him at this point. They could even trade him to the Wings for a dollar and a bag of pucks and I would not say that made the wrong decision. [Copper & Blue]
Allan Walsh, one of the few agents anyone actually knows, is throwing a hissy fit over a fake Roman Polak account and saying he has reported the user to the his ISP and the authorities (sidenote: there is no way he could have figured out his ISP without asking Twitter, which would have to break its privacy policy to provide such information, so Walsh is full of shit). So, naturally as this is the internet, another fake Roman Polak account sprung up as did a fake Allan Walsh account. [St. Louis Game Time]
Next summer's draft will be held in Pittsburgh at the Penguins beautiful new arena, the Consol Energy Center. [Pittsburgh Live]
SI says that the Canucks are still the best hope for a Stanley Cup in Canada, something that has been absent from the country since 1993 when Guy Carbonneau, Denis Savard, and Patrick Roy won it all in Montreal. In other news, the Canucks were down 3-0 at one point last night to the Oilers who I hear have already called dibs on the first overall pick. [Sports Illustrated]
Paul Holmgren, GM of the Flyers, says Pronger is likely out 10-14 days after the stick to the face on Monday night. [ESPN]
TSN has a good article up in regards to the mandatory visor versus player choice debate. [TSN]

Discussion of the Day: Last week, I asked you to put together the "All Former Red Wings Team," made up entirely of good players who we did not hold onto. It was difficult because, as was the consensus, the Wings have made it a habit of holding onto their talent. Today, I want the opposite. Give me the worst possible team made from the worst possible former Red Wings still playing in the NHL.

Dmitry Chesnokov Interviews Pavel Datsyuk

Apocalyptic0n3 — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:18:02 -0000

Dmitry Chesnokov Interviews Pavel Datsyuk

Chesnokov just posted a pretty good interview with Dangles on Puck Daddy. Be sure to give it a read.

Quick Hits: My Backup Is Worse Than Your Backup

Apocalyptic0n3 — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:43:01 -0000

The NHL decided to be nice and allow us to play more than 2 games this week. Here are some previews of our tilt with Columbus tonight. [Detroit Free Press - MLive]
You lose one game, and apparently that makes you worse than both the 4 loss Penguins and 3 loss Blackhawks. Go figure. [TSN]
Looks like the fourth line will be Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller, and Tomas Holmstrom tonight. This will be the first game we play this season without Cory Emmerton who, despite not having a single point since the season opener, has played extremely well so far. [Red Wings Front]
Habs Eyes on the Prize writes that Double Overtime may be the ultimate book for hockey fans. [Habs Eyes on the Prize]
Pension Plan Puppets puts forth a very convincing argument that their backup, Jonas Gustavsson, is not an NHL goalie and that they need a better backup. Someone tell Ron Wilson he can have Cory Schneider; the Canucks without a starter-quality backup will be hilarious. [Pension Plan Puppets]
Wings fans should be hit very close to home with this one: the Kings will not start Jonathan Quick tonight because they told Jonathan Bernier a few days ago he could start today. In case you have not seen, Quick is undefeated in regulation, has three shutouts, and a .972 SV%. He's off to one of the hottest single starts in league history... and the Kings are going to start their backup. [Jewels From The Crown]
Jaromir Jagr finally scored last night. Took him eight games to get that first goal and he finished the night with two of them. Jagr is the most realistic chance of seeing a 700 goal celebration anytime soon; he's currently 52 goals away from the mark and certainly seems like he has it in him to reach one of the most exclusive clubs in sports. The next closest? Jarome Iginla at just 486. [Broadstreet Hockey]
The Cannon continues to find silver linings in their horrendous 0-7-1 season, and this time it is defenseman Aaron Johnson. [The Cannon]
Chris Pronger was hurt last night, and hurt badly. Mikhail Grabovski shot the puck and his stick caught Pronger right in the face. Pronger, who does not wear a visor, immediately fell to the ice and skated to the bench as quickly as he possibly could. The injury is bad enough that he has been put on bed rest for at least three days and will be out for at least 2-3 weeks and Flyers medical staff may not allow him to return without a visor, possibly even a cage. [Broadstreet Hockey]
BlueJackets Xtra points out the unfortunate: with games against Detroit, Buffalo, and Chicago, it is very possible the Blue Jackets start the season winless in October and lose their first 11 games. [BlueJackets Xtra]

Discussion of the Day: Should the NHL require visors to prevent what happened to Pronger or to Steve Yzerman?

Quick Hits: Brett Hull Edition

Apocalyptic0n3 — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:23:53 -0000

A great little post game "nocap" — if there is a better term, please enlighten me — from The Scrappy Octopus which uses (and champions) JJ's CSSI to give Zac a +/- for the game. He came in at a resounding -12, about 3 points higher than Ty Conklin. [The Scrappy Octopus]
The namesake of this Quick Hits, Brett Hull is a god. He signed up for Twitter a few weeks ago and has apparently taken to trolling Sabres fans over his Cup winning goal in 1999 with hilarious photos and diagrams and tweets. [Puck Daddy]
Two trades this past weekend. First, the one that broke during the first period of our game with Washington which I heard got cancelled and was never played. The Florida Panthers traded David Booth, Steve Reinprecht, and a 2013 third round pick to the Vancouver Canucks for former Wing Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm. I think we can all agree that Dale Tallon is nuts, but let's also agree to laugh with Jefff that Samuelsson is going to rot in Florida now. [Nucks Misconduct - Litter Box Cats]
The second trade is minor in comparison. The Phoenix Coyotes traded Petteri Nokelainen and Garrett Stafford to the Montreal Canadiens for a 2012 7th round pick and Brock Trotter. Montreal gets some young talent they can develop, the Coyotes make some roster space. Like I said, minor. [Five for Howling]
Kerry Fraser details how assists are awarded in his latest column for TSN. Surprisingly enough, they are insanely lax on who gets them. Not as much as the Celtic's Rajon Rondo, but still far from what I was hoping. [TSN]
In case you missed it, the Blue Jackets blew a 1 goal lead by allowing two goals with 31 seconds left Saturday night to remain winless through 8 games played. The best part? They did it to the Ottawa Senators. [Puck Daddy]
Despite many, many, and even many more reports over the last week that there is a sect of GMs and owners who want to abolish fighting from hockey, NBC reports that there is "no desire" to do so. [NBC Sports]
The Lightning unleashed their Tesla Coil celebrations live for the first time and they look damn cool. Celebrate a Lightning goal with lightning? Awesome. We should find a similar way to celebrate... or we can just continue throwing cephalopods onto the ice. [Puck Daddy]
The NHL signed a major broadcast deal late last week that was fairly underreported. The deal will broadcast NHL games throughout Scandinavia. That's right in the KHL's backyard, which makes me rethink their "let's work to improve relations" statements after last month's accident. [SB Nation]

Discussion of the Day: A huge glaring lack of Red Wings news for this morning; it would seem people are not too keen on writing much on a Sunday after a blowout loss. That said, let's talk about the Wings, shall we? The Wings play Columbus on Tuesday, the Sharks on Friday, and the ~~Sharks again~~ Wild on Saturday this week. What are your expectations for these games? Who do you think plays on the fourth line and will Conk's performance Saturday night against Washington affect Babcock's playtime strategy?

Third Period Rally Thread

Apocalyptic0n3 — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 00:49:08 -0000

Down 4-1 heading into the third. LET'S DO THIS ALREADY.

Simply put, the most badass jersey ever. via Puck Daddy

Apocalyptic0n3 — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:32:26 -0000

Simply put, the most badass jersey ever. via Puck Daddy

Quick Hits: Hockey, Hockey is our Pizza, Pizza

Apocalyptic0n3 — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:22:33 -0000

Goods news, everyone! Tonight is the season opener. After so long off, we take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. [Detroit Free Press]
Due to injuries, the Blue Jackets will skate tonight with just over $100,000 in cap space. Not a bad position to be in if you are winless. [Cap Geek]
The Wings are happy with their third pairing of Jonathan Ericsson and Jakub Kindl. While some may see this as a confidence booster, I think it is bad news for Mike Commodore who was fighting for playing time to begin with. I think Kindl is continuing to prove to everyone that he is not a 7th defenseman. [MLive]
The Wings now have another off-time activity to play in the catacombs of the Joe – ping pong. Much like soccer before it, the Wings are apparently obsessed with it. [Detroit Free Press]
Valtteri Filppula has finally gotten the message: he is fifth on the team in shots, with 20 through the first four games. [Red Wings Front]
Puck Daddy's weekly "The 7 Players" segment landed on "The 7 Players we'd pay to watch in a shootout" and Pavel Datsyuk is their number one choice — and I have to agree. [Puck Daddy]
Sidney Crosby wants someone to hit him — and hit him hard — and JJ is really hoping it is Niklas Kronwall. [NBC Sports]
The Wall Street Journal Wonders if goalies have become too dominant in today's game. Honestly, they were far more dominant pre-lockout, in my eyes. [Wall Street Journal]
Oh, look at that. Alex Ovechkin finally 'broke' out with a multi-goal game last night as the Capitals remained unbeaten with a 5-2 win over the Flyers. [Japers Rink]
Despite pissing me off with a Wings quip in the first bullet point, The Cannon does an admirable job defending their team's rocky start. Granted, if they weren't just $100k under the cap and 0-5-1 to start the season, they wouldn't have to even be on the defensive (well, maybe they would since James Wisniewski is their top defenseman). [The Cannon]
Nucks Misconduct has come up with a great song to sing while blaming Roberto Luongo for their terrible start. [Nucks Misconduct]
Speaking of Luongo, a Vancouver sports writer is demanding that he be traded for Vincent Lecavlier. Someone forgot to mention to him how much loyalty and sticking to one team for your career means to Stevie Y. [Puck Daddy]
Ever wonder what it takes to get a goalie interference call without wearing #96 and a goal being scored? Read no further than this great explanation. [Defending Big D]
Wayne Gretzky says that he has had front office job offers from both the Oilers and Kings, both of whom would like to be bottom feeders owned by the league like his previous team. [TSN]
Bill Simmons, one of the better sports writers out there, has traded in his LA Clippers season tickets for Kings season ticket due to the lockout. He provides amazing insight in how he is converting to hockey and how he has never once not enjoyed a hockey game. A great read from Sports Guy that I highly recommend. [Grant Land]
Bad news, DirecTV users. It's looking like the satellite service will be dropping Fox — and, consequently, FSD — from its lineup on November 1. [Puck the Media]
If you're following Brendan Smith and Cory Emmerton on Twitter, you'll definitely appreciate this drawing from TPL's Stevie. If not, the drawing should teach you everything you need to know [The Production Line]

Discussion of the Day: Have goalies become too dominant as the Wall Street Journal writes?