The Detroit Red Wings organization would like to thank the Minnesota Wild and the City of Minneapolis for their generous hospitality and we'd like to acknowledge the Vancouver Canucks/Boston Bruins for their exemplary diving abilities, potty mouths, and overall terrible goaltending by a certain former Islanders prospect while on the road, as well as their play that led to their Stanley Cup victory that brought the cup back to the True North for the first time in almost 20 years/ended a nearly 40 year drought for the city and fans of Boston.  Both teams played valiantly, albeit somewhat outside the rules throughout a wildly entertaining Final series.

Now, without further ado, with the 24th selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, the Detroit Red Wings are proud to select from Eliteserien Champion Färjestads BK Karlstad of the Swedish Elite League...Oscar Klefbom.

Continue reading this post »

 **Author’s Note: This is an article that conveys my personal opinion and mine alone.  This article in no way reflects the sentiments of any others who have commented on this particular subject or the proprietors of this website.**

Hockey is a game of respect, honor, skill, speed and finesse.  It is also a game of violence and brutality that separates it from the rather pedestrian walks of many other sports.  Fortunately and unfortunately, all of these qualities of the game were on display Friday night between the Isles and Pens. 

Continue reading this post »

"I swear guys, Lou never told me he was going to pay me THAT much!  Please don't hit me?!"

photo via PicApp

I can't even tell you how sick I am of this storyline.  Needless to say, 'bout friggin' time!  Check out the Devils website for the press conference at 1 PM tomorrow, 7/20/10.

Now that the saga to land one of the most coveted free agents in recent memory is over, how do you think think this bodes for the Islanders and the dominos that are sure to fall as result of Kovy's signing?  Get your thoughts down in the comments.

              "We need to talk..."

As reported by Katie Strang of Newsday (subscription required), the Islanders have not extended a contract renewal to long-time Assistant GM and Head of Amateur Scouting, Ryan Jankowski. It's gonna be sad to see Janks go as he's helped to put this team back to a place of respectibility.  Garth Snow will now assume the duties that will be left open by Jankowski's absence.

Here's what you might hear at your local AA meeting next week: "Hi everyone!  My name is Paul Kelly and I was wrongfully dismissed from my job as Executive Director of the NHLPA by a bunch of idiots because they believed I didn't pat them on the ass enough."

Wow.  That's about the best I can muster this morning as news filters down from TSN and around the blogosphere (The 7th Woman, Dee Karl has a nice writeup) that NHLPA Executive Director, Paul Kelly has been relieved of his duties.  Welcome to your next work stoppage hockey fans.

Continue reading this post »

It's amazing who you can meet at an event like the NHL Entry Draft. In my travels, I bumped into the face and radio voice of HockeysFuture.com, Dustin Nielson. After some very interesting conversation, I passed him a business card and really didn't think much of it.

Fast forward to last night when I received an e-mail from Dustin about doing a short spot on HockeysFutureRadio.com for tonight's show. You can't imagine how stoked I was to be able to contribute to such a comprehensive hockey research website. Make sure to head over to their site tonight and give it a listen.

I'll make sure to post the link once it's up so you guys can listen to it on my site just in case you miss it tonight.

[Update: Here's the link to the mp3 of the show, which also featured Adam Kimmelman of nhl.com, discussing the Heatley situation.]

With Dom out of the country until tomorrow evening, I felt it best to try and keep everyone on top of the current SBN Mock Draft situation.  Since, we chose John Tavares as our man at #1, there have been quite a few interesting picks as the teams have gone down the line. 

Here's the current table, and some questions about who we should take with the second selection at #26:

Continue reading this post »

Well folks, it's been fun.  We've been through a long, arduous season especially if you're an Islander fan.  Tonight it all comes down to who wants it more.  It comes down to who is willing to sacrifice mind, body and soul for a chance to hold the chalice many have spent their youth dreaming about.

For many team execs, this is the culmination of strategy and selection since the Draft the year before.  Did your team draft that last key cog?  Did you trade a draft pick here or player you really loved at the deadline to give yourself a shot at the Holy Grail?  How many times as fans, have you shook your fist at the TV or at the arena trying to will the players on the ice to victory?

Tonight, two cities and two teams and their fans get one last crack at it.  So Pens fans, don't forget those Tuxedos and Terrible Towels and Red Wings fans, don't forget that Motown Mojo.  One game to decide it all.  I don't think anyone would have wanted it any other way.

Enjoy tonight.  No matter which team you root for.

Well folks, it looks like I'm moving up in the world. Apparently, Dom despises me so much, that he just had to have me on his team instead of listening to my mouth (a la our pal Sean Avery). You know the Rangers are the only people in the hockey world who would actually consider saying anything remotely positive about that character.

Sincerely though, I'd like to thank Dom for his support and his faith that I'll be able to bring a different point of view to the table. It was an absolute thrill to have someone pledge their trust in me to do the kind of work I know I can.

I also can't forget my buddy here on Long Island, Mike Schuerlein a.k.a. IslesBlogger, who was instrumental in my indoctrination into the Blog Box group and subsequently my employ here. Thanks, man.

I look forward to providing some exciting content that will give our readers a good idea of things going on behind the scenes in the League Office. Such as topic #1: The GM meeting last week in Pittsburgh, where the issue of hits to the head in the new NHL landscape came up in conversation once again...

Continue reading this post »

I’d like to personally comment on the “new skate” theory. Fans must understand that the skates you buy in retail stores or online are not the same skates the pros wear. Custom skates have quite a few differences from their retail brethren because they are made stiffer, lighter and to the player’s personal specifications.

I can attest having purchased a pair of Graf customs via the Northeast NHL Graf representative. The skates can range in stiffness from 1-5. 1 is the off-the-shelf variety and 5 is akin to a ski boot in stiffness. I’m wearing a pair with 3 stiffness which is in the range the pros wear (between 3-5). The better the skater and the more you weigh are the determining factors for the stiffness of the skates. Elite skaters require a stiffer boot in the range of 3-4 because of the more aggressive skating that they are capable of. Without that stiffness, especially in the ankle, while in a turn the skates would most likely touch the ice and cause the skater to wipe out.
  
The argument I have is that most likely the “new skates” have nothing to do with players going down with groin and hip injuries. It is most likely due to the speed the game has achieved since the Lockout, the size and fitness of the players and the quality of the ice surface that they skate on.

When you put the kind of wear and tear on your body for upwards of 11 months out of the year it’s no surprise that these kinds of injuries (joints, muscle pulls, hips, knees, groin, etc.) will happen.

Also, if you’ve ever been on the ice after a period where a group of 40 men averaging 200lbs each have been skating for a 40 minutes you’ll notice that the ice is pretty torn up and that also has alot to do with injury issues.