NHL Thread

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Hell, if Darius Kasparitis can be a captain, who could we really rule out?

[nl5xsk1 0]

They don't have one that I can see.

 

Gill, Boynton and Leetch each had an 'A'. I think Gill will lose his when Murray comes back. I don't think they're going to have another captain this season.

 

I'd be surprised to see them leave Boynton as an A instead of Gill. For who-know-what-reason, the B's seem to think that Gill is deserving of that honor. Boynton seems to be a hair below him on the depth chart.

 

To be fair, he WAS a shitty Captain...

 

Great player though. Just never should have been given the C by Ftorek.

 

While I agree that he was a piss-poor captain, it's not like he had that fucking thing tattooed on his chest. There's been ample opportunities to take it off, and no one did.

 

Lastly, it seems that Toivenen is getting a lot of the playing time lately. I wonder if they're trying to showcase him to make him more attractive in a trade? At this point, I think that Raycroft would bring more back to the team, and I'd rather see them trade him & keep Hannu.

[the max 0]

I think Hannu's been getting more playing time because he's actually been performing well. Razor has been downright bad in some games and I think Sully was just going with the better goalie at the moment.

[Guest]

The Kings have the Leafs tonight. Finally this awful road trip is over, and hopefully we can get a win out of it.

[Fartsauce 0]

Steve Yzerman announced today that he is removing his name from the list of players considered for Team Canada. Just another example of why Steve is a class act. Oh, and the Leafs lost making my night better.

[Guest]

Thank god we broke that 4 game shitty streak.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Just a quick bitch about my former favorite team ... good to see that trading the best player on your team only shakes the team up for 2 games. A great win over Ottawa, followed by a good, come-from-behind win over Edmonton, followed by two ugly losses by a combined score of 9-3.

 

But at least that hood ornament Thornton is gone.

[bob_barron 0]

Roenick to Team USA: I better be on Olympic team

 

ESPN.com news services

 

 

When the United States announces its men's Olympic hockey team on Dec. 19, one player expects to make the cut ... or else.

 

Kings center Jeremy Roenick told The Los Angeles Times that he "better be" on the Olympic team that will compete in Turin, Italy, in February.

 

 

"It would be a travesty if I'm not," Roenick told the newspaper. "I know they want a youth movement, and they need to have one, but it'd be disrespectful of the guys who have gotten Team USA to this point internationally."

 

 

Roenick will be able to make his case Thursday night when the Kings face the Carolina Hurricanes, whose coach, Peter Laviolette, will also lead Team USA.

 

 

Roenick, 35, told The Times that if he doesn't make the cut, Team USA "better hope that I don't get a job as a commentator on NBC for [the Games], or it'd be 'Go Canada' all the way, and I don't want that."

 

 

The deadline for teams to submit their final Olympic rosters is Dec. 22, but the United States said it will announce its final list of 23 players on Dec. 19.

 

 

This season, Roenick has five goals and six assists in 26 games for the Kings.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Fuck Roenick. He better NOT be on the team. There's some older players that deserve to still be there, and some older players that don't. And JR is on the latter list.

 

Oh, and the 'I'll be rooting against them on the TV coverage' is both a stupid threat and also a reason for NBC not to choose him. He did a shitty job the last time he did TV coverage, anyways. I'd rather they put Hull or <gasp> someone with actual TV experience in the booth.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Bettman decided that hockey needed an outspoken cocky young black athlete like Terrell Owens, and with none in sight, creaky middle-aged white guy Jeremy Roenick has stepped up!

[the max 0]

I doubt Emerick would want to make the trip to Italy for the Games, but he'd be my first choice. Toss Bill Clement in as a color guy though.

[the max 0]

Boynton's out 4-6 weeks with a broken kneecap.

 

Losing...it's called Bruins.

[Red Baron 0]

I'm surprised that no one has posted this.

 

Canadian Press

 

12/8/2005 12:09:29 PM

 

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh Penguins owner-captain Mario Lemieux was discharged from a hospital Thursday after being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can be treated with medication and should not affect his career.

 

Lemieux, 40, was admitted to an undisclosed Pittsburgh hospital after practice Wednesday, after complaining of an irregular heartbeat - a condition team general manager Craig Patrick said Lemieux has experienced several times in recent weeks.

 

After being evaluated overnight, doctors diagnosed the problem and told Lemieux he should rest and go on medication. He is expected to take it easy for a week to 10 days, after which the team will determine when he can resume play.

 

Patrick said the condition should not affect Lemieux's life in any way and that the Hall of Famer should be able to return to the Penguins' lineup relatively soon. Patrick said Lemieux can start on the medication immediately and doctors do not expect any ill effects from it.

 

''We expect that he will be able to begin exercising in a matter of days and return to the lineup in a brief period of time,'' Patrick said at the team's practice Thursday morning.

 

Patrick said doctors aren't sure what brought on the condition, but that a number of factors can trigger it, including stress.

 

Lemieux has had numerous medical problems since his career began in 1984, including a bout with Hodgkin's disease in 1993 that was partly responsible for him sitting out the 1994-95 season.

 

Lemieux also has been sidelined for long periods with back and hip problems, and he missed two-thirds of the Penguins' 1990-91 Stanley Cup championship season with severe lower back pain. After retiring for 3½ years, he returned in December 2000 after buying the Penguins and has played since, but missed large portions of the 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons with hip injuries.

 

Lemieux recently missed two games because of what the team described as the stomach flu, but it was not immediately known if an illness that lingered for several weeks was related to his latest problem.

 

The NHL's No. 7 career scorer has seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points in 25 games this season, but recently had a four-game streak without a point that was the longest of his career.

 

Lemieux, who captained Canada's 2002 Olympic gold medal team in Salt Lake City even while playing with a badly injured hip, was to meet with Team Canada general manager Wayne Gretzky on Saturday in Pittsburgh. With Gretzky's Phoenix Coyotes on a six-day break until Sunday, Gretzky is scouting possible members to play in the Turin Olympics next February.

 

Earlier this season, Lemieux said he didn't want to be picked on his name alone, and that Canada would be better off taking a player such as the 18-year-old Sidney Crosby if Lemieux wasn't playing up to Olympic calibre.

 

Lemieux got off to a relatively fast start despite being out for nearly two years because of the hip injury and the NHL lockout, and had three multiple-point games in his first 10. But he has only one goal and two assists and is a minus-10 in his last 10 games.

 

Before this season began, Lemieux said he wanted to play a full season uninterrupted by medical problems for the first time since his second season in the league, 1985-86. But he has since said that, at his age, it's probably wise to miss some games to avoid getting worn down.

 

Lemieux is seventh in NHL career scoring with 1,722 points, eight fewer than No. 6 Steve Yzerman of Detroit. Lemieux is eighth in goals with 690.

 

 

As much as I like Lemeuix, I think it is time for him to hang it up.

[CanadianChris 0]

With Yzerman and likely Lemieux not on the Olympic team, it looks like Team Canada will select all three of Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Sidney Crosby, instead of having to choose only one or two.

[Red Baron 0]

Just don't put them on the same line together.

 

A line of Heatly, Spezza and St. Louis would be threatening though.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Boynton's out 4-6 weeks with a broken kneecap.

 

Losing...it's called Bruins.

 

That's the one silver lining to the Thornton trade - they played his "....... it's called Bruins" ad more than anyone else's. And the less I have to see that commercial, the better.

 

/thinks of the new ones that they're probably filming right now, with Big Hal Gill <shudder>

 

Question for you, Max ... when you see B's games on the hockey package, is it normally the NESN coverage or the other team?

[Brush with Greatness 0]

With Yzerman and likely Lemieux not on the Olympic team, it looks like Team Canada will select all three of Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Sidney Crosby, instead of having to choose only one or two.

 

I wouldn't be so sure.

 

Gagne-Sakic-Iginla

Richards-Lecalvier-St. Louis

Heatley-Thornton-Doan

??? - Draper/Madden - ???

 

Add in Bertuzzi, Smyth, Tanguay, and Marleau. I'm not saying that those are necessarily the guys that I feel should be there, but the guys I think that will be there.

 

That's 14 forwards (only counting Draper and Madden as one entry). That means of those 14 guys, Crosby, Spezza, and Staal will all have to beat out 5 of them.

 

So just out of curious, which 5 of those 14 forwards is Canada not going to take, instead opting for the 3 kids?

 

Personally speaking, looking at the top line, I think you need to take all three. On the second line, as tough as it is, I might not take St. Louis. Other two are there for sure though. Tough call on St. Louis. On the third line, Thornton and Heatley are obvious. Doan is very borderline in my opinion, but I don't think there is anyway that Gretzky won't take his captain (which means Smyth will probably make it in the end too - however I won't). I'd probably take Madden for a 4th line centre too.

 

My lines would be (and this is subject to change at any time)

 

Heatley - Spezza - Iginla

Gagne - Sakic - Richards

Lecalvier - Thornton - Bertuzzi (you could obviously always swap one of these guys with one guy on the second line depending on the matchup)

Marleau - Madden - Doan

 

That leaves off Crosby, Tanguay, Staal, Draper, St. Louis and Smyth.

[CanadianChris 0]

Tanguay and Marleau won't be there. Bertuzzi is a big question mark -- I personally wouldn't take him. Doan, I dunno. I also think they'll only end up going with two of the three Lightning.

 

If only two of the three young'uns are picked, Staal will probably be the guy left home.

[mike546 0]

Fuck Crosby and Olvechkin, PETER PRUCHA bitches.

Edited December 9, 2005 by mike546

[the max 0]

Boynton's out 4-6 weeks with a broken kneecap.

 

Losing...it's called Bruins.

 

That's the one silver lining to the Thornton trade - they played his "....... it's called Bruins" ad more than anyone else's. And the less I have to see that commercial, the better.

 

/thinks of the new ones that they're probably filming right now, with Big Hal Gill <shudder>

 

Question for you, Max ... when you see B's games on the hockey package, is it normally the NESN coverage or the other team?

 

It's the home team's feed.

[Guest]

Fuck Roenick. He better NOT be on the team. There's some older players that deserve to still be there, and some older players that don't. And JR is on the latter list.

 

Oh, and the 'I'll be rooting against them on the TV coverage' is both a stupid threat and also a reason for NBC not to choose him. He did a shitty job the last time he did TV coverage, anyways. I'd rather they put Hull or <gasp> someone with actual TV experience in the booth.

Ha. Roenick's played so shitty this season that he couldn't make the Latvian team.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Gagne-Sakic-Iginla was money in 2002...why mess with success?

 

Although the suggestion of Heatley and Spezza with Iggy gave me wood.

 

I'd like to see:

 

Richards-Lecavalier-St. Louis

Gagne-Sakic-Iginla

Tanguay-Spezza-Crosby

Thornton-Madden-Smyth

 

The checking centre role leaves off Marleau, unfortunately, who I've always liked. Smyth represents everything good about Canadian hockey, IMO.

 

THough he's kinda cooled off, Staal should be the 13th forward.

 

I'm a bit worried that Crosby won't be as good in Turin without Lemieux.

Assming this team gets in, only 3 of the forwards have Olympic experience, which is a bit iffy, although everyone has some kind of international experience, be it Juniors, Olympic or World Cup.

 

There's a few interesting questions of who has played their way on/off the team. As my dad said when we had this talk last week "Well, shit, this is a great 'problem' to have".

Edited December 9, 2005 by CanadianGuitarist

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

Crosby barely plays on Lemieux's line ever, so he'll probably be fine without him.

 

That being said, the Pens played wretched tonight without Lemieux, getting trapped to all fuck by Minnesota and getting blanked in the process of showing just about no effort on home ice. Crosby looked like the only guy with half a jump in his step. It was borderline pathetic.

[nl5xsk1 0]

It's the home team's feed.

Have you noticed Andy Brickley becoming a brutally bad 'homer' at all lately? It seems that since the season started he's ramped up being a pro-Bruins/not-at-all-impartial announcer ... I'm wondering how much of that is forced upon him by the team. And while I'm bitching about NESN coverage, how brutally bad is Simpson as a rinkside reporter. He's painful to watch & listen to ... and is also a brutal 'homer' announcer. NESN used to have such good, impartial reporting, it sucks to see them change like this. (and on an unrelated note, I have to admit that I'm wicked fired up by the girl that does the Noah's Ark joke for that lighting company.)

 

And for everyone naming names for the CDN Olympic team ... is it confirmed that Nash won't be there? Him & Thornton played really well together, I'd think about putting those two together again.

[Red Baron 0]

They might not take Nash because of his recent injuries that have been bugging him all season.

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

At this point you go with who deserves it instead of experience. There is no one who could realistically argue that Spezza shouldn't go. Him and Heatley are the best 1-2 punch in hockey and give them Thornton or Iginla or Nash and they'll be the best line in the Olympics.

[Kismet 0]

My first chance to see a full game of Ovechkin tonight( I curse my current coverage). Hopefully he puts on a decent show. And though I'm a bit late to comment on it, I agree, Fuck Roenick.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Dirty Hippy, it's never too late to say Fuck Roenick.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Crosby barely plays on Lemieux's line ever, so he'll probably be fine without him.

 

That being said, the Pens played wretched tonight without Lemieux, getting trapped to all fuck by Minnesota and getting blanked in the process of showing just about no effort on home ice. Crosby looked like the only guy with half a jump in his step. It was borderline pathetic.

 

True about them never reall yplaying on the same line, but I think Lemieux is doing wonders for Crosby mentally and keeping him level-headed.

[JustJoe2k5 0]

Eric Staal may be one of the funnest players to watch play. In just his second year in the NHL, he makes it look so easy.