July 28, 2005
Rink Notes
Brett Mirtle isn't happy with next year's schedule. Here are some more thoughts from an Ottawa perspective from Hockey Country (Black, Red and Gold to the milk carton!).
David Singer calls me out for my despair over seeing even more of the Southeastern Division next season:
Yup, and also six less games against teams like Minnesota, Anaheim and Phoenix - or were you dying to see the Wild come to town and play the Caps? Maybe the Caps could get revenge for that game they played in 03-04.
What's my answer? For that, let's go to Chicago, where the Trib is reporting that the league might re-align back into four divisions. As one of Phil Pilmar's readers notes, if it does, it ought to reinstate the orginal names -- Patrick, Adams, Smythe and Norris -- that were dumped when we went NBA-style.
And if it does, the Caps would get more games with their traditional rivals like the Rangers, Islanders, Flyers and Pengunis -- something that would help some when it comes to reviving interest at the gate.
Deadline for Carnival of the NHL #3 is 7:00 p.m. U.S. EDT. Send your submissions to Steve Ovadia at puck at popupdate.com.
Over at SI.com, Bill Syken is predicting doom for our favorite sport. Thanks to Kukla's Korner for the pointer.
In Detroit, the Wings have offered Stevie Y a one-year contract. Ken Holland and Mike Illitch await his answer. But despite what Stevie might do, Shanny will be back!
Darren McCarty says goodbye to Detroit:
What will I miss most about playing hockey in Detroit? That's simple. The fans. From the day-to-day coffee stop or gas station conversation to the people who say hello on the street or ask for an autograph at the checkout, there are no greater fans than those in Detroit.
These are the great things about my time as a Red Wing that I will always remember no matter where I go. Thank you to all of you. But please don't shed a tear 'cause it's over -- crack a smile 'cause it happened, and no one can ever take that away. I'll always be a Red Wing at heart, and Detroit will always be my home.
Thanks to On The Wings for the pointer. And thanks to Darren, who left it all on the ice every night he wore red and white at the Joe.
Patrick Elias will stay in the swamps of Jersey. The Isles signed a draft pick I never heard of before today. In Manhattan, things are much more interesting, asthe Jaromir Jagr saga continues. Check out the Rodent for the latest. And Al Montoya has inked a deal with the Blueshirts.
Phoenix will hold onto Derek Morris and Paul Mara, an announcement that I'm sure pleases both of their families.
Things are exciting in Boston too:
The Bruins on Tuesday made contract offers to five of their free agents, including captain Joe Thornton and defenseman Sergei Gonchar.
Also receiving offers were restricted free agent left wings Sergei Samsonov and P.J. Axelsson and right wing Martin Lapointe, who is unrestricted. Teams exclusively can negotiate with their free agents through July 31.
Super Joe is not pleased with the offer. For more thoughts, check out Steve Ovadia and Ben Wright. I'm still waiting on what Heather might have to say.
Yes, Sidney Crosby. But what about Anze Kopitar? We already know Brian Burke isn't that impressed.
Jim Mirtle is calling out Tom Benjamin on the Bob Goodenow execu-, er, I mean, resignation:
I'd like to hear Tom Benjamin's thoughts on the matter, as he clearly wasn't enamoured with the suggestions Goodenow should take a 24 per cent rollback on his salary. What about now that it's 100 per cent?
Please note that under the new CBA, had this challenge occurred after 3:00 p.m. on a Friday, Jim would have been subject to a blog misconduct and a five-day suspension In addition, his editor at the Globe and Mail would have been subjected to a hefty fine. Dangerous times these are.
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I wouldn't mind seeing the NHL go back to four divisions, although we'd probably have to do a few conference switches again and one or two teams may have to live with being somewhere else.
The old names would need to come back. Yes, people might be a little confused, but do they honestly think division names affect sport popularity?
Also, from the Detroit article I linked to:
There has been some speculation that the NHL will take the top two teams in each division, along with the next two best records, into the conference playoffs.
I can't say I'd be opposed to that either, although that "other" matchup may get little press compared to the others depending on the matchup (but generally you'd think there'd be less interest).
Posted by:
at July 28, 2005 02:58 PM
You know, at this point I really don't care what Joe Thornton thinks about staying in Boston. Sure, he played well last year, but that was not in the black and gold, so I don't see why he's suddenly due for a pay raise.
His lackluster play in the '04 playoffs against Montreal made me less of a fan. I know, I know, he was injured and all. But honestly, it looked like he didn't even try. I still have nightmares of shots missing wide and blind passes going to the wrong team. Up here in New England, I doubt that anyone will mistake his flak jacket for a bloody sock any time soon.
Posted by:
at July 28, 2005 03:42 PM
Certainly Nashville is a logical candidate for a conference switch. While Detroit is a good rival due to the Saturn effect, they really need to establish a rivalry with Atlanta also.
Posted by:
at July 29, 2005 08:55 AM
I love the idea of going back to 4 divisions and divisional playoffs. More rivalries. More hatred. More at stake each game.
It is something to help mitigate the effects of player turnover.... schedule consistency. The Red Sox/Yankees rivalry has rarely waned, even if the rosters change a lot..... it's important, and it's missing from the NHL.
ta,
Posted by:
at July 29, 2005 04:22 PM
I went around trying to find as many opinions on the new scheduling format and combined them all in one post: click here.
Don't worry Eric, David Singer seems to be in the minority. I know that I certainly don't want Detroit to play any team eight times a year much less Columbus.
Keep up the great work with this blog!
Posted by:
at July 30, 2005 03:50 PM
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