KK Members Blog

Random Offseason Musings on the Eve of July 1st…

Hippy Dave — 2009-06-30T20:59:55-05:00

What can I say, I go away for four days to spend my time floating down a river on an innertube drinking as many Modelos as the clock has hours on it and I come back and all hell has broken loose.

Oh right, it’s the draft…

Pronger To Philly
I have to say, happy to see Pronger leave Anaheim; they almost went all the way last postseason and anything that weakens them makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Also happy to see the Penguins have one more thorn in their side. Enoy him, you bastards, we’ve dealt with him long enough.

And then I check the calendar this morning, sipping my PBR at 2am PST because I’ve gotten sucked into watching a TiVo’ed goddamn 3 hour draft, and realize that July 1st is a Day Away.

Jesus, and I thought I was going to get a break from all this.

Continue reading "Random Offseason Musings on the Eve of July 1st…"

How Do You View the Minor Hockey League Hierarchy?

Primis — 2009-06-19T14:56:07-05:00

An interesting debate has been brewing in minor hockey forums lately about minor hockey’s place in the world, and in terms of how the leagues are viewed stacked against each other. Hockey doesn’t have an extremely-clear minor hierarchy like baseball does, and now franchise movement form league to league has brought about questions as to whether they are parallel moves, or moves upward.

Where does “AAA” fit in, and is the KHL included? I’m including the KHL in the discussion because it’s an interesting twist, in a way…

Or what about the “AA”? ECHL has been considered traditionally as “AA”, but both CHL and IHL have made claims to being “AA” as well.

So it got me to wondering: how do NHL fans see the minor hockey leagues stack up against each other?

So… I’m turning to you guys, the readers of KK. How do *you* guys (primarily NHL fans) think the following minor leagues stack up (I’ve listed them in nor particular order), in terms of level and hierarchy? Please take the list below and respond in the comments with your listing, highest to lowest.

NHL… ECHL… KHL… IHL… AHL… CHL…

If you could, please also include some explanations as to why you feel that way.

Thanks.

Where were you?

Hippy Dave — 2009-05-30T12:42:51-05:00

So I got curious and started clicking around the various user names online from day to day. I found some interesting things out about you people. What struck me as most fun to observe was how recently people have joined as a regular, non-lurking member of Kukla’s Korner. I know we all go through a phase of “experimentation” before we sign up, but the little dates on our profiles are the only concrete record of when we started to really pay attention. Moreover if marks a moment in time we decided to start participating in this great blog.

I noticed some really interesting patterns off the bat…

- Paul of course was the first signee, on at 5/23/2005. I believe the Red Wings were still involved in the playoffs at that point.

- Interesting names, cool to see George Malik was one of the firsts.

- Weird it shows Older Than Chelios has 0 posts, yet I know this not to be true.

- Puckhound gets #3 best first-ish poster award, Baroque, Steve, and RWBill not far behind.

- Spector took a whole year to join up.

- I joined on 7/31/2006, a WHOLE DAY before IwoCPO joined up. Great minds think alike. Or are at least motivated by the same things.

- Also before the days of Alanah...

What I would like to know from you is when you joined, that day, what were you thinking? What made you want to participate? What was going on and why did you join? There have got to be some good stories here. This isn’t a pissing contest, most of us would get out-pissed before we could say “cheddar.” I’m just really interested in the culture of this thing and knowing the “where were you” of when you joined. Indulge Me.

A Guide to Playoff Prognostication: A Look at How the Experts Make Their Picks

Mandingo — 2009-05-18T17:47:01-05:00

The prognostication game is a very difficult business. There is a reason why it’s reserved only for the best and brightest of pundits—because it requires an almost preternatural ability to understand the game of hockey in a way most regular fans simply cannot. The casual fan may think he or she has what it takes but—make no mistake—their hockey acumen is no match for someone with a Communications degree and a close relative and/or fraternity brother in the business.

Members of the mainstream North American hockey media spend countless hours watching games, considering strengths and weaknesses of respective teams, breaking down statistics…and then go on to pick the Rangers to win the Stanley Cup for no other reason than they’re from New York.

It’s this unbiased, diligent consideration of the facts that separates professionals from those who are simply fans. If Linda Cohn thinks the Rangers can beat everyone in the Eastern Conference (plus the Red Wings), rest assured it’s because of their stunning regular and post-season success over the past four years and not because the cover of her autobiography is a picture of her wearing a Mark Messier jersey. This willingness to think outside the box is what differentiates someone like her from an amateur who would take the easy route and make evidence-based predictions.

Her colleague, respected hockey journalist and fellow Communications scholar John Buccigross, is just as assiduous in his sizing up of the season to come. By rigorously uncovering clues and hidden symbols in various song lyrics from whatever adult-contemporary-posing-as-rock-bands happened to be shuffling through his iPod at the time, Bucci very astutely predicts Montreal as your 2008-2009 Stanley Cup champion. Based on sheer blood instinct—and the positive vibes of the Little River Band’s wimp-rock stylings—Bucci likes the Habs because, hey, it’s their 100th anniversary and they are “balanced, well-managed and have a positive energy.”

Continue reading "A Guide to Playoff Prognostication: A Look at How the Experts Make Their Picks"

Red Wings fans need to Return the Hate

Animal Drew — 2009-05-15T12:22:13-05:00

It was a cold, cloudy morning on January 1st, 2009. The old man and I were driving through the wind-swept streets of Chicago, trying to find the nice, young lady who had offered up her garage as a place to park. We called her on her cell-phone and she graciously came down to the street to meet us and show us where to go. We jumped out of the car and started throwing on our Red Wings gear over long underwear, sweatpants, etc. I put on my Zetterberg jersey that I’ve had since his rookie season. The old man had a bright red Winter Classic Red Wing hooded-sweatshirt.

A few more cars pulled into the small in the adjacent alley as we got out our small grill and opened up a few pre-packed beverages. Not surprisingly, the cars parking nearby were filled with Blackhawks fans. One of them wandered over towards us and initiated some fairly friendly small talk. We exchanged forced compliments of each other’s teams and discussed the current weather and our long drive from Michigan in the early hours of the morning.

It was at this time that the gentleman’s friend came over with his small child. The little boy was wearing nothing hockey-related…just a blue winter coat and a non-denominational wool hat. “What team do you root for?” I asked in a friendly tone…the boy said nothing. With a stone-cold look on his face, the boy’s father replied with “The Blackhawks…we don’t come from a trailer park.” There was no jest in his voice; this was not meant to be taken lightly.

Continue reading "Red Wings fans need to Return the Hate"

Wings vs Hawks: Can it be done?

Hippy Dave — 2009-05-15T04:02:49-05:00

I was ready for the loss. I was ready to even come up with a phrase that the Chief might find useful for the next few years describing our defeat: “The Bullshit.” It made sense at the time; a team that played really, really hard. That arguably bent the rules as far as a team can in order to win. A team that backed that up with equally solid play. A team that played that strong forecheck and aggressive play that makes us chip and chase, which is so foreign to our system, along with the strong goalie; the formula that beats the wings every damn year that we lose a series.

However it is not so, for our man who bleeds Wings Red came through along with the rest of the team when it counted.

Props to Anaheim. Damn, you played so well I wouldn’t have felt THAT bad that we lost to you. Well played. Handshakes all around. I believe neither side would have had a pimply faced preteen crying in their pillows on YouTube.

Now comes the challenge, Chicago. Wrigley field ain’t got nothing on this.

Sat Oct 25, 2008 6 - 5 SO Win Wings
Sat Dec 6, 2008 4 - 5 SO Win Wings
Tue Dec 30, 2008 0 - 4 Win Wings
Thu Jan 1, 2009 6 - 4 Win Wings
Sat Apr 11, 2009 4 - 2 Loss to the Blackhawks
Sun Apr 12, 2009 0 - 3 Loss to the Blackhawks

This record may look like a winning one. But we eeked out those first two games. Rack the middle to up to hangover. The latter two were downright scary. I watched all those games, but the last two rattled me.

All season I knew, in my gut, or maybe lower, than it would come to this. And let me tell you, if I were a betting man (which I am outside of hockey, insomuch as my heart gets in the way), I’d put money on the Hawks. I hate to say it. But they’re going to work us over harder than Anaheim. Can we do it? I hope so. Can they do it? I hope not. The truth is, we both can. And that scares the sh*t out of me. These scrappy little youngsters care more about winning than we do right now, and we have to wake up and smell the.... well.. whatever the hell Chicago smells like.

Your thoughts?

Maholo,
The Hippy

Anti-European Sentiment in the Canadian Hockey Media Is Getting Out of Hand

Mandingo — 2009-05-05T17:46:23-05:00

Every major sport in North America has stubborn traditionalists in its media ranks. ESPN’s Joe Morgan seems to honestly believe that the Golden Age of Baseball ended the day he retired, and much of what has come since is an insult to the game or “not the way the game is supposed to be played.” In both his MLB and NFL coverage, Joe Buck often engages in embarrassing, maudlin displays of orthodoxy, most famously his ridiculous overreaction to the Randy Moss touchdown celebration against the Green Bay Packers in the 2005 playoffs.

While these traditionalists can be infuriating, you never get the sense that they are indicting a specific group of people, but rather the natural (or, in their eyes, unnatural) progression of the sport. In other words, Joe Morgan doesn’t think baseball has become tarnished due to, say, the influx of Latin and Asian players; he’s just an egotistical jerk who thinks his generation was the greatest and will not accept otherwise. Joe Buck’s issue with the Randy Moss touchdown dance wasn’t that Moss represents the black, urban “gansterization” of football; he’s just an easily offended prude who probably gets uncomfortable around nude sculptures in art museums.

But much of the traditionalism, if you can call it that, emanating from the Canadian hockey media lately carries with it a not-so-subtle implication—that Europeans are not only what’s wrong with the sport, but they are, by nature of their place of birth, inferior to Canadians.

What’s truly shocking is not so much that this undercurrent of xenophobia exists in the Canadian media—because it has for a long time now—but that so many people seem to think it’s a legitimate, defensible position or, at the very least, chalk it up to simply being a lovable quirk of Canadian culture or a byproduct of their passion for the game.

I suppose it would be even more troubling if it wasn’t so pathetically transparent. One need only look at the top five scoring leaders or the three Hart finalists this year to understand the root of this growing anti-European sentiment. Since gaining a foothold in the league, there’s a reason the treatment of European players in Canada has gone from leery non-acceptance to near outright hostility. And it doesn’t have anything to do with “heart” or “toughness” or whatever easily leveled, stereotypical charge you can throw at them. Anyone who understands the psychology of fear can see those charges for the red herrings they are.

The real reason behind this growing hostility, of course, is that Canadians can see their death grip on worldwide hockey dominance slipping away. In truth, it might be already gone. If you look at the probable rosters for Vancouver in 2010…well…let’s just say Canada likely won’t be the favorite on paper.

Continue reading "Anti-European Sentiment in the Canadian Hockey Media Is Getting Out of Hand"

Hippy Challenge: Name your favorite next Wings player theme song

Hippy Dave — 2009-04-12T12:33:26-05:00

So remember how good the Wings’ hockey DJ used to be with player name tunes? Shanahan’s Jig. Wooley’s Wooley Bully tune; Now all I know is Cleary’s ‘I can see clearly now,’ Sunshiny Day tune, nice try but having lost a few players we need more.

Sure we have the “Hold Me” song for holding, “Get over it” when we’re trying to get over a bad goal, but I’m talking player-specific tunes.

I’m calling out the Kuklas Korner readership, soliciting clever ideas for future theme songs our trusty Wings DJ (Paul: Got his name?) should play for whenever a certain active player on our roster is worth noting for a goal, fight, over otherwise.

I’ll open the bidding:

Why aren’t they playing the Hossa Hossa Hossa Hossa! song?

Another,
Chris Chelios: “Old Man” by Neal Young : http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/neilyoung/oldman.html

Enver Lisin - NHL’s Worst Defensive Forward?

JesGolbez — 2009-03-17T18:45:05-05:00

Enver Lisin, a 2nd round pick of the Coyotes back in 2004, is supposed to be a part of the team’s future. He’s got a lot of speed, that’s for sure.

The problem? he’s been hurting his team in the present, a LOT.

Over the course of his short career, Lisin has played a season’s worth of games and has an atrocious +/- stat.

I know +/- can be a flawed stat for many reasons, but when it’s a rather large number in any direction, it generally says something about the player. In this case, it is obvious that Lisin is on the ice for many goals scored against, and it isn’t a one-season fluke.

One has to wonder just how much better off the Coyotes would have been if they had not played Lisin at all. He doesn’t put up a lot of points, and has obviously cost the Coyotes quite a few goals against with his inattention to his own end. It’s not like Lisin is going up against top lines like Samuel Pahlsson.

Checking out Behind the Net’s advanced stats, Lisin is right down near the bottom, with only Rod “The Bod” Brind’Amour and his awful season below him.

I’d have to say, without digging too deep, that Lisin is the worst defensive forward in the league, and would be better off in the AHL until he isn’t such a negative nelly.

NHL Considers Banning Fights—Are They Nuts?

Puckcentral.net — 2009-03-16T16:25:30-05:00

There has been a lot of talk over the past few months about removing fighting from hockey. Let’s be honest, there are a few in the media who continuously bring this up at every opportunity that they can get. Unfortunately this season there have been two incidents in particular (the tragic death of Don Sanderson the result of a fight in the OHA and shortly thereafter a fight in the AHL that resulted in Garrett Klotz being taken off of the ice on a stretcher). This was fodder for the anti-fighting proponents in the media and in the NHL. Ever since it seems like you can’t go to TSN.ca without having to read an article that is anti-fighting or listening to a Versus/NBC telecast where one commentator completely rips a part the idea of fighting in hockey.

Despite what some might like you to believe—for example TSN continues to have headlines on their main page that would have you thinking that most fans want to get fighting out of the game. For example, a headline a few weeks back that indicated that “Majority Want Fighting Eliminated!”—However, when you read the article you see that the survey was conducted not just of hockey fans but amongst the general population of Canada. In fact the article even specified “68 per cent of NHL fans who follow the NHL closely say the gloves should continue to drop.” How can you run an article on the front of your website with such a misleading title? Why would anyone care what a typical Canadian thinks of fighting in hockey? Wouldn’t it seem obvious that the people who actually watch hockey, pay for season tickets, pay for individual games, pay for NHL apparel would be the one’s whose opinion would count? If 68% of NHL Fans are in favor if fighting—why is this even an issue?

Continue reading "NHL Considers Banning Fights—Are They Nuts?"

BGSU Hockey In Jeopardy

OHWingsFan40 — 2009-03-12T15:38:59-05:00

Dear KK Readers,

My name is Jeremy Pellek and am a Senior at Bowling Green State University. In light of the current tough economic times, and lack of state funding, BGSU will experience a $6-10 million budget shortfall for this coming fiscal year. As it stands now, many part-time employees will be let go after the school year ends, but further cuts need to be made to negate this substantial loss of money. Recently, it has surfaced that one possible cut may come in the form of the varsity hockey program. While the hockey program has struggled on the ice the past decade, it remains rich in history and tradition, and provided the school with it’s only NCAA National Championship in 1984.

Bowling Green competes in the CCHA against the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, etc. It’s arena is considered one of the oldest and run down buildings in all of college hockey. As programs like Miami OH and Notre Dame have built new facilities, Bowling Green has fallen behind in terms of recruiting and winning teams. The university originally allotted money for arena renovations, but unfortunately this money has been taken off the table, while alumni donations for the Stroh Center, a new facility for the basketball programs have been collected.

Bowling Green’s hockey tradition includes current NHLers Rob Blake, Ken Klee, Kevin Bieksa, coaches Jerry York of Boston College, Ron Mason, former AD at Michigan State, and current coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins Dan Bylsma. Other notable alumni include Capitals GM George McPhee, play-by-play announcer Mike “Doc” Emrick, and Ken Morrow and Mark Wells from the Miracle on Ice team.

If you are on Facebook, we urge you to join the group created to save BGSU hockey.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=71342390743&ref=mf

Also, you are welcome to join the discussion on the BGSU fan board.
The loss of a national champion in college hockey will have very negative consequences for the sport. We encourage any and all hockey fans to help us keep college hockey alive at Bowling Green.

Central Divison: From patsy to powerhouse?

BuzzFledderjohn — 2009-03-07T23:39:09-05:00

It’s been said for quite a while that the success of the Detroit Red Wings in the regular season is due to their beating-up of divisional opponents. While it’s historically been a weaker division, it’s actually become quite a bit stronger in recent seasons. As late as last year’s playoffs, we’d heard many broadcasters bring up the idea that the Wings pad their regular season points totals due to playing a weak division all season long, despite the fact that their record against their own division last season was far worse than their records against other divisions.

When the Wings won the Stanley Cup last year, it seemed to silence most about the subject. Still, a lot of writers’ season previews still had most Central teams missing the playoffs and staying in the bottom of the conference standings. However, what we’ve seen play out this year has been a drastic difference from years past: the Central division is arguably one of the, if not THE, strongest in the NHL. Here’s some data to support my thesis (as of the standings the morning of Saturday, March 7, 2009).

The following is a summary of all games played against divisons, with points earned, points earned per game, and percentage of possible points earned against the divisions. Note: all data includes only the records of OTHER divisions against the named division (e.g. the “Points Earned Against Central” are for the five other divisions, and do not include the Central division itself). To read this chart in plain English, take the column heading, append the division name and total, and prepend “For all other divisions combined”, to get something like this: “For all other divisions combined, their points earned against the Central division is a total of 242”.

Continue reading "Central Divison: From patsy to powerhouse?"

BOOOO Sundin!

ThinkinPink — 2009-02-20T23:07:32-05:00

Mats Sundin is coming back to town tomorrow. I have appreciated watching him play for the past 13 years here in Toronto, but I’m still booing the guy. As his final gesture to Toronto, he left, when he could have been the gift that kept on giving. Sundin could have brought in a boatload during last year’s trade deadline, but declined his waive his no-trade clause, knowing he was not going to return to TO. Had he waived his NTC, it could have sparked a wave of waving NTC’s from Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe, which would have brought in a number of players, including Jeff Carter. So rather than Sundin leaving on a good note, he left on a sour note, and that is the note that I would be singing to tomorrow night.

Time to Fire Chris Osgood!!!!

Primis — 2009-02-16T17:22:12-05:00

OK, so that’s not an option like firing the head coach is. I just wanted to feel like I belonged here, since the previous two blog posts were about firing someone.

However, there definitely is a problem in net for the Red Wings, as yesterday’s miserable performance showed once and for all. And it’s not going away. While the Red Wings have now finally stopped giving up quite so many shots a game, the Goal Against have stayed steady. And that points the finger then squarely at the goalies.

So what is Osgood’s problem? (I’m focusing on Osgood because Conklin, while not stellar, hasn’t been so terrible either).

#1, Osgood is not controlling rebounds.

We’ve seen some goals scored on him lately that involve crazy bounces, including a terrible one yesterday against Colorado. Ozzy is not playing it as safe as he needs to and is still trying to force things, that’s clear. He still needs to simplify his game some more and control those rebounds. He not a Hasek-twitch-reflex goalie and never has been, and it almost looks like that’s what he’s playing like as of late.

#2, Osgood is not 100% square on shots.

I’m not sure why this hasn’t been mentioned more, but he’s not getting good positioning on some of the shots. This is sometimes leading to the rebounds mentioned above, if not the puck just blowing by him outright. Again, simplicity… just get square. Going back to some fundamentals would help him immensely.

#3, Osgood, despite everything he says, is NOT relaxed out there.

Osgood’s best trait is his relaxed demeanor. Last season during the Cup run he never panicked, never looked frantic in net. This year, he looks both, and the rest of the team is feeding off it negatively. If he can get back to basics, the calmness will likely follow. But until then, he’s going to play and look like a wounded duck out there.

So what to do?

I’m not sure. Conklin is not the answer, that much is still clear. He’s a good backup… but not going to take the starting load and not consistent enough himself. Howard and Larsson aren’t ready for Cup runs either. With that in mind, as well as DET’s lack of cap space, I think at this point it’s safe to say that the Wings are going to ride Osgood, for better or worse, and hope that he can straighten himself out.

In the meantime, if you’re a Wings fan reach for the Pepto. You’re going to need it for at least a while yet....

Time to Fire Michel Therrien!!!

Kevin182 — 2009-02-15T11:30:49-05:00

Seriously, how long will it be till we see Michel Therrien fired? How many more excuses will we see? I saw the meltdown begin during Stanley Cup Finals calling the Wings cheaters with obstruction, diving, acting, and so on.

Yes he did coach the Pens to the SC Finals but now this is a different team with different players and you have to adjust. The excuses continued this season but last season it obviously worked. Michel has called out plenty of players and there were more excuses in interviews. Come on, when will you start coaching instead of making excuses and calling out your players.

After watching last night’s game against Toronto, I feel he needs to go. No more excuses after leading 2-0 and giving up 6 unanswered goals. If the playoffs started today; Therrien = FAIL. Hmmm maybe I need to make an excuse for writing this blog....

Time to Fire Guy Carbonneau: Montreal Canadiens Sinking Fast

Slasher98 — 2009-02-12T19:41:13-05:00

After the Canadiens’ fourth consecutive loss against the Oilers yesterday, it is clear that the Canadiens players don’t want to play for their coach anymore. They have lost nine of their past 11 games, during which they scored only 25 goals (2.27 GF per game) and surrendered an astounding 48 goals (4.36 GA per game).

The Habs have lost their last seven road games and have still four road games to go before returning home on Feb. 21 against Ottawa.

Carbonneau keeps juggling his lines like a Cirque du Soleil juggler, trying to find some chemistry among his players, but since they don’t play together for more than a few shifts, it’s hard to build chemistry.

Carbonneau doesn’t have a game plan. The Canadiens don’t fore-check, can’t make a good first pass, are unable to clear the front of the net, don’t finish their checks, and don’t win one-on-one battles. They clearly need to go back to basics; however, they don’t practice. Carbonneau prefers sending them to a bowling alley to hone their shooting skills.

The Canadiens are lucky to have registered that many points this season, because they’ve been sloppy most of the season, but they have been able to win some games because of their talent. The problem is that the farther we get into the season, the harder it is to win games without working, and the Canadiens don’t work. As soon as they get scored on, they stop hustling and playing hard; they simply give up.

When you give up, it means you don’t care, and that’s the job of the coach to make the players care, which is not happening right now.

I know that Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau are close friends, but it’s time to put an end to their working relationship, especially since Gainey can’t find a trading partner just yet because of the salary cap. We are still three weeks away from the deadline, and the Canadiens can’t afford to wait that long to make changes.

The Senators waited way too long before canning Craig Hartsburg, as I had predicted on Jan. 7, 2009 here > Hartsburg to be fired (Hartsburg was fired at the beginning of February).

GM Bob Gainey must make his move NOW! Time to put a veteran coach behind the bench—someone with extensive experience like Larry Robinson, Bob Hartley, or John Tortorella.

Stay tuned!

Yuppies, TSN, and the Concussion Summit…

siggy — 2009-02-12T18:16:34-05:00

It’s been a while since I’ve come through with a bog entry. A new son (in addition to a 22 month old son) quickly eats up your time.

That said, I can’t stand this fighting talk nonsense anymore. The yuppie media hasn’t missed a chance to ram the anti-fighting drivel down our throats. Forget what the players have to say. Forget what the fans have to say. The yuppie media wants changes; and by God you are going to hear about it.

Leading the charge as always is TSN. Their most recent (well I haven’t checked in a couple hours) article focuses on the little known “Concussion Summit.” Apparently this Summit wants to completely ban fighting at all levels of hockey. From TSN:

“Fighting should be eliminated from hockey at all levels of the game, according to recommendations released Tuesday from an expert panel dealing with concussions in hockey… Fighting is one of the known causes of concussion, and may result in the related long-term complications,” the panel’s summary statement says. “Fighting can cause needless death.”

I have to ask, how long did it take the” expert panel” to come up with this Earth-shattering conclusion? May, can, might, could, would… let’s get them all in while we’re at it.

And before they concluded their “expert” research, did they ever take a look at crosschecking, tripping, slewfooting, highsticking, boarding, hitting from behind, shooting a puck over 80 mph, skating with razor sharp skates at breakneck speeds?

Because, my expert research concludes that the above actions too “may result in the related long-term complications [of concussions]… and [insert above actions] can cause needless death.”

Fight Breaks Out During ‘Nucks Practce

ThinkinPink — 2009-01-30T17:45:06-05:00

In the midst of Vancouver’s worst slide of the year, Willie Mitchell check Mason Raymond hard during a drill, and Raymond retaliated with a few cross checks. The scuffle ended when Shane O’Brien challenged Mitchell to a fight.

yikes.

link

Red Wings Options with Players and Payroll

hankyspanky40 — 2009-01-27T18:52:49-05:00

You know me I am always tinkering. Looking at ways to keep the roster somewhat intact and payroll not insane. A couple of options I thought of, and keep in mind I used the payroll info from Red Wings Central for players currently under contract for 2009-2010.

Continue reading "Red Wings Options with Players and Payroll"

All-Star Controversy - What Really Matters

Nathan — 2009-01-27T18:30:02-05:00

It has been quite a week.

As all frequent KK readers are undoubtedly aware, there’s been a bit of a debate as to whether or not the league is justified in “suspending” Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk for one game as a punishment for the players absence from the All-Star Weekend festivities.

I’m a die-hard Red Wings fan. Plain and simple. For that reason, I don’t think I need to go into details about my opinion on the “suspensions”. I feel that forcing Lidstrom and Datsyuk to miss a game does nothing more than punish thousands of fans that have paid good money to see meaningful, regular season NHL hockey.

A number of my fellow Wings fans are calling for Ken Holland/Mike Babcock/Red Wings brass to do something drastic to prove a point. For instance, some people feel Holland should call up players to replace Lidstrom and Datsyuk, even if it puts the team over the cap. Others think that Babcock should instruct Lidstrom and Datsyuk to dress and simply defy the suspension. And more think that the club should just forfeit the game on principal alone.

I won’t bore you with my reasons why I think all these methods are wrong—because they don’t matter.

What matters is this—the Detroit Red Wings—from the Ilitch family, to Jimmy Devellano, to Ken Holland, Steve Yzerman, and Jim Nill, all the way down to Mike Babcock and his players on the pro roster, even down to the Grand Rapids Griffins and their stable of prospects and coaches that work hard to feed the big club with NHL-ready talent—every last one of these people is total class.

Ken Holland will undoubtedly stand up for his players, as he already did by telling them to stay home and just take the “suspensions”. In the face of criticism, he will never ally with any side or opinion other than that which is best for these two players and this organization.

But one other thing you can take to the bank is that Ken Holland, Mr. Ilitch, and company, will most certainly not undercut the league. Because they never have and never will stoop to the level the NHL operates at. They are above that. All of them. Every last person involved in this team is above it. Detroit will take the high road—Lidstrom and Datsyuk will sit, the team will play short a man, and every player that’s on the bench tonight will play harder to make up for it, and they’ll be proud win or lose.

When the inept owners and management groups of teams in non-hockey markets wouldn’t start a season without a cap and revenue sharing, did Mike Ilitch go crying to the press about it? Did Ken Holland whine about how it wasn’t fair that he’d have to curtail his spending toward building a winning club in order to subsidize teams with trash in the front office and trash on the ice? As the 2009 offseason rapidly approaches, has Ken Holland complained that the cap system is likely to force him to lose home-grown talent that his ace scouts worked their asses of to find? And has he started a shit-storm over the fact that the CBA doesn’t allow restructuring of contracts, despite the fact that the likes of Kris Draper and Nick Lidstrom would probably take a little less if it helps bring back that home-grown talent for ‘09-’10? No. No. No. And no. Instead he took the situation he was presented with, and built another Cup champion out of it.

The point? The Red Wings do it right. And when the dust settles from this entire ASG situation, all that will be left is the Detroit Red Wings organization, having taken the high road one more time. Doing the selfless thing in the face of ignorant decision-making.