Suspensions.... Suspensions....... Suspensions

This NHL preseason has seen pretty much everything: from banana throwing to alleged homophobic slurs. From amazing rookie plays to cheap head shots. After the first couple games of the preseason it was clear that Brendon Shanahan would not have to wait long to hand out his first suspension.

So far this PRESEASON there have been 23 suspension, more than ALL of last NHL season which only featured 22 (heard this stat on Leafs TV). The latest and biggest suspension handed out to James Wisniewski. Wisniewski was suspended the remaining 3 preseason games as well as a whopping 8 regular season games. The Wisniewski incident was from a hit to the head of Minnesota Wild winger Cal Clutterbuck after time expired in an exhibition game, the suspension will cost James Wisniewski $500K.

November 17, 2009 Shanahan announced his retirement from the NHL after playing 21 seasons; "I would like to thank my family and all of the friends who have helped me achieve and maintain my childhood dream of playing in the National Hockey League", Shanahan said in a news release. "I am enormously grateful to all of my coaches and teammates I've had the privilege of learning from and playing along side of, throughout my career. While I always dreamed of playing in the NHL, I can't honestly say that I would have ever imagined that I'd be this fortunate and blessed. I would like to sincerely thank everyone who has helped me fulfill this dream" But Shanahan could not stay away from the game for long a month later he became the NHL's Vice President of Hockey and Business Development.On June 1, 2011 Shanahan took over the job of NHL's chief player disciplinarian from Colin Campbell who underwent much criticism for his lack of suspensions and not stopping head shots. It was clear that Shanahan needed to set a message that deliberate hits targeting the head would not be aloud in the NHL.This preseason Shanahan is sending that message, with suspension after suspension and his surprising videos explaining why each player was or was not suspended. Unlike Colin Campbell, Shanahan has the support of many NHL players and teams. Joe Thornton It’s good to see where he’s coming from and talk about why he’s suspending guys for so long,” Thornton said after Tuesday’s two-hour practice. “Players really appreciate that, and it’s now black and white.”

I think its extremely sad that the busiest person this NHL preseason has been the league disciplinary chief Brendan Shanahan. Preseason is about evaluating talent of rookies who are trying to make an NHL team, not trying to hit someone so they are injured. I believe Shanahan is sending a message that deliberate hits to the hit will not be tolerated as we are trying to cut down on head injuries. But this message is not being sent to the players, but more to the fans. In order for the NHL to get the players to pay attention and stop head hit is for the suspensions to be longer. If Shanahan were to give someone a 20 or 30 game suspension to set an example than maybe a player will think twice about delivering a cheap head shot. So yes Shanahan is tougher on suspensions than Campbell ever was; but do you remember when Mike Murphy was filling in during the Stanley Cup finals? He suspended Aaron Rome the remainder of the series for his hit on Nathan Horton! But as soon as the regular season starts, I think the suspension will be tougher and come across as more severe when it is actually the regular season and not the preseason. Obviously Shanahan isn't going to change things overnight and still has a little to learn about suspending players. But the Bottom line of all the Head Hits, is that players have a lack of respect for other players in the league. Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn said hitting players must learn to respect one another when it comes to collisions where one player has his back turned. “Hitting is going to be part of the game,” Schenn said. “But for sure, you have to let up or something when (a player has his back turned). It’s respect there, you have to respect that situation.

 Here is a list of the suspensions so far

• Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond; received a a 5 game suspension (4 preseason + 1 regular season) for a boarding call after hitting Vancouver Canucks Matt Clackson from behind into the boards.“Letourneau-Leblond took a direct route toward Clackson, hit him squarely from behind into the boards and drove through the check high and hard. Clackson’s back was turned toward Letourneau-Leblond well before the contact, requiring that Letourneau-Leblond avoid or minimize the check. He did neither.”
•  Jody Shelley received a 10 game suspension (5 preseason + 5 regular season) for his hit on Leafs forward Darryl Boyce. The hit broke Boyce's nose. “Shelley hit Boyce squarely from behind into the glass. Boyce’s back was turned toward Shelley well before the contact, requiring that Shelley avoid or minimize the check. He did neither."
•  James Wisniewski received a 11 game suspension (3 preseason + plus 8 regular season) for his hit on Cal Clutterbuck. 
•  Brad Staubitz received a 6 game suspension (3 preseason + 3 regular season) for his on hit on Coby bass which got Staubitz ejected from the game. "Staubitz drives hard through Bass' numbers and causes facial injury," Shanahan said in a video. "This factor weighed most heavily in my decision."
• The Buffalo Sabres  Brad Boyes was suspended 2 preseason games for his hit on Joe Colborne. “Colborne’s head was the principal point of contact of Boyes’ hit,” Shanahan said in a video explaining the suspension. “While this play develops quickly, Colborne makes no sudden moves just prior to, or simultaneous with, the hit, placing the onus on Boyes not to hit him in the head."
• The most interesting suspension handed to Jean-Francois Jacques who came off the bench to instigate a fight. Jacques was given a 9 game suspension (4 preseason games +5 regular season).
• plus Shanahan has had 4 or 5 other hearings that did not result in suspensions.

Last preseason there were 2 suspensions handed out and this season their have already been 6
suspensions and likely one or two more based on what were seeing right now. There is almost an "illegal" or "cheap" hit in every game that is being looked at.
All in all I am extremely disappointed with the players of the NHL, they need to take more responsibility and "man up" by not "killing" players with head hits. But I am extremely happy with the way Shanahan has been handling these preseason suspensions. Right now I would say the suspensions are warnings; they are not horrible but not super easy. Basically Shanahan is saying to the players "keep this up in the regular season and the suspensions will get worse". I love how Shanahan has been '"xplaining" his decisions to fans and team, really making sure that the rules are clear as mud! What I hope for Shanahan is to keep the suspensions fiar, if a Big league player delivers an illegal hit that player will still be peanilized because if that top line player is not, than all the progress Shanahan has gotten will be demolished. One thing is clear Shanahan will be having a VERY busy year with lots of suspensions and hearings with players.

I'll post a link to Shanahan's videos :) http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=60&id=124919

Rookie surprises

The NHL preseason has been just about as good as any preseason  can be. Lots of rookies trying to prove their the real deal, and some are doing that quite well. So today I'm going to let you know some rookies that may be in the line-up on October 6.

In the preseason the only thing that technically matters are the rookies. for rookies and others trying to crack a roster spot, the preseason is do or die. so which rookies have put up the big number and which rookies need to shut up!

Lets start with the Toronto Maple Leafs and a defenceman who is really proving his point to continue play come October. Jake Gardiner, a name Leafs fans are quickly getting acquainted too. coming into training camp the defence of the leafs was supposed to be a lock of 7 guys, But Gardiner seems to have the key in unlocking that 7 man rotation. Gardiner was acquired in a trade back in February and was instantly considered a top prospect for the Leafs. This training camp Gardiner is really showing just how talented he actually is and it is turning quite a few heads in the Leafs talent scouts and management. It would be a EXTREMELY tough decision for the Leafs to send Gardiner back to the Marlies and see him completely dominate. But that might be the best decision for the development of Jake Gardiner. The final spot on the Leafs defence, is between Mike Komisarek, Carl Gunnarsson and Jake Gardiner. Komisarek and Gunnarsson have become trade able pieces for the leafs, it was likely to be between the two for the final 7, but with the rise of Gardiner it may be a little bit of a tougher decision for the Leafs. Now in order for Burke to trade Komisarek or Gunnarsson he will need them to play for a few games before the trade, now the only defenceman that can go to the minors without any trouble is Keith Aulie. So in order for Leaf fans to see Gardiner in the lineup on opening night, Keith Aulie would need to start the season in the minors until a trade occurs. It is likely that Gardiner will start the season with the AHL Toronto Marlies until later in the year. "Everybody's watching the same thing here," said Poulin. "He's played very, very well which has prompted the next opportunity to play well which he's answered which has prompted the next opportunity to play well. He's the one that's decided that he's gotten the number of games he's gotten. We're all just watching and it'll play out."

Another Leafs prospect is Nazem Kadri. This is Kadri's 3rd attempt at cracking the starting roster and he's having a decent camp. With the camp he's having I don't think he could "win" a spot against a veteran but could move into the role Burke and Wilson have given him on the 3rd or 4th line with Bozak. But Matt frattin is making his case that he deserves his chance too. it will go down to the wire for Kadri and Frattin and will probably be given the Kadri.

Next up is Canucks prospect Cody Hodgson. "I think I started off pretty well and we created some chances," said Hodgson. "I felt like we had a lot of time in their end but just couldn't capitalize on anything. Obviously, it would have been better to win and contribute on the scoreboard, but other than that I felt good skating out there and felt good physically. Hodgson was the 10th overall pick in the 2008 entry draft, but nagging injuries have kept Hodgson in the minors, and the Canucks have started running out of time with Hodgson, its time for him to put or shut up- meaning he would be buried in the minors for his career with the Canucks. Despite all the criticism from the Canucks and media, Hodgson is turning the corner in his career with the Canucks and this may be his time to crack a roster spot permanently. So why the sudden raise in Hodgson's game; he got a new trainer in Gary Roberts and started eating Tofu and began Yoga. There are two situations Hodgson could find himself in come October 6th. 2nd line center in the absence of Ryan Kesler or the 3rd line center while Manny Malhotra recovers from two more eye procedures during the offseason. "I wanted him to kill some penalties, take faceoffs and give him a chance to play in all situations," said associate coach Rick Bowness. "I thought he handled himself very well. He's obviously very good with the puck and when you take as many penalties as we did it takes away from the flow, and that's tough on skilled players. I like that he was moving good, handled the puck well and made some nice shots." Hodgson scored his first preseason goal on Sunday. Hodgson is a Canadian from Markham Ontario."He's a very young man," said Vigneault. "At 21 years old he's still got a lot of good years in front of him. "Some players make the step at an early age. Some players, depending on where their development is, depending on the team (they) are playing for, sometimes there is room and sometimes there is not.

Now the Ottawa Senators will have lots of young rookies in the lineup as they are launching their "youth movement" but a few of the rookies that are really standing out. 

Mika Zibanejad is a natural center but is going to be getting a chance to play on the wing. The 18 year old Sweded scored the overtime winning goal in a game against the Bruins. Impressing many. "The interesting one will be to see Zibanejad on right wing and see what kind of a difference that might make for him,” coach Paul MacLean said after Saturday’s morning skate. The sens say they just want to see if Zibanejad can adapt to different positions as well as his role as a center. Zibanejad was a stand out player at the NHL rookie camp in the 3 preseason games he has played in he has forced himself into the discussion for a opening night roster spot. The main competition for the Zibanejad is Stephane Da Costa both are battling for the 2nd line center spot on the Sens. To make matters worse both players have had an exceptional training camp and either could be the Sens 2nd line center come opening night. The Senators are leaning towards Zibanejad to take over the 2nd line center spot from Peter Regin who had terrible season last year and lost favor with coaches and media. Through 3 preseason games Zibanejad has proven that he could be a NHL Caliber player and is ready for the NHL. It is becoming more likely that Zibanejad will be one of the top 6 forwards of the Ottawa Senators.

For the Buffalo Sabres the rookies haven't really 

 stepped up and helped this preseason, but they haven't needed the rookies cause the veterans are playing just fine! But the one rookie who has a slight chance at staying with the club is Luke Adam. The 21 year old completely dominated in the Traverse City rookie showcase looking like a man plying against young boys he even earned the most valuable player of the tournament award; and he certainly hasn't slowed down now that he is in the NHL preseason. Adam has improved his skating which is the major difference between him now and him last season. Adam with his new found speed and his 6 foot 2, 200 pound frame skating right at you has become a scary thing for defenders. The time for Luke Adam to play in the NHL now, he is showing that he doesn't need another full year of junior, Plus Adam has played 19 games with the sabres. It will be tough to find room for Adam but the sabres will have to be able to find some spot for this youngster. With a AHL rookie of the year award and a Travers city MVP who can deny this kid.

The Bruins dont have much to worry about as they are the defending Stanley Cup Champions, so few rookies will crack the rostor, but one rookie who's been getting rave reviews is Dougie Hamilton. “We’re very happy with him,” Chiarelli said of Hamilton, Hamilton was the 9th overall pick in the draft and is the ripe age of 18. “I thought he had a strong camp. He got better as each day came along. He’s just a good all-around player, for him, at that age (18), to do the stuff he does. He might have been our best all-around defenseman in Ottawa (in Wednesday’s preseason opener).” The Bruins are quite ready to add Hamilton to the roster, I think it’s possible,” Chiarelli said. “You don’t want to put the cart before the horse, but he’s got a maturity to his game. He’s a terrific skater and has poise with the puck. He makes the right plays and maintains a good gap. For a young defenseman, to have that gap at this level, that means he’s very confident in his skating and his range.” Unfortunetly Hamilton was sent back down to the minors but it is likely he will be called up at some point this season.

For the Pittsburgh Penguins, it is Nick Johnson who they have already said will be playing with the big boys at some time this season. "We know he's going to play games with us this year," said Granato. "Whether it's the first one or the 15th ... he's a guy who can play in our league. Johnson is 25 and has only played 10 NHL games, so Johnson needs to put up and make the team now or shut up and be regarded as a career minor leaguer! Nick Johnson is recovering from a nasty concussion that cut his season short last year. "It's not like, 'I'm at 50 percent. Next week I'll be at 65.' You just don't know," Johnson said as Penguins players reported for the first day of training camp Friday. "It's there or it's not. It's as simple as that. Sometimes, you know, it just takes a little while to go away. Thankfully, with (Crosby), I think he's right there, right on the doorstep. I think he'll be fine."

Who could forget first overall pick in the draft Ryan Nugent Hopkins who is battling hard to make the Edmonton Oilers roster. the reason why Hopkins wouldn't be on the Oilers isn't because theirs no room or he's not talented enough but because he needs more time to develop. A major factor in deciding if Hopkins will play is health issues surrounding other veterans. Hopkins is competing with veteran Sam Gagner, who has always proved himself in the NHL. I think it would be a bit of a stretch to see Hopkins playing full time this season with the oilers, as he hasn't really had a stand out camp to help his case.

While the third overall pick Jonathan Huberdeau has made his impression very big and very good. He is already being written into the starting line-up but their not sure if it will be opening night. “I thought it was pretty good for the first game,’’ the 18-year-old said after scoring a goal in Florida’s 4-2 win against the Lightning at the Coral Springs IcePlex. “I have to prove a lot and have to be better in the next game. This is just the first game, and we haven’t played together often. I’m looking forward to the next game.’’the panthers can sign him to a 9 nine game tryout contract and then sign him a little later on or send him back to his minor league club. The panthers are convinced Huberdeau is a special player that can help the team at any position. The only knock on him is his size, that's the panthers issue with him, they need him to put on some weight and get bigger. But it may be another propect steeling Huberdeaus spotlight as Quenton Howden is also proving himself to be ready for the big leagues, after helping the world juniors to a silver medal..4

Out of all the prospects I reviewed today I think the one MOST likely to crack the OPENING NIGHT roster is Cody Hodgson. Hodgson got some nice playing time in the Stanley Cup playoffs last season and contributed a little and played pretty solid, so look to see Cody Hodgson playing come October 6.

What You Need To Know

Welcome back to the Friday edition of "what you need to know" Basically I run down information that has been happening in the NHL that you should take note of! So lets get started!
We will have a few stories today since hockey is back!!!!!!!!!!

Lets start of with some suspensions; this is a follow up on my blog from yesterday.
Flyers Jody Shelley has been suspended 10 games for his hit from behind on Toronto's Darryl Boyce. The hit left Boyce with a broken nose. Shelley was kicked out of the game following the hit. Shanahan's statement on the suspension; "The video clearly shows that Boyce has his back to Shelley well before the contact," said NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan in a video explanation. "Boyce does not put himself in this position immediately prior to, or simultaneously, with the check. Shelley has time to avoid the check completely or at the very least minimize the contact.This is a clear violation of the boarding rule."
As the suspension breaks down Shelley will miss the remainder of the preseason and the first 5 games of the regular season. Shelley reportedly refused an in person hearing with Brendon Shanahan, which usually gets an automatic 5 games. Shelley didn't help his case by being a "repeat offender' as he was also suspended twice last season in the month of December. The NHL has a new sheriff in town and I for one am extremely happy about that, Campbell would not have done anything major. Now missing the remainder of the preseason isn't going to be a huge issue, it may mean Shelley has to work a little harder at practice to solidify his spot on this Flyers team, but think if this was during the regular season, a 10 game suspension would really hurt a team. Shanahan is defiantly trying to send a message, we can only believe the penalties are going to get stiffer the more head shots there are.
But Shanahan wasn't done there; he also suspended Flames Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond for four preseason games and 1 regular season game. Shanahan released a video explaining the decision "Letourneau-Leblond took a direct route toward Clackson, hit him squarely from behind into the boards and drove through the check high and hard," Shanahan said in a video statement. "Clackson's back was turned toward Letourneau-Leblond well before the contract, requiring that Letourneau-Leblond avoid or minimize the check completely. He did neither."
Shanahan is letting players know, he is much more strict than Colin Campbell and is actually serious about stopping head shots.Shanahan has set the tone early hopefully the players take note.

Next we move on to a bit of a disturbing scene from last nights preseason tilt between the Flyers and the Red Wings. Newly acquired Flyer Wayne Simmonds.  As Simmonds was taking his shot during the shootout a fan threw a banana peel on the ice. The fan that threw the banana was not caught, and managed to get away. Many around the league are calling this a racism thing and that its not right; "The incident that happened in london tonight involving my best friend wayne simmonds was simply disgusting, its 2011 ppl need to grow up." Chris Stewart.
Georges Laraque What do you think of the fan that threw a banana on the ice to mock Philadelphia Flyers player W. Simmonds? He should be ban from rinks!
 Simmonds although upset and shaken by the play, says he's ready to move on, he knows the prejudice of a black man playing a white mans sport; "When you're a black man playing in a predominantly white man's sport, you've got to come to expect things like that," Simmonds said. "Over the past 23 years of my life, I've come to expect some things like that. But I'm older and more mature now, I kind of just left things roll off [my back]. I try not to think about stuff like that." "It was unfortunate that this incident happened but I am above this sort of stuff. This is something that is out of my control. Moving forward, this incident is something I will no longer comment on so I can just focus on playing hockey for the Philadelphia Flyers."
Simmonds grew up in Scarbourgh Ontario 2 hours away from London where the preseason match was taking place!
I personally feel sorry for Simmonds, people need to grow up and except the fact that a coloured man is talented enough to play in the NHL. Times are a changing there are more coloured people getting drafted and playing in the NHL and who could forget what nationality the President of the United States is?
Gary Bettman released this statement; "We have millions of great fans who show tremendous respect for our players and for the game," said Bettman in the statement. "The obviously stupid and ignorant action by one individual is in no way representative of our fans or the people of London, Ontario."

Next we will move on to the issue of the "Winter Classic" Its become a loved tradition over the past 5 seasons. A tradition that sees to opposing NHL teams play outside just like the old days. The NHL redesigns a baseball staduim to fit an ice rink fully functual for the NHL. This years Winter Classic is set to be held in Philadelphia and will see the Flyers taking on the New York Rangers. The game will take place on January 2nd this year to avoid scheduling conflicts with the NHL. This has many Canadian fans including myself a little upset. The Flyers and Penguins both American teams have played the Winter Classic twice, while a team from Canada has yet to have a chance. What better team than the Toronto Maple Leafs an original six team; it would be a perfect rivalry for the Leafs and Rangers to square off in a battle of the original six. What makes this news even more disappointing is that the NHL has no plans on a game being played in Canada as has been in the past. Perhaps the most disturbing fact about this years Winter Classic, is that the NHL has moved away from the idea of "good hockey" and moved towards media coverage. Yes both teams will take part in the HBO thing that the Capitals and Penguins were forced to. Just what the Philadelphia Flyers need, more TV time, more time to act like complete idiots on national  television. I'm sorry NHL but your turning the beloved Winter Classic into a sad sad thing.

Injury news now; The San Jose Sharks net minder Antero Niittymaki will be out at least 12 weeks after undergoing Hip Surgery. More bad news for the Sharks regular starter Antti Niemi is not completely healthy either. This meaning the team will be forced to use third stringer goaltender Thomas Greiss. Greiss has only played 19 games in the NHL and has 7 wins. Sharks will want Niemi back soon, but for now Greiss should be able to hold his own in replace if the two regulars. Its time for Greiss to put up or go back to the Swedish elite league.

Good news for all Montreal Canadian fans; Scott Gomez is back skating and ready to return to the line-up tonight against the Ottawa Senators. "I wouldn't be out there if it was (still sore)," he said Thursday. "I just refocused, regrouped, and I'm ready to have fun again," he said. "Everything's done. I changed things up in my approach, cleared up my mind a bit and here we go." this is good news for Canadian fans as the Habs have lost their first 2 preseason tilts against Buffalo and Dallas respectively. Hopefully Gomez can help turn the preseason around in Montreal. Gomez is excited to be back, but finds himself with a new line mate for Fridays game. Gomez skated in practice with his linemate for part of last season Max Pacioretty as well as eye-catching junior Brendan Gallagher. His usual right-winger, captain Brian Gionta, will not be in the lineup.
Other NHLers in the Line-up Friday to help turn around Montreal's bad preseason are;  P.K. Subban, Hal Gill, Yannick Weber, Mathieu Darche and Erik Cole, all are experienced players who will add some much needed veteran leadership to the young rookies.

Head Shots

Its an age old problem that has been haunting the NHL for a while now. It just wont go away, its that nightmare you had everyday for a month when you where 6 or the notion that there were always monsters hiding under your bed, these things don't go away without effort. Effort was something the NHL was not willing to put in to stopping head shots; they came out with excuse after excuse; The games to fast, players are bound to get hurt. It took the NHL's number one player Sidney Crosby to go down with a concussion in order for the NHL to act, and now their doing everything to stop head shots! At a time when concussions and head injuries are growing both in the big leagues but also with little kids!! The NHL needs to step up and let fans know that hits targeting the head are not permitted!

The NHL has replaced Colin Campbell (who thought anyone in a bruins jersey was exempt fro the rules) with long Time Nhler Brendan Shanahan. His first real impact was changing rule 48 to add that any hit targeting the head, not just a east to west moving hit, can be given a major penalty and be subject for suspension!

Now Shanahan will have 2 opportunities to put his new rule variation into practice!
1 Illegal Check To The Head — A hit resulting in contact with an opponent's head where the head is targeted and the principal point of contact is not permitted. However, in determining whether such a hit should have been permitted, the circumstances of the hit, including whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit or the head contact on an otherwise legal body check was unavoidable, can be considered.1) a hit delivered from behind to leafs Darryl Boyce from flyers rough guy Jody Shelley. The hit broke Boyce's nose.
2) a hit delivered by Flames Letourneau- LeBlond on Canucks Matt Clackson this hit confused me a bit, but I will post video evidence of both hits.
I am not making this up for a story; Nick Kypreos, has tweeted that Shanahan will be having a meeting with both players.

The first one will be the Shelley hit on Boyce, since this hit is more clear to me :)
First off there is no doubt that this is a cheap shot. Boyce had just gotten rid of the puck and was totally defenseless. Second Shelley could have hit Boyce without driving his head into the boards. The hit was late and was absolute vicious, without a doubt Shelley was trying to hurt Boyce. I am fairly confident that Shelley will be suspended for this hit likely to sit the rest of preseason action, and some regular season games, Shelley just made himself the "poster Boy" for Shanahan's new rule.

Some other factors that go against Shelley; Its a preseason game and Shelley will likely not be playing in the NHL next season, Philly fans can't stand Shelley and want him off the roster immediately. Shelley did not do himself any favors with this hit. Shanahan has said he plans on giving stricter penalties for head shots, so now is the time for him to step up or shut up.
Right now Shanahan can set the tone for the rest of the season, if he lets Shelley go with no or minimal consequence, it will be another head hunting every man for himself type of season. If Shanahan lays down the law, guys just might think twice about hammering someone if their going to sit a good 10-15 games.

 The next hit with Letourneau-LeBlond, I don't 100% understand, I'll try to find a video, but most people were most interested in his marathon fight. Now if you look right at the BEGINNING of the video there is a little bit of a head contact hit, but I don't believe the hit was delivered by Letourneau- LeBlond, the person delivering the hit is #45 while the guy fighting is #24.
I did not see this hit in actual game circumstance, I saw it on hockey central when they said Letourneau- LeBlond, would be meeting with Shanahan for possible suspension. So this one I'll just wait for a verdict.



But I have uncovered a 3rd hit which I can hopefully offer more insight into :)
Unfortunately no public video evidence, But Red Wings Dan Cleary hit Penguins rookie Philip Samuelsson from behind with an elbow; Cleary was given a 5 minute misconduct penalty and is likely to meet with Shanahan at some point before the end of the week.

SO like I said earlier its time for Shanahan to Step up and make an example of players who target the head or are cheap shot artists (Matt Cooke) or shut up! Set the tone for the whole season right here right now. Help keep hockey a clean and exciting game for people to play and watch.
I'll have my Firday blog tomorrow with any updated punishment for the players if anything was handed out.

Hockey Is Back!

So last night marked the return of broadcasted hockey games aka the preseason! Now I understand it's only the preseason and half the players will be back in the minors in a month and wins and loses don't really mean a thing. It is nice to see your team, back on the ice and even winning a preseason game. Hey, hockey is hockey, whether it be the Stanley cup playoffs or preseason games, the point is still to score more goals than your opponent.Now I'm not comparing the preseason and the Stanley cup playoffs, but you get my point. So yesterday there were four games played; Leafs vs. Sens, Sabres vs. Canes and Panthers vs. Predators (2).
So to be honest the only game I was able to find a feed to watch was the leafs vs. sens, but non the less I will do my research and breakdown key things, lineups and what no for you guys!

So lets start with the game I actually was able to watch; Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators.
This was a pretty interesting game as far as preseason games that don't have key players like; Kessel, Connolly Reimer, Spezza and Alferdson can go. so lets break down the lines from last night.

Clarke MacArthur – Mikhail Grabovski – Nikolai Kulemin
Nazem Kadri – Tyler Bozak – Colby Armstrong
Joey Crabb – Joe Colborne – Matt Frattin
Kenny Ryan – Philippe Dupuis – Jay Rosehill

Keith Aulie – Dion Phaneuf
Jake Gardiner – John-Michael Liles
Carl Gunnarsson – Matt Lashoff

Jonas Gustavsson
Ben Scrivens

So due to the fact that its preseason and the leafs are just testing out rookies 3/4 of the forward lines will be completely different come October. As Connolly will be the number 1 center, along with Kessel on the wing. So the line that I'm predicting to start the season will be Kadri, Bozak and Armstrong. All of which had a fantastic night last night. the only difference for that line will be they will move down to the 3rd or 4th line. Of all players dressed last night only 6 of them are some what of a "lock" to be in the Maple Leafs starting line-up opening night. (MacArthur, Grabovski, Kulemin, Bozak, Armstrong and Phaneuf ).

Now lets talk about the actual game itself, lines look good on paper but its the ice that actually maters.

Right off the bat Phaneuf opens with a HUGE but legal hit on Ottawa's Tim Conboy, that immediately saw Jared Cowen jump to his teammates defense and fight Phaneuf.  "It seems whenever you make a hit, guys come after you," Phaneuf said. "It's part of the game. There's nothing wrong with that." The hit was massive and sent little Conboy's body flying, but luckily Conboy got up and seemed unharmed. Phaneuf was given 2 minute minor penalty for elbowing along with 5 minutes for fighting. But now different analysis say that Phaneuf may be getting suspended based on a rule change that happened just hours before the game! the rule states that any contact with a opposing teams head can be penalized. Essentially if the hit you deliver primarily targets your opponents head it is now a penalty. I don't think Phaneuf should be suspended it was a "classic" body check. Both players were reaching for the puck and Conboy had his head down which is how Phaneuf got him in the head with the elbow. Phaneuf decided to straighten up and hit Conboy. Phaneuf has always been known as a hard hitting defense man but never or dirty or cheap player and this is no exception, it was a clean hit in my opinion.

Now Props to Conboy who took the hit like a man and didn't whine or complain, got right back up and continued play. Good on Phaneuf for proving he is going to be a force to be reckoned in his second season as leafs captain.

Anyways moving on, the real standout line for the leafs last night was the second line anchored by Bozak.

Bozak potted two goals and Armstrong tipped in another. The line combined for 5 points, as Bozak also added an Assist on his way to a 3 point game. Bozak said he lost 20 pounds this off season and added muscle, it certainly showed tonight as he looked more mature out on the ice. "Your confidence gets down pretty low when things aren't going well and I haven't really dealt with a lot of that through my career on my way up," said Bozak. "I'm feeling a lot better right now and this year. Hopefully we can just build off tonight." Bozak was a key part of Toronto's 4-2 win as he scored both the winning goal and the insurance goal, to help give rookie goalie Ben Scrivens some more confidence. The offense last night was not hard to come by as defensman Carl Gunnarsson even got in on the offense magic. In all 4 goals were scored; Armstrong, Gunnarsson and Bozak were the scorers. "We're going to have a good top three lines here that all can score. It doesn't really matter what line you are on for all three of those because all three can score," Bozak said. Jared Cowen, yes the one mentioned above for fighting Phaneuf; scored both of Ottawa's goals, making his case for being a member of the Ottawa Senators.

In goal for the Maple Leafs were Jonas Gustavsson and Ben Scrivens both goalies allowed a goal and faced a combined 26 shots. This didn't really help establish who will be Reimer's back up come October but it is likely to be Jonas Gustavsson. The senators countered with Alex Auld and Robin Lehner, who faced a combined 30 shots. In all I think the young talented Toronto Maple Leafs squad iced on Monday night out-played the senators squad, and really gave Wilson a little more to think about when writing his starting roster lines, as for now everything will stay in pencil.

Next we move on to the Buffalo Sabres and the Carolina Hurricanes, a game I was extremely disappointed I could not see because I live north of the border. But any who the sabres beat the hurricanes 3-1.

the line-up for the sabres looked something like this;

 

Ennis/Leino/Stafford
Gerbe/Gaustad/Kaleta
Foligno/Adam/Kassian
Whitmore/McCormick/Tropp
 

Sekera/Myers
Weber/Gragnani
Brennan/Biega

Drew MacIntyre - will start in goal tonight
Enroth - will relieve him later in the game

Like usual many of the players that will be playing come October were not dressed and Miller was not in net. I'd say Buffalo dressed maybe 50% of what we will be seeing come October. Enroth will be Millers back-up there is no doubt in my mind about that, Enroth has a nice little back-up tenders salary and we all saw what he did when Miller was injured. Enroth will provide well needed rest for Miller through out the season.

Nathan Gerbe potted the winner for the sabres on a nice tip in on a shot from Paul Gaustad. Buffalo fought back from an early 1-0 deficit after Brandon Sutter scored for the canes. MacIntyre and Enroth faced a combined 21 shots and Enroth had a shut-out in his part of the game. Paul Gaustad, Patrick Kaleta, and Nathan Gerbe each recorded a goal and was the only really established line from last season. But that's all the sabres needed to take down the canes. And that's all there really was to it, kind of a boring game, no big hits or fights. "It's my first time ever as a real backup, and I'm not really sure what to expect," said Enroth, who stopped all 11 shots he faced Monday as the Sabres beat Carolina, 3-1. "Obviously, I know [Ryan] Miller is one of the best in the league, and he's going to play probably 60-plus games or something. I just want to take every chance I get and I want the coaches to really trust me that they can put me in wherever." 

 

 

Lastly we move onto the Panthers vs. Predators who played a double header yesterday. This was a "split" squad game for both teams as 2 different rosters played in each game. Nashville won the first game 5-3 and Florida won the second 4-3. First round draft pick Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and an assist in the second game.

 

Sorry folks I only watched the leafs game and there isn't much floating around about the other games yet.

But thats how things shacked out for the first day of preseason games last night. 

Tyler Myers

The sabres have a new General Manager and that is a very good thing. Terry Pegula started talking contract extension early with the teams best young defenceman Tyler Myers, and has already got him inked for the next 7 years. Pegula is showing fans he cares about the sabres and isn't afraid of spending some dough to help the team. Its a very good thing that the sabres have locked up Myers long term. In the next 8 years Myers will most likely win a Norris trophy if not multiple at some point, plus there is even talk that in a couple more years Myers will be the new captain of the sabres. As Mr. Pegula (fans call him) was handing out tickets to fans he was quoted saying "Tyler ain't goin' anywhere." the 21 year old defenceman agreed to terms on a 7 year $38.5 million contract extension, which will kick in on July 1, 2012.
"We had two sides that wanted to stay together," Myers' agent, J.P. Barry, said by phone. "Tyler wanted to remain a Sabre, and having this done at an early stage was something that he wanted. He's happy that the club approached him about wanting to do this early." Bob Macenzie weighed in on the contract break down and said it was some classic work to stay under the salary cap $12 million in Year 1, and then $6 million, $5 million, $5 million, $4 million, $3.5 million and $3 million. (Way to protect against a rollback, JP Barry.)
Myers is 6 foot 8 and 228 pounds, but that has not slowed him down one bit, in his first 2 seasons He has scored 21 goals and 64 assist and added a Calder Trophy to boot. In 162 games for the club he collected 85 points (21 goals, 64 assists). Myers was the sabres first round pick in 2008 entry draft and has put up stellar numbers and played solidly defensively and earned himself the role of top defenceman with the sabres.
This signing comes as the latest change/addition to the "new" sabres. Mr. Pegula wants to make a cup run and isn't shy about spending the money. This season has all but quit for the newly owned sabres; signing free-agent forward Ville Leino to six-year, $27-million contract, defenceman Christian Ehrhoff for 10 years at $40 million. The club also re-signed forward Drew Stafford for four years for $16 million and defenceman Andrej Sekera for four years for $11 million. These off season additions have got sabres fans everywhere super excited for the upcoming season, some have even predicted the sabres winning the cup. I think it tells the guys that we mean business," Pegula said of the string of off-season moves. "We had some things we needed to address, and we have a timeline. So why wait two years to do it, or three? We've tried to take care of immediate needs early."

Myers is extremely happy to be staying a sabre for the foreseeable future;  "I'm very excited today to solidify a long-term spot and be a part of this organization as it grows," Myers said. "It's somewhere I want to be for the rest of my career. And I'm still young." and the sabres are quite please with having this young superstar defenceman locked up; "We wanted to recognize Tyler not only for his abilities now, but his abilities in the future," said general manager Darcy Regier, who opened talks only two weeks ago. "It has been nothing short of a terrific start to what I think will be an outstanding career."

This deal is nothing but perfect for the sabres. With locking up Myers, while still under his rookie contract, allowed the sabres to get less many for one of the top 15 D men in the league. With the price of future contracts likely to raise in the near future this will turn into a perfect deal for both sides. How often do you sign a top player to what will turn out to be a fairly low amount of money in the future. Now many are comparing Myers and Schenn who both have received new contracts right before training camp. Many believe Myers has more upside than Luke Schenn. Myers is a solid defensman who can also put points on the board while Schenn prefers to just "shut" down guys and letting the forwards take care of the scoring. With the likely notion that Myers may be the future captain and a contender for a Norris trophy in the future, this kid is only going to get better with age and experience.You can argue that its a bit to much money for the young star after only having 1 real solid year, but the sabres know just how good this kid is going to be in the very near future. I do not believe this deal will come back to bit Buffalo in the butt, but may help them win the sabres FIRST EVER STANLEY CUP!
"The Big Easy" is used to producing and winning, he has won 2 gold medals as apart of team Canada for the 2008 under 18 team and the 2009 under 20 team. As well as success in Junior with the Kelowna Rockets, in which he lead to the team to the WHL championship the Ed Chynoweth Cup, Myers was also named MVP of the WHL playoffs scoring a solid 20 goals.
The pressure is now on "the big easy" to deliver and perform as one of the cornerstones for a team that has all the skill to make a cup drive. Although having a slow start to the season last year, Myers stepped it up in the second half. The only real reason for the slump at the beginning was that Myers was just trying to do to much, he now knows and understands his role with the club and should be poised for another stand out season.

I'm going to predict that Myers has another stand-out season something like 15 goals and 50 assists. He then will step it up even further in the NHL's second season and help carry Buffalo deep in the playoffs. He might even win an award or two but that's not a sure thing yet. Then for the start of the 2012-2013 season he will see himself wear at least an "A" on his chest.

So the question remains, can Myers live up to this new contract; Be the future captain and win a Norris Trophy? There is suddenly a big weight has been placed on top of Tyler Myers shoulders, we'll see if he has adapted at all yet with the first pre-season game tonight against the Carolina hurricanes.

What You Need To Know

Welcome back to another Friday edition of "What You Need To Know", I'm actually writing this bog on a Thursday due to me being away this weekend. Any who, with training camp starting tomorrow there have been lots of RFA signings this week, and quite a few stories to talk about.. so lets dive right in.

There will just be a quick summary of a lot of the stories as, I will be further blogging about some next week.

The Buffalo Sabres have locked up top defenceman Tyler Myers for the next 7 years. The sabres and Myers have agreed upon a 7 year deal worth 38.5 million dollars! The sabres selected Myers 12th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. The new contract will not kick in until July 1, 2012; when the Myers current contract ends. Myers won the Calder trophy in 2009, for having an outstanding rookie season; in which Myers put up respectable numbers for a rookie defenceman; 11 goals and 37 assist, but also had amazing positional play and was a great "shut-down" defenceman for the sabres.This is a great signing for both teams... as Tyler Myers will turn out to be an amazing player once he fully matures. "We had two sides that wanted to stay together," Myers' agent, J.P. Barry, told the Buffalo News Wednesday. "Tyler wanted to remain a Sabre, and having this done at an early stage was something that he wanted. He's happy that the club approached him about wanting to do this early."



The Bruins were not about to let forward Brad Marchand run away for nothing. The Bruins snagged this gritty forward at a huge discount; A 2 year 5 million dollar contract, which will see Marchand earn 2 million this coming season. Despite being a 3rd round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Marchand has made it to the NHL and put up very respectable numbers last season scoring 21 goals and adding 20 assists as well as gaining the major feat of being a plus player, with a plus-25 last year in his first full season with the Bruins.But despite the regular season stats, he really stepped it up in the post season and was a major contributer to the Bruins clinching the cup. With unheard of rookie post season numbers-11 goals and eight assists in 25 playoff games. Marchand was threatening to be a no-show at the start of camp on Friday if there was no deal in place; “I was very, very excited to get this over with,” said Marchand on a late-afternoon conference call. “Now I have the opportunity to focus on camp. I’m very excited and very prepared for this season and very proud to be back in a Bruins uniform.” Marchand would not state any predictions for the Bruins in the upcoming season; but stated how he is looking to improve his defensive play and keep his emotions in check a little better; “I’m still a young player,” Marchand said. “I’m still trying to learn every day.”
This will turn out to be a great deal for both sides, Marchand wont have to deal with to much money hanging over his head and can just focus on hockey. I believe this 71st overall draft pick will turn into quite a nice 3rd line player, that other teams quickly come to envy. The young rookie was already in the public eye of the NHL with his reputation of being a "rat" or a scoundrel, Well now he is a very rich and Stanley cup winning rat.

And yet another signing to report; The New York Islanders have agreed to terms with the former number 1 pick at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, John Tavares. The two sides agreed to a 6 year deal worth 33 million dollars. "I'm thrilled to show the organization and loyal Islanders fans that I want nothing more than to win on Long Island," said Tavares in a statement. "This is an exciting team to be a of part right now. We have a group that I feel will contend every year for a championship and I'm privileged to be a part of the Islanders' future." Tavares, has put up very respectable numbers 29 goals and 38 assists last season. Unfortunately the rest of team hasn't been able to follow suit and the Islanders consistently find themselves near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings year after year. Tavares could very likely wind up being the next Islanders captain, in the near future.

The last signing story to talk about today; The Winnipeg Jets and Zach Bogosian have agreed upon a new 2 year deal worth 5 million dollars. Bogosian the 3rd overall pick in the 2008 entry drat has been with the Thrashers/ Jets his entire career and will most likely remain a Jet for the rest of his career.
But enough of guys signing extensions... the number game with new signings is extremely unsatisfying soo lets get onto the interesting news;

We all remember the hit on Steve Moore delivered by Todd Bertuzzi, well it wasn't exactly a "hit" more of a sucker punch. For those who need to refresh their memories I will post the video, sorry for no sounds, but you can basically see what happened. Well Steve Moore has filed for a lawsuit and it will be ready for the supreme court in late 2012. Moore is after nearly 40 million dollars! On the sucker punch from 2004 Moore suffered, Moore suffered three fractured vertebrae and a concussion and has not played since. Now the question on when the injuries occurred in the sequence of events will determine a lot. You can argue that the broken neck happened when Moores teammates jumped on Bertuzzi and he then fell on Moores head. Now there is no doubt the Moore and his agent have a case against Bertuzzi, the Canucks had vowed to "get Moore" due to the hit Moore laid on the Canucks captain and leading scorer Markus Näslun. Now the Moore his on Markus Näslundwas deemed a legal hit by the NHL and Steve Moore did not receive a penalty or a suspension. Bertuzzi had it out for more calling him "a piece of S***" after the first incident between Moore and Näslun. I believe like I said earlier Moore has a case but going after 40 million? that a bit out there, he could have had 20 Million and been just fine. I suspect Bertuzzi will try to settle outside of court. The lawsuit is not sitting well with the NHLPA and is making it nearly impossible for Moore to become involved in any way with the NHL in the future.Moore and his lawyer have been trying to sure various members of the Canucks and Bertuzzi since 2005



As per last Friday's blog Drew Doughty and the Los Angeles Kings have still not settled on a deal. Doughty wants to become the highest paid player on the Kings, ahead of forward Anze Kopitar at 6.8 million dollars. But the Kings have made it clear to Doughty and his lawyer saying they will not make him the highest paid players on the team. Right now it is a game of who blinks first. It is suspected that the Kings will pull their previous offer off the table by Friday if Doughty does not agree to terms with the previous offer.

One more story to throw in to this Friday edition of "what you need to know" and we'll end with the story of Kostitsyn and the Canadians head coach Martin. Rumors spread this summer that Kostitsyn was un happy with his role last season and with Martin's coaching.
"I can't guess about next season," Kostitsyn was quoted as saying on the website. "My relationship with the coach is not too good.

"It wasn't me who started to play badly," he said. "It's just that I was being put into (the) third and fourth line. I've tried talking to (Martin). But he doesn't seem to care."But it was different kind of not Kostitsyn was singing on Wednesday, he had nothing but praise to say about his coach;
"I've never had any issue with Andrei," said Martin. "He's a player that brings a lot to our hockey club."
Kostitsyn echoed Martin's sentiments.
"I think we're good for the season," said Kostitsyn. "Coach Jacques is a good coach."
Kostitsyn was not happy with only being signed to a 1 year extension this offseason and say's he want to play for montreal for longer than 1 season.
The only thing that will determine where or what Kostitsyn's role with the team will be for the 2011/2012 season is Kostitsyn himself, if he starts well he'll be amongst the Canadian's top goal scorers and see time on the 1st or 2nd line, but if he does not produce and play well he will stay on the 3rd or 4th line.

Well that will do it for this Friday edition of "what you need to know" stay tuned for upcoming blogs next week

Nazem Kadri

Nazem Kadri, a name all to familiar to Leaf fans.
Kadri was the leafs top draft pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Kadri 7th overall. But since all the hype over the young rookie, Kadri has failed to crack the starting roster of the Maple Leafs. After two straight seasons of being cut from the team right after training camp, Kadri is looking for a long stint with he big club this year. He better hurry Brian Burke is starting to loose patience in his young "superstar" he has not been performing up to the expectations Burke has for him or the expectations of any first round draft pick for that matter. Kadri has not had overly flattering numbers in the minors, and has not shown great leadership ability, raising major doubts about his future in the NHL. For the 2011-2012 NHL season Burke has made himself clear there is only 1 sport available, ""If you've noticed we've left one spot open, we want some competition for one of the forward spots,"  The line currently consists of Tyler Bozak and Colby Armstrong. Both Bozak and Armstrong benefited from lack of a number 1 center last season, and saw their ice time sky-rocket, but both players know they will be back playing a 3rd or 4th line role this coming season. Competing against Kadri for that 3rd line wing spot are fellow leaf rookies; Joe Colborne and Matt Frattin. Many have stated that Kadri is much to small to play on the kind of team Burke likes, Joe Colborne has the size advantage of the 3 rookies Colborne is in at 6 foot 5 210 pounds. The leafs acquired Colborne in the trade that sent Thomas Kaberle to Boston. Colborne impressed Burke and Wilson right away quickly earning himself a shot to play some games in the big league. That is something Kadri has never done, impressed Burke and Wilson right away. Many leafs fans are getting restless and are abandoning the Kadri bandwagon, I am one of those fans. I don't think drafting Kadri was a smart choice by Brian Burke. I believe Burke got tricked into drafting Kadri. He took him so another team could not have him, not because he wanted him. Many believe it is now time for Kadri to put up or shut up, It is basically Kadri's spot on the 3rd line to loose.
Basically there are two major "knocks" on Kadri; 1. he is too small. 6 feet and 185 pounds. despite being 6 feet tall, he gets shoved around out there like a little rag-doll. Kadri said he lost wait to gain speed.. but his speed wont help when someone clocks him with an open ice hit. 2. He is a one way hockey player who is very poorly defensively. We got to see a bit of that in the 29 games Kadri played with the Leafs last season, he made way to many very poor give-always and the defense always had to bail him out, as he was the last one back for the back-check. Kadri also needs to gain more "hockey sense" you know; when to pass, when to hit, and where to be on the ice at a certain point. He looked all to lost out there for many of his 29 games.
Another aspect of Kadri that has ruffled a few feathers shall we say, is his cockiness. Now don't get me wrong confidence is good in young players. But I think this rookie just might have a little too much cockiness. He is always saying how he has done everything the Leafs have asked him to do and is confident he can make the team.. but as no surprise to many, Kadri gets sent back down. This season he is taking the cockiness to the next level by saying he can't wait for the season opener to play along with Tim Connolly! alright so lets get this straight...... first Kadri just made a clear statement that he believes he will win the only spot left on the roster, with no trouble at all and second the spot is for a 3rd line position not a 1st line position in which Connolly will be occupying. I'm sorry but Kadri is no more a member of the Leafs than new rookie Matt Frattin. Yes Kadri is highly scouted draft pick, and not a drunken party animal who lost his scholarship as the case with Frattin. Every time Kadri steps on the ice or talks to the media he seems entitled to make the squad... But I got a news flash for Kadri he hasn't earned anything, if he keeps this mindset intact he will see himself back in the Marlies and quickly on the trading block rather than in the starting line-up for the Leafs. A positive thing for the leafs is the take no nonsense captaincy from Phaneuf, he'll take Kadri's cockiness and drown it in a river.
So for Kadri this is the year, he's had 3 years to develop and get ready (longer than most 1st top 10 picks). Either he makes the Leafs out of training camp or spend the rest of his Leafs career in the minors and turn out to be a horrible draft pick.
In 29 big league games last season he scored 3 goals and tallied up 12 points helping with 9 assists. So in 3 years Kadri has played 30 games with the Leafs, and it took him an extremely long time to score his first goal, it didn't come till half way through March.

K so I'll put on my GM hat and tell you what I would do if I was Brian Burke...... I would give Kadri the job, but make it clear if he doesn't produce that he's gone. If Kadri doesn't have decent rookie numbers by Christmas at the latest, send him down and call up Colborne, who will most likely be ripping it up in the minors like last season. Now outside of the Kadri situation I would fire Wilson if he isn't getting the job done and promise leafs fans that even though we didn't make the playoffs in the 2011-2012 season that there is still hope for 2020, and mention that I have spoken with the NHL on expanding the playoffs to the teams that are in last place in the divisions.

So in short I suspect we will see Kadri start the season with the big boys, Burke is tired of having to explain why Kadri isn't ready for the NHL yet, so this will allow the media to see the reasons Kadri has been sent down. But all sarcasm aside, Kadri will be in the big leagues come October, but with a very short leash.

Hockey after 9/11

 

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the NHL had many concerns of their own. The Montreal Canadian captain Saku Koivu had recently been diagnosed with cancer...... The major trades that brought Jaromir Yagr to the Washington Capitals and Eric Lindros to the New York Rangers, would end up and how they had saved a big issue with the referees with a recently signed deal.
But later that day at 9:03 am- the issues of the NHL seemed unimportant, because this day for once, America had no concern with sport.

Word quickly spread after the World Trade Center and the pentagon were attacked by 3 hijacked planes, There was confusion, pain and disbelief looks on the faces of all. But later news broke of a fourth plane headed for the white house and president at the time George Bush, was brought down into a field near Pennsylvania by the brave souls on flight 93. Which despite the deaths of all on-board, saved thousands of more innocent lives.


We lost member of the hockey community that day; we lost players; of all levels, coaches, parents, fans and family. That day, affected all generations and all races of people all demographics of all people. Now a decade later, people argue and debate how these attacks changed the world... but there is no doubt about the fact, that the world was changed.
In the days after this horrible even everyone had to adjust; government, families, business, and every individual. The National Hockey League was no exception to the shock and devastation!

The Victims

Some may remember Garnet "Ace" Bailey, Bailey played in the NHL from 1968-1980. He won 4 Stanley cups; 2 each with the Boston Bruins and the Edmonton Oilers respectively. Unfortunately on September 11, 2001 Bailey was on flight 175 which hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Garnet Bailey was just 53 years young! At the time of his death Bailey was the head scout for the Nashville Predators, he along with assistant scout Mark Bavis both perished in the attacks.

How about St. Lawrence University's rookie of year winners of 1988 Mike Pelletier and Richie Stewart. The two men shared an office at Cantor Fitzgerald headquarters. The headquarters was located just 6 floors away from where the plane crashed into one of the towers. All people in the office died that day including Pelletier and Stewart.

Don't remember Bailey or Pelletier and Stewart? How about current Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau. Now you may be thinking to yourself that Boudreau is still alive and coaching, yes that is true.. but did you know that Bruce Boudreau was supposed to be on flight 175. The flight that hit the South Tower in the attacks. Countless other who had played the game at some point perished that horrible day; including Lenny Taylor and Welles Crowther, both players were exceptional high-school hockey players. Thousands other who were fans of the NHL were lost.

 People who made it alive

Robert Cimetta a first round draft pick of the Boston Bruins (18th overall). Cimetta played 103 NHL career games between the Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Cimetta was on the 61st floor of the South Tower and managed to escape, before the collapse of the Tower. His NHL career was cut short due to injuries. Cimetta released this statement to the Globe and Mail; "As Cimetta raced down the stairs, he wondered whether he was heading into the fire. "It felt like we were animals inside a burning barn," he said. "My heart was racing. My knees were shaking. Women were screaming. I thought I was going to die." In total it took 23 minutes for Cimetta to get from the 61st floor to "ground zero" He emerged through a subway exit, to find a engine of a jet surrounded by police tape.

Stuart Fraser who is a major owner of the CHL Fort Worth Brahmas survived the attacks, by working from home on September 11, 2001. Fraser who was vice chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald.

Bother Fraser and Cimetta have helped raise money for victims and families of 9/11.

NHL's turn.

September11, 2001 the NHL headquarters in New York City was evacuated at 2 pm. With training camp and pre-season right around the corners, the majority of players/teams were together on September 11. The next step was how to move on in a respectable and safe manor. Following suit of the professional leagues... NFL and NBA; the NHL cancelled 11 pre-seasn games of September 15.
 "Of course, that raised the question of when the appropriate time was for hockey, pro football or any sport to resume. "I don't think there is ever a right time," Recchi said. "But you can't put everything on hold [permanently]. The President said it best. The country has got to show up. But there has to be a period of grieving. I don't think there is any question about that."

The National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) was first to the party in sense of charitable interactions to the victims of 9/11. NHLPA donated $500,000 (USD) to aid the families that lost firefighter and policemen.
The New York Rangers were visiting local fire houses in the area The Detroit Red Wings donated blood during their training camp. The Los Angeles Kings donated all proceeds form their September 18th exhibition game against the ducks. to aid relief named honor of Bailey and Bavis.
With the games returning a week after 9/11, many hoped things would go back to normal. But the atmosphere at the games was completely different. The security was taken up several notches, searches of bags, banning some types of them from the buildings. Metal detectors were put in use for certain games, and pat-downs of fans were more frequent. The fact that a hockey arena could be an easy target for a terrorist attack went from a distant nightmare to a very real possibility.

Many different team gave tribute to the fallen from September 11, 2001.
The first major sporting event held in the city after the attacks was September 20, a New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils hockey game, 5000 fans were in attendance. they painted "United We Stand" on the ice near the blue lines and removed the advertisement around the boards to read ""Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of all injured and lost, New York's Finest and Bravest, all volunteers and rescue workers."

Even the Toronto Maple Leafs paid tribute to the fallen at their first game back at the ACC on September 22th there was a bagpipes rendition of "Amazing Grace" and then a surprising first; a standing ovation for the American National Anthem.

But the biggest most impressive ovation, came from the fans at a hockey game, who choose a speech from then president George Bush over the 3rd period of the New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers. it was Sept. 21 at the First Union Center in Philidalphia when Bush made a speech addressing the nation. Bush's speech started at the end of the second, players, fans and coaches all wanted the speech and audio played in the building.
From the Daily News

The men who run the Flyers obliged, continuing to show President Bush address Congress on the center video board rather than play the third period, which was canceled.
Equally stunning was Flyers fans raucously cheering not only the sight of the Mayor of New York and the words "We will rebuild New York City," but then again when the third period of a rollicking game with the hated Rangers was called off and replaced by a handshake line at center ice.

After briefly loosening up to begin the third period, players from both teams headed to the bench when the sizable crowd booed when President Bush's speech was cut off, forcing the return of the address. They then sat, either on their benches or propped on the dasher boards, in rapt attention, for 35 minutes, moving only to tap sticks on the boards in applause.

This moment showed how during the weeks after 9/11 sport never mattered less to the Americans.

Shortly after the regular season had started p for the 2001/2002 NHL season, but that didn't mean the tributes had to stop. Every NHL made a tribute of some sort to the events that happened weeks before 9/11. Some wore commemorative patches. October 4, the Kings gave Ace Bailey's son Todd Bailey a team jersey. On October 7, the Rangers opened their season against the Buffalo Sabres. This resulted in a 30 minute ceremony to honor they NYPD and FDNY members who lost their lives. with members of those teams skating out to form a human tunnel through which the Rangers appeared in the ice. Mark Messier was asked to don the helmet of Ray Downey, the FDNY's Chief of Special Operations who perished at Ground Zero. It was a special moment for Messier who was truly touched.

America always can come together to honor one another. Sport is a great way to numb the pain of the real world. It allows us to just take a step back and be distracted for even a moment. There is no doubt 9/11 changed the way Americans think and act, it has led to great prejudice, and many fears. Now many people are including myself are afraid to fly. They think twice about who their neigh boughs are or co- workers. But through sport American can come together. We remember the great tragedy of 9/11 with the death of the Lokomotive KHL hockey team. The teams plane crashed shortly after take off and all players died. The lone survivor of the team passed away this morning after having 90% of his body severally burned.

What you need to know

Welcome back to another Friday edition of "the puck stops here"
Despite it being a very hectic week in the NHL, there is not much left to talk about........
So I'll see what I can pull together for y'all!

Normally I do not like to talk about players, being signed and what not, but that will have to do for today.

Kyle Wellwood, is the latest edition to the newest team; The Winnipeg Jets. The Jets and Wellwood agreed to a 1 year deal worth around $700,000. The 28 year old has bounced around from team to team, there is much speculation that Wellwood will be forced to play over seas next season. Wellwood, has gained himself a bad reputation around the NHL; He comes to training camp out of shape and parties a little to hard. Are Wellwood's better days behind him? answer in the comments below! Wellwood has racked up a modest 68 goals and 173 points in 373 NHL career games, which has been split between; The Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks. I personally would not take the gamble of adding Wellwood to my team. Yes he's a nifty little player that can get the job done when needed, but I believe he is too much of a hazard ad risk to gamble. It's like rolling a dice and trying to get lucky twice. Now one quick side note to this story; The Winnipeg Jets are the former Atlanta Thrashers. The Trashers were taken away from the city of Atlanta without any heads up or a second chance. Yes the market in Atlanta may not be the biggest for hockey, but the Trashers deserved a little more time to figure out what was wrong and find a solution. Take the Coyotes for example.. anyone counting how many chances they have had now, gotta be close to 5 chances, forget chances, they have been given a free pass by Bettman. Its not fair the way this situation played out, yes we are all happy to have a team back in Canada but Atlanta did not deserve to loose their team so quickly.

Sorry for that rant :)
Anyways, since the limited stories to talk about, I'm going to do some speculation, normally I would never blog about something without confirmation, but just for the fun of it lets do it. You can check your hate at the door folks its not welcome here!

The other night L.A Kings defenseman Drew Doughty reportedly rejected the contract offered to him.
Last season Doughty made a mere 3.5 million, this season Doughty is a restricted free agent and is looking to cash a monster pay day! reportedly the Kings offered Doughty a 9 year 61.2 million dollar contract, in which he would have made 6.8 million alone next season, making him the Kings highest paid defenseman. Now why would Doughty turn down that kind of insane money? Maybe he wants a shorter stay with he Kings, he doesn't want to spend his whole career in place. Doughty was a key part to the Kings mini playoff run.. and was solid during the season, as he was 8th on the team in scoring. so lets take a quick peek at the stats: Doughty has potted 33 goals and dished 93 assists in 239 career games. In the post season last year he added 5 goals and 6 assists in 12 games, the Kings have high intentions of keeping Doughty based on those stats, as he is a very valuable player. So based on the fact he turned down the contracts, people all over started stipulating that he wants to be traded.... and what other big name defenseman still has not been able to work out his contract?..... Luke Schenn! Now unlike Doughty Schenn does not rack up points on the scoreboard, he only scored 5 goals last season and dished a modest 22 assists. Where Schenn's real value is, is the ice time he logs. Last season Schenn averaged 22 minutes a game, 251 hits and 168 blocked shots all of which he Lead the Leafs in. Now intrestingley enough Schenn and Doughty have the same agent! Now there is a slim to none chance that this deal will even be considered.. both players are too valuable for their teams. They both have a different style of play, which their own respected team values. So I don't see this deal happening but it's always a possibility and it is extremely fun to speculate on deals and players.

So that will wrap things up for me this sunny Friday afternoon. hopefully there will be a more eventful weekend and I will have a jam packed blog by next week.
Until then there are only 26 days left till puck drop... October 6th.... WOOOOOOOOOO! start getting excited and I'll see you guys next week!

Russian Tragedy

Welcome to another edition of The Puck Stops Here! In Canada there was a severe storm last week which in turn fried my laptop -__-! So while my laptop is being fixed, I have found a back-up. Today's blog will be focusing on the tragic plane crash out of Russia and Sidney Crosby's "Big Announcement". We will also have little snips on some of the "smaller" stories. Shall we begin?

We will start things off with a story that was reported earlier this morning; A jet plane carrying one of the top elite teams from Russia this morning crashed shortly after take off, killing 43 people and leaving 2 in critical condition. The Jet crashed into the banks of a river 240 KM from Moscow, It was sunny day. The team Lokomotiv  Yaroslav playing out of the KHL league was flying to Belarus for the opening game of their season. There was a reported 45 people on board. Canadian coach Brad McCrimmon was among the deaths, he took over head coaching duties in May after being an assistant with the Red Wings, another familiar name was Pavol Demitra the former St/ Louis Blues player was among the 43 killed. The Lone survivor of the Lokomotiv Yaroslav was Alexander Galimov; He and one crew member made it alive but are critical condition. The team was a powerhouse in the KHL coming in third place last season. The YAK-42 plane was 18 years old and was owned by a small Moscow Yak company. This is a very sad day for sure, a country has lost one of its key hockey, but more importantly 43 young men. The cause of the accident is unknown, but forces us to take a step back and remember there is more to life than just hockey. 43 families have lost loved ones today, their lives will be forever changed. My thoughts and prayers go out to those 43 families and the 2 people in critical condition. RIP Lokomotiv Yaroslav!

On to some good news for Penguins fans and frankly all of the NHL, Crosby addressed the media today for the first time since his concussion back in January. In the interview Crosby stated that he would be back playing in the NHL sometime this season, but that he would NOT  be ready for training camp.
“Retirement? No. I think I’ve always thought about the consequence of this injury … that being said, I never thought about that,” he said. So far Crosby is cleared to practice but not for any form of contact and there is no time table for him being aloud to take part in contact drills. Crosby's setback came when he was back up to 90% workout routines When he got to 80-90 per cent, the symptoms started coming back, so we backed off. Here is how stupid the media is; the media asked if Crosby should remain captain of the Penguins! There is no way the Penguins have even thought f replacing him. They may use a fill in Captain, but not for the long run! What player in that locker room has Crosby lke characteristics...... no one! “From the team standpoint, there's no replacing Sidney Crosby,” Shero said.
Soo the good news is Crosby will be back playing in the NHL sometime later this season!

The new Winnipeg Jets have unvailed their new Jerseys and they leave something to be disired. The jerseys features the new logo circularly in the centre and features two colours of blue. The dark blue is suppoessed to represent the new colur of the army airplanes. The jerseys frankly look like retro jerseys not your everyday home and aways pair seen in the NHL. I would have liked to see mre creativity and maybe a team name somewhere on the jersey.



A scary story out of Philedaphia, as Flyers GM Paul Holmgren crashed his motorcycle. Good news is there is nothing seriously wrong, with the hospilitalized GM. He has some broken ribs and a broken shoulder as well as stiches on his arms and legs, but is expected to make a full recovery. Holmgren released this statement folowing the injury; "sore, but otherwise in good spirits".

Lastly we'll wrap up with a small story around the ever popular Alexander Ovechkin. Ovechkin is always under the scrutiny of the media, and has been in several artcles this summer, wheather he be out of shape, not a good teammate or hurt, there is always a story. But this week Ovechkin has stepped up to the plate and said he himself wil be a better leader for the Washington Capitals." I think right now I'm in better shape than I was last year — and year before,"Ovechkin stated, coing off his worst "statistical season with only 32 goals and 85 points. Capitals owner isnt to worried about his super star; "He tried something different last year. He wanted to work his way into shape so that he was peaking during the playoffs," Leonsis said. "He's trying something different this year. The results will speak for themselves at the end of the season, but he looks great. And he's in great spirits, and when your captain and best player, highest-paid player, is confident and in shape, I think that sets the tone." Ovechkin plans on bringing a more serious mind set to the team this season, last season he said he didnt know how to handle all the pressure ue to never being captian before. "I think, of course, last year and year before it was something new for me, being the captain," Ovechkin said. "Last year was a good year for me to learn what I have to do. ... Right now I think everybody knows what we have to do, and I have to show, and I have to say, 'C'mon guys, we have to do this and that.' I have to show them. And, you know, I'm the one, the leader of the team. And outside the rink I'm the same person. But inside the rink, we are different." Ovechkin is doing a new "secret" work out regime this off season and has arrived early to trainning camp which doesnt officially start till the 16th. Ovechkin was in town to announce a new endoursement deal with Bauer which he hopes will result in less broken sicks.
I think this is good news for Capitals fans, having a more serious and determined Ovechkin will be good, he'll be more willing to call players out and finally earn the respect he deserves. But ovechkin can't do it all by himself, sure 32 goals isn't up to the Ovechkin standard, but by the NHL standard its pretty darn good! Ovechkin's plan of working up to top shape for playoffs may have backfired, but this new plan better work or there will be big shake ups in the Washington!

That will do it for me, stay tuned for more of my blogs and check out my twitter, there is a link there on the side!
thanks for reading, have a great week!