Sidney Crosby is Tired Of Waiting Time to Head to the KHL

Congratulations Gary Bettman, the face of the NHL and your meal ticket is about to head overseas because of the lockout. Sidney Crosby the player responsible for saving the Pittsburgh Penguins and bringing excitement back to the NHL has decided enough is enough and is seriously thinking about heading overseas to play some actual hockey, instead of just talking about it. Since the beginning of the lockout 73 days ago Crosby has been one of the most dedicated NHLPA players. He's shown up to the majority if not all of the meetings spoken to local media, has kept fairly quit (no name calling) but is quickly becoming anxious. It appears now he's finally decided to join fellow teammate Evgeni Malkin over in the KHL;

"You know what? It's a lot more possible right now" ~ Crosby told reporters when asked if he had considered heading overseas. "A quick end to the lockout is not looking too good"

Perhaps the only thing holding Crosby here in North America, beside his optimism and loyalty is the high insurance costs he'll have to pay to head over to Europe. Crosby would likely have to pay $400,000 per month to be insured for game action with another team besides the Penguins. But Crosby has said it was always his intention to wait till the end of November or early December before heading to Europe in order to give the NHL and his employers every last chance to get the NHL back on the ice.

Although by contract Crosby, Ovechkin and Malkin are obligated to come back and play for their respective NHL teams once the lockout ends, Crosby is the last person Bettman wants to make an enemy with. The Penguins captain was the first overall pick after the 2004-2005 lockout and singlehandedly saved the Penguins franchise and turned them into a top notch dynasty who have a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup every season. Not only did he become the face of the Penguins he also became the face of the NHL. Ask any non hockey fan to name a current NHL player, chances are the first person they name is Crosby. Heck there's even people who don't like hockey but are willing to go to a game too see Crosby. When Bettman looks at Crosby he sees dollar signs; His jersey is always in the top 5 and when he's playing the arena is almost always sold out, even when the Penguins are on the road people flock for a chance to see him play. One could argue he is the most influential player currently in the NHLPA union, he could end the lockout with one phone call to Fehr. Problem is he's fully committed to getting the players the best deal possible not just himself and wont quit until the very end and now he too is jumping ship.

Crosby heading to Europe is bad news for the NHL. Finally he's "concussion" free, his symptoms are gone and he is 100% healthy. Who knows what kind of career numbers he could have put up this season in the NHL? Instead he's been kept of the score sheet by the NHL and this lockout;

"At the end of the day, I'm a hockey player and I love to play. I've been practicing a lot the last few years, I just want to play." ~Sidney Crosby

As of right now the only option for Crosby to play is over in Europe and perhaps his competitive side is finally coming out. Crosby is just that, a hockey player. He's no business man, what he needs to live and function an ordinary life is hockey, he's missed more games than he's played in the last 2 years, he's itching to play and right now he can't get that in North America which is why he needs to head overseas. Could you imagine the KHL with Malkin, Ovechkin, Giroux and Crosby?

To be honest it's remarkable Crosby has stayed and kept quite so long, he's a class act, he wanted to stay loyal to the league which has brought him success. Being the face of the NHL if he does head over to the KHL it's a global story and a flat out embarrassment to the NHL. The fact the league forces their poster boy to head overseas to play hockey is just sad. But as much of a "class act" Crosby is he does have a little resentment towards the NHL; He was injured by 2 hits that he himself thought should have been met with supplemental discipline and now they've locked him out. The best and only way for him to "stick" it to the NHL is to head to the KHL, the league that was created to one day compete with the NHL. Having Crosby play on one of their teams, even for half a season is just the break they've been looking for.

For Crosby to play in Europe it would be a major statement to the NHL and Bettman and hopefully a wake up call. As much as it may pain him to head to Russia he has to do it. He hasn't had the opportunity to play because of injuries during the last 2 seasons, he's healthy now and wants to play. But the NHL should be embarrassed if he heads to Europe.

What You Need to Know August 31

This will be the second installment of " What You Need to Know" this week. For those that know this is my summer series where I run down a whole bunch of news/stories/rumours that have taken place in the NHL or will impact the NHL over the last week. Here we go:

• Players un-happy with NHL's second offer

It (the NHL proposal) was a pig with lipstick on, instead of a pig.'' ~Red Wings Dan Cleary

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had stated after that "Substantial differences" had been implemented in the leagues second proposal to the players. The second proposal would see the players percent of the pie rise to 46 but add that a percentage of players salaries would go towards escrow. The tone from the players after looking over the proposal was pretty negative, some even went on to say "Bettman is adamant on his third lockout".

The two sides met again today and the NHLPA was expected to present their changes to the league second proposal.

• Oilers lock up another young stall in Eberle

Shortly after his best friend both on and off the ice Taylor Hall signed his deal with the Oilers, Jordan Eberle signed on the dotted line. The Oilers and Eberle agreed to a 6 year deal worth $36 million.

"Obviously I'm pretty excited, with Taylor getting his done last week, I was pretty anxious. I'm happy to be an Oiler ... and I think with the direction the team's going it's pretty obvious that there's a lot of excitement level around Edmonton and throughout our locker room."

Heck for $36 million, I'd be happy to be an Oiler too! This is a great signing both for Eberle and the Oilers as they help lock up another key member of their core going forward. Eberle has 52 goals and 67 assists in 147 games with the Oilers.

• Bogosian on the shelf 4-6 months

The Winnipeg Jets will be without the services of defenceman Zach Bogosian for the next 4-6 months after he underwent a successful surgery on his right wrist. The surgery was to repair a torn ligament in his wrist.

• Top prospect for Wild goes wild and breaks his leg

Mario Lucia one of the top prospects for the Minnesota Wild broke his right fibula and tore ligaments in his ankle when a teammate fell on him at practice. The injury will likely result in Lucia missing the first three months of his freshman year at Notre Dame. The Wild took Lucia in the second round in the 2011 draft and is thought of to be in the top 10 of up and coming Wild prospects.

"Hopefully I'll get back quicker than three months, but I'm in a cast for seven weeks, so there's not much I can do about that."

• Roy recovering well from shoulder surgery

Sticking with the injury news, Derek Roy is eyeing a return to the Dallas Stars in November. After being traded from the Buffalo Sabres to the Dallas Stars this offseason Roy underwent shoulder surgery to fix an ailing injury. Roy will soon be getting back on the ice and is looking forward to joining his new teammates;

"I haven’t skated in a while, I am going to start skating in three weeks or a month, and get that back up to speed, keep rehabbing the shoulder and move forward."

Roy managed 44 points in 80 games which resulted in a disappointing season with the Sabres. The Stars are hoping that he will be able to up that production now that he fixed his shoulder.

• More  star players heading overseas

While nothing yet is official (and wont be until after September 15th) players are starting to look for other places to play next season. In Monday's edition I mentioned the Ovechkin has been in contact with the KHL and this past week his lawyer flew over to talk about a possible contract. Even worse news for fans if the lockout goes past December fans can expect to see the golden boy Sidney Crosby head overseas. Crosby's agent said if the NHL remains on strike into late December Crosby will indeed look for other options overseas. Crosby's teammate Evgeni Malkin will also be heading overseas if a lockout is imminent. On top of that the KHL president has said he is "Prepared to welcome all locked out NHLers, the gate is wide open". Speaking as a NHL fan *gulp*

• Turris resigns after a fresh start in Ottawa

After being labelled as a player who didn't try hard and would quit on a team when he wanted out, Kyle Turris was traded to the Ottawa Senators and found a new home at the end of last season. Now it appears he'll be making Ottawa his home for the foreseeable future. The Senators and Turris agreed to a 5 year contract extension that will see him stay in the nation's capital through the 2017-2018 season.

"I'm really excited, I love it here in Ottawa. I love being part of the organization and the people in it and the hockey team we have here. I'm really looking forward to being here the next six years, and hopefully past that. I knew at the end of the year that this was the place I wanted to be, and I wanted to be for a long time. I love the city. I love everything about it."

 

• Rene Bourque to miss 8-12 weeks

More injury news to report, the Montreal Canadiens Rene Bourque will be out for the next 8-12 weeks after surgery to repair a wall in his abdomin that collapsed during training.

That will do it for the stories from the past week.

The Kid is Back!

I know, I know; most hockey fans (including myself) are 
 sick and tired about hearing when Crosby will make his return, but he has FINALLY made it back to the ice for a game, and that's something to blog about! I know Crosby`s return to the ice has been, over televised, over analyzed and what not, but if you don`t understand what Sidney Crosby brings to the game of hockey and the NHL, then you my friend, no nothing about hockey!
Those of you who follow me on twitter (@Hockeylife30) would know that; I don't like the Pittsburgh Penguins and I am not a huge fan of Crosby, but I was very happy to see him play Monday night. When I first awoke Monday morning I was disappointed to see Crosby's return was not on my TV schedule for that night, infact none of 7 games were available to me! So when I heard that CBC had picked up the game I was beyond excited.

When the public address announcer called out Sidney Crosby's name during the pre-game, there was a deafening cheer, as everyone at the game rose to their feet welcoming the games biggest super star back to the ice. Crosby did not disappoint, in a night that will go down in NHL history; much like Lemouix's return (the two were compared all night) Crosby netted 2 goals and added 2 assists just for the fun of it. Talk about amazing, a guy that's been out of the lineup for 10 months, comes back and has a game like he did on Monday night, is literally incredible. Now I'd be lying if I said that I was surprised by Crosby's play on Monday night. For one, he's been skating for what 2 months now? He's had all the time to sharpen his skills and hone them to perfection, it wasn't, a situation where they threw a player out there and hope they are ready, the Penguins took their sweet time in letting Crosby be "fully" healed and prepared for his first game back. Another reason I wasn't all that surprised, is because of their opponents, a team Crosby has dominated his whole career, a team that is struggling badly in the league right now, and a team that was starting a rookie goaltender; The New York Islanders. I'm not taking anything away from Sidney Crosby's triumphant return, just saying I wasn't all that surprised with how well he played. It took Crosby just 5 minutes and 24 seconds to show, that he was back and ready to play, he scored a goal, that will now be showed over and over and over again on sports highlight shows. It was a sweet goal; Crosby took a pass in the neutral zone, split two Islander defenders, then went backhand roof-daddy on the Islanders rookie goalie. It was Crosby's first goal since Dec. 28, 2010. On CBC they clocked him going 35 mph on that play, nothing is going to stop a player going that fast, except maybe a brick wall. That goal sent the crowd at Consol Energy Center into a mad frenzy and of course Crosby wasn't finished yet! Crosby then preceded to score his second goal of the night, it wasn't as "pretty" as the first goal, but it still counts. Crosby was against the boards trying to rid himself of an Islanders defenseman, he spun and turned and made the defenseman look like a total fool, then Crosby took a quick shot that went off the post and in! Crosby finished the night with 4 points in 16 minutes of ice time in a 5-0 win over the Islanders.

After the game Sid the Kid was all smiles; "I'll have a great memory of this one for a lot of different reasons," Crosby said after the game. "That was a pretty fun one to be a part of. I'm happy it went well." But some folks went a little over board after the game; a question was tweeted many times on twitter; "how long before Crosby is leading the league in points"? originally asked by Jonathan Quick. Now although Quick was kidding, Crosby now has 70 points in his last 42 games, I don't think it will be long before Kessel gets some company atop the league as Crosby is now only 25 points back."For us, watching him every day in practice, even last year when we were in the playoffs and he was skating with us, he was doing amazing things," Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said. "He treated his rehab real seriously and that's what happens when you make the sacrifice. He came back and was 100 percent like he said he was going to be." Pittsburgh forward Matt Cooke added, "It's Sidney Crosby. The guy loves the stage and he loves to play. He's one of the biggest competitors. Not just in hockey, but in everything he does. It's proof of that tonight." One thing is for sure, Crosby has one of the best work ethics in all of professional sports. There is no real secret to the amazing skill that Crosby possess; some people are born with, but the rest has to be worked at; Crosby is successful because he works so hard at what he does and what he loves. He is one of the most respected players around the league, and his peers were both happy and impressed by Crosby's return. Logan Coutoure took to twitter to say that; "Saying  #87 makes it look easy is an understatement," Leafs Forward Tyler Bozak added his two cents; "What a player, It was great for the game of hockey to have him back on the ice putting on a show again." "I still can't put into words how HAPPY I am for Sidney Crosby. I watched the highlights and get choked up," said former MLS star Taylor Twellman, who was forced to retire because of concussion-related problems. So Crosby is possibly the most popular Canadian athlete in all of sports.

Upon hearing the Crosby would suit up for the game on Monday the hockey world was set a buzz; CBC went crazy to buy rights to air the game, and cancelled all their shows lined up for the typical Monday night slot, to top that they had a Sidney Crosby special airing before the game. And how about the sports journalists, so many journalists applied to get into the game, that they had to deny access to some, I believe there were 77 requests for media credentials, the journalists had to find a plane to fly them to Pittsburgh, so needless to say the hockey world was a wild mess leading up to a game, that couldn't have been written any better. I jokingly said to my dad "how long till the movie rights are sold". Like I said earlier this was a huge thing for the game of hockey and the NHL, the face of the sport was back on the ice, doing his thing, scoring highlight reel goals and making heads turn. Many young kids take to the ice, because they want to be just like Sidney Crosby, they bug and bug their parents until they get a Crosby jersey, then they want to see him play, so they buy tickets; Sidney Crosby is a money maker for the NHL, and he also draws a large crowd to watch games; heck Sportscenter had a top 10 Sidney Crosby highlight reel this morning. ESPN in the states even led off their evening Sportscenter with hockey. I didn't even know they knew how to spell hockey! Heck Sidney Crosby is hockey, he is what every young Canadian hockey playing boy wants to be. Sidney Crosby`s return was an amazing beginning to a new chapter in his story. I'm super happy for Crosby, the last 10 months of his life has been a living nightmare; dizziness, grogginess, headaches and disorientation; not knowing when or if these symptoms would pass and when he would awaken from this horror story. Not knowing if or when he would play a game again, how long it would take for him to be the SIDNEY Crosby of old again. But he's back and perhaps better than ever "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

One downer for me, is that Crosby has been back for 1 game, 16 minutes, and they are already back to using Crosby and Ovechkin in the same sentences again. These two phenomenal hockey players are completely different; Crosby has had better coaching and has been allowed to develop and become who he is today in the NHL, Ovechkin has had crappy coaching, every coach he's had has tried to change his game to what they want, instead of what makes Ovechkin, be Ovechkin. They have two different styles and two different teams; Crosby has tons of help, Ovechkin doesn't. But already people are wondering if Crosby's hot start will make Ovechkin play better. Give it a break people! Why can't Crosby have his moment without dragging Ovechkin into the question? People are actually saying, that Ovechkin stopped playing well just cause Crosby was hurt? Give it a rest people, the two parties are completely unrelated here. Crosby misses 68 games and then after 1 were right back to the rivalary of these two, they haven't even faced off against each other yet! (Anyways if Crosby's hot play sparks Ovechkin then I'm fine with it, I like Ovechkin, but in my humble opinion nothing will help Ovechkin until there is a change behind his bench.)

So Crosby is back and all is well again in the NHL and in Pittsburgh, it was great to see Sid the Kid back on the ice, scoring goals. Hopefully he stays healthy and continues to produce, I still think some bone head player will try and hit Crosby again, but I hope I'm wrong. So here's to a great year for Crosby and hopefully the last time I have to hear major talk about him for the foreseeable feature. Just Let the kid play.
So to sum it up Congrats Crosby, and I'm sorry to all the teams that have to play against him soon!

What you Need to Know!

Hello readers and blogger's alike! TODAY IS FRIDAY! I'm going to be talking about some of the stories that took place this week, but were not worthy of a blog of their own. This will most likely become a normal Friday blog, "What you need to know." This blog will consist of a whole bunch of little stories from around the NHL.
Here we go.....

First we start things off with the Toronto Maple Leafs; earlier this week we heard from back-up goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, and he is feeling much healthier than previous seasons and how expects to be a series contender in the leafs carousel of goaltenders. Early last season he was expected to be the leafs no.1 goaltender, but due poor play and injury, he lost the job to Jean-Sebastian Giguere. After the loss of the number one job he got sent down to the AHL Marlies to see if he could stay healthy and step his game up. Gustavsson has gone through a total of 3 heart surgeries, to repair an irregular heart beat. it is expected this season that Gustavsson will be the back up to unlikely hero James Reimer. Reimer was called up near the end of the season and had quite an impressive stint with the big boys, even winning the number 1 job away from season veteran Jean-Sebastian Giguere. Gustavsson is sure he can help young rookie Reimer in his development as well as help the team overall.“That's my goal. To push him and [have him] push me and to do whatever I can to make this team better.”The leafs are in a tough division for goaltenders, that includes the likes of; Miller, Price, Brodeur, Thomas and Lundqvist, they need the young tandem of Reimer and Gustavsson to step up and keep them around in the East. the one part of the puzzle that has been lacking for the Leafs is goaltending, they have a respectable bunch of forwards lead by Kessle and a stellar defense that any team would want lead by Phaneuf and Schenn, now it comes down to the goaltending. So the question remains can Reimer and Gustavsson match the goaltending caliber of a Ryan Miller or Tim Thomas? we'll have to wait and see.

next up is a report that surfaced from a former Washington Capital; Matt Bradley. After a total of 6 seasons with the Capitals, Bradley had some choice words for his former team and teammates. bradley insisted that the team just didn't show up in the playoffs, because a few key members didn't really care. "I think our locker room was maybe a little bit too nonchalant, and guys weren't disciplined the way they should have been," Bradely told TEAM 1200. "Those two things are big things. It wasn't that guys were going out the night before a game, but not being ready to practice or missing practice with questionable injuries and not being focused."IS THIS IT? HAS MATT BRADLEY FIGURED OUT WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WASHINGTON CAPITALS COME PLAYOFFS? no! this is Bradley lashing out that he is not apart of a Stanley Cup contending team anymore. Bradley is now a member of the Florida Panthers, does anyone remember their last chance at coming close to a cup? I do believe there is some truth to his argument though, some of the players don't giver their full effort during the post season. who are those players? lets ask Bradly;
"I don't mind saying Alexander Semin's name because he's one guy who has so much talent, he could easily be the best player in the league, and for whatever reason just doesn't care," Bradley said. "When you've got a guy like that you need him to be your best player, or one of your best players, and when he doesn't show up, you almost get the sense that he wants to be back in Russia. That's tough to win when you've got a guy like that who's supposed to be your best player not being your best player. Or one of your best players." HMMM I wonder why Bradley left the Capitals... making some enemies around town. Although it is no suprise that Alexander Semin does not care, everyone in the sports world can see this, they talked about it all playoffs long, it aint rocket science! Bradley even went as far as criticizing the coaching decision to give star players more ice time :o There were a lot of guys who played well that didn't probably play as much as they needed to, but I love Bruce (Boudreau) and Bruce is a great coach and he was in a very tough position there, because in Washington our top guys are definitely the stars and the guys that people want to see on the ice, so I totally understand," Bradley said. "That just doesn't happen on our team, it happens on a lot of teams. hmmm here is a random thought; maybe fans buy tickets to see star players, not 4th line players that ride the bench all game and score 3 important goals all season long. The fans want to see the Ovechkins and Semins that why they come out to the games! surprisingly enough Bradley had nothing bad to say about Ovechkin!
"I never worry about Ovi," he said. "He's an all-in guy. He's young; he makes his mistakes the same as anyone would. I often try to put myself in his position. And you've got to remember, he's 25 years old, he's got a guaranteed $120 million, he's on top of the world, and he still for the most part makes the right decisions."
good idea Bradley never criticize the captain of the team you just left! Bradley finished the post season with 3 goals and 8 assists, while Semin had 12 goals and 18 assists! Bradley needs to grow up and maybe contribute more to his team, oh wait he's sitting on the bench all game, my bad!

Next we move on to a story that literally just came in! Chris Drury is announcing his retirement from the NHL! Drury is the former captain of the New York Rangers! Drury, who turns 35 on Saturday, had the final year of his US$35.25-million contract bought out by the Rangers in June after four seasons with club. Drury had a rough season last year with many nagging injuries, thus resulting in 1 goal  and 4 assists in only 24 game. Drury has almost done it all, after getting drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in 1994, he won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001 and took part in the 2002 and 2010 Mens Olympic ice hockey team for the United States, both times winning a silver medal. Drury finishes with totals of 255 goals and 360 assists in 892 career-regular season games with Colorado, Calgary, Buffalo and the Rangers.

And our last story is; The new Jersey Devils Travis Zajac will miss the start of the 2011-2012 season. Zajac is expected to miss 8 to 10 weeks while recovering from a surgery to repair his left Achilles tendon. Zajac is entering his 6th NHL season and has spent all 6 years with the Devil's, he is a key part of the organization and a very good role player. Zajac has put up points to help back up his nasty swagger; He is New Jersey all-time ironman, with a consecutive games played streak of 401, Zajac had 13 goals and 31 assists in 82 games with the Devils last season. In 408 career NHL games, the 26-year-old recorded 89 goals and 160 assists.

thank you for reading this Friday blog, Sorry it went a little long, but I hope you enjoyed it :D just quickly in closing the Toronto Maple leafs are getting close to a deal with defence man Luke Schenn. Schenn is a Restricted Free Agent, and can basically not leave the Leafs. Nonis  the Senior Vice-President of Hockey Operations of the leafs expects there to be a deal done by the start of training camp. Stating that Schenn wants to resign and remain a Leaf. Also Steven Stamkos will grace the cover of EA's NHL 12.
Have a good weekend!