NHL 2008/2009 Season

[Darth Fanboy]

Great to see Chris Kunitz get another Cup, and great to watch the entire Red Wing team crying after the biggest choke in Detroit history. The anointing of Saint Crosby will become annoying, but its worth it to see Hossa play craptastic as his plan to get a cup failed.

Did anyone see the hit that injured Crosby halfway through the game? Puck was nowhere near him when he was sent into the boards and no penalty was called. I have a feeling that cheap shot will be lost in the celebration though.

[Archon]

Congrats to the 2008-2009 Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

And now for my closing comments on the 2008-2009 season:
FUCK YOU MARIAN HOSSA!

bring on the draft!

[septesix]

Why all the hate for Marian Hossa? I just don't quite get it.

We often complained about how pro athlete cares only about money and not winning ( biggest case in point, A-Rod). And here is a guy who is willing to make sacrifice , take a short and uncertain deal for less money for a better chance to win it all. Why is that so wrong?

Don't forget that Penguin was floundering before their coaching changes and Free agent signing. Back it February when Pens were out of a play-off spot, it certainly makes Hossa looks very smart in that regard.

Speaking of coaches, enough source have pointed out that players in Pittsburgh hated playing Michel Therrien's very defensive-minded style of game. That's probably just as big a reason for Hossa to leave.

But mostly, people simply forget. HOSSA WAS A RENTAL PLAYER! There was no, and never should have been, any expectation that Penguins will keep Hossa around. He didn't even had a choice when he was traded to Pittsburgh. Who's to say he ever wanted to stay there to begin with?

Again, I just don't get the Hossa hate. Well, I can understand Red Wing fans hating him for underachieving in the playoff again. but not much else.

He'll get his chance again.

[thejester]

I don't understand it in the context of American sports, where player loyalty is shaded only by the big European football leagues. But yeah, bailing on your team when the going gets tough for the people you lost to in the finals is a bit of a dog act no matter what way you look at it.

And Max Talbot is added to my list of 'massive man crushes'.

[septesix]

I don't understand it in the context of American sports, where player loyalty is shaded only by the big European football leagues. But yeah, bailing on your team when the going gets tough for the people you lost to in the finals is a bit of a dog act no matter what way you look at it.

And Max Talbot is added to my list of 'massive man crushes'.

Maybe I should have put it in bold type: Penguin is NOT Hossa's team. It never was. He had no choice but to play there when he was traded by Atlanta. For all we know he could've hated Pittsburgh since before he got there and his great performance was just he putting on a nice act and not letting people down.

People keep dissing Hossa like he's suppose to be loyal to the Penguin or something. But they didn't draft him, they didn't sign him, Hossa never choose to go there. He was suppose to be a rental player , that's all. Rental player rarely stick around and sign with the team again. Hossa only become a big news because of who he decided to sign with.

Oh and Yes, Talbot is cool. When you look back a couple of games ago and remember what Malkin said about his shooting skill (to paraphrase "He needs to work on it over summer" it was a joke though), it really is funny how things worked with him scored the only two goal.

[aerius]

Did anyone see the hit that injured Crosby halfway through the game? Puck was nowhere near him when he was sent into the boards and no penalty was called.

It's Detroit, they always get away with this crap.

Why all the hate for Marian Hossa? I just don't quite get it.

It goes all the way back to when he played for Ottawa. Hossa always plays well during the regular season, but with the exception of last year he always chokes it up good during the playoffs then whines & makes excuses about it. And the only reason he played well last year was because he was on a line with Malkin & Crosby, it's impossible to suck playing on that line.

[CmdrWilkens]

Did anyone see the hit that injured Crosby halfway through the game? Puck was nowhere near him when he was sent into the boards and no penalty was called. I have a feeling that cheap shot will be lost in the celebration though.

Are you kidding? He played the puck and was legally hip checked. He, and the guy who checked him, were the only two players who could make a play on the puck. It was clean, nobody left the ice, and nothing after the hip. He just got wedged against the boards in a funny way. Good no call especially given the ridiculous matching minors they handed out.

[Darth Fanboy]

Every time I look at that play, I see the hit put on after the puck had been played, plenty of time to hold up. But Detroit gets away with that BS all the time, I refer you to the video I linked to earlier.

Septesix, it's not about supposed playoff loyalty. It was about suprning a massive contract offer, made out of gratitude, in favor of a discounted rate at the team that just handed you your ass on a platter and its about a team like Detroit getting top quality talent at a discount in a way no other team can match.

[Darth Fanboy]

Anyone else follow the draft this year? You might have heard about the big trade between Anaheim and Philly.

Flyers get:
Chris Pronger
Ryan Dingle

Ducks Get:
Joffery Lupul
Luca Sbisa
2009 1st Round Pick
2010 1st Round Pick
2010 or 2011 3rd Round pick

[Darth Fanboy]

Teemu Selanne will be back as well!

[Archon]

Flames sign Jay Bouwmeester.

$6.6 million a year for 5 years. Where is the smug dog pic when you need it?

[Darth Fanboy]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=432340

Health Canada and The Home Game Inc. are recalling thousands of pacifiers adorned with logos of several NHL teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, after a choking risk was discovered.

Health Canada says that the handle and nipple parts of the "Little Sport Pacifiers," bearing the logos of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks, and Team Canada, may become separated and the pieces may pose a choking or ingestion risk to children and infants.

So far Health Canada has received one report of an incident involving the separation of the handle and nipple portions of the pacifiers, but has received no reports of injuries.

Those with the pacifiers are urged to contact The Home Game Inc. at 1-800-563-6733 ext. 300 for instructions on how to return the pacifiers or how to dispose of them, and to also contact the company or Health Canada if they see any of these products for sale.

So now you can tell jokes about the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks choking being more than just a turn of phrase.

[CmdrWilkens]

So the Caps sign Knuble for just about all the space left they have under the cap. Hoenstly he is the perfect fit for that top line and can be what Kozlov was suppossed to be: The big man who scoops up the rebounds. It was one of the frustrating things this year in that for as much as Ovechkin shot the puck (and sure he scored but his shot total was , I think, 2nd highest all-time) there were plenty of juicy rebounds in close that shoudl have been goals. So Knuble solves the issue of a physical winger to camp the net and pick up the rebounds. If Clark comes back into form on the right wing of the 2nd line then with Semin on the left the only question is how well Laich can pivot for them or if Nylander shows back up to avoid playing the 4th Line.

So yeah now the real question is whether anyone is willing to take Theodore so we can sign Johnson to an extension and use him to help mentor Varlamov and Neuvirth (he'd be MUCH better at this than Theo and much cheaper too). That said if it doesn't work then it could be interesting to see how Theo responds to the fact that he has this last chance to prove himself right before an ugly FA season next year after the expected cap drop. Could be interesting.