09-10 NHL Thread: The Quest for the Cup!

[Immortalfire]

Welcome to the new thread, hockey fans.

 

[Ziggyman]

Go Leafs Go!!!

 

[Alex The Great]

^

Go Sens Go

 

[ih8nyy]

Finally.

 

[Themanofbat]

Go Flames Go!!!

 

[Immortalfire]

Thrashers!!

 

[ih8nyy]

Bruins Fenway the stage for a Classic

The NHL will unveil the worst-kept secret Wednesday at Fenway Park, officially introducing the famed ballpark as the site of the 2010 Winter Classic. The Bruins will host Philadelphia Jan. 1 in the third Winter Classic.

The 2009 outdoor game took place at Wrigley Field between Chicago and Detroit. The inaugural Winter Classic was held in 2008, at Ralph Wilson Stadium between Buffalo and Pittsburgh.

Defending NCAA champion Boston University will play Boston College in an outdoor game as part of the Winter Classic. There is also discussion about making the Fenway rink available for open skates to the public.

A news conference will take place at 2 p.m. It will be simulcast on the NHL Network and streamed at www.nhl.com.

This is going to make the WC games at Wrigley and Buffalo look like childs play when it is all said and done. I hope the rest of the league is taking notes this year.

 

[ih8nyy]

Thrashers!!

They haven't moved that franchise yet?

 

[Immortalfire]

Shaddup

 

[TLH]

Go Flames Go!

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

Redwings or Leafs whoooooooo *smashes head off wall*

As a noob to the sport, when do the games kick off?

 

[Immortalfire]

Early part of October

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

Early part of October

Nice! I've been gaining much knowledge

 

[ih8nyy]

Nice! I've been gaining much knowledge

Your homework assignment for the weekend is to go watch Slapshot and Miracle.

 

[DChero]

Most of the Penguins lineup is returning, and I couldn't be happier.

Go Pens!

 

[TLH]

Strange thing about the Penguins is that halfway through the season they were out of the playoffs, only to get hot and win the Stanley Cup. I have to wonder, with the same lineup, if they will be able to pull off such a miraculous recovery if they find themselves out of the playoffs 40 games in next season.

 

[SolarTiger]

Most of the Penguins lineup is returning, and I couldn't be happier.

Go Pens!

Jay Mckee is a good replacement for Scuderi I think. But this year is the year Malkin and Stall come off their rookie contracts, so it will be interesting how they deal with the cap drop coming up. Hell, half the team in the league seem to be heading towards some major cap troubles.


EDIT-oh and Go Oilers Go!

 

[Death Roe]

Penguins suck, they're not gonna be close to a dynasty.

 

[Immortalfire]

Lightning sign Nittymaki http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_y...lug=ap-lightning-niittymaki&prov=ap&type=lgns

 

[Eric Draven]

In two or three years, the Lightning are going to be quite the team to reckon with. Stamkos and Hedman along with Lecavalier (if they keep him, which they honestly should), St. Louis and they even have Mattias Ohland to mentor Hedman.

 

[Shifty]

The Devils have hired Jacques Lemaire as head coach. Not sure how I feel about that.

It looks like Tampa Bay Lightning co-owner Len Barrie will have to put his money where his mouth is.

According to a report in the St. Petersburg Times, Barrie was told by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman that he had a deadline set for this Friday to have $10 million to prove that he can continue funding the club.

The money would reportedly be used to cover the Lightning's financial losses for the current fiscal year as well as provide a slush fund in case more money is needed.

The Times reports that while the consequences for not meeting the deadline are unclear, it is possible that Bettman could take away Barrie's rights to manage the team.

As it stands now, co-owner Oren Koules acts as the Chief Executive Officer and league governor for the team, but Barrie's input is required for all major personnel decisions.

Bettman called a meeting with the two owners and general manager Brian Lawton on June 23 in an attempt to try to solve the power struggle that has developed between the two owners who are at odds in how to best build the team, both philosophically and financially.

Another bang up job of the BOGs and Bettman approving these guys as owners.

But the big news of the day...

Hawks Fire Tallon, Make Stan Bowman GM

The Chicago Blackhawks have parted ways with general manager Dale Tallon and replaced him with assistant general manager Stan Bowman.

Bowman is the son of Hall of Fame coach and Blackhawks senior advisor Scotty Bowman.

Tallon and the Blackhawks recently took heat over the off-season for failing to properly send free agent offers to several players by the deadline. All of the players re-signed with the Blackhawks.

The incident was an embarrassing one for the club and the NHLPA filed a grievance with the league, but it was not believed to be a major factor in the change.

Tallon became GM in 2005 and helped the club draft players like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. With a crop of solid young talent, the Blackhawks showed steady improvement over the past few years.

Last season, Chicago made the playoffs for the first time since 2002. The young and skilled lineup made it all the way to Western Conference final, but lost to the Detroit Red Wings in five games.

His UFA signings are questionable (overpaying Campbell, Hossa for 12 years etc) and then there was the RFA offer sheets debacle. But why fire him now and not before the draft or free agency? Should be interesting to hear why now after they signed their RFAs and Hossa.

 

[Immortalfire]

I don't know how long Lemaire will last.

 

[Themanofbat]

I love your "Guy Smilie" avatar...

 

[Bob ROARman!]

His UFA signings are questionable (overpaying Campbell, Hossa for 12 years etc) and then there was the RFA offer sheets debacle. But why fire him now and not before the draft or free agency? Should be interesting to hear why now after they signed their RFAs and Hossa.

Campbell, on the contract, yes questionable. But Hossa's contract was great. It's the only way to get that kind of talent and still leave room for re-signing guys like Toews and Kane and Keith. Havlat wanted more money and he is just not as good and injury prone. Tallon screwed up, as you said, with the RFA offer sheets and then again by signing Barker and Versteeg to asinine deals, which will probably end up in having to trade one or both of them. Scotty Bowman is running the show, he has been since last season when he joined as an "adviser".

Now it's just more evident, even if it's his son that has the official title. And I'll take the greatest hockey mind of all time overseeing an extremely young and talented team over anyone else because of sentimental reasons. Maybe Tallon can return to the booth with Foley and replace the horrendous Eddie No Check.

 

[Shifty]

Tallon got a 2 year deal as an adviser for the same pay as GM, which is good. But it seems some dirty politics has been going on in Chicago.

WHAT LED TO CHICAGO'S FRONT OFFICE SHUFFLE?
TSN.ca

Sentiment - bordering on outrage - best describes how many NHL people responded to the news of Dale Tallon's dismissal as general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks.

However, anyone shocked by this move by team president John McDonough didn't pay attention to the constant speculation of Tallon's demise at varying points of the season.

Some close to the organization believe McDonough was looking for an opportunity to make his move which was made very difficult by Chicago's trip to the western conference final and a season most around the league would consider a great success.

There's no question the Blackhawks' recent fumble with qualifying offers (that weren't filed on time for the team's restricted free agents) was an enormous unforced error and while it has been suggested Tallon wasn't responsible for the blunder, as GM he took responsibility.

Was this mistake - as costly as it turned out to be - really his undoing?

What we know is there is a groundswell of sympathy for Tallon, who, upon learning his fate, was also handed a two-year contract to act as an advisor at the same rate of pay he was earning as Chicago's general manager.

This groundswell also extends to former Blackhawks forward Martin Havlat, who - through the direct link of Twitter - continues to tease Hawks fans with suggestive tweets that indicate Dale Tallon's firing was very predictable. "Tip of the iceberg," Havlat wrote in one tweet. In another, he asked, "shouldn't fans know the truth?"

Shortly after that, Havlat's Twitter account crashed because of an overload of responses.

Yes, Chicago Blackhawks fans want to know the truth.

They want to know what Havlat believes led to Tallon's firing.

Hawks fans want to understand how a negotiation that lasted better than three months, focused on keeping Havlat a Hawk long term and involved his agent Allan Walsh, Tallon and now Chicago's newest GM, Stan Bowman, mysteriously eroded.

Aside from reaching out via Twitter, Havlat has been silent and wants to move on and focus on his new home and opportunity with the Minnesota Wild. However, Havlat also wants to clear the air and set the record straight and has offered his thoughts exclusively to TSN.ca on a number of issues he observed while in Chicago, starting with his failed negotiation.

"My negotiation with Chicago was not between Dale and my agent, it was between Dale and McDonough," Havlat said "Why? Because McDonough couldn't stand that Dale was so successful and getting the credit for building the Hawks from a last place team to making the Conference Final in three short years. Remember, we were also the youngest team in the NHL last year."

"I was too closely identified with Dale," he continued. "McDonough knew long ago he was going to fire Dale. He wanted someone he could claim as his own He wanted to stand up at the convention and claim credit for signing this guy or that guy."

Havlat's candor won't be easily accepted by the Blackhawks, and there may be claims of this being nothing more than the backlash of a jilted player, but Havlat's appreciation for Dale Tallon is what drove him to speak up mere hours after Tallon's firing was confirmed.

"Dale and I were very close and I stand for loyalty. The players loved Dale and they are with him. Every single player on that team is with Dale. I still talk to the guys all the time, hockey players know a phony when they see one."

"I was part of a very special team but that team doesn't exist anymore. I am really disappointed that Rocky Wirtz would let something like this happen," Havlat told TSN.ca.

Havlat's parting request follows up on a tweet sent on Tuesday. A challenge for the Blackhawks faithful who may share his views on Chicago's future.

"It's up to the fans now to be heard on this. If you care about the direction of the team, do something about it," Havlat concluded.

That's powerful stuff from a player who loved Chicago, loved the Blackhawks organization, and clearly has a deep connection with Dale Tallon, now the former general manager.

http://twitter.com/martinhavlat