2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs: No Doubting Thomas

[Poeman]

As a NY Jets fan I shall root for the Winnipeg Jets.

The founder of the team was Benny Hatskin. He liked the NFL's New York Jets, so he used their name for the hockey team.

You got a fan in me Manitoba.

 

[Paroxysm]

So Claude Noel's staying in Winnipeg to coach the Jets?

Right on.

 

[Paroxysm]

So Liles is off to T Dot.

Defenseman John-Michael Liles was traded by the Colorado Avalanche on Friday to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2012 Entry Draft that Toronto previously acquired from Boston.

 

[Microchip]

Mike Richards has an attitude problem? That's strange, I don't know much about him but he's a captain and you don't generally hear those sort of things about your captain, much less ones management signs to long-term deals.

And yes, sounds like Jets 99%, we'll find out for sure in just a bit over an hour! Anyone here think RNH WON'T go first, or Oilers will trade?

 

[War Party]

Mike Richards has an attitude problem? That's strange, I don't know much about him but he's a captain and you don't generally hear those sort of things about your captain, much less ones management signs to long-term deals.

Yes, he was a captain and acted like a baby sometimes. Especially with the media here. He even gave them the silent treatment last year. I don't know specifics, but there were some guys in that locker room who thought he should have conducted himself better.

 

[Paroxysm]

And yes, sounds like Jets 99%, we'll find out for sure in just a bit over an hour! Anyone here think RNH WON'T go first, or Oilers will trade?

I think Edmonton will shock us all and go with Larsson.

 

[Paroxysm]

So Edmonton went with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. They are going to be quite the team in a couple years.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

cant believe the god damn Devils took Adam Larsson the pick right before us. It's going to be Neidermayer/LaChance all over again

Although Strome does have some pretty sick moves. Put him on the wing of Tavares and let em fly...

 

[Shifty]

Go Jets Go! New colours and logo to come!

Fantastic moment to be at the MTS Centre, everyone in the arena standing, all quiet as Chipman spoke and quietly said Winnipeg Jets. The crowd erupted, had a big smile on my face. So surreal.

 

[Paroxysm]

Go Jets Go! New colours and logo to come!

Fantastic moment to be at the MTS Centre, everyone in the arena standing, all quiet as Chipman spoke and quietly said Winnipeg Jets. The crowd erupted, had a big smile on my face. So surreal.

That must have been awesome. I was watching at home and had a big smile on my face when the said the Winnipeg Jets.

 

[Eric Draven]

So yeah, Oilers drafted RNH as expected.


But they also got back Ryan Smyth, who should've never left the Oilers in the first place

 

[War Party]

Flyers got a steal with Couturier. 6'4" 210 lb after an NHL conditioning program.

I understand D being a need or want but I think this kid is going to be legit Jordan Staal 2.0 but with a little more offensive pop. Really excited about this Flyers team.

 

[Shifty]

So Claude Noel's staying in Winnipeg to coach the Jets?

Right on.

That's four Manitoba Moose coaches in a row to go from the AHL to NHL! If Arniel was still here, no question he would've been the coach.

IHL
Jean Perron, 1996–97 (fired 50 games into first season)
Randy Carlyle, 1997–2001 (became Washington Capitals assistant coach in 2002)

AHL
Stan Smyl, 2001–04 (returned to Canucks as director of player development)
Randy Carlyle, 2004–05 (became Anaheim Ducks head coach)
Alain Vigneault, 2005-06 (became Vancouver Canucks head coach)
Scott Arniel, 2006–10 (became Columbus Blue Jackets head coach)
Claude Noel, 2010–11 (became Winnipeg Jets head coach)

Expect this story to heat up in the fall.

Good timing for four NHL divisions
By Nicholas J. Cotsonika, Yahoo! Sports 1 hour, 35 minutes ago

ST. PAUL, Minn. – High above the stage at the 2011 NHL draft hung the flags of the league’s 30 franchises – the Western Conference in a row on top, the Eastern Conference in a row below, in alphabetical order, left to right.

The key to change hung in the lower right corner, a black flag with the NHL shield and the text “WINNIPEG 2011-12.” Now that the Atlanta Thrashers have moved and become the new Winnipeg Jets, they will play in the Southeast Division for one more season. After that, the NHL will realign dramatically. One NHL executive said Saturday that he could “guarantee” it.

It’s about time.

“Now it’s not perfect in everybody’s eyes,” Nashville Predators general manager David Poile said. “I would think even in whatever realignment we do it may not be perfect. But I think it’s time for … It’s not maybe time, but it’s certainly an opportunity for a change.”

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said during the Stanley Cup Final that the league would discuss realignment during the first half of the 2011-12 season, and if he had to guess, it would move toward “a slightly more balanced schedule.”

Then Bettman made a proposal at Tuesday’s board of governors meeting, according to a report in the Ottawa Sun. Sources told the newspaper the league would have four divisions – the Pacific, Midwest, East and South. Two divisions would have eight teams; two would have seven. Teams would play a balanced schedule in the regular season, with the top four teams in each division making the playoffs. The first round would be divisional play. Then teams would reseed for conference play.

One NHL executive said Saturday the plan would have four divisions – two with eight teams, two with seven – as outlined in the Ottawa Sun report, but he was vague about whether there would even be Western and Eastern Conferences. He said the divisions would be based on time zones, a common-sense solution to TV and travel problems that some teams face and have been frankly unfair for years. He said the league’s board of governors would rule on the issue in December, though there remains a lot to talk about.

“I think the league would be happy to hear anybody’s opinion,” Poile said. “There’s nothing that’s been formulated. I haven’t seen any proposal. The league certainly hasn’t sent out anything, saying, ‘Would you like to do this or that?’ This is, I think, the start. So if you’ve got an idea, send it to me. Send it to the league. I think it will be looked at.”

With two conferences, six divisions and an unbalanced schedule, two teams in the Eastern time zone play in the Western Conference: the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets. They must visit each team in the Pacific time zone twice each season, spending time, energy and money to make the trips, with a good portion of their road games starting at 10:30 p.m. for their local TV audience. They don’t play full home-and-home sets against each team in their own time zone.

The Wings have long wanted to move to the East, and Jackets GM Scott Howson said Saturday: “I’m in favor of anything that puts us in the East.”

The situation isn’t much better for teams in the Central time zone. The Predators would like to move east, too. Then there are the Dallas Stars, who are isolated deep in the heart of Texas and play in the Pacific Division.

“I think it’s a good time to look at it,” Carolina Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford said. “It really doesn’t affect a lot of teams like ours, but Dallas has been in a little bit of an odd situation for a long time. Now, part of that is geography. You can’t change it. But I’m sure they’d like to get a little bit of a change.”

It simply makes sense to align the teams in terms of time zones and play a more balanced schedule. There would be less distance traveled and less jet lag for Western teams. There would be better TV times for more road games. Regional rivalries would still be able to develop, but every building would be able to host every team every season.

“Six divisions to four divisions, that could be good,” Poile said. “For every team in the Western Conference, if we talked about a more balanced schedule, I think we’d be all in for that. So I think it’s an opportunity to put all of our heads together. … Maybe we can at least help and appease everybody to a certain extent, and maybe it would be good for our fans also.”

Just remember that no matter what happens, not everyone will get what they want, and hockey tradition doesn’t always match up with geography.

“I’d like to play in a division with the weakest teams,” Rutherford said, smiling.

Teased that he played in the Southeast, Rutherford smiled even wider.

“Let me think now, the Stanley Cup champions – Tampa, Carolina …,” he said, referring to the 2004 and 2006 winners. “It’s always the weakest division. Where are you guys from? Where do you live?”

My proposal:

Pacific - SJ, LA, ANA, VAN, PHX, EDM, CGY
Midwest - WPG, MIN, CHI, STL, DAL, COL, NSH
East - CLB, DET, PIT, BUF, MTL, OTT, TOR, BOS
Atlantic - FLA, TB, CAR, WAS, PHI, NYR, NYI, NJ

Interesting to see what happens with Phoenix, even if Glendale comes to the table to cover the loses again I doubt the NHL will own the franchise for a fourth year. Not a good image for the league and it totally puts it at a competitive disadvantage in not being able to attract free agents or having the ability to spend whatever they want.

Few options to move the team; Portland, Houston, Kansas City or Quebec City. Moving to Quebec means that one team (Columbus or Detroit) is still stuck playing in the west. Until Columbus relocates somewhere else.

 

[Immortalfire]

Four divisions, blah. Just move Nashville to the southeast, Atlanta Winnipeg to the central. Problem solved.

 

[greenrage36]

Interesting to see what happens with Phoenix, even if Glendale comes to the table to cover the loses again I doubt the NHL will own the franchise for a fourth year.

Didn't I hear that the Toronto area was pushing for another franchise? Maybe they would relocate there?

I agree Immortal...no need to completely re-haul the whole divisional scheme...just swap the two teams and all done - although I would be curious to see how the east would handle having a divisional rival with the Wings...hmmm..

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

^ Never going to happen. The Leafs pretty much quashed a team going to Hamilton, you think they'll let one come even closer to them?

 

[greenrage36]

Yeah that does seem incredibly unlikely, but I had just remembered reading about that last week or so and thought I'd toss it out there. (Still don't recall WHERE I read that though so it may not have been source so much as a speculation..)

I don't really follow 'em, but any idea on if the Coyotes franchise will stay put in AZ? I don't recall any ownership stepping up to the plate to buy them..which doesn't mean they couldn't stay there I suppose..but just speculating I guess. I wouldn't think the NHL would be happy to continue to keeping them afloat..unless I've missed something and they DO have an owner now...(Lord knows I'm always missing something that's going on around the league..)

 

[John McGuirk]

Wings to the East in a year!!!!! WOOOO!!!

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

guess we should be starting up a new thread soon since the new league year effectively starts when free agency opens on July 1st...

 

[Immortalfire]

In that case, I'll start it up Friday.

 

[Hush]

Wow I know they Blues prolly won't do it but I would love to see us sign Richards, he still has a few miles left in the tank but all signs point to him going to The Rangers.

 

[Poeman]

Wow I know they Blues prolly won't do it but I would love to see us sign Richards, he still has a few miles left in the tank but all signs point to him going to The Rangers.

 

[ih8nyy]

Montreal is a joke.

<H1 class=headline>Montreal police to interview Bruins' Chara

Crown prosecutor will decide if charges are warranted after Pacioretty hit

</H1>Montreal police say charges against Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara have still not been ruled out as they prepare to speak to him in the coming weeks.
Chara laid a controversial hit on Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty last March which landed Pacioretty in the hospital and ended his season.
The towering Bruins defenceman was thrown out of the game but subsequently received no suspension from the National Hockey League.
Montreal police, however, said in March that they would investigate the incident to see if there was any criminal element.
Sgt. Ian Lafrenière of Montreal police said the investigation was delayed because most of the witnesses were hockey players busy with the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
There were concerns Chara would be brought in for questioning when he returned to Montreal during the first round of the playoffs in April, but police said they were in no rush to speak to him.
Lafrenière said Tuesday, however, that the investigation is nearing its end and the last step is to finally interview Chara.
"We haven't met Chara, we don't have his version of the facts, and also at the end of it, [a report is] gonna be presented to a crown prosecutor, and this is the person who will decide whether there will be some accusations," said Lafrenière.
Lafrenière said the lawyer the Bruins had assigned to the incident had been very cooperative, but would not say when or where the interview will take place.

 

[Hush]

That is just ****ing ******ed.

 

[Paroxysm]

Montreal is a joke.

You're a joke. Montreal is a beautiful city.