Meghann | August 24, 2010
retired NHL goalies, goaltenders from th 25, 2003 When teaching his son the fine art of goaltending, Ed Belfour relies Dayn has insisted that his father not retire until Dayn is in the.2003 Ed Belfour (DNP), Mats Sundin (DNP).Nov 25, 2009 It’s a neat plan, as players don’t have to have their numbers retired to [...]
Meghann | August 19, 2010
Calgary Flames; NHL Talk and NHL Game Day Talk; Your 2010-2011 Fantasy Hockey Pool Picks?ROCK YOUR FANTASY LEAGUEAttention, hockey fantasy managers!Getting ready for the 2011 Fantasy Hockey season?This post has been edited by z32ttenvy: Apr 12 2010, 10:33 PM.2010-2011 Free Fantasy Hockey Mock Draft Information Guide & link Directory for free pro NHL fantasy Hockey [...]
Meghann | August 14, 2010
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Meghann | August 10, 2010
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Meghann | August 8, 2010
Cheers to all beer lovers! Miles and miles of micro-breweries and the lavish beer festival – this defines the beautiful state of Oregon in the United States.
Oregon, offers you an incredibly high number of small and large micro-breweries built up at varying distances from the Beer Capital, Portland. The city alone has as many as [...]
Wendy Cooper | August 8, 2010
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Greg Wyshynski | August 7, 2010
(Ed. Note: Welcome to Puck Daddy’s August series, "Mount Puckmore," which will feature fans, bloggers and various media personalities of all 30 teams choosing the four defining faces of their franchise. These four people are who you remember most when you think of these teams – whether they be players, coaches or executives. We’ll be running these daily for the rest of the month. Today, representing the Columbus Blue Jackets, Lee Auer from The Jackets Blog.)
By Lee Auer, The Jackets Blog
In the brief history of the Columbus Blue Jackets, some very famous hockey names have donned the Union Blue in what has been a seemingly endless struggle to bring recognition, and excellent hockey to Central Ohio.
From Sergei Fedorov to Alexandre Picard and Espen Knutsen to Lyle Odelein, from falling stars to utter-failures of a draft pick, the Blue Jackets and their fans have seen it all … minus the whole "consistent success" thing.
Here’s a look at the most important players in the (so far) disappointing nine seasons of the NHL in Columbus. (Ed. Note: Before 100 comments on ‘where’s Hitchcock?’, keep in mind the focus was on players for this list.)
Of the original Columbus Blue Jackets, Tyler Wright is one of the few who will always have a home with this team. After being acquired from the Penguins in the expansion draft that birthed both the Blue Jackets and Wild, Wright stayed in Columbus to become one of the longest tenured Originals, and a favorite amongst many fans.
Wright’s time with the Blue Jackets ended before any CBJ blog ever existed and largely doesn’t get the credit as a player he deserves. With the Jackets, Wright was the type of player that excited fans and added enough scoring to keep things interesting. Wright was able to put up three hat trick’s in five seasons with the CBJ — second to scoring machine Rick Nash(notes).
Unfortunately, Wright was part of the blockbuster trade that sent Francois Beauchemin(notes) and Tyler Wright (and later Todd Marchant) to Anaheim in return for former Red Wings star Sergei Fedorov(notes) … and we all know how well that worked out.
After his playing career finished Wright found himself back in hockey working as the Jackets development coach where he continues to be a huge part of the franchise. Wright has been huge in the community and this summer the Blue Jackets want everyone to join-up and be a part of Team Tyler as Wright participates in the 2010 Ironman Canada on August 29. The donation drivewill benefit the "Hatsfor Heroes" program of the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation. Please take a minute to consider donating.
Shelley has to be one of the longest surviving fan favorites ever. Even after being traded to the Western Conference rival San Jose Sharks, fans continued to cheer for him every time he enters Nationwide Arena, regardless of what team he plays for. Let’s be honest here: Once a long-time player (five and a half seasons) is traded away, he is typically due a bit of recognition, but once that moment has passed, it’s business time.
That being said, Shelley was a huge asset to the Blue Jackets in his prime and always stuck-up for his teammates. In his first three seasons in Columbus, Shelley amassed 206 (2001), 249 (2002), and 228 (2003) PIMs.
Those totals have only been challenged by the "new Shelley," Jared Boll(notes). While it is somewhat painful to type, it will be hard for any enforcer for the Blue Jackets to live up tothe character and class that Jody exemplified while he was in Columbus.
Shelley was moved out of Columbus during the 2007-08 season and the outrage was palpable, and still is among today’s fans. As mentioned with Tyler Wright, Jody Shelley is a former Blue Jacket who, when his playing career is complete, will return to open arms in the Columbus organization.
The last of the original Blue Jackets has clearly been the franchise’s second best player in the 10 seasons of Blue Jackets Hockey. David Vyborny earned a special place among many in the Blue Jackets organization especially owner and founder, John H. McConnell. It had been mentioned many times that "Veebs" was JHM’s favorite player and he was a great one for the young Blue Jackets franchise.
Veebs signed with the Blue Jackets prior to the Inaugural Season in 2000, and still leads the Jackets record books in the total amount of games played (543), and most assists (204). What is amore staggering statistic is how many categories Vyborny ranks second in: Total points, goals, power play goals, short-handed goals, game-winning goals, shots on goal and multi-point games. Vyborny’s stats are impressive alone, but what I was always impressed by was his ability to tough out any injury. Vyborny owns two of the top four consecutive gamestreaks by a Blue Jacket, he put together streaks of 194 games and 155 games before ending his NHL career after the 2007-08 season.
I was among many clamoring for Scott Howson tore-sign Vyborny during the 07-08 season and as the season wore on, it became apparent why I, nor any fan, should be a GM. Vyborny’s production faltered significantly and he has been playing with Sparta Praha of Czech Extraliga ever since the Blue Jackets chose to not re-sign him.
Rick Nash
The first franchise player and perennial scoring machine has been with the Blue Jackets since he was drafted first overall in 2002. Doug MacLean made one of the few smart moves during his Blue Jackets tenure and moved up to draft No. 1 and selected the future of the franchise, Rick Nash.
Nash has been Mr. Everything for the Jackets. He is the only player on the roster that any casual sports fan can name, and thus is the face of the franchise. Some people may criticize the consistency of his play or showing of desire but Nash is without a doubt the best and most important player to ever don the Union Blue.
When Adam Foote abandoned the Blue Jackets at the end of the 2007-08 season it was believed that the Jackets would play out the season without a captain until Rick Nash came forward to claim the Captaincy with no end in sight after last summer’s mega contract extension Nash single-handedly made Independence Day 2009 the greatest holiday of my life. The Jackets were fresh off their first ever playoff appearance, Steve Mason had won the Calder Trophy, and Rick Nash showed that he is here to stay. It spoke volumes when it happened, and with recent circus acts like Lebron James and Ilya Kovalchuk, it makes me thankful each and every day for the attitude and respect Nash treated the fans and the Blue Jackets franchise with.
Rick Nash has had two moments that have helped put the Blue Jackets on the map.
The first one being "The Goal" against the Phoenix Coyotes on January 17, 2008.
Still gives me goosebumps to this day.
The biggest moment in franchise history came at the hands of Nash on April 8, 2009 in Chicago’s United Center (3:30 mark). The game-tying goal led the Blue Jackets head first into their first ever post-season appearance.
What I want to see from Rick Nash is the Steve Yzerman moment. Anyone who has watched Nash play knows his ability to completely take over a game. Since the coaching stint of Ken Hitchcock, Nash has become one of the best two-way players in the entire league. Nash needs to have a stretch of games that propels the Jackets into the playoffs and beyond the first round to gain the truly elite status he deserves.
I believe in Rick Nash. We will all see this happen before his time in the NHL is over. Mark it down.
• • •
Every "best of" list has to leave somebody off. I spent many hours debating with myself and close friends to make my best effort and get this as right as I could. To this point in franchise history the most notable omission from this list is very close between Geoff Sanderson and Rusty Klesla.
Klesla is an "original" Blue Jacket, but had a very small part in the opening season, playing only eight games, and since then hasn’t been the special defenseman the Blue Jackets brass hoped for.
There are a few players who would certainly find a place on this list if you asked me again in five years, among these I include R.J. Umberger(notes), Antoine Vermette, Jakub Voracek(notes), Derek Dorsett. This group of guys haven’t been around quite long enough to consider but are on the right course to beforever remembered by the committed fans of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Go Jackets!
Mount Puckmore photo by B.D. Gallof of Hockey Independent
Greg Wyshynski | August 7, 2010
Say what you will about the NHL series from 2K Sports, but their
marketing and promotional teams give it the ‘ol college try. From the ‘This-is-SportsCenter’-esque
Rick Nash(notes) video from
a few years back to the ill-conceived hockey moms to Alex
Ovechkin(notes) on the
Zamboni in Manhattan, they’ve done some daring things to attempt to scale
Mount EA Sports in the hockey gaming market.
The latest: NHL
2K11 cover boy Ryan Kesler(notes) of the Vancouver Canucks and game spokes-player
Jack Johnson(notes) of the Los Angeles Kings participate in some hijinks involving a
2K tour bus and a cramped shower.
Dumb? Totally. But any clip that involves Ryan Kesler
serenading Jack Johnson with the line "Terry Murray’s his dad/but that ain’t so
bad" deserves at least a few moments of your time. Even if the game itself, a
Wii-only title, doesn’t
exactly look like something you’re sleeping outside of Best Buy to purchase
on release day.
Greg Wyshynski | August 7, 2010
Remember that
report claiming the Boston Bruins had discussions with the Philadelphia
Flyers regarding 36-year-old goalie Tim Thomas(notes)?
Or that TSN report that the Bruins had given Thomas’s agent Bill Zito
permission to speak directly with teams about moving Thomas? Or the rumors
during the NHL Draft that he had waived his no-trade clause in order to escape
a situation where he might open the season as a back-up keeper behind Tuukka
Rask(notes)?
Inaccuracies! Misinformation! Poppycock, claimed Thomas in
speaking with Boston media yesterday.
Not only that, but he’s fully prepared to reclaim the
starting gig for the B’s.
Here’s
Thomas to the Boston Globe:
"There’s so much misinformation out there that to go
back and start correcting everything would be crazy," Thomas said.
"Which is why I don’t pay attention, not even in my own case, to much else
that’s said. It’s interesting to read articles on TSN or whatever. You think
you’re keeping up on what’s going on. But being at least somewhat in the inner
loop, you realize that 75 percent of what’s being written is wrong. Basically,
it’s more of an entertainment value to me than to think through the consequences
of what’s in the media."
And
here’s Thomas to The Bruins Blog, adding that he’s barely spoken to the B’s this offseason:
"Of course [I want to be here]," he said. "The fans have
never turned their backs on me. And that’s who you play for is the fans, and
the fans of Boston have always been great for me."And what about the organization? "They’re my employers,
they’ve paid my paycheck, so they’ve been doing what they’re supposed to do,"
he said.
Thomas is a competitor, and a fierce one. He was relegated
to a backup role last season, hobbled by a bum hip that was surgically repaired
11 weeks ago. He spent the last two months hearing about how his $5 million cap
hit both made him a liability to the cap-strapped Bruins and nearly untradeable
thanks to the market correction on goalies in the NHL.
But the ultimate kick in the pants is that the Bruins
committed four years at $20 million guaranteed (being a 35-and-over contract),
and gave Thomas a no-trade clause in the first three years. And Thomas signed
that contract knowing that, playing on a trap team and with sterling numbers,
he could have found it as free agent, too.
So believe the talk that Thomas wants to reclaim "his job"
with the Bruins, because it’s a point of professional pride. It’s something
Boston obviously won’t mind, because
it’ll make Rask compete that much harder.
But neither Thomas nor the Bruins want him to be a $5
million-a-year backup goalie. If he doesn’t win the gig or at least earn a
split of the starts … well, maybe then the work really begins to move him. Unless
Thomas is like that old guy in your office who’s content to look at his gold
watch glisten under the fluorescent bulbs, knowing that his severance package would
cost the company more than his continued employment.
Then comes the hard part: Finding a taker for an old,
banged-up $5 million-a-year backup. From
the Globe, here’s Thomas:
"Chicago won a Cup with a goalie they hardly had to pay.
Philly was in the final with a goalie who wasn’t getting paid very much. So
that’s the pattern they’ll take until someone else proves them wrong. The next
time a goalie wins a Stanley Cup, they’ll say, ‘Oh, you’ve got to have that
goalie. If you have to pay for him, so what? You’ve got to have that goalie to
win the Cup.’ At this particular juncture, especially with the salary cap, it
seems like the goalies are next in line for the pay cuts."
Good thing some 36 year olds got in under the wire.
Dmitry Chesnokov | August 6, 2010
KHL President Alexander Medvedev presented Evgeni Nabokov(notes) and Denis Grebeshkov(notes) today to the Russian media. Both will play for SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL, and will soon be joined by Maxim Afinogenov(notes) who, according to Medvedev, agreed to a five-year contract with the club. SKA is the biggest spending club this postseason. Not long ago Medvedev said SKA is ready to match a 17-year contract offer to Ilya Kovalchuk.
With Grebeshkov and Nabokov sitting next to Medvedev, KHL president said "in order to make this press conference really interesting for you, I would like to let you know that I have just received a message that Maxim Afinogenov agreed to terms of his new contract, which is 5+1 [years], Maxim Afinogenov is coming back to Russia to playfor SKA, together with Evgeni Nabokov and Denis Grebeshkov."
After the press conference Medvedev told a local radio station that "Maxim was obviously underrated in the NHL. Last season he played great. I think he was one of the best players of our national team in the Olympics, and the World Championship, despite the fact that our team overall did not play well. But Maxim was one of the team’s leaders. This player has unique skills and now he will play in Russia, and it is very good. I think that there aren’t a lot of players left in the NHL who could come back to Russia – and it’s good."
The return of Nabokov and Grebeshkov is viewed in Russia as another step to making the KHL a better, stronger league. Nabokov agreed saying "that’s the reason we are here now. Don’t forget that we’re Russians and we want to play at home. And when the right conditions are created, when the treatment of players, their families and the game of hockey is so positive, why not?"
At the same time neither dismissed a thought of coming back to the NHL at some point in the future. Nabokov said that he was "not used to thinking that far ahead. I don’t know howeverything will turn out to be. The priority number one right now is to play out this year and then we’ll see…"
For Grebeshkov this is not the first time he comes back to Russia after playing a few years in the NHL. He said: "It has already happened to me once when after playing for three years in North America I came back to Russia where I played for Yaroslavl. After that season I managed to come back to the NHL. I do not think this is a step back. It’s just another step in a career."
The "step back" question triggered the following conversation between Nabokov and a reporter:
Nabokov: "It’s very interesting, why does everyone always think that when you come back it’s a step back?"
Reporter: I mean that the level of competition is a little different.
Nabokov: "Let me ask you, would you want to play for the Edmonton Oilers, for example?" [laughter] "Let me tell you that when you have a choice and you have something to choose from, you always want to play for a good team, compete for medals and such. I will speak for myself, but the situation was such that I had no choice of a good team to play for and to play at the high level. To me it was very important to play for a good team, to try to win."
Nabokov also said that he wanted to stay with the Sharks saying "when my contract with the Sharks ended my family and I discussed my career options and decided that if I was offered to stay with San Jose I would definitely have to agree. Overall all NHL teams are full of players so there is nowhere to go, you can say. Before, when a player became a free agent, he had a lot of choices, he was sought for. It all different now … At the end of June I spoke with the Sharks GM who told me that the club would not be able to keep me. They needed to "fill other holes." It was a difficult decision for the club as well." He added: "the situation is such that clubs’ management has to choose whether to sign a second line player or a goalie. That’s why right now they are seeking second goalies, younger guys are given a lot more chances. It is a question to GMs."
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