The Official NHL 2012 Off-Season Thread

[khlrplfan]

I have posted a lot of Russian signing info in the European Hockey thread.

Basically so far confirmed:

Gonchar, Malkin - Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Ponikarovksy, Fedotenko - HC Donbass

Will be confirmed shortly:

Kovalchuk - SKA St. Petersburg
Datsyuk - Ak Bars Kazan
Semin - Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Daugavins - Dinamo Riga
Khudobin - Atlant Mytischi
Yakupov - Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk

[BlueNGold]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kobalt

Evander Kane 6 years 31.M extension.

Didn't think this was going to get done. Glad it did.

[TheMatrix31]

Glad we re-signed Ennis. Cheap, reasonable, and keeps him hungry.

[slickdtc]

Flyers/Bruins Game 7 from 2010 is on Comcast Sportsnet right now...

It's awesome. First period not so much, until JVR!

[khlrplfan]

Don't know if Blues fans have noticed, but Jori Lehtera has 14 points in 8 games this year in KHL. He had a 2 point game today, last week he had a 5 point game.

[gopher_guy]

Coach Marla kicks several Wild players and Minnesota NHLers off the ice

A sheet full of NHL players are no match for her, LOL

Quote:

Coach Marla is one tough cookie. That’s what 40 locked-out NHLers discovered Tuesday morning at the St. Louis Park Rec Center. The no-nonsense, red-headed figure-skating instructor marched straight out to center-ice during a scrimmage and kicked the players off. “It was impressive,” locked-out Wild veteran Matt Cullen said, laughing. “That’s seems to be the general attitude in figure skating these days,” locked-out Wild bruiser Matt Kassian said jokingly. “It’s very much about control and power, and she definitely had both of those going for her. She was serious.” The NHLers, who rent ice four times a week, were scrimmaging on one sheet. Today’s large group included off the top of my head Cullen, Kassian Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Cal Clutterbuck, Darroll Powe, Niklas Backstrom, Josh Harding, Clayton Stoner, Justin Falk, Nate Prosser, Stephane Veilleux, Paul Martin, Keith Ballard, Blake Wheeler, Ryan Carter, Jack Hillen, Andrew Alberts, Nate Thompson, Kyle Okposo and many others. When the ice got chewed up, the players stepped off and walked to the next sheet over to continue. That’s when Coach Marla “waltzed straight out to the middle of the ice and told us all to get off,” Falk, the locked-out Wild defenseman, said, laughing. “We have a tough enough time getting on the ice as it is, let alone having a figure skater kick us off.” You see, Coach Marla apparently reserved one of the sheets between 11:30-12 in order to give a private lesson to 8-year-old, Sophie Ford. Agent Chris McAlpine, a former NHL defenseman, tried to tell Coach Marla that she actually reserved the next sheet over. Coach Marla wasn’t hearing it, so McAlpine cowered, I mean, relented. “It’s tough to speak back to a lady, so McAlpine was like, ‘OK, we’ll get off and go back to the other sheet,’” said Prosser, the locked-out Wild defenseman. So one-by-one, the out-of-work, amused NHL players marched back to the other rink with smiles on their faces. And little Sophie Ford tip-toed onto the rink for her half-hour lesson with Courageous Coach Marla. “That’s just the reality right now. We were kicked off the ice by a figure skater,” Prosser said, kiddingly. “It’s just the way it is right now. It gets hard, but at the same time, it’s our job. Each and every day, you need to go train and skate and stay in shape and eat well and sleep well. Camp can start up at any moment, so you’ve got to be ready. You never know when it could happen.”

[SidVish]

Toews weighs in on Bettman and the lockout.

Quote:

"'It’s another disappointing but expected move from the league,' Toews said. 'This seems to be our commissioner's bread and butter; it's almost like he is excited to take away hockey from the fans and the players just because he can.'" "'Personally, I still haven't heard a valid argument from the league for what they are doing, just that they want more and last time it wasn't enough,' Toews said. 'If they would be as determined to solve these issues as they are quick to point the finger at us (the players), this would be settled by now. But they aren't, and now we know we’ll miss at least two weeks because of it.'"

[OSUFan_88]

Since, I guess, it's still the off-season, the Blue Jackets have hired John Davidson as, what looks like, President of Hockey Ops.