Boston Bruin legend Brian Leetch.

He played somewhere else too, but that was rather inconsequential.

1. I can't believe y'all are talking shit about Doc's sexy women's glasses.

2. In response to Logan, I'm actually not terribly pleased with Marty's behavior at the end of that Rangers series last season, either. I can't get mad at Logan at all over that one.

3. I want Sean Burke to come out of retirement and play for the Devils again. He's the reason I became a Devils fan. It'd be great to have him back. I don't care if he can't move and they just strap him to the goal or whatever. I don't expect much out of this season anyway, so some nostalgia would be fine. Not to play the doom-and-gloom card or anything, but I think it's pretty obvious that the Devils can't score goals. Without Marty in there to hold teams to 1 or 2 goals, the Devils are in a lot of trouble. So let's get Sean Burke back. Hell, bring out the green uniforms again, too. Let's roll back the clock.

Jocelyn Thibault is looking for a team. Worked out real well for the Sabres last year.

Just sayin... :devil:

People do tend to disappear in Toronto.

I was 100% for them sending him out, as it was well past that time on both sides. I'm all for legends, but I was pissed they never dealt him for Tkachuk about 3 weeks before he went on to break his ankle.


This is why you're a classy broad Pumpy.


Busting out the greens could improve uniform sales, which would aid the Devils' cash flow struggles:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/200...ent_on_pr.html

What about Chris Terreri?

I'm cool with Terreri, and he'd be cheaper than Burke. Yeah, let's go with him.

Dammit, would you guys focus, the Devils NEED Roloson.

He, uh, revolutionized the position, I mean he......bats the puck out of the air and, well, ermm, shakes his mask off when he needs a whistle!

Oh, and don't forget that he'll get you that extra time out early in a period when he has to go to the bench to get his skates re-stoned because apparently he forgot to between periods.

Totally worth the money.

Devils announce the signing of Chico Resch:D

This is going to be the worst 3-4 months of my life. :)

Actually, Carolina had (and still does have) room under the cap, so it wasn't a cap casualty thing. Basically, it was a parting of ways as Carolina wanted to get younger and Brett wanted to move back west where his wife's family is originally from. Couldn't get any takers from a west coast team until now.

At any rate, Carolina completes a sweep of back-to-backs with Toronto as Niclas Wallin is continuing his stellar early season play with an OT winner, 5-4. Something of a reversal of the last game other than the outcome as Carolina pounded the Leafs early, then let the Leafs catch up before winning in OT.

1982 - 2008

Craig Billington
Martin Brodeur
Sean Burke
Alain Chevrier
Scott Clemmensen
Jean-François Damphousse
Mike Dunham
Chad Erickson
Karl Friesen
Hannu Kamppuri
Ron Low
Shawn MacKenzie
Kirk McLean
Roland Melanson
Lindsay Middlebrook
Jeff Reese
Glenn Resch
Bob Sauvé
Corey Schwab
Rich Shulmistra
Peter Sidorkiewicz
Sam St-Laurent
Chris Terreri
John Vanbiesbrouck
Kevin Weekes

Well, I wasn't talking about Carolina's situation (although I admit I didn't know why he was no longer there). I was talking about the league in general being up against the cap, and that leading to some players still remaining unsigned, even though they seem to have the talent to still be playing.

oh fuck me

Some of those names certainly bring back memories.....and nightmares.

I just realized something about that list. If that list is complete, it means Ari Ahonen never played a game for the Devils. He was in their organization for several years, and I kept thinking that he'd eventually take over as the #2 goalie. They kept bringing in guys like Vanbiesbrouck, Reese, and Schwab, though. Ahonen ended up getting traded to the Kings, if I remember correctly, and now he's playing overseas. It hadn't occurred to me that he never appeared in a regular-season game for the Devils, though.

Wow. Just wow.

According to hockeydb you are correct. Point of fact the guy never played a single game in the NHL and only ever played for the River Rats in the AHL. Too bad for a guy who was a late first round pick.

Had to check after you mentioned his name because I remember him being a decent prospect in EHM that would sometimes pan out into being a pretty solid backup.

Now that you mention EHM, he might not have been traded to the Kings in real life. I might've traded him in an EHM game a couple of years back. :)

The Avs are reeling - 5 straight losses and a lot of lackluster effort all around.

as an added bonus, Darcy Tucker got called for clipping last night (the penalty created because of him) after a low hit on Nick Schultz. As an added bonus, Schultz says that earlier in the game, Tucker told him he'd take out his knees. Awesome. (not).

lol:
ESPN - New York Rangers seek compensatory pick after prospect Alexei Cherepanov dies

sweet satan goal last night, if anyone saw it

Tucker and Steve Ott both play by a different set of rules. If the league had any sense, they'd kick out cheap shot artists like these guys before they do any more damage to other players.

Lots of nice goals in that game. Hemsky had a sweet one and Souray's not only made the game interesting but was awfully pretty too.

I haven't seen the latest Tucker incident, but it's not like he has a history of hitting low.

Yes, yes, the Peca hit... still not a cheap shot. Peca got his knees wiped out because he jumped in the air, not because Tucker went low on him. Peca himself even forgave and forgot on that one.

Other than that, you can call Tucker a sideshow or a diver or self-promoter, but he really hasn't been a cheapshot guy.

Tucker has a reputation around the league nevertheless.

I wish the NHL policed itself the way the NFL does under Roger Goodell. If you are a repeat offender, you get a harsher penalty. A guy like Ryan Hollweg comes to mind. He has been in the league, what, two years? He has already been suspended for hitting from behind (twice, I think) and if he continues to do it after being suspended, then the league should have an option to throw him out of the league. If a guy severly injures a player with a cheap shot, he should be out for as long as that player is out. Randy Jones should have been suspended last year for as long as Patrice Bergeron was medically ineligible to play. If I were NHL commish, I would ban Todd Bertuzzi for the Steve Moore incident. There's no place for that in the game of hockey.

Well, if the reputation isn't based on anything then it shouldn't factor into discipline, should it?

I mean, you can hate Sean Avery and still acknowledge that he doesn't go after guy's knees, can't you? Or is being a prick enough to get extra suspension time no matter what?

Tying suspensions to injuries is a terrible idea. Tie them to intent, sure, but not the outcome.

Tell me how the current situation makes sense. Randy Jones slams Patrice Bergeron from behind. Jones was suspended for two games while Bergeron missed the rest of the season solely because of the Jones hit. How do you justify that?

Yes, I acknowledge that but it is the NHL's call, not mine. If you have a reputation, that surely factors into the league's decision making.

The Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have acquired 6’0”, 205-pound defenseman Matt Carle and the San Jose Sharks’ third round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Steve Eminger, Steve Downie and Tampa Bay’s fourth round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, according to club General Manager Paul Holmgren.

I feel like I'm on a roller coaster or, better yet, in the stock market. Carolina goes on the road yesterday to Washington, plays about as well as can be expected for 55 minutes, then watch Semin blast in two goals in the final three minutes to lose 3-2, the last one with 10 seconds left and Ward had a clean look only to totally misread the shot coming in. Ward's propensity for making spectacular saves and then allowing in shots that are either from steep angles or on breakaways or rushes where he has good line of sight is irritating to say the least and that basically sums up both of Semin's goals.

Still, Carolina got over it, but only slowly as they had a home game tonight against Ottawa. The Senators grabbed the lead in the second, but Carolina struck for two in the third to get the win. The winner was potted by Joe Corvo who's apparently decided that playing Ottawa is up his alley (he netted a hat trick in the lone meeting between the two teams after he got traded from Ottawa to Carolina last year). He also got an assist on Carolina's other goal by Dennis Seidenberg.

Still, it's not a positive development when both goals come from defensemen. Of late, Tuomo Ruutu has just about been the only Carolina forward who has played with any excellence up front of late, though his point streak ended tonight after five games. Gotta get that fixed, especially while they're in this stretch of seven home games in eight. Four divisional games coming up, including a return visit by Washington sandwiched by a home-and-home with Atlanta and then followed by a game at home against Tampa Bay.

I'm not saying the current situation makes sense, I'm saying your solution doesn't make sense. If Jones hits Bergeron with the same hit and Bergeron is miraculously unhurt, does Jones get no suspension? What if Bergeron is only out 3 games, does Jones get 3 games? Why should his penalty vary for the exact same act?

Bottom line: if hitting from behind is deemed dangerous and 'has no place in the game' as you say, then the NHL should have a very strict penalty regardless of outcome. Make it 20 games, make it 40 games, I don't care. Just make it the same for everyone (maybe harsher for repeat offenders) and make it the same no matter if the guy on the receiving end bounces back up to score a goal or if he dies on the ice.

You have to take the result of the play into effect. If you take chances by hitting a guy from behind, or in the head like McSorley did, then you take chances with your career. The league should institute a sliding scale based upon past suspensions and each incident but the penalties should not be the same for everyone. The league can certainly identify repeat offenders or guys that just won't play by the rules. These cases need to be handled much more severely than a first time offender because there's a pattern present.

To answer your question about Jones, I think he should be suspended indefinitely pending the results of a medical examination on Bergeron. So, Jones is suspended for four games or something as a first time offender but that can be changed to be as long as Bergeron is unable to play due to the Jones hit. Jones is responsible for Bergeron's injury so he pays for it.

If the league said that any player that receives a major penalty in which his opposing player is injured because of that penalty (checking from behind, slashing, kneeing, etc) would be suspended pending a medical examination on the other player, guys would be much more careful on the ice. My point is that the league can do more and should do more.

So, I stopped into my local grocery store (Holiday Market) last night on my way home from work to pick up a case of Labbats for the weekend and ran into Marian Hossa as I was coming out and he was coming in. He was decked out in some Juventus warm up jacket and was with some slim, attractive European looking woman.

That's all.

Then it's a bad suspension for a dangerous hit. The length of the injury can't be the only factor.

Scott Neidermayer only missed a couple of games from the Domi elbow. Should Domi have only been suspended three games instead of 11?

I agree with your overall point (that the league can and should do more), but we'll have to agree to disagree on the punishment thing. I just can't understand why it should matter what happened to the guy you hit.

Look at the Bertuzzi incident as an example of my position. What he did is not uncommon. It has happened many times in the past, only most times when you sucker punch someone they just turn around and fight, or maybe fall to the ice and you get 5 minutes or a 1 game suspension or something. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Moore went down awkwardly and has never come back. But why is Bertuzzi any more of a thug than the dozens of other guys that came before him? Because he happened to pick the wrong guy at the wrong time?

Now, I'm not defending Bertuzzi. If the NHL feels that what he did should be removed from the game (which it should), then fine. Make it an automatic 40 game suspension. But apply that suspension to everyone, even the guy whose opponent whirls around and pummels the crap out of him. Don't let anyone off lightly. But also don't demonize someone for circumstances that others got away with completely.

Holiday Market, FTW!

I'm not saying the length of the injury should be the only factor, I'm saying it should be one of the most important factors, along with things like past suspensions history.

I think you have to take the result of the play into consideration here. Bertuzzi is guilty of more than the other guys because of what happened to Steve Moore because of Bertuzzi's cheap shot.

Here's what I want the league to do. If you cheap shot a guy and injury him so that he has to leave the game, you are automatically suspended some number of games plus an option of being suspended indefinitely or as long as the injured player is sidelined as a result of your cheap shot. That's it. I'm not saying the NHL has to do it but I strongly believe that if they tie suspension length to injury length they would see a strong downturn in the number of cheap shots throughout the league.

The problem comes when you have the situations where it's not 100% certain about which hits are "cheap shots." By definition it's subjective, and while some are hard to argue, there are plenty where you can't definitively state that there was intent to injure.

Here is how you get rid of cheap shots:

Bye bye instigator rule.

We need frontier justice.

If Ott wants to run at lets say Kovalev, then Laraque should be able to come out, KO Ott and serve his 5, and come back. It's pretty simple.

So lets pretend its the playoffs, and you and I are playing for different teams in a series against each other. You are an all-star forward, I'm a 5th defenceman. We're battling in front of the net and I cross-check you, so you retaliate with a slash. I go down, you get a penalty. After the game, the team doctor says I have an 'upper body injury' and I don't play the rest of the series. According to your rules, neither do you.

But wait there's more! Behind the scenes, I feel I could have played, but strategically the coach wants to keep me out because he knows it will mean you are also out, and since you are an all star and I'm just a schmoe, its a trade he'll make any day. So it's agreed that the injury is bad enough that I shouldn't play, and we both sit out the series.

no suspension for Tucker, fwiw

I kind of like John Ferguson Jr's suggestion after Janssen put Kaberle out for a month on a cheap hit. Don't suspend him for as long as Kaberle is out -- force him to play Kaberle minutes for as long as he's out.

Your minor league goon injures the other team's best player, guess what? He's on your first line now!

A smart-ass suggestion, sure, but it would be pretty funny.

So he's still only been suspended once in his career for a "dirty" hit (on Gonchar, six years ago). His only other suspension was for diving into the Sens bench, which is much more "dumb" than "dirty".

That said, he's been on the carpet several other times (Peca, Hecht, Jansen). I wonder if the NHL takes that into account when looking at past history, or if no suspension = innocent.

Hossa is dating Valteri Filppula? SCANDALOUS!

:lol:

I believe it mentioned her in the same SI article about him living in Royal Oak. I think she was/is a tennis player or something like that. Or, I'm mixing him up with Federov.

Nutty finish on the Island.

Pens come back to tie the game in the 3rd. Scoreless through OT.

After 2 shooters per side, Pens lead shootout 1-0. Trent Hunter shooting for NY. The puck gets lost inside Dany Sabourin's pad, between his leg and the pad. About 90% of Sabourin's body slides back into the net. He reaches his hand down past his calf and retrieves the puck. Called no goal on the ice....reviewed...and upheld.

Just very odd. I guess had his leg completely crossed the goal line, they could have called it a goal. But not knowing where the puck was when he slides back into the net, there is no evidence whether or not the puck crossed the line.

I would want to league to handle things on a case by case basis. We may not agree on this but won't you agree that the NHL can take a page from Roger Goodell's NFL of late? He seems to be doing a pretty good job of keeping things in line and being fair.

Hines Ward may disagree with you.