Official NHL Thread

[Assman]

^ DOPENESS! Did u get pix n shit. Who u go with? Mr. KT Tom Green Johnbobman? LOL The Goalie chants are so played only worked for Belfour.  GOOD BEAT THE LEAFS! fucking what is up wit dat. Jets can wrap up the SE Baby! ovie slumping like a bitch.

WHO ARE THE OILERS. I'm so confused!!


DUBEY DUUUUUUUBEY DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
straight up Pääjärvi going straight to the hole. Ref calls benefiting the Oilers. SHIT. All I can say is these three words. CAPTAIN OH CAPTAIN!


Faceoff KEY. Puck possession retrieval wash your hands when you speak!!!

[JFC]

Looks like it's a done deal now.

Realignment plan approved by Board of Governors
Thursday, 03.14.2013 / 5:43 PM | By Dan Rosen - NHL.com Senior Writer

VIDEO (NHL NETWORK INTERVIEW WITH BETTMAN) - http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=219978

The NHL will have a fresh look for the regular season and a new format for the Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning next season after the Board of Governors approved the realignment plan proposed last week.

The four-division plan, featuring a new set-up for the playoffs, will be in place for a minimum of three seasons, barring any franchise relocation or expansion. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said neither relocation nor expansion were being discussed, however.

"This goes into the good news category," Commissioner Bettman said Thursday. "We can begin the process of preparing next year's schedule."

The NHL and NHL Players' Association each had input into the plan to realign the League into a more geographically appropriate two-conference, four-division format that has 16 teams in the Eastern Conference and 14 teams in the Western Conference.

The Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets are moving to the Eastern Conference to provide them the ability to play the majority of their games against teams in the same time zone.

The Winnipeg Jets are moving to the Western Conference for the same reason.

"I think it's very exciting for us as an organization and for our fans to be geographically located where we ought to be," Jets chairman Mark Chipman said. "It looks like from a League perspective [realignment] solved a lot of issues, so we're very supportive of it."

The Dallas Stars are staying in the Western Conference but moving into a division that includes five other teams from the Central time zone. Stars president and CEO Jim Lites said being in the same time zone as most of the teams in the division should have an impact on television ratings and fan interest.

"We have noticed and have experienced since 1998, when we moved from the Central (Division) at that time to the Pacific, our television ratings have dropped by a good number, 60 percent on the average," Lites said. "When we play consistently in prime (time) our numbers go up by a factor of something like four or five times. It's just natural. Central time zone starts at 7 p.m. [are] typically in people's television-watching habits, and trying to start games at 9 or 9:30 p.m. just limits the amount of people that are going to watch. It changes your narrative. People lose touch with you when you're on a three-game swing to the West. You may go a week and people will not have watched.

"So we're thrilled to be able to get back to it, and we just believe and know our broadcast partners, our corporate partners, and certainly our fans are excited at the prospect of having the vast majority of our games, particularly games of significance, division games, being played in prime [time]. It's really important to us."

The new alignment also ensures that all 30 teams play in all 30 arenas at least once per season. Detroit general manager Ken Holland said that will be a way for the Red Wings to preserve some of the rivalries they have developed with Western Conference teams.

"One of the things that was really important to us was a matrix that had a home-and-home with every team in the other conference," Holland said. "So, even though we're heading East, we're still thrilled that we're going to play all the teams in the Western Conference home-and-home."

The Stanley Cup Playoffs will still consist of 16 teams, eight in each conference, but it will be division-based and a wild-card system has been added.

The top three teams in each division will make up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The remaining four spots will be filled by the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference, based on regular-season points and regardless of division. It will be possible, then, for one division to send five teams to the postseason while the other sends three.

The seeding of the wild-card teams within each divisional playoff will be determined on the basis of regular-season points. The division winner with the most points in the conference will be matched against the wild-card team with the fewest points; the division winner with the second-most points in the conference will play the wild-card team with the second fewest points.

The teams finishing second and third in each division will play in the first round of the playoffs. The winners of each series will play for berths in the conference championship series.

The winners of the conference championships advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

"We tend to use common sense around here and this seems to make a lot of common sense," Columbus president John Davidson said.

"When you get out the ledger sheet and you go pros and cons, I don't think there is anything on the negative side," he added.

The divisions will be temporarily referred to as Division A, Division B, Division C and Division D. Permanent names will be assigned later.

The Western Conference will house Division A and Division B (each a seven-team division), while Division C and D will consist of eight teams each and make up the Eastern Conference.

Division A is the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks. All the teams are from either the Pacific time zone or Mountain time zone.

Division B features the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets. Colorado is the only Mountain time zone team; the rest are from the Central time zone.

"It's much better for us," Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas said. "It's less travel, fewer trips out west -- the time zones, the amount of time you spend on the plane after games. You don't have to wait in [Los Angeles], you can come back after games. It's all little things in the long run I think will help our team."

Division C has four Original Six franchises: the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning are also in the division.

Commissioner Bettman said he thinks being in this division will benefit the Panthers and Lighting despite the added travel.

"From a business standpoint, I think this is probably really good for both Florida teams," he said. "Competitively they may have their own issues, travel-wise they may have issues, but based on where Florida is from a geographic standpoint whatever we did wasn't going to be perfect.

"But our commitment in that regard is when we're doing the scheduling we're going to try and do the best possible job of focusing on the travel needs of the two Florida clubs and with respect to the teams in their division and their travel to and from Florida."

The Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals will join the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins in Division D.

"It's going to be tough. There are a lot of good teams in there," Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said. "There are a lot of grinding, physical teams, so it makes you sit back and evaluate your team and organization asking, are we the type of team that's skilled enough to go into certain arenas and get points, or do you want to change your style to match up with your opponents?

"We're obviously in the hunt this year, but it will be something where you may have to sit back and look at everything and ask, where do you fit in with your opposition, and decide if you want to make changes or if you're comfortable with the group that you have."

Commissioner Bettman stressed that the unbalanced format is not a concern.

"Unless you were conducting the competition by flipping a coin through each matchup, the seventh and eighth teams, if you go back and look, are typically teams by the end of the regular season that are out of it anyway," he said. "So whether or not it's a seventh or eighth team, as a practical matter it doesn't make a whole lot of difference. Again, if you were doing a simple coin flip in between matchups then it would make a statistical difference, but as a practical matter we don't think it does.

"Two, we introduced the wild card to try to balance that off a little bit better. So we think in that regard it begins to address what might be a concern, although as I indicated, I'm not sure it's that realistic of a concern."

The NHLPA has given its consent to play under the new alignment and playoff system for a minimum of three seasons, through the 2015-16 NHL season.

"I think the whole package that's put together with the relocation, the moves, the matrix, the playoff format -- it's an exciting time for the National Hockey League," Holland said.

The new alignment:



Here is a breakdown of the new schedule matrix created for the new alignment plan:

Western Conference (7-team divisions)

Within Conference (Division): 29 games

* 5 games vs. five teams (3 Home/2 Away vs. two teams, 2 Home/3 Away vs. three teams) AND 4 games vs. one team (2 Home/2 Away). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.

* 5 X 5 =25 games

* 1 X 4 = 4 games

Within Conference (Non-Division): 21 games

* 3 games vs. each team (2 Home/1 Away vs. four teams, 1 Home/2 Away vs. three teams). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.

* 3 X 7 = 21 games

Non-Conference: 32 games

* 2 games vs. each team (1 Home/1 Away)

* 2 X 16 = 32 games

(Exception: one team from each division plays one less game inside Division and one more game inside Conference outside Division)

Eastern Conference (8-team divisions)

Within Conference (Division): 30 games

* 5 games vs. two teams (3 Home/2 Away vs. one team, 2 Home/3 Away vs. one team) AND 4 games vs. five teams (2 Home/2 Away). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.

* 5 X 2 =10 games

* 4 X 5 = 20 games

Within Conference (Non-Division): 24 games

* 3 games vs. each team (2 Home/1 Away vs. four teams, 1 Home/2 Away vs. four teams). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.

* 3 X 8 = 24 games

Non-Conference: 28 games

* 2 games vs. each team (1 Home/1 Away)

* 2 X 14 = 28 games

FULL ARTICLE LINK - http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=660138
LINK TO VIDEO (NHL NETWORK INTERVIEW WITH BETTMAN) - http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=219978


EDIT: Meanwhile...in Vancouver...

[JFC]

Fuck I love come-back wins!

http://video.jets.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=224272

[Tom Green]

Here Is some pics and a video of when me and JFC went to the Winnipeg Jets game on March 12, 2013


































Fight Video
http://s1220.photobucket.com/user/MrWPG/media/MVI_0234_zps9c876e98.mp4.html

[JFC]

So if anyone was wondering why Jarome Iginla wasn't playing in Calgary's game today game against the Avalanche.....just see Masa's post below.

EDIT: Originally I had posted that the trade happened between Calgary and Boston. Then I went to sleep and shit got changed on me.

Report: Flames trade Iginla to Bruins Penguins

LINK - http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=662496

Calgary Flames fans were probably somewhat expecting this to happen, still, wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of them are = .

[Masa]

Flames trade Iginla to Penguins

In a shocking turn of events on a wild Thursday morning, the Calgary Flames announced that they've traded franchise icon Jarome Iginla to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Pens' first-round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft and the rights to unsigned draft choices Kenneth Agostino and Ben Hanowski.

Throughout much of Wednesday night, several media outlets reported Iginla was being traded to the Boston Bruins for a first-round pick and two minor leaguers. But the Flames announced the deal with Pittsburgh at 1:30 a.m. ET Thursday, not long after their 4-3 home victory against Colorado -- a game that Calgary played without Iginla, who was scratched about two hours before the opening faceoff.

"That info was not correct," Calgary general manager Jay Feaster said of the reports.

Penguins GM Ray Shero said he made sure to let Feaster know he wanted in on any talks concerning Iginla.

"We talked to Jay and said if you're going to move Iginla, we would be interested," Shero said. "Over the last day or so, it became apparent they were going to move him. We started getting into more names and scenarios."

The addition of an unconditional first-round pick clinched the deal.

"The first-round pick was very important to them," Shero said. "They ended up with two good college prospects. That's the price of Jarome Iginla. That's what you have to do. That's what we did."

Feaster said the Flames had three offers for Iginla, and that he worked with Iginla in making a decision on the player's final destination. Iginla, it seems, wanted to go to Pittsburgh and be reunited with Sidney Crosby. The two were teammates on the Team Canada entry that won the gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

"We, as an organization, are grateful for everything our captain has done. We've missed the [Stanley Cup Playoffs] the last three years, we are in very tight spot right now as far as qualifying for the playoffs and we have Jarome in the final year of his contract," Feaster said of the club's rationalizing for moving the face of the franchise.

Feaster also said it was a difficult decision to make, but it became a necessity when the general manager realized that he could not sign Iginla, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, to an extension.

"This is not why I came to Calgary, to be the guy to trade Jarome Iginla," Feaster said. "It's an unfortunate and difficult part of this business. It was tough. I've only known Jarome for the three years I have been here, and Jarome has been very good to me. They are tough conversations to have."

It is the third major deal in the past 72 hours engineered by Shero, who has yet to move a player off his NHL roster in making his acquisitions.

On Monday, Shero obtained gritty veteran forward Brenden Morrow from the Dallas Stars for prospect Joe Morrow and a draft pick. Less than 24 hours later, he plucked veteran defenseman Douglas Murray from the San Jose Sharks for two second-round picks. Now he has bagged Iginla, the prize of this year's trade market.

"We're all in. We want to win," Shero said after the deal was made.

The Penguins host the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, but it is unclear if Iginla will play in that game. Iginla is scheduled to meet with the Calgary media Thursday morning, suggesting he would not arrive in time for a game that evening. Pittsburgh's next game is a Saturday afternoon contest against the New York Islanders at the Consol Energy Center.

He brings a lot of different elements, ability to play with good players, play in tough areas, good leadership," Shero said. "He wants to win. The people I've talked to that have played with him talk about what a great teammate and person he is. My expectation is that he'll be a really good fit in terms of the team and the guys that we have."

Still to be determined is how Iginla fits in with the Penguins and whom he'll play. However, Shero said Iginla is willing to do whatever it takes to win.

"He said he would help anyway he could, didn't care about role or who he was playing with," Shero said. "He'll accept any role that's asked of him by coaches or teammates.

"That will be up to [coach] Dan [Bylsma]. They have a month to work things out as far as where things go and what the fit might be. They may play with different players here and there and find that fit with what the roles are and who's comfortable with whom. We have some time to sort through that and find those roles."

Iginla, 35, has nine goals and 22 points this season for the struggling Flames. He has played his entire NHL career in Calgary, scoring 525 goals with the Flames. He had played 441 consecutive games before the Flames scratched him Wednesday night, and had appeared in every game for Calgary since April 8, 2007.

"Jarome Iginla is 35 years old. He's not 45," Shero said. "He's like a few other guys that have come here that seem to be rejuvenated playing with these younger players. That's what we're hoping for with the guys that we picked up. Hopefully, that will be the case."

He is a three-time First-Team All-Star, won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal-scorer in 2002 and 2004, and led the NHL in points in 2001-02. He has been the Flames' captain since the start of the 2003-04 season.

A first-round pick by the Dallas Stars (No. 11) at the 1995 NHL Draft, Iginla was dealt to the Flames in a deal that sent Joe Nieuwendyk to Dallas on Dec. 20, 1995. Iginla made his NHL debut with the Flames during the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs and had spent his entire career with Calgary.

Iginla has appeared in 1,219 regular-season games, scoring 525 goals and 570 assists. He also has 28 goals and 21 assists in 54 postseason contests. Iginla came close to winning a championship in 2004, when the Flames lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"It's different; it's weird for sure," Calgary forward Michael Cammalleri said after the game. "I think he's been such presence on this team, this city, this organization for so long. He's such a dominant player, a guy who is in the lineup all the time not missing any games. His presence will be … it'll be different, for sure, without him."

Calgary sits in second-to-last place in the Western Conference, although they are just six points behind the eighth-place Sharks. But the Flames must climb past six clubs with just 16 games remaining to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"We're all very aware of what kind of business it is," Calgary forward Alex Tanguay said. "What have you done for me lately? I've been here three years and we haven't been in the playoffs. The position we're in now, no one would call it ideal. [The trade] was forced by the situation. If we're standing in fourth [place], I don't think we'd be unloading a player of his abilities. Obviously, it's caused by the team."

Agostino, 20, was a fifth-round pick by the Penguins in the 2010 NHL Draft. The junior forward has a career-high 15 goals and 37 points for Yale this season. Hanowski, a 22-year-old right wing, was a third-round pick in the 2009 Draft. He is a senior at St. Cloud State, where he has scored 62 goals and 111 points in four years.

Both players are taking part in the NCAA Tournament this weekend.

"Our pro scouts feel very strongly about these players," Feaster said after the trade was announced. "They fit our criteria for hockey sense, and they have good skill level."

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=662496&navid=DL|NHL|home

[JFC]

Trying not to let the Jets' current losing streak get to me. There's still plenty of games left to go and we've still got a chance to make the playoffs (though said chance will quickly disappear if they don't get over this hump and start getting back in the win column).

So to try and distract myself, been watching the trades fly over the last few days. This year's "whopper" is, of course, the Iginla trade, but recently there have been a couple of interesting moves made.
NHL Trade Tracker - http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=80955

[JFC]

Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation Raffle Lottery for Licence Plate #WJ0001
Manitoba Government & Manitoba Public Insurance present cheque to Foundation
Thursday, 04.04.2013 / 12:56 PM / Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation
Winnipeg Jets



True North Sports & Entertainment and the Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation are proud to announce a raffle lottery for the first printed Winnipeg Jets licence plate #WJ0001. The Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation is also excited today to accept a significant donation by the Manitoba Government and Manitoba Public Insurance.

The Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation has made 15,004 tickets available for purchase in the raffle lottery for the Winnipeg Jets licence plate #WJ0001. Each ticket will cost $20.00 and all proceeds will go directly to the Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation. Tickets can be purchased at remaining Winnipeg Jets home games this season and at all Jets Gear locations or by emailing Kait Flett from the Foundation at kflett@truenorth.mb.ca.

For more information on the raffle and available tickets, please visit the website of the Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation or go to www.winnipegjets.com.

The Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation was pleased today to have Premier Greg Selinger on-hand to present a cheque of $809,580 to the Foundation on behalf of the Manitoba Government and Manitoba Public Insurance. The cheque was presented from the proceeds of the sale of 27,000 Winnipeg Jets’ specialty licence plates.

“These licence plates were extremely popular not only among hockey fans, but Manitobans who wanted to get into the spirit of giving back to their community,” said Selinger. “The Winnipeg Jets’ True North Foundation is committed to making a difference in our community. The Foundation is about positive change, building strong relationships and giving back to those who need it most.”

The province and Winnipeg Jets unveiled the specialty licence plate in December of 2011. Administered by Manitoba Public Insurance, the specialty plates were sold at more than 300 Autopac agents across the province. Cost of the plates was $70, with $30 of that fee going towards the Jets’ True North Foundation.

Tickets will be available for purchase through email beginning at noon on Saturday, April 6th.

FULL ARTICLE LINK - http://jets.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=664158



Now, even though I've already got my own set of Jets' plates,

you all know that I'm still totally going to take my chances and buy a raffle ticket...or two...or three.... 


If, by some miracle of Miki-sama, I happen to win it...I may just have to invest in a safety deposit box at the bank.
 

[Forthisgift]

Rangers picked up Ryan Clowe then traded Gaborik for Brassard, Moore, and Dorsett then dismantled the Penguins 6-1. Yea they were "crosby-less" but we haven't had much to be thrilled about this season. I can finally post something happy lol. It's been a tough season at the FTG house 

[JFC]

 

[JFC]

I'm kinda surprised that I'm the one posting this.   It may have been that I just hadn't noticed, but had there been talk/rumors going around regarding the possibility of him getting fired/replaced?

Oilers fire Tambellini as GM, MacTavish takes over
Monday, 04.15.2013 / 12:44 PM / News
By Dan Rosen - NHL.com Senior Writer

http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=239199

Craig MacTavish completed the hat trick with the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, but he also may have just signed up for his greatest challenge yet.

Kevin Lowe, Edmonton's President of Hockey Operations, announced Monday that MacTavish is taking over as the Oilers' new general manager, replacing Steve Tambellini, who was told Sunday night that he was being relieved of his duties.

Former Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson was also promoted to take over MacTavish's former role as Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations.

Howson was Edmonton's assistant general manager from 2002-07.

MacTavish also played for the Oilers from 1986-94 and coached them from 2000-09.

His job now is to build them back into a winner.

"I'm an impatient guy and I bring that impatience to this situation," MacTavish said Monday during what was at times a combative press conference at Rexall Place. "I think that we're at the stage in terms of the cycle with our hockey club right now that we have to do some bold things. We have to expose ourselves to some semblance of risk to try and move the club forward in a rapid fashion."

The Oilers were 138-185-46 under Tambellini, who was hired on July 31, 2008. Despite the fact that they have selected first in each of the past three NHL Drafts and all three of those players (Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov) are playing top-six minutes, the Oilers are 16-18-7 this season and have lost five in a row to fall into 12th place in the Western Conference.

Edmonton moved into eighth after beating the Calgary Flames on April 3, but has scored four goals in going 0-5 since.

Lowe admitted the recent losing streak factored into the timing of the decision.

"I, for one, really had hoped that we'd be more advanced than we are right now," he said. "For Steve's sake, I was hopeful we'd be a competitive team right until the end. Losing five in a row, how we lost, where we are -- all of those things go into the decision. If we're going to do something, why wait? Allow these guys to get their hands on the operations and give themselves a couple of weeks' advance work."

There doesn't, however, appear to be any coaching changes on the horizon in Edmonton. MacTavish offered a vote of confidence to Ralph Krueger, who is in his first year as a NHL coach.

"I think it's fair to say that there is a very remote chance that where we are right now has anything to do with coaching," he said. "What we need to do is give the coaches better tools to compete at the NHL level. For me to say it's Ralph Krueger's fault right now would be extremely shortsighted on my part."

Lowe and MacTavish were faced with questions about why they think they'll be able to turn the organization around now. It was five years ago when Lowe left the GM's chair and MacTavish was let go as coach after the Oilers missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second of what has turned into six straight seasons.

Lowe was particularly defensive.

"I think it's safe to say that half the general managers in the National Hockey League would trade their rosters for our roster right now," Lowe said.

He defended his past, too.

"There is one other guy in hockey today that is still working in the game that has won as many Stanley Cups than me," said Lowe, a six-time Cup champion who last raised the trophy in 1994. "So I think I know a little bit about winning, if that's ever a concern."

He also cited the differences in the organization, particularly stable ownership, between then and now.

"If I analyze our team, it's interesting now versus six or eight years ago," he said. "We didn't have the top-end talent before and we had many restrictions on what we could do. With ownership now, the resources are there and now the pieces are in place. We have much more ammunition now than we did a number of years ago."

MacTavish also brought up the difficulties the Oilers had in the past in attracting players, but he pointed to the future.

"The fact of the matter is it's really not about yesterday," he said. "Maybe there are some skeptics out there. There are going to be in this business. You don't take a position like I'm taking right now with rose-colored glasses on. It's not for the faint of heart. I walk in here completely understanding of the situation that's in front of me. I'm not looking at what's happened in the past. My sole objective is to come in here and add something to the future of this club.

"I don't know that I've failed this organization in any regards before in any of the jobs I've taken in the past," he added. "I get back to what we say today has very little bearing on how I'm going to be evaluated going forward. I look forward to the challenge of the job. I'm going to help turn this team around."

He said it starts with building depth around the young star players such as Hall, Nugent-Hopkins, Yakupov, Jordan Eberle and Justin Schultz.

"The future is extremely bright with the young players, but we've gotta add some depth," MacTavish said. "We've got primary pieces here, but we've gotta add some depth to help our team grow. We've gotta add competitiveness. I think we lack a true understanding of just how difficult it is to have success at this level. It's an incredibly difficult league to win in. It's as highly competitive a league as there is anywhere.

"Every time the alarm rings at my house I know there are 29 teams trying to beat my brains in. We have to do a better job in arming our coaches and arming the core group in that dressing room with a group of players that is going to go forward. We all know we're going to get there."

MacTavish talked about the need to "do bold things and competitive things," to turn the team around in a hurry.

"To get into the playoffs in the NHL has never been more difficult," he said. "You see that last year, L.A. gets in the playoffs from the eighth-seed. The line from getting in the playoffs and winning a Stanley Cup is a lot finer than it has ever been before. I don't think we're that far off. We're going to have to make some changes, but we are at the point in the cycle where we can expose ourselves to some risks."

He didn't specify what those risks are.

"Talk is cheap in this game," he said. "I can come here and talk about a strategy or a particular player I want to acquire, but talk is cheap. It's in the action. It's in the execution. We're going to be exhausting every avenue to help our team and we are going to explore different things that we think collectively can move our group forward.

"I understand we're on the heels of a five-game losing streak now, so there is skepticism in the air, but things change quickly. I'm feeling we have the ability with the group we have to move this thing forward very quickly."

FULL ARTICLE LINK - http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=665854
VIDEO LINK - http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=239199

[Masa]

[JFC]

^
Funny thing is, later on in the game, the Sabres came back with 2 of their own in 6 seconds.
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=35&id=240771


EDIT: At any rate, as much as that sucked for the Jets (we're trying to catch the Rangers and/or the Islanders for the final playoff spot in the conference, so therefore we're wanting/hoping that they lose their games to give us more of a chance to gain ground in the standings), that WAS insanely awesome.

[JFC]

NHL goalie masks of 2013
http://sports.ca.msn.com/nhl/photos/nhl-goalie-masks-of-2013-3

[Forthisgift]

WE'RE IN!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JFC]

Sure, Ottawa and Boston are playing tonight to make up for the game that was cancelled due to the Boston marathon bombings, but for all intents and purposes, the playoffs are pretty much set.

All 16 playoff teams decided; seeds still TBD
Sunday, 04.28.2013 / 1:48 AM / Drive to the Playoffs
By John Kreiser - NHL.com Columnist

The 16 teams that will take part in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs have been settled, though some of the first-round pairings are still up in the air.

...

FULL ARTICLE LINK - http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=667971



Meanwhile, we're already starting to see some changes elsewhere...

Sacco out as Avalanche coach after four seasons
Sunday, 04.28.2013 / 2:00 PM / News

The Colorado Avalanche have fired coach Joe Sacco, the team announced Sunday.

Sacco was hired June 4, 2009, to replace Tony Granato. The Avalanche made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Sacco's first season, earning the eighth seed in the Western Conference before losing to the top-seeded San Jose Sharks in the first round.

They have failed to qualify in each of the three seasons since. Colorado slumped from 95 points to 68 points in his Sacco's second season, but with the help of Calder Trophy winner Gabriel Landeskog, the Avalanche improved to 88 points in 2011-12 and remained in the playoff chase until late in the campaign.

...

FULL ARTICLE LINK - http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=668126

Nieuwendyk out as Stars general manager
Sunday, 04.28.2013 / 11:05 AM / News

The Dallas Stars have fired general manager Joe Nieuwendyk, the team announced Sunday.

The Stars were assured of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a fifth consecutive season when they lost 3-1 at home to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

"Joe Niewendyk has represented the Dallas Stars extremely well as the club's general manager and has helped put pieces in place that will once again turn this team into a contender," Stars owner Tom Gaglardi said in a statment. "I would like to thank Joe for his contributions to this hockey club and wish him and his family only the best in the future."

...

FULL ARTICLE LINK - http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=667985



We also have a new Draft system to look forward to in the upcoming weeks...

2013 Scotiabank NHL Draft Lottery to be held Monday
Sunday, 04.28.2013 / 1:15 AM / 2013 NHL Draft

The 2013 Scotiabank NHL Draft Lottery, a weighted system to determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks of the 2013 NHL Draft, will take place Monday, April 29, at 8 p.m., ET.

The League, in cooperation with TSN, will announce the results of the Draft Lottery live during a 30-minute program produced and televised by TSN in Canada. The special presentation also will air in the U.S. on NBC Sports Network and will re-air on NHL Network U.S. at 9 p.m., ET.

The 2013 Scotiabank NHL Draft Lottery will be the first in NHL history in which all 14 clubs not qualifying for the Stanley Cup® Playoffs -- or the clubs that have acquired the first-round drafting positions of those non-playoff teams -- will have a chance at winning the right to the first overall selection.

The odds of winning the lottery are unchanged from previous years and determined by the teams' regular-season point totals. The lottery-winning team will draft first overall, with the remaining 13 teams slotted in reverse order of their regular-season point totals. In previous years, the winning team could move up no more than four slots in the draft order.

Based on team finish, the percentage chance of being selected in the Draft Lottery is:

Florida Panthers   25.0%
Colorado Avalanche  18.8%
Tampa Bay Lightning  14.2%
Nashville Predators  10.7%
Carolina Hurricanes  8.1%
Calgary Flames  6.2%
Edmonton Oilers  4.7%
Buffalo Sabres  3.6%
New Jersey Devils  2.7%
Dallas Stars  2.1%
Philadelphia Flyers  1.5%
Phoenix Coyotes  1.1%
Winnipeg Jets  0.8%
Columbus Blue Jackets  0.5%

The 2013 NHL Draft will be held Sunday, June 30, with all seven rounds being conducted on the same day for the first time since 2006. As previously announced, the New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center will host the event.


NHL DRAFT DRAWING HISTORY
The following is a summary of the impact on the order of selection since its introduction in 1995:

FULL ARTICLE LINK - http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=668044

* JFC laments at how close the Jets came to making, then barely missed the playoffs this year.

[Forthisgift]

Playoff time means jerkass Torts time!

[JFC]

Draft lottery was held today, and as it turns out, it's the Colorado Avalanche who'll get the 1st pick this year.

AVALANCHE WIN NHL DRAFT LOTTERY, HOLD FIRST OVERALL PICK
THE CANADIAN PRESS | 4/29/2013 10:16:19 PM
TORONTO -- Finishing last in the Western Conference standings and out of the NHL playoffs paid huge dividends for the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.

Colorado won the NHL draft lottery and the right to make the first pick in this year's entry draft. The Avalanche had an 18.8 per cent chance of winning the lottery after finishing the regular season with a dismal 16-25-7 record.

The Florida Panthers, who finished last overall with a 15-27-6 mark, had the best odds of winning at 25 per cent. But they had to settle for the No. 2 pick when the draft is held June 30 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The Avs will have first shot at Portland Winterhawks defenceman Seth Jones, the No. 1 ranked North American skater according to the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. The six-foot-four, 206-pound Jones had 14 goals and 42 assists in 61 regular-season games and also helped the U.S. capture the world junior hockey title.

...

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE & VIDEO CLIP OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT ON TSN.ca - http://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/story/?id=422036




VIDEO LINK OF THE ACTUAL DRAW ON NHL.com - http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=243891

[Assman]

HAHA LEAFS CHOKE



whatta great series!! LAUGH MY FUCKING ASS OFF all dem floppin don't work pucks to da net@! Oh man  coulda been the fuckin goat when they was down 4-1 but became the G.O.A.T. of the series

[Forthisgift]

I'm so fucking overjoyed right now I ran up and down my street waving an old playoff towel from 2007 screaming "LETS GO RANGERS"