Official NHL Thread

[kuno_thunder]

I'm sure Marian Hossa is going to go home and cry on his cock shaped pillow.  Proud of those boys!

In other news, the Manitoba Moose lost game 6 in the Calder Cup finals tonight as well.  So, a somewhat bittersweet hockey day for me.

[cool_kickin_dude]

I'M SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!!!

Pens pulled it out baby!! Crosby got the Cup and it feels good

[Masa]

Hossa: no regrets for leaving Pens


DETROIT -- The only thing Marian Hossa would like to change is the final result of Game 7.

After watching his former teammates celebrate with the Stanley Cup on Friday night, Hossa wasn't feeling any regret about his decision to sign with the Detroit Red Wings last summer. He bolted Pittsburgh to win a championship in Motown but is going to have to wait at least one more year to achieve that goal. "Regret? I don't regret it," Hossa said after a 2-1 loss to the Penguins in Game 7. "It could be different circumstances if I sign in Pittsburgh, they probably couldn't sign some other players and they'd be a different team.

"We could sit here for hours discussing this, but it would be a different team and it could be different things." Hossa looked like a different player during this Stanley Cup. The talented winger didn't even score a goal during the final and admitted that the pressure of playing the Penguins got to him. He was asked about it repeatedly over the past couple weeks.

"Whether you like it or not, there's lots of pressure," said Hossa. "You learn when the pressure is on and you learn how to handle it. It's squeezing you. It's a pretty tough one, I tried to battle hard but I couldn't get anything done offensively." He had been one of the rallying points for a Red Wings team that has done a lot of winning in recent years. Forward Kirk Maltby, a four-time Stanley Cup champion, said he felt bad that they couldn't get another for Hossa.

After going up 2-0 in this series, the Red Wings lost four of five games to the upstart Penguins. The offence went particularly dry in Games 6 and 7, when they scored just two goals combined on goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. "It's not from a lack of effort," said Maltby. "They block a lot of shots, they clog it up."

Even though there wasn't any excuses being made in the Red Wings dressing room, it's hard to ignore the fact that a little luck wasn't on their side. They had to play without Hart Trophy finalist Pavel Datsyuk and star defencemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski for stretches during these playoffs. On top of that, fatigue might have caught up to them in the final.

"I thought we looked out of gas pretty much all series," said coach Mike Babcock. "I thought we competed, and I thought we tried. But I never thought we got to the level we'd have liked to." They'll spend plenty of time going over what went wrong.

A year ago, the Red Wings celebrated a championship win over Hossa's Penguins on the road at Mellon Arena. As the Detroit players came out for interviews in their dressing room at Joe Louis Arena on Friday, the Penguins could clearly be heard partying it up on their ice. It was a strange feeling for a franchise that had won four straight Stanley Cup since last losing one in 1995. "You learn from this too," said Henrik Zetterberg, one of many Wings who shaved his playoff beard before speaking to the media. "We had our win last year -- now we're on the other side. It's going to make us stronger.

"We've got a great group of guys here, everybody's going to build and learn from this." Hossa is an unrestricted free agent again this summer and hopes to remain in Detroit. Even though the season ended with disappointment, it was one of the best of his career.

"I still had a great year in this organization," said Hossa. "Great guys, great people around. It could go both ways, just one goal makes a difference. You score one more and you celebrate. "Sometimes that life and you just have to move on. It's a great life experience."

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2009/06/13/hossa_no_regrets/

[JFC]

No regrets...bullshit.

[daigong]

HOssa you fucking Moron of the NHL Award Goes to him!

Talk about a day of upsets! Congrats Pens!! Mario getting drunk, I loved that. And Bill Guerin & Garon & Sykora! Oh so close with the Oilers.




      

I like this win. Great for the NHL. Too bad they fucked up the schedule. Fuck that shit about "84 Oilers" - they ain't got no Messier!!! End of Story.

The Red Wings are a model franchise - don't care too much for Franzen and Holmstrom, but grit and skill is what a team needs.

Crosby sure didn't get the stats but props for him manning up and coming back in the third whereas some would just hide **COUGH Pittkanen**

SO COME ON KATZ!! Get Heatley!

[Mugen]

lol lemieux fucken alchy

[Masa]

[BradVickers]

Went to the parade today. Good times.

[zoolander]

I'm still in anger mode. All the sudden Fleury decided to play his ass off on the road.

Congrats to the Pens though.

[Masa]

2009 awards: Finalists and winners

HART MEMORIAL TROPHY
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

VEZINA TROPHY
Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild
Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets
Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins

JAMES NORRIS MEMORIAL TROPHY
Mike Green, Washington Capitals
Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins

CALDER MEMORIAL TROPHY
Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks
Kris Versteeg, Chicago Blackhawks
Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets

LADY BYNG MEMORIAL TROPHY
Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings

FRANK J. SELKE TROPHY
Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks
Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings

JACK ADAMS AWARD
Todd McLellan, San Jose Sharks
Andy Murray, St. Louis Blues
Claude Julien, Boston Bruins

LESTER B. PEARSON AWARD
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

MASTERTON TROPHY
Chris Chelios, Detroit Red Wings
Richard Zednik, Florida Panthers
Steve Sullivan, Nashville Predators

[Masa]

Leetch joins immortals in Hall of Fame

Rangers legend first U.S.-born defenseman to earn highest hockey honor

It's official. Rangers great Brian Leetch is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. In a conference call on Tuesday afternoon, the Hall of Fame Selection Committee announced that Leetch would be part of the 2009 Hall induction class, along with Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and Steve Yzerman, who were all inducted in the Players' category. Also entering the Hall is New Jersey Devils President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello, who was added in the Builders' Category.

Leetch, who grew up in Cheshire, Conn., becomes the only Rangers draft pick other than Brad Park to earn hockey's highest honor. He is also the first U.S.-born defenseman in the Hall and only the second with American citizenship, following Rod Langway. Leetch, who took part in the selection announcement conference call on Tuesday afternoon, said he was "humbled" by the honor of entering the Hall.

Leetch, whose No. 2 was retired by the Rangers organization on Jan. 24, 2008, is now a member of both the Hockey Hall of Fame and the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, which he entered last year. He is the 45th former Rangers player to be selected to the Hall, while Robitaille, who spent two years as Leetch's teammate in the mid-1990s, brings the total to 46. The 2009 Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on Nov. 9 at the Hall's home in Toronto.

http://rangers.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=431505

[daigong]

GJ Leetch!!! We'll forget about that stint with the Leafs!

Hoollly shit what a HOF class. 600 Goal scorers. All classy funny guys.

[JFC]

Leetch is definitely deserving of the honour of getting into the HOF. The guy almost single-handedly redefined what it meant to be a defenceman.



EDIT:

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Mike Babcock will coach Team Canada in 2010 Olympics, source says

By: Chris Johnston And Stephanie Levitz, THE CANADIAN PRESS - 23/06/2009 7:20 PM

Mike Babcock doesn't officially get the nod as Olympic coach until Thursday but he already has Wayne Gretzky's support.

The Detroit Red Wings coach is to be named coach on Thursday at a Hockey Canada news conference in Montreal, a source confirmed to The Canadian Press.

Gretzky likes the selection.

"Being in Detroit, such a great hockey city, he understands the scenario that they're under," Gretzky, speaking at a Samsung Olympic sponsorship event in Vancouver, said Tuesday of the players who will represent Canada at the 2010 Games.

"I don't think the players who haven't played an Olympic Games, till they see it, understand the microscope they will be under, fortunately they have guys like Jarome (Iginla), guys who have been through this before, and although those guys have been through this before I don't think anyone is going to be able to understand the magnitude of how important this is to Canadians being that it is in Vancouver and in Canada."

Iginla, who was at the same event, was also positive about the Babcock move.

"He's been extremely successful through his career and also he's coached as a front-runner," Iginla said. "Detroit has four seasons of 50 wins-plus and Stanley Cup and everybody is chasing them down and I think that there's some similarities with coaching Canada.

"Everyone is always trying to knock them off, everyone is always trying to knock the Red Wings off, same with Canada, everyone wants to beat them and is gunning for them so I think there is definitely some similarities there."

Babcock, 46, has a career coaching record of 282-139-71 in the NHL with 58 post-season victories.

Babcock has lobbied for the head coaching job with the Canadian Olympic team for a while. Immediately after winning the Cup in Pittsburgh in 2008, Babcock went to Steve Yzerman and asked how to apply. Yzerman, who wasn't yet officially in charge of Team Canada at that point, said they already assumed he wanted it.

Yzerman wouldn't confirm Babcock's hiring Tuesday.

"I really haven't talked to anybody (in the media) about it," Yzerman said on a conference call after he was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame. "We'll announce the entire staff Thursday in Montreal."

Canada won the gold medal in Salt Lake City in 2002 under Pat Quinn, but struggled in Turin four years later, losing to Russia in the quarter-finals. Quinn also coached that team.

Babcock brings some impressive international credentials to the job. He led Canada to gold at the 2004 world championships, going 7-1-1 and beating Sweden in the final. He also helped the Canadians win gold at the 1997 world junior championships.

Babcock's 2010 team will likely be led by Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, who played a part in preventing him from winning consecutive Stanley Cups earlier this month.

Columbus Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock is expected to be on Babcock's staff.

LINK - http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/Mike-Babcock-will-coach-Team-Canada-in-2010-Olympics_-source-says.html

[Masa]

PANTHERS TRADE BOUWMEESTER'S RIGHTS TO FLAMES

6/27/2009 11:21:49 AM

Jay Bouwmeester's days in Florida are over. The Panthers have traded the 25-year-old star defenceman's rights to the Calgary Flames for the rights to blueliner Jordan Leopold and a third round pick. Despite trade rumours that swirled around him on deadline day, Bouwmeester, 25, remained in Florida, playing out the final year of his contract, which allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end.

The native of Edmonton, Alberta played his entire six-year career with the Panthers after being selected third overall by the club in 2002. He had 15 goals and 27 assists in 82 games this season. Leopold, 28, was a second round (44th overall) draft pick of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1999. In 355 NHL games, the Golden Valley, Minnesota, native has 29 goals and 80 assists with a minus- 15 rating. Leopold is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=283033

DUCKS SHIP DEFENCEMAN PRONGER TO FLYERS

6/26/2009 9:53:04 PM

The Anaheim Ducks have traded defenceman Chris Pronger and forward Ryan Dingle to the Philadelphia Flyers for defenceman Luca Sbisa, forward Joffrey Lupul, two first-round picks and a conditional third-round pick in 2010 or 2011. The Pronger trade comes following reports that Ducks' defenceman Scott Niedermayer will return for the 2009-2010 season.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=282981

2009 Draft 1st round:
http://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=9157

[Masa]

WHOOOOOOOOO! JULY 1ST!

Canadiens grab Gomez from Rangers in 7-player deal

Tuesday, 06.30.2009 / 6:27 PM / News

Glen Sather and Bob Gainey started discussing their wants and needs when they sat together at a dinner on June 22. The respective general managers for the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens continued the discussion at the Entry Draft. Finally, at roughly 3 p.m. ET Tuesday, they consummated a trade that seemingly helps both sides. The Rangers sent Scott Gomez and his hefty contract that still has five years and more than $30 million left on it to Montreal in exchange for Long Island, N.Y. native Christopher Higgins, who is a restricted free agent, but is likely to sign with the Rangers.

Montreal also sent the Rangers 2007 first-round draft pick Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko and the rights to Doug Janik to New York while the Rangers gave up Tom Pyatt and Mike Busto. The Rangers may view this trade as a salary dump to free up room to make another trade or to go on a shopping spree Wednesday. Dany Heatley is reportedly seeking a trade out of Ottawa and Senators GM Bryan Murray is listening to offers. Rangers GM Glen Sather said during a 5:45 p.m. ET conference call that since the trade was announced he had fielded three calls.

"It doesn't take very long for people to recognize that you're going to make some changes," Sather said. Sather praised Gomez, but also seemed relieved to get rid of the veteran center's contract, which he signed two years ago on the same day as Chris Drury. It was supposed to be a changing of the guard in New York, but the Rangers won only one playoff round with Gomez.

"It gives us a lot more options, more availability to do other things," Sather said. "We're not up against the cap now. We have lots of cap room. It just makes the options more inviting to us. I'm not sure what is going to happen. We also have depth with some of the kids we have in the minors. Torts (coach John Tortorella) has talked about the young guys and we wanted to make some room for them so we did."

The Canadiens, meanwhile, were the perfect trading partners for the Rangers. They were in the market for a center of Gomez's ilk and while they tendered a qualifying offer to Higgins, they obviously viewed him as expendable.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=432360

Sather you magnificent bastard!

Flames sign Bouwmeester to multiyear deal

Tuesday, 06.30.2009 / 8:36 PM / News

Calgary, Alberta - Calgary Flames General Manager Darryl Sutter had a narrow window of opportunity to sign Jay Bouwmeester after acquiring negotiatiing rights to the free-agent defenseman from Florida on Saturday. He beat the clock on free agency by signing Bouwmeester to a multiyear contract on Tuesday, hours before the start of free agency. "Jay is one of the most complete defenseman in the game, and we are very pleased to have reached an agreement that will make him an important component of the Calgary Flames success," Sutter said. "We identified Jay as the priority player where we were going to focus our money. We wanted an opportunity a few days in advance of the deadline, and that’s why we made the move we did this past weekend."

Bouwmeester, a native of Edmonton, had 15 goals and 27 assists in 2008-09, his sixth season with the Panthers, who took him with the third selection in the 2002 Entry Draft. The 6-foot-4, 213-pound defenseman has 203 points in 471 career NHL games, all with Florida. Then-GM Jacques Martin opted not to deal Bouwmeester at the trade deadline, hoping he could help the Panthers make the playoffs for the first time since 2000. But Florida came up short, and Bouwmeester told the Panthers he wanted to play in a more-traditional hockey market. Calgary acquired his rights on Saturday morning for the rights to free-agent defenseman Jordan Leopold and a third-round draft pick.

By Monday, Sutter and Bouwmeester's agent were talking, and they reached an agreement a day before the start of free agency. "I am happy to have this deal done as Calgary was a team I was very interested in playing for. I was encouraged by the commitment Calgary showed by acquiring me prior to July 1," Bouwmeester said. "I am familiar with some of the players and believe we have a strong club that is poised to make the next step in becoming a championship club. I look forward to contributing to that success." The Flames will introduce Bouwmeester at a news conference on Wednesday.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=432336

[08:11] <daigong> YEEEEAAHH!! HEATLEY ALMOST MAYBE AN OILER!

Report: Heatley Rejects Trade to Edmonton

Wednesday, 07.01.2009 / 12:46 AM / News

Forward refuses to waive no-trade clause, blocks move to Oilers

Hours after reporting the Ottawa Senators had traded disgruntled forward Dany Heatley to the Edmonton Oilers, TSN and Sportnet.ca are now reporting that the deal is on hold, with TSN's Bob McKenzie stating that Heatley has refused to waive his no-trade clause. The agreed-upon deal reportedly would have sent forwards Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and defenseman Ladislav Smid to Ottawa.

Heatley had requested a trade from Ottawa, but such a move would require him to waive his no-trade clause for any potential deal to be finalized. Last season, Heatley tallied 39 goals and 33 assists in 82 games. He had back-to-back 50 goal seasons in 2005-06 and 2006-07. With the deal off, Ottawa is now responsible for a $4 million bonus due to Heatley on July 1.

Penner, 26, has been a disappointment for the Oilers after signing as a free agent from Anaheim two seasons ago. Penner scored 17 goals and 20 assists in 78 games last season. Cogliano was the Oilers' first-round pick in 2005. He scored 18 goals and 20 assists last season. Smid, 23, has played three-seasons in the NHL. Last year, he picked up 11 assists in 60 games.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=432360

Poor daigong

[Mugen]

EDMONTON LOLERS

[Masa]

OILERS GET THEIR NO. 1 GOALIE IN KHABIBULIN

Nikolai Khabibulin is the latest big name off the board in free agency, as the veteran netminder has signed a four-year, $15 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers. The 36-year-old spent the past four seasons in Chicago, helping lead the Blackhawks to their first Western Conference final since 1995 this past season. He also captured the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. The signing marks the end of a tumultuous time in the Windy City for the Russian native. After signing a massive four-year deal with the Hawks in 2005, Khabibulin suffered through various injuries and inconsistent play.

It was thought that his days in Chicago were numbered after the Blackhawks signed free-agent netminder Cristobal Huet prior to the season. The Hawks even went as far as placing the 1992 Olympic gold medalist on waivers in September with rumours circulating of a return to Russia and the KHL. Khabibulin raised the level of his play and took over the No. 1 goaltender role and was a big reason that the Blackhawks reached the post-season for the first time in seven years.

Khabibulin finished the season with a 25-8-7 record with a 2.33 goals against average and .919 save percentage. He also picked up three shutouts. In 678 career games split between the Jets/Coyotes, Lightning and Blackhawks, Khabibulin has a lifetime record of 299-267-21 with a .908 save percentage, 2.67 goals against average and 41 career shutouts. He has also played in four NHL All-Star games.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=283439

[Masa]

GABORIK AGREES TO FIVE-YEAR DEAL WITH RANGERS

Former Minnesota Wild winger Marian Gaborik has agreed to a five-year contract with the New York Rangers. The Slovakian forward will earn $7.5 million per year. Gaborik played his entire seven-year career with the Wild, scoring 219 goals and 437 points in 502 games. Injuries limited Gaborik to just 13 goals and 23 points in 17 games this season. Gaborik set career highs in goals (42), assists (41) and points (83) in 77 games during the 2007-2008 campaign. The 27-year-old was Minnesota's first pick (third overall) at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=283470

GJ Sather! Gaborik is one of the most talented players in NHL but dude better start staying healthy

[kuno_thunder]

For those of you without Canada's OTR on their Twitter:
http://www.psamp.com/2009-articles/july/kris-letang-and-tyler-kennedy-do-the-weather.html

[Masa]

AU REVOIR, MONTREAL: KOIVU FINDS NEW HOME WITH DUCKS

After spending his entire 13-year career in Montreal, Saku Koivu will be calling Orange County his home as the Anaheim Ducks have signed the free agent centre to a one-year, $3.25 million contract. Koivu, 34, had been the Canadiens' second-longest serving captain. His nine seasons with the 'C' trailed only the legendary Jean Beliveau, who was captain for 10 seasons. The move to Anaheim reunites Koivu with fellow countryman Teemu Selanne. The duo helped Finland earn a silver medal at the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.

"I'm very excited to join the Ducks this coming season," Koivu said in a statement. "I'm also looking forward to a full season with Teemu Selanne as a teammate." Koivu, who was drafted by the Canadiens with the 21st overall pick in the 1993 draft, hoped to stay with Habs but realized if a deal did not get completed quickly, he would likely look elsewhere. "If I'm not signed by July 1, I don't think I'll be back in Montreal," Koivu said after the Canadiens were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Bruins. "Finishing your career with one team would be awesome in a way, but it's too early to say because I don't know what the team's plan is."

Koivu, one of the Canadiens' most celebrated players in their 100-year history, endeared himself to Montreal fans for all the challenges he endured since joining the club in 1995. In the 1996-97 season, he was one of the league's leading scorers before a knee injury sidelined him for most of the campaign. For the next couple of seasons, knee and shoulder injuries kept him out of the lineup for long stretches, with many questioning his durability in the NHL game.

In 1999, the club made Koivu their first-ever European-born captain, succeeding Vincent Damphousse who was traded the previous season. "I enjoyed every moment there," Koivu said Wednesday in a telephone conference call from Finland. "It's a great place to play hockey. Not an easy place always, but a very interesting place. "I think and I know I'm a better person after these years. I've learned a lot from Montreal. I will never forget the years I spent there."

Koivu also left an impression with Canadiens fans at the start of the 2001-02 campaign, after being diagnosed with intra-abdominal non-Hodgkins lymphoma. His treatment left him off the roster for all but three games that season and his return to the lineup in April of 2002 was considered one of the club's most memorable moments. In his comeback game against the Ottawa Senators on home ice, the 21,273 fans in attendance gave him an eight-minute standing ovation - a local honour shared only by the late Maurice Richard.

Koivu's courageous battle with cancer and his return to the game earned him the Masterton Trophy that season. "Saku Koivu's character and leadership qualities are unquestioned," said general Manager Bob Murray in a team statement. "He is a skilled playmaker and we are thrilled to add him to our team."
In 13 NHL seasons, Koivu has suited up in 792 games and has scored 191 goals with 450 assists. He played in only 65 games for the Habs in 2008-09 after dealing with a foot injury. He scored 16 goals and posted 36 assists.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=284086

Selänne & Koivu (+ some random dude) will be one of the best 2nd lines this season