former players

[woodbutcher]

Nice article on Parise.

NY Times

How can you not love this kid? I went up to that San Jose game with a buddy of mine and got to watch him play in person for the first time. His work ethic is second to none.

[keikla]

Both Parise and Zajac with 1G,1A last night

[Goon]

Both Parise and Zajac with 1G,1A last night

I watched that game last night Zajac scored the final goal of the game. I think New Jersey is going to be hard to beat in the playoffs this season with the addition of Ilya Kovalchuk...

[SiouxTupa]

Good for Brian.

I am surprised, frankly, that they re-signed him. The Sens added a d-man at the trade deadline iirc; I expected that to signal Lee's release.

Actually, they traded Alexandre Picard to Carolina for Matt Cullen, picks and others were possibly also involved. Picard was also a young blossoming D-man, so I figured Lee would get more time with the big club as a result.

Although it looks like they also traded a pick for Andy Sutton, so maybe that's the trade you were referring to. Either way, good for Brian.

[mikejm]

Although it looks like they also traded a pick for Andy Sutton, so maybe that's the trade you were referring to. Either way, good for Brian.

Yes, that is the trade. Sutton is getting some big ice time.

[The Whistler]

TJ Oshie with a shootout goal to lift the Blues to a victory. He was the first shooter.

I'm not sure but doesn't the coach want their best shootout scorer to go first so they avoid going in the hole right away?

[sprig]

Toews scores both as the Blackhawks are up on the Caps 2-0 after one. Ovechkin out early in the first with a 5 minute boarding major and game misconduct. Nasty push on Campbell, luckily he got his shoulder turned and took the smack into the boards on the shoulder rather than the head first it could have been. Game is on NBC

[DIEHARD SIOUX FAN]

VERSUS is back on for all of us that have Directv, 603, it took long enough but at least it's on before the playoffs start. Devils versus Boston tonight.

[redwing77]

Toews scores both as the Blackhawks are up on the Caps 2-0 after one. Ovechkin out early in the first with a 5 minute boarding major and game misconduct. Nasty push on Campbell, luckily he got his shoulder turned and took the smack into the boards on the shoulder rather than the head first it could have been. Game is on NBC

lucky?

Word on the streets it's a broken collarbone. Out for season.

Ovechchrist suspended 2 games.

Repeat offenders get the same offense in the NHL (if they get suspended).

Good thing too. Ovechchrist can now plan. When they clinch, if they play another playoff team, he can now run the guy to ensure the player doesn't haunt them in the playoffs.

Colin Campbell... One vowel away from the part of the GI tract he most represents.

[choyt3]

lucky?

Word on the streets it's a broken collarbone. Out for season.

Ovechchrist suspended 2 games.

Repeat offenders get the same offense in the NHL (if they get suspended).

Good thing too. Ovechchrist can now plan. When they clinch, if they play another playoff team, he can now run the guy to ensure the player doesn't haunt them in the playoffs.

Colin Campbell... One vowel away from the part of the GI tract he most represents.

So sick of seeing this. It's garbage. Get it through your head that these guys (Ovechkin and Crosby) are the NOW of the league. They get their games on TV for a reason. They are the best players. Everyone that posts on this site knows your opinion on them ad nauseum. Try ignoring NHL conversations for everyone else's sake.

And it isn't "word on the street". It's in print. All over the place. Here's a link: http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHMI_e...+out+for+season

[redwing77]

So sick of seeing this. It's garbage. Get it through your head that these guys (Ovechkin and Crosby) are the NOW of the league. They get their games on TV for a reason. They are the best players. Everyone that posts on this site knows your opinion on them ad nauseum. Try ignoring NHL conversations for everyone else's sake.

Cool beans. I like the idea of the NOW of the league. With this marketing strategy, they will HAVE to show Caps and Pens games otherwise NO ONE WILL WATCH. No Sid "the kid?" No Alexander "the Great?" Who are these guys? *CLICK*

I don't need to root for them. They'll do just fine. I don't need to root for the Caps or Pens. They'll do just fine.

I want to root for the LEAGUE because the LEAGUE has more to it than just these two players, I don't care how good they are.

As for the rest, meh. I don't care if you're tired of it. I'm entitled to my opinion and I'm voicing it.

Have a nice day.

[choyt3]

As am I entitled to voice my opinion that your cute little names for Ovechkin and Crosby are garbage. Kind of reminds me of something my 9 year old would come up with.

[jimdahl]

Cool beans. I like the idea of the NOW of the league. With this marketing strategy, they will HAVE to show Caps and Pens games otherwise NO ONE WILL WATCH. No Sid "the kid?" No Alexander "the Great?" Who are these guys? *CLICK*

I don't need to root for them. They'll do just fine. I don't need to root for the Caps or Pens. They'll do just fine.

I want to root for the LEAGUE because the LEAGUE has more to it than just these two players, I don't care how good they are.

As for the rest, meh. I don't care if you're tired of it. I'm entitled to my opinion and I'm voicing it.

Have a nice day.

It has always been kind of weird seeing a big Redwings fan hate the league's biggest stars just for being too big. That's how the rest of us felt about the Redwings for the last decade

As to the play... I actually like that the NHL takes into account player reputation and injury. In a physical game with contact, accidents happen. If you're a clean player, they take that into account and write it off as the accident it was, unless it resulted in a severe injury. Once upon a time Ovi had that rep and got that leeway. However, when you're involved in an open ice knee-to-knee, a CFB into the boards, and a questionable push too near the boards, you don't have to ponder intent to injure -- there's a pattern that the player's playing too close to the edge and risking harm to fellow players, so the league sends a message.

I really don't think it's a conscious strategy that it's a good tradeoff to have Ovi take out opposing players and serve suspensions -- I would think Boudreau could find a more dispensable goon. I personally hope he gets the message, because I think he does himself a disservice and plays into the haters' hands by playing up the "bad boy" rep; he's a great skill player who doesn't need to get sucked into the evil Russian vs. good kid from Canada drama.

[redwing77]

It has always been kind of weird seeing a big Redwings fan hate the league's biggest stars just for being too big. That's how the rest of us felt about the Redwings for the last decade

As to the play... I actually like that the NHL takes into account player reputation and injury. In a physical game with contact, accidents happen. If you're a clean player, they take that into account and write it off as the accident it was, unless it resulted in a severe injury. Once upon a time Ovi had that rep and got that leeway. However, when you're involved in an open ice knee-to-knee, a CFB into the boards, and a questionable push too near the boards, you don't have to ponder intent to injure -- there's a pattern that the player's playing too close to the edge and risking harm to fellow players, so the league sends a message.

I really don't think it's a conscious strategy that it's a good tradeoff to have Ovi take out opposing players and serve suspensions -- I would think Boudreau could find a more dispensable goon. I personally hope he gets the message, because I think he does himself a disservice and plays into the haters' hands by playing up the "bad boy" rep; he's a great skill player who doesn't need to get sucked into the evil Russian vs. good kid from Canada drama.

Heh. I suppose you could say Federov and Yzerman were big stars, but gosh, I can't recall the media hype behind those two players being half of what Crosby and Ovechkin get. Maybe that's my red and white glasses on. I did ask my father who remembers watching the Blackhawks back in the late 50s to the late 60s and he said he's never seen such hype for the likes of Bobby Orr, the Espositos, Gordie Howe, etc. Funny...

As for the hit, you'd think that was true, but it's not. OVechkin, like Cooke, is a repeat offender. However, Cooke used a loophole in the rulebook to avoid suspension. Ovechkin's hit was just downright illegal. His repeat offense should have garnered him more than a 2 game suspension, but it didn't. His last suspension was 2 games, though. Fortunately for him, Campbell is on board with the Bettman hype machine and limited it to 2 games.

Let me ask you this, Jim, honestly. Take Ovechkin's name off of the hit on Campbell and replace it with Bradley. How many games would he be suspended?

[82SiouxGuy]

Heh. I suppose you could say Federov and Yzerman were big stars, but gosh, I can't recall the media hype behind those two players being half of what Crosby and Ovechkin get. Maybe that's my red and white glasses on. I did ask my father who remembers watching the Blackhawks back in the late 50s to the late 60s and he said he's never seen such hype for the likes of Bobby Orr, the Espositos, Gordie Howe, etc. Funny...

As for the hit, you'd think that was true, but it's not. OVechkin, like Cooke, is a repeat offender. However, Cooke used a loophole in the rulebook to avoid suspension. Ovechkin's hit was just downright illegal. His repeat offense should have garnered him more than a 2 game suspension, but it didn't. His last suspension was 2 games, though. Fortunately for him, Campbell is on board with the Bettman hype machine and limited it to 2 games.

Let me ask you this, Jim, honestly. Take Ovechkin's name off of the hit on Campbell and replace it with Bradley. How many games would he be suspended?

Have you ever heard of guys named Magic Johnson and Larry Bird? How about Michael Jordan? They played a little game called basketball that's popular in some places. You may have heard of them because an organization called the National Basketball Association used those players to become popular in the 80's and 90's. Before 1980 the NBA was in about the same place as the NHL. They had their regular fans, but were not a huge player in the sports world. Major League Baseball, the NFL, college football and college basketball were all much bigger than the NBA. Two young guys named Johnson and Bird entered the league after becoming stars in college basketball. They ended up on major teams and on opposite sides of the country. The NBA took advantage of that and made them the focal point of promoting the league. A few years later Mr. Jordan followed them and was even more talented. The NBA built their reputation and made billions of dollars from promoting those 3 players. There were other players in the NBA that were very talented, but the 3 mentioned above had the right mix of talent and appeal to the general public.

Bettman was working for the NBA at that time. When he started with the NHL they didn't have obvious players to follow a similar campaign. Crosby and Ovechkin are similar level players with appeal. There are probably other players that are on or near the same talent level, but under this model you need to find just a couple of players that you can focus on. Bettman and the NHL are trying to do something similar with Crosby and Ovechkin. They want to use these 2 guys to build interest in the NHL. It would have been better for them if one of the guys was in the West, but you work with what you have.

[siouxforeverbaby]

Not sure if you guys care, but it looks like former Sioux player, Hunter Bishop has signed a deal with the Montreal Canadiens. I was randomly checking Brad's twitter and saw that.

[ihatethegophers]

Not sure if you guys care, but it looks like former Sioux player, Hunter Bishop has signed a deal with the Montreal Canadiens. I was randomly checking Brad's twitter and saw that.

it's true

MONTREAL

[mikejm]

That's great news for Hunter.

Think of what that release said: Bishop, who couldn't get ice time with the Sioux, goes to OSU and ranks third and fourth on his team in scoring, and ends up signing a pro contract! That speaks volumes for both Hunter, and for the Sioux's continual depth of quality players.

[Big A HG]

A little Ryan Duncan update:

In 62 games with Salzburg, Duncan has 30 goals and 35 assists. He leads his team in goals, and is 2nd in points.

And while I was at it, N*than G*rbe (censored for our younger viewers) seems like he hit a sophomore slump with the Portland Pirates, scoring only 10 goals and adding 26 assists in 42 games with them. Last year, G*rbe managed to put up 30 goals and 26 assists in 57 games.

[Goon]

A little Ryan Duncan update:

In 62 games with Salzburg, Duncan has 30 goals and 35 assists. He leads his team in goals, and is 2nd in points.

And while I was at it, N*than G*rbe (censored for our younger viewers) seems like he hit a sophomore slump with the Portland Pirates, scoring only 10 goals and adding 26 assists in 42 games with them. Last year, G*rbe managed to put up 30 goals and 26 assists in 57 games.

If I am not mistaken isn't that the team that Jordan Parise played on? The Red Bulls>

[Big A HG]

If I am not mistaken isn't that the team that Jordan Parise played on? The Red Bulls>

Yeah, JPar played one season with them back in 08-09.

[brianvf]

Good to see him still doing well and putting up the goals...probably from his "spot".

Same number too.

[MissSioux85]

From Brad's Blog

Hockey Canada has confirmed that Jonathan Toews is, indeed, the youngest hockey player in Canadian history to win the international triple crown: a gold medal in the World Juniors, World Championships and Olympics.

No American has ever done it.

Toews completed the feat at 21 years, 9 months, 26 days. Shea Weber, who also completed the international triple crown last month, is the second youngest to do it at 24 years, 6 months, 10 days.

Hockey Canada did not have access to other countries' stats, but now I will try to figure out whether Toews is the youngest of all time to pull off the feat.

[redwing77]

I'm not a big fan of European hockey jerseys.

I think Duncan gets lost in all the wild colors and ads.

[woodbutcher]

I'm not a big fan of European hockey jerseys.

I think Duncan gets lost in all the wild colors and ads.

I agree, like billboards on skates.