View Poll Results: Is your team in cap hell?
Yes
0
0%
No
0
0%
Don't care
0
0%
Go Nordiques!
0
0%
Voters: 0. You may not vote on this poll
Hockey: News and Discussion Thread
07-05-2010, 02:48 PM
Maybe he'll be a better fit the new coach's game.
07-05-2010, 02:56 PM
Senior Moderator
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
iTrader: (6)
He should fit into another system well
07-05-2010, 04:58 PM
Senior Moderator
Probert Passes Away
From Chicagosports.com...
Former Blackhawks forward Bob Probert died Monday after collapsing on a boat, according to reports by the Windsor Star and radio station CKLW-AM.
Probert, 45, reportedly was on a boat in Lake St. Clair when an emergency call was made. EMS and fire personnel met the boat, started CPR and transported him to a hospital. But Ontario police personnel confirmed to the Windsor Star that Probert was not revived.
After starring with the Detroit Red Wings, Probert spent the last seven years (1995-2002) of a 16-year NHL career with the Blackhawks. He played in 935 career games and had 163 goals, 221 assists, 384 points and 3,300 penalty minutes.
A notorious brawler, Probert also was a skilled player who made the 1988 NHL All-Star Game.
The Probert family was to conduct a news conference to issue a statement at 5 p.m. Central time at Windsor Regional Hospital, the newspaper reported.
Probert, 45, reportedly was on a boat in Lake St. Clair when an emergency call was made. EMS and fire personnel met the boat, started CPR and transported him to a hospital. But Ontario police personnel confirmed to the Windsor Star that Probert was not revived.
After starring with the Detroit Red Wings, Probert spent the last seven years (1995-2002) of a 16-year NHL career with the Blackhawks. He played in 935 career games and had 163 goals, 221 assists, 384 points and 3,300 penalty minutes.
A notorious brawler, Probert also was a skilled player who made the 1988 NHL All-Star Game.
The Probert family was to conduct a news conference to issue a statement at 5 p.m. Central time at Windsor Regional Hospital, the newspaper reported.
07-05-2010, 05:32 PM
Senior Moderator
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
iTrader: (6)
Bobby, loved watching you fight when I was a kid
07-05-2010, 05:49 PM
damn, I'm 45
"developed severe chest pains."
07-05-2010, 05:56 PM
Senior Moderator
Gonna miss the big guy...he was a definitely a fave for me as well.
07-05-2010, 06:50 PM
Senior Moderator
07-06-2010, 12:16 AM
Probert was one of the reasons I became a Wings fan as a kid, I remember him and stevey Y in the late 80's early 90's. I loved watching probie fight and steve score. That was back in the day when the norris division was still kicking and the Wings and leafs actually played each other all the time in back to back highway series. Probie and wendel clark fighting was always exciting to watch, probably because they actually through punches back then.
07-06-2010, 10:05 AM
Senior Moderator
Lots of articles about Probie...but, here's a nice one: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=392128
07-06-2010, 10:09 AM
The sizzle in the Steak
Kovy signed with teh Devils?!?!?! A bit premature ejac post.....but in the end when he signs, I'll still stick to what I have been saying all along that Dean Lombardi will not sign him for LA. Dean has never payed overpriced HUGE $$$$ for UFA's.
...stay tuned for a trade.
07-06-2010, 10:10 AM
The sizzle in the Steak
...and to Probert. Probert was a fave of mine. 
to Probert. Probert was a fave of mine.
07-06-2010, 11:44 AM
I am #76,361,211,935
Lots of articles about Probie...but, here's a nice one: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=392128
Probie. Too young, way too young.
07-07-2010, 11:19 AM
Trolling Canuckistan
Probert was one of the reasons I became a Wings fan as a kid, I remember him and stevey Y in the late 80's early 90's. I loved watching probie fight and steve score. That was back in the day when the norris division was still kicking and the Wings and leafs actually played each other all the time in back to back highway series. Probie and wendel clark fighting was always exciting to watch, probably because they actually through punches back then.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03ImIx0XC4U
07-07-2010, 02:36 PM
Senior Moderator
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
iTrader: (6)
Awesome vid, back when fighting was passionate and guys really threw down, including the goalies. None of the skate in a circle and hug each other. Gotta love the old Probie fights
Funny seeing Steve Y getting into it too
Funny seeing Steve Y getting into it too
07-07-2010, 02:46 PM
Senior Moderator
And best is...no turtling. There were no Otts, Burrows, Averys, and Cookes in the League back then.
07-07-2010, 02:50 PM
Senior Moderator
Nabokov Signs with KHL
07-07-2010, 04:06 PM
The sizzle in the Steak
Kings got a counter-offer from Kovalchuk 
07-07-2010, 09:07 PM
07-07-2010, 09:13 PM
Senior Moderator
07-08-2010, 09:27 AM
Senior Moderator
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
iTrader: (6)
Great fight ^ amazing how long those guys could stay on their feet and keep fighting. now adays, that fight would have been broken up after 30 seconds
07-08-2010, 09:28 AM
Senior Moderator
What's remarkable about that fight is that they seem to get a 2nd and 3rd wind.
And as described by Rozner in the article I posted, you can see the respect they show for each other after the fight. Something you rarely see today...
And as described by Rozner in the article I posted, you can see the respect they show for each other after the fight. Something you rarely see today...
07-08-2010, 12:25 PM
Senior Moderator
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
iTrader: (6)
very few "fighters" of this day and age really have much respect or consideration for one another. I do see a few guys shake hands or pat each other on the back and say "good fight" but it's few and far between.
07-08-2010, 03:43 PM
The sizzle in the Steak
Great article on the Kovalchuk drama.
http://espn.go.com/nhl/blog/_/name/l...ilya-kovalchuk
...and he could have had $100 mil from Atlanta 
http://espn.go.com/nhl/blog/_/name/l...ilya-kovalchuk
But several GMs, governors and agents told ESPN.com over the past few months that they didn't believe any team would be willing to pay Kovalchuk $10 million a year. You can't pay anyone that amount of money and still expect to ice a competitive team around him under the salary cap. That's a popular sentiment around the league.
But perhaps more intriguing is this rumor making the circles among owners and team executives -- the league will fight for a lower salary cap (change the way the percentages are calculated in order to get a lower cap) in the next collective-bargaining agreement two years from now (the players will likely be led into the next labor talks by the battled-tested Donald Fehr and will certainly have a say in that.)
Whether the lower cap comes to fruition, the potential for it has clearly effected the way some teams are already thinking, including the Los Angeles Kings, the team Kovalchuk wants to sign with.
Kings GM Dean Lombardi, who once again broke off talks with the Kovalchuk camp Wednesday, is adamant he needs a cap-friendly deal if he's going to take on Kovalchuk. He needs to be able to sign Drew Doughty and Wayne Simmonds and other youngsters over the next year or so, and he is also concerned about the next CBA and its impact. If the cap goes down by $10 million or so in the next CBA, how will teams handle their big salaries?
More to the point, I really do believe the Kings have watched, somewhat in horror, at how a wonderfully talented Chicago Blackhawks team has been dismantled this summer just weeks after winning the Stanley Cup. It's a situation the young-and-rising Kings want to avoid.
So, if Kovalchuk ever comes back to the Kings' table for a third time, he'll need to adjust his demands.
But perhaps more intriguing is this rumor making the circles among owners and team executives -- the league will fight for a lower salary cap (change the way the percentages are calculated in order to get a lower cap) in the next collective-bargaining agreement two years from now (the players will likely be led into the next labor talks by the battled-tested Donald Fehr and will certainly have a say in that.)
Whether the lower cap comes to fruition, the potential for it has clearly effected the way some teams are already thinking, including the Los Angeles Kings, the team Kovalchuk wants to sign with.
Kings GM Dean Lombardi, who once again broke off talks with the Kovalchuk camp Wednesday, is adamant he needs a cap-friendly deal if he's going to take on Kovalchuk. He needs to be able to sign Drew Doughty and Wayne Simmonds and other youngsters over the next year or so, and he is also concerned about the next CBA and its impact. If the cap goes down by $10 million or so in the next CBA, how will teams handle their big salaries?
More to the point, I really do believe the Kings have watched, somewhat in horror, at how a wonderfully talented Chicago Blackhawks team has been dismantled this summer just weeks after winning the Stanley Cup. It's a situation the young-and-rising Kings want to avoid.
So, if Kovalchuk ever comes back to the Kings' table for a third time, he'll need to adjust his demands.
07-09-2010, 08:18 AM
Team Owner
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Kansas City, MO (Overland Park, KS)
Posts: 36,545
Received 6,470 Likes
on
5,162 Posts
Interesting article from Adam Proteau of the Hockey News. It's a reflection of the NBA free agency period as it relates to the NHL.
The difference between NHL and NBA players
I rag on NHL players a lot – and with good reason. Their boring nicknames roll off an assembly line, they’re far from the most worldly of individuals, and their union-maintaining abilities leave much to be desired.
But after witnessing the NBA’s orgy of egoism the last few weeks, I appreciate NHLers a little bit more than I used to.
Don’t get me wrong – this isn’t going to be one of the thinly veiled bigoted rants that often get tossed at NBA players. I covered the Toronto Raptors for a bunch of years – during the Vince Carter Era, mostly – and I found, in many aspects, basketball players and hockey players share the same experiences: the shortened childhoods; the temptations that come when the exuberance of youth and large sums of money are locked in the same room together; the drive to provide for families that sacrificed in the hope their prodigal sons would prosper.
That’s why I nearly threw up in the hallways of the Air Canada Centre years ago after an Maple Leafs game when, unbeknownst to them, I heard an NHL play-by-play TV announcer tell his color analyst partner that, “I got offered tickets to see the Raptors, but there’s no way I’m going to watch some f*%#!^g monkeys jump at a ball!” as the two of them giggled and snickered their way down one of the arena’s corridors.
So I’m very conscious of judging the NBA’s unheard-of free agent sweepstakes on its own merits. And unfortunately the merits of this particular free agent “summit” – in which star players LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh consulted with one another to choose where to play next season – are very few.
Of course, the degree of attention the NBA has received in this off-season because of the LeBron/Wade/Bosh saga is unheard of for that league (which is already one of the best-marketed operations in pro sports); David Stern & Co. have to be happy with the situation. Also pleased are fans of the Miami Heat, the franchise that already has landed Wade and Bosh – and the team that still could add LeBron to its roster by week’s end.
But what about fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers (LeBron’s team, at least for now) and supporters of Toronto Raptors (Bosh’s former team)? Surely the crushing disappointment and heartbreak those fans feel has to counter-balance the benefits of a newly formed super-group of stars.
Which brings me back to NHLers. Can anybody picture the day when one NHL phenom – let alone two or three – actively courts off-season attention the way those NBAers have? Without the use of hallucinogens, I mean.
I mean, Chicago’s Jonathan Toews, for instance, is only 22 years old, but he already looks like he’d rather have a battery acid shower than open up his life for 24/7 public promotion and consumption. Paul Kariya and Scott Niedermayer, among others, consistently eschewed hockey fishbowls such as Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal in favor of the anonymity of places like Nashville, St. Louis and Anaheim.
But beyond that, NHLers almost inevitably develop a deep and lasting connection with the teams that brought them along. NBA players only seem to cry when they’re drafted to a place they don’t want to be (see Steve Francis and the dearly departed Vancouver Grizzlies); NHLers bawl when they get moved.
Boston Bruins fans loved Ray Bourque so much for his loyalty, they openly cheered him when he was dealt to Colorado for a successful Stanley Cup run. The same will be true if and when Shane Doan becomes an ex-Coyote. When is the last time you heard that story play out in the NBA?
Sure, players in all sports earn their rights for free agency; in that regard, you can’t criticize Bosh, Wade and LeBron for choosing to let their futures unfold as they have.
Unfortunately, what players in all sports have to understand is (a) fans’ overwhelming natural urge to call and make them one of their own; and (b) the ramifications of breaking that bond. Maybe because most NHLers live with billets in the junior hockey system, they come to live that way more naturally.
Ask Vince Carter if the Devil he knew in Toronto wound up being worse than the ones he’s known since then. Ask Tracy McGrady the same thing.
All of us like to cheer for our sporting idols, but only when they’ve got sufficient competition to take on.
Batman and Superman would have a far easier time of it if they worked as a duo. But it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun to watch them take out woefully overmatched villains.
The difference between NHL and NBA players
I rag on NHL players a lot – and with good reason. Their boring nicknames roll off an assembly line, they’re far from the most worldly of individuals, and their union-maintaining abilities leave much to be desired.
But after witnessing the NBA’s orgy of egoism the last few weeks, I appreciate NHLers a little bit more than I used to.
Don’t get me wrong – this isn’t going to be one of the thinly veiled bigoted rants that often get tossed at NBA players. I covered the Toronto Raptors for a bunch of years – during the Vince Carter Era, mostly – and I found, in many aspects, basketball players and hockey players share the same experiences: the shortened childhoods; the temptations that come when the exuberance of youth and large sums of money are locked in the same room together; the drive to provide for families that sacrificed in the hope their prodigal sons would prosper.
That’s why I nearly threw up in the hallways of the Air Canada Centre years ago after an Maple Leafs game when, unbeknownst to them, I heard an NHL play-by-play TV announcer tell his color analyst partner that, “I got offered tickets to see the Raptors, but there’s no way I’m going to watch some f*%#!^g monkeys jump at a ball!” as the two of them giggled and snickered their way down one of the arena’s corridors.
So I’m very conscious of judging the NBA’s unheard-of free agent sweepstakes on its own merits. And unfortunately the merits of this particular free agent “summit” – in which star players LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh consulted with one another to choose where to play next season – are very few.
Of course, the degree of attention the NBA has received in this off-season because of the LeBron/Wade/Bosh saga is unheard of for that league (which is already one of the best-marketed operations in pro sports); David Stern & Co. have to be happy with the situation. Also pleased are fans of the Miami Heat, the franchise that already has landed Wade and Bosh – and the team that still could add LeBron to its roster by week’s end.
But what about fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers (LeBron’s team, at least for now) and supporters of Toronto Raptors (Bosh’s former team)? Surely the crushing disappointment and heartbreak those fans feel has to counter-balance the benefits of a newly formed super-group of stars.
Which brings me back to NHLers. Can anybody picture the day when one NHL phenom – let alone two or three – actively courts off-season attention the way those NBAers have? Without the use of hallucinogens, I mean.
I mean, Chicago’s Jonathan Toews, for instance, is only 22 years old, but he already looks like he’d rather have a battery acid shower than open up his life for 24/7 public promotion and consumption. Paul Kariya and Scott Niedermayer, among others, consistently eschewed hockey fishbowls such as Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal in favor of the anonymity of places like Nashville, St. Louis and Anaheim.
But beyond that, NHLers almost inevitably develop a deep and lasting connection with the teams that brought them along. NBA players only seem to cry when they’re drafted to a place they don’t want to be (see Steve Francis and the dearly departed Vancouver Grizzlies); NHLers bawl when they get moved.
Boston Bruins fans loved Ray Bourque so much for his loyalty, they openly cheered him when he was dealt to Colorado for a successful Stanley Cup run. The same will be true if and when Shane Doan becomes an ex-Coyote. When is the last time you heard that story play out in the NBA?
Sure, players in all sports earn their rights for free agency; in that regard, you can’t criticize Bosh, Wade and LeBron for choosing to let their futures unfold as they have.
Unfortunately, what players in all sports have to understand is (a) fans’ overwhelming natural urge to call and make them one of their own; and (b) the ramifications of breaking that bond. Maybe because most NHLers live with billets in the junior hockey system, they come to live that way more naturally.
Ask Vince Carter if the Devil he knew in Toronto wound up being worse than the ones he’s known since then. Ask Tracy McGrady the same thing.
All of us like to cheer for our sporting idols, but only when they’ve got sufficient competition to take on.
Batman and Superman would have a far easier time of it if they worked as a duo. But it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun to watch them take out woefully overmatched villains.
07-09-2010, 11:55 AM
Senior Moderator
Hockey players for the most part >>>> other pro-sport athletes.
Obviously, there are exceptions.
Obviously, there are exceptions.
07-09-2010, 12:04 PM
Senior Moderator
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
iTrader: (6)
07-09-2010, 12:29 PM
The sizzle in the Steak
Accroding to Ek
The San Jose Sharks have signed Niklas Hjalmarsson to a four-year, $14M offer sheet.
07-09-2010, 12:30 PM
The sizzle in the Steak
Swap Meet in Chicago!!!!
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=534107
The San Jose Sharks will force the defending Stanley Cup champions to make another tough monetary decision.
The Sharks signed restricted free agent defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson to a four-year, $14 million offer sheet on Friday. The Blackhawks will have seven days to match the offer.
Hjalmarsson, 23, was a valuable member of Chicago's first Cup winner since 1961. In his first full NHL season, he registered 2 goals, 17 points and a plus-9 rating in 77 regular-season games. He then added 1 goal, 8 points and a plus-9 rating in 22 postseason games.
That included a four-game sweep of San Jose in the Western Conference Finals.
"We feel Niklas is a top-three defenseman in the National Hockey League," Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson said. "We saw his abilities first-hand in the playoffs last season and he was an important piece of a Stanley Cup-winning team. He is a solid player that would be a good fit on our team now and in the future."
Hjalmarsson, a fourth-round selection by the Blackhawks in the 2005 Entry Draft, has career totals of 3 goals and 21 points in 111 regular-season games and 1 goal and 9 points in 39 playoff games.
The Blackhawks have been paying the price for winning a championship in recent weeks, shedding salary by trading players such as Dustin Byfuglien and Kris Versteeg to try to get under the salary cap for the coming season.
If they choose not to match the Sharks' offer to Hjalmarsson, they will receive San Jose's first- and third-round picks in the 2011 Entry Draft
The Sharks signed restricted free agent defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson to a four-year, $14 million offer sheet on Friday. The Blackhawks will have seven days to match the offer.
Hjalmarsson, 23, was a valuable member of Chicago's first Cup winner since 1961. In his first full NHL season, he registered 2 goals, 17 points and a plus-9 rating in 77 regular-season games. He then added 1 goal, 8 points and a plus-9 rating in 22 postseason games.
That included a four-game sweep of San Jose in the Western Conference Finals.
"We feel Niklas is a top-three defenseman in the National Hockey League," Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson said. "We saw his abilities first-hand in the playoffs last season and he was an important piece of a Stanley Cup-winning team. He is a solid player that would be a good fit on our team now and in the future."
Hjalmarsson, a fourth-round selection by the Blackhawks in the 2005 Entry Draft, has career totals of 3 goals and 21 points in 111 regular-season games and 1 goal and 9 points in 39 playoff games.
The Blackhawks have been paying the price for winning a championship in recent weeks, shedding salary by trading players such as Dustin Byfuglien and Kris Versteeg to try to get under the salary cap for the coming season.
If they choose not to match the Sharks' offer to Hjalmarsson, they will receive San Jose's first- and third-round picks in the 2011 Entry Draft
07-09-2010, 12:31 PM
Senior Moderator
07-09-2010, 12:32 PM
Senior Moderator
It'll be interesting to see if the Hawks match.
I'm guessing yes...? But, who knows. Good thing they have some decent defensive prospects.
I'm guessing yes...? But, who knows. Good thing they have some decent defensive prospects.
07-09-2010, 12:58 PM
The sizzle in the Steak
RFA wars are exactly why the Kings won't sign Kovy to a crazy $$$ contract.
Kings going to need to have the cap space to match anything decent that might get offered to JMFJ, Doughty, and Simmonds next year.
In the cap era, it's all about having space for your RFA's.
Kings going to need to have the cap space to match anything decent that might get offered to JMFJ, Doughty, and Simmonds next year.
In the cap era, it's all about having space for your RFA's.
07-09-2010, 03:07 PM
Senior Moderator
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
iTrader: (6)
do the hawks have the cap space? I'm assuming so since half their team is gone
At least they still have chokessa for another 50 years
At least they still have chokessa for another 50 years
07-09-2010, 03:11 PM
Senior Moderator
And I think Hossa is no longer a choker. He's won the Cup.
07-09-2010, 05:35 PM
The sizzle in the Steak
^^ He was just along for the ride.
07-09-2010, 05:38 PM
Senior Moderator
^ Not in my books. He played his butt off and was awesome defensively. And who knows where the Hawks would be if he did not score that OT goal against the Preds.
07-11-2010, 12:55 PM
Senior Moderator
Just heard about the Versteeg to TO deal. Is it me or did Toronto give up too much? What was the consesus in these parts.