KK Members' Blog

BOOOO Sundin!

by ThinkinPink on 02/20/09 at 07:07 PM ET
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Mats Sundin is coming back to town tomorrow. I have appreciated watching him play for the past 13 years here in Toronto, but I’m still booing the guy. As his final gesture to Toronto, he left, when he could have been the gift that kept on giving. Sundin could have brought in a boatload during last year’s trade deadline, but declined his waive his no-trade clause, knowing he was not going to return to TO. Had he waived his NTC, it could have sparked a wave of waving NTC’s from Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe, which would have brought in a number of players, including Jeff Carter. So rather than Sundin leaving on a good note, he left on a sour note, and that is the note that I would be singing to tomorrow night.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Vancouver Canucks | KK Members Blog | Permalink
 Tags: Mats+Sundin,

Fight Breaks Out During ‘Nucks Practce

by ThinkinPink on 01/30/09 at 01:45 PM ET
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In the midst of Vancouver’s worst slide of the year, Willie Mitchell check Mason Raymond hard during a drill, and Raymond retaliated with a few cross checks. The scuffle ended when Shane O’Brien challenged Mitchell to a fight.

yikes.

link

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Seix Degrees of Sean Avery

by ThinkinPink on 12/06/08 at 01:10 AM ET
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per Mouthpiecesports.com, a great Chicago-based sports commentary.

Pretty good. I would have liked to see the end with someone better than Chris Klein (spoiler alert!), but I digress.

related: The Six Degrees of Separation of OJ Simpson

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NHL’s Cy Young Leader, etc.

by ThinkinPink on 12/03/08 at 12:46 PM ET
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There has been a lot of discussion on who is leading the Calder and Art Ross races, but there is another race that NHL fans should be looking at: the leader for NHL’s Cy Young award. The leader right now has to be has to be Thomas Vanek with an 18-5 record (the exact record that Tim Lincecum finished with after winning his Cy Young award this past season). However, he is followed close behind by Jeff Carter, who got his 17th and 18th goals (wins) last night, but also got an assist to bump up his total of 7. Whoever can reach the 40 mark without getting 20 assists will be saying “woo hoo!” in no time. My bet is on Vanek, whose game is more in front of the net; while Carter is a center and handles the puck more, and should see his assist total come up a little bit more. Despite their great starts towards the NHL’s Cy Young award, I’m not too sure if either will match Marek Svatos‘ ratio of 26:11 last season. Incredibly, through 23 games this season, Svatos has more assists than goals (4-7)!

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Avery’s Sloppy Seconds

by ThinkinPink on 12/02/08 at 05:12 PM ET
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Sean Avery just landed in Calgary and already he is stirring the pot:

“I am really happy to be back in Calgary, I love Canada,” Avery told the media.  “I just want to comment on how it’s become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds.  I don’t know what that’s about.  Enjoy the game tonight.”
read more

Ouch. What a burn. Obviously directed at Dion Phaneuf who is now going out with Elisha Cuthbert, Avery’s ex-girlfriend.

Should be a good game tonight.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars | KK Members Blog | Permalink
 

Oilers 4th Jersey, etc

by ThinkinPink on 12/02/08 at 01:58 PM ET
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Despite popular opinion, I like the Kings’ 3rd jersey. By the way, I knew The Hills’ Lauren Conrad was an avid hockey fan, but I didn’t know she was an LA King ice girl too.

Speaking of third jerseys, I think it is a great idea for the NHL to market the game. The only problem is that they are too bulky. If Snoop Dogg can’t make them look good, then who can? They aren’t like wearing baseball or basketball jerseys. Heck, even football jerseys are made more fashionable. But in terms of 3rd jerseys, I like the Blues, Bruins and Yotes the best. Thrashers’ are nice, and I like the Flyers old school look. I’m not really a big fan of the Sens’ and Canes. The Hawks’ new special jerseys aren’t bad looking either. Here is a look at Edmonton’s leaked FOURTH! jersey.

I spoke of this before in the comments section, but if the NHL wants to draw interest in the All Star game, they must start ballot stuffing in favor for a starting lineup that includes Sidney Crosby playing with Alex Semin. Of everything that has been said, this would be a very nice side story that would draw fans to the game.

Speaking of this newly anointed rivalry, Crosby has responded the best way he could: with a player of the week award (12 points in 5 games). Meanwhile, Alex Semin has missed the last 7 games with an upper back strain.

Last week Jim Hughson was the topic of a great blog here on KK. It is about time this guy is getting some recognition. He top my short list of favorite hockey play by play voices. And no, this isn’t because he is the voice of the greatest hockey game ever: NHL ‘06. The other 4 include: Rick “May Day/Top shelf where momma hides the cookies” Jeanneret, Sam “Nobody says Save by Lundqvist like me” Weinman, Chris “I do play by play for the CFL too” Cuthbert, and Harry “who needs the leafs” Neale.
However, none of these guys compare to my three favorite play by play guys: Gus Johnson, Dick Enberg and of course, the man - Chuck Swirsky. I can listen to them call ____ and i would find it interesting.

Another event that the NHL needs to plug more is the annual Winter Classic. In a marketing perspective, this is one of the best ideas the NHL has ever had. The new 46 second NBC ad is amazing. I love how they are doing it at Wrigley Field and I love how the ad incorporated one of Wrigley’s classic traditions with hockey’s classic jerseys. Bob Costas’ voice in the end gives the viewer a sense of legitimacy for the game. What would give the game more legitimacy is for President elect Barack Obama to accept the Blackhawks’ invitation to the game. It would be a great way to promote the NHL in the United States and also give Obama another sports base he can draw on, as he as already established himself in the basketball side of sports. Another example. And another example. Anyways, from a one time Chicago Bulls lover to a Chicago native, please Barack, accept the invite.

Game of the Night: Sean Avery vs Jarome Iginla. I hope Iginla does something to put Avery in his place. This game is not about Dallas vs Calgary, there must be some confrontation between Avery and Iginla.

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Fantastically: Take That Lundy!

by ThinkinPink on 12/01/08 at 04:22 PM ET
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Henrik Lundqvist has now played 23 games without a shutout. By this time last year, he had 4. So what’s the deal? Despite his lack of shutouts, I believe he is playing better hockey this year than last. He is making more saves, handling the puck better and waiting out players’ moves in the shootout. He is still top 10 in the league in Goals Against Average and Save Percentage, even with his 5 goals against vs Vancouver and 3 quick ones yesterday vs the Panthers. Meanwhile, Craig Anderson, backup goalie for the Panthers got his second shut out of the season… Take that Lundy.
Fantastically, Lundqvist‘s ability to keep the Rangers in the game is essential to get those goalie wins. Even though he isn’t shutting teams out, he is only letting it a limited amount of goals per game. He is a must start in every situation and don’t let his recent slide discourage you from playing him. Lundqvist faces a tough test this Thursday in Montreal, should be an interesting match up barring a melt down from either goalie.

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Filed in: NHL Teams | KK Members Blog | Permalink
 

Fantastically: Jiri’s Time on Ice

by ThinkinPink on 11/23/08 at 11:19 AM ET
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Poor Jiri Hudler. Poor Kid. He has been patient for 3 seasons to get top 6 forward minutes, and just when it was about to happen, Marian Hossa decides to take a pay cut to join the Wings. Which forces Hudler from the 2nd line to the 3rd line. Despite lining up with Valterri Filppula and Kirk Maltby every night, Hudler has 18 points in 19 games! It doesn’t end there. Because of the Red Wings’ depth, Hudler is only getting an average of 12:31 of ice time.  Hudler notches a point every 13:22, which is second in the league for players who have played at least 15 games, behind Alex Semin (11:22).  Let us understand this: Hudler is a 3rd line winger, getting half the time of any top winger in the league, and is scoring at almost a point per game rate. Whoa. Take that Dan Carcillo (who scores a point every 194 minutes).

Fantastically, I don’t see why Hudler shouldn’t be owned in your league. He is one injury away from cracking that top-6. Tomas Holmstrom isn’t exactly made of steal, Johan Franzen has had his problems, so has Henrik Zetterberg. Injury is the last case scenerio we want to see Hudler getting more time, hopefully his play will eventually force Mike Babcock’s hand in sending Hudler out more often.

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Filed in: NHL Teams | KK Members Blog | Permalink
 Tags: Jiri+Hudler,

Ales Hemsky: Mr. HON Candidate

by ThinkinPink on 11/12/08 at 09:09 PM ET
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Ten games into the season, Ales Hemsky looked like he was going to finish the season at a point per game pace. Satisfying? Not quite. He may have finished the season with 82 points, but it looked like they were all going to be assists… on the powerplay, no less. However, come game 11, not only did he start scoring goals (notice: plural), but he started showing why critics have been so harsh on him in the past: he has the talent to score not just 82 assists, but 82 goals, but has failed to put it together in a full season.

For his opening act, he dangled through Braydon Coburn and then proceeded to give Martin Biron headspins. The second goal of that game was a sequel of the first. The next 3 games, he continued to score. These goals were not cheap either. A rocket over the shoulder Steve Mason, a one handed poke after a steal by Marc-Andre Fleury, and 1 vs 4 against the Devils defense. Four games, five goals (even some even strength!), and 5 TSN Highlight of the Night candidates. I have watched TSN since a child, and I don’t think any other player in NHL history can make this claim: their first 5 goals of the season were all HON candidates.

Hemsky has given the boost that the Edmonton Oilers needed to endure the season long 7 game road streak that they just completed in New York, where Hemsky provided the shootout winner, and kept the Oilers’ within the top 8 in the competitive Western Conference. Not only this, but has also supplemented the scoring that has been missing from sophomores Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner.

We are now at 15 games into the season. Hemsky has 15 points, with 5 goals - 5 more than I expected him to have. He is on pace for 27 goals. The question remains: can he possibly have 27 HON candidates?

Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Members Blog | Permalink
 Tags: Ales+Hemsky,

The Future is Robotic

by ThinkinPink on 11/11/08 at 11:16 AM ET
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Some sound advice to the NHL: get rid of the f’n cliches! Every sport uses them, but the NHL’s marketing group cannot afford them.

Jeremy Roenick mentioned it at the start of the season when asked about Sean Avery’s criticism of the NHL’s lack of success in term of marketing: more and more players, especially the younger generation are becoming too robotic during press opportunities. This is part of the reason why the NHL’s marketing schemes have not been as successful as they’ve liked. Since Sidney Crosby was drafted, the NHL has focused their energy in marketing him, and rightfully so. He has been dubbed the “next one” since he was 8 and when you have a talent like that, you have to take advantage of it. However, the other part of the NHL’s marketing problem is not their problem at all - it is the players’.

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Filed in: NHL Talk | KK Members Blog | Permalink