Did I see that crawler right?

Wings and Blackhawks to play at Wrigley on New Years Eve?

I hadn't heard anything but that's awesome. I'll watch for sure.

It's about time. Now we actually play Toronto.


The NHL reverted back to its pre-lockout scheduling format, increasing the number of interconference games from 10 to 18 and reducing the number of times a club faces a divisional rival from eight to six.

We should HAVE to play all the original 6 teams at least once per season. They should work that into the schedule, its just wrong when we don't.

it should be a home and home with them.

Nine-time Cup winner Bowman to join Blackhawks as senior adviser
ESPN.com news services
Updated: July 31, 2008, 1:07 PM ET

Scotty Bowman wielded a magic touch as coach of the Detroit Red Wings, and after retiring, continued to lend his expertise as a special consultant to the team.

Now, he's taking his legendary knowledge to Central Division-rival Chicago.

The Blackhawks will hold a 3 p.m. ET news conference to announce that Bowman, a Hall of Fame coach with nine Stanley Cup rings, will join the team as senior adviser.

Team president John McDonough, general manager Dale Tallon and assistant GM Stan Bowman -- Scotty's son -- are expected to attend the news conference.

It is the latest coup for the Blackhawks, who are experiencing a resurgency that includes young talents Patrick Kane, named the 2008 Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year, and Jonathan Toews, who at age 20 was recently named team captain.

The Blackhawks also will be hosts of the NHL's outdoor Winter Classic on New Year's Day at Wrigley Field, when they will be playing -- coincidentally enough -- the Red Wings.

Bowman, 74, retired in 2002, making the announcement on the ice after the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup, beating the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.

After that, he served as a consultant to the Red Wings; Mike Babcock relied on him regularly this season as they won yet another Stanley Cup, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Bowman led the Montreal Canadiens to five Stanley Cup titles in the 1970s, and guided the Penguins to the Cup in 1992. He joined the Red Wings in 1993, and eventually led them to three Cups.

Bowman also served as coach and general manager with the St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres. He leads all coaches with 2,141 games coached and 1,244 career victories, along with the nine Stanley Cups.

I wonder if he'll take the whistle with him?

Thats pisses me off.

A division rival no less.

Thats pisses me off.

yeah i loved him but going to a division rival...

Nepotism conquers all...

LOL


Tocchet to take over as interim coach after Melrose gets fired
ESPN.com news services

Updated: November 14, 2008, 6:45 PM ET

Scott Burnside On Barry Melrose FiringThe Tampa Bay Lightning fired Barry Melrose after just 16 games in his return behind the bench, and associate coach Rick Tocchet will take over as interim head coach.

The Lightning, who made several key offseason acquisitions and got heralded Steve Stamkos as the top pick in the 2008 draft, announced the move Friday afternoon.

"This was a tough decision to make," general manager Brian Lawton said. "Barry is a good man and we have a great deal of respect for him. We wish him nothing but success. However, the results were unacceptable and the players have to understand that we need to be better. Hopefully this change helps push them."

The Lightning entered the season with high expectations, but find themselves 4-5-1 the past 10 games, including three straight losses. In the offseason, they had signed veterans Mark Recchi, Ryan Malone, Radim Vrbata, Olaf Kolzig, Adam Hall, Wyatt Smith, Gary Roberts and Vinny Prospal to help along a younger group with considerable potential.

The team has struggled despite the presence of All-Star center Vincent Lecavalier -- the club's career scoring leader who signed an 11-year, $85 million contract extension in July and was named captain in September --- and Martin St. Louis, who has a team-high 12 points.

Out of coaching for 13 years, Melrose was lured back to the bench by new Lightning owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie as a replacement for John Tortorella, who led Tampa Bay to its only Stanley Cup championship.

Lightning management called the season's start as 'unacceptable,' and fired Barry Melrose after 16 games.

Melrose coached Los Angeles from 1992-95. In his first season, he helped the Wayne Gretzky-led Kings to the Stanley Cup finals, where they lost to the Montreal Canadiens. He spent 12 years at ESPN before taking over the Lightning.

Melrose is the second NHL coach to be fired this season -- the Chicago Blackhawks dismissed Denis Savard after four games.

Perhaps Tuesday's events were an omen for Friday's result. According to the St. Petersburg Times, Melrose held a meeting with the players, then left and had Tocchet run practice.

According to the Times, Melrose said the meeting was "an airing from my point of view," after the Lightning had had terrible starts in two games.

"It wasn't a meeting to embarrass people," Melrose said Wednesday, according to the Times. "It was a meeting [to say], 'This is where I see us after 14 games.' These are the guys I think are buying into what I'm selling. These are the guys who have got to buy into what I'm selling."

As for leaving the practice in the hands of Tocchet, Melrose called it a way to give the players "a break."

"Sometimes guys get tired of hearing him and he gets tired of hearing them," Tocchet said, according to the Times. "Every coach does that. You need a break, have to get away from the team for a second. I honestly don't think it's that big a deal. It really isn't."

Tocchet, 44, played 18 seasons in the NHL, retiring in 2002. He was an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche for a year and a half, then served as an assistant under Wayne Gretzky with the Phoenix Coyotes starting in 2005.



Tocchet's coaching career was interrupted by his involvement in a gambling investigation. He rejoined Phoenix's coaching staff in February 2008 after a two-year absence that included a suspension by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the league is not concerned about Tocchet's promotion.

"Rick is still bound by the terms of his reinstatement," Daly said. "If he's qualified to be an assistant coach on those terms, in our view, he's just as qualified to be a head coach."


Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.



Man what a shocker.

Perhaps Tuesday's events were an omen for Friday's result. According to the St. Petersburg Times, Melrose held a meeting with the players, then left and had Tocchet run practice.

According to the Times, Melrose said the meeting was "an airing from my point of view," after the Lightning had had terrible starts in two games.

"It wasn't a meeting to embarrass people," Melrose said Wednesday, according to the Times. "It was a meeting [to say], 'This is where I see us after 14 games.' These are the guys I think are buying into what I'm selling. These are the guys who have got to buy into what I'm selling."

As for leaving the practice in the hands of Tocchet, Melrose called it a way to give the players "a break."

"Sometimes guys get tired of hearing him and he gets tired of hearing them," Tocchet said, according to the Times. "Every coach does that. You need a break, have to get away from the team for a second. I honestly don't think it's that big a deal. It really isn't."

Must have been one helluva meeting.

Brendan Morrow is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

The Stars = The NHL version of the 2008 Tigers... and I love every second of it.

The Sharks can't lose right now. I just hope their playoff failures continue, because they're playing scary good right now.

Avery suspended indefinitely by NHL for crude line
By JAIME ARON, AP Sports Writer
6 hours, 44 minutes ago

DALLAS (AP)—Sean Avery knows all about the punishment that comes with saying something inflammatory on the ice, from time in the penalty box to having a stick swung at him.

On Tuesday, he learned how harsh the league can be about things said off the ice.

Avery was suspended indefinitely by commissioner Gary Bettman for making “inappropriate public comments, not pertaining to the game.” The punishment came down only hours after Avery used a crude term about his former girlfriends now dating other hockey players.

Avery missed the Dallas Stars’ game against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night. Because terms won’t be settled until Avery meets with Bettman, likely in New York, he almost certainly will be out again Wednesday night when the Stars play in Edmonton.

“More than anything, he’s let his teammates down,” said Dallas co-general manager Brett Hull, who played with Avery in Detroit several years ago and was a driving force in signing him.

Despite all the cajoling, snide remarks and other stunts Avery has pulled on the way to becoming the biggest pest in hockey, this is the first time he’s been suspended by the NHL.

Avery’s inflammatory line came following a morning skate in Calgary, Alberta.

Reporters were waiting to speak with Avery about disparaging remarks he’d made last month about Flames star Jarome Iginla when Avery walked over to the group and asked if there was a camera present. When told there was, he said, “I’m just going to say one thing.”

“I’m really happy to be back in Calgary; I love Canada,” he said. “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 (former girlfriends). I don’t know what that’s about, but enjoy the game tonight.” He then walked out of the locker room.

Avery’s ex-girlfriend, actress Elisha Cuthbert of the television show “24” and the movie “Old School,” is dating Calgary defenseman Dion Phaneuf; she also had been romantically linked to Mike Komisarek of the Montreal Canadiens.

“My thoughts were that it was a very disrespectful comment, and the league took action and I definitely agree with the way they took action,” Phaneuf said after the Flames’ 3-1 loss to the Stars on Tuesday night.

Avery also dated Rachel Hunter, the former Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model and actress who is now the girlfriend of Los Angeles Kings center Jarrett Stoll.

“I completely support the league’s decision to suspend Sean Avery,” Stars owner Tom Hicks said in a statement. “Had the league not have suspended him, the Dallas Stars would have. This organization will not tolerate such behavior, especially from a member of our hockey team. We hold our team to a higher standard and will continue to do so.”

Avery is the kind of player who delights in doing or saying something to get under the skin of opponents and their fans. He’s led the league in penalty minutes twice, and was doing so again going into Tuesday.

He’s not only often called the most hated player in the NHL, he loves hearing it.

“I like to push it to the edge, no doubt about it,” Avery said this summer, after signing a $15.5 million, four-year deal with the Stars. “That’s how I play. That’s how I live. That’s what I’m all about.”

His most infamous tactic came during last season’s playoffs, while with the New York Rangers, when he stood in front of New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur, waving his hand and stick in the goalie’s face to block his view. The next day, the league put in the so-called “Avery Rule” to prohibit such shenanigans.

Avery has been fined by the league and was once suspended by the Los Angeles Kings. Other players have been suspended for retaliating against Avery, including Chicago’s Ben Eager getting a three-game suspension for swinging his stick at Avery. However, this is the first time in his seven-year career that the NHL has taken him off the ice.

“Sean crossed that line,” Stars coach Dave Tippett said. “He won’t continue with us on the trip. We’ve always professed that there is nobody that’s ever bigger than our group or bigger than the team.

“Sean said something that just doesn’t paint our organization in a good light, and appropriate steps are being taken.”

The Stars signed him in hopes that his grittiness would boost last season’s Western Conference finalists. Instead, the injury-riddled Stars came into Tuesday with only 20 points, fewest in the West and near the bottom of the NHL. Avery had 77 penalty minutes in 23 games. He also had three goals and seven assists.

“I’ve told him before, there’s more to the game than just lacing up the skates,” Hull said. “There are things you have to be accountable for.”

Avery and Iginla were to meet on the ice for the first time since Avery told ESPN “the NHL does a terrible job of marketing” by not promoting its “villains,” and that “nobody cares about Jarome Iginla and guys like that, they’re just not exciting enough.”

The Stars and Flames meet three more times. Next is Feb. 3 in Dallas; the Stars return to Calgary on March 18.

“We expect that out of him like we have all year,” said goaltender Marty Turco, who was critical of Avery’s agitation of Brodeur during the playoffs when it happened. “You know, the show continues.”

There is no guarantee that Avery will be able to repair the damage he caused within the Stars’ dressing room.

“It’s going to take some time,” teammate Mike Modano said. “It’s a situation we’ll have to address when that time comes, if it does.”



I also heard him say something about "sloppy seconds." LOL - Sean Avery is great.

Wow, those are terrible sloppy seconds...not.

I also heard him say something about "sloppy seconds." LOL - Sean Avery is great.
"(former girlfriends)" was actually "sloppy seconds" when he said it to the reporters.

So he enjoys women's fashion, specifically women's purses, gets mad that guys date his ex-girlfriends, and dry humps goalies in the net. No homo.

The NHL is very weird.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3741341

"(former girlfriends)" was actually "sloppy seconds" when he said it to the reporters.

I'll say it because we're all thinking it, I'd take sloppy seconds from Cuthbert.

Also, post some pics of her now.

Thanks.

Also, post some pics of her now.

Thanks.

I switched back to my old sig for you:

Yeah, anyone here who says they wouldn't is lying (sans relationships, I'm saying if you were single)

I have a distaste for celebrities which makes me think less of many of the women in Hollywood, but she's extremely hot. I'm not sure I'd "hit it" just for the aforementioned reason, but if she was just a normal girl off the street that looked like that I wouldn't hesitate.

Chris Chelios said he had to kick Avery out of his house after living with him for three weeks during the NHL lockout in 2004-05, when they were playing for the UHL's Motor City Mechanics.
"He turned my house upside down," Chelios said. "It was funny, but after a while ... "
Chelios said "anything goes on the ice," but added, "there are certain lines you don't cross.
"I wouldn't listen to anything he says, because sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's just dumb," Chelios said. "He was never a problem here. He said dumb things, but we had such a veteran team, guys like Mac (Darren McCarty) and Shanny (Brendan Shanahan) would straighten him out if he stepped out of line.
"Hopefully, he won't miss too much time and he'll learn his lesson. He's not a bad kid, he's just had bad judgment once in a while."

I just heard Chelios on the radio and he said similar things about Avery. He also said that this year is definitely not his last season.

Melrose returns to ESPN as analyst
ESPN.com

Updated: December 4, 2008, 4:01 PM ET

Barry Melrose is coming back to ESPN.

Melrose, fired in November by the Tampa Bay Lightning, will be back on ESPN's hockey coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2009. The same day, the NHL will play its annual Winter Classic game at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Melrose joins Matthew Barnaby as an ESPN hockey analyst.

"I am very, very excited about coming back home to ESPN where I have had so many great years," Melrose said in an ESPN statement. "I look forward to analyzing people being fired rather than being the guy fired."

Melrose worked for ESPN from October 1996 until leaving to join the Lightning in June 2008.

Previously, he was the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings.



*yawn*

"I look forward to analyzing people being fired rather than being the guy fired."

lol

Obviously an old coach still knows something about the game, but I've always thought Melrose the analyst shot a lot from the hip and most of his bullshit was never called out simply because, well, he's the mullet for ESPN. He proved without a doubt that not only has the game passed him by, but that he never even really broke down games and studied them as an analyst.

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20081204/capt.29a441d3e97f4a238ff72080fa5b5111.stars_avery_ suspended_hockey_nyff101.jpg?x=213&y=142&xc=1&yc=1&wc=410&hc=273&q=100&sig=bmowNCwYN08ZvRcZYv0Zog--

6 games + counseling (hope it's for the glasses)

Excessive.

Yeah. It's pretty rude, but it seems rather high for something that had nothing to do with the sport.

Yeah. It's pretty rude, but it seems rather high for something that had nothing to do with the sport.

I don't know if it's too harsh. He said it in an interview AFTER a hockey game. He definitely put out a negative image for the NHL. I think that during a hockey interview, you have to be professional. Hockey is struggling an Avery gave them a perfect reason for the head office to make an example of him and try to make the sport look like it is held to the highest standards. With drug use, crime, and bad behavior rampant in professional sports, Avery gave the NHL an opportunity to let the world know that their standards are high. I might say the penalty is harsh but I understand the league's reasoning and I don't have a problem with it.

All he had to do was say, "No disrespect, but

I know we're not big on NHL discussion here at WTF, but I have to admit the Sundin pick up for Vancouver is really interesting. They have a bad ass first line with the Sedin twins (who, by the way, OWNED our own Swedish line in the two games I've seen them play with the Wings) but you can't say that they had much else. Sundin, though not a guy who can win a playoff series by himself (at least he's never really shown that) gives them automatically a great second line and makes them that much tougher. We're looking at a great Western Conference playoffs this year IMO.

DE - any time you want to talk hockey I'm here for it. Not enough hockey talk at WTF...

The Western Conference really is stacked. I don't think Vancouver has enough to hang with the Wings even with the Sundin pickup, but it does make them better. Unfortunately the Wings will have to play the Ducks or Canucks in the second round for the playoffs this year. Thank God the Stars suck, or the 2009 playoffs could have been terrible to get through. Hopefully they don't get hot and face the Wings in the first round.

Hey now, you know I have no problems talking hockey.

My thoughts:

The Western Conference is really strong this season.

Sorry to interrupt whatever it is you guys are talking about, but here is an obscure post about a superspecific element of a particular sport just to make sure that you guys know that I know what I am talking about. I really like the Western Conference's selection of Mickael Petrefernevernoff with the 643rd pick in the 32nd round of the 2006 WHL dispersal draft.

Holy did, shit Glenn just make a funny?

My mind is rattled.

I LOLed.

Me too, which is why I'm so stunned right now.

After I stopped laughing I just sat here silently for a couple minutes trying to figure out what the hell happened.

Sundin gives them a great second line, but we still have Hank on our second line with Pavs and Hossa on the first. I'd say we're still better on the first two lines, although the twins can be downright sick sometimes. I'd also give us the advantage on defense if we ever start playing the way we're capable of (aka: how we played last year with the exact same players). My biggest concern about this season is that either our defense won't pick it up for some reason or that we'll run into someone hot in the playoffs and we'll come out flat. Its happened too many times before so I always get a bit nervous.

Just saw this on ESPN.com:

Canadiens ink Conboy to 3-year deal


Associated Press

MONTREAL -- Andrew Conboy, suspended by Michigan State this season for an attack on a Michigan player, signed a three-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/clubhouse?team=mon) on Monday.
Conboy opted to turn pro with Hamilton of the AHL, Montreal's top farm team, after he was suspended. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound left wing has one assist and four penalty minutes in seven games with the Bulldogs.
The 20-year-old Conboy and teammate Corey Tropp, a Buffalo Sabres (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/clubhouse?team=buf) prospect, were suspended for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs by the Spartans on Jan. 26 after an incident with less than 1 minute to play in a 5-3 loss to the Wolverines.
After Michigan's Steve Kampfer knocked Tropp down with an open-ice hit, he was punched to the ice from behind by Conboy, and Tropp then swung his stick at the Anaheim prospect's head. Kampfer was taken to hospital with a sprained neck, but there was no concussion.
Conboy, a Burnsville, Minn., native who was considered the Spartans' enforcer, was selected 142nd overall by Montreal in the 2007 draft. He had three goals, two assists and 76 penalty minutes in 21 games as a freshman at MSU.

Classy

claSSy

6 of 11 games went to OT tonight? Pretty good night for the NHL

Sources: Calgary to host Winter Classic

By E.J. Hradek
ESPN The Magazine

The NHL is hoping to double down on the success of its Winter Classic by planning a second outdoor game for Jan. 1, 2010, according to multiple league sources.

The back-end of the outdoor doubleheader would be hosted by the Flames (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/clubhouse?team=cgy) in Calgary's McMahon Stadium, the site of the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1988 Winter Olympics. The opponent is unknown but figures to be one of the other five Canadian-based franchises.

While there has been no official announcement, the first half of the Winter Classic twin bill likely will be hosted by the Boston Bruins (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/clubhouse?team=bos) at historic Fenway Park. Alex Ovechkin (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?playerId=3101) and the Washington Capitals (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/clubhouse?team=was) are rumored to be the Bruins' opponent.

This will be the league's third outdoor venture on New Year's Day. In 2008, the Buffalo Sabres (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/clubhouse?team=buf) hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/clubhouse?team=pit) at a snowy Ralph Wilson Stadium. Earlier this year, the Chicago Blackhawks (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/clubhouse?team=chi) and the Detroit Red Wings (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/clubhouse?team=det) skated at Wrigley Field.