2008/09 NHL Thread

The Minnesota North Stars retired Bill Masterton's number after he died due to an injury suffered during a game in 1968.

The NHL has a trophy named after him. Look who won in 1972.

http://www.nhl.com/trophies/masterton.html

I'll never forget that picture of Green on the ice after Maki hit him.

 

Just heard Sundin won't be 'game ready' until the new year.

 

Just pulled Jeff Klein's Messier bio off the shelf. Odjick was far from the only Canuck that hated Keenan and felt that Messier was unfit to be captain.

 

AP story: Sundin is expected to join the Canucks right after Christmas, when he returns from Sweden. His agent, J.P. Barry, said Sundin should be ready to play in January.

 

Saw the Mike Smith highlight. Refs screwed up. Smith tried a poke check and lost control of his stick. He did not throw it.

 

I can see how the refs could have thought he did, though.

The way he flailed his arm towards Hejduk after getting deked, and in the process lost his hold on the stick, could be viewed that way.

I think the key to this is that it is a judgement call. The refs don't get to use the war-room to review the play, it has to be what they saw on the ice. If they get to use replay there, then it likely gets overturned, since they don't the fact that Smith lost his stick while his arm was flying out like that could be construed as him throwing it.

It didn't help Smith's cause that the shot went off the handle of the stick before it hit anything else.

 

I think the league needs to examine implementing replay for the shootout.

 

His years here were a disaster, he was the one who brought in Keenan. Apart from the odd player Messier was loathed here. He stole 20 million dollars. He was long past his so called greatest leader ever days. It was from what I've heard the same thing when he returned to the Rangers.

 

Stick was not thrown. Smith did lose control of it. The problem was the motion he was making with his arm and hand was outward, therefore giving the impression that Smith was using anything and everything to stop Hejduk's shot.

If nothing else, maybe the league will reconsider using replay on shootout attempts.

 

When he came back to the Rangers, Messier should have been a third or fourth liner; someone who could win faceoffs while popping in 10 to 15 goals.

Instead, he was put on the top line, top PP unit, top PK unit. He was getting 20 minutes of ice time a night.

 

As both you and Sam said, I think it'll come up at the GM meetings during the offseason.

Honestly, I can't think of an instance where I've seen something like this happen in a shootout before, which is likely why it hadn't been thought about or addressed.