NHL awards/draft/off-season/training camp/preseason running thread

Re: 2007 NHL awards and off-season running thread

I am NOT a big Strachan fan but that was a great column--except for the net thing, as Hank pointed out.

Firing Bettman would be the best thing the league could do for itself.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards and off-season running thread

Sid made the front pages of both city papers here for his Hart, Pearson, and Ross wins.

Do they base the Lady Byng on least amount of penalty minutes racked up in the regular season?

As for this whole Nashville/Hamilton thing, I guess someone in Nashville is trying to drum up support to keep the team there. The Leafs will not let Basillie come that easily to Hamilton. The team will want compensation and the legal wrangling on this will be huge and long.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards and off-season running thread

Now, for those of you who don't think Hamilton/SW Ontario can support another NHL team, look at these mind-boggling stats. From David Shoalts (he's right on top of this story) column in today's Globe

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070614.wspt-shoalts-col-14/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey/home

By the end of yesterday, Balsillie and company reeled in about $6.25-million in deposits on season tickets and luxury suites at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton.

Sixty of the 70 proposed suites were booked at $5,000 each, according to The Canadian Press, while 4,700 lower-bowl seats went for $1,000 each and about 2,500 upper-bowl seats went for $500 each.

That's ONE day.

The sound you just heard was Bettman's head exploding---again.

Love this shit. Keep it coming, Jim.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards and off-season running thread

Yea I'm not a big fan of Strachan either. Only reason I saw the article was because it was linked on the MSN home page.

Figured it could make good conversation on here in the slow time leading up to free agency.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards and off-season running thread

For all the times I had to re-write Strach to make him readable, I may need a drink before I hit that link.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards and off-season running thread

In today's Calgary Herald ... Mike Keenan is a changed man.

"Part of the persona you develop from being extremely firm is (the misconception) that you're not compassionate, that you don't care. It's like parenting -- sometimes you have to be firm. You try to be fair and ... you're always loving.
"If you want to scrutinize my coaching reputation, demeanour, approach and if you really want to examine it closely, I have changed. If I hadn't changed, I wouldn't have coached in the league as long as I did."


Someone pass the barf bag.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards and off-season running thread

Playfair on his demotion:

"I don't think I failed, no. But we didn't achieve what we set out to do. And when you don't, changes are going to be made."

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards and off-season running thread

So we can hold you responsible for his dreck?

One thing I do miss though: Bryan Burke & Al Strachan on the Hot Stove Satellite Lounge on HNIC. If Burke had been in the same studio, he would have punched the shit out of Strachan.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards and off-season running thread

Strachan is the biggest horses ass out there, but even a horses ass can occasionally come up with a column that actually has some substance to it.
Gary Betman is great for the old guard in ownership but he is terrible for the actual game.
This league also needs strong ownership in places like Chicago and Boston where they have lost a generation of fans

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards and off-season running thread

Only if you read it in the Calgary Sun ... otherwise, you have to hold the local Sun responsible.

Every paper that would run a Sun column (up until the universal approach implemented after my layoff) probably made it sound different.
So same would go with Simmons (blech), Strach (argh), Garrioch (aieee), Ziesberger (his mugshot scares me), et al.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards and off-season running thread

OK, I hit the link and I am so not surprised Fire Bettman is No. 1.


Strach was always way too long for available space (and we usually gave him a half page). First thing I always did was find the spot he took a shot at Bettman, highlight the next eight or so graphs and then hit delete.

The phrase 'ad nauseum' comes to mind.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards and off-season running thread

For all Strach's faults, how his columns were structured wasn't one of them. His opinions are one thing, but compared to most columnists at the Sun - Jones comes to mind - Strach was Rudyard Kipling.
If you were re-writing him to make him "readable", then you were letting your personal opinions of the guy get in the way.