Running 2007 NHL regular season thread

Keenan. How many players did he totally ruin? Tomas Erikkson and Todd Bergen from the Flyers. He damn near lost Mellanby back then too.

 

From Damien Cox's blog today (letter day).

Substitute "Colts for "Leafs" and you have "Diner" .....Tie Domi bobblehead doll? Yikes

Q: Mr. Cox, I wanted to inform you about a realization I came to recently, probably sometime shortly after the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs a few weeks ago.

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (and their board) either don’t care about winning hockey games, or are so caught up with the notion they are hockey experts, they must meddle with John Ferguson Jr. and his ability to ice a winning product. Maybe its both (Who would know? everything is done in some Ivory tower at the ACC), but whatever the reason, it results in my cessation of being an active Toronto Maple Leafs fan.

At my wedding in 2004, there were Maple Leaf tones, including pictures of myself and my groomsmen wearing various styles of Leafs jerseys, a Maple Leaf wedding cake along with a wedding ring was delivered on a Tie Domi bobblehead.

My wife let me paint our bedroom in Maple Leaf blue and there are posters of Mats Sundin, Tomas Kaberle and (ugh) Bryan McCabe on my infant sons wall. I own probably thousands of dollars of Leaf merchandise, everything from Leafs fishing lures to camping chairs to infant and children’s wear to car flags to mouse pads, etc. and etc.

And what do I get for forking over money blindly to this conglomerate called MLSE? A losing, non-competitive hockey team that has tickets prices I can’t afford and broadcasts games on their own TV network, which I also can’t afford.

So that’s it. I’m done.

Colour me an apathetic Leafs fan that simply will not put up with this stench. Until the team is sold to an owner that’s interested in parading a Stanley Cup up Yonge St. and not profit margins, I’m out.

PS: I apologize there is no question in any of this, but I thought I would let you know there are indeed people getting off this hayride and not continuing to blindly follow an organization whose ultimate goal is to pad the coffers of Ontario's retiring teachers.

J.R. Parks, Bloomfield, Ont.

A: Well J.R., I’m not sure whether to feel happy or sad for you. Happy because you’ve obviously got this bunch figured out, although all kinds of emails from Ontario teachers over the last few days have them denying any responsibility for the Leafs. Just an investment, they say. Sad, meanwhile, because building up all that love and affection for a pro sports team, then feeling alienated and disappointed, just sucks.

The good news is you can change the colour of your bedroom. The bad news is it’ll be tough to sell those Leaf fishing lures. Of course, MLSE always has a few hooks in the water.

 

Rangers-Flyers in Philly tonight.

Rangers are dead last in the league in goals per game, averaging two. However, they lead the league in goals against with 1.72 allowed per game.

 

Ok, now this is funny. And coming from a Slovak.

http://mirtle.blogspot.com/2007/11/gaborik-says-sorry.html

In an unprecedented move, Minnesota Wild forward Marian Gaborik has apologized to fantasy hockey owners for playing in a defensive system.

"When developing this team it is obvious that management paid no attention to fantasy owners, but instead selfishly decided that winning games was more important," Gaborik said in a "prepared statement."

 

Petr Prucha puts a puck past Martin Biron early in the third. Rangers up 3-2. Sean Avery has been an agitator extrodinare.

 

Real good game in Philly. Someone named Denis Tolpeko just scored his first NHL goal to tie the game at three. Both teams have had room to skate; they've hit each other and a good disdain is brewing between the 2007-08 Rangers and Flyers.

 

Rangers-Flyers goes to OT.

 

Game goes to the shootout and Shanahan scored the only goal. Rangers win.

 

Sens get to 15 wins in 17 games, tying the NHL record. And the top line is back together.

 

Blackhawks are tied at three in Nashville.

 

And Leafs lose in Boston.

Jesus, this is depressing

 

The Leafs' defense is as naked as Jiri Tlusty...

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/NHL/article/276711