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Post by DanCan on Feb 24, 2004 18:53:48 GMT -5
We already have two threads covering NHL trades/trade rumours and injury updates. This thread is for general NHL news. If you find any interesting news just post them here. 24 February 2004[/b] Coaches of St. Louis and Phoenix fired Blues fire QuennevilleCoyotes fire FrancisSo far 6 NHL coaches have been fired this season Nov 9, Florida (Mike Keenan fired, assistent coach Rick Dudley steps in as an interim. On 9 Feb, John Torchetti becomes the new coach) Dec 10: Washington (Bruce Cassidy fired, Glen Hanion new coach) Dec 15: Carolina (Paul Maurice fired, new coach: Peter Laviolette) Jan 1: Columbus (Doug MacLean fired; new coach: Gerard Gallant) Feb 24: Phoenix (Bob Francis fired; Rick Bowness appointed as interim) Feb 24: St. Louis (Joel Quenneville fired; Assistent Coach Mike Kitchen appointed for the reminder of the season) Another trivia: Joel Quenneville was actually the longest serving NHL coach for a single team after Ottawa's Jacques Martin. Quenneville had coached St. Louis since 6 January 1997 (Martin has coached Ottawa since 24 Jan, 1996). After Quenneville is gone, the average tenure of NHL coaches is down to 1,56 years (own calculation). Other newsChigago Daily Herald, Zhamnov: Blackhawks organization going wrong wayVancouver Sun, Naslund begins series of neurological testsThe Globe and Mail, Doctor wants Lindros to hang up his skatesNew York Post, Eric's optimistic about his returnTSN, Roenick finally feeling betterArizona Central, Veteran Savage lands on waiver
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Post by DanCan on Feb 25, 2004 16:45:28 GMT -5
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Post by Jazz on Feb 25, 2004 17:21:47 GMT -5
Make you wonder whether Glen Sather made the Oilers of the 80s or if the 80s Oilers made Glen Sather.......
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Post by sammy on Feb 25, 2004 22:44:00 GMT -5
I think the Oilers made Sather. After Pocklington sold off the team, they spent alot of years doing nothing until Sather took off to New York. We've had more success the last few years after he left, then when he was around.
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Post by Jazz on Feb 26, 2004 15:42:17 GMT -5
Sammy, I agree with you (question was mostly rhetorical!). But all we kept hearing in the 80s and most of the 90s was how great of a master-mind he was. But I knew he was overrated. For a laugh, check out this site. www.glensathersucks.com G.
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Post by marrella on Feb 26, 2004 19:40:10 GMT -5
Well either way ... nobody can make the Rangers. Every year I continue to be baffled as to how so much talent can perform so poorly. That team simply has to be broken up and restructured to actually become a team.
But assuming it isn't, who in the world would you pick to successfully coach that team? Who could do it? Place your picks here:
1. From currently available/unemployed coaches 2. From any NHL coach ... even those Stanley Cup bound.
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Post by DanCan on Feb 27, 2004 18:59:07 GMT -5
I'm wondering the same. What the is going on in New York City?
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Post by DanCan on Feb 28, 2004 14:24:56 GMT -5
News from Sweden: Forsberg returns to Sweden after this season - Näslund, Bertuzzi and others might follow[/b] Last year, Peter Forsberg announced that this season will be his last in the NHL. Forsberg has now confirmed this. This season will be his last in the NHL, whether there will be a lockout or not. He will return to his native club Modo in July, writes the Swedish daily Aftonposten. According to Aftonposten, a long list of prominent players will follow if the CBA negotiations result in a lockout. Forsberg's Modo is especially busy at the moment contacting players in Canada and the US. According to the newspaper, Modo has already made a tentative agreement with Tommy Salo (Edmonton). Modo has also contacted Markus Näslund as he would like to play with Forsberg. If Näslund goes, then Todd Bertuzzi might follow, writes Aftonposten. So how about this: The Forsberg-Näslund-Bertuzzi line!? Off course, once the lockout ends, then Näslund and Bertuzzi are obliged to return to the Canucks where they have a contract, the paper notes. I guess most of you cannot read Swedish, put I have provided a link to the article anyway: Aftonposten, 28 February, Foppa klar för ModoEDIT: OK, the story (or rather parts of it) quickly found its way to the NA press: TSN, 28 Feb, Forsberg to play in Sweden next year=Denver Post, 28 Feb, Forsberg going home next season?
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Post by DanCan on Feb 29, 2004 14:03:10 GMT -5
Avs deny Forsberg report[/b] TSN, 29 Feb, Avs deny Forsberg is leaving next season Todays edition of Aftonbladet has two articles on the issue. Mats Wennerblom, the author of the article yesterday, notes that we are still talking about a 'gentleman's agreement'. As long as Forsberg has a contract with Colorado, he cannot make a contract with MoDo. That is also why Forsberg cannot speak openly about it yet. Today, Wennerblom, reveals that Paul Kariya - who also has a one-year contract with Avs - has talked with Forsberg about going to Sweden (MoDo) with him. As noted yesterday, Näslund would also like to return to his native club, MoDo, if there is a lockout, and Bertuzzi has discussed the idea of playing with him in Sweden. But the list of players wanting to play for MoDo does not stop here. Mattias Weinhandl, Nicklas Sundstrom and the twin Sedins have all said (to Wennerblom) that they want to go home (to MoDo), while Mats Sundin, Marcus Ragnarsson and Kim Jonsson have said that they are likely to stay in NA. Modos 'problem: Välja vilka NHL-stjärnor som ska spela med Foppa (Modo's problem: selecting the NHL stars who's gonna play with FoppaIn the other article, there are jubilant interviews with Haakon Loob and Borje Salming (among others). Well, we will have to see what's gonna happen. Read also Associated Press's article: Associated Press, 29 Feb, Report: Forsberg plans return to Sweden
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Post by DanCan on Mar 9, 2004 14:44:39 GMT -5
One word: Bertuzzi TSN, 9 March, Moore out for the year, police investigateTSN, 9 March, Policy to Investigate Bertuzzi's HitVancouver Sun, 9 March, Bertuzzi likely to face wrath of leagueSLAM Sports, 9 March, Report: Moore has two broken vertebraSporting News, 9 March, Bertuzzi may be suspended for seasonWhat on earth was he thinking? 1. He has seriously hurted another player 2. He has seriously hurted his own team's bid for the Stanley Cup -- assuming the he will be suspended for the rest of the season 3. He has seriously hurted the popular image of hockey 4. he has put himself in a serious situation -- for one thing this incidence has put a big, ugly black stain on Bertuzzi's career, for another he may face a criminal charge.
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Post by sammy on Mar 9, 2004 21:06:02 GMT -5
I really hate to say this, but I can see where Bertuzzi is coming from. One of the first things we teach the kids is to be responsible for their actions on the ice. Eg. if you give someone a cheap shot, expect a cheap shot in return, and if you recieve a cheap shot, you are taught to return the favorite. The hit on Naslund was the cheap shot. I personnaly don't think it was a penalty, but you always hold back a bit so you don't injure the guy. He didn't and Naslund was out. Bertuzzi challenged this guy and he ran. If he would have stood and fought Bertuzzi, none of this would have happened and the hit on Naslund would have been forgotten. He didn't stand and fight, bad move. Granted, he would have got the stuffing beat out of him, but it would have been better then what happened. This enraged Bertuzzi and he lost his cool so he attacked. What he did was wrong, and personally I would have smoked Sakic or Forsberg as hard as I could have and then asked the kid for a fight, just to let him know that I can hit their star players too. What should happen to Bertuzzi? Same as McSorley, one year suspension minimum.
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Post by marrella on Mar 9, 2004 22:12:55 GMT -5
I finally saw the replay of the hit. Pretty damned bad. WHile I understand why Bertuzzi was outraged, it doesn't justify his horribly cheap shot, which resulted in such awful injuries.
On a much lesser level, Jason Doig of the Caps has illegally leveled quite a few people ... including kneeing one of our players, keeping him out of the game for 6 weeks. Our tough guy, Boulerice, has tried to engage Doig on numerous occasions in a fight. Doig won't drop the gloves. It's maddening, but since Boulerice has his own not so savory, violent hockey background, he has to be careful.
Bertuzzi needs to be suspended for at least a year. But the NHL needs to start assessing harsher penalties all around (i.e., a one or two game suspension for the 6 week loss of a player is ludicrous).
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Post by DanCan on Mar 10, 2004 2:37:32 GMT -5
I agree with your assessments. I guess that over here we - and here I am in particular talking about Danes - have to recognize that in North American hockey there is a norm that you must retailiate if one of your players is hit. Its parcelled in the psychology of the game -- the quest of dominating the game on several levels.
It's wellknown that in Europe, we have a totally different approach. This is reflected in the penalties of instigating fightings. Major fightings typically lead to match penalties.
I guess that in European countries where hockey is a well-established sport - e.g. Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic -- the public is well aware of the roughness of North American hockey. So in these countries, the public might look at the Bertuzzi affair more as a lone-standing incidence -- as a fighting incidence that went out of control.
But in Denmark, where hockey is a minor sport which is gaining increasing interest, the incidence might have done more harm to the image of hockey.
Last night, Bertuzzi's assault was broadcasted in all its horror on several of the national networks. On the main tv stations, there were no explaining of the particular (Moore's hit on Naslund) or the cultural background of the incidence, and that make matters even worse. Only on the tv station, Zulu, which broadcast playoff games in the Danish league were the viewers better informed.
Considering, the fact that Moore has been seriously injured, I fell pretty confident that Bertuzzi will be suspended for a full year. In Europe, he would probably have been suspended for life.
I any case, I fully agree with marrella that the NHL needs to consider its penalty system.
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Post by sammy on Mar 10, 2004 7:48:16 GMT -5
To give you some idea of how the hit is viewed in Canada, most players in minor levels that were interviewed on TV the last night were saying it was a justified hit that went too far. Moore deserved what he got but not to that extent. We see it in the kids on our atom team (9and 10 year olds). You poke your stick at the goalie after the whistle has blown, be prepared to get knocked down. If you slash somebody, you better keep your head up the rest of the game because a player on the other team will definately try to rub you out into the boards. Heck, we've had 4 fights this year, all during practice. We also have one of the most tightly knit hockey teams I've ever seen. We have 14 kids who are best friends and God help anyone who crosses one of these kids if there is another member of the team around. The concept of "team" is the one skill the coaches concentrated on teaching the kids this year and it worked. We went from a team that started the season at 0-4-1 to a team that is now 5-0-0 in the last 5 games. No one can tell me that our skill improved to the point that we are now more skillful then other teams that have also played as many games and had as many practises as us. Bertuzzi was sticking up for his team and is therefore viewed as justified in his action. The only problem is that someone got hurt and he has to pay the price for injuring him. If Bertuzzi would have hit Moore in the face instead of the back of the head, and the same thing happened, nothing would have happened other then a 5 minute fighting and a game misconduct. Yes, Bertuzzi should be suspended for a year, not because of the hit, but because of where the hit landed.
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Post by DanCan on Mar 10, 2004 8:08:31 GMT -5
I've just noticed a poll on TSN's website. To the question "what is a fair suspension for Todd Bertuzzi?", the readers have four options a. less than 5 games b. 5-10 games c. 10-15 games d. more than 15 games I think the way the poll has been constructed is quite telling though it does not reflect the views of the hockey commentators on the various web sites. They tend to say that Bertuzzi should be suspended for at least the rest of the season and more likely a full year. If I were to construct to options, they would read: a. the rest of the regular season b. the rest of the season c. a full year d. more than a full year But I am a Dane, so how should I know? Btw, So far 62% have answered that Bertuzzi should be suspended for more than 15 games, so maybe the TSN did design the poll in an odd way?
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