It's like the worst kind of deja vu...

It's like the deja vu you get when you spend your whole Thursday thinking it's Friday only to wake up and realize that indeed today is Friday not yesterday.

I got that same feeling when I saw a story about Scott Niedermayer.

"The Anaheim Ducks remain in a holding pattern waiting for Scott Niedermayer to determine his playing status for next season."

Really?! Again?! What is wrong with this man?! Have you been hit in the head too many times?! You're like a 4 year old kid who can't decide between the burger or the hot dog.

Just freakin retire already will ya?

this has fail written all over it.

From TSN.ca today,

"The Boston Bruins are in pursuit of Tomas Kaberle and a top 10 pick in today's draft. Sources tell TSN the Bruins have offered restricted free agent forward Phil Kessel to Toronto in exchange for the Leaf defenceman and Toronto's No. 7 pick in the draft."

Boston, listen, we don't like each other. In fact "not liking" you is probably a huge understatement. But, dont' do this to yourself. You don't want Tomas Kaberle. And if you really must have him, please don't give the Leafs Phil Kessel.

Phil Kessel is good, he gets like a point a game, he was a +23 last season, and the kid overcame ball cancer. The kid's got heart. Toronto will ruin him. They ruin all players who come neareth. Why would you send him there. Do you hate him? How could you hate him that much? Send him anywhere else if you can't pay him.

teheheheheheheheheheheheh

I try not to get to emotionally attached to rumours. Because we all know some dude in a basement somewhere in southern Ontario probably started said rumour.

Especially when it has to do the words Lecavalier and Montreal. At trade deadline I tried not to get too excited. But I failed... deep down inside I thought that it would happen.

So when it didn't happen you'd think that would dull my giddiness for headlines like this:

"RIFT BETWEEN LIGHTNING OWNERS GIVES HABS HOPE FOR LECAVALIER"

But it hasn't....

OH please oh please oh please!

Who will the Canadiens pick?

Probably someone stupid...

Okay, jokes aside, I'm intrigued to see who Bob Gainey will choose in this years draft. He seems to have a history of picking promising but flawed players. Carey Price is promising but he eats too many oreos... (and the team put too many expectations on him too early, causing him to eat even more oreos)

Then there's PK Subban, a very promising defenseman... if he could just learn that spinoramas at the d-line when you're last man back is a terrible, horrible, your-coach-has-an-aortic-aneurysm-and-throws-gatorade-at-your-face-during-intermission type thing.

TSN pundits have them picking either Louis Leblanc or Jordan Caron, both residents of the Montreal area. Which screams BAD IDEA!!! BAD IDEA!! to me. It seems every player that is the hometown boy and plays for montreal ends up having some sort of mental breakdown from the stress.

So who do I choose? Landon Ferraro.

Son of Ray Ferraro, he doesn't quite have the scoring prowess of his father, but he's a fantastic skater, and despite size will rough it up in the corners... something that should fit nicely with the Canadiens.

But Gainey will probably pick something dumb... like another goaltender.

Very cute.

Stevie takes his place amongst the greats.

15:41ET 23-06-09

NewsAlert THE CANADIAN PRESS Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Brian Leetch and LouLamoriello named to Hockey Hall of Fame.<

Drafting fun.

So much is being made of the "mystery" behind the upcoming NHL draft this weekend.

Oh god, we don't know for sure who will go number one? Oh the humanity!

Some mystery... fact: the top two players play two different positions equally as well. Not every year can have a Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin. In fact the draft is usually more likely to have an Angelo Espisito instead.

In the stretch run towards the end of the season when the Ottawa Senators had a chance to lose their way to the best draft pick, everyone was calling it the Tavares Derby. I don't think it was ever the Tavares Derby. Back then I thought that the Senators would've taken Victor Hedman...because they needed a puck-moving defenseman after letting Zdeno Chara AND Wade Redden leave.

Of course this was before Dany "I just signed a long-term contract with this team but now i don't want to play with them anymore" Heatley decided to say "i don't want to play with you anymore" so maybe it would've taken a turn for a Tavares Derby afterall. Because maybe they could've gotten a puck-moving defenseman in the trade for Heatley. if, if, if. and, and, and.

The reason we don't know who is going number one, is because the New York Islanders are terrible. They are so terribly bad that they need both a scorer and a puck-moving defenseman. And possibly a whole new team. Oh yah, and they have Garth Snow as a GM so it's even possible that he won't take either Tavares or Hedman, and take someone ranked 13th... and then he'll sign said draft pick to a ONE HUNDRED YEAR CONTRACT!

So just sit back, stop freakin out whether Hedman or Tavares will go first, because really i'm sure they both have their fingers crossed that the Islanders don't pick them.

Thoughts for the moment...

Gary Bettman sucks.

Dany Heatley is a douche.

Sore losers

The Detroit Red Wings just look like poor losers if you ask me.

After losing the Stanley Cup in game 7 to Crosby, Malkin and gang the Detroit Red Wings players complained that Sidney Crosby did not shake hands with the whole team... specifically Wings captain Niklas Lidstrom.

There seems to be a lot of comparisons of Crosby's extended post-game celebrations with that of basketball's LeBron James... who the eff cares?

He won. It went seven games. Emotions were high. They lost to that exact team last year in the finals. Crosby deserved to celebrate... not to mention he got swarmed by every media outlet and their dog after the final buzzer.

So it would've been nice for the Red Wings to cut the kid a little slack.

In Lidstrom's defense, he took it in stride and said that, "Sidney was probably caught up in the emotions and everything."

And in Hossa's defense, "After the game, when I start shaking their hands, I did not think, 'Who is there and who is not there?'" Hossa said. "After, I think about it and I thought that I did not remember shaking hands with Sid. I'm sure he was caught in the emotion and did not know where he was. I know him. He wouldn't do it deliberately. He is a great guy. I think he was just excited and caught up in the emotion."

But Zetterberg called it "disrespectful" and Kris Draper said, "Nick was waiting and waiting, and Crosby didn't come over to shake his hand that's ridiculous, especially as their captain, and make sure you write that I said that!"

Seriously guys, you would never know that you're part of the team that is supposed to be full of veterans. You lose and this is your response? I would expect this from a young team like Pittsburgh. I'm sure there are players that didn't shake hands after last year's final, but there was no uproar from the Penguins.

As for Crosby, "My intentions were to shake hands," Crosby told the Post-Gazette. "That we didn't wasn't me trying to avoid it."

And I believe that to be the truth. Crosby is not the type of player to not shake hands on purpose. More to that point, usually if someone doesn't want to shake hands, it's the losing side.

The best and worst day of the year.

game 7.

how friggin giddy are you?

Because I am so freakin stoked I could.... do something really awesome. But i'm also a little sad as well...

Because no matter what happens tonight, hockey is over.

waaaah.

Along with most of the city of Halifax, i'll be cheering for Pittsburgh tonight. It's selfish really... I want Captain Sid to bring the cup here!

But here's what worries me about Pittsburgh's chances. First of all there's the disastrous outcome of Game 5 in Detroit (I missed that game because I was at a Tragically Hip concert in Art Park, NY... but i'll tell you I was happy I missed it after receiving the score update from a friendly dude with an iPhone in the bathroom line.)

Pittsburgh just seems unable to pull it together in the motor city. Although in Game 1 and 2 they were right in it, and save for a few bad bounces off those crazy boards behind the net at Joe Louis, they could've taken at least one game and it might have been a different series.

I mean, geez Detroit is 11-and-1 at home through the playoffs. And Sidney Crosby can't seem to score in Detroit... probably because he can't take a pee without Zetterberg lurking in the shadows behind him, which is all the easier when Detroit has the last change at home.

But that was game 1, 2 and 5. And this is game 7. It's a different animal. The Cup is in the building and it's getting awarded no matter what. And I would expect that Crosby and gang will turn it up a notch. And hopefully Fleury will be able to shut the door this game.

I would also like to see the look on Marion Hossa's face when he realized that he picked the wrong team. Oh the kharma in that... I think i'd cry with happiness. I would then call him up and laugh uncontrollably on his voicemail.

But it'll be a good game, regardless of the outcome.... the only thing is... i don't want it to end. Fingers crossed for some exciting Game 7 overtime action? Perhaps a few hundred overtime periods? Have the players signing their July 1 free agent contracts during intermissions?


Coaches, coaches, coaches.

Win: Sutters take over Calgary?

Brent Sutter stepped down as the coach of the New Jersey Devils with a year remaining on his contract. Rumours are swirling that Brent Sutter will land the job vacated by Mike Keenan in Calgary and join brother and Flames GM. The Sutters are awesome... Calgary should try to collect the whole clan.

Indifference: Marc Crawford

meh.

Fail: Jacques Martin

Not a good choice. The one upside is that Martin is considered an off-ice "drill sargeant" and may be able to curb the partying, oreo-eating ways of the young Canadiens players... doesn't really help with the under-acheiving parts though.


Jim-Balls

I really don't understand this at all. The NHL has owners like William (Boots) del Biaggio and they're concerned about Jim Ballsillie?

Also I've found a few columnists a little alarming recently... Particularly a Globe and Mail column by Jim Blair... "Just cut the cheque, Jim.
Try to carve out $5-million here or there if you want, fudge some numbers, spread it out, give the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres television money in perpetuity – whatever. Just cut the cheque. Join the club, and let’s get on with it. "

These people are talking like it's their money. Would you appreciate it if we told you how to spend your paycheque? Why should Ballsillie get screwed by the league? Was there a relocation fee when the team moved from Winnipeg to Phoenix? Is it really fair for the NHL to treat this entire fiasco as if it's going to be a detriment to the league...

Hmm, rich guy who was unanimously approved by the League's Board of Governors back in 2006 when he attempted to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins... moving a team that has not actually MADE money since it moved there from Winnipeg... to a place where there's ample hockey-mad population. Gee, this is going to bankrupt the entire goddamn league, Bettman. (see: intense sarcasm)


The Return of the Emery

For some reason (maybe i'm delusional from the imminent end of hockey season) i'm actually okay with emery returning to the NHL. I think it's time for another chance. Besides... it'll give something for Michael Landsberg to talk about besides Sean Avery....

sorry for the hiatus guys!

I just started a new job, it's been a bit chaotic... I promise to weigh in on our friend Jimmy Balls, Game Seven, and Mr. Emery's return to the North American tabloids tonight!

See you then.