Olympic Wrap

Well, loss aside, that was one of the best hockey games I've ever seen. Only question is, why 4 on 4 for 20 minutes in OT? Bizarre.

Now for some awards:

Overachiever Award: Team Slovakia. Who thought they'd even play for a medal, much less beat Sweden and Russia?

Runner-Up: Team USA. I always thought they'd medal.


Underachiever Award: Team Sweden. Defending champs couldn't get it done when it mattered.

Runner-Up: Team Russia. Only their offense underachieved.


MVP: Ryan Miller. What a beast.

Runners-Up: Sidney Crosby (game/Gold winner), Tore Vikingstad (best name ever)


Best Team: Team Canada. Gold medalists.

Runner-Up: Team USA. No surprises here.


Worst Team: Team Russia. Terrible chemistry, abysmal defense, and offensive superstars not even trying to backcheck.

Runner-Up: Team Germany. Never even made a game that close.


Lessons Learned: Miller is an elite goaltender... Crosby wins championships, no matter the pressure... The USA has made amazing strides and, developmentally, is the best hockey nation in the world... The 2014 Olympics in Sochi will kick ass. If Bettman allows NHL players to play... NHL players easily beat players of any other league. The two teams with 100% NHL players medaled gold and silver.

And it sucks to see Crosby beat your team. Now I know how Brett feels.

- Matt

Olympics: Moving On

First of all, USA! USA!

Now, there are some preliminary matchups that could provide the upsets we crave. Let's look at each one:

Czech Republic (5) vs. Latvia (12)

Rematch of an earlier game, where the Czechs were scared straight when the Latvians made it closer than it should have been.

Upset Potential: Highly unlikely


Canada (6) vs. Germany (11)

Two teams whose talent level isn't living up to its potential. After a spat of hot goaltenders, Canada will be relieved to face struggling Greiss. Expect a blowout.

Upset Potential: Slim to none


Slovakia (7) vs. Norway (10)

Slovakia is heating up, and should blow the suddenly overachieving Norwegians out of the water. Not even Tore Vikingstad can stop the inevitable. Unless the Slovaks have trouble scoring again.

Upset Potential: Unlikely


Switzerland (8) vs. Belarus (9)

Jonas Hiller was finally lit up in the tourney... by the Norwegians, oddly. Could Belarus find the magic they summoned in the Germany game? The Swiss will probably win, but a Belarus upset is actually plausible.

Upset Potential: Surprisingly Possible


As for the Americans, they await the winner of SUI-BEL as the number one seed. 3 wins to go.

- Matt

Updated Olympic Power Rankings

This post brought to you by the I Hate Henrik Zetterberg Foundation.

12. Norway (0-0-0-2)
11. Germany (0-0-0-2)
10. Latvia (0-0-0-2)
9. Belarus (0-0-0-2)
8. Switzerland (0-0-1-1)
7. Slovakia (0-1-0-1)
6. Czech Republic (2-0-0-0)
5. Russia (1-0-1-0)
4. Sweden (2-0-0-0)
3. United States (2-0-0-0)
2. Finland (2-0-0-0)
1. Canada (1-1-0-0)

In fact, I say the 1-2-3 is how this tournament finishes. Finland has looked very solid this tourney, and has outplayed neighbor Sweden in every area I've seen. I trust Kipper in net more than almost every other goalie in the games. And Backstrom as backup? Good lord.

Russia is ahead of its group because it took a hot goaltender standing on his head to stop the prolific offense. Which is why I think Finland/Sweden pose a huge threat to the Commies, and why it's likely the Russians may fail to medal. Just saying.

- Matt

Olympic Power Rankings after Day 3

The two stunning games last night have forced me to rewrite my rankings:

12. Latvia (0-0-0-1)
11. Norway (0-0-0-2)
10. Belarus (0-0-0-1)
9. Germany (0-0-0-1)
8. Switzerland (0-0-1-1)
7. Slovakia (0-1-0-1)
6. Czech Republic (1-0-0-0)
5. Russia (1-0-1-0)
4. Finland (1-0-0-0)
3. Sweden (1-0-0-0)
2. United States (2-0-0-0)
1. Canada (1-1-0-0)

Now for some logic. Obviously, teams without a win (Switzerland through Latvia) couldn't be ranked higher than winning clubs. Of those teams, Switzerland and Germany gave the best fights.

Slovakia certainly deserves a move up for beating Russia (and holding them to one goal), but they still only have 2 points in the standings, and need to hope the Czechs can also beat Russia to get a good seeding for the play-in round.

The matchup between Czech Republic and Russia is now huge. The Czechs can clinch a bye to reach the quarterfinals with a win. Goal differential may be the key in this group.

Finland and Sweden were both impressive in their debuts, but I hold more stock in defense than offense. These two are expected top 4 finishers for me.

Canada gets the nod over the US for the top spot because they are still the favorites to win the head-to-head matchup on Sunday. Meanwhile, the US could probably clinch the number 1 spot for the rest of the tourney by beating Canada. Both have clinched top-8 finishes, and an overtime decision would probably give both teams a bye into the quarterfinals.

Also, post #200. woooooo.

- Matt

It's Still Thursday!

NHL/Olympic post of the week!

I don't know what else to talk about, so let's rank the Olympian teams:

12. Latvia
11. Norway
10. Belarus
9. Slovakia
8. Switzerland
7. Germany
6. Czech Republic
5. Finland
4. United States of America
3. Sweden
2. Russia
1. Canada

Note: I made this ranking before today's games. I would probably move Russia into the top spot, and the US into spot number 3 now. Canada may have shaken its nerves away, now that they've overcome the adversity of not blowing out a lesser opponent. I think Canada gets gold, Sweden gets silver, and the USA gets bronze, as I've maintained.

Now, since we're all Americans here, let's analyze their performances thus far:

vs SWI - The Americans took the body early, and shook off opening day jitters to really dominate play. They didn't let Hiller get too comfortable, and made the defense of the Swiss look like Swiss cheese (har har). It was a good win, and in light of Canada needing the shootout to beat the Swiss, it looks very good now.

vs NOR - Besides a complete misfire that led to a shorthanded goal, it was tough for the US to control this game any more. The result was never even close to in doubt. I'd say this proved the Americans are capable of competing with the Canadians and Russians. Let's hope they can build off this win and become gold medalists.

NHL Video Game Song of the Week:

I nominate Raccoon Eyes, by Priestess. From their Prior to the Fire album, which fucking rules.



From NHL10. But you probably already knew that.

- Matt

Thursday (Night) Hockey

Oops, forgot to make a post.

Anyway, here's a hastily typed series of observations about the Olympics:

* I'm not convinced Russia is going to medal. Their D and goaltending are suspect (has Nabokov ever accomplished anything in a playoff?), and half the team is made of KHL players. The politics of representing Russia's league on Canadian soil could be this team's undoing. Prediction: 5th place.

* The NHL-sized rink could prove to be the Achilles' Heel for the finesse teams such as Sweden and Finland. Although the Swedish team has a lot of NHLers in its ranks, ones who've proven themselves in the playoffs. The reigning gold medalists should at least get bronze.

* While I think Canada comes up with Gold this year, I think the US is going to give every team a very good fight. Finland could be another surprise, as could Slovakia.

Game of the Night: Washington at Ottawa

WHY: Both teams, until recently, were riding franchise-best winning streaks.

WHY NOT: I hate them both.

Prediction: Capitals 6, Senators 3


Alternate Game: Boston at Tampa Bay. Potential playoff positioning?


NHL Video Game Music of the Week:



Pretty emo, but this fucker gets so stuck in my head every time I hear it. From NHL07.

- Matt

Just Another Useless Hockey Opinion

17 = 666

A Devil...a DEVIL...clearly this was the "wild card team" that some reports had him going to. I read a great article this morning on TSN written by Bob McKenzie. (http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/?id=309019) He argues that Waddell did everything in his power to get the best return for Kovalchuk. He says people are crazy if they think he would've fetched Cam Barker, Patrick Sharp, or Kris Versteeg in a trade. He goes on to say that Waddell played his cards right. As soon as he had the Devils offer he went public saying he was open to trading Kovy, in order to flush out some last minute bids for him. He goes on to say Waddell received what he was asking for. He wanted a top 6 forward (Bergfors has the potential), a top 4 d-man (Oduya has the minutes to suggest he's a #4 d-man), a prospect (Patrice Cormier), and a 1st round pick. True.

I respect Bob McKenzie and most of the NHL writers at TSN...but I whole heartedly disagree. Let's breakdown this trade.

NJ Acquires: Ilya Kovalchuk (F), Anssi Salmela (D)
ATL Acquires: Niclas Bergfors (F), Johnny Oduya (D), Patrice Cormier (F), NJ 2010 1st Rd pick
*Also the two teams will swap 2nd round picks

Let's look at this deal from the side of Atlanta first.

Alright so obviously Waddell wasn't going to get everything he desired out of a rental player. I highly doubt Kovalchuk will re-sign with NJ. I just don't see it happening. I don't think Lou will offer him more than what Waddell did (101 million over 12 years). But what did Waddell bring in?

Bergfors...a solid young forward. He started the year out hot, but has tailed off. You can attribute that to the fact that he's a rookie and is still adjusting to the NHL. He has a scoring touch and could end the year with 20 goals (has 13 right now). That's a very solid rookie season. If Bergfors can follow it up the next two years with 25+ goal seasons, then it was a very solid pickup for the Thrashers.

Johnny Oduya is a middle of the road puck moving defenseman. I'll be honest I don't know that much about him...don't watch the Devils that much. Matt may have more insight on some of these Devil players than I do. But from what I read he's a "safe" return. He won't make mistakes, but by no means is a game changer. He's a #4 or #5 d-man.

Patrice Cormier. Many know him has the guy who threw one of the most heinous elbows is hockey history. He was recently suspended for the rest of the year in Juniors. Sadly this was the not the first time Cormier had been suspended for throwing an elbow. This kid is just a dirty player. IF he every makes it to the NHL he's not projected to be more than a 3rd or 4th line player. So as far as bringing in a good prospect...Waddell fails here. What a waste. He would've been better off asking for a 3rd round pick (or not swapping 2nds). Maybe the Devils asked him to take Cormier off their hands because of the embarrassment...who knows.

1st round pick. Ok so Waddell gets his 1st round pick, but here's the thing...it's going to be a very late 1st rounder. Essentially it's the same as having an extremely high 2nd. What makes it worse is that the two teams swapped their 2nd round picks. So let's say the Thrashers tank...and the Devils win the cup. The Devils essentially give up maybe...10-13 spots? That's not THAT huge.

Waddell didn't really receive much in return. This is the second time he's barely gotten anything for a superstar player. He traded Hossa to Pitt for depth players. Waddell needed to try and get the best value for Kovalchuk...maybe he did? This is where I think Waddell failed...he did not allow teams to talk to Kovalchuk's agent. In my opinion it was his thought process that if he didn't allow teams to talk to his agent it allowed Waddell to pick from more than just one team. It wouldn't handcuff him when he went to trade Kovy. However, it hurt him because it limited what he could bring back in return. If a team knows they're not just getting a rental player they'll be more willing to give up more in the trade. Waddell needed this trade to be a homerun because let's face it...he's getting rid of one of the most dynamic offensive players in the league...and he failed.

From the Devils Prospective

They're making a run at the Cup. Who knows how much longer Brodeur will be playing. After this year...another year...maybe 2? They know that with him playing as well as he is this year, they'd better make their run now. I respect that...and instantly they become the favourite in the East. They have the goalie and the defensive system to get them deep in the playoffs. Now they have the clutch player to score them that "big" goal when it counts. And what did they give up? It's not going to hurt them in the long run. A couple of mid-level players to bring in a superstar. Good for them.

Winners: The Devils

As a side note...the Thrashers a few years ago had a great young team. They were primed for offensive glory. The problem...the inability to re-sign their players. I say get that team out of Atlanta hockey has no business being. Re-locate to Winnepeg, Quebec, some CANADIAN city where hockey is beloved. You can see it just on the sports website. You log-onto tsn.ca and their front page is all about the Kovy trade. You log onto ESPN.com you're lucky to find even a headline about it.

-Brett

# 17

As some of you know I can talk hockey trade/trade rumors any day of the week and twice on Sundays (especially with football almost done). So that brings us to Kovalchuk...where does he go? The is the question 0.5% of the population of Atlanta (seriously...does anyone down there even pay attention to the Thrashers) and the rest of the hockey community want to know. Let's take a look at where I think he'll go.

Boston

They need a spark. Currently sitting at 12 only 2 points out of 8...they need an X factor to spring them ahead of the rest of the pack. Only 5 points separate the #6 and #13 spot in the East. That's ridiculous. Boston needs an edge and bringing in Kovalchuk for a Cup run would do just that. What will it take to get him? Well rumors are Waddell is looking for a top 6 forward, top 4 d-man, and a pick and/or prospect. Here's how I see it going down. (Now mind you I have no looked at cap figures or anything like that, so this might not work out exactly as I have laid out.)

Boston acquires: Kovalchuk
Atlanta acquires: David Krejci (F), Dennis Wideman (D), Boston's 1st round pick

Analysis: Boston would love to try and dump Ryder here, but it'll have to be in a separate deal. Atlanta receives a great young forward in Krejci who had 73 points last season. He's on pace for 44 this year. He's only 23 and has a ton of upside. Widemann has had an off year so far for the Bruins, but he is solid d-man entering his prime. Boston can afford to give up its 1st round pick because they have Toronto's pick (which looks like it'll be top 5) from the Kessel trade.

If this deal is proposed I think it offers Atlanta some good young players to start to build around. I would first still see what other deals are out there, but Atlanta could do a lot worse for a rental player.

Chicago

Stan Bowman has said he's not going after Kovalchuk. Let's look at the facts...the Hawks extended Kane and Towes, and Keith recently. They cannot afford all their players starting next season, so they'll be dumping some salary. This is their best chance at a Cup run. Why not unload some of those players to bring in Kovalchuk who will be an UFA. Conventional wisdom says they hold onto guys like Cam Barker and Patrick Sharp and load up on prospects and picks this summer instead. Nope...Chicago is going to make a run this year and why not?

Chicago acquires: Kovalchuk and a 3th or 4th round pick
Atlanta acquires: Cam Barker (D), Kris Versteeg (F), prospect (don't know enough about their system to say which one), and a 1st round pick

Analysis: If Chicago comes knocking with a trade such as this...Atlanta jumps on it. The other wild card here would be instead of Versteeg, Chicago substitutes Patrick Sharp. They're going to have to get rid of 2 out of 3 or all 3 of these players in order to make some cap room next year. My hope is that the Sabres make a play for any of these and offer up Gerbe and a 2nd. I digress...Chicago is loaded with good young talent. Atlanta would be wise to pluck up any of these. Barker will be a force on your defense for years to come and Sharp/Versteeg would be a nice 2nd line player (possibly 1st line).

Now my Wild Card team: Calgary Flames

The Flames have need some offensive help and I HIGHLY doubt that dealing away Phaneuf and Jokinen and bringing in Stajan (who is UFA), Haggman (a 20 goal scorer), Higgins (as bad as Jokinen), and Kotalik will solve all their offensive woes.

Calgary acquires: Kovalchuk and a 5th round pick
Atlanta acquires: Dustin Boyd (F), Mikael Backlund (F), Ian White (D), 1st round pick

Analysis: Calgary has a wealth of forwards now. They can afford to part with two. Backlund and Boyd are two young players with some offensive upside to them. Ian White is a great depth player and very inexpensive right now ($750k). He'll be a RFA in the offseason, but is a good puck moving defenseman. I feel as if Calgary may have to sweeten the pot if either Boston or Chicago offer their deals because this is the lesser of the three. I'm surprised Calgary didn't try and offer up Phaneuf to Atlanta to bring in Kovalchuk.

With that I feel he'll either land in Boston or Chicago. And just for the hell of it...if Buffalo trades for him what do we give up?

Buffalo acquires: Kovalchuk and a 4th round pick
Atlanta acquires: Clarke Macarthur (F), Mike Weber (D), Toni Lydman (D), 1st Round Pick

-Brett

Your Source for Terrible Trade Information

Here's your weekly hockey entry.

Of course, hockey talk has been dominated by Kovalchuk trade rumors since last night. So here's the most up-to-date speculation I could pull out of my ass:

* Pittsburgh: every "fan" knows that Staal for Kovalchuk straight-up is a completely even trade. Hell, the Pens should also get Colby Armstrong back, as well as some prospects, and maybe even Moose if they trade the "worthless" Fleury.

* Chicago: Atlanta is probably dying to take that awful Campbell contract off Chi-town's hands.

* Albany River Rats: Big money, big market, anything to lose here?

* The US junior championship team from Mighty Ducks 2: Someone needs to complement the knucklepuck.

* L.A.: They've just exited the rebuilding stage, now would be the PERFECT time to mortgage the future!

* Any Canadian team: One million tsn.ca commenters can't be wrong, can they?

* Washington: They've got a great atmposphere, passionate fans, a circle of Russians, and to remove salary cap concerns they could move one of their more costly vets down to the AHL via waivers, like the Penguins did last year with Miro Satan. He could rotate in so the Capitals have a "4 man top line" system going, depending on the situation. And the power play would click at roughly 80%. This is actually the black horse in the Kovalchuk race.

Nah, I'm just trying to get Caps supporters' hopes up.

- Matt

What, Cathy Wasn't Terrible Enough?

While browsing The 4 Letter Network's Page 2 section, you may have noticed a "comic" called "Girls & Sports". I use the term comic extremely loosely.

In the type of humor that even Garfield considers itself above, this strip teaches us that while boys are only interested in sports, women have basically zero interest. And this leads to cah-razy conflict! Or not. Every one has a needlessly boring ending and is thoroughly devoid of character. A few examples:

First Panel:

Girlfriend (or Wife): Bradley, don't forget we're having dinner with my parents on Sunday.

[Stop. Worst cliche' in the book there.]

Guy (who can only be described as playing the N64 with an upside-down controller): Absolutely not. It's the Super Bowl. End of discussion.

Second Panel:

Girl: Fine, we'll reschedule. You know, not everyone's life revolves around football.

[All right. Hope the punchline is good.]

Third Panel:

Guy: 93 million people watch the Super Bowl. And yet my girlfriend's parents aren't two of them.

[Yup, that's the joke. The only vaguely amusing thing about this strip is the guy's friend possibly dead-on starting at the dude's girlfriend's ass. But given the utter lack of thought put into the comic, I seriously doubt that's the case.]


Since I couldn't stand to do another breakdown, I'll paraphrase the other one I looked at for this entry.

* Guy talks about some commercials contest during the Super Bowl
* Friends leave, saying real fans focus on the football
* Girls come up, and they are teh hawtz, telling him they'd love to come

HA HA FUCKIN HA! DO YOU GET IT. Girls love the commercials of the Super Bowl, and not the game itself! Oh that is rich.

Look, I don't care about potential mysogyny. Let's be clear on that. But when something is so absurdly unfunny, I feel like I have to hit the creator over the head with a truncheon for ever having aborted it out of his mind's womb. The worst part? There are people out there who think it's funny. And there are people who think it's funny enough to FORWARD it to other people.

So an open letter to America: Guys. Our creativity is stifled enough. Can we please not let this kind of crap be rewarded with anything besides a fist to the face?

In the meantime, I'll resume skipping ESPN in things not labeled TMQ.

- Matt

Hockey Weekend Trade Frenzy

Can you remember a time when there was so much activity this far BEFORE the NHL trade deadline?! I'm not going to lie...the NHL trade deadline is like christmas for me. I check TSN, NHL, and ESPN all day long giddy with anticipation of all the deals that may occur. After school/work I run home to turn on the TV and get my laptop up and running with all the "real time trade update" pop-ups you can click on from these websites. I'm not sure if I enjoy this or the NFL draft more...listen you put a gun to my head I wouldn't be able to come up with an answer.

Back to this weekend. I had an idea that we might see some activity though before the Olympic trade freeze (Feb. 12-March 1). The freeze ends on March 1st and the deadline is on the 3rd, doesn't give teams much time to wheel and deal. Anyways onto the analysis.

Trade 1:

Toronto receives: Dion Phaneuf (D), Fredrik Sjostrom (F), prospect Keith Aulie (D)
Calgary receives: Ian White (D), Matt Stajan (F), Niklas Hagman (F), Jamal Mayers (F)

Calgary needed to do something to inject some life into their lifeless offense. They did just that. By adding Stajan and Hagman they add Toronto's #2 and #3 scorers respectively. They also add some grit with Mayers and a solid defenseman. White has been a pleasant surprise for Toronto this year being one of their best defenseman. Since the Sabres are in the same division as Toronto (as well as the fact that they are our rivals), I see these players on a consistent basis. White has played very well this year and is a very inexpensive option for the Flames. The Flames do two things with this trade...bring in offense and take some salary off the books. They had a lot of money tied up in their defense with Bowmeester, Regier, and Phaneuf. Something had to give. Stajan will be an UFA this summer and White will be a RFA. Stajan will probably be paired up with Iginla and bring some much needed firepower to the top 6.

Brian Burke just added a potential franchise defenseman with this trade. He has coveted Phaneuf for some time now. Some people think Phaneuf is overrated, I disagree. By the end of his career he'll have a few Norris Trophies (award for best defenseman of the year) under his belt. He is a hard hitting, puck moving defenseman. It's not as solid in his own end as you'd like a $6.5 million a year player, but I'd be willing to take him. Toronto lost a lot of firepower, so you wonder how they will address that. My guess is they view this season as a lost cause and they want to evaluate some of their young talent. Maybe they'll address the offense in free agency. They also bring in a good 3rd line winger in Sjostrom. One thing about Brian Burke is he's not shy, I wouldn't expect this to be the last deal they make this year.

Winner: Toronto. Anytime you can add a potential franchise d-man, you do it. Stajan and Hagman are nothing better than second line players. Phaneuf is a #1 d-man. Putting it in perspective it's as if the Sabres traded Derek Roy, Drew Stafford, Henrik Tallinder, and Adam Mair...would I make that trade? In a heartbeat. Mind you that Stajan is an UFA (probably wouldn't re-sign with Toronto). For you Pens fans it would be like the Pens getting rid of Jordan Staal, Pascal Dupuis, Jay McKee, and Craig Adams. Would you make that trade? For Phanuef...I think I would.

Trade 2:

Toronto receives: Jean-Sebastien Giguere (G)
Anaheim receives: Jason Blake (F) and Vesa Toskala

This trade works for both teams. Giguere has never regained his once superstar status he had when he led the Ducks to the finals twice (once in 2003 when he won the Conn Smythe and 2007 when they won the Cup). Who was the GM of the Ducks then? Oh yeah...Brian Burke...what a small world. However if he can return to form and be a #1 goalie (as well as tutor Gustavsson) he will be the solid goaltending they've been searching for since Cujo. The biggest question mark is...can he do this? The biggest risk Toronto is taking on is his salary (which I believe is around $6 million). But it's a doable risk since they have significant cap room right now.

Anaheim adds a scoring winger and a solid #2 goalie. Giguere wanted out and they were able to oblige. Toskala has never lived up to the hype he received while he was with San Jose. Can he be a #1 goalie? I don't know...he definitely didn't prove that in Toronto. But he is a great #2 option, which Anaheim gets to back up recently extended Hiller.

Winner: At first Anaheim is the winner, but if Giguere turns out to be a solid #1 goalie, then it's a push. Anaheim now has a solid #2 goalie (which they had before in Giguere) as well as a scoring winger. That right there makes me believe they have the upper hand at first look with this trade. However, if Giguere can solidify the spot between the pipes, Toronto will never look back regretting this trade and may even come out on top by a slim margin.

Overall I think Toronto did a good job trying to create a core to their roster. In the beginning of the year they added Kessel and now they were able to add a #1 d-man in Phaneuf. They're taking a big of a gamble with Giguere, hoping he returns to form at the ripe old age of 32, but it's an acceptable gamble. They didn't give much up in return. I think they gave up more to bring in Kessel (a top 5, maybe even #1 overall, pick in this upcoming years draft). One thing about Brian Burke is he is not shy about trying to improve his team. You have to respect that. It's clear what he's trying to do. He's establishing a young solid core group of players in Toronto and is going to build around them. He has his sniper and his #1 d-man. I'd say he's off to a good start.

-Brett