Thrashers

By GaVaHokie

February 23, 2007 03:20 PM | Link to this

I think the prices are definitely falling now that Anson Carter went for a 5th round pick… Chicago has to be really p** off, since they’ve had so much interest in Smolinski. They’re certainly not going to get much for him now.

By michael

February 23, 2007 03:23 PM | Link to this

Our franchise has had a need for defensmen sinsce our inception. Wadell is just now realizing our defense needs help?

Rucchin Sucks!

By Russ

February 23, 2007 03:23 PM | Link to this

Was there ever a time this season when a center was a bigger need than a defenseman??? What am I missing. The only thing I can think of is that Waddell has finally admitted he has no clue how to evaluate defensemen, so he has just given up and is going to try to win as many 6-5 games as he can down the stretch.

By Midfield

February 23, 2007 04:09 PM | Link to this

Let’s be clear about Thrashers defense: the revelation this year is that Havelid (our trusted #1 D-man) is having a “career” bad year - probably for personal reasons, to be fair. Nobody on this blog could have predicted this and nobody did. Other than him, I’d rather see Vish in the line-up than senior citizen Devo, but - I imagine - there is no takers for the latter.

By Brendan

February 23, 2007 04:14 PM | Link to this

Midfield, Havelid’s also been played to death. Anyone got a handle on his TOI? I haven’t checked, but it’s got to be high. He’s 33 and can probably can handle it, but I would think that “fatigue becomes a factor” at a certain point. Havelid is our best defenseman. And he’s good defenseman. Is he a Top Pairing, #1 guy on another team? Hmmn. Maybe not. But he is the best we’ve got and Hartley will continue to ride him from now ‘til elimination. Whenever that may be.

By Craig is the consummate professional

February 23, 2007 04:16 PM | Link to this

We are happy to see you posting again. It is rather professional of you to say that you are not in competition. But what perspective does that other guy (iceman?) bring? He is not a fan of the game and that leads to him taking time off. I know others don’t like that he only posts randomly and that puts him in the Schultz category. That and it gets confusing for us who want to read the latest comments from others as well as what you, the only professional hockey writer, has to say. Thank you very much for the news.

I notice that there are clubs here. One club is lead by Bob (with Brendan & Sage and some others) that think Waddell is making all the wrong moves. Then there is this other club lead by Ranollo (with Brian and GaVaHokie and some others) who think that the right moves are being made. I just want to form the club that says I want great hockey coverage in this town, not from a couple of part time guys who don’t even watch the game.

Bob: Waddell is a horrible GM

Ranollo: JPVJ sucks

All: Long live Craig Custance!

By Brendan

February 23, 2007 04:21 PM | Link to this

Russ, you’ve been calling for a blueliner all year. And been right about all year. Havelid is just one guy. And he’s been asked to log the lion’s share of the minutes all year. Sutton was having a good early portion of the season, until his injury. He has not been the force he was earlier. So now, more than ever, the Thrashers must look to a D-man to help our goalies. Compare our GA from October to what we surrendered in February.

So, Boynton or Brewer? Brewer is cheaper and would allow some shot at a center. I was tempted by Petr Sykora, but I don’t think that’s the way to go, either.

By Russ

February 23, 2007 04:34 PM | Link to this

Brendan, I just responded to you on “the biggest game ever” blog. I agree Brewer would be a nice pick-up as well. I don’t know that I really would have a preference between the two. Brewere is unrestricted at the end of the season, right? If the Thrashers were to trade for him I would hope they would gauge the possibility of signing him beyond this season before they pull the trigger.

By Brendan

February 23, 2007 04:43 PM | Link to this

Good lord, I don’t think Don Waddell has made ALL the wrong moves. I don’t think he was fleeced in the Vishnevski trade, for example. I thought Waddell’s offseason strategy of “TEAM DEFENSE” was actually a good one. And it worked, in October and November. And parts of December. Then things started happening, like Sutton being injured, then McCarthy, then “X” had mono. And so forth.

Now, I freely admit I do criticize Don Waddell. But not EVERYTHING is his fault. I gave him credit for the offseason moves I thought were right. Some of them were right and others that I gave him credit for, turned out to be not-so-good. But at the time, it made sense. Like moving Modry and Stefan for Kapanen. Tell me, honestly, how you didn’t see moving Modry as a top priority last Summer??

Liar, liar. Pants on fire. If you said you were ANGRY Don traded him. We all danced the jig! In hindsight, I’d rather have Stefan than Kapanen, and pay the difference, even if it did cost a qualifying offer of $1.1 million. I said Waddell’s acqusition of Hedberg was a steal at a cap hit of $1.0 million. I still think so. I think he got a fantastic bargain on Jon Sim, for $610K. I thought signing Brathwaite couldn’t hurt, as insurance, considering what we endured last season. I said getting Vishnevski was probably the best Waddell could do for a blueline addition during the offseason.

How does this translate into “Don makes all the wrong moves?” If anything, Waddell has shown signs of improvement. But I’m not gonna sit here and tell you that I think Don is an upper echelon GM. If you were waiting for that, I hope you’re not holding your breath. (We’d be calling in the paramedics.) But not everything he does is wrong … or his fault. And I praised him for NOT GETTING Forsberg. Even though we now know he wouldn’t have come here if we’d promised him, or the Flyers GM, the moon and stars. But at least Don made an inquiry. The price was too high, anyway. We don’t know where our 1st round pick might wind up being? Could be inside the top 15. Might be as high as the early to mid-20’s. And those picks and players would belong to a Conference rival: Philadelphia.

Seems like a lot of risk just for Forsberg, a guy who might play all of nine (9) games for Nashville before getting hurt. The Preds put him in the shootout last night in a “must score” situation, and he fumbled badly. Now, obviously, Forsberg is a good player, when healthy. That’s the whole point of Nashville’s gamble. And it might pay off for them. Well, it also made a lot more sense for Nashville to get Forsberg than for Atlanta, as this juncture.

I just want to be clear that if, outside, it started raining. And the temperature DROPPED such that it began to snow. And the snow melted. Then later froze to ice during the night. That I don’t hold Don Waddell responsible for that. I like to think I have a modicum of “fairness” about what is and isn’t Don’s fault. I hang ‘em on his draft acumen. Because it’s well-deserved. But I lauded for the McCarthy acquisition last season, and the responsible manner in which he was re-signed. Sorry for the long post. I’m trying to be better about that.

By Brendan

February 23, 2007 04:44 PM | Link to this

Russ, I agree that it would be better to try to retain Brewer, than to lose him as a rental upon the conclusion of the season.

By Chris

February 23, 2007 04:46 PM | Link to this

Midfield brings up a good point I had forgotten - Havelid’s struggles could be related to the early season off-ice issues. At least that would be an explanation. His TOI can’t be significantly higher than it was last year so I’m not sure that is part of the problem. But I think that his play has been a hidden problem all year that has only recently become more evident. Last year’s Havelid seemed to win every puck battle - but he just doesn’t seem to this year. For a guy whose game has always seemed to be on a positioning/cerebral level more than brute force or blinding skill, it would make sense that off ice issues were impacting him.

By GaVaHokie

February 23, 2007 04:56 PM | Link to this

Brewer isn’t going anywhere… St. Louis is going to keep him.

If you don’t like Sutton taking stupid penalties, you sure as hell won’t like Boynton’s penalty minutes.

Midfield… Vishnevski is gone, forget about it. He was terrible…completely unaccountable.

By GaVaHokie

February 23, 2007 04:59 PM | Link to this

There are plenty of names out there that can help this team without having to overspend for Forsberg, Guerin and Tkachuk.

If we can go out and make a last minute trade, give up a 4th or 5th round pick to get Smolinski, Derek Morris, Aaron Miller, Josef Stumpel, etc. this team will be better for it (this year and next).

By mb

February 23, 2007 05:10 PM | Link to this

Brendan, have you heard that Boynton is on the market? If so, and IF you can retain him for multiple years, you have to consider him. I think that Don has shown trying to build a defense on the cheap just doesn’t work that well.

I also saw a report that some 17 scouts were at the Blackhawks game, many watching their young dman Seabrook. I haven’t seen him play, but hear that he should end up being very good, top 1 or 2.

The fact is that Havelid is not a #1 dman. On average, he is our best, but he’s been underperforming for months now. Imagine, though, if he was the lead for our second pairing, with a “true” #1 leading the first pairing. Intriguing, eh?

Quite a few quality dmen hit free agency this summer, including: Pitkanen, Hannan, Philips (OTT), Preissing, Numminen, Whitney, Ballard, Schultz (MIN), Markov, Leopold, Sydor, Rafalski, Lukowich, Salo (VAN), Krajicek (VAN), Timonen, Brewer, and Sarich.

So there’s quality out there…the question is will DW bring it here.

By GaVaHokie

February 23, 2007 05:12 PM | Link to this

Craig, if you put Tkachuk on the cover of the sports page with “Atlanta-Bound” over top of it again, I’ll hunt you down, buddy!

You almost gave me a heart attack!

By Brendan

February 23, 2007 05:12 PM | Link to this

By the way, did anyone catch Bernie Mullin on 680TheFan this morning? He seemed to suggest that all that was needed was “agreement by the owners” to make a deadline deal. And added that “only once has a contract Don or Billy put forth been rejected.” (That being the Joe Johnsonson, for the Hawks.) I got the impression that there was a deal in the pipeline. Bernie said, “We have cap room. Not unlimited, mind you, but enough to make a deal.” Maybe that’s not an EXACT quote. I paraphrased it a bit. But that was the gist of it.

By Brian

February 23, 2007 05:17 PM | Link to this

Brendan, I too have a big complaint here. Not that your reply was too long (I have come to expect that) but how did I become Ranollo10’s #2 man???? GaVaHokie - shouldn’t we be allowed to vote on this first?

Ok seriously, I actually do want DW to make a trade. GaVaHokie, I would love any of those guys to come here, but would you say no to Tkachuk or Guerin?

Chris - nice point on Havelid having off ice mental distractions.

By GaVaHokie

February 23, 2007 05:24 PM | Link to this

Brian, depends on what’s involved… I’d love to have Guerin here for sure. He’s played with Holik in NJ and Niko Kapanen in Dallas.

If it entails giving up a first round pick and Boris Valabik or Brian Little, heck no… we’ll get Stumpel for a 4th rounder instead.

By David

February 23, 2007 05:33 PM | Link to this

With all the talk about defenseman…has anybody else besides myself been EXTREMELY impressed with X’s play the last week or so? Big hits, great positional play, great stick work, good reads…His play has really picked up and that makes me oh so happy. Havelid just seems…who knows. I’d keep the top two d man pairings the same. They are working just fine to be honest. I think if we’re going to improve the d it needs to be with Hnidy’s spot. He’s been consistent thisyear, but not great. We could use another solid d man.

Oh, and how bout the Kovy/Slater combo. That was some of the best work i’ve seen from Kovy in the offensive zone in a long time (off the puck).

Last thought - the need for a dman is obvious, in my opinion. I wouldn’t mind getting Keith T. either though. It’s not going to hurt your club. Especially down the stretch. Question is how does that change your team’s chemistry? And that I don’t know.

By Brendan

February 23, 2007 05:33 PM | Link to this

MB, I was responding to Russ on Boynton. So no. I have not heard that Boynton’s being shopped. At $2.9 million, I don’t know that he’s the way to go. That seems a bit high. Then again, how DOES one find cheap defensemen?? Especially at the trade deadline, or in free agency. Arbitration has NOT been a friend to GM’s since the lockout.

By Daniel

February 23, 2007 05:34 PM | Link to this

Latest rumor is that Guerin is going to the Isles. Also anyone heard about Chi-town dangling Seabrook? Up and coming defensemen, do you think a Brian Little for Brent Seabrook trade straight up would work? The hawks reportedly want a center in return.

By Tony C.

February 23, 2007 05:35 PM | Link to this

I’d rather see Guerin than Tkachuk. One is fast. The other is not. Both go to the net. One has been to the conference finals and beyond. One has gotten to the playoffs and ducked out in the quarters or semis.

I think that if you look at it Guerin is the clear move to make.

But I’m not nearly as smart as some of these other guys.

Also- a 5th-round pick for Carter? That’s good news! Makes the “market” a whole lot more reasonable than the Foppa deal. Still I’m sure Bill Guerin would cost a lot.

Tough loss last night. I hope we do not re-sign Sutton this summer. And whoever mentioned Seabrook-the few times I have seen him play, I thought he looked pretty darn good especially considering he has only been in the legue 2 years or so.

LET’S GO BLUE !!!

By Brendan

February 23, 2007 05:42 PM | Link to this

I am “working on it,” Brian. Truly, I am. See how short this post was?

By Brendan

February 23, 2007 05:51 PM | Link to this

Tony C., I doubt Waddell will re-sign Sutton. Unless Sutton agrees to take less. And what are the odds of that happening?

I don’t want Tkachuk or Guerin. Too old. Too slow. I’d agree with Russ, first and foremost, get a D-man. A real name. A real find. But not Adam Foote, either. He’s still got time left at $4.6 million. Or thereabouts. I think Brewer might be our best option. But I’m not really sure. At least I’m not hearing Brian Leetch’s name being circulated anymore. (Shhh Brendan, shut up! Shut up!!)

By Brian

February 23, 2007 05:55 PM | Link to this

Let me throw this out there…

For all the crying about our drafting, it seems we have a number of prospects that we can give up. We all know about Coburn & Popovic, we have mentioned Sterling, Valabik & Bourret in the past, now we are talking about Little & Seabrook. We also have the G in the QMJHL, Andrej Pavlec maybe?, Sharrow is going to be good. I know there are a couple that haven’t come up yet that we have as well.

Why all the complaining about our drafting when we have so many young prospects?

Now let me say this… With Buffalo looking like it is on an injury collapse and knowing that we can play with TB & NJ with our CURRENT roster, do we have to settle for just 1 D or just 1 forward? I am starting to rethink that with the exception of Pit’s late surge, maybe we can make some real noise this year. I don’t know. Wouldn’t it be something if we pulled off a whole coup of non-rentals and still had the system half stocked?

By mb

February 23, 2007 05:59 PM | Link to this

Thanks for the clarification, Brendan. In answer to your other question, DW is quite good at finding cheap defensemen…now if he could just find a way to fit the word “good” in there. And some might question if he’s even good at finding cheap ones.

Tony C., thanks for the thoughts on Seabrook…they’re right in line with what I’ve heard. It’s hard to imagine the Thrashers with a stalwart young defenseman to anchor the blueline for a few years, but one can hope.

David, yes, X has been impressive of late, and Kovy, who turns just 24 in a couple of months, is taking great strides in terms of becoming a complete player. Seeing Hossa and Kozzy (who needs to shoot more) night in and night out must be having an effect.

Finally, does JP Dellacamera actually watch the games, or is he distracted by something else? Soooo many miscalls.

By Brian

February 23, 2007 06:00 PM | Link to this

Brendan - obviously I was joking in that post, I hope you can tell by some of the things I was saying. But I do appreciate it.

Tony C - see my last post. What if we got a combo of Guerin or Tkachuk but with Smolinski and Brewer. Heck, throw in Stumpel for a draft pick. You’re right, I’m dreaming.

If we can play with TB last night as close as we did, what if we get those couple players. Not to mention, if we get the other GM to take a DeVries & Sutton, talk about addition by subtraction!

By Brendan

February 23, 2007 06:18 PM | Link to this

Brian, if Don could pull off “non-rentals” and still keep what is considered to be the “best of what we’ve got” in the system, then I’m ALL FOR IT!! But that seems easier said than done. I wouldn’t want to throw away prospects that are still “young enough” to materialize into something good. But this team’s been drafting since 1999. Those ‘99-‘02 picks should be in the NHL today, or able to be called up to play in the NHL today. Where are they? Yes, Exelby. Fine. And it was shame about Pasi Nurminen. I liked him, too. But c’mon.

MB, I got a good chuckle out of your “good D-man” post. I wonder if Mark Popovic isn’t one that will be “good and cheap?” He’s inexpensive “depth.” I even think “X” can be re-signed on the cheap. There’ll be those who say, “even at a discount, he’s not ‘new NHL’ material.” I kinda like “X.” I hope we keep him one more year to evaluate him. He can always be traded, later on, as “sweetener” in some other deal. I think Don will re-sign Exelby. He did draft him, after all. (Usually, that counts for something.) McCarthy, for the money, seems pretty good. And every team needs expensive depth along the blueline. But, likewise, they also need two TOP PAIRING d-men to carry the load.

By B. Thenet

February 23, 2007 06:32 PM | Link to this

Before we get a new D man, why not give the ones we have more responsibilities.

I think Hnidy and McCarthy would make a good top line D pairing for the next couple of games. Hnidy is having a career year, and McCarthy has stepped up his play just like he did last spring.

By Tony C.

February 23, 2007 06:42 PM | Link to this

Listen.

X is the best blueliner we have right now his decision-making process has improved drasticaly since we first saw him get a regular gig with the team. He shouldn’t be too terribly expensive…because he does seem to go on IR at least once a season, at least it wasn’t an actual injury this year (mono?? gotta stay away from those floozies at luby’s dude!). Plus, watch the games-the other guys notice when #2 is on the ice. The casual entry plays get tightened up considerably. Now he isn’t at the Scotty Stevens/Darrien Hatcher/Adam Foote level of intimidation right now, but if he continues to improve his game, that will come. Right now, he’s viewed as one of the top 3 if not the best open-ice hitters in the league yeah. Scouting central rates him high. real high. But it’s just in that area. So you have a one-dimensional strength area…still I’d say you could lock him up for reasonable money for a long time. Plus he’s a fan favorite-I mean how many of us (myself not the least) pump up the guy?

Out of all our UFA D-men, I’d like to see us keep him. That’s it. Everyone else can hit the bricks. Maybe Hnidy-but it’d have to be right financially. It’ll be interesting to see-there’s a LOT of room created by the mass of UFA’s this summer. I really think that outside of Slava-Matic and X I would let them all walk if I were in DW’s shoes. But I’m not. I do hope that we re-sign Exelby.

P.S. Scotty Gomez or Pavel Datsyuk? That’s the question this summer….and just for all of you who didn’t quite get it…I’m talking about a bidding war with DC over Datsyuk this summer…no way the deadwings would deal him…unless it was for oh say Sidney Crosby

LET’S GO BLUE !!!

By Tony C.

February 23, 2007 06:46 PM | Link to this

Yeah.. I agree I thought that Hnidy’s play when Suttsy went down was revelatory. I had hoped he would be rewarded with more minutes even after big 25’s return…but no.

Although I have noticed hiBob has ut Hnidy and McCarthy out there in closing minutes lately…this may be a sign of things to come especially after Sutton’s gaffe in OT last night

By Ryan

February 23, 2007 07:44 PM | Link to this

Tkachuk will probably be in Atlanta, whatever at this point. Guerin is the one teams are gong to try and get and Atlanta isn’t even in the hunt.

Brian I am glad to see that your one post was truly sarcastic…I was scratching my head.

By Brian

February 23, 2007 11:03 PM | Link to this

Ryan - if you are referring to the post I think you are, you have to read the whole string. Someone posted something about there being different clubs, i.e. schools of thought on this blog. At least that’s how I interpreted it. Brendan posted a reply to it and then I replied to Brendan in the sarcastic manner that you refer to. Well really, am I Ranollo10’s #2 man? And where do guys like Russ, Hip Czech, Rawhide, TonyC, Russian & Midfield fit in? Ok, sarcasm again.

I want to be the head of the club that says bench Sutton. And if anyone says how he blocks soooo many shots you can’t join the new club. I’m not sure if that was sarcasm or not…

By j nes

February 24, 2007 12:08 AM | Link to this

David and Tony nailed it—X is our best asset on D right now. Dollar for Dollar, I would say he is the best value in the league at 684k a year. Even if you take away his devastating physical play, the guy skates well, uses his reach, and makes up for Devo’s lack of skills.

David-great minds must think alike because I was also thrilled with the new Kovy/Slater/Sim line (cant forget Sim). Kovy needs linemates that can keep up with him, otherwise he is holding back or trying to do it all by himself. Unfortunately Kappanen, although speedy, can’t win a puck battle if his life depended on it. Kap is the weakest link on the team and I can’t wait to see him go. I love the corny names attributed to line combos so I have come up with one for the new Kovalchuck line. How bout the KiSS line for Keep It Simple Speedy—also KSS for Kovy/Slater/Sim As far as the approaching trade deadline goes, I would like to see Smolinski in blue. He has 3 shorthanded goals this year—that’s how I want to see the Thrashers kill a penalty. He can also contribute on the PP. For 1.5 mil I think he is worth it. The Canes picked up some extra offense and leadership with Recchi last year and that worked out well for them.

By dj

February 24, 2007 12:20 AM | Link to this

I might agree that I don’t want Tkachuk but by god he’s better then everyone except for kozy, kovy, and hoss. Why not take him? Even better, Brewer and Tkachuk for 1st round, 3rd round, and 2 roster players (If God loves me it would be JPVJ and Sutton/devries) You but Tkachuk on the ice with kovy and slater, you got enough speed to forecheck, a shooter, a guy who can get the puck on the boards and in front of the net, I think that would be a great line. Then move sim down with holik nad larsen and that’s a better line. A man can dream

By LAC

February 24, 2007 07:35 AM | Link to this

Well, waddell has LIED… He said after the GM meeting, and was quoted in AJC… Teams want only high draft picks and top prospects.

Well… the Carter to Carolina was a 5th rounder… Gee COULD WE PLEASE… send waddell to somebody for a 10th rounder, would be an improvement…

Carolina has a PRO-ACTIVE GM, who is willing to make moves the CORRECT moves to improve his team and HE HAS THE CUP !

But we are STUCK and I mean STUCK with this clown of a GM we have…He has already been taken on the Vish deal and I am SO tired of seeing sutton lose the puck, get skated around and he is SO SLOW it is awful, HE should have been traded, NOT Vish.

How many more wavier claims will OLD don make… gee Hemel is really doing great here isn’t he ???

Why we do not dump colburn is beyond me, this guy is not and never will be a good NHL defenseman, is needs to move out, plus an assortment of others who we all know and mention.

Why some of those guys in Chicago are not here on a line is AMAZING… if they can score there, then they could at the very least be very productive here, but our STUPID GM will not allow that.

Lloyality is great, but winning is front and center, and this team is on year 7 of the great 5 year plan…

I only hope that year 8 of the 5 year plan has us having a Professional GM in place to help the team grow, rather than be stagnet as we have for the last 7 !

By Dave

February 24, 2007 09:16 AM | Link to this

Hey, does anyone care that the Bruins just swept the season series with Tampa Bay? Thank you very much! Some teams just can’t match up with others, it is the craziest of things in the NHL. Every team has it’s own nightmare club to play.

By Ohio Thrasher

February 24, 2007 10:01 AM | Link to this

Carter was a massive disappointment in c’bus. They wanted a case of Molson for him but carolina wouldnt give it up.

By BG 33Brown

February 24, 2007 10:22 AM | Link to this

MB, you think Kovy is becoming “a more complete player.” To quote Mr. Hand, “are you on dope.” Kovy is the Sammy Sosa of hockey. He has a great shot. And when no one is looking he will occasionally hit someone. He has cost us more losses with his awful play on the point than Waddell has.

By mb

February 24, 2007 12:21 PM | Link to this

BG, what I said is that he is taking great strides in terms of becoming a complete player. We all know that he makes plenty of mistakes, some of them costly…but it’s hard to ignore the difference in his effort and his play this season as compared to previous years.

Will he ever put it all together? I don’t know, probably doubtful…but I give the guy credit for putting forth the effort throughout the season, even when his offense has slumped.

Now I’ll go back to learnin’ about Cuba, havin’ some food.

By Thrashers27

February 24, 2007 12:48 PM | Link to this

I know it’s a little off topic, but I saw some “Goalie Fight” photos on SI.com that made me miss good, ole Pasi Nurminen. Man that guy had some fire and was fun to watch! We could use a little of that right now. The guys we have now are great, but it would be nice to have him around.

Go Thrashers!

By Thrashers27

February 24, 2007 12:56 PM | Link to this

Forgot the link.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0702/gallery.nhl.goalie.fights/content.1.html

By Brendan

February 24, 2007 01:40 PM | Link to this

Can you believe the Islanders are still in it? I’m watching the Isles-Habs game. Isles are winning. I have to admit they have a clever PR campaign going. Still can’t get used to seeing Billy Jaffe with another organization.

Anywho, as I gazed at the standings and thought about the GM convention down in Naples, I couldn’t help but think of two things. 1) Did they get smart and talk about how high salaries should go this Summer? 10-goal scorers are now making an alarming amount of money. And it’ll only get worse, if these GM’s don’t get ahold of it soon. The lessons of the lockout have apparently not been learned. And arbitration isn’t their “friend” anymore. And 2) the revised point (3-point win) allocation rejection was the right thing to do. I don’t think it should matter WHEN a game is won, but rather that it is won. I feel the same way about losing. It shouldn’t matter WHEN the game is lost. A game’s value should be worth … one game. You play 82 of them. Hopefully, you win 50 or so.

As I look at the Pacific division, imagine if my “W-L, games up, games back” idea had passed? Anaheim, instead of being in 1st place, would be in 3rd place. And trailing by 3.5 games. Instead, “NHL-style,” they lead San Jose by 3-points.

Remember when this blog all but held a “coronation ceremony” for the Anaheim Ducks in December? Well, they were 25-2-3 at the time. Since then, they are 10-15-7. And a lot of their injured guys are back, and have been, for a while. Still think the Ducks are a “lock” to win the Cup this year?