Let me start off by saying, way to Go Ovechkin on the new contract. Reported Deal at 13 years 124 million dollars will see him in red white and blue for a long time. contractually till age 35. This is only the beginning of a precedent. Signing long term as a franchise player. Now we can only hope for the Caps faithful that Ted leonosis keeps going and continues to bring in quality players to play with Ovechkin.
and for the flip side you ask?
this sets a standard for high profile players to demand the most they can squeeze out of a club. players of lesser caliber can begin to demand higher rates as long as they value their service. At a time when post lockout hockey is at its best, do we really need to go back to a system under a cap no less, where we overpay to keep talent? Here's hoping that we dont head down that same path the NHL was at once before.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Ovechkin Inks 13 Year Deal
Yes its true, while everyone was speculating that Ovechkin would leave the caps this summer, he ended up signing a THIRTEEN YEAR contract with them.
It's funny too, because everyone was talking about how he hated Washington and loved Montreal. Well he must love Washington if hes gonna be staying there 13 long years, b/c the caps would be crazy to trade him away before that.
Ill admit.. I thought Ovechkin was already halfway out the door with Washington. What with him holding out on signing, and the caps not willing to give him what he wanted. At the moment I cant seem to find exactly what the deal was worth. (and readers if you find it let me know) but I bet it was a hefty one. Especially for him to agree to stay 13 years.
So am I glad hes staying in Washington? Sure, I mean, it really wouldnt affect me personally either way. But the caps really need to get some better talent to compliment him, or they will never bring a cup to Washington.
It's funny too, because everyone was talking about how he hated Washington and loved Montreal. Well he must love Washington if hes gonna be staying there 13 long years, b/c the caps would be crazy to trade him away before that.
Ill admit.. I thought Ovechkin was already halfway out the door with Washington. What with him holding out on signing, and the caps not willing to give him what he wanted. At the moment I cant seem to find exactly what the deal was worth. (and readers if you find it let me know) but I bet it was a hefty one. Especially for him to agree to stay 13 years.
So am I glad hes staying in Washington? Sure, I mean, it really wouldnt affect me personally either way. But the caps really need to get some better talent to compliment him, or they will never bring a cup to Washington.
Friday, January 4, 2008
NHL MUSINGS
Welcome to my first Post For Hockey Grinder. I Will use these as an editorial to share with you my thoughts on various happenings in the NHL and for that matter Hockey all around the world.
Today's Post Jan 4, 2008
As some of our west coast fans know, Evgeni Nabokov currently sits at 40 games. Personally I think it would be incredible for a goalie in today's game to play a full season, brings back memories of old time hockey and 1 goalie per team. With stats like 40 games played, 20-12 , 5 shutouts, with a 2.02 GAA, he is doing a phenomenal job between the pipes for the sharks. The Problem I have however is the Sharks are perennial playoff losers. regardless of how impressive playing a full season is you have to raise the issue of health concerns. Nothing compares with winning the Stanley Cup, and if the Sharks were smart they would worry more about their playoff inconsistency than personal records.
Jeff @ HockeyGrinder.Com
Today's Post Jan 4, 2008
EVGENI NABOKOV - and the 82 Game Quest.
As some of our west coast fans know, Evgeni Nabokov currently sits at 40 games. Personally I think it would be incredible for a goalie in today's game to play a full season, brings back memories of old time hockey and 1 goalie per team. With stats like 40 games played, 20-12 , 5 shutouts, with a 2.02 GAA, he is doing a phenomenal job between the pipes for the sharks. The Problem I have however is the Sharks are perennial playoff losers. regardless of how impressive playing a full season is you have to raise the issue of health concerns. Nothing compares with winning the Stanley Cup, and if the Sharks were smart they would worry more about their playoff inconsistency than personal records.
Jeff @ HockeyGrinder.Com
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Ballsy Bettman, as stupid as everyone says?
I was reading the news paper today at work, and in the sports section,they were saying that the NHL had some of the best ratings in over 10 years for the Winter Classic. It even beat the broadcast of Gretzkys last game back in '99. In my opinion that speaks volumes. Especially being that it was played on the same day as all of the college football bowls. I'm willing to bet the ratings for the Winter Classic game would have been even higher if they were to broadcast it on a different day.
However I am glad that Bettman decided to put the game on New Years Day. I believe that was a ballsy move on his behalf. Instead of catering to the other bigger and more popular events , he probably said to himself, 'You know what, I'm going to put this on a HUGE college football game day and i bet we still would get great ratings', and sure enough they did.
Supposidly, there are a lot of people that thought it was stupid that the NHL refused to let the mother of sports channels,ESPN, broadcast the games exclusively on ESPN2. They inevidably got the channel, Versus, to broadcast it. There were people that said Bettman was an idiot and that ESPN would never want to put NHL games on there stations. I don't know if anyone knows this or not, but ESPN is talking with the league now and they're trying to get the NHL back on there network!
Not to mention after the lockout seasons, they introduced the shootout. I know some people still don't like the idea of a skill competition to determine the winner of a game. But lets face it, ending a competitive game such as hockey in a tie was not fun to watch. In my opinion, there is nothing more unappealing than a game ending in a tie. Put it this way, you pay all that money to get the tickets, park probably a mile away from the arena, get a beer or two and you don't even get to see a set winner at the end of the game!
Now I know many of you may HATE Bettman with a passion. But you have to admit, he made some good decisions as of lately. And slowly but surely he seems to be attracting new fans to the sport. Surely, even he can not please every person.But look at the facts. The NHL is doing a lot better than it was a few years ago. I think it's a pretty gutsy move to try and tweak the league around to make it better but any change for the better is good. So the next time someone starts to run their mouth about how bad Bettman is at doing his job, think about how the league has improved over the past few years, and just imagine how much better it could get.
However I am glad that Bettman decided to put the game on New Years Day. I believe that was a ballsy move on his behalf. Instead of catering to the other bigger and more popular events , he probably said to himself, 'You know what, I'm going to put this on a HUGE college football game day and i bet we still would get great ratings', and sure enough they did.
Supposidly, there are a lot of people that thought it was stupid that the NHL refused to let the mother of sports channels,ESPN, broadcast the games exclusively on ESPN2. They inevidably got the channel, Versus, to broadcast it. There were people that said Bettman was an idiot and that ESPN would never want to put NHL games on there stations. I don't know if anyone knows this or not, but ESPN is talking with the league now and they're trying to get the NHL back on there network!
Not to mention after the lockout seasons, they introduced the shootout. I know some people still don't like the idea of a skill competition to determine the winner of a game. But lets face it, ending a competitive game such as hockey in a tie was not fun to watch. In my opinion, there is nothing more unappealing than a game ending in a tie. Put it this way, you pay all that money to get the tickets, park probably a mile away from the arena, get a beer or two and you don't even get to see a set winner at the end of the game!
Now I know many of you may HATE Bettman with a passion. But you have to admit, he made some good decisions as of lately. And slowly but surely he seems to be attracting new fans to the sport. Surely, even he can not please every person.But look at the facts. The NHL is doing a lot better than it was a few years ago. I think it's a pretty gutsy move to try and tweak the league around to make it better but any change for the better is good. So the next time someone starts to run their mouth about how bad Bettman is at doing his job, think about how the league has improved over the past few years, and just imagine how much better it could get.
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