HockeyGrinder.com

Pens Playing Better Without Sid?

2008-02-22T00:34:00.000-08:00

Yes call me crazy....

I honestly beleive the Pens have been playing better since Crosby went on the shelf due to injury. To me it seems that this team has been acting as that...a team. It seems to me that they rely to much on the captain. With him injured it seems everyone has stepped up which is really nice to see for coaches and the players alike. I mean dont get me wrong, it will be nice to have Crosby back again. Maybe once hes back this team will still continue the way they play maybe they will make a run at the cup.

Later,
Mike

Jagr says he's got lots of hockey left

2008-02-20T15:53:00.000-08:00

Link
The numbers suggest that five-time NHL scoring champion Jaromir Jagr is a player in decline, but the New York Rangers star winger says he isn't done yet.
The goals and points aren't coming for the 35-year-old with the regularity they did through most of his first 16 seasons in the NHL, when the gifted Czech winger was one of the league's brightest stars and most dangerous scoring threats.
The New York Rangers captain went into a game Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens without a goal and with only three assists in his previous 11 games.
"I still believe in myself," Jagr said. "When you're not scoring, you want to do a little extra and maybe later it will help me.

I am a firm believer that Jagr really Does have alot of hockey left to play. He just might not be fitting into the Rangers new system, which does happen. An example being Mark Rechhi, who was struggling to get any points in Pittsburgh, but when traded to Atlanta, seemed to do alot better. I think Jagr would do alot better on a different team. Which team? im not too sure. But I know Jagr would agree with me that a 1 season slump is nothing to be concerened about.

Lidstrom out 3 weeks

2008-02-20T15:31:00.000-08:00

DETROIT – The Red Wings learned on Wedneday that they’ll be without their captain and five-time Norris Trophy winning defenseman Lidstrom for at least three weeks as a result of the thunderous hit he took Monday in Denver.With a black metal brace covering his right knee, Lidstrom met with reporters following the Red Wings’ practice Wednesday afternoon at Joe Louis Arena.

The team also announced that they have placed goalie Dominik Hasek and defenseman on injured reserve, while calling up forward Mark Hartigan and defenseman Jonathan Ericsson from Grand Rapids.
Link

I really dont think Detroit is going to be able to keep winning games as they have in the beggining of the season with all of these key players injured. Keep in mind they just lost six in a row with Lidstrom in the lineup. Hopefully everyone can step it up and push through these injuries.

Neckguards Mandatory. To be or not to be?

2008-02-12T16:11:00.000-08:00

As many of you know that haven’t been living under a rock these past few days. On Sundays Florida Panthers game against the Buffalo Sabres, Richard Zednik of Fla got is neck sliced open by Teammate Olli Jokinens skate in a freak accident in the middle of the third period. As of today his condition has been upgraded from stable to good condition.

Which brings us to ask ourselves, should neck guards me mandatory? I personally don’t think so. Although I do think people should wear them, it’s really up to the individual to be a safe or responsible person. It really pisses me off though when people say stupid things like “Its rules like that, that are making the NHL a Pansy sport”. I’m sorry but these are real people with families that depend on them, playing these sports. There not just here to get them selves killed for your entertainment. They are playing a very tough and dangerous sport and they should try to be as safe about it as possible.

But if you look at it from another prospective, people once thought helmets were a dumb idea. Same thing goes for goalie masks. And the list could go on and on. So you never know, maybe 20 years from now people will be thinking what a dumb idea it was that players used to never wear neck guards.

NHL Musings: Alexander O Cashed In Inks Insane deal

2008-01-10T19:52:00.000-08:00

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.

Ovechkin Inks 13 Year Deal

2008-01-10T19:39:00.000-08:00

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.

NHL MUSINGS

2008-01-04T18:09:00.000-08:00

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

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

Ballsy Bettman, as stupid as everyone says?

2008-01-03T15:24:00.000-08:00

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.

my opinion on the 08-09 schedule format

2007-12-28T18:50:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, in the 08-09 season the schedule will be a little different than the past seasons. If you are not familiar with what i am talking about, it will go like this.
Teams will play each club in their division six times, a total of 24 games, and the 10 other clubs in their conference four times, a total of 40 games.The remaining 18 games in the 82-game schedule will involve each club playing all 15 clubs in the other conference at least once, home or away. The three remaining games will be devoted to inter-conference “at-large” scheduling.

In my opinion, i think this is a great idea. Don't get me wrong i love a good rivalry, but i don't think the teams need to be playing everyone in there respected divisions 8 times each, and then NEVER playing some teams in the other conference. I mean c'mon there 82 freaking games in the regular season, you mean it took them THIS long to realize that its a bit strange that you don't play every team at least once?

So I for one am glad and excited for the new schedule format next year. disagree? tell me why

Ovechkin isn't leaving Washington

2007-12-22T19:09:00.000-08:00

Though there has been much speculation on Ovechkins future in Washington I can almost garuntee that he wont be leaving. The Capitals have plenty of cap space for when it comes time to re-sign him. They also have seven months until he becomes an RFA. The bottom line is Alex isnt heading anywhere unless he asks to be traded, but he seems happy in Washington so I see no reason for him to want to leave. In my opinion this team will become a serious Eastern Conference threat in a few years. Thats all for now. Until Next time...See Ya

Mike