Is hockey back or are you just happy to see me?
Okay this is going to be a post about my thoughts on the returning 'new' NHL, but first....I need to bitch about something. I have no problem with people screening their calls, I hate talking on the phone for longer then 3 minutes so I understand where people are comming from when they do this. Now not everybody has call display so some people rely on their answering machines to screen their calls, alright still nothing wrong with that. There is one person however that drives me insane with their call screening, heres the situation:

1)The phone rings
2)They jump up and run to the call display to see who is calling
3)Then they go to the answering machine to see if the person calling has something important to say
4)If they think the call is worth their time they pick up the phone and cut out the answering machine, or they just let you go on and leave a message

Now I know this is what happens because I have been in this person's house and witnessed it more then a few times. And really none of that so far is what bothers me about the whole thing. What angers me on the same level that psycology angers Tom Cruise is that when you call this person, and you know the machine is going to pick up you have to listen to a 5 minute recording before the damn thing lets you talk!!! It plays this person's favorite song, then they read a poem, and then they read the first 15 chapters of the new Harry Potter book, and after listening to all that crap you finally get to leave a message, only to get halfway through it and have them pick up the phone and say 'oh I was just outside and thought I heard the phone'. Fuck you I know what happened!! You're not fooling anyone! GRRRRrrrrrr.....

Wow, I feel much better. I wonder if Gary Betman and Bob Goodenow have messages like that, it would help explain why it took 301 days to get the NHL back. (damn thats a sexy transition)

This is pretty much just a collection of the thoughts I've had this week since hearing the news that the NHL was set to return. First on the agenda is the Sidney Crosby draft lottery. This is exactly what the NHL needs right now, the biggest prospect since Eric 'ow my head' Lindros and he can end up on any of the 30 teams. GMs and team owners are currently selling their souls left and right to get that number one pick. I even heard the Rangers were offering 3 veteran souls plus a rookie and a soul to be named later. The four teams with the best statistical chance to get Crosby are Columbus, New York (Rangers), Buffalo and Pittsburgh. My thoughts on him going to those four are as follows,

Columbus: Crosby and Nash playing together would be just insanity. Especially if they lock them both up long term.
New York: This is where the NHL whats him to end up, a big time player for a big market city. I know they have one of the best shots at getting him, but if the Rangers win the draft no one will be able to convince me that it wasn't rigged. I hate the Rangers and I hope they miss the playoffs for another 10 straight years.
Buffalo: This is one of the teams that I wouldn't mind seeing Crosby go to, I've never been a Sabres fan, but, they've got a young core and a couple Guelph Storm players in their farm system that should see the big time this season so I'll be rooting for them this year.
Pittsburgh: The Penguins are the definition of a team with a young core (well core indicates stability so maybe its the wrong term), under the new system they should have some money to spend, so if they get Sidney and pick up one or two players that can keep up with him they'll be ok.

The biggest question that I have is what Crosby's presence on a team will do in terms of bringing in free agents. Are guys gonna want to get in on this at the ground floor, or is it going to keep guys away based on ego alone (not that its a bad thing to keep those guys away).

Speaking of free agents....damn there sure are a lot of them, and some prety big names too, then add on the star players that are going to be bought out of thier contracts over the weekend and there is going to be some crazy talent moving around. It'll almost be like a real live fantasy pool...almost.

The two player combos that I'm most interested in watching are Naslund/Bertuzzi in Vancouver and Roberts/Nieuwendyk in Toronto. The Canucks have Bertuzzi under contract but their are rumors that he might want out of Vancouver since 'the incident', and if Naslund isn't resigned or goes somewhere else his buddy Big Todd is expected to follow. I'm sure that the Leafs would like to keep Nieuwendyk and Roberts, but with what they're scheduled to be paid it will make it tough to justify keeping to ageing vets when the Leafs need to make sure they hold on to all their youngsters. Now because Gary and Joe are from this area and arn't expected to want to move very far if they are let go that makes Ottawa and Detroit as two possible destinations. The Red Wings were supposed to sign Nieuwendyk back when he first came to Toronto (says me) and I'd still like to see him wearing the winged wheel, even if only for one season. Especially if Yzerman doesn't retire, seeing two of my all-time favorite players in the same uniform on the same ice surface would be beyond kickass (and playing for Team Canada together doesn't count). Sign me up for the first Detroit Nieuwendyk jersey!

My final thought for today concerns how effective this cap really will be. Yes we know that it will limit crazy spending by the big money teams, but lets look at it for a second. Toronto, Detroit and New York are three of the biggest spending teams out there. They also happen to be three of the original 6 teams, and as a result have larger fan bases then most teams. We've seen in the past players signing with a city because they wanted to play with their hometown/favorite childhood team/etc. so now when I guy wants to play in Detroit for example, and they can only offer him a certain amount of money as determined by the cap its not as though another team can sweep in and make him an offer he can't refuse, based on money alone.

Does that make sense? I dunno if I explained it properly, basically I think if it came down to two teams offering the same amount of money to a player teams like Toronto, Detroit, Montreal and New York will have the advantage. Would you rather make 1.2 million playing for one of those teams or get 1.5 million and play with Nashville? Also the Florida and California teams would also have an advantage based on players wanting to live there. Bottom line, St. Louis is going to suck ass....and I'm looking forward too it.

Remember, keep your stick on the ice.

P.S. I think I just set the record for the longest post on this site so far. So heres a new game
- posted by Mike @ 8:51 PM