Plenty of crazy shit happening with the deadline, but there are far better sources to cover that hoopla than here. We'll just hit a couple then move to the carry over from the Olympics. Mostly bullets today folks, still feeling lethargic.- Ray Emery is done for the year with avascular necrosis of the hip. 'What the fuck is that?!' you say. Look at the damn link, that's what's its there for. Basically its a disease that causes loss of blood flow to the bone, in this case the head of the femur, which renders the bone dead. This is the same thing that killed Bo Jackson's double-sport career. Some of the causes are pretty interesting, at least when it comes to Emery, alcoholism, excessive steroid use (also shrinks your balls), sickle cell anemia, lupus, and others or it could be undiagnosable. With regards to the Flyers, can they ride Leighton, or do they go after a cheap replacement like Rolosson?
- Second round picks for defensemen are the new black. 2nd rounder to the Isles for Andy Sutton to Ottawa, another to Edmonton for Denis Grebeshkov being sent to Nashville, and yet another to Florida for Jordan Leopold going to Pittsburgh. There's only 30 of those this year right?
- A few signings took place over the Olympic break, and still on-going, Zidlicky stays with Wild for another three years, Ott's staying in Dallas for another four, Stajan likes Calgary and inked a four year deal with the Sutters', and Rinne won the Nashville job apparently and got a two-year deal.
The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games
Spectacular. And the hockey was even better than that. The perfect matchup materialized for the Gold Medal game and we weren't disappointed in the least. Everything fell into place, Canada won Gold with the poster boy notching the winner, the Americans proved they were better than everyone thought, and we were treated to an amazing tournament of the best in the world. Can't really ask for too much more than that.
Teams
- What the fuck happened to Sweden? Seriously. I kept expecting them to fly under the radar, and then just bash the shit out of someone on the way to the Gold Medal game. It never happened, the Slovaks beat them instead, and sent their Scandinavian asses home. They just did not show up at all.
- Switzerland showed the world that they can compete with the best. Maybe not win, but they can sure give you a run for your money. Hiller is the #1 reason for that, and the Ducks obviously made the right choice. A big, young, athletic kid with a good attitude will have a lot of success even behind a halfway decent team. His teammate Luca Sbisa really plays with a chip on his shoulder, I liked the way he played in that tourney a lot. Where would the Isles be if they didn't have Mark Streit on the blueline? How bad would they be? A seriously underrated defenseman with smart hockey sense.
- The Slovaks were also a nice suprise in the tournament, fighting their way back into a medal game, but giving up the lead in that Bronze Medal game to go fourth. A team with some pretty decent depth, and some star power to boot.
- The Finns got schelacked by the Americans but came back to claim bronze. Again, another team with good depth and a little less star power, but great goaltending. I wonder if Backstrom had replaced Kiprusoff earlier had Suomi had a chance to get back in that game.
- The Russians, oh the Russians. Well they've got motivation for Sochi now right? Actual Russian President Medvedev (not KHL President Medvedev) called off his trip to the games after the loss, and then called for the resignation of Team Russia's coaches and trainers. I miss the old Soviets where they all would have been killed. Kind of depressing to see Ovie be so upset, as he got all Hollywood and knocked a fan's camera out of the way, that guy is always smiles. Goaltending blew it, and again, I wonder if Bryzgalov had gone in sooner that the Russians might have been able to get back in that game. Look for Nabokov to show that same kind of poise for the Sharks in the postseason. He's a dirty Kazakh anyway.
- Ryan Miller should just be awarded the Vezina right now, amiright?! He was incredible, and the reason why the Americans got as far as they did, and beat the Canadians in the round robin. People bashing him for the OT goal are fucking idiots.
- Luongo backstopped Team Canada to Gold, but he will still have his critics. They can't say he never won anything, but they will still be questioning him if he can't deliver for Vancouver in the postseason, you can count on that. But what's the point, he's not going anywhere with that long term deal, and who would you want instead?
- We've already mentioned Hiller, but Halak was also very good for the Slovaks, and a big reason why they were still in it. He's either earned a trade, or smarter for the Habs, an extention. I get the impression that Gauthier's not going to do shit, probably because he doesn't know what to do, so he'll keep both Price and Halak, and let someone else figure it out later when he gets replaced.
- Vokoun played admirably behind a lackadasical Czech team, but it still looks like the Panthers are looking to go in another direction. Vokoun has played well even though his numbers don't show it due to playing for the Cats.
- Lundqvist played well, as always, but proved once again that he can't do it alone, whether its for Sweden or the Rangers.
- Do Burke and Wilson get a little breathing room from the Toronto press for the production in Vancouver? I don't think either of them are in any type of hot seat, Burke's got a plan, and Wilson's part of it, but its not going to happen overnight like everyone expects. Those two can handle the media, but is any credit going to be given where credit is due?
- Speaking of coaching... Can you imagine being on a team coached by Babcock, Lemaire, and Ruff? Or Wilson, Tortorella, and Gordon? Pretty awesome. Wilson and Torts, is that ridiculous or what?! Where the hell does Gordon fit in? He must have been playing the good cop.
- Its a good thing Ryan Getzlaf's got a Gold Medal and a Stanley Cup ring 'cause he's bald as fuck at 24.
- A lot of the stickwork that's been eliminated from the NHL was back in the Olympic game without calls from the refs. Letting the play go was cool, but you see all those hacks at the hands and wrists and you realize how ridiculous it is. Takes a lot of the skill out of the game, and I'm glad to see it gone. Although some of the calls nowadays are brutal.
And who's carrying it over...
Invisible
Chris Pronger
Marty Brodeur
Marty Havlat
Team Sweden
Alex Radulov
Paul Stastny
Phil Kessel
Outstanding
Drew Doughty
Jon Toews
Rick Nash
David Krejci
Mikko Koivu
Jonas Hiller
Pavol Demitra
Zach Parise
Ryan Kesler
2 comments:
Agreed on Miller in that he shouldn't be blamed for the goal; in fact, all of the goals he was pretty much hung out to dry. And it wasn't Rafalski's fault either, b/c he was the first defenseman to the corner. It was the 2nd D's (Suter, I think) fault for not staying at home. We had two D in the corner.
U.S. performance aside, I wasn't as impressed with the hockey at the Olympics, because so many of the teams that were supposed to be solid underperformed (in a big way).
Don't forget to mention the puck that deflected off the ref's skate, a Canadian no less. Three Canadian striped devils in that game.
When the big teams like Russia, Canada, and Sweden sucked, they really sucked. But when the Canadians were hummin' it was awesome to watch.
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