Flames Form Heat
Late last week the Flames sent 14 players down to the minors to form the better portion of the Abbotsford Heat. The list included 2008 2nd round pick Mitch Wahl who impressed in his limited time with the big club. When Matt Stajan went down with an injury, Wahl took full advantage and had two assists in his one pre-season game in Vancouver. Wahl needs more seasoning, but something tells me Calgary fans will be seeing Wahl at some point this season wearing the Flaming C. The cupboard isn’t totally dry at least.
Pre Season Rules
Was anyone else at the Lightning vs. Flames pre-season tilt on Saturday night? Did anyone else notice that the goalpost was clearly off its mooring for almost the entire length of the power play, including when TJ Brodie scored his second of the night? After the referee signalled a goal, he sheepishly noticed the net was clearly dislodged. I thought it was a bit odd that the goal was not more widely refuted, even if it is just pre-season. The referee talked to Lecavalier, the puck was dropped, and the play resumed. I was thinking at the time that this was most likely the conversation they had:
Vinny: “The net was clearly off, it should be no-goal!”
Ref: “Vinny, it’s pre-season man, and Calgary needs the help, they have freakin’ Kotalik on their top line tonight.”
Vinny: “You make a good point. Poor suckers”
Ok, so maybe not the exact way it went down and Kotalik actually played quite well.
Being the curious type, I came home and checked on the exact rule which reads:
63.6 Awarded Goal - In the event that the goal post is displaced, either deliberately or accidentally, by a defending player, prior to the puck crossing the goal line between the normal position of the goalposts, the Referee may award a goal.
Not like the whole thing actually mattered, but I thought it was interesting how they handled it.
On a side note Ivanans is a brutal hockey player. He made some bonehead moves, took a brutal penalty in the process, and has a tough time getting from one end of the rink to the other.
I hope he is cut. Dear god, I hope he is cut.
Wade Waives Bye Bye
Wade Redden, the former 2nd overall pick in 1995, was formally put on waivers by the New York Rangers. Barring a miracle and someone actually taking his massive $6.5 million contract, Redden will find himself riding the bus in the minor leagues, while still getting paid like a major leaguer.
Glen Sather will do what only one team has done previously, that I know of, and that’s bury a high profile talent in the minors to protect the teams overall cap hit. Alexander Mogilny was sent to Albany to play out his career in 2006, by Devils GM Lou Lamoriello, in order to get the returning Patrik Elias back into the line-up.
Who is at fault here? Is it Redden for not living up to the contract that he signed or the Rangers for signing him to such a ludicrous deal? (Something the Rangers take pride in doing. Think Bobby Holik.) Another question is should a player consider re-negotiating the terms of the deal in order to make it work with the team? Only rarely would a player be that selfless and take less money because he knows he makes too much. The only example I know of was Roman Turek after the 2004 season when he voluntarily said he would take less money to stay in Calgary. It was a moot point though because the lockout cancelled the subsequent season, but it made Roman a fan favourite again on his way out of Cow-town.
Redden has scored five goals in two years with New York. Maybe he should call Roman up and ask him for advice. It couldn’t hurt.
It’s a Dog Eat Dog World
Mike Vick is good. That’s about all I have to say. As an Eagles fan I never really liked the idea of Vick behind center, but he has made me a believer. Kevin Kolb, enjoy the bench, you might be there for a long time.
No way Jose is juiced...right?
It’s been speculated amongst many people in sports that Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista is on steroids. The reason being is that he has hit 52 home runs this year and his prior best season total was 16. Fans in the steroid era will find it tough to believe anyone after the slew of Major League players that have been caught on the juice. Jason Giambi, Rafael Palmeiro, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez and of course the infamous Barry Bonds all were or are home run kings and all did steroids. Bonds still has to stand trial next year but we all know he is guiltier than OJ Simpson. Bonds’ head grew to the size of a watermelon, but that’s just because Barry hit puberty late...really really late.
Anyways, I hope Jose is clean. I kind of wish he would pee in the cup now just to prove it. It has been well documented that he changed his swing this season and that has been the cause of the Major League leading numbers, and in 1987 people would have believed him. It’s just sad that a player can’t be celebrated anymore without the notion or thought that he might have cheated to do it.
Thank you Ben Johnson, you really started a great trend in sports.
Late Breaking News: The FedEx Cup is over. And it is official, no one actually cares.
Newman
twitter.com/TSRNewman
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2 comments:
Don't get too excited about Mitch Wahl...I hear Darryl's going to ship him to Atlant and bring Amonte back. He had good chemisty with McCarty. Oh yeah, he's bringing DMac back too.
Oh goodie...can we bring back Mike Vernon and Fleury too??? Pretty please!!
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