It might have been nice if we could have taken the momentum gained from bitch-slapping New Jersey into this game with the Buffaslugs, but much like in our earlier waxing, Ryan Miller was all but impenetratable (I believe he was the game's first star, saving 26 of the 27 shots we had). It would also have been nice if Darcy Tucker's return could have been a little more successful, but that ties in with Miller being outstanding for the Slugs. Then again, the chances are that with missing part of our top defensive pairing and a number of other players coupled with the 6-1 defeat on Tuesday, few would have expected us to come out of the game with any points. to start with.
Unfortunately, all this was clouded by the continuation of the Janssen situation. I opined that we might not see him suspended at all for his hit, and that Colim Campbell mishandling the case would lead to repercussions throughout the game, but I was proven wrong when the league handed down a three-game suspension on Janssen. While the length is satisfactory, there's another problem that takes precedent - sure, Janssen's out for the next three games, but as Tucker pointed out Janssen rarely plays any significant time for the Devils. His estimate of "two minutes a game" is probably a bit conservative, but I'd be surprised if his average TOI is more than five minutes. Anyway, Janssen is part of the Devils' fourth line, which means that through his three-game suspension they will be without a fourth-line winger.
What the fuck kind of a punishment is that?
Janssen's fined about $7,000 , which would be a stiff fine for a person in a normal line of work, but I'm guessing hockey players don't feel the sting quite as much because of the size of their contracts, and also misses three games. The Devils lose someone who barely plays for them anyway for three games. Toronto, on the other hand, lose Kaberle, a star player, for an undefined length of time at a point in the season when it is absolutely critical to have your team firing on all cylinders. Look at that state of affairs and tell me that's not messed up. The Devils get to sit back and laugh; our burden just grows. If you want to see the incident in glorious Youtubeavision, Ninja of Raking Leafs (http://rakingleafs.blogspot.com/) was nice enough to provide three seperate videos of it.
Erik.
Showing posts with label faggotry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faggotry. Show all posts
March 04, 2007
March 03, 2007
A Dangerous Precedent - Devils 3 - 4 Leafs (OT, SO)
A player sees the puck far away at the other end of the rink, and moves to rejoin the play. Another player, for some unknown slight, takes it upon himself to check our original player from behind with the result that the checkee's head slams into the boards. Now, take away those last four words. The more Leaf-astute of you may already have deduced what I'm referring to, but for those of you who are not, I believe that, last night, we were lucky Tomas Kaberle did not join Ace Bailey in having his career brutally cut short as the result of an unpenalised hit. Bailey was hit by Eddie Shore as retaliation for a hit Shore himself had received earlier, a reason reprehensible enough as it is, but we may never know the real reason Cam Janssen's mind goaded him into attacking Kaberle.
Janssen claims that he was just finishing his check, and that "I've got to take the body and I did"; in another situation, that would be explanation enough. We accept it's the job of defensemen and tough guys to agitate and enforce around the ice, and if they can intimidate a dangerous opponent it gives the whole team a boost as a result. But it is no-one's job to see a player who's noticably behind the run of the play and decide to nail them solely because they're one of the opponent's best players - Andrew Raycroft got it spot on when he said that the hit itself wasn't the problem, it was the fact it was ten seconds late that triggered such outrage. Janssen might not think he did anything wrong with the hit, but few players can truly be this dense, and it's this that earns him the second "F" grade. He joins Andrew Peters as the perpetrator of tremendous faggotry.
Ironically, Janssen's assault seemed to have the opposite effect to what it was intended. While it took Kaberle out of the game, it ended up giving the Leafs the supercharge he no doubt wanted the Devils to take on. Matt Stajan, Carlo Colaiacovo and Nik Antropov all scored to put Toronto ahead 3-2 and, even though Sergei Brylin tied it with a powerplay goal, Yanic Perreault went some way to justifying his cost with a goal in the ensuing shootout and Jeff O'Neill put in the winner. So what do you attribute this to? Was it karma biting the Devils in the ass for Janssen's hit going unpenalised - I doubt it, but I'd like to think so. There are some other observations I made, some of them disturbing in nature.
1) The referees continue to operate above a glass ceiling that we common folk can't break. Neither of the two referees saw fit to call Janssen for his late hit - I don't quite know what a late hit constitutes, but my guess is probably interference - nor penalise him for causing the injury; however, they then refused to be interviewed by the press after the game, knowing full well they'd be torn to pieces for missing something that severe, and the likelihood is that they'll never be brought to task for it. Worse yet, there's a very distinct possibility that Janssen won't even receive a suspension for his actions from someone like Colin Campbell, meaning while we have Kaberle out for an undefined amount of time, the Devils walk away from the incident scot-free.
2) The boys done good. Stajan and Cola scored, Woz and White had assists.
3) The dangerous precedent of the title is too close for comfort. While I can't say anything without it being speculation now, if Janssen goes either unpunished or gets off lightly, we have problems. If he goes unpunished, then all future occurances of something like this have to bear Janssen's mishandled case withBertuzzi's mishandled case as well. If he gets off lightly, it sets a benchmark that will make the league's enforcers not be too concerned with official retributions if they go out and injure a team's stars.
4) I find it funny that Darcy Tucker - scratched for the game due to injury - took it upon himself to talk to Janssen. A fellow Leaf opined that he was making threats of pain to come to the Devil, whereas a Senator claimed Tucker was asking him out to lunch and a Duck swore he was asking for tips. Me? I like the threats angle myself, it gives the impression that there's real team spirit (or it could be that they've taken to contracting their hits out to other teams. If that's ever proven right I want full credit for calling it).
5) Martin Brodeur still has a losing record against us. I only picked that titbit of information myself up yesterday, apparently he has a record above .500 against every team bar Toronto and Vancouver. Who knew?
Janssen claims that he was just finishing his check, and that "I've got to take the body and I did"; in another situation, that would be explanation enough. We accept it's the job of defensemen and tough guys to agitate and enforce around the ice, and if they can intimidate a dangerous opponent it gives the whole team a boost as a result. But it is no-one's job to see a player who's noticably behind the run of the play and decide to nail them solely because they're one of the opponent's best players - Andrew Raycroft got it spot on when he said that the hit itself wasn't the problem, it was the fact it was ten seconds late that triggered such outrage. Janssen might not think he did anything wrong with the hit, but few players can truly be this dense, and it's this that earns him the second "F" grade. He joins Andrew Peters as the perpetrator of tremendous faggotry.
Ironically, Janssen's assault seemed to have the opposite effect to what it was intended. While it took Kaberle out of the game, it ended up giving the Leafs the supercharge he no doubt wanted the Devils to take on. Matt Stajan, Carlo Colaiacovo and Nik Antropov all scored to put Toronto ahead 3-2 and, even though Sergei Brylin tied it with a powerplay goal, Yanic Perreault went some way to justifying his cost with a goal in the ensuing shootout and Jeff O'Neill put in the winner. So what do you attribute this to? Was it karma biting the Devils in the ass for Janssen's hit going unpenalised - I doubt it, but I'd like to think so. There are some other observations I made, some of them disturbing in nature.
1) The referees continue to operate above a glass ceiling that we common folk can't break. Neither of the two referees saw fit to call Janssen for his late hit - I don't quite know what a late hit constitutes, but my guess is probably interference - nor penalise him for causing the injury; however, they then refused to be interviewed by the press after the game, knowing full well they'd be torn to pieces for missing something that severe, and the likelihood is that they'll never be brought to task for it. Worse yet, there's a very distinct possibility that Janssen won't even receive a suspension for his actions from someone like Colin Campbell, meaning while we have Kaberle out for an undefined amount of time, the Devils walk away from the incident scot-free.
2) The boys done good. Stajan and Cola scored, Woz and White had assists.
3) The dangerous precedent of the title is too close for comfort. While I can't say anything without it being speculation now, if Janssen goes either unpunished or gets off lightly, we have problems. If he goes unpunished, then all future occurances of something like this have to bear Janssen's mishandled case withBertuzzi's mishandled case as well. If he gets off lightly, it sets a benchmark that will make the league's enforcers not be too concerned with official retributions if they go out and injure a team's stars.
4) I find it funny that Darcy Tucker - scratched for the game due to injury - took it upon himself to talk to Janssen. A fellow Leaf opined that he was making threats of pain to come to the Devil, whereas a Senator claimed Tucker was asking him out to lunch and a Duck swore he was asking for tips. Me? I like the threats angle myself, it gives the impression that there's real team spirit (or it could be that they've taken to contracting their hits out to other teams. If that's ever proven right I want full credit for calling it).
5) Martin Brodeur still has a losing record against us. I only picked that titbit of information myself up yesterday, apparently he has a record above .500 against every team bar Toronto and Vancouver. Who knew?
February 28, 2007
A Brawl Worthy Of Happy Gilmore Himself
In the movie bearing his name, Happy Gilmore, an amazingly violent youngster with pipe dreams (copyright me; the phrase here is used in the same context as a basketball player would use "hoop dreams"), brags that he once took off his skate during a hockey game and tried to stab someone with it, adding he's the only player to ever do it. After watching some of the Ottawa/Buffalo Royal Rumble, I have made some observations.
1) None of the players attempted to use their skates as weapons, which makes me sad.
2) Andrew Peters is a fucking pussy. He pussies out of fighting whoever he was fighting originally to rumble with Ray Emery, who's already been through one fight, and still can't put him down. I'm filing this under "F" for "Faggotry".
3) Ray Emery could be the hardest man in the league. He beats the fuck out of Martin "Am I Supposed To Win" Biron, then fights Andrew Peters - WITH A FUCKING SMILE ON HIS FACE. He is batshit insane, and will now be known as Ray "Kid Dynamite" Emery until such time someone surpasses him.
4) I really, really wanted to see one of the coaches throw a punch at the other.
5) Chris Drury is going to seriously tear shit up when he comes back, until he faces Ottawa again, when he will have a Vietnam flashback and go into the foetal position on the ice.
1) None of the players attempted to use their skates as weapons, which makes me sad.
2) Andrew Peters is a fucking pussy. He pussies out of fighting whoever he was fighting originally to rumble with Ray Emery, who's already been through one fight, and still can't put him down. I'm filing this under "F" for "Faggotry".
3) Ray Emery could be the hardest man in the league. He beats the fuck out of Martin "Am I Supposed To Win" Biron, then fights Andrew Peters - WITH A FUCKING SMILE ON HIS FACE. He is batshit insane, and will now be known as Ray "Kid Dynamite" Emery until such time someone surpasses him.
4) I really, really wanted to see one of the coaches throw a punch at the other.
5) Chris Drury is going to seriously tear shit up when he comes back, until he faces Ottawa again, when he will have a Vietnam flashback and go into the foetal position on the ice.
February 27, 2007
A Seller's Market (Part Two)
The deadline has passed, the dust is beginning to settle and the Leafs have proven me wrong by finagling a move after all (and it's a biggie compared to past years). Did my earlier point hold up? Let's take a look and see, because I'm going to provide some probably-worthless analysis. Enjoy.
---
Toronto gets: Yanic Perreault, 5th-round pick in 2008
Phoenix gets: Brendan Bell, 2nd-round pick in 2007
This is excellent news, especially when you look at our injury situation. Perreault is a good faceoff man and a checking forward who can easily fill the boots left vacant by Mike Peca until he comes back, and the cost was surprisingly little. The pick was obviously the main selling point here, as Brendan Bell is a marginal prospect who isn't going to get much better; of the many prospective defensemen - Carlo Colaiacovo, Ian White and so on - Bell is probably the least of them, so this is actually a real steal for us. CBS Sportsline claims Bell is a developing defensemen who'll see more icetime in Phoenix - one part of that sentence is true, guess which.
---
Florida gets: Noah Welch
Pittsburgh gets: Gary Roberts
Really, this is a win-win deal right here. Roberts has the potential to be a great leader for the Penguins, and he might even be the offensive force they need to secure a spot in the postseason - seriously, picture a line of Roberts/Crosby/Malkin and tell me that doesn't disturb you. Welch, unlike Bell, actually IS a good young defenseman with potential, and he can probably learn from Jay Bouwmeester among others - that said, the defensive corps are going to need to shape up pronto because of the bigger trade involving the Panthers...
---
Florida gets: Conditional pick in 2007, conditional 2nd-round pick in 2008 OR Shawn Matthias
Detroit gets: Todd Bertuzzi
From what I'm hearing, the further the Wings go in the playoffs and the better Bertuzzi's performance is, the higher the 2007 pick they give up, which means there really isn't a way this can go wrong for Detroit. Bertuzzi's in the last year of his contract to start with, so if his back proves a problem they can opt not to re-sign him, but if he plays well, the Wings can go further into the playoffs and everybody's happy. There are conflicting reports about what Florida actually got, as TSN say it's a conditional pick and Matthias whereas CBS say it's both picks.
---
Buffalo gets: Dainius Zubrus, Timo Helbling
Washington gets: Jiri Novotny, 1st-round pick in 2007
Overpaying? Novotny was a fourth-line centre in Buffalo and the pick is...well, the pick, and so I really question the wisdom of shipping Zubrus off this easily. The Sabres' pick is going to be a low one anyway and putting Helbling in just unbalances it further. Bad move, Capitals.
---
Ottawa gets: Oleg Saprykin, 7th-round pick in 2007
Phoenix gets: 2nd-round pick in 2007
And the firesale goes on. Phoenix had better hope Peter Mueller develops quickly because at this rate, they're going to be in real trouble next season if they don't make some serious moves in the free agency period. Saprykin had a lot of pressure put on him to perform when Calgary drafted him and nothing really changed when he went to Phoenix, so who knows, maybe he'll flourish when Ottawa don't need him as much.
---
San Jose gets: Bill Guerin
St. Louis gets: Ville Nieminen, New Jersey's 1st-round pick in 2007, Jay Barriball
Remember what I said about the Roberts/Crosby/Malkin line? If that didn't scare you, imagine facing a line made from Guerin, Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo. Or throw Pat Marleau in there somewhere for kicks. Yeah. I have to say, I'm surprised at the cost - I don't know anything about Barriball, but St. Louis got less from this than they did the Tkachuk trade, whereas I expected Guerin to be more valuable, particularly since Nieminen's a free agent at the end of this season as well.
---
Buffalo gets: Ty Conklin
Columbus gets: 5th-round pick in 2007
Philadelphia gets: Martin Biron
Buffalo gets: 2nd-round pick in 2007
These two are grouped together because one directly caused another. Apparently, Biron wanted a move to somewhere where he would get more icetime, and so went to the Flyers; the Sabres obviously needed a new backup goaltender as a result, and traded for Ty Conklin. Let me clarify that - they effectively traded Biron...for Conklin. That faint sound you can hear is the sound of Oilers fans pointing and laughing at Buffalo, and the other sound is the sound of Sabres fans weeping.
---
Phoenix gets: Daniel Carcillo, 3rd-round pick in 2007
Pittsburgh gets: Georges Laraque
Is that Sidney Crosby? Yes, Mr. Crosby, we've found you a bodyguard. I don't know anything about Carcillo, but since the Penguins were only really interested in getting an enforcer, I wouldn't expect him to be anything special. Laraque might provide some extra offense, but they hardly need it and his function is...well, to be a bodyguard and protect the team's young stars. As for Phoenix, the firesale goes on; I can't decide whether it looks more like an auction or a garage sale at this point.
---
Boston gets: Aaron Ward
New York gets: Paul Mara
The Rangers somehow managed to offload Ward and replace him with a younger, more talented version of himself, which makes me wonder exactly why Boston took this deal - I'd hazard a guess at financial reasons, but I don't know what Boston's cap-room situation is so it's all moot.
---
New York gets: Ryan Smyth
Edmonton gets: Robert Nilsson, Ryan O'Marra, 1st-round pick in 2007
Since I didn't know anything real about O'Marra or Nilsson, my first thought when I saw this trade was an indignant "WHAT IS THIS FAGGOTRY?", as now the Islanders have Smyth and look surprisingly dangerous (two words you'd rarely associate with NYI). However, CBS inform me that they are apparently the Islanders' two best prospects, which actually makes Edmonton seem smarter - if they couldn't keep Smyth around, it makes good sense to pillage another team, and now it becomes Garth Snow's job to negotiate so that Smyth stays in Long Island next year.
---
So, did my earlier point hold up? Is it still a seller's market? My first inclination is to say yes, looking at the Smyth and, to a lesser extent, Guerin trades, but there are just as many arguments against it - the farce that saw Zubrus leave Washington, for instance - and some trades that seem to be neutral, like the Roberts and the Perreault ones. If anyone's reading, drop me a comment and abuse me for my views, I'd like to know if you agree or disagree.
Erik.
---
Toronto gets: Yanic Perreault, 5th-round pick in 2008
Phoenix gets: Brendan Bell, 2nd-round pick in 2007
This is excellent news, especially when you look at our injury situation. Perreault is a good faceoff man and a checking forward who can easily fill the boots left vacant by Mike Peca until he comes back, and the cost was surprisingly little. The pick was obviously the main selling point here, as Brendan Bell is a marginal prospect who isn't going to get much better; of the many prospective defensemen - Carlo Colaiacovo, Ian White and so on - Bell is probably the least of them, so this is actually a real steal for us. CBS Sportsline claims Bell is a developing defensemen who'll see more icetime in Phoenix - one part of that sentence is true, guess which.
---
Florida gets: Noah Welch
Pittsburgh gets: Gary Roberts
Really, this is a win-win deal right here. Roberts has the potential to be a great leader for the Penguins, and he might even be the offensive force they need to secure a spot in the postseason - seriously, picture a line of Roberts/Crosby/Malkin and tell me that doesn't disturb you. Welch, unlike Bell, actually IS a good young defenseman with potential, and he can probably learn from Jay Bouwmeester among others - that said, the defensive corps are going to need to shape up pronto because of the bigger trade involving the Panthers...
---
Florida gets: Conditional pick in 2007, conditional 2nd-round pick in 2008 OR Shawn Matthias
Detroit gets: Todd Bertuzzi
From what I'm hearing, the further the Wings go in the playoffs and the better Bertuzzi's performance is, the higher the 2007 pick they give up, which means there really isn't a way this can go wrong for Detroit. Bertuzzi's in the last year of his contract to start with, so if his back proves a problem they can opt not to re-sign him, but if he plays well, the Wings can go further into the playoffs and everybody's happy. There are conflicting reports about what Florida actually got, as TSN say it's a conditional pick and Matthias whereas CBS say it's both picks.
---
Buffalo gets: Dainius Zubrus, Timo Helbling
Washington gets: Jiri Novotny, 1st-round pick in 2007
Overpaying? Novotny was a fourth-line centre in Buffalo and the pick is...well, the pick, and so I really question the wisdom of shipping Zubrus off this easily. The Sabres' pick is going to be a low one anyway and putting Helbling in just unbalances it further. Bad move, Capitals.
---
Ottawa gets: Oleg Saprykin, 7th-round pick in 2007
Phoenix gets: 2nd-round pick in 2007
And the firesale goes on. Phoenix had better hope Peter Mueller develops quickly because at this rate, they're going to be in real trouble next season if they don't make some serious moves in the free agency period. Saprykin had a lot of pressure put on him to perform when Calgary drafted him and nothing really changed when he went to Phoenix, so who knows, maybe he'll flourish when Ottawa don't need him as much.
---
San Jose gets: Bill Guerin
St. Louis gets: Ville Nieminen, New Jersey's 1st-round pick in 2007, Jay Barriball
Remember what I said about the Roberts/Crosby/Malkin line? If that didn't scare you, imagine facing a line made from Guerin, Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo. Or throw Pat Marleau in there somewhere for kicks. Yeah. I have to say, I'm surprised at the cost - I don't know anything about Barriball, but St. Louis got less from this than they did the Tkachuk trade, whereas I expected Guerin to be more valuable, particularly since Nieminen's a free agent at the end of this season as well.
---
Buffalo gets: Ty Conklin
Columbus gets: 5th-round pick in 2007
Philadelphia gets: Martin Biron
Buffalo gets: 2nd-round pick in 2007
These two are grouped together because one directly caused another. Apparently, Biron wanted a move to somewhere where he would get more icetime, and so went to the Flyers; the Sabres obviously needed a new backup goaltender as a result, and traded for Ty Conklin. Let me clarify that - they effectively traded Biron...for Conklin. That faint sound you can hear is the sound of Oilers fans pointing and laughing at Buffalo, and the other sound is the sound of Sabres fans weeping.
---
Phoenix gets: Daniel Carcillo, 3rd-round pick in 2007
Pittsburgh gets: Georges Laraque
Is that Sidney Crosby? Yes, Mr. Crosby, we've found you a bodyguard. I don't know anything about Carcillo, but since the Penguins were only really interested in getting an enforcer, I wouldn't expect him to be anything special. Laraque might provide some extra offense, but they hardly need it and his function is...well, to be a bodyguard and protect the team's young stars. As for Phoenix, the firesale goes on; I can't decide whether it looks more like an auction or a garage sale at this point.
---
Boston gets: Aaron Ward
New York gets: Paul Mara
The Rangers somehow managed to offload Ward and replace him with a younger, more talented version of himself, which makes me wonder exactly why Boston took this deal - I'd hazard a guess at financial reasons, but I don't know what Boston's cap-room situation is so it's all moot.
---
New York gets: Ryan Smyth
Edmonton gets: Robert Nilsson, Ryan O'Marra, 1st-round pick in 2007
Since I didn't know anything real about O'Marra or Nilsson, my first thought when I saw this trade was an indignant "WHAT IS THIS FAGGOTRY?", as now the Islanders have Smyth and look surprisingly dangerous (two words you'd rarely associate with NYI). However, CBS inform me that they are apparently the Islanders' two best prospects, which actually makes Edmonton seem smarter - if they couldn't keep Smyth around, it makes good sense to pillage another team, and now it becomes Garth Snow's job to negotiate so that Smyth stays in Long Island next year.
---
So, did my earlier point hold up? Is it still a seller's market? My first inclination is to say yes, looking at the Smyth and, to a lesser extent, Guerin trades, but there are just as many arguments against it - the farce that saw Zubrus leave Washington, for instance - and some trades that seem to be neutral, like the Roberts and the Perreault ones. If anyone's reading, drop me a comment and abuse me for my views, I'd like to know if you agree or disagree.
Erik.
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