And So It Ends

Last Single-Team Player Retires?

Joe Sakic (aka, the Vampire Lestat of the Avalanche) announced his retirement and I am actually sad about that. Best of luck to him in future endeavors.

It prompts a question for hockey fans: Do you believe we'll ever see another player spend his entire career with the same club again?

Current trends indicate a big, frickin' NO.

In Other Headlines

Four Habs Fans and many of their readers/commentators - including yours truly - mourn the loss of Saku Koivu to the Anaheim (Not So Mighty) Ducks. Good on you, HF10, for this.

Still working on sorting my feelings about the signings here,
Flyers.Femme
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Help!

I am still alive.

First, if you used to be in the blogroll or links, send me an email to ensure you're put back there. (Blogger PMSed about my template and I'm still contemplating a permanent move to WordPress because of it.)

So, real life has been changing a bit lately.

• Personal life: more interesting of late, though not willing to share deets. This is a hockey blog, not a girlie-relationships one.
  
• Professional life: so not going there. Although, my co-workers who are friends had me a belated birthday bash this past Friday that was great...
  
• Home life: probably having to move due to renovations jacking the rent. Argh!
  

All that said, I have not forgotten that hockey is my boyfriend...a demanding, if somewhat unsatisfying one.

Being the honest person I am, I have to say I couldn't blog about the end of the Flyers season. (Read: That was the unsatisfying part.) I wanted the guys to do well but it wasn't meant to be.

Here's the demanding part for me: splitting my attention between the post-season games and various chats at work with the guys about how the Flyers are going to handle the cap sitch and the goalie sitch and the every- and anything else sitch.

So, if you're a Flyers fan, what would you do to get the team ready for a run next season?

• Who do we keep?
  
• Who do we let go?
  
• Who do we get?
• What will replace the Phantoms?
  

Go wild, dream big, and share your thoughts in the comments.

Oh, and go Red Wings. Dudes, you're the overdogs of the NHL but I enjoy the misery of the Pens fans at work too much to be against you. And the people of Michigan could use a pick-me-up right about now.

Returning to my greater Cleveland roots for the rest of the season,
Flyers.Femme
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Not So Sure

The guys beat the Caps last night. Yeah!

The Caps debuted ScarletCaps.com. I'm not sure whether I like it or not. Here's my first impressions. (And they're just my impressions...Caps marketing geniuses can and will do whatever they want, and the fans will respond positively or negatively as they please, too.)

Ix-Nay Factors

• Scripty, serifed fonts: Screams "girlie!" to me. Up-chuck reflex tested. Result: Functional.
• Site is red and black, not blue, making it look like a site for female Sens fans.
• ANTM/Glamor Shots photos: Way to crank the Puck Bunny Factor to unimaginable levels.
• "Read Blogs" links to posts by only one blogger. I can't wait for links to or featured items by the other fantastic female Caps bloggers out there.
• Since when is a zamboni no longer referred to as such? See "ice resurfacer" in the hockey lingo section. (Honestly, I find zamboni to be the sexier term.)

Likes

• Explanations of the player positions, frequently used terms, and videos to illustrate concepts like wrist shot, etc.
• Profiles for each player: Loooove that they detail the charities the players support and/or have founded. Like that you learn a little more about the guys. Unless it's Ovie's, then you have a link to read the full bio. In short, more than the standard height-weight-shoots-birthplace-draft-etc. statbits.
• Points for trying to cater to female fans with something other than those hidge pink/white, silver/white, or pink or blue/gray jerseys, and additional pink wave "female" fan gear.
• Points for reaching out to make new hockey fans from the female set by - gasp! - dedicating something as major as a website to them.

I really can't wait for the day where sites like this are geared to all new fans, regardless of gender.

Note to the Flyers marketing geniuses (all sarcasm intended): You can consider this. I don't recommend running with it in this vein. Set up a site for new fans? Fine by me. Use player pix in game gear and in more casual settings, but don't pimp the boys out Tiger Beat-style. *Shudder*
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What Happened?

So, the Montreal Canadiens finished first in the Eastern Conference. They had the #1 power play in the NHL during the regular season. They gelled when it was needed.

What happened? The Habs loyalists over at Four Habs Fans have been commenting away on this phenomenon.

However, I would like to direct your attention to the deeply insightful Schnookie over at Interchangeable Parts:

Yeah, I don’t know what happened to that Montreal juggernaut. I guess if you riot after Round 1, you’re just asking to be smote by the Hockey Gods.

Y'know, she could on to something there. (Sure, it wasn't the Habs fans that rioted but I bet the Hockey Gods don't care about those kinds of piddly little details. I mean, they put some NBA lawyer in charge of the Land of Puck 15 years ago, so...)

FHF: Triple-Dog Dare

When a game against the Canadiens rolls around, I generally swing over to Four Habs Fans. Sure they're enemies for the night. Yes, they display the traditional Montreal sense of entitlement. Okay, so they use the F word just as creatively as actual hockey players and post stripper pics.

On the other hand, they're probably the funniest lawyers on earth.

However, in light of their very suspect "History of Evil" series and several other questionable posts about the Flyers, I find that I must challenge them...each of them...playground-style.

HF4, HF10, HF29, Panger76:

I triple-dog dare each one of you to find one current flyer that you can actually stand ...y'know, provided we weren't facing off this round. Said responses:

1.) Must appear as comments to this post by the time tomorrow night's match-up ends.
2.) Shall include actual statistics and commentary on his style of play.

I realize your families will think you're totally nuts...not to mention your readership...but I'm pretty sure you can take it. :p

Besides, who knows what might happen over the summer?

No less love than any other day of the season out teams aren't physically playing one another,
Nadine

Heart Failure Over Here!

Note to the Flyers

Dudes,

What're trying to do to me, huh?

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the final result of last night's game. But, two OTs for crying out loud?

Totally not necessary!

Oh, and welcome back to the Land of Scoring, Blondie!

Note to Boudreau

Give Godzilla the start next game! You're seriously pissing me off with the HueT train, 'kay? Put the big guy in and let's really rock this series, no matter what the outcome is tomorrow afternoon.

Really, pissing me off...

Note to my friends over at FHF

¿Qué fue Ché? Could one of you guys 'splain to me what happened last night? Who gave the Broons the kryptonite for TFS (tm by FHF)?

Whatever. I so do not highly recommend the win-one-lose-one game train.

Note to Scarlett Ice

I'm sorry that the guys didn't really care about your bunny. Loved the Gary Roberts pillow!

Note to the Diablitos and Evil Blue Shirts

Please take each other out already.

Note to Gentle Readers

Aren't the play-offs fun? God, I love this time of year!

Craaaazeee People!

The NHL trade deadline is always nuts, er, interesting.

Sometimes you'd be hard-pressed not to believe that a GM took possession of the Stupid Stick and hit the roster with it. (Until it broke.) Other times, you're certain he is the most cunning genius in the league.

Glancing around the interweb, here is my favorite quote - fittingly from one of my HLOG sisters' blogs:

CapsChick: "Welcome your new Washington Capitals: Cristobal Huet and Sergei Fedorov. Raise your hand if you saw either one of those coming."

Dude, I don't care. I'm sorta, kinda ecstatic about one-half of that in a purely nostalgic way!

See, I became a truly dedicated hockey fan in the early 90s. Yeah, the big, hard-hitting guys were impressive. However, I was amazed by the skillz that arrived to the NHL from the former CCCP. And my adolescent, finesse-player loving fangirl heart skipped beats for the Troika, my pet term for Mogilny, Bure and Federov.

So to now have the possibility of watching Federov without having to suffer the limelight-sucking Red Wings or the noveau Blue Jackets sounds like a dream come true to my inner twelve year old. Because were I to visit the family and take in a hockey game, it would be the Caps versus whoever.

Part that sucks: Huet. This better not mean they're offing Godzilla! I need the cooler of the last two bad-@$$ mofu goalies in the Eastern Conference to be around. And he's a Caps lifer, which takes actual dedication and cojones! Lastly, Zilla is one of my Squees From Other Teams.

Other Interesting Trade Developments

I can hear the hearts breaking in The Burgh from Philadelphia. I'm sure they're okay with obtaining Marian Hossa, but Colby Armstrong's faithful are sure to miss his overgown puppy ways.

Wild fans, good luck with Chris Simon. Really. You're going to need it. I know a lot of people in the Eastern Conference are glad to see him gone.

There are a bunch of happy people in Denver right now. Forsberg and Foote have returned.

Lastly, Lightning staff may want to break out the Zoloft for Vinny Lecavalier. Brad Richards will now sport the black, white and green for the relocated Minnesota North Stars of Dallas.

P.S.: Hell hath frozen over

Um, Y.E.A.H! I wish I still lived in Chicago...my second city is completely rocking right now. (Thank you, Denis Savard.)

LMAO: Interchangable Parts road trip

I encourage all of you to get hooked on the -Ookies' road trip chapters over at Interchangable Parts.
Schnookie and Pookie: Keep 'em coming! Thanks for the stress relief at work.

Obligatory post: R.I.P. Bill Wirtz

X-posted to HLOG

(Sorry for the delay, but I went to the Flyers game last night! Woo-hoo! Live hockey just five rows in front of me or right on the other side of the plexiglass, depending on which period it was.)

I'm torn...completely conflicted internally. And like all of the other times, this will be about my second-favorite team - the Chicago Blackhawks.

Bill Wirtz died yesterday. According to many who knew him (and frequently criticized him), Bill actually loved hockey. I'd hate to see what would have happened if he hated it.

So, here's my dilemma as a feeling member of the human race:

(a) On one hand, I'm sorry for him and his family. If you didn't know, Dollar Bill died from cancer. I've had several family members and friends die from various kinds of cancer, and it's not a good way to go. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

(b) On the other, I feel like breaking out in a round of "Ding dong, the witch is dead, the wicked witch, the witch is dead, ding dong, the wicked witch is dead."

It's a cross-roads for Blackhawks fans. The heirs apparent are Peter and Rocky Wirtz. From my perspective, we have three possible outcomes:

(1) Peter and Rocky love hockey the same way as Bill, and trash it just as much...right after Sr. VP Bob Pulford has some time to work his brand of the same magic.

(2) Peter and Rocky love hockey just as much as Bill, but in a different (read: good) way and reintroduce the team to loyal fans and bring in new ones.

(3) Peter and Rocky sell the team for as much money as they can milk out of somebody who actually gives a shit for Blackhawk fans and knows how to run the team.

Second city: Chicago

Flyers, don't worry - you're still my team.

But the Blackhawks are #2 in my book. I want them to do well, so that if I ever move back to Chicagoland, I'll have another good reason to make the trek to games. (Because with season tickets starting at $450, I could totally afford that!)

So, Terry Frei, I join you in the broad hope for a Chicago turn-around.

(World-wide hockey fans: Just say no to Bill Wirtz.)

Off-topic: Squees from other teams

I am a fangirl, not a puck bunny. However, I'm human, a woman, and I do notice some of the exceptionally fine guys out on the ice.

Upon request, here are my current squee-worthy favs from other teams, in no particular order.

Andy Sutton (NYI): Any guy who makes a hatcher brother look small is fine in my book. I have no idea why I'm impressed by this big hunk of hockey player, but he was up for consideration as Margee's hockey boyfriend this year.

Jochen Hecht (BUF): I really like his smile. Plus, he's from Germany...the land from which my families all hail.

Henrik Lundqvist (NYR): You have to admire a guy a few years younger than I am who has the cojones to tangle with Carol Alt, who is quite a number of years older than I am.

Maxime Talbot (PIT): He is too funny. I place a high priority on a sense of humor. I could stand for him to welcome me home with a half-hour round of laughs most days.

Either Koivu brother: Saku is one of those players you just have to respect, and that alone makes him squee-worthy. Mikko shows flashes of those same soft hands, he just needs to get comfortable in his own skin and the NHL.

Godzilla (WAS): Another one I can't explain. It is what it is.

Next squee report: Classic squees.

Exhibit B: Why I love goalies

Goalies aren't just the crazy men wearing pillows that stand in the crease and let people shoot frozen, galvanized rubber biscuits at them that travel somewhere near 100 mph...

...they take shots and score goals, too! In fact, Flyer Ron Hextall was the first to do it.* here are some clips to review and enjoy.

Ron Hextall - take 1 - first goal by a goalie

Ron Hextall - take 2 - first playoff goal by a goalie

Martin Brodeur - first goalie to score a game winner

Chris Osgood

Jose Theodore

Evgeni Nabokov - first goalie to score a power play goal

*Hockey school: Billy Smith, Mika Noronen, Damian Rhodes and Chris Mason are all credited with scoring a goal, even though they didn't shoot the puck. In each case, they were the last player to touch the puck before it entered the goal.

Freebie: I couldn't find Mika Noronen's goal, but I did find him cleaning windows, er, the glass.

Off-topic rant: WTF in Chi-town?

Hockey is my favorite sport. The Flyers are my favorite NHL team. I live in Philadelphia. (This last statement has been true for almost 3 years.)

However, I need to rant about my second favorite nhl team in a former "hometown": the Chicago Blackhawks.

WTF? What did they do to merit the absolute travesty happening there?

Not familiar with the story? Sad facts:

(1) As an Original 6* team, the Blackhawks are an NHL institution.
(2) Thanks to the 'Hawks, we can celebrate Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, Pierre Pilote, Glenn Hall, Phil & Tony Esposito, Pat Stapleton, Bill White, Denis Savard, Steve Larmer, Tony Amonte, etc. In short, many of the greats played there.
(3) Current owner Bill Wirtz does not allow home games to be shown on local stations.
(4) Wirtz raised ticket prices at the same time.
(5) The 'Hawks scrapped fan-favorite announcer Pat Foley in 2006, after a 25-year run.

Add up # 3 - 5 and let # 1 and 2 stick in your craw and you begin to understand why Chicago hockey fans have dumped "Dollar Bill" Wirtz and the 'Hawks for the city's AHL team, The Wolves. (It doesn't hurt that Pat Foley can be heard at their games and they've used the marketing slogan "We play hockey the old-fashioned way: we actually win.")

The impressive part is that traditional Chicago hockey fans know they're being alienated by the management. Sadly, there are newer (read: young) fans who don't really know that Chicago has an NHL team. Can you blame them? The team missed the playoffs in 1998, the first time in 29 years. (There was a forgettable 2002 return, however the the Blackhawks lost in the first round to the blues.)

No offense meant to the sun-belt and non-tundra expansion teams, but you guys, sink or swim. The NHL is fairly hands-off when it comes to team management. However, I personally can't stand to see this happen to an Original 6 team in the NHL.

Makes me wish that someone in charge had the cojones to take the team away from Wirtz, reinstate local game coverage on Chicago stations, and reunite adoring 'Hawks fans with the black and red.

I mean, isn't it bad enough that they have to deal with the Cubs, the White Sox, the (non-Jordan) Bulls and - up until last year - da Bears?

Of course, this is all the opinion of a former Chicago-land resident who is a Philadelphia Flyers fan...and if there's one thing Philly sports fans learn early, it's stick with your team no matter what.

*hockey school: Ignoring the fact that the Original 6 is a misnomer, the list is rounded out by the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

P.S.: Mentioning Jordan reminds me of another thing...

STOP SAYING WAYNE GRETZKY WAS THE MICHAEL JORDAN OF HOCKEY. Michael Jordan was the Wayne Gretzky of basketball.