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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Yes!

Thank you, God, for small miracles

Dear Gentle Readers,

This particular one is a blonde, 6' 3", 200 lbs. center who has at least one very fine gray suit in his closet and displayed the most superbly cropped playoff beard of the 2007-08 season. (Dude, I am such a sucker for tall guys in great suits!)

So, Jeff Carter, thanks for sticking around. And Homer, thanks for finesse-ing the payroll.

Love yas!
Nadine

Off-topic: Go Rafa! and RIP McKay

Here at Casa Flyers.Femme, I do watch other sports. Not often, because Hockey is my boyfriend, but it does happen.

The one non-hockey contest that I make time for every year is the French Open Men's Final. That's clay court tennis, y'all.

Historically, I've like the French Open because the players get dirty. Sure, they may take away some grass stains after a grass court match, but red clay is way less subtle!

However, over the last few years, my love of the French Open has narrowed to one thing: Watching Rafael Nadal - whom I love! - deny Roger Federer the Men's French Open title and, thus, his first career Grand Slam. (It's the only hardware Federer's missing, yo.)

Rafa is the best clay court player today, and possibly of all time. I lean toward "all time" status, but I feel it's unfair to stick something that onerous on someone until they're done playing and have the records to prove it like Wayne Gretzky. (How's that working out for Cindy Crosby, eh?)

Rafa's also pretty hot. In fact, HLOG sister Margee over at Sport Squee has featured him in a "Throw Your Bra At" moment after he pounded Feds last year and had a Squee-Off between the two guys. Rafa won, as well he should.

Plus, I just heard that if Federer wins tomorrow, they're ready to proclaim him as the greatest tennis player ever. I'm not arguing that he is the best, but dude already knows that and tells everyone, too. (I mean, what else could he be saying by being in a Gillette commercial with his superstar BFF Tiger Woods? Oh, and Thierry Henry, too.)

So here's hoping that the streak continues for another year. Because if you're the ATP, this is the best thing that could happen for the sport.

And now, I'll be observing silence for the remainder of the weekend in memory of the great Jim McKay. Rest in peace.

Waaaaah!

Image: (c) K. Shaw

Retirement: Sami Kapanen

That should explain it all, Gentle Readers.

My beloved Sami is hanging up his NHL skates after 13 seasons.

Honestly, Sami's been one of my favorites since his Whalercane days. The trade to the Flyers seemed like divine intervention and I'm glad I had the opportunity to see him play in black and orange on multiple occasions.

If you're not sure why I love him, here's my Ode to Kapanen post.

Dear Sami,

Onnea to you and your family as you return to Finland. Best wishes for your continuing hockey career as majority owner of KalPa Kuopio. Personally, I hope we have the chance to see you in future years helping Team Finland. (I know you could help them win the gold!)

I'll miss you!
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.

"A" #1: Mike Richards

Flyers' Mike Richards (Getty Images)

First, a qualifier: Gator make a great captain. He was a good choice for the "C."

Mike Richards may wear an "A" on his jersey, but he's leading the team. Check out these statbits:

• With the assist on Knuble's goal last night, Richie has the same number of points as that guy Briere.
• However, more of those points come from goals rather than assists (9 G, 7 A).
• There have only been four games during the regular season where Richie hasn't earned a point.

Not bad for a guy who suffered an abdominal strain that required surgery last season, huh?

Scary statbit: With Richie only being 22, it makes you wonder what he's got up his sleeve for this season.

[Mike, I've seen that sly smile a few times in the interviews and when I was at practice last week. You gotta let me in on the secret!]

What interests me most: How much longer until Richie buries Briere?

Blogger Biron

Even if I don't get my wish for a live feed to Flyer goalie Martin Biron during games, I'll get something awfully darned close:

Marty will be contributing to the Flyers' road trip blog, providing his perspective of the day's happenings to Kevin Kurz, Flyers Manager of Communications and New Media. Plus, Marty will answer a question submitted by a fan each day.

Put your thinking caps on, but don't wait too long! The Flyers' regular season home opener is October 13.

Off-topic: Classic squees

Continuing the request, here are my classic squee-worthy players. Pay attention, there's only five of them.

Pavel Bure: But only when he played for Vancouver.

Alexander Mogilny: Lethal wrist shot. Loads of speed. A selfless streak. First European player to lead the NHL in goals scored. (You'll always be Alexander The Great to me!)

Luc Robitaille: This really doesn't require any explanation, does it? The only guy to dethrone Gretz as his team's leading scorer. One of the greatest left-wings in league history.

Brendan Shanahan: C'mon, by now you know that a sense of humor is important to me. And, boy, does Shanny have one!

Steve Yzerman: Stevie, you were and always will be a true hero to me!

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.

Let me count the ways: I love goalies

September has arrived. Yeah. Hockey news is s l o w. The puck doesn't drop for real until October.

What's a goalie-obsessed fan to do? Thank God for YouTube and lead you to the goalie videos that keep my little heart content!

Here you will find what I call "Exhibit A." These guys are the best. After all, would you have the cojones to face down the likes of Al MacInnis (100+ mph), Al Iafrate (105.2), Shawn Haines (106.0 and no cracks about him not being in the NHL) or Chad Kilger (106.6)?

Hope you enjoy some oldies and the current stuff.

NHL Goalies - "Lunatic Fringe": Because the song's title says it all.
NHL Goalies 2006-07- "Y'all ready for this?"
Finnish NHL Goalies 2006-07 season: I know some HLOGgers that like their Finns.
NHL goalies - "Right Now"

I love these crazy buggers!