Hockey

[shadows]

Originally Posted by ila

Apologies to you shadows, but I just can't resist this one little jab.

Now that Toskala is gone who are you going to blame now when Toronto loses?

Seriously though I think Toronto made the right move and they will profit from their trade. Toskala had to go for the good of the team and Toronto can only improve with the deals that they made.

No worries, Ila. I will just blame him from afar! His horrible play was soooo bad it infected the other players like a virus. From time to time, when their immune system is down, it will strike like a cobra and they will catch playlikeshititis. Thankfully, it is not a fatal disease.

[ila]

Originally Posted by shadows

No worries, Ila. I will just blame him from afar! His horrible play was soooo bad it infected the other players like a virus. From time to time, when their immune system is down, it will strike like a cobra and they will catch playlikeshititis. Thankfully, it is not a fatal disease.

It is quite a common disease, happens to all times at some point, and will strike unexpectedly.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by ila

It is quite a common disease, happens to all times at some point, and will strike unexpectedly.

And the only known fatalities are to the careers of Head Coaches.

[smc]

Hey, hockey fans, I've been meaning to post this all week but didn't get around to it ... mostly because other things on the Forum have been catching my eye!

Anyhow, I thought I'd tell you about the Beanpot Tournament. It's a great Boston tradition that goes back to 1952, and in a year like this -- when the Bruins are sucking (okay, it's mostly because of injuries, but it still feels like they suck) -- the Beanpot is even more of a treat.

It started on the day after Christmas 1952, but now takes place on the first and second Monday of every February. The hockey teams of Boston College, Boston University, Harvard University, and Northeastern University (some great college hockey teams here over the years!) face off at Boston Garden for the tournament. The winners of the two games on the first Monday play on the second Monday for the championship, and the other two teams play on the second Monday in a consolation game. (Faceoff is at 5 and 8 pm, respectively.) And the best part is that everyone -- players, coaches, fans -- have a great time, no matter who wins.

In 1979, a women's tournament was added on the first and second Tuesdays of February, with teams from the same four universities. (Unfortunately, they don't get to play at the Garden ... mostly because of conflicting Celtics games, there was never a serious effort by the organizers of the women's tournament to secure the Garden for two night in a row of college hockey.)

I try to go every year to the men's tournament (I've caught a few of the women's), and have not missed very many men's Beanpots since I was a kid (a few while away at college, etc.). These are always great games with great rivalries based on city pride and winning "bragging rights"; they count for nothing in the NCAA standings. Locals sometime call the tournament the "Stanley Cup of Chowder." It's as big as the Frozen Four here in Boston; 17,000 fans come out!!

In this year's round 1, Harvard was absolutely routed, 6-0, by BC. Boston University beat Northeastern 2-1. So, the championship game will be between BU and BC, as is often the case.

I'll be there next Monday, and I can't help but think it would be a huge amount of fun to be accompanied by all of our most rabid hockey fans on the Forum.

[GRH]

That sounds like an awesome hockey tournament. I watch the Maine Black Bears play hockey sometimes...I think this is the first season that they've been nationally ranked in quite some time. College hockey is fun to watch, albeit it doesn't have fighting involved.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by smc

Hey, hockey fans, I've been meaning to post this all week but didn't get around to it ... mostly because other things on the Forum have been catching my eye!

Anyhow, I thought I'd tell you about the Beanpot Tournament. It's a great Boston tradition that goes back to 1952, and in a year like this -- when the Bruins are sucking (okay, it's mostly because of injuries, but it still feels like they suck) -- the Beanpot is even more of a treat.

It started on the day after Christmas 1952, but now takes place on the first and second Monday of every February. The hockey teams of Boston College, Boston University, Harvard University, and Northeastern University (some great college hockey teams here over the years!) face off at Boston Garden for the tournament. The winners of the two games on the first Monday play on the second Monday for the championship, and the other two teams play on the second Monday in a consolation game. (Faceoff is at 5 and 8 pm, respectively.) And the best part is that everyone -- players, coaches, fans -- have a great time, no matter who wins.

In 1979, a women's tournament was added on the first and second Tuesdays of February, with teams from the same four universities. (Unfortunately, they don't get to play at the Garden ... mostly because of conflicting Celtics games, there was never a serious effort by the organizers of the women's tournament to secure the Garden for two night in a row of college hockey.)

I try to go every year to the men's tournament (I've caught a few of the women's), and have not missed very many men's Beanpots since I was a kid (a few while away at college, etc.). These are always great games with great rivalries based on city pride and winning "bragging rights"; they count for nothing in the NCAA standings. Locals sometime call the tournament the "Stanley Cup of Chowder." It's as big as the Frozen Four here in Boston; 17,000 fans come out!!

In this year's round 1, Harvard was absolutely routed, 6-0, by BC. Boston University beat Northeastern 2-1. So, the championship game will be between BU and BC, as is often the case.

I'll be there next Monday, and I can't help but think it would be a huge amount of fun to be accompanied by all of our most rabid hockey fans on the Forum.

If I could afford it, I would take some time off from work and catch that game with you. Alas, lack of funds will throw a wrench in that idea.

Let us know how it goes.

[smc]

Originally Posted by shadows

If I could afford it, I would take some time off from work and catch that game with you. Alas, lack of funds will throw a wrench in that idea.

Let us know how it goes.

In a perfect world, my friend, there would be no such thing as a "lack of funds" for occasions such as this. But, alas ...

I wish I had the funds to bring all the hockey fans here for a big party, but even my impending income tax refund, I believe, is sitting in a pile of money somewhere in the Goldman Sachs headquarters in New York City!

[smc]

So, I spend the evening watching the Bruins play the Habs (and "surfing" the Forum), only to have my heart broken in a goddam shootout! Montreal 3, Boston 2. But at least it's a point.

Sorry, shadows, if I stole some of your updating thunder.

[shadows]

HUGE TRADE!!!!!!

(I'm surprised that dauls didn't mention this)

Article from tsn.ca.

THRASHERS SHIP KOVALCHUK TO DEVILS FOR PLAYERS, 1ST ROUNDER

The Atlanta Thrashers have parted ways with the most celebrated player in franchise history, trading star winger Ilya Kovalchuk to the New Jersey Devils.

The Thrashers acquired defenceman John Oduya, forwards Niclas Bergfors and Patrice Cormier and the Devils first round pick in 2010.

The Devils also receive defenceman Anssi Salmela in the deal. New Jersey traded Salmela to Atlanta last March for Niclas Havelid.

In addition, the two teams also swap second round picks in 2010.

Kovalchuk, 26, became the subject of trade rumours recently after reports surfaced that he could not come to terms on a multi-year contract with general manager Don Waddell. The Russian sniper is in the final year of his current contract and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

"It's a bittersweet day," said Waddell during a Thursday night conference call. "Now we have to move forward and look at the positive side of things."

"[The Devils are] a good team with a great chance to make the playoffs and go far," said Kovalchuk. "But, it's sad at the same time... I've been a Thrasher for eight years and I appreciated everything."

Kovalchuk was selected first overall by the Thrashers in the 2001 NHL Draft. In 594 career NHL games with Atlanta, he has amassed 328 goals and 278 assists. The high-scoring winger has 31 goals and 27 assists with a plus-1 rating so far this season.

Kovalchuk scored a career-high 52 goals with the Thrashers in 2007-08 and was co-recipient of the Rocket Richard Trophy in 2003-04 with a league-leading 41 goals.

The team had been trying to work out a long-term deal with the star forward, but in the end could reach an agreement. General manager Don Waddell explained the negotiations in a media release on Thursday.

"Our goal from the start of this negotiating process was to sign Ilya Kovalchuk to a long-term contract," said Waddell in the statement. "During the process, Kovy affirmed his desire to be a Thrasher for life. We've spent several months exploring scenarios with Kovy and his agent to reach a mutually beneficial agreement, and offered many lucrative packages in an attempt to meet his financial objectives. Unfortunately, we've reached an impasse and at this point he has declined all of our proposals and we can't reasonably go any higher.

"Ultimately, we offered Kovy more than $101 million over 12 years, which would have been the highest contract signed by an impending unrestricted free agent in the history of the league. If accepted, this contract would have been the second highest offer ever to any NHL player. We also met his desire to be the highest paid player based on average annual salary with a separate offer of 7 years at $10M per year ($70M). This offer is $0.5M higher per year than any other player.

"If we went beyond these offers, we would not be able to retain the young players on our roster when it came time to sign them, or invest in other top tier players needed to assemble a truly competitive team. Therefore, we are aggressively exploring all of our options as we move forward."

In Oduya, the Thrashers pick up a 28-year-old blue-liner who was originally drafted by the Washington Capitals in the 7th Round (221st overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He has two goals with two assists and a plus-2 rating over his 40 games this season.

Bergfors, 22, is in his second season with the Devils and has 13 goals, 14 assists and is minus-7 through 54 games this season. He was selected by the Devils in the 1st round (23rd overall) of the 2005 Entry Draft.

The 19-year-old Cormier had been playing for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, but was suspended for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs by the QMJHL after delivering a hit to the head of Quebec Remparts' Mikael Tam. Cormier was Canada's captain at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship and helped the team to a silver medal this past January. He was drafted by New Jersey in the 2nd round (54th overall) of the 2008 Entry Draft.

Wow! All I can say is that the Devils will probably not have too many more low-scoring games for the rest of the season. He is going to help them big-time! Their chance to win the Cup has increased by a large margin.

[shadows]

Regarding the trade I just posted about. It looks like the Devils have washed their hands of the entire Patrice Cormier incident as he is one of the players to be traded to Atlanta. I wonder if they will honour the suspension(which is still under appeal as far as I know)? They better!