Fond Farewell to Stu & Wheels

Yesterday the Bruins traded away Mark Stuart & Blake Wheeler, a deal that Chiarelli was getting ready at the same time as the Kaberle deal, to free up some cap space; I think maybe he has another move up his sleeve, but that's just a hunch. At the very least, he wants to have the option to make another move. He is such a sly and wily GM, love that guy. Anyone who's calling for his head on a platter needs to chillax. Rich Peverly is a great pick-up. And Kaberle is highly-skilled. The Bruins just drastically improved, folks.

That said, Stu was definitely a favorite of mine. I am gonna miss him a lot. He had some crazy open-ice hits, and was just so sound defensively. I also think he was a great mentor to Adam McQuaid. Simply put, Stu was a leader all-around. I hope he eventually gets a shot to earn an A in Atlanta. Their fans are going to love him methinks.

The other awesome thing about Stu is how passionate he is when it comes to the military and raising money to help those who've risked their lives for our country. He spent a lot of time and money for Military Night, buying tickets for many, many folks. I'm going to miss him a lot.

Blake Wheeler is a big body, also skilled, who never really proved his worth in Boston. Yeah he was decent on the PK, but when you're 6'5" and skilled, we need some production out of you. For what Wheels has accomplished so far this year, I think Chris Kelly is a great fill-in with a better attitude. Perhaps going back to a non-hockey market will take a bit of pressure off Blake.

On the bright side, I realized that Atlanta has two more games left up here, one in NY, and one in NJ. You can bet I'm gonna be there! I managed to snag a lower-level seat in NJ for just $40! Very excited, and you can expect to see some photos of our boys--in blue.

In closing, I wish both of them the best with their new team. I'm truly looking forward to February 28. And I'm also very much looking forward to a Boston Bruins cup run!

Why Bettman Needs to Disappear

Gary Bettman needs to go away. He needs to retire, or be removed as the NHL Commissioner. The dude reportedly makes over US $7 million a year (and that was in 2009, so it could be more now). He's done a lot of questionable things. Yes, he fixed free agency a little bit. But he's to blame for the over-expansion to non-hockey markets, which to say the least, hasn't really gone as planned. Rather than "Americanize the game," I think he should have focused on bringing the game back to Canada. Instead we've got not one, but two teams in Florida, and one in Phoenix of all places. Along with Atlanta, Carolina, etc. Anyway, below are some examples that show how little Gary knows the NHL fan base.

NHL Guardians, need I say more? This move is almost as genius as The SciFi Channel re-branding to SyFy because they thought it would help them target "Non Geeks." Talk about abandoning your key users! Okay, some of the Guardians were kind of cool, but ultimately it was a bust. Was Gary trying to target comic book aficionados, hoping they'd all of sudden become fans of hockey? Very strange move on his part, and it shows he doesn't understand his users.

Clay Aiken at the 2011 All Star Game. The dude is a former American Idol contestant. I really shouldn't have to delve further than that. I get that he's from Raleigh, but that doesn't mean the typical NHL fan would listen to his music, or that typical "Claymates" would all of a sudden get into hockey. Get an up-and-coming Canadian band, like Neverending White Lights. I really don't know what the NHL was smoking when they picked Clay. Is he a hockey fan? I know he's performed at various NHL arenas, but unsure what the connection is. Three Doors Down I can live with, but they aren't exactly "hip" or "now." Again, I'd have gone for Three Days Grace. (It's actually a working theory of mine that someone got the band names mixed up and offered the gig to the wrong one.) Show a little respect for Canada; that's all I'm suggesting. Canada is literally a hot-bed of music, use it to your advantage!

Favoritism to Sid the Kid, Super Mario, and the Pens. This has definitely gone too far. The Penguins' Matt Cooke has played some really dirty hockey, and he needs to pay for it. Despite the fact the Head Shots rule didn't exist before Savard's injury, his play was dangerous and he should have received a suspension. The fact that he didn't get anything for it is criminal. Also, Lemieux has recently condemned the NHL and claimed he doesn't know if he wants to be a part of it all anymore because the NHL wasn't hard enough on the New York Islanders. Give me a freakin' break. For that statement alone, Mario should have received a fine. Instead, Gary is saying he's not commenting on it at all. Show us some character, Gary. Stand up for the NHL.

Pens Favoritism continued, World Cup Silliness. I am under the firm belief that teams that haven't had the Winter Classic yet should have gotten the opportunity to host it before the Penguins got their second turn. It's a huge cash cow for the NHL, and I had a blast with all the new memorabilia the Boston Bruins came out with when it was our turn. Personally, I'd like to see a NY Rangers/NJ Devils Winter Classic.

I will admit, HBO's 24/7 Penguins/Capitals was a fantastic way to promote the game. But we can still gain new fans for the NHL without Side and Ovi. Trust me. I really hope that Bettman was kidding when he said they were looking to eventually have Winter Classics in the south. Really Gary? The Winter Classic concept is great... but don't have a Winter Classic anywhere that's going to be artificial. And as my friend Jo has said, we don't want to see palm trees in the distance.

For God Sakes, NBC (and Versus) Knows Zilch About Hockey. Why are we dealing with these guys? They only want to talk about the Pens. And maybe a little about the Caps. But mostly about the Pens. Especially Joe Beninati. He will even bring up Crosby and Pittsburgh in games that don't involve the Pens. I know he's got a history with the NHL, but I'm going to let you in on a little secret: most of us are annoyed by him. Annoyed so much we mute the sound so we don't have to hear about Sidney or his beloved Caps. Do some research. Figure out who the best announcers are. I'm gonna put my vote in for the King's Bob Miller. But please, please no more Beninati. Versus and NBC don't give a crap about hockey--they don't even do pre or post-game shows. You know, the least they could have done was show the All-Star Game on NBC. But it was hidden away on Versus, where pretty much nobody watched it. It was a really bad deal, Gary. Remember that when their contract is up. Oh, and don't ever sign a long-term deal with them again. Remember: they HATE hockey. They want to bury it between golf and gymnastics broadcasts.

Give Your Fans More of What They Want. I noticed that TSN has actually created an iPhone app (for Canadian users only, alas), to follow the NHL trade deadline. This is a fantastic idea! I don't know why the NHL hasn't jumped on something like this, and expanded it to include the US fan base as well, and have Droid and Blackberry versions of the app as well. The NHL continually misses the boat on things like this.

Center Ice Sucks. I had a lot of problems when I first subscribed to Center Ice. It kept freezing up (thankfully this doesn't happen anywhere near as much as it used to), and 90% of my teams games are not in HD. This is my main problem/frustration. I'm paying $170 to see my team's games in crappy non-HD. I propose that they create a new subscription type of Center Ice, Center Ice HD. I'll pay more to get my games in HD. This is just a really obvious idea, Gary. If you pitch it you can steal it from me and pretend it was your idea.

That's it for now, but I'm sure I'll think of more complaints as soon as I hit the post button!

Bruins & the NHL Trade Deadline

Well folks, the NHL trade deadline is looming once again: February 28th, 2011, 3PM EST. The Boston Bruins are apparently in talks--yes, again--with the Toronto Maple Leafs for their coveted puck-moving defenseman, Tomas Kaberle. The thing is, Kaberle has apparently stated that he only will waive his NTC for Boston. In doing so, his trade value has dropped substantially, since it means the Bruins wouldn't be in a bidding war with him. Burke said that Boston's not the only team he's speaking with, but we all know that he's probably just trying to recoup some value Kaberle's statement may have made.

What do we give up for Kaberle, an UFA? I figure either a roster player or a 2nd rounder would work, since his contract is just about up. But I've heard some doozies from Leafs fans on Twitter. The first one that made me laugh (and probably one of the reasons folks are calling them "delusional Leafs fans") was Toronto's 1st round pick back PLUS Tim Thomas. For Kaberle and nothing else. LOL. Yes folks, all I can do is laugh out loud at work, and get strange looks from coworkers after that one.

Even better: Tyler Seguin plus their #1 pick back for Kaberle. Whahaha. That's really ridiculous. It just troubles me that Leafs fans seem to think their players are so much more valuable than anyone else. If Mike Fisher had been a Leaf, they'd have expected three first round picks for him!

I liked the one that Mike Miccoli was pondering: Kaberle for the #2 pick from MINN along with Blake Wheeler and Zach Hamill or Jamie Arniel. This would make a lot of sense for Toronto, since they'd gain a linemate for Kessel, and a prospect. It's no secret to anyone that follows me on Twitter that I'm pretty damn tired of Blake Wheeler's laziness. I think he could be an awesome player if he could only get himself motivated. He proved last season that he could adapt to new roles and be good at them (read: lots of time on the PK), so he does have decent value. But to me and many other Bruins fans, lazy doesn't translate well when it comes to the playoffs. Definitely would be a good rebuild-minded deal for the Leafs. I also liked @ThankYouKessel's thought that perhaps the pick would be conditional. I think the Leafs would be fools not to take this deal, because both Arniel and Hamill are highly-touted prospects. There's a chance it could also be Joe Colborne, but I'm not sure PC wants to let him go this soon.

I'm not so keen on the Mark Stuart trade rumors, sending him to the Chicago Blackhawks for a pick. I'm biased of course, because he's my second favorite Bruin only to Milan Lucic. That said, I can see that it would probably be better to keep Adam McQuaid, who's younger, and of similar play style. But that said, why not trade Boychuk, who's been pretty invisible this year (totally suffering from Matt Hunwick-itis)? Boychuk is a fan fave, but Stuart is a leader. I definitely see him getting the A at some point.

Only time will tell, but no matter what happens, I for one am excited about the Bruins chances this off-season.

Super Mario, Super Hypocrite

Yes Mario, I am calling you out as a hypocrite.

Let me first clarify: I'm not siding with the New York Islanders; they were definitely in the wrong and their suspensions were warranted. I'm simply upset that Mario Lemieux is suddenly angry/disappointed with the league for not coming down on them harder. Why, you ask? He employs Matt freakin' Cooke. While many Pens fans say Cooke doesn't do things that are premeditated, he continues to hurt people with his reckless and questionable play. So in all honesty he may as well be doing things that are premeditated. The league has been extremely light when it comes to penalizing Cooke and Pittsburgh, so Mario is being called out by many as a hypocrite. Most recently, Matt Cooke received four games for another reckless play. Yes folks, that's right: four games for a repeat offender. The Boston Bruins' Daniel Paille received the same for his first offense. I'm not defending Paille--he definitely deserved a suspension--but just using his punishment as an example. Paille had no other prior suspensions, but Matt Cooke received the same number of games just days later.

The Pittsburgh Penguins need to fire Mario's speech writer, because that was the most ludicrous statement ever. Of course hockey fans all over the league are pissed, what do you expect? Matt Cooke is hurting people, and he very well may have ended a very talented playmaker's career. It's silly for Mario to come out of the woodwork (after being silent regarding Cooke's antics) condemning the NHL for not coming down hard enough on suspensions when the league's been shockingly easy on his team.

A bit of backstory: the Matt Cooke incident is very close to my heart. Savvy is on my team--the Boston Bruins--and he's a fan favorite. And every time I see the hit or the press conference photos of Marc after his injury, I find myself holding back tears. Yes folks, Mario's words stung. Here's a plan of action for you, Mario: Get that loser off your team, fire him, ask Colin Campbell to ban him for life, and then complain. Do your part, and your actions will garner respect from everyone. You can call me biased, but the truth doesn't lie. Matt Cooke is constantly trying to hurt other players out there.

Honestly, Mario's turned himself into the asshat. One of the best players in the history of the NHL, and he comes up with this? It's nothing short of disappointing. I always liked Mario as a player, so it's difficult to even verbalize how disappointed what he said has made me feel.

Pens fans ask why we always have to bring up Cooke. How can we not? How can we not bring up Cooke and Sidney and the clear favoritism the league puts behind its poster boy? That's just the environment that Bettman has fostered, which is unfortunate. In all honesty, both Bettman and Campbell need to be ousted. Maybe getting in some fresh blood is exactly what the NHL needs. I mean, Bettman shows he knows less about promotion than pretty much anyone (Guardians Gary? Really?).

Anyhow, that's it for now. I leave you with my favorite Don Cherry rant of all time.