Over the past 24 hours the storyline seems to have shifted in Canada's Capital.
The focus has changed from buzz about a team riding a six game winning streak to rumours around player movement, in particular the Sens interest in Coyotes hold out forward Kyle Turris.
The story has been floating around for awhile now but really picked up steam after a between periods segment on TSN called Insider Trading. In that segment, both Bob McKenzie and Pierre LeBrun, two of the league's top insiders, suggested that the Ottawa Senators have significant interest in Kyle Turris.
Really, the news should not come as a huge surprise.
At 22 years of age, Turris would fit in nicely with the rebuild underway here in Ottawa and would look good on the team's second line. As a result, there has been plenty of speculation about the possibility of Bryan Murray making a deal for Kyle Turris.
After doing a little digging of my own this afternoon, the sense I got was that there is certainly nothing close between the two teams.
Yes the Senators are interested in Turris but no significant discussions have been held to this point in time. Yotes GM Don Maloney has taken a hard line stance with the holdout, first indicating that he would not deal the players and then slightly adjusting his stance and saying he would not deal Turris unless he signed a contract.
Either way, there are major hurdles that need to cleared before any significant trade negotiations can take place. One contact called Turris to Ottawa "a longshot at best"
- The Sens held an off ice workout today and provided a couple of updates on injured players. Alfredsson remains sidelined with a concussion and while he could play on Saturday, it's unlikely he will return before next Wednesday when the Sens host the New York Rangers.
- The news is obviously not as good for Peter Regin as he continues to rehab an injured shoulder. The timeline really hasn't changed for Regin as he suggested he is still at least another six weeks away.
- Sens fans were irate at NHL's decision not to suspend Wojtek Wolski for his hit on Daniel Alfredsson last weekend. Today, Brendan Shanahan sat down for an interview on NHL Live and discussed the issue. Shanahan seems to really feel that this was just a collision more than anything and that Wolski was just trying to get out to cover the point. Still not sure I agree with him but I really admire the decision to do an interview about the non-suspensions. The full interview can be seen here.
He must hold a grudge against Ottawa, or against Alfie (Praise Alfie!) or something.
Pure uber $hit.
.....can we not start with the whole conspiracy thing...we're better then that cmon
One of THE biggest 3rd overall picks in the history of the NHL draft. No way.
I like the squad we have now. All the lines are looking good, ride out what we have.
ummm 6'1" isn't big
If you listen to the beginning of the interview, Shanny outlines that headshots (principle point of contact is the head) is what we want out of the game. During the pre-season it seemed we were on the path of action/result based decisions. Then, in his explanation, for Wolski it is no longer action/result, but intent/history as the principles guiding his decision. That is why inconsistency will rule the day and leave us making progress, albeit slow.
Fisher is my favourite player. Hate seeing him hurt. Yet I do understand Shanny's explanation there, as the principle point of contact wasn't the head. I can live with that. Wolski on Alfie...not a chance. He didn't get anything other than the head.
After his explanation, I am less confident in Shanny's direction. He blew a chance to protect a star player and enforce the rule.
I think he meant biggest busts. I think it's a little early to call him a bust, but I wouldn't trade the farm for him.
He's right though. He and this is pure uber shit
I think shanahan made a mistake on the alfie hit. i'm pretty ticked.
and i have basically written regin right off. i know so many people personally who have wrecked shoulders that throw them out in their sleep just rolling over(or that sorta thing)... i don't expect him to be back.
the thing i like about this season is that injuries to most of our players are acceptable. cuz most of them are -for lack of a better word- expendable. if one gets injured we have a whole pile of guys in bingo that would love a chance to prove themselves. I'm not saying that i like it when i see a player injured. just that it's good to know we have so many capable guys looking to step up.
injuries to spezza, karlson, michalek, a few of the other veterans and our KEY rookies like rundblad and cowen however would not sit well with me.
Pop it once, and it just gets easier to do the next time.
http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/13378/ottawa_senators_depth_analysis_fall2011/
Remember -- Shanahan was very critical of the way the NHLPA executive handled the settlement of the last CBA... Alfie was on the Executive... would he hold the grudge?
If we get Kyle Turris...we shall be the only team that wants him, we shall give up too much in a trade and we shall have to pay him away too much in salary. I still want him he makes us a playoff team...we beat Tranna and Montreal for fun!!
With him, Spezza, Zibinejad, Regin, Da Costa - the depth up the middle is devasting for next season.
I think I would easily give up Butler (who IMO wont be any more than a 20 goal scorer at BEST), Wiercoch and a mid pick, perhaps even Kuba or Lee as well, Id do it.
Again, the rebuild becomes that much quicker if you add a guy with his upside. I really cant see how Phoenix can get much more than that. Two young prospects, a pick and a veteran player.
Here's who you have for next year available to you:
Spezza, Michalek, Alfie (unlikely due to retirement), Turris, Michalek, DaCosta, Regin, Foligno, Neil, Greening, Condra, Silvferberg - all locks to make the team. Add that with Zibinejad and a few others (Filatov??) and mix it with an up and coming Blue Line and yep, you have a solid foundation to build with.
Fisher hit seemed clean to me.
Alfie one, not at all.
Wolski better watch the numbers on his back next game vs Ottawa. Konopka's gonna get him some revenge hopefully.
As for Turris, if he signed a normal rate 2 or 3 year contract with PHX and then got traded to us for Kuba/Wiercoch/A nother B-squad player, I'd be ok with it.
Dude is a clown..
Yeah there is no way Turris even comes close to Heatley, even now at his sucky stage, Heatley is twice the player Turris is and will ever be.
I hope you werent suggesting Turris is better than Heatley...
The player history should impact the length of suspension, not whether or not they get one. If anything, Wolski should have got at least ONE game.
Add to that the fact that you can clearly seeing the asshole change direction and go out of his way to make that head shot... it is one of the more blatant examples of "intention" that I've seen since the pre-season.
FU Shanahan. FU.
If the league won't look after the star players in this league than maybe the team will have to do it themselves.
Then players like Konopka and Neil get targeted by Shanny. Never thought I would say this, but this team needs Neil more than ever now. His energy has breathed life into this team more than once already this season.
Yep, that is what they are there for, get Neil or Konopka suspended, it doesnt really matter, you avenged your captain...
If Shanny wont lay down the law, then it has to be laid down the old fashion way!
What do you think would be better? A similar hit to Wolski's head or fight him every chance they get, even if he turtles...
Maybe the NHL should adopt a new policy of "automatic type
suspension " once reviewed, to culprit !
Suspension to be equal to 50% of time or games missed by
player victim!
I hope we see a fight night...go after anyone and everyone.
Avery will likely be in the line up for NYR that night too.
Let's just stop with that crap and focus on beating the Habs.
Go SENS Go
With the MRI and other avenues available, they can pretty well establish, how long injured player will be sidelined !
What does MRI have to do with anything?? previous injuries come into play, age, physical fitness, determinatiom, regeneration rate all come into play and an mri can't measure or show any of that.
Yeah, that's worked really well with Crosby... not!
It's too bad Carkner is still out, would've loved to see this line against NYR...
Lessard - Konopka - Neil (I know they are both RW's)
Carkner on Defense. Just have those 4 trolling around everytime Richards, Wolski, or Gaborik hit the ice...
Avery is a douche, I hope he also gets knocked out!
Neil is essential to this team and has been playing "lights out" in his role so far this season. That's why I just ordered a "NEIL" jersey this week!
good read on why players have the numbers they do. mendes is amazing.
Although Tookie has a glass half empty approach on most things, I agree with everything he has said so far in this thread. Comparing Turris to Heatley is unrealistic; Heatley is twice the player and always will be.
And the prorated suspensions = to half of the time the injured player missed is a good idea in theory, however it isn't enoforcable. You cannot predict injuries. I mean, look at the Crosby incident...
"I used to wear No. 31 because I liked Grant Fuhr as a kid. I wanted to wear No. 33, but obviously that number was retired in Colorado and I don't want to wear that number on any other team just out of respect, because in my mind, he (Patrick Roy) is the greatest who ever played."
Amen.
Daniel Alfredsson No. 11: "It was pretty simple actually. I had No. 63 in my first training camp and once I made the team, our equipment manager told me I could choose between No. 11 and No. 22. It was between me and Antti Tormanen -- the Finnish rookie -- and he let me pick first. I had never worn No. 11 before, except in soccer, but I didn't like No. 22. So I took No. 11 and Tormanen got No. 22."
Umm SC, thats nice...no real story behind it but ok, he didnt like 22 so he took 11...
Atleast the Anderson blurb had something...
yes it is....its a terrible decision I can easily admit it...but FFS claiming he holds a grudge....what are we Vancouver fans saying the NHL is out to rig it against us? ...like I said were better then this
that is precisely my position.
it is clear that he has gone back on his tough stance to begin the year...my question is why?
what has changed from the start of the season to now, to allow the Wojski hit, with an ELBOW to the head go unpunished?
Refs called it an Elbow, it was deliberate and it was to the head.
Shanahan has lost all the credibility he built up, on this decision to approve the headshot!
Very strange indeed
And here I was defending you and agreeing with you earlier about Turris vs Heatley and suspensions...
And now this...
Don't be a dick to the guy that provides you this site.
Geez such a Debbie Downer...
Maybe the greats of last 20 years or so,,, but....
Excluding # 9 Richard, Howe, Robert Hull, and a few more,
like Beliveau, Bobby Orr...........
http://twitter.com/dchesnokov - #STLBlues prospect Tarasenko was named #KHL's Forward of the Month: scored 8 goals (including 2 GWG) + 7 assists in 12 games. He'll be good
I agree with him on the Fisher hit, that's exactly the way they're trying to make people adjust their hits to become. Not all head contact is illegal and I'm glad it will still be a contact sport.
OMG man can you blow this up even more, what did I say that was so wrong? I disagreed? OMG call the COPS!!
Your the one making it bigger than it should be.
Easy with the drama!
Looks like it'll be a while... :/
I understand and respect the fact that it's a very tough job for Shanahan to do, but that hit quite obviously merited a suspension. It was basically the exact same hit that Steckel put on Crosby, and by not suspending Wolski, is Shanahan implying that Steckel wouldn't have been suspended either under this new regime?
If so, that is a very serious implication and it indicates that the NHL is still not serious about getting headshots out of the game.
I hope Alfie's OK, and I hope our guys dish out some justice when they play the Rangers next.
No doubt man, I was on the fence when they made that deal, I was hoping we could get Tarasenko but oh well. Not complaining.
Johne
agreed he should be good, but trust me Rundblad will be a pure gem... he is a 20 years old d-man, and the defense postion takes a little longer develope, on top of that adjusting to the small ice surface.
He has all the tools to become a top level D IMO
I think the trade will be basically a wash. Both great players at their own positions. But with Karlsson already on the backend, it makes me wish we had that talent up front.
I love what Rundblad does qbing the PP and his outlet passes are top notch. And he's not too shabby on the defensive end either.
Well said Johne, good points, I definitely agree
no sense dwelling on it. championships are built from the backend out.
Only if by "all the greats" you mean Wayne Gretzky. If great means superstar hockey players, you may want to pay a visit to the Hall of Fame in Toronto. SensChirp Hall of Fame Trip?
We don't need another Bertuzzi/Moore fiasco ... Make Wolski answer the bell once for his transgressions( with an upper middle weight - Neil, Smith or Cowen) then move on.
The team needs to focus on moving forward with the rebuild.
Prior to the end of last season, the Sens could not win without Alfie. They started to overcome that last year with Anderson's arrival. So far they've done a good job of continuing to prepare for life wiothout Alfie. Top of that list is the 1st line shaking off last game and proving that it was just one of those things that will happen from time-to-time.
I agree about the concussion, not good, I daresay this might be his last year. Is this a negative comment? hell I dont even know anymore...
Just by looking at the facts, Concussion, back/hip/leg problems, 38 years old, 1 million in salary next year...
You tell me...
Except for Pittsburgh and Chicago and all of Edmonton's cups...All offensively led squads.
But yeah, usually a strong backend will get you far!
I don't see the point of directly comparing Rundblad to Tarasenko. People are only doing that because that is who the blues took. There's no guarantee that that's the way we would have gone, we might as well be comparing Rundblad to the guy who was taken 18th or 21st. For all we know that's who the sens had at the top of their board at that point.
All we can say for certainty is that Murray rated Rundblad higher than anybody else who was left in the draft.
Tarasenko looks like he will be good NHL player, so does Rundblad.
The above statement is hard to swallow !
Age and body crunches are taking a heavy toll on Alfie.
To me, he is in his last year as a Captain & a Senator !!
Hope he comes back to finish his career on the ice!
how can you not put Tarasenko and Rundblad on the same page? Tarasenko was the best guy on the board by a long shot. And yes they didn't want a Russian so that's why they made the move. A safe move that looks like we made out ok, and Tarasenko doesn't seem like the Russian risk that Murray was afraid of (luckily for the blues). I don't get why people get their panties in a wad when the two are compared. I liked the move then and I still like it now, but you can still like the thoughts of Tarasenko too.
Yup...gotta pick someone, someone's gonna complain either way. It'd be different if Rundblad was horrible, or even an average prospect, but for the equivalent of a 16th round pick he is looking really good. So no complaints from me.
'Wolski has to get out to his pointman'
Yea, so that gives him an excuse for getting his elbow up and drilling Alfie. He had his head up the whole way and could have avoided the hit.
At the start of the video he talks about things that factor into his decision
1. Principle point of contact
2. Recklessness/intent
3. Injury to play
Well check off all 3 for this hit and he didnt even give him 1 game.
I meant to say that double digit players are usually stars, not all star players wear double digits. I'd only be referring to about 15 guys
I wouldn't necessarily agree with tarasenko being the best guy on the board by a long shot at the time of the deal either. Players that TSN had ranked above or around him (Watson and Etem for example) were still available.
I've not seen anything that indicates that tarsenko was definitely who we were going to pick, as others have pointed out, there is a perception we wouldn't have picked a Russian player anyway.
I understand why people want to directly compare DR and Vt but think this is heightened only because Tarasenko was picked next and would be happening if St Louis had picked somebody like Hayes or Pysyk.
The only certainty is that we liked DR more than tarasenko and St Louis felt the other way.
I completely agree with you.
Ian Mendes:
Alfie: "If I'm at home with the kids and I do too much, I get light-headed and a little dizzy and I have to sit down for a bit."
Well isn't that just fecking great.
Second, the team clearly didnt want anyone that was available at that time since they traded the pick.
Move along and end this stupid argument
When Rundblad gets his confidence like Karlsson we are going to say wow a lot of nights with some of the plays and goals.
Wait for it.
Quoting hello_gary:
Just razzing you man... I usually agree with you. Nothing personal...
And onto the ALfie long term injury...
What an absolute disgrace this whole scenario has become. Shanahan really lost respect and credibility for this one.
Take a look at our history of drafts and all the Russians we drafted that either amounted to nothing, or refused to come over to tryout, and are rather playing in the KHL
Zubov
Nikulin
Kaigarodov
Megalinsky
Bashkirov
Anikayenko
Lyamin
Mirnov
Gimayev
how many of these Russians panned out into NHL players - zero
and then add to that the misfortune of Yashin, Kovalev, Gonchar,
Do you blame them for being a little gun shy on Russians.
Do you not think that given our history with the Russian players, that we have wasted enough picks on trying to find a good NHL player.
Yes there are some great ones, but IMO they are too far and few between
yes marathon not a sprint - i get all that, but I still, for the most part, love what this team has done so far
can't say enough good things about Maclean and the other coaches either.
I admit that I have been in denial with regards to his retirement, he has a long history of being a quick recoverer of all his injuries, except for last year.
At 38 he could still contribute and was of tremendous value to any team, and I saw him as a possible Recchi to our Sens when we compete again for the SC in a few years.
If this indeed can lead to the end of his career, and Wolski goes unpunished, then shame on Shanahan. Your self proclaim mandate of correcting the headshots is a complete failure!
Shame on you Shanahan, it is clear to all of us now, that your early season propoganda on finlly being savior, and correcting all that is wrong in the NHL, is all a crock of shit, and makes you a worse SOB than even Bettman!
I would like to know how we can let Shanahan know how we feel, anyone know how to do that?
penguins had fluery in nets plus 3 very good puck moving defensmen surrounded by gritty veteran d but admittedly, their strength at center was a huge factor.
dunno about chicago, their d was pretty deep...when brian campbell is your 6 th defensman and big buf can't even crack your d, I'd say that's pretty deep.keith, seabrook, barker, sopel.
edmonton was just a whole different era but they did have one of the best d in coffey..
Am I the only one that read that using Napoleon Dynamite's voice?
On a more serious note: Am I the only one that's concerned that neil/konopka/sm ith will be spending more time trying to get revenge on wolski and getting bad penalties costing us the game?
Begs the question: What is a better revenge? Hitting someone back and giving them a win? Or stealing 2 pts from them?
Don't get me wrong...I hope Neil finds Wolski skating in a vulnerable position and gets him good. Yes, I'm an eye for an eye kind of person...
god forbid you post something that prompts an intelligent discussion
last i checked Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe wore number 4 and number 9
I think people are arguing this for the sake of arguing - the internet seems to do that to people ;)
I believed the original statement was meant to be: Several greats often wore double digits...lets not all be so darn literal now :)
When I played sports when younger, that guys number would be had for sure. Can't even count the number of times in soccer/rugby/fo otball/basketba ll that someone got hurt two weeks after a cheap shot.
Eaaasy. 100 posts and very little in the way of bickering. let's keep it on the rails here boys!
Our captain can't even play with his kids without getting dizzy. I would gladly sacrifice two points to exact bone crushing revenge.
What Shanny basically explains is that when two players see a collision coming last second - they both tense up and lean in to protect themselves. However sometimes only one player realizes the problem is coming. That's when you get these plays where it looks like a guy is leaning in to make a cheap-shot even if it's not the reality. Shanny showed a Neil clip that was basically the same thing. Neil realized he needed to get to the wall last second. He turned, suddenly realized his new course would cause a collision, tensed up, leaned, and looked like he was making a massive cheap-shot on the opposing player. In actuality he was just trying to get to where he needed to be on the ice - and then tensing for a collision to protect himself last second.
And for the record, I thought Neil should have been suspended too.
really... are just tryinig to disturb it? cause you have stirred mine.
it was with an elbow, right?
and with the pass was long gone it is a late hit, no?
Bottom line these are NHL players who, when they need to stop on a dime...if Wolski WANTED to he could have avoided it.
he did not, chose to make contact (late) and with a freakin elbow to the head!
In Shanahan's new NHL there are three things wrong with Wolski's hit, not just one.
in Sutton's suspension at least the puck was there, and he got 5 games!
Easy call to suspend,
Bad post, unless you want to stir it up
but it's a pretty natural thing for a fan to have a different reaction depending on whether a player on your team is the victim or the perp.
and when somebody differs from automatically defending that player it pisses people off
Man, he has a different opinion, he's allowed! It's not a bad post because you don't agree with it...
I think Wolski should have got a few games for sure, but I can see the argument of why he didn't. People are allowed to have differing opinions!
Smash, here is the explanation you wanted:
People are defending themselves, as Tyrant makes it sound like the only reason they think its a bad check is because they are biased.
Have you checked nhl news recently? This seems to have surprised many people, not just senators fans. So I don't think the "bias" argument fits 100% here (although i'm sure it does somewhat play a part). I don't like the hit, to me it looks dirty, it makes me feel sick that alfie is prob out for his last year...but I will trust the judgement of this to someone who played pro nhl for several years.
So there you have it. People aren't upset at smash because of his differing opinion, but because he tried to void their argument by simply calling them all biased. Simple.
Almost there, Johne!
I obviously meant to say "People aren't upset at Tyrant", instead of referring to yourself.
All Wolski was likely thinking on the play was that he needed to get out to pressure Rundblad at the point ASAP. Alfie just happened to be in his way. If you've ever played wing in hockey at all you know how frequently it happens off a face-off that someone gets in your way on the way to the point. You don't abandon your mission of getting to where you have to go. You just try to squeeze through and brace for incidental contact if necessary.
I understand all that, but he says that because it's true, we are biased.. Like he said the same people that are calling for Wolski's head were nowhere to be found when the Neil hit happened... It's natural for us to be biased towards the Sens, because that's who we cheer for and watch on a nightly basis.
I really don't want to get in this debate again, it just seems that people can't take an opinion that isn't exactly the same as theirs...
The hit looks much more unfortunate and incidental than vicious. That's just my opinion of course. I think Shanny's explanation is indeed quite adequate. Kerry Fraser's column has helped people understand the challenge of NHL officiating. I respect that Shanny has the balls to be transparent and put it out there why exactly he made each decision. If legions of biased fans are little bitches crying conspiracy he might decide not to publicly explain things anymore. I much prefer hearing and getting the explanations don't you? So stop crying fowl. Disagree if you want but claiming it's some bullshit conspiracy is just garbage.
1. he disagreed on the call made on konopka
2. he also disagreed on the minimum call given to wolski on the alfie hit and further went on to say that the NHL has incorrectly modified the applicable rule (forget the #) and that - here is the important bit - the refs are wrong to recommend the modification which allows for the minimum penalty.
all i have to say in the end is that no nhl player is sleep-skating out there (unless the name is kovalev), all of them know what they are doing and are always in full control of their actions. its all about choice. wolski does stick his elbow out and does not try to avoid what he knows will be dangerous contact with alfie. the same was with steckel on crosby, he could have avoided the contact.
1. deliberate hits with intent. these are very obvious e.g. hits from behind.
2. incidental contact where the delivering player had a choice to avoid the contact or minimize contact.
the hit on crosby by steckel falls under #2 and the hit on alfie falls also udner #2.
interestingly enough if you study konopka's hit on anisimov, you will get the point of the #2 category. he could have destroyed anisimov, but changed his angle such that he only hits him from the side. its another thing that anisimov sells it and konopka gets a truckload thrown at him. its pretty clear because anisimov was back next shift. that is the kind of hit the league needs to get at, but to do so it has to punish each occurence of the type that injured alfie.
When is the last time a Russian contributed to a cup win? Datsyuk (exception, not rule)
Our team is becoming far too European as is. The less Russians the better
After watching it over and over about 1 million times, at exactly 0.55 and 1:29 on the Webcaster video on youtube. Its clear the point of contact wasnt the head, Wolski gets him flat from upper chest to lower chin. Yes he does catch the face but thats superficial, the head snap comes from the impact of the hit, that and Alfie was on an angle.
The only problem I have is Wloski saw it coming and could have avoided it, instead he got rdy on a defenseless player.
Alfie is known for getting hit like this, MArk Bell, Craig Adams, now Wolski, maybe Alfie needs to change his approach?
Flame on...
You intend to clear from your zone, and puck goes over = delay of game, doesn't matter what the intent was...
Player falls down and your stick is between his legs = tripping, doesn't matter what the intent was...
Your stick hits a player's face and cuts him up = high stick, doesn't matter what the intent was...
Why is a hit to the head any different? I've only played beer league, and maybe I'm partially stupid (my wife won't disagree with that argument), but why so strict on certain types of calls, but so focused on "intent" with hits to the head (which to me seems the most severe of all the calls).
I understand the whole "its a contact sport", and these things happen, what I don't understand is why we're so strict on a "high stick", and not a "high shoulder".
No flame. Well argued and valid points :)
Easy, Malkin won the Conn Smythe when Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup.
As for the comment about being far too European. In the last five Stanley Cup finals there has been five times where a team has had a European as a Captain. Twice a team has won a cup with a European Captain. So can we please stop with this racism and stereo-typing about Europeans. The team that usually wins the Cup always works the hardest and excutes their plan to perfection and not by having the fewest Europeans.
Malkin, Gonchar, Fedotenko for Pittsburgh.
Khabilbulin & Fedotenko for Tampa Bay.
Datsyuk & Larionov for Red Wings
Just to name a few, im sure theres more...
Again I disagree!!
...Zubov in Dallas...
Nail Yakupov in Ottawa...what? It's a joke people...lighte n up ;)
what about the fact that it was a FREAKIN ELBOW!!!
Also Gonchar is playing really well these days and with heart, taken some hard hits for the greater good so I kind of don't think that is fair, you are just adding to the animosity they must feel towards us bashing Russians all the time.
I travel a lot and for the most part people are people and you don't get much out of people disrespecting them as a Nationality.
Gonchar I hope stays playing like he has to finish his contract and let the young guys learn from him as Karlsson has, as long as he is giving 100% I don't think much of bashing him.
The case of drafting Russians should be on a person to person basis, the only reason I can see to not draft a Russian that is a good person and a player that will be subjecting themselves to the Racism us Canadian have towards them.
Name the last decent Russiaan, not Great, but decent Russio the Sens drafted or signed...
Tookie you will probably ignore this comment, b/c you can't name any, b/c there are none!
Were there some great Russian players, yes of course, but they are far and few between.
And I am the last one to be racist, its just a fact.
WHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!!
Love it!
I am not in the least bit racist,
and yes Volchie was an exception, and was an excellent d-man for us,
but please take a look at my post #97, and all the wasted draft picks on the Russian kids we took. Many of them were wasted 2nd round pics, who felt they deserved to have a spot in the NHL rather than earn it, so they leave to go play in the KHL.
Look at the pics that have paid their dues and are now playing with heart and jam,
Greening
Condra
Butler
Daugavins
and still down there
O'Brien
Wiecoch
Gyrba
Our stock is now back and full, and worthy of envy of other teams, where as up to a few years ago, b/c of some of those bad draft pics our player cupboard was empty, b/c most of those Russians left for the KHL.
This is not just me, many NHL teams are skeptical on drafting Russians, since they may decide not to come over, and therefore waste a pic.
I have to admit I laughed out loud at this one! Good one!
Thats pretty easy, the poster above you said it...Volchenkov!
Yashin was great for the Sens, when he played, that you cant deny...
Igor Kravchuk!!
And soon to be draftee Yakupov/Galchen yuk/Grigorenko. ..
I will give you the one Took, yes I was wrong, we did draft a good one in every way in Volchenkov, great player with even better attitude!
But Yashin, although talented, his attitude and selfishness more than damaged any talent he had.
and Kravchuk is very much a stretch
one in how many? I am sure that hit average is very low...
yes you are more than entitled to your opinion, with people who support your opinion, and yes I am a self-proclaimed Alfie enthusiast.
I try to be objective, but may have some biases, but this hit was not close to clean IN MY OPINION.
And I have played plenty of hockey, if Wolski is that determined to get to the point, he does not get there by colliding with Alfie, he gets there by goin around him... and his job is to ge to that point, and do not tell me he does not have the ability to avoid him... if that were a breakaway going the other way, he would of easly gotten around Alfie
"Not sure I want to engage in the russian conversation but was Volchie Russian.
Also Gonchar is playing really well these days and with heart, taken some hard hits for the greater good..."
You're kidding about Gonchar right???
The next hit he takes for the greater good will be the first...you'll find more heart in a KFC dinner.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/blogpost.htm?id=3761
Intent-Check
Headshot-Check
Injury-Check
Suspension-Miss
Shanahanigans abound.
Gaborik's point man is #7, Rundblad and he's there. Wolski's man is Alfie, who has just come down from the left point. There are 3 Rangers caught up high, too high, Wolski goes for the old I'll pretend I don't see him, fool the Ref and get away with Interference... now at the last instance Wolski, who has been fencing with Alfie earlier, realizes Alfredsson doesn't see me and cranks him a blind side shoulder extention "shot" directly to the head...
Come on Colie even you were suspending this hit in the old days before the owner "revolt!"
for those of you that continually bash Zack Smith for taking penalties. As it turns out, he draws more penalties than he takes.
let the kid develop.
There is one angle of the hit where after the hit took place WOLSKI looks right at the ref afterwards and looks like he knew it was a bad hit and obviously knew what he was doing... But anywas shammy dropped the ball huge on this one.
Shanahan is complete bullshit. Get someone else who can do the job better.
the last few games I disagree he has worked hard since the boo's in the opener.
last game he took a couple of good hits.
I give credit where credit is due, he has picked up his game as of late and has been great on the power play, we would be nowhere near as good without him until Rundblad develops.
I hope you also realise that blads scored 50 points in 55 games as a 20 year old while playing in a league that is one of the hardest to score in...
The KHL is playing in their home country and they have less animosity towards them there, I can see not drafting them because they might stay there but to infer that they are lazy players is not always the case.
Russia has always been a Country North America has had animosity towards.
Just think it should be about the player, his commitment to play in the NHL should be considered in every draft pick, even sweden.
Chirp.. Crosby is a different (sort of) issue in that he got hit twice in the head in back to back games. He should have been out after the Steckel hit as he was probably concussed then... but to take that second hit so soon... do you think that is more of the issue than the one hit Alfie took?
I'm not expert by any means.. but two hits to the head in back to back games may be more of a severe injury.. no?
Because Murray was building the defense.. and the question will always be... will Tarasenko come to NA. What if they ask him to go to the AHL for more development... will he bolt? Sens have just had bad luck with Russians... not saying it would be the same situation with Tarasenko but maybe they did not want to take the risk.
So we are back to that crap... has he been suspended before?
It should not matter -- WHO did the hit.... whether they have gone 'over the line' before.... and what team they play for.
It's about time that they penalize THE HIT... NOT who did it.
I just hope he is not out too long. What really sucks is that Alfie won't be playing in the game on 11-11-11. And that totally sucks.
I'm for Konopka on the pay back. If he is out of the lineup... no real loss.
Wolski is a clean player who made a dirty play. Who cares about his history?!?!?
or maybe it's just an excuse so that he doesnt have to play the sens???
Really... that sucks... he needs another type of punishment..
A nice open ice hit would be nice or a sandwich hit, something that rocks his world and is legal.
oops did not see the above posts
Four back to backs next month.
Too bad if this causes him to miss next week's game at SBP, but he got what he deserved.
thats ok, gaborik or richards are still playing ;)
Penalties, particularly ill timed ones, where a problem for Zack last season; but I would agree that he has been much improved so far this season.
Whether or not the intent to injure was there, the recklessness was, the principle point of contact was the head and Alfie is injured (his career is likely over, very sad). As others have said before me, I lost most of the respect I had for Shanahan's ability as safety enforcer, and I can see that the NHL still follows the "Wheel of Justice".
Guess it was just a "hockey play".
"We've seen enough of these now -- and I don't like these -- but seen enough of them where when one player sees (the hit) just prior, he tenses up. And sometimes he even leans in, because he's bracing for an impact. When both guys see it, it's two guys tensing up and they bounce off each other and everybody's fine. It's really unfortunate here, when one player doesn't see it and the other guy does."
so according to shanahan basically its alfie who is at fault for not seeing the hit coming. and there you have it people, the fix for the concussion epidemic in this league- BLAME THE VICTIM. sort of like blaming the victim of a rape.
As for bias, by definition, yes a fan of the Sens is biased in passing a judgment on this one. And, by the same definition, a former Ranger is biased in passing judgment on this one. I judge could not sit on a case involving his or her former employer or a co-worker three years after leaving. But, as I said, what difference does it make if Wolski misses a few games or not.
I think Spezza Michalek get split up to spread the vets around
I never said anything about lazy, all I said is finding a good one is far and few between, and I think that is very accurate, especailly where the Sens are concerned
Hell I dont know but I got Kessel and MacArthur in my pool, both very late picks, due to well, being Leafs...Now I sit comfortably in first!!! LOL
Well to be honest, its not the first time Alfie is caught watching his passes...really , whats with players doing that...
If Alfie doesnt do that, he easily avoids the hit, most of you flamed on me for saying Anisimov wasnt expecting the hit because he was in a bad position, he was defenseless cuz he knew he should not get hit in that position....sam e with Alfie, both deserved suspensions for the act of knowing the other player was defenseless and still going through with a hit.
For one of the rare moments, I agree with Tookie's comment.
Shanahan and his aides need to be more strict with any perpetrator, and not based on his past history.
Scott Stevens' type hits are lethal and career ending !
Well sometimes the victim of a rape is not a victim at all, it can be a ruse...like Gonchar did to Boyle, tell me who the victim is there...Gonchar going behind the net, see's Boyle coming and instead of taking a legal hit, he turns his back last second, maybe to try a spin off or something, and gets plastered from behind...CLEARL Y Gonchar was in the wrong here....BUT Boyle gets a penalty...
It goes both ways...
Three Rangers are caught high, Wolski is going for the routine interference in desperation when at the last instant he realizes "Alfredsson doesn't see me" so he looks off the Ref and blasts Alfie directly in the face...
Are you seriously leading the second pool?? Way too funny I am in the lead in the first one....but apparently we don't know hockey
no one is denying the role that each concussed player may play in putting himself in a vulnerable position in the first place. but again thats like blaming the victim of a rape. the onus is on the player who made a choice of exposing that vulnerability and that is what this league-i thought- was trying to get rid of, players making informed choices of exploiting the opposing player's vulnerable position. ditto with Gonchar and Boyle, boyle could have changed something to avoid his own penalty, but failed to do so. its the same with icing calls, the league still has not come up with no-touch icing even though its pretty clear that people can avoid major major injuries with that. as great as nhl hockey is, this is a shameful part of it where it cannot put its players safety supreme and absolute. the most ironic part of it all is that its not the game thats unsafe, its player behaviour and lack of respect for another player.
No not the SC pool, I couldnt get in...a pool at work but yeah, late picks rule!!!
I do agree with you on several things, like player respect and behaviours, you shouldnt run a guy in the boards knowing he's vulnerable.
I dont hink the Boyle hit applies here, Gonchar WAS aware of the hit and could have easily taken it without injury or the like but decided to reverse it, while Boyle coming in for a routine hit get a spinning Gonchar last second....What is Boyle supposed to do, bail on the hit and risk possible injury to himself to avoid a bad decision by Gonchar?
You simply cant change you attack angle in 1-2 seconds, impossible.
Thats why they will never solve this headshot/hit from behind business, players on both sides of the case take advantage of the rules...