CrashingTheGoalie

by Ron Spence
“Looking at trade options,” Burke said. “If that fails, I will start shipping money to the minors.”
Brian Burke was blaming his players for the Leafs’ five straight losses and last place standing.  Carolina had just defeated Toronto to evade that dubious distinction.

“I don’t think anybody’s happy with our record,” coach Ron Wilson commented, [...]

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“We may never know exactly why Phil Kessel felt the need to leave the Bruins,” wrote Stephen Harris of the Boston Herald, “but much speculation focuses on his relationship with Claude Julien – specifically the coach’s efforts to turn a purely offensive youngster into a reliable two-way player.
Ultimately, maybe Kessel, told by so many for [...]

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by Ron Spence
I’ve been watching the Chicago power struggle since Dennis Savard was fired 4 games into last season.
At the time the Windy City scribes were noticing the shadow of Scotty – and his puppet son – in the wings.
And then it was questioned whether someone wanting the GM’s job – or wanting his son to [...]

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by Ron Spence
Many of us followed NHL free agency via twitter.
Face book postings have brought negative attention to some players.
courtesy of media.canada.com
And Toronto coach Ron Wilson is in trouble for semi-tampering on the air waves.
The NHL would be wise to form a committee and develop specific bylaws applicable to new technology.
The NCAA has been getting [...]

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by Ron Spence
If you wanted to shop Cory, who would you talk to?
Who wants an excellent young goalie?
Seth Rorabaugh writes about teams that should upgrade their goalie situation:

link
Rorabaugh’s referring to the case of Martin Biron – a $3.5 million player last season.
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But, a few of these situations could be appropriate for Cory.
Myself,  I’d trade him [...]

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by Ron Spence
Tony Gallagher is questioning whether the Lightening tampered with Mattias Ohlund – before free agency kicked at noon on July 1st.
He makes the points: ”How the hell do you agree to a contract structured so bizarrely 15 minutes into free agency without any tampering going on?…[And] How long had Ohlund been thinking about it?”
To [...]

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by Ron Spence
I like the Andrew Raycroft signing.
When you have Roberto Luongo on your roster, there’s only 8 to 12 games available for a backup. So you need someone with good team attitude and work ethic.
Raycroft is technically sound – with the exception of the top shelf shots.
He’s also large enough at 6′ and 185 [...]

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by Ron Spence
I’m breathing  a sigh of relief over the last minute Henrik and Daniel signings and I’m crossing the “t’s” and dotting the “i’s” on Roberto’s contract extension.
I’ve got my feelers out for another top six forward and a good, cheap backup – via free agency.
But most important, I’m looking to package Cory Schneider [...]

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by Ron Spence
Mike Gillis is in the process of signing a contract extension with Roberto Luongo.
Roberto was manhandled during the Chicago playoff series and Gillis has acquired a large, tough dman – who will drop the gloves.Coincidence?
I don’t think so.
Will Rome’s 222 pounds match up against Dustin Byfuglien’s 247 pounds? We’ll see this winter.
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You Tube [...]

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On June 4, 2008, the Penguins lost to the Detroit Red Wings in Pittsburgh. When the Conn Smythe trophy was awarded to Henrik Zetterberg, Penguin fans did not boo. When the Stanley Cup was presented to team captain Nicklas Lidstrom, again, Penguins fans did not boo. The Red Wings fans response to the Penguins winning [...]

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