We had Caps winger(and Stittsville native) Matt Bradley on the show the other day, so with that in mind I had to post this gutless act by St.Louis "tough guy" Cam Janssen.
Brutal. I've always respected Janssen as a tough guy (who is generously listed at 6'1) who will fight anybody. However, as a far as hockey player, there is nothing tough about his game. How often does Cam Janssen:
1. Deliver a meaningful hit on a suspecting player
2. Take a hit to make a play
3. Go to the corner first
I'm guessing about as often as Daryl Katz speaks to Oiler fans/customers. I'm getting off track. Remember this Janssen beauty?
Is there a steeple chase on the way Michalek?
Oh yeah, here is what might be the latest hit ever caught on film.
Forget about bringing in new head shot rules. As a long as donkeys like Janssen continue to pull an NHL cheque nothing will ever change.
Tough hockey?
Melnyk steps up and Murray's not done
All aboard the bandwagon! I'm sure it's overflowing with Sens fans after the events of the last 15 hours or so. Let's review:
-Last night the club survives a good old fashioned shootout to defeat the league's top team 6-5, where Jason Spezza continued his torrid pace since suffering a knee injury with a 3 point night. The win coupled with a Buffalo loss has the Sens atop the Northeast division.
-This morning we are summoned to SBP for a 9:45 newser where it is announced that Bryan Murray has agreed to a 1 year extension to stay on as GM
-Shortly after that we are told not to leave as Murray will be back at 11:05 to make another announcement, where he tells the gathered media that the club has aquired veteran forward Matt Cullen from Carolina for D-Man Alex Picard and a 2nd round pick this summer(Ottawa still has San Jose's 2nd rounder from the Heatley trade).
-It is also revealed that Chris Campoli was injured last night, so Brian Lee and Derek Smith have been recalled from the AHL. Both will play tomorrow night in Detroit with the latter making his NHL debut. Murray says he is actively looking to shore up the blueline.
-Right after this wraps up, Cory Clouston comes in and reveals that Chris Campoli's injury will keep him out for at least the next month
-Lastly(for now), word comes out that Jonathon Cheechoo(and his 3 million dollar cap hit) has been waived. Proving even a blind squirrel gets the odd nut, see my post from January 27th.
With all due respect to Matt Cullen, who is a nice addition, it's the Cheechoo move that sends the bigger message. Eugene Melnyk is serious about trying to win right now. According to CapGeek.com, Melnyk is eating $917,098 for the rest of this season to get Cheechoo's cap hit off the NHL books. Not to mention a probable buyout for the final year of his contract this summer which will cost another 2 million dollars. Melnyk has always said he'd do whatever it takes to bring a championship to the nation's capital. By allowing Murray to waive Cheechoo, the owner is putting his money where his mouth is. Murray said he is actively looking to address the blueline through trade. Freeing up this cap space just made that a lot easier. Stay tuned.
Sens call Friday news conference
From the Sens this morning.
Ottawa Senators president Cyril Leeder and general manager Bryan Murray will hold a news conference on Friday, Feb. 12, at 9:45 a.m. at Scotiabank Place to make a hockey announcement.
FYI. Murray is currently in the final year of his contract. We'll see.
Thumbs up for Burke
This post has nothing to do with the merits of the actual trades themselves, but rather the buzz Leafs GM Brian Burke created on a quiet Sunday in the dog days of an NHL season.
Remember how much you talked about the Pouliot-Latendresse trade? Nice to see it's working out for both sides, but it was a gross underachiever for a gross underachiever. The amount of coverage it garnered was as if Lafleur had been dealt for Dionne. But it's not our fault. That's what hardcore NHL fans have been reduced to. Breaking down problem for problem trades as if they're blockbusters.
Thank you Brian Burke! You actually made me remember a big part of the reason I became such a big NHL fan as a kid. Trades. Huge ones. Ones with stones. Ones that have enormous up and down sides. Ones that can actually occur during the dog days of a season and not just within 48 hours of a trade deadline or in the summer.
Big in-season deals are what we all like to talk about but don't see happen much anymore. It's to the point where when the haves and have nots of any given season start to separate, we don't even expect trades anymore. Rather, we all partake in death watches. Once the first coach is fired we move onto the next one on death row, heck we even see goalie coaches get the axe mid season these days!
Rumours of any significant trades are also prefaced with talk of how teams must get rid of a salary on waivers, or bury one in the minors. Inspiring stuff indeed. If there was a cap on coaches and managers there would be no point in paying attention at all for some fans. "It's November and my team sucks so far this year, oh well, guess I'll check back in at the deadline".
Losing an NHL season might have provided some financial stability(though some would call BS and point to Phoenix, Tampa, Florida etc..)and the rule changes signalled the end of the dead puck era, but it also ushered in the dead trade era. So once again, thank you Brian Burke for letting NHL fans have a dog day in the sun. Let's hope your idea to let teams retain some salary to facilitate in season trades finally gains some traction, because I miss the fan I used to be. Watching the waiver wire and waiting for coaches to get fired isn't exactly inspiring stuff.
Hockey for Haiti Day
Tomorrow is Hockey Day In Canada but the Carleton Place Minor Hockey Association is also making it "Hockey for Haiti Day". Check out the link to see how you can help the kids make a difference in Haiti.
http://www.cpmha.ca/page.php?page_id=19862
Separated at Birth?
Courtesy of e-mailer Man Stretch Lou. Had to pass this along. Describing it on air doesn't do it justice. Cory Clouston is a remorseless coaching machine. The T-1000 of the NHL's coaching fraternity. 