Tuesday, February 26, 2008

 

And It's Over

So both the Flames and Oilers stand pat. No movement for Alex Tanguay, Dwayne Roloson, Steve Staios, Marty Reasoner, Jarret Stoll and Rob Schremp. Yet, as Lord Bob noted in the thread below, this really was an excellent trade deadline day. I could enjoy, without being nervous. Because the Oilers didn't trade or acquire anyone, all the best stuff for me was coverage related. My highlights:

1) Ray Ferraro dumping on Matt Cooke.
2) Pierre McGuire having a heart attack about the Armstrong/Hossa deal.
3) No Glen Healy on the panel.
4) No Brian Burke on the panel.
5) Mike Milbury's candor, including his calling out of Cliff Fletcher for his comments on JFJ and Pavel Kubina.
6) The weird JFJ vibe. The elephant was literally in the room, all day long. After the Fletcher press conference, it got even weirder, which I did not think possible.
7) The Damien Cox conspiracy theory about the Toronto Five.
8) Steve Simmons and Damien Cox openly suggesting a professional sports franchise should lose on purpose.
9) Dave Hodge returning to HNIC form, ripping Simmons and Cox apart.
10) Nick Kypreos' barely hidden scorn for Bruce Garrioch.

My only regrets:

1) Not enough t.v. time for Pierre Lebrun and Bob Mackenzie.
2) No Eklund up in the "war room", surrounded by Boston Pizza swag, face hidden from the huddled masses.


Both the Oilers and Flames play tonight, the Flames against Colorado, and the Oilers against Detroit. I don't know if the Avalanche and Wings will have their new additions with them, but both games should be interesting to watch. To my mind, Colorado is the team everyone in the Western Conference should be worried about (Canucks and Flames fans, I'm looking at you). They are just outside of a playoff spot, and they've played much of the year without Joe Sakic, Ryan Smyth and Paul Stasny. All three are back, along with new players in Peter Forsberg, Adam Foote and Ruslan Salei. If the goaltending holds, they should make the playoffs, and go deep.

Prediction: 3-2, Oil. Stoll, Penner and Pisani.

GOILERS!


***Instant Update***

I need to add another highlight already.

11) Terry Jones' unilateral decision to speak for the entire City of Edmonton in congratulating Kevin Lowe for not trading anyone today. Lowe's gushing response: "thanks Jonesy!"

Comments:

I think Crosby should at least consider a restraining order against McGuire--there's such a creepy vibe there.
 


I love Bob Gainey. Just saying.
 


Im sure if the rest of us had seen Crosby's muscular legs in person, we'd understand his feelings...

Does anyone else assume that McGuire dreams about Crosby and Phaneuf having pillow-fights in their underwear?
 


Does anyone else assume that McGuire dreams about Crosby and Phaneuf having pillow-fights in their underwear?

Oh yeah, that's a given. I just don't think about the finale of that dream.
 


TSN: "a near-record 24 trades."

Le sigh.
 


All of you must have missed the Sabres/Islanders series last season when McGuire gushed on an on about how handsome, funny and how muck of a gentleman Chris Drury was.

I think Briere was on a breakaway when Pierre interupted Miller to proclaim "every father out there wants their daughter to marry Chris Drury".

I'm just saying, if the Penguins and Rangers could somehow meet in one of the first two rounds, I pray that TSN covers the series.
 


Oh yeah, that's a given. I just don't think about the finale of that dream.

You mean when Phaneuf takes off his Mexican wrestling mask to reveal his face and I wake up screaming?

Oh wait, you meant McGuire's dream...
 


Considering where McGuire stands during the games and how he bellows when he speaks as though he has two burst ear drums, I wonder how uncomfortable it is for the players he creeps on to listen to him form the bench.

I bet he gazes at them longingly from ten feet away when he talks about their legs or marital status.
 


"Does anyone else assume that McGuire dreams about Crosby and Phaneuf having pillow-fights in their underwear?"

Underwear? I doubt it.

I have my doubts that Colorado will be able to put together a big run, based mostly on my belief that their goaltending sucks and that Forsberg will be a flop. Tonight, with our improved goaltending/defense vs. their returned scorers will be an interesting game.
 


I think Crosby should at least consider a restraining order against McGuire--there's such a creepy vibe there.

I disagree, just so I can see the inevitable 'SportsCentre' commercial with McGuire and Crosby eating spaghetti and they both get the same strand and they end up kissing then there's a shot of McGuire lying in bed with Crosby smoking a cigarette saying "you're a MONSTER."
 


good call lord bob. good call.
 


Thanks Lord Bob. Now I won't sleep tonight.
 


Andy: glad you added the Jonesy comment. That got a laugh out of me as well. Typical fawning. The only thing missing this time around was the applause.
 


I think Briere was on a breakaway when Pierre interupted Miller to proclaim "every father out there wants their daughter to marry Chris Drury".

That is too funny. That would explain how the NYR were on his list of five to win the Cup.
 


Love Bob Gainey??? Why? For passing on the Hossa sweepstakes? For trading a goalie for a second rounder when he should have gotten more? Do tell Grabia!!
 


Addition by subtraction: The Canucks got better by pawning Cooke off to the Caps.

You're right about the Avs though. I can see them going on a crazy 15-4 run the rest of the way and pole vaulting everybody in the NW. Geezis, how frustrating.

I have my doubts that Colorado will be able to put together a big run, based mostly on my belief that their goaltending sucks and that Forsberg will be a flop.

Hope you're right, ngthagg. But remember that the Avs don't need outstanding goaltending. Mediocre will probably suffice.
 


wow lowe even took shots at burke, milbury and jfj during his press conference. he must of had a good day.
 


Love Bob Gainey??? Why? For passing on the Hossa sweepstakes? For trading a goalie for a second rounder when he should have gotten more? Do tell Grabia!!

Wow, Habs fans are an even bigger bunch of spazzes than Oilers fans.
Apparently ATL wanted three current roster players and a prospect for the rental of Hossa. Yeesh. As for the Huet deal: would the inclusion of a 7th round pick made that deal acceptable? There's no market for goalies, man.
 


I think that Grabia loves Gainey because Gainey is a former character player whose first real job post-hockey was getting a head coaching gig in the Northwest Division exclusively because he used to play the game, before moving up to the GMs office the next season.
 


Do tell Grabia!!

I like how he kept his composure today, especially compared to Fletcher. I thought he defended the Huet deal well.

Oh, and what LB said :)
 


wow lowe even took shots at burke, milbury and jfj during his press conference. he must of had a good day.

What did he say? I missed that part.
 


I heard that Jones quip during the presser over the sound of my belnder running. It was almost inaudible but my brain translates custard and icing sugar really well.

Sometihng like "how does it feel to make no deals and have everyone think the better of you for, you did the right thing" or some similar garbage. To Lowe's credit, he has zero shame, and gushed in the adulation.

"Thanks, boys!"

I didn't hear Lowe's comments on Burke, Milbury and Ferguson. Can anyone elaborate?
 


What did he say? I missed that part.

in dicussing what he had been doing over the last week...

"i have 28 pages of notes in regards to conversations...not 29"

when asked if he would comment on the day's trade activity (i'm assuming this is one for milbury and jfj)

"that's what you do after you've been fired"
 


Hey, don't forget the outstanding work of Doug MacLean on Sportsnet.
 


Smytty!!! Gets the "all important first goal", according to Millions. HUGE goal, Matt. HUGE.
 


That was kind of neat, seeing Foote join the Avs bench about halfway through the first.
 


This comment has been removed by the author.
 


Some intriguing(funny, out of this world) stuff from KP over on the Oilers website. Worth a listen, if only to hear his and the orgs' "master plan?!?"

Good run down at Lowetide's in one of the comments section, the best being from Bankshot:

"KP is as about as reliable as the former Iraqi minister of propaganda.

"Our army is crushing the American pig-dogs as we speak!"...as a tank brimming with celebrating Americans trundles past.

 


I think that Grabia loves Gainey because Gainey is a former character player whose first real job post-hockey was getting a head coaching gig in the Northwest Division exclusively because he used to play the game, before moving up to the GMs office the next season.

That's not true at all.

It was the Norris Division. Geez.
 


SMYTTY!!! WHAT A PASS!!
 


And Fernando ties it up for the Oil with 30 secs in the 3rd. Beau-tee-full.
 


Yep, and Smyth was really good all night, though I thought the Flames were better as a whole.

(And yeah, I'm not above whining about the reffing a bit: that's definitely embellishment by Liles on the penalty in OT. I'm positive I read Keenan's lips after the GWG, as he was looking at the refs, as "f**king c**ts".)
 


Okay, I missed the penalty. I was going to ask about that. So, it was a bad call? Or a good call, but Liles deserved one, too?
 


Avs got away with murder after the 2nd period. I counted 5 obvious picks that weren't called. Then the stripes call a trip on a dive in OT. Frustrating.

That said, the Flames played well enough to win. They outchanced the Avs 5on5 (again) and a lot of support players played strong games.
 


Bobby Nilsson with a HUGE goal(!), in the sense that it won the Oilers the shootout. We didn't need no stinking trade! Here we come, playoffs!
 


Avs got away with murder after the 2nd period. I counted 5 obvious picks that weren't called. Then the stripes call a trip on a dive in OT. Frustrating.

That said, the Flames played well enough to win. They outchanced the Avs 5on5 (again) and a lot of support players played strong games.


+1

This post is exactly right in every way. Just in case anyone was wondering.

Also, Sarich sucked tonight.
 


Flames didn't deserve to win last Friday vs the Wings so perhaps this evening things up.

Pierre was made about Hossa to Pit because he's a Habs suck who wanted Marcel to help out his adopted team.
 

Post a Comment

<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?