The Official NHL Thread

[PHOENIX]

GO HABS GO!

[ALinChainz]

The Wings after a nice, fast start are taking a dump now.

[ALinChainz]

The goal that Malik of the Rangers scored last night for the win over the Caps ...

First goal of the season, the 30th shooter of the shootout, and a badass between the legs move to go top shelf.

Fucking sweet.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

The best part about it ??

He's a D-man...

[ALinChainz]

Bruins trade Thornton to San Jose for three players

November 30, 2005


BOSTON (AP) -- The struggling Boston Bruins traded captain Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night in exchange for three players.

The Bruins get forwards Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau and defenseman Brad Stuart for Thornton, who signed a three-year, $20 million contract with Boston in August and was once thought to be the future of the franchise.

"He is a leader who scores points and makes other players around him better," San Jose general manager Doug Wilson said in a statement on the team's Web site. "To get a player of this caliber, you have to give up something to get something. You would make this trade last month, this month or next year. It follows our philosophy of making our team better for this year and next year."

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Thornton had been the key to the Bruins' offense. He scored more than 20 goals in each of his last five NHL seasons, including two with 30 or more. In 2003-04, he led the team in scoring with 23 goals and 50 assists.

This season, the 26-year-old Thornton has nine goals and 24 assists for Boston, which has lost nine of its last 10 games and is in last place in the Northeast Division.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=ApZGe2T4VaW7Vz42K9Ll_Tw5nYcB?slug=ap-bruins-sharkstrade&prov=ap&type=lgns

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Shocking, to say the least...

I read early last night that the 3 Sharks were healthy scratches, and I was thinking the Pens might be involved....

Also, I would have thought that the Bruins have plenty of other tradable players, i.e. Samsonov, Murray, Boynton, before even thinking about trading Thornton....

Wow...

[Nickdfresh]

Small Market Sabres Predict a Profit w/ New CBA

Sabres predict a profit

If the team makes the playoffs, revenue could be even higher

By GENE WARNER
News Staff Reporter
12/2/2005


The Sabres are back, and so are the fans, as the team eyes a profit in revamped league.

Buoyed by an 11.5 percent jump in tickets sold for their first dozen games this season at HSBC Arena, the Buffalo Sabres are projecting a slight profit in their first season of the "new" National Hockey League.

And that is without considering projected revenue from a possible - perhaps even probable - playoff appearance.

Sabres officials aren't talking about any multimillion-dollar profit bonanza this season, the first under the NHL's new streamlined salary structure.

But based on the results of the first 12 games in Buffalo, heading into tonight's game against San Jose, the team's number-crunchers are projecting $51.8 million in revenue for the season, just above a projected $51.5 million in expenses.

"We have to fire on all cylinders, but I think we will break even, . . . with maybe a slight profit for the regular season," said Daniel DiPofi, the team's chief operating officer. "It depends on our continuing to play well and building more momentum [in ticket sales]."

A playoff appearance, in rough numbers, would add about $1 million in net revenue for each playoff round, depending on the number of home games.

While the concept of breaking even or making a small profit may seem a modest step for the Sabres, it reportedly would be the first time in more than 20 years that the team wasn't awash in red ink.

A team that has climbed from the depths of bankruptcy and then the lost 2004-05 season now can look realistically toward a long and solvent future at the foot of Main Street.

"There's definitely hope for the long-term viability of the franchise," DiPofi said. "I don't think anybody could have said that under the old system. It was a bottomless pit."

Strong signals have emerged previously from Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano that he is not willing to subsidize continuing multimillion-dollar losses. Instead, he is believed to be looking for a self-sustaining operation that is near or above the break-even point.

Still, the Sabres face a huge challenge in the next few years, aiming to sell 12,000 season tickets, including the partial-season minipacks.

This season, the Sabres have sold just 7,486 season tickets, plus the equivalent of 880 in minipacks. That's a total of 8,366.

That means the team has to sell more than 10,000 individual tickets to sell out HSBC Arena, with its capacity of 18,690.

"I'm not disappointed with our season tickets," DiPofi said, "but we've still got a long way to go."

The upturn in the Sabres' financial fortunes mirrors that of the whole NHL, which reportedly has experienced an average 7 percent increase in ticket sales.



Little lockout backlash

In Buffalo, and throughout the league, there appears to be little backlash to the season-long lockout last year.

"I think a lot of acceptance for our fan base is that the game is so much more exciting than it was in '03-04," DiPofi said. "If people felt gypped out of a hockey season, they feel much better when they see the new product and how well our team is playing."

Ted Fay, associate professor of sports management at Cortland State College, cited the players' pay cut, the reduction in many ticket prices and the improved product on the ice.

"The fans have a gut feeling that they won in this," Fay said. "The feeling is that something happened where the fan was part of the equation."

The Sabres so far are pleased with their variable-pricing scheme, which they hatched during the idle season. That plan labels each game either Gold, Silver, Bronze or Value, with box-office prices higher for more attractive teams on more popular nights. The plan is designed to protect season-ticket holders, who pay the Value (cheapest) price for all 40 games.

So, for a 100 Level II seat for a Gold game against Toronto, a season-ticket holder paying $39 might sit next to a person who paid $95 at the box office.

Team officials, though, are somewhat disappointed that the Bronze and Value games, the cheapest, haven't sold better. DiPofi thinks the public needs to be educated about the pricing plan.



Ticket sales better

Despite earlier media reports claiming the Sabres had only a slight increase in ticket sales compared with two years ago, the numbers show that the team has done significantly better - and above the NHL average in percentage increase.

Through the first 12 games in Buffalo, the team had sold 166,074 tickets, an average of 13,840 per game, an 11.5 percent increase over the first dozen games in 2003-04. Revenues were up 18 percent for those games.

"Are there still 4,000 empty seats [on an average night]?" DiPofi asked. "Yes, but it's better than 7,000."

A 13th home game, on Oct. 26 against Washington in Rochester, sold only 6,042 tickets, compared with 10,633 tickets sold for the Rochester game two years ago. When that is factored in, this year's increase in sold tickets amounts to only 7.9 percent, still above the league average.

(Sabres officials have noted that this season's quickly arranged Rochester game lacked a local draw and a popular opponent; two years ago, the Sabres played the Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils, with Rochester product Brian Gionta).

With the Sabres' strong on-ice record, with the fans' positive reviews about the new game and with winter approaching, DiPofi believes the team may sell close to 600,000 tickets for the season, an average of about 14,600 for 41 games.

Sabres officials also point to other healthy signs about the team's return to the ice after an 18-month absence:

Ratings for the first 21 televised games on MSG Network are up 63 percent, compared with two seasons ago, according to team vice president for communications Michael Gilbert.

The Sabres no longer "paper" the house with huge numbers of complimentary tickets. As of this week, the team has given out a total of 28,000 comps for past and future games this season, compared with double that number at the same time three seasons ago.

Daily ticket sales for any remaining games are creeping toward 1,500 per day, even on non-game days, another upswing from two years ago.

Suite sales and sponsorships also are up significantly. Group and minipack sales, though, are down, as expected, because they offer smaller discounts than before.

Link

e-mail: gwarner@buffnews.com

[ALinChainz]

Originally posted by Va Beach VH Fan
Shocking, to say the least...

I read early last night that the 3 Sharks were healthy scratches, and I was thinking the Pens might be involved....

Also, I would have thought that the Bruins have plenty of other tradable players, i.e. Samsonov, Murray, Boynton, before even thinking about trading Thornton....

Wow...

Wow is right. You would hope the three they got will be value to them for giving up a young good player.

I wonder if the Pens will go with Fleury the rest of the way in goal or try and bring someone in, Thibault (sp) has been horrible when not hurt.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Fleury is there to stay, in fact, Caron is now on waivers after there were no takers for T-bo....

But goaltending is only part of their problem, they need better defense and some damn pucks go in the net....

Went tonight to Norfolk to see the Baby Pens go to 19-0-2 after a 3-2 overtime win great game...

[Romeo Delight]

Hey Va...

How is Mario looking?

I ask because he is slated to be part of Team Canada, but is he playing good enough?

Wayne will include him unless Mario backs out.

Last time around he worked alot of magic on one leg, but he is older now.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Well, I'll be honest....

I'll always consider myself (for my sons as well) fortunate to watch him play in person several times since he came out of retirement, since I didn't get a chance to watch him play the first time around...

But Mario is looking like he's 40 years old....

His puck handling skills are still excellent, but his speed has gone down a notch or two, so he's not as explosive as he once was....

Where that's made a big difference is on the power play, where the penalty killers will lay back when he has the puck and force him to make a perfect pass....

As for Team Canada, I have a feeling that when the roster is finalized in a few weeks, he's going to back out... I just think he has too much integrity to save a roster spot for him...

Having said that, I'd lay odds that if he backs out, his spot will go to Crosby, which will cause some controversy, but it's hard to argue with the numbers he's putting up...

Mario's comments recently are really sounding like that, such as;

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05337/616741.stm

Mario Lemieux, who has gone without a point in four consecutive games for the first time in his career, isn't pleased with how his season is unfolding, but still isn't ready to remove himself from consideration for a spot on the 2006 Canadian Olympic team.

He made it clear, however, that he won't accept a spot on the roster simply as a lifetime achievement award.

"I'd love to play, if I'm able to play at the level that I need to play at to help the team," he said. "If not, it's not fair to me or to Team Canada to take a spot, just because of my last name.

"It wouldn't be right for myself or, more importantly, Team Canada. Or the young players who deserve a spot."

Canada is expected to announce its roster in about 21/2 weeks.

[Full Bug]

This is a old story, but found it pretty funny, dont think its been posted before, and after all everyone knows Toronto deserves it anyway right? This year it will be the real thing....

Toronto Maple Leafs Declare Themselves 2005 Stanley Cup Champions


Hey, a cup is a cup is a cup, right?
The Toronto Maple Leafs--Canada's favourite hockey team--have ended their 38-year championship drought by declaring themselves 2005 Stanley Cup champions.

Leafs' management made the unexpected pronouncement at a press conference called after the official cancellation of the National Hockey League's 2004-2005 season.

While it was assumed the coveted trophy would not be awarded this year, the Leafs' top brass see things differently.

"The Stanley Cup is not the property of the National Hockey League," Leafs General Manager John Ferguson Jr. accurately pointed out. "Thus, we feel that we were well within our rights to claim it. Who's gonna stop us? We're the Leafs!"

And, according to Ferguson, procuring the Cup was rather easy.

"The real Stanley Cup is at the Hockey Hall of Fame, just a couple of blocks away from my office," he explained. "So I just walked over there on my lunch break and asked the security guard if we could borrow the Cup for a while, and he said ?sure'. Sucker.

"I don't know why we didn't think of this sooner."

"It was great walking down Yonge Street with the Cup and everyone honking their horns at me and cheering. It gave me goose bumps," continued Ferguson. "And it was so much easier than trying to win it the more traditional way, you know, on the...ice, with a team full of 55-year-old men."

But wouldn't it be more fulfilling to win the Stanley Cup the "more traditional" way?

"That's the old paradigm," barked Leafs coach Pat Quinn, who flew in from a six-month golf vacation in Antarctica to celebrate his first Stanley Cup championship. "You have to think outside the box to win championships today."

"I defy you to tell us that we're not the Stanley Cup champions," added a visibly agitated Ferguson. "Tell us that we're not. Look into my four-year old son's eyes and tell us that we're not the Stanley Cup champions. I dare you."

Upon hearing the news, jubilant Leaf fans immediately took to the streets of Toronto to celebrate their team's first cup since 1066.

"YEAH!" said Frank McFrank of Etobicoke, wearing a tinfoil Stanley Cup on his head as he strolled around Yonge Street in a drunken stupour. "I'm not goin' to work for a week!

"Season or no season, someone's gotta get the cup. The cup is ours! Lockout champions 2005! WOOHOO!!!"

Members of the Leafs will be gathering in Toronto for a public rally and parade, once they've all been notified about the Stanley Cup win.

A spokesperson from the NHL's head office in New York said the league is "examining the situation."

[guwapo_rocker]

Went to the Leaf game last night, we lost.

But they did play at the game, Unchained, Hot For Teacher, and You

Really Got Me.

They did not play Up For Breakfast.

[Nickdfresh]

INSIDE THE NHL
Trading Thornton a panic move that could sink Bruins

12/4/2005

In Joe Thornton, the Sharks gained a big guy who can score and anchor any line.

By BUCKY GLEASON

Marco Sturm scored 77 seconds into his debut for the Boston Bruins, giving his new general manager the evidence he needed. Mike
O'Connell was looking for immediate rewards after trading franchise center Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks for Sturm, Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau.

The Bruins' 3-0 win over the Senators was impressive, justified the swap for at least a few days. Now we wait. Three-for-one deals often provide instant gratification, but they're dangerous because the three usually don't equate to the one over the long haul. The team with the best player usually wins a multiplayer trade.

In this case, it's San Jose by roughly 3,000 miles.

Obviously, it was a bold move because O'Connell knows his fate if this deal doesn't work out. He's gone. Intelligent move? Well, let's just say O'Connell has been directed toward the gallows until further notice. He and coach Mike Sullivan will start there and work their way back, their futures riding on the three newcomers.

Thornton is a world-class player, a big guy who can score and anchor any line. They're tough to find. Thornton wasn't the problem. He was the solution. O'Connell should have built around him while shoring up his defense and goaltending. Instead, the Bruins panicked and traded him 26 games into the season.

Stuart and Sturm are fine players. Stuart is a minute-muncher who should help the Bruins' blue line, where Hal Gill carries the piano. Sturm is a burner who had four goals in his first six games, two over his next 17, one in his first game in Boston. We know better than to call Primeau a sweetener. He was a throw-in.

Critics suggest Thornton failed to reach his potential, wasn't a true leader, led the Bruins to only one playoff series victory since he arrived in 1997, failed to justify his three-year deal worth $20 million in the salary-cap era. But, oh, the number of teams that would embrace such a listless underachiever in his prime.

Thornton, 26, had nine goals and 33 points in 23 games with the Bruins and missed three other contests with back problems. In games in which he played, he figured in more than 45 percent of their scoring. Any chance the bigger issue was the Bruins allowing 92 goals, fourth most in the league, including an NHL-high 37 in the third period?

We'll see whether there's a backlash in the dressing room. The Bruins might see it as a simple shake-up, but there's a better chance they'll view the deal as a lack of commitment from management.

Boston started the 2003-04 season with a $45 million payroll and won the Northeast Division with 104 points. Its payroll was nearing $50 million after a few late-season trades, but with the 24 percent rollback the Bruins needed only a few adjustments to stay competitive in a tough division.

Rather than replace the windows, they blew up the house.

Thornton is taking the fall, but the blame should be directed upstairs. The Bruins allowed all but a handful of contracts to expire, which forced them into the free-agency frenzy. Buffalo-based owner Jeremy Jacobs gushed over his roster before the season, buying into the Rangeresque idea that a collection of new faces somehow defined a good team.

O'Connell's answer after losing Michael Nylander, Mike Knuble and Brian Rolston, who combined to earn $6.1 million this season, was Brad Isbister, Alexei Zhamnov and Dave Scatchard at $7.3 million. The three newcomers had scored 21 fewer goals and had 41 fewer points at the time of the deal. Scatchard was traded after 16 games in Boston.

Now the Bruins have three more newcomers after dumping the one player they should have kept. It could cost two more people their jobs.


Missing Malarchuk

Nagging injuries to Joe Nieuwendyk and Gary Roberts have certainly hurt the Panthers, but their bigger problem has been the brutal play of goalie Roberto Luongo.

Luongo started the season with back-to-back shutouts, but he won only twice and had a 3.61 goals-against average in his previous 14 games leading into the weekend. Luongo had a close relationship with former goaltending coach Clint Malarchuk, who was shipped out when head coach Jacques Martin was hired.

"He knew me, he knew how to handle me, and it was disappointing for me to see him go because we had such a good relationship," Luongo said. "Clint knew how to get me ready for a game, or if I was struggling a bit, always to keep me on an even keel."


Avery Hater's Club

There's no shortage of players who despise Sean Avery, which pretty much covers anybody playing from Quebec, Edmonton tough guy Georges Laraque, Nashville's Darcy Hordichuk and Chicago winger Mark Bell.

But let's not get out of hand here, either.

Rumors were circulating in Montreal that the Los Angeles Kings considered changing their travel plans over the weekend after an unidentified player received a death threat from a fan. Presumably, the player in question was Avery, the Kings' classless pest.

"It's pretty bad when guys on his own team are telling me to kick his butt," said Hordichuk, who pummeled Avery on Nov. 24.

"Guys on his team don't even like him. I think people get tired of his act."


Avery was reprimanded this season for suggesting French Canadian players play dirty and hide behind their visors. He later was accused of using a racial slur to describe Laraque, who is black. Bell never liked Avery, especially after the Kings winger hit him from behind last week.

"We have a long feud going back to juniors," Bell said. "Someday there's going to be no referee in the middle of us, and I'm going to take care of him."

Take care of?



Ramsay rewarded

Former Sabres winger Craig Ramsay signed a contract extension to remain associate coach under John Tortorella in Tampa Bay through the 2008-09 season.

Ramsay could leave to become a head coach, but another team would need permission to speak with him. Florida inquired about Rammer in 2003, but the Panthers were denied permission to meet with him. Ramsay was given much of the credit for the Lightning's run to the Stanley Cup the following season.

For now, the classy Ramsay seems content making $500,000 a season as one of the top assistants in the league. His even-tempered personality is the perfect fit for the fiery Tortorella, which is why Tampa's players adore him.



Quotable

Oilers defenseman Igor Ulanov after getting struck in the groin while trying to block a shot: "When (trainer) Kenny (Lowe) came out to see me, I wasn't that worried. I told him I already have three kids."



Around the boards

• Here's an interesting Sabres stat: Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, J.P. Dumont and Jochen Hecht combined for 30 goals, 32 assists and a minus-18 rating through the first 26 games. Tim Connolly, Ales Kotalik, Paul Gaustad and Thomas Vanek combined for 28 goals and 37 assists and were a collective plus-5.

• The Blues are almost certain to remain in St. Louis through the 2010-11 season based on a clause in the contract when the Laurie family purchased the team. The family, whose total losses could surpass $200 million, has been trying to unload the struggling team. Any new owner would be bound to the same clause.

• Atlanta might have found a temporary solution to its goaltending problems in rookie Michael Garnett. He was abused for nine goals in his first NHL start early this season but settled down during four straight starts and went 2-1-1. "It's gone from being a real novelty to reality," he said.

• The Canadiens were relieved Thornton was traded, but they should have been mourning his departure. Thornton had only one assist to show for his last 15 games against the Habs, including playoffs. Sturm, Stuart and Primeau collected four goals and three assists for San Jose in 15 games combined against the Habs.

• Can't help but think back to the 2003-04 season every time Flyers center Peter Forsberg drops hints about returning from a minor groin pull. If you remember his last season with the Avalanche, Forsberg made it seem like he was day to day . . . for 43 games.

e-mail: bgleason@buffnews.com

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20051204/2063802.asp

WTF were the BRUINS thinking?:confused:: Suckers!

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Originally posted by guwapo_rocker
Went to the Leaf game last night, we lost.

But they did play at the game, Unchained, Hot For Teacher, and You

Really Got Me.

They did not play Up For Breakfast.

I'm gonna make it to a game up there one of these days, just gotta....