NHL Playoffs

[Romeo Delight]

NBC/VS coverage was so slanted towards Bruins and Refs were too much of a factor. .

I would be curious to see what they said about the time Daniel Sedin took 5 punches to the head in a row from Chara I think...he finally fell over on the 5th and was given a minor for diving. Unreal. Just incredible

I know last year the Sedins took flak from the media for "taking the bait" and responding to the cheap shots from Chicago. I guess this year they were "soft"

I am all for letting things go a bit in the playoffs, but slashes to the hands, spearing, and punches to the head have to be called.

Every team suffers injuries in these playoffs, and it is coming out now that there were broken ribs and fingers from slashes. These weren't even considered for penalties and happened many times after the whistle.

[Romeo Delight]

I don't think any penalty was called on this. Incredible. Remember, this is the league's leading scorer...no way this happens to Crosby, etc

[Warham]

Why did he just stand there and take those punches from Marchand? Did he expect them to call a penalty? He should have manned up.

[Romeo Delight]

Here's the thing...he is the #1 scorer in the league and shouldn't have to get involved in a fracas.

That is the de facto way it has been in the history of the NHL.

I think he should have retaliated. However, what would have happened then?

Both get sent off for 2 minutes. If that is the case, then how come that isn't 2 for Marchand? It just isn't right any way you look at it.

Why would the #1 scorer in the league want to go to the penalty box when the Canucks need goals?

Face it, there is some serious bias afoot

[Warham]

Well, he wasn't doing much when Marchand wasn't using him for a punching bag.

He looked like anything but the #1 scorer in the NHL. In fact, Marchand looked more like that type of scorer.

[Romeo Delight]

Now your just being petty.

I don't know what a guy has to do to garner an iota of respect from the league...

The NHL's elite player this year in the regular season...also ending up number 2 or 4 in playoff scoring. He is the best player in the NHL this year. A dominant force who no one could stop (until they threw out the rule book)

Only in the NHL would their elite player be allowed to be punched in the head by more than one player in their showcase event without even a minor penalty.

I thought the one where Chara actually swung hard at his head and landed twice was far worse.

It makes them look bad frankly. And like I say, I wouldn't care except they wouldn't let it happen to someone from a large US market. Do you really think that would be allowed if Crosby was at the other end?

It is a moot point what Crosby would have done.

the fact that he is a Swede and from Vancouver males it ok. Its not.

[WACF]

Maybe it would have happened anyway, but there is no doubt there was the same group known to police who were very active in the recent Olympics here who did the same thing (minus the cars) who were part of this incident. Their images are there as the proof then and now. So no doubt whatsoever that it did occur and that they are part of a known Anarchist group. The punks who got involved didn't come prepared like the "pros" who had gas masks, fuel, weapons of all kinds, etc

Its not really a matter of if this is true, because it is. The rest you saw for your self

End of the day...the people that rioted should have stopped the known Anarchist group...they made choices.

Jail and hefty fines....and I hope that jackass kid crying on the news loses his scholorship and chance to play on the olympic team...choices....

[Romeo Delight]

I don't think there is a person in Vancouver who would disagree with you...well anyone who wasn't part of this.

He has lost his scholarship already. His Dad had to close down his medical practice for a time, which is unfortunate for everyone.

[PumpedUpMidget]

Winnipeg? Gimme a fuckin break.

5 years from now Winnipeg will be an afterthought, and moved to Portland......Wake the fuck up....

[PumpedUpMidget]

Luongo will win a Cup in the next 3 years...maybe more than one with these Canucks.

As long as Luongo is the Canucks goalie, they will NEVER win the Cup....

[PumpedUpMidget]

Ummm, yes he is.... and deserves cancer....

Ummm, Bud Selig is the worst.....

[chefcraig]

5 years from now Winnipeg will be an afterthought, and moved to Portland......Wake the fuck up....

ESPN announced a few minutes ago that the move is now official.

Thrashers' move to Winnipeg approved

ESPN


NEW YORK -- Don Waddell has been through it all with the Atlanta Thrashers since they entered the NHL in 1999.

From general manager to coach to team president, Waddell endured the ups and downs -- mostly downs -- as the franchise struggled on and off the ice.

After 13 years and only one playoff appearance that produced no wins, Tuesday was the day for Waddell and Atlanta to say goodbye to its second hockey team.

“We're particularly sorry for the fans that are (in Atlanta), but obviously based on the reception that we've gotten, everybody is extremely excited about the opportunities in Winnipeg for our return.
” -- Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner

The NHL board of governors unanimously approved the sale and relocation of the Thrashers to Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Tuesday, clearing the final big hurdle in the process.

"We've been through the emotions and the frustrations the last few weeks, but when I look back and being there 13 years, it's been a great run," said Waddell, who served as general manager from the start until the 2009-10 season. "Since '98 when I got hired, there are only four general managers that are currently with their teams.

"You've got to look at the positives. To be able to stay in one place for so long, it's been tremendous for me," he said.

The same can't be said of the team that once featured star players such as Dany Heatley, Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa but couldn't keep them for one reason or another.

True North Sports and Entertainment bought the team last month and announced it was bringing the Thrashers to Winnipeg, which lost the Jets to Phoenix after the 1995-96 season.

"Obviously, everybody is sorry and distressed and unhappy that we found ourselves in the circumstance where our franchise was leaving Atlanta," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. "We're particularly sorry for the fans that are there, but obviously based on the reception that we've gotten, everybody is extremely excited about the opportunities in Winnipeg for our return."

The sale is reportedly for $170 million, including a $60 million relocation fee that will be split by the rest of the owners. The Thrashers are the fifth NHL team to move since Bettman became commissioner in 1993.

Following the Flames, who moved to Calgary 31 years ago, the Thrashers are the second NHL team to leave Atlanta. Those clubs are also the last two teams to relocate to Canada. Seven of the league's 30 teams reside north of the border.

"It's a sad day for hockey fans in Atlanta, but the franchise is going to a good place and run by good people," Waddell said. "Sports in general have been tough in Atlanta. I can't say (hockey) is finished forever ... but they've had two tries at it now and it's been difficult for all ownership groups to make it work.

"College football in the South is like hockey in Canada. It's the No. 1 sport. When UGA plays football on a Saturday, the party starts on Thursday. We've got a lot of competition in the marketplace," he said.

The NHL is giving up an American market that has more than 5 million people in the metro Atlanta area and heading to Winnipeg, which will be the league's smallest market with the smallest arena.

The team will play in the 15,015-seat MTS Center, but in a wave of enthusiasm, the club sold out 13,000 season tickets in a matter of minutes earlier this month once they were made available days after the sale was announced.

The Thrashers made the playoffs in 2007 but were swept in four games by the New York Rangers. Atlanta had only one season in which it won more games than it lost. Now the Thrashers will be a footnote in hockey history.

Although the Winnipeg franchise has yet to pick a name, it will not be the Thrashers. The club will bear no resemblance to the one that briefly called Atlanta home.

“ It's nice to have Winnipeg back in the big show. It's not a slam dunk. Everyone in Winnipeg has to support this team.
” -- Brian Burke, Maple Leafs GM

Waddell, general manager Rick Dudley and coach Craig Ramsay won't make the move to Manitoba. Dudley completed just one year of a four-year deal after he replaced Waddell, and Ramsay was one year into a two-year contract.

The Thrashers' ownership dealt with major financial problems and declining attendance in recent years. The team had the league's third-worst attendance last season, averaging fewer than 14,000 a game.

"They certainly made every effort they possibly could to have it work. It didn't work," New Jersey Devils president Lou Lamoriello said. "Winnipeg is excited, the league is excited right now. What they have been able to do there in a short period of time is just tremendous."

Winnipeg had set its sights on the troubled Phoenix Coyotes, hoping to bring back the former Jets, but that team was saved last month for at least another season in the desert after the city of Glendale, Ariz. -- where the club's arena is located -- voted to subsidize the team as it seeks a new owner.

Canadian billionaire David Thomson, who heads the Winnipeg ownership group along with Mark Chipman, went hard after an NHL team when the Coyotes and the Thrashers fell into serious financial trouble.

The Coyotes are owned by the NHL and likely would have returned to Winnipeg if Glendale hadn't agreed to provide a $25 million subsidy for this year and then approved another for the 2011-12 season while the team tries to complete an agreement with a prospective new owner.

That kind of deal was never an option for Atlanta.

"People are pretty excited about putting a team back in Winnipeg," Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke said. "There are some challenges in the market, but I think everyone is pretty comfortable that everyone can and will meet those challenges.

"It's nice to have Winnipeg back in the big show. It's not a slam dunk. Everyone in Winnipeg has to support this team," he said.

Thrashers co-owner Michael Gearon and the rest of the Atlanta Spirit group came under heavy criticism for the way they ran the team, especially when it was revealed in court documents they were looking to sell the club almost as soon as they acquired it in 2004.

Gearon said they have lost $130 million since taking over the franchise -- including $20 million in 2006-07, the year the Thrashers won the Southeast Division and made the playoffs.

This season, the Thrashers were in contention for a playoff spot but faded down the stretch.

[Romeo Delight]

[QUOTE=PumpedUpMidget;1547829]5 years from now Winnipeg will be an afterthought, and moved to PortlandQUOTE]

Well, they have already catapulted themselves into the top 1/3 of the league in revenue...and that is guaranteed for 5 years.

I think they will be ok...