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Here and
There...
TFP Columnist Dennis Bernstein offers some random thoughts as
we glide through the holiday season.
(LOS ANGELES, CA) -- Enough with this Rory
Fitzpatrick on the All-Star team business. The story
was fun while it lasted, but Commissioner Gary Bettman
needs to step in and stop the nonsense.
Don't tell me that almost half a million fans want to
see this guy play in Dallas; it's more like one guy
voting half a million times. Right?
At the rate they're going, the Anaheim Ducks will win
about 70 games. The San Jose Sharks have had a
stellar year and they're trailing the leaders in the
Pacific Division by double-digit points. Occasionally,
they fall asleep because they win every game, but when
they impose their will, they physically dominate team. |
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Although, I've said in the past that Scott Neidermayer is the
key to this team, the Big Bopper, Chris Pronger, is the Hart
winner right now. He's doing everything that GM Brian Burke
expected and more; he's on pace for an 80-point season and
projects out at a plus-44 rating.
No one is lamenting the loss of Joffrey Lupul in Orange
County. Naysayers that the Buffalo Sabres are fast and
talented enough to beat the Ducks, but they don't have the
physical assets to compete with Anaheim. Should they meet in
the Finals, the Ducks would wear them down. Short of a injury
to either Neidermayer, Pronger or Jean Sebastien Giguere (the
odds on Vezina winner), it's Cup Time in Anaheim.
It's time for the Penguins to waddle out of Pittsburgh.
The city doesn't want them; they built nice homes for the
Steelers (Heinz Field) and Pirates (PNC Park), but they won't
do the same for the Penguins.
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Maybe
the city should have thought twice about a park for
the non-competitive Pirates when they have Sidney
Crosby and Evgeni Malkin skating in the Steel City.
They'd welcome those stars in Winnipeg or Kansas City,
but the smartest move would be to put them in Las
Vegas.
They
could house them in the Orleans Arena for a couple of
years until a state of the art facility is built. The
NBA is hot to put a team there as well, as evidenced
by their All-Star Game being held there without a home
standing team.
Here's an update on the LA Kings' season: Anze Kopitar.
I'm searching around for something other breaking
news, will get back to you on that. |
Pleased to see that Andy Murray got the St. Louis job.
I guess that disaster is a little better than the Columbus
train wreck. It will be interesting to see how the veterans in
STL deal with Murray's colleigate style. Guys like Jeremy
Roenick, Luc Robitialle and Sean Avery turned thumbs down on
the coach's process last year which led to his dismissal in
the City of Angels.
Murray had turned down the NCAA Division I RPI job over the
summer in hopes of getting back to the NHL. Mission
accomplished. And while he'll deny it, Murray exacted some
revenge on Dec. 21 as his Blues vanquished the Kings for their
second consecutive victory. Rather than gloat, Murray took the
high road.
"I've got a lot of friends over there," he said after the
game. "They're (The Kings) my second favorite team in the
Western Conference."
If Murray can turn it around, the Blues have a strong and
loyal fan base that will support a winner; what else is there
to do in Missouri in this winter, anyway?
Interesting trades by backup goaltender, er, rookie Isles
GM Garth Snow just prior to the holiday trade freeze. He
unloaded two solid veterans, Alexei Zhitnik and Mike York, to
division rival (well, they're so bad they're not anybody's
rival) Philadelphia Flyers; getting journeyman Randy
Robitialle and young defenseman Freddy Meyer in the process.
The key here is that Snow has freed up cap space, telling us
that as the Feb. 27 trade deadline approaches the Isles will
be a buyer in the trade market. They need a solid second line
center, so the Kings' GM Dean Lombardi could pitch them Craig
Conroy, a guy who would bring great veteran leadership to the
locker room as well.
The gamble the franchise took on Ted Nolan has worked big
time; he's instilled mental toughness in this character-less
team and lit a fire (as they hoped) under Alexei Yashin, who
just returned from missing eight games with sprained knee
(he's surprisingly leads the team in plus/minus after having a
-14 rating last season). He's done the same with Viktor Kozlov,
who has had the "great potential" tag on him since he entered
the league over a decade ago. They don't have the depth of a
Buffalo but can compete with any other team in the East.
Note to Ottawa GM John Muckler and Tampa Bay GM Jay Feaster:
Push the button already, the ship be sinking!
Saw Calgary play two games in Southern California;
they're not the Penguins... zzzzzz!
Dennis
Bernstein, the man behind SCORE! Media, is a columnist for
TheFourthPeriod.com and the Los Angeles Correspondent for The
Fourth Period Magazine.
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