Capitals eager for your business

As reported by Sean's Ramblings,by way of Greg Wyshynski,the Capitals are now charging $15 extra for their two "home" games against thePenguins at the Verizon Center next season.To clarify things, according to Sean's Ramblings, should youbuy individual tickets to this game directly from the team, it will cost you$15 more because it's considered a "premium" game. If you have seasontickets with the Capitals, you get to keep your $15 which will allow you to gettwo burritos at that Chipotle inside the "phone booth."Having been to three of the last four Penguins' "home" gamesin Washington the past twoseasons, we understand why the Capitals are doing this. The amount of Penguinsfans in the arena for all of those games was staggering. And we have to assume it had to somewhat embarrassing for Capitals fans and officials.The straw that probably broke the camel's back was the March 9contest between the two teams that lots of folks remember best for NicklasBackstrom's "goal:"(Please visit the site to view this media)If there was a time for the Capitals to show they wereplaying in a real hockey town, this was it. A high profile rival was in town. Thegame was nationally televised on NBC. The Capitals were making a desperate pushto reach the postseason. And they had the best player in the sport scoringgoals at a pace the league hasn't seen in over 10 years. This was their momentto shine.And Penguins fans, from Pittsburghand Washington D.C.,took it away from them.They didn't exactly take control of the Verizon Center, butwe'd estimate at least 40 percent of those in attendance that day would backSidney Crosby in the seemingly endless Crosby-Ovechkin (or is it Ovechkin-Crosby?) debate.The Capitals claim they're doing this to keep those ugly purpleseats filled with red jerseys. Seeing how involved the team's owner Ted Leonsisis with operating his team, we can believe that motivation somewhat. But let'sget real.Leonis didn't become rich by thinking solely with his heart.He's a businessman. The Capitals have increased ticket sales for the upcoming season, but these two games against the Penguins will be one of the few occasions a Capitals game will be the event in a busy city. He's going to strike when the iron's hot.So yeah, getting those tickets might be a little tougherthan they have been the past three seasons. But considering how many ticketswere available on StubHub and other ticket broker sites for the March 9 game, Capitals season ticketholders will probably be more than willing to help you again in 2008-09. Considering how loyal some of their "fans" are, you can't blame the Capitals for going down this path. Otherteams like the Sabreshave already taken this route. And before you point a finger at theCapitals in scorn, ask Red Wings fans about how tough it was getting ticketsfor Stanley Cup final games at Mellon Arena.(Photo: Gary Cameron/Reuters)EMPTY NETTER ASSISTSPenguins-Penguins prospect Robert Bortuzzo will be out at least amonth due to a shoulder injury.-The Penguins will hold a prospect camp beginning Sept. 9 inKitchener, Ontario.-Jonathan Bombulie of the Wilkes-BarreCitizens Voicetakes a look at the camp's roster.-The Wheeling Nailers acquired defenseman Elgin Reid from the Elmira Jackals in exchange for forward Steve McJannet.-Penguins prospect Casey Pierro-Zabotel (that name will be fun to live blog if he ever makes the team) is one of four players vying for three "over-aged" rosters spots with his junior team, the Vancouver Giants.-Eddy Spaghettiis wondering if wearing a Jaromir Jagr jersey is officially considered athrowback.Atlantic Division-Flyers forward Simon Gagne is ready to play and drown puppies after suffering from concussion problems last season.Northeast Division-The Canadiens unveiled they logo they will use tocommemorate their 100th season.-The Sabres dropped the prices of their exhibition games.-Senators defenseman Luke Richardson still wants to play. Southeast Division-Former Thrashers defenseman Mark Popovic will play inRussia next season.-Who's the best Panther of all time?Personally, we're appalled by Bill Lindsay'sabsence on the list.Northwest Division-Do the Canucks need a new entrance song?Pacific Division-Former Penguins defenseman Ross Lupaschuk will get a tryout with the Anaheim Ducks. Lupaschuk was one of three pieces of trash "prospects" the Penguins acquired from the Capitals in exchange for Jaromir Jagr in 2001. Since the lockout that wiped out the/nhl's 2004-05 season, Lupaschuk has played for several teams in Europe.Patrick Division-James Mirtle examines goal-scoring.-The Ferraro twins, Chris and Peter (both former Penguins) are expected to rejoin the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL.Source

What's wrong with hockey in the south again?

If you don't root for the Caps, you aren't a patriotLast week, Kevin highlighted the contentious battle between Ted Leonsis and Ross McKeon over the idea of contraction in the/nhl. I think at this point, the/nhl is doing just fine (overall profit in the/nhl is greater than that in the NBA), so I think contraction is moot, but I'm here to defend the south, the target of McKeon's proposed contraction.Looking at the list of proposed contractees, it's easy to see the generalization. Hockey doesn't work in the south. Attendence, the best metric of whether or not a sport is working in a specific town, clearly demonstrates that the geographic areas the least interested in hockey are, of course, Chicago, St. Louis, Long Island, New Jersey and Washington, Ted Leonsis' hood. Since the lockout ended, those are the only teams to show up more than once in the bottom 5 of percentage of tickets sold. Florida and Nashville were there once, while Carolina, Atlanta and Tampa never had years this bad. For the most part, outside of New Jersey, the consistently poorly attended teams have been awful.In all fairness, this past year featured Florida at the bottom, but it isn't because they suddenly started attracting fewer fans. In fact, they sold 80% of their tickets last year, which is far and away better than the last place team for the NBA or MLB and is actually better than what they did in 2006-07. I don't think it's responsible to say that hockey isn't working out in Miami, though, when their contending baseball team isn't drawing either. I think it's more accurate to say that sports in general aren't working in Miami. Don't pin this one on the South.Basically, if we're looking at attendance statistics, it's very clear that the/nhl is just like any other sport. The best way to put fans in the seats is to put a good team on the field, or, in this case, the ice, no matter where you are.Source

Together again

The Blackhawks traded former Penguins center Robert Lang tothe Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2010 draft.The move reunites Lang with another former Penguin, right wing Alex Kovalev.They were two-thirds of a pretty mean line during the Penguins' 2000-01 season.Along with Martin Straka, that threesome formed what was arguably the mostproductive second line in team history.Kovalev (95 points), Straka (95) and Lang (80) all reachedcareer highs in points that season while operating as the Penguins' second linefor most of the season behind Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and whoever was luckyenough to get stuck with those two. A combined total of 270 points from playerscomposing any one line, let alone a second line, is scary. And when youconsider this took place in the middle of the/nhl's "dead puck" era, you canreally gain an appreciation for what they accomplished.Does this mean the Habs are going to carve out a hole on thetop line and stick Lang with Kovalev? Probably not. He's better suitedfor second-line duty. But considering Montrealhad courted free agent center Mats Sundin this offseason, they obviously felt a need toupgrade the position. So anything is possible.The 37-year-old Lang can still play. He had 21 goals and 54points as the Blackhawks' second center last season. Additionally, he had threegame-winning goals, averaged 18:35of ice time and won 53.1 percent of his faceoffs. Chicago simplymade this move to dump some salary. After giving free agent defenseman BrianCampbell and goaltender Cristobal Huet keys to their own Brinks trucks, theBlackhawks needed to create some room under the salary cap. The move puts them$1.5 million under the cap.Aside from upgrading the center position, the Canadiens wereclearly motivated by increasing the number of ex-Penguins on their roster. Theaddition of Lang give them four and ties them with the Thrashers for the second-mostin the league. A quick call to the agents of free agent goaltendersJean-Sebastien Aubin or Jocelyn Thibault, and they have the lead all tothemselves.A quick look at the numbers of former Penguins who areofficially in some/nhl team's organization:Lightning (5) - Adam Hall, Ryan Malone, Michel Ouellet, Mark Recchi, Gary RobertsCanadiens (4) - Tom Kostopoulos, Alex Kovalev, Robert Lang, Georges LaraqueThrashers (4) - Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Johan Hedberg, Chris ThorburnIslanders (3) - Andy Hilbert, Richard Park, Jon SimRed Wings (3) - Ty Conklin, Marian Hossa, Mikael SamuelssonStars (3) - Toby Petersen, Landon Wilson, Sergei ZubovFlames (2) - Wayne Primeau, Andre RoyRangers (2) - Markus Naslund, Michal RozsivalSenators (2) - Shean Donovan, Jarkko RuutuAvalanche (1) - Nathan SmithBlackhawks (1) - Tim BrentBruins (1) - Andrew FerenceCanucks (1) - Nolan BaumgartnerCapitals (1) - Matt BradleyDucks (1) - Eric BogunieckiHurricanes (1) - Josef MelicharMaple Leafs (1) - Dominic MoorePanthers (1) - Noah WelchSabres (1) - Patrick LalimeThe Blue Jackets, Blues, Coyotes, Devils, Flyers, Kings, Oilers, Predators,Sharks and Wild do not have a former Penguin on their roster. Players such asRoss Lupaschuk and Petr Nedved who will be in/nhl camps on tryouts are notincluded on this list.(Photo: Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)EMPTY NETTER ASSISTSPenguins-By the sounds of things, Penguins prospect Keven Veilleux couldhelp Marc-Andre Fleury or Michel Therrien with their English.-Jonathan Bombulie of the Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voicesays there's a lot less buzz about this season's rookie camp than in yearspast.-Alex Goligoski and Luca Caputi are rock stars.-Can Matt Cooke replace Jarkko Ruutu?-Eric Politowski at Faceoff-Factorscored an interview with Penguins prospect Paul Bissonnette.-The Wheeling Nailers re-signed former Robert Morris forwardSean Berkstresser.Atlantic Division-The Devils re-signed restricted free agent forward RodPelley to a two-year deal.Additionally, New Jersey traded defensemanSean Zimmerman to Phoenix forforward Kevin Cormier.-Islanders forward Mike Sillinger is still dealing with ahip injury.-It's doubtful you'll find another list with Oprah Winfrey,Rush Limbaugh and former Flyers captain Eric Lindros on it today. So you mightas well click this link.Northeast Division-The Canadiens re-signed defenseman Patrice Brisebois.-At a press conference to announce his No. 33 would beretired, Patrick Roy put on a Canadiens jersey for the first time in almost 13years.-Maple Leafs fans are jumping off the bandwagon.-Senators general manager Bryan Murray is a fan of formerPenguins forward Jarkko Ruutu all of a sudden.-If you're up on your Finnish, here's an interview with Ruutu:(Please visit the site to view this media)Southeast Division-Because they don't have enough players with Penguinsconnections on their roster, the Lightning's management will give formerPenguins first-round pick Jamie Heward a tryout.Heward, a defenseman the Penguins drafted in 1989, played in Russialast season. (Kudos to Japers' Rinkfor the find.)-Lightning forward Vincent Lecavalier is still dealing witha shoulder injury.-Apparently not content with simply scoring goals on his ownnet,Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom decided to skate right into the dang thingand ended up spraining his ankle.-The Sidney CrosbyShowspotted something a little out of date on the Thrashers' Web site.-With only 69 games scheduled to be televised this season,the Lightning is making efforts to get its other 13 contests broadcast byover the air stations.Central Division-As indicated in the Chicago Tribune story we linked toconcerning the Robert Lang trade, the Blackhawks will bring in free agentforwards Kevyn Adams and Geoff Sanderson on a tryout basis.-Blue Jackets first-round draft pick Nikita Filatov isdealing with a leg injury.-Because there hasn't been enough troubles with textmessaging in Detroit,a service the Red Wings use inadvertently distributed false text messageupdates to subscribers indicating former captain Steve Yzerman would be comingout of retirement.Northwest Division-The Wild is still trying to work on a contract extensionwith forward Marian Gaborik.-New Flames forward Michael Cammalleri is a fan of IKEA.Pacific Division-Coyotes forward and former Penguins prospect DanielCarcillo wants to add some more offense to his game.-Forward Jeff Friesen is eager over his tryout with theSharks.Adams Division-Would be Penguins and Predators owner Jim Balsillie stillwants to own a/nhl team./nhl2K9 has a very punk feel to it.-The/nhl and/nhlPA are fighting over the league's pensionplan.Source

"Again"

Training camp starts today at 9 a.m. You better be in shape.(Please visit the site to view this media)We could so see Janne Pesonen saying, "Janne Pesonen! Suomussalmi, Finland!"There's a lot of questions for Michel Therrien to answer. Is Jordan Staal a power forward on the wing? Where do Ruslan Fedotenko, Miroslav Satan and Pesonen fit in? What do they do with the 293/nhl-caliber defensemen on the roster? Is Dany Sabourin capable of being the backup goaltender full time (if that makes sense)? Will that Dunkin' Donuts advertisement still be on the ice?We begin to find out today.EMPTY NETTER ASSISTSPenguins-Training camp won't last that long for the Penguins.-The Penguins beat the Senators 3-1 in the Kitchener, Ont. rookie tournament.-Goon Aaron Boogaard had three fights in the tournament.-Forward Casey Pierro-Zabotel has almost as many options as he has names. Atlantic Division-Flyers goaltender Antero Niittymaki is still having trouble with his hip. Maxime Talbot is bummed: (Please visit the site to view this media)Northeast Division-New Montreal and former Penguins forward Robert Lang sounds excited about being reunited with forward Alex Kovalev.Southeast Division-The Thrashers plan on using former Penguins forward Erik Christensen as a first-line center. Fire Ray Shero.-The Lightning has quite a few new faces in camp.-Former Penguins forward Matt Murley officially signed with the Hurricanes.-The/nhl rejected the contract Carolina signed with forward Eric Staal.Central Division-The Red Wings are another team classifying their home game against the Penguins on Nov. 11 as a premium game and therefore raising the ticket price to that game specifically. Northwest Division-The Oilers offered a peek of what their 30th anniversary patch will look like.Pacific Division-The Kings signed restricted free agent forwards Jarret Stoll to a four-year deal and Brad Richardson to a two-year deal.-Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky will not be in charge of the 2010 Canadian Olympic team.Adams Division-Former Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr is already running a coach out of town in the KHL.-The/nhl is getting closer to moving to Las Vegas. Source

Stan Fischler Acknowledges Blogs, Earth Does Not Collapse in on Itself

Despite the fact that Stan Fischler has had a blog on MSG for quite some time and has written for the New England Hockey Journal, I, for one, have never been quite convinced that Stan has actually been writing the articles. I always figured that they were ghost written or that he put his thoughts down on a typewriter and his editor had an intern post Stan's ramblings on the web. In fact, while Stan has been doing Devils' intermission reports for quite some time now, I was always convinced that there was a puppeteer always just out of view above him. Maybe I was wrong.Today, there's some evidence to support my wrong-ness. Apparently Stan, if he is indeed writing on the internets, acknowledged the Puck Daddy blog. Now I know this sounds crazy, but there is an actual, tangible quote here to support this.Ted Leonsis had every reason to be upset by Yahoo/nhl writer Ross McKeon’s “Five Ways I’d Change the/nhl” piece that recently ran in the uproarious Puck Daddy blog. One of his improvements involved dumping six teams – Washington, Florida, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Carolina and Nashville – from the/nhl landscape. Following Leonsis’ rebuke on his own blog, Ted’s Take,So, not only does Stan keep track of blogger/owner wars just like us, but he also reads arguably the most popular hockey blog on the internet... Just. Like. Us. If that doesn't scare the bejeezus out of you, I don't know what does. Thankfully all tall buildings are still standing and the sun has not burned out. Yet.But there you have it. We have a lot more in common with one crazy, crazy old coot than we thought. A lot more. And it's actually a little frightening. But more in that 'grandpa was really once our age' kind of way.Source

Ronald Petrovicky's fury knows no borders or heights

Remember Ronald Petrovicky? He was a serviceable fourth-linerwho mucked and grinded his way into everyone's hearts during the Penguins'semi-magical 2006-07 season. He was in the lineup for 11 games of that streakof 16 games in which the Penguins recorded at least a point. He's probably bestknown for delivering a knockout punch to the head of Maple Leafs forward KrisNewbury that season during a 6-5 overtime win at Toronto,Feb. 10, 2007. You mightrecall that game as being the "Jordan Staal Game" when Staal scored his firstcareer hat trick.(Please visit the site to view this media)Basically, Petrovicky was some guy most Penguins fansprobably had never heard of and in an instant, he became a younger, more Slovakianversion of Gary Roberts.After the season, Petrovicky bolted for Europewhere he savaged the peoples of Switzerlandand Swedenwhile playing in those countries' leagues in 2007-08.He's now directed his anger towards the new KHL. GregWyshynski of Yahoo! has found a video of Petrovicky fighting what appears to be a dwarf inthe new KHL. Petrovicky is the gentleman in white wearing No. 27.(Please visit the site to view this media)The bottom line is, we don't care if you're a Maple Leaffourth liner, a Russian dwarf or a 12-year old blind, handicapped kid. RonaldPetrovicky will mess you up.EMPTY NETTER ASSISTSPenguins-The Penguins' prospects report for rookie camp today.-Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby took in some of the U.S.Open.(Kudos to EN reader Kara Tershel for the heads up.)-The Penguins' logo is facing off against the FloridaEverblade' logo in The Hockey News' logo contest.(Kudos to EN reader Judd Stricker for the heads up.)Atlantic Division-The agent for free agent winger Brendan Shanahan is talkingto Rangers general manager Glen Sather about a contract.Northeast Division-The Maple Leafs hired former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguinsenforcer Dennis Bonvie as a pro scout.-The Air Canada Center underwent a facelift.-Aragorn is a Canadiens fan.Southeast Division-The Panthers signed defenseman Keith Ballard to a six-yearcontract extension.-The Hurricanes are trying to sign Eric Staal, who has abrother or two we hear, to a long-term deal.-Thrashers forward and former Penguin Erik Christensen isready to start the season.Central Division-Defenseman/bingo fanatic Chris Chelios officiallyre-signed with the Red Wings.-The Blues hired former Lightning forward Rob DiMiao as a proscout.-Blues forward Paul Kariya is looking to rebound after asubpar 2007-08. Source

Time For More Teams In Canada

from Mark Moore at the Hockey News, Drained by a yearlong lockout, fan support for hockey in the U.S. has waned. After three full seasons back, the effect has lingered to a point where one must wonder if it’s permanent.In places such as Nashville, Phoenix, Atlanta and South Florida that were among the latest to get franchises, enough time has passed for the novelty of a new game in town to have worn off. Meanwhile, for a variety of reasons that are identifiable, but are a separate story for another day, hockey has not penetrated very deeply into those populations.In the broader picture, the U.S. economy has been suffering. The war in Iraq, the sub-prime mortgage debacle and political conflict have all put a drag on things. Maybe those issues can be fixed quick, maybe they can’t.Other problems such as the decline of the American manufacturing industry, a growing scarcity of key natural resources such as oil and water, and an aging population certainly will not.What is of note in terms of NHL franchise location is that none of these troubles have equivalent parallels north of the 49th parallel.read on

Stone ready for the NHL?

Tom Venesky of the Wilkes-BarreTimes Leaderhas a good piece today on Penguins prospect Ryan Stone, the team's second-round draft pick in 2003.Basically, it explains that after years of waiting for hisopportunity, this is Stone's best chance to stick with the Penguins full time.It's also probably his last chance. Should he not make the team out of trainingcamp, he would need to clear waivers in order for the team to send himback to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.From our vantage point, we think the Penguins need Stone.He's a physical player with some decent size (6-foot-2, 199 pounds) who can play a powerforward type of game. Plus Stone doesn't mind getting his knuckles bloody. Hehad ten fights between the/nhl and AHL last season. He also seems to have a healthy dislike for the Flyers organization which certainly won't hurt his cause:(Please visit the site to view this media)(Please visit the site to view this media)Additionally, Stone can provide offense on occasion:(Please visit the site to view this media)(Please visit the site to view this media)("Softer than yogurt" might be the greatest call ever.)Considering the losses of Adam Hall, Georges Laraque, RyanMalone, Gary Roberts and Jarkko Ruutu, Stone, a restricted free agent after this season, is exactly the player the Penguinsneed to compliment the finesse of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Petr Sykora andothers. He won't make Penguins fans forget Ruutu or Roberts, but he's certainlycapable of replacing some their toughness.If nothing else, Stone's presence on the roster would besomething of a rarity for the Penguins. Only a handful of players drafted inthe second round by the Penguins have played at least 82 games for the team. Andnone of them have been "recent" selections. Stone and Alex Goligoski(2004), each have a chance to change that trend and end the franchise's "curse" of poor second-round picks.A look at every second-round pick in the history of thefranchise and how many regular season games they suited up for in a Penguinsjersey: PlayerYeardraftedGamesPlayed Greg Malone1976495Russ Anderson1975353Wayne Bianchin1973264Colin Campbell1973243Jim Hamilton197795Steve Gatzos198189Todd Charlesworth198386Rick Kessell196983Jacques Cossette197464Paul Marshall197959Matt Murley199959Richard Park199458Tim Hrynewich198255Bernie Lukowich197253Shane Endicott200045John Stewart197040Lee Giffin198527Noah Welch200127Rusty Fitzgerald199125Ron Snell19687Dave Capuano19866Brian McKenzie19716Ryan Stone20036Mike Meeker19784Pavel Skrbek19964Alex Goligoski20043Dominic Pittis19931Rick Tabaracci19871Brian Gaffaney19970Michael Gergen20050Marc Hussey19920Paul Laus19890Mark Major19880Ondrej Nemec20020Johannes Salmonsson20040Carl Sneep20060Jeremy Van Hoof19990Keven Veilleux20070Alexander Zevakhin19980 (Photo: BruceBennett/Getty Images)EMPTY NETTER ASSISTSPenguins-Penguins forward Sidney Crosby was awarded with an Order ofNova Scotia Award.To us, that sounds like something you would give someone you would trust indefending your land from marauding invaders.-The Sidney CrosbyShowfound a picture of the award.-The/nhl will be using that "Is This They Year?" campaignagain in its advertising.Crosby will be featured in the national ads.-The Penguins' center ice design won a contest over at Icethetics.-The Hockey News is holding a tournament involving the logos of seemingly any organized hockey team in existence. The Penguins aren't doing too well in the first round. You can vote here. (Kudos to EN Reader Jennifer Nelson of Virginia for the find.)-Tiger Woods? Roger Federer? Brett Favre? They're only halfas good as Janne Pesonen.-Former Penguins goaltender Paul Harrison was awarded with aCommissioner's Comendation from the OntarioProvincial Police.-EN Reader Jarrett Rathke of Milwaukee noticed something rather... um... unoriginal... about the logo of HC Slovan Bratislava a team in the Slovak Extraliga, Slovakia's highest professional hockey league: That use to the Capitals' shade of blue is a complete rip off.Atlantic Division-Former Flyers forward Eric Lindros explained why he won'tbe attending a puppy-drowning ceremony at the Spectrum.Northeast Division-The Senators signed former Canucks forward Brad Isbister toa one-year two-way deal.-Apparently, Empty Netters is a good source for amateurhockey news in Western New York.Southeast Division-The Thrashers signed 2008 first-round pick Zach Bogosian.-The Hurricanes will unveil their third jersey next week.-Forward Jeff O'Neill isn't exactly a lock to make theHurricanes roster this season.-The Lightning's season ticket sales are down this year.Central Division-The Blues signed 2008 first-round pick Alex Pietrangelo.He is a cousin of former Penguins goaltender Frank Pietrangelo.-Red Wings coach Mike Babcock isn't planning on playing forwardsPavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg on the same line together.-Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard got to spend a day withthe Stanley Cup.Northwest Division-The Canucks will retire the jersey of former captain TrevorLinden.-New Canucks enforcer Darcy Hordichuk spent some time withmixed martial artist Chuck Liddell.-Former Wild forward Mark Parrish is still looking for work.Pacific Division-The Kings signed restricted free agent forward Jarett Stollto a four-year deal worth $14.4 million.Stoll's rights were acquired from Edmontonin a June trade.-New Sharks defenseman Rob Blake wishes he were five yearsyounger.Norris Division-The KHL is mad at the/nhl again.-Remember when the/nhl cited rising ticket prices a reasonfor staging the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season?We don't either.Source

Here We Go Again

With training camps not to far away, must be time to talk about fixing hockey. And for many in Canada, that means bringing more/nhl franchises north of the border. Mark Moore writes at the Hockey News online site that "relocating teams from Nashville, Phoenix, Atlanta and South Florida toWinnipeg, Quebec City, Halifax and Southern Ontario would give Canada10 teams, or one-third, just as it had in the Original Six era.'' No one can dispute the Canadian economy is strong and is all but fueling whatever growth the/nhl is experiencing right now. But we're a long way away from teams in the lower 48 up and moving. Sure, a team may find its way to a suburb of Toronto in the next decade and there would be worse places to put a team than Winnipeg or Halifax (from a selling tickets point of view, not when it comes to travel.) But the/nhl isn't pulling up stakes any time soon, unless it's to Kansas City or Las Vegas, American cities who either have a spanking new arena or are in the process of getting one. Taking a team out of the U.S. and moving it to Canada isn't going to get the/nhl on ESPN any faster, isn't going to help the long-term growth of this league in the States. The/nhl hasn't given up on teams like the Panthers -- who do have plenty of problems but seem intent on figuring out a way to make it a go -- Thrashers, Preds and Coyotes. And they shouldn't. The game is growing in these places, only not as fast as some would like. The/nhl would be wise to continue showing patience in these markets. -- Here's Capitals owner Ted Leonsis' take on talk of canning some teams. Fun read. DAILY LYNX -- Speaking of Canada, the Canadiens are exploring the option of playing a game at Olympic Stadium in 2009. The former home of the Expos will need a lot of work, but the Canadiens have plenty of money. Talk is of opening the roof to have a true outdoor game. My pick to drop the first puck? Andre Dawson, Gary Carter, Tim Raines and Warren 'Call Me Homie!' Cromartie. With the Marlins off, Dave Van Horne could call the game as well. Don't think Jeff Loria and Dave Samson will be invited for the festivities. -- Tarik El-Bashir at the Washington Post says the Caps are going to have a couple cool bobblehead giveaways this year featuring coach Bruce Broudreau and Alex Ovechkin. Hope those are on Panther night. -- John Tortorella wasn't out of work for long, although he won't behind any bench this season. Torts, fired by the Bolts a few months back, gets to pontificate on the game for TSN for at least one season -- while the Lightning pay him for not coaching them. He'll be back on the bench next year. -- Old pal Mike Russo goes to the practice rink and finds a bunch of/nhl guys working out, including the Panthers' Keith Ballard. But Mike don't care about the Panthers no more (OK, that's not true), so he talks to Marian Gaborik about coming into the season with a one-year deal. Good stuff.Source

Two get year in jail for extortion

Two get year in jail for extortion: A formernhl player and his brother were sentenced on Wednesday to one year in jail and three years of probation in connection with the attempted extortion of an Oakland County attorney. John DePalma, 44, of Brownstown Township, and Lawrence "Larry" DePalma In the "REALLY Ex-Shark" sighting category... Larry DePalma played for the sharks in the early, cow palace years, never more than a bit player on a team full of bit players. And now he's going to go to jail for a while.... 20 games in 92-93, followed by a long and not terribly notable career in the old IHL. But then, that pretty much sums up that season's team, although a number of them went on to better futures than DePalma. Kelly Kisio was all that kept the early sharks from absolute disaster (and hasn't gotten enough recognition here in the Bay area for his early contributions, IMHO), and is now GM and co-coach of the Calgary Hitmen. Dean Evason is an assistant coach for the Capitals. Jeff Odgers is now a color guy for the Thrashers Doug Wilson is the Sharks GM. Brian Lawton was a player agent, just signed on as GM of the Lightning. Brian Hayward is color guy for the Ducks. David maley went on to be captain of the San Francisco Spiders of the IHL (something he'll never live down), helped develop the facilities that support roller hockey leagues here in the bay area, and acts as a fill-in color guy for Sharks radio. Rob Zettler is now assistant coach for the Leafs under Ron Wilson Jeff Hackett is goaltending coach for the Avalanche, and is considered a major reason for the rebirth of Jose Theodore. If you thin about it, given how BAD that team was, that's an impressive lineup of people still involved in hockey at thenhl level. Lots of "character" guys. Even more surprising is that a couple of players from that team are still active: Sandis Ozolinsh played for the Sharks last season, and hasn't (to my knowledge) officially retired, although the chances of him returning to thenhl this season are at best slim. Wade Flaherty played one game for the Sharks that year, and is still an active goaltender in the AHL; his last game in thenhl was 02-03, but he's been signed by Vancouver, and now Chicago, as their minor league depth guy, and in 06 was an all-star in the AHL. Of all the players you might expect to still be playing at a high level after all these years, I don't think he'd be high on my list (but more power to him!) (hat tip: kukla)Source