Tuesday, August 28, 2007

'06 Champs to have early D trouble

Don't be surprised if the Carolina Hurricanes get off to a slow start this season. They raised the Cup in '06, missed the '07 playoffs by a few points, and may have trouble racking up valuable points in October for the '08 playoff run.

After losing Defenseman Andrew Hutchinson to the Rangers via free agency, their remaining defensive corps should struggle as Frantisek Kaberle has decided to have surgery on his right knee. While the injury is minor and Kaberle should be ready for the start of the regular season, he'll miss most, if not all, of training camp and the preseason. In addition, veteran Bret Hedican has only recently decided to not retire and "hopes to be ready" for the start of the season.
Raleigh News & Observer article

While the 'Canes defense was middle of the pack in the East as far as Goals Allowed is concerned, it still wasn't good enough to get them into the playoffs. And their Goal Production was worse.

With no notable additions on either side of the puck to help these numbers, it's hard to see how the 'Canes won't miss the playoffs again, especially with their Defense struggling to get in game shape right out of the gate.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Goal judges get the boot

The area behind the net will look a little different this year at NHL arenas. There will be no more goal judge sitting in Row 1 behind the net.

Sweet archival image:


The NHL has decided to do away with the ice-level goal judge. It's not that big of a change, really. The on-ice referee makes the determination of whether or not the puck has crossed the goal line, and if there is any dispute, the arena video replay judge, in conjunction with the NHL's war room in Toronto (aka the best replay system in all of sports) make the final call.

Some judges have complained privately that making borderline calls with pucks on or across the goal line will be difficult from the press box. That's where video replay has held the upper hand.

The goal judge signals a goal with the red light, but it is up to the referees, the video goal judge, or both to decide whether a goal was scored.

In an e-mail to The Inquirer, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the video goal judge, in conjunction with the two referees, had already "lessened the responsibilities" of the goal judges and minimized their involvement in determining whether a goal was scored.


Philly.com Goal Judge article


This is really for the better anyway. How many times have you seen your team fire a shot past the goalie, the red light goes on and you celebrate, only to have the replay show that the puck rang off the post and out? Too many.

I say down with trigger-fingered goal judges! And their little popemobile boxes!

I don't know why they're merely "relocating" the goal judge and not getting rid of them totally. Why can't they equip the referees with a remote device to turn on the goal light? They are the ones who call the goals officially, so why not let them activate the light. I'm sure that even the NHL can handle this kind of technological advance.

Not surprisingly, the Flyers are turning the now-empty space into "premium seating" that comes with the purchase of a luxury box (see above article).

New Bolts Jerseys



Not bad...

At least they're not really "busy". These will probably look good on the ice, which is just as important as how they look off the ice.

They didn't release any images with lettering/numbering on the back yet. I guess they haven't settled on a font yet? Hopefully the numbers will be readable on the ice.

Friday, August 10, 2007

I'm back

I just had to post this image of the DOMINATOR:

enjoy.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

I'm still here

This blog will be updated ridiculously often come October (or at earliest, mid-September), but for now it's the slooooooooooow time of the year. Slow for hockey, that is.

I'm still here, but I'm actually productive in the summer months as opposed to hockey season (aka October through early June) where I pretty
much watch hockey, go out, watch hockey, go to games, and read about hockey all day while I'm supposed to be working.

Though, I may be finally breaking into my "10 Greatest Games In Flyers' History" DVD set that I got for Christmas. So, if you want to read about Bill Barber, Reggie Leach, Bernie Parent, Ron Hextall, Dmitri Yushkevich, or Joel Otto check back soon!


Otherwise, Jordan Staal's mugshot will have to hold you over:



The Gronk - prisioner #XXXX
 
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