NHL Trade Rumours- Hockey Pharmacist's Opinion Blog

Sundin King Again

2006-02-28T09:25:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the Swedish Olympic hockey team. You definitely deserve it. This latest victory just concretes in my mind if not everyone else's what a great hockey nation Swedish actually is. The number of stars in the league that have come from this country is impressive. Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg, Nicklaus Lidstrom, Henrik Lundqvist, Daniel Alfredson and the list goes on.

"We came to the tournament with pretty high expectations," goaltender Henrik Lundqvist told the revellers before breaking into an impromptu dance. "We really wanted to win." Although no team goes into the Olympics thinking they want to lose, a "quiet confidence" like Sweden displayed goes a long way to ensuring that victory is possible.

For the league, a Swedish-Finnish final in Olympic final was likely not predicted by any of the so called "experts" but it was entertaining none-the-less.

A real concern for the NHL is the number of injured players that have returned from the Olympic "war". Ottawa will be without star goaltender Dominic Hasek, Vancouver will miss both Sami Salo and Mathias Ohlund, and New Jersey is minus Patrick Elias when play resumes.

It has to make you think about the "cost" of having professional players in the Olympics. Now we have an NHL schedule that will be compacted due to the Olympic games making injury all the more likely.

It has been said that the Olympics are bigger than even the Stanley Cup but I have to wonder bigger for whom? Like I have said before, the Olympic games have always been for amateur athletes, maybe we need to consider that again for hockey?

The NEXT big thing

2006-02-25T07:26:00.000-08:00

I am really looking forward to seeing another Staal brother joining the NHL. What a great hockey blood line this family has. Eric of course leads the way of the Carolina Hurricane. The next Staal brother after Eric and Marc will be Jordan. With Jared in the wings. Jordan is built like the prototypical power foward. One day I think we will see all the Staal brothers playing in the NHL barring injury.

The rise of the Staals reminds me of the Sutter brothers. When Brian, Darryl, Duane, Rich, Ron, and Brent were all in the NHL. I personally think the Staal brothers will have a much great impact in the NHL than did the Sutter brothers. In my opinion, I think they will be more prolific scorers in this league. Looking at the speed of Eric Staal and his hands around the net, it's hard to argue. You just have to look at the stats. Not too shabby for a 21 year old. He projects to score 52 goals and have 108 points.

What I am really looking forward to is an All-Star game where quite possible the Staal brothers will be playing at the same time or possibly a Stanley Cup. Pipe dream? Maybe not with a possible 4 elite players in the NHL.

What proud parents mama and papa Staal must be.

Late Night Blog

2006-02-23T20:14:00.000-08:00

The city of Hamilton was officially turned down by the NHL for a hockey franchise in fear that Toronto would want one too. Just kidding. It looks like Eric Lindros will not be available to the Maple Leafs for a while now. Much to my shagrin. I enjoyed the early part of the season when Lindros carried the team. Eklund had him pegged as the comeback player of the year however I am now thinking that this is the year that he doesn't come back.

Maybe JFJ will finally get the monkey off his back or maybe King Kong just climbed on. I can't think of another general manager that has as much pressure on them as JFJ. It would be nice to see a team built by the general manager and not by the media, fans and arm chair general managers. The playoff gate receipts are emmence for this hockey franchise so I have to think if Eric is gone for much longer there maybe a push to bring in another body. However, I believe this team needs a lot of help. There are a few bright spots -- namely Alexander Steen.

Time to make this Steen's team.

In the hope of not sounding BIASED I will end this little rant right now.

Let the GIRLS play

2006-02-22T06:03:00.000-08:00

It's me again, back with a whole new handful. After watching the Olympic hockey games one thing stood out to me. MAN the girls team is good. Fast, spirited, competitive but little hitting. Sound familiar? It's the platform for the new NHL which virtually has removed all hitting from the game. Maybe the time has come to have woman join the guys on the NHL squads. It was experimented years ago by the Tampa Bay Lighting with a young girl named Manon Reaume but times have changed since 1996 and so has the NHL.

From what I have seen, some of the girls that play the game now are more skilled than some of the pilons that are currently in the NHL. With hitting basically outlawed in the new NHL for fear of getting a penalty bring on the girls.

Can you imagine Martin Brodeau being scored on by Cherie Piper or Kim St-Pierre stoning Jaromir Jagr. Now that would be headline news for sure. Keeping the guys motivated for a game would be easy. "Let's not get beaten by the girls".

Maybe this could be a good thing, or maybe this is all tongue in cheek.

When Injury happens

2006-02-21T07:18:00.000-08:00

Now I am not a paranoid person by nature. However, sometimes I have to wonder if sometimes injuries are staged especially when there is a big media bruhaha developing. Case in point, Jose Theodore. How bad has it gotten for this guy? First not performing up to snuff in probably the second largest hockey market (next to Toronto where the fans have blue and white glasses) and then testing positive for a banned substance. The media in Montreal has crucified this poor francophone. Now he is injuried because he slipped on the ice outside his house?

This just seem all too convenient. How you may ask? Well, if the team performs well he is seen as a potential help after being well rested for the playoff run. If the team performs poorly well it was because they were missing their star goaltender. It just seems to me that an injury like this allows this to metaphorically "blow over". Especially when the back-up goalie seems to be having a better season than the "go to guy".

It could also be a rallying point for a team. "Let's win for Jose".

I could be way off base and it may just be dumb luck but I have to wonder about the timing of the injury. Enquiring minds want to know.

Team Canada Set Up for Failure?

2006-02-20T07:39:00.000-08:00

It's funny the difference two games makes in international hockey. All of a sudden team Canada is not a favorite for a metal let alone the gold. I for one did not like this team from the start. All too frequently we have given players opportunities based on past performance. I feel this is the case with this team. I use the team loosely because from what I have seen this is not a team but a bunch of individuals.

What I propose is that the Olympic hockey squad should be limited to those under 25 years of age. Why you say? Well the Olympic games has long been considered the pinnacle of amateur sport. All the hockey teams are allowed to use professional players. I feel the time has come to revert to the "old way". Remember the excitement of the 1980 miracle on ice? If not rent the movie.

Although in my plan professional players would still be used, the limitation of age would increase the passion of the games in my opinion. Let's remember this game has changed at the NHL level, should that not also follow at the Olympic level?

Drugs in hockey

2006-02-19T19:34:00.000-08:00

Dick Pound is an idiot, plain and simple. Or is he? It was funny how everyone had him drawn and quartered when he spoke of the number of players he figured were taking performance enhancing drugs. But then Bryan Berard was identified as taking anabolic steroids. Kind of makes you go hmmm. Now that is just one guy but it is reminesent of Rafael Palmiero waggling his finger and saying he did not take steroids.

Then Jose Theodore was identified as taking Propecia, a drug used for hair loss. Oh and it masks urinary tests for steroids. Now Jose Theodore is the last person I would expect to be taking steroids especially as a goaltender. So he is likely just using it for a medical condition. Then again, he does have lots of hair.

So maybe the adage where there smoke there is fire is true after all.

Why the LEAFS should MISS the playoffs

2006-02-18T18:59:00.000-08:00

Don't get me wrong I love watching playoff hockey especially when my team is involved. But it is becoming increasingly clear to me that to succeed in this new NHL a team must build a team from within. The days of building a team with a war chest are gone. Everyone is on equal financial footing (well unless you are in Pittsburg but that is another story). The good teams have drafted well. Look at the Senators. They stunk it up for about 7 or 8 year in a row before they became the power house they are today and I think the cap just came at the right time for that team. They are well arms, dangerous and without fear. I long for the Leafs to become that. So here is hoping they miss the playoffs. Blasphemous? Nope, just tired of seeing the same result year after year and saying "wait until next year".