Duffrie Heads to Pittsburgh

Latest news coming out of the 'Burgh is that Hilary Duff has signed with the Pens. And by Hilary Duff, I mean Mike Comrie. Comrie signed for the league minimum of $500,000. I'm indifferent to him -- he won't hurt, he won't help, and he's cheap. I agree with Puck Daddy here:

"If nothing else, he'll serve as a place-holder for Eric Tangradi as he continues to mature as the forward-of-the-future."

Although I don't know the progress Tangradi's made this off-season, he could use a little more time in the A just to fine tune some things. I think this will be good for him, and I'm sure he'll have plenty of opportunities to strut his stuff in the show this year.

Hope ya like Pittsburgh Hil. You never know, you just might get to see good old Wilkes-Barre, PA someday!


Photo.

Antero & Antii

I figured the Niemi signing was a good start to kick back into gear with blogging and get into the groove before the season starts. Can you believe it's almost here again?

So, San Jose signed Antii Niemi. We know him as the Stanley Cup winning goaltender for the Chicago Blackhawks. He was on fire during the 2010 postseason, and that earned him a nice little arbitration award of $2.75 million. But Chicago had about $5 left in cap space, so they let him walk.

Now he finds himself on the Sharks. I mean, for God's sake Doug Wilson had to do something this off-season, and he sure as hell wasn't going to try and sign a D-man to help out his Rob Blake-less defense. I shouldn't say that - he tried to nab Niklas Hjarmalsson, but Chitown was having none of that.

So after signing Antero Niittymaki earlier in the summer and feeling fine with him being their go-to goaltender, they decided to pick up Niemi. Both Antero & Antii are good goaltenders. Both are capable of getting hot at the right times. But I personally am not 100% comfortable with these two. First of all, both of them are decent regular season goaltenders -- averaging pretty close stats: 

Niittymaki: 49 GP, 2.87 GAA, .909 SV%
Niemi: 39 GP, 2.25, .912 SV%

But are they enough? I've seen people say, "The regular season doesn't matter." Except it kind of does because you need it to get you into the post-season safely. The Sharks are without a doubt going to make the play-offs. I'm not crazy. They're going to be a good team. But I have to believe that neither of these guys will be as strong of a force that Nabokov during the first 80.

The plus side: they are both cheaper than Nabby, and by no means are they going to be awful for the Sharks. And at least one guy won't be starting 70 games a season and getting nice and tired just in time for the play-offs.

As far as play-offs go, all I have to say is, just because a guy was hot during one post-season doesn't mean he will get hot again in another. It's a clean slate. And do you want either of these guys as your lead play-off goaltender if they're not hot during that stretch? I don't know. After sleeping on it, I feel a little better about it ... but not much.

Photo.

Lemieux & Crosby Break In the Consol Center

It's a beautiful thing.

Photo.

B.C. Got Screwed

Yes, I actually did write that headline. We all know by now, I bleed Terrier red and white. The BC Eagles usually make me sick to my stomach. But this is one situation where I actually feel bad for my foes down the street.

Shortly after the Eagles won the NCAA hockey championship, three guys on the team were involved in an incident where they basically crashed into the MBTA Green Line (Boston's subway for any outsiders). No one was hurt, and no one was drunk. The guys did flee the scene at first, and according to the Globe, there were beer cans and vodka in the car.  The media ate it up (not a huge story, but it was still covered in some big time pubs).

Recent updates: the charges have been dropped. Apparently it was the MBTA's fault. The driver was going 35 mph rather than the 10 mph it should have been. On top of that, the T driver had multiple moving violations in Florida and Massachusetts despite testifying he had a clean driving record.

Here's where I feel bad: Because of the incident, the Eagles were not invited to the White House as most NCAA champions are. It was kind of silly to not extend an invite to them in the first place -- it was three guys out of the entire team. Had it been true, it would have been embarrassing and irresponsible, but punishing the whole team is a little much. Leave the three kids behind if you must.

The Eagles also did not get a sign on the Mass Turnpike like area champs usually get. Does this mean the Terriers are still up there? ;-)

Read more about his whole mess in the Boston Globe.

Hey Silver

Sharks Break Up with Nabokov

It's official: the San Jose Sharks are parting ways with the best goalie in the history of the franchise. Sharks' GM, Doug Wilson, met with Evgeni Nabokov today to basically say 'It's been real.'

The news is not all that surprising. After another average post-season from Nabby, there was plenty of talk of him moving on. Then there were some recent rumblings of him sticking around. Now, the speculation is put to rest.

I was originally torn on the decision. Nabokov, after all, is one of the biggest reasons the Sharks do so well during the regular season. The guy starts like 70 games a year. He's a great goaltender ... who just has not fared as well when it comes time for playoffs. And let's face it, that's when you need your goalie to be on fire. I don't blame Wilson for deciding to mix things up; it also frees up some space for the remaining list of guys San Jose has to re-sign: Patty Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Devin Setoguchi and Manny Malhotra to throw some names out there.

I'm interested to see who they go after. There has been whispers of Tim Thomas possibly heading out there ( the Bruins wouldn't mind unloading him), but Fear the Fin made a good point: he's old and expensive. That being said, Wilson made it pretty clear he's looking for a veteran goaltender. Maybe a guy like Marty Turco who is on his way out but still has a bit left in him until Greiss is ready to take the reins. Jose Theodore, Chris Mason and Dan Ellis are some other unrestricted free agents that pop out at me. Either way, whoever it is has big shoes to fill.

More on the Nabokov Situation:
+ Working the Corners
+ Official Sharks Site
+ Fear the Fin
+ Puck Daddy

Photo.

No Words.

I'm always a sucker for sports commercials with touching moments and dramatic music. This year's post-season has been full of just that. I've really enjoyed all the commercials they've had, but the most recent, 'No Words' spot really got me. 

There is just something about seeing how much this Cup means to them, seeing how it leaves them speechless ... it's awesome. And when Brett Hull is speechless, you know it's something big.

UPDATE: Saponari Responds to Release

Vinny Saponari's response to the release:

I just found out today, like all of you, and I'm pretty shocked, just as shocked as everyone else. I didn't see this coming. I know I'd made some mistakes as far as rules go, but I really didn't think it would lead to this.

Well, that's why they're called 'rules' bud. Not to mention you broke a team drinking rule ... without being 21 yet. Hmm. That's not just a team rule, it's actually a law. But any how ... he pretty much ruined any chance (if there was any) of being welcomed back to the team by proceeding to whine about the whole thing:

I guess what better example to your team that you're serious than to kick off a player who's played a lot of games. To me, do I think it's justified? No. I love this team, and I wasn't ready to leave. I made a mistake or two since I've been here, but I didn't feel like I was a bad thing for the team, or any kind of bad influence. To me, it's unjust, to [Parker], maybe not.

Really, his best option would have been to have a brief comment saying he's upset about it, and he's sorry for breaking the team rules. End of story. Instead, he did not offer up one apology for his behavior. Sure, it's normal behavior for a regular college kid. But guess what? He's not a normal college kid. He's playing hockey for a Division I school, and he's drafted by an NHL team. He came off as big brat. Even if you feel that way, you don't publicly say it. A lesson in media relations I guess. You wouldn't hear a professional athlete say this (well, unless it's Sean Avery). Whether Parker was rash in his decision or not doesn't matter because Parker's reputation is better and more established than Saponari's.

Oh yeah, Saponari also said he's in contact with his 'people.' Give me a break. 

Guess you'll have to party like a puckstar elsewhere.

Saponari Brothers Released from BU Terriers; Trivino Suspended

My jaw dropped a little bit when I saw the news a few minutes ago. The Terriers have released both Vinny and Victor Saponari from the team. They have also suspended Corey Trivino.

College Hockey News has the article. It lists a bunch of incidents that led to the release including drinking on game nights. I have to believe the Puckstar video (see the below post) set this off. The timing is too coincidental, and the song was certainly not something Jack Parker would enjoy. All stupid things that could have been avoided.

The biggest loss here is Vinny. He's very talented and had a solid year, finishing with 30 points. He was going to be someone the Terriers counted on next season for sure. I'm disappointed. Don't like to see him go, but props to BU for holding players to its standards.

More to come as I get updates ...

BU Terriers: Party like a Puckstar

 Just when you thought the Beanpot Trot was bad, some BU Terriers (said to be Vinny Saponari and Corey Trivino) have come up with their own musical work. 

They rapped and put it on YouTube. It's not rated PG by any means, so I'm guessing it will be taken down shortly. It's already made an appearance on Barstool.

Listen and enjoy. And try not to be too embarrassed.