Off Wing Opinion

Time to take another look at the NHL as we creep closer and closer to the opening of training camps in September. Up in Boston, the Bruins announced that they are going to retire No. 8 in honor of Cam Neely, the man who invented the position of power forward in the NHL.

Out in New Mexico, ex-Blackhawk Theo Fleury is taking pot shots at the team's front office in Chicago over the way he was treated last season. The Hawks, rather smartly I might add, declined to comment. Fleury says he wants back in the league, but I can't see who would take a chance on him now.

In case you missed it, the whole situation with Mike Modano's ring being for sale on Ebay was a big misunderstanding -- at least as far as Modano and his agent are concerned. The jeweler who had custody of the ring is still claiming he was given permission to sell it.

After a two-day absence, Steve Ovadia is back, and sounding off on the Mark Messier to Edmonton rumor.

On The Wings is excited about Ray Whitney coming to Detroit, but wonders if he'll be able to deal with less ice time. Then again, with Igor Larionov and Sergei Fedorov gone; and Steve Yzerman likely in his final year in the league, I'm thinking the Wings will have plenty of ice time available.

Last week, the Rangers acquired former NHL tough guy Chris Simon, and Tim Harvey has it exactly right on what it really means. I saw Simon up close here in Washington when he scored his career-high 29 goals a couple of years back, and people need to remember that he regularly played on a line with Adam Oates that year.

With that season complete, Simon completely forgot about the rest of his game -- which was the reason Washington traded Keith Jones and a first round pick to Colorado in the first place to acquire him. After waiting a few more seasons to turn it around, the Caps finally shipped him to Chicago, where they soon discovered he was nothing more than dead weight.

In the end, perhaps one last run on Broadway is the perfect capstone to his career -- just another underachieving veteran playing out the string.

UPDATE: The Penguins have re-signed defenseman and power play revelation Dick Tarnstrom. Sure he piled up the points, but can you say Warren Young? Look for Tarnstrom to get dealt at the deadline next season.

The Minnesota Wild re-signed goalie Manny Fernandez, half of their netminding tandem last season, and their goalie of the future. Does anyone remember that he's the Godson of head coach Jacques Lemaire? Just asking.

The Edmonton Oilers re-signed Brad Isbister, who they acquired at the deadline last season from the New York Islanders. Isbister, whose real sin on Long Island was that he wasn't Todd Bertuzzi, seemed to enjoy playing back in his hometown after the trade. At 6'4", 220, Isbister plays like he's 5'8", 185.

Finally, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that Tony Twist's lawsuit against comic book mogul Todd McFarlane should be granted a new trial. McFarlane has admitted that he named a character in one of his comics after Twist; Twist wants some cash in return.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Defenseman Brian Leetch has signed a two-year deal to remain with the New York Rangers. Terms were not disclosed.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 30th, 2003 at 10:05 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

It's been a few days since I've written an honest to goodness hockey post, so I figured it was time to check in on what's happening in Gary Bettman's neighborhood.

For some reason, Mike Modano sold his 1999 Stanley Cup ring, and somebody is auctioning it on Ebay. Tim Harvey is aghast (glad to see him back blogging).

I'm not sure it's worth moving to Dallas for, but steady veteran defenseman Teppo Numminen is the key piece in a three-team deal between the Stars, Columbus Blue Jackets and Phoenix Coyotes. In the trade, Numminen goes from Phoenix to Dallas; another veteran d-man, Daryl Sydor, gets shipped to Columbus from Dallas (and that has got to hurt); in turn, Columbus sends speedy Mike Sillinger to Phoenix, and a second round pick to Dallas. Steve Ovadia has the scoop.

The Islanders have signed free agent goalies Garth Snow and Rick DiPietro. In a moment of 'Stengel-esque' clarity, Lorne Cornish has decided that this is a good thing.

Here in Washington, the Caps announced they have signed enforcer and fan favorite Stephen Peat to a new contract. Besides taking occasional shifts at forward, Peat has essentially earned a spot in the NHL so P.J. Stock has someone to fight (among others).

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2003 at 5:30 pm by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

In a three-way deal, the Buffalo Sabres acquired center Chris Drury from the Calgary Flames along with fourth-line center Steve Begin. Calgary acquired center Steve Reinprecht and defenseman Rhett Warriner, while the Colorado Avalanche received defenseman Keith Ballard, Buffalo's first round pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

The deal came one day after the Sabres acquired puck moving defenseman Andy Delmore from the Nashville Predators. In addition, the Sabres are looking stacked at center, with Daniel Briere, Tim Connolly, and Curtis Brown. Look for Drury to serve much the same leadership role in Buffalo that ex-captain Michael Peca did before he was traded to the Islanders.

The Columbus Blue Jackets signed Oilers center Todd Marchant.

With Derian Hatcher gone to Detroit, the Dallas Stars named center Mike Modano team captain.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 4th, 2003 at 12:14 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.