Archive for the 'Trade talk' Category

27
Feb

No sweep for you!

By The Acid Queen 1 Comment
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Categories: Game Night, Marty Brodeur is a whiny bitch, Oh those Russians, Southeast Division, The Devils are punks and Trade talk

Yeah, so last night was Tuomo Ruutu’s debut in the Sightless Eye.

I knew it was going to be interesting when I heard 96Rock’s Foster dub him “The Bishop” as I was driving home from work. I just didn’t know how interesting it would be.

Second shift, Ruutu rocked Colin White with a big hit (that he really should have been levied a boarding call for) and immediately endeared himself to the TSB Goon Squad (and everyone else in the arena). Mike Rupp responded by Orpiking Tim Gleason, who had to be helped off the ice with an unspecified head injury and didn’t return, and that little tease Bret Hedican made me think he was going to throw down in defence of his sidekick–but no, such was not to be. It was all just a tease. Get me all excited for null comma nichevo. Damn elves…can never trust ‘em. Especially when they own-goal and spoil the shutout.

So it was up to Wade Brookbank, who stepped to Rupp and administered a partial beatdown (I say partial, because it was more wrasslin’ match than fight). And that was the end of the first–more or less. The game settled down, more or less, in the second and third. The crowd was up in arms when three Devils basically held The Chosen One back while that whiny little bitch Marty Brodeur took a couple shots at him–Staal responded by going RAWR! and putting Brodeur on his ass (to the delight of the crowd and the dismay of Devils homer colour dude Chico Resch). Ruutu wound up leaving the game toward the end of the third after Patrik Elias accidentally-on-purpose (IMO) clipped him by one eye with his stick.

The game went to OT, and Sergei Samsonov wound up potting the game-winner. And the Devils, after the game, actually had some praise for the ‘Canes:

“They played a lot better game — that’s the bottom line. That’s a different team than we’ve seen in the first three games. They played like the Carolina team we know. They were playing hard, they put a lot of good things out there, they were aggressive, and we didn’t come with the same desperation they did. And it showed.” — Jamie Langenbrunner

Why thank you. Thank you very much.

9 games to go until I render my final opinion of the Ruutu trade. Go Canes.

11
Feb

The Raven Has Landed

By The Acid Queen 4 Comments
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Categories: Trade Deadline, Trade talk and Transactional Analysis

CAVEAT: If this post sounds like I am making even less sense than usual, I blame the flu. I’ve been fighting it and an opportunistic generic URI all weekend.

That said, here’s the deal:

TO OTT:

Cory Stillman
Mike Commodore
TO CAR:

Joe Corvo
Patrick Eaves

Pretty nifty trade thar, Jimmy–especially if the Dread Pirate Stiller winds up coming back in July (which he might–that’s the only reason I can see for him waiving his NTC). This trade is effectively an announcement that any playoff run will (barring a miracle) be short, but I can live with that if it means the team actually does wind up getting better long-term. There are a couple bandwagon-hopping “only cheer for the team when they’re at the top of the conference” smacktards on X Random Messageboard pooh-poohing the trade as “too little too late” and whining that we got robbed, but whatever. Corvo is roughly the same age as Commodore with a few more brainfarts but better puck skillz. Eaves is a not-bad forward who can pot a couple goals here and there (not that he’s scored on us a few times or anything) and who plays with a little reckless abandon.

And Corvo pwnt the Slugs in the playoffs last year–and anything that makes the ASBOs unhappy makes me happy.

So far so good. But I guess some rubes people just won’t be happy until the whole team is traded for nothing but draft picks and we deliberately tank the season in a futile attempt to get the #1 pick, which JimR will blow on drafting a fourth-string goalie from the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL.

17
Jul

The Prodigal Has Returned

By The Acid Queen 2 Comments
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Categories: Canes-specific and Trade talk

Welcome back, Cully. Can’t wait to see you scoring a few shootout goals here and there.

(I’ve been busy cos the boss is on vacation–but I figured I should say SOMETHING here)

28
Jun

The Kama Sutra, The Hall of Fame, y etwas otros

By The Acid Queen 3 Comments
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Categories: Free Agency, Screw Bristol and Trade talk

Relax, this is going to be G-rated. Well, PG-rated and catering to juvenile senses of humor at any rate.

Word around the Caniac Campfire is that Niclas “Mr. OT” Wallin is being asked if he’d be willing to waive his no-trade clause so that he can go to Philadelphia in exchange for Joni Pitkanen. I dunno how I’d feel, really.

“Nicky, we’d like you to waive your NTC so we can trade you for a Finnish kid whose name sounds like the Sanskrit word for your wife’s babymaker.”

Umm….yeah. I’ll wait for you mooks to stop with the Beavis and Butt-head impressions.

Moving right along….

According to my boy Luke DeCock, Bret Hedican has formally informed JimR that he’s going to be giving it a go in training camp. Jim-bob, predictably, has declared that he won’t be looking to land any free-agent defensemen come 1 July. What do I think? I think that by not pursuing a contingency plan of some sort (and I’m sorry, but Snatch Pitkanen isn’t it), the man is setting himself up to get shot in the ass again. As for the rumored trade for Pitkanen….

My sources* tell me that Edmonton did some background checking on the the young Finn (what, they were trying to find out if he was the second coming of Janne Niinimaa?)–and that checking apparently turned up something that made the Oilers drop the idea of trading for the kid like a hot rock. Velly interestink, if you ask me. I think I’ll give that an A1.

The Hall of Fame’s Class of 2007 will be announced this week–Mark Messier will of course get in, but the question on everyone’s mind is (of course) “who will be able to fit on the stage with that guy’s ego?”

Conventional wisdom has Al MacInnis, Orenthal Scott Stevens, and either Ron Francis or Adam Oates as the other inductees–but personally? I think that Francis will wind up getting overlooked, just like he has been overlooked his whole career (especially by Bristol–screw you John Buccigross, for comparing St. Francis of Assist to Bernie fucking Federko back in ‘04).

The Hurricanes are shopping for a third-line center to replace the departing Joe, Lord of Evil–and wouldn’t you know, Kevyn Adams was waived by the Coyotes the other day. It seems perfect, Kevyn coming back to the team he won a Cup with, but I’m wondering if there aren’t some issues stemming from the fight he and Bret Hedican had last season. Mind you, I could be all wet–but I just get this strange feeling that this is a fence that might not be so easily mended.

In news from other teams (well, one other team)….

The Boston Bruins canned yet more people in their haste to clean house after yet another lackluster season: this time, they got rid of assistant coach Jeff Gorton and amateur scout Daniel Dore. Yet another futile attempt by the Bruins to reverse the fortunes that are pretty much ruined by a bastard who’s more concerned with raw profit than with actually having a team that has at least a snowball’s chance in Muspelheim of winning a Cup. And whose bright idea was it to name Jeremy Jacobs as President of the Board of Governors?! The only suggestion that would have been worse would have been naming Bill Wirtz as BoG President!

Sheesh.

*: TSN, Canadian Press, and Sportsnet. Come on people, who do you think I am–Eklund?

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