AHL- Apolyton Hockey League III-- Olympic edition

[Asher]

I'm adding you to my ignore list for a while again because I simply cannot take any more of your immense retardation. It's literally giving me a headache. You seem to actually think because the Canucks made the playoffs and the Flames missed it, it's validated every single hockey opinion you've ever had. You're such a stupid ****.

[Ben Kenobi]

This year, Burrows has played at about the same level.

[Ben Kenobi]

You seem to actually think because the Canucks made the playoffs and the Flames missed it, it's validated every single hockey opinion you've ever had

It's a great feeling.

[ColdWizard]

I'm adding you to my ignore list for a while again because I simply cannot take any more of your immense retardation.

I was wondering how long you would last. His position on Linden-Iginla is clearly several stages beyond preposterous.

I'd insert something here about trading Iginla to the Caps to be funny, but I rather suspect they need defense rather than someone who I assume would be second line. Plus I have no idea what/who would constitute adequate compensation.

[Asher]

I'd doubt the Caps would take him, he has a $7M cap hit for a couple years which is pretty high. I would love that though...what a team that'd be.

[Kontiki]

Picks by Duhatschek for major awards:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/henrik-sedin-deserves-the-hart/article1528762/

Every year, it seems, the NHL awards race gets closer and more interesting and 2009-10 will prove to be no exception, with no-sure-thing battles for all of the league’s major hardware in every category - from the Hart for MVP to the underappreciated Lady Byng for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association vote for five of the major awards; the broadcasters get to pick the Jack Adams for coach of the year and NHL general managers cast their ballots for the Vezina, awarded to the NHL’s top goalies.

Once upon a time, the league distributed the coolest-looking paper ballots and there was something magical about filling them in and then signing them to make them official. Now, it’s all done by e-mail. Ballots generally drop into your in-box this weekend and need to be completed between the close of play Sunday and the beginning of the playoffs next Wednesday.

So without any further adieu, the envelopes please:

Hart (“to the player adjudged to be most valuable to his team”): Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks. Runners-up: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins; Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals.

As always, the wording of the Hart trophy is critical. It doesn’t necessarily go to the best player - that would be Ovechkin again, hands down - but to the player that a team cannot live without and prosper at the same level they usually do. Sadly for Ovechkin, the two-time winner of this award, Washington’s development into a genuine powerhouse will undermine his candidacy. Because of injuries and suspensions, he missed a total of 10 games this season, but the club hardly registered his absence at all, managing a 7-2-1 record, which essentially matches their winning percentage with him in the line-up. Ovechkin is the best player on the best team and thus will garner lots of support on that basis alone. The Penguins relied far heavily on Crosby this season, given how Evgeni Malkin struggled at different times with his form; as did Sergei Gonchar, their best blue liner and Marc-Andre Fleury, their goaltender. Crosby was a reliable fixture on a team where the rest of the talent had substandard years and the supporting cast was just that a supporting cast. Even as good as Crosby was, it is hard to imagine him being as valuable to Pittsburgh as Sedin was in Vancouver. Sedin kept the Canucks afloat during all the adversity that team faced - from he absence of his twin brother Daniel during a 16-game injury to the record pre- and post-Olympic road trip. Up until this season, Sedin was known as a durable and reliable performer, who’d grudgingly and gradually earned his stripes as a top-tier player. Nothing that he’d done in his past, however, suggested he could challenge the big boys - that is, until he did.

Norris (“to the defence player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-around ability in the position”): Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks. Runners-up: Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings; Mike Green, Washington Capitals.

A major changing of the guard here at a position dominated by the likes of Nicklas Lidstrom, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and Zdeno Chara for most of the last decade. All of the aforementioned three youngsters have had exceptional seasons; and there isn’t much to choose from among them. For the second consecutive season, Green will lead all NHL defencemen in scoring after posting back-to-back 70-point seasons. He leads all defencemen in all the major statistical categories - goals, assists, points, power-play points and is second to his defence partner Jeff Schultz in the plus-minus rating - and at plus-35, has quieted most of the critics who say he cannot play in his own end. Doughty followed up an exceptional rookie season with even a stronger sophomore campaign and with apologies to Anze Kopitar or Jonathan Quick, is the primary reason why the Kings are in the playoffs for the first time in seven years. A dynamic two-way presence on the ice, Doughty’s skill said is comparable to that of Ray Bourque’s - and if his development continues on this curve, he could be the dominant defenceman of his generation. However, Keith added the one necessary dimension - an offensive bent - to what had been for a couple of years now a complete skill set. He plays the most minutes of any defenceman in the top-10 in scoring (26:38 per night) and is the primary reason the Blackhawks, despite their on-going issues in goal, remain one of the top defensive teams in the league. The Olympics were his coming out party, but his reliability over an 82-game period will ultimately get him the Norris.

Calder Memorial Trophy (“to the player selected as the most proficient in the NHL”): Tyler Myers, Buffalo Sabres. Runners-up: Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche; Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings.

An apples-to-oranges-to-peaches competition between a defenceman, a forward and a goaltender of varying ages and experiences. Howard helped to save the Red Wings’ season, given that they chose not to re-sign Ty Conklin because they thought Chris Osgood would have a bounce-back season. When Osgood faltered again and stuck right up against the salary cap in a year when injuries decimated their team early, the Red Wings had little choice than to turn to Howard, who barely meets the age criteria for the award (since the 1990-91 season, a player is disqualified from Calder contention if he has celebrated his 26th birthday by Sept. 15 of the year in which he is eligible. Howard played three college seasons for the University of Maine and then four in the minors for AHL Grand Rapids. He is 26 now, having celebrated his birthday in March and is old enough to be - well not Duchene’s father exactly, but his older brother for sure (the Colorado rookie was born almost seven years later, in January, 1991). Howard had exactly one NHL victory in nine appearances up until this season; this year, he has 35 wins, and is among the statistical leaders in GAA (2.31) and save percentage (.923). Duchene, meanwhile, overcame a slow first month in which his Colorado teammate Ryan O’Reilly received much of the attention to overtake No. 1 draft choice John Tavares for the overall rookie scoring lead. In a year when the Avalanche needed to replace the immortal Joe Sakic, Duchene gave every indication that he will be their leading man for years to come. For all that, what Myers has accomplished as a defenceman for the Sabres trumps them both. He is playing six minutes more, on average, than virtually every other top rookie candidate and looks as if he has the size (6-7, 204) and skill set to be this generation’s Pronger. An exceptional breakthrough season for a player didn’t celebrate his 20th birthday until February at a position - defence - that usually takes years to master.

Jack Adams award (“to the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success): Dave Tippett, Phoenix Coyotes. Runners-up: Joe Sacco, Colorado Avalanche; Barry Trotz, Nashville Predators.

There are lots of possibilities for honorable mentions too, including Bruce Boudreau in Washington, who did an exceptional job of keeping all the Capitals’ different pieces functioning through injury, illness and potential goalie controversies. Trotz remains the greatly underappreciated one-and-only coach in Predators’ history, who keeps a team competitive despite limited talent and budget. Sacco performed a near miracle in Colorado, taking a team that pulled up the rear in the Western Conference last season and then lost its best player, Sakic to retirement and dumped its co-leading scorer, Ryan Smyth, for salary-cap reasons. There was no good reason to think Colorado would be anything but in the early stages of a painful rebuilding process. Instead, and thanks greatly to the work of goaltender Craig Anderson, the team got off to a fast start and then maintained a high level of play throughout the year. Colorado is already 25 points better than last season, with two games remaining, an exceptional year-over-year improvement with not a lot of appreciable, identifiable front-line NHL talent. For all that, Tippett’s work with Phoenix - joining the team midway through camp and then navigating through all the off-ice issues relating to their ownership problems - represents one of the finest start-to-finish coaching jobs in league history. Phoenix won its 50th game of the season Thursday night; will establish a franchise record for points; and will host a home-playoff series in the far superior Western Conference - all this with a team made up largely of castoffs, players unwanted by other more well-heeled NHL teams. In the 30th anniversary year of the U.S. Olympic win in Lake Placid, you could legitimately channel Al Michaels by asking of the improvements made in the Arizona desert: Do you believe in miracles?

Vezina trophy (“to the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position): Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres. Runners-up: Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix Coyotes; Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary Flames.

Lost in the aftermath of Calgary’s disappointing season was how well Kiprusoff played this year, after just a so-so campaign the year before. Jarome Iginla said it: Kiprusoff might have been better this year than the time he established a modern-day record by putting up a 1.69 GAA. But the goalie race will come down to Miller and Bryzgalov, both of whom backstopped offensively challenged teams to unexpected playoff berths with consistent, night-after-night brilliance between the pipes. Bryzgalov will finish with more wins, Miller will be a touch better in the goals-against and save percentage departments. Ultimately, the GMs will need to decide which of two exceptional, almost mirror-image performances was superior. Good luck to them.

Frank J. Selke Trophy (“to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game”): Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks. Runners-up: Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; Vernon Fiddler, Phoenix Coyotes.

Always a wide array of choices here because so many factors enter into consideration, but Kesler has stepped up his game to another level this season and gave the Canucks arguably the best one-two punch down the middle of any team this season. Bergeron’s strong two-way play earned him a spot on Canada’s men’s Olympic hockey team; and his presence became even more critical in Boston, once Marc Savard was lost to a season-ending concussion. Fiddler is part of that unsung collection of Coyotes’ forwards that provided leadership, shot-blocking, and an all-around defensive presence on a team that needed to win a lot of close games to be competitive.

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (“to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability”): Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning. Runners-up: Brad Richards, Dallas Stars; Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa Senators.

Interestingly, the aforementioned three have combined to finish as runners-up for this award for the past five seasons, St. Louis three times (the last three years) and Richards and Alfredsson before that. Richards also won the award back in 2004, before Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk rattled off four consecutive Byng trophies in each year since the lockout ended. That St. Louis has never won this award is something of a surprise, but he should be a mortal lock, given that he is currently fifth in the NHL in scoring, with 91 points, plays with fire and energy, but has been limited to six minor penalties all season. His former Tampa teammate Richards was almost as good, playing for Dallas, another playoff also-ran this season. As for Alfredsson, he was a reliable point-per-game performer again this season, but will mix it up as needed.

[Kontiki]

My guess is that Crosby wins the Hart.

[Ben Kenobi]

Not sure. But I think he's more likely than Ovechkin.

Canucks have never won a major award in their history outside of Pavel's Rocket Richard trophies and his Calder. I want to believe that Sedin can win the Ross and the Hart, but experience teaches me otherwise. Too many easterners.

[Asher]

Used hockey jerseys have become a status symbol in Africa: http://www.nationalpost.com/multimed...tml?id=2784523

[Asher]

A good article on Jarome:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Calgary/2787191/story.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

No. 12 'on his own' in Calgary

Asked to abandon his bird-dog stance for a minute and play general manager, Steve Smith is hit with a hypothetical haymaker.

"If I am thinking about it, boy, I'd better have a pretty darn good plan ready to replace him,'' whistles the Calgary Flames' captain from 1999-2000, currently a scout for the Chicago Blackhawks.

"If I'd ever, and I mean ever, contemplate trading Jarome Iginla, I'd want to know I had myself really well covered because a guy like this doesn't just walk in off the street every day.

"You don't change a Jarome Iginla for change's sake. I've played with Jarome and against him. We're talking about a special guy. A special hockey player. One of the best in the game over the last 10 or 12 years. A sensitive person who takes things very much to heart. Someone you don't take for granted because there's not many like him.

"I've played with some great players, and he's certainly one of them. People are down on him there? Saying he had a 'bad' year? Scored 30, didn't he? A lot of guys would love to have a year as bad as that.''

In the wake of the Flames missing out on the playoff party entirely for the first time since 2003, the unthinkable, possibly trading the symbol of the franchise to replenish barren reserves of young talent, has been a topic of discussion among fans.

"When I was in Calgary,'' reminds Smith, "the situation was a lot different than it is now. They were clearly in a rebuilding phase then. We had a few veteran players in the room to try and help the kids. Now, after putting together a few good regular seasons, they've just missed the playoffs.

"I can't take the temperature of the town. I came through (Thursday) night on my way to Denver, the first time in months, and it was snowing! I don't know what people are saying there. I do know, though, first-hand, that it sucks to lose.

"The game goes in cycles. As a player, you go through two or three during a career. Crests and valleys. Good teams, contending teams, and rebuilding teams. And usually it happens in two or three different places. Jarome's done it in one city. I know he's proud of that fact and, believe me, I know how much he enjoys it in Calgary.''

The constant focus on Iginla here, the unceasing demands on his time, the direct correlation between his individual play and collective success, is, says Smith, no small burden.

"In Edmonton, Gretzky had Messier, Messier had Gretzky, they both had Kevin Lowe and there were others to lean on. I'm not inside that dressing room so I can't be sure, there might be a dozen other players willing to step up and lead, but sometimes from the outside it just looks as if Jarome is an island. Out there on his own.''

[Asher]

****. I would've won the auction league if ****ing Dustin Brown didn't score on Anderson in OT.

Now I'm probably going to lose by like 1pt to Flubber.

We were each playing a couple of the lowest-ranked teams in the league this week, but ****ing snoopy had to have a great week with his goalies (3W, 0.930 sv%) which means I'm only going to win 5-1 instead of 7-0 or 8-0.

Meanwhile Flubber is lucky as hell to go against the Brit Guy's inactive team, who has 0W and 0.850sv% this week.

This is why playoffs are good. Essentially Flubber and I are going head to head for the league title this week, and if we did play head to head I'd easily win this week...but instead he got a weaker opponent than I did this week and that's all it took.

[Kontiki]

And that's that - congrats, nye. Helluva final week.

[notyoueither]

Thank-you. I finally broke the Sharks mold and won a championship.

The last week was quite interesting with how the schedule worked out.

[Sparrowhawk]

This is why playoffs are good. Essentially Flubber and I are going head to head for the league title this week, and if we did play head to head I'd easily win this week...but instead he got a weaker opponent than I did this week and that's all it took.

But if it were a head to head playoffs, one of you would be playing me and one of you would already be out of it

It looks like despite my late season surge to first place, that I will finished tied for 2nd with you

Congrats Flubber!

[action=Sparrowhawk][/action]

[Asher]

I could've gotten a couple more points if I didn't pick up Theodore and drop Brodeur to do it.

I thought that they'd surely rest Brodeur for the last game of the season considering he played the night before as well. He played brilliantly and Theodore rode the pine.