Finally, a win by the dismal leafs against the slightly more dismal Ducks.

Having run out of time, money and options… Jerry Moyes has agreed to sell the Coyotes to the NHL for $145 million. Once the bankruptcy case closes and all creditors are paid….. Mr. Moyes and Mr. Great One shall have approximately $9 to $11 million to split between them. Don’t spend it all in one place guys!!

BOOOOOO!!! this week to those nasty head shots. You know who you are!

The puck drops tonight on another instalment of NHL. Over the past few days, I have been reading several news columns regarding predictions for the upcoming season.

Who will shine brighter – Crosby or Ovechkin?

Where will the Coyotes end up? …. Phoenix for now.

How many goals will Tavares score? Can he save the Islanders from themselves? Will anyone in Long Island care?

Will the Leafs make the playoffs? Will Kessel be worth the future farm?

Which coach will get fired first? — popular vote goes to John Tortorella

Will Tampa still suck?

Who will win the Stanley Cup???????

Its an Olympic year, so expect a wave of injuries by mid-March. I will predict that Canada will win gold on home turf.

Will the dysfunctional, we need a “health assessment” (….wtf???) NHLPA clean up its act?
I think the Great One is looking for a job???

LAST BUT NOT LEAST……….. An NHL season without Mats :((
All the best in retirement to the one of the greatest Leafs ever!!

Cheers
Happy Opening night !!

Ok… after my last blog entry…. I go to www.tsn.ca and read the details about the Leafs getting Kessel. It was a trade for a total of 3 draft picks — 1st&2nd round in 2010 and 1st round in 2011— Its a good thing that the Leafs can finally be considered a “young” team. Here is hoping that the draft pool is shallow in the next 2 years :) — In the words of a previous GM – “Draft-Shmaft”

For the die-hard fans its here already…… if you are into pre-season hockey — me not so much, could never get into paying full price of a Leaf ticket to watch the Marlies play. Some noteworthy items:

1. Just heard the Leafs signed Phil Kessel – Brilliant move ! Thank you Mr. Burke. So when you said you werent interested — you really were :)

2. Jason Allison could make the team this year. I havent heard anything about how training camp is going for him, I am not even sure if he has played in either of the 2 pre-season games— BUT 60 points in 66 games (per 2005-2006 season) — is something the Leafs cannot ignore — they have not had a point per game guy since Allison was last on the team. It was nothing short of a miracle he made it back to the NHL in 2005 – (due to injury) – and he put up those numbers…. yeah, I know he is slow, can’t skate well, and the game has “changed”…. blah, blah, blah…… winning hockey games is all about points… nothing else matters.

3. There are 11 “new” hot-dogs at the ACC this year — YUM….. and for the same price you can enjoy a 14oz steak at Harbour 60 — just across the street.

4. All is quiet in Phoenix……….????????????????????

5. Comrie was impressive during his 1st pre-season game in Edmonton… I love homecomings!!

6. Theo Fleury (speaking of great comebacks) scored the lone goal in a shoot-out the other night – the last time he played in the NHL — shoot-outs were not even part of the tie-breaking format.

cheers

Here we go again… another young NHL star finds himself in a pile of legal trouble over what probably started as a minor altercation.

On the weekend, Patrick Kane took a taxi from downtown Buffalo to a suburban area ( which could not have generated a fare more than $50) Buffalo is not that big. At some point, he felt it necessary to rough up the cabbie – I have not yet heard/read the details as to what caused the altercation – but nonetheless, I am sure Kane himself would have to agree, it was so not worth a felony charge and much unwanted attention, bad press and endless rhetoric on how young superstar athletes somehow always turn out bad. Too much fame? fortune? or both?, probably just a bad night. I have never really bought into the logic that professional athletes are public figures therefore are held to a higher standard of conduct than everybody else and should set an example for the rest of us. Yes, they are public figuers. Yes, what Patrick Kane did was very wrong – had it been some joe shmoe from Buffalo — it wouldn’t be news – but thats beside the point.

Regardless of what got him so angry, he should have taken the high road, not because anyone needs an example of cabbing eitiquette but becasue it would have been the easier and less expensive thing to do.