Friday, July 31, 2009

Cycle Like Sedins NHL re-draft - July 31

This post will be randomly edited and updated throughout the day by me/James, as we see picks being made, so keep checking back, or just go to the picks board to see the latest happenings.

Post your caption in the comments!

#19 (#49) - Chris Mason's facial hair goes to the Phoenix Coyotes
Cap hit: 3.000M/yr

#20 (#50) - Patrick Marleau goes to the St. Louis Blues
Cap hit: 6.300M/yr

#21 (#51) - Marian Hossa returns to the Atlanta Thrashers
Cap hit: 5.233M/yr

#22 (#52) - Shea Weber to the Nashville Predators
Cap hit: 4.500M/yr

#23 (#53) - Pekka Rinne to the Edmonton Oilers
Cap hit: 0.725M/yr

#24 (#54) - Marian Gaborik to the Philadelphia Flyers
Cap hit: 7.500M/yr

#25 (#55) - Tomas Vokoun to the New York Islanders
Cap hit: 5.700M/yr

#26 (#56) - Jonas Hiller to the Chicago Blackhawks
Cap hit: 1.300M/yr

#27 (#57) - Corey Perry to the Dallas Stars
Cap hit: 5.325M/yr

#28 (#58) - Mike Cammalleri to the Tampa Bay Lightning
Cap hit: 6.000M/yr

#29 (#59) - Jonathan Quick to the Vancouver Canucks
Cap hit: 0.770M/yr

#30 (#60) - Mikko Koivu to the Calgary Flames
Cap hit: 3.250M/yr

#1 (#61) - Martin Biron to the Calgary Flames
Cap hit: 1.400M/yr

#2 (#62) - Shane Doan to the Vancouver Canucks
Cap hit: 4.550M/yr

#3 (#63) - Mark Streit to the Tampa Bay Lightning
Cap hit: 4.100M/yr

#4 (#64) - Scott Clemmensen to the Dallas Stars
Cap hit: 1.800M/yr

#5 (#65) - Brian Rafalski to the Chicago Blackhawks
Cap hit: 6.000M/yr

#6 (#66) - Daniel Sedin to the New York Islanders
Cap hit: 6.100M/yr

#7 (#67) - Travis Zajac to the Edmonton Oilers
Cap hit: 3.888M/yr

#8 (#68) - Ryan Kesler to the Edmonton Oilers
Cap hit: 1.750M/yr

#9 (#69) - Simeon Varlamov to the Nashville Predators
Cap hit: 0.822M/yr

#10 (#70) - Marty Turco to the Atlanta Thrashers
Cap hit: 5.700M/yr

Our first trade has also occurred! The Philadelphia Flyers have traded their 3rd rounder (#67) and their 10th rounder (some big number) to the Edmonton Oilers for their 4th (#113) and 5th (#128).

Thursday's picks

Pictured: Marc Andre Fleury

Marc Andre Fleury goes to Rudy Kelly/LA Kings

Cap Hit: $5,000,000

***

Duncan Keith goes to Joe/Detroit

Cap Hit: $1,475,000 (Damn you, Joe)

***

Jason Spezza goes to Brenn/CBJ

Cap Hit: $7,000,000

***

Jay Bouwmeester goes to Rob/Washington

Cap Hit: $6,680,000 (Librarians really aren't coming cheap these days, are they?)

***

Devin Setoguchi goes to Frank D/Pittsburgh

Cap Hit: $1,246,667 (Nice!)

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Picks Update

35. Patrick Kane goes to Vance (Bangin Panger and Double Edged Sabres)/the Buffalo Sabres

Cap Hit: $3,725,000

36. Evgeni Nabokov goes to Hockey Blog Adventure/Boston

Cap Hit: $5,375,000

37. Cam Ward goes to Sens at Land's End/Ottawa

Cap Hit: $2,666,667

38. Dany Heatley goes to Fear the Fin/San Jose

Cap Hit: $7,500,000

39. Alex Semin goes to Sports and the City-CLS/Toronto

Cap Hit: $4,600,000

40. Martin St. Louis goes to In Lou We Trust/New Jersey

Cap Hit: $5,250,000

41. Dan Boyle goes to Scotty Hockey/New York Rangers

Cap Hit: $6,666,667 (does he worship Satan?)

42. Dion Phaneuf goes to Life and Times of a Caniac/Carolina

Cap Hit: $6,500,000

43. Ryan Miller goes to The Royal Half/Minnesota

Cap Hit: $6,250,000

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Wazzupwitchu's Laura shares her Earliest Hockey Memories

Logo by Gray from Couch Tarts

Because we're on the verge of passing out, we'll keep this brief: Laura is awesome. You can follow her work on Wazzupwitchu and she recently became a member of St. Louis Blues Gametime, the awesome and gigantic Blues blog for Sports Blog Nation. Congrats, Laura aka Hildy aka Hildymac, and thanks for your contributions!

Here goes... I was little, so there might be a few mistakes in there somewhere. But hey, who can remember back to when they were 8, huh?

Growing up in St. Louis, as anyone who is from there can tell you, there is one game in town: Cardinals baseball. Everyone eats, sleeps, and breathes it - the Post Dispatch would give a Cards/Cubs game bigger coverage than if the Mississippi flowed backwards again (look it up - swear it happened). The Cardinals and their ten World Series wins are the pride and joy of St. Louis sports, and while I will be a Cardinals fan until the day that I die, there's another team in town who I love just as much - and I don't care that they haven't won the Cup.

When I was probably 8 or so, and how this started is iffy, I began watching Blues games on TV. KPLR showed (and did so with some until last season) the Blues home games, and I guess flipping around TV I landed on one. When I was that age, well... that was the beginning of the age of Hull. Luckily I started watching during the end of the Hull and Oates team-up, so I got to see that amazingness first hand. I was fortunate to begin my tenure as a bona fide fan of the Blues during the era with CuJo (new CuJo, not shell of his former self CuJo), Shannahan, Janney, Mrs. Janney, MacInnis, and Hull. My strongest two memories of being a little kid and loving hockey are playing floor hockey with the dog - he was probably not a willing participant - by taping a 12 inch and a 6 inch ruler together as a stick and using one of his tennis balls as a puck; and watching the 1993 series sweep of the Blackhawks in the 1st round of the playoffs. I still remember, as clear as day, the front page headline of the Post-Dispatch: "SWEEP" - complete with a picture of a crying (and probably screaming... damn PMS) Eddie Belfour. I actually think that I have a copy of that still somewhere, though I'm not sure where it is.

My grandmother of all people got me started collecting hockey cards, as well as a subscription to Beckett's hockey price guide, which is a tradition I still continue with my monthly on-line subscription. This collecting of cards made me aware at a really young age of who the best players were, who the up and coming guys were, all their stats, and of course contributed to my unhealthy goaltender crush. I moved down to Georgia in 1993 which completely killed my hockey trading card addiction, as well as prohibited me from finding friends to whack street hockey balls against the side of the house. I only had my Super Nintendo, NHL '94, a Blues sweatshirt, and some autographs from Hull, Shanny, and CuJo to get me through those dark, horrible, hockeyless days until 1999 when the Thrashers showed up and I got to watch their first game, a 4-1 loss to the Devils, in person. I adore the Thrashers (as much as they'll let me) but because of where I'm from and the warmth that I associate with these early hockey memories of a childhood past, well, the Blues are my boys and are still my hometown team.

Florida Panthers two-pack

Photo featuring one of the sluttier members of the Booth clan

Making up for lost time, Litter Box Cats selects these two players on behalf of the Florida Panthers:

1. David Booth

Cap Hit:
$4,250,000

2. Steve Mason

Cap Hit: $900,000

(For the record, I'd like to take 90 to 100 percent credit for the Mason pick. Damn me and my hasty e-mails. The Booth pick was all Whale4Ever, though.)

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Catching up with today's picks

(So, there was a bit of a snafu. Perhaps we'll divulge the minute details when our eyes aren't twitching from fatigue. In the mean time, we'll just lay down the picks and their cap hits.)

"28th" pick: Eric Staal to the Anaheim Ducks by way of Crash the Crease.

Cap Hit: $8,250,000

29th pick: Scott Niedermayer to the Montreal Canadiens by way of Posts for a Post/JC

Scott Nidermayer (left) to Getzlaf on his hair loss: "It's not your fault. IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!"

Cap Hit: $6,750,000

30th pick: Simon Gagne to the Colorado Avalanche by way of Jibblescribbits

Cap Hit: $5,250,000

31st pick (first of the second round): Mike Ribeiro to the Avs by way of Jibbles

Cap Hit: $5,000,000

32nd pick: Anze Kopitar to the Montreal Canadiens by way of Posts for a Post

Cap Hit: $6,800,000

33rd pick: Tim Thomas to the Anaheim Ducks by Crash the Crease

Cap Hit: $5,000,000

Monday, July 27, 2009

With the 26th overall pick, the Buffalo Sabres select...

#26 - Henrik Zetterberg to the Buffalo Sabres (selected by Vance of BanginPanger)

A picture of Hank's girlfriend is way better than a picture of Hank himself

Cap hit: 6.083M/yr

Update: Thoughts from Vance at Double Edged Sabres.

With the 25h overall pick, the Boston Bruins select...

#25 - Joe Thornton to the Boston Bruins (selected by Cornelius Hardenbergh of Hockey Blog Adventure)

Obviously, Cornelius beat the shit out of Thornton and dragged him back to Boston

Cap hit: 7.200M/yr

(...something... can be found here. And apparently Cornelius immediately zeroed in on the same picture of Thornton that I did)

With the 24th overall pick, the Ottawa Senators select...

#24 - Rick Nash to the Ottawa Senators (selected by Meaghan of Sens At Land's End)

Rick Nash
He's so dreamy!

Cap hit: 5.400M/yr

Meaghan's dicsussion of the pick can be found here.

With the 23rd Overall Pick, the San Jose Sharks select....

Captain Elbows to the San Jose Sharks by Jason at Fear the Fin.

A still image from the unreleased Chris Pronger sex tape.


Cap Hit: $6,250,000

A message from the desk of Eyebleaf, virtual Burke replacement (Pick 22)

First of all, the Toronto Maple Leafs would like to take a moment to thank Cycle Like The Sedins for their more than generous hospitality. It's a pleasure to take part in this most interesting endeavor.

We'd also like to make it a point NOT to congratulate the Pittsburgh Penguins. Fuck those guys; we were cheering for the Detroit Red Wings.

Without further adieu, with the 22nd pick in the Cycle Like The Sedins fantasy draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs are proud to select centre MARC SAVARD.

12. Marc Savard to the Toronto Maple Leafs by EyebLeaf

Cap Hit: $5,000,000

Sunday, July 26, 2009

The OTHER Backstrom is fictionally reunited with Jacques Lemaire (Pick 21)

Sadly, there are no silly photos of him.

21. John from In Lou We Trust brings Niklas Backstrom to the New Jersey Devils.

Cap Hit: $6,000,000

Dreaming of a Sather-free Rangers (Pick #20)


20. Miikka Kiprusoff goes to Scotty Hockey and the New York Rangers.

Cap Hit: $5,833,333

With the 19th pick, the Canes take:

(H/T to Puck Daddy for the Brody 'stache greatness.)

19. Ashley from Life and Times of a Caniac picks Martin Brodeur.

Cap Hit: $5,200,000

With the 18th Pick, The Minnesota Wild...

have decided to change their team name and logo back to the way it should be:

Listen, if this truly is a Fantasy GM exercise... then I do what I want!

Oh, and The Royal Half selects Mike Richards with the 18th pick.


Cap Hit: $5,750,000 (check out my thoughts on this selection.)

With the 17th overall pick, the Los Angeles Kings select...

#17 - Jeff Carter to the Los Angeles Kings (selected by Rudy Kelly at the Battle of California)

Carter3.jpg image by Davepoo1
Looks like he'll fit right in on the beaches of SoCal

Cap hit: 5.000M/yr

(discussion of this pick can be found here)

With the 16th overall pick, the Detroit Red Wings select...

#16 - Jarome Iginla to the Detroit Red Wings (selected by Sacrifice The Body)

My captain has 10 times more heart than your captain

Cap hit: 7.000M/yr

(For discussion of the pick, be sure to click here.)

With the 15th overall pick, the Columbus Blue Jackets select...

#15 - Zdeno Chara to the Columbus Blue Jackets (selected by BrennQuenn)

Nearly as big as his cap hit!

Cap hit: 7.500M/yr

(This puts me on the clock, and I was really considering Chara. I hate you, Brenn.)

With the 14th overall pick, the Washington Capitals select...

#14 - Nicklas Backstrom to the Washington Capitals (selected by Storming The Crease)

I'M ON A BOAT


Cap hit: 2.400M/yr

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Earliest hockey articles (Slow Saturday reading)

Whoa, easy. Someone can't take a "floss" joke.

On a slow Saturday since some of our Armchair GMS are undergoing some scheduling conflicts, the subject of the great coming of age book "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" came up. It reminded me of the fact that I forced a few hockey articles on my college newspaper a loooong time ago.

Being that its fairly certain that these are the first hockey articles I ever posted, it might be fun to read these underdeveloped little pieces from an era in which it seemed that I might become a real journalist. (You'll probably see why that never happened).

So here's three posts, with a brief description and a self aggrandizing one-liner/excerpt.

1. "Here's Hoping the NHL sticks to its guns" (Published: July 25, 2005)

My Crosby-centric article written in the summer before the first pro-lockout season.
"After the New Jersey Devils shocked the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings in the1994 Finals with the awful-for-TV neutral zone trap, the league would see more "clutching and grabbing" than a North American Man/Boy Love Association convention. "
2. "Younger, goonless NHL brings change from the ordinary" (Published: October 14, 2005)
Another article from the original post-lockout season, this one with a hysterical mug shot.
"Goons have been described as "dancing grizzly bears," but honestly, I don't want to insult the agility of those gigantic yet intriguing creatures."
3. NHL Heckling Guide (Published: October 4, 2006)

Don't be shocked if this becomes one of next season's big features (the concept, not the rushed column).

"Do you hate old people? Then bring a walker to the AAC when the Red Wings come to town and heckle 44-year-old defenseman Chris Chelios."

And, eff it, since hockey and mustaches are inexorably linked:

4. Moustache Mania (Published: August 29, 2006)

So, I became editor in chief of a college newspaper. What do I do? Devote a huge center spread feature to the 'stache. Jeez.
"Judging from Josef Stalin's bushy moustache and Hitler's, well, "Hitler moustache" … it almost goes without saying that if you want to take over the world, you cannot put up a respectable effort while clean-shaven.

I mean, seriously, how can you expect to be truly evil if you cannot stroke your moustache and cackle with your minions? Even Saddam Hussein, a noted failure, acknowledged the moustache requirement.

Looking back, it's hard to wrap my mind around the sex symbol status of Moustache Hall of Fame member Burt Reynolds. Sure, I'm jealous of his bear-like hairy chest. I'm only human. But I don't quite understand the Reynolds phenomenon."
Note: Sundaytainment will probably still be posted tomorrow, but it might be late due to expected hangover complications.

Friday, July 24, 2009

The Penguins get the OTHER other ridiculously talented Russian (pick 13)

13. Ilya Kovalchuk goes to Pensburgh/the Pittsburgh Penguins

Cap Hit: $6,389,300

Howling for Faux-hawks? (Pick #12)

12. The Phoenix Coyotes/Odin Mercer from Five for Howling pick Mike Green. Arizona hair product manufacturers scramble to prepare stock for October.

Cap Hit: $5,250,000

O-zone Impact: troubling

(OK, that's my last faux hawk joke. For today.)

Since this probably won't happen again

Ballhype is a nice promotional site and all, but we have to admit we found this ranking a bit ... shocking (click to enlarge):


Their ranking system is based on outbound links, so it makes sense that our contribution-oriented blog would be grossly inflated in their ranking system. Still, we thought this was shocking enough to share with you since it probably isn't something that will last very long.

The draft? Yeah, it's been kind of a big deal. Sheesh.

We cannot thank everyone who's contributed enough, as well as every blog kind enough to link to us. Please support and follow each re-draft GM's blogs, as well as the ones in our massive sidebar and the ones we carelessly forget to link.

Five Hole Fanatics

Vancity Canuck

Raw Charge

Defending Big D

All Hawks Hockey

Lighthouse Hockey

Strange Deadfellows

Section 303

Wazzupwitchu

Five for Howling

Pensburgh

Storming the Crease

Sacrifice the Body

Battle of California

Royal Half

Life and Times of a Caniac

Scotty Hockey

In Lou We Trust

Sports and the City

Fear the Fin

Sens at Land's End

Hockey Blog Adventure

Bangin Panger

Litter Box Cats

Crash the Crease

JC NHL

Jibblescribbits

We cannot thank you enough. Seriously.

Laura gives many the goaltending Blues (11th pick)

11. Roberto Luongo goes to St. Louis, picked by Laura from St. Louis Game Time and Wazzupwitchu.

Cap Hit: $6,750,000

Pick #10: the Atlanta Thrashers

The Thrashers keep Vincent Lecavalier in the Southeast Division by selecting him with the 10th pick. (Pick by Matt Gunn. Follow him on Twitter.)

Cap Hit: $7,727,273

Coming to the podium are the Nashville Predators...

#9 - Ryan Getzlaf to the Nashville Predators (selected by Jeremy and Codey from Section303.com)



Cap hit: $5,325,00

The Edmonton Oilers scoop up:

8. Zach Parise goes to Edmonton. (Thoughts from Strange Deadfellows)


Cap Hit: $3,125,000

Thursday, July 23, 2009

With the 7th overall pick, the Philadelphia Flyers select...

#7 - Pavel Datsyuk to the Philadelphia Flyers (selected by Paul Hinrichsen)


Cap hit: 6.700M/yr

(How the hell does a multiple Lady Byng winner go to the FLYERS?)


With the 6th overall pick, the New York Islanders select...

6. Nicklas Lidstrom to the New York Islanders (selected by Lighthouse Hockey)

I think we all imagined that Lidstrom would finish his career on Long Island.

Cap Hit: $7,450,000

With the 5th overall pick, the Chicago Blackhawks select...

FYI... James is on special assignment so we'll be posting the selections throughout the day.

5. Jonathan Toews
to the Chicago Blackhawks (selected by All Hawks Hockey)

No, my shoulder feels fine, why do you ask?

Cap Hit: $2,800,000

With the 4th overall pick, the Dallas Stars select...

4. Evgeni Malkin to the Dallas Stars (selected by Defending Big D)


Wait, I'm going where? Is there a beach nearby?

Cap Hit: $8,700,000

Defending Big D's thoughts.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

SHOCKING news:(Pick No. 3)

Edit: Cassie's reasoning for picking Lundqvist. Good stuff, Raw Charge folks.

(It's a pun, you see.)

With the #3 pick of the Re-Draft, Cassie of Raw Charge takes ...

Henrik Lundqvist to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Cap Hit: $6,875,000

With the second pick, the Vancouver Canucks select:

2. Sidney Crosby to the Vancouver Canucks (selected by Vancity Canuck)

Crosby rocks a Canadian tuxedo for the occasion!

Cap Hit: $8,700,000

Vancity Canuck's thoughts

Re-drafting the League: Revealing picks 26-30!

Finally, we have reached the end of the draft order! 25 teams have been awarded their slots in the CLS Re-drafting the League project, and only 5 teams remain. The first 25 look something like this:

#1) Calgary Flames (Kent from Five Hole Fanatics/Matchsticks & Gasoline)
#2) Vancouver Canucks (Vancity Canuck)
#3) Tampa Bay Lightning (Cassie and/or Raw Charge)
#4) Dallas Stars (Defending Big D)
#5) Chicago Blackhawks (All Hawks - Clare)
#6) New York Islanders
#7) Philadelphia Flyers (Paul Hinrichsen)
#8) Edmonton Oilers (Strange Deadfellows)
#9) Nashville Predators (Section 303)
#10) Atlanta Thrashers (Blueland Chronicle)
#11) St. Louis Blues (Laura of Wazzupwitchu/SLGT)
#12) Phoenix Coyotes (Five For Howling)
#13) Pittsburgh Penguins (Pensburgh)
#14) Washington Capitals (Storming the Crease)
#15) Columbus Blue Jackets Brennan
#16) Detroit Red Wings (Sacrifice the Body)
#17) Los Angeles Kings (Rudy Kelly)
#18) Minnesota Wild Chris Kontos possibly
#19) Carolina Hurricanes (Life and Times of a Caniac)
#20) New York Rangers (Scotty Hockey)
#21) New Jersey Devils (In Lou We Trust)
#22) Toronto Maple Leafs (Eyebleaf - Sports and the City)
#23) San Jose Sharks (Mr. Plank - Fear The Fin)
#24) Ottawa Senators - Meghan
#25) Boston Bruins (Hockey Blog Adventure)

Yes, that only leaves Montreal, Colorado, Buffalo, Florida, and Anaheim to pick in some order from 26-30. And that order is...

#26) Buffalo Sabres (Vance)
#27) Florida Panthers (Litter Box Cats)
#28) Anaheim Ducks (Crash The Crease)
#29) Montreal Canadiens (JC)
#30) Colorado Avalanche (Jibblescribbits)

So there you have it, your 2009-10 CLS Re-drafting the League draft order! Kent and the Calgary Flames, you are officially on the clock!

Fear the Fin's Mr. Plank shares his Earliest Hockey Memories

Logo by Gray from Couch Tarts

We consider many of our favorite CLS contributors borderline friends, despite the fact that we might not be able to pick them out of a lineup. However, Mr. Plank is one of the rare souls who not only had the bad luck/opportunity to meet with us, but to see us absolutely sloshed. As part of his black mail campaign that began that night, we are required to direct you to Fear the Fin and to tell you that his little avatar thing is misleading. That handlebar mustache is merely meant to distract you from the fact that he's devastatingly handsome.

Despite being way too much of a stud to blog like the rest of us, we're glad he does. Fear to Fin is a great San Jose Sharks blog. Make sure to check it out. If you don't, Plank will totally break your girlfriend's heart just because he can. Seriously.

***

A fact that will come as a shock to some of you (sans the WBT crew that has graciously made the move with me), I wasn't born a Sharks fan, nor was I even born in the Golden State. As is the standard with most Hollywood based storylines (you should see the clubs I frequent based off this FTF gig), it's best to dig in where it all began.

I was born on October 25, 1987 in St. Paul Minnesota, a state that is commonly known as The Land of 10,000 Lakes; lakes that receive a heavy dose of wear and tear during the long winters, humbly offering a simple yet eloquent medium for exercise and sport.

St. Paul, Minnesota. We think.

What better way to take advantage of Mother Nature than hockey eh?

The love for hockey woven into the veins of Minnesota made it easy for anyone to enjoy. The high school state tournament was a frequent destination for my father (who was born in Wabasha, the town where Grumpy Old Men was based), and at the ripe age of three he found it in my best interest to drag me along. How right he was. Details don't come easy at that age, but from what I can remember, the one thing that drew my attention was the culture of the sport. There's something magical about being physically cold- it forces you to emit heat from your heart through a smile or a wave at random passerby (something that may be considered a law in Minnesota). Coupled with the elegant speed of the skaters, viciousness of a body check, and general pandemonium when a goal is scored? A fairly easy choice, as I'm sure you all can agree.

From them on I was hooked, and rightfully so. The next week I purchased my first pair of skates and headed out onto Lake of The Isles to practice with my dad. We skated for what seemed like sunup to sundown (in reality it was probably an hour or so, and I doubt I was able to skate all that much), and came home to a piping hot plate of chicken cacciatore and rhubarb pie. Ah, those were the days.

Yes, this was placed here to make you hungry because we're cruel.

When the winter wasn't in full force my dad and I would play in the basement. We weren't strapped for money persay, but hockey was an expensive sport- I never got an opportunity to play it competitively. Regardless, in that basement it didn't matter at all. I would strap a pillowcase on each of my legs (mimicking the future of goaltending equipment quite well I must add- those things made the five hole look like a pinhole), a baseball glove in my left hand, a stick signed by Neal Broten in my right, and a laundry basket set up behind me serving as the goal. My dad would tee up socks, bunched up in balls of three, and fire them at me while I did my best to shut the door on his Stanley Cup dreams.

At night he would tell me stories about the great Phil Housley, probably the greatest player to come from the great state of Minnesota (and one of the greatest American-born players of all time); tales of watching him at the high school hockey tournament looking like a man amongst boys, how he played in the All-Star game at the age of 18, how his swift skating and rocket from the point was the thing scouts salivated over.

My favorite team was obviously the Minnesota North Stars (a franchise that has a rather peculiar history with the Golden Seals and San Jose Sharks- funny how things work out sometimes). My favorite player was Neal Broten and Mike Modano, probably due to my dad's influence. I vaguely remember the Stars magical run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in '91, and was just beginning to immerse myself into the team when they packed up and left for Dallas.

It's one thing I'll never forgive, and frankly makes the Sharks rivalry with them all the more bitter for me. I sincerely hope they manage to worm their way into a playoff spot this season and finally get what they deserve.

Hell hath no fury like a six year old scorned.

After moving out to California, the groundwork for my impending fandom was set. My dad would take me to games on occasion, but unfortunately didn't quite warm up to the team in the warm climate of California. To be fair though, Owen Nolan's inclusion onto the Sharks roster got me lots of tickets at The Tank. I guess it's not too hard to enjoy a player that has the ability to ignite a fanbase like number 11 would continue to do during his career in San Jose.

If I had to name the most visceral moment as a San Jose Shark fan it would be game three of the 06' series with Edmonton- not due to it's heroics, but because of how helpless it made me feel. The Sharks were about ten minutes away from taking a 3-0 strangehold on the series when Chris Pronger tied the game. Two overtimes later some hack puts it past Tosk and the Sharks melt down. I think Big Joe hit about two posts that game as well.

Not the most pleasant memory, but it's the one that burns the brightest.

In summation, my hockey history has been one that has had a great beginning and looks to have an excellent future. Although the summer sun is soaking the skin of co-eds across California right now, the drab and dreary clutch of winter is where I feel at home.

Is it October yet?



Go Sharks.

Re-drafting the League: Revealing picks 21-25!

Welcome to the last day of the CLS Re-drafting the League draft order revealing! So far, through 20 teams and 2 days, the list looks like such:

#1) Calgary Flames (Kent from Five Hole Fanatics/Matchsticks & Gasoline)
#2) Vancouver Canucks (Vancity Canuck)
#3) Tampa Bay Lightning (Cassie and/or Raw Charge)
#4) Dallas Stars (Defending Big D)
#5) Chicago Blackhawks (All Hawks - Clare)
#6) New York Islanders
#7) Philadelphia Flyers (Paul Hinrichsen)
#8) Edmonton Oilers (Strange Deadfellows)
#9) Nashville Predators (Section 303)
#10) Atlanta Thrashers (Blueland Chronicle)
#11) St. Louis Blues (Laura of Wazzupwitchu/SLGT)
#12) Phoenix Coyotes (Five For Howling)
#13) Pittsburgh Penguins (Pensburgh)
#14) Washington Capitals (Storming the Crease)
#15) Columbus Blue Jackets
#16) Detroit Red Wings (Sacrifice the Body)
#17) Los Angeles Kings (Rudy Kelly)
#18) Minnesota Wild
#19) Carolina Hurricanes (Life and Times of a Caniac)
#20) New York Rangers (Scotty Hockey)

We only have 10 teams left, so who placed into slots 21-25?

#21) New Jersey Devils (In Lou We Trust)
#22) Toronto Maple Leafs (Eyebleaf - Sports and the City)
#23) San Jose Sharks (Mr. Plank - Fear The Fin)
#24) Ottawa Senators
#25) Boston Bruins (Hockey Blog Adventure)

If you're one of the last 5 who doesn't have a team, then you can tune in later tonight to see what spot you'll be selecting at. If you already know where your draft slot is, tune in anyways to laugh at the teams that got screwed into the end of the draft!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Re-drafting the League: Revealing picks 16-20!

So far, we've revealed the first half of the draft order for the CLS Re-drafting the League project. The first 15 is littered with a bunch of smaller markets and non-marquee teams that no one (read: the MSM) really cares about.

#1) Calgary Flames (Kent from Five Hole Fanatics/Matchsticks & Gasoline)
#2) Vancouver Canucks (Vancity Canuck)
#3) Tampa Bay Lightning (Cassie and/or Raw Charge)
#4) Dallas Stars (Defending Big D)
#5) Chicago Blackhawks (All Hawks - Clare)
#6) New York Islanders either Dominik or Chris Kontos
#7) Philadelphia Flyers (Paul Hinrichsen)
#8) Edmonton Oilers (Strange Deadfellows)
#9) Nashville Predators (Section 303)
#10) Atlanta Thrashers (Blueland Chronicle)
#11) St. Louis Blues (Laura of Wazzupwitchu/SLGT)
#12) Phoenix Coyotes (Five For Howling)
#13) Pittsburgh Penguins (Pensburgh)
#14) Washington Capitals (Storming the Crease)
#15) Columbus Blue Jackets Brennan

Fortunately, this evening's update gets to some really big important teams, plus Carolina and Minnesota. Gotta keep NBC happy, right?

#16) Detroit Red Wings (Sacrifice the Body)
#17) Los Angeles Kings (Rudy Kelly)
#18) Minnesota Wild Kontos or mystery guest?
#19) Carolina Hurricanes (Life and Times of a Caniac)
#20) New York Rangers (Scotty Hockey)

Tomorrow morning, we'll reveal picks 21-25, and then we'll cap off the evening with picks 26-30!

Ovie on the Flames: a great Photoshop by Scotty Hockey

With the first pick in the NHL Re-Draft, Kent/Calgary selects ...

The Calgary Flames select:
Apparently, Kent took Ovie's imaginary Jimi Hendrix celebration as an omen

1. Alex Ovechkin
(Kent's thoughts)

Cap Hit: $9,538,462 (according to Cap Geek.com)

Numerous brownie points will be awarded if anyone can come up with a decent Photoshop of Ovie in a Flames jersey. (send it to jamestobrien@hotmail.com)

Message board post
Snark thread

Re-drafting the League: Revealing picks 11-15!

Yesterday, we revealed the top 10 picks of the CLS Re-drafting the League project. Those picks were:


#1) Calgary Flames (Kent from Five Hole Fanatics/Matchsticks & Gasoline)
#2) Vancouver Canucks (Vancity Canuck)
#3) Tampa Bay Lightning (Cassie and/or Raw Charge)
#4) Dallas Stars (Defending Big D)
#5) Chicago Blackhawks (All Hawks - Clare)
#6) New York Islanders Edit: either Dominik from Lighthouse Hockey or Chris Kontos
#7) Philadelphia Flyers (Paul Hinrichsen)
#8) Edmonton Oilers (Strange Deadfellows)
#9) Nashville Predators (Section 303)
#10) Atlanta Thrashers (Blueland Chronicle)

Rounding out the first half of the first round...

#11) St. Louis Blues (Laura of Wazzupwitchu/SLGT)
#12) Phoenix Coyotes (Five For Howling)
#13) Pittsburgh Penguins (Pensburgh)
#14) Washington Capitals (Storming the Crease)
#15) Columbus Blue Jackets Edit: Brennan

Come back again this evening to see picks 16-20 revealed! And be sure to holler at O'Brien if you're interested in being general manager of a team that hasn't been taken yet!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Re-Draft Message Board is up

Since there may be a disconnect existing between myself and a few of the Armchair GMs (if you're reading this and haven't received an e-mail or two yet, check your spam mail or drop me a line at jamestobrien@hotmail.com) we thought it would be smart to announce that we started a quick-and-dirty message board for this re-draft bid-ness:

Message Board

A few ground rules:

1. No porn/awful photos of dead people/creepy personal attacks on others. We figure that isn't necessary, but just in case .... you don't have to be adults just use some common sense. Please.

2. There's a mild safeguard on the PICKS board, but we'd still like to plea with you to keep that section "professional."

3. Don't think we're fun killers, though: feel free to have fun in the General and "Snark" sections. Fun does not equal [insert stuff that falls into #1], though, amigos.

ANYWAY, we're still hashing out some more details but if you're drafting, sign up. If you'd like to observe, the enjoy!

Re-drafting the League: Revealing picks 6-10!

Earlier today, the first 5 spots in the redrafting the league project were revealed. Given that the first two picks went to Western Canadian teams, this draft is definitely not "fixed", like the 2005 entry draft was. Right, Pittsburgh? Anyways, those first 5 picks look like this:

#1) Calgary Flames (Kent from Five Hole Fanatics/Matchsticks & Gasoline)
#2) Vancouver Canucks (Vancity Canuck)
#3) Tampa Bay Lightning (Cassie and/or Raw Charge)
#4) Dallas Stars (Defending Big D)
#5) Chicago Blackhawks (All Hawks - Clare)

I wonder if the fantasy Chicago Blackhawks are going to mismanage their cap into the ground as well? Here's hoping, since I'll be fighting them for a divisional crown.

Now, to reveal the next 5 picks...

#6) New York Islanders
#7) Philadelphia Flyers (Paul Hinrichsen)
#8) Edmonton Oilers (Strange Deadfellows)
#9) Nashville Predators (Section 303)
#10) Atlanta Thrashers (Blueland Chronicle)

Of those top 10 picks, only 1, the #6 seeded New York Islanders are in need of a General Manager. Someone get on it! And be sure to check back tomorrow morning for picks 11-15!

A proposal for the Re-drafting the League draft order

Something I just thought of, that I remember was brought up in my fantasy football league once upon a time...

For the draft order, I think we've all agreed on doing a serpentine draft. Basically, 1-30 will pick, then 30-1, then repeat. The thing that is occasionally disputed on this is that realistically, the very top tier of talented players in the NHL does not fill up that first round, so people picking in the very first picks will get far better players out of the deal than someone picking at the end of the round. After that first tier or so, the differences in players start getting a lot smaller, so the difference between pick #31 and pick #60 (who also picked #1) is going to be much smaller than the difference between picks #1 and pick #30. In the end, basically the first few picks get a bit of an advantage based on their draft position, especially in such a big draft.

The idea that I've heard is to snake it, but alternate the snake every two rounds. So basically, we would have #1-#30, then #30 (pick 31) through #1 (pick 60). Now that we've completed two rounds, we flip it, so now we go #30 (pick 61) through #1 (pick 90), and then #1 (pick 91) through #30 (pick 120).

I think that option is a little more fair to the teams at the extremes of the draft order. Basically, it looks like this:

1st round: #1 -> #30
2nd round: #30 -> #1
3rd round: #30 -> #1
4th round: #1-> #30

Speak up in the comments and let us know what you think!

Re-drafting the League: Revealing picks 1-5!

Yes, thats right folks. James has emailed me the entire draft order. If you want to see your spot, leave $100 in small bills underneath the tree behind your house....

(In a nasal kind of Bettman voice)

AND THE FIRST PICK OF THE NHL FANTASY DRAFT GOES TO...

Lottery%20balls.JPG (333×360)

THE CALGARY FLAMES!!!!

Following the pack from there, we have the following:

#1) Calgary Flames
#2) Vancouver Canucks
#3) Tampa Bay Lightning
#4) Dallas Stars
#5) Chicago Blackhawks

Of course, there are 25 other teams who are waiting to see where they fall in the draft! Check back in at 8:00 PM (I have no idea what timezone I just set it to, just that its 8:00 PM) for the revealing of picks 6-10! That is, if blogger posts this thing as scheduled.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Re-Drafting the League: Vote or Die be annoyed

East Coast blog- ahhhs ya feel me?*

In a week or two we're going to have something approaching a true summer schedule, but it seems obvious that the League Re-Draft idea has enough momentum to dominate most of the CLS happenings right now.

(That being said, expect an Earliest Hockey Memories post on Wednesday, an NHL 10 Wish List post on Thursday and another entertainment related post on Sunday among random bits.)

ANYWAY, since this idea is more than just our baby, we thought we'd pick the collective brains of voters and readers alike. Since we have become weary of Internet based voting since Rory Fitzpatrick got boned by the NHL and Mike Komisarek was a starter in the All-Star game, cast your "votes" in the comments.

Keep in mind that CLS elections could, in fact, be rigged. Nonetheless, share your thoughts. Perhaps they will even be considered (evil Newman-style cackles).

Proposition #1: Salary Cap

Since we are known for being Salary Cap Dorks, it is our strong preference to have a ceiling for how much imaginary spending will be allowed. However, we are lenient tyrants and will bump the cap ceiling up to $57 million. (OK, it's more about our hatred for decimals but don't complain)

One thing, though: don't worry about your team's budget. We don't need TOO much reality within our fantasy draft.

Proposition #2: Measurement of Judgment

Right now, we're thinking that teams could be assessed via a few methods:

1. Performance in a single simulated season of NHL 2010 (and maybe NHL 2K10 if 2K sports sends us a T-shirt HINT!).

Grease the wheels, 2K Sports, grease the effin' wheels.

2. Pure, simple numbers like points/assists/goals/plus-minus/Russian supermodels shagged.

3. Super in-depth formulas from some of our favorite hockey stat heads, if we can stop giving them Indian burns and pink bellies.

4. We could also do it like College Football does it: have head coaches (aka our armchair GMs) get their interns to rank opposing teams. Obviously, you wouldn't be able to rank your own. Just think of all the bribery (none) and corruption (lots) that will ensue! Eureka!

5. Teams could be judged/lampooned/showered with praise by a nebulous panel of sexperts.

Why don't you assign my KNUCKLES a Corsi rating?

Proposition #3: Method of Drafting

This one's going to be decided largely "behind the scenes" but why not give you all a chance to express your opinion? Here's a few methods we're pondering with a quick pro/con:

1. Live draft:

Pros: Quick, most like a "real life" draft

Cons: Coordinating 30 schedules = agony, some people might not get to make their picks

2. E-mail:

Pros: Everyone gets to pick, no immediate reactions of laughter and mockery for picking Peter Forsberg in the 5th round

Cons: Could take FOREVER, no immediate reactions of laughter and mockery for picking Peter Forsberg in the 5th round

3. Message Board/Scheduled picks

This would be sort of a hybrid of the two ideas. Have a scheduled time when someone makes the pick, but be a little more flexible with WHEN they can make it.

Pros: Everyone gets to pick

Cons: Unless they miss the deadline

Pros: In which case they will receive Dan Cloutier or Roman Cechmanek. Mouhahahaha.

4. WILDCARD!

Anything we haven't thought of yet? Do tell!

***

So, what do you think, folks? Express yourself in the comments.

*
Sorry, we're painfully white.

Really, really late to the party

Sonic Youth was on "The Simpsons" ... seriously, what took me so long?

Every week until pre-season coverage kicks into gear, I'll take a random look at the world of entertainment. Once in a while, that piece of pop culture will be relevant. Other times it will be deeply personal and potentially isolating. Either way, I hope that you are able to stumble on some new things or at least enjoy our thoughts. This week's "Sundaytainment" takes a look at two albums I lagged behind the rest of the world in appreciating.

"Loveless" by My Bloody Valentine (1991)
"Daydream Nation" by Sonic Youth (1988)

For the love of Christ, "Daydream Nation" came out MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO. That's just embarrassing.

Apparently, these two albums are classics. Hugely influential pieces of work that have changed the lives of thousands of music obsessives. "Loveless" was such a masterpiece that My Bloody Valentine's neurotic ringleader went into Axl Rose-ian seclusion while he was trying to compile a followup album. Yet, these two albums were a complete mystery to me just a couple months ago.

Perhaps a semi-mulligan can be applied to My Bloody Valentine. The group is still something of a "cult" favorite and their band name receives two strikes from a) sharing the title of a shitty horror movie and b) resembling the band name of a group I truly cannot stand (My Chemical Romance).

My Bloody Valentine

The same can't be said for Sonic Youth. The band has a great name. They're noisy and have indie credibility. Hell, going back to seventh grade I remember discussing them with an older blonde girl and they still didn't even generate a SPARK of interest. (My favorite bands in those days were Soundgarden, Beck, Sublime and semi-regrettably, Aerosmith).

Despite all the love out there for these two groups and their hallmark albums, I had never heard more than a note from either of them. After one night of scouring Pitchfork Media, there was an endless list of music to try and even with some really great modern stuff, two albums released when hockey wasn't even on my radar were the ones that ended up striking a chord.

The crazy thing is that both sound "fresh" despite their release dates. With "Loveless" the brilliance hits you just about the second the album starts: "Only Shallow" is a noisy, beautiful song that will help you decide quite rapidly if My Bloody Valentine is right for you.


Perhaps my musical palette lacks sophistication, but despite exposure to all kinds of different sounds I'd never heard anything quite like MBV. It's odd: the lyrics are genuinely incomprehensible, yet the sounds are often in my head in an endless loop.

With Sonic Youth, the allure is a little bit different. While "Loveless" roars out the gate like Alex Ovechkin in the open ice, "Teenage Riot" starts things off much slower. (Please be patient with the video, which must have been put together by the same person who edited early-90s episodes of "The Real World")

There's a great mixture of noise and elegance in both of these bands. Perhaps it's my inner ADD-addled child, but music needs to be ever-changing to keep my attention and both bands tend to accomplish that quite nicely.

Naturally, there are many music experts and passionate fans who expelled much ink and column inches expressing what makes these two bands (and albums) so great. There isn't anything my simpleton stance can express that they haven't.

(It is odd, though, that I fell in love with these albums right as these two groups came through Dallas ... in MBV's case during their first tour in ages.)

Ultimately, it's kind of like how NBC tried to pitch re-runs as "new to you": sometimes an album can feel as fresh in 2009 as it did in 1988 (or 91). "Loveless" and "Daydream Nation" do just that.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

League Re-Draft Representatives Thread

It seems like the Fantasy Draft idea has some traction. Here's a list of the people who have signed up so far (eventually we'll have links for their blogs but for now let's just be lazy). If you feel like we've forgotten you, let us know in the comments. Also, if you have any feedback there's a running thread here.

Anaheim - Crash the Crease

Atlanta - Blueland Chronicle

Boston - Hockey Blog Adventure

Buffalo - Vance (right?)

Calgary - Kent from Five Hole Fanatics/ Matchsticks & Gasoline

Carolina - Life and Times of a Caniac

Chicago - All Hawks (Clare)

Colorado - Jibblescribbits

Columbus - Brennan

Dallas - Defending Big D

Detroit - Joe (right?)

Edmonton - Strange Deadfellows

Florida - Litter Box Cats

Los Angeles - Rudy Kelly

Minnesota - Chris Kontos

Montreal - JC

Nashville - Section 303

New Jersey Devils - In Lou We Trust

New York Rangers - Scotty Hockey

Phoenix - Five for Howling

Philadelphia - Paul Hinrichsen

Pittsburgh - Pensburgh

San Jose - Fear the Fin's Mr. Plank

St. Louis - Laura from Wazzupwitchu/St. Louis Game time

Tampa Bay - Cassie and/or Raw Charge

Toronto - eyebleaf/Sports and the City

Vancouver - Vancity Canuck

Washington - Storming the Crease

Did we leave anyone out?

Friday, July 17, 2009

Re-Drafting the League

Toward the end of yesterday's NHL 10 post, we posed the question: if you could choose one player to build a team around, who would it be?

At some point in the wonderful Twitter process, the idea began to grow larger: how cool would it be if we did a "Fantasy Draft" with bloggers posing as team GMs (or ... something to that effect)? While the discussion seemed pretty enthusiastic, the exact details are still a little hazy. We're not sure if it would be better to do it through e-mail, some sort of live draft or what.

Some people have already shown some interest, but we thought we'd throw it out there before sending out spam e-mails and what not. Would this be something you'd find interesting? Perhaps you'd like to get involved? Feel free to use the comments as a forum for brainstorming and send us e-mails (jamestobrien@hotmail.com) if you'd like to be involved.

Is this something you'd find entertaining?