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Colorado-Detroit 10 Years Later

10 years ago was a night that saw the Dertoit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche become one of the most intest rivalries in the NHL. It started as the Red Wings looking to get even with Claude Lemieux for a cheap shot the year before on Kris Draper.

It has been 10 years since Darren McCarty pummeled Claude Lemieux, Brendan Shanahan flew through the air to get after Patrick Roy, and, of course, Mike Vernon fought Roy, punches thrown wildly, with coaches screaming and fans going berserk.

Kris Draper had been on the receiving end of an ugly hit by Lemieux the season before in the playoffs, and that touched off the bad blood between the teams.

Nearly a year had passed and, in the minds of the Wings, payback came due on March 26, 1997. The game, won by the Wings, 6-5 in overtime on a goal by McCarty, was a unifying force for that team, which would go on to win the next two Stanley Cups.

Yes a fight brought the team together, not just becuase it was fight it was because they drew a line to which no one would be allowed to cross when it came to their teammates.

The Draper-Lemieux incident was on the mind of every player, coach and fan that evening. Lemieux never showed remorse for the injuries he inflicted on Draper after drilling Draper’s face into the boards.

The fact that Detroit lost to Colorado in that 1996 playoff series increased the Red Wings’ sense of urgency.

“Everyone expected (the brawl) to happen, and how we got there wasn’t good, but it was an accumulation of a lot of games,” Chris Osgood said. “It was probably more fun for the fans (than players). But it was kind of necessary. It was probably one of the last steps for us to take, to come together as a team and the fact we stood up for each other, going into the playoffs.”

The buildup heading into the game, and the war of words between the teams, led everyone to believe something memorable was going to happen.

“There was hatred between the teams,” Osgood said.

“They were a great hockey team, and we were a great hockey team, and they had the one thing that we wanted, the Stanley Cup,” Draper said.

“They had beaten us the year before, and New Jersey had beaten us in the Finals in 1995, and we had to find a way to get over that hurdle.

“That night really helped us and excited us, especially because it was so close to the playoffs.”

It was old time hockey at its best and were some of the most intense and hard fought games I have ever seen (Even more intense than when Mattias Norstrom check Peter Forsberg so hard so may times it burst his spleen).

You can find a video summary of the rivalry here.

 

Steve Moore, 3 Years Later

Today marks the three years since March 8, 2004 when one of the NHL took one of the biggest black eyes ever at the fist of Todd Bertuzzi’s sucker punch to the back of Steve Moore’s head. Since then Burtuzzi has been suspended, reinstated, traded to Florida, and traded to Detriot. Steve Moore has spent the last three years visiting specialists and trying to return to the game.

Steve Moore is living in his hometown of Thornhill, Ontario. He is working out, lifting weights and skating. He makes periodic visits to the renowned Cleveland Clinic and to his Toronto doctors, but he said he still has concussion-related problems that have prevented the physicians from clearing him to take contact and to attempt to play.

But he hasn’t given up on trying to return to the NHL.

This is Steve Moore’s life, three years since the notorious March 8, 2004 incident where Todd Bertuzzi hit the Avalanche forward from behind, drove him into the ice and tried to hit him as Colorado’s Andrei Nikolishin fell on the pile and attempted to restrain Bertuzzi. It has been three years since Moore was wheeled off the General Motors Place ice with three fractured neck vertebrae, a concussion and facial lacerations.

“It kind of hits you in the face, like, ‘Wow, it’s been three years,’” Moore told The Denver Post on Wednesday. “When you’re going about your daily rehabilitation and working out and trying to get healthy, you don’t want to try to think about the time that has gone by. But there are certain landmarks or dates that kind of bring it home for you.

“I’m just skating on my own,” he added. “That’s the only thing I’ve sort of been allowed to do. It’s so frustrating to do that, especially while I’m working these long periods of time, hard and for many hours a day, and then going to the doctors and having them say, ‘No, you’re not allowed to do it.’ It’s pretty difficult to go back and put you nose to the grindstone again. But I’ve always been consistent that way. I’ve always had the ability to get myself motivated.”

It was an embarassing event for the league, but even more embarassing is that Bertuzzi was allowed back in the league. Bertuzzi should still be suspended and should not been allowed to take the ice until at least Moore had recovered from his injuries if at all. Any team that wants Bertuzzi deserves ridicule and shame for putting that embarassment to the sport on the ice.

 

NHL Trade Deadline Day

Today brings the NHL Trade Deadline, a national holiday in Canada. Of course most of the trades won’t many anything except to Canadians and the five die-hard American fans, I’ll just bring you some of the big name/impact trades as they happen through out the day. But if you are Canadian or one of the five, visit TSN.ca’s site they will give you everything from Edmonton and Toronto trading 7th round draft picks to the guy traded for a bag of pucks. (oh yes they have a live broadcast too.)

Deals of Note

To NY Islanders: F – Ryan Smyth
To Edmonton: F – Robert Nilsson, F – Ryan Omarra, 2007 1st Round Pick
The inability of Edmonton to reach a new contract agreement with Ryan Smyth forced this trade. Edmonton gains nothing and loses the cornerston of their franchise who has been with the team since they drafted him in 1994. Great move by the Islanders, that will help them in the playoff push. I am suprised Edmonton didn’t get a bidding war going, but it was reported that they refused to deal him to a Western Conference Team.

To Dallas: D – Mattias Norstrom, F – Konstantin Pushkarev, 2007 3rd and 4th Round Pick
To Los Angeles: D – Jaroslav Modry, D – Johan Fransson, 2008 1st Round Pick, 2007 2nd and 3rd Round Pick
This wins the award for most complex trade of the day and most difficult for many Kings Fans. Dallas gets Kings’ Captian Mattias Norstrom a solid (but old school) defensive defenseman to shore up their defensive core, who is under contract for next season. Dallas also picks up Pushkarev who can play bigger than he is, but has attitude problem caused mostly by Russian Clubs who consistently tell him he gets no respect in the NHL and should be playing in Russia. The Kings eat the salary of turn over machine Modry (who is a free agent on July 1st) and get the first right to Swedish prospect defensive Fransson. As for the picks… The Kings net a 1st rounder in the stronger 2008 draft and swap around draft positions in 2007 (the Kings’ original 3rd round pick would be higher than Dallas’ original 3rd round pick based on this season standings. Overall the Kings moved up in the draft board in 2007 while Dallas moved down.

To Colorado: F – Scott Parker
To San Jose: 2008 6th Round Pick
Nothing major here, San Jose just picks up an additional draft pick and frees up some roster and cap space.

To Toronto: F – Yanic Perreault, 2008 5th Round Pick
To Phoenix: D – Brendan Bell, 2008 2nd Round Pick
Yanic, who was unsigned for the frist two months of the season, pays off for Phoenix with a higher draft pick and a defensive prospect to build for the future. Toronto picks up a healthy and effective center for a playoff run in what will be a tight playoff push in the east. This is Yanic’s 3rd stint with Toronto.

To Buffalo: F – Dainius Zubrus, D – Timo Helbling
To Washington: F – Jiri Novotnv, 2007 1st Round Pick
Buffalo adds a talented forward but raw forward (with motivational issues) and a defensive prospect to build for the future and a playoff push. In return Washington gets a low 1st round pick in a weak draft and a talented foward who lacks finishing skills and is prone to laziness

To Detroit: F – Todd Bertuzzi
To Florida: TBA Pending Trade Call with NHL Head Office F – Shawn Matthias, 2007 Conditional Draft Pick, 2008 Conditional 2nd Round Draft Pick
Florida gets a top prospect and picks for rebuilding while giving Detroit Bertuzzi who has only played 7 games this seasons. When healthy Bertuzzi is a force on the ice, but no one knows if he will regain his for and if he can avoid sucker punching other players.

To San Jose: F – Bill Guerin
To St. Louis: F – Ville Nieminen, F – Jay Barriball, 2007 1st Round Pick
San Jose gets a first line winger, Stanley Cup Winner and six time All-Star. He possess a big shot, a mean streak that combine power and speed. He will help the Sharks immensely as they make a push for the Stanley Cup.

To Pittsburgh: F – Georges Laraque
To Phoenix: F – Danny Carcillo, 2007 8th Round Pick
Pittsburgh gets one of NHL’s best heavyweights and enforcers to protect their young stars for the playoff run.

To Philadelphia: G – Martin Biron
To Buffalo: Undisclosed Draft Pick 2007 2nd Round Pick
This deal unloads unhappy goalie Biron to Philadelphia. Biron had lost his starting spot in Buffalo and was going to walk away from the team this summer as a free agent, so they pick up what they could for him. I imagine the draft pick will be determined based on Philadelphia’s ability to sign Biron this summer. (in a minor deal, Buffalo acquired Ty Conklin from Columbus for future considerations a 2007 5th Round Pick to fill Biron’s role as backup for the rest of the season and playoffs)

To Pittsburgh: F – Gary Roberts
To Florida: D – Noah Welch
Roberts is a power forward who loves to crash the net and battle for loose pucks. At 40 years old, he is a short term rental for the young Pittsburgh team to provided leadership and grit from past Stanley Cup Playoffs. Welch is a 24 year old defenseman; he’s a big presence on the blue line (6’4″) with a big shot from the point. With his upside this could pay off for Florida in the long run.

To Vancouver: F- Bryan Smolinski
To Chicago: 2007 Conditional 2nd Round Pick

To Vancouver: D – Brent Sopel
To Los Angeles: 2008 2nd and 4th Round Pick
In both of these trades are to improve Vancouver, currently the #3 seed in the West. Smolinski is a veteran center, who becomes a free agent on July 1st, while Sopel can play like a top 4 defensemen (but is prone to stupid mistakes) and provides additional offensive spark at the blue line. The picks are a wash; Los Angeles got a better deal than Chicago as the 2008 draft is projected to be stronger than the 2007 draft.

To NY Islanders: F – Richard Zednik
To Washington: 2007 2nd Round Pick
Islanders pick up extra offense to sneak into the Playoffs, provided Zednik doesn’t go into one of his prolonged scoring slumps.

To Atlanta: F – Keith Tkachuk
To St. Louis: F – Glen Metropolit, 2007 1st and 3rd Round Picks, 2008 2nd Round Pick
Atlanta gets a veteran scorer (with historic playoff scoring problems), while St. Louis gets a career reserve forward and a bunch of picks to rebuild the time. This deal is mainly to set the price for Bill Guerin.

To Philadelphia: D – Braydon Coburn
To Atlanta: D – Alexei Zhitnik
Philadelphia gets a young defenseman with lots of upside, while Atlanta gets a veteran defenseman with a big slap shot and the ability to play a big man’s game…when he’s motivated to.

To Carolina: F – Anson Carter
To Columbus: 2008 5th Round Pick
Carolina gets Carter, who had been a disappointment from Columbus on the cheap. Could pay dividends for Carolina IF Carter rediscovers his scoring touch.

To Nashville: F – Peter Forsberg
To Philadelphia: F – Scottie Upshall, D – Ryan Parent, 2007 1st and 3rd Round Pick
Nashville sold the farm to get Forsberg, which means this is the year they are really going for the Cup hard. Forsberg is a immense talent and game changer, but recent history shows he is one big hit away from the injured list. By far the biggest risk-reward player out there and really could push Nashville over the top. On an ironic side note, Nashville now has two of the biggest divers in the League on their team in Peter Forsberg and Paul Kariya.

 

Rob Blake’s Return to Los Angeles

With pending free agency and contract demands the Kings didn’t want to meet, Rob Blake was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. The deal worked out well for Colorado and Blake as he went on to win a Stanley Cup. All the Kings were left with was chronically injured players and prospects who turned out to be busts. Kings fans took out their anger on Blake seizing upon every opportunity to boo him.

But 2006 brought changes to the Kings after a disastrous season that saw the first Kings collapse and fail to make the playoffs while having one of the worst power play and penalty killing units in the league. The entire coaching staff was fired down to the trainer and the revamping of the team began with GM Dean Lombardi and Coach Marc Crawford. Seizing upon the opportunity Lombardi went out and brought Blake back to Los Angeles as a free agent for his leadership and skill on the power play.

While the Kings’ power play has vastly improved over the last season, thanks in part to Blake, not much else has gone right. The team’s record is worse than last year and there is a lack of consistency in the team’s play from night to night. Blake’s welcome by the fans has been mixed between fans who are and aren’t willing to forgive. In the locker room veteran players are glad to have a talented defenseman and proven leader, while the younger players benefit from the mentoring he is willing to provide. Despite the adversity of the season and the actions of some fans, Blake says he’s happy to be back. Of course if I had his house in Manhattan Beach, I’d be happy to be back in Los Angeles too.

 
 


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