Down Goes Brown Reveal's the NHL Secret Suspension Flow Chart!!!

Gotta give credit where credit is due. Hat tip to Down Goes Brown. His NHL Suspension Flow Chart has been making its rounds on the net at a torrid pace. Fantastic. Why? Because most of it it TRUE!!!

Enjoy...

Bettman and Cronies Trying to Curb Fighting

Let me spell it out for the Gary protectors and anti-fighting yuppies...

From the NHLPA website:

P. Kelly – “I don’t think there is any appetite on the part of the GMs to eliminate or reduce fighting in the game. Frankly, those sentiments are echoed by the players. We explained to the GMs that the players believe that fighting plays an important and historic role in the game, and that fighting has actually kept down the level of violence in the game by allowing players to self-police themselves. We did say that while we believe that we should have fighting in our game, that we should also continue to look at ways to make it as safe as possible for our players. These are things that obviously should be debated and ultimately decided on by the Competition Committee.”

So as mentioned by Pierre Lebrun, the NHL believes these new rules DO NOT have to go the Competition Committee. Paul Kelly clearly disagrees if you read his statement above.

Remember that the Competition Committee is made up of four GMs and four players. And it has been said that 7 out of 10 would have to approve the new rules to go to the Board of Governors (i.e. the owners) for a final vote.

And being that Kelly said the GMs and players don't have the appetite to curb fighting, don't expect EITHER of these proposed rules to pass.

That is................... unless the NHL wins out by saying that this a rule "tweak".... and not a new rule.

And if that is the case, this is a CLEAR move by the NHL BRASS to curb fighting... and at the disapproval of the NHLPA and GMs no less.

So everyone please FINALLY understand that while the fans, players, and GMs don't want to touch fighting or its respective rules, THE NHL, led by Gary Bettman and his cronies, have their own beliefs about how the league should be run.

The Impact of the NHL's New Proposed Fighting Rules

The NHL General Managers meeting recent wrapped up and word out of the three-day meeting is the GMs are proposing three changes to the NHL's rule book for next season. Let's take a look in order of probability of the rules actually passing through the Competition Committee and the Board of Governors.

1) Add a 10-minute misconduct to "staged" fights that happen off a faceoff.

Probability - Very likely.

What will happen as a result - Fights off of a faceoff account for 22% of all fights. While the thought is that all of these fights are staged, that couldn't be further from the truth. There's a difference between staged for a reason and staged for no reason. One serves a purpose and one doesn't.

The Georges Laraque/Raitis Ivanans "You wanna go... good luck" audio recorded fight was actually the catalyst to this rule. The yuppie media jumped all over this fight for being nonsensical and unnecesarry. Believie it or not, they were right. The fight has no impact on the game. Even a lot of hockey fight fans will agree with that these days. The days of the two-minute goon are all but done. There's nothing that can be done to change that. Beyond that, spontaneous, emotion-filled fights are more exciting to watch.

The problem with this rule is fights off the draw do serve a purpose sometimes. Guys fight to change the momentum of the game. They fight as payback to a dirty play that occured earlier in the game. Or they fight because they simply don't like the other player. There's nothing wrong with this; and it's in the best interests of the NHL to let them fight so players don't resort to other far worse actions to send a message.

So what will happen. Let Riley Cote answer that for you...

"In certain situations, it might look like a staged fight, but it really isn't'' said Cote. It's more working around the rules they've put into place. I just think they (the NHL) are overreacting on the whole thing."

That's right, guys will still fight... they'll just set it up to skate away for a few seconds and then meet back up. Players aren't dumb. Some of these rules are though.

Impact - The two or three two-minute goons left in the game won't be playing any more.

2) Call more instigator penalties for fights that happen as a result of clean hits.

Probability - Likely; but not in the form of a rule.

This is one we have been hearing a lot about recently. You usually hear about from a play-by-play commentator when one of their players knocks an opposing player on his ass and a teammate jumps in to send a message that even hard, clean runs aren't acceptable.

In reality, this rule won't be an actual rule. It will be the league telling the referees to focus more on calling instigator penalties when clean hits are followed immediately by a fight.

Newsflash... they already make these calls!

If anything, the league is sending a message that the "rats" of the NHL are now protected. They can now run around and take big runs at star players and the league will protect them by ensuring an instigator rule is called when they are made to fight for taking that run. Good call NHL... protect the rats... don't protect your stars.

Impact - None. Teammates will still protect teammates. CLEAN HITS CAN BE BRUTAL. The end result for protecting a teammate is putting your team behind a man for two minutes. Teammates have to decide between that and having their team plowed in to the ice night in and night out. End result... players take the two minutes and send a message that even clean, hard hits (that hurt) won't be tolerated.

3) Have the referees jump in when a helmet pops off in a fight.

Probability - Unlikely.

This isn't happening. The damage isn't even close. Hands/knuckles -vs- head injuries. Hands/knuckles wins out every time. There is a good reason that players remove their helmets before fights on occasion (especially when wearing a visor)... punching a helmet hurts; it busts up knuckles; it breaks fingers; and it can break hands and wrists. Players take their helmets off before a fight out of respect for their opponent. Chew on that one for a while and then think if this new rule is really what the players want to protect their safety...

The NHL is looking into new helmet technology. Ted Leonsis, the Washington Capitals owner, gave me this reply when I asked him last month.

So the end result of these proposed rules isn't much. And that is good for hockey. Even Gary Bettman doesn't want fighting out of hockey. The fans love it. The players recognize it as an important component of their game. What else matters?

In all actuality, I only see the ten-minute misconduct rule as actually making it into the NHL's rule book. And that will be worked around by players that truly want to fight.

And with the influx of light and middleweights in the league and the increase in hockey fights this year, the impact on fighting totals will negligible in 2009/10.

Bettman Puts His Stamp on the Flyers/Rangers Game...

and it STINKS!

"The whimpification of the sport." Words straight from Mike Milbury's mouth. Words straight to the ears of a national audience. Words that couldn't have been more accurate, more truthful.

This is EMBARRASSING for the NHL. The only major network, besides the outdoor channel, that gives the NHL a national audience just ripped them... just completely mocked the sport. And this from an inside guy... a guy that played the game and was an NHL GM.

The scene. Colton Orr comes out looking for a scrap against Riley Cote as the Rangers are trailing 5-1 and are completely lifeless. Orr wants a momentum swing.

The linesman step in before the whistle and warn Orr. The puck is dropped and Orr squares up to Cote and shoves him the chest. The two whack each other and start to skate away, but wait, a whistle is blown and Orr is promptly handed a two-minute minor and a ten-minute misconduct.

The Rangers fans are baffled. Everyone watching NBC is baffled. What did Orr do to deserve 12 minutes worth of penalties?

"The whimpification of the sport." Even Pierre McGuire agrees.

The NBC panelists continue to tear this game apart. No passion. No life. This is the new NHL. This is YOUR NHL.

Thank God for Mike Milbury. Thank God for Brandon Dubinsky for showing some leadership. It's clear Scott Gomez and Chris Drury want Renney gone. A player's character, or lack thereof, shines through when their team is down.

Wait a second, Mara and Asham drop the gloves in the 3rd and Riley Cote somehow ends up with a ten-minute misconduct all his owns

Two tough guys... two ten-minute misconducts. Get the tough guys out of the game... even if they don't do anything to warrant a penalty. Look for something. Find something.

Find the name and number on his jersey. Forget Dion Phanuef and his flying elbow. His jersey reads "Phaneuf" on the back... no suspension.

Find "Cote." Find "Orr." They mouthed off? See ya in ten minutes.

This is the new NHL. This is Gary's NHL. This is the way he wants his sport played.

Forget what the fans want. Read the polls. This is the exact opposite of what any fan poll says.

Thank you to the Rangers "leaders" for probably just getting their coach fired. Thank you to the refs for calling lame misconducts.

Thank you Gary for this boring 5-2 sleeper. This is your product. And it STINKS.

Yuppies, TSN, and the Concussion Summit...

It’s been a while since I’ve come through with a blog entry. A new son (in addition to a 22 month old son) quickly eats up your time.

That said, I can’t stand this fighting talk nonsense anymore. The yuppie media hasn’t missed a chance to ram the anti-fighting drivel down our throats. Forget what the players have to say. Forget what the fans have to say. The yuppie media wants changes; and by God you are going to hear about it.

Leading the charge as always is TSN. Their most recent (well I haven’t checked in a couple hours) article focuses on the little known “Concussion Summit.” Apparently this Summit wants to completely ban fighting at all levels of hockey. From TSN:

"Fighting should be eliminated from hockey at all levels of the game, according to recommendations released Tuesday from an expert panel dealing with concussions in hockey... Fighting is one of the known causes of concussion, and may result in the related long-term complications," the panel's summary statement says. "Fighting can cause needless death."

I have to ask, how long did it take the" expert panel” to come up with this Earth-shattering conclusion? May, can, might, could, would… let’s get them all in while we’re at it.

And before they concluded their "expert" research, did they ever take a look at crosschecking, tripping, slewfooting, highsticking, boarding, hitting from behind, shooting a puck over 80 mph, skating with razor sharp skates at breakneck speeds?

Because, my expert research concludes that the above actions too “may result in the related long-term complications [of concussions]… and [insert above actions] can cause needless death."

Why not eliminate those actions from all levels of hockey? Why not eliminate ice? May he rest in peace, but Don Sanderson didn’t die from a punch. He died when his head hit the ice.

Let’s not stop with hockey either. Last week, X Games winner, Jeremy Lusk, died while attempting a Freestyle back flip in San Jose. Ban Freestyle Motocross? In September of 2005, a record-setting motorcycle racer died after crashing at 239 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Ban Motorcycle Speed Racing? Dale Earnhardt. Ban turns in NASCAR? Pro wrestlers have died. Ban wrestling at all levels? NFL players have died in training camps. Ban training camp? Ray Chapman in 1920. Ban baseballs? Boxing. Ban boxing?

The list goes on and on. And so do the actions that caused the results. It’s an implied risk that every player is aware of when they play a sport.

And while some of these actions led to modifications of rules or protective gear, they never led to the removal of that action. But TSN would never mention that.

Now on to this "expert panel." Apparently the group is comprised of a couple of former players. From TSN:

“Panellists [misspelled – nice job TSN] on The Concussion Summit included four former players, three of whom were knocked out of the National Hockey League as the result of concussions - Eric Lindros, Jeff Beukeboom and Alyn McCauley - along with Canadian national women's team player Jennifer Botterill, who was sidelined for a protracted period with concussion.”

“Knocked out?” That would almost lead you to believe that their concussions were the result of a fight. NOPE.

Eric Lindros was notorious for skating up and down the ice with his head down. Just ask Scott Stevens and Jason Doig, players that contributed to two of Lindros’ eight concussions… not one of which was sustained from a fight.

Jeff Beukeboom, a player that only cracked the 20 point plateau once in his career, relied on his fists to stay in the NHL, protecting Mark Messier amongst others. Beukeboom sustained one major concussion, a sucker punch from Matt Johnson that cut his career short. Much like the Bertuzzi/Moore incident, this was not a fight… it was a mugging. And if fighting is ever eliminated, expect to see more of those cowardly acts as players frustrations boil over from having their hands tied.

Alyn McCauley sustained three major concussions in his career, one from having his feet kicked out from him, one from a puck to the temple, one from getting his head run into the boards in Toronto.

Jennifer Botterill’s major concussion came from a full-speed collision with her own teammate in practice.

Four players, numerous concussions… yet not one from fighting from this "expert panel" that I am aware of. So why aren’t we banning skating with your head down, tripping, slapshots or running into players in practice? Why fighting all the sudden?

Oh right, it may result in long-term complications or might cause death. Groundbreaking research I tell ya. I guess boxing hasn't taught us anything.

But let the yuppie media present it to us as "expert" information. Yeah right...

I can’t take it anymore. Time for a Starbucks coffee folks.

Wait a second, I better not go. I have to cross the DC streets to get to Starbucks… and that might result in me getting run over, which may result in long-term complications (in addition to the caffeine in the coffee) and could result in death.

Time to call Adrian Fenty about outlawing pedestrians from crossing his DC streets, right?

Bloggers Team Up to Interview Brian Engblom

Versus continued its podcast interviews a few weeks ago, giving a number of bloggers a chance to interview hockey analyst and former NHLer Brian Engblom.

Engblom was an absolute pleasure to interview. He took a lot of time providing a thorough answer to each question.

2MFB asked Engblom a "different" sort of question. After looking up Engblom's fight card at http://www.dropyourgloves.com, we noticed that Engblom had a bit of running feud with Capitals' legend Dale Hunter. Engblom had a feeling we were going to ask him about Hunter when we brought up his fight card.


Engblom said that he and Hunter didn't like each other too much on the ice. He also noted that he was probably on a long list of names Hunter has fought and forgot about. Engblom noted that he probably fought to a draw in all of his dozen or so NHL fights. He also went on to say that he supported fighting in hockey and that it served a number of purposes... all things 2MFB loves to hear!

Versus plans to continue it blogger interview podcasts some time in the next month. The next guest has yet to be announced; but I will let you know as soon as I do so you can propose a few questions.

Apparently "Sloppy Seconds" Gets You Suspended

At least saying it anyways...

Hot off the presses, Dallas Stars' superpest Sean Avery has been suspended indefinitely by the NHL for "conduct detrimental to the League or game of hockey."

In this case, conduct detrimental to the game of hockey were the words"sloppy seconds." That phrase was used to describe Calgary Flames' defenseman Dion Phaneuf's relationship with actress Elisha Cuthbert, Avery's ex-girlfriend.

Avery's comments came hours before the Stars played the Flames tonight in Calgary.

The NHL reacted quickly. The NHL reacted irrationaly.

In a league that sorely lacks regular season drama, Avery's comments provided a spark to a game that would otherwise be an uneventful meeting featuring a last place team.

Queue the NHL's brass. Gary Bettman and his cronies have orchestrated yet another pre-game anticipation meltdown. And whereas a typical NHL rainstorm would involve pre-game phone calls to both locker rooms and to the night's referee's, the NHL has set another unjustified standard with this bold move.

The question remains, will the NHLPA stand for the unprecedented action? Or will NHLPA Executive Director Paul Kelly step up and support Avery and actually stand his ground against the league office for once?

Regardless, NHL fans will be the ones paying the price.

NHL message boards are buzzing tonight; and they all agree that the league has acted irrationally and stolen away a game the offered anticipation and excitement.

Penguins and Canucks Line Brawl

Video and box score for your viewing pleasure. Thanks to Kramer at Fried Chicken's Hockey Fight Site for his Youtube efforts.

Vancouver fighting - 5 min 0:25, A. Burrows
Vancouver roughing - 2 min 0:25, A. Burrows
Vancouver fighting - 5 min 0:25, J. Hansen
Vancouver game misconduct - 10 min 0:25, J. Hansen
Pittsburgh fighting - 5 min 0:25, M. Cooke
Pittsburgh game misconduct - 10 min 0:25, M. Cooke
Vancouver roughing - 2 min 0:25, R. Kesler
Vancouver roughing - 2 min 0:25, R. Kesler served by S. Bernier
Pittsburgh roughing - 2 min 0:25, T. Kennedy
Pittsburgh roughing - 2 min 0:25, T. Kennedy
Pittsburgh fighting - 5 min 0:25, B. Orpik

Did 2MFB Talk Jonathan Toews Into His First NHL Fight?

You be the judge:

Audio where our question is presented to Toews. Toews says he ready when the situation presents itself.

A few nights later:

Bad Blood Games a Plenty Tonight in the NHL

If you have a buddy who is a casual sports fan and you want to get him hooked on hockey, today is the day.

A number of NHL matchups today/tonight have the potential to feature some serious battles.

Here the skinny (team fights in parenthesis; potential fighters listed by team):

Vancouver (21) @ Pittsburgh (10) - 1:00 est
Vancouver: Hordichuk, M Brown, O Brien, Davison
Pittsburgh: Godard

Hordichuk/Godard could be a pretty nasty tilt.

Potential - Highsticking minor

NY Rangers (15) @ Ottawa (7) - 3:00 est
NY Rangers: Orr, Voros, Dubinsky
Ottawa: Ruutu, Bass, J Smith

Get your rear ends in your seats. Jarkko Ruutu is in for a long night against a team of Rangers that want blood. This past Monday night, Ruutu missed on a penalty shot. Instead of going back the bench, he retrieved the puck in the corner and fired it at Rangers' goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist. Bad move. Rangers tough guy Colton Orr wanted to get at Ruutu after the game; but the referees kept everyone separated. It's been less than a week... the memories are fresh.

Potential - Two fights at one time... ejection. Keep an eye on Voros who matches up nicely with Ruutu.

Boston (10) @ Montreal (12) - 7:00 est
Boston: Sh Thornton, Lucic, Chara, Hnidy
Montreal: Laraque, Kostopoulos, O Byrne, Begin

Superheavyweight Georges Laraque was brought into Montreal for a number of reasons, one of which was to keep the Bruins' Milan Lucic from running Habs' players. Laraque has been less than successful. Lucic ran Alexi Kovalev last game and beat the snot out of Mike Komisarek in a one-sided fight. Komisarek is now out for at least a month with a shoulder injury. Laraque asked Lucic to fight him; but Lucic politely declined and went about his way. Laraque force the issue today and jump Lucic. He should have did it last game when the Bs were blowing out the Habs. Maybe he was saving up for a performance on home ice today in Montreal?

Potential - Line brawl. Very nasty game.

Chicago (20) @ Toronto (9) - 7:00 est
Chicago: Eager, Burish, M Walker, C Adams?, Byfuglien
Toronto: Hollweg, Mayers

Hit the snooze button and choose another game. Hollweg and Mayers actually do matchup well with Eager (Mayers) and Burish (Hollweg). But there are too many other good games going on to waste your time here. Brian Burke can't get to Toronto fast enough to inject some toughness into that lineup.

NY Islanders (10) @ Buffalo (11) - 7:00 est
NY Islanders: Fritz, T Jackman
Buffalo: Peters, Mair, Rivet, Gaustad, Kaleta

Mitch Fritz meet Andrew Peters. Fritz bring his 6'8" frame back to the NHL. This the first meeting since these two teams had a line brawl in the preseason. Patrick Kaleta fought Brendan Witt, Craig Rivet jumped into the primary fight and got a third man in, Nate Thompson and Adam Mair scrapped. Look for Fritz to find Peters early to set the tone. Kaleta will be running around and it will take one cheap hit to send this game through the roof.

Potential - Elbowing major. Multiple fights.

Phoenix (15) @ Philadelphia (17) - 7:00 est
Phoenix: McGrattan, Fedoruk, Carcillo, G Murray, Hale
Philadelphia: J Gratton, Asham, M Richards, Hartnell

Tons of nice matchups in Philly today. Josh Gratton has been active since getting the call up to replace Riley Cote; but he hasn't been very productive. Gratton and Carcillo matchup quite nicely in size and could provide a spirited toe-to-toe battle. Gratton could also go with the Fridge or McGrattan (should he get a jersey tonight). A couple of middleweight matchups make this a game with some possibilities.

Potential - Two fight game.

Columbus (16) @ Atlanta (8) - 7:00 est
Columbus: Dorsett, Boll, Tollefsen, Commodore, Chimera
Atlanta: Boulton, Valabik, Thorburn, Exelby

Derek Dorsett, a very scrappy middleweight, is back with Jackets... he matches up nicely with just about any of the Thrashers. This has the potential for a random scrap or two as the Jackets also feature Jared Boll and KOT.

Potential - two fights.

St Louis (16) @ Minnesota (7) - 8:00 est
St Louis: Janssen, Crombeen, Winchester, B Jackman, Backes
Minnesota: Boogaard, Weller, Reitz

The Wild are horrific to watch. The have the scariest fighter in the league, Derek Boogard and then...... nada. So you basically have a guy no one wants to fight and then a bunch of guys that don't fight. You have just the opposite in St. Louis, with Cam Jannsen, B.J. Crombeen, and a number of willing combatants.

Potential - One fight involving two middleweights.

Anaheim (24) @ Dallas (15) - 8:00 est
Anaheim: Parros, May, Montador, Moen, McIver?, Perry
Dallas: Barch, Ott, Avery

Anaheim/Dallas have too many potential matchups to list. Kris Barch and Brad May have fought a number of times in the past two years. Avery and Ott are the league's superpests, but will drop the gloves too. Ott and Corey Perry scrapped the last time these two teams met. Travis Moen and Avery are a nice matchup as well.

Potential - Three fights, a slew foot, and a check from behind.

Detroit (5) @ Calgary (20) - 10:00 est
Detroit: McCarty, Lilja
Calgary: A Roy, Prust, Nystrom, Phaneuf, Iginla, Regher

A tough team against the softest team in the league. Hit the snoozer.

Colorado (16) @ Los Angeles (11) - 10:30 est
Colorado: Laperriere, McCormick, McLeod, Tucker
Los Angeles: Ivanans, Greene, O Donnell, Simmonds

Lappy, McCormick, and McLeod match up nicely with Green and O'Donnell. Raitis Ivanans, the Kings' heavy, should have a quiet night as there is no one to match him on the Avs.

Potential - One fight.

Washington (7) @ San Jose (14) - 10:30 est
Washington: Brashear, Erskine, Bradley
San Jose: Shelley, Clowe, D Murray

Donald Brashear -vs- Jody Shelley... lock it up.

Potential - One fight. See above.

Strap on the seat belts, hit the DVR/TiVo, grab some chips and a cold one. Bad blood hockey starts here in a few!

Get is Straight. Milan Lucic is Not an Enforcer.

It's a bit young to be defining or characterizing a 20 year old second year NHL forward.

That said, I am going to tell you what Milan Lucic is not.

Milan Lucic, the Boston Bruins "excitable" 6'4", 230 lb second year forward is not an NHL enforcer.

Photo by Stuart Cahill

Lucic took the NHL by storm last year, not with his smooth skating skills or wicked wrist shot, but by crashing and banging and fighting his way to earning a blue collar reputation and space on the ice. Lucic racked up an impressive 13 fights last year, winning or drawing in all but one (John Erskine of the Capitals left him with a broken nose). The brawler took on all comers including genuin heavyweights in Raitis Ivanans and Wade Brookbank.

Fast-forward to 2008-09... Milan Lucic... 18 games... 1 fight (a one-sided beatdown of Mike Komisarek).

So what gives?

Did Lucic use fighting to make a name for himself and got a bit tired of proving his toughness? Nah. He still runs around and hits like a train.

Is Lucic spotpicking his opponents as some in the hockey fight community have insinuated because he turned down dance invitations from super-heavyweights Steve MacIntyre and Georges Laraque (youtube from last year)? Doubtful. 99% of NHL players would turn down those two guys.

Is Lucic fighting less because Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton publicly said that it is his job to fight the heavyweights and not Lucic's? Now we're getting closer. I don't think Lucic would not fight a heavy if the situation called for it.

Or has Lucic been handcuffed and told to focus more on developing his game by Bruins coaches and management. Note the lack of a question mark.

18 games in to this season and Lucic has racked up a little less (11 points) than half the points he put up all of last year... good for fourth on the Bruins in scoring. He is on pace to score 50 points in only his second season. Even more impressive, he is on pace to be a +32 this year... not bad for a kid that was getting mop up fourth line duty in his rookie year.

So why would anyone in their right mind question why a kid that is well on track to becoming (not yet!) a very good power forward in this league is not fighting as much as he did in his rookie year?

The answer is simple... Milan Lucic is not, was not, nor will he ever be an enforcer in the NHL. That would be an absolute waste of talent.

Jon "Nasty" Mirasty Update

Just wanted to give a quick update on Jon Mirasty, the centerpiece for a E-Ticket story Patrick Hruby inked last year for ESPN's Page 2. Mirasty continues to see regular ice time for the Syracuse Crunch, the Columbus Blue Jackets's AHL affiliate. Mirasty has skated in all 16 games, registering no points and 84 PIMs. His PIM total are second in the AHL to San Antonio Rampage tough guy, Francis Lessard. Mirasty is far ahead of his PIM pace from last year when he totaled 181 for the season.

Mirasty's legend continues to grow in the AHL with each fight. The bowling ball head, steel knuckled brawler recently scrapped with Paul Bissonette, who was sent down by the Pittsburgh Penguins last week. Mirasty once again showed that his fighting skills are NHL-ready against Bissonette as he overwhelmed with quick left and rights showing his ability to switch hands.

With yet another impressive performance, hockey fight finatics are waiting for the day Nasty gets the call up. Jared Boll, the Blue Jackets' current resident tough guy has been active lately, but very tentative due to a string of injuries including a broken hand. And while Boll is an effective middleweight for the Jackets, his size doesn't allow him to stand in with the impressive heavies in the Western Conference including Derek Boogaard, Jody Shelly, George Parros, and Raitis Ivanans. That is Mirasty's opportunity. Word out of Syracuse is he continues to work hard to strengthen his skating skills to make sure he isn't a liability on the ice. Mirasty is a -1 this year, indicating his ability to remain responsible and keep up with the pace of the game.

Bloggers/Versus Team up for Podcast with Jonathan Toews

A few weeks ago, a number of hockey bloggers were invited to participate in a telecom with Blackhawks sensations Jonathan Toews. While I was a little late to a grab a spot on the conference call, my two questions were asked first. Many thanks to Versus for opening up the doors to a number of great bloggers including Mike Chen and Paul Kukla. I was a boy amongst men!


Here are the Toews' podcasts:
Part I
Part II
Part III

It appears as though my questions were enough to net me a spot on their next podcast. So if anyone has questions for Hockey Central Analyst, Brian Engblom, let's hear them.

Just let the man play!

I originally posted this over at my blog, Simply Drew. I figured I'd post it here as well since it certainly pertains to TMFB's topic matter.

I'm sure some of you have heard of the plight of Brandon Sugden by now.

For those who haven't, his story puts yet another bad spotlight on hockey and makes me want to lash out against the NHL even more than I already have.

Brandon is a career minor league enforcer. He played his last AHL game in the 2006-07 season, announcing it as a "retirement." He chose to move on to the semi-pro LNAH in Quebec for part of that season and the 2007-08 season.

Recently, Brandon found out that his father has been diagnosed with cancer. He has less than one year to live. He decided he would try one final time to make it so his dad could see him skate in an NHL game before he dies. Brandon was even lucky enough to gain a tryout this year in the New York Islanders' camp.

But, a roadblock has been put in place. Because of his retirement, then his jump to another pro league, Sugden needed the approval of all 30 NHL teams to come back, or else play one more season on an AHL-only contract, or the LNAH, or some other minor pro league. By the time that timeframe passes, his father will likely end up dying. When it was put to a vote, three teams rejected his desire to attempt to return to the NHL, thus ending his hopes of coming back this season.

These three teams have remained anonymous and have given no reason as to why they have voted against him. Granted, Sugden has had some problems in his past, including at one point a lifetime ban from the ECHL for throwing his stick into the crowd due to a fan verbally abusing him about his past problems with drugs and alcohol. He has turned his life around and had a moderately successful career in the AHL and has been a major fan favorite in Syracuse where he played from 2003-2006.

Why should three of thirty teams be allowed to mess with this man's livelihood in such a way? 90% of the NHL approves of his return. Why should only 10% decide his fate? Why not put it up to those who will have to play with and against him and let the players decide? Why should he not have a final chance? Marty McSorley got another chance. So did Todd Bertuzzi, Brad May, Chris Simon (two extra chances for him), Jesse Boulerice (another with two shots, if you include his lifetime OHL ban), Gordie Dwyer, Dale Hunter, Steve Downie, and Tom Lysiak.

Why not Brandon Sugden?

If you are as sick of this as I am, I would encourage you to sign this petition. The group wants to get 2,000 signatures on it as soon as possible. While online petitions often don't mean a thing, it's better than just sitting back and letting it happen.

This isn't just something for fans of tough hockey. It's not even for hockey fans alone. This is for ANYONE who has ever had a dream and worked their tail off to try to achieve it.

Help the man achieve his dream. Go to this link, and add your name to the petition and show your support.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/let-brandon-sugden-play

The NHL's Toughest Teams Ranked

Obviously this is not set in stone. There are a few guys left to be signed. That could easily move some teams (e.g. Tampa Bay) up or down the list. I think Jason Smith is gone; so I dropped him from the list completely for now. I included a few guys that I think could be re-signed.

The list is broken into four tiers. The ordering isn’t dependent on any one thing. I took into consideration whether or not a team has a heavyweight fighter (or more), team toughness (i.e. the more fighters the better), the ability to realistically, meaning they are willing, to move guys up and down from the minors (e.g., Vancouver, Calgary). I tried to include all players with at least four fights last year. I also included some pests players that I think should have four or more fights this year.

The Heavyweight Teams:

Phoenix - McGrattan (8), Carcillo (19), Fedoruk (6), Jovanovski (3), Ballard (3), Fata? (0)

Anaheim – Parros (23), May (7), Sutherby (8), Moen (7), O’Donnell (4), Perry (4)

Vancouver - Hordichuk (12), Cowan (12), McIver (8), Rypien (5), Burrows (6), Mike Brown (7), Isbister ? (4), Ritchie ? (4), Bieksa (4)

Boston - Thorton (12), Lucic (13), Chara (5), Reich? (10), Stuart (5), Hnidy (3)

Tampa Bay - Koci (8), Tarnasky (7), Roberts (2), Malone (9), O'Brien (6), Roy? (12)

St. Louis - King (14), Janssen (2), Jackman (5), Hinote (4), Backes (5)

The Middleweight Teams:

Dallas – Barch (17), Ott (13), Avery (6), Winchester (6), Morrow (5), Crombeen (5)

Colorado - Parker (5), Lapperiere (20), McCleod (12), Tucker (4), McCormick (4), Ledin (0)

Calgary – Phaneuf (10), Mark Smith (9), Jim Vandermeer (5), Nystrom (8), Iginla (5), Regehr (3), Sarich (3), Prust? (0)

Philadelphia - Cote (24), Hartnell (5), Asham (8), Downie (5), Richards (4)

New York Rangers - Orr (18), Voros (14), Hollweg (6), Dunbinsky (7), Strudwick (4)

Washington - Brashear (12), Erskine (4), Bradley (10), Clark (1)

Chicago - Eager (7), Burish (16), Wisniewski ACL? (9), Walker (7), Craig Adams (3), Seabrook (3)

Montreal - Laraque (13), Kostopolous (9), Komisarek (5), Begin (4)

Pittsburgh – Godard (17), Cooke (2), Orpik (3), Talbot (3)

Buffalo – Peters (12), Gaustad (5), Rivet (6), Mair (4), Kaleta (1)

Columbus - Boll (27), Tollefson (7), Commodore (6), Chimera (4), Sestito? (1)

Edmonton - Stortini (23), Staois (5), Moreau (3), Peckham? (0)

The Lightweight Teams:

Florida - Belak (8), Glass (7), Campbell (6), Montador (5), Boynton (5), Horton (3), Murray (3)

San Jose - Shelley (13), Murray (11), Rivet (6), McLaren (4), Clowe (o)

Carolina – W. Brookbank (12), Conboy (7), Gleason (6), Walker (5), Gillies? (0)

Los Angeles - Ivanans (12), Greene (5), Brown (3), Scott Thornton (3)

New Jersey – Clarkson (21), S. Brookbank (5), Rupp (7)

Minnesota - Boogaard (10), Craig Weller (4), Veilleux (3), Nolan (3), Burns (2)

Atlanta – Boulton (13), Thorburn (10), Valabik (2), Armstrong (2)

Nashville – Grant (0), Tootoo (9), Nichol (4)

Ottawa - Neil (9), Ruutu (5), Richardson (3), Bois? (0), Bass? (1)

Detroit – Downey (10), Drake (5), Lilja (3), McCarty? (0)

New York Islanders - Jackman (9), Sutton (4), Davison? (2), Fritz? (0)

Team That Should Wear Pink:

Toronto - Mayers (7), Bell (4)