brinoch

I missed the first 10 minutes...what happened? I am sure you have seen the highlight...he made a stupid hit and got what he deserved. I think the Hawks deserved to win but the officiating in this game was frustrating. I think the only thing they got right was the Bertuzzi call. It was very inconsistent and frustrating on this end, too. Poor discipline by the Hawks on the major really cost them -- they have one of the best PP's in the league. When you get a 5 minute PP, you have to cash in.

I don't like any jersey with a collar. But the design of that red is awesome otherwise.

Crap! It does. I liked the vertical stripe they had better.

Shoot out now.

Let's ignore what seeding you might want for a moment. If you look at this as 95 gets you in... Here's what everyone needs: 4. Phoenix, 6 points in 8 games. 98.68 points estimated. (9.68 points = 8 games x 1.21 ppg for the season) 5. Chicago, 9 points in 10 games. 97.9 points estimated. (11.9 points = 10 games x 1.19 ppg for the season) 6. Los Angeles, 9 points in 10 games. 97.9 points estimated. (11.9 points = 10 games x 1.19 ppg for the season) 7. Nashville, 9 points in 9 games. 96.6 points estimated. (10.6 points = 9 games x 1.178 ppg for the season) 8. Anaheim, 10 points in 10 games. 96.8 points estimated. (11.8 = 10 games x 1.180 ppg for the season) 9. Dallas, 10 points in 10 games. 96.8 points estimated. (11.8 = 10 games x 1.180 ppg for the season) 10. Calgary, 11 points in 8 games. 93.04 points estimated. (9.04 = 8 games x 1.13 ppg for the season) Conclusions? 1. Calgary is in deep trouble. They need to win 6 of their last 8 to get in (or accumulate similar point levels via OTLs). They play the Kings, Sharks, Oilers (x2), Blues, Avalanche, Ducks and Canucks. That'll be tough. Very tough. I think they won't make. 2. That leaves 5 spots for 6 teams. Final seeding will be tight, and I think strength of schedule will play a big role.

That's all true, but what you can focus on are winning your games. Don't count on any breaks. Last year 7 teams in the west were over 100 points. All that said, the Hawks will get 10-15 more points. They'll make the playoffs.

Word on the street is that he's got some ligament damage. Yeah he just tweeted that he got some bad news today that will come out tomorrow. Son of a ...

I've never liked that approach, because it doesn't really measure the intent at all, just the outcome. So what if Bertuzzi did what he did and Steve Moore got up and skated off just fine? I suppose you could have a minimum suspension still, but I think you have a look at what the guy did, not the result. Yes, I agree... that's why I added the idea of suspendable offense. I didn't consider that not all such actions injure someone, so I'd add a mandatory minimum. If the NHL were reliable with their discipline, I would do neither. A competent and fair system should take care of that without resorting to extreme measures. But we all know Colin Campbell and his "Wheel of Justice" is anything but competent or fair.

If you want to tamp down on head shots and head injuries, simply don't allow the player who committed the suspendable offense to take the ice until the injured player recovers. Harsh, yes. And does nothing to punish clean hits.

Yeah, that sucks. But it's much better than the alternative. I'm very glad to hear that he's going to be okay.

I was at the Hawks/Cap game, and the Caps fans were pretty happy to come out with 2 points, even though I thought they were the better team. It's pretty funny to read/hear different opinions. 1 point against both Tampa and Washington is fine, it was the opportunity against Florida that was really troubling. Still, it's done. Lots of points to be had, just need to continue playing solid hockey and keep accumulating them.

Germany/Austria redux!

Okay, I ran some numbers. If you look at the points per game for Western Conference contenders against the West and the East over the season as a whole, you find some interesting things -- the Red Wings and Blackhawks do very, very well against the East, for example, while Minnesota doesn't. Keep in mind that this doesn't take into account goal differential, slumps, hot streaks or strength of schedule. It just looks at PPG. With that in mind, here are my predicted points and seedings (if you really are interested, I'll post the whole speadsheet): 1. 114 points -- Vancouver (114.17) 2. 107 points -- Detroit (107.00) 3. 103 points -- San Jose (102.65) 4. 101 points -- Chicago (100.65) 5. 99 points -- Phoenix (98.98) 6. 97 points -- Dallas (97.50) 7. 95 points -- Los Angeles (95.33) 8. 95 points -- Calgary (95.24) 9. 93 points -- Minnesota (93.35) 10. 93 points -- Nashville (93.15) 11. 93 points -- Anaheim (92.77)

It's interesting. There's all sorts of pundits and fans all a-flutter because the Hawks are playing Eastern Conference teams. I think it's a huge advantage. I'm working on an analysis right now.

Pretty big win. Now we have some Eastern teams to face...

KSHSDOFuh (Shorty)

Unbelievable.

There's zero chance that happens before the offseason, since the Hawks are right in the thick of things. I wouldn't trade for defense. I think the defense should be good -- the players are there. I'm just not sure why they aren't firing on all cylinders. Is it the coaching? The decision-making? As for what to get from Sharp... it depends. It's hard to get value in trades. What I'd really want is a true-second line center.

I could see that, too. Also, Morin is almost certainly going to be up next season. If Bolland succeeds on the second line, we could easily see Toews/Bolland/Dowell/Johnson next season.

Rozner's usually pretty good with his Hawks coverage. It wouldn't shock me at all if we have to decide between Sharp and Seabrook in the offseason. Considering we're right up against the cap right now and we have guys that are due raises, we're probably going to be right up against the cap next season, even with the Cup bonuses coming off the books. I think Rozner doesn't really know what he's talking about. Cimaglia or Sassone have better insight, in my opinion.

Guys. Sharp is signed for next season at $3.9M and then is a UFA. That's a bargain. They aren't going to trade him for anything less than a king's ransom. The RFAs for next season are: Brouwer ($1M) Crawford ($800K) Dowell ($525K) Frolik ($1.275M) Seabrook ($3.5M) Stalberg ($850K) I believe Dowell, Brouwer and Crawford will be back. Seabrook will be back if his salary demands aren't too high. I think they will be high, given Byfuglien's deal in Atlanta, so they may trade him in the offseason. The problem with trading Seabrook is there is no one in the pipeline to replace him. He's a big, physical Defenseman with puck skills. Keith, Campbell and Leddy are smaller, more offensive D-Men. Hjalmarsson is more of the Seabrook mold, but not as fast or skilled. Frankly, I think the Hawks are more likely to trade Hammer in the offseason than Seabrook. I don't know about Frolik and Stalberg, and I suspect that jury is still out on both -- though more weight will be given to bringing Frolik back given his scoring history and very short tenure with the Hawks. UFAs: Boynton ($500K) Hendry ($600K) Johnson ($500K -- Pro-rated) Kopecky ($1.2M) Pisani ($500K) Turco ($1.2M) You could see a clean sweep here, opening up more $4M. You also have $4.2M from the bonuses, and an expected $2M increase in the cap. That's $10.2M for raises to Dowell (a small one), Frolik (might be a pay cut), Brouwer, Seabrook and Crawford and filling 7 more roster spots. That's doable, if they figure to continue with the current core. (FWIW, I think we'll have Salak and Crawford next season minding the nets next season.)

That article is a piece of hot, wet ... garbage. There is no way that the cap situation this offseason will be nearly so bad as last year. How could it be? There are $4M of bonuses coming off the books and the expected cap increase. There are three RFA guys you want to bring back with increases, though you may need to change things up... Seabrook, Brouwer and Crawford.

5-way tie now for 7th/8th at 68 points. Three of those teams have a game in hand on the Hawks though. Broken record, but another HUGE game Thursday night in Nashville. Indeed. Win this game and, as of right now, they are only 2 points behind the Preds (and 2 out of 2nd in the division).

Yes, that was the right call. Crombeen was interfering.

If you are listening to the Blues announcers, you should know they are pretty whiney.