I am getting just about the perfect birthday gift this year - tickets to a Wings game at Joe Louis! Bring on beers at Hockeytown Cafe and a stop at Hockeytown Authentics!!
This will be Lidstrom's last year and here is what I'm hoping the Wings can pull off... Shea Weber. Stop laughing and hear me out. Weber, all-star goalie Pekka Rinne and stud defenseman Ryan Suter are all due for new contracts next year in Nashville and it is unlikely they will be able to keep all three. Weber has already turned down long-term offers from the Preds and took a 1 year deal for this season through arbitration, suggesting he could be eyeing up a new team. The Wings could try to pick him up at the trade deadline if the Preds don't think he will sign, but they mosty likely won't trade him to a team in the same division - especially Detroit. Or (and even better) Detroit could sign him long-term in the off season. I was hoping for the same scenario with Doughty in LA, but that dream just got run over by a truck. Detroit has been keeping 1st round picks for a number of years now and has good depth in the AHL to pull this off... plus, giving up a bunch of future picks is worth it for a defenseman like Weber. I think Nik Kronwall is going to be an All Star defenseman but not an elite D man like Weber or Doughty. Detroit has been paying Lidstrom $7 million + for quite a while so taking on Weber at that rate shouldn't be an issue. GM Ken Holland says they have been planning for LOL (life after Lidstrom) since 2007 and the Wings also have almost $6 mil in cap space this season so they are ready to make a move. This is crucial for the Wings... it's not very often that the team that wins the Cup doesn't have a Norris caliber defenseman.
I'm not sure what this nonsense is from NHL analysts that Datsyuk can't put up 90+ points any more. If Datsyuk followed the lead of most top scorers and only focused on the offensive side of the game he could easily reach 100 points and even challenge for the Art Ross. Instead he registers better than a point per game AND is the best defensive forward in the league -- he has won 3 Selke trophies in the last 4 years and likely would have won last year if he played the entire season. It's not that he can't rack up the points, he just chooses not to.
NHL fantasy junkies: take Wings goalie Jimmy Howard. His GAA and Save % went up a bit last year but that was in large part due to the Wings drop in team D and terrible penalty kill. Both will be much better this year and his #'s will be impressive. He's also a lock for at least 35 wins and I'm betting he puts up more than 40.
Had enough Wings talk yet? How 'bout 1 more!
With the Thrashers moving to Winnipeg there is going to be a change in the divisions or even conferences next season. The Wings are hoping to be able to move back to the Eastern conference and this would be fantastic. Wings owner Mike Illitch recently stated that he was promised by the league that Detroit would be the first team to move back to the East. It would be so nice not to have to stay up until 1am on a week night to watch the Wings playing playoff games on the West coast... until the finals!
There is a music festival called Duna Jam (www.dunjam.net ) which might be the coolest music event I have ever heard of. It consists of a bunch of rock bands traveling around and playing on different beaches in all of these amazing places. They only allow a small number of people so it is very intimate and they tour you around to all of these beautiful, remote places where you can drink and eat and party as you please while you watch a show. Now that would be a hell of a vacation! Colour Haze, my favourite current band, is a regular of this tour. Of course it's usually in Europe. So, if anyone is ever up for a quick flight to Spain or somewhere like that to party and watch live music on a beach for a week - let me know!
Anyone else worried that Kyle Drabek might be a bust? I know he's young, but I was not impressed with anything I seen from him this year. Drabek and catcher Travis D'Arnaud, who apparently did really well in the minors, were the main returns in the Halladay deal and if only one of them turns out to be good it looks like a stinky deal for the Jays.
God bless Jimi Hendrix for recording almost everything he ever played. I like to think I know his catalogue pretty well but I still find new songs of his every now and again. The latest is "Suspicious" on an album called "Jimi Hendrix, Vol.1" on iTunes. It's a cool track and worth the $.99. This track also led me to another cool tune (and artist) I had never heard of. His name is Tommy Bolin and he has a bunch of good stuff, but check out "Cucumber Jam" - it's a beauty. Bolin played with the James Gang (Joe Walsh's first band) and later on with Deep Purple. He OD'd in 1976 at the age of only 25.
This guy is pretty funny... Mario Joyner. This clip doesn't really do him justice but it's the best I could find. I got to see him open for Seinfeld last year and he was really good.
Usually it sucks to see someone who wasn't playing well for the Jays go on to play well somewhere else, but I loved watching Aaron Hill do well for the D'Backs.
Listowel is supposed to be getting another Tim Horton's and I actually talked to a guy who was complaining about it... while he was holding a Tim Horton's coffee!
In my last post I wrote that I was looking forward to Radio Moscow's new album. I downloaded it and it was not what I was hoping for. So many bands can't seem to keep it together after the first album or two. The later albums either go in a different direction or just don't have the same jam all the way through.
What a punk move my the Mets Jose Reyes in the final game of the season. He's leading the Brewers Ryan Braun for the batting title (batting average) and he pulls himself after a sac bunt to protect his average instead of playing out the game. You've probably all heard the story about Ted Williams going into the final day of the 1941 regular season with a batting average of over .400 and refusing to sit out to protect the incredible record. He plays a double header that day and goes 6-8! Reyes' gutless move also reminds me of NBA player Ricky Davis who was one rebound away from a triple-double (that's double digits in points, rebounds and assists in a game for all you b-ball haters) and he actually took the ball and shot on his own net so he could get the rebound. Hopefully karma comes in the form of an inside fastball next year for Reyes.
Stick it in your ear: Slow Mama by Black Moses.
NHL prediction time:
Art Ross: Martin St Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
Rocket Richard: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Hart: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Norris: Shea Weber, Nashville Predators
Vezina: Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres
Selke: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Calder: Ryan Johansen, Columbus Blue Jackets
Jack Adams: Peter Deboer, New Jersey Devils
Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings (you knew that was coming)
Conn Smythe: Henrik Zetterberg
If I even get one of these right I will be happy... hopefully it's the second last one.
As mentioned the Radio Moscow album didn't work out as I had hoped but there are a couple more coming down the pipe that will hopefully be better. Colour Haze - She Said on Nov. 1st and The Black Keys - El Camino on December 6th.
Hard to complain when your wife goes away for the weekend on a shopping trip... at least she comes home with something. The only thing I bring home from a weekend away is a hangover, ticket stub and some foggy memories.
I think the Minnesota Wild win the award for the best player names in the league... Cal Clutterbuck, Clayton Stoner, Marek Zidlicky, Darrol Powe, Devin Setoguchi. Don't even need to give those guys nicknames!
Cheers!
Bonesminded
