NHL replica hockey jerseys are expensive.
Hockey used to have a real working-class ethic in the US; historically when someone says "hockey fan" they think of a guy missing a couple of teeth who has to get up early to unload railcars or something, when in fact there are a lot more NHL fans who look like Margot Robbie than you would imagine.
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Penguins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Penguins. Show all posts
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Friday, May 10, 2013
Pens-Islanders Game 5
Last night the Pittsburgh Penguins played the New York Islanders in game 5 of their 7-game series. The series had been tied 2-2 going in. The Pens won 4-0. Some disconnected observations:
- Marc-Andre Fleury looked distracted and slow in the Penguins 6-4 loss in game 4. Backup Tomas Vokoun was an absolute wall, by contrast. Vokoun made very few spectacular diving upside-down Spider-Man saves in Game 5, but he never got so far out of position that he was forced to do such nonsense.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Iginla to the Penguins
The Miami Heat's epic winning streak comes to an end? Sweet Sixteen about to begin? Time to talk about a hockey trade!
Some observations on the Pittsburgh Penguins' trade for (now-)former Calgary Flames forward Jarome Iginla.
First, if you ask anybody outside of the Great White North (or Yinzer Nation) what's going on in the NHL, they will ask, "aren't they locked out this year?" But this isn't just the top story -- it's the top several stories on the Calgary Sun's website. And it's a big deal in Pittsburgh (at least two of the top radio stations in town are non-stop Iginla this morning). Penguins fans are suddenly remembering the great affection they have always had for this guy who helped Sid Crosby win Olympic Gold.
Second, the Boston Bruins went to bed thinking they were getting Iginla. The Bruins apparently offered the Flames a better deal for Iginla than the Pens did, but Iginla wanted to go to Pittsburgh (and with the Miami-Heat-esque assemblage of talent that Pens' GM Ray Shero has gathered recently, it is hard to blame him) (editor's note: now I'm having images of the Miami Heat on ice skates). This deal hurts Boston twice -- by keeping Iginla out of the Bruins' hands and by helping Eastern Conference rival Pittsburgh.
Third, there's some suggestion that this deal costs Pittsburgh by trading away their first-round draft pick for 2013. Well, look, there's very little doubt that the Pens are going to be near the top of the regular-season standings. NHL draft order is determined by regular-season standings (modulo the lottery). So their draft picks for 2013 are sure to be less-valuable late-round picks. Which means that this is the year to make that trade.
Some Pittsburgh sports talk callers are already whining about where the Penguins will find room for all the talent they have. I'm sure that this is a problem that Flyers fans would love to have.
Some observations on the Pittsburgh Penguins' trade for (now-)former Calgary Flames forward Jarome Iginla.
First, if you ask anybody outside of the Great White North (or Yinzer Nation) what's going on in the NHL, they will ask, "aren't they locked out this year?" But this isn't just the top story -- it's the top several stories on the Calgary Sun's website. And it's a big deal in Pittsburgh (at least two of the top radio stations in town are non-stop Iginla this morning). Penguins fans are suddenly remembering the great affection they have always had for this guy who helped Sid Crosby win Olympic Gold.
Second, the Boston Bruins went to bed thinking they were getting Iginla. The Bruins apparently offered the Flames a better deal for Iginla than the Pens did, but Iginla wanted to go to Pittsburgh (and with the Miami-Heat-esque assemblage of talent that Pens' GM Ray Shero has gathered recently, it is hard to blame him) (editor's note: now I'm having images of the Miami Heat on ice skates). This deal hurts Boston twice -- by keeping Iginla out of the Bruins' hands and by helping Eastern Conference rival Pittsburgh.
Third, there's some suggestion that this deal costs Pittsburgh by trading away their first-round draft pick for 2013. Well, look, there's very little doubt that the Pens are going to be near the top of the regular-season standings. NHL draft order is determined by regular-season standings (modulo the lottery). So their draft picks for 2013 are sure to be less-valuable late-round picks. Which means that this is the year to make that trade.
Some Pittsburgh sports talk callers are already whining about where the Penguins will find room for all the talent they have. I'm sure that this is a problem that Flyers fans would love to have.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Redemption, or Not
(inspired by a Twitter conversation with Hal Mangold (@AtomicOvermind) who has been threatening to write for us for years in much the same way Vermont keeps threatening to secede)
Hockey's an unusual sport in a lot of ways. It's played on a sheet of ice; the players wear razor-sharp blades and collide with one another all the time; it's so exhausting that a one-minute shift is considered long. And it's the only sport that Québécois parents allow their children to play*.
Violence isn't unique to hockey, certainly. Longtime readers** know that I dwell overmuch on the long-term effects of injury in the NFL. Hockey suffers similarly.
Penguins management didn't protest the suspensions that Cooke received from this hit and another, near the end of the 2010-2011 season. Cooke was known for committing these kinds of fouls, but the Pens front office was getting tired of it. Especially after a couple of deliberate head-shots that ended up damaging superstar Sidney Crosby's brain. Crosby ended up losing over a year of playing time, and the Penguins joined the chorus calling for greater penalties for headshots.
Penguins GM Ray Shero said, essentially, that he wasn't going to try to protect Matt Cooke anymore; he didn't want Cooke committing these kinds of hits, and that Cooke didn't have much of a future as a Penguin if he didn't shape up.
And then something amazing happened: Cooke shaped up.
In the 2010-2011 season, Cooke played 67 games. He had 129 penalty minutes, roughly one 2-minute minor per game. He scored 30 points***. That's less than half a point per game. He only played 67 games, in part because of 14+ games worth of suspension.
In the 2011-2012 season, Cooke played all 82 games. He had 44 penalty minutes -- that's around one minor penalty every 4 games, and the lowest total of his career. He also scored 38 points, the second-highest total of his NHL career. Cooke became a Penguins attacker worth taking seriously.
He spent a lot of time watching film, reviewing his hits, and figuring out ways to play effectively without always going for the biggest his possible. He also received counseling and therapy in light of his suspension and his wife's life-threatening kidney illness.
The 2013 season has been a weird one, of course, thanks to the lockout. It's hard to extrapolate players' statistics for the season based on just the 14 games the NHL has had so far this season.
Before last night, Cooke's penalty minutes per game remained low (8 minutes in 13 games); his scoring is below his average from last year. But then last night Cooke went somewhat recklessly into Ottawa's Erik Karlsson, and Cooke's skate blade went 3/4 of the way through Karlsson's achilles tendon. Karlsson's out for at least the next 3 months. He may have lost his season.
Hockey fans -- particularly including Ottawa fans -- went nuts. Same old Cooke. Last year must have just been an aberration. He's a dirty player, he should be thrown out of the league, he did it on purpose, etc.
The NHL said there was no sign of intent. Cooke was penalized, but he won't be suspended.
I don't know. The Matt Cooke we've seen over the last hundred games isn't the same guy we had on our hands before. Which guy committed the hit last night?
Once somebody turns around, how many screwups are they allowed?
* I kid. The Québécois and me go way back. I believe they're also permitted to play badminton.
Hockey's an unusual sport in a lot of ways. It's played on a sheet of ice; the players wear razor-sharp blades and collide with one another all the time; it's so exhausting that a one-minute shift is considered long. And it's the only sport that Québécois parents allow their children to play*.
Violence isn't unique to hockey, certainly. Longtime readers** know that I dwell overmuch on the long-term effects of injury in the NFL. Hockey suffers similarly.
But really, only in hockey do you have the guy with the designated role "enforcer," or "thug." The guy whose job it is to try to injure other players, or to retaliate against those that have injured your players. The guy whose job it is to pick fights with the guys in the other shirts.
Matt Cooke isn't exactly the Pittsburgh Penguins' enforcer. But he has a reputation as an instigator, and as a dirty player, based on hits like this one:
Penguins management didn't protest the suspensions that Cooke received from this hit and another, near the end of the 2010-2011 season. Cooke was known for committing these kinds of fouls, but the Pens front office was getting tired of it. Especially after a couple of deliberate head-shots that ended up damaging superstar Sidney Crosby's brain. Crosby ended up losing over a year of playing time, and the Penguins joined the chorus calling for greater penalties for headshots.
Penguins GM Ray Shero said, essentially, that he wasn't going to try to protect Matt Cooke anymore; he didn't want Cooke committing these kinds of hits, and that Cooke didn't have much of a future as a Penguin if he didn't shape up.
And then something amazing happened: Cooke shaped up.
In the 2010-2011 season, Cooke played 67 games. He had 129 penalty minutes, roughly one 2-minute minor per game. He scored 30 points***. That's less than half a point per game. He only played 67 games, in part because of 14+ games worth of suspension.
In the 2011-2012 season, Cooke played all 82 games. He had 44 penalty minutes -- that's around one minor penalty every 4 games, and the lowest total of his career. He also scored 38 points, the second-highest total of his NHL career. Cooke became a Penguins attacker worth taking seriously.
He spent a lot of time watching film, reviewing his hits, and figuring out ways to play effectively without always going for the biggest his possible. He also received counseling and therapy in light of his suspension and his wife's life-threatening kidney illness.
The 2013 season has been a weird one, of course, thanks to the lockout. It's hard to extrapolate players' statistics for the season based on just the 14 games the NHL has had so far this season.
Before last night, Cooke's penalty minutes per game remained low (8 minutes in 13 games); his scoring is below his average from last year. But then last night Cooke went somewhat recklessly into Ottawa's Erik Karlsson, and Cooke's skate blade went 3/4 of the way through Karlsson's achilles tendon. Karlsson's out for at least the next 3 months. He may have lost his season.
Hockey fans -- particularly including Ottawa fans -- went nuts. Same old Cooke. Last year must have just been an aberration. He's a dirty player, he should be thrown out of the league, he did it on purpose, etc.
The NHL said there was no sign of intent. Cooke was penalized, but he won't be suspended.
I don't know. The Matt Cooke we've seen over the last hundred games isn't the same guy we had on our hands before. Which guy committed the hit last night?
Once somebody turns around, how many screwups are they allowed?
* I kid. The Québécois and me go way back. I believe they're also permitted to play badminton.
** Both of them!
*** For those unfamiliar with hockey, players are credited with one point for a goal or an assist.
*** For those unfamiliar with hockey, players are credited with one point for a goal or an assist.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Wins & Losses
Listen, hockey fans, or recent convertees to hockey fandom*. I know that many of you are fans of American football, a sport in which you only get 16 regular-season games. In a sport with so few regular-season games, every win indicates that your team is ULTIMATE AWESOME MONGO POWER and every loss indicates that you SUCK FOREVER AND FIRE THE COACH WHAAARGARBLE.
But in hockey, even in this Godforsaken year, we still get 48 games. Your team is going to lose some of them. Don't panic.
It may feel like five losses when your team loses to the Maple Leafs 5-2.
But I checked the rulebook! It still only counts as one loss. Even when you lose to the Maple Leafs 5-2. Even when -- and I double-checked this -- both your biggest stars score, in your home opener before a record sellout crowd. Still just one loss. Still got 45 games left in the season. Don't panic. Hockey's not football.
* I don't know who this would be. Presumably the lockout alienated a bunch of casual fans. Typically such things don't increase fandom. But maybe you like Wil Wheaton or something and have decided that if a guy THAT cool likes hockey, you should check it out? I don't know. Moving on.
But in hockey, even in this Godforsaken year, we still get 48 games. Your team is going to lose some of them. Don't panic.
It may feel like five losses when your team loses to the Maple Leafs 5-2.
But I checked the rulebook! It still only counts as one loss. Even when you lose to the Maple Leafs 5-2. Even when -- and I double-checked this -- both your biggest stars score, in your home opener before a record sellout crowd. Still just one loss. Still got 45 games left in the season. Don't panic. Hockey's not football.
* I don't know who this would be. Presumably the lockout alienated a bunch of casual fans. Typically such things don't increase fandom. But maybe you like Wil Wheaton or something and have decided that if a guy THAT cool likes hockey, you should check it out? I don't know. Moving on.
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