So, needless to say, a whole bunch of shit went down yesterday in the NHL. Here’s a quick recap and reaction to it
- Scott Niedermayer retired. While he probably still had gas left in the tank, he really had nothing more to accomplish, and with the Ducks now trying to rebuild/reload, the thought of another long and strenuous season was probably enough to have Nieds call it a career. Either that, or he just REALLY doesn’t like covering for James Wisniewski. On a personal note, Niedermayer was one of my favorite players, and it’s somewhat sad to see him hang ’em up. When rumors started circulating that he was trade bait and the Hawks might have looked into him, Sam can attest that I would not shut the fuck up about it until after the deadline passed and he remained a Duck. I would have bought a Niedermayer indian head sweater in a heartbeat, even if he only played out the remainder of 2010 as a Hawk. But alas, that didn’t happen, and we still wish Nieds the best in his retirement, and despite the Hall of Fame being fucking clown shoes (more on that below), he’ll be enshrined the moment he’s eligible, and for once with good reason. Now would you mind taking Teemu Selanne with you?
- The Sharks are parting ways with Evgeni Nabakov. Not a total surprise, as they have money they need to spend elsewhere, like reloading their blue line and retaining Patrick Marleau, and this year’s finals matchup showed a team didn’t need a big-money goalie to win a conference or a cup. Someone will give Nabby a pretty respectable deal, but he won’t pull the $5.4 mildo he was earning before given his propensity to wilt in April and May.
- Uncle Dale shipped Nathan Horton to the Bruins for Dennis Wideman and the #15 pick. Though he can play both center and right wing, he’ll primarily be used on the wing in Boston given the depth they have at center in Marc Savard, David Krejci, and more than likely Tyler Seguin. Look for the B’s to move Patrice Bergeron as a result. Horton has a boatload of skill, but never made as much of it as most believe he can while languishing in Florida. He’ll have every opportunity to flourish in Boston, and now the Bruins are looking at some scary depth down the middle. In Wideman, the Tallon and the Panthers get a right-shooting, puck-moving defenseman who regressed more than a bit last year after a breakout year in 08-09. He’ll have to regain that form for this to be a solid deal for the Panthers- but when’s the last time Dale got porked in a trade?
- Brent Sopel will march with the Stanley Cup in the Pride Parade on Saturday with his family, in part as a tribute to Brendan Burke. We give Sopel a lot of shit here, but no one can dispute the fact that he’s a prince off the ice.
- Lastly, the Hall of Fame inductions are a joke. I don’t know what’s more ridiculous – that Dino fucking Ciccarelli got in, or that we have to be outraged that Joe Niewendyk didn’t? The induction process needs to be seriously overhauled, or at this rate Fels will get inducted as a builder in 20 years, and if that’s not a sign of the apocalypse, then I must’ve misread Revelations.