Saturday 12 September 2009

Blood In The Water

So this is what the NHL does to me. I'm stuck in hockey purgatory - Oregon has absolutely zero hockey coverage in its newspapers - and the Senators unload disgruntled superstar Dany Heatley to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for wingers Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo without giving me any sort of notice. Honestly, this move makes San Jose look less like a basking shark and more like a great white shark. They have significant firepower upfront to balance their stingy defensive play, and their powerplay units suddenly look like an all-star squad. Ottawa gets back a speedy winger in Michalek to help their transition game, and acquire a veteran forward who looked lost in the offensive zone last season. However, Cheechoo alongside Spezza and Alfredsson might be exactly what he needs to rediscover his scoring touch.

I'm not going to go into what this does for both teams as I'm tired from a long day of traveling by bus to a rather awesome activity, but I will post some excellent links to check out regarding this move, and then weigh in below.

My take? The drama is over. Get down to business, Ottawa, and bring your lunchpails to work. It will require a lot of hard work and elbow grease this season, but the playoffs are certainly within reach. You've shed yourself of a headache, in the Pacific Division no less, so it's time to focus on the task at hand.

San Jose, you're looking at a big season again if things start falling into place for your team. Thornton, Heatley, and Setoguchi could be a ridiculous line this season for point production, so come to the rink ready to cheer. However, just remember this: you've acquired a player who tore a room apart when he was demoted to the second powerplay unit, so be prepared if the ship starts taking on water. I feel that head coach Todd McLellan won't let that happen, though.

I'm off to bed, kids. I have another busy day tomorrow, so I'm checking out.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

1 comment:

Connie said...

Nicely done, Teebz! This whole "saga" can finally be put out of its misery. That doesn't mean I think Frolov is safe; this is the last year in his current contract. Hopefully Lombardi can pull some more magic out of his bag so I can relax for a bit longer.