With The First Overall Selection, I will Select....

So upon further review and after numerous self imposed deadlines have passed it looks like we may now have a winner for my affection in the NHL’s Western Conference going forward. As I had listed previously there were a few teams in the running. The Blues, The Coyotes, The Kings and The Blue Jackets.

The league essentially is in control of the Phoenix Coyotes as a caretaker and not an owner, at least as it stands now. The future still in doubt both as a franchise and the location of the city. There is also question marks regarding the how the team may be structured in the near future because of this move I am just not confident hitching my wagon to this horse. The coaching staff is now as solid as it can be but that just isn’t enough. The Blue Jackets were a surprise dark horse and managed to prove that they are on the right path, but the management still doesn’t re-assure me and that took them out of the running. the endorsement of Antoine Vermette didn’t help their position.

So then it went right down to the wire between the Kings and the Blues...The Blues and the Kings. Where to go? What to believe? Is one better off in the next few years, is one poised to be better in the long run? St. Louis is looking strong up front but LA looks deep on the back end. Should I just go with the prettiest colours and nicest logo? Can I allow Chris Mason’s former beard sway my decision? Does the speculation about Jack Johnson’s attitude play a factor? All these things factored into the agonizing decision. Both have great Pros and even the Cons aren’t that bad. The Blues made the playoffs so that gives them a head start, good young offence and a promising defence. The Kings have some cap space, prospects and a nice first rounder from last year in Brayden Schenn in their back pocket. This makes them comparable or equally appealing.
Well since right now not much can really happen either way for either of these teams until likely the trade deadline or a major injury, I may as well just go ahead, take the plunge and make a decision. The decision has been made...no delays....I am going to tell you....i’ll do it right now...

The team is...

THE LOS LOUIS BLUE KINGS, and I suppose that is going to have to be my final answer. Cheap call? Perhaps. I don’t consider it sitting on the fence. It is just like a goaltending situation in hockey or a running back situation in football. It is a 1A/1B deal or like they call it a two headed monster. I went back and forth so many times that I decided if it was such a close race what is the harm in a tie. It also occurs to be that both have good solid Gretzky ties and that is not a bad thing, Share the wealth.

So now with this selection I now have an Eastern Conference team to root for in the Ottawa Senators and a pair Western Conference teams in the LA Kings and the St. Louis Blues. I guess now I may have to go in search for my favorite player on all my teams. In Ottawa it was Dany Heatley without a doubt. Dany is still number 1 overall but as for the team that is questionable. I will also have to think about an LA and St. Louis player as well. That will be the next tall task, hopefully it will be easier then picking the teams were.

The beauty of LA is that they have 3 distinct looks and that gives one options when it comes to merchandising. I can go new with the Purple/White Crown (Drew Doughty style), retro with the less desirable Yellow and Purple Crown (maybe Brian Kilrea Style) or the Straight outta Compton - Grey and Black look (old school Gretzky style). St. Louis pretty much just has the 1 true look so that limits any possible decisions.
Yes, I think this sound may play well here. I think the correct decision has been made and I have come to peace with it.

Best and Worst For A Wednesday

Best: If you are Roberto Luongo, signing a 12-year contract extension worth $64M is definitely a best. If you are the Vancouver Canucks you hope that he continues to be the goalie he is now for a looooog time and remains healthier then another long term contract goalie that plays for the Islanders. If that is the case it may be a win win.

Worst: World No. 1 Dinara Safina had to come from behind in the third set in order to win her first-round match. She narrowly avoided being the first #1 seed to fall in the first round of a US Open. There is no reason it should have been as close as it was.

Best: Adam "Pacman" Jones is going the Canadian route to get back into the NFL. It appears that he will suit up for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. I know that the CFL isn’t the most compelling thing to watch but this has the potential to be a train wreck which is always fun to see. Plus revenue at local strip clubs are likely to go up and patrons can make money going to the rippers if Pacman decides to make it rain.

Worst: Adam "Pacman" Jones is on his way to the CFL. It is like this league is the equivalent to house arrest for troubled NFL players?

Best: Ottawa Senators defenceman Jason Smith has announced his retirement. After 16 NHL seasons, 1,008 games and being captian of 2 clubs he is able to walk away on a high note. Also this frees up the Sens for $2.6M off their cap in the event that they can’t move Heatley before teh beginning of the season or if they do make a move may allow them to make another move for scoring help upfront...where they may be lacking.

Worst: Anything that comes out of the Phoenix courtroom today as Judge Redfield T. Baum determines whether Jim Balsillie can remain in the hunt for the Coyotes. This saga over the club and who owns it or where they may play is played out and it is probably safe to say that most people just want to end the madness

The Kitchener Coyotes??

Undeserved market... this is what you are going to hear from Jim Balsillie now and into the future. The future that I speak of involves the Phoenix Coyotes and the news that they have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday. We all knew for some time that things were bad in the desert but I don’t think many knew that it was just this bad.

The RIM (Research in Motion) CEO made his intentions known in a media release on Tuesday stating that a $212.5 million (US) offer was on the table to purchase the team. One of the condition was that the team would relocate to an unspecified region in Southern Ontario.

I am all for this move. Take a team from a struggling US market and place them back in Canada in, as we we have heard before, an undeserved market. If it is true that there were talks about a possible second team in Toronto then a team in Southern Ontario isn’t far fetched. Only question is, just because it may be a viable and a good market and the NHLPA would probably be in favor of it, will Gary Bettman want to allow Jim Balsillie into the league. It almost seems that there is a personal vendetta from Bettman and it may be getting in the way of business.

The NHL and the Board of Governors will have some things to say about this for sure and this is sure to be an interesting story not only on sports talk shows but also for the court reporters. Even if Balsillie gets the team, which is not a sure thing, be assured that the NHL is going to throw up some bumps saying that any team movement needs league approval and no doubt use the NHL shield as a battery ram to flex it’s muscle. The potential for a lengthy battle is very probable. This will be very interesting to follow and see what direction this takes. I will be sure to keep an eye on this going forward.

I have also yet to announce the selection of a new favorite team from the west...I had it down to the Blues and the Kings...does a team in the Golden Horseshoe make a re-emergence on the list? Stay tuned.

Looking ahead to 2009/10 - Decision Time

With the Ottawa Senators out of the playoffs for the first time in 11 years I figure now is as good a time as any to begin looking toward next season and like many GM’s have to get all the ducks in a row prior to the Entry Draft as well as July 1 free agency.

In the next few days I will begin a short series involving teams in the NHL’s Western Conference. One may think as the season is drawing to a close that it would involve the playoffs, but not this time. Over the course of a few days I will be outlining a small sampling of Western teams that are more “down” that I will be throwing my support behind and becoming my Western team and backup favorite. The Ottawa Senators will remain my team and I will always throw my support that direction in the unlikely event that the two ever meet up...but how sweet would that be? Now when I began throwing around some teams the Blues and Blue Jackets looked like they were going to miss the playoffs and had the potential to be a lottery pick but after an unlikely run they have basically made the playoffs but are still on the short list. I wanted to keep it to the down and outs so there would be no accusing of a bandwagon jumper. St Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, Phoenix Coyotes, L.A. Kings, or Nashville Predators. The other teams in the West are either too established or teams that don’t interest me. Even though Edmonton fits the bill I just can’t justify them just for being a Canadian team and as for the Colorado Avalanche they just seem as a team that has been good for too long and maybe with Joe Sakic out and all the injuries, arn’t as bad as they appeared this year.

So look forward to this series to begin probably early to mid week next week. Please feel free to weigh in as there is a tentative ranking going in but nothing is set in stone yet and a good case could sway the final decision.