Lost City of Bettman - For Kansas City Hockey Fans

Zambonimania Lookin' for Adventure and Whatever Comes Our Way

2012-03-04T18:26:00.000-06:00

Obviously, this video is of a Zamboni on the highway. Well, not really a Zamboni, but enough like a Zamboni to inspire someone with a big enough imagination to create a new look for the common street sweeper.

(via Jalopnik)

The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday!

2012-02-29T20:32:00.000-06:00

"Pbbbbbtttttt."

The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday! The Stanley Cup Will Be at the Independence Events Center on Friday!

Yes, that Stanley Cup.

Mavs' Press Release, and a surprise, after the jump.

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THE STANLEY CUP IS COMING TOMISSOURI MAVERICKS’ GAME FRIDAY NIGHT

Mavericks’ to host theStanley Cup this Friday, March 2

INDEPENDENCE, Missouri – The Missouri Mavericks of the Central Hockey League (CHL)announced Tuesday the Stanley Cup will be in Independence, Missouri thisFriday, March 2 when the Mavericks host the Rapid City Rush at IndependenceEvents Center.

“We are thrilled to be able tobring our fans the Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in NorthAmerica,” said Mavericks’ President and General Manager Brent Thiessen. “Thecup is amazing to see up close. Our fans are in for a special treat andthey deserve it. We are happy to be able to bring this piece of hockeyhistory to our fans and allow them the opportunity to see it up close free ofcharge.”

Fans will first have thechance to view the cup at Strikerz Entertainment Center from 5-5:45 p.m. onFriday evening. Strikerz is located at 18900 Valley View Parkway inIndependence.

The cup will then head toIndependence Events Center where the Mavericks are hosting the Rapid City Rush. Starting at 6 p.m., the cup will be on display on the concourse for fans toview and take pictures until the end of the second intermission.

The Stanley Cup is the oldesttrophy competed for by professional athletes in North America. It isawarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs champion and wasfirst awarded in 1893. Unlike the trophies awarded by the other threemajor professional sports leagues of North America, a new cup is not made eachyear and the winners keep it until the next champion is crowned. The cuphas the names of all of the winning players, coaches, management and club staffengraved on it. Currently, the Boston Bruins are the reigning Stanley Cupchampions.

Missouri Mavericks 2012-13season tickets are on sale now. A $50 dollar non-refundable deposit isrequired for all season tickets. Contact the Mavericks ticket staffMonday-Friday, 9am-5:30pm at (816) 252-7825 if you are interested in seasontickets. Every current Mavericks season ticket holder who renews their seasontickets before March 23 will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win an$18,000 Harley-Davidson Fatboy motorcycle, a 60-inch HDTV and other prizes. Tickets for all remaining 2011-12 regular season games are on sale viawww.Ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000. For more information on theMissouri Mavericks call (816) 252-7825.

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One of my greatest regrets was not going to Crown Center to see the Cup when it was here in, like, 2004. The entire day I kept saying, "I'll go a little later. I'll go a little later..." But, yeah, in all seriousness, I didn't go, and to this day I feel like an idiot. And you will too if you don't go. Anyway, yeah, the Cup!

Oh, yeah, and enjoy these:

Hey, When are the Coyotes Moving to Seattle?

2012-02-18T22:04:00.001-06:00

Just a timeline of links of things that are going on with the Coyotes and Seattle and a possible new arena and all of that mumbo-jumbo.

NHL Denies Report That the Coyotes Have Been Sold
Despite a report from KING in Seattle (since taken down) saying that the 'Yotes have found an owner. This means that they are neither staying in Glendale, nor are they moving anywhere.

NHL Denies that Greg Jamison's the Next Phoenix Coyotes Owner
Yes, Puck Daddy again, and yes, I could write another whole post on this article, but I will take the high road on this one. The only part I will challenge is the final few sentences.

Everything I've heard is that this is the last year in the desert for the Coyotes.

Sources would be fantastic to list here, as Wysh has not given anything more than speculation in his previous articles. Bettman thinks Seattle would be a fine place for a franchise, just like he thinks that of KC, LV, Glendale, etc., so yeah, he isn't a source. Also, other like-minded people are not reputable sources if they report the same thing as you do without sources.

But guarantees have really never had a home in this drama, which seems to take a new turn every week.

No, it does not, because most of this "drama" was manufactured out of some guy in Seattle wanting to build an arena, but who is not in the team ownership business. Plus, we have been talking about the same thing with the Coyotes ownership for a while now. That is, there is no real front runner. "Drama" implies an ownership situation has gone from one extreme to another. If anything, this situation is droll. So very, very droll.

NHL Denies Phoenix Coyotes Sale Report, Seattle Sports Fans Keeping Watchful Eye
Maybe if the Coyotes do move to Seattle, they can call the team the Watchful Eyes, or Sky Eyes, or Alan Parsons. If some guy named T.J. Eckleburg purchases the Coyotes and moves them to Seattle, then I quit.

Concerns Raised About New Seattle Arena Plan
Why Seattle's Initiative 91 on sports subsidies may present some obstacles for a new arena.

Initiative 91 Explanation

Seattle Arena Proposal: Deal Contingent on NBA, NHL Franchise First
What a concept... Article also explains how I-91 may not be a problem anyway.

NHL Relocation: Why the Phoenix Coyotes Won't Move to Seattle This Summer
Don't let the title fool you, this article does not do any of that.

Personally, I don't know why Seattle "is really the best location for (the Coyotes) to land" or makes the most sense than any other potentially interested city. Seattle, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Quebec City, Hartford, etc. all have a hockey history, all have an interested fan base, all have no real ownership group, and hell, all have geographic rival cities. What Travis Hughes, the author of the article in the last link, fails to argue is why Seattle is a better location than any other city. Greg Wyshynski at least claims to have some sort of weird attraction to Seattle hockey. I don't know, maybe I'm crazy, or just biased or whatever. I'm not saying the Coyotes won't move to Seattle. It could very well happen. But, the reporting on an initial story (Coyotes ownership) and connecting it to a new Seattle arena proposal story does not a relocation make.

Consider this a Kansas City based Coyotes Relocation Open Thread. Have an opinion on the relocation matter? Think Seattle is a nice city to get a cup of coffee? Think Quebec City is kind of cold this time of year? I certainly do not share your opinion, so tell us your opinions in the comments. Come on, everyone has a Google account nowadays, so it's really easy to comment. To borrow and paraphrase a line from blog Jewels From the Crown, it's time to stop lurking and get the dialogue moving.

2012 Champions: Stat-Nerding the Third-ish Quarter of the Season

2012-02-16T00:37:00.002-06:00

That's Charlie Effinger. He just won the Goaltender of the Week Award for the third time this season, ya heard.

Although therehave only been fourteen games since the last time we checked in with the Mavericks, there are only twenty games left in something like forty days. So this is as good of a time as any tosee what the Mavs are doing right, doing wrong, and need to do during the homestretch of the season. (Note:this review follows a similar format as the second quarter stats post, so in lieu ofme repeating stats, please refer any comparisons to that previous post.)

*Just another note before we get started: Something that hockey leagues do that annoy me are include a shootout winning goal in the overall goal for/goal against team totals, even though this goal does not get counted toward or against an individual goal scorer or goaltender's total, nor does anyone end up with a plus or minus because of that goal being scored. I don't know, just kind of dumb. Anyway, for these particular stats, and any previous stat-nerding posts, goals include shootout winning goals, unless otherwise noted*

*The Mavs arecurrently third in the Turner Conference with 58 points and a 27-15-4record. They have 153 goals forand 144 goals against.

*In the past 14games, the Mavs are 11-2-1 (!). They have had winning streaks of four, two, and five during this time. The five game streak is currently inprogress, and is their second longest of the season (six game streak to beginthe season). They are also 3-1 inOT games during this stretch, winning one game during the overtime period, andtwo in the shootout. They havealso lost a shootout. They haverecorded 55 goals for, and have given up 40 with one shutout.

*Vern Cooper isgone, but you knew that already...

*There are eightMavs who have played at least 40 games through 46 games this season.

Remember whenthe Mavs were struggling to score?

*The Mavs havemoved up to seventh in scoring overall with 153. They trail league leader Wichita by sixteen, and divisionleading Fort Wayne by five.

*96 goals(again, total counting SO winners) over the course of the first 32 games (3.0avg.). 57 goals during the past 14games (3.93 avg.).

*73 goals overthe past twenty games (3.65 avg.).

*In 2010-11,they had 103 goals over the course of the first 32 games (3.22 avg.), and 35goals during the next fourteen games (2.5 avg.). 138 goals after the first 46 games (3.0avg.).

*During thisfourteen game stretch:

--Goals duringfour game win streak: 19

--Goals duringnext five games (2-2-1): 19

--Goals duringcurrent five game win streak: 19

Eerie? Meh.

*Who is carryingthe mail on offense? Well, in thepast fourteen games.

Dale Mahovsky:3 goals, 11 assists

Seabass: 4 goals, 10 assists, plus one shootoutwinner

EdMcGrane: 10 goals, 11 assists, plus oneshootout winner

JSDickson: 7 goals, 6 assists (onehat trick)

Dave Pszenyczny: 8 goals, 7 assists

*SeaBass Thinel(“SeaBass” officially from now on) still leads the team with 54 points(14+40=54). But, Ed McGrane is hoton his trail with 50 points, and the team lead in goals with 22. Thinel has moved up to sixth in theleague in points. He is second inassists with 40, trailing Evansville’s Todd Robinson by ten. McGrane is tied for fifth in the leaguein goals, trailing the leaders, Quad City’s Brandon Marino and Evansville’sBrian Bicek, by six.

*Don’t forget JSDickson, second in goals on the team with 21.

*New acquisitionPatrick Schafer has seven goals in sixteen games with the Mavs.

*Ryan Jardineexists (8+10=18, -2).

*So, the offensehas improved, which is nice. Theproblem there never appeared to be lack of shooting, either. McGrane is third in the league with 193 shots, and Thinel is18^th with 157. Maybethe scoring problems can be attributed to shooting percentage. No Mav has better than JS Dickson’s.154%, which is only good for 19^th in the league.

The Mavs stillcan’t score on the powerplay, right?

*The Mavs arethird in the league in powerplay percentage! Their percentage, 19.89, is over two percentage points belowthe league leaders (Quad City with 22.09).

*The Mavs arevery middle of the pack when it comes to powerplay goals and powerplay opportunities. Their 36 goals are tied for seventh inthe league, and their 181 opportunities are eleventh overall. That is 16 goals since the last time weleft the Mavs. 16 PPG in 14games! w00t!

*JS Dickson has8 PPG (tied for fifth in the CHL), McGrane has 6, and four Mavs are tied withfour. Thinel and McGrane lead theteam in PPA with 14 and 13, respectively.

*The threeleague leaders in PPG all have ten. Quad City’s Brandon Marino and John Snowden, and Dayton’s BrandonNaurato.

*This Quad Cityteam sounds fairly decent.

*The Mavs are+16 in goal differential during this stretch, having given up 40 goals and lostone shootout (41 GA total, 2.93 avg.). Throughout the whole season, the Mavs have given up 144 goals in 46games (3.13 avg.).

*In comparison,the Mavs gave up 40 goals (that includes the one shootout winner) in 2010-11during games #33-46. Overall, bygame #46, the Mavs had given up 130 goals (2.83 avg.).

*During thecurrent fourteen game stretch:

--GA duringfour game win streak: 9 (with one shutout)

--GA duringnext five games: 22 (includes the one shootout “goal”)

--GA duringcurrent five game win streak: 10

*The defense isstill not up to par with last season’s D. But, hey, look at all of the defenders in the black!

--Simoes +13

--Wakita +9

--Good +6

--Ruwe +4

--Pszenyczny +1

*There are stillno Mavs anywhere near the league leaders in plus/minus. Three Fort Wayne players are in the topthree, one with a +22, and two with +21.

*JS Dickson is ateam worst -6, despite, you know, all of the goals he scores.

Here issomething to think about as the Mavs get closer to the playoffs. Penalty minutes.

*Although, theMavs have moved up to sixth in the league in PIM with 809, no individuals arekilling the team. The Mavs finishedwith 1197 PIM last season.

*Pszenycznyleads the team with 97 PIM. Wakitahas 92. Lewis has 91. The league leader, Quad City’s JasonKostadine, has 170. Lewis had 205all of last season. This issomething to watch, but not something that is seriously killing them. Well, actually, let’s look at the PKnumbers.

*The Mavs werefourth on the penalty kill (82.6%) through the first half of the season. Since then, the Mavs are twelfth with80%. They have given up 13 goalswhile on the penalty kill in the past fourteen games.

*The league bestis Evansville at 86.18% giving up 30 goals, while the league worst is Dayton with a 74.16% success rate and 54 goals given up.

*13 of 40 goals(not counting shootout winners, obviously) were scored on the PK. Still not terrible... but, the Mavs PKcould take a lesson from its improved PP.

In summation, penalties arenot killing them, but it definitely could not hurt to avoid taking untimely penalties.

Oh, and thank goodnessfor Charlie Effinger.

*He has startedthe past fifteen games (11-3-1) without Szuper (left for KHL) and Festa(traded).

*Gerry Festa finishedhis season with the Mavs 2-4-2 with 24 GA, a 3.00 GAA, and .904 SV% in eightappearances.

*Szuper was 1-0,with 3 GA, a 3.00 GAA and .930 SV% in one appearance with the Mavs (a 6-3 home victory over Quad City on January7^th).

*Effinger isthird in games played for goalies with 33, six behind the leader Nick Boucherof Fort Wayne.

*Effinger hasgiven up 41 goals during the past fifteen games, with one shutout. He has given up 13 goals (one shootoutloss) to Quad City in three games and was chased once during that stretch(0-2-1).

*Eff-bomb issecond in the CHL in wins (22), trailing Boucher (27). He is tied for tenth in GAA with 2.77,and seventh in SV% with .919%.

*And a warmwelcome back to Jakub Macek, who has finally found a home with the Mavs. He relieved Effinger in one of the QuadCity loses, giving up 4 goals on 13 shots.

*Also, it musthave been pretty cool for those rec league guys that played back up goaliewhile that position was in transition. Props to you fine gentlemen.

*Home recordduring the past fourteen games:

7-1-1 (bothlosses to Quad City)

*Home recordoverall:

13-8-2

*Away recordduring the past fourteen games:

4-1

*Away recordoverall:

14-7-2

*The Mavs remainthird in total attendance with 125,650, over 13,000 above Rapid City and27,000+ below second place Wichita. The IEC also sees the third most fans on average, up seven to 5,463 since we lastchecked.

*The Mavs arecelebrating 500,000 fans this Friday! It only took less than three seasons to accomplish what the New YorkIslanders could not do all of last season. (Joke not intended. That is a real stat.)

*If the seasonended today, the Chicago Wolves would be a five seed in the Western Conferenceof the AHL playoffs. But, theytrail the division leading Charlotte Checkers by two points with a game in handwith 26 games remaining. They have146 GF and 129 GA, and they are an ugly 0-3 in the shootout. Goalie Matt Climie is among the leagueleaders in SV% (0.927%). JPTestwuide has an assist in sixteen games, and fifteen PIM. Dustin Friesen has a goal and twoassists in nineteen games, and is a +6.

*Oh, but whatabout our dear, sweet Mavericks? What are their playoff chances you ask? Well, four teams qualify from each division, so the Mavswould clinch as the third place team in the Turner Conference with 58points. They trail second placeFort Wayne by four points, and lead fourth place Quad City by three. They lead fifth place Rapid City byonly four. They have twenty gamesremaining, ten at home and ten on the road. Thirteen of those games are against Berry Conference teams,two are against Rapid City, one against Dayton, two against division leadingEvansville, and two against cellar dweller Bloomington. It should be pretty damn interestingover the next few weeks!

Scoring haspicked up, and that’s good. Thedefense is still, well, the same defense, but the Mavs have put themselves inthe best possible place with a stable roster going into the final month of theseason. Of course, it won’t beeasy, but if the offense stays hot, and Effinger plays at the top of his game,this team should skate into the playoffs as a three or four seed. Without any head-to-head games againstFort Wayne remaining, it may be hard to unseat them as the two seed. Evansville would have to play uncharacteristically to fall out of the top spot,let alone the top two spots. Finally,head coach Scott Hillman has a functioning powerplay, so, yeah, hopefully they don't screw itup. Of course, the Mavs should have clinched a playoff spot by now, but I guess they are just trying to give the other teams some hope, which is pretty damn nice of them.

Please checkout the Missouri Mavericks official site for news and updates from yourfavorite local hockey team, or at the CHL’s official site for league-wide newsas we creep closer to the playoffs. Also, the KC Star and the Pitch have Mavericks news occasionally, so be sureto check those sites. Be sure to read Mavericks Weekly on the Mavs’ site every week for updates, game previews, and upcoming events at the IEC. And, for constant Mavs news and recaps, shoot on over to the Missouri Mavericks Blog. He does interviews andeverything, like a real journalist! I feel like a jerk for not referring you there in the past, so make itup to me by visiting his site.

Because Valentines Day Occurs During Hockey Season

2012-02-13T16:51:00.000-06:00

"As soon go kindle fire with snow, as seek to quench the fire of love with words... and hockey."
--William "Gordie" Shakespeare

Ah, Valentines Day is nearly upon us. Can't us just smell the love in the air...underneath all of the snow? Well, never mind.

Anyway, enough small talk. I have a confession to make. During the Kansas-Mizzou Border War hockey game a few weeks ago, a certain someone caught my eye. No, it wasn't the 'Dave' guy from those Staples commercials, although I swear some guy that either was him or looked like him was chillin' at the IEC dining area in-between periods. It was a much lovelier beauty, with a name unknown. She was the equipment girl/towel girl/bench bunny for the Jayhawks squad. Her beauty unmatched by any other in the arena. Her flowing golden hair moved with ease with each graceful step she took across the ice to the bench. You should have seen her, you guys. Here is a totally unflattering photo:

She is the one in the middle

You can also see a video of me totally not being a creep here.

Her presence was magical, really. Something you notice, and cannot look away.

But, I have a problem, you guys. Well, not so much me, but its her. As a great man once said, "There is no excellent beauty than hath not some strangeness in the proportion." This is true, for you see, she does not smile. For three periods of hockey, not once did could you see a dimple in her cheek, or her lips upturn in a show of sudden emotion. So stoic and unflinching, it makes me sad to think about. Sure, she could have been "all business," taking a cue from Vince Lombardi's "act like you've been there before" motto, but it still makes me feel helpless. If she cannot enjoy a hockey game, what can she enjoy?

So, I wrote a poem, you guys. I wrote it because I think she speaks for all of us as hockey fans. But, I mainly wrote because she's attractive.

(Note: for the sake of this poem, NHL is one syllable)

Ode to a Blank Faced Bench Beauty

The "Coolest Game on Earth" does not compare,
With thee beauty, much greater than the NHL.
Sweet, sensuous shock straighter than Smyth's hair.
Though your stare is as icy as Smashville.

For some, to kiss the Cup is one great wish,
For others, it is merely to kiss your cheek.
And plus, the Cup does not pucker its lips,
Or smile weak. Though your smile is what one seeks.

But, longer loveliness than a season,
Somatic seduction. A souvenir?
Rather, thou give hockey fans a reason
To want its charm and grace for all the year.

Even the cute girl with a face of stone,
Cannot build a Seattle team a home.

(BOOM! Nailed it!)

EVEN MORE Relocation Super Fun Time

2012-02-08T03:32:00.002-06:00

"The building challenges for Seattle, Quebec City as NHL markets"

No longer is what Greg Wyshynski doing with these articles in any way constructive or informative. Really, this article seemed to be damage control for the one he wrote the other day basically saying how great it would be if Seattle had an NHL team, and then posted a video with Gary Bettman saying nothing about Seattle. It was some hard-hitting journalism, I tells ya!

Enough is enough, though, and Wysh is not the only one doing it. Look, no one wants to move a team (the Coyotes) to Seattle right now. No one (viable owners) wants to move a team to Kansas City right now, although the people that own the local arena (AEG) probably wouldn't mind. Some people want to move a team to Quebec City, but they are not as forceful as True North and the city is dragging its feet on an NHL-caliber arena. No one but maybe some guy Gary Bettman goes fishing with wants to move a team to Las Vegas right now. It is what it is. If anything, owners are selling teams. The Blues, Stars, etc. to more or less operate in the same cities. It's cheaper than moving. The Devils and Coyotes fit into a category of NHL money hemorrhagers, but it is hard to see an established organization like New Jersey to just pick up and leave town to go to a market with more questions than answers.

The argument against KC and QC are "well they had a team and now it's someone else's turn." Obviously, those arguments are ineffective and pointless, causing more arguments than actually giving evidence towards solving one. So what? Minnesota had their chance with the North Stars, right? Winnipeg had their chance already? Didn't Atlanta already get a chance? What about Northern California? Just by saying someone had their chance already does not make a city or area's hockey community any smaller or weaker. Plus, that ignores the whole business-side of things. If someone sees a good investment (i.e. no lease payments for an arena) with minimal risk, the deal can get done. This also deflects from the reasons why Seattle has never housed an NHL team. It's not like there is a pecking order, and Seattle drew the short straw in 1917 and are just now getting a crack at housing an NHL franchise.

What certainly doesn't help is our very own The Pitch's myopic view on things. Wysh links to Jonathan Bender's article in The Pitch, calling KC "emo" due to the advent of the Seattle issue. Although Bender's article does raise a good question (when is the Sprint Center too old to attract suitors?) it plays to the whole notion that Seattle is just lying in waiting for Bettman and the NHL to say "ohhh, I'm so sorry Glendale, but time is up. You lose. It looks like your team will be moving to Seattle. But we have some lovely parting gifts..." I use the term myopic to describe this article, but perhaps that is not fair. It's not fair, because all Mr. Bender is doing is giving a very broad local reaction to an article from NBC Sports talking about how Seattle is such a great fit for the NHL. The NBC Sports article is, like the multiple articles on Puck Daddy, PURE SPECULATION. Observe:

"As we wrote back in December, there are lots of things Seattle's got going for it:
-- Large metro population
-- Plenty of rich people (editors note: BWHAHAHAHAHAA who writes this?!?!)
-- High-profile companies like Amazon.com, Starbucks and Microsoft
-- Close enough to draw from Portland and Vancouver
-- "Let's do something indoors" weather during the winter"

This is what passes for acceptable writing nowadays, folks. And The Pitch's blog LINKS TO THIS! So, now, nationally recognized writers (Greg Wyshynski) look at this reaction in KC, believe KC is bitter, and it fuels their argument that has no basis in fact and has taken on a life of its own. The NBC Sports article even links to a story from the Winnipeg Free Press calling Seattle the "lead horse" when it comes to relocation cities, without giving any other reasons. It just is, I guess. It's just as baseless as any other article on the same topic. It's like a bunch of media outlets got together to write the same story, then linked to each other's stories to generate buzz for something no one has talked about in the history of ever!

Ahem.

But, let's compose ourselves for a moment. How about a few questions for the pro-NHL to Seattle crowd. Who will own this team? Do the citizens even want the NHL? Are city officials even willing to ponder an NHL team? Will an arena deal even get traction? How will they pay for a new arena? Is "Let's do something indoors" weather like "Rainy day" weather, or more on par with "Let's not go out to eat tonight, I had to work all day and am kind of tired" weather? Why is Seattle housing many of the nation's rich people? Aren't Seattleites too laid back to care about hockey? And maybe the biggest question, will Gary Bettman let the Coyotes out of Glendale?

This is an injustice to actual Journalism, with a capital J. This is a story for the sake of a story. No city has ever been the "leader in the clubhouse" for the Coyotes; that is not a real thing that has ever existed. Words of advice to our hockey loving friends in Seattle: Don't get your hopes up.

This makes me lightheaded.

(P.S.: Wysh runs a great blog, but I just do not agree with this particular topic. Read it for the other good work, though. And Seattleites, I do not intend to be mean with my words of advice, but the citizens of Kansas City have seen this before firsthand.)

Puck Daddy Relocation Super Fun Time (UPDATE)

2012-02-05T16:17:00.000-06:00

"NHL relocation to Seattle: Will new arena, Coyotes' plight bring pucks to Pacific Northwest?" (link fixed)

These articles are always fun, because they are pure speculation and basically don't solve anything. I shall paraphrase: "There is a guy in Seattle who wants to build a new arena for the NBA. Also, possibly for the NHL. A Seattle-Vancouver rivalry would be cool."

LOOGIT HOW CLOSE THEY IZ!

The Glendale/Coyote situation is pretty simple to figure out:

The Coyotes represent a team in Bettman's southern influence zone. Taking that team away does not 'spread the influence of the game.' Bettman does not want to lose another one of those teams (e.g. Atlanta).
The NHL also does not want to own the Coyotes anymore. They lose over $20 million annually.
No particular "cities" are interested, meaning none of the current possible ownership groups are looking to move the Coyotes from Glendale. None of these groups are like a True North for Winnipeg.
Thus, no one has said anything about Seattle getting an NHL team. But, some guy wants to build a new arena for a future NBA team because the Key Arena is junk.

What can Seattle learn from Kansas City? Well, first, they need an owner to bring a team to Seattle. Also, they need an hockey (NHL) ready arena, which has caused this speculation. Third, they need city officials willing to bring in a NHL team. Plus, a whole bunch of other things to go the right way just to take one team to another city.

So, yeah, do that, and then maybe we have a story.

UPDATE: Yeah, also Bettman never says anything about Seattle in this video that Greg Wyshynski has embedded in his article talking about a possible NHL team in Seattle. I think the key phrase is "we don't like moving franchises," a point Bettman has harped on before when talking about the stability of the league and continued growth of the game. If keeping the team in Arizona is the priority, then KC, Seattle, Quebec, etc. are not even being discussed by the "interested buyers."

Vern Cooper and Putting Things In Perspective

2012-02-01T21:57:00.000-06:00

“We cannot despair ofhumanity, since we ourselves are human beings.”

--Albert Einstein

I’ve beenmulling this post over for a while, not really wanting to write it for variousreasons and not really knowing how to write it. For me (read: you don’t care), writing is cathartic. For others, writing is a form ofexpression or way of conveying messages or making money, etc. But, I find it to be an outlet to whatI’m feeling. Thus, the blog yousee in front of you. “No NHL inKC, well, by gosh, I will write a blog and that will make me feel better!”(/shakes fist aggressively). Thatsort of thing, if that makes any sense.

That beingsaid, I’m not writing this as a precept or profound teaching on life, nor isthe epigraph above meant to convey that message (trivia: I’m not a very deepperson). Instead, I want to offerthe story of recent-former Missouri Mavericks forward Vern Cooper as a counterexample to a blog post I read over the summer by the writer formerly known asWill McDonald over at Royals Review. Please read his post. It’sdepressing, but kind of true, but kind of not, thus the reason why this is arebuttal, of sorts.

(Just as aside note, I do not know Vern nor do I have a full understanding of the reasonsconcerning his departure. I canonly make base inferences through research, prior examples, and personalintrospective confusion. Thatsaid, my assumptions about his future are just that, assumptions.)
(Update: If I did not make it clear, one main reason I did not want to write this is because, like Will, I did not want it to sound like a "This is what so-and-so teaches us about life" thing. That type of thinking is not productive to the main point which I hope is clear.)

If you haven’tyet heard, or don’t quite care (bear with me if you are of the latter opinion),Vern left the Mavs to pursue his academic opportunities at the ripe old age oftwenty. The reason Vern, anOntario native, made his way to the friendly environs of the Kansas Citymetropolitan area is fairly simple. The Canadian Hockey League (which contains the Quebec Major JuniorHockey League, Western Hockey League, and Ontario Hockey League), the mainmajor-junior league in Canada which allows players as young as 16 to play, setsa rule that at nineteen a player must leave the league or join a team as an“overage” player (as in, over age; over the age of 19 in this case). Cooper played five years in the CHL,played last year as an overager, went undrafted, and left Canada to pursue newopportunities in the hockey world. Thus enter the Mavericks.

Many tough lifedecisions plague the life of an overager, though. He doesn’t just get to pick a team and go from there. A Toronto Sun article on the topicstates, “An overage junior hockey player is unlikely to make the NHL. By thatpoint, they should be playing in a mid- to low-level pro league, or consideringanother career and going back to school.” I can imagine that is not a very encouraging thing to hear for mosttwenty year olds looking to make a splash in the hockey world. In Vern’s case, he tried the semi-prohockey circuit, but for whatever reason it is just not working out. His career as a “hockey player” may beeffectively over.

It’s becomingincreasingly obvious that Vern will not lift Lord Stanley’s Cup above his headat center ice. Whether or not thisis clear to Vern yet does not matter. He has already moved on for the time being. But he is only doing what many before him have done, andwhat many after him will do as well. Hockey was Plan A, and now it’s time for Plan B. Luckily for him the CHL gives outplenty of awards in “scholarship”-type money, so it’s presumed money will notbe much of an issue for his academic future.

So, is Vern afailure? We all fail, and most ofus never end up getting whatever it is we truly want. Then again, what do we want? To echo something Mr. McDonald said, “Our sense of perspective is seriously skewed.” I agree wholeheartedly. But, it is not so much our perspectiveof those who presumably have everything they ever wanted (in this case,professional sports players), which is something along the lines of, “This guygets to play a children’s game for a living while making bank and livin’ thedream!” No, it’s our perspectivewhen it comes to self-analysis, which can easily become, “I have failed. Boo me.”

Yes, we allfail, and at times, we all believe we suck and have nothing to offer the world,ourselves, or even those close to us. We are but humans. Onecould argue that those that are ever truly “successful” (the common definitionof what we believe to be successful—wealth, fame, fortune, a great job, umm...a hot spouse...) never get to enjoy their success. They always want more, or they are burdened with remainingrelevant. Humans want more, orsomething new, or a fresh start. True, just by saying that does not make it a catch-all quality, but howoften did you want the newest piece of technology, a raise, your lawn to be aswell-manicured as your neighbor’s lawn, to go back to school, a better dentalplan, and so on and so forth? Success does not necessarily mean happiness, either. South Park even teaches us that lesson.

So, how oftenhave you “failed” or “succeeded’? If you are cynical like me, you have failed a lot, and believe you willcontinue to fail. But then again,I have succeeded a lot, and I hope to succeed in the future. Of course, failure does not mean youcan just quit, but no one gets out of life alive either. Yeah, sometimes life gets crappy andyou start regretting things. Without taking a poll, I would say most people regret or wish they coulddo something differently to some degree at some point in time in theirlives. But, what about the thingsand the times you would not trade for anything? Mr. McDonald talks about people who set out to do somethingrisky and failed. Are theyfailures? Yes, but because we allfail. They just fell on their faceharder than some of us. But, whatabout the person “who ran away to Vail tobe a ski instructor and ended up selling insurance in Pueblo three years and adivorce later”? What if thatperson never took that chance? Wouldthey regret that choice years later? What if they did not at least try?

I guess my mainpoint is to look at your failures and successes, and then to look at your PlanBs, like Mr. Cooper is doing. Vern may never be a NHL hockey player. But, he did total 217 points in fiveseasons in the OHL. Some might saythat is a pretty awesome achievement before you hit legal drinking age. Vern may never sign a multi-milliondollar endorsement deal with Bauer or Gatorade or Nike or whoever. But he can become one hell of an investmentbanker. Sure, that may not soundas fun, or even be his dream, but hey, at least he can provide food and shelterfor his family. He is just tryingto do what is best for his future so that he can put himself in the bestpossible position in life. Andreally, isn’t that what we all want to do?

For hockey fansin KC, our perspective is skewed. KC does not have a NHL team while smaller American markets do(Nashville, Columbus, Buffalo, Raleigh). Does this mean that we have failed as a hockey town? Well, don’t tell me that, because Iwent to the MU-KU Border War game a few weeks ago and had a blast! And that’s the point. We had a NHL team long ago and itfailed. Fine. Today, though, we have the Mavs, wehave college games (and more games on the horizon), we have NHL exhibitiongames, we have NHLers running camps. We do have a moderately vibrant hockey community in this city. Look, I’m not saying to be thankful forwhat you have or whatever, nor am I trying to blow smoke up your butt and tellyou that everything is sunshine and rainbows and we should all sit in a bigcircle outside of the Sprint Center and sing “Kumbaya.” Sh*t happens, life gets to you, and yourealize you aren’t hot sh*t in overtly painful ways sometimes. Sure, we don’t havewhat we want, and we may never again get what we truly want as a hockeycommunity. But, just like Vern, wecan always look and hope for the best possible opportunities while supportingall forms of hockey in this city in the absence of our dream.

Feel free to disagree with that assessment in the comments, or show off your own opinions in the comments, if you feel so inclined. In fact, it is your right to do so.

Here’s a videoof Vern fighting Tyler Toffoli in an OHL game, because violence never fails to sustain us:

The Coaching Carousel Stops at the Break

2012-01-28T22:46:00.000-06:00

I'm sure this gag has never been done before...

Ah, the NHL All-Star game. Is there anything more exciting?

Don't you remember last year when those guys scored and everyone was really excited. I sure do. Or how about two years ago, when we were blessed with the Olympics and the NHL took a month hiatus. That was weird, but damn it was fun and much better than the All-Star game.

Look, the All-Star game is great, really. Heck, it's the lead in for the Pro Bowl. That's saying something. But, I'm sure you didn't come here to debate the validity of the ASG. You came for the hardcore spreadsheet action!

At the break, with approximately thirty games remaining for all teams, seven, count 'em SEVEN, NHL coaches have been fired. The most recent being the Blue Jackets now former bench boss Scott Arniel. What follows are the superficial stats of each team, comparisons and contrasts of the hired and fired coaches, and pointless observations that will not help you to understand why sports happen the way that they do.

What does this have to do with Kansas City hockey? Nothing. Continue after the jump.

*Remember that you are more than welcome to click to embiggen. You might have to open the individual Excel sheets in another window. It makes sight easier. Semi-important details have been highlighted for your convenience.

*--* means interim

*--# means division leader

St. Louis Blues

The Blues are the most surprising and successful teams with a new coach. They are in second in the Central Division behind Detroit, but in front of surging Chicago and talented Nashville. Obviously, they aren't losing anymore, but only six games in 36 under Hitchcock ri-dick-ulous (see what I did there?). The goal differential is another important number in seeing their turnaround, and for justifying Brian Elliot's ASG invitation (how is that Halak deal working out?). Many of those goals, or at least more of those goals, are coming from Hitch's powerplay.

Car-Chair Analysis: The Blues have learned how to play offense while having some outstanding goaltending to push them to lose less. That is all. No need to look farther into it.

Washington Capitals

The Caps are one team that has not seen incredible improvement since Bruce Boudreau's firing, but they win games. In fact, the only major differences that these stats show are the decrease in GF/G and GA/G under Hunter. But, 2.81 goals per game for a team with Ovechkin does not sound like a team with Ovechkin, if that makes any sense. Damn you, Dale Hunter! Damn you!

Car-Chair Analysis: Eighth in the East, to as low as ninth, then back to division leaders. Maybe the coach really has no bearing on how this team plays. Maybe Ovi could just be a player-coach. Maybe the Caps will move to KC. Maybe...

Carolina Hurricanes

Ugh, talk about a team that has not improved. Well, the powerplay has gotten slightly better while the PK has gotten slightly worse. But really, an improved powerplay can only do so much drive down the goal differential. Did you know Eric Staal is a -23. Holy crap!

Car-Chair Analysis: Dead last in the Eastern Conference. No, this coaching change did not work.

Anaheim Ducks

What an odd team. They are terrible, but they really aren't that terrible. At this point, Boudreau has coached as many games as Carlyle had when he was fired. Boudreau has won four more games, lost three less, and tied one less. His team has given up eight less, but the special teams have not changed too much. The biggest difference comes in the goals for department; a 17 goal and .71 goals for average improvement.

Car-Chair Analysis: Yeah, Anaheim is better, but will they continue to respond to Boudreau? Eh, sure, why not.

Los Angeles Kings

Kings fans hate to see it, but this team still isn't scoring under Sutter. Of course, they aren't giving up goals either. Only four regulation losses since dumping Murray translates into points, which I guess is the point. But, fewer points is not the point, if you get the point.

Car-Chair Analysis: Down with Murray! Long live Sutter!

Montreal Canadiens

Another blah team. It's hard to say what, if anything, they are doing differently under Cunneyworth. He does appear to be gaining traction over the course of the past month. I mean, if he's heureux au jeu, malheureux en amour, then I guess he will be able to get to his car unharmed after each game, right?

Car-Chair Analysis: Cunneyworth can't speak French. Failure.

Columbus Blue Jackets

OH MY LOOK AT THE GOAL DIFFERENTIAL!!!!!

Car-Chair Analysis: Yeah, they don't win a lot.

What do you see as the most surprising/intriguing/foreshadowing thing from these stats? Give your opinion in the comments.

Stats are as of 1/25/12 at 11:00pm CT

Best Available Coaches:

Terry Murray

Randy Carlyle

Jacques Martin

Davis Payne

Paul Maurice

Craig MacTavish

Bob Hartley

Andy Murray (blog fave)

Pierre Maguire

Scott Gordon

Tony Granato

Scott Arniel

Senator Jacques Demers

Marc Crawford

Coaches on the Chopping Block:

Jack Capuano - NYI (still maybe)

References:

Game by game stats

STL * WAS * CAR * ANA * LAK * MTL * CBJ

NHL Standings

NHL PP Stats

NHL PK Stats

Hockey-Reference

Mizzou vs Kansas Club Hockey Photo and Video Diary Part Deux: Electric Blowout-aloo

2012-01-22T17:07:00.002-06:00

The lowly life of the backup goalie of a winless team. Hold your head up, big guy. At least you are on an organized team.

You saw part one, now it's time for the thrilling conclusion of the Mizzou-Kansas Border War photo and video journal. Will Kansas regroup in the third period, staging an amazing comeback, and avenging the 2007 Border War football game? Will Mizzou pull a Philadelphia and bleed the entire period skating around in their own end? How many players will get kicked out for fighting? The answers to these questions and more can be found after the jump.

By this point in the game, it was getting hard to tell whether or not either team was called getting for a penalty during stoppages of play. Four KU players on the ice became the norm at this time.

The third period fight, the icing on the fight cake, resulted in six game misconducts.

The resulting confusion after the fight. Twenty minutes later they resumed play.

Continued confusion. Ilya Kovalchuk is not pleased.

Jus' chillin.

"Hey, uh, no one will blame you if you want to get out of here. Follow me to freedom."

The Kansas bench after the misconducts. There are four guys on the ice, two goalies, and eight guys on the bench.

The Missouri bench by comparison.

Midway through the third period. Not everyone seems to have the same focus as the two players taking the faceoff.

Your final score. Mizzou wins the Border War, 14-3. The game, mercifully, comes to an end.

Mizzou celebration.

Mizzou skate-ebration.

Team photo with the odd trophy in the background. Truman didn't break this one, apparently.

Photo with the trophy. Quick question: who are these photographers and where are their photos?

Coaching staff with the trophy

Thus concludes another hockey night in the Kansas City metro. I would say that the IEC was about 70% full. That may be a little generous, but that's still about 4,000+ people for an arena that holds about 5,800. It wasn't a great game (14-3 final and very chippy throughout), but it's still hockey nonetheless. And honestly, isn't that what really matters? Thirty-three Mavs games plus games like this each year make Kansas City a hockey town of sorts, even though it's not on the same level as a Winnipeg, or Seattle, or even St. Louis. Still fun, though.

Mizzou vs Kansas Club Hockey Photo and Video Diary Part 1

2012-01-21T19:00:00.003-06:00

Sergei Federov Russian jersey

If you didn't make it out to the IEC Friday night, you missed a lot of fights, a lot of penalty minutes, and a lot of goals. Mike Genet at the Examiner has the only write up I have seen so far, so check that out.

Without further ado, here is the Lost City of Bettman official grainy photo and video diary of the 2012 Mizzou-Kansas hockey Border War.

There are, in fact, family restrooms located throughout the arena.

Pre-game festivities. Props to all of you people who shelled out the extra cash to sit behind the benches. And props to the IEC and club hockey programs for selling the cheaper tickets throughout the arena. Not like that dumb thing back in the day at the Outlaws games where most of the arena was $18, but the first three rows were $40. That was dumb.

This guy is an usher, but he reminds me of someone...wait, is it this guy? Maybe that's a stretch.

Missouri and their damn product placement!

Score after the end of the first period. Mizzou 3. Kansas 0. Mizzou scored two goals in the first two minutes. And the route was on...

Everyone just kind of standing around, probably following the fifteen or so game misconducts. Oh! That reminds me.

Yeah, so that was one of two very real fights that resulted in (I think) six total misconducts.

Ah, the innocence of the intermission. I really hate to say this, but is "Linus and Lucy" (also known as the Peanut theme) just really getting old when the mites play in between periods?

Zamboni-mania returns!

I'm not lying when I say there were many misconducts. Oh, and it's sad, but this is the only goal I captured throughout the duration of the entire game. But, the more important issue is the health of the PA announcer. Lozenges work wonders, but let's hope he doesn't have some lung problems.

So, this game got out of hand. Mizzou scored something like four goals during their odd, unannounced powerplay. We were not told the whole story after the penalties, I fear.

Here's a crowd shot.

The score at the end of the second period. Mizzou 12. Kansas 2.

It's good to see about 1/8 of Mizzou's pep band showed up for the game. Actually, it would have been cool to see Kansas's band as well. If anything, they would have helped out the arena music guy from playing "Blitzkreig Bop" one hundred times.

College Hockey This Friday at IEC

2012-01-18T21:54:00.000-06:00

Just a reminder that this Friday, January 20th, the University of Missouri and University of Kansas club hockey teams are holding their annual Independence Events Center Border War game at 7:05. You can get tickets here.

According to the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association website, Mizzou hockey is 9-2-1 so far this season, while Kansas hockey is 0-14. So, come on out and see if Kansas wins their first game of the season...or see how badly Mizzou beats the Jayhawks into submission. The choice is yours, really. Just GO! (Plus, if you are into fights, hhhoooooooo boy let me tell you, these teams fight! It's all in good fun though, so just sit back and enjoy the carnage. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll learn something about yourself.)

Speaking of collegiate hockey, as explained by pucKChaser, tickets to the October 12th-13th IceBreaker Tournament are ON SALE NOW. I think he explains the fun and importance of the tournament in KC better than I could, so just click on that hotlink at the top of this paragraph. You can also learn more about the tourney and get your tickets here.

Also, just a personal note, I am humbled to be mentioned by two KC hockey blogs that have been at it for a long time and have done and continue to do awesome jobs. Aaron Stilley at the NHL in Kansas City and pucKChaser's blog ("blogger" sounds so formal) both know their KC hockey history and understand the current climate of not only NHL hockey, but local hockey too. Please read these folks if you have not already. Read their archives, read any other stuff they do. They know what they are talking about. It's like I'm Charlie Brown and they are two different "little red-haired girls" that just noticed me...um, not saying that they are little red-haired girls or anything, err, nor does that imply they are two-dimensional cartoon characters... umm...yeah, disregard that last comment.

But, really, it is a thrill to be a part of the volatile but hopeful Kansas City hockey online community. Please, if you have opinions, comments, suggestions, etc. please do not hesitate to post them here. All suggestions are welcome.

Here is a picture of Craig Anderson looking at ice girls as a thanks for your patronage:

2012 Champions: Stat-Nerding the Second Quarter of the Season

2012-01-12T01:45:00.000-06:00

Mavs President and GM Brent Thiessen won the Commitment Cup! Whatever that is...

Welcome to the CHL All-Starbreak! Your Missouri Mavericks are currently fifth in the seven-teamTurner Conference with 35 points. They are 16-13-3 overall, and are 8-8-1with 17 points over the course of the second quarter of the season. TheMavs are technically still a playoff team with this record. They have 96GF and 103 GA.

2010-11 season, after 32games:

18-11-3

39 pts

103 GF

90 GA

-7 GF and -13(!) GA fromone season ago. Where has everything gone so terribly wrong?

*C-Bass Thinel is still theteam leader in points (9+30=39). He has slipped into a tie for seventh inthe league in this category. There are no Mavs among league point leadersin the top twenty. Thinel is tied for second in the league in assists,seven behind the leader. Dale Mahovsky’s 30 points is second on the team(13+17=30). The league leader has 48 points.

*The Mavs are ninth offourteen teams in the league in goals for. They are eighth in goalsagainst. That is very middle of the road-y. Not good for a teamthat started the season with much of the same defense as last year, and broughtin A LOT of offensive help.

*48 goals in the firstfifteen games of the season (3.2 avg.), 48 goals over the course of the past 17(2.82 avg.).

*In 2010-11, the Mavs had103 total goals in their first thirty-two games (3.22 avg.), and 62 goalsbetween Games #16-#32 (3.65 avg.).

*During this seventeen gamestretch:

--15 goals over the firstsix games

--15 goals over the nextfour games

--The next game was theonly time the Mavs have been shutout all season

--18 goals over the lastsix games

*Ah, but how about goalsagainst? The Mavs gave up 43 over the first fifteen games (2.87 avg.),but they have given up 60 over the past seventeen games (3.53 avg.). During the seventeen game stretch:

--30 goals in the firsteight games

--30 goals in the last ninegames, including one shutout.

*In 2010-11, the Mavs gaveup 90 total goals in their first thirty-two games (2.81 avg.), and 47 goalsbetween Games #16-#32 (2.76).

*Speaking of defense, therehave been eleven different defenders on this team over the course of thirty-twogames. Last season, the Mavs only used 8 defenders. In fairness,J.P. Testwuide and Dustin Friesen are with the Chicago Wolves.

*Remember when only oneactive defenseman had a negative plus/minus one quarter through the season? Only Mike Wakita, Zach Carriveau, and David Simoes are in the positive (allwith a +3; Carriveau is no longer with the team).

*There are no Mavs amongthe league leaders in plus/minus. Wichita has four players in the topfive, all with a combined +67. Andrew Martens, former Wichita Thunder-erand current OKC Baron, has/had a +20. The top three Mavs plus/minus are acombined +19. Five current Mavs are positive. Carlyle Lewis and JSDickson have the worst plus/minus with -6 each.

*Vern Cooper played in 11games, had 6 points (2+4=6), was a +5, took 26 shots, and recorded a .077shooting percentage. Now he is off to pursue his academic career. Best of luck to him.

*Ryan Jardine, throughtwenty-seven games, has 8 goals, 10 assists, and 18 points. After missingfive games in the first quarter of the season, he has played every game in thesecond quarter of the season. So, that’s encouraging.

*Did I mention the Mavs arenot very good on the powerplay?

*The league leader inpowerplay percentage is Fort Wayne with 25.45%. They also have the leastamount of opportunities in the league with 110, scoring 28 times.

*The Mavs are ninth in PP%(17.24%) with 116 opportunities and 20 goals. Only Texas has had fewer PPgoals (15). Laredo also has 20, but only has scored 14.29% of the time.

*Record when the Mavsscored a PPG in the last seventeen games: 4-1-1

*Record when the Mavsfailed to score on the powerplay in the last seventeen games: 4-7

*JS Dickson has 14 goals,and 5 of those have come on the PP. He is tied for sixth in the league inPPG. The league leader, Brandon Marino of Quad City, has 9.

*Thinel has 11 powerplayassists, which is tied for sixth in the league. The leader is ToddRobinson of Evansville with 19.

*The Mavs have 3shorthanded goals, thanks mostly to defenders (Pszenyczny and Kaunisto - beforehe was traded). Rapid City, the league leader in this category, has 12. Oddly enough, three of their top four goal scorers (Les Reaney, league pointsleader Jesse Schultz, and Shawn Limpright) are all in the top five of thiscategory.

*The Mavs were fourth onthe penalty kill at 82.6% with 12 goals against after the first fifteen games.

*They are now tenth at80.49%, having given up twelve goals on the PK in the past seventeen games. The league best is Allen at 85.42%. The league worst is Dayton at 71.43%.

*12 of 43 goals againstwere on the PK over the first fifteen games, while 12 of 60 goals against wereon the PK over the last seventeen games. Something is wrong, but not juston the PK.

*The Mavs have given up 24PPGA, which is three less than the league leader, Evansville, with 21 PPGA. But, the Mavs seventh place standing looks amazing compared to Dayton’s leagueworst 44 PPGA.

*The Mavs have beenshorthanded the third least of any team, 123 times.

*They are now ninth in PIMwith 544 minutes, after being fifth for the first quarter of the season with305. They have recorded 239 minutes in the last seventeen games.

*No longer do the Mavs haveany players in the league’s top fifteen most penalty minutes. CarlyleLewis is sixteenth with 78, and Pszenyczny is twentieth with 70.

*Gerry Festa’s stats beforebeing traded:

--8 GP

--2-4-2

--24 GA

--3.00 GAA

--.904 SV%

*New Mav, and formerArizona Sundog, Levente Szuper’s stats this season (one game with Mavs):

--16 GP

--3-6-4

--43 GA (t-last)

--3.16 GAA (19^th)

--.919 SV% (t-4^th)

*Charlie Effinger is backwith the Mavs, and is seventh in the league in SV % (.917). Szuper istied for fourth with .919%. The leader is the backup in Dayton, LarrySterling, with .928%.

*Effinger has started ninegames over the course of the last seventeen games, and is 5-4 with 30 GA andone shutout.

*Effinger is fourteenth inthe league in GAA with 2.94. Szuper is nineteenth with 3.16. Theleader is Mark Guggenberger for Texas with 2.29 GAA.

*Just as an example of howinjuries have caused turmoil for this team, the Mavs had fifteen playersdressed, plus one goalie (Festa) for their game on December 20^th,2011.

*The Mavs are 6-7-1 athome. They have gone 5-4 since the first quarter of the season.

*The Mavs are third inaverage total attendance with 5,456 people per game. Since the first fivehome games, the last nine have seen a 255 person average decrease. TheMavs are safely in fourth in total attendance with 76,388, just under 3,000behind Rapid City who has played three more home games.

*The CHL is nearing onemillion total spectators for the season. The league has failed to achieveover two million total spectators only twice since 2002-03 (2008-09, 2009-10).

*The Mavs are 10-6-2 on theroad. This is among the league leaders. They have gone 3-4-1 sincethe first quarter of the season, and 4-6-2 since the 6-0 road start.

*The Mavs have had onelosing streak of three games, and one losing streak of four (0-3-1 over thatstretch).

*The longest winningstreak, other than the six game streak at the start of the season, is therecent four game winning streak that ended this past Sunday.

*Andrew Courtney is theMavs only All-Star game representative. He is fourth on the team in goals(12), fifth in assists and points (10, 22), and is a team best +7. He was a -2 with sevenshots in the ASG.

*Former Mavs Kaunisto andCarriveau played for the hosting Arizona Sundogs in the ASG.

*The Chicago Wolves are insecond place in the AHL’s Midwest Division, two points behind the CharlotteCheckers. They have 106 GF and 96 GA, and are currently on a four gamewin streak. J.P. Testwuide has played ten games and is a -2. DustinFriesen has played in nineteen games and has three points (1+2=3). He isa +6. Craig MacTavish is still the coach.

So, the Mavericks have notplayed exceptionally well over the second quarter of the season. They aregiving up a lot more goals, but also have to deal with the instability thatcomes with injuries, big league call-ups, and transactions. This teamstill has not lapsed into being “streak-y,” but they do tend to struggle attimes. One area that they cannot afford to struggle is on the PK, wherethey have been so solid in the past.

The Mavs should not behappy with the offensive output from the first half of the season afterbringing in a lot of players to help that issue. It’s tough to blame thedefense for being sloppy over the past few weeks, but the offense must comearound for the last thirty games or so for the Mavs to even threaten to makenoise in the playoffs.

As always, youcan follow your favorite CHL team at their officialsite and at the CHL's official site. Also, there is info on the KCStar's site, andevery now and then on the Pitch's site. Be sure to read Mavericks Weekly on the Mavs' site for all of the weekly updates andupcoming events at the IEC.

Check Out the Shanabans Feature At the Top of the Page

2012-01-07T20:39:00.001-06:00

^ Hey, you, reader, check out the

// \\ new attempt at cataloging

|| (cataloguing for our Canadian,

|| British, Irish and island nations
|| readers) the Brendan Shanahan
|| "Shanaban"videos. Just look

|| up at the top of the page.
|| There are pretty new page

|| tabs you can click on. Just
|| click the "Shanabananas" tab
|| for all of the suspension and

|| head shot fun!
||
|| Eventually, you will be able to
|| link to every video. One day, I
|| may include reaction links. Of
|| course, we all hope this is a finite feature,
|| since people getting hit in the head is bad, mmkay
(we all know that is not the case).

Introducing the Coaching Carousel

2012-01-01T23:28:00.001-06:00

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

The NHL Coaching Carousel, a new feature at Lost City of Bettman where we will take a look at the coaches fired so far this season and how the team's have done with their new coach(es). Basically, it's a fun chart for you to look at. Look at the colors. Who doesn't like charts?!?!

So, on this eve of the Winter Classic, here are the five teams with new coaches and how they have fared since ridding themselves of the stank of an old head coach.

It has to be small to fit, so click to embiggen

Stats are as of 1/1/12 at 10:00pm CDT

The current coach is on the bottom, while the fired coach (or interim coach) is on top. The Blues and Kings appear to be in the best shape as of now.

Best Available Coaches:
Terry Murray
Randy Carlyle
Jacques Martin
Davis Payne
Paul Maurice
Craig MacTavish (NSFW language in link)
Bob Hartley
Andy Murray (a fave of the blog)
Pierre Maguire
Scott Gordon
Tony Granato

Coaches on the Chopping Block:
Scott Arniel - CBJ
Jack Capuano - NYI (maybe)

References:
Game by game stats
STL * WAS * CAR * ANA * LAK * MTL
NHL Standings
NHL PP Stats
NHL PK Stats
Hockey-Reference
My own math (erg...nerds, feel free to check my work and let me know what I screwed up)

An oversized bear. It's funny. It's funny because it's ah, bigger than, ah, you know, a normal bear.

This Brings Back Memories...

2011-12-27T02:07:00.000-06:00

Last Friday, in a 7-4 win over the Laredo Bucks, the Missouri Mavericks donned the original red and grays of the Kansas City's last semi-successful hockey franchise, the IHL's Blades. The jerseys were auctioned off after the game, with a portion of the money going to Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City.

The throwbacks look pretty true to the originals (except the number and name text looks a little bit off), and it's good to have a team in the city that can relive a part of Kansas City hockey past. Here are a few photos for comparison. I imagine this is what the Blades jersey would look like if they were still around and went retro with a "modern look" like oh so many American sports franchises.

Here are the highlights from the other night, if you care to see more shots of the jersey. Just imagine you are in Kemper Arena with twenty-seven other people in the upper deck. Ah, memories...

Featuring the 2011-12 Mavericks Commercial

2011-12-16T19:09:00.000-06:00

There is a new Missouri Mavericks commercial making its way around the local TV channels. And here it is:

It seems like a pretty simple, straightforward marketing campaign. The National Anthem in the background is a nice touch. Though, I can't help but wonder WHAT REASON ARE THEY HERE?!?!? I keed, I keed.

Denied reasons include:

I'm here because I was born to be a hockey player. (many players are Canadian, so the reference doesn't work).
I don't play hockey for the post-game riots.
I'm not here to cuss out the media.
I didn't come to KC for the, um, err, beautiful...beaches...
I am here so I don't have to see Pierre Maguire between the benches.
I am not a candy ass!
I'm here as a means to get to the Chicago Wolves. That would be pretty cool.
I'm not a crook!
I'm not here for the mascot. (ed. note: that's the #1 reason why anyone joins the Mavs)
I'm listening to the f---in' song!

The players featured are, from left to right:

G: Charlie Effinger

I'm certain that is F: Ed McGrane

F: Sebastian Thinel (SEABASS!)

F: Carlyle Lewis

D: Mike Wakita

I think it's D: David Pszenyczny. He has kind of a blank stare thing goin' on.

A little new guys mixed in with the Mavs vets. Another nice touch. Bravo, Mavs marketing team/ interns.

Also, here is a good read from LA Kings blog Mayors Manor challenging the idea that KC is not a hockey town. This was written before the exhibition game this fall, but it's still relevant nonetheless. (I will do my best to post more articles when they are still in mint condition, which is about two minutes in Internet-time.)

Mid-December Kansas City Hockey Related News Report

2011-12-13T00:23:00.000-06:00

There are an awful lot of honkeys in this picture. (Screen cap via)

Justa reminder that the hockey version of the Border War continues Friday, January 20th,2012 at the Independence Events Center (home of the Mavs). I cannotpromise the hockey will be top notch Division I caliber stuff, but I canpromise a good time will be had by hockey fans, Mizzou fans, Kansas fans, andall sports fans alike. Go here to get tickets.

Also, there is speculation that Craig MacTavish, the current head coach of the AHL's Chicago Wolves (the Mavs affiliate), is a possible candidate for the recently vacated Los Angeles Kings head coaching position. His only head coaching gig in the NHL was with the Edmonton Oilers from 2000-09, going 301-252-47-56 and losing to Carolina in the 06-07 Stanley Cup Finals. He is in his first season with the Wolves, and as of this date he is 11-9-4. He currently coaches two-way Mavs Charlie Effinger, J.P. Testwuide, and Dustin Friesen. He is also the last player in the NHL to play without a helmet. Just thought you should know.

Oh yeah, by the way, Mavs goalie extraordinaire "F-bomb" Effinger was called up to the semi-big leagues the other day. This means the Mavs will once again use their insurance policy, Gerry Festa, in net for the time being. Brian Mahoney-Wilson will also see time between the pipes.

Hey, how about some NHL stuff? Sure, why not. Continue...

Recently, the NHL mulled over an idea to realign the current divisions and conferences setup instead of moving a few teams in the wake of the Atlanta-to-Winnipeg relocation. You may have heard a lot about this already. If not, I encourage you to peruse this article from NHL.com. Basically, the NHL will operate with four geographic-based division/conferences, two with seven teams and two with eight teams. The top four teams of each div-con will make it to the playoffs, facing off in the first two rounds and then filtering into a final four semi-finals of teams that do not see much of each other. There are some schedule balancing things in there too, and the article does a good job of explaining how that works. You may ask, "Why does this matter to Kansas City?" Well, the optimist in me would love to show you. Plus, who doesn't like to look at maps???

Let'simagine, "pretend" if you would like, that Phoenix relocates toKansas City. Well, according to CBC Sports, KC continues it's role as outcast.

3.Phoenix: The NHL wants to keep the Coyotes in Arizona and will likely adopt the"Atlanta timeline," ie. waiting until the last possible minute beforeannouncing any move. It's been reported the four potential sites are Seattle,Las Vegas, Quebec City and Kansas City. (Technically, the league can't talk toanother city until Jan. 1). If it is one of the first two, the team wouldn'thave to switch conferences. If it's Quebec, you're looking at the Montrealgrouping. Kansas City? No idea.

Let'shave a look-see, shall we?

Hereis the proposed realignment:

Pittsburgh is highlighted because they are upset about something or another...I don't care and neither should you.

Hereis a scenario with the city of Kansas City in the mix:

There, I fixed it.

The whole problem with rearranging teams has to do with rivalries being destroyed, reiterating the fact that Detroit could essentially be placed in any one of these divisions (let that be a lesson to all of you; if you are good at something, others will consider you their rival). If Detroit must remain a Western team in the div-con of Chicago and Minnesota that will henceforth be known affectionately as the Big Ten, then Nashville or Columbus could be bounced to an Eastern division (possibly Toronto and Montreal's, thus helping their attendance issues), or KC could just be a lone wolf out west, staying in the same division and basically solving nothing. Or be an independent. But no, Quebec City will get their precious NHL team back because of snow and tradition or some such nonsense.

If you need a better visual, well, here you go:

An Unexpected Twist in the Struggle for Leadership of the Kansas City School District

2011-12-02T21:08:00.001-06:00

(Kansas City School Board office door bursts open)

Mayor Sly James: Alright, enough wankin’ off! I’m in charge here!

KC School Board Members: Umm... what?

Mayor James: You ethics hating curmudgeons have brought enough bad press to thisdistrict with your negativity and unwillingness to cooperate. You’re just as bad as a gun-totingurban teenager dropped off at the Cinemark Palace by his absentee parents tosee the new Muppet movie on a Friday night. You people disgust me, so I’m taking over.

KC School Board Members: Umm... no.

Mayor James: What, you don’t think I can make better decisions than this MENSAmeeting? I cleared the riff-raffout of the Plaza. What have youdone lately other than drive a superintendent out of town and cause thedistrict to lose accreditation?

KC School Board Members: None of what you just said is necessarily true...

Mayor James: Are you calling me a liar? No one calls the Sly One a liar!

KC School Board Members: Mayor James, we would be more than happy to work with you ifthe opportunity presents itself.

Mayor James: Oh, so you’re going to play that game, eh? Well, it looks like you have left me no choice. If you won’t listen to me, then it’stime to bring in the big guns, the folks who really know how to runthings. Boys get in here!

(window on the opposite side of the room slowly opens andtwo men slunk into the room)

Mayor James: Quiver at the sight of management genius Tim Leiweke, and his, uh, hisloyal, umm, co-worker? Umm, oh,how about, “Hockey Hall of Famer” Luc Robitaille!

Tim Leiweke: WHAT UP BRAHS, AND LADY BRAHS!?! Speaking of lady bras, I have a trophy case full of those in my Learjetif anyone wants to check ‘em out. All shapes and sizes. I don’tdiscriminate!

KC School Board Members: What are they doing here?

Tim Leiweke: I’m here to fix your crappy school system and teach you people how tomake money. No one knows how tomake money off of strange and questionable business practices than me. I own the Los Angeles Galaxy! I make Mark Cuban look like the oldlady from Titanic!

Luc Robitaille: From what I understand, that is what Mr. Leiweke intends to do. Or so I’ve been told. I can't comment on his Mark Cuban comment, though.

Mayor James: You listen to these gentlemen. They know what they are doing. Mr. Leiweke, please gives us your idea.

Tim Leiweke: Okay, here we go. AEG buysall the schools in the district, then we build one massive, all-purpose schooldowntown. Then, to make somemoney, host about sixty events per year. It’s a great idea, AMIRITE. I mean, love it, or loooove it?

KC School Board Members: What would we do with the rest of the schools?

Tim Leiweke: Idon’t know. Leave them todecay. What the hell does itmatter? We’re making money aren’twe?

KC School Board Members: Isn’t that kind of unethical, not to mention pointless? I mean, we already have the schoolbuildings; we just need to find a way to get on stable footing and provide thelocal children and their parents with reliable schools and a good education.

Tim Leiweke: Provide for the local what?

Mayor James: Mr. Leiweke, I’m not sure that particular model will work for what weare trying to do.

Tim Leiweke: Okay, okay. Iunderstand. You want a viableanchor tenant too. I hate to tellyou that things don’t work like that, but you’re too lame to understand thatanyway. But, because you farmersseem like nice people, here’s another idea. We turn the schools into prisons...

Mayor James: Oh dear...

Tim Leiweke: ...so, while you already have about 180 events...

KC School Board Members: You mean school days?

Tim Leiweke: Sure, “school days.” Personally, my marketing team would call them an All-Day Education Eventpresented by Live Nation and Perceptive Software. It’s just makes better business sense. But, whatever. Who am I, except the mastermind behindbringing the NFL back to LA. KNEELBEFORE MY ABILITY TO PERSUADE IMBCILIC CITY ADMINISTRATORS!

Mayor James: (Hesitantly) *cough* Could you please continue, sir...

Tim Leiweke: So, we host prisoner events in some schools: recreation time, exercise,arts and crafts, etc. Then weclose down several other schools and convert them to prisons to house theprisoners during their “non-event times.” That should round out the remaining 185-ish days or so that nothinghappens at the schools that remain open. Plus, this will help with your prison overcrowding issue.

Mayor James: Wedon’t have overcrowded prisons. But we do already have dangerously overcrowded schools.

Tim Leiweke: What kind of city is this? Where I come from, prison riots happen on the reg due toovercrowding. Everything aboutthis place is whack.

KC School Board Members: Excuse me, Mr. Leiweke, but all of our district schools aresurrounded by neighborhoods. Won’tputting prisoners in the schools cause outrage among neighbors and the propertyvalues of the surrounding areas to plummet?

Tim Leiweke: Surrounding areas? Whocares! We are talking about theprofitability of the schools, not the homes or businesses around it. Geez, you people have a lot to learnabout property management.

KC School Board Members: Anything to add, Mr. Robitaille?

Luc Robitaille: Kansas City’s a great place. Who wouldn’t want to go to school here. But you have to have someone who is willing to fill thebuildings. Not saying that we willdo that, but some local folks have to step up and do what’s right.

Mayor James: What does that even mean?

Tim Leiweke: Man, that old raisin lady mayor was ten times cooler than you, SlyFox. You know what, I can reallyfeel the bad vibes in here, and they’re killin’ my buzz. I’m going to bounce and let ol’ Luckydo damage control. Peace.

(Leiweke jumps out the window, gets on Learjet, and fliesaway to undisclosed location where the media can’t find him).

Mayor James: Well that was unexpected. Mr . Robitaille, can you give us any more insights or ideas?

Luc Robitaille: AEG does not necessarily have all the answers. Facility ownership is a trickyindustry. You cannot make everyonehappy. But I can assure you TimLeiweke cares about Kansas City.

Mayor James: Okay...

Luc Robitaille: Although, his plans must be kept secret. Even I do not know what they are, nor can I give any usefulcomments pertaining to anything.

Mayor James: Pardon me for asking, but, what do you doagain?

Luc Robitaille: I don’t have enough information to answer that question for you at thistime.

Mayor James: Uh-huh. Man, I giveup. This did not go as I hadplanned. Luc, they’re all yours.

(Mayor James leaves and gets into a limo chauffeured by MarkFunkhouser).

KC School Board Members: Mr. Robitaille, after reviewing what you and Mr. Leiwekehave told us, we do like your ideas, but we have about one-hundred smallchanges that we would like to see made to them. Nothing major, just think of it as death by a thousandlittle cuts.

Luc Robitaille: I don’t want to give you the impression that we will make changes. That is something that you must doyourselves if you really want to get something done.

KC School Board Members: You know what, I think it would be best to have the Staterun the district...

s/t to Big Daddy Drew for inspiration

2012 Champions: Stat-Nerding the First Quarter of the Season

2011-11-27T23:52:00.001-06:00

Pic borrowed from the CHL

After fifteen games, your Missouri Mavericks are a mere point out of first place in the Turner Division of the CHL. That almost guarantees them a spot in the wacky CHL playoffs, and I think a first and second round bye, and a free Blizzard at Dairy Queen. But, that's not important right now. Of course, the season is a marathon instead of a sprint and all of that hot garbage, but it doesn't hurt that 80% of the league makes it to the playoffs...

Either way, the first half of the season has been very good to the Mavericks. At 8-5-2 and with 18 points they have gotten off to the fastest start in franchise history (2009-10: 6-8-1, and 2010-2011: 7-6-2). There are many factors contributing to the Mavericks success, and it all starts with the offseason acquisitions.

Here are a few bullets to think about:

How did the Mavericks get off to this decent start, well:

*C-Bass Thinel leads the team, and the league, in scoring with 24 points (6-18=24). In fairness, Evansville's Todd Robinson has 23 points while playing two fewer games, but Thinel is clearly better than him since this is a KC hockey blog and not an Evansville hockey blog. Although Robinson has one more assist than C-Bass, pushing our man to second overall in that category.

*The Mavs are 7-3-1 when Thinel has a point. They are 1-3 when he does not have a point (he had a shootout goal in the one win).

*Fellow forward Dale Mahovsky leads the team, and is in a six-way tie for third in the league, with nine goals. Both Mahovsky and Thinel are on the positive side of plus/minus at this point, although nowhere near the league leaders. First-year Mavs Ed McGrane and JS Dickson round out the top four scorers on the team.

*Mahovsky has the best shooting percentage on the team with nine goals on 38 shots (.237%). McGrane has the most shots with 52, but only five goals (.096%). Ryan Jardine has 22 shots, but only one goal (.045%), but is only the second worst among forwards (Lachlan MacIntosh, zero goals on ten shots).

*MacIntosh doesn't do much stat-wise (three points/assists, +1, two PIM in eleven games), but must pull his weight on the penalty kill to be starting so often.

*Ryan Jardine is off to a slow start. He suffered a minor injury, he has five points (1-4=5), and has only played ten games so far. He has not yet seen any time at the AHL level. He had 54 points in 66 games a year ago.

*Record in games Jardine has played: 5-4-1. Record in games Jardine has not played: 3-1-1.

*Does that mean anything? Probably not yet...

*(Also, there is some guy named Cotton Yellow Horn playing for Allen that I never noticed before! HOLY CRAP, name of the year candidate!)

*Vern Cooper has six points in eleven games, and is a +5. Hopefully he is just warming up.

*The Mavs are tied for seventh in the league in goals for with 48. They had 213 total last season. One-fourth of that is about 53 goals, which means they are actually regressing in the goal department. They had 200 total in 2009-10, which means they are ahead of schedule.

*In reality, the Mavs had 44 goals after the first fifteen games in 2009-10, and 41 goals after the first fifteen games in 2010-11.

*8 goals in the last five games (1-3-1). 40 goals in the first ten games (7-2-1).

*The average scoring has not translated well for the powerplay. The Mavs are twelfth in the league at 17% on the PP. Twelve goals on 70 opportunities.

*The Mavs have never had a good PP under head coach Scott Hillman.

*The Mavs did not actively seek to improve last year's league stingiest defense, and they have only given up 43 goals. Last year they gave up 173 all season. They appear to be just behind schedule in this department.

*The Mavs are fifth in total penalty minutes at this point in the season.

*The Mavs are tied with one other team for the most players in the top twenty in penalty minutes with three. Those three (Dave Pszenyczny, Mike Wakita, and Carlyle Lewis) total 136 of the team's 305 total penalty minutes.

*They are fourth on the penalty kill at 82.6%, giving up twelve goals. At least they are pushing even on special teams.

*The Mavs have had one of the better PKs since last season.

*Only one active defenseman has a negative plus minus: Pszenyczny with a -1.

*As advertised, Charlie Effinger is getting the majority of the starts (10). Gerry Festa is not (5 starts).

*Eff-bomb is 6-3-1, the OTL being a shootout loss. Festa is 2-2-1. Neither have a shut out.

*Effinger has a 2.49 GAA (the league leader has a 2.15), and a .934 save percentage (the league leader has .939%). Festa is serviceable with a 2.99 GAA and .901 SV%. That is still better than Laredo and Rapid City's starters.

*The Mavs have won as many as six in a row (remember when they were undefeated?). All of those were on the road.

*The Mavs were on a five game "non-win" streak until the other night, gaining one point during that time. Three of those loses came at home, and make up the three game home losing streak the Mavs have currently.

*The Mavs are 1-3-1 at home, as opposed to 7-2-1 on the road.

*The Mavs outscored their opponents 24-9 during the six game winning streak to start the season. The Mavs were outscored 21-10 during their five game "non win" streak.

*Hillman thinks the Kansas-Mizzou rivalry is overrated. Hmm... I respectfully disagree.

*Through five games, the IEC has the third best average attendance with 5,711. That's over 98% capacity. Good job everyone!

*The Chicago Wolves are fourth in the Midwest Division of the Western Conference after eighteen games played. Needless to say, they are pretty average and do not have any glaring weaknesses or needs. That can be a good thing for the stability of the Mavs, if you're into that kind of thing.

Bottom line, the Mavericks are 8-5-1 and in third, and the key players have remained relatively healthy (expect for Jardine for a few games). Last season they really got it going mid-season, and then iced it at the end of the season to get into the playoffs. If this team can stay away from being so streak-y, they should remain at the top of the standings. This has to be the most talented team in the three years of the Mavs existence, but they don't play games on stat sheets.

What say you? Have you been out to the IEC yet this year? Watched online? What have you seen? Comments and opinions are welcome.

If you aren't already, you should be reading Brian McGannon's Mavs Insider. Brian does a wonderful job gathering great insight from all of your favorite Mavs players, coaches, etc. Basically anything you wanted to know about what Mavs personnel are saying about anything and everything. Good stuff. Read it!

Also, be sure to read Mavericks Weekly every Monday on the Mavs' site for all of the weekly updates and upcoming events in Mavs World.

Of course, you can always follow your favorite CHL team at their official site and at the CHL's official site. Also, there is info on the KC Star's site, and every now and then on the Pitch's site.

Last But Not Least: Have You Chosen a Favorite Yet?

2011-11-24T02:52:00.001-06:00

Before we get to the fifth and final NHL team for KansasCitians, let us first look at a few that did not make the cut but still holdsome connection to Kansas City.

Honorable Mention: Other teams to enjoy because of some KCconnection

Vancouver Canucks

The Missouri Mavericks are the CHL affiliate of the ‘NucksAHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Also, the Blades acted as their IHL affiliate in 2000-2001.

Chicago Blackhawks

Location, I guess. If you don’t like the Blues, then there are fewer cities than Chicagothat dislike St. Louis more.

New York Islanders

Because, you know, all of that stuff that happened recently,and junk.

San Jose Sharks

Blades affiliate from 1991-1996.

New Jersey Devils

Kansas City Scouts begat the Colorado Rockies, whom thenbegat thrice time Holy Grail coveters the New Jersey Devils.

Now, on to your (potential) favorite team (maybe)!

YOUURRRRR PHOENIX COYOOOOOOOTTTEEEESSSS

(It's hard to type how that would be phonetically yelled without writing in IPA)

Village West Best Potential Award: Player that brings the most to the team

Defenseman Keith Yandle, only because Jason LaBarbera andMike Smith are the Coyotes goaltenders. Yandle is not specifically known for his defense, but he is a +12overall coming into the season. Onoffense, Yandle will have to do a lot to duplicate his 48-assist output of ayear ago. The Coyotes added ascoring option this year in Raffi Torres, but other than Shane Doan and theusual cast of characters, Yandle does not have many options to pass to in theoffensive zone. That being said,he will need to prove his worth this year. And who knows, I could be totally wrong. He could bring absolutely nothing. I offer you this picture as a token ofmy forgiveness.

Sorry Harrison Mooney, this is only racially insensitive if this is as well.

Union Station Biggest Burden Award: Player with leastupside and carries a big financial burden

Daymond Langkow. $4.5MM this year for a player who played four games last season. And, he only had 30 points the seasonprior to that. It’s tough to lureplayers to an unorganized franchise without over-spending (*cough* Royals*cough*), but GM Don Maloney could have gone after a few mid-range free agentswithout worrying about Langkow’s bloated salary and questionable production.

Eric Hosmer/ ~~2004 2008~~ 2012 Royals Hope Award:Reason for Optimism

No ownership prospects. Poor goalie situation. Less depth than previous years. It’s hard to pull anything positive out of this organization. But, if you look at what head coachDave Tippett has done with this team after the LEGEND Wayne Gretzky resignedbefore the 2009 season, there is reason to believe Tippett will bring out thebest in his players. He has gone93-51-20 in two seasons at the helm, losing in the first round of the playoffseach season. The team had not beento the playoffs since the 2001-02 season. Give this guy some players and stability and let’s see what happens!

Katie Horner Scared-Sh!tless Award: Reason to Worry

There is no way to know where this franchise will be whennext season starts. It feels likethe Thrashers sale/purchase/move all happened within about a week, settingprecedence for any future relocation. This franchise could be in a new city by the end of the night after thelast game of the season.

Buck O’Neil Positive Attitude Award: Reason to cheer them

This. A milliontimes this:

Also, the 4,000,000,000-to-1 shot they could end up in KC inthe next three years. Those arethe best odds we have!

Oh, and the partially censored Paul Bissonnette twitteraccount. Follow it, with extremeprejudice.

Mark Funkhouser Memorial Trophy: Reason to Hate Them

Simply put, if you have a hang-up about “non-traditional”hockey markets. Which means youprobably don’t like Kansas City hockey. So, go away.

Worlds of Fun Ride that Best Describes theFranchise: Zambezi Zinger

Wait, that’s not there anymore. Oh... actually, it’s been relocated. Huh, never mind then.

Number of Floating, Disembodied Jack Harry Heads:

Four out of five

Look, would Jack care about this team? No. Are the Phoenix Coyotes, with all of the baggage and lack ofreal history (most of it left in Winnipeg), what Sly James would call the“right situation?” No. But, as a Kansas City hockey fan, can’tyou feel for the Coyotes just a little? I mean, as an NHL fan all I can say is “screw them” and “screw Bettman”for allowing this Glendale/ lack of ownership thing to drag out, but think ofthose fans in the city. No, I’mnot trying to pull at your heartstrings like Greg Wyshinski (because seriously,screw that. Where are the sad kidphotos in Atlanta, Greg? Where arethe sad kid Kansas City Scouts photos? So you are saying, if a team is financially inept it’s wrong to movethem because people will be upset about it? And underreported, what does that mean? Now media outlets have to interviewchildren about their thoughts on relocation? I bet if their team moves they might be upset. It sucks, but, I mean, I get it whatyou are trying to do, but, ya know, yeah...), but I’m want to relate this tothe feelings of a city that doesn’t have an NHL team and the constant claim bymuch of the hockey world that KC is not a hockey town. The Phoenix metropolitan area is betterfor having a professional hockey team. It would be unfortunate for the NHL to have them move. But, like Mizzou moving away fromhistoric rivalries in the Big 12, the sun will come up tomorrow, we will runfaster, stretch out our arms further... And selfishly, maybe that means a hockeyteam in KC (but I wouldn’t count on it).

The next best thing would be the Mizzou-Kansas Border War hockey game at the IEC January 20^th, 2012. Buy tickets to this if you enjoy hockey. You will not be disappointed.

So, what is my process in selecting the teams that I did? Well, here you go.

Lack of Notoriety:

I did not want to suggest Kansas Citians follow anytraditional powerhouses because they have their followers. We here in the Midwest can feel leftout sometimes, so why not support one of the many franchises that struggle tomarket themselves. Yes, the Bluesare fairly established in the region, but they have never won the Cup. That brings me to my next criterion.

Lack of Success:

If I have not already pounded this into everyone’s head,Kansas City has not won a major sports championship (sorry Sporting KC Wizardsand the Blades) since the mid-1980’s. That’s troubling. If you goby the “top four” mantra of major professional American sports (football,baseball, hockey, and basketball), Kansas City has had franchises at thehighest level of all of these sports since the 1950’s. The Chiefs have two AFL championships,and one NFL championship. TheRoyals have one MLB championship, and the A’s had zero. The Scouts and Kings combined for zeroNHL and NBA championships, respectively.

Chiefs: 48 seasons in KC

Royals: 43 seasons in KC

Athletics: 12 seasons in KC

Kings: 13 seasons mostly in KC

Scouts: 2 seasons in KC

118 professional major sports seasons in the history ofKansas City, and two major championships. Sorry to go off on a tangent, and I'm not saying anything that we don't already know, but do you see why Kansas Citians canidentify with these Cup-less franchises?

Hope for the future:

The Royals have hope year in and year out. That is our nightmare as Royalsfans. Every now and then, we pokeour heads out from the last place hole, and say “well, there are some solidguys in the minors that will change things!” And sometimes they do for a season, and then go to the eastcoast.

These five NHL teams are meant to have some kind of hope tobuild on in the coming future.

KC Connection:

Well documented: the Kings are owned by AEG, and thus we seethem play exhibition games every now and then. It’s proximity with the Blues. The other clubs have been mentioned in relocation, but weall know they aren’t going to be relocated here. But, couldn’t you totally see yourself supporting thoseclubs if they came to KC for some odd reason? No? Then youmust be waiting for the “right situation.”

The Jack Harry thing:

It really has nothing to do with anything. Jack Harry just exists, and it’s hardto not acknowledge that fact. Also, it is a vessel to further compare the franchise to other sports inour fair city.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, and impending Christmas music on the radio.

NHL to Coyotes: "We Need to Start Seeing Other People"

2011-11-15T23:10:00.001-06:00

Toronto Star: NHL set to unload or move Coyotes

SB Nation Arizona: Phoenix Coyotes Clock Ticking, NHL To Sell Or Move Team

We have heard all of this before. We have heard all of this before, with the condition that the Coyotes would move to Quebec. The league has set deadlines in the past, only to own the franchise for yet another full season.

I won't rehash the details of why the NHL might be tired of the Coyotes, or why the Coyotes are struggling at the gate this season. Those articles above do a decent job of laying out all of the details. And whether this "source on condition of anonymity" is for real or not, it makes sense why the NHL wants to settle the Coyotes mess.

The reality is that relocation is bad for the NHL. Instability among American markets take away from what Gary Bettman has tried to do as commissioner, which is to expand the footprint of the league and the sport. Florida, Atlanta, Anaheim, Nashville, Dallas, and Raleigh; All cities gaining franchises under his watch. Losing large cities like Atlanta takes a large American market away from the NHL, which, let's face it, have the potential to bring in more $$$ than a moderately-sized Canadian market. Not popularity, not attendance, but straight cash, homey.

But, in today's world, Kansas City will not see an expansion franchise. Some argue the league is already too bloated. People always talk about relocation, so the recent increase in talk over the past few years is not a good justification for saying things might happen (look at this blog for example). Things might happen, or they might not. Who would have thought the Coyotes would have lasted this long? Who would have thought the Atlanta to Winnipeg deal would have been done as fast as you can say Ondrej Pavelec? But, the fact remains that relocation is the only way Kansas City will get a hockey team within the next ten years (maybe more).

Will the Coyotes franchise come to Kansas City? No, there is a better chance Tyler Palko throws for 400 yards and 5 TDs against the Patriots next Monday than the Coyotes coming to Kansas City. Does the Coyotes potential move represent the best possibility for Kansas City to get a club in the next five years? Yes, and here is why.

Whatever you want to believe, Kansas City is currently near the top of the list as a relocation candidate. That just does not mean much. Other cities like Quebec, Seattle, and Las Vegas all provide a viable option for an NHL ownership group, but all need new "NHL" arenas (yes, so does Winnipeg, but still). Plus, putting a team in Vegas is kind of like putting an XFL team there. It's cool that the sport is in Vegas, but does it really matter? Also, The Sprint Center is not getting any newer, and the NHL and people with the prospective of getting involved with the NHL know that. The downtown arena will only be a showpiece for so long until it needs to have something sustain it. Look at Kemper. There is no reason to keep the arena if you can build a better one that also only has concerts, circuses, and monster truck rallies. Also, you hear a lot about franchises like the Devils with financial problems, or the Blue Jackets with attendance issues, or the Stars with both plus ownership issues. Why would the league be willing to move these franchises if they have not been willing to budge on the Coyotes for years, and had the Thrashers-Jets whisked away from them by an ownership group on a mission. Those franchises are not going anywhere unless some random group like True North appears out of nowhere and packs up the franchise in Mayflower Moving trucks.

So, it is not so much the Coyotes relocating is an optimistic thing for Kansas Citians, it's just the most realistic option at this point (which is sad). Realism, the truth, and Kansas City hockey fans do not mix.

This news is not positive, but it is not meant to be. As Luc Robitaille and Tim Leiweke and Sly James have all driven into the Kansas City hockey fan's collective mind is that neither the City nor AEG will help bring a team here. But, who will is an ownership group we haven't even met yet. An owner that hasn't graced our 10pm news reports yet. An owner Kansas City deserves, but not the owner we need right now. A silent guardian, a watchful protector. Probably not Jim Balsillie!

Number Four In Our Five Part Series on Daydreaming

2011-11-07T02:09:00.001-06:00

I deeply apologize for the delay in the NHLpick-o-rama. Other matters haveneeded tending. I promise to getthe fifth and final option up very soon. I know we KC hockey fans are all very patient people, so I hope to haveyour understanding.

Now, onto the fourth franchise Kansas Citians can mostidentify with, and thus cheer for: the Nash...dahhhhh raspberries!

Wonderful surprises await after the jump.

Umm...they look like a good group...and junk

YOOUUURRRRR SMASHVILLE PREDATORS!!!!

Village West Best Potential Award: Player that brings the most to the team

Pekka Rinne. Period. This guy is nuts. He is like their Zack Greinke (if anyone remembers what having a #1 starter was like). Without him, the Predatorsare not a force in the playoffs, and they may not even be worth talking about inthe Central Division. He was aVezina Trophy finalist in 2010-11, and is only 28. Looking at the longevity of goalies in the league nowadays(e.g. Khabibulin, Tim Thomas, etc.) he presumably has many good to great years tocome. Without hyperbole orequivocation, he is the most exciting and important player for the NashvillePredators. And he will be with the organization for many years to come. $7MM per year is a bargain for this guy.

Union Station Biggest Burden Award: Player with least upsideand carries a big financial burden

Look, I know Nashville loves him or whatever, but David Legwand. It’s disappointing to think that he isconsistently one of the team’s top scorers year in and year out while onlyscoring about forty points per season over the past four years. Yes, he’s a great leader and has adecent physical presence for an offensive guy, but at a $4.5MM cap hit per yearthrough 2014, the Predators must eventually wonder if he is holding anyoneback. No, their farm isn’tterribly deep (more on this later), but that seems like a pretty penny for aveteran leader when you already have large contract veterans like Martin Erat,Shea Weber, and Ryan Suter on the team.

If you don’t like that choice, then Mike Fisher, because why not.

Eric Hosmer/ ~~2004 2008~~ 2012 Royals Hope Award: Reasonfor Optimism

The defensive core and goaltending. The only problem is locking up solid D-men Shea Weber AND Ryan Suter long term. Other than Weber and Suter, the lineup is full of decent stay-at-home defensemen. Last season, the Preds were fifteenth in the league in shots against per game (they were twenty-fourth in shots for per game). They were also eighth in goal differential at +19, and fifth on the PK.

Rinne and backup Anders Lindback were third collectively with 2.32 goals per game.

Those are very real numbers, folks.

Katie Horner Scared-Sh!tless Award: Reason to Worry

They are not deep. As in, prospects. This pastdraft they took a goalie with their first selection (coming in the secondround). So, I guess they got muchdeeper there. One beacon of hope isnineteen-year-old 2010 first round pick Austin Watson, currently playing forthe Peterborough Petes of the OHL. Watson has a scoring touch in juniors, but really has not had much of achance with the big league club. Sure, Blake Geoffrion and Zack Stortini can make their presences felt now, but they need to get a group of forwardsin to the mix if they want to move forward.

Some young defenders like Jonathon Blum and Roman Josi are getting a chance now. And highly touted former first rounder Ryan Ellis is surprisingly at the AHL affiliate in Milwaukee, but he is only one man!

Buck O’Neil Positive Attitude Award: Reason to cheer them

Able to stay competitive while in the bottom half of theleague in salary
Bad news: Even though a playoff contender, this franchise has trouble attracting fans. Good news: They would really like you to be a fan of theirs. I'm waiting for the KC Scouts version.

Mark Funkhouser Memorial Trophy: Reason to Hate Them

Haha Remember this guy?! Boots Del Biaggio, the man with an interest in owning a NHLfranchise in KC, who then bought a piece of the Predators franchise a few years back, and everybody flipped and thought he was working on the inside to bring the Preds to KC. Annnd then he was tried on fraud charges and is now serving a 97-month prisonterm. I don’t think KansasCitians should necessarily hate the Predators for Del Biaggio getting hopes upabout the Predators moving to KC. No, we could certainly hate them for this instead:

Worlds of Fun Ride that Best Describes the Franchise: Viking Voyager

You free-fall in a "log" raft about 40 feet down a flume. Sounds like a blast, right? It's the first thing I want to ride when going to WOF. But, is it ever really that fun? Sadly, no. Such is the Nashville Predators franchise. You see a lot of Lost in Conference Quarterfinals when looking at the team season by season. That's great they go to the playoffs often, but it must be tough to get too excited for a team that always loses in said playoffs.
Also, the Preds are always randomly brought up in relocation talks, so that cannot feel too good. Don't get me wrong, it's not like anyone is talking about tearing down the Viking Voyager. It's just that not even enough water splashes on you to justify riding it in the summer time. It sucks to walk allll the way around the park in the middle of July just to get to the Monsoon or something.

Also, because they have Scandinavian players. Elephant in the room acknowledged.

Rinne: En pelkää mitään!
Laasko: paitsi Canucks...
Lindback: Hej, vad som sägs?

There's a little Swedish-Finnish humor for you. Laugh it up, that's as good as it gets.

Number of Floating, Disembodied Jack Harry Heads:

Three out of five

Nashville is not a natural hockey town, much like Kansas City, so it's hard to say that Jack would care much about them. The Nashville media seems to marginally respect them, but that may be a result of them being the only other game in town along with the Titans. The national media certainly does not pay much attention, given the fact their playoff series with the Anaheim Ducks last season was not picked up by NBC Sports. Heaven forbid the national media ignore a team near the middle of the country! I have never heard of such a thing...
Also, what did I just say above about going to the playoffs and losing? What local franchise does that on a pretty regular basis? It starts with a C and ends in a DERP.

Mavericks Home Opener Spoiled by Thunder (not Earthquake)

2011-11-06T02:24:00.000-06:00

Via KC Star

Although I was unable to make it out to IEC tonight for the Mavericks home opener, I have heard reports that it was sold out and ROCKIN'!

That's the good news. The bad news is the Mavs fell to the Wichita Thunder in a shootout for their first loss on the season. This snaps a six game win streak to begin the year. There are some nice video highlights if you hop on over to the Mavs site.

The Mavericks have yet to lose a game in regulation, and are the best team in the CHL at 6-0-1. Thinel remains the points leader in the CHL with four goals and nine assists through seven games this season. Pretty dang impressive.

The team returns home again on November 11th against the Tulsa Oilers.

Also, start reading the Mavericks Insider, if you are not reading it yet. It is featured in the News section of the Mavericks main site. It shows game previews, player interviews, and other tidbits that every Mavs fan will ever want to know. It gets more in-depth than a hockey blogger can ever hope to go, so, check it out.

Time Warner to Kansas City Hockey Fans: Out of Sight, Out of Mind

2011-11-05T03:34:00.000-05:00

For lack of another/better choice, many people in the area (including your humble writer) are subject to the random channel switching and rate hikes of Time Warner Cable. Ugh. It is still not cool what they did to the Travel Channel. And how many people had problems with their cable boxes over the summer when TWC did a system "update" that crashed the older hardware? Anyway, those problems aside, there is an issue that directly addresses sports fans in the city. Most notably, hockey fans.

Time Warner's problems with other sports-specific networks are well documented, but I cannot find any reason why Kansas Citians who pay for the cable provider's digital package cannot watch the NHL Network. The NHL Network is a premium channel for some reason, even though Time Warner shows NBA TV with no NBA team within hundreds of miles of their KC customers (also, there is no NBA at the moment, if you haven't noticed). Each season, the NHL Network has done its best to broadcast multiple games featuring a decent balance of teams. This gives locals a chance to watch more live hockey games, making the sport that much more visible in the area. Without this access, the only option is to watch games on NBC and Versus (soon to be NBC Sports Network). The game selection is not as diverse on NBC/Versus, but you probably love it if you are a fan of a team in the Northeast or Detroit. The point being, not showing the NHL Network significantly reduces the visibility and exposure of the NHL to Kansas City. One would think the NHL (or AEG) would have something to say about this if they cared about hockey in Kansas City (I know they don't, but let's pretend for a second that they should).

But, maybe that is being too nit-picky. I mean, the channel is offered, but just at an additional cost. Well, that still does not answer why the channel was available last season for a period of time. Speaking of reduced access to channels, Time Warner has revoked our CBS College Sports Network privileges. This is a network that carries many collegiate hockey tournament games, along with some early Frozen Four games. Oh, not to mention regular season matches. Tonight featured one between Yale and Cornell's hockey programs, but you had to pay if you wanted to watch it.

Just two weeks ago I watched the Saginaw Valley State versus Ashland Division II football game on CBS College Sports. Now, the channel is gone. Well, not gone, but out of my price range because I refuse to pay additional fees for a channel that I had TWO WEEKS AGO AND FOR THE ENTIRE PAST YEAR! Oh, and also the year before that. Heaven forbid ESPNU carry any NCAA hockey games this season, because there goes another channel.

So why now? Why is that channel gone as we enter the chill of late fall, when our only sports options in a few months will be hockey and college basketball? It's disappointing, and frustrating.

The point of all of this is how can the city expect to gain interest in the game of hockey if it is not a visible part of the population's viewing options. Does it make sense for a cable provider to carry the MLB Network and NBA Network, but force their customers to pay extra for the NHL? There is no excuse for two of the major sports to have available networks, while the NHL's network costs extra. I wholeheartedly agree with pucKChaser that the game needs to grow at a grassroots level here, but how is it possible to get people interested in a sport they can hardly watch? Yes, NBC is doing a better job of showing more games against different teams this season than they have in the past, and no, TWC has not taken away Versus (yet), but hockey viewing options continue to be limited in this city. Not only are community rinks closing, but televised hockey is at a premium.

But, KC hockey fans, let's not play the victim, because that's lame. My suggestion would be to stream your favorite NHL team online through sites like Ilemi or First Row Sports. You can feel kind of like a rebel while watching hockey at the same time. It's a two-foot putt!

But, for you law abiders, watch NBC/Versus's hockey coverage. The Blues will be on FSN more once the football season ends. Watch them, and if you aren't a fan, cheer for their demise. If you get ESPNU, watch NCAA hockey. Hockey is hockey. Go to a Mavs game. Hell, go ice skating this winter. Or learn to play hockey. Or write a hockey blog. Do something!

On NHL Network tonight:

Wish I could have watched that

On NBA TV tonight:

Well, it's better than this

After seeing that, let's hope this is for real!

Kansas CIty Blades Pretend Time

2011-10-29T01:07:00.002-05:00

SinceI am not sure who actually watches Comedy Central's Nick Swardson's PretendTime, I willjust assume I'm the only one who has seen this skit. (editors note:Yeah, it happened last year apparently, but whatever.)

The above picture appears to show comedians Nick Swardson and Natasha Leggero in a version of the original Kansas City Blades logo/jersey. You can watch the entire video here.

Theshort cut-away of hockey shown at the beginning of the clip features the Bladesplaying at the Grand Rapids Griffins (the favorite team of the DeVos family). The most recognizable player name in the video is that of the Griffins Mark Conforth (#12). Cornforth played eight regular season games and three playoffs games for the Griffins during the 1997-98 season, which probably means he played at the end of that season. The Blades only played the Griffins in Grand Rapids once in the last month of the season, a 6-1 victory. That would mean that the Blades players shown are defensemen Steve Jacques (#3) and Steve Heins (#5), and forward Dean Sylvester (#11). Icannot find a box score of the game, so I’m not sure if Sylvester scored ornot, but Swardson sure thought so. The Blades would go on to lose to the Long Beach Ice Dogs in seven games in the Western Conference Semi-Final, in case you were wondering about any of this.

I'm not exactly sure why they chose that footage or the Blades faux jerseys, but I think we should be honored or something. Actually, I'm not really sure how to feel.

Click to embiggen

2012 Champions: The Beginning of Something Great

2011-10-22T00:34:00.000-05:00

First off, Macek was waived, and Jardine was given a "five-gamecontract allowing the Mavericks to start the season with 20 players on theroster" since he has a two-way contract with the Mavs affiliate in Chicago.

Also, the Mavericks opened up with a win over the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. Hogg and Mahovsky picked up goals, so thanks for nothing McGrane. Effinger had 29 saves, and the Mavs were 0-4 on the powerplay. If the season ended today, the Mavericks would share the title with three other teams. Think about that...

Here are some season previews for your perusal:

CHL Team Preview

Mavericks Preview

2012 Champions: Saying Goodbye is the Hardest Part...of Progress

2011-10-18T00:36:00.002-05:00

Via

The Mavericks, currently in the training camp portion of their 2011-12 title run, have cut and traded their roster in an attempt to get to the "Perfect 19" necessary for a CHL roster.

At the end of last week the team announced they have waived forward Matt Dias and defenseman Janis Brakss (by the way, defensemen preview coming up after camp ends). I had Dias as high as the second line in some projections, but, uh, I suppose that was wrong. This left the roster with 27 players. Only 8 more to go! See more moves after the jump.

Earlier on Monday, the Mavericks rid themselves of six more players. Defensemen Joshua Hepditch and Jared Lavender, and forward Derek Knowles were all traded away. Lavender spent the past two seasons with the Mavericks, recording a +9 and playing in 94 games. Knowles played last season with the Mavs, but only played in 38 games and two playoff games. He had seven points overall. My early projection had him riding the bench on the expanded roster, so his departure does not seem so surprising with so many new faces. All were traded for future considerations.

Meanwhile, the remaining three players were waived. They are forwards Toms Hartmanis and Derek Pallardy and defenseman Steven Later. Pallardy played nearly all of the past two seasons with the Mavs, and his departure seems the most curious. Although not a potent scoring threat (13+31=44 points in two seasons), he was a young player learning head coach Scott Hillman's system nearly straight out of college. I would imagine he did not provide the scoring punch the team appears to be looking for this season. The Mavs were sixth in goals for last season, and just appear to need more out of a second line-type forward. I stated earlier that Hartmanis and Vern Cooper may be in a battle for a second line wing spot, and if I was accurate then it is safe to say that Cooper won the battle. Later played the end of last season in Independence totaling 13 points in 18 games, and playing 9 playoff games. This leaves the skater roster at 21, meaning two more players need to be cut.

Typically the Mavs carry six defenders, about eleven forwards, and two goaltenders. This would mean three full defensive lines and nearly four full forward lines. Who will be the next two players cut? My guess is O'Nabigon or Dickson, just because they are similar players fighting for a bottom six-type role. The other cut will probably be the goalie Macek, but he may stay somehow connected with the organization.

Remember, forward Ryan Jardine, defenseman David Pszenyczny and Dustin Friesen, and goalie Charlie Effinger are all under two-way contracts with the Chicago Wolves and Mavericks. Friesen is currently one of eight defenders on the Wolves roster and has played in all four of their games and has a -3.

Also, along with trading for Knowles, the Rapid City Rush have also picked up former Mav Blake Forsyth. He spent all of last season and seven games in 2010-11 with the Mavericks scoring a total of twenty points (3+17=20) and was a +26 last season.

Yes, I Understand the Season Has Already Started: Hey KC, Follow This Team...or Not

2011-10-12T01:05:00.001-05:00

"GOOOO HOCKEY!!!"

I am not a fan of this next team, but I do know that many Kansas Citians follow them closely. It's not so much I hate them, it's just too much over-saturation based on past living arrangements. And because I'm a Kings fan. Alas, this team ranks in my top 5 of the most KC-esque teams. I will try to remain unbiased as I list the reasons for you to like them for the years to come, and the reasons to maybe choose another of the five.

By the way, this team played at Kemper Arena more than any other NHL franchise at nine times (three of these were recent exhibition games; I don't know the exhibition schedule of the Scouts so it may be more). Who is it? Jump to find out, or just look at the tags. Whatever.

Via

YOOOOOOUUUUURRRR ST. LOUIS BLUES!

Village West Best Potential Award: Player that brings the most to the team

David Backes scored the biggest point total in his career last season (31+31=62), and has played almost all of the past four seasons. He is the face of the organization, and one of the more consistent players in recent years. He's not a huge goal scorer, but as a big bodied second round draft pick in 2003, he is everything the Blues need him to be and more.

The blog St. Louis Game Time has a bit of a different perspective, but it doesn't discount his important role on the team:

The bottom line is that Backes plays hockey the right way. He's physical, he's responsible in his own end. He passes the puck about as often as he shoots it. He can drop the gloves if he needs to. He plays in front of the net and in traffic. He's a strong skater. I could go on. Of all the players on the Blues' roster, he is right now the most established and rock solid. But I think he's close to his ceiling. Unless he changes how he plays, Backes won't see a big jump in goals or assists. That's not a bad thing. But it means there are a couple guys who still have some room to grow that I will argue are more important on this team.

A good assessment of a young leader. There may be better players on the team, but Backes is reliable and consistent. Again, no major injuries nor glaring scoring inconsistencies. Named the Blues captain about a month ago, he is the youthful leader on a team full of veteran leaders. Langenbrunner, McDonald, and Arnott add the veteran presence, but they may not be on the team much longer. No need to worry about Backes leaving; he’s locked up through 2016.

Union Station Biggest Burden Award: Player with least upside and carries a big financial burden

Geez, it’s hard to pick a guy that is a huge financial burden on a team that doesn’t spend a lot of money. The Royals can do it (e.g. Jose Guillen, etc.), why can’t the Blues? So, let’s just say Jamie Langenbrunner. He adds veteran leadership (e.g. Jeff Francoeur) and all of that fun stuff, but is getting $2.75MM for just one year. He is a low risk type of guy, but he’s 36 and didn’t score much for two teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season. He appears to be a good choice for this spot.

Plus, Scott Nichol is only getting $700,000 for this year, so he’s not much of a burden just to get in useless fights or he would have this spot hands down.

Eric Hosmer/ ~~2004 2008~~ 2012 Royals Hope Award: Reason for Optimism

Gosh, well, you will want to stick with this team, I suppose. They kept their cap low for a reason, since most of their core players are either UFA or RFA at the end of this season or next. I can’t imagine this team will be too dangerous this year in the Central Division that features the tough Predators, Red Wings, and Blackhawks. Maybe next year, depending on major signings or free agents.

Also, the ownership situation is getting much clearer since Matthew Hulsizer has entered the picture. You might remember Hulsizer as the guy who wanted to buy the Coyotes last year. Yeah, well, the Blues are a much better investment with much better fan and local support. All the Blues need is a stable ownership group, and it seems business can get back to normal without the worry of future money woes.

Katie Horner Scared-Sh!tless Award: Reason to Worry

Another year of mediocrity, and then it’s all up in the air after that depending on this season. If the Blues perform well this season, a bunch of dudes probably get resigned and the team continues the course they are on. If they perform poorly this season, more affordable veteran "leaders" come in as the team embarks on a rebuild within a rebuild, of sorts.

Buck O’Neil Positive Attitude Award: Reason to cheer them

They are the closest team to KC, and occasionally appear on local TV.
Long history + no championship = Big 12 North football territory. Plus the Chiefs’ last championship came only five years after the Blues came into existence.
Team with a long history with solid teams.
Hope for new ownership dedicated to improving the NHL's product in St. Louis.

Mark Funkhouser Memorial Trophy: Reason to Hate Them

You live in Kansas City, and hate St. Louis.
You live in Kansas, and hate Missouri.
No championships for the club since their inception in 1967, and you need to brag about something.
Again, it's St. Louis. So, just think about that.

Worlds of Fun Ride that Best Describes the Franchise: Mamba

They are a thrill ride-type of team. They are up, they are down. They rebuild, they go to the playoffs, they run out of steam, and start rebuilding again. Just like the Mamba, especially recently, the Blues' build-up to the season is like a steep hill and you just can't see the other side. They may be good, they may be bad. This may be scary, it may be lame, or it may be good. This season is another one of those years. This team has a lot of working pieces, but they certainly are not flashy like their Central Division counterparts. Like the Mamba, the most recent Blues start with some skepticism, go over the first hill of the season, crest another hill, maybe hit a peak, and by the middle of the season they use some early momentum but start going in circles, then there are a lot of annoying bumps at the end of the season that keep them out of the playoffs. At some point during the whole dilemma, someone takes their picture and they end up looking something like this:

Number of Floating, Disembodied Jack Harry Heads:

Four out of five

I think Jack would like to talk about this team, and I personally would love to hear how he attacks the front office. If anything, the Blues management makes decent decisions, but they are typically very safe. I'm sure Jack would scream his head off at Dave Checketts for trying to sell and the process taking so long etc. etc. Also, their mediocrity over the years surely would upset him, even if Jack really doesn't care about hockey. But, they are a team Midwesterners can get behind. After the Scouts left KC in 1975, the Blues were the only club in Missouri and were able to grow throughout the state and the region. When the Blues played the exhibition games in KC in the past years, their fans were there in full force. They make the playoffs occasionally, and they have strong, exciting teams at least once every decade. Yet, they rarely have any significant wins in the playoffs, so there are still plenty of problems for the local media to fain anger at a few times every month. Which sounds eerily familiar to a certain NFL team that plays at Arrowhead. As a team for Kansas Citians to follow, they make.... a lot...of.... sense....

Ugh, that was painful.

Relevant (NSFW language). And that is indeed JACK'S SMACK!

2012 Champions: Jardine Rediscovered and Goalie Preview

2011-10-08T01:17:00.003-05:00

Via

The Mavericks have reported that Ryan Jardine has returned for his second season with the organization. The veteran had 54 points (23-31=54) and played in all 66 games last year for the Mavs. Jardine has a two-way contract and could see some time with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL this season. The Wolves are the new "AAA" affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks and the Mavs first affiliation to a high-level professional organization. It will be good to have Jardine's presence on the ice, especially with all of the new faces. He understands head coach Scott Hillman's system, and can maybe help to integrate the multitude of new forwards.

In addition, Mike Berry has been released to make room for Jardine. So, forget Berry is in the lineup and just pencil in Jardine instead. This sounds like a mutual agreement, since Berry will surely get an opportunity elsewhere. It's easy to assume Berry believed the Mavs were getting top-heavy among the forwards. This can be seen as a good or bad thing, of course, as the organization is getting better and even very good players feel they may not get a legitimate opportunity. But, it can be bad because an overzealous front office may have upset Berry and prompted him to look for work elsewhere. You don't want to upset the stars, they're fragile. Either way, good luck to him in all of his future endeavors. Therefore, the Mavericks have lost their top two point scorers from a year ago. But, they get Jardine and all of those other guys. So, we got that goin' for us, which is nice.

Chances Jardine gets called up to Chicago at some point? Eh, probably pretty good. Alas, that's the reality of an affiliation. Quality players can get taken away by better competition.

For those of you asking for the whereabouts of Nick Sirota, he is currently playing with the Kalamazoo K-Wings of the ECHL, which, oddly enough, are also affiliates of the Canucks. So, a good player leaves the league that wants to be the "AA" of hockey to go to a competing "AA" league. Alrighty then...

Goalie preview after the jump.
First, in order of signing.

Jakub Macek, from Slovakia, begins his first season in America. Although his professional European resumé isn't incredibly deep, the Mavericks want to give him a shot. At only 24 years old, he has nothing to lose. He may be the odd one out in camp though, as the Mavs bring back two familiar faces.

Gerry Festa returns for a third season with the Mavs. He is one of just a handful of players that have been with the organization since the beginning. Goalies have come and gone for the Mavs, but he has been the constant bench presence. He will have a lot to prove in camp to hold down the backup job from now on. A 3.11 goals against average last season isn't terrible coming off of the bench, and his .894 save percentage is certainly starter worthy on some clubs in the CHL. Provided he continues to post solid stats, he could see a lot of starting time due to the two-way contract of...

Charlie Effinger! Ol' Charlie is back, sporting a two-way contract that could allow him to see some time in Chicago. Effinger led the Mavs to the second round of the playoffs in 2010, then split for Newcastle, UK and the Elite League (the UK's highest level of hockey competition). He was 14-39-2 (!) with Newcastle, and obviously did not see time in the playoffs. He will look to recapture the magic of 2009-10 where he was 17-6-2 in CHL regular season play. The Canucks are not in need of goaltenders, and the Wolves currently have two solid goalies on their roster, so it appears Effinger's future depends on how he plays.

Maybe, just maybe, the goaltenders are the weak link in the impending championship run for the Mavs. The organization appears to have spent most of their time adding forwards and rehabbing the defense and just pieced the net minders together as an after-thought. Let's hope not, but it's hard not to look past Effinger's poor showing in Europe and Macek's lack of experience.

My guess: Effinger starts with the Mavs, Festa and Macek switch off as backup until someone is dealt down the line. Effinger stays at the CHL level for a majority of the season.

Training camp starts next week and the first game is October 21st!

Which Team is Your Team? The Second of the Best NHL Team For Kansas Citians

2011-10-02T20:58:00.000-05:00

Which team do I play for now? Do you even know who I am...?

In the second of our series of five NHL teams that Kansas Citians can cheer for, we have a team very similar to the Kings. But in what way? Jump to find out.

Well, hellooo...

YOOOOOOUUUUURRRRRRRR FLORIDA PANTHERS!!!!!!

Village West Best Potential Award: Player that brings the most to the team

Eh, call it a long shot, but if we are talking the most potential, Ihave to go with Mike Santorelli. Last year he played in his first full season in the NHL, but stillscored 41 points (20-21=41). He was a miserable -17 on a team that did notscore a lot, but that number should go down with an improved defense this year. Of the 195 team goalsscored, though, he scored over ten percent of them. Plus, he is getting $1.6MM for the next two years, and willbe an RFA at the age of 27.

Yes, Booth and Weiss are the heart and soul, blah blah blah... How droll.

Union Station Biggest Burden Award: Player with least upsideand carries a big financial burden

Tomas Fleischmann, like him or not, is getting paid a lot ofmoney to play on the top line and (hopefully) score. His cap hit is something to the tune of $4.5MM over the nextfour years on a team that was desperately trying to get to the cap floor in theoffseason. He only scored thirty-onepoints in 45 games last year with the Avs and Caps (12-19=31) and he has onlyscored as many as 51 points (23-28=51) in any one season.

Eric Hosmer/ ~~2004 2008~~ 2012 Royals Hope Award: Reasonfor Optimism

The Panthers blog Litter Box Cats puts it best, so I willdefer to them:

Three rookies looking to make the jump: Erik Gudbranson, JonathanHuberdeau and Quinton Howdenare all in contention to start the year with the Panthers, but do not think anyhave assured spots on a very competitive roster that is already at capacity.Howden is worth mentioning after a great year Moose Jaw of the OHL but after apossible injury in rookie camp, he has probably fallen off the radar for aroster spot. Huberdeau has been fantastic in the last few weeks, but size isstill his major hurdle to jump. If he signs an entry level deal in the nextweeks there is a very good possibility he gets the 9 game NHL tryout, butexpect him back in juniors after that. Hubs still has a way to go before we seehim crack the lineup. That leaves the most developed of the prospects, ErikGudbranson, in contention for a roster spot. Gudbranson has shown he wants tobe a Panther, and assuming he competes well with the big guns in the nextweeks, should have that distinction when the season opener rolls around.Gudbranson will undoubtedly get the 9 game tryout, but should also be part of a7 man defensive group.

After constant GM changes since the new owners took over in 2001, the team looks like it will stick withnew GM Dale Tallon’s rebuilding plan for the franchise. Digging around the cap floor, the team has chosen not to paymany of their veterans ridiculous salaries. Thus, by the time the youth of the system hits the ice fulltime, it will be easier to lock them up long term.

Katie Horner Scared-Sh!tless Award: Reason to Worry

The organization’s past instability operatesas a double-edged sword. Theowners have given GM Tallon a fairly long leash so far, but how much fartherwill it go? Will the new additionsmesh well, or do they need to have a full season under their belt?

Buck O’Neil Positive Attitude Award: Reason to cheer them

Again, if you are a bandwagoner, now is as good of a time than any. They can’t get any worse, and they seem to be going in the right direction.
Maybe they will continue to struggle financially and pack up and move to KC. Nah, probably not...
They have a lot of cap room to make moves if they want to (but they don’t, so don’t count them out.
They have an awesome marketing deparment.

Also, Randy Moller. (Does he do this anymore? Ilistened to a few games online last season and he didn’t scream the pop culturereferences. Made me sad.)

Mark Funkhouser Memorial Trophy: Reason to Hate Them

You are not a fan of non-traditional hockey markets. (*cough* Kansas City *cough*)
You dislike an unstable organization that ranks towards the bottom half in team attendance every year.
You already cheer for teams that haven’t won playoff games since the ‘90s (or before).
Their inability to keep quality goaltenders (Vokoun, Luongo) reminds you too much of the Royals with Beltran, Damon, Dye, Cone, Greinke, etc.
You are afraid of panthers.

Worlds of Fun Ride that Best Describes the Franchise: Le TaxiTour

I was going to say the Halloween Haunt thing they do everyyear, but that’s not a ride. So,instead, the Panthers are a lot like the Le TaxiTour, antique looking (French?)taxis on a auto-guided track. Iwanted to ride the taxis every time I went to WoF as a kid. They were nice and safe, no loops, nottoo fast, and my dad let me “drive” around the time I was five or six. It was cool. But every time I rode, I knew what was going to happen. There was no big surprise. Such is the Florida Panthers. Every season the Panthers come out witha somewhat different, albeit mediocre, look and don’t do anything too excitingon the ice. Then the regularseason ends, and they are forgotten. Forgotten, that is, until the next year when everybody is all like “hey,I remember this” and the cycle begins anew.

By the way, I still like Le TaxiTour, so, yeah.

"Follow me to freedom!!!"

Number of Floating, Disembodied Jack Harry Heads:

Three out of five

One finals run and no real history other than that. Very similar to the Royals, though, in that they are finally starting to build up deep in the minors for a future that could be somewhat lucrative. Also a compelling parallel, the fact that they fill out their roster with a bunch of veteran "character" guys. You could call them the Royals of the NHL. But, Jack and other media types only scream about them for so long, and then midseason hits and no one cares.

Misunderstood and ignored in south Florida, the Panthers struggle from attendance and support issues, prompting many to start relocation rumors even though the Panthers have a stable ownership group. Those following them are hardcore fans and not just bandwagon jumpers, so you cannot be plagued with that semi-pointless stigma.

You will not see them in Kansas City unless their situation gets worse, but the media probably wouldn't care anyway. They probably aren't the "right situation" we need, like the Rangers, Bruins, Red Wings, or Blackhawks...

Still, a solid choice for Kansas Citians to follow. I mean, few others follow them, so why don't we start a Midwest support group. That would be cool. Jump on the empty BANDWAGON and be a part of something you create!

And that's JACK SMACK!!!

I Like the NHL, But I Live in Kansas City. Please HELP!

2011-09-29T23:34:00.001-05:00

Via

Have you recently come down with hockey fever for some reason,but you are unsure about which NHL team to cheer for during the upcomingseason?!?! Well, your ol’ friendDr. Flubber is here with the remedy. Over the next couple of days (or week or two) I will be listing the top5, count ‘em FIVE, NHL teams for the locals to follow this season. Maybe you will find a favorite team andstart a long-lasting relationship, and get married to this team and live happilyever after. Or not. It is what you make of it.

There are no predictions. No previews. Just a simple way for Kansas Citians to get acclimated to some NHL teamsthat either have some connection to KC, have unstable ownership/low fansupport, or other qualities area residents are used to in their sportsviewing. Basically, a team orfranchise that could fit well in the city’s sports landscape.

Of course, this may be all for not since the entire area isfull of Penguins fans, as evidenced the other night. Hey, how about cheering for someone other than thePenguins.* It will make youinteresting at parties and junk.** The first possible choice after the jump!

*The Penguins, obviously, are not one of the teams.

**Cheering for one of these teams will not necessarilymake you interesting at parties.

"Ow, my face."

YOOUUURRRRR Los Angeles Kings!

Why do I put the Kings here? Because I like the Kings? Well, yes. Butthat isn’t the only reason. Youknow the story. AEG (run by C.Montgomery Leiweke) owns the Sprint Center and the Los Angeles Kings NHL franchise,thus the Kings have played in the last three NHL preseason games in KansasCity. The Kings are featured asthe home team in the exhibition games, and the commercial advertising the Pensgame in KC featured all of their best moments in the past year (or somethinglike that).

KC, for all intentsand purpose, is the Kings home away from their Southern Californian home. Yes, that may be a stretch, but KC issomewhere they can play with the ownership right there watching them and RandyNewman’s “I Love LA” playing after every goal. So, that’s cool. But, are they your team? Find out below.

Village West Best Potential Award: Player that brings the most to the team

It would seem to be Anze Kopitar, freshly back frominjury that kept him out of the playoffs. Alas, that is the wronganswer. Mike Richards is correct,coming over from the Flyers in a trade this offseason. He fits the 2-way player theme thathead coach Terry Murray has been mumbling about for his whole tenure in LosAngeles.

Union Station Biggest Burden Award: Player with least upsideand carries a big financial burden (editors note: I like Union Station as a symbol for the city, but, yeah, people have lost money on it in the past.)

Dustin Penner, who has a lot to prove after his disappearingact at the end of the season and in the first round of the playoffs lastyear. He is a UFA at the end ofthe year and is already making $4.25MM this year. Also, Jarret Stoll may not be worth $3.6MM as a third orfourth line center, but, alas, he is an animal in the faceoff circle and in the shootout.

Eric Hosmer/ ~~2004 2008~~ 2012 Royals Hope Award: Reasonfor Optimism

After being terrible and having to start a rebuildingprocess a season after the fateful lockout, the Kings have made the playoffsthe past two years. This year theyappear to have most of the pieces in place, and have a lot of veteran skillguys that can work with the still very young core talent players like Kopitar,Richards, Jack Johnson, and Drew Doughty(?).

Katie Horner Scared-Sh!tless Award: Reason to Worry

No Drew Doughty yet due to contract negotiations. He plays the most minutes of any andevery game, has missed very limited time due to injury, and pilots thepowerplay effectively. All at theripe old age of 21. But, withmultiple other guys in the pipeline, the Kings are by no means short on talent.

Wait...what....WHAT???? Forget what I just said! Doughty be back, baby!

If not Doughty, then the usual coaching errors that seem toplague the team as it has attempted to finish the past two seasons (i.e. poor powerplay, unnecessary line juggling, etc. etc. etc.). Also, veteran guys who are injury prone(Gagne, Williams, Moreau...)

Buck O’Neil Positive Attitude Award: Reason to cheer them

AEG (thus, Tim Leiweke) owns the Kings, and we hate TimLeiweke. But, like him or not, AEGhas given Kansas City an exhibition NHL game three of the past four years, andas long as people keep showing up, that’s the best we are going to get for awhile. Also...

They have been to KC three times in the last four years.
If you are a bandwagon jumper, now is a good time to jump on. The Kings have many of the right pieces in place that they have been building for the past 4+ years, and they could be a serious contender for the cup this year and in the years to come (this said ignoring my annual f-bomb laced tirades against Terry Murray come February).
They fit the whole royalty motif (Chiefs, Royals, Kings (remember the NBA?), etc.)
If you don't like the jersey, just wait about five years for a new one.
Um...they have quite a few Americans on the team...

Mark Funkhouser Memorial Trophy: Reason to Hate Them

You hold a personal grudge against AEG and Tim Leiweke oryou are an Edmonton Oilers fan for some reason.

Worlds of Fun Ride that Best Describes the Franchise: Cyclone Sam’s

This team has seldom been the favorite, especially in theirrecent history. Only during theGretzky years were they seen as much of a threat, and even then they only madethe Cup Finals once and lost. Thepast two seasons they were over-matched by the Canucks and Sharks,respectively, in the playoffs, but played those series hard enough to push themboth to six games. So, likeCyclone Sam’s, which a lot of my friends don’t like but I think is cool, the Kings have a tendency to be overlooked and even disliked for their status as a "non-traditional" market team. Plus, after that Game 3 loss to the Sharks in the playoffs,my head was spinning so hard it almost popped off in a hurricane of wondermentand awe and anger.

Here we go again!!!

Number of Floating, Disembodied Jack Harry Heads:

Two out of Five

The Kings don’t have a championship to their name (40+ yearsand counting), so they don’t have any expectations to live up to like the ’70 Chiefsand ’85 Royals, but they have been around long enough to field one of the moststarving of fan bases. Like Kansas City’s teams, the Kings have had hope in thepast, but always seem to play the underdog. Unlike Kansas City’s teams, expectation rarely gets the best of them (i.e. 2011 Chiefs, 2004 Royals, to name recentexamples). Playing in the shadowof the Lakers and local collegiate power programs, the Kings are just a part of theshuffle in LA. But, their ownership group seems to give a crap (as much as you may dislike them). Jack would probablyyell about them as much as he does Sporting KC. And that’s JACK SMACK!

Next up, another mystery team. Who will it be? Stay tuned to find out...

Kansas City is Abuzz With Hockey-Related News

2011-09-28T18:54:00.002-05:00

A day after the EPIC Kings-Pens overtime game that decided the best hockey team in the history of the world (or something), Kansas City has even more hockey news. Even the KC Star is getting into the act, after the jump of course:

Randy Covitz sat down with Darth Leiweke (and presumedly KC mayor Slyyyy James). Just a fun little interview talking about Kansas City hockey fans and the thrill of the crowd and all of that fun stuff...right? Uh, oh no, no no. Don't say that...

Via the KC Star's Randy Covitz:

“Kansas City can take its time,” said (Tim) Leiweke, whose company manages the Sprint Center, where an announced crowd of 17,779 saw the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in an overtime shootout.“The key is you can chase a team, but you’re going to end up not making a great deal and maybe being disappointed. Or you can wait and not only try to find the right situation, but economically make the right deal.“We’re not chasing, and I love the mayor’s attitude, which is: ‘Under our terms.’ ”

Oh, that's not good.

“Right now there is not an urgency,” Leiweke said. “This building is doing phenomenal. When we began this process, if we would have known this building could stand on its own two feet and be one of the top five buildings (for concerts and family shows) without an anchor tenant, we would have been going around telling people, ‘If there is an anchor tenant that makes sense, we’ll get it, but we don’t need it.’“We’re fine without one, and we probably make more money without one. And the city makes more money without one. That said, if we can make the right deal and find the right team, I definitely think that’s what we have to do here.”

Uh, well, at least no one will freak out too much about this. Nothing to see here, right? Please tell me I'm RIGHT!!!!

Via CBS Sports

Via KC Star's Don't Kill the Mellinger

Via Yahoo! Sports Puck Daddy

Awesome.

Really, should we be too surprised by Timmy "Living a Lie" Leiweke's statements? This is the same jargon that anyone and everyone close to AEG has said for the past two years. Of course, it's good to see some members of the media and blogosphere reacting to such statements, but when does that become blown smoke? The media can only be angry for so long, but, and I'm sorry to say, the best thing they can do is just keep being angry and mad until that one day the NHL comes to KC for some reason or another. Is any news good news? In this case as long as people in Kansas City are talking about hockey (even in a pessimistic light), then I will be happy. It's unfortunate that everything reported by the media about hockey is usually panning Leiweke (although there is a reason), but as long as they feel slighted, then keep up the talk. It good to keep the discussion going.

So, the positivity train lasted about two hours after last night's game until Covitz's article came out online. Good deal...

But, in other positive hockey news, there are a few special games coming to the area that you should know about if you don't already.

Initially reported by pucKChaser, the NCAA's 2012 Ice Breaker Tournament was formally announced yesterday and is coming to KC's Sprint Center October 12-13 2012. You can learn more here, but the tourney will feature Nebraska-Omaha, Army, Notre Dame, and historical powerhouse Maine.

Also, if you stuck around after the game last night and watched the Mizzou-Kansas club hockey game, or even if you didn't, you get another opportunity on January 20th, 2012 at the Independence Events Center. I have been to one of these Border WAR games in the past, and they are damn fun to watch.

Kings vs. Penguins in Perspective, Plus Pictures!!!

2011-09-28T01:12:00.000-05:00

Zamboni-mania!

Well, if you attended last night’s preseason game at theSprint Center, you certainly got your money’s worth. The Kings and Penguins tied 2-2 after regulation and afive-minute overtime, and went eight rounds into the shootout before deciding awinner. Pittsburgh’s Matt Niskanenbeat Jonathan Bernier in the shootout to seal it 3-2 for the Penguins and sentthe KC hockey fans home relatively happy.

Politics, and Tim Leiweke, and struggling downtownbusinesses, and all of that nonsense aside, this kind of game is what makesKansas Citians desperate for pro hockey.

As you can tell by my pictures below, the arena was nottotally full. But, it wasn’t emptyeither. Of course, bringing in a nationally recognized product like thePittsburgh Penguins helps. I wouldsay the Sprint Center sold out about as much as the Scottrade Center in St.Louis “sells out” for a weeknight game, and that’s a good sign for KansasCity/KC region hockey fans. Itdoes not mean KC will be awarded an expansion franchise tomorrow or the Coyotesplayers are packing their bags and FedEx-ing their belongings to Overland Park,but it is comforting to know that there are some hockey people in and aroundthis town. Eh, allow me to explainthat better.

I cannot help but shake the fact that this game felt like amidseason game between these two teams. Of course, the product on the ice did not meet the same criteria, but itjust felt like the crowd ebbed and flowed with the game. They were attentive, but not overlyengaged in the action, and the fervor in the crowd built leading up to andduring high action events in the game. The game played to the crowd, as the big moments unfolded from themoment people started shouting to rising out of their seats. But the crowd was not too excitedthroughout the game, meaning they didn’t just jump around and lose their mindswhen someone was checked into the boards or even when post-whistle scufflesbroke out. By the third period,the crowd knew what was on the line and knew that the teams weren’t going tostart laying right hooks into each other when the situation did not call for it(although, it should be noted that everyone really wanted to see a fight).

The atmosphere was good, the crowd seemed to favor thePenguins, but the dual loyalties (or no loyalty to either team) gave the buzzrunning through the arena a certain calm which allowed the game to be watchedand enjoyed. It didn’t matter whowon this game because the fans won by buying a ticket and watching this play outin a familiar home. Again, no, theproduct on the ice was not in midseason form, but this type of game is ours, ifthat makes sense. This is whatKansas Citians and Nebraskans and Kansans and Iowans and others who travel fromnot too far get to see. Theseexhibition games mean something to us, and it’s great to see it play out infront of a (semi) packed house in the middle of where many of us work and callhome. Neither of these teams areour team that plays in our house, but it’s a sport we all love played in ourhouse, and even for one night that’s pretty cool.

Now I want MOAR!!!

A retrospective of the game in grainy pictures below (click for bigger picture):

Game during the first period. During a "two minute media timeout!"

Dustin Penner: Look how big he is!

Getting ready to faceoff

Your logo here

Bernier warming up before the 2nd period

Start of the second period

Click on this for a better view, but this is my attempt to show the whole arena and what is labeled a "sell out." The patching of the panorama function on my camera is not too great, but you get the idea. And, wow, that came out a lot darker than I thought it should. Damn. Taken during the second period.

Long shot of the arena

Bailey, the Kings mascot. Sadly, no Air Bailey for this game.

More Bailey and Zambonis

The final score. Penguins 3, Kings 2 OT/SO

Bonus! Mizzou-Kansas Shootout Game. Here is Mizzou in their generic hockey/baseball jerseys.

Kansas in their less generic jerseys. This game had very little structure, but these teams are fun to watch.

Hey, what was up with those trivia questions during the second intermission? I mean, what the hell?

Shoot over to my YouTube page for some videos of the game.

Penguins Expected Lineup...? (UPDATED, full roster after the jump)

2011-09-27T01:31:00.000-05:00

No definite roster that I can find yet. But, we can infer a bunch!

Per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Bylsma suggested the exhibition game Tuesday against Los Angeles at Kansas City would likely feature a final audition for on-the-bubble players to win consideration for a roster spot. He said there would "probably be two" rounds of cuts before selection of the season-opening roster and that weekend games at Chicago and Detroit would be used to determine line combinations for regulars. The Penguins expect to make another round of cuts Thursday.

Also, according to that same article, no Brooks Orpik still sidelined due to offseason abdominal surgery.
No Crosby either, but possibly Jordan Staal will play.

“I’m kind of excited to see a new arena and a new city,” said Pittsburgh center Jordan Staal. “It’s very cool. To hear that it is going to be sold out makes for a pretty impressive sign for a team.”

Here were the Penguins line combos and practice groups on Monday.

Kunitz-Staal-Kennedy

MacIntyre-Park-McDonald

Tangradi-Vitale-Adams

D-pairs:

Niskanen-Lovejoy

Harrington-Strait/Engelland

Second Practice Group:

4 Zbynek Michalek7 Paul Martin9 Pascal Dupuis10 Mark Letestu15 Dustin Jeffrey18 James Neal19 Jason Williams23 Ryan Craig24 Matt Cooke26 Steve Sullivan28 Nick Johnson29 Marc-Andre Fleury 30 Scott Munroe58 Kris Letang70 Joseph Morrow71 Evgeni Malkin87 Sidney Crosby

So, let's go through and see what we do know. Bylsma wants to play bubble guys, but he also will throw in a few vets just so he doesn't send an AHL team up against a predominantly NHL roster (although it didn't seem to hurt him last year...). Personally, I believe all of the guys in the line pairings above travel. So, the team needs at least three more forwards, one more defenseman, and two goalies. Already we can say that Malkin probably won't go, Crosby definitely will not, Williams apparently has some kind of injury, I would be really surprised to see Fleury. The goalies will probably be Brad Thiessen and Brent Johnson, just cuz son. Matt Cooke will more than likely be held back because he is Matt Cooke. I would not be surprised to see Paul Martin and 2011 first round pick Joseph Morrow just as throw in players, but I would have to imagine either Letang or Martin make the trip. Forward-wise, maybe Dupuis or Letestu just for a veteran touch. Nor would I be surprised to see Steve Sullivan either, just to see what he has left in the tank. Maybe Dustin Jeffery or Nick Johnson as the final choice.

I don't know, though, what do you think?

The next page has the Penguins lineup. How well did I guess? Probably not well...

Via, the source of all sources, Rich Hammond at LA Kings Insider (of all places):

FORWARDS
10-Mark Letestu; 11-Jordan Staal; 12-Richard Park; 14-Chris Kunitz; 18-James Neal; 25-Eric Tangradi; 27-Craig Adams; 28-Nick Johnson; 33-Steve MacIntyre; 46-Joe Vitale; 48-Tyler Kennedy; 71-Evgeni Malkin.

DEFENSEMEN
2-Matt Niskanen; 5-Deryk Engelland; 6-Ben Lovejoy; 7-Paul Martin; 37-Brian Strait; 70-Joseph Morrow; 78-Scott Harrington.

GOALIES
29-Marc-Andre Fleury; 39-Brad Thiessen

Yeah, not great, but HOLY CRAP MALKIN AND FIRST ROUND PICK JOE MORROW ARE COMING!!! Well, garsh, they do like us...

For those of you who bought tickets, consider yourselves lucky.

Kings Expected Lineup

2011-09-26T17:22:00.002-05:00

From LA Kings Insider:

Penner-Richards-Hunter
King-Stoll-Brown
Nolan-Loktionov-Williams
Clifford-Lewis-Moreau

Scuderi-Johnson
Martinez-Greene
Drewiske-Voynov

Bernier
Quick

No Kopitar on that list, but still Richards, Penner, Brown, Williams, Stoll, Clifford, etc. etc. The only players that may not make the team in some capacity are Trent Hunter, Dwight King, and Jordan Nolan (although he may have a shot after all). Arguably, Voynov (depending on Doughty) and Lokti may start in Manchester, but this is a solid crew. Plus, both of the goalies!

NHL Game is Sold Out

2011-09-26T16:54:00.000-05:00

Kansas City Star:

The Sprint Center has announced that Tuesday night’s NHL preseason game between the Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins is a sellout.A limited number of standing-room-only tickets will be made available starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The standing-room tickets can be purchased for $11 at sprintcenter.com, at the Sprint Center box office or charge by phone at 800-745-3000.Seating capacity for hockey at the Sprint Center is 17,544, and the game will set an attendance mark for 2011 NHL preseason games played at neutral site, non-NHL venues in North America.

I looking forward to seeing the 17,543 of you fine folks out there tomorrow!

NHL Preseason Game This Tuesday

2011-09-25T22:58:00.001-05:00

*Card is subject to change

Come one, come all to the annual NHL Preseason game at the Sprint Center!

Who: Los Angeles Kings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Where: Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO
When: 7:00pm, Tuesday, September 27th
What: NHL hockey, of course.
Why: AEG controls the Sprint Center and owns the Kings, and the Penguins used the Sprint Center as leverage to get a new arena in Pittsburgh.
How is it significant: Uh...it's really not. But, it's hockey, and that's cool, right?

Obviously, as anyone who follows the NHL already knows, exciting young defenseman Drew Doughty will not be at the game due to contract negotiation issues. Also, exciting (young!) forward Sidney Crosby is just beginning to hit the ice hard in the preseason, so he will not get have a working vacation to the Paris of the Plains. Jim Fox, Los Angeles's television color commentator, asked after the 2010 Olympics why Crosby doesn't just retire. At the age of 24, he already claims a gold medal (which he clinched) and a Stanley Cup finals victory, along with various other rewards. But, you will have to go elsewhere to see him, Kansas Citians.

You can check out the Kings previous exhibition lineups courtesy of Rich Hammond over at LA Kings Insider here and here. Divine what you will from the information given. The Kings play the Avalanche in Denver on Wednesday night, so they may bring a semi-legit lineup and play them again the next night, or they may not. Your guess is as good as mine.

Meanwhile, the Penguins preseason lineups (here, here and here) all seem to have their fair share of NHLers. Malkin has played, along with Staal and a few other notables. It's important to note that all of their games have been at home, so they could mix and match how they wanted. Again, there is nothing saying that the big names won't make the trip, but nothing saying they will either. The Pens play again on Friday.

I will be attending the game and hopefully will have a write up and some photos for you on Wednesday.

Hopefully the updated rosters come out tomorrow.

Buy tickets here.

2012 Champions: Mavericks Agree to Affiliation

2011-09-19T00:33:00.002-05:00

If only...

Meanwhile, in 'Hey that's pretty cool news,' the Missouri Mavericks have signed on to be an affiliate for the AHL's Chicago Wolves, the (AAA) affiliate of the Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks. If you want the whole details and history of the former Blades rival, click here.

Of course, the Blades were the affiliate of the Canucks before ceasing operations, but, ya know, this is different...

In other news, and I know I said the goaltender review is next, but the Mavericks have added MORE forwards.

General Manager Brent Thiessen has plundered the failing Elite Ice Hockey League (UK) team the Newcastle Vipers signing Latvia native Toms Hartmanis and Albertan Dale Mahovsky. Neither can be considered a power forward nor are they scoring threats. You can read the stats in the press release, but even at the age of 23, Hartmanis brings a lot of high level experience to the team. He played in the UK's top league for a season and the KHL for seven games. He was also a part of the Latvian national U18 and U20 national teams. Hockeydb claims he is a left wing, so there you go. Mahovsky is listed as a right wing, and has a lot of professional and collegiate experience as well. They are both listed around 6 foot 185-ish pounds (where have I heard that before...).

Meanwhile, in a post I will get to later, forward Mike Berry returns. He had 57 points in 66 games, and was a +10 in his only season with the Mavs. Oddly enough, he played for the Newcastle Vipers in 2009-10...
That leaves the Mavs with fifteen forwards on the roster currently.

Line scenario time! Look, I know that line pairings in the CHL are tenuous at best, but it's fun to pretend, right? RIGHT? Validate this somehow, Coach Hillman!!!

Thinel-McGrane-Berry <---That will be an awesome line!
Hartmanis/Cooper-Pallardy-Dias <-----Hartmanis and Cooper, if it happens, could be a battle.
Hogg-Coccimiglio-Lewis <----Starring Coccimiglio as Bugs Bunny
O'Nabigon/Dickson-Courtney-Mahovsky

Bench/Press Box:
Knowles

Also, here is a list and brief explanation of each of the Canucks draft picks this year.

Vancouver Canucks President & General Manager announced today that the Canucks have selected forward Nicklas Jensen, goaltender David Honzik, right wing Alexandre Grenier, centre Joseph Labate, defenceman Nicklas Blomstrand, defenceman Frank Corrado, centre Pathrik Westerholm and Henrik Tommernas in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Jensen, 18, was selected 29th overall in the 2011 Entry Draft. He spent the 2010-11 season with the Oshawa Generals, collecting 58 points (29-29-58) points in 61 games played. In his first year in the OHL, he ranked fourth on the team in scoring and fifth in the OHL among rookies. Jensen tied for the team lead in goals (7) during the 2011 playoffs.
Honzik, 17, was picked in the third round, 71st overall in the 2011 Entry Draft. The Tabor, Czech Republic native spent the 2010-11 season with Victoriaville in the QMJHL. He posted a goals against average of 3.54 and record of 17-12-0-1.
Grenier, 19, was selected in the third round, 90th overall. The Laval, Quebec native appeared in 31 games for the Quebec Remparts in 2010-11, collecting 24 points (9-15-24). He also recorded 16 points (8-8-16) in 15 playoff games.
Labate, 18, was picked in the fourth round, 101st overall. In 2010-11, the Burnsville, Minnesota native collected 49 points (27-22-49) in 25 games for the Holy Angels and was a finalist for Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey Award. He has committed to the University of Wisconsin for the fall of 2011.
Blomstrand, 18, was selected in the fourth round, 120th overall. The Uppsala, Sweden native registered seven points (3-4-7) in 35 points for Djurgarden Jr. in 2010-11.
Corrado, 18, was picked 150th overall in the fifth round. The Toronto, Ontario native played for Sudbury of the OHL in 2010-11, recording 30 points (4-26-30) in 67 games.
Westerholm, 19, was selected 180th overall in the sixth round. The Karlskrona, Sweden native spent the 2010-11 season with Malmo Redhawks, collecting 21 points (8-13-21) in 34 games.
Tommernas, 20, appeared in 47 games, collecting 20 (3-17-20) for Frolunda in 2010-11. He was selected in the seventh round, 210th overall.

Who may or may not see time at the AHL or CHL level this year. Let's assume all of the guys playing for Canadian minor league clubs stay there. That leaves C Labate, D Blomstrand, C Westerholm, and C Tommernas, although none of those players are on the Canucks prospect camp roster. As of now, these players are also not on the Wolves roster. The Mavs could certainly have a Scandinavian feel to them this year, provided these players are playing in North America this year.

Tragedy in the KHL

2011-09-08T13:08:00.000-05:00

Everyone knows what happened by now, and if you don't read this. Just a really heavy story in a crappy otherwise NHL/hockey offseason.

Some local connections in the accident include Pavol Demitra, NHL journeyman and St. Louis Blues player from 1996-2004, and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl assistant coach Igor Korolev who played 147 games with the Blues from 1992-1994. Both were lost in the crash.

Please follow Russian-American hockey journalist Dmitry Chesnokov on Twitter for ALL of the latest updates. He is doing an awesome job during this difficult time.

Comparing the Big XII's and NHL's Impact on Downtown Kansas City

2011-09-06T01:11:00.000-05:00

I don't want this to devolve into a discussion on college athletics on a hockey blog, and all of the hearsay and rumors and nonsense that changes almost daily, but I know it will. So, just bear with me.

Just as a general common sense thing, let's list the top sports revenue things in KC in no particular order:
1. Kansas City Chiefs
2. Kansas City Royals
3. Sporting Kansas City FC Wizards etc. etc.
4. Big XII Conference events
5. NASCAR/racing

One of those things occurs in downtown Kansas City occasionally. Can you guess which one?

Continue for the answer.

As many of you already know, the Big XII conference is again at a crossroads, with someone holding their hand over the self-destruct button and getting closer to pushing it than last year at this time. Let's just say, for argument's sake, that the button is pushed this time. Texas A&M goes to the Southeastern Conference and Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas Tech bolt for the Pac-12 (or whatever) and leave five 'orphaned' (that's a good word, appropriate word being tossed around) universities in a state of flux. Let's. Just. Assume.

As of now, the media has Oliver Twist (Missouri) and his four brothers (Baylor, Kansas, K-State, and Iowa State) all going to the Big East, or some of them going to the Big East, or some of them going to the Big Ten, or Missouri going to the SEC, or randomly more going to the Pac-##, or joining the Mountain West, etc. etc. The best scenario for Kansas City, of course, would be for the Big 12 to remain a conference. But, again, let's assume it won't be a conference by this time next month.

Dating back to the days of the Big 8, Kansas City has been the sports hub of local major college sports. The dawning of the Texas infused Big 12 in 1996 saw brought a football championship game. Kansas City and Arrowhead Stadium have the distinction of holding the event the most times (5) in its fifteen year history. Of course, since the opening of Jerry Jones' Super Intergalactic Fun Time Stadium and Putt-Putt, the game was to be held in Dallas from 2009-2013, almost assuring Kansas City would never see the game again. Fine.

In 1997, the Big XII men's and women's basketball tournament was brought to Kansas City, where they have been nine times and KC will play host again this year. First, the men's found a home in Kemper Arena, but moved to the Sprint Center after its completion. The women's has always been played in Municipal Auditorium, just down the street from the Sprint Center today. So, everything works out for Kansas City, right? The football championship can be played where football thrives, while the basketball championship can be held in the home of the College Basketball Hall of Fame. There in lies the rub.

As Blair Kerkhoff so eloquently put it in his KC Star article, the men's and women's basketball tournaments "have an economic impact of $14 million." So, what's the problem, you ask? Well, what conference will make Kansas City home without any historic foothold in the area?

Let's assume some more.

Assume, Missouri and Kansas or any variety of the five remaining schools go to the Big Ten. The conference is already in new territory with the addition of Nebraska as the farthest west school. Adding a Missouri and/or Kansas would expand it farther west, but that does not necessarily mean the influence will go that way as well. With Ohio State and Michigan in the east, the big money conference championships seem to hover in that area. Indianapolis and Chicago have been the only hosts to the basketball tournament, and Indianapolis will host the first Big Ten football championship. If any city gets any influence, it would almost assuredly be towards the middle in St. Louis. No championships for KC.

So, assume Missouri and the rest of the gang end up in the Big East. The Big East basketball tournament has been held in Madison Square Garden forever, so it will be in KC sometime never. The newly created football championship needs a home, and maybe the Big East would be willing to give the honors to the other side of the conference. But, remember, Jerry Jones now does not have a championship game in his stadium, and with the addition of Texas' TCU and Baylor (maybe), Kansas City has an outsiders chance to land that game.

So, the SEC? The football championship will forever be in the dome in Georgia. But, the basketball tournament could fit nicely in KC with the addition of Missouri AND Kansas (although not likely). Though, this tournament also seems to spend a lot of time in Atlanta also.

The newly formed Mountain West-Big XII hybrid conference, with members like Boise State, Nevada, Colorado State and so forth. The basketball tournament could find a home here. I originally thought that attendance numbers would drag, but last year's championship game saw 18500 people, while the third overall game saw almost 15000 for New Mexico and Colorado State (the first two games attendance are missing, though). This appears to be the best opportunity so far, although the football side of things would seriously take a hit in an inferior conference (sorry Boise State, but it's true).

Sooooo, that brings me to my main reason for writing (no, no, as much as I like to play the NCAA czar and pick fantasy conferences, that is not my point). The football games are almost irrelevant, because only basketball will find a home downtown and in the Sprint Center. Go back to the top list. Taking the information we already know, and crossing off #4, none of those events take place downtown. Taking away an estimated $14 million from local merchants that ALREADY are not making what they were promised makes the Power and Light District a ghost town on cold nights in March. That is taking away four days of events and almost ten-plus events (I will be eagerly awaiting what the bracket looks like for this year). And that does not even include the women's tournament down the street. Without the forty-one-plus games of an NHL tenant, the forty-one-plus games of an NBA tenant, or the comfort of having nearly twenty-plus local college basketball games in the arena, what happens to the surrounding areas? We are talking major sports, sports that bring in money. KC becomes a two sport town with colleges nearby, instead of being able to rely on the old adage of "at least we get a conference championship."

Those days may be running out as the clock ticks on the Big XII. Once that reality sets in with the media here in Kansas City (and not just wedged into a conference realignment article), they will lash out at AEG, Tim Leiweke, and Kansas City sport and government officials in an uncontrollable race to find a scapegoat. There is no scapegoat at that point, as the city loses out on precious economic monies to place toward other funds. Downtown merchants cannot take solace in knowing the once every week or three or four times a month the Sprint Center will have an event that will primarily bring in locals from a 200 mile radius. At this point, it would be unwise to predict the economic stability of the country as a whole a year from now, but the $14 million dollars for one decently sized basketball tournament exists to remind people how much more business could be brought downtown with at least forty more events (i.e. and NHL or even AHL team, as pucKChaser suggests).

But let's finish on an optimistic tone.

The city will not struggle, either way, as the 2012 MLB All-Star game at Kauffman Stadium looks to make a fair bit of coin, but the city's urban redevelopment project seems to be striving closer and closer to look like post-1980s Kemper Arena and the West Bottoms.

That's about as optimistic as I get on this topic at this point. The next post will have more hockey in it, I promise.

Headline pic via

Question: After more than four years of trying, what is Kansas City’s outlook for landing its own NHL team?

2011-08-29T19:43:00.001-05:00

"I don't know"
--Luc Robitaille, current president and former player of the Los Angeles Kings. AEG writes his checks.

Awesome. Not a very encouraging Q&A by Randy Covitz on the KC Star's site today. That line pretty much sums it up, although it's obvious Covitz was looking for more of an answer out of Luc. KC needs an owner, it's hard to move NHL teams (but it's not--/laughing), KC needs to support the arena, yada, yada, yada. The problem is no one has "stepped up royally" and we should all just deal with it. It's the same old talk, but I am not sure what Covitz was looking to get out of the president of the Kings. He knows hockey operations, he is not in on the day-to-day of AEG and Tim Leiweke. Yes, he was in charge of finding a team for the building back in 2006-07, but he is far removed from any business dealings with KC. His team is coming for a preseason game because the ownership group and a bunch of other people thought it was a decent idea from a marketing standpoint. Oh, and it is. Find a decent sized market with no rooting interest and saturate the market. This will be the third Kings preseason game in KC. The St. Louis Blues have played in four, they are closer, they appear on local TV occasionally, but they are by no means the Missouri's team.

Covitz asked decent questions, but he asked them to the wrong guy. Robitaille can only answer based on trends he has seen around the league and hearsay that may or may not be true about Leiweke's motivation to bring a team to the city. Take it for what it is; a piece by the media to show they are still looking out for the city's interests. Also, that Luc cannot truthfully answer these questions even if he did have all of the answers.

But, he said this on the topic of tickets sold for the preseason game, which I do not believe.

"We have over 10,000 tickets sold. … We expect to sell out the game. We expect nothing (less). We expect people to come to the game and make this building alive …”

10,000 tickets? Really? It has to be corporate or group seats.

But I can't stay mad at him...

“I don’t think you’re being used. You have the best option. Look at North America. Is there another arena that is better than (the Sprint Center)? A city better than this? You have the best options. It’s really hard to move a team. The (New York) Islanders still have to figure out to do their deal … their lease is up in 2015. If that doesn’t happen, what city will take the burden to build a new arena and take the risks they did here? There’s a reason every concert wants to come here.”

Gasp! Lucky loves us! *swoon*

Now watch him hit some dingers!