that philly fan falling in the penalty box with tie domi

hartsy taunting the hogan pittsburgh fan
- moylander

I've heard Pitt fans call Hartnell a terrible person because he taunted that guy and the guy was apparently a cancer patient or something. So now some Pitt fans use that as fuel and say stuff like "Hartnell hates people with cancer" or makes fun of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcgivAeVlI4

I've heard Pitt fans call Hartnell a terrible person because he taunted that guy and the guy was apparently a cancer patient or something. So now some Pitt fans use that as fuel and say stuff like "Hartnell hates people with cancer" or makes fun of them.
- JAKEw1234

they sound like charming and intelligent people

- Jsaquella

That gif very accurately describes Fluery's entire career against the Flyers.

That gif very accurately describes Fluery's entire career against the Flyers.
- JAKEw1234

i think it's vokoun...

i think it's vokoun...
- Don'tForgetTocchet

At least Vokoun was in his net on this one

Good idea. I am all for drafting Russians. What could go wrong?
- feelingkettle

Should we get rid of all Canadian players just because Todd Bergen choose to play golf instead of playing for Flyers? That is pretty narrow-minded.Let also send Peter Straka back because we had Roman Chechmanek. Maybe we should judge players by how they are performing instead of where they are came from

i think it's vokoun...
- Don'tForgetTocchet

Oops you're right

Should we get rid of all Canadian players just because Todd Bergen choose to play golf instead of playing for Flyers? That is pretty narrow-minded.Let also send Peter Straka back because we had Roman Chechmanek. Maybe we should judge players by how they are performing instead of where they are came from
- SGTrader

that guy's a jerk i wouldn't worry about it

Should we get rid of all Canadian players just because Todd Bergen choose to play golf instead of playing for Flyers? That is pretty narrow-minded.Let also send Peter Straka back because we had Roman Chechmanek. Maybe we should judge players by how they are performing instead of where they are came from
- SGTrader

I've been saying this for a while now and people dont seem to care. Maybe if russians weren't white it'd be viewed differently by people. Not me. I'm sick of seeing it to be honest. I've been banned multiple times for poking the MJL bear. I see at least one post a day in here from a select few regulars generalizing an entire nationality in a negative light and nothing. Good job refs.

I think that's a very real threat if you have a Russian player on your team, for sure.

Maybe also, to a lesser extent, for other players from former Soviet bloc countries.

But I'm be surprised if a North American kid walked away from a pile of money to go play in Russia.

I'd be very interested to see the breakdown, by nationality, on KHL rosters. I also wonder if there are any rules in the KHL regarding how many non-Russians you can have (I believe such a rule exists in Japanese professional baseball leagues....maybe the KHL has a similar rule?).
- johndewar

The KHL does have rules concerning the nationality of its players, although interestingly enough the rules aren't the same for all teams. Russian teams are allowed a maximum of 5 foreign players, and there are restrictions on the total ice team for foreign goalies. Non-Russian KHL teams must have at least five players from their home country.
Russians constitute a large majority of the players in the KHL because most teams are located in Russia. Players not from Russia represent a minority of about a third of the KHL players, and are mostly Eastern European, Scandinavian, and North American. In 2012–13, more than 800 players played in the league.

Should we get rid of all Canadian players just because Todd Bergen choose to play golf instead of playing for Flyers? That is pretty narrow-minded.Let also send Peter Straka back because we had Roman Chechmanek. Maybe we should judge players by how they are performing instead of where they are came from
- SGTrader

Because no Canadian or American left his job to get a higher paying one elsewhere. My issue with Kovalchuk was his timing. Had he retired on July 1st, rather than waiting until the bulk of the free agent crop had been signed, it might have changed the Devils approach to things.

I have also seen it suggested that the Devils were complicit in the whole affair. In which case, it's hard to blame Kovalchuk.

Since the KHL's conception, there have been two NHLers of any real status who jumped ship. Kovalchuk and Radulov. I'd have no issue adding a Russian player, so long as he could play.

Because no Canadian or American left his job to get a higher paying one elsewhere. My issue with Kovalchuk was his timing. Had he retired on July 1st, rather than waiting until the bulk of the free agent crop had been signed, it might have changed the Devils approach to things.

I have also seen it suggested that the Devils were complicit in the whole affair. In which case, it's hard to blame Kovalchuk.

Since the KHL's conception, there have been two NHLers of any real status who jumped ship. Kovalchuk and Radulov. I'd have no issue adding a Russian player, so long as he could play.
- Jsaquella

If the Devils didn't know about his"retirement" ahead of time, why was the termination mutual?

http://www.newscolater.co...-after-11-seasons-in-nhl/

New Jersey general manager Lou Lamoriello issued the following statement: “After many conversations with Ilya over the past year on his desire to retire from the National Hockey League, Ilya’s decision became official today. On behalf of the entire organization, I wish Ilya and his family all the best in their future endeavors.”

Ilya's departure has been in the works for awhile. If Lou was really surprised and/or upset about Kovalchuk leaving, he could've prevented Kovalchuk from playing professional hockey for the rest of his life.

I'm pretty sure the timing of the retirement was all Lou. I don't think the timing of the retirement prevented the devils from doing anything that they would've done before or during the draft. Quite the opposite. Also can you imagine the circus if Kovalchuk had retired before the draft? No. This was carefully timed.
Also, for a team that couldn't afford to buy out Kovalchuk's contract this was a winning lottery ticket.

It worked out well for both parties involved. It does seem a bit like cap circumvention but I don't blame Ilya one bit and he'll be making more money in the KHL (which he couldn't have done without Lou's blessing) than he would've made in the NHL.

I wish Bryz had retired to go to the KHL instead of the Flyers having to buy him out. I'm sure Snyder does to.

If the Devils didn't know about his"retirement" ahead of time, why was the termination mutual?

http://www.newscolater.co...-after-11-seasons-in-nhl/


Ilya's departure has been in the works for awhile. If Lou was really surprised and/or upset about Kovalchuk leaving, he could've prevented Kovalchuk from playing professional hockey for the rest of his life.

I'm pretty sure the timing of the retirement was all Lou. I don't think the timing of the retirement prevented the devils from doing anything that they would've done before or during the draft. Quite the opposite. Also can you imagine the circus if Kovalchuk had retired before the draft? No. This was carefully timed.
Also, for a team that couldn't afford to buy out Kovalchuk's contract this was a winning lottery ticket.

It worked out well for both parties involved. It does seem a bit like cap circumvention but I don't blame Ilya one bit and he'll be making more money in the KHL (which he couldn't have done without Lou's blessing) than he would've made in the NHL.

I wish Bryz had retired to go to the KHL instead of the Flyers having to buy him out. I'm sure Snyder does to.
- Flyers_01

I think you are absolutely right. Some of the russian newspapers reported that Devils had hard time "cutting" kovalchuk"s check for last year. It says that Bettman had to be involved. So I'm pretty sure the benefits were on both sides.

If the Devils didn't know about his"retirement" ahead of time, why was the termination mutual?




Ilya's departure has been in the works for awhile. If Lou was really surprised and/or upset about Kovalchuk leaving, he could've prevented Kovalchuk from playing professional hockey for the rest of his life.

I'm pretty sure the timing of the retirement was all Lou. I don't think the timing of the retirement prevented the devils from doing anything that they would've done before or during the draft. Quite the opposite. Also can you imagine the circus if Kovalchuk had retired before the draft? No. This was carefully timed.
Also, for a team that couldn't afford to buy out Kovalchuk's contract this was a winning lottery ticket.

It worked out well for both parties involved. It does seem a bit like cap circumvention but I don't blame Ilya one bit and he'll be making more money in the KHL (which he couldn't have done without Lou's blessing) than he would've made in the NHL.

I wish Bryz had retired to go to the KHL instead of the Flyers having to buy him out. I'm sure Snyder does to.
- Flyers_01

I think your basic premise is correct. I think both sides are okay with the decision. I'd just like to know how Lamariello could prevent Kovalchuk from playing professional Hockey for the rest of his life. What are you basing that on?

I think your basic premise is correct. I think both sides are okay with the decision. I'd just like to know how Lamariello could prevent Kovalchuk from playing professional Hockey for the rest of his life. What are you basing that on?
- MJL

If the Devils & the NHL indeed decided to press the issue, Kovalchuk could be blocked from playing in any IIHF sanctioned league. A player with a valid contract can't simply up and leave and join another league, unless the NHL and team sign off and allow it to happen.

The rules came in place after the Radulov defection.

- Don'tForgetTocchet