I disagree! While the guy has been all class, it still doesn't make up for his shortcomings as a coach.

Since he's been here, the team has been consistently ranked at the bottom of the league in shots for and at the bottom of the league in shots against. The Pens have had a TERRIBLE breakout and neutral zone game under him, and at times in the defensive zone looked lost too.

This year the same thing is happening...shots for are last in the league, shots against are near the bottom, PP is god awful, PK is ho hum, neutral zone play stinks, breakout stinks.

Last year we masked a lot of those things with a PP that was pretty good, but our PK still was ranked 25th for the majority of the season. Fleury and Conks good goaltending held us in a lot of games combined with the PP. We still weren't a "well coached" hockey team.

You might point to injuries this year, but I still point to the fact at we could put Malkin, Crosby, Sykora, Satan, Goligoski, Whitney, or Letang on the PP and it STILL stunk. Now look at the teams ahead of us on the PP and tell me that they should be ahead of us...Gonchar or not, the PP was an embarassment. That comes down to coaching. Our 5 on 3 setup was a joke.

Mt also decided to play defenseman as forwards over some deserving WBS guys....stupidity. He also would barely give callups a chance in a role that they could contribute in. He NEVER adjusted in games in order to give the team a better chance, he RARELY matched lines, saying it takes away from the flow of the game, yet because of that Ottawa killed us in the playoffs two years ago. He never EVER used his timeouts wisely...(case in point, Saturday vs. Toronto)

He seems like a great guy and he did a good job to put something in place in Pittsburgh that they lacked forever. However, because of his ignorance to adjust, change things, or go away from the only way he knows how to do things, he's now not part of the organization he apparently cares so much about.

If he cared this much about the organization, he would have changed his philosophies, realizing that they weren't working with the personnel he was dealt and figure out a way to get the most out of them. Bylsma has a vision of the way this team needs to play because of the type of players they are. MT only knows ONE way to coach, ONE way to run a PP, ONE way to PK, ONE way to breakout, and it doesn't matter if he has a team of Gretzky's, or a team of John Madden's, they're going to play the same way no matter what.

The ride was fun MT, but you made your bed.

It's easy to draft superstars when you tank seasons to get them or have a commissioner give you one. The Rangers have never had IRS padlocks on their doors. The Rangers are not about declaring bankruptcy one year, and after stealing said superstar from the NJ Devils by tanking the season, having the highest league payroll several years later.

By the way, they can't with Chris Drury because he has a total no-movement clause but the Rangers can send most of their other high priced players to Hartford and have their money come off the cap.

As far as beating the Pens in the playoffs, other than Mike Richter's rookie year, every time that the Pens have beaten the Rangers has in large part been a direct result of questionable officiating and Penguins "superstar" theatrics. Has Adam Graves been pardoned yet in Pittsburgh for his tap to Prince Mario's wrist? The next game was 10-3 in terms of Pittsburgh PP advantage. I don't think any other team would have gotten away with a PP for "attempt to trip" when the opposition's player didn't even touch him as Pittsburgh did last year when Brandon Dubinsky was in Crosby's neighborhood when Crosby flopped to the ice without being touched. Or Straka getting an interference penalty on Crosby when it was actually Crosby doing the interference.

Nice class, but typical of a Pens fan, that you were showing by putting up that doctored photo of MSG.

By the way, it works the other way as well. Lower revenue teams will not have a place to dump their mistakes in order to get out from under the weight of financially restrictive contracts. If a team like Pittsburgh doesn't have an NHL giftwrapped given superstar and is claiming that it is too poor to remain in Pittsburgh, the Rangers were a team that could take on the contract of an Alexei Kovalev - they can't anymore and the Penguins might now be celebrating their Cup in Kansas City. Oh wait, the Pens were given Crosby so they can stay in Pittsburgh for another 10-15 years until Crosby gets old and the fans give up on the team again and the IRS is ready to padlock the doors of the new arena.

To whom it may concern here on HB:

I would like to openly apologize to anyone and everyone on HB, whom over the past years that I have been on HB (under many different accounts mainly for having been banned ripping, bashing or taking to task the Ek or constant debate), have felt as if I in some way was posting on HB in an insulting manner towards them. This was not my intention at all. It was brought to my attention that many on this site feel that I have been abrasive or rude towards them and I assure you that what you have thought to be was not that at all.

What I viewed as good natured ribbing apparently has never and was never received well, for whatever reason that may be. Again I apologize to those who took offense, never meant to offend at all. This is an apology and it is sincere in its nature. I know some of you may not take kindly to this sort of thing, but do with this what you may and receive it however you feel necessary. It’s a big world and not everyone is going to like everyone, I understand that. I may not be the funniest person on the planet; I understand that and accept that.

In the past I have engaged in many hockey discussions, debates or arguments on this site. Some were pleasant, some dragged on and some ended in not so pleasant ways; for which the only excuse I have to offer is built up frustration and a differing point of view. I view HB as a source of personal entertainment. I know that I can’t change people’s minds and I don’t expect to. I just want to express that I in no way meant anything of real harm on a personal level to anyone and that it was all just meant to be ribs and digs. Again I sincerely apologize to anyone who ever took great offense to my words, I meant no disrespect or malice.

And on that note, I’m going to go leap off a tall building. (<---- sarcasm…okay, maybe not so funny)

Tootles

(I know this post is totally un(frank)in funny btw...or then again maybe it is...who knows...)

Off the bat I say it is good for Tampa, because it is not good for Montreal, so if the trade goes down it has to be good for someone. Looking at though it is good in one way. It will give your team Depth a number1 dman who is in the top 3 in stats for dmen and is pretty solid defensively, plus a good young dman and a highly regarded prospect, plus 2 top 6 forwards. But if Money is the only reason Tampa would do the deal it won't make sense. Markov = 5.75mil Gorges = 1.1 mil Not sure which forwards Ek "KNOWS" are in this trade, but he has mentioned Higgins and top 6 forwards, so I will say Higgins = 1.7mil but he is RFA and would need a new deal Plekanec = 1.6mil but another RFA and will need a raise Both are 25 yrs old Subban = is in the AHL not sure what his contract pays him when he is in the NHL, I assume league min As far as the raise those two farwards would get, I would say Higgins 2.5-3 mil and Plekanec will get 3.0 to 4.0 mil. Higgins has the ability to put up more points then he has but hasn't proven that yet, by his play so far in his career, he will be a career 2nd liner putting up 50ish points, and missing a dozen empty nets a game, But he will also put out solid effort at both ends of the ice. Plekanec put up 69 points last year but then struggled with confidence issues after he was shutdown in last years playoffs. He has since found his game again. So your looking at a Number 1/2 center, who will not be an elite center like Vinny but can play 1st line minutes, PK PP minutes and is sound in his own end, Ideally a 2nd line center on a good team that will put up 60 to 75 points. So there pay raise may be higher or lower depending on who is paying for what, if you focus more on this years performance and give them a one year deal to prove themselves, you could get them for cheaper or based on potential and previous output in a midrange length deal 3 to 4ish might work. So, based on Money if that is Tampa's issue, the deal would not work for them. Based on talent coming back and spreading out the Depth, in order for them to rebuild using a team concept instead of a Superstar concept. That deal works in Tampa's favor very nicely. Weither if it is these players Or if other top 6 forwards are in the deal instead, anything that gives a team 2 top 6 forwards, two top 4 dmen including one of the top 10 in the league right now, a prospect and picks, something that could add up to 7 Assets for one player. Will help a team rebuild quit quickly. Sure on Montreal's side it gives an Elite number one center, and we can replace our forward depth with some young players, but we can't replace a Number1 dman and a number 4 dman with prospects right now and expect to win anything now. And that is what this deal would represent doing something to win now. The only thing it does is give the Montreal Media and pundits their glorified French Canadien Center, that's all= Not worth it

Pens win 3-2 for a much needed game 1 victory, but I have way too many problems with this game...

WHERE WERE THE FANS??!!!!???

When will Pittsburgh realize that it is absolutely our responsibility to rock the house, no matter what our team is doing. I understand this is a football town(but don't EVEN get me started on that)...seriously

This postseason, Pens fans seem to only be responding when the home team does something great...ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? This is the ECF BABY...what other reason do you need??

My second problem revolves around season ticket holders, and for them I have two messages...

First, don't sell your tickets!! The arena has been full of first-time attendees that don't know whether to cry or wind their watch..(Case in point...5:00 mark in the first period to 15:00 left in the third)

Second, if you are buying from a season ticket holder...DON'T just sit there and drink your beer. Scream like Lord Stanley's Cup means something to you!!!

Pittsburgh deserves better and since I am in the building for every game, I WANT MY MONEY'S WORTH!!!!! What keeps me from sitting outside and watching the game with the true die-hards?!?!?!?!

PENS FANS UNITE!!
I expect a much better showing in game 2...

If anyone else in Pittsburgh has deep passion for this game, please respond...I'm missing the true Pens fans right now.

Cheers to Mike Lange, great memories there Ek

I was at the Bell Center tonight, quite the atmosphere.

the game was great going through almost 2 periods, although I find Bruins were getting pretty lucky on the few chances they were getting.

3rd period was disastrous, I know we are missing alot of our core players and we are overtaxing some of our D but man, the forwards were out of gas.

Sadly, the season will come to an end. Nothing anyone can do about it, this season was cursed, seriously.

I would love Gainey to pull a Brian Burke and blow up the team to go get tavares. This team has no identity atm, even with hits good players in the lineup. I would get rid of all the russians except for kovy and markov.

Here are the players I would keep for next season

1st line Kovalev- _________ - Tanguay
2nd line Higgins- Plekanec- ________
3rd line Pacciorety- Lapierre- Latendresse
4th line Kostopoulos- Metropolit- Laraque

Extras Stewart - D'agostini

1st D Markov - Komisarek
2nd D Hamrlik - ________
3rd D weber- Georges

Extra O'byrne

They really need to figure if they intend to play Halak as a starter, if not, dont let this kid rot in the background. Hes young and talented. Either they trade him or they trade Price. Yes I said it. Price seems to have enjoyed a little too much of this town. Hes young and im pretty sure he can be dominant for his career. He has a good value on the market right now. I dont want to have another story like the ribeiro one where they had to trade him within a few hours and got Crap for a young star player.

We need to have a kid and a 30y/o+ backup thats solid and can perform without pushing for the starter spot. Someone that knows his career is a backup.... oh wait we have that guy.. Marc Denis is a perfect candidate.

I wonder what we can get for the Kostytsins ``hard work made me quit`` brothers.

we really need a number one center and a strong offensive defensement that can play on a 2nd pairing 20+minutes

I wonder what the Islanders would trade Streit for...

its hunting season, GET SOME !

There’s a feeling, often voiced around these parts, that free agents don’t want to play for the Edmonton Oilers. The reasons offered are varied – anything form the weather, the nightlife, Kevin Lowe, the travel, Ritch Winter, or even being on an NHLPA blacklist.

It’s overblown.
Mike Comrie really started it all.

When the local product first broke into the league with the Oilers, first as a rookie in midseason and then for the following two years as the Oilers’ de facto first-line centre, he was roundly praised by the fan base.*

After his trade request - for unknown reasons - he was lambasted by that same fan base and saw his reputation run through the mud** locally. Kevin Lowe subsequently dealt him to Anaheim for Corey Perry and a first-round draft pick… only to quash the deal after failing to extort 2.5-million in bonus money from his star centre. Comrie was subsequently dealt to Philadelphia for Jeff Woywitka and the draft pick who turned into Rob Schremp.***

After Comrie followed a string of other rejections – including a ton since the lockout in the form of Mike Peca, Jaroslav Spacek, Michael Nylander, Marian Hossa, Chris Pronger and most recently Dany Heatley.

Back to Comrie. Jim Matheson recently asked Comrie about the perception that nobody wants to play in Edmonton. Here’s what he said:

“I don’t think that’s true. There’s different mentalities to every organization and every city … everybody has a different situation. Maybe a kid from a small town in Western Canada might not like playing in Manhattan.”

We look at that list of rejections, and we can see that Comrie’s statement rings true. Peca publicly blamed the travel schedule. Spacek supposedly felt the same way. But that’s something that could easily be said about teams like San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary and Dallas – indeed, half the Western Conference.

Michael Nylander, meanwhile, actually agreed to a deal with the Oilers (4 years, 5.5-million per season)**** only to have his wife balk at living in Edmonton, leading him to back out of the deal. For what it’s worth, he now says he’d like to come play in Edmonton.

Marian Hossa turned down a mammoth deal with the Oilers in favour of a one-year contract with Detroit. Many complained that this was another symptom of the problem – ignoring the fact that Hossa also rejected Pittsburgh, a team he’d gone to the Stanley Cup final with the year before. Hossa wanted to win a Stanley Cup more than anything, and his decision to pursue one with Detroit has cost him both on the ice***** and in the pocketbook, as he signed a long-term deal in Chicago for far less money than Edmonton offered a year ago.

Pronger fits into the Nylander category; a player whose personal circumstances dictated a need to live elsewhere. Would things have worked out differently if he’d been in Calgary or Ottawa for 2005-06? It seems doubtful.

Most recently we have the example of Dany Heatley. Heatley, as readers will recall, previously demanded a trade from Atlanta. After being dealt to Ottawa, Heatley had some good years, got a shiny new contract, and then saw things go south this past season. He demanded a trade, and because of his no-trade clause was able to limit the number of teams he would accept being dealt to. Bryan Murray played hardball with him and dealt him to Edmonton, only to have Heatley dig his heels in and refuse a deal.

It really isn’t a reflection on Edmonton – particularly if Heatley didn’t include Edmonton in the list of places he was willing to be moved to.

None of this is to say that the Oilers have difficulty attracting free agents. But the difficulties they have are less connected to a distaste for the city then they are to the team’s lousy record over the last decade – and those difficulties are shared by every other lousy team out there.

Just this summer Atlanta, for example, made a serious play for free agent forward Manny Malhotra – reportedly offering a multi-year contract at 2MM per season. Malhotra, who remains unsigned, declined to make the deal because, well, it’s Atlanta.

Meanwhile Florida – a team blessed with good weather and a decent travel schedule – has seen franchise cornerstones Roberto Luongo and Jay Bouwmeester refuse to sign extensions, and has been forced to deal both of them. The reason? Those two players apparently like the idea of winning more games than they lose.

Besides, it isn’t like the Oilers’ don’t have players who wanted to play for them. Ryan Smyth was shipped out of town after the Oilers wouldn’t pay him 5.5-million per season**** (he later signed with Colorado at a 6.25MM/yr cap hit). Free agents like Petr Sykora, Jan Hejda and Marty Reasoner were put on the back-burner or ignored entirely, and that’s to say nothing of Georges Laraque. Sheldon Souray and Nikolai Kahbibulin both followed the money and signed on as free agents.

The point is this: if Edmonton wins games, then it will be an attractive destination for free agents. Detroit, after all, signs whoever they want at below market rate, and it isn’t because of the beauty of the city. If, on the other hand, Edmonton remains mired in mediocrity, there will be no compelling reason for free agents to sign there. That’s really the bottom line.
Leave it to a Flamer or a Nucklehead to stick their noses where they don’t belong. I lived in both Edmonton and Calgary and all the other major cities in Canada and there is no difference in really any of them. All this talk of Edmonton not being a nice city…It’s the same kind of place as Calgary (but smarter people in Edmonton), Montreal and Toronto. These comments certainly come from people that have never left their own cities and know nothing of Canada. Morons! Get a life and a clue.

All it takes to get people to sign is to win…That’s all, plain and simple.

As for the fans and media having anything to do with it...people sign in Montreal and that is the worst place on the planet for media and fans so I don’t think that’s really an issue…We have to start winning a lot more and players will come.

I live in Calgary and this place is a crappy city compared to the others in the country…There is certainly nothing special about this place…Except maybe all those Flamers that take the “short bus” around.

Well... as much as Heatley is wanting "more time", I really have to wonder if it's his AGENT that is waiting for the bigger deal. Why? After all, Heatley already has a monster contract of which his agent (or, according to Ek here, agents) is making a fair share of... why insist on a place other than Edmonton?

Here's a thought: recognition. So far in his career, Heatley has played for two less-than-marketable-for-a-star franchises: Atlanta and Ottawa. Edmonton is viewed by money-hungry agents as a step in the same direction or worse. NYR is seen as a place where hockey players get a lot of attention and their client could be a ***STAR*** on Broadway... come see the troubled kid who finally made it big in New York! The feel good story of the year! Marketing and merchandising abound!

This is generally more prevalent in the NBA (how long do you really think LeBron James is going to stay in Cleveland? As soon as he and Chris Bosh can get the heck out of where they are now, they're off to New York), where the smaller market teams almost act as farm teams for the big boys. The NHL was like this a decade ago... just ask Oilers fans; the remenants of those days still populate the roster. However, a combination of factors, including the NHL adding a bunch of franchises in towns where the weather is nice year-round and players can golf the whole winter long, not to mention salaries that would make Wayne Gretzky blush (if he weren't hauling in a rumoured $7M per as a mediocre coach), and an at-times savage hockey-obsessed Canadian media, have contributed to the average player being less interested in playing in his home country and more interested in southern cities... but only southern cities that have a chance at success OR are not the only game in town and the players can walk the streets (or drive them in expensive cars (NOT a slag on Heatley; that's WAY too low)) in relative anonymity.

Maybe this explains Heatley's reluctance? Or, maybe it explains that Heatley IS in fact interested in Edmonton, but his agents seem more interested in using an American model and getting their client more exposure, and hopefully for them, MORE MONEY. The only way for Heatley to save face now in the eyes of hockey fans would be to a) fire his agents and b) go to Edmonton with no complaints. I can only hope this happens; as an Oilers fan, I would still welcome his talents, but if this petulance is actually coming from Heatley himself, I'm not sure that if I were Tambellini that I wouldn't be trying to broker a 3-way deal and find a way to improve the team without sacrificing any more than he was willing to in the first place.

By the way, thanks to Glen Sather for showing loyalty to someone other than himself, but let's not doubt that his own interests were involved, too. He did the right thing here (let's not kid ourselves, though; I'm sure he was just as mad about having the screws put to him by Murray as he was about Edmonton being played). I also agree that Redden is going to have a big year with Torts as coach (his play improved significantly under Tortorella... what would it take for you Rangers fans to get off his back? 40 Points?

Trying to get on my good side? well my good sides ment for woman so get your homesexual thoughts and get rid of them, i kno im awsome as (frank) but theres somthing abouth the way u tlk and the way u portray u self that makes me very uncomfortable, -this is you after you boyfriend blows his load in your eyes... -and this is wear youd rather have im shoot it off...


- Crimsoninja

fixed

no disrespect, but it reads much better with the smilies in the right spot.

this is the locatin that got me banned. EPIC!

Jeez oh fuck do people write long-ass posts on HB.

Terrible trade. Absolutely terrible. Burke is a complete moron for pulling this crap.

He could have easily gone out and signed Blair Betts for the same salary they're going to pay Primeau and still kept their top defensive prospect past Schenn.

Everything Schenn is defensively, Stralman is offensively. This deal is pretty much the same as trading Schenn for Todd Marchant. Absolutely moronic.

Terrible trade. Absolutely terrible. Burke is a complete moron for pulling this crap.

He could have easily gone out and signed Blair Betts for the same salary they're going to pay Primeau and still kept their top defensive prospect past Schenn.

Everything Schenn is defensively, Stralman is offensively. This deal is pretty much the same as trading Schenn for Todd Marchant. Absolutely moronic.
- RPM03

- S Kaspar Rollins

Seriously friend, WTF? I am delivering major new to you first. isn't that my job?

Seriously friend, WTF? I am delivering major new to you first. isn't that my job?
- RPM03

Do you keep a word document on your desktop with every single Eklund fail quote?

Terrible trade. Absolutely terrible. Burke is a complete moron for pulling this crap.

He could have easily gone out and signed Blair Betts for the same salary they're going to pay Primeau and still kept their top defensive prospect past Schenn.

Everything Schenn is defensively, Stralman is offensively. This deal is pretty much the same as trading Schenn for Todd Marchant. Absolutely moronic.
- RPM03

Winner.

Do you keep a word document on your desktop with every single Eklund fail quote?
- Shutdown

I am just a little tired of rudeness. we are getting HUGE traffic and I get INUNDATED with people asking why I allow a handful of people who simply post anything negative. I don't blame people, because soemtimes I don't even like reading the message boards anymore. I have tried to not be HF Boards, but those guys are probably smarter than I am. And the one rule that you aren't allowed to talk trash about anyone who is a registered user...that rule is going to apply here from this point forth.

Do you keep a word document on your desktop with every single Eklund fail quote?
- Shutdown

... well it sounds alot less awesome when you put it that way.

I am going away from hockey rumors and blogs today briefly.

The rumor business is a cruel and evil mistress. These past two weekends I got smoked and burned by two rumors from totally reliable sources. The whole process was crazy, and got me thinking. Believe me when I say to you that I take this stuff really hard. I spent the weekend and much of yesterday talking to a few of my closest writer friends in the industry about what went wrong and how I could have done better. Their advice was really solid and I took it to heart. I have many sources out there who I trust on many different levels, but the number one most important quality about a source to me is their character. Neither of these two sources had ever wronged me before, and in this case even I don't think of this as a setup to screw me. Their lives are far too important in hockey to go out of their way to make me look bad. So that was why these situations were baffling and even somewhat disturbing. It wasn't like these sources to tell me with such confidence that I could go with something...Which later turned out to be completely wrong.

Where I feel I made my mistakes was in how I wrote my stories. I sounded too definite and I should have known better that no matter how close a source is to the situation things can and often will change on a dime. So in the future I will try and curb how definite I am even if the source is the person directly involved in the deal. You see, quite simply, if things change I need to remember that the first thing on their mind isn't, "Wait, before I go and jump on this offer I must inform Ek!"

Many of the folks I talked to when I asked them for their opinions told me that due to the site's popularity I shouldn't be changing a thing. That credibility may not matter in running a rumor site. I disagree completely. For those of you who really do know me, you know that I don't work that way at all. I am very hard on myself. I need to keep growing and learning from my mistakes or I will get bored and move on. So I will continue to learn more from these mistakes and hope to be better for you as a result. My goal is still the same.

Whenever I start to question myself, I always go back to my basic adages the surround what it is that I do. How I define myself. How I have tried to carve out my own particular niche in the hockey world.

#1- I don't source people so that I can obtain better info since my sources can be comfortable that their name won't be attached.
#2- I know that everything that is ever leaked is leaked for a reason, so I do my best to separate the rumors that people want me to put out for their own agendas.
#3- I don't call out other professional writers even if they take shots at me.
#4- I don't play the "I got it first" game if someone else posts something from my particular blog. I don't assume that the person got it from me even if I am the only person currently writing about it. I don't assume that the person is reading me.
#5- If I do see it first somewhere else I will give credit where credit is due.
#6- I aim to treat my readers with the same respect that I would give a professional hockey writer with whom I would sit and have lunch.
#7- I don't blog just to generate traffic or to be controversial. I don't go negative.
#8- I don't write gossip or post stuff regarding off-ice activities.
#9- I don't blog on rumors that involve possible firings of coaches or GMs
#10- I don't write blogs that go after others in the hockey blogosphere on a personal level even if they have attacked me personally.
#11- I don't censor rumours as long as I feel they are from sources "in the know" and are not completely agenda driven. My thinking here is that I would rather give you the chance to look at what is being discussed instead of me telling you what I think should or should not happen.
#12- I don't bother defending myself to obvious haters and trolls.
#13- I don't focus on breaking news since TSN and their resources and staff will always be ahead of me there. So instead I focus on what they maybe can't do as a mainstream outlet. I focus on bringing you what is being discussed in the earliest possible stages of the discussion, fully knowing that 95% or more of what is being discussed will likely never see the light of day. When I have broken something big it has generally just been because I was talking to the right source at exactly the right time.

The purists among you will be quick to point out that those 13 adages are often very contradictory to the tried and true ways of journalism. And you are 100% right. I went to college for journalism. I still have the AP Style book circa 1987. I am forging into a completely different world here.

If Television reporting is about entertainment, and Newspapers are about factual information, then where does the internet fit in? I have been called an entertainer by many and when asked if I see myself as an entertainer I often respond that I do, but I always add that I am an entertainer not out of choice, but rather because people come to my site to be entertained. Using that argument I believe all sports reporters to be entertainers. We cover a SPORT after all. I remember buying the Daily News and Inquirer as a young adult and reading the sports section to be entertained.

There was a time when we bought newspapers to be informed. Before the internet and before the availability of every hockey highlight you would wake up and read the paper to find out what happened last night in the NHL. Now I read the paper to find out what happened in the war and with the government. I don't read that for entertainment, I read that to be informed. I suppose the casual sports fans read the paper to be informed and watch 24/7 news to get their War news. It depends what you choose to follow during your day. Sports is entertainment. Sports writing is as well. At least that is my opinion.

Perhaps this is why I have found that the TV Hockey people tend to relate more to what it is that I do.

On TV, sports don't pretend to not be entertainment like sometimes it does in the newsprint. The Internet is a new world and its own animal. The internet brings the information of newspapers and entertainment of television together, but neither turns out to be the internet's discerning characteristic. If newspapers provide information and television provides entertainment the internet provides engagement and interactivity. That is the difference and it is why news and TV have struggled mightily to cross-over to the web. Newspapers have failed for a variety of reasons, but the biggest is because of the people who have tried to put the "newspapers on line" when they should be building "websites." It is a huge difference. I have had discussions with old-school newswriters who get spooked by all the comments they receive when they write. They ask to have no comments. It makes them uneasy to get real-time feedback that is uncensored.

And we run into issues as well when we get into the fights about "Who broke what story?" This is a discussion I have had very often with mainstream writers and I plan a podcast to bring some big-name people to the table to discuss this.

In this age of Twitter, the whole concept of breaking news is dying (if not already dead) The reality is that everyone is a reporter and everyone has a voice. If I am told by a source that something is happening and then I write it, should I then take several hours and scour the net and Twitter to see if anyone else was told the same thing before I post it? If possible I check TSN or NHL.com, but after that, where do I draw the line?

One reporter nailed it to me the other day, and it has become my latest Mantra. "We worry about breaking stories to our readers, not the world." That is a statement I couldn't agree with more. When I read an exciting story I don't always remember or care where I first read it. I just want to read it. In the days before the internet and better communications a story would break at all different times in all different papers and rarely did anyone accuse anyone else of stealing their story. It all went to press the night before and sat around until someone woke up and picked up their paper and at that very moment the story broke to that individual. The timestamp wasn't 1:23 PM. It was Tuesday. And everyone was fine with it.

What hasn't changed is how those stories came to be. Reporters calling sources and putting together pieces of a puzzle. That is the fun part of my world. We still do it that way. You can read other sites and twitters as much as you want and not get 1/10th the information you will get from a well-placed source. Racing the clock makes us sloppy. The fighting each other over mere seconds makes us look amateur. I admit that.

Therefore the best way for me to do what I do is to not focus on breaking stories but instead get you information from the inside as quickly as I can. So that you can interact with that information and make up your own mind on a rumor. But I need to be more careful with how I phrase things so as to give you that opportunity more fully. There are many little changes that I can make that won't affect what you come to me for. I will never stop putting out every rumor that comes from a legit place, but I am going to try and stay away from the word "imminent" as well as timeframes (ex: in the next 48 hours). Even if those exact words were said to me, using those words just traps me into a world in which I have zero control. Everything happens too quickly in the NHL. The Heatley trade to San Jose litterally happened in a few hours after months of trying.

My end game and hope with Hockeybuzz is simple. By following my own guidelines doing it this way, my readers all get a chance to see a little more into the inner workings of the hockey world than they would otherwise. I do firmly believe that. If I didn't I wouldn't waste your time.

I believe that if you read my stuff on a regular basis and apply your own hockey knowledge and logic then you are more informed and are also far more aware of what is coming. I get great emails saying stuff like, "You never said our team was going after this player, but based on what you were saying it felt to me like the atmosphere was right for them to get him." More often than not a transaction doesn't happen exactly as the rumor, but often enough that rumor played heavily into what eventually happens. Again, the Internet is all about interactivity and engagement.

I think of my readers as a friend who I talk to each day on the phone and I talk hockey with. That's why I also share some of my personal life, and many times this past year I have drawn a great deal of strength from your kindness. Been a crazy year! I had my appendix burst, my father pass away, and my dog pass away...All in the last 11 months!

Some of you can't take this leap and I can tell are just fristrated. You want this to be the NY Times and you want me to be checking up on every source, sourcing every rumor, and only printing facts. If that is you, then I am not the right person for you to be reading. The internet is likely not where you should be. This is a breathing, living space, faults and all.

Thanks for reading this. I will return this evening with a fun new feature regarding trade rumors and teams whose windows of opportunities are changing.

Terrible trade. Absolutely terrible. Burke is a complete moron for pulling this crap.

He could have easily gone out and signed Blair Betts for the same salary they're going to pay Primeau and still kept their top defensive prospect past Schenn.

Everything Schenn is defensively, Stralman is offensively. This deal is pretty much the same as trading Schenn for Todd Marchant. Absolutely moronic.
- RPM03

We have a winner.

Okay umm...is this the longest posts thread or epic posts threads? because some of these posts are zzzzzzzzish.

Okay umm...is this the longest posts thread or epic posts threads? because some of these posts are zzzzzzzzish.
- Belak4LadyByng

obviously...things have changed. and could change again. That's how this game goes.

Okay umm...is this the longest posts thread or epic posts threads? because some of these posts are zzzzzzzzish.
- Belak4LadyByng

that's up to you. you have seen things broken here before anywhere else if you are really paying attention. but I dont know someone would spend so much time at a site where they feel lied to.

that's up to you. you have seen things broken here before anywhere else if you are really paying attention. but I dont know someone would spend so much time at a site where they feel lied to.
- schuter82

hey ek. if you really want to come see real moose for your son your will always be invited to my house in northern Alberta any time.

We have a winner.
- Crusty Sucks

But Johnson was on the bench and was also in the game before hand meaning, if he was in net for that shot, it could have hit him and since Curry clearly didn't see it, he had nothing to fear. You really are slow with this stuff aren't you

But Johnson was on the bench and was also in the game before hand meaning, if he was in net for that shot, it could have hit him and since Curry clearly didn't see it, he had nothing to fear. You really are slow with this stuff aren't you
- RPM03

That's a beauty. How stupid can someone really be.