Greetings everyone…this is your host, Chris Wassel, with another episode of Hockey Around The Horn: The Stanley Cup Edition.

And now the intros…..

Kindly introduce yourselves please….

I am the Ogre, the strong yet gentle giant of TheNHLArena. And I happen to be the GM of the Penguins.

“Stand back, JoeyHurricane is coming thru! *cues entrance theme*…darn the CD is skipping!”

I am the one..the only….the Princess.

THE ICEBREAKER

Brian Burke has denied the Leafs yet again….is this story really dead or is there still more to the tale?

I know not of this “Brian Burke” of which you speak. Is he the one living down in the forest by the elves? Seems I’ve heard the name before and pain fills the eardrum. — Ogre

“I wouldnt call it dead right now, perhaps life support. I think things will get clearer just after the draft. Since Burke has a year left on his current deal, even if he resigned he would still have to honor that final year so unless he was able to get an out if the owner gets in potential legal trouble, this story is going to be a moot issue until next season with a few more weeks of conjecture from hockey media.” — Joey

LOL…dead. Burke isn’t going anywhere. — Princess

NEWS OF THE WEEK

1. Much has been made of the officiating in the Stanley Cup Finals…what sticks out more…the goaltending interference calls or the obstruction calls?

You asked the right person. The obstruction needs to be stopped and the refs are doing the right thing. Reaching out with the free hand needs to be eliminated. As far as goalie interference, I think the call on Zetterberg in the first OT was a good call and the other was a nice fall by Fleury. I am strongly against diving or embellishing but until they correct it, it’s going to happen, and most goalies are good at it. But players need to stop driving into the crease. If they hit a goalie outside his little blue home, tough, he deserves to be hit. But if he’s where he is supposed to be, you got to stay out. Home invasion should be a crime. Make the blue area a little bigger, get rid of the trapezoid, and if you roam from home, expect to get hit.
– Ogre

“I think it is the interference calls. As much as we fans all clamor for more consistent officiating, let’s face the facts, obstruction calls are hockey’s version of holding in football, you just aren’t gonna get them all and get them all right. Goalie interference calls far too much exploit the wording of the rulebook and can use a revision to make this infraction completely understandable, thus making this call more consistent.” — Joey

Obstruction, but I’m tried of hearing about people being upset about the calls made or not made. No *person* is perfect and no one ref is gonna see every pentaly to be called. And there are calls in every game you can say were bad or not made. I think people should either really try to fix this issue or shut up and just watch the game. Just crying about it doesn’t do anything.
– Princess

2. Former Coyotes GM Mike Barrett has proposed a developmental league in the Spring for prospects. Is this something that could work or is it just too outlandish to be plausible?

To do what? Save a few weeks in the minors? Stupid idea. Use the minors for what it is there for, getting young players time on the ice in game situations. — Ogre

“Chalk me up on the negative. Several reasons for this, first is you would have young players and prospects from a variety of leagues both professional and not that would have to sign off on this and that wont happen. The NHLPA wouldnt and shouldnt agree to something that can injure players that are members of the PA that may potentially be caused by players that are not members. Also give these kids a rest, hockey is enough of a drain on their lives, give them more than 8 weeks of an ‘offseason’. Instead of this have more rookie tournaments thru the league like the Traverse City tourney and the rookie tourney in the Pacific Division, instead. — Joey

Could work, but then again, there’s nothing to say you can’t take one of the many leagues already made and turn it into that. Probably would save money and time. — Princess

3. What is the more intimidating place to play a home game at….Joe Louis or the Mellon?

Well, bowing to the intelligence of my counterpart, Princess, with the lower attendance at the Joe, (I agree with the pricing and economic atmosphere he pointed out to me) and total sellouts at Mellon Arena, I got to go with the hometown crowd. The whiteout and full out mayhem makes it a tough place to play, hence the recent record, which the Red Wings snapped Monday. — Ogre

“I am going with Igloo. I was there scooping up Student Rush tickets, even if I was out of college already, when the team sucked and attendance barely ever got over 13,000 and those crowds were as loud as some sellouts cause those were the passionate fans that were there. I have seem many examples of how Pens teams play and effort resonates with the crowd at the Mellon. On thing I’ll remember the most is the Pens breaking a long winless streak at home with Andy Chiodo slamming his goalie stick on the net and waving his arms to the crowd that is so loud that you think we just won a berth in the Stanley Cup.” — Joey

Haha! I don’t think playing a home game at Joe Louis is intimidating…for the Red Wings
— Princess

4. How bad has the Tampa situation spiraled out of control and could it possibly get worse?

Yeah. It could get worse.
Win. Win. Win. Win. Win.
They couldn’t with the good players they had.
The baseball team has finally shown up and could steal people, and dollars, away from the Lightning, too. It’s tough enough to get people to go inside in a place like that when the area has a beautiful landscape and sunshine.
Oh, and making it Melrose Place, won’t be any better either. — Ogre

“Oh it can definately get worse, what is gonna happen if the Miroslav Satan Rays are for real? It can be an ugly situation if new ownership really does go for a coach for promotional purposes instead of the product on the ice. It will be trouble if 2 seasons go by without realistically competing for a playoff spot.” — Joey

Everything can always get worse. I don’t think it’s “spiraled out of control”. Rough times happen for everyone. — Princess

OVER/UNDER

There will be 7 trades made at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft….over or under?

Way over. Eleven or twelve. There are too many young stars and not enough money around to pay them and older players. Some teams, Pittsburgh, may have to deal a youngster or two, and others will strengthen what they have with vets. Last year was a learning curve on what to do with the new era in hockey. Teams will do more this year. — Ogre

“Under, I like 6 more than 7.” — Joey

Over…at least 8 or 9. — Princess

OUT OF BOUNDS

According to some in the media….what is worse…tanking you way to the Stanley Cup Finals or barely being able to sell out your own building?

You’re gonna get me in trouble here. I don’t believe any team “tanked” there way into the finals. (I know what you are hinting at, and you’re not so subtle) Teams do what is best for their team. Now, did the Pens “tank” games to get Mario? They probably didn’t play their best.
Not selling out your building is a damn shame, especially for the Cup Finals. To show off your team pride for the greatest trophy in sports, is what it is all about. But, as I stated earlier, some circumstances can’t be avoided. — Ogre

“Not selling out is the bigger issue to me. Yes the economy is not that good at the moment, yes tickets are expensive, yes people watch their what their disposable income is spent on but there are still enough people in the metropolitan areas that the necessary amounts of people should find their way to purchase those seats. Understandable if you cant afford them all but if you took said people and they all bought a game or two if that is all they can afford, sold out city.” — Joey

“Barely being able to sell out your own building” - I’d rather not be the champions and still have the fans behind me and still bring in some revenue. But a team is more likely to become champions if they can sell tickets. — Princess

THE FINAL SHOWDOWN

1. In the end, who should normally win the Conn Smythe…the best player on the winning team…or the best player in the playoffs period no matter their outcome?

This is tough. Surely players on Cup Final teams will normally have the best numbers; i.e. points, goals, assists, wins, etc. So it comes down to two teams usually. Unless someone has an outstanding, over-the-top performance, for the losing team, someone on the winning team should win. You were not the “best” player if you couldn’t help your team win. If it’s a close, seven game series, I could see it happening. — Ogre

“Normally its the best player on the winning team. Not often will you see a player on the losing team be worthy of the award. The Cup is awarded to the team who wins 4 series, which is a sign of consistency, and the consistently best player on said team will always outshine the best the losing team had to offer.” — Joey

I think it should go to the best player in playoffs no matter what the outcome. That’s only fair.
– Princess

2. At press time….the Chicago Wolves were up 2-0 on the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins…do you think WBS has a snowball’s chance in coming back and why? Also, who has set the scoring record for rookies with 26 points so far?

With the call-ups for the Pens from the WBS team, and yet the great year they’ve had, I wouldn’t bet against them. WBS in seven.
I’m not going to look it up but I do know Alex Gologoski was credited with breaking some record or something, even though he was just called up and not a member of the team anymore. — Ogre

“This is a series that the word ‘chippy’ doesnt do it justice. Game three will define this series for several reasons, Wilkes Barre has always been a great team at home and the Calder Cup has a 2-3-2 format. Problem for Wilkes-Barre is the Pittsburgh Penguins have called up Alex Goligolski for the Stanley Cup Finals on an emergency basis and if the Penguins were to force a game 7 tonight, Alex will miss games 4,5,6 in this series. This is gonna hurt WBS moreso as Alex has a record 26 points by a defenseman in a postseason. Tough row to hoe for the Baby Pens but dont count them out until maybe tonight. ” — Joey

Alex Goligolski set the record and no the Baby Pens will not come back…Chicago is too tough.
– Princess

3. When all is said and done….what does it really take to not only win the Stanley Cup but repeat in this day and age? Really is any team now capable of doing so and why?

Not very possible anymore. Teams are better throughout the NHL now more than ever, and when you win it, teams gun for you even more, making it harder for you to repeat. Also, free agency and players jumping from team to team makes it tough.
But, if you have a real good farm team, and group of guys, signed for a few years, AND they play beyond their expectations, who knows what can happen. (Not so subtle, either, huh?)
– Ogre

“Lets face it, dynasties in the NHL are not anywhere close on the horizon. Back to back champions are only slightly more realistic. I believe that the closest you will find to a ‘dynasty’ is 3 Cup wins in a decade, but don’t expect two of those to be back to back. The collective talent pool in the NHL nowadays as compared to 15-25 years ago makes a 100+ grind to the Grail that much more difficult and unlikely. — Joey

You gotta have talent. A team that doesn’t have a lot of experience and/or talent is not gonna win. I think you also have to have heart and passion; the team has to care to win, because they want it and not because they want a paycheck. — Princess

CW: I wanted to personally thank all three of the participants for being in this month’s edition….and now the fans decide who wins this month’s Hockey Around The Horn.

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