A Handy Guide for the NBA fan to the NHL

So it seems the NBA is threatening to cancel regular season games soon. With that, it seems that many NBA fans will soon be making their way to NHL games unsure of what to do. Luckily, we here at Down Goes Spezza would like to put into print (well, digital E-media) a guide to going to hockey games for NBA fans.


First a list of Do's/Do Nots


Do Not- Chant "De-Fence" when the opposing team has a powerplay to motivate your team's penalty killers
Instead-When your team has a power play, yell "SHOOT!!!!!" at whomever is holding the puck.


Do Not- Expect to see players "check in" at the scorer's table before entering on a change
Instead- Expect to see the Boston Bruins botch line changes and get called for Too Many Men penalties.


Do Not- Think that a puck in the mouth that breaks a jaw is a reason for a player  to miss a game.
Instead- Expect to see that player return with a cage on.


Do Not- Expect a half hour press conference to detail one UFA signing.
Instead- Expect a half hour press conference every day telling you everything about Sidney Crosby


Do Not- Expect to hate a player like LeBron James for signing as a UFA with another team
Instead- Expect to hate Eklund for getting your hopes up that a player might sign with your team.


Do Not- Get used to seeing a team in Phoenix.
Instead- Create your own clever relocation rumor


Do Not- Buy your new favorite team's jersey and expect it to stay in date since during the shipping time, they will probably re-design it.
Instead- Just buy a throwback from the 90s.


Do Not- Expect to hear rap music at a game.
Instead- Expect to hear music that was cool in 2004.


Do Not- Assume that goaltending is illegal.
Instead- Assume that you'll see 30 goalies a game when watching a Flyers playoff game or NY Islanders season.


Do Not- Expect to see players ignore defense every night and have it treated as the norm.
Instead- Expect every single person  to blast Dany Heatley and Phil Kessel for never venturing into the defensive zone.


Do Not- Wonder why players like Dustin Byfuglien, Martin Brodeur, Kyle Wellwood and Tim Thomas have jobs despite not looking like athletes.
Instead- Wonder why players like Wade Redden, Matt Walker and Mike Komisarek have jobs.





Also, if you're going to be attending an NHL game for the first, you may want to have "forecasts" of what to expect when you get to the arena. Luckily, we've put together a list of basic expectations for every NBA City that has an NHL team.

City-Toronto
NHL team- Maple Leafs
Basic Forecast- If you live in Toronto, you already know who the Maple Leafs are.



City- New York
NHL team- Rangers
Basic Forecast- In terms of big name free agency signings that don't deliver titles, Gaborik and Brad Richards are Chris Bosh and LeBron James...and Henrik Lundqvist is Dwayne Wade.



City- Minneapolis/St Paul
NHL team- Wild
Basic Forecast- By acquiring half the Sharks, the Wild now own many players with distinct choking abilities.



City- Miami
NHL team- The Florida Panthers
Basic Forecast- The Panthers went on a spending spree like the Heat a year ago. Unlike the Heat, the Panthers didn't actually sign good players.



City- Dallas
NHL team- Stars
Basic Forecast- Bankrupt, like the NBA will soon be.



City- Los Angeles
NHL team- Kings, Ducks.
Basic Forecast- Kings: Hipsters and Wil Wheaton make up the fan base. Ducks: No matter how hard you try, no one has George Parros's beard.



City- Bay Area, California
NHL team- Sharks
Basic Forecast- Like LeBron James, Joe Thornton tends to leave important games 12 minutes early.



City-Boston
NHL team- Bruins
Basic Forecast- Like single other team in Boston, the Bruins have won a recent title.



City- Washington DC
NHL team- Capitals
Basic Forecast- This actually might be the easiest city for an NBA fan to get into, as Capitals fans and Wizards fans all have roughly the same amount of hockey knowledge



City-Philadelphia
NHL team- Flyers
Basic Forecast- Muggy with a chance of batteries.


City- Atlanta
NHL team- Thrashers
Basic Forecast- Gone, faster than this NBA season


City- Newark, New Jersey
NHL team- Devils
Basic Forecast- Beware of traps and jars of jelly.

Theme Songs of the 2011 NHL Playoffs

(Editor's Note: HEY LOOK! DGS IS EXPANDING! Twitter's @ItsAFez66 has joined the team. I just snapped her up as a UFA yesterday. Don't worry though, I still have capspace. Hope PhillyGirl doesn't kill me. Anyway, enjoy her work.)

So, with hockey having ended for the season and the craziness of free agency upon us, I figured my first piece here on the awesome DownGoesSpezza blog should bring solely laughs.

So without further ado, I bring you:

Theme Songs of the 2011 NHL Playoffs

First, just for the hell of it, Atlanta Thrashers to the Winnipeg (Meese) Jets:

Now for the actual playoff stuff:

Dan Boyle (Sharks):

Scott Hartnell, Kris Versteeg (Flyers), Adam McQuaid (Bruins):

Or

Danny Briere (Flyers):

Tim Thomas (Bruins):

Zdeno Chara (Bruins):

And lastly, Alex Burrows (Canucks):

Well….

ItsAFez66

Previewing the Second Round Matchups

Just like we did for the first round, it's time to preview the other playoff series that don't involve the Flyers. So here we go.

-Western Conference-

#5 Nashville vs #1 Vancouver

How They Got Here: Nashville shot and killed a Duck, Vancouver tossed a Monkey off their back.
What to look for: Will Shea Weber's beard destroy Roberto Luongo?
Who moves on: The Predators


#2 San Jose vs #3 Detroit

How They Got Here: San Jose committed regicide, the Red Wings put some whiteout on the Coyotes

What to look for: Will Joe Thornton realize it's May BEFORE senility sets in on the Red Wings?

Who moves on: Kyle Wellwood disposes of the octopus by making calamari and eating: Sharks move on again.

-Eastern Conference-

#1 Washington vs #5 Tampa Bay

How They Got Here: Washington defeated the Rangers, TBL eliminated the PenGOONs

What to look for: How many of DTV's ideas come true?

Who moves on: Gotta say WSH because TBL will pay for the injustice of keeping Crosby out of the NHL for 9 months?

The Flyers preview will come Saturday

The Western Conference Quarter Finals

I did this last year and I'm doing it again this year, previewing the Western Conference playoff series to make sure you know how to be with your NHL playoff bracket.


#1 Vancouver vs #8 Chicago

What you need to know about Vancouver: Roberto Luongo fears the United Center

What you need to know about Chicago: Patrick Kane's still drunk from June 2010

Who's gonna win?- Chelsea Dagger stabs the Canucks again, Chicago wins in 6







#2 San Jose vs #7 Los Angeles

What you need to know about San Jose: Joe Thornton hasn't been that it's playoff time yet.

What you need to know about Los Angeles: Terry Murray and John Stevens are running their bench

Who's gonna win? Gotta be San Jose, Thornton won't see a calendar...and do you REALLY think a team with John Stevens on their bench has a playoff run in them?





#3 Detroit vs #6 Winnipeg Hamilton Quebec City Phoenix

What you need to know about Detroit: Detroit's roster remembers playing in the NHL before the NHL was in Winnipeg...come to think of it, I'm pretty sure the Red Wings remember the last time the Ottawa Senators won a Stanley Cup

What you need to know about Phoenix: Biz-Nasty plays for them, which means this series will have the most interesting tweets.

Who's gonna win? Since there's obviously no such thing as hockey in Phoenix...Detroit wins


#4 Anaheim vs #5 Nashville

What you need to know about Anaheim: They have 5 star players, Getzlaf, Perry, Ryan, Selanne and Visnovsky...but they're goalie is Dan Ellis and his backup is the #DanEllisProblems

What you need to know about Nashville: They're goalie is kinda huge...and not like Tim Thomas or Marty Brodeur. Also, they have a defenseman with a giant slapshot...wait...huge goalie...D-man with a 104+MPH slapshot...are you SURE we're not talking about the Bruins? Apparently, yes,  I can confirm, Nashville has a hockey team...and Mike Fisher-Underwood plays for them. Ok, then...wow...learn something everyday.


Who's Gonna win? Nashville, because Dan Ellis will refuse to stop Shea Weber's slapshot.

Team Phobias in the Playoffs

We all know that hockey players are a superstitious bunch. They love their rituals like playoff beards, not saying that word that's apparently constantly said in Flyerdom etc... Anyway teams also have phobias for the playoffs as well. Being that DGS lives around hockey, and has the DGS-SuperSpies always watching, I've obtained a list of phobias that some players or teams have going into this post season.


The Vancouver Canucks fear:
Chelsea Dagger, Patrick Kane, Chelsea Dagger, Patrick Sharp, Chelsea Dagger, Jonathan Toews (and the fact that he's freaking creepy as hell), Chelsea Dagger, The Chicago Blackhawks, Chelsea Dagger, games in the United Center, Chelsea Dagger.

The San Jose Sharks fear:
Joe Thornton seeing a calendar

The Philadelphia Flyers fear:
Michael Leighton's god damn 5 hole being involved in a game, going on the Powerplay, having a playoff caliber goaile, Mike Richards being nice to the media after a loss, Nikolay Zherdev playing 'defense'.

The Chicago Blackhawks fear:
Patrick Kane in a bar, Jonathan Toews being exposed as a Vulcan Android, John Scott seeing ice time.

The Pittsburgh Penguins fear:
Brent Johnson thinking that his teammates play for NYI when Pens wear the blue sweaters, Matt Cooke missing a blindside hit on an opponent and taking out a teammate, being exposed as an AHL team without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin

The Montreal Canadiens fear:
Tall people, stanchions, Zdeno Chara, nothing at all because someone's burning that city down.

The Boston Bruins fear:
Zdeno Chara's impending arrest in Montreal, Short people, leads involving the number 3

The Washington Capitals fear:
The first round of the playoffs, someone taking ice cream away from Boudreau, not being able to grab their sack.

The Detroit Red Wings fear:
Youth, Missing Nap Time, cuts to Social Security payouts.

The Anaheim Ducks fear:
Teemu Selanne remembering his age, Corey Perry deciding that he's bored with being awesome, Ryan Getzlaf growing hair.

The Phoenix Coyotes fear:
Being noticed, Losing BizNasty's twitter account again because without it- no one knows they exist.

The LA Kings fear:
Puns involving Jonathan Quick, Jarrett Stoll being switched for Jared Staal

The Tampa Bay Lighting fear:
Karma for the Matt Walker deal, Rick Tocchet and Brian Lawton returning, Dwayne Roloson forgetting to drink from the Fountain Of Youth every day, Steve Downie remembering he's Steve Downie, Steven Stamkos deciding that Joe Thornton is his playoff idol.

The Nashville Predators fear:
Carrie Underwood pulling Mike Fisher-Underwood off the team to help with her music career, Barry Trotz growing a neck, Shea Weber hitting a teammate with a slapshot, Ryan Suter becoming Ron Sutter.

NHL 2010-2011 Season Previews: Pacific Division Edition

And welcome to part 2 of our season previews. Today we're going out west and looking at the Pacific Division:

Anaheim Ducks

The Good: Brought in resident NHL Expert Andy Sutton to handle difficult questions regarding elbows to the head which should help the Ducks deal with issues regarding the new blind side hits rule.

The Bad: Made the mistake of trading Chris Pronger back in 2009, preventing his elbows from being acquainted with Sutton's skull every single day.

Secret Strategy for the New Season: Will inject secret anti-aging cream into Teemu Selanne and convince him he's a rookie again, then hope for another 76 goals.

San Jose Sharks

The Good: Let go of playoff choker Evgeni Nabokov in favor of proven winner Antero Nittymaki.

The Bad: Just realized that Nittymaki is only ever guaranteed to beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Atlanta Thrashers.

Secret Strategy for the New Season: Will tell Nittymaki that every game is against the Thrashers.

Phoenix Coyotes

The Good: Found Lee Stempniak after an 18 month NHL absence.

The Bad: Seem to have forgotten to resign him.

Secret Strategy for the New Season: Will make the Colts and move to Winnipeg in the middle of the night some time.

Lo

s Angeles Kings

The Good: Finally developed a quality NHL starting goaltender.

The Bad: Forgot to call him from from the AHL, meaning Bernier is still riding a bus...

Secret Strategy for the New Season: Will have to hope and pray that Kerry Fraser is replaced by someone who gives them nightly Gretzky-esque calls.

Dallas Stars

The Good: Will no longer be distracted by Mike Modano telling stories of playing a game that ended with him having his name engraved on a giant silver trophy.

The Bad: In keeping with Eastern Conference traditions, will lose every game against the Sharks where the goaltending matchup is Niitymaki vs Lehtonen

Secret Strategy for the New Season: Allow Adam Burish's simple mind to be amused by simple things, like sitting in the press box or going to the AHL.

NHL 2010-2011 Season Preview: General NHL Stuff

Hey everyone. Just so you know starting tomorrow (September 2) and going every other day through September 12, I will be posting the Official DGS 2010-2011 Season Previews, we will be doing one division a day. At the end of this all, I'll post a recap that has links to all 6 posts and lists all 30 teams on one page (That will go up September 13).

In order to whet your appetite for the upcoming posts of awesomeness, I have a list of generalized NHL predictions here for you to see.

• Kerry Fraser may be retired, but the NHL has hired a new referee who is legally blind in order to prove that the disabled can have successful careers.
• Gary Bettman is still stupid. (I call this, "playing it safe")
• Stephane Auger will screw with all of us by calling a game perfectly down the middle.
• Kyle Wellwood will eat his way onto a team.
• Antti Niemi will remain unemployed until he gives up his contract demand of "not having another NHL caliber goaltender on the roster" is met.
• Rick DiPietro will end up on LTIR. (Playing it safe again am I)
• Pierre McGuire will move to Massachusetts and marry his 'Monster' Zdeno Chara
• Once Edmonton has its first cold snap in December, Taylor Hall will demand a trade out of Edmonton
• Joe Thornton will lead the Sharks with clutch play during the regular season and post-season before finally giving out during the Finals and saying "What, you think I changed at all"
• The Phoenix Coyotes will find their way back to Winnipeg

The Winds of Change are Blowing: NHL Relocations for 2010-11

Like many offseasons, this summer has seen a lot of movement in the NHL, and I don't just mean trades and free agency, which have been oddly quiet. Some of it may be confusing for a casual fan who didn't follow the news as it happened. Luckily we here at DGS have compiled the following guide to help you understand what's been moved around.

• The Chicago Blackhawks moved the team to Atlanta in the weeks following their Stanley Cup win, this was done in order to hide the Stanley Cup from the Daley Political Machine who would probably try to steal it. In the words of Rod Blagojevich "I got this cup, and it's fucking silver."
• The Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens recently started a joint business venture to do the unthinkable: bring the NHL to Tampa, Florida. This new project, tentatively called "the Tampa Bay Lightning" is made up of Habs and Flyers castoffs like Dominic Moore and Simon Gagne, they'll be coached by the Habs AHL Hamilton Bulldogs coaching staff and are slated to play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference, Habs owner Mike Leighton has yet to comment on the deal. I wish them the best of luck.
• A certain GM named Sutter opened up a "Blast from the Past" Museum in Calgary by picking up former Flames like Olli Jokinen. In order to avoid being a one trick pony, Sutter also showcases a list of "Former Maple Leafs" exhibit.
  
• Vesa Toskala has been forced to relocate to Finland, but only because the Finns apparently can't kick Finnish citizens out of Finland. However, with the way things are going in Philadelphia, it's safe to assume he's gonna be their starting goalie by December. (GOD HELP US ALL!)
  
• In a case of things NOT being moved, the Edmonton Oilers still in fact, play in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
• Sami Salo recently attempted to move a muscle landing him in the ER again, however, this actually led to him being placed in a padded room to prevent him from hurting himself while performing basic day-to-day tasks. He promptly broke his jaw while attempting to chew his liquid breakfast shake.
• In order to maximize the summer vacations he has every year, Brian Burke will continue to look to relocate all his draft picks so as to avoid having to take time off from his vacations in order to draft players.
• Denis Grebeshkov relocated himself to the KHL allowing him to play in his native Russia. Honestly, after spending 2.5 years in Edmonton and then trying to play hockey in Nashville, I'd probably try to do the same thing.
• Paul Holmgren gave Andrej Meszaros another shot at playing in the NHL after he disappeared for the last 2 years. This is because Holmgren saw what bringing in a bad contract did with the Habs after they took on Scott Gomez's salary, and how the Hawks won a cup with Brian Campbell and CristoLOL Huet on their team. He still has the last laugh as we all know the Rangers are still stuck with Wade Redden.
• Mike Modano is attempting to relocate himself somewhere, anywhere, he's sure he wants to go, but sadly no one's letting him in when he knocks.
• Tomas Kaberle has yet to be relocated, but only because of the hypocrisy of Brian Burke, he demands a top-6 forward for him, which means he should have dealt Kaberle to the Flyers for Andrej Meszaros by now, as after checking the Leafs depth chart, I'm pretty sure Mesz could fit in there.
• Johan Hedberg relocated himself to the easiest NHL job on the planet, backing up Martin Brodeur of the NJ Devils, this job entails only one responsibility, making sure that Lou can't get his hands on any jars of jelly.
• The Phoenix Coyotes are actively attempting to move the entire team and every trace of it to Winnipeg. As if hockey ever existed there...
• Mike Green was allegedly relocated to the Capitals defense corps, however, after scouring hours of video, there is no known evidence of Mike Green actually playing defense.
• Max Talbot relocated himself to be the temporary hot topic of the NHL by calling Alex Ovechkin a "douche". While it is refreshing to see Sidney Crosby on the back burner for 20 seconds, it's hard to understand what the big deal over Talbot stating a well known fact is. Also, inb4 Andy Sutton asks "are you an expert?" Max Talbot better know a douche when he sees one, he plays on a team with Matt Cooke and Sidney Crosby in a league where Gary Bettman is the commissioner.
  
• Speaking of people calling people names and getting in the news for it, where the hell did Sean Avery run off to? I haven't heard of him saying anything in over 2 months.
• Antti Niemi will soon relocate to the KHL after no NHL team pays the 6,250,000 the arbitrator gives him because of Niemi's argument that he DID play better than CristoLOL Huet.
• Speaking of KHL relocations, Evgeni Nabokov relocated to the KHL because after years of watching Joe Thornton choke at the thought of running into a Chris Pronger elbow during the postseason, Nabby couldn't bear to play a whole season with Chris Pronger's elbows that close to his skull. Honestly, did Holmgren forget to tell him that Keith Ballard is NOT a Flyer?
• In another story involving non-relocation, the NHL will still be on Versus next year, meaning you probably will never have to worry about seeing its existence.
  

The Curious Case of Ilya Kovalchuk

Editor's Note: This post is written by Amy, NOT DGS.




Ilya Kovalchuk, where will he end up. Well, the DGS SuperSpies have tried to find out, and they have some interesting ideas, as well as what this means for Flyers fans. So with the help of me, the Amazing Amy, DGS made a list of 10 possible destinations and what Flyers fans should think of them.



Team: NJ Devils
Odds: 4:1
Reasons to Go: Will be backed by a Hall of Fame caliber goalie and a great Defensive system
Reasons to Not Go: The Devils aren't exactly known for opening the bank for offensive talents
Meaning to Flyers: If he's in NJ, we're fucked.


Team: Toronto Maple Leafs
Odds: 10:1
Reasons to Go: Kovy and Kessel on the top 2 lines, it's bound to work, right?
Reasons to Not Go: Does Toronto have a D that can allow Kovy a chance to win
Meaning to Flyers: Only facing Kovy 4 times a year instead of 6 is a bonus, but I'd fear Kovy in the playoffs


Team: Boston Bruins
Odds: 500:1
Reasons to Go: Kovy/Hall/Savard top line, that's amazing
Reasons to Not Go: Will be traded to Toronto for a decade's worth of first rounders and Luke Schenn
Meaning to Flyers: Kovy in Boston=Bruins as favourites for the Cup in 2011


Team: Washington Capitals
Odds: 25:1
Reasons to Go: An all Russian top line of Ovy-Semin-Kovy sounds nice
Reasons to Not Go: Mike Green would then be the Caps top D-man causing every game to be decided by a score of 9-8
Meaning to Flyers: Really isn't one until the playoffs roll around...


Team: Edmonton Oilers
Odds: 100,000:1
Reasons to Go: I heard Edmonton feels like Russia in winter.
Reasons to Not Go: I heard Edmonton feels like Russia in winter
Meaning to Flyers: It's second best option.


Team: San Jose Sharks
Odds: 85:1
Reasons to Go: "Thornton to Kovalchuk...SHARKS SCORE" would guarantee another San Jose President's Trophy
Reasons to Not Go: Cap issues, lack of playoff success, risk of having to get a ride with Dany Heatley all come to mind
Meaning to Flyers: Again, it's nice to have Kovy out of the east...but I sure wouldn't mind having Kovy on another continent.


Team: Montreal Canadiens
Odds: 100:1
Reasons to Go: A skilled sniper would give the Habs a legit scoring threat
Reasons to Not Go: Other Habs players may be afraid of a giant 6'2" 230lb Russian
Meaning to Flyers: When Habs fans riot after wins against Toronto, the Flyers may have to give up their reputation as the "most brutish fans in hockey, or sport for that matter"


Team: Chicago Black Hawks
Odds: 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000:1
Reasons to Go: After the Hawks implode this team in order to gain cap space, they could restock with Kovy-Toews-Kane as their top line
Reasons to Not Go: Kovy would then need to work for free.
Meaning to Flyers: Hey, at least it keeps him OUT of the Eastern Conference...


Team: Philadelphia Flyers
Odds: 150,000:1
Reasons to Go: Great chance to win a cup
Reasons to Not Go: Flyers already have 8 top-6 caliber forwards
Meaning to Flyers: He becomes our weapon on offense, at the expense of having a goalie next year, seriously, Kovy=Boucher/Backlund in net


Team: Anyone in the KHL
Odds: 3:1
Reasons to Go: $14 million and a chance to be close to home why NOT take it.
Reasons to Not Go: I heard it's cold in Russia...
Meaning to Flyers: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET THIS HAPPEN!!!!


Hope you guys like it.


-Amy

Flyers Summer 2010 Offseason Needs, Part 2

Today, I'm gonna look at the defense and goaltending, and think about what this offseason has in store for the Flyers.

Goaltending: (Note: I'm gonna use every goalie who appeared in a game this year)

Ray Emery: UFA
Johan Backlund: Resigned til 2012, terms undisclosed, tho I'm guessing it's around 800k he made this year
Brian Boucher: Contract til 2011, cap it of 925k
Mike Leighton: UFA
Jeremy Duchesne: RFA


Ok, now to go through what I think is gonna happen to each of these guys...

Jeremy Duchesne: If he's resigned, he'll be on the Phantoms at the highest

Ray Emery: Real simple, call me when his health situation is taken care of

Brian Boucher: Possibly trade bait

Mike Leighton: In Leighton We Trust...possibly, I don't know, part of me wants to see the best in him, part of me remembers the guy who was in net in a December 2008 game who blew a 5-1 lead to the Flyers, a game the Flyers won 6-5 in OT...I've done a lot of thinking about Leighton, a lot of watching of videos on the Flyers website or YouTube or www.NHL.com and I see a very bipolar kind of goalie, yeah, I don't know what to think of Leighton anymore

Johan Backlund: I think he's the AHL Phantoms starter next year, could make a run at being the backup though, I'll wait til training camp to make a better prediction.


Oh dear, I just realized, the only thing that's concluded is that the Flyers have a LOT of goaltending questions....gahhh...Bernie Parent can be cloned, right?


Defence:

Chris Pronger: 6.25 million cap hit, will be back
Kimmo Timonen: 6.33 million cap hit, will be back
Matt Carle: 3.438 million cap hit, will be back
Oskars Bartulis: 600k cap it, will be back


By the way: Mike Rathje's 3.5 million comes off the cap! THANK GOD!

Probable D-pairs

Pronger-Carle
Timonen-Coburn?
Bartulis-????


RFA's

Braydon Coburn: 1.3 million cap it for 09-10, probably gonna be asking for 2.5-3million

Ryan Parent: 855K cap hit for 09-10, he's the wild card here

Lukas Krajicek: 700k cap hit for 09-10, could go either way

Danny Syvret: 575k cap hit for 09-10, could go either way as well



Now personally, I think Krajicek and Syvret are expendable, neither really impressed me this year and Bartulis has really shown some flashes of talent, as well as making some rookie mistakes. Parent's interesting, he's never played a full season for the Flyers due to his back problems, and while he has a lot of potential, is really worth the risk of a guy who can only give 50-60 games a year? To me, no, but Paul Holmgren's made a lot of moves that I disagreed with and have worked out well for the Flyers, hence why he's the GM and I'm some (SINGLE) guy sitting in New Jersey behind a computer and hoping to be right.

Im Homer we trust...

Back to the Flyers needs:

The Flyers need a depth D-man, AHL Phantoms had a weak D corps this year, the Flyers don't have a first round (lost in Pronger trade) or second round (lost in Leino trade) draft choice, so the solution for this is trade or Free Agency.

Speaking of D-man Needs, Here's a list of D-man free agents and here's my thoughts on a few of the more noteworthy guys who I feel could possibly fit in Philly.

A friend of mine recently came up with the idea of reuniting Pronger and Niedermayer in Philly, but I doubt that is the solution.

Anton Volchenkov would be nice, but I don't think he's worth the $5million he is as asking for.

Toni Lydman is a possibility if Buffalo doesn't resign him.

Dan Hamhuis is quite possibly the leading candidate, apparently the Flyers aggressively pursued him at the trade deadline, if Nashville lets him walk, I wouldn't mind seeing him in Orange come October.



Also: Free Agent goalies and some notable names and my thoughts


Marty Turco: the DGS head writer/owner tossed his name around the DGS Staff more than a few times during the season out of frustration with Brian Boucher. Turco probably is gonna get ~$2million which makes him affordable to platoon with Boucher, assuming Leighton is allowed to walk. (Leighton's a UFA and it can happen).

Evgeni Nabokov: If the Sharks let Nabby walk, and letting him walk could be the kick that San Jose needs, then Nabby is my top choice for the Flyers net (budget is a problem, but moves can be made) fact is, Nabby could fit in the eastern conference, where I readily admit, there's less competition than out West.

Vesa Toskala: Oh sorry, I meant to talk about NHL caliber goalies.

Martin Biron: He was here once, had some success, but honestly I can't see the Islanders letting him walk with DiPietro's health situation. Seriously, that guy get's MRI's every season at a rate that rivals the 09-10 Flyers net minders.

Dan Ellis: He's another guy the Flyers have been reportedly interested in, could be another option.

Chris Mason: With St. Louis trading for Halak, he's on the market and might be a cheap fit.


I don't know, as I've said before, after Leighton's showing against the Hawks, I'm not sold on him as a #1 guy, and maybe I'm still bitter about the 2000-02 runs, but I don't like Boucher either.



Either way, with no 1st or 2nd round picks Homer's got a lot of work ahead of him with the trade market to make this work. He's done it in the past though, he practically stole Leino from the Red Wings and the Zhitnik for Coburn deal turned out golden for the Orange.

A Review of the Conference Finals

Western Conference Finals:

Sharks/Hawks

DGS Said: Hawks in 6

Last Inquiry on the Series: Have the Sharks choked enough yet?

The Verdict: Hawks swept, which I guess means that our idea of a Sharks epic choke was to be fulfilled.




Eastern Conference Finals:

Flyers/Habs

DGS Said: Flyers in 6

Last Inquiry on the Series: Have the riots on Montreal stopped yet?


The Verdict: Flyers in 5...hey what do you know I got them both right in terms of results, just off in the games.



Later this week, I'll have a post previewing the Stanley Cup Finals. Humor and such to follow.



GO FLYERS!

Quick Predictions on the non-Flyers 2nd round Playoff Series

After going 50/50 in the Game 7s, we here at Down Goes Spezza have decided to take a look at the other playoff series. So, here we go.

Western Conference:

#1 San Jose vs. #5 Detroit

Quick Pick: San Jose drops the series in 6 games after a reporter accidentally walks up to Joe Thornton and asks him “how do you feel about these playoffs?”

#2 Chicago vs. #3 Vancouver

Quick Pick: Vancouver pulls this one out in 7 after Niemi accidentally swallows another puck only to drop it into his own net.

Eastern Conference

#4 Pittsburgh vs. #8 Montreal

Quick Pick: Jaroslav Halak continues to be red hot and the Habs D continues to shut down. Stephane Auger decides that it’s time to “get” Crosby the Crybaby and therefore it’s Habs in 7. By get, we mean actually call Crosby for Diving

#7 Flyers vs. #6 Boston

Tomorrow’s post will give a detailed analysis of this series.