Friday, November 8, 2013

Oilers Trade Logic

This is about as "BOLD" as it gets for MacT, and this was a while ago....
Craig MacTavish walked into his role with the Oilers with the ballsy statement that he was going to be making some "bold" moves to better the team. Someone needs to buy Craig a dictionary, highlight the definitions of bold and better and then go throw it at his head.

To recap, BOLD has gotten the Oilers:

  • Andrew Ference
  • David Perron (in getting rid of Paajarvi) 
  • Boyd Gordon
  • Luke Gazdic
  • Jason LaBarbera
  • Denis Grebeshkov
  • Richard Bachman
  • Ryan Hamilton
  • Will Acton
  • Jesse Joensuu
  • Philip Larsen

Now don't get me wrong, there are some good acquisitions there, whether or not they were through trade or straight up signing, but "BOLD" is certainly not the word that should be used to describe those moves. At all.
Then tonight, November 8, happened. And I have a feeling I will be editing this post by the time I post it to include another move by the Oilers, but let's just talk about what has happened already.

Read on for:
Move 1: Smid Trade
Move 2: Bryzgalov Signing

Saturday, October 12, 2013

"HERE COME THE OILERS!" Oh yay....

Do you know that feeling where you adore something more than you can even explain? When you can't get your mind off of it. Everywhere you look, there are little things that remind you of it. Just the smallest thought about it can bring the biggest smile to your face. Then you get your hopes up and think maybe luck will be in your favor this time.... and then...
Your hopes go crashing down to the ground. You feel sad and broken. It doesn't feel like there is any hope of it changing anytime soon. You try to escape that feeling but everywhere you look, there are those little things that remind you of it. It's inescapable. It's in your mind. You love it. But you hate it. You keep going back for more and only end up sad. You know that feeling?

Yup, hockey season is back in Edmonton.

The Oilers are now just under two weeks into their season and sitting at a record of 1-3-1. Yes, it's only five games in, so it's implausible to make any valid conclusions from their record, but there have been other telling signs about how this season is going to play out. Starting all the way back to their first game against the Winnipeg Jets.

So, read on.

Is This The Most Off Color Comment of the Season?

Joe Thornton. And Joe Thornton's foul mouth.

I really don't even know where to begin on this one...

We all know where this one is going though, right? "If I scored four goals..."

And you should probably warned, there will probably be some inappropriate language, innuendos and puns in this. So don't say you didn't know.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Fighting Part II

A couple of days ago, I wrote about fighting (if you missed it, here) and that article was brought on by an unfortunate incident. I definitely wasn't planning on writing a fighting opinion piece at that time, and I certainly wasn't expecting to be writing a second part to it right now.

This time, let's look at the logic and opinions on coaches getting involved in the fights - whether vocally or physically or both.

Thank you to Patrick Roy for his antics that lead to this piece.

So read on.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Fighting: Integral to the Game or Unnecessary Violence?

Now this is a post I wasn't really planning on doing right now but then with the events tonight in the Toronto-Montreal season opener, I thought the timing would be fitting.

As we all know, there are so many opinions on fighting in hockey depending on who you ask. It goes from the extreme of it being barbaric to the other end of it being a necessary and enjoyable part of hockey.
So with that kind of a range of opinions, what's the league going to end up doing about fighting with the ever increasing number of injuries?

Well, I think....

Sunday, September 29, 2013

ANDREW FERENCE: The 14th Captain of the Oilers!

This morning, I woke up to the very exciting news in the twitter world that.... ANDREW FERENCE WAS NAMED THE 14TH CAPTAIN OF THE EDMONTON OILERS.

Image blatantly taken from oilers.nhl.com who blatantly took it from Eakin's twtter 

I was ecstatic hearing the news of it, as I have have a tremendous amount of respect for Ference and all that he does for the communities wherever he is playing.

For more on my opinion as to why he was a great choice, and my reactions to people's reactions, read after the jump. You know you want to.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla

(Courtesy of the Official Calgary Flames Twitter Account) 

IginlaWatch was out in full effect tonight, and any speculation that there was about an impending trade of Jarome multiplied 40-fold when it was announced that he was a healthy scratch. At that moment it became painfully clear to hockey fans across the league, as well as all hockey teams and players that Iginla would not be a Flame within the next couple days. Half the hockey fans out there were hoping for a Cammalleri-esque trade where he gets pulled during the game and is done, while a quarter of hockey’s fan base was hoping it was just to prevent an injury so that he could be traded later, and the last quarter were just hoping that they were working on a trade but felt indifferent to the entire situation. I fell into that first half of the fan base, I was hoping Iggy would be playing tonight and would be yanked off the bench and put in a cab, a la Cammalleri. 
Recently, Iginla had submitted a list of teams that he was willing to be traded to; reportedly that list contained four teams who happened to be the last four Stanley Cup winners (Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles) and that made it all the more clear that if Iginla was leaving the Flames he wanted a Cup.
Speculation was mounting about Iginla being traded to the Bruins for Alexander Khokhlachev and Matt Bartkowski, as they were both scratched in the AHL and NHL respectively. That really just added fuel to the fire. Then went it was announced that Iginla would not be dressing against the Avalanche that pretty much set the hockey fandom ablaze.  It got very confusing and complicated quickly as multiple reputable sources for information such as this started releasing contradicting updates.
During the Flames game, Aaron Ward – a current member of the TSN panel with some pretty solid connections within organizations – tweeted that Iginla to Boston was a done deal despite no official announcement having been made. Along with that, it was speculated that in return, the Flames would acquire Khokhlachev, Bartkowski and a conditional 1st round draft pick (conditional on Iginla re-signing with Boston). That then pretty much became accepted as fact, despite no announcement having been made and Boston reporting that a deal was in deed not completed.

My thoughts on Iginla to Boston:
As someone who enjoys the Boston Bruins and the way that they play, I have watched quite a few of their games in recent seasons. As an Oilers fan, I have seen my fair share of Iginla’s play. That all being said, Iginla would have fit in with the Bruins organization without any problems and would have had success there. The Bruins definitely would have benefited from such an acquisition, even though they aren’t exactly lacking when it comes to skilled forwards. I honestly feel as though Jarome would be a quality addition to pretty much any team, both on the ice and in the dressing room.
What Calgary would have received in return is pretty pathetic compared to what they were giving up. Yes, Khokhlachev and Bartkowski are talented and promising, but they certainly aren’t an Iginla. And that conditional draft pick? Laughable. Calgary would have had to have been damn fricking sure that Iginla would at least sign another year in Boston, otherwise Feaster made an idiotic, laughable decision with that one.

Twitter Trends throughout the
drama unfolding
The Flames were facing off against the Colorado Avalanche while all these rumors were flying. Mike Johnson, from TSN, had said that players were leaning over the bench to ask him about Iggy trade developments. TSN kept showing fans in the stands with signs that were about Iggy, some were “Thank You”s, some were “Iginla has played here since I was born” but either way, you could feel the heartache of the fans. A handful of times the fans started an “Iggy” chant that should have been loud enough for Iginla to hear from his home – since he wisely opted to not be at the Saddledome at all during the night.
Following the Flames win, and the media scrums that always ensue, the media was told not to go home yet and that Jay Feaster would be coming out to make an announcement.
Feaster surfaced and began his speech to the media. Following a long winded speech about Iginla, it was announced that Jarome Iginla had been traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. WOW. In return, the Flames acquired Ben Hanowski, Kenny Agostino and Pittsburgh’s 2013 1st round draft pick. WOW. Feaster then went on to pretty much lecture the media about their false trade announcement and whatnot. I can’t stand Feaster personally, but watch the press conference if you get a chance, it was mildly entertaining, although that could just be because I was super hyped about the trade.


My thought on Iginla to Pittsburgh:
Who else is excited to see these two back together?!
Despite having had my heart set on Iginla going to Boston, Pittsburgh will also be a great fit for Jarome. Pittsburgh is absolutely loading their roster right now to make that Stanley Cup run so if that’s what he was after, then all the best to him because there certainly is a great chance of that panning out now! Pittsburgh is a fantastic team that also is not hurting when it comes to offense, and there certainly are enough skilled players for Iggy to find great chemistry with someone. And who can forget Jarome Iginla’s involvement in Sidney Crosby’s golden goal for Team Canada?! I honestly have the feeling that Iginla will thrive in Pittsburgh and that team is going to be terrifying in about a week after the Trade Deadline passes.
And the best part for Pittsburgh, they gained a solid veteran and gave up very little in return! What team doesn’t like a deal like that?
That being said, Calgary did not obtain a whole hell of a lot in return for their star, but I guess Feaster must see a silver lining somewhere in all of this. Hopefully that doesn’t bite Calgary in the ass too much and they can pull off some magic in the next week to replace Iginla, not that that is even close to being possible.

Jarome Iginla is one of the classiest players in the league, easily, and is a fantastic player. He is one of those guys that it is next to impossible to dislike, and seems to be immune to the boo-birds. Iginla is the epitome of what all hockey players should be like (are you listening Patrick Kane? Haha) and is deserving of all the respect he earns league wide.
I wish him all the best in Pittsburgh! And the Penguins better damn well enjoy having the rest of Canada jump on their bandwagon now!

If the night of the Iginla trade was any indication, this next week before the trade deadline is going to be absolutely insane! Here’s hoping for some more big moves!

(Sorry if there are any spelling, grammar or other errors. I wrote this at like midnight and have other stuff to do before bed, so I didn’t get to proofread it. Sorry!) 

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Hi Everyone!

Hey! :)

Hockey. Where to begin? Hockey, the stereotypical Canadian sport. Hockey, a sport that a variety of people enjoy in some form. I don't even know how to go on from here, so I will just leave it at that. Hockey is a great sport that we all love.
I have a ridiculous love for hockey, despite not playing the sport myself. I mean, I adore hockey to the extent that one of my friends calls me a "heroine addict but with hockey," which is partly where Confessions Of A Hockey Junkie originated from, however I have called myself a Hockey Junkie long before he called me a "heroine addict with hockey." But I digress.

Anyways, about two years ago, after reading countless websites about hockey and hockey players, I had the desire to create my own blog. Mostly, because I was tired of the fact that if it was either a completely technical hockey blog, or it was basically a puck bunny writing. I couldn't stand either. And at that point, that's when Two Sides Of The Female Hockey Fan was born. (Brutal long name, right?) That was an.... interesting.... experience for me. It taught me that I have the crappiest time management skills and that my dedication can wane pretty quickly. I started off posting pretty regularly but it was a little too puck bunny for my likings. So then when the next season started, I tried my best to write on every single game that the Oilers played and then I would try to write on any other big news around the league. Writing on every single game wore me out because like I said, time management skills sucked. But at least it stopped being so puckbunny-ish. Which I was quite proud of. I mean, there's no denying that I notice when a hockey player is good looking, but that's because I'm a girl and we all have eyes, but I am by no means a puck bunny. And I hate the term puck bunny, but it's nicer that some of the other terms for that. Anyways. I went for pretty much a year without writing as "2sfhf" and I missed it. And I couldn't wait to start a new blog. Get away from all that 2sfhf was and wasn't, and to be able to write more like myself.

Then with the lockout at the beginning of the season, I had absolutely no motivation or reason to starting over, so when it was announced that the season would return, that lit the fire under my ass.

And here I am, starting anew as Hockey Junkie.

So to any of you, who actually made it through that rant of mine, HEY! and to any of you who got here off Two Sides, WELCOME BACK, I'VE MISSED YOU ALL!

I will be writing a bit over the next week and a bit until hockey begins, but unfortunately I have exams after hockey returns so for the next three weeks my updating will be a little sporadic, just hang in there with me. I promise that after these first few weeks, I will have figured out a routine and will be sharing my opinion on anything and everything hockey related.


Love,
Amanda.