The Continuing Chronicles Of Jay Feaster's Incompetence

[Ruki]

Yay!

Best team names ever, by the way

We have one of my old co-workers with "Swag", one of my old board gaming buddies promoting his board game selling business with "Syndicategames.ca", Pizzamonkey with the "Pizza's Monkeys", Toe with Insert Witty Name, and then MPH and I with our awesome puns.

6/14!

[Guest Owned by Quickquid]

Warning: In this post, MPH geeks out over junior hockey in a rather homerific fashion.

Couple awesome trades last week. OHL rosters limit you to three 20-year-olds and two non-North Americans. We'd taken a guy named Juraj Bezuch in the import draft as an insurance policy in case we lost either Faksa or Rieder to the NHL, but apparently we've been told they won't stick in the NHL this year even if there is a season. Meantime, we had only one of our three OA (overage) spots full, and that one was only after acquiring Domenic Alberga from Sarnia last week for a sixth-round pick. So we traded Bezuch (who was going to be the odd man out anyhow) to Windsor for Jeff Braithwaite, Nick Czinder and a seventh-round pick. Braithwaite's saying he's done with the OHL and is heading to college/university, but the trade is actually structured so that if he plays one game for Kitchener (which I kind of think will happen), we give up a sixth-round pick. So not factoring that in, it's a guy we couldn't use anyhow for a seventh-round pick and some much-needed muscle.

We're at the point now where Eric Ming, a guy who never dropped below the third line last year, is being talked about as a potential cut. Yeah, this is our year. Even if we are 0-5 so far in preseason

[Ruki]

Leafs prospect Tyler Biggs will be playing for Oshawa this year. So...woo!

Also, not sure if Brad Ross will be playing for the Marlies or going back to the WHL.

[Mountainous Cleavage]

Demanding a thread title change to ECHL CONDORS WHAT THE FUCK?!

Justin Bieber offered contract by ECHL Condors

He'll definitely lead the team in hits.

Teenage pop star Justin Bieber has been offered a contract by the Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL.

"Yes, we would play him if he was up for it," coach Matt O'Dette told NHL.com. "I have seen video on him and he does have some hockey skills."

According to the team's website, "The Bakersfield Condors and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Matt O’Dette announced [Tuesday] that they have offered hit-recording artist/RW Justin Bieber an amateur tryout contract for the upcoming 2012-13 season."

Bieber, 18 years old, is described as having "soft hands, a good skating stride, and a devastating wrist shot capable of beating NHL caliber goaltenders."

"He appears to be strong in shootouts as well," the team's website says.

"I would compare him to Mike Ribeiro, formerly of the Dallas Stars, whom I played with back in the AHL with Quebec," O'Dette told NHL.com. "And Mike Ribeiro was a pretty good dancer, if I remember correctly."

Bieber grew up in Stratford, Ontario, and has practiced with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"Very rarely do you see this combination of skill and toughness," O'Dette said on the team's website. "We share a common Canadian heritage since we both hail from Ontario. I’ve scouted some video of him online skating with my hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and I think he could provide some elusive speed up front for us. Plus, he’s a right-handed shot which we’ve been looking to add. I think if we paired him on a line with (Robby) Dee and (Peter) Boyd, we’d be tough to beat."

Bieber's upcoming tour will be in nearby Fresno, Calif., on Oct. 5.

"So he could swing by for a tryout. And we'd be happy to have him," general manager Matthew Riley told NHL.com.

Bieber, whose musical hits include "Baby" and "Boyfriend," has almost 28 million followers on Twitter. A Best New Artist nominee at the 2011 Grammy Awards, he is ranked as the world's third most powerful celebrity by Forbes, trailing only Jennifer Lopez and Oprah Winfrey.

"Plus, his sick flow will fit right in with a Condors team known for their style," the website says.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=641260

Edited September 12, 2012 by Mountainous Cleavage

[Plubby]

That there's no NHL hockey and there is Justin Bieber hockey makes me want to top myself.

[Toe]

Didn't an ECHL team offer a contract to Kris Humphries when he divorced Kim Kardashian?

Minor league hockey is awesome.

[Ruki]

Darren Dreger ‏@DarrenDreger Vishnovsky trade from Ducks to Islanders deemed valid. There was issue raised with no-move clause, etc when trade was agreed on.

[Toe]

The NHL has had more lockouts since 1992 then any of the other major North American leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA). And sadly, I doubt this lockout will hurt the league at all, except in the immediate short term if games are missed. But how does this happen, again? On Friday, it was reported that both sides had a conversation on the phone or something? Thats it?! Shouldn't these two sides be locked away somewhere, hammering away at a deal into the wee hours of the morning?

[Lint]

The NHL has had more lockouts since 1992 then any of the other major North American leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA). And sadly, I doubt this lockout will hurt the league at all, except in the immediate short term if games are missed. But how does this happen, again? On Friday, it was reported that both sides had a conversation on the phone or something? Thats it?! Shouldn't these two sides be locked away somewhere, hammering away at a deal into the wee hours of the morning?

Everything I've read said both sides were so far apart in terms that they felt meeting face to face wasn't even worth it

[Gabriel]

It doesn't help the NHL's standing on these issues when just hours before locking out the PA, there are several contracts signed that give young players enormous amounts of money.

They want to take money away from the PA, but the owners just keep handing it out like candy. The NHLPA may be taking advantage of some situations, but the owners are clearly the bad guys this time around.

[Toe]

This probably goes on until NBC says "Children, you are grounded!", since the NHL can't afford to lose their TV deal with NBC and the Winter Classic. So, I think that the NHL and the NHLPA end this in the middle of November and the season starts on the 20th or so.

[Maxx]

I'm sure their TV deal included some conditions in case of a lockout.

[Cactus Drags]

Yeah, the owners still get money in case of a lockout, I believe.

[Ruki]

I miss hockey already.

And apparently the Canadians, Oilers and Flames may still have to pay their players. At least that is what i heard.

[TGWL]

Francois Allaire will not return to the Toronto Maple Leafs this season to serve as the club's goaltending coach.

[Toe]

Francois Allaire will not return to the Toronto Maple Leafs this season to serve as the club's goaltending coach.

Meh? I am sure he is a great coach, but Toronto hasn't even really improved outside of a strong run by Reimer two seasons ago.

[Plubby]

I think it's a product of the scouting staff not being on the same page as their coaching staff. You don't bring someone like Gustavsson into Toronto and try to make him an Allaire goaltender. The same as how I wouldn't take an undersized goalie and put him under Sean Burke. Allaire is a proven winner, we've been over this in hockey threads past - but you have to at least try to work with him.

[Mountainous Cleavage]

Francois Allaire will not return to the Toronto Maple Leafs this season to serve as the club's goaltending coach.

...oh wait, there may not be a season.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Mountainous Cleavage

[TGWL]

There were a few people making the decisions with the goalies.

”I didn’t feel like I could do my job last year,” Allaire told the National Post. “I wasn’t getting enough ice time. I wasn’t the only guy with [the goalies]. It’s not fair to the kids, not fair to me, not fair to anybody … I didn’t feel like I could work in this situation.”

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke hit back Tuesday at former goaltending coach Francois Allaire, one day after the butterfly-style guru criticized the team upon his departure.

Allaire told Michael Traikos of The National Post on Monday that he "didn't feel like I could do my job last year." The coach's contract expired at the end of the 2011-12 season and was not renewed.

"I regret that I have to deal with this matter publicly, but I feel the need to respond. Was there interference from the staff as he said there was? Yes," Burke told Mike Ulmer, a writer for the Maple Leafs' website. "But it was done reluctantly and it was done to change elements of our goaltending that [were] sub-par."

Allaire became one of the most recognizable goaltending coaches in the sport when he helped Patrick Roy become one of the best at the position in NHL history. He also helped Jean-Sebastien Giguere win the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2003 and the Anaheim Ducks, with Burke as the team's GM, win the Stanley Cup in 2007.

The Maple Leafs hired Allaire from Anaheim before the 2009-10 season. In three seasons with Allaire, the team failed to finish above 25th in the League in goals against, including a pair of 29th-place finishes.

"The position has evolved in the last three-to-five years," Burke told Ulmer. "Nobody plays the classic stand-up [butterfly style] anymore, either. Everything advances."

[Mountainous Cleavage]

Game. Set. Match. on my Allaire argument a ways back.

Here's a link to what TGWL posted above, on the Leafs site. Has a little more about it but TGWL has the jist of it.

http://blog.mapleleafs.com/burke-blasts-performance-of-francois-allaire/

Edited September 19, 2012 by Mountainous Cleavage