"Bett and Bals" The Premise

It's been a crazy day, with Mats Sundin retiring (for now) and all, but for the most part, the day was stolen by Judge Redfield T. Baum's ruling that BOTH Jim Balsillie's and the NHL's bid for the Phoenix Coyotes have been rejected. Balsillie's rejected due to the Board of Governors not approving him to buy the team and the NHL's being rejected because it was too low.

However, I would have to say that the best and most amusing result would have been if RTB were to ACCEPT BOTH bids and have Balsillie and Bettman co-exist in a sitcom like fashion. Now, how it would work is that both men would have to live in a condo in Glendale and deal with day-to-day operations of the Coyotes. Of course, this creates bedlum between the two, as they have a strong dislike for one another. Yet, to keep the peace, RTB moves to the condo upstairs thanks to a supreme court order saying he is responsible for making this partnership work since he made this wacky decision. So, you have the two millionaire owners bickering on what to do and the upstairs judge trying to keep the whole thing civil and not get them all thrown out of the condos.

I'm already sold, how about you??

But who's to play each character?? That's simple:


Darren Pang on stilts as Jim Balsillie

It makes sense. They both kind of look alike, they are both very talkative people, they are both hockey nuts. Of course, the stilts get a credit because they are what's carrying Pang and the premise for this whole thing. Granted, it'll look awkward to start off with, but he'll grow into the stilts, I promise.


Count Count as Gary Bettman

This just writes itself. I mean, they look a like, they like counting-- whether it's for the betterment for the children or if it's just the money rolling in from revenue. They are short, balding, and puppets to someone more powerful.


Dana Carvey as John McLaughlin as Judge Redfield T. Baum

When I look at composites of RTB, he seems to me like Dana Carvey in his old skits as John McLaughlin of the "McLaughlin Group", which is a political show. Of course, both are moderators of their forum, both authoritative, and both sick of all in front of them. Fantastic.

Of course, there will be pop-ins from Jerry Moyes, Jerry Reinsdorf, and the Tampa bunch of Oren Koules and Len Barrie. It has the makings of the most fantastic sitcom pertaining to hockey since "The Tournament."

Stay Tuned

EDIT: The Canadian from Canadian vs. the Yanks put some PERFECT ideas for the guest stars in all of this. Just check the comments for her take on it.

EDIT AGAIN: Also, have to give a call to Aaron from Bird Watchers Anonymous for the idea of RTB living above Bett and Bals

Fantasy Draft Flabbergastery

Evgeni Nabokov picked 1st overall. Marc Savard picked 2nd overall. John Tavares picked 5th overall.

These are things I have seen in the fantasy hockey drafts I have participated in this year. I don't think "flabbergastery" is a word, but with something like this-- it should be created as one. While these players are good by their own right, no way in hell they should be going this high. It's not like I went into a public league where there are many people who are blind who the good players are and who to avoid.

And when I'm there watching such absurdity happen before my eyes, it's makes you flustered as an owner. Of course, I'm a psychopath and it could just be me who thinks that, but you usually go in with a plan and course of action of how you're going to pick, depending on your position. You try to forecast where things are going to fall when it comes to those picks before you. Yet, when a swerve like these happen, you often have to catch yourself and rearrange everything you were thinking in terms of what you need to pick. Often, you miss top players in the pool because people forget about them because they don't get picked when you thought they would.

Same goes with positions, like goaltending, going one pick after another. You often rush your next picks to that position because you feel that if you're don't pick someone up now, you're going to be left with the back-up goalie of the minor league affiliate before you know it. Of course, depending on your draft position, you may have to do back-to-back panic picks because odds are, you won't get a chance to get a pick of the litter.

However, to avoid the panicking, you have to have the roadmap to what you're going to do into draft. Even if you are picking late in the odd number rounds, odds are you're plotting five or six picks ahead, just so you have options. With the length of time between picks, you have the time to do the research and run the quick numbers in your head.

Granted, it's late to give away pointers now, but it's just the craziness that I've seen in the past few days when it comes to my own drafts that makes me look back in hindsight and make you wonder what kind of drugs these fellow players in your league are taking and if you can get them where you live.

Best of luck in your leagues and pools. Here's hoping you weren't one of the foolish to actually pick guys way too high. And if you are....consider this your 15 minutes.

Absurd Goalie Monday: Eric Fichaud

Oddly enough, this addition of the AGMs is somehow a continuation of last week's inductee, Jimmy Waite. This is another goalie from the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the QMJHL who was picked in the first round, but for one reason or another-- never panned out as a starting goalie in the NHL. This week's installment of the AGM is Eric Fichaud, a memorable but forgetable goalie at it's best.

After a semi-decent season in midget AAA, Fichaud started off his major junior career with Chicoutimi during the 1992-93 season, immediately being thrown into a split starter's role with Sylvain Rodrigue, who I think is the only Latin-Quebecois in the history of the game. The next season, Fichaud was a key part in Chicoutimi's season, which saw them win the President's Cup, the QMJHL championship. Fichaud went 37-21-3, was named playoff MVP of the QMJHL, the top draft pick award, and the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy for top goalie in the Memorial Cup. With all the accolades, it was easy for the Toronto Maple Leafs to pick him 16th overall in the 1994 Entry Draft. In his final year of juniors during the 1994-95 season, Fichaud's playing time was limited as he struggled at times and had a young upstart in Marc Denis playing better than him in most cases.

Fichaud also had to deal with his first trade in the NHL without even playing a game, as his rights were traded from the Leafs to the New York Islanders for Benoit Houge and a draft pick. So, to start off his pro career, Fichaud went to the Worcester Ice Cats, the Islanders primary affiliate. He had a so-so season, going 13-15-6, but had respectable numbers of a 2.93 GAA and .913 save percentage. Thanks to some injuries and issues with Jamie McLennan and Tommy Salo, Fichaud got his chance in the show to back up Tommy Soderstrom. Fichaud appeared in 24 games that season and went 7-12-2 on a fairly bad Islanders team.

In the 1996-97 season, Fichaud was the starter for the beginning of the year, with Salo as his back-up after Soderstrom apparently got disenchanted with the team. It was a rough start for Fichaud, as he dropped nine of his first 16 starts and the play of Salo was good enough to take the starting job away from Fichaud. For the year, Fichaud finished 9-14-4 with a 3.10 GAA and .899 save percentage.

The 1997-98 season was the start of the end for Fichaud's NHL career. While Fichaud was a back-up to Salo, he got a start in December. During that, Fichaud injured his shoulder and was sidelined for seven games. Fichaud came back for six more games, but then was shelved for the season as he underwent surgery to repair the shoulder. In that season, Fichaud finished with a 3-8-3 record

That summer, Fichaud was traded twice. First, he was shipped to the Edmonton Oilers for Mike Watt, then before the season; Edmonton sent Fichaud to the Nashville Predators with Drake Berehowsky and Greg De Vries for Jim Dowd and Mikhail Shtalenkov. Fichard started out in Milwaukee of the IHL, going 5-2-1; but when he was called up to back-up Tomas Vokoun due to Mike Dunham being down to injury, Fichaud went 0-6-0 and dislocated his shoulder twice, the second time resulting in another season ending surgery.

The summer of '99 saw Fichaud recovering again and getting traded again, this time from Nashville to Carolina for a third-round pick. Fichaud was the back-up to workhorse Arturs Irbe, who didn't allow Fichaud to see much time. Fichaud was 3-5-1 in the games he played, but was placed on waiver in February of 2000 and picked up by the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs then sent him down to their AHL affilate, Quebec Citadelles where he proceeded to go 4-1-1. Fichaud started the season in Quebec for the 2000-01 campaign, having a brief stint in Montreal after being called up for injuries, in which he went 0-2. In Quebec, he played .500 hockey going 19-19-2 that season. It would be the last NHL action Fichaud would see.

At the start of the 2001-02 season, Fichaud announced his retirement from pro hockey, but it was short lived. He played later on in that season with the Krefeld Penguins of the German League, then came back to North America playing for the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. He was signed by the Canadiens at the start of the 2002-03 season, but played for the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Habs AHL affiliate, for that season and the next going a combined 30-18-6 in those two seasons.

At the start of the 2004-05 season, Fichaud moved to the semi-pro Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH) and played his first three seasons with Quebec RadioX and another one with St. Georges CRS Express. He is currently a free agent and it's unknown if he'll actually play once again.

There was high hopes for Fichaud when he was in juniors-- a classic butterfly goalie who could become a star player in the NHL. However, thanks to injuries, inconsistency, and horrible teams around him; Fichaud's bright career was stopped short of even blooming. Who knows what could've been for Fichaud if he could stay healthy and have support around him, but that's what happens with most careers of promising players-- always what-ifs.

Clock Strikes Midnight for Theo....For Now

Even though he had a stellar pre-season in the games he played, as well as creating a huge buzz about what could happen with him, the Calgary Flames released the right winger from his tryout contract on Friday. You can only imagine that this only came to money and needs. Even though he could put up the spark in the pre-season, the Flames didn't think he could have done it in an 82-game span.

Fleury is going to wait until Monday to speak, saying he needs time to think about what's going to happen to him in his future. The big question will probably be if he's willing to go somewhere else other than Calgary to play in the NHL. You never know if Fleury only wanted to be with the Flames because of the familiarity he has with the city, fans, and franchise. Would he get the same reception in other cities and would be feel confident to succeed in another city.

It leads me to also wonder if other clubs, who have the cap space, would be willing to take a chance on Fleury. He still has a little bit of the wheels in his favor, as well as the hands to play in the NHL; but would he be considered an asset to the other 29 teams in the league?? You can bet there's some voids in secondary scoring on some clubs and they are salivating at the chance to get someone like Fleury, who could score and would be an affordable pick-up for them. Yet, what kind of onus would he be carrying with him, considering his past-- are other GMs convinced he's cleaned up his act once and for all.

We'll have to find out Monday if there's another chance for teams out there to get a chance at Fleury, but for now-- this Cinderella chapter has closed for Fleury. The buzz created for this little guy again was amazing and the city here in Calgary seemed to welcome him back. In the end, it turned into a numbers game, as it always does with try-out players. Here's to Fleury and what he's done so far, if this is indeed the last time we see him on the ice.

Glen Burnie HC: It's Easy Being Green

Yet another installment of my fictional, but somewhat real, fantasy hockey team. Obviously, this will be more frequent throughout the season, but just bear with the randomness right now-- and if you are always looking at this blog, odds are you're used to it by now.

Another season has come and the draft in the FOHSHL is at the forefront for Glen Burnie HC. The draft that took place on Thursday, GM Scott Wasilewski focused on how to make his team, the much better and maybe win the entire division, as well as the league, for this season. It seemed that'd he be in a decent position picking 6th in the odd numbered rounds, then 9th in the even numbered rounds. Both fairly in the middle, so no extreme waits watching players tick away.

With the first pick, Wasilewski got defensive picking Mike Green with the team's first pick of the draft. Green, who blew up last season with 31 goals, 42 assists and 38 power play points for the season. Needless to say, he'll be a welcome addition to the Glen Burnie HC roster.

"Obviously, early on you have a pick of many guys, but Green really stood out in our minds as someone who would be crucial to our team as a whole," said Wasilewski. "When you can get a defenseman with those kind of numbers, it's something you have to jump on because you can't expect that all the time with guys on the blue line."

After the first round, the focus was on goaltending and scoring, with Henrik Lundqvist, Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson, and Olli Jokinen going rounds two through five. Defensive again for rounds six and seven with Mark Streit and Pekka Rinne being picked up next.

"Up and down, I'm happy with the way the draft went," stated Wasilewski. "One thing we were able to do was bring back the franchise player in Danny Alfredsson and the next franchise player in Brent Seabrook. Seabrook has been with us every single year he's been in the league, while Alfredsson has been in and out with this franchise since we were the Glen Burnie Hillbillies and he was the captain of our championship team in the FOHSHL back in '04. So, it's great to have both of them back in the stable."

Not only that, but Seabrook joins Patrick Sharp as returning members from last year team. Lundqvist was drafted by Glen Burnie HC, but was dealt during the season. Sharp was the last pick of the draft for Glen Burnie HC and could be considered a sleeper. Another sleeper pick for Glen Burnie HC is the pick-up of young goaltender Jonas Gustavsson as their third goaltender. See the full roster below.

From top to bottom, Glen Burnie HC looks very solid. As they have a variety of scorers and set-up men, as well as consistent goaltending and defense, it should be tough to get by the Glen Burnie HC and even if other teams can, the score will be close enough for Glen Burnie HC to still gain ground.

"It looks to be a good year for us," mentioned Wasilewski. "I think we have a good equal attack for the squad and we could very well get that spot we couldn't get last year and bring home the Lakomyj Trophy. We've reached that height before and I think we can do it again this year. Just have to stay healthy and get the good bounces we haven't gotten in the past. We need to make the playoffs and then we'll be fine."

The season for Glen Burnie HC starts October 1st taking on Halco-maniac and Son for Week One.

Gretzky Finally Put Out of Misery Behind the Bench

While he had an amazing playing career that is literally second to none, I have to agree with The Canadian from Canadian vs. The Yanks when she said on her Twitter: "I'm sorry, but I support this move. He was a great player. I'll leave it at that."

Well, I hope she doesn't mind me picking up on where she left off.

The moment that Wayne Gretzky said he wanted to be coach of the Coyotes, many people I heard will automatically giving him the Jack Adams Award for best coach, but the issue is-- you can be a great player, but you cannot teach greatness. That's just a fact. Ted Williams, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas-- great players, but terrible coaches. Gretzky is definitely going to fall into that mode.

And while his record of 143-161-24 isn't overly awful, the goals-for were progressively worse through all four seasons (246-216-214-208) and the team overall wasn't that stellar. You'd think with the name alone, the players would want to come to play for him, as well as being in Phoenix-- should have been a haven. Yet, nothing really came to be. Plus, you look at how Gretzky's personality changed when behind the bench, he became a stressed out looking fella. Just look at the header picture-- you never really saw that out of Gretzky, even when he was a player. You almost wonder how much of this was a gimmick for him to recoup the money he was losing as an ownership partner and how much he actually wanted to be a coach in the first place.

Yet, as of right now, Gretzky remains part-owner of the Coyotes, but that could change whenever Judge Redfield T. Baum makes his decision. However, Gretzky should take this as a learning experience. Like I said, very few good players make good coaches. You can make a case for Larry Bird and Joe Torre, but more often than not-- the great players can't coach greatness. Maybe with this time off, Gretzky can lick his wounds for his first failure in the game of hockey. It could be used to recharge his batteries and maybe find his smile again, as it has been lost through these years behind the bench for the Coyotes. The stresses of creating a winning team, bringing more fans in by his name alone, and dealing with the off-ice financial strife seem to have gotten to Gretzky and really broke his spirits.

Has Gretzky's allure in the hockey world been damaged by this foray into the coaching realm and failing?? Odds are it hasn't been damaged that badly, but it definitely not good for him to go out like this. Not even showing up to camp for the first two weeks and then finally stepping down, it brought about the ire of many for abandoning his team, like Allan Muir of SI and Stephen Brunt of Globe and Mail questions the difference of Gretzky and someone like Dany Heatley. For the first time in a while, Gretzky could be considered a bad guy in the hockey world. More focus on Gretzky is going to come with the documentary of Gretzky's trade from Edmonton to Los Angeles is coming out called, "A Kings Ransom" on ESPN on October 6th.

While the falling out process will be hot and heavy for the next few days, who knows what the final outcome for Gretzky will be and what he'll need to do in order fix any of sort of damage he's done to his reputation. Odds are many will be able to forgive Gretzky in time, but you can forgive and never forget. Will he coach elsewhere in the NHL?? I don't think he'll be the top candidate for any opening, but to keep him around as an ambassador is always a good thing for whatever team. Who knows if we'll see him for a single team, but you can bet that the NHL will do anything to keep his face in the hockey viewing public's eyesight just because.

Plus, if there's nothing else Wayne Gretzky has given us since he retired....it's this greatness from Bud Light and the Bubble Hockey Boys.

Bubble Boys-- Pacific Division

It's time to end this bit and we'll end it with the otherside of the continent. Huzzah.

ANAHEIM DUCKS: With the addition of Saku Koivu, it will be between Ryan Carter, Petteri Nokelainen and Andrew Ebbett for the final center spot. Ebbett seems to be the long-shot in this. Defensively, Luca Sbisa, Brett Festerling, and Brendan Mikkelson will be fighting for the sixth spot, though Sbisa could go back as an overager to the Junior ranks to get more seasoning.

DALLAS STARS: It was a rough season last year, but the Stars got a lot of new stars to fill the void, including one Jamie Benn. However, the battle will be on the blue line with Karlis Skrastins, Mark Fistric, Jeff Woywitka, and Ivan Vishnevskiy for the fifth and sixth defensemen on the team. Though, the defense could be the biggest question mark in the whole line-up, as everything is set for the most part.

LOS ANGELES KINGS: On the right hand side, Teddy Purcell will be in rough with John Zeiler on his heels, as Marc-Andre Cliche and Brayden Schenn will battle for a center spot, especially with Oscar Moller being sent down to the minors. Trevor Lewis will need a good camp in order to get Raitis Ivanans off of the roster. Of course, the battle in net will be something between the three goalies there, though Jon Quick seems to have the edge over Erik Ersberg and Jonathan Bernier.

PHOENIX COYOTES: Wow....what is there to say about this club that hasn't been debated in court already. The battle of the back-ups will be between Jason Labarbera and Al Montoya to see who will catch Ilya Bryzgalov when he falters. Daniel Winnik and Viktor Tikhonov will be fighting for the right wing spot since Radim Vrbata was added back to the roster. With the addtion of Vernon Fiddler, Kyle Turris could be pushed back to the minors unless he surprises people in camp.

SAN JOSE SHARKS: With the addition of Dany Heatley, the pressure will be on. However, that helped clear up the left wing spot. Up the middle, Scott Nichol will be fighting Logan Couture for the last center spot and both could battle Torrey Mitchell for the third line slot.

That's it. Thanks for imploring me through this gimmick and here's hoping for better things ahead on this blog. And for imploring me, I give you this:

Thank You, Olie

I'd be a fool to not talk about the career of the great Olaf Kolzig, a man who was really the face of the Capitals for many years until passing the torch to Alexander Ovechkin, but I think I made my mark over a year and a couple months ago. Sure, it was a bit early, but he had a forgettable eight games with the Tampa Bay Lightning and was traded in name only to Toronto and then it was over.

Plus, he could be in the best Caps commercial that we can find on the internet:



So, I leave you with something I wrote in May of 2008 about Olie the Goalie: An Ode to Olie the Goalie

Bubble Boys-- Northwest Division

We continue on our journey as the Bubble Boys dwindle down, we go to the Northwest Division.

CALGARY FLAMES: The biggest buzz of camp is obviously Theo Fleury and whether or not he could make the Flames on a try-out. He's played well in his time during the pre-season and has survived some cuts, but will this Cinderella story come to an end?? Odds are, he'll get signed and go to Abbotsford, but if he does make it, he'll have to fight off Brandon Prust and Fredrik Sjostrom to do it. On the defensive, Adam Pardy will be in deep to make the team, especially with Steffan Kronwall and Anton Stralman on his heels.

COLORADO AVALANCHE: It'll be a three-way fight for the final two spots on defense, as Kyle Quincey, Tom Preissing, and Kyle Cumiskey will be duking it out for an everyday spot. The youth up the middle will be something to be seen, especially depending on what happens with Matt Duchene. The T.J.'s, Hensick and Galiardi, will be jockeying for scoring line time, while Ryan Stoa will be biding his time while something on the left side opens up.

EDMONTON OILERS: Oddly, this won't be about Rob Schremp, who has been on the bubble for years, but it'll be more about if M-A Pouliot will be able to crack the line-up on the bottom line, same with Ryan Potulny, including the fight with J-F Jacques and Liam Reddox on the left-hand side for the final spot.

MINNESOTA WILD: With Wade Dubielwicz being sent to Houston of the AHL, the goaltending situation will be clear with Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding. The only fight will be between Derek Boogaard and Colton Gillies, though in a real fight Boogaard will destroy. Also, if Benoit Pouliot will overtake Kyle Brodziak for the final center spot for the Wild.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS: With the addition of Mikael Samuelsson, the right hand side has been clogged up, with Jannik Hansen and Rick Rypien going at it for the final spot, maybe an longshot of Tanner Glass coming out of nowhere. Also, if Michael Grabner will crack the line-up over Darcy Hordichuk, on the left side. The spotlight on Cody Hodgson will also be high, as he seems to be ready to go, but could be held down just because he couldn't get a top-six spot.

We'll wrap it up tomorrow with the Pacific Division and then more gimmicks to be had in time for the season to get started up.

Bubble Boys-- Central Division

John B. L. Soule coined the phrase, "Go West, Young Man" and we shall with this gimmick, as we get back to the bubble players, now in the Western Conference, but still going East to West. That's why we start with the Central Division.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: While many are split on what to do with Kyle Beach, he could be challenging for the final left wing spot, just to add an antagonist to the line-up. However, will the headache of Beach's past be worth giving him a spot, regardless of how good he plays in training camp. Another match-up to look to in the later months will be between Troy Brouwer and Jack Skille, who will be trying to get into the everyday line-up when Marian Hossa comes back into the fold, especially since Adam Burish is done for six months with an ACL tear.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: While the team may be set, especially with the addition of Sami Pahlsson, the battle for the last center spot will be down to Andrew Murray and Michael Blunden, the latter performing well last year in the minors and could be doing enough to get an everyday spot. The rest of the line-up seems pretty set, though Grant Clitsome could get some time defensively with the big club, which would be fantastic for jersey sales of his.

DETROIT RED WINGS: With the departure of Marian Hossa and Mikael Samuelsson, it's finally the time for Justin Abdelkader time. Also known as "Afro Gator," Abdelkader played solidly in the playoffs for the Wings and will be the energy guy for the Wings in years to come. Newcomers Kris Newbury and Jeremy Williams will be duking it out for the final spot on the left-hand side, while Jimmy Howard could be looking over his shoulder at Daniel Larsson or some other free agent for the back-up spot to Chris Osgood.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS: Kevin Klein could be on the hot-seat back on the blue line with Jonathan Blum, Cody Franson, and Alexander Sulzer coming up through the ranks and seem to be ready right now. Though Klein was a regular, the Preds may not be ready to hold them back. Also, I wouldn't be surprised to see Cal O'Reilly challenge Jerred Smithson for the final center slot on the everyday line-up.
ST. LOUIS BLUES: It could be time for Alex Pietrangelo to crack the line-up, which could spell curtains with Roman Polak or Mike Weaver. Of course, they have to hope Pietrangelo can stay out of harms way, unlike last season, and he should be fine. In the opening of the card, you can bet that Cam Janssen and B.J. Crombeen will be duking it out to be the enforcer for the Blues. Ben Bishop could challenge Ty Conklin for the back-up role; but it's not likely he'll be successful, even though he could be legally classified as a giant.

Next stop, Northwest Division because the next closest team is in said division. Fantastic.

Absurd Goalie Monday: Jimmy Waite

This installment of the AGMs could be the first goalie we've seen that could be a first-round bust in the realm. That's because it's another case of an all-star in junior hockey not being able to pan-out, even though he was able to be good enough to push Dominik Hasek out of a job in Chicago; which can be the silver-lining and the name of his autobiography. However, Jimmy Waite made a decent back-up and decent goaltender in Europe when he went over there.

Waite's major junior career started off with a bang with Chicoutimi Sagueneens, going 23-17-3 and gaining a spot on the Canadian World Junior's team the year the Piestany brawl broke out and got Canada disqualified from the tournament. Post-season, Waite won the Raymond Lagace Award for defensive rookie of the year in the QMJHL, which upped his draft status. It upped it enough to get him picked 8th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks, over the likes of Joe Sakic, John LeClair, and Theo Fleury. Waite was going to be the man who took over for Darren Pang and Bob Mason after another year in juniors. However, it was going to get a lot more jumbled.

Back in junior for the 1987-88 season, Waite had a overall slip-up going 17-16-1 in 36 games, but was able to ganner a gold medal in the World Junior Championship in Moscow over the Soviet Union, plus winning the top goalie of the tournament after all was said and done. Though his season was a little sloppy, everything was looking like Waite was ready to take over the reigns in the Blackhawks organization.

That got off to a rocky start in his rookie year, as Waite got lit up, going 0-7-1 in 11 games and then broke his collarbone in December, which put him out for the rest of the season. It was a craptastic year for the Blackhawks goalie-by-committee they had going with Waite, Pang, Alain Chevrier, and another rookie by the name of Ed Belfour. Waite got back into the swing of things with the IHL Saginaw Hawks when he was recovered, going 3-1-1 and priming himself for a solid year in the next season.

The next season, 1989-90, saw Jimmy Waite get the starting role.....but in the IHL with the Indianapolis Ice, with Chevrier, Jacques Cloutier, and Greg Millen taking the role in Chicago, while Ed Belfour was playing with the Canadian National Team for the year; coming back for the playoffs. Waite went 34-14-4 with a 2.53 GAA for the impressive season, but in his limited time with the Hawks (four games), he went 2-0. In 1990-91, Waite was still in Indianapolis (26-18-4, mind you) while Belfour had his break-out season for the Hawks, leaving the former first round pick fighting to stay in the system. It was a clog in the pipes with Belfour, Millen, Waite, Dominik Hasek, and Cloutier in the system with something to give.

While Waite was able to get past the clog in order to get to the '91-'92 season, it was still unknown how well he's be able to play and if he'd stay up in the organization. The season started off well enough with Waite getting a good amount of starts, going 3-1-1 in his first five, but the wheels fell off as Waite went 1-6-3 the rest of the way and was sent down by January of 1992. In the minors, Waite bounced between Indianapolis and Hershey Bears of the AHL. Waite didn't fair much better going 4-7-1 in Indianapolis, but did better in Hershey with a 6-4-1 record there. Luckily for Waite, after the smoke cleared in the 1992 Cup Run for the Hawks, Waite was left with Belfour as the only two goalies in Chicago. It would be Waite's last horrah in Chicago, as he faltered again going 6-7-1 during his 20 game stint, but it wouldn't be enough for the Hawks to keep him, as they traded Waite to the Sharks in the summer of '93.

It was quite the unimpressive stint along the Bay Area for Waite, as he only played 15 games behind Arturs Irbe going an unspectacular 3-7-1 during that time. The next season was, of course, the lockout for half the season and as things got rolling again, the Sharks traded Waite back to the Windy City for a conditional pick. Waite went onto play with the Indianapolis for four games, then appeared twice for the Hawks; but the Hawks picked up Jeff Hackett, which put Waite as the odd-man out. In '95-'96, Waite was back in Indianapolis posting a 28-18-6 for the season and spending only 31 minutes in net for the Hawks that season. Same went for the next season, with Waite spending the weight in Indianapolis (22-15-4), but played two games with the big club going 0-1-1.

During the waiver draft, the Phoenix Coytoes were the ones who picked up Waite in order to help out Nikolai Khabibulin out for the year. In 17 games that season, Waite carried his slack with a 5-6-1 record in the 1997-98 season. The '98-'99 season has Waite getting some starts here and there, but a bruised thumb and hand during the season pushed him to the minors with the Utah Grizzlies of the IHL and Springfield Falcons of the AHL, along with Phoenix. Waite went 6-5-4 in Phoenix, 3-4-1 in Springfield, and 6-3-2 in Utah.

The summer of '99 saw Waite get picked up by the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent, but Waite didn't see any more time in the NHL. Waite was placed in St. John's in the AHL and didn't impress much, putting up a 20-37-4 record in the 1999-2000 season and a 12-25-4 record in the 2000-01 season. With waining interest and waining stats, it would be the last time that Waite would play regularly in North America.

After that season, Waite signed on in Germany spending his first two years with the Essen Mosquitos and Iserholn Roosters, but has spend the last six seasons with the Ingolstadt ERC Panthers of the German Elite League. Waite has flourished in Germany with three straight awards for most outstanding goalkeeper from 2004 to 2006. However, Waite is still looking for a team, as he is now a free agent after a couple of subpar seasons record wise.

It was a lot of trials and tribulation for Waite, but he found his sweet spot playing in the minor and Europe, which can be the silver lining after not doing too well in the NHL where he was being built up to be the next big thing for the club. Granted, he wasn't the first player to be touted as that and won't be the last. Even though he's 40, here's hoping he'll be able to catch on with another club, as he seems to be able to play at a solid rate at his age.

Kessel Runs to Truculence World Order

Another week down and another saga is put to rest. Phil Kessel was sent to Toronto from Boston for a first and second round pick in 2010 and a first round pick in 2011. Kessel then signed a five-year, $27M deal with the Leafs. Thus ends the longest speculation this week.

Now, Kessel was pretty much bumped out of the Boston roster with their spending this off-season, but doesn't mean he wasn't a valuable asset. Even though he's not available until November due to rotator cuff surgery, Kessel is going to add to the amount of young talent the Leafs have stacked up on their roster right now. At 21, Kessel will probably be the focal point on an otherwise lacking Leafs offense.

However, you have to wonder if Kessel will be able to carry the work load of an entire offense right now. While he did pretty well in Boston, he had plenty of help around him. And while on the surface, the Leafs have improved for the short-term in the pre-season, who knows what's going to happen when there's actually competition on the ice playing at top-form. Of course, this is also pending on how he's going to do coming off the shoulder surgery; though his youth could definitely help him in the healing process.

But it comes back to who's going to be dishing him the puck. Kessel undoubtedly benefited from Marc Savard being his centre, but who's going to be the key guy to pass Kessel the puck and give him all the chances to score?? Will Mikhail Grabovski and Jason Blake be capable enough to give Kessel the puck enough for him to be effective in the role?? Obviously there's people smarter on the topic than I am, like those folks at Pension Plan Puppets, who will definitely give you a great fan perspective of the whole thing-- good and bad.

Until then, I have to say that Brian Burke does it again. With the youth movement already via free agency and all, he could give up the picks and get some rostered talent in return. Who knows what those picks could turn out to be, but as it stands right now-- Burkie continues to be one of the smartest men in hockey today.

Bubble Boys-- Southeast Division

It's been a wild ride in the East for the Bubble Boys extrava-Danza, but the Southeast Division will close us out for the East. If I had something more clever, I'd be a better writer.

ATLANTA THRASHERS: Major knee surgery will hinder the emergence of Angelo Esposito at the start of the season, but some in the Thrashers brass hope that the young center can get healed up enough to contribute mid-season and beyond. It shouldn't be hard for Esposito, since Atlanta is a little weak up the middle and could use any help they could get, I'm sure. Also, Noah Welch will be battling with Joel Kwiatkowski and Anssi Salmela for the sixth and seventh spot in the defensive rotation. The defense will be a big question, especially with the departure of Garent Exelby.

CAROLINA HURRICANES: The last spot on the left side will be determined by two former WHL stars, Zach Boychuk and Drayson Bowman, both of which have the ability to move up in the line-up, should they prove they are good enough, even though they'll be in tough with Staal and Cole already top two on the left hand side. Brandon Sutter will challenge for the fourth center role, but all three would have gotten better looks if they were on the right hand side. Defensively, the top-6 seems set up now, but Tim Conboy, Anton Babchuk, Bryan Rodney, and Brett Carson will be scratching and clawing to try and crack the everyday line-up or at least get the bus pass back and forth.

FLORIDA PANTHERS: With the departure of Jay Bouwmeester, the defense will be looking for someone to step up and there's where the most bubble aspects are. Two prospects of Keaton Ellerby and recent draft pick Dmitry Kulikov could make a huge push for the Panthers roster, though Kulikov could be sent back to juniors, in order to give him just a bit more experience. Elsewhere, it seems to be really solidified, though the battle between Michal Repik and Kenndal McArdle on who's going to be next in line for the open left wing spot, a spot that seems status quo for the league.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: There's a logjam on the blue-line where there wasn't one last year. However, the bulk of defensive influx will create a big competition. While odds are Victor Hedman will get a spot, but who will be bump?? Will it be David Hale, Matt Walker, Lukas Krajicek, or Kurtis Foster?? Do they now have too many defensemen to go with their absurd amount of forwards?? Forwards, Martins Karsums and Brandon Bochenski will be fighting on the left side, with Steve Downie going against Paul Szczechura and Lauri Tukonen for a position on the right side for a final spot.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS: There's plenty of questions abound with the Caps, especially with Karl Alzner and John Carlson waiting in the wings for the defense, maybe bumping Jeff Schultz and John Erskine for their spots from last year. Up front, the acquisition of some free agents have the likes of Boyd Gordon and Matt Bradley jockeying for position on the right hand side, Dave Steckel and Keith Aucoin fighting it out for the center spot, while the left side will see Quentin Laing, Oskar Osala, and Chris Bourque going for the final spot there. Not to mention what's going to happen with the goaltending situation with Jose Theodore, Seymon Varlamov, and Michal Neuvirth battling for those two positions. This team is a case of too much talent and not enough spots, which is good and bad at the same time.

That's what's up with the East and starting next week, we're going to be hitting up the Western Conference, which should be just as relevant for most folks.

Bubble Boys-- Atlantic Division

After part-one, we have to go to part-two....mostly because it's the natural lead of progression from one part to another part. Simplicity, folks.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS: There's a couple of people who will be on the bubble in the new-old Jacques Lemaire run team. First, which of either Ben Walter or Tim Sestito will be in the fourth center role. The feeling of Walter taking the spot due to his solid production in Bridgeport last season, but Sestito's grit could put him over in that role as a energy line center. Another question is where could Cory Murphy fit into the defensive scheme, if at all. It seems that the defense is settled in where they are at right now, but signing Murphy is a little suspisicious considering they have a solid line-up as it is for the blue line.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS: Well-- plenty to say about the Isles, but one of the bubble guys is only there due to happenstance, Martin Biron. Biron is obviously insurance for Rick DiPietro and Dwayne Roloson, but if Biron outplays the latter, what could the Isles do with him-- parlay it into a decent deal for a skater, keep him for the insurance, or try and deal one of the other netminders?? Also, look for a battle between Jesse Joensuu and Tim Jackman for that final right wing spot, as Joensuu has plenty to prove and could turn it up a notch during camp in order to put the heat on Jackman.

NEW YORK RANGERS: A lot of the bubble stuff will depend on what happens with Brandon Dubinsky and his contract. This will put Brian Boyle, Tyler Arnason, and even younger Brodie Dupont in the running for a couple of center jobs. Dupont could sneak in, as his play in Hartford would be a determining factor, as it's within the family. Plus, Dupont has all the tools to be a multi-purpose player for the Rangers. Many would wonder how Matt Gilroy could fit in, but this pre-season is showing he's ready to take the next step and should work out well for the Rangers.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS: With James van Riemsdyk coming into the fold now, he's going to be under the microscope and it will be his spot to lose in training camp. He's impressed somewhat so far, so odds are he will have the spot; barring something crazy happening. The one thing for van Riemsdyk is whether he'd be willing to go to his off-wing in order to get a better position, considering that the right side is a lot weaker than the left side in the top-6.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: Oddly enough, the Stanley Cup champs don't have much of an issue for bubble players. They lost a couple defensemen, but gained Jay McKee in the process, which is a solid trade off. Though a fight could be between Alex Goligoski and Ben Lovejoy for the sixth spot, though Goligoski would win out seeing as how he's been up on the roster last season.

We'll finish our east coast tour with the Southeast Division tomorrow because that's how we role with things on TSOoA-- only features. All killer, no filler. That's a lie-- which is why we have AGM on Mondays.

Bubble Boys-- Northeast Division

While it may not be a debate about the Moors vs. Moops or a terrible movie with Jake Gyllenhaal, but it's a reality for some players when it comes to the training camps. This will be a six-pack series when it comes to some players who are on the cusp of breaking a full-time spot on the main roster and are "on the bubble", hence the name. Starting out from the East to West, we start out with the Northeast Division.

BOSTON BRUINS: The right side could be the big story developing in the Bruins line-up. While the question of whether or not the Bruins will have the ability to bring Phil Kessel back onto the roster is prevalent, but another battle will be between whether or not either Byron Bitz and/or Brad Marchand could make the squad. A lot of heat on Bitz last season with his gritty play could land him on the 3rd or 4th line duty, but Marchand's future this season could depend on what happens with Kessel. Marchand's first pro season was pretty solid, with 41 assists in 79 games, with 15 points in 16 playoff games, ranking third and second in team points respectively. If Kessel isn't brought back, Marchand could reap the benefits.

BUFFALO SABRES: The long and the short of it will be the guys to look at in Buffalo. First, you have Nathan Gerbe, who is a going to be in tough on the left side of the Sabres roster. While had a decent first season in professional hockey, scoring on almost a point-per-game clip in Portland of the AHL, he got brought up for 10 games and played respectable in those, only registering one assist. While his 5'5 stature could work against him, one good camp could get him a spot. On the back-end and taller end, the 6'7 monster on the blue line Tyler Myers could get his rookie year off big if he can crack the top-six, which isn't outside of the realm of possibility. His physical presense and hockey sense could be working in his favor.

MONTREAL CANADIENS: It's been a long-time coming, but the lack of total depth on the right side could bring Mathieu Darche some luck. While Darche is somewhat accomplished in the minors, he's never really hit paydirt in the NHL. While Darche has the size and skill, can the execution come along with it. Also, some wonder if Yannick Weber can crack the Habs line-up over the stacked back-end they have already. Weber contributed two points in four playoff games for the Habs, but his size could be his downfall for this year.

OTTAWA SENATORS: There's plenty of questions with the Senators, let's be honest here-- but a couple interesting notes will be whether or not Erik Karlsson will be able to get into the line-up for the defense and what will become of Brian Lee if Karlsson does crack the roster. Also, whether or not Ilya Zubov can get into the line-up and actually do something to bring some secondary scoring for not only the team, but for himself. Zubov's hot streak could spark a fire under Chris Kelly or Jesse Winchester to actually play to a higher level and stop slacking.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: There's a lot defensemen in the Leafs' orchard (HA!! Arboritum joke) right now, which will make you wonder how they'll be able to deal with eight solid defensemen with six spots available. You have to figure Mike Van Ryn is going to be on the outside looking in, but what will happen with Garnet Exelby. Maybe Exelby will be switch back and forth with Jeff Finger for that sixth defender on a nightly basis and wondering which one will be dealt first. Plus, with Jiri Tlusty's season for the Marlies' last year, if Brian Burke will be put onto the main roster for a full-season or if he'll be put to the side for more seasoning. Also, where Rickard Wallin will fit into the forward scheme and if he can adapt smoothly to the North American game.

Next Bubble Boys edition will be cruising down to the Atlantic, so get ready for that next time.