Gail Force

Friday, February 17, 2012

Puck Headlines: Rick Nash details emerge; Boychuk?s new deal; Wings go for record

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

? From reader Connor Simpson: "They're a couple. The husband's name is Rob Gallant, the wife's is Melissa Hilton. These were taken when the Cup visited the Charlottetown mayor's office for Hockey Day in Canada. She's a city councilor." So please, Toronto Maple Leafs fans: When things don't work out in April, don't call the FAN or writing into the Globe & Mail. You know who to blame. #blasphemy

? From Elliotte Friedman's 30 Thoughts: "Sounds like Mikhail Grabovski, agent Gary Greenstin and the Toronto Maple Leafs are playing a game of contract chicken. The Maple Leafs don't want to go above $5 million, but it appears as if the player/agent equate value with the team's highest-paid forward, Phil Kessel ($5.4 million). Who's going to blink first?" [CBC]

? New York Rangers forward Ruslan Fedotenko on the Dominic Moore hit that earned him a fine but no suspension: "Intent was there. The puck was not near me. We're trying to eliminate those plays from the game." [ESPN NY]

? In defense of Joel Quenneville: "Forced to choose, a bigger onus for the Blackhawks' ineptitude of late falls on Bowman than Quenneville. The defensively deficient roster Bowman put together created this problem more than anything Quenneville has or hasn't done." [Tribune]

? Lindy Ruff returns to the Buffalo Sabres bench tonight wearing a "flak jacket-type of design" to protect his ribs from further injury and in case a columnist from the Buffalo News tries to rhetorically shank him after another loss. [Sabres Edge]

? Interim coach Todd Richards on the Rick Nash speculation: "It doesn't matter if you're in our position or you're the (first-place) New York Rangers. Every team is trying to improve their team this time of year. I don't spend enough time in the (dressing) room to pick up vibes, but at this stage it seems it's hard on everyone." [Puck-Rakers]

? Dellow explains why the Andy Sutton deal by the Edmonton Oilers is yet another Steve Tambellini mistake. [mchockey79]

? Scott Gomez and assistant coach Randy Ladouceur get into a long and intense shouting match during Montreal Canadiens practice. Gomez said he "simply messed up an exercise" which led to the spat. Boy, score one goal and it all goes to your head ? [CP]

? Pizzo looks at the other two teams tied with the Detroit Red Wings in winning 20 straight games on home ice. "Take this into consideration, the year the Bruins set their record: The ice surface was expanded to 200 feet x 65 feet, Off-side was implemented, and players were now allowed forward passing in the offensive zone (lucky them!)" [Backhand Shelf]

? The Bruins and defenseman Johnny Boychuk have agreed on a three-year contract extension, according to sources. The annual cap hit is $3.36 million, a source told ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun. [ESPN Boston]

? Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins gets the Michael Farber treatment in SI: "[After the Cup, linemate Tyler Seguin] and I went on a bit of a tear, partying pretty much every night for a while. I went home and kinda continued it. I thought [winning a championship] was something that might never happen, so I was trying to take it all in, enjoy it.... My dad sat me down and sorta gave me a lashing. He told me if we win two of the next three years, he'd leave me alone." [SI]

? Good ratings news for NBC: "600k viewers was NBC Sports Network's most-watched Sunday night NHL game ever, and the second most-watched hockey game on NBC Sports Network since opening night (Blackhawks-Penguins on 12/20/11 delivered 634,000 viewers).The viewership for Flyers-Red Wings is up 38 percent compared to the 2010/11 exclusive time period NHL game average on NBC Sports Network." [Puck The Media]

? Mike Keenan wants a coaching job, and takes a stand for old guys behind the bench: "I would venture a guess that the New Jersey Devils would have made the playoffs if Jacques was there all season. That's not a negative comment on John (MacLean); he was just very inexperienced. And I have no idea why they got rid of Hitchcock in Columbus." [NHL.com]

? Tampa Bay Lightning founder Phil Esposito on Tuesday said an autopsy showed his daughter, Carrie, died of an abdominal aneurysm. [Lightning Strikes]

? On the Cup-or-bust Vancouver Canucks. [White Cover Magazine]

? Kevin Bieska apparently has an irresistible tush. [PITB]

? Nice piece by Gary Lawless on Evander Kane's maturity this season, and the lessons the Winnipeg Jets star is learning. [Free Press]

? Larry Brooks confirms the New York Rangers have spoken to the Columbus Blue Jackets about Nash, wonders about the team hurting its chemistry with a big trade and speculates that Derek Stepan and/or Ryan McDonagh would have to be part of a package the other way. [NY Post]

? The Cannon on what the Jackets should want out of a Nash trade: "So it makes the most sense to find a goalie by trade, and who would command a better return than Rick Nash? Of teams rumored to have interest in Nash, the Kings could offer Jonathan Bernier and the Canucks could pick their future with Roberto Luongo or Cory Schneider. Both teams also have some defensemen that would interest the Jackets and could certainly include a pick or prospect as both teams have their eyes on the Stanley Cup." [The Cannon]

? Days of Y'Orr offers some funny NHL V-Day cards. [DoY'Orr]

? Dirty Dangle gets its V-Day on as well; love the Cheechoo card. [Dirty Dangle]

? National Geographic Channel has a new web series premiering this Thursday, February 16th, called "Beyond the Puck," which "offers a rare glimpse into the life of Andrew Ference, NHL hockey player for the Boston Bruins and his eco-friendly way of life at home and on the road." They settled on "Beyond the Puck" after debating "S?t Tim Thomas Flips Past on the Way To Watch FOX News" for weeks. Check out the trailer.

? Finally, this is the first sled hockey checking highlight reel we've ever run or knew existed:

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/puck-headlines-rick-nash-details-emerge-boychuk-deal-210600916.html

Willie Mitchell Mark Mitera Guillaume Monast Steve Montador

You Are So Old, 2013 Edition

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2012/2/17/2805081/you-are-so-old-2013-edition

Marco Scandella Nick Schaus Luke Schenn Drew Schiestel

Kevin Pietersen is England's greatest modern batsman ? flaws and all | Barney Ronay

KP's record is dizzyingly fine, the last of the high-water-mark 2005 Ashes team still playing in all formats of the game

This week I went to the kind of sporting sub?event that puts you in mind, rather uneasily, of the old joke about being the type of person who turns up to the opening of an envelope, or the launch of a rubber dinghy, or the unfoiling of a Pot Noodle.

In this case it was the unveiling of a shirt: not just any shirt, but the one Kevin Pietersen will wear for his new IPL franchise, the Delhi Daredevils. The shirt's coming-out was staged at the ICC cricket academy in Dubai and was a spectacle that, it must be said, required a certain amount of politicking to witness. Initially English press were banned from attending. This shirt launch was simply too big, too thickly caked in event-glamour.

Then a twist: English journalists could attend, but they must not ask questions. They may look upon the shirt, but only in the role of penitent mutes, struck dumb by its splendour. And so it was that after a tantalising delay, flanked by a cartel of grinning bigwigs, Pietersen finally appeared decked out in full Daredevils get-up, as ever surprisingly tall and lean and tanned and goofily charismatic.

We'd come not to bury KP, but perhaps to smile a little and to draw arch analogies between his recent travails in 50-over cricket and this knee?trembling Twenty20 canonisation. But as he ran through his lines, doing really rather well, name-checking the right people, posing for a photo with all four attendant bigwigs clutching at a single corner of the shirt, as though it were some holy healing shroud, it was hard not to soften and feel a little proud of this most peculiar cricketing personage.

This is the thing about Pietersen. You may think you have the measure of him, but for all his enduring celebrity-ism he remains both appealing and surprisingly persistent. It is perhaps only when he is finally gone that we may feel he has been slightly underrated, rather than, as many would suggest, the opposite.

Naturally, none of the attendant shirt-launch shenanigans were actually Pietersen's fault. He is simply the product here, retailed aggressively by his time-share owners. Plus, he fits this world so well it is tempting to imagine he harbours ambitions of becoming soon a facsimile of Chris Gayle, the world's most post-modern cricketer, who has basically pared himself down into a hired global six-hitting machine: just dial the 24-hour emergency number and Gayle will emerge from the nearest disco carrying his baseball bat.

But we know Pietersen better than this by now. The fact is, he hasn't disappeared from view, hasn't shied from difficult times in 50-over cricket, but has instead embraced his reinvention as an opening batsman at precisely the moment in his career he seems least equipped for its demands.

Many have remarked on the technical flaw in a defence that sees him present his bat with a dramatic swish from the right, like a matador brandishing his cloak. And there is something epically poignant about Pietersen being humbled by the forward defensive, this telescopicallyassembled uber-athlete with his nylon warrior's gait, baffled by cricket's ancient first position, like Tarzan starving to death because he just can't hold his knife and fork properly.

Some see this as symptomatic of a fatal flaw, a hubristic failure to refine and adapt his kung-fu forward lunge. Some will say he has always had a flawed technique, relying instead on those astronaut's reflexes. But this overlooks his fervent dedication to practice. Frail, ungrooved techniques are for lazier players. Instead Pietersen is simply

at a time when he is suffering chronic uncertainty at the crease, induced by the brutal new world of UDRS with its unblinking pedant's eye for lbw.

It is a system that has on certain pitches made cricket into a game of lbw, turned pads into stumps and cricket into french-cricket, stumps and bails a backdrop to the real G-spot, the batsman's legs.

Pietersen has not yet rebuilt his batting to counter this assault on the shins. Will he be given time? Certainly there is no real pillow of enduring public affection to sustain him through the lean times. Instead, Pietersen is often viewed a bit like a piece of machinery bought in at great expense: when he doesn't work he seems suddenly useless, like a combine harvester with a broken axle. This is despite the fact that his career record is not just fine, but dizzyingly fine. In ODIs Pietersen has the highest batting average of any England player with more than 50 matches. He is England's greatest player yet in Twenty20. And only Ken Barrington and Wally Hammond have played as many Tests and had a higher batting average. Forget for a moment comparing attacks across the ages. Judged solely on his stats, Pietersen is England's greatest batsman of the modern age.

His value lies in intangibles, too. Few other sportsmen have provided such distinctive and memorable physicality: that bravura forearm-extension to meet the clouting cover drive, or the quick step and loft over midwicket he produced on Wednesday night off the bowling of Abdur Rehman.

Then there are the innings: the 158 at The Oval in 2005 will remain his most dizzying extreme, an innings of fearless skunk?haired dufus-genius. Since then there have been more rhythmic masterpieces ? and this is the lovely paradox about Pietersen. He may have been painted as brash and new world?ish, a twitching future?phile. But it is his Test match deeds that will endure.

Plus, he has the added lustre of having simply not gone away, the last of the high-water-mark 2005 England team still playing in all formats. For two years now he is supposed to have been on the wane, already engaged in the roadrunner years, that modern sporting phenomenon where from a distance it is clear you've already gone skittering out over the edge of the cliff, held up by nothing more than fame-momentum and celebrity ballast. But Pietersen is dogged as well as explosive, as all great sportsmen are. And beneath the excitingly zippered, multi?chevroned inanities of his latest act of shirt-shifting, this is still a truly great English cricketer.

Barney Ronay

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/feb/17/kevin-pietersen-england-delhi-daredevils-ipl

Jordan Nolan Jim O Brien Ryan O Marra Cal O Reilly

Penguins Coach Dan Bylsma supports putting red line back in, slowing game down

The last time the NHL and the NHLPA strapped on their battle gear for a labor war, a slew of rules changes were instituted for the next season. And boy, losing that season sure was worth the shootout. (sigh)

We might not see the same revolutionary tweaks to the rule book in 2012-13, but given the ongoing concerns about player safety we're probably going to see something happen to address them.

One of the contentious issues: "Putting the red line back in," and disallowing two-line passes. Some, like Eric Lindros, would do just that to slow the game down.

Others, like Adrian Dater, believe it would slow the game down by reverting the NHL back to the trap years.

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma has seen his share of injuries, and a number of them resulting from the speed of the current NHL product. Enough of them, in fact, that he's Team Lindros in this debate.

From Shelley Anderson of the Post-Gazette:

"The red line has increased the speed of the game," he said. "I think maybe slowing it down a little bit by putting the red line back in is something to think about. It's faster than it's ever been, and it's played faster than it's ever been. It's the execution of the puck more than it's that the skaters are faster. It's how you can execute with the puck with the red line taken out.

"I'm not saying we should hold and hook, but I think it's a slower game with the red line in. I think you'd still have exciting hockey [with the red line] if you continue to not allow holding, hooking, open-hand [grabbing], that type of thing."

Each coach in the NHL likely approaches this issue from his own philosophical and systematic point of view. The Penguins aren't exactly a firewagon hockey team. They're also a team that's seen the speed of the game cost them key players for long stretches.

But Bylsma's is a voice worth considering in these debates, as one of the game's better students.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/penguins-coach-dan-bylsma-supports-putting-red-line-215417674.html

Tomas Kana Bracken Kearns Chris Kelly Ryan Kesler

Puck Previews: Canadiens, Coyotes, look to defend win streaks; Sharks at Capitals

Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.

Preview: Carolina Hurricanes at Montreal Canadiens, 7:30 p.m. ET

This will be Jaroslav Spacek's first return to Montreal since he was traded for Tomas Kaberle earlier this season. That's... interesting... Hey! Remember when the Catholic Church took out an ad urging Montrealers to pray for their team? The Habs are undefeated since then and Scott Gomez has scored. The unbeaten streak predates the prayer, mind you -- the Canadiens have won 4 straight, outscoring opponents 15-4 over that stretch. They're rolling.

Preview: San Jose Sharks at Washington Capitals, 7:30 p.m. ET

After clawing their way back into contention in the Southeast (which may not be challenging enough for the verb clawing", but I digress), the Capitals have fallen off, going 3-4-3 in their last 10. They'll be in tough to turn things around versus the Sharks, who have taken 15 of the last 16 contests between the two clubs. On the plus side, the Capitals may be getting Tomas Vokoun back, and his record versus San Jose is much better: he's 10-1-1 with a 2.29 GAA in his last 12.

Preview: Phoenix Coyotes at Vancouver Canucks, 10:00 p.m. ET

How much has Mike Smith's stock risen in the past 5 months? The Canucks may have breathed a sigh of relief upon learning he would be sitting this one out. Jason LaBarbera gets the start for the Coyotes, who are riding a 5-game win streak and have vaulted back into 8th in the Western Conference. They have a good chance to take this one too, even with their backup in goal. Vancouver is just returning from a four-game road trip and haven't been playing all that well of late anyway.

Evening reading

? The NHL has rescinded Maxim Lapierre's 5-minute major for spearing Brad Staubitz in the third period of last Thursday's game with the Minnesota Wild. [Canucks]

? After someone stole all the cell phones from his son's hockey team while they were on the ice, this hockey dad set up a sting operation to catch the thief. Badass. [National Post]

? On the importance of blocked shots. [NY Times]

? The Sedins do creepy self-portraits. [PITB]

? If you hate joy, you'll like Bruce McCurdy asterisking the Hell out of the Detroit Red Wings' record home-winning streak. You'll never believe it: it doesn't� [Edmonton Journal]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: RP, on Gretzky in a Blackhawks' jersey:

That Gretzky picture either negates about 100 jersey fouls or inspires 100 more.

Bold prediction: At some point, someone in Montreal goes, "Hey, didn't Spacek used to play here?"

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/puck-previews-canadiens-coyotes-look-defend-win-streaks-235717699.html

Patrick Mullen Douglas Murray Jake Muzzin Tyler Myers

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Champions League: five things we learned this week | Amy Lawrence

Arsenal must draw on the spirit of Deportivo after their humbling in Milan, while Bar�a are benefiting from Alexis S�nchez's form

"This is the Champions League, not the Chumpions League!"

So bawled the exasperated commentator reflecting on the zany finale in St Petersburg for the benefit of the English television audience. As this seesawing game lurched towards the finish, a memorable climax was produced thanks to two moments of comedy goalkeeping. First Yuri Zhevnov produced a classic howler to gift Benfica a late equaliser. Then down the other end Artur fumbled to provide an even later matchwinner for Zenit. Once all the blushing had subsided, the two teams could reflect upon an entertaining affair which sets up the second leg beautifully. Benfica have two away goals to their credit. Zenit have the advantage of a win to protect, and the encouragement of having earned a goalless draw in Portugal during the group stages (they emerged unscathed from a trip to Porto).

Luciano Spalletti described it as "a very emotional and passionate game. My players won this with their hearts, although they showed a lot of quality as well." True enough. The former Roma coach has done a spectacular job since he moved to Russia, winning the title in his inaugural season, adding the cup, and taking Zenit into the Champions League knockout phase for the first time. He is already considered the most successful foreign coach in the history of Russian football. Although Zenit still have a big task ahead of them in Lisbon, they are capable of achieving it.

And Spalletti showed that those inside San Siro were not the only elated Italians on Wednesday night.

Talking of champs and chumps ?

Arsenal's seasonal crumble is on the cards. It speaks volumes that the main sentiment as their beleaguered team head to Sunderland in the FA Cup, and then host Tottenham in the Premier League, is unremitting pessimism. It is not like they haven't been here before. Tumbling out of competitions in quick succession is a foible that happens with worrying regularity. Even the famous Invincibles of 2004 crashed out of the Champions League and FA Cup in a matter of days.

If that mauling at the Serie A champions, Milan, is the prelude to another calamitous collapse, the Arsenal hierarchy really has no excuse to put their heads in the sand and, when they come up for air, mutter something about sustainable business models. This is an unsustainable football model. Arsenal have lost seven of their last 17 games, and this is not even their first blip of a campaign blighted by desperate lows.

So is there any reason for optimism? They could dig out a tape of Deportivo La Coru�a's 2004 vintage, a side that produced one of the greatest of all European comebacks having been trounced at San Siro. Trailing 4-1 from the first leg, they won 4-0 at the Riazor to floor Milan. "The game turned out exactly the way I dreamed," said the coach, Javier Irureta, afterwards, and even that was an understatement.

I know, I know. Rearrange the words "straws", "clutching" and "at". But that is all Arsenal have to hang on to now.

For an apparently ageing side, Milan don't half have some zip

A friend who lives in Milan had not been too positive about Massimiliano Allegri's team before their meeting with Arsenal. The Rossoneri were, he reckoned, worryingly old and slow ? a criticism that has in fairness been levelled at them for some time now. That stereotype was demolished by a performance that displayed unrelenting energy, zest, and spontaneity. Italian worries that traditional English pace might expose them were laughed out of town once Kevin-Prince Boateng, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho went on the rampage, while Theo Walcott did his invisible man routine.

Although Arsenal's first XI was exactly three years younger than Milan's, Allegri's team were hardly full of pensioners. The coach does have some old heads at his disposal but notably Alessandro Nesta was on the bench, while Clarence Seedorf and Massimo Ambrosini played only bit parts. Once Seedorf had made his early departure, the only outfield player that might be considered a veteran was 34-year-old Mark van Bommel. The bulk of the team was in the mid-late 20s age bracket, normally the peak age for a footballer. Allegri has been clever in the way he has quietly evolved a more youthful, invigorated team while keeping the wise old heads around to lend their experience.

Most people can't see beyond a Spanish winner this season, but Milan's excellence shows they are capable of having a say in this competition.

Bar�a's pass masters outdo Alexis S�nchez

Barcelona's young Chilean had every reason to feel chuffed by his contribution to an impressive statement of intent at Bayer Leverkusen. He scored two expertly taken goals to give his team a handsome first-leg advantage, and earned the praise of his manager. "Alexis is putting in a lot of work and is scoring a lot. He opens up the pitch for us and his movement is great," enthused Pep Guardiola. "I'm very happy for him. He's a very humble guy." S�nchez, who hails from Tocopilla, a town in the north of Chile with a population that's about a quarter of the capacity of the Camp Nou, was born into a family of fishermen, and his father left them soon after to work in a mine.

He has added something to Barcelona this season, and he was deserving of the headlines this week. But, typically of this team, the most beautiful thing about both of his goals was not his input, but the assist. First Lionel Messi, then Cesc F�bregas, delivered breathtaking passes to give S�nchez something to chase. Those sublime touches are worth watching again and again.

The garden may not be entirely rosy back in La Liga, but Bar�a will not give up their European crown without a flourish.

Apoel need another miracle

As the Cypriot underdogs headed home after a 1-0 defeat in Lyon the glass was at the exact point where half empty meets half full. On the downside, they struggled as Lyon exerted their authority with a dominant performance ? they created 15 chances to Apoel's one. The upshot is that they only lost by a narrow scoreline, one they feel they can overturn at their own ground.

The Lyon coach, R�mi Garde, senses that this advantage is precarious. "We would have liked to score more goals. Hopefully we won't regret that in the second leg," he mused.

Apoel are not unfamiliar with this kind of challenge. They experienced it before this Champions League odyssey really took off. They had been beaten 1-0 away by Wisla Krakow in the qualifiers, but recovered to win 3-1 in Nicosia, a moment that left a profound impression on the coach, Ivan Jovanovic. The Serb has worked more than enough miracles already during this campaign and sooner or later the magic touch will presumably wear off, but one thing is certain. His players are not short of faith.

"It will be a different story in Nicosia," suggested the defender William Boaventura. "Lyon are a very good team. They get to this stage every year and of course people expect them to beat us. But we're not going to give them the victory without a fight. We always tend to struggle away then we win at home. I really believe we can turn this tie around at home."

Amy Lawrence

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/feb/16/champions-league-five-things-learned

Jake Newton Jyri Niemi Nikita Nikitin Matt Niskanen

Jeremy Roenick?s OK with Blackhawks trading Patrick Kane for goalie upgrade

Jeremy Roenick of NBC Sports thinks there's "no question" the Chicago Blackhawks are a playoff team. He also thinks they have a serious deficiency between the pipes right now, leading to their nine-game losing streak, and that an upgrade in goal could turn their fortunes around.

Ah, but to get you've gotta give. For the type of goaltender the Blackhawks might covet ? oh, let's just throw Ryan Miller's name out there, for arguments sake ? they'd have to give up something substantial. Maybe a gifted offensive player who is young and signed through 2015. Maybe someone ? again, just spit-ballin' here ? who grew up in Buffalo.

Appearing on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000 in Chicago (with guest co-host Sarah Spain!), Roenick was asked about trading Patrick Kane for a goalie. And, somewhat surprisingly, he was down with it:

"Everybody knows I am a huge Patrick Kane fan, there's no question about that. But when you're talking something of this nature, is Patrick Kane, um, dealable? I'm gonna have to come out, as much as I don't want to say it, they can afford to get rid of Patrick Kane. They can afford to -- with the season he's having -- maybe with his off-ice reputation, maybe with the skill they have on their team, it's doable.

"Do I like it? No, because I love Patrick Kane. He is one of the most talented and one of the best players in the NHL. But if you really want a top-end goaltender, you're going to have to give up somebody. Is that Patrick Kane? God I hope not. But some people might think so."

Oh, this is all because Kane made Roenick cry, isn't it ?

Seriously, though: Roenick has been a Kane fan for years. What's interesting about his comments today is that they don't just address Kane as a player, but Kane as a person: "Maybe with his off-ice reputation?"

Here was Roenick in August 2009 after the cabbie affair with Kane:

"From when I've talked to him, I know he likes the fast lane. He likes to go out and enjoy himself. That's what all kids should be doing. He should be experiencing a lot of fun things at a young age and living his life as a professional athlete. I was surprised, but then again kids make mistakes. And sometimes they become better people because of that and I hope that happens with Pat."

Kane's not a kid anymore. Last year, he was still getting called out of being "Party Kane" in the Chicago media. If we know anything about Roenick as a pundit ? besides the incredible speed of his mouth in relation to the more leisurely pace of his brain ? it's that he expects behavior to change over time. Patrick Marleau's didn't as a postseason performer and leader, so he was called gutless. Patrick Kane's, in the eyes of Roenick, still hasn't shaken his "off-ice reputation" roughly two years after he should have.

Here's Roenick on whether Kane has lived up to expectations with the Blackhawks:

"If you look at it, he's been in the All-Star Game the last couple of years. He's been a poster boy for the National Hockey League and for a lot of the situations of marketing. He's a small player. He's not a physically strong player. But he's so dynamic. Can he get grittier? He can get grittier, no question. But I think he's done what the Hawks have asked him to do."

Trading Patrick Kane isn't something the Blackhawks should consider. At all. He's a young star in a rough stretch, but he's also a 23-year-old player with 348 points in 374 career games. He'll figure it out, personally and professionally.

But just hearing Roenick suggest that Kane should be anted up at the trade deadline should give the player and his team some pause.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/jeremy-roenick-ok-blackhawks-trading-patrick-kane-goalie-211130431.html

Severin Blindenbacher Jonathon Blum Andrew Bodnarchuk Zach Bogosian