5+Game with Danny Boome 05 /10/09
5+ Game with Danny Boome is the new Article and Blog for Powerplay magazine. The article will cover the 5 main events of the week – games, trades, players, coaches – and anything else that affects the NHL community.
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5+Game 7th Edition
Danny Boome 05/10/10
The season starts with the Nordic openers and Super Saturday (dubbed “Face Off” – I think we have a case for name rights there ED!!) The Chicago curse is back, Western Hockey shows signs of a rebirth, Matt Sundin finally moves on and the Phoenix saga has officially become a circus! It can only be this week’s 5+Game!
• European Openers: The Florida Panthers drew first blood in Helsinki against the Chicago Blackhawks in an exciting 4-3 win in OT, but the following night was a different story as the Panthers went down 4-0. It was a disappointing end to a great preseason that has seen the Panthers grow as a team and come together in Helsinki Finland. The St. Louis Blues, who swept the Detroit Redwings in two games (4-3, 5-3) in Stockholm, look to be an outside bet for the play-offs if they can keep their current form.
Any one for a roof job Finish Style!!
• The Battle of the TV rights: There is a growing feud between Versus and DIRECTV in the US. Versus, the exclusive cable television home of the NHL, dropped the puck on its fifth year of coverage with the most-watched opening night in network history. A total of 832,781 viewers tuned in for the Bruins/Capitals and Avalanche/Sharks games, blowing away DIRECTV’s argument that the NHL on Versus is a ratings loser (hence the reason they dropped the games). This dispute is much like the BSkyB and Virgin dispute a few years ago.
The interesting thing is that the NHL have not entered the battle, but actually tried to capitalize on the situation by heavily promoting their new GameCenter LIVE – live streaming HD-quality games on the web at $159.99 for the season. But I would prefer watch it on my 42” HD TV – not my 15” laptop!
Bring on!!
• Rebirth in the West: Don’t look now, but the Colorado Avalanche is sitting atop the Western Conference. Sure, we’re only two games in, but the Avs have already defeated two of the top three seeds in the West from last season. The Battle of Alberta has been reignited with some outstanding hockey and passion between Calgary and Edmonton, and with the Blues’ strong showing over the Red Wings, I’m certain the West will be wild this season!
• Is there a word for Retire in Sweden? Matt Sundin finally called it a day and we can all move on with our lives! The “will he-won’t he” sign saga started to become a little tiresome – a shame for such a legend to finish his career this way. Fellow Swedes Markus Naslund and Peter Forsberg are contemplating comebacks even after taking their final bows last season!
Goodbye Matts
• Phoenix Joins Barnum’s: Throughout the Phoenix Coyotes’ bankruptcy case/ownership squabble, Judge Redfield T. Baum appeared perturbed that the parties couldn’t figure out their problems on their own. He also was steadfast in wanting all of those owed money in the bankruptcy to be properly reimbursed by the winning bid. Those two desires were at the forefront of his decision to reject both the NHL’s bid and that of Jim Balsillie for the troubled franchise on various legal grounds. The NHL’s bid, however, still has life. “In hockey parlance, the court is passing the puck to the NHL, who can decide to take another shot at the sale net or it can pass off the puck,” Judge Baum wrote.
Judge Baum threw out the bid by Jim Balsillie saying it could not succeed because he cannot properly satisfy the NHL’s rights regarding relocation. “In the final analysis, the court cannot find or conclude that the interests of the NHL can be adequately protected if the Coyotes are moved to Hamilton without first having a final decision regarding the claimed rights of the NHL and the claims of the debtors and [Balsillie],” the judge ruled. Talk about a circus! So what’s next? The NHL’s $140 million bid was rejected, but Baum indicated that there were fixable problems within the bid; namely, the picking and choosing of creditors who are compensated, such in the case of former Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes and former coach Wayne Gretzky.
The New Look Phoenix Circus!
GAME
GAME ON: The start of the season has seen a vast increase in fighting. Is the league going to “man up” and start to use the instigation rules or will they bow to the roar of the crowd?
Let’em Go!
WHOS GOT GAME: The St. Louis Blues in their clean sweep of the Red Wings!
Impressive!
WHOS NOT GOT GAME: The Chicago curse has its second happening! The $48 million super signing of the summer, Marian Hossa, is out for a minimum of 4 months after shoulder surgery.
GAME OF THE WEEK: Super Saturday saw all 30 teams play, but out of the 15 games played, only one had everything – passion, goals, drama – and that was Edmonton’s home loss against Calgary!
Classic Calgary V Edmonton!
WHAT GAME ARE YOU PLAYING @! Judge – Phoenix – say no more!!
Check out this weeks Video Clips and News in the 5+Game Blog on www.dannyboome.tv and the 5+Game Face Book Group.
The information statistics and subject matter of articles is sourced from the official NHL web site NHL.com and it’s archives. The Hockey News.com, Yahoo Sports.com and ESPN.com. Research and quotations can at times come from other independent associated press.
