The other side of the 4th if July holiday weekend is upon us. After a whirlwind two weeks of news, notes, player movement, schedules, hall of fame stuff, draft, etc, etc, etc...Now we have to traverse the 10 week desert that is deadest part of the off-season.
Hopefully we can help you through it and you can help us by continuing to engage in the excellent debates and conversations of the last several weeks and a bunch of news ones as we look for things to talk about this summer.
As for today, I'm swamped at work so I'll leave you with a few opinions on some news items over the weekend and this continuing story of Mike Modano wearing red. The word is it could happen in as soon as later this afternoon so check back with us and chime in later should that punch in the gut find it's mark.
Puck Daddy muses about our Mike Modano emotional baggage...
Seeing Modano skate off into the sunset wearing the benign colors of, say, Dave Tippett's Phoenix Coyotes or Dale Tallon's Florida Panthers? Uncomfortable but tolerable.
But seeing Modano finish his career dressed as a Detroit Red Wings player? Or committing to the Chicago Blackhawks' Indian? Isn't that hockey blasphemy?
And, since these aren't exactly lottery teams: Potentially seeing Modano raise the fracking Cup with them? There isn't enough Shiner in the ice bucket back in Texas to soothe that pain.
Yet it could happen.
First of all, in the Battlestar Galactica tradition, it's "frakking", with two K's. Nerd rant over. Second, yes it would be painful with the wings (so very, very painful) but as a Stars fan, I don't think the Blackhawks would be all that upsetting to me. No matter what sweater he's wearing when he comes back to the AAC it's going to be heartbreaking, but for me there would be The Wings, the Sharks, the Ducks, the Avalanche, and then everyone else.
What about you? Are the Blackhawks in that extra painful group?
John at dallasstars.com says the young-ins are headed down to the CPC today to see where they'll one day don their Texas Stars jerseys, should they so lucky...
One of the primary objectives of bringing all their prospects together is to have the players get acquainted with the principles of the organization and how they do things, as well as meeting and getting to know each other. There were several events on the schedule designed for the players, who come from various hockey backgrounds across the globe, to bond with each other.
For example, the players took in a Frisco RoughRiders minor league baseball game next door at the Dr Pepper Ballpark Thursday night. They also have a planned trip to tour the Brooks Army Hospital in San Antonio on Tuesday, as well as a visit to the Cedar Park Center, the home arena of the AHL Texas Stars, based just outside Austin, where a good number of them will likely play next season.
"It’s been really fun," said Chiasson, a 6-foot-4, 187-pound right winger who just completed his freshman year at Boston University. "We’ve been practicing and we’ve been back to basics with coaches and learning a lot of stuff. It’s been pretty fun meeting other guys and being here in Dallas for the first time. So far, it’s been great." -dallasstars.com
The Sun makes a list of the worst free agent signings of the decade. We made the list twice!
5. Sean Avery, Dallas Stars (four years, $15.5 million in 2008)
His time in the Lone Star State was known more for a comment about sloppy seconds than his play on the ice. He was placed on re-entry waivers and returned to the Rangers after a grand total of 23 games with the Stars, where he produced a whopping three goals and 10 points.
10. Pierre Turgeon, Dallas Stars (five years, $32.5 million in 2001)
The playmaking centre parlayed an 82-point season with the St. Louis Blues into a monster deal. The problem was that the Stars already had depth down the middle, so Turgeon was getting paid first-line money and playing mostly on the third. Not surprisingly, his production dropped dramatically and the 47 points he had in his first season in Dallas was his best.
Kind of hard to argue there, so...moving right along...
Then there's this at the Dallas Morning News...
The Stars are the team truly handicapped by Hicks' fingerprints today. They are a bad team that has missed the playoffs the last two years and has no obvious blueprint for improvement. The club's farm team in Austin, the Texas Stars, did reach the American Hockey League finals in June. Some of the top young players from that team will work their way into the NHL next season. Mostly for the Phoenix Coyotes, who signed three of them, including goalie Mike Climie, over the weekend. It was Climie's impending departure that caused the Stars to plunge into the free-agency game late last week to sign Andrew Raycroft , backup goaltender to Roberto Luongo in Vancouver last season. My reading comprehension has recently been tested and scored on an 8th grade level, but it seems like he's trying to frame the Coyotes' signing of Garrett Stafford and Mathieu Beaudoin as a loss of great young talent due to financial considerations. Beaudoin is 26 years old, Climie 27 and Stafford 30. None of the three were even considered to be in the Stars top 20 prospects. They were let go to make room for those who are. Climie's particular process (contract negotiation) is debatable, but would the Stars rather have had a "Climie or Krahn" situation in camp, or a "Krahn or a veteran netminder in Raycroft" situation? And if a $700k contract is "plunging" into free agency, I wonder what we should call what the Devils or Kings are doing if they get Kovalchuk. Anyway...
Meanwhile, Mike Heika has a cool piece of Scott Glennie that I recommend...
``I definitely think that with working out and stretching, you're putting yourself in a position to not get hurt, and I think J.J. will be a big part of that,'' Glennie said.
Glennie said he embraces the challenge of being a top-level player.
``There's some pressure, but it's good pressure. I think everyone wants that. The World Junior challenge, the challenge to win the Memorial Cup, those are good things. You get to push yourself,'' he said.
And as for having that No. 8 beside his name as a high draft pick:
``It's a privilege to be taken that high,'' he said. ``There's some pressure that goes with it, but I think every single guy strives for that. It's a good thing. You've got to love that kind of stuff.''
More at the Dallas Morning News.