Ryan "The Human Turnover" Whitney is out for 3-5 months to recover from foot surgery.
Thank you, hockey gods. You've finally answered our prayers. Maybe Kris Letang will get some more power play time now.
One downside, however, is that Darryl Sydor will probably be playing regularly. I think the question of who Mark Eaton will be paired with has been answered.
My personal defensive pairing prediction/hope:
Orpik - Gonchar
Eaton/Scuderi - Sydor
Gill - Letang
Of course, knowing Michel Therrien, we'll see just about every combination imaginable (including Alex Goligoski being thrown in a few times just for the hell of it) until he finally settles on something around February or March. At that point, Whitney will come back and mess the whole thing up all over again.
...I mentioned that I would be blogging about hockey occasionally, right?
Posted by CD on August 16, 2008 07:47 PM | TrackBackSign #1 that the Detroit Red Wings will win the Stanley Cup this year (again):
They're the Detroit Red Wings.
Posted by: The Mulatto Maker at August 21, 2008 03:48 AMThat didn't help them much in '06 or '07.
Posted by: CD at August 21, 2008 05:05 AMAnd the number of Cups won by Detroit since the last time the Penguins won one is...
...survey SAYS...
FOUR.
dingdingdingdingding!!!
Posted by: The Mulatto Maker at August 21, 2008 08:30 AMI fail to see how that invalidates my statement, though.
In any case, the last time the Pens won the cup, they didn't have Ryan Whitney. Every year they have had him, they haven't won.
COINCIDENCE???
(Have I mentioned that I don't like Ryan Whitney? I'm not sure if I made that clear enough)
Posted by: CD at August 21, 2008 11:09 AMHmm. Ya got a point there.
...but you could make the same point about Crosby or Malkin.
Posted by: The Mulatto Maker at August 21, 2008 05:32 PMBut think about this...they had a similar pair of superstars in Lemieux and Jagr, but they didn't have a soft defenseman who enjoyed putting the puck directly on the sticks of opposing players and making stupid decisions because he was afraid of being hit.
You know, if they'd won in '93, this entire offseason wouldn't be bothering me so much. I only have vague memories of the two cup victories, but I followed the entire 92-93 season, watched them dominate the league night after night, and just assumed they would win it all because they were clearly the best team, and then...
Boom! David Volek. Season over.
Come to think of it, that's probably how Wings fans felt every year between '02 and '08, minus the David Volek part.
Posted by: CD at August 21, 2008 07:18 PMThe name David Volek doesn't ring any bells, but yeah. Every April the Wings go into the postseason the top contender, the natural pick to win it all. But we've gotten used to having to hold our breath for up to two months straight, saying "please don't choke... please don't choke... please don't choke..."
I wonder how many other teams in how many other sports go into the playoffs top-seeded and the overall favorite, but whose fans are scared to death of that eighth-seeded team.
Oh well, whatever, Wings in '09! Woot!
Posted by: The Mulatto Maker at August 22, 2008 06:12 AMDavid Volek scored the overtime winner in Game 7 of the 1993 Pens-Islanders series. I still remember sitting there staring silently at the TV after it happened, then moping up to my room.
Lemieux vs. Gretzky in the SCF would've been so awesome...
Posted by: CD at August 22, 2008 08:03 AM