Living the Dream

Last night the Buffalo Sabres traded franchise goaltender and American Hero Ryan Miller to St. Louis in the first blockbuster trade of the NHL trade deadline.  As a result, backup Jhonas Enroth unexpectedly had to play in his spot last night.  However, the ramifications of a goalie trade before game time run deeper than that.  The NHL requires all teams to dress a backup goalie for every game, so in situations like this where two are not readily available, teams need to get creative.

Enter Ryan Vinz.

Vinz works as the director of hockey technology (whatever that is) for a company in Buffalo and is a former member of the Sabres' staff.  He was nearby and available to the desperate Sabres, so they signed him to a one day contract.  For signing an emergency one day contract, the new goalie receives $500 and gets to keep their personalized jersey.  Not a bad deal to watch a game from the bench next to a bunch of professionals.

What makes the situation even better for Vinz is that he basically had very limited experience as a goaltender at any level.  He tried and failed to walk on to his college hockey team.

And while this situation may seem kind of crazy, which it is, it does happen from time to time.  Earlier this season the Vancouver Canucks signed a 43-year old backup that had last played minor league hockey in 2001-02 to replace an injured Roberto Luongo at the last minute.

These guys get to live the dream for a single day and have an experience that will be with them for a lifetime.  Here's hoping that a team calls me up one day when a situation like the Miller trade arises.  My qualifications include being picked first for hockey in gym class with the express intention of making me goaile and owning a plastic Jason-esque hockey mask.

A Night Out with the Pens

I found this story online yesterday of a guy and his girlfriend and how they ended up gallivanting around Raleigh with members of the Penguins between games 3 & 4 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals.  It's a really entertaining read.

And  despite the fact that I'm not old enough to drink I'm a *teensy* bit jealous.

Who to Root for in the Stanley Cup Finals?

Tomorrow night begins the 2013 edition of the Stanley Cup finals.  Unfortunately, my team isn't in it.  So now, the big question is:  Who does Blizzard of Kozz officially support during this last struggle for the cup?

This might sound obvious, but the answer is:

The Chicago Blackhawks.

This isn't for the reason you may think.  It goes far deeper than the fact that the Bruins embarrassed the Penguins in the last round.  It is because of my deep seated hatred for one man:  Jaromir Jagr.

As you may or may not know, Jagr started his career with the Penguins in 1990, winning back to back cups with the team.

Jagr (right) with Mario Lemieux

 In the early 2000's, the team stunk.  He decided he wanted out, claiming that he was "dying alive" in Pittsburgh.  So we traded him to the Washington Capitals for basically nothing.  After playing for the Rangers for a number of seasons, he left the NHL to play in Russia.  In 2011, he decided to come back to the NHL, and claimed that he wanted to play for Pittsburgh as a thank you to the team and Mario Lemieux for starting his career.  It appeared that he wanted to make amends.  Instead he spat in the face of the Penguins and took a higher paying contract from our biggest rival the Philadelphia Flyers, who of course beat us in the playoffs last year.  Most Penguins fans were ready to welcome him back with open arms.  Instead he will forever be branded in Pittsburgh sports lore as a traitor.

Projectile vomit everywhere

After being traded from Dallas, the team with which he began the year at the trade deadline, Jagr joined Boston for their championship run.  However, he hasn't been that productive, only gathering a handful of assists in the playoffs and no goals.  But the point stands.  I have no interest in this man even getting REMOTELY close to another cup win.

As such, I am supporting the Blackhawks.  The Pens were in competition with the Blackhawks to lead the overall league standings for most of the season, with each team tying with 36 wins.  Chicago won the award with 5 overtime loses being worth one point a piece.  The Penguins, on the other hand, never lost in overtime, giving the 'Hawks a (36-7-5) record to Pittsburgh's (36-12-0).  Seeing them as a rival most of the season led me to root for their opponent in each of their previous match ups during the playoffs, but now the situation has changed.  Jaromir. Jagr. Must. Go. Down.

Go Blackhawks.

Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews after winning the Cup in 2010.

:(

Lots of great memories this season.  For a while I didn't even think that there would be a season.  It's just a shame that it had to end this way.

Who am I kidding?  This sucks, and I'm devastated.  My next few days in a nutshell:

Senators' Captain Jumps Ship

The Penguins dominated the Senators tonight 7-3 on the way to taking a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup.  After the game, 40 year old Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson's reaction to the media was less than inspiring to his team.  When asked if the Senators were capable of making a comeback in the series, Alfredsson responded with "probably not," and then quipped that the Pens "have too much depth."

I'm sorry, but no matter what the state of the series is, a captain has to be more positive than that.  The captain is, obviously, the leader and representative of the team  and its players on and off the ice.  Can you imagine what Alfredsson's teammates thought when they heard that he said that?  It had to be absolutely deflating.  The dude was nominated for the Mark Messier Leadership award  a few days ago, which is presented to the player who "exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice during the regular season."  He has to have something better to say than that in the face of adversity.  Come on.

Just my $0.02.

The Curious Case of Jarome Iginla

One fateful night in late March, after everyone thought he was a Boston Bruin, an event occurred at approximately 1 AM that I will never forget.  Jarome Iginla became a Pittsburgh Penguin.  I spent months convinced that the trade was going to happen, and when it finally did I couldn't contain myself.  Let's just say that I'm glad that no one saw the embarrassing dance I performed upon opening my laptop the next morning.

The Pensblog expertly and hilariously covered the event here, here, here, here, and here.

However, since his arrival, coach Dan Bylsma has insisted on playing him almost exclusively on the left wing of Evgeni Malkin.  Iginla already is a surefire first ballot hall of famer for his 17 seasons played at wait for it..... the right wing.

While this might not seem like that big of a deal, it is extremely noticeable on the ice.  The few games he played on the right wing being centered by either Sidney Crosby or Jussi Jokinen have shown, despite what Iginla may say to the contrary, him playing a much more comfortable game.

This all leads to the main point of this post.  Dejan Kovacevic over at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote an excellent article asking the question many, including myself, are thinking at this point - If the Penguins aren't going to play Iginla at his natural position, why did they even bother trading for him at all?

It's a very well written article and definitely worth checking out at the Trib's website.


UPDATE:  After scoring two goals in last night's game, Jarome Iginla can play wherever he wants.  Just keep scoring.

Zach Parise: The Decision

I and many other fans around the National Hockey League are STILL waiting for Zach Parise to decide where he's taking his talents.  Instead of going to every credible hockey website on the face of the Earth every five minutes and hitting refresh, I found one that performs the same task much more effectively.

I present http://haszachparisedecidedwherehesplayingnext.com/

It's worth a look, trust me.

UPDATE:

Taylor Swift and the Penguins Curse

     This image has been making the rounds... well, around the internet the past couple days, so I thought I'd give some insight into what the big deal here is for those of you who haven't been spending the better part of each of the last few days hitting refresh on all of the major hockey sites (like myself).

     This picture was taken in 2009, in the fall following our third Stanley Cup victory.  Since then each Penguin that took part in this iconic picture has died a slow, painful death.  One by one.  Or they each left the Pens by various means one by one.  Not sure which.

Alex Goligoski (2nd from the right) was the first to make his leave from the Penguins, being part of the deal that sent Matt Niskanen and, more importantly, my homeboy James Neal from the Dallas Stars to Pittsburgh, PA.  No complaints there.

What else is going on in this image??  Better continue reading to find out...

How to Make Some Noise at the NHL Draft, Lesson 1

Skip to about the 3 minute mark for the fireworks.

The aftermath of said fireworks.

     I'll start posting actual content again soon, but for now, WOW.  The Penguins made the biggest splash at the draft that they were hosting with this announcement, and with this trade, there is potential that the team could become, very, very good come next week when free agency comes around, not to mention the fact that we are now LOADED with defensive prospects (enough to field an entire team, actually).  If and/or when that happens, you will be hearing about it from me.  Without going into detail, I've read this particular article several times and it still makes me giddy thinking about the possibilities.  With this trade and dealing Michalek to Phoenix for peanuts, expect something BIG to be happening in Pittsburgh July 1st.  Mark my words.

For now though, I'd like to welcome to Pittsburgh the newest immediate member of our hockey family, Brandon Sutter, and wish farewell to Jordan Staal.  May both of you continue to have excellent careers.

Brandon Sutter, the Pens' newest player.  For now, anyways.

Crowning the Kings

     Prior to the commencement of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, I was about 90% that this year the Cup belonged to my beloved Penguins.  I guess I should have taken those two botched games against the Islanders late in the season as a forewarning.  Anywho, in my anticipation of the Penguins impending dominance, I ran a single simulation of the entire playoffs using NHL 12.  Who won that simulation?

The LA Kings.

    

     Apparently the game knew something that I, nor every other fan of the NHL didn't.  It said that the LA Kings, an eighth seed (the lowest seed in the NHL playoffs) were to triumph over the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team one point outside of 1st place in the Eastern Conference.  At the time, I laughed it off.  The notion that an eighth seed would win the Cup, regardless of opponent, was utterly ridiculous.  Yet here we are, a month and a half later, and the Kings have defeated the New Jersey Devils in 6 games to win their first Stanley Cup, an event 45 years in the making.  But they did more than win the Stanley Cup; they made history.

In a Perfect World...

... ESPN would treat coverage of the NHL and NBA more like the Canadian version of SportsCenter (titled SportsCentre, eh).  A man can dream.

Captain's Log Part III: Will It Blend?

     I really want to get done with this introduction so I can start posting pictures of cats like the rest of the internet.

Now that's more like it.

     While I am surely not the first person to notice this, it has recently occurred to me that all of my interests tend to "blend" into each other in one manner or another.  Let's run through an example, shall we?

     When I was in the 7th grade, I saw the film Saving Private Ryan for the first time.  This affected my life in a profound way and today I consider it to be my favorite movie.  The opening scene on Omaha Beach was the most intense scene I had ever seen in a movie, and arguably to this day still holds that regard.  The rest of the movie was a harrowing tale of men just trying to do their job as part of a larger picture, with most of them never making it home.  For those who are completely oblivious, this movie takes place in France following the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944 (which is, coincidentally, the day on which I am typing this).  That movie profoundly opened my eyes to World War II and these unreal experiences that very real people lived through.