Tag Archives: Sidney Crosby

Mar 16

Weekly Plus/Minus: Sidney Crosby, Sidney Crosby, Sheamus/Ziggler, Sidney Crosby, Randy Orton, ohh…and Sidney Crosby

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Hey did you hear that Crosby came back this week? Because he did. Sure there were probably some other games, and some wrestling shows. We got three new matches booked for Wrestlemania, and a damn good match on Raw. Ohh and Crosby came back. I wonder if someone will talk about that…

 

Sidney Crosby: Surely this must be obvious.

While his comeback against the Rangers wasn’t as dominant as his November comeback against the Islanders, this was still very impressive.

He had a very good assist, was +3, won 52% of his faceoffs, and played 16 minutes on Thursday night. It’s worth noting this was against the Conference leading Rangers and not the cellar-dwelling Islanders.

This Pittsburgh team looked fantastic and should be the favourite to win the Stanley Cup this year, no questions about it.

Randy Orton vs. Kane: This one has a spoiler for Friday Night Smackdown…so be warned.

This match was announced for Smackdown and didn’t take place, instead we’re set with it for Wrestlemania. Right now I have 0 interest in seeing this match. This is very clearly two wrestlers who they feel are above the GMs Match, so are shoehorned together.

The one hurt most by this? Zack Ryder. He will either end up in the GMs Match or as a corner man for Kelly and Maria Menounos in their match. He should get a change to avenge his injuries against Kane, and to have him cast aside really hurts his momentum.

Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler:  Since winning the Rumble, Sheamus has been a little aimless. Most shows he hasn’t done too much other than squash a mid-card heel.

That changed this week when he took on Dolph Ziggler on Raw. These two had a very competitive 12 minute match that Sheamus won after hitting the Brogue Kick out of nowhere. The competitive nature of this match got me really excited to see a World Heavyweight Title feud between these two. I have a feeling that Ziggler will get drafted to Smackdown and be a great spring time feud with Sheamus, hopefully he gets a long World Title reign out of it.

The Miz Interference: Rumours are swirling that The Miz’s role at Wrestlemania may be to run interference in the Main Event. Hopefully this is just a rumour because it’s beyond ludicrous.

Rock-Cena fits in the Wrestelmania Dream Match narrative that started with Hogan-Andre, went to Hogan-Rock, and now we have Rock-Cena, 10-15 years from now it will be Cena’s turn to have a dream match with whoever the next top star is, and the story continues.

None of these other dream matches had interference in them for good reason, we got to see who the best was. There was interference in the main event of last year, but it served the purpose of setting up the Main Event next year, unless the plan on doing Rock-Miz next year, which they most certainly won’t, then they better find something better for The Miz to do.

But speaking of Wrestlemania…

Card Order for the Big Event: Other rumours going around for Wrestlemania is that the plan fo the big event is to have Rock-Cena close the show, Taker-HHH somewhere in the middle, and have the WWE Title Match open the show.

At first glance, to have Punk-Jericho open the show seems like an insult, but really it isn’t. It would be a stellar way to open the show, and separate the top three matches so they don’t burn the crowd out. They made a huge mistake at Wrestlemania X-8 putting Rock-Hogan so close to HHH-Jericho, and don’t want anything like that to happen again. Personally, I would prefer to have Bryan-Sheamus open the show, but I understand that they don’t want to make it look like more of a midcard match than it already does.

I imagine the order would be something like: Punk-Jericho, Cody-Show, GM Battle, Hall of Fame Ceremony, Orton-Kane, HHH-Taker, Diva’s Tag, Sheamus-Bryan, Rock-Cena. This gives a good build at the beginning and gets three very exciting matches at the beginning, then gives a bit of a lull for the Hall of Fame Ceremony, let’s Orton pop the crowd back before the Cell lowers, puts the Diva’s in the death spot, then let’s the World Title wake the crowd up before the Main Event. Looks like a damn fine show to me.

Amateur Doctor’s: Has anyone talked about Crosby this week?

When the news came that he was returning Thursday night, half of the hockey world was excited, and half were starting to diagnose him. The hockey media was full of people saying that he should wait until the playoffs, or take the year off, or heaven forbid retire.

News flash people: Don Cherry is not a medical doctor, and neither are any of the other talking heads you see on TV. He is getting better medical treatment than any of us normal people could imagine and he’s been incredibly cautious. Crosby, his family, his agent, his team, and the entire league, all know that his best days are ahead of him still and he could stand to make a ton of money.

To think that he would risk all of that on a measly two points is foolish. He knows exactly how he feels and how every hit will affect that. He knows what he’s doing and will probably trust a medical doctor over a loudmouth in a suit, and you should to.

 

Prediction for the Week:  Sidney Crosby gets six points in the four games he has this week.

Mar 15

Is the Curse of 2011 Finally Lifted?

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The first game of the 2011 Calendar saw the two greatest players in the world on the grandest of stages. It was supposed to be a slam dunk for television, and for the game.

Maybe Gary Bettman had an Icharan moment, reaching too high only for the gods to strike him down. First the game got a rain delay, sure the game could have moved to a different day, or maybe they could have moved it indoors, but no, they just pushed it back a few hours. The show must go on after all.

What was supposed to be a celebration for all that’s great in the game became a talking point for all that’s bad about it. The best player in the world, in the middle of the greatest run in his already storied career, was hit directly in the head. He played one more game, got hit again and then we didn’t get to see him for a very long time.

Fast-forward a few months and both teams involved in that disaster of a game get destroyed by Tampa. TAMPA!!!!

Luckily, no one is bigger than the game, and we are still treated to a fantastic playoff season, with quite possibly the best final series since the lockout.

But then things got horrible. Literally the minute the season ended.

One of the most beautiful cities in the world turned ugly overnight. This was followed by the premature death of three NHL players, and then a plane crash that killed an entire KHL team, consisting of many former NHL players. Summer 2011 was perhaps the games darkest season.

The season started with Crosby on the shelf and Ovechkin ineffective. Top players all over the league were missing time with concussions over and over again. It seemed like the league, like the game, were cursed.

Things looked to be turning a corner on November 21 when Sidney Crosby returned in dominant fashion. But eight games later he was back on the shelf. The hockey gods teased us with his return only to snatch it away from us. The only thing worse than being cursed is to wrongly think that you are in the clear.

But as 2012 started, things seemed to be turning around. As the calendar turned over, the Winter Classic, the start of the previous curse, was excellent. Instead of being a rainy, chippy, dark game, it was exciting with great weather, a great finish, and with the benefit of daylight.

This followed with Evgeni Malkin once again becoming impossible to ignore, Steven Stamkos becoming a scoring machine, Alexander Ovechkin showing glimpses of his past greatness, and of course, Sidney Crosby set to return. The four biggest stars in the league have finally aligned and are starting to shine at once.

The signs seem to be set for us to finally erase the memories of 2011. We have some great playoff races in both conferences, and an exciting race between Malkin and Stamkos for the scoring title. The playoffs should be great, as it looks like we will get some compelling match-ups in the first few rounds, and of course, there is the Crosby factor. The Pittsburgh Penguins have not lost a playoff series with all three of Crosby, Malkin, and Staal in the lineup since the 2008 Cup Finals, so expect them to be Cup favourites once the puck drops in April.

To see Crosby once again hoist the Cup, or at least perform well in the playoffs, would be the ultimate sign from the hockey gods that the curse is over. So until that happens, we shouldn’t get too excited, maybe they are taunting us again.

Mar 09

Weekly Plus/Minus: Crosby Cleared, You Can Play, NHL Standings..AGAIN!!!

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Yet another interesting week here, Sidney Crosby may be returning, sports may be getting more accepting, and the Blue Jackets may be apologizing. What’s not to love?

Sidney Crosby: There is nothing not to love about the latest news that Sid has been cleared for contact. The league is simply more fun when he’s around.

Dan Bylsma said that the earliest he could come back is Sunday, March 11 against the Bruins. Looking ahead, after that there are three games in four nights on the road against the Rangers, Devils, and Flyers on the 15th, 17th, and 18th. So many close games, all on the road, against very tough teams may be too much of a welcome back for Sid. After that they have home games against the Jets and Predators on the 20th and 22nd.

When he returned in the fall, he made sure to do it at home against a soft team, so it may be worth placing bets on Crosby returning on the 20th when the Jets come to town. Sure the Jets are currently sitting 8th, so are hardly the Islanders, but their 10-17-4 road record could make this a gimme for Sid’s second big night of the season.

NHL Standings…AGAIN!: I know that this was mentioned once before here, but this is getting a little ridiculous. The Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers are currently sitting third in their respective Conferences, yet both have less points than the sixth seed that they would face in the first round.

It’s very bizarre that teams would prefer to finish sixth than fifth. If I were the Nashville Predators I would have nightmares about that first round matchup against either the Red Wings or the Blues. Similarly if I were the Flyers, Devils, or Sens, how could you not rather face the Panthers than the Penguins?

Again, the NHL should copy the NBA, where the division leaders are guaranteed a top four spot, this would make the fifth place far more desirable than the sixth, shouldn’t that be the place?

Columbus Blue Jackets: It’s not often that they will make a plus category here. How could you not like their jersey campaign? The team allowed fans who were unfortunate enough to buy Jeff Carter jerseys to have a Jack Johnson name plate sewn on the back.

This is not only a great way to get fans to the arena, but it’s as close to an apology as you’ll get from an organization that’s getting close to waking up from this nightmare of a season.

What No Miz?: How can Wrestlemania be so soon, and we can not have The Miz featured somehow? Last year he won the Main Event, sure the Rock may have helped, but now he’s not even involved in a feud.

At best, he’ll end up as a throw-in for the GMs match. No matter what the buy rate for Survivor Series is, he deserves better. Hopefully he doesn’t end up like his former partner, John Morrison, who dogs his way out the door.

If You Can Play, You Can Play: There is absolutely nothing to not love about this campaign by the Burke family. Their aim to target casual homophobia is a very valiant and difficult stand to take. It makes me damn proud to be a hockey fan. Hopefully this gains traction across all sports. If you haven’t seen it:

 

Prediction for the Week:  Three more Wrestlemania matches are booked.

 

Mar 06

Another Idiots Attempt to Predict the 2014 Canadian Olympic Team

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With the announcement that Steve Yzerman is going to be once again the GM of the Canadian Olympic Team in 2014, there are two things that everyone on the hockey blogosphere is going to start trying to guess. First is if the NHL is going to even be involved in the Olympics, and the second is who is going to be on the Canadian team.

Sure other countries have some choices, but nothing compared to Canada. The 2010 team was a relatively young team and a number of those player are certain to be returning. Add in the fact that team did not have the likes of Steven Stamkos, Claude Giroux, and Kris Letang and we have the potential for a really stacked squad heading to Socchi.

If the NHL does go to Socchi, which I think that they will, then their team should look something like this…

GOALTENDERS

Carey Price
Marc-Andre Fleury
Cam Ward

The days of Canadian goaltending dominance seems to have passed us by, and should be compounded by the fact that Martin Brodeur is certain to retire and Roberto Loungo continues to slide in his age. Fleury was the third goaltender in Vancouver and seems like a lock here. Carey Price is the next most elite goaltender from Canada, as he consistently puts up very big numbers for an average (at best) team in Montreal, and should be considered a favourite for the starting job. Cam Ward has struggled with injuries, but is the only other Canadian goalie with a Cup ring, so he seems like a logical third choice.

Potential Surprises: Jonathan Bernier, Brian Elliott, Mike Smith, Steve Mason

DEFENSEMEN

Shea Weber                     Duncan Keith
Kris Letang                       Drew Doughty
Dan Girardi                       Alex Pietrangelo
Tyler Myers

Shea Weber, Duncan Keith, and Drew Doughty were all great parts of the Vancouver team so seem like a lock to make it next time. Especially since Niedermayer has retired, Pronger most certainly will, Dan Boyle appears to be slowing down, and Brent Seabrook was not great during the Vancouver tournament, making their experience invaluable.

Kris Letang has emerged from the shadow of Sergei Gonchar and proven to be one of the better offensive defensemen out there. Unlike Mike Green though, Letang can handle himself on both ends of the ice. Dan Girardi has proven to be a beast this year logging a ton of minutes and blocking nearly as many shots as some goalies, although his speed may be a bit of an issue. Alex Pietrangelo is making everyone notice him in St. Louis after developing slowly under the radar for the past few years, while Tyler Myers offensive flair and ridiculous size give him the nod for the seventh spot.

Potential Surprises: PK Subban, Marc Staal, Brent Burns, Brent Seabrook, Luke Schenn

FORWARDS

Jonathan Tavares              Sidney Crosby                      Claude Giroux
Steven Stamkos                Jonathan Toews                   Corey Perry
Taylor Hall                         Ryan Nugent-Hopkins           Jordan Eberle
Rick Nash                          Patrice Bergeron                  Tyler Seguin
Eric Staal

Let’s start with the obvious: Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, and Corey Perry are all returning from the 2010 team, while the aging Jarome Iginla, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley, and Brendan Morrow are most certainly not. Rick Nash, Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf, Patrice Bergeron, and Eric Staal are all sort of on the fence.

Getzlaf doesn’t seem to be the player he once was, so let’s eliminate him, Rick Nash is having a bad year but the inevitable change of scenary he gets should rejuvenate him, so let’s keep him. Last spring Patrice Bergeron proved how clutch he is, cementing his candidacy. Mike Richards and Eric Staal are both worthy of consideration, but I chose Eric Staal based on his winning pedigree (he is a member of the Triple Gold Club) and his versatility. Of course a case could be made for both, but Richards seems to be distracted these past few years.

Young established players like Claude Giroux, Steven Stamkos, and Jonathan Tavares are all easy additions to this team, leaving only four forward spots left. In a short tournament chemistry is very important, so why not go with pre-existing chemistry? Tyler Seguin has meshed very well with Bergeron, so let’s put them together with Nash on their wing to be a great shutdown line — remember how great Nash was in a shutdown role in Vancouver. The three Oilers forwards are a bit of a gamble here. All three came out hot this year but slowed down a bit after injuries and the grind of a season got to them. Give them another year and a half of seasoning and they very well could play the part that Marleau, Thornton, and Heatley played in 2010.

Potential Surprises: Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Jeff Skinner, Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier, Jason Spezza, Joe Thornton, Brad Richards, Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly, Jamie Benn, Ryan Getzlaf, Cody Hodgson

As we can see from the “Potential Surprises” we could almost certainly get a very good second team for Canada. I mean, who would have had Drew Doughty on the 2010 team back in 2008? How about Brendan Morrow? Or even Dany Heatley for that matter? In the coming year and a half until this team is announced we are certain to have our fair share of surprises, and even more arguments about those surprises.

Let the debate begin! Or continue at least…

Jan 12

Face/Off: A WWE Style Pay-Per-View Featuring NHL Players – Edition I

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Today on the excellent Marek vs. Wyshinski podcast they discussed the best Heels and Babyfaces in the NHL, there were some great mentions including Sean Avery, Brad Marchand, and Teemu Selanne. Honestly, I had considered that as a post for here, but now that they did that I would feel like more of a hack than I already do for posting that.

After thinking about the best heels and faces in the NHL, we can take it to the next obvious step, a full scale Wrestling Pay-Per-View Card featuring NHL Players in WWE Style (worked) matches. I hope this to be a recurring feature here on Blade Jobs of Steel, so here is the car (and the booking) for Face/Off.

Ryan Getzlaf/Cory Perry/Bobby Ryan vs. Rick Nash/Jeff Carter/James Wiznewski
Whoever Scores the Fall Gets Traded

We’ll start things out with a good six man tag to get the crowd pumped, featuring six men who shouldn’t find the bottom of the card a strange place. The RPG Line does have some established chemistry here, but don’t count out Wiznewski’s mean streak or Nash’s experience advantage. To sweeten the pot, we’ll add the stipulation that whoever gets the pinfall will be able to leave the sinking ship they are stuck on. It would certainly add some intrigue, especially if Getzlaf turns on Perry to steal the win.

Dustin Penner vs. Dustin Byfuglien
Sumo Match

This match pretty much has to happen. I considered making this a Pancakes on a Pole Match, but I don’t want to watch either man try to climb.

Marc Savard vs. Matt Cooke

This has redemption story written all over it. Is Savard medically cleared to fight? Even more compelling, with Cooke now as a face, he would clearly be apologetic for his actions. Savard, being a Bruin, could go full heel, refusing to forgive him and seek out vengeance, needing an eye-for-an-eye from Cooke.

Phil Kessel (w/Brian Burke) vs. Taylor Hall (w/Kevin Lowe)
Barnyard Brawl!!!

Since Anonymous General Manager Gary Bettman refused to allow Burke and Lowe to have this match, they could easily pick players to have the match on their behalf. Burke would obviously take the Wisconsin born superstar, and Lowe could take Hall as a taunting “You could have had him if you didn’t trade for Kessel” move. Since the Barnyard is one step above the Thunder Dome, this match would be full of interference from just about everyone. I would be interested in seeing how Penner would react to this match, but he would clearly be gassed after his own match.

Ilya Bryzgalov’s Interview Segment: Behind the Masks

After the huge over-booked match before, a good promo would fit here nicely. In the spirit of Piper’s Pit, the Highlight Reel, and Peep Show, we have our new wrestling talk show featuring everyone’s favourite rambling Russian, who will show us what he’s like behind the many masks that he wears. The guest is kind of inconsequential to me, because they would just distract us from Ilya dropping some Bryzgoledge on us.

Scott Gomez vs. Rick DiPietro vs. Roberto Loungo
vs. Vincent LeCavalier vs. Ville Leino vs. Ilya Kovalchuk
Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Winner Gets to Keep Their Ridiculous Contract

This match featuring six of the most untradeable players whose name doesn’t rhyme with Romas Raberle is sure to be heated. All of their contracts would be suspended high above the ring in a briefcase and a chaotic ladder match would take place where the winner gets to keep their own. All six of these guys want to be able to keep getting paid to not score, get injured, pump tires, play on the second line, or whiff in a shootout and are sure to fight tooth and nail to not have to take a pay cut.

Ryan Smyth vs. Cal Clutterbuck
Hair vs. Hair Match

The Mullet vs. The Moustache in a ultimate showdown for hockey hair. I think that Clutterbuck has the edge, but it’s hard to tell since the Minnesota statisticians would most certainly pad his win/loss record.

Jaromir Jagr vs. Artem Anisimov

The Russian Rifleman goes to take on the Sultan of Saluting. This should be a fun match with both men stealing each others taunts to get the crowd going. I could see this being a fun long feud to really help the younger Anisimov make a name for himself against the veteran. Mike Rupp and Scott Hartnell would be great to add as guest commentators.

Teemu Selanne vs. Niklas Lidstrom vs. Tim Thomas
Loser Ages

All three of these men have found the fountain of youth and continue to be excellent in their more venerable years. If they have a Triple Threat Match it’s sure to be an outright classic since all men can still go, but not for much longer. The man who takes the pinfall here would have to give in to Father Time and begin to play like their own age.

The Sedin Twins vs. The Bru-Tang Clan (Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand)
The Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks are the Lumberjacks

This is obviously a battle in the larger war of these two mega-stables looking to take over. Daniel and Henrik look to get revenge on the man that punched one of them a dozen times in the Stanley Cup Finals, and the two that scored the four goals to send their city ablaze. The ring will be surrounded by members of both teams, so it’s sure to get ugly. I think that whichever team you consider the heels should get the win here to really extend the feud.

Sidney Crosby vs. Alexander Ovechkin

The battle for the best in the world between two men who clearly have the talent but are falling under some hard times of late. Both men are looking for redemption against their arch rivals. Crosby has the advantage (World Juniors, 2009 Playoffs, and 2010 Olympics), will this streak continue?

…and that’s the show! Tune in later for another edition of Face/Off and we’ll see where things go from here.

Jan 10

New Years Resolutions for Top NHL and WWE Stars

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Even big stars in the WWE and NHL are looking to improve themselves. Like all the rest of us they make resolutions to improve themselves at the beginning of the year. Sometimes, they even follow through with them! We here at the world headquarters of Blade Jobs of Steel found their lists and are going to share them with you here in a world wide exclusive.

Note: List may or may not have been obtained through phone hacking

NHL Stars

  • Alex Burrows: Stop Playing Games on an Empty Stomach
  • Ilya Bryzgalov: His list was to huMANGous big to write down, but hey, you think we’ve got problems here?
  • Sean Avery: Get On The Internet More, Never Take Off Sunglasses, Drink More Orange Juice…Oh and Don’t Get Demoted to the AHL
  • Dustin Penner: Teach Wife to Make Waffles
  • Yevgeni Kuznetsov: Be More Like Those Cold Robotic Soviets That Canadians Hated So Much
  • The Boston Bruins: Continue to defend themselves from such dastards as Sami Salo and Ryan Miller. Those guys are dangerous, and hey, did you ever notice that they never get suspended?
  • Alexander Ovechkin: Stop shaving, Score Goals
  • Roberto Loungo: Make a Wooden Car — to simultaneously pump tires and ride the pine
  • Sidney Crosby: Get better, that’s not a joke, the game is no fun without him
  • Tyler Kennedy: Keep Rubbing Two Sticks Together, Eventually a Fire Will Start
  • Donald Fehr: Compromise with the NHL on Something (this was under “Hit the Gym”, “Keep in Touch with Old Friends”, and “Follow Through on New Year’s Resolutions…ha ha ha ha ha ha”)

WWE Stars

  • The Undertaker: Take on Hornswoggle at Wrestlemania to continue the D-X Gauntlet
  • CM Punk: Only Three More Divas For Bingo!
  • John Morrison: Publicly insult future Hall of Famers, it worked out so well in 2011!
  • Mid-Card Faces Treading Water: Partner with John Morrison, to turn heel on him and get a Main Event Run
  • Triple H: Work A Program With Another Young-Up-And-Comer — Undertaker and Kevin Nash are the future of this business!
  • Samoa Joe: Swap name on CM Punk’s WWE Contract and convince everyone the last six years have been a dream
  • Dolph Ziggler: Double Career Time as World Champion, that’s right 24 minutes this year!
  • The Rock: Never leave…until it’s time to leave again
  • John Cena: Cut moving promos, work 5 Star Matches, be the consummate company man, put over internet favourites, remain hated.