Well, kinda. Who remembers the famous Hanson brothers from the movie Slapshot? Cmon, Paul Newman was in it…now you remember. Turns out a son is now in the NHL. Who would have thunk it.
The Canadian Press
4/8/2009 12:58:59 AM
NEWARK, N.J. – The script was perfect for the first NHL goal by the son of one of the notorious Hanson brothers from the movie “Slap Shot.”
Christian Hanson scored against his favourite player, Martin Brodeur, and the Toronto Maple Leafs rookie didn’t seem to care it didn’t come on a slap shot.
“To be honest I would have taken it any way it would have gone in. Off my head, off my butt, off my skate, and luckily it went off my stick,” said Hanson, whose backhander capped a three-goal first period that led Toronto to a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.
The Hanson’s-They’re back!
552
Congrats to Martin Brodeur for becoming the all time winning goalie in the NHL. Coming back from his first serious injury it looks like he didn’t lose much. Here are the top ten goalies.
1. Martin Brodeur -552 2. Patrick Roy-551 3. Ed Belfour-484 4. Curtis Joseph-452 5. Terry Sawchuk-447 6. Jacques Plante-437 7. Anthony Esposito-423 8. Glenn Hall-407 9. Grant Fuhr-403 10. Dominik Hasek-389
And the weather is warming up along with interest in the post season, bringing me out of my late winter doldrums. Congrats to Detroit for becoming the first team in NHL history to top 100 points in nine straight seasons. No worries about them making the playoffs, but some teams are really fighting to make it. Two teams that probably won’t make it and kinda surprised me are Colorado and Ottawa. Goes to show how spoiled we are in Detroit, we now expect to be in the playoffs every year and compete for the Cup.
Crock of crap
Ah, good old Gary Bettman is at it again. Because of minor injuries, Lidstorm and Datsyuk decided not to attend the All Star game. King Bettman then makes a new rule that suspends them from playing in the first game after the break. Doh! Instead of trying to fix the ballot stuffing system that didn’t get either of them into the game and stacked several teams players on the team; he comes up with this. I’m sure other players would be happy to take their place. I think I’ll skip watching the game this year.
Rumors
A story from CBC’s Elliotte Freidman has said Zetterberg turned down a 10-year, $75 million contract offer: “No,” Zetterberg said. “I haven’t turned down anything.” So does that mean he’s thinking about it or the story is false? Stay tuned for further updates.
In other news, the New Jersey Devils have made room for the return of unrestricted free agent Brendan Shanahan, signing the veteran forward on Wednesday. Probably the swan song for Shanny, end up retiring from the team that drafted him.
And the Wings win 4-0 in L.A. Where would we be without Conklin, who has won his last five starts and is 8-1-1 over his last nine – including shutouts against San Jose, Chicago and Columbus.
Ah, eat before the game?
Maybe he should have ate something before the game. The National Hockey League has suspended Ottawa Senators forward Jarkko Ruutu two games following a biting incident Tuesday night in Buffalo. The video evidence appears to conclusively show Ruutu bit the gloved thumb of Sabres tough guy Andrew Peters. Ruutu denied it. I saw the replay, if he didn’t bite it; Peters must have stuck it in his ear or something…shades of Mike Tyson.
Mats Sundin will finally suit up in an NHL game when he makes his debut tonight with the Vancouver Canucks in Edmonton. Who missed him? Anyone in Toronto? I didn’t think so, and I don’t think he will be the savior in Vancouver.
And Lidstrom and Datsyuk were named to the All Star team as reserves. Strange things happen with open voting when a six time Norris trophy winner doesn’t make the first team.
Chicago blues
The team from the Windy city is blowing a little less after the Wings swept the two game series. The outdoor game had the best regular season tv ratings in thirteen years. It looks like an outdoor game every year will be a tradition.
Boston had their ten game win streak stopped by Buffalo in only their third loss at home this year.
The NHL suspended Anaheim Ducks forward Corey Perry four games without pay on Saturday following an elbowing incident against the Flyers. Got to keep the elbows down boys.
Home and home
The Red Wings and Blackhawks start a home and home series Tuesday in Detroit and then the outdoor game Thursday in Chicago. Should be good games as Chicago just set a franchise-record ninth straight victory. Lids and Osgood are still doubtful for the next several days. What’s the weather for 1pm Thur.? Hey, how about our other famous team in Detroit; 0-16. nuff said about that!
Cherepanov, the Russian player who collapsed and died last October was found to have taken performance enhancing drugs. It’s sad that players think they have to take stuff to make them better, I guess the money if they make the big time is too much of a temptation.
Oh no, he’s back. The San Jose Sharks signed forward Claude Lemieux. At 43 he’s trying a comeback. That would be interesting to see him and Mac in the playoffs. Make nice or remember the past. I say pound him silly, I don’t like the turtle.
I’m back
Let’s see if we can get this thing rolling again. Real life shouldn’t interfer with online life or I’ll never get to that 70th level ‘wing shark slayer’. 
A couple of days to the big outdoor game in Chi-town. I’ll stay home and watch in 70 degrees comfort, with this crazy weather; Chicago might get a hurricane or something. Hopefully Lids can play after taking a puck in the ankle the other day. Avery! lol What a bozo. Some things are best not said, and having nothing to do with hockey; we all saw what what happened. Not to many guys get to play and earn the money at this level and some just don’t get it. I mentioned him a while back so we’ll see if the NHL lets him return.
St. Louis Blues left wing Paul Kariya will have surgery on his left hip and could miss the rest of the season, the latest hit for a franchise beset by injuries to key players. Tough year for the Blues but sometimes that happens. Lots of injuries over the last couple of months so hit the links if you want to check them out.
Melrose didn’t last too long as a coach so he can go back to being annoying as a tv talking head. Can you tell I like him.
So far Boston and San Jose are having real good seasons. We’ll see if it continues thru the new year. Cold climate teams can blame the winter doldrums for a slump, but what will the Sharks say? Ah, it was the santa ana winds.
Ketchup
I don’t know if I can catch up on all the news I missed recently but here goes. The big story is Brodeur’s injury. Needing surgery on his bicep tendon and missing approx. 4 months. What happens to Jersey? Who knows who the back up is? I had to look it up, Kevin Weekes. Yeah, okay; and how will Brodeur respond to the layoff at 36. Here’s a guy who has never missed more than 6 games in a row and has played at least 70 games a year for 10 years. Good luck to him and the team, they’ll need it.
The Wings lost Franzen for a while with a sprained knee. The Islander’s goalie Dipietro had knee surgery. I see Peca had his 10 game suspension halved after apologizing to the Ref and league. The Stars sign free agent Mark Parrish.
The Wings are doing okay but their defense is a little porous right now. Meech in, Lebda sits for a while as his +/- numbers were very minus. They get a few days off and Coach is working hard on the D. Detroit is ranked 4th in the League right now following 1. Montreal 2. San Jose 3. Buffalo. But it’s still early so we’re not worried yet.
Leave of absense
I’ve had a death in the family I’ve been dealing with but I shall return. Lots of news to catch up on.
