Quick Hits: Commodore Speaks (again), Chelios Honored, Panthers Delirious

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Sep 7, 2011 6:20 AM CDT in Quick Hits

In case you missed it, the big Alex Ovechkin press conference yesterday was to announce he had signed an endorsement deal with Bauer (and being given an 8-pack by the folks at EA Sports). [Puck Daddy]
Chris Chelios was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Hall of Fame. Can't wait until he gets into the real Hall soon. [Red Wings]
The Jets finally revealed their jersey yesterday. You can see it in the head image. [Arctic Ice Hockey]
Khan has player previews up for our two main grinders now that Draper is gone: Drew Miller and Patrick Eaves. [MLive]
Mike Commodore plans to grow his hair back out again this season and also realizes this is likely his final chance. Excited to have him on the team, but a 31 year old saying he has to prove he has something left in the tank is far from encouraging. [MLive]
Speaking of Commodore, he talks a lot. I mean, a LOT. [On The Wings]
Little Box Cats has an article up titled "More Evidence Tallon is Building a Winner." ...stop laughing. They're serious here. Apparently signing Ed Jovanovski and replacing Tomas Vokoun with Jose Theodore is a good thing. True, they focus mostly on prospects, but 3 good draft picks (along with 2 from previous GMs) does not mean they are in good shape. The Wings have as many (five) prospects ready to make the jump to the NHL in the next two seasons and aren't relying on Tomas Fleischmann to be one of their top offensive talents. [Little Box Cats]
Did you know the Wings are on a thirteen year losing streak? I sure as hell didn't. Thanks to Sarah from Left Wing Lock for pointing out this odd little streak. [Left Wing Lock]
For the second time this summer, a free agent that was targeted by the Wings is taking shots at the team. First it was James Wisniewski and now it is Tomas Vokoun. Vokoun says we offered an almost identical contract to what he signed with Washington and is now saying the Caps have a better chance at winning (despite also saying it will be a bigger challenge to win with them). [CSN Washington]

Discussion of the Day: How do you feel the Wings sit with their prospects and players ready to leave the team? In the next two years, who do you see making the jump to the big leagues and who will no longer be with us?

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Comments

Ive been on record as saying

i believe we have the most high end talent in the whole minor leagues. I believe other teams have better individual prospects however we are 12 or 13 prospects deep that could and probably will be decent, above average, or stars in the league.

Headed by who i think is our best prospect (cant stress the word “prospect” enough) even over Brendan Smith, Teemu Pulkkinen.

J✈E✈T✈S✈ JETS! ✈JETS! ✈JETS!

by SLAUGHTERHOUSE on Sep 7, 2011 6:52 AM CDT reply actions

Is Pullkinen really that good? I see he’s a point-per-game player in SM-Liiga but no one ever talks about him (except you in the comments, obviously)

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Sep 7, 2011 7:11 AM CDT up reply actions

he has raw unteachable talent

lightning quick shot with ridiculous accuracy. His problem’s are very fixable, he is not that big weight wise, his skating needs to be improved and he has to come and play in the states. He is according to Hockeys future our #4 prospect but if we can get him to the states, and working on his skating and in the weight room and with the coaches in the wings orginization he can be a superstar.

He is 1st round talent (maybe first half of the first round talent) but fell to the 4th because of injuries.

J✈E✈T✈S✈ JETS! ✈JETS! ✈JETS!

by SLAUGHTERHOUSE on Sep 7, 2011 7:30 AM CDT up reply actions

actually he isnt even that small

5’11 183 is not bad….isnt that what the sedin’s are ?

J✈E✈T✈S✈ JETS! ✈JETS! ✈JETS!

by SLAUGHTERHOUSE on Sep 7, 2011 7:32 AM CDT up reply actions

Sedins are 188 at 6’1 and 6’2.

How bad were the injuries?

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Sep 7, 2011 7:33 AM CDT up reply actions

not sure exactly what but they were very consistent injuries

however the good news is he hasn’t been injured alot if at all since he has been drafted.

J✈E✈T✈S✈ JETS! ✈JETS! ✈JETS!

by SLAUGHTERHOUSE on Sep 7, 2011 7:38 AM CDT up reply actions

as a matter of fact

teemu was 5’10 171 a year ago and now 5’11 183, so he is getting bigger.

J✈E✈T✈S✈ JETS! ✈JETS! ✈JETS!

by SLAUGHTERHOUSE on Sep 7, 2011 7:40 AM CDT up reply actions

Datsyuk is listed as 5’ 11" 194 (according to NHL.com)

by LAwing on Sep 7, 2011 3:18 PM CDT up reply actions

Vokoun simply didn’t want to have to compete for the starting job, so he went to Washington.

Sounds like he took the easy route. He should fit in fine there.

by J.J. from Kansas on Sep 7, 2011 7:11 AM CDT reply actions

Sad thing is that Vokoun is a better goalie than Jimmy but would have had a truly difficult time being anything more than his backup.

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Sep 7, 2011 7:12 AM CDT up reply actions

We'll see

Vokoun has put up good numbers in Florida, but I don’t think he’ll be as good in Washington with a ton more pressure on him.

by J.J. from Kansas on Sep 7, 2011 7:54 AM CDT up reply actions

Vokoun has put up stellar numbers wherever he has played. Nashville, Florida, and when playing for the Czech Republic in Olympic and International Play. I wouldn’t expect anything less of him in Washington.

by corvettes13 on Sep 7, 2011 10:41 AM CDT up reply actions

Yeah, Vokoun is one of the best goalies in the world and is still underrated by the majority of people. The Caps are the one team from the East I am truly afraid of now. They added quite a bit of talent to their roster this summer

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Sep 7, 2011 11:33 AM CDT up reply actions

Vokoun had two seasons in Nashville where his save percentage was lower than Jimmy’s this year.

I would say he’s under more pressure to live up to expectations because expectations on him are so incredibly high.

by J.J. from Kansas on Sep 7, 2011 11:54 AM CDT up reply actions

Neuvirth is more than capable for Washington

despite looking like the kid in high school who had the really hot older sister. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Vokoun get benched if he starts out slow.

Detroit4Lyfe

by Rob Rogacki on Sep 7, 2011 8:04 AM CDT up reply actions

Panthers

i think the article you linked to is referencing much further into the future than you think. i see the Panthers as the Kings of the 2006-07 season when Dean Lombardi took over. in those Kings years, Lombardi signed a lot of free agents who turned out to be just a bunch of stopgaps—Ladislav Nagy, Rob Blake, Michal Handzus (though Handzus turned out to be much more than expected), Alyn MacCauley, and . . . i forget the fifth guy. now, he didn’t give them all 4-year deals like Tallon did, but essentially, Tallon’s doing the same thing in bringing in stopgap guys who could potentially help the Panthers sniff the playoffs in the next couple seasons, but their main purpose is to buy time for their prospects to develop. when those 4-year deals end, hopefully they’ll have stockpiled enough talent to transition from the free agents to the developed prospects. (i’m pretty sure they’d like to stockpile more picks over at least the next two years, but you’re better off asking a Panthers fan on this front.) they could also hit the jackpot somewhere in the next couple years of free agency to guard against the inevitability of at least a few of their prospects turning out to be busts.

tl;dr: the Panthers post is about “building a winner” much further into the future, after the current crop of free agent deals expires. they’re trying to build a consistent, year-to-year contender in the mold of the Red Wings and (insert other teams that have built through high-end prospect development).

You wanna tell me that to mah face?!
YET ANOTHER Detroit Red Wings blog.

by uvgt2bkdnme on Sep 7, 2011 7:51 AM CDT reply actions

I only had time to skim it, but I felt like it was talking about their current batch of prospects and where they would be in 2-3 years. Either way, though, I don’t feel like they are doing anything other than taking a step in the right direction (draft wise) to being in the playoffs again.

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Sep 7, 2011 8:07 AM CDT up reply actions