Guy Boucher, Nail Yakupov and the Andrew Ladd Signing

Interesting fact about Guy Boucher coach of the Tampa Bay Lighting. He used to be the assistant coach of the Rimouski QMJHL team when Crosby was on it. This guy has an amazing playoff record. In that 05 year with Crosby he won the Finals in the QMJHL. The next season he didn't coach, but the year after that he became a head coach in the Q and took Drummondville to the second round. The year after that he missed the playoffs, but the year after that he won the championships as Drummondville's Head coach. Last year he moved to the AHL with the Hamilton Bulldogs and took them to the third round of the Calder Cup Finals. And then of course this year with the Tampa bay Lighting. Who could forget when he took a bunch of overpaid bums, with an underperforming Stamkos and took them to round 4 game 7 against Boston. If only TB beat Boston then maybe the Canucks would have won the cup.

Nail (me please!) Yakupov is a stud. His numbers are not quite at the Crosby level in the CHL however he is hovering around Stamkos and that is only after his first season. If he has an amazing next season this guy could put up some legendary stats. Flames would be stupid not to throw in the towel this year and try and get this guy. Pierre McGuire has already stated that it is a no-brainer that Nail me Please goes first overall next draft.

Good on Andrew Ladd. Ended up taking a bit of discount to play in winnipeg. He was making 2.35 million and now he is making around 4.4 million for the next few seasons. I like the signing but if things don't work out in Winnipeg this season expect Ladd to take a lot of heat as well as Antropov. Antropov has to be the biggest European bum in the league. You though Kotalik and hagman were bad? Antropov is making 4 million a season and he only scored 16 goals last season. Two years left on the contract too. No wonder the thrashers owners wanted to sell so badly.

-hark

Best name for the Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg Voyageurs! For the logo you put a sideways headshhot of some lumberjack looking dude with a red touque on, the same way the Blackhawks jersey is a sideways look of an aboriginal. You could also do a Washington Capitals style where you just have nice lettering and font, and write the text "voyageurs" across the jersey. I like Voyageurs because it appeals to a minority culture within the city in the sense that its a french Canadian word, however the voyageurs are an item of great historical lore amongst Western Canadians. It's very geographically specific as something that used to occur on Manitoba land. Voyageurs were the people involved in the fur trade that were responsible for transporting the skins from the red river area back to the Atlantic Coast to get shipped back to the Mother Country. They were big burly bear men of the back country, that could grow beards that made king Leonidis from 300 look like a 12 year old school girl. The Winnipeg crew has to make the name the Voyagers.

If at first you don't
succeed,then don't try the mother eff'ing jets ever again. if we're going to name it the jets, why not go out there and get Ken Dryden out of retirement to lace them up again. then we can really relive the glory days of the jets. oh wait! the jets always sucked and don't have a rich history of memories. its time to forge a new identity within hockey, and a clean slate is needed as far as a symbol for the franchise.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets be back bitches. Although it's only verified by a Globe and Mail editor, we at BoWC are going full throttle in naming the JETS

From Best to Worst

Winnipeg Jets - Classic. There is no doubt in my mind and every Canadian out there that the soon-to-be Winnipeg Jets should be called the Winnipeg Jets.

Winnipeg Falcons - This name has been tossed around, and if the legal issues prevent the Jets name, I say go with Falcons

Winnipeg Thrashers - Atlanta-Calgary Flames. Atlanta-Winnipeg Thrashers?

All the three above are decent .... now the brutal ones:

Anything with Manitoba in it - It just doesn't sound right. If the owners had any common sense they would not use anything with Manitoba and especially not ...

Manitoba Moose - Currently, the AHL team and Vancouver Canuck affiliate. There have been talks that they would just adopt the name, in which case we will riot and burn Winnipeg to the ground. Better to not have a city at all than be named after a fucking moose. Can't get lamer than that, unless they named it the Manitoba Does


That's what happens to dumbass moose

-Hal

Manitoba Moose and canucks update

Moose News

The Manitoba Moose won 2-1 in Double Ot last night. Bliznak scored the late ot goal and Desbiens tied it up with 2 minutes left. Someone named Gabriel Dumont scored for Hamiltion, who is know tied 2-2 with Manitoba, and the next game being played in Winnipeg.

Looks like Phoenix will be staying in Phoenix. Gary Bettman must really want hockey there. Maybe he plans on retiring in Phoenix one day. I think Gary Bettman really likes going to Phoenix.

The good news is that Atlanta sounds like it will be moving. This is good news for everyone except Vancouver fans, who will now have to see Dustin Byfyglien six times a season because it is rumoured Winnipeg will be in the NW Division. Some possible movements would be:



vancouver into the pacific division (this would only happen if phoenix moved, because there would be a hole in the pacific division.

Colorado goes to the Pacific Division, Dallas moves to SE Division, which would be the hole left by the thrashers. Dallas is just as close to Florida and Tampa Bay as it is to LA and Phoenix.

The AHL is also helping out the chances of Winnipeg landing an AHL team, by not putting any pressure on the Moose to declare if they will be playing in Winnipeg this year. The owner of the AHL is such a selfless guy and so awesome! I really wish he was commisioner of the NHL, however Gary BEttman approved his own multi-year extension back in December.

What the AHL comissioner is doing, is allowing the second most profitable franchise in the AHL (Winnipeg, second to only the Hershey Bears) to try an expand themselves into a more profitable organization. He is giving every opportunity for the owners of the Moose and the Investors of that team, to leave the AHL if they wish and make more money off the pursuits of an NHL team.

Canucks News

Canuck's have dominated this series. Nashville is lucky not to be down 3-0. At the same time Vancouver has shown an inability to finish. Peka Rinne has played spectacular, at the same time some of the canucks have to take responsibility for not capitalizing on their scoring chances. Case in point, Kevin Bieksa. The defensive pinch is supposed to be one of the Canucks key assets. However Bieksa has to play a little more aggressively on this play, it's in OT for Christs sake. I know he's timid of peka Rinne, but it seems like he's bowing in the footsteps of Rinne, when he flubs a shot at a wide open net, right into Rinne. There's a possibility that Bieksa is trying to shoot the puck under Rinne but it got off of him. But still Bieksa, you have so much open net and you decide to shoot it there! what were u thinking? Maybe you are not the clutch playoff player that you began to seem to be in the third round.

There's a lot of talk about how the Sedin's are being shut down. What's not being talked about is how the Canucks are shutting down Weber. Zero points so far in three games and Lou is seeing a lot of his shots from the point. First one to breakthrough out of the combo of Sedin and Weber will win game 4.

-Hark

There's stubborn, there's fucking idiotic, and then there's Gary Bettman

BoWC Business Lesson.

Let's pretend there is a lemonade business. This lemonade business wants to expand and make a name for itself, so it sets up shop with a high population density city. Somehow, it's the only lemonade shop in town. However, this city, let's call them DaleGlen doesn't like Lemonade. Even though the lemonade made it into the World Championship deliciousness competition, only 0.05% of the population went to the store.

Now the this business is bleeding tons of money in DaleGlen, but there is a perspective opening in Pegwinn where the smaller population absolutely loves lemonade. 98% of the population would get a hernia at the news that the lemonade business was coming there. Sure, the business may not turn a huge profit since it's so small, but it won't be losing money.


Bettman the Brilliant is still trying to keep the Coyotoes in Phoenix. There's all this legal crap behind it, but he's too stupid/dumb/prideful/egotistical to not just fold up his arms and move it to Winnipeg.

The Coyotes are losing 40 million a season. 40 MILLION DOLLARS A SEASON. Even if the Jets break even because of the smaller market, you at least aren't incurring a loss. BUSINESS 101. Bettman can stop the bleeding but he wants to see hockey thrive in the states, but he's a fucking idiot.

-Hal

The Teemu Selanne Sweepstakes

Montreal- Montreal has the cap space to sign a big name player. They were missing one ingredient this playoff run. Selanne has not played in Canada since his days with the Winnipeg Jets. Rumour has it that fellow Finn Saku Koivu is encouraging him to come to montreal.

Anaheim- Anaheim has no cap space to sign Selanne. Unless he is willing to take an extreme paycut or start playing after the trade deadline. It is unlikely he will return to anaheim.

St. Louis- The Blues have most of their significant players locked up and a lot of cap space. They could be looking to bring in another superstar. Kariya and Selanne played well in the past. It might it be worthwhile to reunite the pairing.

Retirement- Selanee is 38 years old and did consider retiring last season. Going back to finland and being taxed heavily on all his past salaries could be an option. My advice to Teemu: if you do retire, put your money in an offshore bank account; the Cayman Islands seems to work well for many.

Florida- old people really like Florida. They already have fellow Finn Oli Jokinen. Lemaire should really try and make a push for Selanne, if keeping Jokinen is on his agenda.

-hark