Bondra retires

I have been on the road for work stuff so I missed some good news (Semin's contract extension!). I am playing catch up today, but I wanted to post this Peter Bondra news:

NHL veteran and Slovakian star Peter Bondra retired from professional hockey Monday to become general manager of his country's national team.

"I kept it a secret for a long time. They will know overseas only after this press conference," Bondra said, according to the Slovak national hockey association. "I hope I can help Slovakia win another medal at the world championship."

around the internets

Tarik has a really terrific wrap up of last night's game, and Corey does the same, with some interesting stats at the end of his article. Per Corey, last night was Mike Green's 100th game in the NHL. He looks like he has been playing a lot longer then that, no?

And, some other great news: DC Sports Chick has returned to blogging! I am very excited to continue reading her great writing.

Around the internets

Tarik has a piece on Semin's return while Corey takes a look at the Caps pre-game rituals. Here's Glen Hanlon's response to Corey's question about the possibility of a player hurting himself during the Caps' pregame soccer bouts:

When I broke in [to the league], they use to smoke. So what do you think is better to get ready for a game?"

What?

The apocalypse is upon us:

CHICAGO (AP) -- Rick Nash played his game. No wonder that was more than enough for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Nash had two goals -- one on a goal-mouth setup by Michael Peca and another on a mid-air deflection -- and added an assist and Jiri Novotny scored twice to lift the Blue Jackets to a 7-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.

Jiri Novotny can play hockey? And Michael Peca didnt fall to the ice whining? Nevertheless, this is a happy day for Bethany.

Jagr begins to ruin another hockey team

Perhaps an unfair title? Oops, I dont care.

The Rangers are 2-4-1 and the Blueshirts are growing restless because neither Scott Gomez nor Chris Drury has clicked as a center for RW Jaromir Jagr.

The New York Post said Gomez and Drury "looked lost" playing with Jagr, who likes to carry the puck and slow down the tempo.

Coach Tom Renney can't endlessly juggle lines because the players need some continuity and stability.

The Post said the next option might be to try the more physical C Dave Scatchard, who is on a tryout with AHL affiliate Hartford, beside Jagr.

The link might not work if you dont have ESPN Insider, but not to worry, since I cut and pasted the whole thing for you "outsiders".

Forsberg would only go to Sens or Avs

At least, according to two"anonymous " NHL officials. What I dont understand is, why would either of them want him? Forsberg is still a dominant player -- when he is healthy. Which is about .01% of the time. And these teams would have to spend all their time crossing their fingers and warding off evil with garlic to get him healthy .01% of the time.

If Peter Forsberg decides to play again in the NHL, it will only be for a Stanley Cup contender. Which means the Ottawa Senators might be in line for another Swedish scorer.

A pair of NHL sources told the Toronto Sun that Ottawa and Colorado Avalanche are the only two teams on Forsberg's list. A decision from the star is expected by the middle of November.

Forsberg has a history in Colorado, winning Cups as a member of the Avalanche in both 1995/96 and 2000/01.

ESPN is saying that the Stars sent Brett Hull to Sweden to "woo" Forsberg. Probably not their best idea. If Brett Hull tried to "woo" me for anything, I'd probably start crying. Or run in the opposite direction.

I think Forsberg wants to go out on a high note -- preferably with a Cup, or damn close to a Cup, or with an organization he has good history with that has a shot at the Cup (ahem, Colorado). And that would be a great story...but does he really have it in him? Based on the disaster of last season, I dont think so.

Around the internets

This morning Tarik has word on Hanlon mixing up the lines to try to spark the Cap's offense. Clark is back to the first line with Ovie and Kozlov, and Dave Steckel takes his spot on the third line. So who steps into Steckel's spot? Career AHL'er Joe Motzko, who probably had one of the best nights of his NHL career on Saturday, playing on Ovie's line. Here is the always humble Clark on his promotion:

"I can't play any different because that will just get me in trouble," Clark said. "If I change anything, be more fancy, it's not going to work. Ovechkin and Kozlov have more than enough skill to bring me along."

And, looks like Semin might be back...

"If we were winning, and things were going perfectly, we wouldn't rush him back if he was a little out of shape," Hanlon said of Semin. "With saying that, if he gets clearance from our trainers, he'll be in our lineup, even if it's just to play the power play for a couple of shifts"

The Washington Times has a piece on the Caps blogosphere, and talks to the writers at some of my favorites, including a View from the Cheap Seats and On Frozen Blog.

Corey also follows the Cap's lack of offensive production.