Hiatus

I am going on a temporary hiatus as I start the long and tiring process of moving. I hope to be back and blogging by Monday or Tuesday of next week. And by blogging I mean trying get my fingers to hit the right keys because they will likely be bloody and sore from a weekend of assembling Ikea furniture.

I leave you with some hockey gossip for the rest of the week.

In 1992-93, his final season as a player with the Winnipeg Jets, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle had a rookie teammate he didn't care for: his current No. 1 right wing. "He wasn't my best friend," Carlyle said of Teemu Selanne, who scored 76 goals that season. Carlyle didn't think Selanne practiced hard enough, and he wasn't afraid to let the Finnish Flash know.

After the 3-2 loss in Game 1, Ottawa coach Bryan Murray talked to Scotty Bowman, his former boss in Detroit. Part of their conversation was whether the Senators should break up their No. 1 line, as the Wings did at times with Tomas Holmstrom-Pavel Datsyuk- Henrik Zetterberg, to avoid Anaheim's checkers.

Bryan Murray was seeing red yesterday. The Senators coach doesn't want to instruct his players to do anything stupid, but Murray indicated if the Ducks are going to get away with hooking, holding and obstruction, he's going to tell Ottawa players to try to do the same. With Game 2 tonight and the Senators trailing 1-0 in the Stanley Cup final, Murray has decided that what is good for the goose is good for the gander, so the Ducks can expect Ottawa players to change their game.

The Rangers made a counter-offer to keep assistant Don Maloney, who has intimate knowledge of the team's minor league and junior prospects, but it is believed he used that offer as leverage to negotiate a four- or five-year general manager contract from the Coyotes.

Rant

I cant help but rant about my lack of cable over at Hockey's Ladies of Greatness.

Dany Heatley

Dany Heatley recently spoke with an AP reporter about his new life in Ottawa. Heatley is still serving probation from his 2003 accident, in which Thrashers teammate Dan Snyder died.

Heatley was driving when he lost control of his black Ferrari and crashed while speeding on a residential Atlanta road on Sept. 29, 2003. The car was torn apart. Heatley broke his jaw and injured his knee. Snyder lingered in a coma for six days before dying at 25.

Heatley pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular homicide, driving too fast for conditions, failure to maintain a lane and speeding.

Snyder's parents, Graham and LuAnn, hugged Heatley at their son's funeral. Graham Snyder and his other son both testified in court that they didn't want Heatley to go to jail or lose his hockey career.

He didn't.

[...]

Off the ice, Heatley's life is a bit different from his teammates.

He was sentenced to three years of probation, which is ongoing. He cannot drive except for work and medical purposes or for going to the grocery store or to the 150 speeches he's required to give.

"I'm on pace," he said. "I'll probably finish them up by the end of summer."

Heatley talks to young people about the dangers of speeding.

"Maybe you can help somebody along the way or help them make the right decision along the way," he said.

While Heatley continues remaking his life, the Snyders remain attached to the past.

They visited all 30 NHL arenas this season. Not to harp on the accident, but to remind fans of their son. They started a foundation in his name that provides college scholarships.

"We talk," Heatley said. "Not a lot, but we talk regularly."

But Heatley shuts down when asked about carrying Dan Snyder's spirit with him.

"That's something that I've kept close to me since it happened and something I'm not going to talk about," he said.

Heatley and the Snyders will reunite in July for the fourth annual Dan Snyder Memorial golf tournament in Elmira, Ont. Heatley has attended each year.

How much would he enjoy bringing the Stanley Cup with him this summer?

"I don't want to jinx it," he said. "It's always fun to go there, it's a great day."

NHL in the future for Boudreau?

This is a good article about Hershey Bears Coach Bruce Boudreau. I know his name has been mentioned a number of times as a possible replacement for Glen Hanlon, should he get the ax. Personally, I hope the Caps keep Hanlon around but its clear that Boudreau is eager to make the jump.

Fans in Washington were clamouring for his promotion given that club’s disappointing 2006-07 season. And Boudreau has a heck of a resumé with the Calder Cup, the ECHL title and trip to the Turner Cup finals in the old IHL among his coaching accomplishments.

“This is our second finals in a row,” said Boudreau. “I think our teams have been pretty well prepared. We’ll let the people in the higher-ups make the decision.

Calder Cup Finals

The Hershey Bears finished their sweep of the Manchester Monarchs on Saturday night with a 3-1 win. They will take on the Hamilton Bulldogs in the Calder Cup finals. Unfortunately, I will be moving on June 1-2, but if the Bulldogs push the series past five games, I will definitely make it up to Hershey.

GAME 1: Friday, June 1
Hamilton at HERSHEY
7:00 p.m.
GIANT Center

GAME 2:
Saturday, June 2
Hamilton at HERSHEY
7:00 p.m.
GIANT Center

GAME 3:
Monday, June 4
HERSHEY at Hamilton
7:30 p.m.
Copps Coliseum

GAME 4:
Wednesday, June 6
HERSHEY at Hamilton
7:30 p.m.
Copps Coliseum

GAME 5:
Thursday, June 7
HERSHEY at Hamilton
7:30 p.m.
Copps Coliseum*

GAME 6:
Tuesday, June 12
Hamilton at HERSHEY
7:00 p.m.
GIANT Center *

GAME 7:
Friday, June 15
Hamilton at HERSHEY
7:00 p.m.
GIANT Center*

*if necessary

Tocchet pleads guilty in gambling ring case

From the Ottawa Citizen:

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. - Former NHL player Rick Tocchet pleaded guilty Friday to running a sports gambling ring, but might not have to serve any jail time.Tocchet, who played for Phialdelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington and Phoenix in a career that spanned 22 seasons, is on leave from his job as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Coyotes. He pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to promote gambling and promoting gambling.

[...]

The 43-year-old Tocchet is the third man to plead guilty in the case, which New Jersey authorities dubbed "Operation Slapshot." The others, including state Trooper James Harney, are expected to get jail time.

Janet Jones, the wife of hockey great Wayne Gretzky, was accused of betting but was not charged in the case.

The scandal first emerged last year. Lets hope this is the end of it.

To stay or not to stay

JP over at Japers Rink has a great post up about Caps RFAs and UFAs this off season. He has a full break down of the decent number of players the Caps are going to have to make decisions about this summer.