Now Even Their Jerseys Suck

Over the last few years I had actually come to like the Canuck's Orca jerseys. The logo was ok and I really liked the dark blue color of the home jersey with the red accents. I also liked their throwback skate-in-rink jerseys, although I didn't care too much for the blue and green, and thought they might be heading back to them for their new look. Boy, was I mistaken.

They've now taken the worst parts of both jerseys, added some lettering and made a complete goulash of a hockey sweater. Their road whites are even worse. Often times simplicity is the better way to go in the jersey department. Less is more, but unfortunately this sweater heads in the completely opposite direction.

Do yourself a favor and bet on hockey
this NHL season.

New Wild Jersey Missing

The following statement recently appeared on the Minnesota Wild's web site:

"The National Hockey League’s (NHL) Minnesota Wild announced today that fans will get their first look at the team’s new jerseys, beginning September 7, at both the Xcel Energy Center and Mall of America Hockey Lodge stores. The team will offer sneak previews of its new jersey design beginning August 23 at its State Fair Booth."

Well, I'm here to report that I stopped by said State Fair Booth yesterday and saw no such new jersey design. I inquired with the guy running the booth and he knew nothing about the preview. He did tell me, however, that the Wild are going to be wearing the red jersey at home and white on the road. He also said that the Wild were going to switch to green at home in 2008-09. I'm not sure how reliable this information is, but I thought I'd pass it along.

As I've stated in the past, I really wish teams would go back to wearing white at home. It's a more classic look, and it's nice to see the different colors of the road teams when they come to town. Unfortunately it's all about revenue, and the dark jerseys seem to sell much better than the white ones.

On a semi-related note, make sure you stop by NHL Tournament of Logos and vote for the Wild's logo. I'd really like to see Colorado lose.

The Hockey News Yearbook

Finally some relief in these hockey-free times: my 2007-08 Hockey Yearbook arrived in the mail yesterday. While I don't particulary agree with some of the projections (Detroit first in the west -- are you high?) it is always a good read and helps pass the time in August and early September. Michael Russo wrote the preview for the hometown team, and it's worth checking out.

On an unrelated note, I stopped by the liquor store yesterday to pick up some beer to enjoy while reading the latest Yearbook. I went in with every intention of picking up some Samuel Adams Summer Ale, which I like, but I instead purchased some Sleeman's Dark Ale. Good stuff indeed. Sleeman's has been long considered a substandard beer in the Great White North, but I've come to like it a great deal. It doesn't leave too much of a bitter aftertaste and has real nice flavor.

Just Plain Freaky

Here's a strange picture I snapped with my camera phone last night. It's of my son, who normally doesn't look possessed like this.

These are truly boring times for hockey fans.

The NHL Network

I don't ask for much. Just give me a good internet connection, a cold Guinness in the fridge and some hockey to watch and I'll be happy. And that's why, my friends, I report with much disgust and a little bit of anger that the NHL Network is not available in Minneapolis, let alone anywhere in the United States.

As I look down my list of cable channels I see several that are devoted entirely to a particular sport. There's the NFL Network, NBA-TV, Fox Soccer Channel and even a Tennis Channel. I hear a Baseball Channel is in the works also. Now I understand that the NHL Network certainly wouldn't garner high ratings, but surely more people would watch it then currently watch the Tennis Channel.

It sure would've been nice last night to have been able to turn on the NHL Network and watch some old classic Stanley Cup hockey or maybe even some vintage Olympic clips, but no, I was reduced to watching preseason NFL football. On a side note, I really don't care for the Viking's purple pants, but I digress.

There is no reasonable explanation why the NHL can't get on cable and satellite systems here in the states. Offer your channel to everyone for free, just to get your product on the air. Until then I may turn off the TV and might even pick up a book. No, who am I kidding, there's a new season of the Real World starting and I can't wait to see who will pass out first.

Retraction

I must have been temporaily insane the other day when I posted that Mikko Koivu was a finnish, hockey-playing version of Derek Jeter. While normally I hate all things Jeter-related, I'm not sure why I compared our future captain to the Yankee D-Bag. Clearly Koivu's more of a Jason Varitek type anyways.

Looking Ahead

As we continue our way through the hockey abyss, here's a list of Wild players who will be unrestricted free agents next summer:

• Pavol Demitra -- will make $4.5m this season. Worth re-signing? Yes, but let's see what kind of season he has this year. I'd re-up for a similar price, but not for anything more than 2 additional years.


• Brian Rolston -- making a measley $2.4m this season, I have a hunch it will take at least double that to re-sign him. If he's looking for $5.0m per I think I may have to let him go and use the money on younger players.


• Keith Carney -- will make $2.1m this season. Older, but would probably re-sign for same amount. Nothing more than a 1 year deal, though.

One major restricted free agent after this season: Brent Burns. He's going to want a significant increase from his $850k. A must sign for the Wild, unless Kevin Lowe signs him to an insane deal.

The Case for Mikko

I've been asked a few times lately why I believe Mikko Koivu should be the first permanent captain of the Wild. It's a good question, and I have a few answers, albeit nothing completely logical. Mikko's a leader on the ice. You can see it in his eyes when he's talking to teammates on the bench, you can see it when he's talking to the coaches. He just exudes confidence. It's real hard to put my finger on it, he just has what it takes. He's sort of a Finnish, hockey-playing Derek Jeter. He also has the pedigree. His older brother, Saku, is the captain of the Canadiens. Clearly the Koivus have captaincy DNA. Unlike some Wild, he plays hard at both ends of the ice. Someday soon he'll be a 30-30-60 point man and lead the team in plus/minus. Lemaire plays him in every situation: full strength, power-play and the penalty kill. You can't say that about Marian or Pierre-Marc. He's also going to be with the team for a long, long time. Rolston may be out after he's a free agent next year, and Walzy is in the same situation. I can see Mikko spending his entire career here. And besides all that, he's Finnish.

Poll Results

While I am mildly surprised that Brian Rolston won last week's poll regarding the Wild's captaincy, I cannot wholeheartedly disagree with the choice. Rolston has been this team's most consistent player since the lockout and plays hard on both ends of the ice. My personal choice would have been Mikko Koivu, who I am certain will be named the team's permanent captain sometime in the future. Rolston won with 12 votes, Koivu and Wes Walz both finished with 7.

Please take a look at this week's poll as we examine the teams I hate the most in the NHL.

Ranking the Defensemen

From what I can tell there are currently 7 players (including Sean Hill) that will be on the team come October 4. Here's how I'd rank them:

1. Brent Burns -- made terrific strides last year, although still very young. And the fact that he beat up Corey Perry doesn't hurt his ranking either.

2. Kim Johnsson -- talent-wise he's got to fit in at this spot. He's clearly got the tools to be very good offensive defenseman, we just need to see it more. Huge disappointment last year.

3. Sean Hill -- it speaks volumes about the team's defensive corps that he's ranked this high. He's already the most physical player on the team and he hasn't played a minute yet.

4. Keith Carney -- steady as a rock. Good for 15 solid minutes.

5. Nick Schultz -- still developing, but will never be a top 2 defenseman in this league.

6. Martin Skoula -- not as bad as everyone makes him out, but not the type of player you lock up long term, like DR did.

7. Petteri Nummelin -- great on the PP and in shootouts, but worthless 5 on 5.

Maybe Shawn Belle or Andre Lakos will make the roster. I like Belle's potential to be a presence on the blueline for years to come.

Update 8/3: How could I forget Kurtis Foster? I guess I'd put him No. 5.5.