I just got back in town from a month long business trip, so I apologize for the lack of posts lately.  My brother and I will be ramping up the content significantly though as we start to get closer to the NHL season…Now enough of my whining about work.
We put up a post a few weeks ago about some of the things that new GM Steve Yzerman had done at the onset of Free Agency (Meszaros, Kubina, Dan Ellis, Martin St Louis).  We were a fan of everyone of those moves.  Phase 2 of Free Agency (after week 1 through [...]

After waffling back and forth on  his interest in the Tampa Bay Lightning GM position, it appears as though Steve Yzerman will be named the Tampa Bay Lightnings’ General Manager today at a press conference scheduled for 3pm.
“This did not take us by surprise because for years Stevie has said one day he would like to be a general manager in the NHL,” Red Wings Senior Vice President Jim Devellano told the Detroit News. “It was something he wanted to do, but it had to be the right opportunity for him and his family.
“It was a tough decision for Steve, [...]

Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch reportedly recently attempted some re-shuffling of his front office in order to keep highly sought after Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman with the Detroit Red Wings.  He supposedly approached GM Ken Holland about becoming team president in order for Steve Yzerman to apparently assume the role of GM.
“I’m the general manager, I don’t have any interest in becoming president,” Holland said. “I’m a general manager, that’s what I was hired to do.”
Ouch.  Not exactly what you want to hear if your a Motor City fan hoping to keep one of your all time greats in [...]

I was talking with a good friend before yesterdays goal medal tilt with the Canadiens, trying to summarize my level of excitement for the game.  My friend, said he hadn’t been this excited for a hockey game since the Bolts were in the Stanley Cup Finals.  I personally felt that even then, I didn’t have as much anxiety, and giddiness leading up to the game.  I can only remember one time in my life having a real nervous stomach before a sporting event that I didn’t personally play in, and that was the Bucs Super Bowl vs the Raiders.  I [...]

There have been a few monikers already labeled on most of the days of hockey thusfar in the Olympics, Super Sunday, Wonderful Wednesday, etc.  I’m not sure what to exactly call yesterday, but I must say that I was pretty excited to sit down and watch 4 hockey games between the top 8 teams in the World, and I was not let down.
US 2 Swiss 0
The US were clearly the better team in a game that they just had trouble had scoring in.   Jonas Hiller for the Swiss was phenomenal, stopping 42 of 43 shots.  The Americans looked like [...]

I had never been more excited for a Winter Olympics than this year.  It wasn’t for the chance to win the overall medal count, or to see Bode Miller or Shaun White wreak havoc, it was for one thing, and one thing only, the United States Olympic Hockey Team.  I thought Brian Burke did a fantastic job of putting together an American team with heart, grit, size and enough talented playmakers to make up for the fact that we don’t have as many elite level All Stars as the Canadiens or even the Russians for that matter.
The lines for the [...]

With GM Brian Lawton telling the St Pete Times yesterday that he would be aggressive in looking for deals to improve the club, and new owner Jeff Vinik saying that payroll could be increased if the right deal came along, BBTB will take a look at some potential Unrestricted Free Agents who could be dealt for that would help improve our club. With our payroll restrictions, more than likely a UFA will be the target for Lawton and team, as the Lightning could gain a rental at a prorated salary for the rest of the season, more than likely [...]

Steven Stamkos was named the Hockey News NHL Player of the Week yesterday.
Stammers who tied a Lightning record with a 13 game consecutive point streak, tallied 9 points last week.  He had 3 goals and 6 assists.
He is tied for 4th in the NHL with 35 goals.  Stammer who just recently celebrated his 20th bday, is also 7th in the league with 71 points.
He is on pace for a 97 point, 47 goal season.  My brother and I coined Stammer “40″ before the season started because we thought he would nail the 40 goal mark in his first full season, [...]