Elara : I'm glad someone else feels that way.

I've read quite a bit on the forums on nhl.com and there are a lot of people defending the contract and pointing out that other contracts would be worth more if they were limited to only 8 years (or 7 if they signed with a new team) and it is lower than a lot of them.

I don't care if he gets paid less in overall dollars over the life of his contract it is still too much money for him. Perry is the better player of the 2 and will probably get as much as Getzlaf did. Have fun building a team around that.

Well, hopefully they will learn their lesson after having a few horrible seasons as a result of having to trade away the rest of their good players to make room for cap space.

In other news, Malkin has an upper body injury (thanks, VanReimsdyke) so he didn't play tonight. We still kicked butt though, so that was nice.

And yay Kunitz for yet another hat trick!

I don't like this plan. Although I think that a few teams (at least 2) need to go which would change the dynamic

But still, how is this fair? Wouldn't this make it easier for Western teams than Eastern to make the playoffs. It doesn't seem to be fair.

Well it does ensure that the next two expansion teams will be in the West. I'm guessing at least Seattle... and maybe an Oregon team? Or Salt Lake City?

Elara : I really hope there aren't expansion teams. Maybe they did it that way because they expect a transfer from East to West again? I could see one of the teams in the SE moving somewhere.

I dunno. I hear that Seattle is really gunning for their own team. Of course, if the Coyotes finally fold that might be where they go.

If they get their own team I really hope it comes from Florida or somewhere around there. There are enough teams over there that are struggling that they could move a team and they would probably do better in the West.

Tampa is doing well, I don't know about the Panthers... but maybe. Then each conference will have 15 teams.

One thing that has really surprised me this year is how Kane has stepped up for the Hawks this year. He has been explosive in spurts in the past but the previous two years after the cup season were sub-par for him. Especially last year. Including the off the ice BS that he was doing, I can tell you that I was getting irritated.

This year though, it's been a TOTALLY different story. If he stayed at his current pace for a whole season I feel he could have had a 100 point season or close to it. That has been one of the biggest things for the Hawks this season. Toews and Hossa have been solid as usual.

I'd love to see Seattle get their own team. Perhaps one of the California teams could afford to move? There is 3 teams there, after all...

Go Canucks!!!!!

Jordanv78 : he's only on pace for about 90 points right now. He has 31 in 27 games which would put him at 93 in 81.... not quite enough. It would be possible but not likely.

mrfe : but the California teams are all doing well as far as I know and probably don't need to sell. Some of the south eastern teams could go though.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=662481&navid=nhl:topheads

A trade for Iginla is in the works! I have liked Iginla for a long time and I think he is one of the classiest players that hockey has had for the last 10-15 years but it's time for him to go try and really win the cup. He came close in 2004 but not since then. I really hope he can help a different team win.

Looks like he is going to Boston. That is the big rumor right now.

"TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie said the move does not necessarily mean that a deal is imminent or even close but the Flames may simply be protecting a trade asset. With speculation that Iginla could be headed to the Boston Bruins, McKenzie added that defenceman Matt Bartkowski, prospect Alexander Khokhlachev, and a first-round draft pick could be headed to Calgary in return. "

I'm okay with that trade. Not sure who that defenceman is or the prospect but the prospect has been doing quite well it looks like. And really, a 19 year old center with good stats in the last couple years, and young defenceman and a 1st round pick (probably fairly low in the round) for 1 player who won't carry the team much longer. Fine by me

geeogree : Shero the Wizard strikes again! They announced last night that we got Iginla for a first round draft pick and two prospects: Ben Hanowski and Kenny Agostino.

Elara : Do you know if those prospects are any good? Because right now, it looks like a bad trade for the Flames. A low first round draft pick, and prospects, for a consistant 30+ goal scorer.

But what is weird is, there was an earlier report that Boston got him. I think that it was TSN, but a few minutes later, they changed that story.

patar4097 : Here is what I know....

Hanowski Stats

Agostino Stats

Here is the original article from the Penguin's NHL page: http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=662510&cmpid=pit-fb-penguins

Elara : yeah, I saw it changed at the "last minute" sort of thing.

I think the trade is pretty fair considering what Iginla is at this point. He might have put up 30 goals in a full season but probably won't exceed that going forward. He'll be cheaper in future years so he might be a good guy to keep if the Penguins can.

I like that Calgary is getting 2 young players and a first round pick even if that pick is going to be 25-30. Still worth it in my opinion. You weren't going to get much more than that for Iginla at this point.

geeogree : Yeah, it did seem to be a pretty fair trade, but I would think that trading away your captain, and the heart of you team for forever, along with Kipper I guess, I thought they would want more than that.

    I was pretty shocked to see that it was two prospects and a draft pick. I was thinking there would be a current player involved in it, but Calgary is pretty much starting over though.

patar4097 : yeah, but Iginla was going to be a UFA and there is very little guarantee he is going to be a big contributor. Plus most teams know that they don't need to put out the absolute best offer to a player who wants out of this city he is in.