2007/2008 Hockey Thread

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Pity. If he went to Calgary, he could have Alex Tanguay buy him some salads from Wendy's.

[Plubby]

they'd have AP of AMP.

[Toe]

If the Avalanche get Sakic, Smythe and Stastny back and they are all healthy, I would then put the Avalanche up with Detroit and Anaheim as teams that are favoured to win the Western Conference.

[JStarr]

Heard about this piece of brilliance yesterday afternoon:

Stupid rookie error?

Habs players arrested. Criminal charge after bar incident could end O'Byrne's hockey career

PAT HICKEY , The Gazette

Published: Tuesday, February 12, 2008

What was supposed to be an evening of fun and team bonding turned into a nightmare yesterday for two members of the Montreal Canadiens.

Rookie defenceman Ryan O'Byrne's career may be in jeopardy after he was charged with third-degree grand theft following an early-morning incident at Whiskey Park, a popular South Tampa nightclub.

And teammate Tom Kostopoulos faces a lesser charge of resisting arrest without violence. The players were arrested around 3 a.m. yesterday and spent the night in jail before being released on bail at 9 a.m.

O'Byrne, who was recalled from the Hamilton Bulldogs on Sunday, finds himself in a difficult position because he was charged with stealing a woman's purse. It's a felony and he could be barred from travelling to the United States if he is convicted. That would effectively end his career in North American professional hockey.

Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey, who said he learned of the incident after he arrived at the Miami airport yesterday morning, met with both players and other members of the team. He said the club hadn't taken any disciplinary action against the two players and they are both expected to be in the lineup tonight when the Canadiens face the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Both players met with the media after a late-afternoon practice at the St. Pete's Times Forum but neither shed any light on the incident that led to their arrests.

"I regret what happened there and I hope it's resolved quickly," said O'Byrne, 23. "Unfortunately, it's a legal issue and I can't tell you more than that."

The evening started out on a high note for the players, who gathered for the team's annual rookie dinner. The players went to Bern's Steakhouse, a high-end establishment known for fine food and a wine list that runs to hundreds of pages.

The dinner replaces rookie initiations of the past and the only pain the rookies feel is in the wallet. The tab can run into the tens of thousands of dollars and was split among O'Byrne, Sergei Kostitsyn and Carey Price.

"I don't know what the total bill was but it was expensive," said Canadiens assistant captain Christopher Higgins.

After dinner, most of the players headed up the street to Whiskey Park. There were still at least 10 players in the establishment when O'Byrne found himself the centre of attraction.

A woman at the bar discovered her purse was missing and alerted a bouncer. According to the police report, O'Byrne was seen outside the bar holding the purse in one hand and a cellphone in the other. He told police that the purse belonged to his girlfriend but a check showed that the purse and the cellphone both belonged to the woman in the club. The police report said $20 was missing from the purse.

Tampa police put O'Byrne in the back seat of a cruiser and several people, identified in the police reports as "Canadiens players/members" gathered around the car. Police say they ordered them to back off and Kostopoulos was placed under arrest when he refused to obey the order.

Both players posted bail in the morning. O'Byrne's was set at $2,000 and Kostopoulos put up $500. By late afternoon yesterday, neither player had engaged the services of a lawyer but Kostopoulos said "it's in the works."

The Canadiens had a team meeting at their downtown hotel before practice. The team was briefed on the incidents and O'Byrne and Kostopoulos both apologized to their teammates.

The two players also met with Gainey and head coach Guy Carbonneau.

"They told us that we wouldn't be suspended and we're grateful for that," Kostopoulos said. Gainey said he will leave the matter of discipline up to the courts.

The Canadiens' main concern seemed to be getting ready for tonight's game. Gainey and Carbonneau both said they hoped the incident wouldn't be a distraction.

When asked whether he was concerned that nearly half of his team had been out at 3 a.m., Carbonneau replied: "They're adults. They can do what they want. They didn't have a curfew."

phickey@thegazette.canwest.com

THE ACCUSED

Tom Kostopoulos, 29, is a 6-foot-1, 200-pound right-winger with the Canadiens.

The Mississauga, Ont., native signed with the Canadiens as a free agent on April 7, 2007, inking a two-year deal worth $900,000 U.S. per season. He broke into the NHL during the 2001-02 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins and has also played with the Los Angeles Kings. In 50 games this season, he has four goals, five assists and 91 penalty minutes.

In a One-on-One question-and-answer feature in The Gazette last November, Kostopoulos was asked what makes him successful?

"Just hard work," he replied. "I pride myself on not taking a day off and coming to work every day. I am not the most skilled, but I think I work hard every day."

Ryan O'Byrne, 23, is a 6-foot-5, 228-pound rookie defenceman with the Canadiens.

The Victoria, B.C., native was the Canadiens' fourth-round pick (79th overall) at the 2003 NHL entry draft. In 11 games this season, he has two assists and 18 penalty minutes.

The Canadiens recalled O'Byrne from the Hamilton Bulldogs on Sunday after he played two games there to complete his recovery from a broken thumb suffered in a fight on Dec. 28 against the Florida Panthers' Tanner Glass.

After that game, Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau said of O'Byrne: "I don't want Ryan to become that way (a fighter), but it's nice to have someone beside Mike Komisarek and Tom Kostopoulos who can challenge other people. We still want to be clean and play our game 5-on-5, but it's good to know we have someone."

Pro athletes stealing purses. Why don't guys like these have the balls to commit real crimes, like possession of eight pounds of weed or beating their wives? Jeez, this makes hockey players look like pussies.

[Mling]

Any think the Wild have a shot at going deep in the play offs

[Guest Grapehead]

No, why?

Everytime has a "shot"... The Wild will never win a cup with their current coaching staff. Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra are suffocating people!!!!

[Mling]

I Think they can do well, if Demitra, Rolston, Koivu, Backstrom and Gaborik play well. Last year the offense fell apart in the post season.

[Toe]

I don't think the Wild are a team that will go deep. They have some good offensive players and play a good defensive system, but they aren't deep enough (especially on the blue line). However, they do have the goaltending that could suprise a few teams and get them through a round or two. I like Nick Schultz and Brent Burns on the blueline, and I like Gaborik, Bouchard and Koivu up front. They need to add one or two more pieces to be a threat, especially considering that they are competing against Anaheim and Detroit.

[Cactus Drags]

If Colorado play as well with Stastny, Smyth and Super Joe as they have without, they could be quite a threat come postseason. Until Detroit at least.

[Guest Grapehead]

I Think they can do well, if Demitra, Rolston, Koivu, Backstrom and Gaborik play well. Last year the offense fell apart in the post season.

[Toe]

If Colorado play as well with Stastny, Smyth and Super Joe as they have without, they could be quite a threat come postseason. Until Detroit at least.

[Cactus Drags]

Not lately it hasn't, the way Theo's been playing, and with Q's goalie carousel seemingly done for the time being.

[Toe]

Not lately it hasn't, the way Theo's been playing, and with Q's goalie carousel seemingly done for the time being.

[The Sultan of Swank]

Finally fuck. Those were 3 really bad games and Vokoun was a beast last night... not that montreal played an overwhelmingly good game. Hamrlik was severely missed on the blue line, it'll be good to have him back saturday.

[Toe]

I want some predictions people. I want people to tell me who they think will win the goal scoring title, who will be the league MVP, which teams will be in the conference finals, and who is winning the Stanley Cup.

I think the Art Ross and the Richard trophies are going to Ovechkin. Ovie has been a dominant player; he reminds me of Mario in his prime the way he could just take over a game by himself. They are different of course, but I think Ovechkin has proven this year that he is arguable the best player in the NHL right now.

If the Capitals make it to the playoffs, Ovechkin gets my vote for the Hart Trophy as the MVP. The other candidates I could see would be Evgeni Nabokov, Evgeni Malkin and Joe Thornton as a real longshot.

Detroit gets the President's Trophy.

In the Western Conference, I am going to pick Anaheim and San Jose to meet in the Conference Finals. I always get the feeling that Detroit will blow it huge, even though they are clearly the best team in the league right now.

The East comes down to Ottawa and Philadelphia, I think. Montreal could sneak in, but Ottawa is just really powerful and despite all the BS, they have two great goaltenders right now. Philly is perfect as a playoff team, so I think they can make some noise.

I would like to see the Ducks and Sens meet again in the Finals. I rooted against the Senators last time (as a Leafs fan, I had to). This time, I'll cheer for the Senators simply to bring the Cup back to Canada. A game 7 in Kanada, Ontario would be cool.

Edited February 15, 2008 by Toe

[Slogger]

I think we both know that the Ducks will 2-peat the Cup, After watching the Final Road Trip game, It seems that Teemu will take them back to the finals again and the Sens will choke again.

[The Sultan of Swank]

I'd like Montreal to stay where they're at or get as close as they can to Ottawa. I like the fact that nobody considers them to be any sort of a threat but they're the second best team in the East as though it's some blind chance and the huge collapse is still coming... and hey, maybe it will, but 60 games in and we're still going strong, its been a good year so far.

[Guest Grapehead]

Ottawa will get this thing figured out, I'm certainly confident, but then again we don't NEED the top spot, since we got just as far with the 4th seed last year. It'd be sweet to see Ottawa/Anaheim rematch for the Cup.

[Toe]

Jaroslav Modry to the Flyers for a third round pick. The LA sale is now on.

[Gabriel]

I like that trade. Philly needed a defenseman, and Modry is capable of playing well there. LA didn't need another draft pick, but they don't have any real immediate holes to fill (unless they can dump 2-3 goalies and pick up a legit starter while Bernier takes his time.)

I would've held out for at least a second round pick though.