Money quote from the Helene Elliott article: The Kings contend that the Oilers misrepresented the extent of Fraser's injuries and that he is unfit to play, leaving them unable to waive him or buy him out. Bob Stauffer of the Oilers radio network reported that a source told him the findings of a doctor retained by the NHL Players Assn. were consistent with the Oilers' findings.
Wow you mean it isn't the Oilers fault? Probably won't stop people thinking it's the case anyways.
ReplyDeleteWell we don't know for sure, but it looks very much like the item Louise talked about recently. The Oilers had done their due diligence and the shared medical information (available to league members) would appear to back up the Oilers statements.
ReplyDeleteBut this is all guesswork at this point.
So this is good news right? That picture of Jean-Luc Picard doesn't scream good news.
ReplyDeleteMore like "Facepalm!!"
The Oil isn't inept?!
ReplyDeleteHURRAY!
I don't think we can say it is good news. The little information available is somewhat promising but who knows how the league will decide to resolve. Plus we don't really have anyone backing up what Elliott claims Stauffer said (I didn't hear it today on his show).
ReplyDeleteWell perhaps it's not *good* news.
ReplyDeleteTell you what though: I prefer to hear this than the contrary.
I'd bet Lombardi ends up looking a little like a douchebag after all this.
I'd bet that Brian Burke does too.
ReplyDeleteYa, it's a safe wager. Your sarcasm is not lost on me.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah Dean is a douche. I think he was even going on about another team interested in Smyth which is interesting considering he's an Edmonton Oiler.
ReplyDeleteProfessional stuff there from the star GM.
There's still some debate on whether what Stauffer said is true, but he indeed did say that there is a doctor in Cleveland affiliated with the NHLPA that is backing up the Oilers' diagnosis. Check out the Oilers Lunch for July 14, Hour 1.. about 10 mins in: http://www.theteam1260.com/Episodes.aspx?PID=1741 (credit to Nye @ HFboards for pointing this out)
ReplyDeleteI tweeted Elliot asking for her thoughts on what Stauffer said (although I mistakenly presented it as thought it was an NHL doctor backing up the Oil.. which might discredit the response....) and she said she talked to Bill Daly and he said the report (from Stauffer) was not true and nothing has changed.
Soooo.. don't spike the ball just yet on this one. I'll just be waiting to hear official word from the NHL, the PA or the teams involved.
Racki: Exactly. I am glad it's going to be over soon either way.
ReplyDeleteAnything Helene Elliott writes or says should be taken with a gain of salt. She's DL mouth piece and she's not going bite the hand the feeds her. If the league was going to rule on it, why is DL still taking to the lawyers. He says one thing then he contradicts himself a minute later. From the looks of things his story changes every other day
ReplyDeleteMost interesting article off that page? Bolded is most interesting.
ReplyDeletePenner looks trim
Speaking of conditioning, a player who isn't known for being in good shape turned heads Tuesday with his trimmed-down physique.
Left wing Dustin Penner, a disappointment after the Kings acquired him in a trade with Edmonton Feb. 28, was at the El Segundo training facility at 7:30 a.m. to work out and said he has shed some weight.
"Most of my workouts have been around two hours, depending on the day, with an ice-time session, but now it's pretty much an 8-to-2 job," he said. "It's different, I think, for a lot of guys who come here from other teams. We weren't used to this type of intensity."
He attributed the Kings' fast start last season to players' high-level conditioning. "With the team we've got this year and everybody on the same page as far as that goes we'll be tough to stop," he said.
His dedication to fitness for the team's sake is admirable but there's some personal gain to be made, too. There's no motivation like playing for a new contract, and he's entering the final season of his current deal. "I have heard that," he said, smiling.
Yep...the Kings off-season training program is so "superior" and "rigorous" that Drew Doughty failed a training camp fitness test last year.
ReplyDeleteDidn't hear Lombardi saying that he should give up hockey and play softball?
Let's see if Taylor Hall fails a fitness test.
Anything Helene Elliott writes or says should be taken with a gain of salt. She's DL mouth piece and she's not going bite the hand the feeds her.
ReplyDeleteAnd Bob Stauffer is an independent journalist.
House. Mirrors. And all that.
Good evening.
ReplyDeleteLombardi is still talking in circles. Though, his comments appear to be trimmed down from what I read there earlier.
I did find the money quote in the Washington Post, tho.
When you want to get the jury off-track, throw out an ancillary issue and turn it into a major issue, and they forget about the real issue. You learn that in the first year of law school. Nice try.
Nice demonstration, Dean.
L8r
I like the part about another team phoning Lombardi willing to take Smyth off his hands if the deal wasn't going through. Suuuureee....
ReplyDeleteDidn't hear Lombardi saying that he should give up hockey and play softball?
You mean the still unsigned Drew Doughty? Better hit the gym, Drew!
Yeah or some terrible people not named the LA Kings could offer you 7M$ dollars.
ReplyDeleteIt's amusing the Kings toot their horns about their conditioning programs but it was Ryan Smyth who had to chaperone Doughty who apparently if left to his own devices will consume 3lbs of candy and 4 liters of cola in a matter of hours.
ReplyDeleteST should just top up the deal with some new hair and Lombardi will shut the hell up.
ReplyDeleteMaybe throw in a DVD of the 06 run so the Kings can see what winning a playoff series looks like.
ReplyDeletetotally offtopic here but Bruce if you read this, would you happen to know if Marincin has gained any weight since the offseason? Any idea of his height and weight right now?
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to see you say the best dmen at the camp were Teubert and Musil, thought Marincin would be ahead of at least Musil...
Hate to threadjack, but will anyways
ReplyDeleteIn the 2010 playoffs, which d pairing would you all assume were the first pairing? Phillips-Volchenkov?
Nope, it was Sutton with the 19year old Swede Erik Karlsson leading the team in TOI , about 5 minutes more over those 6 minutes than Phillips/Volchenkov.
That was one year ago. Sure Sutton was injured and behind the 8 ball, maybe he is aged at 36 but this isn't Strudwick or JVM here, those two never led a playoff team in TOI in their entire careers.
If he can stay healthy and regain his form from only one season ago, who is to say he can't be a useful contributor to the Oilers this year? 36 is a lot younger than alot of good NHL dmen these days.
Off subject, but I'm wondering if Lowtide believes the Oilers might have interest in Huet from Chicago/Europe.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. His SP was .763 in the playoffs (in France! if I'm reading this right) but he had a good season. Huet's 35, which is a dangerous age (Tambellini has to resist the urge to sign 35 year old goalies to 4 year 14M contracts).
ReplyDeleteI think there are better options. But I don't know how good the French league (I would feel better if it were the French FOREIGN league as a for instance) but it's an interesting idea.
If the dude is basically fit to play, why is Lombardi saying he isn't? What is he trying to achieve?
ReplyDeleteReports are that Lombardi doesn't want to reverse the trade and would take just a 7th rounder and no Fraser.
ReplyDeleteSo he is belly aching about an injury to a player that he doesn't even want. His entire position is disingenuos.
Is LA so hard up that 2-3 months of an injury to Fraser is going to kill their playoff chances or the budget?
I was just speaking to bruce and he said the young Marincin is 185 with underwear on...and 184 without underwear!!!
ReplyDeletelol Dennis, that's insider info for sure, a little too far inside but still ..
ReplyDeleteI played in the French league a few years ago, I mean seriously? Huet?
Why would they want to buy out someone making $300K more than the minimum? It would be effectively impossible to buy him out and hire someone else, even at minimum, and come out ahead financially. What the hell.
ReplyDeleteYep...the Kings off-season training program is so "superior" and "rigorous" that Drew Doughty failed a training camp fitness test last year.
Yes, because professional athletic organizations typically set fitness goals well beyond what can reasonably be accomplished by their own training programs. Or maybe if that were really the case, their trainer would be fired for gross incompetence, and what actually happened is that Doughty spent half the summer screwing the pooch and didn't follow the plan. What makes more sense to you?
@oilersfan: For whatever reason Marincin din't catch my eye all that often at camp. I sure did notice when he and Gernat had a tether race and I mentioned that the thickest thing in the race was the tether. I also said both guys would need one-digit numbers. At one point I mentioned that Marincin's ridiculously long stick has similar dimensions to Marincin himself - six and a half feet long, an inch and a half wide. In other words, the answer to your weight gain question is "not much, not yet".
ReplyDeleteHis daddy-long-physique has some advantages and disadvantages, the latter being that he is a big (well, long) target, and has a high centre of gravity. I saw him get knocked off his pins a couple times in puck battles. That said, between the long stick and the long guy, he has an enormous reach and potential leverage advantages of his own.
Marincin's a good prospect but he's a few years away IMO. So's Musil for that matter, I'm not sure I would classify him as "better" than Marinicin right now, just that he caught my eye more often/favourably in camp.