Sharks Re-Sign Jody Shelley

Sharks re-signed Jody Shelley today- gives us some toughness for the regular season which is good, but he's going to sit again come playoff time (provided the Sharks make it, these chickens aren't being counted yet).

I've been pretty damn busy lately, and as you can tell, haven't been around too much. Once free agency hits tomorrow expect a whirlwind of activity. The horse will be led out of it's metaphorical stable or something like that.


Go Sharks.

Gotta Love JR

Courtesy of Barry Melrose Rocks.

Sharks Re-sign Players

This guy signed up, but unfortunately did not make the squad

Brian Boucher, Jeremy Roenick (who we already knew about) and Joe Pavelski were re-signed today. The terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Brian Boucher: Having a veteran backup for Nabby is a good move for the Sharks, we saw this year that Griess and Patzold were not ready to compete at the NHL level just yet. Solid signing for the upcoming season, I'm guessing it will be a one year deal.

Jeremy Roenick: Enough said, the man's a machine.

Joe Pavelski: Glad to have Joe Pavelski locked up, hopefully it is somewhere in the four year range. Pavelski has won championships at almost every level he has played at, and even though he's young, his experience can help the Sharks reach the next level. On a side note, after his game winner against Dallas (game five) my friends and I went to a party and yelled "Joe Pavelskiii" at various times. You kind of had to be there to appreciate the beauty of it, but whatevs. The Pavelski Party was epic, the night I became a man.


Note To Doug- Sign RYAN CLOWE

[Update] This broke yesterday on Working The Corners (fantastic blog by the way), but better late than never. Rob Zettler and Tim Hunter will be headed up to Toronto and join the coaching staff with Wilson. Can't say I'm too surprised, and I am sort of ambivalent towards it- if the head coach goes it makes sense for the assistants to follow. McLellan will bring in his own staff- Ricci is in the mix. What a dream that would be.

R.I.P. George Carlin

George Carlin died last night as a result of heart failure. The man was a genius. His "seven words" (which can be found here) changed the face of American media. The following is a clip about baseball and football.



If one man comes along in the next fifty years that has half the wit and balls you did Mr. Carlin, this world will be a better place. May you rest in peace.

Quasi Live Blog of NHL Draft

tsn.ca

For analysis of picks, head over to TSN's round one tracker.

4:34: (Thus Far)
-> Olli Jokinen goes to Phoenix for Nick Boynton, Keith Ballard and the 49th pick.
-> Camalleri goes to the Flames, Tanguay goes to the Canadiens. Some random picks were involved.
-> Anaheim trades their 12th pick to Los Angeles for the 17th (who they got from the Flames for Camalleri) and the 28th pick.

4:39: How good is the Pacific going to be this year? I was already thinking Phoenix could surprise some people and make the playoffs next year- Jokinen's presence solidifies that for me. With Brygalov in net for a full year that's a solid team.

4:43: Gary Bettman is about as charismatic as Keanu Reeves on horse tranquilizers.

4:46: By the way, the Lightning obviously selected Steven Stamkos. Here's their site for him. Drew Doughty was taken by the Kings at number two (he may be playing on their blueline next year) and Zach Bogosian was taken by the Atlanta Thrashers at number three.

4:53: Ron Wilson was quoted earlier today as having "some stuff in the works." Let's see if any of that pans out. Some are saying Cheech to Nashville.

5:02: Leafs make a move and trade their seventh pick this year and some other conditional stuff for the fifth pick in the draft. Solid move, the scouts have been saying that after the first six picks the talent level drops off. They grab Luke Schenn. Pierre McGuire loves the pick, and proceeds to explode on himself while his wife complains that it was his best performance in fifteen years of marriage.

5:05: Blue Jackets on the clock. Please. Doug. Don't trade Patty.

5:09: Columbus trades their nineteenth pick and 3rd rounder to Philly for R.J. Umberger and a 4th rounder. Patrick Marleau exhales a sigh of relief exactly as a butterfly flutters its wings. The two cancel each other out, and a hurricane in Asia is averted.

5:12 Jackets pick the dude that looks like Amanda Bynes from She's The Man.

5:18: Youtube provides some laughs with the best news bloopers on the net.

5:21: I really don't know anything about the players being drafted today besides the first five or so players (even then it's fairly limited). This could turn out to be a gigantic waste of time if San Jose doesn't make any moves.

5:23: Colin Wilson (drafted by Nashville at number five) is described by that chubby analyst on the TSN crew, "As you see him peel off the shirt, this guy's ripped, he's jacked, he's a man.... He's the guy who drew all the ooo's and ahhh's at the combine." McGuire's wife is seen buying a Nashville sweater moments afterward.

5:29: Wayne Gretzky steps to the podium to announce Phoenix's sixth pick while Scotiabank Place gives him a standing ovation. Pretty cool. They draft Mikel Boedker (who is Danish), and TSN remarks, "There's not a long history of great Danes in the NHL." Guess he'll have to work extra hard to stay out of the doghouse hardy har har.

5:33 With all the gushing over eighteen year old boys going on over at TSN, I wouldn't be surprised if they set up a news station in San Francisco. Pensblog Charlie is rumored to be joining the crew of analysts next season.

5:38: Before announcing their pick, the Nucks state their support for Luc Bourdon's family and thank the rest of the NHL for their condolences. Classy move.

5:48: Chicago takes Kyle Beach, and TSN begins to absolutely lay into him for being a bad boy. Whatevs. Wasn't Sean Avery affective this postseason? This isn't curling- it's hockey.

5:55: Los Angeles trades their 12th pick for Buffalo's 13th pick and a 3rd rounder next year. Buffalo gets the 6'7 Myers and the Kings pick up Colton Teubert.

6:07: Pierre McGuire makes every pick sound like the second coming of Bobby Orr.

6:09: No Sharks news. Boring. This live blog is starting to feel like a girlfriend you hate but just can't seem to let go, and then once you do your life improves immensely.

6:13: Trade news! Alas, it's just Ottawa. Blah blah blah. Bryan Murray is schteppin to thee fwont of thee room to schay hish pick. Nope, Daniel Alfreddson is making the pick for Ottawa. How cute. They pick some Swedish meatball Erik Karlsson who weighs 157 pounds, is 5'11, and looks like he just graduated from middle school.

6:22: Ha! The Bruins pick some dude that is being compared to Joe Thornton. Good times.

6:28: So I saw The Happening last night. Terrible. M. Night Shyamalan attempts to make some grandiose political statement on global warming (spoiler alert upcoming). Basically the whole premise of the movie centers around plants who release chemicals into the air that cause humans to commit suicide. The plants talked to each other and decided that because humanity was ruining the environment, they were going to strike back. Okay I get it- we are "killing ourselves" by contributing to the destruction of the environment. But please don't make some convulated, "artistic", statement like that with shoddy acting to boot. I'm embarrassed for the man. Sixth Sense was so good too.

6:35: Brian Burke is rad. He steps up to the podium, gets booed, and quips, "It's great to be back in Ottawa." GM Brian Burke of the Maple Leafs Anaheim Ducks selects Jake Gardner.

6:45: Tickets for the draft (which were free) have gone for as much as $125 on Ebay. You could have one hell of a night with that kinda dough. Then again if it gets me a date with that cute blonde reporter from TSN it might be worth it. Although we'd probably have to get drive-thru McDonald's for dinner. Might be a mood killer.

6:55: Realizes Doug Wilson will not be doing anything today.

7:05: The (players) moms look happy. That's probably the biggest story thus far from my emotional standpoint. Although Jokinen coming into our division scares me a little. Four teams (Anaheim, Dallas, Phoenix, San Jose) that are playoff contenders. Should be an exciting year.

7:09: Seven picks left.

7:13: I still can't believe people payed $125 bucks for this. The Wild take Tyler Cuma with the 23rd pick.

7:27: Buffalo is up on the clock right now with San Jose's pick. I'm living vicariously through them right now. Fetch me a rum and coke Wilson.

7:30: Tyler Ennis is selected by the Sabres. Yay?

7:35: Another trade- Philly sends the 27th pick for Steve Eminger and the 84th pick. Hmmmm. Washington better take Carlson with this pick, or I don't like this deal for them. All I know is that Eminger turns into an 86 overall in NHL 08. Just sayin'.

7:39: John Carlson gets picked up by the Caps. The crew at Off Wing Opinion seems to like it, so all's good for me.

7:41: Phoenix trade their second round picks for Anaheim's 28th. Phoenix is building, building, building. I like what Gretzky is doing over there. Could spell some future trouble for the Sharks.

7:46: And as we cut to commercial Sum 41 once again "plays us out." Bleh.

7:53: Detroit steps up to the podium and picks Tom McCollum. Probably going to win a Vezina in the next seven years solely because Detroit picked him. Best organization in the draft hands down.

7:57: Well it's Friday night ladies and gentlemen so I'm out of here to enjoy it. I checked my nifty stat counter thing and it looks like about seven people stuck with us all the way through, with around twenty five popping in at some point or another. Good people. Have a great night everybody.


Go Sharks.

[Editor's Note] Here's a graphic of the number of trades that went down in the first round compared to year's past. Click to enlarge.


[Editor's Note 2] Couch Tarts did a live blog as well. Good stuff over there.

The Dog Days of Summer: Best Hockey Movie Speeches

With the sweet summer days upon us, the options are limitless. Hit the beach? Go swimming with some attractive members of the opposite sex? Change your Facebook status to "Summertime and the livin's easy" because you love quoting overplayed Sublime songs to express your current state of mind? Do something with your life? No my friends. We want nothing more than for October to roll around so we can see the Sharks begin their quest to bring home Lord Stanley. In anticipation of the upcoming year ahead of us, We Bleed Teal enters a seven game series of epic proportions. It's all on the line ladies and gentlemen. This week we take a look at the best hockey movie speeches of all time.

With The Love Guru (a disaster waiting to happen that was evident the day we saw the trailer) hitting theatres today, we decided to take your mind away from the obtuse antics of Mike Myers and give you a taste of what a real hockey movie should be all about.

This list is really weak- Youtube doesn't seem to have the love for hockey speeches that we do. If anyone can find some of their favorite speeches online, drop a line in the comments section and I'll take a look at it. If it meets my strict guidelines (hint: you are able to copy and paste) I'll add it or give it an honorable mention.

Morning Skate
The aforementioned Love Guru trailer. You might want to skip this one to be honest. I don't think I've ever been as embarrassed to be writing a sentence than I am right now. The Love Guru is going to be the worst summer movie since Daddy Day Camp pooped on America's Alexander Hamilton's (he's on the ten dollar bill....eh whatever) last August. Oh, and before I forget- Leafs fans. Yes, the guys trying to hide over there in the corner. Not to take a cheap shot, but just what was management thinking when they signed off on this? Isn't the organization associated with cheap humor enough as is?


Game One
I'm going to let your eyeballs recover for a second.



Okay. We're good to go.

Game Two
Apparently it still stings. Apologies.

Game Three


Game Four


Game Five


Game Six

Probably my favorite speech of all time. I put this on before a big job interview, a big date, hell even before I eat a big bowl of cereal. If this doesn't get you jacked up contact your family's physician and order a three-months supply of Viagra.

Series clinched in six games

[Editor's Note] I didn't include any of the Mighty Ducks speeches because I wasn't too big of a fan to be honest. Feel free to add any links in the comments.

Trade Winds A-Blowin, This Train Keeps Rolling

Will McLellan be chopping heads with Doug this week?

First it was Marleau to Columbus.

Now it's Patty being sent to the 'Nucks for Chris Pronger's favorite stomping toy Ryan Kesler and their first round draft pick. Jonathan Cheechoo is also making the rounds this week (this all comes courtesy of TSN).

Patrick Marleau's name always seems to pop up in trade rumors, and this year is apparently no exception. If I'm Doug Wilson I think I hang onto Marleau- personally I chalk up his performance last year to playing under Ron and all the trade rumors that plagued him during the year. As good as this year's draft is, Patty is a guy that can contribute now, and contribute big. He's too good of an asset to give up for a marginally effective player (Kesler) and a draft pick that may take a couple years to develop. His no trade clause kicks in after July 1st, and after that passes, we will see a guy who will perform up to expectations. After the trade deadline last year he was our best player.

Cheechoo? I doubt he's going anywhere, his salary is at too good of a price ($3 M cap hit until it expires in 2011-2012). He's another player who will play better next year, as his sports hernia surgery last season bugged him throughout the season.

With all that being said, Doug Wilson likes draft picks. I just don't think it's the right move for the organization. A new coach means new life, and adding some pieces in the free agent market is much more worthwhile to me.

All in all, the next 24 hours are going to be interesting. If Doug doesn't make a move before the entry draft (with Patty), the likelihood is that it is not going to happen.

Some stuff you need to know:

The NHL changed some rules that will be implemented next season.

The first change will be for Rule 76.2 on faceoffs, placing the first faceoff of a power play in the defending zone of the team that committed the foul.

Second, a change to Rule 81.1 on icing will state that, "Any contact between opposing players while pursuing the puck on an icing must be for the sole purpose of playing the puck and not for eliminating the opponent from playing the puck. Unnecessary or dangerous contact could result in penalties being assessed to the offending player."

The last change will be to Rule 85.5 on faceoff location, saying that if a puck is shot off the goal frame, goal post or crossbar, the subsequent faceoff will remain in the end zone where the puck went out of play.

Rule 81.1- Torrey Mitchell anyone?

2008 Hall of Fame Class

Congratulations to this year's HOF class of (clockwise from top left) Igor Larionov, Ed Chynoweth, Glenn Anderson, and Ray Scapinello. A history of their careers and contributions to the game can be found here at Legends of Hockey. Last year's class of players might be the best ever to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but this year is special for the Sharks. Igor Larionov is the first player who ever wore teal to enter the Hall of Fame. An article on his playing days in San Jose can be found on sjsharks.com

Congrats once again to this year's HOF class. And is it just me, or does Ed Chynoweth really look like Norm Macdonald?

Pic Of The Day

Because I really don't have anything to say.


Happy belated Father's Day.


Go Sharks.

Did Nabby Get Robbed?

Broduer took home the Vezina two nights ago at the snooze-fest known as the NHL Awards Show. Now I don't watch a lot of East coast games besides what is show on Versus every Monday and Tuesday- even then it's fairly sporadic. Therefore I am sort of out my element here. But going along with that, how many NHL GM's (who vote for the Vezina) on the East coast stay up to watch the Sharks play? Just some food for thought. I'm not saying Brodeur isn't a top of the line netminder. His career speaks for itself. I'm just wondering if this is another case of the "East Coast Bias", or just an honest feeling around the league that Brodeur had a better year.

Whatever the case it gives me an excuse to post this.

The Dog Days Of Summer: A Dark Past

With the sweet summer days upon us, the options are limitless. Hit the beach? Go swimming with some attractive members of the opposite sex? Change your Facebook status to "Summertime and the livin's easy" because you love quoting overplayed Sublime songs to express your current state of mind? Do something with your life? No my friends. We want nothing more than for October to roll around so we can see the Sharks begin their quest to bring home Lord Stanley. In anticipation of the upcoming season ahead of us, We Bleed Teal enters a seven game series of epic proportions. It's all on the line ladies and gentlemen. This week we delve into my blogging career before this blog became a reality. Think of the seediest underworld of Al Gore (aka teh intrawebs), combined with an unhealthy obsession of NHL 08. Throw in some writing skills that would make Ernest Hemingway sell his soul to the devil to get his hands on, and you've got a general idea of what you're getting yourselves into.

First a word from the most respected Commissioner in the history of the NHL- Gary Bettman.

"Attention fellow fans of our league. Nothing is wrong with the NHL. Ratings are up on Versus, we still don't need ESPN. Yes my grudge against them is extremely childish. Yes, the aforementioned grudge is probably detrimental to our future. None of those valid points matter. With our ratings being so astronomically high we have decided that only one game will be played in this lockout-shortened blog post. That is all."

Games One Through Six Canceled Due To Incompetency

We begin the pregame show with the most anticipated Youtube video since Lonely Girl 15's shit hit series about...well no one really knows what that flaming bag of feces was really about, nor does anyone really care. Either way, the Youtubular you are about to witness got better ratings than the season finale for The Bachelor. Which isn't saying much. I guess what it comes down to is that this video has no pop culture equal- it is in a league of it's own:

Game Seven
Before I began to blog about a real hockey squad (the Sharks), I earned my razor-edge chops by running a blog dedicated to an NHL 08 Created Team for XBOX 360. I don't really have much to say about this other than the fact that I had a lot of fun doing it, and yet the utter nerdiness of the whole spectacle seems a little breathtaking looking back. The point is, I've found it in my heart to finally share with you my previous work. Enter the St. Paul Spartans. If you have a fair amount of time on your hands (which I'm assuming is the case since you made it this far through the post) be sure to check out the Record Books link on the right hand side of the screen (which was the sole inspiration for the We Bleed Teal record book). And start from the beginning of the team's history- in the Blog Archive portion, a post entitled "This Is St. Paul!!!" would be the place to begin. Here's the Spartans site.

Overtime Game-Winner
Following the Spartans disbandment, I moved the team across the Twin Cities to St. Paul. The Minneapolis Rebels were born anew from the ashes of St. Paul. With the Rebs I had slightly less success, as the Pittsburgh Penguins were absolutely dominant for most of my span with the team (The Kid and Malkin developed into 99's or something ridiculous, and Staal was a 92ish). Format is roughly the same, although I got a little lazier and began to just recap the box scores after each game instead of doing a full write up. The years with the Rebs are also organized better, with each season getting it's own special link on the right side.

Postgame Interview
All in all I had a ton of fun doing this, and my friends and I would have a blast talking about how the squad was doing etc. If any of you have done something similar, or even have a personal blog you would enjoy sharing, feel free to leave a link in the comments with a short description.

By the way- who can't wait for NHL 09 to hit the shelves? What a game that is going to be.

Previous Dog Days of Summer
Favorite NHL Commercials

Todd McLellan Joins The Sharks

redwings.nhl.com

Former Detroit assistant coach Todd McLellan will be officially named San Jose's head coach at 11 A.M. today at HP Pavilion. The press conference will be aired live on sjsharks.com.

A lot has been made of Detroit's "puck possession" game and how that style of play led them to a championship this year. But a puck possession team isn't based solely on X's and O's- it has a lot of factors. When you have world-class players like Lidstrom, Rafalski, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Cleary, Hudler (the list goes on and on) on the ice, the talent throughout your roster is the number one reason why you control the puck a majority of the game. If Babcock instilled the same system in Los Angeles, the results would differ widely. This alone makes me wary of predicting that the Sharks will mirror Detroit's gameplan next year just because an ex-Wings coach is behind the bench. Not to say there won't be similarities (according to Ron Wilson, San Jose played more of a "puck possesion" game after they picked up Brian Campbell), but a team doesn't completely change overnight. Don't expect the Sharks to.

McLellan's role in Detroit was primarily to run the power play (as well as working on the offense). If I could name only two areas out of a laundry list of things San Jose needs to improve on next season, they would be our blueline (which is the biggest concern by far) and our power play. Having Big Joe camp out on the sideboards with the puck and fire a centering pass wildly to the front of the net got quite old after awhile, and Ron was unwilling to adapt and change. McLellan will improve that aspect of the Sharks immediately.

Touching upon the power play, one thing that impressed me about Detroit is how a player like Tomas Holmstrom can change the course of the game. Relatively ineffective when not in front of the net, but extremely effective when he was, Holmstrom's ass got more press coverage than Jennifer Lopez's after she insured it. Take a look at Detroit's power play throughout the year and you realize how big of a deal it is to have guys screening the goaltender. Obviously it leads to goals, but even when it doesn't, getting in the head of the goalie pays off dividends later in the game as well as during the course of the season. Ryane Clowe needs to be resigned. Period. There is no one else on our current roster who can excel at that role the way Clowe can. Under McLellan Cloweverfield can become just as effective as Holmstrom, if not even more so. He's got better hands and a size advantage, as well as only being 25 years old.

Doug Wilson is a smart guy and a helluva GM. McLellan will be talking with him in the coming days about personnel, and I would be stunned if Clowe's name isn't tops on the list of players who are a big part of the offseason's signings.

As far as McLellan's history as a coach, here's a brief rundown. He worked under Babcock in Detroit the last three seasons, and before that was an AHL coach for the Houston Aeros (Minnesota's affiliate). He led the Aeros to a Calder Cup title in 2003, and won Minor Pro Coach of the Year Award from the Hockey News. None of his teams have ever missed the playoffs. The man knows how to win.

I hate to praise Detroit as much as I already have, but the organization top-to-bottom is the best in the business. Having an assistant coach sign with San Jose a week removed from winning the Stanley Cup says a lot about the potential the Sharks possess, and the respect they have from the rest of the league. Here's to hoping Todd McLellan has a long and successful career in San Jose.


Go Sharks.

[UPDATE 6:39 PM] Courtesy of The Battle of California.

The 2008 We Bleed Teal Bloggies

With the NHL Awards upon us tonight at 7 PM EST (CBC/VERSUS) we decided to hold an awards show of our own. This list is by no means a definitive collection of NHL blogs around the internet- there are countless sites who do an amazing job. I'd be working all summer if I attempted to mention every site I've had the pleasure of enjoying this season. In fact, if you'd like to nominate someone else's blog (or even your own), come up with a name for the award and submit a write-in ballot in the comments section.

With that being said, welcome to the We Bleed Teal Bloggies.



Although our host doesn't watch hockey on TV (along with the rest of America apparently), he sure as hell can't pass up an awards shows. Let's give a nice lukewarm welcome to Tiger Woods who's sporting a spiffy new hat for the occasion.



"Welcome one, welcome all to the first annual Bloggies. Now as you all have heard, we have some special awards to give out tonight to some special people. Bloggers who go that extra mile to deliver the most up to date and accurate information. Bloggers who warm our hearts with laughter, and those who give us statistical analysis that would make CNN proud. These are the bloggers who lay it all on the line. The bloggers who serve the masses. The bloggers who serve the NHL. And most importantly, the bloggers who serve you.

Frankly, no one's watching hockey on TV anymore because they're all on the internet reading about it. Or at the arena taking in a game. It's a great sport to watch live. Yeah I'm sort of backtracking here. Let's move on.

Please now direct your attention to the podium where Gordon Bombay joins us to kick off the awards presentation."


"Hello America. We would like to start off the show by recognizing the people who are in their prime- the people who are at the top of the Blogdom community. The award "Simply The Best" does not mean to imply that they are pompous and conceited people- in fact, we use this term with the utmost respect. Honestly, they probably don't give two hoots and a holler (whatever that means) about this award. They have more hardware than Sir George Solti.

This reward is presented to three people, our leaders on the interweb highway. We would follow these men into battle even if we knew death was the only possible outcome. The award for "Simply The Best" goes to The Good Doctor James Mirtle, Greg Wyshynski from Puck Daddy, and Eric McErlain from NHL Fanhouse and Off Wing Opinion."

Tina Turner takes the stage in a stunning rendition of "Simply The Best"

We now move on to the best place for hockey news. Because we only made about $5.63 on advertising in the last three months, we were forced to sell this spot to the highest bidder. Unfortunately we ended up having to pay them to use their logo. Basically it was the biggest mistake since the O.J. Simpson verdict. Anyways, this award is brought to you by Target. From frozen food to red-hot electronics, Target is your one stop shop for anything you'll need if you're a mom in Suburbia driving a mini-van.


Illegal Curve & Kukla's Korner- Illegal Curve and Kukla's Korner share the "One Stop Shop" award for their commitment to providing the most up to date information on the NHL. Updated hourly, the two staffs compile everything you could possibly imagine. From transactions and trades (which are much more viable than Elklund's mumbo jumbo) to each teams franchise news, these two sites are truly a one stop shop for all things NHL. Which technically makes it a two stop shop..... Whatever.

Up next is an award that has been battled over all year. Here to present the award is Chris Pronger of the Anaheim Ducks and General George Patton.

Chris Pronger elbows his way to the podium while Patton drives a tank through the crowd to join him. Although the screams of the masses could elicit a tear from even Bob Probert, Pronger and Patton do not bat an eyelash.


Chris Pronger: "Good to be here, it's refreshing to get out of the penalty box once in awhile. Our next award winners are all about striking a balance between statistical juggernautery, and wordplay that Will Shakespeare would be proud of. Every day is a battle. No matter the situation, these guys always stomp, er, step up to the occasion."
Patton: "Throughout history men have waged war, and in these wars some of the greatest battles have taken place. Good men die. But not these bastards. No, these sons-of-bitches have proved that the cozy confines of the couch are no exception when it comes to fighting for your lives. "The Battle of The Battles Battle" victor is none other than the The Battle of California."

The Battle of California- Encompassing three teams (Anaheim, San Jose, LA) while including guest posts for the Dallas Stars, BOC edged out their more than worthy runner-up The Battle of Alberta (who are their forefathers apparently) for the crown. Earl Sleek's statistical prowess, Rudy Kelly's cut-to-the-chase ideals, PJ's timely analysis, and O'Brien's pop-culture references make BOC the best place (besides the Sunset Strip during the glam rock days) to be when you're touring the sun soaked West Coast.

And now a word from our sponsors.



Welcome back to The Bloggies. Next up on the docket is the award for best place to be a fan.


"Ey there now, how ya doin. When I'm not enjoying da Bears or pounding down polish sausages like Takeru Kobayashi you can find me feigning off the ol heart attacks and watching bootlegged Mike Ditka home videos from his childhood. But when I'm in da mood for some old time ice hockey I head over to NHL Fanhouse, which will be taking home this year's award for "Da Best Place To Be A Hockey Fan."

NHL Fanhouse- Justifying it's namesake, NHL Fanhouse was this year's best place to be a hockey fan. Towards the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs they ran a live blog during each of the games, where fans could chat live with the staff as well as other fans. The live interactivity with fellow hockey fans added more depth to their already extensive coverage, and provided an outlet for the reader's voice to be heard. Kudos to Fanhouse for some groundbreaking work.

Due to time and monetary constraints, our next two awards will be presented by our newest member of the We Bleed Teal staff, Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Hacksaw has had a little to drink tonight (if two bottles of Jameson and seven Bloody Mary's can be considered a little), so please attempt to bear with him.


"These boys are bigger than Andre The Giant, and although we had a falling out as of late, deep down I still have love for them like Charlie has love for the Castro District in San Francisco. Just not in that awkward homoerotic Top Gun kind of way. The award for "Nailing Jokes Like Ron Jeremy" goes to The Pensblog. HOOOOOOOOOOOO"

The Pensblog- Not much to be said here. If you don't know about The Pensblog you're either Stevie Wonder or a Flyers fan. Either way, you have trouble reading. The community over there is top of the line, and even if you could care less about the Penguins, you read Pensblog because they make Richard Pryor look like an open mic act at your local high school. Not to mention their photoshops, which deserve a website of their own.

Excuse me folks, but Hacksaw seems to have found it neccesary to urinate on Tiger Woods pant leg ("This will get some ratings, dick"). Due to this we will have to announce our next award over the PA system while we clean up the mess. Apologies to Mr. Woods for your soiled Dockers, your presence here is apeeciated, excuse me, appreciated.

The award for "Best Blog That You Thought Was Run By A Celebrity, Found Out It Wasn't, But Stuck Around Anyways Because It's A Darn Good Blog" goes to Barry Melrose Rocks.

Barry Melrose Rocks- BMR is a site that practices the great art of combining insight with witty wordplay. Each day is a new day at BMR- Tuesday you may get an "interview" with Jeremy Roenick, while Thursday brings a thoughtful and concise argument on what Gary Bettman can do better as Commissioner. All while rocking a finely greased mullet. And hey, who doesn't love a little false advertising while you're at it?

Once again, we turn to a word from our sponsors in an effort to generate cheap revenue and support our affinity for cheap liquor.



Welcome back to The Bloggies ladies and gentlemen. With that brilliant marketing effort by Edge [sic] stuck in our collective heads, I feel it would be a good time to highlight two awards that run along the same lines. I present to you The Four Habs Fans and Hockey Ladies of Greatness.

"Best Blog To Incorporate Good Looking Girls" Award- Four Habs Fans spend their time talking about the Canadiens while being one of the wittiest blogs out on Al Gore. Oh and they have good looking girls. Lots of em.

"Best Blog Who Are Most Likely Good Looking Girls" Award- Hockey Ladies of Greatness is a conglomeration of women (most of whom have their own team specific site) that provide solid coverage on the NHL. A quality site for one who likes the female fan perspective, or someone who is looking to talk hockey.


As we enter into the tail-end of our broadcast tonight, we would like to thank you all for coming and showing your support of Blogdom. There are a bunch of quality sites on the web for NHL news, and unfortunately we could not touch upon them all. Be sure to check out the blog roll on the left hand portion of your screen for more puck news.

Our final award selections are sponsored by the world-renowned Hockey Night In Canada Theme Song, which can be heard on CBC TSN (ouch) in the upcoming year. Dolores Claman, take us away!



"Rick Astley Memorial" Award- In honor of those who are never going to give you up, let you down, run around or desert you, this award is presented to the entire Toronto Maple Leafs blogosphere. I'm not sure how you men and women do it, but the dedication to your franchise is something to behold.

"More Breakdowns Than Britney Spears" Award- Japers' Rink takes the crown for their pure enjoyment of breaking down the Washington Capitals. There are more numbers being thrown around here than a college frat party. A must-read for stat heads.

"Kids Say The Darndest Things" Award?- Jeffrey Paswick blogs about hockey and various other personal issues. It's of no surprise his team of choice is the New Jersey Devils.

"Blogging Champion" Award- Abel To Yzerman won this title from The Pensblog after Detroit won the Stanley Cup. Just to clarify, Pensblog was the brains behind this operation, but I feel it is worth noting.

"Best Sharks Blog" Award- Is this even a contest? Sharkspage continues to dominate with up to the minute news articles about the San Jose Sharks, making it the one place you need to visit to get your daily dose of teal.

"Classiest Blog" Award- On Frozen Blog delivers such engaging articles it's no surprise that their site's slogan is, "A Haven For The Hockey Malnourished." And boy do they ever live up to that billing. Created as a response to the lack of mainstream media covering the Capitals, OFB deserves every ounce of praise ever heaped upon them. The definition of class and journalistic integrity.



On behalf of We Bleed Teal I'd like to thank everyone for coming out tonight. Have a great offseason, remember to drive safe, and be sure to tune into the NHL Awards show tonight at 7 Eastern.




[Editor's Note] All depictions of players and persons were published for creative purposes only.

Sharks Head Coach Named

Well the search is over! Just as Mr. Plank had predicted, soon after Ronnie signed in Toronto, everyone is starting to make their move. Todd McLellan has been named head coach of the San Jose Sharks and will be announced officially Thursday morning at the Shark Tank. I won't go into detail about his track record as I am sure Jason will do that. I just wanted to bring you guys the news as soon as it was out.

SjSharks.com

Wilson Watch (6/11)

After the departure of the Sharks all-time leader in coaching wins this offseason, we felt a twinge of nostalgia when we heard he would be headed north to coach the Leafs. Following the most succesful period in Sharks history (albeit arguably the most dissapointing), we decided to keep tabs on our old coach. Pension Plan Puppets, who cover the Toronto Maple Leafs, have decided to lend us a helping hand.

Brett Gundlock/National Post

Current attitude: Conciliatory

Considering his past run-ins with the Canadian hockey media (read: blood thirsty wolves) Wilson tried to assuage fears that he'd eventually climb the CN Tower and pick them off one-by-one. He also went out of his way to explain that the hang up with his passport was ridiculous:

Wilson made the point of showing the assembled news media that he still has a Canadian passport, slipping it out of his jacket pocket and putting it on display.

Song On His iPod: "Why Can't We Be Friends" by Smashmouth

-PPP

[Plank Note]: Funny Ron's iPod is playing a Smashmouth track- after all, they are from San Jose.

[UPDATE 12:33 PM] Ron's press conference can be found here. H/T to Alfred for the heads up.

The Coaching Carousel Continues

TSN is reporting that Todd McLellan will be in San Jose today to meet with the organization about the Sharks coaching vacancy. McLellan is an assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings, and helped lead the Wings to their fourth Stanley Cup in eleven years this season over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The inclusion of a Cup winner in the coaching carousel always gets a nice buzz going around town in the media, which is a refreshing turn of events considering the lack of Sharks coverage as of late. A Cup-winner commands respect, and cultivates a winning attitude. As much as we may not like the Wings we have to respect what they do. The organization from top to bottom is best in the business.

So could bringing in a guy who was tutored under Mike Babcock be the answer in San Jose? He's a quality choice. But if we're looking for Cup winners, why not John Tortorella from the Lightning? He took them to a Cup in '04. Fashionable mustaches- Joel Quenneville from Colorado anyone? Considering Doug Wilson has been known to make some surprise moves, could a minor league coach set up shop behind the bench in 08-09? Peter DeBoer from the Kitchener Rangers (who were the runner-ups in the Memorial Cup this year) has been thrown around as a serious contender.

Basically all that's out there right now is names and speculation. Doug has done a good job of keeping a lid on anything coming out of the organization so he will have the best opportunity to get his number one guy. But with Ron Wilson signing in Toronto (which I'll touch on in a second) my guess is that we will have, at the very least, a list of three serious candidates by next Wednesday. Once one coach signs, the rest of the NHL seems to follow suit.

In other Pacific coaching news, Ron Wilson signed with Toronto and Marc Crawford got the boot in Los Angeles. Can't say I'm too beat up over Crawford- the Kings are still going to be bad, and his ridiculous little spiked hair reminded me of a dad trying to add a little edge to his look (when it was painfully obvious that his hairline was retreating faster than 10,000 Greeks). I wish Ron the best in Toronto, he'll be a good fit for a team desperate to rebuild.

I kind of miss him already.

Dion Phaneuf To Grace NHL 09 Cover

I know I'm not the only one anticipating the release of NHL 09- with the inclusion of the ability to train your own superstar, and the promise of a deeper franchise mode, EA's newest addition to the series has the potential to build upon a title that won 7 Sport Game of The Year awards last year.

It's safe to say I'm going to be needing a three months supply of "Oops I Crapped My Pants" to last me until September. That game is going to be unreal.

But Dion Phaneuf? Seriously? I'd rather be force fed week old baby diapers than have to look at his smug face everytime I fire up the system. The man is a menace to society. First he goes off and nabs Elisha Cuthbert (check out those boobies, I'm not talking about Cuthbert's), then he goes on to grace the cover of one my favorite videogame franchises of all time. I honestly bought my XBOX 360 solely for the NHL series. I own one other game, which I've probably spent a grand total of six and a half hours playing (Assassin's Creed). I'm contemplating either writing the Governator (who unfortunately may empathize with the man boob situation) or just take a sharpie and scribble some illegible voodoo curses all over Phaneuf's mug when I pick up the game three long months from now.

Either way, I'm shipping one of these bad boys up to Calgary. Like right now.

Enjoy it BRO

h/t to Puck Daddy for the news.

NHL 09 Trailer found here.
Here's the Gamespot first look for anyone interested.

We Bleed Teal Records

"Why hello dear old chaps, Reginald Dustyballs here with a quick announcement before your cup of Earl Grey tea. This infernal blog that you guys have a yearning for has decided to set up a new site entitled We Bleed Teal Records. Some notable achievements in Sharks history are listed there, as well as the winner of some poorly crafted tournaments the site has put on in the past.

Frankly, slapping a picture next to a piece of information doesn't automatically make you Thomas Edison. And just because you have included a myriad of links to further expediate the learning process on the Sharks doesn't mean you're Ben fucking Franklin. Honestly, it really bunches up my britches to think of where this prat gets off taking something that is readily available on the world wide web, presenting it in a different way, and then claiming credit for it. If you ask me, the bastard looks to be fancying a blow to the bollocks. But never mind it lads. I've only achieved my Masters Degree in Law at the University of London, so what would an unassuming book keeper such as myself know? I'm sure all you blokes and birds can smell the sarcasm emanating from that sentence, like a carriage filled to the brim with elephant feces picking up homeless degenerates on a sticky summer day in jolly 'ol London. Boy I miss 1931.

Now please excuse me while I fetch this quill from my rectum- it's been lodged there since early this morning and I fear I may be dispelling blood. Cheerio!"

This Week On We Bleed Teal (6/1-6/8)

Sponsored by "Sunday Morning" of The Velvet Underground off their 1967 album The Velvet Underground & Nico, here's a summary of anything you may have missed during the last week:

-> Game Five Recap of The Stanley Cup Finals (6/3)
-> Game Six of The Stanley Cup Finals (6/4)
-> The Patrick Marleau Trade Rumor To Columbus (6/4)
-> The Winner of Our 2008 Playoff Pick Em Tournament (6/4)
-> Mr. Plank talks with Pension Plan Puppets about Ron Wilson heading to Toronto (6/5)
-> My favorite NHL commercials (6/6)
-> Who's Your Favorite Shark Captain of all-time? (6/7)
-> We Bleed Teal Signs Hacksaw (6/7)

We Bleed Teal Signs Hacksaw

[Pittsburgh, PA]


In news that shocked the nation, the We Bleed Teal staff has outbid Pensblog for Hacksaw. Just what does Hacksaw Jim Duggan have to do with ice hockey you ask? To be honest I had no idea when I put in my offer sheet, but this press release seems to indicate that their franchise may never recover. With the Sharks unable to get past the second round of playoffs for three straight years, offering a ridiculous contract to another team's RFA a la Kevin Lowe seemed like a good idea.

Side Note: I knew something was up when Bob Errey's vote total jumped from zero to ten in seven minutes.


HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[6.9.08 Update]

San Jose Sharks Captains Over The Years

Doug Wilson, 1991-1993

Bob Errey, 1993-1995

Jeff Odgers, 1995-1996

Todd Gill, 1996-1998

Owen Nolan, 1998-2003

Patrick Marleau, 2004-Present

[Editor's Note] During the 2003-2004 season Mike Ricci, Vincent Damphousse, and Alyn McCauley rotated the Captainship (respectively) over the first 40 games, with Patrick Marleau wearing the "C" afterwards until the present day.

Who's your favorite San Jose Shark to wear the "C"? No hanging chads here, hopefully the Supreme Court won't slither their way into this one. The poll's open until July 7th, so you've got time to mull over your decision if need be.

All names are linked to Hockey Reference for the statistically inclined. Personally I'm more a fan of voting for who looks the cutest in teal, whatever the hell that means. Every vote counts!

The Dog Days of Summer: Favorite NHL Commercials

With the sweet summer days upon us, the options are limitless. Hit the beach? Go swimming with some attractive members of the opposite sex? Change your Facebook status to "Summertime and the livin's easy" because you love quoting overplayed Sublime songs to express your current state of mind? Do something with your life? No my friends. We want nothing more than for October to roll around so we can see the Sharks begin their quest to bring home Lord Stanley. In anticipation of the upcoming year ahead of us, We Bleed Teal enters a seven game series of epic proportions. It's all on the line ladies and gentlemen. This week we have our favorite hockey commercials courtesy of Youtube. If you're running off your grandparents dial up internet may Jeremy Roenick have mercy on your soul.

If your browser can't handle all the embedded videos on the site (hint: your screen is only showing text) I've linked them all to their respective Youtube pages. Enjoy.

Game One
Big Joe has trouble buttering his toast.


Game Two
"Giving 110% means giving 10% more than is humanly possible."


Game Three
Adam Oates is offsides.


Game Four
Kolzig's night out on the town.


Game Five
"Die Maple Leafs, Dieee!!!!"


Game Six
These NHL'ers make a Motley Crue tour look like a Nursing Home. Here's the outtakes as well.


Game Seven
One play.


The Overtime Game Winner
Amazing.

Well that's going to do us for this week folks. Join us next Friday for another edition of The Dog Days of Summer. Feel free to add any additions in the comments.

Quick Plug

Pension Plan Puppets was kind enough to ask me some questions concerning the rumor that Ron Wilson will be hired with the Toronto Maple Leafs. I say rumor only because I need to cover my tail- it's all but set in stone that he will be behind the bench in Toronto next year in my opinion. Anyways, they are good guys over there and have a helluva site. Here's the link to the article. Next season Pension Plan Puppets may be working with We Bleed Teal, so this may serve as a preparation for things to come.

There's been an explosion of posts over here on our site in the last three days, and a new winner has been crowned in our 2008 Playoff Pick Em Pool (say that five times fast). I'll be fully committed over the summer covering all the offseason moves that are going to pick up pretty soon.

A big hearty handshake to everyone who continues to stop by, even when their gut instinct tells them it is a bad idea. Brave souls are thee.


Go Sharks.

[Plank Edit] I know this is rather late, but my "Cloweverfield" photoshop was included in a post over at The Battle of California. I also contribute over at hockeyprimetime.com as the San Jose Sharks Correspondent. It's more or less the same stuff you read here, but they have a writer for every team if you're feeling in the mood.

And Your World Champion Belt Belongs To......

Wow. What a finish we had at the end there ladies and gentleman, with two readers battling it out till the end of the Finals. With fame and riches hanging in the balance, commenter Corey M. edges out Will to earn a date with primetime, endorsement deals, and an interview on Oprah. His newly signed agent Scott Boras (yeah he's going big time now) also tells us he may be pursuing an appearance on Celebrity Circus. Note to Corey: Career killer bro.

We managed to wrangle up a picture of Corey celebrating his victory:



Funny thing about it is, Will said in the comments that, "I like 4-2 Det, but it would be a cop-out to play it safe w/ Corey's pick." Ouch. If I had a soul I might give Will a consolation prize based off of his kind heart. We'll see if I have any Mother Theresa in me.

Along with being the top dog of our 2008 Playoff Pick Em (which carries much prestige in certain circles), Corey is going to get the opportunity to do a guest post on We Bleed Teal (don't you just adore unnecessary links?) about whatever he wants (that sentence had a lot of parentheses). Look for that in the coming weeks, as well as more on the San Jose Sharks offseason moves. Thanks to all who participated, and I hope that next year we get a whole bunch more.


Go Sharks.

2008 Playoffs Pick Em Round By Round
The One For All The Marbles
Round Three
Round Two
Round One

The Patrick Marleau Rumor

The Rumours album by Fleetwood Mac is one of my favorite albums of all time, loved even more due to the fact that I picked it up for a mere seven dollars on vinyl. I spin it about three times a week. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks had just broken up (as well as John and Christine), and yet they go on to create one of the greatest albums of all time. Talk about performing under pressure.

Digression. Eh. I guess that's what you guys are paying for.

Today I decided to touch upon the Patrick Marleau trade rumor to Colombus that has been making waves in the Shark Tank (see what I did there?). As it stands right now, an unidentified source claims that this is the deal on the table.

San Jose
Patrick Marleau
Some other player (I'm guessing it might be Ehrhoff or Goc)

to Columbus for
Nikolai Zherdev
First Round choice in the upcoming draft (which would be the sixth pick).

I said yesterday that I wouldn't talk about it until it came through, but obviously had a change of heart. Here goes nothing.

Let's start with what we would be getting. Nikolai Zherdev is a goal scoring right winger who shoots right handed. Why is his right handed shot important? Because the Sharks are loaded with left handed shooters. His 26 goals last year would easily increase playing with Joe Thornton (the centermen in Columbus are average at best). I would go as far to say that in San Jose Zherdev could amass around forty goals a year assuming he plays with Joe on the first line. Michalek, Thornton, Zherdev. Not too shabby.

I have no idea about who the Sharks would draft with the sixth pick, but have heard that this year's draft class has twelve players who could potentially make the jump to the NHL next year. Take that as you will, for in the draft there are no guarantees.

Now, what would we be losing? Our Captain. Marleau had a very up and down year last year, but we must consider that a lot of that could do with his tumultuous relationship with Ron Wilson. With Wilson out of the picture, Marleau could regain some of his consistency and take off. Also worth noting is that Patty was one of our best players this postseason, and has been fairly solid in postseason's past.

I can't touch upon the unnamed player because, well, he is unnamed.


Analysis
Assuming the deal goes through, Joe Pavelski would likely center the second line. It's hard to really determine how everything else would shake it out considering the fact that a load of free agents need to be signed (Note to Doug: Sign Clowe). More cap space would be freed up to sign Clowe, Brian Campbell and the other free agents, as well as allowing the Sharks room to make a splash in the free agent market. If that's one of the reasons for trading Marleau (freeing up cap space), I'm a little less skeptical of the deal.

Doug Wilson likes college players, and with a crop of solid college players coming out in the draft this year, he has to be considering that. Last year he also traded up in the draft (the Toskala deal)- is this a pattern?

But when it comes down to it, trading Marleau scares me solely because he is an amazing talent. If I'm Doug Wilson I wait to see how he plays under the new coach before pulling the trigger on the deal. At his best, Patty is an integral part of the Sharks success moving forward, and could be a huge contributor in a Sharks Cup run in 2009.

Stanley Cup Finals- Game Six

After the epic game five in Detroit on Monday, my faith in the Stanley Cup Finals has been renewed. Games one and two made it look like the Wings were going to run over the Penguins en route to their franchise's eleventh Cup, but Pittsburgh has fought back to narrow the deficit to 3-2. The Igloo is going to be rocking tonight- Go Pens.

*Head over to NHL Fanhouse tonight for some live blogging fun.

*Interesting story from Maxim on the Cup Keeper.

*Kevin from BMR lays the smackdown on The Detroit Free Press.

*Also, be sure to check the Pensblog (PIT) and Abel to Yzerman (DET) for more information on the two teams still standing.

[UPDATE]


The Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup. Congrats to the Wings on an excellent season. Now excuse me while I vomit onto my keyboard.

Game Five of The Stanley Cup Finals

Last night I had the distinct pleasure of watching one of the best games I have seen in a long, long time. With the Penguins down 3-2 with 30 seconds left, and the boisterous Detroit home crowd chanting "WE WANT THE CUP, WE WANT THE CUP", Max Talbot scored to force overtime. Three overtime periods and what seems like 100 brilliant saves by Marc Andre Fleury later, Petr Sykora (who assured his teammates that he would get the game winner) puts one past Osgood to send it back to Pittsburgh for another game.

Be sure to check out Pensblog for one of the greatest game recaps in the history of Al Gore.

As for me, I'm firmly in the Pens corner- seeing the Evil Empire raise the Cup would give me nightmares for nights on end. Can they do it? Hard to say, but if Fleury rolls out another performance like his last, winning two games in a row is far from out of the question. Be sure to head over to NHL Fanhouse's live blog for game six- I'll be there again (although I left before the first OT so I could enjoy the game). Nothing like chatting with a bunch of witty hockey fanatics.


Also (on a Sharks related note) there is a rumor floating around teh intrawebs that Patrick Marleau and an unnamed player may be headed over to Columbus in exchange for Nikolai Zherdev and their first round pick of this year's entry draft (which would be the sixth pick). Seeing as I don't work for a Toronto newspaper or hockeybuzz.com I'll believe it when I see it. Ron Wilson may also be headed to the Leafs to fill their coaching vacancy.

Grab the reins folks, because as soon as the Stanley Cup Finals are done we're in for one hell of a ride. I have a feeling the Sharks have a lot of news to announce once the Cup is raised.