Some lovin' from USA hockey

We're a few days behind on this, but what the hell...

Rustbelt would like to extend our congrats to the USA World Juniors Champions. This team of kids who will earn more in one year than we will in a lifetime future NHL'ers defeated Canada 6-5 in overtime after blowing a two goal lead late in the third. We salute you sons of hockey... Hopefully the USA Olympic team will have the same results.

Also if you haven't seen this yet, take a look... Nothing like pubescent screaming after winning gold:

*Author's note: If you couldn't quite follow that difficult rhyme scheme, the last line is "we just kicked your fucking ass"*

Hockey Blog Outsourcing 2.0

Let us take a moment and reflect on some of the news and notes from around Rustbelt's favorite league:

Pittsburgh Penguins lose player number 437 to injury this season:
Jesus tap dancing Christ how many more players can we possibly lose?!? Alex "GoGo" Goligoski is down two to three weeks with an undisclosed injury. Seriously Pens stop trying to make your Cup Defense 09-10 so goddamn difficult. The good news is at least our Russian sex machine is back and ready to rock.

Letestu sent packing back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton:
Most of you will look at that headline and wonder who in the great blue balls is Mark Letestu. Well fret not you won't have to worry about who he is anytime soon. He spent a bit of time with the big club, only to be scratched in favor of tRBT whipping boy Chris Bourque (dick).

Shanny calls it quits:
Brendan Shanahan has decided that after 21 years of scoring goals and spending time in the penalty box he is going to hang up his skates. Shanny retires at number 11 in career goals and is the only player to have over 600 goals and 2,000 penalty minutes. In fact he has spent nearly 42 hours in a penalty box over the course of his career. So long good sir.

Superstar will be burying pucks come Thursday:
Instead of burying his face into the chest of that dirty yinzer chick behind the counter at A&L motors. Seriously Max... Go re-do that new commercial... it sucks harder than Michel Ouellet. But in all seriousness we heard he "may" return and immediately crossed out fingers and began saying "please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please."

That's all for now. Yes that was mainly Pens news, but what the hell did you expect when you came to a blog that is so hardcore for all things Pittsburgh? Now go do something productive with your existance... We sure as hell aren't.

Hockey Blog Outsourcing

I've been slacking... I know it and you know it. To make up for my lack of posting I present you with news from around the NHL, because hockey rocks and you know it.

Foppa to the Canucks?
It seems Peter Forsberg may not yet be done with the NHL. He has yet to play a game for MoDo, his Swedish Elite League club, and is in discussions with the Vancouver Canucks to hit the ice again. This may help a severely injured Canucks club, but the question remains can Foppa escape injury and actually play?

The Confluence faces everyone's favorite question: Why is Mike Yeo still coaching?!
The idea of someone else running the Pens' powerplay has been on the minds of fans for quite some time. Their recent short comings in that department have once again added fuel to the fire. I for one went back and forth on this, feeling that at least the penalty kill is great, but really it is time for a change. Put simply ewoks humping Al Roker's leg have more success.

Bucci gives us his ode to the hockey mask.
I know others have done this, but I have a giant man-crush on John Buccigross and his obsession with hockey. Gimme a break. Read his salute to 50 years of head protection for the men being peppered with vulcanized rubber. *Author's note: goalie's, while required to wear a helmet, do not have to wear a mask. Begin discussions of who is fucking crazy enough to complete said feat... my vote goes to Ray Emery.*

Deryk Engelland is playing for the big boys.
Engelland was called up for tonight's game against the San Jose Sharks. This news came shortly after coach Disco held Alex "GoGo" Goligoski out of practice. Goligoski seems a bit worn down and dinged up... Hopefully this is a short term assignment, and not a long term problem. GoGo has been a pleasant surprise and with Gonchar still out having him on the bench does not bode well. If he plays this will be Engelland's first NHL game.

Puck Daddy takes a look at the Blue Jackets' financial troubles.
This is shame. Columbus is an up and coming club with a solid roster and a pretty good market to back it. Puck Daddy shows the good that came to the area from adding a pro hockey team, but some changes need to be made to keep the team there. We fully support keeping the Jackets in C-Bus and hopefully the will stay.

Ok that's all for now. I've wasted enough of your time putting up articles you will glance over read voraciously. Enjoy.

Hockey Hockey Hockey Hockey

As of today, we have crossed the "one month" threshold. Go Pens.

We would have just put this on here via Youtube's embedder, but this one's sound quality is so much better. This is why we love hockey: Click here now to watch Kevin Stevens and Brian Trottier verbally accost Brian Bellows.

Thank you Empy Netters for reminding us that this happened. Seth Rorabaugh is like the Albus Dumbledore of hockey bloggers.

Stay classy Bobby Clarke

Senior VP and former player for the Philidelphia Flyers Bobby Clarke sat down with Alan Bass of The Hockey News to show just how much he loves the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now to even the most casual of hockey fans, this seems like a very small deal considering the cross-state rivalry between the two hockey clubs is well known. This time though, Bobby took it to a new level.

When speaking of the Flyers, Clarke decided to take a shot at the teams who, unlike Philly, build through the draft.

“We were allowed to spend the money, we always tried to win,” Clarke said. “We didn’t do what Pittsburgh did; lose seven years in a row so they could get good. They did it twice, in fact. They went through six or seven different owners. We’ve had one owner.”

Wow... Congratulations for being able to go out in free agency and overpay make smart personnel decisions, by which I mean plugging in players whose cancerous style meshes well with the team.

You're right Bobby, the Penguins went through some dark years, and they were bad... really bad. But while you are out shopping for the biggest free agents hoping they won't come to town and play like shit after you toss 7 million a year at them, the Penguins are off building through the draft. Surely we are the only team who has gone through this...

“It’s somewhat embarrassing that three of the last teams (in the 2009 playoffs) missed the playoffs six or seven years in a row; Washington, Chicago, and Pittsburgh,” he said. “Now they’re good and the teams that try to win all the time get penalized. Our philosophy has never changed since 1967.”

Ah... correct again, except one thing... I believe Edmonton has the 5th most Stanley Cups and the 5th best winning percentage. Detroit is 3rd in cups and 7th in winning percentage. The Rangers? 6th in cups 12th in winning percentage. All of these teams are constant contenders. Oh, and all of these teams have won at least four cups since the last time the Flyers have had a chance to etch their names on Lord Stanley.

In short... Bobby Clarke you may be a legendary player, but now we know why you lost the GM job after two seasons... you have no goddamn clue what you're talking about.

Oh ya... 1975.

Awesome Post-Gazette blunder

What's wrong with this headline?

Penguins sign Sewickley native Bill Guenin

Now, if you're thinking "so effing what Mar, they misspelled Bill Guerin's last name, get off the PG's nads already," you're barking up the wrong tree. If you're texting your friends right now freaking out that you were the first to learn the trivia that Billy G is actually from Sewickley, stop: you're about to make yourself look like a massive tool. Not that you aren't already seen as one, if you're reading this.

There actually is no Bill Guenin from Sewickly, his name is Nate Guenin, and he has the unfortunate case of having a very similar name to a beloved Penguin winger. He's 26 and is a defenseman, though it is unknown whether or not he was signed to replace Rob Scuderi. Judging by the fact that we just read his name for the first time right now, probably not.

Regardless of Guenin's talent, we see the, ahem, lazier sports writers and journalists screwing up Nate's and Bill Guerin's names all season long, so stay posted for more of these.

**UPDATE** The PG fixed their typos. We knew it - they're keeping tabs on us. Good job fixing your article, Dave Molinari - those of us who were up before noon (rule out Ryan, Matt and Andrew from this blog) know that you half-assed that article.

Goddamn you NBC

Fuck me gently with a chainsaw:

NBC and the NHL are set to announce an extension to their relationship for another two years, past the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and Stanley Cup playoffs.

Bad news bears Pens fans... you can count on Mario's TV disappearing during the playoffs time and time again while this contract runs on. I know the NHL needs a major network beyond the home of competitive curling to broadcast these games but COME ON! Could they please find some place with announcers slightly more competent than our current merry band of dumbasses. Could they please find a place that ACTUALLY seems to give a damn about hockey and not just their own ratings? Maybe a place that won't cut away from overtime in favor of horses running in a circle to their generally certain and untimely demise!

Sorry... I've finished my rant now. Note to Gary Bettman... if you want the league to be respected as much as all the others you may want to consider taking a stand on this whole network thing once in a while. Or, you know, keep taking it in the ass from the likes of Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk.

For fuck's sake man!

We here at tRbT are avid hockey fans... some may even say we border on obsession, but that is besides the point. The point is some dumb fuck decided it would be a good idea to make a threat towards Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin.

Ovechkin (right), pictured here with Capitals winger Alexander Semin.

Now while the authors of this blog find Ovie to be a class-A douchebag, he really is one of the most talented players in the world. His speed, shot power and sheer strength on his skates place him among the greats after only a few years in the league. That being said, the moron who made those threats will see nothing come of this beyond a possible jail sentence, and if placed in the same vicinity as Ovechkin will probably have their ass handed to them.

Seriously Pittsburgh, this is stupid. One of our beloved sports teams is involved in some of the greatest hockey ever played. Enjoy what is going on and keep the banter within the limits of decent fucking common sense. Like him or hate him threatening Ovechkin's life is just moronic.

Love the sport first and your team second.

**UPDATE**
Dumbass Central PA kid...

The ice is melting in the desert

In other NHL news, the Phoenix Coyotes have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This move comes after many years of financial losses and toiling in the lower ranks of the NHL. Since moving from Winnipeg for the 1996-1997 season, the Coyotes qualified for the playoffs five teams, losing each series in the opening round.

The Coyotes best season? A 40 win season in 2001-2002. This was the high point of franchise history and shortly there after the team dropped like a rock from any playoff contention and has remained there since.

Shortly after the announcement, Jim Balsillie and PSE Sports & Entertainment LP placed a bid to buy the team for $215.5 million dollars. Balsillie is a name familiar to Pens and Nashville Predators fans alike as the shmuck who keeps trying to buy every damn team in the NHL. He failed in both bids to buy the aforementioned teams and is now tossing his hat into the desert. The one stipulation to this purchase is that Jimmy boy gets to move the team to his promised land in southern Ontario.

Not so fast Mr. Silly balls... Gary Bettman, czar of all things NHL, stepped in.

The NHL, which has said the Coyotes won’t relocate, later issued its own statement saying it’s investigating the circumstances surrounding the filing. The league also stripped Coyotes Chief Executive OfficerJerry Moyes of authority to act on behalf of the club.

Once again Gary, you're fucking with hockey. In his attempt to expand hockey's appeal to audiences beyond their current niche markets (see also Canada and cities above the Mason-Dixon line), Gary is potentially hurting the league. Yes, the Jets left Winnipeg because they ran out of money, but they also had the smallest arena in the league and played in a time when player salaries would make Bill Gates look like a beggar... ok, maybe not, but you get the idea.

While Balsillie may be the bizzaro Mark Cuban of hockey, this move has to be done. The Coyotes were never really feasible in this market that already has the Suns and Cardinals with established fanbases. Their original arena was shared with the Suns, and when they finally did build a new one, they consistantly had trouble filling the seats. The possibility of the Coyotes going bankrupt was prominent throughout the season, and the NHL bailed the club out with a loan in late February after having already repeatidly loaned them money.

Bettman's attempts to keep the current franchises in their cities is not going to work, and above all else he fails to realize that the other clubs must approve an ownership change before it can happen. LET HOCKEY GOVERN ITSELF YOU POMPOUS JACKASS! Many of the ownership groups in place have a better idea of where and how this sport should develop and what will be best for the sport. Along with this, not only is the fate of hockey in North America on the line, but with the current profit sharing agreement... so are their asses. No one ownership group is stupid enough to make a move that would bring down the NHL, and to be honest Jimmy boy cannot do much worse in Southern Ontario than all parties did in Phoenix.

Moving a club back to Canada isn't a bad idea Mr. Bettman... it just isn't yours. Remove your head from your ass and let the actual club owners figure this one out.

Call Arnold Slick from Turtle Crick

The Igloo is packed full of fans in all white, while the front lawn becomes a haven for those of us too poor to drink AND afford tickets to this game. Mike Lange stands vigilantly over looking the ice with a bottle of scotch at his side.

It's a hockey night in Pittsburgh...

Go Pens.

In Fleury We Trust.

As the bars empty and our fearless fans stream away from the massive screen sitting outside one of hockey's last temples (fuck you NBC) we would like to take this opportunity and ask for a moment of silence in honor of the tremendous play of one Marc-Andre Fleury.

More to come later when the beer loosens its grip and the hatred for the Flyers and their shitty fan base wanes.

Go Pens.