Puck Podcast – February 7th, 2009

In this weeks episode we talk about the Senators decision to fire Craig Hartsburg, the possiblilty that Sean Avery is on his way back to the Rangers, a dangerous hit that got Denis Gauthier suspended, some key injuries to playoff contenders, Paul Kelly’s suggestion to keep helmets on during fights, the future of the Coyotes in Phoenix and a whole lot more.

Part 1:


MP3 File

Part 2:


MP3 File

About Doug Stolhand 27106 Articles
Doug Stolhand is one of the co-founders and co-hosts of the Puck Podcast and has been a member of the NHL media since the show's inception in 2006.

16 Comments

  1. Hey guys. Great set. Don’t worry about the loss of the “bells and whistles” element. Substance counts, and you guys are definitely spot on on the issues. Eddie, thanks for coming on my program yesterday night. You were a big help to our show.

  2. Question on re-entry waivers.

    If a team claims Avery and then waive him some time in the future (after he does something else), I believe that team is are no longer for any portion of the salary.
    Yes/No?

    If so, couldn’t a team roll the dice and see if he works out, draws fans or makes it appear like management is doing something?

    Good show again.

  3. Thanks again for another great show and you need not worry about the bare bones approach. What really makes the show enjoyable are your insights and this show was loaded good stuff.

    Would it be possible to upload bonus material and future part 2’s on iTunes?

    Also, I realize that there are likely significant costs involved with putting this show on and, even though you do sell merchandise, I would like to propose that you follow the public radio model and offer voluntary subscriptions. You could do it in a low key manner with perhaps a Paypal link on the webpage. It might be fun to come up with premiums that are available at different subscription levels. If so, we would like to be the first at the autographed puck level!

  4. While the show is still great, I hope you can bring back the music, audio clips, etc. one day. If not, you’ve still got a great show.

    In the spirit of the post above, I’m planning to buy somemerch to help out. Thanks!

  5. The Olympic Qualifers have ended today. Here’s the scores for days 3 and 4 since I was basiclly busy yestrday.

    Saturday’s Scores

    Group E
    Slovenia 4 Japan 5 (SO) (2-1, 2-1, 0-2, 0-0, 0-1)

    Austria 1 Germany 2 (0-0, 1-2, 0-0)

    Group F
    Off Day

    Group G
    Denmark 3 Kazakhstan 2 (1-1, 1-0, 1-1)

    France 2 Norway 3 (0-1, 1-2, 1-0)

    Sunday’s Scores

    Group E
    Japan 2 Austria 5 (0-1, 1-3, 1-1)

    Germany 2 Slovenia 1 (1-0, 1-0, 0-1)

    Group F
    Hungary 3 Ukraine 4 (SO) (0-0, 2-0, 1-3, 0-0, 0-1)

    Latvia 4 Italy 1 (2-0, 1-0, 1-1)

    Group G
    Kazakhstan 8 France 2 (2-0, 3-1, 3-1)

    Norway 5 Denmark 3 (1-2, 2-0, 2-1)

    Congrats to Germany, Latvia and Norway who have qualifiyed for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Tournament.

    Here’s the tournament groups and their seedings which are in the brackets

    Group A
    Canada (1)
    USA (6)
    Switzerland (7)
    Norway (12)

    Group B
    Russia (2)
    Czech Republic (5)
    Slovakia (8)
    Latvia (11)

    Group C
    Sweden (3)
    Finland (4)
    Belarus (9)
    Germany (10)

  6. Don’t worry about the bells and whistles but you guys are starting to really cut the show short. It seems the podcast will soon be over.

  7. Nick,
    It won’t be ending anytime soon, trust me. Some things that are out of our control (Ed’s travel for work and the studio not being available at the last minute) have forced us to change our plans lately but it will not be going away.

    Doug

  8. Scott,
    No kidding. Meanwhile Thomas Vanek and Michael Ryder are out after getting hit in the face by pucks and sticks. How long before the cries for full face masks come out?

    It’s a rough sport, folks. People could get hurt. That’s part of the appeal. If you take the danger out of the sport you end up with the All-Star game and nobody wants that.

  9. Doug- I think u make a great point in that post, and it relates to fighting, checking, and open ice body slams. Hockey IS a dangerous sport. People are going to get hurt. And while we must do whatever we can to MINIMIZE the damage that a fist to the face or a slam into the boards can wrought, to try and completely take the danger out of the sport will destroy much of it’s appeal to fans…

  10. NCAA Hockey requires the full face mask and I don’t believe there is fighting either. Kinda dull, but that’s just me.

    I get that it’s a business and you have to protect the biggest part of that business. I guess there will be advocates for each particular cause as long as there are any injuries at all. Look at the NFL. There was a rash of torn ACL/MCL’s on artificial turf so there was an outcry for grass. Did it help, probably. But it still happens. Must be the cleats. On a related note, I think the NFL should ban hitting/tackling, just way too many injuries, lol.

    With all the technological advances in the game, it’s a little odd that Zdeno Chara just broke the hardest shot record held by Al Iafrate and his wooden stick, huh, huh, I said wooden stick. A little Beavis and Butthead humor for ya there! He just barely broke it too. Souray supposedly just hit 106mph clocked in Edmonton before the AS break. (Which beats Chara by less than 1mph) Somebody probably fouled up the kph-mph conversion!

  11. Hey guys, love the show. Even without the extra audio it’s still the best hockey podcast out there. Keep up the great work.

    As an Avs fan this season has been disappointing … very disappointing. I was one of those that thought Budaj would play better than he has, or at least more consistantly, but even beyond that the team as a whole has played very inconsistantly.

    Looking on the bright side though we have some young players that look like they have a future ahead of them. While we’re not out of the playoff hunt as well, I think we’re more likely looking at a high draft pick instead.

    For the first time I could see the Avs being sellers, or at the very least not spending picks and youth on old guys that will only be around for a chance to make the playoffs this year and then will be gone. My question to both of you is that if the Avs put players like Arnason, Svatos, Tucker, Clark, Salei, and Leopold out there, who do you think might bite for any of these guys? What do you think the Avs could get back in return in prospects and picks? Personally I wouldn’t mind seeing a number of these guys moved and to have the Avs continue the youth movement but go after a #1 goalie and a guy like J-Bo in the offseason.

    Anyway, sorry about the super long post. Great show as I said and I look forward to the next one…

  12. Steve- As a huge Avs fan myself, I share your pain. How many 2-1 and 1-0 losses I’m that 1st quarter of the season could someone take?!?

    As far as being a seller, I’m not so sure. EVERY team in the West is still “in it” for those last few playoff spots. Could they move someone like Tucker or Salei? Doubtful. No club was clamoring for either of those players in the last twelve months, so why now? The team needs Arnason simply because healthy centermen are few and far between on the club now. No matter where they sit in the standings, I’m not ready to see Ben Guite on the second line. I don’t think Svatos is going anywhere, simply because with The Stasinator and Sakic out, he’s number three on your threat chart; behind Hejduk and Smythe ( I thought something was going to finally happen with Wolski one Statsny went down, but, natch- and you can’t trade him if you wanna win any shootouts!).

    I think they will stand pat and finally hold onto their first round pick. Finally. I think the Foote deal was great right up until draft day and I realized all this young talent was going elsewhere. The best assets that other teams would covet are the same assests the club just cannot give up on- Stewart, Jones and (to a lesser degree) Hensick. Deadline trades never seem to do anything for the buying club anyway, and I really think we won’t see THE BLOCKBUSTER this year. Come the end of the season, MAYBE they go after someone… But if they can’t sell out The Pepsi Center anymore…

    Don’t hold your breath…

  13. Check out this hit by the Flames’ Dion Phaneuf on the Ducks’ Andrew Ebbett. I’m curious to get Doug’s opinion on whether he thinks it was a bit high with the elbow on the part of Phaneuf. There isn’t a direct video on YouTube, but forward to the 3:01 mark of the game highlights to see the hit and a couple of replays.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw0SjA7kxyU

  14. Scott,
    Yes, I thought that was an illegal elbow. I thought it should have been called on the ice but understand why it wasn’t – it was tough to see from where the refs were. However, I was hopeful that the league would punish him. (Ebbett broke his nose on this play, by the way.) But, they didn’t.

    Hit a player in the face with your elbow – No punishment
    Make fun of Phaneuf’s girlfriend – Six game suspension

    Yep, the league has their priorities perfectly in order. Remember, fans, the NHL is concerned with hits to the head and are cracking down on them. If you believe that, you’ll also believe that the Phoenix Coyotes are thriving at the box office and are never going to leave Arizona.

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