Puck Sight (Sept 25)
8 Days. 8 more days and the new season will be underway. Camps rosters are being trimmed down this week, the waiver draft goes on Friday, each team has three or four more fun games, and then… it’s “Game On!” It wasn’t Kournakova he was drunk on, but Sergei Ferdorov was arrested for impaired driving this past weekend. He ran a red light and failed a sobriety test but blew slightly under the legal limit. This meant the official charge is termed “driving while impaired” rather than the more serious “driving under the influence.” Still, Federov will be in court before next wednesday to receive his customary slap on the wrist.
“If the team were picked today, he’d be on it.” Those are the words Flyer GM Bob Clarke used when talking about younster Pavel Brendl. When asked to compare him to the other young guys trying to crack Philly’s lineup, Clarke replied, “…he probably has better talent than any of them.” On a team that has Justin Williams and Rusty Fedotenko, that’s high praise indeed.
Cut from Colorado’s camp was Darryl Shannon. The former standout defencemen was hoping to land a spot with the depleted Avalanche blueline, and the Aves were hoping so too.
The Edmonton Oilers took 5 of 6 possible preseason points from the Vancouver Canucks over the weekend. The two Northwest division rivals played three games in two and a half days, the Oilers winning the first and last games by one goal while the teams tied the middle match.
Gary Roberts has been suspended for 3 games for abusing an official. The Toronto forward was involved in an altercation at the conclusion a recent game. Roberts left the ice a bloody mess, apparently a victim of questionable play from his opponent. Roberts suspension will be over just in time for the start of the regular season, how convenient.
Most teams have played at least 4 preseason games by now. Some have played 5, Vancouver has actually had 6 games. So how is it that St.Louis and Buffalo have only played twice each? Anyone know how these games are scheduled? Is it the teams themselves or does the league set the preseason sched?
With all the talk about Bryan Berard’s possible comeback, many people have expressed concern for his safety. Toronto journalist, Al Strachan has another point of view. What if Berard injures someone because he didn’t see the person positioned there? “In Berard’s case, he can’t play the game without risk of injury to himself or to others. while it is certainly illegal to discriminate unfairly against a person with a handicap, it must never be forgotten that the operative word is “unfairly”, says Strachan. “It is not illegal, for example, to prohibit a blind person from holding a driver’s license.” That’s something to consider.
Puckboy puckboy@hockeytraderumors.com