2011 NHL Off Season

The Jets' new jerseys came out today at an unveil at 17 Wing in Winnipeg.

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It looks all right to me. The stripes around the road (white) jerseys look a bit weird, but I really like the home (blue) jerseys.
 
Crosby won't make the start ofthe season from what I was told.

I have heard the "R" word from people i know close to the NHL. I doubt he will have to retire but its not out of the question. I hate the guy but nobody wants a career to end prematurely.

It is hard to say.

For those that don't know, after the end of the season, he was once again cleared for workouts. He gets to about 90% and starts having problems that are symptoms of a concussion. Not good to day the least.

It isn't that I like or dislike him, I really hate what the league does with him and other players. The league is not one player above all the others. It is a mosaic and needs to be treated as such.

There's a press conference tomorrow at 12:30 between Crosby and the media. Whatever his status is will be said then.

BTW, I am probably going to get NHL 12 for the 360 and want to put together a league. Anyone interested?
Yes.
 
So one of the few NHL teams without a corporate-sponsored arena will now make up for it by shoving Amway down everyone's throats? Doin it wrong, Red Wings.
 
Oh, I don't have a problem with that, just the idea of shoving it down fans' throats hard enough to now be "the Red Wings presented by Amway". I'm used to the corporate shilling, as there's not a single thing in the Consol Energy Center that isn't corporately named. But we're not "the Penguins presented by Consol Energy" just like you're not "the Lightning presented by St. Pete Times". The whole "presented by" thing strikes me more as an event thing (i.e. the Winter Classic) than something for a team.
 
Plane crash in Russia involves KHL team

Plane crash in Russia involves KHL team

A plane crash near the city of Yaroslavl in Central Russia has claimed the lives of at least 43 people, according to Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry. The majority of victims are believed to be members of the Kontinental Hockey League club, Lokomotiv.

The crash occurred at 12 noon Moscow time and the weather was sunny and clear, according to reports.

Eight crew members are also among the dead, according to reports. According to Russian aviation officials, two passengers survived the crash, but are in critical condition. According to Sovetsky Sport, one of the survivors is Russian forward Alexander Galimov.

Lokomotiv has confirmed that the entire main roster, plus four players from the youth team, was on the plane.

"We have no team anymore," Vladimir N. Malkov, the team spokesman, said in a telephone interview with The New York Times. "All our starting players, and all the service people, they all burned in the crash."

Coach Brad McCrimmon, forward Pavol Demitra, forward Josef Vasicek, defenseman Karel Rachunek, forward Jan Marek and forward Alexander Vasyunov are among the confirmed fatalities.

The agent for forward Pavol Demitra, an ex-NHL star, confirmed that Demitra was killed in the crash in Russia.

"This is just awful," Matt Keator said. "He was such a popular guy with everyone he has ever played with."

Keator was in Russia visiting Demitra just three weeks ago. He spent some time with the Yaroslavl team during his visit.

"I was over there three weeks ago and they were a fun bunch," Keator said. "They seemed to be a great group of guys. Very tight.

"Pavol was the best. He was very popular with all his teammates and he cared about them very much. He was very close with a lot of guys. It's just stunning. Bad things happen to good people sometimes, and this is a great example of that."

The Czech embassy in Moscow confirmed the deaths of Vasicek, Rachunek and Marek.

The Lokomotiv roster was full of players with NHL ties.

McCrimmon, played in the NHL and most recently served as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings before taking the Yaroslavl job in May. The Russian Times confirmed that McCrimmon also died in the crash.

Defensemen Rachunek, Ruslan Salei and Karlis Skrastins, as well as forwards Demitra and Vasicek all spent a good deal of time in the NHL.

Vasyunov, a forward, played in 18 games with the New Jersey Devils this past season. Devils GM Lou Lamoriello confirmed that Vasyunov died in the crash.

"I can't say enough about him," Lamoriello told reporters Wednesday. "(Vasyunov) wanted to go over (to Russia) and play a lot and come back here. He was so proud to be a Devil."

Rachunek, a ninth-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in the 1997 Entry Draft, also played for the Devils, as well as the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers, but had some of his most successful years playing in Russia. He was coming off a career-best 11-goal, 46-point season for Lokomotiv in his third stint with the club.

Former NHLers Igor Korolev and Alexander Karpovtsev were listed as assistant coaches for Lokomotiv.

McCrimmon played defense for six NHL teams -- Boston, Philadelphia, Calgary, Detroit, Hartford and Phoenix -- in a 17-year career, appearing in 1,222 regular-season games in the NHL, collecting 81 goals, 322 assists and 1,416 penalty minutes.

He was an assistant coach with the New York Islanders, Calgary Flames, Atlanta Thrashers and the Red Wings. He also served as head coach of the Western Hockey League's Saskatoon Blades.

According to the reports on the crash, the plane, a Yakovlev Yak-42 passenger jet, went down and caught fire shortly immediately after taking to the air, crashing less than 2 kilometers from the airport.

The short- and medium-range Yak-42 has been in service since 1980. It was en route to Minsk, Belarus for a Thursday night game against Dynamo Minsk, Yaroslavl's opener to the 2011-12 KHL season.

Former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Brent Sopel, who is now playing in Russia, tweeted shortly after the crash: "In shock. Prayers out to all of the KHL families."

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said the plane crashed immediately after taking off from an airport near the city on the Volga River, which is approximately 150 miles northeast of Moscow.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has sent his transport minister to the site of the crash

The KHL season opened Wednesday with a game between Ufa and HC Atlant, but that game was suspended as soon as news of the tragedy broke.

"We are working to find an appropriate way to honor this club and begin the healing process from the deep loss so many of us feel today," the league said in a statement Wednesday

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, founded in 1949 as the team of the Railways Ministry, is one of Russia's leading hockey teams and came runner up in the Kontinental Hockey League in 2008 and 2009. In 1997 it took the Russian Superleague title and won back-to-back championships in 2002 and 2003.

Link
 
R.I.P Loko!:cry:Really sad,many great players died.Especially sad for me,because of K?rlis Skrasti??.Latvian hockey legend!He was a great player and a wonderful human being.For our small nation it's a big loss.
We have lost 2 great players already.First Zholtok and now Skrastins:(
 
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what a fucking weird off-season...
 
Heard about it earlier today, definitely the biggest tragedy in ice hockey I can think of. Especially a huge shock to the Czech, several legends slash high profile players dead. Demitra, Rachunek, Marek, Vasicek... Former Swedish national team goalie Stefan Liv gone as well. I've heard mixed reports on whether Ruslan Salei was on the plane or not, some news sources say he travelled to Minsk before the rest of the team yet Lokomotiv announced their whole first team is dead.

RIP

EDIT: Not a fan of the new Jets jerseys at all, since they're bringing back an old team I thought they'd at least pay some homage to the old Jets logo which is pretty classic. Who could tell this is the new jersey for Jets if they weren't told beforehand? It should at least have some connection to the older logo/jersey IMO.
 
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I imagine if it was the Phoenix team, we would have seen the old look back, maybe slightly updated. Since this isn't Phoenix, but Atlanta, time to carve out a new Jets identity.
 
Who could tell this is the new jersey for Jets if they weren't told beforehand? It should at least have some connection to the older logo/jersey IMO.

Well, the Canadians could probably tell it has something to do with the Royal Canadian Air Force:

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But there is something good from this i guess

According to reports, the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team decimated in Wednesday's plane crash will be rebuilt immediately to take part in this year's Kontinental Hockey League season.

All but one of the 28 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl players traveling to Belarus for their first game of the season against Dynamo Minsk were killed when their Yak-42 jet crashed on takeoff Wednesday in Yaroslavl, a city about 150 miles from Moscow.

KHL president Alexander Medvedev said Thursday that he will ask each KHL team to volunteer up to three players each toward a draft pool for the new Lokomotiv team. Such a move would give Lokomotiv 40 to 45 players from which to choose a new roster.

Lokomotiv would also promote a handful of players from its youth team to be part of its senior team.


"The 18 KHL clubs whose representatives I have managed to speak with have supported this proposal," Medvedev said in remarks to Atlant Mytischi hockey club's press service, according to an Associated Press report.

The KHL has 24 clubs spread throughout Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Slovakia.

According to several reports out of Russia, Lokomotiv has already tabbed Pyotr Vorobyov as the new coach. Vorobyov was coaching the Lokomotiv junior team and also coached the senior team to its 1997 Russian SuperLeague championship.

Among those killed in Wednesday's crash were Lokomotiv coach and NHL veteran Brad McCrimmon, who left his NHL assistant coaching job with Detroit this spring to take over Lokomotiv; Alexander Karpovtsev, one of the first Russians to have his name etched on the Stanley Cup as a member of the New York Rangers; and Pavol Demitra, the Slovakian national team captain, who played in the NHL with St. Louis and Vancouver.

Czech players Josef Vasicek, Karel Rachunek and Jan Marek, Swedish goalie Stefan Liv, Latvian defenseman Karlis Skrastins and defenseman Ruslan Salei of Belarus were also killed in the crash.

Russian officials say Russian player Alexander Galimov survived the crash along with a crewmember. Galimov's condition is said to be critical as both he and the surviving crew member were moved to a hospital facility in Moscow. Galimov reportedly has burns across 80 percent of his body.

A memorial ceremony for victims of the crash is planned for Saturday at Lokomotiv Yaroslavl's arena. Fans gathered outside the arena Wednesday night to mourn and were addressed by Sergei Vakhrukov, the Yaroslavl governor.

The KHL games planned for the weekend have been postponed. Games will resume Sept. 13, the KHL said in a statement on its website. It is unclear when Lokomotiv will play its first game.
 
i still cant see the good point, but yes its nice that other teams are willing to help..
 
Updates:
They will not play this season:

Lokomotiv won't play in KHL this season

Yaroslavl Lokomotiv president Yury Yakovlev announced Saturday the team will not participate in the Kontinental Hockey League during the 2011-12 season.

Thirty-six members of the organization died Wednesday after the plane that was to take them Minsk, Belarus, for the opening game of the KHL campaign, died shortly after takeoff.

"The main priority now is to take care of the relatives and to pay last tribute to the late players and staff. The other aim is to re-build a competitive team," Yakovlev said, according to Russia Today. "This will take some time as well as requiring human resources. But we are determined to resume participation in the KHL in [2012-13]."

Yakovlev, Yaroslavl Region Governor Sergey Vakhrukov and Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin met Saturday to determine the immediate future of the senior team. KHL chairman Vyacheslav Fetisov had previously said Pyotr Vorobyev, who recently was the coach of Lokomotiv's youth team and had helped the club to its first championship in the old Russian Super League, would become the new head coach and KHL president Alexander Medvedev had vowed that Lokomotiv would be able to compete this season with a roster made of players loaned from other teams in the league.

The KHL announced Saturday that the league's season-opening contest will now be called the Lokomotiv Cup to honor those who died in the crash.

It was reported that more than 30 players from around the league had volunteered to play for Lokomotiv this season. The Lokomotiv youth team will play on this season.

"I have a strong desire to win the [KHL's] Gagarin Cup now, to win the youth championship and dedicate the victory to my friends, who died," said Kirill Kapustin, a Lokomotiv youth team player, to Russia Today.

Added teammate Mark Solyankin-Pasternak: "The coach told us that we should go out on to the ice and play for all the guys who lost their lives in this crash. He told us to win for them. We need to play our best."


And the ceremony was held at thier arena:

Thousands mourn Lokomotiv group at Yaroslavl arena

Thousands of people gathered Saturday at Arena 2000 in Yaroslavl, Russia to pay their final respects to members of the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv team that died in a plane crash Wednesday.

Reports varied from 50,000 upwards to 100,000 people in and around the arena. Several current and former NHL players were attendance, as well as representatives from the other KHL clubs. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was also in attendance.

"For the first time in my life, I had trouble entering an ice arena," KHL chairman and former NHL star Vyacheslav Fetisov said at the ceremony to the Associated Press. "It's an inexplicable tragedy."

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Arena-2000 on September 10, 2011 to honor the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv players and staff that were lost. (Photo: Alexey Nikolsky/Getty Images)
Forty-three people died in the crash Wednesday shortly after takeoff , including 36 members of the Lokomotiv organization who were en route to Minsk, Belarus, to play the first game of their KHL season against Dinamo Minsk.

There are two survivors of the crash, player Alexander Galimov and flight crew member Alexander Sizov, who both remain in critical condition. The other people who perished on board were flight crew members.

The city of Yaroslavl is about 160 miles Northeast of Moscow, and there was a special train running from the nation's capitol to help mourners reach the funeral, according to Russia Today. There are plans for two memorials -- one near the crash site along the Volga River and one outside the stadium.

There was a private Russian Orthodox funeral service with the families of several of the victims in a cathedral in Yaroslavl before the official ceremony.

"Wednesday was a sad day for hockey and for my country," Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin said on the team's website Friday. "I've most many friends and people lost their family members. My teammates and I ask that Penguins fans and all NHL fans to remember everyone lost in their prayers."

Dinamo Minsk held a ceremony for the Lokomotiv players Friday with a capacity crowd at Minsk Arena. Former NHL defenseman Ruslan Salei was buried Saturday in Minsk, and thousands were on hand to pay their last respects, according to Dmitry Chesnokov of Sovetsky Sport and Yahoo Sports.

"On behalf of the Salei family, I want to express my sincere thanks to the entire hockey community, including all of Ruslan's friends and fans, for the overwhelming love and support," Salei's wife, Bethann, said in a statement Friday. "While this is an extremely difficult time for us, the outpouring of affection our family has received has been comforting. As much as Ruslan enjoyed playing hockey, he loved the camaraderie he had with his teammates, the team staffs, and the fans that much more.

"Ruslan was the love of my life, and I?m extremely grateful to have our three beautiful children. He treasured his family life with us, and we miss him dearly."

Links:
Wont play statement

Ceremony Article
 
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