Fedorov being sued, Ted Nolan gets fired, and more…

The funniest news to happen over the last week or so is the headline on TSN that reads, “Fedorov being Sued by Michigan Bank.” The bank claims that Fedorov owes up to $2.1 million in interest and principal. This is what happens when you go to the Darren McCarty School of Finance. The truth however is that none of this really matters. Not only did Fedorov ink a one year deal with $4 million with the Washington Capitals for the upcoming season but he has a long history of ‘cashing in’ wherever he goes. In other words, this is like a drop in the pond for Sergei.

The clown show that is the Islanders continues to be a laugher. Just recently they parted ways with head coach Ted Nolan.

Lets go over the Islanders saga to this point…

1) Remember who drafted Roberto Luongo? It was the Islanders. Not only did the Islanders trade the best goalie currently in the NHL but they also packaged him with sniper Olli Jokinen in a deal with Florida. Who did they get back? Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha. That move made more heads spin then Markus Naslund for Alek Stojanov. Brutal.

2) Raffi Torres and Brad Isbister for Janne Niinimaa and Evgeni Tunik. While Isbister is a total scrub Torres has proven his worth over the last few seasons. Despite being a bit inconsistent he is still a fairly young guy and is known to be one of the hardest working guys in the league. So wheres Janne Niinimaa now? Try Switzerland.

3) Trading Denis Grebeshkov for Marc-Andre Bergeron. While Bergeron was a wash on the Island Grebeshkov turned himself into a valuable piece of the Oiler puzzle. In 71 games last season with the Oilers he had 3 goals, 15 assists, and was a plus +2. Look for him to expand on those numbers.

4) Hiring Neil Smith only to fire him about 10 minutes later. What is this ‘The Apprentice?’

5) Hiring your backup goaltender to take over the General Manager duties. No disrespect to Garth Snow but the idea is just so ridiculous. This has also raised expectations for backup goalies around the league to do more. I hear Johan Hedberg, Curtis Sanford, Alex Auld, and Craig Anderson have all been beefing up their management resumes.

6) Giving Ricky ‘Dynamite’ a 15 year contract. While I like DiPietro and think he is a great goalie a 15 year deal is just WAY too much. Ricky has had some knee injuries in the past that should make Islander fans worry. Not to mention he could go all Jim Carey on us at any second. Once a goalie hits that downward spiral its a tough climb back up — just ask Patrick Lalime.

Ted Nolan took two terrible teams and made them very competitive in the east. He got them to the playoffs the year before last with some Richard Park magic and made Viktor Kozlov think it was 2002-2003 all over again. It might be a while before Nolan finds another coaching job in the NHL and that’s just sad. Nolan is as tough as nails and a great hockey mind.

I also wanted to touch on the retirement of Dallas Drake. Not a big deal right? Well it is to us DUSTERS. For those who don’t know what a duster is I will explain. A duster is someone who isn’t all that good at hockey. Good enough to make the team but not good enough for a serious role. So what does a duster do? A duster goes around hitting anything and everything that moves while trying to get under the skin of the opposing team. How do I know this? Because I am a duster. Heres to you Dallas Drake! After 16 years of mucking and grinding you got your cup. You’re an inspiration to kids playing on the 4th line of their teams everywhere!

The last thing I was going to discuss was the announcement of the outdoor game at Wrigley Field. This game is set for January 1, 2009. The game will be held between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings. Man do I love those outdoor games. I can remember watching (then) Canadians goalie Jose Theodore with his winter hat on over his helmet. Watching Crosby win the one last year in a shootout was also something that will stick with me. Lets hope this one is just as good if not better than the last two. And hey, lets hope for some snow again too!

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