A happy July 1 to general managers around the NHL.
What a day you had.
You spent over $360 million in less than 12 hours. Even my wife is impressed. I've hidden the credit card.
Here are a few bits of light-hearted gristle I'm still chewing over after the feeding frenzy.
Looking at recent trends, a couple of things jump out of the crystal ball. First off, I'm going out on the limb and booking the Chicago Blackhawks for a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
Bold, huh?
Well it's not so bold if you follow the Marian Hossa line and you read the crystal ball.
(Editor's note: I know - I got the crystal ball from a late night infomercial, but I swear it works - sometimes).
Follow me on this Hossa thing, will you? The 30 year-old sniper has been to the final the last two years with two different teams. He's bound to make it 3-for-3 right?
Now to be clear, I said the Blackhawks would go the final. I didn't say they would win. If I'm following trends and reading this crystal ball right, I can't overlook the participation ribbons Hossa is wearing for losing the final in back to back years with the Penguins and the Red Wings.
I'm not sure where that puts the trend after the 2009-10 season because Hossa isn't going to switching teams. He'll be wearing a Hawks jersey for the next 12 years.
Wait, the crystal ball is trying to tell me something else.
What is that? Conklin has to go east? Oh, I get it. Somehow, Ty Conklin has to make it to the Winter Classic in Boston as a player. We haven't had a Winter Classic without him. In fact, Conklin was in Edmonton for the Heritage Classic as well. That's three outdoor games and three times Conklin has started or backed up one of the teams. I'm not sure we can risk the bad karma by not having him there.
In case you missed it, Ty has signed on with the St. Louis Blues, who are not scheduled to play in the Winter Classic on January 1. The Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers will meet on New Year's Day at Fenway Park.
Somehow, we have to get Ty on the bench or between the pipes. He's the man. No one knows outdoor game underwear like Conklin.
Either the league has to see fit to swap out the Flyers for the Blues, or we've got to start a campaign to get Larry Pleau to trade Conklin to the Bruins or the Flyers.
Make it 4-for-4 for Ty.
I've got one last image coming from the crystal ball. It seems to be the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Yes - it's a crowd standing and cheering...and they're cheering for...ORR.
Who would have thought?
Colton Orr will receive a warmer reception from a Toronto Maple Leaf crowd than the great Bobby.