Picture of the Day: The Best of the Dany Heatley and Lebron James Fan Signs

It wasn't the best of days for Dany Heatley and Lebron James, although the rest of the sporting world enjoyed the happy cosmological circumstances that, on the very same night, returned these two hated ex-players to their hostile ex-cities. Here are a few of the best - and most scathing - fan-made signs and pictures.

Charming.

Via Dan O'Toole: Really quite brilliant.

Via CBS, where you can find a lot more Lebron James hater-phernalia.

Here's a nice video of Sens fans giving Heatley a warm welcome.

Via CBC: Sharks fan stickin' it to 'em good.

The Ottawa Sun's front page, which was suuuuper classy. Hearkens back to the good old classics - Chicago Tribune anyone?

Sometimes I am happy there are people in the world.

Alright, in the words of all the Senators and Cavaliers fans tonight: "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

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Things That Are Funny: Alex Kovalev Fighting Francois Beauchemin

You think Kovalev is going all rope-a-dope on him for a while, but nope: he's just sucking.

[Photo: Kuklas Korner]

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Duncan's Teeth - Kovalchuk deal rejected, Bieksa to the Habs, and a Cat Playing Hockey

[Duncan's Teeth is a round-up of the seven most interesting and intriguing hockey links of the day. Named in honour of Duncan Keith and the late seven teeth he lost on that fateful day of Sunday, May 23rd, 2010. May the chicklets rest in peace.]

Ilya Kovalchuk signs a 17-year, $102 million mega deal with the New Jersey Devils that will potentially see him play hockey until the ripe old age of 44. His contract represents a reasonable $6 million annual cap hit, and while I don't mind the details of the signing, I don't think Kovalchuk is the key to another Cup in Jersey. The Devils are investing a lot in a player who can score goals, but who has had minimal playoff success and questionable defensive tendencies. It would be different if Kovalchuk was 22 years old, but he's 27, in the midst of his so-called "prime" and not getting any younger. [NJ.com]

Edit: The Kovalchuk deal has been REJECTED by the NHL for "salary cap circumvention." Darren Dreger tweeted that "Kovy's deal was rejected because the NHL doesn't believe either the player or the Devils expected he would be playing near end of deal."

The longtime Philadelphia Flyer Simon Gagne is traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defenceman Matt Walker and a fourth-round draft pick in 2011. I feel the popular choice for a dark horse next season will be Tampa Bay - they're still fairly thin on the blueline, but Lecavalier, Gagne, Stamkos, and Downie should make for a potent offence (and imagine if Brett Connolly manages to impress in training camp!) [CBC]
Latest rumour surrounding Kevin Bieksa: headed to Montreal in exchange for a "significant" forward prospect? [Hockey Buzz]
The importance of the number 17 for Ilya Kovalchuk, and his quirky, Crosby 87-like obsession with it. [NJ.com]
The worst commercial I have ever seen sadly involves hockey. Thanks to Puck Daddy for the link. [YouTube]
Jason Spezza apparently still loves being in Ottawa. [TSN]
Lastly (and most importantly), here is a cat playing hockey. This counts as news in the off-season.

[Photo: NHL Talk]

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Duncan's Teeth - Some thoughts on free agent frenzy

[Duncan's Teeth is a round-up of the seven most interesting and intriguing hockey links of the day. Named in honour of Duncan Keith and the late seven teeth he lost on that fateful day of Sunday, May 23rd, 2010. May the chicklets rest in peace.]

It's a good day to be a Vancouver Canucks fan. GM Mike Gillis shores up the blue line by snagging the coveted Dan Hamhuis for a six-year, $4.5 million deal, while adding depth to the front by acquiring forwards Manny Malhotra, Jeff Tambellini, and Joel Perrault. Also, the 'Nucks news you might have missed: Andrew Raycroft signs with the Dallas Stars, which leaves space for prospect Cory Schneider to shift into the number two spot behind Roberto Luongo (if he doesn't get traded first). These moves likely signal the end for Kevin Bieksa...goodbye, Chiseled Jawline. [Vancouver Sun]
The Pittsburgh Penguins waste no time filling the chasm left by the departure of Sergei Gonchar, signing defencemen Zbynek Michalek and Paul Martin for $20 million over five seasons and $25 million over five seasons, respectively. I love these two deals for the Penguins - contract length means stability long-term, and Michalek and Martin, while not the most offensively minded, are two of the most quietly reliable defencemen in the League. [Associated Press]
Speaking of Sergei Gonchar, the Ottawa Senators reel in one of the biggest fish in the UFA market, signing the Russian to a three-year, $16.5 million deal. Although he's getting up there in age, Gonchar is still a great defenceman, not to mention a calming presence in the locker room and a vast improvement over the Senators lowly power play. [Ottawa Citizen]
Surprising. Bizarre. Outlandish. These are all adjectives that have been used to describe Darryl Sutter's signing of former Calgary Flames player Olli Jokinen to yet another contract, albeit at $2.5 million less than last time ($6 million over two years). Some quick perusing over at the Calary Flames message board has told me that Flames fans are none too happy. Actually, the reactions are kind of hilarious. The fact that Jokinen showed zero chemistry on a line with Jarome Iginla did not seem to play into Sutter's decision, but Alex Tanguay's arrival might mean Jokinen will be able to be hog the puck on a line all by himself. [Calgary Herald]
It's a day for filling holes: the New Jersey Devils sign defenceman Henrik Tallinder to a four-year, $13.5 million contract, then land the shot-blocking, hard-nosed blue liner Anton Volchenkov for $25.5 million over six years. I like these moves by the Devils; both players should fit right into the traditional New Jersey defensive model. [NJ.com]
The funny love-hate relationship Blackhawks blogger Steve Rosenbloom has with Kris Versteeg. Refers to Versteeg rapping, which is good enough for me. [Rosenblog]
James Mirtle has a great list of the free agents still available. Some significant pieces still in play. [The Globe and Mail]

In other news, Kyle Wellwood has yet to sign with a team. This is sad. Cry cry cry.

[Hamhuis Photo: Philly Sports Blog]

[Welly Photo: Canuckz]

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One-liner Playoff Predictions - 1st Round

I don't have time to write anything more than simple one-liner playoff predictions this year. Papers, exams, you know how it is. So here we go.

Eastern Conference

Washington vs. Montreal: Although Nicklas Backstrom is apparently injured, Washington will roll Montreal because they can beat the Habs at their own special teams game: offence, offence, and more offence. If Montreal is to have any chance at all, Halak will have to stand on his head. Washington in 5.

New Jersey vs. Philadelphia: With Philly just sqeaking into the playoffs, I predict a more veteran group of Jersey players will eventually prevail against a beat up Flyers squad - Kovalchuk will be a gamebreaker. Jersey in 6.

Buffalo vs. Boston: I smell an upset in this one; it's going to be a battle of the goaltenders Miller and Rask, and if Boston plays their ultraconservative style, I think they can squeak out one more win than Buffalo. Boston in 7.

Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa: Pittsburgh will win because Sidney Crosby's got his groove on, and Evgeni Malkin is ramping it up again: beware the two-headed beast. Pittsburgh in 6.

Western Conference

San Jose vs. Colorado: Because I think it's fairly funny, I'm going to choose Colorado over San Jose, because until San Jose proves that they're capable of any kind of post-season success, they ain't getting none of this love. Colorado in 7.

Chicago vs. Nashville: Chicago will win because they want it more, and they've got the young talent and the drive to do it, but Nashville will be tough competition, simply because of the way they've been playing their game for years. Chicago in 6.

Vancouver vs. Los Angeles: I love Los Angeles, and I especially love Drew Doughty, but as long as Vancouver's defence doesn't deteriorate completely, I believe Vancouver's group is as cohesive as it's been in years. Vancouver in 6.

Phoneix vs. Detroit: I just love the way Detroit is playing right now; they've been in playoff mode for months, and they're healthy - Phoneix has a chance if Bryzgalov plays out of his mind. Detroit in 6.

This is my first shot at playoff predictions, so it's going to be interesting to see how messy it gets! Stay tuned kids!

P.S. last year I predicted Pittsburgh over Detroit in 7. Just sayin'.

[Image courtesy of NHL]

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