Week 20 of NHL 2005-6

It’s an off week for the NHL as the Olympics take their toll and the Rick Tocchet debacle unfolds. 
 
Team USA is awful this go round in the Olympics. After they lost to Slovakia, I pretty much lost interest since they’ll be lucky to be in the medal round. A repeat of the USA v. Canada for the Gold in 2002 at Salt Lake isn’t happening. Heck their opening game against Latvia ended in a tie. Pretty sad. 
 
The funnier news happened Saturday with Canada being upset by Switzerland 2-0! This game definitely hinged upon the goalie (Martin Gerber) for the Swiss since his shutout was composed of 49 saves. Those Canadians were putting the blitzkrieg on for that many shots. Despite that, they’re still the smart money for the Gold followed by the Swedes. After Sweden, it’s up for grabs with the remaining 10 nations. 
 
The NHL will be back on track next week. Let’s hope it doesn’t have a detrimental effect on the 30 teams when the 100 or so Olympians return. 
 
Meanwhile, it looks like the Penguins will be leaving Pittsburgh in the next several years. A bit of a shame but I don’t think it’s fair for the taxpayers of that city, county or state to build a really weak team a new rink. It’s even more unsettling that it has to be tied to a casino. Pittsburgh is still a has-been dump of a city like Peoria, IL (the one near by upbringing). I think it’s really pathetic when the local government feels that the solution if gambling. The good-paying jobs are leaving and the answer is playing on people’s desperation and poor math skills? Even so, winning is what will put butts in seats for the Penguins; not a new rink with more expensive seats, parking and concessions. I’m actually hoping they will move to Portland or Winnipeg. That would put them in the Western Conference and the NHL can finally re-align the teams in a manner that makes more sense. 
 
How? Let’s assume Portland Penguins because it has a good ring to it and I’ll just go with a simple shift. Penguins join the West so one of the others joins the East. There are two logical choices based upon the time zones; Detroit Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets. I would prefer the Red Wings to add more challenging games for the Flyers, Devils, ‘Canes, Leafs and Senators. But I think the NHL will go with the crummier Blue Jackets which might actually benefit from playing harder teams than the Blackhawks (cheap owner) or Blues (in freefall until they’re sold).