Pocklington auctions off his Stanley Cup rings

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Peter Pocklington is well known in hockey circles, being the owner of the Edmonton Oilers during their glory days of the 80’s.

At an auction recently, Pocklington sold off a range of hockey memorabilia at auction.  The value of the sales is believed to be worth $294,269 US.

Included in the sale are 5 Stanley Cup Rings (84, 85, 87, 88 & 90), 3 Edmonton Trappers PCL Rings (84, 96 & 97), a 1987 Clarence Campbell Bowl replica and a 1985 Miniature Stanley Cup.

“It’s just memorabilia,” Pocklington told the Edmonton Journal. “I remember being there in real life and those memories will last forever.

“To look at a hunk of gold, that I keep in a safe most of the time anyway, every five years, doesn’t make much sense,” he said. “I’d just as soon use that money and the interest on it to look after my grandchildren.”
- Pocklington auctions off his Stanley Cup rings

Pocklington isn’t new to the sales game of course.  He is the man who sold Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings, and in past years has sold other items at auction, including another Stanley Cup miniature and a replica of the Clarence Bowl.

Tags: PeterPocklington, edmonton oilers, nhl, ice hockey, wayne gretzky, auction, stanley cup ring

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Tortorella fired as coach of Tampa Bay Lightning

Tortorella fired as coach of Tampa Bay Lightning - NHL - Yahoo! Sports

It comes as not surprise to those who have been watching the Tampa Bay Lightning over the last few weeks.  Now, it’s officially confirmed.  Tortorella has been fired as head coach of the Lightning, opening up yet another head coach position around the NHL.

It is rumored that former LA Kings coach Barry Melrose is interested in the job.

Tags: Tortorella, tampa bay lightning, head coach, nhl, barry melrose, fired, la kings, bolts

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Contenders Not Pretenders

After 3 disappointing first round playoff exits, the Stars have finally found their game.

For the first time in two years, the Dallas Stars won a game in which Marty Turco did not shut out the opposition.  In doing so they served notice to the league that they are indisputable contenders, not pretenders.
- Bleacher Report

Contenders, not pretenders.  That’s exactly the message the Dallas Stars are sending to the rest of the league right now.

The Stars are leading the Anaheim Ducks 2-0 in their first round series.  2 straight wins against the Ducks is impressive, no doubt.  What makes this extra special is the Stars did it on the road, without their top playmaking defenseman Sergei Zubov, who is out due to Hernia surgery.

The key to Dallas success so far has been team-play.  The entire team has played well, and the chemistry issues that plagued the team going down the last stretch toward the playoffs appears to be a thing of the past.  Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow are dominating plays.  Mike Modano is showing he still has what it takes to be a top player in this league and newcomer Brad Richards is shining whenever his skates touch.  Richards appears to have gelled with young winger Loui Eriksson, who has a goal in each of the 2 games played in this series.  Jere Lehtinen and Steve Ott have also played a role in the scoring.

The Ducks travel to the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX this Tuesday for game 3.

Image source: Yahoo Images 

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Is There More To Forsberg Not Returning?

We finally have an end to the ongoing Peter Forsberg saga.

Today it was announced by Forsberg’s agent, Don Baizley, that Forsberg has chosen not to return to the NHL this season, due to him not having enough confidence that his ankle / foot injuries are up to NHL standards.

To quote Yahoo Sports;

His agent, Don Baizley, told teams Forsberg did not have enough confidence in the strength of his surgically repaired right foot to play this season.

“He’s been hopeful that he would get the level of confidence that he needed, but he can’t,” Baizley said by phone. “I don’t know how close or how far away he feels. He was hopeful up until this weekend that he would be able to do it.”
- Yahoo Sports

As one who never shy’s away from controversy, i have to ask the question; is this the real reason Forsberg has chosen not to return to the NHL?

Numerous news sources have reported that there was a big race on to sign Forsberg, and that at least 8 different teams were trying to get him signed.  Dallas, Detroit, Calgary, Ottawa, Colorado, Philadelphia & Nashville to name just a few.

We know that Forsberg turned down offers from Dallas and Nashville recently, the reason is rumoured to be that they did not offer enough money.  In fact, sources claim that Forsberg, who is a high-risk injury player was asking for $5 million for next year and $2 million for the remainder of this year.  In the world of the Salary cap, that kind of money for a semi-broken, often injured player is, in a word, crazy.

Is there a chance then, that due to offers from NHL teams being “less than desirable” for Forsberg, he has chosen to wait out the rest of the year and try his hand at the Free Agent market during the off season.

This hockey fan definitely thinks this is something to ponder.

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