Happy Thanksgiving!
Here's a quick one. Then I have to go eat some turkey.
The MegaStars game was great, right?
Sure.
Should Ranger Mark Messier and Ranger coach/GM Glen Sather have been there?
Nope. They have jobs. With the Rangers.

The outdoor MegaStar game was a very cool idea and it's easy to see why Sather and Messier wanted to participate, what with their strong Edmonton ties. But Sather and Messier are Rangers now. The time to repay debts to previous employers is retirement. Would Sather had given a player time off to go home for a reunion of former Dairy Queen employees? Of course not. Would it have sucked for either of them to have missed the game? Sure. But that's why it sucks to have a job.

So Forbes did their annual NHL valuations article.
Once again, the Rangers are the most valuable team in the league.
The Oilers are the least valuable, which is kind of sad.
Forbes also did an extended piece on the Minnesota Wild. I like it because it doesn't once use the word trap. That's got to be some kind of record.
Forbes also does this thing where they figure out which team gets the best performance out of their team based on player costs. Interestingly, last year's "surprise" playoff teams the Wild, the Lightning, and the Mighty Ducks all get a lot out of a little. Duds like the Rangers, Red Wings, Hurricanes, and Canadiens didn't get much bang for their buck. Of course, the rating, which Forbes calls Team Relative Productivity Score, puts a lot of weight on making the playoffs.
I don't know. That's enough economics. I have to go lie down.

So Adam Oates didn't play with Edmonton last night, as they tied Columbus 3-3.
It seems like they signed Oates ages ago. It's only been like a week or so, though.
Coach Craig MacTavish says he should play soon, though. At least within the next four games.
The big hold-up is getting Oates in game form. He says his stamina still isn't there.
Once he's back in shape, he'll be a real impact player for the Oilers, though. His experience will help the team and teach the young team at the same time.
If Oates ever actually starts playing in games.

Has anyone else ever noticed that female hockey sensation Hayley Wickenheiser's Web site is listed as an affiliate of Slam! Hockey?
I find that kind of weird. Does she pay for that? Does Slam!? I wasn't aware she was that big a deal (in the grand scheme of things).
Just thought I'd share.

I totally missed this.
Canucks Corner has the link (and rebuttal) to the insane rumor, started by Phil Esposito, that the Canucks are moving to Houston.
Pure insanity.

So Mario Lemieux is out indefinitely.
His hip is still bothering him.
Isn't it time for Lemieux to hang up his skates? Is he ever going to be able to give Pittsburgh a full season?
Lemieux is one of the greatest players of all time. You can'd deny that. But you also can't deny that his $5 million salary might be better spent. How can Lemieux tell the people of Pittsburgh that the club has no money to retain any of its stars, when he's collecting $5 million to heal? It's not fair to the club or to the fans.
Lemieux was amazing. But as owner, he needs to either cut his salary or hang up his skates.
It's harsh, but sometimes owners have to be harsh.

NHL teams are complaining about Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere's pad size again (l:laexaminer;p:laexaminer).
The league compares game video to digital photos which seems kind of hard to me. Why not just randomly measure 12 goalies a week or something? This way you can easily tell if a piece of equipment is too big.
The Times suggests the interest in Giguere's pad size is tied to his recently improved play. And with a 4-10 record and 2.70 GAA, it is pretty easy to make the argument that if Giguere is using larger equipment, it should have come out weeks ago.

Do you remember that little hat Montreal goalie Jose Theodore wore over his helmet during the outdoor game against Edmonton?
Everyone else sure does. Those tuques are flying off the shelves.
The Canadiens just produced a few for the MegaStars game. But then Theodore wore his during the game. Everyone loved it. In fact, the Hockey Hall of Fame asked for his hat after the game. A fan is believed to have offered Theodore $500 for his hat.
They're going for $27.
See? Don't worry about the lockout. This outdoor game is raining money on Canadian teams. Maybe next year one of the goalies can wear some really big ticket items while he plays. Like maybe a leather jacket.

Say what you will about the crazy-ass Capitals, who only play well when their owner berates them, but they have some nice guys.
Watching Washington destroy Detroit 4-1 last night (I had to watch — it was like Halley's Comet; I didn't know when I'd see something like it again), I saw Capital Kip Miller accidentally high-stick Red Wing Nicklas Lidstrom. It's a fairly common occurrence in the NHL. But Miller stayed with Lidstrom to make sure he was OK, even resting his hand on Lidstrom's shoulders to let him know it was an accident.
It was pure class by Miller. It made watching a blowout totally worthwhile.

So two of the Eastern Conference's best teams met.
There could be only one winner.
Unless overtime ended in a tie.
But there was no tie.
There was no overtime.
The Flyers beat Boston 3-2.
Interestingly, Flyers coach Ken Hitchock was able to shut down Boston by shutting down the Joe Thornton line.
And that's Boston's Achilles' Heel. The fact that they really only roll one strong line. You shut down Thornton, and you've shut down Boston.
Oh. And if you can have more than one Achilles' Heel, there's also Boston's goaltending.
Boston can tear through the East all they want. Until they spread out the scoring more, they're going to be watching the second round of the playoffs from the comfort of their own homes.

So is it any surprise that other NHL teams are looking into outdoor games?
Edmonton drew a crowd of over 56,000. It's like almost four games in one day.
The outdoor games, while pure torture for the players, I'm sure, could be a good way to infuse some money into financially underperforming Canadian teams.
Like the Flames.
Oh. And apparently Patrick Roy wasn't in goal for Montreal because he's concentrating on his junior team. I thought it was because once you demand a trade out of Montreal, you never wear maroon again.
One more. Supposedly, and according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, some Rangers were a bit pissed Mark Messier was playing in the alumni game.