First of all, huge thanks to Tyler and Hollis for coming and helping Rob and me run today’s Deadline Live Chat. Those are two guys I want in my corner for damn near anything, let alone humorous hockey meandering.
I think I can speak for all four of us when I say we had a damn good time and we’re so pleased so many hilarious posters came by and left their sometimes-inappropriate (read: most of the time) comments for all to see, enjoy, and join in on. It was so much fun, I’ve already committed to doing it again on July 1st for Free Agent Day. Amongst the sexist commentary and Lebda-bashing, there were actually a few (yawn-inducing) trades that occurred during today’s deadline. One of which even involved the Red Wings! Sound the alarm!
We knew Holland wasn’t going to be very active, what with being up against the glass ceiling and all (carrying over from the TPL conversation…), but a depth move was made — allegedly. TPL, for one, is sad to see Kris Newbury: The Most Fascinating Man on the Planet go. The man-child-molester was traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for Jordan Owens. If all you know about Owens is what was unearthed during the chat, you know that he played in the OHL at one time, signed an AHL contract before singing with the Rangers, and is a black guy. While all that’s true, there’s a tiny bit more to this story…
Newbury, despite having the single most memorable shift in Red Wings history, might be a bit of a trouble maker in Grand Rapids. By all accounts of folks who follow the Griffins more closely than I do, he was a ill-timed-penalty-taking machine (like a minor league Todd Bertuzzi), so I feel like he was moved out of town to get him away from the young Red Wings-to-be. Newbury will be a free agent this summer, so his likelihood of staying in the system was somewhere between 1 and 0% anyway. Owens, on the other hand, has another year left on his contract — this according to Kyle at Babcock’s Death Stare.
Later, we learned that Detroit shipped Griffins defenseman Andy Delmore to the Calgary Flames for minor leaguer Riley Armstrong. Like Owens, he went undrafted after playing Canadian juniors. Unlike Owens, he’s gotten into NHL action — to games with the Sharks last season.
Jordan Owens’ Vitals:
6’0″ :: 180 lbs :: Shoots Left :: Played juniors at Mississauga from ’04 to ’07
His best year in the AHL was last season, when he scored 6 goals and 13 assists in 67 games. I doubt he’ll ever touch the ice as a Detroit Red Wing.
Riley Armstrong’s Vitals:
5’11” :: 185 lbs :: Shoot Right :: Played juniors at Kootenay and Everett from ’02 to ’04
His best year in the AHL was last season, when he scored 25 goals and 17 assists in 71 games and got a short call-up to the NHL
I really wish I could have participated in the live blog. Unfortunately, crazy work day had to take priority over crazy hockey day. I was lurking in the shadows a little bit, reading what others were saying, but not doing a very good job of keeping up. Looked like fun though! Maybe I'll have better luck July 1.
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