It was one of those weekends here on the home front as a tropical depression slammed the Northeast and the sad news that Paul Newman (Reg Dunlop to all us hockey folks!), passed away. Couple that with yours truly being plagued by insomnia, and the last two days have basically been a wash. I had planned to get a head start on some preseason and preview features I have to do this week, but something seemed to come up every time I sat down to the computer. The phone would ring, the power went out, my wife and I discovered our stove/oven was broke and to be honest, Newman’s passing really saddened me (more on that below).

So rather than dwell on the fact that Murphy’s Law seemed to be taking over and nothing was going to be accomplished, I decided to make the best of the weekend and do some things I won’t be able to do when the NHL season returns next week. First on the agenda, was grabbing some brew and watching Slap Shot for the 122nd time since the wonderful day my father made me watch it on the old “Movie Loft” on TV38, the former TV home of the Bruins here in Beantown. Just as Newman ranks above my top ten actors, Slap Shot has to be atop or near the top sports film for every man. A classic and the best hockey movie ever made. If you know a guy that claims to be a hockey fan but doesn’t know that movie word for word, question their hockey allegiance!

Up next on the new to-do list was to spend some quality time with Mrs. Murphy since that time dwindles during the season. Once again, Murphy’s Law struck when a suggested restaurant we tried wasn’t exactly the type of joint I could walk into with jeans, a Flogging Molly t-shirt, a scaly cap and Chuck Taylors. We were also in the mood for a chill, quaint place to try. So after a half hour of driving in the pouring rain, we stumbled across just that in the “Spring St. Café” in Dedham, MA. Chicken marsala melted in my mouth and the dinner saved the day.

Sunday was spent with my good friend and Inside Hockey Editor-in-Chief Kevin Greenstein watching NFL football and then participating in our live fantasy hockey draft for the “Hoser League 3.” It’s a keeper league in which you can keep five players drafted after the tenth round. I’m pretty happy with my team. Here’s the roster:

If you have any suggestions on possible early keeper picks, I’m all ears! You can reach me at jmurphy@insidehockey.com or radio@insidehockey.com.

With the cap hit the Bruins would take now, Wheeler most likely won’t make the team out of camp, so he may not have an immediate impact on my team, but could be a good keeper. This former Minnesota Gopher and 2004 fifth overall pick has impressed thus far in Bruins camp and it’s going to be a very difficult decision for Bruins head coach Claude Julien as my mate Joe Haggerty points out in his blog over at WEEI.com...

By the way, it’s nice to see that the most powerful sports radio station in the country is finally acknowledging that another sports team plays at TD Banknorth Garden. Could the Bruins finally be on the map in the Boston sports landscape this season?

Speaking of the Bruins, they were part of the numerous trade rumors and chatter around the league this weekend. The Boston Herald’s Stephen Harris reported that the Bruins are still pursuing a puck-moving defenseman.

For the last two weeks, Murphy’s Law has constantly been told that the Bruins are shopping Andrew Alberts and Peter Schaeffer but in order to get a top puck-moving defenseman, they will at least have to include Phil Kessel in any package. The question now is, with Mathieu Schneider off the block in a trade between Atlanta and Anaheim Friday, who is out there for the Bruins to realistically target? They will also have to compete with numerous other teams such as the Pittsburgh Penguins who are already behind the eight ball on the blue line with the losses of Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney. Florida’s Jay Bouwmeester will be a constant on the rumor wire but Florida sources have told us they’re not ready to deal him and are still trying their best to convince “JayBo” to stay.

In addition to trading Schneider, the Ducks signed Teemu Selanne to a two-year deal worth $5.25 million. First off, nice to know the Ducks and their fans won’t have to wait around again for the “Finnish Flash” to decide if he’s coming back next season. But there is still some bad news on the pond as the Ducks are still $1.2 million over the cap. To get under the cap by opening night, the Ducks have several options. They can carry fewer players than the maximum 23 on their NHL roster, make another trade to shed salary, or send one or more players to the minor leagues. Promising youngster Bobby Ryan still remains a possibility to be dealt, but is Burke really going to allow that to happen? Keep an eye on forward Todd Marchant and defenseman Francois Beauchemin.

Elsewhere in the league, the last minute scratch of goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin on Sunday in favor of rookie Antti Niemi, prompted immediate speculation that GM Dale Tallon may finally have a deal in place to unload “The Bulin Wall” and his $6.7 million cap hit, as well as avoid a goalie controversy with newcomer Cristobal Huet.

With all due respect to Bill Daly, is the NHL really just coming to the conclusion that Kontinental Hockey league President Alexander Medvedev has the ears and cooperation of Rene Fasel and the IIHF and may possibly be conspiring with Fasel?

Medvedev was elected to the IIHF council back in May and for the NHL to just start to realize this was a conflict of interest in relations between the two leagues seems a bit naïve. The threat of the KHL is real folks and the NHL better realize that in the eyes of many in the world hokey community, what Medvedev is pulling now, specifically with the Alexander Radulov situation, is viewed as payback for the numerous times the NHL “stole” players from other countries and contracts. This battle is far from over.

As we stated above, the passing of Newman struck a nerve. As far as celebrities go, yours truly has always looked at him as “a man’s man”, like Steve McQueen or Johnny Cash or John Wayne. Everything I saw or read about him was positive. Newman not only defined class and dignity but he was one of the most generous public figures of our time, donating over $250 million to charities. In a business full of self-promotion and indulgence, Newman remained the same simple man and amazing actor generation after generation. He was a survivor and someone the general public could truly emulate. There aren’t many left like him in his business and this past Saturday, we truly lost an American icon. Rest in peace Paul Newman, you will be missed!

Slainte,
Murph