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Down the Frozen River Podcast #10- 2015-2016 Season Preview: Central Division

The Down the Frozen River crew wraps up their 2015-2016 season previews by analyzing all of the Central Division team’s offseason moves. Connor hosts the podcast for the first time ever, we get way off topic several times towards the end, and Colby and Nick profess their love for listening to Brunch (which has nothing to do with hockey, but we mentioned it anyway).

Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter- your thoughts might make it on our show (and we really mean it this time, because we’re going to have a new segment for your thoughts next time)!

October 3, 2015
Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Detroit Red Wings

By: Nick Lanciani

The exploration of an important element of the game continues. I take a look at what retired numbers around the league may look like in the future. While there’s only a finite set of numbers to utilize on the back of a jersey, many teams choose to retire (or honor) some numbers based on extraordinary circumstances, dedication to the organization, or legendary status.

Many thoughts went through my head in each and every consideration. Feel free to agree or disagree- I want to know what you, the fans, consider worthy when evaluating a player, their career, and whether or not their number should be retired by a franchise. I am interested in seeing what you have to say, assuming you are actually a fan of the team and/or player that you argue for or against. Drop us a line in the comments or tweet to @DtFrozenRiver using #DTFRNumbersGame.

For each team, I thought of former and current players that should have their numbers retired now or once they hang up the skates.

Detroit Red Wings

Current Retired Numbers- 1 Terry Sawchuk, 5 Niklas Lidstrom, 7 Ted Lindsay, 9 Gordie Howe, 10 Alex Delvecchio, 12 Sid Abel, 19 Steve Yzerman

Recommended Numbers to Retire

39 Dominik Hasek

If Buffalo could do it, surely Detroit could too.

96 Tomas Holmstrom

Holmstrom might be a stretch, as you really have to go above an beyond by the Red Wings standards to have your number enshrined above the ice for eternity, but Holmstrom did win four Stanley Cups with Detroit after all.

That’s something that cannot be ignored, especially when it accounts for about 36% of the Red Wings 11 total Cups in franchise history, dating back to 1926.

13 Pavel Datsyuk

If the Red Wings don’t retire Datsyuk’s number once he retires, he might make a few dekes to the rafters himself to hang a banner.

40 Henrik Zetterberg

He’s been instrumental in what it means to be a Red Wing in Detroit’s current model.

30 Chris Osgood

Three Stanley Cups with the Red Wings is certainly remarkable enough to put aside number 30 from ever being in circulation again.

When you ask even an average hockey fan who’s been watching for the last decade to name some iconic goaltenders from Detroit, they’ll respond to you with the names of Osgood and Hasek.

Other Notes

The Red Wings are going to have a lot on their plate when it comes to retiring numbers within the next decade, so I’ll give them some time before I start throwing around Gustav Nyquist’s name or Niklas Kronwall’s name (or whatever).

September 30, 2015
Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Dallas Stars

By: Nick Lanciani

I continue to explore an important element of the game and what retired numbers around the league may look like in the future. While there’s only a finite set of numbers to utilize on the back of a jersey, many teams choose to retire (or honor) some numbers based on extraordinary circumstances, dedication to the organization, or legendary status.

Many thoughts went through my head in each and every consideration. Feel free to agree or disagree- I want to know what you, the fans, consider worthy when evaluating a player, their career, and whether or not their number should be retired by a franchise. I am interested in seeing what you have to say, assuming you are actually a fan of the team and/or player that you argue for or against. Drop us a line in the comments or tweet to @DtFrozenRiver using #DTFRNumbersGame.

For each team, I thought of former and current players that should have their numbers retired now or once they hang up the skates.

Dallas Stars

Current Retired Numbers- 7 Neal Broten, 8 Bill Goldsworthy, 9 Mike Modano, 19 Bill Masterton

Recommended Numbers to Retire

10 Brenden Morrow

Whenever Morrow decides to hang up the skates, this would be a classy move from the Stars organization for a classy player that spent so much time with Dallas and his counterpart, Mike Modano.

14 Jamie Benn

When Benn retires, it’s likely that the Stars will retire his number as well- he’s that kind of a player for Dallas. I mean, he wasn’t the Art Ross Trophy winner for nothing last season.

91 Tyler Seguin

Seguin is sensational in Dallas and as long as he keeps out of trouble and spends the rest of his career, if not majority of his career, with the Stars, he’s a shoe in to have his number raised to the rafters in Dallas someday.

September 30, 2015
Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Columbus Blue Jackets

By: Nick Lanciani

I continue to explore an important element of the game and what retired numbers around the league may look like in the future. While there’s only a finite set of numbers to utilize on the back of a jersey, many teams choose to retire (or honor) some numbers based on extraordinary circumstances, dedication to the organization, or legendary status.

Many thoughts went through my head in each and every consideration. Feel free to agree or disagree- I want to know what you, the fans, consider worthy when evaluating a player, their career, and whether or not their number should be retired by a franchise. I am interested in seeing what you have to say, assuming you are actually a fan of the team and/or player that you argue for or against. Drop us a line in the comments or tweet to @DtFrozenRiver using #DTFRNumbersGame.

For each team, I thought of former and current players that should have their numbers retired now or once they hang up the skates.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Current Retired Numbers- None

Recommended Numbers to Retire

If Ryan Johansen sticks around long enough in Columbus, his number could be fair game to become the Blue Jackets first retired number.

Otherwise, it’s unlikely they’ll set aside Sergei Fedorov’s number 91 for having spent three seasons as the star in Columbus. Most fans, and members of the Blue Jackets front office, probably wouldn’t be too keen on retiring Rick Nash’s number 61 after he retires, given the way he left.

Also, they can’t just retire Brandon Saad’s number 20, when all is said and done, because of all he did with the Chicago Blackhawks before carrying his star power over to the Blue Jackets in a trade this offseason (by that I mean, he still has to do what he did in Chicago- and more- in Columbus). Other than that, the Blue Jackets are 1) still too young and 2) haven’t had any stars worthy of retiring their number at Nationwide Arena.

September 30, 2015
Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Colorado Avalanche

By: Nick Lanciani

I continue to explore an important element of the game and what retired numbers around the league may look like in the future. While there’s only a finite set of numbers to utilize on the back of a jersey, many teams choose to retire (or honor) some numbers based on extraordinary circumstances, dedication to the organization, or legendary status.

Many thoughts went through my head in each and every consideration. Feel free to agree or disagree- I want to know what you, the fans, consider worthy when evaluating a player, their career, and whether or not their number should be retired by a franchise. I am interested in seeing what you have to say, assuming you are actually a fan of the team and/or player that you argue for or against. Drop us a line in the comments or tweet to @DtFrozenRiver using #DTFRNumbersGame.

For each team, I thought of former and current players that should have their numbers retired now or once they hang up the skates.

Colorado Avalanche

Current Retired Numbers- 19 Joe Sakic, 21 Peter Forsberg, 33 Patrick Roy, 52 Adam Foote, 77 Ray Bourque

Recommended Numbers to Retire

23 Milan Hejduk

How could you not retire the record holder for the most career games as an Avalanche player’s number? Aside from having phenomenal scoring totals for the Avalanche, Hejduk played an instrumental role in the locker room, as well, alongside superstars like Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg. So again, how could you not retire his number? Sometimes fan favorites and guys that are loyal to the organization, even if they weren’t the superstar attracting fans to games every night deserve credit for all they’ve done.

26 Peter Stastny

Much like how the Hurricanes should retire at least Goride Howe’s number 9 from his Whalers days, the Avalanche should set aside number 26 now that Paul Stastny, the son of Peter Stastny, is no longer on the team.

The Stastny brothers were pioneers and instrumental in attracting European talent, especially from behind the Iron Curtain, to the NHL- isn’t it time that Colorado nods recognition to their history as the Québec Nordiques? At the very least, retire Stastny’s number and we can let Michel Goulet’s number 16 (which was retired in Québec) slide for now.

Other Notes

Some day, I’m sure, we’ll see numbers 9 (Matt Duchene), 29 (Nathan MacKinnon), and 92 (Gabriel Landeskog) raised to the rafters of the Pepsi Center, but that’s still roughly ten or twelve- or fifteen- years out.

September 29, 2015
Down the Frozen River Podcast #9- 2015-2016 Season Preview: Atlantic Division

The Down the Frozen River crew analyzes the offseason moves made by all of the teams in the Atlantic Division and provides their outlook for the 2015-2016 season. Cortana makes a special guest appearance (kind of) in this week’s episode. We’ve got some spaces available in our Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey league. If you’re interested, send us an email to downthefrozenriver@gmail.com, within the next day or two. We’ll be able to squeeze you in.

Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter- your thoughts might make it on our show!

September 25, 2015
Thank You Days of Y’Orr

We here at Down the Frozen River try to stay impartial when it comes to our analysis, but I just had to comment on this.

The Days of Y’Orr logo, affectionately stylized as a bear resembling Bobby Orr’s most famous moment in Boston Bruins history.

Thank you, Days of Y’Orr, for being an inspiration; for being the kind of thing this current-college-student-hoping-to-turn-this-into-a-career-someday can only dream of. You guys made fans and players- and I’m sure even some front offices around the league every once in a while- laugh. Your presence on the Internet and your dedicated following, is what we strive for. We exist to be an outlet for fans to talk about hockey, with varying levels of passion and knowledge, but still talking about hockey- because hockey, is the greatest thing in the world.

We’ll never forget your love affair with Shawn Thornton- in part, because we have our own with Zach Boychuk, but that’s mostly because he follows us on Twitter, and not necessarily because he is the third greatest hockey player of all time.

Also, your run of Photoshops in 2011 will live forever in the hearts and minds of New Englanders, for better or worse.

So from all of us at Down the Frozen River, thank you for leading the way- into the blogging frontier of the unknown- and succeeding. The world needs more laughter and you guys delivered. Here’s to five years of “irreverent Photoshop and Shawn Thornton worship” as Boston Magazine eloquently noted. In the end, it was all worth it. And we hope to be able to say that someday too.

Thanks again guys and best regards in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Nick Lanciani

Founder and Main Editor of Down the Frozen River

September 23, 2015
Down the Frozen River Podcast #8- 2015-2016 Season Preview Pacific Division

The Down the Frozen River crew analyzes the offseason moves made by all the Pacific Division teams and provides their 2015-2016 season outlook. We implemented a new introduction to our podcast (and we hope you like it). Connor improved, but still managed to mess up a name or two. Of course, just like last week, a few deals and PTO’s were signed while we were recording this podcast, so we didn’t fit them in this one.

Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver on Twitter- your thoughts might make it on our show!

September 17, 2015
Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Chicago Blackhawks

By: Nick Lanciani

I continue to explore an important element of the game and what retired numbers around the league may look like in the future. While there’s only a finite set of numbers to utilize on the back of a jersey, many teams choose to retire (or honor) some numbers based on extraordinary circumstances, dedication to the organization, or legendary status.

Many thoughts went through my head in each and every consideration. Feel free to agree or disagree- I want to know what you, the fans, consider worthy when evaluating a player, their career, and whether or not their number should be retired by a franchise. I am interested in seeing what you have to say, assuming you are actually a fan of the team and/or player that you argue for or against. Drop us a line in the comments or tweet to @DtFrozenRiver using #DTFRNumbersGame.

For each team, I thought of former and current players that should have their numbers retired now or once they hang up the skates.

Chicago Blackhawks

Current Retired Numbers- 1 Glenn Hall, 3 Keith Magnuson/Pierre Pilote, 9 Bobby Hull, 18 Denis Savard, 21 Stan Mikita, 35 Tony Esposito

Recommended Numbers to Retire

81 Marian Hossa

Three Stanley Cup championships in his first six years as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks should pretty much guarantee his number will be retired after his career is over.

19 Jonathan Toews

Three Stanley Cups. That should do it.

88 Patrick Kane

(See above). Both Kane and Toews will go down as some of the greatest Blackhawk players in franchise history when all is said and done with their careers (if not already).

Honorable Mentions

2 Duncan Keith

While Keith shouldn’t have a hard time getting his number retired (again, 3 Cups) it might take some convincing around the room of Chicago’s front office meeting someday. I’d have to imagine the only reason why they wouldn’t, at least right away, would be because they’d want to stretch out as much as they can from the legendary teams that they put together in 2010, 2013, and 2015.

7 Brent Seabrook

While still a major part of Chicago’s blue line and arguably one of their greats, Seabrook, like Keith might need some convincing on his behalf when it comes time to decide on retiring his number or not in the Blackhawks front office.

September 13, 2015
Down the Frozen River Podcast #7- 2015-2016 Season Preview Metropolitan Division

The Down the Frozen River crew analyzes offseason moves by all the Metropolitan Division teams and provides their 2015-2016 season outlook. We’ll teach Connor how to pronounce player’s names the right way sometime. And we’ll stop with the bad puns, maybe. Oh and the Kris Versteeg trade happened while we were recording this, so we didn’t catch it in time to mention it in this edition of the podcast.

Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver on Twitter- your thoughts might make it on our show!

September 12, 2015