Around the League

The Blue Jackets have agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent center Michael Peca, according to the Columbus Dispatch. It's assumed to be a two-year deal.

The Calgary Flames signed Todd Bertuzzi to a one-year deal as well. In today's Globe and Mail, Bertuzzi says that he signed with the Flames because of captain Jarome Iginla. Not sure if Iginla wants the credit or the blame, but for a one-year, incentive-driven deal, it may not be a bad thing to kick Bertuzzi's tires.

Saying that, I am glad he didn't return to Long Island. Ugh. What a nightmare that was the first time around. I'll never forget the story about how Clark Gillies approached Bert at a team function and Todd's wife cussed him out and told him to leave Bert alone. Yeesh. Here Gillies was trying to do a nice thing and put his arm around the shoulder of the guy the organization hoped would blossom into a Gillies-type of player...only to have the kid's wife go ape shit on him. What's the lesson here? You're correct; that (some) women are devilish--just like Dusty Rhodes always claimed. Score one for the splotch.

Looks like the NHL will be staging another outdoor game after all in Chicago this New Year's Day. We reported this back in February, by the way. Great idea to showcase the young stars of the Blackhawks, too. The opponent will be the Stanley Cup champions, the Red Wings. Detroit is Detroit so it is a great idea to have them on as well.

Sure, it would be great to have the Isles play in one of these outdoor fests but it just ain't going to happen. NBC wants the Bruins and Rangers to play off that NY-NE rivalry and even though the Isles brass did all of that leg work years ago to play in Yankee Stadium, it looks like our boys are dissed again.

One thing I always wondered about when they were talking about playing at (the current) Yankee Stadium was what the heck they were going to do with the plumbing and stuff. The Giants moved away from Yankee Stadium in the seventies (for Pete's sake) over concerns about the plumbing freezing in the winter. Why would it be any better thirty years later?

I guess I should be happy. When the Rangers play the Bruins in another ho-hum NBC game in the New Yankee Stadium a few years from now, I won't be outside freezing my nuts off. I'll be inside, warm, and cursing those freaking Rangers in from of the TV instead.