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Volume 8.3       All-Star Edition

Ryley Weir Gives the Facts and Names his All-Star of All-Stars

See, when the All Star lineup is revealed I usually look to see whos been to every All-Star game. My portion of the Digest will see who is the "All-Star of All-Star's" Peter Forsberg- Has played for the NY Vipers and Jack Daniels in 7 of the 8 All-Star appearances he’s made. Forsberg was the MVP in the 2002 All-Star game in Hanover scoring 6pts that game. Paul Kariya- Made 7 appearances for Jim Beam in his 8 outings. His only All-Star game for JD, he didn't play due to injury. Zigmund Palffy- Made 7 appearances for Jack Daniels. Was the MVP of the 2006 game in Arizona notching 5pts. Jaromir Jagr- Has played all 8 games for Jim Beam and Seattle Spartans. Was the 2004 MVP with 3pts. Niklas Lindstrom- 7 of Lindstroms 8 appearances have been under the Jim Beam banner. STATS NAME GP G A PTS PETER FORSBERG: 8 2 10 12 PAUL KARIYA 7 0 4 4 ZIGMUND PALFFY 8 4 9 13 JAROMIR JAGR 8 6 4 10 NIKLAS LINDSTROM 8 1 4 5 IN CONCLUSION I POSTED THE 8 FACTS, AND THE 1 WINNER "ALL-STAR OF ALL-STARS" 8 FACTS - Pavel Bure Recorded 9 shots in the 2001 All-Star Game - Patrick Elias is the most successful All -Star. 3GP 10PTS +11 - Back-up goalies have seen action in 6 of 8 games - Paul Kariya is An All-Star through the season, but chokes during the All-Star game - WPG hosted in '04, won the cup in '05. JAX Hosted in '05, won the cup in '06 - 5 players have been selected to every All-Star game - Jaromir Jagr is the only player with a point in every All-Star game - Nashville has had 31 players represent them in the All-Star game (excluding young stars) 1 "ALL-STAR OF THE ALL-STARS" Th numbers dont lie. Zigmund Palffy of the Jacksonville Prowlers is the best of the best. Palffy, has made 13 points in 8 appearances. He's a +8 and was the MVP in the 2006 game.

Questionable Coaches

COACHES WHO COULD BE FIRED

The Commissioner has an answer for folks wondering about coaching turnover (or its noticeable absence) in the DWSHL

Hanover Galaxy coach Hans Zach and Antwerp IceBats Coach Claude Julien could be fired any day now.  Both GMs Grzyb and Ommen have a history of firing coaches, both teams are under-performing, and both teams have a recurring pattern of dealing with trouble during the season.  Grzyb's teams are perennially late-closers, and usually they find a quicker step because Hanover fires its coach.  In recent history, the IceBats have come out of the gates hot, but cooled in the middle of the season.  GM Ommen may be tired of the mid-season swoons under Julien.

In what is a rarely questioned trend in the DWSHL, head coaches elude firing even in seasons of monumental failure. In Arizona, for example, Kevin Constantine has survived for eight seasons being on the hotseat, a scene that is common place around the league. Blame it on a thin coaching pool, or the timidness of GMs, but the coaching turnover is less than a two per season average throughout the DWSHL's history. Contrastly, it is highly believed that a high profile firing could lead to a widespread domino effect among the coaching ranks. One glaring fact that rings most true is that the league's championship winning coaches have not always been the most proven or experienced there is to offer.

COACHES WHO SHOULD BE FIRED

Arizona Phantoms coach Kevin Constantine and Denver Bison coach Pat Quinn are the most deserving coaches to be fired.  Both clubs are under-performing and are risking their franchises storied histories despite their GMs' efforts to keep the teams compeptitve.  Arizona GM Joe Scanlon frequently threatens Constantine with his job, so maybe Kevin just doesn't buy it anymore.  But Scanlon went to great pains to keep his team together under the new CBA, and Constantine isn't getting the most out of his players.  In Denver, Quinn is following up a Cup victory with a mediocre season despote having one of the most dynamic lines in the league.  Quinn's hefty salary doesn't help matters, either.

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COACHES HOPING TO GET FIRED

Zurich Piranhas coach Ted Nolan and Helsinki Nighthawks coach Mike Keenan ought to be hoping for a dismissal.  After leading his team to a Cup final, Nolan has been repaid with a team who could easily lose to three or four DL teams.  The Piranhas are doing a good job of rebuilding, but it's questionable if Nolan is as patient as GM Therres. Nolan makes almost as much as the team's top-paid player, and 10% of the Prianhas total pro roster.  If Therres could trade Nolan for prospects, he probably would.  In Helsinki, it would be hard for Keenan to walk away from the best coaching salary in the league, but his team is adrift and his talents are wasted...it's questionable of Keenan deserves his pay for his performance, but the only way he can prove he's a great coach is to get into a situation where he's given a chance.

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Version 8.2

Ted Dallaire Reports on His Team and Its Troubles

In what was supposed to be a long awaited playoff berth, the Calgary Storm have fallen once again to just a light rain status. Presently, after 38 games played in the season, the Calgary has managed only 12 wins to go along with their 24 losses and 2 ties. Not only that, but an offense that was supposed to be impressive with Mario Lemieux, Jerome Iginla, Martin Straka, Bill Guerin, and Pierre Turgeon giving the team the best offensive depth that they have ever have scored only 126 goals on the season while also allowing the 2nd worst goals against with 178. Only the Piranhas have allowed more with 200. "This is not the season we were supposed to have." Said coach Paul Maruice. "Everything we try just isn't working." Paul Maurice has been the coach of the Storm for a few years now and his job could now be in jeopardy as he was given a team that should have contended for a play-off spot. "We will be examining some options at this point. I can not let our fans down any longer. Something major WILL be done. If not tomorrow, then in the offseason." Said GM Dallaire. One of the biggest reasons the Storm have fizzled it seems to be the goaltending. Byron Dafoe who was acquired a couple seasons ago and resigned to give them some stability in net has not shown yet that he is capable anymore of stopping the pucks and leading the team. This season, he has allowed 141 of the 178 goals that have been scored against Calgary. He now has a GAA of 4.52. One of the worst GAA averages in recent years of almost every goalie that has started in at least 5 games. The only stat that he has that can be liberally considered slightly decent is his save percentage of .847. "Just a horrible year for me. I am surprised that I have started so many games this year. Johnny will probably getting more starts as he was brought in to push me." Said Dafoe. Dafoe isn't the only player not playing good this season. There are many more. Jerome Iginla doesn't seem to playing as well as he did last year playing along side Joe Sakic. He is presently 5th on the team in points with 10 goals, 18 assists for 28 points with a teams 2nd worst +/- of a 23. Only Oleg Tverdovsky has a worst one at -33. The top four performers of the team are also the newest players on the team. Mario Lemiuex, Martin Straka, Jason Arnott, and Pierre Turgeon. Of those 4, Pierre Turgeon was signed as a free agent in the offseason with Slava Kozlov. Turgeon is 3rd on the team with 6 goals, 23 assists for 29 points. According to GM Dallaire, the biggest need for the team right now is goaltending. It appears that that is the main focus of any trade discussions and possible future free agency signings. Dafoe’s days in Calgary seem to be numbered. Also, other sources state that Calgary leading scorer Mario Lemieux could also be on the way out to give him another shot at the cup this season. Mario doesn't seem to wish to retire as of yet as he is still playing very well without any problems. "I came here to Calgary to start fresh. I was excieted to come here to play with Iginla and former teammate Marty(Straka)." Said Lemieux. "I still want to win and will do everything I can to help this team win.”