With rumors swirling about possible moves, the hockey world is abuzz wondering who will be changing teams and what deals will be made before the April 3 trade deadline. As far as the players are concerned, there’s not much they can do but wait. The few with no trade clauses might be making up lists of teams they want – or teams they don’t. The vast majority of players, though, are just waiting for that phone to ring.
To pass the time, here are some trade-deadline-appropriate tracks they’ve been listening to…
Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
Augustana – “Boston”
I think I’ll go to Boston. I think I’ll start a new life.
Perhaps one that involves a Stanley Cup. Though that could happen in places other than Boston. Places far warmer and sunnier…
Randy Newman – “I Love L.A.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b5LzCOc98E
Hate New York City, it’s cold and it’s damp, and all the people dressed like monkeys
Let’s leave Chicago to the Eskimos, that town’s a little bit too rugged for you and me…
I love L.A.
Also on his playlist, the Dropkick Murphys’ “Shipping Up To Boston” and Wiz Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow”. Rumor has it that newly-acquired Bruin Kaspars Daugavins may have turned him on to that last track, which also happens to be a new favorite of both Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray.
Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary Flames
Jennifer Hudson – “And I Am Telling You”
If rebuilding is really happening in Calgary, then the Flames could get a solid return for their Finnish netminder. The problem? He’s refusing to report to any other team. Citing the birth of his child, Kiprusoff has implemented his very own unilateral no-trade clause. Safe to assume he’s been listening to the Dreamgirls soundtrack quite a bit lately:
And I am telling you I’m not going
Even though the rough times are showing
There’s just no way… there’s no way!
Robyn Regehr and Jordan Leopold, Buffalo Sabres
The Animals – “We Gotta Get Outta This Place”
Buffalo is a mess. (I’m talking about their hockey club here. You can make your own call on the city.)
It’s like the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and players are trying to slide under that massive stone door to get out of the Aud Marine Midland Arena HSBC Arena First Niagara Center before being crushed by the enormous weight of Ville Leino and Christian Ehrhoff’s contracts a colossal boulder. More reason for the Sabres’ pending-UFA defensemen to turn their radios all the way back to 1965 and spin a classic track from Eric Burdon & the Animals:
We gotta get out of this place
If it’s the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
’cause [other Sabres defenseman], there’s a better life for me and you
That ‘better life’? It’s called the playoffs, and it’s not happening in Buffalo this year.
Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks
The Script – “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved”
The inevitable “Roberto-Luongo-Will-Be-Traded” discussions started way back in 2011 when Cory Schneider played his first Stanley Cup Finals game. They haven’t stopped since. And Luongo still hasn’t moved.
And maybe I’ll get famous as man who can’t be moved…
So I’m not moving. I’m not moving
That pesky no-trade clause just about ensures it, unless Bobby-Lou wants to relocate. Until then…
Mumford and Sons – “I Will Wait”
I will wait, I will wait for you
Whoever you are, perfect trade partner, Roberto is waiting. Call him, maybe?
Zach Boychuk, Carolina Hurricanes Pittsburgh Penguins Nashville Predators Carolina Hurricanes
The Beach Boys (and/or Tupac Shakur) – “I Get Around”
Boychuk may have set a new land-speed record in the NHL last month, with four moves in 49 days. Thanks to some inconsistent play and the wonderful waiver wire process, he got to embark on a mini-US tour.
After just one game in the Canes lineup, the former first-round pick was waived. He was claimed by Pittsburgh, who gave him a shot on their top line with Malkin and Neal. Still scoreless after seven games, the Pens waived him. Nashville, desperate for any sort of offense – even from a guy who couldn’t produce one measly point playing with All-Stars – put in a claim. Once in the Music City, Boychuk proceeded to tear it up. Well, relatively speaking. He did actually manage a goal. He scored a meaningless tally in a 6-0 blowout victory and registered an equally meaningless assist in a 7-4 blowout loss. Preds coach Barry Trotz gave him a light bashing and sent him on his way. Once again on waivers, Boychuk was claimed by the team that started this whole mess, the one that drafted him 14th overall: the Carolina Hurricanes.
Paul Holmgren, Philadelphia Flyers GM
The Doors – “The End”
There’s rumors of the Flyers showing interest in high-priced defensemen Brent Burns, Dan Boyle, and Jay Bouwmeester. All three are signed through next year – or longer, as Burns is inked through 2017. That’s a good thing, because the Flyers need all the blueline help they can get. They’ll benefit greatly from having one of those guys in their 2013-14 lineup. This year, though? Cue up the Doors:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDN9y2vTdUs
This is the end, my only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
It’s a bit unclear whether Colonel Kurtz was having a premonition of the 2013 Flyers’ defensive core and goaltending when his dying words echoed across the Nung River: ” “The horror… the horror…”
