Mo and Luz talk hockey!

I are super-excited to present an all new feature here at AFHC. Seeing I stopped compiling hockey knowledge before the turn of the century, I've called upon some friends of mine to lend their opinions on the sport of frozen water and toothless jaws when the time is ripe. The Stars made a big trade yesterday, and I deemed it an exemplary time to debut a new feature which may not advance past the inaugural phase. Note that dialogue has been rendered coherent, a testament to my editing prowess seeing as I was speaking to my New York born-and-bred analysts on a bad phone, and they both appeared to be immersed in a cacophonous scene of their own.

Loz: The Stars are getting a good player, but I don't know if this really puts them over the top. Mike Smith is a great young goalie who's going to start in Tampa Bay for years to come. Richards is OK, but he doesn't put Dallas in the same conversation as Detroit. Turco's proven himself to be very inconsistent in the playoffs, and the Stars probably should have kept their backup goalie.

Mo: I'm not sure I agree with you about Smith. It seems like the Stars have been able to develop young goalies for quite a while now, and It's not like Turco's ancient. He's still a very good goalie who shut out Vancouver three times in one playoff round. What I don't like about this deal is that the Stars gave up Jokinnen. That's a guy who could be as good as Richards within a few years; he's cheap and in his early 20s. Richards probably makes the Stars slightly better this year.

Loz: They may be better, but how much so? The Stars need Smith, he's proven himself by now. Turco's not a full-time starter in the same way that the really elite goalies in this league are, and the Stars are going to give up more goals now that Turco no longer has his safety net.

Mo: They'll be fine defensively. Stars defensemen have always been good at limiting the other team's opportunities. I think this gives them firepower to hang with almost anyone, and It's just a question of who's going to knock off the Redwings. Other than them, the field is clear.

Damn, that really was terrible. Hockey talk is such a buzz-kill. However, that fulfills my yearly obligation to you hypothetical hockey fans. You know, until that day when your sport officially gives up and stops counting itself amongst The Big Three.