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And oh how the enigmatic goaltender shines in the spotlight, much to the chagrin of the league. Bryzgalov is just what the NHL hates: unique, outspoken, not from Red Deer. The embattled and well-traveled goaltender is the antithesis of the typical NHLer. His idiosyncrasies, strange even for a goalie, rankle the entire NHL establishment, from players to management to media to that guy who lives in the apartment below yours with his mother who has a "prominent Predators blog." And as Bryz adds some animation to the typically lifeless NHL discourse in his return to centre scrum, its interesting to consider why hockey hates him so. [Getty Images] For much of his career, Bryzgalov and his delightfully absurd aloofness was left to the bliss of the uncovered hinterland of the NHL. He was allowed to ply his trade in Anaheim and Phoenix with relatively little attention paid. But, in league circles, his oddities were well known, and even celebrated when the media required moments of levity. But upon his arrival in hockey hotbed, and noted goalie-killer Philadelphia, the affection the league had for Bryzgalov turned quickly to venom. His play certainly didnt help, but many an average NHLer with a slight sense of humour has been left to his own devices. But Bryzgalovs appalling strangeness in the eyes of the hockey establishment, a sinister outfit run by old white men housed in a secret lair below the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, made him a pariah, and nearly led to the end of his career. And by "end of career" I mean playing in Edmonton. Perhaps no player has incurred the wrath of the NHL like the man the Wild acquired as insurance, and who is now their last hope to extend the season. But why? Unfortunately, hockey lacks Bryzgalovs. Of the four major sports leagues, it by far eschews personality and flavour more than all others. Hell, out of any sport it certainly boasts the most boring membership. No interview is less interesting than conversations with hockey players. Vanilla mocks the rabid blandness of NHLers. And those in NHL circles who do have personalities, like Sean Avery, Ted Nolan, or P.K. Subban, find themselves ostracized from the community, or like Subban unfairly labeled as troublesome on and off the ice. One would think a league that has struggled to find a market against its more successful sports brethren would embrace personality, but thats not the hockey way. Bryzgalov is more than a goalie, more than a hockey player. Hes a genuinely interesting and interested person. He has big questions. Like, "Im very into the universe, you know like how was created, you know, like, what is it, you know? Solar system is so humongous big, right? But if you see like our solar system and our galaxy on the side, you know, like, were so small you can never see it. Our galaxy is like huge, but if you see the big picture our galaxy (is) like a small tiny-like dot in the universe." Bryz is the opposite of boring. [HBO] But hockey is a factory of boring. The sport grabs youngsters at an early age, sends them to cosmopolitan metropoli like Chicoutimi, Lethbridge, and North Bay, and where representatives of the old boys club teach them to lack in colour and dissenting opinion. There must be courses in stock answers and cliché given to aspiring NHLers, lest they find some horrific off-ice personality. One can imagine a factory churning out 62 defencemen and gritty fourth line centres somewhere outside of Medicine Hat whose only answers are limited to: • Gotta play all three periods and go hard into the boards. • Its the coachs decision. • I enjoy CBCs Heartland. Unfortunately, this formulaic tendency has corrupted on-ice play as well. In the past quarter century weve seen the game become more systems-based, removing individuality and scoring from the game. (Lets call this Lou Lamoriellos fault.)Hockey enjoys being the definition of innocuous. What it finds funny, or interesting, is in the Jeremy Roenicks of its world, a sort of low brow, low risk comedy that makes Canadian sitcoms look like the bastard children of Louis CK and Sarah Silverman. And that affection for the benign has lowered scoring, homogenized the product, and made beat reporters quest for an interesting quote an exercise in futility. Bryzgalov is the kind of guy you like to keep in your pocket and take out at parties. He was the star of HBOs24/7, an ambitious show that tries to find intrigue in NHL locker rooms.His personality is as endearing as it playful. Hes intelligent, well read, and happy to speak on any subject. And the NHL hates him for it. This is a man who when asked if he feared the powerhouse Pittsburgh Penguins before a playoff matchup with his Flyers responded, "Im not afraid of anything – except bear. But bear in the forest." Whats not to love? The pundits cited his personality as one of the reasons he failed in Philly, despite the fact that the Flyers organization is a wasteland for goalies whose failures have been the result of a flawed organizational concept as opposed to a Russian who enjoys tea and literature. Whats most painfully difficult to entertain in this NHL with a hatred of the entertaining is the notion that there arent more personalities like Bryzgalov. The difference with Bryz is that he shares his self with the world. I cant even describe the weird that my peers tend towards in the privacy of dark corners of Montreal bars, so one cant be naïve enough to believe that similarly intriguing oddity doesnt exist in NHL locker rooms. NHLers are only permitted to show their game face, or as Bryz puts it, "You know, I have many faces … masks. In home, I have one face. Public, I have other face. Uh … ahhhh, on ice I have different face. Day off I have four face. With you [media] I have fifth face." The tradition of the league has implemented a gag order upon its membership, which limits both its on- and off-ice products. The marketing of contemporary sport is about personality. Its what makes the moments between on-field greatness interesting. Chad Johnson, Dennis Rodman, or Steve Lyons would never be allowed to exist in the NHL. From a young age, their personalities would never be given the chance to blossom into anything other than milquetoast. Bryzgalov once said, "OK, they fire the puck from the blue line. Chief usually yelling block the shot at the defensemen. They doesnt have the goalie gear, but they have to block the shot. So who is more crazy, me or the defencemen? Who is more weird?" No one, Bryz. No one. And thats a shame. For both the sport and its fans. This is likely his last few weeks as an NHL goaltender. And then exit Bryzgalov, pursued by bear. Brent Burns Jersey . The Mavericks were not going to let San Antonio beat them with 3-pointers, and they did not want Tony Parker using the lane as his personal playground. Paul Martin Jersey . The 41-year-old Northern Irishman has proved a perfect fit at Liverpool since taking over from Kenny Dalglish in the summer of 2012 and steered the team to an unexpected title challenge in the Premier League last season. http://www.cheapsharksjerseyschina.com/melker-karlsson-jersey/ . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. Sharks Jerseys Outlet . "We cannot stay the same way the whole season long," said Reyes. "This is not acceptable. Something needs to change because were a better team than what were showing right now. Its a long season and we just need to continue to push." Its been a frustrating week for the ballclub. Adidas Sharks Jerseys .75 million contract for the 2014 season and avoided arbitration. The team announced the agreement on Tuesday.SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The San Jose Sharks knew it would take some time to see the benefits of the deal two years ago to acquire James Sheppard from Minnesota. After spending most of his first year in San Jose rehabbing from a serious leg injury, Sheppard completed his two-year journey back to the NHL in January and showed flashes of why the Wild drafted him in the first round in 2006. The Sharks re-signed Sheppard to a one-year deal on Wednesday that prevents him from becoming a restricted free agent next month as they hope to build on that progress even more this upcoming season. "When you see a guy go through adversity and a challenge like this it does reveal his character," general manager Doug Wilson said. "But this is a kid who was a very highly drafted player and a very talented player. I think his best hockey is now ahead of him. ... Now I think youll see him flourish. Were not even going to put a limit on where he can get to." The Sharks also signed Andrew Desjardins to a two-year contract. Both forwards could have been restricted free agents July 5 if they had not reached deals. "Im very happy to have both these guys signed," Wilson said. "They play the way were looking for our team to play." The Sharks originally acquired Sheppard in August 2011 from the Wild for a 2013 third-round draft pick. Sheppard had been suspended the previous season by Minnesota after suffering a career-threatening leg injury from an off-season ATV accident. Sheppard played four minor league games his first season with the Sharks but got more time at Worcester during the lockout last season. He made his debut with San Jose on Jan. 22 and had one goal and three assists in 32 regular season games. He had no points in 11 playoff games but showed the Sharks enough for them to want him back next season. "It was such an intricate injury that Im not going to bbe 100 per cent maybe ever but Im always getting closer and closer," Sheppard said.dddddddddddd "The more time passes the better I feel and the stronger I feel. ... I still expect to play better and I have more goals for myself that I want to accomplish." Desjardins had two goals and one assist and 61 penalty minutes in 42 games last season playing mostly on the fourth line. He won 54.2 per cent of his faceoffs and got significant time on a much-improved penalty kill unit. Desjardins, 26, was the teams rookie of the year the previous season when he had four goals and 13 assists. Desjardins has had an impressive journey since starting his professional career playing in Laredo, Texas, in the Central Hockey League. "Hes never been given anything," Wilson said. "He fought, scratched and clawed and earned respect of his teammates. Hes a tough kid. Hes really the type of guy you want on your team. He does all the things that matter, faceoffs, PK, hell block shots, certainly skate, hell battle anybody and stand up for his teammates. Hes the type of kid who has really earned his place on this team." Wilson has been busy this off-season since the Sharks were eliminated in seven games in the second round by the Los Angeles Kings. He agreed to a five-year contract extension with star centre Logan Couture to keep him off the market next summer. That deal wont be official until July 5. Wilson also signed potential unrestricted free agent forward Raffi Torres to a $6 million, three-year deal and extended the contract of head coach Todd McLellan. San Jose still has two more potential restricted free agents in forward TJ Galiardi and defenceman Jason Demers. Forwards Scott Gomez and Tim Kennedy, defenceman Scott Hannan, and backup goalies Thomas Greiss and Alex Stalock are among the potential unrestricted free agents. 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