- Tampa head coach John Tortorella is not long for the exit. The Bolts are 4-8 this month, and 5-10 in their last 15 games. They are either losing big, or winning small and having to consistently make up deficits. It's nobody's fault, only the natural progression of a team that hit its peak and is now on the slow, steady decline right before drastic changes need to be made. Last night alone, turnovers, poor checking, and miscommunication led to all four Flyers goals.
- In order for the Flyers to win any more games this year, decimated by injury or not, they must capitalize on every mistake or chance the opposition gives them - whether it be penalties, turnovers, or sloppy play. All of those factors came into play last night, and the boys still only won by a goal.
- Although he's not long for Europe or the over-30 leagues, Alexei Zhitnik is a 1,000 percent improvement on defense over the likes of Baumgartner, Jonsson (Lars), Rathje, Meyer, or Hatcher. He reads and reacts to situations much faster than the rest of the defensive corps, moves the puck better, and has a quicker and more refined instinct on when and where to shoot the puck. If only Clarke/Holmgren could have spent the money on him coming out of the lockout...
- It's a tough call once again on the goaltender situation, because neither Niittymaki nor Esche has had much time and space to "develop" into a Number One due to injuries. Like clockwork the last two years, one goes down right after the other. At best, they are still a 1B and 2, each capable of turning in one or two phenomenal starts (like Esche last night) but unable to carry the team consistently over long stretches. As it's not likely the front office will be looking for goaltending help any time soon, we're stuck in the spin cycle that keeps telling the fan base that injuries are the biggest factor holding the two men back -- not the apparent ceiling each has in terms of talent and psychological makeup.
- Get ready for a strange New Year's Eve - the game against Carolina could just as easily be a surprise blowout 6-2 win as it could be a letdown 6-2 loss. On one hand, Philly may have enough equilibrium to play a more consistent game against the Hurricanes after a huge win. On the other hand, the 'Canes scored just once last night in Buffalo, despite a dozen or so great chances to pump a couple past Ryan Miller. That just screams for the beast to be let out of the cage on Sunday.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Victory is Theirs
A few things to store in the memory banks the morning after the Flyers broke their franchise-record 10-game losing streak:
Thursday, December 28, 2006
The Thousand-Yard Stare
The losses mount and the race is on.
Last night's 3-1 defeat at the hands of Florida at the BankAtlantic Center makes it 10 consecutive losses, an ongoing franchise record.
Only one primary source of information on the team even brings up a lone bright spot - yet another return of Peter Forsberg to the lineup - and that was the usually fawning Tim Panaccio in the Inquirer. Equating Foppa's return during the latest loss which continues the worst losing streak in the Flyers' 40 year history is equating the brightness of a lone shaft of light in the middle of a thunderstorm, if that shaft of light is the glow of a missile heading right in our direction. Add to that Niittymaki's removal before the third period in favor of Robert Esche, due to that pesky torn hip labrum, and that shaft of light is about to hit ground zero any second.
The Flyers have lost two games in one season in South Florida for the first time since the Panthers joined the NHL in 1993. They are two games away from equalling the franchise record for consecutive games without a win (12 games, set in 1998-99 when the team suffered an 0-8-4 stretch from mid-February to mid-March) and face seven more road games split between 2006 and 2007 before returning home. Tonight, a long string of frustration against the Tampa Bay Lightning is expected to continue, as the Bolts have won five in a row at home over Philly, and carry a 10-game winning streak overall against the Flyers dating back to October 2003.
The chances that even this rag-tag bunch of worn-out veterans and kids who have that deer-in-the-headlights look about them, coached by a man who looks overmatched if he played against a 12-year-old in a game of checkers, will win a game on this road trip are actually pretty good. Parity, for once, has its advantages. At this point, intrepid fans who tire of debate might actually make some money laying down wagers on which game it will be (My guess is January 2nd at the Islanders, avoiding a new franchise record for games without a win).
And yes, I am advocating gambling on this web page. It's the least I can do to help fans who sunk thousands of dollars into the team, get something green and precious back. Whether it's done of the team's misfortune is of no concern to me.
And when that win comes, however it comes, at least one beat writer and perhaps all five men who provide entertainment through radio and TV broadcasts may (be forced to) treat it akin the discovery of fire, McKenna's Gold, or the cure for cancer. I won't be fooled, and I know there are thousands more who have woken up to the reality that the Flyers are little more than background noise this season. The streak-breaking win will probably be the only big thing that will turn your attention away from lively dinner-table conversation, paying bills, or other nighttime activities. After that, who knows? Before you know it, April rolls around, the Phillies begin again, and you won't care that the Flyers were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs by the first week of February.
From this point until the end of the season, it's best if you greet any kind words about the Flyers either in print or spoken in any forum, with a generous thousand-yard stare. It'll be the identifying mark of a truly savvy Flyers fan, if only for the remainder of the schedule -- the dumb-struck look of someone who cannot possibly utter any sound in praise, yet somehow smart enough to reserve any energy for something worthwhile.
Last night's 3-1 defeat at the hands of Florida at the BankAtlantic Center makes it 10 consecutive losses, an ongoing franchise record.
Only one primary source of information on the team even brings up a lone bright spot - yet another return of Peter Forsberg to the lineup - and that was the usually fawning Tim Panaccio in the Inquirer. Equating Foppa's return during the latest loss which continues the worst losing streak in the Flyers' 40 year history is equating the brightness of a lone shaft of light in the middle of a thunderstorm, if that shaft of light is the glow of a missile heading right in our direction. Add to that Niittymaki's removal before the third period in favor of Robert Esche, due to that pesky torn hip labrum, and that shaft of light is about to hit ground zero any second.
The Flyers have lost two games in one season in South Florida for the first time since the Panthers joined the NHL in 1993. They are two games away from equalling the franchise record for consecutive games without a win (12 games, set in 1998-99 when the team suffered an 0-8-4 stretch from mid-February to mid-March) and face seven more road games split between 2006 and 2007 before returning home. Tonight, a long string of frustration against the Tampa Bay Lightning is expected to continue, as the Bolts have won five in a row at home over Philly, and carry a 10-game winning streak overall against the Flyers dating back to October 2003.
The chances that even this rag-tag bunch of worn-out veterans and kids who have that deer-in-the-headlights look about them, coached by a man who looks overmatched if he played against a 12-year-old in a game of checkers, will win a game on this road trip are actually pretty good. Parity, for once, has its advantages. At this point, intrepid fans who tire of debate might actually make some money laying down wagers on which game it will be (My guess is January 2nd at the Islanders, avoiding a new franchise record for games without a win).
And yes, I am advocating gambling on this web page. It's the least I can do to help fans who sunk thousands of dollars into the team, get something green and precious back. Whether it's done of the team's misfortune is of no concern to me.
And when that win comes, however it comes, at least one beat writer and perhaps all five men who provide entertainment through radio and TV broadcasts may (be forced to) treat it akin the discovery of fire, McKenna's Gold, or the cure for cancer. I won't be fooled, and I know there are thousands more who have woken up to the reality that the Flyers are little more than background noise this season. The streak-breaking win will probably be the only big thing that will turn your attention away from lively dinner-table conversation, paying bills, or other nighttime activities. After that, who knows? Before you know it, April rolls around, the Phillies begin again, and you won't care that the Flyers were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs by the first week of February.
From this point until the end of the season, it's best if you greet any kind words about the Flyers either in print or spoken in any forum, with a generous thousand-yard stare. It'll be the identifying mark of a truly savvy Flyers fan, if only for the remainder of the schedule -- the dumb-struck look of someone who cannot possibly utter any sound in praise, yet somehow smart enough to reserve any energy for something worthwhile.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Another Good Idea Ruined by Dangerous Minds
It's a Christmas miracle! Only weeks after leaving an owner's meeting with absolutely no consensus whatsoever on how to alter the master schedule to allow each team to play all others at least once, the collective braintrust has come up with a proposal so insane that it just might work.
According to tsn.ca, what's in vogue now is a plan to totally realign all 30 teams, reducing the number of divisions from six to four. That means, two divisions of seven, and two of eight, grouped according to "time zones" not necessarily geographic proximity. The playoff system guarantees the top two teams in each division a postseason berth, with four wild card spots in each conference available for the taking.
Amazing, really. The logic is staggering, to take something in dire need of repair, and breaking it even more in order to fix it again.
For the record, I was in favor of contracting four teams after the lockout, so that a 26-team league could return to the four-division format. Now that 30 teams are economically viable, I can live with the two-conference, six-division system in place since 1998. There are easier ways to get around the problem the current schedule presents without radical surgery.
For instance, let's dispense with the notion that everything has to exist on even numbers...and there are still two ways to work a schedule where each team has 29 opponents every season:
1) Split divisional games where you play two teams 5 times, and two teams 6 times (22 total) rotate each year; play all conference opponents 3 times each (30 total) rotating the home and away each year; play all opposite conference teams twice, 1 home, 1 road each season (30)...that makes 82 games.
2) Keep the current 32 intra-division games (eight per team), play conference opponents three times each (30), and set up the opposite conference by playing all the teams in one division at home, all the teams in another on the road, with the third division teams played once at home and once on the road (20) - rotating each season.
If it's too hard to keep all these factors in balance, knock off two intra-division games from Plan #1, and you have an 80-game season.
As far as the divisions are concerned, why would a conversion to a 7-8-7-8 format make for a better, or more fair playoff system with guaranteed spots for the top four finishers in each conference? Playoff contention is a competition, a desperate contest, not something that needs to be mollified in the name of fairness.
It wasn't fair that, under the old system where 1 through 4 in the division made the playoffs regardless of record, two teams in the Patrick Division with winning records missed the playoffs in 1988, while Toronto made it with 21 wins. OK, the switch to a 1-8 regardless of division standings took care of that mess. Now, because Toronto played in a great Northeast Division and missed the playoffs with 90 points last year, the league has to throw itself into turmoil again? I think not. You miss the postseason because you played in a great division? Thems the breaks, pal. Nothing is perfect, but the present system is about as equal as you're going to get.
Based on the TSN article, Pittsburgh (if they stay) and Atlanta get the shaft because they exist in a netherworld where you can plug them into any number of division-realignment scenarios. I could see either of those teams crying foul in the 7-8-7-8 alignment if they lose a bunch of games late in the season because they had to yo-yo between far-flung Central time-zone locations (Minnesota, St. Louis, Dallas) and home in the Eastern time zone - similar to what happened when Winnipeg moved to Phoenix in 1996 but remained in the Central Division for two seasons. At least in the six-division system, where teams are grouped mostly because of geography, the bouncing act wouldn't happen.
Even if Pittsburgh moved, things would turn out easier with a six-division alignment. All you'd need to do if the Pens relocated to Kansas City is place KC in the Central, move Nashville to the Southeast, and bring Washington into the Atlantic. A move to Winnipeg complicates things a bit more, since they'd be a better fit in the Northwest, but if you move them to the Pacific, the only extra move would be to put Dallas in the Central and bump the rest over. Pittsburgh to Hamilton or Hartford means Toronto might be bumped back into the Western Conference, but wouldn't mean any extra moves. In a four-division set, you'd inevitably have one division casting a wider net than others in terms of the distance between teams with relocation possibilities.
I wish I could say that saner heads will prevail, but with a simple 2/3s majority needed to implement any plan, it's more than likely that the group which does the most politicking for their favored plan will get the nod. Here's where Ed Snider actually could be of some use - one of the lone Old School voices booming from on high, begging his peers to save themselves from ruin - just as he did during the 1994-95 lockout.
According to tsn.ca, what's in vogue now is a plan to totally realign all 30 teams, reducing the number of divisions from six to four. That means, two divisions of seven, and two of eight, grouped according to "time zones" not necessarily geographic proximity. The playoff system guarantees the top two teams in each division a postseason berth, with four wild card spots in each conference available for the taking.
Amazing, really. The logic is staggering, to take something in dire need of repair, and breaking it even more in order to fix it again.
For the record, I was in favor of contracting four teams after the lockout, so that a 26-team league could return to the four-division format. Now that 30 teams are economically viable, I can live with the two-conference, six-division system in place since 1998. There are easier ways to get around the problem the current schedule presents without radical surgery.
For instance, let's dispense with the notion that everything has to exist on even numbers...and there are still two ways to work a schedule where each team has 29 opponents every season:
1) Split divisional games where you play two teams 5 times, and two teams 6 times (22 total) rotate each year; play all conference opponents 3 times each (30 total) rotating the home and away each year; play all opposite conference teams twice, 1 home, 1 road each season (30)...that makes 82 games.
2) Keep the current 32 intra-division games (eight per team), play conference opponents three times each (30), and set up the opposite conference by playing all the teams in one division at home, all the teams in another on the road, with the third division teams played once at home and once on the road (20) - rotating each season.
If it's too hard to keep all these factors in balance, knock off two intra-division games from Plan #1, and you have an 80-game season.
As far as the divisions are concerned, why would a conversion to a 7-8-7-8 format make for a better, or more fair playoff system with guaranteed spots for the top four finishers in each conference? Playoff contention is a competition, a desperate contest, not something that needs to be mollified in the name of fairness.
It wasn't fair that, under the old system where 1 through 4 in the division made the playoffs regardless of record, two teams in the Patrick Division with winning records missed the playoffs in 1988, while Toronto made it with 21 wins. OK, the switch to a 1-8 regardless of division standings took care of that mess. Now, because Toronto played in a great Northeast Division and missed the playoffs with 90 points last year, the league has to throw itself into turmoil again? I think not. You miss the postseason because you played in a great division? Thems the breaks, pal. Nothing is perfect, but the present system is about as equal as you're going to get.
Based on the TSN article, Pittsburgh (if they stay) and Atlanta get the shaft because they exist in a netherworld where you can plug them into any number of division-realignment scenarios. I could see either of those teams crying foul in the 7-8-7-8 alignment if they lose a bunch of games late in the season because they had to yo-yo between far-flung Central time-zone locations (Minnesota, St. Louis, Dallas) and home in the Eastern time zone - similar to what happened when Winnipeg moved to Phoenix in 1996 but remained in the Central Division for two seasons. At least in the six-division system, where teams are grouped mostly because of geography, the bouncing act wouldn't happen.
Even if Pittsburgh moved, things would turn out easier with a six-division alignment. All you'd need to do if the Pens relocated to Kansas City is place KC in the Central, move Nashville to the Southeast, and bring Washington into the Atlantic. A move to Winnipeg complicates things a bit more, since they'd be a better fit in the Northwest, but if you move them to the Pacific, the only extra move would be to put Dallas in the Central and bump the rest over. Pittsburgh to Hamilton or Hartford means Toronto might be bumped back into the Western Conference, but wouldn't mean any extra moves. In a four-division set, you'd inevitably have one division casting a wider net than others in terms of the distance between teams with relocation possibilities.
I wish I could say that saner heads will prevail, but with a simple 2/3s majority needed to implement any plan, it's more than likely that the group which does the most politicking for their favored plan will get the nod. Here's where Ed Snider actually could be of some use - one of the lone Old School voices booming from on high, begging his peers to save themselves from ruin - just as he did during the 1994-95 lockout.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
11:56, or Pittsburgh, You are on the Clock
The window of opportunity for the Penguins became significantly smaller after yesterday's casino licensing decision. Anybody with even the slightest hint of inside information knew that Isle of Capri, while the darling of the entire Pittsburgh area, was not ahead in the hearts and minds of the Pennsylvania Gaming Board.
In reality, the larger picture in yesterday's state-wide casino-licensing awards was about pumping more money into certain economically-depressed parts of Pennsylvania's cities and generating additional revenue for the state's vacation destinations. It's an unfortunate side-effect of the Penguins' financial troubles that they hung so much hope on just one of dozens of proposals to cross the Gaming Board's collective eyes. While I'm sure there will be cries of Eastern favoritism on the part of Governor Ed Rendell for not pulling hard enough for Isle of Capri on behalf of Pittsburgh, I don't think he cared enough about the fortunes of one hockey team weighed against the economic windfall for the entire Commonwealth - nor should he.
Mario Lemieux has done a superhuman job to keep the Penguins here, and maybe now it's time for him to lay down his financial and psychological burden and watch from the sidelines, knowing he did everything he could - ultimately in vain. PITG, which won a slots license for the North Side, and headed by Detroit-based businessman Don Barden, has offered money on a 30-year plan for a new arena, with the team footing the remainder of the bill - which they are under no obligation to do so in the agreement. Caught between the rock of moving, and the hard place of possibly jumping back into bed with Jim Balsillie, maybe this isn't a bad option after all. Just, please get rid of the name, "Plan B." You're not trying to prevent a pregnancy.
The worst part beyond the fading hopes of thousands of fans, the front office, and the players, is that the sharks in other cities are already swimming, licking their collective chops at the penguin chum now floating in the proverbial water.
Quoth the GM of Kansas City's new Sprint Center: "Let's just say it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." Rrrriggghhhttt...let's see if a minor league franchise can stay in KC longer than two years, let alone having dreams about an NHL team coming to the city. Remember the Scouts? They of the 27 combined wins in 160 games over two seasons? Apparently no one there does. Winnipeg - shiny new arena, rich hockey tradition, minus-20 in the sun. Las Vegas, Portland, Oklahoma City? Are they serious? Did the NHL just parse the lyrics to Huey Lewis and the News' "Heart of Rock and Roll" and pick cities at random? If so, they forgot Tulsa, Austin, Seattle and San Francisco, too.
The NHL does NOT have the Penguins' back. Further evidence provided by the following statement issued by Gary Bettman yesterday: "The decision by the gaming commission was terrible news for the Penguins, their fans and the NHL. The future of this franchise in Pittsburgh is uncertain, and the Penguins now will have to explore all other options, including possible relocation. The NHL will support the Penguins in their endeavors." Meaning, whatever deal will make our books look the best, we will support. Which is just totally un-fucking-fathomable. If the league rearranged its entire salary structure to allow for 30 teams to survive the post-lockout years, why in God's name can't they step up and fix one weak link in an otherwise strong chain??
I wonder when the final tipping point will come, when all involved simply give over to the fact that putting more energy into salvaging a lost cause is more painful than letting go. The Penguins are now embroiled in its fourth near-fatal situation since 1977. How about you let Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Fleury, Recchi and the rest play out the season without the Black Cloud hanging over their heads, get one more year of treasured memories, and give them the freedom to leave?
In reality, the larger picture in yesterday's state-wide casino-licensing awards was about pumping more money into certain economically-depressed parts of Pennsylvania's cities and generating additional revenue for the state's vacation destinations. It's an unfortunate side-effect of the Penguins' financial troubles that they hung so much hope on just one of dozens of proposals to cross the Gaming Board's collective eyes. While I'm sure there will be cries of Eastern favoritism on the part of Governor Ed Rendell for not pulling hard enough for Isle of Capri on behalf of Pittsburgh, I don't think he cared enough about the fortunes of one hockey team weighed against the economic windfall for the entire Commonwealth - nor should he.
Mario Lemieux has done a superhuman job to keep the Penguins here, and maybe now it's time for him to lay down his financial and psychological burden and watch from the sidelines, knowing he did everything he could - ultimately in vain. PITG, which won a slots license for the North Side, and headed by Detroit-based businessman Don Barden, has offered money on a 30-year plan for a new arena, with the team footing the remainder of the bill - which they are under no obligation to do so in the agreement. Caught between the rock of moving, and the hard place of possibly jumping back into bed with Jim Balsillie, maybe this isn't a bad option after all. Just, please get rid of the name, "Plan B." You're not trying to prevent a pregnancy.
The worst part beyond the fading hopes of thousands of fans, the front office, and the players, is that the sharks in other cities are already swimming, licking their collective chops at the penguin chum now floating in the proverbial water.
Quoth the GM of Kansas City's new Sprint Center: "Let's just say it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." Rrrriggghhhttt...let's see if a minor league franchise can stay in KC longer than two years, let alone having dreams about an NHL team coming to the city. Remember the Scouts? They of the 27 combined wins in 160 games over two seasons? Apparently no one there does. Winnipeg - shiny new arena, rich hockey tradition, minus-20 in the sun. Las Vegas, Portland, Oklahoma City? Are they serious? Did the NHL just parse the lyrics to Huey Lewis and the News' "Heart of Rock and Roll" and pick cities at random? If so, they forgot Tulsa, Austin, Seattle and San Francisco, too.
The NHL does NOT have the Penguins' back. Further evidence provided by the following statement issued by Gary Bettman yesterday: "The decision by the gaming commission was terrible news for the Penguins, their fans and the NHL. The future of this franchise in Pittsburgh is uncertain, and the Penguins now will have to explore all other options, including possible relocation. The NHL will support the Penguins in their endeavors." Meaning, whatever deal will make our books look the best, we will support. Which is just totally un-fucking-fathomable. If the league rearranged its entire salary structure to allow for 30 teams to survive the post-lockout years, why in God's name can't they step up and fix one weak link in an otherwise strong chain??
I wonder when the final tipping point will come, when all involved simply give over to the fact that putting more energy into salvaging a lost cause is more painful than letting go. The Penguins are now embroiled in its fourth near-fatal situation since 1977. How about you let Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Fleury, Recchi and the rest play out the season without the Black Cloud hanging over their heads, get one more year of treasured memories, and give them the freedom to leave?
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Which Sounds Better?
Kansas City Penguins, Hamilton Penguins, Winnipe(n)guins...Hartford Whalers, Mark II?
That's where the whole Pittsburgh mess is heading now that Jim Balsillie is out of the running to rescue the Pens from their impending doom in the City of Bridges. From the sound of things, the Canadian-based inventor of the BlackBerry got his panties in a knot when the league higher-ups declined his chance to move the team if the whole new-arena deal fell through in Pittsburgh. Now, their slim chance of survival depends on the most capricious of all sure-shot deals: political favors.
Rumor has it, Governor Ed Rendell favors the Isle of Capri slots plan in Western Pennsylvania, and, if you read the oceans of thread on the Penguins web site devoted to saving the team, thousands of fans agree with him, and believe that the casino revenue would keep the Pens in place in a New Igloo somewhere downtown. However, the kind of back room dealings in Harrisburg that make these rumors juicy once reported, often reverse themselves away from the press in the inner-inner-sancta, where even the most intrepid reporter can't put his ear to the door and hear something buzzworthy.
There's no guarantee that Isle of Capri will be granted that slots license, and there's slim hopes that a back-up plan will hold water if a casino-type revitalization falls through.
Basically, folks, unless there is a miracle (and they DO happen every once in a while: see Jets, Winnipeg: 1995 Rally) the Penguins will be moving in the offseason once the team's lease with Mellon Arena expires. It's shocking how the league office, through the mouthpiece of the Commissioner, just sits back and issues comment once the best-laid-plans of businessmen don't come to fruition. So far, we've heard the league's pleasure at Balsillie's willingness to take up Pittsburgh's cause, and then the disappointment of his pull-out, but nothing in between. Even though the old regime under John Ziegler was roundly criticized for years about their country-club atmosphere and staid philosophies on the game, they did step in one time and actively saved a franchise.
In the early 1980's, Ralston-Purina (based in St. Louis) drove the Blues into bankruptcy because the corporation knew very little about how to run a hockey team, although it did earn praise for buying the team out of civic responsibility when it first went bankrupt in the late 70's. They eventually gave up control at the end of the 1982-83 season, and sold it off to a guy who was primed to move the franchise to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. During the summer, the buyer backed out, and the Blues were in limbo until the NHL stepped in and acted as caretaker for a year before Harry Ornest stepped in to buy in 1984. Aside from the hysteria of possibly folding the team, and the fact that they did not have a draft pick that year, St.Louis made the playoffs in 1983-84, then won the Norris Division the following season.
Where is that benevolence now? Nowhere to be found except in revenue projections. Bettman is most concerned with the financial solvency of the league as it pertains to giving all 30 teams a shot, and, ultimately because his role is more the CEO of a corporation, he doesn't care if the Penguins remain in Pittsburgh or not - as long as the ledger looks clean and fair at the end of the season. Wherever the best deal is struck in the best interest of the NHL, that's where the Penguins will land. I believe the sincerity of his disappointment over Balsillie's parlor games, but that kind of righteous indignation can only last until someone else comes along with a better fail-safe plan.
I wish the swarms of Whalers faithful would stop creaming in their jeans over the prospect of the Penguins relocating to Hartford - if they failed to generate sufficient interest because the city and its fans lived smack in the middle of traditional Bruins and Rangers fans 10 years ago, they will fail again - even if they court more fans from Fairfield and New Haven Counties, even with the supposed windfall from corporate sponsorships because Hartford is the Insurance Capital of North America.
Rant aside, the worst thing that could happen from a competitive standpoint is that Crosby and Malkin are somehow split up because a potential deal to keep or move the Penguins forces a salary dump, where they'd have to choose between two young explosive stars. Interest in the league and the new product will spike when you have more than just one star keeping the other 24 players afloat. Judging by the beatings they've handed out on the Flyers and the dozen eye-popping plays they've had between them, the Terrible Twosome will have a bright future.
Rovers. Wanderers. Nomads. Vagabonds. Call them what you will. Just don't call them unprepared, because the rumors have been swirling in the Steel City for nearly a decade. It's just a matter of when the announcement comes down, something nobody truly knows. That's the worst kind of waiting.
That's where the whole Pittsburgh mess is heading now that Jim Balsillie is out of the running to rescue the Pens from their impending doom in the City of Bridges. From the sound of things, the Canadian-based inventor of the BlackBerry got his panties in a knot when the league higher-ups declined his chance to move the team if the whole new-arena deal fell through in Pittsburgh. Now, their slim chance of survival depends on the most capricious of all sure-shot deals: political favors.
Rumor has it, Governor Ed Rendell favors the Isle of Capri slots plan in Western Pennsylvania, and, if you read the oceans of thread on the Penguins web site devoted to saving the team, thousands of fans agree with him, and believe that the casino revenue would keep the Pens in place in a New Igloo somewhere downtown. However, the kind of back room dealings in Harrisburg that make these rumors juicy once reported, often reverse themselves away from the press in the inner-inner-sancta, where even the most intrepid reporter can't put his ear to the door and hear something buzzworthy.
There's no guarantee that Isle of Capri will be granted that slots license, and there's slim hopes that a back-up plan will hold water if a casino-type revitalization falls through.
Basically, folks, unless there is a miracle (and they DO happen every once in a while: see Jets, Winnipeg: 1995 Rally) the Penguins will be moving in the offseason once the team's lease with Mellon Arena expires. It's shocking how the league office, through the mouthpiece of the Commissioner, just sits back and issues comment once the best-laid-plans of businessmen don't come to fruition. So far, we've heard the league's pleasure at Balsillie's willingness to take up Pittsburgh's cause, and then the disappointment of his pull-out, but nothing in between. Even though the old regime under John Ziegler was roundly criticized for years about their country-club atmosphere and staid philosophies on the game, they did step in one time and actively saved a franchise.
In the early 1980's, Ralston-Purina (based in St. Louis) drove the Blues into bankruptcy because the corporation knew very little about how to run a hockey team, although it did earn praise for buying the team out of civic responsibility when it first went bankrupt in the late 70's. They eventually gave up control at the end of the 1982-83 season, and sold it off to a guy who was primed to move the franchise to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. During the summer, the buyer backed out, and the Blues were in limbo until the NHL stepped in and acted as caretaker for a year before Harry Ornest stepped in to buy in 1984. Aside from the hysteria of possibly folding the team, and the fact that they did not have a draft pick that year, St.Louis made the playoffs in 1983-84, then won the Norris Division the following season.
Where is that benevolence now? Nowhere to be found except in revenue projections. Bettman is most concerned with the financial solvency of the league as it pertains to giving all 30 teams a shot, and, ultimately because his role is more the CEO of a corporation, he doesn't care if the Penguins remain in Pittsburgh or not - as long as the ledger looks clean and fair at the end of the season. Wherever the best deal is struck in the best interest of the NHL, that's where the Penguins will land. I believe the sincerity of his disappointment over Balsillie's parlor games, but that kind of righteous indignation can only last until someone else comes along with a better fail-safe plan.
I wish the swarms of Whalers faithful would stop creaming in their jeans over the prospect of the Penguins relocating to Hartford - if they failed to generate sufficient interest because the city and its fans lived smack in the middle of traditional Bruins and Rangers fans 10 years ago, they will fail again - even if they court more fans from Fairfield and New Haven Counties, even with the supposed windfall from corporate sponsorships because Hartford is the Insurance Capital of North America.
Rant aside, the worst thing that could happen from a competitive standpoint is that Crosby and Malkin are somehow split up because a potential deal to keep or move the Penguins forces a salary dump, where they'd have to choose between two young explosive stars. Interest in the league and the new product will spike when you have more than just one star keeping the other 24 players afloat. Judging by the beatings they've handed out on the Flyers and the dozen eye-popping plays they've had between them, the Terrible Twosome will have a bright future.
Rovers. Wanderers. Nomads. Vagabonds. Call them what you will. Just don't call them unprepared, because the rumors have been swirling in the Steel City for nearly a decade. It's just a matter of when the announcement comes down, something nobody truly knows. That's the worst kind of waiting.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Sinking in the Atlantic
The signing of Brendan Shanahan was made for times like what the Rangers went through in the last two days. You'd have to go back to the 2000-2001 season to find a time when New York was crushed so thoroughly in back-to-back games, and that was in the era when Messier, Graves, and Leetch roamed the ice. Even with Jagr wearing the "C" last season, the Blueshirts didn't suffer a two-game stretch like their 9-2 loss at Toronto on Saturday and the 6-1 drubbing at home to the Devils yesterday. We'll see just how resilient the club is, and how deft Shanahan's touch is off the ice as the Rangers attempt to put their Lost Weekend behind them.
Regardless, it seems that the Atlantic Division, once the most intensely-competitive division in the NHL, has become the modern-day version of the old Norris Division of the late 1980's - the one which featured a Blues team which won the division with a losing record (1986-87), and which had a .500 team (1988-89 Red Wings) finish first in another year.
This morning, the Rangers sit atop the division with an 18-12-4 record, but a negative goal differential (107-109) thanks to the torrent of goals given up. The Devils, perennially lurking in the weeds are second (18-12-2, 83-79) and their goal differential finally tipped to the positive side after last night's blowout. They are akin to the Capitals of the late 80's - the team that starts off horribly then gets stronger as the weather gets colder. You wonder why they just don't cancel the first 40 games of the season, set them up with an arbitrary losing record, and let them play out the remaining 42 games. The Islanders and Penguins keep swapping places between third and fourth, and each team is a mirror of the other: Pittsburgh the squad with all the hot young talent and a little veteran spice that overachieves in some games, and looks their age in others, and the Isles the team with all the veteran talent and some young spice that overachieve in some games and play their age in others. And, of course, there are the Flyers drowning in the basement, on whose back every other team stands just to catch their breath above the waterline.
The whole of the Eastern Conference is just one big oozing mess. Nobody has distinguished themselves, and it's all just a bunch of teams suffering the sophomore slump or bearing the brunt of unreal expectations. But everyone has their eyes affixed to the Atlantic because every team has a juicy storyline affixed to it: Can the Devils play a full season at full strength and NOT rely wholly on Brodeur? Will Crosby and Malkin be enough to keep the Pens in Pittsburgh? Are the Flyers REALLY done with Old Time Hockey? Can the Islanders avoid being embarrassed with a ragtag bunch of free agent veterans and Bridgeport castoffs? Will Shanahan be the proper shock to the hearts of all that European talent on Broadway? We're soon to find out about that last one.
Whoever finishes first in April will have the "benefit" of getting a three-seed and at least home ice for the first round of the playoffs. It's pale shelter because the way the postseason is set up, a six has an excellent chance of beating a three because home-ice advantage doesn't mean much anymore. However, it should be noted that the "cream" isn't always the first thing to rise to the top, or to stay there. With 32 divisional games each year, it won't take much for one team to go on a hot streak by feasting on the fourth-and-fifth place clubs. At this point, it could realistically be any team except the Flyers. Which is sad.
Here's hoping someone takes the reins in the New Year and plays some exciting hockey on their way to winning the division crown. The last team other than the Devils or Flyers to take the Atlantic were the Rangers in their Cup-winning 1993-94 campaign. It would be nice to have a little change in that department, since the Flyers, Devils, and Islanders have dominated the top of the standings since the Patrick was created in 1974.
By the way, this title is no pun whatsoever, given the tragic situation facing the family of Montreal Canadiens' general manager Bob Gainey. His oldest daughter, Laura, was swept overboard by a "rogue wave" (I love how the media plays up the capricious ways of Nature as if it were lurking just around the corner waiting to strike at Innocent Humanity) while serving on a ship sailing through the North Atlantic on its way to the Caribbean. At 25 years old, she lived quite a life, marred as it was by the premature death of her mother, the subsequent drug problems, and the roundabout way she tried to get her life back on course. Her father had to step down as coach of the Dallas Stars when his wife passed from cancer in 1996, and the toll it took on father and daughter was tremendous. Sadly, the story didn't get to have a happy ending, though the journey back to normal was one that I'm sure will be treasured by those who survive. Through all this, the Canadiens are a surprise top team in the East, and a pleasure to watch in English or French (no thanks to you, RDS!) when my job dictates.
From the Bad Joke Department: Why is it that as a hockey fan, I have to switch over to the NFL, NBA, and MLB to find the fisticuffs and cartoonish violence I once treasured as part of the NHL? Whether it's "Malice at the Palace," Saturday night's "Rumble at the Garden," or any bench-clearing square-dance on the baseball diamond, I'm seeing the violence and incivility that once marked the game of hockey spill over into the other major sports - without the code of honor and protection which made fights in the NHL so enjoyable. I propose a massive switch within the leagues - Gary Bettman gets to be commish for a week in all three other leagues, while David Stern, Roger Goodell, and Hair Bud get to fill that seat in the NHL. Hell, it should be easy, just a bit of a walk through Midtown Manhattan for all four to ponder their fortune while sitting in different Big Leather Chairs. The change in perception could do wonders for all involved.
Regardless, it seems that the Atlantic Division, once the most intensely-competitive division in the NHL, has become the modern-day version of the old Norris Division of the late 1980's - the one which featured a Blues team which won the division with a losing record (1986-87), and which had a .500 team (1988-89 Red Wings) finish first in another year.
This morning, the Rangers sit atop the division with an 18-12-4 record, but a negative goal differential (107-109) thanks to the torrent of goals given up. The Devils, perennially lurking in the weeds are second (18-12-2, 83-79) and their goal differential finally tipped to the positive side after last night's blowout. They are akin to the Capitals of the late 80's - the team that starts off horribly then gets stronger as the weather gets colder. You wonder why they just don't cancel the first 40 games of the season, set them up with an arbitrary losing record, and let them play out the remaining 42 games. The Islanders and Penguins keep swapping places between third and fourth, and each team is a mirror of the other: Pittsburgh the squad with all the hot young talent and a little veteran spice that overachieves in some games, and looks their age in others, and the Isles the team with all the veteran talent and some young spice that overachieve in some games and play their age in others. And, of course, there are the Flyers drowning in the basement, on whose back every other team stands just to catch their breath above the waterline.
The whole of the Eastern Conference is just one big oozing mess. Nobody has distinguished themselves, and it's all just a bunch of teams suffering the sophomore slump or bearing the brunt of unreal expectations. But everyone has their eyes affixed to the Atlantic because every team has a juicy storyline affixed to it: Can the Devils play a full season at full strength and NOT rely wholly on Brodeur? Will Crosby and Malkin be enough to keep the Pens in Pittsburgh? Are the Flyers REALLY done with Old Time Hockey? Can the Islanders avoid being embarrassed with a ragtag bunch of free agent veterans and Bridgeport castoffs? Will Shanahan be the proper shock to the hearts of all that European talent on Broadway? We're soon to find out about that last one.
Whoever finishes first in April will have the "benefit" of getting a three-seed and at least home ice for the first round of the playoffs. It's pale shelter because the way the postseason is set up, a six has an excellent chance of beating a three because home-ice advantage doesn't mean much anymore. However, it should be noted that the "cream" isn't always the first thing to rise to the top, or to stay there. With 32 divisional games each year, it won't take much for one team to go on a hot streak by feasting on the fourth-and-fifth place clubs. At this point, it could realistically be any team except the Flyers. Which is sad.
Here's hoping someone takes the reins in the New Year and plays some exciting hockey on their way to winning the division crown. The last team other than the Devils or Flyers to take the Atlantic were the Rangers in their Cup-winning 1993-94 campaign. It would be nice to have a little change in that department, since the Flyers, Devils, and Islanders have dominated the top of the standings since the Patrick was created in 1974.
By the way, this title is no pun whatsoever, given the tragic situation facing the family of Montreal Canadiens' general manager Bob Gainey. His oldest daughter, Laura, was swept overboard by a "rogue wave" (I love how the media plays up the capricious ways of Nature as if it were lurking just around the corner waiting to strike at Innocent Humanity) while serving on a ship sailing through the North Atlantic on its way to the Caribbean. At 25 years old, she lived quite a life, marred as it was by the premature death of her mother, the subsequent drug problems, and the roundabout way she tried to get her life back on course. Her father had to step down as coach of the Dallas Stars when his wife passed from cancer in 1996, and the toll it took on father and daughter was tremendous. Sadly, the story didn't get to have a happy ending, though the journey back to normal was one that I'm sure will be treasured by those who survive. Through all this, the Canadiens are a surprise top team in the East, and a pleasure to watch in English or French (no thanks to you, RDS!) when my job dictates.
From the Bad Joke Department: Why is it that as a hockey fan, I have to switch over to the NFL, NBA, and MLB to find the fisticuffs and cartoonish violence I once treasured as part of the NHL? Whether it's "Malice at the Palace," Saturday night's "Rumble at the Garden," or any bench-clearing square-dance on the baseball diamond, I'm seeing the violence and incivility that once marked the game of hockey spill over into the other major sports - without the code of honor and protection which made fights in the NHL so enjoyable. I propose a massive switch within the leagues - Gary Bettman gets to be commish for a week in all three other leagues, while David Stern, Roger Goodell, and Hair Bud get to fill that seat in the NHL. Hell, it should be easy, just a bit of a walk through Midtown Manhattan for all four to ponder their fortune while sitting in different Big Leather Chairs. The change in perception could do wonders for all involved.
Friday, December 15, 2006
The Memory Remains
The repercussions of March 8, 2004 just will not go away. More so than the effects of the 2004-2005 season's cancellation, the Bertuzzi-Moore affair is the NHL's true elephant in the room. The saga continues with more legal wrangling and protracted visits to the league office:
20 games in exchange for a career
My stance on a few matters relating to the incident can be summed up within the boundaries of a few questions which keep repeating themselves:
Yes, I think it was a cowardly act by Bertuzzi, grabbing Moore from behind and using his full force to slam the player face-first into the ice. Even in the goon's code, you have to at least tap a player on the shoulder when his back is turned, in order to engage properly.
No, I don't think there should have been legal repercussions beyond the league's involvement. It was not the place for Vancouver city or Provincial police to begin an investigation if Moore did not specifically ask for it first. However, I do see that in the league's inability to pass down a proper verdict, courtroom justice had to be sought.
Yes, I think it was very weird how the Avalanche signed Brad May, whose actions in that game (going after Sakic and Forsberg as the chosen player to retaliate for Moore's hit on Canucks captain Markus Naslund the month before) preceded Bertuzzi's thuggery. I find it even stranger that the players' unwritten code allowed for all to be forgiven when May played a full season in Denver last year, while Moore remained a distant, litigious afterthought.
No, I don't think Bertuzzi "suffered enough" for his actions. Dale Hunter once cross-checked Pierre Turgeon from behind and dislocated Turgeon's shoulder in a 1993 Capitals-Islanders playoff game, and he got a league-record 25-gamer to start the following season. Turgeon rehabbed and only missed a handful of games the next year.
Moore, on the other hand, was bloodied and knocked unconscious by the hit, and, almost three years later is still dealing with the concussions and other physical symptoms of the attack. He will never get another team to sign him, since, as the weeks and months pass by, the effort he would need to return to playing shape will leave him ever more out of sync with the different demands of the new NHL. Justifying the fact that Bertuzzi had 13 games, the playoffs, and the cancelled season to not play, and to wrestle with his responsibility in addition to his actual suspension is a shoddy argument at best. Redemption should not have come this easily. Sure, Bertuzzi is psychologically not the same player he was before the incident, even with new surroundings in South Florida, but so what? Bertuzzi continues to earn his living while Moore cannot.
It's a curious contradiction in the Bettman era, and the hit has become a nexus point for discussion of just where The Commissioner wanted to point the league in the new era. On the one hand, the suspension was handed down, but it seems more like a pale compromise than what it should have been: a landmark attempt for Bettman to lay down the law regarding violence in the sport. Instead, he looks at the Flyers-Ottawa brawl, and recounts nightmares from Buffalo in the mid-90's, and decides to create a rule which suspends anyone caught in a fight in the last five minutes of a regular-season game, and another one which brings the hammer down if someone's jersey happens to pop off his pants during a fight.
Even a trained lawyer like Bettman can see the logic in the separation between the traditional rules of fighting, and the brutality of random violence. So far this season, there have been plenty of behind-the-back hits in vulnerable positions, resulting in the most benign of disadvantages, the two-minute minor. I watched a Washington-Pittsburgh game on Tuesday night, and two combatants were given game misconducts because they dared to start a fight away from the main attraction which the officials were watching closely - no kicking, no gouging, no shirts torn off, no turtling, just a tussle in the faceoff circle. And yet, there's endless Hamlet-like hand-wringing and indecision on what to do with all these "big hits" that may or may not happen via elbows to the head. There's subtle discussions about the psychology of players refusing to wear visors when the issue should be why there aren't more double-minors and majors handed out after ever-increasingly careless stickwork. It's all a classic case of not seeing the forest for the trees.
Meanwhile, there seems to be some confusion about who should settle this $19.5 million civil suit Moore brought against Bertuzzi. Why are they meeting with the league instead of having the reps meet with each other? As far as I know, once the courts are involved, the league has no say in the matter, it's up to the lawyers to sort it all out, unless the punishment levelled by the league office somehow factors into the eventual settlement amount.
All of this could have been avoided had the NHL taken appropriate action. I'm certain that Moore wouldn't have gone the painstaking route he did, had justice been meted out properly by the appropriate source. The continuing tragedy beyond corporeal effects, is the molasses-like movement of the legal system in both the U.S. and Canada. Both men are in it for the long haul now, but no matter what the outcome, it still won't truly satisfy anyone.
20 games in exchange for a career
My stance on a few matters relating to the incident can be summed up within the boundaries of a few questions which keep repeating themselves:
Yes, I think it was a cowardly act by Bertuzzi, grabbing Moore from behind and using his full force to slam the player face-first into the ice. Even in the goon's code, you have to at least tap a player on the shoulder when his back is turned, in order to engage properly.
No, I don't think there should have been legal repercussions beyond the league's involvement. It was not the place for Vancouver city or Provincial police to begin an investigation if Moore did not specifically ask for it first. However, I do see that in the league's inability to pass down a proper verdict, courtroom justice had to be sought.
Yes, I think it was very weird how the Avalanche signed Brad May, whose actions in that game (going after Sakic and Forsberg as the chosen player to retaliate for Moore's hit on Canucks captain Markus Naslund the month before) preceded Bertuzzi's thuggery. I find it even stranger that the players' unwritten code allowed for all to be forgiven when May played a full season in Denver last year, while Moore remained a distant, litigious afterthought.
No, I don't think Bertuzzi "suffered enough" for his actions. Dale Hunter once cross-checked Pierre Turgeon from behind and dislocated Turgeon's shoulder in a 1993 Capitals-Islanders playoff game, and he got a league-record 25-gamer to start the following season. Turgeon rehabbed and only missed a handful of games the next year.
Moore, on the other hand, was bloodied and knocked unconscious by the hit, and, almost three years later is still dealing with the concussions and other physical symptoms of the attack. He will never get another team to sign him, since, as the weeks and months pass by, the effort he would need to return to playing shape will leave him ever more out of sync with the different demands of the new NHL. Justifying the fact that Bertuzzi had 13 games, the playoffs, and the cancelled season to not play, and to wrestle with his responsibility in addition to his actual suspension is a shoddy argument at best. Redemption should not have come this easily. Sure, Bertuzzi is psychologically not the same player he was before the incident, even with new surroundings in South Florida, but so what? Bertuzzi continues to earn his living while Moore cannot.
It's a curious contradiction in the Bettman era, and the hit has become a nexus point for discussion of just where The Commissioner wanted to point the league in the new era. On the one hand, the suspension was handed down, but it seems more like a pale compromise than what it should have been: a landmark attempt for Bettman to lay down the law regarding violence in the sport. Instead, he looks at the Flyers-Ottawa brawl, and recounts nightmares from Buffalo in the mid-90's, and decides to create a rule which suspends anyone caught in a fight in the last five minutes of a regular-season game, and another one which brings the hammer down if someone's jersey happens to pop off his pants during a fight.
Even a trained lawyer like Bettman can see the logic in the separation between the traditional rules of fighting, and the brutality of random violence. So far this season, there have been plenty of behind-the-back hits in vulnerable positions, resulting in the most benign of disadvantages, the two-minute minor. I watched a Washington-Pittsburgh game on Tuesday night, and two combatants were given game misconducts because they dared to start a fight away from the main attraction which the officials were watching closely - no kicking, no gouging, no shirts torn off, no turtling, just a tussle in the faceoff circle. And yet, there's endless Hamlet-like hand-wringing and indecision on what to do with all these "big hits" that may or may not happen via elbows to the head. There's subtle discussions about the psychology of players refusing to wear visors when the issue should be why there aren't more double-minors and majors handed out after ever-increasingly careless stickwork. It's all a classic case of not seeing the forest for the trees.
Meanwhile, there seems to be some confusion about who should settle this $19.5 million civil suit Moore brought against Bertuzzi. Why are they meeting with the league instead of having the reps meet with each other? As far as I know, once the courts are involved, the league has no say in the matter, it's up to the lawyers to sort it all out, unless the punishment levelled by the league office somehow factors into the eventual settlement amount.
All of this could have been avoided had the NHL taken appropriate action. I'm certain that Moore wouldn't have gone the painstaking route he did, had justice been meted out properly by the appropriate source. The continuing tragedy beyond corporeal effects, is the molasses-like movement of the legal system in both the U.S. and Canada. Both men are in it for the long haul now, but no matter what the outcome, it still won't truly satisfy anyone.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
For The Love of God, Just Bring Him Back Already
Forced into having to report to the Penguins minor league affiliate in Wilkes Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers for the second time, veteran forward John LeClair has opted to stay home. Pens GM Ray Shero will make a decision on what to do with him today, according to today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Will Johnny Come Marching Home Again?
The obvious question is, why the hell isn't he back in Philadelphia? I know that bringing back another aging former star with at least one prior turn on "Insert Corporate Name Here" ice will stoke a thousand cynical fires, but in this case, a return is warranted. Sure, it'll be akin to placing a big red bow on a pile of moose dung which is the 2006-2007 season, but at the very least nobody will complain about a bunch of Phantoms losing to NHL clubs night in and night out.
If anything, LeClair will serve two purposes: a badly needed veteran presence who can guide the dozen or so Phantoms who populate the roster through the remainder of the year, and someone who can spend 10 minutes a game planted in the crease on power plays. Plus, now that he's been cycled through waivers with no taker twice, he comes at an unbelievable discount for the remaining 2/3s of the season.
Put him with Eager and Umberger on a second or third power-play unit, and the Flyers might be able to bash out an extra goal here and there. Then, if everyone is healthy in February, send him home. He's back here anyway with his family while Pittsburgh twiddles their collective thumbs, and he obviously wants to begin the non-playing phase of his life in the Philly area.
Ed Moran, last week in the Daily News, practically whined like a six-year-old at the prospect of LeClair, the Stanley Cup Winner and three-time 50-goal-scorer sitting home with no action on the Flyers' part. He convieniently forgets that age becomes a discriminating factor for all but the very best talents the league has to offer. Remember that Larry Murphy, Dave Andreychuk, Vladimir Malakhov, Brian Leetch and Doug Gilmour all faded out of existence when no team offered them jobs, and that's just in the last five years.
Seriously, between a washed-up LeClair and a green Stefan Ruzicka, which would you rather have in these desperate hours? The answer to that question is completely obvious. Apparently, maybe not obvious enough for Paul Holmgren.
Will Johnny Come Marching Home Again?
The obvious question is, why the hell isn't he back in Philadelphia? I know that bringing back another aging former star with at least one prior turn on "Insert Corporate Name Here" ice will stoke a thousand cynical fires, but in this case, a return is warranted. Sure, it'll be akin to placing a big red bow on a pile of moose dung which is the 2006-2007 season, but at the very least nobody will complain about a bunch of Phantoms losing to NHL clubs night in and night out.
If anything, LeClair will serve two purposes: a badly needed veteran presence who can guide the dozen or so Phantoms who populate the roster through the remainder of the year, and someone who can spend 10 minutes a game planted in the crease on power plays. Plus, now that he's been cycled through waivers with no taker twice, he comes at an unbelievable discount for the remaining 2/3s of the season.
Put him with Eager and Umberger on a second or third power-play unit, and the Flyers might be able to bash out an extra goal here and there. Then, if everyone is healthy in February, send him home. He's back here anyway with his family while Pittsburgh twiddles their collective thumbs, and he obviously wants to begin the non-playing phase of his life in the Philly area.
Ed Moran, last week in the Daily News, practically whined like a six-year-old at the prospect of LeClair, the Stanley Cup Winner and three-time 50-goal-scorer sitting home with no action on the Flyers' part. He convieniently forgets that age becomes a discriminating factor for all but the very best talents the league has to offer. Remember that Larry Murphy, Dave Andreychuk, Vladimir Malakhov, Brian Leetch and Doug Gilmour all faded out of existence when no team offered them jobs, and that's just in the last five years.
Seriously, between a washed-up LeClair and a green Stefan Ruzicka, which would you rather have in these desperate hours? The answer to that question is completely obvious. Apparently, maybe not obvious enough for Paul Holmgren.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Hitch in Blue Jackets' Plan Seems to be Working
When Columbus fired Gerard Gallant, and replaced him with recently-deposed Flyers head coach Ken Hitchcock on November 22nd, it was that organization's first real step out of the expansion doldrums.
Funny, because Columbus has seen NHL action since October 2000. That's five seasons and part of a sixth. They've managed to string together exactly one season (last year) with a finish higher than fourth place in the Central Division, and have not come close to sniffing the playoffs. No expansion team since the Washington Capitals, who entered the league in 1974 and did not make the playoffs until 1983, has had to endure such a run of futility.
Yet, the addition of Hitch behind the bench has proven that the right mind and the right hands can improve any situation. Columbus has run off a 5-3-0 record, including big shutout road wins at Edmonton and Colorado, and an impressive 6-2 home thrashing of Ottawa on Sunday.
But things are not going to be rosy for long. See, the on-ice product has to shoulder a hefty amount of the burden for the team's perennially poor performance, and Hitchcock's rapier-like mind is already working full-time as talent evaluator. Easy times are coming for those deemed too soft, or lacking in defensive mind-set. They will be the ones demoted to Syracuse or traded. Tougher days are coming for the ones the head coach deems "work-in-progress" like youngsters Gilbert Brule, Rusty Klesla, Dan Fritsche, and sniper Rick Nash, or those deemed in need of an attitude adjustment (read: Sergei Fedorov). Those I feel the most for are the hard-nosed respected veterans, like Adam Foote, David Vyborny, Freddie Modin and Anson Carter. They will be the ones charged with bringing Hitch's message down from on high, and the ones who must deal with the portly genius' psychological gambits.
The challenge in Ohio's capital city is also a unique one for the man whose coaching pedigree allowed him to step into ready-made situations in Dallas and Philadelphia. At each of those two stops, he was placed in charge of veteran underachieving teams. In Dallas, it took one year to get the Stars from worst to first, and two more to win a Cup. In Philly, he took a team which mutinied on their former coach, and turned it into a defensive machine which reached the Conference Finals in 2004.
This time around, he faces a young team in need of guidance, confidence, and a total overhaul, something which he has not encountered since his days coaching 16-20 year olds in the Western Hockey League. Failure to adapt to a different league philosophy and a younger roster played a huge part in the Flyers' disastrous start this season. Let's hope the man who has enjoyed success at every level of his coaching life possesses the wisdom to know how to adapt to his newest circumstance.
Funny, because Columbus has seen NHL action since October 2000. That's five seasons and part of a sixth. They've managed to string together exactly one season (last year) with a finish higher than fourth place in the Central Division, and have not come close to sniffing the playoffs. No expansion team since the Washington Capitals, who entered the league in 1974 and did not make the playoffs until 1983, has had to endure such a run of futility.
Yet, the addition of Hitch behind the bench has proven that the right mind and the right hands can improve any situation. Columbus has run off a 5-3-0 record, including big shutout road wins at Edmonton and Colorado, and an impressive 6-2 home thrashing of Ottawa on Sunday.
But things are not going to be rosy for long. See, the on-ice product has to shoulder a hefty amount of the burden for the team's perennially poor performance, and Hitchcock's rapier-like mind is already working full-time as talent evaluator. Easy times are coming for those deemed too soft, or lacking in defensive mind-set. They will be the ones demoted to Syracuse or traded. Tougher days are coming for the ones the head coach deems "work-in-progress" like youngsters Gilbert Brule, Rusty Klesla, Dan Fritsche, and sniper Rick Nash, or those deemed in need of an attitude adjustment (read: Sergei Fedorov). Those I feel the most for are the hard-nosed respected veterans, like Adam Foote, David Vyborny, Freddie Modin and Anson Carter. They will be the ones charged with bringing Hitch's message down from on high, and the ones who must deal with the portly genius' psychological gambits.
The challenge in Ohio's capital city is also a unique one for the man whose coaching pedigree allowed him to step into ready-made situations in Dallas and Philadelphia. At each of those two stops, he was placed in charge of veteran underachieving teams. In Dallas, it took one year to get the Stars from worst to first, and two more to win a Cup. In Philly, he took a team which mutinied on their former coach, and turned it into a defensive machine which reached the Conference Finals in 2004.
This time around, he faces a young team in need of guidance, confidence, and a total overhaul, something which he has not encountered since his days coaching 16-20 year olds in the Western Hockey League. Failure to adapt to a different league philosophy and a younger roster played a huge part in the Flyers' disastrous start this season. Let's hope the man who has enjoyed success at every level of his coaching life possesses the wisdom to know how to adapt to his newest circumstance.
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