Courtesy of NHL.com
Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Hartnell has been suspended for two games, without pay, as a result of being assessed a game misconduct during NHL game #342 against the Boston Bruins on Nov. 26, the National Hockey League announced today.
"It appears that Mr. Hartnell was attempting to let up on delivering a check to an opponent that was in a vulnerable position," said NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell. "However, at the point of contact, he did deliver a blow to the head of Mr. Alberts that resulted in an injury."
Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Hartnell will forfeit $44,919.78. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Hartnell was assessed a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct for a hit on Boston defenseman Andrew Alberts at 14:22 of the second period.
Hartnell will miss Wednesday's game at Carolina and Dec. 1 against Dallas. He will be eligible to return Dec. 5 at Minnesota.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
The End
Well, it's been decided...this ol' blog will be halted for the good of the new enterprise, savenhl.com.
We'll have a blog over there, but since we've begun with six writers, I might write an entry once a week along with my bi-weekly columns, so it doesn't make much sense to continue here even if I'd link this to the site and blog on my own. Don't want to overdo anything, which makes my regular tasks at work and for this new web site that much more difficult. At the least, some stuff I do over there will make it over here, but since I'd want any prospective employers to look at the web site, I'll concentrate on that.
Funny, I've started two blogs since this all became popular, and neither lasted a full year. So it goes. At least with this one, my goal has been reached, and I'm moving up to something which will have a lot more steam behind it and is destined to have all our names recognized much sooner and by more people across the blogosphere and beyond.
It's been a good run, despite last year being a horrendous season for the Flyers. Makes me wish I would have thought of this back at the start of the 2005 season, but I realize you just can't do everything that crosses into mind on impulse. I'll be working with five like-minded individuals, and if all goes well, we'll have creative fires stoked by each other's input.
We'll have a blog over there, but since we've begun with six writers, I might write an entry once a week along with my bi-weekly columns, so it doesn't make much sense to continue here even if I'd link this to the site and blog on my own. Don't want to overdo anything, which makes my regular tasks at work and for this new web site that much more difficult. At the least, some stuff I do over there will make it over here, but since I'd want any prospective employers to look at the web site, I'll concentrate on that.
Funny, I've started two blogs since this all became popular, and neither lasted a full year. So it goes. At least with this one, my goal has been reached, and I'm moving up to something which will have a lot more steam behind it and is destined to have all our names recognized much sooner and by more people across the blogosphere and beyond.
It's been a good run, despite last year being a horrendous season for the Flyers. Makes me wish I would have thought of this back at the start of the 2005 season, but I realize you just can't do everything that crosses into mind on impulse. I'll be working with five like-minded individuals, and if all goes well, we'll have creative fires stoked by each other's input.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Get on with it, already
Neither Teemu Selanne nor Peter Forsberg have decided where they'll wind up for this coming NHL season, and it's three weeks until training camps open up.
Unlike North American players, Europeans have that one golden option staring them down if millions of dollars and national recognition doesn't cut it. You know, the one they have no problem shoving in the face of their coaches and general managers during contract negotiations - the option of playing either in their homeland or somewhere else in Europe. It's always presented like being delivered from servitude because overseas years last 40 games plus no more than 12 in the playoffs, instead of the unending grind of 10 preseason, 82 regular-season, and 20+playoff contests in the NHL.
So, I'm personally not holding my breath or engaging in water-cooler talk either at work or with friends over their indecision. Whether or not either one signs anywhere won't be a big enough impact to change a team's fortune.
If Forsberg doesn't know by now if his ankle/skate boot issues could be resolved, he's not going to know by September 10 or October 3. If Selanne can't make up his mind whether or not he wants to stick it out one more year despite hitting the 500-goal mark and winning a Stanley Cup, it's his own fault and he shouldn't be keeping Anaheim or any of the other 29 teams interested in limbo.
Unlike North American players, Europeans have that one golden option staring them down if millions of dollars and national recognition doesn't cut it. You know, the one they have no problem shoving in the face of their coaches and general managers during contract negotiations - the option of playing either in their homeland or somewhere else in Europe. It's always presented like being delivered from servitude because overseas years last 40 games plus no more than 12 in the playoffs, instead of the unending grind of 10 preseason, 82 regular-season, and 20+playoff contests in the NHL.
So, I'm personally not holding my breath or engaging in water-cooler talk either at work or with friends over their indecision. Whether or not either one signs anywhere won't be a big enough impact to change a team's fortune.
If Forsberg doesn't know by now if his ankle/skate boot issues could be resolved, he's not going to know by September 10 or October 3. If Selanne can't make up his mind whether or not he wants to stick it out one more year despite hitting the 500-goal mark and winning a Stanley Cup, it's his own fault and he shouldn't be keeping Anaheim or any of the other 29 teams interested in limbo.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
The Dead Zone
This is a pretty maddening time here at The Hockey Stop. There's not much really going on outside of a few ancillary pre-arbitration signings and the never-ending speculation on whether Teemu Selanne and Peter Forsberg will return to soome NHL team before training camp begins in five weeks. It's far too early to indulge in team previews, but too distant from the free-agent frenzy to determine who might have a leg up coming into this season.
I'm wrestling with pouring some more good hockey-related stuff into other websites, and the decision on how much to do and what kind for each. One will be purely fun with some long-time hockey-mad compadres, and the other will be my main source of "recognition" for which I've written since March. If I write for both, I might have to fold up this here oasis of sanity because I'd be stretching myself too thin, or at least turn this into a cut-and-paste enterprise for the stuff I'd do for the other two web sites. There are no guarantees for both, and maybe the best scenario that comes from all this potentiality is that I can always come back here and write the same pure stuff with a variety of topics, tone and depth like I've done since last September.
The only thing I can think to say now is, I hope there aren't too many hundreds of people who pre-ordered the new Flyers jersey. There are a precious few markets in the NHL where fans will line up with credit cards in hand, en masse, to purchase a product sight-unseen with the potential to be a crime against league fashion. It's yet another in a series of crushing vise grips the organization has on the psyche of the Philly hockey fan - that the promise of a season far from the bottom of the league causes the faithful to desire a $150 sweater that hasn't seen the light of day.
The franchise got lucky in the first wave of third jerseys that all they had to do was make black a primary color. With these new Reebok-inspired slender-cut jerseys with the emphasis on length and not width, and the existing orange-black-silver-white third unis floating around, I can't see much good coming from the new design. The last major change in color and design of the logo came in 1981, and from a marketing standpoint, it may be the right time to do some tweaks to something other than hue or piping. I'm not holding my breath, though. I'd rather they be a better team in older ware than a slick new failure.
I'm wrestling with pouring some more good hockey-related stuff into other websites, and the decision on how much to do and what kind for each. One will be purely fun with some long-time hockey-mad compadres, and the other will be my main source of "recognition" for which I've written since March. If I write for both, I might have to fold up this here oasis of sanity because I'd be stretching myself too thin, or at least turn this into a cut-and-paste enterprise for the stuff I'd do for the other two web sites. There are no guarantees for both, and maybe the best scenario that comes from all this potentiality is that I can always come back here and write the same pure stuff with a variety of topics, tone and depth like I've done since last September.
The only thing I can think to say now is, I hope there aren't too many hundreds of people who pre-ordered the new Flyers jersey. There are a precious few markets in the NHL where fans will line up with credit cards in hand, en masse, to purchase a product sight-unseen with the potential to be a crime against league fashion. It's yet another in a series of crushing vise grips the organization has on the psyche of the Philly hockey fan - that the promise of a season far from the bottom of the league causes the faithful to desire a $150 sweater that hasn't seen the light of day.
The franchise got lucky in the first wave of third jerseys that all they had to do was make black a primary color. With these new Reebok-inspired slender-cut jerseys with the emphasis on length and not width, and the existing orange-black-silver-white third unis floating around, I can't see much good coming from the new design. The last major change in color and design of the logo came in 1981, and from a marketing standpoint, it may be the right time to do some tweaks to something other than hue or piping. I'm not holding my breath, though. I'd rather they be a better team in older ware than a slick new failure.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Guess Who's Back?
Boucher's back...tell a friend.
Seriously, now. Isn't bringing back the hero of the 2000 playoff run slightly more about fielding a competitive team with the Phantoms so more adult butts go in the seats, rather than as insurance should Antero Niittymaki go down with another hip injury? Boosh is really no longer a viable NHL back-up. Spending a year split between Chicago and Columbus can do that to a man, especially after he's been shunted from Calgary and Phoenix before then.
The scouting report on him consistently chides his lack of consistency and mental preparation -- something we in Philadelphia could have told you between his magnificent rookie season and his disastrous two follow-up years as a spot starter behind Roman Cechmanek. Does this version of the Flyers organization realistically believe a return to the place which developed him can mitigate some of his erratic play?
In reality, hockey fans in this city can put two and two together and figure out two things: a) that the 2005 Calder Cup winning Phantoms received a huge boost from the addition of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter in the late going and that the club's victory was a product of so much talent already targeted for or played in the NHL, and b) that the Phantoms of the last two seasons have been atrocious by comparison, since half the roster is now with the Big Club.
So, Boucher's addition is an immediate boost to the defensive fortunes of the farm team. Plus, it will serve as an accurate gauge as to whether he can be brought up and showcased for a trade, or whether he'll become the veteran sequel to Neal Little, or...if he's just one step closer to becoming the head coach at his alma mater of Mount St. Charles in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
Boucher has never come close to duplicating his 20-win, under-2 goals-against regular-season performance in 1999-2000, even in the year he posted five shutouts in five starts. Let's just hope he gets his mind together back with the team who took a chance with him when all things were possible.
Seriously, now. Isn't bringing back the hero of the 2000 playoff run slightly more about fielding a competitive team with the Phantoms so more adult butts go in the seats, rather than as insurance should Antero Niittymaki go down with another hip injury? Boosh is really no longer a viable NHL back-up. Spending a year split between Chicago and Columbus can do that to a man, especially after he's been shunted from Calgary and Phoenix before then.
The scouting report on him consistently chides his lack of consistency and mental preparation -- something we in Philadelphia could have told you between his magnificent rookie season and his disastrous two follow-up years as a spot starter behind Roman Cechmanek. Does this version of the Flyers organization realistically believe a return to the place which developed him can mitigate some of his erratic play?
In reality, hockey fans in this city can put two and two together and figure out two things: a) that the 2005 Calder Cup winning Phantoms received a huge boost from the addition of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter in the late going and that the club's victory was a product of so much talent already targeted for or played in the NHL, and b) that the Phantoms of the last two seasons have been atrocious by comparison, since half the roster is now with the Big Club.
So, Boucher's addition is an immediate boost to the defensive fortunes of the farm team. Plus, it will serve as an accurate gauge as to whether he can be brought up and showcased for a trade, or whether he'll become the veteran sequel to Neal Little, or...if he's just one step closer to becoming the head coach at his alma mater of Mount St. Charles in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
Boucher has never come close to duplicating his 20-win, under-2 goals-against regular-season performance in 1999-2000, even in the year he posted five shutouts in five starts. Let's just hope he gets his mind together back with the team who took a chance with him when all things were possible.
Friday, July 13, 2007
The Path is Clear
And all eyes can see the course laid down long before...
The NHL released its master schedule along with the individual 30 team schedules on Tuesday, and the Flyers were no exception. For the second time in five years, they open in Western Canada (like in 2002 when Edmonton and Calgary were the first two stops), but for the first time ever, they start the season with three road games in Canada. October 4th is the season-opener at Calgary, then Edmonton on the 6th and inexplicably, after a four day break, Vancouver on the 10th before a three-day rest for the Islanders in the home opener on the 13th.
A few other items of note:
Unlike the previous three seasons, there are no early-season weekend afternoon games. The first home matinee is the Friday after Thanksgiving, November 23rd against Washington. The next afternoon game is December 29th at Tampa, but the next home matinee is not until January 12th (Saturday) against Boston. In fact, there are only four home afternoon games the whole season, the least number in I don't know how many years, possibly since I started going to games in the mid-1980's. Does this mean NBC might have given the Flyers the shaft in regional or national coverage late in the season because of last year's horrendous record? Maybe. But then, March 1st and 2nd, then the 15th and 16th, are back-to-back Sat-Sun road games which will be picked up by NBC depending on which day they choose to air games. Also, the regular-season finale is April 6th at home against Pittsburgh, which is guaranteed to be on if something (division, playoff berth, Crosby 200th point) is on the line.
Due to the goofiness of the current schedule system (whose three-year window is up after this season), the Flyers still play each division team eight times and the other 10 conference teams four times. The Flyers will not play any team in the Central Division, while playing all teams in the Northwest on the road and all teams in the Pacific at home.
There is no New Year's Eve game this year, with a huge break coming between December 30 and January 4 because, let's face it, even with modern technology it takes five days to go 1,200 miles by the most powerful steam locomotive from South Florida to North Jersey.
The All-Star Game is scheduled for Saturday, January 26th. Hopefully the ratings will crack a million with a weekend game slated for NBC. I've never been a fan of the game played in January like it was for most of the 1990's, but with the NFL now taking control of the first weekend of February for the Super Bowl, the NHL isn't stupid enough to try and compete.
The team is scheduled for 10 games in 27 days in October, but 14 games in 28 days in February. The first eight home games come in two four-game blocks, one in mid-October and one in mid-November. There is an eight-game road trip which bridges the first two months, and the team doesn't travel West of the Mississippi.
Looks like the first 20 games won't be so much an indicator of how the team has improved on the ice so much as it will be a test of responding to adversity. Even so, with 62 more games after, don't bank on the first 20 being either a grim indicator of a failed experiment or the positive result of a vastly-improved year. It is what it is, despite Lance Crawford on SportsNite this week attempting to draw a comparison between the Flyers' opening road trip and an Eagles three-game road trip to begin a football season.
The NHL released its master schedule along with the individual 30 team schedules on Tuesday, and the Flyers were no exception. For the second time in five years, they open in Western Canada (like in 2002 when Edmonton and Calgary were the first two stops), but for the first time ever, they start the season with three road games in Canada. October 4th is the season-opener at Calgary, then Edmonton on the 6th and inexplicably, after a four day break, Vancouver on the 10th before a three-day rest for the Islanders in the home opener on the 13th.
A few other items of note:
Unlike the previous three seasons, there are no early-season weekend afternoon games. The first home matinee is the Friday after Thanksgiving, November 23rd against Washington. The next afternoon game is December 29th at Tampa, but the next home matinee is not until January 12th (Saturday) against Boston. In fact, there are only four home afternoon games the whole season, the least number in I don't know how many years, possibly since I started going to games in the mid-1980's. Does this mean NBC might have given the Flyers the shaft in regional or national coverage late in the season because of last year's horrendous record? Maybe. But then, March 1st and 2nd, then the 15th and 16th, are back-to-back Sat-Sun road games which will be picked up by NBC depending on which day they choose to air games. Also, the regular-season finale is April 6th at home against Pittsburgh, which is guaranteed to be on if something (division, playoff berth, Crosby 200th point) is on the line.
Due to the goofiness of the current schedule system (whose three-year window is up after this season), the Flyers still play each division team eight times and the other 10 conference teams four times. The Flyers will not play any team in the Central Division, while playing all teams in the Northwest on the road and all teams in the Pacific at home.
There is no New Year's Eve game this year, with a huge break coming between December 30 and January 4 because, let's face it, even with modern technology it takes five days to go 1,200 miles by the most powerful steam locomotive from South Florida to North Jersey.
The All-Star Game is scheduled for Saturday, January 26th. Hopefully the ratings will crack a million with a weekend game slated for NBC. I've never been a fan of the game played in January like it was for most of the 1990's, but with the NFL now taking control of the first weekend of February for the Super Bowl, the NHL isn't stupid enough to try and compete.
The team is scheduled for 10 games in 27 days in October, but 14 games in 28 days in February. The first eight home games come in two four-game blocks, one in mid-October and one in mid-November. There is an eight-game road trip which bridges the first two months, and the team doesn't travel West of the Mississippi.
Looks like the first 20 games won't be so much an indicator of how the team has improved on the ice so much as it will be a test of responding to adversity. Even so, with 62 more games after, don't bank on the first 20 being either a grim indicator of a failed experiment or the positive result of a vastly-improved year. It is what it is, despite Lance Crawford on SportsNite this week attempting to draw a comparison between the Flyers' opening road trip and an Eagles three-game road trip to begin a football season.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Frantic Atlantic
Thus far, in the time between the draft and the end of the first week of free-agent signings, no division has done more to alter its chemistry than the Atlantic Division.
The Flyers have performed yet another radical roster re-section, taking a quarter of the Predators' heart and soul, and a big sword-chunk out of the Sabres' offensive capability with the additions of Hartnell, Timmonen and Daniel Briere. Hartnell was introduced to the media yesterday, and all the pictures show yet another young matinee-idol face ready to ruin it for the good of the team and the city. Unfortunately, there are three too many forwards on the club, and it looks like Ben Eager, R.J. Umberger and Ryan Potulny are the most-likely candidates to be odd-man-out once training camp begins and the roster is solidified.
Westward looking, the Penguins made smart moves by retaining Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts on a pair of one-year deals. Even though Darryl Sydor is aging, his acquisition if nothing more than to sit in the press box on some nights and then teach the kids later, is incredibly valuable. So is taking the time now to lock up Sid the Kid for five more years. This year's first-round draft pick Angelo Esposito might be best served by at least starting the year in Wilkes-Barre, sort of a secret weapon when the first flu or injury bug hits the team. If the kids on the roster continue to mature at the same level as last season, it'll be another winning one.
The Devils have a new arena, but an incomplete roster and no head coach. They've not yet managed to adequately make up for losing Scott Gomez, though signing Kevin Weekes for those random eight games Martin Brodeur decides not to dress is a smart move. Defensively, bringing in Vitali Vishnevski is bound to give at least one coach massive bouts of indigestion. If Sheldon Souray comes back to the fold and is given even half the offensive license he had in Montreal, look out. If...
Things are looking up for both New York squads. The Rangers added Gomez and Chris Drury while bringing Brendan Shanahan back for one more year and keeping Henrik Lundqvist in net for the next three. The Blueshirts really didn't need much coming in, and, other than the gauntlet of a 32-game division schedule, their most likely obstacles this season will be health and the ability for three lines to mesh well. The Isles lost out big time with the departures of Ryan Smyth, Viktor Kozlov and Jason Blake with the buy-out of Alexei Yashin, but managed to recoup quickly by bringing in Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko, Jon Sim and Mike Comrie.
I think now, the Atlantic has the head-start on being the best division in the Eastern Conference. It still has a long way to go to match the Northwest Division for the best in hockey, even if the Oilers are the clear bottom-dwellers.
The Flyers have performed yet another radical roster re-section, taking a quarter of the Predators' heart and soul, and a big sword-chunk out of the Sabres' offensive capability with the additions of Hartnell, Timmonen and Daniel Briere. Hartnell was introduced to the media yesterday, and all the pictures show yet another young matinee-idol face ready to ruin it for the good of the team and the city. Unfortunately, there are three too many forwards on the club, and it looks like Ben Eager, R.J. Umberger and Ryan Potulny are the most-likely candidates to be odd-man-out once training camp begins and the roster is solidified.
Westward looking, the Penguins made smart moves by retaining Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts on a pair of one-year deals. Even though Darryl Sydor is aging, his acquisition if nothing more than to sit in the press box on some nights and then teach the kids later, is incredibly valuable. So is taking the time now to lock up Sid the Kid for five more years. This year's first-round draft pick Angelo Esposito might be best served by at least starting the year in Wilkes-Barre, sort of a secret weapon when the first flu or injury bug hits the team. If the kids on the roster continue to mature at the same level as last season, it'll be another winning one.
The Devils have a new arena, but an incomplete roster and no head coach. They've not yet managed to adequately make up for losing Scott Gomez, though signing Kevin Weekes for those random eight games Martin Brodeur decides not to dress is a smart move. Defensively, bringing in Vitali Vishnevski is bound to give at least one coach massive bouts of indigestion. If Sheldon Souray comes back to the fold and is given even half the offensive license he had in Montreal, look out. If...
Things are looking up for both New York squads. The Rangers added Gomez and Chris Drury while bringing Brendan Shanahan back for one more year and keeping Henrik Lundqvist in net for the next three. The Blueshirts really didn't need much coming in, and, other than the gauntlet of a 32-game division schedule, their most likely obstacles this season will be health and the ability for three lines to mesh well. The Isles lost out big time with the departures of Ryan Smyth, Viktor Kozlov and Jason Blake with the buy-out of Alexei Yashin, but managed to recoup quickly by bringing in Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko, Jon Sim and Mike Comrie.
I think now, the Atlantic has the head-start on being the best division in the Eastern Conference. It still has a long way to go to match the Northwest Division for the best in hockey, even if the Oilers are the clear bottom-dwellers.
Monday, July 09, 2007
NHL Free Agency: The 48-Hour Roundup
The Top Tier
Philadelphia Flyers – The Orange and Black made their biggest splash ever by snatching Daniel Briere for an eight-year, $52 million deal which is front-loaded to $10 million in 2007-2008. Apparently, Briere was so intent on getting away from Buffalo and trying free-agency, he was the quickest to accept the Flyers’ initial blockbuster offer. The club also took advantage of desperate Edmonton, cleared cap space, and got younger and tougher in the Pitkanen/Sanderson-Smith/Lupul deal later Sunday.
Colorado Avalanche – If Chris Drury wasn’t going to come back, then signing Ryan Smyth was the next best thing. The Avs grabbed Smyth late Sunday in a shocking move (Isles GM Garth Snow was notified 10 pm Sunday that Smyth would test the waters), locking him up for five years. He’ll be the best two-way forward Colorado has seen since Claude Lemieux, but without the theatrics and lack of discipline. If Smyth sticks around long enough, he also might be the logical successor to lead the team once Joe Sakic packs it in. Adding big and rough defenseman Scott Hannan from San Jose instantly legitimizes a scattershot defensive corps. The Avalanche are built for a win-now philosophy which buttresses its rapidly-maturing youth movement.
Detroit Red Wings – Wings GM Ken Holland has built a reputation for making a big splash without much fanfare, and inking defenseman Brian Rafalski proves that once again. The Michigan native came at a cost of $30 million over five years, and is worth every penny if he only lowers the mean age of the defense a couple decades.
Depth Perception
New York Rangers – Anything happening in the Big Apple is bound to be overtly hyperbolic, but the signings of Scott Gomez (seven years, $51.5 million) and Chris Drury (five years, $35.25 million) are really about filling out a roster that has been in flux for the last two seasons as the Blueshirts got back on their feet. The Rangers were in need of centers and players who can get things done in all three zones, and it just so happened that these two guys were big names. This is a club that looks as good as the pre-Messier exodus – on paper at least.
Calgary Flames – The coming of “Iron Mike” Keenan signified some key changes. The Flames got rough-and-tumble defenseman Cory Sarich from Tampa (5-yr, $18 mil) Sunday, and took a gamble that Owen Nolan isn’t on his last leg Monday, bringing him in for one year. Calgary needs to be deep in order to wade through the minefield that is the uber-competitive Northwest Division, and these two moves are right on course.
Los Angeles Kings – Monday was a crowning achievement for GM Dean Lombardi, as he was able to nab not one, but four mid-range players. Michal Handzus (4-yr, $16 mil) from Chicago, Kyle Calder (2 yr, $5.5) left Detroit, Ladislav Nagy (one year, $3.75) jumped from Dallas and defenseman Tom Preissing came at a steal from Ottawa (3-yr, $2.75 million). Head coach Marc Crawford now has a well-rounded team to coach, rather than a loose collection of last-stop veterans and green kids.
Pittsburgh Penguins – OK, so the Pens managed to retain Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts before Sunday’s bonanza, but since they are bona-fide veteran talents, I’m going to include them. Sure, Petr Sykora (two-year deal) is an interchangeable part, but grabbing bedrock defenseman Darryl Sydor (2-yr, $5 million) is a vast upgrade, even at his age, from a stone-cold meathead like Brooks Orpik.
The Risk Takers
Anaheim Ducks – The defending Cup champions took some big bites, landing defenseman Mathieu Schneider on a two-year deal from Detroit late Sunday. The team complemented that by inking the injured and embattled Todd Bertuzzi a two-year, $8 million contract Monday. The Ducks are now bigger and badder, but they’re not really better. Schneider is 38 years old, and joins a defense featuring Chris Pronger (32), Sean O’Donnell (35), and for now, Scott Niedermayer (33), along with three backliners with less than two full years experience. Plus, I’m not sure how Bertuzzi fits in with an offense on the smallish, speedy side. He has a lot to prove after playing only 15 games with Florida and Detroit due to a herniated disc last season, plus the lingering baggage from the Steve Moore incident.
Boston Bruins – One of three teams to skirt existing rules about signing rights to free agents of any stripe, the B’s officially acquired goaltender Manny Fernandez on Sunday from Minnesota, who cut him loose due to salary cap issues. Fernandez is an immediate upgrade in net from Tim Thomas and Hannu Toivonen, but his impact away from a Jacques Lemaire-led defensive system may only be the difference between a sub-.500 team and one fighting for a playoff berth. My gut feeling is, in two years, he’ll join names like Gilbert, Peeters, Ranford, Lemelin, Moog, Lacher, Dafoe, Raycroft and Thomas on the lengthy list of Bruins goaltenders who fell prey to heightened expectations.
The Mysteries
St. Louis Blues – Now in Year Two of their own rebuilding era, the Blues bolstered their lineup by bringing back Keith Tkachuk on Sunday, then signing Paul Kariya to a three-year, $18 million contract. Tkachuk is a threat to wipe out a buffet table if he’s not careful, but why Kariya would come to the Gateway City over better fits in Vancouver, Philadelphia, and virtually anywhere else is a pressing question. Either he’ll work his magic like in Nashville, or he’ll be just another good veteran on a bad team like the Penguins of two years ago or the Blues last season.
Atlanta Thrashers – Swept away in their first-ever playoff series, and Atlanta responds by shucking one old goat (center Keith Tkachuk) and picking up another (defenseman Ken Klee). The lone bright spots came Sunday, when the club re-signed the fleet-footed Pascal Dupuis and talented two-way forward Todd White from Minnesota. However, it’s not likely to positively affect team chemistry or improve postseason fortunes if your top three players are less-than-battle-ready European scorers.
Montreal Canadiens – Under pressure to bring in more Quebec-born, French-Canadian talent, GM Bob Gainey had to settle for Bryan Smolinski and Roman Hamrlik after missing out on the Daniel Briere sweepstakes. If you were under a constant bilingual barrage in the Cradle of Cups, you’d end up making some odd moves just to keep the fans and writers at bay, too. Smolinski (one year, $2 million) is a spent man. He’s not capable of carrying off both sides of being a two-way forward, and asking him to do one or the other exclusively isn’t a good option either. Hamrlik (four years, $22 million) is a pale substitute for the departing Sheldon Souray. The Canadiens will tread water at best.
The Desperate
Edmonton Oilers – The smell wafting across the clear Alberta sky is not that of oil, but of desperation. Edmonton was only able to swing a four-player trade Sunday to net disappointing defenseman Joni Pitkanen and well-travelled vet Geoff Sanderson, while shipping off captain Jason Smith and young forward Joffrey Lupul. Oh, and did we mention luring Dick Tarnstrom back from Europe? My guess is, it’s pretty mind-numbing to be out of a job when it’s minus-20 Fahrenheit in January, but something tells me Kevin Lowe’s going to write a poignant column about it soon.
Philadelphia Flyers – Let’s be brutally honest here. The flipside to Briere and the Oilers trade is that the team needs to do everything in its power to forget about last year’s dead-last finish. Let the discussions about how the new faces will fit, and how Briere doesn’t really play “Flyers” hockey be damned. The franchise made huge psychologically soothing moves for the fan base.
Toronto Maple Leafs – Every year there is pressure from all directions in the English-language capital of hockey to win a Cup, and every year a big move is made that’s erased by injuries, bad coaching, a negative locker room, or a key loss to Ottawa. This year, the Leafs pried Jason Blake away from New York for five years at $20 million. Blake scored a career-best 40 goals last year, but there’s not enough good luck and offense to go around in Toronto to maintain that number.
The Bottom Feeders
Washington Capitals – Bringing offensive-minded forwards Michael Nylander (4-yr, $19 mil) and Viktor Kozlov and defenseman Tom Poti are knee-jerk moves aimed at trying to get some veteran playmakers for Alex Ovechkin. The franchise has totally overlooked the depth factor and have not addressed the fact that goaltender Olaf Kolzig can’t hold down the fort forever. The Caps will look very retro when they lose 45 games this year in the old red, white, and blue unis.
Chicago Blackhawks – The Hawks are one of a handful of teams forced to make deseperate moves to jolt an indifferent fan base. Losing is a disease, but signing Robert Lang to a two-year deal is no cure.
New York Islanders – Lose Ryan Smyth, Jason Blake and Viktor Kozlov, and the consolation prize is Jon Sim for three years.
Not on the Radar
Carolina Hurricanes – Rescued Jeff Hamilton from the hell that is Chicago for a bargain (two years, $1.6 mil); Vancouver Canucks signing Brad Isbister; Nashville Predators inking Radek Bonk and Greg DeVries; Tampa Bay Lightning – Michel Ouellet.
Monday, June 11, 2007
What I've Learned in 2006-2007
It's been a long road since I started the blog back in September, three weeks before the start of the regular season. For the third consecutive year, a team which had never won a Stanley Cup took home the oldest and most prestigious trophy in North American sports.
That, in and of itself, is as good as sign as you're going to get that the current system is working, because we've had three non-traditional hockey markets see their city name engraved on the Cup. Also, the fact that three Canadian teams - all from small markets - made the Finals in three consecutive years is a nice leap forward for the home nation. Yet, after more than 1100 games and a season-ending celebration which took place in a parking lot and whose main attraction was the state's Governator, it's hard to escape some realities of the new NHL:
That, in and of itself, is as good as sign as you're going to get that the current system is working, because we've had three non-traditional hockey markets see their city name engraved on the Cup. Also, the fact that three Canadian teams - all from small markets - made the Finals in three consecutive years is a nice leap forward for the home nation. Yet, after more than 1100 games and a season-ending celebration which took place in a parking lot and whose main attraction was the state's Governator, it's hard to escape some realities of the new NHL:
- The lawyers are going to drive the sport into the ground. Forget the empty seats in Boston, Columbus, Florida, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Washington, they say. Overall attendance is higher than ever, and ticket sales per game is in the 98 % range. Forget that two teams (Pittsburgh and Nashville) have been under the threat of imminent relocation by the same person in the last six months, they say. The health of the league depends on individual teams existing in the most financially solvent location, so relocation is good. Forget the failures in some Sun Belt markets, they say. The league is looking into returning hockey to either Winnipeg or Quebec because the NHL has always wanted to have teams in traditional hockey markets. I thought having millionaire/billionaire ownership was bad enough, but at least the owners will straight up admit when they need to get out. There's nothing trained lawyers can't spin in a positive manner.
- The American Hockey League is a joke. No, wait...a damn pathetic joke. Where once you'd go to see at least a dozen goals and a dozen fights per game featuring guys desperate to make it to the NHL, now you see the same game plans implemented here as you do in their parent clubs because almost every player on an AHL roster will see time in the Show. The new trend in the "A" is for parent clubs to set up a farm team relatively close to their home city, which means in 2005, St. Louis elevated Peoria from the ECHL, and in 2007, Chicago elevates Rockford (Illinois, folks) from the bowels of the UHL.
- While I know the Tampas, Raleighs and Anaheims of the world don't have downtowns like New York, Philly, and Chicago, it's still in tremendously bad taste to hold a Stanley Cup victory parade in a parking lot outside your home arena. Last time I checked, Anaheim has a population over 100,000 and looks like it has main central thoroughfares all parade ready. Then again, Anaheim is less a city than a densely-populated region which grew out of the western suburbs of Los Angeles County, which might explain why, in Orange County (pop. 3 million) only 15,000 fans showed up to the Ducks' Cup rally on Saturday.
- You can't go around firing coaches because the team finished less than three points out of a playoff spot. Current Kings head coach Marc Crawford must be throwing darts at Canucks management because he knows he could have done more this past season with Roberto Luongo in net. Crawford was fired in 2006 because Vancouver finished three points behind Edmonton, yet ended the season with a winning record. He now must slog through another rebuilding year with LA.
- The cream always rises to the top. Once and for all, I want all Eastern Conference GM's and coaches to quit basing personnel moves and team attitudes based on the old maxim "The East is wide open, so any team can advance deep into the playoffs." Let's recap. In 2004, Tampa was a division winner and won the Cup. In 2006, Carolina was a division winner and won the Cup. In 2007, Ottawa was one of the strongest four-seeds ever, and advanced to the Finals - only to lose to Anaheim, a division winner.
- Shootouts are the worst crutch the NHL has instituted for virtually every team. First of all, it inflates the record of the winning team, which used to only earn one point for a tie. Then, it inflates the record of the losing team, because they get one point for extending the game. It was bad enough when teams like Minnesota milked 20 ties out of 82 games in 2003-2004, but it's even worse when a team like Dallas milks 12 extra wins out of the shootout, wins a division title, then falls flat on its ass in the playoffs because they were more like a 40-win club than a 50-win juggernaut. Other than hardcore fans whining about the shootout itself, the numbers and how they wreak havoc with judging a team's true performance may be the most compelling reasons yet to get rid of it altogether.
- Whether it's the old three-official system or the new four-official system, the zebras in the NHL have been totally emasculated almost to the point of irrelevancy. Replay takes care of everything except the actual penalty calls and offsides, and even then, there are far too many conferences over both. Can't recall how many goal calls have been reversed whether a ref called it good or waved it off. Time to put one official in the replay booth and eliminate some time in these decisions.
- Teams like Atlanta who sign lots of gritty veterans looking for one last shot at glory can't carry a team whose top three players are flashy Europeans with no sense of defensive responsibility. It's time for the Thrashers to reload by dumping a lot of salary.
- The Flyers organization will never stop doing business the same way until Ed Snider passes on. It's still a psychological shell game as long as Ed appears on local television to say how much he believes the team will have a big turnaround next year - as if ticket holders and the rest of us hockey fans are still sheep needing some direction instead of hard-working people with some intelligence who can't see paying the money to see games for a generally average winning team. Of course he has confidence this year's going to be better, and so should we, because it can't get no worse than last season.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Cold Comfort for Canada
For the third consecutive season, a Canadian hockey team wound up on the wrong end of the battle for the Stanley Cup. And among the three (Calgary in 2004, Edmonton in 2006, and Ottawa this season), the Senators put up the weakest battle though they were clearly the most talented of the bunch.
It isn't every day that a team which won more than 45 games in the regular season, and steamrolls through the playoffs at a near-record clip finds itself hurled from Lord Stanley's Chase so suddenly. Ottawa made it through three rounds in 15 games, something not accomplished by any team in the era after all playoff rounds switched to best-of-seven since the 1996-97 Flyers did it. Edmonton has the record, going through the first three rounds of the 1987 and 1988 playoffs with two losses, and, it should be noted while the Oilers won both times, the Flyers suffered a similar fate in a sweep at the hands of Detroit.
In the late 1990's, only Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver were cited as economically viable Canadian teams due to the currency rate exchange between the U.S. and Canadian dollar and the relative size disparity between Canadian and American markets. Only Edmonton, Montreal and Vancouver competed for the Cup in the decade dominated by the Penguins and Red Wings dynasties. Yet now, thanks in part to the new economic system that attempts to keep all 30 teams competitive in the players market, three Canadian teams in three seasons have had a 50-50 shot to win.
The nature of Canadian fans with respect to their national game is such that any Canadian team in the Stanley Cup Finals gets not only its own fans' support, but that of the whole nation. This year, the fever was heightened since a team from Canada's capital, a bridge between Francophone and Anglophone communities, made a run. Nonetheless, all the cheering in the world can't make the team play well, and the Senators Finals appearance should go under the "bury-and-never-bring-up" file.
The Senators were under an electron microscope after their 2003 Conference Final flameout at home in Game 7, and last season's offensive explosion which collapsed into a second-round loss. To the shock of some, they struggled early in the season and came on strong late, and cruised through 15 games against Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Buffalo like a steam locomotive. The Senators killed 'em softly with scoring, and jarred their teeth loose with punishing defense. But all of that disappeared once the Finals arrived.
On paper, I saw a curious interlocking between Anaheim and Ottawa - where one team was strong, the other was weak, and so on in the opposite sense down the lineup. It was a seven-game series I predicted - to Anaheim with home-ice, and for the first three games it looked like the pattern held. But from the moment Chris Pronger unneccessarily elbowed Dean McAmmond in the head in Game 3, the Senators lost their focus and their resolve.
Daniel Alfredsson's mistimed puck-clear at the end of the second period in Game 4 in Scott Niedermayer's direction was just the physical manifestation of serious cracks in the Sens' armor. Dany Heatley was held to one goal in five games. Jason Spezza notched just two assists, leaving captain Alfie to shoulder the burden of the whole team - which he did admirably for two periods last night. Ottawa took the first three penalties of Game 5 in the first half of the first period and found themselves in a 1-0 hole. The ride was truly over when three of the Ducks' final four goals came as a result of miscues and bad turnovers.
Although Canadians are of a more forgiving sort, it can't sit well that the best club North of the Border to participate in a Cup since the 1990 Oilers still couldn't bring home the silver. Thankfully, it's no longer a question of cost in grabbing the best players at the trade deadline, but it remains a question of who will keep their wits about them when the pressure's on - something which the Senators may be forever doomed to repeat.
The good news is, short of a radical roster resection this Summer, the Sens are Canada's best shot to make the Finals again. They are Canada's best team right now, and certainly the most talented. Perhaps, like the Oilers of the 1980's, they have to lose to know how to win. If so, this was a big step in the right direction.
It isn't every day that a team which won more than 45 games in the regular season, and steamrolls through the playoffs at a near-record clip finds itself hurled from Lord Stanley's Chase so suddenly. Ottawa made it through three rounds in 15 games, something not accomplished by any team in the era after all playoff rounds switched to best-of-seven since the 1996-97 Flyers did it. Edmonton has the record, going through the first three rounds of the 1987 and 1988 playoffs with two losses, and, it should be noted while the Oilers won both times, the Flyers suffered a similar fate in a sweep at the hands of Detroit.
In the late 1990's, only Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver were cited as economically viable Canadian teams due to the currency rate exchange between the U.S. and Canadian dollar and the relative size disparity between Canadian and American markets. Only Edmonton, Montreal and Vancouver competed for the Cup in the decade dominated by the Penguins and Red Wings dynasties. Yet now, thanks in part to the new economic system that attempts to keep all 30 teams competitive in the players market, three Canadian teams in three seasons have had a 50-50 shot to win.
The nature of Canadian fans with respect to their national game is such that any Canadian team in the Stanley Cup Finals gets not only its own fans' support, but that of the whole nation. This year, the fever was heightened since a team from Canada's capital, a bridge between Francophone and Anglophone communities, made a run. Nonetheless, all the cheering in the world can't make the team play well, and the Senators Finals appearance should go under the "bury-and-never-bring-up" file.
The Senators were under an electron microscope after their 2003 Conference Final flameout at home in Game 7, and last season's offensive explosion which collapsed into a second-round loss. To the shock of some, they struggled early in the season and came on strong late, and cruised through 15 games against Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Buffalo like a steam locomotive. The Senators killed 'em softly with scoring, and jarred their teeth loose with punishing defense. But all of that disappeared once the Finals arrived.
On paper, I saw a curious interlocking between Anaheim and Ottawa - where one team was strong, the other was weak, and so on in the opposite sense down the lineup. It was a seven-game series I predicted - to Anaheim with home-ice, and for the first three games it looked like the pattern held. But from the moment Chris Pronger unneccessarily elbowed Dean McAmmond in the head in Game 3, the Senators lost their focus and their resolve.
Daniel Alfredsson's mistimed puck-clear at the end of the second period in Game 4 in Scott Niedermayer's direction was just the physical manifestation of serious cracks in the Sens' armor. Dany Heatley was held to one goal in five games. Jason Spezza notched just two assists, leaving captain Alfie to shoulder the burden of the whole team - which he did admirably for two periods last night. Ottawa took the first three penalties of Game 5 in the first half of the first period and found themselves in a 1-0 hole. The ride was truly over when three of the Ducks' final four goals came as a result of miscues and bad turnovers.
Although Canadians are of a more forgiving sort, it can't sit well that the best club North of the Border to participate in a Cup since the 1990 Oilers still couldn't bring home the silver. Thankfully, it's no longer a question of cost in grabbing the best players at the trade deadline, but it remains a question of who will keep their wits about them when the pressure's on - something which the Senators may be forever doomed to repeat.
The good news is, short of a radical roster resection this Summer, the Sens are Canada's best shot to make the Finals again. They are Canada's best team right now, and certainly the most talented. Perhaps, like the Oilers of the 1980's, they have to lose to know how to win. If so, this was a big step in the right direction.
SoCal just quackers over Ducks victory?
Of course, congratulations to the Anaheim Ducks for wiping out the juggernaut that was the Ottawa Senators with an inspired 6-2 victory last night in Game 5 of the Finals in Anaheim.
I picked the Ducks to win the series, but didn't anticipate on Ottawa's end how undisciplined they'd play, or how passionless they'd skate at times when facing a deficit, or how dead the Alfredsson-Spezza-Heatley line would be. That's not to denigrate the winners, who got all the little and big contributions from all the right players throughout the playoffs and this brief Stanley Cup series, but the fact that it ended in five games instead of going longer is more of an indictment of the Sens' play and state of mind than Anaheim's ability to stop the onslaught.
After watching the game and writing it for work last night, though, it didn't seem to me that Anaheim was really celebrating as loud and as long as other relatively new cities whose teams have won the Cup. The Ducks, Mighty or not, have played 13 seasons in the NHL, but have only seen five playoff years. Even Carolina, with its populace rooted deeply in basketball, baseball and NASCAR, blew its collective top when the Canes won last year only eight seasons removed from Hartford.
You'd think, even with the California cool and its proximity to Hollywood, that there'd at least be some high-profile people in the seats and cheering passionately. You'd think, with a city blessed to have seen a young Paul Kariya, Teemu Selanne in his prime then reborn, a Conn Smythe winner on a losing team now a Cup winner, and some grizzled old vets who helped the Ducks to the Finals in 2003, that the place would go nuts.
Instead, Cuba Gooding, Jr. is the only star power carried by the club. Heck, the fans didn't even boo Commissioner Gary Bettman loud enough to be picked up on TV, something which has happened at every Stanley Cup presentation since 1994.
Even with the glitz and glamour painted on top of hazy Los Angeles, there was a buzz and more of a hockey tradition in the city since it was awarded a team in 1967, saw Gretzky come in 1988, then made the Finals in 1993. If you've ever been to Southern California, people will tell you there is a radical difference in attitude between LA and Orange
County - like having season or playoff tickets to a sporting event is an indicator of social status. There are supposedly nearly 2 million Canadian expatriates in the LA basin, and I guess most of them must root for the Kings.
It does make you wonder why Disney sold the team to the Samuelis when they did.
The best possible outcome for the Ducks' sudden success after the cancelled season, is that they continue to be a top-tiered club in the West for at least three or four more seasons. Butts in the seats are still the main indicator and bottom line of a franchise's imprint in its own community. Sure, the goal every year is to win the Cup, but with the financial structure and competitiveness of the NHL what it is, it's a lock the Ducks won't win next year, and maybe not the following season. I hope the fans of Orange County don't lose interest and stop showing up when it's either unfashionable to do so, or the Ducks happen to not make it to the Conference Finals like they have the past two years.
I picked the Ducks to win the series, but didn't anticipate on Ottawa's end how undisciplined they'd play, or how passionless they'd skate at times when facing a deficit, or how dead the Alfredsson-Spezza-Heatley line would be. That's not to denigrate the winners, who got all the little and big contributions from all the right players throughout the playoffs and this brief Stanley Cup series, but the fact that it ended in five games instead of going longer is more of an indictment of the Sens' play and state of mind than Anaheim's ability to stop the onslaught.
After watching the game and writing it for work last night, though, it didn't seem to me that Anaheim was really celebrating as loud and as long as other relatively new cities whose teams have won the Cup. The Ducks, Mighty or not, have played 13 seasons in the NHL, but have only seen five playoff years. Even Carolina, with its populace rooted deeply in basketball, baseball and NASCAR, blew its collective top when the Canes won last year only eight seasons removed from Hartford.
You'd think, even with the California cool and its proximity to Hollywood, that there'd at least be some high-profile people in the seats and cheering passionately. You'd think, with a city blessed to have seen a young Paul Kariya, Teemu Selanne in his prime then reborn, a Conn Smythe winner on a losing team now a Cup winner, and some grizzled old vets who helped the Ducks to the Finals in 2003, that the place would go nuts.
Instead, Cuba Gooding, Jr. is the only star power carried by the club. Heck, the fans didn't even boo Commissioner Gary Bettman loud enough to be picked up on TV, something which has happened at every Stanley Cup presentation since 1994.
Even with the glitz and glamour painted on top of hazy Los Angeles, there was a buzz and more of a hockey tradition in the city since it was awarded a team in 1967, saw Gretzky come in 1988, then made the Finals in 1993. If you've ever been to Southern California, people will tell you there is a radical difference in attitude between LA and Orange
County - like having season or playoff tickets to a sporting event is an indicator of social status. There are supposedly nearly 2 million Canadian expatriates in the LA basin, and I guess most of them must root for the Kings.
It does make you wonder why Disney sold the team to the Samuelis when they did.
The best possible outcome for the Ducks' sudden success after the cancelled season, is that they continue to be a top-tiered club in the West for at least three or four more seasons. Butts in the seats are still the main indicator and bottom line of a franchise's imprint in its own community. Sure, the goal every year is to win the Cup, but with the financial structure and competitiveness of the NHL what it is, it's a lock the Ducks won't win next year, and maybe not the following season. I hope the fans of Orange County don't lose interest and stop showing up when it's either unfashionable to do so, or the Ducks happen to not make it to the Conference Finals like they have the past two years.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Zebras: On Notice...Again!
With four officials on the ice at all times, you'd think they could raise their level of work and their level of recognition in the Stanley Cup, but apparently it's not so.
It began on Saturday night, when no penalty was called on Chris Pronger's un-called-for elbow to the head of Dean McAmmond. You can't get any more blatant without a stick being involved in the infraction, and yet, the game was allowed to get more heated because no action was taken in-game. More surprisingly, the league stepped in and levied a one-game suspension to Pronger, which he served last night. Look, folks, it's not brain surgery. Either it's nothing, or it's severe enough to warrant a penalty. I have no idea what kind of message is sent to either side, that an unwarranted elbow to the head in mid-ice gets no punishment during the game, yet the perpetrator has to miss the following contest.
Which brings me to last night, and the sudden outbreak of Ottawa flops. First it was Chris Neil in the first period. Frankly, after seeing multiple replays, I still don't know what part of the body or stick Neil latched onto before sliding 15 feet in the fetal position. Then, Ray Emery gets into the "act" when Ryan Getzlaf comes within 15 feet of the net, crosses paths with the netminder, who promptly falls on his back like he slipped on a patch of ice in his driveway. Never mind the fact that Getzlaf was following the path of the puck, and Emery was at least 3 feet out of his crease. Neither player gets a diving penalty, and the Senators receive two gift power-plays.
Unfortunately, the practice of unscrupulous acts like diving gets a good rep this time of year. It falls under the category of "doing anything to win the Cup." It's a bizarre double-standard which even I can't understand. Usually, everyone in the hockey universe shoots daggers into the eyes of any player who embellishes or flat-out dives because it goes against the nature of the game - to take punishment and give it back without drawing undue attention. Yet now, because both teams are seeking that winning edge, diving can work in your club's favor - like last night when neither of the two dives were called. Oddly enough, you also can argue that it backfired, because the Senators lost the game and now face a 3-1 series deficit going to Anaheim, but the officiating is so scattershot, they can be the beneficiaries again in Game 5 and capitalize.
This is one of the things I bang the drum for, eliminating the two-referee system. First and foremost, there are problems when you pair up a veteran with a youngster, because of the respect dynamic. There are also problems when the veteran wants to give the kid the reins, or when neither ref can decide what to do and have to call the linesmen in to confer. The players have gotten bigger since it's implementation on a full-time basis in 1998, and it seems every year none of the four officials can really escape the pace of the action except in center ice. Short of going back to one ref, maybe the league can look into putting the second ref in the replay booth, and can have clearer pictures of dives - at least then, he can communicate with the on-ice ref and suggest two penalties instead of one for the original infraction.
It began on Saturday night, when no penalty was called on Chris Pronger's un-called-for elbow to the head of Dean McAmmond. You can't get any more blatant without a stick being involved in the infraction, and yet, the game was allowed to get more heated because no action was taken in-game. More surprisingly, the league stepped in and levied a one-game suspension to Pronger, which he served last night. Look, folks, it's not brain surgery. Either it's nothing, or it's severe enough to warrant a penalty. I have no idea what kind of message is sent to either side, that an unwarranted elbow to the head in mid-ice gets no punishment during the game, yet the perpetrator has to miss the following contest.
Which brings me to last night, and the sudden outbreak of Ottawa flops. First it was Chris Neil in the first period. Frankly, after seeing multiple replays, I still don't know what part of the body or stick Neil latched onto before sliding 15 feet in the fetal position. Then, Ray Emery gets into the "act" when Ryan Getzlaf comes within 15 feet of the net, crosses paths with the netminder, who promptly falls on his back like he slipped on a patch of ice in his driveway. Never mind the fact that Getzlaf was following the path of the puck, and Emery was at least 3 feet out of his crease. Neither player gets a diving penalty, and the Senators receive two gift power-plays.
Unfortunately, the practice of unscrupulous acts like diving gets a good rep this time of year. It falls under the category of "doing anything to win the Cup." It's a bizarre double-standard which even I can't understand. Usually, everyone in the hockey universe shoots daggers into the eyes of any player who embellishes or flat-out dives because it goes against the nature of the game - to take punishment and give it back without drawing undue attention. Yet now, because both teams are seeking that winning edge, diving can work in your club's favor - like last night when neither of the two dives were called. Oddly enough, you also can argue that it backfired, because the Senators lost the game and now face a 3-1 series deficit going to Anaheim, but the officiating is so scattershot, they can be the beneficiaries again in Game 5 and capitalize.
This is one of the things I bang the drum for, eliminating the two-referee system. First and foremost, there are problems when you pair up a veteran with a youngster, because of the respect dynamic. There are also problems when the veteran wants to give the kid the reins, or when neither ref can decide what to do and have to call the linesmen in to confer. The players have gotten bigger since it's implementation on a full-time basis in 1998, and it seems every year none of the four officials can really escape the pace of the action except in center ice. Short of going back to one ref, maybe the league can look into putting the second ref in the replay booth, and can have clearer pictures of dives - at least then, he can communicate with the on-ice ref and suggest two penalties instead of one for the original infraction.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Breaking The Cherry
Tonight, one of Canada's hockey broadcasting icons comes South, with a fanstastic opportunity to embarrass himself in front of a national audience.
Don Cherry will be an intermission guest host for NBC's coverage of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Ottawa, and this can only end badly.
For anyone who doesn't know, Cherry is the mouth that roars, every Saturday night during hockey season, for CBC's Hockey Night in Canada coverage. He's been plying his trade on TV for 20 years, following a wildly varying coaching career in the minors and NHL. He has a penchant for wearing loud or mismatching suits, impeccable grooming, and during each intermission's "Coach's Corner" segment, a proclivity for saying some of the most ridiculous statements in the history of the game.
On the one hand, he is revered for his working-class angle on the game. He loves hard skaters, energy players, guys not afraid to take and give beatings and keep going. He talks fondly about the culture of the game which springs from the heartland of Canada, on bitter Winter days on thousands of frozen ponds and rinks. He most often takes a traditionalist view towards rules, penalties, and both the attitudes and actions of players on and off the ice.
On the other hand, though, he is a living nightmare. Knowing that television is based on ratings, Cherry often goes for the outrageous, the inciteful, the spiteful, and the hateful if it will draw attention to either himself, the broadcast, or the league. He has railed in the past about the European style of play, the greediness of players with respect to salary, agents, league GM's, Gary Bettman, the lack of respect between players with respect to penalties of the stick, the relative impotence of the officiating system, and last but not least, French Canadians.
He's considered a cultural icon, sort of the elder statesman/storyteller of the village for the hockey-mad nation. So, it's not too hard to see how Canadians can dismiss his seemingly back-water, ignorant, or bigoted opinions, as long as he keeps the fire of the old days true to his heart and to his treatment of the sport. It's a hard line to tread since Canada, for it's population of 30 million, is a far more ethnically diverse nation than the U.S. He's drawn ire across the Dominion before, with at least one comment per year drawing heated criticism and discussion. However, that's Canada. Ten percent of the population of the United States, and one-hundredth the media outlets.
When Cherry steps into the spotlight with his clown costume and his smug sense of security which comes with his fame, he may find the heat of the glow too much to bear. If he's restrained, it's because certain people have gotten to him prior to broadcast, with compelling arguments as to why he wouldn't want to come across as too brash lest he sully NBC's reputation for a floundering sport. In that case, he's just another empty suit reading from the cue cards, and his knowledge, insight, and personality will be muted and rendered ineffective. If he's as usual, it is almost guaranteed that something will pass his lips that someone will take umbrage with, because a distinguishing mark of his shtick is to play to the heart of the secretly angry and bigoted fan, invert it, and turn those words into a can't-miss-moment.
If this comes to pass, there's no doubt that America's 24-hour news machine will eat him up and spit him out, endlessly parsing the wrong word or phrase that strikes at the heart of our PC sensibilities. Then, the floodgates will be opened to just how backward and floundering the NHL is, letting this doddering, bellicose old fool loose on the airwaves. Who knows? Maybe Cherry would make the circuit with Don Imus as his fervent supporter creating a double act unrivalled in a network talk show producer's dream.
NBC has arranged a shotgun marriage by bringing Cherry down here and exposing him to a bigger audience. Let's hope he doesn't say something which allows the itchy man behind the gun to pull the trigger.
Don Cherry will be an intermission guest host for NBC's coverage of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Ottawa, and this can only end badly.
For anyone who doesn't know, Cherry is the mouth that roars, every Saturday night during hockey season, for CBC's Hockey Night in Canada coverage. He's been plying his trade on TV for 20 years, following a wildly varying coaching career in the minors and NHL. He has a penchant for wearing loud or mismatching suits, impeccable grooming, and during each intermission's "Coach's Corner" segment, a proclivity for saying some of the most ridiculous statements in the history of the game.
On the one hand, he is revered for his working-class angle on the game. He loves hard skaters, energy players, guys not afraid to take and give beatings and keep going. He talks fondly about the culture of the game which springs from the heartland of Canada, on bitter Winter days on thousands of frozen ponds and rinks. He most often takes a traditionalist view towards rules, penalties, and both the attitudes and actions of players on and off the ice.
On the other hand, though, he is a living nightmare. Knowing that television is based on ratings, Cherry often goes for the outrageous, the inciteful, the spiteful, and the hateful if it will draw attention to either himself, the broadcast, or the league. He has railed in the past about the European style of play, the greediness of players with respect to salary, agents, league GM's, Gary Bettman, the lack of respect between players with respect to penalties of the stick, the relative impotence of the officiating system, and last but not least, French Canadians.
He's considered a cultural icon, sort of the elder statesman/storyteller of the village for the hockey-mad nation. So, it's not too hard to see how Canadians can dismiss his seemingly back-water, ignorant, or bigoted opinions, as long as he keeps the fire of the old days true to his heart and to his treatment of the sport. It's a hard line to tread since Canada, for it's population of 30 million, is a far more ethnically diverse nation than the U.S. He's drawn ire across the Dominion before, with at least one comment per year drawing heated criticism and discussion. However, that's Canada. Ten percent of the population of the United States, and one-hundredth the media outlets.
When Cherry steps into the spotlight with his clown costume and his smug sense of security which comes with his fame, he may find the heat of the glow too much to bear. If he's restrained, it's because certain people have gotten to him prior to broadcast, with compelling arguments as to why he wouldn't want to come across as too brash lest he sully NBC's reputation for a floundering sport. In that case, he's just another empty suit reading from the cue cards, and his knowledge, insight, and personality will be muted and rendered ineffective. If he's as usual, it is almost guaranteed that something will pass his lips that someone will take umbrage with, because a distinguishing mark of his shtick is to play to the heart of the secretly angry and bigoted fan, invert it, and turn those words into a can't-miss-moment.
If this comes to pass, there's no doubt that America's 24-hour news machine will eat him up and spit him out, endlessly parsing the wrong word or phrase that strikes at the heart of our PC sensibilities. Then, the floodgates will be opened to just how backward and floundering the NHL is, letting this doddering, bellicose old fool loose on the airwaves. Who knows? Maybe Cherry would make the circuit with Don Imus as his fervent supporter creating a double act unrivalled in a network talk show producer's dream.
NBC has arranged a shotgun marriage by bringing Cherry down here and exposing him to a bigger audience. Let's hope he doesn't say something which allows the itchy man behind the gun to pull the trigger.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Tempus Fugit
The 1987 Stanley Cup Finals were rapidly approaching June, and the Oilers were on the verge of winning their third Cup in four seasons.
Game 6 returned to the Spectrum in South Philadelphia on Thursday, May 28th, with Edmonton holding a three games to two series lead. It could have been, should have been all over two nights before but the Oilers blew leads of 2-0 and 3-1 in Game 5 as the Flyers shocked the hockey world by pulling out a thrilling 4-3 win at Northlands Coliseum thanks to Brian Propp’s four assists and Rick Tocchet’s game-winning goal.
However, the shift away from the distractions of home seemed to power the visitors, who scored twice in the first period and out shot the Flyers by an incredible 15-5 margin. The goals were not classics, as Kevin Lowe scored when he booted in a wraparound pass by Wayne Gretzky then Kevin McClelland stuffed home the rebound of Craig MacTavish’s shot in close.
Philly seemed tired and lost until Lindsay Carson’s goal with a little more than seven minutes gone in the second cut into their deficit. Even then luck was a huge factor since Oilers goalie Grant Fuhr appeared to stone Carson cold on the shot, only to see it trickle through his pads and curl inside the right post.
Down by a goal heading into the third, the Flyers had only 13 shots, came up empty in four power-play chances, and gave up a shorthanded goal. It looked like Edmonton had the game wrapped up in a defensive shell, until Glenn Anderson decided to turn his stick into the side of Peter Zezel’s face with 7:39 to play.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=aP0cKGcIaSU
Of course, history records that after Daigneault’s go-ahead score, nothing else happened as the Flyers marched on to victory and Game 7 returned to Edmonton three days later.
Not so. Not by a long shot.
The Oilers kept coming in waves over the final five-plus minutes, and it took a heroic effort by each Flyers line to keep them at bay. Fuhr went to the bench for an extra attacker with just over a minute to go, and Tocchet had two chances to ice the game with an empty-netter but failed. After the second attempt with 20 seconds left, Paul Coffey fed ahead for the rush and Kent Nilsson’s missed outlet through center ice went into the Flyers’ zone. Hextall came out to the edge of the right circle to play it, and decided it was a good time to shoot for the empty net right up the center of the ice.
Except…Mark Messier smartly read the play, came zooming up the middle and used the full extension of his body plus a few inches off the ice to grab the clear. He skated in on Hextall with no Flyers player within 10 feet, and got off a shot which Hexy kicked out – but right back to Messier, who thankfully pushed the second shot over the net. He backhanded a blind clear through the crease all the way back to defenseman Randy Gregg, but his weaker point shot was knocked down by Mark Howe’s thigh with two seconds to go.
When the clock finally hit three zeroes, the Spectrum crowd erupted with a sonic thrust that did not subside for almost 15 minutes. Gene Hart’s call of those final frantic seconds was almost unintelligible on TV and radio due to the noise bouncing off the walls of the venerable arena.
Wrote Al Morganti in the opening paragraph of his story in the following day’s Inquirer: “This was the type of comeback, the type of gut-busting effort, with which the Flyers have established a very special place in Philadelphia sports history.”
Narrator Earl Mann put it more dramatically in “Blood, Sweat and Cheers,” the story of that 1986-87 squad: “The legend of this team and this series will live on forever for those that witnessed it.”
For anyone under the age of 40, this remains the defining moment in Flyers history. Even the surprise run in 1995, the first three-quarters of the 1997 playoffs, and the miraculous 2000 journey all pale in comparison collectively.
The buzz in the whole Delaware Valley over the next three days was so positive and wondrous, because the Stanley Cup was there for the taking in a deciding seventh game. We should all be so lucky if a future Cup winning Flyers team garners one-third the respect the 1987 team earned.
For now, 20 years to the day, it’s nothing more than a distant poignant memory, caught up in the emotion of the ensuing years of heartbreak.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Stanley Cup Finals Preview
Ottawa and Anaheim clash for the Stanley Cup beginning tonight, a seven-game, 15-day odyssey which will see one of these teams win the first title in franchise history.
No Canadian team has hoisted the Cup since Montreal's 5-game triumph over Los Angeles back in 1993, and only three Canadian teams since then have competed in the Finals (Vancouver - 1994; Calgary 2004; Edmonton 2006) since then.
Although the Senators now consider their original team which disbanded in 1935 as part of this current regime, the NHL considers this Ottawa franchise separate due to the intervening 57 year gap. Captain Daniel Alfredsson's hard work and perseverance may finally pay off, as he is the longest-serving Senator, having played in every Ottawa postseason game since their first appearance in 1997. The key to success for the Sens is a successful transition game, constant pressure in all three zones, and the ability of more than one line to score. Sixteen different players have scored, yet the point totals are overwhelmingly in favor of the top line of Heatley-Alfredsson-Spezza (58 of 128 total points). The other three lines must assert themselves more, and find bigger roles than just supporting players. Of course, goaltender Ray Emery has to keep on keepin' on, a mobile, agile and hostile kung-fu genius totally ensconced in his own head.
On the other hand, the Ducks get their second crack in team history to bring home the Cup. No team from California has won, and only the Kings in 1993 played for the trophy, in league annals. Anaheim lost a well-played and heatbreaking seven-game set to the Devils in 2003 - a fact not lost on Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastein Giguere who upstaged Martin Brodeur to take home Conn Smythe Trophy honors as playoff MVP. He is one of only two players left from that club, bolstered by multiple-Cup-winner Scott Niedermayer, and last year's runner-up Chris Pronger on defense. Veteran goal-machine Teemu Selanne now gets his shot to win, and let's hope he doesn't float like he did for most of the Detroit series. There should be no concern over losing Chris Kunitz to his broken hand - Travis Moen and Sami Pahlsson have stepped up to provide extra offensive punch in a way Mike Comrie and Oleg Saprykin need to for Ottawa.
I don't see one team imposing their will on the other for more than a few minute-stretches of each game. Barring injury or excessively undisciplined play, it should be a long and exciting series. If both teams can keep the miscues to a minimum, it will reduce stress on the defense and goaltending, and since both teams are both fearless and physically imposing, you might see a lot of open ice in 4-on-4 situations.
That said, I give the edge to the Senators offensively, and to the Ducks on the back end. The goaltending is a push, though Giguere has the added badge of having been here before and carried his club. Power-play goes to the Senators, and even strength to the Ducks, who can play any style which game flow dictates. Intangibles go to Ottawa, which is now dedicating their Finals run to the little three-year-old fan and recent cancer victim who adopted the team as his own.
Prediction: Man, is this one painful to figure out. By another coin flip, it's Anaheim in seven.
No Canadian team has hoisted the Cup since Montreal's 5-game triumph over Los Angeles back in 1993, and only three Canadian teams since then have competed in the Finals (Vancouver - 1994; Calgary 2004; Edmonton 2006) since then.
Although the Senators now consider their original team which disbanded in 1935 as part of this current regime, the NHL considers this Ottawa franchise separate due to the intervening 57 year gap. Captain Daniel Alfredsson's hard work and perseverance may finally pay off, as he is the longest-serving Senator, having played in every Ottawa postseason game since their first appearance in 1997. The key to success for the Sens is a successful transition game, constant pressure in all three zones, and the ability of more than one line to score. Sixteen different players have scored, yet the point totals are overwhelmingly in favor of the top line of Heatley-Alfredsson-Spezza (58 of 128 total points). The other three lines must assert themselves more, and find bigger roles than just supporting players. Of course, goaltender Ray Emery has to keep on keepin' on, a mobile, agile and hostile kung-fu genius totally ensconced in his own head.
On the other hand, the Ducks get their second crack in team history to bring home the Cup. No team from California has won, and only the Kings in 1993 played for the trophy, in league annals. Anaheim lost a well-played and heatbreaking seven-game set to the Devils in 2003 - a fact not lost on Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastein Giguere who upstaged Martin Brodeur to take home Conn Smythe Trophy honors as playoff MVP. He is one of only two players left from that club, bolstered by multiple-Cup-winner Scott Niedermayer, and last year's runner-up Chris Pronger on defense. Veteran goal-machine Teemu Selanne now gets his shot to win, and let's hope he doesn't float like he did for most of the Detroit series. There should be no concern over losing Chris Kunitz to his broken hand - Travis Moen and Sami Pahlsson have stepped up to provide extra offensive punch in a way Mike Comrie and Oleg Saprykin need to for Ottawa.
I don't see one team imposing their will on the other for more than a few minute-stretches of each game. Barring injury or excessively undisciplined play, it should be a long and exciting series. If both teams can keep the miscues to a minimum, it will reduce stress on the defense and goaltending, and since both teams are both fearless and physically imposing, you might see a lot of open ice in 4-on-4 situations.
That said, I give the edge to the Senators offensively, and to the Ducks on the back end. The goaltending is a push, though Giguere has the added badge of having been here before and carried his club. Power-play goes to the Senators, and even strength to the Ducks, who can play any style which game flow dictates. Intangibles go to Ottawa, which is now dedicating their Finals run to the little three-year-old fan and recent cancer victim who adopted the team as his own.
Prediction: Man, is this one painful to figure out. By another coin flip, it's Anaheim in seven.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Turn Out the Lights, The Party's Over
Just learned through watching TSN Canada at work, that the Predators are about to be sold to Jim Balsillie - the same Canadian billionaire who almost had the winning bid for the Penguins back in January.
Watching the playoffs, you could tell something was up with the franchise. Although the rumors got as far as the Canadian answer to ESPN (because ESPN USA can't be bothered with hockey beyond Barry Melrose on Thursdays) they were unsettling enough to start believing something was going down in the off-season.
It's a pity that the Preds had to win a division title, 50+ games, then flame out in the first round again for all this to come to the surface, but I know I'm not alone in saying that I was really uncomfortable having a hockey team in the home of country music. They were originally on my hit list during the cancelled season, one of four teams that I thought should be contracted to get the lague back on track. Now, with Balsillie's letter of intent, which is more ironclad than that Pittsburgh one, Nashville will most likely not be in Nashville after next season.
Of course, as it stands now, nobody knows what Jim Balsillie will do. But let's recount the journey he's taken just since the turn of the New Year: Stepping up to purchase a struggling Penguins team on the verge of moving - all the while suggesting that the right thing to do with his purchase was to find a more economically viable location. Hamilton, Ontario was floated as his primary choice, followed by Winnipeg, Quebec, Hartford and Houston. Now, he steps up to sign a letter of intent - with prior ownership's backing - to purchase the Predators franchise which has been hemorrhaging money as an expansion team for years, and these two first-round failures put extra pressure on the business operation.
Since Balsillie would automatically be worth more money than virtually all other NHL team owners, he'd want to use that financial power to exercise some influence to move the club somewhere else. Because the NHL is already trying to monkey around with the schedule system and the division alignment following next season, I'd expect a relocation to pass with little opposition. Also, the fact that he's taking over one of the so-called "small market" teams will give him certain additional leverage with the Commissioner, whose job it has been to balance things more financially between market sizes.
Thus, Balsille can shift from the public perception of a younger Monty Burns trying to steal away a team from the hearts of the dedicated, to an unwitting hero about to rescue the NHL from its shaky experiment in the Southern reaches of the United States.
Don't get me wrong - I thought it a great gesture on Paul Kariya's part to place his newfound faith in the NHL and bring his leadership to the Preds two summers ago. I also thought it a great shot in the arm that David Legwand chose to and Tomas Vokoun both chose to stay after starting their careers with the then-expansion team, and that J.P. Dumont and Jason Arnott saw the Predators as a team with which to grow. However, it hasn't been a revelation that Nashville has been losing money while not garnering the support of butts in seats which it has required.
Recall the promise in 2003, that if the Preds didn't make the playoffs, season ticket holders would get a drastic reduction for the following season. If anything, it hastened Steve Sullivan's arrival in town, which had a direct effect on that season's successful capture of a playoff berth. It's also natural to expect a deep playoff run in subsequent seasons which will fill the crater of operating a team with the extra revenue of additional playoff home games; this didn't happen as the Preds were bounced in the opening round by the Sharks the last two years, with only six postseason home dates.
If playoff flameouts by division winners has been the downfall in established markets (like the downturn the Flyers suffered through in the early 1980's), think of the repercussions in a market which never got the support in the first place. This is where Balsillie can become a conquering hero.
True, his first choice of Hamilton would further split the 100-mile area between Toronto and Buffalo with a third team, but since the region has almost a million people (plus a long-time AHL fan base), it just might work after an upgrade to Copps Coliseum. In Winnipeg, a new arena awaits, and in Connecticut, two million fans wait with bated breath for the NHL's return. After the slow leak of money out of the Music City, even a billionaire with vast resources can see that pouring money into someplace where you won't get it back isn't a wise choice, even if you can recover those losses somewhere else.
I would venture to say, that unlike Florida and North Carolina, hockey in Nashville won't really be missed - and it has little to do with the Appalachian/Southern stereotypes of NASCAR-lovers and such. The region has an entrenched baseball, football and basketball history which remains strong, and unlike Kansas City or Atlanta, wouldn't be ridiculed for its failure given enough time to analyze.
I would also say that because of the cracks now appearing in the finances and fan base of certain Southern teams, it's time for people in the colder climates to get moving. It's not enough just to stand pat and say you deserve a team because of rich hockey heritage; you've got to get the people behind it, push through the funds, build the arena, and get fan interest into a frenzy. The NHL is still a business; you have to put together a fancy pitch which will make it impossible for the league to deny your city when faced with a better pure business opportunity somewhere else.
A man with billions of dollars and a pipe dream to move an existing club to your town only comes along once in a blue moon.
Watching the playoffs, you could tell something was up with the franchise. Although the rumors got as far as the Canadian answer to ESPN (because ESPN USA can't be bothered with hockey beyond Barry Melrose on Thursdays) they were unsettling enough to start believing something was going down in the off-season.
It's a pity that the Preds had to win a division title, 50+ games, then flame out in the first round again for all this to come to the surface, but I know I'm not alone in saying that I was really uncomfortable having a hockey team in the home of country music. They were originally on my hit list during the cancelled season, one of four teams that I thought should be contracted to get the lague back on track. Now, with Balsillie's letter of intent, which is more ironclad than that Pittsburgh one, Nashville will most likely not be in Nashville after next season.
Of course, as it stands now, nobody knows what Jim Balsillie will do. But let's recount the journey he's taken just since the turn of the New Year: Stepping up to purchase a struggling Penguins team on the verge of moving - all the while suggesting that the right thing to do with his purchase was to find a more economically viable location. Hamilton, Ontario was floated as his primary choice, followed by Winnipeg, Quebec, Hartford and Houston. Now, he steps up to sign a letter of intent - with prior ownership's backing - to purchase the Predators franchise which has been hemorrhaging money as an expansion team for years, and these two first-round failures put extra pressure on the business operation.
Since Balsillie would automatically be worth more money than virtually all other NHL team owners, he'd want to use that financial power to exercise some influence to move the club somewhere else. Because the NHL is already trying to monkey around with the schedule system and the division alignment following next season, I'd expect a relocation to pass with little opposition. Also, the fact that he's taking over one of the so-called "small market" teams will give him certain additional leverage with the Commissioner, whose job it has been to balance things more financially between market sizes.
Thus, Balsille can shift from the public perception of a younger Monty Burns trying to steal away a team from the hearts of the dedicated, to an unwitting hero about to rescue the NHL from its shaky experiment in the Southern reaches of the United States.
Don't get me wrong - I thought it a great gesture on Paul Kariya's part to place his newfound faith in the NHL and bring his leadership to the Preds two summers ago. I also thought it a great shot in the arm that David Legwand chose to and Tomas Vokoun both chose to stay after starting their careers with the then-expansion team, and that J.P. Dumont and Jason Arnott saw the Predators as a team with which to grow. However, it hasn't been a revelation that Nashville has been losing money while not garnering the support of butts in seats which it has required.
Recall the promise in 2003, that if the Preds didn't make the playoffs, season ticket holders would get a drastic reduction for the following season. If anything, it hastened Steve Sullivan's arrival in town, which had a direct effect on that season's successful capture of a playoff berth. It's also natural to expect a deep playoff run in subsequent seasons which will fill the crater of operating a team with the extra revenue of additional playoff home games; this didn't happen as the Preds were bounced in the opening round by the Sharks the last two years, with only six postseason home dates.
If playoff flameouts by division winners has been the downfall in established markets (like the downturn the Flyers suffered through in the early 1980's), think of the repercussions in a market which never got the support in the first place. This is where Balsillie can become a conquering hero.
True, his first choice of Hamilton would further split the 100-mile area between Toronto and Buffalo with a third team, but since the region has almost a million people (plus a long-time AHL fan base), it just might work after an upgrade to Copps Coliseum. In Winnipeg, a new arena awaits, and in Connecticut, two million fans wait with bated breath for the NHL's return. After the slow leak of money out of the Music City, even a billionaire with vast resources can see that pouring money into someplace where you won't get it back isn't a wise choice, even if you can recover those losses somewhere else.
I would venture to say, that unlike Florida and North Carolina, hockey in Nashville won't really be missed - and it has little to do with the Appalachian/Southern stereotypes of NASCAR-lovers and such. The region has an entrenched baseball, football and basketball history which remains strong, and unlike Kansas City or Atlanta, wouldn't be ridiculed for its failure given enough time to analyze.
I would also say that because of the cracks now appearing in the finances and fan base of certain Southern teams, it's time for people in the colder climates to get moving. It's not enough just to stand pat and say you deserve a team because of rich hockey heritage; you've got to get the people behind it, push through the funds, build the arena, and get fan interest into a frenzy. The NHL is still a business; you have to put together a fancy pitch which will make it impossible for the league to deny your city when faced with a better pure business opportunity somewhere else.
A man with billions of dollars and a pipe dream to move an existing club to your town only comes along once in a blue moon.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Make Your Own Breaks
If there's one thing to glean about the games this weekend in each Conference Final, it's that talent alone and past performance really don't have anything to do with future success.
In the Buffalo-Ottawa series, the Sabres basically got lucky in Game 4, catching the Sens off guard with the goal nine seconds in. I don't know if being at home naturally slipped Buffalo into a comfort zone, expecting the crowd and the home ice to be what carried them to victory, but it didn't work in Game 5. For the fourth time in the series, Buffalo was out-worked and out-hustled after going up 1-0 early in the game. Of course, it being an elimination contest, you'd have to expect the burst of energy which preceded the Sabres' tying goal, but where was the urgency after that? In overtime, the Senators threw a blanket over Buffalo, then capitalized on a lucky break - the fact that three Sabres defenders were within 10 feet of Daniel Alfredsson yet barely touched him, and one was used as a screen before the game-winning shot.
Aside from that, the most obvious and telling reasons that Ottawa has reached the finals, is that every player on the ice has executed his job, and even the top line is no longer afraid to work in the corners and work inside the give-and-take of playoff punishment.
Yesterday's Ducks-Red Wings game was a prime example of how working to make your own luck can turn the tide of a series. The Wings held a 34-18 advantage in shots after 60 minutes of play, and for most of the contest were seen buzzing around their opponents in all three zones. That said, there was little finishing ability and a dearth of quality scoring chances for Detroit - and the goal they did score was aided by a tussle going on in the crease which distracted Jean-Sebastien Giguere just enough. I got the sense that all Anaheim was doing, and needed to do, was lay in wait for the one or two chances they had to score, which is smart considering Joe Louis Arena can be an intimidating place to play deep into a playoff round. They lucked out in that pretty much their only two opportunities came so close to each other late in the game and then early in overtime. Still, it takes a cool hand to make it all work, and it's also no shock that Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne were the veterans who showed stones of solid brass to finish off their plays.
Anaheim would be wise to go for broke in Game 6 at home, because the worst that can happen is a Game 7 in Detroit, and the Ducks have already shown mettle in winning a pair of overtime games at the Joe.
And speaking of breaks...My colleague at work already broached the subject with a good column, but I'm still mystified as to why NBC would switch over from the Sens-Sabres a full 70 minutes before the Preakness? Let's face facts, the game was going to be pre-empted or switched or whatever, because the gambling community in this country has it in for horses welll ahead of hockey. I'll even grant you that the space between the end of regulation and the start of overtime is as good a break as any, but it was a mistake to send the game to Versus so soon.
Even with a bit of rudimentary math, NBC would have been safe to keep the game on air before the race. The third period concluded at 4:50 pm, and intermission lasts no longer than 15 minutes. Even if NBC showed a full overtime without anyone scoring to decide the game a 20-minute playoff period lasts no longer than 35 minutes. They could have been safe to switch after a first OT somewhere around 5:40 pm, and have only 20 minutes of useless pre-game before the race. All of that was rendered moot anyhow, since the game concluded midway through OT.
The fact that not everybody in the country was able to see overtime because it was not an automatic switch to Versus? Nothing short of a complete travesty.
Coming off the aborted 2004-2005 season, I finally caved and realized the only way for the league to thrive was to make it the best fourth-tier sport in America. I wanted contraction, four divisions, losing teams making the playoffs to make it easier for the top teams to advance, and a television contract like the one currently in use. I was willing to accept the actual TV deal as a joke, but the internal decisions which govern who gets to see what games when is what will prove to be the death knell for the sport.
In the Buffalo-Ottawa series, the Sabres basically got lucky in Game 4, catching the Sens off guard with the goal nine seconds in. I don't know if being at home naturally slipped Buffalo into a comfort zone, expecting the crowd and the home ice to be what carried them to victory, but it didn't work in Game 5. For the fourth time in the series, Buffalo was out-worked and out-hustled after going up 1-0 early in the game. Of course, it being an elimination contest, you'd have to expect the burst of energy which preceded the Sabres' tying goal, but where was the urgency after that? In overtime, the Senators threw a blanket over Buffalo, then capitalized on a lucky break - the fact that three Sabres defenders were within 10 feet of Daniel Alfredsson yet barely touched him, and one was used as a screen before the game-winning shot.
Aside from that, the most obvious and telling reasons that Ottawa has reached the finals, is that every player on the ice has executed his job, and even the top line is no longer afraid to work in the corners and work inside the give-and-take of playoff punishment.
Yesterday's Ducks-Red Wings game was a prime example of how working to make your own luck can turn the tide of a series. The Wings held a 34-18 advantage in shots after 60 minutes of play, and for most of the contest were seen buzzing around their opponents in all three zones. That said, there was little finishing ability and a dearth of quality scoring chances for Detroit - and the goal they did score was aided by a tussle going on in the crease which distracted Jean-Sebastien Giguere just enough. I got the sense that all Anaheim was doing, and needed to do, was lay in wait for the one or two chances they had to score, which is smart considering Joe Louis Arena can be an intimidating place to play deep into a playoff round. They lucked out in that pretty much their only two opportunities came so close to each other late in the game and then early in overtime. Still, it takes a cool hand to make it all work, and it's also no shock that Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne were the veterans who showed stones of solid brass to finish off their plays.
Anaheim would be wise to go for broke in Game 6 at home, because the worst that can happen is a Game 7 in Detroit, and the Ducks have already shown mettle in winning a pair of overtime games at the Joe.
And speaking of breaks...My colleague at work already broached the subject with a good column, but I'm still mystified as to why NBC would switch over from the Sens-Sabres a full 70 minutes before the Preakness? Let's face facts, the game was going to be pre-empted or switched or whatever, because the gambling community in this country has it in for horses welll ahead of hockey. I'll even grant you that the space between the end of regulation and the start of overtime is as good a break as any, but it was a mistake to send the game to Versus so soon.
Even with a bit of rudimentary math, NBC would have been safe to keep the game on air before the race. The third period concluded at 4:50 pm, and intermission lasts no longer than 15 minutes. Even if NBC showed a full overtime without anyone scoring to decide the game a 20-minute playoff period lasts no longer than 35 minutes. They could have been safe to switch after a first OT somewhere around 5:40 pm, and have only 20 minutes of useless pre-game before the race. All of that was rendered moot anyhow, since the game concluded midway through OT.
The fact that not everybody in the country was able to see overtime because it was not an automatic switch to Versus? Nothing short of a complete travesty.
Coming off the aborted 2004-2005 season, I finally caved and realized the only way for the league to thrive was to make it the best fourth-tier sport in America. I wanted contraction, four divisions, losing teams making the playoffs to make it easier for the top teams to advance, and a television contract like the one currently in use. I was willing to accept the actual TV deal as a joke, but the internal decisions which govern who gets to see what games when is what will prove to be the death knell for the sport.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Despite beloved team, Philly's not really a hockey hotbed
You’d think one of the top five media markets in the NHL, and a franchise that has enjoyed 40 seasons of mostly successful hockey, would capture enough young minds to eventually churn out some top-flight prospects into the college ranks and into the league.
And you’d be dead wrong.
The supposed hockey boom throughout the Delaware Valley that was supposedly created due to the Flyers’ success through the 1970’s and 1980’s hasn’t really panned out. In spite of the fact that the core members of those Cup Winners settled in South Jersey or the Pennsylvania side of the river, had hockey playing kids and lent their hand to some leagues, there are precious few names that come to mind when talking local product.
Although there are rinks that spring up in selected locations throughout the region from Reading to Vineland, the Philadelphia area is still ill-suited to producing talent like traditional spots in colder climates.
The first impediment is the lack of Division I game in the city. Penn used to have a top-level program in the ECAC until the Ivy League decided to go to I-AA and dropped hockey to club level. St. Joseph’s, Drexel, LaSalle and Temple have good second-division teams, and several smaller colleges offer competition, but it pales in comparison to Boston, Detroit, or Minneapolis.
Another oft-quoted fact is that the Wachovia Center is so distant from Center City and the city’s college campuses. It was a major factor in the NCAA’s decision to have a future Frozen Four in Washington, D.C. where the MCI Center is in a central location.
Second, hockey isn’t woven into the fabric of life like the above cities due to the climate, the relative newness of the sport to the area, and the fact that the city has always boasted basketball as its top export. When it’s 55 degrees outside in January, there aren’t too many kids who want to get exercise in a place where it’s colder. Besides, 55 degrees in January is more likely a fantasy to a kid living in Eden Prairie, Minnesota or Medford, Massachusetts. Even at the existing rinks here, there are only a hardcore few people – mostly volunteer parents – who operate leagues and sponsor teams, and these dedicated few are barely enough to keep things going. In some cases, if a former Flyers great does not have some hand in keeping the dream alive with financial or spiritual support, these things collapse.
Third, the suburban structure of the Delaware Valley doesn’t lend itself to an all-encompassing growth of the sport. In Boston, Detroit, and the Twin Cities, there are numerous autonomous outlying towns that support their own teams and schools and leagues with their own rinks. There is more sense of civic pride and involvement, and every school has a scholastic squad and every town has a traveling team.
The fact that Philly and Jersey suburbs are divided into townships inhibits growth because of distance – many kids have to cross the river into Jersey to play, and even St. Joseph’s University has to scrounge for ice time in Oaks, which is more than 30 miles from campus. Rink construction is by and large done in strategic locations, but in places like Havertown’s Skatium, up to a dozen teams call it home and a dozen more play a handful of games there each season.
Also, the sacrifices of parents and players in trying to find a good fit and some fun takes a toll and thins the ranks. I know, because I was one of them. I quit playing after 8th grade because my high school didn’t have a team, and I didn’t think it was worth it to try and shoehorn a traveling-team schedule into a tough academic one. Now I’m stuck with the Al Bundy-like remembrance of a four-goal game I had at Rizzo Rink back in 1991 at the ripe old age of 13.
And you’d be dead wrong.
The supposed hockey boom throughout the Delaware Valley that was supposedly created due to the Flyers’ success through the 1970’s and 1980’s hasn’t really panned out. In spite of the fact that the core members of those Cup Winners settled in South Jersey or the Pennsylvania side of the river, had hockey playing kids and lent their hand to some leagues, there are precious few names that come to mind when talking local product.
By my count, there are only 10. And did I ever have to rack the inner recesses of my gray matter to come up with that many.
The prospect currently generating buzz around these parts is one Bobby Ryan. He’s a 20-year-old out of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, the second overall choice of Anaheim in the 2005 Draft. His story, chronicled around that time by the Inquirer, details a life less ordinary, and shocking by all accounts. Long story short, he was a pawn in his father’s game of eluding authorities after the attempted murder of his wife - Bobby’s mother. Ryan isn’t even his real last name. Regardless, he has risen from those lurid times to become a highly-touted player out of the Ontario Hockey League and looks to be a permanent member of the Ducks’ AHL affiliate in Portland, Maine this season.
Next on the list is Mark Eaton, the area’s lone success story. A native of Wilmington and graduate of Notre Dame, Eaton began his NHL career with the Flyers in 1998. Nine years and two teams later, he’s a part-time veteran defensive cornerstone to the Penguins’ youthful proto-dynasty. At least he got to The Show, and has carved out a niche as a defensive-minded backliner with some talent on both sides of the puck.
After that, the picture gets murky. Jay Caufield was the first to come from the region and earn a reputation (with the hated New York Rangers in 1986-87), but he didn’t so much as look at a pair of skates until high school. Plus, aside from his fistic abilities, his career can be summed up as the result of a close friendship with Mario Lemieux.
Tony Voce, a Northeast Philly boy and Boston College captain, won a title with the Eagles in 2001, and was signed by the Flyers as a free agent. He spent one year at Archbishop Ryan before going the path most players need to make, heading to Connecticut’s Canterbury School for a higher level of prep school competition. After two seasons with the Phantoms which included a Calder Cup in 2005, he was “acquired” under odd circumstances by Grand Rapids this past Winter after an alleged altercation with head coach Kjell Samuelsson.
Ryan Gunderson, who continued to learn his trade at the University of Vermont, tore up the Lower Bucks league while attending Holy Ghost Prep. However, he didn’t crack the 10-goal plateau in any season in Burlington against elite Hockey East competition, and remains un-drafted following his senior season.
Vince Clevenger is probably the least recognizable name on the list, even to those who are in the know about regional hockey. A native of West Chester, he also attended Canterbury, then went on to a solid four-year career as a third-line player with Merrimack College from 1997-2001. He entered the real world upon graduation.
Two Havertown, PA products, Ryan and Matt Mulhern had their shot to make it as well. Ryan, the elder brother, was an eighth round pick of Calgary in 1992. He played collegiately at Brown, then spent time in the ECHL before becoming a fan favorite with the Portland Pirates, then the affiliate for the Washington Capitals. He had one cup of coffee (three games with Washington in 1997-98) before leaving the game in 2000. Matt had a successful career at Canterbury, then a four-year stint as a penalty-killing specialist at Boston College, but his career was cut short by knee injuries in the ECHL. He now coaches the varsity boys’ team at The Hill School in Pottstown, PA.
At the bottom of the barrel are Ryan Sittler and Ray Staszak. Sittler was not born here, but was raised here when his father, Hall-of-Famer Darryl Sittler, played with the Flyers in the early 1980’s. Philly made him their seventh-overall pick in 1992, but he only reached the Hershey Bears for 49 games over two seasons.
Staszak had the honor of being the very first Philadelphia native to play in the NHL, but his career lasted all of four games with Detroit in 1985. Another Ryan graduate, he was one of a group of signings for the Red Wings in what became a notoriously dismal 17-win and 40-point season.Although there are rinks that spring up in selected locations throughout the region from Reading to Vineland, the Philadelphia area is still ill-suited to producing talent like traditional spots in colder climates.
The first impediment is the lack of Division I game in the city. Penn used to have a top-level program in the ECAC until the Ivy League decided to go to I-AA and dropped hockey to club level. St. Joseph’s, Drexel, LaSalle and Temple have good second-division teams, and several smaller colleges offer competition, but it pales in comparison to Boston, Detroit, or Minneapolis.
Another oft-quoted fact is that the Wachovia Center is so distant from Center City and the city’s college campuses. It was a major factor in the NCAA’s decision to have a future Frozen Four in Washington, D.C. where the MCI Center is in a central location.
Second, hockey isn’t woven into the fabric of life like the above cities due to the climate, the relative newness of the sport to the area, and the fact that the city has always boasted basketball as its top export. When it’s 55 degrees outside in January, there aren’t too many kids who want to get exercise in a place where it’s colder. Besides, 55 degrees in January is more likely a fantasy to a kid living in Eden Prairie, Minnesota or Medford, Massachusetts. Even at the existing rinks here, there are only a hardcore few people – mostly volunteer parents – who operate leagues and sponsor teams, and these dedicated few are barely enough to keep things going. In some cases, if a former Flyers great does not have some hand in keeping the dream alive with financial or spiritual support, these things collapse.
Third, the suburban structure of the Delaware Valley doesn’t lend itself to an all-encompassing growth of the sport. In Boston, Detroit, and the Twin Cities, there are numerous autonomous outlying towns that support their own teams and schools and leagues with their own rinks. There is more sense of civic pride and involvement, and every school has a scholastic squad and every town has a traveling team.
The fact that Philly and Jersey suburbs are divided into townships inhibits growth because of distance – many kids have to cross the river into Jersey to play, and even St. Joseph’s University has to scrounge for ice time in Oaks, which is more than 30 miles from campus. Rink construction is by and large done in strategic locations, but in places like Havertown’s Skatium, up to a dozen teams call it home and a dozen more play a handful of games there each season.
Also, the sacrifices of parents and players in trying to find a good fit and some fun takes a toll and thins the ranks. I know, because I was one of them. I quit playing after 8th grade because my high school didn’t have a team, and I didn’t think it was worth it to try and shoehorn a traveling-team schedule into a tough academic one. Now I’m stuck with the Al Bundy-like remembrance of a four-goal game I had at Rizzo Rink back in 1991 at the ripe old age of 13.
Finally, the level of high-school-age competition is nowhere close to those in the New England Prep Leagues, the USHL, or Canadian juniors. There is no question that you need to leave the area to have a shot to make it – so you have players like Voce who spend five years in secondary education just to get an edge. Gunderson may have actually harmed his chances for the big time by staying at Holy Ghost, and it isn’t a surprise he was chosen by Vermont, a program just now getting to its feet after a devastating hazing scandal.
If there are only a select few kids even willing to break through all the barriers just to earn a fleeting chance, no wonder 10 names in 22 years were hard to come by.And if you think a series of “hometown boy makes good” stories are also the best move to generate interest in your dead-last Philadelphia Flyers, think again. The Boston Bruins have made pathologically inept attempts in recent years to bring back nearly every player either born in the Boston area or who played in Hockey East, to no avail.
Nonetheless, the system can’t be knocked. There are thousands of youngsters who put on their skates at a young enough age to get hooked. Memories abound of hallway hockey on road trips, a run to the state finals, or hot cocoa after a disheartening loss. The ride lasts until they’re 18, which is a pretty good chunk of time to emulate their heroes.
Even though it’s perfectly all right to dream, don’t confuse the ability to play with the ability to become one of the best – because the overwhelming truth of the matter is, if you’re born here you’ll make your living at something else.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Around the Rink: Mayflower Edition
"I went to a basketball game and a hockey brawl broke out..."
It's really odd to see that the Spurs-Suns NBA playoff series features more hitting and dirty play than virtually all of the NHL playoff games this season combined. I know the NHL wants to feature higher quality action, and by that I guess they mean a constant flow on the ice which incorporates more skill than grit, but I think the NHL playoff game this postseason has lost some of its unique flavor.
I really shouldn't be surprised, because I recall 10 years ago that the Bulls, Knicks and Miami Heat all engaged in post-whistle ruckuses that were right on par with the Red Wings and Avalanche.
Even in the Buffalo-Ottawa series, given the bad blood from the regular season, the play is not as centered on fierce battles in the corners and devastating checks as much as it is puck possession and making sure each player knows his proper position in all three zones. You still have the heart, soul and zeal to win the Cup which exists on every shift, but the willingness to throw oneself into the path of danger with a huge hit, or to take a risk and try to pick off a pass for a breakaway is absent - having crossed over to the gruesome sideshow of Manu Ginobili and Bruce Bowen of San Antonio ganging up on Steve Nash of Phoenix.
That said...Our Boy Nash is Canadian, and knows how to take an elbow to the nose and a punch to the groinal region. He also apparently knows how to take a hit, as what happened in the last Spurs-Suns game where Nash was casually strolling by the scorers table and got drilled, demonstrates. That may be the best hit I've seen in any postseason thus far. Buffalo could use a guy like Nash in the lineup, because I haven't seen too many Sabres really break a sweat in the first three games against Ottawa. Steve-O has endured a freely-flowing blood cut to the schnoz, a punch Andrew Golota would be proud of, and a check Denis Potvin wishes he'd thrown - and he gets up to dish out more punishment with his scoring and passing prowess.
And yet, this morning, I bet Lindy Ruff is hard at work concocting bizarre conspiracy scenarios as to why the favored Sabres are one game away from hitting the golf course.
Flyers eager to lock up Scottie and Big Ben
This week, the orange and black inked both Scottie Upshall and Ben Eager to two-year deals, setting them up to be youthful cornerstones of The Big Turnaround.
Eager had a relatively healthy season, six goals, 11 points, with an-NHL-best 233 (?) penalty minutes in 63 games. I have him pencilled in as a solid third-line guy, not really an "energy" player, but the guy who gets sent into the corners to dig the puck out for his linemates, and also filling the role of enforcer. You can't overestimate his value to the team, though - most nights he's not going to set off fireworks, but put in true bone-crunching effort each shift. He needs to tread the line between worker and goon to be most effective, and could do well on a mash-up line between Richards and Carter.
Upshall came here in the Forsberg deal, and immediately endeared himself to the fan base with his enthusiasm, tireless work ethic, and timely scoring. His overtime goal in Boston was one of the best non-top-line highlights in the last five years. I'm sure there will be a ton of writers and pundits who will rail on him for not reaching 20 goals next year, but he's not here to be a second-line talent - he's the "energy" guy like a Rob DiMaio or Trent Klatt. He'll get his goals any number of ways, can do wonders disrupting an opponent's top two lines, and is an effective penalty killer. He'll be the team's secret weapon on more than one night.
Other Flyers Thoughts...
At this point, I'm still in the camp which wants to put Sami Kapanen (another player rewarded with a two-year deal) permanently on defense. He's been used too sparingly on either side the last two seasons, and deserves to have a permanent spot in the lineup. Since there's not too many moderately-priced veteran defensemen on the market, it's best to have Kapanen on the backline whether or not the Flyers can get rid of Derian Hatcher. As a Finn, he can impress upon Joni Pitkanen how and when to use his puck-handling skills, and also when to be defensively responsible - something he's totally lost since Ken Hitchcock's firing.
As for the captaincy, it's not such a big deal if Simon Gagne does or does not accept responsibility; after all, Eric Desjardins was captain for a year - the first non-North American to be honored in team history. In my initial rantings from this blog back in September, I nominated Mike Knuble for the honor, and why not since the club was so quick to put the letter on Forsberg upon his arrival - Knubes has been here for two seasons, and has demonstrated excellent qualities both on and off the ice. I'd also have no beef if Kapanen was given at least a trial with it, because the European taboo was broken with Forsberg's investiture two seasons ago. I'm also not big on the rush to keep anointing a team's supposed best player the captain - and I cite Rick Tocchet, Eric Lindros and Peter Forsberg as prime examples of where that can go awry.
Final Analysis
Although the Sabres are down 3-0 with Game 4 in Ottawa Wednesday night, something tells me that Lindy Ruff has some kind of fire-and-brimstone to break out which will cause Buffalo to win this next game as well as Game 5 back at HSBC Arena. That should be enough time for the Senators to be taken aback, and recover enough to take the series in a Game 6 at home. I've heard that the Sabres are dead, but this is a 50-plus win team we're talking about here - they're not going to roll over and die - and nothing in the series has indicated they will do so. For them, it's a matter of aggressiveness, not desire.
Anaheim tying the series with Detroit says absolutely nothing about the Ducks' chances to seize control of the series once it shifts back to Southern California on Tuesday. It's actually time for either team to play an absolute clunker, one whose video will be burned immediately after the final buzzer. Strap yourselves in for a long one, folks, and enjoy it.
It's really odd to see that the Spurs-Suns NBA playoff series features more hitting and dirty play than virtually all of the NHL playoff games this season combined. I know the NHL wants to feature higher quality action, and by that I guess they mean a constant flow on the ice which incorporates more skill than grit, but I think the NHL playoff game this postseason has lost some of its unique flavor.
I really shouldn't be surprised, because I recall 10 years ago that the Bulls, Knicks and Miami Heat all engaged in post-whistle ruckuses that were right on par with the Red Wings and Avalanche.
Even in the Buffalo-Ottawa series, given the bad blood from the regular season, the play is not as centered on fierce battles in the corners and devastating checks as much as it is puck possession and making sure each player knows his proper position in all three zones. You still have the heart, soul and zeal to win the Cup which exists on every shift, but the willingness to throw oneself into the path of danger with a huge hit, or to take a risk and try to pick off a pass for a breakaway is absent - having crossed over to the gruesome sideshow of Manu Ginobili and Bruce Bowen of San Antonio ganging up on Steve Nash of Phoenix.
That said...Our Boy Nash is Canadian, and knows how to take an elbow to the nose and a punch to the groinal region. He also apparently knows how to take a hit, as what happened in the last Spurs-Suns game where Nash was casually strolling by the scorers table and got drilled, demonstrates. That may be the best hit I've seen in any postseason thus far. Buffalo could use a guy like Nash in the lineup, because I haven't seen too many Sabres really break a sweat in the first three games against Ottawa. Steve-O has endured a freely-flowing blood cut to the schnoz, a punch Andrew Golota would be proud of, and a check Denis Potvin wishes he'd thrown - and he gets up to dish out more punishment with his scoring and passing prowess.
And yet, this morning, I bet Lindy Ruff is hard at work concocting bizarre conspiracy scenarios as to why the favored Sabres are one game away from hitting the golf course.
Flyers eager to lock up Scottie and Big Ben
This week, the orange and black inked both Scottie Upshall and Ben Eager to two-year deals, setting them up to be youthful cornerstones of The Big Turnaround.
Eager had a relatively healthy season, six goals, 11 points, with an-NHL-best 233 (?) penalty minutes in 63 games. I have him pencilled in as a solid third-line guy, not really an "energy" player, but the guy who gets sent into the corners to dig the puck out for his linemates, and also filling the role of enforcer. You can't overestimate his value to the team, though - most nights he's not going to set off fireworks, but put in true bone-crunching effort each shift. He needs to tread the line between worker and goon to be most effective, and could do well on a mash-up line between Richards and Carter.
Upshall came here in the Forsberg deal, and immediately endeared himself to the fan base with his enthusiasm, tireless work ethic, and timely scoring. His overtime goal in Boston was one of the best non-top-line highlights in the last five years. I'm sure there will be a ton of writers and pundits who will rail on him for not reaching 20 goals next year, but he's not here to be a second-line talent - he's the "energy" guy like a Rob DiMaio or Trent Klatt. He'll get his goals any number of ways, can do wonders disrupting an opponent's top two lines, and is an effective penalty killer. He'll be the team's secret weapon on more than one night.
Other Flyers Thoughts...
At this point, I'm still in the camp which wants to put Sami Kapanen (another player rewarded with a two-year deal) permanently on defense. He's been used too sparingly on either side the last two seasons, and deserves to have a permanent spot in the lineup. Since there's not too many moderately-priced veteran defensemen on the market, it's best to have Kapanen on the backline whether or not the Flyers can get rid of Derian Hatcher. As a Finn, he can impress upon Joni Pitkanen how and when to use his puck-handling skills, and also when to be defensively responsible - something he's totally lost since Ken Hitchcock's firing.
As for the captaincy, it's not such a big deal if Simon Gagne does or does not accept responsibility; after all, Eric Desjardins was captain for a year - the first non-North American to be honored in team history. In my initial rantings from this blog back in September, I nominated Mike Knuble for the honor, and why not since the club was so quick to put the letter on Forsberg upon his arrival - Knubes has been here for two seasons, and has demonstrated excellent qualities both on and off the ice. I'd also have no beef if Kapanen was given at least a trial with it, because the European taboo was broken with Forsberg's investiture two seasons ago. I'm also not big on the rush to keep anointing a team's supposed best player the captain - and I cite Rick Tocchet, Eric Lindros and Peter Forsberg as prime examples of where that can go awry.
Final Analysis
Although the Sabres are down 3-0 with Game 4 in Ottawa Wednesday night, something tells me that Lindy Ruff has some kind of fire-and-brimstone to break out which will cause Buffalo to win this next game as well as Game 5 back at HSBC Arena. That should be enough time for the Senators to be taken aback, and recover enough to take the series in a Game 6 at home. I've heard that the Sabres are dead, but this is a 50-plus win team we're talking about here - they're not going to roll over and die - and nothing in the series has indicated they will do so. For them, it's a matter of aggressiveness, not desire.
Anaheim tying the series with Detroit says absolutely nothing about the Ducks' chances to seize control of the series once it shifts back to Southern California on Tuesday. It's actually time for either team to play an absolute clunker, one whose video will be burned immediately after the final buzzer. Strap yourselves in for a long one, folks, and enjoy it.
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