That cocky Maple Leaf squad of late, got taught a bit of a lesson last night, never let your guard down. After coasting to a three goal lead, the Leafs sat back and watched their neighbors from across the lake come back in wave after wave. The Buffalo Sabres took complete control of the game, as the second period dwindled. Picking up where they left off, the Sabres completely dominated the Leafs as the third period began, scoring quickly and punishing the Leafs for their miscues. The Sabres have the scent of a playoff team all of a sudden and have been playing very competitive and rewarding hockey of late. Wins like Saturday nights, will go a long way to helping them make the jump into the post season.
A combination of stupid penalties (a wonderful Maple Leaf trait), horrid defensive work and unfortunate goaltending, all served to put the Leafs on the short end of a 6-4 loss. Many of the Maple Leaf faithful have offered up some wonderful suggestions for Mr. Quinn and Mr. Ferguson to consider.
Rosie Dimano composed a wonderfully lyrical account of the Sabres comeback, but one wonders if your average Leaf fan will be able to reference the Greek imagery put to print. Indeed if the Leaf adorned fans of Conan O'Brien week in Toronto are any indication, the average Leaf fan will be more inclined to think of the name Simpson when reading up on Homer. The again, the way that the Leafs performed last night, seems perfectly appropriate for comparisons to Greek tragedies.
Sunday, February 15, 2004
Brian Burke's wished for rule change
Last week the NHL Gm's and Governors sat down and cobbled together some new (old) ideas to help speed up the flow of the game and try to put some more offence into things. Moving the nets back again, tag up offsides and reducing the golatenders handling of the puck, are just some of the ideas to be tried.
But if you're Brian Burke of the Vancouver Canucks, there's one rule you want to have implemented as soon as possible. The abolition of the second period. For the third game in a row, the Canucks left their effort in the dressing room between periods one and three. Last night, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks collected a 2-1 win at GM Place mainly on the disappearance of the entire Canuck team in the second period. This follows a similar effort on Friday night against the Atlanta Thrashers. Earlier in the week they had their troubles with the Calgary Flames and again the second period seemed to be the main problem area.
For what ever reason the Canucks seem to go into an extended intermission mode, that includes the twenty minutes of live time between the first and third periods. They seldom hit, can't score and welcome the opposition members into their end of the rink, as if they were holding an open house. Last night the Ducks outshot them in the second 15-6, testing Hedberg nine times in the first 90 seconds of the second period. To say he was left on his own would be an understatement.
They then rebound in the third, valiantly trying to get back into the game and recapture the quickly slipping away points. There has yet to be any solid explanation as to why they disappear for twenty minutes each game, but surely it must be a concern of both coach Crawford and GM Burke.
So they have two choices, figure out the on ice problem and solve it quickly. Or go to plan B, get that rule change into effect ASAP, instead of three periods, go to two halves. Maybe that way, the Canucks will be able to avoid that second period let down.
But if you're Brian Burke of the Vancouver Canucks, there's one rule you want to have implemented as soon as possible. The abolition of the second period. For the third game in a row, the Canucks left their effort in the dressing room between periods one and three. Last night, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks collected a 2-1 win at GM Place mainly on the disappearance of the entire Canuck team in the second period. This follows a similar effort on Friday night against the Atlanta Thrashers. Earlier in the week they had their troubles with the Calgary Flames and again the second period seemed to be the main problem area.
For what ever reason the Canucks seem to go into an extended intermission mode, that includes the twenty minutes of live time between the first and third periods. They seldom hit, can't score and welcome the opposition members into their end of the rink, as if they were holding an open house. Last night the Ducks outshot them in the second 15-6, testing Hedberg nine times in the first 90 seconds of the second period. To say he was left on his own would be an understatement.
They then rebound in the third, valiantly trying to get back into the game and recapture the quickly slipping away points. There has yet to be any solid explanation as to why they disappear for twenty minutes each game, but surely it must be a concern of both coach Crawford and GM Burke.
So they have two choices, figure out the on ice problem and solve it quickly. Or go to plan B, get that rule change into effect ASAP, instead of three periods, go to two halves. Maybe that way, the Canucks will be able to avoid that second period let down.
Controlling the fate of some of the biggest names in hockey
There is one person who has the power to say yea or nay. One person that can change the outcome of a lineup, to whom the opinion of Coaches and GM's matters not. One person that will send accountants scurrying for an abacus, in order to calculate lost income over insurance premiums. Who is this mystery person, this omni powerful hockey controller.
The name is Karen Johnston. Yes, Karen Johnston. She may not balance the books, make the trades or draft a player, but her word is gospel. If she says you're done, buddy pack your bags you're going home. Karen Johnston is a neurologist in Montreal, and right now she's the most important player in the NHL.
The doctor to the stars, has already done a workup on Eric Lindros, continuing to test his noggin, after the numerous hits he's taken over his career. Lindros has yet to tip his hand about returning to the ice, or retiring from it. But he's mindful of the past history of his brother Brett and Pat Lafontaine, to name a few of the names gone from the game.
This week Karen's appointment book, is once again the focal point of hockey fans. Jeremy Roenick is penciled in for a look see, after suffering what he estimates to be his ninth concussion in his career. Not to mention a broken jaw and over 50 stitches of repairs. The doctor will put Roenick through his neurological paces this week, give him some time to rest up and then discuss his options with him. Roenick has gone so far as to say he's seriously thinking of retiring, after this latest incident in New York City a few nights ago.
Of course there is no shortage of medical advice available in Philadelphia. For their part Doctors Clarke and Hitchcock say ole Jeremy will be back in no time, nowhere near the six to eight weeks rumoured to be the minimum wait. Dr. Clarke, claiming he had no idea that Roenick had such a history, suggested that patient Roenick might be back in four weeks. Dr. Hitchcock of course ever the optimist, says Roenick is suffering more of an emotional condition at the moment and only needs some bed rest, then he should be back as good as new.
For Roenick there is one thing to keep in mind, Dr. Johnston has the medical diploma's on her side and possibly her patient's best interests at heart. He'll have to decide if Doctors Clarke and Hitchcock are of a similar philosophy.
The name is Karen Johnston. Yes, Karen Johnston. She may not balance the books, make the trades or draft a player, but her word is gospel. If she says you're done, buddy pack your bags you're going home. Karen Johnston is a neurologist in Montreal, and right now she's the most important player in the NHL.
The doctor to the stars, has already done a workup on Eric Lindros, continuing to test his noggin, after the numerous hits he's taken over his career. Lindros has yet to tip his hand about returning to the ice, or retiring from it. But he's mindful of the past history of his brother Brett and Pat Lafontaine, to name a few of the names gone from the game.
This week Karen's appointment book, is once again the focal point of hockey fans. Jeremy Roenick is penciled in for a look see, after suffering what he estimates to be his ninth concussion in his career. Not to mention a broken jaw and over 50 stitches of repairs. The doctor will put Roenick through his neurological paces this week, give him some time to rest up and then discuss his options with him. Roenick has gone so far as to say he's seriously thinking of retiring, after this latest incident in New York City a few nights ago.
Of course there is no shortage of medical advice available in Philadelphia. For their part Doctors Clarke and Hitchcock say ole Jeremy will be back in no time, nowhere near the six to eight weeks rumoured to be the minimum wait. Dr. Clarke, claiming he had no idea that Roenick had such a history, suggested that patient Roenick might be back in four weeks. Dr. Hitchcock of course ever the optimist, says Roenick is suffering more of an emotional condition at the moment and only needs some bed rest, then he should be back as good as new.
For Roenick there is one thing to keep in mind, Dr. Johnston has the medical diploma's on her side and possibly her patient's best interests at heart. He'll have to decide if Doctors Clarke and Hitchcock are of a similar philosophy.
Friday, February 13, 2004
JR done for the year?
Philadelphia fans got some bad news today. Jeremy Roenick could be out of the line up for the rest of the season, having broken his jaw last night at Madison Square Garden. Roenick who was briefly unconscious on the ice, left the Garden with a pool of blood on the ice after taking a Boris Mironov shot to the face. This is the second broken jaw that Roenick has suffered, his last one as a member of the Phoenix Coyotes back in 1999. That time he missed three and half weeks, that would be wishful thinking this year. Ken Hitchcock, said that Roenick suffered a serious break of his jaw, and would most likely miss a significant amount of time. Certainly more than two to three weeks, Hitchcock said they would see how Roenick felt in a week and go from there.
That wasn't the only injury to the Flyers last night, less than two minutes after Roenick left the ice Keith Primeau went down. Primeau was knocked out of the game after a collision with Bobby Holik, but is expected back on the ice on Saturday.
For the Flyers, injuries have been part of their season from the beginning. Starting with Jeff Hackett suffering vertigo and retiring earlier this week. Eric Desjardins has been gone for a month with a broken arm. Defenceman Dennis Seidenberg, broke his leg that same week and has yet to return to the lineup.
Despite the constant stream of injuries, the Flyers have managed to stay atop the Division standings. They presently are tied with the Avalanche for first overall in the NHL.
It will be interesting to see if Bobby Clarke trades to shore up his missing players or tries to make it through the rest of season with the assembled squad. Hoping that everyone is healthy again by the playoffs.
That wasn't the only injury to the Flyers last night, less than two minutes after Roenick left the ice Keith Primeau went down. Primeau was knocked out of the game after a collision with Bobby Holik, but is expected back on the ice on Saturday.
For the Flyers, injuries have been part of their season from the beginning. Starting with Jeff Hackett suffering vertigo and retiring earlier this week. Eric Desjardins has been gone for a month with a broken arm. Defenceman Dennis Seidenberg, broke his leg that same week and has yet to return to the lineup.
Despite the constant stream of injuries, the Flyers have managed to stay atop the Division standings. They presently are tied with the Avalanche for first overall in the NHL.
It will be interesting to see if Bobby Clarke trades to shore up his missing players or tries to make it through the rest of season with the assembled squad. Hoping that everyone is healthy again by the playoffs.
Thrashed!
Nothing positive can come from this game tonight. After losing to Calgary on Wednesday night, the Canucks dropped a second home game in a row, this one to the Atlanta Thrashers 4-1. Outplayed physically by the Thrashers, the Canucks failed to capitalize on the may chances they had to score. The game looked like it had the markings of a blowout early on, as the Canucks fired 13 shots to the Thrashers 1 in the first period. Spending most of the first period in the Thrasher end, peppering goaltender Pasi Nurminen with pucks. The Canucks got a taste of the frustration ahead when Jarkko Rutuu missed the net on a penalty shot, after putting Nurminen out of position.
To the Thrashers' credit they battled back in the second period, taking the play and dominating the Canucks outshooting them 11-7 and outscoring them three goals to one. Dany Heatley lead the Thrashers with a goal and an assist. Shawn McEachern, Ronald Petrovicky and Marc Savard rounded out the scoring for Atlanta. Daniel Sedin got the lone Canucks goal.
A lack of discipline and composure was the root cause of the Canucks loss tonight. Too many bad penalties, too much trying to even the score and not concentrating on the job at hand, were all part of the Canucks make up tonight. There's really no way that the Canucks should have lost this game tonight, Atlanta had not won in ten games, this was their first victory in seven games and they were coming in after a tiring trip through Alberta.
Fortunately for the Canucks, it's back to work tomorrow night as Anaheim comes to town. They need to get things back on track as soon as possible. The talk shows were full of critical fans following the game, angry at the effort, upset with the result.
To the Thrashers' credit they battled back in the second period, taking the play and dominating the Canucks outshooting them 11-7 and outscoring them three goals to one. Dany Heatley lead the Thrashers with a goal and an assist. Shawn McEachern, Ronald Petrovicky and Marc Savard rounded out the scoring for Atlanta. Daniel Sedin got the lone Canucks goal.
A lack of discipline and composure was the root cause of the Canucks loss tonight. Too many bad penalties, too much trying to even the score and not concentrating on the job at hand, were all part of the Canucks make up tonight. There's really no way that the Canucks should have lost this game tonight, Atlanta had not won in ten games, this was their first victory in seven games and they were coming in after a tiring trip through Alberta.
Fortunately for the Canucks, it's back to work tomorrow night as Anaheim comes to town. They need to get things back on track as soon as possible. The talk shows were full of critical fans following the game, angry at the effort, upset with the result.
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
How timely, a report on the financial status of the NHL franchises.
The much anticipated review of finances of NHL franchises will be released Thursday. Stephen King took a year to put it together, oh wait, that's not right. It was a gentleman named Arthur Levitt, who authored the report. It will just resemble a Stephen King novel, and a rather gruesome one at that. Lots of blood, much screaming, walking zombies, horrific scenes, this should have it all.
Levitt, who previously spent time as the chairman of the American Stock Exchange (hmm, no interesting accounting in the US stock business) will paint a picture of losses, topping the 300 million dollar mark. It's generally believed, that 25 of the leagues 30 teams are losing money. The owners received a "sneak preview" of the document at the all-star game this past weekend. That could account for Gary Bettmans bitter news conference during the all star break. Not to mention the hostile Q and A with Ron McLean on Hockey Night in Canada. Bettman says that this document will prove the leagues point, that some form of cost certainty is required for the health of the game. A way to ensure that costs don't over run the profits.
NHLPA leader Bob Goodenow tends to disagree with Mr. Bettman on the issue, not wanting a hard salary cap, but instead preferring a luxury style tax similar to baseball, where the rich teams are punished for spending too much.
To say that they are going in different directions. would be an understatement.
The upcoming negotiations are going to be an important milestone for Mr. Bettman, he championed the NHL into a massive expansion over the years. Lining the pockets of his bosses, with ever increasing expansion fees. It was a gamble designed to make the NHL a more "national" sell in the US, but it seems to have not succeeded as designed. The vast majority of the new franchises are struggling to find a core group of fans, empty seats most nights can outnumber the occupied ones in many of the southern franchises. There are no other places to expand, so the shell game of revolving financing has come to an end. The existing teams will have to make it on their own, and largely on a gate driven league.
A television deal in the US is about to be renegotiated, the long sought after status as a major TV sport seemingly drifting further and further away. The NHL may find itself back on a cable only footing by this time next year, not much progress for the commisioner, in that hope for big time exposure. More importantly is the fact that the television money that does exist, doesn't really add up to much. There's no NFL type revenue pool here, it's the difference between a Monday night poker party at your buddy's house and playing in the World Series of Poker in Vegas. You figure out which one is the NHL.
The upcoming negotiations will be Bettman's legacy achievement. If he can bring a sense of fiscal sanity to the league and return the owners to at least a chance of profitability, then perhaps the mis-steps of the last then years will be forgotten. He'll be known as the Commissioner who stood up to the players union, giving the owners an upper hand in the league.
Money in the pocket goes a long way to making one see things in a better light. If he can put some back in the owner's pockets, with or without a work stoppage, he'll be perceived as the winner in the upcoming battle.
The players union is not accepting of the leagues position, they are prepared to wait him out. Thinking that eventually the majority of owners will return with an acceptable offer, with or without Mr. Bettman.
The loser in all of this? Well that would be the fan. A bit player in this drama, we just turn the pages of that Stephen King like report, getting deeper and deeper into the novel. But unlike a King novel, we may find that this one just doesn't end, it goes on and on. Either we finish the book, or put it back on the shelf, maybe to return to it one day, maybe not,
Levitt, who previously spent time as the chairman of the American Stock Exchange (hmm, no interesting accounting in the US stock business) will paint a picture of losses, topping the 300 million dollar mark. It's generally believed, that 25 of the leagues 30 teams are losing money. The owners received a "sneak preview" of the document at the all-star game this past weekend. That could account for Gary Bettmans bitter news conference during the all star break. Not to mention the hostile Q and A with Ron McLean on Hockey Night in Canada. Bettman says that this document will prove the leagues point, that some form of cost certainty is required for the health of the game. A way to ensure that costs don't over run the profits.
NHLPA leader Bob Goodenow tends to disagree with Mr. Bettman on the issue, not wanting a hard salary cap, but instead preferring a luxury style tax similar to baseball, where the rich teams are punished for spending too much.
To say that they are going in different directions. would be an understatement.
The upcoming negotiations are going to be an important milestone for Mr. Bettman, he championed the NHL into a massive expansion over the years. Lining the pockets of his bosses, with ever increasing expansion fees. It was a gamble designed to make the NHL a more "national" sell in the US, but it seems to have not succeeded as designed. The vast majority of the new franchises are struggling to find a core group of fans, empty seats most nights can outnumber the occupied ones in many of the southern franchises. There are no other places to expand, so the shell game of revolving financing has come to an end. The existing teams will have to make it on their own, and largely on a gate driven league.
A television deal in the US is about to be renegotiated, the long sought after status as a major TV sport seemingly drifting further and further away. The NHL may find itself back on a cable only footing by this time next year, not much progress for the commisioner, in that hope for big time exposure. More importantly is the fact that the television money that does exist, doesn't really add up to much. There's no NFL type revenue pool here, it's the difference between a Monday night poker party at your buddy's house and playing in the World Series of Poker in Vegas. You figure out which one is the NHL.
The upcoming negotiations will be Bettman's legacy achievement. If he can bring a sense of fiscal sanity to the league and return the owners to at least a chance of profitability, then perhaps the mis-steps of the last then years will be forgotten. He'll be known as the Commissioner who stood up to the players union, giving the owners an upper hand in the league.
Money in the pocket goes a long way to making one see things in a better light. If he can put some back in the owner's pockets, with or without a work stoppage, he'll be perceived as the winner in the upcoming battle.
The players union is not accepting of the leagues position, they are prepared to wait him out. Thinking that eventually the majority of owners will return with an acceptable offer, with or without Mr. Bettman.
The loser in all of this? Well that would be the fan. A bit player in this drama, we just turn the pages of that Stephen King like report, getting deeper and deeper into the novel. But unlike a King novel, we may find that this one just doesn't end, it goes on and on. Either we finish the book, or put it back on the shelf, maybe to return to it one day, maybe not,
Injuries piling up
If they could only turn back time. Suddenly the last fourty eight hours, have borught some bad news for a number of NHL clubs. The all star break certainly didn't do much for some, rather than have rested players ready to tackle the stretch drive, teams are finding players heading off to the trainers room, some for the rest of the season.
The bad news parade began in Detroit, yesterday Domenic Hasek announced that he was through for the season, his fragile groin apparently no longer to take the strain of an NHL season. No problem said the Red Wings, not a welcome development but they'll get by, Cujo is ready to go. Well not so fast, tonight against the Sharks, Joseph sprained his ankle and now finds himself off the ice until next week, an MRI scheduled for tomorrow in Detroit. The Red Wings had best assign a 24 hour guard to Manny Legace.
Colorado had their own bad news press conference yesterday, Rob Blake is out for six weeks, having suffered a hairline fracture of his left leg, apparently the injury happened two weeks before the All Star game. Getting progressively worse as the weeks went by. Look for the Av's to be testing the trade waters to try and shore up the defence now. Today they put Andrei Nickolishin on injured reserve, suffering from an abdominal strain. He's out until he's feeling able to play, better known as indefinitely. Also on the injured list for the Avs are Travis Brigley, Riku Hahl, Dan Hinote and Marek Svatos, all listed as out indefinitely.
Radek Bonk is gone for four to six weeks, the Ottawa centre broke his foot blocking a shot last night against the St. Louis Blues. Just another stumbling block for John Muckler, the Sens GM will now have to turn his attention from attracting muscle for the team, perhaps look for some scoring help now. He also has to deal with the end of season injuries to Anton Volchenkov and Vaclav Varada. Mike Fisher and Antoine Vermette are both day to day.
Vancouver received bad news this week as well, Magnus Arvedson is gone for the season. He underwent surgery for torn knee ligaments, the good news is the surgery was successful, the bad news is he's gone for three to six months, effectively taking him out of the playoff hunt. Arvedson who had struggled at the start of the season, was starting to come along prior to the all star break. For Brian Burke it's back to the phones or bring up some farm hands. Other wounded Canucks include Ed Jovanovski, Matt Cooke and Mats Lindgren, all listed as out indefinitely.
Montreal joins the injury parade, listing Sheldon Souray as out for at least two games. That after injuring his knee in his first game back since the all star game. Souray will return to Montreal for examination, if the doctors find serious ligament damage he may be gone much longer. Andreas Dackell and Craig Rivet will keep him company in
the trainers room, both listed as day to day.
48 hours, two days that have changed the dynamics of the teams involved. How they handle the adversity, will tell a lot about how far they go in the rest of the season and into the playoffs.
The bad news parade began in Detroit, yesterday Domenic Hasek announced that he was through for the season, his fragile groin apparently no longer to take the strain of an NHL season. No problem said the Red Wings, not a welcome development but they'll get by, Cujo is ready to go. Well not so fast, tonight against the Sharks, Joseph sprained his ankle and now finds himself off the ice until next week, an MRI scheduled for tomorrow in Detroit. The Red Wings had best assign a 24 hour guard to Manny Legace.
Colorado had their own bad news press conference yesterday, Rob Blake is out for six weeks, having suffered a hairline fracture of his left leg, apparently the injury happened two weeks before the All Star game. Getting progressively worse as the weeks went by. Look for the Av's to be testing the trade waters to try and shore up the defence now. Today they put Andrei Nickolishin on injured reserve, suffering from an abdominal strain. He's out until he's feeling able to play, better known as indefinitely. Also on the injured list for the Avs are Travis Brigley, Riku Hahl, Dan Hinote and Marek Svatos, all listed as out indefinitely.
Radek Bonk is gone for four to six weeks, the Ottawa centre broke his foot blocking a shot last night against the St. Louis Blues. Just another stumbling block for John Muckler, the Sens GM will now have to turn his attention from attracting muscle for the team, perhaps look for some scoring help now. He also has to deal with the end of season injuries to Anton Volchenkov and Vaclav Varada. Mike Fisher and Antoine Vermette are both day to day.
Vancouver received bad news this week as well, Magnus Arvedson is gone for the season. He underwent surgery for torn knee ligaments, the good news is the surgery was successful, the bad news is he's gone for three to six months, effectively taking him out of the playoff hunt. Arvedson who had struggled at the start of the season, was starting to come along prior to the all star break. For Brian Burke it's back to the phones or bring up some farm hands. Other wounded Canucks include Ed Jovanovski, Matt Cooke and Mats Lindgren, all listed as out indefinitely.
Montreal joins the injury parade, listing Sheldon Souray as out for at least two games. That after injuring his knee in his first game back since the all star game. Souray will return to Montreal for examination, if the doctors find serious ligament damage he may be gone much longer. Andreas Dackell and Craig Rivet will keep him company in
the trainers room, both listed as day to day.
48 hours, two days that have changed the dynamics of the teams involved. How they handle the adversity, will tell a lot about how far they go in the rest of the season and into the playoffs.
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Who made the call in Motown
HockeyNation may want to apologize to the management of the Detroit Red Wings, for suggesting that it was they who announced the end of the season for Domenic Hasek. Actually we may wish to apologize, for thinking that the Red Wings have any idea as to what's going through Domenic's head.
For it seems now, that this was yet another Dom moment, going off on his own, making his own announcement. Not really checking in with the head office so to speak. The Wings were caught unprepared for the "announcement" Tuesday, described by General Manager Ken Holland as "a very disappointing outcome". Head Coach, Dave Lewis said he was expecting Hasek back on the ice after the all star break, the next thing they know Dom says he's done. It's expected that Hasek will be receiving significantly less than the six million dollars he signed for, or as Holland puts it, "I'm expecting some relief." Suffice to say, the Wings had no idea this was coming down the tube and now they have to handle the damage control. Don't say nobody warned them.
Hasek has done this kind of thing in the past, his days in Buffalo were full of these kind of surprises. He is a fellow who certainly beats his own drum. Many rolled their eyes, wondering if the Wings had lost their minds when Hasek came out of retirement. Now the doubters can claim the right to boast, that they knew it was only a matter of time. But fourteen games, surely even the most cynical Hasek fan would have expected a longer run, maybe til the first game of the playoffs.
The Dom show has been a distraction for the Wings all year long, in a way they're fortunate that he pulled the plug (er groin) when he did. At least now, the Wings will know who they are going into battle with and can begin to say all the right things to Curtis Joseph. For Cujo, it must seem all so bizarre, he must just be shaking his head at how this insanity has played out. There will be no amount of sucking up possible, to make amends for how the Wings handled this whole situation.
Dom says he's coming back next year, with a rested groin and a fresh look. We suspect it will be in a fresh uniform as well.
For it seems now, that this was yet another Dom moment, going off on his own, making his own announcement. Not really checking in with the head office so to speak. The Wings were caught unprepared for the "announcement" Tuesday, described by General Manager Ken Holland as "a very disappointing outcome". Head Coach, Dave Lewis said he was expecting Hasek back on the ice after the all star break, the next thing they know Dom says he's done. It's expected that Hasek will be receiving significantly less than the six million dollars he signed for, or as Holland puts it, "I'm expecting some relief." Suffice to say, the Wings had no idea this was coming down the tube and now they have to handle the damage control. Don't say nobody warned them.
Hasek has done this kind of thing in the past, his days in Buffalo were full of these kind of surprises. He is a fellow who certainly beats his own drum. Many rolled their eyes, wondering if the Wings had lost their minds when Hasek came out of retirement. Now the doubters can claim the right to boast, that they knew it was only a matter of time. But fourteen games, surely even the most cynical Hasek fan would have expected a longer run, maybe til the first game of the playoffs.
The Dom show has been a distraction for the Wings all year long, in a way they're fortunate that he pulled the plug (er groin) when he did. At least now, the Wings will know who they are going into battle with and can begin to say all the right things to Curtis Joseph. For Cujo, it must seem all so bizarre, he must just be shaking his head at how this insanity has played out. There will be no amount of sucking up possible, to make amends for how the Wings handled this whole situation.
Dom says he's coming back next year, with a rested groin and a fresh look. We suspect it will be in a fresh uniform as well.
An unwanted sideshow
What exactly is going on in the Orca Bay offices these days? The management of the Vancouver Canucks are creating a controversial issue and media feeding frenzy, by their non action regarding the Brian Burke situation. While the players were resting over the all star break, whispers and hidden agendas were apparently being hatched in the back rooms at Orca Bay, or so the reports have it. Over the last three or four days, the newspapers, radio stations and television sportscasts have been full of ominous rumblings of a Brian Burke departure. Tony Gallagher of the Province, got the ball rolling on the weekend with a column detailing the various missed opportunities to get Burke signed to a new deal. Today Gary Mason let lose with an article, which suggested that Vancouver Canucks may not want Burke back. Mason's take on the situation is that there is much animosity between Burke and Orca Bay right hand man Stan McCammon, with McCammon apparently feeling slighted that Burke has received much of the credit for the teams turn around. So this is a reason to turn your team into a soap opera?
There are some things one has to wonder about in all of this. Why would the Canucks sign Marc Crawford to a new contract, if they were going to replace his boss at the end of the season. Most organizations let the GM pick his coach, if Burke indeed is gone as the media is reporting, then why sign Crawford?
Why are they letting this issue fester, just as their team gets set to go into the all important stretch drive and then onto the playoffs? It seems counter productive to have signed your key players, keep your coach and then create a circus like atmosphere to distract the players from the job at hand.
One rumour being floated around Vancouver, is that the Orca Bay group have found a buyer for the team and are merely waiting for the due diligence and such to take place. Then the new owner can take care of the Burke situation. If indeed this is true, then get the lawyers moving at warp speed, sell the team, introduce the new owners and get the hell out of the way.
It's hard to believe that the Canucks are going to get rid of Burke. He may be loud, gruff and hard to get along with at times, but no can deny he's turned the franchise around. Stan McCammon might not like hearing that too much, but it has to be said. Burke took over the nightmare that Mike Keenan had created with his stay in Vancouver, rebuilding a team that was in serious trouble.
When Burke arrived on the scene the Canucks were a mess, the players were lost on the ice, the fans lost on the way to the stadium. The team was bleeding red ink in the balance statement, bottom feeders in the Western standings. Burke got down to work and changed all of that. He brought back Vancouver favourite Trevor Linden, banished and berated under the Keenan regime. He rebuilt Marcus Naslund's confidence, after he suffered under the reign of terror that was Keenan. He's been fairly successful in the draft, not as much as he'd like, but there's potential on the farm. His trades over the years, have for the most part worked out very well, strengthening the squad from past years. The team in 2004 is a much more cohesive squad, playing with a purpose not seen since the early Quinn era.
John McCaw and Stan McCammon need to keep that in mind. Perhaps the current state of the team has blinded them from the past. The dark days of this franchise are not that far behind them, the half full rink, the massive debtload, a fan base that was losing interest fast. Burke has created this team in his image to a fashion, the players respect his hockey knowledge and his loyalty, for management to basically hang him out to dry at this time just baffles the mind. With night after night of sell outs, and money coming in from a number of sources, it's hard to understand where this supposed animosity is coming from and why.
The recurring theme in the various conspiracy theories, is that Burke overstepped his authority when negotiating with Todd Bertuzzi. McCaw and McCammon, the stories go, are annoyed that Bertuzzi got the contract that he did, feeling that Burke publicly embarrassed them in order to get Bertuzzi signed. If the braintrust that runs the Canucks is upset that they signed one of the key ingredient to this teams success, then there's deeper trouble at GM place than we think.
Orca Bay had best solve this issue as fast as possible. If they don't want him anymore, they should come out and tell him, the team and the fans what is what. If Burke is playing them, angling for a dream job offer from back east, then tell it like it is. Regardless, this situation is quickly getting out of control. There are an awful lot of GM's that have been re-signed and rewarded in the league this year, many of whom are running teams that are just going through the motions. If the gang at Orca Bay misjudges this situation, all the hard work of the last three years, will come unraveling before their very eyes.
Burke is no doubt a valuable commodity on the market right now, you can't tell me that the likes of Boston, Chicago or New York wouldn't jump at the chance to hire him. Just look at the difference between the Canucks and the Rangers or the Hawks, if you were an owner which team would you rather have today.
Stan McCammon said last week on the radio, that they didn't want to negotiate with Burke during the season. His rationale was that they didn't want to create a distraction for the players. Well, by handling this whole thing as badly as they have, it's no longer a distraction. It's a sideshow, a bloated, overexposed, festering sideshow. One that not only is unnecessary but unwanted.
Sign him now, sign him fast and get this mess behind you before it is too late...
There are some things one has to wonder about in all of this. Why would the Canucks sign Marc Crawford to a new contract, if they were going to replace his boss at the end of the season. Most organizations let the GM pick his coach, if Burke indeed is gone as the media is reporting, then why sign Crawford?
Why are they letting this issue fester, just as their team gets set to go into the all important stretch drive and then onto the playoffs? It seems counter productive to have signed your key players, keep your coach and then create a circus like atmosphere to distract the players from the job at hand.
One rumour being floated around Vancouver, is that the Orca Bay group have found a buyer for the team and are merely waiting for the due diligence and such to take place. Then the new owner can take care of the Burke situation. If indeed this is true, then get the lawyers moving at warp speed, sell the team, introduce the new owners and get the hell out of the way.
It's hard to believe that the Canucks are going to get rid of Burke. He may be loud, gruff and hard to get along with at times, but no can deny he's turned the franchise around. Stan McCammon might not like hearing that too much, but it has to be said. Burke took over the nightmare that Mike Keenan had created with his stay in Vancouver, rebuilding a team that was in serious trouble.
When Burke arrived on the scene the Canucks were a mess, the players were lost on the ice, the fans lost on the way to the stadium. The team was bleeding red ink in the balance statement, bottom feeders in the Western standings. Burke got down to work and changed all of that. He brought back Vancouver favourite Trevor Linden, banished and berated under the Keenan regime. He rebuilt Marcus Naslund's confidence, after he suffered under the reign of terror that was Keenan. He's been fairly successful in the draft, not as much as he'd like, but there's potential on the farm. His trades over the years, have for the most part worked out very well, strengthening the squad from past years. The team in 2004 is a much more cohesive squad, playing with a purpose not seen since the early Quinn era.
John McCaw and Stan McCammon need to keep that in mind. Perhaps the current state of the team has blinded them from the past. The dark days of this franchise are not that far behind them, the half full rink, the massive debtload, a fan base that was losing interest fast. Burke has created this team in his image to a fashion, the players respect his hockey knowledge and his loyalty, for management to basically hang him out to dry at this time just baffles the mind. With night after night of sell outs, and money coming in from a number of sources, it's hard to understand where this supposed animosity is coming from and why.
The recurring theme in the various conspiracy theories, is that Burke overstepped his authority when negotiating with Todd Bertuzzi. McCaw and McCammon, the stories go, are annoyed that Bertuzzi got the contract that he did, feeling that Burke publicly embarrassed them in order to get Bertuzzi signed. If the braintrust that runs the Canucks is upset that they signed one of the key ingredient to this teams success, then there's deeper trouble at GM place than we think.
Orca Bay had best solve this issue as fast as possible. If they don't want him anymore, they should come out and tell him, the team and the fans what is what. If Burke is playing them, angling for a dream job offer from back east, then tell it like it is. Regardless, this situation is quickly getting out of control. There are an awful lot of GM's that have been re-signed and rewarded in the league this year, many of whom are running teams that are just going through the motions. If the gang at Orca Bay misjudges this situation, all the hard work of the last three years, will come unraveling before their very eyes.
Burke is no doubt a valuable commodity on the market right now, you can't tell me that the likes of Boston, Chicago or New York wouldn't jump at the chance to hire him. Just look at the difference between the Canucks and the Rangers or the Hawks, if you were an owner which team would you rather have today.
Stan McCammon said last week on the radio, that they didn't want to negotiate with Burke during the season. His rationale was that they didn't want to create a distraction for the players. Well, by handling this whole thing as badly as they have, it's no longer a distraction. It's a sideshow, a bloated, overexposed, festering sideshow. One that not only is unnecessary but unwanted.
Sign him now, sign him fast and get this mess behind you before it is too late...
When making too much money, is a good thing for a franchise.
Credit Curtis Joseph's contract as the saving grace for the Detroit Red Wings today. It was his high salary that kept him in the Red Wings stable over the last six months, and as it turns out that's a stroke of luck.
The Red Wings announced today that Domenic Hasek is done for the season, his recurring groin injury apparently now at the point of no recovery for this season. The thirty nine year old Hasek signed with the Wings in the off season and returned to the NHL in September, eventually being named the Wings number one goaltender.
At the time, the Wings tried to trade Joseph but his current contract estimated at around 8 million dollars scared off any takers. Things became so crowded in the Red Wing dressing room, that the Wings ended up dispatching Cujo off to Grand Rapids, many expected him to sit there until the Wings decided to swallow most of his contract and trade him away.
But then the always enigmatic Hasek began to suffer his troubles of the groin, and as the days turned to weeks Cujo found himself back in the number one spot in Detroit. Last week, GM Ken Holland said that the job was now Cujo's to lose.
Having handled the entire mess with class, Cujo comes out of this smelling like a rose. He went where he was told, did his job well and quietly showed his team mates how a "team" player behaves. How the Wings managed to avoid disaster this year, will remain one of the great mysteries of sport.
Many thought it would have been perfect justice had Cujo been traded to a contending team elsewhere, coming back to win the Cup against the Wings. Instead, he has a very good chance to lead Detroit to the Stanley Cup Finals. It's hard to believe the Wings could be so lucky.
The Red Wings announced today that Domenic Hasek is done for the season, his recurring groin injury apparently now at the point of no recovery for this season. The thirty nine year old Hasek signed with the Wings in the off season and returned to the NHL in September, eventually being named the Wings number one goaltender.
At the time, the Wings tried to trade Joseph but his current contract estimated at around 8 million dollars scared off any takers. Things became so crowded in the Red Wing dressing room, that the Wings ended up dispatching Cujo off to Grand Rapids, many expected him to sit there until the Wings decided to swallow most of his contract and trade him away.
But then the always enigmatic Hasek began to suffer his troubles of the groin, and as the days turned to weeks Cujo found himself back in the number one spot in Detroit. Last week, GM Ken Holland said that the job was now Cujo's to lose.
Having handled the entire mess with class, Cujo comes out of this smelling like a rose. He went where he was told, did his job well and quietly showed his team mates how a "team" player behaves. How the Wings managed to avoid disaster this year, will remain one of the great mysteries of sport.
Many thought it would have been perfect justice had Cujo been traded to a contending team elsewhere, coming back to win the Cup against the Wings. Instead, he has a very good chance to lead Detroit to the Stanley Cup Finals. It's hard to believe the Wings could be so lucky.
Listen up Hockey fans, Trevor Linden on the air!
HockeyNation fans will definitely want to check out the CKNW audiovault and listen in to the 10-11 am block for Tuesday, February 10th. The Bill Good show, features a full hour with the always informative Trevor Linden.
Linden who seems to posses one of the best hockey minds in the game today, gave honest and forthright answers about the current labour negotiations. He explained some of the concerns of the day and even went back to the last work stoppage and how it ended some careers.
Through the hour he touched on many issues and answered caller questions.
He spoke out about the brewing controversy over the status of the Brian Burke contract. Canucks management at Orca Bay claiming that they won't settle his status until the end of the season. Something that is starting to raise the alarm in the media in Vancouver. Linden expressed surprise at the length of time that the process seems to be taking. He praised Burke as an architect of a pretty successful franchise and you get the impression the praise was not that of an employee, but as someone who knows how hockey works.
Linden talked about the Sedin twins and their adjustment to the NHL. His opinion is that the boys have finally come into their own now, adjusting to the learning curve that is the NHL. He said that he doesn't understand the constant concern over their level of play. Fully supporting them, he says that they are a solid addition to the Canucks lineup.
A fast paced hour of listening for you, with some reasoned analysis of the state of the league, the aging of key players and the issue of visors. Indeed, he managed to talk about visors without the need of a seven second delay, something seemingly hard to do these days.
Quite a few phone calls that praised him as a "class act" and you can't argue with anyone on that count. Just listen to his comments about how he felt when his errant high stick struck a player last week, you'll understand why the fans and his team mates respect him so much. He is the perfect spokesperson for the NHL of today, no bombast, no ego, just an entertaining and informative speaker. No shilling here, just a true fan of the game, who just happens to excel at it on the ice as well.
If you listen in, you'll learn more in this hour than you probably will for the rest of the week, maybe even the month. Check it out, highly recommended for hockey fans everywhere.
Linden who seems to posses one of the best hockey minds in the game today, gave honest and forthright answers about the current labour negotiations. He explained some of the concerns of the day and even went back to the last work stoppage and how it ended some careers.
Through the hour he touched on many issues and answered caller questions.
He spoke out about the brewing controversy over the status of the Brian Burke contract. Canucks management at Orca Bay claiming that they won't settle his status until the end of the season. Something that is starting to raise the alarm in the media in Vancouver. Linden expressed surprise at the length of time that the process seems to be taking. He praised Burke as an architect of a pretty successful franchise and you get the impression the praise was not that of an employee, but as someone who knows how hockey works.
Linden talked about the Sedin twins and their adjustment to the NHL. His opinion is that the boys have finally come into their own now, adjusting to the learning curve that is the NHL. He said that he doesn't understand the constant concern over their level of play. Fully supporting them, he says that they are a solid addition to the Canucks lineup.
A fast paced hour of listening for you, with some reasoned analysis of the state of the league, the aging of key players and the issue of visors. Indeed, he managed to talk about visors without the need of a seven second delay, something seemingly hard to do these days.
Quite a few phone calls that praised him as a "class act" and you can't argue with anyone on that count. Just listen to his comments about how he felt when his errant high stick struck a player last week, you'll understand why the fans and his team mates respect him so much. He is the perfect spokesperson for the NHL of today, no bombast, no ego, just an entertaining and informative speaker. No shilling here, just a true fan of the game, who just happens to excel at it on the ice as well.
If you listen in, you'll learn more in this hour than you probably will for the rest of the week, maybe even the month. Check it out, highly recommended for hockey fans everywhere.
Winnipeg a winner either way
Well if the folks in Winnipeg don't get an NHL franchise in the next couple of years, they can console themselves with the AHL All Star game in 2006.
Winnipeg was granted the AHL classic yesterday, as the AHL Board of Governors, voted unanimously to bring it to Manitoba in two years.
It made for a nice consolation prize after Gary Bettman poured cold water on any expansion, or relocation plans in his state of the league conference on Saturday. Rumours of an NHL team relocating started to pop up about a month ago with talk of Pittsburgh possibly moving to the city. That plan was quickly crushed by the Penguins themselves, but other teams have apparently been kicking the tires.
For now Winnipeg is an AHL town, and they've got a show to put together.
Winnipeg was granted the AHL classic yesterday, as the AHL Board of Governors, voted unanimously to bring it to Manitoba in two years.
It made for a nice consolation prize after Gary Bettman poured cold water on any expansion, or relocation plans in his state of the league conference on Saturday. Rumours of an NHL team relocating started to pop up about a month ago with talk of Pittsburgh possibly moving to the city. That plan was quickly crushed by the Penguins themselves, but other teams have apparently been kicking the tires.
For now Winnipeg is an AHL town, and they've got a show to put together.
Monday, February 09, 2004
Brush up on your math skills in the new NHL
Grab a calculator, take a refresher course in math or check with your local neighbourhood 10 year old, the NHL is toying with the idea of offering up 3 points for a win. Much like English soccer does now, the NHL is thinking that the extra point may help increase offence. The feeling is that teams will be more inclined to "go for it" should there be three points on the line every night.
Some concerns have been brought up about the idea, the three point strategy would make back to back games six point affairs (which in the case of Leafs and Sens could end up putting the Sens out of the playoffs by the time the all star game arrives). If a team got off to a very fast start, they could run away with the division before the rest of the teams could get untracked. So there are downsides to the bigger reward system.
But you'll have an extra year to bone up on your studies (more if the league has a lockout/strike in September) as it's expected the three point win will be tested out on the AHL first.
Other potential rule modifications discussed were the fatter blue lines tested earlier this year in the AHL, elimination of the centre line, making the nets bigger, downsizing the goaltender equipment some more, no touch icing and eliminating the instigator penalty.
It's likely the GM's will vote on whether to bring back tag up offside, which would result in fewer whistles and more flow to game, which would be a welcome addition to state of hockey these days.
The three days of meetings have had the GM's break off into groups, discussing changes and listening to speaker after speaker explain how the game can be made better. One speaker yet to come, should command the largest and most attentive audience. On Tuesday, Scotty Bowman will address the group with what he calls 8 or 9 ideas on how to make the game better. There should be no sleeping in the classroom and hopefully there's a pop quiz right after the lecture, if anyone has ideas on how to make hockey better it must be Scotty Bowman.
Some concerns have been brought up about the idea, the three point strategy would make back to back games six point affairs (which in the case of Leafs and Sens could end up putting the Sens out of the playoffs by the time the all star game arrives). If a team got off to a very fast start, they could run away with the division before the rest of the teams could get untracked. So there are downsides to the bigger reward system.
But you'll have an extra year to bone up on your studies (more if the league has a lockout/strike in September) as it's expected the three point win will be tested out on the AHL first.
Other potential rule modifications discussed were the fatter blue lines tested earlier this year in the AHL, elimination of the centre line, making the nets bigger, downsizing the goaltender equipment some more, no touch icing and eliminating the instigator penalty.
It's likely the GM's will vote on whether to bring back tag up offside, which would result in fewer whistles and more flow to game, which would be a welcome addition to state of hockey these days.
The three days of meetings have had the GM's break off into groups, discussing changes and listening to speaker after speaker explain how the game can be made better. One speaker yet to come, should command the largest and most attentive audience. On Tuesday, Scotty Bowman will address the group with what he calls 8 or 9 ideas on how to make the game better. There should be no sleeping in the classroom and hopefully there's a pop quiz right after the lecture, if anyone has ideas on how to make hockey better it must be Scotty Bowman.
Trader Bob works the phones
Finally Bob Clarke has found himself a goaltender, acquiring Sean Burke from Phoenix earlier tonight. The long rumoured deal finally came to fruition, as Clarke flipped Mike Comrie back to the West to pick up Burke. Shoring up his goaltending had become priority one for Clarke, former number one Jeff Hackett retired today, suffering from vertigo and unable to play this year. Robert Esche, is injured at the moment so the Flyers were down to players from the AHL, not how you want to be going into the playoff drive. With Hackett retiring some money was freed up to help defray the 4.25 million dollar cost of Burke's contract.
Comrie never really fit into the Flyers scheme, he ended up on the third and sometimes fourth line, struggling to get ice time and not doing much when he had it. For him it's a chance to get back to the fast wheeling West, where he can put his speed to better use. He should be a solid addition to what is becoming a fast and young Coyotes team.
For Burke it's one more chance to win a Stanley Cup, his years are dwindling now in the NHL so he can look at the Philadelphia experiment as probably his last kick at the Stanley Cup. The fit in Philly should be a good one, he's close friends with Esche so there won't be any tension between goaltenders upon his arrival. And Clarke strengthens the Flyers by picking up two young players along the way. Branko Radivojevic and the rights to Ben Eager of Oshawa were included in the deal. Earlier in the day Clarke finished off a deal with the Blues, sending Eric Weinrich west for a fifth round pick in the 2004 draft.
Burke knew he was going to be moved it was only a matter of where, the Rangers were in the thick of the talks last week, but things cooled off when they wanted to unload salaries and not provide any young players for the future. That's when the Flyers moved up the list to most likely status, the story was all over the All Star game yesterday that the deal was done, but it took until this morning to dot the i's and cross the t's.
It's possible but not likely that Burke will be in the nets Tuesday night for the Flyers, but after tonight it may be a while before he gets another break.
Comrie never really fit into the Flyers scheme, he ended up on the third and sometimes fourth line, struggling to get ice time and not doing much when he had it. For him it's a chance to get back to the fast wheeling West, where he can put his speed to better use. He should be a solid addition to what is becoming a fast and young Coyotes team.
For Burke it's one more chance to win a Stanley Cup, his years are dwindling now in the NHL so he can look at the Philadelphia experiment as probably his last kick at the Stanley Cup. The fit in Philly should be a good one, he's close friends with Esche so there won't be any tension between goaltenders upon his arrival. And Clarke strengthens the Flyers by picking up two young players along the way. Branko Radivojevic and the rights to Ben Eager of Oshawa were included in the deal. Earlier in the day Clarke finished off a deal with the Blues, sending Eric Weinrich west for a fifth round pick in the 2004 draft.
Burke knew he was going to be moved it was only a matter of where, the Rangers were in the thick of the talks last week, but things cooled off when they wanted to unload salaries and not provide any young players for the future. That's when the Flyers moved up the list to most likely status, the story was all over the All Star game yesterday that the deal was done, but it took until this morning to dot the i's and cross the t's.
It's possible but not likely that Burke will be in the nets Tuesday night for the Flyers, but after tonight it may be a while before he gets another break.
Sunday, February 08, 2004
Armageddon preview: The Bob and Gary show
Whew, these guys are really starting to heat things up! Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow addressed the media at the All Star celebrations in Minnesota today, and the tone was ugly. Bettman gave his state of the league address to the assembled media, challenging the version of negotiations that Mr. Goodenow is expressing of late. The contentious issue is the infamous Salary cap, Bettman instead prefers to refer to the need for salary certainty, whatever that may be. Basically the owners want some kind of system in place, where player costs don't overrun revenues.
For their part the players association is digging in it's heels, they are telling the players that they need to be prepared for a two year shut down. The players say they believe the owner's have much more to lose with a disruption than the players. Jeremy Roenick, never short of an opinion, asked the media types if the likes of Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Buffalo and Carolina were going to be able to wait two years before they go back into business.
The mere mention of a two year dispute frustrates Mr. Bettman to no end. He accuses the players association of not dealing with reality, Bettman says that things could be settled rather quickly if they only accepted the concept of "cost certainty".
The Commissioner also took time out from the verbal warnings to comment on the recent rumours of the return of Winnipeg. Bettman said he found it doubtful that the city would be returning to the NHL soon, either by franchise relocation or expansion, despite the construction of their new arena in the downtown area. A comment that won't win him many friends in Manitoba or the rest of Canada for that matter. In a league where attendance plummets in cities that have never warmed up to hockey, it seems ridiculous to turn your back on hockey markets that live and breathe hockey.
That perhaps is why the players feel so secure in their position. They can go play in Europe next year or spend some time in the new WHA, which vows to be ready for September. Biding their time in France, Italy, Germany or Sweden isn't a bad way to suffer through a labour dispute. The owners may be faced with dormant franchises, mothballed for two years or more. Not many suits fit the same after two years of non use. One wonders if the suits in the NHL offices are willing to take that risk.
For their part the players association is digging in it's heels, they are telling the players that they need to be prepared for a two year shut down. The players say they believe the owner's have much more to lose with a disruption than the players. Jeremy Roenick, never short of an opinion, asked the media types if the likes of Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Buffalo and Carolina were going to be able to wait two years before they go back into business.
The mere mention of a two year dispute frustrates Mr. Bettman to no end. He accuses the players association of not dealing with reality, Bettman says that things could be settled rather quickly if they only accepted the concept of "cost certainty".
The Commissioner also took time out from the verbal warnings to comment on the recent rumours of the return of Winnipeg. Bettman said he found it doubtful that the city would be returning to the NHL soon, either by franchise relocation or expansion, despite the construction of their new arena in the downtown area. A comment that won't win him many friends in Manitoba or the rest of Canada for that matter. In a league where attendance plummets in cities that have never warmed up to hockey, it seems ridiculous to turn your back on hockey markets that live and breathe hockey.
That perhaps is why the players feel so secure in their position. They can go play in Europe next year or spend some time in the new WHA, which vows to be ready for September. Biding their time in France, Italy, Germany or Sweden isn't a bad way to suffer through a labour dispute. The owners may be faced with dormant franchises, mothballed for two years or more. Not many suits fit the same after two years of non use. One wonders if the suits in the NHL offices are willing to take that risk.
Saturday, February 07, 2004
Scoring machine Brookbank sent to Winnipeg for conditioning
With two goals in two games, newly made right winger Wade Brookbank must be feeling pretty good these days. Hot off the Canucks recent Eastern swing and an impressive victory over the defending Stanley Cup champ Devils, Brookbank now packs his bags for a road trip with the Moose.
While the more established Canucks take the all star break off to rest weary bones and nurse bouts of the flu, Brookbank, Martin Grenier and Tyler Bouck were all returned to the Moose. Winnipeg is in the midst of a struggle for playoff positioning and on an all important AHL road trip, they welcomed the return of their grads.
It's not known if all three will return to the Canucks on Wednesday when they resume their NHL schedule, but expect Brookbank to have a ticket waiting for him in his locker room stall. He's been a solid performer in his short time with the Canucks, having spent time on the Sedin line, creating a little bit of room for the twins to start to score again.
His presence has helped take the physical load off the likes of Brad May, Jarrko Ruutu and Ed Jovanovski, he also frees up some time for Todd Bertuzzi to concentrate on scoring. In the meantime, the Moose are glad he's back for the bus trips, it may be the last one he has to take for awhile.
While the more established Canucks take the all star break off to rest weary bones and nurse bouts of the flu, Brookbank, Martin Grenier and Tyler Bouck were all returned to the Moose. Winnipeg is in the midst of a struggle for playoff positioning and on an all important AHL road trip, they welcomed the return of their grads.
It's not known if all three will return to the Canucks on Wednesday when they resume their NHL schedule, but expect Brookbank to have a ticket waiting for him in his locker room stall. He's been a solid performer in his short time with the Canucks, having spent time on the Sedin line, creating a little bit of room for the twins to start to score again.
His presence has helped take the physical load off the likes of Brad May, Jarrko Ruutu and Ed Jovanovski, he also frees up some time for Todd Bertuzzi to concentrate on scoring. In the meantime, the Moose are glad he's back for the bus trips, it may be the last one he has to take for awhile.
An Instant Fan favourite
Credit Todd Simpson with knowing how to make friends in a new town. Simpson went to the top of the Sensfan popularity list with just six simple words. "I thought everyone hated the Leafs", politicians should be so succinct and universally loved. Simpson uttered the battle cry when faced by a crew of reporters anxious to know if he was ready for the wars ahead. He went on to offer another gem gobbled up by the press, " I've never really been a big fan, no. I don't need to go naming names. No need tipping them off." Ah it's like the soothing words of a mother to her babe before drifting off to sleep.
Simpson who was traded to the Sens last week from Anaheim, also got down to work in the Battle of Corel Thursday night. In the second period he engaged in mortal combat with arch villain Tie Domi, actually it was more of a pre-school wrasslin match, but at least he showed up, which is all Sens fans want these days.
As well many Sensfans remember that it was Simpson who laid the lumber on that reluctant Sen, Alexei Yashin when he had been forced to return to the Sens after a contract holdout. An event that at the time, surprisingly found favour not only with Ottawa fans, but Yashin's then team mates as well.
With his bona fides already established in record time, Simpson will be able to write his own ticket in the capital. If by his presence, the team should get a bit more space, a bit more respect, win a few more games and most importantly beat the Leafs, then he'll be worth far more than the dollar amount of a contract.
Simpson who was traded to the Sens last week from Anaheim, also got down to work in the Battle of Corel Thursday night. In the second period he engaged in mortal combat with arch villain Tie Domi, actually it was more of a pre-school wrasslin match, but at least he showed up, which is all Sens fans want these days.
As well many Sensfans remember that it was Simpson who laid the lumber on that reluctant Sen, Alexei Yashin when he had been forced to return to the Sens after a contract holdout. An event that at the time, surprisingly found favour not only with Ottawa fans, but Yashin's then team mates as well.
With his bona fides already established in record time, Simpson will be able to write his own ticket in the capital. If by his presence, the team should get a bit more space, a bit more respect, win a few more games and most importantly beat the Leafs, then he'll be worth far more than the dollar amount of a contract.
Friday, February 06, 2004
The Seven Second Solution
Football in the USA had the nipple that popped out this week, Hockey in Canada gave us the mouth that popped off. As the Orwellian like language bureaucrats of Canada continue their investigation of the syntax, pronunciation and content of Don Cherry's vocabulary, the CBC has made it's own moves to muzzle the mouth of Grapes.
In a decision announced earlier today, Harold Reddekopp, executive vice-president of CBC television, said that the network would put Mr. Cherry on a seven second delay after he made "inappropriate and reprehensible personal comments" during a broadcast on January 24th.
Cherry's remarks, a tailing off line about players "who wear visors are usually European or the French guys", has created a storm of outrage in some quarters. Columnists and commentators in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada, have expressed concern over the latest behavior of Mr. Cherry. The Language Commissioner herself jumped into the fray, Dyane Adam said the issue was important enough for her to investigate. Though it's not exactly clear how this is an issue of concern for the Government watchdog on Official Languages, and whether it justifies the attention of two of the departments thirty Language detectives.
Not to be outdone, parliamentarians have jumped into the debate. Bloc Quebecois MP's called Cherry a racist, Denis Coderre the Liberal cabinet minister for La Francophonie said he was fed up with Cherry. Jack Layton, leader of the NDP also got into things, expressing annoyance at the implications of Mr. Cherry's words.
While not to belittle the controversy, don't these people have much more important things to worry about? Is Canada in such wonderful shape at the moment, that our elected officials can waste time debating the latest five minutes of Coachs' Corner? Yes, Don Cherry says very politically incorrect things, he can be rude, loud and bombastic, he can be a boor, a stuffed shirt and come across as someone totally out of touch with current day Canada. But to paint him as a racist, one thinks not. Cherry has made a living out of controversy, over the years he's been on the hot seat over many of his comments. People either love him or they hate him, but they all have one thing in common, they can turn the channel when he comes on.
He obviously, would be best to leave his personal commentary on non hockey related issues to himself. The safe and controversy free path would be to stick to matters of the actual game of hockey. But every Saturday night, nearly a million (sometimes nearly three million) hockey fans tune in to watch and listen. So somebody must find some interest in his opinions. To have this so called issue dragged out as it has, is insulting to the majority of Canadians who watch television. Surely to God we can be trusted to make our own decisions about the validity of an opinion, without the guidance of politicians and the bureaucrats they employ.
Cherry is an employee of the CBC, which the last time I checked was supposed to be an independent institution. One supposedly free from governmental interference. It has a president, who in this case has made a decision to institute a delay of seven seconds, on all future appearances of Coach's corner. Though it would be of interest to know who has control of the delay button and what the list of words are that may get Cherry bleeped. Perhaps the CBC could publish them on their website, or as a way to raise money for the network make the little "Grape" book available for purchase.
Normally a radio or television station puts these delay mechanisms in place to protect the station from the ramblings of their callers, in this case it appears to be to protect them from the ramblings of the host.
In a decision announced earlier today, Harold Reddekopp, executive vice-president of CBC television, said that the network would put Mr. Cherry on a seven second delay after he made "inappropriate and reprehensible personal comments" during a broadcast on January 24th.
Cherry's remarks, a tailing off line about players "who wear visors are usually European or the French guys", has created a storm of outrage in some quarters. Columnists and commentators in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada, have expressed concern over the latest behavior of Mr. Cherry. The Language Commissioner herself jumped into the fray, Dyane Adam said the issue was important enough for her to investigate. Though it's not exactly clear how this is an issue of concern for the Government watchdog on Official Languages, and whether it justifies the attention of two of the departments thirty Language detectives.
Not to be outdone, parliamentarians have jumped into the debate. Bloc Quebecois MP's called Cherry a racist, Denis Coderre the Liberal cabinet minister for La Francophonie said he was fed up with Cherry. Jack Layton, leader of the NDP also got into things, expressing annoyance at the implications of Mr. Cherry's words.
While not to belittle the controversy, don't these people have much more important things to worry about? Is Canada in such wonderful shape at the moment, that our elected officials can waste time debating the latest five minutes of Coachs' Corner? Yes, Don Cherry says very politically incorrect things, he can be rude, loud and bombastic, he can be a boor, a stuffed shirt and come across as someone totally out of touch with current day Canada. But to paint him as a racist, one thinks not. Cherry has made a living out of controversy, over the years he's been on the hot seat over many of his comments. People either love him or they hate him, but they all have one thing in common, they can turn the channel when he comes on.
He obviously, would be best to leave his personal commentary on non hockey related issues to himself. The safe and controversy free path would be to stick to matters of the actual game of hockey. But every Saturday night, nearly a million (sometimes nearly three million) hockey fans tune in to watch and listen. So somebody must find some interest in his opinions. To have this so called issue dragged out as it has, is insulting to the majority of Canadians who watch television. Surely to God we can be trusted to make our own decisions about the validity of an opinion, without the guidance of politicians and the bureaucrats they employ.
Cherry is an employee of the CBC, which the last time I checked was supposed to be an independent institution. One supposedly free from governmental interference. It has a president, who in this case has made a decision to institute a delay of seven seconds, on all future appearances of Coach's corner. Though it would be of interest to know who has control of the delay button and what the list of words are that may get Cherry bleeped. Perhaps the CBC could publish them on their website, or as a way to raise money for the network make the little "Grape" book available for purchase.
Normally a radio or television station puts these delay mechanisms in place to protect the station from the ramblings of their callers, in this case it appears to be to protect them from the ramblings of the host.
Atlanta wins All Star game for 2005, will anyone be there?
We can probably scratch Atlanta off the list of cities looking to relocate in the NHL. The league announced today that the Georgia city will be the host of the All Star weekend in 2005 (providing of course they have any all stars playing hockey by then, hockey Armageddon day approaching fast now).
The Thrashers will host the weekend, the third big league event to grace their city in the last five years. The NBA set up their all star circus in 2003, Baseball was by in 2000. So it's Hockey's turn to dazzle the locals.
Of course all plans are contingent on their actually being hockey played next year. As the league and players association continue to utter doomsday threats and allegations, one wonders if it's worth planning an all star event at all.
At least it should quell the rumours of the Thrashers' being one of the teams in a financial bind, though to my knowledge they were still on the market. The league wouldn't put an all star game in a city that may not be in the league by the time the puck was dropped, would they? Surely they have a sense of long term planning in the Bettman empire!
The Thrashers will host the weekend, the third big league event to grace their city in the last five years. The NBA set up their all star circus in 2003, Baseball was by in 2000. So it's Hockey's turn to dazzle the locals.
Of course all plans are contingent on their actually being hockey played next year. As the league and players association continue to utter doomsday threats and allegations, one wonders if it's worth planning an all star event at all.
At least it should quell the rumours of the Thrashers' being one of the teams in a financial bind, though to my knowledge they were still on the market. The league wouldn't put an all star game in a city that may not be in the league by the time the puck was dropped, would they? Surely they have a sense of long term planning in the Bettman empire!
Thursday, February 05, 2004
Salvage job at the Swamp
Henrik and Daniel Sedin found their groove tonight, as the Vancouver Cancuks ended their pre all star game road trip with a 4-0 shutout of the Devils. The win a convincing one should help take the sting out of the two losses suffered on the other side of the Hudson river earlier in the week.
The Sedins who have been putting the chances away the last few weeks added to their totals, with Henrik getting his 8th point in six games and Daniel tallying up his tenth point in six. The Sedins have found that their third linemate changes as the game progresses, tonight Mike Keane seemed to be the most effective with them. Keane helped to set up the first goal and seemed to be a solid influence with the twins. With the success of the last six games the Canucks now once again have a second line threat, taking the heat off the first line of Naslund, Bertuzzi and Morrison.
Dan Cloutier picked up his third shut out of the year, facing 24 Devil shots before the final horn. For Vancouver it sends the team off to the all star break on a high note. Having won six of their last 8 games, and they probably should have won the two they lost, just mental miscues separating them from a perfect road trip.
A complete team effort tonight, the defence kept the zones clear for Cloutier to see the first shot, few rebounds were given up and those that did occur were quickly cleared up the ice. With the first line firing on all it's cylinders and the second line now a tangible threat, the opposing teams are going to be spread thinner and thinner. With Cloutier gaining confidence as well, the playoff drive should be an enjoyable run for the Canucks.
The Sedins who have been putting the chances away the last few weeks added to their totals, with Henrik getting his 8th point in six games and Daniel tallying up his tenth point in six. The Sedins have found that their third linemate changes as the game progresses, tonight Mike Keane seemed to be the most effective with them. Keane helped to set up the first goal and seemed to be a solid influence with the twins. With the success of the last six games the Canucks now once again have a second line threat, taking the heat off the first line of Naslund, Bertuzzi and Morrison.
Dan Cloutier picked up his third shut out of the year, facing 24 Devil shots before the final horn. For Vancouver it sends the team off to the all star break on a high note. Having won six of their last 8 games, and they probably should have won the two they lost, just mental miscues separating them from a perfect road trip.
A complete team effort tonight, the defence kept the zones clear for Cloutier to see the first shot, few rebounds were given up and those that did occur were quickly cleared up the ice. With the first line firing on all it's cylinders and the second line now a tangible threat, the opposing teams are going to be spread thinner and thinner. With Cloutier gaining confidence as well, the playoff drive should be an enjoyable run for the Canucks.
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