No wandering out of the zone for NHL Fans…

If voting members of the NHLFA were around at the time of Columbus, the world would still be flat and exploration of new lands would be left on the back burner.

In a recent fan poll, the respondents to questions put forward by the NHL Fans Association closed the door to the idea of European expansion, as 82 per cent of poll respondents said that they are against the NHL even exploring expansion to Europe, A surprising amount considering the recent trial balloons that have been floated about a potential NHL division based in Europe.

Of course as there was no breakdown on the number of votes returned in from the some 30,000 potential NHLFA voters, we don’t really know how reflective that 82 per cent is of hockey fans that have signed up with the Fan group.

Other questions that concerned NHL fans were the new look, tighter fitting sweaters which haven’t apparently caught on with the fashionistas of the NHLFA, with 43 per cent of those answering the poll suggesting that the league made a mistake and should return to last year’s looser-fitting sweaters, 29 per cent said they liked the new sweaters just fine thank you very much.

66 per cent of those who answered the poll thought the 20-game suspension given to the Philadelphia Flyers’ Steve Downie was just right, while 21 per cent disagreed with the NHL’s punishment.

And it seems that NHLFA members are a hearty lot, as 84 per cent said that they thought the idea of an outdoor game such as the planned New years day game in Buffalo was just fine, only 7 per cent felt that hockey was best left to the indoor palaces with their skyboxes and varied menu of between period treats..

The NHLFA was created back in 1998 starting out with 3000 members, nine years later they are closing in on 30,000. Since those early days they have solicited opinion from hockey fans and have lobbied on behalf of them to try and provide a fans perspective to the game.

There’s no charge to join, but donations are most likely quite welcome. Most importantly though is the feedback that they receive from the hockey fan base, it will be interesting to see how those fans respond over the season to the various issues that the NHLFA bring up, of particular interest to Canadian fans might be the topic of expansion within Canada.

Perhaps that is why the prospect of European expansion got such a determined thumbs down, with hockey markets such as Hamilton, Quebec City and Winnipeg still shut out from the NHL, Canadian hockey fans might like to see the home front better taken care of, before the league wanders across the oceans.

Until that time, like the days of the 1400's, it would seem that the taking the NHL ship out to sea isn't worth the trouble and that there's hardly anyplace outside the country worth exploring.

Past 500 goals and fifty years, a legend endures

They will commemorate the Rocket one more time this weekend in Montreal, the Canadiens will salute the achievement of their capitaine ancien, with a scoreboard salute during the Buffalo - Montreal game on Saturday night. With that salute, an arena that has for the most part been devoid of ghosts since the closing of the Forum, will suddenly feel a little chill of an apparition as memories of one of the greatest of Habs flood back.

Richard set the standard for goal scoring on October 19, 1957 when he scored goal number 500 against the Chicago Black Hawks. Since that momentous occasion, thirty eight other players have crossed over the 500 goal barrier. A good number of whom will never reach the lofty, legendary and beloved status that Richard achieved.




He was one of the greatest goal scorers of our times, an amazing force who as soon as he took to the ice would bring the crowd to their feet in anticipation of something special. Today we celebrate one such moment that came to pass on October 19 of 1957.



There have been a number of remembrances of the late Canadien's memorable night, a few of which we provide below.

Fifty years ago ...
Would Richard be successful today?
Is scoring 500 goals still special?
It Was 50 Years Ago Today...
Richard's mark in time meant something, but what about now?

And we leave it to the wonderfully descriptive Red Fisher, to recapture one of the greatest moments in Habs and Hockey history.

Rocket Richard made history 50 years ago by becoming first player to score 500 goals

Is Europe the future for NHL success?

William Houston has an interesting look at what direction the NHL should be heading as it tries to come to terms with unsuccessful southern markets and potential expansion for the league.

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In the Friday Globe and Mail and posted to the website, is a piece that suggests that the NHL buy out the six weakest franchises for 250 million dollars each and relocate those teams to Northern and Central European hockey hot beds. Instantly creating a European division, reaping massive television and marketing potential and making a bold step for the NHL's future look.

It's long been suggested that instead of chasing the Nashville's and Atlanta's, the NHL should instead seek out the likes of Stockholm, Prague, Moscow and other European centers that appreciate the sport and may wish to view it played at perhaps its highest level.

Houston wracked the brain of Toronto based player agent, Anton Thun who believes that a European expansion would harvest nothing but money for the NHL and he's quite puzzled by the hesitancy of the NHL to make the move.

He also urges the NHL to move quickly, before the IIHF sets up its own European Super league, potentially closing any window that the NHL might have to grow its game and change the dynamic of a league that is watching its southern flank begin to wobble.

Back when the NHL lock out took place there was some talk of setting up a Super League where locked out players would ply their trade, at the time the IIHF published a report on its website that suggested that it was a project that wouldn't last.

However, times change and with the NHL in need of an image boost and more importantly a financial boost, the prospect of a European may be timely once again. Especially when you consider the potential of having Moscow or Prague come to town, an event which surely would be more exciting to many of the stronger franchises than yet another visit from the Coyotes or Thrashers.

It would be a bold step if it ever were to take place, but judging by past history it may be an opportunity that slips through the NHL's fingers.

Europe could be the place to be for NHL
WILLIAM HOUSTON
From Friday's Globe and Mail

October 18, 2007 at 8:42 PM EDT

Placing your product in a market where there's a demand is pretty elementary stuff, but the NHL had a better idea.

It established teams in regions of the United States where there was virtually no demand, at least not on television.

Now, the league is talking about doing it again by expanding to Kansas City and Las Vegas. Just the thought of it leaves Toronto-area hockey agent Anton Thun cold.

“I honestly don't know if there's any demand for hockey at all in Kansas City,” he said in an interview this week. “And I don't believe there's any demand in Las Vegas, either. So, what are we doing?”

It would help substantially if more people in the game, particularly NHL owners, asked the same question.

If the goal is to make more money for billionaire Los Angeles Kings owner Philip Anschutz, who will have a stake in the arenas in K.C. and Las Vegas, or if Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer joining the NHL as owner of the Las Vegas franchise is too exciting to resist, then the NHL's power brokers deserve the failed business model they have created.

But Thun, a lawyer and veteran player representative, says the NHL, with some smart moves, could turn around a bad situation and add a billion dollars annually to its revenue.

For starters, it would place a team in southern Ontario, which is a no-brainer given the size of the market and interest in hockey. Thun says owning that team would be a “a licence to print money.”

And then the league would move to Europe, to large northern and central European cities where hockey is a major sport. But instead of expanding, it would relocate six existing but failing teams.

Said Thun, “You would go to the six lowest revenue producing teams in the NHL and say, ‘Listen, we've got owners in Europe. We want to set up a European division. And we want to move six teams at one time. Are you willing to sell your franchise for $250-million?' I can't imagine a lot of people would say no.”

A fee of $250-million would certainly be well above market value for clubs such as Phoenix, Atlanta, Nashville and Florida.

A European division could consist of franchises in any six of London, Paris, Stockholm, Helsinki, Prague, Frankfurt, Berlin and Moscow. The six teams would play each other eight times, bringing each team's total to 40 games, plus 42 more against North American teams at home and away.

Travel would be an issue, but most of the interlocking games would involve North American teams closest to Europe on the Atlantic coast. The Atlantic division is a bus loop, anyway, so a few long trips wouldn't hurt.

Thun sees Europe as rich pickings given the sponsorship revenue that's available in the major cities and the potential for television, where a game of the week would easily outdraw the numbers for NBC in the United States, which earns a 1.0 rating (percentage of potential households watching) for NHL telecasts.

“In countries where you would have NHL teams, I think hockey night in Europe would be a slam dunk,” Thun said.

There are issues. Integrating North American and European television would be difficult. Prime-time telecasts in Europe would air in the afternoon in North America. Taxes for players and corporations would vary significantly from those in North American jurisdictions, but there already are tax variances and they're dealt with.

Thun, who travels to Europe regularly, believes an NHL move there should be done quickly, before an independent league is set up. The International Ice Hockey Federation may have its eye on a super league of its own, he says. The IIHF's European Champions Cup, a tournament involving the top club teams, is now in its third year.

“If the NHL doesn't get into it, quite honestly I'm concerned that the European hockey federations will set up their own league,” he said. “That would drain talent from the NHL and capture revenue that the NHL otherwise would have.”

Sid v. Habs

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby seems to be a bigger draw in Canada than the Montreal Canadiens. TSN's Florida Panthers-Habs game Tuesday was watched by 275,000. Wednesday's New Jersey Devils-Pens telecast, on TSN, had 409,000 viewers, a big number for an all-U.S. matchup.Dan Patrick, formerly of ESPN, has joined Sports Illustrated where he will write a weekly column, starting in January. The SI partnership also ties in Patrick's syndicated radio show as well as his writing a daily blog.

Bob Hartley gets the heave ho in Atlanta

Attention all NHL Dead pool players!! We have your first name of the year.

The first coaching casualty of the season arrived on Wednesday, as the Atlanta Thrashers decided that it wasn't the heat but the futility and offered Bob Hartley a “See ya’ll later” salutation, as GM Don Wadell dismissed the Thrashers coach who was entering his fifth season in Atlanta.

Hartley has watched his under performing team lose ten games of importance in the last six months. The four playoff games in which the Thrashers played patsies to the Rangers to end last season and the first six games of this new year, which sadly resembled the way that last seasons short and unsuccessful playoff run ended.

Hartley it seems had lost his team, an apparent hard taskmaster was no longer finding results. It was more than apparent from the Thrasher’s lethargic play and dismal start that whatever he was saying was being tuned out by the players, many it seems were waiting for word that a change was gong to come since opening night.

Where Waddell goes from here will be an interesting story to watch. Besides looking for a new coach, with some new ideas and a boatload of patience for an enigmatic team, there’s the status of the franchise itself.

Questions about the franchises' very existence abound in Atlanta, currently the teams ownership is in a state of flux, involved in a nasty internal legal fight, the city itself is a market that seems to be as fair weather a place as there could be in sports. The Atlanta Journal Constitution's, Jeff Schultz alluded to as much in his season opening column, which set the theme of a franchise with too many questions and not near enough answers.

Many of the names being bounced around as a potential coach, may wish to wait and see what becomes of the Thrasher’s franchise, where they may end up and who might be writing the cheques in the near future. Scotty Bowman, Pat Quinn, Dave King or any of the other high profile names currently being mentioned, should keep an eye on the lay of that southern land, before they plant their feet in Dixie (or wherever the Thrashers may one day end up)

Until all of the franchise uncertainty is cleared up, these Thrashers will more than likely be Waddell’s project to turn around.

There is no shortage of people pointing their fingers in his direction as someone else who may soon be looking for a new job. Waddell created the current Thrasher lineup through high profile trades and patience at the draft table, as well as some questionable contract offers that are now starting to bite the franchise on its backside. The challenge now for him, is to prove that the GM of that day provided the coach of today, with the right players for the job.

If not, there may be a major shake up of the Thrashers from top to bottom and everywhere in between.

A more tradtional relationship may be on the way

The NHLPA has nominated their candidate to take over the leadership of the players union, former US attorney, Paul Kelly, a no nonsense, advocate for the players and most likely, more inclined to take a more traditional approach to labour relations with the NHL.

Kelly is best known in hockey circles for two key events in recent hockey history, when he represented Marty McSorley after the infamous Donald Brashear attack, and for his involvement in the process to bring Alan Eagleson to justice. The latter event saw the former NHLPA executive director agree to plead guilty on fraud and embezzlement charges and brought to an end a rather controversial era to the NHL labour scene.

That was the last great scandal in labour relations until last years overthrow of Ted Saskin, the NHLPA head who found himself under increased scrutiny and eventually dismissed over alleged incidents of hacking into the player’s e mail accounts. Saskin was terminated as the NHLPA head after it reportedly became common knowledge of his electronic gathering, apparently while seeking out the identity of dissenters to his leadership.

Saskin’s fascination with e mail seems to have made a come back on the union radar with more details over the weekend courtesy of the Toronto Star’s Rick Westhead, who has an interesting review of events posted to the Toronto Star website.

In the Westhead article, the picture of Daly as more of a pipeline to the NHL than an advocate for the players seems to be portrayed. As he and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly exchanged e mail correspondences that have raised the eyebrows and the ire of many of the NHLPA rank and file.

In one particular e mail, Daly reportedly forwarded to Saskin, a correspondence between himself and TSN's Gord Miller (good luck getting any player interviews this season), which outlined lawyer Ian Pulver and former NHL star Steve Larmer as two staunch opponents to the direction that Saskin was taking the players association.

Another now infamous correspondence, has Saskin e mailing Commissioner Gary Bettman advising that he may send Chris Chelios to a planned meeting in Russia in 2006, a suggestion which produced a reply from the Commissioner, that a one way ticket for Chelios might be an idea.

While the reply shows one of the few indications that Gary Bettman has a sense of humour, the rather cozy familiarity that he and Saskin seemed to share, has raised alarm bells about how the relationship between union and management may have been co-opted.

It’s anticipated that if Kelly is approved on October 23rd with a simple majority of NHL players, that the past days of back channels and inside information will be brought to an end.

This will be an important step for the players association, which has the opportunity to re-open the NHL-NHLPA agreement in the 2008-09 season. The first opportunity that they will have to seek redress to their grievances over the way that those negotiations evolved, now with the added suggestion that they may have been undermined from within during that time.

There has been some debate as to how much power a new Executive Director will have, in August, Eric Lindros who is a member of the NHLPA's constitutional committee and has been a major player in the behind the scenes process to reclaim the union over the last few months.

Lindros said in August, that the thirty teams will have much more of a say in the day to day operations of the association than in the past and that any new director will most likely have less power than his predecessors.

It will be interesting to watch the evolution of the players association should Kelly be acclaimed as the Executive Director, one thing is certain the congratulatory telegram from the NHL (if there is one) will no doubt be short and business like, emoticons and jokes most likely won’t be part of the day to day correspondence schedule from now on.

Even more important will be the distancing of the association from the league, a more familiar union/management relationship is on the horizon for the NHL, one which may see the league return to the more heated debates of the past.

Stephen Brunt reviews the events that transpired during the Saskin years, with a riveting tale of duplicity and power plays that left the union battered and questioning whether their union really had their interests at heart at a key point in NHL history.

At least from the players point of view, they will now only have one battle to fight in the future, the agent provocateurs from within will have been deleted, a process that the NHL itself is probably wishing it had done with some embarrassing e mails, correspondences that have left a trail of suspicion dating back more than a few years now.

Flyers waive goodbye to Boulerice

With the cacophony of noise over Jesse Boulerice’s vicious cross check last week of Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler still ringing in their ears, the Philadelphia Flyers have decided to put the now suspended Boulerice on waivers.

Prior to last Friday’s disciplinary hearing with Colin Campbell, the call in some quarters of the NHL was for Boulerice to be suspended for a lengthy term, with even one or two calls for a lifetime ban.

So, it would seem that the Flyers are offering their fellow NHL partners the opportunity to do just that, by ignoring Boulerice’s offerings and letting him slide through the cracks of NHL bureaucracy, perhaps to never be seen in the NHL again.

Cynics might note that the Flyers no doubt knew what Boulerice brought to the line up when they dressed him night in and out and considering his checkered past in junior hockey and beyond, they surely can’t claim to have been surprised by what took place.

While putting him on waivers is smart business sense we assume, it does seem to be seeking absolution by simply dismissing the problem that the Boulerice hit has caused to their conscience. Washing their hands of the unfortunate incident, without having to take a sense of responsibility for the team they had crafted this season.

Interestingly enough, Steve Downie who was involved in another brutal attack earlier in September has not been placed on waivers as he serves his twenty game suspension, suggesting that the Flyers may have a sliding scale when it comes to degrees of conscience it seems.

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Considering their marketing strategy at the start of the season as Michael Farber of Sports Illustrated outlines on the magazines website, it's not surprising that things have unravelled as fast as they have on the ice in Pennsylvania this season.

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A look over their line up and the past penalty minutes of their additions, seems to have pre-ordained multiple sessions with Colin Campbell through the year, but not even the Flyer's could have imagined the sudden speed of their violent downfall.

The news out of Philadelphia came after Kesler recounted a conversation with Boulerice, who had phoned to apologize for the dangerous cross check and inquired as to the state of Kesler’s health.

We suspect that those two won’t become phone pals anytime soon, but considering Boulerice’s current situation, the next phone call he makes to anyone in the NHL may be to ask someone for another chance, once his 25 games have been served.

It will be a test of where the NHL sees itself going on the ice from here on, if anyone takes the call.

(Photo above, appeared on the SI website)

Magnificent Mats!

We've been distracted by the ugly side of the NHL the last few days, but Thursday night saw one of the "nice" guys of the NHL finally get his due.

Mats Sundin entered the Maple Leaf record books on Thursday, as he became the Leafs' top career goal scorer and points leader, passing long time Leaf favourite Darryl Sitler for the top honours for the Leafs.

The record breaking night came during Sundin's 912th NHL contest, a long time has passed since the youngster from Sweden first arrived on North American shores in time for the 190-91 season, but even in his early days as a Quebec Nordique hockey fans knew that we had a keeper.

Sundin was part of a remarkable squad in Quebec that seemed to reinvent the art of hockey, they style and speed of those Quebec years showcased the sport at its most entertaining level. He wouldn't be a Nordique for long however as then Leaf GM Cliff Fletcher engineered one of the more controversial trades in Maple Leaf history.

Fletcher sent the extremely popular Wendel Clark off to Quebec in exchange for Sundin, a solid hockey move as things would turn out, but on which saddled Sundin with a fair amount of baggage in his new home. He would never come close to achieving the kind of stats that he was on track for in Quebec,

The Maple Leaf nation hasn't always been kind to their captain, but never has Sundin said a disparaging word about the organization, the fans or the city. He's been nothing but the perfect ambassador for hockey in the city that claims to be its heart and soul and is the self described centre of the hockey universe.

Perhaps as he edges closer to the stage exit, Maple Leaf fans can reflect on his time in the blue and white. His biggest disappointment is no doubt the inability to help deliver a Stanley Cup to Toronto, but putting any blame on his shoulders would seem to be folly. The problems with the Maple Leafs have much deeper roots and a much longer history than their Captains time with the club.

Sundin would never come close to achieving the kind of stats that he was on track for in Quebec, while with the high flying Nords in 1992-93 he compiled 114 points, it would be a points total that he never would come close again.

The supporting cast in Toronto has never been particularly strong, the missing pieces never properly addressed. In a way the Leafs have squandered their opportunities by not surrounding their captain with more capable talent, able to make the best of his style of play.

Number thirteen has spent thirteen years as a Maple Leaf, a long and no doubt frustrating journey. On a team that has provided much in the way of disappointment, Sundin was a rare flash of potential and the chance each year for Leaf fans to dream that maybe this was the year.

In a week that the NHL had to once again come to grips with the ugliest of its persona's, it was a welcome relief to share in the joy of achievement from someone who has always played the game the way it should be played!

25 games! Sheriff Campbell passes judgement

Grand pappy told my pappy, back in my day, son

A man had to answer for the wicked that he done

Take all the rope in Texas Find a tall oak tree,

Round up all of them bad boys

Hang them high in the street for all the people to see

--Toby Keith's Beer for my horses

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Justice has once again been served in the NHL, as the league’s chief agent of discipline cracked down hard on the Philadelphia Flyer’s Jesse Boulerice. His dangerous cross check to the face of Ryan Kesley Wednesday night brought him a twenty five game suspension, the strongest discipline meted out since last season’s Chris Simon attack on the Rangers' Ryan Hollweg, that attack seems to have become the benchmark for on ice violence this year in the NHL.

"This was more than a careless and reckless play — it was senseless," said Campbell.

Campbell pointed out that Boulerice and the league for that matter were quite fortunate that Kesler was not injured by the ugly bit of work by the Flyer. In two previous incidents similar in nature, the British Columbia legal process came into play, when Donald Brashear was clubbed on the head by Marty McSorley back in 2000 and more recently a few years ago in 2004, when Todd Bertuzzi attacked Steve Moore at GM Place.

In fact facing the legal system would not be an unusual process for Boulerice who faced charges over an ugly OHL playoff incident during his junior years, which almost cost Andrew Long his life.

Campbell clearly concerned for the safety of the league’s player if not for the image of the league was quick with his decision, announcing the punishment a few short hours after meeting with the Flyers GM Paul Holmgren.

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However, hockey fans must be wondering if Gary Bettman might find some time to address the ugliness coming out of his domain. The commissioner has been strangely quiet on the issue, leaving it to Campbell to put the corporate face on a very ugly period for the NHL.

The Flyers for their part stated that Boulerice was going to have to “stand up and pay the price”, his suspension marks the second time in a month that a Flyer has been taken out of active duty because of misbehaviour.

Boulerice joins fellow Flyer Steve Downie in being assigned to the Colin Campbell Wing of the NHL detention system, which means that if you can skate, the Flyers might need you.

With forty five games combined, there are a few openings on the Flyers roster at the moment, video tapes and resumes should be addressed to Paul Holmgren, General Manager, Philadelphia Flyers.

We suggest leaving out any testosterone fuelled segments; the Flyers are probably looking to keep a low profile for a little while now...

Especially considering the rising tide of support for the idea to punish the Flyers organization as well, should any further crimes and misdemeanors continue while on the ice.

Globe and Mail--NHL hits Boulerice with 25-game suspension

Globe and Mail--What to do next time

CanWest News-- Boulerice got off lightly for Kesler attack

CBS Sports--NHL missing point in punishment for goon Boulerice

ESPN.com- Is goonery overshadowing Flyers' resurgence?

USA Today- Flyers' Boulerice hit with 25-game suspension

Canada.com- Kesler okay with length of Boulerice suspension

Philadelphia Inquirer- Boulerice banned 25 games by NHL

Philadelphia News- Boulerice joins Downie in sin bin

Vancouver Province- Kesler not the first to suffer

Vancouver Province- What penalty will NHL ponder for fatality?

Reviving the days of the Bullies?

Two ugly incidents in less than a month involving the Philadelphia Flyers have many hockey fans wondering if the era of the Broad Street Bullies has returned to the NHL.





Not since Schultz, Kelly, Dupont et al brought terror to NHL rinks on a nightly basis, have the Philadelphia Flyers found themselves the focus of so much attention.

Over the off season the Flyers proclaimed that they were returning to the values that made Flyer hockey famous; tough, physical play and a pre season of fight filled games seemed to testify to the change of direction in Flyer hockey from recent years.

Gone it seems will be the free wheeling, skating game that the NHL promised after the lock out year came to an end. Anaheim marched, hit and fought their way to a Stanley Cup last year and this year’s version of the Philadelphia Legions seems determined to return to the era of intimidation and cheap shots.

Colin Campbell, Chief Justice of the NHL Supreme Court may want to keep Friday’s open for Flyers, (Flyer Friday's has a nice ring to it doesn't it?) as he once again finds the e mail clogged with missives about seemingly out of control hockey players decorated in orange and black

On September 20th Campbell had to deal with the horrifying to watch hit of Steve Downie on Ottawa’s Dean McCammond, as Downie became a human missile and literally launched himself into the air and took out McCammond in an explosion of violence.




McCammond lay on the ice without movement for far too many minutes and to this day has not returned to the line up for the Senators and is not expected back for the next two to three weeks at the earliest.

For his transgression of not only civil behavior but common sense, Downie has found himself suspended for twenty games, a punishment that many have deemed as too short considering the nature of his brutal hit on McCammond.

So, if twenty games is not considered a strong enough deterrent for this kind of unwanted behavior in the game, whatever is Campbell to do with Jesse Boulerice, who on Wednesday night provided a sickening cross check to Ryan Kessler's face, dropping the Canuck forward to the ice in a heap.



It was a particularly ugly aspect to what had become a very ugly game, the Flyers running ahead on the scoreboard and both teams running around the ice, taking shots at forwards, defencemen and a goaltender before the cage match came to an end.

Boulerice has the unique entry on his resume of being banned by the OHL for an entire season, after a nasty episode in his junior days, which found him in trouble with the law when he was charged with assault to do great bodily harm less than murder after hitting Andrew Long of the Guelph Storm during the OHL final in 1998.

So far this season he has been busying himself by racking up the majors at a pretty good clip and portraying the role of Vlad the Impaler for the Flyers, just look up his name in a YouTube search engine and you'll quickly learn that Jesse ain't in the line up for his scoring touch .

The calls for swift and definitive justice have come from across the NHL. A 20 games suspension is the apparent benchmark, but no one it seems would have a problem if Justice Campbell were to double that punishment, in order to set an example and highlight the fact that the senseless violence of the last few weeks has to end now.

Hockey has always been a tough and at times violent game. The bone crushing checks, nasty stick work and even full scale brawls have long been documented in past eras, as an aspect of the game that while unseemly were accepted as part of the sport.

As the NHL entered the new era of enlightenment of the last four or five years the attempt was made to try to reign in the wild marauders, in order to allow the artistic play makers some room to operate. The last couple of seasons however have seen the more physical part of the game begin to regain more and more of a foothold in the sport, now the physical nature has given way to the blatantly violent.

While the body checks are welcome, the stick work and disrespect of fellow players must be exorcised from the play. The NHL has been lucky so far, no one has been seriously injured or God forbid killed by one of these senseless acts of stupidity, but you have to think that the odds against that get slimmer with each violent act on the ice.

The Flyers may like to reminisce about the Good old days when the toughest of the tough could lay waste to team after team in quest of the Stanley Cup. But for the future of the sport, the time is now to get some control over the madder dogs from all teams that are patrolling the ice. It's hard to believe that the Flyers and the other teams, didn't get the message that the goonery was no longer acceptable back in September, the Boulerice incident should be the last time a message needs to be sent.

The league office needs to reclaim the ice, making it clear to all teams that the lack of respect being shown by players to their competitors must end. The ugly head shots of the last month have no place in hockey, Colin Campbell and Gary Bettman must make that stand and do it now, if for no other reason than the fact that if they don’t, there are surely any number of politicians or law enforcement agencies that will be more than ready to step in and take charge.

Hockey is getting back into the mainstream spotlight, but once again it’s not for amazing goals or talented personalities. Instead, the media glare is focusing on brutal assaults that on any Canadian or American city street would probably have the offender spending time in a prison.

The time is now to send a strong message that the sudden violent turn that the game has taken has no place in the NHL of today, if they miss this opportunity then once again the NHL will have only itself to blame for the troubles that will surely follow.

Bad enough they’re paid in American dollars, but now the NHL is withholding some of the player’s cash

One of the controversial agreements to end the lock out of a few years ago was a fund created to ensure that NHL owners did not give up more in player salaries than their allotted share of revenues.

The number crunching takes place on a quarterly basis and the first quarter finds the NHL players paying back some 9.5 per cent of the salaries into the fund, a percentage that they could regain by the end of the season if the numbers bounce back in their favor.

Last year when the pencils were put away and the final paycheques were issued the players collected 97.51 per cent of their salaries and bonuses.

It make at least for something that this years roster players have to look forward to.

Though taking almost a ten percent hit at the start of the season isn’t something they most likely are pleased about.

The Hamilton Spectator had a Canadian Press story on Wednesday that outlined the history of the fund and how it has worked out in the previous two seasons.


NHL to hold 9.5 per cent of players' salaries
October 10, 2007
The Canadian PressTORONTO (Oct 10, 2007)

Player paycheques will be 9.5 per cent smaller during the first quarter of the 2007-08 NHL season, but that money could find its way back later on depending on the league's bottom line.
The money withheld goes to a fund established under the new collective bargaining agreement to ensure owners don't give up more in player salaries than their allotted share of revenues.

The NHL and NHL Players' Association signed off on the 9.5 per cent number for the first quarter of the season yesterday, sources told The Canadian Press, and will monitor revenues throughout the season to see if it needs to be adjusted.

Last season players had 10 per cent of their paycheques held back but the final calculations saw players only pay out 2.76 per cent to the league with the rest reimbursed. In the end, once interest was factored in, the players earned 97.51 per cent of their 2006-07 salaries and bonuses.

In 2005-06, the first year of the agreement, the owners were the ones who got dinged -- having to pay players back 4.37 per cent.

The final tally for this season will be figured out next fall.

One Golden Pond!

There surely must be an awful lot of pond hockey playing voters in the Province of New Brunswick!

Both the Federal government and the New Brunswick provincial government have shaken their collective couch cushions to come up with some spending money for the folks that organize the annual Plaster Rock Invitational Pond Hockey championships.

400,000 dollars will be made available for two support buildings for the outdoor tournament as well as for communication equipment, ice maintenance equipment and computers. Part of the money will be destined for an improvement to this website in order to trumpet the tournament to the wired world.

However, it may not need as much publicity as the organizers might think, since it first began the tournament has grown from 40 to over 120 teams competing on the natural ice surface on a frozen New Brunswick field.

The funding may prove to be controversial for some, as the idea of spending money this large a sum of money might stick in the craw of a few, considering it's destined for what many consider just an outdoor lark.

But as the stereotype for Canada goes, if it revolves around hockey anything can go. And the Plaster Rock tournament is one event that has certainly caught the attention of the nation.

From magazine articles in Canadian Geographic to features on the CBC and TSN, the saga of the frozen pond carries on.

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It has all the makings of one of those Canadian Heritage vignettes that occasionally come across your television screen, now complete with a "funded by the government of Canada" sticker to go with it!

The Feud!

You’ve got your Hatfield and McCoy’s, Stalin vs Trotsky, Diefenbaker and Newman, Shelbyville against Springfield and of course the war time brawl for it all between Generals Patton and Montgomery. All of which are worthy titleholders for feuds of the ages.

But for hockey fans it may be a brand new era of bitter acrimony as the NHL wanders into feudal territory this year with the Burke/Lowe dispatches. Forget Dave Keon with the Leafs, Bobby Orr and Alan Eagleson or Winnipeg Jets fans and Gary Bettman.

Burke and Lowe seem to be taking animosity to a whole new level as they purge their souls of their angst. If Shakespeare were still kicking around this one might make a dandy play.

The two GM’s who it is reputed were once good friends, have certainly decided to let loose with both guns blazing in the last two weeks. This grudge was born with a Kevin Lowe offer sheet by the Oilers over the summer, on one of Mr. Burke’s most coveted of Ducks, Dustin Penner.

Burke has since that day taken every opportunity provided to lay a tongue lashing on his rival executive in the NHL lodge.

Consider some of these offerings from the sunshine state, some going back as far as June:

An Act of Desperation
Gutless
The colossal stupidity of what the Edmonton Oilers did this past summer

Countered with a couple of hand grenades from the land of the Oil:

Blowhard
The Wizard of Oz

The experience, while vitriolic at times has provided a bonus for Lowe who in the heat of the verbal jousting back and forth with Burke, found some time to sign a new contract extension with the Oilers.

And the main attraction of the testosterone boys, Dustin Penner has managed to keep his sense of humour about it all (while busy counting his millions we assume), suggesting that perhaps he should have his Stanley Cup ring appraised upon its arrival from Anaheim, just in case!

Burke touched on the controversy today on CKNW's Bill Good show today from 11 am to 11:30 pm, though he wasn't near as quotable today as he's been in the last couple of weeks.

The boisterous feud has been good copy for the newspapers and made for quality clips for the radio and television sport broadcasts, but perhaps Gary Bettman is wondering why two of his highest profile GM’s are involved in a Grade 8 style grudge match.

Perhaps he needs to haul them both into the office to go over some feud film.

We suggest something from the collective works of Maroon Films, to show just how out of control this all could get, unless cooler heads prevail! Then again it could all make for a wonderful Stanley Cup divisional final in May, should both teams find time to play hockey after all the feuding is played out...

JR crashes Vancouver’s home opener party

The last time that Jeremy Roenick was in Vancouver for an NHL game he spent the bulk of the time at a local watering hole watching the action on television.

Judging by the impact that he had on the Sharks and Canucks season opener at GM Place, the Canucks might have considered paying for him to hit the town on their dime before the game started.

Last year, Roenick’s career seemed to be winding down, he was languishing in the Coyote doghouse, finding his ice time getting lessened as the season flew by, leading to the infamous Vancouver visit and his decision that if he wasn’t going to be in the line up at the rink, he may as well be in one at a watering hole.

As the season ended, the talk was that JR was going to hang up the blades, head for the broadcast booth and move on with his career in a different direction. However, a conversation with the Sharks changed all that, JR went to training camp and in the first two games of the season, last night’s loss in Edmonton and tonight’s win in Vancouver, he has been a major contributor.

Friday night, he just missed out on picking up yet another hat trick, as he was all over the ice, picking up loose pucks and firing shots at will at an embattled Roberto Luongo.

As the flow of the game tilted in the direction of the Sharks, Roenick was busy picking up points as he fired two shots behind Luongo on the way to the Sharks 3-1 win.

The Sharks came out a determined lot having played in Edmonton the night before and having the Oilers get the better of them on the scoreboard, Friday night no such problem would surface as the Sharks dominated the bulk of the play through all three periods.

Luongo must have felt very alone in that first period, the Canucks played tentatively in the opening frame, unsure as to handle the constantly streaming amount of sharks crossing the Canuck blue line.

The Canucks contributed to their own misery by taking far too many penalties, allowing the Sharks to set up their potent powerplay and control the puck for large periods of time.

Lukas Krajicek was take to school by Roenick, who scored both of his goals while evading Krajieck’s less than successful attempts to keep him away from the Canucks net.

It was a frustrating night for Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, who must be wondering if any of his charges had paid much in the way of attention during the month of training camp just passed.

The Sharks, who lost Friday in a shoot out, showed why many have still pegged them as a serious threat in the NHL West, one of the favourites once again to compete for the Stanley Cup.

Vancouver moves on to Calgary on Saturday night, renewing what has been a lively and at times physically intense rivalry, which this year carries the added bonus of Mike Keenan behind the Flames bench.

Added to the mix is Calgary’s opening night loss to Philadelphia on Thursday night, which will have them anxious to show that they’re ready to battle every game this year, and there will be no better incentive to get their game back on track that to play the Canucks.

San Jose’s next game is Sunday against Colorado, which means that most likely JR had a chance to take his new team mates out to one or two of his favourite Vancouver haunts.

With a two goal performance and his play back on the highlight reels again, we wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t buying a round or two for the table!

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(Picture above from the Globe and Mail website)

The best things in life are free, but you can give them to the birds and bees, it's money that I want!

Yesterday's announcement that Dany Heatley had signed a six year contract to collect some 45 million of Eugene Melynk's dollars, adds more ammunition to the argument that cap, or no cap, there is still good money available for those deemed essential to a teams dream of a Stanley Cup.
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The Canadian Press had Neil Stevens pull out his abacus to determine which NHL players are the most handsomely compensated for their pursuit of that little black puck.

Three forwards share the top of the cash pile, Thomas Vanek of Buffalo,Daniel Briere now with Philadelphia, and Scott Gomez the newest of Rangers all are earning $10 million in coin for their efforts this season.

On the blue line, Kimmo Timonen of Philadelphia, edged out Nicklas Lidstrom by four hundred thousand dollars, Timonen can take time in the quiet moments of an NHL game to contemplate where to invest his 8 million dollars a season.

The last line of defence finds Nikolai Khabibulin of the Black Hawks just sneaking by Vancouvers' Roberto Luongo, the Chicago netminder pulls in $6.75 million compared to Luongo's $6.5 million.

The top ten lists by position can be found here.

At a base salary of $850,000 Sidney Crosby is the biggest bargain in the NHL, because he's in the third and final year of the entry-level provisions of the NHL-NHLPA collective bargaining agreement. Crosby does top up his take home pay with a number of bonuses and incentives, but he's merely waiting out the calendar until 2008-09. Having recently signed a five year extension, next season will bring Sid the Kid plenty of bills as he skates his way towards 43.5 million dollars.

Stevens charts the peaks and valleys of the NHL salary structures, identifying which players are front loaded or which team is tempting the financial Gods in a bid to win the Cup.

The Canadian teams may find themselves to be in the best position in the current salary battles, while the Canadian dollar rises in value compared to its American counterpart, all salaries will be paid in what is now the lower valued currency. Revenue streams however will be in Canadian dollars, making for an interesting turn of events from as short as three years ago.

Maybe we'll soon hear of Gary Bettman crusading for an American currency stabilization fund, to help protect those poor New York Rangers from falling too far behind in the salary chase.

Picking up where we all left off..

While the season officially got underway on the weekend with the Union Jack version of opening night, Wednesday evening felt much more familiar for North America's hockey fans.

The NHL returned to the ice for regular season action from four locations Wednesday, with two games seeming to automatically return to a playoff like atmosphere.

While Montreal opened up the 2007-08 campaign with a 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina and the jet lagged and injury riddled Ducks lost a Western conference rematch with the Red Wings 3-2, the real action took place elsewhere.

The Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars renewed acquaintances Wednesday, traditionally a high tempo and always entertaining match up, the season opener took a while to heat up. The Stars let the Avalanche pick up a three goal lead going into the third period, before the Stars began to battle back to make things interesting. In the end the Stars came up on the short end of the 4-3 score as the Avalanche held off the comeback.

The key to the game was the stellar play of Paul Stastny who picked up his first career hat trick in the first game of the season, providing more than enough evidence that hockey poolsters will leave his name off their rosters at their peril.

The third period featured many of the ingredients that have made the Stars and Avalanche matches of the past highly entertaining, a fast pace, some hard hits and a flurry of action at both ends.

While slow to heat up, by the time the third period came around game one was quickly taking on some of the characteristics of a game seven final for the Cup.

The marquee match of the night however was at the Air Canada Centre, where the Maple Leafs and Senators renewed hostilities, picking up where many a battle has left off after the completion of play.

The two provincial rivals who have built up a heated and entertaining rivalry over the years, did not disappoint. While the first period featured some sloppy play and apparent ice problems, it was more than made up by the intensity and speed of the play.

They battled in the corners and at the blue lines, with the Senators big line of Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson finding some space to move the puck into the Toronto end of the rink. Heatley who had just signed a six year, 45 million dollar contract began to earn a few of those pennies early on.

He factored into the play at key times, scoring twice once in the third period and again in the overtime to help the Sens once again edge the Leafs, this time 4-3.

Toronto started Andrew Raycroft in the nets, with mixed results. He let in a couple of soft goals that quickly turned the crowd against him, but then at times made some game saving stops that tended to stymie the Senators attack. Ottawa started Martin Gerber in the nets, allowing Ray Emery to rest his recovering hand.

The two teams will face off again Thursday night, as the Sens open up their home schedule at Scotiabank Place. With the promise of more high tempo play and some of the trademark physical play that has marked this rivalry over the last few years.

Storm clouds on Gary Bettman's horizon

Gary Bettman launches the North American portion of the 2007-08 season on Wednesday by taking some time out of the afternoon to sit in with one of Canada's most informed and opinionated Sports talk hosts, Bob McCown.

The commissioner will appear on McCown's Prime Time Sports between 5 and 5:30 ET (2 and 2:30 PT) and field what should be a number of interesting questions from both McCown and his co-host this week Stephen Brunt.

In fact, Brunt may have published a primer on Tuesday for the Commissioner to study, featuring a couple of troubling developments for the league bureaucracy to examine and sort out. Some percolating issues, which try as he might, don't appear to be on the verge of going away any time shortly.

In his Globe and Mail column on Tuesday, Brunt examined the state of the league as they prepare to drop the puck on another chase for Lord Stanley's mug. His findings show that the league is doing quite well in Canada, where the suddenly skyrocketing loonie is making for a cash flow bonus that provides for more dollars in the Canadian franchise treasuries, while the southern teams begin to feel the pain.

Included in his column on Tuesday were a couple of interesting brush fires that have flared up this week for the league to address. The on again/off again saga of the Nashville Predators sale seems to have moved into the death throes again this week. As the new council in the Nashville area, has not smiled beneficially on some of the "changes" that the Preds would like to make to such things a lease arrangements and other financial subsidies that the city is underwriting to keep the Preds part of the Nashville scene.

Brunt also examined the washing of some dirty laundry heading into opening night, examining a Larry Brooks story for the New York Post, which reported that Madison Square Garden chief executive officer James Dolan has been busy blasting the league office for incompetent handling of the NHL brand. Dolan who seems to enjoy controversial roles these days, took time out from the legal woes that have befallen MSG to drop a little diversionary bomb at the doorstep of Gary Bettman.

Dolan believes the Rangers do a far better job selling their product in all of its permutations than the league ever could. Said Doolan, "we believe that the league continues to squander opportunities to improve our business and solidify and grow our fan base." He pulled out some interesting numbers to back his case, recounting how some 93 per cent of the NHL overall revenue (up from 91 per cent before the lockout) is generated by the teams, with only 7 per cent generated by the league.

In effect, he's probably wondering what the NHL office is doing to not only justify its existence to improve the game on a wider agenda.

All in all it's going to make for an interesting thirty minutes of Bettman, Bob and Brunt, you can check it out at The Fan 590 website or on the various Sportsnet channels available across Canada.

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There's also a good chance that the Bettman interview will be featured on the Fan590 podcast feed later on Wednesday afternoon or evening.

Headlines of October

October 31- Preds extend the sale deadline
October 30- Bettman meets with Rick Tocchet
October 29- Kiprusoff rewarded with longest deal in Flames history
October 28- GMs lay low as Oilers topple Ducks
October 27- Flyers on the hot seat again?
October 26- Luongo 10, Capitals 0
October 25- Time to pull plug on JFJ
October 24- NHLPA appoints former U.S. prosecutor as new boss
October 23- A drought of goals in New York City
October 22- Would-be Predators owners meet with NHL execs
October 21- Oilers look to turn the page
October 20- Iginla paces Flames to win over Oilers
October 19- NHLPA takes direct route to rebuilding
October 18- Europe could be the place to be for NHL
October 17- The fall guy
October 16- Emery's return sparks goaltending debate in Ottawa
October 15- Leafs score winning goal, Sabres get the win!
October 14- NHLPA close to hiring new director
October 13- Crosby's power-play goal lifts Pens past Leafs
October 12- Flyers' Boulerice suspended 25 games for cross-check on Canucks' Kesler
October 11- Sundin surpasses Sittler
October 10- Price is right for Montreal
October 9- Trampled under skate
October 8- Blake determined in his fight against cancer
October 7- Stastny lifts Avalanche to win over Sharks
October 6- Steady Gerber leads Sens to third straight win
October 5- Roenick ruins Canucks home opener
October 4- Mike Keenan's Calgary era kicks off with a loss
October 3- Heatley pays dividends in Sens' win over Leafs
October 2- Penguins mature into a Cup threat
October 1- London trip deemed a success

From the NHL catwalk: Blues

As the NHL and Rbk release the new updated uniforms for the NHL this year, we'll provide a link to the NHL shop page and a preview of the new look.

Here's the new clothing choice for discriminating St. Louis Blues fans.

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Blues shop page.

From the NHL catwalk: Sharks

As the NHL and Rbk release the new updated uniforms for the NHL this year, we'll provide a link to the NHL shop page and a preview of the new look.

Here's the new clothing choice for discriminating San Jose Shark fans.
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Sharks shop page.

From the NHL catwalk: Coyotes

As the NHL and Rbk release the new updated uniforms for the NHL this year, we'll provide a link to the NHL shop page and a preview of the new look.

Here's the new clothing choice for discriminating Phoenix Coyote fans. .
Coyotes shop page.

From the NHL catwalk: Flyers

As the NHL and Rbk release the new updated uniforms for the NHL this year, we'll provide a link to the NHL shop page and a preview of the new look.

Here's the new clothing choice for discriminating Philadelphia Flyer fans.
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Flyers shop page.

From the NHL catwalk: Rangers

As the NHL and Rbk release the new updated uniforms for the NHL this year, we'll provide a link to the NHL shop page and a preview of the new look.

Here's the new clothing choice for discriminating New York Rangers fans.

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Rangers shop page.

From the NHL catwalk: Devils

As the NHL and Rbk release the new updated uniforms for the NHL this year, we'll provide a link to the NHL shop page and a preview of the new look.

Here's the new clothing choice for discriminating New Jersey Devil fans.

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Devils shop page.

From the NHL catwalk: Kings

As the NHL and Rbk release the new updated uniforms for the NHL this year, we'll provide a link to the NHL shop page and a preview of the new look.
Here's the new clothing choice for discriminating Los Angeles Kings fans.
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Kings shop page.

From the NHL catwalk: Oilers

As the NHL and Rbk release the new updated uniforms for the NHL this year, we'll provide a link to the NHL shop page and a preview of the new look.

Here's the new clothing choice for discriminating Edmonton Oiler fans.

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Oilers shop page.

From the NHL catwalk: Stars

As the NHL and Rbk release the new updated uniforms for the NHL this year, we'll provide a link to the NHL shop page and a preview of the new look. Here's the new clothing choice for discriminating Dallas Stars fans.
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Stars shop page.

From the NHL catwalk: Black Hawks

As the NHL and Rbk release the new updated uniforms for the NHL this year, we'll provide a link to the NHL shop page and a preview of the new look. Here's the new clothing choice for discriminating Chicago Black Hawk fans.

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Black Hawks shop page.

From the NHL catwalk: Sabres

As the NHL and Rbk release the new updated uniforms for the NHL this year, we'll provide a link to the NHL shop page and a preview of the new look. Here's the new clothing choice for discriminating Buffalo Sabre fans.
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Sabres shop page.

From the NHL catwalk: Thrashers

As the NHL and Rbk release the new updated uniforms for the NHL this year, we'll provide a link to the NHL shop page and a preview of the new look. Here's the new clothing choice for discriminating Atlanta Thrasher fans.
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Thrashers shop page.