Team Canada unveils its World Cup of Hockey roster on Saturday morning with an 9 am (MST), 11 am (EST), 8 am (PST) press conference from the Pengrowth Saddledome. Wayne Gretzky will pull his names out of the hat and 26 Canadian hockey players will be sent to defend Canada’s honour.
Gretzky and his team face a dilemma that many GM’s can only wish they had, a plethora of talent and only 26 spots to fit it all in. Do they go with youth on the rise, or stick with the old wily vets that rise to the challenge every couple of years. How many of the recent Team Canada vagabonds deserve a chance to once again don the maple leaf sweater to go into battle. Dany Heatley would appear to be a lock from that group, as well as Ryan Smyth and Roberto Luongo.
Do they bring back Steve Yzerman, Paul Kariya and Joe Nieuwendyk who last wore the Leaf while at the Salt Lake City Olympics. Observers feel that Gretzky and Co. could end up turning over from one third to one half of that Gold Medal Roster, as the new class of NHL stars like Joe Thornton, Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester all have shown that they are the next wave of Canadian stars ready to serve.
The big question is what to do about Bert. Todd Bertuzzi would have been an instant lock for this team prior to March, but after his on ice incident with Steve Moore the question looms large, should he be named? And if he is named, will Gary Bettman allow him to play. His suspension is an apparent grey area regarding this upcoming tournament. Since the team is a joint venture of the NHLPA and the NHL, Bettman has a say in who can play. If Bertuzzi finds himself on the shelf for the start of the upcoming season then his participation in the World Cup of Hockey will be moot, no suspended player can take part.
The tournament that runs through late August into September may very well be the last high calibre hockey that we see for a long time. It takes place just before the NHL season would normally get under way, but with the storm clouds gathering between the League and the NHLPA there’s no guarantee that there will be a season. The World Cup of Hockey may be the last of the game for a while.
The tournament which gets underway August 30th will wrap up on the 14th of September. Games are to be played both in Europe and in North America, the championship games on Canadian soil at the Air Canada Centre.
Canada is in the North American pool with the USA, Russia and Slovakia. The European pool consists of Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic and Germany. There is a lot riding on this tournament for Canadian hockey which has enjoyed a renaissance of late in the hockey world. Once again the Maple Leaf is the symbol of excellence, two concurrent World Championship wins, an Olympic Gold Medal and a myriad of European tournament wins have all contributed to a new respect for our game, played our way.
Gretzky and crew will have that and a lot more riding on their decisions Saturday, each name to be analyzed for strength and weakness. Regardless of whom he names, the Canadian public will debate the roster right up until the drop of the first puck, each armchair GM ready to provide his list of 26 that would be the perfect mix.
Saturday, May 15, 2004
Friday, May 14, 2004
Sharks take a bite out of Kiprusoff
San Jose wandered into the Saddledome on Thursday night and helped to bring to an end the pre-mature celebration of a Flames victory. Hockey fans and paid opinion makers alike had sat in awe of the performance last Tuesday night as the Flames so totally dominated the Sharks in their own home. For many observers (HockeyNation included) that one game held us spellbound, with glowing reviews and raised expectations it was all about the Flames and nothing about the Sharks. San Jose just took the time to remind us all that there are two teams in this series, and the one from California isn’t quite ready to hang up the skates just yet.
Evgani Nabokov held off a frantic Flame attack at times to secure his third shut out of this playoff year with a 3-0 victory, bringing the Sharks to one game away from tying this series with the Flames. Facing 34 shots in the Shark net, Nabobkov set the stage for his team mates to take charge of the score sheet, which they did thanks to the efforts of Vinnie Damphousse, who scored the first goal of the game and Alex Koryluk with two goals one into an empty net as the game was playing out.
Calgary was constantly in the Shark end of the ice, firing shot after shot at him only to see each and every one struck down by the goaltender or one of his defencemen. The Sharks would reel from time to time as Jarome Iginla tried to single handedly tie the game, never giving up the puck and fighting for it in the corners. Iginla despite his best efforts would finally see his playoff points streak come to an end in this game. But in this game they would bend but not break, holding the fort they scored a well deserved first win in this Western final.
The long suffering Flames fans were taken aback a bit by the end of the game as the upstart Sharks dared to challenge the local heroes. For Darryl Sutter the ability of San Jose to come back shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, one of the hallmarks of his tenure in San Jose was a team that never quit. A trait his new charges have taken to heart as well. With San Jose pulling themselves up by their skate laces, this series could now settle in for the duration.
Both teams play a similar style and feature a mirror image in some areas. With Nabokov back into a bit of a zone for his team, they can concentrate on scoring goals and not worry about giving them up. Thursday night’s goaltender advantage goes to the Sharks, in a series that is going to depend on goaltending there is little to choose from between Kiprusoff and Nabokov. Kirpusoff set the tone for games one and two, Nabokov has answered the challenge for game three. His team mates picking up the torch and getting themselves back into this series.
Sunday brings us more of the same, a very key game in this series, it will set the stage for either the Flames going up by three games, or everyone going back San Jose all tied up. Game four could very well be the turning point in this series, the direction taken on Sunday will go a long way to telling us which team is ready to make the next step in the quest for Stanley.
Evgani Nabokov held off a frantic Flame attack at times to secure his third shut out of this playoff year with a 3-0 victory, bringing the Sharks to one game away from tying this series with the Flames. Facing 34 shots in the Shark net, Nabobkov set the stage for his team mates to take charge of the score sheet, which they did thanks to the efforts of Vinnie Damphousse, who scored the first goal of the game and Alex Koryluk with two goals one into an empty net as the game was playing out.
Calgary was constantly in the Shark end of the ice, firing shot after shot at him only to see each and every one struck down by the goaltender or one of his defencemen. The Sharks would reel from time to time as Jarome Iginla tried to single handedly tie the game, never giving up the puck and fighting for it in the corners. Iginla despite his best efforts would finally see his playoff points streak come to an end in this game. But in this game they would bend but not break, holding the fort they scored a well deserved first win in this Western final.
The long suffering Flames fans were taken aback a bit by the end of the game as the upstart Sharks dared to challenge the local heroes. For Darryl Sutter the ability of San Jose to come back shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, one of the hallmarks of his tenure in San Jose was a team that never quit. A trait his new charges have taken to heart as well. With San Jose pulling themselves up by their skate laces, this series could now settle in for the duration.
Both teams play a similar style and feature a mirror image in some areas. With Nabokov back into a bit of a zone for his team, they can concentrate on scoring goals and not worry about giving them up. Thursday night’s goaltender advantage goes to the Sharks, in a series that is going to depend on goaltending there is little to choose from between Kiprusoff and Nabokov. Kirpusoff set the tone for games one and two, Nabokov has answered the challenge for game three. His team mates picking up the torch and getting themselves back into this series.
Sunday brings us more of the same, a very key game in this series, it will set the stage for either the Flames going up by three games, or everyone going back San Jose all tied up. Game four could very well be the turning point in this series, the direction taken on Sunday will go a long way to telling us which team is ready to make the next step in the quest for Stanley.
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Boucning Back Bolts
The Tampa Bay Lightning apparently is not a team that dwells on their last game. After suffering a shellacking at the hands of the Flyers 6-2 on Monday night, the Bolts bounced back with another complete team effort giving them a 4-1 victory in Philadelphia Thursday night.
Facing the usual band of zanies known as Flyer fans the Lightning managed to ignore the noise and make a little of their own. Two goals in two minutes and twenty four seconds set the pace for the game as Tampa used its speed and benefited from some rather shaky first period goaltending from Robert Esche, who struggled with shots through the first.
Cory Stillman and Ruslan Fedetenko got the Lightning off to a successful start, with their two goals fifteen minutes into the period, the goals quickly knocking Philly back on their heels for a bit. Tampa taking the 2-0 lead into the dressing room. The two teams played it tight in the second, though Philadelphia had chances to catch up, taking 13 shots on Nikolai Khabibulan only to have him return to the form that has carried the Bolts so far in this playoff season. Khabibulan credited his team mates for the successful outing as they cleared the crease for him and directed what few rebounds were given up harmlessly away.
Keith Primeau gave the Flyer faithful some hope right off the bat in the third, scoring at the 36 second mark, getting the fans up on their feet and making the thunderous noise that is becoming a trade mark at the Wachovia Centre. But where there’s thunder you’ll usually find Lightning and the Bolts quickly made strides to quiet down the throng, Vincent Lecavalier scored less than a minute later to once again give the Lightning a two goal lead. If ever there was a time for a big save, one to send your team a message this would have been the spot, but Lecavalier proved to be too much for Esche on this night. By games end Esche would give up four goals on only 20 shots, by far his worst appearance in the playoffs thus far.
Brad Richards put the game on ice seven minutes later as he picked up Tampa’s fourth and final goal of the night. Silencing the Philadelphia crowd for the night and reminding the Flyers that one good game does not a series make. The ability to turn in an impressive rebuttal to the last game is a good sign for Tampa. Many observers had dismissed them after the thrashing of game two, suggesting that finally they had run into a team that punishes you for your mistakes and is not afraid to take the body. Walking into the Flyers home rink, amidst all the noise of the last couple of days between the two coaches, Tampa redirected its efforts back to the ice. Coming up with an impressive victory for Game three and setting the table for game four on Saturday afternoon.
Philadelphia was returned a favour Thursday, showing that the Bolts can take charge in the Philly building if the need arises. The amount of off ice chatter set the scene for game three, as Tampa coach John Tortorella tore a strip off of Flyers head coach Ken Hitchcock. The Lightning players seemed to react well to their coach’s verbal defence, expect the Flyers to keep things low key prior to game four, no need to give the Bolts any more incentive than they seem to have found so far.
Facing the usual band of zanies known as Flyer fans the Lightning managed to ignore the noise and make a little of their own. Two goals in two minutes and twenty four seconds set the pace for the game as Tampa used its speed and benefited from some rather shaky first period goaltending from Robert Esche, who struggled with shots through the first.
Cory Stillman and Ruslan Fedetenko got the Lightning off to a successful start, with their two goals fifteen minutes into the period, the goals quickly knocking Philly back on their heels for a bit. Tampa taking the 2-0 lead into the dressing room. The two teams played it tight in the second, though Philadelphia had chances to catch up, taking 13 shots on Nikolai Khabibulan only to have him return to the form that has carried the Bolts so far in this playoff season. Khabibulan credited his team mates for the successful outing as they cleared the crease for him and directed what few rebounds were given up harmlessly away.
Keith Primeau gave the Flyer faithful some hope right off the bat in the third, scoring at the 36 second mark, getting the fans up on their feet and making the thunderous noise that is becoming a trade mark at the Wachovia Centre. But where there’s thunder you’ll usually find Lightning and the Bolts quickly made strides to quiet down the throng, Vincent Lecavalier scored less than a minute later to once again give the Lightning a two goal lead. If ever there was a time for a big save, one to send your team a message this would have been the spot, but Lecavalier proved to be too much for Esche on this night. By games end Esche would give up four goals on only 20 shots, by far his worst appearance in the playoffs thus far.
Brad Richards put the game on ice seven minutes later as he picked up Tampa’s fourth and final goal of the night. Silencing the Philadelphia crowd for the night and reminding the Flyers that one good game does not a series make. The ability to turn in an impressive rebuttal to the last game is a good sign for Tampa. Many observers had dismissed them after the thrashing of game two, suggesting that finally they had run into a team that punishes you for your mistakes and is not afraid to take the body. Walking into the Flyers home rink, amidst all the noise of the last couple of days between the two coaches, Tampa redirected its efforts back to the ice. Coming up with an impressive victory for Game three and setting the table for game four on Saturday afternoon.
Philadelphia was returned a favour Thursday, showing that the Bolts can take charge in the Philly building if the need arises. The amount of off ice chatter set the scene for game three, as Tampa coach John Tortorella tore a strip off of Flyers head coach Ken Hitchcock. The Lightning players seemed to react well to their coach’s verbal defence, expect the Flyers to keep things low key prior to game four, no need to give the Bolts any more incentive than they seem to have found so far.
Something to hold on to!
They don’t have to award the thing for over four months yet, but at least they’ll have something to hand over when the time comes. Officials of the World Cup of Hockey, taking place this September revealed the first edition of the championship trophy, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry.
The Trophy which features a pillar motif was greeted by silence by the gathered crowd who tried to make sense out of something that is not a traditional trophy design by any means.
Looking kind of like a flower vase encased in plastic tubes the trophy doesn’t look anything like a Stanley, Grey or Memorial cup, trophies that ring of tradition. Gehry described his trophy as representing ice and hockey, the ice apparently the plastic tubes which apparently catches the light the same way that ice does. The bowl apparently the hockey portion of the trophy, though it wasn’t particularly clear what the connection was.
The names of the winning players will be engraved on the top which can be removed and taken on tour. The trophy has been described as an engineering feat, and will be on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto until it’s awarded at the tournament.
Gehry who normally designs buildings is a huge hockey fan, formerly from Canada he lives in California now and is considered one of the top architects in the world. His trophy is his first attempt at designing sports hardware, an unorthodox piece it none the less will certainly garner its fair share of attention. And like any piece of art, beauty will be in the eye of the holder. Whichever team wins the trophy at the end of the World Cup will probably find many fine points about the tumbler.
And with a bowl at top it will fulfill that one major requirement of any fine trophy, the ability to sip champagne, a few sips and it should all come into perspective for the winning team.
The Trophy which features a pillar motif was greeted by silence by the gathered crowd who tried to make sense out of something that is not a traditional trophy design by any means.
Looking kind of like a flower vase encased in plastic tubes the trophy doesn’t look anything like a Stanley, Grey or Memorial cup, trophies that ring of tradition. Gehry described his trophy as representing ice and hockey, the ice apparently the plastic tubes which apparently catches the light the same way that ice does. The bowl apparently the hockey portion of the trophy, though it wasn’t particularly clear what the connection was.
The names of the winning players will be engraved on the top which can be removed and taken on tour. The trophy has been described as an engineering feat, and will be on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto until it’s awarded at the tournament.
Gehry who normally designs buildings is a huge hockey fan, formerly from Canada he lives in California now and is considered one of the top architects in the world. His trophy is his first attempt at designing sports hardware, an unorthodox piece it none the less will certainly garner its fair share of attention. And like any piece of art, beauty will be in the eye of the holder. Whichever team wins the trophy at the end of the World Cup will probably find many fine points about the tumbler.
And with a bowl at top it will fulfill that one major requirement of any fine trophy, the ability to sip champagne, a few sips and it should all come into perspective for the winning team.
Miss Manners would be shocked!
Shut Your Yap! John Tortorella has gone into the corners with his elbows high as he verbally advised Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock to keep his opinions to himself. With tensions running a little high after the Bolts were run out of their own building on Monday night, the Lightning head coach decided to fire a few verbal shots over the good ship Flyer’s bow.
Tortorella was annoyed with Hitchcock’s verbal badgering of the Lightning players as game two wound down in the third period Monday, reminding Hitchcock that since he’s not on the ice to face the repercussions he should work on his shushing. As Tortorella pointed out both he and Hitchcock are wearing suits and standing behind a bench, there’s no need for him to get in the face of the Bolt players. “Park your ego, and put it in your pocket” the parting shots from the Tamp Bay coach. Hitchcock had but a simple line for his coaching counterpart, “Tell him to mind his own business.”
After he corrected Hitchcock’s incivility, he turned his attention towards Flyer GM Bob Clarke. Tortorella said the Bolts knew how the Flyers worked things, Clarke constantly chirping trying to get an edge with the refs, talking, talking, and talking. Whining about this, that and the other thing. Tortorella vowed not to let the verbal onslaught affect his team’s preparation, which is a good thing. His team needs to re-focus on the job at hand, after being supremely outplayed in Game 2. Their goaltender Nabakov sent to the bench midway through the second period after giving up four goals. The Lightning has found that their scoring attack has suddenly been stalled by a tight checking and heavy hitting Flyer line up.
Tampa who have played well on the road in the playoffs (4-0), takes to the ice Thursday as the Wachovia Centre where the Flyers haven’t lost yet (6-0). The Philly crowd will no doubt let Tortorella know that he’s been heard. What remains to be seen is whether the Bolts can do a little talking of their own, on the ice!
Tortorella was annoyed with Hitchcock’s verbal badgering of the Lightning players as game two wound down in the third period Monday, reminding Hitchcock that since he’s not on the ice to face the repercussions he should work on his shushing. As Tortorella pointed out both he and Hitchcock are wearing suits and standing behind a bench, there’s no need for him to get in the face of the Bolt players. “Park your ego, and put it in your pocket” the parting shots from the Tamp Bay coach. Hitchcock had but a simple line for his coaching counterpart, “Tell him to mind his own business.”
After he corrected Hitchcock’s incivility, he turned his attention towards Flyer GM Bob Clarke. Tortorella said the Bolts knew how the Flyers worked things, Clarke constantly chirping trying to get an edge with the refs, talking, talking, and talking. Whining about this, that and the other thing. Tortorella vowed not to let the verbal onslaught affect his team’s preparation, which is a good thing. His team needs to re-focus on the job at hand, after being supremely outplayed in Game 2. Their goaltender Nabakov sent to the bench midway through the second period after giving up four goals. The Lightning has found that their scoring attack has suddenly been stalled by a tight checking and heavy hitting Flyer line up.
Tampa who have played well on the road in the playoffs (4-0), takes to the ice Thursday as the Wachovia Centre where the Flyers haven’t lost yet (6-0). The Philly crowd will no doubt let Tortorella know that he’s been heard. What remains to be seen is whether the Bolts can do a little talking of their own, on the ice!
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Boiled Shark meat on the menu
Calgary was on fire from the opening face off and never really looked back. Scoring in the first twenty seconds of the game on a pinball style of shot that eluded Evgeni Nabakov, the Sharks were on their heels from the very beginning. The Flames took the play to the Sharks and were relentless in their attack, controlling the flow and exposing a weakness of Nabakov’s glove side for the majority of the game.
Shean Donovan had a particularly effective night for the Flaming C’s as he picked up three points on the way to the 4-1 Vancouver victory over the seemingly shocked San Jose Sharks. His line of Ville Niemenin and Marcus Nilson combined for six points and three of the four Flame goals as they totally dominated the Sharks whenever they were on the ice. For the Flames the game showcased the disciplined and fast moving style that head Coach Darryl Sutter has put in place for this hard working Flames club.
There were no passengers as they say on this team tonight, everyone made a contribution, whether on the score sheet, on the hit list or in the team speed category. Miikka Kiprusoff had what must have seemed like a night off as he only faced 17 shots from a San Jose team that looked totally lost in the first period and never really recovered from the fast start of the Flames.
The Sharks have quickly been given a lesson that the Canucks and Red Wings previously learned, this is one determined Flames hockey club. One which sticks to its game plan makes few mistakes and recovers quickly from any errors made.
The faithful of the Sharks were decidedly faithless as the game wound down; they booed their heroes off the ice as the first period ended and much the same reaction was given to the Sharks as they quickly exited the ice at the end of the game. Down 2-0 already in this series and showing no signs of life in this game they are in a bit of trouble now. The Flames on the other hand are playing with the kind of confidence you see when a team has come together to know what it takes to win. They take the series back to Calgary on Thursday night; a loud raucous crowd awaits them for Thursday night’s third leg of the Western final. San Jose is in the unenviable position of already being in a must win situation, another effort like that of tonight and the Flames will be on cruise control.
Sharks coach Ron Wilson put it all in perspective when he exclaimed that his team was whipped Tuesday night, giving the Flames far too much time with the puck, enough time to find a place to deposit it, four times as it turned out. Six of Wilson’s leading players never even got a shot on net, an ominous sign which has Wilson thinking of changes to his line up. And that tells the story of this series so far, Wilson now has to shuffle players in a bid to light a fire. The Flames just need to roll the lines their team burning hot towards a Stanley Cup final berth.
Shean Donovan had a particularly effective night for the Flaming C’s as he picked up three points on the way to the 4-1 Vancouver victory over the seemingly shocked San Jose Sharks. His line of Ville Niemenin and Marcus Nilson combined for six points and three of the four Flame goals as they totally dominated the Sharks whenever they were on the ice. For the Flames the game showcased the disciplined and fast moving style that head Coach Darryl Sutter has put in place for this hard working Flames club.
There were no passengers as they say on this team tonight, everyone made a contribution, whether on the score sheet, on the hit list or in the team speed category. Miikka Kiprusoff had what must have seemed like a night off as he only faced 17 shots from a San Jose team that looked totally lost in the first period and never really recovered from the fast start of the Flames.
The Sharks have quickly been given a lesson that the Canucks and Red Wings previously learned, this is one determined Flames hockey club. One which sticks to its game plan makes few mistakes and recovers quickly from any errors made.
The faithful of the Sharks were decidedly faithless as the game wound down; they booed their heroes off the ice as the first period ended and much the same reaction was given to the Sharks as they quickly exited the ice at the end of the game. Down 2-0 already in this series and showing no signs of life in this game they are in a bit of trouble now. The Flames on the other hand are playing with the kind of confidence you see when a team has come together to know what it takes to win. They take the series back to Calgary on Thursday night; a loud raucous crowd awaits them for Thursday night’s third leg of the Western final. San Jose is in the unenviable position of already being in a must win situation, another effort like that of tonight and the Flames will be on cruise control.
Sharks coach Ron Wilson put it all in perspective when he exclaimed that his team was whipped Tuesday night, giving the Flames far too much time with the puck, enough time to find a place to deposit it, four times as it turned out. Six of Wilson’s leading players never even got a shot on net, an ominous sign which has Wilson thinking of changes to his line up. And that tells the story of this series so far, Wilson now has to shuffle players in a bid to light a fire. The Flames just need to roll the lines their team burning hot towards a Stanley Cup final berth.
We've been haaaaaad!
Turns out the Governator was an impersonator. A story that quickly made the rounds today (including right here on the HockeyNation) had Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Premier Ralph Klein making one of those political bets, without any need for physical effort at the behest of Klein.
The story had it that the Gov and Premier had agreed to give 1,000 dollars to the charity of the winners choice upon completion of the best of seven series. Klein had even gone so far as to identify the Special Olympics as his charity of choice, one probably that would have met with the approval of Schwarzenegger had he won or even existed as it turns out.
The radio crew at the Bear in Edmonton came clean this afternoon, admitting that they had created and pulled off the hoax, the second time that the station has used a Schwarzenegger connection to pull of a hoax. They pretended to be Jean Chretien last year when they phoned the Governor elect to offer best wishes on his new job. Schwarzenegger chatted for a few minutes before realizing that he'd been had and hung up. Ralph lasted much longer and apparently never knew that he'd been had. Which may be bad news for the folks at the Bear, the Premier is a guy that probably can carry a grudge for a while, the Bear should be thankful that radio is controlled federally in Canada, but one guesses there won't be a lot of Alberta government ads on the air for a while.
Feeling contrite they have cut a cheque for the Special Olympics. Maybe in the spirit of good humour and good sportsmanship the Premier and the Governor might even match the funds.
The story had it that the Gov and Premier had agreed to give 1,000 dollars to the charity of the winners choice upon completion of the best of seven series. Klein had even gone so far as to identify the Special Olympics as his charity of choice, one probably that would have met with the approval of Schwarzenegger had he won or even existed as it turns out.
The radio crew at the Bear in Edmonton came clean this afternoon, admitting that they had created and pulled off the hoax, the second time that the station has used a Schwarzenegger connection to pull of a hoax. They pretended to be Jean Chretien last year when they phoned the Governor elect to offer best wishes on his new job. Schwarzenegger chatted for a few minutes before realizing that he'd been had and hung up. Ralph lasted much longer and apparently never knew that he'd been had. Which may be bad news for the folks at the Bear, the Premier is a guy that probably can carry a grudge for a while, the Bear should be thankful that radio is controlled federally in Canada, but one guesses there won't be a lot of Alberta government ads on the air for a while.
Feeling contrite they have cut a cheque for the Special Olympics. Maybe in the spirit of good humour and good sportsmanship the Premier and the Governor might even match the funds.
They'll be baaaachk
One can imagine a cigar chomping Arnie issuing his Knute Rockne speech to Ralphie yesterday, as the two leaders got together on the phone to talk a little puck.
California Governor Schwarzenegger challenged Alberta Premier Ralph Klein to a friendly wager as the Sharks and Flames prepared to take to the ice in game two of their best of seven series.
Despite already being behind the 8 ball by one game, the Governator stood by his lads, advising Klein to be ready to forward a cheque for 1,000 dollars for the charity of Arnolds choice. Klein not to be intimidated suggested that the Special Olympics may soon get a surprise donation from a Southern benefactor.
The two leaders chatted for five minutes about the Sharks and Flames and a few other items before they got down to the heart of the wagering. For Klein the monetary wager is just about right, he had earlier mentioned that he wasn't against a friendly wager as long as the net result did not involve physical activity.
A wise decision considering the hmm, shall we respectfully say, difference in exercise regimens the two leaders seem to follow.
California Governor Schwarzenegger challenged Alberta Premier Ralph Klein to a friendly wager as the Sharks and Flames prepared to take to the ice in game two of their best of seven series.
Despite already being behind the 8 ball by one game, the Governator stood by his lads, advising Klein to be ready to forward a cheque for 1,000 dollars for the charity of Arnolds choice. Klein not to be intimidated suggested that the Special Olympics may soon get a surprise donation from a Southern benefactor.
The two leaders chatted for five minutes about the Sharks and Flames and a few other items before they got down to the heart of the wagering. For Klein the monetary wager is just about right, he had earlier mentioned that he wasn't against a friendly wager as long as the net result did not involve physical activity.
A wise decision considering the hmm, shall we respectfully say, difference in exercise regimens the two leaders seem to follow.
Monday, May 10, 2004
Tearing down the Bulin wall
The Philadelphia Flyers came out with something to prove on Monday night and by the end of 60 minutes they had made their point, with a huge exclamation point. Scoring early and scoring often the Flyers totally dominated the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 6-2 victory, in the second game of their best of seven series. Philadelphia had said prior to the game that they considered game two to be a must win, and then went out and took control of the game bringing the Lightning’s undefeated string of playoff games to an end at 8.
Robert Esche outperformed Nikolai Khabibulan in this game allowing only 1 goal of 31 shots, while Khabibulan faced 12 shots gave up 4 goals and was chased from the net in the second period, John Grahame took over at 6 minutes of the second, faced17 shots and allowed 2 goals before his night was done.
John Leclair finally got back on the scoring sheet with his goal at 1:53 of the first period, 10 minutes later Mark Recchi had the Flyers up by 2, Sami Kapanen following up with goal number three at the fifteen minute mark. It would prove to be a deep hole for Tampa from which they never managed to get out of.
Vladimir Malakhov started up the second period with goal number 4 at 6:02, Michael Handzus tallying up number 5 with ten seconds to go in the second period. After fourty minutes the Flyers were in cruise control with a 5-0 lead and dominating every aspect of the game. They outplayed Tampa Bay in the corners, took possession in the neutral zone and out hit the Lightning at every instance.
As the third period began the Flyers picked up where they left off with Mattias Timmander scoring the sixth and final Flyers goal at 3:34. Tampa managed to get on the scoreboard after ten minutes when Ruslan Fedetenko finally put a puck behind Esche, seven minutes later Martin St. Louis scored on the power play, the final chance for the Lightning on this night. The third period became a chippy and physical exercise with Tampa trying to answer the bell in front of the home crowd. At the seven minute mark most of the extra curricular activity took place with fighting majors and misconducts coming almost as fast as the Flyer goals did in the first.
Tampa was due for a loss, though even they probably had not imagined such a solid thumping as this one, but at least now they can take note that this won’t be a cake walk. Game three looms large in Philadelphia on Thursday night, a pivotal game at the best of times it will be interesting to watch how Tampa Bay responds to the total domination of game number 2.
For the Flyers the game served to get them back to doing what they do best, create their space and take advantage of the turnover game. They also were able to take care of an unwanted streak of losses to the Bolts. Having lost the four regular season matches and the first playoff game, this win finally takes the heat off of the Flyers line up. With two games to come at home, the Flyers must be feeling a little better about things than they did late Saturday afternoon. With a wild Flyer crowd ready to welcome Tampa to Philly, this may be the first time the Lightning have had to deal with a rabid opposition, how they respond to the challenge will tell quite a bit about how ready they are to make the next step.
Robert Esche outperformed Nikolai Khabibulan in this game allowing only 1 goal of 31 shots, while Khabibulan faced 12 shots gave up 4 goals and was chased from the net in the second period, John Grahame took over at 6 minutes of the second, faced17 shots and allowed 2 goals before his night was done.
John Leclair finally got back on the scoring sheet with his goal at 1:53 of the first period, 10 minutes later Mark Recchi had the Flyers up by 2, Sami Kapanen following up with goal number three at the fifteen minute mark. It would prove to be a deep hole for Tampa from which they never managed to get out of.
Vladimir Malakhov started up the second period with goal number 4 at 6:02, Michael Handzus tallying up number 5 with ten seconds to go in the second period. After fourty minutes the Flyers were in cruise control with a 5-0 lead and dominating every aspect of the game. They outplayed Tampa Bay in the corners, took possession in the neutral zone and out hit the Lightning at every instance.
As the third period began the Flyers picked up where they left off with Mattias Timmander scoring the sixth and final Flyers goal at 3:34. Tampa managed to get on the scoreboard after ten minutes when Ruslan Fedetenko finally put a puck behind Esche, seven minutes later Martin St. Louis scored on the power play, the final chance for the Lightning on this night. The third period became a chippy and physical exercise with Tampa trying to answer the bell in front of the home crowd. At the seven minute mark most of the extra curricular activity took place with fighting majors and misconducts coming almost as fast as the Flyer goals did in the first.
Tampa was due for a loss, though even they probably had not imagined such a solid thumping as this one, but at least now they can take note that this won’t be a cake walk. Game three looms large in Philadelphia on Thursday night, a pivotal game at the best of times it will be interesting to watch how Tampa Bay responds to the total domination of game number 2.
For the Flyers the game served to get them back to doing what they do best, create their space and take advantage of the turnover game. They also were able to take care of an unwanted streak of losses to the Bolts. Having lost the four regular season matches and the first playoff game, this win finally takes the heat off of the Flyers line up. With two games to come at home, the Flyers must be feeling a little better about things than they did late Saturday afternoon. With a wild Flyer crowd ready to welcome Tampa to Philly, this may be the first time the Lightning have had to deal with a rabid opposition, how they respond to the challenge will tell quite a bit about how ready they are to make the next step.
Flames heat up the tank
The Lime green hard hat went to a most deserving workman on Sunday afternoon. Miikka Kiprusoff held off a relentless Shark attack, giving his Calgary Flame team mates an opportunity to cash in on their hard work Sunday afternoon. Kiprusoff faced 52 shots, 12 of them in the overtime period as the Flames took game one of the highly anticipated Divisional final. The flames winning game one 4-3 in a thrilling overtime period.
Kirprusoff faced fifteen shots in the first period alone, yet after 20 minutes it was his Flames on top 2-0, spurred on by goals from Krzysztof Oliwa and Craig Conroy. San Jose bounced back in the second period tying the game up on markers from Mike Ricci and Todd Harvey. Conroy scored again in the third giving the Flames yet another lead, only to have the Sharks tie the game up With 3 and half minutes to go on a Steve Korolyuk goal, sending Game 1 into overtime.
Steve Montador scored the winning goal off of a perfect Jarome Iginla pass, to send the Flames up 1-0 with less than two minutes left in the first overtime period. Taking advantage of a terrible line change by the Sharks the Flames rushed into the San Jose end of the rink, Iginla taking the puck down the left wing, Montador trailing the play was busy banging his stick, finally attracting the attention of Iginla, taking the pass and sending the puck behind the stick side of Evgeni Nabakov. The Montador goal is yet another indication of the resilient nature of this Flame team, marking his first playoff goal in the NHL. On this Calgary team anyone could be a hero, a rookie defenceman, the team enforcer or a sure handed goaltender.
Overtime doesn’t scare this Flames squad; it was the fourth consecutive overtime victory for Calgary in the playoffs this year. Instead of getting tight and trying to hold on waiting for a break, the Flames take the play into the other teams end. Darryl Sutters game plan is a formula that has been successful thus far and is building confidence on this young team with every game.
While they aren’t over confident yet and there’s a lot of hockey left to play, Sutter must like what he’s been seeing so far. If you give this club a break, they’ll make you pay for it. San Jose has to make sure they don’t give the Flames three more golden gifts. This hard working team makes enough of their own luck; a freebie is something they can use to put you away.
Kirprusoff faced fifteen shots in the first period alone, yet after 20 minutes it was his Flames on top 2-0, spurred on by goals from Krzysztof Oliwa and Craig Conroy. San Jose bounced back in the second period tying the game up on markers from Mike Ricci and Todd Harvey. Conroy scored again in the third giving the Flames yet another lead, only to have the Sharks tie the game up With 3 and half minutes to go on a Steve Korolyuk goal, sending Game 1 into overtime.
Steve Montador scored the winning goal off of a perfect Jarome Iginla pass, to send the Flames up 1-0 with less than two minutes left in the first overtime period. Taking advantage of a terrible line change by the Sharks the Flames rushed into the San Jose end of the rink, Iginla taking the puck down the left wing, Montador trailing the play was busy banging his stick, finally attracting the attention of Iginla, taking the pass and sending the puck behind the stick side of Evgeni Nabakov. The Montador goal is yet another indication of the resilient nature of this Flame team, marking his first playoff goal in the NHL. On this Calgary team anyone could be a hero, a rookie defenceman, the team enforcer or a sure handed goaltender.
Overtime doesn’t scare this Flames squad; it was the fourth consecutive overtime victory for Calgary in the playoffs this year. Instead of getting tight and trying to hold on waiting for a break, the Flames take the play into the other teams end. Darryl Sutters game plan is a formula that has been successful thus far and is building confidence on this young team with every game.
While they aren’t over confident yet and there’s a lot of hockey left to play, Sutter must like what he’s been seeing so far. If you give this club a break, they’ll make you pay for it. San Jose has to make sure they don’t give the Flames three more golden gifts. This hard working team makes enough of their own luck; a freebie is something they can use to put you away.
Back on top of the Worlds
History repeated itself in the World Championships in a number of ways on Sunday afternoon, as Canada stormed back in dramatic fashion to claim the World Hockey Championship for the second year in a row, with a 5-3 victory over Sweden. Once again Canada stumbled at the start only to charge to the finish line. Ancient teams of Canadian lore were remembered as Canada won back to back championships for the first time in 50 years. And the Lucky Loonie factor, Canada’s secret weapon in the Championship once again was called into service. In what has become a Canadian tradition two Loonies were placed in the webbing of each net for good luck, the Loonies the same ones used in the Women’s Championship earlier in the year in Halifax,
At the start of the game it seemed that the Loonie effect was going to be counter productive, as Canada was knocked on its heels in the first ten minutes of the game, when the Swedes came flying out of the dressing room to take an early 2-0 lead, similar to the way they had taken charge in past championship match ups. Slowly Canada began to battle back late in the first period, chipping away at the Swedish lead on a goal by Ryan Smyth at the thirteen minute mark. The goal provided Canada with a measure of hope heading into the dressing room.
In the second period the Swedes regained a bit of their momentum with a quick goal, putting them two goals up with a goal that Roberto Luongo probably wished he had back, the Canadian bench slumped in frustration for a bit after that one, only to rejuvenate itself and begin what would become a four goal comeback on the road to the Championship. Not surprisingly it was Dany Heatley who spurred the Canadians on to the comeback in the second period, scoring his eighth goal in the tournament; good enough to lead all scorers and a timely goal which brought Canada back to within one. By games end Heatley would be named as the tournament MVP, a fitting title for a guy that dominated this tournament.
Rob Niedermayer tallied one 50 seconds later and suddenly Canada was tied and seemingly back in control of the game. Sweden became flustered with the sudden domination of the Canadians, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist appeared to feel the pressure with the quick scoring Canadian attack. It served as a baptism by fire for the 22 year old Swede who is a New York Ranger prospect.
Jay Bouwmeester kept up the attack in the third period scoring the go ahead and eventual winning goal shortly after the puck dropped. Canada then picked up another gear and shut down the Swedish attack completely, Matt Cooke added an insurance goal at the mid point of the third and that was all she wrote. The Swedes by the end of the game looked shell shocked, unsure as to how their game plan got side tracked and how Canada once again had clawed its way back into a game.
For Canadian Hockey the win represents another message that the game may not be as critically flawed as our critics like to pronounce. The final game provided many of the key intangibles of Canadian hockey lore, strong goaltending when the chips were down, an ability to fight back from adversity and regain the attack and of course the Lucky Loonie, which surely must now be a pre requisite for every travelling squad the country sends out.
Not since the Whitby Dunlops in 1958 and the Belleville McFarlands won back to back has a Canadian team pulled off the double. The Championship win must seem particularly sweet to this crew of Canadians, considering the bizarre start to this series. With a head coach returning to Canada, lacklustre performances in the early round and solid thrashing by the Czech Republic, many may have started to write off this teams chance to repeat.
But all fears were unfounded as it turned out, after a hard fought and controversial game yesterday against the Slovaks and a terrible start to this one, Canada finally found its cruise control. By the mid part of the game you could tell that determination and heart would not be denied yet again.
They may not do it the easy way, but as the world knows by now, you can never count Canada out. No matter how bad a score gets, they will chip away and slowly come back. Confidence building with every goal scored, success measured in heartbeats not clicks on a clock. If you have any doubts contact the Swedish Hockey Federation they’ll be able to provide some first hand information.
At the start of the game it seemed that the Loonie effect was going to be counter productive, as Canada was knocked on its heels in the first ten minutes of the game, when the Swedes came flying out of the dressing room to take an early 2-0 lead, similar to the way they had taken charge in past championship match ups. Slowly Canada began to battle back late in the first period, chipping away at the Swedish lead on a goal by Ryan Smyth at the thirteen minute mark. The goal provided Canada with a measure of hope heading into the dressing room.
In the second period the Swedes regained a bit of their momentum with a quick goal, putting them two goals up with a goal that Roberto Luongo probably wished he had back, the Canadian bench slumped in frustration for a bit after that one, only to rejuvenate itself and begin what would become a four goal comeback on the road to the Championship. Not surprisingly it was Dany Heatley who spurred the Canadians on to the comeback in the second period, scoring his eighth goal in the tournament; good enough to lead all scorers and a timely goal which brought Canada back to within one. By games end Heatley would be named as the tournament MVP, a fitting title for a guy that dominated this tournament.
Rob Niedermayer tallied one 50 seconds later and suddenly Canada was tied and seemingly back in control of the game. Sweden became flustered with the sudden domination of the Canadians, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist appeared to feel the pressure with the quick scoring Canadian attack. It served as a baptism by fire for the 22 year old Swede who is a New York Ranger prospect.
Jay Bouwmeester kept up the attack in the third period scoring the go ahead and eventual winning goal shortly after the puck dropped. Canada then picked up another gear and shut down the Swedish attack completely, Matt Cooke added an insurance goal at the mid point of the third and that was all she wrote. The Swedes by the end of the game looked shell shocked, unsure as to how their game plan got side tracked and how Canada once again had clawed its way back into a game.
For Canadian Hockey the win represents another message that the game may not be as critically flawed as our critics like to pronounce. The final game provided many of the key intangibles of Canadian hockey lore, strong goaltending when the chips were down, an ability to fight back from adversity and regain the attack and of course the Lucky Loonie, which surely must now be a pre requisite for every travelling squad the country sends out.
Not since the Whitby Dunlops in 1958 and the Belleville McFarlands won back to back has a Canadian team pulled off the double. The Championship win must seem particularly sweet to this crew of Canadians, considering the bizarre start to this series. With a head coach returning to Canada, lacklustre performances in the early round and solid thrashing by the Czech Republic, many may have started to write off this teams chance to repeat.
But all fears were unfounded as it turned out, after a hard fought and controversial game yesterday against the Slovaks and a terrible start to this one, Canada finally found its cruise control. By the mid part of the game you could tell that determination and heart would not be denied yet again.
They may not do it the easy way, but as the world knows by now, you can never count Canada out. No matter how bad a score gets, they will chip away and slowly come back. Confidence building with every goal scored, success measured in heartbeats not clicks on a clock. If you have any doubts contact the Swedish Hockey Federation they’ll be able to provide some first hand information.
Sunday, May 09, 2004
Lightning Strike!
So much bunk is the theory that a lengthy wait for the Flyers and Leafs to sort things out would be detrimental to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Taking less that a period to shake off any rust, the Bolts announced on Saturday that they plan on continuing the march for Stanley.
Tampa took a one game lead in the best of seven series with a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday afternoon in Tampa. The win marks the fifth time that the Bolts have defeated the Flyers this season. It’s the kind of record that must be making the folks in the City of Brotherly Love feeling just a tad nervous about.
Brad Richards, Dave Andreychuk and Chris Dingman scored goals for the Lightning as Nickolai Kahbibulan had a rather uneventful day in the nets, handling all but one of the 20 shots from the Flyers with relative ease.
The Flyers had their chances early on as they seemed the sharper of the two teams, but Khabibulan held the fort allowing his team mates to come back in the final two periods. Philadelphia felt a bit cheated after a Sami Kapenan goal was waived off due to goaltender interference, the Flyers however bounced back from that disappointment to score on a Michal Handzus shot, the goal marking only the 10th goal scored on Tampa in ten playoff games.
The Flyers who played a decent game will have to hope to scale the Khabibulan wall should they hope to advance to the finals. He seems to be in one of those Goaltender zones where every shot is easily found, his goaltending helping to get his team on the go in the offensive end. The curse of any Stanley Cup contender is to run into a hot goaltender and with a goal against of under one, Khabibulan is one such hot goaltender.
With game one under their belts, Tampa now moves on to Game two on Tuesday night, just another stop on their way to a chance to grab hold of the Stanley Cup.
Tampa took a one game lead in the best of seven series with a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday afternoon in Tampa. The win marks the fifth time that the Bolts have defeated the Flyers this season. It’s the kind of record that must be making the folks in the City of Brotherly Love feeling just a tad nervous about.
Brad Richards, Dave Andreychuk and Chris Dingman scored goals for the Lightning as Nickolai Kahbibulan had a rather uneventful day in the nets, handling all but one of the 20 shots from the Flyers with relative ease.
The Flyers had their chances early on as they seemed the sharper of the two teams, but Khabibulan held the fort allowing his team mates to come back in the final two periods. Philadelphia felt a bit cheated after a Sami Kapenan goal was waived off due to goaltender interference, the Flyers however bounced back from that disappointment to score on a Michal Handzus shot, the goal marking only the 10th goal scored on Tampa in ten playoff games.
The Flyers who played a decent game will have to hope to scale the Khabibulan wall should they hope to advance to the finals. He seems to be in one of those Goaltender zones where every shot is easily found, his goaltending helping to get his team on the go in the offensive end. The curse of any Stanley Cup contender is to run into a hot goaltender and with a goal against of under one, Khabibulan is one such hot goaltender.
With game one under their belts, Tampa now moves on to Game two on Tuesday night, just another stop on their way to a chance to grab hold of the Stanley Cup.
Luongo Shuts the door
Canada will defend its gold medal status in the final game of the World Hockey Championships Sunday in Prague. Battling back from 1-0 deficit, the Canadians advance to the Gold Medal game on the strength of a controversial third period goal by Shawn Horcoff.
The game itself featured a hard effort from the Slovaks who took the lead in the middle of the second period on a goal from Miroslav Satan. That goal seemed to wake the Canadian team up a bit, as they began to control the fore check and box the Slovaks in for the period. Daniel Briere scored on the power play 2 minutes later. And that would be the scoring until Horcoffs game winning tally in the third.
The heavily pro Slovak crowd whistled disapprovingly and littered the ice with debris after Canada went ahead on a shot from Horcoff, the result of an incident behind the Slovak net, as Scott Niedermayer’s stick caught the goal pad of Slovak goaltender Jan Lasak who tumbled to the ice, scrambled to get back into the net but did not make it in time to stop the Horcoff shot.
Feeling the wrath of the pro Slovakia crowd, American referee Rick Looker then began his campaign to even up the game, calling three consecutive penalties giving the Slovaks ample opportunity to tie the game once again. However, Luongo would have none of that plan, making save after to save to secure the Canadian victory. Luongo made 16 of his 29 saves in that final frame alone.
The 2-1 result was not one that met with the approval of the crowd who whistled throughout the post game awards and continued to display their displeasure during the playing of O Canada. The example of which proves that not all the hockey boors live in Montreal.
Canada will now meet an old nemesis the Swedes who disposed of the American team on Saturday as well. The game offering Canada the chance to repeat at the World Championships for the first time since 1958-59. The USA and the Slovaks will play for the bronze earlier on Sunday morning. The win today also guarantees Canada the top seed of the Olympic pool in 2006. Game time for Team Canada is 2pm EST and 11 am Pacific, two hours and a bit later we should know if Canada has once again claimed gold in the World Championships.
The game itself featured a hard effort from the Slovaks who took the lead in the middle of the second period on a goal from Miroslav Satan. That goal seemed to wake the Canadian team up a bit, as they began to control the fore check and box the Slovaks in for the period. Daniel Briere scored on the power play 2 minutes later. And that would be the scoring until Horcoffs game winning tally in the third.
The heavily pro Slovak crowd whistled disapprovingly and littered the ice with debris after Canada went ahead on a shot from Horcoff, the result of an incident behind the Slovak net, as Scott Niedermayer’s stick caught the goal pad of Slovak goaltender Jan Lasak who tumbled to the ice, scrambled to get back into the net but did not make it in time to stop the Horcoff shot.
Feeling the wrath of the pro Slovakia crowd, American referee Rick Looker then began his campaign to even up the game, calling three consecutive penalties giving the Slovaks ample opportunity to tie the game once again. However, Luongo would have none of that plan, making save after to save to secure the Canadian victory. Luongo made 16 of his 29 saves in that final frame alone.
The 2-1 result was not one that met with the approval of the crowd who whistled throughout the post game awards and continued to display their displeasure during the playing of O Canada. The example of which proves that not all the hockey boors live in Montreal.
Canada will now meet an old nemesis the Swedes who disposed of the American team on Saturday as well. The game offering Canada the chance to repeat at the World Championships for the first time since 1958-59. The USA and the Slovaks will play for the bronze earlier on Sunday morning. The win today also guarantees Canada the top seed of the Olympic pool in 2006. Game time for Team Canada is 2pm EST and 11 am Pacific, two hours and a bit later we should know if Canada has once again claimed gold in the World Championships.
Friday, May 07, 2004
Canucks name replacement for Brian Burke
The Vancouver Canucks didn’t take long and didn’t look too far, to replace the recently fired Brian Burke as General Manager. Stan McCammon held his second press conference in less than a week, announcing the promotion of vice president and director of player Personnel Dave Nonis to the pivotal GM’s job.
Nonis who was very much a protégé of the fired Burke, was near tears at times when recounting the advice from Burke on this decision and his friendship with Burke through the years, a friendship that goes back to Burke’s time in the NHL head office. Well versed in matters of the collective agreement and the architect of the teams salary structure the last few years, Nonis’ promotion will bring a sense of continuity to a team that has been rocked by its early exit from the playoffs and Burke’s sudden and unexplained dismissal.
McCammon once again chose not to explain why Burke was let go, while his understudy was promoted into the job. A situation that many Vancouver observers (possibly unfairly) call Burke lite. Nonis said that some changes will have to be made to the team that disappointed its fans for the second year in a row. But the coaching staff won’t be where the moves are made, McCammon took advantage of the gathering to announce that Marc Crawford’s staff had been kept on for the upcoming season, as had the bulk of the off ice vice presidents. That includes long time Canuck favourite Steve Tambellini, who finds himself a newly named vice president and assistant general manager. While the players may not get paycheques next year, the off ice Canuck payroll is knee deep in vice presidential pay envelopes.
The Canuck’s are hoping that the promotion of such favourite sons as Nonis and Tambellini will help to cushion the backlash against the dismissal of the popular Burke. Though if sweeping change was the idea behind the Burke firing it seems curious they would turn to his right hand man to fill the vacancy. It’s doubtful that there would be much change in strategy between the Burke era and the Nonis one, feeding the rumour mill that Burke’s dismissal was purely one revolving a clash of egos between Burke, McCammon and McCaw.
In his press conference Nonis mentioned how he would not have taken the position without the blessing of Burke, whom he spent a number of days with discussing the opportunity. It’s a situation that harkens one back to a similar discussion between Burke and Pat Quinn, when Burke first interviewed for the Canuck job. At the time the topic of McCammon was high on the conversation list between Quinn and his friend and student. At the time it’s been said that Quinn warned Burke to watch McCammon carefully, which if true would make for a very prescient comment.
Nonis would not need that advice having watched first hand the relationship between his former friend and boss and his corporate overseer. It would however explain why he agonized over his decision to accept the high profile position in hockey mad Vancouver. Born and raised in the city Nonis always had dreams of working for the Canucks, now Nonis has finally received his wish. It will be interesting to see if all that glitters turns to gold.
Nonis who was very much a protégé of the fired Burke, was near tears at times when recounting the advice from Burke on this decision and his friendship with Burke through the years, a friendship that goes back to Burke’s time in the NHL head office. Well versed in matters of the collective agreement and the architect of the teams salary structure the last few years, Nonis’ promotion will bring a sense of continuity to a team that has been rocked by its early exit from the playoffs and Burke’s sudden and unexplained dismissal.
McCammon once again chose not to explain why Burke was let go, while his understudy was promoted into the job. A situation that many Vancouver observers (possibly unfairly) call Burke lite. Nonis said that some changes will have to be made to the team that disappointed its fans for the second year in a row. But the coaching staff won’t be where the moves are made, McCammon took advantage of the gathering to announce that Marc Crawford’s staff had been kept on for the upcoming season, as had the bulk of the off ice vice presidents. That includes long time Canuck favourite Steve Tambellini, who finds himself a newly named vice president and assistant general manager. While the players may not get paycheques next year, the off ice Canuck payroll is knee deep in vice presidential pay envelopes.
The Canuck’s are hoping that the promotion of such favourite sons as Nonis and Tambellini will help to cushion the backlash against the dismissal of the popular Burke. Though if sweeping change was the idea behind the Burke firing it seems curious they would turn to his right hand man to fill the vacancy. It’s doubtful that there would be much change in strategy between the Burke era and the Nonis one, feeding the rumour mill that Burke’s dismissal was purely one revolving a clash of egos between Burke, McCammon and McCaw.
In his press conference Nonis mentioned how he would not have taken the position without the blessing of Burke, whom he spent a number of days with discussing the opportunity. It’s a situation that harkens one back to a similar discussion between Burke and Pat Quinn, when Burke first interviewed for the Canuck job. At the time the topic of McCammon was high on the conversation list between Quinn and his friend and student. At the time it’s been said that Quinn warned Burke to watch McCammon carefully, which if true would make for a very prescient comment.
Nonis would not need that advice having watched first hand the relationship between his former friend and boss and his corporate overseer. It would however explain why he agonized over his decision to accept the high profile position in hockey mad Vancouver. Born and raised in the city Nonis always had dreams of working for the Canucks, now Nonis has finally received his wish. It will be interesting to see if all that glitters turns to gold.
Dany Heatley's FINNISHing touch
It’s a familiar script for Team Canada at the World Championships, as once again Canada used Overtime in a quarterfinal game to move on in the tournament.
Dany Heatley scored his second goal of the game five minutes into overtime to lead the Canadians to a 5-4 victory over a hard working Finnish team. Trailing at three separate times in the game the Canadians battled back from an early 2-0 deficit to send the game to over time in the middle stages of the third period. Steve Staois tying the game at 6:02, setting the stage for Heatley’s tournament leading goal in over time. Heatley has had a great tournament in Prague with seven goals thus far to lead all players in Prague.
The Canadians had a dismal start to this game as the Finns out shot and out played them through the first period with 12 shots compared to Canada’s 7 and quick off the mark lead of 2-0. Mike Babcock took his team into the dressing room and quickly refocused them on the task at hand, as a totally different team came out for period number two. Back to their intense fore checking Canada picked up the pace and went into the third period tied at 3. Each time the Finns took the lead, Canada would battle back leading up to Heatley’s dramatic finish in OT.
Canada can thank Roberto Luongo for the advance, as he shut the door in the final stages of the third and into the overtime to keep Finland off the score sheet, a frustrating thing for the Finns who gave Canada all they could handle in the early going. Luongo was particularly effective on a two man advantage in the second that last almost a minute and half as he denied the Finns time and time again.
In last years tournament Canada used a quarterfinal victory over Germany to propel it on towards its Gold medal performance. With Thursday’s defeat of the Finns Canada moves on to the semi finals with a game Saturday against either the Swiss or the Slovaks. The defence of the World title follows the same path as years gone by, Canada hoping that at the end of the run they once again can claim the World Championship as theirs
Dany Heatley scored his second goal of the game five minutes into overtime to lead the Canadians to a 5-4 victory over a hard working Finnish team. Trailing at three separate times in the game the Canadians battled back from an early 2-0 deficit to send the game to over time in the middle stages of the third period. Steve Staois tying the game at 6:02, setting the stage for Heatley’s tournament leading goal in over time. Heatley has had a great tournament in Prague with seven goals thus far to lead all players in Prague.
The Canadians had a dismal start to this game as the Finns out shot and out played them through the first period with 12 shots compared to Canada’s 7 and quick off the mark lead of 2-0. Mike Babcock took his team into the dressing room and quickly refocused them on the task at hand, as a totally different team came out for period number two. Back to their intense fore checking Canada picked up the pace and went into the third period tied at 3. Each time the Finns took the lead, Canada would battle back leading up to Heatley’s dramatic finish in OT.
Canada can thank Roberto Luongo for the advance, as he shut the door in the final stages of the third and into the overtime to keep Finland off the score sheet, a frustrating thing for the Finns who gave Canada all they could handle in the early going. Luongo was particularly effective on a two man advantage in the second that last almost a minute and half as he denied the Finns time and time again.
In last years tournament Canada used a quarterfinal victory over Germany to propel it on towards its Gold medal performance. With Thursday’s defeat of the Finns Canada moves on to the semi finals with a game Saturday against either the Swiss or the Slovaks. The defence of the World title follows the same path as years gone by, Canada hoping that at the end of the run they once again can claim the World Championship as theirs
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Tee time in Toronto
Many aren’t surprised, but the end of the Toronto Maple Leaf season once again is bringing out the same old songs. Every year at this time we get the same old ageless hits from Toronto. For every season turn, turn, there is a reason and if the refrain from the Big Smoke is heard correctly, that reason is age. The consensus after bowing out to the Flyers is that the golden oldies in Blue and White will soon be making way for the rappers and the new country rockers, for the Times they are a changin’.
As Rosie DiManno recounted the final disappointing moments from the dressing room for 2004, others looked ahead to where the Leafs must go and how they have to get there.
The guy with all the pressure on his shoulders is John Ferguson Jr. installed in August as General Manager of the Buds, he gave the senior citizens one last chance to recreate the magic of 67. Financial decisions abound (something close to the heart no doubt to the pension fund that lives off the fortunes of the Leafs, and the faceless investors in MLSE who check the stock tables before the scoring summaries) should he try and sign Eddie Belfour to over 7 million a year, or thank him for his hard work and wish him well. Belfour recently passed on a six million dollar extension, his value increasing with each game saved during the playoffs. But do the Leafs want to tie up that much cash if they choose to go in a different direction?
Restricted free agents are piling up in the dressing room of the ACC like discarded hockey equipment, Bryan McCabe, D’Arcy Tucker, Tomas Kaberle, Aki Berg, Nik Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky all will be looking for new and rewarding deals, McCabe and Tucker will probably be the only ones to really feel truly wanted around the negotiating table.
The farm club is thin and the first round draft picks are gone, so Ferguson will have a hard time building this team up through the draft and call up design. The trade route may be his best weapon, bundling up some of his middle talent players and bringing in some players in the middle or start of their careers.
His biggest decision though will be how to approach Pat Quinn; if he’s to keep the core of this team around and make another run at things then Quinn will coach through his final year, but will most likely want an extension. If Ferguson feels it’s time to rebuild from scratch with a massive exodus, then he’ll have to buy out the last year of the Big guy’s contract and his dismiss his assistants. The task then will be to find himself a new coach and staff and re-design this thing from the beginning.
A phone call or two to Gary Bettman might come in handy, if the league is to shut down for the year or two predicted by the Hockey Armageddon follower’s, then he can just let things sit tight for the interim and approach things when the dust settles.
With the Leafs packing their bags, the Toronto scribes are getting their final kicks at the 2004 edition of the team that everyone has an opinion about. Stephen Brunt examines the fork in the road for the storied franchise; he wonders aloud who exactly is in charge and who has control of the wallet. Damien Cox suggests they go young and get their fast, nodding to the success of Pat Quinn, but calling for a new face with new ideas to be behind the bench whenever the next season begins.
In true tabloid style, Mike Ulmer pulls out an axe and names his victims, its two columns worth for slashing. And finally, Steve Simmons delivers a stinging rebuke of the play of the Buds, stating that they just weren’t good enough. Simmons Calls for changes to a team that needs major reconstruction. With 37 years gone by between Stanley Cups he may find a lot of support in his thesis. That is once everyone stops singing that one last farewell song, “Who’s Crying now.”
As Rosie DiManno recounted the final disappointing moments from the dressing room for 2004, others looked ahead to where the Leafs must go and how they have to get there.
The guy with all the pressure on his shoulders is John Ferguson Jr. installed in August as General Manager of the Buds, he gave the senior citizens one last chance to recreate the magic of 67. Financial decisions abound (something close to the heart no doubt to the pension fund that lives off the fortunes of the Leafs, and the faceless investors in MLSE who check the stock tables before the scoring summaries) should he try and sign Eddie Belfour to over 7 million a year, or thank him for his hard work and wish him well. Belfour recently passed on a six million dollar extension, his value increasing with each game saved during the playoffs. But do the Leafs want to tie up that much cash if they choose to go in a different direction?
Restricted free agents are piling up in the dressing room of the ACC like discarded hockey equipment, Bryan McCabe, D’Arcy Tucker, Tomas Kaberle, Aki Berg, Nik Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky all will be looking for new and rewarding deals, McCabe and Tucker will probably be the only ones to really feel truly wanted around the negotiating table.
The farm club is thin and the first round draft picks are gone, so Ferguson will have a hard time building this team up through the draft and call up design. The trade route may be his best weapon, bundling up some of his middle talent players and bringing in some players in the middle or start of their careers.
His biggest decision though will be how to approach Pat Quinn; if he’s to keep the core of this team around and make another run at things then Quinn will coach through his final year, but will most likely want an extension. If Ferguson feels it’s time to rebuild from scratch with a massive exodus, then he’ll have to buy out the last year of the Big guy’s contract and his dismiss his assistants. The task then will be to find himself a new coach and staff and re-design this thing from the beginning.
A phone call or two to Gary Bettman might come in handy, if the league is to shut down for the year or two predicted by the Hockey Armageddon follower’s, then he can just let things sit tight for the interim and approach things when the dust settles.
With the Leafs packing their bags, the Toronto scribes are getting their final kicks at the 2004 edition of the team that everyone has an opinion about. Stephen Brunt examines the fork in the road for the storied franchise; he wonders aloud who exactly is in charge and who has control of the wallet. Damien Cox suggests they go young and get their fast, nodding to the success of Pat Quinn, but calling for a new face with new ideas to be behind the bench whenever the next season begins.
In true tabloid style, Mike Ulmer pulls out an axe and names his victims, its two columns worth for slashing. And finally, Steve Simmons delivers a stinging rebuke of the play of the Buds, stating that they just weren’t good enough. Simmons Calls for changes to a team that needs major reconstruction. With 37 years gone by between Stanley Cups he may find a lot of support in his thesis. That is once everyone stops singing that one last farewell song, “Who’s Crying now.”
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Melting snow in Colorado
They resembled more of a snow drift than an Avalanche this year. A team many had considered the odds on favorite to win the Stanley Cup instead has bowed out in six games to a younger, less well known, but decidedly harder working squad from San Jose. In Denver where success is considered a right not a privilege this year must surely go down as one of the most disappointing seasons since the team re located from Quebec City.
San Jose who had managed to let the Avs back into this series, or more to the point let Joe Sakic back into the series, finally found a way to put away their long time nemesis. Having lost out in the playoffs over the years to Colorado, the Sharks were determined not to suffer the same fate in 2004.
Three quick goals in the second period and some excellent goaltending from Evgani Nabokov made sure that the Sharks qualified for their first divisional final in the teams thirteen year history. Vincent Damphouse, Marcel Groc and Jonathan Cheechoo put the puck in the net in an eleven minute spread, taking a lead that they would never relinquish on their way to a spot in the third round of the playoffs.
With a three goal lead the Sharks could take advantage of a more wide open Avalanche attack, able to counter the play by taking the puck back deep into the Colorado end. The Avs tried to make their own breaks, but some solid defense in the Shark end, combined with Nabakov’s goaltending denied Colorado the chance to see if their star studded lineup would be able to right its ship in time for the Finals.
This was a team full of mercenaries, Kariya, Selanne, brought in to add even more offence to a team already deep in score making potential. The Avs never really could get on an extended streak this year, showing flashes of the old Av magic a times, but more times than naught they struggled on the ice, incapable of scoring, unwilling to pay the price in the corners and along the boards to move things forward.
Paul Kariya returned to action for this game six, hoping to work himself back into shape for a game seven showdown if it could have been accomplished Tuesday. For Kariya it was a year that just didn’t work out as he had hoped when he made Pierre Lacroix’s day with his 2 for 1 offer of joining the Avs with Teemu Selanne by his side. Kariya spent a fair amount of the year on the injury list, hitting his stride only to be sideswiped by injury as the season came to an end. Selanne never seemed to get untracked in Denver, the dream of he and Kariya dominating the West never seemed to get even close, this was a confusing team to watch this year, you would never be sure which one was in the rink from game to game.
What kind of changes will happen in Denver Tony Granato struggled this year as he seemed to have problems convincing his veteran squad to follow his instructions. Too many times in the regular season and the playoffs he found himself being schooled by the opposite coach. His position may be the first one examined as the post season accounting begins. The Avalanche Goaltending showed occasional glimpses of stability, only to have questions arise at key times. The defence battered, bruised and hospitalized struggled through the stretch and in the playoffs; help is needed to give respite to the overworked blue liners. Then there is the offence, with the exception of Joe Sakic who tried to will this team back onto the winning side of the ledger there were disappointing results.
Peter Forsberg found himself the subject of much attention, Kariya injured and unable to get into a groove and Teemu Selanne had possibly his worst year in his career, all factors that combined to make this a most uncomfortable season for Pierre Lacroix. The Avs GM is rather used to just enjoying his team roll over the opposition, this year they frequently found themselves on the wrong end of a score. Some kind of changes are going to be required to return this team to the higher spots in the conference, the work will begin within days. The key is the status of Peter Fosrberg, forever weary of being battered and hammered he is giving some thought to finishing his carreer in the more peaceful rinks of Sweden, the Avs will have to wait and hope that he wants to suit up in the NHL next year.
For the Sharks the next round should be a wild ride. Facing their former coach and goaltender in Sutter and Kirprusoff, the Sharks will have their hands full with an energized Calgary team. Both teams feature fast skating and heavy hitting and match up equal in many categories. While they may have been unlikely picks at the start of the season to be contending for the Stanley Cup, they’re there now and should make for some memorable games to come. With the Leafs bowing out Tuesday night, Canada is left with only the Flames to defend the honor of the birthplace of hockey. The work ethic of the Sutter coached team is a pretty good place to park your vote as we head into round three.
San Jose who had managed to let the Avs back into this series, or more to the point let Joe Sakic back into the series, finally found a way to put away their long time nemesis. Having lost out in the playoffs over the years to Colorado, the Sharks were determined not to suffer the same fate in 2004.
Three quick goals in the second period and some excellent goaltending from Evgani Nabokov made sure that the Sharks qualified for their first divisional final in the teams thirteen year history. Vincent Damphouse, Marcel Groc and Jonathan Cheechoo put the puck in the net in an eleven minute spread, taking a lead that they would never relinquish on their way to a spot in the third round of the playoffs.
With a three goal lead the Sharks could take advantage of a more wide open Avalanche attack, able to counter the play by taking the puck back deep into the Colorado end. The Avs tried to make their own breaks, but some solid defense in the Shark end, combined with Nabakov’s goaltending denied Colorado the chance to see if their star studded lineup would be able to right its ship in time for the Finals.
This was a team full of mercenaries, Kariya, Selanne, brought in to add even more offence to a team already deep in score making potential. The Avs never really could get on an extended streak this year, showing flashes of the old Av magic a times, but more times than naught they struggled on the ice, incapable of scoring, unwilling to pay the price in the corners and along the boards to move things forward.
Paul Kariya returned to action for this game six, hoping to work himself back into shape for a game seven showdown if it could have been accomplished Tuesday. For Kariya it was a year that just didn’t work out as he had hoped when he made Pierre Lacroix’s day with his 2 for 1 offer of joining the Avs with Teemu Selanne by his side. Kariya spent a fair amount of the year on the injury list, hitting his stride only to be sideswiped by injury as the season came to an end. Selanne never seemed to get untracked in Denver, the dream of he and Kariya dominating the West never seemed to get even close, this was a confusing team to watch this year, you would never be sure which one was in the rink from game to game.
What kind of changes will happen in Denver Tony Granato struggled this year as he seemed to have problems convincing his veteran squad to follow his instructions. Too many times in the regular season and the playoffs he found himself being schooled by the opposite coach. His position may be the first one examined as the post season accounting begins. The Avalanche Goaltending showed occasional glimpses of stability, only to have questions arise at key times. The defence battered, bruised and hospitalized struggled through the stretch and in the playoffs; help is needed to give respite to the overworked blue liners. Then there is the offence, with the exception of Joe Sakic who tried to will this team back onto the winning side of the ledger there were disappointing results.
Peter Forsberg found himself the subject of much attention, Kariya injured and unable to get into a groove and Teemu Selanne had possibly his worst year in his career, all factors that combined to make this a most uncomfortable season for Pierre Lacroix. The Avs GM is rather used to just enjoying his team roll over the opposition, this year they frequently found themselves on the wrong end of a score. Some kind of changes are going to be required to return this team to the higher spots in the conference, the work will begin within days. The key is the status of Peter Fosrberg, forever weary of being battered and hammered he is giving some thought to finishing his carreer in the more peaceful rinks of Sweden, the Avs will have to wait and hope that he wants to suit up in the NHL next year.
For the Sharks the next round should be a wild ride. Facing their former coach and goaltender in Sutter and Kirprusoff, the Sharks will have their hands full with an energized Calgary team. Both teams feature fast skating and heavy hitting and match up equal in many categories. While they may have been unlikely picks at the start of the season to be contending for the Stanley Cup, they’re there now and should make for some memorable games to come. With the Leafs bowing out Tuesday night, Canada is left with only the Flames to defend the honor of the birthplace of hockey. The work ethic of the Sutter coached team is a pretty good place to park your vote as we head into round three.
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Fallen Leaves
In a world where hard work is rewarded with results, the Maple Leafs would be preparing for Game 7 right now. However, it would appear that the world of Stanley Cup playoffs hard work while a worthwhile talent to have, doesn’t always translate into success. It was a frantic third period that the Leafs put together, having trailed the Flyers by two goals through two periods the Leafs started to roll in the second period and made their last stand in the last twenty minutes.
Led by their captain Mats Sundin the Leafs flew out of the gate, returning for one final burst of twenty minutes of the crashing style that earned them a measure of respect in this series. They were crashing the net, hitting the corners and forcing turnovers, as time ticked away they picked up one and then a second goal, nearly putting the winner away with under one minute of play to go.
Sundin became a force in the third period, gaining an assist on the first Leaf goal by Karl Pilar and then scoring one of his own to give the Leaf Nation hope. The hardest working guy in the series Tie Domi had a chance to put the game away with less than a minute to go, only to have his shot robbed by Robert Esche who snared the puck destined for the back of the Flyer net. Esche was stellar in the third period as the Leafs outshot the Flyers 11-3 and just controlled the play through the third.
As overtime began the Flyers came out in wave after wave, the Leafs withstood a rather hectic couple of minutes before regaining the momentum for themselves, the next six minutes were basically end to end as each team took the puck deep into the others end, near misses and miraculous defensive plays to be seen on highlight reels. The Leafs found three solid chances, only to have the puck go wide, get blocked or have Esche make the save. As the period progressed you couldn’t help but think that destiny was on the side of the blue and white, despite the Flyers edge in shots at 7-3. The Leafs controlled the play in OT for the bulk of the 7 minutes, but then as quickly as they had moved the puck into the Philly end it was going back down the ice on the stick of Jeremy Roenick. With a two on one heading in the direction of Ed Belfour, Roenick wheeled down the right wing blasting a shot over the shoulder of Belfour, Flyers 3, Leafs 2, game over, series over, season over.
Philadelphia which at some times looked dominant in this series and at others fragile goes on to meet the Tampa Bay Lightning, a well rested bunch of young legs ready to continue their unbelievable run. Philly will have a little time to recuperate, tend to their injuries and work out a game plan to slow the high flying Bolts. Getting JR back on his game should go a long way to putting some points on the board, Roenick was held goal less in the series until this much needed Game 6. He somehow found the room to work and made the best use of it. If he can reprise his efforts against Tampa then Philadelphia may just have a chance to meet Stanley in a couple of weeks.
For Toronto it’s another bitter disappointment, Pat Quinn had gone out on a bit of limb in assembling this team, bringing in a higher amount of wily old veterans than many other teams might go for in the playoffs. Injuries played a role in the sluggish play of the Leafs in this series. Mats Sundin missed a few key games; Owen Nolan was out for the entire playoffs. Quinn tinkered with his lineup moving players in and out to try and find a successful combination. But in the end, it was just a break that determined the winner, a bounce of a post or wide of an empty net denying the Leafs a chance to live. Then there was a rocket of a shot from Jeremy Roenick, sending the Flyers forward.
It can be a cruel game sometimes, for the Leafs no night will be crueller than Tuesday night was, they were so close and were helpless in the end to stop the Flyers. When the Toronto media begin their dissection of the Leafs many will point back to Game six, but in reality this was possibly their best game or at least the best twenty minutes they have put together. At times like these people discuss the character building done and how it bodes well for next year, For the Leafs this was next year, changes will come to the Blue and White, grey hairs will retire or be given a message, trades will happen and a new dynamic will begin to evolve.
As the season ends the Leafs find themselves in a familiar spot, close but not close enough to consider the season a success. The hot and cold nature of this team in the playoffs and through the regular season an indication that they're still missing an ingredient or two to make the final run, the only question is has time run out for this group and its coach.
For Pat Quinn, his players and their fans this was the season that should have been, no amount of rationalizing will be enough to take the sting out this loss. The cry you hear after a season comes to an end is wait til next year, in Toronto the cry will be “it should have been this year”.
Led by their captain Mats Sundin the Leafs flew out of the gate, returning for one final burst of twenty minutes of the crashing style that earned them a measure of respect in this series. They were crashing the net, hitting the corners and forcing turnovers, as time ticked away they picked up one and then a second goal, nearly putting the winner away with under one minute of play to go.
Sundin became a force in the third period, gaining an assist on the first Leaf goal by Karl Pilar and then scoring one of his own to give the Leaf Nation hope. The hardest working guy in the series Tie Domi had a chance to put the game away with less than a minute to go, only to have his shot robbed by Robert Esche who snared the puck destined for the back of the Flyer net. Esche was stellar in the third period as the Leafs outshot the Flyers 11-3 and just controlled the play through the third.
As overtime began the Flyers came out in wave after wave, the Leafs withstood a rather hectic couple of minutes before regaining the momentum for themselves, the next six minutes were basically end to end as each team took the puck deep into the others end, near misses and miraculous defensive plays to be seen on highlight reels. The Leafs found three solid chances, only to have the puck go wide, get blocked or have Esche make the save. As the period progressed you couldn’t help but think that destiny was on the side of the blue and white, despite the Flyers edge in shots at 7-3. The Leafs controlled the play in OT for the bulk of the 7 minutes, but then as quickly as they had moved the puck into the Philly end it was going back down the ice on the stick of Jeremy Roenick. With a two on one heading in the direction of Ed Belfour, Roenick wheeled down the right wing blasting a shot over the shoulder of Belfour, Flyers 3, Leafs 2, game over, series over, season over.
Philadelphia which at some times looked dominant in this series and at others fragile goes on to meet the Tampa Bay Lightning, a well rested bunch of young legs ready to continue their unbelievable run. Philly will have a little time to recuperate, tend to their injuries and work out a game plan to slow the high flying Bolts. Getting JR back on his game should go a long way to putting some points on the board, Roenick was held goal less in the series until this much needed Game 6. He somehow found the room to work and made the best use of it. If he can reprise his efforts against Tampa then Philadelphia may just have a chance to meet Stanley in a couple of weeks.
For Toronto it’s another bitter disappointment, Pat Quinn had gone out on a bit of limb in assembling this team, bringing in a higher amount of wily old veterans than many other teams might go for in the playoffs. Injuries played a role in the sluggish play of the Leafs in this series. Mats Sundin missed a few key games; Owen Nolan was out for the entire playoffs. Quinn tinkered with his lineup moving players in and out to try and find a successful combination. But in the end, it was just a break that determined the winner, a bounce of a post or wide of an empty net denying the Leafs a chance to live. Then there was a rocket of a shot from Jeremy Roenick, sending the Flyers forward.
It can be a cruel game sometimes, for the Leafs no night will be crueller than Tuesday night was, they were so close and were helpless in the end to stop the Flyers. When the Toronto media begin their dissection of the Leafs many will point back to Game six, but in reality this was possibly their best game or at least the best twenty minutes they have put together. At times like these people discuss the character building done and how it bodes well for next year, For the Leafs this was next year, changes will come to the Blue and White, grey hairs will retire or be given a message, trades will happen and a new dynamic will begin to evolve.
As the season ends the Leafs find themselves in a familiar spot, close but not close enough to consider the season a success. The hot and cold nature of this team in the playoffs and through the regular season an indication that they're still missing an ingredient or two to make the final run, the only question is has time run out for this group and its coach.
For Pat Quinn, his players and their fans this was the season that should have been, no amount of rationalizing will be enough to take the sting out this loss. The cry you hear after a season comes to an end is wait til next year, in Toronto the cry will be “it should have been this year”.
Hockeytown Post Mortem
The bigger they are the harder they fall, and apparently no one has fallen harder than the hockey fans of Detroit, the mood in Hockeytown USA is a glum one this first day after the end of the season. The reviews are coming in and the consensus seems to be that this collection of Wings will scatter; an era of Kings supplanted by the toil of the proletariat workers with a Flaming C on their chest.
Share in the angst with Mitch Albom, who has composed a wonderful examination of all things Red and White. Michael Rosenberg examines a team caught between eras, faded stars and struggling rookies neither able to bring glory back to Detroit this year. ESPN’s website features a story from George Johnson who from his perch in Calgary offered up his summation of the Red Wing era.
Bob Wojnowski bemoans the injuries, examines the disappointment in the dressing room and suggests that changes are coming, a dynasty has died and reconstruction is on the agenda. Joe Conklin reviews the way the Red Wing season ended, declaring an end to the successful run of a team that picked up the torch from the other failing franchises in the Motor City.
The bytes flow fast as the Red Wing fan bites a lip, the agony of defeat never more pronounced than with this disappointment of an early exit once again. In one of the few American cities where hockey really matters, they wear their hearts on their sleeves. They understand hockey in Detroit, they can see how their team lost and why. It doesn’t make the loss any easier to take. But at least they value what they had and more importantly what they’ve lost.
Share in the angst with Mitch Albom, who has composed a wonderful examination of all things Red and White. Michael Rosenberg examines a team caught between eras, faded stars and struggling rookies neither able to bring glory back to Detroit this year. ESPN’s website features a story from George Johnson who from his perch in Calgary offered up his summation of the Red Wing era.
Bob Wojnowski bemoans the injuries, examines the disappointment in the dressing room and suggests that changes are coming, a dynasty has died and reconstruction is on the agenda. Joe Conklin reviews the way the Red Wing season ended, declaring an end to the successful run of a team that picked up the torch from the other failing franchises in the Motor City.
The bytes flow fast as the Red Wing fan bites a lip, the agony of defeat never more pronounced than with this disappointment of an early exit once again. In one of the few American cities where hockey really matters, they wear their hearts on their sleeves. They understand hockey in Detroit, they can see how their team lost and why. It doesn’t make the loss any easier to take. But at least they value what they had and more importantly what they’ve lost.
Lame Duck becomes a Cooked Duck
The Brian Burke era of the Vancouver Canucks has come to an end; team owner John McCaw issued a brief news release over the lunch hour on Monday, advising that the Canucks would not be renewing the contract of the combative President and General Manager. In a follow up press conference, Orca Bay CEO Stanley McCammon held court with carefully parsed words, never really explaining why a man that Orca Bay credited with building a winning franchise on and off the ice, suddenly was no longer the proper fit for the team he designed. For those who wish to study the art of talking and saying absolutely nothing, check out the CKNW archives for Monday at 2 pm, McCammon’s press conference offered no answers and provided no indication of where the franchise is going.
Burke took over the team in June of 1988 taking a non performing group of highly paid players and beginning the task of re-designing not only a struggling franchise but instilling a work ethic where none had existed for a couple of years.
Burke’s years in Vancouver showed steady growth each year, when he took over they were a fourth place team with total points of 58 during the season, strangers to the playoff race. By the team he was handed his pink slip his team had reached the 100 point a year plateau, been a steady participant in the playoffs and had become a poster child for NHL cost certainty. Burke made this franchise his own; he was loyal to his players and his coaches. Going to bat for them frequently with the bean counters in the Orca Bay offices, his gruff manner with the media was the stuff of legend.
The always excitable Vancouver press would split down the middle in their opinion of Burke, his respectful fans like Neil MacRae and Gary Mason countered by Tony Gallagher, who carried on a feud with Burke going back to his days as Pat Quinn’s assistant. Burke was good for a quick quote, a bombastic statement or a lucid analysis of any hockey situation. He was also short tempered, dismissive and occasionally rude. He was always entertaining and knew more about hockey than John McCaw or Stanley McCammon can ever hope to know. The Vancouver media may not realize it yet, but their jobs just got a lot harder to do. They need look no further than today’s non information session with McCammon for a glimpse of their future.
As the Burke situation festered over the last three months HockeyNation suggested in multiple postings, that the Canucks put this distraction behind them and do it quickly. Well time passed by, the Cancuks stumbled through the playoffs and Burke twisted in the wind. He described himself as a lame duck GM, and it proved to be an accurate description, but one that no doubt did not endear himself to the McCammon/McCaw axis.
During one of our earlier posts we pointed out that Burke had improved the franchise on the ice making it one of the most entertaining hockey clubs in a stale and listless collection of teams. There would be no trap in Vancouver, no dump and chase, Vancouver teams would skate hard, hit hard and score goals. They may not have reached the Stanley Cup in the last six years, but they provided some damn fine hockey at GM place, a night at a Canucks game for the most part was a guarantee that you would have an enjoyable experience. With sell outs a regular feature of Canuck’s hockey, Vancouver sports fans must have agreed.
The short sighted McCaw and McCammon seem to have forgotten that it wasn’t all that long ago when getting a ticket to a Canuck game was as simple as asking a scalper to hand one over at a loss. Crowds of less than 10,000 were common in the Keenan experiment years; Burke rebuilt the image of the team not only on the ice but in the community. The Canucks became the hot property in Vancouver, business executives wanted to partner with them, hockey fans idolized them. Pay TV added to their bottom line, ratings on Hockey Night in Canada and Sportsnet made them the darlings of the networks. That wasn’t any genius from McCaw or McCammon that was all Burke.
For taking a laughingstock of a franchise into the top echelon of NHL clubs he was left to ponder his fate, treated as though he just happened to luck into his success. The handling of the Burke contract through this year in my opinion had a more detrimental effect on this team than any injuries to Naslund or Cloutier. The slump just after the mid way point coincided with the rumours that he was on the bubble soon to be fired. The fact that management had no faith in their President and GM seeped into the dressing room, a place where loyalty was given lip service but seems to have disappeared when the going got tough.
From the suddenly quiet Crawford who hasn’t said one word since his team was eliminated, to a less than ringing endorsement by Captain Markus Naslund the Canucks were strangely non-communicative when it came time to discuss their GM. He may have battled for them but they weren’t going to be caught in a foxhole with him this time. Todd Bertuzzi, who may have inadvertently done more damage to Burke than anyone this year, never spoke up in support of the guy who made him very rich and came to his defence in his darkest hour.
A team that suffered under the dictatorial reign of Mike Keenan didn’t reward Burke for his loyalty, he built a team that came very close, and his biggest crime was not changing the deck chairs at the crucial moments. He believed in his core group, feeling that they were a close group that had bonded well together and would fight for each other; little did he know that when it came time to support him, he would be left alone to face the rumours, the snubs and the questions. Accountability in Canuckland began and ended in Burke’s office, there was none in the dressing room and none in the executive offices, and that is why this team stumbled. His biggest disappointment may be the feeling of a job left undone. He should have been given the chance to re-tool this group, instead that job will be left to someone else, it’s doubtful that the spirit of the current line up will ever reach that which these last few years have given Vancouver.
Brian Burke will be a GM again one day, perhaps not very far down the calendar. Boston, Chicago even the New York Rangers would be infinitely better teams with Burke in charge. If it weren’t for the bad blood between he and Colorado, Burke would be the perfect choice to turn that talented but underperforming team around. His answering machine will soon be full of offers; he can pick and choose his next assignment. While he may miss Vancouver he’ll quickly take on a new challenge and get results.
As for the Canucks, the halcyon days of sell outs and rabid fans will carry on for a bit. But this was Burke’s team, he had the vision for it, the concept of what to build. It seems hard to believe that it will stay whole, a new GM will bring in his “core group” it may work, and it may not. But with a quickly improving Calgary and Edmonton coming on strong, the division is all of a sudden a tougher place to be. A couple of years wandering the wilderness and the Canucks may not be too far off from those 10,000 a game nights.
The Canuck management has shown a terrible inability to make decisions this year, by removing the only anchor they had in place, they now run the risk of drifting off course. A team which has a history of making the wrong decision, at the wrong time has struck again. Long suffering Canuck fans won’t be thrilled with John McCaw’s decision today, Burke was the face of the Canucks in Vancouver. McCaw is just a faceless corporate suit, he may hold the wallet, but he doesn’t hold the heart, that was Burke's! The fans will remember, of that McCaw and McCammon can be certain!
Burke took over the team in June of 1988 taking a non performing group of highly paid players and beginning the task of re-designing not only a struggling franchise but instilling a work ethic where none had existed for a couple of years.
Burke’s years in Vancouver showed steady growth each year, when he took over they were a fourth place team with total points of 58 during the season, strangers to the playoff race. By the team he was handed his pink slip his team had reached the 100 point a year plateau, been a steady participant in the playoffs and had become a poster child for NHL cost certainty. Burke made this franchise his own; he was loyal to his players and his coaches. Going to bat for them frequently with the bean counters in the Orca Bay offices, his gruff manner with the media was the stuff of legend.
The always excitable Vancouver press would split down the middle in their opinion of Burke, his respectful fans like Neil MacRae and Gary Mason countered by Tony Gallagher, who carried on a feud with Burke going back to his days as Pat Quinn’s assistant. Burke was good for a quick quote, a bombastic statement or a lucid analysis of any hockey situation. He was also short tempered, dismissive and occasionally rude. He was always entertaining and knew more about hockey than John McCaw or Stanley McCammon can ever hope to know. The Vancouver media may not realize it yet, but their jobs just got a lot harder to do. They need look no further than today’s non information session with McCammon for a glimpse of their future.
As the Burke situation festered over the last three months HockeyNation suggested in multiple postings, that the Canucks put this distraction behind them and do it quickly. Well time passed by, the Cancuks stumbled through the playoffs and Burke twisted in the wind. He described himself as a lame duck GM, and it proved to be an accurate description, but one that no doubt did not endear himself to the McCammon/McCaw axis.
During one of our earlier posts we pointed out that Burke had improved the franchise on the ice making it one of the most entertaining hockey clubs in a stale and listless collection of teams. There would be no trap in Vancouver, no dump and chase, Vancouver teams would skate hard, hit hard and score goals. They may not have reached the Stanley Cup in the last six years, but they provided some damn fine hockey at GM place, a night at a Canucks game for the most part was a guarantee that you would have an enjoyable experience. With sell outs a regular feature of Canuck’s hockey, Vancouver sports fans must have agreed.
The short sighted McCaw and McCammon seem to have forgotten that it wasn’t all that long ago when getting a ticket to a Canuck game was as simple as asking a scalper to hand one over at a loss. Crowds of less than 10,000 were common in the Keenan experiment years; Burke rebuilt the image of the team not only on the ice but in the community. The Canucks became the hot property in Vancouver, business executives wanted to partner with them, hockey fans idolized them. Pay TV added to their bottom line, ratings on Hockey Night in Canada and Sportsnet made them the darlings of the networks. That wasn’t any genius from McCaw or McCammon that was all Burke.
For taking a laughingstock of a franchise into the top echelon of NHL clubs he was left to ponder his fate, treated as though he just happened to luck into his success. The handling of the Burke contract through this year in my opinion had a more detrimental effect on this team than any injuries to Naslund or Cloutier. The slump just after the mid way point coincided with the rumours that he was on the bubble soon to be fired. The fact that management had no faith in their President and GM seeped into the dressing room, a place where loyalty was given lip service but seems to have disappeared when the going got tough.
From the suddenly quiet Crawford who hasn’t said one word since his team was eliminated, to a less than ringing endorsement by Captain Markus Naslund the Canucks were strangely non-communicative when it came time to discuss their GM. He may have battled for them but they weren’t going to be caught in a foxhole with him this time. Todd Bertuzzi, who may have inadvertently done more damage to Burke than anyone this year, never spoke up in support of the guy who made him very rich and came to his defence in his darkest hour.
A team that suffered under the dictatorial reign of Mike Keenan didn’t reward Burke for his loyalty, he built a team that came very close, and his biggest crime was not changing the deck chairs at the crucial moments. He believed in his core group, feeling that they were a close group that had bonded well together and would fight for each other; little did he know that when it came time to support him, he would be left alone to face the rumours, the snubs and the questions. Accountability in Canuckland began and ended in Burke’s office, there was none in the dressing room and none in the executive offices, and that is why this team stumbled. His biggest disappointment may be the feeling of a job left undone. He should have been given the chance to re-tool this group, instead that job will be left to someone else, it’s doubtful that the spirit of the current line up will ever reach that which these last few years have given Vancouver.
Brian Burke will be a GM again one day, perhaps not very far down the calendar. Boston, Chicago even the New York Rangers would be infinitely better teams with Burke in charge. If it weren’t for the bad blood between he and Colorado, Burke would be the perfect choice to turn that talented but underperforming team around. His answering machine will soon be full of offers; he can pick and choose his next assignment. While he may miss Vancouver he’ll quickly take on a new challenge and get results.
As for the Canucks, the halcyon days of sell outs and rabid fans will carry on for a bit. But this was Burke’s team, he had the vision for it, the concept of what to build. It seems hard to believe that it will stay whole, a new GM will bring in his “core group” it may work, and it may not. But with a quickly improving Calgary and Edmonton coming on strong, the division is all of a sudden a tougher place to be. A couple of years wandering the wilderness and the Canucks may not be too far off from those 10,000 a game nights.
The Canuck management has shown a terrible inability to make decisions this year, by removing the only anchor they had in place, they now run the risk of drifting off course. A team which has a history of making the wrong decision, at the wrong time has struck again. Long suffering Canuck fans won’t be thrilled with John McCaw’s decision today, Burke was the face of the Canucks in Vancouver. McCaw is just a faceless corporate suit, he may hold the wallet, but he doesn’t hold the heart, that was Burke's! The fans will remember, of that McCaw and McCammon can be certain!
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