Governors make several changes at semi-annual meeting

Thursday, January 19, 2012 - Submitted by BCHL Media


The British Columbia Hockey League passed a number of significant motions Thursday at the league’s semi-annual governors meeting in Richmond. The changes will take effect in the 2012-13 season.

To allow more fans to attend games, governors voted to lower the number of regular season games from 60 to 56. This will decrease the number of mid-week games when fans are less able to attend. Now, a greater percentage of home dates can be held on the prime nights of Friday and Saturday.

Also, a showcase event will be held Sept. 7 to 9 at a site yet to be determined. The showcase is similar to events held in the Alberta and Saskatchewan Junior Hockey leagues where college and professional scouts are invited. Showcase results will count in the regular season standings. Each BCHL team will play two games at the event meaning all teams, except the host of the showcase, will then have 27 home dates in the 2012-13 season. Any revenues from the showcase will be split up amongst the league’s 16 clubs. Teams are being asked to submit by Feb. 1 their bids to host the event.

Another motion that passed was the decision to move the start of the regular season to Sept. 14, 2012. This will mark the date that the standard BCHL regular-season format shall commence though by that point, two regular season games will have been played at the showcase event by each team.

The season will end March 10, 2013 which means the coming season is two weeks longer than normal. This also will allow more games to be scheduled on prime nights rather than mid week.

With respect to the alignment of the conferences, there will be now be 10 teams in the Coastal Conference and it will be split into two groups called the Island Division and Mainland Division. The Island Division will include Victoria, Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo, Alberni Valley and Powell River. The Mainland Division will include Coquitlam, Surrey, Langley, Chilliwack and Prince George.

Prince George will be given the option to return to the Interior Conference after the conclusion of the 2013 playoffs. With Prince George and Chilliwack set to join the Coastal Conference, the new Interior Conference will include the remaining teams: Merritt, Trail, Penticton, Vernon, Salmon Arm and Westside.

“These decisions were not made in haste and came only after lengthy debate by our governors,” said BCHL commissioner John Grisdale. “The BCHL considers itself an innovator and model for Junior A hockey in Canada and these decisions, not all of them unanimous, have been made with the intention of ensuring the long-term viability of our league.”

Each club has been asked to submit new playoff format ideas to the BCHL office by Feb. 1, 2012. After that, a decision will be made and announced.

NHL Saturday: Players urge wild-card games

By CHRIS STEVENSON, QMI Agency, Jan 20 2012


Lost in the public relations flap that became NHL realignment was an interesting idea from the players.

It concerned expanding the playoff pool to address the inequities of having two conferences with eight teams and two with seven.

According to a couple of players, the NHLPA suggested adding wild cards to the mix and having them stage a play-in game or games to earn the final playoff spots.

Details were sketchy, but one player told NHL Saturday there was support for the idea of a doubleheader afternoon with four teams playing sudden-death games to decide which ones would get the final couple of playoff spots.

"They would have the stage to themselves and can you imagine the hockey?" one player said. "It would mean more revenue for everybody, but it was a non-starter from the owners' standpoint. They weren't interested at all."

Another player said it doesn't mean the idea is dead.

"There is going to be realignment and it's all going to have to be negotiated," he said.

HEAR AND THERE: The fall of the Tampa Bay Lightning -- or was last season's trip to the Eastern Conference final merely an exception? -- has some speculating on the future of coach Guy Boucher, just in his second year. Tampa general manager Steve Yzerman said discussions of Boucher's job security are "a non-issue ... There's no point in anybody discussing the coach. We've got a great coach. He's the same coach as last year. His message is work hard, be structured. Our guys are competing. He'll learn from this experience and he'll be an even better coach." ... The all-star fantasy draft Thursday will have a different look to it. Last year, in its debut, the players sat out front waiting to be selected. This year they will be behind the stage in a cocktail lounge setup. There will be cameras back there, so fans will still be able to see reactions to the selections ... New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur had to ask Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne for a favour. Not for himself, but for his son, Anthony. The 16-year-old Brodeur is 15-2-1 with a 2.29 goals-against average for Shattuck-St. Mary's prep school. "He likes Pekka Rinne, I think," Brodeur said. "I had to ask for a stick for him." ... Brodeur also has 15-year-old twins at Shattuck: Jeremy is also a goaltender and William is a forward.

THE BUZZ: Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula and a couple of lieutenants are on the Sabres' seven-game trip which is leading to speculation they are getting a close-hand look before maybe making a move to shake up the slumping club. The Sabres have lost 11 in a row on the road. Publicly, Pegula is saying GM Darcy Regier and coach Lindy Ruff are safe. Some in NHL circles aren't so sure about Regier ... Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher can't be seen without a phone to his ear these days as he tries to find a deal that will help his sagging club (first overall in NHL Dec. 17; now, a month later, loser of 15 of 17, ninth in the West). Coach Mike Yeo, not so long ago in the middle of the coach-of-the-year talk, isn't flinching: "It's not how you drive, it's how you arrive," he said ... JUST SAYING: The ownership of the Columbus Blue Jackets had meetings recently and decided GM Scott Howson's job was safe, for now. The Jackets did have some more bad luck with the revelation defenceman Radek Martinek, signed as a free agent, will be out for the rest of the season with a concussion. His contribution? Seven games ... The Montreal Canadiens brass (GM Pierre Gauthier and consultant Bob Gainey) have fanned out over the Midwest and the West Coast of the U.S., and have been seen at games over the past few days leading to speculation the Habs are getting ready to make a deal. It is a foregone conclusion veteran defenceman Hal Gill will be dealt and likely wingers Travis Moen and Andrei Kostitsyn, as well.

JUST WONDERING: If you're the Carolina Hurricanes, how did they let forward Jeff Skinner go back on the ice after that big hit by Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik? Skinner is coming off a concussion, he looked shaken up on the play and, let's face it, this is a lost season for the Hurricanes. They checked Skinner out and he got the OK to go back in the game. But why take a risk? Give him the rest of the night off.

THE LAST WORD: Scott Arniel, deposed as Columbus Blue Jackets coach, said he still has moments when he feels like he got the shaft. "It has been over a week now and it still bothers me, still gnaws at me. I hate to leave unfinished business. And look, I've been a coach for 13 years; I didn't get stupid in three months."

SOMETHING SPECIAL

New Jersey Devils

Short-handed situations: 161

Goals: 16

Percentage: 90.1

Rank: 1

The Devils are the only team to top the 90% mark in penalty killing going into Friday's games. Their 16 goals allowed while short-handed are the fewest in the league (the New York Rangers have given up 19). Defenceman Bryce Salvador and Anton Volchenkov have been the workhorses for the Devils PK. Rookie Adam Henrique has turned out to be a force short-handed, as well. He ranks third in ice time among the Devils forwards used to kill penalties and he has four of the Devils' league-leading 11 short-handed goals this season. Zach Parise is the Devils' best penalty-killing forward and has three shorties, just another reason he could be a top free agent next summer.

AMBULANCE CHASING

Injuries that are having, or could have, a big impact.

Philadelphia Flyers

Further to the concussion sustained by captain Chris Pronger, he has been prescribed glasses which apparently have helped some of his symptoms, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said.

Asked if this could be a career-ending injury, Holmgren said: "Somebody said to me, one of our doctors, that concussions are like fingerprints, none of them are the same. We obviously hope for the best for Chris and, over time, we'll need to prepare for the worst, but I don't think we're at that point right now."

Pronger is to meet with doctors again Feb. 1 for another assessment.

GO FIGURE

6

The number of goals Nashville Predators forward Sergei Kostitsyn has scored since Jan. 1. That's pretty good. It's really good when you consider Kostitsyn has taken just nine shots during those nine games. Kostitsyn once had a stretch where he scored six goals on eight shots. He obviously shoots only when he thinks it's worth it.

58

The most shots taken in the NHL without scoring a goal going into Friday's games. Roman Polak of the St. Louis Blues is still looking for his first. Magnus Paajarvi of the Edmonton Oilers is next at 55. Peter Holland of Anaheim and Adam Cracknell of St. Louis are the only players with a 100% shooting percentage, each having scored on his only shot this season.

6

The number of consecutive seasons Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals has led the league in shots. Ovechkin has finished first every season since arriving in the NHL in 2005-06. His streak is in danger this season: James Neal of the Pittsburgh Penguins was leading with 193 entering Friday games. Ovechkin was seventh with 167.

550

The NHL record for shots in a season, set by Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins in 1970-71. Ovechkin owns the second and third most shots in a season, 528 in 2008-09 and 446 in 2007-08. Neal is on pace for 344 shots this season which would be the lowest leading total since Ilya Kovalchuk, with 341 in 2003-04.

THE GROCERY STICK

Who is -- literally or figuratively -- heading for, or already in, that comfortable spot on the bench that separates the forwards and the defencemen?

Buffalo Sabres forward Derek Roy is having his struggles -- three goals and eight assists in his past 27 games -- and is minus-13 over that stretch. Thing is, Roy is not alone in Buffalo. You could include Drew Stafford, with four goals in 41 games, and Brad Boyes, with three goals this season. It's no surprise that Roy's name and the names of other Sabres are rumoured to be trade bait: They're a team in need of a shakeup.

For NHL players, the cheque is (nearly) in the mail

ERIC DUHATSCHEK, Globe and Mail, Jan. 20, 2012


NHL players are like the rest of us when it comes to the rudimentary details of life - and hey, let’s face it, the day your tax refund arrives is usually a pretty good day, no matter how much money you might earn.

Well, the NHL equivalent of the tax refund is the player escrow cheque, which after a lengthy delay that signified the first real skirmish between the league and the players association over upcoming CBA negotiations, they should be arriving in the mail shortly, maybe even before next weekend’s all-star break.

The NHL issued a statement Friday confirming that fact, although it is unknown exactly when the players will receive their share.

"The NHL and the NHLPA have reached a settlement of their dispute over 2010-11 Hockey Related Revenue (HRR). The return of Escrow monies to the Players and Revenue Sharing payments to the Clubs were on hold while these matters were being resolved. The Players' Association and the League have also reached an agreement about how some of the disputed HRR issues will be addressed for this season (2011-12). The disbursement of Escrow and Revenue Sharing monies will occur in the coming weeks."

The cheques were delayed this year because of a dispute between the NHL and the NHL players association over what constitutes hockey-related revenue for the 2010-11 season under the collective bargaining agreement. Back in the fall, the NHLPA made the case that the $25-million subsidy paid to the league by the city of Glendale to underwrite their operating losses for the Phoenix Coyotes (and a similar payment made by the city of Nashville to the Predators) should count as part of the league’s gross revenues.

Since the players are guaranteed 57 per cent of the overall take under their deal with the owners - it’s a partnership remember - a favourable ruling would bump the players’ share by many millions.

Escrow is the CBA mechanism designed to keep the above percentages straight - which means that every two weeks, on payday, during the regular season, a varying amount is withheld from the players paycheques, in the same way that income tax is also withheld.

Eventually, the league’s revenue numbers come in, the accountants tally them up, and the players usually get a significant chunk of their cash back because the NHL is doing pretty well these days - and have managed to grow the revenue pie each year, according to commissioner Gary Bettman.

Of course, if things are so rosy, surely that means that Bettman and players’ association executive director Donald Fehr should be able to wrap up the new round of CBA negotiations that are likely to get under way soon with a quick phone call, right?

Well, probably not. Even if the big picture looks pretty good, the fact that franchises in St. Louis, Phoenix and elsewhere are so hard to sell has to tell you that the model isn’t exactly working the way the NHL imagined it would when the current agreement was negotiated (at the cost of the 2004-05 season, making it the only pro sports league in history to lose an entire year to a labour dispute).

Two of the fixes that the owners will want for sure: 1. Knocking the players overall share closer to the new NBA levels, where a seven-week work stoppage earlier this year resulted in a 50-50 split between owners and players; and 2. Tinkering with the gap between the salary cap ceiling and floor. Coming out of the lockout, teams were limited to a $39-million payroll, but were required to spend a minimum of $23-million. Because the business has prospered since then, the ceiling is now $64.3-million and the floor $48.3-million - and the latter is an unsustainable figure for small-market U.S. teams.

Weirdly, the players (under former executive director Bob Goodenow) weren’t even all that insistent on a salary-cap floor in the last round of negotiations; it was something the NHL gave them. There will probably be a floor in the new CBA as well, but the gap will be wider than $16-million, just so the Nashvilles, Phoenixes and St. Louises can set their budgets and spend to their limits. The gaps between the haves and have-nots will widen financially, although how that actually plays out on the ice remains to be seen.

SHUFFLING OFF TO BUFFALO: All of which makes a nice transition to a discussion of the Buffalo Sabres, the latest team to discover that bumping the payroll doesn’t necessarily translate into on-ice success. For years, the Sabres were another small-market team, spending judiciously, and occasionally letting star players (Chris Drury, Daniel Briere) go because they couldn’t - or wouldn’t - meet their payroll demands. Everything was supposed to change this summer, when new owner Terry Pegula opened his checkbook to add the likes of Christian Ehrhoff, Robyn Regehr and Ville Leino. It was a psychological as much as a practical gesture - a sign that the Sabres were playing with the big boys now and could flex their financial muscle with the best of them. Why they even took a bad contract off of Calgary’s hands (Ales Kotalik’s) to make the Regehr trade possible, even though they had no intention of keeping Kotalik on their NHL roster.

So what happens? After a semi-promising start, the bottom completely falls out and now, after 11 consecutive road losses, the Sabres look like the most dispirited, disorganized team in the NHL, searching for answers and seemingly unable to come up with any.

Two years removed from a Vezina Trophy season, goaltender Ryan Miller looks completely lost. Ehrhoff got all that money because he scored 50 points for the Vancouver Canucks last year, tied with Dan Boyle and Kris Letang for seventh among NHL defenceman. This year, he’s been hurt and is nowhere to be found in the top 20. For his last seven years in Calgary, Regehr was always a plus player, someone who adapted pretty well to the “new” NHL, even if he wasn’t the most mobile of rearguards. This year, he’s a minus-13. Leino, who thrived in Philadelphia largely because of a nice fit on the line with Briere and Scott Hartnell, hasn’t found any chemistry with anyone in Buffalo - and 10 points in his first 35 games is the result. Leino’s play with the Sabres is reminiscent of the 55 games he played over two years for the Detroit Red Wings, breaking into the NHL, when he managed just 16 points. As for Brad Boyes, who was picked up at last year’s trading deadline as a salary dump by the Blues, he has been the same maddeningly inconsistent player that has seen him drop from the career high 72 points he recorded in the 08-09 season to just 11 in his first 33 this year.

It’s a mess and cleaning it up is going to be a challenge because of a lesson that every GM with money to burn eventually realizes - the free-agent premiums you pay to sign players on July 1 will come back to haunt you eventually. Strange how roles reverse. The Sabres’ New York state rivals, the Rangers, finally figured that out. They now operate the way the Detroit Red Wings do - with judicious free-agent buys (Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik) supplemented by a whole lot of homegrown talent (just about everybody else on their NHL roster). The Sabres, meanwhile, take a page out of the Rangers’ old operating manual and it blows up in their faces.

LEAF TRADE TALK: Even without the injured Jon Michael Liles, the Toronto Maple Leafs have seven NHL-calibre defencemen on their roster, meaning that somebody pretty good sits out most nights - either one of their youngsters (Jake Gardiner had his turn this week) or the veteran Mike Komisarek. It is a position of strength and because young defencemen are so valuable and so hard to develop, there will be a temptation to keep them all around because, let’s face it, you can never have too many, even if it means tough line-up choices for coach Ron Wilson when they all get healthy. But this is why all the Luke Schenn talk. If the Leafs legitimately want to add a big-bodied top-six forward, it will likely cost them Schenn, just because his value, as a top-five draft choice, far exceeds what Carl Gunnarson or Keith Aulie or Cody Franson would fetch in a trade. This is a reality of the NHL trade game. You move a little piece, you get a little piece back. You move a big piece, you might get Bobby Ryan.

TOUGH TALK IN BOSTON: One of the first players traded away by Dale Tallon when he took over as the Florida Panthers’ GM two years ago was Nathan Horton, who landed in Boston, and promptly won a Stanley Cup (though he was on the sidelines for the final games, thanks to the Aaron Rome hit). But Horton’s inconsistency, which is what got him turfed out of Florida, surfaced again when the Bruins played Florida earlier this week, and though a member of the Bruins’ No. 1 line, Horton only earned 16:39 of ice time from coach Claude Julien. The Bruins have stumbled just a little these past few weeks, after two sensational months, and with Brad Marchand suspended, the Bruins needed more from Horton, not less, and Julien was not afraid to say so, as reported by the Boston Globe and Herald: “Horts has got to pick up his game. No ifs or buts about it,’’ Julien said. “A guy his size has got to get more physically involved. He’s got to compete a lot harder. He’s skating hard. You see him on the backcheck, he skates hard. But we need more from him.”

IN THE NICK OF TIME: HBO’s 24/7 gets most of the ink, but the NBC Sports Network has a new series called NHL 36, in which cameras follow one player for 36 hours. The first victim - er subject - was Chicago’s Patrick Kane and Kane is a natural, who likes the spotlight just fine. Lidstrom is the opposite - 41, a family man, steady as she goes in terms of his personality. Lidstrom is one of the least known superstars in the game, gracious but ultra-quiet. It will be interesting to see if they can tell us something we don’t already know about him.

ORIGINAL SIX HEAVEN: Speaking of Boston, the Rangers, Chicago and Detroit, all four are among the top five teams in the league through Friday morning which, according to NHL.com, is the first time since the 1973-74 season when four Original Six teams are ranked this high this deep into the season. The only interloper this time around is St. Louis, revitalized under new coach Ken Hitchcock, and destined to get a new owner soon, according to the Post-Dispatch, which reports that minority owner Tom Stillman has put together a group that has a tentative deal in place to buy the team. You’d have to think Final Four consisting solely of Original Six teams still represents a long shot, what with Vancouver, San Jose, Philadelphia and Washington all still to be heard from, but it would make great theatre if it ever played out that way.

AND FINALLY: Miller’s comments to the Buffalo News this week, spoken before he lost a 4-1 decision to Winnipeg Thursday night, were telling and insightful because they illustrate the difference between the NHL today, in the salary cap era, and the NHL two decades ago, when you’d still get the occasional blockbuster, multi-player deals designed to shake a team to its roots.

Miller’s contention is that no such deal is going to happen, no matter how many Internet rumours suggest that it could: “If you guys really think there's going to be any kind of trade made anywhere that's going to affect this team any more than we can affect it in this locker room, you guys are just ... I don't know. I don't know what to think because there's no such trade.

“There's not ever going to be a trade in the history of the NHL that's going to affect anything like that. There's no chance anybody comes into this team and just shakes it up or we can even move multiple players and get any kind of return.

“If you want to just destroy a team and go out and be reckless and do something, yeah. Then there's going to be new guys in here. But other than that, this locker room is going to be pretty much the same, if not completely the same and we gotta find it from in here . You can't sit and wait for somebody else to (expletive) do it.”

Nick Schultz: Before I Made It
Nick Schultz has two points, 18 penalty minutes and a minus-6 rating this season.

With Kevin Kennedy, The Hockey News, 2012-01-21


I grew up in Strasbourg, a small town of about 800 people in Saskatchewan. Basically, every kid played hockey and if you showed up at the rink, they suited you up and let you play. Everyone just kind of hung out at the rink. I have two older brothers who I really looked up to and they were always there so I ended up spending a lot of time in the arena.

I’ve always pretty much been a defenseman. When you start off you kind of play everywhere, but for the most part I played defense. Growing up, I played a ton of school sports like volleyball, badminton and track and in the summer it was mostly baseball. At school I enjoyed classes where I could use my hands like gym and wood working class, but I also enjoyed mathematics. I never really liked English class - didn’t really care about it to be honest.

I would sometimes think about what I would do if I didn’t make it playing hockey and I think I probably would’ve become a teacher. I always looked up to a teacher at my school. He taught social studies, he was active and he would coach a lot of the school teams. I thought that was something I’d enjoying doing as well to be around kids and teach them the value of fitness and team sports.

My most memorable minor hockey experience would probably have to be playing in the Saskatchewan provincials. One year we had a good run and went all the way to the final. We lost, but I just remember playing in our little rink and having it packed to the roof with people. It was a great experience as a kid to be around your buddies and have the whole town’s support.

When I wasn’t playing hockey I had a few odd jobs as a kid. For the most part I had a paper route and I think I bagged groceries for like a day. My grandfather owned a lawn maintenance business in town and I’d always help him after school and go out and cut some grass.

The year of my draft to the Western League I was still playing in my hometown. I ended up getting drafted to the Prince Albert Raiders and moved there when I was 16 years old. It was a tough transition at first and I remember the first week especially being hard to be away from my family. After a while I started to really enjoy it and most of the players on the team were in the same situation so you could relate to each other. I was billeting with a great family so it turned out to be a really good experience. I also was only about three hours away from my hometown and I could’ve easily ended up with a team a lot further away in Alberta or B.C.

I remember the NHL draft very well because I was pretty stressed out that day. I was there with my whole family and you hope you’re going to get drafted, but you never really know what’s going to happen. Thankfully, I was taken in the second round by Minnesota, which was an expansion team at the time, and it gave me a great opportunity to prove myself as a young player.

The day I found out I was going to play in my first game I remember just hanging out at the hotel with my girlfriend at the time, now my wife, and I got a phone call and it was a call I’ll never forget. I don’t remember who my defense partner was in my first game, but I know I played a little bit with Willie Mitchell and Brad Bombardir. It was a dream come true.

Flames coach enjoys having 'hockey geek' like Cammalleri

Vicki Hall, Calgary Herald January 21, 2012


EDMONTON — Just like in old times, Michael Cammalleri is chatting away in the Calgary Flames dressing room while lovingly taping up a hockey stick.

The topic of conversation on this day: top celebrity sightings.

“I met all kinds of people in entertainment and sport when I lived in L.A.” Cammalleri is saying. “But for me, the most star-struck I’ve ever been is meeting Fred Couples.”

Really?

“I know that’s a little weird,” he says. “There were some A-list celebrities I met. But he was my golfing hero growing up. It was the only time I ever got tongue-tied when I met somebody.”

Picturing Cammalleri tongue-tied is much like imagining an Alberta winter without a blizzard or an American election without attack ads.

In other words, impossible.

Yes, after a two-year hiatus, one of the most quotable players in the National Hockey League is back in the Flames clubhouse.

After witnessing a three-game sample of No. 93’s body of work, head coach Brent Sutter, for one, can’t help but rejoice.

“The great thing about Cammy? He lives and dies this game,” Sutter says. “He’s always talking hockey. It’s kind of neat to be around a guy like that. He’s very observant. It’s like having a guy who knows the game on the bench.

“He’s got a good feel for it. He sees things. He brings up some very good points about stuff that I like, because it’s not about him. It’s always good to have a player like that on the hockey team who is a hockey geek.”

Cammalleri may well reject the term ‘geek’. He prefers to think of himself as detail-oriented (as opposed to obsessive-compulsive).

A week into his second stint as a Flame, that attention to detail is already paying off for his new employer.

“I think maybe because of what the job entails — you have to get so engaged so quickly in what we’re doing — maybe I haven’t had time to think of the actuality of the events,” he says. “I don’t feel surreal about it. I feel pretty present with it all right now.”

One day, Cammalleri will no doubt regale his five-month-old daughter Chloe with tails of the bizarre drama surrounding his move back to Calgary from Montreal.

Cammalleri mused last week to Montreal reporters about the losing attitude of the Canadiens. Not 48 hours later, Cammalleri found himself on a plane headed west.

Officially, the trade read Cammalleri, the rights to goalie Karri Ramo and a fifth-round draft pick for Rene Bourque, prospect Patrick Holland and a second-round draft pick.

In three games back with the Flames, Cammalleri technically only has one goal. His shootout snipe Thursday in Los Angeles — complete with a double-pump fake and deke to the forehand and backhand on Jonathan Quick — does not count.

“That was a big goal,” said linemate Jarome Iginla. “We need those. It’s nice to see that skill and that move in that pressure situation.

“He’s a very crafty guy. He gets a lot of attention. It doesn’t feel like we’ve played apart for very long, and I think we can still be better. We’re going to keep working at it.”

At five-foot-nine, 190 pounds, Cammalleri is not about to intimidate the opposition with size alone. But looks can be deceiving.

“Cammy gets in there and he’s going to grind it out,” Sutter said. “He’s smart with the puck. He’s a tough guy to get off the puck when he has it, just because of his leverage and his stature.

“He’s a strong guy and he can skate very well.”

With Curtis Glencross sidelined with a knee injury for an undetermined period of time, the addition of Cammalleri is crucial for a Calgary team scratching to qualify for the post-season. As of Friday afternoon, the Flames sat in a three-way tie with Dallas and Phoenix for 10th place in the Western Conference — just two points back of eighth-place Colorado.

Maybe the playoffs aren’t such a bizarre fantasy after all.

“Cammy likes the fact we want to be a more aggressive-type team and not sit back,” Sutter said. “He’s brought that up to me.”

Even around the boss, this guy is never shy for words.

Except, of course, if Fred Couples is in the neighbourhood.

“Jeremy Roenick introduced him to me,” he said. “We started talking and J.R. said, ‘This guy can really play golf.’ Freddy started taking a keen interest. He asked me what kind of sticks I played with.”

Cammalleri tried to open his mouth and respond, but words failed him.

Likely for the first time in his life.

“I just got tongue-twisted,” he said. “It was like, ‘Did Fred Couples just ask me what kind of clubs I play with?’ I almost forgot what kind of clubs I play with.

“And then I told him, ‘I’m a TaylorMade guy, Freddy.’”

Outdoor Classic a crowd-pleaser

Perry Lefko, Sportsnet.ca, January 21, 2012


HAMILTON - Usually it's the Tiger-Cats and the Argonauts engaging in a bitter rivalry at Ivor Wynne Stadium, but on Saturday afternoon on a glorious sunshine-filled day in the Steel City the gridiron battle gave way to some shinny shenanigans.

The hometown Hamilton Bulldogs and the Toronto Marlies began with a brouhaha only 27 seconds into the game following a goal by the visitors and concluded with a bout inside the final minute.

Yes, people came to a hockey game played on a makeshift rink constructed over a field used for football and a few fights broke out. The first-ever Outdoor Classic, subtitled the Steeltown Showdown, had a little bit of everything. It even had an appearance by Ticats' legend Angelo Mosca, who attended the game with the walking cane he used famously -- or is it infamously? -- to whack Joe Kapp over the head in November at a Canadian Football League alumni luncheon.

"It's pretty good," Mosca said of the outdoor hockey game. "Every one of these games have been good-luck charms."

Mosca came to the game having just attended a 90th birthday party for Lincoln Alexander, the onetime Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and prominent citizen of Hamilton, and viewed part of the game from the press box with former Hamilton alderman Paul Cowell.

"He's been a friend of mine for an hour and an a half," Mosca said jokingly, then added: "Actually, I've known him for 50 years."

"This seems strange, but not in a bad way, just big and open," Cowell said viewing the panorama. "It's amazing how they can put it together."

In the simplest of terms, this was just a hockey game, not any different than what you would see at Copps Coliseum where the Bulldogs play, but outside it represented the roots of Canadian hockey.

"This is different. It brings back memories of when I was a kid playing hockey outdoors all weekend," said 52-year-old Hamilton resident Carlos Duchesne.

A Sherbrooke, Que., native who moved to Hamilton from Toronto six years ago, Duchesne had never been to Ivor Wynne, a stadium built in 1928 and scheduled to be demolished at the end of the year and rebuilt for the Tiger-Cats' 2014 season and for the 2015 Pan Am Games. Duchesne, an admitted baseball fan, suggested the new Ivor Wynne Stadium should be built elsewhere, perhaps unaware of all the politics between Ticats owner Bob Young, who wanted the edifice constructed closer to a highway for better accessibility and optimum optics for a sponsor. Hamilton council persuaded Billionaire Bob to stay put and take advantage of the public funding offered by the city and the province.

"They should have put (the new stadium) someplace else with better real estate," Duchesne said. "This is not the best part of the city."

Maybe so, but there's a certain charm about Ivor Wynne, nestled in a neighborhood where the citizens will offer up their lawns for parking for a mere $10.

Duchesne attended Friday night's Alumni/Celebrity Classic featuring retired players from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. One ticket for both games could be had for $51.

"I asked a couple of clients; one guy from Toronto who said no, and one guy from Hamilton and he said no, so I said, 'Okay, I'll go alone.'

"This is great for Hamilton," Duchesne added. "This gives us a reputation as a hockey city. Maybe one day the NHL will give us a pro hockey team."

Reminded that the Bulldogs are a pro hockey team, he said: "This is the triple-A compared to going to the Majors in baseball. It is pro, but not like the NHL."

As a link to the NHL, onetime Boston Bruins winger Kris Nienhaus, who fronts a band called 9House, entertained the crowd at various points with a variety of songs that included The Hockey Song, American Pie and Sweet Caroline, the anthem of all crowd anthems, regardless of the sport.

Nienhaus played in Friday's game, scored a couple of goals and then took to the stage in full equipment and belted out some tunes.

Now that's earning your pay!

The Marlies-Bulldogs game attracted an announced attendance of 20,565, about 8,000 or so shy of a sellout.

The vendors did brisk business, including one booth that offered Winters Warmers consisting of either hot chocolate or coffee mixed with one ounce of liquer, whiskey or rum, or a Cold One that was a classic caesar cocktail with premium vodka. For those who wanted to imbibe in a good old-fashioned Canadian beverage, beer could be had.

The Marlies took control of the game late in the third period, but with 54.6 seconds remaining Toronto's Kyle Neuber and Hamilton's Ian Schultz squared off in a bout that had the kind of proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence that would please Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke.

The game ended 7-2 in favour of the visitors.

The Outdoor Classic was a not a classic, but for a first-time event it had a little bit of everything to satisfy everyone.

Saturday reports of Paterno’s death proved premature

Bruce Dowbiggin, Globe and Mail, Jan. 22, 2012


The need for speed has been everywhere lately and it’s claiming victims again in the journalistic world – this time over the reckless speed used by some media organizations in trying to break the death of Penn State coach Joe Paterno, whose legendary career was ended by a child sex scandal. Paterno died Sunday morning of complications from cancer.

But not before CBS Sports erroneously used Twitter to announce Paterno’s death on Saturday night. The news sped across the Twitterverse, with the Huffington Post posting an obituary and many high-profile journalists adding their condolences. Then, the Paterno family emerged to say that their father was not dead and still fighting for his life.

CBS Sports went into apology mode, saying it had relied on an “unsubstantiated report,” adding that “CBSSports.com holds itself to high journalistic standards, and in this circumstance tonight, we fell well short of those expectations.” You might say that.

How an organization as big as CBS fails to confirm a death with the family is inexcusable. Huffington Post, a liberal website, doesn’t have the same resources as CBS, but it only takes one call to check a fact – which Huffington reportedly did not do. (Maybe it was preoccupied by Newt Gingrich winning the Republican primary in South Carolina?)

The haste to be first reminded many here in Canada how the Toronto Star, TSN Radio and other outlets announced the death of former NHL coach Pat Burns in September of 2010. Burns quickly phoned in to say he was still alive. (Burns died two months later.) Speed kills, especially when editors and reporters don’t do the most basic fact-checking.

As TSN’s Bob McKenzie tweeted, “I get desire to report news first but on imminent death, here’s a novel concept: why not wait for family or team/league to make it official.”

Speed bumps

The death of Canadian skier Sarah Burke from injuries sustained in competition has led many to wonder about an athlete’s need for speed and danger. What hasn’t been discussed is the role of television in the deaths of skiers and auto racers – as well as in the more devastating injuries in hockey, football and other contact sports.

Put simply, TV craves excitement like a skier craves fresh powder. The lens is bored with the ordinary and seeks daredevils to fly faster, higher, farther. To seek new aerial tricks or touchdown catches that defy gravity. To invite spectacular mid-ice bodychecks and drivers who’ll run next to the wall at 200 miles an hour.

In an age in which fame on TV is the new panacea, putting yourself (and others) in harm’s way is the Express Pay line to recognition. In this, there are many willing takers such as Burke, those who will move closer to the edge on a half pipe to land a new trick. Or those in team sports who will attempt more violent bodychecks and crushing tackles to find their way onto TSN’s SportsCentre or Sportsnet Connected.

There is, after all, no need to push the danger zone. Compelling auto races can still be conducted five miles an hour slower. Football tackles can be made with something less than kill-shot kamikaze intensity by simply wrapping up a runner. Hockey checks can simply take the puck from opponents rather that take out their teeth. But in a desensitized society, that safe stuff is so yesterday. From our couches, we demand the adrenalin jolt from a highlight pack – and TV obliges.

Burke was a star of ESPN’s X Games and was going to be a TV star as the favourite in her event at the 2014 Winter Olympics. To many, it doesn’t get much better than that. But as Burke discovered, that notoriety comes with a price tag.

Getting To Know: Jay Bouwmeester
Jay Bouwmeester has 21 points and a minus-9 rating in 49 games with the Flames this season

Mark Malinowski, The Hockey News, 2012-01-22


Status: Calgary Flames defenseman. 2006 Olympian.

DOB: Sept. 27, 1983 In: Edmonton

Ht: 6-foot-4 Wt: 215 pounds

First Hockey Memory: "In Canada, it's just kind of something you grow up with. I remember being a little kid and going home and skating outside, that sort of thing."

Hockey Inspirations: "I was a Detroit fan growing up so I liked Steve Yzerman."

Last Book Read: "Into The Silence."

Current Car: "Is a Chevy pick-up."

Nicknames: "I don't have too many. ‘Bo,’ that's the obvious one."

Greatest Sports Moment(s): "Probably won a couple of world championships, played in one of the Olympics. So that's probably the highlights."

Most Painful Moment: "Haven't had too many. Broke my foot one time, that was my worst. (Who shot it?) Brent Sopel I think."

Favorite Uniforms: "Chicago."

Closest Hockey Friends: "Probably Steve Montador, he's playing for Chicago right now."

Funniest Players Encountered: "Sean Hill was a funny guy. Jamie McLennan."

Toughest Competitors Encountered: "There's different guys who do different things. There's a lot. There's not too many guys who you would say aren't. To get to this level you have to have some sort of drive."

Strangest Game: "Nothing too crazy. I've had a couple of pretty lopsided games where the score got out of hand, but that's about as crazy as it gets. One of my first years we lost to Washington 12-2 I think. That was the worst beating I've ever been a part of."

Favorite Sport Outside Hockey: "Baseball."

Funny Hockey Memory: "Lots of stuff, like every day. If you're not laughing and you're doing this then something's wrong. But nothing really stands out. Lots of stuff."

Last Vacation: "Went to Nepal last summer."

Favorite Player(s) To Watch: "Crosby. Corey Perry, Getzlaf, those guys in Anaheim, they're good. The guys in Detroit - Datsyuk, Zetterberg. In defenseman - I appreciate guys like Nick Lidstrom, those sort of guys."

Personality Qualities Most Admired: "I guess honesty. And good-natured people."

Fetisov steps down: Soviet legend’s announcement to leave hockey prompts questions

ANDY POTTS, IIHF.COM, 22-01-12


RIGA/MOSCOW – Russian hockey was handed a shock at the weekend when Vyacheslav Fetisov – one of the great legends of the game – told a press conference in Riga that he was quitting CSKA Moscow, the KHL board, and hockey altogether.

The news came amid the glitz and glamour of the KHL’s All-Star Game in Riga, and just hours after Fetisov had captained a veterans side to victory in the warm-up event in the Latvian capital. Speaking at a press conference Fetisov, who has served as chairman of the board of directors since the league was formed in 2008, stunned journalists by saying it was time to quit.

“I would like to make a statement – I’m leaving hockey,” he said. “For me, this is my last weekend in hockey. I wish [KHL president] Alexander Medvedev all the best, and I’m sure he will succeed. For me, the situation at CSKA is disgusting. I’ve worked too long to earn a good name, and God knows I’ve done nothing to damage the sport. I see no sense in remaining. I am decided.”

Sitting next to him, Medvedev could say little, and responded: “I cannot comment on this. I can hardly imagine our hockey without Fetisov.”

After that press conference, Fetisov was faced with a barrage of questions and expanded on his reasons for leaving CSKA, web portal championat.ru reported. And he launched a stinging claim of management malpractice at one of the game’s most famous names.

“The whole team, which recently exploited CSKA, was willing to do anything, not just on the hockey side. I’m talking about deals which were done, and which might be done in future,” he told the website. “At one time I was asked to help CSKA and we initiated a letter to the Prime Minister. Now the club is state owned [by Rosneft]. This company needs to strengthen the management because CSKA needs to take care of every ruble – this is taxpayers’ money now. With the current management I do not see any prospect of this happening.”

On the face of it, Fetisov was the ideal figurehead for both club and league: as a player he enjoyed universal respect as a ruthless defenceman who won two Olympic golds, back-to-back Stanley Cups and a host of Soviet titles after making his CSKA debut as a 16-year-old. He was also instrumental in enabling Soviet players to play in North America, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001. He was also well regarded in Moscow after sticking with CSKA as crisis threatened the club once again in 2009 following the departure of head coach Vyacheslav Bykov and widely-reported claims of poor financial health.

But at the weekend he also hinted that Bykov might have had the right idea all along, following a long conversation with the World Championship winning coach. “I spent a long time sitting with Bykov, discussing the situation at CSKA,” Fetisov told championat.ru. “Perhaps before I was biased, but Bykov also left for a reason – the situation at the club was slowing its growth.”

Fetisov’s announcement in Riga came as a huge surprise, but there were warning signs on the morning of the All-Star press conference. Comments reported by Russian website Sports.ru on Saturday morning hint at a battle behind the scenes at the famous Moscow club, which was recently bought by oil giant Rosneft with plans to see the Army Men dining at the officers’ table once again after years of meagre rations (see this story).

Asked why the club had not made greater efforts to strengthen its roster ahead of the Jan. 15 deadline (the return of Nikita Filatov in December was the only significant change as the club looks to confirm a play-off spot), Fetisov attacked the internal politics of the organization, speaking of a “war for money” which had seen the team become a political football among rival factions of the club management.

“I’m already no longer the president – other people are in control of these things,” Fetisov added. “I am unable to play a formal role. Either I am in the process, or I am outside of it. Other people have come in, let them take charge of the process.”

Meanwhile, at a time when the KHL was keen to show off its progress to the world during the All-Star weekend, and with league president Medvedev confidently announcing that he saw no good reason for any Russian player to leave for North America before the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Fetisov concluded his comments with an apparent swipe at the competition he has helped to establish. Asked why there had been no formal announcement, as might have been expected in the NHL, he replied: “In the NHL there are normal structures, where people respect each other. In our league things are very different: at the moment the KHL cannot be compared with the NHL. Not yet.”

After his announcement in Riga, though, Fetisov explained that he had always maintained a “normal working relationship” with Medvedev and added that the KHL’s story, in general, was a successful one. He was leaving the KHL because it would be wrong to quit CSKA and remain with the league, he explained.

There was surprise and dismay among the CSKA people assembled in Riga for the weekend extravaganza. Forward Sergei Shirokov, a key player on his return this season after two years on the fringes of the NHL, told RIA Novosti: “For me it’s a shock that Vyacheslav has left. It’s not my business to discuss the club’s leadership but apparently there is some reason behind it. We must respect his decision and what he has said about it... As for the future of the club, it is difficult to say. I am not a director, and this situation will be addressed by those who have now come to the club.”

On his personal Twitter account, however, Shirokov appeared rather more critical of whatever situation had prompted Fetisov to step down. “Apparently our hockey is now at such a stratospheric level that we no longer need professionals like Fetisov and Larionov!!!!!!” he wrote.

CSKA coach Julius Supler, who also played in the veterans game in Riga on Friday night, noted Fetisov’s departure with regret. “It’s a big blow. Slava has done a lot for Russian hockey and for CSKA, and it was he who invited me to work with CSKA. This is a big loss for Russian hockey.”

But there were mixed reactions among supporters commenting on the news via online message boards and blogs. Many were saddened to see a great name leave the sport, and a number of CSKA fans were quick to pay tribute to a man whose commitment to the cause even saw him suit up for a KHL game – at the age of 49 – to help solve a defensive injury crisis. But others were critical of his work as CSKA President, and in particular his reluctance to remove Sergei Nemchinov, who was head coach as CSKA failed to reach last season’s play-offs, and remains at the club as General Manager.

However, Nemchinov also felt the lash of Fetisov’s anger on Saturday. “He is a weak coach, a weak manager and even weaker as a person. I am sure he has no future prospects,” the departing CSKA president told the media.

Fetisov may have left Russian hockey – at least for the time being – but the fall-out from his dramatic departure is likely to be felt for some time to come.

Hockey World: Jan. 22 2012

Jim Matheson, edmontonjournal.com, January 22, 2012


Who’s Hot: Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne, who has given up 17 goals in his last 10 games.

Who’s Not: Claude Giroux is challenging for the scoring race, but has just one goal in his last 13 games for the Flyers.

When the gap-toothed Bobby Clarke won those back-to-back Hart Trophies in the mid-1970s with the Broad Street Bullies, he wasn’t the incandescent star.

You had Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, Guy Lafleur, Marcel Dionne and Gilbert Perreault.

Clarke put up plenty of points (116 in 1974-75 and 119 the following season) but he never won a scoring title and he made the Philadelphia Flyers go. He won faceoffs, played late in games protecting leads, was on the first power-play unit, hated to lose, and wielded a wicked stick if you got in his way.

It’s the same story with Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews.

To me, Toews is the NHL’s MVP this season, with a large helping of apology to Evgeni Malkin, who’s carrying the Pittsburgh Penguins on his back with star Sidney Crosby out of the lineup. Malkin has 30 points in his last 18 games.

Then you can’t forget Henrik Lundqvist in New York, the main reason the Rangers are challenging for No. 1 overall in 2011-12.

However, nobody is as well-rounded as Toews, who quietly is second in goals with 27, and in the top 10 in points with 50 (only 12 power-play points, 36 even-strength points, two short-handed points). But that’s just a snippet of his game.

He’s the NHL’s premier faceoff man by lots (61.4 per cent in a whopping 938 draws; the next closest player who’s as busy is Boston Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron, 57.3 over 852 draws). If you want one guy to absolutely win a draw in the last 10 seconds of a one-goal game, Toews is your man. He also leads the league in take-aways, not the perennial thief Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Wings.

Toews plays on the power play, he kills penalties. If you need a riot act read, tap him on the shoulder. He wears his game face the minute he walks into the rink. He really is Captain Serious.

He’s only 23, but he has captained a Stanley Cup winner. He was one of Canada’s top-five players in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

It’s also time to give him the MVP trophy.

“In my mind, Toews is the best two-way player I’ve seen since Mark Messier,” said former Nashville Predators associate coach Brent Peterson.

“Messier was the best ever. There isn’t anything Toews can’t do. So good offensively, so good on faceoffs (a staggering 120-63 on the power play so the Blackhawks almost always start with the puck), so good when he doesn’t have the puck.”

OK, he doesn’t have Messier’s glower. Or his mean streak.

But Toews’s engine is always blowing hot. Just take a look at his face some time.

Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma, as good a judge of character as you’ll find, is a Malkin Man.

“He’s been maybe the best player in the league, most dominant players in the league,” Bylsma said of Malkin.

No argument there. He might win the scoring title. He’s a machine.

As for Lundqvist, he’s simply a terrific goalie. But goalies almost never win the Hart, however, because they’ve got their own trophy (the Vezina). Jose Theodore beat Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames in a countback in 2002 and Dominik Hasek did it back-to-back for the Buffalo Sabres in 1997 and ’98. But you would have to go back to Jacques Plante in ’62 to find another goalie with a Hart.

The league saves it for the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs, when everybody knows you’re only going as far as your netminder takes you in the post-season.

In Clarke’s two winning years, New York Islanders defenceman Denis Potvin and Los Angeles Kings goalie Rogie Vachon were actually runners-up. Not Orr, not Espo, not Lafleur. Lafleur won is first of two straight in ’77, with Clarke taking second.

You need a good team to win an MVP, of course. The Blackhawks are challenging the Bruins, Rangers and Red Wings for the President’s trophy this season. So Toews has that part covered. But, really, it comes down to overall excellence and calm under fire. You watch Toews on the ice. First minute, last minute.

He leads. He’s an energy giver, not an energy taker.

Flames coach Brent Sutter could be president of the Toews fan club.

“What do I like about Jonathan? Everything. Every night he comes to play, takes no nights off. That’s why his leadership is so highly regarded,” said Sutter. “He plays all three zones and he’s highly, highly competitive.

“Leadership comes natural to Jonathan. His wanting to win is huge. Everybody follows him. He also knows how to play the game.

“He’s smart and he does it at an intense level. That’s a really tough combination.”

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Hemsky for a puck mover?

Edmonton Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini is in the catbird seat as he takes calls on veteran winger Ales Hemsky.

Half the league’s looking for a top-six forward — remember 2006, when the Oilers beat out other teams to get Sergei Samsonov because they needed a second-liner?

NHL teams are loathe to surrender much for rentals because you get quantity, but not quality, in most cases.

The Oilers absolutely need a puck-moving defenceman more than they need a draft pick. And if the prospect being dangled is more than a year away from being ready for the NHL, I don’t know why they would be interested in more down-the-road stuff.

Renney and company need an NHL player right now to get the puck to Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Would the Nashville Predators give the Oilers defenceman Ryan Ellis for Hemsky? Unlikely, because Hemsky would only be a two to three-month rental. And if the Preds lose unrestricted free agent Ryan Suter in a trade, they have to keep blue-liners, don’t they?

“I think the Predators would rather have Ryan Smyth if he was available than Hemsky,” said one NHL scout, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

However, Smyth likely won’t waive his no-trade clause to go to another team at the Feb. 27 trade deadline. The Ottawa Senators might be a wild card for Hemsky. They’re buyers now that Paul MacLean is doing such a bang-up job as a first-year NHL coach.

In lieu of an offensive defenceman to move, tell them you want Brandon winger Mark Stone, the Canadian junior star. See if they bite?

This ’n’ that

If the Los Angeles Kings pitched goalie Jonathan Bernier, essentially a cheerleader for Jonathan Quick, for Oilers winger Magnus Paajarvi this summer, should the Oilers listen? Bernier’s withering on the vine in L. A. behind Quick, but he was a first-round draft pick in 2006 (11th overall). The Kings needs quicker forwards. Paajarvi looks like a top-nine guy, but top six? Not sure.

It’s no secret the Oilers have long liked Buffalo’s struggling right-winger Drew Stafford. While he could be a second-line fit if the Oilers deal Hemsky at the trade deadline, what could Edmonton give them that would definitely be a top six forward? That’s what the Sabres want. Stafford has five goals in his last 42 games (one of those against the Oilers, of course). Nugent-Hopkins, Eberle and Hall are off-limits. Stafford has had some family issues on his plate this season, which hasn’t helped things.

The Chicago Blackhawks still need a No. 4 or No. 5 defenceman. Don’t be surprised if they revisit Montreal Canadiens’ Chris Campoli, who did a nice job for them after he came over from the Ottawa Senators at the 2011 February deadline. They couldn’t afford him last summer, but he’d be a very good unrestricted free-agent rental, plus there would be no breaking-in period for Campoli, like most guys traded at the deadline. Campoli has been a healthy scratch in Montreal.

Not to rain on the parade of St. Louis Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak, but in the three shutouts he’s earned in the last four games he has faced a total of just 56 shots. He’s getting the job done, but nobody will ever say he’s overworked. Halak and Brian Elliott have nine shutouts this year, however, which is only four back of the team’s single-season record held by Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante — two of the six best goalies n history.

The Predators will likely be taking offers for Swedish goalie Anders Lindback this summer with Pekka Rinne locked up for seven years at $7 million US per season. The six-foot-six Lindback, who turns 24 in May, has the game to be an NHL starter somewhere else if you polled most scouts. “He doesn’t get a chance to play, but he can be a very good one,” said one NHL team executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Nashville’s not giving him away. They need forwards who can play now, not prospects.

The Oilers are clamouring for an offensive defenceman in a deal for Hemsky, but the Pittsburgh Penguins emphatically say Sherwood Park’s Joe Morrow, who plays for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League is not available. He was the Penguins top pick last June who almost made their team out of training camp. Blue-liner Simon Despres, Pittsburgh’s first draft pick in 2009, is also not up for grabs.

Most people believe centre Henrik Samuelsson’s draft stock will shoot up now that he’s playing major junior for the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings after he was spinning his wheels playing for his dad in MoDo, in Sweden. The six-foot-two, 190-pound kid strangely didn’t get a late invite to the NHL prospects game, but he’ll still get more scouting looks over here, especially with the Oil Kings being a Memorial Cup threat under the excellent tutelage of head coach Derek Laxdal and GM Bob Green. Samuelsson looks like a definite first-round draft now.

If Sami Salo’s healthy, the Vancouver Canucks don’t need a top-four defenceman for the playoffs. But Salo is always hurt, although this latest mishap wasn’t his fault. He was concussed by a low-bridge hit by present-day rat Brad Marchand. Alex Edler, Kevin Bieksa and Dan Hamhuis are 1, 2, 3, but Keith Ballard is on the fence as a No. 4. He’s really a 15-minute, No. 5, player who’s over-priced at $4 million. Would Tim Gleason of the Carolina Hurricanes be a rental be better than Ballard?

The San Jose Sharks have Antero Niittymaki playing with their AHL affiliate in a rehab assignment after his hip surgery, to get him some games. They’ve got two backups (Thomas Greiss is the other) and they’re looking to trade one of them.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Brodeur’s son fan of Rinne

Anthony Brodeur, son of NHL goalie Martin Brodeur, who is starring at Shattuck St. Mary’s, the prep hockey factory outside of Minneapolis, is eligible for the Ontario Hockey League draft in May, and the USHL draft.

He loves his dad, but his second favourite goalie is Predators starter Pekka Rinne.

“I had to get an autographed stick for him,” laughed Martin, who says he’d like to play another NHL season.

Would he do it in New Jersey if he only played 40 games or was the backup if they went and traded for Josh Harding or another young goalie this summer?

Capital gains?

The Washington Capitals would rather keep defenceman Jeff Schultz, who was plus-87 in his NHL career, than deal him, knowing you can never have too many of these guys at playoff time.

But new head coach Dale Hunter doesn’t like him after he was a top-four guy under former bench boss Bruce Boudreau. The feeling is that Schultz’s feet are slow and he’s not aggressive enough.

Wouldn’t be surprised if Boudreau, now head coach of the Anaheim Ducks, bends the ear of Ducks general manager Bob Murray about the six-foot-six blue-liner who has two years left on his contract at $3 million per season.

How about a second-round draft pick or a forward prospect? The Ducks may be getting another Schultz, Justin, in March if his Wisconsin Badgers don’t make the NCAA playoffs. The second-round 2008 pick is the best blue-liner in college hockey, a right-handed shooting points machine.

This ’n’ that

Mike Comrie, a father-to-be in March, who’s married to actress/singer Hilary Duff, will undergo surgery in the next 30 to 60 days to try to fix his troublesome hip. He’ll decide then if he’s going to give playing another shot. Doctors have done one procedure on the hip, but it didn’t work. Comrie has spent time this winter watching his brother, Eric, playing goal for the WHL’s powerhouse Tri-City Americans. Eric, only 16, is having a banner season.

Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman totally dismisses any talk of coach Guy Boucher’s job being in jeopardy, 18 months into his four-year deal. “The coach’s message is far from the problem here. He’s a great coach, same coach as last year. His message is work hard and be structured. The team is. It’s a non-issue,” said Yzerman. The problem in Tampa is they over-achieved last year and this year they’ve had two of their top three defencemen — Mattias Ohlund and Victor Hedman — out for long stretches. Ohlund (knee problems) may never play again. Hedman has a concussion. Moreover, some guys like Ryan Malone, Teddy Purcell and Steve Downie haven’t been anywhere near as productive as last season.

Danny Briere became the sixth Philadelphia Flyers player — Chris Pronger, Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn, James van Riemsdyk and rookie Matt Read — to get knocked out of the lineup with a concussion when Anton Volchenkov drilled him Saturday in the Flyers easy win over the Devils. Pronger’s wife, Lauren, was interviewed this week and didn’t sound very optimistic about her husband’s situation. Jaromir Jagr also re-aggravated a groin injury against the Devils with Ilya Bryzgalov stoning the Devils. Sources say Flyers GM Paul Holmgren and his bosses aren’t anywhere near as antsy about Bryzgalov’s play in 2011-12 than the fans are.

The New York Rangers will be looking to unload winger Wojtek Wolski at the deadline if anybody needs a top-nine forward who has the tools, but doesn’t look in the tool box nearly enough. He’s got talent, nice shot, long reach, but doesn’t work hard enough. Plus, he has a cap hit of $3.8 million.

The Hurricanes off-loaded one of their unrestricted free agents, winger Alexei Ponikarovsky, to the Devils and saved $632,000 in the process. Players likely still to be dealt include Tuomo Ruutu, Tim Gleason, Jaro Spacek and Bryan Allen. Ponikarovsky is a big player, but his history suggests he leaves coaches wanting more. Since the Devils are in major financial trouble, with unconfirmed reports the NHL may lend them money to meet payroll, did they run this deal thorough the league first to add some salary?

It might be an idea to include Rangers head coach John Tortorella in any coach-of-the-year discussion. I’ve become a believer in the Rangers. They have a heck of a goalie in Henrik Lundqvist, an iron-tight defence led by the hugely underrated Dan Girardi and just enough scoring to win games. They’re looking for one more offensive piece in the bottom six. Don’t be surprised if they deal for Columbus Blue Jackets forward Vinny Prospal at the deadline.

By the numbers

17: Avalanche lead the NHL with that many one-goal wins.

0: The Bruins are the only team in the league that hasn’t given up a short-handed goal this season.

12: The Senators have a dozen players with at least one game-winning goal. Zack Smith and Bobby Butler lead with three.

He Said It

“I always tell the story that when two guys would be jumping on Mario’s back, I followed up and put in a couple of his rebounds.”

Montreal Canadiens head coach Randy Cunneyworth, on his four years playing for the Penguins and Mario Lemieux

Matty’s Short Shifts

Defenceman Shea Weber is on everybody’s top-five Norris Trophy list of candidates, but there are some who think the Predators captain needs Ryan Suter a shade more than the other way around. It’s personal preference; blue suit vs. black suit. Weber is more physical and has that bomb for a shot. Suter, who’s out with an upper-body (possibly a shoulder) injury makes every play out of his end look pretty easy. To me, Suter is the most underrated player in the game. He won’t sign a new deal in Nashville unless they show him they’re adding pieces at the deadline, and that might not be enough.

Forget any talk of the Detroit Red Wings being interested in Buffalo Sabres struggling goalie Ryan Miller, even if he went to Michigan State. Jimmy Howard is better. The Wings might not be totally sold on backup Ty Conklin, but Conklin has been sharper the last little while.

Sean Couturier is proving what everybody thought at last June’s draft: He never should have fallen to No. 8 to the Flyers. He’s going to be Philadelphia’s No. 2 centre behind Giroux when Briere’s $6.5-million-a-year salary-cap hit deal ends in 2014-15). When it comes to getting centres, you can only draft them. Most teams (OK, the Boston Bruins moved Jumbo Joe to the San Jose Sharks) don’t trade you a centre. I keep hearing the Flyers refuse to include their other young centre Schenn in any deals for Ryan Suter. If so, why? I also hear the Predators aren’t falling all over themselves to get van Riemsdyk, even if he was healthy, in any Suter trade if they can’t sign him. They would rather have winger Wayne Simmonds.

The Buffalo Sabres don’t seem to have learned their lesson when one of their own gets drilled. They were ripped when they didn’t come to Miller’s aid after Milan Lucic ran him over. And next time they met Paul Gaustad, who’s big, but not much of a fighter, got tuned in by Lucic. So what happens in Chicago on Wednesday? Blackhawks winger Jamal Mayers plows into Gaustad, who looks like he hurts his shoulder, and I didn’t see anybody coming to his defence. This is a Sabres team that’s hurting, but also playing on autopilot. Nobody scores unless it’s Jason Pominville or Thomas Vanek.

If Hal Gill’s on the outs in Montreal — when he plays it’s often under 10 minutes — there will be plenty of contenders who’ll take a run at him at the deadline. There’s already lots of talk of Gill going to Nashville, along with Andrei Kostitsyn, so A.K. can play with his brother, Sergei. Andrei is one of those players who drives coaches nuts — you never know when he feels like playing. The other night he had a half-hearted backchecking play against the Capitals that resulted in a Washington goal. The Preds have prospects — Zac Budish at the University of Minnesota or Austin Watson — playing junior in the OHL.

Every time I see second-line centre Ryan O’Reilly on TV or playing the Oilers, he’s doing something right. That was a great second-round draft pick by the Colorado Avalanche in 2009. To me, he’s their best player, game in and game out. He has captain written all over him, in short order.

What do you think teams will be offering unrestricted free agent Dustin Penner this summer? Twenty-five cents on the dollar off this year’s $4.25 million? He’s got the same three goals as Matt Greene, the ultimate defensive defender. Word is coach Darryl Sutter is taking the kinder, gentler approach with the big guy — at least so far.

Nice to see Gilbert Brule scoring goals in Phoenix. He’s a good kid who just has to figure where he fits in on a hockey team. There’s never been any questions about his work habits. He could play on my team ahead of a lot of players in this league — as long as he starts to think the game a shade better.

Funny how people’s perceptions change. P.A. Parenteau kicked around the NHL fringes for years. He’s not aggressive and possesses average speed, scouts have said But then the New York Islanders signed him in 2012 and suddenly he’s a hot item at the deadline because he’s unrestricted, soon to be 29-year-old free-agent winger. He played 442 minor-league games before really catching on with the Islanders. Anybody getting him has to know one thing: He’s a passer, not a shooter.

John Tavares comes of age to give Islanders hope

James Mirtle, Globe and Mail, Jan. 23, 2012


The one statistic, in a nutshell, explains the evolution of John Tavares as an NHL player.

In Year 1 he finished tied for 76th in league scoring as a 19-year-old. Then, as a sophomore last season, he jumped up into a tie for 28th.

This year, however, is Tavares’s coming-out party. He is on another level, with a recent hot streak putting him all the way up in 12th in scoring and on pace for 86 points entering Monday’s meeting with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It may have taken him all of 208 NHL games to get here, but it’s safe to say that Tavares has entered superstar territory, at 21.

And not one person in the New York Islanders’ organization is surprised.

“He’s put his team on his back, similar to what’s happening in Pittsburgh right now with [Evgeni] Malkin,” Isles coach Jack Capuano said. “Those guys are doing a lot for their teams right now. Hopefully Johnny can continue that and other guys can feed off him.”

“You can tell that he’s getting better every year,” captain Mark Streit added. “His dedication is huge, and his work ethic is great as well. So he got stronger. He got faster. It’s all paying off.”

That’s the case in more ways than one, with Tavares landing a spot in his first all-star game this weekend in Ottawa just one sign of what’s likely to come.

More significantly, back in September before training camp opened, Tavares signed a six-year, $33-million (all currency U.S.) contract extension that runs until 2018 and eats into one year of unrestricted free agency.

The move surprised some in the hockey world, given he had locked in for so long with an organization that has had its fair share of off-ice turmoil, but it was the sort of commitment the team’s battered fan base had been longing for.

After years of losing seasons, low attendance and watching stars leave town or refuse to come at all, Tavares had made it clear he wanted to help.

Even without a new arena development to replace outdated Nassau Coliseum and uncertainty over the franchise’s long-term future, Islanders fans now point to the youngster from Oakville, Ont., and his loyalty to the organization as their main source of hope.

“As a diehard Isles fan, that contract extension was like years of sorrow being swept away,” Michael Brady wrote on Twitter this week. “A tremendous relief and a new beginning.”

Tavares further endears himself to the Isles’ faithful when he talks about the franchise in a positive light, something he did several times Monday during 20 minutes of taking questions in Toronto.

“It’s pretty special for me to be there and represent the Islanders,” he said of the all-star game nod at one point. “I’m really proud of that.”

His teammates talk about a player who has grown up, going from a boy to a man in two-and-a-half seasons while playing in circumstances where wins have been hard to come by.

“At first when he came in, he was really quiet,” Streit said. “Pretty shy. He was just, you know, 18. A young kid. He came in and didn’t say a lot. You couldn’t really joke around with him.

“Now, it’s a whole different story. He grew as a player; he grew as a person. He’s joking around, and he’s got a great personality.”

Not that everything is ever sunshine with the Islanders. Even after a run of respectability since Christmas, they remain near the Eastern Conference basement, a spot they’ve occupied often in missing the postseason the past four consecutive years.

Beyond Tavares, Streit and a few successful reclamation projects like Matt Moulson and P.A. Parenteau, New York lacks depth more than anything, in part due to their league-low $49.8-million payroll.

Now that they have their main attraction and that face of the franchise has grown up, the only question remains: Can they surround him with enough talent to win?

Or is the wait simply on until the team’s lease expires in 2015 and the arena discussion comes to a head?

Zednik survives collapsing roof: The former NHLer was on the ice in Námestovo, Slovakia moments before the roof collapsed.

Sportsnet Staff, January 24, 2012


It was a close call for Richard Zednik.

In a report Monday, the former NHLer was on the ice in Námestovo, Slovakia training with some young hockey players moments before the roof of the arena collapsed. The ice rink couldn't support the weight of snow, causing the roof to cave in.

The video shows Zednik taking shots on the goaltender and a few seconds later the roof of the building begins to collapse as the players are just getting off the ice.

Zednik played 745 games, amassing 379 points over 13 seasons with the Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders and Florida Panthers.

He is most notable for sustaining and surviving a life-threatening injury during a February 2008 game between the Panthers and the Sabres in which Olli Jokinen's skate sliced his external carotid artery.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2012/01/24/zednik_report/

Future with Oilers doesn't obsess Renney

ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI, QMI Agency, Jan 24 2012



EDMONTON - With five wins in 25 games and just a few months left on his contract, it’s been obvious for weeks that Tom Renney is on the hot seat.

But not so obvious that it enters into his daily thinking.

“I’m not worried about that,” said the Oilers coach. “I can’t be. I’m not one of those guys to dwell on my own circumstances or put it in the forefront or worry about it so it gets in the way of my job. I think that’s counterproductive.

“I’m going to do my job, I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’ll just keep going until somebody says OK, hand in the keys.”

The record is pretty grim, but on a rebuilding team decimated by injury, he says his performance shouldn’t be judged entirely on wins and losses.

“You always hope that the commitment you give your players is reciprocated,” said Renney. “Day in and day out as a coaching staff we lay it on the line, we work our butts off and all you can ask them for is to reciprocate that. And I think this team does that. It might not look like it in the results, but in terms of effort, outside of a handful of games, they’ve done that.

“You have to measure anybody’s coaching success through that as much as anything, especially when you’re having tough times.”

YOU CALL THAT A SLUMP?

One team’s slump is another team’s streak.

The Edmonton Oilers would kill for San Jose’s record over the last six games (3-3), but it’s cause for alarm in San Jose.

“It’s funny how things get spun around,” said defenceman Dan Boyle. “Five games ago we had one of the best records in the league.”

They still do, but losing three of four games before arriving in Edmonton has everyone asking “What’s wrong?”

There’s no panic, though. Having gone deep in the playoffs — just not deep enough — several years in a row, the Sharks have come to realize that championships are not won in January.

“What’s important is that we don’t open up the newspaper and look at where we stand,” said head coach Todd McClellan. “But that we open up our play book and look at how we’re playing. That’s the most important thing.”

HELP WANTED

When a team is struggling badly and small up front, like the Oilers, the door is wide open for a 215-pound winger with half-decent hands … if he wants it badly enough.

And Teemu Hartikainen says he does.

“Yeah, of course,” he said. “If you can shine over here, show good things and help the team win the games, that’s a plus for you. You can take a spot. It’s an opportunity for me

“I want to bring more physical stuff, go hard to the net, simple things. The kind of things I did last year when I played here.”

It might make sense to keep him here for the rest of the season, give him a chance to grow now that the season is lost, but Renney says the team will play it by ear.

“We’re going to give him an opportunity to play a couple of games here,” said the coach. “He’s certainly one of those guys who’s symbolic of our future, the type of people we have to have in our lineup to establish any type of presence.”

ANALYZE THIS

Lennart Petrell, part of the Oklahoma City Airlift, is back for his second tour with the Oilers. He admits going from a first-place team in the AHL to a last-place team in the NHL is a shock on a lot of different levels.

“I’m happy to be back here, but the team is struggling a bit, so kind of mixed feelings,” he said, adding he wants to make the most of this stretch. “I need to work harder … obviously the whole team needs to work harder to get the points we need.”

EAGER OUT

Renney made Ben Eager a healthy scratch against his old team, a humbling decision for any player.

“There are just some parts of his game that he has to improve on,” said Renney.

Eager has five goals this season, as many or more than several players playing ahead of him in the lineup, but he still takes too many shifts, and games, off. He’s a guy who needs to be finishing every check, regardless of how many minutes he’s getting a night.

RYANS NOPE

Remember at the start of the year, when guys named Ryan seemed to be scoring every single Oilers goal? Well, Smyth has one in 10 games, Jones has none in 12 and Nugent-Hopkins and Whitney are out with injuries. With two assists in 12 games heading into Monday night, Jones is bone dry right now. He’s trying, but not accomplishing much.

“Good intentions? There’s not a player on the ice who doesn’t have those,” said Renney. “But there is a point where execution is critical. And engaging yourself physically is important. Ryan has to look for consistency in those two areas.”

Passing on preps to skate in Canada

DAVID La VAQUE, Minn. Star Tribune, January 23, 2012


Marie Corbett expected to spend this winter watching her son, Cody, captain the Stillwater High School hockey team.

Instead, she brings her laptop to a nearby McDonald's or her mother's house to get Internet access and watch webcasts of Cody's games from Canadian cities such as Edmonton, Calgary or Red Deer.

Cody Corbett is one of three Minnesota high school players who left school this year to play for Canadian major junior hockey leagues and what they believe is a better ticket to a professional hockey career.

Ben Walker passed on captaining Edina's team as a senior. Travis Wood left Hill- Murray after his freshman season.

They are adjusting to a faster, more skilled brand of hockey, playing with and against others who have signed NHL contracts. Back home they would be competing against many players whose hockey careers will not exceed the varsity level.

Such departures have been rare in Minnesota, where most top hockey stars head to Division I colleges after high school, the U.S. Hockey League or the National Team Development Program. Even Holy Angels defenseman Erik Johnson, the No. 1 pick in the 2006 NHL draft, postponed joining the pro ranks to play one season with the Gophers.

Cody Corbett's interest in major junior hockey left his mother "upset for at least three days because I had it in my mind like every other parent, you go to college," she said.

In part because they are being paid, however, the three playing this year in Canada have lost their NCAA eligibility.

But they also know that of the 211 players selected in the 2011 NHL draft, 101 came from teams in major junior leagues.

"It's time to let players know there are other options beyond Division I hockey at Minnesota," said Tyler Boldt, manager of player development and recruitment for the Western Hockey League.

His league promotes its on-ice development of players as well as a scholarship program for those who do not sign a professional contract.

Putting college on hold

Marie Corbett thought her son would lead the Ponies as a senior defenseman under the tutelage of Ponies coach and former NHL standout defenseman Phil Housley. Wisconsin and Minnesota State Mankato were showing interest.

But Cody weighed other factors. Draft-eligible in 2012, Corbett wanted to elevate his profile. As for playing college hockey, Corbett admitted his "grades weren't exactly top-notch."

Parents and the former high school coaches of all three players agree, as Marie Corbett said, "not everybody wants to go to college right out of high school."

Should the players' professional hockey dreams fall short, they can access college scholarships funds through the leagues. For every year of service, players receive a one-year scholarship, including tuition, textbooks and related fees, to a post-secondary institution of their choice. Players who sign professional contracts forfeit their scholarship.

Since 1993, the Western Hockey League, where Corbett and Walker play, has awarded more than 4,300 scholarships to graduate players, funded by a contribution of more than $13.5 million from the league's clubs.

"The scholarship program cancels the education argument," Boldt said. "Now we can talk hockey."

'Day and night hockey'

Corbett plays for Edmonton, Walker for Victoria. One of three major junior leagues making up the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL is where all Minnesota residents are geographically obligated to play. Wood, from Hudson, Wis., plays forward/defense for the Pennsylvania-based Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League. The third league is the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Players receive a monthly stipend from about $180 to $600 depending on their age.

The arrangement is different for Mario Lucia, son of Gophers coach Don Lucia, who plays for Penticton of the British Columbia Hockey League. Players there maintain NCAA eligibility because they do not receive cash allowances above room and board.

Walker, who gave up playing with his younger brother, Jack, said, "Up here, everybody can skate and everyone has some size to them."

Teams play more than 70 regular-season games, roughly three per week, from late September to mid-March. Games are 60 minutes. And players typically train before and after school during the week.

"It's not the easy way out," Marie Corbett said. "The easy way out is to be the headliner here at your high school and play 25 games and not have to work out so hard."

Corbett, Walker and Wood joined their teams at different points of the season, but all are earning consistent ice time. Through last week, Wood has played in all 45 games for Erie.

Different lifestyles brings challenges, such as getting to know new teammates and enduring long bus rides. The teenagers live with billet families; Walker did his own laundry for the first time.

Their focus remains on the rink.

"Day and night it's just hockey," Wood said.

Local concerns

Local high school coaches question the need to invest in major junior hockey, especially at the price of one's NCAA eligibility.

In conversations with Corbett, Housley said he "tried to sell him on being a captain and being the guy everyone is leaning on. At the next level, you're one of many players and you might not get that opportunity."

Edina coach Curt Giles and Hill-Murray coach Bill Lechner said they never had the opportunity to offer their players any input.

"We believe we have a program that will support a kid with a dream anywhere from playing high school hockey to going to the NHL," Lechner said.

Giles, who grew up in Manitoba and later played college hockey at Minnesota Duluth and professionally for the North Stars, does not worry about high school hockey diminishing but noted: "Major junior teams are starting to recognize some of the quality players in high school."

Defections to Canada likely hit Duluth East coach Mike Randolph hardest of all. He lost four players in six seasons from 1996 to 2002. But he downplayed any talk of high school hockey's date with the wrecking ball, saying "I don't think anything will kill high school hockey."

"It's the reality of where sports are at and where parents are at," Randolph said. "The more you try to fight it, the more frustrated you get. You worry about the kids you have and wish those who leave the best."

On a day for team, Thomas left them shorthanded

Kevin Paul Dupont, Boston.com, January 24, 2012



Tim Thomas separated himself from his Bruins’ teammates yesterday afternoon when he refused to join them at the White House, a day meant to celebrate their 2011 Stanley Cup championship.

The two-time Vezina Trophy winner later in the day issued a statement, released by nhl.com and on Thomas’s Facebook page just after 6 p.m., noting his disillusionment with the United States government and offering that as his reason not to stand with his team.

“I believe the federal government has grown out of control,’’ he stated, “threatening the rights, liberties, and property of the people.’’

We must all celebrate that Thomas, born in Flint, Mich., nearly 38 years ago, has the right to say all of that and more, and we’ve grown accustomed to hearing near-identical dogma from the right wing/conservative/Tea Party end of our political spectrum for the last 2-3 years. He is a free man, living in a free country, and he can sing that blatherall from his hotel room, his crease, and the corner of Causeway and Staniford if he so chooses.

As a country, we’re not yet so deep in the handbasket that any of us has been denied that right. Thankfully.

But yesterday was not about politics and government until Thomas made it about politics and government. The day, long set on the calendar, was a day when the Boston Bruins were asked to visit Pennsylvania Avenue to celebrate what they did as a team last season. It was their day in the national spotlight, until Thomas didn’t show, and then the focal point became, much the way it would be in a hockey game, on the guy who was no longer standing in goal.

Shabby. Immature. Unprofessional. Self-centered. Bush league. Need I go on? All that and more applies to what Thomas did, on a day when Cup teammates Mark Recchi (now retired), Shane Hnidy (a radio guy these days in Winnipeg), and Tomas Kaberle (a member of some Original Six team in Canada), all gladly joined the red-white-blue-black-and-gold hugfest at the White House.

Thomas needed to be there in solidarity, and celebration, with his team. It was the same government yesterday, and will be today, that protected his country, his security, his family, and his right to make $5 million a year, all last season. In his absence, he stole his teammates’ spotlight. Win as a team. Lose as a team. And when asked to stand up and take a bow, then stand up there and suffer if need be, even if you don’t like the setting, the host, or any of the political trappings and tenets that come with it.

Team guys don’t opt out of team meetings or celebrations. Tyler Seguin goofed up earlier this season, missed a team breakfast and X-and-O session in Winnipeg, and found himself sitting in the press box that night. The importance of being on time, being present, was made clear to the 19-year-old winger. There’s no way for coach Claude Julien or GM Peter Chiarelli to do it, but their 37-year-old goalie is in need of the same kind of reminder.

Not a lot has changed in the US over the last two years, although it appears the economic picture is brightening at least a little bit, despite those in charge of our various governmental nuthouses. Unemployment has eased some and the Dow Jones industrial average has improved considerably. Politically, our nation is a mess, but the material Property of the People at least seems to be getting better. Not every house in the Lower 48 is up for short sale.

If Thomas is feeling the way he is today, it could not have happened overnight. He must have felt much the same just shy of 24 months ago when he sounded so proud to wear that Team USA sweater at the 2010 Olympics, and so proudly dipped his head to accept that silver medal. Or was he doing all of that under governmental duress, the pain of knowing our leaders were acting, as he wrote yesterday, “in direct opposition of the Constitution and the Founding Fathers’ vision of the Federal government.’’

Someone so disgusted with our government ought to turn in the sweater and the medal. It must be a horrible burden, if not a pox, to have them in his house.

Thomas didn’t need to issue a written statement yesterday, not when he could have made one by showing up at the White House and quietly picking his moment to utter a few simple words of disappointment to President Obama.

How easy, how far more courageous and honorable, it would have been to say, “Hi, I’m Tim Thomas, and I appreciate the fact my team was invited here today. I don’t like what’s going on in this country. I’m not the least bit impressed with your leadership. But I am proud of what we did, I’m proud to be an American, proud to be a Boston Bruin, and I’d like to see everyone in the government do a better job of adhering to the Constitution. Oh, and I’ve got a question for you about power plays … ’’

There isn’t a lot of that kind of honesty or directness in our country anymore. Rather than walk up to people in charge, most of whom don’t make themselves available anyway, we settle for silly ways to convey our point. We e-mail. We tweet. We drop a dime to a local newspaper reporter. We talk to the fifth in command, who we hope has the brass to talk to the fourth in command, who … well, it just seems we rarely get the chance to say what we really want to say, and say it directly to someone who counts.

Tim Thomas yesterday had a chance to tell the leader of the free world what he thinks it means to be an American today. Not just any American, mind you, but an Olympian, a multimillionaire, a hero in the city where he works, and a member of a championship team that has been a source of joy (and sorrow, too) to millions of Bostonians for nearly a century.

Instead, Thomas took his pads and blocker to another end of town and issued his statement. He could have talked to the president. Instead, he mailed one in from the pizza stand. I think he missed his chance. I think he missed the point of the day. I think he mistreated teammates.

And if I’m right, I think in the days ahead he’ll hear a voice of America representative of a people, many who are equally fed up with government today, who believe he simply should have showed up for his team, respectfully said what he had to say, and gone back to living a pretty good life. In America.