Here is a website: "The Science of NHL Hockey", which shows the science behind the game.
www.nbclearn.com/portal/site/learn/science-of-nhl-hockey
Bassin 'strips 'er down' for shot at 3rd Memorial Cup:
Longtime junior hockey executive rebuilding OHL Otters through trades, draft
Doug Harrison, CBC Sports, Jan 30, 2012
It’s early in the season and another losing, injury filled month for Sherry Bassin’s Erie Otters and time for the longtime junior hockey executive to make a critical decision about the team’s future.
Hang tough with a group of hard-working Ontario Hockey League players coming off a 40-win season, or sell off a number of assets and reload?
If you know Bassin, or just a fraction of his 30-plus year history in the league, he has a knack for getting teams back on their feet and building a winning program.
So, the Otters’ 72-year-old general manager and majority owner went to work on Oct. 31 with his team in a 2-12 funk, dealing centre Brett Thompson to the Sarnia Sting for a 2012 third-round draft pick and a second-rounder in 2013.
Five trades followed leading up to the Jan. 10 OHL trade deadline with Bassin accumulating nine picks and four players in the process. Six of those picks will be made in 2014 and beyond.
“We had some real serious injuries and made a decision to go with a real young team,” Bassin said in a telephone conversation from his Pennsylvania office. “It’s just hard to watch what you’re going through. When you’re playing five, six 16-year-olds at a time and 14 rookies, it’s tough.”
The Otters occupied last place in the OHL and Canadian Hockey League at 6-37-4 through Jan. 29, putting them on track to shatter the 16-year-old franchise’s single-season record of futility (15 wins in 2006-07) and on pace for one of the worst marks in the OHL’s 36-year modern era.
A positive outlook to the season — Erie’s 40 victories a year ago was its most productive season since 2002 — took a dramatic turn with a series of injuries to top players.
It started in September when defenceman Adam Pelech, who’s in his National Hockey League draft year, fractured his wrist. Left-winger Connor Crisp (shoulder surgery), top centre Mike Cazzola (fractured hand) and Thompson (flu, initially feared to be mononucleosis) also went down, followed by defencemen Brett Cook (bruised knee ligament) and Kris Grant (concussion).
“We’ve had 13 or 15 [injuries],” Bassin said, “but excuses only satisfy those who make them. When we got into that [losing] spiral that’s when I said, ‘Hey, let’s be realistic [about our prospects for this season].’
‘Good people’
“Now that we’ve chosen this route with these young people, how soon are they going to be ready to win? That’s what we have to evaluate. Who’s going to be part of it? We’ve got some good people in our system, so we really have to do some self-analysis here. … What am I doing to make this better? Is it enough?
It was enough in the late 1980s when Bassin ran the show in Oshawa, Ont., where he guided the Generals to first place in the Leyden Division with a 49-win, 101-point campaign in ’87. They fell to fifth the next season with 67 points, only to have Bassin build things back up.
“I said, “Boys, we’re gonna strip ’er down,’” Bassin said of the rebuilding process. “It’s never fun, but if you have the right vision and providing you do the right things, you get pretty good results, in time, but it doesn’t feel like that when you’re going through it.”
In each of the next three seasons, the Generals finished no worse than second in the division, highlighted by OHL and Memorial Cup championships in ’90 after Bassin left mid-season to save the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds program.
With the ‘Hounds in the midst of a second straight losing campaign and up for sale, Bassin was able to persuade his fellow OHL governors to change a rule that prohibited teams from trading their first-round selections.
He then used his connections in Oshawa, moving highly touted forward Eric Lindros to the Generals for right-wingers Mike DeCoff and Jason Denomme along with goalie Mike Lenarduzzi, two second-round picks in ’90 and ’91, and $80,000.
“He made the Lindros trade and built that [Greyhounds] team into three championship teams,” Brampton Battalion head coach and director of hockey operations Stan Butler said of Bassin, referring to the Soo’s OHL titles in 1991 and ’92 and Memorial Cup victory in ’93.
“He’s a guy that when he puts his mind to something, I think his peers around the league feel there’s a very good chance that he’s going to be able to pull it off.”
Good feedback
In Erie, Bassin said, feedback from the new players has been positive, noting centre Dane Fox and defenceman Troy Donnay — formerly of the London Knights — “couldn’t say enough” about Otters bench boss Robbie Ftorek, who has managed to outlast seven NHL head coaches this season.
Ftorek arrived during the 2007-08 season, replacing current assistant coach Peter Sidorkiewicz. Erie went 18-46-4 that season, but put together three consecutive winning records and playoff appearances prior to 2011-12.
“This isn’t finger-pointing time. You don’t become a bad coach all of a sudden,” Bassin said, adding “he has no reason to believe” Ftorek wouldn’t start next season behind the Otters bench. “He’s highly principled, a real good teacher and nobody outworks him. Let’s give him the tools to build a house here.”
'The kids we’re picking, we better know if the nurse dropped them when they were born because we pre-determined this is how we want to build it.'— Sherry Bassin on Erie's preparation for OHL draft
A key component of the rebuild is this spring’s OHL draft. Bassin will look to replenish the Otters’ system after dealing four of his past eight first-round picks early in their OHL careers and either trading or releasing five of his top seven selections from the 2009 draft.
Bassin said the Otters are in position to draft a franchise player, with many OHL observers believing Toronto Marlboros AAA minor midget centre Josh Ho-Sang could be calling Erie his new hockey home. The Hockey News described Ho-Sang, 15, as having “game-breaking speed and explosive puck skills.” In his first 30 games this season, he had 30 goals and 73 points.
“The kids we’re picking, we better know if the nurse dropped them when they were born,” Bassin said, “because we pre-determined this is how we want to build it.”
The father of three has told his scouting staff to prepare for a lot of pre-draft meetings and not bother with generalities when sharing information on prospects.
“They better know specifics … and I told them, ‘You better justify it, not just say a guy’s a real good player.’ You better justify why he should be ahead of somebody else [in the draft order] or why somebody else should be behind somebody else. You better be dissective.”
For now, Bassin will watch his young group gain a ton of experience — “we don’t need shaving cream when we go on the road” — and hope they hate every minute of the team’s rebuild.
“People are making fun of us,” he said. “They have our visit circled on the calendar and are looking forward to our bus coming to town. I tell my boys: ‘There’s going to come a time when they’re not going to like that bus comin’.’
“A lot of guys are happy because they make the playoffs. I want to make more than the playoffs here before I come and sit beside you with a season ticket. The object is to win the big one. I’ve been there a number of times and I want to go one more."
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Delegate wisely, expect a lot: Bassin
Sherry Bassin’s hard lesson learned nearly a decade ago now serves as good advice for fellow Ontario Hockey League general managers.
Nine years ago Bassin, who’s also majority owner of the Erie Otters, was pulled away from the team frequently by visits to his seriously ill daughter Zalena, who was fighting for her life in a Las Vegas hospital with bladder cancer and an aggressive case of Crohn’s disease.
At the time, Bassin, a tireless worker, didn’t give much thought to handing off some of his GM duties to someone else in management, so he often multi-tasked.
He now realizes how much of a mistake that was, considering the Otters endured six straight poor to middling seasons after capturing the OHL championship in 2002.
“I didn’t delegate properly,” Bassin told CBCSports.ca. “I didn’t give the team proper attention. We got ourselves into holes and with my experience I should have recognized it. I should have done something. The hockey team’s my family, too.
“Delegate wisely and expect a lot,” he said. “That’s the secret.”
The good news is Zalena is cancer-free.
“She has aggressive Crohn’s now but her problems are not life-threatening. It’s just not a good quality of life,” Bassin said.
Bassin, 72, expects a lot of himself and his staff after hearing whispers from critics that he’s old and the game has passed him by.
“The great mumblers of the world,” said Bassin, who grew up in Semans, Sask. “They’re entitled to their thoughts. It just makes me more determined.”
Bassin is so determined that Erie’s trying season has pushed him further away from retirement. The Otters are in full rebuild mode following a series of trades, with Bassin looking to one day add a third Memorial Cup championship to his name.
To help him achieve his goal in quick fashion and stay a step ahead of his competitors, Bassin is reading The Two-Second Advantage, which explains how companies, with the use of a new generation of predictive technology, will have the ability in the near future to anticipate customer needs before customers even know what they want.
“Geographically, we’re challenged when it comes to scouting Toronto kids [for the OHL draft],” Bassin said, “but let’s not make an excuse. Let’s find out how we’re going to get it done.”
Perhaps delegating is at the top of the list.
— Doug Harrison, CBC Sports
Cherry: Battle with Burke 'sad'
TIM BAINES, QMI Agency, Jan 30 2012
OTTAWA - Brian Burke is waging a war against Don Cherry.
But Cherry, the co-host of Hockey Night in Canada’s Coach’s Corner, doesn’t understand why the missiles are being launched from Leafland.
It’s a shame, really. Cherry loves the Maple Leafs. And he says he used to be good buddies with the GM.
Burke is steamed with Cherry for frequent criticism of Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson ... so ticked off that sources say he is considering airing his beefs with CBC.
“I like Brian Burke. I have nothing against Brian Burke,” said Cherry in an exclusive sit-down interview with the Ottawa Sun on Saturday. “But Brian Burke doesn’t like me. That’s the sad thing. We used to be the best of friends. I used to get St. Patrick’s Day cards from him ... no more.
“Brian Burke does not like what I say about the Leafs. But what am I supposed to say about them? They haven’t made the playoffs in (seven) years. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I guess he doesn’t like it. But I am what I am.”
The Burke rants are kind of puzzling for Cherry, never afraid to air out his beefs on-air.
“The Leafs are my favourite team outside of the Boston Bruins. I wear Leaf ties and I wear Leaf cufflinks. I get letters that I’m too pro-Leaf. Ask anybody in Ottawa if I’m anti-Leaf. They’ll say: ‘Are you nuts?’
“(Burke) doesn’t get criticized and I tell it like it is.”
Cherry has little respect for Wilson, a guy he has called Napoleon.
“I don’t like him. I don’t like the way he treats the players ... like (Nazem) Kadri, he’s my favourite kid,” he said. “I don’t think (Wilson) respects them. When some reporter reads this, he’ll go to a player and ask: ‘What do you think of Ron Wilson?’ What do you think the kid is going to say? I don’t like the way he throws his players under the bus.”
Cherry says his opinions aren’t ill-informed.
“A lot of guys know more about hockey than me, but nobody knows hockey more than me,” he said. “I know what I’m talking about. I want (the Leafs) to get to the playoffs. And I say that as a season-ticket holder.”
And is he worried about Burke whispering in the CBC’s ear?
“I’ve been around a long time,” said Cherry, 77. “I’ve seen a lot of people come and go. And as I said to (former executive director of CBC Sports) Nancy Lee: ‘We’ll see.’ If they came to me and said: ‘Don, you’re fired,’ I told my wife to be prepared. Someday it’s going to be over.”
Agent doesn't deny Crosby's miffed
BRUCE GARRIOCH, QMI Agency, Jan 30 2012
OTTAWA - As the NHL all-stars went their separate ways after Sunday’s spectacle at Scotiabank Place, the hockey world’s focus will turn to Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby.
Will Sid the Kid play again this season?
After it was revealed late Saturday night that Crosby also had a broken bone in his neck, along with a concussion, the NHL will be waiting on pins and needles for the news coming out of Pittsburgh as teams return to practice Monday.
Penguins GM Ray Shero told reporters Saturday he’ll sit down with doctors, look at reports from a recent visit to a spinal specialist in Los Angeles, and then make a decision on what the best course of action will be.
It will be interesting to watch because a report on Rogers Sportsnet revealed Crosby isn’t happy with the Penguins doctors, and his agent, Pat Brisson, didn’t deny it during a discussion with reporters after the game.
“I’ve always been behind Sid,” said Pittsburgh D Kris Letang. “I’ve had the same kind of problem. The only thing I wish is that he’ll get better.”
The whole hockey world is waiting to see if that happens.
THIS’ N’ THAT
Senators owner Eugene Melnyk would like to see another team in Canada, but only if it makes economic sense. “Would I like to see more Canadian teams? Absolutely. What you don’t want to do is set up a Canadian team and set it up for failure,” said Melnyk. “That’s horrible for the fans in that city to go through those struggles. People know what happened here when there was a question whether the team would stay or not. It’s very painful for parents to see their children watch their superstars walk out the door.” ... Don’t think Boston G Tim Thomas is going to get moved just because he didn’t go to the White House with his teammates last week. Yes, his no-movement clause expires July 1, but as long as he’s stopping the puck, he’s going to be with the Bruins.
OFF THE GLASS
Should the Canadiens go shopping at the deadline — and they haven’t decided whether they’re a buyer or seller — then GM Pierre Gauthier is going to be looking for a big centre. The issue: There aren’t many on the market. There was talk of the Habs having interest in Buffalo’s Derek Roy, but at 5-foot-8 and 190 pounds, he’s not an answer to the problems ... Since it looks like Nashville Ds Ryan Suter and Shea Weber aren’t going to be moved at the deadline, the Flyers are going to have to turn their attention elsewhere to get a replacement for the injured Chris Pronger. GM Paul Holmgren will certainly take any one of the three Carolina D-men being shopped: Tim Gleason, Bryan Allen or Jaroslav Spacek.
AROUND THE BOARDS
Columbus GM Scott Howson has been strangely quiet. The Blue Jackets are expected to start tearing things down with the club hopelessly out of the playoff race. There will be interest in C Jeff Carter, but it’s going to be difficult to move his contract at the deadline. It makes more sense for a deal like that to happen in the summer ... Leafs GM Brian Burke wants to add a centre and the talk Sunday was he’d like to get it done in the next 48 hours. Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu is a possibility, but the asking price is still high.
Oilers: The Next Generation
TERRY JONES, QMI Agency, Jan 30 2012
Oklahoma City Barons head coach Todd Nelson has brought a winning attitude to the Edmonton Oilers AHL farm team.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Is the next Oilers head coach here?
Or the next Edmonton general manager, too?
Or both?
Steve Tambellini, as first reported in the Edmonton Sun, is expected to be extended for another year or two as general manager. And Tom Renney will likely get a similar extension as coach if the Oilers return and play the way the team did for him in the last two games after the players contemplated the concept of him coaching from the edge of a cliff for the rest of the season.
But the Oilers aren’t just growing their own future players on the farm.
“The Oilers are developing everybody here. Coaches. Trainers. Everybody,” said GM Bill Scott.
“I think it’s an exciting time for Oilers hockey. The talent for the future coming into the system is very strong. I’m very excited to be part of the rebuilding process,” said coach Todd Nelson of what he sees as an excellent situation to develop himself into a future NHL coach.
“I think it’s a fantastic situation to grow with a real opportunity to succeed here.
“The staff here is phenomenal. I have two assistant coaches and a GM who are up and comers.
“We’re no different than the players. We’re all young.”
Nelson is 42.
Assistant coaches Gerry Fleming and Rocky Thompson are 45 and 34 respectively.
And GM Scott is 31.
“Todd has been successful wherever he’s been,” said Scott. “He won two championships with Muskegon. He won another with John Anderson with the Chicago Wolves. He expects to win and does it. He has a lot of credibility in the room.”
Nelson coached the Barons to a 40-29-11 record last year and has his team first overall in the 30-team American Hockey League with a 39-11-5 record this year as he headed to coach the Western Conference team in the All-star Game in Atlantic City.
Nelson spent the previous two seasons with the Atlanta Thrashers as an assistant. Prior to that, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the Chicago Wolves where he won the 2008 Calder Cup.
A native of Prince Albert, Sask., who played five seasons for the Raiders in the WHL, Nelson made the transition to coaching as a player/assistant coach with the Muskegon Fury of the USHL.
He spent a season as an assistant with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL before returning to Muskegon to make his head coaching debut in 2003-04, leading the team to back-to-back 50-win seasons and two Colonial Cup championships.
As a player, Nelson was a fourth-round pick of the Penguins, 79th overall. He played pro for 12 years, including cups of coffee with Pittsburgh and Washington in the NHL. He spent two years playing in Europe, one in Berlin and the other in Helsinki. But most of his time was spent in the AHL with the Portland Pirates, Hershey Bears, Rochester Americans and Grand Rapids.
Nelson won a Calder Cup in 1994 playing in Portland.
He has a big believer in Doug Sauter, the second winningest coach in hockey history to Scotty Bowman (but only a handful of wins ahead of Brian Kilrea).
“I really like the whole coaching staff. They’re great guys and very good coaches with three totally different personalities,” said Sauter, the old WHL coach with Medicine Hat, Regina and Brandon who had pro coaching stops in Wheeling, Springfield and Winston-Salem before spending 15-years here with the CHL Oklahoma City Blazers.
Assistant coach Gerry Fleming came here with Nelson last year after eight seasons as a head coach in the ECHL, seven with the Florida Everglades including back-to-back trips to the ECHL Kelly Cup finals in 2004 and 2005. He broke into coaching as an assistant with Montreal’s AHL Fredericton franchise after an entire playing career in the Canadiens system, making it up for 11 games with the NHL team.
Rocky Thompson is more than familiar to Edmonton fans, having played for the AHL Edmonton Roadrunners during the lockout year and spending the 2009-10 season as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oil Kings. The former Golden Gloves champion boxer and former WHL player with Medicine Hat and Swift Current was an enforcer throughout his 10-year pro career including 591 games, 25 of which were in the NHL with Calgary (15) and Florida (10).
“I couldn’t be any happier with a staff than the one I have here. I think we have the best staff in the league with the assistant coaches, the week-long visits once a month by Billy Moores and Mike Sillinger overseeing player development,” said Nelson adding people like skills and skating coach Steve Serdachny, goalie coach Freddie Chabot, assistant GM and director of hockey operations Ricky Olczyk and pro scout Dave Semenko, all of whom were here this week.
“The Oilers are trying to run this like an NHL team. It has to be at the top of the league. I’ve been with two other AHL organizations and it wasn’t anything like this,” said Nelson.
The Barons also have their own hockey operations general manager in Scott, one of only five provided by the NHL teams of the 30 teams in the league.
Scott was hired by Tambellini as GM last season after serving the four previous years working as director of hockey operations for the AHL.
His duties included the creation of the league schedule, dishing out player fines and suspensions, supervising playoff games and interpreting bylaws and the collective bargaining agreement for the clubs.
Nelson, who hails from Unionville, Ont., worked as a student manager with the Michigan State Spartans the year they hosted the Cold War first outdoor game which inspired the NHL Heritage Classic in Edmonton and subsequent NHL Winter Classics.
Graduating in 2003 with a degree in business management, he got his start in pro hockey as an intern with the Nashville Predators before moving to the ECHL as manager of hockey operations for three seasons.
“I had a really enjoyable time in the league offices.
“As a player I didn’t play at the pro level but I really wanted to stay in hockey. In the league jobs, I was able to see how all 30 NHL teams worked, how each NHL team was run. My goal has always been to be an NHL general manager.
“When the Oilers were working on setting up this project, I reached out to Steve Tambellini. We share a lot of the same philosophies and I really believe in the rebuild.
“And it’s a really good fit in OKC. It’s a really fun situation to be in.”
The last word goes to 39-year-old captain Bryan Helmer.
“I tell the young guys ‘Appreciate Todd, Gerry and Rocky. They are three of the better coaches I’ve had in this league.’ ”
Lupul's road to stardom: 'I didn't know what the future held'
CHRIS STEVENSON, QMI Agency, Jan 30 2012
OTTAWA - There might not have been a guy on the ice at Scotiabank Place who better appreciated a 12-9 pond hockey game and getting booed lustily in the process.
Toronto Maple Leafs winger Joffrey Lupul missed almost a full year of hockey after back troubles and a post-surgery infection.
He always figured he would be able to overcome it all and resume his career, but to be on the ice Sunday -- and potting two goals in Team Chara’s win over Team Alfredsson -- was beyond even his most lofty expectation.
“I didn’t know what the future held for me as far as hockey went. To be here, somewhere where I’ve never been before, post-injury, is almost surreal,” he said in the jammed Team Chara dressing room.
“I never would have guessed it. I knew I could come back and play, but to play at a higher level than ever before, it feels pretty good. The season is not over and there’s a lot of hockey to be played, but this is definitely a good accomplishment.”
Lupul, who is tied for fifth in NHL scoring with 52 points, embraced the spirit of the weekend. He was booed as Chara’s assistant captain when he made selections at the Fantasy Draft Thursday night and again, along with Leafs teammates Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf, during the game as Senators fans embraced the spirit of the Battle of Ontario.
“The weekend is, first of all, it’s for the fans. Everything we do is for the fans, the behind the scenes, the interviews, wearing a microphone during the game, if you’re going to do all that stuff, you’re not really going to expect a competitive 3-2 game,” said Lupul. “This event is about more than just the game. It’s to show the fans another side of the guys and have fun. I think everyone in the crowd today had fun. I know I had fun today wearing the microphone.”
The Leafs will resume play after the all-star break in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, though they have the same number of points (55) as the seventh-place Florida Panthers and the New Jersey Devils in eighth. The Leafs have played one more game than either team.
Lupul and Kessel, who scored his first all-star goal and added assists on both of Lupul’s goals, had plenty of room Sunday, a luxury that will be diminishing by greater amounts with each game as the NHL enters its stretch run.
“We had a lot of fun and we did all right,” said Kessel. “It was a good time out there.”
Lupul was quick to put his game face on after frivolity of the all-star game had begun to quickly evaporate and he looked at the road ahead for the Leafs.
“We have to do what it takes to get our team into the playoffs. That’s kind of the bottom line there. What we’ve accomplished in the first half is good and to have the amount of points we have and play in the all-star game is great, but at the end of the season if our team doesn’t make it into the playoffs, it’s tough to be proud of personal accomplishments. This is where the intensity has to pick up and maybe we’re not going to score at the same rate as we did in the first half, but we can still help our team win games.”
With the success Lupul and Kessel have enjoyed so far this season -- Kessel is just a point behind Lupul in the scoring race -- they have begun attracting more attention from the opposition.
“They’re just paying a little more attention, trying to get out different defencemen. We’ve noticed guys, especially with Phil, playing more physical. That’s just going to continue and in the playoffs, that will just pick up again. We both know it’s coming and we have to be up for the challenge,” said Lupul.
“It’s our job (to score) regardless of who we’re playing against. If you’re going to play against a guy like Chara all night, you’ve got to know that right when you get to the rink and be up for the challenge. It’s not going to be easy. It’s never going to be easy. But we know it’s coming and have to prepared and we have to produce.”
McCown stands by Crosby story
BRUCE DOWBIGGIN, Globe and Mail, Feb. 01, 2012
Bob McCown, the host of Prime Time Sports, laid a broadside on the NHL BlackBerry brigade last weekend with his tweet about Sidney Crosby’s injury: “Sydney [sic] Crosby has injury to C1 and C2 vertebrae”.
As the hockey media swirled around Ottawa looking for the scoop on Crosby, McCown revealed on television that MRIs showed Crosby had a problem with neck vertebrae. After digesting that for a couple days, the Penguins and Crosby updated Tuesday, saying that a soft tissue neck problem rather than a vertebrae injury is responsible for Crosby's continued absence.
Reached Wednesday, McCown stood by his story.
“I never reported it as a fracture to the C1 and C2,” McCown explained Wednesday. “I deliberately said it was an injury to the C1 and C2. But [Crosby's agent] Pat Brisson confirmed it as a fracture. So did Alex Guerrero and Dr. [Robert] Bray who both saw the fractures in the MRIs.
“Just because the Penguins now say there was no fracture, why should we believe them? Why are they the most credible source? They've had this file in front of them for months, and the story keeps changing. Are they saying Guerrero and Dr. Bray, who've worked with many top athletes and teams in the past, aren't accurate?
“Look, I'd be okay if someone could prove it one way or the other. But this idea that the Penguins and their doctors are the final word on this doesn't stand up after all that's happened in the past on this file.”
McCown [and New England quarterback Tom Brady] confirmed that Crosby was put in touch with Guerrero and Bray by Brady and his wife Giselle who've used them in the past. McCown also revealed that after he'd agreed to protect Brisson by not naming him in the tweet, but “next thing I know he's confirming the story on the record to CBC's Elliotte Friedman. I'm not happy.”
Whatever the accurate diagnosis, there's no doubt that McCown's story smoked out the Penguins and Crosby's representation from previous narratives about what was ailing the Pittsburgh star. This from a guy who never goes to the rink, rarely talks to players and watches hockey reluctantly unless it’s televised. Funny old world.
Gazette Withdraws Todd’s Accusation: Perhaps it’s because politics are so foreign to hockey folk. But Tim Thomas’s decision to take a pass on visiting the White House last week with his teammates has unhinged some of our domestic media. Suddenly, our typical civil discourse has become rather uncivil.
Columnist Jack Todd of The Gazette in Montreal belatedly weighed in late Sunday with his own screed against Glenn Beck’s biggest fan on the Bruins. Todd, an expatriate American whose autobiography was titled, The Taste of America: A Deserter's Story, posted this on The Gazette’s website:
“Look, if this cretin wants to stand outside the White House and spew his drivel, that’s free speech. But standing up the president? All that does is show that Thomas has the class of a swamp-rat. What’s worse, you know Thomas would not have done this with the liberal Democrat Bill Clinton in the White House. Truth is, he felt free to dis Barack Obama, because Obama is black.”
A-hem. It wasn’t long before Todd’s allegation of racism was making the rounds of social media. @nanceyboy “I don't agree w/ what Thomas did but saying it was racially motivated is ignorant. Thx for embarrassing Mtl, Jack Todd. #timthomas #jacktodd” Then this: Jaret Dicks @SoPoHab “For #JackTodd or anyone to suggest #TimThomas is a racist, I think they are just plain ignorant! #WillieORee means a lot to #Bruins and #NHL”.
Shortly after The Gazette realized it had a problem and deleted Todd’s allegation, Sports editor Stu Cowan emailed us this comment on Tuesday: “The Gazette's policy is not to post columns online until an editor has been through them. An error was made on that front on the weekend desk Sunday night. I only saw Jack's column after it had already been posted online and edited it myself, with the changes made in time for the first edition of print. We also ran a note online informing readers: “Note: The Gazette apologizes for previously posting an unedited version of this column.”
He added: “Anything concerning any discipline would be an internal matter for The Gazette,” he responded.
Previously, TSN’s Dave Hodge used the names of Thomas’s kids to imply that the Boston goalie was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Hodge later apologized for his tweet and TSN declared his attempt at political humour “in bad taste”.
He Protests Too Much: A CBC spokesman tells Usual Suspects that, contrary to reports elsewhere, no protest has been received from Toronto GM Brian Burke over criticism from Don Cherry of Hockey Night In Canada. “I'm not aware of any protest from Brian regarding comments made by Don,” Chuck Thompson told us in an e-mail.
But don’t let that get in the way of a good story. Speaking of good stories, why is everyone in hockey so knocked out about Patrick Kane ripping off Dwight Howard's superman act? Right, they're hockey people... basketball doesn’t exist.
End of An Era: Former program director at The Fan 590, Nelson Millman, is leaving Rogers. Millman was in charge as the station (then owned by Telemedia) went to the all-sports format and then switched from the 1430 to the 590 frequency. He rode Bob McCown’s popularity to establish all-sports as a viable format in southern Ontario.
As an alumnus of the FAN stable, we can say Millman was loyal to his people. So much so that when new owners Rogers wanted change at the station, Millman was a reluctant camper. He moved onto the TV side allowing changes to the morning show and other features. This week, he left the company.
“It was a good run,” Millman told Usual Suspects in an e-mail, “and I was lucky enough to work with a lot of incredibly talented, passionate and dedicated people. We had a lot of fun, we did a lot of great radio and we built a brand and a business.”
Ratings Game: The NHL all-star contest was a pretty pallid affair, but it looked like Run Lola Run next to the NFL Pro Bowl later on Sunday. There have been pillow fights with more solid contact than the best NFL players exhibited in Hawaii. On one play Usual Suspects was sure we saw the AFC’s offensive line spread a blanket and break out a picnic basket. Then again, who can blame the NFL stars for not tearing up a knee or shoulder as they head into the offseason?
Oh, just the people in Honolulu who paid good money for the lei-strewn letdown and the TV audience expecting something more than patty-cake. And NFC QB Aaron Rodgers. “I was just surprised that some of the guys either didn't want to play or when they were in there didn't put any effort into it,” Rodgers said afterward.
Despite the non-aggression pact between the teams, the Pro Bowl still drew a 7.9 rating on NBC, down 8 per cent from last year. Nielsen says 12.5 million people watched Sunday’s Pro Bowl compared with 11 million for last year's MLB all-star game, 8.1 million for the NBA all-star game last year and 2.4 million for Sunday’s NHL All-Star Game.
More ratings News: The UFC's first full-length show on FOX was down from the debut last November, the numbers are still not tapped out. The show drew 4.37 million viewers, down 27 per cent from the 5.7 million viewers drawn in November for the Cain Velasquez/Junior dos Santos heavyweight fight. Still, the numbers will keep FOX happy as it won the night’s ratings in the U.S.
Is it time for Sidney Crosby to retire?
Robert MacLeod, Globe and Mail, Jan. 31, 2012
Sid the Kid, meet Sid the Ambassador.
Hockey Ambassador. Concussion ambassador.
No skating involved.
Nobody trying to leave an imprint of your body in the boards.
Just one very influential hockey superstar deciding enough is enough, step away from it all with his faculties still in place.
And instead of risking life and limb to continue to try and play a sport that has already extracted an immeasurable toll, become the chief spokesperson and poster boy for the one issue that is threatening to lay to waste Canada’s national obsession.
Concussions.
Sidney Crosby, the National Hockey League’s most recognizable star, has suffered one – probably more than one – and it may be time for him to retire. At age 24.
Retirement, no matter how distasteful it may seem to the NHL and to hockey fans in general, is an option that must be seriously considered, according to some in the medical community.
Over lunch recently with a respected Toronto sports orthopedic surgeon that point was driven home repeatedly – that Crosby has no choice but to retire, that his efforts to resume his spectacular playing career after suffering a concussion early in the NHL season in 2011, aren’t worth the risk.
“Crosby would be far better off quitting the game and becoming the chief spokesperson for concussions and speaking out against head shots in the game,” said the doctor. “He is taking a huge gamble with his health by trying to come back.
“He has nothing left to prove in the game. And imagine the impact he would have, especially to younger kids, by getting out now. That alone would force the NHL to take serious steps to clean up its act.”
When it comes to his playing career, Crosby has done it all.
The first overall pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2005, the Halifax native became the only teenager to win a scoring title in any major North American sports league in his second season at age 19.
He has scored 50 goals in a season, won a Stanley Cup with the Penguins, and tallied the gold medal overtime winner for Canada at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
But his career has been in a tailspin ever since he was clocked by David Steckel during the 2011 Winter Classic game.
Crosby has played in just eight games since and over the weekend his situation got even murkier when it was revealed that at some point Crosby had also suffered a previously undiagnosed neck injury in addition to the concussion, a crack in the C1-C2 vertebrae.
That’s the same bone that breaks when a person is hanged.
The doctor said, depending on when that injury happened, Crosby was perhaps fortunate that his concussion symptoms continued and kept him off the ice where another body check might have led to paralysis or perhaps even death.
Those of a certain age will remember Bobby Orr’s valiant attempt to postpone the inevitable, signing with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1976 for one last comeback attempt after his aching knees derailed his fabulous career in Boston with the Bruins.
Over the next three years, Orr only managed to play 26 games before calling it quits and to many it never seemed quite right how his career came to an end.
Here’s hoping that Crosby can at least leave on his own terms, with his head on straight.
Burke can't win this fight: GM won't get a free pass this time
STEVE BUFFERY, QMI Agency, Feb 1 2012
TORONTO - Is there anything more hilarious than two old rich guys feuding over sports? It’s fascinating and fun.
And while I loathe to sit on the fence, I can see all sides to this crazy Brian Burke-Don Cherry feud.
Starting with ... Burke is right to be pissed at Cherry for suggesting that Leafs coach Ron Wilson “couldn’t care less” about the Canadian Armed Forces — a comment Cherry made when he noticed that Wilson didn’t join in the mass applause for the troops during the Canadian Forces Appreciation Night festivities last month. Wilson may be a lot of things, but he is respectful when it comes to the military. It seems to me he always claps during those Luke’s Troops introductions.
However, that Burke accuses Cherry of being overly critical of his Leafs is laughable. Yeah, Cherry is hard on Wilson. Clearly he doesn’t like or appreciate the man. Many Leafs fans don’t. But to suggest that Cherry viciously attacks the Leafs is a knee slapper. Cherry’s a homer when it comes to the Leafs. He’s been known to wear Leafs paraphernalia for Pete’s sake. Ask an Oilers fan, or a Flames fan or, especially, a Senators fan, if they think Cherry is hard on the Leafs.
As for the issue of Burke going to the CBC with his complaints about Cherry ... well, if it’s true, nobody likes a tattler.
Personally, I believe Big Burkie’s motivation in lashing out at Cherry for Grapes’ supposed “vicious” attacks on the Leafs is ... well, he’s trying to create a bunker mentality on his team — the old ‘Us against the world’ deal. His Leafs are fighting for a playoff spot, and what better way to take some pressure off the players?
It’s a funny thing. When the Leafs lose, the majority of fans blame Wilson. Burke seems to get the benefit of the doubt in Leafs Nation, for whatever reason. But in this feud, more people seem to be siding with Cherry. For once, Burke isn’t being given the benefit of the doubt. He’s learning that, in this country, you’re not going to win a pissing match against Cherry.
WOMEN VS MEN COMPARISONS HARDLY FAIR
That women’s Olympic soccer qualifier in Vancouver last week reminds me of the women’s hockey world championship — two decent teams, the rest not very good. But that’s the nature of women’s international sports. In many, perhaps most, countries, girls are not encouraged to play sports. Or they’re discouraged.
Because of that, the few nations that do encourage female sport participation, like Canada, tend to do well in international competition. And that’s why you’re going to see more Canadian women’s teams at the 2012 London Olympics than men’s.
The depth of field is much shallower in women’s sports. It’s not that Canadian men aren’t as tough or talented as the women. It’s just that they have a much tougher road to travel to qualify for the Olympics. And I say this because following Canada’s win over Mexico at the Olympic soccer qualifier, a number of people tweeted about how great the Canadian women are compared to the men. One tweeting twit suggested Canadian sportsmen were pathetic in comparison. Not fair.
THROW THE FANS A BONE
Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos emphasized the point during the State of the Franchise gathering on Monday that he has lost out on free agents because some players simply don’t want to play on the lousy Rogers Centre turf. Team president Paul Beeston, meanwhile, said bringing grass into the RC is feasible. So, if Rogers won’t spend money on a big time free agent to compliment the talent the Jays already possess, shouldn’t bringing grass to the dome become a priority? Throw the fans a friggin bone.
WHILE I’M AT IT
From now on, when a hockey superstar like Sidney Crosby suffers an injury, I’m going to ignore every media update, particularly anything on Twitter, and wait for the official word AFTER the player returns.
WEENIE OF THE WEEK
Who else but Tracy McGrady for the clown act he pulled during the playing of O Canada on Tuesday night at the ACC. At the very least, it was unprofessional.
THN.com Top 10: Most bizarre owners
The Hockey News, 2012-02-01
Winning any kind of popularity contest is a gigantic long shot for the grand majority of those fortunate (and fortuned) folks who have owned an NHL team.
Unless you’re someone like Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch, who delivers a Stanley Cup championship, or late Blue Jackets owner John H. McConnell, to whom local fans gave a standing ovation on a number of occasions for bringing the pro game to Columbus, odds are you’ll be painted as a money-hungry businessman first and a hockey fan a distant second.
In some cases, that type of portrayal is unfair. But in other cases, it is well-deserved. And in a few select cases, the bizarre behavior of owners puts them in a league of their own. Like the 10 men listed here.
10. Barry Shenkarow
The former owner of the Winnipeg Jets, Shenkarow maintained he did everything within his power to keep the franchise in town, but turned a tidy profit when the team was sold and moved to Phoenix.
9. Bruce McNall
One in a long line of former NHL owners convicted of fraud, McNall was a coin collector and Hollywood movie producer who assumed majority control of the LA Kings in 1987 and shocked the hockey world by acquiring Wayne Gretzky from the Oilers on Aug. 9, 1988. Less than six years later, he’d defaulted on loans, was forced to sell the team and was sentenced to 70 months in prison.
8. Jeremy Jacobs
He may not be as outlandish as Harold Ballard was, nor as creative as Islanders owner Charles Wang, but just ask Boston residents what they think of the longtime Bruins owner and then cover your ears if you don’t care to hear expletives. Jacobs has penny-pinched many a Bruins legend out of a black-and-gold uniform, and as a result, went through a 39-year Cup drought.
7. The Rigas Family
Former cable TV magnate John Rigas and his sons owned the Buffalo Sabres from 1996-2005, but wound up being stripped by the league of their ownership after they were arrested for bank, wire and securities fraud in relation to the embezzlement of more than $2 billion from their Adelphia Communications company. It seems the John Spano-inspired crackdown on NHL owners wasn’t working as well as the league had hoped.
6. Norm Green
Considered the savior of hockey in Minnesota when he bought the North Stars franchise in 1990, Green eventually came to be known as ‘Norm Greed’ when, after pressuring the city and state to build a new arena, he packed up the franchise and moved it to Dallas. The mention of his name still draws howls of hatred in Minnesota to this day.
5. Charlie O. Finley
The late owner of the Oakland/California Seals franchise, Finley owned many sports teams and always left his individual imprint on them. One of his most infamous marketing decisions came when he made the team’s players wear white skates, to match the appearance of major league baseball’s Oakland A’s, which he also owned. Finley lasted only three seasons as Seals owner before relinquishing control of the franchise to the league when he could find nobody to buy it from him.
4. Charles Wang
The first team owner who handed out a decade-long contract in the post-lockout NHL? Check. A man who seriously entertained the notion of putting a sumo wrestler in his team’s net? Check. The person who hired a GM (Neil Smith), only to fire him mere weeks later and replace him with the team’s then-backup goalie (Garth Snow)? Check. That’s business as usual for the Islanders owner.
3. John Spano
At the young age of 32, Spano convinced NHL brass in 1997 he was worth nearly one-quarter of a billion dollars and that he wanted to buy the New York Islanders. The league believed him at first and allowed him to run the franchise for half-a-year before the ugly truth was revealed: the man was a fraud artist who didn’t have anywhere close to the amount of capital required to assume ownership. Rarely has the league been so embarrassed, which is why Gary Bettman subsequently insisted on much more stringent checking of potential owners’ background.
2. Bill Wirtz
He always claimed to be a devout supporter of the game, but Wirtz really was always more interested in arcane business principles that handicapped his Chicago Blackhawks for decades. The liquor magnate stubbornly refused to televise Hawks home games right up until he passed away in 2007, and alienated the team’s alumni and fans alike with his insistence in putting profitability before Stanley Cup championships.
1. Harold Ballard
When he owned the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1972 to his death in 1990, Ballard ran the organization more like a circus than a hockey team with a constant barrage of sideshows that always seemed to take precedence over the on-ice product. Whether it was firing his coaches and GMs, ostracizing and trading away the team’s best players, or refusing to draft players from the former Soviet Union, no NHL owner wound up in the headlines more often than ‘Pal Hal.’
U of Calgary Dinos' Hayley Wickenheiser plays in front of small Regina crowd
ROB VANSTONE, Regina Leader-Post, January 30, 2012
REGINA -- The score was two-nothing. The crowd was next to nothing.
Saturday’s attendance at Co-operators Arena — 243 — was but a blip compared to the largest gatherings Hayley Wickenheiser has seen and experienced.
While donning a national-team jersey, Wickenheiser has performed before sellout crowds at some of Canada’s premier hockey venues. In 2010, for example, Wickenheiser captained Canada to a 2-0 victory over the United States in the Olympic women’s hockey gold-medal game at a jam-packed GM Place in Vancouver.
Wickenheiser played an integral role in another 2-0 victory on Saturday, when she powered the University of Calgary Dinos past the host University of Regina Cougars in Canada West action. Watching her play in person for the first time, I marvelled at the incongruity of seeing a Canadian sporting legend — someone who has been labelled the Wayne Gretzky of women’s hockey — play in front of a small audience.
“It is a very extreme type of existence that you live as a female hockey player,’’ the Shaunavon-born Wickenheiser said after the game. “You’re playing in front of 20,000 people at the Air Canada Centre and then you’ve got 200 in Regina.
“Whether it’s 20,000 or one, you try and play the same way. You always think that there are people there who have never seen women play hockey before and you want to showcase the game and try and be the best you can be. That’s kind of how I look at it. You don’t really notice the crowd all that much, except that 20,000 people can give you a lift every once in a while.’’
Wickenheiser provided the necessary lift on Saturday, snapping a scoreless tie with 5:28 left in the third period. She also set up Tanya Morgan’s empty-net goal with 27 seconds remaining.
Off the ice, there was also evidence of Wickenheiser’s fame — such as fans wearing Canadian hockey jerseys that included her good name. But, overall, it was a low-key appearance by a three-time Olympic gold medallist, who in November was invested in the Order of Canada.
“I think with the CIS in general, it’s disappointing with the crowds that teams get,’’ Wickenheiser said. “Even on the men’s hockey side, people don’t realize that it’s better hockey than Western Hockey League hockey. People should come out and appreciate it, I think. From that standpoint, I think it’s undermarketed, so women’s hockey gets a piece of that, too.’’
Canadian university sport has never had a marquee player quite like Wickenheiser. At 33, she is more than 10 years older than most of the other players. Her resume of sporting achievements is a scroll.
Yet, she does meet the criteria for admission into the CIS ranks. A second-year member of the Dinos, she is working toward a degree in kinesiology. She expects to complete that degree next year, meaning that another full season of Canada West hockey is likely in her future.
The 2013-14 season will be spent concentrating on the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. After that, Wickenheiser will assess her situation. Post-hockey, she plans to study medicine.
Although Wickenheiser is just what the doctor ordered when it comes to enhancing the visibility of university sport, there are inherent challenges. The myriad demands upon her time make it impractical for her to play in every game.
While appearing in 15 of the Dinos’ 20 games this season, Wickenheiser has amassed 14 goals and 15 assists. Last season, she had 17 goals and 23 assists in 15 games en route to earning player-of-the-year honours in Canada West and the CIS.
“It’s not the highest level I’ve played at, for sure, but in a tight game like this — with six minutes left and nobody had scored — there’s the pressure,’’ Wickenheiser said.
“You get in tight situations. Every game’s kind of a dogfight, whether you’re last or first in this league, so I like that challenge every night. I have to try and bring it, and my team’s relying on me, so it works out well. I also like the fact that we skate every day and train like you would be if you were a pro player.’’
Ideally, there would be a professional women’s league in which Wickenheiser and her peers could compete. However, reality dictates that the CIS ranks are the best option. As a result, the Dinos/Cougars game was the best option for a Regina sports fan on Saturday night.
It was certainly an evening well-spent — even if there was a little too much elbow room.
NHL, Olympic legend Scott Niedermayer highlights new B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun January 31, 2012
VANCOUVER — As one of hockey's most decorated players, retired defenceman Scott Niedermayer is almost certainly going to be honoured and feted and named to every hall that is seeking a valued member.
Niedermayer's latest accolade arrived Tuesday when he was announced as one of five inductees into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame, class of 2012. The 38-year-old grew up in Cranbrook and played junior in Kamloops before graduating to the NHL and a wonderful career with the New Jersey Devils and Anaheim Ducks.
Along the way, Niedermayer won everything there is to win in hockey from the Memorial Cup to four Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, world junior and world senior championships and a World Cup. Individually, he also captured a Norris Trophy and a Conn Smythe. He was captain of the 2007 Stanley Cup champion Ducks and the 2010 Olympic team.
“You receive an honour like this, it means a lot,” Niedermayer told a news conference at Rogers Arena via telephone hook-up. “Having been out of the NHL for a year and a half now, I've had a chance to kind of sit back and appreciate how lucky I was through my career and moments like this help with that. So it's nice to get recognized for what I did on the ice.”
Niedermayer is joined in the class of 2012 by Campbell River's Rod Brind’Amour, play-by-play announcer Jim Hughson, long-time executive coach Bob Hindmarch and hockey scout and B.C. Hockey Hall founder Scott Carter. The induction ceremony will be held July 27 in Penticton.
“B.C. is home,” Niedermayer continued. ”I have a lot of great memories playing hockey all over the province, obviously a lot in the Kootenays growing up and then junior in Kamloops and winning a Memorial Cup there. I played with so many great players, right from the time I was a mite. That's probably why, at the end of the day, I'm getting these honours.”
Brind'Amour, 41, played 20 NHL seasons with the St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers and, finally, the Carolina Hurricanes, winning a Stanley Cup as 'Canes captain in 2006. He was a two-time Selke Trophy winner as the NHL's premier defensive forward.
“I never would have expected anything like this, it's a wonderful achievement,” Brind'Amour said. “It's been a while since I played hockey in British Columbia but it was obviously where I got my start. There were some great memories, so it's just a real honour to be inducted.”
Brind'Amour agreed that his greatest moment in hockey was capturing the Cup in 2006.
“The reason you play hockey as a kid is to have the opportunity to win that,” he said. “Not many kids get an opportunity to live their dream and I can honestly say I was one of them. So I'm very fortunate.”
Hughson, 55 and from Fort St. John, broke into play-by-play announcing as an 18-year-old, doing a South Peace Hockey League game between his hometown Flyers and the Dawson Creek Canucks. His first NHL game was in 1980, a 4-1 Vancouver Canucks loss at the Montreal Forum. He's done countless games since then but has never kept track.
He admitted Tuesday he had always hoped to make someone's hall of fame but as a player.
“Those hopes were dashed early,” Hughson quipped. “I think halls of fame are largely built by the players but I'm glad that they keep a nice little tiny spot in the wing of most of them for people who make a difference — and add something to the game in a different way.
“I'm very proud to bring my passion to every game I get a chance to watch and broadcast.”
Hindmarch, a native of Nanaimo, has had an impact on many aspects of the game of hockey. He coached the UBC Thunderbirds from 1965 to 1972 (210 wins). He authored numerous publications, articles and studies on hockey development. He established, along with Father David Bauer, the Canadian national men’s team at UBC. Manager and assistant coach of the Canadian Olympic Team in 1964. Director of the CAHA, chairman of several hockey committees and recipient of the Gordon Juckes Award. He was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, B.C. Sports Hall of Fame and received the Order of BC in 2010.
Carter was a founding member of the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991. He was a key figure in establishing a venue and providing a significant hockey historic attraction, honouring B.C.’s teams, players, media and builders of the sport. Carter has had a lifelong association with hockey at all levels of the game, including the Penticton franchise of the BCHL. He has scouted for the Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Carter is an executive with Vaughn Custom Sports.
The man behind the Lightning bolt
Paul Waldie, Globe and Mail, Feb. 01, 2012
Jeffrey Vinik has already revitalized the Tampa Bay Lightning and many people in this city are hoping he’ll do the same thing for the Rays.
Vinik has become something of a hero in Tampa since he bought the Lightning for about $110-million (all currency U.S.) in 2010. He spent $40-million revamping the county-owned Tampa Bay Times Forum, he hired hockey great Steve Yzerman to run the team, and started donating $50,000 at each home game to various local charities.
Now Vinik, who runs a hedge fund, has been approached about an even bigger challenge – turning around a downtown shopping and restaurant complex called Channelside Bay Plaza. The 230,000-square-foot mall has been in receivership for nearly a year and up for sale since last summer. It’s located just down the road from the Tampa Bay Times Forum and it was supposed to be the key part of a new entertainment district in the area when it opened in 2001. But the mall fell victim to the recession, squabbling owners and angry lenders. Today the mall has several empty storefronts and a visit on Wednesday afternoon found only a handful of vaguely interested shoppers.
Vinik has been asked to help breathe new life into Channelside. There have been reports that he is interested in building a baseball stadium on a nearby piece of empty land and suggestions he’d either buy or lure the Rays to the site. A spokesman for Vinik denied the Lightning owner is making any attempt to buy the Rays. “Absolutely no truth to the Rays rumour,” the spokesman said. “We were approached about Channelside, but to say it has gone farther than that is inaccurate.”
What’s keeping the rumour afloat is the sad state of the Rays and their current venue – Tropicana Field in nearby St. Petersburg. The Rays had the second-worst attendance in baseball last season, averaging barely 19,000 a game, and attendance has been dropping steadily. Rays owner Stuart Sternberg is eager to find a new location for the team and he has been pushing city officials to get out of the club’s lease at Tropicana Field. The lease runs until 2027.
The Lightning have been held up as an example for how to reinvigorate a sports franchise. One of Vinik’s key hires after buying the team was Tod Leiweke as chief executive. Leiweke, who is also a co-owner of the Lightning, arrived from Seattle, where he ran the company that owned the Seattle Seahawks, Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Sounders. His brother, Tim, runs Anschutz Entertainment Group in Los Angeles, which owns the Kings, L.A. Galaxy, part of the Lakers and the Staples Center. Anschutz also helped develop an entertainment district around the Staples Center called LA Live, which includes music venues, restaurants and nightclubs. Some in Tampa hope his brother can do the same thing here.
For now, though, the Lightning still have plenty of work to do. While season ticket sales doubled this year to 10,000, there are signs the team continues to struggle attracting fans. The team offers plenty of promotions, including a $35 package that includes one ticket to a game on a Tuesday and free food. There is also a $99 “four pack” that includes four tickets, four hot dogs, four drinks and a free movie rental.
But Vinik has brought recognition to the team and some badly needed publicity, as well as real lightning bolts during games and a statue of Phil Esposito, the hockey legend and Lightning co-founder.
“He’s really, really involved,” Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier said of Vinik. “He’s really working hard.
“I think people are really excited about the Lightning and everything because of Mr. Vinik,” added Lecavalier, who has become the face of the franchise, so much so that his voice greets air travellers riding the tram at the Tampa Bay airport.
Kennedy: Expect CHL-NCAA rivalry to heat up
Will the Air Canada Centre play host to the NCAA's Frozen Four in 2015?
Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News, 2012-02-01
It’s no secret tension between the NCAA and the Canadian League has been high in the past couple years, but just wait until the next few seasons. That’s when the two venerable agencies have designs on literally invading each other’s turf – and fortunately, fans will be the winners.
Though nothing is written in stone, two high-profile events will be the accelerators. For major junior and, specifically, the Ontario League, the Winter Classic planned for Detroit and Ann Arbor, Mich., will be the point of entry. Obviously the OHL already has a few teams in the state, but with the NHL’s Red Wings and Maple Leafs playing at the University of Michigan’s Big House, an opportunity for undercard games sent pundits buzzing with possibilities. No way would one of college hockey’s biggest programs allow major junior kids to play on their outdoor ice, but since Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch also lays claim to the deed at Comerica Park in Detroit, a second venue has been tabbed for open-air goodness.
Teams rumored for a double-header at the home of baseball’s Tigers include Michigan squads Plymouth and Saginaw, with nearby Canadian teams Windsor and London as potential opponents.
The idea of Windsor – whose Spitfires have enticed American talent such as Cam Fowler, Jack Campbell and Kenny Ryan away from the NCAA in recent years – playing a showcase for major junior on such a big American stage can’t be a nice one for the college game, but the NCAA is not without its own bullets.
The Frozen Four, college hockey’s championship tournament, may be coming to Toronto as soon as 2015. Tampa hosts this year, with Pittsburgh and Philadelphia following (Penn State will be a full-fledged Division I school by the time the tourney hits Philly and though it’s a lot to expect the Nittany Lions to qualify right away, it will add to the overall buzz of the new Big 10 conference they helped form).
Bidding is still open after that and the idea of Toronto playing host is appetizing for all involved. Though the Air Canada Centre has proven less than ideal for tenants not wearing blue and white – the CHL’s Prospects Game last year was not well attended – the Frozen Four has an ace up its sleeve. Because the event is a destination for hardcore college fans, a majority of tickets to the showdown are generally sold well in advance, even before the combatants are established. So the onus on the locals to turn out is lessened greatly.
Toronto is always painted as a Leafs-or-nothing town when it comes to hockey, but I wonder what the Frozen Four dynamic would mean if some future Buds were involved. Tyler Biggs, a 2011 first-rounder currently with the Miami RedHawks, would be a senior in 2015, while fellow draftees Tony Cameranesi (committed to Minnesota-Duluth for next season) and Max Everson (a freshman at Harvard) would also likely still be in school. There’s no rush on any of those prospects and with Miami and UMD both evolving powerhouses, the chances of at least one of those teams making it are pretty decent. The Leafs also have three more drafts to bring in other NCAA prospects and it goes without saying there will be some of those in the future.
There’s a war going on for the hearts and minds of the best teen hockey players in North America and with the stakes so high, it is no surprise marquee events may become the latest weapon. At least it’ll be fun for fans to watch.
Hakstol says college teams at disadvantage in recruiting wars with CHL
Roman Augustoviz, Star Tribune, Jan 31 2012
All the talk this week is about football recruiting. But Monday was a huge recruiting day in college hockey for that team with no nickname: North Dakota.
UND got commitments from forwards Adam Tambellini of Vernon of the BCHL and Bryn Chyzyk of Fargo of the USHL.
Tambelllini is the son of Edmonton Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini. He visited Grand Forks when the Gophers played there on Jan. 13.
Chyzyk has 20 goals and 31 points for the Force. He will join UND next season. Tambellini, 17, is coming to Grand Forks in 2013-14 after another season in the BCHL. Tambellini has 20 goals and 38 points for the Vipers.
But UND coach Dave Hakstol was not so pleased about his team's recruiting success on Jan. 13, when he appeared at a UND boosters luncheon at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks.
A four-column headline in the Grand Forks Herald's sports cover two days earlier had this headline: Prized recruit bails.
Stefan Matteau, the leading scorer on the under-18 U.S. team, had changed his mind. He was going to play for Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League instead of UND next season. He signed his national letter of intent in November, but BBA traded for his rights this month of one of their coaches is his father.
UND also lost J.T. Miller, who also had signed a national letter of intent, last July. He went to the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League.
Even though it was Minnesota week in Fargo, Hakstol spend a good deal of time talking about recruiting to the several hundred people at the luncheon. And he appears ready to lead a coaches' charge to weaken the CHL's ability to keep recruiting signed players.
"We lost a recruit this week," Hakstol said. "I don't want to talk about the young man and the family. I don't think that is a classy thing to do. Those things remain where they belong, and that is behind closed doors.
"We lost a pretty good potential player to our program. We lost one last summer as well. My mentality right now -- there is a good recruiting battle. It is fun when you get into recruiting battles with Wisconsin, Boston College, Michigan, with Duluth, with Minnesota.
"You go into those things and you are fully armed with the things you do well. And you can tell your story. Kids make good decisions after they take time to find the right spot for them.
"Now we have a second recruiting battle with the CHL," Hakstol said. "We are going in with our hands absolutely tied behind our backs. It's a one-way battle. We are not able to go up and recruit those players. [If] the CHL can get a young man to play one game or not even to play a game, just sign a contract. That player can no longer play college hockey.
"[But] they can come down here and from the age of 14, 15 through 19, 20, they can recruit the talent coming into college hockey."
NCAA rules prohibit college coaches from contacting recruits until June 15 after their sophomore season.
"I have been really down the middle of the road on this for a long time," Hakstol said. "I am getting to the side where, it is time for our coaches' body to seriously consider opening up major junior because all of a sudden, I think the recruiting battle maybe tilts a little bit our way.
"I believe in our product. I think college hockey is a great way to develop, not only as a hockey player but you develop into the young man that is going to be successful the rest of your life.
"I am pretty sure right now Cary [Eades], Dane [Jackson], myself and the rest of our staff could go up somewhere in the CHL, somewhere across Canada, and recruit a pretty darn good 18-year-old to come in and replace the young man that we just lost this past week."
Of course, NCAA rules would not permit Hakstol and his assistants to sign anyone who has a CHL contract.
"It is certainly not a crusade of mine, but it is something I want to seriously start talking about," Hakstol said. "So that is something that has been discussed, but something that I am going to bring to the forefront just a little bit. Just so that when you get into a recruiting battle, you actually have a chance to come out on the right side.
"That is something that is going to be interesting over the next couple of years. Not in the short term, but over the next couple of years for our coaching body."
Paul Kelly, executive director of College Hockey Inc., according to a Grand Forks Herald story, is tring to enact some sort of legistlation that would block players who have signed national letters of intent to go to the CHL until after one season of college hockey.
The CHL vs. NCAA recruiting battle hasn't affected the Gophers much. They don't recruit Canadian players as much as UND does.
SHORT SHOTS
* Gophers sophomore Nate Condon needs one more shorthanded goal to tie the single-season school record of five. Steve Griffith had five shorties in 1982-83 as did Peter Hankinson in 1989-90.
Condon almost got his fifth last Friday against St. Cloud State but his shot hit a post with about 1:20 left.
* The WCHA would have only three teams in the NCAA field if the tournament was starting today because of the conference's poor record in nonconference games against the CCHA (10-14-1) and Hockey East (5-7-3).
* The Gophers were cleaning up on national (three) and conference (four) awards in October and November, but since have only one. Defenseman Mark Alt was named the WCHA's offensive player of the week on Dec. 13.
* In preseason polls, the Gophers were rated No. 19 by USCHO.com and unranked by USA Today which only ranks 15 teams. They have been in the top 10 in both polls since Oct. 17, in other words for 15 consecutive weeks.
Bohonos in, Howarth out
Reuben Villagracia, Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal, January 31, 2012
The Thunder Bay North Stars named former NHLer Lonny Bohonos as their interim head coach on Monday — one day after letting go of the Superior International Junior Hockey League’s most decorated bench boss in controversial fashion.
Bohonos, 38, has lived in Thunder Bay for the past six years and was coach with the Thunder Bay Kings AAA organization’s bantam and midget teams in recent seasons. The Winnipeg native played 12 years of professional hockey, including 83 games with the Vancouver Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Bohonos will make his junior coaching debut Wednesday at Fort William Gardens when the North Stars face the reigning league champion Wisconsin Wilderness.
“The ownership group . . . welcome(s) Lonny to the team and wish he and the players well in the remainder of the regular season, throughout the playoffs and along the road to the Dudley-Hewitt Cup,” North Stars president and co-owner David Dubinsky said in a release Monday.
The hiring came in the wake of Todd Howarth’s sudden departure from the club. On Monday, Howarth claimed he didn’t step down as the North Stars’ head coach as the team had announced.
Howarth had met with Dubinsky on Sunday and was told he was being let go. A press release came out later that evening stating Howarth had left due to personal reasons.
“They’re using me as a fall guy,” Howarth said in a phone interview in which he says he never received a salary for the past two seasons. “All the years I’ve been here, there’s nobody that spends more time coaching in a year.
“My teams never quit. Ever. And I didn’t either. Let’s be honest here,” he added.
Howarth said management wasn’t pleased with his coaching style — or as he put it, “I’m not politically correct.” The North Stars’ up-and-down record of 21-15-5 didn’t help either.
Howarth admitted confusion arose between himself and Dubinsky when they talked about how they wanted to make the move public.
“I left the meeting saying, ‘Say whatever the (expletive) you want,’” he recalled. “I have the right to be mad.”
Calls made to Dubinsky on Monday night after the announcement of Bohonos’ hiring were not returned.
Bohonos has big shoes to fill. Howarth was the longest serving coach with one team in the short history of the SIJHL.
In nine and a half years, Howarth’s North Stars went 363-94-32 in the regular season and posted a 74-31-2 mark in the playoffs with five league titles and one Dudley-Hewitt Cup (Central Canada championship) under their belts. Thunder Bay is hosting this year’s Dudley-Hewitt Cup tournament in April.
Howarth was also upset with the reputation that’s surrounded his team as too rough and tumble to attract sponsors.
“People are saying that they won’t sponsor this organization because of Todd Howarth,” said the 41-year-old Dryden native. “I guess winning all these years doesn’t count. At the end of the day, you don’t have to like me, but the record speaks for itself.”
When the team was in financial trouble last year, Howarth poured money out of his own pocket for road trips and equipment. The money won’t likely be recovered.
“I’ve got no ill things to say against Mr. Dubinsky (and the other co-owners). I got nothing,” Howarth said. “They stepped up and saved the organization. At the end of the day, I stepped up too. . . . And I’m the one getting hurt here.”
One of Howarth’s assistant coaches, Jason Firth, has also left the team. Howarth said he isn’t aware of the status of the rest of his coaching and training staff. His son, Isaac, will remain on the team, but Howarth confirmed veteran defenceman Kyle Breukelman decided to end his junior career before this coaching change was made.
“I’ve been on the phone with young men all day today,” Howarth said when asked if he’s talked to his players. “I’ve brought kids from all over the country here. They’re pretty upset.”
Bohonos is just the third coach of the North Stars franchise which started in 2001 as one of the SIJHL flagship programs, the Thunder Bay Wolves. Dave Simpson coached the Wolves in the inaugural season before Howarth stepped in before the 2002-2003 campaign.
As the North Stars, the team — with Howarth behind the bench and the late Gary Cook as the general manager — were a powerhouse with three consecutive SIJHL crowns from 2004 to 2006.
The 2006 edition of the North Stars featured current AHL goaltender Carter Hutton and rookie NHL defenceman Robert Bortuzzo. They reached the semifinal of the Royal Bank Cup nationals.
Memories of McCrimmon bring smiles every time
RANDY SPORTAK, QMI Agency, Feb 2 2012
CALGARY - Mention Brad McCrimmon to anybody who met him and watch for the smile.
Almost every time, it’ll be on everybody’s face.
“That’s because anyone he talked to has fond memories of Beast,” said Detroit Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom.
“He brought a smile to all the people he touched.”
The Flames honoured McCrimmon prior to Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, remembering the defenceman who was part of the team’s 1989 Stanley Cup-winning squad and a former captain and assistant coach in Calgary.
McCrimmon died in the Sept. 7, 2011, plane crash that killed nearly everybody involved with the KHL’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl club.
Every Flames player wore a jersey with “McCrimmon” and the No. 4 on their backs in the warm-up — the sweaters will be auctioned off for charity — and also had decals with “4 BRAD” on their helmets.
And it was fitting on a night with McCrimmon’s parents and family on hand, the Red Wings were in town, being another club McCrimmon played for and coached.
The night included another twist, a moment of applause instead of silence, appropriate for the man who tried to find laughter in everything.
“I heard a million stories from him, and all of them made me laugh,” said Wings defenceman Brad Stuart.
“You could tell he missed playing because he loved to be around the boys. I think that drove him to coach.”
The Flames acquired McCrimmon prior to the 1987-88 season and he spent three seasons in Calgary, his final as team captain.
After retiring in 1997, he became an assistant coach, first with the New York Islanders before joining the Flames, Atlanta Thrashers and finally Detroit.
He left to be a head coach in the KHL.
He may be gone, but McCrimmon left a legacy.
“He always loved to walk around with no shirt. He was a pretty hairy guy and he would just throw a skimpy towel on and walk from the shower (to the coaches offices),” said Flames captain Jarome Iginla.
“Guys would give it to him, but he loved it and would do it more. He was a character.”
Lidstrom, the six-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenceman, had McCrimmon as a playing partner his first season — 1991-92 — and to this day relishes how McCrimmon and his wife, Maureen, took care of him and his now-wife, Annika.
“He and Maureen took care of us off the ice and he took care of me on the ice,” Lidstrom said.
IN THE CREASE
Tim Hortons unveiled its Flames donuts, but the tasty treat isn’t a traditional donut making an ‘O’. Maybe, as one smart-aleck wag said, the donuts “are like the team, no centres.” Create your own joke about them being cream-filled ... So, no Tomas Holmstrom because his creaky knees were swollen due to injections. That meant Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff didn’t have Holmstrom “accidentally” falling on him the usual five or six times ... Props to Wings forward Justin Abdelkader for eventually getting up after being nailed in the foot by an Iginla blast. Abdelkader later tried to block another Iginla shot ... The Flames lone healthy scratch was D Anton Babchuk for the fourth straight game.
OFF THE GLASS
How’s that for a change? Flames Tim Jackman gives blood like no one in memory, but it’s Detroit’s Mike Commodore leaking from the face after a first-period fight ... Another game, another Flames player injured. Lee Stempniak left in the first period due to a “lower-body” injury ... Not often you see a stick, broken at that, caught in a player’s sweater, let alone that player skate from one end of the ice and almost back without noticing as was the case for Wings forward Jan Mursak ... The Flames had best learn how to close out games against good teams when they’re tied in the third period.
Warmington: Wilson did the right thing:
Leafs coach did the right thing behind the bench last night, even Grapes would approve
Joe Warmington ,Toronto Sun, February 01, 2012
TORONTO - That’s more like it, coach.
Turns out Ron Wilson does care after all. And perhaps does pay attention to what Don Cherry says.
Cherry criticized the Leafs bench boss last month on Coach’s Corner, saying Wilson doesn’t “care” because he didn’t join his fellow coaches in applauding the more than 500 Canadian troops who were on hand for Armed Forces Appreciation Night.
But that was then.
Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Maple Leafs coach joined the rest of the Air Canada Centre on their feet and applauded for two of Canada’s bravest during the third period’s Luke’s Troops celebration.
The truth is, how could you not clap for these heroes?
The referees did, players did and visiting coaches did.
The story of Sgt. Cameron Laidlaw, 33 and his wife, Master Cpl. Nicole Laidlaw, 26, is the stuff of movies.
In 2007 and ’08 they served together in Afghanistan — he with the 3rd Royal Canadian Regiment in infantry combat and she as a patrolling member of the Military Police.
They were often just 5 km apart, although boyfriend and girlfriend didn’t see each other for a whole year.
Having seen so many friends killed and so many severely wounded, it was a rough time for both, but they were so proud to help liberate the Afghan people from the oppressive Taliban.
Cameron himself wounded in the same bomb blast that killed his close pals, Sgt. Rob Short and Cpl. Robbie Beerenfenger.
“It stays with you,” Laidlaw said of being in such an explosion. He received a concussion and facial lacerations and is lucky to be alive. “Those guys, and all of the men and women who died there, are with us here tonight and we thank Luke Schenn for hosting military personnel and veterans of war at these games.”
When they were patrolling the rough zones near Kandahar, neither knew whether they would see each other again — let alone know if they’d even get to come home.
Then came time for leave.
Cameron was not going to take any chances.
“We arranged to meet in Australia,” said Cameron. “I knew I was going to propose to her.”
If he did, Nicole said, she was going to say, “Yes.”
They survived the war and, after coming home, both were stationed here in Toronto, where she’s a copper at CFB Downsview and he’s a trainer.
But the best news came one year ago with the birth of their daughter, Emma.
“It’s a blessing,” said Nicole, adding that they take nothing for granted.
Every story the great Andy Frost reads out at Leafs’ home games is compelling, but this one had a lot of tears in people’s eyes — particularly when he said Cameron will receive his medal for courage in two weeks.
Cherry’s original comment sparked a war of words and an admission from Maple Leafs boss Brian Burke that he went to the CBC to complain.
Cherry said this complaint was lodged to “deflect” attention from the fact the team has not made the playoffs in so many years.
That may be the case, but when everybody was standing there at the ACC cheering on these terrific young people in uniform, it was a very special patriotic moment and one that made me realize time’s too precious for petty disputes.
The Leafs won the game last night and, as usual, the classy organization showed why it is the envy of the sports world.
Every once in a while, Canadians need to be reminded of how we have our freedoms and such a great life — and there were two soldiers on hand Wednesday night who did exactly that.
It’s pretty difficult not to applaud that and I didn’t see anyone at the Air Canada Centre who disagreed.
Including Ron Wilson.
Tkachuk feels Kane's pain: Ex-Jet knows what life in Winnipeg fishbowl all about
PAUL FRIESEN, QMI Agency, Feb 2 2012
WINNIPEG - He was young, rich and carried himself with the self-assurance of a star-in-the-making.
And occasionally, he forgot he was living in the fishbowl that is Winnipeg.
If anybody can identify with Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane, it’s former Jets star Keith Tkachuk.
“I kind of feel for what he’s going through,” Tkachuk was saying from his home in St. Louis, Wednesday. “It’s definitely overwhelming.”
Tkachuk has been reading about the attention Kane has attracted since moving here with the Atlanta Thrashers. And if he sees some similarities to his own days as a Jet, well, it’s because there are a few.
A thick, power forward with a heavy shot and soft hands, Tkachuk joined the Jets from Boston University just before he turned 20, in 1992.
It didn’t take long before the goals and the money were piling up — along with the rumours.
“Being in the spotlight, I definitely wasn’t ready for that,” Tkachuk said. “And sometimes I took advantage of it. But you forget that all eyes are on you.”
Simply put, Tkachuk had a reputation as a guy who didn’t shy away from a party.
“Sure I liked to have a good time,” he said, chuckling. “I just didn’t know any better at the time, and certainly made some bad decisions that you look back now ... that’s part of the growing up process.
“I had my share of fun. But I’ve learned that if you make some poor decisions, it’s going to catch up to you. If you want to play hockey, you’ve got to do the right things and take care of yourself.”
Tkachuk took good enough care of himself to play 17 seasons, score 538 regular-season goals and make tens of millions of dollars.
At this point, Kane can only dream of a career like that.
At 20, and already earning $3 million per season, Kane was on pace for a 30-goal campaign before a 10-game slump, then a concussion, slowed him down.
He’s also on pace to be buried under a mountain of rumours. How the concussion happened in a bar fight, how he’s walked out on restaurant bills — the list goes on.
“I don’t believe any of that,” Tkachuk said. “If you’re Evander, or whoever it is, and you get that negative stuff, you don’t blame him to be unhappy. That’s just unfair for people to do that. It’s a lot of jealousy from people.
“I’m a big Evander Kane fan. Leave the kid alone, let him play. Let him enjoy the city. It’s just a few people who like to tear down other people.”
And it could affect whether or not Kane wants to stay in Winnipeg, Tkachuk warned.
“The people who work in these restaurants and the fans should be very careful,” he said. “Look at what the Jets have done for the economy. I’d be very careful of doing that to players.”
That’s not to say Kane and his teammates don’t have to be careful, too.
After all, today’s mistake can turn into tomorrow’s headline. You only have to look at Dustin Byfuglien’s impaired boating charge to see what a little fun can become.
Tkachuk may have avoided that kind of headline. But who knows how many he may have generated if they’d had camera phones and Twitter in the early-1990s.
“I’m glad there wasn’t,” he said. “It’s a different world, now. You have to adjust to it.”
Soon to be 40, and with three kids of his own, including a couple of hockey-playing boys, 14 and 12, Tkachuk acknowledges today’s Jets probably aren’t as footloose and fancy-free as they were in his day.
But he has some advice for them, just the same.
“You just rely on your teammates and the organization, friends, and make sure you take care of business on the ice,” he said. “And just be careful what you do. Be very, very careful. Put yourself in good positions, responsible positions, and don’t add fuel to the fire.”
HODGEMAIL: WHICH GENERAL MANAGER IS THE NHL'S BEST TRADER?
TSN.CA STAFF, 2/2/2012
TSN's Dave Hodge sounds off on all the hockey issues of the day in Hodgemail. Write in to answer Dave's question and watch the NHL on TSN tonight to see if he reads your response.
It's getting down to the wire for NHL general managers.
On Monday, Feb. 27 they will be front and centre on trade deadline day, looking to make the right deals to help their team make a playoff run, or in some cases, get the team into position to become an eventual contender.
While Brian Burke gets plenty of attention for his active approach in trying to improve his teams, there are also other GMs in the league who have successful track records.
And it's no coincidence that their teams are among the top teams in the NHL.
Take Mike Gillis of the Vancouver Canucks. At last year's trade deadline, he made two depth moves - acquiring Chris Higgins and Maxim Lapierre - that were integral to the Canucks reaching the Cup final.
Boston GM Peter Chiarelli swung a pair of deals that helped shape a Cup winner. His trade of Phil Kessel landed them a draft pick that turned into Tyler Seguin, who was a key contributor to the Bruins' championship season. He also stabilized the blue line by picking up Tomas Kaberle.
Ken Holland has made a living out of snagging key pieces to keep the Detroit Red Wings one of the premier franchises in the league for more than a decade. His list of pickups over the years includes Brendan Shanahan, Chris Chelios, Mathieu Schneider and Todd Bertuzzi.
And Flyers GM Paul Holmgren wasn't afraid to deal two cornerstones of his team this offseason, dealing captain Mike Richards and Jeff Carter and getting Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek.
So with the trade deadline looming, here's Dave's question to you: Which general manager is the NHL's best trader?
Mr. Hockey remains larger than life: Gordie Howe chats with the media in Kamloops on Wednesday.
Gregg Drinnan, TAKING NOTE, February 1, 2012
More than 30 years have passed since Gordie Howe played his last competitive hockey game.
It was a playoff game with the NHL’s Hartford Whalers in the spring of 1980.
All these years later, Mr. Hockey remains larger than life.
To a certain segment of our population, having Gordie Howe walk among them is like rubbing shoulders with Captain America or Sgt. Rock. There was a time when Howe was as mythical as any of those comic book characters.
Believe it or not, hockey didn’t use to be on TV every night. Back in the day, Hockey Night in Canada meant one game on a Saturday night. For a while, there also was a Wednesday night game on CTV but that didn’t have near the cachet of Foster Hewitt and Saturday night.
If you wanted hockey news, you subscribed to The Hockey News, and who cared that it always was a week or two after the fact.
Gordie Howe, who will turn 84 on March 31, was a true icon.
You knew Mr. Hockey was an icon because your elbow and shoulder pads came out of the Eaton’s catalogue. Why? Because those were the ones Gordie Howe wore in the pictures in that same catalogue.
Mr. Hockey, sans elbow pads, was at Interior Savings Centre on Wednesday. He met with the media for a bit of a gabfest in the afternoon and later, with the Kamloops Blazers playing the Spokane Chiefs, rubbed shoulders with folks, signed some things and threw the odd elbow. Hey, old habits and all that.
Howe always will be remembered as the greatest of all the Detroit Red Wings. Never mind that he later played for the World Hockey Association’s Houston Aeros and New England Whalers, before finishing up with the NHL’s Whalers at the age of 52.
With the Red Wings, Howe played on the Production Line, alongside Sid Abel, ol’ Bootnose, and Ted Lindsay, who was Scarface long before Al Pacino. Later, Alex Delvecchio, who was affectionately known as Fats, replaced Abel. In time, Frank Mahovlich, the Big M, took over from Lindsay.
And then, on Jan. 13, 1971, the Red Wings traded Mahovlich to the Montreal Canadiens for forwards Mickey Redmond, Bill Collins and Guy Charron.
Charron, today the Blazers’ head coach, had split the season between the Canadiens and their AHL affiliate, the Montreal Voyageurs.
When Detroit head coach Doug Barkley called, Charron expected he would be told to report to the Red Wings’ Central league affiliate, the Fort Worth Wings.
“He said, ‘No, you’re going to play with Howe and Delvecchio tomorrow night,’ ” Charron recalls. “I think I might have choked on the phone.”
Charron made his Detroit debut in a 2-2 tie with the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.
“I travelled on game day and played with Howe and Delvecchio that night,” Charron says. “I’ll never forget it.
“Alex set me up with a breakaway . . . and I hit the goal post.”
Charron remembers sitting in Detroit’s locker-room before the game.
“I’m basically a rookie and I’m minding my own business, a French-Canadian boy,” Charron recalls. “Gordie came up and both him and Alex said, ‘You know, don’t worry about it. You’re going to play with us. Just do your thing and we’ll adapt to you.’ ”
Charron, who was 10 days from his 21st birthday, was dumbstruck. Jean, his older brother by 18 years, was thrilled. Howe always had been his favourite player. Guy, a 5-foot-10 left winger, preferred Dick Duff, who was about his size and played the same position for the beloved Canadiens in the late-1960s.
Later, the Red Wings were playing the Bruins in Boston.
“I’m a gung-ho 21-year-old kid,” Charron says with a chuckle. “We’re in Boston and Gordie’s in a corner. I had heard of his reputation but you’re going to try to go in and help out.
“We came back to the bench and he said, ‘Guy, when I’m in the corner, don’t worry about coming in. Just be in position to get the puck.’ ”
Charron pauses. Then he laughs.
“I always tell people that’s why I never went in the corners,” he says. “Gordie Howe told me not to.”
Even today, there is reverence in Charron’s voice when he talks of Howe.
“He was always an awesome man,” Charron says. “He’s a very special man.”
In retirement, Howe has proved to be everything we hope our heroes will be. He also turned out to be mortal, just like the rest of us, although most of us can only hope to carry ourselves with such grace in our golden years.
For so many years, his wife, Colleen, had stood by her man and dictated the terms by which others could share him. Then, when Colleen was struck by Pick’s disease, a horrible affliction with similarities to Alzheimer’s, Howe stood by her, all but refusing to leave her side as he cared for her.
Colleen was 76 when she died on March 6, 2009, leading to what surely has been the three toughest years of Howe’s life.
Now he spends time with his four children — daughter Cathy and sons Murray, Mark and Marty — and their families. He tried going it alone but the home he and Colleen had shared for so long is too empty without her.
The last while, he has been with Marty in Hartford. Marty now looks after his father’s bookings and travel arrangements. Marty is always at his father’s side, too. Gordie’s voice now is as quiet as a skate blade cutting through butter. These days, it’s hard to picture Gordie as an NHLer who, according to Marty, lived by the Golden Rule: “Do unto others before they do unto you.”
“If I was hit, I was going to hit back,” Gordie says and, just for a moment, that steely-eyed look flashes across his visage. Then he chuckles.
Gordie is at an age where thoughts oftentimes are fleeting, so Marty is there to help. When Gordie’s mind wanders, Marty, who’ll be 58 on Feb. 18, often finishes the thought.
They’ll be in Vancouver today — the Red Wings play the Canucks there tonight and there is some promotional work to do with Baycrest, a firm that deals with “innovations in aging and brain health.” On Friday, Gordie will be honoured at a game between the Blazers and Vancouver Giants. He and Giants majority owner Ron Toigo are friends.
While his four children share him, he continues to share himself with his game and his fans, as he was doing last night at Interior Savings Centre.
As you watch him, you realize that in the twilight of his life, the arena is his home, hockey people are his friends. You realize that this is where he is most comfortable, that he needs the people now the way the people once needed him.
We only hope that we can give back to him what he once gave to us.
Gordie Howe's latest battle taken public
Gregg Drinnan, Taking Note, Feb 2 2012
Gordie Howe and his son, Marty, spent about 20 minutes with a few members of the Kamloops media on Wednesday afternoon.
The Howes were in Kamloops for a promotion involving the Blazers, who were playing the Spokane Chiefs that evening.
The Howes then had to be in Vancouver for a Thursday promotion and another WHL game on Friday, with the Blazers meeting the Vancouver Giants.
It was obvious from the outset that Gordie, who will turn 84 on March 31, has grown old. However, none of us who were in attendance were aware that Donna Spencer of The Canadian Press had been in conversation with the Howe family and had prepared a story on Gordie and the onset of dementia. That story hit the Internet Thursday morning.
It describes the Gordie Howe we visited with in Kamloops.
Were this 20 years ago, it would be a simple case of Gordie having grown old, just like your favourite uncle, the one who always smells so good and who always has that hug for you but has grown forgetful. These days, however, that isn’t enough. We have to find a particular label to slap on someone who is forgetful, whose mind wanders, who has problems maintaining a thought.
Hey, Gordie still told some entertaining stories; it’s just that they may not have had a whole lot to do with the question he was asked. There also were times when he started to answer a question only to have his mind wander off in a different direction.
But he had that familiar glint in his eyes when he talked about the reputation he earned during his NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings.
“If somebody spears you, you know you’ll get a heavier stick,” he said, and you wondered if the look in his eyes was the one he carried around on the ice with him.
The Howe family obviously has a full understanding of what is happening (Murray, the youngest son, is a doctor who helped care for his mother, Colleen, after she was afflicted with Pick’s disease), which is why Marty, one of his four children, accompanies Gordie everywhere. Oftentimes, Marty will complete an answer that is started by Gordie.
I can tell you, though, that Gordie hasn’t lost his sense of humour.
He walked into the boardroom in the Blazers’ office wearing a Blazers sweater with No. 1 on the back. Obviously made for an equipment-wearing goaltender, it was rather large on him.
“You work like hell to lose some weight and look at this,” a smiling and chuckling Howe said as he pulled the sweater out at the waist to show just how large it was.
Later, when asked about a handsome ring he was wearing, he responded: “It’s mine.”
It was hard not to watch Howe for those 20 minutes and think about how Mr. Hockey has gotten old, just like so many people before us. He is at a point on the road to where we all are headed.
Some of us will get there; some of us won’t. Those of us who do can only hope to have lived a life as full and as honourable as has Gordie Howe.
In the meantime, should you be fortunate enough to come in contact with Gordie, enjoy him. He is a national – nay, international – treasure
Sittler congratulates Gagner, but is happy to keep points record
CHRIS JOHNSTON, The Canadian Press, Feb. 03, 2012
Darryl Sittler knows exactly how Sam Gagner felt.
“Everything falls into place,” he said Friday in an interview. “Every shot you take pretty well goes in or you make a pass and the guy completes it — it's magical those types of nights, they don't happen very often.”
Like many around the hockey world, Sittler was surprised to wake up and hear of Gagner's eight-point performance in Edmonton's 8-4 victory over Chicago on Thursday night.
The Oilers forward became just the 12th NHL player to record at least that many points in a game — and the first since Mario Lemieux last accomplished the feat Dec. 31, 1988.
Sittler, the former captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, continues to hold the NHL record almost 36 years after racking up six goals and four assists in a game against Boston. It remains an evening he still can't really explain.
“I would never have thought that in my wildest dreams that I would be the one to score 10 points in a game, but it happened,” said Sittler. “I'm sure Gagner probably never thought he'd have eight.
“He's been struggling a little bit this season — I don't know if he's had injuries or what it is — but he certainly put up the points last night.”
Gagner's four goals and four assists came in the final 40 minutes of the game. After finishing the second period with three points, he scored the first of three third-period goals at 1:54. He would add two more assist as well.
Sensing what was happening, the fans at Rexall Place chanted “We want 10! We want 10!” — a nod to both a previous blowout win over Chicago and Sittler's record.
Even though scoring in the sport has been greatly reduced since Sittler set his record in 1976, he's still a little surprised it hasn't been challenged. No other NHL player has even reached nine points.
“It's gone on for a long time,” said Sittler. “I guess the fact that there were so many great players like Wayne (Gretzky) and Mario (Lemieux) and Sidney (Crosby) and (Alex) Ovechkin, and the number of years that passed. ... I get asked about it all the time.”
The 61-year-old Sittler continues to do work in community relations for the Maple Leafs. He's prepared for the possibility of one day seeing his record matched or surpassed.
“Those things are out of your control,” said Sittler. “If somebody breaks it, that would be great. No different I guess when I tied and broke (Maurice) Rocket Richard's record — a great Canadian hero and he scored it in the ‘40s. I don't think anyone would have thought that somebody else was going to get eight (points) or six (goals) in a game, that sort of thing. And it happened.
“If it happens to somebody, I'd be happy for them. But hey, am I glad to hold the record and would like to continue holding it? Sure, definitely.”
One thing he refused to do is rule out the possibility of it happening.
“If the stars are aligned right and everything is working, it might happen some day,” said Sittler. “I'm glad to have done it in a Leafs uniform and I'm proud to have held the record for as long as I have so far.”
Gagner did manage one entry into the Oilers record book. He tied the franchise mark for most points in a game, joining Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey.
Goal scoring down despite Gagner's magical night
Tim Wharnsby, CBC Sports, February 3, 2012
There have been 26 games since the NHL all-star break and we've seen a bit of everything. We have seen low-scoring games like the 1-0 shootout win from the New York Rangers in Buffalo on Wednesday to Sam Gagner's incredible eight-point outing in the run-and-gun 8-4 win from the Edmonton Oilers at home against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
There also have been plenty of nail-biters. Fourteen of the 26 games since the break have been decided by a goal, eight were extended into overtime or a shootout, and another three saw final-minute empty-net goals scored.
"I think the playoffs started weeks ago," a general manager said this week, when asked about all the tight games. "Every game just seems so intense this season, almost like a playoff game every night.
"If you don't get at least a point you feel you've fallen behind the competition."
Down the stretch we can expect to see even more games decided by a goal or extended to overtime or a shootout. But with nine weeks to go, the stats indicate that goal-scoring continues its downward trend since the first season out of the lockout.
The stats also show that the NHL is on pace for an average number of one-goal games and a low total of games that have been extended into overtime. Shootouts are on pace for the third highest total since the lockout.
Average total of goals scored per game (not including SO goal):
2005-06 - 6.11
2006-07 - 5.82
2007-08 - 5.50
2008-09 - 5.68
2009-10 - 5.55
2010-11 - 5.52
2011-12 - 5.36
Number of games extended into OT/SO:
2005-06 - 281
2006-07 - 281
2007-08 - 271
2008-09 - 282
2009-10 - 301
2010-11 - 297
2011-12 - 172 (on pace for 278)
Number of shootouts:
2005-06 - 145
2006-07 - 164
2007-08 - 156
2008-09 - 159
2009-10 - 184
2010-11 - 149
2011-12 - 100 (on pace for 161)
One-goal games:
2005-06 - 592
2006-07 - 567
2007-08 - 553
2008-09 - 567
2009-10 - 588
2010-11 - 586
2011-12 - 353 (on pace for 570)
Does winning a number of one-goal games in the regular season translate into playoff success?
Here is a glance at the leaders in one-goal victories since the lockout, and how the Stanley Cup champion finished in terms of one-goal wins in the regular season:
Most 1-goal wins Stanley Cup champion
2005-06 - Carolina 28 Carolina 28-5-8 - (1)
2006-07 - New Jersey 32 Anaheim 23-10-14 - (18)
2007-08 - New Jersey 27 Detroit 18-11-7 - (16)
2008-09 - San Jose 26 Pittsburgh 19-8-9 - (10)
2009-10 - Phoenix 29 Chicago 23-9-8 - (6)
2010-11 - Anaheim (29) Boston 11-6-2 - (9)
2011-12 - Colorado (17) ????????
Lanny recalls Sittler's stunner
STEVE MACFARLANE, QMI Agency, Feb 3 2012
Memories of one of the most unforgettable evenings of Lanny McDonald’s NHL career came rushing back.
Watching highlights of Edmonton Oilers centre Sam Gagner’s incredible eight-point performance Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Calgary Flames Hall of Famer was taken back to a record night during his days with the Toronto Maple Leafs, when linemate Darryl Sittler posted six goals and four assists for the first 10-point game in league history.
“I thought I should have been first star that night with four points,” McDonald joked. “It was a fun time.”
The record still stands, although Gagner took a good run at it.
“Quite a night in Edmonton,” McDonald said. “That was unbelievable — holy smokes.
“He was probably hoping Chicago would score a couple so they would have to pull the goalie or something.”
With high-scoring games a rarity these days, an empty net for an extended period of time might be the only way Sittler’s record ever falls.
“I always said if Gretzky didn’t do it and Lemieux didn’t do it, I’m not sure it would happen,” McDonald said. “Lo and behold, here comes Sam Gagner — eight for eight.”
Factoring in each of the Oilers goals in the 8-4 win over the Hawks, Gagner joined a dozen eight-point NHL performances. Two by Wayne Gretzky, a pair by Mario Lemieux and one by each of Maurice Richard, Bert Olmstead, Tom Bladon, Bryan Trottier, Peter Stastny, Anton Stastny, Paul Coffey and Bernie Nicholls.
The Sittler benchmark set Feb. 7, 1976, during an 11-4 Leafs victory over the Boston Bruins, still stands as one of McDonald’s favourite hockey memories.
“What are the chances, first of all, that you would get to be a part of a night like that?” McDonald asks rhetorically. “Few and far between. The fact that Darryl and I are still best friends today, it’s pretty cool.
“It was one of those nights where you couldn’t wait to get back on the ice because every time Darryl went on the ice, you knew something was gonna happen. It was kind of craziness.
“I think he scored two from behind the net. One of his favourite plays — and it drove Roger Neilson crazy — he’d get his big butt up against the boards so he could look out and throw passes back out front. He was facing the play all the time. Roger always wanted his centre icemen to be the first guy back. Darryl said, ‘We’ll be fine. That’s Errol Thompson’s job or Lanny’s job. My job’s to set them up.’
“Well, he not only set them up, he scored like crazy that night. Six goals — God.”
Thompson finished with three assists. McDonald scored the game’s first goal and added three helpers.
Sittler, however, was wearing magical mitts that night.
Before he potted a natural hat-trick in the third period to finish things off in style, his teammates were clamouring for a chance to get out there with him instead of usual linemates McDonald and Thompson.
“Guys were on the bench giggling and laughing,” recalled McDonald. “At that time, you only had 10 forwards. Sometimes they’d dress 11 forwards and five defence.
“Everyone wanted to be on the ice every time he went on the ice.
“Errol and I were telling them, ‘No, he’s ours!’”
GAGNER HAVING TROUBLE ACCEPTING RECORD-TYING PERFORMANCE
THE CANADIAN PRESS, Feb 3 2012
Sitting at home watching his son make an unlikely assault on the NHL's single-game scoring record, Dave Gagner wasn't getting caught up in the numbers that would leave the hockey world talking.
Instead, he was most excited about what kind of impact they might have on his career.
"I think Sam's a much more mature person than he was three or four years ago," Dave Gagner said Friday in an interview. "I think he's kind of getting to that point where he's very comfortable with who he is. You know, I think he's able to express himself a little bit more now.
"Hopefully this will catapult him to higher levels now."
It's a hope shared by the Edmonton Oilers, who had to create a new entry in their record book alongside Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey following Sam Gagner's eight-point performance against Chicago on Thursday night.
With four goals and four assists, he sped past 90 other NHL players in the scoring charts. It was pretty impressive stuff for someone who has spent much of the season stuck in neutral.
"He's had a lot of people question his ability and stuff like that," said Dave Gagner.
In recent years, that's simply been part of life for Sam Gagner. The sixth overall pick in 2007, he jumped straight into the Oilers lineup as an 18-year-old and had a solid rookie season with 13 goals and 49 points.
Naturally, bigger things were expected, especially since Gagner had scored 118 points during his only season with the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights.
But he's yet to show anywhere near that level of scoring prowess on a consistent basis in the NHL. Looking back, former Knights coach Dale Hunter wonders if another season of junior hockey might have helped his development.
"He was very skilled with us, and they brought him up real young and sometimes you lose your confidence," Hunter, now the coach of the Washington Capitals, told reporters Friday.
Another mitigating factor is the environment in which he's been groomed. The Oilers have bottomed out in recent years, starting a rebuilding cycle that has seen them draft other high-end prospects Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
With all of those players entering the mix and showing promise, it's pushed Gagner slowly out of the spotlight.
"That's hard for a young athlete to handle," said one veteran NHL player, himself a former first-round pick. "It's hard to not feel almost slighted: 'What you like him more than you like me?' After your rookie year, the expectations are different -- just because you scored last night doesn't mean they're going to tell you that you did a great job."
This season has come with yet another wrinkle. As Gagner sputtered through the first half (the four goals Thursday nearly doubled his total to nine), his name started to be mentioned in trade rumours.
In fact, that kind of speculation had recently been picking up steam with the NHL's Feb. 27 trade deadline approaching.
"He's had to learn to deal with it," said Dave Gagner.
The atmosphere has undeniably changed after one unexpected night.
Gagner became just the 12th player in NHL history to record at least eight points in a game -- and the first since Mario Lemieux last accomplished the feat Dec. 31, 1988.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Darryl Sittler continues to hold the all-time record with a 10-point game against Boston in 1976. Less than a week from the 36th anniversary of that event, he still can't entirely explain it.
"Everything falls into place," Sittler said Friday. "It's magical those types of nights, they don't happen very often. I would never have thought that in my wildest dreams that I would be the one to score 10 points in a game, but it happened.
"I'm sure Gagner probably never thought he'd have eight."
There were certainly very few obvious hints that it was coming. At least from the outside.
Dave Gagner had noticed some improvement in his son's play of late and attributes it to him becoming more "sophisticated" in how he prepares for games. The former NHLer is now director of player development for the Vancouver Canucks and believes Sam is finally putting the proper emphasis on all of the small details needed to be a successful pro.
"I don't think when you're really young you really are convinced that it matters," said Dave Gagner. "But then you find out it's a really difficult league to do well in on a nightly basis because everybody's good and everybody's prepared. You're not really fooling anybody so you have to be just that much sharper in all the things that go into your preparation.
"I think Sam's really understanding that now. He understands it's a very fine line between success and failure."
NHL Saturday: Reinstituting red line good talking point
CHRIS STEVENSON, QMI Agency, Feb 3 2012
Now Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman, viewed as one of the bright young minds in the game, has added his voice to the minority looking to bring back the red line. (JASON HALSTEAD/QMI Agency)
It will be interesting to see what will be on the agenda for the general managers' meetings next month, but it sounds like reinstituting the red line for purposes of two-line passes is becoming a talking point.
Bringing back the red line has long been an option endorsed by Senators GM Bryan Murray, who thinks little has been gained by having defencemen fire the puck up the ice and have it tipped in by a teammate at the far blue line (then have the other team do exactly the same thing), but it's been a non-starter for many of his colleagues.
Now Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman, viewed as one of the bright young minds in the game, has added his voice to the minority looking to bring back the red line.
"I don't see it as wanting to slow the game. You have to look at what the game is now. We changed the rules to make it a more skilled game. It's not a more skilled game," Yzerman told the Tampa Bay Times. "It's shoot the puck down the ice and go chase it. It's about getting the puck in the other team's end and getting there as soon as possible."
Yzerman said he would also be in favour of permitting players to engage a little more in their pursuit of a 50-50 puck.
"That way they can brace themselves and take a hit and give a hit. I don't like to use the word obstruction, but you have to allow guys to engage without being called for interference or holding," he said. "You have to allow the guys to compete."
I know, the usual corners will mumble about how the NHL changes its rules too often, but if something seemed like a good idea at the time and has morphed into something else, do you stick with it just because you're afraid of change?
It's worth talking about.
How will reinstitution of the red line affect, for instance, a 1-3-1 defence? Let the coaches chew it over, too.
HEAR AND THERE: With his eight-point game Thursday night, Edmonton Oilers forward Sam Gagner opened the door to some piling on Habs forward Scott Gomez in Montreal, who has just seven points (all assists) this season. Barring a goal against the Washington Capitals Saturday afternoon, the Habs forward will hit the one-year mark since his last goal Sunday. Fans have organized a celebration if he makes it (www.celebrations-gomez.com/en/). There's even a countdown clock. Le Skratch pool hall has two Montreal-area locations offering free shots when Gomez scores. Cheers! "¦ For those wondering, Randy Cunneyworth is 6-11-2 since taking over the Habs from Jacques Martin. The latter was 13-12-7 when he was dismissed "¦ The Minnesota Wild haven't had much luck against their Minnesota predecessors. The Dallas Stars have won 14 straight at home against the Wild. They meet Saturday.
THE BUZZ: If anybody is looking for a 34-year-old defenceman, please call Wild GM Cliff Fletcher. He's looking to move Marek Zidlicky, who's been butting heads with coach Mike Yeo. The coach isn't happy Zidlicky went public with his unhappiness over not playing. Zidlicky complained that many of his shifts come with the third and fourth lines, so, "if you spend most (of the) time in our zone, you can't do anything." Zidlicky also said he offered the coach some advice on the Wild's unimpressive power play. "First time he said it's not my business, second time, he said it's something different," Zidlicky said. "If he got bad power play, he's the head coach. I respect that." Yeo said he told Zidlicky to worry about his own play, not others.
JUST SAYING: The Columbus Blue Jackets are 13 points out of 29th place and mounting a challenge to the Atlanta Thrashers' record of 19 behind second worst, the standard since the latest round of expansion. But the Jackets are getting the all-star game next year, so at least they've got that going for them "¦ Speaking of the Jackets, they're shopping Jeff Carter all over the place. Is there a team that will give him another shot?
JUST WONDERING: Detroit Red Wings scout Kirk Maltby has been following the Buffalo Sabres around. Could the Wings have an interest in Sabres forward Paul Gaustad? If it's not Gaustad, Canadiens winger Travis Moen could fit the bill for added grit for the Wings "¦ You think the Boston Bruins are happy the Carolina Hurricanes aren't going to make the playoffs? ... I'm a Rush fan and all I could think of was the song "Time Stand Still" after the Los Angeles Kings clock fiasco. Apparently a Blue Jackets fan suggested it be played March 8 when the Kings visit the Jackets. That would be outstanding.
THE LAST WORD: "If Scott Gomez sees his shadow today, six more weeks without a goal. #habs #groundhogday" tweet from @MacphersonGaz.
The countdown to the Feb. 27 trade deadline has begun. The list of top players available at the deadline is going to be fluid, but here's a look at five guys who present some of the most interesting situations for their teams.
1. Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils. The Devils are a bubble team and Parise shapes up as potentially the most in-demand free agent this summer. Hang onto him and risk losing him for nothing or keep him around for the playoff push? Hard to see the Devils parting with him, but it's a tough call.
2. Ryan Suter, Nashville Predators. Another potential UFA, he has said he's not interested in signing before the deadline. He wants to see what the Preds do in terms of adding to their team. Can a budget team like the Preds afford to lose him for nothing? Do they wind up using him to make that addition? Is that irony?
3. Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks. The Flying Finn probably doesn't want to go anywhere, but with his experience and enduring scoring touch (47 points in 50 games this year) he would be a great addition for a contending team.
4. Cory Schneider, Vancouver Canucks. He is going to be a restricted free agent in the summer, so the Canucks still have a little leverage, but he has shown he can be a No. 1 and will want that chance. Thing is, can the Canucks afford to move him with the way he's playing and Roberto Luongo's spotty playoff performances?
5. Ryan Smyth, Edmonton Oilers. It normally would be a no-brainer to move a veteran UFA on a rebuilding team, but Smyth is a guy with an emotional attachment to the City of Champions (remember when he left for the New York Islanders in 2007, a move brought to you by Kleenex?) The New York Rangers have interest.
THE GROCERY STICK
Who is -- literally or figuratively -- heading for or in that comfortable spot on the bench that separates the forwards and the defencemen?
Colorado Avalanche forward David Jones led the Avs with 27 goals last year, but has been a shadow of himself this season (just nine in 43 games). Actually, he was worse than the grocery stick the other night as he was a healthy scratch when the Avs faced the Minnesota Wild. The 27-year-old is due to be an UFA this summer, so there's probably a team out there looking for some depth that will think a change in scenery could help him. Or not.
SOMETHING SPECIAL
New Jersey Devils
Power-play opportunities: 170
Goals: 26
Percentage: 15.3
Rank: 22
The Devils power play is nothing special. What's really remarkable is the Devils have also given up a league-leading 13 short-handed goals. That leaves their power play just +13 on the season, the worst mark in the NHL (the Tampa Bay Lightning is next at +14). The good news is the Devils also have a league-leading 11 short-handed goals, which helps mitigate the power play's issues. Bottom line is you know something is going to happen in a power-play situation either way when the Devils are involved.
AMBULANCE CHASING
Injuries that are having, or could have, a big impact.
Reports out of Detroit say goaltender Jimmy Howard suffered a broken little finger in the Wings' win over the Vancouver Canucks Thursday night. Howard leads the league in wins (32), is fifth in goals-against average (2.03) and eighth in save percentage (.924). The good news is Howard is not expected to miss much time (two weeks. The Wings play six times in next 13 days). Backup Ty Conklin is 3-5 with an .866 save percentage this season. Joey MacDonald has been called up.
GO FIGURE
4
With all the crazy comebacks last week, the remaining number of teams that have not lost a game when leading after two periods this season going into Friday night's games. They are the Boston Bruins (21-0), Vancouver Canucks (21-0), Washington Capitals (15-0) and the Dallas Stars (14-0). Not surprising to note the Columbus Blue Jackets have blown the most leads, six.
4
The number of teams tied for most wins (six) when trailing after two periods. They are the Boston Bruins (6-8-1), Nashville Predators (6-13-0), Ottawa Senators (6-17-1) and Colorado Avalanche (6-18-0). The Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins have come back for five wins when trailing after two.
3
The number of teams that have failed to come back and win when trailing after 40 minutes this season. The Anaheim Ducks haven't done it in 22 such situations (0-21-1). The Winnipeg Jets are 0-17-3 and the Carolina Hurricanes are 0-17-3. Interesting that the Phoenix Coyotes are the only team not to have won this season when trailing even after one period (0-13-0).
2
The number of teams that have not lost in regulation time this season when leading after the first period. They are the New York Islanders (12-0-5 when leading after 20 minutes) and the Los Angeles Kings, who are 9-0-1 when they come out of the first with the lead. The Detroit Red Wings have 20 wins when leading after 20 minutes (20-2-1).
John Tavares brings hard lacrosse lessons to NHL
ROY MacGREGOR, Globe and Mail, Feb. 03, 2012
There is something oddly, distantly familiar with what he is doing.
John Tavares, the New York Islanders centre who was the NHL’s player of the month for January, is working the corners. He spins, he rolls off two checkers, he has his head raised like a cobra in search of opportunity. He works through traffic by keeping everything in so tight to his body they cannot stop him from slipping by. He sees an opening no one else has seen, passes quickly and, instantly, a goal is scored.
He is, of course, playing The National Game … but which one?
Tavares is only 21 years of age, and though ESPN recently ranked the “Top 25 NHL players under age of 25” and somehow left him off the list, he is today the talk of the league after scoring nine goals and 13 assists in only 13 games last month and rising into the top five in league scoring.
He is far, far from the fastest player in the game, and yet he is also unstoppable. He works corners as effectively as, but different from, the Sedin twins of the Vancouver Canucks. He has, as Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson noted Friday before the Senators and Islanders met in Ottawa, “incredible hands and vision.”
Where does it come from? Winter or summer? Hockey rink or lacrosse box?
Both, the young rising star says. He grew up playing both sports, both exceptionally well. His uncle, also John Tavares, is one of the greatest lacrosse players of all time, a stubborn, strong man who protects the ball as well as any who have ever played he game and is, simply, deadly from anywhere around the net.
The young John Tavares believes that lacrosse gave him talents that transferred perfectly to Canada’s better-known national game.
“People always talk about eye-hand co-ordination,” he says, “and I totally agree with that. The one thing that I have always told people made a huge difference was rolling off checks and moving through traffic and things like that. It’s really benefited me.”
“People don’t realize how strong he is,” says Islanders defenceman Steve Staios, who thinks Tavares’s skills have “been underestimated” by far more than just ESPN.
“I grew up always playing against guys a little bit older than me,” says Tavares, “so I had to dig in. And not always being the strongest guy try and use my smarts from my hockey and my lacrosse in being successful.”
His success has largely gone unnoticed, says Islanders coach Jack Capuano, as the struggling team itself has largely flown “under the radar.”
Going unnoticed is something that the youngster has never previously experienced. Once he decided to concentrate solely on hockey, he was a phenomenon, granted special status to play major junior hockey at 15. He was the most valuable player of the 2009 world junior championship held in Ottawa and the No. 1 pick overall in the 2009 NHL entry draft.
This sent him to the Islanders, long a troubled franchise in every area from the rink to the ice. There had been some thought that he would want out as soon as possible, but then last fall he surprised the hockey world by signing a six-year contract extension, now making $5.5-million (U.S.) a year – which is approximately 200 times what a good lacrosse professional could expect to make.
“I was drafted here,” he says. “They gave me a great opportunity to play as an 18-, 19-year-old. That’s a unique thing and not a lot of guys get a chance to do it. They put a lot of responsibility and belief in me and I see the culture and our attitude changing every day,
“There was no hesitation in not wanting to be an Islander. I want to be part of the future and part of turning this thing around.”
His remarkable third-year success – even if he fell short of the ESPN listing that has Jonathan Toews, Sidney Crosby, Nicklas Backstrom and Patrick Kane at the top and even includes the likes of Bryan Little and David Perron – is due in no small part to the fact that he has adapted skills picked up in another game.
It is not by accident that every single NHL team has a group of players – North American as well as European – who gather before each match to work on soccer skills before heading out on their skates.
Wayne Gretzky long ago credited lacrosse with giving him the idea of going behind the net and setting up his “office” from where he could send out such effective passes.
Gretzky also believes that there should be no such thing as “summer hockey” – that young athletes should play a variety of games both to teach new skills and, just as importantly, to prevent early burn-out.
And John Tavares, NHL player of the month, could be the poster boy for that argument.
The real NHL trading game
ERIC DUHATSCHEK, Globe and Mail, Feb. 03, 2012
Put yourself in the shoes of an NHL general manager, 24 days from the trade deadline - and not his fantasy shoes by the way, where Sidney Crosby can be traded for Alex Ovechkin and six-for-six blockbusters are common. Try it in the real world, where the decision for so many teams comes down to this: When so few players are made available, how high do you bid for the handful of big names (Jeff Carter, James Van Riemsdyk) that might be pried loose? Or do you do the safe thing and add a couple of useful supplementary pieces who might come cheaply because their value is depressed, such as the deal the Minnesota Wild pulled off Friday morning, getting shootout specialist Erik Christensen from the New York Rangers in exchange for minor-leaguer Casey Wellman.
A lot of last year’s trade deadline deals fell into the latter category, small moves that yielded small rewards. Dennis Wideman was moved in the Florida Panthers’ fire sale, as were Radek Dvorak and Chris Higgins. Jason Arnott, Rusty Klesla, Scottie Upshall, Max Lapierre and Dustin Penner all found new homes. None made much of an impact, except for maybe Higgins, who produced a modest eight points in 25 playoff games for the Vancouver Canucks.
Many also came with the sort of wear-and-tear that obliges potential buyers to be very wary. For example, the Calgary Flames acquired a broken-down Freddie Modin from the Atlanta Thrashers and he simply wasn’t able to contribute (zero points in his only four appearances). Similarly, the Washington Capitals grabbed a broken-down Marco Sturm from the Los Angeles Kings who’d grabbed him from the Boston Bruins and he did little (scoring one goal in 18 games for the Caps, after notching four in 17 for the Kings).
Flames GM Jay Feaster knew Modin from winning the Stanley Cup with him in Tampa. Kings GM Dean Lombardi knew Sturm from drafting him in San Jose. Both were aware of what they were getting character wise. Character was not the issue, but it required the respective managers to take a leap of faith and guess if the mileage on the odometer would make them useful additions. They weren’t.
So here we are in 2012 and GMs will be asked to make the same tough calls with trade targets that include their share of warts. Ales Hemsky, frequently injured but highly skilled and a player that can still occasionally make something out of nothing, seems like he’s no longer a fit with the Oilers and their emphasis on youth. The Kings made a pitch for him last year, but the belief was that Edmonton wouldn’t deal him unless prospect Braydon Schenn was in the mix, so it didn’t go through. Hemsky’s value may be down because he hasn’t played as many as 72 games since the ‘09 season (22 in 2010 due to shoulder surgery; 47 last year, 37 and counting this year. At 6-foot, 184 pounds, he would probably be a good fit with Detroit, a team he sunk back in the 2006 playoffs. Management there has long memories; they will remember Hemsky when he was at his best (17 points in 24 playoff games during Edmonton’s trip to the final).
All the focus in Columbus will be on Carter, who is on an 11-year contract, with a per-year cap charge of $5.273-million - not bad if you see him as a front-line 40-goal scorer, a total he has managed just once in his first seven years. The thinking is Columbus wants to recoup its investment in Carter, which was two top-10 picks, Jacob Voracek, 7th overall in ’07 and Sean Couturier, 8th overall last year. Carter was activated from injured reserve Thursday and is scheduled to play for Columbus Friday night in Anaheim. Thus far, this year, he’s played 30 games (17 points) and missed 21.
Columbus also has a couple of less expensive pieces available. For anyone not prepared to meet Edmonton’s asking price for Hemsky, there’s Kristian Huselius to ponder. Huselius has been hurt all year and is a pending UFA, but played for Kings’ coach Darryl Sutter in Calgary and is a skilled, if meek, scorer. The advantage of taking a chance on Huselius is it’s low risk and potentially high reward if his groin issues ever clear up. In the four years between ’07 and ’10, Huselius had 77, 66, 56 and 63 points for Calgary, then Columbus, but he has managed to get into just two games so far this season. Sami Pahlsson and Vaclav Prospal are the Blue Jackets’ other unrestricted free agents up front.
Carolina is listening with interest to offers for hard-nosed Tuomo Ruutu, a potential UFA, who cost Carolina Andrew Ladd a few years back. Sutter likes his Finns and Ruutu is a more skilled version of Ville Niemenen who helped Calgary get to the 2004 final (and was really good, eliminating San Jose in the third round). Another possibility in Carolina would be Jussi Jokinen, a good shootout guy and terrific in the ’09 playoffs for Hurricanes (11 points, including 7 goals, in 18 games).
Tampa is moving up the standings again, but the feeling is the Lightning would move Ryan Malone, one of the few players remaining from the 2008 buying spree engineered by former owners Len Barrie and Oren Koules. Malone has had his share of injury issues this season; he’s a big-bodied forward, slowing down though, and the attraction will be his 16 point playoff performance for Pittsburgh in their Cup year. Malone has three years remaining on the seven-year, $31.5-million that carries an annual cap hit of $4.5-million but was front-loaded so the remaining years of the deal are fairly attractive in terms of cash paid out - $3-million, then two final years at $2.5-million. Malone’s no-movement clause ends after next year, at which point it becomes one of those limited no-trade clauses in which he can submit a list of 12 teams to which he would not accept a trade to.
THE FOLLY OF THE THREE-POINT GAME: In January, 48 out of 180 games went to overtime or a shootout, meaning 48 times, a single game produced three points in the standings - two for the winner, one for the loser - while the other 132 games produced the standard two. If the NHL is truly insistent that every game requires a winner and a loser, fine. But they can’t keep making some games more valuable than others. The rest of the world puts a greater value on regulation wins compared to shootout or overtime wins. They use the three-point system in the Olympics, at the world juniors, in Russia's KHL, in other Euro hockey leagues, even in the English Premiership. Hey if it's good enough for Chelsea and Man U, it should be good enough for the NHL.
But nobody in a position to do something about the system wants to change anything because it accomplishes two things for the league. First, it creates the illusion that about 24 teams are competitive because they are all at or above the new fake .500, which is the only way to describe a system that lumps regulation and overtime victories into a single category, but considers regulation and overtime losses two completely different animals. Secondly, it keeps the playoff races alive in most years right down to the wire. Even though the nonsense of having some games produce three points in the standings and others just two is completely irrational, the league will continue to do it because the alternative is what you have in major league baseball, with half the league out of playoff contention by the all-star break and two thirds done by the start of September. All those empty stadiums in the final month for major league baseball’s also-rans? That's commissioner Gary Bettman's worst nightmare, and the reason the point system isn’t going to change any time soon.
THE SAM GAGNER SHOW: Sam Gagner, whose eight points in a single game Thursday night tied an Edmonton Oilers’ franchise record shared by Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey, jumped 90 places in the NHL scoring standings with that outburst, moving from 200 to 110. Gagner had 22 points going into the game. Good tweet about it from teammate Ryan Whitney, who also produced his first goal of the season: “What a sick night. When he got his 8th point Darryl Sittler's heart rate must have just skyrocketed. 8 points now is like getting 14 in 80s” ... Of course, the temptation immediately was to scroll down to the bottom of the NHL scoring stats to see who might have fewer than eight points all season. Yep, Scott Gomez, everybody’s favourite punching bag, seven assists in 20 games. Gagner’s father, Dave, who works for the Vancouver Canucks, once had six points in a game back in 1994 playing for the Dallas Stars. Wouldn’t it be weird if the rumours came true and the Chicago Blackhawks actually acquired Gagner between now and the trading deadline to add offensive depth? Gagner played his junior hockey in London with Patrick Kane, another small but skilled forward, who happens to be in one of the deepest scoring funks of his career (four goals in the past 33 games). Chicago and Vancouver seem destined to meet in every playoff year and that would create an interesting family dynamic between pere et fils ... Gagner had his big night, playing mostly with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ regular linemates, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle. Nugent-Hopkins, closing in on a return from a Jan. 2 shoulder injury suffered against the Blackhawks, has managed to hold onto the rookie scoring lead, despite a month on the sidelines. He had 35 points in 38 games; New Jersey’s Adam Henrique is next at 34, although coming hard is Vancouver’s Cody Hodgson, the rookie of the month for January, who cracked the 30 point barrier this week. It’s possible that Gagner’s big night will give the Oilers reason to pause and re-think their strategy relating to his long-term future with the team. He is, after all, just 22. If the line as currently formed can develop any kind of consistent chemistry, Nugent-Hopkins could then anchor a solid second line. Up front, more than anything, the Oilers need better scoring balance ... The Red Wings will get an interesting test now, depending upon how long starting goaltender Jimmy Howard is out with a broken pinkie figure. Detroit thinks the injury isn’t serious and Howard could be back playing within a week or two. In the meantime, Ty Conklin will get a handful of starts and the time off probably won’t hurt Howard, 44 appearances this season. Only Nashville’s Pekka Rinne, at 46, has more ... According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Predators have the NHL’s most challenging schedule coming out of the all-star break, given that their remaining opponents have collectively posted a .596 winning percentage. At the other end of the spectrum: The Florida Panthers, aiming to break that decades-long playoff drought, have the easiest at .532.
AND FINALLY: How to turn a public relations gaffe into a worthwhile fundraiser? When the Kings get back from their annual Grammy road trip, 75 fans and a guest will have the opportunity to have Pancakes with Penner on February 13, 2012 at the Westchester International House Of Pancakes from 8:00-10:00 a.m. According to the official press release, the lucky winners - who will pay anywhere from $10 to $75 to participate - will be provided with an all-you-can-eat breakfast featuring pancakes, bacon, eggs, coffee, and juice, along with assorted prizes. Space is limited only because of the size of the IHOP in question. Penner was the object of much ridicule on Twitter when he announced last month that he’d hurt his back, tucking into a stack of his wife’s “delicious pancakes.” Penner, incidentally, made the comment with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Humour doesn’t always transfer well to the blogosphere and the fact that Penner is stuck at three goals in 38 games doesn’t help his cause much either. The Kings are currently playing him on the second line with Mike Richards and Jarrett Stoll. If that isn’t an organizational cry for scoring help, it’s hard to know what is.
Grapes goes 1-on-1 with the Sun
Tim Baines ,Ottawa Sun, January 28, 2012
OTTAWA - Don Cherry is outspoken, controversial ... and loved by hockey fans across Canada.
In town for Sunday's all-star game, the Coach's Corner co-host stopped by the Ottawa Sun for an exclusive 1-on 1-interview.
No question was out of bounds. Ever the straight shooter, Cherry let it all hang out.
SUN: You're 77 years old and still going strong ... how long can you keep this going?
CHERRY: Well, I'm going to keep it going as long as I'm having fun. I'm as excited now as I was for the very first Coach's Corner. I have my steak and my nap, just like I did when I played and coached. If CBC only knew, I'd do it for nothing.
SUN: How has the game changed over the years?
CHERRY: The guys are bigger and they're faster. And they can shoot harder. Is it better? I don't know. But the respect for one another has dropped.
SUN: You talk about the respect level having dropped. Is there a correlation between that and the rising number of concussions?
CHERRY: People are upset when I blame the victims. You cannot do what they do, turn their backs, and expect not to get hit. When I see guys run guys from behind. We never used to do that. We knew it was coming. I think it comes from when they're playing minor hockey. There's nobody that sees more minor hockey than me. What they do, they turn their backs. Nine of 10 guys, they don't hit them. But that 10th guy, he gets him. I've never seen so many concussions — it's sad.
SUN: Do you think there were a lot of guys playing concussed back in the day?
CHERRY: We couldn't afford to have concussions back in those days. You got your bell rung, you got back out there. If you were dizzy and kind of wobbly going to the bench, the next day in practice, the guys would make fun of you. We never said we had a concussion or we had a headache or we were nauseous. We just went out and played. If you missed too many games with a headache and feeling dizzy, you wouldn't be around too long.
SUN: If you could make one change to the game of hockey, what would you do?
CHERRY: There's two. One is the instigator rule. So many injuries are a result of the instigator rule. All I have to do is mention Gretzky. He had a credit card when he was in Edmonton. It was unbelievable. He never got hit. I think he got hit once the whole time he was in Edmonton. I used to talk to the people in the States when I was down there and they said there's a rule in the National Hockey League that you can't hit Gretzky. I said it's not that, the rule is Semenko and McSorley. Today, nobody can protect anybody. It's absolutely asinine. The governors actually said they'd put the instigator rule in so tough guys wouldn't pick on the stars when it was the exact opposite. Now you've got little weasels running around with their visors — sticking and acting brave. A few years ago, you'd take and cuff them and they wouldn't do it.
The other one is touch icing. There have been more guys retired, careers ruined, from touch icing than there has been for concussions. But it's not the buzzword right now. Touch icing is ridiculous. Take that Foster kid — Kurtis Foster — he's never been the same since they broke his leg. He has a rod in his leg. For what? It's exciting to see a guy go head first into the boards? It's exciting? For me, no.
SUN: Talk about the dynamic between you and your Hockey Night in Canada sidekick, Ron MacLean ... Has there ever been a moment where you wanted to take a poke at him, or where he wanted to take a swing at you?
CHERRY: Well, he'd never want to take a poke at me because it would be the last poke he takes. I've really been ticked off at him. When he first started out, we didn't get along at all. I told him one time in Vancouver if he did something on TV, sincerely I was going to knock him right off that table. He started to do it anyway and I said 'OK, be ready to go.' He's been bailing on me the last 2 or 3 weeks. I told him to be prepared, no more Mr. Nice Guy. Four or five times, I could have drifted him.
SUN: Is there a point where CBC offers you a lifetime contract?
CHERRY: No. In fact, a few years ago, the boss of CBC called me reprehensible and despicable. So they tolerate me now. That's all I can say.
SUN: Ratings and money speak.
CHERRY: That's for you to say, not me. Too bad they weren't at the airport today. I met (Ottawa) mayor (Jim) Watson. And I posed for pictures for half an hour while I was waiting for my bags. I'm a popular guy and I know it.
SUN: Does CBC give you feedback on comments you make?
CHERRY: They said to me this thing with (Stu) Grimson and the two other guys, you've got a right to say it, but we don't agree with you. I've got to admit CBC has been pretty good to me. I said to them: 'When I go and you're going to fire me, it won't be because I misinterpreted something. I mean what I say.'
SUN: Have you said anything on air that you've regretted?
CHERRY: Yes. It was Edmonton and Chicago. I can remember it was like it was yesterday. I was on with Dave Hodge. It was a defenceman. Dr. Randy Gregg. He did not like me, for some reason, I guess because he was an intellectual college guy. He had a breakaway against Chicago and he muffed it up. I said, 'How would you like to have Dr. Randy Gregg operate on your heart with those hands?' My mother phoned me the next day and she (didn't like that I got) personal ... and I felt bad about that.
SUN: You were selected as one of the 10 greatest Canadians. Your reaction?
CHERRY: The people that voted for me did not think I was the greatest Canadian. It was a time that the right wing, the hard-working guy in the factory, the construction worker could finally have a say. They didn't think I was the greatest Canadian, maybe the most popular. The ordinary working guy like myself had a chance to say something. Maybe I was the most popular, certainly not the greatest Canadian.
SUN: Who was the greatest Canadian?
CHERRY: Sir. John MacDonald. Kingston boy. Sat with him at the airport today, got a picture taken with his statue. You could go on and on. But I think Terry Fox, to me, is my hero.
SUN: You get emotional on the air when you talk about soldiers, any one moment choked you up?
CHERRY: There was one particular moment. I'm getting choked up right now talking about it, one young kid, looked about 18, I sort of had his resume so I wouldn't make a mistake. I couldn't do it. I pushed it over to MacLean. He pushed it back to me. I remember the first time we ran all of them. I walk in there and Kathy Broderick was reading the soldiers. I sat down to watch. But I had to leave.
BAINES: Do we not care enough about our soldiers, about our country?
CHERRY: Nobody cares. Nobody really cares like the States. I lived in the States. I lived on Elm Drive. All the houses had flags out. In my neighbourhood, I'm the only house that has a flag out. Yeah it bothers me. I think of all those guys that are dying.
SUN: Does it bother you that some people don't respect this country?
CHERRY: The first thing you do is try to make this country like the country you came from where you were persecuted or you couldn't eat? If you don't think Canada is No. 1 when you take our milk and honey, and you don't think we're the best, then you should go back to where you came from, where you think is No. 1. If you don't think Canada is No. 1, go back to your country and don't let the gate hit your ass on the way out.
SUN: What's your stance on fighting?
CHERRY: Most of the players like it. The coaches don't seem to mind it. And the owners don't seem to mind it. The people that love it the most are the fans. And they're the ones that pay the freight. The only ones that don't like it are the reporters. And they get in free. And if you want violence, you should see in the pressroom when the roast beef comes out. The TV reporters go out and ask fans if they like fighting and the people answer yes, yes, yes. And the one that says no, that's the one they show on the news. If you take away fighting, you take a lot of excitement out of the game.
SUN: Does any fight stand out?
CHERRY: Stan Jonathon vs. Pierre Bouchard. He broke Bouchard's nose, his cheekbone and he had 60 stitches. There was blood everywhere. Bouchard broke his nose so bad, there wasn't blood coming out, there were membranes coming out. They asked Pierre if he was ever going to play again in the National Hockey League. He said: 'Yeah, if I take up the organ.' He said: 'Serge Savard is a good friend of mine, but I didn't want a nose like his.'
SUN: Brian Burke put Colton Orr on waivers, suggesting there might be an end to that kind of player, the fighter.
CHERRY: Isn't it funny, you used to be able to push around Ottawa. Here comes soft Ottawa again. Let's push Ottawa around. We don't have any worries. Now they bring up guys to face them. All of a sudden they're knocking on first place. And the most-penalized team is the Boston Bruins. That kind of tells you something. You don't push Ottawa around.
BAINES: Should each team carry fighters?
CHERRY: The guy has got to play. And if you notice Ottawa, all the guys play. They all play about eight minutes, and that's about perfecdt for me. They're not goons sitting there. I don't like using the word goons. All the guys are trying to make a living.
Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
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