Penner, Richards, Vokoun, Arnott, even John Mitchell, were all either traded or rumored to be traded on 2011 NHL Trade Deadline Day, plus many more. While just over a dozen trades actually registered today, there are plenty of deals that just never worked out. As you know, I was able to obtain a script of certain phone calls that were made throughout the day. Take a look.
RANGERS-STARS:
Glen Sather --> Joe Nieuwendyk - 4:49 AM: Hey Joe, I guess you're still asleep. Anyway, get back to me ASAP! I think I have a deal that you can't refuse for Brad Richards!
Joe Nieuwendyk --> Glen Sather - 6:07 AM: Dammit, Glen, do you ever sleep?
Glen Sather: Nope, neither does my city!
Joe Nieuwendyk: Anyway, what are you willing to give me for Brad?
Glen Sather: Well, since he is injured right now and is a free agent at the end of the year, I'd be willing to send one of my highly regarded minor league defensemen and a 1st round pick to Dallas.
Joe Nieuwendyk: Glen, we've talked about this before, Wade Redden doesn't count as a highly regarded minor league defenseman.
CANUCKS-ISLANDERS
Garth Snow (6:47 AM): G'mornin' Mike!
Mike Gillis: Hey, Garth.
Garth Snow: Hey, look, I was interested in trading for Alex Burrows, and...
Mike Gillis: For the 100th time, I already have one goalie with a massive contract, I'm not interested in another.
Garth Snow: Hmm, maybe you're right. Oh, actually, Stephane Auger is officiating a bunch of our games coming up, so maybe it's not a good idea.
DEVILS-KINGS
Dean Lombardi (7:18AM): Hey, Lou, any chance you'll budge on Ilya?
Lou Lamoriello: Not a chance, besides, even if I did trade him, the league would probably reject the trade and fine me more draft picks. I'm really not interested in going to arbitration again.
Dean Lombardi: Fine. Fair enough. How's your trade deadline day going so far?
Lou Lamoriello: Status Quo. You want Jason Arnott? ... Dean? ... Dean??
LEAFS-BRUINS
Peter Chiarelli (8:29 AM): Hey, Brian, you've been of great service to me over the past couple of years, maybe you'll want to help me again?
Brian Burke: Sure, Pete, what's up?
Peter Chiarelli: Well, I have this defenseman, his name is Tomas Kaberle, maybe you've heard the name before. Anyway, he hasn't been great with us, but I'm sure he'd fit right into your Leafs team.
Brian Burke: Interesting...
Peter Chiarelli: Yeah, so what do you think? Two first rounders and maybe, hmm, Phil Kessel in return?
Brian Burke: No. I've done that before. People haven't forgiven me.
Peter Chiarelli: Dammit. (in background:) "Guys, he didn't fall for it."
PENGUINS-CAPITALS
George McPhee (9:55 AM): Hey, Ray, I don't suppose you want to do the Crosby for Ovechkin trade this year, do you?
Ray Shero: Nah, maybe next year.
George McPhee: Okay, sounds great. Crap, I think I see Pierre McGuire spying on me. Gotta run.
CANADIENS-OILERS
Pierre Gauthier (10:03 AM): Steve, I think I really have something you'll like.
Steve Tambellini: Okay, shoot.
Pierre Gauthier: How about Dustin Penner for Ben Maxwell and Maxim Lapierre?
Steve Tambellini: Pierre, you traded both of those guys already.
Pierre Gauthier: Oh. Hang on, let me call Don Cherry and see what he says.
Steve Tambellini: Pierre, who are you kidding, you won't make a trade if it was the last thing you did...Pierre?
Pierre Gauthier (1:27 PM): Man, that Don Cherry, he loves to talk...
BLACKHAWKS-SENATORS
Stan Bowman: Hey, Bryan, I like this Campoli guy. What'll he cost me?
Bryan Murray: Eh, couple draft picks.
Stan Bowman: Hmm, I'll give you three 10th round draft picks.
Bryan Murray: Okay, it's a deal.
Stan Bowman: Umm, I'm not sure if I should tell you, but there's no 10th round.
Bryan Murray: Oh. Well, maybe just a 7th round pick. You know, we like to pile up on 7th round draft picks.
LEAFS-SHARKS
Brian Burke to himself (2:59 PM): Ugh. I need to make at least one trade today. But who? YES! I know, I'll trade for Kyle Wellwood! Let me call his agent!
Wellwood's agent: Hey, Brian, what's up?
Brian Burke: Where's Kyle? I want to bring him back to Toronto.
Wellwood's agent: Well, he's actually out eating with his friends over at Burger King. He's been there since last night. Should I have him call you back?
Brian Burke: No, it's 3 PM, it's too late.
STARS-BRUINS
Peter Chiarelli (3:16 PM): Hey, Joe, just kicking the tires on Brad. Guess you didn't get a good offer for him. I was wondering what you think it would take to land him and sneak a last deal in?
Joe Nieuwendyk: A lot.
Peter Chiarelli: Prospect and a 1st rounder?
Joe Nieuwendyk: More.
Peter Chiarelli: Chara?
Joe Nieuwendyk: More. I mean, a LOT more.
Peter Chiarelli: You don't mean...
Joe Nieuwendyk: Yes. I want Gregory Campbell.
Peter Chiarelli: Forget it.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
DGA invades Montreal - the week that was
I'm taking a break from the usual post genre for today, that will return mid-next week. Today, I want to write about my (second) trip to Montreal, Quebec, which is in my opinion, the heart and soul of the hockey world. With all due respect to the city of Toronto, the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Maple Leafs organization, if 29 teams were planets, they would revolve around the Montreal Canadiens solar system. Here's a recap of my days in Montreal:
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD: Arrived in Montreal around noon. I have a Devils sweatshirt on, so I am getting some interesting looks and occasional comments from the natives as I walk from my hotel to the Bell Centre. Nobody is being rude, everyone is classy and it's easy to spark a friendly conversation about hockey with. If I was in Philly, I might be dead by now.
I shop at the Canadiens' gift shop and buy myself a Habs cap. I have a very good reason for doing this, and it's not because I'm abandoning the Devils, it's because I have to buy any cap that fits me, because most do not.
I go to dinner at my favorite restaurant in Canada that I've found so far. It's called Guido and Angelino's and it's located at the corner of the Montreal Forum. To anyone who hasn't been to Montreal, they have kept the building from the Forum and turned it into a 22-plex Cinema, as well as created a small, 4-story mall. In the center of the building remains one section of the old Forum seats as well as a statue of a Habs fan and a statue of the great "Rocket Richard." Also accomplished at dinner: I sell my extra ticket to my waiter, as his son would like to experience his first game at Bell Centre as well.
After dinner, I go back to the bakery, still at the Forum, and enjoy some gelati (Italian ice cream). After returning to the hotel, I spent hours watching TSN and Rogers Sportsnet (and some RDS that I couldn't understand), and enjoyed rare hockey coverage on national TV, all heavily bias towards the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the U.S., you'll get limited coverage that is heavily bias towards the Pittsburgh Penguins.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH: It's game day. Toronto Maple Leafs at Montreal Canadiens at 7:30. But that's hours away.
I find the address to Martin Brodeur's restaurant and arena in St. Leonard, which is twenty minutes out of downtown Montreal. This is the neighborhood that Brodeur, as well as Roberto Luongo grew up in.
Marty's restaurant is a modern Italian pizzeria, and he's got some memorabilia there as well. Upon walking in on the right wall, there are two framed All-Star jerseys from 2004 in Minnesota featuring Brodeur's All-Star jersey and co-owner (of the restaurant) Sheldon Souray. On the far left is a poster of pictures (all taken by Brodeur's father, Denis) from the game on March 17th, 2009, the day Brodeur passed Patrick Roy for the most wins in NHL history by a goaltender. There are 56 of these posters throughout Quebec, and this is the original. The other 55 are located at select sports bars. If you walk straight ahead upon walking in, there is a hallway filled with pictures from Brodeur and Souray's careers.
Everything about the restaurant (La Pizzeria Etc.) is phenomenal. The food, the people, the facility, it's all wonderful. I was able to make connections with the waiter who was there that day, since he and Brodeur are friends, but any hockey fan would enjoy the place. I took a leftover box home, and that's one of my souvenirs from the place. Next door to Marty's restaurant is "Prima Luna," an upscale restaurant with a ball room that also has a wall of pictures from Brodeur and Souray's careers.
It then took me half an hour to find "Arena Martin Brodeur," which is hardly five miles from the restaurant. The arena was dedicated to Brodeur after he won the Stanley Cup (I believe in 2000). Again, the people at the rink were extremely kind. Now, back to the issue of caps not relating to Ilya Kovalchuk, but baseball caps: I wanted an "MB30" cap, which is part of a line of clothes (t-shirts/caps, etc.) started on Brodeur's website (martinbrodeur30.com). I ended up buying the "MB30" t-shirt, which has his MB30 logo on the front with netting in the logo and a list of awards scattered on the back of the shirt, such as Calder, Vezina, Olympic Gold and Stanley Cup.
I didn't have enough time, but Roberto Luongo also has an arena dedicated to him, which is funny, because he hasn't won a Stanley Cup. Regardless, I'm assuming it's a must-see for Vancouver fans and Luongo fans.
GAMETIME: My hotel was three blocks from the Bell Centre, so I left for a 7:30 game at just past 6:00. Usually, when I'm leaving for a Devils game, I leave before 5:00 PM because of the uncertainty of New Jersey traffic. Fifteen minutes later, I'm through the gates of the arena.
Now, I've been to Bell Centre before on a tour of the arena, but not yet to a game, and I had a few thoughts about the place this time:
- Security is low. They won't let me into the Prudential Center without a pretty thorough bag check and with my cell phone on and out of my pocket. Obviously, location plays a big part in it...but at the Bell Centre, they scanned my ticket and I walked right in (don't get any ideas, please).
- Most fans appreciated that I made the trip to Montreal for the main purpose of experiencing the Bell Centre.
- There are a LOT of Toronto Maple Leaf fans in Canada, and they travel very well.
- Although Leafs/Habs is one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports, there was little, if any, fan violence. Even at Devils/Rangers games at either arena, there will be some fighting in the seats and several fans that won't make it through three periods, but I honestly didn't see a single fan get ejected from the arena. They're classy fans most of the time.
- I'm sure this is true in all six Canadian arenas, but everyone sings the national anthem. In many American arenas, fans will wait for the right time to shout something or start a chant. It's not that we aren't proud to be American, it's just that sometimes, fans have their own agendas at games.
- Despite ticket prices, every fan cares about the game. Most fans are wearing jerseys, either red or blue, and there are few seats used for purely business. The fans are obviously among the league's loudest and most passionate, but they don't miss anything. Every time ex-Hab Mike Komisarek touched the puck, the crowd was all over him. In New Jersey, Scott Gomez and Sean Avery get booed mercilessly, but not to the extent that Habs fans booed Komisarek. Later in the first period, the fans amused themselves by booing Dion Phaneuf every time he touched the puck, and did that for the rest of the game. Kessel? That's automatic...
It was truly a unique experience, and something that few, if any, other fanbases can provide. Again, nothing against Toronto fans, but as a whole, Habs fans are always involved in the game. I can't say that Habs fans are more passionate because I have yet to visit the Air Canada Centre.
As for the game itself, the crowd got into it early as Jeff Halpern deflected a Roman Hamrlik wrister in, but Alex Auld got toasted, allowing a pair of power play goals to Phil Kessel and a third goal to Brett Lebda, his first of the season, before getting pulled. In the second period, Cammalleri and Wisniewski got the Habs tied up at 3 with power play goals 20 seconds apart, but Tyler Bozak scored one in the second and another in the third to give Toronto a 5-3 lead. Max Pacioretty scored with less than two minutes to play, but Toronto pinned Montreal in the Habs' own end for most of the remaining 90 seconds and won, 5-4. The concourse was nearly silent following the game, at least by the home fans. The many Leaf fans who made the trip celebrated, but not in a rude manner.
Again, the walk back to the hotel was painless. In Newark, it would have taken 15 minutes just to get in the car, another 15 to get out of Newark, and then the ride home, but here, it was barely a 15-minute walk back to the hotel. Once I got back, I watched TSN's recap and then watched extended highlights on RDS in French.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH: I was supposed to leave Montreal that Friday, but New York state was getting slammed with a blizzard that kept me stranded for another day. So, naturally, when you're given an extra day in Montreal, you take advantage of it. I found my favorite bakery from two years ago, and then returned to Marty Brodeur's restaurant.
Now, Canadians have to appreciate something for a moment: in the U.S., it is absolutely impossible to find any hockey coverage whatsoever, unless you have Sirius radio, where you'll be able to find some hockey coverage, but nothing Earth-shattering. From noon to 2, you can get NHL Live on the NHL Network, and from 4 to 6, you can get NHL Power Play on NHL Network, but other than that, there is nothing you can watch or listen to, so I'll appreciate anything I can get.
Canadians complain about TSN, and you know what? I get it. It's bias and they focus on what they want to. Some of the analysts are annoying, but it's coverage that you can't find across the border. This is why I spent part of Friday afternoon watching the simulcast of The Fan 590's afternoon radio show, "Prime Time Sports," with the always entertaining, Bob McCown. I laughed hard when they discussed the Maple Leafs' playoff odds. It seemed that the Leafs were 30 points up on 9th and that there's no way they couldn't make the playoffs. They basically said that is Phil Kessel could have a point in 2 out of every 3 games the Leafs played, they would be in and Ron Wilson should win the Adams Trophy.
Through all of this ridiculous talk, they did call Gary Bettman an "irrational businessman" who was making decisions to save his image (what's left of it, anyway??) and to boost his ego. The decisions they were referring to is the situation in Phoenix. It's been nothing short of a drama, with the league's constant refusal to relocate, the failed bond sales and the fact that other teams are paying for a team to play in Glendale, Arizona and take a financial loss every year in Phoenix. That's not bias, it's rational. If I lived in Canada, I'd listen to those guys every day. Those three hours were more entertaining than three weeks of coverage in the U.S.
That night, I returned to (where else) the Forum to eat at Guido and Angelino's again, topped off with more gelati.
---
I made my return to Twitter mid-day yesterday after waking at 4:00 AM to leave Montreal at 5 AM to arrive back at noon to meet Zach Parise at a signing in New Jersey.
---
Montreal is an awesome city. It almost has a European-feel to it. The people are great, there's great food, and they're all crazy about the Canadiens. It's a different world during hockey season than it is in the summer. I still can't believe that it's all over now. Well, there's always next time... Au revoir, Montreal.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD: Arrived in Montreal around noon. I have a Devils sweatshirt on, so I am getting some interesting looks and occasional comments from the natives as I walk from my hotel to the Bell Centre. Nobody is being rude, everyone is classy and it's easy to spark a friendly conversation about hockey with. If I was in Philly, I might be dead by now.
I shop at the Canadiens' gift shop and buy myself a Habs cap. I have a very good reason for doing this, and it's not because I'm abandoning the Devils, it's because I have to buy any cap that fits me, because most do not.
I go to dinner at my favorite restaurant in Canada that I've found so far. It's called Guido and Angelino's and it's located at the corner of the Montreal Forum. To anyone who hasn't been to Montreal, they have kept the building from the Forum and turned it into a 22-plex Cinema, as well as created a small, 4-story mall. In the center of the building remains one section of the old Forum seats as well as a statue of a Habs fan and a statue of the great "Rocket Richard." Also accomplished at dinner: I sell my extra ticket to my waiter, as his son would like to experience his first game at Bell Centre as well.
After dinner, I go back to the bakery, still at the Forum, and enjoy some gelati (Italian ice cream). After returning to the hotel, I spent hours watching TSN and Rogers Sportsnet (and some RDS that I couldn't understand), and enjoyed rare hockey coverage on national TV, all heavily bias towards the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the U.S., you'll get limited coverage that is heavily bias towards the Pittsburgh Penguins.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH: It's game day. Toronto Maple Leafs at Montreal Canadiens at 7:30. But that's hours away.
I find the address to Martin Brodeur's restaurant and arena in St. Leonard, which is twenty minutes out of downtown Montreal. This is the neighborhood that Brodeur, as well as Roberto Luongo grew up in.
Marty's restaurant is a modern Italian pizzeria, and he's got some memorabilia there as well. Upon walking in on the right wall, there are two framed All-Star jerseys from 2004 in Minnesota featuring Brodeur's All-Star jersey and co-owner (of the restaurant) Sheldon Souray. On the far left is a poster of pictures (all taken by Brodeur's father, Denis) from the game on March 17th, 2009, the day Brodeur passed Patrick Roy for the most wins in NHL history by a goaltender. There are 56 of these posters throughout Quebec, and this is the original. The other 55 are located at select sports bars. If you walk straight ahead upon walking in, there is a hallway filled with pictures from Brodeur and Souray's careers.
Everything about the restaurant (La Pizzeria Etc.) is phenomenal. The food, the people, the facility, it's all wonderful. I was able to make connections with the waiter who was there that day, since he and Brodeur are friends, but any hockey fan would enjoy the place. I took a leftover box home, and that's one of my souvenirs from the place. Next door to Marty's restaurant is "Prima Luna," an upscale restaurant with a ball room that also has a wall of pictures from Brodeur and Souray's careers.
It then took me half an hour to find "Arena Martin Brodeur," which is hardly five miles from the restaurant. The arena was dedicated to Brodeur after he won the Stanley Cup (I believe in 2000). Again, the people at the rink were extremely kind. Now, back to the issue of caps not relating to Ilya Kovalchuk, but baseball caps: I wanted an "MB30" cap, which is part of a line of clothes (t-shirts/caps, etc.) started on Brodeur's website (martinbrodeur30.com). I ended up buying the "MB30" t-shirt, which has his MB30 logo on the front with netting in the logo and a list of awards scattered on the back of the shirt, such as Calder, Vezina, Olympic Gold and Stanley Cup.
I didn't have enough time, but Roberto Luongo also has an arena dedicated to him, which is funny, because he hasn't won a Stanley Cup. Regardless, I'm assuming it's a must-see for Vancouver fans and Luongo fans.
GAMETIME: My hotel was three blocks from the Bell Centre, so I left for a 7:30 game at just past 6:00. Usually, when I'm leaving for a Devils game, I leave before 5:00 PM because of the uncertainty of New Jersey traffic. Fifteen minutes later, I'm through the gates of the arena.
Now, I've been to Bell Centre before on a tour of the arena, but not yet to a game, and I had a few thoughts about the place this time:
- Security is low. They won't let me into the Prudential Center without a pretty thorough bag check and with my cell phone on and out of my pocket. Obviously, location plays a big part in it...but at the Bell Centre, they scanned my ticket and I walked right in (don't get any ideas, please).
- Most fans appreciated that I made the trip to Montreal for the main purpose of experiencing the Bell Centre.
- There are a LOT of Toronto Maple Leaf fans in Canada, and they travel very well.
- Although Leafs/Habs is one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports, there was little, if any, fan violence. Even at Devils/Rangers games at either arena, there will be some fighting in the seats and several fans that won't make it through three periods, but I honestly didn't see a single fan get ejected from the arena. They're classy fans most of the time.
- I'm sure this is true in all six Canadian arenas, but everyone sings the national anthem. In many American arenas, fans will wait for the right time to shout something or start a chant. It's not that we aren't proud to be American, it's just that sometimes, fans have their own agendas at games.
- Despite ticket prices, every fan cares about the game. Most fans are wearing jerseys, either red or blue, and there are few seats used for purely business. The fans are obviously among the league's loudest and most passionate, but they don't miss anything. Every time ex-Hab Mike Komisarek touched the puck, the crowd was all over him. In New Jersey, Scott Gomez and Sean Avery get booed mercilessly, but not to the extent that Habs fans booed Komisarek. Later in the first period, the fans amused themselves by booing Dion Phaneuf every time he touched the puck, and did that for the rest of the game. Kessel? That's automatic...
It was truly a unique experience, and something that few, if any, other fanbases can provide. Again, nothing against Toronto fans, but as a whole, Habs fans are always involved in the game. I can't say that Habs fans are more passionate because I have yet to visit the Air Canada Centre.
As for the game itself, the crowd got into it early as Jeff Halpern deflected a Roman Hamrlik wrister in, but Alex Auld got toasted, allowing a pair of power play goals to Phil Kessel and a third goal to Brett Lebda, his first of the season, before getting pulled. In the second period, Cammalleri and Wisniewski got the Habs tied up at 3 with power play goals 20 seconds apart, but Tyler Bozak scored one in the second and another in the third to give Toronto a 5-3 lead. Max Pacioretty scored with less than two minutes to play, but Toronto pinned Montreal in the Habs' own end for most of the remaining 90 seconds and won, 5-4. The concourse was nearly silent following the game, at least by the home fans. The many Leaf fans who made the trip celebrated, but not in a rude manner.
Again, the walk back to the hotel was painless. In Newark, it would have taken 15 minutes just to get in the car, another 15 to get out of Newark, and then the ride home, but here, it was barely a 15-minute walk back to the hotel. Once I got back, I watched TSN's recap and then watched extended highlights on RDS in French.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH: I was supposed to leave Montreal that Friday, but New York state was getting slammed with a blizzard that kept me stranded for another day. So, naturally, when you're given an extra day in Montreal, you take advantage of it. I found my favorite bakery from two years ago, and then returned to Marty Brodeur's restaurant.
Now, Canadians have to appreciate something for a moment: in the U.S., it is absolutely impossible to find any hockey coverage whatsoever, unless you have Sirius radio, where you'll be able to find some hockey coverage, but nothing Earth-shattering. From noon to 2, you can get NHL Live on the NHL Network, and from 4 to 6, you can get NHL Power Play on NHL Network, but other than that, there is nothing you can watch or listen to, so I'll appreciate anything I can get.
Canadians complain about TSN, and you know what? I get it. It's bias and they focus on what they want to. Some of the analysts are annoying, but it's coverage that you can't find across the border. This is why I spent part of Friday afternoon watching the simulcast of The Fan 590's afternoon radio show, "Prime Time Sports," with the always entertaining, Bob McCown. I laughed hard when they discussed the Maple Leafs' playoff odds. It seemed that the Leafs were 30 points up on 9th and that there's no way they couldn't make the playoffs. They basically said that is Phil Kessel could have a point in 2 out of every 3 games the Leafs played, they would be in and Ron Wilson should win the Adams Trophy.
Through all of this ridiculous talk, they did call Gary Bettman an "irrational businessman" who was making decisions to save his image (what's left of it, anyway??) and to boost his ego. The decisions they were referring to is the situation in Phoenix. It's been nothing short of a drama, with the league's constant refusal to relocate, the failed bond sales and the fact that other teams are paying for a team to play in Glendale, Arizona and take a financial loss every year in Phoenix. That's not bias, it's rational. If I lived in Canada, I'd listen to those guys every day. Those three hours were more entertaining than three weeks of coverage in the U.S.
That night, I returned to (where else) the Forum to eat at Guido and Angelino's again, topped off with more gelati.
---
I made my return to Twitter mid-day yesterday after waking at 4:00 AM to leave Montreal at 5 AM to arrive back at noon to meet Zach Parise at a signing in New Jersey.
---
Montreal is an awesome city. It almost has a European-feel to it. The people are great, there's great food, and they're all crazy about the Canadiens. It's a different world during hockey season than it is in the summer. I still can't believe that it's all over now. Well, there's always next time... Au revoir, Montreal.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Problems with the Caps-Pens rivalry
If you catch a rare ESPN segment where they talk about hockey, Pittsburgh and Washington are probably the featured teams. Washington, Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh, Washington. Sometimes, listening to Barry Melrose talking about Crosby and Ovechkin just makes you want to pull off that ridiculous hair of his and lend it to Pierre McGuire, because of the obnoxious glare you see on TV with the arena lights shining on his head (thanks to @retroguy777, I may have borrowed that). Either way, here's a list of problems with the Washington-Pittsburgh rivalry.
ESPN - Anytime ESPN says something about hockey, assume the opposite. Here, they say the Caps-Pens rivalry is the league's best.
Scandals - Usually, a crazy game or playoff series occurs, which brews a rivalry, sometimes involving officials. In this rivalry, Pittsburgh wins because the scandal with always go one way.
Lop-sided results - The Caps have owned Pittsburgh for much of the regular season recently. The playoffs do balance that, however.
All about the stars - Let's face it, the rivalry would be nothing without Crosby and Ovechkin. Now, if, say, Matt Cooke were to brutally knock out a Cap or John Erskine were to wickedly own a Penguin in a fight, then there'd be something to look forward to.
Mario Lemieux - If you listen to Mario and league keeps handling situations the way they do, he's selling the Penguins, which naturally leads to bankruptcy and the relocation of the franchise, thus destroying the rivalry. Um, Gary, this is where you step in and fix everything...
Relevance - Just because they're the only two teams in hockey not in Chicago doesn't mean they hate each other.
Divisions - Although they both used to play in the Patrick division, they are in seperate divisions now. Washington gets to play in huge hockey markets, such as Atlanta and Miami.
HOW TO MAKE IT A RIVALRY:
- Back in the 1970s and 1980s, teams would just start brawls with each other. To avoid having the entire roster of a team suspended and relying on minor leaguers, the teams should avoid this, unless you're like Pittsburgh and you already have a minor league roster on your NHL team, then you really need to be careful.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins badly need a superstar on their team. Right now, Alex Ovechkin is the only relevant player in the rivalry. Too bad Pittsburgh doesn't have one of those...
- You can't just create a rivalry because it amuses Gary Bettman, it needs to develop over time. They've met in the playoffs once, if they do again, two things will be certain: a) The rivalry will become more intense and b) Washington won't play anyone else that season after that series.
- There needs to be bad blood, not just from the seats, but from the people involved with the teams. It's a shame neither team has an owner willing to openly come out and criticize things...
- Not only is the rivalry lop-sided, but if you take the two stars, Crosby and Ovechkin, their facial-hair-growing-ability is as well. If you averaged them together, you'd probably come up with two average human beings.
- To make this the best rivalry in the NHL, the easiest thing for Gary Bettman to do is simply get rid of the Original Six.
- For fans' amusement, Mike Milbury should coach one of the teams and Pierre McGuire should coach the other. Pierre would only have to move over twenty feet from where he already stands and annoys players.
- If they listen to me about the Milbury/McGuire one, make sure everyone brings extra Tylenol.
ESPN - Anytime ESPN says something about hockey, assume the opposite. Here, they say the Caps-Pens rivalry is the league's best.
Scandals - Usually, a crazy game or playoff series occurs, which brews a rivalry, sometimes involving officials. In this rivalry, Pittsburgh wins because the scandal with always go one way.
Lop-sided results - The Caps have owned Pittsburgh for much of the regular season recently. The playoffs do balance that, however.
All about the stars - Let's face it, the rivalry would be nothing without Crosby and Ovechkin. Now, if, say, Matt Cooke were to brutally knock out a Cap or John Erskine were to wickedly own a Penguin in a fight, then there'd be something to look forward to.
Mario Lemieux - If you listen to Mario and league keeps handling situations the way they do, he's selling the Penguins, which naturally leads to bankruptcy and the relocation of the franchise, thus destroying the rivalry. Um, Gary, this is where you step in and fix everything...
Relevance - Just because they're the only two teams in hockey not in Chicago doesn't mean they hate each other.
Divisions - Although they both used to play in the Patrick division, they are in seperate divisions now. Washington gets to play in huge hockey markets, such as Atlanta and Miami.
HOW TO MAKE IT A RIVALRY:
- Back in the 1970s and 1980s, teams would just start brawls with each other. To avoid having the entire roster of a team suspended and relying on minor leaguers, the teams should avoid this, unless you're like Pittsburgh and you already have a minor league roster on your NHL team, then you really need to be careful.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins badly need a superstar on their team. Right now, Alex Ovechkin is the only relevant player in the rivalry. Too bad Pittsburgh doesn't have one of those...
- You can't just create a rivalry because it amuses Gary Bettman, it needs to develop over time. They've met in the playoffs once, if they do again, two things will be certain: a) The rivalry will become more intense and b) Washington won't play anyone else that season after that series.
- There needs to be bad blood, not just from the seats, but from the people involved with the teams. It's a shame neither team has an owner willing to openly come out and criticize things...
- Not only is the rivalry lop-sided, but if you take the two stars, Crosby and Ovechkin, their facial-hair-growing-ability is as well. If you averaged them together, you'd probably come up with two average human beings.
- To make this the best rivalry in the NHL, the easiest thing for Gary Bettman to do is simply get rid of the Original Six.
- For fans' amusement, Mike Milbury should coach one of the teams and Pierre McGuire should coach the other. Pierre would only have to move over twenty feet from where he already stands and annoys players.
- If they listen to me about the Milbury/McGuire one, make sure everyone brings extra Tylenol.
Monday, February 21, 2011
What has gone right for the Devils?
The Devils started the season 10-29-2, which was by far the worst record in the NHL. It was also a worse record than the Islanders, which is more embarassing. Since then, however, they've gone 15-1-2, cut their playoff deficit from 27 points to 10 and even have Scott Burnside believing that this team is for real. Okay, I admit it, Burnside never said such a thing. Here are some of my theories as to why the Devils are playing so much better now.
The threat of being traded - Jason Arnott was the most vocal member of the Devils saying he would waive his no-movement clause to be traded to a contender, but then he saw Jamie Langenbrunner get shipped to Dallas, and out of fear that he too might be traded to Dallas and be Langenbrunner's teammate again, he has changed his mind.
They're "Moose"ing not booing - Johan Hedberg has been an intrical part of the Devils' recent success, but it took a while for that to happen. There is a logical reason for this. Hedberg earned the nickname "Moose" while playing for Pittsburgh, reflecting on his Manitoba Moose days. Somehow, Hedberg forgot this and believed Devils fans were booing him and the team, and they played miserably. Insert Jacques Lemaire, who reminded Hedberg of the chants, and the Devils turned into the hottest team in the NHL.
The Sidney Crosby theory - Interestingly enough, the day Sidney Crosby went out with his concussion (Jan. 4th) is also the day the Devils started playing better. They lost twice to the Flyers, but less than a week later, the 15-1-2 run began. Part of this reasoning is that Gary Bettman has less time to give orders to the refs about how to ruin the Devils, because he had to spend more time caring for Crosby.
Put the player on waivers theory - Lou Lamoriello placed Brian Rolston and Anssi Salmela on waivers, because both players were struggling badly. No team claimed either, and now both players are magically playing like superstars, or well, at least up to their contracts. Tim Sestito was recently waived. Did I miss something? Did Ilya Kovalchuk get waived at some point?
The John MacLean conspiracy - Maybe coaching matters. Under John MacLean, the Devils were a completely random team that had no idea a game was going on. It looked more like the Winter Classic family skate than an NHL game most of the time, but to cover that up, MacLean had the Devils shoot from everywhere, and the Devils averaged more than 30 shots per game. Since then, Jacques Lemaire has re-instituted the neutral zone trap, with the threat of Lou Lamoriello's secret stash of jelly jars being available to him if the players didn't cooperate.
First round draft picks - Due to the rather insane Ilya Kovalchuk contract, the Devils are going to lose a first round draft pick in one of the next four seasons, but Gary Bettman was going to rig the draft, give the Devils the first overall pick, and then force Lou to lose the draft pick this year. Since that would be slightly embarassing, Lou Lamoriello decided not to tank this year.
Recent history comebacks - The last two Eastern conference champions have been Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, respectively. Both teams are Atlantic division teams that struggled miserably during the first half of the season, changed coaches, and made impressive runs to the Finals. New Jersey management must have felt that even at 10-29-2, the Devils could continue that tradition. Now all the Devils need to do is trade for Matt Cooke.
Attendance - The Devils have tried many different ways of trying to attract more fans to the Prudential Center. They even went to the extremes of building a $300 million arena, and lured the worst team in the NBA to play in it. This season, the Devils figured they'd tank the first half of the season, and then go on a historic run to the playoffs that would put the 1978 Yankees to shame. How does that sell tickets? Hmm, that's a good question.
The curse of Cam Janssen - The Devils have not won a playoff round since the trade of Cam Janssen. They really don't want that looming for one more year.
Incentives - John MacLean clearly didn't have the Devils motivated or inspired. Jacques Lemaire does. He offers everyone a box of doughnuts after each win, so even the suddenly injury-prone Martin Brodeur joins the fun. I'm not sure the long-term implications of this are smart, though.
New York City - Some Devils players are aware that Madison Square Garden is exactly 7 miles door-to-door from the Prudential Center. That also means New York City must be a similar distance. The players realize that by not allowing 7 goals per game, the games could end sooner, the post-game rants by the coaches will end sooner and the fear of having your car destroyed ends sooner...oh wait, that's only in Philly. Then they can go to Manhattan and find a place to eat...again.
Chico Resch - Devils goalies were getting sick of listening to Chico Resch going on endlessly about how he was a better goalie than them.
The threat of being traded - Jason Arnott was the most vocal member of the Devils saying he would waive his no-movement clause to be traded to a contender, but then he saw Jamie Langenbrunner get shipped to Dallas, and out of fear that he too might be traded to Dallas and be Langenbrunner's teammate again, he has changed his mind.
They're "Moose"ing not booing - Johan Hedberg has been an intrical part of the Devils' recent success, but it took a while for that to happen. There is a logical reason for this. Hedberg earned the nickname "Moose" while playing for Pittsburgh, reflecting on his Manitoba Moose days. Somehow, Hedberg forgot this and believed Devils fans were booing him and the team, and they played miserably. Insert Jacques Lemaire, who reminded Hedberg of the chants, and the Devils turned into the hottest team in the NHL.
The Sidney Crosby theory - Interestingly enough, the day Sidney Crosby went out with his concussion (Jan. 4th) is also the day the Devils started playing better. They lost twice to the Flyers, but less than a week later, the 15-1-2 run began. Part of this reasoning is that Gary Bettman has less time to give orders to the refs about how to ruin the Devils, because he had to spend more time caring for Crosby.
Put the player on waivers theory - Lou Lamoriello placed Brian Rolston and Anssi Salmela on waivers, because both players were struggling badly. No team claimed either, and now both players are magically playing like superstars, or well, at least up to their contracts. Tim Sestito was recently waived. Did I miss something? Did Ilya Kovalchuk get waived at some point?
The John MacLean conspiracy - Maybe coaching matters. Under John MacLean, the Devils were a completely random team that had no idea a game was going on. It looked more like the Winter Classic family skate than an NHL game most of the time, but to cover that up, MacLean had the Devils shoot from everywhere, and the Devils averaged more than 30 shots per game. Since then, Jacques Lemaire has re-instituted the neutral zone trap, with the threat of Lou Lamoriello's secret stash of jelly jars being available to him if the players didn't cooperate.
First round draft picks - Due to the rather insane Ilya Kovalchuk contract, the Devils are going to lose a first round draft pick in one of the next four seasons, but Gary Bettman was going to rig the draft, give the Devils the first overall pick, and then force Lou to lose the draft pick this year. Since that would be slightly embarassing, Lou Lamoriello decided not to tank this year.
Recent history comebacks - The last two Eastern conference champions have been Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, respectively. Both teams are Atlantic division teams that struggled miserably during the first half of the season, changed coaches, and made impressive runs to the Finals. New Jersey management must have felt that even at 10-29-2, the Devils could continue that tradition. Now all the Devils need to do is trade for Matt Cooke.
Attendance - The Devils have tried many different ways of trying to attract more fans to the Prudential Center. They even went to the extremes of building a $300 million arena, and lured the worst team in the NBA to play in it. This season, the Devils figured they'd tank the first half of the season, and then go on a historic run to the playoffs that would put the 1978 Yankees to shame. How does that sell tickets? Hmm, that's a good question.
The curse of Cam Janssen - The Devils have not won a playoff round since the trade of Cam Janssen. They really don't want that looming for one more year.
Incentives - John MacLean clearly didn't have the Devils motivated or inspired. Jacques Lemaire does. He offers everyone a box of doughnuts after each win, so even the suddenly injury-prone Martin Brodeur joins the fun. I'm not sure the long-term implications of this are smart, though.
New York City - Some Devils players are aware that Madison Square Garden is exactly 7 miles door-to-door from the Prudential Center. That also means New York City must be a similar distance. The players realize that by not allowing 7 goals per game, the games could end sooner, the post-game rants by the coaches will end sooner and the fear of having your car destroyed ends sooner...oh wait, that's only in Philly. Then they can go to Manhattan and find a place to eat...again.
Chico Resch - Devils goalies were getting sick of listening to Chico Resch going on endlessly about how he was a better goalie than them.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Who is the best player in the NHL right now?
For the first half of the season, Sidney Crosby was the best player in the NHL. Following his injury, Steven Stamkos exploded, and some believed he was the best player in the league, but as of today, who's the best player the league has to offer? Check out my analysis.
Henrik & Daniel Sedin - Some NHL statisticians have been claiming that they may have mixed up some of the points awarded to Daniel Sedin. They said something about not being able to tell him apart from his linemate. Ironically enough, they said the same think about Henrik. Excuses...
Steven Stamkos - While he's a nice guy, he didn't have to take measures to such extremes as to cool off his goal scoring to wait for Sidney Crosby to come back from his concussion. This has Martin St. Louis annoyed.
Alex Ovechkin - Ovechkin leads the NHL in shots, yet he has managed to be tied with a NY Islander, John Tavares, for 21st in the NHL in goals, and trails another Islander, Michael Grabner, overall. Another interesting point is that while they may live in the same city, it may be tougher for Ovechkin to visit the White House than teams from far away.
Corey Perry - While Perry is talented, he hasn't managed to take a big step into becoming a true NHL star. How do you accomplish that? Have your name mentioned on ESPN at least once a year.
Mikhail Grabovski - Hey, just because he's the best player on the Leafs does not automatically mean he's the best player in the NHL...
Henrik Zetterberg - He doesn't lead the league in any statistical categories, but I'd love to know what he wears to games on gameday, especially after pulling this off at his wedding. http://bit.ly/eiVofr
Matt Cooke - Amazingly, this pesky dirty forward does not lead his team in suspended games.
Loui Eriksson - Two thoughts come to mind when thinking about Eriksson, especially to the casual hockey fan, and it can't be both. Who? OR Most talented athlete in the state of Texas. Actually, I'm pretty sure nobody in Texas thinks that...
Brad Richards - Yes, Richards is having another great season, but consider 2 things: He's un unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and might be signed by the NY Rangers. Glen Sather then overpays for Richards, and Richards becomes bust #2334 in New York, just behind Wade Redden and Carl Pavano.
Sidney Crosby - He didn't have enough time to lock up the Art Ross trophy before he got knocked out, but I'll tell you what he does have plenty of time to do right now: develop normal facial hair. When he does, he'll have to teach Jeff Skinner how to do it.
Paul Bissonnette - These days, people are judged by how many followers they have on Twitter, right?
Eric Staal - Not sure about Eriksson in Texas, but it's safe to say Eric Staal is North Carolina's most talented athlete, yes, including college basketball. I don't think any Carolina Panthers will be upset or insulted that I said that...once someone tells them who Eric Staal is.
Keith Yandle - The 24 year old has 41 assists in 59 games from the blue line, trailing 3 Swedes and St. Louis in the league. Now, put him on a team with real offensive players, and he's a superstar.
Brandon Dubinsky - Dubinsky is tied with Lucic for the NHL lead in empty net goals.
Dustin Byfuglien - If he was an actual defenseman, his stats would be quite impressive, but he's not, nor is he a candidate for the Selke Trophy. Still, I figured I'd include him because I remembered how to spell his name correctly.
Sean Avery - Whoa, I have no idea how that got there.
Chris Pronger - His ability to shatter fellow players and intimidate them just by being in the same state has to draw some consideration. That may reveal why Crosby and Malkin will be out so long.
Ilya Kovalchuk - Only Couture has more game-winning goals than Ilya, nobody has more overtime goals than Kovy, he's also scored the first goal of a game seven times, and he only has one empty net goal. Since he has 4 game winners over the past two weeks, and he's got points in 9 straight games, goals in 4 straight, as well as 11 goals during the Devils' 14-1-2 run, I conclude that Kovalchuk is the best player in the league right now...no bias.
Henrik & Daniel Sedin - Some NHL statisticians have been claiming that they may have mixed up some of the points awarded to Daniel Sedin. They said something about not being able to tell him apart from his linemate. Ironically enough, they said the same think about Henrik. Excuses...
Steven Stamkos - While he's a nice guy, he didn't have to take measures to such extremes as to cool off his goal scoring to wait for Sidney Crosby to come back from his concussion. This has Martin St. Louis annoyed.
Alex Ovechkin - Ovechkin leads the NHL in shots, yet he has managed to be tied with a NY Islander, John Tavares, for 21st in the NHL in goals, and trails another Islander, Michael Grabner, overall. Another interesting point is that while they may live in the same city, it may be tougher for Ovechkin to visit the White House than teams from far away.
Corey Perry - While Perry is talented, he hasn't managed to take a big step into becoming a true NHL star. How do you accomplish that? Have your name mentioned on ESPN at least once a year.
Mikhail Grabovski - Hey, just because he's the best player on the Leafs does not automatically mean he's the best player in the NHL...
Henrik Zetterberg - He doesn't lead the league in any statistical categories, but I'd love to know what he wears to games on gameday, especially after pulling this off at his wedding. http://bit.ly/eiVofr
Matt Cooke - Amazingly, this pesky dirty forward does not lead his team in suspended games.
Loui Eriksson - Two thoughts come to mind when thinking about Eriksson, especially to the casual hockey fan, and it can't be both. Who? OR Most talented athlete in the state of Texas. Actually, I'm pretty sure nobody in Texas thinks that...
Brad Richards - Yes, Richards is having another great season, but consider 2 things: He's un unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and might be signed by the NY Rangers. Glen Sather then overpays for Richards, and Richards becomes bust #2334 in New York, just behind Wade Redden and Carl Pavano.
Sidney Crosby - He didn't have enough time to lock up the Art Ross trophy before he got knocked out, but I'll tell you what he does have plenty of time to do right now: develop normal facial hair. When he does, he'll have to teach Jeff Skinner how to do it.
Paul Bissonnette - These days, people are judged by how many followers they have on Twitter, right?
Eric Staal - Not sure about Eriksson in Texas, but it's safe to say Eric Staal is North Carolina's most talented athlete, yes, including college basketball. I don't think any Carolina Panthers will be upset or insulted that I said that...once someone tells them who Eric Staal is.
Keith Yandle - The 24 year old has 41 assists in 59 games from the blue line, trailing 3 Swedes and St. Louis in the league. Now, put him on a team with real offensive players, and he's a superstar.
Brandon Dubinsky - Dubinsky is tied with Lucic for the NHL lead in empty net goals.
Dustin Byfuglien - If he was an actual defenseman, his stats would be quite impressive, but he's not, nor is he a candidate for the Selke Trophy. Still, I figured I'd include him because I remembered how to spell his name correctly.
Chris Pronger - His ability to shatter fellow players and intimidate them just by being in the same state has to draw some consideration. That may reveal why Crosby and Malkin will be out so long.
Ilya Kovalchuk - Only Couture has more game-winning goals than Ilya, nobody has more overtime goals than Kovy, he's also scored the first goal of a game seven times, and he only has one empty net goal. Since he has 4 game winners over the past two weeks, and he's got points in 9 straight games, goals in 4 straight, as well as 11 goals during the Devils' 14-1-2 run, I conclude that Kovalchuk is the best player in the league right now...no bias.
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