Mike Emerick’s Broken Thesaurus
I will preface this by saying there are very few play-by-play announcers who I would seek out on their own merits (Vin Scully and Bob Ufer would be two; Ufer, we used to turn down the sound on U of M TV broadcasts, in order to listen to his radio call). And there’s nothing especially bad about Mike Emerick. However: every time I’m forced to listen to him, I find I am annoyed by the same three offenses:
1) he uses “knife” as a verb. e.g. “Gonchar knifes the puck down.” But he’s not knifing the puck down. He’s knocking it down. To use knife as a verb is to suggest stabbing (which is not what’s going on) or slicing (ibid). This would be annoying to have to listen to once, but you could build a drinking game around how many times he says it. Everyone is knifing everything on every play.
2) he says “recoil” when he means “regroup.” This he uses when the puck has been cleared and the team regroups for another attempted offensive attack. He is I guess thinking of the fact that the team is reloading — like a gun — and coiling — like a snake — in preparation for firing or striking. Unfortunately, he’s mangled his intent and is left with “recoil.” Recoil once literally carried the meaning “to coil again” and it would still be useful as such, were it not for the overwhelming preference among everyone on the English-speaking planet for its primary meaning, “to shrink back, in fear, disgust, etc.” Everytime he tells me that Detroit recoils, I picture them scared out of their minds, as if Chucky just leapt out.
3) he says “regather” used when he’s tired of “recoil.” Regather. Sorry. If you ask me, it shouldn’t even be a word; but if you’re going to let it into the dictionary, at least have it refer to something when you use it in a sentence. Detroit regathers what? The puck, I guess. In that case, “retrieves” would be more natural. Although he could mean “gathers themselves” as in “collects themselves again,” “gets their wits about them.” Blegh. Regroups, goddamit.
Bonus annoyance: At least Emerick doesn’t refer to the face-off circles as the f-ing “ladies’ tees” like the idiot Ducks announcer.
Attention: Dean Lombardi Can Write – Battle of California
I have no idea what he’s talking about. Lombardi is either the smartest man alive or a Hank Scorpio-esque villain and my opinion goes back and forth every day.
via Attention: Dean Lombardi Can Write – Battle of California.
Los Angeles Kings – News: FROM THE DESK OF DEAN LOMBARDI – 05/26/2009
THE MONEY QUOTE:
“I want to assure you that all of our end-of-season discussions with our players involved a clear message and understanding that next season carries an expectation that we will be playing playoff hockey. Most importantly, please understand that we are following our plan to turn this team into an annual contender and we will not steer away from this path.”
Kings 2004 draft evaluation – Hockey’s Future
Five years out from this Entry Draft, the Los Angeles Kings class of 2004 appears to be one of the worst in recent memory. None have established themselves as regulars in the NHL, the top pick (No. 11 overall) was traded and has eventually returned to Europe, and most of the remaining choices either never panned out or were fringe prospects at best. Only Scott Parse remains as a legitimate possibility for an NHL career in a Kings jersey, but even that is a long shot.
The nine selections have played a total of 10 games in the NHL for an average of 1.1 games played per selection.
Chiarelli has some operating to do – The Boston Globe
No one knows the cap number for next season, and it won’t be computed for approximately another three weeks, simply because ’09 playoff revenue (factoring about $2 million per game) is a critical part of the brew. The last Stanley Cup game is slated to be played no later than June 16, which will keep next year’s cap number out of GMs’ hands until the third or fourth week of June.
If the cap comes in as expected, around $55 million, only a slight cut from this season’s $56.7 million, Chiarelli will have some $10 million to sign his four restricted free agents: Kessel, Krejci, Bitz, and Hunwick. But keep in mind – and this could be critical over the next four months – GMs are allowed to run their budgets 10 percent over the cap number until opening night of the season.
NJ.com: Cap Could Drop by as much as $2.5MM for 2009
As they compile their wish lists for the start of free agency beginning July 1, GMs will likely be facing the first decrease in the salary cap since it was instituted for the 2005-06 season.
The cap could drop by as much as $2.5 million for the 2009-10 season from its current $56.7 million figure, according to NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly. Although Daly couldn’t say, it is not inconceivable that the figure could fall to $50 million for the 2010-11 season.
Kukla’s Korner: More Loopy Jack Johnson Sr. Stories are Surfacing
There’s this really creepy story about Jim Rutherford having dinner with Jack Johnson while the former was trying to convince the latter to forgo his college career to play for the Hurricanes. After some period of time, JJ revealed that his father was sitting in the parking lot of the restaurant, and had been out there the whole time. Rutherford, taken aback by that news, suggested that JJ bring his father in, but the Johnsons preferred to work it their own way. Their own, creepy way. Even then, Canes fans thought it was a little like Carl Lindros.
Now, this crazy man has written a letter on behalf of his 22 year old son. This is just weird. This whole thing is downright bizarre.
At the end of the day, most Hurricanes fans are happy about the trade. Carolina ended up with a very dependable (regular season, anyway) defenseman in Tim Gleason, they were able to shed some salary in Oleg Tverdovsky, and they got rid of a bad situation with JJ.
via KuklasKorner : Red and Black Hockey : Jack Johnson Sr goes to bat for his baby boy. .
Henrik Zetterberg gets ready for the Blackhawks
Kelowna Player I’ve Never Heard of Has World’s Greatest Ever Penalty Killing Shift
Cody Almond. Had to look him up. Property of the Wild. Drafted 140th overall in 2007. This kid blocked no fewer than four shots in one loooong five-on-three power-play, including one off his head and another in which Loktionov had faked everyone in the stadium out of their socks before dishing off to [player TBD] in the slot who proceeded to fire the puck into Almond’s stomach (Almond was somehow anticipating this pass and shot and was somehow-somehow lying flat on the ice in time to absorb the puck). I’m not saying he is any kind of shoo-in for anything, or that Lombardi screwed up by picking Josh “Podge” Turnbull four picks ahead of Almond. But, damn. That was amazing.
Kings Blog Takes Down Dreger – Pension Plan Puppets
It may have the worst wall paper since that Urkel tribute my-space page, but the blog entry makes up for it with a nice take down of Dreger’s latest trade rumour make-believe.
via Kings Blog Takes Down Dreger – Pension Plan Puppets.
Now hang on.
Bozo Weighs in @ Oilers Nation
From commenter Bozo [who is not me]:
All I’m saying is, not naming your sources is one thing but making a claim that’s so wishy washy that it could never be shown to be wrong is bad form. It makes Dreger look like he’s guilty even if he isn’t. And it makes me a little more wary of Dreger than I was before.
via The lowdown – OilersNation.com.
I wish I had said that.
Battle of California is Verbose on the Topic of This “Jack Johnson to Russia?” Nonsense
It’s not happening.
via On This “Jack Johnson to Russia?” Nonsense – Battle of California.
OilersNation.com: some Bozo blogger thinks Darren Dreger of TSN might be pulling NHL trade rumours out of his *ss and making things up
So, some Bozo blogger thinks Darren Dreger of TSN might be pulling NHL trade rumours out of his ass and making things up, eh? Dreger’s inquisitor on a website known as Kings Kool-Aid calls himself “qwisp,” which may or may not be a version of his real name. That doesn’t matter, even though the thought of somebody who might be tapping while using a fake name calling out Dreger rings just a tad goofy. It’s a witty bit of interpretive scrawl by qwisp, but it goes to show how little this person knows about the challenges facing MSM types like Dreger, who earn their living by gathering information, and the rules of the insider game as they pertain to protecting sources. The point being pushed by qwisp is Dreger’s item on Vincent Lecavalier and possible interest in him by the Los Angeles Kings is vague and written in a flimsy enough way it could be nothing more than the product of a fertile mind on a slow news day. Vague and flimsy? Yes. Intentionally so. The product of a fertile mind? Not a chance. What, did Dreger issue an E-3 with this?
RULES OF THE GAME
Whether it’s a ridiculously connected guy like Dreger or TSN running mate Bob McKenzie or those of us further down the information gathering food chain in the MSM, there are tried-and-true ways of protecting sources and keeping the information pipeline open. Many of those tricks of the trade — not attributing comments, using unnamed sources and even employing good old-fashioned mis-direction to protect somebody who has given you the drop on something — fly in the face of what old-school types like me learned when getting into the business. But the business has changed. The demand for immediate information is greater than it’s ever been. People want the goods now. If you’re getting your dope from the morning paper, you’re late. You either deliver or you don’t. On top of that, people love rumours. They eat up speculation.
While that opens the door for any kook or clown with a blog template to float all kinds of unsubstantiated rumours, pass off gossip as fact and flat-out make things up, that’s not the case with Dreger. Granted, it can sound that way — “Well, where’s the quote from the GM or the player in question?” — but disguising the fact somebody spilled the beans is essential in making sure they keep talking to you down the road.
HOW IT WORKS
Dreger doesn’t need me talking for him, so I won’t, but here’s some of the ways I’ve protected sources. Let’s go on the premise GM X has told me he’s interested in trading Player X because he wants too much money.
– You can be vague, as Dreger was with the Lecavalier item: “The Edmonton Oilers will likely be listening to offers for Player X at the trade deadline and there could be six teams interested, including the Los Angeles Kings . . .”
– You can say it yourself without attribution: “The Edmonton Oilers are looking to trade Player X at the trade deadline . . .”
– You can use an unnamed source: “A source close to the Edmonton Oilers says the team is considering trading Player X because he wants too much money . . .”
– You can ask the question: “Are the Edmonton Oilers contemplating trading Player X at the trade deadline because he wants too much money?” Or, “What’s this I hear about Player X wanting $20 million over four years from the Oilers?”
No matter which of the four ways you frame it, you can follow up by saying, “When asked to confirm the possibility Player X might be traded, GM X declined comment,” or “GM X laughed off suggestions Player X might be traded and said, “We’re not shopping Player X.” Of course, shopping Player X means actively communicating with other GMs looking for offers, as opposed to being willing to trade Player X if his salary demands don’t change. In that sense, GM X isn’t lying.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The problem is, people with no contacts and no inside information can play loose with all of the above and toss as much stuff against the wall as they want in the hope some will stick. Not because they’re protecting sources, but because they don’t have one real shred of information. You’ve read it. I’ve read it. There’s 100 screens of the stuff out there on any given day. There’s always some Bozo making stuff up. This qwisp is suggesting maybe Dreger fits in that long-shoed group. I think not. I know not. For information junkies trying to separate intentional mis-direction or vagueness employed by a reporter to protect a source from bogus rumours with no factual basis, it’s difficult to know what to put much stock in. In the end, it comes down to credibility.
Who wrote it or said it? What’s their record on getting it first and getting it right? How connected are they? Who do they answer to if what they write or say is absolute fantasy?
Whether it’s a MSM guy like Dreger or some Bozo blogger, the same questions should apply.
via The lowdown – OilersNation.com.
I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say about this when I think about it, but right now I’m going to watch a tivo-ed Windsor/Kelowna game. For the record, I have no sources, named or otherwise, and don’t purport to report. Hey, that rhymes.
UPDATE: I never said he was making it all up. There’s actually very little “it” to make up or not. He talked to this guy. The guy said something about Johnson’s dad. Unrelated to that, Johnson’s name had come up in previous trade rumors. People read that and think, well, if it’s on TSN it must be true. Look at the comments on “Inside the Kings.” Many people react to articles like Dreger’s with the attitude that “where there’s smoke there’s fire.” It seems to me that the article was written knowing that people react this way. The result is a report that’s just wisps of smoke. People have noted that [paraphrase] this is the nature of sports reporting/the rumor mill/etc. and there’s a big appetite for these things. But I think that’s a problem. It shouldn’t be the nature of sports reporting. Reporting should be reporting. It’s denigrating to everyone for reporters to stoop to passing along gossipy tidbits just because there’s an appetite for them. Who cares if there’s an appetite for them? When I read the writing of a reporter like Dreger, I would like to be able to assume that he knows what he is talking about and is not wasting my time.
I am not any kind of reporter. I am just a guy who likes the Kings. Like everyone else, I rely (when it comes to sports news) on reporters for … well … everything. Which is why it’s irritating to wade through “it is believed” etc. only to find that not only is there no “there” there, but that now people are going to take whatever was reported as some version of a fact.
Edmonton Journal: Darren Dreger Crucified
Reporting trade rumours is the crack cocaine of hockey writers. It’s sure to bring in traffic, so it’s highly addictive, but it doesn’t always do much for the credibility of the rumour-monger, as Darren Dreger has just been told in no uncertain terms by an angry but clever L.A. Kings blogger.
Me, I wouldn’t be so hard on Dreger. There is a reason they are called “trade rumours,” as opposed to “trade facts.”
Unless the rumour comes from a beat writer very close to the team, I don’t pay them much attention. They are no big deal, just some fluff, some fizz, some froth, part of the fun of following the NHL. I never read the sites that specialize in these rumours, but I can’t see how they do any harm.
P.S. For what it’s worth, I heard from an NHL insider that Vince Lecavalier was going to be moved to the L.A. Kings last winter, but it didn’t happen then. Will it happen now? It’s certainly fun to speculate. But that’s all it is, speculation.
via Darren Dreger crucified – Cult of Hockey .
I didn’t mean to be angry. However, I don’t think reporting of rumors is really reporting, by definition. It’s just gossip.
Ducks’ Pronger can only wait and see – Ducks blog – OCRegister.com
Ironically, Pronger’s future could very well be tied to that of fellow blue-line star Scott Niedermayer. Should Niedermayer retire or sign elsewhere as a free agent, the Ducks would almost certainly keep Pronger. Should Niedermayer return, the Ducks would likely have a difficult time also accommodating the 2009-10 salaries of Pronger and Ryan Whitney ($3.5 million) while also trying to re-sign unrestricted free agent Francois Beauchemin and restricted free agent James Wisniewski.
“I’ll tell you the same thing I told you at the deadline — it is what it is,” Pronger said Saturday, when players met with Murray and Coach Randy Carlyle before beginning the off-season.
“It’s a part of the game that we all have to learn to deal with,” Pronger said. “There are obviously a lot of big question marks here with this team now, with possible retirements, possible trades or signings, guys leaving through free agency. That’s part of the business side of the game. There are salary-cap issues. There’s a whole host of things that Bob and the organization have to deal with.
“I’m sure I’ll fall a little further down on that list. They have to figure out what the other guys are doing first, I guess, before they figure out what they’re going to do with me.”
via Ducks’ Pronger can only wait and see – Ducks blog – OCRegister.com.
Spector: Krejci or Kessel?
Kevin Paul Dupont reports Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli will have between $8-$10 million in available cap space to re-sign key players and bolster his roster depth. Dupont suggests it could cost at minimum $6 million to re-sign forwards David Krejci and Phil Kessel, which wouldn’t leave much room to fill out the rest of the roster unless he were to move some other high-salaried players. Dupont suggests Chiarelli might have to choose between Krejci and Kessel with the latter likely to be moved.
It is Believed that Darren Dreger at TSN May Have Been Among Those Mentioned as Someone Who Possibly Could Be Pulling S*** Out of His *ss
Here’s the text of Dreger’s recent “report” with my comments/interpretation:
The conversations surrounding Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vincent Lecavalier are likely to heat up as we get closer to July 1, when the no-trade clause on his contract kicks in. [TRANSLATION: something will happen in the future, but is not happening now.]
The two teams mentioned most [by ______? See, that would be important information to have, who is doing this mentioning; we do know who it's not: the actual parties involved, who, after all, don't do any public "mentioning" of potential future trades] when Lecavalier’s name comes up seem to be ["seem to be" means this sentence isn't even true enough for him to use the word "are"] the Montreal Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings. With regards to the Kings, defenceman Jack Johnson is one of the players mentioned [again, mentioned by ______] as possibly [really high standard here, since everyone is "possibly" involved] being involved in any deal with Tampa. [A reasonable translation of that sentence would be, "people who aren't involved in the situation think anything could possibly happen at any time."]
I had an interesting chat with Barry Smith, who is the head coach of SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL – and he said Johnson’s father, Jack Johnson Sr., contacted St. Petersburg [Dreger does not say that Smith said JJ Sr. contacted him, but "St Petersburg," presumably meaning the team, not the town. If Smith had talked to JJ Sr., Dreger would certainly have written that. I am fascinated by the possibility that Jack Johnson's dad speaks Russian; alternatively, how exactly are we to believe this "contacting" took place? He saw someone in the hot-dog line prior to one of the games? He cold-called the GM of the team? The mayor? What?] prior to the World Hockey Championship to see if the team would have interest in signing his son to a one-year contract.
Smith said he would have interest in Johnson, [I can't tell if the ambiguity here is intentional: who did Smith say this to? I'm guessing, to Dreger. But Dreger makes it sound like Smith said it to JJ Sr., whom he apparently didn't really speak to] and believes he can make the defenceman a better player.
It is believed [although not by anyone in particular; is this what Smith said to Dreger? It is believed by whom?] there is some unhappiness from Johnson’s camp [which presumably consists of Johnson, his agent and his dad - but probably just his dad], as the young blueliner is a restricted free agent [note that this sentence actually says: "Because Johnson is a restricted free agent, he or someone he knows is unhappy."] While Smith has not heard back from Jack Johnson Sr., it is a possibility. ["it" in this sentence refers to "some unhappiness in Johnson's camp." Therefore, the sentence actually says: "While Smith has no reason to believe Johnson is unhappy, it's still possible that he's unhappy, since (per above) anything could possibly happen at any time."]
The speculation that continues to hover around Lecavalier and the Los Angeles Kings [speculation is a free-floating entity, apparently] really began just prior to the NHL’s trade deadline – there were some conversations between the Lightning and the Kings. [Here Dreger veers dangerously close to reporting an actual fact. My attention is piqued.]
How serious were the conversations? If you talk to both sides, they’ll say they weren’t very serious – but they always say that anyway. [I especially love the "they'll say they weren't serious" part. He's actually anticipating in his own article that the people who are actually involved in the rumor he's spreading will say it's all b.s.. Actually, I especially-ESPECIALLY love the "if you talk to both sides" bit. If I talk to both sides? Shouldn't he have done that?]
via TSN .
Lauri Tukonen? – HFBoards
Last season Tukonen could not fullfil the expectations of 1st line winger in Ilves Tampere and moved to Lukko Rauma where he was “ok” in a minor role. His season ended to a knee injury that required a surgery.
He made a 4-year contract with an NHL clause to Lukko and has stated that he will try to claim a spot in a Lightning roster via training camp.
via commenter “Phenomenon” on Lauri Tukonen? – HFBoards.
ISS Top 30 2009 prospects, May – Hockey’s Future
1. Tavares, John C 9/20/1990 L 6.00.2 195 London OHL
2 Duchene, Matt C 1/16/1991 L 5.11 200 Brampton OHL
3 Hedman, Victor LD 12/18/1990 L 6.06 220 Modo SweE
4 Paajarvi-Svensson, Magnus LW 4/12/1991 L 6.01 200 SweE
5 Kane, Evander C 8/2/1991 L 6.01.2 176 Vancouver WHL
6 Schenn, Brayden C 8/22/1991 L 6.00 198 Brandon WHL
7 Cowen, Jared LD 1/25/1991 L 6.05.2 220 Spokane WHL
8 Kadri, Nazem C 10/6/1990 L 5.11.5 167 London OHL
9 Ekman-Larsson, Oliver LD 7/17/1991 L 6.02 176 Leksands SweAl
10 Kulikov, Dmitri LD 10/29/1990 L 6.00.5 183 Drummondville QMJHL
11 Josefson, Jacob C 3/2/1991 L 6.00 187 Djurgarden SweE
12 Leblanc, Louis C 1/26/1991 R 6.00 178 Omaha USHL
13 Ellis, Ryan RD 1/3/1991 R 5.09.2 173 Windsor OHL
14 Schroeder, Jordan RW 9/29/1990 R 5.08.2 175 Minnesota WCHA
15 Holland, Peter C 1/14/1991 L 6.02 185 Guelph OHL
16 Moore, John LD 11/19/1990 L 6.02 189 Chicago USHL
17 Ferraro, Landon RW 8/8/1991 R 5.11.2 165 Red Deer WHL
18 Shore, Drew C 1/29/1991 R 6.02.5 190 USA Under-18 NTDP
19 Glennie, Scott C 2/22/1991 R 6.01.2 177 Brandon WHL
20 Kassian, Zack RW 1/24/1991 R 6.02.7 210 Peterborough OHL
21 Leddy, Nick LD 3/20/1991 L 5.11 179 Eden Prairie MN-HS
22 Rundblad, David RD 10/8/1990 R 6.02 189 Skelleftea SweE
23 Palmieri, Kyle C 2/1/1991 R 5.10 191 USA Under-18 NTDP
24 Kreider, Chris LW 4/30/1991 L 6.02 201 Andover MA-HS
25 Caron, Jordan C 11/2/1990 L 6.02.2 202 Rimouski QMJHL
26 Werek, Ethan C 6/7/1991 L 6.00.7 190 Kingston OHL
27 Morin, Jeremy C 4/16/1991 R 6.00.5 189 USA Under-18 NTDP
28 Nattinen, Joonas C 1/3/1991 R 6.02 183 Espoo FinJrA
29 Orlov, Dimitri F 7/23/1991 L 6.00 197 Novokuznetsk KHL
30 Despres, Simon LD 7/27/1991 L 6.03.5 205 Saint John QMJHL
10 offseason moves that would make sense – USATODAY.com
3. Los Angeles Kings going after Marian Gaborik: Two summers ago, Dean Lombardi dipped into the free agent marketplace with poor results. But the timing was all wrong. They spent all last season in rebuilding mode, and now they have a strong collection of talented young players, such as Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson, Dustin Brown, Jonathan Quick, Anze Kopitar, etc., who are just starting to emerge. The Kings look a bit more attractive than they have in the past. And doesnt it seem like Gaborik was born to play in LA?
cut-and-paste of my own comment from Inside the Kings, just so I don’t forget I said it and because it’s so hard to find anything in the Inside the Kings archives
The season after next will be interesting cap-wise, as [commenter "src3" on the Inside the Kings "board" said] said. Not just because of Frolov being a UFA and the cap coming down a bit, but also because both Quincey and Quick will be RFA. Next year, Fro’s hit is 2.9, Quick’s .8, Quincey’s .6, and it would be reasonable to expect those three to be at cap hits of 5, 2.5 and 2.5, conservatively, with their new contracts. That’s AT LEAST $6MM more cap room we’re going to need, not next year, but the year after (which, after all, is really just next summer, one year from now — yikes).
Is DL factoring that into his thoughts about Frolov and whoever he’s going to bring in this year as a UFA (or via trade)? Absolutely. And clearly trading Frolov would make room for whatever will be necessary to do for the 2010 season. But, since DL has to think Frolov will be tradable at the deadline or even next summer, I don’t know that he’s really going to worry too much about that now. Actually, I think DL might make the calculation that putting Frolov and (to pick one of the UFA names) Hossa on the same line will drive Frolov’s numbers way up, thus driving his value up as well. In other words, it’s reasonable to assume that Frolov will be more valuable a year from now than he is now. And he’s pretty valuable now.
But let’s play the thought experiment:
Kings sign Hossa (or Havlat or Gaborik), re-sign Frolov, Purcell, Johnson and Boyle. Now, let’s skip the entire 09-10 season. It’s summer of ’10. Quick has had a great year, as have Quincey and Drewiske (all RFAs). They are resigned at 2.75, 2.5, 1.5. Frolov at 5. That’s a cap hit of $11.75. Let’s just say that’s a cap increase of $7MM. SOD retires.
Frolov/Kopitar/Hossa
Williams/Stoll/Brown
xx/Handzus/xx
xx/xx/xx
The xx’s are the smaller contracts (Moller, Boyle, Purcell, Simmonds, whoever we draft this year, etc.).
Here’s what I think the actual strategy will be (and, in fact, ought to be). Sign the big UFA, resign Frolov, go up to within a couple million of the cap ceiling. Clearly, next summer, something will have to give. Somebody’s big contract is going to have to go, maybe two somebodies. But does DL want to get rid of Frolov NOW because he’s got to pay Handzus for two more years? I don’t think so. Handzus, actually, I think is the most vulnerable of all the big salaries. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him traded at the deadline next year. I think Handzus was the team MVP last season by numerous measures; but he’s overpaid and he’s a third-line center ideally. Also, he’s a defensive specialist and will be attractive to someone at the deadline, as he supposedly was this year.
Trading Handzus would be, of course, entirely dependent on other centers stepping it up and proving themselves to be ready. Namely, Moller, Boyle, Lewis, Loktionov, Azevedo, someone we might be drafting in a month…
Meanwhile, there are other candidates to be moved. Let’s say, for example, that we sign Hossa and keep Frolov, and next year we have our first line (with Kopitar) the likes of which we haven’t seen since Palffy/Alison/Deadmarsh. Now, what happens if Brown has a crappy year next season? He might be the one to get dealt. Let’s just say, Handzus is a rock and the first line is clicking… DL is going to be looking very closely at that group of Williams, Stoll and Brown. One of them would literally HAVE to be traded. Same thing is true on defense. If the prospects don’t pan out next season and don’t look like they’re progressing, veterans like Greene are safe. But if the prospects pick it up, Greene is another contract that can be dealt.
I think DL will play this out very deliberately and carefully. And you [SRC3] are certainly correct that if DL signs a UFA this July, next summer something’s gotta give. I just don’t think that means Frolov will be leaving. One of Frolov, Kopitar, Brown, Stoll, Handzus, Williams or Greene — definitely. In 2010. Not now.
Think of it the other way. You aren’t going to deny yourselves Hossa and Frolov this season because you might have to trade Handzus or Greene next season, right?
Ducks GM Accused of Cross-Checking Fan
While the players were on the ice exchanging handshakes, high above in an executive suite Ducks General Manager Bob Murray was seething over the controversial goal that ended his team’s quest for the Stanley Cup.
A Detroit Police report lead to an assault investigation involving Murray. An upset and angry Murray, the report notes, picked up a high bar stool and hit 55-year-old Rachel Paris on the left chest, arm and shoulder area. She was treated by first aid personnel and interviewed by police.
Paris said in a phone interview she was in the press box working as a stage manager for a media outlet that she would not identify. A passionate Red Wings fan, Paris said Murray was apparently upset over her enthusiasm and used a stool on her to express his displeasure.
“I was taken to the boards by Bob Murray and survived the hit. I felt like I was cross-checked and I didn’t even have the puck,” said Paris.
Should Murray be charged with a criminal misconduct? Paris said “no” and declined to file a formal police complaint.
The Hockey News: Getting To Knowlov Frolov
Status: Los Angeles Kings winger
HT: 6-foot-2 WT: 210 pounds
DOB: June 19, 1982 In: Moscow, Russia
Hockey Inspirations: “I didn’t have one guy. I like a lot of great players – like Alexander Yakushev, Valeri Kharlamov. But I really didn’t have one guy who I really wanted to be like. I always want to be myself.”
Nicknames: “Fro. Froly.”
Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “I like to read. I like chess pretty good, but it’s hard to find a partner here.”
Musical Tastes: “Rock. Aerosmith, Guns and Roses.”
First Hockey Memory: “When I won Russian championship as a kid for the first time (age 10).”
Favorite Meal: “So many. I can eat everything. I like good food. Like, I really like sushi – good sushi. Good steak. Italian. Whatever, it should be nice.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Vanilla.”
Pre-Game Feeling: “I try to not think about the game. Try to relax. Have some rest. Get a good nap. Get ready for 7:30.”
First Job: “Hockey.”
First Car: “Blue Lada.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “I should say when we won the World Junior Championship. That was probably the greatest one (defeated Canada in 2001).”
Most Painful Moment: “Probably last five years when we didn’t make the playoffs.”
Favorite Uniforms: “L.A. Kings. I like this crown.”
Worst Injury: “I got like a broken finger and separated shoulder.”
Favorite Arena To Play: “Staples. I like it. Staples.”
Closest NHL Friend: “Oleg Tverdovsky.”
Funniest Player(s) Encountered: “Should I say (Sean) Avery? Funniest player, good sense of humor – yeah, I give it to him. Avery. (Why?) He’s just yappin’ all the time, talking and making some jokes.”
Toughest Competitors: “Like who’s working really hard? I would say Mattias Norstrom. I know him probably better than other players because I play with him for four years. I see every day his work ethic and how hard he worked. How he practices every day, every morning and how he battles every night. Incredible. Blocking shots, trying to hit everything. So it’s him.”
Funny Hockey Memory: “When Jeremy Roenick starts to dance, when J-Ro was dancing on the ice during the game. It was kind of fun.”
Last Vacation: “Las Vegas.”
Favorite Athletes To Watch: “I like to watch Detroit play because they are very good. And I would say Rafael Nadal – tennis player right now. (Why?) He’s really young, strong kid and very talented. It’s really fun to watch how he plays. (Female?) (Maria) Sharapova.”
Personality Qualities Most Admired: “I don’t know. Let me think…I would say for someone to be honest.”
via The Hockey News: Getting To Know: Getting To Know: Alexander Frolov.
Puck Daddy — Eulogy: Remembering the 2008-09 Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks are gone, and all we are left with is questions. Why did it happen so suddenly? Should we have seen it coming? Why is it impossible to find a single hockey fan, outside of British Columbia, that feels the slightest bit of warmth towards them?
Will their passing hit loved ones particularly hard, given the uncertainty it creates going forward? The Sedin Crania, surely their two best skaters, will either be gone, or their return will prohibit the acquisition of much else.
That mega-bust Mats Sundin(notes) (3-5-8 in eight playoff games played, by the way) is outta here, he’s a dot, he’s gone.
And speaking of that: What will become of Bobby Lou? If he enters the final season of his contract without an extension in place, he’ll be the subject of media harassment and annoyance that will far surpass the eye-glazing Sundin/Leafs/NTC saga of Winter 2007/08.
Friendless, greenhorn GM Mike Gillis will be overseeing the autopsy, and thus far in his short career, has mostly resisted external pressure to do something for its own sake. Will he have the sack to keep holding out, especially given that his tubby predecessor took a bullet for sitting on his thumb? In fact, are we sure he knows what he’s doing at all, or was the patience actually first-day jitters, and now he’s going to start dealing like Doug MacLean?
It says here that the Canucks have twin issues, and I don’t mean the two guys who just made Alex Burrows(notes) rich. The first is that their forward depth stinks like last month’s garbage.
Darcy Hordichuk(notes), Ryan Johnson(notes), Pyatt, Bernier, Raymond, Rypien; whatever intangible qualities they possess produced tangibly crappy results pretty much all year long.
Where have you gone, Matt Cooke(notes) and Jarkko Ruutu(notes)?
And the second is that they have an average-ish defense corps all being paid like they’re indispensable. Kevin Bieksa(notes) is a poor man’s Roman Hamrlik(notes); Alex Edler is a poor man’s Michal Roszival; Matthias Ohlund is a poor man’s 2004 Matthias Ohlund; and Willie Mitchell(notes) is basically Rob Scuderi(notes), but with a long history of playing in front of good goalies.
Actually, would putting Willie Mitchell on the next one-way flight to the Reggie Cleveland Hall of Fame entice Roberto Luongo(notes) to re-sign? Surely I’m not the only one who’s noticed that for every ten times Louie ends up underneath an opposing forward, eight are the result of Willie Mitchell sending a message with a hard crosscheck (message = “Here, have a free tumble onto my All-Star goalie.”)
In retrospect, how funny was the Vancouver Province’s “Send us your Parade Route” gimmick, given that the Canucks managed only 2 of the 12 subsequent wins necessary?
via Eulogy: Remembering the 2008-09 Vancouver Canucks – Puck Daddy – NHL – Yahoo! Sports.
Blueshirt Banter — Scouting the Free Agents: Marian Gaborik
In the second edition of “Scouting the Free Agents” we are going to look at one of the biggest question marks of the off-season: Marian Gaborik. The 27 year old Minnesota Wild right winger is going to draw a lot of attention, mainly because of his scoring prowess. A lot of teams can use his skill, but is he worth the risk?
Let’s start with the positives. Gaborik, when healthy, is certainty one of the best scorers in the league. He has scored 30 or more goals 5 times in his 8 year NHL tenure; he has notched 40 once. Probably the most impressive stat is how quickly he scored his goals. In 2006-2007 he scored 30 goals and 27 assists for 57 points in 48 games. Last year, although he only played in 17 games, he scored 13 goals and added 10 assists. The man is quite obviously a point machine. If you need more evidence of his goal scoring ability: you all may remember his little five goal outburst against the Rangers two years ago. He is a playoff performer as well. In 29 playoff games he has 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points. In 2003 he has 9 goals and 8 assists in 18 playoff games, so he doesn’t disappear when it counts.
Now onto the negatives. Gaborik is probably the definition of injury prone. Since the lockout he has played in 207 of a possible 328 games. This past regular season he only dressed for 17 games. Let me share with you a few of the big injuries on TSN.CA’s injury list for Gaborik.
March 09: Missed 38 games (hip surgery)
December 08: Groin injury sidelined indefinitely
December 08: Missed 27 games (back injury)
January 07: Missed 34 games (Groin Strain)
October 06: Groin injury sidelined indefinitely
Okay so here is where you get to play GM. Do you take the risk on a guy who will probably command upwards of 6 million a year (I’m low balling because he was injured all of his contract year) but has a definite scoring touch? Or do you let him walk to another team even though you need all the power play help you can get? I think that because of his injury’s he might sign for about 6 million a year. Can the Rangers afford to let a 40 goal scorer who is only signing a 6 million dollar contract walk?
via Scouting the Free Agents: Marian Gaborik – Blueshirt Banter.
NHL Fanhouse: Idea of Moving Luongo Shortsighted
The crux of Cole’s case is that guys like Nikolai Khabibulin and Marc-Andre Fleury are not paid like franchise players. That’s simply not true. Khabibulin is in the final year of a four-year, $27 million deal he got after the lockout. The Blackhawks put him in waivers in September, but decided to keep him around. Fleury, meanwhile, will be making over $5 million each of the next four seasons.
While Cole is correct that Jonas Hiller isn’t paid like a franchise guy in Anaheim, Jean-Sebastien Giguere certainly is, and he’s still on the team. The Ducks are tying a significant amount of cap space up for a goalie they aren’t even using, which to me is not a sound blueprint to follow when building a team.
The Canucks have a lot of decisions to make this offseason. They have $31 million or so tied up in 11 players for next season, but key free agents like Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Mats Sundin, and Mattias Ohlund.
With three big-time forwards possibly gone, Vancouver will need to use some cap space to take care of that problem, as well as hoping that young guns like Mason Raymond continue to develop into top-line players.
In the meantime, it’s probably not a good idea to get rid of a potential MVP candidate who may be the best hope your franchise has to return to the playoffs next spring.
The Province: The hard truth — Canucks must deal Luongo
The irony, then, is that the Canucks will have to trade Luongo in order to build a team that would be good enough to win with Luongo.
Think about it for a minute. It’s now apparent the Canucks have more holes in their lineup than Luongo can fill. Their defence was exposed against the Blackhawks as too slow and too conservative. They need scoring. They could also use more size. And speed.
Trading Luongo would not only bring in some prized assets for the organization, it could free up the capital to make a run at a Jay Bouwmeester and make it easier to sign the Sedins.
Granted, this means turning the goaltending over to young Cory Schneider and a veteran of some description, and that means you won’t get what Luongo gives you on a night-in, night-out basis.
Then again, if the rest of your team is good enough, you won’t need lights-out goaltending every night.
This also seems to be the model in the new NHL. The game is so fast and the players are so skilled, it’s virtually impossible to win with a shutdown game and a great goalie.
The Blackhawks just proved that, and Detroit, Pittsburgh, Washington and Carolina play a similar style.
Boston and Anaheim are closer to the dead-puck-era game, but the Ducks also feature two Hall-of-Famers on their blueline and the Bruins led the East in goals scored.
The Canucks, for their part, have to raise their game to the level of the NHL’s very best teams. The quickest way to do that is to trade Luongo, which may sound crazy.
But, to paraphrase that noted hockey man Albert Einstein, it isn’t any crazier than doing the same thing over and over and expecting the results to change.
Buffalo News: Sabres sign Myers to three-year pact
It’s fair to say the Buffalo Sabres liked Tyler Myers from the start. They traded up to select him 12th overall in last June’s NHL entry draft, and General Manager Darcy Regier said he was happy to pay the price to get him.
On Monday, the Sabres proved their admiration again. They signed their top prospect to a three-year contract potentially worth more than $2.6 million.
The big question for the 6- foot-8 defenseman is when will he start making that money.
The 19-year-old has one year of junior hockey eligibility remaining. That leaves the Sabres with two options for next season: Play him in Buffalo or send him back to the Kelowna Rockets. Players with junior eligibility cannot play in the minor leagues.
The Sabres will have nine games to decide whether Myers is ready to patrol their blue line. Once Myers plays in 10 games, his contract cannot slide. If they decide he needs more junior seasoning before the 10th game, the contract wouldn’t start until the following season.
The way Myers is playing, it would be a surprise to see him anywhere but Buffalo this fall. Myers was named the Most Valuable Player of the Western Hockey League over the weekend after leading Kelowna to the WHL title and a spot in the Memorial Cup. Myers had 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in his 22 playoff games and a plus- 13 rating.
The Houston native and Calgary resident was just as good in the 58-game regular season, recording 42 points (nine goals, 33 assists), 105 penalty minutes and a plus-31. The smooth skater was also in the spotlight at the world junior championships, helping lead Canada to the gold medal.
“Tyler is having an outstanding year,” Regier, who was unavailable for further comment, said in a statement. “He is a big, strong player who has excellent hockey skills for a 19-year old player. We’re glad to have him signed and look forward to his continued development both on and off the ice.”
The Sabres expect Myers, who weighs 215 pounds, to add more bulk to his substantial frame as he matures. He’ll have the money for good food. Myers signed for the rookie maximum of $875,000 per season.
via Sabres sign Myers to three-year pact : Sports : The Buffalo News.
I have to remember when I have more time to look into the way entry-level contracts and bonuses are structured. I looked it up de Doughty last summer, and promptly forgot it all. Something limits the amount of bonus possible. Doughty’s bonus put his potential salary above $3MM. Myers’ — as reported here — would put him at $2.6MM. Hickey’s (as quoted on Inside the Kings) is in the $1.5MM range (from memory). If the bonus limits are tied to draft selection, wouldn’t Hickey’s bonus (selected 4th) be higher than Myers’ (selected 12th)?
Meanwhile, I’m not going to say out loud that I’m afraid Myers would have been a better pick than Teubert. Just because Myers had a tremendous year and Teubert had a spotty one? Yes, that would be the reasoning, were I to say such a thing, which I am not.
Windsor/Brampton Game 5 Highlights (sort of, it starts with the OT winner)
Windsor OHL Champs, Loktionov 2nd in playoff scoring, 1st among rookies
In Windsor, Taylor Hall capped an incredible playoff run by scoring the winning goal 2:09 into overtime to lift the Spitfires to a 2-1 win over the Brampton Battalion and give the Spitfires their second OHL championship and first in 21 years. Hall, who won the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the Most Valuable Player in the OHL playoffs as selected by the media covering the championship series, capitalized on a powerplay early in overtime to give the Spitfires a 4-1 win in the Rogers OHL Championship Series. The Spitfires win the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions and will represent the OHL at the MasterCard Memorial Cup in Rimouski, Quebec starting next Saturday against the champions from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. After a scoreless first period, Dale Mitchell opened the scoring with a powerplay marker at 13:06 of the second period. The Spitfires looked like they might escape with the regulation time win before Matt Kang tied the game with 3:46 left in the third period. “I think we jumped on them early and getting that first goal was key,” said defenceman Ryan Ellis. “They got one back but fortunately we’re a pretty good team in overtime.” For Ben Shutron, Scott Timmins and Josh Unice, it’s their second straight OHL championship after helping the Kitchener Rangers win the title last year. “The feeling hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Shutron said. “I’ve won two in a row and I’m just so lucky to be a part of this team and be part of this group of guys. To win this is just amazing.” Windsor goaltender Andrew Engelage was the first star of the game after making 37 saves in the win. Thomas McCollum made 34 saves for the Battalion.
via Ontario Hockey League ◊ Official Website Spitfires soar to OHL championship.
Kings Cap Issues, 2009-2010 [UPDATE]
Next year, the Kopitar and Greene contracts kick in; Williams’ cap hit is a bit higher than O’Sullivan’s this season; we will likely sign JJ for around $3MM $2.5MM $2.25MM (I’m going for O’Sullivan-ish numbers, with a little discount because Johnson hasn’t quite achieved at even POS’s level yet – as with POS, his contract will be about potential); Purcell will get a nominal (i.e. probably infinitesimal) raise. Letting Calder, Gauthier and Armstrong go, buying out Preissing, we will have a cap hit of $44.688MM $43.938MM, with four roster spots to fill (2 forwards and 2 defensemen).
Assume that one of the D is a prospect (one of Hickey or Voynov, for example, or maybe Drewiske). If it’s Drewiske, he would be a cap hit of .525. If it’s Hickey, assume a Doughty-ish contract with a similar bonus structure, cap hit plus bonus of around $2.5MM (my best uninformed guess – Hickey has signed a contract but figures haven’t been quoted yet; if you wanted to assume the most Hickey’s contract would be, not the least as I tried to do above, plug in the Doughty numbers), add $1.348 (per Rich Hammond). If it’s Voynov, he gets probably somewhere around .700 (again, pulling a number more or less out of my hat — if you want to assume maximum entry level, add $200K). I would say that DL has to leave room for Hickey to make the team in the fall. He can’t go into camp with a cap figure such that if Hickey makes it he has to trade someone away to stay under the cap (the penalty for going over the cap due to bonuses is to have the overage tacked onto next season’s cap total — with the cap already thought to be coming down in 2010, DL can’t afford to have the Kings cap come down even farther…of course, that’s only an issue if he’s thinking of jumping into the UFA market or otherwise approaching the cap ceiling this summer; if not, it’s moot). So I think we have to plug in the Hickey number. For the other D, I would assume it’s either a prospect or a cheap UFA (like SOD was this year). I’m going to guess it’s a UFA at what SOD got last year: $1.25MM. So that’s an additional $3.75MM $2.598MM. But could be done with Voynov and Drewiske (no UFA veteran, no Hickey) for 1.25ish (a savings of $1.36MM).
[UPDATE: DL, in 3/30/09's 'teleconference call' with ticket holders, mentioned Drewiske among the solid Kings d core, i.e. Doughty, Johnson, Quincey, Greene, Drewiske. This makes me think Drewiske's stock is way up and he might well take the place of a vet UFA d-man on next year's roster. I'm not going to change the numbers quoted below, but know that you can subtract 700K from everything that follows for the Drewiske/Hickey option.]
Total is now at $46.54MM. And we have two forwards to sign.
More than two if you’re getting rid of Zeiler or Ivanans. Since both those guys are affordable, I’m going to assume that they either stick around or are replaced by like-priced players (e.g. Clune, Cliche).
As for the two spots to fill, I’m going to say one goes to a prospect. I pick Trevor Lewis. Could be Boyle. Doesn’t matter. The cap hit would be .855 for Lewis. Will Boyle re-sign and get a raise? He’s at .835 now. I don’t see him getting more than $1MM. So let’s be conservative, and call it .855 (the Lewis figure). [UPDATE: in the conference call with ticket holders, DL went out of his way to mention that his RFAs Johnson and Boyle will be matched (if someone throws an offer sheet at them); this suggests more faith in Boyle than many of us imagined; also, why didn't he mention Purcell, also an RFA? Well, maybe it was just a slip; he does talk fast. In any case, we now have to factor in that maybe Boyle will get a real raise in a new deal. Again, I will not adjust the numbers below, but you can all mentally tack on a couple hundred thousand dollars.]
Now we’re up to $47.39MM. And we have one forward left.
If the last spot is a prospect, too, then the cap hit will be at almost exactly $48MM. [UPDATE: a little less if it's Drewiske and not a UFA D-man; but a little more if Boyle gets more of a raise than we previously thought; so $48MM is still a good, safe bet; if you want a range, call it $47.3-48.5MM.]
But if it’s a UFA? Hossa? How much? $8MM? Okay, now we’re $55.39MM, a couple of bucks from the cap ceiling. Maybe you get Hossa for a little less than $8MM (doubt it though), or maybe we go with a cheaper defense (no Hickey, no UFA d, etc.). Or maybe we shed some salary somewhere else. But where? Who are you going to deal? Handzus, Frolov, for picks? For a cheaper forward and a prospect? That could happen, I guess. Maybe the cap goes up a few dollars and that gives DL more room (temporarily, because everyone seems to think the cap is coming down the following year).
Or maybe it’s Gaborik (not my choice) and it’s less than $8MM. But you have to be careful, because if the point is to get a top-line sniper/finisher, you don’t want to buy damaged goods, or the budget version of what you really want. Because the budget version is likely to be similar to what we have already, and that defeats the purpose of spending our way up to the cap ceiling in the first place. It’s only worth it if you get yourself a 40-50 goal scoring machine.
Plan B could be some kind of Kovalchuk for Frolov (plus, for example, Handzus, Johnson, Hickey and a 1st) swap. Two guys in the last year of their contracts, etc.. Would that be a good trade? Well, it’s obviously an upgrade on sniper-power. But trading away the future…I wouldn’t do it. And Atlanta ain’t going to do it for Frolov and Johnson by themselves, or whatever spare parts Kings fans might fantasize about (e.g. the Calder, Preissing, Armstrong, Ersberg, Gauthier, Darryl Evans and a 1st for Kovalchuk rumors of the past season). So I would pass on that one. Probably, I would.
But the overriding point — the thing I keep relearning every time I crunch the numbers (to the best of my limited ability as a fan) — is that “tons of cap space” can quickly become “over the cap” with just one signing. Everyone who is saying let’s sign Bouwmeester or whatever, keep that in mind. Even the Kings, with a relatively low cap figure compared to everyone else, can’t afford more than one big guy. So it stands to reason we ought to think really hard about who that one guy is. There is no, “if we had Bouwmeester and Kovalchuk and Luongo we would be contenders.” No team can afford three pieces like that. Those days are over.
But, more importantly, why is Kovalchuk in a kilt?
L.A. is Awesome – Battle of California
The U.S. lost to Russia today (? I don’t understand time zones), 3-2. The team has had a fairly strong tournament, with a trio of Kings, past and present, supplying a lot of the firepower. Patrick O’Sullivan led all forwards in ice time and had 7 points in games, Dustin Brown led the team with 8 points, and Jack Johnson led everyone in ice time and tallied 6 points and, most significantly, had only 4 penalty minutes. Pretty impressive, if you think about it: impressive that Kings players did that well, and impressive that the U.S. managed to make it to the bronze medal game with guys like that leading the way.
Drew Doughty is currently third among Canadian defensemen in time on ice while potting 7 points in 8 games. Alex Frolov was kind of disappointing, scoring only 4 points in 8 games, but he has an opportunity to make up for it in the final against Doughty and Team Canada.
Oh, and Michal Handzus had 4 points. Nobody cares about Michal Handzus.
Overall, the Kings have had a pretty good World Championships. Way better than the Anaheim Ducks, anyway. Not one of their players were selected for the tournament. Losers.
Windsor/Brampton Game 4 Highlights: Jimmy Neutron Nets Two in the Third
The two Loktionov goals were clutch, but frankly the best goal of the game was the Cody Hodgson breakaway goal that came right on the heels of an amazing save at the other end by Thomas McCollum. Really, I don’t think you will ever see a nicer sequence (brilliant save at one end leads directly to brilliant goal at the other).
[scroll down for video interface -- it's at the bottom of the post, for reasons I can't control...]
Pot Meet Kettle: Ducks Say Wings are (wait for it) Dirty! (GASP!)
Anaheim accused Tomas Holmstrom of delivering a dirty elbow to the head of James Wisniewski after he had been injured by a puck to the chest Tuesday in Game 3. They said Johan Franzen cross-checked Scott Niedermayer in the back of the neck.
The Red Wings’ response essentially was this: Quit your whining.
“From my perspective, come on, it’s like a rodeo after every whistle,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “So there could be a penalty after every single whistle. If you think Homer was saying, ‘That guy got hurt on the play and now I’m going to elbow him in the head?’ Come on. That’s not how hockey is.
“Let’s play the game, let’s play hard. It’s a hard series. There’s lots of skin flying around out there. It’s entertaining.”
Wisniewski might not play tonight in Game 4 because of a lung contusion, which Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said wasn’t helped by Holmstrom’s hit during the same sequence in the second period.
“What would you think if you were (doubled) over and gasping for air and somebody gives you an elbow to the side of the head?” Carlyle said. “How would you feel about that?”
Ducks defenseman Ryan Whitney said the hit “looked dirty.”
“I don’t know if he meant to do it, but he comes around and smokes him in the face with his elbow,” Whitney said. “It definitely wasn’t a clean blow.”
Holmstrom said it wasn’t intentional.
“I didn’t know that I hit him at all,” he said. “I didn’t see him, I had no idea he was behind me. I had two guys on my back. Unfortunately, he had his face there.”
Niedermayer said of Franzen’s cross-check: “I don’t think it’s legal. Is it out of the norm? I don’t know.”
Red Wings defenseman Brad Stuart said those kind of plays happen all the time in an intense series.
“First shift, second period, (Ryan) Carter smashed my head against the boards. No call,” Stuart said. “To sit here and whine about it doesn’t do any good. Both teams are getting away with stuff. That’s how it is.”
Said Detroit’s Dan Cleary: “All the extra stuff — the elbows, the cross-checks — they’re no strangers to that either.”
The Copper & Blue: Ryan Ellis, If Available
The title to this post is the answer to the question “Who should the Oilers select at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft?” Ellis has had a phenomenal junior career so far, but doesn’t seem to be getting a ton of respect from scouts.
TSN has Ellis ranked #12 for the upcoming draft; ISS puts him at #13 and Central Scouting ranks him as the 16th-best North American skater. I think they’re all wrong, and I have some backing from Puck Prospectus. Here’s a quote from an Iain Fyffe piece answering a question I’d been researching:
To answer my own question, no, there has never been a 17-year-old defenseman who led the OHL in assists. I went back to 1955 to check….
In fact, the only age-17 defenseman I could find to even crack the top three in assists in any year was Bobby Orr, in 1965-66. Orr had one hell of year for Oshawa, scoring 38 goals and 56 assists for 94 points in 47 games (the schedule was 48 games). He finished second in assists, third in points (behind Andre Lacroix and Danny Grant, both age-20), and fifth in goals.
So, this year Ryan Ellis did something not even Bobby Orr could do.
Fyffe than downplays the comparison between Orr and Ellis (Orr was a better goal-scorer) but even so, the magnitude of Ellis’ achievement this season isn’t being properly recognized by the scouting community as a whole.
Sure, Ellis is undersized. Sure, he’s reportedly got some holes in his defensive game. But that pales in comparison to his offense. Here’s another fun comparison; this one between Ellis and the consensus #3 selection, Matt Duchene:
Ellis: 57GP – 22G – 67A – 89PTS, +52
Ducehene: 57GP – 31G – 48A – 79PTS, +32
Both players played for powerhouse teams, and that should be noted. That said, Ellis’ performance means he should be a slam-dunk selection if he’s available at #10. Personally, I’d select him even higher.
You Want to Know How Good Loktionov is?
He’s so good, that, while I’m refreshing the OHL scoring leaders page, his point totals are literally going up by the second. This would be due to the two third period goals he just scored to give Windsor a 3-1, then 4-1 lead in game 4 of their playoff series. I went to the site to check the score. It was 2-1. I checked the score sheet. No goals or points for Loktionov. I went to the OHL scoring leaders site. He’s got 30 points. I looked away. Refreshed. Weird, he’s got 31 points. I go back to the game score sheet. Sure enough, he scored. I go back to the Scoring Leaders page. He’s got 31 points. I hit refresh. Suddenly, 32 points. I’m starting to feel crazy. I go back to the game score sheet. No change. I figure it’s a glitch. I refresh it. Now they’re showing the second goal. I love that the OHL scoring leaders page appears to update in real time.
Go Jimmy! (I better go back to see if he’s completed the hat trick — though I probably just jinxed it…)
THN Draft Preview 2009
1. Tavares
2. Hedman
3. Duchene
4. Cowen
5. Kane
6. Schenn
7. Paajarvi-Svensson
8. Kadri
9. Schroeder
10. Rundblad
Red Wings ‘blown’ away – Puck Daddy – NHL – Yahoo! Sports
The Detroit Red Wings were jobbed, hosed, robbed, disrespected — really, pick your terms of non-endearment — when referee Brad Watson and his intent to blow an early whistle wiped out a Marian Hossa(notes) game-tying goal late in the third period at the Anaheim Ducks in Game 3. The puck’s in the net before the whistle, but Watson already ended the play in his brain. And it’s not a reviewable play in the NHL.
[...]
Premature whistles during a scrum in front of the net have been a pox on these playoffs. Worse yet have been the instances of “Intent To Blow,” in which the referee has ended the play with his mind before an ounce of lung power has entered his whistle. Like in Game 4 of the St. Louis Blues/Vancouver Canucks series, in which a Blues goal wasn’t allowed and they were later summarily dismissed from the playoffs in overtime.
Sure, as Romig said, early whistles happen and you just hope they don’t happen to your team. Doesn’t make it right; and it doesn’t change the fact that ”Intent To Blow” runs counter to the NHL’s primary doctrine for its officials, which is to support and nurture offense while restricting defense.
Obstruction, the puck over the glass rule, the goalie trapezoid, no change on an icing, the leeway given to players who crash the crease … all of it encourages scoring. Which makes the hair-trigger ending of hockey plays by an eager beaver referee such an annoying anomaly. And what’s the sense of having a second referee on the ice to make the calls the first referee isn’t in a position to make if he can’t overrule “Intent To Blow” on plays like last night’s?
via Red Wings ‘blown’ away; Canucks get their boring on – Puck Daddy – NHL – Yahoo! Sports.
IT’S INSANE.
Kukla’s Corner agrees with me; presumably everyone does
If you haven’t seen it, you will. The officiating in this league is the most pathetic of anything just south of professional wrestling. But the league’s healthier than ever, eh Gary? Is this how you want your playoff games decided? I’m two games away from being done with this whole charade. … It’s just plain incompetence and we all just sit back and take it. I’ll tell you this. If the Wings lose this series, after that call, I’m going to strongly consider how I can put forth any more time, effort or money toward a sport that has Gary Bettman as its commissioner.
Disgusting.
via KuklasKorner .
Red Wings Blog completely agrees with me
With a minute to go the Red Wings scored. Great right? No. The referee lost sight of the puck, even though it was laying right on the goal line, and blew play the play dead. Well, actually he didn’t blow the play dead, but he was thinking about it. The puck was in the back of the net by the time the whistle blew, but he was intending to blow it before the puck crossed the line. Well, he blew it alright. I really hate this rule. If you intend to blow the whistle too early, and don’t quite manage to do it, that’s a good thing, why wave that off? You don’t have to tell anybody about your intended mistake. Serenity now!
via Red Wings Blog .
Yes. It’s insane. INSANE.
Possibly Irrational Thoughts on the Hated Ducks’ Fake “win” in Game 3
“Haysie” is still an idiot. Evidence: his observation that Datsyuk was not driving to the net because he’s “afraid Wisniewski is going to deck him.” I’m not even going to comment on the fact that within minutes of this, Wisniewski was sent to the hospital by a Datsyuk wrist shot, which somehow got characterized as a Holmstrom elbow to the head or face. Maybe there was an elbow. I didn’t see it.
There were other typical b.s. comments from the ducks’ announcers, all of which I’m forgetting because of the Indignity of the Quick Whistle that Didn’t Even Happen Until After the Puck was Already in the Net.
I know the rule is that if the ref had it in his “mind” that he was going to blow the whistle, he can rule that the play was dead before the whistle technically (read: actually) was blown. My question is: WHY? WHY does he have to exercise this discretion now, when he knows he made a mistake. The puck was loose. He knew (i.e. realized) the puck was loose immediately after he blew the whistle. Therefore, he knew he would have been wrong to blow the whistle when, in his mind, he first thought to. Clearly, he has the option not to CHANGE THE OUTCOME OF THE GAME by compounding Mistake #1 — blowing the whistle because he thought the puck was covered up when in fact the puck was already in the net — with even bigger Mistake #2: that he mentally made the error of really wanting to have blown it down earlier.
Once he realized that he almost committed a collosal f***-up, why didn’t he just walk away, let it go, chalk it up to a bullet-dodged. Why does he have to say, “no, I have the discretion to turn my potential mistake into an actual one!” Didn’t he know it was an important moment, in an important game?
I think he did. And he choked.
(I mean, really, say he thinks there’s a penalty, and then right after he thinks it, he thinks, no, that’s not a penalty, does he HAVE to blow the play down on the grounds that he originally meant to blow it down before he changed his mind?)
He clearly could have — in the case of this obvious goal that he insanely disallowed — gone to the phone to check with Toronto. You know, TO GET IT RIGHT. Why does what the ref thought before he realized he was wrong matter at all? [UPDATE: apparently, when the whistle is blown relative to the puck crossing the goal line is not reviewable; but I'm quite sure that when the horn sounds relative to the puck crossing the goal line is reviewable. There is simply no reasonable rationale for that. All such plays should be reviewed, possibly giving the ref final discretion to say whether he intended to blow the play down sooner -- as with a situation where the puck is under the goalie, he means to blow it down, and then the puck is poked over the line; in that situation, you need the ref to be able to say, "no, it was covered, the play was dead." That's different from "oh, I thought it was covered, but really it wasn't."]
I will revise this observation with more rational thought when I’ve calmed down. But for now, that’s just f-ing ridiculous.
Sharks Territory: “There comes a point in every player’s career where we stop seeing the qualities of that player and focus on his faults.”
I thought our Sharks had enough to make a serious run in the postseason. So for me to write a credible blog about this team I needed some help. There are certain people I talk to all the time during the NHL season. They are players, coaches, broadcasters and scouts. They are people who have been in the NHL for decades. Their knowledge of the league runs miles deep. They have enjoyed success at the highest level. In other words they are ‘Hockey People’. Since the Sharks ouster from the playoffs, I’ve had several conversations with these respected individuals and here is their collective take on the team.
The Sharks are a dyslexic team. They are all 6’4″ but they play like they are 4’6”.
The Sharks are the Atlanta Braves of the NHL. Great regular seasons but can’t find another gear in the playoffs.
The Sharks lack determination, you just don’t see it on a regular basis.
The players seem too comfortable in San Jose they are treated very well and nobody wants to get their hands dirty.
The Sharks lack depth, the 3rd and 4th lines don’t scare anybody.
The Sharks have players that have the size, and skill to be better but they just aren’t.
The Sharks have a group of real nice guys. Which is great in real life but not so great when you step on the ice.
All of the experts I talked to figure the Sharks have two choices. DO NOTHING and say to the players, “you figure it out.” But to a man they think that option number two is the best- make dramatic changes and alter the culture of the team. Chemistry is really important and the best players have to have a little extra for a team to come together. In the opinion of these experts it seems like the Sharks have too many guys with the same personality. Too many guys who are on the same level emotionally.
As for who to trade, well that is up for debate. Many of you on the chat threads have been debating that for the last week. The Owners, Greg Jamison, Doug Wilson and Todd McLellan along with the rest of the Hockey Operations staff will debate trades and changes for the several weeks. I’ll leave you with a warning one of my experts told me. He said, “there comes a point in every player’s career where we (fans, pundits, scouts, coaches, etc.) stop seeing the qualities of that player and focus on his faults.” That is a trap that can set an organization back.
Tomas Surovy channels 100 years of frustrations at your %@^${%^#@ crappy goalie
Edmonton Journal Brain Farts a Hemsky for Dustin Brown AND Matt Greene Trade Har De Har HAR
If the Oilers could get two front-line players for him, at least one a bigger, stronger body like winger Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings and retrieve hard-nosed defenceman Matt Greene, too, would they consider it?
Is it that far-fetched? I don’t think so.
via Hemsky trade is plausible .
I do. Think it’s far fetched. Far fetched and stupid. I might not throw up at the idea of Hemsky for Matt Greene straight-up. Might not. But, might.
Windsor/Brampton Game Two Highlights
Loktionov, one goal one assist in Windsor’s 5-3 victory over Brampton in Game Two
He’s still second overall in playoff scoring, with 29 points. Taylor Hall has 32.
Windsor Star: Loktionov, Grachev make their respective marks
It’s been this way for years for Andrei Loktionov and Evgeny Grachev. Passing the puck together on the ice. Passing the time together off the ice. Halfway around the world, battling for the right to play for the Memorial Cup, things have only changed slightly. They still turn heads with their unbelievable skills, but now, they do it at opposite ends of the ice. Each is a key element for their respective teams in the Ontario Hockey League final – Loktionov, at centre for the Windsor Spitfires and Grachev, on left winger for the Brampton Battalion.
In Wednesday’s series opener, Loktionov stole the show, dancing through the Brampton defence and around netminder Thomas McCollum to launch Windsor’s 10-1 rout, steering home Windsor’s first two goals. “He played an amazing game,” Grachev acknowledged. Used to be that Grachev would revel in such a performance by Loktionov. They were teammates in their native Russia on Lokomotiv Yaroslavl’s junior team. Fast friends who moved in even faster company when carrying the puck toward the opposition goal. “We played the last two years on the same line,” Loktionov said. “We talk to each other all of the time.”
With eight goals and 27 points, Loktionov is among Windsor’s playoff scoring leaders. Ditto for Grachev, who’s contributed 11-13-24 totals to Brampton’s cause. “He’s been huge for us this year,” Battalion captain Cody Hodgson said of Grachev, voted the OHL’s rookie of the year after his 40-40-80 totals shattered the mark for a first-year Brampton player previously established by ex-Spitfire Jason Spezza. About as huge as Loktionov’s been for Windsor. When fans flock to the WFCU Centre, many are attracted by the chance to see such future stars as defenceman Ryan Ellis, certain to be a first-round NHL draft pick this spring and left-winger Taylor Hall, likely to be the 2010 No. 1 overall choice. By the time they’ve exited the building, many depart talking about the magic the young man wearing No. 90 for Windsor can work with the puck. Some fans have taken this love affair to a point where it’s landed Loktionov a North American handle.
Around the Windsor dressing room, Loktionov is simply known as Jimmy by his Spitfire teammates. As in Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, a popular cartoon character. “The fans started that because he’s such a smart player on the ice,” said Spitfires right-winger Dale Mitchell, often Loktionov’s linemate and always his road roommate. “They put the comparison together with the cartoon.” With his deft moves, lightning speed and precision puckhandling, like the animated Jimmy, Windsor’s Jimmy often appears to be light years ahead of the rest. “He’s a great player,” Grachev said. “He can find you with the puck.”
At first, almost completely bereft of English, Loktionov’s ever-present smile was his main form of communication. “He’d have to point things out and try to explain things to you,” Mitchell recalled. “His English is really good now. He makes sense of a lot of things now. It’s a lot easier than it was at first. “He’s come a long way.” Among all of Loktionov’s achievements, this may be the one that wows his teammates the most. “If I could learn Russian in a year, I’d be pretty impressed by an accomplishment like that,” Mitchell said. Among all the friends they’ve made this season, Grachev and Loktionov still treasure their shared bond, but at this most important time of year, there’s no side bets about who will contribute most to the outcome.
“I want to win,” Loktionov said. “Not to be better.”
So far, his wish is coming true.
via Lotionov, Grachev make their respective marks .
Windsor v. Brampton OHL Finals Game Two Live for Seven Bucks
Starts at 4pm today…
Bryan Cameron Selected by OHL GMs to OHL First Team All-Stars [UPDATE: and is released by the Kings]
2008-09 All-Star Teams
First Team:
Centre – Cody Hodgson, Brampton Battalion (81)
Left Wing – Taylor Hall, Windsor Spitfires (68)
Right Wing – Bryan Cameron, Belleville Bulls (63)
Defence – Ryan Ellis, Windsor Spitfires (81)
Defence – P.K Subban, Belleville Bulls (79)
Goaltender – Mike Murphy, Belleville Bulls (81)
Coach – Bob Boughner, Windsor Spitfires (58)
Second Team:
Centre – John Tavares, London Knights (65)
Left Wing – Justin DiBenedetto, Sarnia Sting (40)
Right Wing – Greg Nemisz, Windsor Spitfires (47)
Defence – Cameron Gaunce, Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors (61)
Defence – John Carlson, London Knights (43)
Goaltender – Thomas McCollum, Brampton Battalion (44)
Coach – George Burnett, Belleville Bulls (38)
Third Team:
Centre – Chris Terry, Plymouth Whalers (25)
Left Wing – Evgeny Grachev, Brampton Battalion (33)
Right Wing – Matt Kennedy, Guelph Storm (43)
Defence – Alex Pietrangelo, Niagara IceDogs (26)
Defence – Michael Del Zotto, London Knights (20)
Goaltender – Edward Pasquale, Saginaw Spirit (19)
Coach – Michael Vellucci, Plymouth Whalers (34)
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