Written by Shaun Deering During yesterday's little exercise in determining the best drafting teams in the post lockout era, I noticed there were a few teams whose drafting prowess should come into question. Anyone can draft the Sidney Crosbys and Patrick Kanes of the world, but the really talented General Managers can look deep into a draft and find gems in the later rounds. Here's a little did you know for you. Did you know that since the year 2000, Detroit has only had 4 first round draft picks? And of those 4, only Niklas Kronwall is in the NHL. I found it jaw dropping on how many impact players the Red Wings have found since 2000 from rounds 2-9. Since 2000, the Red Wings have drafted Tomas Kopecky, Jiri Hudler, Tomas Fleischmann, Valteri Filppula, Jonathan Ericsson, Kyle Quincey, Johan Franzen and Darren Helm after the first round. To compare that to other teams, perennial contender San Jose has drafted 5 (Ehrhoff, Clowe, Carle, Pavelski, Vlasic) and Atlanta has drafted 1 (Tobias Enstrom). So today, I am going to look at the 5 worst drafting teams in the post lockout era, and as an added bonus, I will also let you in on ten "Whoopsee" moments by a GM and a few other draft factoids. The Bottom 5 Drafting Teams Anaheim Ducks – We all know that the Ducks hit a home run when they drafted Bobby Ryan in 2005. But does anyone know the next highest scorer by a Ducks drafted player? Brandon Mikkelson is the answer to that question. He has 2 assists to pace other Ducks draftees to play in the NHL (Brian Salcido, Matt Beleskey, Petteri Wirtanen). Carolina Hurricanes – Including the 2005 draft, the Hurricanes have drafted 3 players (out of a possible 31) who have played in the NHL. The most prominent name on that list of three is Jack Johnson, who never played a game for the Hurricanes after a well publicized spat between Johnson and Hurricanes' GM Jim Rutherford. The other 2 players who have played NHL games are Brandon Sutter and Zach Boychuk, who have a combined 6 points in 53 games Florida Panthers – The Panthers have an infuriating level of incompetence when drafting players. Sure, they get players who can play in the NHL, but with an exception or two along the way, they never live up to their potential. Nathan Horton should be a 35-40 goal scorer, but he seems to be content with 25-30. To start this season he has 2 goals and 1 assist in 9 games. Since the lockout, they have drafted Michael Frolik, who looks like the real deal, and others like Kenndal McArdle and Keaton Ellerby who do not. Minnesota Wild – Unlike the other teams on this list, the Wild actually do get players to the NHL level. The difference is what happens when they get there. Whether the Wild draft poorly, or the Jacques Lemaire system stifled their growth, the fact is that the Wild's drafting record looks poor. The Wild have had 4 players make the NHL since 2005 (Benoit Pouliot, James Sheppard, Cal Clutterbuck and Colton Gillies) and the leading goal scorer out of that group is Clutterbuck with 11. Clutterbuck is also the only one of those four who wasn't a first round pick. With results like that, no one should ever question why Doug Risebrough was fired last offseason. Tampa Bay Lightning – I know what you're asking. How can a team that drafted Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman be one of the worst drafting teams in the league? I still maintain the Lightning would have been better served to draft Drew Doughty over Stamkos since going into that draft their best d-man was Paul Ranger, but I digress. With the exception of Stamkos and Hedman who is the Lightning's highest scoring draft pick since 2005? Did I hear someone say Blair Jones? To go back a little further, the Lightning's highest scoring draft pick since 2003 is Nick Tarnasky with 27 points in 214 games. One final note about the Lightning's draft record, they haven't drafted a player who has amassed 100 career points since they drafted Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards in 1998. I'm not talking about 100 points as a member of the Lightning, I mean 100 career points as an NHL player. That is nothing short of abysmal. If you're wondering, Paul Ranger is the next closest to 100 with 92 career points. Ten Draft Mistakes We all know people make mistakes during the draft. Hindsight may be 20/20, but it is also fun to look back and rip General Managers for their mistakes. All of these mistakes are from the 2000-2009 because to go through every draft would take an eternity...and we all know I don't have that kind of time. 1. In 2004, it was the year of the goaltender. The first round saw Al Montoya, Devan Dubnyk, Marek Schwartz and Cory Schneider drafted. The subsequent rounds saw World Junior Hockey Championship "stars" Jeff Glass and Justin Pogge drafted. So who was the best goalie taken in 2004? That would have been 2009 Calder finalist Pekka Rinne in the 8th round. 2. There are only 7 players drafted in the first round who have fewer points than the first overall pick. Sadly for those teams (Boston had 2 of the 7) the first pick in 2000 was Rick DiPietro 3. Yesterday I praised the Rangers for their drafting in the post-lockout NHL. In 2003, aka the best draft of all time, the Rangers selected Hugh Jessiman with the 12th overall pick. Other players selected after Jessiman in the first round include: Dustin Brown, Brent Seabrook, Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Brent Burns, Ryan Kesler, Mike Richards and Corey Perry. No big deal though, they aren't all in the Canada and US Olympic Team conversation... 4. Speaking of Zach Parise, in that draft, the Oilers held the #17 pick in the draft and traded down with the New Jersey Devils for the 22nd pick (Marc-Antoine Pouliot) and the 68th pick (JF Jacques). I like to imagine Steve Tambellini phoning Lou Lamoriello to say "I'll give you Pouliot and Jacques for Parise". Then I like to picture Lou's reaction. 5. One more from the 2003 draft. This one isn't so much a mistake per se, as what might have been. In the 2nd round, the Flames drafted defenseman Tim Hamholt. If the Flames were in the market for a defenseman, still on the board at that point was a young man named Shea Weber. That means the Flames could have drafted Phaneuf and Weber in the same draft class. 6. This one is straight from the admission of Doug MacLean himself. In 2005, Columbus held the 5th pick in the draft. As MacLean says, he had narrowed it down to Gilbert Brule and another player. He liked everything about the other player, his attitude, his skating, his intangibles, yet he chose Brule. 4 years later, Brule is playing Edmonton and that other player (Anze Kopitar) leads the NHL in scoring. 7. In the 2004 draft, the Minnesota Wild, who are obsessed with picking players born in Minnesota selected offensive defenseman, AJ Thelen 12th overall. Another offensive d-man was chosen 29th overall in that draft. Last Season, Mike Green was the first defenseman to score 30 goals since Kevin Hatcher in 1992-93. But don't worry, Thelen put 3 goals on the board last season for the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. 8. The Wild aren't the only team who have a history of questionable first round picks. The Phoenix Coyotes have selected Krys Kolanos, Fredrik Sjostrom, Jakub Koreis, and Blake Wheeler, none of whom still play in Phoenix. And in the post-lockout NHL, only Martin Hanzal and Peter Mueller are in the lineup on a nightly basis for the Coyotes. Who did the Coyotes select with their first pick in the aforementioned 2003 draft? Tyler Redenbach, who they chose in the 3rd round. Where did their first round pick go? It went to Philadelphia, who chose Jeff Carter. 9. Ilya Kovalchuk became the first ever Russia to be chosen first overall at the 2001 draft. To celebrate, other teams tried to draft Kovalchuk "clones" with less than idea results. Tampa selected Alexandr Svitov 3rd overall. Anaheim chose Stanislav Chistov with the 5th pick. Also drafted in the first round of 2001 were Igor Knyazev (15th overall to Carolina) and Alexander Perezhogin (25th to Montreal) who is better known for swinging a stick like a baseball bat to a player's face than actual hockey skill. 10. In 2002, the Florida Panthers had the 9th overall pick and selected Petr Taticek, a Czech center from the OHL. He played 3 games in the NHLbefore high-tailing it back to the Czech Republic. The next 5 picks in that draft were Eric Nystrom, Keith Ballard, Steve Eminger, Alexander Semin and Chris Higgins. Jeez, who was the running the show in Florida at that time, Mike Keenan? Wait, it actually was Mike Keenan. "Whoopsee"
Written by Shaun Deering Before we get into today's topic, I just want to toot my own horn. In the Power Rankings on Sunday, I believe some handsome gentleman predicted that the Maple Leafs would get their first win of the season against the Anaheim Ducks. No big deal or anything, but if you stick with us at Sports Logic, you'll go far baby. Today's topic is about Brian Burke...again. It's ironic in a way that one of our reasons for starting this blog was to give a league-wide perspective instead of the Toronto-centric media, but any chance I get a chance to prove Brian Burke wrong, I will take it. That is what we call in the business "foreshadowing". After trading away two first round draft picks and subsequently starting the season quite poorly, the media asked Burke if he would make the trade again if he knew his team would start so poorly. In typical Burke fashion, his response was to say something to the effect of "In the pre-lockout era teams rebuilt through the draft. I don't think you can do that anymore, with the exception of a top 3-4 pick." If only there were a way to research the post-lockout drafts to fact-check this theory...like a website that was hockey database, perhaps shortened to hockeydb... As it turns out, such a website exists. So I have taken the time to check every team's draft history, and here is a list of a team or seven who have rebuilt through the draft in the post-lockout era. The names in brackets are the team's first round draft picks in order from 2005-2008. I have left 2009 draft picks off this list because it's far too early to judge those players. Chicago Blackhaws (Jack Skille, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Kyle Beach) – This is pretty much the gold standard of rebuilding through the draft, but Burke himself admitted that you can do it with lottery picks. And it's not like Burke would have a lottery pick in June, right guys? Right? Columbus Blue Jackets (Gilbert Brule, Derick Brassard, Jakub Voracek, Nikita Filatov) – Brule was traded for a veteran presence in Raffi Torres, and Filatov is in and out of the lineup. Brassard and Voracek are key pieces to Columbus' success and ultimate resurgence to respectability in the NHL. Also, not one of those players was a top 5 pick. Los Angeles Kings (Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Bernier, Thomas Hickey, Drew Doughty) – Bernier and Hickey are still in the minors and will probably be a part of the Kings in the next 2-3 years. As for Kopitar, he only leads the NHL in scoring, and Drew Doughty is being touted as the best Canadian defenseman in the last 15 years...no big deal. New York Rangers (Mark Staal, Bob Sanguinetti, Alexei Cherepanov, Michael Del Zotto) – While they obviously aren't to the level of the previous three teams, the Rangers have rebuilt quite nicely with a couple of these picks. Staal and Del Zotto have been revelations on the back-end for the Rangers, who desperately needed it. I don't know who Bob Sanguinetti is, and I don't think I ever will. The Rangers had a gem in Cherepanov, unfortunately he passed away due to a heart defect last year. Ottawa Senators (Brian Lee, Nick Foligno, Jim O'Brien, Erik Karlsson) – Again, they are a step below in terms of impact, but Foligno and Karlsson are still important players for the Senators this season. Foligno offers a grit factor and net presence that the Senators have lacked since 1918. Karlsson may still get sent back to junior, but with an injury to Filip Kuba, he has stepped up nicely despite his team worst -4 rating. Philadelphia Flyers (Steve Downie, Claude Giroux, James Van Riemsdyk, Luca Sbisa) – Sometimes players can be used as trade bait to lure better players, as is the case with Downie and Sbisa who were traded for Matt Carle and Chris Pronger respectively. All those guys have done in Philadelphia is combine for 17 points and a +12 in 9 games. Van Riemsdyk has been a point-per-game this season, and Giroux is a very effective grinder. Philadelphia went from the worst team in the league in 2006 to a legitimate cup contender in 2009 and they can thank their first round picks for that. But who am I to argue with Brian Burke? St. Louis Blues (TJ Oshie, Erik Johnson, Lars Eller, Alex Pietrangelo) – In the category of "Whoops", TJ Oshie was drafted 23rd overall in 2005. Do you think there are 15ish GMs who wouldn't want a mulligan on that one? Oshie is a big, strong, gritty, fast power forward with magic hands and he goes 23rd? I'm sure Buffalo is enjoying Marek Zagrapan, or Atlanta can't contain their excitement for Alex Bourret. What's that? Zagrapan is in the KHL and Bourret is playing in the Czech league now? Whoopsee Stay tuned for tomorrow when I do the worst drafting teams of the post lockout era... One Timers * Scott Niedermayer delivered a clean body check last night on Mikael Grabovski of the Leafs. An interference penalty was called on the play causing Leafs TV "analyst" Greg Millen to say "No doubt about this one; look at where the puck is." The funny part was that the puck was literally in Grabovski's skates at the time of contact. Nice work Gregory. * While on the topic of the Leafs one last time (I promise), how hard is it to win a game when you are on the power play for 14 minutes? Tomas Kaberle had more power play time in that game (9:48) than 7 other players had in the entire game. * Chicago is quickly becoming my favourite team in the league to watch, but only at home. Not only because they are very entertaining, but that goal song is so damn catchy, I find myself hoping they score every time they touch the puck. For those who want to legally download it, it's called Chelsea Dagger by the Fratellis. * Game of the night tonight, Philadelphia vs. Washington. Last time they played, it was a 6-5 OT win for Philadelphia, but the game was hands down the best game I've seen this year. The best part is that it's on TSN2 (Le Deux) so there's no excuse not to watch it. * Line of the week goes to Elliotte Friedman who said "Were the Blue Jackets competing at Wimbledon last week? They lost three out of four: 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 2-6." That's one of those lines you just want to steal and claim as your own. I'll credit him this time, but from now on, I'm plagiarizing on a Green Day/Red Hot Chili Peppers level.
Written by Wayne Coristine Saturday was a busy night for hockey. And yet, one play really stands out and will for quite some time as evidence in the debate of the headshots epidemic some argue is taking over the NHL. In a game between the Florida Panthers and Flyers in Philadelphia, Panthers sniper David Booth crossed the blue line, dished the puck to a line mate and was caught looking the wrong way when Philly captain Mike Richards nailed him with an open ice check. Watch this clip of the hit to form your opinion of it before I explain mine. A few things come to mind when you watch this play…starting with "holy shit!" then wondering if Richards: a) left his feet, b) used his elbow, c) was it a deliberate hit to the head d) was it late, and e) is Booth going to live? I watched the hit several times, and it's obvious Richards had his back foot in the air when he hit Booth, but his front foot is firmly planted. Only after the hit do both Richards' feet leave the ice…because that's part of falling down after a big check. As for the elbow, not only does it not come up, but Richards actually leads the hit with the back Figuring out if it is a deliberate shot to the head is the hardest part of the dissection. Richards does what almost all big hitters of this era do. He hits up, rather than through his opponent. However, that doesn't necessarily mean he was targeting Booth's head. Booth was in a bit of a vulnerable position because he made one small error on his backhand pass. As soon as he released the puck as he cuts to the middle of the ice, he turns his head back to watch the pass. So now, he's looking one way and going the other and Mike Richards had him in the tracks. If Booth doesn't make that little peak, chances are he still gets clobbered…but is able to brace himself a bit. As for Richards hitting up on Booth, it definitely happens a little bit, but it's not as severe as these hits by notorious open ice hitters like Dion Phaneuf and Niklas Kronwall. The other major controversy about this hit is the perception that it was late. Well, if you count the time on the slow motion replay, it certainly seems late. However, in real time, it's less than a second. In fact, Steve Kouleas from The Score broke down the video frame by frame and it was less than half a second from the time Booth passed the puck and got hit. What's that mean? It means it's a legal play in that regard. As for Booth, he's concussed and his return date will depend on how he responds to treatment, previous concussion history and outside of confirming that he will indeed live, there is no way to say how long he will be out of the Panthers' lineup. Getting back to the hit itself, it's not unlike the 2006 Playoffs when RJ Umberger was caught looking down by Brian Campbell or the hit last Wednesday by Willie Mitchell on Jonathan Toews. It all three cases, the player with the puck looks down momentarily after the puck leaves his stick and unfortunately takes a shoulder check to the chin. Does it make the hits dirty? No. The hits are both textbook open ice hits and would have been deemed so in any era. So, why is it today that a hit like the one we saw on Saturday was considered so vicious, so damaging and the topic of message boards, sports show debates and blogs like this one about whether or not Richards deserved a suspension and whether the NHL needs a rule specifically to penalize hits to the head? For starters, Richards received a five minute major for interference and a game misconduct for intent to injure, so it wasn't as if he got away free of punishment. The biggest issue on hits like this is how the recipient leaves the ice. In this case, David Booth left on a stretcher with a concussion after laying motionless for a few minutes. Obviously, no one wants to see ever see that, but where are we supposed to attribute the blame if a textbook body check in open ice ends with a stretcher? And how come we are seeing this more often now than any other time in hockey history? My first thought takes me to the shoulder and elbow pad section of any sports store. It's obvious that equipment is safer now than ever should you fall on your elbow or shoulder or tailbone, etc. However, in hockey players hit each other with their shoulders, and although illegal, elbows. So that means that the very same hard, moulded plastic caps designed to save injuries to the shoulders and elbows likely will contact another player during any given game. But there's more to the issue than just the gear itself. The players in the NHL today – outside of some of the older players in the twilight of their careers – all grew up playing fully decked out with plastic shoulder and elbow pads, along with helmets with full face shields and mouth guards. Now, I'm not saying this is a bad thing…I played in all that same stuff and am quite happy I did. However, it does change the mentality of players a little bit. From a young age, these guys knew they were covered head to toe in protective equipment and as a result, a level of invincibility entered the game. In minor hockey, a shoulder to the chin would hit a cage, not the face itself, thus protecting the player from the full force of the hit. The same goes for the lightweight composite sticks. The players in minor hockey may take a stick to the face, but the cage protects them from the cuts we see at the pro level…and unfortunately, bad habits die hard so when the select few make it to the big leagues, they're completely used to hitting cages with shoulders, elbows and sticks that it translates up each level. The other issue is size. At some point in the last 15 or 20 years, professional hockey put an emphasis on bigger players and it's not just height. Players are now entering the league at 18-21 years old and considered slight if they don't weigh close to 200 lbs. Of course, this filters into junior and minor hockey, with players working out specifically to add bulk in hopes to get noticed and make the next step. What is normal in the NHL now was considered big not too long ago. So…what does it all mean and how does it all relate to the Mike Richards hit on David Booth? Richards hit was no more malicious than the big open ice hits of the 60's, 70's, 80's or early 90's. However, because he's heavier at 5'10" than most players that height in those eras, combined with wearing harder equipment than players from back then, the effects were bound to be worse. Combine that with the slight upswing hitting style prevalent in the NHL today means we are going to see more players carted off the ice and into ambulances rather than skating to the bench…whether the league adds a rule against shoulder-to-head hits or not.
of his shoulder, so the elbow is never an issue.
1. Pittsburgh Penguins (9-2-0) LW: 1 – For the third week in a row, the Penguins are the class of the NHL. With the loss of Sergei Gonchar however, the Penguins could find themselves coming back to the rest of the league. 2. 3. Calgary Flames (7-2-1) LW: 6 – For the first time this year the Flames actually outshot a team on Saturday night. Brent Sutter's system may be taking shape in Calgary and if Jokinen and Iginla find their stride and the secondary scoring continues, the Flames will be no fun for anyone to play. 4. Buffalo Sabres (6-1-1) LW: 9 – I reluctantly put the Sabres in this spot and here's why: Their 6 wins have come against Phoenix, Nashville, Detroit, New York Islanders, Florida and Tampa Bay. That my friends is what we call an easy schedule. We still have to give "mad props" to the Sabres for winning those games. 5. New York Rangers (7-3-1) LW: 2 – Normally I am the hanging judge when a team loses 3 games in a week, but I will give the Rangers the benefit of the doubt this time. Just for future reference, when you are playing an offensive dynamo like San Jose, it's probably a good idea to play your Vezina nominated starter, and not your backup with the cool mask. 6. Chicago Blackhawks (6-3-1) LW: 5 – The goaltending is getting better in Chicago, but it's still a concern. Antii Niemi forgot that it's a 60 minute game on Wednesday against Vancouver and checked out with 5 minutes to go. Cristobal Huet responded with a shutout on Saturday, but it was against Nashville, so is it really that impressive? 7. Washington Capitals (6-2-2) LW: 12 – The Capitals went unbeaten this week without any help from Alex Ovechkin. Of course, the wins came against Atlanta and the Islanders, so that takes some of the shine off my initial comment. 8. Philadelphia Flyers (5-2-1) LW: 10 – I know Wayne is planning on addressing it in detail, but in quick form, I have no issue with the Mike Richards hit. Of course TSN will beat this hit to death for a week and Bob McKenzie will probably want Richards suspended for 200 games. 9. Edmonton Oilers (6-3-1) LW: 8 – Dustin Penner, Ales Hemsky and Sam Gagner are the toast of the town after a 13 point effort against Columbus this week. It was only one game, but it was an impressive effort nonetheless. 10. Columbus Blue Jackets (6-3-0) LW: 3 – One week after I give the Jackets some credit for being a contender, they go out and give up 16 goals in 3 games. They won one of them and blew a 3 goal lead in another, but Columbus won't win many games if they want to play run and gun hockey. 11. New Jersey Devils (6-3-0) LW: 16 – If you want to move up in Shaun's power rankings, the best way to do it would be to beat the top 2 teams from last week as New Jersey did. Now if only they could be a touch more exciting, they might crack the top 10. 12. Ottawa Senators (5-2-2) LW: 7 – If you want to move down in Shaun's power rankings, you allow 6 goals to Nashville as Ottawa did. Ottawa did score 5 goals in the 3rd period to force overtime in that game, but if you score 5 goals, you should beat Nashville every day of the week. 13. San Jose Sharks (6-4-1) LW: 11 – I think it's time to give San Jose a compliment sandwich. They looked impressive in a 7-3 win over the Rangers. What the hell are they doing losing 5-2 to Tampa Bay? Now something nice...You know what, after a 5-2 loss to Tampa, they don't deserve it. 14. Los Angeles Kings (7-4-0) LW: 17 – The Kings are going through weeks where they either win them all or lose them all. So with that in mind, the Kings are yo-yoing around the power rankings from week to week. Unrelated to that, Ryan Smyth is having one hell of a start to his season (6G, 9A) and he's really helping out Anze Kopitar (8G, 11A). 15. Phoenix Coyotes (6-3-0) LW: 13 – If you eliminate the "sold out" home opener, the Coyotes are averaging under 9,000 fans per game in their next 4 home games. As bad as that might seem, it's a lot better than I expected. It's pretty obvious that this is the last season for the Coyotes in Phoenix. 16. Dallas Stars (5-2-4) LW: 15 – The Stars are still a tough team to figure out. They only have 2 regulation losses, so they are keeping games close. Eventually they are going to have to do more than just keep it close, but for now it's working. 17. Vancouver Canucks (5-5-0) LW: 20 – The Canucks impressed me with a 3-2 win against Chicago this week. Sure they beat Toronto, but who doesn't these days? Though allowing Toronto to get 35 shots is something they might not want to get in the habit of doing. 18. Boston Bruins (5-4-1) LW: 22 – How is it that the Bruins lose their power forward, perennial leading scorer, and trade away a depth forward THEN start winning? It's a weird situation in Boston, but maybe they aren't as bad as they looked to start the year. 19. Atlanta Thrashers (4-3-1) LW: 14 – A little step back to reality for the Thrashers, who started as hot as they did. But losing to Washington and San Jose isn't something to hang their heads about. 20. Montreal Canadiens (5-5-0) LW: 27 – Maybe there is some life in the Canadiens after all. After stapling Carey Price to the bench, the Habs reeled off three wins in a row with Jaroslav Halak in net. If last year is any indication, this is a short term solution at best. 21. St. Louis Blues (4-4-1) LW: 18 – The Blues are still finding their way after returning from Stockholm. It's either that, or they simply aren't that good. They looked god-awful in a 5-1 loss against Pittsburgh earlier in the week. 22. Detroit Red Wings (3-4-2) LW: 19 – You want another reason why Detroit's run is ending? This week they played Phoenix and Colorado and lost both games. I'm willing to bet they had those 2 games pencilled in as wins before the season started. 23. Tampa Bay Lightning (3-3-3) LW: 24 – I would like to congratulate Tampa on being this week's best of the also-rans in the NHL. Tampa might be better than their record shows after beating San Jose and forcing Buffalo to overtime. 24. Anaheim Ducks (3-5-1) LW: 21 – If anyone had the Ducks struggling this badly out of the gate, you are much smarter than I. I knew they'd miss Chris Pronger, but I had no idea it would be this much. The Ducks could very well be the answer to the trivia question "Which team did the Leafs beat to end their winless start?" 25. Nashville Predators (3-6-1) LW: 26 – I don't have much to say about the Preds this week, so I will do my best Mike Brophy power rankings analysis. Jason Arnott hurt his arm and is on the IR. Thanks Broph. How are you not in the Hall of Fame? 26. Minnesota Wild (3-7-0) LW: 29 – You're welcome Minnesota. One week after I blasted them for showing no heart, they turn around and beat the juggernaut Colorado Avalanche and the much less of a juggernaut, Carolina Hurricanes. 27. Carolina Hurricanes (2-5-3) LW: 23 – You know how people like to say a good goalie can win you games? That is quite untrue in Carolina. Cam Ward stands on his head nightly and the team around him stinks. You're killing my hockey pool Carolina...pick up your damn socks. 28. New York Islanders (1-4-4) LW: 28 – I know you're all wondering who is leading the Islanders in shifts per game, and I will provide the answer. Radek Martinek is averaging 26.4 shifts per game, which is about right for a player of his cali...I have no idea. 29. Florida Panthers (2-6-1) LW: 25 – It might be unfair for me to put the Panthers below the Islanders, especially after a tough week of games against Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. It might also be unfair for the Panthers to draft high profile players and never develop them properly, but they do a damn fine job of that. 30. Toronto Maple Leafs (0-7-1) LW: 30 – As bad as they may be, the Leafs are getting very unlucky. On a nightly basis they are running into a goalie who stands on his head. Of course the counter argument would be to put players in the line-up who can actually put the puck in the ocean, but I digress.
Colorado Avalanche (8-1-2) LW: 4 – Okay, this is starting to look less like a fluke start and more like a team actually playing solid, fundamental hockey. Of course it doesn't hurt that their goaltender is playing out of his mind. Craig Anderson's numbers are Vezina worth in the early going. (8-1-2, .936 SV % and a 2.14 GAA)
Written by Wayne Coristine Remember a few years back, when Gary Bettman and the suits running the league and its teams told us how important it would be to get a new Collective Bargaining Agreement? Remember when they used terms like "cost certainty" and "hard salary cap" to convince us that a work stoppage was likely…and necessary for the financial health of the NHL? Remember when the league was on ESPN for American fans (and there actually are a few, they just have no clue where to watch games anymore)? But don't worry, Gary Bettman's deal with the Outdoor Life Network..err…Versus to carry games in the US really raised the profile of the league…yup, all 30% (at best) of American households with the network sure brought back lost fans and recruited new ones…same with the multi-concessions, no-money deal to have NBC cover about 15 games a year…in the afternoon no less. Well, maybe, just maybe, we got misled. It's possible that the NHL power brokers pulled a fast one on us. While the revenues are being shared and the player-league partnership means that teams aren't spending more than 54% of their earnings on salaries and rich teams prop up the money bleeders. Hooray. We got our cost certainty and the hard salary cap works to perfection, right? Wrong. Somewhere along the line…and we believe it was July 1, 2006, the guys holding the purses went nutty…as purse-carrying men are apt to do. You see, the "hard-cap" means General Managers can't spend more than 56 million bucks on their rosters this year – about the same as last year, after increasing from 48 million after the work stoppage…stopped. But teams started going crazy for free agents the same way they did before…only now with ridiculously long contracts. And the rule about the maximum you can spend on a player per year? Well that would have worked well…had there not been easy ways around it. Front load a big money contract then stretch it out over several years to bring down the annual cap hit, and bam! You've got players making far more than their cap number for a few years, then far below as they taper off. We're looking at you, Detroit. Not a bad move by the General Managers, but it reflects poorly on the league's ironclad CBA to skirt around the rule so easily. So, we decided to look into the bad money being tossed around the league despite all the cost certainty we were promised as a trade off for a long, hockey free winter. We looked at 25 of the worst contracts handed out by general managers in the salary cap era and how they affected (or will affect) their teams. No Chance of Return on Investment Long-Term Lockups or Potential Problems? Deals We Just Flat Out Don't Like This list could go on and on because NHL executives who fought hard to get cost certainty and a salary cap quickly forgot all about that. Instead, they spend money like drunken sailors…and often not on the most desirable wench in the bar. However, one former General Manager really takes the cake. The one executive, whose team was the poster child for getting to the lockout to be competitive, signed bad deal after bad deal and made questionable trades in the new era…Kevin Lowe. We decided to give a quick rundown of a few of his deals to illustrate why the Oilers missed the playoffs for three years running.
After three full weeks of NHL action, we are finally starting to get a better understanding of how teams are going to play this season. Obviously there are a few playing over their heads, and a few who are struggling out of the gate, but the wheat is starting to be separated from the chaff. Now if only the NHL schedule makers could schedule some teams for more than one game a week, we'd be in business. 1. Pittsburgh Penguins (7-1-0) LW: 1 – They were first last week, and thanks to a 3-0 week, they obviously won't be replaced at the top. Marc-Andre Fleury is making a real statement that he wants to be included on Canada's Olympic team, and with a 7-0 record, a 2.09 GAA and a Stanley Cup ring, who can argue with him? 2. New York Rangers (7-1-0) LW: 3 - Maybe I was wrong about the Rangers. In the preseason rankings, I picked them to finish 14th in the East. Henrik Lundqvist is playing very well right now, but I will caution the Rangers' fans about 2 things. Thing the first, they started hot last year and faded. Also, if they play anything like they did Saturday against Toronto, the losses will come quickly. 3. Columbus Blue Jackets (5-1-0) LW: 7 – The Jackets will never win any awards for being the most exciting team in the league, but they have just enough offense to get the job done. Rick Nash is off to a great start, and if he continues on this pace, a Hart nomination may be in his future. He's come a long way from the minus-62 combined from his first 2 seasons. 4. Colorado Avalanche (6-1-1) LW: 18 – I reluctantly put the Avalanche in this spot because everybody knows the walls will eventually cave in on them. But with 4 wins this week, including a comeback victory over the Red Wings and the very steady play of Craig Anderson, how could I put them any lower? 5. Chicago Blackhawks (4-2-1) LW: 11 – I feel very confident in saying that if you exclude goaltenders the Blackhawks are the best team in the league. Sadly, for the Hawks, goalies do count and theirs stink. Cristobal Huet looks lost in the net for the Hawks, and there are only so many times they can bail him out. 6. Calgary Flames (5-2-1) LW: 2 – The Flames had a roller coaster of a week didn't they? They steamroll Chicago on Monday and blow a 5 goal lead, then look awful against Columbus the next night. Then on Friday, the Flames played their most complete game of the year in a statement game against Vancouver. I think it's safe to say they won't blow anymore 5 goal leads with Mr. Sutter in charge...unless they like puckless skates. 7. Ottawa Senators (5-2-0) LW: 10 – I get the feeling that Ottawa is one of those teams we haven't quite figured out yet. If the early season is any indication, they will be a team who can easily beat the bottom feeders, and can't compete with the top teams. I like to call those teams the 6-8 seeds come playoff time. 8. Edmonton Oilers (4-2-1) LW 13 – Much like Ottawa, the Oilers are in a pattern of beating the teams below them and losing to the teams above them. The difference is that Edmonton is getting outshot by the bad teams and getting their goalies to bail them out. Getting outshot on a 2:1 ratio by Minnesota and Nashville has to be corrected and quickly. 9. Buffalo Sabres (4-1-1) LW: 12 – I'll admit that Buffalo should probably be ahead of Edmonton, but I already wrote the first draft in pen. How can I go back on that? So here's how I get around it. Buffalo beat a banged up Detroit team and an awful Islanders team. Then a loss to Atlanta set them back a spot in the ranking...I covered it beautifully I think. 10. Philadelphia Flyers (3-2-1) LW: 5 – It's very hard to place a team when they only play one game in a week as the Flyers did. They lost to a bad Panthers team, but I won't punish them too bad because Scott Clemmensen stood on his head to win it for Florida. 11. San Jose Sharks (4-3-1) LW: 4 – What is up with the Sharks? A 1-0 loss to Phoenix with that kind of fire-power is unacceptable. I don't care how effective the trap is for the Coyotes, there is no way the Sharks should ever lose that game. Then they come up listless against an eastern contender like Washington? Maybe someone forgot to tell the Sharks the playoffs aren't until April. Oh Snap. 12. Washington Capitals (4-2-2) LW: 9 – The Capitals are a funny team. There's nothing wrong with being 4-2-2, but the expectations are so high on them this year that it almost feels like a failure. Also a memo to Bruce Boudreau, I made a prediction about Nicklas Backstrom before the year, so if you could kindly reunite him with Ovechkin, that would be super. 13. Phoenix Coyotes (5-2-0) LW: 27 – I don't believe in the Coyotes and I probably never will. Dave Tippett has them playing a boring trap system and they are winning games because of it, but the clock is about to strike midnight there. Ilya Bryzgalov will eventually start to struggle and the losses will pile up. With that being said, a week of wins over San Jose, St. Louis and Boston is mighty impressive. 14. Atlanta Thrashers (4-1-0) LW: 16 – It's time for me to admit my mistake. In one of the earlier power rankings, I said Pavelic started the opener ahead of Kari Lehtonen. It turns out Lehtonen had off-season back surgery and still isn't ready to play. Color me surprised that Lehtonen is hurt again. No matter what the reason, Pavelic is the starter in Atlanta now and Lehtonen will probably be traded at some point this season. 15. Dallas Stars (3-1-3) LW: 20 – After an impressive 6-0 win over Nashville, the Stars came up lame against Boston. The Stars can be included in that list of teams who have yet to find their way. But wins this season over Calgary and Chicago is a positive sign. 16. New Jersey Devils (4-3-0) LW: 17 – Martin Brodeur is rounding into form. Coincidently, so is Jacques Lemaire's 1-2-2. If there is a plus side, Zach Parise is averaging a point per game early in the season, and he is doing it very quietly...just the way the Devils like it. 17. Los Angeles Kings (4-4-0) LW: 6 – Just when it looked like the Kings were going to be a contender in the west, they lose three games in a row. Now to be fair to the Kings, those losses came to the Rangers, Red Wings and Blue Jackets. Still, the Kings looked like boys playing against men in those games, which is essentially what it was. 18. St. Louis Blues (3-2-1) LW: 21 – Are the Blues starting to rebound from their Swedish trip to start the year? A 5-0 win over the Ducks on Saturday would indicate that they are. That's pretty much all I've got for the Blues this week. 19. Detroit Red Wings (3-3-1) LW: 8 – I am putting my neck out there right now. The reign of dominance is over. The Red Wings have come back to the pack, and for the first time in a decade, they will have to scramble to get home ice advantage in the playoffs. Sure, injuries, lost talent and getting old have caught up to the Wings, but perhaps the biggest reason is that the Central division has become the most competitive in the league. No longer will the Wings play 40% of their games against non-playoff teams. 20. Vancouver Canucks (3-4-0) LW: 14 – A 5-3 loss was flattering to the way the Canucks played in a loss to the Flames on Friday night. The Canucks were outskated, outhit and obviously outplayed in that game. The next night, the Canucks had what they called their best game of the season against Minnesota. It might have been their best game, but I don't think many other teams will put in the piss-poor effort that Minnesota gave in that game. 21. Anaheim Ducks (3-3-1) LW: 19 – The Ducks are so frustrating this season. They win one and look good, and then they lose one and look abysmal. Case in point, a 3-2 win over Minnesota where they played well, followed by a 5-0 drubbing at home at the hands of St. Louis. PS: Anytime Ryan Getzlaf wants to play this season, he's more than welcome. 22. Boston Bruins (3-4-0) LW: 15 – Are the Bruins really this bad? Tim Thomas has come back to earth after his Vezina winning campaign, Marc Savard has to score goals because there's no one to pass it to, and adding to their woes, Milan Lucic suffered a broken finger this week and will be out of the lineup for a period of time. 23. Carolina Hurricanes (2-4-1) LW: 23 – Cam Ward is playing out of his mind for the Hurricanes and they can't seem to rally around him. Look at the game this week against Pittsburgh. Ward stands on his head and gets his team to overtime and then once they get there, Ward again steals the show and gets them to a shootout where the Penguins finally took them down. 24. Tampa Bay Lightning (2-3-2) LW: 24 – Unlike what Toronto claimed to have a couple of weeks ago, an actual goaltending controversy could be brewing in Tampa. Mike Smith hasn't looked very good this year, and backup Antero Niittymaki is primed to steal that job. Head coach Rich Tocchet has given a vote of confidence to Smith, which means he'll be on the bench by November 1. 25. Florida Panthers (2-4-0) LW: 29 – How often does a team go 1-1 and move up 5 spots in the rankings? It was basically by default this week because the bottom feeders of the NHL are quickly becoming apparent. The Panthers are looking to trade Nathan Horton if you listen to rumours. And why wouldn't they want to trade a potential 30 goal scorer? It's not like they don't have a bunch of other guys who can score 30. What's that? They don't? Hmm, my bad. 26. Nashville Predators (2-3-1) LW: 22 – Has the time come to wonder about Barry Trotz's job security in Nashville? With the goaltending they have been getting this season, Toe Blake and Scotty Bowman's love child couldn't save this team. 27. Montreal Canadiens (2-5-0) LW: 28 – How bad have things gotten in Montreal? The loudest ovation on Saturday night was when Alex Kovalev scored a goal. Kovalev doesn't play for the Canadiens anymore, so for the fan in Montreal of all places to cheer him is a real indictment of how bad the Habs are this year. 28. New York Islanders (0-3-3) LW: 26 – There are already rumblings on Scott Gordon's job security as head coach of the Islanders. It's hard to imagine he will last the year, but if there's one player who can't be blamed its Tim Jackman. He's an even player for the Islanders this season, making him one of only 5 players who aren't a minus and have played all 6 games. 29. Minnesota Wild (1-6-0) LW: 25 – I want to clarify something. If it were possible, I would have two number 30s and no number 29 because this Wild team deserves to be in last after the effort put forth Saturday night against Vancouver. The Wild had 8 shots after 2 periods, and that was being kind. I understand they have injury concerns, but the team they iced on Saturday night was pathetic and their effort was worse. 30. Toronto Maple Leafs (0-6-1) LW: 30 – Unlike the Wild, the Leafs tried on Saturday night against the Rangers, but Henrik Lundqvist stole the game from them. With a week off before their next game, the Leafs will probably find themselves in last place next week as well.
I decided to create a series looking at things that really bug me in professional sports and ways to fix them. As I thought about it, it wasn't just professional sports…it includes the event that straddles the amateur-professional line: The Olympic Games. The most common theme I found was of course, money. Here is the first installment of the things I hate about sports… Major League Baseball: This year I reached my breaking point with baseball after years of defending it. People would always say, "How can you watch that? It's sooo boring!" And I would always reply "it's not so boring when you understand what they're doing and why!" However, this year I found myself caring less and less about the grand old game. I think it was sometime in the middle of August when reality set in that all but one of the playoff races were essentially over with six weeks to go in the season. How the hell can anyone give a damn about watching all those meaningless games? If I wanted to waste my time, I'd go buy the "According To Jim" series on DVD and see how fast my brain can rot. The reason behind the dearth of races is the massive money gap in baseball. Picture this…six of the eight teams to make the playoffs this year are in the top eight in payroll. The Minnesota Twins defied the odds and made it in with a paltry payroll of 68 million bucks…or 12 million more than the NHL salary cap. $68 million ranks the Twins in 26th in baseball payroll. Of course, they play almost double the number of games as hockey and basketball, and ten times as many as the NFL, but come on. The Yankees pay $200 million or more strictly on player salaries…with Alex Rodriguez making roughly the same amount as the entire Florida Marlins team. So unless you cheer for teams in New York, Boston, Los Angeles (or Los Angeles of Anaheim…right Angels fans?), Chicago, Philadelphia and even Detroit, your team is pretty much screwed before Spring Training starts. Sure, there's the old Tampa Bay Rays or Milwaukee Brewers or Colorado Rockies or Minnesota Twins that make the postseason, but that's the exception, not the rule. The solution is obvious. Follow the lead of the other leagues and install a salary cap. There is no way for teams in small markets to compete when they draft and develop players, then come contract time they are forced to either trade the player for prospect or let him walk into the welcoming vaults of the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Phillies or Cubs. It's your prototypical rich get richer market and made the game unwatchable for me. Guaranteed Contracts: I hope you weren't expecting me to be done with baseball just yet. It's lumped into this category too, along with the NHL and to a lesser extent, the NFL and NBA. There are 122 professional teams in the four major sports…and yes, I still have hockey in that conversation and not NASCAR. Each team hands out these ridiculously long contracts for massive dollars to players and don't have any guarantees that the players are going to perform to that standard or remain healthy. On top of that, you can't just fire the player for ineptitude in the NHL or MLB…you need to fork over the full value of the contract to get rid of him. Or if he gets hurt, you're paying top dollar to fill his wallet AND get him surgically repaired. It's a crazy, crazy system that doesn't exist anywhere many other places in the world. On the flip side, look at sports like golf and tennis. I know they're individual sports so it's a tough comparison, but bear with me here. There is very little guaranteed money in golf and tennis…you want to make money, you have to play well. You get hurt? The governing body doesn't pay for it, your insurance does…and you can afford it because you make more than at least 95% of the public. So what's the solution in team sports? First off, I know the players unions would never go for this because it means some players might not get overpaid and that means agents would not make nearly as much. For that, I apologize to Scott Boras…who can go fornicate himself. Team sports should implement a base salary every player, regardless of ability can make. For example, the base salary in the NHL is between $450,000 and $500,000. I don't know many people making that much money, let alone people who are at the bottom of their company's totem pole, so there should be no complaining about "having a family to feed" and all the BS jaded athletes love to feed us for why they need to make multiple millions. After the base, the leagues should implement incentives for production. You hit 30 home runs, here's 4 million clams. Get 45 goals and 57 assists? Here's your check for 6.5 mil. Same goes for touchdowns, tackles, rebounds and points. Have incentives for every statistical category so players are still able to make their huge piles of cash. That way, guys that perform to the highest level get the highest pay and aren't paid for past performances. Setting up this kind of structure would be damn near impossible, but on the plus side, it would get rid of the thing all players and agents hate…salary caps. It's crazy to think that Tiger Woods made $10.5 million on the golf course (excluding the goofy $10 million bonus for winning the FedEx Cup) while over 25 baseball players made more off their guaranteed contracts. By that token, does it mean that Vernon Wells and Jorge Posada dominated baseball more than Tiger dominated the PGA Tour? Not likely. The final part of the solution deals with injuries. If most of us get hurt at work, we don't get our full paycheques while we rehab. We have to go through the pain in the ass that is Workers' Compensation…and need to prove we still aren't healthy while they try to get us off their books. On top of that, we get to wait until a doctor can see us to perform surgery to cure what ails us. I don't have an issue with the prompt surgeries in sports since they aren't part of the general health care system, but I take issue with Sami Salo of the Vancouver Canucks or former MLB player Juan Gonzalez getting paid millions of dollars while on the shelf. Salo just got injured for the 38th time in 11 years. That's not a typo. Gonzalez made tens of millions of dollars rehabbing his broken (and steroid-juiced) body over his career. The leagues need to have a standard injury pay. As a compromise, keep their minimum salary flowing and give the player a percentage of his average annual income divided over the amount of time injured. These guys make more in a year than the average person makes in at least ten years, so they obviously live well. And there is no rule against athletes getting jobs after they retire in their late thirties and forties, meaning there's no reason to treat them like lotto winners for playing a game better than the rest of us. The solutions to these problems in sports aren't to send athletes to the poor house. All I ask for is more competition among athletes and their teams to improve the product we pay a lot of money to watch because we weren't nearly good enough to be in their cleats, running shoes or skates.
Written by: Shaun Deering Last night a memo was sent from the Chicago Blackhawks to the rest of the National Hockey League. The memo was short and to the point. It read "Sleep on us, and we will bury you." The Calgary Flames took a 5-0 lead eleven minute into the first period and slowly and steadily, the Blackhawks chipped away before winning the game on a Brent Seabrook overtime winner. Of all the teams in the league, the Flames should have been the most well versed team in the realm of Blackhawks comebacks but even they couldn't stop the bumrush. If the Flames just looked at their most recent playoff failure, they would remember game 1 against Chicago where the Hawks scored late in the third period to tie and early in OT to win. Or if that is too far back for them, they could remember game 2 when they led 2-0 after the first period and were trailing 3-2 after 2. Again, if that somehow slipped by them, maybe game 4 when the Flames led 4-1 half way through the 2nd and were tied at 4 at the end of the period could trigger a memory. So should anyone, especially the Flames be surprised by what happened last night? I know as I watched the game, when Chicago scored their first goal late in the first period, I had a feeling a comeback was on the horizon. One last note on the Blackhawks' ability to comeback: During the playoffs last season, Vancouver led in the 2nd period in all six games against Chicago and obviously lost 4 of them. This is the same Canucks team who lost 1 game when leading after two periods all of last season. New GM, Same Old Maple Laffs I'd be lying if I said I didn't take a little joy in watching the Maple Leafs struggling. It's not just because the national media treats them like royalty and will cover what John Mitchell had for breakfast. The real reason I am enjoying their early struggles is because of what it must do to Brian Burke's ego. Burke is a narcissist in the highest order, and as noted Burke detractor Al Strachan has stated, none of Burke's winning teams have been crafted by Burke himself. When Burke took the job in Toronto, he preached patience from the media and the media bought it (imagine that). Then after half a season on the job, Burke's ego took over and he sped the process up by trading away puck moving, Stanley Cup winning defensemen and replaced them with pugnacity and belligerence. Francois Beauchemin was an AHL calibre defenseman until he was paired with Scott Niedermayer in Anaheim and Burke expected his play to stay the same playing with Luke Schenn or Ian White? Luke Schenn is going to be a good shutdown defenseman, but Scott Niedermayer he isn't. After the free agent signings, somehow Burke thought his team was ready to win now and he traded two first round picks to Boston for Phil Kessel. This is the same Kessel who Claude Julien couldn't trust to play in the playoffs a few years ago, and has shown over time that he doesn't care for the dirty areas on the ice. Then Burke signs Kessel to a 5 year, 22 million dollar contract, effectively putting the Leafs in salary cap troubles. Here's the scenario the Leafs could very realistically find themselves at June's entry draft. They are the worst team in the NHL, and they watch a divisional rival draft their first overall pick and their 2nd round pick. That would mean Brian Burke's first pick in the 2010 NHL draft would be 91st overall. Is Phil Kessel really that important to your hockey club? Needless to say it would be poetic if the Leafs' struggles continue and Burke has to watch the Bruins select a lottery pick. Enjoy the truculence Brian because it's the only joy you're going to have for the next few years as the GM of the mess you and you alone have made.
When I was setting up the rankings on paper, it became clear that this week's theme is "benefit of the doubt." This will be the last week of rope to certain teams before they are ranked where they deserve to be. 1. Pittsburgh Penguins (4-1-0) LW: 4 – The Penguins are first by default since the other top teams have faltered. Not that a 3-0 loss to Phoenix on Monday keeps them out of that category. 2. Calgary Flames (4-1-0) LW: 6 – The Flames reeled off four in a row to start the year and were arguably outplayed in all 4. There's something to be said about finding ways to win. 3. New York Rangers (4-1-0) LW: 18 – Maybe, just maybe the Rangers are more than we thought they were. A healthy Marian Gaborik is still the key to success on Broadway. 4. San Jose Sharks (3-2-0) LW: 9 – After a 6-4 loss early in the week, the Sharks rebounded with a 6-3 drubbing of Columbus. The real bad news for the Western Conference, Thornton and Heatley are developing chemistry. 5. Philadelphia Flyers (3-1-1) LW: 2 – Not only are they talent-laden, but they could be the most entertaining team in the league. Whether it is playing high octane hockey against Washington or biting people in Pittsburgh, the Flyers are fun to watch. 6. Los Angeles Kings (3-1-0) LW: 30 – Blowing a 4 goal lead against San Jose is cause for concern. But an undefeated week combined with a seemingly rejuvenated Ryan Smyth is cause for hope in LaLa Land. 7. Columbus Blue Jackets (3-1-0) LW: 11 – Just when Steve Mason looks like he has picked up where he left off last year, insert the San Jose Sharks to light him up. Mathieu Garon is a very talented goalie in case Mason struggles. 8. Detroit Red Wings (2-2-0) LW: 13– Sure the Wings are only .500, but wins over Chicago and Washington shows that they aren't ready to give up their dominance just yet. The Johan Franzen injury may throw a small wrench into their winning ways however. 9. Washington Capitals (2-2-1) LW: 1 – A winless week for the Capitals should drop them further down the list, but look at those losses. The Flyers, Rangers, and Red Wings are all ranked above the Capitals this week. That is a tough schedule, but a real cup contender wins one of those, right? 10. Ottawa Senators (3-1-0) LW: 26 – In a schedule that is pretty much the opposite of Washington's, the Senators played Toronto, Long Island, and Atlanta. To their credit, they won all 3, which is what playoff teams do. Here is one gold star for you Ottawa. 11. Chicago Blackhawks (2-1-1) LW: 5 – One thing is obvious in Chicago: If Cristobal Huet isn't better, the Hawks may be in for a frustrating year. Antii Niemi is primed to steal the starting gig there by January at this rate. 12. Buffalo Sabres (2-0-1) LW: 21 – Beating Nashville and Phoenix by a combined score of 3-1 isn't overly impressive, but much like Ottawa, those are games teams need to win. 13. Edmonton Oilers (2-1-1) LW: 16 – The Oilers could be 4-0 right now if not for a pair of cruel finishes at home against Calgary. Then again, the Oilers started 4-0 last season, and that didn't end well. Maybe this is for the best in Edmonton. 14. Vancouver Canucks (2-3-0) LW: 17 – The good news for Canucks fans, the Canucks have won 2 games in a row. The bad news, Daniel Sedin and Sami Salo are now on the injury list. That is cause for concern. 15. Boston Bruins (2-2-0) LW: 8 – The Bruins are one Islanders collapse away from starting the year 1-3. By scoring 3 goals in eight minutes, the Bruins saved themselves the wrath of Boston sports fans. 16. Atlanta Thrashers (2-1-0) LW: 12 – It's still too early to tell what the Thrashers are going to be this season, but if the first three games are any indication, it could be an exciting March and April in the 202. Is Atlanta the 202? I lost Usher out of my speed dial. 17. New Jersey Devils (2-2-0) LW: 20 – Much like the Thrashers, it's tough to figure out the Devils. I truly find them to be the least compelling team in the league, and being a beat writer for the Devils must be a tough gig. 18. Colorado Avalanche (2-1-1) LW: 10 – The Avs fell back to reality a bit this week with losses to Nashville and Chicago. The silver lining is that they hung with the Blackhawks for 60 minutes in a very entertaining game. 19. Anaheim Ducks (2-2-1) LW: 23 – Is there a more frustrating team in the NHL? They blow a 3 goal lead in a loss to Minnesota, and then they beat Boston and Philadelphia. Just when you think they're on a roll, they look lifeless against the Rangers in a 3-0 loss. 20. Dallas Stars (1-0-3) LW: 22 – The Stars looked motivated in beating the Flames on Friday night. With that kind of effort on a nightly basis, the Stars will be a handful. However, much like Meat Loaf said, "1 out of 4 is pretty bad." 21. St. Louis Blues (2-2-0) LW: 3 – Let's give the Blues the benefit of the doubt that this week was a Helsinki hangover. Obviously the Blues aren't as good as they played against Detroit, but they aren't bad enough to lose to Atlanta and LA on a regular basis either. 22. Nashville Predators (2-1-0) LW: 14 – Is Jason Arnott the only player who literally gets better every year he's in the league for 15 years? At this rate, Arnott will win the Art Ross in 2038 at the tender age of 64. 23. Carolina Hurricanes (2-3-0) LW: 28 – "The Hurricanes won 7-2" "That's good" "It was against Florida" "That's bad" And such is the life of the Hurricanes. They are a perfect combination of good and bad. 24. Tampa Bay Lightning (1-1-2) LW: 29 – Martin St. Louis is in fine form to start the year. Victor Hedman also seems to be a legitimate star in the making. What the hell has happened to Vincent Lecavalier? 3 points in 4 games is respectable, but he's a top 5 talent. 25. Minnesota Wild (1-3-0) LW: 27 – Minnesota hockey fans deserve better than this. They support hockey like no other in the United States and they get saddled with Jacques Lemaire for a decade, and now he's gone and the team stinks. It could be a long year in the state of hockey. 26. New York Islanders (0-0-3) LW: 24 – In keeping with the theme of mentioning a new Islander every week not named Tavares, Richard Park is a team worst minus-5. But he'll improve...he'll improve. 27. Phoenix Coyotes (2-2-0) LW: 19 – The Coyotes sold out their home opener. How much were the tickets you ask? That's not nearly as important as a barnburner 2-0 loss to Columbus. That'll keep them coming back. 28. Montreal Canadiens (2-3-0) LW: 7 – Say what you like, Andrei Markov isn't that important to the Canadiens. Carey Price looks like he's back in last season's form. Also Jacques Martin, bag-skating your team after a 7-1 loss 4 games into the year? Two words: Guy Carbonneau. 29. Florida Panthers (1-3-0) LW: 15 – The Panthers are now showing what they will look like without Jay Bouwmeester and it's not pretty. For my hockey pool's sake, I hope Tomas Vokoun can stand on his head. The Panthers are hoping for the exact same thing. 30. Toronto Maple Leafs (0-3-1) LW: 25 – Elliotte Friedman said it best: "You know, I thought Leafs might possibly make playoffs this year, but this has 50-car pileup written all over it" The Leafs are simply the worst team in the league, and that doesn't look like it's changing anytime soon. PS: Pugnacity
By Wayne Coristine As Canadian sports fans, we got our first all-sports network 25 years ago when TSN hit the airwaves. Of course, with its historical lean towards the Centre of the Universe, it quickly got – and still has – the moniker "Toronto Sports Network." So we fast forward to October 1998 and finally TSN had competition in the form of Rogers (formerly CTV) Sportsnet and The Score (formerly Headline Sports). Sportsnet came on the scene with four regional networks in Atlantic Canada (read: Montreal Canadiens), Ontario (Toronto and Ottawa), West (Calgary and Edmonton) and Pacific (Vancouver) with the idea of being the opposite of TSN. The Score came out strictly as a 24-hour highlight channel and transformed over time to producing their own programs. So over the 11 years of competition, are we getting much bang for our buck? We're going to look at a few things here: the networks' programming, the personalities, the game choices, scheduling issues and how the networks manage their content for us, the loyal viewers. Starting with TSN, they have approximately 19,373 on-air personalities all wearing suits and ties to tell us the inside scoop on every sport imaginable from baseball to football to golf to hockey to poker to national spelling bees. Yet, whenever I turn on any of those great athletic competitions, there is always the one key theme…the network is obligated to update you on what each Maple Leaf player and executive ate for breakfast and what crossword he completed while doing so. Of course, they didn't have enough air on just the one network, so they created the imaginatively named "TSN2" because if there's one thing TSN is good for, it's staying as close to ESPN style as possible. Just like a few years ago when "Sports Desk" changed to "Sports Centre" to match ESPN's "Sports Center"…albeit with the subtle change to Canadian spelling. One thing TSN really has going for it, is a boat load of live programming and game coverage. This is Canada, and obviously the biggest game for us sports fans is hockey. TSN makes sure they get as much NHL hockey on their airwaves as they can, along with their expert panels of former players like Keith Jones and Matthew Barnaby, former coaches like Peter Laviolette and Craig MacTavish or writers like Damien Cox, Steve Simmonds and Michael Farber (triple ugh). And then, there's the stiff hockey reporters who can't let go of certain agendas. I'm looking at your Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger. Bob McKenzie is pretty decent when it comes to talking about how the games are played, but if somebody takes so much as a tap to the noggin, Bob quickly goes on and on about head shots and effectively ruins his segment. I'm all for protecting players, but claiming every gloved hand, elbow and shoulder that touches another player's head is worthy of a suspension is a bit ridiculous. Dreger, on the other hand, moved to TSN from Sportsnet a few years ago and something strange happened. He went from interesting hockey commentary to pompous jackass who takes his "Hockey Insider" label far too serious. Apparently, he's not a hockey reporter covering the on-ice issues; he's also a legal expert and Mats Sundin's personal gossip ragger. Whenever he covers something like Collective Bargaining negotiations or the Coyotes debacle in Phoenix, we get to listen to smug talking head tell us how it is, rather than hear much from his sources. Of course, nothing's better than trade deadline day when you can watch him and McKenzie typing away on their Blackberrys like high school girls. The information they give is good, but I don't need to watch them work anymore than I need to watch a baker mix ingredient for what will soon be my sandwich bread. TSN's game choices are actually quite strong. Watching "NHL on TSN" means getting a decent variety of games from around the league and a lot of focus on Canadian teams, even if it's still slightly Leafs biased. They also feature the two best play-by-play announcers in Gord Miller and Chris Cuthbert, along with the very informative, if annoying Pierre Maguire doing the colour. Baseball is almost always the Toronto Blue Jays but TSN realized that the bread and butter in Canadian sports is hockey and hide their disinterest in covering a Boston Red Sox versus Kansas City Royals game only a select few Canadian sports fans will watch. They also show some Raptors games, but I'm like most people, I don't really give a damn about the NBA so I don't have much to say on that league. Overall, TSN's package is decent, with plenty of games across two channels, regular highlight shows – although their packs could use more early highlights rather than "let's pick this one up 4-4 in the third," some decent original programming like "Off The Record " – even if Michael Landsberg is unbearable as host. If the network would ever let go of the Leafs a bit and gave each Canadian team a fairly even shake, TSN would be able to be lose the Toronto Sports Network label. When Sportsnet hit the airwaves, I got to admit, I was excited. As an Oilers fan, I would finally get the chance to follow the team's games, players and moves a lot closer. Then network certainly delivers with the amount of games they air of each region's team(s). And they air more Blue Jays games than any other network in Canada too, which is good for baseball fans. Of course, with the good comes the bad…and Sportsnet certainly loves its bad. For starters, the personalities covering hockey for Sportsnet are horrid. In Edmonton, we get to watch uncomfortably as Gene Principe does his best to turn a professional broadcast into a poorly done high school production with his atrocious puns and lousy interviewing skills. I didn't realize the best way to find out about a game or play from an athlete is to make generic statement then shove a microphone in his face. In Calgary, at least they got the apparently foul-mouthed, weird eye-browed Roger Millions as a step up. Of course, stepping up from nothing isn't that hard. As for play-by-play and colour commentators, the hockey side of the operation is comically thin. Losing Jim Hughson meant losing their best talent. After that, the pickings are quite slim. Over on the baseball broadcasts, Jamie Campbell does a great job and is clearly the best play-by-play guy the network has. It's not even close, no matter what sport…of course, that doesn't matter when Sportsnet decides to show the Blue Jays on two of their regional channels, and the other AL East teams on your channel…then tell you simply to buy the Ontario or Pacific channels to watch the ONLY Canadian baseball team play. Terrible. The network also runs some original programming with its "Hockey Central," "Prime Time Sports" and "Sportsnet Connected" (what a terrible name) shows. However, "Hockey Central" is a huge step down from TSN's show…especially when Doug MacLean is not part of the panel. There's something horribly, horribly wrong with this show. For starters, their personalities – Mike Brophy, Nick Kypreos, Darren Millard and sometimes Mark Spector – are more concerned with being opinionated than correct. The ultimate disgrace was when they tried being casual for a trade deadline addition with the guys eating "Boston Pizza" and relaxing as if they were at home. It was, hands down, the worst thing I've ever seen in sports broadcasting. You might not know "Prime Time Sports" by name, but rather as the radio show on TV, you flip by starring the weird guy wearing sunglasses and his Kenny Rogers look-a-like buddy. That, my friends is Bob McCown and Jim Kelley. McCown is a bit of a dichotomy. He can be on point and real bulldog interviewer, but then he can just as easily be a jerk who knows what to do for ratings rather than accurately reporting something. Jim Kelley, well, he's incredibly, if not only for the fact he somehow got into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a lousy writer than didn't ride the coattails of a great dynasty. It's mediocre show at best. Then there's "Connected." It's supposed to be regionally focused, but outside of starting with the local teams and a few interviews, the show is hampered by lousy personalities. They try and try and try to have attractive women cover sports and, outside of Evanka Osmak being one of their best desk personalities (that's not saying much); the experiment fails again, and again…and again. Add Jim Lang, Sean McCormack, Jason Portuondo and Mike Toth to the mix and you have a recipe for crappy segues and lame play descriptions. Sportsnet's biggest strength is showing a lot of hockey games specific to the region and most of its Blue Jays coverage. However, if you have a complaint about the AL East games being shown instead of the Roy Halladay start, the automated feedback system is about as lousy as their original programming. The third network is the Score…and it's always been treated as the middle child of Canadian all-sports channels. It started as a highlights channel and evolved to covering sports with a series of original programming…and in my opinion; the Score had the best hockey show going before they evolved yet again. It's a network with god ideas killed by a complete lack of direction from the top and it wouldn't be surprising to see The Score lose a big share of viewership this year because of it. The best thing the Score has is its personalities. The one thing they all have in common is a clear love of sports and the ability to put the games first, opinions second. Their personalities are what made their original programming so strong. The chemistry between them along with the amount of fun they clearly have at work makes it fun to watch. However, there is a problem. The genius running the network decides to change things too often and in places like Edmonton, they get a terrible spot on the digital dial compared to their competition (106 for The Score, 20 for TSN, 23 for Sportsnet West on Shaw Cable). The current aimless leader at The Score was able to destroy all the good they had going for them in one summer and effectively lose this viewer…I assume along with more than a few others. For the last few years, The Score had arguably the best hockey show on TV (and satellite radio) in "Hardcore Hockey Talk" (formerly "The Spin") hosted by hockey encyclopedia Steve Kouleas with Steve Ludzik, the mediocre Mark Osbourne and the controversial Al Strachan. These guys were all about hockey and broke down tape for things you don't usually see. Their debates on issues were always heated yet humorous and they clearly had more fun with it due to the relax nature of the show. I learned a lot from the show and was furious to see it go. Of course, it wasn't the only victim of the moronic moves at The Score. "Score Tonight" with Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro was cut despite being, hands down, the funniest – yet informative highlight show on TV. Regular features like "Cabbie on the Street" and "Gerry Dee: Sports Reporter" showed the goofy, human side of the athletes rather than the boring, fake professional side they try to portrait everywhere else on camera. Luckily, both segments survived the transition, but who knows where to find them now. I just watch them on the website instead. The Score cut down a lot of its own programs to show more NBA basketball and at least 8 hours of WWE wrestling a week…oh and an ungodly amount of harness racing, horse racing and poker. The new programming is supposed to be more like a TMZ of sports than comprehensive and informative shows on the games themselves. I can't say for certain, but I'm guessing this isn't going to increase viewership or even hold steady. Since announcing the changes, neither of us at Sports Logic has seen much reason to watch The Score, other than to catch a quick highlight package. The one thing I think the Canadian Sports networks could do to improve their product is learn from each other. Every network does something very well and every network does something really, really poorly. I have trouble believing the good people at TSN couldn't loosen up a bit and focus on how good life working in sports is. They have some fun, but they could take a few cues from the way "Hardcore Hockey Talk" delivered the goods with humour and passion. TSN has some of it, but needs way more. Sportsnet needs to realize, as TSN did, what exactly their viewers want to see. HINT: It's not the Yankees Rangers playing at the same time as the Blue Jays-Rays with Halladay on the mound. If you want to show other AL East games during the non-hockey summer...show them when either the Yankees/Red Sox/Rays are in the Pacific Time Zone and the Jays in the east, or vice versa. Finally, to the folks at The Score. Learn how to identify yours strengths and build on them. There is no way two high quality shows should get canned while Hockey Central lives on. Find time spots that work and promote your anchor programs. TSN's bread and butter is their hockey panel and they get them on the air as much as possible. Instead of cutting HHT down to show NBA games, the Score should be airing a hockey show as much as possible...and we all know they got the horses in Kouleas and co. to make it run.
Written by Shaun Deering What in the name of Mike Brophy is going on with the Canadian media this season? The year is not even a week old and in almost every Canadian city, there is an apparent crisis. Of course, the national television networks aren't far behind in leaching these stories and trying to fill airtime with nothing. Forget about the swine flu H1N1, the real pandemic in the country is hockey nonsense. The main story on TSN.ca yesterday is "Hodge Mail" asking the question "Is there a goaltending controversy in Toronto?" Two bloody games into the season, and TSN not only asks such a stupid question but makes it the top headline. Allow me to answer that question for you TSN. No, there is no goaltending controversy in Toronto. They have played two game and they never really had a clear cut number one to start with. I don't know if you are familiar with this while you all live inside your Toronto-centric bubble, but that's not a controversy anywhere else, it's a platoon. Goaltending is the issue in Edmonton as well, but instead of taking two games for their fans to crow, it took one. It's true that Nikolai Khabibulin wasn't exactly sharp against Calgary on Saturday night, and it was capped off by a stick-handling blunder with 50 seconds left to directly cost the Oilers the game. While it's not a great way to get the fans to embrace him, the fans need to realize it's not worth jumping off the High Level Bridge over. What's more puzzling is what took place in Vancouver on Monday night. After allowing 4 goals on 4 consecutive shots against Columbus, Roberto Luongo was booed by the Canucks' fans. I understand there would be some frustration with an 0-3 start. I also understand that Luongo hasn't looked particularly good in any of those three games, but to boo the guy who will probably retire the greatest player in Canucks' history is downright idiotic. Without Luongo the Canucks are a 10th to 12th place hockey club, and I hope the people of Vancouver realize as much. Would they prefer to go back to the days of Dan Cloutier, Garth Snow or Felix Potvin? Do they forget that this guy is their MVP year after year? Again, I understand you're frustrated, but grow a damn brain. Luongo will bounce back and those same jackasses who booed him will fawn over him like a high school boy with his first girlfriend. Amazingly, something equally dumb as what's happening in Vancouver is happening in Calgary. After two games, in which the Flames won both might I add, there was an article in the Calgary newspaper with the headline "What's Wrong With Iggy?" Amazed by this sight, I read the article and it seems that the writer in question, who doesn't deserve my time to type her name, thinks that on Saturday night versus Edmonton, Jarome Iginla was replaced by a body double because of how poorly he played. Has Iginla been good this year so far? Not really. If you don't think Iginla is going to get 35 goals and 80 points as a minimum this year, you are equally as dumb as those fans in Vancouver who booed Luongo. So Iginla scored a goal last night, and I think the story is done. Well, the folks at Sportsnet/Fan Radio Network will have none of that. Today on Hockeycentral At Noon, Daren Millard and Nick Kypreos have Edmonton journalist Mark Spector on to talk about the Western Canadian teams. I bring up that be is an Edmonton journalist for obvious reasons; he is biased and he likes letting his biases be known. In addition to that, he is about as big of a bandwagon jumper as there can be. So Spector and Kypreos were aghast at how Iginla can only play 16 minutes last night, and how Brent Sutter is trying to get Iginla to play a defensive game as well. To which Spector replies "If they want to pay me 7 million dollars to play defence, sign me up guys." This is coming from the man who fawns over Shawn Horcoff (a guy who arguably plays neither offense nor defence and also makes 7 million) on a regular basis, but I digress. Not that I really expect anything better out of the Sportsnet crew, but guys it's 3 games into the season. I have a suggestion that you guys quit trying to make literally every little thing a story and focus on the real issues, like how great the Washington vs. Philadelphia game was last night. To the hockey media and fans, I beg you all to calm down and wait a month or two so that something called a "trend" can take place and you can see what your respective teams are all about. Why can't you just enjoy the early season for what it is, like they're doing in Montreal. That's right Canada, you need to calm down...and start acting like the fans in Montreal.
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