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Governors make several changes at semi-annual meeting

Thursday, January 19, 2012 – Submitted by BCHL Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Rick Brodsky / PG Cougars (WHL) Interview

Gregg Drinnan, Taking Note, Friday, January 20, 2012

Rick Brodsky, the owner of the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, appeared on CKNW’s SportsTalk with Dan Russell on Thursday night. The three-hour talk show is based in Vancouver.

Brodsky, who has been involved at the ownership level in three cities and also did a lengthy stint as chairman of the WHL’s board of governors, displayed an honesty that really was a breath of fresh air in this day of upper- and lower-body injuries.

He told Russell that the Cougars’ problems in Prince George are, to a large degree, self-inflicted because the team hasn’t been the team management has wanted it to be. He also pointed out that the sinking lumber-based in that city economy has been a major factor in the dropoff in attendance.

Brodsky also admitted to Russell that he talked with Chilliwack interests last spring after the Bruins were sold and in the process of relocating to Victoria.

Furthermore, Brodsky said that the Cougars are solidly in Prince George and that he has absolutely zero interest in selling the franchise. But, he told Russell, he would look into any situation that might arise should there be anything viable out there.

Without that, Brodsky said, the Cougars are rolling up their sleeves and working hard.

Brodsky also talked about Winnipeg, Fort McMurray, Nanaimo . . . from his and the league’s perspective.

As mentioned, this was an interesting interview simply because Brodsky didn’t try to duck and run from any of Russell’s questions.
You are able to listen to the interview right here. It’s in Hour 3 of the Thursday, Jan. 19 program.

http://www.cknw.com/shows/sportstalk.aspx

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

NHL Saturday: Players urge wild-card games

By CHRIS STEVENSON, QMI Agency, Jan 20 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SOMETHING SPECIAL

New Jersey Devils

Short-handed situations: 161

Goals: 16

Percentage: 90.1

Rank: 1

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

AMBULANCE CHASING

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

Philadelphia Flyers

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

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

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

GO FIGURE

6

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

58

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

6

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

550

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

THE GROCERY STICK

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

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

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Campbell: Why the Lightning and Canadiens should trade coaches

Ken Campbell, The Hockey News, 2012-01-20

Some Friday musings for your dining and dancing pleasure:

COACH FOR COACH

My former esteemed THN colleague, Mike Brophy, and I were discussing the Montreal Canadiens the other night and he came up with an idea I believe has some real merit.

Broph proposed the Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning simply trade coaches. And the more I thought about it, the more sense it seemed to make to me.

Both Randy Cunneyworth of the Canadiens and Guy Boucher of the Lightning look to be dead in the water with their current teams. And under different circumstances, both could probably be very good NHL coaches.

Cunneyworth has been placed in a complete no-win situation in Montreal by a management and ownership that has refused to stand by their choice, simply because he doesn’t speak French. After one wildly successful season, Boucher appears to have lost the Lightning, a team that is far too offensively talented and front-loaded to play the type of defense-first game he wants it to play.

So why don’t Lightning GM Steve Yzerman and whoever replaces Pierre Gauthier as GM in Montreal propose a one-for-one trade of their coaches?

It’s not as though trading a coach hasn’t happened before. You’ll recall back in 1987, the Quebec Nordiques received a first round pick and $75,000 as compensation for the New York Rangers hiring Michel Bergeron. And in the NFL, the Oakland Raiders received four draft picks and $8 million dollars from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Jon Gruden.

Think about it, the Canadiens would get a coach in Boucher who would not only fill the French-language requirement, but would also be familiar with the organization, since he led the Canadiens’ American League affiliate in Hamilton to a conference final in 2010 before being scooped up by the Lightning.

Tampa, meanwhile, would get a coach who has a solid reputation and would likely have some success under less suffocating circumstances.

Hey, it’s worth a try…

HALL OF AN INJURY

The debate about freedom of choice for players came to a head once again this week when Taylor Hall of the Edmonton Oilers suffered a nasty, potentially devastating head injury during warmup because he wasn’t wearing his helmet. In the first game for both teams after the incident, every member of the Toronto Maple Leafs wore his helmet for the warmup Thursday night, while four members of the Minnesota Wild stubbornly refused to wear any head protection during the pre-game ritual.

The funny thing is, players didn’t even need the Hall incident to realize the perils of playing without a helmet in the warmup.

Almost 10 years ago, former NHLer Father Les Costello of the Flying Fathers fame, was playing in a charity game in northern Ontario. During the warmup, the ice was still wet from being resurfaced and he reached back for a puck that stuck in the water and fell to the ice backward, striking his head. He was admitted to hospital the following day, where he slipped into a coma and died a week later.

When you watch a warmup and see the pucks flying around and pinging off crossbars, it’s actually a marvel more injuries don’t occur.

Should players have the right to choose? Of course not, but they shouldn’t have the choice over wearing visors either. At least not if they’re going to be paid an average of $2 million a year.

NOT GIVING UP ON NIKITA

Nikita Filatov chased the money in the Kontinental League this season and nobody would be surprised if he never resurfaces in the NHL again.

But Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray, who traded for Filatov’s rights last summer, isn’t completely giving up on the sixth overall pick in the 2008 draft, saying he would be open to having Filatov come back to camp next season to compete for a job.

In fact, he said he tried to convince Filatov to stay in the organization and spend more time with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators this season. Instead, Filatov bolted for the KHL and its $800,000 salary, instead of making $65,000 in the AHL. But Filatov has been even less productive in the KHL than he was in the NHL, with just a goal and two points in 10 games with CSKA Moscow.

“I understood, but I told him it might jeopardize his chance to play in the league if he wants to do that in the future because he’ll go back and do the same things he was doing before,” Murray said of Filatov. “I really believe that if he had stayed and gone to Binghamton for a couple of months, he would have been on our team by the first of February.”

Murray believes Filatov is a decent kid with a lot of talent and he has no problem having him come to camp next fall, “but he has to earn it.”

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

The minor altercation of Alberta

Eric Duhatschek, Globe and Mail, January 20, 2012

Considering it’s a meeting between the Western Conference’s 11th and 14th place teams, it may be overstating matters to describe Saturday’s matchup between the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers as the Battle of Alberta. For now, call it the minor altercation of Alberta, which has a new oddball subtext, thanks to Calgary’s recent Mike Cammalleri acquisition.

The Flames now have three University of Michigan alumni on the roster – Cammalleri, plus the injured Brendan Morrison and David Moss. The Oilers, meanwhile, feature three of their arch rivals, former Michigan State stars Shawn Horcoff, Corey Potter and Jeff Petry. Maybe if no one’s paying attention locally, the TV numbers on Hockey Night In Canada can be bolstered by the overnights from the Windsor/Detroit area.

Still, rivalries – any kind of rivalries – always enhance match-ups and goodness knows, Calgary-Edmonton needs some enhancing these days, with the Oilers plunging fast, their top young players all injured, and all the early excitement of the season vanishing amid the hard reality of an 82-game schedule. In Calgary, there was some recent hope for improvement, as the Flames secured three of four hard-earned points on their California road trip before “returning to the cold weather,” which is how Flames’ coach Brent Sutter put it post-game Thursday following a 2-1 shootout victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

More good news: Injured left winger Alex Tanguay could be rejoining the Flames for the Oilers’ game, after missing 14 games with what is believed to have been a concussion. Tanguay’s return will partially offset the loss of Curtis Glencross, their most consistent goal-scorer, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury.

Cammalleri’s addition also mitigates Glencross’s loss somewhat, but overall, they just aren’t deep enough to overcome that many injuries. GM Jay Feaster went on an oddly timed rant about the reporting of injuries and the impact of injuries pre-game Thursday. Not sure if it was meant to distract attention from the team’s recent play, or to take some pressure off a team that has edged to within two points of the eighth-placed Colorado Avalanche, with two games remaining before the all-star break.

For Thursday’s date with the Kings, the Flames dressed eight forwards, who have scored three or fewer goals this season (Mikael Backlund, Roman Horak, Tom Kostopoulos, Tim Jackman, Blake Comeau, Matt Stajan, Blair Jones and Lance Bouma). Yikes, it doesn’t exactly conjure up memories of Gretzky and Messier vs. Risebrough and McDonald, but according to the Michigan man, Cammalleri, that’s what makes it fun.

“We’re all in it together and trying to come to a common goal,” said Cammalleri. “Hockey is the ultimate team game that way. You kinda submit yourself to a cause greater than you and that’s what makes it rewarding.”

Rewarding when you win, by however means necessary.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dean
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Quebec City mayor predicts city will build first-class NHL arena

Alan Robinson, The Canadian Press, Jan. 20, 2012

Quebec City is confident its planned $400-million arena will rival the best in the NHL, mayor Regis Labeaume said Friday, but architects already have been told to make some minor alterations so that the project doesn't exceed its budget.

After touring Pittsburgh's one-year-old Consol Energy Center, Labeaume told reporters it would be a “dream” to deliver a similar building to his hockey-starved constituents. Quebec lost an NHL team when the Nordiques moved to Denver in 1995 and were renamed the Avalanche.

And should an NHL team, perhaps the Phoenix Coyotes, look to relocate before the Quebec City arena opens in 2015, Labeaume said the city is ready to welcome it to the existing Pepsi Colisee as early as “tomorrow morning.”

“I will be careful what I say, but if the League called, (we) would be ready,” he said.

The Colisee, which opened in 1949, is outdated by new-arena standards, but Labeaume said it can be spruced up to a level that would at least match and perhaps exceed the Saddledome in Calgary and Nassau Veterans Coliseum on Long Island.

Quebec doesn't have a preference whether a team is acquired via the transfer of an existing club or expansion. However, the NHL has given no sign it might add more teams beyond its current 30. No team had relocated since the 1990s before the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg this season.

“We want a club,” Labeaume said in an interview conducted in French and translated by an aide to the mayor and bilingual reporters. “But, for the rest, I will let Mr. (Pierre Karl) Peladeau have discussions with the league. My duty is to deliver an amphitheater.”

Peladeau is the president and CEO of media giant Quebecor, which has agreed to pay the city to manage the arena for at least 25 years. Quebecor would ante up $63.5 million for naming rights if an NHL team is acquired, plus $4.5 million in annual rent. The amounts would be less if there is no team.

Quebec City is intent on building an arena similar to Consol, the Bell Centre in Montreal or the Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota, but Labeaume said its features must be unique to Quebec and cannot merely duplicate what already exists.

With inflation estimated at five per cent annually, Labeaume said it might be difficult to build an arena identical to Pittsburgh's 18,387-seat building in Quebec City. Consol, a 720,000-square foot building that cost $321 million, opened as scheduled in mid-2010 and did not go over budget.

“The $400 million, we have no choice but for it to be enough,” Labeaume said. “But I'm leaving (Pittsburgh) a little more nervous than when I arrived.”

Labeaume said architects already “have been asked to cut a few thousand square feet. From my heart, it's going to hurt, but we have to make choices.”

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held sometime this summer or fall, Labeaume said.

Labeaume explained an arena must incorporate fan necessities such as scoreboards with large video replay boards, expensive sound system and kitchens, all of which add to the cost over and above the actual construction.

While being guided through Consol by assistant general manager Rob Goodman, Labeaume focused on features such as its much-praised seating — Consol is designed so that none of its 18,387 seats has an obstructed view or is overly far from the ice — and flexibility.

Its $1 million-plus curtaining system allows Consol to be reconfigured to accommodate as few as 2,500 spectators or as many as 20,000 for events, all with equal amenities. There also are numerous meeting rooms of various sizes that provide revenue on a daily basis aside from games or concerts.

Dean
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Flames coach enjoys having 'hockey geek' like Cammalleri

Vicki Hall, Calgary Herald January 21, 2012

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

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

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

Really?

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

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

In other words, impossible.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Likely for the first time in his life.

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

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

Dean
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At least netminding is solid in Phoenix

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

Life after Ilya Bryzgalov is not going particularly well for the Phoenix Coyotes, but the blame can hardly be placed on his replacement in goal, Mike Smith, who has been nothing short of a godsend for the Coyotes.

Smith broke into professional hockey playing in the Dallas Stars’ organization, when Dave Tippett was their coach. Tippett, now the Coyotes’ bench boss, remembered Smith, remembered how much the Stars wanted to retain Smith as an emerging prospect and when the need for a new No. 1 emerged after Bryzgalov defected to the Philadelphia Flyers, he was the perfect fit.

No, the Coyotes – organizationally held together by string, baling wire, a strong sense of team identity and a little bit of front-office conjuring by Tippett and general manager Don Maloney – are having a far more difficult time staying alive in the Western Conference playoff race this year, which is Year 3 of the never-ending soap opera, Where Will The Coyotes Land?

There has been far less attention paid to off-ice issues this season, largely because Winnipeg finally got its team – Atlanta, not Phoenix – and so, the saga of the Coyotes’ bankruptcy, and the NHL’s stewardship, may not be the captivating story it once was. But the uncertainty remains and according to team captain Shane Doan, it still wears on the players, especially now that the second half is under way and the matter needs to be resolved before the start of next season.

For players with families who are rooted in Phoenix, it lingers in their consciousness, and sometimes affects performance, and may explain why the Coyotes have fallen off the pace in the Western Conference playoff race this season at a time when they’re usually solidly in the top eight.

“I wish we were about eight to 10 points ahead of where we are right now,” Doan said. “Then I’d be telling you how great everything is.”

Instead, Doan will tell you how the uncertainty is something that veterans such as himself are “calloused” to.

“You do – you just get calloused to it,” he said. “Nobody’s happy about it. It’s not talked about in the room. It’s left alone, we don’t discuss it, but it’s there.”

What’s particularly puzzling about the Coyotes’ struggle this season is how little is has to do with netminding. Tippett’s coaching style requires strict attention to defensive details and relies heavily on consistent goaltending. Bryzgalov provided that for most of his four seasons in Phoenix and in the 2009-10 season was mentioned as an MVP candidate.

This past year, he left to pursue free-agent riches with the Flyers and left the Coyotes searching for a new No. 1, knowing full well that making the wrong choice in goal would completely undermine what they’re trying to accomplish. Enter Smith, who was looking for a fresh start, after losing the No. 1 job to Dwayne Roloson with the Tampa Bay Lightning midway through last season. Both Smith and Tippett, who share those Dallas roots, say the chance to work with the Coyotes’ erudite goaltending coach, Sean Burke, has helped Smith get his game back on the rails.

“I thought Sean Burke would be very good for him,” Tippett explained. “He’s a very similar type of goaltender – mid career, going through some issues, and finding a way to overcome them and be a very good player. When we looked at all the goalies who were going to be available, I kept coming back to him. I just thought he was a great option for us.

“Going into the season, most people thought goaltending would be our biggest question mark. That’s the farthest from the truth right now.”

No, sputtering offence has replaced goaltending as the biggest question mark. In the past, the Coyotes have relied on scoring by committee. This year, the committee consists of two players – Radim Vrbata and Ray Whitney. Martin Hanzal has been injured for big chunks of the season; four others who scored in double digits for Phoenix last year (Lee Stempniak, Eric Belanger, Taylor Pyatt and Kyle Turris) are no longer with the team and still others, including Doan, have struggled to find their usual form.

“We need some more from myself and from other guys to contribute the way they’re capable of,” Doan said. “That would take huge pressure off our goaltending and our blue line. Because Smitty’s been unbelievable. He’s been unreal – and not only that, he fits into our system so well with how well he moves the puck. He’s like a full-on third defenceman back there.”

For his part, Smith likes the Coyotes’ culture; and the fact that Tippett treats his players so fairly.

“Every game we win, we deserve to win,” Smith said, “and that’s rewarding at the end of the day when you come into this locker room with two points. It says a lot about the guys we have in this locker room.”

And even though this is Smith’s first year in the locker room, he wants the franchise to survive in Phoenix as much as commissioner Gary Bettman, Doan and the rest of the veteran players.

“Obviously, with older players on our teams with families, it’s got to be more difficult, but most of them have been here for a few years now and they’ve dealt with it when it’s been at its worst,” said Smith, who sensibly notes: “There is no other option really, except to go out and play hard and try to win a lot of hockey games and hope an owner comes along and keeps the team in Phoenix. It’s a beautiful place to play. Hopefully, we can stay.”

BY THE NUMBERS

42

Out of 44, where the Buffalo Sabres’ Ryan Miller ranks in goals-against average among NHL goaltenders, ahead of only Steve Mason (Columbus) and Dwayne Roloson (Tampa). Miller’s 3.12 average is almost a full goal a game higher than the 2.22 GAA he produced in a 41-18-8 season in 2009-10, in which he earned Vézina Trophy honours.

18

Goals by Calgary Flames’ left winger Curtis Glencross, most on the team, through 44 games. However, Glencross injured his knee Tuesday against San Jose and is out indefinitely, joining the team’s other top left winger, Alex Tanguay, on the injured reserve list. The Mike Cammalleri trade didn’t come a minute too soon for Calgary.

HE SAID IT

“It’s not good hockey. It’s not good from top down. I need to be better. I can’t seem to find a night where I can get in a groove. I don’t know what the hell it is.”

Ryan Miller

The Sabres’ goaltender cannot put his finger on why his slumping team continues to slip-slide down the NHL ladder, despite its highest payroll in history. Through Thursday, Buffalo had lost 10 in a row on the road.

“I thought everything had stopped. I looked around and couldn’t believe it happened.”

Peter Mueller

The Colorado Avalanche forward, who missed most of last year and the first half of this year recovering from a concussion, was the picture of joy after scoring his first goal since April of 2010 in a victory over the Florida Panthers. Mueller finished the night with three points.

A 7-foot college athlete slam dunking a basketball was the top play on SportsCenter again this morning in case anybody missed it.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

@BizNasty2point0

Phoenix Coyotes’ forward Paul Bissonette is unimpressed with the ESPN highlight packages and how they avoid hockey content at all costs on the giant U.S. cable sports network.

Dean
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Outdoor Classic a crowd-pleaser

Perry Lefko, Sportsnet.ca, January 21, 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now that's earning your pay!

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

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

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

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

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

Dean
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Big deals don't always pay big dividends

Elliotte Friedman, CBC Sports, January 20, 2012

A couple of years ago, I was doing research for a piece on Daniel Briere. As part of that, I spoke to one of Briere's biggest boosters, Dave Farrish, who was an assistant under Randy Carlyle in Anaheim. Farrish coached the Philadelphia Flyers sniper at AHL Springfield in 1997-98, a season in which Briere scored 92 points in 68 games.

Briere struggled when he first got to Philadelphia and we talked about why.

"Someone should do a study on how players do after signing a big free-agent contract," Farrish said. "You feel so much pressure to live up that contract … There's also no guarantee you'll fit in to a new city, a new system, with new teammates. It can be hard."

That conversation came just before the 2010 Stanley Cup final. One year earlier, I remember talking to then-Chicago Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon about signing defenceman Brian Campbell to that famous eight-year, $57-million US contract.

"I told Brian that he has to forget about the money," Tallon said. "The contract is done now.

"That can't be changed. He has to play the way he did before we signed him … that's why we were interested."

History proves that's easier said then done. Then, there's the reverse issue: Does someone lose motivation after signing a contract that takes care of their grandchildren?

Farrish's comments reminded me about Tallon's words and I always meant to follow up, to do the research, but never got around to it. This year, watching Ilya Bryzgalov, Christian Ehrhoff and Ville Leino treading water in their new cities, it was time.

Methodology: From 2006-11, I found the five players who signed the largest contracts in unrestricted free agency (I looked them up on my own, so if there is an omission, it's my mistake and mine only). Anyone who avoided freedom by inking deals well before July 1 (Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Tim Thomas) was eliminated because you really don't go through the same anxieties as someone who waits until the last minute. Restricted free agents who signed huge contracts (Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter) didn't count because the chances of movement are nowhere comparable to UFAs.

There were 32 players studied because, in both 2006 (Marc Savard, Pavel Kubina) and 2011 (Ville Leino, Brooks Laich), there was a tie for fifth-highest windfall. Here are the findings:

A FORWARD'S SCORING PACE WILL DROP IN YEAR ONE

If you believe jumping into unrestricted free agency is a huge waste of money, here's some ammunition for your argument. Of our 32 specimens, 18 were forwards. Going strictly by points per game, 17 of them scored at a lower rate than the year before (in most cases with a different team). The only one who beat the downward trend? You'll never believe it (Answer in a few paragraphs).

Some of the drops are negligible (Savard). Others are more pronounced (Ilya Kovalchuk, Leino). There's one case where this methodology is a total failure: Marian Gaborik. Boy, you really forget what a dynamic scorer he could be. Gaborik played just 17 games his final season in Minnesota, recording 23 points — on pace for 111. Year One in New York saw him get 86, which actually is the highest point total of his career. He slowed last season, but could score 40 goals this year.

Two of the more successful free-agent signings of the past five years — Savard and Marian Hossa — never scored as many points with their new teams as they did prior to joining (Savard missed by one in his first season as a Bruin). But the Boston centre finished third in assists twice and sixth once in his first three seasons before Matt Cooke essentially ended his career.

Hossa, meanwhile, played an important role in 2010, helping end the NHL's longest Stanley Cup drought. And he's on pace to have the third-highest point total of his career in 2011-12.

Which brings us to:

SOME GUYS DO RECOVER FROM THAT FIRST YEAR, BUT…

They're in the minority.

If you're Buffalo, you're praying Leino rediscovers the magic, just like Patrik Elias and, to some degree, Kovalchuk. Elias's productivity dropped in each of the first two seasons of his seven-year, $42-million US deal. He recovered to become a point-per-game player in Year Three and is doing it again as a 35-year-old.

Following the 2010 contract saga, Kovalchuk had the worst season of his NHL career. Even as a rookie, he had a better points-per-game average than last year.

While he may never post the dynamic numbers of his Atlanta era, he's at least a point-per-game player this time around.

But the list of players who aren't scoring like they did before free agency is longer. That includes those who stayed (Tomas Plekanec, Patrick Marleau) and those who moved (Mike Cammalleri, Martin Havlat, Chris Drury, Ryan Smyth and Jason Arnott). Some of their numbers decreased every season. One of the few who avoided that negative trend? Ryan Malone. It's just too bad he can't stay healthy.

Even Briere, who had a ridiculous 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs (30 points in 23 games) and has 29 goals in four Philly post-seasons, doesn't produce at the same pace that he did during his final two years in Buffalo. But he remains an important piece on a legit contender.

It will be interesting to see how Brad Richards fits into this. Richards is on pace for 57 points with the New York Rangers, which would be the lowest full-season total of his NHL existence. However, he's been a good five-on-five player for the first-place Rangers. On the New York roster, only Ryan Callahan faces stiffer competition and does a better job against it.

By the way, the only forward to increase his points-per-game output the first season after free agency? Scott Gomez. (It wasn't by much, but he did it).

What do teams generally overpay for? Offence. And the numbers show you should be prepared for less. Better hope your free-agent forward can impact the game in other ways.

THE BIGGEST SUCCESSES ARE ON THE BLUE-LINE

I can't remember who said this, but I've heard a couple of team officials say they believe a forward's production will decrease as he ages but defencemen can get better.

The biggest free-agent grand slam over the past five years was one, and three others play major roles on top-notch Stanley Cup contenders. Boston just signed Zdeno Chara to his second contract with the organization. All he's done is captain the Bruins to a Stanley Cup, win a Norris Trophy and never put up less than 43 points in a season.

At 36, in the fifth year of a six-year contract, Kimmo Timonen remains a rock on the Philadelphia blue-line. He plays very well against the opposition's best and remains a 40-point threat. Meanwhile, Dan Hamhuis improved the Vancouver blue-line and, while he'll never be Paul Coffey, is putting up points at a better pace than his final four seasons in Nashville. (Never realized how good a player Hamhuis is. I just don't see the Predators enough).

Then there's Brooks Orpik in Pittsburgh. Orpik doesn't carry quite as big a load as the previous three, but is a top-pairing penalty killer on the NHL's fifth-best unit and was an impactful part of the 2009 Stanley Cup squad. While some teams would be scared to give him a six-year deal with a cap hit of $3.75 million US, Orpik is earning it. (As a small bonus, he's reached the 20-point plateau twice. He'd never done it beforehand). Pittsburgh's done a good job with its defensive corps considering three of its four best came through unrestricted free agency.

History's shown that even Ed Jovanovski's five-year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes was reasonable.

But…

THERE ARE SOME UGLY DEFENSIVE MISTAKES

Again, if you're Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula or GM Darcy Regier, you're looking at Christian Ehrhoff's worst production in four years and saying, "This is a blip, right?"

Not if you're judging by Campbell, Jay Bouwmeester or Wade Redden. Campbell's first season in Chicago actually was the second-best offensive year of his career, but the next two saw significant dropoff. He is now a rejuvenated Florida Panther. Bouwmeester averaged 42 points during his last four Florida seasons, but gets just 28 per year with the Calgary Flames. We all know what happened to Redden. Don't know if it's because Chara, Timonen, Hamhuis and Orpik are better defensive players, but those four performed at a much higher level.

And Ehrhoff doesn't have much in common with those four. (The only defensive stalwart in this study who looks like a problem is Anton Volchenkov. With four years and $17 million US still owed, his body might not make it. But, boy does he compete).

Because I'm optimistic by nature, let's give Sabres fans some hope. In 2006, Toronto signed Pavel Kubina for four years and $20 million US. The first was probably the worst of his career. Not since his rookie season had he been so offensively inept and he wasn't much better on the other end.

But Kubina was competitive and did care. While he never became a fan favourite, he tried to earn that contract. His next three seasons (the last in Atlanta) were the best offensively of his career.

We'll see if Ehrhoff can match that.

GOALIES DON'T REALLY GO THIS ROUTE

There are 21 making at least $3 million US. Bryzgalov of the Flyers, who is tops on that list, is one of only four who made their fortune in free agency.

Teams go out of their way to make certain their No. 1 netminders don't even get close. Many sign months in advance of their UFA dates (Pekka Rinne's done that twice) and some (Henrik Lundqvist, Cam Ward, Marc-Andre Fleury) with freedom light-years away.

Dwayne Roloson of the Tampa Bay Lightning is on his third contract since turning 36. At 42, he looks like he's hit the wall, but gave his teams pretty good value until now. It's not really a fair comparison.

The other three are Bryzgalov, Nikolai Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet. Huet was 33 when Chicago signed him, a total mistake that finishes after this season.

Huet was a decent goalie, but unprepared to handle the pressures of such a contract. He also didn't possess Bryzgalov's pedigree.

Khabibulin sure did. He was the defending Stanley Cup champion (although the lockout eliminated the following season). He was 32 (one year older than Bryzgalov) upon signing what was the largest post-lockout UFA goaltending deal until Philadelphia beat it last summer.

And he was never the same. There were flashes — like the beginning of this season with Edmonton — but the Bulin Wall certainly had cracks in its foundation.

It's dangerous to draw any conclusions to Bryzgalov with such a small sample size. And he isn't even four months into his Flyers career. But it does strike me as interesting that most of these No. 1 goalies don't get anywhere near the market. And Phoenix certainly tried hard to keep him.

Bryzgalov could've signed there, but chose a bigger payday. I don't have a problem with that; people are entitled to seek out their best deal. But there's a trend here, a mostly negative one for both players and teams.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Saturday reports of Paterno’s death proved premature

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Speed bumps

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

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

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

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

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

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Simmons Says: Malkin under-appreciated

Steve Simmons ,Toronto Sun, January 21, 2012

The spotlight glares brightly on Sidney Crosby’s latest visit to a specialist while teammate Evgeni Malkin soldiers on with so little notice.

Crosby’s lack of play has been the single most discussed matter of this National Hockey League season. But at the same time, it’s remarkable how little praise has come Malkin’s way as he has, with such force, become hockey’s scoring leader.

It isn’t just that Malkin leads the NHL in scoring. It’s how he leads. Having missed a chunk of games himself, Malkin is scoring at 1.37 points per game, which towers over the highest scorers in the game and puts him, along with Claude Giroux of Philadelphia, as the only NHL players scoring at better than a 100-point pace to this stage of the regular season.

For whatever reason, Malkin, drafted behind Alexander Ovechkin in 2004, has never gotten similar notice, even though he has won a scoring title already and a Conn Smythe Trophy. Should he continue, this would be his second scoring title, the other coming in a year in which he out-scored Crosby in both the regular season and the playoffs.

One more note for the under-appreciated Malkin: He already has two 100-point seasons in his career. That’s the same number as the Sedin brothers. Combined.

THIS AND THAT

From the department of how far Ovechkin has fallen, consider this. Ovechkin trails Detroit’s Val Filppula in league scoring by two points, which is significant because in each of the past five seasons, Ovechkin had more assists alone than the improving Filppula had points … I got the impression that Joffrey Lupul, in the midst of a career year, would rather spend the weekend on the beach in California than be selected for the NHL all-star game in Ottawa. But he was selected and now he’s an assistant captain, which is an awfully nice reward for a player doing things he’s never done before … Remember the old story about players having their best seasons when their contract is up? Guess nobody told Nikolai Kulemin about that … Money distorts how we evaluate players today but at $4.6 million a year should Luke Schenn be three times the player that Carl Gunnarsson is at $1.4 million? To be honest, Gunnarsson is the more dependable defenceman at this stage … When could we ask this question before without an obvious answer? And the best player on the Montreal Canadiens, not playing goal, happens to be? Not Jean Beliveau. Not Guy Lafleur. Not Rocket Richard. Thomas Plekanec?

HEAR AND THERE

Has agent Scott Boras misplayed his hand with Prince Fielder? It’s almost February and there’s only one serious bidder, the Washington Nationals, which is odd on its own. Why more teams, like the Blue Jays, aren’t interested in Fielder is a point I’m having trouble comprehending. Never mind his home run hitting: Fielder has a career OPS of .929 and he’s four years younger than Albert Pujols, assuming Pujols’ age is accurate … For the record, I’m considering changing my name to Fausto Carmona … For all the angst about the Blue Jays not improving over the winter, consider this: With Sergio Santos closing for the Jays and Darren Oliver as the setup man (especially against lefties) the two combined to strike out 139 batters in 114 innings last season. That should, at least, correct the Jays glaring weaknesses of blown saves from a year ago … The worry about DeMar DeRozan. He’s not even scoring the garbage points that offensive players usually end up with when playing for terrible teams. At this stage of his career, he’s not even Lamond Murray … Mention the word ‘hashtag’ to anyone over the age of 40 and they don’t think Twitter, they think it’s something they smoked in the 70s.

SCENE AND HEARD

The pending free agency of Zach Parise takes on all kinds of new dimensions with the news that the New Jersey Devils are out of money and have to go to the NHL to help meet their payroll demands in the second half of the season … Does this make the NBA better or worse? The signatures franchises, Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, are a combined 2-10 on the road this season … As terrible as the Raptors are, there is no certainty they will end up with a lottery pick come June. There are seven teams in the NBA playing below .400 basketball … In a one-year vacuum, Jay Feaster’s deal for Mike Cammalleri makes all kinds of sense. Really, if making the playoffs is the goal and it appears to be nothing more than that, then all the Flames have to do is beat out Phoenix, Colorado, Minnesota and Dallas for the final spot. And that’s doable … The one hockey word that cures insomnia for hockey fans: Escrow … The worst part about NHL All-Star Weekend: The game … The Edmonton Eskimos have signed linebacker Derek Domino. Wonder if his theme song is Layla … My new get rich quick scheme: Bet against whichever NFL teams I’m picking. I’m going with New England and New York to advance to the Super Bowl. Invest at your leisure.

AND ANOTHER THING

Hands up, both of you, who figured the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks would be tied in the NHL standings in January … And they’re the same people who figured that Sunday’s NFC title game would have neither Drew Brees nor Aaron Rodgers playing quarterback … Words that should never really go together: AHL and Classic … Alexei Ponikarovsky scored 102 goals in his last five seasons as a Leaf and was a plus-player every season. Since leaving Toronto for Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Carolina and New Jersey, Ponikarovsky is scoring at less than a 10-goal pace … Is it just me, or are you disappointed in Drew Doughty’s progress in Los Angeles? He’s nowhere near the best in the league and he should be … Remember how Brad Richards was supposed to wake Marion Gaborik up? Well, Gaborik is having a terrific season with 25 goals but he has barely played at all with Richards … What an iconic week. Muhammad Ali turned 70 and Jack Nicklaus turned 72 … And a Happy birthday to Ray Rice (25), Mike Bossy (55), Serge Savard (66), Greg Oden (24, honest he is that young), and Tully Blanchard (58) … And hey, whatever became of Don (The Magnificent) Muraco?

INTERPRETING MILOS

The best way to judge the greats of the tennis world is to put in perspective their performance in Grand Slam events. The Slams are the tournament everyone shows up for, and almost always they render playing rankings meaningless.

All of this brings us to the young Canadian Milos Raonic, who was eliminated by Lleyton Hewitt in the third round of the Australian Open. Hewitt was once a great player. Raonic may become a great player one day. But right now there needs to be some separation between Canadian expectations that are too high, and what might, in fact, be realistic.

Having Raonic to follow is something different: We haven’t had a legitimate male singles player before. But what we don’t know and can’t know is whether he is capable of being a breakthrough player. Next up on the Grand Slam schedule is the French Open, which is not his kind of surface. Wimbledon or the U.S. Open should be much friendlier for Raonic. Then, we’ll find out just how far he has progressed in his second real season on the tour.

OF AVERAGE GOALTENDING

How much of a factor will goaltending be in determining who qualifies for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference? Probably not as much as you think.

The Maple Leafs are clearly in a race with the Florida Panthers and the New Jersey Devils for the final two playoff spots in the East. The odds are, two of those three teams will make the post-season and maybe, though I doubt it, Winnipeg will be there as well. The question is: Which two will make it? The Leafs have Jonas Gustavsson out-playing James Reimer these days, which isn’t what management expected, but has worked out just fine. The over-achieving Panthers got through the first half riding Jose Theodore in goal, but the injured and now slumping Panthers, don’t win games on goaltending. It’s the same in New Jersey, where Martin Brodeur isn’t Martin Brodeur anymore. He’s just another guy who’ll one day be in the Hall of Fame. Whether he can get the Devils to the playoffs, along with Johan Hedberg, remains to be seen.

My bet: Look for the Leafs and Devils in the playoffs and the Panthers and Jets out. That’s today. Ask me next week and the story could very well change.

THE KADRI WATCH

As usual, this being hockey frantic Toronto, the expectations of Nazem Kadri are a little out of whack. If you go back to the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Kadri’s modest development with the Maple Leafs mirrors or betters so many of the players selected around him in the draft.

The forward picked just before him, Brayden Schenn, has yet to make his mark in his first season in Philadelphia. The forward chosen directly after him, Scott Glennie, has yet to play an NHL game. The next three forwards selected — Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, Zack Kassian and Peter Holland — are all works in progress, some of whom don’t seem to be progressing at all.

Kadri, meanwhile, has taken significant steps this season in reading the offensive play in the NHL. It doesn’t necessarily translate statistically. While it may not be happening quickly enough for Kadri or Leaf fans there is reason to be patient here. Kadri is still something worth waiting for.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

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

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

Status: Calgary Flames defenseman. 2006 Olympian.

DOB: Sept. 27, 1983 In: Edmonton

Ht: 6-foot-4 Wt: 215 pounds

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

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

Last Book Read: "Into The Silence."

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

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

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

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

Favorite Uniforms: "Chicago."

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

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

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

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

Favorite Sport Outside Hockey: "Baseball."

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

Last Vacation: "Went to Nepal last summer."

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

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

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

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