Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Hall of Fame Smorgasbord
Interesting interview with Bobby Hull and Phil Esposito over the weekend. They were talking about the good old days back when Espo was a rookie playing for the Blackhawks in the early 60's. Evidently, these guys spent many a late night on the town - I'm sure that shocks you all. Hull, Esposito, Kenny Wharram and Chico Maki were the chief participants who would come back to the hotel really hungry after a night of hard drinking and carousing. Back then there were no late night food joints open, so they canvassed all floors of the hotel and confiscated guest leftovers that were left outside the rooms. Yes, hamburgers with one or two bites taken out of them. They took the "stash" back to one their rooms and had a feast. They actually did this on numerous occasions and in the interview reminisced fondly at recollection of these antics.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Automatic Notifications of Blog Updates - RSS Feeds or Twitter
Two easy ways to know when new content is published to my blog:
1) RSS Feeds. At the bottom left side of my blog there is a link that says 'Atom'. You right click on that link, select copy link, then add that link to whichever feed reader you use. I use Google Reader. Easy!
2) Twitter. Become a subscriber to my Twitter account 'neilrherron'. I will post 'tweets' each time I publish new content.
Feedback From Top Massachusetts High School Hockey List
We had some interesting feedback to my December 12, 2010 blog entry entitled The Top Massachusetts High School Hockey Players of All Time. My nephew, graduate of Reading HS, suggested Sean Collins and Steve Saviano. One of my friends, a former Boston College graduate, suggested Brian Boyle (St. Sebastian's) and Kevin Stevens (Silver Lake). Bias notwithstanding, some notable suggestions to the list.
We also had feedback from a NHL scout in the Boston-area. He put together a really good list by position:
Forwards
Robbie Ftorek
Bobby Carpenter
David Silk
Jeremy Roenick
Tony Amonte
Mike Fidler
Ralph Cox
George Hughes
Mark Fidler
Defense
Rod Langway
Jack O’Callahan
Mark Fusco
Dukie Walsh
Jack Hughes
Tom Poti
Goalies
Tom Barasso
Mark Holden
Honorable Mentions
Bobby Miller
Freddie Ahearn
John Cunniff
Greg Brown
Not a bad team at all!
We also had feedback from a NHL scout in the Boston-area. He put together a really good list by position:
Forwards
Robbie Ftorek
Bobby Carpenter
David Silk
Jeremy Roenick
Tony Amonte
Mike Fidler
Ralph Cox
George Hughes
Mark Fidler
Defense
Rod Langway
Jack O’Callahan
Mark Fusco
Dukie Walsh
Jack Hughes
Tom Poti
Goalies
Tom Barasso
Mark Holden
Honorable Mentions
Bobby Miller
Freddie Ahearn
John Cunniff
Greg Brown
Not a bad team at all!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
The Top Massachusetts High School Hockey Players of All Time
I have been asked on a number of occasions "Who were the best players in the history of Massachusetts high school hockey?" The response is typically the players listed below:
- Robbie Ftorek, Needham
- Richie Hebner, Norwood (yes Pirates fans, that Richie Hebner)
- Rod Langway, Randolph
- Bob Carpenter, St. John's
- Tom Barrasso, Acton-Boxborough
- Mike Fidler, Malden Catholic
- George Hughes, Malden Catholic
- Dave Silk, Thayer Academy
- Tony Amonte, Thayer Academy
- Jeremy Roenick, Thayer Academy
- Bob Sunderland, Braintree
- Ralph Cox, Archbishop Williams (last guy cut from 1980 Olympic Team)
- Randy Millen, Oliver Ames
- Jack O'Callahan, Boston Latin
- Cap Raeder, Needham
- Dukie Walsh, Matignon
- Bill O'Dwyer, Don Bosco
- Mark Holden, Weymouth
- Tom Glavine, Billerica (yes Braves fans, he played hockey)
- Bob McDonald, Winthrop
- Mark Fidler, Matignon
- Ted Donato, Catholic Memorial
- Shawn McEachern, Matignon
- Cleon Daskalakis, Thayer Academy
- Kevin Coughlin, South Boston
Friday, November 26, 2010
Gary Doak Signed By Islanders - Player Role As Shoot Out Specialist
OK, now that I have your intention, the Doak signing is not true. But, perhaps for a moment you thought it was, because nothing from the Islanders really surprises us anymore. What is driving the Islanders into the ground is Charles Wang and a myriad of poor choices he has made as owner of this team.
In any business, leadership at the top sets the strategy and culture within an organization in its pursuit of success. It is interesting to look at rankings of the best and worst owners in the NHL. The top 5 are listed below:
1. Mike Ilitch, Detroit Red Wings
2. Jeffrey Vanderbeek, New Jersey Devils
3. Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, Pittsburgh Penquins
4. Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment, San Jose Sharks
5. Peter Karmonos, Carolina Hurricaines
The worst 5 are provided below:
1. MLSE, Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Alan Cohen, Florida Panthers
3. Charles Wang, New York Islanders
4. Atlanta Spirit, Atlanta Thrashers
5. Predator Holdings, Nashville Predators
Source: Sports Illustrated, May 2009
I think these lists are relatively accurate. Frankly, I would add Ted Leonsis of the Washington Capitals to the list of the best. He is a bright guy, has built a fine organization, has a capable GM and arguably the best coach in hockey. Strong ownership is a huge differentiator for a prospective player when they consider the +/-'s of a given city. Quality ownership attracts the more talented players, it's that simple. Strong owners have infiltrated their organizations with outstanding hockey people that are extraordinary at judging talent.
Another addition to the worst owners list would be Jeremy Jacobs of the Boston Bruins. He has owned the Bruins for more than thirty years without a Stanley Cup. While I do believe Jacobs is on the right track, as Peter Chiarelli and Cam Neely are quite capable, he stuck far too long with Harry Sinden and he is still paying the price for it. As for the order of the poorly ranked owners, I maintain Charles Wang is unquestionably the worst. Just look at his track record as founder of Computer Associates (CA). For me this served as a really accurate predictor of what was to come with the New York Islanders when he became part owner in 2000 and full owner in 2004.
While at CA, Mr. Wang's career had considerable controversy. He spearheaded over fifty takeovers. In most cases these takeovers were followed by immediate firing of top management and key employees. The most despicable of these practices included forcing the employees of newly acquired company to sign new employment contracts on-the-spot at a company meeting with no prior warning - employees who refused to sign at the meeting or wished to have the contracts reviewed by a third party prior to signing were summarily fired. Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle once quipped, CA is where all good software goes to rest. Once a really good software company was acquired by CA, typically its employees and customers ran like the wind.
In 2000 a civil action lawsuit accused Wang, co-founder Russell Artzt, and President Sanjay Kumar of wrongfully reporting $2.5 billion of revenues in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. This was done with the intention of inflating CA's stock price. Since 2000, four other class action suites have been filed against CA, all of them specifically cited Wang.
So, the NHL in its infinite wisdom, approves Mr. Wang becoming owner of the Islanders. What ensued has been a series of poor decisions that is driving this once storied franchise into the ground, let's take a look:
In any business, leadership at the top sets the strategy and culture within an organization in its pursuit of success. It is interesting to look at rankings of the best and worst owners in the NHL. The top 5 are listed below:
1. Mike Ilitch, Detroit Red Wings
2. Jeffrey Vanderbeek, New Jersey Devils
3. Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, Pittsburgh Penquins
4. Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment, San Jose Sharks
5. Peter Karmonos, Carolina Hurricaines
The worst 5 are provided below:
1. MLSE, Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Alan Cohen, Florida Panthers
3. Charles Wang, New York Islanders
4. Atlanta Spirit, Atlanta Thrashers
5. Predator Holdings, Nashville Predators
Source: Sports Illustrated, May 2009
I think these lists are relatively accurate. Frankly, I would add Ted Leonsis of the Washington Capitals to the list of the best. He is a bright guy, has built a fine organization, has a capable GM and arguably the best coach in hockey. Strong ownership is a huge differentiator for a prospective player when they consider the +/-'s of a given city. Quality ownership attracts the more talented players, it's that simple. Strong owners have infiltrated their organizations with outstanding hockey people that are extraordinary at judging talent.
Another addition to the worst owners list would be Jeremy Jacobs of the Boston Bruins. He has owned the Bruins for more than thirty years without a Stanley Cup. While I do believe Jacobs is on the right track, as Peter Chiarelli and Cam Neely are quite capable, he stuck far too long with Harry Sinden and he is still paying the price for it. As for the order of the poorly ranked owners, I maintain Charles Wang is unquestionably the worst. Just look at his track record as founder of Computer Associates (CA). For me this served as a really accurate predictor of what was to come with the New York Islanders when he became part owner in 2000 and full owner in 2004.
While at CA, Mr. Wang's career had considerable controversy. He spearheaded over fifty takeovers. In most cases these takeovers were followed by immediate firing of top management and key employees. The most despicable of these practices included forcing the employees of newly acquired company to sign new employment contracts on-the-spot at a company meeting with no prior warning - employees who refused to sign at the meeting or wished to have the contracts reviewed by a third party prior to signing were summarily fired. Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle once quipped, CA is where all good software goes to rest. Once a really good software company was acquired by CA, typically its employees and customers ran like the wind.
In 2000 a civil action lawsuit accused Wang, co-founder Russell Artzt, and President Sanjay Kumar of wrongfully reporting $2.5 billion of revenues in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. This was done with the intention of inflating CA's stock price. Since 2000, four other class action suites have been filed against CA, all of them specifically cited Wang.
So, the NHL in its infinite wisdom, approves Mr. Wang becoming owner of the Islanders. What ensued has been a series of poor decisions that is driving this once storied franchise into the ground, let's take a look:
- Keeping Mike "Gimme Your Shoe" Milbury in place too long. Milbury's tenure as Islander GM was littered with poor trades. He traded away Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Bryan Berard, Eric Brewer, Darius Kasparaitis, and Bryan McCabe; goalies Roberto Luongo and Tommy Salo, as well as forwards Olli Jokinen, Todd Bertuzzi, Tim Connolly, and Raffi Torres. Chara, Brewer, Luongo, Jokinen, Connelly, and Torres trades were conducted by Milbury under Wang's ownership. "Gimme Your Shoe" also selected Rick DiPietro first overall in the 2000 draft when both Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik were available. To make matters worse he signed this mediocre unproven goalie, DiPietro, to a ten year $67 million dollar contract that Wang had to approve. This crappy contract and the salary cap will encumber the Islanders for years.
- Fires GM Neil Smith after 40 days. Wang gave Smith very little latitude in personnel and staffing decisions. Instead Wang wanted to subject the GM's decisions to ratification by a committee of advisors. Can you imagine what draft day in a circus like this would be like?
- Senior Advisor Pat Lafontaine quits after 10 days on the job. Guess the advisors were not on board with this approach either.
- Hires Garth Snow as General Manager. NO experience at all. Great goaltender, no clue on how to run a hockey club.
- Rescinds access to blogger Chris Botta for reporting facts about the Islanders. Seems Mr. Botta expressed his disagreement with the recent firing of Islander coach Scott Gordon. Botta indicated Gordon was in a "no win" situation given the only way the Islanders are meeting the cap floor is via massive buyouts. He also cited DiPietro's ridiculous contract and Snow's ineptness at constructing a hockey team.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Colin Campbell and the Demise of the NHL
You gotta love it. Hockey season is in full swing and as of this writing five of the six original teams have winning records. The only exception is the Chicago Blackhawks at 10-10, but we'll let that slide because they are the defending champs, so really all is good with the NHL...or is it?
Actually, the NHL has a really big problem that needs to be addressed post-haste. You will recollect my blog dated March 13, 2010 entitled Colin Campbell and Player Safety. In this entry I questioned Campbell's competence and pointed out he imperils player safety. I stated this for the following reasons, as it relates to his decision not to suspend Matt Cooke for his hit on Marc Savard:
1) You ignored Matt Cooke's track record - he is a repeat offender.
2) You are confused between incidental and intentional contact.
3) Two wrongs do not make it right. You got the Richards incident wrong and you got the Cooke incident wrong as well.
4) Rare player outrage. Credible players across the league such as Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Mark Recchi are surprised at your decision.
5) You are inconsistent in your rulings. Cooke suspensions were meted out when he checked Artem Anisimov and Scott Walker. In the case of Anisimov, the elbow was flagrant; less so with Savard, but the intent to injure was still there.
6) You are incapable of interpreting the rules. Rule 21.1 is applicable here. Either you do not understand the rule or, in the interest of self-preservation, you elected not to apply it.
Quite frankly, I was perplexed by this decision not to suspend Cooke. But I believe we now know why. Check out this email from Colin Campbell to NHL officiating director Stephen Walkom:
To Stephen Walkom/Tor/NHL@NHL
Subject Re: Delayed Penalties/High Sticks 02/#/2007 4:24 pm
A bend in the road is a dead end if you round the corner and Dean Warren is standing there. Your answer re: his high stick calls and the score of the game were horse [bleep]. The 3rd call on [player] was while they were down 5 on 4 and on a def zone face off vs that little fake artist [player] I had him in [city] biggest faker going. And Warren fell for it when he grabbed his face on a face off. Your supposed to see the act, not call the embellishing act. Dean Warren has to go with [referee] There must be a way to get rid of this guy. Is there a way we can tract (sic) and total minors called by referees this year. We could then get the minors they call per game. ... or with 2 [referees on the ice] it is impossible? Warren and [referee] out of [club's] games. Give them to [referees].
Really scary folks, according to the Puck Daddy blog, Campbell is referring to a game between the Bruins and Florida Panthers on February 24, 2007. Let's decode this email, Dean Warren was the referree, Gregory Campbell (Colin Campbell's son) got three minor penalties, and Marc Savard played for Campbell when he coached the New York Rangers. The fake artist being referred to here is Bruins' Marc Savard. So there you have it, you now know why there was no suspension for Matt Cooke's hit on Savard!
Actually, these emails from Campbell are a bit incendiary and cause me great concern about the integrity of the game. Noted Boston Globe Sports Columnist Kevin Paul Dupont wrote an excellent article in the Boston Globe earlier this week about the same subject, you can read it at:
http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2010/11/16/actions_by_top_nhl_enforcer_should_draw_a_major_penalty/?page=full
In this article Dupont suggests Campbell might be better served by keeping his opinions to himself instead of ranting in an email.
As long as Colin Campbell is in his current role, every NHL game I watch will now be viewed as just a little less than authentic. Colin Campbell must go!
Stay thirsty my friends....
Actually, the NHL has a really big problem that needs to be addressed post-haste. You will recollect my blog dated March 13, 2010 entitled Colin Campbell and Player Safety. In this entry I questioned Campbell's competence and pointed out he imperils player safety. I stated this for the following reasons, as it relates to his decision not to suspend Matt Cooke for his hit on Marc Savard:
1) You ignored Matt Cooke's track record - he is a repeat offender.
2) You are confused between incidental and intentional contact.
3) Two wrongs do not make it right. You got the Richards incident wrong and you got the Cooke incident wrong as well.
4) Rare player outrage. Credible players across the league such as Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Mark Recchi are surprised at your decision.
5) You are inconsistent in your rulings. Cooke suspensions were meted out when he checked Artem Anisimov and Scott Walker. In the case of Anisimov, the elbow was flagrant; less so with Savard, but the intent to injure was still there.
6) You are incapable of interpreting the rules. Rule 21.1 is applicable here. Either you do not understand the rule or, in the interest of self-preservation, you elected not to apply it.
Quite frankly, I was perplexed by this decision not to suspend Cooke. But I believe we now know why. Check out this email from Colin Campbell to NHL officiating director Stephen Walkom:
To Stephen Walkom/Tor/NHL@NHL
Subject Re: Delayed Penalties/High Sticks 02/#/2007 4:24 pm
A bend in the road is a dead end if you round the corner and Dean Warren is standing there. Your answer re: his high stick calls and the score of the game were horse [bleep]. The 3rd call on [player] was while they were down 5 on 4 and on a def zone face off vs that little fake artist [player] I had him in [city] biggest faker going. And Warren fell for it when he grabbed his face on a face off. Your supposed to see the act, not call the embellishing act. Dean Warren has to go with [referee] There must be a way to get rid of this guy. Is there a way we can tract (sic) and total minors called by referees this year. We could then get the minors they call per game. ... or with 2 [referees on the ice] it is impossible? Warren and [referee] out of [club's] games. Give them to [referees].
Really scary folks, according to the Puck Daddy blog, Campbell is referring to a game between the Bruins and Florida Panthers on February 24, 2007. Let's decode this email, Dean Warren was the referree, Gregory Campbell (Colin Campbell's son) got three minor penalties, and Marc Savard played for Campbell when he coached the New York Rangers. The fake artist being referred to here is Bruins' Marc Savard. So there you have it, you now know why there was no suspension for Matt Cooke's hit on Savard!
Actually, these emails from Campbell are a bit incendiary and cause me great concern about the integrity of the game. Noted Boston Globe Sports Columnist Kevin Paul Dupont wrote an excellent article in the Boston Globe earlier this week about the same subject, you can read it at:
http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2010/11/16/actions_by_top_nhl_enforcer_should_draw_a_major_penalty/?page=full
In this article Dupont suggests Campbell might be better served by keeping his opinions to himself instead of ranting in an email.
As long as Colin Campbell is in his current role, every NHL game I watch will now be viewed as just a little less than authentic. Colin Campbell must go!
Stay thirsty my friends....
Saturday, October 2, 2010
A New Season Upon Us
First, apologies for the lack of blog entries since June, but I have a good excuse. I've been filming Dos Equis beer commercials over the summer...
Well a new season beckons, but first we talk about last year's Stanley Cup Champion, the Chicago Blackhawks. A tremendous hockey team for the most fanatic and arguably the best fans in hockey. The scary thing about this team is they will be formidable again this year. Any team with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Kane, Jonathon Toews and Patrick Sharp is enough of a nucleus to make another run. Yes they have had some housecleaning and yes they have let go some great players (a legacy of Dale Talon snafu's) but the Hawks are still loaded; their leadership, Stan Bowman and Joel Quenneville, are tremendous judges of hockey talent.
There a few other items on my mind. One troubling development is the high number of UFA's still looking for a place to work, you can view the current list at:
http://espn.go.com/nhl/freeagents/_/type/available
There are some big names on this list, particularly goaltenders. What is concerning here is a trend developing in the NHL to bring lesser quality players into the league sooner. These young players come in at entry level salaries in order to get a given team under the cap. This is a big sore spot with college coaches losing players to the NHL and the Canadian Junior leagues. Think about it, when a kid is lost mid-season, the scholarship is lost and it's real difficult to replace the player. I believe college hockey is at the crossroads if this does not get fixed. In fact, I am willing to bet this single issue will drive Boston University coach Jack Parker into retirement. The other collateral damage is the NHL-fan watches watered down talent who prematurely push more capable UFA's out of the league. No winners here, except possibly the KHL.
Well now that I am on my soapbox, why step off? Interesting article in today's Washington Post in the Free For All section. A disgruntled Tony Eckert writes-in that the area's premier sports franchise (Washington Capitals) warrants coverage commensurate with the team's performance. I agree with Tony, I've been saying this for years. My recommendation, if you really want to get a clue with what is going on in the NHL, is to check out the Boston Globe Sports Section at:
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/#globesports
other suggestions are the Toronto Globe and Mail or reading Red Fisher of the Montreal Gazette, in fact here's a good article he wrote about Bobby Orr in today's Gazette:
http://www2.canada.com/montrealgazette/columnists/story.html?id=d4f013d5-e3d7-4c53-aa5c-25b78d0b95e2
These publications are not Caps-centric but are a more preferred alternative to the Post. Ahh, the Internet, we aren't stuck with Washington's hockey writing. Incidentally, Red Fisher states Bobby Orr was the best ever, he's right but Ovechkin is really, really getting close.
Well a new season beckons, but first we talk about last year's Stanley Cup Champion, the Chicago Blackhawks. A tremendous hockey team for the most fanatic and arguably the best fans in hockey. The scary thing about this team is they will be formidable again this year. Any team with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Kane, Jonathon Toews and Patrick Sharp is enough of a nucleus to make another run. Yes they have had some housecleaning and yes they have let go some great players (a legacy of Dale Talon snafu's) but the Hawks are still loaded; their leadership, Stan Bowman and Joel Quenneville, are tremendous judges of hockey talent.
There a few other items on my mind. One troubling development is the high number of UFA's still looking for a place to work, you can view the current list at:
http://espn.go.com/nhl/freeagents/_/type/available
There are some big names on this list, particularly goaltenders. What is concerning here is a trend developing in the NHL to bring lesser quality players into the league sooner. These young players come in at entry level salaries in order to get a given team under the cap. This is a big sore spot with college coaches losing players to the NHL and the Canadian Junior leagues. Think about it, when a kid is lost mid-season, the scholarship is lost and it's real difficult to replace the player. I believe college hockey is at the crossroads if this does not get fixed. In fact, I am willing to bet this single issue will drive Boston University coach Jack Parker into retirement. The other collateral damage is the NHL-fan watches watered down talent who prematurely push more capable UFA's out of the league. No winners here, except possibly the KHL.
Well now that I am on my soapbox, why step off? Interesting article in today's Washington Post in the Free For All section. A disgruntled Tony Eckert writes-in that the area's premier sports franchise (Washington Capitals) warrants coverage commensurate with the team's performance. I agree with Tony, I've been saying this for years. My recommendation, if you really want to get a clue with what is going on in the NHL, is to check out the Boston Globe Sports Section at:
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/#globesports
other suggestions are the Toronto Globe and Mail or reading Red Fisher of the Montreal Gazette, in fact here's a good article he wrote about Bobby Orr in today's Gazette:
http://www2.canada.com/montrealgazette/columnists/story.html?id=d4f013d5-e3d7-4c53-aa5c-25b78d0b95e2
These publications are not Caps-centric but are a more preferred alternative to the Post. Ahh, the Internet, we aren't stuck with Washington's hockey writing. Incidentally, Red Fisher states Bobby Orr was the best ever, he's right but Ovechkin is really, really getting close.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Hey Caps Fans
In today's Boston Globe there is an article by Fluto Shinzawa that Caps Fans should checkout. Shinzawa's article discusses last week's combine for lesser known teenage draft prospects. He mentions there were only three GM's spotted: Washington’s George McPhee, Columbus’s Scott Howson, and Phoenix’s Don Maloney. There was only one NHL coach in attendance, Bruce Boudreau from the Caps.
The article points out this combine is where the Caps uncovered John Carlson (from Natick, MA)and made him their 27th pick a couple of years ago. The same article points out it is unlikely the Caps will sign UFA's Joe Corvo, Shaone Morrisonn, and Milan Jurcina.
This article raised a couple of different questions in my mind:
1) Perhaps other GM's and coaches (maybe the Bruins) may want to attend these combines. There really is a correlation between judgment of hockey talent and fielding a winning team - I believe the Caps are the gold standard here. Just think if the B's could judge talent, they may have picked Carlson instead of Joe Colborne (16th pick in the same draft).
2) If the Washington area is a considered a hockey market, why doesn't the Washington Post and Times get a clue and start writing about it - this includes the off-season. Come on Tarik El Bashir wake up, the hockey world is really busy this time of year. Despite the Caps not playing, you have got to write about the upcoming draft, the UFA's and speculate on some off-season strategies across the league. I am going to help you in the interim and offer Caps fans access to the best hockey coverage in the US, its called the Boston Globe Sports Section:
http://www.boston.com/sports
As a bonus, I am going to throw in today's article I referenced:
http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2010/06/06/wings_havent_given_bruins_much_of_a_lift/?page=4
At some point we will get some real hockey coverage in the Washington newspapers, until then we will go the Globe.
The article points out this combine is where the Caps uncovered John Carlson (from Natick, MA)and made him their 27th pick a couple of years ago. The same article points out it is unlikely the Caps will sign UFA's Joe Corvo, Shaone Morrisonn, and Milan Jurcina.
This article raised a couple of different questions in my mind:
1) Perhaps other GM's and coaches (maybe the Bruins) may want to attend these combines. There really is a correlation between judgment of hockey talent and fielding a winning team - I believe the Caps are the gold standard here. Just think if the B's could judge talent, they may have picked Carlson instead of Joe Colborne (16th pick in the same draft).
2) If the Washington area is a considered a hockey market, why doesn't the Washington Post and Times get a clue and start writing about it - this includes the off-season. Come on Tarik El Bashir wake up, the hockey world is really busy this time of year. Despite the Caps not playing, you have got to write about the upcoming draft, the UFA's and speculate on some off-season strategies across the league. I am going to help you in the interim and offer Caps fans access to the best hockey coverage in the US, its called the Boston Globe Sports Section:
http://www.boston.com/sports
As a bonus, I am going to throw in today's article I referenced:
http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2010/06/06/wings_havent_given_bruins_much_of_a_lift/?page=4
At some point we will get some real hockey coverage in the Washington newspapers, until then we will go the Globe.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The Drought Is Over
How can anyone not be pulling for the Chicago Blackhawks to win the Stanley Cup? What a turnaround with this franchise. You really have to admire this fan base, I would put them up with anyone in the league; this includes Boston, Montreal, Washington, Detroit and Philadelphia - the Hawk fans (and the Hawks for that matter) are the real deal.
The Blackhawks have not won the Stanley Cup since 1961, they will be fixing that drought shortly. I remember going to the old Chicago Stadium in the late 80's to watch a regular season game between the St. Louis Blues and the Hawks. Both teams were having poor seasons and not going to make the playoffs, but that did not matter to the fans, they still went nuts and it was easily the loudest game I have ever attended.
Think about what the Hawks fan has been through. Under owner Bill Wirtz, he would not allow home games to be televised. He once commented the best season for him was when the Blackhawks went to the Stanley Cup finals and lost in seven (7) games - this way he maximized his gate receipts but did not have to pay his players a Stanley Cup bonus! True story. How could a franchise ever develop a winning tradition with an owner like this? It is no coincidence that once Bill Wirtz left the scene, to be replaced by his son Rocky, the demeanor of the Hawks changed immediately. The organization became fan friendly, they re-engaged former players, they drafted good players, eventually put them on long term contracts to keep them around and they allowed home games to be broadcast locally. Well deserved, well managed, Hawks in six (6) games.
The Blackhawks have not won the Stanley Cup since 1961, they will be fixing that drought shortly. I remember going to the old Chicago Stadium in the late 80's to watch a regular season game between the St. Louis Blues and the Hawks. Both teams were having poor seasons and not going to make the playoffs, but that did not matter to the fans, they still went nuts and it was easily the loudest game I have ever attended.
Think about what the Hawks fan has been through. Under owner Bill Wirtz, he would not allow home games to be televised. He once commented the best season for him was when the Blackhawks went to the Stanley Cup finals and lost in seven (7) games - this way he maximized his gate receipts but did not have to pay his players a Stanley Cup bonus! True story. How could a franchise ever develop a winning tradition with an owner like this? It is no coincidence that once Bill Wirtz left the scene, to be replaced by his son Rocky, the demeanor of the Hawks changed immediately. The organization became fan friendly, they re-engaged former players, they drafted good players, eventually put them on long term contracts to keep them around and they allowed home games to be broadcast locally. Well deserved, well managed, Hawks in six (6) games.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The Ship is On Its Way
I have just managed to pull my head out of the oven after last Friday's Bruins loss. What a mess and I don't know where to start, actually I do. Some of you students of history may recollect in 1630 the ship that carried John Winthrop to the Massachusetts Bay Colony also carried more than 10,000 gallons of wine and three times as much beer as water. Who was planning to drink all this? Not Bruins fans, they weren't around yet.
So what happened? A weak scoring team that loses its leading scorer, Marco Sturm, made it really difficult to overcome the momentum Philadelphia put together. The Bruins have good goal tending, good defense, but no scoring. One of only four teams to lose a best-of-seven series after taking a 3-0 lead. You have to be kidding me. I like the young defensemen Johnny Boychuk but I am scratching my head over his quote after the game “I wouldn’t say we choked. We had a chance to close it out . . . If you want to say we choked, I’m proud of the way we battled. I’m just in shock that we’re not playing anymore.’’ I'm shocked your not playing anymore Johnny and I'm shocked you choked! In fact we will memorialize this event by adding it to the "Crappy Feeling Index", I have placed it at Number 7 behind the 1978 - AL Playoff Red Sox loss to the Yankees. The list now is expanded to eleven events.
In the spirit of John Winthrop, I have commissioned a reenactment ship full of libations for Bruins fans, it's crossing the mid-Atlantic and working its way to Swift's Beach in Braintree, arrival is expected sometime this weekend. Help is on its way Bruins fans!
So what happened? A weak scoring team that loses its leading scorer, Marco Sturm, made it really difficult to overcome the momentum Philadelphia put together. The Bruins have good goal tending, good defense, but no scoring. One of only four teams to lose a best-of-seven series after taking a 3-0 lead. You have to be kidding me. I like the young defensemen Johnny Boychuk but I am scratching my head over his quote after the game “I wouldn’t say we choked. We had a chance to close it out . . . If you want to say we choked, I’m proud of the way we battled. I’m just in shock that we’re not playing anymore.’’ I'm shocked your not playing anymore Johnny and I'm shocked you choked! In fact we will memorialize this event by adding it to the "Crappy Feeling Index", I have placed it at Number 7 behind the 1978 - AL Playoff Red Sox loss to the Yankees. The list now is expanded to eleven events.
In the spirit of John Winthrop, I have commissioned a reenactment ship full of libations for Bruins fans, it's crossing the mid-Atlantic and working its way to Swift's Beach in Braintree, arrival is expected sometime this weekend. Help is on its way Bruins fans!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
The Caps, The Red Sox and The "Crappy Feeling Index"
Okay, here we go. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Alright, we are now ready to discuss the Washington Capitals first round elimination by the storied Montreal Canadiens - one of the biggest upsets in the history of the National Hockey League.
Prior to diagnosis of the Caps, it is somewhat therapeutic to put this upset in context. By context I mean how this loss compares to other sports upsets I have witnessed over the years. To do this, I gauge how crappy I feel after the loss and how long the crappy feeling lingers with me. Below I have compiled my "Crappy Feeling Index". It's really straightforward, a 10 is really crappy, a 5 is somewhat crappy and a 1 is not crappy at all, perhaps diffident. So here we go:
Now that we are done rationalizing, what happened to the Caps? I hear all this blather that the power play was terrible and they could not penetrate the perimeter, perhaps true, but you should still win games when you have 53 and 41 shots respectively. The Caps problem is not offense. The Canadiens had a hot goalie who stood on his head for two games. Frankly, Team Canada would not have done any better job scoring against the Canadiens than the Caps did. Team Canada would have won, however, because they would have allowed fewer goals; therein lies the issue with the Caps - defensive talent.
They got beat by a mediocre Canadiens team that will not get by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the next round of the playoffs. The Caps need no overhaul though, instead they need a couple of defensemen. Here's the good news, they have John Carlson who will get even better next year and Karl Alzner who will be more than ready for the NHL. To complement them, they need to go out and get one really imposing defensive defenseman, someone like a Zdeno Chara, Chris Pronger (in his prime), Hal Gill or Tyler Myers type. More good news, to get this defensive stalwart they have some good players to offer in a trade: Mike Green, Shaone Morrisonn, John Erskine, Jose Theodore, Milan Jurcina and Brendan Morrison. It will be tricky from a salary cap perspective to bring in this big D-man because Nick Backstrom's contract is up and I expect him to sign for between $7 and $7.5m per year.
Don't mess with this Caps team, get some defensemen, not too much else needs to be done here.
Prior to diagnosis of the Caps, it is somewhat therapeutic to put this upset in context. By context I mean how this loss compares to other sports upsets I have witnessed over the years. To do this, I gauge how crappy I feel after the loss and how long the crappy feeling lingers with me. Below I have compiled my "Crappy Feeling Index". It's really straightforward, a 10 is really crappy, a 5 is somewhat crappy and a 1 is not crappy at all, perhaps diffident. So here we go:
- 1987 - Marvin Hagler split-decision loss to Sugar Ray Leonard (9.5)
- 1971 - Bruins playoff elimination to Canadiens, Ken Dryden in goal (9.0)
- 1974 - Bruins Stanley Cup Final loss to Flyers (8.5)
- 1986 - World Series Red Sox loss to Mets, Game 6 (8.5)
- 1986 - World Series Red Sox loss to Mets, Game 7 (8.5)
- 1978 - AL Playoff Red Sox loss to Yankees, Buck F&&%#ing Dent (8.0)
- 1975 - World Series Red Sox loss to Reds, Game 7 (8.0)
- 2010 - Capitals playoff elimination to Canadiens (7.5)
- 2008 - Super Bowl XLIV Patriots loss to Giants (7.0)
- 1976 - Mass State HS Hockey Championship Braintree loss to Winthrop (6.5)
Now that we are done rationalizing, what happened to the Caps? I hear all this blather that the power play was terrible and they could not penetrate the perimeter, perhaps true, but you should still win games when you have 53 and 41 shots respectively. The Caps problem is not offense. The Canadiens had a hot goalie who stood on his head for two games. Frankly, Team Canada would not have done any better job scoring against the Canadiens than the Caps did. Team Canada would have won, however, because they would have allowed fewer goals; therein lies the issue with the Caps - defensive talent.
They got beat by a mediocre Canadiens team that will not get by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the next round of the playoffs. The Caps need no overhaul though, instead they need a couple of defensemen. Here's the good news, they have John Carlson who will get even better next year and Karl Alzner who will be more than ready for the NHL. To complement them, they need to go out and get one really imposing defensive defenseman, someone like a Zdeno Chara, Chris Pronger (in his prime), Hal Gill or Tyler Myers type. More good news, to get this defensive stalwart they have some good players to offer in a trade: Mike Green, Shaone Morrisonn, John Erskine, Jose Theodore, Milan Jurcina and Brendan Morrison. It will be tricky from a salary cap perspective to bring in this big D-man because Nick Backstrom's contract is up and I expect him to sign for between $7 and $7.5m per year.
Don't mess with this Caps team, get some defensemen, not too much else needs to be done here.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Eastern Conference Playoffs
I believe the winner of the Eastern Conference should win the Stanley Cup. Not taking anything away from the Western Conference teams, I feel strongly the East team, rising above the others, will have to be playing really, really good hockey. In fact hockey so good it should propel them to a Stanley Cup Championship. So, lets take a look at the teams I like.
First, lets start with Washington. Pre-playoff favorite as evidenced by its #1 seed and President's Trophy. Make no mistake these guys have their hands full with Montreal. For game 6 on Monday, I believe the Caps will start Valarmov. Despite Bruce Boudreau's threats in today's Washington Post to mix up line combinations on Monday, I don't think you will see too many changes to start. As an aside, I wish Alex Ovechkin considered a lesser curve on his stick. Look closely, it looks like a banana - really difficult for him to control the puck (small surface area) on his backhand. These guys need to finish this series Monday night in 6 games.
Pittsburgh. As much as I dislike admitting it, the road to the Stanley Cup Finals goes through Pittsburgh. The Penguins disposed of a surging Ottawa team, Fluery looks solid, and they won the deciding game in a comeback fashion - all good signs for the Pittsburgh faithful. They now get a bit of rest in preparation for the next series.
Philadelphia. A very efficient 5 game playoff series win over New Jersey. Well needed considering the emotional rollcoaster they have been on just to get into the playoffs (last day of season in shootout with the Rangers). Flyers are a formidable playoff team. They are starting to get decent goaltending, have solid defensemen and their forwards are starting to score - even that goon Dan Carcillo. Given rest and preparation for their next opponent (winner of Washington Montreal series) they will be a worthy opponent.
Buffalo. Great goal tending and enough scoring to get by the Bruins. Yeah, I know the Bruins have a 3-2 lead in the series, a great goalie and a solid defensive corps but this will not be enough to win one of the next two games with the Sabres. NOT ENOUGH OFFENSE, only 1 player with over 22 goals! Bruins have as much chance winning this series as Gary Doak has at running a stick handling clinic this summer.
Miscellaneous
Did you see in today's Parade section the Vancouver Canucks of the late 80's are being given credit for first use of the word 'Couger'? They can't win Stanley Cups but they can help broaden our vocabulary.
First, lets start with Washington. Pre-playoff favorite as evidenced by its #1 seed and President's Trophy. Make no mistake these guys have their hands full with Montreal. For game 6 on Monday, I believe the Caps will start Valarmov. Despite Bruce Boudreau's threats in today's Washington Post to mix up line combinations on Monday, I don't think you will see too many changes to start. As an aside, I wish Alex Ovechkin considered a lesser curve on his stick. Look closely, it looks like a banana - really difficult for him to control the puck (small surface area) on his backhand. These guys need to finish this series Monday night in 6 games.
Pittsburgh. As much as I dislike admitting it, the road to the Stanley Cup Finals goes through Pittsburgh. The Penguins disposed of a surging Ottawa team, Fluery looks solid, and they won the deciding game in a comeback fashion - all good signs for the Pittsburgh faithful. They now get a bit of rest in preparation for the next series.
Philadelphia. A very efficient 5 game playoff series win over New Jersey. Well needed considering the emotional rollcoaster they have been on just to get into the playoffs (last day of season in shootout with the Rangers). Flyers are a formidable playoff team. They are starting to get decent goaltending, have solid defensemen and their forwards are starting to score - even that goon Dan Carcillo. Given rest and preparation for their next opponent (winner of Washington Montreal series) they will be a worthy opponent.
Buffalo. Great goal tending and enough scoring to get by the Bruins. Yeah, I know the Bruins have a 3-2 lead in the series, a great goalie and a solid defensive corps but this will not be enough to win one of the next two games with the Sabres. NOT ENOUGH OFFENSE, only 1 player with over 22 goals! Bruins have as much chance winning this series as Gary Doak has at running a stick handling clinic this summer.
Miscellaneous
Did you see in today's Parade section the Vancouver Canucks of the late 80's are being given credit for first use of the word 'Couger'? They can't win Stanley Cups but they can help broaden our vocabulary.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
High School Hockey
Two great high school hockey stories this month.
The first is Hingham (Massachusetts) High School's recent Super 8 Championship, a 1-0 thriller over Catholic Memorial before a huge crowd at the Boston Garden. Always great to see a public high school beat a Catholic Conference team in the final. Only the second time a public high school has won this championship. A great memorial and tribute to Garrett Reagan, the former Hingham coach for 26 years who built this fine program and passed away suddenly in 2008. Kudo's to the coaches and players at Hingham High!
The second high school hockey story is about a game that was never played. In 1989 two New Jersey teams were slated to play in the State Final Hockey Championship - The Delbarton School versus St. Joseph Regional High School. Ranked 1 and 2 respectively, anticipation was high as the teams had not faced each other during the course of the season. Both teams had lots of talent, many went on and had great college careers, in fact one player, Ken Blum, was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars. During the course of the 1989 season both squads frequently played in front of capacity crowds. Unfortunately, the excitement came to a screeching halt when an outbreak of measles at Delbarton forced the administration to cancel the game. It was never played.
For years this decision weighed heavily on players who have since wondered whether they could have been champions. But here's the good news. On April 3, 34 of the original 42 players and both coaches have agreed to play the game. After 20 years, players are coming from Massachusetts, Maine, California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Minnesota to play the game. In fact, these guys ranging in age from 38-40, have been practicing at 5 AM with their old coaches then going to work. The NHL has donated jersey for both teams and partial proceeds from the game go to Hockey Fights Cancer.
For additional details check out the following article at:
http://www.maxpreps.com/news/7uxKQDLcEd-UswAcxJTdpg/greatest-hockey-game-never-played-frozen-in-new-jersey.htm
The first is Hingham (Massachusetts) High School's recent Super 8 Championship, a 1-0 thriller over Catholic Memorial before a huge crowd at the Boston Garden. Always great to see a public high school beat a Catholic Conference team in the final. Only the second time a public high school has won this championship. A great memorial and tribute to Garrett Reagan, the former Hingham coach for 26 years who built this fine program and passed away suddenly in 2008. Kudo's to the coaches and players at Hingham High!
The second high school hockey story is about a game that was never played. In 1989 two New Jersey teams were slated to play in the State Final Hockey Championship - The Delbarton School versus St. Joseph Regional High School. Ranked 1 and 2 respectively, anticipation was high as the teams had not faced each other during the course of the season. Both teams had lots of talent, many went on and had great college careers, in fact one player, Ken Blum, was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars. During the course of the 1989 season both squads frequently played in front of capacity crowds. Unfortunately, the excitement came to a screeching halt when an outbreak of measles at Delbarton forced the administration to cancel the game. It was never played.
For years this decision weighed heavily on players who have since wondered whether they could have been champions. But here's the good news. On April 3, 34 of the original 42 players and both coaches have agreed to play the game. After 20 years, players are coming from Massachusetts, Maine, California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Minnesota to play the game. In fact, these guys ranging in age from 38-40, have been practicing at 5 AM with their old coaches then going to work. The NHL has donated jersey for both teams and partial proceeds from the game go to Hockey Fights Cancer.
For additional details check out the following article at:
http://www.maxpreps.com/news/7uxKQDLcEd-UswAcxJTdpg/greatest-hockey-game-never-played-frozen-in-new-jersey.htm
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The Time For No-Touch Icing Has Arrived
When will the NHL implement no-touch icing? Earlier this week we had yet another instance of injury related to the current icing rule. Check out the video below where Darcy Tucker of the Colorado Avalanche is pursuing the puck against Matt Greene of the LA Kings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv43KuZ-IqY
Fortunately Greene was able to continue playing but he was really lucky.
Icing occurs when a player shoots the puck across at least two red lines, the opposing team's goal line being the last. When icing is called, the officials stop play. Play is resumed with a face-off in the defending zone of the team that committed the infraction. In international competitions, the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), and the Central Hockey League (CHL), play is stopped for icing once the puck crosses the goal line. This is called automatic or no-touch icing. In the NHL and AHL, however, a player on the opposing team other than the goalie must touch the puck to cause a stoppage in play.
The NHL, in its infinite wisdom, will sit on this until a really serious injury occurs. For once I ask the NHL to be proactive and preemptive. General Managers also have some ownership on this one - make a move for no-touch icing to be implemented next season.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv43KuZ-IqY
Fortunately Greene was able to continue playing but he was really lucky.
Icing occurs when a player shoots the puck across at least two red lines, the opposing team's goal line being the last. When icing is called, the officials stop play. Play is resumed with a face-off in the defending zone of the team that committed the infraction. In international competitions, the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), and the Central Hockey League (CHL), play is stopped for icing once the puck crosses the goal line. This is called automatic or no-touch icing. In the NHL and AHL, however, a player on the opposing team other than the goalie must touch the puck to cause a stoppage in play.
There are two solid reasons I believe no-touch icing should be implemented.
First, serious injury will be prevented. Look at some of the major injuries over that past few years due to an icing-related chase for the puck. Minnesota's Kurt Foster broke his leg, Calgary's Al MacInnis dislocated his hip, Dallas' Mark Tinordi broke his femur, Edmonton's Marty Reasoner damaged his knee and foot, the former San Jose Shark (and current Bruin) Marco Sturm dislocated his ankle and broke his leg and Florida's Mike Wilson dislocated his shoulder and broke his arm. You may also remember former first rounder Pat Peake of the Washington Capitals. Peake's career ended in a sprint for the puck with Pittsburgh's J.J. Daigneault. His heel shattered in 12 places - he was done at age 24.
Second, the tempo of the game will be quicker. The average duration of a game will decrease and will appeal to hockey's fan base.
Second, the tempo of the game will be quicker. The average duration of a game will decrease and will appeal to hockey's fan base.
The NHL, in its infinite wisdom, will sit on this until a really serious injury occurs. For once I ask the NHL to be proactive and preemptive. General Managers also have some ownership on this one - make a move for no-touch icing to be implemented next season.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Colin Campbell and Player Safety
Most of us are still pondering the rationale of Colin Campbell's decision not to suspend Matt Cooke for his blind-sided shoulder to the head of Boston's Marc Savard. I view Campbell's behavior as blatant incompetence.
Campbell's explanation for not suspending Cooke was because the check was identical to the hit Mike Richards dealt to David Booth. In Campbell's view, Richards' hit did not draw a suspension therefore, to be consistent, neither should Cooke's.
Really Mr. Campbell? Have you had one too many Boone Island Ales? I vehemently disagree with your decision-making. Before looking at the video, here's a refresher on Rule 21.1 from this year's NHL Rulebook, "A match penalty shall be imposed on any player or goalkeeper who deliberately attempts to injure an opponent in any manner. A match penalty shall be imposed on a player or goalkeeper who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner."
What is unclear about this rule? Now take a close look again at the hit on David Booth and see if you can apply the rule.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOsp_Spcdwg
Richards clearly brings his shoulder to the head. You will notice upon impact Richards actually thrusts upward to make full impact on the head. Clearly, this was an intent to injure. Any one of the four referees on the ice should have called this penalty. They opted not to and the decision came to your office for review and possible supplemental action. You too decided this was not an attempt to injure and recommended no suspension.
Last week you reviewed the hit delivered by Matt Cooke. Remember Rule 21.1, now again take a closer look at the Cooke hit on Savard below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_F7LEZ78_o
Clearly a head-shot and unquestionably an intent to injure. Because of the similarities and precedence set with the Richards incident you opted for no suspension.
Mr. Campbell, your decision-making on Matt Cooke demonstrates incredibly poor judgment and really questionable competence. I make this statement for several reasons:
1) You ignored Matt Cooke's track record - he is a repeat offender. He was suspended earlier this season for his head shots on both Artem Animisimov in November 2009 and for his check on Scott Walker in January 2009. He was recently accused of biting Asham. Two years ago when he played for the Washington Capitals I saw him come across the neutral zone and clobber Vincent Lecavalier. He destroyed Lecavalier's shoulder which ended his season. I was at the game, Cooke blind-sided Lecavalier - clearly an attempt to injure. In fact, all the above cited incidences are intent to injure infractions. Do you see the trend starting to develop Mr. Campbell?
2) You are confused between incidental and intentional contact. I hear all the time hockey is such a fast game and there are numerous instances where incidental contact takes place. Because you did not suspend Cooke perhaps you made the decision his contact was incidental. Just look closer at the videos. Cooke knows Savard is vulnerable and is applying a blind-sided hit to the head, with the intent of applying maximum impact with intent to injure.
3) Two wrongs do not make it right. You got the Richards incident wrong and you got the Cooke incident wrong as well. You elected to save face and not admit a mistake. Your saving face was a higher priority than the integrity and safety of the game.
4) Rare player outrage. Credible players across the league such as Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Mark Recchi are surprised at your decision. Even one of Cooke's teammates, Bill Guerin, said there should have been disciplinary action taken.
5) You are inconsistent in your rulings. Cooke suspensions were meted out when he checked Animisimov and Walker. In the case of Animisimov, the elbow was flagrant; less so with Savard, but the intent to injure was still there. In both Richard's and Cooke's cases you should have applied the intent to injure rule. You would then have come to the conclusion to suspend both of them.
6) You are incapable of interpreting the rules. Rule 21.1, mentioned above is applicable here. Either you do not understand it or, in the interest of self-preservation, you elected not to apply it.
Your poor decisions imperil player safety. You ought to tune into the Bruins versus Penguins game on March 18. With Matt Cooke still playing, you have the makings of another Todd Bertuzzi-Steve Moore scenario.
Campbell's explanation for not suspending Cooke was because the check was identical to the hit Mike Richards dealt to David Booth. In Campbell's view, Richards' hit did not draw a suspension therefore, to be consistent, neither should Cooke's.
Really Mr. Campbell? Have you had one too many Boone Island Ales? I vehemently disagree with your decision-making. Before looking at the video, here's a refresher on Rule 21.1 from this year's NHL Rulebook, "A match penalty shall be imposed on any player or goalkeeper who deliberately attempts to injure an opponent in any manner. A match penalty shall be imposed on a player or goalkeeper who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner."
What is unclear about this rule? Now take a close look again at the hit on David Booth and see if you can apply the rule.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOsp_Spcdwg
Richards clearly brings his shoulder to the head. You will notice upon impact Richards actually thrusts upward to make full impact on the head. Clearly, this was an intent to injure. Any one of the four referees on the ice should have called this penalty. They opted not to and the decision came to your office for review and possible supplemental action. You too decided this was not an attempt to injure and recommended no suspension.
Last week you reviewed the hit delivered by Matt Cooke. Remember Rule 21.1, now again take a closer look at the Cooke hit on Savard below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_F7LEZ78_o
Clearly a head-shot and unquestionably an intent to injure. Because of the similarities and precedence set with the Richards incident you opted for no suspension.
Mr. Campbell, your decision-making on Matt Cooke demonstrates incredibly poor judgment and really questionable competence. I make this statement for several reasons:
1) You ignored Matt Cooke's track record - he is a repeat offender. He was suspended earlier this season for his head shots on both Artem Animisimov in November 2009 and for his check on Scott Walker in January 2009. He was recently accused of biting Asham. Two years ago when he played for the Washington Capitals I saw him come across the neutral zone and clobber Vincent Lecavalier. He destroyed Lecavalier's shoulder which ended his season. I was at the game, Cooke blind-sided Lecavalier - clearly an attempt to injure. In fact, all the above cited incidences are intent to injure infractions. Do you see the trend starting to develop Mr. Campbell?
2) You are confused between incidental and intentional contact. I hear all the time hockey is such a fast game and there are numerous instances where incidental contact takes place. Because you did not suspend Cooke perhaps you made the decision his contact was incidental. Just look closer at the videos. Cooke knows Savard is vulnerable and is applying a blind-sided hit to the head, with the intent of applying maximum impact with intent to injure.
3) Two wrongs do not make it right. You got the Richards incident wrong and you got the Cooke incident wrong as well. You elected to save face and not admit a mistake. Your saving face was a higher priority than the integrity and safety of the game.
4) Rare player outrage. Credible players across the league such as Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Mark Recchi are surprised at your decision. Even one of Cooke's teammates, Bill Guerin, said there should have been disciplinary action taken.
5) You are inconsistent in your rulings. Cooke suspensions were meted out when he checked Animisimov and Walker. In the case of Animisimov, the elbow was flagrant; less so with Savard, but the intent to injure was still there. In both Richard's and Cooke's cases you should have applied the intent to injure rule. You would then have come to the conclusion to suspend both of them.
6) You are incapable of interpreting the rules. Rule 21.1, mentioned above is applicable here. Either you do not understand it or, in the interest of self-preservation, you elected not to apply it.
Your poor decisions imperil player safety. You ought to tune into the Bruins versus Penguins game on March 18. With Matt Cooke still playing, you have the makings of another Todd Bertuzzi-Steve Moore scenario.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Michael Wilbon: Hockey Sage
Did you read Michael Wilbon's article about Alex Ovechkin in the March 2, 2010 edition of the Washington Post? You can check it out at the following link:
http://views.washingtonpost.com/world-wide-wilbon/wilbon/2010/03/crosby_miles_ahead_of_ovechkin.html
I'm admittedly not a big Wilbon fan and it is always a little scary when he writes about hockey. But this article, for the most part, was right on. Wilbon suggests Cap fans may want to stop with the argument Ovechkin is better. I agree, Crosby has won a Stanley Cup and an Olympic Gold medal; on both occasions he went through Ovechkin to attain them.
Wilbon also points out a bigger concern with regard to Ovechkin's behavior in Vancouver. In one incidence he shoved a female fan's camera and sustained bruises as a result. The second incidence occured when he broke the camera of a man asking for an interview. Wilbon suggests somebody needs to get Ovechkin under control - I couldn't agree more. Ovechkin's behavior at the Olympics is reprehensible and symptomatic of future issues if not checked. I also applaud Wilbon for surfacing this behavior and telling the Caps, they too, should be concerned.
I like the way the Pittsburgh Penguins handle their younger players. What better situation for Sidney Crosby than to live with Mario Lemieux and his family. Crosby has become a true ambassador of the game under Lemieux's tutelage. Moving forward, the Caps may want to take a chapter from the Penguin's book. The Pens learned this lesson the hard way with Pierre Larouche in the mid-70's.
While I agree with most everything in the above article, which really surprises me, Wilbon is off on one point. He suggests if Ovechkin were black, the media would be making a bigger deal of the two Ovechkin incidences. Michael, not true, Ovechkin knocked a camera out of someone's hands he didn't show up at work with four guns as did Gilbert Arenas - big difference. There is no race issue here!
http://views.washingtonpost.com/world-wide-wilbon/wilbon/2010/03/crosby_miles_ahead_of_ovechkin.html
I'm admittedly not a big Wilbon fan and it is always a little scary when he writes about hockey. But this article, for the most part, was right on. Wilbon suggests Cap fans may want to stop with the argument Ovechkin is better. I agree, Crosby has won a Stanley Cup and an Olympic Gold medal; on both occasions he went through Ovechkin to attain them.
Wilbon also points out a bigger concern with regard to Ovechkin's behavior in Vancouver. In one incidence he shoved a female fan's camera and sustained bruises as a result. The second incidence occured when he broke the camera of a man asking for an interview. Wilbon suggests somebody needs to get Ovechkin under control - I couldn't agree more. Ovechkin's behavior at the Olympics is reprehensible and symptomatic of future issues if not checked. I also applaud Wilbon for surfacing this behavior and telling the Caps, they too, should be concerned.
I like the way the Pittsburgh Penguins handle their younger players. What better situation for Sidney Crosby than to live with Mario Lemieux and his family. Crosby has become a true ambassador of the game under Lemieux's tutelage. Moving forward, the Caps may want to take a chapter from the Penguin's book. The Pens learned this lesson the hard way with Pierre Larouche in the mid-70's.
While I agree with most everything in the above article, which really surprises me, Wilbon is off on one point. He suggests if Ovechkin were black, the media would be making a bigger deal of the two Ovechkin incidences. Michael, not true, Ovechkin knocked a camera out of someone's hands he didn't show up at work with four guns as did Gilbert Arenas - big difference. There is no race issue here!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
USA Versus Canada For the Gold
OK. So what do I know? My Olympic hockey projections (see Feb 1, 2010 blog entry) have been blown out of the water. So now we are left with USA versus Canada. Here's some thoughts on the Gold Medal game.... the choice of Chris Pronger being selected instead of Mike Green will come to haunt Canada in this game....Zach Parise will prove why he is one of the best pressure players in the business....we will realize why the BlackHawks have a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup this year as Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook all will make key contributions in this game.....goaltending from both teams will be superb with USA having the edge here.....both teams have great goaltending, highly mobile defensemen, and skilled forwards.....Canada has more talent, but the USA will make fewer mistakes.....close game but USA will win in regulation!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Did You Enjoy The Peanuts?
A few years ago, one on my friends was seated on first class flight next to a well known hockey executive. This executive, in the midst of waking up, began grabbing peanuts that were served to my friend. My buddy says "Did you enjoy the peanuts?" After a few minutes of conversation my friend finds out he is speaking with the GM for the Boston Bruins, Harry Sinden.
My friend, admittedly a "non-hockey person", asks Harry "Who was the greatest player ever?" Harry responds, "For those of us who know hockey there are really four great players: 1) Bobby Orr, 2) Gordie Howe, 3) Mario Lemeuix and 4) Wayne Gretzky."
Actually, I would agree with this list.
On behalf of us benighted hockey fans and because "you know hockey" Harry, I have a couple more questions for you:
- How come you drafted Dave Parro before Rod Langway in the 1977 amateur draft? Langway was three-sport all state player (hockey, football, baseball) who grew up less than 20 miles from North Station (Randolph, MA) and had a terrific career at the University of New Hampshire.
- How could you trade Joe Thornton?
- How come prospective players don't see the Boston Bruins as a great franchise to play for?
My friend, admittedly a "non-hockey person", asks Harry "Who was the greatest player ever?" Harry responds, "For those of us who know hockey there are really four great players: 1) Bobby Orr, 2) Gordie Howe, 3) Mario Lemeuix and 4) Wayne Gretzky."
Actually, I would agree with this list.
On behalf of us benighted hockey fans and because "you know hockey" Harry, I have a couple more questions for you:
- How come you drafted Dave Parro before Rod Langway in the 1977 amateur draft? Langway was three-sport all state player (hockey, football, baseball) who grew up less than 20 miles from North Station (Randolph, MA) and had a terrific career at the University of New Hampshire.
- How could you trade Joe Thornton?
- How come prospective players don't see the Boston Bruins as a great franchise to play for?
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
NBC or IOC - Who Is More Inept?
On Sunday many of us watched the biggest hockey game in the past 30 years. I was on the West Coast and tuned into NBC where I watched a taped delay (without knowing) of Russia versus Czechoslovakia. I'm thinking it is live game which will be followed by the USA versus Canada game. While watching the game I get a phone call telling me the USA has gone up 1-0 against Canada. How could that be, the game I am watching is not over yet?
Could it have been too difficult for NBC to put a banner up in the Russia/Czechoslovakia broadcast that says "USA and Canada men's ice hockey has started - tune into MSNBC to view"?
Wait until the NHL re-negotiates the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Between the IOC and NBC I am not certain who is more inept!
Could it have been too difficult for NBC to put a banner up in the Russia/Czechoslovakia broadcast that says "USA and Canada men's ice hockey has started - tune into MSNBC to view"?
Wait until the NHL re-negotiates the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Between the IOC and NBC I am not certain who is more inept!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Detroit Is Hockeytown?
Everytime I watch a game at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, I kinda chuckle at the painting of the word "Hockeytown" on the ice. Who appointed Detroit "Hockeytown"?
I believe three (3) factors should be considered in determining what city is the real "Hockeytown":
- Success of local professional team(s)
Detroit has one of the best run franchises in all professional sports. They have won the most Stanley Cups of any of the NHL teams in the US and are third behind Montreal and Toronto overall.
Between the North Stars and the Wild there is really not too much to work with here. The North Stars never won a Stanley Cup, though they did make it to two Stanley Cup Finals appearances - in 1981 and 1991. The Minnesota Wild have made only three playoff appearances since their inception and have advanced no further than the conference quarter finals. The Boston Bruins are a storied franchise but unfortunately, since the early 70's, they have not really done too much.
Winner: Detroit
- Success of local college team(s)
In the metro Detroit area you have the University of Michigan. Michigan has seven (7) NCAA championships. In Minnesota you have the Golden Gophers with five (5) championships. In Boston you have Boston University with five (5) championships, Boston College with three (3) and Harvard with one (1).
Winner: Boston
- Player success
(a) total number of players making the NHL
Minnesota=200
Massachusetts=163
Michigan=118
(b) total number of players entering the US Hockey Hall of Fame*
Minnesota 48/52
Massachusetts 35/37
Michigan 13/13
* first number is state of birth, next number is high school or prep school
The heaviest weight goes to this category.
Winner: Minnesota
So who is "Hockeytown" based on the numbers? I believe Minnesota gets the edge here with Boston not too far away in second. Detroit clearly is third. But hey, hats off to the Red Wings' marketing operations department - not bad self-appointed branding!
I believe three (3) factors should be considered in determining what city is the real "Hockeytown":
- Success of local professional team(s)
- Success of local college team(s)
- Player success (a) total number of players (by state) making the NHL and (b) total number of players (by state) entering the US Hockey Hall of Fame
- Success of local professional team(s)
Detroit has one of the best run franchises in all professional sports. They have won the most Stanley Cups of any of the NHL teams in the US and are third behind Montreal and Toronto overall.
Between the North Stars and the Wild there is really not too much to work with here. The North Stars never won a Stanley Cup, though they did make it to two Stanley Cup Finals appearances - in 1981 and 1991. The Minnesota Wild have made only three playoff appearances since their inception and have advanced no further than the conference quarter finals. The Boston Bruins are a storied franchise but unfortunately, since the early 70's, they have not really done too much.
Winner: Detroit
- Success of local college team(s)
In the metro Detroit area you have the University of Michigan. Michigan has seven (7) NCAA championships. In Minnesota you have the Golden Gophers with five (5) championships. In Boston you have Boston University with five (5) championships, Boston College with three (3) and Harvard with one (1).
Winner: Boston
- Player success
(a) total number of players making the NHL
Minnesota=200
Massachusetts=163
Michigan=118
(b) total number of players entering the US Hockey Hall of Fame*
Minnesota 48/52
Massachusetts 35/37
Michigan 13/13
* first number is state of birth, next number is high school or prep school
The heaviest weight goes to this category.
Winner: Minnesota
So who is "Hockeytown" based on the numbers? I believe Minnesota gets the edge here with Boston not too far away in second. Detroit clearly is third. But hey, hats off to the Red Wings' marketing operations department - not bad self-appointed branding!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Too Many Men On The Ice?
During the 1998-1999 season the NHL decided to randomly test certain games using a four official system by adding a second referee. Ordinarily, games are played with a single referee in a three official system. The impetus for adding another referee was to determine the effect on deterrence.
With twelve (12) players and four (4) officials on the ice simultaneously, there is a high amount of activity and traffic. One objective of adding the additional ref was to have less infractions go undetected. A second objective was to have less major penalties assessed. Steven Levitt from the University of Chicago writes an interesting paper entitled Testing the Economic Model of Crime: The National Hockey League’s Two-Referee Experiment . Levitt's paper concludes the second ref has little effect on the probability of punishment and the detection of deterrence. In addition, he finds there was no statistical significance with regard to the increase in major penalties assessed.
So why has the NHL and all professional leagues, with the exception of the ECHL, adopted the four official system? Not certain. If fighting were rampant I could see the rationale, however, instigator rules appear to be acting as a deterrent.
Officials are paid in a range between $115,000 (rookies) and $220,000 (after 15+ years) annually. Going to a three official system would allow you to reduce the number of officials from 76 to 57 (approximately 25%). A 25% reduction results in annual cost savings of approximately $3.2 million. This is a good chunk of change for an action which has a negligible effect on the game. Am I missing something?
With twelve (12) players and four (4) officials on the ice simultaneously, there is a high amount of activity and traffic. One objective of adding the additional ref was to have less infractions go undetected. A second objective was to have less major penalties assessed. Steven Levitt from the University of Chicago writes an interesting paper entitled Testing the Economic Model of Crime: The National Hockey League’s Two-Referee Experiment . Levitt's paper concludes the second ref has little effect on the probability of punishment and the detection of deterrence. In addition, he finds there was no statistical significance with regard to the increase in major penalties assessed.
So why has the NHL and all professional leagues, with the exception of the ECHL, adopted the four official system? Not certain. If fighting were rampant I could see the rationale, however, instigator rules appear to be acting as a deterrent.
Officials are paid in a range between $115,000 (rookies) and $220,000 (after 15+ years) annually. Going to a three official system would allow you to reduce the number of officials from 76 to 57 (approximately 25%). A 25% reduction results in annual cost savings of approximately $3.2 million. This is a good chunk of change for an action which has a negligible effect on the game. Am I missing something?
Monday, February 8, 2010
Just As I Thought It Was Okay to Like The Penguins
Being partial to the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been a nemesis for years. Adding to this problem, we have very good friends in Pittsburgh compelled to constantly (and at all hours) remind us of Penguins (and Steelers) success. Yesterday, the Penguins blew a 4-1 lead to the Washington Capitals which resulted in a 5-4 loss.
Prior to the game I said to myself, if the Capitals won I would not call our Pittsburgh friends to gloat. The reasons are simple. 1) I'm showing signs of maturity and 2) the Penguins are a class organization from top to bottom. Owner Mario Lemieux is a class act, one of the greatest players ever and a terrific owner who saved this franchise. GM Ray Shero is one of the best in the business. He's been exposed to the game at an early age from his dad, Fred Shero. Ray employs a modern style with a calm but firm management approach. The Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma is one of the premier coaches in hockey. Poised under pressure, Bylsma inherited a leaky boat last year and led them to the Stanley Cup.
So I'm feeling pretty good overall about the Pittsburgh Penguins, but wait....what's this? Yep, NBC had to show it. Cam Neely's career ending by hit by Ulf Samuelsson you can view it below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd8cDxL_5IE
Do you feel the bile build-up as you watch? I got sick when NBC showed this video. So did Mike Milbury, his face turned beet red after Pierre McGuire played it. Look at this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLQLj9H_aFQ&NR=1
Most guys wearing visors take it off in a fight, but not Ulf. Go to the dictionary and look up the word GOON - you will see a picture of Ulf Samuelsson!
That's it! I'm calling our friends in Pittsburgh tonight and rubbing it in!
Prior to the game I said to myself, if the Capitals won I would not call our Pittsburgh friends to gloat. The reasons are simple. 1) I'm showing signs of maturity and 2) the Penguins are a class organization from top to bottom. Owner Mario Lemieux is a class act, one of the greatest players ever and a terrific owner who saved this franchise. GM Ray Shero is one of the best in the business. He's been exposed to the game at an early age from his dad, Fred Shero. Ray employs a modern style with a calm but firm management approach. The Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma is one of the premier coaches in hockey. Poised under pressure, Bylsma inherited a leaky boat last year and led them to the Stanley Cup.
So I'm feeling pretty good overall about the Pittsburgh Penguins, but wait....what's this? Yep, NBC had to show it. Cam Neely's career ending by hit by Ulf Samuelsson you can view it below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd8cDxL_5IE
Do you feel the bile build-up as you watch? I got sick when NBC showed this video. So did Mike Milbury, his face turned beet red after Pierre McGuire played it. Look at this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLQLj9H_aFQ&NR=1
Most guys wearing visors take it off in a fight, but not Ulf. Go to the dictionary and look up the word GOON - you will see a picture of Ulf Samuelsson!
That's it! I'm calling our friends in Pittsburgh tonight and rubbing it in!
Monday, February 1, 2010
2010 Olympic Hockey Picks - What Say You Malcolm?
Malcolm Gladwell writes a terrific book called Outliers. In this book he discusses why some people succeed far more than others. Gladwell maintains if we want to understand drivers of why people succeed, we should spend time looking at things such as their family, their birthplace or even their birthday. Gladwell makes an interesting reference to Canadian hockey. He points out there are leagues for every age class whereby players are evaluated and the most talented are separated out and groomed for the next level. By the time players reach their mid-teens, the better ones get selected into the elite Junior Leagues such as the OHL, OHA or the QMJHL. Gladwell postulates these players are judged on their own individual merit – based on their own performance and ability. He also believes other factors may be at work and cites a study by Canadian psychologist Roger Barnsely. Barnsley hypothesizes that in any elite group of hockey players, 40% are born between Jan and March, 30% between April and June, 20% between July and Sept and only 10% between Oct and December. Barnsley looks at the NHL, the 2007 Czechoslovakian World Junior Hockey Team, even the 2007 Czechoslovakian National Junior soccer team as evidence to prove his hypothesis.
Why the higher frequency of elite players born earlier in the year? First, the cutoff eligibility date for age-class hockey is typically January 1. Gladwell maintains because travel teams are formulated when the kids are aged nine-and-ten – they select the biggest, most coordinated players who benefit from a few extra months of maturity. Secondly, these biggest nine-and-ten-year olds get the most coaching and practice. Gladwell maintains this small difference, initially, leads to an exponential difference over time as they go to the elite leagues such as the OHL, the QMJHL, the NHL or the Olympics. As we approach the 2010 Winter Olympics hockey tournament I decided to apply this logic to four participating elite teams.
Gladwell ..Jan-Mar=40% Apr-Jun=30% Jul-Sep=20% Oct-Dec=10%
Russia ...Jan-Mar=30% Apr-Jun=22% Jul-Sep=35% Oct-Dec=13%
Canada ..Jan-Mar=13% Apr-Jun=30% Jul-Sep=39% Oct-Dec=17%
Sweden..Jan-Mar=26% Apr-Jun=13% Jul-Sep=22% Oct-Dec=39%
USA ......Jan-Mar=35% Apr-Jun= 9% Jul-Sep=35% Oct-Dec=22%
Interestingly enough, the Gladwell/Barnsley data does not hold up for these four teams. So, instead of basing the gold, silver, bronze medalists on this hypothesis, let’s toss it aside and actually pick the winners on the basis of projected performance and ability.
United States
Strength here lies in goaltending. Ryan Miller is one of the best in hockey. Should Miller have an exceptional two weeks, the sky is the limit. We all remember from the 1980 Olympics what exceptional goaltending can do. As for scoring, I believe J.P. Parise, Patrick Kane, Paul Stastny and Phil Kessell will provide a reasonable offensive threat, but not enough for a medal.
As for defense I like Brian Rafalski, Mike Komisarek, Brooks Orpik and Ryan Suter. Paul Martin is a terrific defenseman but he may not be available because of injury. Erik Johnson is a well kept secret in St. Louis but he is young and inexperienced. I am still scratching my head on how Jack Johnson made this team.
My bias is for the U.S.A to win it all, although this is highly unlikely.
Russia
How would you like to coach this team? Evengi Malkin should center Alexander Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk on the first line. Expect Pavel Datsyuk to center Alexander Semin and Alexander Radulov on the second. Ovechkin is a one man wrecking crew. Frankly, he’s the best player I have ever seen play the game and he’s motivated to prove Russia produces the best players in the world. Semin is a wild-card. If he’s on, you can expect flashes of brilliance. As for Kovalchuk, he’s ready to show the world (including the KHL) he’s an elite player worthy of a long-term, high paying contract. You really do not want to take too many penalties, this power play is formidable.
The defense is not quite as flashy as the offense, but is certainly workable. Sergei Gonchar is always an offensive force when on the ice. He will be the quarterback of the Russian power play. I expect Gonchar to be paired with the defensive-minded Andrei Markov.
Goaltending is solid with Nabokov expected to be the starter.
Sweden
Remember, Sweden is the defending gold medalist from the 2006 Turin Games. For a small country, Sweden has outstanding hockey talent. There’s a lot of pressure in Sweden for these guys to win. This is an interesting team. Like the Russians and the Canadians, they are loaded with talent. We can start with Henrik Lundqvist, perhaps the premiere goalie in this tournament. The Sedin twins and the most under-rated player in hockey, Nick Backstom, are a huge scoring threat whenever they are on the ice. With Niklas Lidstrom anchoring the defense corps, the power play is impressive. I also like defensemen Henrik Talinder, Niklas Kronwall and Johnny Oduya.
Injuries are a big question mark for Sweden. Peter Forsberg’s foot problems are well chronicled. Daniel Alfredsson is expected to play after a recent shoulder separation. Henrik Zetterberg has been nursing a sore shoulder. Kronwall has been out with a knee injury since November. Fredik Modin is just coming off a knee injury.
This is perhaps the last Olympics for many players on this team. Sweden is an older and experienced team.
Canada
Canada has the greatest talent depth of all Olympic participants. Canada could field two teams and both could come away with a medal. This depth puts tremendous pressure on selecting and coaching this team. Canada has three solid goaltenders though I expect Martin Brodeur to see most of the action. Roberto Luongo and Marc-Andre Fluery should also see some playing time.
Forwards Sidney Crosby, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Ryan Getzlaf, Dany Heatley, and Rick Nash lead the offense. I do struggle with some of the picks on this team namely, Patrice Bergeron (sorry folks in New England) and Scott Niedermeyer. Tell me, will Bergeron help this team more than Stamkos, St. Louis or Lecavalier would? OK, St. Louis and Lecavalier are not lighting it up, but Stamkos is. The second issue I have is all defensemen selected, but one, are from the Western Conference. That one exception is Chris Pronger, formerly of the Western Conference. Can someone buy Steve Yzmerman a ticket to an Eastern Conference game? Not selecting Mike Green and Jay Bowmeester are oversights, though I believe this team is still good enough to win it all.
So, here are the projections:
1. Russia
2. Canada
3. Sweden
4. USA
What say you Malcolm Gladwell?
Why the higher frequency of elite players born earlier in the year? First, the cutoff eligibility date for age-class hockey is typically January 1. Gladwell maintains because travel teams are formulated when the kids are aged nine-and-ten – they select the biggest, most coordinated players who benefit from a few extra months of maturity. Secondly, these biggest nine-and-ten-year olds get the most coaching and practice. Gladwell maintains this small difference, initially, leads to an exponential difference over time as they go to the elite leagues such as the OHL, the QMJHL, the NHL or the Olympics. As we approach the 2010 Winter Olympics hockey tournament I decided to apply this logic to four participating elite teams.
Gladwell ..Jan-Mar=40% Apr-Jun=30% Jul-Sep=20% Oct-Dec=10%
Russia ...Jan-Mar=30% Apr-Jun=22% Jul-Sep=35% Oct-Dec=13%
Canada ..Jan-Mar=13% Apr-Jun=30% Jul-Sep=39% Oct-Dec=17%
Sweden..Jan-Mar=26% Apr-Jun=13% Jul-Sep=22% Oct-Dec=39%
USA ......Jan-Mar=35% Apr-Jun= 9% Jul-Sep=35% Oct-Dec=22%
Interestingly enough, the Gladwell/Barnsley data does not hold up for these four teams. So, instead of basing the gold, silver, bronze medalists on this hypothesis, let’s toss it aside and actually pick the winners on the basis of projected performance and ability.
United States
Strength here lies in goaltending. Ryan Miller is one of the best in hockey. Should Miller have an exceptional two weeks, the sky is the limit. We all remember from the 1980 Olympics what exceptional goaltending can do. As for scoring, I believe J.P. Parise, Patrick Kane, Paul Stastny and Phil Kessell will provide a reasonable offensive threat, but not enough for a medal.
As for defense I like Brian Rafalski, Mike Komisarek, Brooks Orpik and Ryan Suter. Paul Martin is a terrific defenseman but he may not be available because of injury. Erik Johnson is a well kept secret in St. Louis but he is young and inexperienced. I am still scratching my head on how Jack Johnson made this team.
My bias is for the U.S.A to win it all, although this is highly unlikely.
Russia
How would you like to coach this team? Evengi Malkin should center Alexander Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk on the first line. Expect Pavel Datsyuk to center Alexander Semin and Alexander Radulov on the second. Ovechkin is a one man wrecking crew. Frankly, he’s the best player I have ever seen play the game and he’s motivated to prove Russia produces the best players in the world. Semin is a wild-card. If he’s on, you can expect flashes of brilliance. As for Kovalchuk, he’s ready to show the world (including the KHL) he’s an elite player worthy of a long-term, high paying contract. You really do not want to take too many penalties, this power play is formidable.
The defense is not quite as flashy as the offense, but is certainly workable. Sergei Gonchar is always an offensive force when on the ice. He will be the quarterback of the Russian power play. I expect Gonchar to be paired with the defensive-minded Andrei Markov.
Goaltending is solid with Nabokov expected to be the starter.
Sweden
Remember, Sweden is the defending gold medalist from the 2006 Turin Games. For a small country, Sweden has outstanding hockey talent. There’s a lot of pressure in Sweden for these guys to win. This is an interesting team. Like the Russians and the Canadians, they are loaded with talent. We can start with Henrik Lundqvist, perhaps the premiere goalie in this tournament. The Sedin twins and the most under-rated player in hockey, Nick Backstom, are a huge scoring threat whenever they are on the ice. With Niklas Lidstrom anchoring the defense corps, the power play is impressive. I also like defensemen Henrik Talinder, Niklas Kronwall and Johnny Oduya.
Injuries are a big question mark for Sweden. Peter Forsberg’s foot problems are well chronicled. Daniel Alfredsson is expected to play after a recent shoulder separation. Henrik Zetterberg has been nursing a sore shoulder. Kronwall has been out with a knee injury since November. Fredik Modin is just coming off a knee injury.
This is perhaps the last Olympics for many players on this team. Sweden is an older and experienced team.
Canada
Canada has the greatest talent depth of all Olympic participants. Canada could field two teams and both could come away with a medal. This depth puts tremendous pressure on selecting and coaching this team. Canada has three solid goaltenders though I expect Martin Brodeur to see most of the action. Roberto Luongo and Marc-Andre Fluery should also see some playing time.
Forwards Sidney Crosby, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Ryan Getzlaf, Dany Heatley, and Rick Nash lead the offense. I do struggle with some of the picks on this team namely, Patrice Bergeron (sorry folks in New England) and Scott Niedermeyer. Tell me, will Bergeron help this team more than Stamkos, St. Louis or Lecavalier would? OK, St. Louis and Lecavalier are not lighting it up, but Stamkos is. The second issue I have is all defensemen selected, but one, are from the Western Conference. That one exception is Chris Pronger, formerly of the Western Conference. Can someone buy Steve Yzmerman a ticket to an Eastern Conference game? Not selecting Mike Green and Jay Bowmeester are oversights, though I believe this team is still good enough to win it all.
So, here are the projections:
1. Russia
2. Canada
3. Sweden
4. USA
What say you Malcolm Gladwell?
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Clear The Track Here Comes Eddie Shack
One of my all time favorite hockey stories relates to Eddie Shack. Shack played for the Boston Bruins in the late sixties. He was illiterate most of his life and has been a huge advocate of literacy in Ontario.
While during his playing days opponents would poke fun of him because he was unable to read. One game against the Rangers, Shack skated by their bench and one of the players yelled, "Hey Eddie, dog is spelled d-o-g." This led to another player spelling out the word cat. Minutes later Eddie scored a goal for the Bruins, he then glided by the Rangers bench and yelled "Goal! g-o-l-e"
While during his playing days opponents would poke fun of him because he was unable to read. One game against the Rangers, Shack skated by their bench and one of the players yelled, "Hey Eddie, dog is spelled d-o-g." This led to another player spelling out the word cat. Minutes later Eddie scored a goal for the Bruins, he then glided by the Rangers bench and yelled "Goal! g-o-l-e"
Head Shots - You Reap What You Sow
I just reviewed the videos of Patrice Cormier's brutal elbow last week on Quebec Rempart's defenseman Mikael Tam. You can view it at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/18/patrice-cormier-mikael-ta_n_427103.html
Cormier, in his first interview after the incident, explains "You see it clearly on the video that it's an elbow, but, as I've said, it was a reflex, I tried to check him. I had no idea I hit him in the head, but obviously I did. It was never my intention to cause any injuries." OK Patrice, I get it. So was it your reflexes when you delivered excessive elbows to the faces of Anton Rodin of Sweden and Teemu Hartikainen of Finland in two exhibition games prior to the World Junior Championships?
When will the NHL and Canadian junior leagues address "head shots"? While I do not in any way attempt to justify Comier's behavior I do see it as symptomatic of other problems in hockey. All leagues associated with Cormier's career and development of young players have some accountability in this behavior. Let's take a look at some of personalities involved. I'll start with three guys who get really good scores on player development within their organizations: Lou Lamoriello, Dale Hunter and Patrick Roy.
Lou Lamoriello GM of the New Jersey Devils. Lamoriello indicated the Cormier infraction does not warrant a season long suspension. Lamoriello comments on the Cormier incident, "I certainly have spoken to Patrice, only because of the rhetoric. I asked him how he felt because of the rhetoric. There is no issue from my end of it."
No issues! Really Lou? Here's a clue, how about "The New Jersey Devils do not condone this behavior and we are going to work with you to make certain this will never happen again. I would also like to point out this conduct is NOT an expeditious route to playing in the NHL." You blew a perfect opportunity to step up, address the head-shot issue and leverage your credibility within the sport. Instead you opted to sweep the issue under the rug by protecting/supporting your player in the sole interest of the New Jersey Devils.
Dale Hunter, Owner/President/Head Coach of the London Knights. I hear on a number of occasions what a great job Hunter does developing young players within the London Knights organization. So any of you parents considering sending your son to play for London, I would take a look at Dale Hunter's track record.
Hunter, as a player for the Washington Capitals, was noted for fouling other players. He holds one of the NHL's longest records for suspension: 21 games for delivering a cross check, from behind to Patrice Turgeon. The incident occurred after Turgeon stole the puck from Hunter in a 1993 playoff game against the Islanders and scored, putting the game out of reach. Hunter blind-sided Turgeon just after the goal as he started to celebrate. Turgeon sustained a separated shoulder from the hit, causing him to miss the following playoff series against the Penguins. It still perplexes me this guy's jersey has been retired in Washington.
Hunter has had numerous non-player incidences as well. In July 2006, Hunter was arrested and charged with DUI. The charges were dropped when the judge ruled his rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms were violated for unlawful detention and being denied access to his attorney. In September 2005, Hunter was suspended by the Ontario Hockey League for 4 games when a player left the bench to instigate a fight in an exhibition game. On January 2006, Hunter was suspended 2 games, and the team was fined $5,000, for Hunter's off ice actions towards the officials. May 2006, Hunter was fined $5,000 by the OHL for comments critical to on ice officials after the Knights were eliminated (swept actually) from the playoffs. In September 2006, Hunter was suspended by the OHL for 2 regular season games because one his players left the bench to participate in a fight during a game.
Patrick Roy Co-Owner/GM/Head Coach of the Quebec Remparts. Like Hunter, I also hear terrific player development stories with regard to Patrick Roy. Thinking of having your blue chip prospect play for the storied Quebec Remparts?
No question, Roy has played the game at a level of competence with the greatest goalies in the game (Brodeur, Sawchuck come to mind) but it's necessary to take a look at his non-player track record. In October 2000 he was arrested on investigation of domestic violence charges. In January 2007 police investigated an incident involving Roy and Pierre Cardinal, co-owner of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. There were reports that Roy punched Cardinal several times after he intervened in order to disperse a crowd of hockey fans that were blocking the Remparts bus after a game between the two clubs. A complaint for assault had been filed against Roy.
On March 2008, in Chicoutimi Quebec, Roy was involved in another on-ice incident during a playoff game against the Saguenéens. Towards the end of the second period, the Saguenéens were leading handily, 7-1. A fight started and Remparts goaltender Jonathon Roy, Patrick's son, charged towards Saguenéens' goaltender Bobby Nadeau. Roy hit Nadeau several times despite the other goalie clearing indicating he did not want to fight. After knocking Nadeau down, Roy continued to pummel him. After fighting a second Saguenéens player, Roy skated off the ice with both arms in the air sending fans the "universal bad driving gesture". Coach Roy denied encouraging his son to fight despite cameras indicating otherwise. Jonathan was suspended for seven games and fined $500 while Patrick was suspended for five games and fined $4,000. The Quebec Ministry of Public Safety has launched a police investigation into the matter and in July 2008, Jonathan was charged with assault. In November 2008, Roy's other son, Frederick was suspended 15 games by the QMJHL for cross-checking an opponent in the head while the play was stopped.
Call me crazy, but I'm thinking Patrick may have some anger management issues. They appear to be genetic.
So, where is the real problem here?
I see it from two sources. The first is within NHL general manager and coaching staffs. You get players, like Cormier and Zack Kassian, aligning with the styles of their future NHL employers, which preach: protect yourself, keep your head up and follow through on your checks.
The second source is the role models and development within the Canadian junior leagues. In fact, The London Knights and Quebec Remparts are viewed as the gold standard in player development.
I'm liking this new College Hockey Inc. that Paul Kelly is heading up. Any blue chip hockey player looking to develop both as a player and a person should really consider the NCAA. Do you ever see the frequency and severity of incidences like this at the NCAA level? No, there are strict rules against it. Moreover, the coaching is focused on more complete development of players as people - people who will play hockey or make positive non-hockey contributions to society or both. I would take Jerry York at Boston College or Jackie Parker at Boston University or Dick Umile at UNH any day of the week! These colleges and other NCAA schools are where real comprehensive player and people development take place.
Cormier, in his first interview after the incident, explains "You see it clearly on the video that it's an elbow, but, as I've said, it was a reflex, I tried to check him. I had no idea I hit him in the head, but obviously I did. It was never my intention to cause any injuries." OK Patrice, I get it. So was it your reflexes when you delivered excessive elbows to the faces of Anton Rodin of Sweden and Teemu Hartikainen of Finland in two exhibition games prior to the World Junior Championships?
When will the NHL and Canadian junior leagues address "head shots"? While I do not in any way attempt to justify Comier's behavior I do see it as symptomatic of other problems in hockey. All leagues associated with Cormier's career and development of young players have some accountability in this behavior. Let's take a look at some of personalities involved. I'll start with three guys who get really good scores on player development within their organizations: Lou Lamoriello, Dale Hunter and Patrick Roy.
Lou Lamoriello GM of the New Jersey Devils. Lamoriello indicated the Cormier infraction does not warrant a season long suspension. Lamoriello comments on the Cormier incident, "I certainly have spoken to Patrice, only because of the rhetoric. I asked him how he felt because of the rhetoric. There is no issue from my end of it."
No issues! Really Lou? Here's a clue, how about "The New Jersey Devils do not condone this behavior and we are going to work with you to make certain this will never happen again. I would also like to point out this conduct is NOT an expeditious route to playing in the NHL." You blew a perfect opportunity to step up, address the head-shot issue and leverage your credibility within the sport. Instead you opted to sweep the issue under the rug by protecting/supporting your player in the sole interest of the New Jersey Devils.
Dale Hunter, Owner/President/Head Coach of the London Knights. I hear on a number of occasions what a great job Hunter does developing young players within the London Knights organization. So any of you parents considering sending your son to play for London, I would take a look at Dale Hunter's track record.
Hunter, as a player for the Washington Capitals, was noted for fouling other players. He holds one of the NHL's longest records for suspension: 21 games for delivering a cross check, from behind to Patrice Turgeon. The incident occurred after Turgeon stole the puck from Hunter in a 1993 playoff game against the Islanders and scored, putting the game out of reach. Hunter blind-sided Turgeon just after the goal as he started to celebrate. Turgeon sustained a separated shoulder from the hit, causing him to miss the following playoff series against the Penguins. It still perplexes me this guy's jersey has been retired in Washington.
Hunter has had numerous non-player incidences as well. In July 2006, Hunter was arrested and charged with DUI. The charges were dropped when the judge ruled his rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms were violated for unlawful detention and being denied access to his attorney. In September 2005, Hunter was suspended by the Ontario Hockey League for 4 games when a player left the bench to instigate a fight in an exhibition game. On January 2006, Hunter was suspended 2 games, and the team was fined $5,000, for Hunter's off ice actions towards the officials. May 2006, Hunter was fined $5,000 by the OHL for comments critical to on ice officials after the Knights were eliminated (swept actually) from the playoffs. In September 2006, Hunter was suspended by the OHL for 2 regular season games because one his players left the bench to participate in a fight during a game.
Patrick Roy Co-Owner/GM/Head Coach of the Quebec Remparts. Like Hunter, I also hear terrific player development stories with regard to Patrick Roy. Thinking of having your blue chip prospect play for the storied Quebec Remparts?
No question, Roy has played the game at a level of competence with the greatest goalies in the game (Brodeur, Sawchuck come to mind) but it's necessary to take a look at his non-player track record. In October 2000 he was arrested on investigation of domestic violence charges. In January 2007 police investigated an incident involving Roy and Pierre Cardinal, co-owner of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. There were reports that Roy punched Cardinal several times after he intervened in order to disperse a crowd of hockey fans that were blocking the Remparts bus after a game between the two clubs. A complaint for assault had been filed against Roy.
On March 2008, in Chicoutimi Quebec, Roy was involved in another on-ice incident during a playoff game against the Saguenéens. Towards the end of the second period, the Saguenéens were leading handily, 7-1. A fight started and Remparts goaltender Jonathon Roy, Patrick's son, charged towards Saguenéens' goaltender Bobby Nadeau. Roy hit Nadeau several times despite the other goalie clearing indicating he did not want to fight. After knocking Nadeau down, Roy continued to pummel him. After fighting a second Saguenéens player, Roy skated off the ice with both arms in the air sending fans the "universal bad driving gesture". Coach Roy denied encouraging his son to fight despite cameras indicating otherwise. Jonathan was suspended for seven games and fined $500 while Patrick was suspended for five games and fined $4,000. The Quebec Ministry of Public Safety has launched a police investigation into the matter and in July 2008, Jonathan was charged with assault. In November 2008, Roy's other son, Frederick was suspended 15 games by the QMJHL for cross-checking an opponent in the head while the play was stopped.
Call me crazy, but I'm thinking Patrick may have some anger management issues. They appear to be genetic.
So, where is the real problem here?
I see it from two sources. The first is within NHL general manager and coaching staffs. You get players, like Cormier and Zack Kassian, aligning with the styles of their future NHL employers, which preach: protect yourself, keep your head up and follow through on your checks.
The second source is the role models and development within the Canadian junior leagues. In fact, The London Knights and Quebec Remparts are viewed as the gold standard in player development.
I'm liking this new College Hockey Inc. that Paul Kelly is heading up. Any blue chip hockey player looking to develop both as a player and a person should really consider the NCAA. Do you ever see the frequency and severity of incidences like this at the NCAA level? No, there are strict rules against it. Moreover, the coaching is focused on more complete development of players as people - people who will play hockey or make positive non-hockey contributions to society or both. I would take Jerry York at Boston College or Jackie Parker at Boston University or Dick Umile at UNH any day of the week! These colleges and other NCAA schools are where real comprehensive player and people development take place.
Monday, January 18, 2010
The Implications of NHL 'Cost Certainty'
I am just getting my head around the escrow language in the 2005 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the more I understand it the more concerned I am of its implications.
Here are the key terms of the 2005 CBA as related to 'cost certainty':
To ensure the correct revenue split, a percentage of player salaries could be placed in escrow. When total league revenues are determined at the end of the season, the escrow account will be divided among players and owners to ensure the target has been met.
The owners have the right to retain a percentage of players' salaries up to 20 percent until the exact amount of revenue and player salaries are finalized at the end of the season.
What a way to run a railroad! Are you kidding me. So if the salary cap increases (which it did this year by 5%) and the hockey-related revenues (HRR) decrease (and they will in this economy), the amount of escrow needed from the players goes up. So now we know why the escrow contribution is 18% this season.
Some big implications:
1) Your negotiated salary is really not your negotiated salary.
2) Salary cap escalators create 'no win' scenario.
(a) An increase in the cap causes an increase in escrow percentage (let's face it, the HRR is not going up over time) which pisses players off (I'll come back to this).
(b) A decrease in the cap causes less money 'in the system' to make a better team (i.e. free agent signings). The less better a team is, the less better the HRR (unless of course we are talking about the Toronto Maple Leafs).
3) Players pay the salaries of injury replacements and high-salaried players who are sent to the AHL.
4) KHL here I come. As the NHL escrow percentage increases, many higher paid players will not put up with it. Defections to the KHL will begin.
NHL escrow and related 'cost certainty' in the 2005 CBA appears to be an accommodation for having NHL teams playing in cities where they should not be.
Here are the key terms of the 2005 CBA as related to 'cost certainty':
To ensure the correct revenue split, a percentage of player salaries could be placed in escrow. When total league revenues are determined at the end of the season, the escrow account will be divided among players and owners to ensure the target has been met.
The owners have the right to retain a percentage of players' salaries up to 20 percent until the exact amount of revenue and player salaries are finalized at the end of the season.
What a way to run a railroad! Are you kidding me. So if the salary cap increases (which it did this year by 5%) and the hockey-related revenues (HRR) decrease (and they will in this economy), the amount of escrow needed from the players goes up. So now we know why the escrow contribution is 18% this season.
Some big implications:
1) Your negotiated salary is really not your negotiated salary.
2) Salary cap escalators create 'no win' scenario.
(a) An increase in the cap causes an increase in escrow percentage (let's face it, the HRR is not going up over time) which pisses players off (I'll come back to this).
(b) A decrease in the cap causes less money 'in the system' to make a better team (i.e. free agent signings). The less better a team is, the less better the HRR (unless of course we are talking about the Toronto Maple Leafs).
3) Players pay the salaries of injury replacements and high-salaried players who are sent to the AHL.
4) KHL here I come. As the NHL escrow percentage increases, many higher paid players will not put up with it. Defections to the KHL will begin.
NHL escrow and related 'cost certainty' in the 2005 CBA appears to be an accommodation for having NHL teams playing in cities where they should not be.
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