Hockey's Dale Earnhardt Moment

An interesting week in the hockey world to say the least.  It is becoming increasingly apparent that many players in the league have absolutely no respect for each other.  I agree with Mike Milbury, the GM's and owners need to address the increasing violence NOW.  I would also suggest the NHLPA have a discussion with the players by pointing out the league is at a real flashing point if the current trend of violence continues.  The NHLPA may want to revisit player safety issues as well, they can start by considering a ban on fighting. 

Let's look at the Chara check.  When I saw the replay I asked myself four questions:

1) Was the check excessive?
2) Was there an intent to injure?
3) Was the check necessary?
4) Was the check an unsportsmanlike act?

The answers.....

1) Yes.
2) Don't know but doubt it.
3) No.  Chara was almost beat on the play, if the stanchion was not there it was likely Pacioretty would have slid by him.  Chara had to do something to impede his progress, but come on, this was over the top.  Chara and his team were down 4-0, he was pissed off.  Don Cherry characterized this as a hockey play - I vehemently disagree. 
4) Yes absolutely.  He was amped up and about to be beaten on this play. 

So, did the league make the right decision?  It's interesting because Chara is an honorable player with a solid track record of success.  It would be interesting to see what the league would have done if the player were someone other than Chara.  Let's look at an "instead of Chara what if" scenario:

Instead of Chara what if the player were _________ would he be suspended?
                                                               Wayne Gretzky          N/A
                                                               Alex Ovechkin           Yes
                                                                Cam Neely                Yes
                                                              Mario Lemieux           N/A
                                                                 Jean Ratelle              N/A
                                                                  Bobby Orr               N/A
                                                               Steve Yzerman           N/A
                                                                 Matt Cooke               Yes
                                                                Steve Downie            Yes
                                                                Trevor Gillies            Yes

When you do this exercise it really becomes a judgment on which players have the propensity to do something like this and which players would never consider it.  The not applicable (N/A) players would never really get in a position like this so, really, its a moot point.  These players have so much respect for the league and fellow players that an event like this is really beyond consideration for them.  When looking at the players that "yes" would be suspended, you see two different types.  Ovechin and Neely are/were "talented aggressors" much like Chara, both would likely have been suspended.  The second type of players are what I call "energy goons"; Cooke, Downie and Gillies fall into this category.   All of these "energy goons" would have received a substantial suspensions.  The "energy goons" alone cause enough problems within the league already.  It is particularly troubling however when a "talented aggressor" is involved in an incident of violence. 

Given the answers to my four questions and the categorization of Chara as a "talented aggressor" I would have given him a three game suspension.  One of these days the league and the NHLPA will wake up to the violence issue before it's too late.  On the heels of the recent Bob Probert research findings, we have a player nearly killed and now sponsors threatening to abandon ship.  How does the NHL respond?  Nothing, they just bank on our short term memory until the next incident takes place.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail summed it up perfectly when he said, "Whether Bettman likes it or not, this is hockey’s Dale Earnhardt moment, the time when the speed of the cars and the aggression of the drivers overwhelms the race track. As NASCAR did when its brightest star Earnhardt was killed at the Daytona 500 in 2001, hockey has to take its foot off the accelerator and take stock of how much risk is acceptable. (Earnhardt was the fourth driver to die in NASCAR within a year; since revising its safety standards, no NASCAR driver has died since.) No matter how impulsive Air Canada’s media onslaught seemed, who wants a dead NHL player photographed lying in front of your corporate logo on the boards? Bettman’s petulant response to the week’s criticism, however, indicates he’s still got the pedal to the floor and his fingers in his ears."

Leadership, it starts at the top.

Watson and the National Hockey League

By now you all are aware of the recent Jeopardy match played among Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter and IBM's Watson.  You will recollect that Watson didn't do too badly until the final jeopardy round on the second day when it was given the clue "Its largest airport was named for a World War II hero; its second-largest, for a World War II battle."  Watson's reply was "Toronto!".  Wrong city, wrong country.

I am curious why Watson selected Toronto and I am thinking there may be a hidden meaning behind this choice.  I'm thinking this was Watson's subliminal way of saying he might be able to help out the National Hockey League with some of its current issues.   So I decided to provide a list of problem areas for Watson to research:

1. Can you help the Pittsburgh Penguins scouting team provide a replacement for Matt Cooke?  
2. Can you help the New York Islanders find a goaltender?
3. Can you help me understand why Trevor Gillies is not suspended for the rest of the season?  He has two minutes of penalties for every minute of ice time he sees - not a really good ratio.   
4. Can you help me understand why there is an NHL team in Atlanta but not in Kitchener Ontario?
5. Can you help me understand why there is still no "no touch icing" in the NHL?
6. Are the New York Rangers for real?
7. Will the Toronto Maple Leafs make the playoffs?  [If yes, what effect will this have on ticket prices?]
8. Why can't the NHL rid themselves of a culture that has them employ the likes of Matt Cooke, Steve Downey, Sean Avery and Trevor Gillies?
9. Should the NHL eliminate fighting?  
10. Does the NHL need to consider changing the ice surface dimensions given the increase in player size?
11. Does the recklessness and stupidity leading to concussions register with the NHL ownership or the NHLPA?  Should an independent medical commission look into this?

Time To Phase Out "Energy Goons"

I remember years ago back in junior high school we used to have boxing matches in gym class.  It was actually a lot of fun.   For some kids, however, the experience wasn't so great as the gym teacher would match kids they did not like with partners much bigger, tougher and stronger.   This typically resulted in a one-sided ass kicking.   Over time, the school administration realized this probably was not a great idea as there was a possibility of someone getting seriously hurt.  Boxing was soon phased out of the gym class curriculum. 

You know what else is not a good idea?  Having Matt Cooke on your team.  Last week Cooke was handed a four game suspension for his behind the back hit on Fedor Tyutin.  When asked about the Cooke hit here's how Dan Bylsma responded “The player looks him right in the eye and knows he’s coming and makes sure he keeps his numbers turned towards him."  Dan, did you ever consider why folks are taking shots at some of your better players?  Look at this video from Don Cherry last March.  It shows numerous examples of Matt Cooke intending to injure opponents.   Cherry is prescient as he points out that opponents will start going after star Pittsburgh players like Sidney Crosby. 

                 http://spreadia.com/Matt_Cooke/188343854/Don_Cherry_on_Matt_Cooke

Retired winger Bill Guerin even called Cooke out after the Savard incident, you would think when your own teammate is non-supportive, Cooke would get the clue he's way over the line.  The most recent Cooke incident with Tyutin comes on the heels of last Sunday's game against the Washington Capitals where he intentionally stuck out his knee on Alex Ovechkin. 

So, how does this get fixed?  Mike Milbury and Pierre McQuire actually had some pretty good thoughts on this.  Milbury suggested putting a maximum limit on the number of major penalties or suspensions for a given player during the course of the season.  Once this limit is exceeded, they are gone for the rest of the season.  Pierre McQuire suggested lowering the roster size of players on the bench by one.  That way a coach or GM would think twice about wasting a slot with an "energy-goon" like Matt Cooke.  The Detroit Red Wings, for example, seem to do pretty well without an "energy goon".

Miscelleneous notes.....Islander goalies....where do they get these guys?  I have always thought it risky to select a goalie as your #1 pick.  Goalies are really a wild card as a high draft choice, they less predictable than forwards or defense men and typically have a longer development cycle.  Picking Rick DiPietro first and signing him to a long term contract as an unproven NHL player was not a good move....Islander rookie goalie Kevin Poulin was irate at Vancouver Canucks forward Mason Raymond's spin-o-rama shoot out goal in a January game....Here's a novel idea Kevin, you might want to consider stopping the puck and keeping quiet...not a sermon, just a suggestion.

Washington Capitals.....very interesting team right now.   I believe the goal tending is solid and so is the defense.  The key missing piece to the puzzle this year is something they new about at the start of the season - no depth at center ice beyond Niklas Backstrom.  They tried Tomas Fleischmann there, but he didn't click.  Mathieu Perrault is talented and fast but inconsistent and still learning.  Marcus Johansson can fly but is not quite there yet.  The Caps did not plan on Backstrom having a really poor season....the lack of firepower up the middle is killing these guys...should be an interesting trade deadline....if they want to get into the playoffs and advance a couple of rounds they need some center icemen... 

A Letter To Maple Leaf Season Ticket Holders

It is fascinating to look at the NHL from a financial perspective.  Two (2) interesting metrics are Price Per Ticket and Operating Income by team.  Check this out:

Price Per Ticket - US $ (Based on the week of January 10, 2011)

Toronto                $209.26
Montreal              $194.46
Vancouver           $157.76
Pittsburgh             $144.76
Edmonton            $121.49
Source:  SeatGeek

Operating Income - US $ (in millions, 2009)

Toronto                $78.90
Montreal              $31.30
NY Rangers         $27.70
Detroit                 $27.40
Chicago               $20.90
Source:  Forbes November 11, 2009

Imagine paying on average $209.26 for one ticket to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs!  What are these fans thinking about? This franchise has done next to nothing since they won the Stanley Cup in 1967.  In fact, they have missed the playoff for the past five (5) years (and won't make it this year either), they have the longest active Stanley Cup drought in the league and are the only Original Six team to not have won the Cup post league expansion.  Despite this pile of dung they serve up every year, this franchise has the highest valuation in the league at $470 million and makes far more Operating Income than the number two team, the Montreal Canadiens at $31.3 million.  When you look at the entire NHL Operating Income of $183.5 million, you quickly realize the Maple Leafs earn 43% of that total.

After looking at these numbers and the sustained below average performance of this team for the past 40 years, I wondered what the yearly letter from the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. says to the Maple Leaf season ticket holders.   Below I have crafted how it might look:

Dear Maple Leaf Season Ticket Holder,

Congratulations on becoming a season ticket holder for the 2010-2011 hockey season.  We are prepared for another exciting season of Leaf hockey at the Air Canada Center.  Frankly, we are absolutely blown away by your support.  We have not made the playoffs in years, we don't expect to make it this year and we have not won the Stanley Cup in over 40 years.  Despite this, you continue to support our franchise, your perseverance is noteworthy and we are grateful.

Going into this season we are encouraged as our season ticket wait list is now over 3,000 strong.  Evidence that our mediocre hockey team is not only a source of entertainment for you, but for many other folks in the area.  In fact, you should tell your friends one interim solution to the waiting list is our VIP Mini Packs - check them out on our website at http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=42099.  This promotion allows you to get two (2) tickets to five (5) Leaf games AND two (2) tickets to five (5) Toronto Raptors games.  Due to the demand for sub-par sports entertainment in the Metro-Toronto area we have ingeniously applied a ticket tying practice.  This way when you buy Leaf tickets you can augment your hockey disappointment by getting a dose of frustration from our below average basketball team.  We have seen the Microsoft Corporation bundle mediocre products, so we decided to give it a shot.  It's turning out to be a real money-maker for us so far.

As for future direction of the club, we are petrified of what a franchise in Hamilton poses to our business model.  Could you imagine the possibility of Leaf season ticket holders switching allegiances en masse to an ownership group that could actually outfit a winning hockey team?  We still remain supportive of Burkie and his staff though admittedly we are scratching our heads on why Phil Kessel and Kris Versteeg have a combined plus/minus of -26 as of this writing.

Despite all appearances we are not the Washington Redskins.  We can judge talent and we will not overpay our players.  We again thank you for being a season ticket holder!

Sincerely,


Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd.

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.  

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!