30 Teams, 30 Christmas Wishes

If each team could make a wish this Christmas season, what would it be?  I'm not talking about Ovechkin asking for his two front teeth, I'm talking about what would most benefit each individual team in the NHL.  Here's what I have come up with:

Atlanta - A New Contract for Ilya Kovalchuk.  The guy is a franchise player and although that may not mean much to the people of Atlanta, winning does.  Without Kovalchuk the Thrashers are going to have a big hole to fill.  This team is in desperate need of good news, and signing Kovalchuk would be a big boost for their play and morale.

Carolina - Youth.  They're the oldest team in the NHL and they look it.  Honestly the best thing for the 'Canes might be to keep losing.  Don't get me wrong, it stings every time Carolina loses, but knowing there might be a game-breaking prospect waiting for them at the end of the season does ease the blow.  It would be a great addition to the likes of Sutter, who is already showing he is NHL material, and Boychuk and Bowman who may not be far off.

Florida - A trip to the playoffs.  The last time Florida was in the playoffs, Bill Clinton was the President of the United States.  That's currently the longest playoff drought of any NHL team.  Nothing would be a bigger boost to this franchise than a visit to the playoffs, especially since some think Florida will be the next Phoenix.  Who knows, maybe since another democrat is in office it might be Florida's year.

Tampa Bay - Lecavalier to find his game.  Tampa greatly benefited from 2 consecutive poor seasons and picked up Stamkos and Hedman.  The team is flirting with the playoffs but likely won't make it unless Vincent Lecavalier emerges as the franchise player he's supposed to be.  Two years ago he was in "Best Player in the World" conversations.  Now he's 4th in team scoring behind Ryan Malone.  Ouch.

Washington - Nylander's Departure.  Washington has really found its stride this season.  They are at the top of the conference, Varlamov has been a revelation in goal, and they are looking dominant once again.  With Nylander off the books, they could really find a player to put themselves over the top.  (Second wish: Ovechkin to control his game.  Now that he will be considered a "repeat offender" he can't go running around like he used to.)

New Jersey - A Fountain of Youth for Brodeur.  Martin Brodeur has been the New Jersey Devils since the early 90's.  Up until now he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down either.  Each day he is one step closer to a Thanos-like grip on the mantle "Greatest Goaltender of All-Time".  However, it is also lingering over every Devils fan that Marty is 37.  In hockey-years that is getting up there.  We'll just have to see how long #30's ride can go.

New York Islanders - The Lighthouse Project to go through.  The addition of John Tavares has certainly boosted the Isles and they are exceeding expectations this season.  Yet, it doesn't look great for the Isles if they can't lock up a new building.  The promise of a new arena is looking up as of late, but nothing is in stone yet.  It would be terrible to see such a storied franchise move.

New York Rangers - Scoring Support.  This was a tough one.  I was thinking of "Gaborik to stay healthy" but by all accounts, he has been.  I also considered "a solid backup for Lundqvist".  However, it is a glaring stat to see the Rangers only have 2 players with 20 or more points as of Dec. 14.  Ales Kotalik is the next nearest with 19 points, but he has an awful minus-13.  Unless some other guys can step up, Gaborik might end up injuring his back from carrying this team on it. 

Philadelphia - Ability to play at potential.  Since their awful post lock-out year, Philly has emerged as a seasonal contender.  Yet their recent slump spurred a coaching change, and one that has yet to make a real difference.  Many are scratching their heads wondering, what has happened to arguably the deepest team in the league?

Pittsburgh - Scoring Wingers.  Even without support, Malkin and Crosby can carry this team all the way into the playoffs.  The down side?  Their best winger is 39 year-old Bill Guerin, and after him the next winger in team scoring is Pascal Dupuis; 7th place with 14 points in 33 games.  As long as Pittsburgh remains uber-deep at center with Jordan Staal, you will continue to hear rumors of Jordan getting shopped for a talented scoring winger for Crosby and Malkin to play with. 

Boston - Krejci, Ryder, Lucic, and Wheeler to step it up offensively.  Many pegged the Bruins to be top dogs in the east, but these four players are following up their strong 08-09 seasons with a terrible encore.  Thankfully Patrice Bergeron has found his game again after a series of concussions, but with Savard out of the lineup, these four should have stepped it up as well. 

Buffalo - A Competent Backup.  Buffalo is in playoff contention once again.  However, they're running their goalie Ryan Miller ragged.  He has 18 of the teams 19 wins and has started 26 of their 30 games played.  If Buffalo can't get some wins from their backups, Miller might be worn out come playoff time.

Montreal - Consistency from the top down.  In the off-season Bob Gainey made some interesting decisions.  The signing of Mike Cammalleri is turning out quite well, but picking up Scott Gomez's monster salary and mediocre play looks awful on him.  Then on the ice, Carey Price looks like Jesus one night, then "Brian" on others.  They have a .500 record right now, but without some consistency, they'll miss the playoffs. 

Ottawa - Leclaire to be healthy.  Ottawa is another team that is looking up, even with the subtraction of star player Dany Heatley.  They need a #1 goaltender though, and one as oft-injured as Leclaire is cause for concern.  Leclaire is out of the lineup yet again, but this time due to an errant puck hitting him in the face when he had the night off.  If he can rejoin the lineup and stay healthy, Ottawa looks good to dance in May.

Toronto - Offense.  It's a double-edged sword to have a defenseman leading your team in points.  On the one hand Toronto has an elite offensive D-man in Tomas Kaberle.  On the other hand, their offense whomps.  Brian Burke has compiled a plethora of defense, but unless this team can supply the offense on a nightly basis, the only thing they'll be competing for is the #1 Overall pick in the draft, which is no good to them since they traded it to Boston.  Woops. 

Chicago - Cap relief.  The Blackhawks somehow managed to lock up three young stars in Kane, Toews, and Keith recently.  However, they are still razor close to the salary cap and will need to look for ways to trim expenses.  Unfortunately it could cost them a talented young player like Patrick Sharp or Dave Bolland.

Columbus - Mason to regain Calder form.  All signs pointed to Columbus being a contender again this year, but rookie sensation Steve Mason has slipped into the Sophomore slump.  Columbus isn't out of the hunt yet, but unless Mason can start playing like an All-Star again, Nash is more likely to see his name next to a tee-time rather than on a score sheet. 

Detroit - Injury-Bug Repellent.  Detroit has lost some serious man-games due to injury this season and it is showing.  They sit just out of a playoff spot and it is due in large part to the losses of Franzen, Kronwall, Filppula, Cleary, Lilja, and Williams.  If those guys can get back into the lineup then Detroit should be all right, but they might be looking at their lowest playoff seed in a long time.

Nashville - Bottled Barry Trotz.  Probably the most under-appreciated coach in the league and due, no doubt, to the fact that he coaches Nashville.  Trotz has managed to coach his team to overachieving almost on a yearly basis.  Nashville loses key players, everyone counts them out, yet they make the playoffs.  It's almost becoming routine.  If Nashville ever gets high expectations, I'd love to see how far Trotz can take them. 

St. Louis - A No. 1 Goaltender.  Chris Mason has gone from stud to schlub once again, just as he followed his strong 06-07 season up with a disappointing 07-08.  The Blues visited the playoffs for the first time in several years this past spring and unless Mason, Conklin, or someone else can take the reins, they'll be on the outside looking in yet again.  They are currently 14th in the West. 

Calgary - A Competent Backup.  My wish for Calgary is the same as it was for Buffalo.  Yes, Calgary has been on a slide recently but I'm more worried about where they are come April.  They play Kiprusoff far too often, then come playoff time he flames out.  If they can find a backup to play 10 more games than they'll get out of McElhinney, they might have a far fresher Kipper in the spring. 

Colorado - More of this Mojo.  This is a team that was nearly unanimously slotted to finish at the bottom of the Western Conference.  They are currently 2nd in the West and 1st in the Northwest Division, which is generally regarded as the league's toughest division.  In their first season sans-Sakic the Avs are seriously exceeding expectations.  They have Craig Anderson to thank for this, who is finally getting his due as a starting keeper, and newcomers Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene are contributing as well. 

Edmonton - Young talent to step it up.  Edmonton has a glut of talented young players in Gagner, Cogliano, and O'Sullivan, but if they continue to underachieve then the Oilers will be spring golfers yet again.  Cogliano knows he is on the hot-seat after it was leaked he was set to be traded in a package for Dany Heatley.  If that doesn't light a fire under him, I don't know what will.

Minnesota - Havlat to be a star.  Pegged as a replacement to Gaborik this past summer, Havlat has yet to make a positive impact.  In 26 games with the Wild, Havlat has 16 points and a gaudy minus-12.  That's a far cry from his nearly point per game season last year coupled with a plus-29.  He's currently on pace for 11 goals in 76 games.  

Vancouver - Stop underachieving.  Every year I hear it's the 'Nucks turn for a crack at the Cup, but they're turning out to be just as playoff-cursed as the Sharks.  They won't even get to worry about their performance in the playoffs if they can't pick up their game now.  Vancouver is currently 10th in the West. 

Anaheim - Offensive Depth.  Another tough call, but Anaheim has a terrific first line in Perry, Getzlaf, and Ryan.  Even Selanne is having a decent season, but beyond that their offense is sorely underachieving.  Of their meager 89 goals this season, 50 of them were potted by the 4 players I named above.  Even Getzlaf is a bit of an enigma.  He is on pace for a whopping 92 points, but just 15 goals.  (Second wish: Hiller to officially supplant Giguere in net.)

Dallas - The Ability to win in OT.  Dallas has gone to extra time 14 times in 32 games this season.  Unfortunately they have only won on 4 of those occasions.  That means they've come within a hair's breadth of winning 10 more games!  If those overtime W's and L's were simply reversed, Dallas would be 20-8-4 with 44 points, good enough for 5th in the West and challenging LA and San Jose for the division lead.  Instead, they are 14-8-10 with 38 points, barely clinging to 8th in the West. 

Los Angeles - The Quick boat to stay afloat.  In the past few years the nets in LA have been guarded by LaBarbera, Bernier, Cloutier, Fukufuji, and Ersberg.  Last season, Quick made an argument for himself and this year has taken a firm grip as LA's starter.  His numbers aren't magnificent, but he has that ability to "make the big save when it counts".  As long as Quick keeps this up, LA's playoff hopes look bright.

Phoenix - Fans and an Arena in Phoenix to seat them.  Phoenix's play on the ice this season may be Story of the Year.  Everyone, including myself, counted the Desert Dogs out this season.  No one saw Phoenix being 8 games over .500 or even close to challenging for a playoff spot.  The bad news is they are still trapped in a lease for 26 years to an arena placed awkwardly outside Phoenix.  Worse, they have had an average attendance of 9,825 through 17 home games.  That's nearly 3,000 less than the next lowest team.  Even with new potential owners, Phoenix looks like a black hole for money.

San Jose - Shed their Playoff Demons.  San Jose has a spiffy new player in Dany Heatley.  Joe Thornton is on top of the league in scoring once again.  Patrick Marleau is a new man with the weight of the 'C' off his chest.  Yet, this is how every season goes until the playoffs come and the Sharks inexplicably bury their heads in the sand.  More than anything the Sharks need to break the mental-block down.  Anything less than playing in the Stanley Cup Final would be disappointing.

The Blown-Call-O-Meter

Remember Mick McGeough?  He was that referee that everyone wanted to throw their shoes at.  Why?  Because he had a tendency to make terrible calls.  Fans would joke that McGeough had a "Penalty of the Night" because he would whistle every infraction as "interference" or "hooking", even if it was a high stick.  At least in those cases he was calling a penalty, despite it being the wrong one.  

I hate bad calls as much as the next guy or gal.  They sour the experience for both sides.  Yet it's hard to say what makes some calls easier to swallow than others.  So to aid in this process, I've made a simple rating system to score blown calls.  In the spirit of the Carolina Hurricanes, I've adopted the hurricane rating system.

Category 1 Blown Call: Assorted Negligence

Now that might sound like a vague description but these are calls that even we armchair referees don't catch (and we see everything, right?).  A player barely offsides goes unnoticed.  A center unjustly thrown from a faceoff.  A razor close icing call.  These are calls that could be very serious if they led to a goal.  However, these calls are of a less severe nature.

Category 2 Blown Call: Missed Penalties

I'm a firm believer in the two referee system.  There is so much going on at all times that it is impossible for one referee to catch everything.  Granted, if a penalty happens it should be seen and called, but realistically penalties will go unnoticed.  Players are always holding, hooking, roughing, and jockeying for position.  An unnoticed penalty costs a team a power-play that could sway the game, but since both teams are usually guilty it all comes out in the wash.

Category 3 Blown Call: Incorrect Penalties

There's little worse than a ref with his eyes firmly planted on an infraction, then making the wrong call.  A golden example of this happened in a recent game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Ian White happened to be standing next to Tom Kostopoulos as Tom's teammate Stephane Yelle clipped him with a high stick.  White was called for high sticking and to make matters worse, Kostopoulos was bleeding, making it a double minor.

You can see the phantom-infraction at around 1:25 of this clip:



That call led to a Hurricanes goal which was no doubt maddening for the Leafs and their fans.

Category 4 Blown Call: Goals/No Goals

To get the call on a goal wrong is unacceptable.  If you've ever have the displeasure of witnessing a goal counted that shouldn't have been, or a goal disallowed that should have counted then you know what I mean.  It goes without saying, the tilt such an egregious error puts on the game.  I'll save my words and show some examples.

From earlier this season:



One of the worst calls ever:



Category 5 Blown Call: Incorrect Playoff Calls

The NHL season is long and one can argue that every second of every game is as important as the next.  Yet, when it comes to the playoffs making the right call holds a whole new importance.  The unofficial standard is "the players should decide the game, not the officials."  This is probably why the refs are so hesitant to pick up the whistle in playoff overtimes.  If you blow a call in the regular season you might make a player or maybe his team mad at you.  You blow a call in the playoffs and you'll have tens of thousands of irate fans.

I'm not saying I agree or disagree with this call, but imagine how Buffalo must feel:



So you feel like your team just got screwed?  Decide how angry you should be with the Blown-Call-O-Meter!

A Paper Stanley Cup

Boy oh boy, did I like the Hurricanes chances before this season began.  They just got done with a great run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season and managed to fill some gaps in the off-season.  Most hockey pundits placed them high in the Eastern Conference pre-season rankings.  Great post-season, active off-season, strong pre-season ranking, what could go wrong? 

Well, they looked good on paper.  On paper.  ON PAPER.

Why didn't it translate to the ice?  Why is this team flirting with last place?  How could all of those journalists and prognosticators get it so wrong? 

The problem is, paper doesn't always show some of the most important factors that affect a team.  I'm no expert and I'm not going to pretend I know what has caused Carolina or any other team's fall from grace, but here are a few factors that don't always show up on the roster or stat sheet:

1) Injuries.  I'm not talking about players on injured reserve or even day-to-day.  I'm talking about players who continue to play with nagging injuries.  Often there is speculation that a player may be playing through an injury because he doesn't want to be on the shelf and let his team down.  Add that to the extreme secrecy teams have over injuries and speculation runs amuck.  Everything may seem fine and dandy since your favorite player is dressed every night and hitting the ice, but maybe his body isn't holding up as well as you'd think. 

2) Potential vs. Reality.  Chad LaRose finished with 19 goals last season and seemed to be emerging as a top 6 forward.  So he must be poised for more this season, right?  Not necessarily.  Projecting the future of a player, even by one season can be a tricky business.  Many a player has been given a bloated contract or bumped up to a higher line due to a breakout season, but this happens all the time.  A player has a great year that stands out as a fluke, or to borrow a phrase "a player playing his best hockey."  Maybe last year's Hurricanes were a collection of decent players playing great hockey and not great players playing to their expected ability.  

3) Age.  We get so used to hearing a name and expecting a result.  I hear "John Doe" and I expect a better than 50% face-off percentage, 20+ goals, and 40+ assists.  Then, all of a sudden, he produces less than that.  I look at his birthday and he was born when Nixon was in office, yikes.  But what about guys like Ray Whitney or Keith Tkachuk?  They're getting up there in age and still playing some strong hockey.  The problem is it's impossible to know when a player will taper off, how rapidly it will happen, and whether he can adjust to his new role.  I like to use Mike Modano as an example of a guy who transitioned beautifully from being the go-to-guy for Dallas to being a strong depth player.  For other guys who don't have as complete a skill-set, when the hands go they have nothing else to offer.  It's like trying to predict when bread will go bad.  Sometimes you get a loaf that stays good for a freakishly long amount of time, and sometimes you wake up to a science experiment on your counter.

4) System.  Teams with successful systems reflect it in the standings.  When all of the pieces are pulling in the same direction a team is more likely to execute a game-plan.  Gretzky was often accused of coaching the Coyotes without a system.  Whether or not this is true, they certainly played as though they didn't have one.  Super-Mustache Dave Tippett, a man with a very defined system, takes over and suddenly the Coyotes are playing above their predicted ability.  And much like my next point, you can have a great group of players but without a successful system it doesn't mean a thing. 

5) Chemistry.  You can have a great group of players but without chemistry it doesn't mean a thing.  It's the "Dream Team" concept.  Sometimes the best team isn't necessarily a collection of star players, but a collection of players who play well together.  Maybe Erik Cole is a mediocre winger without Eric Staal centering him, but while they're playing together they're clicking.  Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen may both be top level talent, but they just can't seem to gel for some reason.  And no one can discount the value of chemistry when looking at LA's line of Kopitar, Smyth, and Williams.  41 points for the trio through 10 games played?  That's chemistry.

Unfortunately, there is no stat to show chemistry.  Nor is there a value you can assign to a system, or a way to project potential or age's affect on a player.  If there were, maybe "on paper" predictions would more accurately show how a team would perform in a given season.

Then again, where's the fun in that?  There would be no surprises, no upsets, no underdogs, and no tragedies.  It would do away with the constant underestimation of teams like my Hurricanes.  So go ahead 'Canes, stink it up out there, because we all know that Carolina doesn't show up until you count them out.

Jersey Destruction: Part 2

Welcome back to the ongoing series "Jersey Destruction". No, it's not about the Carolina Hurricanes giving Martin Brodeur a blown gasket, it's where I mercilessly skewer the jerseys of all 30 NHL teams.

The Central division is rife with fodder for me to mock, so in the spirit of my last post I will show no mercy.

Chicago Blackhawks

You know what I think of when Chicago comes to mind? Native Americans. Okay, not really. Ask ten people what comes to mind when they hear Chicago and their answers will range from "deep dish pizza" to "Sears Tower" to "The Cubs". I'll bet nary a one says "The Blackhawk Tribe." That aside, a pat on the back for avoiding the cartoonish depiction that Cleveland uses, but hey, it's Cleveland. It also appears that the mascot is wearing the NBC peacock in his hair, which is ironic since the Blackhawks didn't televise games for what seemed like a century. The Blackhawks mascot is named "Tommy Hawk" which is all too appropriate considering the town's violent background. Nothing draws Chicago fans like the threat of violence!

Columbus Blue Jackets

Pretty surprising they would select a team name with the word "Blue" in it considering they're in the same division as the St. Louis Blues. So, what comes to mind when you hear "Blue Jackets"? Is it a sale at JC Penney? Is it a rare variety of bee? Nope, it's a Civil War soldier! Did anyone tell these guys to avoid the abbreviation "B.J."? Between the NBC peacock in the Blackhawks logo and the shooting star in Columbus' you have a "The More You Know" PSA.

Detroit Red Wings


On the opposite end of the spectrum from Atlanta, Detroit decided they needed just two colors because they weren't boring enough. Can someone explain this winged-wheel to me. Does it fly? Is it supposed to roll? Do the wings flap against the road as it wobbles around? Is it attached to anything or is it just some kind of lame Transformer? Or maybe it's an angelic unicycle? I mean, isn't the point of the auto industry that it rolls and doesn't fly?

Nashville Predators


There are a lot of animals that could be considered predators, but Nashville was bold and went with one that had incredibly impractical biting apparatus. Dinosaur? No. Jungle cat? Closer. Extinct cat with a severe overbite? Bingo! Pat on the back for ditching the third jersey with the logo that looked like it had a hairball caught in its throat. However, making silver a prominent color just makes us think you're a second place kind of team.

St. Louis Blues

I mean, you're really setting yourself up for failure when your team is named after the official music of the depressed. It must be a thing in the Central Division to add wings to an obscure inanimate object. When I say your logo is a low C, I'm not speaking in musical terms. As a bonus, here is the Blues mascot Louie pictured with former Blues netminder Manny Legace:

I hope you enjoyed this segment of Jersey Destruction. Tune in next time as we head back east!

Mock Expansion Draft

Expansion. The notion pops up every once in a while, exciting the bejeezus out of Kansas City, Las Vegas, Hamilton, and any other city that has gotten a whiff of talks about getting a potential NHL team. However, given the current economic climate it's simply not feasible.

Yet, I was curious, what happens if tomorrow the NHL decides to award two lucky cities an NHL franchise? Then we get to witness the weirdness of an NHL Expansion Draft. Rather than the usual draft of future stars, it's a draft of leftovers.

The basic parameters of an expansion draft are as follows. Each of the existing 30 NHL teams can protect 1 goaltender, 5 defenseman, and 9 forwards. The other option is to protect 2 goaltenders, 3 defenseman, and 7 forwards. I didn't see any teams choosing the latter option, so all 30 teams in my hypothetical chose to protect 1 goalie. Also, rookie players got automatic protection and do not count toward the allotted number. Each new team would then draft 3 goaltenders, 8 defenseman, and 13 forwards in that order.

So, I went through and I conducted the mock draft myself, protecting the players I thought each team would protect, then drafting them in the order I thought they would be drafted. I'm presenting the results broken up into the two hypothetical teams, East and West, in the order I believe the teams would draft them.

After completing this experiment I noticed a number of issues that arise from an expansion draft. First, let's look at the results:

Eastern Team

Goaltenders

J.S. Giguere
Jose Theodore
Jaroslav Halak

Defensemen

Christoph Schubert
Steve Staios
Mike Van Ryn
Martin Skoula
Steve Montador
Hal Gill
Mark Eaton
Peter Harrold

Forwards

Dustin Penner
B.J. Crombeen
Maxim Lapierre
Alexander Steen
T.J. Hensick
Chris Kelly
Tomas Kopecky
Kyle Brodziak
Mike Grier
Pascal Dupuis
Ian Laperriere
Ben Eager
Tom Kostopoulos
Craig Adams
Rick Rypien

Western Team

Goaltenders

Tim Thomas
Vesa Toskala
Martin Biron

Defensemen

Garnett Exelby
Nick Boynton
Milan Jurcina
Mathieu Schneider
Jeff Finger
Lukas Krajicek
Jeff Schultz
Sean O'Donnell

Forwards

Todd Bertuzzi
Eric Belanger
Fredrik Modin
Dominic Moore
Daniel Paille
Radek Dvorak
Scott Walker
Fredrik Sjostrom
Ben Guite
Travis Moen
Torrey Mitchell
Raffi Torres
Steve Begin
Brian Boyle
Fernando Pisani

Obviously, these aren't the strongest teams. The purpose is simply to give the new teams some players to ice while hindering the other 30 teams as little as possible. Then after a few years of toiling in the basement, the new teams should have compiled enough high draft picks to ice some franchise-player talent.

Some observations:

Age? Some of my decisions were dictated by the longevity of a player. For example, both of the top goalies selected were players you would expect to be protected. However, both Boston and Anaheim have goaltenders that are considered their future. In Anaheim's case, Jonas Hiller is considered their present as well. As a GM I would rather hang onto the goaltender that could give me 10 good years rather than 4. This begs another important question; how much does a team's loyalty to a player count? Think Modano. He's on the tail end of a career of great memories in Dallas, but is he worth protecting for 2 or 3 more years?

Contracts? More than a few teams have signed players to bad contracts. Would these teams take this opportunity to potentially unload an overpaid player? Granted, they wouldn't receive anything in return, but they also wouldn't have to pay an overpaid player. In the case of Dustin Penner, I figured the Oilers would see if there were any takers for the big man. Oh, and believe me, I thought long and hard about whether the Islanders would try to unload DiPietro.

Consequences? What happens to a player that does not get protected and they go undrafted. Do they get offended? Would it create a similar atmosphere as when a player gets wind they are on the trade block? There is certainly a risk involved.

The best and worst? I noticed the teams that fare the best are the teams with the most rookies on the roster. The more rookies, the less players that count toward the 9 protection spots. The teams that have the hardest time? Teams with a lot of 2nd or 3rd year players, such as St. Louis. I'm sure B.J. Crombeen isn't a guy they would love letting go, but with the likes of Oshie, Berglund, and Perron taking up valuable spots someone is bound to find themself on the outside looking in.

Most likely to be left out? The agitators and the fighters were the most common names to find themselves out of the mix. There seems to be a pretty good collection of bruisers in the AHL ready to step up, so why waste a slot on one? However, Avery and Carcillo both won spots on their respective teams from me due to their versatility.

Although it will certainly be a while before an Expansion Draft rears it's ugly head, if GM's in this league anticipate growth, they had better anticipate making some tough decisions.

Great News For Great Ice-Pectations

If you didn't come from this link, then check out this link:

Yahoo! Sports Blog: Jersey Fouls

Look for a picture by Great Ice-Pectations and a link to the blog about halfway down!

Thanks readers!

-Eric

How To Be A Better Hockey Fan

Hockey suffers from what I like to call "mainstream obscurity". It's a major sport, a big business, and a household name in our society. Yet, hockey is far from being universally understood or liked. Much is made of how the NHL or other major hockey leagues around the world market the sport. Fans and media alike are often critical of the stances and directions the NHL chooses in order to promote the sport. However, I think the onus is on us as fans to promote the sport as well.

How do we do this? Well, there is no one way and there is no "right" way, but I think there are some simple things we all can do to spread the love for this great sport.

1. Don't Be "That Guy".

Every time you go to a hockey game, or are watching one at a bar there is that one obnoxious, ignorant fan. The type of fan that ruins the game for everyone else and destroys what we are all looking for when we treat ourselves to a game; fun. It's supposed to be fun for everyone, so don't ruin it for others.

Now, I know I can get excited, worked-up, and stressed out but I try to keep it from affecting others. I do my fair share of trash talking as well, but I try to keep it all in good fun. For example, I attended the LA Kings final home game of the 08-09 season. A Sharks fan sat in front of me and ribbed on Kings fans all night, but when it was all said and done, the Kings won the game. Afterward, she looked at me and said "at least the Sharks made the playoffs," to which I replied "enjoy choking in the first round... yet again." She paused a moment, then smiled. No hard feelings, it's all in good fun.

2. Encourage Younger Fans.

I can whine all day about how fans of other mainstream sports don't give hockey a chance or about how they are too unsophisticated to enjoy a "real" sport like hockey, but when it comes down to it, adults have their minds made up. Most adults know what they like and they stick to it.

So get your little brother or cousin or neighbor into it. Take them to a live game for their birthday, show them a game on TV, play a hockey video game with them. Kids are more open-minded and are more likely to give the sport a chance. It's better than wasting your time on your friends who won't give the sport the time of day.

3. Support Your Losers.

Nobody likes a loser, but if you're a true fan then you'll still love them. Go to a game and see them get buried. Watch them on TV and throw popcorn at the set. Wear your jersey out and get made fun of. It's part of being a fan and it makes it that much sweeter when they actually win.

4. Teach People The Game.

Who hasn't sat down to a game with a newbie and heard "what's icing?" or "where's the puck?" Don't laugh at them, help them out. If someone understands the sport they're much more likely to become a fan. Don't just tell them what icing is, explain why it's a rule. It's much easier to remember it that way. Don't just point the puck out to them, teach them how to find it. I like to tell people not to look for the puck. That's like trying to find Waldo. Look at the body language of the players. You can always find the puck when you know how someone acts when they have it.

5. Support Other Teams.

This may sound odd or counterproductive, but don't stop at one team. Be a fan of many teams. It's only more beneficial to the league for you to support as many teams as you want. I personally have an Eastern Conference team, the Hurricanes, and a Western Conference team, the Kings.

Even if your team(s) don't make the playoffs, pick one to support. The more fans following the playoffs, the more attention it gets from hockey outsiders. Our sport is major league sport. Our sport is on television. Our sport is great, so let's make sure other people know why.

***

For fun, I think I'll do a post about how to be an elitist hockey snob. Just to keep the balance of the world right...

What's Good For The Goose...

I remember vividly how angry I was when I saw Brandon Sutter getting his clock cleaned by Doug Weight last season. Sutter was going after a loose puck, anticipating a short-handed breakaway when Weight caught him with his head down and delivered a brutal hit. Sutter had a concussion and his season with the big club was pretty much over.



Jim Rutherford, GM of the Carolina Hurricanes, was incensed with the hit and lobbied for the NHL to do away with hits to the head. Of course, that didn't happen. Debates erupted across hockey message boards on the topic and on the hit itself. Was it legal? Well, no matter how hard it is for a 'Canes fan to swallow, it was a perfectly legal hit. Weight didn't leave his feet. Weight didn't bury his elbow into Sutter's ear. It was a textbook hard hit and Islanders fans let us know it at any chance. Their player was not in the wrong. (Kudos to the Hurricanes commentators John Forslund and Tripp Tracy for their objective evaluation of the hit.)

So why was I angry? I was angry because it was difficult to see a player with such promise, a 1st round pick by my favorite team, and a guy who is already being talked about as captain material have his well-being threatened by an avoidable hit. It was avoidable by both Brandon, who should have had his head up and by Doug Weight who could have decided to lay a less violent hit on Sutter. Now, I don't think Weight had any intention of injuring the kid, just look at his face while they're scraping Sutter off the ice. Nor do I think he should have let up. Hitting is a part of the game. Players, especially young players have to learn to keep their heads up. They can't get away with the stuff they could in juniors any more.

This brings us to yesterday. During a preseason game against the Calgary Flames, the New York Islanders 1st round pick from 2006, Kyle Okposo, had his head taken off by Dion Phaneuf. He was skating with his head down through center ice, just as Sutter was last season, when Phaneuf made him pay the price. Although Phaneuf appears to leave his feet, it was as a result of the hit and not because he jumped into Okposo. Phaneuf was penalized for fighting after the hit, but not for the hit itself. It was another clean hit.



It's an unfortunate irony, but the Islanders are now tasting what 'Canes fans tasted last season. This blog is not meant to rub it in or to laugh at anyone's misfortune. It is to remind fans to look at every play, at every hit, at every goal with objectivity. As much as I wanted to be mad at Doug Weight for his hit, I couldn't be because he did nothing wrong. As much as I wanted to be mad at the NHL for not paying heed to Rutherford's pleas, I couldn't. The rules have been that way for a long time and the NHL isn't about to change them because another person got caught with their head down.

They didn't change them in 2006 when Brian Campbell derailed R.J. Umberger. Players are just going to have to learn not to put themselves in that position and fans are going to have to learn to swallow the bitter pill.

You Can Bet On It

At the beginning of each season, hockey pundits make their predictions of how each team will finish in the standings. Predicting who will win a championship in any sport is very difficult. There are so many things that can happen in a season that it make it nearly impossible to know how it all will shake out.

So, I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm going to make some predictions on things that are a little more certain. What I'm going to point out won't surprise anyone. You can set your watches to these occurrences.

Phoenix will stink up the ice again.

This team has been one of the hottest discussion topics in a summer full of controversy and it's not a good thing. No matter what Shane Doan says, the teams ownership issues will surely be a distraction. Not like it matters, Phoenix or Hamilton or whoever they are come this fall isn't exactly a model team. Sure, they boast some promising prospects but they squash their development by forcing them into the lineup too early in order to keep costs down. The perennial desert losers will once again feel the sting of a season wasted. Don't forget they share a division with a Sharks team that is pretty much a lock to make the playoffs each year, a Ducks team that has managed to fill all of their gaps this off-season (and they were few to begin with), a Dallas team looking for redemption, and a Kings team that is on the verge of being a real playoff contender. Start making tee-times, guys.

Ilya Kovalchuk will start house shopping, but not in Atlanta.

Maybe this isn't such a sure thing, but it seems inevitable. Atlanta has a knack for chasing off superstar players, from Heatley to Hossa. Yes, Atlanta has drafted high as of late. Bogosian, Kane, and Little will surely help this team in the future but the problem is they won't keep Kovalchuk from getting insane offers when he become a free agent at the end of this season. They have to go through burgeoning powerhouse Washington, Conference finalists Carolina, a much improved Tampa Bay team, and Florida who missed the playoffs last season on a tiebreak. Yes, the sound of those odds alone just pulled Kari Lehtonen's groin.

Martin Brodeur will bid adieu to Terry Sawchuk's shutout record.

Brodeur has already eclipsed Patrick Roy for most career wins, putting the record out of reasonable reach. If and when that record is broken it will be by a goal-tending phenom, the likes of which we have never seen. "Brodeur vs. Roy" is officially the "Gretzky vs. Lemieux" of the crease, and adding to Brodeur's ammunition will be his ownership of the shutout record. Brodeur stands at 101, Sawchuk has 103. Brodeur had 5 shutouts last season and he only appeared in 31 games. He usually starts around 75. Oh, and uber-defensive minded coach Jacques Lemaire is back behind the bench. It was a nice run Mr. Sawchuk. Take solace in the fact that you'll be beaten out by the best ever. (That's right, I'm a Brodeur guy.)

Alexander Ovechkin will bear his toothless grin a minimum of 50 times.

Ovechkin had a slump last season. After 11 games he had only 8 points and 2 goals. That means 54 of his goals were spread out over just 68 games. Ovechkin's consistency approaches the realm of sickening. Goaltenders will have nightmares of this guy. Don Cherry will get red-faced over Ovechkin's enthusiasm for no reason other than the fact he isn't Canadian. Ovechkin will roar across your Sports Center screen like the Tasmanian Devil. Count on it.

Commissioner Gary Bettman will be booed mercilessly any time he shows his face.

It's sad to say it, but I think George W. Bush had a higher approval rating than Gary Bettman does. Why does everyone hate Bettman so much? It's like asking why is the Fonz cool. Bettman represents "the man" in hockey and "the man" is in charge of everything that the fans hate. Ticket prices? Bettman's fault. TV coverage? Bettman's fault. CBA disputes? Bettman's fault. Whether these things are actually his fault is moot. He will be booed for them anyway. Maybe a little less booed than Sarah Palin though.

5 Reasons Why I Love Hockey

The usual line of questioning goes as follows:

"You're a big hockey fan? Did you play hockey?"

"No. Well not organized hockey, anyway."

"Where are you from?"

"North Carolina."

(Long Silence)

"Why do you like hockey then?"

Why do I like hockey then? As if it is not permissible to like something if you haven't played it or didn't grow up around it. I like Italian food and I'm not Italian, nor did I grow up in Italy. Okay, bad example but you get my point.

1) The Subculture. Hockey has a unique flavor that is unlike other sports. You can find a casual basketball or football fan almost anywhere, but if you love hockey, you love hockey. If you're trying to pose as a hockey fan you'll be outed as soon as they blow the whistle and you ask "What's icing?" It's almost like being a Trekkie or a Dog Show person. It's strange and goofy and intense and great.

2) The Regional Warfare. This is a love-hate reason. I hate that small-market, especially southern teams, get so much flack for even existing. Yet, I love it when the small-market team shuts up the haters, even if it's only for a little while. I love when Montreal fans make fun of Toronto for their losing history and I love it when Toronto fans tell Montreal to go celebrate by setting cars on fire. I love it when Sharks fans pick on the Kings for sucking and I love it when Kings fans make fun of the Sharks for always choking in the playoffs. The playing field on-ice might not be level, but off-ice there is more than enough fodder to go around.

3) The Jerseys. There is no other professional sports jersey that is less acceptable to wear in public than a hockey sweater. People wear baseball, basketball, football, and even soccer jerseys all the time. However, if someone wears a hockey sweater in public they look like a total dingus. Baggy sleeves, ill-fitting, over-sized logo on the chest. I loathe and respect that fan at the same time. They may look like an idiot wearing a giant Penguin on their chest at the bank, but man they love their team. Oh, and it just makes the jersey look that much better on the players.

4) The Names. Boogaard. Cheechoo. Tootoo. Sounds like gibberish but those are names. Then you have the obviously French-Canadian; Brind'Amour, Lecavalier, Gauthier. The obviously Finnish; Pitkanen, Jokinen, Laaksonen, Lehtinen. The Swedish players and their names that end in -strom, -sson, -berg, and -qvist. These are great names! Pick any team in the NHL and I'll tell you a name that makes milk come out of you nostrils.

5) It has everything. Speed, physicality, intelligence, skill. Both strategy and the lack thereof. I would love to describe the sport to an alien just for the reaction.

"So we put 12 guys on ice and they skate around."

"Okay."

"Then we give them sticks and they have to pass around a little puck that's the size of a coaster and try to put it into a goal."

"Okay."

"The puck is dense as a rock and can be shot at up to 100 MPH."

"Um, what?"

"And the players can ram their bodies into each other at full force."

"Wait, 100 MPH? Go back to that."

"And if they feel up for it, they can take off their gloves and fight."

"This sounds made-up."

No, my dear alien, it is not. It is very real and very great.

Jersey Destruction: Part 1

Welcome to the Dead-Zone. No, not the Stephen King book. No, not the movie based on the Stephen King book. No, not the Verizon commercials that parody the movie based on the Stephen King book. I'm talking about the middle of the summer where we are past the excitement of the draft and free-agent frenzy and far from the start of training camp. So, what I've decided to do is mercilessly skewer the jersey and logo decisions of all 30 NHL teams!

Let me start this off with a disclaimer. I actually like the mass majority of these logos and jerseys, but much of it is in a sentimental capacity. It's kind of like how you like the ratty, old couch you have but it's just too comfortable to get rid of. And yes, yes I know that many of these designs date back to the leagues inception and have a strong historical background. That said, let me tell you why they're awful.

We'll start with my hometown team's division; the Southeast.

Atlanta Thrashers

Don't let the name fool you, folks. A Thrasher isn't a rockabilly punk wielding a tire iron, ready to beat you senseless. A Thrasher is a tiny brown bird that tosses pine needles around. Doesn't that just strike fear into your heart? Atlanta also made the bold decision to spurn tradition and pick around 748 colors instead of just 3. Let's see, we've got light blue, dark blue, magenta, orange, yellow, white, and I still feel like I'm forgetting some. To top it all off, they decided to display the city's name down one of the sleeves, because when you're in Atlanta you're usually doing your best to forget where you are.

Carolina Hurricanes

The 'Canes are my favorite team. I grew up with them, but in the sake of fairness they shall not escape the scorn. If you didn't know the team's name, your first instinct might be, "the Carolina Flushing Toilets?" Nope, that's a hurricane. The 'Canes had the benefit of being a latecomer to the party so they could see what the other teams chose for colors and pick something different. They went with red as their primary color, which only a third of the league has. To finish it off, the Hurricanes decided to border the bottom of their jerseys with the Hurricane Warning flag design, which looks a bit like a bento box collection. They should serve sushi at the concession stands.

Oh, and their mascot is a hog. Why, you ask? Because of Southern BBQ, duh! "Aw, look at the adorable mascot! Let's cover his body in sauce and slow smoke him."

Florida Panthers

I'll start with a pat on the back of the Panthers branding team for doing away with the panther holding the destroyed remains of a hockey stick, but more on that when I get to San Jose. What Florida should really do is consider giving out 3-D glasses so it looks like the panther is leaping out of their players' chests. Then maybe the jersey itself wouldn't look so much like safety vest. What really throws me is the cat's whiskers and tail. They just make me want to pet the thing, not run in fear of a savage mauling. He's not diving to attack. He's pouncing ever so gracefully for a ball of yarn!

Tampa Bay Lightning

A scrawling blaze of wild electricity! What could be more exciting? Well, apparently Tampa thought a jagged forward-slash was. Oh, and could someone explain to me what the giant, needless circle behind the bolt is? Did they feel like they needed more geometry on their sweaters? Or maybe people would be confused what the logo was without a background? No, we got it. The Tampa Bay Zig-Zags, right? It looks like Flash's logo caught a cold.

Washington Capitals

Another pat on the back goes to Washington for ditching their old logo which prominently displayed the Capitol Building. I mean, nothing says hockey like a big government building, right? Except on their new logo, I can't help but find it ironic that their team's name, the Capitals, is in all lowercase letters. Hmm. Kudos for making the "L" look like a hockey stick as well. It should come in handy if your fans forget what sport you're playing. I can't forget to mention the secondary logo. As clever as it was to make an eagle look like the letter "W", it just looks like some kind of post-op bird that had his legs removed. He's got those wings, but the landing is going to be a little rough.

Next post: Central Divison.

Fuzzy Math

Let's rewind a few weeks to the start of the free-agency period. The most coveted free-agent available this year, Marian Hossa, shocks everyone and signs with the Chicago Blackhawks. In one fell swoop Hossa signed with his former team's rival (not surprising considering his track record), displaced his friend and former Blackhawks star Martin Havlat, and added to an already ballooning Chicago payroll.

Oh, but it's okay. Hossa got one of those crazy, new, front-loaded contracts that makes everything okay! Want me to explain? I'd love to!

Chicago signed Hossa to a 12 year deal worth $62.8 million. Ludicrous, but here's the catch; the contract is heavily front-loaded so even though Hossa will make nearly $8 million for the next seven seasons, his contract will drop to $4 million and less for the last 5 years. This averages Hossa's cap-hit to $5.167 million per season. In short, a team can only have about $57 million worth of contracts per season. So by giving Hossa this contract, they have around $3 million more in cap space for the first seven seasons than they would if Hossa's cap-hit matched his actual cash dollars.

Don't worry, the hard math is almost over and I'll get to the interesting stuff. Why is this contract so strange? Let's compare it to that of Eric Staal on my favorite team, the Carolina Hurricanes. Staal is a comparable player to Hossa in terms of offensive production. Staal is also signed to a long term deal and also for a lot of money. However, Staal's cash dollar amount starts at $6 million and goes up to $9.5 million at the end of the deal. This gives Staal a large cap-hit of $8.25 million. Here is the key difference; when Staal's contract expires he will be 32 and in the prime of his career. When Hossa's deal expires he will be 42 and ready for bingo (in hockey years that is).

The Hurricanes should be able to justify the steep cap hit in 2015 because Staal should still be putting up big numbers. Can Chicago justify wasting over $5 million in cap space on a guy who may not be nearly as productive?

This is where it gets interesting. There is an allegation that Hossa and the Blackhawks have a secret deal in place that Hossa will retire before the end of his contract, thereby preventing Chicago from having to pay him the low end of the contract in the future and also preventing them from wasting the cap space now. For Hossa and the Blackhawks it's a win-win. Get a guy in the prime of his career, pay him lots of money now, and take a smaller cap-hit by circumventing the rules of the CBA (the Collective Bargaining Agreement, in layman's terms, the rules).

Why stop there? They could have signed him to a 40 year deal, pay him $8 million for the first 10 seasons, then pay the league minimum of $500,000 for the last 30. His cap-hit would be $2.375 million and he could retire at the age of 40 and nullify the last 30 years of the contract. Well, that would be about as transparent as a Filet-O-Fish wrapper and since it is totally against the rules, they lessen the risk of getting caught by signing him to the contract he has now.

Well, the NHL thought something was rotten in Denmark anyway because they have launched an investigation of Hossa and Chicago's deal. If they are found guilty of malfeasance, Chicago faces a maximum penalty of $5 million and the loss of draft picks. I would imagine Hossa's contract would be declared null and void as well, thereby making him a free-agent. From there I'm sure Hossa and the Blackhawks could figure something out that didn't fly in the face of the rules.

So to tally it up; so far this summer Chicago has misfiled their RFA qualifying offers, unceremoniously fired their much loved GM, and potentially signed Marian Hossa to an illegal contract. Quite a bit of funk blowing around in the Windy City...

It Is Broke, So Fix It

There is an inherent problem with the NHL All-Star Game. It should be an exciting spectacle of high-talent, high-intensity hockey. The talent is high, but not always the intensity. Why? Because it's in the player's best interest (and that of the team he belongs to) to sandbag it. What incentive is there to play hard? Why risk injury? A Honda Pilot if you're named MVP? A little more bling for your trophy cabinet? Pretty insignificant when we're talking about multi-million dollar players who only lust for one, big trophy by the name of Lord Stanley's Cup.

Well, why not take a page from Major League Baseball and give the winning conference home ice advantage for the playoffs? Not only would that not sit well with hockey purists, it simply doesn't make sense for the NHL. Not a knock on baseball, but hockey is a full contact sport. In hockey, giving it your all means laying your body on the line every shift. Imagine this; Eric Staal goes all out, lays a full contact hit on an opposing player, and dislocates his shoulder. He's out for the season and for what? So divisional rival Washington can get home ice advantage and win the Cup? It doesn't make sense for hockey.

So how then? In what way do you bring out the intensity in the All-Star Game without risking a player's health? You don't. You can't and you don't. Part of the reason hockey is such an intense, uptempo sport is because there is that physical risk. Take it away and you lose the crux of the appeal.

Is it a lost cause then? Do we accept that the All-Star Weekend is a glorified breather for the players? After all, one of the best players in the game sat out the All-Star weekend (albeit due to "injury") and he lifted the big one over his head this summer. How can the NHL increase the appeal while maintaining as little risk as possible to the players? Simple; "John Kerry" the whole weekend and flip-flop the schedule. Make the All-Star Game itself the triumphant opening to the weekend and make the SuperSkills Competition the main attraction.

Seems counterproductive, right? Well, what is the All-Star Game for? It's supposedly to display the games greatest players and potentially entice more fans to watch the game. How does that work when those players are sandbagging it to prevent injury? It just ends up looking like Ice-Capades to the untrained eye. Do we really want a potential fan tuning into the All-Star game and thinking our beloved sport is boring? Not I.

So this flip-flop achieves what? Try to imagine this scenario. A guy/girl goes into work and says to his/her friends, "Did you see the NHL All-Star Game this weekend? There was this sweet tic-tac-toe pass on the game winning goal." Not exactly enthralling to a non-hockey fan. Okay, now try this one, "Did you see the NHL Super Skills Competition this weekend? This 6'9" guy hit a slap shot that was 105 miles an hour!" Which one are you more willing to tune into? The latter appeals to what American sports fans love so much about baseball; the stats. How fast can a player skate around the rink? How fast can he belt a slap shot? How fast can he break the targets? Not to mention the fact that there is a greatly reduced risk of injury in these events. It's all gravy.

Don't stop there either. Make more SuperSkills events that test other aspects of the game. Make the casual fan say, "Wow, I need to see that in a game!" It's better than, "This is what the best in the world has to offer? Boring!"

Psychics Wanted

I have a fun game for you to try out. Next time you are due for a raise, tell your boss to keep paying you the same amount, but in a year they can start paying you a salary of $2 million, because that's how much you'll be worth. Then report back to me how long it took for you to fit your belongings into a box.

Seems ludicrous, right? Well that's the way the NHL works.

The debate will never cease on how much a player should be paid, or how a team is overpaying for someone. Seriously, not even the greatest player in the world will escape without criticism for the number of Ben Franklin wallet photos he's walking around with. I'll give you an example; I read somewhere that Alexander Ovechkin may not deserve the money he's making, or the length of his contract, because he plays such a physical game that it's hard to tell how durable he'll be. Really? That's the argument? For this guy?

On the other hand, players today demand contracts that are older than middle schoolers. That means General Managers are playing a lot more Miss Cleo than they ever have. How do you know how good or bad a player will be in the year 2017? What if 6 years pass, the guy turns into a skating mascot and you're still paying him $6 million a year? Whoops. Sometimes, it turns out he was injured before you even signed him!

Players are investments. With an investment, the least that you want is to break even. Ideally, you get a steal. However, more often than not you're left wondering why you emptied your savings into webvan.com, and believe me, there will be more than one webvan.com lacing up his skates this October.

What it comes down to is spending wisely. Anytime you put your money into a hypothetical, it's a gamble. You just have to play the odds in any given situation. How has he played thus far in his career? Does he have upside, or has he reached his max potential? Do I really see him playing at age 42? Why is my 12 year old cousin blogging about how much of an idiot I am?

Life for a General Manager is hard. Remember how your mom used to criticize you for wasting all of your money on baseball cards or Ninja Turtles? Now imagine you are a GM and have a couple million moms, constantly scrutinizing every penny you spend. And, these moms aren't lovable-casserole-making-moms, they're annoying-fanboy-blogger-moms. Not a terribly nurturing bunch.

Remember, no NHL GMs are psychic (none that I know of), so maybe cut them some slack. Or maybe e-mail them the name of a good tarot card reader.