Ponds and Pucks

There’s been a lot of brouhaha in the hockey world this week regarding the Flyers’ latest suspension and warning from the NHL.

And on the heels of that, the Flyers have recalled Steve Downie, the minor-leagues whose 20 game suspension before the season was even underway began the new era of the Broadstreet Bullies.

First things first — Riley Cote was given a three-game suspension for an elbow on Matt Niskanen. I haven’t seen the play, and I think my head will hurt too much if I try to understand how an elbow could warrant a three-game suspension. Especially while not one but two Bruins players were absolutely drilled — one while the guy was on his freakin knees — and that’s only worth two games each. NHL, inconsistency is thy name.

Then Commish Gary Bettman essentially put the Flyers org “on notice” (with apologies to Steven Colbert). Does the NHL even have any power to do anything about this? If Downie runs someone else, can the NHL prove that coaching and management sent him out to do it? And wouldn’t that be a tad obvious on the Flyers’ part?

Philly plays Minnesota tonight. Considering these two teams play once a year if they’re lucky, there shouldn’t be any of the usual intensity that leads to vicious hits and shots to the head. But then, Vancouver’s Ryan Kessler probably thought the same thing before he met Jesse Boulerice.

Downie has already been quoted as saying he doesn’t plan to change his style of play, saying it’s what’s gotten him “this far”. I’m not sure what “this far” means, in terms of the NHL, since he’s been suspended from the NHL for, oh 20 games more than he’s played in it, but hey, whatever works.

Steve Downie, Riley Cote, Matt Niskanen, Gary Bettman, Steven Colbert, Ryan Kessler, Jesse Boulerice

Continuing on the train wreck that is the Toronto Maple Leafs, today the President of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, Richard Peddie, told the media the ownership group isn’t going to make any “kneejerk decisions” about the team.

Which is funny because the Toronto Sun has Peddie calling the hiring of John Ferguson Jr a mistake.

Supposedly it’s a mistake because JFJ is a first-time GM and Toronto is such a hockey-crazed fishbowl that the job was too much pressure.

Which is why they’re rumored to be looking at other people like Mark Messier and Steve Yzerman, because of all their GM experience. And no one will be scrutinizing their every move, not at all.

But don’t worry — Ferguson is cool with those comments. You know, about his hiring being a mistake and all.

Turns out he was young and experienced then, but he’s all good now. He’s got four years of misguiding a team under his belt.

This is a joke. Peddie has to either stand up and back his GM and coach or fire them, replace them and move on so the Leafs can get back to winning hockey games, or at least competing in hockey games without the three-ring circus. The Washington Capitals are only 4 points behind the Leafs and climbing (since firing their coach of course) and if the Leafs think things are tough in the 14th spot in the East, wait until they see 15th.

Richard Peddie, John Ferguson Jr, Mark Messier, Steve Yzerman, Washington Capitals

I figured the Boston/Philly game could go any number of ways, however the one thing I didn’t expect was that Philly would rough up yet another Boston Bruin.

Here’s the hit for anyone who hasn’t yet seen it:

I never thought Scott Hartnell was that kind of player. What are the Philly coaches putting in the water bottles?

Hartnell has been suspended (2 games of course). I’m glad the NHL is taking shots to the head seriously again (is my sarcasm clear enough?). I’d love a count of Flyers’ suspensions compared to every other team in the league. The Jesse Boulerice suspension alone probably totals more than all the other teams in the NHL combined. But those Flyers, they keep on trucking…. top of the division and no sign of stopping now.

Scott Hartnell, Jesse Boulerice

I’m glad TSN.ca had the preview of the Boston Bruins/Philadelhpia Flyers game on their front page, otherwise I wouldn’t have thought twice about it.

For those like me who forgot, the last time these teams met, Patrice Bergeron was taken from the ice in a stretcher after being checked face first into the boards by Randy Jones. Jones received a two game suspension from the NHL, adding to a string of dirty hits and suspensions for the Flyers.

I wasn’t aware that Bergeron has yet to return to play. He has a Grade 3 concussion and a broken nose, and may not return this season.

So, like so many other “re-matches” of the season, this game is being hyped, by TSN anyway. Maybe it’s a slow hockey day.

Is any revenge going to be exacted tonight? These are both good teams playing well, in the case of Boston, shouldn’t they be more concerned about gaining more points in the standings, increasing the distance between themselves and the Sabres… and Toronto?

The Bruins have too much going on to be distracted by revenge. As much as a big brawl is fun to talk about, as the Boston Globe points out, the media is making more out of this than the players are. (The Boston Herald also went with the points over revenge theme today).

Some of Boston’s biggest heavyweights are hurt, making a fight seem even less likely.

But I have a feeling someone will go after Jones, just to enforce a certain code of honor, even if it’s just to duke it out, then get on with the game.

Boston Bruins, Philadelhpia Flyers, Patrice Bergeron, Randy Jones

Trust me, there are few out there watching the Toronto Maple Leafs meltdown as closely as I am.

What else would make me sit through a Leafs/Coyotes game on a Saturday night? It wasn’t to see good hockey, that’s for sure.

The Leafs aren’t even playing that badly. Ask Capitals or Coyotes or Oilers fan about true misery. But Leafs fans are hungry, and have a certain sense of entitlement to the Cup. Not that that’s a bad thing — it forces the team to address the problems quicker.

Or so one would think, but according to this reports from Sportsnet.ca, Leafs GM John Ferguson Jr tried to fire head coach Paul Maurice last week.

First off, am I alone in thinking Maurice isn’t the problem here? Update: Apparently, I’m not. The players have stepped up in defense of Maurice.

Second, isn’t “trying” to fire a head coach and failing just another display of how powerless this GM is?

Third, can’t the Leafs do anything without the Toronto media getting wind of it? Sieves have less leaks than this organization.

The rest of the article… meh, I take with a grain of salt. The GM “replacement” list reads like a HOF inductee list — doesn’t anyone really think Steve Yzerman is going to take over as GM of the Leafs? — but I guess it’ll keep Leaf fans talking. Update: More on replacing Ferguson here.

Which is better than actually watching the games.

But all this talk is just that — talk. If the Leafs are going to turn it around and get themselves out of the slump/goaltending controversy/excuse of the week they’re in, they need to act now. Their division isn’t exactly waiting for them: Ottawa has a league-leading 33 points, Montreal is playing strong enough to lock down second with 27 points, and the Bruins — yes the Bruins — are in third with 24 points. Toronto is tied for last with Buffalo, and that’s only by virtue of 5 OT losses. Buffalo is actually a .500 club and is pulling away from Toronto.

When was the last time the Leafs were out of the playoffs by December?

Toronto Maple Leafs, John Ferguson Jr, Paul Maurice, Steve Yzerman

In honor of the Devil’s Martin Brodeur and his 500th win the other night, here’s a YouTube selection of some of the goalie’s best moments:

From the Stanley Cup Finals of 2000. Dallas was trying to repeat, the Devils were having none of it. I love this video because it shows just how good Mike Modano can be and how good Brett Hull was. But Brodeur was better.

Not only can he stop them, he can score them! Brodeur scores what I think is his first NHL goal here. The goal itself is one of the nicest goalie-goals I’ve seen, not touching the ice until it’s past the red-line. And while you can’t see Brodeur’s face too clearly, he looks pretty darn pleased with himself.

Right up to his 500th win, Brodeur was making those incredible saves. Check out:

Rapid fire drill, All-Star game 1999. I was lucky enough to see this live. Bonus: Close up of the Jagr mullet.

Sean Avery bowls over Brodeur. Brodeur won’t stand for it and goes after Avery, and complete and total chaos erupts. His teammates rush in to help out, but I think Brodeur would have liked to have taken care of Avery all on his own.

Still not sure what this is, but it’s nice to see Brodeur doing his best to keep the fans amused. Scratch “Russian dancing” off his list of talents though.

They weren’t all good goals. Marty managed to pot one on himself in a rare misstep in the 2003 Stanley Cup finals.

But mostly, he is busy making saves like this. Enjoy.

Martin Brodeur

Going Five Hole’s post on the NHL Officials Association site got me thinking about that age old incident between the New Jersey Devils‘ head coach Jim Schoenfeld and NHL ref Don Koharski.

To refresh your memory, during the 1988 playoffs, Koharski was reffing a game between the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. Schoenfeld was less than impressed with the quality of the officiating and waited for Koharski after the the game to “discuss” the matter with Koharski. Their discussion disintegrated into a screaming match with Schoenfeld eventually shoving Koharski (ok, it does look like Koharski tripped, but that’s been debated to death, and it’s more fun to say he was shoved) and uttering the now famous “you fat pig”, quickly followed by the even more famous “have another doughnut”.

Naturally, because this is the NHL, everything was caught by nearby cameras:

The NHL suspended Schoenfeld, but he was re-instated after the Devils got a court-order. As a result, NHL referees stood by Koharski and boycotted the playoff game. The league had to use replacement officials for the game.

As silly as our refs can be, at least the NHL has never had to deal with an NBA-type ref scandal. Yet.

Don Koharski still refs in the NHL and runs an Officiating and Development Camp in Canada in the summer.

And of course, the incident was immortalized in the movie Wayne’s World, with a character called Officer Koharski (police… doughnuts… c’mon it’s funny!).

New Jersey Devils, Jim Schoenfeld, Don Koharski, Boston Bruins

Some of the highlights of Sean Avery’s career that have little to do with hockey:

• Avery first made his presence known when he spoke out during the 2004-2005 NHL lockout, claiming the NHLPA had lied to its members about the lockout.
• In the 2005 season, Avery made his now legendary comments regarding French-Canadian players and visors. After Denis Gauthier gave Jeremy Roenick a concussion, Avery said this was typical behavior for French players with visors, to play rough and not back it up. Avery later apologized for his comments.
• Later that same season Avery was accused of calling Georges Laraque a “monkey” during a heated exchange on the ice. Avery continues to deny that allegation.
• Still that same season, Avery became the first player in NHL history to be fined under the new “diving” rules. He was fined just over a month into the season.
• Avery was fined again the next day for mouthing off about the fine and the NHL’s Colin Campbell, claiming the fine wasn’t about diving, but something about Avery himself.
• At the end of the same season (still in 2005-2006), Avery was caught up in a very public feud with former player and current announcer Brian Hayward. Avery took exception to Hayward’s comments that Avery had backed down from a fight, and slammed Hayward’s abilities as an announcer and a player. Hayward famously retorted, “How would you know? When I played, you were in your third year of eighth grade.”
• Unsurprisingly, near the end of the season, the Kings suspended Avery, saying he was arguing with coaching staff and refusing practice drills. However, the Kings signed Avery to a $1.1 million deal in the off-season.



• Avery was traded to the New York Rangers in February of 2007. Within two months the Rangers had made the playoffs despite being well out of contention for most of the season. Coaches and players credited Avery as being the catalyst behind the turnaround, saying he had acted as a leader, pumped up the team and led by example.
• However, by the time arbitration came around the following off-season, even the Rangers labelled him a “detriment to the team” and “not a mature player”.
• All wasn’t rosy by the beginning of training camp either.

Avery returned from injury on November 3. It took a week for the madness to return.

Sean Avery, Denis Gauthier, Jeremy Roenick, Georges Laraque, Colin Campbell, Brian Hayward

Did Sean Avery finally take it too far?

By now the story is known throughout the hockey world: During the warm-up of the Saturday night game between the New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, Avery decided to stir things up. In classic Avery fashion, he said something volatile to Toronto’s Jason Blake (so say the Leafs).

Blake, if you remember, was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this year, so there’s a lot of speculation Avery’s comments were related to that.

Whatever they were, Darcy Tucker — not exactly of the cooler heads variety himself — overheard and took exception, and the next thing you know, the teams are having to separate Tucker and Avery.

And that was just the warm up.

Naturally, Tucker and Avery fought in the first and Tucker made it sound like their battles weren’t even close to over when he was interviewed by the CBC in the first intermission.

They didn’t fight again, but Avery managed to set up Brendan Shanahan for one goal and scored his own a few minutes later, which was sure to irritate the Leafs further.

Now Colin Campbell wants a word with Mr. Avery.

You can find more coverage at ESPN, Canoe.ca, and the Globe takes it up a notch by saying Avery is equally angry about the public accusations from Tucker. This is going to get interesting.

(more…)

Sean Avery, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Jason Blake, Darcy Tucker, Brendan Shanahan, Colin Campbell

Am I the only one not feeling a ton of love for the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ Mark Bell?

Having completed his 15-game suspension for drinking and driving, Bell is full of vim and vigor and ready to take on the league powerhouse Ottawa Senators.

It’s not like I want to see the guy crying in the corner or crippled by guilt, but it seems like his only comments on the whole affair have been about how rough it’s been on him.

Nothing about letting his past or present teammates down, nothing about, oh you know, the person he hit while drinking and driving, and the fact he fled the scene, albeit only a few blocks.

Bell still has a jail sentence to serve, and he’s got many legal challenges stemming from the accident as well. He says he has not touched a drop of alcohol since the accident and there’s no reason not to believe him. He’s right to focus on hockey right now.

But I’m not so sure he’s right to pretend his woes in San Jose only affected him.

Toronto Maple Leafs, Mark Bell, Ottawa Senators

I’m not one to mix hockey and politics — especially Quebec politics — but I gotta sound off on this whole crazy French language saga going on in the eastern side of the country.

In case you’re not up to speed, the leader of the Parti Quebecois, Pauline Marois, has stirred up language debate in Quebec by saying reasonable accommodation for non-French speakers (notably religious and ethnic minorities) has gone too far, and to “protect” francophone culture, Quebec must restrict the rights for people who haven’t demonstrated an “appropriate knowledge” of the French language.

This has little to do with hockey of course, until the debate brought a high-profile Quebec lawyer to comment that Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu doesn’t speak workable french after living in the province for over 10 years. Marois agreed and took it even further by saying the Habs should force their players to learn French if they want to play for the Bleu Blanc et Rouge. And the debate exploded in the media.

Not even getting into the political details of sovereignty and culture and French vs English in Canada — such as pointing out that Marois has not yet managed to acquire an “appropriate knowledge” of the English language — the hockey angle alone is stunning.

Could you imagine GM Bob Gainey trying to solidify deals while having to ensure the new players would take the time to learn French? Can players specify certain teams in a no-trade clause, because I’m guessing they might start.

Due to the international nature of hockey, many players are already struggling with having to learn English once they’re drafted. Try telling a player from Russia or Sweden that he’s got to make sure to have French under his belt as well.

Do the CFL Montreal Alouettes need to sign their players up for French lessons too? Could you imagine American college football players trying to reconcile the nuances of the CFL game and learn French on top of that?

Koivu has handled this with a lot of class, first by admitting that in a perfect world his French would be better, and then last night by recording a message for Canadiens fans that was broadcast before the game. In French. The fans went wild.

The recording was actually made over a week ago — long before he was brought into this debate.

A comment from a fan on one of the news stories absolutely nails why this is only an issue for those who are more interested in making headlines and causing trouble than any real concern for Quebec culture. He mentions that when he goes to a hockey game, everyone there — Francophone, Anglophone, immigrant, black, white, whatever — is there to cheer on the Habs, and there are no differences between them.

That says more about Quebec culture than any French lesson could.

Pauline Marois, Montreal Canadiens, Saku Koivu, Bob Gainey, Montreal Alouettes

Leafs fans chanting “Let’s Go Raptors” during the Leafs 7-1 loss to Washington? Ouch. What is wrong with the Leafs that they can’t seem to string a series of wins together at home? They keep blaming defensive woes, but registering a single goal a game isn’t going to help matters much either. Whatever doesn’t kill you will make you….. ah nevermind.

Ovechkin got his 7th and 8th if you’re keeping score. Pretty much everyone else on the Capitals got in on the fun as well, with 6 different goal scorers.

And Leafs fans? NBA opens tonight. Maybe the Raptors will fare….. nah.

***

On the other end of the goaltending spectrum, the Flames locked up former Vezina trophy winner Miikka Kiprusoff yesterday, paying a paltry $35 million over 6 years. What a brilliant move. Kipper may be starting slow, but by November he usually shakes off the rust and carries the Flames the rest of the season.

Give Flames GM Darryl Sutter a lot of credit: 2 years ago the Flames were looking at having to resign 3 major UFAs in 2008 — Jarome Iginla, Robyn Regher and Kiprusoff, plus one RFA in Dion Phaneuf. The 3 UFAs are now locked into long-term contracts (Iginla and Regher each signed for 5 years), and the Flames can focus entirely on Phaneuf.

***

Philly’s Randy Jones has been suspended 2 games for his hit on Patrice Bergeron. Is it just me, or is that a complete waste of time? Clearly the Flyers didn’t care enough about a pair of 20 game (or more) suspension to clean up their act. Granted, this hit was a lot different. Fact is, the Flyers are successful right now, and their rough play (insert 70s Broadstreet Bullies reference here) is part of the reason they’re doing so well. Why on earth would they stop now?

If the NHL is going to hand out a suspension to deter these actions, they should make it, you know, an actual deterrent.

Ovechkin, Miikka Kiprusoff, Darryl Sutter, Jarome Iginla, Robyn Regher, Dion Phaneuf, Randy Jones, Patrice Bergeron, Broadstreet Bullies

Time for my weekly look and the wonderful and wacky world of NHL standings.

Standings fun:

• Ottawa continues to own the east with nine wins. Detroit has the same in the west.
• At the other end of the spectrum, Atlanta has surged to win three games, tying them with follow bottom feeder Phoenix. And it only took Atlanta 11 games to do it!
• Every team in the Northeast Division is .500 or better, with only the Sabres sitting right on the .500 mark.
• Islanders, Lightning, Coyotes and Blues have all played only 9 games, while Anaheim leads the league at 13 games played.
• Washington and Florida are ahead of New Jersey and the NY Rangers. Who says parity is dead? There’s no such phenomenon in the west… everyone is well ahead of Phoenix and Nashville, surprising no one.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

• To most it’s just a Sunday night matchup between two struggling teams, but to the Ducks and the Oilers it’s another chapter in the feud between their respective GMs. Give this round to the Oilers. Of course, the focus was on Dustin Penner. His comments and attitude in the story are actually pretty classy. The bonus was that GM Brian Burke presented Penner with his Stanley Cup ring in the GM’s office after the game. Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall for that little scene?



• Bruins fans are a hardy folk, how else could they get through so many seasons of misery with barely a whimper? The latest in their string of misfortunes, the injury of Patrice Bergeron — one of the few bright lights in the Bruins organization — might be less serious than previously thought as Bergeron was released from the hospital Sunday. Tests showed no injury to Bergeron’s head and neck.

Plus a big congrats to the Boston Red Sox on their World Series win!

Dustin Penner, Brian Burke, Patrice Bergeron

Colorado Avalanche at Edmonton Oilers - Colorado is 4-4-0, Edmonton is 3-5-0, but the real story is Ryan Smyth’s return to Edmonton. Sentiments are expressed much better at Covered In Oil, and the news side is covered much better at KuklasKorner. Battle Of Alberta also chimes in. Don’t underestimate what Smyth meant to Oiler fans.

Nashville Predators at Los Angeles Kings - Nashville is 2-5-0 and LA is 3-6-0. Both teams have gotten to a slow start this season, especially former contender Nashville, now stuck in a 5 game losing streak. LA is turning it around slowly, stopping their own five game skid with a convincing win against Vancouver. No word on if the game will be affected by the fires in the area. Even though they’re likely not close to the arena, there are enough roads closed and confusion in the area. Prayers to anyone in So. Cal right now.

***

Here we go again: The Peter Forsberg rumor mill is alive and well. We’re back to Ottawa, since Petey will only play for a contender. Oh, and he wants a 3-year deal worth $5 million a season.

Disclaimer: I’ve never been much of a Forsberg fan, but that might a result of having to play the Avs 8 times a season when they seemed to own all the talent in the division. Or maybe it was the way he would crumple to the ice if someone looked at him wrong and the refs would buy it every time…. but I digress. Ottawa seems to be churning along fine without Peter The Great, and may not have the cap room to make a 3 year commitment. Colorado (Forsberg’s other choice), may not want him enough to give in either. So then what?

***

The Leafs woes continue as they’ve now lost Darcy Tucker to a knee injury. Tucker will be wearing a brace, and will be out indefinitely.

That really sucks for Toronto. Tucker is annoying as all get-out, but he’s clearly a key member of the Toronto club. Losing him indefinitely isn’t going to help the Leafs ship right itself.

Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Ryan Smyth, Peter Forsberg, Darcy Tucker

Tonight’s games:

NY Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins - Rangers are 2-4-1, Pens are 4-3-0. Jordan Staal and Marc Staal will be playing against each other for the first time. Rangers recently lost Straka to injury and are in a 3-game losing skid, while the Pens are hoping to extend their winning streak to 3.

Atlanta Thrashers at Toronto Maple Leafs - Atlanta is 1-7-0, while Toronto is 3-4-2. Both teams have had disappointing starts, Atlanta’s coach was fired last week. The rest is too depressing to mention, between defensive woes and goaltending nightmares, winless streaks and goals against. Click the link if you really want to know. Or skip the whole thing and watch Family Guy instead.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Chicago Blackhawks - Columbus is 3-3-1, Chicago is (5-3-0). These division rivals have languished at the bottom of the league for years, so it’s nice to see some improvement on both sides. Chicago’s highly touted rookies Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have made all the difference, and are both among team leaders for points. Columbus goalie Pascal Leclaire already has an amazing 3 shutouts this season, and Rick Nash is leading the team with 5 goals.

Anaheim Ducks at St. Louis Blues - Ducks are 4-5-1, Blues are 4-2-0. Blues are another Central division team that has taken off early in the season thanks to free agent signing Paul Kariya and to solid netminding from Manny Legace. The Ducks are struggling and currently mired in their longest season-opening road losing streak ever.

NY Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Jordan Staal, Marc Staal, Straka, Atlanta Thrashers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Pascal Leclaire, Rick Nash, Anaheim Ducks, St. Louis Blues, Paul Kariya, Manny Legace