Ponds and Pucks

Dave Keon top Toronto Maple Leaf of all time? Seems like a strange choice, but who am I to argue with the likes of Harry Neale, Frank Selke and Bill Watters?

Leafs fans will be curious about which player was ranked where (and likely debate it for the remainder of the season, since it’s not like the Leafs are going to be doing much worth talking about), but to me the most fascinating part of the article is that 102 year old sports writer Milt Dunnell was part of the voting panel.

102 years! Just imagine the hockey he’s seen.

***

Old news, but thought I’d throw it out there: Rumor has it Mike Keenan is looking to swap Alex Tanguay for Alexei Kovalev. Putting aside the fact Keenan is the head coach and not the GM (Darryl Sutter must be thrilled to have this all over Sportsnet.ca), that just seems crazy. Granted, the jury is still out on Tanguay, but Kovalev? When Montreal fans jumped at the idea and Calgary fans stayed very quiet, that was enough to see who was getting the better player (or getting rid of the worst one).

***

An aside…. Sutter used to keep the Flames rumor mill locked tight. There was rarely a leak or rumor from the Calgary team. As soon as Keenan joined, Sportsnet.ca suddenly had scoop after scoop and rumor after rumor. Now they’re even getting trade rumors, even though Keenan has nothing to do with trades (officially anyway). Wonder where they’re suddenly getting all this info from….?

Dave Keon, Harry Neale, Frank Selke, Bill Watters, Milt Dunnell, Mike Keenan, Alex Tanguay, Alexei Kovalev, Darryl Sutter

Just this morning I made a joke about first coach of the season being fired and pools and Bob Hartley. I shouldn’t have joked. Bob Hartley was fired by the Atlanta Thrashers today.

The Thrashers started the season 0-6-0, but one could argue this stems from last year’s playoffs when the Thrashers traded away valuable picks to boost up for their first ever playoff run, then went out in 4 games against the New York Rangers.

That left the Thrashers with their best talent gone, few high-round picks, and a disappointing playoff run. However that’s not entirely a coaching problem, that’s an organizational problem.

Hartley may have simply been there too long. Hartley was head coach since the 2002-2003 season. Only a handful of current coaches have lasted as long as or longer:

• Lindy Ruff (Buffalo’s head coach since the 1997-1998 season)
• Barry Trotz (Nashville’s head coach since the 1998-1999 season)
• Craig MacTavish (Edmonton’s head coach since the 2000-2001 season)
• Jacques Lemaire (Minnesota’s head coach since the 2000-2001 season)
• John Tortorella (Tampa’s coach since the 2000-2001 season)
• Ron Wilson (San Jose’s coach since the 2002-2003 season)
• Dave Tippett (Dallas’ head coach since the 2002-2003 season)

Yeah, my betting money would have been on Barry Trotz. I just don’t think anyone expected Atlanta to get off to such a brutal start, despite the fact that on paper they certainly didn’t look like a team building on their success.

So now the replacement debate begins. Assistant coach Brad McCrimmon ran the practice, is it time to give him his first NHL shot? The fact the coaching staff wasn’t completely cleaned out makes one think the Thrashers might be leaning that way.

And, just for more debate, does this just prove the Hartley haters right, that his success in Colorado was due to the talent on the team, and not the coaching?

Bob Hartley, Atlanta Thrashers, New York Rangers, Lindy Ruff, Barry Trotz, Craig MacTavish, Jacques Lemaire, John Tortorella, Ron Wilson, Dave Tippett, Brad McCrimmon

The Canadiens allow a goal with 11 seconds remaining and go on to lose in a shoot-out to the Panthers.

The Flames rise to a 4-0 lead early in the second period and go on to lose in a shoot-out to the Avalanche.

Which team deserves the dunce cap more?

***

ESPN’s second power rankings of the season are up. No surprises here, though I think the Penguins-love is a little heavy. 5th overall for a .500 team? Ranked ahead of 3-1-0 teams like the Flyers and Lightning? I know all it takes is Sid the Kid to kick start his game and the Penguins are right back in the top 5, but it hasn’t happened yet.

***

A quick look at the NHL standings shows some interesting things:

• Minnesota remains the only team unbeaten in regulation.
• At the other end of the spectrum, at 0-6-0 Atlanta has yet to register a single point in the standings. Those of you with bets over the first coach fired should start looking at who has poor Bob Hartley.
• Philadelphia is the only Atlantic Division team over .500. Both the Northeast and Southeast divisions have 3 teams over .500.
• Los Angeles has allowed the most goals in the league (30). Toronto is a close second at 29.
• Toronto also has scored the most goals in the league (26)
• Anaheim has played twice as many games (8) as Pittsburgh, Tampa, St. Louis and Columbus.
• New Jersey and Boston have yet to play a home game. Every team in the league has played a road game.

You know it’s a slow news day in the hockey world when many hockey news web sites are leading with tonight’s Toronto/Buffalo matchup (and some are more interested in talking about baseball). Or maybe it’s just me, already tired of Toronto and their goaltending troubles.

In any case, the Flyers’ decision to put Jesse Boulerice on waivers might spice things up. I have the feeling there will be few, if any, takers.

Since so many are looking at the Atlanta Thrashers and wondering when they might actually, you know, win a game or two (as the Flames breathe a sigh of relief and wipe their foreheads. Their wins against Dallas and Detroit took them from winless to .500 hockey), I took a surf over to some blogs for my favorite Eastern Conference division to see what the bloggers there had to say.

Southeast Shootout has a great look at which Thrashers players are actually shooting the puck, and while the players who are getting the shots may not surprise, the total lack of shots against the opposition is a little depressing.

Thrashers die-hard TheFalconcer waxes frustration in a discussion of Atlanta’s woes and breaks apart their most recent game against the New Jersey Devils. I love the “Naming Names” section. And TheFalconer nails the fact Ilya Kovalchuk is painfully underated thanks to the team’s lack of success. Not that it matters, but Vincent Lecavalier suffered the same fate in Tampa for many years.

It’s way too early in the season to panic, and there have been some (not many) playoff teams to slump in October before pulling their collective hockey shorts up for the rest of the season, but it’s tough. When you’re in the Southeast division, not playing well is certainly going to make life very difficult. You’ve got the surging Hurricanes, the always steady Lightning, the Capitals finding their feet, and….Florida. (sorry, couldn’t resist). Falling more than a few games behind now could prove very painful indeed.

Jesse Boulerice, Atlanta Thrashers, Ilya Kovalchuk, Vincent Lecavalier

The city of Philadelphia may be seeing the resurgance of the Broadstreet Bullies!

We’ll start with the obvious:

1. Jesse Boulerice cross-checks Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler

   The jury is still out on how many games Boulerice is going to get for this hit, but considering the trend started by teammate Steve Downie in the pre-season, I can’t imagine the NHL is going to be too lenient. This video also has an excellent collection of the sparring Boulerice and Kesler had been involved in prior to the hit.

2. Steve Downie hits Dean McAmmond

   Pre-season. What else is there to say? Downie got 20 games for this. Considering he left his feet, I’d say he’s lucky.

3. Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers set single game penalty minutes record

   Ok, I’m cheating a little here, but how can I not include the game/fight that set the NHL single game penalty minutes record? Bear in mind, this 7 minute YouTube video is only part 1 of 3 covering the mayhem that night.

4. Denis Gauthier’s late hit on Vincent Lecavalier

   Disclaimer: I love Denis Gauthier. I also love Vincent Lecavalier. But there is no love between these guys — and that goes back years. This isn’t a dirty hit as much as it’s a cheap shot, and a debatable one at that. One could argue Gauthier had Lecavalier lined up well before the puck went in and didn’t have time to stop. Either way, you’ve got to love any player who can score a pretty goal like that, then turn around and start pummeling the guy who hit him.

5. Ron Hextall

   
   

   Two for the price of one. There’s nothing else to say. The Chris Chelios attack was of course revenge for Chelios’s hit on Brian Propp earlier in the series (available on YouTube — but fairly gruesome).

Sadly, I was unable to include Dave Brown’s jaw-breaking cross check on Tomas Sandstrom. That hit netted Brown 15 games in November of 1987, still one of the longest suspensions in NHL history (though falling out of the Top 10 quickly).

For a fun list of Flyers’ misdeeds over the years, check out FlyersHistory.com. It’s been years since I’ve seen a suspension for “beating [another player] in the penalty box” (and 2 Flyers players were suspended for beating the same player!).

Broadstreet Bullies, Jesse Boulerice, Ryan Kesler, Steve Downie, Dean McAmmond, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Denis Gauthier, Vincent Lecavalier, Ron Hextall, Chris Chelios, Brian Propp, Dave Brown, Tomas Sandstrom

• Drafted in 4th round, 90th overall in the 1995 NHL entry draft, by the SJ Sharks. Fellow Finn Miika Kiprusoff was taken the next round, also by the Sharks.
• Was not planning on a career in hockey at the time of his draft. Vesa Toskala was considering a return to school and leaving hockey entirely, unsure about the stability of a career in hockey. The Sharks convinced him to give North America a try.
• Scored 2 points (2 assists) against the Chicago Blackhawks on February 3, 2007, a Sharks club record.
• Earned the nickname “The Finnish Horse” from Sharks’ broadcaster Dan Rusanowsky.
• First NHL start was a total of ten minutes in relief of Evgeni Nabokov. Toskala faced and stopped two shots.
• Calls his goaltending style “bear style”.
• Credits playing soccer in Finland to his development as a goalie.
• Before Tuesday night’s debacle had never allowed 7 goals in a single game.

Miika Kiprusoff, Vesa Toskala, Evgeni Nabokov

Why does it take something like a cancer diagnoses to remember there are things more important in hockey than goals, points, ice time, hockey pools or bonuses? Once Jason Blake went public with his leukemia diagnoses, everything else just seemed like background noise.

The most amazing thing about the way this story has come out is the upbeat nature of everyone: the team, the doctors, and Blake himself. Leafs head coach Paul Maurice nailed it when he said “It’s an unusual sentence to hear — the first word is cancer, the next word is leukemia, and then everything should be all right. I’m not familiar with the condition so it was new that something like this would be as treatable and for such a positive sentence to come after such a negative sentence, it takes a little while to get your head around it.”

The Leafs are the subject of much derision and abuse from fans throughout the season (and that’s just in Toronto), but no one ever wishes anything serious to happen to these guys. As it shows in the article, Blake and his family have been through a lot already. Here’s hoping this is the end of it.

Ironically, this is also the 10th Anniversary of the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer campaign. Throughout the season all 30 teams will be involved in fund-raisers and public awareness of local cancer charities. There is also the annual online auction, where player goodies such as game worn jerseys and other memorabilia is available for bidding.

Jason Blake, Paul Maurice

The Blackhawks had one task this season — only one simple task if they were to take advantage of the impressive off-season moves they made.

Stay healthy.

During training camp, rookie phenom Jonathan Toews[tag] took a puck to the finger and missed the rest of camp, and — so far — the season opener. Another player, [tag]Ryan Stokes, was hurt the same night when his face was cut open after falling into a pile of players (Stokes did not remain with the Hawks).

Now, after one game (a 1-0 win against Minnesota) the Hawks have lost yet another key player in Martin Havlat.

Havlat left the game in the third period after colliding with a couple of Wild players in front of the Minnesota net, and when he reappeared, his arm was in a sling. There’s concern about his shoulder. The x-ray results will come today.

FanHouse has a great post about the injury, along with a discussion about Havlat’s medical record over the years (he hasn’t played more than 68 games in a season since 2003).

Guess it’s up to new acquisitions Sergei Samsonov, Yanic Perrault and Robert Lang to step up and fill in the gap. That’s what the make the big bucks for, right?

Hopefully Havlat’s injury is minor and he’s back on the ice by next week. Hopefully the Hawks are getting this injury nonsense out of the way early. But this is cutting it too close waaaaay too early for the Hawks.

I love the Hawks, I really do. They have some of the best (and most under-appreciated) fans in the league. But wow, just wow. As far as sports curses go, this one is a doozy.

Jonathan Toews[tag] took a puck to the finger and missed the rest of camp, and — so far — the season opener. Another player, [tag]Ryan Stokes, Martin Havlat, Sergei Samsonov, Yanic Perrault, Robert Lang

Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying the sparring match between Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke and pretty much anyone connected with the Edmonton Oilers (GM Kevin Lowe and Head Coach Craig MacTavish in particular), but some of it seems forced, and some is just silly. I mean, “blowhard”?

If you’ve been living under a rock, Burke and Lowe continue to use the media (particularly Sportsnet.ca. I’m not saying that means anything, but….) to discuss their off-season battle for Dustin Penner, a player who 90 per cent of hockey fans had never heard of before the Oilers decided to sign him to an offer sheet and make him a trivia question subject for life. Don’t we have something better to talk about?

With the season finally under way, and a clean slate for nearly every team in the NHL (sorry Columbus), do we really need a couple of childish managers hogging the airwaves and front pages of hockey web sites? I’m all for airing of dirty laundry and public spats, but we’re in the exciting hockey days here.

Vincent Lecavalier is looking amazing. Mike Keenan is already starting to twitch. Daniel Briere is settling in nicely with his new team. Daniel Alfredsson continues to frustrate the Leafs, and that’s just good clean fun for everyone.We need to save the back-biting until at least November — you know, usually about the point you realize your favorite team’s off-season changes have amounted to zilch, while their biggest rival is being heralded for signing the second coming of Gretzky for half a million dollars.

If not then, we’ll still need some good fodder for that hockey news wasteland between the All-Star game and the trade deadline.

By that point, Penner’s true worth should be revealed and at least one of the combatants will get to add a layer of smugness to their shots. Then we can really sit back and enjoy the show.

Brian Burke, Kevin Lowe, Craig MacTavish, Dustin Penner, Columbus, Vincent Lecavalier, Mike Keenan, Daniel Briere, Daniel Alfredsson

Alfredsson doesn’t care which Leafs’ goalie he scores on.

It was somewhat surprising to see Raycroft between the pipes when the puck dropped last night for the Senators/Leafs game. It was almost as surprising to see Toskala in net for the Leafs tonight in their second tilt against Ottawa.

What’s not surprising is that it didn’t seem to make one iota of difference.

I don’t blame the Leafs for not starting Toskala at home — the pressure there is ridiculous. I know players don’t go to Toronto to remain anonymous, but how much attention and pressure would Toskala be under if the Leafs hadn’t been forced to take the problem child Mark Bell as well?

If you’re the Leafs, who do you start in net next?

***

I haven’t checked yet, but I believe the Steve Downie suspension expires right before the Flyers play Ottawa again. Excellent. If you’re keeping track, tonight’s game against Calgary is Game #1 of the suspension.

Philly looked good tonight against Calgary. It’s only one game, but I swear the countdown on Mike Keenan’s first eruption is already well underway. A tale of two teams: Flyer’s star player Daniel Briere steps up and scores a goal in the latter half of the 3rd period, bringing the team to a 3-2 lead. Calgary star Jarome Iginla responds by stepping up and taking a hooking penalty. It was a lousy call, but still….

***

Up the highway, the Oilers eked out a strong win against the Sharks. Still processing that one… that and Nashville beating the crap out of Colorado. All this is telling me is that I’ll need to wait a few more weeks before buying SportsSelect tickets…

***

Shutout count: Backstrom - 1, Mason - 1.

***

Regular, less stream-of-consciousness content will return tomorrow. I promise. (Guilty confession: The NHL is my first love. Always has been. But after this weekend, part of me is still caught up in the NFL and ex-CFLer Jeff Garcia’s performance in Tampa).

Buffalo Sabres

Notable moves and changes:‹crickets›
Starting goalie: Ryan Miller
Summary of last year:Ah Buffalo, so much hope tied into one team. So many highs in one season (record setting road wins, numerous club records, full season of home sell outs), and it all died so quickly (beaten in 5 games in the Eastern Conference final). Normally this would just set a team up to win it all the following year, but…
Prediction for this year:… too much has changed in Buffalo. Daniel Briere, Chris Drury and Dainius Zubrus have all left the team, and it appears as though the Sabres didn’t even try to replace them (though their spending might have been curbed by having to match the Oilers offer sheet for Thomas Vanek). If a Cup could be won on enthusiasm and heart the Sabres would be shoo-ins. Here’s hoping it’s enough to push them deep into the playoffs.

Buffalo Sabres, Ryan Miller, Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, Dainius Zubrus, Thomas Vanek

Detroit Red Wings

Notable moves and changes:Signed D Brian Rafalski (was with New Jersey). Signed F Dallas Drake.
Starting goalie: Dominik Hasek
Summary of last year: The rest of the league can only dream to have a team as consistently well-built as the Red Wings. It’s not like they don’t suffer their share of key player losses and injuries — it’s just they always seem to recover in fine fashion (how many teams could survive the loss of a Steve Yzerman with barely a misstep?). Last season they were yet again 1st in the Central Division, 1st in the Western Conference and 2nd overall. All this with a roster most would consider “too old” on many other teams (2 players in their 40s!). Yeah, they got to play the lowly Blues, Blue Jackets and Blackhawks 8 times each, but so did Nashville. Prediction for this year: It wasn’t tough for the Wings to get younger, but again, they did it smartly, bringing in steady veterans and keeping the core of the team intact. Rafalski’s camp injury has thrown the team into a bit of a loop, but with the Wings’ depth, they have little to worry about… especially since the weak Central Division around them hasn’t improved much.

Detroit Red Wings, Brian Rafalski, Dallas Drake, Dominik Hasek, Steve Yzerman

Nashville Predators

Notable moves and changes: Signed F Radek Bonk (was with Montreal) and D Greg de Vries (was with Atlanta). Signed F Martin Gelinas (was with Florida) .
Starting goalie: Chris Mason
Summary of last year: Hard to believe now the Preds finished third overall and had their best season yet. Many point to the acquisition of Peter Forsberg (which cost the Preds Scottie Upshall and Ryan Parent) as the turning point. Forsberg struggled, the team struggled, and their playoff run was cut to a mere 5 games. The off-season sale drama has done little to improve the team’s fortunes.
Prediction for this year:In a word — ouch. The list of players missing from this year’s roster is intimidating — Scott Hartnell, Paul Kariya, Tomas Vokoun, Kimmo Timonen all stand out. The players brought in don’t come close to replacing that talent, and the Preds have an extremely tough road ahead of them if they plan to equal last year’s performance. David Legwand, JP Dumont and Steve Sullivan (when he gets healthy) all need to practically double their output just to keep the Predators in the playoffs.

Nashville Predators, Radek Bonk, Greg de Vries, Martin Gelinas, Chris Mason, Peter Forsberg, Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent, Scott Hartnell, Paul Kariya, Tomas Vokoun, Kimmo Timonen, David Legwand, JP Dumont, Steve Sullivan

Anaheim Ducks

Notable moves and changes: Signed D Mathieu Schneider (was with Detroit). Signed F Todd Bertuzzi (was with Detroit and Florida). Both Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne are on leave from the team while pending retirement.
Starting goalie: Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Summary of last year:Can’t quite remember… something involving a large, shiny, Cup-shaped sports trophy….
Prediction for this year:The year defending a Cup is always tough — every team plays you hard every night — and the Ducks are going to find it even tougher without the services of Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne. It remains unknown what their plans are, but for all intents and purposes, the Ducks must soldier on without them. The additions of Todd Bertuzzi and Mathieu Schneider are nice (depending which Bertuzzi shows up), and the team will remain a contender, but the cries of “dynasty” might be a tad premature.

Anaheim Ducks, Mathieu Schneider, Todd Bertuzzi, Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne, Jean-Sebastien Giguere

San Jose Sharks

Notable moves and changes: Signed F Jeremy Roenick (was with Phoenix). Offered tryout to D Sandis Ozolinsh.
Starting goalie: Evgeni Nabokov
Summary of last year:Another strong season, another missed opportunity. Despite the amazing play of Joe Thornton, a season points tally of 107 (which was only good enough to rank them 5th in the Western Conference), and the crafty addition of Bill Guerin and Craig Rivet at the trade deadline, once again, someone else went to the final.
Prediction for this year:The Sharks are a bit of a mystery. With the departure of Bill Guerin and Scott Hannan, it looked like the Sharks might opt to go younger to fill out their roster — only 5 defensive spots are considered “taken” — instead they brought Jeremy Roenick out of his tentative retirement and offered Sandis Ozolinsh a tryout. At least this doesn’t affect the core of the team — Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Jonathan Cheechoo — and the incredible talent there. As long as these guys keep performing, and Nabokov holds steady in net, there’s no reason the Sharks won’t go deep into the playoffs again this year. Who knows, maybe JR is the heart this team needs.

San Jose Sharks, Jeremy Roenick, Sandis Ozolinsh, Evgeni Nabokov, Joe Thornton, Bill Guerin, Craig Rivet, Bill Guerin, Scott Hannan, Jeremy Roenick, Sandis Ozolinsh, Patrick Marleau, Jonathan Cheechoo