Where Do You Draw The Line?

 

The same contracts are being trotted out by the mainstream media and blog community as examples of salary cap circumvention - basically, there’s the sketchy-factor in the deals of Zetterberg, Franzen, Hossa and yes, even Pronger.  There’s Marc Savard and to a lesser extent, Mikka Kiprusoff as well.

Those previous deals, combined with the rejection of Ilya Kovalchuk’s agreement with the New Jersey Devils has brought up two 100% valid arguments:

The Contract is Legit

In short form, if you let the aforementioned contracts slide by, you have to let this one go too.  It’s the exact same concept.  There’s next to zero footing for the NHL to stand on based on the precedent they’ve set for themselves, so sorry guys, but you’ll have to wait until the upcoming CBA negotiations to close the loophole we can only assume you just want to just go. a-vay.

You Have To Draw The Line Somewhere

Basically, you have to clot the wound eventually, or you’ll die.  These deals have bled toward ridiculous since the Kiprusoff camp made the cut, and the other deals were on the edge of feasible.  You could talk yourself into maybe there could possibly be a slight chance that the earlier deals would be played out.

They won’t be, of course - the league was getting full-on screwed, but agents and General Managers fed the NHL Skittles and convinced them that they were 99% effective against pregnancy.  Now here they are dealing with this absolute abortion of a contract, realizing they probably shouldn’t have let somewhat dishonest men push them as far as they would go in the first place. 

While the others were ridiculous as all get-out too, you simply couldn’t muster any “maybe’s” about the Kovalchuk deal - it was written to circumvent a rule.  So the league has to stand up for itself somewhere, right?

(Is there a Webby for “most muddled analogies”?  I gotta be up for that one, right?)

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I think even supporters of camp “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander” (group A) would agree that there has to be a line somewhere.  I mean, if Marc Recchi signed a fourteen-year deal tomorrow, both groups would be like “oooohhhkay, that’s just a tad TOO silly“.  If John Tavares signed a 30-year deal with the last ten years at league minimum, there’s no way any clear-thinking fan could tolerate it. 

So to the “The Contract is Legit” group: you agree, there is a line somewhere, right?  Or do I need to make a stupid 100 year contract example?

There is a line.

So then!  The league decided it had been crossed.  At least they’re paying attention.

I agree with the Wyshynski’s of the world coming out guns-a-blazing about other players contracts that do the “nah, I’m not really gunna play those years” dip.  They’re shady, they were a touch “too creative” at the time, and they were designed to circumvent the cap. 

But they just weren’t so insulting.

And I don’t think it goes much beyond that.  Lamoriello, as great as he’s been, just happened to overestimate how far he could push things. 

It’s fun that there’s some news to follow going forward, and will be interesting to see what happens next.  But the league was put in a tough position here, and I support them not getting rolled over for the umpteenth time, since they were already pretty much pancake-flat from the previous bulldozer-crushings they permitted.

Devils fans can complain that the alarm only went off when they broke in, but “other people already robbed this place” isn’t the best defense for your actions.

*****

I’m gonna leave it there for now, because I have a feeling there’ll be plenty of comment-discussion.  Great job yesterday, some readers had some nice insight on the deal.

If you REALLY love this topic and want some more information and discussion, I’ll be participating in a live chat with the boys over at Yahoo! today, so stop on by:

Puck Daddy Live Chat

Gut Feelings on the Kovalchuk Signing

 

Ilya Kovalchuk’s deal has been reported at 19 kabillion dollars over 106 years, or something like that.  Maybe it was $102 million over 17 years, I forget.

The point is, he got a truckload of money on a heavily front-loaded contract that includes him making the league minimum in years 2022-2027, or as its otherwise known, jamming the CBA directly up the league’s ass.  If he ever did play those years out, which he won’t, those years would have to be adjusted to the then-league-minimum.

Here’s the contract details from Puck Daddy’s Dmitry Chesnokov:

“Kovalchuk agreed to a staggering 17-year, $102 million deal with the team. According to the AP, the high-scoring left wing will earn $6 million each of the next two seasons, $11.5 million for the following five seasons, $10.5 million in the 2017-18 season, $8.5 million for the 2018-19 season, $6.5 million in 2019-20, $3.5 million in 2020-21, $750,000 the following season, and $550,000 for the final five years of the unprecedented deal.” 

Mmmm, I bet that $8.5 and $6.5 when he’s 36 and 37 are gonna taste delicious.  Regardless, it still works out to an average cap hit of $6 million, which will be a bar-goon and a half for a guy who’s expected to score 40 or 50 again next year. 

So!  To my thoughts….

Even though something about if feels… I dunno… immature(?), it’s tough to argue with the whole “well they’re doing it, so why can’t we?”  Fair point.  The Wings did it with Zetterberg and Franzen.  The Flyers did it with Pronger.  The Hawks did it with Hossa and so on and so on.

I’m not gonna claim to be up on the CBA.  Really, there’s about a dozen people in the world who can make that claim uncontested, and half of them are probably lying.  That’s the tough part about analyzing contracts – half the time when they come out, some random, actually-informed guy writes something the rest of us idiots had know idea about like “well actually, in contracts that extend over nine years the cap hit in the fourth year is quintupled” (*PS, that’s not the case, duh) ….or some other valuable tidbit, and all the bloggers that have just been rehashing other people’s opinions look like fools.

So you get gut feelings from me:  My gut feeling is, New Jersey (and a few of the other long-ass-contract giving teams) will regret what they’ve done.  It’s partly a karma thing (for the whole “get as close to cheating without actually doing it” thing – I mean, you COULD cut across the net in NHL ’93 and get the goalie stuck on the post, but… c’mon), but it also seems like a show of gross disregard for the things we can’t control in life, and for the fact that humans just aren’t all that predictable.  I like gambling and all, but aren’t GM’s supposed to be the ones making safe bets?

If Ilya is all about the money, as he’s demonstrated throughout this whole team-picking process, who’s to say he doesn’t just shut it down in the gym now that he’s PAID and slowly work his way down to “mediocre NHLer” status?  It’s unlikely, but for people writing things like “now he can show us that he really wants to win, really wants to help a team succeed in the post-season etc.” (Hi Wysh!)….what if he doesn’t want that?  It’s a real possibility.

He might.  I’m just sayin’, it’s pretty hard to label this decision great when it’s basically akin to playing blackjack, making your biggest bet of the night, and doubling down on your ten against the dealers four.  You could and should win big, but man, if this backfires, it REALLY backfires.

The sad insight I can give you as someone who played the game is that not everyone has the fans/journalists passion for that Cup.  Some guys are just straight up good, born with it, and unfortunately, don’t care as much as you’d like to think.  There were plenty of nights in my career where I couldn’t explain it, I just wasn’t feelin’ it – and that’s real talk man.  I wish I had that burning fire some people do (Crosby), but there are some people who just…. don’t (and Devils fans don’t want to someday see this bracket filled with “Kovalchuk”).

And remember my Twitter rants? I like Ilya Kovalchuk as a player.  The guy is a star.

The point is, 17 years?  I mean, who the eff knows, right?  Anything could happen in that time.  He could help them succeed for years to come, absolutely.  He’ll be a great attribute for the Devils - I badly wanted to see the Islanders land him.  But that’s the selfish fan that wants entertainment in me talking, not the meticulous, responsible GM that lurks in me and realizes that at some point, you have to be responsible.

I have no idea if it’s a good signing.  None.  But who among us does?  I bet Lou Lamoriello is pooping his pants.  I just can’t fathom how much fans in NJ will bitch about this signing in like, 2019 if the Devils don’t win a cup before then.  If they do, you can tolerate a few years of not-being-worth-six-million (Elias).

It’s like the Hawks, Hossa and crew – most fans are sad to see some players leave, but they still think it was worth winning a Cup.  The real New Jersey “Situation” is that the Cup has become a need (to validate this), not a goal.  As with most deals, we’ll judge it when it’s all over, but as I’ve been implying…. it just feels icky.

So, there ya go Devils fans – the Stanley Cup has become your expectation.  And that’s never a bad thing.

As an Islander fan, frankly, I envy your new focus.

Devils Jenga Blocks Fall, The Sharks Flex Some Muscle

 

Happy Friday folks.  And believe me, it is a happy one over here!  My SOB of a brother is staying with Bri and I until Tuesday (wait… sorry mom). 

You may remember Jeff from earlier blogs.  Like his coverage of the paralympics, or that time he stopped breathing a few months ago and almost died, or where I explained that sledge hockey is a well-organized car accident.  Or, you Isles fans may remember him from my Dad’s Islanders-Hall-of-Fame induction, where the team donated Jeff the money for a new, multi-thousand dollar sled for sledge hockey, which he promptly used to t-bone my uber-ghetto sled and nearly made me need my own wheelchair.  (Who needs gifts when you get to shake Alexi. Freakin’. Yashin’s hand.  *gasps, fans himself, faints.)

Either way, we’re extremely pumped to have him – wasn’t sure he was gonna make it there for a bit, now the guy’s got a new shunt and he’s brand spankin’ new.  Crazy.  I mean, overnight, the guy got a new lease on life.  Miraculous.

Anyways, we’ll be sitting at McFadden’s outside Jobing.com Arena tonight before/during the Coyotes/Red Wings game (sold out of accessible seats, boo), so feel free to come say hello if you see us.

HOCKEY!

 

As the New Jersey Devils remembered last night, the moment your season ends is surreal.

You’re sitting in your stalls, largely in silence.  Okay, complete silence, except for that one guy who has to be different, and is taking the tape off his socks.  Nobody wants to be the first guy to take his jersey off.  After an extended period of time, coach makes some statement to the team, usually the nicest stuff he’s said all year (unless you’re a two-seed that loses in five games).

I mean, anytime Logan Couture and Dwight Helminen can take the game over (and your big line gets the chance to score meaningless goals again), you have to be impressed….. don’t you?  No?  Hmm.

Well, either way, they are still a one seed, which means if (sorry, when) they get by the Avs, they would draw the lowest seeded team left.  Whoooo you probably wouldn’t pick them to beat anyways.  Ah well.  At least it won’t be a total post-season write off this year.  It’ll be like a serious car accident where nobody dies – it was horrible, but at least there’s some upside.  No one died.

*****

The only team I’ve probably been harder on this year than the Coyotes has been the Senators.  I’ve yet to give the Sens an ounce of respect.  As far as I’m concerned, they have a couple good forwards, solid defense, and mediocre goaltending.  Not exactly the formula for a fear-inducing playoff team.  Plus, fifth in the Eastern Conference rarely equals “Cup contender”.

But still, good for them for not rolling over in Pittsburgh last night.  They came to play and managed to squeak it out.  But, unfortunately, just as Sens fans (MikeB) would expect, I’m chalking that one as a loss to Pittsburgh, not a win for the Sens.  I don’t care who you’re playing, if you win the Cup the year before, and have the chance to close out your round one opponent at home in game five and blow it…. yikes.  I got a dollar that says a Penguins player gets hurt tonight and misses game one of round two.  Karma for not closing.

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Time to walk to get bagels and coffee with Jeff.  Tough life, this blogging (as I overdraft and end up paying $38 for my bagel and coffee.  Maybe it is a tough life.)

As a tribute to my bro, here’s the type of stuff he loves.  He couldn’t wait to have me watch this.  Jeff loves “…my brain hurts…”

 

2010 NHL Playoffs – The Leastern Conference

 

Washington Capitals (1)

vs.

Montreal Canadiens (8)

For whatever reason, I don’t like many teams that wear red.  For example, there’s just about nothing I want to watch less than a New Jersey/Carolina series, as attested by my coverage of said series in last year’s playoffs (blatant refusal).  To make those games worse, I feel like there’s just something grinding about watching the actual colour red play red.  Anyone feel me on that? (Mmm, aesthetically soothing Canucks colours…)

For some reason, this red vs. red battle doesn’t bother me quite so much.  Like most hockey fans, I love to watch Washington.  And Montreal, though a puny little excuse for a Washington challenger, is kinda fun to watch this year too (fun like those tiny toy cars “Hot Wheels” were as a kid).

The only way Washington’s round one series had any hope of being interesting this year was if Philly had the eight seed.  It would’ve been awesome watching Carter and Richards going buck-crazy, being playoff performers out there, scoring goals….. and still losing by football scores, like 21-14.  Thatta been great.

Not much to say here, except the obvious: Washington just has way too much firepower to lose.  If the Canadiens give them so much as a scare, I fear for Washington when they play a better team.  I rate Montreal’s chances, as a percentage, at beat-it-dont-even-try.4%

PREDICTION: CAPITALS in THREE

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New Jersey Devils (2)

vs.

Philadelphia Flyers (7)

I think this was a tough card for New Jersey to pull, simply because I can’t believe how badly the Flyers have underachieved this year.  I mean, 88 points, in the East?  How is that possible, with their roster?  Before the season, I noticed that their back end had good transition/powerplay guys such as Pronger, Timmonen and Carle, and I remember thinking “crap, they’re gonna score a ton of goals this year.”

Combine that with with some of the games best forwards: Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Danny Briere and crew (Claude Giroux is no slouch. Hell, Van Riemsdyk is sick too.), and Philly has a wonderful hockey team.

So what the hell is going on there?

Riiiighht, goaltending, right.  I’ve seen this play before.

On the other side of the coin, I was completely surprised by New Jersey’s record this year.  Any time you have Brodeur in net, your team can’t be bad – but past him, I didn’t see a reason for them to have much success.  I knew Parise and Zajac were great, but then what? (That, and I kinda figured Elias and Langenbrunner were past their best-before dates…. guess not).  I kept waiting for this team to trip, but it never happened.

With the addition of Ilya Kovalchuk, the Devils finally have that dynamic offensive punch you always felt that they lacked in the past.  It gives them two really solid lines (though they admit they can’t find a spot for Kovy that clicks), and combined with Brodeur, it’s become pretty clear that their season wasn’t a fluke.

{I have to point this out for the millionth time – can you BELIEVE that Kovalchuk is 230 pounds?  I’d have been off by 60 if you had made me guess two months ago.}

But looking at their D -  Andy Greene, Mike Mottau, Bryce Salvador, Colin White, Paul Martin, Mark Fraser, Martin Skoula and Anssi Salmela.  I dunno… it doesn’t feel very Cup contender-y.  They have, however, done a great job at keeping pucks out of their net this year (y’know, first-in-the-league-good, at 191 over 82 games – 2.32 per), but something about them makes me nervous.  ….And it probably has something to with NJ’s (okay, Marty’s) meltdown in the final minute of game seven against Carolina last year.

If you put the leagues most average goalie in the Flyers net - say, Dwayne Roloson – I think I’d pick them to win this series.  I like their roster that much more.  But Parise, Zajac and Kovalchuk shooting on Boucher makes it a dicey situation.

In the end, New Jersey has done too good of a job defensively to lose their first playoff series, where defense and goaltending are emphasized.  I think they’ll see round two, but barely.

PREDICTION: DEVILS in SEVEN

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Buffalo Sabres (3)

vs.

Boston Bruins (6)

If I were the Buffalo Sabres, I would be pissed at how the final playoff seeds ended up falling.  They (like New Jersey) were so close to getting to play an obviously worse team like the Rangers or Thrashers.  But noooo, Boston and Philly had to get their shit together at the last second, and squeak in.

This sucks, you see, because Boston and Philly aren’t as horrible as they desperately tried to convince us all they were this year.

One of the few guys pushing Ryan Miller for the Vezina this year is Boston’s Tuuka Rask.  Combine that solid goaltending with Buffalo’s Phoenix-like offense (three lines of second line forwards = good team/not great), and we may see some low scoring games – especially when you consider that Buffalo has the league’s best goaltender, and Boston can’t score (206 goals all year, good for second-to-dead-last).

But, every time you think a series is going to be a defensive suck-fest, it ends up amazing.  Using that logic, this could be a thrilling, high-scoring series.  The only people I care to see play are the goalies.  I’m not saying Derek Roy and David Krejci aren’t exceptional hockey players, I’m saying that nobody is circling dates on their calendar to see them when they come to town.

I see Boston being the better team in this series, bringing the play to Buffalo, shooting, skating, hitting, exhausting themselves, and Ryan Miller chucking up the frustrating stone wall.  Then I see the Sabres working hard and smart, capitalizing on a few nice plays, (maybe a powerplay or two?), and winning games by scores like 3-2 and 2-1.  They probably win a couple of the - oh, let’s say three – games that go to overtime.

I really wanted to pick an upset here – and the Sabres and Devils are definitely both on my “upset watch” list.  But Ryan Miller is the best goalie in the world today, and that counts for something in playoffs.  I’m siding with him.

PREDICTION: SABRES IN SEVEN

*****

Pittsburgh Penguins (4)

vs.

Ottawa Senators (5)

Congratulations, Ottawa.  You finished ahead of the slovenly pack of droolers in the East.  You stayed out of the “who’s gonna make playoffs” fracas.  And in the process, you convinced me that you’re actually a good team.  I was wrong about you.

The bad news is, you’re basically about as lucky as the Coyotes in the West.

Had Pittsburgh caught New Jersey, as they should have, you’d be playing Jersey instead.  And I like your odds there.

What I don’t like, for you, is going up against the defending Stanley Cup champs, who are healthy, and about to flip it into “game on” mode.  You’re toast.

The Penguins probably slow-played their hand a little bit too much this year.  Didn’t do enough to grab the really high seed that guarantees they get to coast through round one.  Over the long haul of playoffs, having to play a good Senators team to start things off is really going to grind on them physically.

But as far as this series goes, Pittsburgh is still Pittsburgh.  Between last years Cup champion team and this year, they cut off a couple guys that were acting as anchors, and picked up depth assets in guys like Jordan Leopold and Alexi Ponikarovsky.  You take a team that’s won the cup and make them better?  They don’t lose round one.

PREDICTION: PENGUINS in FIVE

*****

So that’s all she wrote for round one, folks!  I’ll keep a running total of how my predictions went as we go (though I won’t follow how many games it took to get it done – that’s really just there to demonstrate how confident I am in the winner I picked). 

GAME ONE OF M***********G PLAYOFFS STARTS TONIGHT!

THROW.    THE.    SNAKE.

Hockey Snippets

 

Bottom O’ the mornin’ to lots of ya, today!

It’s time for our regular feature, the yet un-named blogs where I mind-puke random mostly-hockey-based thoughts (thoughts on the Wisniewski hit in the comment section).  Let’s do this.

*****

You know what’s gonna be unfortunate?  The inevitable Devils fans heartbreak when they lose a best of seven series to Pittsburgh.  It all looks so pretty right now.  SIX AND OH against the defending Stanley Cup champs this year.  I know a good chunk of you fans will disagree, and you have every logical stat backing you up. 

Which is why it’s gonna hurt so, so bad.

*****

Is it just me, or are Simeon Varlamov and Jose Theodore basically Kyle Orton?  Spent some years on a good team, nobody thinks they’re that good, only nobody can prove they aren’t, cause all they do is win.  I remember early in the NFL season watching Orton grenade the ball around the field for some wins, and people were going “hey, maybe we are better off with Orton than Cutler.”  …until they realized they were huge liars, to themselves.  Same with Huet.  I’m sure he’s going “What more do you want me to do than win?” and Chicago’s fans are thinking “BE BETTER AT PLAYING GOAL”, because he’s not Nikolai Khabibulin (…..but at least he’s sober, zzzzzzzing!)

*****

The Phoenix Coyotes are five points out of FIRST IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE.  Thank god I wasn’t the only tool to pick them to finish 31st out of 30.    Good on ‘em.

*****

I’d be interested to hear Ponikarovsky talk about the difference in mood/daily stress going from the last place Maple Leafs to the dressing room of the defending champion Penguins.  I’ve been on teams at both ends of the standings, and it’s amazing how much your start builds momentum.  The season snowballs, good or bad.  You start winning, people are in a better mood, you’re more relaxed, you play better, and you win more. 

I can’t imagine being in a negativity vortex with Brian Burke and Ron Wilson.  They’re like the car or cow that flies out of the tornado and wrecks your house.  Shit was already gonna get damaged, but you know those two are major forces of destruction just waiting to happen, flyin’ around inside that tornado (BTW, I’m a major Burke fan with mad respect for him, but that’s a firey dude that I’d hate to explain my plus/minus to after a loss).

*****

Promotions that need to be stopped:  colored ice for anything.  I think Ms. Conduct mentioned playing on (or seeing) green ice the other day.  All I know is, it’s an effing nightmare to play on pink “breast cancer awareness” ice.  Maybe for a charity or exhibition game, but if I got hit with my head down in a real game, trying to fish the puck out of the hallucinogenic colors below me, I would’ve punched the first woman I saw in the breasts.  We’ve all been affected by it, it’s a great cause, but making my job frustrating and less safe kind of defeats the purpose of being charitable.

*****

I like that announcers are trying to carry on the “boy these one-piece sticks breaking is an epidemic!” tradition that they all loved to shout when the transition from wood happened.  You couldn’t find a single player in a single NHL dressing room that would say a wood stick lasts longer (secretly, I think it’s the cost of the sticks that blows the commentators minds – they should never break at that price!). 

The rare guy still using wood (Paul Stastny) would tell you the exact same thing.  For him, it’s a feel preference, but I’m sure he still uses a stick a game, minimum.  Guys on the mic know those are 200 pound muscular men swinging them as hard as possible at the ice and a frozen puck simultaneously right?

*****

That’s all today guys!  Hope you enjoyed the video blog yesterday, and go check out my latest column at USA Today when you get a chance!  It’s on the Common Sense Rule for Head Shots, which means it has very little chance of being successful in professional sports.

*****

Random picture I like:  C’mon Cristobal, you can this!  (I actually believe that, for what it’s worth.)

The Kovalchuk Trade, And A Must-See Gear Link

 

Man.  You guys loves you some gear talk.  The second part of this entry picks up where we left off, a bit.  However, there’s something a little bit more relevant to discuss today:

The Kovalchuk Trade

 The Devils?  The Devils.  Really?  The Devils.

I guess I was hoping for somewhere a little bit…. sexier.  I mean, no offense to you, Devils fans – you guys have every right to be stoked.  Not only are you now legitimate Cup contenders, but the rest of us (sorta) benefit from Kovy playing in more “important”, widely broadcast games. 

But when I think of the amount of exposure I get to NHL stars, Parise wasn’t too far behind Kovalchuk in the ”great players I never see play” department.

So whatever.  From the hockey fan aspect, I’m a little bummed about the deal.  But lets look at the deal beyond Justin’s self-interest, something we rarely do:

My first, and somewhat ridiculous thought, was “as an unrestricted free agent, you can sign anywhere you want, right?  Could Kovalchuk feasibly sign back with Atlanta?  Would that be looked at as the most evil thing ever, or is that legit?”

Only reason I thought that was because of the legitimate quality of the offers Kovalchuk reportedly received from Atlanta: $101 million over 12 years, or $70M over 7.  Does he think he’s going to get much more than that somewhere else?  Those deals would have made him higher paid than both Ovechkin and Crosby (in the early years of the deal).  Who turns down offers like that from a team you claim to want to play for?  No, I think I deserve MORE than half a million dollars a year over what that Ovechkin dud makes.  Nobody, that’s who.

{In the event he can’t sign with Atlanta as a UFA this summer for some reason I’m unaware of, then my bad.  That was just my initial reaction.}

So that was my brief conspiracy theory.  Maybe Ilya and the Thrashers just agreed that they don’t have “it” this year, and were conspiring to stock up for next, when he’ll then re-sign with them.

{By the way, I really like the name “Ilya”.  It’s just badass to say.  I might name my dangly rec hockey alter ego “Ilya”.}

Back to life, back to reality….

I thought Atlanta made a pretty nice deal.  Bergfors and Oduya are above average additions to any team, plus Cormier and the first-round pick are packed full of positive maybe (or maybe Cormier will get charged with more elbow-related assaults), so who knows how this trade looks in five years.  It could look really good for ATL.

As for New Jersey, good on ya for taking a swing at this year.  I hate the half-commited thing the Flyers do every year – it’s what I keep bitching about with Washington.

Yes, we acknowledge we’re good enough to win the Cup.  Yes, we acknowledge our goaltender isn’t good enough to win a Cup.  No, we don’t intend to do anything about that.

So the Devils smell themselves as a three(ish) seed, see themselves winning round one, mayyyybe round two at best, but see that they’re going to have to beat Pittsburgh or Washington to have a shot at the Cup.  And, as it stood, they couldn’t go blow for blow in a game that ends in a football score.

Now they can.

You can only lean on Parise and Zajac so much – believe me when I say, this was a huge puzzle piece for them.

By the way, if you’re in the West, you’re going  YES.  Another team to make getting out of the East that much more miserable. 

The West feels that misery, like, every year.  San Jose, Detroit, Chicago and in the past, Anaheim and even Vancouver have all taken turns rallying on each other for extended series.  By the time the Western Conference champion shows up to the final, they’re a ragtag group of replacement players, while the winner in the East has generally had one,/one-and-a-half difficult series instead of at least two.  (How about San Jose getting a just-healthy Anaheim as an eight seed last year?  Or whoever gets Detroit this year?  It’s just a deeper conference.)

*****

Nice work, you comment machines.  Our stick-taping conversations grabbed us a link from Uniwatch - if you’re a sports gear fiend, this blog is amazing.  The sub-heading describes it best “The Obsessive Study of Athletics Aesthetics”.  The site is amazingly well written and thorough – definitely check it out.

Some hockey-tagged postings are here (including something you Wild fans will love – a behind the scences dressing room tour of their gear).  College hockey posts are here.

I used team-colored grip tape pretty much everywhere I went, because it’s fun to make your stick pretty, and I actually liked how the product feels.  Further links to pictures are provided on the site (like to certain players Olympic sticks), but for now, here’s a sampling, taken directly from Uniwatch’s trip to the Wild’s stick room:

 

 *****

Holy crap, humans.  It’s Super Bowl weekend.  Should be a doozy, so tear it up!  Zima’s for everyone! (They still make those?)

 

******

 

BREAKING FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE: My cat is cute:

 

 

Behind Brodeur

 

I watched the Coyotes/Devils game last night from all of ten feet behind Martin Brodeur’s back (and Bryzgalov’s in the second), standing in the zamboni doors with Stan (The Man, The Maven) Fischler.  I love that man, and watching from there, with him, was amazing.  Huge thank you to the great people at MSG+ for including me in the production of last nights broadcast.

Even when I attend Coyotes games as a member of the media, I can’t handle sitting in the press box.  Honestly, I can’t fathom how anyone can give insightful game reviews from up there.  Not a dig to those that choose to, and are able to, I just can’t get a feel for the game if I’m not closer to the speed of it.

Sitting where I was, I could see Yandle make a look-off with his eyes before firing the puck at Lombardi’s stick.  I could see Mueller’s eyes down before he (luckily) beat Brodeur five-hole (who goes five-hole on a padstack?).  You can get a legitimate idea for who’s doing what out there, instead of watching for strictly x’s and o’s like you have to do from eagle perspective.  Maybe it just doesn’t work for my type of writing.

The point is, sitting back there was one of my favourite hockey-watching experiences ever. 

I was shocked to note two things I should’ve long-ago noted: Marty’s simple helmet design is really sharp, and for some reason, it’s never registered with me that Brodeur wears #30.  I bet if you’d asked me yesterday pre-game, I couldn’t have answered that correctly.  Embarrassing.

Watching his huge two-pad jammer on Upshall from mere feet away was surreal.

*****

I still get super nervous before doing stuff like this, so cut me some slack:

 *****

So, no girls-in-skirts cleaning the ice, huh Phoenix?  It seems to me like this is the exact market they’d have that going on, so I asked the guy running the crew there what the deal was (ice crew also stands in zam gates – paid $8.50 an hour to have the best seats in the arena).

Here’s the end of a conversation I had with an unnamed staff member, explaining why the girls-in-skirts got outed for dudes-in-tracksuits:

 ”Girls are too unreliable.  They would call an hour before the game and bail out.”

“…Girls are too unreliable?”

“Well, the type that want to be displayed in skirts in an igloo are.”

“Ahhh, yep.”

*****

John Tortorella has the exact personality you want your head coach to have, but I’m starting to think he might be a “work ethic” coach over a “systems” guy.  In translation, he’d be a great junior coach, but maybe not so much of an NHL one.

*****

I had an awkward, hallway walk-by with Brodeur after the game.  Just him and I, going in opposite directions in a smallish hallway where you should probably at least acknowledge the other person.  I had roughly seven seconds to think of something clever to say to him once I saw him coming down the hall.

I nodded.

*****

I tried to explain the player-ref on-ice relationship in an article for The Hockey News - It’s a tad long, but I think it includes the funniest thing I’ve done as a writer…. I convinced them to link the words “stubborn ECHL refs” to something awesome.  Enjoy.