- The NHL will be holding it's All-Star game in Ottawa in about 10 days and it would be impossible for me to care less.
The fan balloting. Who is in. Who is out. The fastest skater competition. The fastest slapshot competition. The picking of teams by the players themselves. All of it. I just don't care.
I am a hockey fan because I like watching hockey games. All this other stuff, it's just there to fill coffers which are already overflowing with money. I get that it's meant to entertain fans, showcase and promote the game, bla, bla, bla...
The fact of the matter is that I am already a fan. I'm in. You don't need to put on a special show to try and recruit me as a fan. I'm hooked. You got me.
Truth is, there is only one sport for which the all-star format works and that's baseball. If you forget about the fact that managers in All-Star games try to make sure that everybody gets in a least a little action, the All-Star game is pretty much like all the other games. Pitchers pitch, hitters hit, and away we go.
In hockey, it just doesn't work. An All-Star game doesn't look anything like a regular hockey game. There is the obvious difference caused by the lack of body contact, which is course understandable. Who would want to risk injury to self or others for the sake of an exhibition game?
There is also the lack of defense. Your level of intensity on the backcheck is directly related to the importance of the game. If you're out skating with the boys, it's not quite the same as if you're chasing the Cup.
And then there is the scoring. 11-10, 12-11, 8-7, and 12-9. Seriously, when was the last time you were at a hockey game that ended 12-9? Yet those are the final scores of the last four NHL all-star games. And those are just the recent results. You don't have to go that far back to find scores such as 16-6 and 14-12. I defy any hockey fan to sit on the edge of their seat for that.
So like Teemu Selanne and Nicklas Lidstrom, I too will be taking All-Star weekend off. You can find me at the Colisée watching junior hockey or outside at the rink down the street.
- We've been hearing rumblings about a possible trade between Philly and Toronto that I don't like. The central parts of that rumoured deal are Luke Schenn and James van Riemsdyk.
That the Flyers are shopping in the NHL's defenceman aisle should come as no surprise. While they have managed to stay near the top of the Eastern Conference standing through the first half of the season, the reality is that they have allowed 45 more goals this season than have the Boston Bruins. Hardly a recipe for long term success.With Chris Pronger out for the season, finding someone to eat up some of his mega-minutes has proved a bit of a problem.
The Leafs on the other hand, having been bouncing around the 5th to 10th spots for the better part of the last two months. As they have not been to the playoffs since 2004, you have to think that there is some pressure to make the playoffs this season. How long ago was 2004? Well their goalie was Eddie Belfour, and the team had players such as Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts, and Alexander Mogilny on their roster.
If these rumours are true, and they are only rumours, it's also a sign that both teams are starting to lose patience with the pace of development of their respective players. Both were high first round picks.
James van Riemsdyk was selected with the second pick in the 2007 draft. While there were some who felt that the Flyers may have let the fact that he's somewhat of a local boy, he's from New Jersey, cloud their judgement when they decided to take him with such a high pick, the reality is that none of the players selected immediately after him are off to Hall of Fame type starts to their NHL careers.
Consider that the 3, 4, 5, and 6 picks of that draft were, in order, Kyle Turris, Thomas Hickey, Karl Alzner, and Sam Gagné. Not exactly a draft class that seems destined to go down in history as a great one.
This to say that maybe thinking of JVR, as some like to call him, as a second overall draft pick is not necessarily the way to go when trying to assess his trade value.
I happen to see him as a 6'3'' forward, who plays in Philadelphia, but doesn't play like a Flyer, that is to say he's not overly physical, and while some have said that he's got 35-40 goal potential, sorry folks I don't see it. To score 40 goals in one NHL season a player has to be on his game night in, night out. I'd be more inclined to think that with him you're looking at 25-30 goals, tops.
If you're looking to get a 25-30 goal guy, you might as well go and try to get one with more major league intangibles than JVR possesses. Stuff like great leadership, gritty play, excellent special team play. I've never been a fan of the 25-30 goal player who brings little else to the rink.
Which is why I don't like the Schenn for JVR rumours. Sure it has been a bumpy ride for Schenn. Part of it is actually the Leafs' own fault. The team was so bad, that three months after drafting him with the 5th overall pick in the 2008 draft that they felt compelled to throw an 18 year old kid in the lineup for 70 NHL games, a move that was motivated, at least in part, because of pressure to give the Air Canada Centre fans a little something to cheer about, a little hope.
It's a truism that NHL defencemen take longer to develop second only to goaltenders. That Schenn seems to be stumbling a bit in his progression at this point in his career is hardly surprising and/or cause for panic. At just 22 years of age, whatever is deemed to be wrong with him can be fixed. With all of the people working in the hockey department of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club, you have to hope that someone in there can help this kid get back on track.
If he needs coddling, coddle him. If he needs a kick in the ass, kick him in the ass. If he needs a coach or mentor just for him, get a coach or a mentor just for him. But whatever is decided, just remember that in about 2-3 seasons, Luke Schenn could realistically end up being one of the top tier defencemen in the league. James van Riemsdyk will in all likelihood not be in the top tier of NHL forwards.
So trade Schenn if you feel you must, but please make sure you get us some real player, or players, in return. But James van Riemsdyk? You can do better than that.
- So Jacques Martin has been gone from the Habs dressing room for a few weeks now, and Les Glorieux have won a grand total of 4 games since.
They were two points out of a playoff spot when Pierre Gauthier decided that the kitchen was sufficiently hot and fired the coach. They are now 8 points out of a playoff spot.
Like many, my take has been that the problem in Montreal is the roster, and not necessarily the coaching staff. Sure the loss of Kirk Muller as an assistant appears to have hurt, but even Toe Blake himself, would be unable to make a winner out of this group.
Don't agree? Try this little exercise. Look at the Boston roster. Look at the New York Rangers roster. And the Philadelphia roster. Now look at the Montreal Canadiens roster. Not quite the same level is it?
We could enumerate a number of decisions that were taken by both Pierre Gauthier, and his predecessor Bob Gainey and find quite a few that didn't quite work out as planned or hoped. Decisions that made the coach's life more difficult.
But beyond all of this, what really bugs and irritates me is the hypocrisy of fans and some members of the media.
Pretty much since the season began, they've been calling for Jacques Martin's head on a platter. Fan poll after fan poll indicated that they wanted Martin to be fired. In some polls, Martin was even identified as the main problem with the Montreal Canadiens.
Writers, television and radio commentators, and the seemingly endless supply of former players employed by the media, fed the flames of this discontent day, after day, after day.
Martin is too boring. Martin is too stiff. Martin looks like he's asleep behind the bench. They would laugh at is post-game press conference, his style none too colourful. Some could be heard to say Martin was downright incompetent.
Yet as Martin embarked on a 3 day media tour, yesterday newspapers, today television, tomorrow radio, he is greeted with handshakes and smiles. Reporters who were at the front of the fire Martin parade just a few short weeks ago, are now saying that Gauthier "panicked" by firing him.
You can't have it both ways boys. It can't be "Fire him, fire him, fire him!" one day, and then "The general manager panicked when he fired him" after it happens. It's called logical reasoning, you may want to give it a try.
Now those of you who know me, which means pretty much everyone reading this, know that I'm not what would be considered a Montreal Canadiens fan. Part of it is genetic, part of it is decades of acquired distaste. Heck, if it was up to me, I'd give Pierre Gauthier a lifetime, fireproof contract as GM.
But the reality is that Geoffy Molson has to pull the plug on Gauthier before he screws things up any further. No need to wait for the perfect time to do it, there is no such time as the perfect time to replace the general manager.
Surely Molson and the board of directors have been considering this possibility and have a plan B.
If they don't, it could be a long march into the darkness for the Montreal Canadiens and their fans for many years to come.
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