Game two at the World Junior team selection camp answered nearly all of the questions game one produced.
Team red dominated the up-tempo game, and scored a decisive 4-0 win for their efforts. They were led offensively by Zach Boychuck, and got stellar goaltending from Tyson Sexsmith and Steve Mason.
And at that, let’s start in goal. I have it on good authority that Hockey Canada considers Steve Mason the next Roberto Luongo, and the starting job is his. Jonathan Bernier will back him up, and incumbent Leland Irving will be sent back to Everett of the Western League. As expected, Sexsmith will be sent back to Vancouver (WHL), but he played well and will likely be invited back next year.
On to the defense. And from here on in, it’s speculation. Either Drew Doughty or PK Subban will take the sixth blue line spot, and the other be sent back to their junior team, as will Andrew Bodnarchuk, Josh Godfrey, Brendan Smith, Ty Wishart and Kevin Marshall, who could still be in the mix for the seventh spot.
Karl Alzner was absolutely dominant Wednesday night. He took a giant step forward, and is undoubtedly the leader of the defense corps.
Keaton Ellerby looked a whole lot more interested Wednesday night than he did Tuesday night. He played a very strong game and cemented his spot on the roster.
Thomas Hickey was as good for Team Red as Alzner was for Team White Wednesday night. It’s hard to describe just how good the left side of Canada’s defense will be.
Logan Pyett’s best moment came during a Team White penalty kill. He was killing with John Tavares, and helping Tavares with his positioning the whole time they were on the ice together. Pyett is a natural leader, and versatile defender that can be effective in all three zones.
Luke Schenn was a rock. Again. He will lead the Canadian defense physically. Teamed with Hickey in both games, the pair looked like they’ve played together for 15 years.
After seeing some surprises up front Tuesday night, the cream rose to the top Wednesday night. Surprisingly, Kyle Turris never seemed to find a rhythm in either game. He headlines the list of bubble players, and should have an inside track thanks to his exceptional vision and playmaking ability. Among fellow offensive bubblers Angelo Esposito and Ryan White, Turris is the best penalty killer, which should also give him an edge in the battle for the 12th forward spot.
Esposito and White played in the first period like they were trying to make up for lackluster efforts Tuesday night. It only lasted 20 minutes though. Esposito was being knocked off the puck with stick checks by the midway point of the game, and White pulled his now-familiar second period disappearing act. At least one of these two guys will return to their junior team Friday.
Brett MacLean or Shawn Matthias will likely be the 13th forward. Matthias showed great chemistry playing on a line with Steven Stamkos and Matt Halischuk, which may give him the inside track. Riley Holzapfel and Mathieu Perreault were good Tuesday and Wednesday night respectively, but it’s doubtful either of them will make the team.
Zach Boychuk has surprising good hands. He will excel in an energy role, and pot the odd big goal. Great shootout move.
Colton Gillies was not as dominant Wednesday night as he was Tuesday night, but was still among the best forwards on the ice. He hustles every shift, and never makes a bad play.
Matt Halischuk flew under the radar Tuesday night, but after reading a Sportsnet.com column about him Wednesday, I paid a little extra attention to him. Even without the column, I would have. His line with Matthias and Stamkos was the best line from either team Wednesday night.
Zach Hamill is a coach’s dream. He will be an instrumental part of Canada’s penalty killing unit.
Stefan Legein came very close to fighting with Brad Marchand. Both guys compete at all times and play the same kind of game. Teamed with Boychuk and Marchand, this trio would wreak enough havoc to tear all of Prague down.
Brad Marchand jerseys were available at the concession stand… I guess he’ll make the team.
Wayne Simmonds is my favourite player from either night. He brought even more physical play Wednesday night, and showed he can work effectively in the corners. There is no reason whatsoever to send him back to the Soo (OHL).
Steven Stamkos is going to be the first overall pick in June. He’s not the most talented player on this team, but he is a catalyst and has a knack for making things happen.
Brandon Sutter played well enough Wednesday night to warrant a spot on the team. He may be used solely as a defensive specialist, which would be a good thing.
John Tavares showed commitment to the defensive game Wednesday night, and showed he belongs on this team.
Dana Tyrell is too smart to send back to Prince George (WHL), and deserves a letter.
All in all, things look very good heading into the tournament. Word is the final roster will be announced Thursday afternoon, and Thursday night’s intra-squad game will be cancelled. So let’s see how close I came.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
WJC selection camp game one
Christmas done come early.
The absolute best part of living in Calgary is getting to watch the Canadian World Junior Championship selection camp intra-squad games.
The first of those three games went down Tuesday night, and if I were selecting the team, it would look like so:
Leland Irving, G: As the only goalie returning from 2007, Irving has the inside track. The starting job is his to lose.
Steve Mason, G: He’s been too good to ignore. There is a very good chance Jonathan Bernier takes this spot as there is little to differentiate the two. For now, the nod goes to Mason.
Karl Alzner, D: Like Irving in goal, Alzner is the only returnee from the 2007 team on defense. Alzner is a leader, and a candidate to captain this team. He is an offensive catalyst and often makes a great first pass.
Drew Doughty, D (2008): Tabbed as a potential top-five pick in next year’s draft, Doughty is a solid puck-mover that takes good care in his own end. He needs to make faster decisions with the puck in his own end.
Keaton Ellerby, D: Should make this team on reputation alone, though he looked disinterested at times Tuesday night. Competition is tight on the blue line, and Ellerby’s effort Tuesday night put him squarely on the bubble.
Kevin Marshall, D: Flat-out, the best defensemen on the ice Tuesday night. Marshall was a force in his own end, dominating along the boards. A key player against cycling teams.
Logan Pyett, D: Played a very strong game Tuesday night. He’s a very responsible defenseman that just doesn’t make mistakes.
Luke Schenn, D (2008): He’s played very well to start the season after an impressive showing at the Canada-Russia series in the summer. Schenn is a no-nonsense, hard-nosed defenseman that will allow his partner to take more chances up the ice.
Brendan Smith/PK Subban, D: Let’s call these guys 7A and 7B after Tuesday’s game. They both made good impressions, but can both give better overall performances.
Zach Boychuk, F (2008): Sparkplug. I don’t think he’s ever even considered taking a shift off.
Angelo Esposito, F: He’s here for now, but without a better effort Wednesday and Thursday night, there’s no way he goes overseas.
Colton Gillies, F: An absolute animal Tuesday night. Speed, size, plays all three zones, my pick to be captain.
Zach Hamill, F: Played a safe, solid game. Hamill doesn’t make many mistakes, and sets a good example.
Riley Holzapfel, F: Played very poorly in the first period, but really turned it around and put in a solid game, and good effort.
Stefan Legein, F: Was an afterthought in the Canada-Russia series, but provides great secondary scoring by catching the opposition napping. Legein is a force whenever he’s on the ice, and plays like a wrecking ball.
Brad Marchand, F: The lone returning forward, like Legein, you always know when Marchand is on the ice. This is a guy that will do whatever it takes to win.
Wayne Simmonds, F: The biggest surprise of the night, Simmonds was making things happen all over the ice. He showed great hands, good speed, and decent vision, along with solid defensive awareness. Another effort like Tuesday night’s will put him on a plane to Prague.
Steven Stamkos, F (2008): This was the first I’ve seen of Stamkos and the first realization is that he’s more physical than you’d expect a potential first-overall pick to be. Though he wasn’t spectacular, he showed he belongs.
John Tavares, F (2009): Admittedly, Hockey Canada is in the business of winning tournaments, not grooming and developing potential superstars, but it’s integral to Tavares’ development that he plays with this team, probably as the 13th forward and power play specialist.
Kyle Turris, F: Not a great offensive showing Tuesday night, but Turris is a good penalty killer and a great weapon to have on the ice when down a man.
Dana Tyrell, F: He wore number 19 and did the number proud. He didn’t make mistakes, and the puck often made its way to his area of the ice. Tyrell will likely wear a letter with this team.
Ryan White, F: Tuesday’s performance put White solidly on the bubble with Esposito, again, based solely on effort. Both Cory Emmerton and Brandon Sutter are poised and ready to take White and Esposito’s places if the two offensive stars don’t get their acts together.
Check back all week for updates on the goings-on here in Calgary, and for commentary on the final roster.
The absolute best part of living in Calgary is getting to watch the Canadian World Junior Championship selection camp intra-squad games.
The first of those three games went down Tuesday night, and if I were selecting the team, it would look like so:
Leland Irving, G: As the only goalie returning from 2007, Irving has the inside track. The starting job is his to lose.
Steve Mason, G: He’s been too good to ignore. There is a very good chance Jonathan Bernier takes this spot as there is little to differentiate the two. For now, the nod goes to Mason.
Karl Alzner, D: Like Irving in goal, Alzner is the only returnee from the 2007 team on defense. Alzner is a leader, and a candidate to captain this team. He is an offensive catalyst and often makes a great first pass.
Drew Doughty, D (2008): Tabbed as a potential top-five pick in next year’s draft, Doughty is a solid puck-mover that takes good care in his own end. He needs to make faster decisions with the puck in his own end.
Keaton Ellerby, D: Should make this team on reputation alone, though he looked disinterested at times Tuesday night. Competition is tight on the blue line, and Ellerby’s effort Tuesday night put him squarely on the bubble.
Kevin Marshall, D: Flat-out, the best defensemen on the ice Tuesday night. Marshall was a force in his own end, dominating along the boards. A key player against cycling teams.
Logan Pyett, D: Played a very strong game Tuesday night. He’s a very responsible defenseman that just doesn’t make mistakes.
Luke Schenn, D (2008): He’s played very well to start the season after an impressive showing at the Canada-Russia series in the summer. Schenn is a no-nonsense, hard-nosed defenseman that will allow his partner to take more chances up the ice.
Brendan Smith/PK Subban, D: Let’s call these guys 7A and 7B after Tuesday’s game. They both made good impressions, but can both give better overall performances.
Zach Boychuk, F (2008): Sparkplug. I don’t think he’s ever even considered taking a shift off.
Angelo Esposito, F: He’s here for now, but without a better effort Wednesday and Thursday night, there’s no way he goes overseas.
Colton Gillies, F: An absolute animal Tuesday night. Speed, size, plays all three zones, my pick to be captain.
Zach Hamill, F: Played a safe, solid game. Hamill doesn’t make many mistakes, and sets a good example.
Riley Holzapfel, F: Played very poorly in the first period, but really turned it around and put in a solid game, and good effort.
Stefan Legein, F: Was an afterthought in the Canada-Russia series, but provides great secondary scoring by catching the opposition napping. Legein is a force whenever he’s on the ice, and plays like a wrecking ball.
Brad Marchand, F: The lone returning forward, like Legein, you always know when Marchand is on the ice. This is a guy that will do whatever it takes to win.
Wayne Simmonds, F: The biggest surprise of the night, Simmonds was making things happen all over the ice. He showed great hands, good speed, and decent vision, along with solid defensive awareness. Another effort like Tuesday night’s will put him on a plane to Prague.
Steven Stamkos, F (2008): This was the first I’ve seen of Stamkos and the first realization is that he’s more physical than you’d expect a potential first-overall pick to be. Though he wasn’t spectacular, he showed he belongs.
John Tavares, F (2009): Admittedly, Hockey Canada is in the business of winning tournaments, not grooming and developing potential superstars, but it’s integral to Tavares’ development that he plays with this team, probably as the 13th forward and power play specialist.
Kyle Turris, F: Not a great offensive showing Tuesday night, but Turris is a good penalty killer and a great weapon to have on the ice when down a man.
Dana Tyrell, F: He wore number 19 and did the number proud. He didn’t make mistakes, and the puck often made its way to his area of the ice. Tyrell will likely wear a letter with this team.
Ryan White, F: Tuesday’s performance put White solidly on the bubble with Esposito, again, based solely on effort. Both Cory Emmerton and Brandon Sutter are poised and ready to take White and Esposito’s places if the two offensive stars don’t get their acts together.
Check back all week for updates on the goings-on here in Calgary, and for commentary on the final roster.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Opem up baby
First, the title’s not a typo, it’s the title of a great Big Sugar song.
Now, some hockey thoughts.
On Tuesday night, I sat in $125 seats at the Saddledome here in Calgary to watch one of the worst hockey games in recent memory (huge thanks to Matt and Old Dutch chips for the ticket). Blues at Flames. Solid-defensive-team-with-great-coaching-making-strides-toward-being-a-good-club at Poor-defensive-team-making-strides-toward-firing-a-coach-they-never-should-have-hired. Even though my ticket was free, I still kinda want a refund.
Especially after watching the third period of the Oilers-Penguins tilt Wednesday night.
Memo to MacT: your team has the speed to skate with the Penguins. I saw it happen. Even better, despite allowing four third-period goals and blowing a 2-0 lead, your team played really well in the third period, and played great defensive hockey. The third period was wide open. It looked like the World Junior Championships. Both teams were up and down the ice. The Oilers stayed in their lanes, knocked down passes, and generally made good decisions without the puck. In fact, the Oilers played better team defense during the third period than the Penguins did. They lost because the Pens have more skill. But it sure was fun to watch.
I think there was one odd-man rush in the Blues-Flames game the night before.
It’s no secret I’m not a big fan of fighting in hockey, but the best part of the Blues-Flames game was a scrap between Dan Hinote (a SWS favourite) and Mark Smith (a scrub by any measure, other than the fact I really liked him when he was a Shark). These two middle-weights traded punches for 30 or 40 seconds, throwing bombs the whole time. It looked like a school-yard scrap-- and had all the energy of one, too. The full 60 minutes of playing time had all the energy of a funeral. Or your great-aunt’s fourth wedding.
I went to the game with non-hockey people. To illustrate: I explained icing to Matt’s girlfriend because Matt was unable to. They enjoyed it. They cheered for the goals (with umph!). They cheered for the hits, including a huge one by Robyn Regehr. They cheered for Mikka Kiprusoff’s big saves. And my buddy Jessie was throwing punches into the air with the same force and tenacity Hinote and Smith were throwing punches at one another during the fight. I sat stewing, lambasting the Flames’ poor defensive-zone coverage, noting the scoring chance created by Regehr being out of position, skewered the defense some more, and enjoyed the fight in the same way I enjoy my morning coffee. Clearly, I was a miser.
But I was looking for defensive breakdowns, and watching the finer points of the game, not allowing myself to enjoy the fun aspects of it-- despite the fact they’re so rare in today’s game.
That all went out the window watching the Oilers and Penguins skate like madmen. First, the Penguins trying to tie the game, then taking the lead; then the Oilers trying to tie the game. It really was wonderful, and we certainly won’t see the Flames open up and try to skate with Pittsburgh Thursday night.
Which brings us to this fan’s impassioned plea.
Let’s lose the defense-first hockey. The Senators, Rangers and Penguins (and to a lesser degree the Hurricanes) are all showing an offense-first style leads to wins-- lots of them. It helps to score more goals than the other team. The Sens are great defensively, partly by staying in their lanes and picking up their man, but mostly by having the puck more than their opposition does. The Rangers, Penguins and Hurricanes all do pretty well defensively, despite having relatively faceless defense corps. Despite Detroit’s careful attention to defense, they always outscore most of the league. The Anaheim Ducks didn’t out-defense the Senators last fall. They opened up, skated better, and stormed the net. In Chicago, highly-touted young defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook didn’t turn into Norris Trophy-winners in the off-season. The Hawks are winning games this season because they opened it up, and added some real high-end talent.
Imagine a Minnesota-Atlanta game featuring Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra trading scoring chances, and blazing down the wings every third shift with Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa replying for the Thrashers. Instead, these four world-class talents are reigned in, in favour of team defense.
How about Marc Savard and Tomas Vanek trading chances up and down the rink in an old Adams Division battle between Boston and Buffalo? Marco Sturm is a very defensively-responsible forward, thriving under Claude Julien in Boston. But he can skate like the wind, and would like as good riding shotgun with Savard in open ice as Max Afinogenov would with Vanek.
Calgary’s Jarome Iginla, Alex Tanguay and Kristian Huselius are much more formidable blazing from zone-to-zone than defending their own zone against Colorado’s equally gifted Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk and Paul Statsny-- and vice versa. Columbus’ Nik Zherdev trading head-spinning shifts with Mike Modano of Dallas; Florida’s Olli Jokinen and Nathan Horton trading chances with L.A.’s Mike Cammalleri and Alex Frolov, with a dash of Rostislav Olesz and Anze Kopitar to taste; Alex Kovalev and Alex Radulov working stick-handling magic all the way from Montreal to Nashville and back; Patrik Elias bringing New Jersey’s new stadium to their feet night-in and night-out while Mike Richards and Dan Briere try to put them back in their seats-- elating the Philly faithful in the process; Mike Comrie ripping it up against his old Phoenix teammates, while rookie Peter Mueller tries to beat his future U.S. Olympic teammate Rick DiPietro. And the thought of Joe Thornton, Paul Kariya, Vinny Lecavalier, Mats Sundin, Markus Naslund and Alex Ovechkin running roughshod around the rinks in San Jose, St. Louis, Tampa, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington and all the way ‘round is the kind of thing the championship-starved fans in those cities (save for Tampa) deserve to see.
The biggest upshot of 22 more teams focusing their efforts on scoring goals rather than preventing them? More room on the ice for Eric Perrin, Bryan Little and Pascal Dupuis; Peter Schaefer, Phil Kessel and Glen Metropolit; Jochen Hecht, Ales Kotalik and Drew Stafford; Owen Nolan, Craig Conroy and Daymond Langkow; Marek Svatos, Tyler Arnason and Wojtek Wolski; Jason Chimera, David Vyborny and Jiri Novotny; Jussi Jokinen, Niklas Hagman and Antti Miettinen; Ville Peltonen, Stephen Weiss and Dickie Zednik; Dustin Brown, Derek Armstrong and Patrick O’Sullivan; Eric Belanger, Mikko Koivu and James Sheppard; Tom Plekanec, Chris Higgins and Andrei Kostitsyn; Radek Bonk, Martin Gelinas and Vernon Fiddler; Jay Pandalfo, Travis Zajac and Sergei Brylin; Josef Vasicek, Trent Hunter and Bill Guerin; R.J. Umberger, Scott Hartnell and Jeff Carter; Steven Reinprecht, Martin Hanzal and Radim Vrbata; Milan Michalek, Steve Bernier and Devon Setoguchi; David Perron, David Backes and Mike Johnson; Ryan Craig, Michel Ouelette and Jason Ward; Alex Steen, Chad Kilger and Boyd Devereaux; Ryan Kesler, Taylor Pyatt and Brad Isbister; Chris Clark, Brooks Laich and Tomas Fleischmann to play the offensive style they were meant to. Those 66 players would all be 20-to-30-to-40-goal scorers, and more importantly, house-hold names in a wide-open NHL.
But hey, the recently-fired Bob Hartley probably didn’t need another 90-odd goals; the Sabres probably don’t need another 90-odd goals this season after losing Dan Briere; the soon-to-be-fired Mike Keenan doesn’t need any more offense in Calgary; Dallas’ recent front-office shuffle couldn’t have been prevented by another 100 or so goals… you get the picture.
Now, some hockey thoughts.
On Tuesday night, I sat in $125 seats at the Saddledome here in Calgary to watch one of the worst hockey games in recent memory (huge thanks to Matt and Old Dutch chips for the ticket). Blues at Flames. Solid-defensive-team-with-great-coaching-making-strides-toward-being-a-good-club at Poor-defensive-team-making-strides-toward-firing-a-coach-they-never-should-have-hired. Even though my ticket was free, I still kinda want a refund.
Especially after watching the third period of the Oilers-Penguins tilt Wednesday night.
Memo to MacT: your team has the speed to skate with the Penguins. I saw it happen. Even better, despite allowing four third-period goals and blowing a 2-0 lead, your team played really well in the third period, and played great defensive hockey. The third period was wide open. It looked like the World Junior Championships. Both teams were up and down the ice. The Oilers stayed in their lanes, knocked down passes, and generally made good decisions without the puck. In fact, the Oilers played better team defense during the third period than the Penguins did. They lost because the Pens have more skill. But it sure was fun to watch.
I think there was one odd-man rush in the Blues-Flames game the night before.
It’s no secret I’m not a big fan of fighting in hockey, but the best part of the Blues-Flames game was a scrap between Dan Hinote (a SWS favourite) and Mark Smith (a scrub by any measure, other than the fact I really liked him when he was a Shark). These two middle-weights traded punches for 30 or 40 seconds, throwing bombs the whole time. It looked like a school-yard scrap-- and had all the energy of one, too. The full 60 minutes of playing time had all the energy of a funeral. Or your great-aunt’s fourth wedding.
I went to the game with non-hockey people. To illustrate: I explained icing to Matt’s girlfriend because Matt was unable to. They enjoyed it. They cheered for the goals (with umph!). They cheered for the hits, including a huge one by Robyn Regehr. They cheered for Mikka Kiprusoff’s big saves. And my buddy Jessie was throwing punches into the air with the same force and tenacity Hinote and Smith were throwing punches at one another during the fight. I sat stewing, lambasting the Flames’ poor defensive-zone coverage, noting the scoring chance created by Regehr being out of position, skewered the defense some more, and enjoyed the fight in the same way I enjoy my morning coffee. Clearly, I was a miser.
But I was looking for defensive breakdowns, and watching the finer points of the game, not allowing myself to enjoy the fun aspects of it-- despite the fact they’re so rare in today’s game.
That all went out the window watching the Oilers and Penguins skate like madmen. First, the Penguins trying to tie the game, then taking the lead; then the Oilers trying to tie the game. It really was wonderful, and we certainly won’t see the Flames open up and try to skate with Pittsburgh Thursday night.
Which brings us to this fan’s impassioned plea.
Let’s lose the defense-first hockey. The Senators, Rangers and Penguins (and to a lesser degree the Hurricanes) are all showing an offense-first style leads to wins-- lots of them. It helps to score more goals than the other team. The Sens are great defensively, partly by staying in their lanes and picking up their man, but mostly by having the puck more than their opposition does. The Rangers, Penguins and Hurricanes all do pretty well defensively, despite having relatively faceless defense corps. Despite Detroit’s careful attention to defense, they always outscore most of the league. The Anaheim Ducks didn’t out-defense the Senators last fall. They opened up, skated better, and stormed the net. In Chicago, highly-touted young defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook didn’t turn into Norris Trophy-winners in the off-season. The Hawks are winning games this season because they opened it up, and added some real high-end talent.
Imagine a Minnesota-Atlanta game featuring Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra trading scoring chances, and blazing down the wings every third shift with Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa replying for the Thrashers. Instead, these four world-class talents are reigned in, in favour of team defense.
How about Marc Savard and Tomas Vanek trading chances up and down the rink in an old Adams Division battle between Boston and Buffalo? Marco Sturm is a very defensively-responsible forward, thriving under Claude Julien in Boston. But he can skate like the wind, and would like as good riding shotgun with Savard in open ice as Max Afinogenov would with Vanek.
Calgary’s Jarome Iginla, Alex Tanguay and Kristian Huselius are much more formidable blazing from zone-to-zone than defending their own zone against Colorado’s equally gifted Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk and Paul Statsny-- and vice versa. Columbus’ Nik Zherdev trading head-spinning shifts with Mike Modano of Dallas; Florida’s Olli Jokinen and Nathan Horton trading chances with L.A.’s Mike Cammalleri and Alex Frolov, with a dash of Rostislav Olesz and Anze Kopitar to taste; Alex Kovalev and Alex Radulov working stick-handling magic all the way from Montreal to Nashville and back; Patrik Elias bringing New Jersey’s new stadium to their feet night-in and night-out while Mike Richards and Dan Briere try to put them back in their seats-- elating the Philly faithful in the process; Mike Comrie ripping it up against his old Phoenix teammates, while rookie Peter Mueller tries to beat his future U.S. Olympic teammate Rick DiPietro. And the thought of Joe Thornton, Paul Kariya, Vinny Lecavalier, Mats Sundin, Markus Naslund and Alex Ovechkin running roughshod around the rinks in San Jose, St. Louis, Tampa, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington and all the way ‘round is the kind of thing the championship-starved fans in those cities (save for Tampa) deserve to see.
The biggest upshot of 22 more teams focusing their efforts on scoring goals rather than preventing them? More room on the ice for Eric Perrin, Bryan Little and Pascal Dupuis; Peter Schaefer, Phil Kessel and Glen Metropolit; Jochen Hecht, Ales Kotalik and Drew Stafford; Owen Nolan, Craig Conroy and Daymond Langkow; Marek Svatos, Tyler Arnason and Wojtek Wolski; Jason Chimera, David Vyborny and Jiri Novotny; Jussi Jokinen, Niklas Hagman and Antti Miettinen; Ville Peltonen, Stephen Weiss and Dickie Zednik; Dustin Brown, Derek Armstrong and Patrick O’Sullivan; Eric Belanger, Mikko Koivu and James Sheppard; Tom Plekanec, Chris Higgins and Andrei Kostitsyn; Radek Bonk, Martin Gelinas and Vernon Fiddler; Jay Pandalfo, Travis Zajac and Sergei Brylin; Josef Vasicek, Trent Hunter and Bill Guerin; R.J. Umberger, Scott Hartnell and Jeff Carter; Steven Reinprecht, Martin Hanzal and Radim Vrbata; Milan Michalek, Steve Bernier and Devon Setoguchi; David Perron, David Backes and Mike Johnson; Ryan Craig, Michel Ouelette and Jason Ward; Alex Steen, Chad Kilger and Boyd Devereaux; Ryan Kesler, Taylor Pyatt and Brad Isbister; Chris Clark, Brooks Laich and Tomas Fleischmann to play the offensive style they were meant to. Those 66 players would all be 20-to-30-to-40-goal scorers, and more importantly, house-hold names in a wide-open NHL.
But hey, the recently-fired Bob Hartley probably didn’t need another 90-odd goals; the Sabres probably don’t need another 90-odd goals this season after losing Dan Briere; the soon-to-be-fired Mike Keenan doesn’t need any more offense in Calgary; Dallas’ recent front-office shuffle couldn’t have been prevented by another 100 or so goals… you get the picture.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Throw us a bone, JP (another fire JP rant)
Fantastic news! The Major League Baseball winter meetings are in full swing in Nashville, and the Toronto Blue Jays plan to stand pat.
Perfect! Because everyone knows the best way to get out of third place, and pass the moneybags Yankees and Red Sox in the standings is to stand pat while they wage a bidding war for the American League’s best pitcher.
To recap, the Jays, despite massive payroll increases, remain a third-place team. On top of that now, their “ace” Roy Halladay can’t convince me he’s ever pitched a 30-game season; their number two man AJ Burnett is said to be on the block, though he’s been the glue holding this team together every time Doc goes down, and has his own injury history; first bagger Lyle Overbay missed significant time because of injuries last season; the serviceable Aaron Hill at second; the otherworldly Johnny Mac at short, who may be the best defensive shortstop this team’s ever had; the injured Troy Glaus at third, who’s battling a mysterious, Peter Forsberg-like series of foot injuries and a bad back; Reed Johnson and Alex Rios in the outfield, both of whom missed time because of fluke injuries; and the great Vernon Wells, who tried to play through last season despite needing surgery.
Folks, that’s not a snake-bitten team. That’s an injury-prone team. And the Jays can say all the right things about their young pitchers, and their young position players, all of whom filled in very well. And they say all the right things about “wait till we get healthy,” but healthy doesn’t happen by accident. The Jays either have the worst group of athletic therapists in the known universe, or they’re an injury-plagued team that isn’t ever going to be healthy.
Since this “injury bug” has been floating around for a few seasons now, I’m more inclined to believe the former is the case.
So if Ricciardi and Gibbons have to stay, let’s at least get a top-notch medical staff to keep the players healthy.
Otherwise, JP, let’s see you move some of this dead weight. Glaus isn’t ever going to be healthy. Halladay is never going to throw 30 games again. Letting Wells play through 140 games when he needed surgery isn’t going to help, since he’ll rush back after the surgery and play before he’s ready, creating a cycle of injury that cannot be escaped. And through all of this, the oft-injured BJ Ryan didn’t even come up. Does anyone know which four players make the most in Toronto?
Of course, we know the training and medical staff aren’t going anywhere, we know Pinky and the Brain aren’t going anywhere (thanks Derek Boogaard), and none of those sore contracts can be moved. But the Brain thinks this team’s OK. It’s not.
So get off your ass, and at least give us paying fans the impression you’re going to do something. Would be it so hard to pick up a phone and offer Rios, Shawn Marcum and a prospect for Johan Santana, then tell a reporter you did it?
Perfect! Because everyone knows the best way to get out of third place, and pass the moneybags Yankees and Red Sox in the standings is to stand pat while they wage a bidding war for the American League’s best pitcher.
To recap, the Jays, despite massive payroll increases, remain a third-place team. On top of that now, their “ace” Roy Halladay can’t convince me he’s ever pitched a 30-game season; their number two man AJ Burnett is said to be on the block, though he’s been the glue holding this team together every time Doc goes down, and has his own injury history; first bagger Lyle Overbay missed significant time because of injuries last season; the serviceable Aaron Hill at second; the otherworldly Johnny Mac at short, who may be the best defensive shortstop this team’s ever had; the injured Troy Glaus at third, who’s battling a mysterious, Peter Forsberg-like series of foot injuries and a bad back; Reed Johnson and Alex Rios in the outfield, both of whom missed time because of fluke injuries; and the great Vernon Wells, who tried to play through last season despite needing surgery.
Folks, that’s not a snake-bitten team. That’s an injury-prone team. And the Jays can say all the right things about their young pitchers, and their young position players, all of whom filled in very well. And they say all the right things about “wait till we get healthy,” but healthy doesn’t happen by accident. The Jays either have the worst group of athletic therapists in the known universe, or they’re an injury-plagued team that isn’t ever going to be healthy.
Since this “injury bug” has been floating around for a few seasons now, I’m more inclined to believe the former is the case.
So if Ricciardi and Gibbons have to stay, let’s at least get a top-notch medical staff to keep the players healthy.
Otherwise, JP, let’s see you move some of this dead weight. Glaus isn’t ever going to be healthy. Halladay is never going to throw 30 games again. Letting Wells play through 140 games when he needed surgery isn’t going to help, since he’ll rush back after the surgery and play before he’s ready, creating a cycle of injury that cannot be escaped. And through all of this, the oft-injured BJ Ryan didn’t even come up. Does anyone know which four players make the most in Toronto?
Of course, we know the training and medical staff aren’t going anywhere, we know Pinky and the Brain aren’t going anywhere (thanks Derek Boogaard), and none of those sore contracts can be moved. But the Brain thinks this team’s OK. It’s not.
So get off your ass, and at least give us paying fans the impression you’re going to do something. Would be it so hard to pick up a phone and offer Rios, Shawn Marcum and a prospect for Johan Santana, then tell a reporter you did it?
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