Since this weekend, much of the hockey world (and anyone else who wished to comment) made a lot of out of Mario Lemieux's comments about the incidents that occurred Friday night during the Pittsburgh Penguins/New York Islanders game. A series of fights, brawls, and bench-leaping resulted in a few suspensions and fines from the NHL.
However, the most pressing issue until Friday was the topic of headshots and concussions. While le Magnifique stresses the safety of players as a result of all-out brawls like Friday's game, the NHL cannot forget that it has this situation to take care of primarily.
So for my second guest post, I had Vinod Venugopalan (We can call him "V"), a medical researcher from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital at McGill University, shed some light from a medical perspective. I thought this was important because we hear too much from people who don't know a thing about concussions, and what better way is there to discuss the real implications of concussions than to hear it from a guy with experience in the field. He's also a Montreal Canadiens fan, so he understands from a fan perspective as well on head injuries.
Hope you enjoy and learn a bit!
First, I’d like to thank Angie for graciously giving me space on her blog to air my opinion on an issue that I feel very strongly about. My name is Vinod Venugopalan. I’m a medical researcher at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. The recent rash of concussions in the NHL is a definite cause for concern.
The loss of Sidney Crosby, Marc Savard and several others due to head injuries has prompted the NHL to re-think its policy regarding hits to the head. However, to date, the NHL’s response to the sharp increases in the number of head-injuries has been woefully inadequate and poorly reasoned. The NHL has determined that the rise in head injuries can be curbed by increasing the severity of disciplinary action against head shot offenders. What seems to be missing in their consideration of this issue is how to limit the concussions from occurring at all.
What Is A Concussion?
I think it’s important to start with a definition of what a concussion is, and what causes them. First, concussions are brain injuries resulting from a force that causes the head to snap violently. This force in turn causes the brain to move within the skull and scrape along its jagged edges to cause a brief (ranging from seconds to minutes) loss of consciousness. More alarming is that it becomes easier to become concussed the next time and the time after that. In other words once concussed, the brain is never the same.
What's wrong with what the NHL does now?
One main issue regarding how the NHL deals with concussions is that the average team medical staff is not trained effectively to recognize symptoms of concussions: Headaches, dizziness, inability to concentrate, vision, hearing sensitivity, anxiety and depressed mood are all signs of a concussion.
Case in point: Sidney Crosby has yet to return to action as a result of two seemingly innocuous hits to the head, the first by Dave Steckel during the Winter Classic and the second by Victor Hedman of the Lightning. What concerns me more as a medical scientist and clinician is not the Steckel hit on Crosby, which appeared to be accidental, but that the Penguins medical and training staff put him back on the ice after appearing dazed during a second period interview. Moreover, he was allowed to play the next game when he was injured again in a collision with Victor Hedman of the Lightning. Did the training staff not recognize that he was concussed? And if not, why not?
One of the great obstacles in evaluating the extent of brain injury following a concussion is that present brain imaging technology lacks the requisite resolution to detect brain damage caused by concussion. One improvement over the years in analyzing head injuries are new brain imaging techniques are making great headway in being able to detect microscopic injury, the type of injury caused by concussions. A recent a study on concussed athletes suffering from post-concussion depression found functional abnormalities in the frontal lobes of the brain. Five years ago this type of information that ago was not available to the medical community.
Most players who have had concussion problems have had them since they were younger. To my knowledge, there are no comprehensive programs in place at the junior and minor hockey levels that test every player for head injury. This is the ideal place to start. Neuropsychological testing (or testing of cognitive functions, such as memory, attention, verbal reasoning and planning) can and should be assessed in every player from Midget onward. This data should be recorded in a medical database and used for future reference. Players should be tested at least twice a year and flagged for more extensive testing if there are performance decrements from one testing period to another. This type of continuous follow-up will help to detect or at the very least manage these head injuries more effectively.
Revisiting the Crosby case, my first impression is that Sidney Crosby was concussed much earlier in his career, perhaps as far back as his days in QMJHL. I suspect that a great percentage of players come to the NHL with un-reported head injuries. Part of the responsibility lies with the player who is reluctant to tell the trainer he’s hurt for of fear of losing ice-time, his job, draftability, or just simply appearing weak. In a game whose very ethos is defined by resilience and toughness, admitting weakness is career suicide.
In an interview with Eric Duhatschek of Globe and Mail, Pierre-Marc Bouchard of the Minnesota Wild who missed more than a year after sustaining back-to-back concussions talked about how difficult it was as a player to overcome the natural urge to compete and block out any obstacle to playing. “As hockey players, we don’t like to miss games,” said Bouchard. “You think you can play through it. You think you’ll be able to get rid of it the next few days - and you might. But if you get hit again, there’s that danger - that you could get an even bigger concussion." That is exactly what happened to Bouchard.
There are ways, however, to prevent or manage head injuries.
Concussion Prevention
In order to prevent and diagnose head injuries, early detection is key. The NHL should make use of new technology to have every individual brain-scanned before entering the league and scanned a minimum of twice a year, and collect data on the incidence of concussion. The more information we have at our disposal, the better we can use this data to inform NHL policy regarding head injuries.
Once we have this information, it is important to educate all NHL players and staff about what concussions are and the real-life implications of head injuries. It is this way that the players will be more aware of the dangers they are subject to on the ice on both the giving and receiving end of hits.
In Conclusion...
Hockey is a game of hitting and contact; that will never change. As a fan, I do not want it to change. It’s a big reason why many of us watch the game in the first place. That said, I think it’s time for the NHL to change tack. Instead of trying to legislate hits to the head, it must shift its priorities to prevention through the methods explained: education, early detection, and technology.
If you would like to contact Vinod directly, feel free to send your questions or comments (or fan mail) to:
Montreal Neurological Insitute Room 276
3801 University #276
Montreal, QC, Canada
H3A 2B4
or you can just simply email him at vinven55@hotmail.com.
Showing posts with label NHL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NHL. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Malkin's Out... Again #injuryninja
So I'm convinced the Hockey Gods (or the #injuryninja as @TheProgramBTR calls it) have decided to just curse all the league's favorite people: Alex Ovechkin JUST hit 20 goals last night, as a result the NHL would probably kill us with Sidney Crosby news -- except he's been out with a concussion he received in the Winter Classic and is still out to date, and now Evgeni Malkin is out, again.
Malkin had been dealing with a knee injury at the start of the season and was unable to play for Pittsburgh until later in the year. He finally returned and slowly found his scoring touch, until just before the All-Star Break, he had a sinus infection that kept him out for five games and the All-Star Game. Nonetheless, he returned after the break and played last night against the Buffalo Sabres.
According to an eye-witness account I received, Malkin hit the boards standing, until Tyler Myers fell onto Malkins knee. The way it bent, she said, he looked as though he tore his MCL.
Lo-and-behold this morning, Malkin was slated to be out for the rest of the year with a torn MCL AND ACL. ESPN's Pierre Lebrun on Twitter said his sources say the recovery time for Malkin after surgery would be six months. So all in all, Malkin will be out for the rest of the year.
The Penguins, who are currently three points behind the Flyers, can choose to deal with their struggles and call it a year, or go for someone at the trade deadline. Their injuries, especially to their centers, pose the option of going after Brad Richards from the Dallas Stars. Not that I have any inside information on any talks between the two teams, but because Dallas' uncertainty in being able to re-sign Richards and a having a legitimate chance at the Stanley Cup, it is a viable possibility.
In the coming days, I will have a guest-post from medical researcher, Vinod Venugopalan, on concussions and Crosby's career options. You won't want to miss the opportunity to hear from not a know-it-all sports journalist, but an actual medical source on such a serious issue for the NHL.
Malkin had been dealing with a knee injury at the start of the season and was unable to play for Pittsburgh until later in the year. He finally returned and slowly found his scoring touch, until just before the All-Star Break, he had a sinus infection that kept him out for five games and the All-Star Game. Nonetheless, he returned after the break and played last night against the Buffalo Sabres.
According to an eye-witness account I received, Malkin hit the boards standing, until Tyler Myers fell onto Malkins knee. The way it bent, she said, he looked as though he tore his MCL.
Lo-and-behold this morning, Malkin was slated to be out for the rest of the year with a torn MCL AND ACL. ESPN's Pierre Lebrun on Twitter said his sources say the recovery time for Malkin after surgery would be six months. So all in all, Malkin will be out for the rest of the year.
The Penguins, who are currently three points behind the Flyers, can choose to deal with their struggles and call it a year, or go for someone at the trade deadline. Their injuries, especially to their centers, pose the option of going after Brad Richards from the Dallas Stars. Not that I have any inside information on any talks between the two teams, but because Dallas' uncertainty in being able to re-sign Richards and a having a legitimate chance at the Stanley Cup, it is a viable possibility.
In the coming days, I will have a guest-post from medical researcher, Vinod Venugopalan, on concussions and Crosby's career options. You won't want to miss the opportunity to hear from not a know-it-all sports journalist, but an actual medical source on such a serious issue for the NHL.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Hockey Markets and their Successes - GUEST-POST
This past weekend was my birthday (January 15th) and one of my Twitter followers, Shannon Caulfield (@Shannybaby99) stepped up to be All We Do Is Puck's first guest-post.
She focused on the idea of hockey markets and what could help certain markets succeed and looked into some teams' progress thus far in the NHL. Albeit, it is a large topic to focus on, but I thought she did a pretty good job of helping folks scratch the surface on the issue.
*These are strictly the guest-poster's views*
She focused on the idea of hockey markets and what could help certain markets succeed and looked into some teams' progress thus far in the NHL. Albeit, it is a large topic to focus on, but I thought she did a pretty good job of helping folks scratch the surface on the issue.
*These are strictly the guest-poster's views*
~Hockey is a beloved sport across the nation and throughout North America but it is obvious the difference teams across North America posses. The popularity of the markets, players, and how success plays a major role in revenue is relevant in the success of the league.
My curiosity lies within the location and management of specific teams. How big of a difference would their success be if they originally started in the East or were moved to a better market? Has the popularity increased/decreased after finding success in a cup run? Where is the correlation between success and a good fiscal year for teams?
According to ESPN.com the team in 2010-2011 with the highest attendance is the Montreal Canadiens with an average of 21,273 attendees per game. The second and third highest in attendance lie with the previous Stanley Cup Champs and runner up respectively the Chicago Blackhawks 21,231 and Philadelphia Flyers 19,594. Next two are the Maple Leafs 19,317, the always successful and original six hockey club the Red Wings with 19,275, the Blues hold 7, Canucks 8, Capitals 9, Sabres round out top ten and Pittsburgh Penguins 11 with 18,212. Three of those teams lie in the Western Conference with winning titles and successful players.
At the bottom of the list? The teams that just can’t get a break are ones and can’t spark a consistent interest with fans begin with the Panthers at 22nd, 23 Avalanche, 24 Stars, 25 Ducks, 26 Devils, 27 Blue Jackets, 28 Thrashers, 29 Coyotes who draw approximately 10,282 and finally the ever-struggling Islanders with 9,692.
Unfortunately for these markets these teams have experienced poor upper-management and ownership ultimately has led to some of this downfall, specifically with the Atlanta who has experienced what it is like to be the product of poorly ran upper management.
After the 2010 season Atlanta cleaned house and is looking up as far as success is concerned. They promoted Don Waddell to President of Hockey Operations, formerly serving as interim coach and GM and the Assistant GM Rick Dudley was then moved to the leadership position of GM. Former Assistant Coach of the Boston Bruins Craig Ramsay was named head coach. Dudley spared no time when it came to the players and quickly got to business trading for Brent Sopel, Ben Eager, defensive powerhouse Dustin Byfuglien. Atlanta is top ten currently overall in the league which is a world of a difference when they finished last season ranked at 23rd. They can give the Southeast Division a run for their money as they are only six behind Tampa Bay and Washington who are tied for 51 points.
The Thrashers’ revenue averages $65 million per year and rank under Washington at 27 according to fromtherink.com and Forbes magazine. They brought in a mere $59 million in the 03-04 season and saw a great deal of improvement just a few years later bringing in $70 million in 2008. What does that mean for Atlanta? With the big(ger) ticket names and recent Stanley Cup winners gracing the roster? Increased interest means increased revenue and a bigger shot at remaining in their market.
It’s no shock that the Toronto Maple Leafs hold the current number one spot on the aforementioned Forbes list averaging revenue of a staggering $134 million. Despite their consistent lack of winning Their fans are unwavering in their support for the Ontario based team. Second is the Rangers with $122 and third is Montreal with an average of $107 million dollars in revenue not a shock either, New York City is the largest populated city in the U.S.
Pittsburgh is ranked low on the Forbes list at 23, they brought in approximately $52 million 03-04 and by 07-08 the year they began to see significant success; they had brought in coincidentally $87 million, (but cool). Pittsburgh had the highest percent increase at 67.31% the next highest belongs to Anaheim with a 66.67% increase and bringing in $90 million in revenue in 2008 the year following their Cup win. The next highest percent increase lies with the team from the Garden State starting with a $61 million in 03-04 to bringing in $97 million in the 07-08 season.
Colorado had the biggest percent decrease within the five-season span surveyed. They were down -8.08% while remained ranked at number 9 for bringing in the most revenue. The second team ranked in the negatives, also rounding out the top ten, was Tampa Bay who’s average was $85 million but down -4.55% over the five year period. Third who was down in the negatives and also in the top ten was the Philadelphia Flyers who are ranked sixth on the Forbes list average approximately $96 million and found themselves -3.77% percent.
Despite the rankings according to Forbes over this five year period; I can’t help but be aware of the success of these teams at the current time. The Flyers are seeing sellout crowds due to their recent Cup run against the Blackhawks and are currently going between first and second in the league and the consistent passionate support of their fans. It’s no secret in sports that Philadelphia has some of the scariest passionate fans in the country. The Flyers success has only fueled the fire of the passionate fans.
Colorado has not only recently picked up Matt Duchene but has seen some recent success and have been fluctuating with their current rank of 16. Colorado finished last year in the top 12 and clinched a playoff spot. They saw some spotlight with goalie Craig Anderson and his unbelievable go-around during the playoffs. Unfortunately for the franchise, the fans only seem to want to fill the stadium during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The other team in the negatives was Tampa Bay who saw the 25th rank at the end of their season, one of their forwards Steven Stamkos brought a lot of press to the team tying with superstar Sidney Crosby for most goals in a season and co-winning the Rocket Richard trophy. In this ‘10-‘11 season they are on fire and round out the top 5 in the league. They recently picked up Flyer veteran Simon Gagne; Stamkos and St Louis are seeing success with 57 and 53 points respectively they’re proving their success. I recently had the pleasure of experiencing a Lightning game in Tampa Bay and there was a decent, loud crowd. The more the team sees success (they pulled in first in the Southeast Division that specific game) the more fans and support they can garner and a positive increase in revenue as things take off.
What can the NHL do as a whole then to generate more fans and a higher success rate for the teams drawing poor crowds? We can’t blame the economy for everything, especially when Detroit ranks in the top 10. The NHL should carefully take a look at locations that contain more rinks per-capita, as well as the favorable opinions of ice hockey in various cities with high interest in a professional team. Money and cost of hosting these teams are a huge factor, as well as the promise of generating enough revenue to keep the teams.
What about a starting point for these new locations? Look into successful NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey, the successful clubs not only draw the attention of fans enough to sell out crowds nearly nightly but they also contain a number of players who will soon make the transition of collegiate athlete to pro-athlete. North Dakota could be promising as well as Maine (especially with its close proximity to Canada). There has been talk of moving a team back to Winnipeg; how will that play out? As of now, it’s just rumors.
Other things to consider: the NFL. There are huge, very serious allegations insinuating a lockout. While this news is disheartening to football fans nationwide, there lies the opportunity to give the NHL the financial boost it needs. Unfortunately for football fans there are no other football outlets for them to get excited about.
However, during this pending lockout, there are options for football fans: sports that start around the same time, like ice hockey and basketball. This gives each sport a fair shot at new fans and a new interest in what each has to offer. These fans did show excitement during the Olympics, and especially after the 24/7 HBO series, the spotlight on hockey seems to have gotten brighter with lockout implications in other sports. When fans of these other outlets have their sports taken away, they will have the opportunity to further explore the idea of hockey -- Just something to take into consideration in the very near future.
Success is ever important to the NHL between the success of teams and players. The NHL is creating new ways to bring positive attention to the league, such as the 2011 NHL Winter Classic and hyping up its biggest superstars. Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have brought attention the Capitals-Penguins matchup at Heinz field brought in 4.5 million viewers, the highest of their matchups thus far (the two still have two more matches to go this year). This Winter Classic had a 10% increase in viewers from all the others according to thehockeysuit.com.
These are all signs of an increased interest in and what the league has to offer to new fans. With the better stars, fresh ideas for fans, young stars the league is consistently recruiting, there is more attention brought on to the NHL. The franchises pull in fans and will have greater revenue each fiscal year. Fresh, innovative and exciting ideas involving fans give an enhanced chance to each franchise respectively for the most success attainable for the NHL. ~
If you have interest in being a future guest-poster, email me at lewisa@washpost.com with your potential topic and approach.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
LiveHockeyChat.com: a place to talk about pucking while you puck
Hey! You... yes, [insert your name, reader]. You see that ad up there above this post? You should click it every once in a while. It goes to this pretty cool site that I plan to use soon to talk hockey live during games.
As you all know, all I do on here is puck and talk about pucking. While I enjoy talking about hockey on my Twitter feed though, I would enjoy it much more if I was in constant conversation about it with other people. I mean, I know I'm not the only one who likes to talk pucking, so I would like folks to join me. I love to hear the trash talk go back-and-forth in real-time. I feel like trash talk is more effective that way anyway.
I plan on chatting on LiveHockeyChat.com on Monday, February 1 when the Washington Capitals faceoff at home against the Montreal Canadiens. It would be totally awesome too if I could have some of you all join me in discussion. It should be fun, for sure.
Of course, I understand that not all my readers are Caps or Habs fans, so guess what: you have the option of going to OTHER games as well. How convenient! You can choose which game you'd like to join a chat in. On a given day, there is one chat room that is open and started for each game 30 minutes before each game respectively, and then the chat room will close 30 minutes after the game is finished -- you know, so you can talk about how awesome or how terrible that puck session was.
So how do you start talking with me about hockey on the site? Since I've dearly asked you to join discussion with me then, you can either create a username and password and confirm your email address.
And if you happen to like other sports, like futbol, American football, college sports, baseball, basketball, squash... you can use the same account username & password that is used on http://www.LiveHockeyChat.com for the rest of them.
Hope you also find time to visit The Hockey Writers' new forum soon as well. Lots of good topics. And don't be shy! You can start a topic, too!
Hope to see you all February 1! Until then, enjoy the NHL All-Star Game (and don't focus too much on the snubs -- they've got next year for sure).
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Climbing a Hill(er) to look at the Stars: A Tale of Two Teams on the Rise... and some shamless plugs
After an eleventh and twelfth place finish last season in the Western Conference respectively, the Dallas Stars and the Anaheim Ducks are third and fifth in the West.
In the beginning of the year, one would have them in the lower portion of the Pacific Division, while the LA Kings and San Jose Sharks would be able to reign freely on top. However, ironically, if the playoffs were to start today, the Kings would just barely be in the eighth place spot and the Sharks would not be in the playoffs, sitting in twelfth place like the Ducks last year.
Giving the Stars Some Shine
Of course, as always at this time of the year the two conferences are quite jumbled up and the Kings and Sharks are behind the Ducks by only three points; however, aside from the Sharks and the Kings underachieving, the Stars have received help on all ends.
The Stars have seen stellar seasons from Brad Richards with 49 points through 43 games and Lou Eriksson just behind Richards with 46 points. Not to mention, they have Kari Letohnen and Andrew Raycroft, surprisingly, have worked well together, combining for a 2.33 GAA and a .924 save percentage for Dallas. Now with the old-new addition of Jamie Langenbrunner who was absolutely miserable in [Hell] New Jersey, the Stars look to add more scoring to give them more of an offensive attack.
This is just a notice, look out for them. The Minnesota Wild beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 last night, and got their butts whopped by the same score tonight by the Dallas Stars.
The Anaheim Hillers
Anaheim may not have much offense (even less now that Ryan Getzlaf has been out for a significant length of time because of injury) and the Ducks have a hard time keeping opponents out of their zone. That, however, hasn't stopped their goalie Jonas Hiller from being unstoppable in net.
Hiller completed his second consecutive shutout tonight against the Sharks in a 37-save performance. Through the two shutouts, Hiller stopped 80 shots. In fact, according to Jim Neveau's piece for The Hockey Writers about the Blackhawks and the Ducks game, he states that:
Of course, this is telling that his defense won't do much to protect him, and it is possible that after sometime, Hiller could crack. But for now, it does not seem so.
With the Ducks in fourth place after tonight's win, it's not impossible to see them in a playoff spot come the end of the year. But as mentioned before, the conferences are packed tightly at this point in the season, and three points separate the fourth seed from the eleventh seed in the Western Conference. It would depend on if Anaheim is able to find any kind of scoring when Getzlaf returns and if somebody learns to block shots before Hiller wears down. Riding on a hot goalie can only take a team so far, as we saw last year with Montreal, who lost in the conference finals to the Flyers, who had a much more complete attack.
For Shamless Plug time, I did a few more spots on radio this week. January 6th, I was a busy woman appearing on two shows.
The first was a second appearance on Rink Side Rants with Tim Redinger and Frank Rekas. Here I recapped the Winter Classic, my experience at the Winter Classic and a few other "shenanigans" in the NHL, including my learning about the NHL Guardian Project.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rinksiderants/2011/01/07/rink-side-rants-happy-new-year
Shortly thereafter, I joined Gabriel Morency on Sports Rage to talk more Capitals and post-Winter Classic consequences for both the Caps and Penguins. Was rather impressed, as I learned that folks in Canada do their homework on hockey and don't hang on to yesterday's news about teams (like no "Caps struggling" questions).
I was on one more show tonight, Game Points with Matthew Ross on The Team 990 from Montreal to talk, yes, more Capitals, and my biggest surprises in the NHL this year. No link right now, but I'll see if I can get you guys one.
Pucking this much has never made me happier.....
In the beginning of the year, one would have them in the lower portion of the Pacific Division, while the LA Kings and San Jose Sharks would be able to reign freely on top. However, ironically, if the playoffs were to start today, the Kings would just barely be in the eighth place spot and the Sharks would not be in the playoffs, sitting in twelfth place like the Ducks last year.
Giving the Stars Some Shine
Of course, as always at this time of the year the two conferences are quite jumbled up and the Kings and Sharks are behind the Ducks by only three points; however, aside from the Sharks and the Kings underachieving, the Stars have received help on all ends.
The Stars have seen stellar seasons from Brad Richards with 49 points through 43 games and Lou Eriksson just behind Richards with 46 points. Not to mention, they have Kari Letohnen and Andrew Raycroft, surprisingly, have worked well together, combining for a 2.33 GAA and a .924 save percentage for Dallas. Now with the old-new addition of Jamie Langenbrunner who was absolutely miserable in [Hell] New Jersey, the Stars look to add more scoring to give them more of an offensive attack.
This is just a notice, look out for them. The Minnesota Wild beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 last night, and got their butts whopped by the same score tonight by the Dallas Stars.
The Anaheim Hillers
Anaheim may not have much offense (even less now that Ryan Getzlaf has been out for a significant length of time because of injury) and the Ducks have a hard time keeping opponents out of their zone. That, however, hasn't stopped their goalie Jonas Hiller from being unstoppable in net.
Hiller completed his second consecutive shutout tonight against the Sharks in a 37-save performance. Through the two shutouts, Hiller stopped 80 shots. In fact, according to Jim Neveau's piece for The Hockey Writers about the Blackhawks and the Ducks game, he states that:
"...the Ducks currently are allowing the most shots per game of any squad in the league, with 34.6 pucks per game finding their way through the defense and onto the net."
Of course, this is telling that his defense won't do much to protect him, and it is possible that after sometime, Hiller could crack. But for now, it does not seem so.
With the Ducks in fourth place after tonight's win, it's not impossible to see them in a playoff spot come the end of the year. But as mentioned before, the conferences are packed tightly at this point in the season, and three points separate the fourth seed from the eleventh seed in the Western Conference. It would depend on if Anaheim is able to find any kind of scoring when Getzlaf returns and if somebody learns to block shots before Hiller wears down. Riding on a hot goalie can only take a team so far, as we saw last year with Montreal, who lost in the conference finals to the Flyers, who had a much more complete attack.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For Shamless Plug time, I did a few more spots on radio this week. January 6th, I was a busy woman appearing on two shows.
The first was a second appearance on Rink Side Rants with Tim Redinger and Frank Rekas. Here I recapped the Winter Classic, my experience at the Winter Classic and a few other "shenanigans" in the NHL, including my learning about the NHL Guardian Project.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rinksiderants/2011/01/07/rink-side-rants-happy-new-year
Shortly thereafter, I joined Gabriel Morency on Sports Rage to talk more Capitals and post-Winter Classic consequences for both the Caps and Penguins. Was rather impressed, as I learned that folks in Canada do their homework on hockey and don't hang on to yesterday's news about teams (like no "Caps struggling" questions).
I was on one more show tonight, Game Points with Matthew Ross on The Team 990 from Montreal to talk, yes, more Capitals, and my biggest surprises in the NHL this year. No link right now, but I'll see if I can get you guys one.
Pucking this much has never made me happier.....
Sunday, January 02, 2011
The 2011 Winter Classic - AWESOME
Hey puckers! I'm back in Washington, DC after spending most of the past week in Pittsburgh for the final leg of coverage of the 2011 NHL Winter Classic. As the Washington Capitals correspondent for The Hockey Writers, I received credentials to go cover the event and traveled to Pittsburgh to take advantage of my position to give you all the best coverage possible.I just have to say off the bat that the whole thing was fantastic. From the first day I got there, from getting booed coming off the plane in Pittsburgh because I had on my red scarf and red Winter Classic t-shirt, to going to Quaker Steak & Lube for a 22 ounce Yuengling and some awesome wings, I totally was eating up all of my early experiences in the Steel City.
I got about one hour of sleep before the alumni game the following morning, as it started at 9:30 a.m., and then met up to drive into 45-minute traffic on the bridge to the Caps and Pens alumni game. I completely enjoyed watching Jay Caufield from the Pens' squad drop down and block a shot late in the game. However, nothing was cooler in the alumni game than watching former Capital Peter Bondra get the game-tying goal for a 5-5 final. Even better? Going down and interviewing him. I'm sure he doesn't remember a twelve-year-old me, asking for an autograph, but it was definitely a flashback in time for me there. Of course, though, I kept the journalist hat on and did my job.It was New Year's Eve on the same day of the alumni game, and since the main event on New Year's Day was moved to 8 p.m. because of the weather, I decided to take advantage of some extra time, as I wasn't due to write again until after the game. So I hit up one of my sources and found a cool little house party to go to. It was here where I learned that some of the people from Pittsburgh, even the Penguins fans, although disappointed that I grew up a Caps fan from DC, were pretty cool and open to discussion. Certainly not as bitter and as mean as I remembered them from my childhood...
I finally got a few more hours of sleep, and then woke up to Winter Classic coverage. All day long, NBC showed clips of past Winter Classics, along with discussion about the Caps and Penguins. It was really awesome, even though I think they got so much wrong about the focus of the game i.e. setting things up for failure by hyping up Sid/Ovie more than 100 times. I knew I'd do the game justice whatever the outcome was anyway.
With the stadium lights on, 65,111 fans in hockey jerseys filling the stands, the noise, and the importance of the game, the setting for Winter Classic was complete. The playoff and borderline Super Bowl atmosphere matched the the hype associated with this grandiose event all for a regular season game. I couldn't tell you how unreal it was to see that many Caps and Penguins fans get together for a regular season game, and how pretty the view was. I was already proud to be covering such a proud moment for hockey fans and the game.The game itself ended up living up to the intensity as well. John Erskine and Michael Rupp fought in the first period, the puck sloshed on the wet ice from the rain that began to pour about mid-way through the game, and even though the ice quality was poor both teams still found opportunities to buzz around the net at
times. All of this was way cool, even as Ovechkin and Crosby did not score a point. Unfortunately, the mainstream media, as well as fans who were told to expect big numbers in the game, will look at that as a failure. But for hockey fans and anyone that knows better, this game was a solid one (no pun intended) and the Caps earned the 3-1 victory and the two points.I typed up my post-game article after going down to the locker and news conference rooms to grab interviews, and didn't get done until about 1 or 1:30 in the morning. After that, I took my last trip into Pittsburgh debauchery and had another great time.
Finally today, I helped out freelancer Mike Asti with a Winter Classic recap video and passed the time before my 6:30 p.m. (that became a 7:10 p.m.) flight. The video was definitely a great way to cap off the trip, talking about probably the most exciting events I have ever covered as a young hockey writer with NHL credentials. I definitely will consider going to future Winter Classics and covering them, and now we know that The Hockey Writers have a positive reputation with the NHL!
... Oh yeah, my awesomeness didn't end there though: on my flight back to DC as we entered into the terminal to board the plane, I saw a pack of Caps fans in front of me, and I said, loudly, "Let's Go Caps!" Soon enough, we had a short burst of "Lets Go Caps!" and "C-A-P-S, Caps, Caps, Caps!" chants to go around. Even better, unlike my first flight where I sat behind a whole family of Penguins fans, I sat next to a Caps fan, who was extremely knowledgeable and could relate to everything I was saying about the team's past. It was pretty fun to talk hockey with a fan, especially the group of guys that joined my Caps chants being entirely belligerent all the way in the back. Nonetheless, it was great, and my trip proved to be worthwhile from top to bottom, all the way down to my plane ride home.Talking with NHL media personalities and writers that I've read growing up, networking and meeting other writers, sort of bonding with the DC folks that give great coverage on the Capitals regularly, and making some friends was an added bonus to the fun
So I'm going to sleep for a few hours, because just like the Caps and Pens, I have to go right back to work, right away...
*All photos were taken by The Hockey Writers own Tom Turk*
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Caps Ready to Puck For Real?
As we all know, I've been a little more heavily involved with the Washington Caps in light of the Winter Classic coming up (next week) and the HBO 24/7 series. So all NHL news from me will return in a couple of weeks, but for now, I'll be a little monogamous in my pucking.
Recently though, all anyone wanted to pay attention to anyway was the recent losing streak by the Capitals. Further brought to the light by the HBO special, juxtaposed with the Penguins' success led by Sidney Crosby, talk of Bruce Boudreau being fired and trades dominated hockey news. I can't remember one hockey show last week that didn't highlight their struggles.
The Caps then responded Sunday night by finally breaking that eight-game losing stretch with a 3-2 comeback-win in Ottawa against the Senators. That win gave all DC-area sports teams a 3-12 record for December (Yeah Cowboys!).
Following that victory, Washington then showed that they can win by more than one goal by defeating the New Jersey Devils 5-1 in front a loud home crowd. Even though the expected scorers didn't do much, they received much help from players brought up from Hershey and other players who stepped up significantly. All those notes can be found from my post-game piece from The Hockey Writers.
With all the hoopla from the HBO cameras around Verizon Center, the team seemed to be in an obviously better mood than previous games with folks running around, laughing, and someone singing "Hallelujah" in the hallway. Not to mention that I guess it's okay for Alex Semin and Alex Ovechkin to be hanging out in front of the media lounge in just towels (I'm sure it's camera worthy).
Anywho, while I encourage letting the masses know of this improvement by the Caps and signs of confidence returning (hell I did it last night), this should all be taken with a literal grain of salt. This is considering the last three teams the Caps improved against were either struggling mightly (Boston), or just plain old aren't good (Ottawa, New Jersey). Thursday night, the Capitals play the Penguins, who have been 8-2-0 in their last 10 games and have two more points (46) than the Caps (44) in the standings. While the Penguins don't lead anything in terms of standings, they're definitely playing better than the teams Washington has played lately.
As a result, the Caps can't afford a pooper in front of the home crowd, cameras, and NHL Network watchers against the Pens if they don't want to make things more difficult for themselves and to be turned into a sideshow. Of course, you and I, the rational observers, know there are teams doing worse than the Caps, and that the Caps will most likely still make the playoffs. There are other things the NHL and its people can focus on (like the Dallas Stars, or anything Leafs-related that has nothing to do with breakfast food).
However, the reality is that because Washington is receiving so much attention as is, once again, their failure will be showcased. If the Caps win though, I'm pretty sure no one will care and it will be spun as just having won one game out of four with Pittsburgh (I'm strictly going by what a smug fan told me last night).
I will say that the Caps were 3-0-1 the year they lost to Pittsburgh in the second round. While it may seem like the Caps are eternally cursed in the playoffs in general, much less the Penguins in the playoffs, bad things happen to good teams. Just throwing that out there for the sake of saying that it actually isn't the end of the world if the Caps lose tomorrow, but they, and all watchers, shall be prepared for questions. It's just the reality of pucking in the NHL.
Regardless of what happens tomorrow night in Washington against Pittsburgh, I'm sure I'll be declaring shenanigans somewhere.
Recently though, all anyone wanted to pay attention to anyway was the recent losing streak by the Capitals. Further brought to the light by the HBO special, juxtaposed with the Penguins' success led by Sidney Crosby, talk of Bruce Boudreau being fired and trades dominated hockey news. I can't remember one hockey show last week that didn't highlight their struggles.
The Caps then responded Sunday night by finally breaking that eight-game losing stretch with a 3-2 comeback-win in Ottawa against the Senators. That win gave all DC-area sports teams a 3-12 record for December (Yeah Cowboys!).
Following that victory, Washington then showed that they can win by more than one goal by defeating the New Jersey Devils 5-1 in front a loud home crowd. Even though the expected scorers didn't do much, they received much help from players brought up from Hershey and other players who stepped up significantly. All those notes can be found from my post-game piece from The Hockey Writers.
With all the hoopla from the HBO cameras around Verizon Center, the team seemed to be in an obviously better mood than previous games with folks running around, laughing, and someone singing "Hallelujah" in the hallway. Not to mention that I guess it's okay for Alex Semin and Alex Ovechkin to be hanging out in front of the media lounge in just towels (I'm sure it's camera worthy).
Anywho, while I encourage letting the masses know of this improvement by the Caps and signs of confidence returning (hell I did it last night), this should all be taken with a literal grain of salt. This is considering the last three teams the Caps improved against were either struggling mightly (Boston), or just plain old aren't good (Ottawa, New Jersey). Thursday night, the Capitals play the Penguins, who have been 8-2-0 in their last 10 games and have two more points (46) than the Caps (44) in the standings. While the Penguins don't lead anything in terms of standings, they're definitely playing better than the teams Washington has played lately.
As a result, the Caps can't afford a pooper in front of the home crowd, cameras, and NHL Network watchers against the Pens if they don't want to make things more difficult for themselves and to be turned into a sideshow. Of course, you and I, the rational observers, know there are teams doing worse than the Caps, and that the Caps will most likely still make the playoffs. There are other things the NHL and its people can focus on (like the Dallas Stars, or anything Leafs-related that has nothing to do with breakfast food).
However, the reality is that because Washington is receiving so much attention as is, once again, their failure will be showcased. If the Caps win though, I'm pretty sure no one will care and it will be spun as just having won one game out of four with Pittsburgh (I'm strictly going by what a smug fan told me last night).
I will say that the Caps were 3-0-1 the year they lost to Pittsburgh in the second round. While it may seem like the Caps are eternally cursed in the playoffs in general, much less the Penguins in the playoffs, bad things happen to good teams. Just throwing that out there for the sake of saying that it actually isn't the end of the world if the Caps lose tomorrow, but they, and all watchers, shall be prepared for questions. It's just the reality of pucking in the NHL.
Regardless of what happens tomorrow night in Washington against Pittsburgh, I'm sure I'll be declaring shenanigans somewhere.
Friday, December 17, 2010
My Second Radio/Podcast Appearance
Last night, I was honored to be featured on Rink Side Rants (click the link to listen to the show) with Frank Rekas of The Rat Trick and The Hockey Writers, and Tim Redinger of Sabre Noise. Along with shenanigans and the like, we talked about everything hockey that's going on.
Main questions included inquiries about the Winter Classic and whether it should be annual, if we should alternate between the East and West coasts, the truth behind the Sid/Ovie and Caps/Pens rivalry, the separation between the Winter Classic and Heritage Classic, and what I'm doing to prepare.
The second half of the show was devoted to discussing other NHL happenings, such as the recent failings of the Caps who are now on a seven-game losing streak (I did a piece on The Hockey Writers Wednesday night), the NHL ignoring other stars like Steven Stamkos and Taylor Hall, and the Linus Omark something-out-of-nothing nonsense that we concluded was just another little battle in the War on Personalities.
Yes, I've been a busy gal lately, getting more prepared for my trip to Pittsburgh in now exactly 13 days, getting everyone else ready for the Winter Classic, making my rounds around league events, Caps games, working at the Post of course, and this holiday season (Christmas for the Roman Catholics!), where I have not completed any shopping.
And still, I'm having a helluva good time right now, just because it's all for hockey! After all, all I do is puck all day and all night ;).
So listen to the puck session with Frank and Tim on Rink Side Rants, and not even as a fan, but for the sake of sports journalism and the HBO special to avoid becoming one-sided, I need the Caps to win. Thank you.
Main questions included inquiries about the Winter Classic and whether it should be annual, if we should alternate between the East and West coasts, the truth behind the Sid/Ovie and Caps/Pens rivalry, the separation between the Winter Classic and Heritage Classic, and what I'm doing to prepare.
The second half of the show was devoted to discussing other NHL happenings, such as the recent failings of the Caps who are now on a seven-game losing streak (I did a piece on The Hockey Writers Wednesday night), the NHL ignoring other stars like Steven Stamkos and Taylor Hall, and the Linus Omark something-out-of-nothing nonsense that we concluded was just another little battle in the War on Personalities.
Yes, I've been a busy gal lately, getting more prepared for my trip to Pittsburgh in now exactly 13 days, getting everyone else ready for the Winter Classic, making my rounds around league events, Caps games, working at the Post of course, and this holiday season (Christmas for the Roman Catholics!), where I have not completed any shopping.
And still, I'm having a helluva good time right now, just because it's all for hockey! After all, all I do is puck all day and all night ;).
So listen to the puck session with Frank and Tim on Rink Side Rants, and not even as a fan, but for the sake of sports journalism and the HBO special to avoid becoming one-sided, I need the Caps to win. Thank you.
Friday, December 10, 2010
The Defunct Funk
I chatted with my buddy Justin the other day about those good old days when the Winnipeg Jets were once an NHL team. Then we got into the Hartford Whalers... and then the Quebec Nordiques....
We came to the conclusion that these teams all needed tributes and some love. Well, here we go (in no particular order):
This first one is for the Hartford Whalers, who became the Carolina Hurricanes when their lifetime ended in 1994. Raleigh, North Carolina has become a hockey-appreciative city. With two Stanley Cup final appearances, winning it all once, it wasn't a bad place to move the team. Nonetheless, a part of me still misses those wicked jerseys and Pucky the Whale up in Connecticut. This video tribute is made extra special, as it's backed by Brass Bonanza, the spectacular New England theme. I'm dedicating this one to you, Zarley Zalapski:
Tribute #2 belongs to the Quebec Nordiques, the Northern Men or Men of the North for you non-Francophones/French Speakers. This franchise moved in 1995 to become the Colorado Avalanche. It made sense to move a team back there since Colorado lost the Rockies in the 80s. As soon as the team moved, they were already a Western threat, having won a Cup in 1996... that wasn't going to happen if they were still in Quebec, seeing as there is no way in bleu, blanc, et rouge hell the Montreal Canadiens were going to trade Patrick Roy to a team in the same province. Nonetheless, the Nordiques were a competitive team and check out the awesome Coldplay song:
The Winnipeg Jets, now the Phoenix Coyotes as of 1996, are probably the most missed defunct NHL team. The Coyotes, even though they have been a decent team over the years, have failed to draw in crowds over 12,000 people consistently, and they hardly sell-out games during the playoffs. I feel for the team (I mean, I really like those non-Picasso-looking jerseys), but it's gotta be rough for those fans in Winnipeg seeing this, knowing very well they would watch their team. But nobody stepped up to buy the team, and moving was the only option they had. This tribute, although I think the music sucks, is still awesome in content:
... And then the Minnesota North Stars packed up and moved to Dallas to become the Stars in 1993. The team was decent, and had a pretty good following (it's Minnesota, guys!). The North Stars, led by Mike Modano, were definitely a more exciting team than the "poor substitute" as Justin called the Minnesota Wild. Aside from the fact that the Wild are a little boring, at least hockey is back in Minnesota. This tribute video though was probably the best tribute, surprisingly:
Finally, we have the Colorado Rockies, a team long defunct since 1982 after relieving the Kansas City Scouts of their duties in the NHL in 1976. This was a team before my time, but they became the New Jersey Devils. The Devils have replaced them well though, so we're not crying too many tears. Here's a nice short one:
My favorite defunct team: tied between the Hartford Whalers and the Winnipeg Jets.
Hope you all enjoyed the tributes, and as an update on PK Subban, the man will return to the Habs' lineup tonight. #freePK must have worked!
And check out my appearance on The Rat Trick, a Florida Panther's blog by Frank Rekas. The Caps lost to the Cats 3-0 last night, so disregard my 3-1 Caps win prediction. No worries though: panic I will not do. Disappointed, I will be.
We came to the conclusion that these teams all needed tributes and some love. Well, here we go (in no particular order):
This first one is for the Hartford Whalers, who became the Carolina Hurricanes when their lifetime ended in 1994. Raleigh, North Carolina has become a hockey-appreciative city. With two Stanley Cup final appearances, winning it all once, it wasn't a bad place to move the team. Nonetheless, a part of me still misses those wicked jerseys and Pucky the Whale up in Connecticut. This video tribute is made extra special, as it's backed by Brass Bonanza, the spectacular New England theme. I'm dedicating this one to you, Zarley Zalapski:
Tribute #2 belongs to the Quebec Nordiques, the Northern Men or Men of the North for you non-Francophones/French Speakers. This franchise moved in 1995 to become the Colorado Avalanche. It made sense to move a team back there since Colorado lost the Rockies in the 80s. As soon as the team moved, they were already a Western threat, having won a Cup in 1996... that wasn't going to happen if they were still in Quebec, seeing as there is no way in bleu, blanc, et rouge hell the Montreal Canadiens were going to trade Patrick Roy to a team in the same province. Nonetheless, the Nordiques were a competitive team and check out the awesome Coldplay song:
The Winnipeg Jets, now the Phoenix Coyotes as of 1996, are probably the most missed defunct NHL team. The Coyotes, even though they have been a decent team over the years, have failed to draw in crowds over 12,000 people consistently, and they hardly sell-out games during the playoffs. I feel for the team (I mean, I really like those non-Picasso-looking jerseys), but it's gotta be rough for those fans in Winnipeg seeing this, knowing very well they would watch their team. But nobody stepped up to buy the team, and moving was the only option they had. This tribute, although I think the music sucks, is still awesome in content:
... And then the Minnesota North Stars packed up and moved to Dallas to become the Stars in 1993. The team was decent, and had a pretty good following (it's Minnesota, guys!). The North Stars, led by Mike Modano, were definitely a more exciting team than the "poor substitute" as Justin called the Minnesota Wild. Aside from the fact that the Wild are a little boring, at least hockey is back in Minnesota. This tribute video though was probably the best tribute, surprisingly:
Finally, we have the Colorado Rockies, a team long defunct since 1982 after relieving the Kansas City Scouts of their duties in the NHL in 1976. This was a team before my time, but they became the New Jersey Devils. The Devils have replaced them well though, so we're not crying too many tears. Here's a nice short one:
My favorite defunct team: tied between the Hartford Whalers and the Winnipeg Jets.
Hope you all enjoyed the tributes, and as an update on PK Subban, the man will return to the Habs' lineup tonight. #freePK must have worked!
And check out my appearance on The Rat Trick, a Florida Panther's blog by Frank Rekas. The Caps lost to the Cats 3-0 last night, so disregard my 3-1 Caps win prediction. No worries though: panic I will not do. Disappointed, I will be.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Don't Expect Me to Slip This Under the Rug
I'm about to put myself in the minority-room...
I'm not interested in trying to get anybody any bad press, or to necessarily expect people to agree with me, or to provide you all with a homily. I just need you to listen and to think from another person's perspective on this
As much as I have entrusted my hockey learning, my hockey life, and my old hockey video game color commentary with former goalie Darren Pang, I am quite disappointed in him as of tonight.
For those who are unfamiliar with the incident, this evening on TSN, Darren Pang was talking about the emergence of the young and talented defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens, PK Subban. As a player who is not only known for his on-ice performance but his often controversial" behavior, PK has, of course, caused concern for the conservative hockey community.
Here are the comments by Panger:
Of course, what everybody is going to think I'm referring to is the Freudian slip Pang makes, but you wouldn't listen to me if I just told you he's racist because he said that Alex Pietrangelo does things the "white way."
Instead, I have more issue with the things he said leading up to it. Implying that there is a "right way" for one, when there are other paths other players have taken to make it to the NHL is a problem for me. For all the players who made it to the NHL a not-so-mainstream way, through different programs, did they not do it "right?" Does that make them a lesser player?
Even as a player who came up through the juniors, how did he not do it the "right/white" way? Why should he have to follow the example of another player?
Well, notice how Pang, and of course everybody else comments on Subban's behavior, need of "settling him down." The same conversation has happened with Russian Alex Ovechkin's personality and party-boyish ways. While it is understandable in the case of Subban in a community where everyone else doesn't act the way he does that he should be mindful of this for the betterment of his team, it is still troublesome that he has to do so.
This all goes under this concept of "conformity"... the idea that the right, proper way to do everything is to assimilate by conforming to the Anglo-Canadian style of play, attitude, training, etc. And this concept appears in many forms in our daily lives, and it is hard to detect by others on the outside because of the idea of privilege... unfortunately, this is All We Do Is Puck and not sociology class, so I won't explain all of it here, but it is something to be aware of.
Hockey is obviously still a sport run almost entirely by old white men, with a majority of white players in 2010. So yes, the ideas will be antiquated, with a fear of the game being taken away from them, the game changing too much, new types of players and personalities coming in, Ochocincos and T.O.s, and all of these things if non-traditional types come into the game. Still, you cannot ignore the concept of race in this, because who are they scared of t going to? Yeah, I said it - race. Say it with me now! I'm not scared of it!
Even though this issue goes much deeper than what was said here, and it seems like a "gregarious" problem to fix, do understand that it can't be totally ignored, denied or minimized either to make it okay. It is the way it is, but that doesn't make it right. It's Subban doing all the talking, but let's try not to blame the victim or his "ways," or call it something else Let's not say "it didn't count because he didn't mean it." Trust me, it won' get you off the hook.
As much as people are going to label this incident as "just a slip" and that "he didn't mean anything by it" are missing the bigger picture; that this isn't okay, and that he had to apologize because it's inherently wrong to say. However, not just the slip, but everything else before that, which leads me to believe that of course Pang wouldn't want to say "white way" on television. I still trust Panger with my hockey analysis -- after all we short goalie-types must stick together -- but I call it like I see it and this was inexcusably wrong.
Sermon - done.
Stay tuned later for a post on the polling of YOUR favorite defunct NHL team. Cause I know I have one, and I'm not telling you until I post!
I'm not interested in trying to get anybody any bad press, or to necessarily expect people to agree with me, or to provide you all with a homily. I just need you to listen and to think from another person's perspective on this
As much as I have entrusted my hockey learning, my hockey life, and my old hockey video game color commentary with former goalie Darren Pang, I am quite disappointed in him as of tonight.
For those who are unfamiliar with the incident, this evening on TSN, Darren Pang was talking about the emergence of the young and talented defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens, PK Subban. As a player who is not only known for his on-ice performance but his often controversial" behavior, PK has, of course, caused concern for the conservative hockey community.
Here are the comments by Panger:
Of course, what everybody is going to think I'm referring to is the Freudian slip Pang makes, but you wouldn't listen to me if I just told you he's racist because he said that Alex Pietrangelo does things the "white way."
Instead, I have more issue with the things he said leading up to it. Implying that there is a "right way" for one, when there are other paths other players have taken to make it to the NHL is a problem for me. For all the players who made it to the NHL a not-so-mainstream way, through different programs, did they not do it "right?" Does that make them a lesser player?
Even as a player who came up through the juniors, how did he not do it the "right/white" way? Why should he have to follow the example of another player?
Well, notice how Pang, and of course everybody else comments on Subban's behavior, need of "settling him down." The same conversation has happened with Russian Alex Ovechkin's personality and party-boyish ways. While it is understandable in the case of Subban in a community where everyone else doesn't act the way he does that he should be mindful of this for the betterment of his team, it is still troublesome that he has to do so.
This all goes under this concept of "conformity"... the idea that the right, proper way to do everything is to assimilate by conforming to the Anglo-Canadian style of play, attitude, training, etc. And this concept appears in many forms in our daily lives, and it is hard to detect by others on the outside because of the idea of privilege... unfortunately, this is All We Do Is Puck and not sociology class, so I won't explain all of it here, but it is something to be aware of.
Hockey is obviously still a sport run almost entirely by old white men, with a majority of white players in 2010. So yes, the ideas will be antiquated, with a fear of the game being taken away from them, the game changing too much, new types of players and personalities coming in, Ochocincos and T.O.s, and all of these things if non-traditional types come into the game. Still, you cannot ignore the concept of race in this, because who are they scared of t going to? Yeah, I said it - race. Say it with me now! I'm not scared of it!
Even though this issue goes much deeper than what was said here, and it seems like a "gregarious" problem to fix, do understand that it can't be totally ignored, denied or minimized either to make it okay. It is the way it is, but that doesn't make it right. It's Subban doing all the talking, but let's try not to blame the victim or his "ways," or call it something else Let's not say "it didn't count because he didn't mean it." Trust me, it won' get you off the hook.
As much as people are going to label this incident as "just a slip" and that "he didn't mean anything by it" are missing the bigger picture; that this isn't okay, and that he had to apologize because it's inherently wrong to say. However, not just the slip, but everything else before that, which leads me to believe that of course Pang wouldn't want to say "white way" on television. I still trust Panger with my hockey analysis -- after all we short goalie-types must stick together -- but I call it like I see it and this was inexcusably wrong.
Sermon - done.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stay tuned later for a post on the polling of YOUR favorite defunct NHL team. Cause I know I have one, and I'm not telling you until I post!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Almost Everybody Pucks Tonight
To begin the heavy night of pucking, the Capitals went into Carolina and played one hell of a game, almost losing entirely a 2-0 lead, but keeping enough composure together to win 3-2 against the Hurricanes.
Washington was coming off of a 3-game losing stretch, going down 5-0 in Atlanta Friday night, losing 5-4 in the shootout a hard-fought match with the Flyers at home, and then dying in New Jersey 5-0 again at the hands of the Devils. All we could do back home was go, "What the puck is going on here?!"
Bruce Boudreau apparently had no particular answer either, except for a comment about how Alex Ovechkin wasn't pushing enough pedal; seeing as Ovie was laughing, joking around with the enemy while being down a gazillion to nothing.
Hilariously enough, much was made about the incident and people drew to the fact that Ovie has been slacking in general, and hasn't been the same exciting player that we have all seen up to two years ago, and even last year. Many arguments can be made on this, but we'll save for another day.
So today comes and Washington is in Carolina. Ovechkin only did what the special players do, and that was rise to the occasion. He assisted on all three goals, set up a ton of opportunities, made a few bone-crushing hits and played a smart game overall. Ultimately, it all led to a Capitals victory. So suck on that.
All in all, the Caps seemed all right tonight, meaning that they continue to arguably be the biggest enigma in the NHL. Now tied with the Flyers for the league lead in points with 32, the Capitals have a lot wrong with them, but you can't quite put your finger on it if you don't watch them on a regular basis. Even then, you can't say it's one thing or another. Again; the team that's "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma," to quote Winston Churchill in reference to the Soviets in WWII..... Carry on.....
Anywho, the Caps weren't the only team that played tonight. In fact, 12 other games were on tonight, so it was an all-nighter in terms of pucking. A good number of slumping teams got out of their slumps actually...
The Canucks had a four-game skid, but were able to break out of it winning 4-2 against the Avalanche tonight, who were actually doing fairly well recently on a four-game winning streak
The Sharks played at home in a good one with the Blackhawks, who have faced their own inconsistencies this year. With the Sharks uncharacteristically low in the qualifying group of 16 at 15th, they showed remnants of the usual Sharks in their 5-2 win, creating opportunities and scoring with the extra man.
The Blues got Barrett Jackman back from a knee injury, and it seems they'll be able to get a lot of guys back from injury soon, probably helping their cause for being relevant in Stanley Cup run-talks again. They won 2-1 over Nashville in the shootout.
Other teams weren't so lucky. The Western Conference leading Red Wings got whooped today by the Thrashers 5-1. Atlanta may not always be able to demolish the Caps 5-0 and get the Red Wings like this, but they seem to be making a good case for not being an Eastern Conference pretender.
Minnesota Wild lost 6-1 to the "I'm gonna establish my dominance in every damn game" Flyers, and the Kings lost to the Canadiens, who are also pulling major success (my love for Carey Price grows with each game). Tampa Bay also seemed to be picking up where they left off prior to coming to Washington, as they beat the "pretending to win for now" Rangers 5-3.
Other games included a 4-3 Blue Jackets win over the Islanders (more fail unfortunately for the Island); the first win in the Blue Jacket's new third jerseys that look ALMOST EXACTLY like the Panthers and Predators blue jerseys with the circle in the middle. But the subtle differences make the jersey still look pretty cool (I have the inside info like that *wink*).
Also, the Stars defeated the Senators 2-1, the Devils win over the Flames 2-1, and the Bruins beat the Panthers 3-1.
For Turkey Day, the only game that will be featured will be the Avs killing the Oilers. I certainly hope it's not a bloodbath like the Coyotes 5-0 win over Edmonton on Tuesday, the other one-game day (Read THW's Jim Neveau's piece on the Coyotes that he wrote last night to get an idea of where the Yotes stand).
It was a crazy fun day in hockey for sure. But what's even crazier for me still is the fact that I was notified on Monday, the 24th that I had been approved to receive credentials for the Bridgestone Winter Classic in Pittsburgh that will feature the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Heinz Field! I will be representing The Hockey Writers, and you bet I'm extremely excited :).
I'm currently searching for plane + hotel deals that I shall figure out as soon as next week. But if anyone has any suggestions for things to do in Pittsburgh, hotel parties on New Year's Eve, hotels, deals, bars, anything, please let me know! Cause it would suck to be in my early 20's on NYE drinking champagne by myself in a hotel room XD. Nonetheless though, that's not the point. I'm there for a job, and a really cool one at that! I'm really excited and it'll be a great early birthday present for me!
Until next pucking session, pig out! Happy Thanksgiving!
,
Washington was coming off of a 3-game losing stretch, going down 5-0 in Atlanta Friday night, losing 5-4 in the shootout a hard-fought match with the Flyers at home, and then dying in New Jersey 5-0 again at the hands of the Devils. All we could do back home was go, "What the puck is going on here?!"
Bruce Boudreau apparently had no particular answer either, except for a comment about how Alex Ovechkin wasn't pushing enough pedal; seeing as Ovie was laughing, joking around with the enemy while being down a gazillion to nothing.
Hilariously enough, much was made about the incident and people drew to the fact that Ovie has been slacking in general, and hasn't been the same exciting player that we have all seen up to two years ago, and even last year. Many arguments can be made on this, but we'll save for another day.
So today comes and Washington is in Carolina. Ovechkin only did what the special players do, and that was rise to the occasion. He assisted on all three goals, set up a ton of opportunities, made a few bone-crushing hits and played a smart game overall. Ultimately, it all led to a Capitals victory. So suck on that.
All in all, the Caps seemed all right tonight, meaning that they continue to arguably be the biggest enigma in the NHL. Now tied with the Flyers for the league lead in points with 32, the Capitals have a lot wrong with them, but you can't quite put your finger on it if you don't watch them on a regular basis. Even then, you can't say it's one thing or another. Again; the team that's "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma," to quote Winston Churchill in reference to the Soviets in WWII..... Carry on.....
Anywho, the Caps weren't the only team that played tonight. In fact, 12 other games were on tonight, so it was an all-nighter in terms of pucking. A good number of slumping teams got out of their slumps actually...
The Canucks had a four-game skid, but were able to break out of it winning 4-2 against the Avalanche tonight, who were actually doing fairly well recently on a four-game winning streak
The Sharks played at home in a good one with the Blackhawks, who have faced their own inconsistencies this year. With the Sharks uncharacteristically low in the qualifying group of 16 at 15th, they showed remnants of the usual Sharks in their 5-2 win, creating opportunities and scoring with the extra man.
The Blues got Barrett Jackman back from a knee injury, and it seems they'll be able to get a lot of guys back from injury soon, probably helping their cause for being relevant in Stanley Cup run-talks again. They won 2-1 over Nashville in the shootout.
Other teams weren't so lucky. The Western Conference leading Red Wings got whooped today by the Thrashers 5-1. Atlanta may not always be able to demolish the Caps 5-0 and get the Red Wings like this, but they seem to be making a good case for not being an Eastern Conference pretender.
Minnesota Wild lost 6-1 to the "I'm gonna establish my dominance in every damn game" Flyers, and the Kings lost to the Canadiens, who are also pulling major success (my love for Carey Price grows with each game). Tampa Bay also seemed to be picking up where they left off prior to coming to Washington, as they beat the "pretending to win for now" Rangers 5-3.
Other games included a 4-3 Blue Jackets win over the Islanders (more fail unfortunately for the Island); the first win in the Blue Jacket's new third jerseys that look ALMOST EXACTLY like the Panthers and Predators blue jerseys with the circle in the middle. But the subtle differences make the jersey still look pretty cool (I have the inside info like that *wink*).
Also, the Stars defeated the Senators 2-1, the Devils win over the Flames 2-1, and the Bruins beat the Panthers 3-1.
For Turkey Day, the only game that will be featured will be the Avs killing the Oilers. I certainly hope it's not a bloodbath like the Coyotes 5-0 win over Edmonton on Tuesday, the other one-game day (Read THW's Jim Neveau's piece on the Coyotes that he wrote last night to get an idea of where the Yotes stand).
It was a crazy fun day in hockey for sure. But what's even crazier for me still is the fact that I was notified on Monday, the 24th that I had been approved to receive credentials for the Bridgestone Winter Classic in Pittsburgh that will feature the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Heinz Field! I will be representing The Hockey Writers, and you bet I'm extremely excited :).
I'm currently searching for plane + hotel deals that I shall figure out as soon as next week. But if anyone has any suggestions for things to do in Pittsburgh, hotel parties on New Year's Eve, hotels, deals, bars, anything, please let me know! Cause it would suck to be in my early 20's on NYE drinking champagne by myself in a hotel room XD. Nonetheless though, that's not the point. I'm there for a job, and a really cool one at that! I'm really excited and it'll be a great early birthday present for me!
Until next pucking session, pig out! Happy Thanksgiving!
,
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Hey! I've been gone but...
Hey readers of Crashing the Net! I'm sorry, I've dissed you guys again. I haven't written here for a while, as hockey season has started so I've been on The Hockey Writers for most of my time. Any other time has been spent in class at American and working at the Washington Post, as many of you all are familiar with now.
Aside from THW, classes and the Post though, I've gotten a nice opportunity to write a story for another publication. I'm sure you've heard of the good folks at USA Hockey Magazine before, right? Well I'm doing a nice little story for them that I should be finished with by next week on the 8th of November.
"What's it about," you ask? Well, remember last December where I wouldn't tell you all about the Fort DuPont story? This year...
I'M NOT TELLING YOU EITHER!
It's all out of love though, and once it's published, I will redirect you to the original publication of the story. I'm just doing a lot of running around and it's hard to have a moment like this to sit down and go on here (after all, this is all-nighter time anyway).
So I look forward to seeing it done, and ready to share. But for now, sit tight until the story is complete, and probably read the latest at TheHockeyWriters.com where I wrote my last piece on the Caps' recent road trip.
People are knocking the Capitals for winning 2 out of 3 games on this trip, but as I was talking to the Goalie Guild's Justin Goldman, we agreed that any hockey team's goal is to go at least .500 on a road trip; especially on one as long distance-wise as this last one across timezones. For Washington to have to play in Carolina as hard as they did, and then in less than 12 hours play a trap-defense team on bad ice in another time zone is a lot for any hockey player of any caliber.
It's a dumb argument considering the day after the Caps played like crap, they went and kicked the Calgary Flames out of their own building 7-2. It was very fun to watch while out on Halloween trips as well.
But hey, you're either kissing ass when you praise the Caps when they do well, or you're too harsh on them when they play poorly. That's the view of people, especially the Caps own fans, when writers report what they saw. I saw upside from the trip, and all of a sudden, I'm being too positive O_o... Everyone is afraid of being the honest one, and would rather remain skeptical for no reason, just to be safe when the Caps, in fact, lose it all. However, I recommend doing this NOT at the expense of seeing the team from all sides. So folks loosen up... it's only been 11 games this season!
And congrats to the San Francisco Giants for defeating the Texas Rangers four games to one in the World Series... too bad I only watched one game because Texas wouldn't make it interesting. Hmph. Oh well... Red Sox 2011!!!!!
Aside from THW, classes and the Post though, I've gotten a nice opportunity to write a story for another publication. I'm sure you've heard of the good folks at USA Hockey Magazine before, right? Well I'm doing a nice little story for them that I should be finished with by next week on the 8th of November.
"What's it about," you ask? Well, remember last December where I wouldn't tell you all about the Fort DuPont story? This year...
I'M NOT TELLING YOU EITHER!
It's all out of love though, and once it's published, I will redirect you to the original publication of the story. I'm just doing a lot of running around and it's hard to have a moment like this to sit down and go on here (after all, this is all-nighter time anyway).
So I look forward to seeing it done, and ready to share. But for now, sit tight until the story is complete, and probably read the latest at TheHockeyWriters.com where I wrote my last piece on the Caps' recent road trip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
People are knocking the Capitals for winning 2 out of 3 games on this trip, but as I was talking to the Goalie Guild's Justin Goldman, we agreed that any hockey team's goal is to go at least .500 on a road trip; especially on one as long distance-wise as this last one across timezones. For Washington to have to play in Carolina as hard as they did, and then in less than 12 hours play a trap-defense team on bad ice in another time zone is a lot for any hockey player of any caliber.
It's a dumb argument considering the day after the Caps played like crap, they went and kicked the Calgary Flames out of their own building 7-2. It was very fun to watch while out on Halloween trips as well.
But hey, you're either kissing ass when you praise the Caps when they do well, or you're too harsh on them when they play poorly. That's the view of people, especially the Caps own fans, when writers report what they saw. I saw upside from the trip, and all of a sudden, I'm being too positive O_o... Everyone is afraid of being the honest one, and would rather remain skeptical for no reason, just to be safe when the Caps, in fact, lose it all. However, I recommend doing this NOT at the expense of seeing the team from all sides. So folks loosen up... it's only been 11 games this season!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And congrats to the San Francisco Giants for defeating the Texas Rangers four games to one in the World Series... too bad I only watched one game because Texas wouldn't make it interesting. Hmph. Oh well... Red Sox 2011!!!!!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Quick Notes
The Caps won their last preseason game against the Nashville Predators 2-1. Washington's goals came from Jay Beagle and Mike Green, and goaltender Michael Neuvirth was 13/14 in saves, as he started the entire game.
Today, Matt Hendricks, the LadyHatTrick award winner of the preseason (he scored a hat trick in Washington's 6-2 win over Columbus) signed a one-year contract with the Caps.
In case you were wondering, one of the Caps' blast-from-the-past players, Brian Willsie, was released and places on waivers...
...Okay, I didn't think you cared either. I just thought to let you know.
Tomorrow, the Capitals play their first game at the Verizon Center this preseason against the Boston Bruins (1-1-1 in preseason) at 7:00 pm. By now, the Caps have cut their roster down to 33 players in time for tomorrow's match. Washington will follow tomorrow's game with another face-off against the Bruins on Wednesday, this time in Boston.
Finally, as a sidenote, there's an on-going battle among outsiders about who is to be the #1 starting goalie this season for Washington: Semyon Varlamov or Michael Neuvirth. Both have been very good in their first two starts (Varlamov played 30 minutes in Columbus and stopped all shots), and both have seen significant time with the big club. Now that the job is between the two, I will ask you which do you think should start for the Caps.
Stay tuned for more Caps' notes/news soon. Just an update to make sure everyone knows I'm alive.
NFC East Notes:
The Dallas Cowboys finally won their first game of the season by the way in a solid 27-13 victory over the Houston Texans. The Redskins and Giants both lost, however, and the Eagles continue to perform strongly with Michael Vick as their starting quarterback. Nonetheless, the Eagles have had the easiest schedule in the division, so I'm not putting too much weight on that.
Just thought I'd share.
MLB Notes:
You'll get MLB notes once the playoffs begin.
Today, Matt Hendricks, the LadyHatTrick award winner of the preseason (he scored a hat trick in Washington's 6-2 win over Columbus) signed a one-year contract with the Caps.
In case you were wondering, one of the Caps' blast-from-the-past players, Brian Willsie, was released and places on waivers...
...Okay, I didn't think you cared either. I just thought to let you know.
Tomorrow, the Capitals play their first game at the Verizon Center this preseason against the Boston Bruins (1-1-1 in preseason) at 7:00 pm. By now, the Caps have cut their roster down to 33 players in time for tomorrow's match. Washington will follow tomorrow's game with another face-off against the Bruins on Wednesday, this time in Boston.
Finally, as a sidenote, there's an on-going battle among outsiders about who is to be the #1 starting goalie this season for Washington: Semyon Varlamov or Michael Neuvirth. Both have been very good in their first two starts (Varlamov played 30 minutes in Columbus and stopped all shots), and both have seen significant time with the big club. Now that the job is between the two, I will ask you which do you think should start for the Caps.
Stay tuned for more Caps' notes/news soon. Just an update to make sure everyone knows I'm alive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NFC East Notes:
The Dallas Cowboys finally won their first game of the season by the way in a solid 27-13 victory over the Houston Texans. The Redskins and Giants both lost, however, and the Eagles continue to perform strongly with Michael Vick as their starting quarterback. Nonetheless, the Eagles have had the easiest schedule in the division, so I'm not putting too much weight on that.
Just thought I'd share.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MLB Notes:
You'll get MLB notes once the playoffs begin.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Caps Preseason to Begin Tonight - mini analysis
Hello everyone! I'm finally back to writing about the sport that brought all of us together on this page - hockey! Last night, I caught myself watching the few preseason games that were televised, specifically the Flyers/Devils game where the Flyers won 4-3 in a shootout) and the 5-0 demolishing of the Maple Leafs by the Senators. Tonight, the Washington Capitals begin their exhibition season in Columbus to face the Blue Jackets.
The Caps will start tonight despite a quiet offseason in terms of a lack of moves to the roster. No new additions were made, and only until later did Washington lose a player. Of course, we all know now that player was Eric Belanger, who was promised a trade would be made so that he can remain on the team, but that that trade was never made, and Belanger moved on to sign with Phoenix, angry as ever at the Caps' organization. Unfortunately, I am not in the front office, and General Manager George McPhee has not said much about the lack of roster additions/trades/etc., so not much else can be confirmed about the situation; although some details that aren't really worth going into have emerged.
With Belanger gone now, the solidity of the center position is now further weakened. Other than David Steckel and the oft-injured Boyd Gordon, the Caps are left with Tomas Fleischmann, Mathieu Perreault and Marcus Johansson to fill in the remaining spots at center. With the team in "Win Now" mode, this may be seen as a questionable approach to the team's concerns regarding center.
However, as I mentioned way in the beginning in the offseason, people should hold their horses in lacking faith in the team. It should be noted that this does not mean that someone won't become available during the season. McPhee has been a fan of renting players, and may be just saving space for someone acquired before or by the trade deadline. There does not seem to be a question whether the Capitals will have the ability to win the division and do well in the playoffs. So with Washington staying competitive during the year with what they have, the mentality could be that there is no rush to improve until there is more of an indication of players' abilities and the market.
Of course, this season, most people are not going to expect the regular season the Caps had last year. Especially because the rest of the Southeast Division improved immensely during the offseason, there is no way the Capitals are winning the division by 30 points again... I don't want to say that last season was a fluke overall... But it was a fluke. This doesn't mean that the Caps weren't that much better than every other team in their division and most teams in the Eastern Conference, but just that the numbers were slightly inflated and most likely won't be repeated.
Nonetheless, the Caps' chances to win it all this year are still high. Tom Poti in his new two-year extension took a pay cut to stay in Washington because he feel his best chance to win is with Washington. Although, it should be noted, the window for winning is only open for so long. During the firesale years, fans of the Capitals were promised a Stanley Cup by now, and at this point, the Caps have had the ability to do it in the past couple of years. With enough frustration from early playoff exits, the squad probably has the drive now built up to make it as well. The ultimate judgment will come soon enough.
By the way, in case you were wondering, the Washington Post job has been working out really well :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Caps will start tonight despite a quiet offseason in terms of a lack of moves to the roster. No new additions were made, and only until later did Washington lose a player. Of course, we all know now that player was Eric Belanger, who was promised a trade would be made so that he can remain on the team, but that that trade was never made, and Belanger moved on to sign with Phoenix, angry as ever at the Caps' organization. Unfortunately, I am not in the front office, and General Manager George McPhee has not said much about the lack of roster additions/trades/etc., so not much else can be confirmed about the situation; although some details that aren't really worth going into have emerged.
With Belanger gone now, the solidity of the center position is now further weakened. Other than David Steckel and the oft-injured Boyd Gordon, the Caps are left with Tomas Fleischmann, Mathieu Perreault and Marcus Johansson to fill in the remaining spots at center. With the team in "Win Now" mode, this may be seen as a questionable approach to the team's concerns regarding center.
However, as I mentioned way in the beginning in the offseason, people should hold their horses in lacking faith in the team. It should be noted that this does not mean that someone won't become available during the season. McPhee has been a fan of renting players, and may be just saving space for someone acquired before or by the trade deadline. There does not seem to be a question whether the Capitals will have the ability to win the division and do well in the playoffs. So with Washington staying competitive during the year with what they have, the mentality could be that there is no rush to improve until there is more of an indication of players' abilities and the market.
Of course, this season, most people are not going to expect the regular season the Caps had last year. Especially because the rest of the Southeast Division improved immensely during the offseason, there is no way the Capitals are winning the division by 30 points again... I don't want to say that last season was a fluke overall... But it was a fluke. This doesn't mean that the Caps weren't that much better than every other team in their division and most teams in the Eastern Conference, but just that the numbers were slightly inflated and most likely won't be repeated.
Nonetheless, the Caps' chances to win it all this year are still high. Tom Poti in his new two-year extension took a pay cut to stay in Washington because he feel his best chance to win is with Washington. Although, it should be noted, the window for winning is only open for so long. During the firesale years, fans of the Capitals were promised a Stanley Cup by now, and at this point, the Caps have had the ability to do it in the past couple of years. With enough frustration from early playoff exits, the squad probably has the drive now built up to make it as well. The ultimate judgment will come soon enough.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the way, in case you were wondering, the Washington Post job has been working out really well :)
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Eric Fehr Returns!
Eric Fehr signs with the Capitals for $4.4 million for two years. Needless to say, I'm down with the cause.
Last season was the first chance folks got to see a healthy Fehr on the ice. When Fehr was in Hershey, he dealt with injuries that hindered his full skill set from coming out. Even in the beginning of this season, the 24-year-old's ice time was very limited because of injuries as well.
As mentioned before in my pre-signing post, despite Fehr's little ice time, he proved to be very efficient, if you look at his production for the time he was on the ice. He's also fantastic defensively, as a potential two-way forward is always welcomed in Washington.
I look forward to seeing him on the ice even more next season.
So Tomas Fleischmann is left to re-sign... I may have mixed feelings about him like I have mixed feelings about whether I like Jefferson Starship, but there must be something worth re-signing - I feel it. Plus, with the Caps' love for re-signing players grown within the system (the past three signings example enough?), I would assume Flash sticks around too, leaving probably 3 million for someone else...
Stay tuned... the saga will continue...
Last season was the first chance folks got to see a healthy Fehr on the ice. When Fehr was in Hershey, he dealt with injuries that hindered his full skill set from coming out. Even in the beginning of this season, the 24-year-old's ice time was very limited because of injuries as well.
As mentioned before in my pre-signing post, despite Fehr's little ice time, he proved to be very efficient, if you look at his production for the time he was on the ice. He's also fantastic defensively, as a potential two-way forward is always welcomed in Washington.
I look forward to seeing him on the ice even more next season.
So Tomas Fleischmann is left to re-sign... I may have mixed feelings about him like I have mixed feelings about whether I like Jefferson Starship, but there must be something worth re-signing - I feel it. Plus, with the Caps' love for re-signing players grown within the system (the past three signings example enough?), I would assume Flash sticks around too, leaving probably 3 million for someone else...
Stay tuned... the saga will continue...
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Jeff Schultz re-signed
" If Schultz deal is as reported #Caps would have about $10.8 million left to sign Fehr and Fleischmann and then fill the last 3 roster spots."
@Bmcnally14 - Twitter around noon today
Today the Caps re-signed Jeff Schultz for a 4-year deal for up to $3 million. With this piece of information aforementioned, it seems there probably is a plan in place to make some kind of move to obtain players for the Caps.
As mentioned before, Schultz has slight potential to be a solid guy on the team. A four-year signing would say Washington would say the same. I still think that Schultz's numbers were inflated because of the entire team's performance early in the year. However, I will give him full credit for 129 blocked shots, which is more of an effort from him to do so than a lot of other defensemen on the Caps (129 blocked shots is pretty below average for what the Caps could be doing in that department). Maybe that stat will go up this year.
Once the Caps accomplish re-signing Flash and Fehr then, there is room for a cheap outsider, or two reeeeeally cheap outsiders. I sure hope whomever the Caps get is quality and will be a difference-maker and not a random Joe-Coschmo... Speaking of which, Joe Corvo signed back with the Carolina Hurricanes for $4.5 million today. I didn't want him back anyway.
I can just see this method of signing though being like waiting to get a new game console or a phone. You see the console or phone, and you think it's cool, and you'd love to have it, except you know that paycheck is for other things like groceries or your girlfriend (t-he-he). So you have to wait for the price people pay to go down, and then once it's at your liking, you go get it. It is in hope, however, that by the time the price goes down a bit, the product doesn't suck or have issues because the better ones are gone already... I digress...
So two moves in two days, we will continue on with this saga of WTF Caps. Until later... or until Ilya Kovalchuk signs with someone... *turns television to ESPN 10 to watch hour long announcement of where he will play - in Russian*
*Evgeni Nabokov signed in the KHL btw. Sorry teams that need a goalie. He probably is on the downside anyway.
@Bmcnally14 - Twitter around noon today
Today the Caps re-signed Jeff Schultz for a 4-year deal for up to $3 million. With this piece of information aforementioned, it seems there probably is a plan in place to make some kind of move to obtain players for the Caps.
As mentioned before, Schultz has slight potential to be a solid guy on the team. A four-year signing would say Washington would say the same. I still think that Schultz's numbers were inflated because of the entire team's performance early in the year. However, I will give him full credit for 129 blocked shots, which is more of an effort from him to do so than a lot of other defensemen on the Caps (129 blocked shots is pretty below average for what the Caps could be doing in that department). Maybe that stat will go up this year.
Once the Caps accomplish re-signing Flash and Fehr then, there is room for a cheap outsider, or two reeeeeally cheap outsiders. I sure hope whomever the Caps get is quality and will be a difference-maker and not a random Joe-Coschmo... Speaking of which, Joe Corvo signed back with the Carolina Hurricanes for $4.5 million today. I didn't want him back anyway.
I can just see this method of signing though being like waiting to get a new game console or a phone. You see the console or phone, and you think it's cool, and you'd love to have it, except you know that paycheck is for other things like groceries or your girlfriend (t-he-he). So you have to wait for the price people pay to go down, and then once it's at your liking, you go get it. It is in hope, however, that by the time the price goes down a bit, the product doesn't suck or have issues because the better ones are gone already... I digress...
So two moves in two days, we will continue on with this saga of WTF Caps. Until later... or until Ilya Kovalchuk signs with someone... *turns television to ESPN 10 to watch hour long announcement of where he will play - in Russian*
*Evgeni Nabokov signed in the KHL btw. Sorry teams that need a goalie. He probably is on the downside anyway.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Boyd Gordon Counts in the Offseason, Right?
Just quickly, I would like to state that the Capitals have re-signed Boyd Gordon for under a million for one year... It's a move! Be happy!
Gordon was out for a large portion of last season from injuries. However, Gordon's above average faceoff percentage, efficiency on the penalty kill and hard-nosed style for going after pucks are things the Capitals NEED going into next season.
This doesn't mean though that there's nothing else the Caps need and that there are no other holes to fill. Contrary to popular belief, the Caps have a little more cap room than we like to believe, depending on who they choose to re-sign and keep through next season. As previously stated, I would have loved to trade Alex Semin, but as we've all exhausted, no one wants to carry that burden ($$$ wise of course!). Washington will be able to make-do then with what they currently have.
In acceptance for what the situation is, I can't complain because "it is what it is."
Gordon was out for a large portion of last season from injuries. However, Gordon's above average faceoff percentage, efficiency on the penalty kill and hard-nosed style for going after pucks are things the Capitals NEED going into next season.
This doesn't mean though that there's nothing else the Caps need and that there are no other holes to fill. Contrary to popular belief, the Caps have a little more cap room than we like to believe, depending on who they choose to re-sign and keep through next season. As previously stated, I would have loved to trade Alex Semin, but as we've all exhausted, no one wants to carry that burden ($$$ wise of course!). Washington will be able to make-do then with what they currently have.
In acceptance for what the situation is, I can't complain because "it is what it is."
Friday, July 02, 2010
Caps Inactivity on Day 1
So I haven't been here for a while. I've been working quite a bit, as I am on a mission. But I have a day off today so I thought I'd take advantage.
Yesterday was the much anticipated first day of NHL free agency. All the hockey fans who have gotten over the NHL and AHL playoffs and the Draft have been looking forward to this day. I personally was even more excited for free agency than the Draft.
Noon came around and I'm hearing a few deals of defensemen signing with various teams. Many who expected the Capitals to sign a defenseman yesterday were quite disappointed, and actually rather pissed off. The heavily desired defenseman Anton Volchenkov from the Ottawa Senators ended up signing with the New Jersey Devils (something NJ hardly ever lacks anyway). Former Capital Sergei Gonchar can finally dodge the hate from Caps fans as he left the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Senators, who let go of Volchenkov.
Other defenseman signings included Zbynek Michalek and Paul Martin who went to Pittsburgh, Dan Hamhuis, who left for the Vancouver Canucks, Jordan Leopold who is now a Buffalo Sabre and Toni Lydman now on the Anaheim Ducks.
I, along with a few others, believe Washington could really use a quality defenseman; one who could preferably stay at home and truly play defense. I am one who advocates signing a free agent, because considering the Caps' window for being a top Stanley Cup contender, I would hope they are trying to win it all this year. After next year, I believe that window starts closing, especially after the shortcomings of the previous two seasons.
An aggressive approach to signing this free agency period would be important. The best would be gone after Day 1, and most likely none would be left after Day 2. If you know what you need and want, I say go after it.
However, I also understand the delay. Most of the defenseman signings yesterday, regardless of how quality these guys were, were in price ranges that I don't think the Capitals want to deal with right now. I am a proponent of being smart at least when being aggressive.
Nonetheless, the sitting-down-doing-nothing approach does slightly annoy me, and annoys many other true Caps fans as well (trust me, it's not just those who don't understand hockey who are frustrated). The only move Washington has made today in Day 2 of free agency was sign goalie Dan Sabourin (name sounds familiar I know). This was clearly a move to replace Michael Neuvirth, who the Caps are ready to bring up permanently to the big team along with Semyon Varlamov re: the unsigning of Jose Theodore.
Another free agency concern for the Capitals includes a strong center. I was a huge Eric Belanger fan during the season; it's always great to have another great faceoff guy on the team. There seem to be players on the AHL Champion Hershey Bears that could potentially fill that spot i.e. Mathieu Perreault, etc. I'm not opposed at all. But I would assume the window argument as well. Regardless my main signing concern is defense.
It's only 10 a.m. though on Day 2. I'll be patient and see what happens.
Yesterday was the much anticipated first day of NHL free agency. All the hockey fans who have gotten over the NHL and AHL playoffs and the Draft have been looking forward to this day. I personally was even more excited for free agency than the Draft.
Noon came around and I'm hearing a few deals of defensemen signing with various teams. Many who expected the Capitals to sign a defenseman yesterday were quite disappointed, and actually rather pissed off. The heavily desired defenseman Anton Volchenkov from the Ottawa Senators ended up signing with the New Jersey Devils (something NJ hardly ever lacks anyway). Former Capital Sergei Gonchar can finally dodge the hate from Caps fans as he left the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Senators, who let go of Volchenkov.
Other defenseman signings included Zbynek Michalek and Paul Martin who went to Pittsburgh, Dan Hamhuis, who left for the Vancouver Canucks, Jordan Leopold who is now a Buffalo Sabre and Toni Lydman now on the Anaheim Ducks.
I, along with a few others, believe Washington could really use a quality defenseman; one who could preferably stay at home and truly play defense. I am one who advocates signing a free agent, because considering the Caps' window for being a top Stanley Cup contender, I would hope they are trying to win it all this year. After next year, I believe that window starts closing, especially after the shortcomings of the previous two seasons.
An aggressive approach to signing this free agency period would be important. The best would be gone after Day 1, and most likely none would be left after Day 2. If you know what you need and want, I say go after it.
However, I also understand the delay. Most of the defenseman signings yesterday, regardless of how quality these guys were, were in price ranges that I don't think the Capitals want to deal with right now. I am a proponent of being smart at least when being aggressive.
Nonetheless, the sitting-down-doing-nothing approach does slightly annoy me, and annoys many other true Caps fans as well (trust me, it's not just those who don't understand hockey who are frustrated). The only move Washington has made today in Day 2 of free agency was sign goalie Dan Sabourin (name sounds familiar I know). This was clearly a move to replace Michael Neuvirth, who the Caps are ready to bring up permanently to the big team along with Semyon Varlamov re: the unsigning of Jose Theodore.
Another free agency concern for the Capitals includes a strong center. I was a huge Eric Belanger fan during the season; it's always great to have another great faceoff guy on the team. There seem to be players on the AHL Champion Hershey Bears that could potentially fill that spot i.e. Mathieu Perreault, etc. I'm not opposed at all. But I would assume the window argument as well. Regardless my main signing concern is defense.
It's only 10 a.m. though on Day 2. I'll be patient and see what happens.
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