Some Summer Stat Hunting

by Jes

With James Mirtle (whose ass I am going to kick in online Scrabble) going on a bit of a stats-posting binge, I'll jump in with a few bits and bites of my own.

DOING IT THE HARD WAY
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Scoring points at even strength and short-handed is a LOT harder than scoring on the Power Play. There were 4 players with 20+ points that scored nary a single point on the man advantage. The winner? Bates Battaglia, the comeback kid who scored all 31 of his regular season points at even strength. Samuel Pahlsson, the defensive god, was second, and his buddy Rob Niedermayer was also an all-even-strength kind of guy with 16pts.

PLAYER           POINTS    EVEN-STRENGTH %
Bates Battaglia     31          100%
Samuel Pahlsson     26          100%
D. Afanasenkov      21          100%
Dan Hamhuis         20          100%

POWER PLAY SPECIALISTS
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Just who relies on the Power Play for their offence? Guys like these tend to rack up more points in the long run because they get the good ice time. I wouldn't count on Battaglia to do so well in 2008.

Not surprisingly, most of the top gunners are defensemen, as they hold back during even strength, and then get the chance to let loose with the man-advantage.

PLAYER          POINTS       PPP%
Rob Blake          34        76.5      
Sheldon Souray     64        75.0
Sergei Zubov       54        74.1
Tom Poti           44        72.1

Among forwards, greedy Michael Ryder, he of the 1-year contracts, was the most 'enhanced' forward, with 34 of his 58 points (58.6%) coming on the Power Play.

THE CRAIG LUDWIG AWARD
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Anton Volchenkov led the NHL with 273 blocked shots, 45 more than second place Jason Smith, who had 228. Niclas Havelid was a surprise third place with 225.

Among forwards, the winner was ... Blair Betts??!! with 98, good for 101st place overall.

A RETURN TO THE 84-GAME SEASON?
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If you saw a lot more of Sean Avery than you wanted to, blame the schedule maker and his trade to the Rangers. Avery led the NHL with 84 games played, 2 more than the 82 scheduled.

HERE'S A GIFT FOR YOU
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Jaromir Jagr, who hogs the puck as much as anyone to ever play the game, led the league with 126 giveaways. Jason Smith had the dubious honour of finishing second with 109. Now, I understand why Jagr would have a lot, but Smith? When your defensive stalwart is giving away pucks like that, you are in serious doo-doo.

ROD BRIND'AMOUR = FACE-OFF KING
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We all know Rod "the Bod" Brind'Amour is great on face-offs, and the stats bare out his mastery.

# of face-offs taken = 2047, almost 300 more than second place Mats Sundin
% of team face-offs taken = 43.6% (Second place was Sundin at 37.5%)
% of face-offs won = 59.2%, second only to Yanic Perreault, who was his usual deadly self with 62.8% (!) of draws won.

Aww, Look at the Cute Bunnies

by Jes

Cute, but dumb, puck bunnies need a good home. They are very affectionate and love to be touched, but demand a lot of time and attention.

Women in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Sure, Why Not?

by Jes

With news slower than the thought process of your average Telus employee, there has been some debate today whether women players should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Let me remind you that this is the year 2007, and we no longer have separate sections on the buses for them coloured people, and we do allow women out of the kitchen to vote in elections.

Don't tell this to Dave Harrison of Prince George, who apparently still pines for the 1930s, and thinks women's hockey has no place in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Women's hockey is just a shade faster than Tai Chi but only half as interesting.

If any event is worthy of an "escape call" early in the first period, it's women's hockey.

As a crowd pleaser it seems to appeal only to other women who have convinced themselves that it's entertaining, feminist promoters of lost causes, anxious sponsors who are about to lose their shirts, milquetoast males who allow their women to choose their clothes (Real Men Don't Eat Quiche), and husbands who nod in agreement if they know what's good for them.

No self-respecting, red-blooded, beer-drinking, Canadian male hockey fan ever takes women's hockey seriously.

I will agree that women's hockey is boring (to me) and it is like comparing the original Iron Chef to the watered-down American version, but the Hockey Hall of Fame is not exclusively for males, in title or in theory.

How could a serious hockey fan ever discount the impact that certain female players have had on the game and on the national consciousness?

Cassie Campbell - Already a member of the Canada Sports Hall of Fame, Campbell was the first woman to ever do colour commentary on HNIC, won 2 gold medals, multiple World Championships, and is one of the best women players in history. She is very high profile and very successful, and definitely has no fans than Bernie Federko ever did. Few hockey women have been as marketable as Campbell, and her mark on the game is quite evident.

Hayley Wickenheiser - Arguably the best female hockey player of all-time, she managed to accomplish the feat of becoming a regular player in the Finnish 2nd division. Compared to her peers, she was head and shoulders above them in talent and ability to compete with men on a physical level.

Now, I am not advocating a dual Hall of Fame where we have 1 woman inducted every year as a 'token' gesture. I believe that the real Hockey Hall of Fame does have room for exceptional woman, such as the two above, and that we shouldn't simply relegate them to their own little Hall of Fame in Medicine Hat (or whatever dinky town they may think of). Simply declaring the Hockey Hall of Fame a male-only zone is not only regressive, but shows a general lack of understanding about our culture and the game we love.

Derek Roy is Rich, Biatch!

by Jes

It's usually in a team's best interests to avoid salary arbitration. Not only do the players seem to win a majority of the cases, but the bitterness tends to linger with the player as they listen to their employer belittle and rip apart their game.

The Sabres paid big to ensure Derek Roy would not have his contract determined by a 3rd party, and signed the midget to a huge deal.

Derek Roy avoided salary arbitration Friday by agreeing to a US$24-million, six-year, contract with the Buffalo Sabres.

It's a hefty deal for a third-line centre coming off a career season in which he finished fifth on the Sabres with 63 points (21-42) in 75 games. He was also a plus-37, fifth-best among all NHL skaters.

The deal will pay him $4 million on average per season, a significant raise for Roy, who made $627,000 last year.

"Derek is a solid young player who will only continue to improve,'' general manager Darcy Regier said in a statement. ''He will play an increased role for our club, and we look forward to having such a quality player in our organization for many years to come."

I'm quite surprised on a couple of levels.

The length and width of the contract surprised me. I had never pictured Derek Roy as a $4mil/season player, nor did I expect the Sabres to tie themselves down so much in the wake of having to shell out for Vanek. Then, I realized that the Sabres must be tired of losing players, and want to lock down some of their young guns as long as possible

I had also never realized that Derek Roy was so effective last season. I had always known him a great 2-way 'role-player' type ever since his junior days, but he was so much more than that for the Sabres, and still has room to grow as a player. Sure, he'll have far less talent to work with this season, but Roy has a pretty good track record during his pro career.

Given all that has happened in the marketplace and to the Sabres, I think this is a deal that is good for them. The dollar amount is a tad high, but they might easily come out ahead if Roy continues to play as well as he did last season. They also ensure that they won't lose the guy any time in the near future, which is probably a large part in why they were willing to agree to $4mil/season.

.....

The NBA is in Trouble? Good! Now is the NHL's Chance to Shine!

by Jes

I am sure that I wasn't the only hockey fan that was filled with glee over this NBA/Donaghy/Point-shaving scandal. In case you haven't heard, some dumb ref called a lot of fouls to affect the scores of certain games, all to help some bookies make money on betting on games.

Of course, now the NBA is under an intense firestorm of criticism and backlash that it wants no part of. Whoever said that no publicity could ever be bad would obviously be wrong about this situation. The NBA has taken a Brad May shot to the head that it may take years to recover from.

Now that the very integrity of NBA games is at stake (Does anyone seriously believe that only one ref was doing this?), and the NFL is under fire for Michael Vick's dog-fighting activities and crime culture, and the MLB has this whole Barry Bonds/steroids cloud over its head, this is the perfect time for the NHL to capitalize on the misfortune of these other leagues.

For years and years, we know the NHL has been dumped on by the American mainstream media for being violent, irrelevant, etc etc etc... With all of the 'bad news' being reported these days, the worst thing that NHL has against it is the Staal brothers getting a bit too jolly at a bachelor party.
(No, Mirtle, most people don't give a rat's ass about Operation Slapshot. The media might, the league might, but fans do not)

Of course, this NBA scandal will lead to the question of how above-the-level the NHL refs are. Over at The FanHouse, I have an in-depth look at why it would be near-impossible for the NHL to ever face this kind of scandal.

The NHL has worked very hard to improve and standardize their officiating. As much as we might want to wring the neck of Kerry Fraser, we can be assured that an NHL game would never be fixed in quite this matter without it being discovered.

With the other leagues reeling in bad publicity, I'd like to see the NHL capitalize. How? I'm not sure, but promoting the integrity of its referees, the players, and the sport would be a good start. Hell, even a TV commercial where the refs are like "Unlike certain other leagues, we don't believe in fixing games" would be a huge slap to the face of the NHL and totally get the NHL some much-needed attention.

I just hope that all of this darkness in the sports world doesn't negatively affect the NHL as a side effect. If people get turned off of sports, on a mass scale, it could affect the NHL if people just decide to ignore pro sport altogether.

So, NHL, now is the time to rise above the sludge and come out like a white dove.

The New Canucks Logo?

by Jes

Earl Sleek over at The Battle of California came up with this concept for the new Canucks logo.



It's certainly 100x better than what the overpaid marketing staff of the Canucks will come up with.

The Staal Crime Family

Yes, he wore his hockey sweater to the county jail

It looks like another NHLer is in trouble with the law.

Who? Eric Staal, one of the 'golden boys' of the NHL and EA Cover d00d.

Carolina Hurricanes center Eric Staal was one of 14 people arrested in Cook County, Minn., early Monday morning and charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process. One of his three younger brothers was also arrested.
Staal's agent, Rick Curran, said today that the group was gathered at the Lutsen Resort and Sea Villas in Lutsen, Minn., for Staal's bachelor party and he expected the misdemeanor charges to be reduced or dismissed. Staal, who will be married in August, could not be immediately reached for comment today.

According to a statement released by the Cook County Sheriff's office, after the Sheriff's office received complaints about "screaming, yelling and playing loud music," the group of about 20 was warned "multiple times" before it was ordered to leave the resort by Sheriff's deputies, a Minnesota State Patrol trooper and a U.S. Border Patrol agent at 3 a.m. Monday.

"After leaving the property, the group gathered on Highway 61 and began harassing passing motorists," the Sheriff's office said, at which point 14 members of the group were arrested at approximately 4 a.m.

"I have no doubt there were probably a couple kids lipping off or something like that," Curran said. "Frankly, that goes with the territory. You get that many a group of kids together, somebody is going to say something stupid."

Hmm, a group of young punks partying and making too much noise? *gasp*, colour me shocked and/or appalled. You can see GM Jim Rutherford just rolling his eyes after having to comment on this situation. Basically, young boys will be young boys, and Jimmy could care less as long as Staal doesn't decide to drive while drunk.

Now, how about some creative punishment? Force these dopey punks into a room and pump Barry Manilow at full blast for an hour! That'll teach them a lesson they'll never forget (unless Staal likes Manilow...)

Edit: Eric's got the real mugshots over at The FanHouse. Even in their mugs, they come across as pretty lil' country boys.

Photo of the Day: Chelios, The New "Hockey Adonis"

by Jes

Chris Chelios loves his insane off-season workout routine, which includes surfing and biking around southern California.

I'm sure certain blogger will love these photos.



David Guralnick / The Detroit News

Changes for NHL on NBC?

by Jes

So, I go away for a week with little internet access and day-old newspapers (delivery is slow in Tofino) and expect to have to spend hours catching up on hockey news that I missed.

Fortunately, the rest of the NHL seems to have taken a vacation, since I can count the amount of noteworthy stories on one hand: Yashin goes back to Russia (ha ha!), Nedved signs with $parta Prague, Palffy confirms his signing with HC Skalica, Ray Emery breaks the bank, and not much else of note.

It was strange reading the daily newspapers and seeing ZERO inches dedicated to hockey coverage. For Canadian newspapers, this seemed like an impossible feat.

Some scuttlebutt today is surfacing over what NBC plans to do with their hockey coverage.

In the United States, changes are in the works for NBC's hockey telecasts. Sources say the studio show will be scrapped now that Brett Hull has left to take a front-office job with the Dallas Stars.

Replacing Hull will be Mike Milbury, the former NHL player and general manager. He is likely to work on-site as a commentator.

NBC is expected to drop Bill Clement as the host of the NHL broadcasts. The status of analyst Ray Ferraro isn't clear.

If this is true, then this means even less hockey coverage for poor American fans. We've already seen NBC treat the NHL like a poor third cousin, and now it's getting even worse for our favourite league-that-could.

Clement? What was he ever doing as a studio host in the first place? He's a good colour guy, but not a trained studio host, and it showed.

As for Ferraro, he's rather hit-and-miss with me. We get his stuff on the radio here in Vancouver, and he seems like a good guy to listen to. Unfortunately, he can revert back to the 'old boys club' mentality a bit too often for my liking.

Jared Aulin: "I've Had Enough of this Crap!"

Jared Aulin, once a promising prospect of the Los Angeles Kings, and former 2nd round pick of the Colorado Avalanche, has given up on hockey at the age of 25.

Boredom? Lack of job opportunities?

Nope...on-ice violence did it for him.

Aulin was the victim of a vicious two-handed slash to the neck after intervening on a scrum involving a teammate, an incident that landed him in the hospital with a concussion, swollen carotid artery and a pail full of painkillers.

"I'm done with it, which is sad," Aulin told the Sun prior to asking police to press charges.

Aulin returned to his hometown of Calgary to play summer hockey after his NHL dream was cut short by injury, hoping to play for fun once again. But what he got was an out-of-control opponent who wielded his stick like a baseball bat.

"It was one of those situations where you see it and blink and wonder 'did that just happen?' It was a little surreal."

Aulin played just 17 games in the NHL, but is of some interest to me since he's one of the very few players that shares my March 15th birthday. I also remember him kicking a whole lot of ass during his WHL days as a member of the Kamloops Blazers.

It's a sad way to end a career, for sure. Aulin had already had injuries problems prior to this little summer league game, and then he gets whacked like a tyee salmon.

Tomas Surovy: Back from the Abyss

by Jes

I know most of you don't know/care about Tomas Surovy, but you should!!

D00d is back from the Swedish abyss, and has signed with the Phoenix Coyotes (from one hell to another, eh?)

I think he's going to do quite well, thanks, and would be a good pickup for your fantasy league types. I'm also glad to see another Slovak back in the NHL Now, we just need to campaign for the return of Lubos Bartecko.

Read the full spiel over at NHL FanHouse.

Sheldon Souray Signs With the Edmonton Oilers

Well, well, well!! It looks like the Oilers finally caught a big fish in the old free agent pond.
Was it the superbly produced DVD that boasted about how 'great' Edmonton a city is to play in?? Not bloody likely.

Let's face it, Souray and his agent greatly overestimated the market for the big lug's services, and the Oilers were just so desperate to land a big free agent that there were more than willing to overspend.

The damage? $27mil over 5 seasons. OUCH!

Now, normally signing a defenseman that just scored 26 goals and 64 points last season would be cause to crack open a bottle of Cristal. However, Souray is not "normal". How many offensive-minded defensemen are bit oafs?

Before last season, Souray's career high in points was 39. Can you say 'outlier', kiddies?

48 of 64 of Souray's points last season came on the Power Play (wow!), and he's a big, slow, lumbering dough-head.

As Big Mac mentions over at NHL FanHouse:

The knock on Souray this offseason has been pretty simple: Despite setting an NHL record for power play goals by a defenseman, his game is a tad one dimensional -- something that was easy to see as he posted a -28, 135 penalty minutes (third highest in the league among defensemen) and seven cross-checking penalties (most in the NHL) along with all those goals

A tad one-dimensional? Souray is the kind of defenseman that is always looking for big hits, and putting himself out of position to do so. Bad penalties and bad positioning = one overrated d-man.

Yes, one team was bound to take the bait and Edmonton was it. Take Souray's Power Play goodness out of the equation, and you have a big pylon (albeit a dreamy pylon with model good looks).

Souray is also 31, and is only going to get slower than he already is. Just wait until the later part of this contract, when he'll have trouble keeping up with the likes of Derek Boogaard.

I'd imagine Oilers fans are pretty pleased, given how badly the summer has gone for them.

As for the Habs, they spent $5.5mil a season on Roman Hamrlik. If I was a Habs fan, I'd be a bit pissed that my team ended up with a non-descript 2nd line defenseman, rather than the Blaster Master at around the same price tag.

Original Link

Alexei Yashin Not Happy With Offers

by Jes

Everybody's favourite overpaid whiner, Alexei Yashin, is apparently unhappy that NHL clubs aren't tripping over themselves to obtain his services.

"We are still talking to some teams. So far the offers we have received we are not happy with," Gandler said in an interview with CKNW Radio in Vancouver. "If we are not going to get what we are looking for, then he (Yashin) will definitely go to Russia."

Oooooooh, is that a threat, jimmay?

I can just imagine 29/30 NHL GM's are doubled over in laughter at that statement, while Kevin Lowe panics and screams "OMG, we can't let this happen!"

"I'm looking at players who are older and less productive and they are getting significant salaries. He just does not want to be the whipping boy. That's just not going to happen."

Despite his disappointment with the offers so far, Gandler says there is still interest in Yashin.

"We have some ongoing discussions with some teams that are pursuing Alexei seriously, but as I said the level of which they are doing so does not make sense for us," Gandler told the Vancouver radio station.

Gee, it couldn't have anything to do with the fact that Yashin is a selfish, lazy, cancerous assclown, could it? Who wouldn't want a guy that disappears when the regular season paycheques stop coming?

Yashin has already proven, many times, that he cares purely about monetary compensation, and is not willing to play hard once the playoffs start. Ever wonder why his teammates on Long Island thought so little of the guy? Yashin, simply put, is the lazy Sales asshole who gets paid the big salary, gets all the perks, flies around the country on business trips, and expects everyone else to do the grunt work and clean up the accounting messes for him.

Gandler is already on the record that his client won't accept a discount just because Yashin got a huge buy-out from the Isles. This isn't surprisingly, given how Gandler players are NEVER discounts. If Yashin doesn't get what is perceived to be 'market value', don't expect him in a NHL uniform come September.

While Ka$hin could provide some offensive boost for a few clubs, he just isn't worth the money, headaches, or locker room infighting. Unless he is willing to accept a discount, which he won't, Yashin will find himself in the cold, or Columbus. If I am a GM, I'd let Yashin be somebody else's problem.

Photo of the Day: The Truth about Women

by Jes

It's funny because it's true!

Jason Spezza Nets NHL 2K8 Cover

Eric Staal was the lucky one to get his face on EA Sports' NHL 2008.

Well, Jason Spezza earned the 'other' cover, as he'll be the face of NHL2K8.

2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. announced today that Jason Spezza, first-line center for the Ottawa Senators, has been named cover athlete and official spokesman for NHL® 2K8, 2K Sports' top-rated NHL video game for five years in row*.

"It's a great honor to be the NHL 2K8 cover athlete," said Jason Spezza. "The NHL 2K series has always selected some of the best players in the NHL and I'm really excited to follow in their footsteps of representing the finest hockey video game title this year."

The Canadian-born Spezza was only the third player to represent Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships as a 16-year old. The first round choice of the Ottawa Senators and second overall pick in the 2001 NHL Draft, his great skills were apparent very early in his career. Reinvigorating the sport with his raw talent and enthusiasm, his magnificent performance in the 2007 Eastern Conference finals against the Buffalo Sabres made him one of the most exciting players in the next generation of NHL stars.

"We are thrilled to have Jason Spezza as our cover athlete for NHL 2K8. Spezza is a player that truly embodies the spirit of hockey which is something that we pride ourselves in with the NHL 2K series," said Graeme Bayless, President of Kush Games. "We are very pleased to be working with a cover athlete that is such an avid gamer and who is committed to contributing valuable insight to the authenticity and development of the NHL 2K series."

Let's face it, Staal is not the most charismatic player, while Spezza loves the spotlight and is generally a great interview. If I am going to choose someone to be on the cover of my game, I'd rather they have more personality than a cardboard box.

Kudos to NHL2K8 for getting Spezza on their cover. Now, if only they'd have Slovak league teams...