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Thin Air: Commitment to Winning-ish

February 15, 2013 By 2 Comments

- Interesting article from Mark Masters of TSN (which I found via Kukla’s Korner) about Alex Semin. The basics are that Semin isn’t acting like the stoic coach-killer enigma he was widely reported to be. He’s contributing and seems to be… happy. Is that possible? Sure it is. Could it be that, considering the steady decline of Alex Ovechkin, that the real problem wasn’t Semin at all? It could.

- Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy wrote that he feels refs should be called publicly on the carpet for the mistakes they make in the game, that any discipline they receive should be made public. I couldn’t disagree more. I can’t see any good reason for this, other than for fans to feel some sort of retribution to a ref and to shame the ref into calling the game “better.” I have news for you, and this might not be news if you have been in a work situation where shame was used to try to motivate or change a person into working differently: it doesn’t work. Much like the way that discipline is already handed out, knowing the outcome won’t make the fans as a whole any happier. They will only complain that a certain punishment was too much or too little.

- I am an unapologetic ref apologist. Sue me, I don’t care. I have read the USA Hockey officiating guides, taken the course, gotten my officiating card (once), and learned a lot more about what refs do. Have you? I’ve put the challenge out there to read up on the subject, and I don’t know a single person to have taken it up. I can’t imagine what people are afraid of. They will read the worst online dreck day after day, but not something that would make them better and more educated hockey fans? Trust me, it will change how you see the game and how you see refs. There is nothing wrong with that.

- You know who I feel bad for? Matt Cooke. No, really. Anything the guy is near that turns out bad is suspect in the eyes of the fans. If he walked near a puppy, people would be surprised he didn’t kick it. If a man in Boca Raton falls off a boat, Matt Cooke must have, all the way from Pittsburgh, found a way to push him. So when Cooke’s skate comes down on the back of Erik Karlsson’s leg, the initial thought from Johnny Fan was he must have done it on purpose. I would guess Johnny Fan doesn’t skate. But it’s carried over to the owner of the Senators, who wants Cooke run out of the league. It’s probably emotions getting the best of him, but Eugene Melnyk will hopefully think better of what he said. He hasn’t exactly stopped the paychecks of some of the less savory players he has employed over the years. Chris Neil ring any bells? I’ve been working with a few performers lately who are trying to move on from the past they have been pigeon-holed in. Matt Cooke seems to be trying to do the same thing. No one else wants to let him.

- Speaking of refs and skates, how about the overtime loss for the Colorado Avalanche against the Phoenix Coyotes? What a loss that was. Greg Zanon tries to hard around the puck from behind his own net, the puck bounces off the skate of the ref in the corner straight to Kyle Chipchura who passes the puck to an uncovered Shane Doan, and the rest is history. The initial reaction from fans was to kill the ref, but not I. No, like I said, I’m a ref apologist. So I can see that he was in the right position, and as he doesn’t have the powers of levitation, he couldn’t raise both skates from the ice at the same time. The ref, it turns out, is part of the playing surface. So yes, these things happen, and the ref probably was embarrassed by the whole thing. But as skaters know, floating is never an option.

- Speaking of Greg Zanon, he should shave off that beard until he is useful again. I’m not impressed with his play. And speaking of unimpressive defensemen, he was paired with Matt Hunwick in the Avalanche’s 4-3 shootout win over the Minnesota Wild. Both were -2 on the game. I hope they have eyes in the backs of their heads, because that was the only way they could see the play at times (you see, they were facing the wrong way and… oh, nevermind). Think that pairing will happen again?

- Doesn’t it suck to be a first overall pick in the NHL? No, really. You are expected to turn around a franchise on your own (and that’s often the expectation of the fans), or you are going to be mired in suck for a long time. Rick Nash is out of that situation finally, and how long until we see John Tavares leave the Islanders for the same reason? Does he have a no-trade? Because I would be waiving that as soon as possible. When your team brings in a Stanley Cup winning goaltender with the hope that he never plays so they don’t have to pay him but get the cap hit, you should be questioning the team and management’s commitment to winning. Is this the kind of team you would ever want to trade Rick DiPietro from? I doubt it.

- It looks like I will be breaking my rule of not going to the Pepsi Center this Monday afternoon. I wouldn’t be going if the ticket weren’t free, and I wouldn’t be sitting with my podcast partner Jay Vean. I expect to hate every minute of it. :-)

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Thin Air: Panic in Panictown

January 31, 2013 By 2 Comments

Thin Air is just a collection of hockey thoughts. Short, to the point, and out there. Comments are open for discussion.

- The Colorado Avalanche are terrible right now, losing to San Jose, Edmonton and Vancouver with a combined total of one goal for and eleven goals against. The penalty kill is awful, the power play is ineffective, and their five on five play is a wreck. I don’t think this is a team that has any chemistry, and it’s a top down problem. I hate to agree with Adrian Dater, but in a blog post that was as populist as pro-air rally, he is correct that the shiny happy attitude of the organization is not helping matters. The team is burying it’s head in the sand, and keeps it’s one sterling example of hope locked away in a closet: Joe Sakic. They are more interested in presenting a good corporate image than actually being honest with the fans.

If the Avalanche were to say that they have been in a rebuilding mode, it would probably have the opposite effect from the mass exodus of fans that has been happening in recent years. It would give the fans hope that something was going to happen. It would tell the fans that there is a reason to stick around. The head-buried-in-the-sand approach has been played out. The same message over and over, year after year – that these hard working boys are victims of circumstance – only reveals itself to be less true as those words are presented every game, much like the in arena presentation that hasn’t changed since Jose Theodore stole back his starting goalie position. Folks, that’s been a while. If there was a single phrase that Avalanche fans are tired of, it has to be “good hard work down low,” the Peter McNab-ism that finds its way into every broadcast. Spare me. Hard work isn’t everything. You have to point that work in the right direction, in the right way. And the fans see that it isn’t happening.

- You may notice that I linked to Dater’s blog post. It feel a little dirty. I don’t think I should have to link to a site that routinely leaves out source links and plays games with attribution. But you have to do the right thing, even if the big boys don’t. Give credit and links. It only makes the internet better.

- At what point, in a 48 game season, do you push the panic button? Where is the line? We are only 6-8 games into the season, and it feels like there should already be coaches fired, players traded, and Brian Burke denying anything and everything (kind of miss that, to be honest). If you fail in a 48 game season, does it matter? It certainly matters if you succeed. Just ask the New Jersey Devils. Their Cup win in 1995 was the start of something big for them. What kind of sacrifices do you make in a season that almost halves your gate revenue potential?

- O’Reilly: Trade him or sign him. This is tantamount to when the Avs started the season without a Captain. It’s more important to the fans that he is there, especially as the Avs continue to lose games. The quiet determination of management to be in absolute control, to make offers that aren’t negotiable, and to treat the salary cap era as though it were the pre-NHLPA, pre-Alan Eagleson era is ridiculous. Times are changing, so change with the times, you can’t move forward if you’re looking behind. ( < ---- Possibly misquoted Warlock Pinchers lyric)

- If you read the name Alan Eagleson, and you don’t know who that is, look him up. It’s fascinating.

- In fact, if you want to see the how the current NHL business model and it’s silly dealing with money (which seems to be a drug that turns the league into a bunch of meth addicts) haven’t changed much over the years, I recommend reading Road Games by Roy MacGregor and Game Misconduct: Alan Eagleson and the Corruption of Hockey by Russ Conway. These are interesting reads in light of the recent lockout, and the disfunction of the NHL and NHLPA that led to it. All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again (correctly quoted Battlestar Galactica reference).

- So the Blackhawks finally lost a game. In the ultimate game-of-inches allegory, Patrick Sharp hit the crossbar as the last shooter in the shootout, which could have kept their hope alive for perfection. An inch or two lower, that’s all it would have taken. That said, perfection in hockey, and in life, is overrated. It leads to disappointment when it inevitably falls short. So the Blackhawks are human. Imagine that. Now they can go back to being hockey players.

- Don’t get me wrong. Winning hockey games is awesome. I love winning hockey games as much as the next person. But if a major winning streak is so important, tell me who, since the Canadiens of yore, has that made a major difference to in the regular season? If the last Stanley Cup winner was an eight seed in the West, anything can happen.

- Have you been to an NHL game this season? How did you feel about it? Did you feel like you got your money’s worth? Comments are open.

- The Avalanche broadcast team was talking about how the media was all over Alain Vigneault about whether or not Roberto Luongo was his number one goalie or not. AV was not going to say yes or no, and he is right to do so. The media wants a nice tidy story, but a nice tidy story isn’t going to win you hockey games. Every other coach in the league gets to pick his starters based on what wins hockey games, or potentially wins them. Not AV. Not that I have any real sympathy for his position. It might even be his fault that Luongo wants to leave the Canucks, but that isn’t the point. That he has to manage a team, and the expectations of the media can’t make things any easier. It’s time for the media to drop it. If he isn’t biting, they should stop fishing.

- Nail Yakupov is getting way too much scrutiny for having a personality and showing it. It doesn’t fit into the strict narratives the media and fans expect from their hockey players. Not only is Yakupov expected to fit the mold of the quiet humble hockey player, he is also breaking the stereotype of the cold Russian enigma. It’s asinine to expect every player to behave the way we want them to. It’s leading to a more dull NHL, and the last thing an over-coached, over-priced sport that’s trying to make itself less violent needs is spiral even further down the drain pipe of boring rhetoric. Players with personalities can save this league more than another lockout. You can’t make the fans care about a beige wall.

- Kari Lehtonen: who knew?

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Thin Air: Sunday Morning Hockey Thoughts

January 27, 2013 By 1 Comment

Some hockey thoughts for you on a Sunday morning:

- I don’t think I need to watch NHL Tonight with the sound on.  The highlights from the previous seasons on the NHL Network were simple: use the local broadcaster audio, and roll the tape back a bit more than your average ESPN highlight.  The best part was that we got not only the goal, but also what led to the goal, something hockey fans want to see.

Instead, we get short clips that the talking heads don’t have enough time to banter over, which they have to yell to be heard over the squealing guitars that every sports highlight producer seems to think enhance the sports highlight watching experience.  All in an effort to quickly get back to the talking heads.  And the talking heads are doing a decent job when they aren’t trying to get a word in over a highlight, but I don’t tune in for them.  I’m here for the hockey.

Were I able to take a screen shot of my TV, I would show you what GameCenter Live looks like on my Apple TV.  I get the games, but I also get about five minutes of game recap for every game.  Perfect for someone who isn’t making a living off being a hockey person, and has a job to attend to.  Local broadcasters, more than just the goals, and a little extra time to digest the action.  What more could I want?  So NHL Network, take it down a notch.  Until then, I’ll keep the mute on.

- Cam Fowler: I can’t decide if he is any good.  Opinions?

- The Brad Stuart hit on Gabriel Landeskog.  I didn’t like it.  His elbow came up to the head and he wound up leaving his feet.  Give Stuart a game or two and call it done.

- The Blackhawks are scary good.  Their creativity shines though night after night.  And to think Joel Quenneville was on the hot seat a week ago, whispers of a possible firing if the Blackhawks didn’t produce.  Are they ever producing.  This is what you get when good players are allowed to do what they do best in the offensive zone.  OK, the Blue Jackets goal waved off in their 3-2 defeat by the Blackhawks was a load of crap, but it was the creativity when Chicago skated to the net that made the real difference.  They have a lot of tools, and show no fear in using them.

- Alex Ovechkin has made a lot of threats.  He might stay in Russia, he will go to the Olympics no matter what the NHL decides it’s participation is going to be.  How about becoming a scoring threat again?  No goals and one assist on the season, his steady decline is remarkable.  You can’t blame three coaches in a row for this, it’s all on him.  There is no reason he should be this far behind at this point.  He played in Russia during the lockout, so his legs should be ready for this season.  I wonder what is holding him back.

- PK Subban and Ryan O’Reilly: sign a contract already.  Your stock is going down quickly.  How much more time are you going to miss out there?  I ask them directly because, of course, they read this blog. 

- Rec League hockey is going well, when I can get there.  I’ve missed a few games lately, thanks to work.  I hate missing games so much, it makes me see paisley.  That’s pretty mad.  I have one goal, one assist, and one penalty on the season, which is more points than Alex Ovechkin.  Just saying. 

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Thin Air: Hockey Thoughts

January 14, 2013 By 3 Comments

Thin Air is a collection of hockey thoughts from a mile above sea level. Things get a little weird up here. Send oxygen when you can.

- I woke up Sunday morning (OK, late Sunday morning) to several texts asking me if I was going to training camp. Until that point, I really hadn’t even thought about it, and was only vaguely aware that training camp was happening. Perhaps it’s my evolving as a hockey fan, perhaps it’s my disappointment in the lockout, or perhaps it was that I’ve just been that damn busy. I think this short season will say a lot about how I am as a hockey fan. Or maybe it will be next season that really says so. But for a guy with a (dwindling) hockey blog, and a hockey podcast (two if I decide to bring back The Rink), that says a lot about the apathy I feel for the NHL right now.

- Ryan O’Reilly is still unsigned. No one knows what’s going on, but the fans want to see the deal get done. Nothing else really matters to Avs fans right now, as every other piece seems to be in place for the Avalanche. O’Reilly is the missing link on a team that is largely intact from last season, and a difference maker for a squad that didn’t have enough of those last year.

- Brian Burke won’t stay out of a job for long, but the question is if he will be willing to tone down his style enough to me more friendly to a front office or not. He is a smart and successful hockey guy. Had the Kessel trade worked out in his tenure, would have been heralded a genius. The real question is if he can look past the win – loss record of the Leafs for other reasons he may have been let go. Can he be as honest with himself as he expects everyone else to be?

- Everyone is waiting to see if the money the Minnesota Wild spent on two free agents will be worth it in the short term. No one is looking at five – or even two – years from now. They want success now, or else the money spent on Parise and Suter will have been wasted. Absolute silliness, of course. After years with only on truly successful postseason campaign, the Wild should be looking for the long term, even if the fans want results now. It’s going to be the critics, the ones who were there before, who are going to have the highest expectation. Those are usually the ones who want to see the team flop in the first place. Time will tell if this pans out, a few years rather than a few weeks.

- Adrian Dater put the Edmonton Oilers in the third slot for his SI Power Rankings. His reasoning was that their core young players have been playing in the AHL together this season, while much of the rest of the league’s talent has been spread out over the globe, playing overseas with random teammates or sitting on their couches. I agree with his reasoning, but not his placement. If this lockout had lasted the entire season, we would be looking at another Carolina Hurricanes after the 2004-05 lockout, where Eric Staal, Mike Commodore and Cam Ward played before their Stanley Cup season. The factor here is if stepping from the AHL directly into the NHL is going to be a big help. I think it will, but will it be enough to overcome the issues they had last season? It couldn’t hurt.

- Who cares about how Tyler Seguin left his apartment when he departed Switzerland? This is TMZ garbage. Enough already. Make sure your house is in order before commenting on other people’s. If the hockey blogosphere spent a little more time writing like they could, emulating the good hockey writers in the mainstream, rather than racing to the bottom for pageviews, they would be a lot better off. As Seth Godin says, the problem with the race to the bottom is you might just win.

- I am not looking forward to having to learn another CBA. In fact, I may just skip it. Last time it was capology (one letter away from apology) and waivers. What is it going to be this time? Trying to understand the waiver system made my head spin, and I don’t think I have to patience or tolerance for it. My general interest in the business side was tested during the lockout. It did not fare well.

- The NHL is back, but is the NHL Network back? I’ve had my fill of the World Junior tournament, even as USA skated to the gold medal. I’m ready for highlights, games and news, not just rehashes of old games. I bought a nice TV and paid for the DVR package when I came home to Denver. Time to put it to good use.

- It’s odd to feel sorry for Scott Gomez, but I do. I’m sure this isn’t how he thought his NHL career would end. He might take a massive pay cut (don’t worry, he can afford it) to join an NHL team after being bought out next summer, but to sit for the entire NHL season in anticipation of that happening is a sad way to end a career. The other New York Rangers mistake is harder to feel bad for. Wade Redden has been toiling in the AHL for a while now, waiting for a buyout, and he might finally get one. The Rangers have always amazed me how they can make their mistakes vanish, but now they might get stuck with a real concern with Redden’s money actually counting against the Rangers cap space.

- Is it time to actually feel bad for Gary Bettman? I don’t think most fans will (I don’t), as he set himself up as the face and voice of the owners as well as gathering as much power as possible. But he has to be tired of apologizing for the way negotiations turned out. It isn’t entirely his fault the lockout lasted as long as it did. The stall tactics of Donal Fehr were widely reported. He doesn’t deserve any real sympathy, but I’m sure this is wearing on him. If he leaves his post or is tossed out, I don’t think it will be until at least the end of the 2013-14 season. Otherwise, it looks bad for the owners.

- Yes, fans came back for training camp. They came back for free events. Wait to see what happens when fans are asked to put their cash on the barrelhead. That might tell a different story. And it might not. What the overall fans will do will doubtfully follow a pattern. This will be an individually fueled outcome. One things I will put my money on: fans might be quick to forgive, but I guarantee they will not forget.

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Thin Air – July 11, 2012

July 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

New Nash-ville: Breaking!!!11OMG1!!1ONE!!! – Rick Nash has six teams he is willing to be traded to.  The 2011-12 LA Kings, the 2010-11 Bruins, and the 2010 Canadian Olympic team are the top three.  If those don’t work, he is willing to go to the NY Giants.  He has dropped the Lakers, as they already have a guy named Nash on their team.  He had the Predators on his list, but he saw their mascot’s name and got confused.

That said, if Nash wants out of Columbus, then get the hell out of Columbus.  Don’t tie the hands of your GM, who is asking for everything in the world, and will not get it.  If you go to that Puck Daddy post, you will see that Nash wants to go to teams with a good center to set him up.  Or, you know, Columbus could try to get a solid center, which they could use anyways.  Just saying.

Better Dead than Red: The Winter Classic Alumni Game rosters were partially unveiled today.  My guess is they did it this early in advance so they could get a count of walkers and wheelchairs needed for the players.  If I wanted to watch a bunch of old guys skating around in Red Wings jerseys, I would go to a regular season game.

Shane Doan Doobie Do Doan Doan, Comma Comma: What is with Shane Doan?  Thanks for showing loyalty or some strange version of it, but either get out of town or resign with the Coyotes.  He has to know what he wants by now, and should be willing to act on it.  If he doens’t, sign a one year deal (because he can dictate terms with the Phoenix at this point) and see what happens with ownership.  

Ownership issues didn’t derail the team going into the playoffs.  They lost to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion, after a solid run that turned into a loss of composure.  If you blame the ownership situation for that, you need to rethink what accountability is. 

But Doan’s value has to be going down with every passing day.  The big spending period of free agency is over.  Now it’s about making salary fit into a budget, and making chemistry work.  And if you still need to plug holes, doing it cheaply.  Doan, sign with Phoenix for a year.  Get it over with.

URLs Gone Wild: Ever since Parise and Suter signed with the Wild, I wanted to use that headline.  After seeing what the Wild spent on two players, I haven’t seen much anger or frustration from fans that their teams didn’t make similar offers.  Spending Kovalbucks on two players isn’t any kind of guarantee you will win a Cup, and handing out CBA protected bonuses like this isn’t the smartest spending.  Even Avs fans, who thought getting Parise would be the end-all, be-all solution to the team’s woes have been fairly quiet.  Perhaps going into the next season, less is more. 

The Ongoing Break: I’ve been taking a break from Twitter and Facebook lately, and I won’t lie, it’s been nice.  I feel like there is less drama in my life, and I don’t get invested in the silly arguments that used to waste my time.  Now I waste my time in other ways.  Social media can be great, but it can also get out of hand, and I would spend way too much time seeing what other people said.  And twitter kills my blogging.  It really does.  

Still, I’m happy to pop on and reply to @s and DMs, or messages on facebook.  I just have given up on the timeline for a while.  Try it, you might like it.

Housekeeping: A few things I wanted to mention here.  I know I’ve mentioned it on twitter, but I have officially moved back to Denver, after being on tour for the last several years.  I even got an apartment in Capitol Hill with a one year lease.  That means I will get to watch more Avalanche hockey, and might even write about them more often.  It’s been a weird transition, and I’m not sure how life will look by the time the season starts.

It also means that Jay and I will be able to do a few more episodes of the Avs Hockey Podcast next season, and most of them will be face to face, which is always a better podcast.  It’s one of the bright spots for me, and I’m honored that Jay wants me around for the show.  I don’t post about it here often, but that will change.

You probably didn’t notice, but I changed my byline here from Tapeleg to James.  Because that is my name.  Which isn’t really a secret or anything.  When I started hockey blogging, I was anonymous for reasons.  But when I started The Rink (which has languished to the point that I need to make a decision on it), I felt it was silly not to use my real name.  That was almost four years ago, and for some reason, I never got around to changing it here.  I still like the Tapeleg moniker (and if you ever wanted to know what the deal was with that, you can listen here), and will still be using it, but I did want to make the change, and so there you go.  Hi, I’m James.  I hope you like it here.

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Thin Air: Sunday Hockey Thoughts

June 26, 2011 By 1 Comment

The draft is over, the bloggers are back home, nursing their hangovers, and the draftees are admiring their new swag from their new team.  I hope everyone had a good time.  The draft is mayhem on the first day, but then things settle down on the second, despite the much faster pace.

So here are a few things I’ve been thinking about, with only five more days until free agency, and four more left on this challenge.

 

- Ryan Smyth: Real Denver Sport has a good roundup of what Smyth left in his wake after each team he served time with (and served time is fairly accurate, considering how bad a few of those teams have been).  I don’t think it’s quite the contrail of disaster that happens when Pronger leaves a team, but it’s pretty interesting.

I remember getting caught up in the excitement when Ryan Smyth and Scott Hannan were signed in free agency to the Avalanche.  I thought it was a bold move, when a bold move needed to be taken.  Unfortunately, neither player are still with the Avalanche, and neither are the players who came in after Smyth and Hannan were traded away.  Tomas Fleischmann is set to become a UFA on July 1st, and as usual, all is quiet from the Avalanche camp with their desire to sign him.  He’s worth the money if he’s healthy.

- Realignment is going to be the topic of the season, and I don’t think any scheme will make anyone 100% happy.  I’m ready for it to happen, and would be perfectly happy to see the Canadian teams in the Western Conference split up. Keeping Vancouver out of the Pacific and Dallas in has always been a bit of a stretch.  After that, the eastern-most Western teams (get all that?) get screwed over for about half the season.  Aligning closer to time zones makes much more sense. But if this plan involves four divisions, I expect the league will do everything they can to shoehorn the Canadian teams together.  It makes business sense, even if it doesn’t make much hockey sense.

- Hand Paul Stastny the captain’s “C” and be done with it.  The guy is staying around, and he is the closest thing to leadership the Avalanche have right now.  Much like any goalie that has to play in the shadow of Patrick Roy, the captain will always be judged by how they perform in comparison to Joe Sakic.  It isn’t fair, but that’s how it goes.  Stastny is the most deserving, and no one else is ready to take up the job.  As good as Matt Duchene is on the ice, he isn’t ready to be captain yet.  He’s still growing, and needs the time to grow into the hockey player he has the potential to be.

- The Canucks are going to be interesting this offseason.  How do you blow up a team that came within one win of the Cup (I think of it as two games, since they had two opportunities to win it all)?  I don’t think you can, but you need to figure out what went wrong with the Sedin line quickly.  If you can’t, history is doomed to repeat itself.  There can’t be that many changes needed.  Perhaps they just need to avoid Boston next season.

- In the next CBA, the league needs to either create a wider gap between the cap floor and the cap ceiling, or increase revenue sharing, and how that sharing can be used.  Too many teams are being forced into salary structures they simply can not afford.  And the ceiling is too high anyways.  How many smaller market teams are losing money, while the bigger markets are getting richer and richer?  The revenues the league proudly states as growing aren’t coming from the smaller markets, but the smaller markets are just as important to the league as the larger ones.  It isn’t about the GMs saving themselves from themselves, it’s about the league saving itself from the first iteration of the cap era.  This thing needs to be refined.

- Also for the next CBA, I would love to see a limit to the number of no-trade clauses that a team can hand out.  Maybe five per team.  Maybe even shorten the term of a no-trade, perhaps to 2/3 of the contract length (if a player signs a 3 year contract with a no-trade, the first two years are covered by the clause, but not the third).  I don’t like seeing players treated like property, but the amount of no-trade clauses out there are staggering and barely managable.  Teams need options, and no-trades take away those options.

- Brad Richards is going to be the most watched UFA on July 1st, but I’m more interested in what will happen with goaltenders.  There are a few holes out there needing to be filled, and only so many people out there to fill them.

 

That’s about it for now.  To borrow a phrase from Buddy Oakes, more later….

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Thin Air: Notes from the SLC

September 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I don’t have enough depth of insight to post a full write-up of everything I’m thinking today about hockey, but there is enough going on in my head to warrant a notes post. Just some quick thoughts for the day:

Kovalchuk

- Remember when everyone said that this was better than the LeBron situation? If American sports fans cared as much about hockey as you or I, they would probably be laughing at us right now. Is this as bad a LeBron? Sure, but from a different angle. Even without a special, the Kovalchuk camp has done plenty that looks bad to fans of 29 other teams. That’s just business, though, with negotiations and gamesmanship designed to benefit the player. We wait (and now, we wait even longer).

- Lopping off two years and two million dollars from one of the silliest contracts ever submitted – one that so obviously tried to subvert the salary cap – seems like the smallest gesture the Devils could have made. The cap increase from the old contract to the new contract is only 666,000 dollars per year. Thanks for nothing, Lou.

- I know the default position is to be angry with the league, but if it takes one or two days to approve (or dismiss) a fifteen year contract that could have far reaching implications beyond the current CBA, so be it. Instant gratification is wonderful on twitter, but when it comes time to negotiate the next CBA, how the league handles this contract specifically will be used as evidence. This isn’t just about one player anymore.

- Besides, Kovalchuk will get his money. Maybe not every single dollar he thinks he should, and his escrow hit will be enough to easily fund a solid 4th line, but he will get paid. It just shouldn’t cost the Devils nothing against the cap. Signing a star player to a big contract is supposed to have implications to your roster. That’s part of the point of the cap.

The Interwebz Have Gone Crazy:

- Twitter made me look up two things today. The first was what QFT meant (Thanks, @bzarcher), and the other was who Paul Bissonnette is. I don’t really care about this whole BizNasty thing, and nothing would make me happier than to see this all be one big joke. Sure, it’s fun and all that, but in the end, it’s just going to end in tears. And unless he gets his hand slapped, it has nothing to do with hockey. And since he plays in Phoenix, that’s a given.

- The other thing Twitter made me do this week was read Deadspin. I’m not the target audience of Deadspin (I like hockey, don’t care about the other big three sports, and think public figures should be allowed private lives), but they seemed to have the most information on the Mike Wise fake twitter news situation. Wise’s point was that people will pick up just about any report online and run with it. It was not only done better elsewhere (I don’t remember where I saw the hockey blogger who announced that he was making a fake trade tweet, then posted the tweet, and people still picked up on it), but it shouldn’t have been made by a ‘reputable’ source (or at least one hired by a mainstream source). Wise cost himself some credibility, but from what I know about him, he seems more like a sports personality than a reporter, ala Jim Rome. Credibility doesn’t sound like the number one thing he trades on. Unsurprisingly, Wise was suspended by the paper for a month, which seems about right. Will that be the end of it? Oh, hell no.

- If you didn’t know, newspapers and other mainstream media outlets have ethics policies, and they are usually posted on the website of the media outlet. For example, here is the ethics policy for the Denver Post. And if you don’t think this applies to online media such as blogging, this section addresses that specifically. This doesn’t mean that media outlets actually follow these policies, but it does allow them to point to the accountability that independent bloggers are generally accused of lacking. Would you consider adopting and following an ethics policy? It’s a good question, considering how anonymous rumor sites and other outlets that don’t always adhere to the truth are scorned by most of the blogosphere.

- In the interests of unity and fairness, Ian Mendes of Sportsnet.ca posted his thoughts about bloggers being issued press credentials. Even if you are sick of this debate, you should read it. It takes on both sides of the aisle, and is one of the most honest looks at how each side views the other I’ve seen. (I saw this from both Kukla’s Korner and Greg Wyshynski’s twitter feed).

- See that? That’s called an attribution. If you blog, you should do it. Most hockey blogs don’t have sources that didn’t come down the series of tubes we call the internet. My blog and my podcast would be nothing without the hard work done by other people, who gather the news, do the reporting, and do the real work. It would be nothing without other people, and when I use something from them, this is how I show where it came from. Being first doesn’t mean as much as being smart. Attribute where things came from.

Odds and Ends

Khabibulin – Today on XM Home Ice was the first time I heard any mention of Nikolai Khabibulin possibly having travel issues with his DUI conviction. Chances are, no matter what happens in his appeal, the conviction will not be overturned. If I were a judge, I would be pissed that the ruling was challenged after what is essentially the lightest sentence possible being handed down. But Canada is not a fan of having DUI offenders allowed into their country. Look up what a Queen’s Pardon is. Things aren’t going to be easy for the Khabibulin. If this sticks, he earned it.

NHLPA – I know the news of Donald Fehr possibly becoming the NHLPA Executive Director strikes fear into the hearts of hockey fans who are still battling the nightmare of the last work stoppage, but it’s time to relax for a moment. It’s been so long since a real leadership in the NHLPA was around, fans (the hardcore who actually care) don’t remember what it looks like. The ‘partnership’ that was enjoyed by the Player’s Union and even more so by the NHL was nothing more than a face saving tactic. It diffused the anger of the fans, and brought them back with less fury and less of a target to blame for the lockout. This was the most one-sided partnership in history. The players can’t afford to roll over in the next CBA as much as they did in this one. The Fehr nomination is a step in the right direction for the NHLPA to start acting like a negotiation body again. It is a negotiation. Nothing goes 100% in anyone’s favor, but the last CBA sure leaned heavily.

Blatant Self Promotion :

If you made it this far, allow me to tell you about a few things. I set up a ‘support’ page over at The Rink Podcast. I’m not asking you for money, but instead a small amount of time. Please, take a look, and thanks. I’m starting to get the next season in order, and get some guests lined up.

I have been spending too much time on twitter. But if you want to follow me, you are more than welcome. I’d love to hear from you.

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Thin Air: Hockey Thoughts on a Sunday Afternoon, November 15th, 2009

November 15, 2009 By 8 Comments

Stuff that would normally go into the ether, were I still dealing with twitter.

- I went to a Spokane Chiefs game with Jason Cohen, author of Zamboni Rodeo, still one of my top five hockey books. Jason was a lot of fun, and I thank him for showing up. Now, if only the Kamloops Blazers had shown up.

- The Colorado Eagles are 7-0-1 so far this season, putting them first in the Conference with the least amount of games played. We will see what happens when they hit the road, but for now, things are looking pretty good in Ft. Collins.

- The same can’t be said for the Avalanche. You know, for all the crap Red Wings bloggers take for not writing after a Detroit loss, I am not seeing a lot of effort put into dissecting this latest blowout. Other than blaming the new 3rd jerseys, that is.

- Paul Kukla put this warning on his site the other day:

We really do appreciate you visiting all the blogs under the KK umbrella, but do want to remind you to keep your comments on the topic of the post and also to avoid the childish banter that does take place at times.

People want to read about the topic at hand, not how good you are at throwing out personal barbs at people.

There is a proper way to get your point across and then there is a way not to do it. If you don’t know the difference, then maybe KK is not the place for you. So either adjust or move on to another site.

Paul isn’t big on being criticized. But a warning like this seem kind of ridiculous when Kukla’s Korner plays host to the vitriol of Abel to Yzerman. Go figure. I support imposing control over your site, fostering the kind of community you want to have around, and moderating your commenters, but this is kind of funny. Actually, it’s really funny. Especially when the barbs thrown at Eklund are taken into account (Eklund is certainly not my favorite blogger). None of us are perfect, but come on.

- Hey, look at that. I’m on Puck Daddy: Five reasons why Avalanche blogger Tapeleg loves hockey.

- If you had a choice between these two jerseys, which would you choose? Go let Ryan Classic know, or tell me here. I’d lean towards the black one, partly because of the tie up in the front, and partly because I’d hate to spill food on the white one.

Ottawa 67S Black Ottawa 67S White

- Sure, I’d call a jersey a sweater….. if it were made of wool, designed to keep you warm, or worn by this guy.

Untitled

Anything in the EDGE system is not a sweater. Just saying.

- Here in Spokane, they have stick and puck time (ice time to work on your hockey skills) every week day. How about that, eh?

- Do you know what RSS is, or how to use programs like Google Reader or feed catchers like endo or NetNewsWire to make your life easier? Do you know about Instapaper for saving webpages for later reading with one click? Have you every used something like Readability to make the blogs you want to read easier for your eyes to handle? I’m thinking about doing a post on all of these things, to make reading hockey blogs better for you, the reader. Because what’s the point of making it difficult.

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Thin Air: November 5th, Late Edition

November 6, 2009 By 3 Comments

Oh yes, another night of hockey highlights. I have the Ducks – Predators game on the DVR, but I can’t get motivated to watch. I mean, the point was to see what the problem with the Predators is, but I can’t do it. Not tonight.

- T-Squared? OK, Kevin Weekes. You can call Tim Thomas whatever you like. Still, Weekes is a solid commentator on NHL On the Fly. He doesn’t do stunned-by-the-moves all that well, but then again, he speaks with authority when he has to, and like a fan when I want him to. Good job, Kevin.

- I will be losing the NHL Network next week. I can’t tell you how sad I am about this.

- I understand the reasoning behind the NHL not modifying the point system, but I don’t like it. I think I will be writing about it soon.

- The Neil hit: A study in so what? A big guy who plays the body and has speed. What’s the problem?

- The Maple Leafs are going to play the Carolina Hurricanes. Someone has to win that game, which is too bad, really. If the Canes win, the coach keeps his job, and if the Leafs win, the city of Toronto will has to spend all that money on a parade.

- The Forearm Forklift? Awesome! Get me two sets. That thing looks… sorry, NHL Network commercials. Everything a 40 year old needs.

- Anze Kopitar’s first goal of the night was beautiful. Fleury looked bad. Not this bad, but still bad:

468820040 45Ce9E0Be1

- If I were the Penguins, I would be hanging my head low. Way to fall apart.

- I love seeing the water bottle on the top of the net bounce. It’s a wonderful thing.

- The Weezer Snuggie? At least they haven’t sold out.

- Shootouts: fun to watch, but not worth a point.

- Attendance in Atlanta: 10,878. Most of the fans must have been sitting in the upper bowl, because they weren’t in the lower.

- Voracek: Nice hair, just kidding.

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