Hockey Newsletter - Mar. 29, 2000
Money can't buy me love
With a $61-million payroll, you'd think a team would at least get into post season play. Well, those fat cats in New York, New York will be on the golf greens instead of the frozen confines of Madison Square Garden come April. And with four games remaining in this miserable season, the Rangers fired president/GM Neil Smith and head coach John Muckler. Are these guys to blame? Partly. Is there anything they could have done differently? Nope. This is the "New NHL" where decisions to spend big cash come from above.
A struggling team like New York succumbs to the NY media's whining by bringing in Fleury, Kamensky, Lefebvre etc. to ensure a drive to the Cup. Then they wind up with a mishmash of stars who need a season to get used to Leetch, Richter, Nedved and the rest of the Blue Shirts. Sorry guys, money can't buy you Cups.
Assistant coach John Tortorella will coach the team through the final four games while MSG president Dave Checketts said a new GM will be hired and will be responsible for picking the next coach. Good luck to him, poor guy.
(The Atlantic Division also saw another coach get his walking papers this past week. Robbie Ftorek has done a dismal job at keeping the Eastern Division-leading Devils motivated. And when a team stops playing for a coach, what do you do? Bring in Larry Robinson. Didn't Ftorek coach the Kings before Robinson took over? Hmmm???)
Who's hot...
* The Buffalo Sabres. Looks like they don't want to perpetuate the pattern of Eastern Conference Stanley Cup finalists who don't qualify for the playoffs the year after. They've had a stupid year that saw their big star Dominik Hasek announce his retirement then miss most of the season with a groin injury. Well, he sees the future in young Martin Biron, then decides he'll play another year. And when that tender spot "down there" heals, he comes back and brings the feisty team back into contention. Oh ya, Chris Gratton and Doug Gilmour have fit in well in the stretch too. All we know is that the first place Devils will NOT be happy to face these guys (with or without Peca) in the first round.
Who's not...
* The Phoenix Coyotes. A team should NEVER lose 7 in a row and expect to coast into the playoffs. And is captain Keith Tkachuk a bonehead or what? After missing 16 games with a sprained ankle, he gets his stick up high on Avalanche defenceman Aaron Miller and winds up with a 2-game suspension. Hasn't he been paying attention to what's been going on in the NHL? Sorry, bud, but that's no way to lead your team down the stretch. Shame shame on you!
In the corners
We have decided to present two of the big NHL awards before the season ends. So let the fanfare begin as we hand the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy to the Montreal Canadiens. Yup, the whole team. Their third-line centre Patrick Poulin is the only Hab who has played all of Montreal's 74 games this season. Some have been at the brink of death, some have come back from the injured reserve only to end up back on the shelf. And somehow, they're still in playoff contention. Officially, the team has nominated Brian Savage to win the award, and we kinda hope he wins, but we at CTVSportsnet.com are giving the whole team its due. Face it, if they actually make it into post season play, they may have to rename their team the Quebec Citadelles in honour of their AHL farm team.
And the second trophy we're giving away here is the Jack Adams Award to Montreal coach Alain Vigneault. This guy has managed his team through the most ridiculous injury-riddled season without the benefit of a $61-million payroll on his bench. Most of the guys he's coached all season are earning the league minimum; these are guys who couldn't even make the team at the beginning of the year. And even if these Hab-nots don't get past Buffalo for a chance to upset the Devils in the playoffs, they win the big CTVSportsnet.com underdog of the century prize. And just for posterity, here is a list of prominent Canadiens on the injured list:
Martin Rucinsky: Knee
Karl Dykhuis: Groin
Eric Fichaud: Shoulder
Eric Weinrich: Foot
Jason Ward: Broken Cheekbone
Trent McLeary: Larynx/ Lung
Trevor Linden: Broken Ribs
Saku Koivu: Knee
And, of course, some of the great injuries of days gone by:
Brian Savage: Broken neck
Shayne Corson: Eye
Vlad Malakhov: Whatever. He's gone
Patrice Brisebois: Shoulder
Benoit Brunet:Back
On the boards:
So the Big E is out again. He was supposed to be "The Next One." With all the injuries to the league's greatest players these days, it's hard to figure who will be the next bigtime superstar of the NHL. Kariya? Bure? Jagr? The folks in the Fan Forum had some thoughts:
who u kiddin quips:
There's 'some guy' named Jaromir Jagr in Pittsburgh, whose per game average isn't bad at all. For the Canadians - Paul Kariya would put up bigger numbers playing for another coach. Have you seen Vincent Lecavalier play? If he were on a better team with more help, he could put up some impressive numbers.
heh says:
The only type of person who could do what Gretzky did in the NHL would have to have his 'Canadian' mentality. He said it best when he told a reporter that when he goes out to play he comes out with the philosophy, "I want that puck, and you... you go get your own puck." He wanted nothing more than to score and make hockey great. Money meant nothing, he was happy to sign that 20 year 1 million a year contract when he started. Now Canadian kids are not learning their skills because their parents hound the coaches to win and not waste their money. And all the skilled Europeans come to the NHL with the dream of getting rich. Maybe if the NHL gets its act together and fixes the money part of the NHL we'll see more 'Canadian' style hockey being played.
The Man has some strong opinions:
There will never be another Gretzky - he was absolutely incredible. As for the best young player in the league - it is Joe Thornton of Boston.This kid is coming into his own even though he plays on a mediocre team. As for that wimp Jagr... I'll take Lindros or Yzerman or Shanahan or Kariya or Thornton or LeClair or Sakic any day over that wimpy, whining, crying little suck.