Hockey Newsletter - Apr. 5, 2000
And the award goes to...
Looks like the St. Louis Blues are going win the President's Trophy this year for the best record in the NHL. And while we're talking hardware, let's hand the Norris Trophy over to Chris Pronger, the Blues' charming gap-toothed defenceman. Wait, don't pull the trophy train away just yet. Roman Turek, Ed Belfour's bridesmaid last year, is waiting in line for the Vezina. And the Jennings.
Okay, since the flatbed of NHL silverware is still hanging about, we may as well unload the Adams Trophy on coach Joel Quenneville for leading this solid team to the top. There's no award for NHL brass, but St. Louis GM Larry Pleau got the next best thing this week when he landed a contract extension through the 2003-04 season.
Is this as good as it gets? Not quite. The pundits haven't quite given the Blues the shoe-in vote for the ultimate trophy yet. The Cup (TM) must be earned during the second season. And you can be sure none of these winners will give a hoot about any of these trophies if they don't win The Cup (TM.)
Who's hot...
* The Colorado Avalanche. Hmmm. Didn't we say that a couple of weeks ago? Probably. Nonetheless, we wouldn't want to be the Coyotes heading into the playoffs against these guys. They've won 5 in a row and have clinched the Smythe -- er, the Northwest -- Division by going 7-2-1 in the last 10. Joe Sakic has been putting pucks in the net, and Patrick Roy is still the best playoff goalie in the league. Moreover, these guys may be playing their last season together as free agency issues go Mile High next year. So look for the Avs to make one last glorious stand together.
And on a business note: Former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway and Broncos owner Pat Bowlen are considering buying the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets. This isn't the first time the two have tried to put together an offer for these franchises. They were unsuccessful in a bid last summer.
Who's not...
* Bob Clarke/Eric Lindros. Have you had enough? We have. In the continuing saga of the Broad Street Whiney-Pants: GM Bob (don't call me Bobby) Clarke thinks Eric Lindros should apologize to the Philadelphia Flyers' trainers and doctors for the comments he made about his treatment following a brain-numbing hit last month. Waa waa waa. Broad Street is looking more like Coronation Street these days.
But it's not just the two leading men making all the noise these days. Supporting players in this farce include new Flyer captain Eric Desjardins, who wasn't entirely subtle about his predecessor during his acceptance speech to the press; former Flyer Rod Brind'amour called the Big E a "great guy," then went on to praise the Flyers' trainers (the same ones who allowed him to play on a not-quite-ready-for-prime-time ankle). And, of course, Carl Lindros, Eric's agent, who should start acting more like Eric's dad.
A division of Titanic proportions
The tides have turned in the high Atlantic. At the beginning of the season, this division held the teams that were to be feared. The teams that were going to duke it out for the big drink out of The Cup (TM.) Nay, they are shadows of what they should have been, and as CTVSportsnet.com's Jake Daniel says, mere shadows of the teams from the late great Patrick Division:
"The Islanders were stacked to the rafters with talented and tenacious gunslingers cut from the cloth of the old west. Trottier, Bossy, Potvin and a couple of Sutter brothers crashed around Nassau Coliseum like every shift was their last. In Philadelphia, thuggery took on an almost heroic quality as Bobby Clarke and the Flyers brutalized their opponents a-la Al Capone. The New York Rangers, so long the laughing stock of the NHL, featured the spectacular front trio of Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle and Vic Hadfield, as well as the second-greatest defenceman of a generation, Brad Park."
Read more at:
(retired link)
In the corners
Now here's something novel: a list we never got around to this year. Since the injury-riddled 99-00 season is coming to an end next week, let's celebrate the folks who have NOT missed a game due to injury, suspension or jail time:
Tony Amonte
Stu Barnes
Valeri Bure
Chris Chelios
Vincent Damphousse
Andreas Dackell
Chris Drury
Jeff Friesen
Scott Gomez
Milan Hejduk
Jonas Hoglund
Alexei Kovalev
Martin Lapointe
Vincent Lecavalier
John Leclair
Sylvain Lefebvre
Claude Lemieux
Nicklas Lidstrom
Patrick Marleau
Markus Naslund
Adam Oates
Sandis Ozolinsh
Mark Recchi
Mike Ricci
Cliff Ronning
Ryan Smyth
Robert Svehla
Oleg Tverdovsky
(and if we've just jinxed any or all of the above, we are very, very, very sorry.)
On the boards:
1999-2000 will be remembered for a lot of things: concussions, suspensions, groins and Anna Kournikova. It was also the year the league changed the OT rules, bringing about exciting 4-on-4 hockey. The fans in the CTVSportsnet.com forum are wondering about overtime in the playoffs.
Gino Gennaro asks:
Should the NHL go 4 on 4 for playoff overtime?
cracker thinks:
No way, not when the game has no time limit. We've seen games go 3 or 4 overtimes. It would be impossible for the players. The playoffs are a big enough physical drain and furthermore I think overtime in the playoffs is one of the most exciting moments in all of sports. Why change it?
Ryan Kaiser made a good point:
I'd like to know how the NHL justifies breaking ties in one manner for the regular season, and another for the playoffs.
And the final word goes to heh who says:
They're just trying to up ratings. OT is not the solution to raising a fan base. Getting rid of slow hockey and stopping expansion is a better way. There use to only be enough talent to fill 6 teams, how do they expect for there to be enough talent in the NHL to fill a new team or 2 every year?? If they stop expanding for 10 years I think there will be some awesome hockey in 2010.