Hockey Newsletter - June 7, 2000
State of the game
The NHL must have issued a gag-order on publicly dissing hockey in Dallas in June. Everyone keeps telling us the ice is just fine. Larry Robinson said it. Brett Hull said it. And all the announcers on both networks broadcasting the games keep saying it's a non-issue. Hmmm. Then why is it that the puck seems to be smothered in tapioca pudding just 10 minutes into the fray? When we watched a quick snapshot clearing attempt barely get over the red line we thought, "oh it must be late in the period because the ice looks like a banana daiquiri." But the clock said there was still 9 and a half minutes left. Ooops, sorry! The ice is just fine!
Gary Bettman made his annual playoff "state of the game" speech this week. "We want to give making changes a rest. Let's stop trying to change things every year." We don't think he'll say that at the end of the next season. With Columbus and Minnesota at the ready to become the 2000/01 bottom-feeders, the game may be in the final stages of atrophy. How many more years will fans put up with boring clutching, grabbing, stick-swinging, cheap-hitting dumping that increases exponentially as the talent pool gets depleted? No doubt some team will be signing Marty McSorely next year. Ooops, sorry! The game is just fine!
The league announced that around 100 player concussions were recorded during the 99/00 season. Hmmm, that sounds a bit low -- maybe they forgot to add the Philadelphia Flyers into the mix. That would probably raise the total to about 427. This summer they'll study equipment and visor issues; as Bettman says "equipment has to be looked at to make sure it doesn't do more than protect." Other than that, the game is just fine.
For more of Bettman's declarations:
[retired link]
Are we there yet? part 4.3
DALLAS VS. NEW JERSEY -- The Big Dump.
If the Stanley Cup Final was a video game, the 2000 edition would be Pong. On one side of the screen is the hulking Kevin Hatcher and his big paddle, on the other is the brickhouse-solid Scott Stevens and his big paddle.
Not a lot happens in between as the little round disk gets dumped back and forth back and forth until one player, lulled into a deep sleep, makes the smallest mistake and misses the slow-moving disk (remember the pudding?) and scores a point.
The unfortunate thing about a tight defensive Stanley Cup final is that it's the last series, the one that sticks in our collective mind throughout the summer; we tend to forget that there HAS been excitement in the playoffs: Jagr being unbelievable again, Stumpy Thomas in round one, Owen Nolan and the Sharks upsetting the Blues, Brian Boucher and Ray Bourque just missing the big show
And to give the Devils and Stars their dues, Hull and Modano have lit up the crowd and the scoreboard on many occasions, while the usually dormant-for-the-playoffs line of Arnott, Elias and Sykora has emerged as the most explosive trio in the league.
And as CTVSportsnet's Darren Dreger reports from the playoff trenches, there is plenty of drama -- at least behind the scenes -- in the Stanley Cup finals:
"Larry Robinson waited near the end of the line, patting each player, acknowledging a job well done. He waited until the last man, Martin Brodeur, slipped under the covering that protects the players just feet from the ice.
"It was then I learned how close this group is. Robinson saved his best for last and embraced Brodeur ... not like a coach, but like a proud father brimming with pride. It was a moment that washes away the negatives, giving proof -- at least, in New Jersey -- the fight is for the right reasons."
Read the rest of Darren Dreger's report at:
[retired link]
What do the fans in the CTVSportsnet.com forums think of the finals so far?
"AnotherDevilsFan" says:
"Sorry to say this but if you don't like the way this series is going you had better stop watching hockey now.... with two more teams on the way the NHL is going to be filled with even more players that have no business being there... the trap is the only way they can compete and not look like they are out-classed...
The funny thing is that the rules are there to stop that style of hockey... it's too bad the refs aren't calling the them... I hate that style of hockey too, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do."
"heh" tackles the NHL business case:
"Anyone who prefers a "win" over "entertainment" needs to realize the size of the business part of hockey. Hockey cannot stay alive if the only places that wanna watch it are the 30 cities with teams. And of those 30 cities you have 10 that are "better" trappers than the rest. Screw that. That has nothing to offer to anyone but those 10 cities. There will be no more TV broadcasting deals, no more big time advertisement deals. Huge amounts of money will be lost. Exciting teams are keeping the NHL alive. People don't go out of their way to watch Dallas or Jersey play because they know they're in for a boring game. The only people getting hyped up about those games are the people in Jersey and Dallas. So what about the other thousands of cities and towns that have the capability to tune into the game? They don't care, they would rather do other things. So bye bye ratings, bye bye advertising....bye bye NHL eventually. "
"BeTtEr ThAn YoU tHiNk" thinks differently:
"I think the series is being watched by those that realize that there's no more hockey until October, and of course, Devils and Stars fans. Some people don't watch it because their team is no longer there. My brother is a big Flyers fan and when they lost game 7 to NJ, he vowed he won't even watch the highlight reel of the Cup Final. The trap may be boring but you should see what happens when they beat the trap. Lots of great scoring chances for both sides. So, goaltending makes it low scoring, but the trap don't always make it boring."
"money rules all" says:
"If my team got to the finals by trapping...I would go nuts I would be so excited. But that would be just me and my city of course. Would the millions of other hockey fans across America wanna watch my boring team win the Cup playing a boring style? Probably not. Maybe if they have nothing to do they'll watch the game, but will they turn down going to a movie instead? ....probably not. Is it bad that people in every city aside from Dallas and Jersey aren't going out of their way to tune into the NHL finals? I think we can all agree that it is."