Trade Deadline: Losers

Pittsburgh Penguins

I think the Penguins went ahead and did everything I said would be a bad idea in terms of trade deadline strategy. The Penguins are a team that started the year very slowly but are now in a tight race for first in the Atlantic division. Even with Crosby out of the lineup, the team has seen a new leader step up in Evgeni Malkin.

Now, with 20 odd games left in the season, the Penguins are not only faced with the task of reinserting Sidney Crosby in the lineup and shuffling around 20-25 minutes of forward ice-time a night, they also need to shuffle around 20-25 minutes a night to slot in Hossa.

Now, obviously, this is the sort of 'problem' most GMs would love to have; too much talent. But I think it's legitimate. A good hockey team isn't an all star team, its a team with the right players to accomplish certain tasks. A good team also has good chemistry, and chemistry takes time.

To add to that, Hossa's rent a player price was far too high.

Colby Armstrong is a useful 3rd line (who, according to Pierre Maguire, had 'unbelievable chemistry' with Sidney Crosby, though I think a doorknob would have great chemistry with Crosby) player who can play with a physical edge, just ask Patrick Eaves.

Angelo Esposito is kind of a wild card; Esposito is undeniably talented but he's looking like a Robbie Schremp variety of player - lots of talent not a lot of heart.

But adding in the first rounder as well?

I wouldn't have given up all that for few games from Marian Hossa, a guy who isn't even considered a playoff performer.

Pascal Dupuis was part of the deal - he had a pretty nice season in Minnesota about 5-6 years ago when he scored 20 goals on a goal starved Wild team. He's a tenacious guy, stats wise probably comparable to Erik Christensen, so we'll call that a one off.

The only way this trade is a success is if the Pens make it to the conference finals. That is the litmus test.

3:11 pm, Tuesday February 26, 2008
Acquire: Marian Hossa, Pascal Dupuis	Acquire: Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a draft pick

The Sidney Show

Well, I have to say I was pretty pleased to get to see Sidney Crosby's debut game in Calgary. While the media put a strong emphasis on the matchup between Crosby and Phaneuf, it should have been on Crosby and Iginla - after all, both are far and away their team's best players.

Crosby didn't get any points but he did a lot of the things he has become famous for, crisp passes, quick feet, great hussle and domination along the boards, which I think is the major reason he isn't like Gretzky or Lemieux.

Malkin is very much an individual talent and is not a great puck distributor, but boy was that a snipe. No chance for poor Kipper.

The guy though I was most impressed with throughout the night was former Team Canada World Junior Championship double gold medalist and captain, Kris Letang. He's still an undersized guy, but his positioning was outstanding and his play with the puck was very very good. He got beat by Lombardi in OT while trying to compensate for Lombardi's speed, it lead to that great set-up for Aucoin. Later on of course, Letang scored the shootout winner.

Nothing new to report on the Calgary Flames end of things except to say that I thought Nystrom played a pretty good game both against Pittsburgh and against St. Louis, lots of energy and lots of smart plays.

Anyway, here's a selection of shots I took from Crosby's first time in town.

Forechecking

Crosby watches as Iginla gets his first of the night

Laraque vs. Godard - Laraque had a lot of shifts alongside Crosby

Captain vs. Captain

Defensive zone OT Faceoff

Another battle with Iginla, in OT

Crosby leaves the ice on his last shift, he is replaced by Malkin

When it rains...

Well, not only did the Flames get blown out today, but Sidney Crosby officially declined to play for Team Canada at the 2007 IIHF World Hockey Championship. Incredibly disappointing for the team, but also understandable.

Remember how badly Dion Phaneuf played with a broken foot against Anaheim in the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs. Remember how badly Chris Pronger played with a broken foot in the 2006 Olympics in Turin/Torino?

Sidney Crosby was arguably the best player on the ice for BOTH teams in that series.

Dear lord, imagine him healthy.

He will be sorely missed by Team Canada, but as expected, Jordan Staal has accepted the invitation and will join his brother Eric. I'm not sure how well he could handle added ice time, but I wouldn't mind seeing the two play together on a regular shift. Interestingly enough, the last time Canada iced a brother tandem (Rob and Scott Neidermeyer) they won Gold (2004).

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To give the Flames credit, they didn't get totally embarressed in the first period. They kept the game tight and could just as easily have gone into the intermission ahead as tied (or behind as well). But give full marks to a Detroit team that simply elevated their game.

Hell, props to Danny Cleary for getting back up. A hell of a game for the newfie (I say that term with affection for all my newf readers), and actually, a hell of a series for the guy. He's made an impact in every game so far, and his contributions may end up being the difference in the series.

Regarding Calgary's goonery. Well, I wholehartedly support it. I know I may be a dinosaur in terms of my opinion, but sometimes a team just has to do things like that. It's something that happens in every level of hockey, and it is not 'suprising' as my boy Pierre and the other NBC commentators tried to sell it.

It was interesting comparing the coverage of the game from the NBC crew (selling it primarily to Detroit fans and an American public thats pretty ignorant) and the CBC crew (selling it to primarily a Calgary crowd). The NBC crew tried to downplay the violence as dispicable, dire, and unmotivated by Detroit. The CBC crew tried to sell it as having utility and perhaps being a necessary evil. Of course, which side you agree with will probably depend on which team you cheer for.

Just a couple thoughts on the various incidents though:

Daymond Langkow - Good for you. I thought the hit you took was by far the most intentionally dirty play of the series, and perhaps post season (Burrows slash aside). You weren't near the puck, weren't expecting a hit, and definatley weren't expecting to get clipped on the knees. The irony is that your little sucker punch didn't do nearly as much damage as the boards did to the Detroit player's knee. That looked bad.

Jarome Iginla - Pierre asked what you were doing killing off a 5-3 with only a couple minutes to go, but I knew. You were there to start shit, and you did. I have no doubt that you gave Schneider a bit of a butt end, but it was a love tap. And yes, you deserved a penalty for that AND the crosscheck, but lets face it, the physics of that crosscheck were all wrong for him to fall that way. Another embellishment, but thats ok, you had to do what you had to do, and he had to do what he had to do.

Jamie McLennan - what more can be said? Obviously you were told to go raise some hell, I think you were trying to create room for Kipper, and quite honestly, I thought you gave Franzen a love tap. I saw Smytty get a real two hander from Turco to the FACE and he got two games, so either he got a severe underpunishment or you got an overpunishment. It really doesn't matter either way because you did your job and I'm sure the team is proud of you. Oh, and Don Cherry and the rest of Canada saw you take the jab to the neck which was a cheap shot too, so we know you were at least moderately provoked.

Marcus Nilson - well Pierre said you were unprovoked when you went after Drapes but we all saw the flying elbow he threw at you and missed, so I totally understand what you were doing. Hell, I would have done the same.

Other notes:
Kristian Huselius - your hands have turned to stone at the worst possible time.
Alex Tanguay - could you PLEASE stop taking offensive zone penalties? It's really a problem.
Rhett Warrener - hang on buddy, I hear your new hip is coming in soon!

Team Canada 2007 World Championships - Shitsburgh's loss...

Now that the Penguins are officially eliminated from 2007 playoff contention, Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal will be asked if they are able and willing to join their national brethren and play for Canada in the 2007 IIHF World Hockey Championships. Their addition would be a huge boon for a team that has lately been lagging in their recruitment. While the 4th line has been solidified with Jamal Mayers, Jason Chimera and Jay McClement, the team hasn't yet filled out its top two lines.

Still no word on Jay Bouwmeester, but there are a couple of defenceman whose teams are still in the playoffs who will probably be asked to play if eliminated.

If Calgary is elimated, expect Dion Phaneuf to get asked.

From the Dallas/Vancouver series, Phillipe Boucher, Stephane Robidas, and Kevin Bieksa.

Nashville/SJ, Marc Edouard Vlasic, Shea Weber

Brent Burns will probably be asked from the Wild (just eliminated tonight as well). Also from the Wild, Pierre Marc Bouchard is a possible candidate on forward, but he might not get asked simply because the top two lines are nearly full, and he's not playing on the third.

The Eastern teams still battling don't have many candidates, as mentioned in an earlier post, Dan Boyle is probably one of the only who could still be looked at. MA Bergeron has a wildcard chance simply because of his bomb on the PP and his recent point explosion, but it's pretty unlikely.

Drastic Times / Odds and Ends

WI has found an article by my fave, Bob McKenzie, who says the Flames should consider putting Sutter behind the bench for Game 3. It's not a crazy or stupid idea, but the same thing happened to Darryl last year, just slightly less drastically. By Game 7 of the Flames/Ducks series, Calgary was getting dominated by Anaheim's puck possession system and the season ended without so much as a whimper from the Flames.

This is not to say I don't support firing Playfair, because I do (as any regular reader knows). But at this point in the season, the Flames have run out of viable alternatives. But who knows, assuming the Flames do fire Playfair (which they won't), Darry does have some advantageous powers of motivation.

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I've been watching the Pens/Sens series with great interest this year, and it's been a perfect example of everything great about the playoffs. Back and forth leads, individual efforts, big hits...and best of all, Sidney Crosby is making his detractors look like fools. If Pittsburgh wins at all this series (2-1 Sens so far), it'll be because he and Gary Roberts are carrying the team on their shoulders. And except for a couple bad calls, the Pens could be winning this series.

In Game 1, Crosby was slapped with a VERY mediocre 'hooking' penalty, and on that PP, the Sens scored. Just before that, Crosby put the puck in the net, and it was discounted as a 'kick in' goal. Another debatable call. That 2 goal swing made the difference, as the Sens won 6-3.

Game 3, the Sens are up 2-1. As Roberts and Spezza are mutually tangling with each other, Crosby rushes into the Sens defensive zone and out muscles Joe Corvo for the puck, drives back out front and puts the puck past Emery (who clearly believes the play is still live). The whistle goes just before Crosby puts the puck in, and it was a genuine non-goal, but no one in the play (Crosby, Corvo, Emery) knew the play was over.

The Sens score the next 2 goals and put the game out of reach. Of course, on the 4th goal, the Sens are blatantly off-side (caught by my eagle eyed friend and stop-motion reviewed by the both of us). In other words, another 2 goal swing for the Sens.

In my opinion, this series isn't quite over.

Just as an aside, hats off to Penguins fans who felt the need to BOO the Canadian National anthem. The sorriest bunch of fans in the league prove once again why they don't deserve a franchise.

Team Canada World Championship Roster Announcements - Carolina Contributions

The rumours have been flying for a couple days now, fueled by Carolina Hurricanes fans who saw the announcement live on air (Fox Sports Net South), but there is now official print confirmation. Eric Staal, Justin Williams, Mike Commodore, and Cam Ward have accepted Team Canada's invitation to play in the World Championship. Rod Brind'Amour declined due to injury.

This is another coup for Team Canada. So far we have what I would say is the ideal goalie combination with Roloson and Ward, a defensive group with someone I think most would have said was a long shot but I believed would be an excellent contributor in Mike Commodore, with stalwart Eric Brewer, and a forward group that includes Staal, Nash and Doan(maybe linemates) and Cammalari and Williams.

The fact that the Sens and Penguins are playing eachother first round could lead to another Canadian bonanza. If Ottawa loses, count on Spezza and/or Heatley getting an invite. If the Pens lose, watch for Crosby and Staal to get an invite. Crosby was a singlehanded force last year in the World Championships, and his addition could mean big things for the team.

I'm still expecting Patrice Bergeron to get and accept an invite (although one never knows with injuries), but I think maybe one more major coup offensive coup be scored by Team Canada. If the Avs do not make the postseason, I think there is a potential Joe Sakic could be invited and accept. This would be the first year since (at least) 1994 that he hasn't played at all in the postseason, so he could be motivated. Combine that with the fact he implied Team Canada's younger players didn't understand what kind of sacrifice/effort it took to win a major tournament like the Olympics, and he could be highly motivated to lead this young group by example. It's definately a longshot, but I think Brendan Shanahan might've started a trend last year by being an older player with nothing owing to Team Canada going over to Europe and playing.

Exciting times for Team Canada for sure.

This about sums it up

CBC posed this question to After Hour viewers tonight:

Did the NHL make a mistake in not reforming the
schedule for next season?
Yes
(839) 94%
No
(50) 6%
Total Votes:
889

I think that about sums up my feelings. The NHL gets a product (Crosby, Ovechkin) they market the crap out of, then they refuse to sell it to half their customers. Thats just good business sense.