Ducks Gameday—The Avery Impact

Anaheim Ducks (14-9-3, 3rd in west) at Chicago Blackhawks (10-6-6, t-7th in west)
How much will this post cost me in karma dollars?

Instead of talking up this Chicago rematch, I'm going to throw my two rambly cents in on the Avery suspension. I don't like it.

Now don't get me wrong; there's a lot to dislike about Avery, including this recent set of inflammatory remarks, but you have to recognize Avery for what he is -- a sensationalist media creation. Over the years, reporters have glorified his personality and encouraged his bad boy behavior (which I can understand -- NHLers are generally too boring for newsstands). And that's the thing -- I do believe Avery's statements were intended more to feed the hungry media than they were to hurt Dion Phaneuf / Elisha Cuthbert's feelings. He was doing what he was expected to do -- agitate and entertain -- and more or less in the manner that he was trained to do.

It wasn't out of line with the media characterization that was built up over his career, nor with the persona that the Stars signed last summer. I dunno, it's like giving a dog a treat for coming inside six days a week but then beating it for doing so on Sunday -- maybe there was a vague line that was crossed, but I don't think Avery thought he was "detrimental to the League". If anything, he was promoting the league in the best way he knew how.

Sure, it's not normally acceptable behavior to be calling out players for their love lives, and we can debate the shock value of the words "sloppy seconds" compared to other word choices, but it's not as if this elephant wasn't already in the room -- Avery did manage to get himself in trouble without naming a single name. In a practical sense, Avery took a topic that dozens of hockey writers have already made crude jokes about and then shockingly made one himself.

In short, Avery was Avery, and the NHL suspended him for it without any strong precedent. As an isolated incident involving a rival team, I probably don't care about this that much, but I do worry about where it leads. We're already in a period where player interviews are purposefully bland and carefully measured, and while Avery is certainly not the model of ideal media interaction, he was different from the robotic mold and punished because of it. Going forward I think the NHL should probably publish a list of do-not-discuss guidelines -- it's a sham that they can't define a social barrier until after it's been crossed. Even so, as I point out in the cartoon, I suspect we'll see even less personality in front of a microphone from players in the future, and that general insincerity will probably be another barrier between the players and the fans, and that's sort of a shame.

Sean Avery is no hero, and I don't mean to present him as even a likeable figure, but it's really tough for me to see the rationale for the league's suspension. I think it's a dangerous path to discourage personality in front of the microphone without any specific guidelines, and we're probably in for a blander NHL as a result (though in fairness, we were probably in for that anyway). Anyways, I'm open to being convinced -- feel free to agree or disagree or add your own two cents in the comments.

And now to the part where Sleek gets suspended:

------------------------------------
Listen, I love Canada. It's just when it comes to Battle of Ontario teams hiring head coaches and general managers, they really seem to have fallen in love with Anaheim's sloppy seconds. I don't know what that's about.



Ron Wilson, Craig Hartsburg, Bryan Murray, and Brian Burke --
That pretty much spans the entirety of Anaheim's history right there.
Prediction: Last Friday the Ducks and Hawks skated to a 1-0 game in Anaheim, so I suspect Hiller might get the start tonight, but there's no real wrong answer in net right now. The Ducks do need to start scoring some goals, though, so let's say Ducks 5, Hawks 3. Goals by Getzlaf x2, S. Niedermayer, Pahlsson, and Perry.

Go Ducks.

Sharks Gameday: Ron Returns To The Scene Of The Crime

San Jose Sharks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

7:30 PM, Comcast Sportsnet

Sharks fans weren’t particularly nice to Brian Campbell when he returned to HP Pavilion. That’s to be expected, as Campbell came with a lot of potential and promise and he failed to deliver, then he said, “Screw you” to the team before cashing in.

So what happens when the guy who came with the most potential and promise returns? Perhaps Ron Wilson himself didn’t embody that potential but his roster – and regular season performance – certainly did, and as the guy who runs the show when it comes to motivating players, the combined lack of inspiration and toughness can fall on Wilson’s shoulders. If only to accentuate the point, Todd McLellan’s got this team doing those things, though it certainly helps that McLellan’s got a better set of defensemen.

Does Ron Wilson deserve a harsh greeting when he steps behind the bench as a visitor for the first time since the axe fell? In my opinion, no. In fact, as critical as I was of the guy, I think he deserves hearty recognition for what he accomplished with the team.

Put it this way: Wilson took a team that focused more on grit than skill and brought the best out of them, if only for a short time. Wilson seemingly has a penchant to make mediocre players good (see: Wayne Primeau) but when the roster become stronger and more skillful, Wilson couldn’t figure out the right combination.

There’s plenty to criticize with Wilson. His stubborn refusal to depart from his “five guys in formation” system gave the team an identity of a fast team that became so entrenched in their roles that they failed to truly use their natural skill and creativity. On the power play, rather than use movement and skill, Wilson’s system simply said, “Go to Joe Thornton on the half boards.” And then there’s his whole public smiting of players, something that Toronto’s getting a taste of now. That sort of abrasiveness only goes so far.

Still, you can’t take away the 2003-04 conference finals away from Wilson, and when you look at a roster filled with the Nils Ekmans and Alex Korolyuks of the world, it’s hard to figure out how that particular squad was so awesome to watch. And you won’t hear me criticizing Wilson on the defensive side of things; the team’s goals-against were always strong and for the most part, the penalty kill was solid. It’s just that after the team moved past the overachieving 03-04 squad, something was always off about the team, be it passion or toughness or chemistry.

The bottom line is that despite the team’s post-season failures and inconsistencies, Wilson’s still got the best record in Sharks history – and he’s taken them farther than Darryl Sutter or Kevin Constantine. For that simple fact, Wilson should get a rousing ovation when he’s shown on the HP Pavilion jumbotron.

You Don't Have Enough Talent to Win on Talent Alone

Kings Gameday: MAPLE LEAFS MAPLE LEAFS MAPLE LEAFS MAPLE LEAFS MAP

LA Kings (10-9-3) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (8-9-3)

7:30 PST, Fox Sports West





Labarbera's in tonight, Boyle's out, hopefully Zeiler's on the bench. The Leafs score more than you'd think but also let in a lot of goals. I've actually liked the Leafs since they moved to the East and I think they'll become good faster than people think. But today I hope the Kings embarrass them in front of their new GM.

Prediction: Kings win, 5-4. Goals by Kopitar (x2), Moller, Frolov and Labarbera.

Outsourcing: Cartoons from Sweden

If you recall, this past summer BoC had a brief series called Letters from Switzerland from our generous friend Markus (will it continue? only Markus knows for sure), where we received some overseas updates about some former NHLers. In that same spirit, I present a guest submission from reader Kyle J., a guy I can only assume hails from Sweden (to be completely honest, I'm not sure about this, but based on a few phrases of broken English I've corrected, I'm comfortable being presumptuous). Well, I'm never a guy to turn away free artwork, especially if it's potentially from Sweden!

I am, however, a guy who (for better or worse) will regularly publish e-mails I get.

Dear Earl Sleek.

I have been wanting to find a way to mix my passion for graphic arts and hockey together for a long time. I have finally figured out how. A Graphic Novel of Hockey(Comic book). However I would like to showcase them where people could see them. And reading your blog since the Season We Won the Cup I know that many people in fact read your blog. I have really enjoyed your cartoons. If you wouldn't mind letting me post these on BOC I would very much enjoy some feedback so I could start up on my own or possibly work together on some.

Thanks

BOC Reader of you and Rudy,
Ducks Fan and Hockey enthusiast,
and Fellow Artista,
Kyle J.

Just take a look at the awesomeness below, inspired by last week's Ducks win against the Toronto Maple Leafs (featuring an ill-advised goaltender switch by Ron Wilson for the shootout):


Quite literally the best artwork this blog has ever seen.
(Click image to enlarge.)
I don't even know where to start. The Terminator version of Nik Antropov is killer, the classic Ron Wilson media staredown is spot-on, and I want to run and hide from that George Parros glare. Basically, Kyle, I give this a hearty standing ovation. Outstanding.

One of my side goals here at BoC is to semi-legitimize the notion of internet cartooning, even though I'm pretty much just a hack. Well, fellow hacks, the bar may have just been raised, and I'm pretty excited to see that. Plus, now with Switzerland and Sweden on the BoC contribution list, I can't wait to see what our German or Finnish readers will do to top this.

[1:15 pm edit -- Oh boy did I blow this one. I've now been informed that Kyle J. is from Southern California, not Sweden. Well, this won't be the last fact-checking error that Sleek will ever make, but it is a doozy. Also, a new version of the picture was submitted with "Foliage" instead of "Foilage". Sorry for the mix-up, KJ.]

Go Ducks.

Thanks, Ron Wilson!

Nothing says I Love You like a cold Cujo in a shootout.
(YouTube)
One thing about Ron Wilson -- he's not a guy who forgets his old friends (nor his potential future boss). There is no such thing as a "filthy two points" in this young Ducks season. Positivity!

Ducks Gameday—Still waiting for scorers to score

Anaheim Ducks (1-5-0, 15th in west) at Toronto Maple Leafs (1-2-2, t-11th in east)
When's the last time you looked longingly at Toronto's record?
(I wasn't asking you, Kings fans.)

Yeah, sometimes I'm lazy enough for a good google image search, so sue me (note to Disney: please don't sue me).

Not too much from me today, as I didn't even get to watch the Carolina outing, but I did want to revisit a post I wrote way back in June that explored the notion of Brian Burke taking a Maple Leafs GM job next summer. I really made two points: (1) Brian Burke has gotten lucky at times, in particular with his acquisitions of Niedermayer, Pronger, and Selanne, and (2) I was fine with Burke leaving, as there is a fairly open roster next year for a replacement GM to work with.

Of course, that latter point isn't looking so strong these days, as the three biggest contracts Burke has locked the Ducks into are:

R. Getzlaf, 6 gp, 0-1-1, -5 — 5 years, $26.625 million
C. Perry, 6 gp, 0-1-1, -4, — 5 years, $26.625 million
C. Kunitz, 6 gp, 0-0-0, -5 — 4 years, $14.9 million

So, using some ridiculous pro-rating math, thus far it's looking like the Ducks will pay some $68.15 million for this trio of forwards to score a combined 0 goals and 137 assists in 1,148 games played. That's just under $500,000 per assist, and I don't even want to mention the combined -888.

Of course, that's all pretty silly math, but the reality remains: the forwards on the Ducks with one or less points on the season are Getzlaf, Perry, Kunitz, Selanne, Morrison, and Parros. And the only thing that separates Parros from this group is (a) he's been on the ice for more goals-for (3) than the other five, (b) he has yet to be on the ice for a goal-against, and (c) he's had less than half the ice time of any of them.

I'll mention again the bizarre scoring structure: the top two lines have scored 1 goal, the bottom two lines have scored 8, and the defense has scored 4. When exactly is Carlyle going to shuffle things up?

Prediction: Technically, somebody's getting a second "W" tonight. Ducks 4, Leafs 1. Goals by Kunitz, Scotty, Pahlsson, and Parros. Ron Wilson catches Teemu with another illegal stickblade. Make sure to check out Pension Plan Puppets, Battle of Ontario, and Down Goes Brown for your Toronto perspectives.

[9 am edit -- Our good buddy Michael Dell, who hosts the LCS Radio Show where both Chen and I recently made guest appearances, was so inspired by our 80s TV devotion that he made a list of the NHL's A-Team. A pretty good list, but I still prefer my casting.]

Positivity! Go Ducks.

Burke vs. Lowe: the true winner is the audience

When your GM is compared to Manny, you might be in for a long lame duck year

My best laugh of the night did not come from "Trailer Park Boys" (that show, along with hockey, funny pronunciation and maple syrup prove that Canada deserves a little respect). Instead, it came from Kevin Lowe's slap-fight response to Brian Burke dropping a-bomb quotes for a full year:

"Where do I begin?," started Lowe. "He's a moron, first of all. Secondly, he really believes that any news for the NHL is good news. Thirdly, he loves the limelight and I don't think anyone in hockey will dispute that. Lastly, he's in a pathetic hockey market where they can't get on any page of the newspaper let alone the front page of the sports, so any of this stuff carries on."

I know our peers are like, 'Well, that's Burkie.'

-TSN

Reading that made me think of Chuck Klosterman's great bit about "archrival versus nemesis." In the beginning of the feud, when "Burkie" had smoke coming out of his ears, people mentioned that the two were considered friends. But maybe they were just nemeses according to Klosterman's definition: everyone figured they were good buddies, but they secretly hated each other.

Either way, this feud is pretty hilarious. "Burkie being Burkie."

(Some people in Toronto are probably squirming right now)

Is Brian Burke a Be-Leaf-er?

Now I'm not normally a guy who likes to speculate on rumors very much, but I guess Toronto journalists are salivating at the thought of Brian Burke filling the Maple Leafs GM vacancy when he's done in Anaheim. To my understanding, Burke has committed to this season as GM for the Ducks, but hasn't signed to any extension beyond that.

Ken Armer is a solid Ducks blogger that I've just found out about (I added The Puck Drop in the Ducks sidebar, which features a breaking M.A. Bergeron trade!), and at Bleacher Report he gives a solid enough rundown of what's basically a "wait and see" situation. Tom Benjamin is a bit more pessimistic, and suggests that the Ducks should trade Burke's contract to the Leafs if he doesn't sign a long term deal.

I can't speak that well about what Brian Burke wants, nor should I be a credible advisor about what he should want, but even so I haven't really been stressing about these rumours (hint: use a "u" when the rumours come from Canada). If Brian Burke really does covet the Toronto spotlight and spending budget, if he really does bleed Maple Sap, I'll wish the guy well. Burkie has been a pretty awesome GM for the Ducks, and if he seeks bluer pastures, at least he'll have left the team in manageable shape.

Two things I want to express about Brian Burke:

1. He's gotten lucky at times. Obviously Burke does deserve praise for combining the likes of Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, and Teemu Selanne into the nucleus of a cup-winning team, but in saying that there was also an element of luck in acquiring any of them. When Scott became a free agent during the lockout, Burke was fortunate enough to have signing rights to his brother Rob. When Selanne was signing for pennies that same summer, Burke obliged, but couldn't have foreseen the dramatic resurrection of the Finnish Flash. When Pronger forced Kevin Lowe to make a trade, Burke was fortunate enough to have the cap room and the assets to swing a deal while other teams tied their own hands.

While Burkie does get kudos for that trio of moves, I really don't consider them indicative of hockey genius -- really, these types of decisions are almost no-brainers. When an all-star opportunity falls into your lap, there shouldn't be a lot of inner deliberation. Instead:

2. Still, Burke's a solid roster planner. Burke's real genius move may turn out to be the ticking time bomb roster he's constructed in Anaheim. He's built a payroll that expires with a bang next summer, sort of a clean slate. Six notable players are signed past next year -- Pronger, Giguere, Getzlaf, Kunitz, Ryan, and Carter. Whenever tagging rules allow I expect Corey Perry to get added to that list also.

As of now, everyone else's contract runs out next summer, including GM Burke, Coach Carlyle, and the occasionally-retiring Niedermayer brothers. This roster timebomb is the result of what I think Burke has done really well as a post-lockout GM: in the face of impending rule changes and a brand new salary cap, Burke refused to commit long-term to an uncertain future. He assembled a championship team with some gutsy trades, and he built in an "out clause" after the fourth year, a good point to reassess and reload the roster.

Sure it would be nice to have certain players tied up longer, but really the key is flexibility. Having seen plenty of new-rules enforcement and salary cap management, Burke or even a replacement GM can assess and reassemble a roster with freedom: plenty of spending money and lots of positions to fill. Burke's smartest strategy may have been restraint, and it's the reason I think if he wants off to Toronto or elsewhere, I won't be panicking. The notion of an unknown replacement GM certainly has its scary side, but at least there is plenty of spending room -- no need to wait for Burke's signings to expire. (Note: this is why I keep calling this offseason "boring" for the Ducks. It's not really a valid label, as there certainly are some meaningful storylines, but next summer is when things will be really interesting for the Ducks, especially if Burke seeks Canadian employment.)

I don't want to sell the point of this post wrong -- overall, I'm a huge fan of Burke, not only in the way he runs a competent team but in the snark he brings to dealing with the media as well. He's done a stellar job in complementing his stars and sheltering the emergence of young kids Getzlaf and Perry. Still, I think his reputation has gotten a bit overblown by hockey media. Burke has his downsides also -- I wish there were more Europeans in the Ducks' system, I think he could have gotten something for Bryzgalov, and he has yet to draft anyone of value -- but those are minor gripes. On the whole he is a level-headed hockey mind, which is certainly a needed element in Toronto and an appreciated aspect from his work in Anaheim. He's free to leave next summer if he wishes, but I'd sure like it if he stayed.

Anyway, this post has gotten a bit longer than anticipated, but as long as Burke keeps the 2009-10 roster pretty clean and doesn't make any suspicious trades this year with the Leafs, I'm cool with him GMing wherever he wants next summer, best wishes and no hard feelings. But hey, maybe that's just my California optimism and I'm not taking this seriously enough; what do you think? Do you believe that Burke craves to be the GM the Leafs (and that they'll hold the position open specifically for him)? And other than the presumption that the Leafs vacancy is automatically more coveted than the Anaheim position, how much does the possibility of Burke bolting bother Ducks fans?

Burkie or no, Go Ducks.

(Side note: Today I stopped procrastinating and finished updating my player spreadsheets -- later this week we'll take a glance at some familiar-feeling Niedermayer and Selanne retirement decisions that are due pretty soon. Feel free to guess on those outcomes, too.)

Ducks Gameday—Habs inspire an awfully lazy post

Montreal Canadiens (38-22-9, 2nd in east) at Anaheim Ducks (38-25-7, 4th in west)

I got nothing today. Well, nothing but this nonsense cartoon:

Because of schedule conflicts, I didn't watch the last two Ducks games, in which Anaheim managed to score exactly zero goals. Fret not, though, I'll be watching tonight. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm still on a six-game win streak!

No Corey Perry for the next six weeks, I'm told, but I want to see how Carlyle plays this for a game before I say too much on that.

Prediction: Ducks 4, Habs 2. Goals by Scott Niedermayer, Bobby Ryan, Sammy Pahlsson, and Chris Kunitz. For your Canadiens coverage, go visit 4 Habs Fans.

Go Ducks.

BoC > BoO

Rawr.
And with that, the sweep is complete. I'm normally not a huge gloater, but sometimes things get so one-sided that I can't help myself.

January 9, 2008 Anaheim 5, Toronto 0.
January 10, 2008 Los Angeles 5, Toronto 2.
January 12, 2008 San Jose 3, Toronto 2.
March 3, 2008 Anaheim 3, Ottawa 1.
March 5, 2008 San Jose 3, Ottawa 2 (OT).
March 6, 2008 Los Angeles 2, Ottawa 0.

Battle of California 21, Battle of Ontario 7.
BoC takes it by two touchdowns. Sorry, fellas, but it just had to be done.

State Provincial Rape

Now available in Canada.
And don't even get me started about last year.

Hockey Night in San Jose

The San Jose Sharks 3-2 come from behind win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night was broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada. The first photo is Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray waffling Darcy Tucker with a huge hit in the first period. The second photo is GM Doug Wilson's HNIC post-game interview, and the bottom two photos are a few of the 40-50 fans who gathered at the Zamboni entrance to watch.

If there is a better link to HNIC highlights online, please add it in the comments section. Notes and game photos will be added here soon.

Leafs Nation: Welcome to California....Now go Home

When Eastern conference teams visit the Shark tank, you always see your share of their jerseys. When that team is the Maple Leafs and they have not been in San Jose since 2003, well you get tons of Leafs diehards. I think I saw a Leaf jersey of every player who has played in Toronto in the last 50 years. The most random and entertaining had to be the Potvin, Clark, and Sittler. The Toronto media must be going crazy after the Leafs went 0-3 in California. It doesn't help when you get blown out by LA and Anaheim and lose a 2-0 3rd period lead tonight. Mats Sundin looked frustrated and I even saw him push away a linesman as the final horn was blown. It will be interesting to see if he waives his no-trade clause to go to a contender. If you believe the rumors, Toronto is ready to clean house both player-wise and the front office.

Speaking of rumors, there was word of Cujo deciding between the Sharks and Flames for his comeback. Ron Wilson and Sharks insiders seem to dispel these rumors and had some entertaining quotes regarding this. I tend to believe them as Doug Wilson's MO seems to be quiet and under the radar. If you look at recent history, he seems to make moves that noone else is expecting. Remember early on when Mark Recchi was put on waivers? The Sharks were mentioned as front runners for claiming him. Of course that didn't happen either. It will be interesting to see who the Sharks are rumored to be interested in come the trade deadline. Don't expect them to be coming to San Jose.

Kings Gameday: Bright Spot

Los Angeles Kings (eep) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (16-19-8, 13th in East)

7:30 PST, no television^

Hey, Anze Kopitar made the All-Star team! Congratulations to Kopitar on the 1st of his many, many All-Star games. He is the only representative of the Kings which, let's face it, is entirely appropriate. I haven't written as much about Kopitar as I'd like* because I run the risk of making everyone sick, but he has been better than he was last year when you consider that every team is gunning for him. Good for him.


Also making the squad from California: Ryan Getzlaf, Chris Pronger, Evgeni Nabokov, and Joe Thornton. I encourage the All-Star coach (who the hell coaches these things again?) to put Getzlaf, Kopitar, and Stastny on a line. I guarantee three goals or your money back. (Give me money and I'll prove it.)

Not making the team: Pascal Leclaire. Instead, Manny Legace will join Nabokov and Luongo for the All-Star festivities. I know statistics like Goals Against Average and Save Percentage are flawed, but is better in both, plus he has played on a shittier team, plus he does all this with fake vampire teeth in his mouth. I'm not a Columbus blogger or anything, but that seems ridiculous to me.

***

The L.A. Times finally let Helene Elliot write about hockey again, and she came with guns blazing in this article about the state of the Kings. It's thesis is that it's time to bring up Purcell, Boyle, and Harrold and see what they can do since there's no way the Kings are making the playoffs. I agree with her because Purcell is 22, Boyle is 23 (although I'm not sure if he deserves a call-up), and Harrold is 24; they're all older than Anze Kopitar. If he can handle all this losing, I think they can as well.

I do take issue with one part of Elliot's article, however:


"...another broken promise from a club that vowed it would become a Stanley Cup contender under the salary-cap system but sabotaged itself with bad free-agent signings and timidity in the front office."

I don't understand why the Kings broke some "vow" because they have sucked the last two seasons. Were they supposed to say they would suck and wouldn't be competitive for a while? And how can you sabotage yourself with bad free-agent signings and timidity in the front office. It seems like a lack of timidity resulted in bad free-agent signings. And really, what free-agent signings have been bad? Brian Willsie was, but I'm not really ready to classify anyone else as such. Craig Conroy, Pavol Demitra, Tom Preissing, Ted Purcell, Joe Piskula... those all seem like pretty good signings to me. (I'm still withholding judgment on Michal Handzus.)

I don't know if I like this perception growing among Kings fans that we somehow deserve a competitive team because we've never won a championship. The team we're playing tonight has suffered as long and they're the capital of Ontario! I think we're in danger of becoming as insufferable as Red Sox fans if we're not careful, and I'd rather die than be a part of something like that.

Prediction: Kings win, 6-3. Kopitar celebrates his selection with a hat trick, while Frolov, Willsie, and Handzus also get in on the act.

^I thought we'd be able to access it through the Maple Leafs website, but I guess you have to be in Canada to use it. Looks like it's the radio tonight for us.



*If I had my way, every article would look like this:

Kopitar Kopitar Kopitar Kopitar Kopitar Kopitar Kopitar Kopitar Kopitar Kopitar Kopitar Kopitar

Ducks Gameday—Carter tries to play God

Toronto Maple Leafs (16-18-8, 13th in east) at Anaheim Ducks (22-17-6, 6th in west)

So even passing readers should know that I have an unhealthy addiction to Sammy Pahlsson. From poetry to trophy talk to analysis to fantasy fun to putting him in every game prediction, I think I've made clear my position: Pahlsson is god.

So of course I'm going to be a little reticent to acknowledge when some kid comes and plays the murderer's minutes, and does it capably. Of course I'm glad it's been working out for the point-desperate Ducks, but if Ryan Carter can be a shutdown wizard in Pahlsson's absence, it takes a bit of the luster off the SuperSwede.

Grudgingly, I'll hand it to Carter, though; he's worked himself in nicely on the stopper line between Travis "the omen" Moen and Fun Bobby Niedermayer. In the last three games, he has averaged more than 13 even-strength minutes a game, fulfilling all the necessary Pahlsson functions:

• Winning faceoffs (or at least losing them well)
• Shadowing key opponents
• Throwing his body around
• Keeping the puck in the opponent's end

One tendency I particularly like out of Carter (because it's something I notice also in Pahlsson's game) is his willingness to shoot the puck immediately in nearly every circumstance. It's not necessarily a play that results in a goal-for, usually, but rather it's almost a defensive mechanism. It reduces the risk of a turnover, while forcing opponents to start from their own net.

In 10 games since Carter's most recent call-up, he's played 87 even-strength minutes with an even goal-differential, plus-2 and minus-2. He's also spent some 3 shorthanded minutes without a goal-against. It's impressive work from a kid now filling in one of the tougher set of skates in the league; hopefully he can keep it going while Sammy's down.

He's still not in Sammy territory yet, though. Pahlsson this season has averaged those same thirteen difficult minutes, plus he throws in nearly five minutes a game on the penalty-kill as well; Carter thus far has only done the even-strength work. And if Carter wants a really lofty goal, he can try to mirror Pahlsson's playoff results, where he went plus-17 and minus-8 (a ratio of more than 2-to-1!) at even-strength against some of the toughest top lines in the playoffs. Oh, and he led all postseason skaters in penalty-killing time, hits, and faceoff wins, too.

Still, keep up the good work, kid.

============================================
Anyways, the Maple Leafs roll into town for the first time in more than 50 months, but who's counting? I was looking over the game roster of that last visit in 2003:

• There are eight players I see that are still with their squads: Sundin, Tucker, McCabe, Kaberle, and Ponikarovsky for Toronto, and Giguere, Pahlsson, and R. Niedermayer for Anaheim.



• The Mighty Ducks were quite a multicultural team back then; on the 20-man roster there were 8 countries represented, and 10 players hailed from overseas (Fedorov, Chistov, Vishnevski, Sykora, Prospal, Pahlsson, Havelid, Ozolinsh, Salei, and Gerber). As I've noted, lately the Ducks have played a 20-man roster that represents 3 countries, with only Swiss back-up goalie Jonas Hiller representing Europe.

For a Toronto angle on things, check out Pension Plan Puppets or Battle of Ontario (not just for gloating at Senator fans anymore!).

Prediction: The Ducks that played in the 2nd period against Nashville is a scary bunch, and you might think that they are set to wipe out the Leafs, but I'm not sure. I'm thinking that Toronto is starting to realize that it will be a long time until they can actually beat their rival Senators, and the next-best thing may be to beat the team that beat Ottawa. Still, the webbed ones carry the day: Ducks 4, Leafs 3. Goals by Getzlaf, Niedermayer (I don't care which one), Pahlsson, and Bochenski. If Pahlsson is still injured, Carter can feel free to substitute his first career goal anytime he's ready.

Go Ducks.

Report: Toskala to Toronto

...for three draft picks according to Toronto's Fan590. Not sure what the full package is. More details to come...

Update: The Jersey Curse kills Mark Bell. He's part of the package according to Fan590. Salary dump, anyone?

Update 2: John Ferguson Jr.'s on the Fan590. He says the deal is not done and it's premature. Don't know if that means specifics are still being worked on or if paperwork just needs to be filed. I wouldn't be surprised if they're still hammering out the draft picks.

Update 3: Ok, it looks like it's Toskala/Bell for 1st (13th overall), 2nd, and 4th round picks. This clears up about $4 million in cap space. Will offer a full analysis later.

Anyone want to buy a Mark Bell jersey?

Update 4: I did some cap number crunching and assuming the Craig Rivet deal is done for $3.5 a year, the Sharks currently stand at $35 million with Scott Hannan, Bill Guerin, and Mark Smith all unsigned. You figure that Devin Setoguchi will come in at the rookie max plus bonuses, so let's say that it's at about $37 million for now. I don't think the Sharks will push the cap, but I could see them spending to $45 million. Does that mean they'll push for Sheldon Souray or Brian Rafalski to fill out the blueline? A group of Rivet, Kyle McLaren, Christian Ehrhoff, Matt Carle, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic definitely lacks punch.

"Offseason" cartoons: The rest of the east

Well, I certainly have fallen behind on my offseason goal of cartooning new mascots for all the divisions, haven't I? Looking back, I haven't done one since August. Previous divisions include: Pacific, Northwest, Central, and the Atlantic.

Well, nothing like a hangover do-nothing Saturday to complete old tasks, eh?

First off, we have the Southeast Division:

We have the Tampa Bay Lightning Bolt, the Atlanta Thrash-Can, the Carolina Hurricane, the WASHINGTON CAPS, and the Florida Panthro.

And finally, the Northeast Division:
Here we see the Buffalo Sabre being confronted by the Boston Bruin, the Ottawa Senator Palpatine, the Toronto Maple Leaf, and of course the diminutive Le Hobbitant de Montréal.

Hope you enjoy 'em. Off to the couch for me!