Do More Pucks In The Net Mean More Butts In The Seats?

The topic of new restrictions on goaltending equipment has risen to the surface of NHL discussion in the last week or so, due largely to the fact that there really isn't anything else to talk about right now. One item that has drawn particular attention from many (including Puck Daddy and James Mirtle) is the idea of goalies wearing pads that are proportional in size to their bodies. While this rule in itself is completely absurd, it underscores a bigger problem with the powers that be in the NHL; the NHL front office is far more concerned with the totals on the scoreboard than they are with the product on the ice.

Short of photographic evidence, there is no way you could convince me that Gary Bettman had ever seen a hockey game before he became commissioner of the NHL, and it shows. All you have to do is go watch old YouTube clips of the NHL in the 80's to see that the goalies of that era were a joke. Somewhere in the early 90's a new generation of Patrick Roy inspired goalies finally caught up with the game and shooters actually had to do more than just shoot five hole every time down the ice. Bettman and Co. are taking the game back to the 80's, and I for one am not happy about it (even if they bring back Cooperalls too).

People can spout all the "Offense sells" rhetoric they want to, I'm not buying. I saw the 92-93 San Jose Sharks in person enough times to know that more goals does not equal better hockey. Some people like to draw a parallel between hockey and baseball and how the "long ball" helped bring fans back to baseball after its strike in the mid-90's. These people want to argue that increased goal scoring will do for the NHL what Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa did for Major League Baseball. This is a ridiculous argument to make. Ignoring the fact that McGwire and Sosa were most likely juiced to the gills, the NHL restricting goalies is not the same as the power surge that took place in MLB. This is more akin to MLB making it illegal for outfielders to jump and catch a ball going over the fence. Players like Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Jarome Iginla are proof that the NHL's skill players can still put the puck in the back of the net. There is no need to keep changing the game until fourth-line grinders are putting up 30 goals a year.

The NHL has already set a precedent for preventing goalies from utilizing their full skill set with the trapezoid behind the goal line. In a nutshell, goalies like Martin Brodeur and Marty Turco (among many others) had gotten too good at handling the puck and diffusing an attack before it could even get going, so the NHL stepped in and attached an invisible leash to them in order to hamper them. I cannot think of another sport that punishes its players for developing a skill to an elite level. The NHL has done that with their puck handling netminders.

Handcuffing goalies will not make the NHL better. Neither will bigger nets. I will not go so far as to say that goalie equipment cannot afford to be reeled in a bit, but the NHL needs to come to the realization that hockey fans do not judge the product on the ice based on the number of pucks in the net. Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals was one of the best hockey games seen in ages, despite the fact that over 50 minutes were played without a single goal scored. There is nothing better in hockey than a jaw dropping save. Nothing. I can only hope that sanity and logic will eventually win the day. Otherwise Matt Bradley may yet get his blindfolded goalies.

Breaking Down The 08-09 Pittsburgh Penguins Schedule

The NHL released the full 2008-09 regular season schedule today (view it here). This is probably a little more exciting than it should be, but it is always fun to look at the schedule for the upcoming season and try to find the key points. So I'll get right to it!

October

• 4th/5th vs. Ottawa - The Pens open up the season with two games against the Senators in Sweden. Hopefully the travel will not be as big of a pain off of the ice as ex-Penguin Jarkko Ruutu is sure to be on it.
• 11th vs. New Jersey - The Pens return to the States to raise their Eastern Conference championship banner and take on the Devils. On paper this is a game the Pens should win, but crossing "The Pond" may have an impact on that.
• 14th vs. Philadelphia - The second home game of the year sees the Flyers come to town. They will surely be looking for payback for the Eastern Conference Finals and will undoubtedly be looking to take it to the Pens physically. This is where Eric Godard starts earning his pay.
• 16th vs. Washington - Continuing a high profile start to the season, the Penguins will welcome the Capitals to town for the next chapter in the Crosby/Malkin/Ovechkin saga.
  

November

• 8th @ Islanders - Satan and Fedotenko return to the Island for the first time since becoming Penguins. Hopefully this will help get the team up emotionally for...
  
• 11th @ Detroit - The boys head back to Detroit to take on the Red Wings in a Stanley Cup Finals rematch. I'm guessing Marian Hossa will be mentioned once or twice leading up to this one.
  

December

• 23rd vs. Tampa Bay - As an early Christmas present, the Penguins get half of their team "back" as Ryan Malone, Mark Recchi, Adam Hall, Michel Oulette, and Gary Roberts come calling. All those familiar faces should make for an interesting night at the Igloo.
• 27th vs. Montreal - BGL returns to Pittsburgh for the first time. Is a showdown with Godard inevitable?
  

January

• The Pens won't play the Rangers eight times in January, it will just feel like it.
• The schedule is really packed this month to account for the All-Star Game being dropped in.
  

February

• 8th vs. Detroit - The second half of the Finals rematch. I hope Hossa is ready to receive the Jagr treatment from the Igloo faithful.
• 27th @ Chicago - Two of the NHL's best young teams play for the only time this season. Should be a very entertaining game.
  

March

• 1st @ Dallas - Not terribly noteworthy except for the fact that I will be there. The first official TOFTT road trip is on the calendar!
• 14th vs. Ottawa - The Senators' only visit to Pittsburgh this season (thanks to the Sweden games). Will the fans be booing or Ruuing?
  

April

• 9th vs. Islanders - The regular season home finale should be a slam dunk as the Islanders will most likely be resembling a junior team by this point in the year. That being said, those kids will be hungry and fighting for roster spots in 2009-10.
• 11th @ Montreal - The last game of the regular season could either have a big impact on playoff seeding or be totally meaningless. I'm guessing it will be the second option.

Inside the Numbers:

• The Penguins will play on back-to-back days 13 times this season.
• The longest homestand will be eight games long, and late in the season to boot.
• The longest road trip will be five games long, but take them no further from home then Dallas.

All in all the new schedule looks solid enough. It will be nice to not be playing the Devils or Islanders seemingly every other night. You could argue that the Pens got the short end of the "at large" stick by having to play two of the best teams in the Western Conference (Detroit and San Jose) twice each, but it is worth it to make sure Benedict Hossa has to come to Pittsburgh. My biggest concern is that the travel associated with the Sweden games could see the boys get off to another slow start this year. Let's drop the puck already!

Why There's More To Life Than Goals

Evgeni Malkin gets my MVP vote this year, and Jarome Iginla is my runner-up (more on that in the next couple days). People can gush over Alexander Ovechkin all they want, but Iginla is so much more and if someone told me the Pens could acquire Iginla or Ovechkin, I would take Iginla in a heartbeat.

Here is just part of what makes the Flames captain such a special player:

NHL Team Of The Month: March 2008

Okay, it's back to business! It's almost playoff time, can you feel it? In the meantime, here is my last Team of the Month for the 07-08 season. Enjoy!

• Center: Johan Franzen (13 GP, 14 G, 4 A, +6, 12 PIM, 8 PPP, 6 GWG)
  
• Right Wing: Jason Pominville (14 GP, 8 G, 11 A, +7, 6 PPP)
  
• Left Wing: Alexander Ovechkin (14 GP, 14 G, 12 A, +17, 12 PIM, 9 PPP)
• Defense: Dion Phaneuf (14 GP, 3 G, 9 A, 24 PIM, 6 PPP)
  
• Defense: Brian Campbell (15 GP, 2 G, 13 A, +10, 9 PPP)
  
• Goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (11 GP, 9 W, 1.44 GAA, .951 SV%, 2 SO)
  

Comments:

• Franzen had 6 game winners in March! It almost got to be a joke.
• Pominville has really come into his own as an offensive force in Buffalo. He and Derek Roy have been outstanding in the second half of the season.
• Ovechkin has Caps fans thinking playoffs. They may have to win the division to make that happen, but they play in the Southeast so that's not exactly out of the realm of possibility.
• I don't know what else to say about "The Dion" at this point. The guy may be a bit of a diva, but he can flat out play. Should be a Norris finalist for sure.
• Brian Campbell has been a great addition for the Sharks. That trade really could not have worked out any better for them in the short term.
• MAF has been playing out of his mind since coming back from the high ankle sprain. He has been the backbone of the Pens and has them sitting atop the East. He should be fresh after all the time he missed and he is peaking just as we head into the playoffs. It's pretty much the best case scenario for the Penguins.
  

An Open Letter To Alexander Ovechkin

Dear AO,

Let me start off with a bit of thanks. Thank you, AO. I don't know where my fantasy hockey teams would be without you. Okay, now that we have gotten the pleasantries out of the way...

Dude, you've got to check yourself. All this flipping out after every goal stuff has got to stop. I mean really, act like you've scored before big guy. We all know you're a great scorer, you really don't have to keep making a scene. I wouldn't mind if you reserved your post-goal antics for overtime goals and times like that, but it's every freaking goal. I've never seen a player get so excited about a first period goal against a non-division rival in early February. I don't know if I would celebrate that much if my own son scored in overtime of Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals. You really have to tone it down a notch or five. Although to be honest, I wake up every morning hoping that the night before you hurt yourself in one of your wild celebrations. Just to teach you a lesson. Okay, and because that would be hilarious.

While I've got your attention and I'm in an advice giving mood... keep your head up. With the way you continue to take runs at people there's a defenseman's elbow out there somewhere with your name all over it. You are already a marked man due to your skill level and how vital you are to the Caps, you shouldn't stoke the fire by continuing to go out of your way to make the big hit. Payback's a comin'. Don't say I didn't warn you.

One last thing. I know when Sid went down you thought you were going to take the NHL by storm and steal his spotlight, right? Well, for a while it was looking that way. But now that you've come back to Earth a bit, how does it feel to know there's another Penguin out there playing better than you? It shouldn't be too much longer before we all start referring to 2004 as the Malkin Draft.

I'm glad we took the time to have this little chat AO. Now go score some more power play game winners. My fantasy teams can use them.

Sincerely,
Chris Yarbrough

NHL Team Of The Month: January 2008

As we turn the calendar page to February, it is time to look back on the first month of 2008 and name the NHL Team of the Month.

• Center: Evgeni Malkin (13 GP, 12 G, 5 A, +8, 6 PPP, 1 GWG)
  
• Right Wing: Shane Doan (13 GP, 7 G, 12 A, +7, 6 PPP, 2 GWG)
  
• Left Wing: Alexander Ovechkin (13 GP, 13 G, 9 A, 8 PPP, 2 GWG)
  
• Defense: Ed Jovanovski (14 GP, 4 G, 8 A, 21 PIM, 7 PPP)
  
• Defense: Sergei Gonchar (13 GP, 1 G, 10 A, +4, 8 PPP)
  
• Goalie: Tim Thomas (10 GP, 7 W, 2.06 GAA, .936 SV%, 1 SO)
  

Comments:

• Ovechkin has been playing out of his mind for the last couple months and wrapped up January with a four goal/five point performance against Montreal. Do we now have the "Ovechkin hat trick" (a goal, an assist, and a broken nose)?
• Evgeni Malkin has been one of the few people in the same stratosphere as Ovechkin and has really stepped up for Pittsburgh. Geno also notched his first two career hat tricks this month.
• Shane Doan is leading a surprising Coyotes squad into the thick of the Western Conference playoff chase. If Doan played in Toronto he would be a household name (by NHL standards).
• Jovanovski and Gonchar have both provided excellent offensive numbers for their respective teams. They have been particularly good on the power play.
• Tim Thomas has been quietly outstanding for the Bruins. He's a guy you rarely hear about, and then you look at the numbers and wonder why. Thomas is as solid as they come between the pipes.
  

Ovechkin Chooses Cash Over Cups

Well you can put to bed all the rumors about Alex Ovechkin leaving the Caps. Washington's superstar left wing has just put pen to paper on a 13-year $124 million contract extension. That works out to just slightly over $9.5 million per season over the life of the contract, or just under the maximum amount of space Ovechkin could take up under the current salary cap. Possibly the most noteworthy part of all of this is that Ovechkin negotiated the deal himself. Now he doesn't even have to give a cut to an agent. Not bad.

$124 million buys a lot of golf clubs!

Now that I'm done patting AO on the back... assuming he really does play out this entire deal with the Caps, Ovechkin will NEVER win the Cup. Ever. Before you get all riled up, hear me out. This has nothing to do with the amount Ovechkin will be making. While I do think it is a mistake to let him take up that much cap space, who knows where the salary cap will be in 10 years? This deal could end up being a bargain. Okay probably not, but my point is that the size of the deal isn't what is going to keep AO from kissing the Cup. It's the fact that the deal is with the Capitals. I just don't see the Craps ever winning the Stanley Cup. After all... they're the Capitals. I'd put the over/under for the number of times Ovechkin even makes the playoffs during that contract at 6. And if I were a betting man I'd take the under.

All bias aside, this deal is a huge gamble for the Caps. Ovechkin plays a very reckless brand of hockey and a series of long-term and possibly career threatening injuries for the talented Russian certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility. Nevermind that he plays a bit on the dirty side and could easily be the victim of some good old fashioned frontier justice somewhere down the road. Heaven help him if he boards one of Todd Bertuzzi's teammates.

In the meantime AO can kick back and celebrate his big payday, and maybe stash a little away so that 15 or 20 years from now he can buy himself a nice plaque that reads "Most Goals Scored By An NHL Player Who Never Won the Stanley Cup!" If you ask me that is the best-case scenario for Ovechkin's legacy when all is said and done.

NHL Team Of The Month: December 2007

I almost lost track of this in all the Winter Classic excitement, but here we are with the Team of the Month for December:

• Center: Jason Spezza (14 GP, 10 G, 15 A, +14, 7 PPP, 2 GWG)
• Right Wing: Jarome Iginla (14 GP, 14 G, 5 A, +10, 7 PPG, 3 GWG)
• Left Wing: Alexander Ovechkin (13 GP, 11 G, 7 A, 4 PPP, 3 GWG)
• Defense: Nicklas Lidstrom (15 GP, 13 P, +15, 5 PPP)
  
• Defense: Sergei Zubov (14 GP, 12 P, +8, 6 PPP)
  
• Goalie: Evgeni Nabokov (15 GP, 10 W, 1.96 GAA, .925 SV%, 2 SO)
  

Comments:

• Spezza quietly had an insane month for the Sens.
• Iginla and Ovechkin were both beasts in December. Iginla led Calgary's charge up the Western Conference standings while rumors are already starting to swirl about AO trying to get out of Washington this offseason.
• Lidstrom and Zubov are as steady as they come. You couldn't ask for more from a defender.
• Nabokov has been the one constant for the Sharks this season (he's started every game for San Jose) and is having an MVP-type year. As long as he doesn't wear down...
  

Some Stars Don't Shine In Shootouts

Following Pittsburgh's shootout victory over the Canucks on Saturday night, a game in which Sidney Crosby was not only stopped by Roberto Luongo in the shootout, but also on an OT penalty shot, I started to reflect on Sidney's relatively poor track record in shootouts. I couldn't help but think that Michel Therrien might better serve the Pens by letting someone else take Sid's place in the shootout. This in turn led me to wonder how many other big name players are sent out in the shootouts by their coaches despite a lack of success. After going through the shootout stats since the start of the '06-'07 season, there is quite a list of big name players who have been disappointing in the shootout.

Some of the most prominent players are:

• Sidney Crosby - 6/20 (.300%)
• Alexander Ovechkin - 2/13 (.154%)
• Vincent Lecavalier - 3/14 (.214%)
• Henrik Zetterberg - 2/9 (.222%)
• Evgeni Malkin - 3/16 (.188%)
• Thomas Vanek - 2/11 (.181%)
• Patrick Elias - 2/11 (.181%)

My first reaction when researching these stats was that Crosby's numbers are actually a little better than I thought they were, yet still not as good as I would expect from him. For some reason I'm not surprised that Ovechkin hasn't fared well in shootouts. He's more of a finisher to me than a guy who can consistently take on goalies one-on-one and prevail. The numbers for Lecavalier, Zetterberg, and Elias (and Vanek to a lesser degree) really shocked me. These are craftier players who have been around for a while, and you would think they would be more successful in this setting.

The real question here is whether or not these players are helping their teams by taking part in the overtime shootouts. I recognize that there is pressure for a coach to send out a premier player like Crosby or Lecavalier, but at some point results have to start to come into play. If you look around the league, it isn't hard to find some "no name" players who have excelled at the shootout. Erik Christensen has been a revelation for Pittsburgh, going 11 for 18 in shootouts since the start of last season. Devils defensive specialist John Madden is a somewhat surprising (I think his offense is better than he gets credit for) 4 for 7 when participating in shootouts. And then there is the Wild's secret shootout weapon, defenseman Petteri Nummelin is a remarkable 8 for 9 in shootouts. Certainly these players help show that results count more than the name on the back of the jersey.

This isn't to say the stars should be given up on. For example, Anaheim center Andy McDonald was 1 for 10 in shootouts last season, but has converted both of his opportunities so far this season. I'm simply saying that coaches could probably secure a few extra points for their teams if they looked a little outside the box when putting together their shootout lineups. Would it hurt for the Penguins to try Kris Letang (2 for 2) in Crosby's usual 3 slot for a bit, or for the Canucks to make Trevor Linden (4 for 5) a regular shootout participant? It could mean a few extra points in the standings. And in today's NHL, that can be the difference between making the playoffs or golfing in April.