February 09, 2004
NHL All Star Notebook
Despite an up-tempo start to the first period, it was hardly the most memorable of NHL All-Star Games (a 6-4 Eastern Conference win), with the highlights being Joe Sakic's hat trick, as well as Dwayne Roloson's highway robbery save on Gary Roberts in the third period.
Sakic's hat trick earned him the All-Star MVP, making him one of only five players who have won Hart, the Conn Smythe and All Star MVP trophies. Mark Messier had a goal and an assist in what was his last All Star game, and set a couple of minor career All Star records.
Folks in Minnesota love their hockey, but they love hating Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi even more.
Not surprisingly, much of the talk around the weekend concerned two issues -- the upcoming CBA crackup, and efforts at revising the on-ice product to make it more entertaining.
As for the CBA, Commissioner Gary Bettman (who hinted at the possibility that visors may become mandatory) and NHL Players Association head Bob Goodenow faced off with dueling press conferences in and around a potential salary cap. While Captain Off Wing remains a free market sports fan, it's impossible to ignore the fact that the league is in deep financial trouble. Attendance and ticket sales are down, and the league's current broadcast and cable partner, ABC/ESPN, is making noises about slashing the league's rights fee in the wake of Nielsen ratings that have dropped lower than many ever thought possible.
ESPN Classic was running old CBC broadcasts of past All-Star games, and I caught just a few minutes of the 1980 game from Detroit. The starting goalies that year were Tony Esposito and Don Edwards, both with GAAs well north of 2.50. What a different time, and game, it was. When the league's general managers meet in Las Vegas beginning tomorrow, changing the game is going to be on the top of the agenda. And with a probable work stoppage on tap for next season, the league might actually get a full year to test their new ideas in the minors before instituting them league-wide. And others agree that going slow might not be a bad idea.
For the record, Captain Off Wing likes eliminating the OTL, and determining a winner by shootout after a scoreless OT period, moving the league to just count wins and losses like every other league. As for the other proposals, test them out in the minors first (with the exception of forcing goalies to wear smaller equipment, and eliminating or relaxing the regulations concerning curvature of the stick).
In other off-ice news, most players interviewed by the Canadian Press expressed support for CBC commentator Don Cherry in his latest dust-up with the network, or at least the sentiment that the government ought to leave him alone:
"That's par for the course, isn't it," laughed St. Louis Blues captain Chris Pronger, a native of Dryden, Ont.. "He's supposed to be controversial, right? I know people who don't even watch the game on Saturday night but just tune in for Coach's Corner."
Swedish star Daniel Alfredsson was surprised the CBC stepped in.
"I didn't know it was such a big issue to be honest," said the Ottawa Senators captain. "I think he does a good job at stirring things up. I don't always agree with what he says but I think he's a TV personality and people want to listen to him and he does a good job."
Montreal native Jose Theodore says you can't take Cherry too seriously.
"I can put the volume on and laugh and I can put the volume down and still laugh," said the Canadiens superstar goalie. "With or without volume you just laugh when you see him. I don't take offence. That's just what makes it a good show."
Tampa Bay Lightning winger Martin St. Louis, from Laval, Que., said Cherry speaks his mind.
"I don't agree with everything (Cherry) says but I'm not offended by him," St. Louis said. "He's entertaining, that's why people watch him. He doesn't mind saying what he thinks."
Sunday's ABC broadcast mentioned that this year was the All-Star Game's first stop in Minnesota since 1972, but they neglected to mention that the 1974 WHA All-Star Game was played in Minneapolis. Brian Hamilton of the St. Paul Pioneer Press remembers.
UPDATE: My friends at Canucks Corner aren't buying Bettman's line on the CBA negotiations. Vancouver Canucks Op Ed feels much the same, asking everyone to cut the CBA talk until the end of the season, or at least until the hockey media has something new to report.
Over at the Washington Times, sports business reporter Eric Fisher covers one of the central bones of contention between the union and the NHLPA: the URO, or Unified Report of Operations -- the document the league uses to report its financial health to the players. As far as the NHLPA is concerned, the document seriously underreports league revenue, and efforts to audit the document have already found $52 million in unreported income from four franchises. The Detroit News paints a depressing picture about the negotiations over the renewal of the broadcast rights deal with ABC/ESPN. Thanks to On The Wings for the link.
CORRECTION: Skip Oliva is correct to point out that the NFL still allows regular season ties -- although because of the scoring system, their incidence is quite a bit more rare than in the NHL. I should know, as I endured one of them, and lived to regret it.
Over at Major League Soccer, they've gone in the other direction, with the league introducing the shootout, only to junk it at the behest of purist fans. Back in 1996, the league's inaugural season, the shootout wasn't the only American wrinkle introduced in professional Soccer. In international matches, the clock winds forward, something the minds behind MLS thought American fans wouldn't understand. But, like the shootout, the practice was junked after the 1999 season. Now, teams play two five minute sudden death OT periods.
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That save by Roloson was crazy, frankly - seen some nifty moves like that on both sides of the net, but I'll be marking that event somewhere in my head....
Interesting to see how things move along with the CBA... Not looking good of late, considering what most of the players' quotes have stated.
Posted by:
at February 8, 2004 11:53 PM
I'm generally of the opinion that Jeremy Roenick's hair is the undisputed star of these affairs.
Posted by:
at February 9, 2004 02:51 AM
Um, Eric, you make a good point about changing the NHL to just wins-and-losses, but that's not how every other league does it. The NFL still premits regular season games to end in ties. :-)
Posted by:
at February 9, 2004 10:25 AM
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