Carnival Of The NHL #2

With no end in sight for the NHL's labor pains, we embark on the second edition of the Carnival of the NHL. I'm sure I'm not the only hockey fan still smarting over the news that the NBA has managed to avoid a labor meltdown while the NHL has immolated itself. But in some mirror dimension, Steve Ovadia is looking at what would happen if the NHL ran the NBA.

With some details on the new salary cap leaking out of the labor negotiations, a number of fans have started doing the math, and like Charlton Heston in The Planet Of The Apes, they aren't sure they like what they've found. Down in Tampa, John Fontana believes the Bolts are going to get hollowed out, and forced to sacrifice many of the role players that proved so critical to 2004's Stanley Cup run. And be sure to check out John's look at how players continue to put their health, and their careers on the line when they don't wear facemasks.

Others are getting prepared for an ugly auction, as teams take advantage of a window to buy veterans out of big ticket contracts. JZ Kumar who concludes that the Leafs have gotten nothing out of most of their trade deadline deals for aging talent other than playoff victories over Ottawa, suggests there might be a bright side to the situation.

One new blogger I found, Carol Lee Sussman of Long Island, took a look at what the cap might mean for the Rangers and the most expensive checking center in the league, Bobby Holik. And in Detroit, Brian List is looking forward to a bloodletting when it comes to the roster.

One spot where the outlook seems to be a bit brighter is in Anaheim, where Brain Burke is taking the reins under new ownership, and according to James Mirtle, maybe even new togs and a new name. For Jim, all indicators are pointing in the right direction in the OC:

Well, in my opinion, Burke is one of the top handful of GMs in the NHL, so this is going to mean nothing but great things for the Ducks. With Burke at the helm, I have no doubt Anaheim will be a playoff team next season and will win their division in the next three to four years.

He’s one of the smartest men in hockey, and, as I said at the time, the Canucks were absolutely out of their minds to get rid of him.

Veteran Canucks watcher Tom Benjamin, has nothing but good things to say about Burke, but wonders if the advantage he enjoyed in the old system might not disappear with the appearance of a "Socialist Hockey League":

Brian Burke does not have any special advantage. The fact that he rebuilt Vancouver without spending money doesn't mean anything because that was the only way to successfully build a hockey team in the old NHL. In the new NHL, I don't think either Burke or anybody else in the business has a clue how to build a good team. They are all, as everyone likes to say, in "unchartered" waters. One thing that does seem all but certain: the quality of the general manager becomes less - not more - important.

For a detailed look at Burke's record in Vancouver, here's Jes Golbez. And speaking of Jes, he's helped launch hockey analysis forward a number of years by adapting Bill James' pythagorean standings model to the NHL. Among the teams that Jes has pegged as unlucky in 2004: the Ottawa Senators:

12 Ottawa Senators -> The Senators have a deep and talented roster, and many writers and fans considered their 2003/04 performance to be a dissappointment. According to expected Win%, the Senators played like a much better team than the real standings would indicate. If the Senators can get a goalie 'upgrade' from Dominik Hasek, the Senators would expected to do monstrous things next season.

For those of you looking for more number crunching, The Puck Stops Here is looking at charting defensemen and finding out whether or not they belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

And speaking of the Hall of Fame, Bruins by Jake has penned another tribute to one of the latest inductees, Cam Neely. And there's one more Hall-related tale that's sure to get you laughing all about the geographically challenged Tomas Kaberle from Hockey Fan Girl.

If you love hockey, you probably have some sort of affinity for old school stuff. Hockey Night In Buffalo brings us news that old school is soon going to get its due on the shores of Lake Erie.

Other quick hits: Mike Chen muses over Mario Lemieux and symptoms of schizophrenia; the Rodent wants a 24 percent rollback of his chargers from NHL Center Ice; On Fire is predicting that Martin Brodeur will soon have Patrick Roy in his sights; and Heather Creegan might not have been writing lately, but she does have some excellent photo galleries from the P-Bruins Calder Cup run.

And finally, good hockey memories are few and far between here in Washington, which is why I was happy to stumble across Greg Kanner's memories of the Spring when "Druce Was Loose."

So, will we embark on the Carnival of the NHL, version 3.0? That depends on who's willing to step up. If you'd like to host, drop me a note, and I'll make all of the arrangements with the carny folk.

Eric 11:47 AM

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Posted by: at June 25, 2005 01:35 AM

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