Not-So Random Hockey Musings

Some interesting stuff from NHL deputy Commisioner Bill Daly, heard on XM's NHL Home Ice this morning. Among the highlights:

• on Jim Balsillie's offer to keep the Coyotes in Glendale for part of the season before moving the club in-season to Hamilton should he be awarded the team through bankruptcy proceedings: "It is disrespectful to the fans and players involved"
• on Balsillie's claim that the Toronto Maple Leafs will sue the NHL if there is ever a team in southern Ontario: "The Maple Leafs do have a say. They have one vote out of 30 on the Board of Directors...the majority vote of the board will apply." and "It is factually untrue. It wreaks of desperation from the Balsillie group."
• on the job Coyotes GM Don Maloney has done despite being surrounded by chaos this off-season: "Don has done a fantastic job in very tough circumstances....he has isolated the hockey operations from everything else...he is executing on his long-term plan."
• on the NHLPA's firing of Executive Director Paul Kelly earlier in the week: "I was very, very surprised by the steps they took there" and "We are committed to working with anybody who's in charge of the Players Association in order to grow the game."
• on Direct TV's decision to drop Versus: "Certainly, at the end of the day we hope this is worked out....there is still time to get a deal done...both sides are working hard at it....we'll be as helpful as possible in the process."

Check out XM Home Ice to listen to the entire interview with Daly.

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Not surprisingly, another Kelly loyalist has left the NHLPA. Darren Dreger is reporting that Glenn Healy has stepped down as Director of Player Affairs. That is now three union officials---including a pair of highly regarded former players in Healy and Pat Flatley---that have resigned since Kelly was ousted from his post as Executive Director late Monday night.

There have been reports that the union has reached out to former boss Bob Goodenow about reclaiming his position as Executive Director. If that is the case, we may be headed for Armageddon 2 when the current Collective Bargaining Agreement comes to an end. Goodenow is a hard-liner, who clearly has shown in the past a distaste for partnering with the league.

We can only hope that both sides have learned some lessons from a lost season several years ago, though I am afraid that is not the case.

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Quick thoughts on Roberto Luongo's 12-year extension with the Vancouver Canucks yesterday:

1. 
   
   The longer deal makes the cap hit less painful for the Canucks.
2. 
   
   BUT, Luongo will be 42 when the deal expires, meaning that a buyout likely will take place at some point and there will be cap ramifications for that.
3. 
   
   BUT GM Mike Gillis surely doesn't expect to be around when that buyout takes place, so his concern is about the here and now.
4. 
   
   AND the here and now is that, in my opinion, the Canucks are a legit Cup contender in the West with a healthy and happy Luongo between then pipes.
5. 
   
   Finally, the cap loophole being exploited in the contracts for the likes of Luongo and Marian Hossa will most assuredly be addressed during the next round of CBA negotiations.

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On a less serious note, I attended the Rangers Season Subscriber "Meet the Blueshirts" Fan Forum last night at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden. I conducted video interviews for the Rangers official team site with Donald Brashear, Marian Gaborik, and Christopher Higgins, had a chance to chat backstage with team captain Chris Drury, and was able to meet some fans who are followers of this blog.

The fans asked the players some hard-hitting questions, but all in all it was a light and fun event.

Here is the story I wrote for the official Rangers web site about the fan forum.