Gaborik Most Valuable in First Quarter

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Written on 11/24/2009 by Jim Cerny


A quarter of the way through the 2009-10 NHL season is a good time to assess the good, bad, and ugly in the National Hockey League.

To me, the top story has been the plethora of injuries sweeping through the league. That, and the amount of injuries caused by blows to the head, as well as the GMs consideration of tougher penalty calls for such violent hits.

The biggest surprise, in my opinion, is the play of the Colorado Avalanche, though both the Islanders and Coyotes deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the Avs. First place in the Northwest and third overall in the Western Conference, the sorry Avs of a year ago have been replaced by a plucky bunch backstopped by the somewhat-suprising, and quite dependable, Craig Anderson.

The most disappointing team has been the Carolina Hurricanes, hands down. An Eastern Conference finalist last spring, the 'Canes returned much of the same lineup this season, just with much worse results. Their 14-game winless skid (0-10-4) was as shocking as it was embarrassing.

The top rookie? Tough call because this is a really, really deep freshman class this year. Two that have really impressed me ar Philly's James Van Riemsdyk (6-12-18 in 17 games, with four game-winning goals) and Evander Kane of Atlanta (7-5-12 in 20 games, with three game-winners and, like Van Riemsdyk, a +7 plus/minus mark). John Tavares of the Islanders, Victor Hedman of Tampa Bay, Michael Del Zotto of the Rangers, and the Avs precocious duo of Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly will all continue to bear watching as the season moves along due to their strong play, too.

Now, who has been the most valuable player through one-quarter of the season? Anderson deserves consideration for what he has done in Colorado, though his numbers are not eye-popping great. Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk, despite injuries that sidelined both for a spell, are averaging just about a goal-per-game and have both been phenomenal so far this season. Philly's Chris Pronger has been a beast, playing 27 minutes a night in every important game situation, averaging nearly a point-per-game as a defenseman, and carrying a +13 along the way. Anze Kopitar leads the league in scoring and has helped push the Kings into second place in the Pacific Division.

And what about Joe Thornton or Dany Heatley, both of whom have played huge roles in helping the Sharks stay ahead of the resurgent Kings? Or Ryan Miller and his sub 2.00 goals against average and 12-3-2 record for the Sabres?

There are a host of players off to great starts this season. But who is most valuable to his own team? I'd have to say Marian Gaborik of the Rangers.

Gaborik's numbers certainly back this argument. In 21 games played (he missed two because of an injury), Gaborik has 18 goals---nearly one-per-game---and 32 points. He is tied with Heatley for the league lead in goals, and is second behind Kopitar in points. He has also scored at least one point in 19 of the 21 games in which he has played, showing tremendous consistency this season.

Dig deeper and you find out that Gaborik has also been a workhorse, averaging more than 22 minutes of ice-time, among the leaders for all forwards in the NHL. He has also been an excellent penalty killer, while thriving on the power play with seven power play goals, second most in the league.

But dig some more and you find out the real reason why I think Gaborik is the MVP of the first quarter of this season.

Gaborik has put up these elite-level numbers with little-to-no help from his teammates. In fact in a stretch that spanned more than 200 minutes of hockey and ended in the first period of last night's victory over the Blue Jackets, the Rangers did not have a goal scored by a player not named Marian Gaborik or Vinny Prospal. That's a total of six goals, and Gaborik either scored or assisted on all six.

The Rangers have scored 71 goals this season, and Gaborik has a hand in 32 of them.

So even as the only legitimate offensive threat wearing a Rangers jersey every night, Gaborik has still found a way to keep scoring. With that target etched on his jersey, and every coach game-planning against him---and pretty much only worrying about him---Gaborik has delivered game-in and game-out.

Even last night when the story was about a seven-goal outburst by the Rangers, with five goals tallied by others on the Rangers' roster, it was Gaborik who scored the biggest goal of the game. The Rangers surrendered the first two goals of the contest, and trailed 2-0 just 9:31 into play. As head coach John Tortorella and goalie Henrik Lundqvist both told me after the game, had Columbus scored a third goal before the Rangers scored their first, it would likely have been lights out for the Blueshirts. But instead Gaborik scored a huge goal two minutes after the Blue Jackets went up 2-0, and the Rangers took off from there.

"Who else but number 10," Lundqvist said of Gaborik.

There's plenty of hockey left to be played yet this season. But one quarter of the way through, Marian Gaborik has been the most valuable to his team.

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The Sharks Regain Their Bite

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Written on 10/20/2009 by Jim Cerny


Compared to last year's record-setting start, the San Jose Sharks have come out of the shoot in a very halting manner so far this season.

However, last night's 7-3 road thrashing of a hot Rangers team just might be the signature victory that puts the Sharks back on their expected course this season.

"This is the team I expect to see," head coach Todd McLellan said after last night's win pushed his club to 5-3-1 through nine games.

Thirteen different Sharks recorded at least one point, with Devin Setoguchi (2-1-3) and Patrick Marleau (1-2-3) leading the way offensively. But more important to the coach was how his team battled back to escape from an early 2-0 hole...on the road...against a team that had won seven straight games...and with the fourth line contributing a clutch goal to set the stage for the stars to take over later on in the contest.

"(There were) a lot of plays against the boards, and I like the fact our team competed in those areas," explained McLellan. "Often we're about passing and making nice plays. (Monday) night we were about being ugly there, and the nice plays happened after that."

Guess what? That sounds like the formula for winning in the post-season, something that the Sharks have not had much success with since the end of the lockout, really throughout their history.

Last year the Sharks set franchise records for most points (117) and wins (53) in a season. They had a ridiculous .811 winning percentage by the All Star Break, did not lose in regulation over their first 22 home dates (20-0-2), and ended up winning the President's Trophy as the NHL's top regular season team.

All of that is well and good. But the trophy this organization craves is the one handed to the team that is the best in the post-season. And that most assuredly was not the Sharks last spring.

Ousted by the Ducks in the first round of last year's playoffs, the Sharks have not advanced past the second round now since reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2004. Since the lockout they have put up 99, 107, 108, and 117 points in the regular season, only to be knocked out early come playoff-time each year.

This past off-season, GM Doug Wilson added sniper Dany Heatley to the mix, and decided to retain Marleau---who has become the symbol of San Jose's repuation for great regular-season play and post-season failure. In a move as much to relieve pressure on Marleau as it was to embolden team leadership, veteran Rob Blake was handed Marleau's captaincy.

Expected to bolt out of the gates againt this year, the Sharks instead stumbled to a 3-3-1 start, with a disconcerting 4-1 loss in Washington last Thursday most troubling for the overall lack of effort shown by this talented team.

"We've played some pretty poor games so far this season," veteran defenseman Dan Boyle told me last night. "I don't think it's from lack of effort necessarily, though the Washington game was just horrible. I think it's up here to be honest with you. It's a lot of mental mistakes. We've had a few too many of those bad games."

Such was not the case last night. Though they did fall behind 2-0, the Sharks efficently took control of the neutral zone, won the one-on-one battles in all three zones, and dictated the play with a heavy forecheck that had the Rangers scrambling much of the night. The Sharks benefited from sloppy penalties by their hosts, as well as an off-night from back-up goaltender Steve Valiquette, but their battle level was extremely impressive.

"It was a good opportunity for us," stated Boyle. "We've been kind of a .500 hockey club, and they're seven and one, and it's a perfect situation for us to come into their building and get one, which we did. This was solid."

Halfway through a six-game road trip---with back-to-back wins over the Islanders and Rangers following the loss in Washington---the Sharks now need to build on this gritty victory with the Lightning, Thrashers, and Flyers still ahead on the schedule.

A mixture of great play from the stars---Marleau, Heatley, Setoguchi, Boyle, Blake, Joe Thornton---grinding efforts and timely contributions from the hard-working grunts---both Brad Staubitz and Jed Ortmeyer scored last night---pleasant surprises---Ryan Vesce has scored in both games since being recalled from Worcester---and the strong play of goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, is what the Sharks received last night. It is what they will need throughout the regular season. And most importantly, they will need to remember how they pulled themselves up off the mat last night when they get socked in the jaw at some point come playoff time.

"This is a good bunch of guys, and a really good team," a smiling Manny Malhotra said last night. "There's a lot of good stuff going on here."

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Good Weekend for Kessel and Dubinsky

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Written on 9/21/2009 by Jim Cerny



A couple of NHL mini-dramas came to a close this weekend as the Boston Bruins finally traded free agent winger Phil Kessel, and center Brandon Dubinsky ended his holdout with the New York Rangers. Now  if there could only be some end-game with the Phoenix Coyotes situation, the NHL would be soap opera-free, and we could move straight ahead and begin opining about where the Atlanta Thrashers are going to deal Ilya Kovalchuk by the trade deadline.

Dany Heatley traded? Check. Phil Kessel traded and signed to new long-term deal? Check. Brandon Dubinsky holdout ended with new multi-year contract? Check. Francis Bouillon free agency courtship ended with one-year deal in Nashville? Well, yes, check.  But let's not get off-track here.

After Heatley was traded by the Seantors to the Sharks, even more focus was placed on Kessel's saga in Boston. A 21 year-old with one outstanding season among three in the National Hockey League, Kessel was poised to break the bank after his 36-goal campaign a year ago. With the Bruins up against the cap, it was a foregone conclusion that Kessel would be dealt, and, in fact, he was on Friday to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Sounds like a neat and tidy story, yes?

Well hold on a minute. Watching and listening to Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli during a press conference on Saturday, it was easy to see that there was more than a little bad blood built up. This whole process was a bit more complicated that a neat and tidy inevitable transaction.

"We want players who want to be here," Chiarelli stated, insinuating, of course, that Kessel had no interest in remaining a Bruin, at any price.

"This is not about frugality," he continued. "There was little to no attempt to negotiate from the other side."

Meanwhile at his press conference in Toronto, with the glow of a new five-year, $27 million contract emanating from him, Kessel showed none of the anger Chiarelli did. Similar to Heatley, he had gotten pretty much everything he wanted, so no reason to fight back, other than to state that he never asked to be traded by the Bruins.

Damian Cox at The Toronto Star has more on the he said/he said between Kessel and Chiarelli, and the bad feelings that remain.

More important now for the Leafs is how soon can Kessel get back on the ice after off-season surgery on both shoulders, and when back playing, how dynamic can he be without a star #1 center to work with? There is no Marc Savard playing pivot in Toronto like there was in Boston.

Interestingly, one of the names that cropped up in previous Kessel trade rumors was that of Dubinsky, who agreed to terms on a two-year deal with the Rangers on Saturday afternoon after a weeklong holdout.

Now I am of the mind that no player really ENJOYS holding out because of the possible damaged relationships with management, teammates, coaches, and fans, not to mention falling behind in camp. But I truly believe that Dubinsky---while still very much thinking he was doing the right thing---really HATED to holdout.

Dubinsky is, plain and simple, a really good kid. He is hard-working, passionate about the game, and very loyal to his teammates and the Rangers organization. He understands quite well, thank you, just how lucky he is to be playing in the National Hockey League, and for an Original Six franchise in a great city like New York. It is part of the reason why he has so endeared himself to his teammates, and to head coach John Tortorella.

Though Torts called Dubinsky's holdout "stupid", that was more a case of a coach wanting one of his important players in place right from the start of training camp more than anything else. Rangers fans should not worry about anyone involved---and that includes the uber-passionate Tortorella---holding any grudges here. Dubinsky will play catch up and be an integral part of this team moving forward, while remaining a popular presence within the organization.

Torts, who said this morning that he expects Dubinsky to make his pre-season debut on Thursday at home against the Washington Capitals, often speaks of the Rangers building a foundation based on youth. Dubinsky, along with Ryan Callahan, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Matt Gilroy, Michael Del Zotto, and Evgeny Grachev, is a major part of that foundation.

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Ottawa Finally Rids Itself of Heatley

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Written on 9/12/2009 by Jim Cerny

On his club's first day of training camp, Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray was finally able to purge his team of disgruntled star winger Dany Heatley. In exchange for the former 50-goal scorer, Murray was able to pick up wingers Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo, along with a second round pick, from the San Jose Sharks.

Was it a good trade for the Senators? Value-wise, not so much. But Murray had to unload Heatley. The soap opera surrounding Heatley's desire to be traded---which was first raised in May---had gone on far too long and had been enough of a distraction for the team. And with camp beginning, the negativity of Heatley needed to be eliminated from the equation in Ottawa.

Thing is, Murray's first trade of Heatley---to the Edmonton Oilers for Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner, and Ladislav Smid earlier in the summer---was a better deal for the Sens than the one Murray was able to swing today. Heatley, of course, refused that trade. And Murray still has to be pissed with Heatley, who claimed that he only wanted "more options" to consider.

In truth, Heatley wanted no part of Edmonton.

So Murray and the Sens end up with a worse deal---plus two extra months of agita---and the Oilers have to explain to three vital cogs of its team why they were almost traded away.

And Heatley? He gets what he wants. He is out of Ottawa, where he complained that coach Cory Clouston had "limited" his role too much. And he winds up in a beautiful city that features one of the league's elite regular season teams, albeit one that still needs to find its way in the playoffs, where he likely will skate alongside one of the NHL's top playmakers in Joe Thornton.

"I don't think I did anything wrong in asking for a trade," Heatley told reporters today. "I have my reasons for it. If people think differently of me, that's fine. But I believe I did nothing wrong, and I am happy to move on."

In the 29 year-old Cheechoo, the Senators do receive a former 50-goal scorer, though that incredible 56-goal campaign is now four years removed, and his goal totals have dropped each year since to a low of just 12 last season. He is a hard worker, and maybe the change of scenery will do him some good.

Michalek is more likely the bigger catch for Ottawa in this deal. Still just 24 years-old, the former 6th overall pick has put up three straight 20+-goal seasons. He looks capable of being a 30-goal man.

Credit Sharks GM Doug Wilson for being patient on this deal, and certainly for not giving up Patrick Marleau, which had been rumored repeatedly. Wilson also added only $1 million to his payroll. Heatley makes $8 million this year, but the two players Wilson dealt to Ottawa combined for $7 million. That's a good job of managing.

Now let's see if the President's Trophy winners, fortified even more by the Heatley addition, can figure out a way to navigate the post-season.

Or is the Sharks next move to reel in a proven winner---perhaps at the expense of a Marleau---to show the others---Heatley included---what it takes?

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Gillis Gets Defensive in Vancouver

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Written on 8/28/2009 by Jim Cerny

When word was out that the Vancouver Canucks had a pair of press announcements to make today, it seemed that the inevitable was finally taking place: that the club had come to terms with franchise goalie Roberto Luongo on a long-term contract extension.

Thing is, neither announcement was about Luongo. Though you could argue that both were made with Luongo in mind.

Canucks GM Mike Gillis instead sent out word that he had acquired three veteran defensemen to bolster what had been considered a problem area in front of Luongo.


The long-rumored signing of 40 year-old Mathieu Schndeider (left) was made official; and Gillis also announced the acquisitions of 27 year-old Christian Ehrhoff (right) and 33 year-old Brad Lukowich from the San Jose Sharks for prospects Patrick White---a former first round pick---and Daniel Rahimi.

Today's moves brought the Canucks to the absolute tip of the salary cap, though Gillis cautioned that "a lot of things can happen" to sort out available---and unavailable---dollars before the cap is enforced on October 1st

More importantly, the three additions to the blueline will surely provide Luongo---as well as head coach Alain Vignault---a sense of relief. Prior to today the Canucks were looking at four solid NHL-caliber defensemen---Willie Mitchell, Sami Salo, Alex Edler, and Kevin Bieksa---and many question marks. Now the club is seven deep, not including the rugged Shane O'Brien who led the club in penalty minutes a year ago.

"In the West, what we have found is that you can never have enough good defensemen," stated Gillis. "It'll be a very competitive camp, which I like. We want to be as deep as possible."

While Schneider and Lukowich arrive with one Stanley Cup ring each, it is Ehrhoff who was the most important addition today for the Canucks. He is a big (6'2", 205) defenseman who averaged just under 22 minutes of ice-time per game last season. Ehrhoff is also coming off a career-best 42 points, 25 of which were produced on the power play. He will be a quality replacement for the departed Mattias Ohlund, younger and with much more upside, as well.

The question of why San Jose would choose to move Ehrhoff is simple to answer. He is due to make more than $6 million in total salary over the next two seasons, and the Sharks wanted to free up some money to chase a top-six forward before the regular season gets underway. It will be interesting to see if the main object of their desire---Ottawa's disgruntled Dany Heatley---will be more difficult to trade for now that Ehrhoff is no longer a chip in the mix.

Nonetheless, the Sharks search for a goal scorer is not of concern to Gillis, who needs only to lock-up Luongo long-term to finish his off-season to-do list, now that he has bolstered his defense corps.

To that end, Gillis said today that he has "no concerns whatsoever" about a pending deal with his star goaltender and team captain, and that the two sides were "still on course" to finalize the new contract.

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