Monday Musings

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Written on 9/27/2010 by Jim Cerny

Here's a quick analysis of the top stories from this past weekend in the NHL:

Streit Headed Straight to IR
It can't be easy being an Islanders fan. Or being Garth Snow or Scott Gordon, for that matter. The team holds an open scrimmage for their fans to get excited about its young up-and-coming team, and what happens? The Islanders top defenseman, Mark Streit, suffers a major shoulder injury when checked by teammate Matt Moulson. Word is that Streit will miss 6 months of action due to damage in the labrum and rotator cuff. Other than an injury to John Tavares, could you think of a more important player to go down for the luckless Islanders? I sure can't. Streit is invaluable to this team. It's No. 1 defenseman. It's power play quarterback. A legit 50-60 point player from the back end. A 25-minute per-night ice hog. Respected locker room, and on ice, leader. Barring a trade, and reports say the Isles have no interest in Edmonton's Sheldon Souray, look to James Wisniewski, Jack Hillen, and Andrew McDonald as defensemen asked to step up up offensively. Yikes! What a comedown from Streit, in my opinion one of the most underrated blueliners in the game. Perhaps 19 year-old Calvin de Haan will get a longer look now, though he, too, is coming off shoulder surgery from last season. Plus several scouts have expressed their doubts about de Haan to me, though most reports have him pegged as a solid offensive defenseman. Bottom line, though, Streit's long-term departure is a crippling blow to the Islanders, one that only could be surpassed by a similar injury to Tavares.

Redden Waives Goodbye to Broadway
The news that defenseman Wade Redden was placed on waivers by the Rangers on Saturday was expected. The veteran's play has been in a steep decline for years and his $6.5 million salary cap hit has been an albatross for GM Glen Sather for three seasons. But anytime a team is willing to pay a player that much money not to play---or at least to do so in some minor league outpost like Hartford---is still somewhat of a surprise. I have not spoken yet with Redden, but you would think he and his agent Don Meehan have been preparing for this moment all summer and have thought out all of their options. To keep collecting his mega-salary, Redden must report to the Rangers AHL affiliate. But he and Meehan could try and broker a deal in Europe, similar to what Blackhawks unwanted goalie Christobal Huet has done this season. Either way, Redden is finished on Broadway. And while it is the right move for the team to make, it shouldn't be lost in all of this that Redden is a decent, well-intentioned person. Redden was All-Class all the time. He is not the monster Rangers fans would have you believe. In fact, he is the exact opposite. And I wish Wade and his wife Danica, who just gave birth to the couple's first child last Wednesday, the best moving forward.

Calling Jose Theodore! Calling Jose Theodore!
Josh Harding's gruesome knee injury in which he suffered not only a torn MCL, but a shredded ACL, as well, has Minnesota on the lookout for a No. 2 goalie to play behind Niklas Backstrom this season. While 20 year-old Matt Hackett is viewed as the Wild's goalie of the future, he needs more seasoning and would not benefit playing 20-odd games behind Backstrom. And minor league backstop Anton Khudobin, while being talked up by GM Chuck Fletcher, doesn't fit the bill either. But at the right price, a veteran like 34 year-old Jose Theodore (30 wins, .911 save percentage, 2.81 goals against in Washington last year) or Vesa Toskala (not so pretty in Toronto and Calgary) would be a nice addition. And why wouldn't the price be right? Better to be the Wild's No. 2 than sitting out, staying in shape, and waiting for the phone to ring during the season, all while NOT being paid a cent. Minnesota will head to Finland to begin the season shortly, so Fletcher needs to make a decision soon. If I'm Theodore, I'd make sure my passport is ready to go.

Burke Says Kadri Not Such a Sure Thing
Ok, I'll admit it. When thinking about who the top rookies would be in the NHL this season, I always, and I mean every single time, had Toronto's Nazem Kadri near the top of my list. Not so fast, according to Toronto GM Brian Burke who came down hard on the 19 year-old center this weekend. Burke flat out said that, though, Kadri survived a round of cuts, the kid hasn't shown anything in the pre-season that leads the Maple Leafs to believe he can contribute at the NHL level this season. OUCH! Kadri was a 35-goal, 93 point player in London last year, and his arrival in Toronto has been eagerly anticipated by Leafs fans ever since he was selected in the first round of the 2009 draft. That wait now may just be a bit longer. Burke is a straight shooter. While his words had to have some motivational meaning behind them, I really believe that Burke right now is leaning towards farming the kid out. Kadri's got this week to pick up his play. Let's see how he reacts to a taste of adversity.

Youngsters Shine in Edmonton
19 year-old wing Magnus Paajarvi netted a Hat Trick late last week. 20 year-old Jordan Eberle makes the highlights with two pretty goals and an assist last night. 18 year-old first-overall pick Taylor Hall has a goal and two assists in his first two games. And 23 year-old Linus Omark thrills with his goal-scoring prowess. I know it's only the pre-season, but the Oilers look like they have a lot to be excited about---not just this season, but thinking long-term---with the play of these four exciting rookies. Edmonton coach Tom Renney was loathe to play the kids when he coached the Rangers in the all-consuming win-now atmosphere. But is he now willing to take on this many kids and let them grow together, knowing the inevitable bumps in the road which will come on a regular basis, perhaps more often than victories, to start? I hope so. The potential for the Oilers to be one of the more intriguing and exciting teams to watch this season is growing by the day. Let the Kids Play, Tom!

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This Price is Not Right

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Written on 4/21/2010 by Jim Cerny

Listen, I know that Jacques Martin knows a helluva lot more about hockey than I do. And I confess, I am not in Montreal covering the Canadiens-Capitals series in person, so I don't have my usual inside feel of what is going on around both teams.

But I think Martin is making a big mistake, and showing signs of true panic, in starting Carey Price in goal tonight instead of Jaroslav Halak in the critical Game 4 versus Washington.

I am more than aware that Halak was strafed for six goals, including the overtime winner, in Washington's frenetic 6-5 comeback in Game 2, and followed up by allowing three goals in a four-shot sequence in a 5-1 loss in Game 3 before being pulled in favor of Price. That Halak was pulled in the third game was the correct move for Martin to make in trying to stem the Caps' momentum.

Halak, though, is your No. 1 goalie. You pull him, fine. But you put him right back in there tonight. Without his stellar play, especially after cementing himself as the clear-cut No. 1 over Price the final two months of the season, the Habs probably are not even in the playoffs.

This is no knock on Price, the 22 year-old who has not won a game since right out of the Olympic break. He hung in there in relief on Monday, allowing two goals on 23 shots. But he should be wearing the baseball hat tonight, not shouldering the fortunes of his team.

The move reeks of desperation on the part of Martin. And even though players on both sides praised Price to the sky following the morning skates at the Bell Centre today, I'd be shocked if a majority of any kind privately supported Martin's decision in the home team's locker room.

Yes, Price gives the Caps a different look in goal. He's much bigger, takes up much more of the net, and is a better puckhandler than Halak. But Halak is the better goalie, having the better season, and is the Habs true No. 1.

As I stated yesterday, this is not Bruce Boudreau yanking Jose Theodore, Washington's No. 1 by default this season due to the injuries that sidelined young Semyon Varlamov. Washington's situation is a 1a replacing a 1 in goal. In Montreal that is not the case. Halak clearly beat Price out for the job, has had a terrific season, and should be allowed to prove his mental toughness in bouncing back with a strong start against the Caps tonight.

Martin should be more concerned with his club's Ole!-style defense which has repeatedly stepped aside to allow Washington's high-powered offense a plethora of prime scoring chances.

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Disallowed Goal Not Canucks Biggest Problem

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Written on 4/20/2010 by Jim Cerny

OK, let me get this out there right away. The Vancouver Canucks do not trail the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in their best-of-seven because Daniel Sedin had a goal waved off last night, video review from Toronto ruling he kicked the puck into the net.

Vancouver trails LA because their star goalie has not been good enough, the club as a whole has taken a bunch of undisciplined penalties, and the penalty kill has been strafed by the Kings power play.

One video review, as major a decision as it was, is not the difference here.

I know my friends in Vancouver, who loved me when I predicted a Canucks Cup right here back in early October, do not agree, nor do they love me any more. But if you watch these games objectively, as I do, you can't fail to see the Canucks shortcomings, so far.

For those of you who have yet to see it, here is the replay of the Sedin disallowed goal. That's a 50-50 call which likely could go either way. I think Mike Murphy in Toronto got it right disallowing the goal. Sedin is driving hard to the net, but it does seem like he is looking down to where puck and skates are going to meet, and clearly directs the puck in that way.

The thing is, slow motion shows you things more clearly, and leads you to believe Sedin knew what he was doing in directing the puck in with his skate. But in real-time, that play happens so fast, it's hard to imagine that the hard-driving Sedin could think and react so quickly. 50-50 call either way.

Nevertheless, the Canucks rebounded to score a bit more than a minute after the disallowed goal to pull within 4-3 of the Kings before eventually losing 5-3. Had Luongo not allowed 4 goals on 16 shots, nor had the Canucks not surrendered three goals on three power play chances for LA, things might have been different, and that's where Vancouver needs to focus heading into Game Four.

For the Canucks to win, Luongo needs to be much better, and Vancouver has to find a way to silence the Kings power play, which is now a whopping 7-12 in the series.

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Some other quick playoff thoughts:

I understood, and totally agreed with, Bruce Boudreau's decision to replace Jose Theodore in goal with Semyon Varlamov, and not just because the kid played so well last night, especially dazzling in the first period up in Montreal. Theodore was No. 1 much of this year by default because Varlamov was hurt much of the time. Switching from one to the other here, just like during the Caps first round series against the Rangers a year ago, is easy to digest on the ice and in the dressing room because neither goalie is the clear-cut No. 1.

However, I believe Montreal's Jacques Martin needs to go back to Jaroslav Halak in Game Four, despite pulling him during last night's loss in favor of Carey Price. At one point in time, Halak and Price were even on the depth chart, no clear-cut No. 1 like in Washington. But over the course of the year Halak claimed that top spot while Price, the favored son, did not. This is Halak's team now and he should be back in their starting Game 4 at the Bell Centre trying to even up that best-of-seven.

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By the way, how much fun to watch is that Caps-Canadiens series? Offense, offense, and more offense. Great skating, back-and-forth action, scintillating fun.

I'm not sure you win a Stanley Cup playing this way, but I know I am enjoying watching it!

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I think my favorite player to watch in this post-season is Phoenix captain Shane Doan. One of the nicest, most sincere, down-to-earth stars in this great game, Doan had played in only 32 playoff contests over the first 13 years of his NHL career, spent entirely with the Winnipeg/Phoenix franchise, and none since 2002. Seeing him back in the post-season, playing with a relish and exuberance second to none, has been a joy. Watching him score only the seventh playoff goal of his career in Game Two against the Red Wings was another true delight.

Unfortunately Doan is a no-go for this evening's huge Game Four in Detroit. Doan is out with an "upper body" injury, though coach Dave Tippett says it is a day-to-day injury and that this brief rest should have the captain back in there for Game 5 back home in Phoenix.

Hope so. Love watching Shane Doan getting a crack at skating in the NHL's post-season.

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Second Impressions Positive for Price and Theodore

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Written on 10/02/2009 by Jim Cerny




Among the many story lines and subplots to Opening Night in the National Hockey League on Thursday, one of the more intriguing ones to me was how a pair of embattled goaltenders---Carey Price (above photo) of Montreal and Jose Theodore of Washington---would fair in their first chance at making a second impression.

Let's just say both Price and Theodore passed their respective first tests of the season with flying colors.

Price, the 22 year-old who battled on and off ice woes in Montreal a year ago, was stellar in turning aside 43 of 46 shots in last night's 4-3 overtime victory against arch-rival Toronto. Most impressive to me was how Price controlled his rebounds so well. He didn't force himself into making tremendous acrobatic saves. Instead he positioned himself well and seemed to swallow up shot after shot as a result.

Of the three goals he did allow, two were scored by Matt Stajan on the power play---with one of those a perfect redirection in front---and the other by Alex Ponikorovsky resulted directly off a Hal Gill giveaway behind the Canadiens' net.

It was clearly a solid first outing for Price, whose only misstep was accidentally getting tangled with teammate Andrei Markov in the crease leading to Markov's departure from the game in the third period due to a bad cut caused by Price's skate blade. Sportsnet in Canada is reporting that Markov will miss 2-3 months of action after undergoing surgery to repair tendon damage in his leg this morning.

That is a big blow to the Canadiens, as well as to Price, himself, who loses his top defenseman for a bulk of this important season.

Just consider it another obstacle for Price to overcome. Last year Price fell from grace, with his goals against rising, his save percentage falling, and his off-ice social habits called into question by the Montreal media, and subsequently, by the Canadiens' fans.

For a kid just 21 years-old at the time, it must have been a dizzying turn of events for Price. He had gone from being a national hero---after his superlative 1.14 goals against helped lead Canada to the 2007 World Junior Championship gold medal---to the heir apparent as next great Canadiens goalie following his terrific run in the 2007 AHL playoffs for Hamilton and his impressive rookie campaign in Montreal in '07-'08 that featured 24 wins, a 2.56 goals against, and a sterling .920 save percentage.

And Price had accomplished all of this prior to his 21st birthday. Pretty heady stuff to say the least.

That he took a step back last season should not have been a tremendous cause for concern, especially playing for a team that collectively had fallen backwards, as well. But Price was attacked from all angles, and clearly that affected his play.

Of course, Price did bring much of this on himself---most notably being photographed out at all hours many nights a week at various Montreal nightspots.

The question heading into this season is how will Price, still a kid at age 22, though already in his third NHL season as the No. 1 backstop in Montreal, will accept the responsibility that goes with being a star for the Canadiens, and learn from the mistakes he made a year ago.

There is a long way to go in the 2009-10 season, but Price made a very strong case for himself last night.

Of course if Price ever needed counseling on how to handle the pressures of a roller-coaster tenure in Montreal, he could turn to the 33 year-old Theodore, who arrived on the Montreal scene in 1996 as a hot-shot star goalie with model good-looks just like Price. After finding his footing by the start of the new millenium, Theodore won both the Vezina and Hart Trophies in 2002. Within four years, his numbers and confidence decling by the season, Theodore was shipped to Colorado.

Theodore arived in Washington last season looking to reestablish himself as a No. 1 goalie after a fairly strong 2007-08 campaign salvaged his rough two-and-a-half-year tenure out west. He went out and won 30 games, but critics---and rightfully so---pointed to his talented team as the reason why his win total was so high, considering his middling 2.87 and .900 statistics.

With a chance to redeem himself in the playoffs, Theodore instead crashed. After playing poorly in Game One of the first round against the Rangers, Theodore was replaced as the starter by rookie Semyon Varlamov, who came thisclose to leading the Caps into the Eastern Conference Finals.

Hockey pundits opined in the off-season that Varlamov would be the starter this season for a Capitals team intent on making a run to the Cup Finals. Head coach Bruce Boudreau instead talked up Theodore as the club's No. 1, and followed through by starting him on opening night. Theodore responded with a sharp performance, stopping 19 of 20 shots in a 4-1 road win in Boston.The veteran butterfly netminder was especially good in the first several minutes of the match when the Bruins swarmed the Caps and created their best scoring chances.

Of course, nothing is easy in this game. And as such, Boudreau will start Varlamov in the team's home opener on Saturday against the Maple Leafs.

Though he likely will be battling Varlamov for playing time throughout the season, trying to hold off the youngster's push for the No. 1 spot, at least Theodore---like Price---was able to make a strong second impression on opening night.

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