Who's In, Who's Out?

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Written on 1/20/2011 by Jim Cerny

There's an old saying in sports for teams suffering from many injuries that goes something like "you can't tell them without a scorecard".

Well if that saying really holds true, scorecard and program sales must be skyrocketing this year in the National Hockey League because the amount of injuries---and injuries to key players---has just seemed off the charts this season.

Just taking the past 24 hours as an example, the number of big names returning from injury stints is balanced out by a number of equally important performers in a dizzying display of in one door, out the other.

Let's take a look...

Returning: Tonight will see the return to action of four pretty important players to their teams. Chris Pronger (pictured), out since December 17 with a foot injury, returns to further bolster a Flyers team which is already sitting atop the Eastern Conference. Shawn Horcoff, captain of the Oilers, makes an earlier-than-expected return to the lineup from an MCL sprain that has sidelined him since December 8. Skilled winger Kyle Okposo, out since the pre-season, will see his first game action for the Islanders tonight at a time when the Isles are playing some of their best hockey of the season. And Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard gets the start in St. Louis this evening after being set back briefly by a sore knee.

Those are four very important players to their team, and fans benefit with their collective return this evening.

But with the positive comes negative news, as well.

Sidelined: Montreal Canadiens winger Mike Cammalleri was diagnosed with a separated shoulder and was placed on Injured Reserve today. Even though his production has been down this season he is a vital cog in everything Montreal does. Penguins superstar Evgeni Malkin was scratched from the lineup last night due to an undisclosed injury. St. Louis today placed defenseman Carlo Colaiacavo on Injured Reserve with an eye injury. And the Rangers---who are already without Ryan Callahan, Vinny Prospal, Alex Frolov, Erik Christensen, and Derek Boogaard in their lineup because of injuries---were hit with the double whammy yesterday, losing the team's top scorer Brandon Dubinsky for 3-4 weeks because of a stress fracture in his left leg and dependable 3rd-liner Ruslan Fedotenko for 2-4 weeks with a sprained left shoulder.

And this is just the injury-related news---both good and bad---from the past 24 hours. Keep in mind that earlier in the week Bryan McCabe broke his jaw and Ryan Whitney was placed on season ending long-term IR.

It's been a crazy cycle of injuries in the NHL this year, it seems more so than in the past, but I'd have to research that out.

For some reason it stands out more to me this year than ever before.

Follow Me On Twitter: @jimcerny

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A New Epidemic in New York

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Written on 10/16/2010 by Jim Cerny

You heard about the bedbug epidemic in New York? I'm sure you must have. You know, nasty little critters sabotaging hotels and closing down retail stores in and around Manhattan? Yeah, those bedbugs have become quite the story, so much so that my aunt in Iowa brought it up to me the second my plane landed out her way during a visit this past summer.

But I digress.

There is another epidemic sweeping through the New York area---one that has infiltrated Long Island and into New Jersey, as well. And it affects only hockey players.

It is called the injury epidemic.

It actually began on the Island, taking strong hold and wiping out numerous key members of the New York Islanders. Then the New York Rangers took a few hits in Manhattan as did New Jersey Devils in Newark. And last night the full force of this epidemic came crashing down on the Rangers during their home opener at Madison Square Garden when superstar sniper Marian Gaborik suffered a separated shoulder and team captain Chris Drury suffered the second fracture to his left index finger in the span of a month.

There is no end in sight to this vicious epidemic.

Here's a detailed look:

New York Rangers:

Drury broke his finger blocking a shot during the first scrimmage of training camp. He missed the entire pre-season, and first two games of the regular season, before returning last night. He lasted into the second period when he collided with teammate Michal Rozsival and fractured the finger in a new spot. He is out six weeks. "I am worried about him," said head coach John Tortorella. "He is fit to be tied." Gaborik was boarded by Toronto's Colby Armstrong, suffered a separated shoulder, and the 42-goal scorer from a year ago is out 2-4 weeks. The team's alternate captain Vinny Prospal missed all of training camp with a sore knee. He will undergo surgery Tuesday and is lost for an indefinite period without having played a single shift yet this year. So gone from the equation are three key veterans, including two of the Rangers top scorers from a year ago.

New York Islanders:

All-Star defenseman Mark Streit was forced to undergo major shoulder surgery after being hit during an intrasquad scrimmage that was opened up to the fans in mid-September. He is out six months. Gone is the club's minutes-muncher and power play quarterback. Winger Kyle Okposo---a 52-point scorer a year ago at the age of 22---also injured his shoulder before the season's first game. He is out indefinitely. Center Rob Schremp suffered a back injury, and the Isles lose another key power play performer. He's gone on a week-to-week basis. And just when it doesn't look like it can get any worse, John Tavares---the focal point of the Islanders and last year's first overall draft pick---suffered a concussion on opening night against the Dallas Stars. He likely will return tonight against Colorado, but still....this is The Franchise we are talking about...never good to put the word "concussion" next to John Tavares' name.

New Jersey Devils:

Now in the Devils case, one could argue that their injuries have been extremely timely because some of them have offered salary cap relief via the long term injured reserve list, of course made necessary by the Ilya Kovalchuk contract signing. But again, I digress. Defenseman Bryce Salvador suffered a concussion during the pre-season and is out indefinitely, placed on long term IR. Veteran forward Brian Rolston joined him on IR, and provided signifciant salary cap relief in the process, by undergoing a sports hernia operation earlier this week. He'll be out at least 4 weeks. Rugged defenseman Anton Volchenkov broke his nose on opening night and hasn't played since. Meanwhile the Devils skirt questions about whether or not Volchenkov, too, suffered a concussion. And another defenseman went down this past week when Mark Fraser fractured his hand.

OUCH!

We are a little more than a week into the 2010-11 season and that is a total of 11 key players injured on three teams loacted within a 30-mile or so radius of one another.

It's an injury epidemic.

Don't go drinking the water.

Follow Me On Twitter at: @jimcerny and @thenyrangers

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Tuesday Tidbits on Komisarek, HNIC, the Isles, Rangers, and More

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Written on 11/03/2009 by Jim Cerny


There are so many things I want to get to, and each one could fill a blog entry by itself, but instead I will provide a bunch of NHL quick hits, with a longer column on a singular topic---the Minnesota Wild---tomorrow.

First off, after a long, long day of travel, and travel delays, returning from Minnesota on Saturday, my Halloween night could not have been spent in any better fashion than watching the Canadiens and Maple Leafs duke it out at the Bell Centre on Hockey Night in Canada.

The game had everything you could want. Great rivalry. Back and forth action. Plenty of scoring. Mike Komisarek's first return to Montreal since departing as a free agent on July 1, with the home-town fans spewing their anger at him at every turn. Beleagured Leafs show no quit by scoring twice late in third to force OT. Numerous scrums, much vitriol, and 36 combined penalty minutes.

And finally a shootout victory for Les Habitants.

Great Stuff. Great Theater.

And great throwback candycane-striped jerseys by the Canadiens.

This was not an artistic gem, but it would be awesome if this type of battle was the norm as far as the NHL regular season goes.

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By the way, great work by the HNIC studio crew disecting the issues surrounding the NHLPA. There was good substantive debate, with Glenn Healy's passion for the topic at hand really standing out. I know most fans would rather tune in to Don Cherry's weekly segment, but this was HNIC at its absolute best and most compelling.

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Speaking of the NHLPA, I had a chat with Hockey Hall of Famer Andy Bathgate at Madison Square Garden on Sunday and he had nothing but contempt for how the current players ousted Paul Kelly as Executive Director.

"I bet you these players don't even realize the role Paul Kelly had in improving this player's association by prosecuting (former union head) Alan Eagleson years ago," Bathgate told me. "They have no sense of what has happened before. Just as long as they can count all their money at the end of the day."

Pretty strong stuff, though to be fair, many of the players from the '50's, '60's, and '70's are somewhat bitter that the current crop of NHLers is so much better compensated than the oldtimers ever were.

By the way, Bathgate will be joining me and Steven Gelbs on Rangers Radio over at the Rangers official web site, NewYorkRangers.com, this Friday afternoon. Don't forget to check it out.

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As for the Rangers, don't expect winger Enver Lisin to play tonight in Vancouver. His foot is still sore after blocking a shot Sunday against the Bruins. Christopher Higgins, reported to be on the trade block according to the Ottawa Sun, might get a crack to play on the top line with Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal tonight.

Prospal, by the way, has been named as an alternate captain, and very deservedly so, by John Tortorella. Prospal has emerged as a true leader and powerful voice in the Rangers dressing room, not to mention a strong presence on the ice. He joins Ryan Callahan as an "A" serving under team captain Chris Drury.

One other quick Rangers nugget: 19 year-old defenseman Michael Del Zotto today was named as the NHL's Rookie of the Month for October. Though scoreless in three straight games, Del Zotto closed out his first initial month in the NHL with four goals, eight assists, and 12 points in 14 games.

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And how about those Islanders? Winners of four in a row, after last night's 3-1 home-ice win against the Oilers, the plucky Isles find themselves tied with the Flyers at 15 points for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

In 14 games so far this season, the Islanders have won only five, true, but they have lost only four in regulation. This is a gritty, hard-nosed team, one that was decidedly tougher than the Rangers in a 3-1 win last Wednesday and the Sabres in a 5-0 shutout victory last Saturday.

Seeing Kyle Okposo---no heavyweight---fling Sam Gagner to the ice after a whistle in the final minute last night was awesome because it showed the fire, passion, and desperate nature of this young team. Seeing unheralded Jeff Tambellini notch a hat trick on Saturday, and veteran defensive-minded defenseman Brendan Witt pot a pair last night, makes you think that the Hockey Gods are finally smiling down on Long Island's team.

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Ok, enough for now, though I could go on and on....

On Wednesday I'll have a piece for you on the new-look Wild, featuring interviews with freshly-minted captain Mikko Koivu and long-time favorite Andrew Brunette.

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Phaneuf Hit on Okposo Legal or No?

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Written on 9/18/2009 by Jim Cerny

Scary scene in Calgary last night during a pre-season tilt between the Flames and New York Islanders. Rugged Calgary defenseman Dion Phaneuf absolutely crushed Isles winger Kyle Okposo (photo right) with a thunderous open-ice hit, and the 21 year-old was down on the ice for several minutes before being wheeled off on a stretcher.

According to the team, Okposo suffered a mild concussion, and there is no long-term prognosis on the injury just yet.

Debate is already raging as to whether or not it was a clean hit. Needless to say, you can check out the blogosphere and see that Isles backers thought it was a dirty hit by Phaneuf, while Flames fans see it is a perfectly legal blow.

If you have not done so already, check out the hit here.

I have watched the clip over and over again this morning, and, to me, the most troubling aspect of it is that Phaneuf seems to leave his feet when he delivers the check on Okposo. With that being the case, it is not a clean hit, and thus Phaneuf should have been penalized---he was not, by the way---and should be suspended.

The other part of the hit that is very difficult to determine from the camera angles I have seen is whether or not Phaneuf leads with his elbow. It appears to me that he is leading with his shoulder, but the elbow might fly out right before contact with Okposo's head. Again, that's a penalty and a suspendable offense if the elbow is thrown towards the head. I wish I could say definitively whether or not that is the case. Just can't tell for sure from the videos I have seen.

A couple of other things come into play here, as well. One is that Okposo is hunched over a bit reaching for the puck, so his head is lower than it normally would be if he was standing up straight. Two, Phaneuf is five inches taller than Okposo, so the combination of him being taller and Okposo being hunched over clearly puts the youngster's head in harm's way, even on a clean open-ice check

As for intent, it's impossible to get inside someone else's head and know for sure what their plan of action is/was. Phaneuf, who has a history of bone-rattling hits, as well as some borderline ones, is coming off a poor year last season. He is playing for a new coach in Brent Sutter, trying to impress the new boss and reestablish himself as one of the better defenseman in the league.

It is very likely that Phaneuf saw the opportunity to make a huge splash and first impression on Sutter, and perhaps went over the line with his aggressiveness.

Bottom line from me is that I think a game or two suspension is worthy. To me, he is leaving his feet on the hit. Otherwsie, I would not have had any problems with it, other than the very unfortunate fact that Okposo got hurt on the play.

In reading Katie Strang's story in Newsday today it seems that the Islanders players were more upset with the fact that Phaneuf did not want to fight after the hit as opposed to the hit itself, though goaltender Martin Biron did note that he---like I---thought the Calgary defenseman left his feet to deliever the check.

Not a shocker that Phaneuf said the check was a clean one. "I thought it was a clean hit. I stepped up and used my shoulder." Sutter backed his player 100 percent after the game, as well.

Flames and Isles hook up again Saturday night in Saskatoon, though I can't imagine that Phaneuf will be in the lineup for Calgary. From a common-sense point of view, Sutter needs to scratch Phaneuf in this otherwise meaningless pre-season game so as not to inflame an already volatile situation between the two clubs.

Chris Botta over at Fanhouse disagrees with my take. He argues that Phaneuf, whether the hit was legal or not, should "face the music" as part of hockey's code, especially because he refused to drop the gloves on Thursday night.

I just don't see the sense in knowingly taking to the ice with the knowledge that someone on the other bench is seeking retribution---and could be hell-bent on trying to make a name for themselves with the Islanders in the process---in an exhibition game.

And really, do we need a full-fledged brawl, another black eye for this league? I say, No.

But I do believe that Colin Campbell has to serve justice on Phaneuf for leaving his feet when he delivered the damaging blow to Okposo.

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