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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NHLPA's Ouster of Kelly Still Somewhat a Mystery

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Written on 9/01/2009 by Jim Cerny

Many hockey writers and columnists, including Rick Sadowski, here on World Sports Blogs' Through the 5-Hole, have done an excellent job covering the ouster of NHLPA Executive Director Paul Kelly on Monday, as well as analyzing its ramifications down the road, the most important of which will be negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the league in either two or three years. Ken Campbell of The Hockey News wrote a great piece detailing why Kelly's departure from the league is so important to fans of the sport, as well.

But instead of offering up my opinion on the matter, I have been most interested in trying to find out what actually went on during the 11-hour NHLPA meeting that took place in Chicago on Monday.

Today I received some insight into the grueling get together of union leaders and NHL player representatives when I chatted with Steve Valiquette, the player rep for the New York Rangers.

"We were presented with information that I can't share with you yet because I have to first share it with the other players, but let's just say that if you knew what it was, you would have made the same move we were forced to make," said Valiquette.

The back-up goaltender offered that the player reps had been aware of certain "unacceptable" actions by Kelly dating back to his early days as Executive Director less than two years ago. But what the representatives heard during Monday's meeting united them into action against Kelly.

And by united, Valiquette says the player reps were absolutely united, despite published reports to the contrary.

"It was 100% unanimous to remove Paul," stated Valiquette firmly. "We would not have done it if we weren't all in agreement. If one rep was against the move, we would not have done it."

Just because the player representatives were all in agreement does not mean that the meeting was not without some dissension and tense moments. In fact, two key union leaders---including former Islanders captain Pat Flatley---have resigned their posts in the aftermath of Kelly's firing.

"We had to make the right decision to be able to move forward as a union," said Valiquette. "We have great experience in the union now, and a great chain of command."

Still, when it was time for Kelly to join the meeting at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday morning and be told of his fate, Valiquette---despite his strong beliefs---was extremely uneasy.

"It was not fun at all to see him come in the room to be told of our decision," explained Valiquette. "It was very uncomfortable."

Now the NHLPA will be seeking its third leader since hard-liner Bob Goodenow left the union near the end of the league's last labor stoppage. Ted Saskin, who brokered the salary cap and escrow holdings the players now work under, was fired for misdeeds as Executive Director; and then Kelly, who had a less contentious relationship with NHL Commisioner Gary Bettman and his top lieutenant Bill Daly than his two predecessors, did not last two years on the job.

While there was physical proof of Saskin's misdoings---breaking into players' private e-mails, for example---nothing of the sort has been attached to Kelly just yet. Perhaps his greatest misdeed is that the players perceived Kelly to be too cozy with Bettman and Daly, though he often publicly---and in a gentlemanly way---opposed the league on several key matters.

Valiquette just smiled when asked if this is the case, or if the players are seeking a tougher leader for the next round of CBA negotiations.

What Valiquette and the other 29 player reps need to do now is educate their constituency as to why Kelly is no longer the union boss. As reported in The Toronto Sun, there are players clearly baffled as to why Kelly was voted out as Exceuive Director.

In fact, in the Rangers dressing room today---no more than 15 minutes after I spoke with Valiquette---veteran defenseman Michal Rozsival asked a group of reporters if they knew why Kelly had been fired. We referred him to his team's player rep, Valiquette, who promises a team meeting once training camp starts to answer any and all questions.

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