Let the Games Begin?

So if that wasn’t the most exciting, intense, stressful, awesome, amazing, breathtaking, edge of your seat hockey entertainment, I am not sure what is! This tournament provided some amazing hockey and one of the best finishes ever! You could not write a story better than that! Sidney Crosby scoring the overtime winning goal will go down with Paul Henderson’s goal in 72, Lemieux’s in 87 and the gold medal win in 2002, as one of the greatest moments in Canadian sports history. It was miraculous and it was a lot of fun to watch!

Unfortunately, the Olympics had to end sometime. But do not fret hockey fans as we have a very exciting couple months ahead of us. Here is a look at the Calgary Flames.


With 20 games left on the schedule the Flames must play well above .500 hockey to even think about playing in the post season. They sit with 69 points in 8th position and most would think they need to get to at least the 95 point mark to clinch a position. That means 13 wins out of a possible 20; or a combination of ties and wins to get to that mark.

The schedule ahead is not for the faint of heart either. With games, literally, every other night the Flames better be well rested and ready to go. The thing that scares me the most going into March is the Flames MVP to date, Miikka Kiprusoff. With 20 games to be played and every one of them more important than the last, Kipper is going to be worked like a dog in order for the Flames to come up with the most wins. Kipper has just come out of an intense Olympics where he went through some serious highs (Leading SV % coming into the Semi Finals and a Bronze Medal) and lows (The first period against the Americans). He did not get to rest like a majority of the goaltenders in this league. This includes a bulk of the goalies the Flames are chasing; besides Bobby Lu and Nabokov, but the Flames will not touch the Sharks. That being said, McElhinney will have to provide adequate relief work when Kipper is given the night off. This is yet another reason, I believe, why the Flames are going no where if and when they reach the playoffs. The ‘Mac’ has played decent in relief for Kipper, when called upon, yet is still not good enough to carry any sort of workload. This means Miikka plays more and more and eventually loses steam. This could possibly cause a move for a more experienced back-up this week.

The Flames have put themselves in the precarious position of 8th place going into the break; due in large part to the massive slide they took in January. Coming out of the break, the schedule is not any easier.

The first three games back this week will be critical for this fragile group that has lost 3 of its last 4 games. In these first three contests, they have two match-ups versus the Minnesota Wild. The Wild are one of the numerous teams chasing down the Flames for that last playoff spot in the Western Conference. Until this year the Flames have owned the Wild, but this season hasn’t been the same. The Flames are 0-1-1 against them this season and have been outscored 6-2 in those two games. The Flames face the Wild four times total in the next month and a half; which is 1/5 of their entire schedule. The Flames play against the Wild will be a telling sign as to whether or not the Flames reach the post season.

Are the Flames going to make another move?

With only a couple days left until the trade deadline hits, many Flames fans are anxious to see whether or not D. Sutter will make another move. Given the Flames stock pile of forwards under one-way contracts, you might surmise that a move is imminent. The player to be moved might come from the long list of soon be UFA forwards. A list that includes: Conroy, Higgins, Nystrom, Stajan, McGrattan and Mayers, with Boyd being an RFA. Conroy is pointless to move as he will not bring anything back. Higgins, Stajan and Mayers are unlikely candidates seeing as they just arrived here a short month ago. This leaves Nystrom, McGrattan and Boyd. Boyd has the most upside and would clearly bring back the most in return. The other option would be Langkow who garners a $4.5 million dollar cap hit for the next two seasons. In my opinion, if the Flames deal Boyd, they only give up on yet another up and coming player to early in his career. Like St. Louis, Giguere, Stillman, Lombardi and most recently Phaneuf, Dustin Boyd is a Flames draft pick who is starting to show signs of his potential. Trading another one of our young guys for an older more experienced player (Jokinen last year, Stuart a couple years back, etc.) only sets this franchise further back. I just don’t see a bigger move coming, period. If something happens it will be a player being waived or a smaller deal that opens up more cap room down the road.

That being said, something I do see coming is moving Cory Sarich who has become expendable. His price tag is far too high ($3.6 Cap hit for the next 2 years) and players like Johnson and Kronwall can fill his role at a fraction of the cost.

The Flames have an extremely tough and an exceptionally interesting road ahead of them to finish the season. If the Flames meander about and find their way to get into the playoffs, do not expect a long run as younger, hungrier teams like Chicago and San Jose will crush the Flames in a seven game series.

Kiprusoff is the Flames only hope for success and my guess is that his tank will run out of gas before the season is over.

Pessimistic? Possibly.
Realistic? I think so.

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

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Source of Photo: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61R3AF20100301?type=sportsNews

It's Pretty Simple: Win or Go Home

Did I just jump into the Delorian and go back to the year 2006?

The Canadian Men’s Hockey team lost early in the tournament. They are having trouble scoring goals. They will now have to go through Russia to get to the Semi Finals? Turin sure is lovely this time of year.

The Canadians are in a bit of a pickle.

What is the problem you ask? Well, they must now win four games in succession rather than the three they should have had to win had they beaten the Americans. Oh yeah, and they must also go through, arguably, the scariest team in the world right now.

To start off, there is one thing people keep bringing up and that is the small amount of time this team has had together. Bollocks I say!

Optimists have said that the loss to the USA would give this team more time to come together as a team. But the question I have is this: Why is it an excuse to begin with? All the top teams including the Americans, Swedes, Fins, Russians and Czech’s all have the same amount of time to get to know each other, considering a majority of each of those teams players compete in the NHL. The Americans are not having problems gelling as a team, but Canada seems to struggle mightily and fans and others continue to use that same lame justification. It’s trite and simply should not be a logical rationalization.

However now, the Canadians are out of excuses and out of options; they must win or go home.

They must win or face four more years of every sceptic, pundit, blogger, tweeter, journalist, and hockey fan alike asking you what went wrong when the pressure was on in Vancouver.

With the loss to the Americans Coach Babcock announced that Roberto Luongo will get the start in goal. The proverbial torch has been passed as Martin Brodeur will be a cheerleader from here on out. One bad game can cost you a job, and in this case it cost Brodeur his. It’s not a slight to Brodeur skill as what he has done in his career and for this country will not go unnoticed. It is simply a way to hopefully create a spark for a team that is struggling to score goals despite one of the most stacked rosters ever assembled.

What is the first rung on this ladder that now seems so much higher?

The Canadians have to face a German team that has lost all three of their games and have only scored 3 goals all tournament. Ze Germans have only a handful of NHL regulars on their roster—Ehrhoff, Goc, Hecht, Seidenberg, Sturm, and goaltender Thomas Greiss. The Canadians should be ready to crush this team. That being said, Canada does have their problems with teams of lesser quality (See: Switzerland 06’ and 10’)


Assuming the Canadians get by the Germans, they will face Russia in the quarterfinals. The Russian’s are far and away the scariest team in the tournament. Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Datsyuk, and Semin; all names that would frighten a goalie. They, much like the Canadians though, lost a game they should not have. They faltered in their second quarterfinal game and lost to Team Slovakia in a shootout. A match-up between Russia and Canada that most thought, and hoped, they would see in the final on Sunday. Well, the Olympics have always been a little unpredictable and it is no different this year. One team is going to have to face years of heartache while the other will roll into the Semi Finals.

Assuming Canada takes care of the Germans tonight, tomorrow nights game will be one for the ages. Much like the Penguins-Capitals series last year lived up to all its hype, I would expect no less from a match-up between the two best players in the world.


Sid vs. Alex

Canada vs. Russia

I think the energy in the building on Wednesday night might create the 1.21 Jigowatts needed to take me back to the year 2010. Here is hoping as I am not sure I can relive four more years of hearing

“What happened to the Canadian Men’s Hockey team at the Olympics?”

This has been,

Newman on the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games

Source of Photo: http://media.photobucket.com/image/crosby%20vs%20ovechkin%20olympics/DayWalk3rz/Sid_the_Kid_vs_Alex_the_Great.jpg

Next Stop is not Sochi

Unsure if the NHL will be participating in the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia in 2014? Wonder no longer. They won’t. I know I’ve harped on this before, but I think now that we’re over halfway through the Vancouver Games, we can take yet another look.

The reason the NHL got involved with the Olympics in the first place was to increase the exposure of the game in the United States, leading to higher television ratings. With most media outlets covering the games in some way or another and professional hockey being one of the most popular winter sports, it just makes sense that the sport would receive a ratings boost after the games. This didn’t happen after the games in Nagano or Turin, but often the time difference was cited as the reason. Well, it didn’t happen after the Salt Lake Games either, and now NHL ratings are lower than ever. There is no reason to think this will change after the Vancouver games.

The first blow being dealt to hockey was the lacklustre teams participating. Teams like Belarus, Norway, Germany and Latvia are sent like lambs to the slaughter against the traditional powerhouses. It just isn’t that entertaining watching such lopsided affairs. Added to this is the Women’s event, which has no place in the Olympics. Even the most ardent fan doesn’t enjoy watching Canada beat someone 18-0. The lopsided nature of many games is a big turnoff for the casual fan.

The second problem for hockey is that Americans don’t really like it. This was made very clear when NBC opted to show figure skating last night, instead of the Canada-USA game, which was bumped to the nether regions of the dial on CNBC. NBC is the main American network for the NHL in the United States, and they chose not to show the marquee game of the tournament so far. This speaks volumes of the NHL’s problems down South.

Further evidence could be found on the internet, where Team USA’s major upset wasn’t the first or even the second story on most websites. On FoxSports’ website, the network that broadcasts more NHL games than any other, the game was the third story after one about the upcoming NFL combine and one about the art of singing free agents in baseball. On NBC’s sports site, the hockey game was at the bottom of the page. Some of the stories that came in ahead of Olympic hockey were, “NBA and TNT to Discuss Changes to Dunk Contest” and “Vick Offered $1 Million to pose for Playgirl.” That’s more exposure alright, but probably not what the NHL had in mind.

Now comes the big question of why on earth would the owners risk their prized assets, players with whom they have invested millions and millions of dollars into, for the Olympics, where it is clear they aren’t benefiting one bit? The answer is of course, they won’t. Imagine a big time player getting injured in the Olympics, and missing the rest of the season. More specifically, imagine Kiprusoff getting injured in the Olympics and missing the rest of the season. Any chances the Flames had of post season success would be dashed, all so Finland could have a better chance at winning a medal. Who wasn’t a little concerned when Jarome didn’t play most of the third period against Switzerland? Of course some will argue that it should be up to the players, but I’ll say they’re wrong.
NHL contracts already limit players from things like skiing, sky diving, driving race cars, etc. They can do this for Olympic hockey as well. If I had invested $50 million in someone to play hockey, I sure as hell don’t want them risking themselves to play for another team.

Not only are the owners putting their players in jeopardy, but they’re also disrupting their league’s schedule for someone else’s benefit. Any story lines that might have been developing in the NHL season are all but forgotten by most people now, and it almost seems as if the Olympic year is two separate seasons; one season without a championship and a second season that’s only 20 games long. Of course this isn’t as much of an issue in Canada, but imagine what’s going through a Columbus Blue Jackets fan’s head. His team has no chance of winning anything this year and after two weeks without playing a game, he’s probably lost what little interest he had in the end of the season. He isn’t going to tune in on television, and he isn’t going to spend his money going to the game either.

The next Winter Olympics will be in Russia, specifically Sochi, which is eight hours ahead of the Eastern Time zone; meaning games will take place in the morning in Canada. This means even fewer people will be watching Olympic hockey in four years, than are watching now. If it isn’t worth having NHL players right now, it certainly won’t be worth it in four years from now, in Russia.

-TheRev

Iginla Starts Canada's Engine

Canadian fans everywhere rejoiced tonight as Jarome Iginla led Team Canada past Team Norway in the opener of 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic games. Iginla, who officially scored 2 goals (most thought he tipped in another), found his way to the top line with Sidney Crosby and Rick Nash after starting the game on the third line with Morrow and Toews. Not that Morrow and Toews are bad, but playing with Sid and Nash is just a tad nicer.

Iginla capitalized on the move in the second period firing a shot right threw Norwegian goaltender Pal Grotnes. Crosby made the pass to Iginla who made no mistake.

"The first power-play goal, he put it right on a tee for me," Iginla said. "It was a great pass."(Source: NHL.com).

Flames fans everywhere must have had a giant smile on their collective faces when Iginla lit the lamp; I know I sure did. He looked like the Iginla Flames fans were used to seeing. Flames fans would know though, that he had been heating up just in time for the tourney. Iginla had 5 points in the 3 games, including 3 goals, before the break.

I am guessing Jarome was pretty mad that he had been slotted on third line and knew he possessed the talent to be put on the top line with Crosby. He made it happen tonight with his shot and his legs, which never stopped churning. He was hitting those pesky Norwegians from the moment he hit the ice, and his shot opened the scoring for the Canadian team.

Patrice Bergeron, who was the only player to make the team but not be at the orientation camp in August, did not immediately gel with Crosby and Nash and Coach Babcock took no time in making the switch. It’s been debated whether or not Bergeron even deserved to even be on this team. Yes he is a good player, but is he good enough to be one of Canada’s top 13 forwards? I can probably think of another player that might have been a better fit (St. Louis and Stamkos to name a few). Was it the chemistry from the World Juniors a half decade ago, with Crosby that really earned him a spot on this team? Did Crosby make mention to Yzerman that he might make a good pick? How much pull does Crosby really have?

It’s an interesting debate that will prove futile unless this Canadian team does not claim the Gold Medal. If that happens, much like the 2006 team, this squad will be picked apart and overanalyzed for years to come.

It was a great start for the Canadian team. Bring on the Swiss!

How does that bobsled chant go? “Eins, Zwei, Drei” – Little Cool Runnings for you all.

This has been,

Newman on the 2010 Olympics

Source of Photo: http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/hockey/story/2010/02/16/spo-hockey-canada-norway.html

Playoff Hopes

As the Winter Olympics begin in Vancouver, the Calgary Flames start their hiatus from hockey for the next two weeks. With only three players participating in the games, most players will be enjoying some time off from hockey. It will also be a time to reflect on the final 20 games of the season, and how their success in those 20 games will determine whether or not they’re playing in the post season or not. Something that seemed almost impossible at New Year’s is now a very real possibility; the Flames may miss the payoffs for the first time since 2003.

The Flames’ run to the playoffs will be an uphill battle as they try to hold off Detroit, Anaheim, and Dallas, and catch Nashville, Colorado and Vancouver. With Calgary’s win on Saturday, they sit in eighth place in the Western Conference with 69 points, and 20 games left to play. Looking back at the post-lockout era, there is a problem for the Flames. With only 20 games remaining, the Flames have only 40 points still available. It is a pretty safe bet they won’t win all 20 games, so the questions is how many games will they need to win in order to secure a spot? In the past four seasons, the eight place team in the West has had 91, 91, 96 and 95 points. So in the best case scenario, the Flames would need 22 points, or the equivalent of 11 wins in their last 20 games. In the worst case scenario, the Flames would need 27 points in their final 20 games. To put these numbers in perspective, the Flames have recorded 14 points in their previous 20 games, and in their best stretch this season, from November 4th to December 13th, the Flames managed 27 points in 20 games. Securing the 8th playoff spot will be a gargantuan task for the boys in red.

Securing the necessary number of points will not be solely in the hands of the Flames either. As the League heads into the stretch drive, most games will be within the conference, meaning many games will represent four point swings. Not only do the Flames need to win their games, but they need other teams to lose, and they need them to lose in regulation time. Last week, the Stars, Canucks, Avalanche, Kings, Ducks and Red Wings were all involved in three point games, and with the exception of Colorado, were all on the losing end. However, they all gained points on the Flames those nights, who were unable to get any points.

Is there any positive news heading in the stretch drive? Well, the Flames have a slightly better road record than home record, and 11 of their final 20 are away from the Dome. But, one is against the league’s best team, the Washington Capitals, and one is in Chicago, where the Flames haven’t won since the Cubs were World Series champs. Only 12 of the final 20 games are against playoff teams. But, three of them are against the Red Wings and Ducks; teams the Flames traditionally struggle against and who are in the thick of the chase. The Flames have four games left against Minnesota, against whom they have a 22-7-3 record over the past five seasons. But, they haven’t beaten them in their two previous meetings this year.

Of course anything can happen in the final two months of the season, and I look forward to watching. Perhaps this Olympic break is exactly what the Flames needed to right the ship, and go on a winning streak. I remain fairly confidant the Flames will make the playoffs, but I fear they will be the 7th or 8th seed. Once again they will face Chicago or San Jose, and I am not confidant they can win a series against either of these teams. If the Flames do make the playoffs, it will likely be yet another early 1st round playoff exit.

One final bit of bad news for the Flames is that they don’t have any games left against the Edmonton Oilers, while Nashville, Chicago, Detroit, San Jose, Vancouver, Anaheim, Dallas, Phoenix, Colorado and Los Angeles do. Yet another two points they need to make up somehow.


-TheRev


Photo from: http://www.calgarysun.com/sports/hockey/2009/09/03/10740696.html

Team Canada, eh?

So the team has been named, the moment Canadians had been waiting for since the last Olympics ended in 2006. Now the debate can begin on who should be there and who shouldn’t be there, why this team will win, why this team won’t win, and all the other fun topics. As it concerns the Flames, the debate will be about whether or not Phaneuf, Bouwmeester or Regehr should have been named to the team. Well, I have a confession: I couldn’t care less. I suppose that’s a little harsh, and I guess what I mean is that I’m not concerned, in fact, I’m happy there aren’t many Flames playing in this year’s games.

It isn’t that I won’t be cheering for Team Canada during the Olympics; it’s just that when it comes to hockey, my main concern is the Stanley Cup, not a Gold Medal. I’d rather see the Flames win the cup this year, than Canada win a hundred gold medals. As far as I’m concerned, Bouwmeester, Phaneuf and Regehr not being named to Team Canada only helps the Flames.

This year, there will only be three Flames playing in the Olympics in Vancouver; Iginla for Canada, and Jokinen and Kiprusoff for Finland. These three players won’t have the benefit of a two week break in the middle of the year, and as a result may tire as the season winds down. How often do we hear that Kiprusoff plays too much as it is, and as a result is always tired come playoff time? Well, I wish he wasn’t playing in Vancouver, giving him that time off for some much deserved rest. The Olympics also bring in a risk factor for players getting injured. What would the reaction be of any NHL fan if one of their team’s star players were injured? If Iginla or Kiprusoff were to go down with an injury, the Flames’ season would likely be over. As a fan, I don’t see any reward to this risk, and hence it isn’t one I’m interested in taking.

I see too many downsides to NHL players playing in the Olympics, and I hope this will be the final time we see this. So far, there isn’t an agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA to play in the 2014 games in Russia, and I don’t see one coming together either. I can’t foresee any circumstances where the NHL owners would release their prized assets to play in some games in the middle of the night on the other side of the planet. The argument is that having the NHL players play in the Olympics is good exposure for the league, but is it really? In Salt Lake City at the 2002 games, all the stars were aligned, with a Canada-USA showdown for the gold medal. Did this do anything to expand the game’s audience in the United States? No, TV numbers are lower than ever. In Canada, the game doesn’t need anymore exposure, and if there weren’t any NHL players in the Olympics, Canadians would still be watching and cheering the team on. In fact, if the team was made up of junior players, judging from the annual World Junior tournament I think Canada’s chances for gold would be far greater.

I'll still be cheering on Team Canada, (probably not by yelling Eh, O, Canada Go!), but I’ll make sure to have my fingers crossed that neither Iginla or Kiprusoff (and even Jokinen I guess) are injured as they battle it out for Olympic Gold.

-TheRev


photo from: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2008/04/24/teamcanada-jerseys.html