Well, after a brief 2 game road trip for the Avs, they came home for their first game of the new year to play host to the hottest team in the league, the Vancouver Canucks. The Avs were fortunate to win in Edmonton, after blowing a 3 goal lead; and didn't really start playing until it was too late. Avs need to have something they haven't had in a long time against Vancouver, and that is a complete game. Coming into the game, Vancouver had not lost in regulation in their last 10 games (8-0-2).
Period 1
Avs came out with some jump and had a lot of good chances. Duchene had a good one and was really flying throughout the first period. The teams traded power plays and didn't score. The Avs got a second power play and played well towards the end of it, getting a huge chance, which Luongo stopped. Suddenly, Vancouver had a 2-on-1 going the other way. Hunwick didn't really press the issue, and there was no real support from behind. Andy seemed like he was expecting a pass, and let a pretty weak shot go straight through the 5 hole. 1-0 Canucks. Alex Boulduc, for his first NHL goal. Such a tough game, because not 10 seconds before, it very easily could have been 1-0 Avs if they had buried their chance. Avs outshot Vancouver 10-8 in the first, but entered the intermission down 1.
Period 2
Second period had a good pace to it through the first half. Avs got another PP, but didn't manage to get anything past Luongo who was is clearly on his game for this one. A couple other good chances here and there for both teams, but no goals in the first half of the period. Things really slowed down in the middle of the second, but got quite heated towards the end of the period. A couple of incidents of fisticuffs after the play. No goals in the second, but did have 9 penalties. Still 1-0 Vancouver.
Period 3
Avs came out soft in this one again, and quickly paid the price. 2 bad shifts in a row where the Avs just can't get things out of their zone, coupled with a really weird hop off a seam of the seamless glass, I know weird, right, that just popped out in front of Anderson. Mason Raymond was right there to put it up high for a 2-0 lead. Avs now in DEEP trouble, because Luongo was on his game. With a bit over 6 minutes left, Stastny managed to crack Luongo on a goal that had to be reviewed to be counted. 2-1 Canucks.
Avs realized that they needed to bust their butts at the end of the game, but just couldn't squeeze one past Luongo to save their lives. Their really good chances just didn't get on goal, a big thing that has been hurting the Avs. When they are struggling, they just don't seem to get anything on net.
Andy was good, probably could have been better on the first goal that he gave up, but really kept the Avs in the game. Nothing he could have done about that second goal, just a horrible hop that went straight to the Canucks player in front.
PK has been better. Avs killed all PPs in Edmonton and Calgary, and now against Vancouver tonight. Considering the Avs were last in the league in PK at home coming into tonight, definitely a plus.
Sedins held off the board tonight, and only had 3 shots between the two of them. That is huge, because those guys are just rolling right now. Good signs defensively, though, the Avs are still struggling hard core getting the puck out of your own zone.
Hurts even worst because the Avs are now down 8 points to the Canucks, haven't managed to beat them this year. Avs have a pretty nice January, 12 games, no back to backs, and only 2 games on the road. Avs play Buffalo next on Tuesday, gotta find a way to score. See you then.
Showing posts with label Vancouver Canucks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vancouver Canucks. Show all posts
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Vancouver Woes
The Avs are having issues in Vancouver. Not just troubles of the winning kind either. Though the Avs just did lose tonight, 4-2, they lost a bunch more than just a game. For the second time in as many trips to Vancouver, the Avs lost goalie Craigh Anderson, this time to an apparent groin injury. Then, later in the game, Adam Foote went down with a leg injury that sure didn't look too nice in the replay. A knee to knee incident where you immediately saw that Foote couldn't support his weight anymore, and had to be helped off of the ice.
As if that wasn't enough, the game winning goal for Vancouver was scored when Tambellini, #10 for the Cannucks, hit backup goalie, Peter Budaj, in the head with his stick, which then bopped an airborne puck straight back into the net. This was the second game in a row where Vancouver scored a goal off of Budaj's head. You just can't ask for luck this bad against a team.
Plus, after the Avs had pulled back to within one goal, they managed to give the puck away at their own blue line which lead from one Sedin, to the other, then the Alex Burrows, and then to the back of the net. This was definitely more about poor puck possession than bad luck, but the whole night was just off for the Avs. Poor play in their own zone, constantly making bad attempts to clear the puck which resulted in several shifts where they were pretty much just running around in their own zone, not getting enough offensive pressure, and still taking too many penalties (though they did manage to keep Vancouver's #1 rated power play off of the score board tonight) led to this loss.
The Avs play tomorrow in Edmonton, and they had better look better than they did tonight. Joe Sacco said in the teams pre-game skate that these three games, which started with the Cannucks tonight, should be easy ones to motivate for. Well, while they weren't as horrible as they were the last time they played the Cannucks, they sure didn't look as if they were ready to come out and beat the Cannucks tonight. Tomorrow against the Oilers, a team that they should definitely beat, and then again on Saturday against the Wild, another team that has been bottom dwelling, that they should beat. Let's see how motivated and prepared this team is, because games against those kinds of teams, the teams that you really should be whenever you play them, is one of the things that will make you or break you when it's time to see who makes the playoffs.
As if that wasn't enough, the game winning goal for Vancouver was scored when Tambellini, #10 for the Cannucks, hit backup goalie, Peter Budaj, in the head with his stick, which then bopped an airborne puck straight back into the net. This was the second game in a row where Vancouver scored a goal off of Budaj's head. You just can't ask for luck this bad against a team.
Plus, after the Avs had pulled back to within one goal, they managed to give the puck away at their own blue line which lead from one Sedin, to the other, then the Alex Burrows, and then to the back of the net. This was definitely more about poor puck possession than bad luck, but the whole night was just off for the Avs. Poor play in their own zone, constantly making bad attempts to clear the puck which resulted in several shifts where they were pretty much just running around in their own zone, not getting enough offensive pressure, and still taking too many penalties (though they did manage to keep Vancouver's #1 rated power play off of the score board tonight) led to this loss.
The Avs play tomorrow in Edmonton, and they had better look better than they did tonight. Joe Sacco said in the teams pre-game skate that these three games, which started with the Cannucks tonight, should be easy ones to motivate for. Well, while they weren't as horrible as they were the last time they played the Cannucks, they sure didn't look as if they were ready to come out and beat the Cannucks tonight. Tomorrow against the Oilers, a team that they should definitely beat, and then again on Saturday against the Wild, another team that has been bottom dwelling, that they should beat. Let's see how motivated and prepared this team is, because games against those kinds of teams, the teams that you really should be whenever you play them, is one of the things that will make you or break you when it's time to see who makes the playoffs.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
NHL Season Preview: Western Conference!
We are still plenty early in the season, so I thought that I would take a moment to give my season preview for the NHL. People are quite familiar with my feelings on hockey, as I do believe that it is currently the most exciting game to watch in the world right now, and I certainly hope that you all will join me and my excitement for this exhilarating game! Now, let's have a look at each division and conference. Starting with the best conference, the Western Conference.
Central Division:
Chicago Blackhawks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues.
All of these teams, except for the Preds, have colors in them. Fun fact, but completely irrelevant to the conversation. Now, as many people know, the Blackhawks are the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. They just raised their Stanley Cup Championship Banner the other night. But their offseason was not pretty. Serious salary cap issues forced them to get rid of a number of the players that were key to getting them to that Stanley Cup. Most notably, Dustin Byfuglien and Antti Niemi. Niemi played incredibly on their way to the cup, and Byfuglien could not be stopped from in front of the net. They did pick up Marty Turco, life-long good regular season goalie but playoff choke artist, to help them out in goal, but the physical presence that Byfuglien brought will be sorely missed.
The Detroit Red Wings made waves by signing long time rival Mike Modano. Jimmy Howard played great for them in goal last year, and was a Calder finalist, NHL rookie of the year award, the big question will be about whether or not he can avoid a sophomore slump. They didn't really do too much, otherwise, to make themselves any younger, and the question for the Wings does revolve around whether or not they remain too old. There is no doubt of their skill, with players like Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and others, but will they be able to push past other teams in their division.
The sleeper team in this division is the St. Louis Blues. Now, you might say what about Nashville, well they've been the sleeper in this division for a while. Usually competitive, but just not quite there. The big thing that makes the Blues a possibility is their big goalie acquisition this year. Jaraslov Halak. Now, Halak played OUT OF HIS MIND in last year's playoffs with the Montreal Canadiens. The big question is was this just a random fluke, or can he be the real deal? Now, people are fare too excited about him right now, claiming that he is this absolutely legit goalie, but one decent playoff run does not a franchise goalie make. He played scary good last year, no denying that, but we'll see what he's made of with a young Blues team that has a lot of talent, but a lot of shortcomings too. This team could be a surprise.
Columbus is the sad story in this division. Mainly because they just are never able to get over that hump. They have never been able to build a solid foundation around Rick Nash, and probably won't. Nash's contract keeps him in Columbus until 2018, but he may want out before that since he will never, EVER win a Stanley Cup in Columbus.
Division Winner: I hate to do it, but I think Detroit will benefit from Chicago's losses. Chicago will play well, and make the playoffs, but I think Detroit will take this division.
Northwest Division:
Calgary Flames
Colorado Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers
Minnesota Wild
Vancouver Cannucks
This is always one of the most difficult divisions to win. Each team, regardless of how well they are playing that season, always plays the others very hard. Vancouver has had a stranglehold on this division for the last few years, and I really don't see that changing this year. I'm a bit perplexed though. Vancouver is over the salary cap, and I'm not certain what the penalty is for that. You would think they would be forced to comply, but it doesn't look like anything is happening. I'll have to try and figure more of that out.
Edmonton managed to win their opening game of the season, and they will be quite exciting to watch, with a lot of really young talent, but I wouldn't count on them getting out of the basement this year. They may be ahead of Minnesota, but they won't make the playoffs by a long shot.
The big question, in my mind, in this division revolves around the Colorado Avalanche. Not just because they are my favorite team, but because they had a huge turn around last year, and everybody is curious about whether that was a fluke, or if they will be the real deal. Matt Duchene is the real deal, and that kid will only get better. Chris Stewart showed some amazing game last year, but the contract year question lingers around him. Did he play that well because it was a contract year, or because he's really that good? I think it is the latter, but we will see. And, of course, Craig Anderson. Last year, no goalie saw more shots, or stopped more shots, than Craig Anderson. Can he be as lights out as he was last year? In my opinion, they aren't going to want to play him as many games as they did last year. If they can get 10 more quality starts than last year out of Budaj, Anderson should stay fresh. Anderson, as it happens, is now in a contract year as well. So count on him playing his best so that he can lock up a long term deal with the Avs.
Division winner: Vancouver.
Pacific Division:
Anaheim Ducks
Dallas Stars
Los Angeles Kings
Phoenix Coyotoes
San Jose Sharks
San Jose has dominated this division for years, but are they now yesterday's news? They are still loaded, there is no doubt about that. Marleau, Thorton, Heatley, plus the likes of Pavelski and Setoguchi, and Dan Boyle. Now a Stanley Cup winning goalie in Antti Niemi. People seem to think that San Jose managed to life their stigma of choke artists last year. I disagree. When you are the best team in the conference, you should be expected to win your conference. They have yet to do this. Should we say that they aren't choking just because they managed not to lose right away? To me, they are still chokers, they just didn't choke as bad as they usually do. Here's the cookie that you so richly deserve.
A lot of other interesting things though. The LA Kings are hot on the heels of the Sharks, as are the Phoenix Coyotes. The Kings are young, but have great veteran leadership as well. Ryan Smyth isn't what he used to be, but that guy will always work his guts out for you, and is a great stabilizing presence on the power play. The youth of this team is insanely gifted. Led by Drew Doughty, a finalist for the Norris Trophy (NHL's best defenseman last) last year, they also have the best scorer that nobody knows about, Anze Kopitar, on their team. Jonathan Quick also had a great year last year, in goal, and, should he improve, may be able to push the Kings to places they haven't seen since The Great One was in town.
The Coyotes are also quite talented. They finally have a stable goalie in Ilya Bryzgalov, who is also in a contract year. They also have an amazing core of young talent. A great acquisition from the Avs, Wojtek Wolski brings size, speed, and ability. Then add in the wiley veterans Shane Doan and very savvy offseason pick up of Ray Whitney, and you have a dangerous team. They're quite big and powerful on the blue line, as well, and really have great potential for this division. They are kind of the sexy pick to win the division.
Divison winner: I can't resist the sexiness, Phoenix wins the division, but people in Arizona still don't care about hockey. Sorry Gary Bettman.
Tune in next time for the preview of the Eastern Conference! Should be a good one!
Central Division:
Chicago Blackhawks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues.
All of these teams, except for the Preds, have colors in them. Fun fact, but completely irrelevant to the conversation. Now, as many people know, the Blackhawks are the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. They just raised their Stanley Cup Championship Banner the other night. But their offseason was not pretty. Serious salary cap issues forced them to get rid of a number of the players that were key to getting them to that Stanley Cup. Most notably, Dustin Byfuglien and Antti Niemi. Niemi played incredibly on their way to the cup, and Byfuglien could not be stopped from in front of the net. They did pick up Marty Turco, life-long good regular season goalie but playoff choke artist, to help them out in goal, but the physical presence that Byfuglien brought will be sorely missed.
The Detroit Red Wings made waves by signing long time rival Mike Modano. Jimmy Howard played great for them in goal last year, and was a Calder finalist, NHL rookie of the year award, the big question will be about whether or not he can avoid a sophomore slump. They didn't really do too much, otherwise, to make themselves any younger, and the question for the Wings does revolve around whether or not they remain too old. There is no doubt of their skill, with players like Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and others, but will they be able to push past other teams in their division.
The sleeper team in this division is the St. Louis Blues. Now, you might say what about Nashville, well they've been the sleeper in this division for a while. Usually competitive, but just not quite there. The big thing that makes the Blues a possibility is their big goalie acquisition this year. Jaraslov Halak. Now, Halak played OUT OF HIS MIND in last year's playoffs with the Montreal Canadiens. The big question is was this just a random fluke, or can he be the real deal? Now, people are fare too excited about him right now, claiming that he is this absolutely legit goalie, but one decent playoff run does not a franchise goalie make. He played scary good last year, no denying that, but we'll see what he's made of with a young Blues team that has a lot of talent, but a lot of shortcomings too. This team could be a surprise.
Columbus is the sad story in this division. Mainly because they just are never able to get over that hump. They have never been able to build a solid foundation around Rick Nash, and probably won't. Nash's contract keeps him in Columbus until 2018, but he may want out before that since he will never, EVER win a Stanley Cup in Columbus.
Division Winner: I hate to do it, but I think Detroit will benefit from Chicago's losses. Chicago will play well, and make the playoffs, but I think Detroit will take this division.
Northwest Division:
Calgary Flames
Colorado Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers
Minnesota Wild
Vancouver Cannucks
This is always one of the most difficult divisions to win. Each team, regardless of how well they are playing that season, always plays the others very hard. Vancouver has had a stranglehold on this division for the last few years, and I really don't see that changing this year. I'm a bit perplexed though. Vancouver is over the salary cap, and I'm not certain what the penalty is for that. You would think they would be forced to comply, but it doesn't look like anything is happening. I'll have to try and figure more of that out.
Edmonton managed to win their opening game of the season, and they will be quite exciting to watch, with a lot of really young talent, but I wouldn't count on them getting out of the basement this year. They may be ahead of Minnesota, but they won't make the playoffs by a long shot.
The big question, in my mind, in this division revolves around the Colorado Avalanche. Not just because they are my favorite team, but because they had a huge turn around last year, and everybody is curious about whether that was a fluke, or if they will be the real deal. Matt Duchene is the real deal, and that kid will only get better. Chris Stewart showed some amazing game last year, but the contract year question lingers around him. Did he play that well because it was a contract year, or because he's really that good? I think it is the latter, but we will see. And, of course, Craig Anderson. Last year, no goalie saw more shots, or stopped more shots, than Craig Anderson. Can he be as lights out as he was last year? In my opinion, they aren't going to want to play him as many games as they did last year. If they can get 10 more quality starts than last year out of Budaj, Anderson should stay fresh. Anderson, as it happens, is now in a contract year as well. So count on him playing his best so that he can lock up a long term deal with the Avs.
Division winner: Vancouver.
Pacific Division:
Anaheim Ducks
Dallas Stars
Los Angeles Kings
Phoenix Coyotoes
San Jose Sharks
San Jose has dominated this division for years, but are they now yesterday's news? They are still loaded, there is no doubt about that. Marleau, Thorton, Heatley, plus the likes of Pavelski and Setoguchi, and Dan Boyle. Now a Stanley Cup winning goalie in Antti Niemi. People seem to think that San Jose managed to life their stigma of choke artists last year. I disagree. When you are the best team in the conference, you should be expected to win your conference. They have yet to do this. Should we say that they aren't choking just because they managed not to lose right away? To me, they are still chokers, they just didn't choke as bad as they usually do. Here's the cookie that you so richly deserve.
A lot of other interesting things though. The LA Kings are hot on the heels of the Sharks, as are the Phoenix Coyotes. The Kings are young, but have great veteran leadership as well. Ryan Smyth isn't what he used to be, but that guy will always work his guts out for you, and is a great stabilizing presence on the power play. The youth of this team is insanely gifted. Led by Drew Doughty, a finalist for the Norris Trophy (NHL's best defenseman last) last year, they also have the best scorer that nobody knows about, Anze Kopitar, on their team. Jonathan Quick also had a great year last year, in goal, and, should he improve, may be able to push the Kings to places they haven't seen since The Great One was in town.
The Coyotes are also quite talented. They finally have a stable goalie in Ilya Bryzgalov, who is also in a contract year. They also have an amazing core of young talent. A great acquisition from the Avs, Wojtek Wolski brings size, speed, and ability. Then add in the wiley veterans Shane Doan and very savvy offseason pick up of Ray Whitney, and you have a dangerous team. They're quite big and powerful on the blue line, as well, and really have great potential for this division. They are kind of the sexy pick to win the division.
Divison winner: I can't resist the sexiness, Phoenix wins the division, but people in Arizona still don't care about hockey. Sorry Gary Bettman.
Tune in next time for the preview of the Eastern Conference! Should be a good one!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Free Agency: NHL Style
I am definitely well aware of the fact that I am late on starting this, but that is not a problem. I must also apologize for not writing in quite a while. My wife and I have been quite busy moving. I got a new job up in Colorado, HOME STATE BABY!, and we have been quite busy packing and such. So that is why I have taken quite a while in updating this. So again, my apologies.
Now, I'm going to focus my attention on my hometown boys, the Colorado Avalanche, for the vast majority of this. Now, Greg Sherman, Avalanche GM, has made it abundantly clear that they are committed to a "build from within" style of management. Looking to "not take any shortcuts through trades or free agency." In general, I'm a fan of this idea, but there are some negatives. The good about it being that you are going to put your faith in your players, and allow them to prove themselves. You keep a core of guys together that you know work, and that ensures some great chemistry, and a pretty low payroll. We saw that promoting Joe Sacco was a great success for the Avs, as were many of the players that he brought up with him from Lake Eerie, the Avs AHL affiliate. The problem with this being that they are absolutely refusing to even consider making any signings out of free agency.
Don't get me wrong here, I understand the concept of not really wanting to shell out insane amounts of dollars to players that don't really deserve the contract, and I understand that the Avs have been guilty of that before (i.e. Ryan Smyth, Scott Hannan), but there were/are 2 players that I desperately wish the Avs had pursued during this time period. First, and most obviously, Ilya Kovalchuk. The Avs have slightly more than 30 million dollars worth of cap space this offseason, and could totally use a legit, all-star, sniper left wing that everybody has to pay attention to. Yes, his contract demands (10 million per year for 10-12 years) are pretty ridiculous, but the Avs are one of the teams out there that could actually afford this and still have some space left. I'd be happier with the whole 8 million a year for 8 years, but Kovy, and apparently the Avs, seem to have different plans. The other guy I really wanted, and is a totally moot point so I won't go too deep into it, was Anton Volchenkov. Just a beast of a shot blocking defensemen who is far more physical than any of the D-men we currently have on our roster. Oh well, I suppose that even though both of these guys are good LONG TERM options who are still quite young, Sherman believes that this is shortcutting, and would hurt the team in the long run. I call BS on that.
So far, 3 days into free agency, I'm most surprised at how crazily busy the Vancouver Cannucks have been. They have signed all kinds of folks, including coveted d-man Dan Hamhuis. This is a team that has won the NW division the last 2 seasons, and 3 out of the last 4 years. The NW is usually one of the most competitive in the NHL, and the Cannucks are showing that they realize this. I honestly think that they are the most likely to win it again, and have shown their fans that they are committed to getting better. What are the Avs showing? I'm not entirely certain yet. I'll let the year play out before I decide that this build from within strategy is bogus or not. But I can't imagine that the exact same guys are going to be THAT much better from one year to the next. Especially since we gave up so many shots last year, and Andy can't be as amazing as he was all the time. Eventually, he'll get tired of being peppered every single night.
So far, I give the Avs a D- for their performance during free agency.
Now, I'm going to focus my attention on my hometown boys, the Colorado Avalanche, for the vast majority of this. Now, Greg Sherman, Avalanche GM, has made it abundantly clear that they are committed to a "build from within" style of management. Looking to "not take any shortcuts through trades or free agency." In general, I'm a fan of this idea, but there are some negatives. The good about it being that you are going to put your faith in your players, and allow them to prove themselves. You keep a core of guys together that you know work, and that ensures some great chemistry, and a pretty low payroll. We saw that promoting Joe Sacco was a great success for the Avs, as were many of the players that he brought up with him from Lake Eerie, the Avs AHL affiliate. The problem with this being that they are absolutely refusing to even consider making any signings out of free agency.
Don't get me wrong here, I understand the concept of not really wanting to shell out insane amounts of dollars to players that don't really deserve the contract, and I understand that the Avs have been guilty of that before (i.e. Ryan Smyth, Scott Hannan), but there were/are 2 players that I desperately wish the Avs had pursued during this time period. First, and most obviously, Ilya Kovalchuk. The Avs have slightly more than 30 million dollars worth of cap space this offseason, and could totally use a legit, all-star, sniper left wing that everybody has to pay attention to. Yes, his contract demands (10 million per year for 10-12 years) are pretty ridiculous, but the Avs are one of the teams out there that could actually afford this and still have some space left. I'd be happier with the whole 8 million a year for 8 years, but Kovy, and apparently the Avs, seem to have different plans. The other guy I really wanted, and is a totally moot point so I won't go too deep into it, was Anton Volchenkov. Just a beast of a shot blocking defensemen who is far more physical than any of the D-men we currently have on our roster. Oh well, I suppose that even though both of these guys are good LONG TERM options who are still quite young, Sherman believes that this is shortcutting, and would hurt the team in the long run. I call BS on that.
So far, 3 days into free agency, I'm most surprised at how crazily busy the Vancouver Cannucks have been. They have signed all kinds of folks, including coveted d-man Dan Hamhuis. This is a team that has won the NW division the last 2 seasons, and 3 out of the last 4 years. The NW is usually one of the most competitive in the NHL, and the Cannucks are showing that they realize this. I honestly think that they are the most likely to win it again, and have shown their fans that they are committed to getting better. What are the Avs showing? I'm not entirely certain yet. I'll let the year play out before I decide that this build from within strategy is bogus or not. But I can't imagine that the exact same guys are going to be THAT much better from one year to the next. Especially since we gave up so many shots last year, and Andy can't be as amazing as he was all the time. Eventually, he'll get tired of being peppered every single night.
So far, I give the Avs a D- for their performance during free agency.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
New Decade, Old Memory
All sorts of places have been making a big deal about how we are now in a new decade, and have been reviewing certain events of the last decade. Best game, biggest upsets, greatest goals, etc... I think I'm going to go ahead and get in on that action (a little late, but still getting in on it nonetheless. This particular event, whenever I re-visit it, always makes me mad for a few different reasons.
In 2004, the Colorado Avalanche has a very heated rivalry going with the Vancouver Canucks. Things began to go even farther with this rivalry when Steve Moore had a questionable hit on Markus Naslund. Here's a link for that with some "interesting" remarks made by former Avalanche Coach, then Vancouver coach, Marc Crawford. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owpYYNjWnro) I have to say that this is the point in history where I lost all respect for Crawford, which is tough considering he was the coach when the Avs won their first cup. The assertion that this was a cheap hit, and that the refs should have more respect and make a call when it was a hit on a star player. I'm sorry, Marc, this is not the NBA, and he is not Kobe Bryant. Do star players get preferential treatment? Sure, that's impossible to deny, but don't act like every single time a star player gets hit hard in an emotional game that the refs need to call a penalty. It was a tough hit, and ended baldy based off of a lot of circumstances. Naslund was stretched out, which caused his head to be much lower than it otherwise would have been. He was stretching out as Moore moved in to make a shoulder check on him, which, when thrown all together at the same time, caused a bad hit with an elbow. THAT, however, is not what really caused the problem. That was not enough to give Naslund the concussion that he suffered at the end of this play. Naslund, as many hockey players do, doesn't have his helmet fully secured, and you can see that his helmet slid off just enough that, when he did get to the ice, his head had no protection. THAT, caused the concussion. You can argue all you want about this, but the league ruled and it ruled correctly in saying that this was not a penalty, nor was it a dirty hit by any means. No suspension was given, and none should have been given, no matter who was hit in this play.
The unfortunate part about this lead to what I see as one of the most disgusting acts I have ever seen, if not THE most disgusting and cowardly act, in sports. The infamous sucker punch on Steve Moore by Todd Bertuzzi. Here's a link to that. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA8cdtpV0vM). Again, say whatever you want about this incident, this was a premeditated assault. How do we know this? It was well publicized that the Canucks were talking about getting back at Moore, and that there was a price on his head. Plus, the next year, when Brad May, then of the Canucks, signed with the Avalanche, he admitted to the press that they had planned on getting Moore in the Canuck locker room. All of this leads to bigger questions about the league and the way it is currently run, but for the time being, I'll relegate myself to the "discipline" that was given to Bertuzzi. He was suspended for the rest of the season, and the playoffs, which ended up being a grand total of 17 games, and was then re-instated the next season. Before you start, YES, I know that the official "next season" was the year of the lockout. I am speaking of the next time that there was a season. At that time, our all knowledgeable, please notice the sarcasm, Commish (Gary Bettman) determined that a full year of suspension was enough of a punsihment, and brought him back. Here's the only issue, he wasn't suspended that season, he was locked out. Nobody played, so for Bettman to say that there was an extra punishment of missing a season is completely and totally false. But Bettman, in his George W. Bush-like way of running things, is always convinced that he is in the right, and has never second guessed this ruling. So while Bertuzzi continues to play for millions of dollars, Steve Moore still sits at home, suffering from post-concussion syndrome, with fracture in his neck that will never allow him to play hockey again. Criminal charges were brought against Bertuzzi, and he pled guilty, and was sentence to community service. Ask yourself, if this was Marty McSorely, or Bob Probert, or some other notorious thug, would they have gotten this leniency? We know the answer to that question.
It continues to shock and amaze me that Bertuzzi is even allowed near a rink anymore, let alone allowed to play the game of hockey. True, his career has definitely gone down a few notches ever since this incident, a bit of karma if you ask me, yet the man still plays. The bigger problem this creates is that Bettman constantly claims that things like this have no place in hockey, yet he enables a goon like Bertuzzi to get away with this kind of action. His penalty was a slap on the wrist for breaking somebody's neck, and until the NHL gets a commissioner that has the guts to stand up against hits like this for real, somebody who won't tolerate it no matter how many goals the goon scores, until the NHL gets somebody no nonsense like the NFL has, these things will continue to happen. If I had one bit of justice to dole out, one sentence to give, it would be this. I would suspend Bertuzzi for life, and make it so that every day, at least twice a day, he is forced to watch the replay over and over, and see the after effects of what he did, so that every single day he is reminded that he took away another person's livelihood. As we get a start to a new decade, I hope that fewer things like this happen in the NHL, because this sort of thing doesn't belong in the league, but as long as there are thugs like Bertuzzi, coaches who condone this action like Marc Crawford, and enabling commissioners unwilling to admit fault like Gary Bettman, the greater problems of the NHL will never be full solved.
**off my soap box**
In 2004, the Colorado Avalanche has a very heated rivalry going with the Vancouver Canucks. Things began to go even farther with this rivalry when Steve Moore had a questionable hit on Markus Naslund. Here's a link for that with some "interesting" remarks made by former Avalanche Coach, then Vancouver coach, Marc Crawford. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owpYYNjWnro) I have to say that this is the point in history where I lost all respect for Crawford, which is tough considering he was the coach when the Avs won their first cup. The assertion that this was a cheap hit, and that the refs should have more respect and make a call when it was a hit on a star player. I'm sorry, Marc, this is not the NBA, and he is not Kobe Bryant. Do star players get preferential treatment? Sure, that's impossible to deny, but don't act like every single time a star player gets hit hard in an emotional game that the refs need to call a penalty. It was a tough hit, and ended baldy based off of a lot of circumstances. Naslund was stretched out, which caused his head to be much lower than it otherwise would have been. He was stretching out as Moore moved in to make a shoulder check on him, which, when thrown all together at the same time, caused a bad hit with an elbow. THAT, however, is not what really caused the problem. That was not enough to give Naslund the concussion that he suffered at the end of this play. Naslund, as many hockey players do, doesn't have his helmet fully secured, and you can see that his helmet slid off just enough that, when he did get to the ice, his head had no protection. THAT, caused the concussion. You can argue all you want about this, but the league ruled and it ruled correctly in saying that this was not a penalty, nor was it a dirty hit by any means. No suspension was given, and none should have been given, no matter who was hit in this play.
The unfortunate part about this lead to what I see as one of the most disgusting acts I have ever seen, if not THE most disgusting and cowardly act, in sports. The infamous sucker punch on Steve Moore by Todd Bertuzzi. Here's a link to that. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA8cdtpV0vM). Again, say whatever you want about this incident, this was a premeditated assault. How do we know this? It was well publicized that the Canucks were talking about getting back at Moore, and that there was a price on his head. Plus, the next year, when Brad May, then of the Canucks, signed with the Avalanche, he admitted to the press that they had planned on getting Moore in the Canuck locker room. All of this leads to bigger questions about the league and the way it is currently run, but for the time being, I'll relegate myself to the "discipline" that was given to Bertuzzi. He was suspended for the rest of the season, and the playoffs, which ended up being a grand total of 17 games, and was then re-instated the next season. Before you start, YES, I know that the official "next season" was the year of the lockout. I am speaking of the next time that there was a season. At that time, our all knowledgeable, please notice the sarcasm, Commish (Gary Bettman) determined that a full year of suspension was enough of a punsihment, and brought him back. Here's the only issue, he wasn't suspended that season, he was locked out. Nobody played, so for Bettman to say that there was an extra punishment of missing a season is completely and totally false. But Bettman, in his George W. Bush-like way of running things, is always convinced that he is in the right, and has never second guessed this ruling. So while Bertuzzi continues to play for millions of dollars, Steve Moore still sits at home, suffering from post-concussion syndrome, with fracture in his neck that will never allow him to play hockey again. Criminal charges were brought against Bertuzzi, and he pled guilty, and was sentence to community service. Ask yourself, if this was Marty McSorely, or Bob Probert, or some other notorious thug, would they have gotten this leniency? We know the answer to that question.
It continues to shock and amaze me that Bertuzzi is even allowed near a rink anymore, let alone allowed to play the game of hockey. True, his career has definitely gone down a few notches ever since this incident, a bit of karma if you ask me, yet the man still plays. The bigger problem this creates is that Bettman constantly claims that things like this have no place in hockey, yet he enables a goon like Bertuzzi to get away with this kind of action. His penalty was a slap on the wrist for breaking somebody's neck, and until the NHL gets a commissioner that has the guts to stand up against hits like this for real, somebody who won't tolerate it no matter how many goals the goon scores, until the NHL gets somebody no nonsense like the NFL has, these things will continue to happen. If I had one bit of justice to dole out, one sentence to give, it would be this. I would suspend Bertuzzi for life, and make it so that every day, at least twice a day, he is forced to watch the replay over and over, and see the after effects of what he did, so that every single day he is reminded that he took away another person's livelihood. As we get a start to a new decade, I hope that fewer things like this happen in the NHL, because this sort of thing doesn't belong in the league, but as long as there are thugs like Bertuzzi, coaches who condone this action like Marc Crawford, and enabling commissioners unwilling to admit fault like Gary Bettman, the greater problems of the NHL will never be full solved.
**off my soap box**
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