Putting the Olympics to rest

With word coming out that the NHL will reevaluate (re: probably not bother with) the league's participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics, it looks like this grand ol' experiment may finally be coming to a close. The final verdict? On the ice, NHL participation in the Olympics was a resounding success filled with swift skating, passionate hitting, beautiful passes, and clutch plays. What other tournament could motivate Teemu Selanne to skate at full speed while trying to knock future-teammate Chris Pronger off the puck? Where else could a team from Belarus destroy a goalie's confidence and career with a single shot? How else could an entire country live (Canada 2002) and die (Canada 1998) in a two-week span?

The players took the tournament nearly as seriously as the Stanley Cup Playoffs, meaning that every save, every hit, and every goal was an absolute battle. For anyone who took the time to watch, almost every game was a beauty to watch.

That's on the ice. Off the ice? It's hard to actually put a metric to any sort of tangible success, but the verdict is almost unanimously considered a big bust -- or at the very least, pretty darn disappointing.

Sparked by the media frenzy created by the NBA's Dream Team, the 1998 Nagano Olympics were to be a test run for the 2002 Salt Lake City games. In Nagano, the hockey may have been fantastic, but the TV ratings weren't -- with Canada knocked out by the Czechs and Team USA too busy having a frat party in the Olympic Village, only die-hard hockey fans were intrigued by how far Dominik Hasek could take the emerging Czech team. However, 2002 set the stage up with plenty of drama: USA vs. Canada, both teams looking for redemption in front of one of the largest combined audiences for hockey in North America.

For one afternoon, hockey was king in the US. Then it came and went, the NHL resumed business as usual, and rather than experiencing a bump in ratings, the NHL was its normal self in the television landscape. In other words, not very good. Sure, more people may have known who Chris Chelios and Mario Lemieux were, but they weren't tuning into regular season or the Stanley Cup playoffs.

And that's the crux of this problem. With 2010 in Vancouver, the NHL will now have had two chances to try to use Olympics on North American soil as the ultimate advertisement for the game. Will HD broadcasts and a new media landscape change things? Probably not; in fact, with the increasing fragmentation of communication and attention spans, you'll probably get more of the same: decent ratings if it's a US-Canada final, then no real significant bump.

By 2010, other measurements may determine how valuable this experiment is for the NHL. Web traffic, online advertisers, video streams, all of that will have more of a prominent revenue stake than before. But the bottom line is that while this tournament produces some of the best hockey you'll ever see, it doesn't really help out the NHL's business plan.

In fact, some may argue that it actually hurts some markets. After all, after seeing the best hockey in the world, who will want to tune in to a no-offense, go-nowhere team wasting away at the bottom of the standings? A great songwriter once wrote, "If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor," and that's how a number of casual fans could feel depending on how the team in their marketplace is doing.

Ultimately, 2014 will be based on the success of 2010. If the NHL sees a resurgence in popularity similar to the infamous 1994 Sports Illustrated cover that proclaimed "Why the NHL's hot and the NBA's not," then it might make sense to really have a showcase that can be a magnet for casual viewers. The other thing to consider is that while the situation may not be a moneymaker for the North American market (Canada being maxed out, America being somewhat apathetic), all sports leagues are seeing significant growth in overseas revenue thanks to international satellite broadcasts and online communication. If the league can make a significant increase in its international revenue, especially from hotbeds like Sweden and the Czech Republic, it might be worth the effort to have a cross-timezone stoppage.

In a perfect world, the decision would be based solely on the on-ice product, meaning that tournament participation would continue. When judged by the almighty dollar, the path is uncertain. The alternative is to have the Olympics be a glorified version of the World Junior Championship -- which would still produce some dynamite hockey -- while the NHLers continue to play in the on-again-off-again World Cup tournament.

However you slice it, though, a World Cup tournament in September just doesn't hold the same mystique as playing on the biggest sports stage in the world. Still, you have to start tradition somewhere, and perhaps such a tournament really is the only logistical way to get a happy medium for everyone.

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Insert Phoenix-rising pun here

Promising goalie is mired in backup position, then gets dealt away for next to nothing and inspires team to become a whole lot better. We've heard this story before; in fact, it was just a few seasons ago where Miikka Kiprusoff was mired in the backup role for the San Jose Sharks. While whispers around the team had Kiprusoff's talents pegged as even better than starter Evgeni Nabokov, Kiprusoff's one chance at taking the role (with Nabokov in a contract dispute) was blown with a horrendous effort in the disaster 2002-2003 season.

Soon after, no one wanted to touch Kiprusoff with a 20-foot pole...no one, that is, except for his ex-coach recently relocated to Calgary. A second-round pick later and you know the rest of the story: awards, ridiculous stats, and a trip to the Stanley Cup final.

Will Ilya Bryzgalov take the Phoenix Coyotes to the Cup final in his first season? Probably no, but you never know in today's NHL. Still, Bryzgalov's move to the desert via waivers brings up some echoes of the Kiprusoff transaction. The difference lay in the circumstances: Kiprusoff's stock was at an all-time low with an awful 2002-2003 season where he earned the nickname Kipru-Soft among Sharks fans while Bryzgalov has won a few playoff series and been mired in a minor goalie controversy out in Anaheim. The similarities, however, are there: like Kiprusoff, Bryzgalov is approaching his prime during the move and was snagged for next to nothing.

Bryzgalov's talent has never been questioned. His sustainability? That's another issue. As with all backups-turned-starters, there's never any certainty as to who can carry the ball for the long haul. Kiprusoff is at one end of the spectrum while countless others who showed promise at one time -- Brian Boucher, Steve Shields, Kevin Weekes, Dan Cloutier -- have ranged anywhere from disappointment to disaster.

Why is Bryzgalov's journey going to be any different? For one thing, Bryzgalov's done his share of consistent playing while Jean-Sebastian Giguere's been injured. That means that Bryzgalov has replicated the starter's role by successfully putting together streaks of games, and his games-played totals are hefty for a backup role: 31 games in 2005-2006 and 27 games in 2006-2007. During the 2005-2006 season, Bryzgalov was also the anchor for 11 playoff games.

It helps that Bryzgalov's got a solid (but underrated) defense group in front of him. Ed Jovanovski's playing almost to the same level as his heyday in Vancouver, Derek Morris has been surprisingly consistent, and Keith Ballard and Zbynek Michalek are living up to their potential. Nick Boynton's not as valuable in the post-lockout era as he used to be, but he still provides a steady, physical presence, while Matt Jones and Brendan Bell can be trusted despite their relative inexperience. It's a step down from having Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer guarding the blueline, but as a group, the Coyotes' defense is better than most people think.

Will Bryzgalov keep up his blazing hot start (1.23 GAA, .954 save percentage)? Probably not. After all, even the best falter at some time. However, Bryzgalov's career stats show that he's consistent, and as he enters the prime of his career with a young team that's a lot hungrier than it was before, the cards are lined up for some surprising success out in the desert. Strong teams are built from the crease out, and with Phoenix's emerging blueline supporting Bryzgalov, it's up to the young forwards, led by Peter Mueller and Martin Hanzel, to come through and give the Coyotes some more offensive weapons besides Shane Doan.

Now if only someone can get Wayne Gretzky to stop all that anger from behind the bench, things might really be looking rosy in Phoenix.

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Time out

Dealing with some post-Turkey Day personal and business stuff...will resume normal posting on Wednesday (unless something really wacky happens).

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RBK = CRP

Since the silly season for holiday shopping is just around the corner, I'm guessing that countless hockey fans have their favorite team's new jersey on their wish list. Well, as one of the unfortunate few that already picked up the RBK Premiere (nice name for "replica"), here's some words of advice. Unless you really dig the new colors or a new player on your team, don't bother -- it ain't all it's cracked up to me.

I suppose I should start with a disclaimer: I don't have the budget to blow several hundred bucks on an authentic jersey, so I got a replica because of my Jeremy Roenick fanboy tendencies. Here's a quick overview of just why the RBK jersey is a piece o' CRP.

1) The design: How many out there actually LIKE the redesigns of their favorite team jerseys? From an unbiased aesthetic point of view, the only new jersey I like is the Caps jersey. Most of the Original Six stayed the same, so that's not a reason to buy a new jersey -- though, seriously, what's up with reversing the Captain/Alternate position on the Red Wings jersey? Is that really necessary? Bottom line: most hockey fans, like myself, dislike the new designs and if you're lucky enough to be on one of the teams with a design similar to the old one, there's no need to buy it. Strike one.

2) The material: I'm sure the new RBK Premiere material simulates the weird stretchy fabric of the on-ice jerseys. You know, the jerseys you've seen tear in half during a fight. Well, if you like FEELING like you're actually wearing a hockey jersey, you're going to dislike this thin, flimsy, stretchy material on the replica, whatever it is. Perhaps in an alternate universe, this is some sort of fashion trend; in our universe, it just feels kinda funky and incapable of withstanding a load in the washer and/or dryer. Strike two.

3) Stitching, or lack thereof: I'd heard some gripes about how hardly any of the crests or lettering on the new jerseys are actually stitched. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened up my NHL.com shipping box and saw that the big Sharks crest on the front looked to be as high quality as any other replica jersey I've got (including old Sharks, Chicago, Team USA, and Tampa Bay). It's stitched on and the actual crest is composed of threads, not a cheesy looking iron-on patch. Phew.

Well, then I take the damn thing out and the first thing I notice is the shoulder patches -- or should I say, cheesy looking iron-on patch. Nice plasticy sheen to make it look like the damn thing could fall off after one trip to the washing machine. Feeling the interior of the jersey, it's just confirmed my hunch -- not a single stitch to hold the shoulder patches in place.

A few inches down, you get the arm numbering. Now, every single jersey I have -- even the freakin' ones that my beer league team plays in -- has stitched on numbers. Why? Cause they don't look like they'll fall off when you wear the damn thing. Like the shoulder patches, the arm numbers are heat-transfered on, so they don't really move with the fabric. In fact, the more pointy edges of the numbers (like the tip in the number 7) look like they might easily snag on something and peel right off.

Take everything I've just said and you can apply it to the numbering and name plate on the back. Not only does it feel cheap, it looks cheap -- the letters and numbers all have that weird shiny feel that tells you it's not quality material. Strike three, you're out.

So there's your buyer's guide to new jerseys: they generally look bad, they feel crappy, and they aren't put together all that well. My recommendation? Only buy a new jersey if:

1) You really, really, really, really like the new design.
2) There's a new player on the team that you really like (like me).
3) You have waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much money in your pocket.

If you're on the fence, don't do it. You'll just take a close look at it and feel kinda irritated and bitter at the whole stupid notion of an "new and improved uniform system" (which, in layman's terms, translates into "cash grab for greedy owners").

If I have time over the holiday weekend, I'll take some close-up pictures and post them on here, along with a comparison to some of the other jerseys I own, including the one I play in.

Oh, and a quick note on sizing: these new jerseys are definitely cut differently. I owned old ones in both medium and large; the medium was a little too small and the large was a little too big. A large of this new RBK jersey fits right inbetween the old medium and large, so basically, it's a little smaller and a little tighter compared to the same size in the old cut.

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Don't call Brett

Saw this little tidbit in Pierre Lebrun's Sportsnet column earlier today:

Interestingly, with Hull’s blessing, Jackson sent a note around the league last week telling other GMs that he will be the point man for trade talks.

And with that note, 29 other GMs stocked away their shit-eating grins and gave a Homer Simpson-esque annoyed grunt as their dreams of fleecing the brash and impulsive Brett Hull ("Looking to rebuild that D, Brett? How about Andrei Zyuzin for, I don't know, Brenden Morrow? That's a fair trade. Zyuzin was a #2 overall pick, after all.") went the way of the dodo. Well, 28 other GMs; Garth Snow probably just gave a little sigh and reminisced about when he was a rookie GM not so long ago.

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Inside Brian Burke's head

Some of the NHL's player movement rules are too convoluted for any normal human being to understand, so I may get this completely wrong. In any case, I'm assuming (and you know what happens when you assume) that a team can still trade for Ilya Bryzgalov's rights while he's on the waiver wire. If that's true, then I think Brian Burke has just upped the ante. If, say, Pittsburgh knows that a team ahead of them on the waiver wire can claim Bryzgalov for free, they'll have to ratchet up their trade bid for Burke. And since I'm guessing Burke doesn't want to take in any salary right now, he's aiming for high draft picks.

Just a thought. Like I said, I could be interpreting the waiver rule totally wrong and this may be impossible, but if my speculation is right, the timing makes sense as teams are currently figuring out that their goaltending may not be good enough. Off the top of my head, I could see Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Edmonton, Atlanta, Boston, Toronto, Washington, Detroit, Nashville, St. Louis, Colorado, Los Angeles, and Phoenix all at least giving it a thought.

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On bloggers and the media

Girl With A Puck (AKA Finny) has gone to great lengths to create a very detailed and researched response to a Detroit News column about how writer Chris McKosky is not a fan of the sports blogosphere. Some of the superstars featured in the article are Brian Burke, Ted Leonsis, Helene Elliot, and a bunch of your favorite hockey bloggers (sadly, none of my quotes made it in there). Check it out, it's definitely worth reading, and it makes the one of the best delineations I've read between blogging and mainstream media so far.

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The thing about the naked guy in Toronto

(Note: This will be the only post I ever make about Jiri Tlusty unless, you know, he does something hockey-related)

Let's see, dumb teenager takes stupid photos of self, sends it out to someone else and it eventually it gets posted online. And said dumb teenager happens to be in the Maple Leafs organization.

To the moral police going bonkers about this: Dumb people do stuff like this everyday thanks to the magic of the Internets. Society's not falling apart. This isn't a sign of the apocalypse. You really have much more important things to worry about. Get over it.

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What the Hull?

(Apologies for the lame Hull pun)

Brett Hull? Leading an NHL franchise as General Manager? Get out of here. That'll never happen. No one would ever want Hull's opinions and attitude, and besides, Hull would never want such a role. This is the guy whose only work in the Dallas Stars' front office was to be the "Ambassador of Fun" on TV commercials. That couldn't ever happen, right?

Well, if you missed the news, don't worry, you didn't wake up in a parallel universe -- yes, it actually happened: Dallas owner Tom Hicks has spoken, and the result is Brett Hull at the controls of the Stars, along with Doug Armstrong's former assistant Les Jackson. Co-GMs, tied together like hockey's newest Odd Couple to bring the Stars out of the doldrums.

This should be interesting. You know with Hull's opinions -- and willingness to speak them -- GM discussions about rules and league processes will be interesting. In fact, I'd love to be a fly on the wall just to see how the old guard handles Hull's style. And if Gary Bettman does something he doesn't like, you can be sure Hull will speak his mind.

But that still doesn't answer the following question: how the Hull did the former-86-goal scorer snag a GM job?

Hull gives you a known quantity in some respects. You're getting a brash and opinionated talking head that was a great fit for network broadcasts just for his rants. As a general manager? Well, I'm just wondering what's the point of all this. He's got no experience, and he's never given any indication that he wants to be in management. In fact, I always pictured Hull as one of those guys sitting on the golf course with a big cigar in his mouth, puffing and putting away for the rest of his days.

So how did this come about? Is it to give the team a new face? Is it to inject fresh opinions into a business atmosphere? Is it just because Tom Hicks just loves Hull so much?

Wayne Gretzky has been quoted over the past few years about how Hull's an underrated thinker when it comes to hockey, and part of that makes sense -- you have to be able to really understand what's going on, who's going where, and how the play's going to unfold if you really want to get in the right place for a shot. But evaluating players, coaches, and strategy? That's something a little different.

Maybe this is what Hull really wanted when he left a cushy network gig to work in the Stars' front office as a special advisor. Usually, those types of roles are just a hodgepodge of outreach and opinion: do some community work, promote the game, and sit in on a few meetings when discussing critical decisions. This is far different; we're talking about hands-on-the-wheel direction of an NHL franchise.

Now, it's important to note that Hull's position is Co-GM -- he's sharing the reins with now-promoted Assistant GM Les Jackson. Jackson's been with the organization for years, and maybe that's really the key to this selection. Jackson represents established thinking that's seen the Stars through good and bad times while Hull's an unknown commodity. Hull's got his share of opinions, but he's never had the power to execute any of them before, so what does this mean?

I'm thinking that this move isn't just for PR purposes. It's a chemistry experiment in mixing two extremes to see what happens. Like peanut butter and Reese's Pieces or Run DMC and Aerosmith, you've got polar opposites working towards a common goal. I see two possibilities here:

1) Hicks loves Hull's brash and opinionated way and wants that to power the Dallas Stars into the future. But, as a businessman, he knows that he's got to have some substance under the hood, so he puts Jackson on equal footing to make sure that Hull's got some balance in his decision-making.

2) Hicks trusts in his old guard but sees where it's led them -- a dull team waning at the box office and struggling to score goals. He wants to shake up his system without destroying it; thus, Jackson is given control, but Hull's new vision and opinions are introduced to provide outside-the-box thinking.

Hicks himself may be brash and opinionated, but he's also a hell of a businessman, and the second theory seems to make more sense. Use a familiar base for the core strategy, but add in a new, unpredictable element that can perhaps produce an unexpected benefit -- and push everyone in the regime to start thinking in new ways to keep up with the injection of fresh ideas and opinions. It's a calculated shake-up, designed to keep hold of the past while taking a new direction for the future. What will it produce? There's no way to tell, but one thing's for sure: the annual GM meetings are going to be a lot more interesting.

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Jeremy Roenick: One fan's timeline

**Begin Fanboy Rant**

In lieu of Jeremy Roenick's 500th goal, I spent some time reflecting on my JR fandom, which really has followed my whole hockey obsession in terms of timeline. You can put together how old I am based on this too, if you're really curious.

1990: I discover hockey by accident on SportsChannel. The Blackhawks are on, and there's hitting and scoring and all sorts of cool stuff. Suddenly, baseball just doesn't seem that interesting anymore. San Jose was on the cusp of getting an NHL franchise, but to me, the more and more I watched hockey, there was something about that Blackhawks squad that just seemed really cool. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought so since someone in my junior high had a Belfour jersey (but he was kind of a weird prick).

1991: JR scores 41 goals. I'm not a stats hound yet at this point, but at that age, you just need a player to latch on to. This was before his ultra-dominating video game year in Sega Genesis NHL 94, though #27 on the original NHL Hockey (91-92 season, which meant that I got it for Christmas '91) was my go-to guy. My older brother (who was a Red Wing fan) helped me match up our Upper Deck hockey cards with the numbers on the Sega Genesis rosters -- remember, no NHLPA license back then, so it was just numbers.

1992: I try to order a Chicago Blackhawks Starter jacket at my local sports shop. The morons there call me two months after the order was made to tell me that my BULLS jacket is in. We refuse to pay while the guy gives me a weird look, wondering why some kid would want a Blackhawks jacket. Oh, and the Sharks finish up their first (1991-1992) season with some dude named Doug Wilson on the blue line.

1993: I get my first pair of rollerblades and hockey stick. My brother plays goal in our backyard with some recycling bins as the net and some catcher's gear while I act out a pre-cursor to today's shootouts. Except every shooter is Jeremy Roenick with the occasionial Steve Larmer thrown in. Nearly fifteen years later, I'm a much better skater with my on-ice team, but I still can't shoot worth crap.

1994: We go to visit my uncle in Detroit and for the first time in my life, I see hockey stuff in stores. Holy crap, this is awesome. I buy two Jeremy Roenick posters while my brother hauls off a buttload of Wings stuff, including a Sergei Fedorov poster that's still in his old room at my parent's house.

1995: The lockout ends and our cable is out for ESPN's first broadcast. I am pissed off. I also remember David Letterman making a crack during his monologue asking the crowd why they're at his studio taping when the Rangers game was going on. Yes, the NHL was indeed pretty hot back then. I also get Internet access for the first time through my awesome 14.4k modem and I join in the Blackhawks usenet group. A hot topic of discussion all season is Roenick's reconstructed knee. His first home game after injury is shown on ESPN, and I remember the Hawks faithful giving JR's first shift (he didn't start) a rousing ovation. I realise that NHL2Night is the greatest television show in the history of time -- even better than Seinfed.

1996: As the playoffs begin, Darryl Sutter puts together a line of Roenick, old pal Tony Amonte, and Bernie Nicholls. I tell my friends that I think from top to bottom, the only team that can beat the Avalanche is the Hawks. The Hawks take the Avs to overtime several times but fall in six games, and it's the series probably best remembered for Patrick Roy's "Stanley Cup rings in my ears" comment to JR.

During the off-season, Bill Wirtz assures Hawks fans that JR will be signed, which doesn't really calm us down in the usenet group. My parents and friends give me a Roenick jersey and a Chris Chelios t-shirt for high school graduation, and a few weeks later, Roenick is traded to the Coyotes for Alexei Zhamnov, Craig Mills, and a 1st Rounder. Zhamnov instantly earns my hatred by taking #26 and claiming to be "One better than Jeremy Roenick." The Coyotes sign Roenickfor numbers that aren't that much different from Zhamnov's. My Hawks fandom begins its long free-fall into purgatory (though like many ex-Hawks fans, they're catching my interest again).

Side note: During that year, I watched at least part of every playoff game broadcast on ESPN/ESPN2. Random memories include getting KFC during intermission of the Blues/Wings game where Steve Yzerman hit the overtime winner and the fact that my friends wanted to go see The Rock with Sean Connery rather than watch Colorado/Florida Game 4 (in pre-Tivo days, I taped it and watched it late that night).

I move into my college dorm and my neighbor two-doors down is a freakin' Red Wings fan. As a token of friendship, he gives me his copy of ESPN's 1996-97 hockey guide. Many, many, many, many games of NHL 96 and NHL 97 are played between him, my roommate, our future roommate, and myself. The Coyotes, with Roenick and Keith Tkachuk, become my video game team of choice, though Team USA is good too (even though JR didn't play on the World Cup squad).

1997: At a random Target by Sacramento (I went to school in nearby Davis), I find a Starting Lineup display with Roenick and Yzerman. JR is wearing #27, not #97. I still have this, and my Yzerman-loving friend has one in his house too. During Phoenix's first-round series shown on the NHL on Fox, I go to our dorm lounge to watch (no TV for me); I know that the Stanley Cup playoffs start earlier than the NBA, so I strategically stakeout control of the TV. When some basketball guys come to watch hoops, I've got JR and the Yotes on. They ask me, "Who the hell are the Phoenix Coyotes?"

1999: JR carves up Tony Amonte's face over what fans have come to speculate as soap opera-esque drama. I see the incident at a local bar after using my brother's ID to get in; at first, the highlights are on ESPN and I do a double-take when I realize that it's best buds Roenick and Amonte screaming at each other.

2000: Some friends and I go down to LA for a Coyotes/Kings game at Staples center. My aforementioned Hasek-friend fan is wearing a Ziggy Palffy t-shirt and making friends with the drunk Kings fans in our row. When Roenick scores, I stand up and yell a lot, confusing the hell out of the little Kings-fan kid in front of me.

During the off-season, JR is a regular at a celebrity golf tournament in Tahoe. My friend Jen happens to be working in Tahoe post-graduation for the summer and she sees someone who she thinks is cute singing at a karaoke bar. With a little liquid courage in her, she runs up and grabs his ass, only later to find out that it's JR -- a name she would have never recognized had I not constantly talked about him in college with Jen's hockey-loving roommate (a fellow I still run into at the Shark tank). Months later for my birthday, she sends me a JR phot with her handprints on it and the caption, "The hands that grabbed Jeremy Roenick's ass."

2001: I'm back in LA for my buddy's bachelor party and we're speculating about where Roenick could sign as a free agent. I've got my fingers crossed for the Sharks while my friends laugh me off. I tell them that honestly, I can be ok with anywhere as long as it's not Philly or Detroit. Literally minutes later, one of my friends comes into the room to say that JR signs with Philly. That same trip, one of my friends feels my pain as Dominik Hasek signs with Detroit.

2002: We're making plans to go to the celebrity golf tournament in Tahoe but unfortunately, my grandfather passes away. During the weekend, my buddies call to say that they spotted JR at a card table, shook his hand, and mentioned me. JR told them to call me and let me know that he hoped I was doing better. What a guy.

2005: JR makes the infamous "Kiss my ass" statement. My fellow Roenick-fan friend gives up on JR and tells me that I can have JR in my cursory "Last fantasy pick" spot (in our league, we usually leave the last spot open to a beloved over-the-hill player).

August 2007: I'm having a family squable about plans for my wedding in a week when I get an instant message from a friend telling me that JR signs with the Sharks. Family squables are put aside for just a few minutes as I try to figure out if my friends are pulling my leg. They're not. A few days later, I tell my friends that I'll get a Roenick jersey this season; even though getting someone's jersey usually curses them into a season from hell (if you've read the blog long enough, you know I've lamented the jersey curse for a long, long time), we reason that really, it can't be any worse than last season for JR, so maybe it'll reverse-curse him.

September 2007: Literally one day after my honeymoon, the Sharks are having their annual meet-and-greet for season ticket holders. I bring my old Hawks jersey with me and lose any sort of professionalism that I may have earned with my FoxSports writing gig by being as giddy as a schoolgirl in line to meet Roenick. I ask if he's got another 50-goal season left in him, and he responds by saying, "Maybe, if they put me on a line with Joe." I don't fanboy geek out too much, but he does sign my hat even though I didn't ask him to, just cause he's a cool dude.

November 10, 2007: After a few weeks of research, I finally figure out the best place to buy a customized Roenick jersey. I put the order in that afternoon; that evening, Roenick scores #500.

Coincidence? I think not. Screw you, jersey curses. Go JR.

**End Fanboy Rant**

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Blatant ebay plugs

I'm selling a few old jerseys on ebay if anyone is interested:

Old ("Classic") Phoenix Coyotes jersey: the story behind this is that when I was working in London, I found a rack of NHL jerseys at a shop on Oxford Street. I talked with the owner and he said he didn't know anything about hockey but they were popular because they were baggy and looked cool. Not a bad find for 20 pounds back in the day. (Apparently, they didn't realize how much they cost in North America!)

San Jose Sharks practice jersey: Pretty standard stuff, just a teal Center Ice practice jersey. Hardly worn since I got a regular jersey soon after to wear to games and stuff.

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Shooting Blanks

The San Jose Sharks and New York Rangers were penned in as high-powered Stanley Cup favorites in the preseason. Both are sputtering along right now due to an anemic offense, and the numbers point the blame mostly at Patrick Marleau/Jonathan Cheechoo in San Jose and Scott Gomez/Brendan Shanahan in New York. New York is winning based on fantastic goaltending and stingy defense while San Jose's been alternating wins and losses.

The general theory is that you should score a goal for every ten or so shots that you take. Well, that ain't happening for the Sharks or Rangers; take a look at the numbers.

San Jose
Vs. Dallas: 39 shots, 1 goal
Vs. LA: 28 shots, 3 goals
Vs. LA: 47 shots, 2 goals
Vs. Dallas: 35 shots, 4 goals

149 shots, 10 goals = 1 goal for every 14.9 shots

New York
Vs. NY Islanders: 30 shots, 2 goals
Vs. Philadelphia: 45 shots, 2 goals
Vs. New Jersey: 27 shots, 1 goal
Vs. Washington: 28 shots, 2 goals

130 shots, 7 goals = 1 goal for every 18.5 shots

Bad luck? Poor-quality shots? You could point at any number of things for this poor conversion rate; however, the one thing the Rangers seem to have figured out is that when you can't score, you can still win by playing strong defense. The Sharks continually brain fart on their defensive responsibilities, leading to breakdowns and breakaways.

Oh, and the Rangers are getting a little help from some guy named Lundqvist and his .940 save percentage.

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In praise of Mike Ricci

Note: Joe over at Greatest Legends of Hockey asked some bloggers to reminisce about a retired player going into Hall of Fame weekend. This ain't about a Hall of Famer, but sometimes you don't need to be to win over a whole city.

That hair. That nose. That gap-toothed grin. Mike Ricci was nothing if not recognizable, but to San Jose Sharks fans, he was much more than a (not so) pretty face. Not the biggest, not the most skilled, and certainly not the best skater, Mike Ricci was the ultimate player's player. Here was a guy who made his living on the boards and in the crease, taking crosschecks to the back and sticks to the face, and somehow the guy with the long hair sticking out of his helmet still managed to get the puck out.

The Ricci mystique really started over in Denver, where Avs fans named him the city's sexiest athlete in 1997 after he helped the team win their first Stanley Cup. However, it was the trade to San Jose that really transformed Ricci from endearing grinder into the face of a franchise.

When Mike Ricci landed in San Jose, the team was in a transition period. Darryl Sutter had taken over behind the bench, and his influence went straight up into GM Dean Lombardi's office. Sutter wanted a hard-nosed, gritty team that made life hell for opponents. While surly captain Owen Nolan epitomized what Sutter wanted (especially when Nolan was healthy and on top of his game), Ricci was the one who connected with the fans.

It really wasn't just the hair. Sure, it helped to give a bit of a visual identity to the team, but it was more about what Ricci was willing to do to get the job done -- which was pretty much damn near anything.

There aren't many SportsCenter-worthy Mike Ricci highlights. He wasn't a breakaway player or much of a deker. He did his job and he did it well; he shut down talented opponents by sound positional play and a feisty attitude, and he created offense by scratching and clawing to dig the puck out of the corner, often over to longtime linemate Scott Thornton.

There was a time when Ricci's line was considered the best third line in hockey: Ricci, Thornton, and Niklas Sundstrom. This moniker wasn't meant to be demeaning at all; in fact, quite the opposite. The Ricci line was often the best line on the ice for a Sharks team that fought inconsistency in its talent through the years (Nolan, Jeff Friesen, Patrick Marleau, Teemu Selanne), and that particular incarnation just happened to have that right-place-at-the-right time mix for success. Sundstrom's passing abilities and defensive-awareness, Ricci's tooth-and-nail feistiness, Thornton's shot and power-forward abilities, all of those combined into some Darryl Sutter chemistry experiment that spelled out success. Ricci led the way, as he usually did, pumping his legs in his awkward skating style to give it his all every shift.

In the end, that's probably why Sharks fans loved Mike Ricci so much. He never, ever left anything on the ice. He wasn't a Hall of Famer and he didn't care, he just wanted his team to win, and he'd do absolutely anything to get that done. When you saw Ricci fight for every inch of the ice, you just wondered why a lot of NHL players never, ever did that.

How much did Mike Ricci mean to San Jose? When long-time players come back for the first time in an opposing jersey, they may get a short video tribute during a TV timeout. For Ricci, who had endured in San Jose from the Nolan/Sutter days to the tumultuous Teemu Selanne era to the beginning of the Marleau/Ron Wilson (but not Joe Thornton) time, he was -- and always will be -- a favorite son for both the fans and the organization, and GM Doug Wilson let Ricci know this. When Ricci's Phoenix Coyotes came into town, Ricci got a pre-game video tribute complete with a PA announcer and spotlight welcoming him back. Oh, and a long standing ovation from the San Jose faithful. Not even long-serving captain Owen Nolan got that on his return to the Shark Tank.

Think about it -- an opposing player getting a pre-game lights-out spotlight-on bells-and-whistles tribute. That doesn't happen if you're not special to both the fans and the team.

Years from now, people will look at Ricci's stats and wonder why he was drafted so high by Philadelphia. For those that saw him play, especially in San Jose, they'll pity anyone who didn't get a chance to admire the never-say-die spirit that Ricci embodied -- a spirit that really should be at the core of every hockey player.

Oh, and the hair was pretty cool too.

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If Wade Redden did the math...

Quick, someone get Wade Redden a calculator. Some quick number crunching via NHL Numbers shows that the Senators are squeezing Redden out with the new Jason Spezza contract today. Not that that's a big surprise; rumors of Redden's demise have been around for a while now. Still, here are some things to consider:

-The current 2008-2009 cap hit is about $42 million.
-Ottawa's UFAs of note are Chris Kelly, Shean Donovan, Randy Robitaille, and of course, Redden.
-Ottawa's RFAs of note are Andrej Meszaros, Antoine Vermette, Patrick Eaves, and Brian McGratton
-Ray Emery and Martin Gerber take up a total combined cap hit of $6.8 million
-Redden can probably get anywhere from $6 - $7 million on the open market (his current cap hit is $6.5 million) despite the fact that his numbers dropped last season. Cory Sarich, a solid but never noteworthy defenseman, makes $3.6 million, so you know the numbers are skewed.

The current NHL cap is $50 million, but sensibility tells me that we're not going to have another $5 million increase in cap space. While the Canadian dollar has thrived to boost overall revenues, and there should be a bump in merchandise revenue from the new RBK jerseys, I can't see things pushing that much further until the league begins deriving more solid revenue from new media ventures (and maybe once HDTV becomes mandatory for broadcasters in a few years, general American sports fans will take notice of how good HD hockey is to watch and the league can get a TV deal of merit again). But for now, I'm sticking with common sense and saying the cap will only push up by $2 million, tops.

Going by that theory, the Sens will have about $10 million in cap space. If they trade Gerber or Emery, that'll be about $13 million. Of the young RFAs, Meszaros, Eaves, and Vermet will get a raise, so let's conservatively estimate that those three will make a combined cap hit of $6 million, taking the amount of cap space down to $7 million. There are still open spots on the roster, and if those get filled with a few bottom-of-the-barrel rookies or journeymen, you'll still take up at least $1.5 million, taking the total cap space down to $5.5 million.

Any sane general manager will want to keep some buffer space for the trade deadline, and there's always the internal organization budget. Even in a best-case scenario with the Sens getting rid of one goalie contract and Redden giving a hometown discount, there's no way the numbers will work, despite what GM Bryan Murray and Redden may say. In fact, the nail in the coffin probably wasn't either Dany Heatley or Spezza getting extensions, but the Mike Fisher contract (cap hit of $4.2 million over five years).

The question for Murray now is if the Sens continue their hot start into February, does he trade Redden to get whatever assets he can or does he hang on to his big-name defensman for another stab at a deep playoff run?

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And the difference is...

I think we've all heard this story before. Pro athlete or celebrity does something stupid and illegal, claims they've learned their lesson, then reverts back to old habits. There are plenty of Hollywood starlets who've demonstrated this pattern, and plenty of athletes who've fallen into its nasty habits (Rick Tocchet, you STILL gambled after the NHL told you not to?). What's worse is when people deny they had any wrongdoing.

Mark Bell didn't do any of that. He made a very stupid, very wrong decision, and though his play on the ice may have suffered as a consequence, as a person, he seems to have become better for the resulting consequences.

There's an article in the CP today about how Bell is getting ready for his NHL return, and you know what? I say good for him. Now, let's get this clear -- in no way do I condone a DUI or what he did. But I think it's important to look at the facts -- or as I see it, how he turned negatives into positives.

The incident happened over a year ago, and since then, he hasn't had a single drop of alcohol. In many interviews, he's acknowledged how he'd used drinking for the wrong reasons without the proper level ofself-control, and he understands how that's done harm to not only himself, but his career and other people. He's worked with the legal system to accept the suitable punishment, and he's taken the time for self-reflection to recognize what the right thing to do is.

I always say that you have to give someone credit when they turn their life around. For Bell, he didn't skirt the issue, didn't try to pass blame or hide from it. He dealt with it on a personal level and a legal level and from all accounts, has become a better, stronger person because of it. It doesn't excuse his crime at all, but if he can learn from his mistakes and reach out to the community (he was, after all, the Blackhawks' Man Of The Year for charity and outreach two years ago) to share his story, maybe he can deter this from happening to someone else out there.

Forgive and forget? Maybe not both, but when someone can turn a negative into a positive, forgiving definitely seems possible.

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