It’s an interesting take on the attendance woes around the league. 

My view has been the ticket pricing is too lofty in most places. In a thriving economy people will spend freely but now many fans especially those with families can not afford to go to NHL games. 

The HDTV slant would make more sense if a hockey telecast was done with similar  standards of an NFL game. Most hockey arenas don’t utilize enough cameras and there is a vast difference in the production quality from location to location. High definition helps a lot but there is so much action away from the puck that is missed by the TV audience. 

A bad memory probably surfaced for those in Chicago which read Dater’s comments. They would have recalled past Blackhawk management’s adage of why give away what can be sold. 

Yesterday an image of Bill Wirtz flashed into my head. Mr. Wirtz had a smile from ear to ear and was telling everyone who would listen … 

….I told you all never disrespect the season ticket reservation holders…. 

Taking into account what happened over the years with the Blackhawks the recipe for disaster begins when a team’s season ticket sales began to drop. 

The corporate season ticket holders don’t disappear all at once. They go little by little and once they are gone they usually stay away for a long time. So if you start to notice the lower bowl seats being unoccupied in your local arena be on guard. When business folk can’t even give the seats away they eventually cancel. 

When that occurs the red ink really starts to flow. 

The turnaround here in such a short time is a rare exception.  

To go from 3,400 season ticket holders to close to 14,000 in one year is amazing. To accomplish that feat, as the Blackhawks did without even making the playoffs the previous season, is almost a miracle. 

Hawks and Blues 

The St. Louis Blues skate into town after claiming a hard fought victory over the Calgary Flames last night. The Blues have had a difficult season. They have played very poorly at home and most of their top forwards have had trouble scoring. 

According to comments form Blues analyst Daren Pang on  XM 204 yesterday, their penalty killing has been very strong and the goal keeping has been good for the most part. The St. Louis power play has been dismal and they have had sporadic efforts throughout. 

The Blues have scored 78 goals this year, one better than Carolina which has the lowest total in the NHL. 

Blues defenseman Erik Johnson, who missed all of last year, is off to a great start and is the team’s leading scorer. Johnson is fine young player but he probably shouldn’t be leading the team in scoring. 

In Pang’s opinion the next week or so is a crucial time for the Blues. They passed their first test last night and will most likely be a tough opponent for the Hawks this evening. 

The Blues are somewhat similar to the Flyers, both teams  have underachieved and can’t really blame it all on injuries. 

Philly is different though, as they have already fired their head coach so now the next shake up will be trading players. If the Blues don’t turn it around soon they will likely shuffle the deck too. It would be difficult to fire Andy Murray who was in the running for coach of the year last season but stranger things have happened. In any event that talk has been going around for awhile. 

Murray and Rick Tochett in Tampa appear to be on the hot seat. 

If one of them were to lose his job there is an assistant coach in San Jose who has a good track record with younger players. Firing the head coach is not always the answer as the Flyers seem to be finding out.  But what happens more often than not is the head coach goes before  players. 

Former Blackhawk head coach Trent Yawney deserves another kick at the can as he helped develop some of the Hawks young stars. Someday another franchise will realize he could make an excellent head coach. Yawney paid his dues in the AHL and deserves another crack at being an NHL head coach. He never really got a fair shot in Chicago. Yawney did have a short stint playing in St. Louis so maybe he would be considered there if a head coaching spot becomes available.

Joel Quenneville will continue to shuffle lines and also switch around power play personnel. He has a difficult task as not having a true second line center is a problem which won’t go away. Patrick Sharp has been doing a decent job at filling in at center but the Hawks offense is more potent when he plays at wing. 

Coach Q. also appears intent on finding another point man for the power play. 

He has been using Sharp there and at times Dustin Byfuglien instead of Brent Seabrook or another defenseman. Funny, but it appeared to me Seabrook was getting his shot through from the point as much as others but now he hasn’t had much power play ice time. Evidently there is a need for Q. to audition other point men….??? 

I expect Cristobal Huet to get the start tonight. 

He will need to defend his crease and have another top effort for the Hawks to defeat the Blues. The boys form St. Louis could be tired but they are in desperation  mode so they will be dangerous. 

Al’s Shots 

The Lightning did take some liberties with Hawk forwards the other night. So the question of acquiring a heavy weight enforcer naturally comes up. 

There is some sense to that thinking but… 

The Minnesota Wild must lead the NHL in concussions this season. Derek Boogard is still considered a bad dude.  Having a big tough bruiser on the roster might help prevent some cheap shots but so far it hasn’t helped the Wild to avoid serious head injuries. 

Right now with the inconsistencies demonstrated by officials and league hierarchy a team which doesn’t experience some concussions is just very lucky. 

On the trade rumor front not much has changed. 

Sharp is in demand and the Hawks are still shopping Barker but it is doubtful anything happens before Christmas. 

One fact should be realized,  although it is an unpleasant thought for many Blackhawk fans. 

It has been mentioned that the salary cap could increase around a million dollars for next year because of the strength of the Canadian dollar. Certainly not bad news for the Hawks but they still need to clear a bunch of cap space. 

There is no way this entire team can stay together next season. There will be significant changes. 

That would hold true even if Brian Campbell’s huge contract was traded. There is a lot of cap space which needs to be cleared before next season. Much more than Campbell’s seven million dollar cap hit is needed to go elsewhere. 

The chances of trading Campbell during this season are extremely unlikely. As much as Campbell is a whipping boy he does supply a lift to the offense. Without him the Hawks would have to change their style of play and there is no need for that to happen now.

Unless the team goes into a prolonged skid Stan Bowman has time on his side.

Bowman won’t rush to make the pot right because too much for this season is at stake. Until Dave Bolland’s injury comeback date is known,  Bowman may just wait things out. That is unless a trade offer can’t be past. 

Center Matt Stajan is playing well and Garnet Exelby finally had a strong game the other night. But Toronto has revitalized their playoff dreams so they could be cautious to change anything now. 

I have recently watched the Senators play a couple of times and there whole defensive corp looks slow.  Actually Cam Barker looks faster then most of the Ottawa dmen. Maybe that is why they are rumored to have an interest. 

There is no one currently playing for Carolina that seems to fit here. Ray Whitney does have an expiring contract but he isn’t a center and Joe Corvo is still out with an injury. 

If you want to look for team which will be trading someone soon I would look east. 

The Flyers have changed their coach and now some players will be moved unless they turn things around quickly. Their bomb last night versus Pittsburgh could mean changes are coming very soon. 

Braydon Coburn has an expiring contract but he won’t help the Hawks score more goals, but the Flyers big defenseman might keep a few more out of the net. 

blackhawkswin@comcast.net

Toronto comes into the game with 4 points in their last 3 games, and look to start gaining ground on their competition ahead of them. They need to find a way to finish games in regulation. The extra points they are giving up to teams ahead of them is going to be costly down the stretch.

Steven Stamkos (7 points in his last 6 games) and Martin St. Louis (6 points during a 4 game points streak) are the hot hands coming into the game for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay have gone 3-1-2 in their last 6 games, and Antero Niittymaki (4-0-3 in last 7 games) has not lost in regulation in his last 7 starts. During that time, he has posted a 1.76 GAA and a 0.945 SV%.

Niklas Hagman has a two game goal streak on the line, and has 3 goals in his last 4 outings. Matt Stajan has 7 points in his last 6 games and looks to aid Toronto’s offense tonight. Phil Kessel is on somewhat of a cold streak with just 1 point in his last 3 games, but he helped lead the charge in opening the scoring for the Leafs in their matchup with the Islanders on Monday night.

Joey MacDonald will back up Jonas Gustavsson tonight. Gustavsson has gone 0-1-2 in his last three games (though one of those loses is due to Toskala pulling himself) and in that time has posted a 5.28 GAA and a 0.870 SV%. His save percentage is noted as a cold streak despite being 0.005% better than Toskala’s save percentage on the year.

Christian Hanson was called up for tonight’s game to replace the 6 week injury to John Mitchell. He will skate alongside Niklas Hagman and Mikhail Grabovski.

Team Comparison:

Powerplay: TOR 8th (22.7%), TBL 23rd (17.7%)
Penalty Kill: TOR 29th (74.2%), TBL 25th (76.7%)
Faceoff % – TOR 16th (49.8%), TBL 10th (51.1%)
Average Shots For: TOR 1st (34.7), TBL 27th (27.4)
Average Shots Against: TOR 19th (30.5), TBL 23rd (31.5)
Average Goals For: TOR 23rd (2.54), TBL 21st (2.62)
Average Goals Against: TOR 30th (3.64), TBL 12th (2.76)
5 on 5 Goals For/Against Ratio: TOR 29th (0.73), TBL 16th (1.00)

Other Articles:
Leafs Continue to Find Ways to Lose by Dan Renaud
Briere Suspended 2 Games – Video
Phaneuf vs. Seabrook Fight Video – Potential Team Canada Linemates!

Micheal A. Aldred
michealaldred@hotmail.com

The Washington Capitals have had a lot of success against the Canadian teams over the last two seasons, but, as last night’s lacklustre pointed out, perhaps the Caps are getting soft on their opponents from North of the Border.

The Montreal Canadiens out-hustled and out-worked a much more talented Caps squad last night en route to handing Washington a rare home loss, something that has become less and less frequent at the Verizon Center over the last two years.

The Habs got stellar goaltending from Carey Price and were able to hold off Washington by a final score of 3-2, despite the Capitals intense last minute efforts to put the equalizer past Price.

In response to the Capitals poor display in front of their home fans last night, they have sent Michal Neuvirth back to the Hershey Bears. Obviously Neuvo wanted to have a much better season debut than his nerve-racked solo against the Habs, but his team-mates failed to pay the Canadiens the little respect they needed to and played catchup all night long to a Habs team that chose to outwork Washington from the first puck drop.

The Caps are rarely held to 2 goals, let alone having Alex Ovechkin fail to hit the score sheet. Ovechkin, who was playing in only his 2nd game of November, looked rather flat last night and was continuously pinned to the perimeter of the offensive zone by Montreal defenders Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek.

Overall it was just a disappointing effort from the most powerful offense in the league.

Bright spots included John Carlson and Mathieu Perreault, two rookies who played inspired, heart-filled hockey. Both of the youngsters are seeking to make the most of their opportunity in DC as neither can be sure just how long they will stay in town.

A casualty of last night’s defeat to the Habs was defenseman Tom Poti. Poti did not travel with the team, remaining behind in Washington to get treatment for his undisclosed injury. Also missing out on the trip to Toronto are Boyd Gordon, Alex Semin, Mike Knuble, Milan Jurcina and Quintin Laing. Injuries are hitting this team hard so far, but unfortunately for the NHL this season, it is not uniquely a Capitals situation. Washington’s opponents last, the Montreal Canadiens, have also been utterly decimated by injuries to their most valuable players, beating the Capitals without Brian Gionta or Andrei Markov while in the process losing Scott Gomez and Travis Moen.

The AHL is getting used more than ever this year and one has to wonder if there won’t be some sort of waiver wire record set at some point.

Semyon Varlamov will get the nod in nets tonight. It was expected that Varly was going to start last night, but with the last minute decision to play Neuvo and his subsequent demotion to Hershey this morning, it’s clear to see that Jose Theodore is back with the team. Theo will be backing up Varly tonight at the ACC and will likely make his return between the pipes next week.

Leaf-less Ordinaries

The Caps are in Toronto tonight and will be facing the worst team in the NHL. The Brian Burke/Ron Wilson club has had minor ups and tremendous downs this season.

In actuality, the Leafs season can be summed up by their most recent loss on Thursday versus the Hurricanes. The Canes who have won but 2 of their last 16 games, wound up coming back from a 3-0 first period deficit to hand the Leafs their 11th loss of the year with a 6-5 shootout win.

Toronto opened against the Hurricanes with force and aggression, but then obviously fell back into familiar habits as they tried to hold onto a lead. The Leafs are not exactly an all-star team, but because they are not known for the exponential talent, they must be feared for their aggression and tenacity. Toronto’s wins this year come as a result of their hound-dogedness. They hunt down other teams and stay on them as long as they can. Their energy levels are perhaps some of the highest in the NHL, but it’s a two-way street as the Leafs overall lack of talent often costs them. Every Leaf works hard, but not every Leaf has the tools to get it done at the NHL level.

Toronto, which only has 12 points through 20 games, have truly struggled to find an identity, but with newly acquired/signed sniper Phil Kessel in the lineup, Toronto has the makings of a solid foundation. Kessel, along with Tomas Kaberle, are the driving force behind whatever Maple Leafs offense there is, so in order to shut down Toronto, the Capitals are going to have to key in on these two.

With Mike Komisarek out due to an injury and Luke Schenn enduring through his sophomore jinx, Washington will need to take advantage and expose Toronto’s defense and goaltending. I am not sure if it will be ‘The Monster’, Jonas Gustavsson or Vesa Toskala, but seeing as neither Leafs goaltender has shown much consistency as of yet this season, the Caps should not be phased by who is between the pipes.

The Capitals have had their way with Toronto over the last couple of seasons, especially Alex Ovechkin.

This is Washington’s first trip up North on the year, so hopefully a change of scenery can help clear their heads and get them back to playing a full 60 minutes of hockey.

With Tom Poti remaining behind with the rest of the injured Caps, expect Tyler Sloan to slide back onto D tonight and for Andrew Gordon to make his debut on the 4th line with David Steckel and Matt Bradley.

For more, including game notes and lineups, click here to read my extended game preview.

www.twitter.com/StevenHindle

stevenhindle@hotmail.com

Go Caps!!!!!

With the Toronto Maple Leafs failing to garner at least a point against the Chicago Blackhawks last night after an admirable performance from goaltender Vesa Toskala, there was an issue with the Leafs’ offensive squad that became increasingly visible in the dying minutes of the game.

Grit.

Yes, even after Brian Burke boldly stated his team would no longer be “picking their teeth out of the glass,” he forgot to mention that offensively, the current squad are about as intimidating as a Hal Gill bodycheck.

Besides the fourth line, which lacks any sort of offensive acumen, the Leafs are not in possession of a player that can play the role of an effective power forward. Excuse me for mentioning Mats Sundin, but I can vaguely remember the days when Sundin and Nikolai Antropov would dominate down low, using their size and strength to control the play behind the net and in the corner boards.

Last night, for example, the Blackhawks’ defense were clearing the puck out of their zone with relative ease throughout the game, and specifically in the dying minutes. They were aggressive on the puck carrier and forced the Leafs to dump the puck down low. And, no surprise, due to a lack of grit, the Hawks out muscled the Leafs’ diminutive forwards in the corners on a regular basis and stymied any sort of chemistry the Buds were attempting to establish.

Which brings me to my point.

Perhaps it’s time to bench Matt Stajan, who has been underwhelming after his 55-point breakout last season, and call-up Christian Hanson, who leads the Toronto Marlies with 13 points in 13 games. Hanson, a natural center, has the tools to become an effective player at the NHL level, but he’ll have to develop the composure and confidence required to thrive as a player of his nature. He has the size, strength and offensive upside to establish a role as a power forward, and perhaps now is the time to give the 23-year-old another shot.

The Leafs need some sort of net presence to screen the goalie and cause havoc for the defenders down low, and although Hanson isn’t the second-coming of Christ (Gustavsson stole that title), he may help the Leafs remedy, if not temporarily, the glaring weakness they have upfront.

At this point, the fourth line seems to have the exclusive responsibility of displaying some aggressive play  in the opponents end. If the Leafs hope to compensate for their lack of skill, they’ll have to start scoring some garbage goals. And that’s not going to happen if the forwards are too afraid to a) screen the goalie and b) dig for the puck in the corners.

Sure, the Leafs could call-up players like Viktor Stalberg or Jiri Tlusty, but isn’t that just more the same? It’s time to implement some truculence upfront, and experimenting with Hanson is a start. When Ponikarovsky is the most threatening presence in the top-nine, you know it’s time to bring in some grit.

Tomas Kaberle currently remains a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but with Brian Burke’s hopes of finding a way to regain the draft picks that he lost to the Boston Bruins in the Phil Kessel deal, trading Kaberle may be the only way to do it.

Toronto has opened the season with only 1 out of 12 possible points and as Pierre McGuire opined on Montreal radio earlier in the week, ‘if you lose 10 straight points at any point during the season, you are likely not going to make the playoffs.’

Pardon my paraphrasing, but the reality is that the Leafs are looking at a seriously steep climb if they are going to be in contention come March.

Also consider the fact that if the Leafs keep playing this way then Brian Burke may have very well traded away the 1st overall pick in the 2010 Draft to a hated division rival. For all of the wonder and awe over what Phil Kessel may do for the Leafs over the next 5 years, who’s to say that the deal will have been worth it when the Bruins draft Taylor Hall 1st overall next June?

Leaf Nation would absolutely explode if this turns out to be the case.

Given the risks that Burke has already taken with the Maple Leafs future, perhaps it’s time for the GM extraordinaire to explore the possibilities of regaining some of those picks.

Considering he may have very well given up the 1st overall pick, Burke should fight like hell to get some picks back because the 2010 Draft is going to be a very deep one.

In order to do that though, Burke is going to have to go through with the one move he has put off the most since he arrived in Toronto, trade Tomas Kaberle.

Obviously there are many teams that would be interested in the valuable blue-liner with the extremely affordable cap hit of $4.25 mil per season.

But will Burke ever trade him?

Considering how long he has held out on dealing away the Czech defender, it’s only too easy to assume that Burke has driven the trade value through the roof. And that right there may be why all of the rumours of teams pursuing Kaberle have disappeared.

Burke may have jumped the gun on dealing away his uber valuable picks to the Bruins for Kessel, but he has a very good chance of regaining some of those picks by finally dealing away Kaberle.

…

Although Pronger was too expensive for the Caps tastes, perhaps a deal for Kaberle could be reached with the Leafs.

I have previously suggested that Caps GM George McPhee should be more inclined to part with high round picks now that the team has reached the level of contenders. The Capitals future is now and lies in the players currently on the team and the prospects who are currently closing in on being NHL ready. If the Capitals are interested in adding to the team without entirely subtracting from its current lineup, McPhee may be more inclined to part with some picks in the 2010 or 2011 drafts. With so many 1st and 2nd round picks turning out positively for the Caps current lineup, there is no doubt that GMGM will be willing to consider parting with future 1st and 2nd rounders, exactly what Burke should be looking for.

Of course McPhee also holds the rights to a certain centerman who should hold some trade value…but no one seems to be interested in the services of Michael Nylander.

I firmly believe that the Toronto Maple Leafs are the one team in the NHL that would immediately benefit from the Swede’s services, but given his cap hit and the risk that comes with trading for him, most teams, including the Leafs, are more likely scared than interested.

Yet, even with the inherent risks of acquiring an expensive contract, doesn’t it seem like the Leafs could use a top line center? With no disrespect to Grabovski, Stajan and Primeau, Michael Nylander would offer the Leafs a better option on their top line as well as adding a veteran element to their forward corps which they currently lack.

To read more of my thoughts on who might be interested in the services of Tomas Kaberle, read on HERE.

Steven Hindle

stevenhindle@hotmail.com

Looks like Jay Rosehill did enough to prove he belongs at the NHL level, as well as Viktor Stalberg who skated along the top line for Toronto with Matt Stajan and Jason Blake during practice. That is expected to be a stand-out line this season for the Leafs.

Forwards
Jason Blake
Mikhail Grabovski
Niklas Hagman
Phil Kessel*
Jamal Mayers
John Mitchell
Colton Orr
Alexei Ponikarovsky
Wayne Primeau
Jay Rosehill
Viktor Stalberg
Matt Stajan
Lee Stempniak
Rickard Wallin

Defence
Francois Beauchemin
Garnet Exelby
Jeff Finger
Tomas Kaberle
Mike Komisarek
Luke Schenn
Mike Van Ryn*
Ian White

Goalies
Vesa Toskala
Jonas Gustavsson

Micheal A. Aldred

michealaldred@hotmail.com