Around the NHL (30-12-2006)

The Anaheim Ducks are on their way to the best season in the team's history, which also includes the days when they were known as the Mighty Ducks. Keeping up the same pace in the second half as they did in the first, they could record a sixty win season. A task that will be hard to keep up with both your regular goalies are hit with the injury bug.

The Buffalo Sabres are on their way to beating a team record for points in a season. The Sabres of the mid seventies had recorded a 113 point season in 1974-75 and reached the Stanley cup finals that same season. This season, the Sabres will set a new record and have a second 100 point + season for the first time since the team of seventies that I mentionned.

When will we see the first significant trade this season ? A good question. The Salary cap has played a major factor in why we have seen little movement so far. It's playing the role it was meant to do. I like it, because everyone has the same chance to put together the best team possible and it creates parity.

The preparation for the trade deadline starts in the new year, as we will enter the second half of the season and half the players salaries will have been paid out, so it will be easier to absorb salaries under the cap.

The big question is who is going where and who is staying ? Sundin will be staying in Toronto and finish his career as a Leaf. The same could be said of Joe Sakic in Colorado.

Most likely the Philadelphia Flyers and the St-Louis Blues will be sellers as they will want to rebuild.

The tradeline might be one the most interesting in years.

Around the NHL

We are not even half way thru the season and already we have seen four guys losing their jobs (Hitchcock, Yawney, Gallant and Kitchen). Could we see more before the end of the season ? Very possible, Gretzky would step down before the obvisious would happen. Is Joel Quenneville’s job on the line in Colorado ? I don’t rule it out, unless he can turn around Jose Théodore’s poor play. I would not be surprised to see Colorado buy out Théodore’s contract at the end of the season, he will be earning 6 million next season, so at two thirds, Colorado would be on tap for about two million in dead cap space and save 3.3 million in the cap. Brisebois and Turgeon will not be returning next season also. Pierre Lacroix has been known for pulling rabbits from his hat in the past, but the Théodore trade is not one of his best, combined with the Brisebois and Turgeon signings, will be a blotch on his legacy in Colorado.

If Florida wanted to shop Gary Roberts, I think he could be a good fit in Montreal and center the maligned Kovalev-Samsonov line. He is a good leader and could take off some pressure from Koivu in that department, he also could be a good influence on the youngsters coming in to a playoff run. I don’t think too many teams will want to meet the Habs in the first round of the playoffs, or any round for that matter. The comeback kids are deadly when it comes to the second and third periods, a lead is not safe with them. I would not be surprised also, to see Gainey keeping an eye on what the Leafs will do with Tucker. I think if the Leafs don’t sign him to a contract extension and becomes a free agent, Gainey could offer him a contract, which in my opinion could spell the end of Micheal Ryder in Montreal.

If the Senators fail to make the playoffs , I can see the owner cleaning house, Muckler and Murray would be out of jobs. If this happens, we might see the return of Pierre Gauthier as Gm, who is presently acting as the Habs Gm during Gainey’s leave for the reason we all know. Would Gauthier be tempted on giving Pat Burns a call ? Burns is recovering from cancer, has mentionned his desire to get back in to coaching. In a way Burns would be coming back to where he started. He was the coach of the Hull Olympiques when a certain Wayne Gretzky was the owner in the mid 80’s and had players like Luc Robitaille, Pat Brisson (now a player agent) and Benoit Brunet in his line-up. Remember it was Burns’ Devils that eliminated the Sens in game 7 of the Eastern conference final in 2003 and went on to win the cup against the Mighty Ducks in seven games. It would be a good comeback for Pat, espacially that he would be meeting three of his four former employers on a regular basis (Montreal, Toronto and Boston).

The season is 187 days long, divide in two and it comes to 93.5 days, so the half way point as calculating the cap, would come on day 94, which brings us to about the first weekend in January. So look for movement to start in the week of January 8th and would end at the trade deadline on February 27 th.

Could Anaheim beat the Habs record for most Points in a single season ?

The Anaheim Ducks may want to put back Mighty in their name again , because thay have been just that this season so far. If the Ducks were to keep the same pace, they could finish with 133 pts, which would beat the Montreal Canadiens record of 132 points from the amazing 1976-77 season, thirty years ago.

An another team is on a strong pace, the Buffalo Sabres could tie a record from the 1995-96 season, established by the Detroit Red Wings, who finished the season with 62 wins. Scotty Bowman who coached the Habs team I mentionned earlier, was also behind the wings bench in 1995-96, which made him the first coach to win 60 games with two different teams. The Hall of Fame coach could have company this season, if Lindy Ruff keeps his team on the same pace.

Of course my calculations do not take in to account the injury factur or possible trades after the mid season point when half the salaries will have been paid out, which would change a lot of things. Also, possible slumps by teams who are on hot streaks now, like Anaheim and Buffalo.

If we were in perfect world and everything went as planned, this is how the Eastern and Western conferences could look like come April 9th. In the East, Buffalo would have home ice advantage in the first three rounds. They would meet the Washington Capitals. The Atlanta Trashers would meet the Boston Bruins. The New Jersey Devils would meet the Islanders in a New York area series. The New York Rangers would meet the Montreal Canadiens in an original six series.

In the West, The Ducks would meet Calgary. Edmonton and Detroit would meet for a second year in a row. The Nashville Predators would take on the Minnesota Wild. Dallas and San Jose would face off in the last of that conference’s first round match ups.

I will repeat the excercise after the trade deadline, and see where we are at that point and should give us a better idea at who will make the playoffs in April.

Is Mats Sundin playing his last year in the NHL ? Speculation is that he could retire and finish his playing in Sweden. If the Leafs don’t pick up the option, Sundin will be owed 1million US, which will count in the Leafs cap for next season.

My best wishes go out to the Gainey family, in hoping that they find Laura.

This Week In the NHL (29-11-06)

At the NHL Board of governors meetings next week in Palm Beach, Florida, the schedule could become the main menu if Comissionner Bettman can be persuaded to put it on the agenda.

Ryan Smyth of the Oilers, will become the most sought after UFA this coming summer. I'm sure they are already teams jockying for position to get the first crack at him, come July 1st. The Rangers, Kings, Wings and Coyotes could be amongst the most interested. The catch here, how many teams are they left that did not participate in the UFA market in the last two years and who has the cap space available for the next 3 to 4 years at 5.25 million a year ? Not too many. Also factor in, that the cap limit could take a plundge next season.

Is President/GM, Doug MacLean, on his way out if Colombus fails to make the playoffs ? He would be the obvious choice if you look at the standings. The have 14 points and have 60 games remaining, even if they got one point in those remaining games, they would still be eliminated. If the team does not improve by Christmas, I think MacLean will be gone and Hitchcock could have double duties till the end of the season.

According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, The Montreal Canadiens GM, Bob Gainey, is listening to offers on David Aebischer. With Huet pretty much taken the number goalie spot, that means Aebischer is available. The Coyotes and Kings have investigated the possibility.

On the Hockey Website, The fourth Period, they gathered their 'Experts'' and asked them some questions:
1. Which team is in most need of a change?
The Senators, Flyers and Canucks came up the most often.

2. Which team will be the first to press the panic button?
The Senators once again come up in the discussion.

3.Will San Jose trade one of their goalies this season?
8 said Yes.

4.Will the Boston Bruins trade Glen Murray?
7 Of them answered said Yes.

5. Will the Philadelphia Flyers trade Peter Forsberg?
6 Said no.

6.Who will be the first big name player to be traded?
Daniel Alfredsson's name came up twice.

I guess we will find out in time if those gentlemen are right or wrong on the their answers.

Around the NHL

Sheldon Souray is starting to look like the defenceman that Habs fans saw at the beginning of the 2003-04 season before going down with a knee injury in February 2004. He struggled a good part of last season, but seems to have regained his confidence and is one of the team's top d-men, along with Craig Rivet, who to everyone's surprise is playing the best hockey of his career, and add Andrei Markov to the mix, and you have a good trio of defencemen. I won't go as far as comparing them to the hall of fame big three of the 70's, but in today's cap restricted NHL, it's a luxury. All three, Rivet, Souray and Markov become UFA's at the end of the season, will Montreal Gm, Bob Gainey be able to re-sign them ? Espacially that there is specualtion that the cap limit could go down next season. I guess Gainey will worry about that when the time comes.

I'm sure they were alot of happy faces on Ottawa Senators fans faces this morning on the way to work. The Sens pulled off a team effort and beat the high flying Sabres in Buffalo, 4-2. To top off the night, Sens defenceman, Chris Phillips, on a lucky bank shot, scored his first goal in more than 50 games, I guess it was a good way to put the icing on the cake. Before, Lord Stanley's cup dances in your head, beware, the slump is not over yet. It was a good feel good win, but that is all it was, temporary relief for the moment. For it to be really over, the Sens have to win the weekend games in New Jersey and in Ottawa against the Sabres again, you know, Buffalo will be looking for revenge and with most likely their number one goalie, Ryan Miller, back in the line-up. Chris Stevenson from the Ottawa sun, noticed that the press gallery had been invaded with scouts from : Washington, Pittsburgh, the Rangers, Toronto, New Jersey, Chicago, Florida, Colorado, Anaheim, Carolina and two from the Oilers. Is something brewing in Ottawa ? Stay tuned.

Will Ken Hitchcock be coaching the Colombus Blue Jackets this weekend ? Good question and Doug McLean is not talking and for a good reason, according to the Colombus Dispatch, an interview with Hitchcock is only due next week. Hitchcock's value could go up, if the Senators fail to win their weekend contest against the Devils and the Sabres. McLean better act fast or he could be walking the unemployment line.

Guy Carbonneau, The Canadiens rookie coach, is not making any friends among the on ice officiating NHL collegiate. Carbo, known to Habs fans, is not very happpy with some questionnable calls by referees since the beginning of the season. I think he is right . Take last night's game against the Lightning, Mike Johnson, a surprise pick up in off season by Gm Bob Gainey, was chasing the puck behind Marc Denis' net and bumped in a lightning player, fell and played the puck, missed it and at the same time an another Bolts player grabbed it and fell, if you check the replay, Johnson was not the cause of the fall, but was called for tripping, those kind of calls have been happening alot, Carbonneau is not putting all the blame on the refs, but would like more transparency and clearity. Carbonneau is as alert behind the bench as he was on the ice as a player. Carbonneau is learning the trade, and will in time, know when to chat with the refs and when not to, it will come with time Guy.

The Sens, Roy and …

I remember along time ago, the season following the Montreal Canadiens four straight Stanley Cup run, the team entered the 1979-80 season struggling, and legendary hockey broadcaster, Dick Irvin, asked the following : ‘’What is wrong with the Canadiens ? ‘’ I think this is also the case for the Senators. . I’m sure that Spector remembers that period in the Habs history.

Like the struggling Habs team I mentionned, the same factor seems to be downing on the Senators. Ok, you can say, that it’s still early in the season and there is no reason to panic, my question to you then is: ‘’How long will it have to take for the team to gel as coach Murray puts it ? ‘’ A better question then, ‘’ How long will it take before the fans that pay the big bucks to see a game at Scotiabank Place, start howling their discontent at the next home game ? ‘’. Seeing the last Few Senators games, it just might be a question of time.

An another question also could be asked : ‘’ Is it time to change the chemistry of this team ? ‘’ I think so, a rebuilding process may start in Ottawa before too long.

Patrick Roy, like him or not, your choice. Will become a member of the Hockey Hall of fame come Monday November 13th. This past week, Roy made a joke about Habs rookie Guillaume Latendresse scoring his first NHL goal on Tuesday against the Oilers. Since then the Quebec media have been having a field day with this. Today (Thursday) Roy changed his tune, and stated that he had nothing against the young man, and in a way, without saying, whished he had not said it. Unfortunatly Latendresse fell in the trap laid out by the former Habs great. The Habs rookie, said : ‘’ I did not really like him, even if i was a fan of the team.’’ Guy Carbonneau, Habs head coach and former Roy teammate for ten years, has not and probably won’t even come to his rookie’s defence, but will likely will have a little talk with him, on how to goat his former teammate, and to take the episode as a learning experience. If I would of been in Latendresse’s position I would of answered : ‘’ Too bad I did not score it against him.’’ Good answer, but Roy could of replied : ‘’ I was having an off night.’’ Possible Patrick, but i’m sure you would of had to think a few times before answering. Roy is unique, he is able to get the press eating out of his hand, and is very good at it. Scotty Bowman, was a master at that, even today, four years after coaching his last game, he still attracts attention, sorry Don, but once again he out matches you. Sorry guys and gals from the media, but Bowman, Cherry, Roy, Gretzky, Lemieux (Mario) wave the their magic wands and you all come running.

I think we will have a big trade this month, which teams will be involved, your guess is as good as mine, but it could and mostl likely have an impact on how the trade deadline activity goes come February 28th.
Stay tuned, the words : Leapping lizards, may come to mind.

That’s all for now folks !

Roy, Gretzky and ...

Next weekend, we will see Patrick Roy's hockey career come full circle when he is inducted in to the Hall of Fame. Like him or not, he deserves his spot in the hall among the greats that have played the game. I'm wondering if the league arranged to have the Montreal Canadiens play the Leafs on what is called the Hall of Fame weekend. The official induction will take place on Monday, November 13th.

If my memory serves me right, this will be the first time Roy will be on the same ice as his former team without his former Colorado teammates. Only two players on the actual habs edition were around when Roy played his final games with the Canadiens in 1995-96. Captain Saku Koivu, was in his rookie season when Roy was still in Montreal, I think Rivet was there also, but was a fill in from time to time at the time.

He will though have a chance to exchange some good memories with former teammates, Guy Carbonneau, Kirk Muller and Habs Gm, Bob Gainey, who was team captain in his rookie season and won the cup in 1986. Could this be the first step to welcome Roy back into the Habs family and put to rest the way he had left eleven years ago. That will be Patrick's decision if he wants to make the next move towards that, The Habs President, Pierre Boivin has mentionned, that Roy was more than welcome to comeback when he feels comfortable to do so. Stay tuned !

The Coyotes fans are not happy campers, and they are pointing fingers at Wayne Gretzky, the Head Coach. Is Gretzky's inexperience as a coach starting to show, and things will get worse before they get better ? It seems to be showing it's ugly head. As we know, the great one has been known to surround himself with friends and be loyal towards them, that's fine outside the rink, but in the dressing room it's not something that will help team chemistry. Last season, the Gretzky effect worked for awhile, but faded as the season went along, and it's light has gone out. I think that Gretzky should step down in the best interest of the team.

It seems that the cap limit could be coming down next season, not in dragstic way, but will come down, I would say at about 42M and stay there for the remainder of the life of the CBA. Teams that went wild on free agents in 2005 and 2006, could feel the pinch and be forced to dump some salaries, espacially the big contracts. Example, Martin St.Louis in Tampa Bay could hit the market, but it takes two to trade.

City of Brotherly love, not so brotherly ?

Is Bobby Clarke on his way out in Philadelphia ? Can't rule it out, after all, ten years ago the most storied franchise in hockey, the Montreal Canadiens made a house cleaning when the team President, Ronald Corey, fired about every hockey man in his sight, including Serge Savard, who had built him two Stanley cup teams in his twelve year stint with the organization. Could this happen in Philly ? Anything is possible. Like him or not, Bobby Clarke built three teams that went to the Stanley cup finals, but the name of the game is about Winning the trophy and not being second. The knock against the former Flyers captain and now Gm, is he has not be able in his two stints as Flyers Gm, to find that number 1 goaltender that will bring him to the promiseland, he had a chance to pick up Patrick Roy, he declined, Roy went on to Colorado and won two cups there, and won the Memorial cup as coach and Gm of his junior team in Quebec city.

This summer, his coach, Ken Hitchcock, was without a contract, he finally got renewed and now things seem to be falling to pieces. Is Hitchcock the problem ? I doubt it, but of course I am not in the dressing room. What is the problem in Philadelphia ? Hopefully, Clarke and Hitchcock can find it before they are out of their respective jobs. Guys, you don't have to be Einstein to figure this out, you can't decide who will be your number one goalie, you have a defense that looked like firehydrants in the 9-1 blasting against Buffalo. You have a number one center that has been known to be injury prown, and out of 13 forwards, about only one third can score, you don't win too many games with that. Under the old NHL, you could get away with it, but under new one, skill, speed and youth are front and center, just look at the team that bombed you the other night, they have the ingridients for what will be and probably is the recipe for success in the NHL under the cap world.

Who is responsible for the mess in the Flyers camp ? is it the coaching style of Hitchcock or is it the guy that signed the players that he should not of, Bobby Clarke ? I don't blame Hitchcock, but as I said, I am not in the dressing room, I think he should stay and Clarke should be the one to go. If the Flyers should make Hitchcock the scapegoat, you have a certain Bob Gainey, that would scoop him up and make him a special adviser to his coach, Guy Carbonneau, not that he does not trust his former teammate and coach, but as they say, two heads are better than one. A role that Jacques Lemaire played with the Habs in the 80's and 90's, alot of times you can learn things watching the game from a different perspective than when your running the bench, not everybody can be Scotty Bowman. He could be on a cellphone with his wife making up the following week's schedule for the family meals, change his lines, be two steps ahead of the other team, win a game, hell the Stanley cup, and not a lose a step, I think Mr.Bowman would of been able to do all at once.

To conclude, the Flyers are in bad shape, they have no Dryden or Roy, far away from having the big three, the offense is shooting blanks, no Lafleur, Shutt or Lemaire as an explosive first line, and no Bowman behind the bench. Sorry Philly fans, but Lord Stanley does not have you on his radar for this year or next, he maybe flying north this year.

Note: Sorry, i have not been around to update my blog, but i have had personal issues to deal with in the past few weeks and now are resolved, hopefully i will be able to update my blog on a regular basis from now on. Thank you for your patience. !

Islanders to buy out Yashin and ...

According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, the New York Islanders will buy out the remainder of under achieving forward, Alexei Yashin's contract at the end of the season. Yashin is in the sixth year of his idiotic contract. As far as the cap goes the Islanders will have to absorb 12 million in cap space for the next 8 years, which comes up to 1.5 million in dead cap space, compared to the space he is taking now, which comes up to 7,4 million. I think it's a pretty good deal for the Islanders, and clean up a mess that should never of happened.It is well stated in the CBA, that buyouts at two thirds are to count in the team's cap space for twice the remaining years of the contract. In Yashin's case, he will have four years remaining on his contract, so spread out it comes up to eight years.

Garrioch also mentions in his article, that the Red Wings could have an eye on Martin Biron from the Buffalo Sabres, should Dominic Hasek fall on his face. Other names are also mentionned to be of interest to the Wings, J-S Giguere in Anaheim, but his contract presents a major obstacle, but could be a good pick up come the tradeline in late February or early March.

In the same article, Garrioch believes Pittsburgh's coach Michel Therrien and Dallas coach, Dave Tippett could be on the bubble and could become the first coaching casualities of the season. If Tippett was too fall in Dallas, former Leafs Bench boss, Pat Quinn could be considered to take over. Garrioch mentions also, that Ottawa Senators owner, Eugene Melnyk, is being patient with his coach, Bryan Murray, and suggest that he should offer him an extension and kill the speculation that he could be bumped at the end of year or before, if the team should fail to live up to expectations. I have always wondered why Murray was hired in the first place, because his coaching record in the playoffs pretty much looked the same as Jacques Martin's who was fired after the early exit in the spring of 2004.

It seems that Washington Capitals owner, Ted Leonsis, is taking offers from potential buyers, but has not mentionned if he would actually sell the team, but you never know.

That's all for now folks !

A week to go Folks

Well folks, we are a week away from the opening of the 2006-07 NHL season. Three and half months have gone by since we saw the Carolina Hurricanes win Lord Stanley's prize.

The excitement is not the same as last year of course, because then we had gone a full season with no hockey as we got closer to opening night in 2005-06. The excitement should get bigger, because we know that after a year with the rule changes, hockey this season should even be better.

All the teams have had a year to adjust to the rule changes and hopefully we will see the game get better as the season progresses.

Living in the Ottawa area, i will get to see the two first games of the battle of Ontario, between the Senators and the Maple Leafs. Friday, my team the Montreal Canadiens will begin their season on the road, against the Buffalo Sabres and the following night, they will be in Toronto to play the leafs. This on top of following the baseball playoffs that should be starting next week, and the NFL on Sunday. It's a long weekend here Canada, so all works out great. Beer, turkey, chips and plenty of sports to watch , what else could a guy ask for ?

Habs to Honour 2 greats and ...

The Most storied franchise in NHL history, The Montreal Canadiens, are to honour two hockey greats in a sweater retiring ceremonies to take place during the season.

Serge Savard, long time defenceman and member of the famous Big Three of the Habs in the 1970's, will see his number 18 lifted to the rafters of the Bell Center on Saturday Nov 18th. Savard also played in the famous 1972 Soviet-Canada series. He also was the GM of the last two Stanley Cups won by the Habs.

Legendary goaltender, Ken Dryden, will also see his famous number 29 lifted to glory on January 29th, in a ceremony before the game between his former team and the Ottawa Senators. Dryden, since retiring from the game in 1979, was elected to the hockey Hall of Fame in 1983, has written two books on hockey, one called the Game. He also wrote on the education system in Ontario. Dryden is presently an MP in Ottawa and is running for the leadership for the Liberal party.

Well, with training camps opening last week and teams playing pre-season games, we can tell hockey season has started. Still with all of this, alot of players are looking for teams to play for next season. Gentleman, welcome to the new reality of the NHL in the salary cap world. Under the old CBA, we rarely saw this happen, but look for this happen more and more during the life of the new CBA. Unless teams have major long term injuries that they need to replace, the chances that free agents find work next season are slim to none.

I hope Colombus Blue Jackets' GM, Doug Maclean stands his ground with his young Russian superstar. Restricted free agents must have a signed contract in hand by December 1st 5pm eastern time, or else they become ineligible to play the remainder of the season. Something to think about Mr.Zerdhev.

That's all for now folks !
See you Sunday !

What was Charles Wang thinking ? And...

I'm sure all of you are wondering like the rest of the hockey world, what was Charles Wang thinking ? I guess, only Charles Wang can answer that, well at least we think he can. I'm sure alot of you, myself included think the Islanders owner has gone insane, but that is for the State of New-York to determine.

According to an Eastern conference GM " There's nothing in the constitution that says you can't sign a player for 15 years'' and there was nothing NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman could of done to stop it.

Deputy commissionner, Bill Daly had this to say ''Clubs are free to make their own decisions within the confines laid out in the collective bargaining agreement and other applicable league rules,'' and added on saying ''Some decisions turn out well, others not so well.''

Also pointed out in the TSN article i quoted, is the fact that the present CBA expires in six years, and nobody knows what the next one will be like, that is the danger, i have to agree. As Bobby Clarke mentions '' If he becomes the goalie they expect him to become, it's a hell of a deal.'' If not, what happens then ? Don't forget that contracts are guaranteed, so the Islanders are stuck with it for as long as DiPietro's career will last or even longer.

The Wang circus continues on the Island.

Lou Lamariello's cap problems are keeping him busy these days, but he says he is not worried as he has until the end of training camp to resolve them. Very true, teams can go over the cap by 10% (48.4m) from June 30th to the end of training camp, then all teams must be cap compliant, of course there is the long term injury factor that comes into play also, but there is a mechanism in place in the CBA for that reason.

It's called the long term injury exemption. What it does, it allows clubs such as the Devils that are close to the Upper Limit (the cap max) to replace an injured player that qualified for the exemption, to go over the cap for the period that the player is out injured, but they cannot go over for the full amount of the unfit player's salary. Exemple: Player x on club B, has a cap hit of 4m and that club is at 42 of the 44 million upper limit, only two million of that salary can go over the limit. Once the unfit player is ready to comeback, you must clear the salary and become cap compliant or the player cannot return until that is done.

For CBA faq's please visit this site to get a better idea.

Note: Now that training camps will be opening across the league, i will be updating on a weekly basis, more if a major trade or event happens between my postings. I will see you all back here on Sunday.

Bettman and his bean counters

Last year, when the new CBA was freshly signed, the NHL missed out on a great opportunity to educate the fans on how the cap works. It’s been over a year now, and still nothing from Bettman and his bean counters on who counts and who does not.

I think there is alot of misinformation on how the accounting is done on how the cap counts for all clubs are explained. You read some columns from one beat reporter from one city and he or she says that long term injuries will not count and in an another city, an another reporter will say that for the same kind of injury it counts. You give NHL headquarters in New York a call, to fish out some information, they will probably tell you, read the CBA. It’s all fine and dandy to do so, but if your not a labour lawyer and don’t understand the language in it, your guess on the interpretation is as good as mine. I see it a bit like Spector said some time ago in one of his Soapbox articles, Thank you suckers and not Thank you fans, as written on every rink in NHL cities. Pay 100$ for a seat, eat hot dogs, pop corn, and drink 10$ glasses of beer and we will take care of the business side of hockey. Oh Mr.Bettman that is how it works.

Will all do respect, Mr.Bettman, we the fans know more and want to no more about all aspects of the game, on and off the ice than you could possibly think. Sir, we saw how you took care of the business side of hockey, since you have been commissioner, we have had two work stoppages caused by over inflation of salaries. Yes you brought in a spending limit and made it work, well at least for now it does. Every club as you like to put it, has been able to afford a top class player, where under the old CBA it was not possible. I know and many others that may read this will also know, that you don’t trust the owners, and with good reason, it is well stated in the CBA signed on July 22nd, 2005. I have read the part of that same document, and from what i have understood, you are making every salary and bonus acccountable, which is good. Example, article 50.10 (d), I have read it a few times to make sure that i understood it well, this including the illustrations. From what i have read, what is said, is that if a club is at 43.5 million and has an made exemption application for a player that could possibly be out for the season, and that so called unfit player is making 4.1 million, that club can go over the cap by 3.6 million. The so called club is at 43.5, goes to the upper limit of 44 million and goes over by no more than 3.6, that club the following season will not be penalized because of the bona fided exemption clause, as long as an application was made for it, or else the club will be penalized the following season.

In Spector’s latest Soapbox, on request from a reader, he responded that cap space would be freed up. In a way yes, if you read what i wrote above, the freed up cap space would only occur next season, a club that went over the cap because of a bona fided long term injury exemption application made, the 3.6 million that the Bruins will be going over the cap this season because of Zhamnov’s injury replacements, they will not be penalized in dead cap space next season. That being said, here comes the sticky part, if i am not mistaken, the Bruins signed him to a three year contract and he was 35 at the time he signed it, if he were to retire next summer, the Bruins will have his salary count on the books for 2007-08.
As for Keith Primeau’s situation, the reason why the Flyers will be able to take his salary off the books for next season, is that he signed his contract prior to the new CBA and he was not 35 + when he signed it, so my understanding is that the NHL will use the same grandfather clause as in the Jagr situation, that the part of Jagr’s salary paid by the Capitals did not count against their cap count, the Rangers where on the books for their share.

So to conclude, Bettman and his bean counters are counting almost everything under the sky. The only time a player’s salary will no count from what i have understood, if he is assigned to the AHL and not on re-conditionning assignement, he is suspended by the league or club and not receiving his salary during that period. Otherwise everything counts. There is a good reason for this, the players revenu sharing. I will read more about this and get back to you. To explain all of this, it’s easy. You have an hour for lunch, no problem there, but when do you start the count ? It’s 11.55 am and you tell your boss, ‘’ i’m off to lunch’’ well the count starts at 11.55am and not when you sit down and take your first bite in that big juicy big mac, so that means that at 12.55 you better be back at your position and ready to start work and not at 1.05. You can try and cheat, just don’t get caught, Bettman is not giving the clubs that chance.

This is just is my understanding on how the cap works and it’s accountability. I may be wrong, but i don’t think so.

That’s for now folks !

Something brewing in Montreal ?

According to an NHL insider, something is brewing in the offices of the Habs management. The insider mentions in his latest blog entry, that the Canadiens Gm, Bob Gainey is in talks with two Eastern conference teams. He does not mention either of the teams, but some readers in their comments have mentionned one of the teams. One deal that could be in the making , would be with the Islanders. The habs would send Mike Komisarek and Radek Bonk to Long Island for Radek Martinek, Jeremy Colliton and Sean Bergenheim. I would not make the trade, i think by giving up Komisarek, a 6’4’’ solid defenseman with a bright future in Montreal, would make the habs defense vulnerable in the long term. Yes, i am a Komisarek fan and don’t want him to leave for the reason i mentionned above. Also the Habs play in a highly competitive division and against teams like Ottawa, Toronto, Boston and Buffalo, a guy like Komisarek will make his presence known and players may tend not come in the habs zone on his side, a mark of respect. Now without comparing him to one of my favorite habs players, Larry Robinson, I think Komisarek can gain with time the same kind respect that Robinson did, is that players tended not too come in on the left side when big Larry was garding the fort, those that did, paid a heavy price. Komisarek is young, strong and will get better with a seasoned NHL pro like Carbonneau as his coach. So no, i don’t make that trade.

Now on the same site, an another reader posted an another rumour, that would send Souray, Ryder, Ribeiro, Aebischer and the 2007 first round pick to Pittsburgh for Malkin, the young russian star . Of course alot people see this as a fantasy league trade, but i see it otherwise. First, salary wise it makes sense. The Pittsbugh Penguins have to become cap compliant as to the minimum of 28 million. An another reason that could be that Mario Lemieux and his group could see with such a trade, is becoming more competitive and have a better chance at making the playoffs and gaining the extra revenu with the veteran help that Gainey would be sending them. On the other hand, the Penguins could be willing to stand pat and risk missing the playoffs a few years, and hope to improve. When your trying to sell the team, you should be at an advantage. selling it as a competitive team could get you a good price. Or, you could risk taking less because it won’t bring you the extra revenus a potential playoff contenter could. Mario, we will be waiting for your answer. What do the habs get out of this ? Well, a player like Malkin would find in the habs some russian commrades in Kovalev and Markov, which would be dynamite on the powerplay. The space left on defense with Souray going the other way would not be as big as per Komisarek going in the other trade i mentionned. The Habs have a good stable of youngsters knocking at the door and could fill in for Souray. I like Sheldon Souray, when we was going thru a bad time last season, I stuck with him and it paid off , but he will become a UFA at the end of the season and nothing indicates that Gainey would of offered him an another contract, so Mr. Gainey would with this trade, gets better quality in return that he would, he if he tried to trade him in an another way. Alot people could say, why trade Ryder ? Yes he is a 30 goal scorer, but is not a fast skater and Malkin with Kovalev, has a better chance at scoring 40 + than Ryder ever could. Ribeiro, like Ryder is not a fast skater and his work ethic and attitude does not fit in with what Gainey and Carbonneau are trying to build in Montreal. Why would Gainey want to trade a good solid back up like Aebischer ? the answer is simple, it would complete the Theodore trade last spring, in the process, it would look better than the Roy trade in 1995. Gainey with trading Aebischer, would open the door for Yan Danis or shop for a good and cheap back-up. Of course a good part of such a trade is the cap issue, for both Pittsburgh and Montreal. The Penguins need to reach the mimimum of 28 million and the Habs want to make more room for youngsters. Gainey would be dumping 8.5 million in cap space and graduating some young talent and possibly sign free agent J.P. Dumont and have some cap room to add what is missing come the trade deadline towards the end of February and make a good playoff run. Bob, on this one, go do it.

Cap Money Spend in 2005-06 and…

You all remember the days under the old CBA when you had payrolls of 50, 60 and 70 million, it was crazy, i’m sure you agree. In 2003-04, the last season under the old CBA, the average in payroll for all 30 teams was 44 million. Last season, year one of the cap era, the average for all the clubs was below 35 million, 34,510,407$ to be exact. These are not official numbers from the NHL, but i’m sure they must be pretty close. These are cap money numbers and not actual salaries as seen on the NHLPA’s site.

The difference this past season to what we saw in the past, the gap between the team that spent the least and those that bumped against and went over the upper limit is not as wide. In 2003-04, the Pittsburgh Penguins spent about 25 million, one of the lowest, while teams like Detroit, Colorado and of course the New York Rangers, spend over 60 million, so you see how wide the gap was. In 2005-06, the lowest spending team in cap money of course, was the Minnesota Wild with 25, 312, 213$ and the highest was the Tampa Bay Lightning with 38,282,943$ and being cap compliant thru out the season if i’m not mistaken. As you can see, the gap is not as wide as before the lock-out. The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup with a cap hit of 31,530,422$, so when you can get quality and quantity to match, it can take you a long way. As I said during the playoffs, who ever won the cup, they would become the poster boys on how to build a cup winning team without spending like drunken sailors.

I wonder what is happening with Simon Gagné’s contract situation, we have not heard about it in awhile. I guess Bobby Clarke is waiting to see if Keith Primeau will be back or not. If Primeau does decide to retire , that would free up cap money to sign Gagné, but would Clarke sign him to his asking price of 5m a year, we will have to wait to see.

I think J.P. Dumont may have missed out on a chance to become a member of Les Glorieux (Canadiens) due to the timing of his arbitration hearing, had he been available at the same time as Samsonov, Mr.Gainey may have gone with Dumont and saved some bucks to use at the trade deadline or to compensate to pay a remplacement for Francis Bouillon, who will be on injury reserve until November, unless Gainey can get Bouillon’s salary taken off the books, which i doubt, but who knows.

The other day i came across a blog, the blogger claims to be an NHL insider, with the Montreal Canadiens, he says that he works under Julien Brisebois in the legal department and Knows the true Habs cap situation. In his latest entry, he claims that something is brewing and that we should be hearing things soon. For one, i’m not sure if i do this if i was in his situation, the risk of getting caught is pretty high and losing your job with the most prestigious franchise in NHL history does not look good on a resume. For now, i’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.


That’s all for now folks !

Rookie Coaches to make their Debut

When the NHL resumes in a few months, two former players will be making their debut in the head coaching ranks.

Jim Playfair in Calgary, will be taking over from GM Darryl Sutter, who led the Flames to the cup final in 2004 against the Tampa Bay Lighning.

Guy Carbonneau, three time Stanley cup champion, three time Selke trophy winner and last player to captain the Montreal Canadiens to a Stanley Cup, will attempt to lead his former team to glory, behind the bench. It's not going to be a walk in the park for the former hab and future Hall of Famer. The last guys to coach the Habs to a championship, did it in their first season, and Carbonneau was a member of those two teams. So if anyone knows about playing in the pressure cooker that is Montreal, it's Carbonneau. If he coach's with the same determination that he played the game, he should get his fair share of success. What is to Carbonneau's advantage, he is taking over an upcoming team with a promising future. Carbonneau, like Playfair in Calgary, will have a strong presence in the GM chair in Bob Gainey.

Carbonneau as a player, played for some pretty good coaches. Jacques Lemaire, Jean Perron, Pat Burns, Jacques Demers and Ken Hitchcock. All five have Stanley cup rings in their jewelery boxes. I'm sure Carbonneau has learned some things from all five.

Also this season, some old faces will be making their debut in New Cities. Former Habs coach, Claude Julien, will be coaching in New Jersey. After an eight year absence, Ted Nolan, will be returning behind the bench in Long Island. Michel Therrien, an another former habs coach, will be starting his first full season in Pittsburgh, with the best seat in the house to watch his sophmore star, Sidney Crosby.
Over in the western conference, only two major changes to note. Marc Crawford, former Avalanche and Canucks coach, will be running the bench in Los Angeles. Alain Vigneault, yes another former habs coach will be running things in Vancouver.

Including those that sat still during the off season, the question is : Who will be the first casualty this season ?

I know this is early, but don't forget, training camps will be opening in about a month. July blew by in a flash, it should be the same for August.

Difference between Payroll and the Cap

There seems to be alot of confusion in cyberworld about the difference between payroll money and cap money. The payroll money that you see on the NHLPA's website, which they call compensation,are The figures of the actual money that the players will receive during the season, minus taxes of course, yes they pay taxes too. The amount that appears in a cap count is the average per season of the contract and in most times they are not the same amount. For example, last season Jose Théodore signed a 3 year 16 million dollar contract, which gave him 4.5 million for last season, in 2006-07 he will receive 5.5 and 6 million in 2007-08. Take the 16 million and divide by 3 and it should come up to 5,333,333 million, which will be the space he will take in Colorado's cap money. As you can see, there is a difference in actual salary numbers and cap money. Yes it does happen at times that both are the same, take a player that has a one year contract, at let's say 1 million, both numbers will be the same. it can also be true for a long term contract. For example, Alex Kovalev in Montreal signed a four year 18 million contract, which will pay him 4.5 million a season and that amount will appear in the Canadiens cap money for 2006-07.

By installing this system, Gary Bettman warned the owners that he was going to keep a close eye on them and did during last season and will be the same until the end of the CBA. At the beginning of the season, teams will have to send in a list of the players that will be part of the line-up for the upcoming season. The maximum allowable for each team is 23 players. Once the league receives these sheets with the cap cost included, they are then entered to a secure website that can only be accessed by the clubs and the league officials. This is done for what we call the daily monitoring of the cap for all 30 clubs. How does it work you ask ? Let's say your team has 38 million locked in contracts for the up coming season, take the number and divide by 196 (total days in the season) and it should come up to $ 193,877.55 a day, and the upper limit daily is $ 224,489.77. Your the General manager of your favorite team, and luck is on your side and your team stays healthy and you don't have to replace an injured player and add salary to your cap count and your daily count remains at i mentionned above and the trade deadline approaches, you should have close to 4.8 million in cap space to spend.

The CBA is a very complex document, i'm getting an education on how it works. If you want to compare actual salaries and cap money,here is a good site.

The site has pretty good CBA FAQ's and you can also e-mail him with questions.

Welcome to my Blog

Hello Folks,
I'm new to this Blogging thing, please be patient as i learn, but we will have fun and discuss the game we all love. Why CoachBowman2006ca? I have always liked Scotty Bowman. Who does not like a winner, Mr.Bowman has more wins than alot of players will ever play in their careers. I do not have his great knowledge or experience in hockey, but i think, that thru over 30 years of watching hockey, I think i have a good baggage of knowledge to get my points across and read yours while respecting your opinions. I ask that in your comments, you be polite, you don't have to agree with me, but respect others that may not be of your opinion. I think we had an interesting season in 2005-06, and 2006-07 should be as exciting. Who knows, maybe the legendary coach may drop by to say hi. It's summer, it's hot and humid, a good way to cool off, talk hockey, well until September, of the CBA and the signings that have occured. Give me time to come up with a subject and I will get back to you with my first official posting.