Cascade M11 Helmet – The Messier Project

Mark Messier has teamed up with Cascade to launch the newly designed Cascade M11 Helmet.  The helmet uses the same Seven technology as the previous Cascade CHX helmet (which we talked about back in 2007).  However, the largest drawback of the CHX was that it wasn’t  a very stylish helmet.

The Cascade Seven technology uses “lateral displacement technology” to provide the protection of two helmets in one. The theory is that the M11 helmet protects equally as well against concussions as it does against catastrophic hits.

From CHX to M11:  The Re-design and Re-launch of the Cascade Helmet

Messier was brought on board by Cascade as an adviser to assist in upgrading the areas where the CHX lagged and to make a more desirable helmet by player standards. He brought his knowledge of player expectations to the table and provided Cascade with a design that would be more acceptable to players by addressing style, comfort, weight and ventilation.

We knew about Cascade and the major advancements they had made with the CHX helmet over two years ago.  However, even technology with the potential to save careers and possibly lives,  needs the proper promotion.

That said, the following video outlining the new promotional campaign and showcasing the newly designed M11 helmet was just released.

Credibility is Key

As Messier commented on a conference call yesterday:  “The helmet needs players in the NHL to wear it in order to obtain credibility as a product”.

According to Messier, we can expect to see more than 5 NHL players using the Cascade M11 helmet in the 2009-2010 season and it is possible that we may see the entire NCAA Harvard University hockey team wearing the M11 helmet as well.

The projected release date for the M11 helmet is sometime this fall (2009) and the price point for the helmet is expected to be $119.99 USD without a cage.

Messier’s Involvement with Cascade Sports

Messier now sits on the Cascade board of directors and acts as a liaison to hockey organizations, helping to promote the M11 helmet and educate hockey players on the effects of concussions as part of The Messier Project.

Mark’s sister, Mary Kay, is the Vice President of Business Development for Cascade and also Mark’s manager. She reported to CBC back in March about the upcoming promotional campaign for the new Cascade helmet (A.K.A Messier Project ) – although we didn’t know the name of the project at the time.

NHL Enters Bid To Buy Coyotes

Today the National Hockey League officially filed a bid in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes and keep the team in Arizona.

In what some would have you believe is an “unexpected turn of events” in the Phoenix Coyotes drama, we talked about from day one of the legal proceedings here on NHL Digest.

Eerily prophetic, if I do say so myself, here is a direct quote from our May 22 overview of the Coyotes situation:

The NHL raised its line of credit from $70 million to $200 million Monday, citing low interest rates and the need to be prepared for the future. These reasons seem hollow and the timing suspect at best.  A US bank holds the credit, whose rates are directly impacted by the Federal Reserve. The next scheduled Fed meeting regarding rates is June 23-24, or well after the Cup finals. If interest rates were the true motive, they will likely still be there after the Cup is awarded and the deal did not have to be executed the day before the first major hearing.

Could the NHL potentially be a bidder to stabilize a market they obviously believe in? Could they be ready to run the team and bankroll its operations throughout a prolonged legal battle? Or is the financial health of other franchises far worse than anyone knows, with this being the first of many dominoes to fall during the recession?

Banning Balsillie

It has become more and more clear that the National Hockey League will do anything in its power to prevent Jim Balsillie from owning a franchise. And, with Balsillie’s bid looking strong in comparison to the fledgling bids of two other groups – one from Jerry Reinsdorf (Update: Reinsdorf’s bid has mysteriously been pulled off the table) and the other from a group called Ice Edge Holdings the NHL decided to take the step of entering it’s own bid for the team.

The League’s position is that if they are successful in bidding for the franchise, they would then turn around and sell it to whomever they believe is a suitable owner – which they could do at their leisure outside of bankruptcy protection.

A quote from a statement released today leads us to believe that this is indeed what the league believes is the most likely scenario:

“We believe this step was necessary at this time in order to best preserve and maximize the value of the club asset for benefit of the club’s creditors and for the community of Glendale”, said NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly in a statement.

“The bankruptcy petition and subsequent events have been incredibly damaging to the club’s business, and the sooner the club can be extricated from the bankruptcy process, the sooner club personnel can begin to restore the team’s vitality and local fan base. In the event the league’s bid proceeds and ultimately is the one approved by the court, we intend to conduct an orderly sale process to a third party buyer outside of bankruptcy.”

It’s not surprising in the least to see the League become the major suitor in competition to Jim Balsillie. No businessman or investor would sanely bid enough to satisfy creditors and keep the Coyotes in Phoenix; it’s just not a prudent investment.

Outbidding Balsillie

So, how much could the league bid be?

It’s clear that the League will have the upper hand in negotiations with the City of Glendale, seeing as how the other major potential bid has now pulled out.  Glendale may now make concessions to the League that they were unwilling to make to other bidders – simply because they are out of options.

This bodes well for the National Hockey League because they will likely need all, and more, of the $200 million credit facility to out-bid Balsillie at auction.

The season is just around the corner and the long, drawn out, saga has to end sooner or later.  It’s been a long race, but we just might be in for an exciting finish!

The Montreal Canadiens Magazine

Of all the hockey magazine’s available, I have to say that I am quite impressed with “Canadiens”, the official magazine of the Montreal Canadiens. It’s not just because I am a huge Montreal Canadiens fan, but the magazine has a great mix of entertainment, hockey, and personal stories of the Canadiens players, staff and legends.

My Favorite issue of the magazine from 2008 is a great example.

Not only did I find out the three favorite Montreal restaurants that Patrice Brisebois frequents, but also checked out 15 songs on the iPod of Tom Kostopolous (A classic mix of Metallica, Pearl Jam, and Nickleback).

The magazine always has a nice feature article that is several pages in length on the career and life outside of hockey of one current Canadiens player.

In a previous issue, Alexei Kovalev was featured and readers were treated to an inside look at Kovalev outside of hockey. I had previously heard that Kovalev was a licensed pilot, but this article went into greater detail about his flying career, his frequent flights to New York, and the plane that he owns.

Forget the Playoff Beard – Check Out The Mustache!

One of the more humorous articles in the issue, and a favorite topic of mine, is a look back at the best mustaches that have graced the faces of previous Canadiens players.

Larry Robinson received my vote as the former Habs rearguard sported an excellent handlebar style mustache throughout the 1970’s.

Younger Canadiens fans might remember a more recent Captain of the Canadiens, Mike Keane, who sported a beautiful blonde ‘stache as late as 1996!

A great quote comes from the mustache article in the Canadiens magazine:
“Current Canadiens GM, Bob Gainey, wisely left his perm and cookie-duster where they belong – in the ‘70s”

The First Kiss

In honor of Valentine’s Day, several players also remarked on who, where, and how they got their first kiss. I’m not sure what team that Tom Kostopolous played on, but apparently his entire team got kissed at the World Pee-Wee Tournament in Quebec – not too bad if I do say so myself!

Even if you’re not a fan of the Habs, I highly suggest that you take a few minutes to read an issue of Canadiens magazine if you get the chance.

Go Retro With The Calgary Flames!

You Can’t Touch A Flame When It’s Red Hot!

Today we’ve  reached deep into the NHL Hockey archives to bring you a great, or not so great, moment of hockey history.

In the spirit of our Brett Hull article earlier in the week,  this is a video released in his rookie season of 1987 by the Calgary Flames entitled – “You Can’t Touch a Flame When it’s Red Hot.”

If you are a die-hard Flames fan, and you don’t remember this video, you may not want to watch it. This video might possibly be the most embarrassing public relations tactic in the history of the National Hockey League.

Looking back, I think a more appropriate title would have been “Mullet’s, Mustache’s, and Music”

The video actually features Flames players, including some very notable individuals, lip-syncing and playing air-band to a suspect theme song. If I were a Flames fan, The one thing I’d like to remember about this video is the stellar shot of Lanny McDonald’s helmet and the best mustache in the history of hockey!

If you happen to be an Oilers fan, I suggest you sit back, put your feet up and enjoy a laugh at your rivals to the south. It might be the only one you get all year!

Also, don’t forget to bookmark the video and send it to your favorite Flames fan.

Fantasy Hockey League Tips!

The Strategy

Fantasy hockey league season is almost upon us once again and it is time to scour the rosters of each team in search of that elusive perfect fantasy hockey combination.

There are many different ways to score fantasy leagues and just as many, if not more, strategies to utilize when selecting players for your fantasy hockey team this season.

Now, before you go blindly into your draft selecting Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin, Lidstrom, and Brodeur, be sure to fully understand how your draft is scored and how many players from each position that you are required or allowed to choose.

Understand The Scoring System

During the 2004-2005 season I participated in one fantasy league where 1 point was awarded for each goal or assist. There were no restrictions on the number of players from each position and players could be selected by more than one person in the draft. Each draft entrant was required to select any 20 players in the NHL for their team.

The key in the scoring of this draft was that goaltenders received 5 points for a win and 10 points for a shutout. So, guess what one enterprising guy did? You got it… He selected 20 goalies! He was well within the rules set out by the draft and was all but guaranteed to get at least 5 points per night. There were a few nights when he racked up 40-50 points and needless to say, he won the draft hands down.

Of course, each league is scored differently but it is always important to understand the rules. It is especially important in a situation where each NHL player can only be selected by one team in the fantasy league.

Don’t Forget The Goalie!

In this scenario, it is almost always the case where the top scoring forwards will be selected first. However, it has been my experience that when points are given for goaltender performance, it is always necessary to select the best goaltender available within the first two picks of the draft.

There are years where a forward of defenseman may surprise everyone and rack up a tone of points. However, it is very rare that a goaltender comes out of nowhere and wins substantially more games than in previous years, unless the goalie has switched teams in the off season.

Yes, Martin Brodeur is a great goaltender, but his team in New Jersey has definitely helped him achieve an extraordinary amount of wins and shutouts over the past decade. The same holds true for any of the Detroit goaltenders. These are skilled goaltenders, but fantasy players earn points, in the majority of leagues, for wins and shutouts.

In rare cases, there may be points awarded for save percentage. In this case you may want to select someone like Niklas Backstrom, who typically faces a lot of shots. In any event, picking a goaltender early in the draft that has a strong defense in front of him, is traditionally a good move.

What About The Goons?

When points are awarded for penalty minutes in a fantasy league, it is highly unlikely that this is the only category that points are awarded for. Therefore, taking Daniel Carcillo just to own the penalty minute category probably isn’t a good idea; unless you can pick him up in the last round.

As we know, points are typically awarded in fantasy leagues for goals and assists, so one must take that into consideration when selecting players when attempting to earn a few penalty minute points. So who should you choose?

According to last season’s statistics, good choices for a player who spends some time in the sin bin, but also contributes offensively are David Backes and Scott Hartnell. I have surprised many other fantasy players over the years by selecting this type of a player in the early rounds of a fantasy draft. More often than not, this strategy has paid off in the end.

This is especially rewarding when your “penalty minute pick” has an especially good offensive year. Milan Lucic is a player in this category that I believe has the potential for more offensive upside. This might make Lucic worthy of an early-mid round selection, while still padding that penalty minute category.

You are now prepared to go out and draft an unbeatable fantasy hockey team!

Don’t forget to drop us a note during the season to tell us how you are doing in your fantasy league!

Brett Hull’s Unbreakable Scoring Record

It came as no surprise when Brett Hull was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this year.  Hull won 2 Stanley Cups (Even if his foot was in the crease) and was among the most prolific pure goal scorers of his era, putting him among some very impressive company.

Hull amassed almost 1400 points in 1269 games and 19 seasons in the National Hockey League. 741 were goals.

Through the course of his career, Hull played in 8 All-Star Games, led the league in goals three times, captured the Lady Byng Trophy, Hart Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Awards. Pretty impressive resume!

A Career Year

Following the 1990-91 season, when Brett Hull won the Hart Trophy, he was elevated to the upper echelon of goal scorers in the National Hockey League.

It has previously been mentioned that Hull’s 1990-91 season may be the best goal scoring performance in modern hockey.  No, it’s not the most goals that have ever been scored in a season, but the argument for best scoring performance can certainly be made given the following facts:

During the 1990-91 season Brett Hull led the NHL in the following categories:

• Goals Scored – 86
• Goals per Game – 1.10
• Even Strength Goals – 57
• Game Winning Goals – 11
• Power Play Goals – 29
• Empty Net Goals – 0
• Shots on Goal – 389

Following Hull in the goal scoring race that season was a three-way tie for second between Cam Neeley, Theoren Fleury and Steve Yzerman- each notching 51 goals.

How Impressive Was Hull That Season?

Making Hull’s feat even more impressive is that he led the goal scoring race by an amazing 35 Goals! What is even more amazing is that only 22 players in the entire NHL had more than 35 total goals that season.

To put the margin of victory into perspective, Hull outscored his nearest opponent by more than 68%.

No player since Hull’s 86 goal campaign has scored more than 76 goals in one season and only one player in the past 12 seasons (Alexander Ovechkin) has scored more than 60 goals in a year.

Only Wayne Gretzky has ever scored more than 86 goals in one NHL season. Gretzky accomplished it twice, once in 1981-82 with 92 goals and again in  1983-84 with 87 goals. In 1983-84 Gretzky led his nearest opponent, Michel Goulet, by 31 goals.

There are many records out there that some say will never be broken. I believe Hull’s margin of victory in goals during 1990-91 should be included in those conversations.

What do you think?

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