NHL Coaches Play Musical Chairs

Bubba from Canes Country Submits

It’s a great time to be a hockey fan in Washington D.C. these days. On Friday afternoon, the NHL’s most valuable player Alexander Ovechkin, was awarded the key to the city. After he was handed the award by Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty, the superstar addressed his loyal subjects with a few words of wisdom.

“Today is a big day,” said Alex Ovechkin, standing on the front steps of city hall. “I have a key for the city. And I’m the president this day in the city, so everybody have fun — and no speed limit.”

The Caps celebrated by throwing a couple of parties and held media events which of course included their loyal bloggers. All of this attention was very well deserved because it’s not often that a single player will walk away with so many awards, won by such a large margin. (The Hart, Pearson, Rocket Richard, and Art Ross Trophies.)

The Capitals will be very strong competitors in the Southeast Division next year, and their confidence grows.

New Coaches…Old Coaches

It seems like the cool or “in” thing to do these days is to hire minor league or juniors league coaches. The Devils kind of started the trend last year when they hired ex-Red Deer coach, Brent Sutter.

Of course the Caps followed suit when they hired Hershey coach Bruce Boudreau, who helped turn around his team’s last place start into a Division crown.

The success of those coaches has perhaps been the catalyst regarding the decision making of a few other teams which have been searching for head coaches this off-season.

The Florida Panthers recently hired Peter DeBoer, who last coached the Kitchener Rangers.

The Ottawa Senators just hired Craig Hartsburg, who most recently coached the Sault Ste. Greyhounds. Hartsburg does have NHL coaching experience, but has a lifetime losing record with previous stints at Chicago and Anaheim.

He is known as a hard-ass and is already touting “accountability”, so things will be interesting in Ottawa next season. Will the players revolt?

General Manager Bryan Murray told reporters this week that UFA’s Cory Stillman, Mike Commodore, and Wade Redden will not be re-signed and that there will be several fresh faces in Ottawa next season.

(How is that Corvo/Eaves and Stillman/Commodore trade looking right now?)

The San Jose Sharks hired Red Wings assistant Todd McLellan, who is supposed to be a powerplay guru.

The Toronto Maple Leafs had the most traditional hiring when they grabbed ex-Sharks coach Ron Wilson. In the meantime, they also announced that interim General Manager Cliff Fletcher will stay in office for one more year.

That news won’t do anything to quiet the rumors about Anaheim GM Brian Burke taking over next year, as soon as his contract expires. Of course there is no collusion because I’m sure that the Leafs and Burke have not had any communication with each other regarding any of this. (eye roll)

The Tampa Bay Lightning, Atlanta Thrashers, and Los Angeles Kings are all still looking for their next coaches. Rumors indicate that Barry Melrose already has the gig in Tampa while John Tortorella seems to be the leading candidate to move to tinsel town. Who knows about the Trash?

There are still many capable names out there with good NHL experience. Pat Burns, Pat Quinn, Paul Maurice, Bob Hartley, John Paddock, and Marc Crawford are all unemployed and looking. Will any of them be called upon or will teams continue to go with new blood?

NHL Playoff Weekend News

Rangers Beat New Jersey…Again!

Henrik Lundqvist and another flukey goal have the New York Rangers halfway to the second round, and the New Jersey Devils wondering what they have to do to beat their longtime rival.
The win was the Rangers’ ninth in 10 games against New Jersey this season, and it gives New York a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series

Huge Comeback…Enough Said.

Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin didn’t disappoint in his NHL playoff debut, scoring the winning goal with 4:32 left in the third period to give his team a 5-4 comeback win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

On Frozen Blog summed it up nicely with this quote:

“After slumbering through the opening 40 minutes, Ovechkin tore the roof off the Verizon Center, a sold-out rink that gives the Canadian arenas a run for their money where noise and excitement is concerned.”
–National Post

Avs and Wild In Tough

Shane Giroux was looking forward to Game 2 of the Avs vs. Wild series.

It’s time to grab the beer and chips and plop yourself down on the couch for some exciting playoff action! And you might want to have a defibrillator nearby if the last game was any indication of how this series will play out.

Who’s Signing Gilbert Grape?

The Edmonton Oilers signed Tom Gilbert to a US$24-million, six-year contract Friday that will keep the 25-year-old defenceman with the team through the 2013-14 season.

This Just In From The World’s Most Boring Game

From Mychael Urban MLB.com writer via Kuklas:

Does the U.S. media have an East Coast bias? Sure. Our country was founded there, as were all of the big-time sports leagues. (Save your e-mails, hockey fans. We’re aware that the NHL was founded in Canada. We’re also aware that you aren’t “big-time” until your TV ratings top those of “Golden Girls” reruns on Lifetime.)

Not sure if he thought of this quote while playing with his foul balls, scratching his rosin bag, or stabbing a ‘roid needle in his backside…in any event it’s just plain classless.

Guy Carbonneau’s Psychedelic Tie Rocks!

The Montreal Canadiens coach is 2-0 while wearing the multi-coloured tie his wife gave him for his 48th birthday. Now, fans are reportedly trying to buy the same Hermes tie, which Carbonneau’s wife picked up in Dallas.

Carbo had the following to add to the situation:

“They were still talking about it. It’s unbelievable. I’m going to wear it a couple more times and this summer I’m going to put it on auction, on Ebay or some golf charity. Hopefully we make a lot of money with it. But I’ll buy more. I’ll find some.”

NCAA All-Americans Honored

Players from 14 different Division I programs are represented as American Hockey Coaches Association RBK All-Americans for the 2007-08 season. The top 24 college hockey players were announced Friday at the Frozen Four in Denver. New Hampshire led all schools with four honorees, followed by Colorado College with three.

Ovechkin Versus Crosby…Revisited

Why would Alexander Ovechkin be sick if hearing about Sidney Crosby?

I don’t know…maybe because Crosby makes millions of dollars in endorsement contracts that he gets because he is “Canada’s golden boy” and Ovechkin has …wait for it…that’s right his very own blog!

Crosby gets the benefit of playing with seasoned National Hockey league scorers such as Mark Recchi and Petr Sykora, while Ovechkin plays with Chris Clark and…some other guy. By the way, Chris Clark has a whopping 168 points in 439 NHL Games.

Crosby has graced the cover of countless magazines, has his own line of Reebok clothing and is the face of Tim Horton’s and the Tim Bits hockey program.Ovechkin is sponsored by CCM and is known for introducing a blue tinted Oakley visor.

It’s not necessarily about which player is better because, like Lemieux and Gretzky, they are different players. Ovechkin should lead the league in shots on net and will undoubtedly be a more physical player over the course of his career than will Crosby.

Crosby has become known for his work ethic and intensity.
Crosby may be a slightly better playmaker than Ovechkin, but it is difficult to judge because the supporting casts are so different.

When Versus decided to feature a player to develop a television special on for the opening of the 2007-2008 season, the natural choice was Sidney Crosby.

Of course, there were some who thought that featuring one player was not the appropriate course of action and that a special featuring a variety of talented young players would have better served a marketing purpose for the National Hockey League.

Developing a strategy featuring a multitude of young talent in the NHL would certainly evoke attention from more of the markets that the League wants to penetrate.For instance, adding featurettes of Toews and Kane would certainly target the

Chicago market effectively. A series of features that could be broadcast in the local markets of each team would likely be a very costly endeavor, but could help to cement relationships with the local fans.

I have to admit that Crosby does a great job with the media, especially in keeping a “politician’s” neutral stance. However, this robotic style of answering questions leads to an almost emotionless and sometimes false appearance to his answers.

I would love to see players take a more passionate role in the media. However, I am certain that this will never happen because players often get crucified for speaking their minds. It is unfortunate that players feel the need to be politically correct and take a neutral stance in the media instead of speaking their minds.

I’m not saying that Ovechkin speaks his mind on all issues, but if you have ever seen one of his interviews, they are always entertaining. Ovechkin is entertaining and passionate in his views of the game and, even in his broken English, will crack the odd joke.

Not to mention the antics he displayed after Hole In One that was caught on tape at last year’s Capitals golf tournament.

The National Hockey League went to great lengths last year to make the players appear as “real people” in their Game On campaign, so why not encourage the players to continue this strategy in the daily media?