In Glacialis Blog

SI.com nuper did a column super quinque pessimus stadiums. Is got mihi reputo super hockey pulvis; erant’ felicis in Lavatio habeo a valde unus iam ( sententia nonnullus vires oro ut Solio Centre had suus deliciae). Nimirum, non totus teams es sic felicis. Hic’ pauci off caput capitis of meus caput capitis:

- Nassau Mausoleum Coliseum. Ut vox “ senium” est saepius adsuesco assuesco exsequor vestri pulvis, vos teneo suus’ nocens.

- Mellon Pulvis. Non totus vetus pulvis es awful; Im’ a ingens fan of ancient compages amo RFK vel Dodger Stadium, quod EGO diligo Vet. Tamen is est unus locus ut’ preteritus suus prime. Fortuna pro Pens fans, they tantum have pauci magis annus perfero illic.

- Aer Canalis Centre. EGO teneo, Im’ in pupillus hic. Tamen super beer vitualamen ( diversus amplitudo of beer, quod beer Vendolius), EGO wasnt’ desparatus infigo. Is wasnt’ pessimus pulvis Ive’ been in, tamen EGO didnt’ amo railings inter rows ( in nosebleeds, usquam) quod res eatenus a factum. consentaneus (pictured) vultus magis amo they erant secui of a dollhouse quam an pulvis. UtiqueMaple Folium Ortus had verus character quod a melior locus. (ego did, vero, utor ACCs’ mini-museum of Folium history.)

Suus’ aliquantulus tristis ut plurimus pulvis es mereo acceptable, instead of palmarium. Tunc iterum, is doesnt’ succurro ut pulvis es typically multi- utor facilities, quod hockey teams have communico tractus per NBA teams vel ambitus. Nonnullus Id’ amo impetro ut totus of pulvis, similis ut 30 Venatus in 30 Nox noctis guy, quod expiscor optimus of bunch. Suus’ quoque securus ut reperio pessimus ones.

Permaneo nox noctis, EGO vigilo Flyers quod Insula pugna is sicco in Venatus 6 of 1980 Sto Vas Denique in NHL Network. Unus of res ut EGO couldnt’ succurro animadverto erant awesome mustaches, talis ut illud lusum per Bryan Trottier quod Expedio Gillies. Miserabile, they iustus dont’ grow ‘em amo ut anymore. Solus mustachioed vir quisnam statim adveho ut mens inter current NHL ludio ludius belongs ut Ducks: George Parros.

Est illic a ludio ludius sicco illic quisnam can erigo talea in mustaches? (illud nasty Oreo crustulum mustaches dont’ duco, aut) Olie had a bonus satus fere viginti annus abhinc, tamen is eventually added goatee pro eschewing facial saeta omnino. Lascivio barba quoque dont’ duco, acsi Ovechkin did lucror “ lascivio Barba of Mensis” exPlayoffBeard.com. Utpote fossa es cyclical, suus’ tantum a res of vicis pro mustache formo est tergum. Quod EGO dont’ volo video vidi visum illud penicullus- tenuis tardus ’80s mustaches. Reputo Ius Nazi ut econtra ut John Aequora.

Donatus Folium C Jiri Tlustys’ repensnaughty photo incident, maybe is should satus growing a magnus ol’ mustache illo dissimulo vultus ( tamen non quoque Volubilis Fingers vel quisquam). Iustus a sententia.

EGO diligo Canalis; verum, EGO diligo rus ruris adeo ut EGO matrimonium unus of suus civitas. Vero, EGO cant’ sto Toronto interventus. EGO wasnt’ admiratio video vidi visum is headline, liberalitas of Toronto Astrum:

“ignavus Folium persolvo procul meditor: Gruelling meditor non accersitus ‘ ultio ultionis’ pro embarrassing domus damnum ut humilis Lavatio”

humilis” Inconstans, maybe, tamen “ humilis?” Certus, Caps pulvis’ Orchestra, tamen theyre’ ymo pessimus team in league. Non surprisingly, Astrum discrepo:

“tametsi ludio ludius erant unified in recipero accuso pro 7-1 deleo ut unus of pessimus teams in league, is eram Maurice quisnam stepped up.”

Si Caps es “ unus of pessimus teams in league,” quare operor they have magis cuspis quam quinque alius teams, quod es tied per six alius? Tribuo, Im’ haud mathematician, tamen vel EGO can instar sicco ut Caps’ record puts lemma inter in medius sarcina. Tamen illic’ haud oro per Toronto interventus, seeing ut quam they tout Folium ut tunc Sto Vas champion in a ordinarius basis. Quisnam teneo? Forsitan unus illorum annus theyll’ exsisto vox, tamen donatus repens frequentatio illorum “ humilis” “embarrassing” damnum, is could take a dum.

(gratiae utChanuck pro caput capitis- sursum)

Si youve’ had a chum tribuo vos res pro via aer procul Quin Center per a Penguins’ saluto, orbis him vox iam quod dico him verto in Poema poematis. Folium iustus ustulo iterum praecessi sursum 2-0 in populus Plaga. Plebis reaction est ut loud ut quisquam EGO typically audite in Aer Canalis Centre pro quispiam positus in regius puteulanus quod niveus. JoeB, dico venatus, termed is “a domus tribuo”

vero

Quis would a manus manus of hockey bloggers careo divinatio pro novus NHL season?

Nos dont’ vindicatum potior aut crystallus ball vel spys’ eyes inside palaestra castra of 29 alius stipes, tamen nos sententia is vires exsisto benevolens ut nostrum lector ut congero a album of offseason ( quod tardus permaneo season) ludio ludius tractus, in a concisus lima, quod have aliquantulus fun vitualamen sursum nullus- quoque-accountable “ pollex Sursum” vel “ pollex Down” forecasts pro totus 30 teams.

Basically, a team meritus a “ pollex sursum” si nos sententia suus manuevering quod maturation innutum ut itd’ amplio super suus 2006-07 cuspis numerus. Stipes ut “ subsisto pat” vel engineered boneheaded volo quod/ vel inedicabilis, altus- terminus solvo procurator farewells erant awarded “ pollex down.”

Sic weve’ dummodo panton “primer” a puckhead could postulo hic.

Praeter beer.

Team	Comings	Iens	Juvenis est Servo	Verdict
	Mathieu Schneider	Selanne quod Neidermeyer ( pro iam?), Pulvis Penner	Bobby Ryan
	Eric Perrin, Ken Klee, Todd Niveus	Scott Mellanby, Crur Hnidy, Glen Metropolit, Keith Tkachuk, Denis Harniis, Eric Belanger,	Bryan Parum(?)
	Glen Metropolit, Aaron Pupillus pupilla, Peter Schaefer	Crur Donovan	Res Ferito (?)
	Jocelyn Thibault	Fere sulum	Dan Paille, Drew Baculus
	Adrian Aucoin, David Vigoratus, Cory Sarich, Owen Nolan	Tony Inter, Jeff Amicus, Romanorum Hamrlik, Brad Stuart, Andrei Zyuzin	Eric Nystrom (?)
	Res Runco	Jack Johnson, Anson Currus, David Tanabe	Nullus	Hmm . . .
	Brent Spoel, Robert Lingua, Sergei Samsanov, Andrei Zyuzin, Yanic Perreault	Michal Manus manus, Adrian Aucoin, Peter Vinculum, Jason Cullimore	Jonathon Toews, Pium Kane, Jack Solers
	Scott Hannan, Ryan Smyth,	Ken Klee, Pierre Turgeon, Ossi Vaananen, Pium Brisebois	Nullus
	Michael Peca, Jiri Novotny	Vepres Boucher, Bryan Berard	Gilbert Brule, Insulto Orichalcum (?)	Hmm . . .
	Todd Fedoruk	Res Barnaby, Jon Klemm, Eric Lindros, Ladislav Nagy, Pium Stefan, Darryl Sydor	Niklas Grossman
	Vepres Rafalski, Dallas Drake	Robert Lingua, Todd Bertuzzi, Kyle Calder, Danny Vestigium, Mathieu Schneider	Igor Grigorenko
	Crusta Acidus, Joni Pitkanen, Pulvis Penner, Denis Grebeshkov, Dick Tarnstrom	Ryan Smyth, Joffrey Lupul, Petr Sykora, Jason Smith	Sam Gagner, Ryan OMarra’ (?)	Hmm . . .
	Uber Zednik, Radek Dvorak, Tomas Vokoun	Ed Belfour, Alex Auld, Bellicus Gelinas, Sarcalogos Memor, Todd Bertuzzi	Nullus
	Brad Stuart, Tom Preissing, Kyle Calder, Michal Manus manus, Ladislav Nagy	Mathieu Garon, Jamie Heward, Tom Kostopoulos, Jamie Lundmark, Aaron Miller	Jonathon Bernier, Jack Johnson
	Eric Belanger, Sean Tumulosus,	Ratio Fernandez, Todd Niveus	Benoit Fomentum (?)	Hmm . . .
	Romanorum Hamrlik, Bryan Smolinski, Tom Kostopoulos	Crusta Acidus, Radek Bonk, Sergei Samsanov, Mike Johnson	Tutela Pretium, Kyle Chipchura, Andrei Kostitsyn
	Bellicus Gelinas, Radek Bonk	Fere sulum	Villa Koistinen, Kevin Klein (?)
	Fastidiosus Zubrus, Vitali Vishnevski, Kevin Weekes, Karel Rachunek	Scott Gomez, Vepres Rafalski	Nicklas Bergfors (?)
	Bill Guerin, Mike Socius, Ruslan Fedotenko	Fere sulum	Sean Bergenheim (?)
	Scott Gomez, Sarcalogos Drury	Michael Nylander, Karel Rachunek, Res Runco, Kevin Weekes, Brad Isbister	Proficiscor Staal, Ryan Callahan (?)
	Tondeo Donovan, Luke Richardson, Denis Harniis	Mike Socius, Tom Preissing, Peter Schaefer, Oleg Saprykin	Nick Foligno, Vepres Lee
	Daniel Concisus, Joffrey Lupul, Jason Smith, Bellicus Biron, Scott Upshall, Kimo Timonen	Peter Forsberg, Joni Pitkanen, Kyle Calder, Robert Esche, Todd Fedoruk, Mike York	Braydon Coburn, Ryan Parentis
	Alex Auld, Radim Vrbata, Niko Kapanen, Mike York	Owen Nolan, Jeremy Roenick, Velum Joseph, Mike Ricci	Peter Mueller
	Darryl Sydor, Gary Roberts, Petr Sykora	Eric Cairns, Joel Kwiatkowski, Jocelyn Thibault, Michel Ouellet, Nils Ekman, Josef Melichar	Kristopher Letang
	Craig Flumen, Jeremy Roenick	Scott Hannan, Bill Guerin, Vesa Toskala	Nullus	Hmm . . .
	Paul Kariya, Keith Tkachuk	Radek Dvorek, Dallas Drake, Glen Metropolit, Jamie Flumen	Erik Johnson
	Michel Ouellet, Sarcalogos Memor, Jan Hlavac	Cory Sarich, Ruslan Fedotenko, Eric Perrin	Karri Ramo (?)
	Jason Blake, Vestigium Campana, Vesa Toskala	Jeff ONeill’, Michael Peca, Yanic Perreault, J.S. Aubin	Jiri Tlusty (?)
	Brad Isbister, Ryan Crur	Bryan Smolinski, Brent Sopel, Jan Bulis, Rory Fitzpatrick,	Luc Bourdon (?)
	Michael Nylander, Viktor Kozlov, Tom Venenum	Fastidiosus Zubrus, Kris Beech, Bryan Muir, Jiri Novotny	Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Viridis, Tomas Flesichmann

Caput did ut pollicitus: they erant major domus ludio ludius in solvo procurator venalicium is offseason. Quod suus’ haud certus res ut theyre’ perfectus paciscor, ut negotium of RFAs via professio has been a civitas calx of team pro mensis.

Im’ non sententia ut Michael Nylander, Viktor Kozlov quod Tom Venenum erant absolute optimus hockey ludio ludius sursum pro carpo; tamen volo reddo smart permoveo ut directus oratio teams’ postulo vacuus caveo posterus. Plurimus maximus, permoveo amplio team statim dum servo satis crumens manus manus ut obfirmo in Ovechkin quod Semin — Id’ quinymo animadverto team ante sursum illi duos super ullus of magnus- nomen porro huic annus’ UFA proventus. Los Angelus Rex rgis took a similis propinquo ut Caput’, volo cardo Michal Manus manus ( quattuor annus, $16M), volatilis Ladislav Nagy ( unus annus, $3.75M ) quod Kyle Calder ( duos annus, $5.5M) quod D Tom Preissing ( quattuor annus, $11M). Alius cognatus responsible restocking huic offseason of magnus prodigo.

Quam did ceterus 28 teams fare? Puteus, lets’ recenseo pauci of notabilis. Quinymo quam a typical grading ratio, Peius’ rudimentum a Hollywood Astrum ratio instead: Scarlett Johansson, Lindsay Lohan, vel Nicole Uber.

Scarlett Johansson

Undeniably venustas, smart, quod sexy. Quod Scarlett aint’ nocens aut. Nonnullus teams no iustus vox permoveo, non only in suum choice of ludio ludius tamen quoque per paciscor they dedi. Quinymo quam prodigo amo Datum Trumps’ e-wives, certain teams instituo vox ludio ludius() pro vox pretium.

Avalanche fans ero thrilled per Ryan Smyths’ adventum in Colo colui cultum. Per addo in Smyth (5 annus, $31M) quod Scott Hannan (4 annus, $18M), Avs adepto duos scabrosus- quod- tumbus ludio ludius cuius penicullus opportunus team perficio. 31-annus- vetus Smyths’ quinque- annus paciscor est non tantum a iuste affordable solio ledo, tamen a oportet tentatio ut foedus ut nonnullus alius volo.

Detroit Rutilus Pennae persevero suum minor- est- magis propinquo per volo iustus unus notabilis ludio ludius in prothoplastus duos dies of UFA- Solemnitas: Vepres Rafalski. Secundum losing 38- annus- vetus Mathieu Schneider ut Ducks, Pennae curo ut upgrade dum non losing a dime per volo 33- annus- vetus Rafalski. Suus $6M per annus pro quinque annus est super quis Ducks es pensio Schneider per annus; etiamnunc Rafalski est quinquennis iunior. In addition, Rafalski notched 55 cuspis permaneo season (30 in PP) dum lascivio Diabolus’ ultra-conservative ratio. Unus would reputo abyssus’ tractare vel melior in Motor Urbs’ magis suscito penicullus of lascivio. Quondam iterum, Detroits’ procuratio curo facio vox permoveo vacuus effrego bank; suus’ haud admiratio theyre’ jugis contenders.

Lindsay Lohan

Nonnullus teams went in sinus ut certantibus Ms. Lohan’s. Novus York Rangers quod Philadelphia Flyers signed magnus nomen players to ignotus pactum — condita sexy tamen rabidus permoveo. Amo Tyrone Maior per fragor cocaine, neither team could reluctor prolecto of prodigo per relinquo. Videlicet utriusque teams’ rosters es dramatically amplio pro tunc season; tamen is quasi freewheeling prodigo backfires magis sepius quam non. They utriusque es trying emo championships; quod in hockey, ut rare officina.

Philadelphia coepi suum binge mane, conicio rabidus pre-July 1 paciscor procul Kimmo Timmonen quod Scott Hartnall — utriusque appealing tamen iam- opprimo ludio ludius — whose pactum es rabidus secus ultum in terms of annual salary ut they es in terms of tentatio. Tunc Flyers occumbo themselves per giving telum- ut--groin Daniel Concisus an duodeviginti annus paciscor. Sulum illorum ludio ludius est undeniably ingeniosus; tamen pupa quod tentatio illorum pactum planto unus admiratio si Bobby Expedio est etiam in Philadelphia, opus campester ut vir secundum velum.

Mens vos, Rangers’ rudimentum facio Novus York Yankees videor amo cheapskates est iustus ut attonitus. Snagging utriusque Sarcalogos Drury quod Scott Gomez est per a pluma quippe. Tamen $7M per annus ut Drury, combined per a $51.5M septem- annus paciscor ut Scott Gomez ( quisnam has validus 20 calx iustusquondam in septem annus of lascivio), est insanity.

Comprehendo Jaromir Jagr, they iam have prodigo super a tertius of suum salary solio inthree ludio ludius, quod they have non subcribo Brendan Shannahan, Sean Mediocris, vel Henrik Lundqvist etiamnunc. Yikes. Unus admiratio quamdiu capiet Jagr queror super damnum of Nylander si suus adjustment ut Gomez/Drury est minor quam perficio. Verum, is sanus amo hes’ iamlaying groundwork pro posterus queribundus.

Nicole Uber

Eatenus, ceterus 2/3 of Novus York eram ferinus diripio per solvo procurator’ incursio. Amo Nicole Uber, Sabres quod Insula es skeletal remnants quisnam practically species pro Foedero calamitas suffragium.

Sabres lost utriusque suum co- caput quod videor habeo reverto ut suum spendthrift mores. Secundum suum season of excellentia eram eclipsed per Ottawa Orchestra, Sabres procuratio permissum utriusque caput ingredior absentis per promptus minimal nixus ut subsisto lemma. Per penitus league- prolixus penitus in utriusque Drury quod Concisus, nemo specto Sabres ut retain utriusque ludio ludius. Tamen losing utriusque est a contricio pulsus ut team, non iustus in terms of solers tamen of gubernatio pariter. Procuratio’ dimidium- pectus pectoris pactum dedi, proprie ut locus vir Drury, testimonium a “ puteus, nos exertus” attitude subsido in per Buffalos’ orichalcum. Hic’ unusSabres fan stilus pro ESPN quisnam certainly sentio ut via

Ut pro Insula, they lost Kozlov, Venenum, Ryan Smyth — quisnam verto sicco futurus a quinymo carus pensio, sumptus duos quondam primoris- rotundus picks plus is years first’ teres — captain Jason Smith, quod Uber Zednik. They videor futurus emulating Florida Mara, tantum vacuus championship ( puteus, non in preteritus 20+ annus). Tunc theyll’ rename suum pulvis ut Nassau Mausoleum. Isles fans cannot exsisto gauisus losing three of suum caput capitis six scorers — quod suum sole UFA volo of Jon Sim est non refero. Atrum dies es ahead in Insula.

Quod. . .

Alius teams were relatively silens, plurimus notabilis Caps’ Inferus certantibus. A Visum ex Vilis Sessio vultus procul Caps’ divortium foes, quod est similis unimpressed per suum volo eatenus.

Pauci alius permoveo of nota: Puteulanus snagged Kariya quod Tkachuk (a.k.a. “ St. Louis Boomerang”), Folium us Jason Blake ex decimated Insula, quod Penguins sapienter re- subcribo Ryan Niveus ( tamen quis’ per Darryl Sydor volo? Umbra of Phillys’ Insulto Securis erroris), quod Pullus brought in Robert Lingua. Ducks opprimo Todd Bertuzzi ut subsequens they have quispiam sumo bardus poena si Pronger gets vulnero. Nusquam quoque suscito illic, sententia Puteulanus es videlicet vultus to return to the playoffs per illud veteran paciscor.

Ut pro Caput, fans videor pulchellus gauisus super teams’ acquisitions; nonnullus may vel abdico suum hockey grumpiness. Hogs essimilis commodo,quod Off Pennae Sententia has nonnullus interesting laudo ex GMGM placitum dico.

Totus in totus, suus’ been a bonus iugo dies pro Caput bloggers quod fans pariter. . . with forsitan magis bonus news on horizon.

[sentio solvo ut stipes vestri take ut a ineo — aut in Caps’ permoveo vel alius teams’ signings.]

A compelling mane storyline in 2007 solvo procurator season est telum’ race within Atlantic divortium — truculenter similis solvo- prodigo dies praevius ut NHLs’ 2004 obfirmo — dum Northeast divortium videor impleo futurus picked tersus.

Flyers quod GM Paul Holmgren signaled their intention of carus revamping suum roster ahead of permaneo weekends’ Viscus Draft, ut they largior opprimo parumper iugum of six- annus pactum pro nuper us Predators Kimmo Timonen ($38 million) quod Scott Hartnell ($25 million). Ut is they added UFA cardo Daniel Concisus in Sunday, obfirmo him sursum pro duodeviginti annus procul $6.5 million per.

Quoque yesterday Holmgren traba sicco spondeo young Finnish tutor Joni Pitkanen pro Oilers’ caput Jason Smith quod in- iterum, off- iterum volatilis Joffrey Lupul. Si illic’ unus res ut exsisto mico ex totus sudo-changing on Prolixus Vicus is offseason, suus’ ut obfirmo cella chemistry permaneo season eram aliquantulus of a weakpoint. Another vires exsisto: Holgren quod Flyers’ procuratio est abyssus- curvus in prodigo suum via out of it. 

Non futurus diffusus per a divortium certantibus — vel quisquam, illo res — Rangers fantasy’ league GM Glen Sather ponied sursum a combined $85 million in Sunday parumper iugum of no. 1.5 centers, Sarcalogos Drury and Scott Gomez. Drury has 70 calx suus preteritus duos seasons, quod ut talis forsitan est signum sui a legio 30- calx guy ( utique in 110-pt. Sabre stipes), tamen in six of suus duodeviginti seasons he scored fewer quam 25. Is volvit 31 is Ales. Gomez est coming off a 13- calx campaign in Jersey, quod in six of suus septem magnus-league seasons has deficio ut ustulo 20 calx. Sic haud admiratio is meritus a $7-million- pupa-a- annus paciscor. Utique is can exsisto said ut dum per Diabolus Gomez skated in an obscoena modestus ratio, quod iam in Prolixus, hell enjoy’ aliquantum more freedom. Like Concisus’ paciscor in Philly, illud pro novus Rangers’ centers tendoputeus in tunc decade.       

Drury quod Gomez es magnificabiliter hockey ludio ludius, and they are eximius pecuniosus iam. Tamen they quoque videor futurus valde similis ut caliber of ludio ludius cuius July pactum drove NHL in financial panic a mereo three annus abhinc.

Pittsburgh promptus believes that its Sto Vas aspirations postulo an anti- juvenis tractus: suus three plurimus significant roster additions, beginning per Februarys’ professio mortifer quod jugis in solvo procurator, es Gary Roberts, Petr Sykora ( decens- tamen- in- senium unus), quod Darryl Sydor.   

EGO have a difficilis vicis opus sursum ullus sympathy pro Jersey Diabolus, tamen in iustus preteritus iugo of annus hes’ vigilo amo of Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Petr Sykora, quod Scott Gomez ingredior absentis, uncompensated pro. Hes’ got a torqueo novus aedificium edificium expleo explevi expletum showcasing hockey ut is oriens videor, si possible, vel magis boring than that of preteritus six vel septem annus.  

Tamen ut ambitus nos should sentio ullus sympathy pro ullus alius Orientales placitum certantibus (and I’m not suggesting we should), take a look at the roadkill carcass on Long Island. Gone are Ryan Smyth, Tom Poti, Jason Blake, Viktor Kozlov, and (mercifully) Alexei Yashin. Team Wang did add Jon Sim. (That’s no doubt got the phones of the Isles’ sales staff buzzing.) Remember last summer when UFA signee Brendan Witt talked of something special being built on Long Island? It’s not a long overdue replacement for Nassau Mausoleum, and it’s sure not a postseason hockey club in ‘07-’08.  

Meanwhile, things sure are acquisition-quiet in the Northeast, which certainly is better than being the road pickings on the Isle. For weeks all I heard among the ‘Net chatter was how Bob Gainey and Montreal were posied to make a big overhaul of a middling roster. That may still happen, buit it’ll take trades to achieve it — the high-end free agent movement passed them by unacted-upon. Free agent “Bridesmaids” is the operative word out of Montreal early this week. Gainey lost the game’s most fearsome point presence in Sheldon Souray and late this afternoon replaced him with Roman Hamrlik. Downgrade.   

The Leafs, like the Habs, were forecast to be offseason roster movers and shakers. They came out of the gate Sunday and signed Jason Blake. His 40 goals last season were a breakthrough. Or a Brady Anderson flash-in-the-pan. He turns 34 this September.

The Bs missed the playoffs and have also sat still. Ottawa is in the best shape of anybody in the Northeast, having drafted so well at the top, middle, and late in drafts, up front and on the blueline. Still, late Monday it appeared as if the Eastern champs were slated to lose quality blueliner Tom Preissing. The Sens have been picked at the past two summers by free agency and are now joined by Buffalo as victims of their standings success.  

If the Islanders have a rival in roster-gutting, it’s Buffalo. Last season the Sabres were lauded for their four-line depth. They’ll need emergency reserves in ‘07-’08, cause they’ve lost 150 points down the middle. Sad, isn’t it?

The Southeast has, I think, showcased only one headline player in free agency thus far, and that’s who it needed to be: we in D.C.  

This offseason should be one of great import for the Capitals, as its GM tries to assemble the pieces to solve the playoff puzzle. But no one doubts that the Capitals, in their current form, are not deserving of a playoff spot.

For some teams that missed the playoffs, however, much has been — and will be — made over their records and point totals. For example, from the Great White North one can hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth over the Toronto Maple Leafs, who finished nine games over .500 yet are golfing in April. Others can look to the West, and see the once-mighty Avalanche, who finished at 95 points and thirteen games over .500, jockeying for early tee times.

However, does the NHL’s W-L-OTL system truthfully represent a team’s record? Let us examine Toronto a bit more closely for a moment. Their record of 40-31-11 seems to indicate a team that played well above .500 for the season. Given that the NHL allows more than half its teams into the playoffs, one could understandably expect such a performance to lead to post-season play.

Ah, but doesn’t the “11″ in the third column indicate an additional eleven games that the team lost? Ask anyone who attended those games, and they will surely agree that they left the arena with the same deflated feeling one gets from a regulation loss. Perhaps they consoled themselves by saying, “Well, at least we got a point,” as I did at many Capitals games this year; but it certainly feels more like a loss than the old tie did.

The “Loser’s Point” may justifiably help a team in the standings. But this skewed method of representing a team’s record artificially inflates a team’s season performance.

It comes down to simple math: in general, a .500 record indicates average performance. The NFL, for instance, finished its 2006 season with 12 teams under .500, 8 teams at exactly .500, and 12 teams over .500. Those statistics form a neat (and mathmatically sound) bell curve. In 2005-06, the NBA finished with 13 teams over .500, 3 at .500, and 14 under .500. Again, nicely balanced.

The NHL, however, throws the law of averages to the wind with its current system. This season, fully 21 teams claim to be over .500 at the end; only nine cannot make the same claim. Last season was the same: 21 teams alleged they had “winning” records.

The NHL needs to establish a new way to track a team’s wins and losses. The league chose to do away with the tie… for better or worse, though that’s a debate for another day. The current system awards teams one point for losing in OT or the shootout — again, the merits of which are topics for a future debate.

But the league has been very clear with defining “OTL” as an Overtime Loss: It is a loss, regardless of whether the team gets a point or not. Not a tie, a loss.

Returning to the Leafs’ example, a truer representation of their performance would be as follows:

This approach would neatly indicate that the Leafs lost 42 games, and thus, more accurately, should be considered under .500. At a glance, fans could determine the number of games played at any point in the season by simply adding the W and L columns, with the OTL coming into play for calculating total points. Note that this is similar to how the league recorded OTLs back when ties were part of the game.

This small change would go a long way toward establishing accurate recordkeeping, and as a bonus would restore value to the concept of being over .500. Not to be discounted: it would also stop teams from trumpeting about being over .500 when, in fact, they do not have more wins than losses (the traditional “over .500″ implication).

This hockey devotee would like to see a little more truth in advertising when it comes to teams’ records. And while we’re at it, let’s give mathematics its due and embrace the bell curve — being “above average” should mean something.

The NHL calls an “overtime loss” a loss; so let’s count it as one.

Is tonight’s Habs-Leafs tilt (Air Canada Centre, 7:00) the most significant between these historic franchises in a generation? For the purposes of a bit of fun and novel hype . . . yes. It’s the final game of the season for both teams, and the Habs and Leafs and the Islanders are in a fierce race to the finish for the Eastern conference’s final playoff berth. But as print media in both Canadian cities this morning point out, some of the allure here is tempered by the reality that neither club is a serious Stanley Cup threat.

This morning Montreal resides in 8th place in the East, with 90 points. Toronto is right behind them in 9th, at 89 points. And the Isles, who have two games remaining this weekend (a matinée with Philly today and one with the Devils tomorrow), are in 10th with 88 points. With a win tonight, Montreal is in. The Leafs, however, not only must win but get some help from either Philly or New Jersey to keep from being passed by the Isles.

The Globe and Mail this morning isn’t quite as enamored with the matchup as one south of the 49th might imagine: the two teams are akin to “average high-school students about to take their final exam.” Ouch!

The Toronto Sun on the other hand is embracing the novelty of this winner-almost-takes all showdown: “It’s like the hockey gods decided to give the fans a treat.”

The Montreal Gazette this morning is all over this game. Its home page bears a one-word headline above a photo of the Habs — “Showdown.” Gazette columnist Jack Todd, in his column “This is it, hockey fans – the night of nights,” argues that tonight’s is the biggest game between the teams “since the Toronto Maple Leafs won their last Stanley Cup by upsetting the Canadiens in 1967.”

Wow.

Todd does his part to fan the frenzy:

“Hockey Night in Canada’s ratings will be off the charts tonight, Don Cherry will be in full Maple Leaf drag and in pubs and offices from coast to coast, Leafs and Canadiens fans will taunt and insult one another to the point of fisticuffs.”

NHL.com reporter Evan Grossman points out that while tonight’s is the 682nd meeting of these historic franchises, it is the first to conclude a regular season for both teams in 64 years, and never has such a game between them decided a playoff fate.

Mother Nature is doing Her part to provide an appropriate backdrop. There are April snow showers in both cities, and for those of us here who’ll follow the proceedings via Center Ice, we awoke this morning to a white frosting of our trees and lawns for our Saturday morning joe. I love it.

As pointed out by fellow OFBer pucksandbooks, there was all kinds of good college hockey on yesterday, so I started my hockey Friday with the University of North Dakota playing St. Cloud State in the WCHA semi-finals. The game was of interest to Caps fans, as the red-hot, 6th-ranked Fighting Sioux boast Caps’ first-round pick Joe Finley on their blueline, while the #4 in the nation Huskies have 2004 seventh-round pick Andrew Gordon. Some quick thoughts on that game, then on to Toronto’s visit to the Phone Booth.

• Gordon’s line (Nodl-Dey-Gordon) provided the Huskies’ only offense on the day. For SCS’s first goal, Gordon picked up the puck behind the ND net and made a nice centering pass through two opposing players to Andreas Nodl, who was all alone in front for a forehand-backhand goal.
• Gordon’s goal was the result of nice power-play passing, with Nodl passing cross-ice to Dey, who then centered to Gordon in front of the goal for an easy tap-in.
• In the one draw I saw him take, Gordon beat Toews cleanly.
• Other impressions of the SCS Alternate Captain: he’s game in the corners but not overwhelmingly strong, likes to carry the puck up, and threw a decent forecheck hit on a Sioux defenseman behind the net. The speedy winger has soft hands — passes go where he wants them to, and he seems to have that ability to find the open spot on the ice and exploit it. It will be interesting to see if he leaves school early to sign with the Caps. (Continued)

The latest issue of The Hockey News has ranked all 30 NHL team’s prospect systems. They have defined prospects as players under 22 years of age as of January 31, 2007. This ranking does not take into account any movement of players at the trade deadline. Note that three of the Caps’ Southeast Division rivals bring up the bottom-5 rear.

1. Pittsburgh [Last Year’s Ranking 1]
2. Washington [7]
3. Nashville [6]
4. Los Angeles [10]
5. Chicago [8]
6. Boston [12]
7. Anaheim [2]
8. St. Louis [28]
9. Montreal [17]
10. N.Y. Rangers [19] (Continued)

Ah, the joys of ‘playing out the string’. With a roster weakened by trades and decimated by injuries, the Caps certainly are game, but don’t have much firepower to bring to the table. Against a desperate Toronto club on the road, the Caps came up empty. Coach Hanlon seems to be riding his two Russian Alexanders, and if they don’t hit paydirt, the chances of the Caps’ winning seems to go down the tubes.

• The funniest moment of the night was Alexander Semin’s amazing behind the back shot, which he took by throwing the puck behind him while down in front of the Leafs’ crease. How it went undetected by the refs is beyond me, but good for a laugh.
• Frederic Cassivi played fairly well in goal for the Caps, and it was good to see him get a start. Brent Johnson is capable of playing better when he is ‘on’, but inconsistency has been an issue. It’s fairly apparent how much this team misses Olaf Kolzig.
• Alexandre Giroux turned in another decent night’s work, continuing to creating things, typically on the forecheck. It would be nice to see him cash in on one of his chances as a reward for his hard work, and the Caps could use the goals. This is a good chance for Giroux to show what he can do at the NHL level.
• This is Tomas Fleischmann’s chance, as well, and outside of the occasional nifty move, he hasn’t made a good showing so far. The team needs its youngsters to chip in at least occasionally, and he was given significant power play time along with solid even-strength minutes. So far, not a positive result.
• John Erskine had some fun little battles with Darcy Tucker last night, dumping Tucker hard on his rear after the agitating forward stole the puck from Cassivi after the whistle and put it into the net. Erskine also dug into the bag of sneaky tricks by pulling hard on Tucker’s stick, throwing the forward off-balance in a move that went undetected by the referees. The big defenseman has been one of the bright spots this season, providing snarl as well as some solid positional defensive play.
• Despite both being credited with 5 shots, the Alexes were mostly held in check. Ovechkin had a fantastic opportunity coming in from the left wing (notice he took his defenseman outside, something he hasn’t done much of this season), but couldn’t convert. For the remaining 15 games, it looks like the offense is in their hands, and one-line teams can be easy to shut down. A line with Fleischmann on one wing and a healthy Fehr on the other would be given some good matchups and get some quality ice-time to try and establish any other kind of scoring presence.

And the skid continues. The rest of the season could be rocky, and could put a disappointing stamp on what was a solid beginning of the season. Let’s hope the team gets healthier soon, and the youngsters that are up be given a lot of time to show what they can do.

Mrs. Gustafsson just returned from Las Vegas and brought me the Bellagio’s Odds to Win the 2007 Stanley Cup. I’ve combined that sheet with the one I picked up in November.