16 May, 2008

Category Archives: Chicago Blackhawks

Searching for the Next Great Outdoor Game

Yankee Stadium may be out as the site for an outdoor NHL game next New Year’s Day, according to today’s USA Today. Both New York baseball teams are building new stadiums, and there’s an enormous amount of construction associated with those sites as well as others in the respective burroughs of Queens and the Bronx.

An alternative site? Potentially Beaver Stadium on the campus of Penn State.

“Bettman said he received a letter from Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell asking the league to look into playing a Penguins-Philadelphia Flyers game at Penn State’s football stadium. An announcement could come by early next month, Bettman said.”

If you’ve been to State College, you know it’s a level or seven down from the media market of the Big Apple. It’s also (basically) without an airport. Should that be the followup to this past New Year’s Day snowy stunner in Buffalo, convenient to both Toronto and New York media?

And if the league needs to wait a month before determining the site of this new and highly appealing event on hockey’s calendar, why not wait off another week and add it to the league’s Entry Draft weekend of fun, and give that event some more pizzaz?

The dismantling of Yankee Stadium should begin in February or March. The wrecking ball bludgeons Shea not long after the Mets’ final game this season. Losing out on Yankee would be particularly disappointing for the NHL, as the event necessarily would garner extraordinary interest again in the media capital of the world and as Yankee’s final significant event, joining that venue’s legion of memorable dates (Muhammed Ali fights; the Beatles; Notre Dame-Army football).

If need be, how about this instead: the Hawks and Wings on New Years from a recently renovated Soldier Field?

They’re Making a Hockeytown in Chi-town, Too

Business that brings me to Original Six cities is my favorite kind (save trips to Detroit), and I’m in Chicago this week. Weather is very much a weather vane in my life; among the 40 colleagues here with whom I met last week to discuss this trip, I was the only one who smiled at word that spring hadn’t yet arrived on the southwestern shores of Lake Michigan. It actually snowed here a bit last Monday night, if you can imagine. Many trees here are without leaves still, and so I won’t lift allergy medicine from my travel bag during my stay. I arrived Saturday, and the mercury hardly moved above 50, along with 20 mph gusts and strong at times rain. It was a nice backdrop from which to huddle in Miller’s Pub on Wabash St. and watch some NHL playoffs on a large flatscreen with a few puck sodas.

I’ll enjoy a warm, sunny spring day like the rest, and we had that here on Sunday, but there’s something about a novel re-immersion in hockey weather, at odds with the calendar, that warms my hockey heart. Even in May. Besides, we really didn’t have winter this winter in D.C.

I’m one of those hockey fans who believes it’s good for hockey to have all of the NHL’s Original Six franchises, save perhaps Toronto, healthy and vibrant and competitive. (Actually, as part of a realignment scheme that would largely reconstitute the Patrick Division, I’d like to see an Original Six division. A file for another day.) And the Chicago Blackhawks had been lagging behind on this front for a good solid decade. Had been. But Dollar Bill Wirtz is deceased, the Hawks started winning hockey games this past season — they took Detroit to the woodshed a number of times — Patrick Kane and Co. have this town talking hockey again, the big rink — sadly, tragically located well away from this great city’s heartbeat — was filled to the ceiling for a lot of winter, the home team’s games are back on TV, and perhaps like in Washington, hockey in a sports-competitive town may be set to take off in the hearts of the locals for a durable future.

On my very first trip to Chicago, many years ago, while strolling the shopping strip of Michigan Avenue, I happened upon a quaint boutique-sized shop called Hawk Quarters — an outlet whose merchandise was devoted exclusively to the Blackhawks. It was distinctive for its largesse of authentic team equipment and uniform wear. You wanted a pair of Denis Savard’s shin guards, or skates, Hawk Quarters had ‘em. The store had dozens of hangers of multi-colored, authentic practice sweaters, all of them with endearing stress markings about them. On Sunday I visited Hawk Quarters again, and I enjoyed the stop every bit as as much as my first.

For one thing, a full hour before the store opened at noon, there was a middle-aged, silver-haired Chicagoan standing before the store window, within which a large flat-screen TV was replaying, perfectly audibly, a months-old game from the regular season. He was following it intently, even conspicuously and loudly exhorting on his Hawks to prevail. Standing not quite near enough to him to be associated with his eccentricity, I thought to myself, you wouldn’t see this in Atlanta or Nashville or Raleigh. I also didn’t think I’d have seen it for preceding renditions of the Hawks.

Maybe it was wishful thinking on my part, but I thought the old geezer was where he was Sunday morning because he missed his fun-to-watch hockey team again. Offseasons do that to the devoted.

Inside, I was drawn to the authentics section, as before. But on this visit it seemed expanded. Scores of sticks. Rows of skates. Bins teeming with well-worn protective gear. And that fabulous array of practice sweaters. There were some new Reeboks, but I noticed many, many more of the old school Centre Ice set, cut and formed the way hockey sweaters were supposed to be: beautifully bulky. Leave it to an Original Six franchise, I thought, to still skate a contemporary hockey season in a hockey sweater that looks like a hockey sweater. At least during practice.

They looked so good, in fact, that I very nearly plunked down $100 for one. I took a real hard look at a selection of green practice sweaters bearing that distinctive Hawks’ logo and thought how well I’d fit in this town were I sipping St. Patty’s beers here in one next March 17. But I reasoned that while I love Chicago, I just don’t love the Hawks.

Another reason for my attachment to this little store in this sorta hockeytown is its exclusivity of product. During all of those very lean years of losing Hawk Quarters remained open and faithful to its team, never once jumping on MJ’s formidible marketing bandwagon. Or the always marketable, lovable Cubs. Or the rebuilt Bears. That’s a monogamy I admire.

After an indulgent visit I left Hawk Quarters Sunday afternoon for a sun-splashed walk along Lake Shore Drive, and I thought about the chances of the Capitals needing/supporting a devoted store of their own in their downtown. A heck of a lot of gear today is moved on line, making stores like Hawk Quarters perhaps archaic or antiquated. The Caps of course have never had one. There’s a devoted store to the team at Kettler, but that’s different from announcing one’s presence to the residents and tourists of a downtown. There’s something commendably civic-minded about such a site, I think — a sort of meeting place for the like of heart. I hope we see one one day soon.

Something Big Is Building in Chitown

Chicago Logo - image from TSN.ca
Chicago Logo - image from TSN.ca
The Hawks lost Martin Havlat to a groin injury this week, but otherwise, the end of 2007 may be signaling the winds of most welcome change for the fate of this long floudering franchise.

On Wednesday night a crowd of 20,511 crammed the United Center to see Chicago defeat Nashville 5-2. The sellout was the largest crowd to see a hockey game in Chicago in eons. And: the game was televised for those in Chicago who couldn’t get a ticket or make it to the game.

With Havlat having missed lots of hockey this season the Hawks are 19-15-2, boast two of the most exciting young guns in the game in Patrick Kane and Jonathon Toews, and they’ve defeated the best team in hockey, Detroit, all four times they’ve played thus far.

It’s fantastic to see this Original Six franchise very relevant again in one of America’s great sports towns.  

Quarter Mark Report Card

My three stars of the season’s first quarter are:

(3) Pascal Leclaire — the backstopper of the BlueJackets, disbelievingly into playoff contention, with a .940 save percentage, 1.59 goals-against (second-best in the league) and five shutouts. He’s my Vezina Trophy winner for the first quarter;

(2) Henrik Zetterberg — previously a terrific scoring forward, now a superstar, and clearly a more dynamic talent up front for the Wings than Pavel Datsyuk. Soon to be paid so?;

(1) Vincent Lecavalier — simply having his best season as a pro, the league’s leading scorer with 32 pts.; dominating his opposition and making what was believed to be a top-heavy corps of Bolts’ forwards into a first line that’s so good it matters little what contributions, if any, follow. He’s my Hart Trophy winner for the first quarter.

Honorable mention: Jarome Iginla (26 points in 19 games) is having an MVP quality season, but he’s laboring on a struggling Flames club. And Comcast, for coming through with NHL CenterIce, the NHL Network, and Lisa Hillary.

Cup'pa Joe
Cup'pa Joe
Falling stars:

(3) the Washington Capitals

(2) Marc Andre Fleury

(1) Reebok

Midwest Mojo: Rebuilds in Chicago and St. Louis are ahead of pace and impressive. Patrick Kane is my Calder Trophy winner for the first quarter. Robert Lang, with 19 points in 20 games, and skating a +7, is giving the Hawks precisely the kind of productive, veteran leadership they’d hoped for on the top line. Still, the Hawks have issues — in their back end. They’ve surrendered 61 goals, and both Khabibulin and Lalime sport sub-.900 save percentages. But after a decade of dreariness, the Hawks are fun to watch again. The leading scorers for the Blues are greybeards Paul Kariya and Keith Tkachuk. After that, it’s a lunchpail outfit that’s outworking its opponents. There’s a lot of youth of that roster, so it may strengthen as the season progrsses. And what of Clumbus, the claimers of Jiri Novotny and Kris Beech? They are eighth in the West, and 6-2-1 at home.

In the East, Montreal and the Islanders have been stunning success stories. It’s a balanced attack in Montreal: the Habs already have eight players in double digits in scoring. And remember how everybody in hockey was pitying the Isles after the opening hours of free agency, when guys like Jason Blake, Tom Poti, and Viktor Kozlov bolted? Ted Nolan is working his second consecutive miracle on the Isle.

Might in the Michaels. Mike Richards and Mike Cammalleri have staked out take-it-to-the-bank All Star game selections. Richards (23 points in 19 games) is Philadelphia’s most consistent and dynamic performer, a point-per-game player who this season has transitioned from promising youngster to elite, captain-quality talent. His three shorthanded tallies lead the league. Cammalleri (12 goals, 7 assists) is beginning to look a lot like the Western conference’s version of Martin St. Louis.

Jolly Ole Productive St. Nik. Nik Antropov is healthy and playing virtually a point-a-game hockey for the Leafs, and skating a +9. Who knew he could? He had 33 points last season, and a high of 16 goals and 29 assists in 2002-03. Obviously he’s on pace for a career year. Alex Kovalev is on pace for 40 goals. Meanwhile, Jonathon Cheeechoo has just 3 goals in 21 games for the Sharks. Jaromir Jagr, I’m sad to report, is on pace for 16 goals this season, and Chris Drury (3 goals!) even less. Still, their Rangers have seriously heated up in the Atlantic.

Jeremy Roenick — remember him? — is outscoring Mike Modano, Brendan Shanahan, Thomas Vanek, Drury, Chris Higgins, Brian Gionta, and Patrick Marleau. One of the reasons Tampa was able to survive the loss of Dan Boyle for much of the season’s first quarter was the play of Paul Ranger: 4 goals, a +11, and an able distributor on the power play point.

It sure appears as if Peter Forsberg has played his last game in the NHL, and perhaps in pro hockey period. Next stop, the Hall of Fame. Less honorably sidelined, in my judgment, are Scott Niedermayer and Teamu Selanne, who appear to want to allow their Ducks teammates to shoulder the early regular season’s bumps and bruises before perhaps rejoining them for the stretch run and postseason. I’m sorry, but hockey players play hockey when hockey starts, not finishes. Without them, the defending champion Ducks are holding it together rather well.

Guy Carbonneau and Ted Nolan share the Jack Adams Trophy for the season’s first quarter, from my vantage. Honorable mention: Ken Hitchcock.

Home Whites in Hawkland

Does anybody know the circumstances for Chicago wearing white uniform systems at home against Columbus tonight? I hadn’t seen another club do that this season. To these eyes it’s a refreshing and welcome return to what seems normal.

In Beantown, Halloween on Ice

You know how one out of every 125 or so NHL fights reminds you, by virtue of their jaw-dropping, scare-the-dog-with-your-shrieks reactions to their violence, of their genuinely frightening, game-altering authenticity? One of those just transpired in Boston, where 6 ‘9, 251-lb. Zdeno Chara made mincemeat of 6 ‘6, 238-lb. Blackhawk David Koci. It was positively a Halloween scene . . . as in straight out of the movie ‘Halloween.’ Splatters of Koci blood — something out of Showtime’s ‘Dexter‘ — filled the center of a faceoff circle. Koci, the game’s announcers just informed, endured a broken nose two games ago. It was harrowing seeing him attempt to cling to Chara’s jersey with his left arm while trying to maintain a safe, face-preserving distance from Chara’s disfiguring blows.

Incredibly, it was Chara’s first fight as a Bruin. As tape of it is watched around the league, you’d think he won’t be on the receiving end of many challenges in the near future.

We will update this file with video just as soon as we locate it.

Update: Thanks to Sig for the pointer to the video.

OFB Season Preview

What would a band of hockey bloggers be without predictions for the new NHL season?

We don’t claim to possess either a crystal ball or spy’s eyes inside the training camps of 29 other clubs, but we thought it might be helpful to our readers to compile a list of offseason (and late last season) player movement, in a concise file, and have a little fun offering up none-too-accountable “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down” forecasts for all 30 teams.

Basically, a team earned a “Thumbs up” if we thought its manuevering and maturation suggested that it’d improved upon its 2006-07 points total. Clubs that “stayed pat” or engineered boneheaded signings and/or inexplicable, high-end free agent farewells were awarded “Thumbs down.”

So we’ve provided everything “primer” a puckhead could need here.

Except the beer.

Team Comings Goings Youth is Served Verdict
Mathieu Schneider Selanne and Neidermeyer (for now?), Dustin Penner Bobby Ryan
Thumbs Down
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Eric Perrin, Ken Klee, Todd White Scott Mellanby, Shane Hnidy,
Glen Metropolit, Keith Tkachuk,
Denis Hamel, Eric Belanger,
Bryan Little (?)
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Glen Metropolit, Aaron Ward,
Peter Schaefer
Shane Donovan Matt Lashoff (?)
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Jocelyn Thibault Almost everyone Dan Paille, Drew Stafford
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Adrian Aucoin, David Hale,
Cory Sarich, Owen Nolan
Tony Amonte, Jeff Friesen,
Roman Hamrlik, Brad Stuart,
Andrei Zyuzin
Eric Nystrom (?)
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Matt Cullen Jack Johnson, Anson Carter,
David Tanabe
None Hmm . . .
Brent Spoel, Robert Lang,
Sergei Samsanov, Andrei Zyuzin,
Yanic Perreault
Michal Handzus, Adrian Aucoin,
Peter Bondra, Jason Cullimore
Jonathon Toews, Patrick Kane,
Jack Skille
Thumbs Up
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Scott Hannan, Ryan Smyth, Ken Klee, Pierre Turgeon,
Ossi Vaananen, Patrice Brisebois
None
Thumbs Up
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Michael Peca, Jiri Novotny Brian Boucher, Bryan Berard Gilbert Brule, Derick Brassard (?) Hmm . . .
Todd Fedoruk Matthew Barnaby, Jon Klemm,
Eric Lindros, Ladislav Nagy,
Patrik Stefan, Darryl Sydor
Niklas Grossman
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Brian Rafalski, Dallas Drake Robert Lang, Todd Bertuzzi,
Kyle Calder, Danny Markov,
Mathieu Schneider
Igor Grigorenko
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Sheldon Souray, Joni Pitkanen,
Dustin Penner, Denis Grebeshkov,
Dick Tarnstrom
Ryan Smyth, Joffrey Lupul,
Petr Sykora, Jason Smith
Sam Gagner, Ryan O’Marra (?) Hmm . . .
Richard Zednik, Radek Dvorak,
Tomas Vokoun
Ed Belfour, Alex Auld, Martin Gelinas, Chris Gratton, Todd Bertuzzi None
Thumbs Up
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Brad Stuart, Tom Preissing,
Kyle Calder, Michal Handzus,
Ladislav Nagy
Mathieu Garon, Jamie Heward,
Tom Kostopoulos, Jamie Lundmark,
Aaron Miller
Jonathon Bernier, Jack Johnson
Thumbs Up
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Eric Belanger, Sean Hill, Manny Fernandez, Todd White Benoit Pouliot (?) Hmm . . .
Roman Hamrlik, Bryan Smolinski,
Tom Kostopoulos
Sheldon Souray, Radek Bonk,
Sergei Samsanov, Mike Johnson
Carey Price, Kyle Chipchura,
Andrei Kostitsyn
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Martin Gelinas, Radek Bonk Almost everyone Ville Koistinen, Kevin Klein (?)
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Dainius Zubrus, Vitali Vishnevski,
Kevin Weekes, Karel Rachunek
Scott Gomez, Brian Rafalski Nicklas Bergfors (?)
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Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie,
Ruslan Fedotenko
Almost everyone Sean Bergenheim (?)
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Scott Gomez, Chris Drury Michael Nylander, Karel Rachunek,
Matt Cullen, Kevin Weekes,
Brad Isbister
Marc Staal, Ryan Callahan (?)
Thumbs Up
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Thumbs Up
Shean Donovan, Luke Richardson,
Denis Hamel
Mike Comrie, Tom Preissing,
Peter Schaefer, Oleg Saprykin
Nick Foligno, Brian Lee
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Daniel Briere, Joffrey Lupul,
Jason Smith, Martin Biron,
Scott Upshall, Kimo Timonen
Peter Forsberg, Joni Pitkanen,
Kyle Calder, Robert Esche,
Todd Fedoruk, Mike York
Braydon Coburn, Ryan Parent
Thumbs Up
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Alex Auld, Radim Vrbata,
Niko Kapanen, Mike York
Owen Nolan, Jeremy Roenick,
Curtis Joseph, Mike Ricci
Peter Mueller
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Darryl Sydor, Gary Roberts,
Petr Sykora
Eric Cairns, Joel Kwiatkowski,
Jocelyn Thibault, Michel Ouellet,
Nils Ekman, Josef Melichar
Kristopher Letang
Thumbs Up
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Craig Rivet, Jeremy Roenick Scott Hannan, Bill Guerin,
Vesa Toskala
None Hmm . . .
Paul Kariya, Keith Tkachuk Radek Dvorek, Dallas Drake,
Glen Metropolit, Jamie Rivers
Erik Johnson
Thumbs Up
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Michel Ouellet, Chris Gratton,
Jan Hlavac
Cory Sarich, Ruslan Fedotenko,
Eric Perrin
Karri Ramo (?)
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Jason Blake, Mark Bell, Vesa Toskala Jeff O’Neill, Michael Peca,
Yanic Perreault, J.S. Aubin
Jiri Tlusty (?)
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Brad Isbister, Ryan Shannon Bryan Smolinski, Brent Sopel, Jan Bulis, Rory Fitzpatrick, Luc Bourdon (?)
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Michael Nylander, Viktor Kozlov,
Tom Poti
Dainius Zubrus, Kris Beech,
Bryan Muir, Jiri Novotny
Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green,
Tomas Fleischmann
Thumbs Up
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Ice Girls of the NHL

Japers’ Rink let the Capitals’ limited season ticket survey out of the bag that once again broached the subject of “Ice Girls”. Neither OrderedChaos nor I received the season ticket survey, so we don’t know if it included more than the five questions mentioned by Japers’.

Although we have pondered the idea of Washington Capitals’ Ice Girls, we don’t know if this is a done deal or not. Most of the other teams have already held their tryouts. Is Washington behind the curve, so to speak? Or have super secret auditions already been held and ice girls are ready to hit the ice on September 8th?

In any case, we were curious as to how many other teams have such squads. The answers may surprise you.

New York Islanders Ice Girls
New York Islanders Ice Girls

[update: Dan Steinberg is at Kettler and has not seen any "ice-based cheer persons".]
[update 2: Dan Steinberg received confirmation from Nate Ewell, Director of Media Relations, that there will be no ice-based cheer persons roaming the Phone Booth this season.]

Free Agency — It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

The Capitals did as promised: they were major players in the free agent market this offseason. And it’s no sure thing that they’re done dealing, as pursuit of RFAs via trades has been a stated goal of the team for months.

I’m not saying that Michael Nylander, Viktor Kozlov and Tom Poti were the absolute best hockey players up for grabs; but the signings represent smart moves that directly address the team’s needs without mortgaging the future. Most importantly, the moves improve the team immediately while keeping enough funds handy to lock in Ovechkin and Semin — I’d rather see the team ante up for those two over any of the big-name forwards in this year’s UFA crop. The Los Angeles Kings took a similar approach to the Capitals’, signing pivot Michal Handzus (four years, $16M), wingers Ladislav Nagy (one year, $3.75M ) and Kyle Calder (two years, $5.5M) and D Tom Preissing (four years, $11M). Another relatively responsible restocking in this offseason of big spending.

How did the other 28 teams fare? Well, let’s review a few of the notables. Rather than a typical grading system, I’ll attempt a Hollywood Starlet system instead: Scarlett Johansson, Lindsay Lohan, or Nicole Richie.

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson
Undeniably attractive, smart, and sexy. And Scarlett ain’t bad either. Some teams made just the right moves, not only in their choice of players but also with the deals they offered. Rather than spending like Donald Trump’s ex-wives, certain teams found the right player(s) for the right price.

Avalanche fans will be thrilled with Ryan Smyth’s arrival in Colorado. By bringing in Smyth (5 years, $31M) and Scott Hannan (4 years, $18M), the Avs get two rough-and-tumble players whose styles fit the team perfectly. 31-year-old Smyth’s five-year deal is not only a fairly affordable cap hit, but a reasonable duration as compared to some other signings.

The Detroit Red Wings continued their less-is-more approach by signing just one notable player in the first two days of UFA-Fest: Brian Rafalski. After losing 38-year-old Mathieu Schneider to Ducks, the Wings managed to upgrade while not losing a dime by signing 33-year-old Rafalski. His $6M per year for five years is about what the Ducks are paying Schneider per year; yet Rafalski is five years younger. In addition, Rafalski notched 55 points last season (30 on the PP) while playing the Devils’ ultra-conservative system. One would think he’ll perform even better in the Motor City’s more exciting style of play. Once again, Detroit’s management manages to make the right moves without breaking the bank; it’s no wonder they’re perennial contenders.

Lindsay Lohan

Tyrone Biggums
Tyrone Biggums
Some teams went on benders to rival Ms. Lohan’s. The New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers signed big name players to obscene contracts — making sexy but crazy moves. Like Tyrone Biggums with crack cocaine, neither team could resist the allure of spending with abandon. Clearly both teams’ rosters are dramatically improved for next season; but this sort of freewheeling spending backfires more often than not. They both are trying to buy championships; and in hockey, that rarely works.

Philadelphia began their binge early, throwing crazy pre-July 1 deals at Kimmo Timmonen and Scott Hartnall — both appealing but now-overpaid players — whose contracts are crazy not so much in terms of annual salary as they are in terms of duration. Then the Flyers topped themselves by giving spear-to-the-groin Daniel Briere an eight year deal. Each of these players is undeniably talented; but the dollars and duration of these contracts makes one wonder if Bobby Clarke is still in Philadelphia, working the levers as the man behind the curtain.

Mind you, the Rangers’ attempt to make the New York Yankees seem like cheapskates is just as stunning. Snagging both Chris Drury and Scott Gomez is quite a feat to be sure. But $7M per year to Drury, combined with a $51.5M seven-year deal to Scott Gomez (who has exceeded 20 goals just once in seven years of play), is insanity.

Including Jaromir Jagr, they now have spent over a third of their salary cap on three players, and they have not signed Brendan Shannahan, Sean Avery, or Henrik Lundqvist yet. Yikes. One wonders how long it will take Jagr to complain about the loss of Nylander if his adjustment to Gomez/Drury is less than perfect. In fact, it sounds like he’s already laying the groundwork for future complaining.

Nicole Richie

Oh He-Man, behave!
Oh He-Man, behave!
So far, the other 2/3 of New York was brutally pillaged by free agency’s raiders. Like Nicole Richie, the Sabres and Islanders are skeletal remnants who practically qualify for Federal disaster assistance.

The Sabres lost both their co-captains and seem to have returned to their spendthrift ways. After their season of excellence was eclipsed by the Ottawa Senators, Sabres management let both captains walk away with apparently minimal effort to stop them. With intense league-wide interest in both Drury and Briere, nobody expected the Sabres to retain both players. But losing both is a crushing blow to the team, not just in terms of skill but of leadership as well. Management’s half-hearted contract offers, particularly to local hero Drury, indicate a “well, we tried” attitude settling in with Buffalo’s brass. Here’s one Sabres fan writing for ESPN who certainly feels that way

As for the Islanders, they lost Kozlov, Poti, Ryan Smyth — who turned out to be a rather expensive rental, costing two former first-round picks plus this year’s first rounder — captain Jason Smith, and Richard Zednik. They appear to be emulating the Florida Marlins, only without the championship (well, not in the past 20+ years). Next they’ll rename their arena to Nassau Mausoleum. Isles fans cannot be happy losing three of their top six scorers — and their sole UFA signing of Jon Sim is not the answer. Dark days are ahead on the Island.

And . . .

Other teams were relatively silent, most notably the Caps’ Southeast rivals.