N.H.L.

[sickboy]

BROAD STREET BULLY


The Flyers won two Stanley Cup titles in a row - 1974 and '75 - but missed out on a third consecutive victory when they were beaten by the first of Montreal's four straight Cup winners in the 1976 final. Despite missing out on that elusive third win, the Flyers of the era dominated the league as some of the great teams before and since have. They just did it a little differently.

On May 19, 1974, with Rick MacLeish scoring the only goal, the incomparable Bernie Parent backstopped the Flyers to a 1- 0 victory over the Boston Bruins and a series victory, four games to two. They would go on to beat the Buffalo Sabres (with the fabled French Connection line of Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin and Rene Robert) the following spring and continued their reign of terror until finally being vanquished in the 1976 final.

Terror is as apt a word as any to describe the Flyers' scorched-earth style of domination. While the greatest teams in hockey history are remembered for their speed, skill and grace in victory - various Montreal and Edmonton teams come to mind - the Flyers brutalized their opponents to such a degree that they became known as the Broad Street Bullies, named after the street on which their home rink, the Spectrum, stood.

Although the Flyers came by their reputation honestly, breaking penalty records and noses along the way, it really disguised the fact that at the teams' core were some of the most talented players of the period. Unfortunately for the purist, the names people tend to recall now aren't so much stars like Parent, MacLeish, Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber and Reggie Leach, but thugs like Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, "Hound Dog" Bob Kelly, Andre "Moose" Dupont and Don Saleski.

Flyer fans loved their bullies, and the Spectrum was the scene of pandemonium, both on and off the ice, more than a few times. The rumble of the crowd would crescendo to a roar as Kate Smith belted out "God Bless America," while visiting teams quaked in their skates at the thought of imminent and certain bodily harm being inflicted upon them.

The Flyers perfected - if that's the correct word - a style made po****r only a couple of years earlier by the Boston Cup winners known as the big, bad Bruins. Those Bruin teams had their share of bangers and crashers, but they also had the likes of Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito and the goaltending of Gerry Cheevers to put them over the top.

But where the Bruins of the early '70s employed crushing body checks at every opportunity, the Flyers practically invented the goon. Prior to Philly's emergence, NHL players had to be tough, but also required a certain level of skill. The Flyers, under coach Freddie "The Fog" Shero, brawled, slashed and manhandled their opposition with a parade of players more adept at using their sticks as weapons than for handling the puck.

Shero was a coach who could get the most out of what he had. A master motivator, Shero instilled the idea in his team that commitment to each other and their goals was imperative. "When you have bacon and eggs for breakfast," he once said, "the chicken makes a contribution, but the pig makes a commitment."

And the Flyers were committed (and some of them should have been). There was one thing Shero wanted all his players to do, and that was to "take the shortest route to the puck carrier, and arrive in ill-humor." Even the most skillful Flyers had a mean streak, but bruisers like Schultz, Kelly, Dupont, Saleski and Jack McIlhargey took it beyond the extreme.

While their tactics resulted in an astronomical number of minutes spent in the sin bin, the Flyers had such a skilled group of offensive and defensive players that the transgressions of their goons were easily overcome.

Led by captain Bobby Clarke, the Broad Streeters defied anyone to beat them. They killed penalties with two of the best defensive specialists ever to play, Bill Clement (now an ABC analyst) and Terry Crisp, and had some of the fastest skaters in the league in guys like MacLeish and Bill Barber, whose offensive skills were augmented in their second Cup year by Reggie Leach.

Clarke was, and, some would argue, remains one of those guys who's win at all costs mentality grated on everyone but Flyer fans. A nine-time All Star, Clarke overcame diabetes to become one of the great two-way players and a three-time league MVP, and was, as Schultz once said, "the heart and soul of this club."

If there was a single game that epitomized the Flyers, it occurred in January 1976, as their championship run was coming to an end. The Soviet Union's vaunted Central Red Army team was on a four game tour playing NHL teams, and were coming off the famous 3-3 New Years eve game with Montreal that many observers still recall as the greatest hockey game ever played.

The Russians weren't prepared for what would greet them in the City of Brotherly love. The Flyers beat the tourists 4-1, handing them their only loss of the series. But it was the way they did it that left an indelible mark on the sport, not to mention international relations.

With the game still close, Flyer defenseman Ed Van Impe blind-sided Soviet star Valeri Kharlamov with a vicious elbow to the head. Once Kharlamov was revived, the visitors fled, in mid-period, to their dressing room, refusing to return to the ice. They only came back out to finish the game when it was pointed out that they'd not receive a penny (ruble?) of the money they'd been promised.

Devoted amateurs that they were, the Russians returned to complete the game, but their resolve had been broken, like many other teams before them, and they went down to a half-hearted defeat. Poor Kharlamov must have wondered what he ever did to the Philly players. In the dramatic 1972 Canada-Russia series, he'd had his leg broken by a slash across the ankles from Clarke, which some saw as the turning point of that storied showdown.

The Broad Street Bullies proved that Conn Smythe's old axiom, "if you can't beat them on the ice, beat them in the allies," had morphed into something new. As the first expansion team to ever win the Stanley Cup, Philadelphia became a blueprint for teams lacking in talent seeking to find a winning way.

The Flyers, however, didn't really lack talent. Net-minder Bernie Parent won the playoff MVP award in each of their Cup- winning years. Clarke, MacLeish, Barber, Leach and the Watson boys, Jimmy and Joe, played hard-nosed, but highly skilled hockey, and Shero, while encouraging the nastiness, was one of the first coaches to employ European training methods, both on and off the ice in getting his teams ready to play.

The downside of it all, at least for the hockey purist, is that the Flyers signaled the onset of the era of the goon. Numerous teams have tried to emulate the Flyers means of achieving success, but none have really managed to duplicate it. These days, the goon is a part of almost every team, but has become nothing but a joke. Designated fighters square off against other pugs in what has become a silly sidebar to the games, and with no apparent reason.

What made the Flyers different was that their ruffians would target anyone for abuse, leaving the opposition intimidated, often before the game even began. It's kind of fitting that the high-flying Habs, who reminded fans that speed and skill are the true attributes of great teams, ended the Flyers reign as champions.

The Flyers did have speed and skill aplenty; it's just that it was masked by their reputation as the Broad Street Bullies.

[GoPens]

Daca Lemieux ar fi egoist ar avea mai multe goluri si mai putine assisturi. Dar are 48 de assisturi, mai mutle decit puncte au majoritatea jucatorilor.
Daca asta nu-i caracteristica de playmaker atunci nu stiu ce-ar fi.

Nici vorba sa ai 20 de PPO/meci. poate penalty mins/echipa, ceea ce nu este acelasi lucru avind in vedere ca multe penalizari sunt coincidentale.

in mediu o echipa are 4-5 PPO/game

[sickboy]

Lemieux e '-4 la +/-' arata ce jucator de echipa e (asta tinind cont ca majoritatea punctelor le-a obtinut in situatii de superioritate numerica,unde nu se aplica clasamentul +/-) !
Nu am zis ca nu e playmaker,dar nu joaca pt. echipa ! Motivul lui e sa aiba cit mai bun record,goluri plus asisturi.


:?

[GoPens]

+/- spune mai multe despre calitatea D. in plus daca scoring line incepe sa joace left wing lock vor fi multe meciuri de 1-0.
in plus PIT are 53 PPG la 138 G, deci 2,6 ESG la 1PPG. daca primesti 151G de unde sa vina o valoare pozitiva la +/-? cel mai bun +/- il are Tarnström cu +7 dar a fost accidentat in decembrie cind PIT a mers 0-9-0-1, deci cind a luat mult mai multe goluri decit a marcat. la echipe cu golaveraj negativ te poti lua de aparare in general sau de jucatori cu un +/- care iese din medie (Kovalev -13, Primeau -20, Ference -15, Pushor -14 de exemplu), restu-i average.

dar hai sa iau o echipa care anul trecut a avut un golaveraj pozitiv si a primit putine goluri: NJD (187):
Patrick Elias +4. la 61p, PP points 18

avind in vedere ca e top line center nu-i grozav.
dar cu un an inainte, cind NJD avea 295-195 a avut +45 la 96p (career year). PP points 29

n-am auzit sa-l acuze cineva pe Elias anu trecut ca ar juca numai pentru puncte (avind in vedere ca a obtinut numai 61 din 75 de meciuri).
nu cred ca comportamentul defensiv al lui Elias s-a inrautatit intr-un an in asa hal.

in 00-01 a participat la 67 ESG, in 01-02 la 43.
s-au marcat impotriva liniei lui in 00-01 22 goluri iar in 01-02 39.

eu zic ca in 00-01 NJD a matchuit liniile de atac mai bine (sau oponentii mai prost) si de aceea a marcat mai mult.

si daca ne uitam la Lemieux:
00-01 43 meciuri 76p +15 , 32PP points (echipa a jucat bine 281-256)
01-02 24 meciuri 31p 0 , 14PP points (echipa a jucat prost de tot 198-249)
02-03 41 meciuri 68p -4 , 36PP points (echipa joaca below average 137-151)

n-as putea zice ca Lemeiux a jucat defensiv in 00-01, dimpotriva, linia de atac era Hrdina-Lemieux-Jagr unde nici Jagr nici Hrdina nu sunt renumiti pentru backchecking (unde mai pui ca pentru vreo 15 meciuri pairingul era Kovalev-Lemieux-Jagr). Si nici nu se putea spune ca tragea pentru Art Ross sau Hart avind in vedere ca a intrat in joc de-abia in decembrie.
si totusi de unde +15? simplu: linia lui a marcat mai multe goluri (Jagr) iar apararea, desi era departe de-a fi buna nu era compusa pe 1/3 din jucatori care sezonul anterior mai jucau AHL fara a straluci.

[GoPens]

btw.

Naslund e +1 (top 10)
Bertuzzi e -4 (top 10)
Jagr e +2 (top 10)
Weight e 0 (top 10)
Hossa e +2 (top 20)
Mogilny e +3 (top 20)

toti joaca la echipe ce au un golaveraj pozitiv (OTT si STL chiar net pozitiv). daca joci ofensiv marchezi goluri, iar daca nu ai bani de aparare ca si COL, DET, STL sau NJD o sa mai si iei goluri. alternativa-i sa joci ca Minnesota. daca e destul pentru playoff vom vedea la sfirsitul sezonului.

[GoPens]

by Dejan Kovacevic (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)



SUNRISE, Fla. -- Hockey's premier talents gathered yesterday in preparation for the 53rd NHL All-Star Game, but one would be hard-pressed to recognize that a sporting event of any kind is about to take place given the dominant topics of discussion.

Bankruptcy proceedings.

Operating losses.

Labor agreements.

As Ottawa Senators defenseman Zdeno Chara put it, "It would be nice not to talk about all this business stuff, you know?"

Especially when a case could be made that the root of the game's off-ice problems might well be the direct result of a diminishing on-ice product.

When Brett Hull, the Detroit Red Wings' legendary shooter, declared two years ago that the NHL's brand of hockey "sucks to watch," he shook the league to its foundations. Imagine Michael Jordan pronouncing basketball a bore.

And yet, little has changed. Despite passionate speeches by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman promising more offense, despite adding a second referee to better enforce rules, despite an extensive attempt to eliminate hooking and holding and restore the game's speed, the average number of goals per game so far in the 2002-03 season is 5.32, barely a whisker above the 5.25 at the same point last season. By the end of 2001-02, the league hit a 54-year low with a 5.24 average.

"The hardest part for our sport is to get people out there to learn about it," Philadelphia Flyers center Jeremy Roenick said. "Obviously, it's a very expensive game, to play it as a youngster or to watch it in person. The best way to sell the game is to have more scoring, more excitement. Until we have that, we're going to struggle."

"Offense sells," Mighty Ducks of Anaheim left winger Paul Kariya said. "When I was growing up and I watched hockey, I wanted to see goals. I don't think that's changed."

Two minutes for fading

The focus of most of the elite players' blame is the officiating.

The league vowed in the summer to eliminate interference, and it took extraordinary steps to show it meant business. General managers and coaches were summoned to Toronto for classroom-style lessons on the new enforcement standards. Players, too, were instructed by watching video and by hearing directly from officials.

Bettman insisted yesterday, in emphatic terms, that the league has not abated.

"I know there has been a lot of debate -- 'The standard has slipped,' and 'We're right back where we were last year' -- but that is not the case," he said. "Is it perfect? No. But it isn't reverting back, and it's much better than it was when we decided to move forward with this standard. We had a meeting last week with the screening committee of general managers, and their view is that the game is really good and the right calls are being made."

The players differ, and in no uncertain terms. Of 15 All-Stars who were asked yesterday if the crackdown remains in effect, 15 replied that it does not. Three of them opened their replies by laughing.

Kariya went the furthest.

"I don't think there ever was a crackdown," he said. "Maybe in the exhibition games, but that's it. Right now, there are games where it's as bad or worse than last year."

For a few weeks, most players agreed, it worked. The games had better flow, more power plays and even a few more goals. By no coincidence, crowds also seemed more responsive.

But then, as was the case with a previous crackdown attempt in 1998, standards were relaxed, defensive players resumed cheating, and 1-0 scrums again reared their ugly heads. Just as the majority of players -- and not only the cynical ones -- had predicted.

"We knew that," Penguins right winger Alexei Kovalev said. "It's going to be good for a month or two, and then it's going to go back to what it was. That's what happened before, and it's what happened now."

"The referees called it, and now they aren't calling it anymore," Buffalo Sabres left winger Miroslav Satan said. "Just like all the other times."

"It's gone," San Jose Sharks left winger Teemu Selanne said. "We didn't get the memo from the referees, but it's gone."

The NHL uses statistics in attempts to refute such claims.

Bettman pointed out that nearly three times as many obstruction penalties have been called so far this season compared to last, and that power plays are up from 8.5 per game to 9.2. He reiterated his stance that fewer penalties are being called now than in October simply because players learned their lesson and want to stay out of the box.

League officials also believe that many players remain unaware that the crackdown was designed to cut down interference away from the puck more than to eliminate infractions against the puck-carrier. That, some players said yesterday, is the equivalent of a football referee calling pass interference only when it is committed against a receiver nowhere near the ball.

"Personally, I can't see why it isn't both," Boston Bruins center Joe Thornton said. "I'm a bigger guy, and I work down low in the offensive end with the puck. If you've got the puck, you usually get held more than the guy without the puck. I'd like to see that get called. Give the skilled guys who carry the puck a little room, too."

Players have other ways to explain the continuing dearth in scoring, too.

Some echoed Mario Lemieux's complaint that goaltending equipment has grown too large while the net remains the same 6-by-4 feet it always has been.

"That's the big thing," Selanne said. "It would be nice to make the goalies compete in a fair way. Look at tapes from 10 years ago and now. Every shot you make has to be a perfect shot."

Others blame the wave of conservative strategies that have swept the league since the New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup in 1995 while barely attempting to score a goal.

"Teams are so well coached that it's tough," Kariya said. "The preparation now is just unbelievable."

Others fault the NHL's rapid expansion from 21 teams in 1991 to 30 today.

"You wonder how awesome our sport would be if the talent pool wasn't as diluted," Roenick said. "That makes a difference."

Two goals down

Ten years ago, the average number of goals per game hit an all-time peak of 7.2. Those were the days when the high-flying Penguins were fresh off consecutive championships, and other freewheeling teams such as the Edmonton Oilers ruled the game. There were 14 50-goal scorers in 1992-93 compared to a projected two for this season.

Had that trend continued, had the NHL not contracted its offense while expanding into new markets in the southern and western portion of the United States, it is easy to envision that the league would not be in its current bind.

Attendance would have been higher, as would television ratings, corporate sponsorships and merchandise revenue. More money, especially if gained at the national level, could have been spread to low-revenue teams and created better parity and a more sound financial base, even if it would not have solved all of the game's ills.

As it is, two goals have been shaved off the average game, two fewer reasons for fans to cheer.

"It's not even just goals," Washington Capitals right winger Jaromir Jagr said. "For me, personally, I like to watch games that go up and down with lots of scoring chances. I wouldn't want to see 12-10 games or something like that, but maybe 5-3. That would make it more exciting."

"If there were more goals, there would be more fans brought to the league," Ottawa left winger Marian Hossa said. "I think everybody would like it. ... Just not the goalies."

And then, perhaps, someone will talk about hockey again.

[GoPens]

Center Mario Lemieux, the NHL's leading scorer, was held without a point but took a serious step toward becoming the league's premier thug.

He engaged in the fifth regular-season fight of his career -- the first since Bobby Gould of Washington gave him a one-punch concussion March 20, 1987, at the Capital Centre -- when, with 5:12 left in the game, he went after Florida defenseman Brad Ference, whom he accused of giving him cheap shots throughout the game.

Lemieux, who had entered the game with eight penalty minutes for the season, picked up a career-high 29 -- minors for slashing and instigating, a fighting major, 10-minute misconduct and game misconduct -- for his role in the skirmish. And didn't seem terribly remorseful about it.

"[Ference] takes a lot of cheap shots out there," Lemieux said. "He's got to expect teams to go after him. Especially when the game's out of hand like that, he's going to pay for it."

Several Penguins accused Ference of abusing Lemieux with his stick, which Lemieux said is standard procedure for Ference.

"He does that every game," Lemieux said. "I've been in the league a long time, and I know when people play hard and I know when people are [messing] around. You can't allow that, so we took care of business."

[sickboy]

Mario Lemieux's Fight Card:
1984-85 (2): Gary Lupul (VAN), Greg Adams (NJD)
1985-86 (1): Bobby Carpenter (WSH)
1986-87 (1): Bobby Gould (WSH)
1995-96 (1): (Todd Krygier - WSH)
1996-97 (0): Slashing Major (R.Pilon-NYI)
2002-03 (1): (Brad Ference - FLA)


"The game was chippy from the start. Nilson ran Straka, Moran ran Nilson, Beaudoin hit Lemiuex, Manderville hit Nilson, etc..., with a lot of trashtalking afterwards between the players on the ice and then at the benches. It escalated in the 2nd when Lemieux and Ference got together in the Panther end. Lemiuex gave Ference a crosscheck before going up ice. Ference followed and gave Lemieux a crosscheck in turn which prompted Mario to turn around and facewash Brad pretty good. Brad did not retaliate and this gave Ian Moran enough time to come to Mario's aid as he tackled Ference to the ice. Ference and Moran tried to get up and both shed their gloves but everyone piled in on them. On the next shift, McKenna is out to send a message and runs Kozlov so Jokinen comes in to talk it out. McKenna challenges Jokinen, but Olli declines. As Mckenna goes to his bench, Worrell starts yapping at him from the Panthers' bench with, "what the fuck is/was that?." Both teams then start to throw the body around before the period is over and Worrell finds McKenna near the benches and tries to run him through so McKenna challenges Peter but Worrell declines Mckenna while smiling. One of the linesmen gets in between the two giants and Worrell continues to laugh at McKenna. There was a good feeling that it would get better in the third...
After half the third period had expired, McKenna lines up next to Ference for a faceoff near the Panthers' net (Worrell is lined up on the other side of center). The puck drops and McKenna hooks Ference down and starts shoving him to get him to fight, Ference gets up but instead of fighting, turns around and looks at the ref to make a call. McKenna proceeds to punch Ference in the back of the helmet/head a couple of times which sends Ference to the ice as McKenna tries to get a few more shots in. The refs had trouble separating them and when Worrell comes from the side to jump on McKenna, all the players go into the pile. Gloves go off and people start pairing off. Not sure when Pushor and Beaudoin started to go but Pushor was definitely the aggressor here. Beaudoin didnt seem very interested in fighting while Pushor wanted to continue as they were along the boards. The refs were breaking up the first altercation while this was going on so Luongo goes over to try and talk Pushor down or something but gets pushed by Jamie and Luongo goes flying...either Luongo was trying to draw a penalty here or Roberto is very weak (I know he's real skinny but still...). Roberto gets up mad and starts to take shots at Pushor along the glass with his blockers and pads still on; this prompts Caran to leave the crease and join the party although nothing came of it as the two goalies just hugged, talked, and then patted each other once order was restored. Pushor tried to throw a few more at Beaudoin who was just holding on, but nothing really seemed to connect cleanly...a couple of grazes to the side of Beaudoin's face was all I saw. EDGE/Decision to Pushor though.
Play resumes and Primeau spears Luongo, who embellishes it a great deal (must me the soccer roots in him). No one saw it however and play continues. Ference serves his two minutes and the next time he's on the ice, Mario slashes at Ference, proceeds to drop his gloves and then throws one right which MISSED COMPLETELY (I don't know where the Pitt fans saw Mario land "two" here???) as it went over Ference's head. At this point Ference is covering and trying to get his gloves off but Trnka jumps in and then everyone follows him. The linesmen and referees are in there and Mario still wants a piece of Ference as he is tugging at Ference's jersey while everyone is together trying to separate each other. Bergevin really wanted at Ference also but this incident was more trash talking and posturing by everyone involved than anything else. The media really played it up more than it was I thought. I was glad to see Mario step it up and fight (or at least try to) his own battles though. I don't think Ference would've fought Mario though, even if Mario hadn't jumped him. Ference should ve fought McKenna though, even if he had lost he should ve dropped the gloves and answered the bell. I was hoping for a Primeau-Ference rematch at the end of the game but it never came. Primeau came out towards the end of the game and slashed at Kristian Huselius, which prompted Lilja to cross check Primeau to the ice and all the players to jump in. All in all, there were no good fights here, just a lot of posturing in scrums and pile-ups if you ask me, but it was still fun to watch it happen live (on TV)."


In alta ordine de idei,Pittsburgh este aproape de faliment si poate salveaza franciza Mario cu citeva batai,ca tribunele sint goale!

Falimentul ar fi un lucru bun pt. fanii batailor si a hocheiului in general,pt. ca arata unde a dus managementul lui Buttman : expansiunea echipelor pe motive financiare si de aici o diluare a calitatii ; tribune goale,Buffalo,Ottawa si Pittsburgh cu probleme financiare mari si se prefigureaza o greva a jucatorilor in 2004 !

[GoPens]

"With 50.5 seconds left in regulation, former Penguins LW Krzysztof Oliwa ignited a nasty scene by trying to hit Penguins LW Dan LaCouture from behind. Despite being penalized, Oliwa did not go to the Boston dressing room, opting to skate to the penalty box. While en route, he had another run-in with LaCouture. "On the way to the box, he was stupid enough to say something after trying to run me from behind," LaCouture said. "So I went right after him. I was actually excited when I saw him skating back across the ice. It really bothered me that he tried to hurt me. I wanted to let him know that wasn't acceptable." LaCouture ended up taking a swing at Oliwa while Oliwa was standing in the penalty box; it isn't know if league officials will review the incident. "Maybe they'll rewind [the tape] a little more and show that he intentionally tried to hurt me," LaCouture said. By the time order was restored, 50 minutes worth of penalties had been handed out -- 24 to the Penguins, 26 to Boston."
(by Dave Molinari, "Pittsburgh Post Gazette")


Nu-i chiar faliment, desi bugetul e mic 31 mil. le trebuie o arena noua. daca asta nu se poate finanta (50% ar trebui sa vina din partea orasului) atunci echipa nu are viitor long term in Pittsburgh. Nu este lipsa acuta de bani (Crag Patrick chiar mai are in jur de 2-3 mio. pt un trade; banii nu ajung insa pentru a-l plati pe Kovalev la nivelul actual din NHL). Pittsburgh pentru cca 3 ani nu este in situatia lui Ottawa si Buffalo care chiar au aplicat pentru chapter 11 (creditor protection; btw Pittsburgh a fost in situatia asta 1998). Sunt alte teamuri care au probleme mai mari: Annaheim (Walt Disney vrea sa se scape de ei), Calgary, Atlanta, Florida + celealte expansion team-uri. Chiar si la Chicago incepe sa arate prost.

lockoutul vine in toamna la anu, sigur. poate chiar nu se va juca sezonul 04/05 pentru ca vad o multime de echipe care nu vor putea accepta sa mentina nici macar status quo. si daca jucatorii vor sa cistige bani in continuare si sa joace hockey nu vor avea decit sa accepte mai putin, lucru care se intimpla si in fotbal chiar acum. alternativa e sa joace pe 2-300 000 € in Europa, si eu nu-l vad pe Jagr sa joace pe 105 000€/an la Kladno.

[GoPens]

Hockey Talk
[from Pittsburgh Post Gazette]

MANAGEMENT

"We have some franchises that have to struggle until we get to a new system."

-- Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner


"If you put a gun to my head, I wouldn't buy any team, including the one I own. And we're in better shape than most because we don't carry any debt."

-- Bill Wirtz, owner, Chicago Blackhawks


"You look at the core economics of hockey, and it scares the hell out of you. I saw years ago that it couldn't work. Now, does that make me a genius? No. I was just able to do the basic math."

-- Tony Tavares, former president, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim


"Reality is going to hit players when they start losing jobs. Then, players will understand what's happening here. We could lose franchises. That wouldn't just hurt the players. That would hurt everybody involved in the game."

-- Mike Keenan, coach, Florida Panthers


"We can't blame the players. The system has to be fixed. The facts are not hidden. We know what the finances, salaries and expenses are. We need to fix it."

-- Lou Lamoriello, general manager, New Jersey Devils


UNION


"Owners are negotiating these contracts in the context of what is good business for them. I can only assume that to be the case."

-- Bob Goodenow, chief, NHL Players Association


"When George Gillett bought the Canadiens last year, are you telling me he went in knowing he was going to lose $18 million a year? Not a chance. That's not the whole story."

-- Todd Marchant, left winger, Edmonton Oilers


"I don't think about if guys are overpaid or underpaid or whatever. The going rate's the going rate. You do a certain thing in the NHL as well as another guy, you're going to make the same as him."

-- Jeremy Roenick, center, Philadelphia Flyers


"The money they give me ... all I do is sign the contract. I was never even part of the negotiations. I walked into the room and signed the piece of paper."

-- Jaromir Jagr, right winger, Washington Capitals


"It's the owners paying that money. They started that problem. If the salaries are too high, it's up to them to rectify that and do a better job of signing their players. Let's sit down and be frank, be up front and make this situation profitable for both sides."

-- Scott Stevens, defenseman, New Jersey Devils

[GoPens]

[from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette]

...

League and team officials say that more than two-thirds of the NHL's 30 franchises lost money last season, and that the percentage is expected to increase this season.

The teams are privately operated and not required to open financial records to the public, but many have begun to do so, if only to stress their desire for reform.

The St. Louis Blues reported losses last season of $43 million, the Washington Capitals $24 million, the Florida Panthers $17 million, the Los Angeles Kings $9 million. Two teams, the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres, are in bankruptcy because of being a combined $300 million in debt. Six teams -- the two in bankruptcy plus the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks -- are for sale.

Owners concede that many problems are of their own making. Ottawa and Buffalo are the most glaring examples. The Senators committed more than $100 million toward the building of the Corel Centre arena in 1996, despite lacking sufficient capital. The Sabres collapsed when Adelphia chairman John Rigas, also the team owner, was arrested on fraud charges last year.

But owners also point to situations that seem ideal yet still do not yield profits.

Los Angeles is the NHL's second-largest market, and the Kings have been successful on and off the ice since Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz bought them in late 1995. They play in the luxurious Staples Center and average crowds of 17,423 with all luxury suites sold.

Despite that, team president Tim Leiweke said, the Kings had lost $100 million under Anschutz, and he blamed that on a player payroll of $43.3 million which ranks in the middle of the NHL pack, $2 million above the average.

Leiweke mailed a copy of his team's financial records last month to Bob Goodenow, head of the NHL Players Association, in an attempt to convince the union that Los Angeles' troubles are real.

"If you came to me tomorrow and told me this is the system we're going to have to continue to operate in for the next 10 years, then, as it relates to the L.A. Kings, we would sell," Leiweke said. "We would get out of the business."

Other owners have told NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman much the same.

Bettman is not divulging the system the owners are seeking, but that is believed to be a salary cap in the range of $35 million, along with revenue sharing among owners. Hockey is the only one of the four major professional sports that has no form of salary control, be it a cap or luxury tax. The Penguins' payroll is just under $28 million; the Rangers have the league's highest payroll at $71.3 million.

Bettman has required the 30 teams to place $10 million each into a league-managed escrow account to be used in the event of a work stoppage, a move designed to avoid dissension among the owners that occurred in the player lockout in 1995. That stoppage ended after 100 days because several owners, notably the Penguins' Howard Baldwin, feared their businesses would go under without games to support them.

Today's Penguins are one of the teams projecting losses this season, even after netting approximately $6 million through the trade involving Kovalev.

Ken Sawyer, the team's chief financial officer, did not offer specifics but anticipated that only a lengthy run through the Stanley Cup playoffs could allow the team to break even, as it did in the first three years of Lemieux's ownership.

Lemieux stated that he believed that the NHL's owners were prepared to do whatever it takes to change the business.

"We have to," he said. "If we don't, there won't be a business."

The rank-and-file view

The players are saving for the rainy day as well. It is believed that the NHLPA's war chest is approaching $200 million, evidence that Goodenow is prepared to fight to retain some semblance of the status quo.

The average player's salary is $1.64 million, seven times what it was when the Penguins first won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and $500,000 more than the average NFL salary.

Bettman has estimated that the league's revenues increased 171 percent in the past 10 years while player salaries increased 240 percent. Most owners say 70 percent of their revenues go to player salaries.

Goodenow has little use for the notion that it is the players' responsibility to rein in the owners' spending habits.

"Player values are set by the owners," Goodenow said. "In our system, they always have been. The owners have the control, so I can only assume the owners are making good decisions."

Many players share those sentiments, but a growing faction disagrees.

That movement started in early January when Brett Hull, the Detroit Red Wings' 700-goal left winger and one of the game's most outspoken figures, wrote in The Hockey News: "Bob Goodenow will kill me, but if we're going to be realistic about things, probably 75 percent of the league is overpaid." Hull went on to suggest that some form of a salary cap is needed.

Other players lean that way.

"In any negotiation, you have to give something and get something back," Vancouver Canucks right winger Markus Naslund said. "I don't know how much we'll sacrifice, but I know that a work stoppage will hurt all of us."

Paul Kariya, left winger for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, suggested the players could give ground on issues such as salary if, for example, the grueling 82-game season were shortened or other concessions were made by the owners.

"I think it hurts the product to have this long of a season and training camp," he said. "Guys are tired, and I think they'd agree to something like that."

The third party view

The only interested party that will not be represented when the talks begin is the one which has been hit the hardest.

The fans.

NHL tickets are the most expensive in team sports, averaging $42, and that is because owners pass along the cost of player salaries directly to the consumer. NHL teams rely on gate receipts for three-quarters of their revenue, 25 percent more than any of the other major leagues. If ticket prices stay the same, revenue stays the same.

That is because television revenue is negligible compared with other sports. Each team receives $5.7 million a year from the league's contracts with ABC, ESPN and Canadian networks, plus an average of $8 million in local deals. By comparison, each NFL team receives $77 million.

Attendance is down for the first time in six years. Crowds are averaging 16,376, a drop of 400 from last season, and less than half of the games have been sellouts. New markets Atlanta and Nashville, Tenn., barely get 11,000 most nights. Venerable markets Boston and Chicago are drawing fewer than 15,000. New Jersey, with the hottest team in the league, has yet to sell out its arena.

Television ratings have remained static at the national level and have sagged at the local level -- Penguins ratings in December were down 41 percent compared with last season -- just as the NHL's contract with ABC and ESPN is set to expire in 2004. Those networks, both owned by Disney, paid $600 million for a five-year package in 1998, an amount so high it stunned the industry. It is unlikely to be matched. Those networks have since spent $2.4 billion to add the NBA and they are likely to want no part of a league that cannot guarantee there will be a 2004-05 season.

Several reasons have been given for the decreased interest among fans. Some blame the sagging economy, as the Penguins have for their drop of 1,000 fans per game from last season. Others blame the lack of excitement in the NHL's on-ice product. Goals per game are 5.32 this season after a 54-year low of 5.23 last season. Others blame the big-market dominance of the Stanley Cup, as fans in many cities no longer believe that their team has a chance. Detroit, New Jersey and Colorado have claimed seven of the last eight championships.

Whatever the reason, one area on which owners and players have universal agreement is that a work stoppage would not help.

"I worry about it," Philadelphia Flyers center Jeremy Roenick said. "This is the game I love, and I hope it continues. But there has to be a balance. You can't have owners losing millions of dollars, and you can't have players not making their share of the millions."

The grievance

The Penguins and the fans of Pittsburgh aren't the only ones who were upset with having to part with Kovalev to keep the team solvent.

"I think it raises competitive issues and the integrity of the process," said Brian Burke, general manager of the Canucks. "Are there 'For Sale' signs on players? While the trade was packaged cleverly, I don't think you can view it as anything but dangerous."

"I can't pretend to sit in the shoes of the Pittsburgh people, but it's all about dollars," said Pat Quinn, coach and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. "It's not the kind of deal they'd make if their business was healthy."

The reaction was little different among many on the ice.

"It's sad," Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur said. "That's a great hockey town. You have fans supporting that team. They had to give up Jagr, and now they trade Kovalev. ... Three of those guys they got have been on waivers."

Not all players viewed the deal with alarm, though.

"Players have been sold for years. Babe Ruth was sold in 1918, so it's been going on for years," said Vancouver center Trevor Linden, president of the NHLPA. "I think Pittsburgh is a unique situation. They have a building that is clearly outdated. They have challenges."

Lemieux would not argue any of Linden's latter points, especially the need for a new arena. But he has seen, heard and read too much of Pittsburgh's anger in the past few days to shrug off the significance of the Kovalev trade.

"It's difficult for everybody right now, for the organization and especially for the fans who support the team," he said. "I understand their frustration, and I feel the same way. I know Gary [Bettman] understands that, too, and I hope Bob [Goodenow] understands that. The game is more important than the players and owners. The fans are a big part of it, and we can't allow the game to keep going this way. We have to do something about it."

[GoPens]

[from lcshockey]


(Sunshine) The CBA: Vote CBAM In 2004
by John Alsedek, Philadelphia Correspondent

The other night, I was sipping in a genteel manner from a barrel of grain alcohol in celebration of Harry Sinden Day (it goes without saying that EVERY day is Harry Sinden Day) and stewing over the state of the NHL.

With Buffalo and Ottawa already in bankruptcy proceedings, Pittsburgh giving away Alexei Kovalev because they can't afford to keep him, Calgary likely to do the same with Jarome Iginla, and at least a half-dozen other teams teetering on the brink of financial collapse, the NHL is poised to go through a period of contraction, no matter what spin our…um, whatever the opposite of esteemed is….commissioner, Count Bettman, might try to put on it.

I wondered whether the Count and Bob Goodenow of the NHLPA would be able to do the unlikely and agree on a salary cap as part of the CBA in 2004. I pondered the possibility of the NHL instituting a more meaningful revenue sharing plan - assuming, of course, that they can manage to get another national TV deal that's even close to the current one. And I deliberated on whether either course of action had a prayer of success.

But then a light bulb went on. My first thought was "Wow, the check to the power company actually cleared." And then something else occurred to me - that there was another answer to the NHL's problems.

It was at that moment that the first glimmer of an idea, a solution intricate in its sheer simplicity, came to mind. That answer is the CBAM - Contraction Begins At MSG (or, if you prefer, Count Bettman, A**-Monkey). Instead of letting teams in real hockey cities like Buffalo and Pittsburgh get flushed down the 'loo because they can't compete financially with the New York Ranger$ and their deep-pocketed, short-sighted owners at MSG Network, why not start the NHL's contraction at the place where it'll do the most good - in Manhattan?

Now, there are doubtless hockey purists out there who are appalled that I should even joke about eliminating an "Original Six" team. Well…


The New York Ranger$ have won the fewest number of Stanley Cups of any Original Six team (along with Chicago, and they just plain suck) in the past 50 years. Heck, they're even dead last in the NYC Metro area, trailing both the Islanders (four Cups) and Jersey (two Cups). And the only way they managed to win their one in 1994 was by doing what they've become notorious for doing - dealing away future stars (like Tony Amonte and Doug Weight, to name two) for short-term gains.
Their payroll is as big as those of (probably) playoff-bound Edmonton, Minneapolis, and Ottawa COMBINED, yet they're all but assured of missing the postseason for what seems like the 100th straight year. MSG/Cablevision's willingness to throw countless millions at any UFA, no matter how washed-up, lacking in discernable talent, or overrated (Bobby Holik's worth more than Bertuzzi and Naslund combined? David Karpa's worth $1.7 mill to play in the minors?)
Their idea of player development is asking potential free agent acquisitions "how many zeros do we need to put on the end of the figure on this check?" Of their last 10 first-round draft selections, just two are still in the Ranger$ organization; the others are either with other organizations, were traded away for quick fixes, or were complete busts. Oh, and that includes what looks to be a high 2003 first-rounder that they gave to Florida as part of the Pavel Bure trade.
The reason they don't just hold onto the young players they get and develop them is because the perception is that their fans won't hold still for a team in "rebuilding" phase - that New York City is "too important" to accept anything less than a winner - or, at least, the most overpaid, overrated collection of underachieving/washed-up talent to be found in any sport at any time. Besides the fact that NYC fans don't have some special entitlement to nothing but winning hockey, the MSG Network has blown the equivalent of Bolivia's GNP on UFAs and STILL has one of the worst teams in the NHL.
The name "Ranger$" has become synonymous with such descriptive phrases as "overpaid underachievers" and "heartless check-cashing mercenaries."
It's unfair that a guy like John Davidson - a knowledgeable commentator and genuinely classy human being - should have to have his name associated to the league disgrace known as the New York Ranger$. And the worst part is that Glen Sather, who built his reputation with one of the NHL's great dynasties out in Edmonton, has become exactly what he decried just a few years ago when he sneered "Give me all kinds of money and I'll turn the Oilers into Stanley Cup champions." He's either become a blithering idiot or has willingly sold out his game and his country for personal profit. How does the man sleep at night when actions like his utter highway robbery of the Penguins puts teams like his beloved Oilers another step closer to being in the AHL? When Sather defends his actions by saying, "Why is it bad for the league? Stuff like that . . . that's always the way it is," it's the same old story of a man shirking moral responsibility by claiming that "everyone else does it."
So that's why I've decided to start CBAM 2004: a mass petition drive designed to let the NHL and MSG/Cablevision know exactly how we, the hockey-loving public, feel about the state of the game - in particular, how we feel about a bunch of Manhattan corporate suits ripping off the beleaguered likes of Pittsburgh, just because they can. Will it do a darn bit of good? Almost certainly not. But you never know…maybe Sather will wake up one night after being visited by the ghosts of NHL Teams Past and realize that he DOES have some vestige of a conscience. Or maybe Count Bettman will stay up a little too late reading the comments people post and be incinerated by the first rays of the sun. Or maybe monkeys will fly out of MSG President James Dolan's butt.

Anyway, if you want to express yourself on the subject, please hike on over to www.worlddiff.com/cbam2004.html and fill out the online form. After all, since Glen Sather has seen fit to use the defense "it's free enterprise - that's how the U.S. works," it's time to acquaint Mr. Sather with another staple of the United States (and Canada, for that matter): freedom of speech.

[sickboy]

Incepe Play-Off-ul in NHL si ma gindeam sa dau niste pronosticuri:

Conferinta de Est(se joaca dupa sistemul cel mai bun din 7 meciuri)

Ottawa(nr.1) pierde cu N.Y Islanders(8) in 7 meciuri
New Jersey(2) pierde cu Boston(7) in 6 meciuri
Tampa Bay(3) cistinga cu Washington(6) in 7 meciuri
Philadelphia(4) cistiga cu Toronto(5) in 6 meciuri

Conferinta de Vest

Dallas(1) bate Edmonton(8) in 5 meciuri
Detroit(2) bate Anaheim(7) in 5 meciuri
Colorado(3) bate Minnesota(6) in 6 meciuri
Vancouver(4) pierde la St.Louis(5) in 7 meciuri

Echipele mele favorite sint Islanders si Toronto,iar Stanley Cup va cistiga Dallas IMO...

the smoking guy is nr 8...lol...io am vrut doar sa tastez 8

[07Ex]

stickboy - sorry to burst your bubble but ...
Leafs NU vor pierde cu Philadelphia. M-am uitat astazi la meci si in afara de 2nd period, PHI nu a aratat mai nimic.

In acelas timp NJ nu cred ca va pierde cu Boston iar Ottawa desi a pierdut la scor primul meci cu NYI cred totusi ca se va califica in 2nd round.

In vest EDM a batut neasteptat la Dallas. ... si sper sa continue tot asa iar Vancouver nu cred ca va pierde cu STL desi dupa parerea mea asta va fi cel mai spectaculos series dn prima runda.

[sickboy]

Uf, am ghicit doar doua invingatoare...

Acum pronosticuri pt. semifinale:

Philadelphia bate Ottawa in 6 meciuri
New Jersey bate Tampa Bay in 5

Dallas bate Anaheim in 5
Vancouver bate Minnesota in 7

[GoPens]

Ottawa over Philly in 6
NJ over Tampa in 5

Vancouver over Minnesota in 6
Dallas over Anaheim in 6

[Gabriel]

Oho..au ajuns Mighty Ducks in semifinala. E surpriza mare , nu ? Eu ii stiam pe la coada plutonului.
Mai joaca Paul Karya la ei ? Ce altzi jucatori buni mai au ? Cine e golie ?

[sickboy]

Da mare surpriza Gabriel,iau batut pe Detroit!
Detroit echipa iubita de toti! lol

Au cistigat datorita portarului GIGUERE CARE A JUCAT EXCEPTIONAL

Jucatori mai importanti sint Ozolinsh in d-fence;Kariya-bineinteles-Oates(playmaker),Thomas(veteran),Sykora(mult iubit ceh)...

In continuare joaca impotriva lui Dallas...cred ca pin aici lea fost,desi au cistigat primul meci,doar daca portarul sta in cap si scoate tot!

[07Ex]

Ducks continua sa surprinda pe toata lumea dupa ce i-au batut pe Dallas chiar la ei acasa de 2 ori.

[Gabriel]

Nu am auzit despre portarul ratelor.
M-am uitat si eu acum pe site la NHL si vad ca primul meci a necesitat 5 reprize de prelungiri. Oho..ce partida tre' sa fi fost.
Pacat ca a batut Dallas in California...dupa ce ratele batusera de 2 ori in Texas. Sa vedem ce va fi in seara asta.

Am vazut imagini de la Ottawa cu Philadelphia. Un public minunat in capitala Canadei. Un intreg patinuar fluturau naframele in aer. Nici la meciurile de fotbal nu e asa frumos.

Ce mi s-a parut ciudat ca Dallas (locu 1) joaca cu Anaheim (locu 7) in turu 2. Pai d c joaca asa ? Ar fi trebuit sa joace abia in finala. Ca locu 7..a eliminat pe locu 2. Si 1 cu 2..joaca in finala.

[sickboy]

'Ce mi s-a parut ciudat ca Dallas (locu 1) joaca cu Anaheim (locu 7) in turu 2. Pai d c joaca asa ? Ar fi trebuit sa joace abia in finala. Ca locu 7..a eliminat pe locu 2. Si 1 cu 2..joaca in finala.'[/quote

Inprimul tur se combina:

1--8
2--7
3--6
4--5

Dupa asta au ramas:nr.1,7,6 si 4;apoi se iau cel mai mare favorit ramas (adica 1) cu cel mai mic(adica 7) si apoi nr.4 versus nr.6.