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 Brightest Star is Belfour
Posted: Wednesday May 26, 1999 03:04 PM
It's all over but the resolving for Pittsburgh. What a game team these Penguins were, and I just hope for the people of Pittsburgh's sake that Lemieux gets the franchise and keeps it there and the old excitement comes back to the city. Meanwhile, the Leafs showed themselves capable of some solid work on defense in this series -- in Games 4 and 5 they really clamped down, which will help them immeasurably in the next round. Remember, this Toronto team missed making the playoffs a year ago. Should they go on to bring Toronto it's first Stanley Cup since 1967, Pat Quinn just might make a run at becoming Prime Minister. On to the bag ...
If Dallas goes on to win the Cup this year, do you think Joe Nieuwendyk is the favorite
for the Conn Smythe? I think he's been the best player in these playoffs
outside of Steve Yzerman,
but I only seem to hear his name mentioned after he scores a goal.
Nieuwendyk has been outstanding, and every time he stations himself in the high slot you can see opponents getting nervous. It's too early to dub him a favorite for the Conn Smythe -- the two biggest series are yet left to play. But Nieuwendyk is in the mix, along with Ed Belfour , who despite a couple of soft goals would right now be my choice from the Stars.
I grew up in Minnesota in the 60's and 70's and I think this Stars
team has all the fire power to match up with the Red Wings. The Cup finals
will be Dallas vs. Detroit, with Dallas breezing past the east champion. By
adding Brett Hull and having
him play all year with his linemates, the Stars should offset Detroit's
late-trade flurry to fortify and wake up the defending champs. Even though
Ulf Samuelsson, Chris Chelios and the others
are consummate professionals, I still believe that there is a period of
time they need to play and learn, not only the system but also their
teammates. I guess my question then is why did you pick the Red Wings? This
is unbelievable to me! Are you from Detroit? Detroit has been eliminated in its series with Colorado so the Red Wings-Stars speculation will have to hold. In short, though, I would have liked Detroit in a series against Dallas (with a healthy Chris Osgood ) because I think the Wings have the speed to get around the Stars' defensive positioning and really put pressure on the net. Detroit advances the puck well and that's part of what gave Dallas trouble in its series against the Blues.
Why can't the Canadian teams seem to perform at a level that's
sufficient to win in the playoffs? Do you think it is merely a cycle where
most of the teams are underperforming of late, or is it something more?
The Maple Leafs are one of four teams in the conference finals. That's 25 percent, which is better than the percentage of Canadian teams in the league (just 22 percent, six of 27 franchises). Last year Ottawa, Montreal and Edmonton all advanced to the second round -- three of eight teams or 38 percent. So, I don't think Canada's performing so badly in the playoffs at all.
I'm sure the NHL will decide this after the playoffs, but what do you think
about keeping the two-ref system in place for the future? I believe four
eyes are better than two and the people complaining are the ones who were
good at getting away with murder behind the one ref's back! Two referees should be here to stay. Some of the problems with the system -- like knowing which referee is in charge and the inconsistencies between refs -- will lessen over time. The NHL, however, should play next season with two refs in every game or abandon the concept altogether. The way they did it this year, two refs in some games but only one referee in others, was a flat out embarassment. It was so schoolyardish and unprofessional, and paved the way for inconsistency which is the bane of officiating in any sport. Also, the NHL needs to establish set pairings of refs and keep them together throughout the year. Two refs is a good idea. Let's just hope the league embraces it fully and stops playing with the integrity of its own regular season.
What do you think the Habs have to to to get back into contention and
possibly make a run at the Cup next year? In my humble opinion they bet the
farm on the wrong player. Saku Koivu is a good player,
but he seems to be injury prone and a little too small to dominate. That is
unless Montreal gets some big wingers to protect him. I want to know what
you think the Habs have to do to get back to being competitive, trade for
talent or go the route of the draft and rebuilding. Certainly the club needs some size and skill on the wing. You make good observations on Koivu, but I'm not ready to write him off just yet. He was slowed by injuries this year and the season was so poor and dispiriting for the club that it's hard to judge a player's future on the basis of one year. Koivu can be part of a valuable scoring line. Ultimately I don't think the Canadiens are as bad as they played -- with one or two consistent scorers they're a playoff team. For the long term they have to build through the draft. What they can pick up in trades are second-tier or gamble players like Dainius Zubrus , whom they landed for Mark Recchi . Zubrus may yet pan out into a valuable winger, but he's a project. Also, Montreal has to find some way to get nightly consistency out of Vladimir Malakhov . I know that's a tall order, but if the Canadiens could convince this guy to play with a little love for the game for a whole season, they'd have superstar who could carry the club. Don't be at all surprised if there are changes in Montreal's management before too long.
With the Devils exiting the playoffs in the first round for the second
straight year, there is a sense that the team needs a "go-to"
player to realize their potential. Is there any chance that the Devils
might make a move with Vancouver for Mark Messier? That's an intriguing possibility. Messier could give this talented team the jolt it needs to get past the first round, but he'd have to know his place (i.e. he's not going to have any control over the way Lou Lamoriello runs the team). Also, he'd have to be satisfied being part of a puzzle and not the single-trumpeted guy.
With playing spread out and a lot of big forwards around him to wear down
the opposition, Messier could revitalize his career. Depending on what else
happens with the Devils and how they spend (or don't spend) their money,
this could be a good fit. New Jersey could give Vancouver some real talent
to build on, without costing too much, and Messier would certainly command
the respect of both the young and veteran Devils who saw his leadership
ability up close when he was with the Rangers.
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