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Forever after
Click here to send an NHL question to Kostya Kennedy. I answered these mailbag questions at the same time you wrote them: before. Before the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Before the planes crashed and the buildings fell. Before people jumped from 90 stories up. Before we began to gather in front of our televisions, hollow and dazed. Before the lines to give blood at St. Vincent's Hospital, eight blocks from my home, got so long they had to turn donors away. Ace Bailey and Mark Bavis -- two Los Angeles Kings' scouts who were aboard one of the fated planes -- were still alive when we wrote these. In one day, so many people died such incomprehensible deaths. Before, I could walk out of my apartment in downtown Manhattan and look up at the Twin Towers, giant and glinting and gorgeous. I saw them nearly every day. Sometimes I'd gaze. I admired them. We all did. Now there is emptiness there, save for the gray smoke that's engulfing the tip of our island and smothering our thoughts. We remind ourselves that we are supposed to go on, and we will. For me that means writing about things. If I remember this NHL mailbag in months and years to come, I will remember it for one reason: It came before. From here on out, everything else is after.
When do you believe the Red Wings will trade Chris Osgood? Do you think Ken
Holland would protect him at the expense of leaving another player unprotected
so Detroit wouldn't have to take something lesser than Osgood might be worth?
What team is Osgood most likely to go to?
If the right deal (namely, one in which the Red Wings could land a nasty, top-four quality defenseman) comes along, Osgood could be gone at any time. There's a small degree of urgency to do a deal because the Red Wings have three keepers around, but in an ideal world Detroit will wait as long as it can -- even into the season -- to see how other teams' goaltenders shake out. Right now, teams are still hopeful, but once they lose faith in their goaltending they'll come calling and the Wings will have some leverage. If the Blues think that their first choice, Rangers goalie Mike Richter, is not obtainable via trade, or if they think Richter is finished, they'll make a pitch for Osgood. (And if the Wings think that St. Louis defenseman Rich Pilon still has a season left in his fading game they'll want him back in the deal.) The Canucks could be a good fit as well. So could several other solid clubs with suspect goaltending.
How will Brett Hull do with the Wings? Also if Hull turns out to be a bad
fit, do you think a team will trade for him at the deadline?
Hull will score many goals for the Red Wings (35 or so) and he will play much better defense than people give him credit for. He'll be a very good fit.
Being a Wild fan, I'm curious as to your opinion of Manny Fernandez. He got
himself a 322 percent raise for 2001-02, and will be making (I believe) around
twice as much as most of his teammates. First, do you believe he's worth the
money? And second, do you think that he can continue to perform at the level he
did last season -- and stay healthy -- after taking on the increased workload
his salary implies? Finally, any thoughts you have on the Wild's offseason moves
and predictions for their sophomore season would be appreciated.
Insofar as Fernandez is clearly the player the Wild are building around in the short term (along with winger Marian Gaborik), sure he's worth the dough. Fernandez showed impressive skills last year and made some dazzling saves. Of course, his success and his sexy .920 save percentage were helped in large part by the stingy defensive style implemented by Wild coach Jacques Lemaire. Teams were often forced to put low-percentage shots on Fernandez because of how Minnesota's trap kept them out. Fernandez is the perfect age (27) and has the right level of experience to take on a greater responsibility and he'll handle it well. The Wild didn't otherwise do much to help themselves (or hurt themselves) in the offseason. They did get very promising young defenseman Willie Mitchell in last spring's deal that sent Sean O'Donnell to the Devils. Mitchell could be a fixture on Minnesota's D for years. Lemaire may once again coach this team to respectability, but they aren't playoff material by any stretch, and given how rarely they score, they'll also be kind of boring.
What's up with the Bruins? First, they throw their money around to get
Martin Lapointe, a decent power forward who hasn't managed to score over 30
goals in a season. Then they try to run the team's most important player, Jason
Allison, out of town. Allison is better than Lapointe in all ways and he's a
very important leader on and off the ice. As a Bruins fan, I get the feeling
that Boston will never be a Cup contender with the way they handle their
contract negotiations.
The Bruins aren't in bad shape at all and even without Allison could be a playoff team. Yes, they vastly overpaid for Lapointe, but he's still a nice guy to have on the team. It's odd the way they're freezing out Allison. If he eventually agrees to come in (at last check the two sides were about $9 million apart on a three-year-deal) the Bruins will be a solid playoff team with a chance to win at least one round. I think Allison will return because he's a good man and he wants to play.
Do the Chicago Blackhawks have a chance to make the playoffs, and will the
additions of Jon Klemm and Steve Thomas help?
I don't like Chicago's chances at all. Klemm was overrated in Colorado. He'll play a lot because the Hawks defense is so thin, but he's average at best. Thomas is a nice, gritty player who can help you win in a lot of ways. He'll be an asset to Chicago, no doubt, and has the courage to play hard through painful times. But he's not the sort of guy who's going to make a major difference at this point in his career.
With the addition of Jaromir Jagr and the re-signing of Olaf Kozig to a
multi-year deal, the Caps have one of the best teams in the league. But they
have a history of choking when it matters -- in the postseason. How do they
prevent that from happening this year?
It's way early to speculate on the Caps' strategy for the postseason -- too many things will develop over the course of the season. Remember, though, that Washington made it to the finals in 1998, so that was no choke. Also, a lot of Washington's recent playoff misfortune has come as a result of Jagr and his erstwhile black-and-gold brood. The Penguins bounced Capitals in the first round in each of the past two years. Getting their talented nemesis on their side is a first, extremely positive step for the Caps.
What do people in the NHL think of the recent statement by Rene Fasel, the
president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, that "it is time for
NHL scouts to look at their own back yard. The European talent well is all but
dry"?
The statement hasn't caused many ripples really, because Fasel was simply articulating something most people already know. Years ago, the NHL built its expansion strategy on the idea that they could raid Europe for talent and they've done so. Of course, new young European players will develop and be selected in the NHL draft each year, but the stable of veterans who came over the past few years is pretty much empty. Fasel is understandably frustrated because so many top-tier stars have left Europe for the prospect of NHL riches. European leagues develop those players and then they bolt. There's little Fasel, or anyone, can do about it -- most players will follow the money across the ocean. Still, Fasel is always happy to discourage the NHL from plundering any further, which is what he was doing when he made that remark. Sports Illustrated senior writer Kostya Kennedy covers the NHL for the
magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. To send a question to his
Mailbag, click here.
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