Power of Caring
  presented by CIGNA

Don't blame the zebras

Front office, not officials, the root of Flyers' playoff demise

Click here for more on this story

Posted: Tuesday May 04, 1999 12:43 PM

There's little doubt that the National Hockey League will fine Philadelphia Flyers founder and current President Ed Snider for his comments regarding officiating after his team lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs.

The questions are: how much and will the fines be made public?

On Sunday, Snider disgraced himself and his team with his post-game tirade against referee Terry Gregson and the state of officiating in the game today, but most regrettably, Snider disgraced the league and all its partners.

Officiating is always a source of controversy in a closely contested series. There's also wide latitude regarding an owner venting his frustration after a tough loss, but in singling out officiating, Snider called into question one of the most important elements of any professional sports league -- its integrity.

If fans can't believe that a sports league has fair and impartial officiating, they can't accept that the games they attend are true competitions. Once that faith has been breached, the sport has been done a terrible disservice, one that threatens the very integrity of everything the game represents itself to be.

Officials, Gregson included, do make mistakes -- though that does not appear to be the case in this instance. They can, and sometimes do harbor resentments toward certain people and even certain teams, but the best ones put that aside during a contest. Gregson has been a quality NHL official almost as long as Snider has been an owner. In this situation he cited Philadelphia's John LeClair for elbowing late in the game. On the ensuing power play, the Leafs scored the game and series-winning goal.

In attacking the state of officiating in the game, Snider impugned the integrity not only of the official, but of the game. The NHL is in no position to allow that to go unchallenged or unchecked.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman needs to go beyond the typical commissioner-owner coziness that has become the norm in pro sports today. For the sake of the game and the integrity of the officials in it, Bettman needs to fine Snider and in a very public fashion.

Philly moves backfired

Anyone who looks at the Philadelphia-Toronto series with an unbiased eye will tell you that the Flyers lost because they didn't have goaltending equal to or better than Toronto. The Flyers also failed to capitalize on numerous power play opportunities -- including five straight without a goal in the final game -- and their offense, damaged due to the loss of Eric Lindros to injury -- was virtually nonexistent.

That is not the fault of the officiating. Snider and general manager Bobby Clarke balked at paying free-agent goaltender Curtis Joseph his market price during the free-agent signing period last summer. The Flyers passed on Joseph and instead settled on John Vanbiesbrouck, a free agent who came for less money. The Leafs gave Joseph his money and the deal vaulted them from a non-playoff team to one that could go all the way to the Stanley Cup finals.

That decision alone doomed the Flyers. Other mistakes, included high-priced acquisitions like Luke Richardson and the botched Chris Gratton deal also had a hand in the defeat, but the consensus is that had the Flyers signed Joseph, it would be Philadelphia advancing to the second round, not Toronto.

Snider will eventually have to come to grips with that fact. His team has gone out in the first round twice in as many seasons and both times the finger of blame can be directed at offseason decisions, especially in goal. The impact of those decisions won't be lost on the players in the Flyers locker room, especially on Lindros.

He was singled out as the scapegoat last season. He was injured (punctured lung) this time around and there's considerable speculation that he may not want to be a part of what's become a failed effort in Philadelphia.

Lindros was in a position of weakness last season, but he holds most of the cards this time around. If he decides not to re-sign with the Flyers, it will mark the end of an era in Philadelphia. It could also mark the end of Clarke's time there.

Senators' Yashin: From hero to probable goat

The ripple effect of Buffalo's four-game sweep of the Ottawa Senators could well swamp the Alexei Yashin captaincy with the Senators.

Yashin was shut out in the series with the Sabres. Not only did he fail to score a point, he was in the penalty box for elbowing when Buffalo's Alexei Zhitnik scored the game and series-winning goal.

That's put Yashin under tremendous pressure regards whether or not he should be the captain there. Already there have been cries in the media that Daniel Alfredsson is better suited to lead the team and hints that Yashin does not have the respect of a majority of his teammates.

A second problem for Yashin is fan backlash regarding a much-rumored impending renegotiation of his contract. Yashin reportedly wants to move to superstar pay status after putting up 44 goals and 50 assists in the regular season. The Senators are a cash-strapped team and although general manager Rick Dudley is on record saying he wants Yashin back and that he welcomes the opportunity to talk to Yashin and his agent, it's quite possible that Yashin might price himself beyond the Senators' reach.

Sabres call Hasek trade report 'a lie'

Normally a team ignores or dismisses a speculative report regarding one of its players, but the Buffalo Sabres went one step further in disputing a report in the New York Post that said the Sabres were entertaining offers for star goalie Dominik Hasek.

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said the story was "a lie" and general manager Darcy Regier said the report wasn't just untrue, but appeared to be malicious in its intent.

"This is not a situation of denying," Regier said. "I'm setting the record straight. This just isn't true."

The report said that the Sabres had put the word out that they would accept a package of prospects for the two-time Hart Trophy winner as the league's most valuable player. The report cited the team's financial concerns as the reason for moving Hasek and chided the club for making calls during the playoffs.

Reiger said he understood the role speculation plays in sports but that the story went beyond that citing a well-connected source that said the calls had already been made.

Regier said that was absolutely untrue and that to say otherwise was untrue. He said there appeared to be a move afoot to box the Sabres in on this issue and that the reported facts in the story -- particularly the one that said the Sabres were contacting other teams -- were false.

"The source is wrong or the source is lying," Regier said. "I understand that can happen, but saying something not true with intention to deceive is different and that's what's happening here because none of this has taken place. Not true is not strong enough. This is a lie."

The Sabres may well have a problem with keeping Hasek because of escalating salary costs and a protection problem regarding AHL goaltender Martin Biron a year from now. Regier said the team could protect both goalies and that it has several contingency plans that do not involve trading Hasek.

For his part Hasek said he enjoys playing in Buffalo and that the team is a good fit for him.

"I don't think I can play as well for any other team as I can play for the Buffalo Sabres," Hasek said.

Yapping with Matthew Barnaby

So here's how it went in that little dustup between Matthew Barnaby and the New Jersey Devils in the recent pregame brouhaha.

Barnaby likened Devils' defenseman Lyle Odelein to Cornelius, the intellectual leader of Planet of the Apes fame. Odelein responded with some untoward remarks concerning the physical beauty ascribed to Barnaby's wife.

That prompted Barnaby to start shooting pucks at Bobby Holik and pushing Petr Sykora around the ice. That pushed the Devils a bit too far and they responded with a huge win.

"They shot a couple of pucks into our nets, Holik and a couple of other guys," Barnaby said afterward. "I took offense to it. It was kind of not their territory to be shooting at us, so I went after them.

"We knew they were going to come out fired up and I was kind of hoping that we did rile them up a little too much so they would come out and take some dump penalties. Sometimes you get too riled and too emotional and it backfires on you."

"It's just like a little dog barking at an elephant," the Devils' Sergi Brylin said. "We're not going to listen to that guy."

Blues' Turgeon feeling playoff heat

Center Pierre Turgeon has heard the rumors regarding his future in St. Louis should the Blues fail to get out of the first round this season. That in part explains Turgeon's huge performance in leading the Blues to a win in Game 6 and forcing a Game 7.

If Turgeon fails the playoff test in St. Louis, the Blues might not give him a qualifying offer to retain his rights as a Group 2 free agent. Turgeon made $4.6 million for the season, a one-year deal he got in arbitration. If the Blues don't make a qualifying offer, he would be unrestricted come July 1.

Turgeon said he can't worry about the speculation and is only concerned with helping his team win. Turgeon has faced similar pressures in Buffalo, with the New York Islanders and in Montreal. Over the years, he's received the brunt of criticism for not having led those to teams to the Stanley Cup finals. It should be noted, however that all three teams were in a down cycle during Turgeon's tenure there and that he's never played on a Stanley Cup favorite.

The end might also be at hand for goalie Grant Fuhr. He's 36, earns $3 million per and had won only one playoff series in four seasons with the Blues going into the Phoenix series. Fuhr has also had three surgeries with that team and appears to be physically spent.

Domi-McCarthy won't end

In the code of fighting, Toronto's Tie Domi argues that Philadelphia's Sandy McCarthy has crossed the line.

McCarthy had accused Domi of using a racial epithet in a game early in the series. A league investigation found no corroborating evidence of that, but Domi was still angry.

"I doubt I will ever fight him again," Domi said with the finality of doom itself. "After what happened, I have zero respect for him. He has messed with my integrity. It's disturbing that someone would try to use race to get off the hook."

Domi alleged that McCarthy spit in his face. Domi maintained that he didn't even know McCarthy was black.

Postscript

With the quick dispatching of the Ottawa Senators and the Edmonton Oilers, the Maple Leafs are the only Canadian team left in the playoffs. Last time that happened was in 1967, the last time the Leafs won the Cup.

A word of advice: Don't count on history repeating itself.

Jim Kelley covers the NHL -- and the Sabres -- for the Buffalo News. His notebook and Rumor Mill appear weekly on CNN/SI.com.

 

Related information
Stories
CNN/SI's Jim Kelley: Expectations crush Senators
Multimedia
Click here for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call 1-888-53-CNNSI.