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 Roloson's start a well-kept secret
Posted: Tuesday May 25, 1999 05:41 PM
How secret was the fact that the Buffalo Sabres were going to have to go without two-time Hart Trophy winning goalie Dominik Hasek in the first game of the Eastern Conference finals in Toronto? So secret that Roloson couldn't even tell his family he was going to make his first NHL playoff start. "I think they're going to be a little mad at me," Roloson said of the secret start and the fact that he didn't invite any of his family to the game in the sold-out Air Canada Centre. Roloson said he was extremely nervous in making the start in the home of the team he grew up watching, but ironically he got over his jitters after he let in a goal. "Once that first one went in I think I just started to settle down and play," he said. Bowman likely to return for the WingsThe early betting line has coach Scott Bowman sticking with the Detroit Red Wings for at least one more season. Bowman has said he'll need some time and an opportunity to talk with Detroit management about his future, but according to several close to him, he's leaning toward coming back. The Wings have a slew of problems, given that they mortgaged everything for a shot at a third consecutive Cup, but none of them are insurmountable. The thinking in Detroit is that if there hadn't been a collapse in goal, the club would have finished the job against Colorado and would have had it's way with Dallas. There's little doubt that the thought isn't far from Bowman's mind. Yes, he's been at it a long time and certainly everyone has to step aside sometime, but Bowman still has his health and he hasn't lost touch with his team or what it takes to win in the NHL. There are some family issues that would have to be resolved, but the Red Wings aren't about to fall apart now or in the offseason. With a little retool here and there the team is still a Cup contender, and Bowman is still the coach to get the job done. It may take a little wooing from the front office, but that to is doable. Besides, Bowman is a hockey coach. It's what he does and it'd difficult if not impossible to imagine him doing anything else. More questions for the Red WingsBowman isn't the only question mark on Red Wings management's list. They have to decide whether to keep veteran winger Brendan Shanahan and they need to find a way to keep defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom. Shanahan is due to become an unrestricted free agent after next season, so if the Wings can't reach a deal on a new long-term pact this summer, they will almost certainly deal him rather then let him walk away with nothing in return. Shanahan made $4 million last season and will get the same next year. Since the Wings have substantial payroll problems ahead, that may me more than they want to pay for a 30-year-old who's starting the downside of his career. Lidstrom is a different case. He's made some noises about going back home to raise his family and the issue may not center around money. If he does intend to go, the Wings may use Shanahan as trade bait to get some young defensive help, help they desperately need. Lidstrom not only is the Red Wings best defenseman, arguably he is their best player. At 29, he's on top of his game and could be looking at a contract worth $5-$6 million per season for several seasons, but he's been talking about raising his children in Sweden for a long time and appears committed to doing that. Postseason ratings up a bitDespite the doom and financial gloom, there are some good things about the NHL today. Ratings during the playoffs have been on an uptick ever since the postseason started as fans in the United States appear willing to seek the games out on cable. For nine conference semifinal games on ESPN the league maintains ratings are up 19 percent and homes [the number of homes that get the games] are up 22 percent. For nine conference semifinal games on ESPN2, ratings are up 11 percent and homes are up 26 percent. For 18 playoff games on ESPN spanning two rounds, ratings are up 14 percent and for ESPN2 they are up 12 percent. Given that ratings were abysmal last season, the increase isn't an indication that there's a growing legion of new hockey fans, but they do indicate that last year was just a temporary spike and that fans have rediscovered the game again. Dafoe, Bourque did not excel for BostonSo just what was it that led to Boston's demise in the playoffs this spring? Not a whole lot of people want to talk about it but two key figures, goalie Byron Dafoe and defenseman Ray Bourque, did not play well. For all the talk about Dafoe being Dominik Hasek's equal, Dafoe gave up three goals in each of the last five games in the series with the Sabres. Given the fact the Sabres are hardly an offensive powerhouse and were missing Miroslav Satan and got nothing out of Michal Grosek, that was a huge goals-against average. Dafoe had some superb moments in the playoffs, but he didn't quite get the knack of making the killer save at the pivotal point in the games and that hurt the Bruins. Bourque, meanwhile, started to look his age. He was a minus player in the series and was repeatedly stripped of the puck, leading to scoring chances the other way. Though he played smart and he played a lot, the repeated hits took a toll on his body. Most of the penalties Bourque took were the desperation kind, hooking, holding and the like as the younger Sabres took their speed game to him and he couldn't keep up. That doesn't mean Bourque is finished as an NHLer. He has one more year left on his contract and will certainly honor it. He will also contribute to the Bruins next season, but he is not the Ray Bourque of old and he can't play 25-30 minutes a game and be effective. The Bruins have to realize that and adjust or things will be worse come playoff time next season. Re-signing of Leetch a good first stepNew York Rangers coach John Muckler has been seen scouting all over the playoffs. Certainly that's good for the New York Rangers, who still have a lot of offseason moves to make. The Rangers made a good first step in re-signing defenseman Brian Leetch. Word out of New York is that it's only the first move in an overhaul that will make the Rangers a big-time player in the free-agent derby later this summer. The proposed $35 million pact for Leetch is high, but likely what he would have commanded on the open market. After losing Mark Messier to Vancouver and Wayne Gretzky to retirement, the Rangers couldn't afford not to sign Leetch Jim Kelley covers the NHL -- and the Sabres -- for the Buffalo News. His notebook appears weekly on CNNSI.com.
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