Total turnaround

Stars, Mighty Ducks top suddenly weak Pacific Division

More in this column: * Nothing neutral about it * September in Scandanavia * Great cost for Great One fantasy * Rumor mill * Worth noting * Shameless plug

Just one season removed from one of the best divisional races in league history, the Pacific Division is now neck-and-neck with the Southeast for the weakest division in the NHL.

Barring miraculous turnarounds, the Kings, Coyotes and Sharks are all going to miss the playoffs. Meanwhile, the two teams that missed the postseason last year (the Stars and the Ducks) are both likely participants this time around.

The Stars are 11-3-2 against division foes to open up their dominating 14-point lead, while the Ducks have struggled to a 5-6-3 mark. However, Anaheim is 23-14-5-4 in non-divisional games.

Last spring, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Jose engaged in an enthralling fight to the finish that ended with just four points separating the three teams. Coyotes coach Bobby Francis remarked that his team couldn't gain ground because no one else in their division was losing either.

The changing of the guard out West is a direct result of the offseason activity.

The Stars upgraded every facet of their roster after their disappointing 10th place finish in the West, bringing in right wings Bill Guerin and Scott Young, defenseman Phillipe Boucher and head coach Dave Tippett, all of whom have made significant impacts.

The Ducks were the most aggressive team in the NHL last offseason, adding Jason Krog, Adam Oates and Petr Sykora. But few predicted Jean-Sebastien Giguere would be as good as he's been or that ultra-intense first-year head coach Mike Babcock would pay such quick dividends.

Conversely, the three teams that headed in the wrong direction this season were relatively quiet in the offseason, believing their success of a year ago would be built upon with another year of seasoning under their belt.

Tony Amonte was Phoenix's big splash in the free-agent market, but he and Daniel Briere have been disappointing for the Coyotes. Vincent Damphousse and Owen Nolan have underachieved for the Sharks, while the Kings have been brutalized by injuries on their top two forward lines, with Jason Allison and Adam Deadmarsh already missing a combined 74 games.

All of it adds up to a very different looking -- and much less intriguing -- divisional race out West than one year ago.

Not staying neutral about the neutral zone

League bashers have gone from haranguing the obstruction crackdown to diving, but now the lack of flow through the neutral zone appears to be a hot-button issue.

Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin wrote an excellent guest column in last week's issue of The Hockey News blaming the decrease in scoring over the past 12 years on the NHL twice moving the goal line farther from the end boards, shrinking the neutral zone as a result.

"There used to be a time when players such as Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr could forecheck a defenseman, strip the puck and be within one step of the front of the net and a scoring chance," Potvin wrote. "They can't do that anymore; with that extra room behind the goal lines, it now takes a pass to get to the front of the net."

Potvin believes that the reduction of the neutral zone from 60 to 54 feet has decreased the offensive role that blueliners play since the game has turned into a contest of three-on-three battles when teams are cycling in the offensive zone.

"The neutral zone is too congested becuse it's too small and that's why teams that work the trap to perfection can become elite teams," Potvin wrote. "There's virtually no room in the neutral zone before you get penalized for either a two-line pass or an offside."

Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal struck a nerve with the usually mild-mannered Ducks captain Paul Kariya on Thursday during the league's weekly conference call when he asked Kariya's opinions on space in the neutral zone.

The normally staid Kariya spoke from the heart as he rebuked the NHL for creating more space behind the nets.

"Whoever decided to move the nets up and put more room where you can't score goals has to be brain dead," Kariya said. "Just one of the stupidest rules that I've seen. When you think about it, if you want to add scoring and excitement to the game, why would you put more room where you can't score? If you make a quick cycle and come out and score, it's a nice goal, but who wants to see scrums behind the net?

"You want to see attacking plays through the neutral zone. If you have more room there, you are going to have a better opportunity to do that. I think that was the biggest mistake the league made."

With the obstruction crackdown continuing to get mixed reviews and complaints about diving on the rise, the NHL might want to listen to its superstars' opinions on the state of the neutral zone and consider pushing the nets back to their pre-1990 spots to bring the rush back to the game.

September in Scandanavia

The NHL scheduled the Colorado Avalanche to play a series of exhibition games in Sweden in September 2001, but the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, as well as Peter Forsberg's sudden "retirement" made the week memorable for other reasons.

Maybe things will be better this time around. The NHL announced last week that the Maple Leafs will take part in the NHL Challenge 2003 in Stockholm, Sweden, and Helsinki, Finland, in September.

Leafs captain Mats Sundin will play in his home country in an NHL uniform for the first time and will meet his former team, Djurgarden, in one of three exhibition games.

"The Toronto Maple Leafs are proud to be part of NHL Challenge 2003," Leafs president Ken Dryden said. "Toronto is a great international city and with the Leafs tradition and history we have a broad following in Canada and among hockey fans around the world. We are happy that 'the team of the Maple Leaf' will represent the 'land of the maple leaf' in Sweden and in Finland next fall."

The Leafs will hold training camp sessions at Stockholm's Hovet Arena for four days before travelling to Helsinki to play Jokerit of the Finnish League at Hartwall Arena on Sept. 16, the first appearance of an NHL team in Finland since the Winnipeg Jets in 1994.

Toronto will then play Swedish Elite team Djurgarden on Sept. 17 and 2001 Swedish champs Farjestad on Sept. 19 at the Globe Arena in Stockholm.

The first NHL Challenge took place in 2000, with Swedes Markus Naslund, Mattias Ohlund, Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks meeting Swedish Elite League clubs MoDo, AIK, and Djurgarden in a three-day tournament.

Wallet-busting week with Wayne

How much would you pay for a chance to skate with the greatest hockey player ever?

For the bargain basement price of $9,999, fans can take part in Wayne Gretzky's first ever fantasy camp running Sunday through Thursday at the ALLTEL Ice Den, the Phoenix Coyotes' suburban Scottsdale practice facility.

Among the celebrity guests will be Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey, Geoff Courtnall, Russ Courtnall, Bobby Hull, Barry Melrose, Ed Mio, Cap Raeder and Kevin Stevens.

Each fantasy camper will get to play at least one game with The Great One during the four-day camp and will get an 11x14 photograph with Gretzky that he will autograph. The price also includes round-trip airfare and ground transportation, deluxe accomodations at The Resort Suites, custom home and away Coyotes jerseys, as well as evening events where the campers can mingle with the celebrity guests.

Rumor mill

The struggles of Fred Brathwaite and Brent Johnson in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Canucks won't do anything to squash the Blues' rumored interest in Coyotes veteran goaltender Sean Burke. ... The latest Jarome Iginla rumor has him heading to the Rangers along with Roman Turek for Dan Blackburn, Jamie Lundmark, Radek Dvorak and Dale Purinton. ... Once Chris Osgood is fully recovered from his sprained ankle, the Islanders could send him packing to a netminder-needy team like the Blues or Kings. ... The Stars' long-rumored interest in Thrashers winger Slava Kozlov continues, with defenseman Richard Matvichuk being the most likely to head to the Thrashers once he is back from his fractured left fibula. ... The Hurricanes could deal disappointing winger Bates Battaglia to a playoff contender. ... Kristian Huselius is deep in head coach Mike Keenan's doghouse in Florida, but general manager Rick Dudley is a big fan of Huselius. Even so, Dudley realizes the talented young Swede is one of the most marketable commodities the Panthers have left. ... The Lightning might be willing to part with Fredrik Modin and Brian Holzinger to acquire a blueliner for their playoff push. ... The Red Wings are competing with the Flyers for an offensive defenseman, with the Kings' Mathieu Schneider being the top target of each.

Worth noting

Monday marks the one-year anniversary of Canada's 5-2 victory over the United States in the gold medal game of the 2002 Olympics. "I think the biggest thing is just the impact it made on Canadians," Kariya said. "Every time we go back to Canada, it's all anyone talks about. It's still going on." ... The Coyotes' top minor-league affiliate, the AHL Springfield Falcons, will give away bobblehead dolls of head coach Marty McSorley to the first 3,000 kids 14 and under on Saturday, March 1 when they play host to the Worcester Ice Cats. No word on whether the doll will have McSorley posed with the mitts off or preparing to offer an unprovoked two-handed chop. ... Flyers fan Glen Kolanko e-mailed me with word of an anti-Bobby Clarke Web site that some disgruntled Flyers fans have started called Clarkemustgo.com. According to Kolanko: "While teams get better, faster, more skilled, we continue a downward spiral with slow, big, overpaid, overrated muckers and grinders. The game has transformed dramatically over the last 5-10 years, and Clarke's view of what kind of team can challenge for the Stanley Cup is no longer legitimate." ... St. Paul, Minn. will play host to the NHL's Willie O'Ree All-Star Weekend this weekend as the signature event of the eight-year-old NHL Diversity program's "Hockey is for Everyone" Month. O'Ree broke the NHL color barrier on Jan. 18, 1958 for the Boston Bruins, but played just 45 games in the NHL. O'Ree bounced around the WHL, EPHL, AHL and PHL for 21 years and was named the director of youth development for NHL Diversity by commissioner Gary Bettman in 1998. ... The Stars are a remarkable 21-3-5-1 at home, the best home record after 30 games in franchise history. ... While the Kings, Lakers, Clippers, Bruins and Trojans all struggle this season, the Mighty Ducks have emerged as the best team in Southern California. With a 28-20-8-4 record, the Ducks are a franchise best eight games above .500 after 60 games. ... The Avs' top line of Milan Hejduk, Peter Forsberg and Alex Tanguay has combined for 22 goals and 37 assists during Colorado's 14-game points streak. ... The Flames became the first team to ever have three Hobey Baker Award winners on the roster earlier this month. Chris Drury (Boston University, 1998), Mike Mottau (Boston College, 2000) and Jordan Leopold (Minnesota, 2002) played four games together before Mottau was sent back to the AHL on Feb. 15. ... French goaltender Cristobal Huet stopped 10 of 12 shots in his NHL debut for the Kings on Thursday after replacing Jamie Storr in a 5-0 loss to the Flyers. ... Florida's 4-3 comeback victory at Ottawa on Thursday was just the third time the Panthers have won when trailing after two periods this season (3-19-7-3). ... The Leafs can tie their franchise record of seven straight road victories with a win at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday. ... Capitals defenseman Sergei Gonchar tallied his career-best 39th assist on Thursday and closed to within one point of Al MacInnis for the scoring lead among blueliners. ... The Red Wings tied the NHL-high this season with five power-play goals on Thursday, and have now scored on 12 of the past 21 power plays.

Shameless plug

The X Games has taken the invention of new sports to grand heights, but the hockey world has a part in one of the latest and most bizarre events.

The third Red Bull Crashed Ice competition will take place at Spirit Mountain in Duluth, Minn., on Feb. 28 and March 1.

This extreme sport is a combination of skating and luge, where the competitors -- former college, minor league and pro hockey players, speed skaters, inline skaters and skiers/snowboarders -- skate in four-man heats down an icy course where they bounce off walls, slalom through gates and fly off jumps. The intricate obstacle course features angled walls, sharps turns, burms, and narrowing tunnels.

Red Bull Crashed Ice debuted in Stockholm, Sweden in 2000 and took place in Klagenfurt, Austria in 2001, but next weekend's competition is the first time it will be contested in the United States.

Hockey fans who are thrill-seakers or extreme sports enthusiasts might want to check out this unique, albeit offbeat event.

Jon A. Dolezar covers the NHL for SI.com.

Got a comment, question or scoop for Jon? Click here.

 

Related information

Stories

Burning Questions: Who's shopping for Sharks? NHL Power Rankings: Week 21 Darren Eliot: Nine is the loneliest number

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video