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Preparing a view from the bigtop Posted: Thursday February 07, 2002 7:13 PM
OK, puckheads, we're in this odd little cluster of games between All-Star weekend and the Olympics. A lot of teams play crucial games in this stretch -- the Caps' 2-1 win over the Wild, for example, was big for Washington. So tune into your beloveds, folks, and get ready for the five-ring circus. Now, on to the mailbag. Do you share Barry Melrose's opinion that the best thing for hockey would be
a U.S.-Canada Olympic final? I think he's thinking like a local yocal because
the Russia-Canada and Russia-U.S. rivalries are still far greater than the
U.S.-Canada rivalry. Of all teams, Russia has the deepest rivalries. The
European market is also an important one and therefore warrants representation.
For this reason, a U.S.-Russia rivalry would be the best. Besides, hockey will
always sell in Canada.
No combinations of teams in the finals would be better or worse for hockey. The Czech Republic's victory in 1998, for example, has helped the sport grow tremendously in that country. That, of course, is good for hockey. All that Melrose, and most folks seem to be concerned about, though, is how well this game will play for the American TV audience. A larger audience would, of course, benefit the NHL. From that aspect, having the U.S. in the finals would help. There's no advantage at all to having Canada in there. U.S. vs. anyone would be good for ratings and I agree with you: U.S. vs. Russia remains the most compelling of the potential matchups. Isn't it about time that the NHL told the IIHF where to get off and to set
up their own, regularly scheduled, World Cup? I am looking forward to the
Olympics, but they play on an ice surface the size of Manitoba, and with all the
European rules. It's no wonder the Canadians and Americans find it tough to
adjust. Let's scrap the Olympics and World Championships and create an NHL-run
World Cup every four years.
Are you cranking me, dude? The NHL systematically lures the top European players out of their native lands with the crassest of enticements -- namely $$$$$$$$ -- and gives very little in return to the IIHF, even though it's the organization that develops all these sweet-skating NHLers we have the pleasure of watching. The least the NHL can do is play in IIHF-run tournaments under international rules. Also, if you're really a hockey fan and you really watch the games on the wide ice, you'll see that it's much, much, much better. The only reason the U.S. and Canadian teams don't widen the ice is because they want a tighter cage to encourage violent checks and, ultimately, fighting (that and because owners of pro teams don't want to sacrifice expensive rinkside seats). See if you can suspend your nationalism for a couple of weeks while you watch the Olympics this year, Wayne. Enjoy the hockey and learn. The Boston Bruins have been showing a lot of promise this season, but most
of this seems to be coming from the way the forwards are playing. As a team,
the Bruins seem to have a knack for blowing two-goal leads late in games. Do
you think they have the defense to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender?
The B's are a bit thin on the back line -- but only the Flyers and Devils have clearly better defenses in the Eastern Conference. The first concern is that Boston's defensemen don't move the puck that well. That leaves the Bruins open to other teams taking advantage of them. There's no genuine quarterback for this D. The other issue is inconsistency. You don't really know what you're going to get from Sean O'Donnell, Nick Boynton or Hal Gill on a nightly basis. They can all be very effective at times, but have too many off-nights. Don Sweeney remains the most consistent of the defenders, but he just doesn't have the presence to lead the group. While the Bruins' blue-liners are collectively marginal, if they all play well at the same time (namely, in April and May) Boston could have enough to go deep into the playoffs. They are a legitimate top-four team in the Eastern Conference. Can you ignore the possibility of the Leafs getting Darius Kasparaitis,
maybe a Ray Ferraro or someone else in March and then going to the Cup finals?
I'm not saying they'll beat Detroit or St. Louis, but surely no team in the
Eastern Conference (Philly's got nothing) compares. Oh and tell me, is there
any chance Ken Hitchcock winds up with the Leafs as an assistant coach?
The Leafs will make a deal or two -- and Kasper's a serious possibility. The fans would love his big hitting. Pat Quinn would cringe when he abandons the puck. Ferraro is a less-likely candidate for Toronto. In any event, the Leafs are a definite Stanley Cup finals contender and have better goaltending than those Flyers, who, contrary to your assessment, are the best overall team in the conference. There's no chance Hitchcock works with Toronto as an assistant. He's happy doing it for Canada's Olympic team, though, and the fact that he has some free time to prepare gives that club a huge advantage in Salt Lake. For an NHL team, however, Hitch needs to run his show. Hitch and Quinn could not co-exist behind a bench -- particularly not in Toronto. My question is a two-parter. Is Teemu Selanne just having a bad year or is
the Darryl Sutter style of hockey contributing to Selanne's scoring woes? And do
you think the Sharks will trade Teemu before the deadline or ride the year out
and lose him to free agency?
My answer is a two-parter. Teemu's timing, for various reasons, has been a hair off this season. While there have been some moments when he's clicked -- especially alongside Vincent Damphousse -- he has lacked the finesse he had in earlier years. For all of his attributes Selanne has never had the intensity you'd want in a frontline scorer. His generally gentle nature helps account for this, along with the fact that he has played in so few important games. This is a guy who has appeared in just 27 playoff games in a 10-year career; only once has he gotten past the first round in the postseason. I've never been sure exactly what "Sutter hockey" is, but it does demand a high level of bullheadness that Teemu doesn't naturally have, which is why he and Sutter have had a hard time buddying up. All that said, there's no way the Sharks should trade Selanne. He's still got that game-breaking skill that so few teams have. For several years the well-rounded Sharks have been on the verge of contending for the Cup. A hot playoff performance from Selanne -- in addition to consistent goaltending -- could get them there this year. Please, once and for all, let the people in New York know that there is NO
chance Larry Pleau sends forward Keith Tkachuk (a not-yet-30-year-old
50-goal-scorer) to the Rangers for Mike Richter (a 35-year-old unrestricted-free
agent-to-be with two bum knees). Where do they get this stuff?
We dispelled this one last week, Scott. But you can't blame them New Yorkers for dreaming. 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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