Double OT: Musings from around the NHL
Kris Letang's Pens and Chris Chelios' Red Wings are in line to do battle in the Stanley Cup final. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
Mike Brophy
2008-05-14 15:53:08
So much going on in the hockey world these days, it’s hard to settle on one topic for a column. So why bother? Here are a few things catching my eye:
• It has been said time and time again the style the Stanley Cup-winning team plays dictates the way other teams will build the following season – there is no doubt Anaheim’s rough and tumble approach influenced many teams in the Western Conference to get bigger and stronger this season. That said, it will be a team with a greater emphasis on skill – either Detroit or Pittsburgh – that wins the Cup this season.
• The top goal-scorer in the playoffs, Detroit’s Johan Franzen, goes down and hardly a word is spoken. That is because the Red Wings boast so much depth. Meanwhile, Philadelphia loses skilled defenseman Kimmo Timonen and then Braydon Coburn and the Flyers chances go right down the tube. I wonder why coach John Stevens didn’t put Sami Kapanen back on defense, given the fact he has played the position plenty in his career and would raise the skill level of the blueline with Timonen and Coburn out?
• When will the Toronto Maple Leafs learn that telling people what they want to hear instead of what they really mean may come back to bite them in the butt?
At the start of the year, coach Paul Maurice declared this group of Leafs the most talented bunch of players he’d ever coached, or something like that. Well, we all know how that ended up. Then, when team president Richard Peddie dismissed GM John Ferguson, he promised Leafs fans he’d replace him with a high-profile GM who possessed a winning pedigree.
Never mind the fact the people Peddie described were all under contract. Now, just like Ferguson did when he handed out no-trade and no-movement clauses like they were Halloween candy, Peddie has painted the organization into a corner. The fact is, Peddie is petrified to hire another inexperienced GM like Ferguson when the reality is, an inexperienced GM, say, Joe Nieuwendyk or Steve Yzerman, may be just the answer for the Leafs. Both of those guys played the game and were winners.
• What the heck are the Nashville Predators thinking? First they lock up underachieving center David Legwand to a six-year contract worth $4.5 million a season and now they have signed winger Martin Erat to a seven-year, $31.5 million deal.
Erat is a good player, but that is all. Just good. He had 23 goals and 57 points in 76 games for heaven sakes. Now he’ll earn $4.5 million a year?
• Just a rumor, but I have heard the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to fire coach John Tortorella and replace him with Barry Melrose.
• Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero should be applauded for taking a chance on Marian Hossa at the trade deadline. Not only has Hossa been a solid contributor on offense, as most expected he would, he has also played a stellar defensive game. He is often the first forward back on the back check.
All of that said, I’m not certain I’d cough up $7 million a year to a guy I see as more of a complimentary player than one who can lead a team.
Mike Brophy, the co-author of the book Walking with Legends, is a senior writer for The Hockey News and a regular contributor on THN.com. His blog appears Mondays and his column, Double OT, appears Wednesday.
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whatsthatsmell (Posted 2008-05-18 17:00:39)
I agree. Hossa and Thornton will never be in Forsberg's league because they don't get hurt.
Vansy (Posted 2008-05-15 18:43:50)
Im sorry but Hossa and Thornton aren't/never will be in Forsbergs league ( a prime forsberg ).
Maxime (Posted 2008-05-15 12:24:33)
I'll have to agree with Hockey Junkie...instead of picking on Osgood, pick on the awardless Luongo (team MVP isn't a viable NHL award). After 490 games, Luongo posts a 2.60 avg, while Osgood posts a 2.46 avg in well over 600 games...And please, no "Luongo played for the Panthers" arguments...Osgood played for the Islanders and the Blues...and i believe the Blues were a strong team until Osgood left the fort...
Joe Black (Posted 2008-05-15 11:52:19)
Correction. Timonen and Coburn are 1/3 of the Flyers defensive core. Even more significant than losing Franzen.
Joe Black (Posted 2008-05-15 11:48:58)
Mike Brophy, have you any clue? Timonen and Coburn are the Flyers top 2 defenders. Timonen may be one of the top 5 in the NHL. Lose 1/4 of the defense is much more significant than an offensive-rich Detroit losing one forward. Note that the Flyers have also been without star forward Simone Gagne.
I'd say $7 million for Hossa is well worth it if the Pens get to (and maybe win) the Stanley cup finals.
TJ (Posted 2008-05-15 11:22:05)
Ken makes a great point. Morrow is one of the greatest leaders of the NHL today. As for Hossa, to even consider Joe Thornton to be on the same level or higher as Hossa is insane. Hossa has proved he is an elite TWO WAY player year in and year out and still gets criticized. I don't think I even heard Joe Thornton's name once in these playoffs until right now. Joe, if your reading this....GO TO THE NET!
Ken (Posted 2008-05-15 09:33:33)
If you read, Mr. Brian Kemp, you will see I referred to them as leaders of their teams, not their statisical records. Leaders are just that, LEADERS. If you don't see Morrow as a leader of the Dallas Stars, then perhaps you don't understand that Lidstrom is the leader of Detroit and not Datsyuk or Zetteberg. Really? Whatever.
George (Posted 2008-05-15 09:26:09)
Are you kidding me? Did you just compare Johan Franzen, who is the third or fourth best forward on his team, to the Flyers losing their top two defensemen (not to mention their top two puck moving defensemen)? Seriously? The Flyers haven't been able to get out of their own zone without those two, and their power play has also suffered without Timmonen. That argument holds absolutely no water.
Brian Kemp (Posted 2008-05-15 07:34:07)
I think Hossa is pretty much properly rated. He's a two way player who can both start a play and finish one. He's probably in the top 20, maybe 25 players in the league. Thornton is also pretty well pegged as a great regular season guy, and a good playoff guy, but a guy who needs someone else to be the Man on a playoff team to win it all. Does that about sum those two up? Forsberg used to be the best player in the world, and I say that as a Red Wings fan. He should have retired a few years ago, he just can't help a team for more than a few games at a time, so yeah, I would agree that at this point, his value to a team is over-rated. Did someone seriously put Brendan Morrow in the same category as Gretzky, Messier and Yzerman? Really? Whatever.
John (Posted 2008-05-14 19:10:32)
Hossa's far more of a play-maker than a goal scorer. The idea that he has to have a good center is ridiculous when you look at his numbers (>1 pt/gm) in Atlanta. The gold medals for Thornton and Forsberg had more to do with their teams, as has the lack of one for Hossa.
HockeyJunkie (Posted 2008-05-14 18:39:57)
Craig..this'll get you going:
Roberto Luongo is the most OVER-RATED GOALIE in the NHL!
C of Red `09 (Posted 2008-05-14 18:37:54)
How does a business guy like Peddie get to run a NHL team? If the Leafs don't get some real hockey people to run the show, they'll continue to be a laughingstock for years to come. While JFJ was clearly underqualified to be GM, didn't Peddie hire him?
Brian (Posted 2008-05-14 18:30:46)
..my comment re; Sundin should read "..by NOT agreeing to be dealt."
Ken (Posted 2008-05-14 18:30:00)
You're right Craig. Thornton and Forsberg are far superior players to Hossa.On his own, Hossa will never be the leader of a team like Gretz, Mess, Stevie Y, Morrow and others. Hossa needs a good center to make him a complete star.
Brian (Posted 2008-05-14 18:29:12)
Craig... I said Forsberg IS over-rated, and at this stage of the game, given the press he gets and the credit he gets, I Do think he IS (currently, not past-tense) over-rated.
Thornton is also over-rated, I never said he isn't good, he is, but not as good as some in the media make him out to be.
Read the words man, don't spin your own meanings into someone else's words..ie; I did not say Hossa "is one of the greatest players in the game" , Hell, I never even said he was better than Forsberg or Thornton, I simply say they are OVER-RATED and he is UNDER-RATED. I think what I think and that's OK Right?
..and I DO think he is better than that selfish slug Sundin.
(and before you rip me, yeah I know, he was "loyal" to the Leafs, that's why he screwed them out of providing them a solid future by agreeing to be dealt...)
Ryan (Posted 2008-05-14 18:20:53)
Good! I hope someone DOES hire Barry Melrose so he can be booed on a daily basis.
We'll finally get the joy of seeing him get fired too.
Craig (Posted 2008-05-14 18:12:45)
I'm sorry, did you just say that Thornton and Forsberg are over rated? Did you just imply they are lesser players the Hossa? Both have Olympic Gold Medals, and Forsberg has Stanley Cup Rings. (that's plural as in more then one.) Hossa has neither. I once watched peter Forsberg get tired of playing the Canucks in the playoffs and literally decide to end the game and go home. He knocked a then still productive Bertuzzi off the puck dipsy-doodled around four guys named Naslund, Morrison, Jovanovski, and Ohlund and flipped the puck in past a still semi effective Dan Cloutier. Hossa, as good as he is, has never single handedly ended a game. But what makes Forsberg, or Thornton, or Sundin, the players you just compared him too, better isn't just their individual skill, it's there ability to make other players better. Say what you want about Thornton's playoff record (it's shoddy at best) but all three have greatly improved the production of thier team mates. Cheechoo was never a real scoring threat until he landed on Thornton's wing Murray has imploded faster then Lowe and Burke's friednship, Tucker's Production is dependant on wether he is on Sundin's wing or not, and Colorado went 4 and 0 with Forsberg in the line up these playoffs, 0 and 6 without him, so he clearly has an impact. Hossa's ex linemates on both the Sens (Alfredson, Spezza) and Thrashers (Kovalchuk, Savard) were productive before Hossa's arrival and have been after he is gone. Do you genuinely think he is making Malkin or Crosby that much better; that their play would drop off if he were not on the wing? Don't think I wouldn't jump for joy to have a dynamic and talented player like Hossa on my woefully under skilled Canucks, but to say that he is one of the Greatest players in the game is a gross overstatement comparable only to Maurice's declaration that the Leafs were the most talented group ever and the Playoffs were assured. Oh and the best player on the Canucks regardless of who you import would be Luongo. Hossa can score like nobody's business, and is a fantastic complimentary part of a very good line, but he is not the solid foundation of a truly dominant lineup.
Alex Potter (Posted 2008-05-14 17:49:30)
Well, now that the conference finals are basically over, who do we think is going to win the whole thing?
Joe Blake (Posted 2008-05-14 17:37:50)
The Leaves should hire Tortorella if he gets skidded .... I don't think
he could make The Leaves a better team, but the post game interviews
would be classics.... He would be media delight .
Brian (Posted 2008-05-14 16:39:43)
While I agree with most of your points made, I have to contradict, somewhat, one comment about Hossa. I disagree that he is a "complimentary player".. on many team, he would be and should be the face of the franchise.
If he went to Toronto, would he not be every bit as effective as Mats Sundin? Would he not be the best player on the New York Islanders? How about the Vancouver Canucks?
Hossa is an elite level player. To this day, I cannot say for sure that Ottawa won the Heatley-Hossa trade. (I might sing a different song if Ottawa had yet accomplished anything!)
There are many many extremely over-rated players in the league (read; Thornton, Forsberg..) but Hossa is not one of them. In fact, it is my personal feeling that he is quite under-rated.
I know I would absolutely love to see him in the Flaming C of my Alberta team and still smile when I remember a letter one of your readers wrote crying about how he was a poor substitute for Colby Armstrong (!!!) after the trade-deadline deal!
If nothing else, he certainly is the best Marian since Stastny!
Devin Cornia (Posted 2008-05-14 16:34:18)
i have been sayin that sami should play d all year long. john stevens is an idiot and needs to be fired. our players have no direction when they're on the ice and obviously none when they get off the ice. we have been winning on hussle and skill alone all this year, but now when playing with a system is vital, our lack of structure and leadership by the coaches is exploited.
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