Thursday, December 02, 2004
Rants and Ramblings
Some news and thoughts on a very foggy Vancouver Thursday.
1. Detroit's uber-prospect, Jiri Hudler, has left the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) to return home to Vsetin to be with his ailing father, who is having a liver transplant.
2. Following up a thought from yesterday, I found an old George Gross (aka Juraj Gross, a Slovak-born writer) story and it appears that Scott Stevens is eligible for the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame
3. Miro Satan was talking contract details with Kloten of the Swiss League, but it appears that his asking price of 6,000 Francs per game was too rich for the club’s tastes. Looks like Miro will have to look east to Russia if he wants some big $$$. (Thanks to Joeri for this tip).
Now to respond to some comments from yesterday’s post.
1. Detroit's uber-prospect, Jiri Hudler, has left the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) to return home to Vsetin to be with his ailing father, who is having a liver transplant.
Hudler, 20, is returning to the Czech Republic for the second time in two weeks to be with his father, also named Jiri and believed to be 43.In the meantime, Hudler will be training and joining his old stomping grounds in Vsetin, which is great news for this struggling club. The Wings just have to hope that Hudler doesn’t let some old habits creep back into his game (the total disdain for any defensive work...trying to stickhandle through entire teams, just because he can)
2. Following up a thought from yesterday, I found an old George Gross (aka Juraj Gross, a Slovak-born writer) story and it appears that Scott Stevens is eligible for the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame
If things work out as planned by the management of the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame in Bratislava, Stevens will join Stan Mikita and Peter Stastny in the same Hall of Fame they were inducted into...Hmm...Dzurilla, Satan, Demitra, Stastny, Mikita...Stevens??? This is kind of like having a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Britney Spears.
3. Miro Satan was talking contract details with Kloten of the Swiss League, but it appears that his asking price of 6,000 Francs per game was too rich for the club’s tastes. Looks like Miro will have to look east to Russia if he wants some big $$$. (Thanks to Joeri for this tip).
Now to respond to some comments from yesterday’s post.
- Rich Clubs and the Salary Cap Issue: I don’t believe the clubs like the Flyers (who have stated publicly) and the Rangers want to be limited in their ability to spend money. The Rangers and Flyers make a lot more revenue than many clubs, so why would they want to be restricted in their ability to spend that revenue to improve their club? The Red Wings have always been big spenders and wouldn’t have achieved nearly as much success without the ability to sign/trade for big-ticket players like Shanahan, Chelios, Hull, Schneider, Hasek, and so on.
As much as they might love a salary cap to ensure they make killer profits, the big clubs will be punished by the cap because they will not be allowed to use the one weapon that they have: Money.
The Wings budgeting based on playoff games was/is just pure stupidity. Why would you ever budget for sales/revenues that you can’t reasonably expect to collect? This sounds like the foolishness that is killing NORTEL right about now (If you haven’t earned it, don’t record it). The Wings can honestly expect 2 (and just 2) guaranteed playoff dates. If they gamble on the fact they will have more home playoff dates, then they might as well go to Vegas and play the slots. The Wings get 41 home dates and 2 playoff home dates guaranteed. Their player budget should never have exceeded this.
It’s just a typical sign of the mismanagement and free-spending of many NHL owners and managers. There is no doubt that Mike Ilitch wanted to spend big on his hockey club. He should cry foul now because he chose to spend more than he, perhaps, brought in.
- Russian Oil Barons: There was a minor story about one potential oil baron buying the Vancouver Canucks, but there hasn’t been a lot of smoke around this issue.
The Russian Oil Barons own teams in remote ugly factory towns like Omsk, where there is absolutely nothing to do but work, drown your depressions in vodka and watch hockey. The teams are basically the pride and joy of these cities, and the owners treat them as a hobby. If you think the Wings spent more money than they brought in...well they have nothing on some of these clubs. Kazan, Omsk, and Yaroslavl definitely do not bring in nearly enough revenues to cover the US$ salaries that the stars are making.
I highly doubt that one of these owners would want to spend a lot of their money on a club far away in North America. I know Abramovich bought the Chelsea football club, but that club is far more prestigious and lucrative than any National Hockey League team could ever hope to be.
On a side note, there is a lot of funny business, rules, and other behind-the-back stuff that goes on in the Russian League. Money laundering, bribed politicians, etcetc... I really don’t know the half of it, and I never will. Let’s just say the Russian owners do get a lot of political and financial leeway that they would never get away with in North America.
On another side note: Players like Vincent Lecavalier may get ‘tax-free’ salaries in Russia, but they still have to pay their taxes to the Canadian government as they are still deemed residents. Tax treaties can reduce this, but it’s not like they are getting a tax-free vacation in Russia.
- The Oilers: I know Edmonton is a small market compared to many NHL cities, but I am just simply sick of the Oilers using that as their excuse for all of their failures. You never hear Oilers management, and rarely do you hear Oilers fans, admit the main reason that their club is so mediocre is the fact that the Oilers management can’t draft and develop players all that well.
Corruption: This goes back to Pocklington...did you forget, Big Dan? :)
Tommy Salo: I never heard the juicy gossip between Salo’s wife and Mike Comrie. Is that part of the reason why Comrie, perhaps, wanted to get the hell out of Edmonton so badly?
To blame Salo’s wife for Salo’s crappy place is still a weak excuse...although I’m sure Kirk McLean would agree with that excuse (Jeff Brown slept with his wife and this is well known in Vancouver folklore). Salo was always a below-average goalie that the Oilers gambled heavily upon and, for the most part, lost. If Lowe is a middle-of-the-pack GM, then who is below him? I can’t count too many, although Mike Milbury is an obvious choice as well as George McPhee.
And yes, in today’s NHL (Clutch, grab, and trap), any team can get far in the playoffs with the right combination of hot goaltending and stifling play. I haven’t done a formal study, but it seems that we have a lot more Cinderella teams as scoring has decreased.
Comments:
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Vsetin do not need Hudler to play defensively. They already have 22 defensive players :)) But why the hell he wears such a Star-Wars-like visor ?:0 http://www.hc-vsetin.cz/foto_vse/blind.jpg
Hello Jes. It's Big Dan.
Peter Puck seems so far back in Oiler fans' minds now (I think he lost them in 96?). Once local ownership took over and vowed to keep the team in Edmonton, the fans came back and the negative headlines and threats ended. Ahhh!
Salo used to be an OK top 20 goalie in the NHL. Probably in the same class as a Dan Cloutier or Chris Osgood. I think you're being a little hard on him. He had problems with inconsistency and definitely wasn't a franchise player but he was OK.
When his wife left him and moved to Sweden, he let his play slip so badly the last couple of years he was probably one of the bottom 20 goalies.
Worse GM's than Kevin Lowe?
- Don Waddell
- Mike O'Connell
- Darcy Regier
- Jim Rutherford
- Bob Pulford
- Doug MacLean
- Mike Milbury
- Mike Keenan
- Bobby Clarke
- Mike Barnett
- the Washington GM
Also, D.Wilson and D.Nonis have no history so I can't compare.
Yes, the Oilers' main downfall was their poor scouting. Passing up on a guy like Zach Parise, Shane Doan, and Marek Schwarz seems to happen every year.
When they had to cut loose their stars, there was nobody in the system to replace them.
Also, Craig MacTavish and Ron Low's track record for developing young players is shoddy. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. MacT did a good job easing Torres and Stoll in last season... so maybe he is getting better.
So, while the Oilers' problem is poor drafting and player development, I don't think they should be classified them as one of the "profitable" teams. Being a small market is the #3 reason they are mediocre.
I feel they would be better with a salary cap because:
a) they wouldn't constantly be giving away their older players every summer and having to regroup
b) they'd be able to fill holes in the roster (because salaries would be more reasonable) instead of banking on rookies or sophomores
c) they'd be able to keep their younger players longer= less turnover leads to better chemistry
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Peter Puck seems so far back in Oiler fans' minds now (I think he lost them in 96?). Once local ownership took over and vowed to keep the team in Edmonton, the fans came back and the negative headlines and threats ended. Ahhh!
Salo used to be an OK top 20 goalie in the NHL. Probably in the same class as a Dan Cloutier or Chris Osgood. I think you're being a little hard on him. He had problems with inconsistency and definitely wasn't a franchise player but he was OK.
When his wife left him and moved to Sweden, he let his play slip so badly the last couple of years he was probably one of the bottom 20 goalies.
Worse GM's than Kevin Lowe?
- Don Waddell
- Mike O'Connell
- Darcy Regier
- Jim Rutherford
- Bob Pulford
- Doug MacLean
- Mike Milbury
- Mike Keenan
- Bobby Clarke
- Mike Barnett
- the Washington GM
Also, D.Wilson and D.Nonis have no history so I can't compare.
Yes, the Oilers' main downfall was their poor scouting. Passing up on a guy like Zach Parise, Shane Doan, and Marek Schwarz seems to happen every year.
When they had to cut loose their stars, there was nobody in the system to replace them.
Also, Craig MacTavish and Ron Low's track record for developing young players is shoddy. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. MacT did a good job easing Torres and Stoll in last season... so maybe he is getting better.
So, while the Oilers' problem is poor drafting and player development, I don't think they should be classified them as one of the "profitable" teams. Being a small market is the #3 reason they are mediocre.
I feel they would be better with a salary cap because:
a) they wouldn't constantly be giving away their older players every summer and having to regroup
b) they'd be able to fill holes in the roster (because salaries would be more reasonable) instead of banking on rookies or sophomores
c) they'd be able to keep their younger players longer= less turnover leads to better chemistry
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