by Jes

The Anaheim Ducks, defending cup champs, have opened up the new season in a horrible slump. Slumps are typical for clubs over the course of the year, but it is odd to see the likes of the Blue Jackets doing well while the Anaheim Ducks are looking up from the basement.

How is it that the Ducks are off to a 4-7-2 start? Here are some thoughts from a Canucks fan who doesn't mind that the Ducks are doing poorly. :)

1. Hits to the roster? Many people point the finger at the losses of Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer (a guy who takes 25 minutes to decide if he wants large fries with his Big Mac) as the prime reason the Ducks are losing more than the Washington Generals. Look, it's not as if Burke did nothing to stem the tide. Signing Todd Bertuzzi and Mathieu Schneider certainly proved that the Ducks weren't sitting idle, and both players certainly are talented. Going into the season, did anyone reasonably think the Ducks were a vastly weaker team?

2. Health concerns - We certainly can't discount the fatigue factor when talking about the Ducks slow start. A long Stanley Cup run, combined with a 2-game stint in England, has certainly had to have a real effect on the stamina of the Ducks, who like to play a physical brand of hockey. If we look at the performance of recent cup winners during the follow-up season, we can see a heavy drop in those teams' records. Just look at how the Canes missed the playoffs completely.

Let's not forget the injury bug has hit the Ducks, especially Mathieu Schneider, the prized signing who has yet to play a single game this season thanks to a broken ankle.

3. Discipline - While the Ducks ground-and-pound thug-life style was prized for helping them to win the cup, it's also causing them a whole lot of grief. Only the Toronto Maple Leafs have been shorthanded more times than the Ducks (68, overall), and the Ducks PK unit is struggling at 80.9%, 16th in the NHL. Last season, the roles were reversed, with the Ducks middle-of-the-road in shorthanded situations and near the top in PK efficiency. Obviously, the Ducks are shooting themselves in the webbed foot.

That said, there are quite a few players that have been playing well below expectations.

Todd Bertuzzi - 7 games, 2 points and a -2 before suffering another injury to his inflated ego. Bertuzzi was given the golden parachute by Brian Burke, and has nothing to motivate him into playing like the man-beast he was with the Canucks.


Andy McDonald - Many suggested that his huge spike in production had to do with playing on the same line with a rejuvenated Teemu Selanne. While I think both players meshed with each other very well, it's obvious that Andy Mac misses his old mentor. With just 7 points in 13 games, Andy's production has dropped a great deal from the point-a-game pace he established the past two seasons.


Rob Niedermayer, Todd Marchant, Samuel Pahlsson (is god) - I realize that their job is to be the defensive shutdown unit of the Ducks, but a combined one goal and five points in 13 games? That is truly terrible.

If I am Brian Burke ...
1. Have Rob Niedermayer call Scott Niedermeyer EVERY DAY and beg the All-Star defenseman to put the skates back on.

2. Tell the team to smarten the hell up. Bad penalties are killing the Ducks, and not allowing the team offensive stars to get going.

3. Hunt around for a goal-scoring winger. The Ducks need someone who can combine with Dandy Andy and put the puck in the net. There should be quite a few b-grade scorers out in the wilderness that Burke can get his hands on. Bertuzzi can't be counted on for many reasons, Jason King is a flop, and the Ducks have the assets to make a deal.

Labels: Brian Burke, ducks, musings, Todd Bertuzzi

by Jes

A few more Deadline Day musings...

To St. Louis: Brad Boyes
To Boston: Dennis Wideman

So, the Blues gave up on a young, offensively talented blue-liner quite quickly. Still, I like Boyes and he's the safer bet to perform well in the future. Wideman's future is 'wide open', as he could become the next Peter Ratchuk or a Jason Woolley-lite.

To NYI: Ryan Smyth
To Edmonton: Robert Nilsson, Ryan O'Marra, 1st round pick

Few things surprise me in the hockey world, but Ryan Smyth being traded today is one of them. I never figured "Captain Canada" would be dealt, but I guess the Oilers see the writing on the wall and the price they extracted from the Islanders was too good to pass up. Does this burn the bridge between Smyth and the Oilers?

To Anaheim: Brad May
To Colorado: Michael Wall

What is with Brian Burke's obsession with Brad May? The guy can't score, defend, or even fight well any longer. If this was 10 years ago, it might make sense, but May hasn't been a useful contributor in many years. Sure, the price paid was small, but methinks Burke has an unhealthy like for the guy.

To Boston: Aaron Ward
To NYR: Paul Mara

Wow, Aaron Ward didn't last long. What a steal for the Ruins, though, as they dump a soft lump of lard in Mara and get something useful.

Why did the Rangers want Mara, anyway? Do they miss the softness they used to have in Tom Poti and Sandis Ozolinsh??

Mara has a career -104 in 483 games, which really does help tell the story about his 'defensive' skill.

To Detroit: Kyle Calder
To Chicago: Jason Williams
To Philly: Lasse Kukkonen, 3rd round pick

Wow, that Handzus trade really turned out great for the Flyers *chuckle*. Now, am I missing something here?

Sure, Williams' production has slowed down to just 26 points this year, but why Kyle Calder? D00d's been a complete bust with Philly (21 points and a -31) and has been a lumbering oaf of complacency all season long. A bit of a headscratcher.

Labels: Aaron Ward, Brad Boyes, Brad May, Brian Burke, Deadline Day, Dennis Wideman, Jason Williams, Kyle Calder, musings, Ryan Smyth, trades

by Jes

Perhaps we should call it 'uncommon sense', since most people don't seem to possess common sense.

Yes, the NHL, once again, did the WRONG thing and rejected a 3-point system for games.

As it stands right now, not every NHL game is equal. Some games give 2 points to a clear-cut winner, while others give out 3 points (2 to the OT/SO winner and the other to the loser).

It seems like a simple problem to fix...
3 points for a regulation win
2 points for a OT/SO win
1 point for a OT loss

Voila!! Every game is worth 3 points.

Yet, the NHL GMs spout of their usual brand of krap:

"Because it's a terrible idea," Anaheim general manager Brian Burke said Wednesday as three days of GM meetings wrapped up. "That's why it didn't have any support."

Terrible idea??? This is coming from the guy who wants Power Plays to be just a minute long in OT?? C'mon Burkie, you ought to be smarter than this!

Colin Campbell, the NHL's director of hockey operations, says the game needs a breather from the constant change.

"It's time to establish continuity, you can't keep making changes," he said. "Let' s not confuse the fans."
...
Said Burke: "We made some radical changes when we came back from the work stoppage. The game is faster, the game is better, and the game is more entertaining. If something ain't broke, there's no reason to try and fix it."
...
"I think we've had too much change of late," said New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello. "It's a good game, let's enjoy it."

Oh, I see. The NHL has been going spastic with major changes (That nobody asked for) for years, and suddenly now Jean-Luc Picard says "The line must be drawn HERE!"

What a crock!

If you have something that is 'broken', you damn well fix it!!
The trapezoids?? What the hell was that for? THAT was a useless change.

Fixing the current system of standings madness is something that needs to be done, lest the NHL wants to look like the biggest joke in North Amerikan sports. YEah, the fans are just going to be SO confused. How could they ever figure out a new set of standings... trust me, fans can remember exactly how many beers they had at a Ducks/Kings back in 2003, and they can certainly learn a new set of standings (which are less confusing than the dreck they use now).

It's just amazing how the NHL has ever succeeded given the headless chickens running the operation.

---

Edit: Hockey Analysis presents a very simple, but thought-provoking analysis of the current point scheme vs. the old point scheme vs. the 3-point scheme.

Labels: bettman, Brian Burke, NHL, opinion, rants, rules

by Jes

The instigator penalty has always been a complete fallacy. If you allow fighting (and the NHL basically does), why would you unduly punish the initiating party for starting it?

As it stands right now, not only does a player get booted from the game, but they earn a 2-game suspension if they get 3 instigators.

Well, this issue has been a bone of contention for many folks out there, from the Rock 'Em Sock'Em Don Cherry, to the fighting-is-ebil Mike Bossy.

It was nice to hear the NHL GMs were discussing the issue, instead of bickering over revenue sharing or ways to avoid going to the nightclubs with Gary Bettman.

From TSN.ca:

Currently the rules stipulate that a player who picks up three instigator penalties warrants a two-game suspension. Some GMs believe that makes it too difficult for tough guys to protect their star teammates.

"That's an agenda item that I requested," Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke said after the first day wrapped up at a posh resort hotel. "I think we need to raise the number of instigator penalties a player can take before getting suspended. I do not favour the elimination of the penalty but I think we've got to get to five or six (instigator penalties) before a player gets suspended so they can do their jobs and protect their teammates."

Through Feb. 15. there were 47 instigator penalties handed out this season, up from 39 through the same number of games last season.

Ben Eager of the Philadelphia Flyers is the only player to have earned the two-game suspension so far this season for earning three instigators, but the issue with some GMs is that some players get two instigators and are hesitant to drop the gloves.

"So the question is, when a guy is at two instigator penalties, does it affect him to say, `I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to protect my guy. I'm not going to protect my goalie because I'm going to be suspended.' That was really the debate today," said Columbus Blue Jackets GM Doug MacLean.

So, the GM's weren't actually talking about SCRAPPING the stupid game-misconduct and suspension part entirely *sigh*... solving an issue half way is such a cop-out

Of course, there are the idiot GM's out there that suck the teat of Bettman's milk

"I do think there's enough time in the game to play tough and deliver that message appropriately," echoed Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Ferguson. "I do think it would be hard to go backwards in terms of vigilance against it."

...said the GM who has never played an NHL game.

So, in the end, don't expect anything good to be done in that regard.

One interesting idea was put forth by Brian Burke: the idea of going to one-minute penalties in overtime...

"I don't know how far that one's going to get," said Burke. "The logic of it, obviously, if you take a tripping penalty in the first period it's 10 per cent of the period and it's a 5-on-4 power play."

"That same foul in overtime is 40 per cent of the period and it's a 4-on-3 power play which has a dramatically higher conversion rate. So to me it makes sense. But I'm not sure my logic will carry the day here."

It's easy to see Burke's logic, but I feel a penalty should be a full penalty no matter what time of the game it is. It's bad enough that refs tend to let up late in the games and OT anyway, so why make a penalty less of a penalty just because it's OT? You SHOULD punish teams for taking dumb penalties at such a point of the game.

Labels: Brian Burke, business, fighting, instigator, NHL, rules

I was kind of hoping that Burke would replace Don Cherry...the results could have been hilarious.

Of course, there wasn't a chance in Hell (or Pittsburgh) that was going to happen.

Sportsnet.ca reports that Brian Burke may be headed back to the NHL head offices to help the NHL and NHLPA play nicely together.

It was be a great move for Burke, given his law background and the fact that he scares the crap out of most people.

Labels: Brian Burke, NHL, NHL Front Office