Going All the Way

So the New York Rangers blow a two-goal lead on home ice to the Atlanta Thrashers on Sunday night, take a bad penalty in OT and lose on Marc Savard's gorgeous wrist shot over the right shoulder of Henrik Lundqvist.

And still get a point for it. The Rangers screwed up royally and still gained a point on the Flyers atop the Atlantic Division.

It was the perfect example of the ongoing pointlessness of the NHL point system, which continues to reward teams for losing.

Yep, let's get in there and lose one for the Gipper, guys.

It's the only one of the four major sports that gives points for losing, and it's time to change that.

After all, it's clear from looking at the NHL standings today that taking out the point for losing in overtime or in a shootout would, essentially, have little or no meaningful impact on those standings.

If the NHL had only wins or losses, there would only a handful of changes to the standings, and they wouldn't be big ones.

The standings in the Eastern Conference would read:

1. Ottawa (86 points) 2. Carolina (86) 3. Rangers (72, 3rd by virtue of leading their division) 4. Buffalo (84) 5. Philadelphia (70) 6. New Jersey (66) 7. Tampa Bay (66) 8. Montreal (62) 9. Atlanta (62) 10. Islanders (60) 11. Toronto (58) 12. Florida (52) 13. Boston (50) 14. Washington (44) 15. Pittsburgh (32).

The same teams would be in possession of playoff berths, and the spacing between teams would remain almost exactly the same, creating the same race for the seventh and eighth playoff berths.

The only changes would be at the top, where Ottawa and Carolina would be tied for first, rather than separated by one point with the Hurricanes on top, and at the No. 7 slot, where Tampa would sit four points ahead of Montreal. The Leafs would be eight four points out of the eighth and final playoff spot, rather than six.

Hardly a drastic change, huh? Point totals make much for sense in relation to games played, and being a .500 team would actually mean something again.

In the Western Conference, the standings would read:

1. Detroit (88) 2. Dallas (84) 3. Colorado (74) 4. Nashville (74) 5. Calgary (72) 6. Los Angeles (72) 7. Vancouver (70) 8. Edmonton (64) 9. Anaheim (62) 10. Minnesota (62) 11. San Jose (60) 12. Phoenix (58) 13. Columbus (52) 14. Chicago (40) 15. St. Louis (38)

The only changes compared to the current NHL standings would have Edmonton in eighth place, two points ahead of Anaheim, Minnesota in 10th place ahead of San Jose and Chicago two points ahead of St. Louis in the Western Conference basement.

Otherwise, everything would be the same, and the spacing between teams would be basically the same. Getting rid of rewarding OT losses and shootout losses with a point would have the added benefit of stopping home team announcers from tying themselves in knots trying to argue that their team didn't lose a game in OT or a shootout, but rather the opposition picked up a bonus point.

Everytime you hear that rationale, it is to laugh at the limitless capacity for shilling that exists on NHL home team broadcasts.

Other than pacifying losers, there is no logical, rational or mathematical reason for the NHL not to go to a simple win/loss system.

This other stuff just distorts the true value of results, giving undue credit to teams incapable of winning games and penalizing teams that are able to produce victory in regular, OT or the shootout. in the west, for example, Dallas has a 13-point lead over eighth place Anaheim despite losing 10 fewer games.

In a win-or-lose system, the Stars would have a 22-point lead, much more reflective of their superior play and excellence in shootouts. The current system simply rewards the Ducks for being weak in OT and shootouts.

So far Pittsburgh and Anaheim have 12 points from OT or shootout losses they otherwise would not have. St. Louis has 11, while the Rangers, Flyers,Bruins and Oilers have 10 each.

A win should be a win, a loss should be a loss. Simple.

Post Deadline Musings

First, a farewell to Jim (Shakey) Hunt.

The man loved life. He drank deeply of all aspects and always loved to poke at those in charge or those who took themselves a little too seriously.

He could write, of course, but as a radio personality he was terrific and unique. And he never, ever acted the prima donna or gave those starting out in the business a hard time.

See ya, Shake.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming with some final thoughts on Thursday's NHL trade deadline:

The most underrated deal of the day? Willie Mitchell to Dallas from Minny. Mitchell proved himself to be a prime time playoff combatant three years ago. He's a perfect fit for a Stars team that may go a long way.

Here's guessing Ken Klee will fare much better in Jersey than Toronto. Things are substantially more structured in the Meadowlands, with defencemen encouraged to buy time rather than make big plays.

Tyler Arnason could be the best pickup of the final day. The youngster has skill, and it will be interesting to see how Bryan Murray chooses to use him.

Sergei Samsonov is a splashy pickup for the Oilers. But the truth is the Russian has never produced goals and points at the level of an elite player in the NHL. Even this season, he's well below a point-per-game pace.

Nashville used to be a team that frightened opponents with speed and quickness. In adding Mike Sillinger and Brendan Witt over the past few weeks, the Preds have improved in other areas, but they have also definitely slowed down.

By telling the hockey world he was listening to offers for Todd Bertuzzi, Vancouver GM Dave Nonis has essentially put No. 44 on notice; deliver now, or get ready to move by the draft.

Sandis Ozolinsh just seems like a bad fit for a Ranger team that has experienced a lot of success this season by being hardworking and disciplined. But if Ozolinsh can help a Ranger power play that has been mediocre without being too much of a liability five-on-five, the deal could work.

Something tells me Jamie Lundmark, an Alberta boy, will finally find a modicum of success in Calgary under Darryl Sutter.

Nice touch by GM Mike Barnett in Phoenix. Curtis Joseph asked not to be moved, and the Coyotes will let him finish the season in the desert. Assuming the Leafs buy out Ed Belfour at the end of the season, there still might be one go 'round for Cujo in Toronto before he's done.

Pooping the Party

Don't know why they decided to wreck the fun.

For years, particularly on the northern side of the Canada-U.S. border, trade deadline day arrived with a flood of anticipation and speculation. Both TSN and Sportsnet have gone gavel-to-gavel with casts of thousands in recent years, The Fan 590 has set up it's own "trade desk" and even Leaf TV II - snoozy old Hockey Night in Canada - has been forced to pay attention.

(Quick note. Had to chuckle last Saturday when HNIC, which loves to argue it's not Leaf-centric, spent the entire pre-game show analyzing the burning,nation-wide issue of "What's Wrong with the Leafs?")

So everybody was having a good time watching trades unfold on a day, really, that had grown more interesting and sexy than the first day of entry draft or any other single day on the NHL calendar. Office jobs didn't get done properly, children bolted home from school to see if James Duthie was in a full sweat yet and canny NHL managers with a nose for the camera got a little tube time for their laboring squads.

So what did the NHL do? It changed the rules and, quite possibly, destroyed the party atmosphere.

The deadline used to be 26 days from the end of the schedule. Now it's 40, a creation of last summer's new collective bargaining pact, and there's a broad sense that will play a role in substantially reducing trade traffic up to the deadline.

Two weeks probably won't make a major difference in the NHL standings. But to NHL general managers, there's a big might there, a chance that after wallowing in mediocrity all season their team might just rip off eight straight triumphs and suddenly find itself proud owner of the eighth and final post-season berth in its conference.

The NHL cited competitive legitimacy in changing the date, something you haven't heard from these guys since they were explaining why it was okay for Brett Hull to have his toe in the crease.

Now, not that it's not a whole heapin' heck of fun waiting to see where Mariusz Czerkawski lands tomorrow. Geez, you get the feeling the Leafs would dress Morris Peterson - or David Peterson - before they gave the Polish Prince his skates back.

(Second note/digression: Wasn't that really, really nice the way the Leafs jerked around young defenceman Brendan Bell on Tuesday? They called him up on Monday, let him to all kinds of interviews in which he talked earnestly about getting a shot in the bigs, then let him show up for the pre-game skate on Tuesday before telling him they liked Wade (Norris) Belak better and to get back to the Ricoh. I'm sure ol' Brendan is bleeding a little more blue today)

Waiting for the annual avalanche of deals, and then seeing 20 or so come through,  supplied the NHL with a boatload of news and publicity for which it didn't even have to pay a rights fee.

Maybe some GMs and owners didn't like deadline where it was 'cause it gave the smart kids in class yet another advantage. But did you ever hear a single fan complain? And, with the "Thank You Fans" still painted on NHL rinks across North America, isn't that what "My NHL" is supposed to be all about.

Hopefully, I'm wrong. Hopefully tomorrow will include a host of wheelin' dealin' craziness. Even deals bigger than Czerkawski to the Belfast Giants to provide muscle for Theo Fleury, who just might not be on his way back to the NHL any time soon after all.

But if it doesn't, and if the sports networks decide coverage more massive than a federal election has become pointless, and if Barry Bonds' pharmaceutical interests overwhelm every other story, what will the NHL have gained?

A Bubble Burst?

No, the Philadelphia Flyers didn't do the Maple Leafs any favours last night.

Or did they?

The Flyers couldn't hold leads of 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 last night at home against the Montreal Canadiens. Philly ultimately won the shootout on Petr Nedved's pretty backhand move, but the Habs escaped with a valuable point they shouldn't have been able to aquire.

That gives them an eight-point edge over the Leafs going into tonight's tussle at the Air Canada Centre. Instead of being able to shave that margin to a more threatening five points with a win, the Leafs will have to live with being six points back if they can put together their first win of the post-Olympic schedule.

If the Flyers did help out in the Leafs' desperate attempt to make the playoffs, it was by giving Habs starting goalie Cristobal Huet a rough ride. At least two of the goals were very iffy, and in the shootout, Huet looked a bit worn out in surrendering consecutive backhand goals to Peter Forsberg and Nedved in the shootout.

If Huet was an exhausted fellow boarding the late night flight from Philly to Toronto, it wouldn't be a big surprise. He has started 11 straight games for the Habs and 15 of the last 16. Since the NHL resumed after Turin, last night was his fourth game in six nights.

It was also the first time in those 15 starts that Huet had given up more than three goals in a game.

Now, maybe this guy's the real deal. Maybe he's the goalie who's going to carry the Habs deep into the playoffs.

But he's a 30-year-old journeyman with a losing career record who has suddenly been given a huge workload. Had Jose Theodore not fallen and gone boom! over the Olympic break, its possible Montreal GM/coach Bob Gainey would still be wrestling over his goalie conundrum.

Don't forget, Gainey was so unconvinced of Huet's abilities that when he took over from Claude Julien behind the bench, his first decision was to install Theodore as the starter after Julien had been having success with Huet in goal.

It could be that Theodore's freak home injury turns out to be an improbable, unanticipated break for the Habs in the same way a U2 concert that forced the Alouettes out of Olympic Stadium pushed them into the arms of McGill Stadium and a startling new sense of popularity and commercial success in the city.

But it could also be that Huet is a short term surprise, and that last night was the night his bubble burst.

Ed Belfour couldn't out-play Ottawa's Ray Emery Saturday night. If he can't raise his game to be decisively better than Huet tonight - or Yann Danis if he gets the call for his seventh NHL start - then the last drop of belief will almost certainly be drained out of the Leaf dressing room.

No Way Out

So sayeth John Ferguson;

"You don't win the trade deadline if you don't win the Cup."

That quote, interestingly, came two years ago, just before the 2004 trade deadline. The Leafs had made a series of acquisitions, some of them costly, to acquire Brian Leetch, Ron Francis, Calle Johansson and Chad Kilger. Ferguson was being heaped with praise for the Leetch deal in particular, although he was the one who cautioned others with being too optimistic about what the veteran defenceman might be able to do with the Leafs.

Thus the "win the trade deadline" quote.

Then, the Leafs were trying to win the Cup. That's what they said, and, in case you missed it, it didn't quite work out that way.

Now, this is a hockey club in a very, very different position. This is a franchise, whether it chooses to admit it or not, that is on the precipice, close to falling over the edge into the bottom third of the league, a neighbourhood which it might occupy for a very long time.

The franchise centre, Mats Sundin, is 35. The goalie, Ed Belfour, appears to be finished. The No. 1 defenceman, Bryan McCabe, will be 31 in June and is holding a gun to the team's head for a contract figure his talent cannot possibly support.

There's considerable youth and promise, but outside of goalies Justin Pogge and Tuukka Rask, it appears to be mostly support staff-type players.

In terms of defencemen and forwards, there isn't a sure fire first liner or top tandem blueliner in the organization. Maybe, just maybe, Alex Steen could yet emerge.

What that means is there is no easy answer to this week's trade deadline. Dumping players for futures is always interesting, and the oft-voiced concept that Leaf fans would never stand for a rebuilding process is laughable.

Adding big-name players in a rash bid to make the playoffs makes no sense, unless the addition doesn't substantially touch the modicum of young talent the team already has.

But it doesn't have to be an either/or thing. There are always possibilities in between at the trade deadline for teams looking carefully.

It's like the Tomas Kaberle contract, five years at $4.25 per. Those who defend it argue passionately that the risk of losing him to free agency this summer makes the contract logical.

But that assumes there was no other salary or term Kaberle would accept. It assumes it was a one-way negotiation.

Similarly, there are moves the Leafs could make by Thursday that would a) provide evidence Ferguson is still alive and breathing and b) come somewhere between the extremes of dumping players and sacrificing top prospects and picks for expensive veterans.

Look back to the '04 deadline. One of the players the Leafs were looking at back then was Anaheim backup goalie Martin Gerber as insurance for Belfour.

Ultimately, Ferguson and then Ducks GM Bryan Murray couldn't arrange a deal, but three months later Gerber went to Carolina for Tomas Malec, now an Ottawa farmhand, and a third round draft pick the Ducks used to select Kyle Klubertanz, a University of Wisconsin player who seems to have dropped right out of sight.

Imagine if the Leafs had been able to make that moderate-type deal then? Gerber has turned out to be a front-line player, something the Canes must have seen.

The Leafs can't solve their mounting problems at this deadline, and it appears more and more likely there's nothing they could do to help the team make the playoffs.

So you look for other things. It's not "winning the deadline," but it's something.