As the World Turns

All one one day, a flurry of news and intrigue in international hockey.

The question is, however, how much do Canadians still care about all these bits and pieces, or are the Olympics all that matters now?

First came the suggestion last night from former Soviet goaltending great Vladislav Tretiak that a new eight-game series, this time between Canada and Russia, be held in an attempt to reprise the excitement of '72.

That, of course, is impossible. Too much has changed in the world and in hockey. The mystery, by and large, is gone, and so is the hate and mistrust.

But a series might still work if presented and understood in a different way, and if the Russians, at their end, could guarantee the participation of their top players. Too often in recent years the best and best-known Russians haven't been inclined to play for a variety of reasons.

But I think Canadians could get interested in this. Whether the NHL and badly fractured NHLPA would is, of course, another question entirely.

The second bit of international hockey news was that Steve Yzerman has been selected to be the GM of Canada's entry in the world hockey championships next spring.

For starters, understand that Yzerman will one day run his own team.

Or own it.

This is a great choice in that the worlds are a terrific proving ground, and Yzerman has so much cache in the hockey world that he'll be able to do all the persuading and cajoling that has to be done to get NHLers to go overseas in May.

The fact that the '07 worlds, really, mark the beginning of tryouts for the 2010 Canadian Olympic team won't hurt his efforts, either.

What's also interesting is that if Yzerman is successful and enjoys the process, you'd have to throw his hat into the ring for the 2010 Olympic squad.

You could have Yzerman managing and Wayne Gretzky coaching. Now that would be a Hall of Fame duo.

Finally, we've hit the deadline for Quebec City to demonstrate to the satisfaction of Hockey Canada that it is willing and capable of holding the '08 worlds.

The mayor of Quebec City made a big deal this week out of saying all the funding is in place. But Hockey Canada officials seemed just as concerned last week with organization, marketing and ticket sales.

If Hockey Canada decides Quebec City still doesn't have its act together and yanks the event, the sound of two solitudes colliding will be heard across the land.

Family Feud

If you're wondering whether this internal NHLPA battle is going to turn ugly, it already has.

Those who were on the conference call last Thursday during which the union's player reps approved an investigation of the organization's business practices and the process that led to the hiring of executive director Ted Saskin say it was a long, nasty call that included personal insults and threats as well as accusations of document shredding and tampering with private emails.

"The yelling and screaming back and forth was off the charts," said one player rep.

While all 30 player reps approved the probe, there was more of a fight over the appointment of high-profile lawyer Sheila Block of Toronto to lead the investigation. About 19 teams ultimately approved Block, but not before it was alleged she was too close to dissident union member Chris Chelios.

As first reported in the New York Post and confirmed by other sources yesterday, at one point Saskin refused to disconnect from the call, and finally a vote of 28-2 to force him off the line had to be taken.

Strange, really, given that he's an employee.

Some players reported suspicion over the number of lines occupied during the call. While there were supposed to be only 37 - 30 player reps, six executive committee members and Saskin - at one point the operator in charge of the conference call reported 42 connections.

Block's biggest challenge in her investigation may well be securing the co-operation of Saskin and currnet union executives given the bad blood that exists. That said, key sources of information for Block are expected to be former executive director Bob Goodenow, former union lawyer Ian Pulver, ex-player Trent Klatt who has be organizing against Saskin for months and former Chicago Blackhawks star Steve Larmer, who quit the union several months ago claiming democracy had been undermined.

And those guys all know where any bodies are buried.

One of the challenges for those supporting the investigation are allegations that Goodenow is the driving force behind the dissident group, a damaging claim given that it would then take on the appearance of doing the will of a fired executive with an axe to grind.

Several players insist that is not the case, that Goodenow hasn't even spoken to several of the more significant players in the anti-Saskin camp. But you can expect that those on the other side of this fight will want to make sure the allegation gets out there early and often.

What's next? Attack ads?

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Halfway Home

So what have we learned so far?

That Evgeny Malkin might as well receive the Calder Trophy today. That Central Division powers still get to pad their point totals in the league's weakest group. That Vancouver did ok on the Luongo-Bertuzzi deal (a steal, as predicted). That Wayne Gretzky is a pretty darn good coach and the bottom has completely fallen out in Philly. That the all-star game has become a complete travesty and that NHL guvs are greedily eying expansion but don't quite have the gumption to say so just yet.

Will the Leafs make the playoffs? Still possible, but increasingly doubtful.

Meanwhile, here's some awards at the all-star break:

MVP:

Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur. This is only close if Brodeur falters or if Sidney Crosby gets the Pens into the post-season.

TOP GOALIE:

Well, Brodeur. Honourable mention to Roberto Luongo, Mikka Kiprusoff and Kari Lehtonen.

TOP DEFENCEMAN:

This is a toughie if only because there are few legitimate candidates. The default position is always Detroit's Nik Lidstrom, but Scott Niedermayer is more dominant.

BEST COACH:

Hard to argue with Lindy Ruff. Who would have thought a grinder would produce the NHL's most exciting team. Honorable mention to Gretzky for hanging in there and to Bob Hartley in Atlanta.

BEST GM: Brian Burke was a tempting candidate a month ago, but just like in Vancouver, he appears to have again left himself vulnerable in goal.
Nobody ever mentions Doug Wilson, but his team is a nice mix of experience and youth, his payroll makes sense, the Sharks are deep in goal and he's not afraid to demote kids (Steve Bernier, Matt Carle) when they don't measure up.
So Wilson's the guy at the all-star break, with Nashville's David Poile coming on strong with a chance to make a difference before the trade deadline.

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Remarkable Roger

It was carnage, but still worth getting up in the early hours today to see.

In the end, it seemed clear Andy Roddick's biggest mistake was creating even the slightest glimmer of possibility that he might be able to defeat the best player in tennis history, Roger Federer, at the Aussie Open.

Bad mistake.

The 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 whipping Federer laid on the No. 1 American player demonstrated that the exhibition match prior to the first Grand Slam event of '07 in which Roddick actually beat Federer was in no way a reflection of the true nature of this "rivalry."

Some interesting stats:

Federer won 14 of the final 16 games.

After winning 25 points in the first set, Roddick won only 20 more.

With Roddick serving upwards of 230 km/hr, Federer nonetheless at one point won nine straight points on the American's serve.

Federer is now 47-1 in his last seven Grand Slam events.

The Swiss maestro now gets either Tommy Haas or red-hot Chilean Fernando Gonzalez in the final as he attempts to win his 10th Grand Slam title.

One more after that and he ties The Rocket, Rod Laver.

Five more and he'll pass Pete Sampras for the most all-time.

Nine more and he'll have more majors than Jack Nicklaus won in golf.

You don't have to like this sport to want to watch this player, an athlete who finds a new, higher level to reach almost every week.

On Sunday, he'll try to become the first man to win a Grand Slam event without dropping a single set since Bjorn Borg at the 1980 French Open.

Roddick, as it turned out, was just a spectator along the way, his confidence shattered by the greatness of his opponent.

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Starting Thursday, Feb. 1, and every Thursday after that, Damien will answer your questions in The Spin. Click here to submit your question and check back every Thursday to read the responses.

Getting History Right

Good for Dave Keon and the Maple Leafs.

If burying the hatchet is what Keon wants to do after several decades of being irked and disappointed with the franchise he once called home, well, that's probably good for both sides in this long simmering hockey feud.

Hopefully, however, Keon's return on Feb. 17 won't overshadow everything.

More specifically, this is a chance for the Maple Leafs not only to properly celebrate a 40-year-old achievement - winning the 1967 Stanley Cup - that has not been achieved since, but it's a chance to tell the story right this time around.

Leaf history, after all, is shrouded in myth and story-telling, and the '67 victory is no different.

Yes, Keon won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, and yes Johnny Bower and Terry Sawchuk combined to keep body and soul together long enough to supply the requisite goaltending to get the job done.

But the real heroes of '67 have been ignored for far too long, and hopefully MLSE will, unlike the botched closing of Maple Leaf Gardens, not only do a better job with this celebration but will ensure history is set straight.

Jim Pappin led the NHL in playoff scoring that surprising spring and has almost never been fully recognized for his work.

Pete Stemkowski centred a line with Pappin and Bob Pulford and delivered the best play of any Leaf centre that spring, arguably the best play of his entire career.

Finally, Larry Hillman was a kingpin on defence, better than Bobby Baun or Allan Stanley for those playoff victories over Chicago and Montreal.

All three - Pappin, Stemkowski and Hillman - were subsequently dumped by the franchise or treated harshly with their contracts. Pappin was traded for an over-the-hill Pierre Pilote. Stemkowski was a throw-in on the disastrous Frank Mahovlich deal. Hillman was lost in the mix, went to Minnesota briefly and then helped the Canadiens win the '69 Cup.

Hillman was so ticked he placed the "Hillman Hex" on the Leafs, a curse he would tell you is still in effect today.

Maybe the Leafs should be more worried about making things right with Hillman than Keon if they ever hope of winning another Stanley Cup.

More for Canada?

Wow. Now this is news.

Sidney Crosby shills for Reebok and he loves the NHL's new uniforms.

But hold it, doesn't Reebok make those uniforms?

Ah, now I get it.

The NHL's annual trade show, which used to be the all-star game, opens this week in Texas, and convincing people that the NHL garb they own is obsolete will be a big part of it.

But isn't it interesting how expansion has suddenly crept into polite NHL conversation of late?

Maybe I'm wrong on this. Maybe, hopefully, Gary Bettman will publicly renounce the mere thought of adding more teams this week. After all, the league just straightened out its finances and its game coming out of the lockout, and still has any number of franchise problems to work out.

But the suspicion is the league is working on expansion as we speak.

To anyone who loves the game, of course, the immediate response is to throw up at the mere thought of adding more teams to the Original 30.

Certainly, the fact that adding nine teams in nine years coincided with a dreadful period of the sport, including two lockouts, is enough to suggest that the Bettman adminstrations expansion record is checkered at best.

From 21 teams, the league added San Jose, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Anaheim, Florida, Nashville, Atlanta, Minnesota and Columbus.

Of those franchises, the Sharks and Wild have been very successful, while the Sens and Lightning have survived very difficult financial problems to survive and flourish over time.

But adding teams at a time when the third and fourth lines of teams already look AHL calibre many nights anyway is simply a recipe for further dilution of the product.

But with between $250-300 million at stake for two more franchises - Jim Balsillie was willing to pay $175 million U.S. - and with all that money excluded from the revenues the league's owners have to share with the players, you can bet these "custodians" of the game will push for it anyway.

The union won't make a peep in protest, of course, but it would mean expanding their membership, something that would help Ted Saskin fight off the rebels in his midst.

Now, if the NHL governors are smart - a very big if - there's one easy way available to them to sooth the savage bleatings of hardcore hockey fans if they plan to expand, a way to candy-coat this bitter pill.

Promise one of the new teams will be based in Canada.

All of us who reside in the Great White North would ldearly love to see a seventh NHL team, or even two more to get us back up to the number we used to have before the loss of Quebec City and Winnipeg.

Just look at the widespread enthusiasm that followed Balsillie's failed pursuit of the Penguins just because of the possibility he'd move the team to Kitchener-Waterloo.

Even if it meant expansion, many Canadians would be prepared to look the other way if it meant the NHL was coming back to the country with a new team.

K-W. Winnipeg. Quebec City. A second team in Toronto (the best idea).

That would neutralize many critics, and give the NHL the convenient platform to argue it isn't expanding because of greed, but because of the enormous pent-up demand (in Canada) for their wonderful game.

And wonderful new uniforms.

Adding teams anywhere would be a terrible idea.

But the NHL is always about "the sell."

And that's how they could sell it. Sidney Crosby would probably even help.

Winnie the Pooh vs. Frank Merriwell

You can't but want to see Rex Grossman get to the Super Bowl.

Forget his abilities and his judgment as a play caller and decision maker.

The Chicago Bears quarterback is, at the end of the day, so incredibly human.

He lays his personal doubts and demons right out on the table for the world to see.

He reminds me of that Saturday night Live character played by the late Chris Farley who conducts celebrity interviews then berates himself for his questions, pounding his head saying "Stupid, stupid."

He'll admit that he didn't prepare hard enough for a meaningless late season game, and acknowledge on a certain play he really didn't know what he was thinking or if he was thinking at all. For the most part, he seems oddly unscripted, and he never points the finger at anyone else.

Grossman is a little Winnie-the-Pooh, a little Jean van de Velde and on his best days, a little Jim Plunkett.

You wonder if he'll remember to put his helmet on, then he'll rifle a perfect strike 50 yards downfield.

Sometimes to a member of his own team.

Having come this far, it seems inconceivable that the pigskin gods wouldn't let Grossman play one more game after Sunday's NFC championship.

I hear what you're saying. Saints QB Drew Brees, he of the miraculously healed shoulder, is as good or better a story for being part of bringing a sliver of joy to Katrina-ravaged New Orleans.

Plus he's got one humdinger of a mother to deal with.

But while Brees is an obvious hero, Grossman has heroic intentions but, as often as not, feet of clay.

Brees, right now, is a Frank Merriwell-like figure.

Grossman, by contrast, is Jughead.

So I'm going with Grossman and the Bears this weekend, also thinking a dome team going to Soldier Field in January might get cold feet at the altar.

And what about the Patriots and Colts?

Well, right now it seems Tom Brady is to Peyton Manning as Troy Aikman was to Dan Marino.

And the Pats just seem a little meaner, a little more driven.

So it'll be the Bears and Patriots in the Big Game with the Roman Numerals.

Hope Rex doesn't take the wrong bus to the stadium.

Smokescreens

Gimme a big trade. A nasty suspension. A team on the move or falling into bankruptcy. Some real controversy.

Otherwise, what's passing for stories of significance in the NHL these days is putting everyone's feet to sleep.

First, there was this stormy debate over the schedule, an "issue" that now appears to be petering out with no major chances on the way.

But this business of new uniforms really takes the cake.

It's a merchandising venture disguised as physics, an attempt by a major sports clothing outfit to make every current NHL jersey obsolete by next season and to make every minor hockey team in North American believe they have to have these new outfits so their players can skate faster.

What a load.

But hockey people believe anything. Dave Dryden did a study several years ago that proved composite sticks don't allow players to shoot the puck any harder than wood sticks, but people believe they do and are buying 'em up in huge numbers.

When it comes to jerseys, first the NHL should explain what happened to the plan to force goaltenders to wear much tighter sweaters and thus reduce their size in the net.

It was supposed to happen for last season, then got delayed and delayed, apparently because the uniform manufacturers couldn't match the dye color on every team's uniforms.

Uh-huh.

See, these new jerseys to be unveiled next week in Dallas won't make the slightest impact on the game.

But make the goalies a little smaller, and now you're on to something.

This is all typical NHL, focusing on schedules and laundry rather than the real issues that continue to dog the league.

Attendance, for starters. The low quality of many local TV game broadcasts. Quality of play, still hindered by the fact there are too many teams. An unnecessarily long schedule and playoffs that end in June. Declining offensive numbers. The future of the World Cup and Olympic participation. The pointless presence of fighting. Declining media coverage, particularly in the United States. The absence of good teams in the biggest markets.

Not schedules and uniforms.

The league's New York office was undoubtedly thrilled, meanwhile, with the leadup to first weekend of NBC games and all the hype surrounding Brett Hull.

But Hull, ladies and gentleman, isn't going to be controversial in the slightest. For starters, he works for the Dallas Stars, so do you think he'll have anything critical or negative to say about Tom Hicks, Doug Armstrong, Marty Turco or Eric Lindros?

And if he rips the league, well presumably he'll be fined just as any other NHL exec would be fined.

So he won't touch the team he works for and can't touch the league.

How controversial and flamboyant can he possibly be?

The Future and JFJ

is is the most critical Maple Leaf road trip of the season.

That is, until the next one.

The nature of the NHL standings is that when a team, any team, can reel off five or six wins in a row, suddenly they can vault upwards.

Phoenix has been doing it for two weeks. Tampa Bay, tonight's Leaf opponent, and Nashville are doing it right now.

The Leafs, of course, almost did it last year when, after being all but left for dead, they put on a last season spurt while riding the goaltending of J.S. Aubin and were actually part of long-shot playoff discussions.

That said, the Leafs go into their game with the Lightning in 11th place (21st overall) with the possibility of plummeting further if Pittsburgh and Washington can come up with victories.

The Leafs could wake up in 9th place in the Eastern Conference Wednesday morning.

Or 13th.

Neither position, needless to say, is a playoff position, and given that the club is on an 82-point pace going into the Lightning game, a playoff berth is looking increasingly remote.

So what could that mean for the future of GM John Ferguson?

At the 22-game mark this season, you'll recall, Ferguson was moved from lame duck status to semi-lame duck status.

The geniuses upstairs at MLSE who weren't sure he was the guy in September suddenly realized he was the guy in October, and picked up his option for the 2007-08 season on the basis of a good start to this campaign.

But given that most believed Ferguson had to get this team into the playoffs to survive, where does he stand now if that doesn't happen?

Well, he could get canned, although he would argue injuries wrecked the Leaf season, which might be partially true.

But a likelier scenario is that he would retain his job going into next season, but without the multi-year extension he covets, putting him back into lame duck land.

He'd have a wobblier hold on the job than Tony Romo.

Moreover, there would be no year added to his contract next season, which would put him squarely on the firing line during the season and out of a job if the Leafs couldn't make it into the '08 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Hardly a warming scenario for Leaf fans, that change at the top of the hockey organization would only come after a third set of missed playoffs.

Then again, maybe the Leafs wipe up on this current trip against the Lightning, Panthers and Penguins, storm their way into the '07 post-season and by the summer JFJ is king of the world.

It could happen.

After all, who thought by Jan. 16 the Predators would have the most victories in the NHL?