Mario Lemieux press conference video

Balsillie Keeps Pressure On

As George Costanza would say, they're taking it up a notch.

Jim Balsillie's bid to bring the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton, which is riding heavily on an Arizona bankruptcy judge's decision in 10 days, has pushed the envelope every step of the way. Often, that has angered NHL officials.

Well, Gary Bettman and Co. probably won't be thrilled this morning when the Balsillie group unveils its renovation plans for Copps Coliseum, an attempt to make the rink NHL ready.

Copps has hosted many major events, including the 1987 and 1991 Canada Cups, but requires upwards of $150 million in upgrades, including the addition of private suites.

Balsillie is expected to unveil the name of an architectural firm and show drawings of the planned renovations.

On a day when a news report suggested the Coyotes are likely to lose another $17 million in the coming weeks, it's another way for Balsilie to aggressively ramp up the pressure on the Bettman administration to stop funding the money-losing Phoenix franchise and let it move to Canada.

Red Wings Impact Players

Questions and More Questions

Seems like we got off track a bit.

For the first few weeks of the Stanley Cup playoffs, we had a rollicking mail bag going pretty much every day with questions on post-season play and just about everything else.

So, with the final starting tomorrow in Detroit, here’s a chance to get things rolling again, with the Wings-Pens series, Phoenix, the entry draft, steroids and more than a few other tasty topics to debate.

So send ‘em along and we’ll try to finish the playoffs strong. Here’s a few to get us started again:

Q: Hi Damien,

I have two questions. First is does the NHL have concrete boundaries to which a team can claim as their marketing area, in the case of the Maple leafs and Sabres, can they actually claim that a team on Hamilton infringes on their market?

Secondly, wouldn’t a highly profitable team such as the Leafs benefit from the moving a non-profitable team such as the Coyotes to a more profitable area, in terms of the revenue sharing agreement?

Peter K., Toronto

A: The answer to your first question is, I believe, 50 miles. That’s why Hamilton would theoretically infringe, but not Kitchener-Waterloo. On the second question, the Leafs would likely end up contributing the same amount, upwards of $15 million per season, most among NHL teams. It would just go to different teams, so they wouldn’t get any relief, per se.

Q: Damien,

Watching the Memorial Cup, and Kelowna being a part of it just reinforces what a shame it was to have Luke Schenn miss out on the development opportunities he should have had this season.

Instead of only 7 games of WHL playoff experience he got last season, he could have been learning what it takes to win and be a leader on a winner with both Canada (WJC) and Kelowna. While Ronnie Wilson was sure that no one could teach him as well as he and his staff could, it neglected the pressure situations he would face to prepare him to be a winner with the Maple Leafs.

Now the first time he wears the C, and wins a playoff round it might be in the pressure cooker of Toronto, with no experience under his belt.

Everything he learned this year he could have learned next year in the NHL - but the opportunity to expose him to these experiences was wasted.

John Bastedo, Oakville

A: Well, as you probably know, I agree. That was my argument at the start of the season, but the Leafs and Cliff Fletcher and Ron Wilson had a different plan. We’ll never know whether it would have made a difference, but it’s fair to say that Schenn did well in his first exposure to the NHL and, for the most part, didn’t look overmatched or out of place.

Your point that everything he learned this year in the NHL he could have learned next year was well-made. What was the rush? He’ll just get to the end of his entry level contract and to free agency more quickly. Brian Burke has never said this, but my guess is that if he’d been in charge Schenn would have spent the season with Kelowna.

Q: Hi Damien,

In all of this hooplah over Jim Balsillie and a Hamilton team, there's one thing that I haven't seen talked about that I think might actually be an important issue here - conference balance. Is it possible that one of the main reasons Balsillie could have trouble getting a move through the Board of Governors is that moving from Phoenix to Hamilton would presumably require re-organising the Eastern and Western Conferences?

It doesn't seem too likely that a Hamilton team would make sense in the Western Conference, although Detroit is also in the Western Conference but the Eastern time zone. Such a move would likely require rebalancing the conferences yet again (always a contentious issue), and require some serious reworking of the NHL schedule.

Adam B., Kitchener

A: Well, if Hamilton were to get the team – a very big if – they would probably have to stay in the west for at least a season or two for the very reasons you describe. The Leafs used to be in the west and Detroit still is, so while a challenge in terms of travel, having a Hamilton franchise play in the Western Conference isn’t out of the question.

Down the road, I’m guessing the NHL would like to get to 32 teams. That might allow for re-working of the conferences, or some new alignment entirely.

Q: Hi Damien: what affect, or how much, would the Ti-cats be affected by a NHL team in Hamilton?

Brent Achtymichuk, Toronto

A: Well, Ron Joyce has suggested that there isn’t enough corporate support in Hamilton to support an NHL team, so that team would likely suck existing corporate dollars away from the Tiger-Cats. That said, while the Cats do their business mostly in Hamilton, an NHL club might be able to draw corporate and fan support from a larger area, the Golden Horseshoe and beyond. But certainly an NHL team wouldn’t make it any easier to do CFL business in Hamilton.

Q: I see that Mattias Ohlund is a free agent this summer. I remember that many years ago, the Leafs signed him to an offer sheet, which the Canucks were quick to match. Do you think he might be a good stabilizing influence for the young Leaf defense, especially if Kaberle and/or Kubina get traded this summer?

Kevin D., Toronto

A: I like Ohlund. He competes, has good size and is still pretty mobile. He made $3.5 million this season. He’ll be 33 in September and should have some mileage on him, so, yeah, as long as you didn’t overpay – nothing north of $4 million – he’d be a solid short-term addition.

Q: Brian Campbell and Zedno Chara went to the Blackhawks and Bruins, respectively, when those teams were still in the process of rebuilding. Do you see the Leafs in a similar position and do you think Jay Bouwmeester would find the Leafs an attractive destination, especially if neither Calgary nor Edmonton have the cap space or willingness to make a serious offer?

John Hunt, Harvard, Massachusetts

A: Well, the Leafs would love to think Bouwmeester, still only 25, would consider them. If he’s still available in July they’ll take a run at him, although suggestions are he’s inclined to head west, probably Edmonton, if he can. He played for Pat Quinn before on Olympic and World Cup teams.

Just to refer to an earlier question, this is, of course, the same situation in which the Leafs have placed themselves by keeping Luke Schenn in the NHL this season. By 25, he could be unrestricted.

Q: Damien,

Yes, I'm a Bruins' fan. But am I the only one out there willing to ask if Milan Lucic is even on the 2010 radar for Team Canada? Sure, he's not fleet of foot, but he competes, he loves to bang, he's from B.C. for even more motivation. We all know we're not going to have four lines of Ferraris out there. I suppose his biggest weakness is on the PK. However, is there an inkling of support?

Brad Janes, Fredericton

A: Unlikely. While sometimes dominating, he’s still raw. In general, I love his game and I like his chances much more for 2014. That said, its not impossible he could be invited to Team Canada’s orientation camp in August.

Click here to submit a question and Damien will answer a selection in his blog.
**Note: please follow the link above to send a question to Damien. Questions posted in the comments section may not make it to the mailbag. Thanks.**

Bad Luck Or No Luck At All

Just when you think the NHL might be catching a break, well, not so much.

A terrific looking Stanley Cup final matchup on the heels of a compelling playoff tournament is the good news.

The bad news? Suddenly a steroid story - hardly a scandal at this point, but certainly a story worth keeping an eye on. Maybe this fellow arrested in Florida is a crackpot and a blowhard, but it does seem peculiar that of all the teams he could have named, he named the Washington Capitals. Strange.

The Phoenix Coyotes tale of woe, meanwhile, just keeps being a gigantic headache for the league, and the optics could conceivably get worse in the next 10 days.

Right now, the NHL is sticking to its story that it is fighting the attempt by Jim Balsillie to relocate the Coyotes to Hamilton on the basis of the need to follow league rules and regulations. Fair enough.

But if, hypothetically, Balsillie and Jerry Moyes win their motion June 9 on the relocation issue before Arizona bankruptcy judge Redfield T. Baum, a victory that would theoretically pave the way for the Coyotes to head north, the NHL would find itself in a tricky spot.

It could appeal, and has already said it would. But then the issue no longer is about following league rules, but then becomes an overt attempt by the NHL to block a move of an American team to Canada, a move tacitly approved by the bankruptcy court.

It's then not about NHL rules and regulations. It's about seeking relief from a judicial body to stop a seventh team in Canada from becoming a reality.

Maybe the NHL carries the day June 9th and this all becomes a moot point. Otherwise, it will be more difficult than ever for Gary Bettman to avoid being painted as a anti-Canadian in his outlook if he is seen to be using the courts to block what would be a very popular move of the Coyotes to Hamilton, popular at least among Canadian hockey fans.

One Dumb Tradition Down

Well, thank goodness for Sidney Crosby.

The Kid ended (hopefully) one of the truly moronic semi-traditions in hockey Tuesday night after the Pittsburgh Penguins clinched the Eastern Conference crown by sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes.

In recent years, team after team had declined even to touch the trophies for winning the Eastern or Western Conference, with the silly excuse being "that wasn't the trophy they wanted" in their pursuit of the Stanley Cup.

Even Crosby bought into it last year when the Pens won the east. But Tuesday night, he gratefully accepted the Prince of Wales Trophy from NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, then carried it away into the arms of his joyous teammates.

And not one of them was struck by lightning from the hockey gods. Of course, if the Penguins don't win the Cup, some dope will blame Crosby for taking the trophy.

It's a terrific accomplishment to win one of the NHL conferences, and a trophy is a suitable reward that teams and players should embrace, not ignore. Even better, it was evidence of the fact Crosby thinks for himself, rather than robotically following whatever hockey tradition "purists" believe should be followed.

Now, we'll see what the Red Wings do Wednesday night if they clinch against Chicago.

Hopefully they'll follow the example of The Kid.

A Different Source for News

When the news report broke the other day that Patrick Roy had been offered the GM and head coaching positions with the Colorado Avalanche, the source of the story was more interesting in some ways than the story itself.

Delivering the news in this case was ruefrontenac.com, a news source you might not be familiar with unless you've been tracking the labour situation at Le Journal de Montreal where more than 200 journalists and workers have been locked out for several months.

The locked-out employees have since started up their own web site with news, sports and even classified ads, and it was there that the story on Roy first appeared.  Le Journal, of course, is still publishing, so it was embarrassing for that paper to get beat by its own locked out workers.

Some don't like unions and that's fine. But its not hard to appreciate that at the same time ownership is trying to demonstrate the paper is bigger than mere employees, the employees are mounting an effective counter-attack that demonstrates its the employees that make a paper.

It'll be interesting to see if Roy ends up taking the job, both in Montreal and Denver where the Avs are desperately in need of a personality to get them back on the map again in a city where the Broncos are king and the Nuggets are attracting all kinds of attention these days.

No Delay of Game for Cup Final

Chippy Won't Get it Done

First things first. Joel Quenneville did a great job with the Chicago Blackhawks this season.

But his young team played like a frustrated, irritable young team in Game 4 of the Western Conference final on Sunday, which is why they got thumped by a shorthanded Detroit Red Wings club which is now one win away from a second straight Stanley Cup final appearance.

Quenneville vented after the 6-1 defeat that the officials "ruined the whole game." but that was way off base. The Hawks lost their focus and Quenneville couldn't stop it.

The Hawks ruined their own chances by trying to get chippy, the same approach that worked so beautifully against Vancouver in the Western Conference semi-final because the Canucks were so very willing to engage in a tit-for-tat battle.

But not the Wings. They just won't. So when the Hawks tried to get in Detroit's face - "scare 'em off the puck" as Jonathan Toews put it - the Wings just ignored the nonsense as they always do and let the Hawks beat a steady path to the penalty box. The Wings then killed Chicago on the power play, and Mike Babcock kept putting his best guys out at extra strength late in the game as if to tell the Hawks if they wanted to play cheapshot hockey they were going to suffer for it.

Even without Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom, the Wings are far superior to the Hawks, but Quenneville can't say that. All he can do is complain in a vain attempt to get the officials to let his players get away with chippy after-the-whistle nonsense- Matt Walker's moronic penalty as time expired in the second was a perfect example - and hope that might distract the champs. Really, the referees could have called more stuff against the Hawks and the game could have been uglier.

Quenneville will get fined for his Game 4 outburst, and he should. You understand his frustration, but the officials didn't lose the game for Chicago. Awful goaltending and zero composure did that.

Free. . .If Clear

There are going to be all kinds of conspiracy rumours floating around over the next little while concerning Mike Keenan's successor as head coach of the Calgary Flames.

The most titillating, and interesting, will be that Brent Sutter, who just happens to be employed as head coach of the New Jersey Devils right now, will be taking over. Sutter possibly wants to go back west to Alberta, just like Ian Tyson says, and would be a natural hire for his bro, Darryl, who happens to run the Flames.

Brent Sutter has a year left on his contract, so it would be interesting to see if he can extricate himself from a deal that makes him one of the NHL's highest paid coaches despite no playoff success in Jersey yet.

But understand this. Despite rumours floating around already about the compensation Calgary would have to pay to land Sutter from the Devils, don't pay any attention to such speculation.

There is no such thing as compensation for coaches and executives in the NHL any more. No Michel Bergeron situations. Gary Bettman outlawed this kind of ransom fee a while ago.

You don't have to pay up with players and draft picks if you get the go-ahead to hire some other team's employee. They just don't have to let you do so. For example, the Maple Leafs wouldn't give the Wild permission to talk to Dave Nonis, but if they had, there would have been no compensation paid if Minny decided to hire him.

'Course, if Pat Quinn was in Brent Sutter's shoes, he'd solve it by just going to work for both clubs and taking a little cash from each. Funny how that story just disappeared from the honorable gentleman's resume.