Pre-Weekend Musings

Nice to see nice guys finally get their shot.

Now, there was more than one deserving candidate for the GM job in Minnesota. But the fact Chuck Fletcher, a young man who has certainly put in his time leanring the hockey business, ended up getting the job is a positive story. Fletcher, son of Cliff, had a brief shot running a team back in 2001 with the Florida Panthers, but this is really his first bona fide opportunity to develop and manage a club.

It's a nice situation to step into. You don't have to worry abouit selling tickets, there are already some nice pieces in play and its a market that knows the game. What will be interesting will be to see how Fletcher is different from his predecessor, Doug Risebrough, and how he's different from his Hall of Fame father.

The nice part is that no one will say he got the job because of his famous dad. Chuck Fletcher earned this opportunity.

Other stories on the go:

-- First Martin Brodeur was the victim of a stunning Carolina comeback. Then Roberto Luongo couldn't hold the fort against Chicago. Now Cam Ward, seen as the dark horse in the race to be Canada's No. 1 goalie in next year's Olympics, gets blasted for a six-pack by the Pittsburgh Penguins in a game Carolina really needed to have.

More and more, it's looking like this is a decision that's going to have to wait. Whoever is the hottest goalie next January gets the job. If Detroit wins the Cup again, does Chris Osgood at the very least get an invitation to the Team Canada orientation camp in August?

-- So here's how this works. If both conference final series are sweeps, the Stanley Cup final begins next Thursday. If either goes longer than four games, the Cup final waits until June 5th at the earliest.

And ends just before the Super Bowl. Ridiculous.

-- Not going to say "told you so" about the Jays starting to slide 'cause I didn't. I was one of the many hoping this could be real. The city could use a winning franchise. But losing five of six to Boston/New York sure undercut the legitimacy of the Jays early season excellence. Now they need to get back on the winning track very, very soon or people will be more than happy to start ignoring them again.

-- Not sure that I get Jim Balsillie's exuberant optimism that an NHL team for Hamilton is just around the corner. Not sure I get why he thinks a heavy P.R. campaign in Canada is going to make a difference. On the other hand, you sure do get the feeling that there's a big, big twist coming in this story before it's all decided.

-- Pavel Datsyuk is the most dominant goal-less player I've ever seen.

-- Kris may have won American Idol. But I'm betting Adam has the bigger career.

-- Not sure I know how much a Hamilton franchise would hurt Buffalo. But I am sure two U.S. Senators have absolutely no idea.

And you're telling me the Sabres can't survive because a team is 100 kilometres away with a border between them? Then they ultimately won't survive.

--

Comments

[Bold Bravado]

Ok, so I’m now reading your comments in a new light, really only started paying attention to your bashing of the pugilism in hockey and other comments to change the fundamentals the game was built on. Damien, this is down right boring,
I agree with the take on filling the pipes at the Olympics, key understanding is that the ice size makes the game a little different from how goalies approach it with rebound control cutting angles.
Agree with the season running too long, suggest an earlier start of 2 weeks to the last week of Sept from Oct.
Jays, Ditto, although it seemed to be expected, the pitching was suspect all along.
Balsillie, the same, seems to be relying heavily on pitching as well.
American idol, who cares!!
You’ve left me hanging here, there is nothing that I can banter with, geez, let’s hope a brawl takes place over the remaining playoff games.
I only hope Cowboys stadium wasn't built by the same contractors who built the practice facility. Otherwise I'd be triple testing the that new 544 ton TV hung from the ceiling!!

[Guelphdad]

The Jays have no legitimate starters behind Halliday. Unitl they decide they're going to go out and get one/more then they don't belong in talk of the A.L. East race, irrespective of their start.

It is enjoyable to see the team do well and if they beat up on the lesser lights like they're supposed to, things will begin to go right for them as their pitching develops.

Too bad they can't move Vernon and that monster contract in order to buy arms.

[2nd Guess]

Here's why the Sabres are nervous: the Buffalo area is the 2nd smallest U.S. market in the NHL, at barely 1.1 million, ranking 47th among all U.S. urban areas (Raleigh is 50th). Its population figure does not take into account the Canadian side of the Niagara Valley, which (based on most reports) provides 20 per cent of the Sabres' paid attendance.

The vast majority of these Canadians are probably hockey fans before Sabres fans, so most would likely jump at the chance to see games in Hamilton. Avid as Buffalo sports fans may be, could any team easily replace the loss of one-fifth of its ticket base? Are shouldn't the Sabres have the expectation that their partners are looking out for their best interests?

[Jon]

Assuming that every single Canadian ticket holder will stop going is a poor assumption. A Hamilton team is still going to be sold out nightly and have higher ticket prices than Buffalo and still be further away for those in the Niagara region. There will be a loss to Buffalo, but no where near 100% of the Canadian ticket holders. I would wager that the new passport requirements will have a more severe impact than a team in Hamilton.

[Chris]

Not sure that a team in Hamilton will hurt Buffalo. A bigger threat might be the new border rules and the potential for big back-ups at the border. Do you really want to sit in your cars for hours at the border to see a hockey game?

[Bryan M]

If Osgood brings home another Cup, then he's hard to ignore as a 'big-game' goalie. Grant Fuhr was like that (at least early in his career) - didn't always have stellar stats but could make the big saves when needed and wouldn't have a meltdown under pressure. Marc-Andre Fleury should also be garnering some interest too.

All that said, I agree that's it's impossible to make a call now. Canada has lots of very good goaltenders, just some worrying lapses by many of them. It seems like the 'second tier' (Osgood, Fleury) might just be the coolest under pressure.