Marlies Charge Ahead

ABBOTSFORD, B.C.--Don Cherry has singlehandedly made Nazem Kadri into North America's most famous minor pro hockey player by using his Coach's Corner platform to rail against Maple Leaf GM Brian Burke on almost a weekly basis for refusing to make Kadri a full-time NHLer.

There are pluses and minuses to such notoriety. On Saturday night, it meant that with the home town Abbotsford Heat offering the home fans little to cheer about in a half-empty, half-interested arena, those in attendance may not have been familiar with every enemy skater but they sure knew to boo Kadri every time he touched the puck.

"I don't know what I did to them," smiled Kadri afterwards. "It's not the first time it has happened in an away rink. I think it's a good thing." 

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Even more of a probable motivation for Kadri was to respond to the good-natured ribbing he'd taken from Marlies teammate Colton Orr earlier in the day after choosing not to go on the ice for an optional morning skate after not being on the ice the day before as the club travelled to British Columbia for Game 3 of their AHL best-of-seven series against the Heat.

"You better be good tonight," chided Orr, currently ineligible to play in the AHL playoffs because of roster limits but a strong veteran presence in the dressing room for head coach Dallas Eakins anyway.

Kadri sure was good. More important, he was very good very early, scoring just 58 seconds into the game on a lightning-fast wraparound past Abbotsford goalie Leland Irving, a quick start the Marlies rode to a solid 4-1 triumph and a two games to one lead in the series over the Calgary Flames minor-league affiliate.

"That was huge," said Kadri about his goal. "The last two games they got the first goal and we were kind of on our heels a little bit. We talked today about having a good start and getting that first goal. Once we did, you could see them tighten up a little bit.

"We just took off from there."

The 21-year-old Kadri is the most dynamic offensive player in this series, and alongside Matt Frattin and Jerry D'Amigo, he has centred the most dangerous line in the series. After dropping the opener, the red-hot Marlies have used that unit effectively to help win the past two games and move to 5-1 in the post-season, and in so doing have assured themselves of at least one more home game this spring, either in this round or the next.

Games 4 and 5 are in Abbotsford on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Game 6 back in Toronto, assuming the Heat get at least one home win in this 2-3-2 series format. The winner of the series will play the survivor of the San Antonio-Oklahoma City series in the Western Conference final.

Frattin, Marcel Mueller and Phillipe Dupuis also scored for the Marlies. Nicolas Deschamps, picked up during the season from the Anaheim organization for Luca Caputi, had three assists and was plus-3, while netminder Ben Scrivens stopped 20 shots for the win. The Marlies have scored nine goals in two games against a defensively stout Heat squad that had won 11 straight before losing Game 2 in this series.

"The early goals really helps to draw them out of their defensive system and forces them to play a way they're not comfortable," said Eakins. "Both teams were a bit tired after all the travel on Friday. We made mistakes that were driving us coaches crazy, but so were they."

Kadri had a goal and two assists in that Game 2 triumph and continues to produce in the AHL post-season, another level in his progression to the NHL.

"I want to be one of those players who steps up when the team needs me to step up," said Kadri. "I'm playing with some great players. It's like they can't guard all of us all the time. 

At one point, Kadri was on the ice with D'Amigo and Frattin, while Jake Gardiner and Jesse Blacker were on the back end, a fivesome that just might be on the ice with the Leafs as a group in the near future.

"It's very interesting," smiled Kadri, who has six points in the Marlies six playoff games. "But at the same time, when we're on the ice together, we're not thinking about that kind of stuff. I know the Leafs didn't get the results they wanted this season, but I think the future is definitely bright."

Kadri admits he gets a kick out of Cherry's spirited pokes at Leaf management on his behalf.

"Really, it's nice to have him have my back a little bit," said Kadri, who played for Cherry in the CHL Top Prospects game in his draft year. "There were times I was a little down on myself and I was wondering why I was wasn't getting those minutes in the NHL. Having him think so highly of me made me want to push myself even harder. Just to make what he's saying make sense."

Abbotsford changed goaltenders for the game after Danny Taylor played well in the series opener but was shaky in Game 2. Irving wasn't much better in Game 3 while facing only 26 shots, while the decision to insert winger Akim Aliu in place of enforcer Pierre-Luc Letourneau Leblond didn't pay dividends either.

Abbotsford's top forward, Krys Kolanos, has gone silent since ripping up the first round with four goals and four assista in a three-game sweep over the Milwaukee Admirals. He has only one assist in three games against the Marlies, with Eakins deploying the defensive pairing of Korbinian Holzer and trade deadline acquisition Mark Fraser against Kolanos as often as possible.

The only discouraged Marlie might have been forward Greg Scott, a native of Victoria, B.C. who had his mother and grandmother in attendance but was miffed at himself after missing a second period breakaway while the Marlies were shorthanded.

"How many of those have I missed?" said the good-natured Scott in mock exasperation as he hustled off to visit with his relatives.

 

 

 

 

No More Whining

So the big mean bogeyman is gone.

No more nasty old trade deadline talk to have the Maple Leafs cowering under their beds. As it turned out, only Keith Aulie had anything to fear, and that outcome has him calling Tampa home today. Not so bad, right?

Even if you buy the iffy proposition that the deadline has this great impact on the Leafs that it doesn't have on teams in other intense hockey markets, it matters not any longer because the time for trading has past.

The season didn't end on Monday at 3 p.m.

The time for showing us what you've got is upon us.

Twenty games for the Leafs to prove whether they're good enough to play in the second season for the first time since 2004. Very doable if they get back to playing hockey, if they begin to again resemble that team that walked into Ottawa a few weeks back and hammered the hometown Senators.

Remember that team?

Time for Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul to prove their seasons weren't flukes, for Dion Phaneuf to find some consistency, for Mikhael Grabovski to demonstrate he's worthy of a big new contract and for Luke Schenn to put it all behind him and show his pedigree.

What the Leafs as a group, from coaches to players, do have to fear is the consequences should their play of the past few weeks continue. 

Its up to them to write the script. Ron Wilson can blame the media, the deadline, fatigue or bad oysters, whatever he wants, but the proof will be in the results.

If he can't coach this team into the post-season, he needs to be replaced. Pure and simple.

Ditto for the players. Time to stand and deliver.

No more whining or excuses. In the end, you will be what your record says you are.

Conn Smythe Or Bust

THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO

For starters, the Hart Trophy doesn't get this type of reaction.

It's an interesting debate - what has more value, the Hart Trophy or the Conn Smythe Trophy.

To be sure, more prestige has been associated with the Hart over the years, perhaps because it recognizes excellence over an 82-game schedule, and perhaps because it includes candidates - at least in theory - from 30 teams.

The Conn Smythe, by contrast, is chosen from one of two teams, the Cup finalists, after a two-month elimination tournament.

Which would you rather win?

Alex Ovechkin, you have to believe, is going to be named this year's Hart winner, although its fair to say the playoffs exposed his, uh, lack of enthusiasm for defensive play compared to his over-the-top exuberance when it comes to goal-scoring.

And the Conn Smythe? It's a little trickier this spring because of the roller coaster nature of the final in which even the best performers have had their down moments.

Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, for example, nearly got himself suspended for his late-game shenanigans in Game 2 when he jumped Henrik Zetterberg.

At other times, he has been utterly unstoppable.

He would be the favourite for the Conn Smythe if Pittsburgh wins, although you'd have to take a long look at goalie Marc-Andre Fleury if he comes up big tonight.

If Detroit wins, it could be either goaltender Chris Osgood or Henrik Zetterberg, again depending on what happens tonight.

The Game 7 situation makes this even more intriguing. A panel of members from the Professional Hockey Writers Association will make the choice, but if the game is close to the final minutes, its going to be difficult to get the vote in early enough to be able to announce it immediately after the game on the ice.

Could be a big day for hockey in many ways. The crowning of a new champion, the recognition of a new playoff warrior and - cringe factor large here for Gary Bettman - a big decision on the proposed movement of the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton. 

Beginnings and Ends

The good news is we'll have a Stanley Cup champion by Friday at the latest, perhaps tonight at the earliest.

Maybe they'll be a debate over whether the best team won - remember Brett Hull in '99? - but it's a conclusion that will be essentially black and white.

You win or you lose. And the Pittsburgh Penguins have no more losses to give.

The bankruptcy hearing today in Phoenix, however, probably offers nothing even close to a black and white conclusion.

Even if something is actually decided today, which seems unlikely, the loser is unlikely to accept the result or go quietly into that good night. The fight will have just begun.

Lawyers, you see, rarely accept a decision unless they have to, or unless their client runs out of money, which isn't likely to happen here.

So if the decision goes against the NHL, they'll appeal. Stupid judge who didn't understand the issues will be their conclusion.

And Jim Basillie? Well, he's convinced himself that he's fighting for the country, for the flag, so he'll undoubtedly find some way to fight on, perhaps with an anti-trust action of some kind.

So that story won't end today, and probably not this week, and maybe not this month.

If only it was as simple as declaring a champion.

Idle Chatter and Monday Mailbag

DETROIT—With the Stanley Cup final now shifting to Pittsburgh for Game 3 tomorrow night, NHL general managers and presidents will also be gathering there for meetings, which means there will be lots and lots of rumours in the air.

Here’s two interesting ones emanating out of Montreal these days which are at least worth chewing over.

One, there is chatter that in their search for a new head coach, the Habs might be considering thinking outside of the box and at least considering Russian national team head coach Viacheslav Bykov. Bykov has led the Russians to the last two world titles, last year in Quebec City and this year in Switzerland, and is widely considered to be one of the unifying factors in Russian hockey that makes that country a serious Olympic threat next year in Vancouver.

There hasn’t been a European head coach in the NHL since Czech national Ivan Hlinka was fired by the Pittsburgh Penguins early in the 2001-02 season. Finnish coach Alpo Suhonen was the bench boss in Chicago until he was fired in March, 2001, due to a heart ailment.

The genius behind the notion of hiring Bykov? He can speak French after years playing with Fribourg in the Swiss league, but can’t speak English. Now that would be a twist on Montreal’s legendary linguistic debates.

The second rumour out of Montreal is that the Canadiens would like to host a game involving the Maple Leafs at the Olympic Stadium next November. The catch? The roof on the Big O doesn’t open any more, which means that it would be an indoor/outdoor game without the snowy charm that accompanied games in Edmonton, Chicago and Buffalo in recent years.

Sounds like a money grab to me. Now here’s some samplings from our playoff mail bag:

Q: Damien,
I was interested to see the long term deals Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen recently signed, they will be 35-36 when the dollars start to drop dramatically (ok a few million per year).  When Markus Naslund retired his "cap hit" came off the books as he was under 35 when he signed with the Rangers.  I am sure it is not what the NHL wanted, but do you see this "loophole" continuing in the future?

Thanks,
Rodney MacDonald,
Mississauga

A: No, I don’t. I think the league will seek to close the door on these types of deals in future CBA negotiations, either by putting limits on terms allowed for contracts or not allowing teams to pay significantly more in the early years of these contracts then almost nothing in the final years. If they had to pay nearly the same amount all the way along, teams would be less likely to embrace such arrangements.

Q: I know Pat Quinn has had much recent success with the youth teams, but in your opinion, do you really believe he is the right choice to lead that young group of Oilers?

Don Evans,
Milton, Ont.

A: Right choice? Maybe. Quinn’s record, outside of never having won a Stanley Cup, is very good. I really like the decision to add on Tom Renney as an associate coach in charge of X’s and O’s. Right now, it will have a lot more to do with how GM Steve Tambellini is able to add and improve the Oiler roster than what Quinn and Renney can do. But my guess is that Quinn is as good a coach as he’s ever been, and his work with the national under-18 and national junior programs suggest the game has not passed him by.

Q: Hey Damien,
I was wondering what is is going on with the issue on the TV rights package in the U.S.? Is ESPN going to get the rights or is Versus and NBC going to keep them. Is the NHL leaning a certain way? What is the current situation at this point in regards to the TV rights issue because the NHL needs to get this sorted out in order to promote the game. Just wondering your thoughts

Sean Scofield,
Edmonton

A: The league seems very committed to sticking with Versus, while the players association wants to get back on ESPN. The numbers on Versus are growing, but the problem is that network isn’t nearly as widely available in the U.S. as is ESPN. The NHL is committed to Versus for I believe three more years, so right now the argument is moot.

Q: If the Pens win the Stanley Cup, does Marc-Andre Fleury get an invite to the Team Canada Olympic Camp and a serious look as one of the Vancouver goalies?

Gary Hogan,
Truro, N.S.

A: Well, for the Penguins to come back now, Fleury would have to be brilliant. He hasn’t been in Games 1 or 2, but if he can turn it around now and carry the Penguins to the title, he would at least be invited to Team Canada’s orientation camp in August.

Click here to send a question to Damien for a future mail bag.

Can the Penguins Turn this Stanley Cup final around?

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.

Just Dead Wrong

Hard to believe four experienced NHL officials could get a call so wrong.

Did the misguided first period expulsion of defenceman Niklas Kronwall from Game 3 of the Western Conference final on Friday night between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks decide the game? No, but it sure changed it, particularly since the Wings were already without star forward Pavel Datsyuk in a game won by the Hawks that ensured this year's Stanley Cup final will begin no earlier than June 5.

But in a playoff season in which the NHL has gotten so many calls wrong time after time, Kronwall's was arguably the worst miscarriage of justice outside the inexplicable non-suspension of Carolina forward Scott Walker for his goon sucker punch on Boston's Aaron Ward.

Who actually made the call? What was the explanation? The NHL needs to explain itself on this one. And apologize for screwing up so badly.

Kronwall, arguably the best hitter in the sport today, caught Chicago's Martin Havlat with a crushing blow just inside the Blackhawk blueline as Havlat tried to control a loose puck that was clearly in his skates.

Kronwall's elbow was down, and Havlat was knocked cold.

As Hockey Night in Canada pointed out so expertly with video evidence, neither referee put his hand up on the play to signal a penalty. Then, out of thin air, Kronwall was banished from the game with a five-minute interference major and game misconduct, a preposterous call.

The Wings killed it off and, after falling behind 3-0, fought back to force overtime before losing. Would Kronwall have made a difference there? Maybe, and having to play the entire game with five defencemen probably wore the Detroit blueliners down.

But there was just no need for the call. Even worse, clearly one of the on-ice officials simply made it up after seeing Havlat on the ice and deciding something illegal must have happened without actually seeing a foul. It wasn't even close to interference because Havlat was in possession of the puck, and so the play wasn't remotely like the late, blindside hit by Anaheim's Mike Brown on Detroit's Jiri Hudler in the previous round.

Sorry that Havlat got hurt, but hockey's a contact sport and Kronwall's hit was absolutely clean.

What a screwup by four officials who should be reprimanded for such an egregious error in a playoff game of that magnitude.

Different Seasons, Different MVPs

So if the Stanley Cup playoffs ended today because Gary Bettman needed to spend more time working with Jim Balsillie, Sidney Crosby would be the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as MVP, right?

PABLO MARTINEZ/AP

Crosby in his office.

There would be other candidates. If Anaheim can sneak past Detroit tonight Jonas Hiller will start to get mentions. If it goes the other way, you can't ignore goal-machine Johan Franzen. Should Carolina prevail in Boston tonight Eric Staal will be viewed as a big reason behind the Canes' third conference final appearance in six years. Chicago? Right now, the list of candidates is too long, with youthful captain Jonathan Toews possibly leading the pack.

But still, at the end, it would be Crosby. With 12 goals in 13 games, and the majority of them scored from the messy, dangerous areas near the enemy net, Crosby is proving himself to be the consummate NHL post-season warrior. Alex Ovechkin was generally terrific in seven games against the Penguins and certainly had more dash, but Crosby delivered the true substance in the end.

That one-on-one rivalry - Crosby vs. Ovechkin - will next be played out in Vancouver next winter.

Still, its interesting that while Crosby wasn't even a finalist for the Hart Trophy as regular season MVP this year - Ovechkin, Evgeny Malkin and Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk were - the Nova Scotian has outshone all three in the playoffs. They've all been good, mind you, and even though Datsyuk hasn't got the numbers he's been a dominant performer for the Red Wings against the Ducks.

But Crosby, bolstered with the experience of getting so close to the Cup last spring, has been better. It certainly complicates the debate over who is the best player in the world right now, doesn't it.

If it was four weeks ago, most would say Ovechkin.

Today? Hard to look past what Crosby is doing.

And you'd rather have the guy who can do it in the playoffs.

Awful Optics

REUTERS

Carolina's Scott Walker swings at Boston's Aaron Ward.

It's the same old hockey story played over and over and over.

One team falls behind by three or four goals. In the final minutes, the sore losers, in an attempt to either "set a tone" for the next meeting or actually injure an opponent or two, load up on the cheap shots. Some see this as manliness, intelligent people see it for the chicken-hearted display it is.

We've been seeing it through the NHL post-season, with face washes and punches in the hundreds of scrums that are allowed to take place after virtually every whistle.

Yesterday, we saw more of it, and in games that were blowouts.

First, in the dying seconds of the Anaheim-Detroit game with the Wings ahead 4-1, Ducks defenceman Sheldon Brookbank, normally tethered to go no further than the opponents blueline, swooped in all the way to the faceoff dot and crosschecked Detroit centre Darren Helm to the ice.

There was a penalty called as time expired, but what did it matter? Game was over, Brookbank got his free shot in and everybody says, "That's hockey."

Later, in a more serious incident, Carolina's Scott Walker cold-cocked Boston defenceman Aaron Ward in the final moments of what was a 4-0 Bruins victory.

The picture says it all. There's Ward, with his hands by his sides, and there's Walker, with his glove off ready to pop his opponent with a punch that may or may not have broken Ward's orbital bone.

If it's during a hard-fought game, the incident never happens. But the game was out of hand, Walker didn't like the treatment Ward was giving Matt Cullen and he knew it was free cheap shot time.

Will the league do anything? Its sounds unlikely, although there will be a hearing on the matter today in New York. In fact - you're gonna love this - the league will probably RESCIND part of the in-game punishment handed down to Walker for the instigator penalty he received.

So it may not just be that Walker won't be suspended. He may be partially vindicated, with some of the 17 penalty minutes he was given taken away.

Basically, the thinking may be that it was up to Ward to defend himself, not up to Walker to restrain himself.

Hard to believe, but that's where this may be headed. Moreover, Ward and Helm both showed that the players on the team that is winning a lopsided game basically become pinatas for the sore losers on the other side.

Solution? Well, if Brookbank had to serve his two-minute minor to start Game 6 in Anaheim tomorrow, do you think his own coach, Randy Carlyle, would allow him to get away with his cheap shot?

Walker got his 17 minutes worth of penalties with only 2:47 left in the third period. What if he had to serve those penalties at the start of Game 6 in Raleigh tomorrow night?

This we know. Suspensions don't seem to slow these guys down.