Random thoughts 10 days away

It's been a month: time for another post. 10 days away from the playoffs, and some random stats to throw out there:

-Det is 13-2-3 since Franzen returned

-The biggest knock on Phoenix as a Cup contender? Shootout wins: the future Jets have 12

-Jay Bouw is getting paid 2.22 million per goal, the highest in the league

-Alex Burrows is getting $57,142 per goal, the lowest for a non-rookie contract (Stamkos leads overall)

-A ballyhooed fact is that Ovechkin has been in the Art Ross hunt despite missing 10 games. Less noted is that he is 4th in ice time per game (21:48), while Hank is 45th (19:30), meaning their minutes played per point is almost identical (Sedin, 14.250. Ovechkin 14.248)

-Much has been made over the dominance by the West over the East. The 13th ranked Stars would be in 9th in the East. However, the argument has been made many times that the East is ismply uneven: that the best of the East can compete with the best of the West. Counting OTLs as losses (as they will be in the playoffs) however, only 3 eastern teams have a winning record against the West (Buffalo and the Islanders are 10-8, Washington is 9-8) and only 2 have a .500 record (Pittsburgh and Ottawa). In the West, only 3 teams have a sub .500 record: Dallas, Columbus, and Edmonton, who rank 13th thru 15 in the West

Vancouver Canucks: Most Clutch Team in the Olympics

The title above might sound like the ramblings of some hack who had the nerve to predict the Canucks would finish two places higher than the Blackhawks, but please direct yourself to this chart, courtesy of Mirtle:

While the Canucks might not have the most Olympians left among the 4 remaining teams (Slovakia, Canada, USA, and Finland), they're the only team in the NHL to have a player on every team. Chicago/Boston/LA (minus a Finn), Anaheim/Carolina (minus a Slovak), and the Rangers/Tampa Bay (minus a Canadian) are all close, but only the Canucks will host all three medals, along with one fourth-place failure who can go drink his sorrows away with the Sedins. And the four Canucks are all integral parts of their respective teams: Kesler is playing his gritty shutdown game matched up against the opponents' top lines, Demitra sparked the Slovakian run by scoring the crucial shootout winner against the Russians, Salo will be the powerplay quarterback on the Finns until he inevitably tears his knee giving a high-five, and Lou outplayed Brodeur's fat ass all the way to the number one goalie spot.

The Canucks: most clutch team in the Olympics.

UPDATE: Thanks to Lou's incredible save on Demitra in the final seconds, Salo will battle the Slovak for the bronze, and Kes will go head-to-head against the Great 1 (see what I did there?) for the gold.

Will a Canada/US final mean Olympians in 2014?

Let me first introduce this fine piece of wood, and knock on it furiously.










By now, even those living under rocks or in rural Texas have heard about the US and their huge upset against Canada Sunday. NBC, in its infinite wisdom, relegated the game to MSNBC, where neither lack of HD or availability stopped it from becoming the second-highest watched hockey game in the United States since the Miracle on Ice. The US-Canada final from Salt Lake in 2002 remains on top, but all bets are off if (IF!) Canada can show up to the Slovakia game the way they did against Russia, and the US scorers can break through the Finnish system into the finals. Hockey news, both about the Canadian and American teams, have not only dominated CTV-affiliated websites, they've even cracked front pages of ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and other pages usually reserved for mock NFL drafts and LeBron rumors.


















True story: I wrote that joke before heading to ESPN.com and found this as their homepage. Below the LeBron to Knicks article, you can also see a pre-draft QB ranking.

So now that hockey has made its way to the front page of even the Worldwide Leader, will Bettman recognize that the Olympics raises the profile of the game and its players? Maybe not yet, but if (knock, knock, knock) Canada were to meet the United States in the finals (and NBC chose not to relegate it to NBC Ocho: En Espagnol!) the ratings in the US could be enormous, not to mention the inevitable TV records set here in Canada. Even if disaster strikes, and Slovakia and plays Finland, it'll boost oversees support for the NHL, exactly what the league is trying to do by opening 3 games in Europe next season (including one in Finland).

Would the games be drawing the same crowds if these games were amateurs, and essentially the World Juniors: February edition? Let's put it this way: I couldn't even find a mention for the TV ratings of this years Canada-US final. That's because even the most casual fan realizes that the only way the Olympics should be played are with the best players in the world. Ovechkin has already stated he'll take his own break for Sochi if the NHL isn't participating: after last night's crushing defeat against the Canadians, you can bet most Russians will be doing the same to find some redemption on home soil. Their last game isn't even 24 hours old, and I'm already excited to see how they respond in Sochi. If the NHL has a problem with the condensed schedule, cut back the preseason and start in mid-September.

Now it's just a matter of convincing the owners. Once they see the publicity the Olympics bring to their players and their sport, it has to be a slam dunk. A US-Canada final may be the ally-oop they need (hey, a basketball reference! This is, after all, a basketball blog right?)

An Open Letter To Rick Reilly

Dear Rick,

When I first saw your column on "how to be Canadian," I really didn't care too much. But when your second column came out - much like when "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha is played for a second time during a party - I felt it was time to step up. The references you made about beavers, the word "eh," lack of hockey teams, and friendly people were edgy and fresh, but somehow criticized by many Canadian readers. You felt you needed to make clear that stereotyping is fine, as long as its justified by poor weather and a technical malfunction at the Opening Ceremonies. Sore-ee we didn't live up to your high expectations Rick: having to follow China is almost as bad as having to follow Bill Simmons in the "Humorous Column on ESPN" pecking order. But while we may not have perfected giant-flame-lighting or the technology to contain two liters of Coke in a single McDonalds' cup up here, we haven't yet approached the douchebaggery (add that one to your Canadian vocabulary list) of your two latest columns.

Pictured: The Beijing Opening Ceremonies.

In all serious though, dragging tired stereotypes through the mud (igloos! dogsleds! hyuk, hyuk hyuk) is about as lazy, low-brow and amateur as a writer can get. If the games were in Mexico City, would it be cool to crack funnies about Mexicans' lazy work ethic, border jumpers, tacos, and piñatas? What about a column detailing the difficulties of juggling seven (curvaceous, naturally) wives when the games were in predominantly Mormon Salt Lake in 2002, or reminders to stock up on grape soda, watermelon, fried chicken, and ebonics lessons for the summer cookouts in Atlanta in 1996? And hey, that last one's totally justified right? Those Games had a couple technical malfunctions of their own.

Om, nom, nom. Totally justified.

Or why not go a step further? You've met a couple of friendly Canadians, so you feel you have the right to generalize that our whole country is made up of friendly, happy-go-lucky yokels in lumberjack hats. So judging by your column, I'm prepared to make the statement that every American is a self-righteous, ignorant douchebag. And hey, a bunch of Americans are fat right? Yeah, you're probably a fatass too.

Or you could realize that the reason so many Canadians seem friendly is because they don't pre-judge people on tired stereotypes. Instead of tossing around knee-slappers about Elvis Stojko (pertinent!) and recycling bins (zing!), you might want to look around and realize why our country has better (and cheaper) health care and education, and higher levels in almost every indication of quality of life. While you might complain about algae in your toes, it might be a small price to pay for living in the most livable city in the world. Or if the rain isn't your cup of tea, head on over to Calgary or Toronto. They're all in the top five. Oh, and we have the Olympics, something the US hasn't had since 2002 and probably won't have again until at least 2024 (the IOC likely won't give another games to the Americas in 2020 after denying Chicago and giving the games to Rio). Better hope Michael Phelps is still in tip top shape at the tender age of 39 by the time that rolls around.

I actually had a lot of respect for you, Rick. Having you on the last page of Sports Illustrated almost made up for the lack of hockey coverage (usually represented by a two page spread of Michael Farber feverishly massaging Sidney Crosby's balls) and the waste of paper spent churning out 51 editions of filler before the swimsuit edition. However, your switch to ESPN has either made you bitter, or lazy, or both. I've come to accept that Canada is always going to take some crap for not being you, but there's clever jokes that make me laugh, and worn-out ignorance that doesn't. That these two "articles" pass for humor from a respectable guy like yourself and a reputable organization like ESPN make me ashamed to be a dual citizen.

Sincerely, from the best fucking country in the world,

The Half Court Press

PS. If you want more Rick Reilly coverage, head over to Deadspin or the Kurtenblog. Good stuff.

Au(n)ger Management

By now, every white male in Vancouver has offered his opinion on Burrows/Auger-gate. For the twenty or so people who may be uninformed on the saga, read up on it here. A day after it all began, apparently the league has already made its decision, fining Burrows $2,500 and issuing no penalty to Auger. Effectively, this concludes that there is no further evidence beyond a "he said, he said" argument, and that Burrows, for questioning the integrity of the league, will be fined the minimum $2,500. It's the ultimate cop-out by the league: no penalty for Auger, and the minimum possible repercussion for Burrows. Basically, the league is saying that they don't know the full story. So, slap Burrows on the wrist and sweep it under the rug. And for those hoping to hear the full story, you obviously haven't followed the NHL. This will be the last we hear of it from the league.

From the perspective of the NHL's image, this was a great move. Most importantly, action was taken quickly, so as not to let questions linger. Instead of a story that festers and grows, it becomes one that is bandied about for a week and then mentioned trivially in TSN's year-end review. Sunrise, sunset. Brett Hull's skate was in the crease. Yawn. Anybody want to talk about headshots?

We don't usually like to swear here at the HCP (mainly, for all of the beautiful ladies who read the blog and might become offended) but we'd like to offer a hearty "fuck you" to all of the broadcasters who criticized Burrows without looking at the big picture. Usually, we don't take the confusing ramblings about hockey by The Bullriding Network seriously (gold star for trying fellas!), but I've come to respect the opinions of Keith Jones quite a bit during my years as a fan, and his reaction to this issue was irresponsible. By blindly bashing Burrows for his decision to use the media to vent his frustration, he missed the point of the whole debate. He refused to even consider the idea that Burrows' accusations were true. While more veteran writers like McKenzie of TSN, Ken Campbell of THN, and Greg Wyshnyski of Yahoo! Sports questioned Auger's side of the story and wanted to know what was said in Burrows and Auger's pregame chat, knee-jerk analysts like Burnside and Damien Cox spent their energy bashing Burrows, without considering the possibility of truth. They blamed Burrows, Canucks fans, and the media for blowing the incident out of proportion, without considering its real severity. If Auger really did tell Burrows he would get him back, and really did call those late penalties as retribution, there are far-reaching consequences. If the Canucks were to miss the playoffs by a single point (happened in 2006), Aquelini and the City of Vancouver stand to lose millions of dollars in economic benefit, not to mention the hundreds of dollars fans paid for tickets to watch a fixed game. Without hearing or even considering Auger's side of the story, Burnside and Cox do their readers and the game of hockey a severe disservice by pronouncing Burrows' guilt.

The real reason to believe Burrows' version it that the "third Sedin" was supposed to be a career ECHL-er, an undersized and underskilled player who'd never make it on the NHL stage. Burrows rose past the Salmon Kings and the Manitoba Moose to the NHL on pure hard work and tenacity. Although he is known to exaggerate and dive, there is no indication that he is a dishonest person. Burnside insinuates he's disliked by his own teammates; Shane O'Brien said "every guy in the locker room would go through a wall" for Burrows. Burr had nothing to gain and everything to lose by making his claims, and it is inconceivable to anyone who knows his story that he would put his reputation and his NHL career on the line over a borderline call without some basis in fact.

So here we are. The ref who dishonestly slung Shane Doan's name through the mud and incredulously disallowed this goal earlier this year won't miss a game or a paycheck. The fact remains that even if Burrows' accusations were complete fabrications, the game in question was terribly refereed, with dubious penalties called on either team, and given his reputation Auger should face some sort of retribution, either with a reduction in games or relegation to the AHL. The NHL, even with characters like Auger, is still is one of the hardest yet best refereed major professional sport (I'm talking to you, basketball). However, by glossing over this issue, the NHL has created a dangerous precedent by blindly protecting its referees and ignoring these issues.

The one positive for the Canucks? There likely won't be any more repeats of that debacle of a game Monday. There's no way the NHL can put Auger back in charge of a Canucks game with Burrows in the lineup, and that means better refereeing and better games for Canucks fans.

Seperate but Equipe-full (Worst. Pun. Ever.)

During the lead-up to the 2006 Olympics, which coincided with a lead-up to a Canadian election, Bloc "Separatist Douchebag" Quebecoise leader Gilles Duceppe ran on a platform that included an idea that Quebec should send its own independent team to the Olympics. The idea was widely panned, even from Quebec-born players who, you know, probably wanted to play for the reigning gold-medalists Canada. After reading this article, and after the initial shock of realizing that somebody picked Kevin Lowe as the assistant manager for our Olympic team, we at the HCP decided to look at a breakdown at the 2010 Team Quebec.

Forwards:

St. Louis - Lecavalier - Gagne

Tanguay - Stastny** - Ribero

Brassard - Briere - J.P. Dumont

Burrows - Bergeron* - Vermette

Lombardi

Defense:

Robidas - Beauchemin

M.A. Bergeron - Vlasic

Letang - Picard

Demers

Goaltenders:

Martin Brodeur*

Roberto Luongo*

Marc-Andre Fleury*

Close, but just missed: Pomminville, Perron, Talbot

* - indicates part of Team Canada

** - Paul Stastny is now playing for the American team, even though he was born in Quebec. As a dual citizen, he chose to play for the Americans, since they offered him a spot in the World Championships and his brother Yan was on the team. Canada usually doesn't allow dual citizens who play for the US to come back and play for Canada (think Brett Hull, the traitor), but we're assuming Team Quebec would be happy to have a native son back in the mix. Unless he spoke English to the taxi drivers. Then all bets are off.

The first important point is that Team Canada has been stripped of all three of its goalies, leaving us with Turco, Cam Ward...um...Steve Mason...? Easily the strongest part of the team, and the only real reason this team might make some noise and get an upset or two. The second striking point is the defense. Outside of Robidas, who got a serious look for the Canadians, it's middle of the road defenseman. Demers is a stretch as an NHL d-man, but if you take a look at the defensive competition, the pot is bare (play around with this until you find Quebec-born d-men). Their forwards are a solid bunch, who remind me of a more veteran less-skilled American forward group of solid second-liners with some pop. Burrows and Brassard were on the bubble, but we picked Burrows because of his PK ability (and, let's face it, we're massive homers), Brassard because of his potential, and left Pomminville off for his one-dimensional game, and Perron off for his inconsistency this year.

In conclusion, L'Equipe du Quebec probably wouldn't make it into the medal round without a lights out performance from a hot goalie, but with that defense it would make it even harder. Still, an impressive squad from a land where every boy is bred to be Mario, and trying to keep up at a neighborhood outdoor rink is nearly impossible.

Merry Christmas, Dallas

Volumes of work, probably eclipsing the works of Shakespeare, have been written about the NHL "loser point" and its impact on the standings. Therefore, I don't expect to add much to the debate, but as a fan of the only team in the NHL without an overtime or shootout loss (and one that's currently out of a playoff spot), I'm curious to see how the year would be if the NHL tabulated its points totals differently. I'll look at three scenarios: the current system (2 points for a win, 1 point for an OT/SO loss, 0 for a regulation loss), a win or lose system (2 points for a win, 0 for a loss), and another proposed system (3 points per regulation win, 2 for an OT/SO win, 1 for an OT/SO loss, and 0 for a regulation loss. Let's check a breakdown:

Current system: (with OTL in brackets)

East:

1. New Jersey - 53 pts (1)

2. Washington - 52 pts (6)

3. Buffalo - 47 pts (3)

4. Pittsburgh - 53 pts (1)

5. Boston - 43 pts (7)

6. Atlanta - 40 pts (4)

7. Ottawa - 40 pts (4)

8. NY Rangers - 39 pts (3)

9. Montreal - 39 pts (3)

10. Florida - 39 pts (7)

11. Tampa Bay - 35 pts (9)

12. NY Islanders - 35 pts (7)

13. Philly - 34 pts (2)

14. Toronto - 34 pts (8)

15. Carolina - 24 pts (6)

West:

1. Chicago - 51 pts (3)

2. San Jose - 51 pts (7)

3. Colorado - 48 pts (6)

4. Phoenix (wtf?) - 48 pts (2)

5. LA - 47 pts (3)

6. Nashville - 47 pts (3)

7. Calgary - 45 pts (5)

8. Dallas - 43 pts (11)

9. Vancouver - 42 pts (0)

10. Detroit - 41 pts (5)

11. St. Louis - 39 pts (5)

12. Minnesota - 39 pts (3)

13. Anaheim - 37 pts (7)

14. Columbus - 35 pts (7)

15. Edmonton - 34 pts (4)

Now, with just wins as a measure (ties go to those with less games played, 2nd tiebreaker is more losses is OT):

1. New Jersey - 52 pts

2. Washington - 46 pts

3. Buffalo - 44 pts

4. Pittsburgh - 52 pts

5. Boston - 36 pts

6. Atlanta - 36 pts

7. Ottawa - 36 pts

8. NY Rangers - 36 pts

9. Montreal - 36 pts

10. Philly - 32 pts

11. Florida - 32 pts

12. NY Islanders - 28 pts

13. Tampa Bay - 26 pts

14. Toronto - 26 pts

15. Carolina - 18 pts (yikes)

West:

1. Chicago - 48 pts

2. Phoenix (double wtf) - 46 pts

3. Vancouver - 44 pts

4. San Jose - 44 pts

5. LA - 44 pts

6. Nashville - 44 pts

7. Colorado - 42 pts

8. Calgary - 40 pts

9. Detroit - 36 pts

10. Minnesota - 36 pts

11. St. Louis - 34 pts

12. Dallas - 32 pts

13. Anaheim - 30 pts

14. Edmonton - 30 pts

15. Columbus - 28 pts

Now, time to dust off the muliplication tables and figure out the last format:

1. New Jersey - 79 pts

2. Washington - 75 pts

3. Buffalo - 69 pts

4. Pittsburgh - 79 pts

5. Boston - 61 pts

6. Atlanta - 58 pts

7. Ottawa - 58 pts

8. NY Rangers - 57 pts

9. Montreal - 57 pts

10. Florida - 55 pts

11. Philly - 50 pts

12. NY Islanders - 49 pts

13. Tampa Bay - 48 pts

14. Toronto - 47 pts

15. Carolina - 35 pts

West:

1. Chicago - 75 pts

2. Phoenix - 71 pts

3. Colorado - 69 pts

4. San Jose - 73 pts

5. LA - 69 pts

6. Nashville - 69 pts

7. Calgary - 65 pts

8. Vancouver - 63 pts

9. Detroit - 59 pts

10. Dallas - 59 pts

11. Minnesota - 57 pts

12. St. Louis - 56 pts

13. Anaheim - 52 pts

14. Edmonton - 49 pts

15. Columbus - 49 pts

So what do we find? In terms of difference between measurements 2 and 3, not a whole lot. Vancouver dropped 5 spots, and Dallas rose 3, but other than that no other team moved more than one spot. I don't have the fancy math degree required to measure parity between these two systems, but the parity in the current system and system 3 are massive, where 5 wins separates 3rd and 12th in the West in system 1, and 4.3 wins seperates 3rd and 12th in system 3. Even though the standings in all three systems are relatively similar, with the exceptions of teams that, you know, win (Vancouver) and teams that lose closely (Dallas).

System 3 would be a tough system to put in place, considering that standings would need four columns of statistics (W, OTW, RL, L), bringing us back to the dreaded days of 2003 (W, L, T, OTL). The simplest system that would appeal to the "casual" fan that Bettman has such an erection for would be, of course, system 2, where the NHL could revert to the winning percentage system that all three other major sports use. Personally, this system makes the most sense to this writer. A win is a win, and a loss is a loss. Parity is good, but this is created by an effective cap system. Artificially created parity, like the results of the current system, are good for Stars season ticket holders but bad for the game. When only 7 or 8 teams in the league have "losing records," it's time for a change.

But in the meantime, Merry Christmas to our faithful readers. And Merry Christmas, Dallas Stars.