It looks like TSN/NBC analyst Pierre McGuire is up to his old tricks.  Once again he has taken the opportunity to lambast long-time Capitals winger Alexander Semin.

On the July 1 “Free Agent Frenzy” show on Canada’s TSN (and simulcast on the NHL Network), McGuire and the apparently anti-Semin panel launched a blistering attack on the Russian, who is now a free agent.

The firebombing started with ex-NHL coach-turned-analyst Marc Crawford who referred to Semin as “a loser,” without giving a single reason why he deserved such an appellation (barring Crawford’s own disdain for him).  He continued the barrage, saying that although Semin’s point production was greater than fellow UFA Zach Parise’s, he does not help his team at all, while Parise helps “in every way.”

Marc, could you be a little more vague with those comments?  Is there any proof to this accusation, or did a Russian rub you the wrong way at some point in your career?  Because, calling somebody names on a national network simply isn’t professional journalism.

Not wanting to miss his chance to bash Semin, McGuire eagerly jumped in with equal venom, saying he  ”is not a great teammate” and describing him as the “ultimate coach killer.”  Aren’t you being a bit melodramatic, Pierre?

Clearly, McGuire has a short memory.  He sang Semin’s praises during one of the better playoff runs the Capitals have had in years.  In fact, Semin was the talk of the NHL during the first round as we reported on this website in April.

Playoff performance aside, lets look at the stats.   Semin been an amazingly solid producer since he arrived in Washington.  Looking at his numbers, one would never guess that he has been riddled with injuries each year.  He has done everything his coaches have asked him to do.  And he has even been hailed as “caring too much” by his former general manager George McPhee.

He has been a loyal teammate.  He is never late to practice.  He does what is asked of him and doesn’t argue with the coach or management.  He’s not a prima donna with huge demands, nor does he expect special treatment.  One can’t even accuse him of being a one-way player, as he’s proved that this certainly isn’t the case.  No, he simply wants to play.

Why then, do members of the Canadian media wage war against this player?  They certainly would never talk about one of their “own” this way, no matter how detrimental that person was to their team.  It would be unacceptable.  Why is this any different?

Maybe Semin turned down a request for an interview or perhaps he refused to give McGuire his private mobile number so they could exchange text messages and give Pierre another name to drop.  Or maybe his discomfort with the English language makes him somehow less human and, therefore, easier to excoriate.  Or, as I’ve often thought, there may be a more sinister reason for trying to ruin his reputation.  The NHL is still very much an Old Boys club, and anyone different is not well received.

Whether they are motivated by xenophobia or some other reason, the attacks on Semin’s character are unacceptable and unethical behavior on the part of TSN’s “expert” panel.  Yet I don’t see it stopping any time soon.  Bashing Russians seems to be a time-honored tradition in certain circles and it seems the people who do it will not be happy until all of the Russians have gone home to the Kontinental Hockey League.  And while Semin is far too talented to play in that league, Sergei Fedorov, the new GM for CSKA Moscow has said he will make a play for him.

Yes, the Cold War still rages on the ice.  It’s time for a change.  It’s time for the old ideas of what a Russian player is to change.  It’s time for some in the Canadian media to forget the contentiousness of the 1972 Summit Series, get with the times and do some rethinking.  Do those old stereotypes of the stoic, unfeeling, passionless Russian still apply?  And, perhaps more importantly, did they ever?  Until this relatively small, but influential segment of Canada’s press corps is willing to look at their own biased attitudes and commit themselves to a little fairness, I fear hockey slip further into the realm of “niche sport.”  Certain big name, absurdly suited and coiffed commentators are already laughingstocks.  It’s time for a change, before the sport we love becomes one too.

Photographs:  Alexander Semin by Geneen Pipher/Hockey VIPs Magazine; Pierre McGuire from Wiki Commons. 

Hockey super star Sergei Fedorov will skate no more.  As we speculated several weeks ago, the former NHLer retired to take the helm of CSKA Moscow, the Russian club where he first honed his craft playing on a line with Alexander Mogilny and Pavel Bure.

One of the most colorful and decorated Russians ever to don an NHL jersey, Fedorov is returning to the team from which he defected in 1990.

Fedorov had been skating for Siberian powerhouse Metallurg Magnitogorsk since leaving the NHL for the KHL in 2009.  In that time, his popularity soared in the country he once believed he would never set foot in again.

Officials hope Fedorov’s Red Army homecoming heralds a change in fortune for the once-dominant Russian squad.  The club has struggled in recent years, and many in the Russian media believe his name will attract the top free agents the team has been unable secure in recent years.

In its heyday during Soviet times, CSKA — which stands for the Central Sports Club of the Army — crushed all who stood in its path.  If there was a good prospect to be had, that player was simply drafted into the Soviet Army and was, thus, compelled to play.  The names associated with CSKA are staggering:  From Sergei Makarov, Vladimir Krutov, Vladislav Tretiak and Valeri Kharlamov, to Bure and Mogilny, to the players comprising the Detroit Red Wings’ vaunted “Russian Five” (Fedorov, Viacheslav Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Vladimir Konstantinov) — the powerful CSKA had them all.

Fedorov has been quoted in the Russian media indicating the team will pursue big-name free agents, including Alexander Radulov, with whom the Nashville Predators are parting ways.  He has indicated Radulov — who has won the Gagarin Cup (the KHL’s version of the Stanley Cup) — would be welcome in the CSKA camp.

Fedorov’s retirement from competitive hockey seems to finally close the book on an exciting, intriguing, sometimes frightening chapter in hockey history.  When Fedorov was young, the world was a very different place and players who defected, left home and family expecting never to return.

Fedorov, like Mogilny before him, helped pave the way for the Russians coming to the NHL today. Unlike Fedorov and Mogilny, today’s Russians leave of their own free will and are free to return at any time.  It is hard to contemplate the life-and-death decisions these early Eastern-bloc players were forced to make.  Fedorov has said he didn’t know how his family back home would be treated, didn’t know what would happen to him if his escape plans were uncovered, and had no idea how hard it would be to suddenly find himself a stranger in a foreign land who no longer had a country to call his own.

Despite the hardships and heartache, Fedorov thrived in Detroit, becoming a star on and off the ice.  While Fedorov electrified hockey fans with his otherworldly skills, his good looks and off ice courting of famous beauties kept the gossip page editors drooling.  He glimmered and shone in the glare of the limelight and somehow seemed destined to eventually end up in California among the “beautiful people.”

He played almost a full season for the Anaheim Ducks, maintaining the level of play observers had come to expect.  Following the NHL lockout, which killed the entire 2004-05 season, Fedorov’s offensive production fell off.  He was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets early in the 2005-06 season.  Though his offensive output was no longer what it once was, Fedorov brought some much-needed star power to the fledgling Blue Jackets.  And though the team struggled, fans in Ohio were treated to the hockey stylings of one of the best to ever play the game.

Fedorov finished his NHL career with the Washington Capitals who, at the time, were a run-and-gun, offensive juggernaut.  Fedorov brought veteran leadership and a calming presence to a group of exuberant, budding young super stars — particularly countrymen Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin.  The team made the playoffs each of his three years with the club, but was never able to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

In 2009, with a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, Fedorov’s NHL career came to an end.  The following year, Fedorov was at last going home, signing a contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, where he could fulfill his dream of playing alongside his younger brother Fedor.

In 20 NHL seasons Fedorov played for four different teams, skating in 1248 games, and amassing 483 goals and 1179 points.  He is a three-time Stanley Cup champion (1997, 1998, 2002).  He won the Selke Trophy twice (1994, 1996) and captured the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1994 and the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1996.

Photographs:  Fedorov with Magnitogorsk by Tatiana Markina/The Hockey Goddesses; CSKA Ice Palace by Geneen Pipher/Hockey VIPs Magazine; Fedorov with Washington by Shannon Valerio/Hockey VIPs Magazine

 

Reports out of Russia indicate former NHLer Sergei Fedorov will retire from competitive hockey and take over as general manager of the venerable CSKA Moscow hockey club.

Russia’s Sport-Express reports that “reliable sources” have Fedorov taking the helm of his old club as soon as May 1.

The once-dominant CSKA Moscow — the feared Red Army team to people of a certain age — has struggled in recent years. No longer the juggernaut it once was, the club is looking to regain some of its lost luster. The Sergei Fedorov brand is big in Russia and a CSKA homecoming would bring some much needed panache to Russian hockey’s grande dame.

In taking the position, Fedorov would unseat Sergei Nemchinov, another former NHLer and contemporary of Fedorov’s.

The newspaper speculates that the addition of Fedorov, along with the freshly inked — and vastly monied — corporate sponsor Rosneft, could enable the team to at last secure big name free agents “including even Alexander Radulov.”

Those hoping to see Fedorov in the GM’s seat might cool their jets a tad, as until a few weeks ago the Russian media had ex-NHLer Pavel Bure all but assured of the CSKA spot.

Fedorov left the NHL in 2009 to join Metallurg Magnitogorsk, where his brother Fedor was signed, saying he was helping fulfill his father’s dream of seeing his two sons on the same team. In 20 NHL seasons Fedorov played for four different teams (Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals), skating in 1248 games, and amassing 483 goals and 1179 points. He is a three-time Stanley Cup champion (1997, 1998, 2002). He won the Selke Trophy twice (1994, 1996) and captured the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1994 and the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1996.

Photograph: Kontinental Hockey League

It’s been a bit slow around hockeygoddesses.com lately, but we’ve been busy readying an exciting new project, which will be launching shortly. However, today I come to discuss some dismal news: The horrible crash that took the lives of all but one member of the KHL’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team.

The loss of these players has been especially tough for this goddess, for I consider Russia to be my home away from home.  I can only imagine what people in that country are going through right now.

Since the incident, I have been following news reports and listening to some of my favorite shows on XM Radio’s Home Ice channel.  Personally, I am a bit shocked and disturbed at what I am hearing.

Let’s put the cause aside.  Everyone knows the situation with Russian aviation and the more recent advent of charter flying.  Pointing fingers, surprisingly and thankfully, hasn’t been a focal point.

However, it is the reaction and presumption about what should happen next that is troublesome.  As of yesterday, it was suggested that the team would rebuild and play this season.  Some of the hockey gurus at XM/Home Ice spent the day discussing this, proclaiming that this simply was not “right.”

Oh how easy it is to sit in your comfortable radio studio in North America and say what some other business in some other country should do.  And yes, I realize that’s why these “gurus” get paid.  Still, when a country has experienced a tragedy, it takes a lot of naïve audacity to make a moral judgment on how an entire country should mourn.  Do they know the history of Yaroslavl?  Have they ever been there?  Do they understand what this venerable team means to the community?  To the league?  To Russia?  What about the morale of the people?  What do they need to heal?

At the risk of sounding callous, let’s put people’s feelings aside.  Life is hard in many parts of Russia. People struggle.  Jobs are scarce.  What happens if an entire organization suspends operations, even for a year?  Many people in Yaroslavl earn a living through the operation of the team and the venue.  The local economy depends on the team, and the people who earn money from the organization.  Take that away and you take away people’s livelihoods; people with families to support, people who are already struggling.

The people of Yaroslavl, like all of Russia, have faced many tragedies that have taken many lives, from the seemingly endless wars to the gulags to modern terrorism within their own borders.  Their spirit — more often than not — tells them to mourn those that are lost and move forward.  They have no choice.  And it’s not for us to judge.

Photograph: From The Associated Press via DayLife.

Dear Sirs or Madams:

A couple of weeks ago, the Boston Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in 39 years. More than a million fans packed

the streets of Boston to celebrate, and many more longtime fans from all over New England, the Canadian Maritimes, North America and around the world, reveled in the victory. Reports are that Stanley Cup champion gear flew off the shelves, with stores barely able to keep up with demand.

But this fan wants more. And this fan believes that many of her fellow Bruins fans want the same thing: A boxed DVD set.

I don’t want a highlights DVD. The one you’re selling appears nice, and I’ll undoubtedly purchase it. But what I want is a boxed set, like the ones sold by MLB for their World Series winners. As a Red Sox fan, I own the 2004 and 2007 sets, which include not just the World Series games, but the ALCS wins as well (alas, not the ALDS. Tsk.)

This is where the NHL can do MLB one better. Give Bruins fans a DVD set with all 16 victories. And make them complete games, start to finish. None of this editing the games down to two hours, as you’re doing on the NHL Network. I want every moment, start to finish. I want every glorious second of the victories over hated rival Montreal. Every glorious second of the revenge match (sweep! sweep!) against Philadelphia. Every glorious second of their grind-it-out wins against Tampa Bay, up to and including Tim Thomas embracing a tearful Marty St. Louis.

I don’t want just the final against Vancouver. That’d be like receiving nothing but steak in a four-star restaurant. I want the fine wine, the garlic-mashed potatoes, the fresh asparagus.

And for the homemade chocolate cake, I want a bonus DVD of the celebrations, from Zdeno Chara hoisting the Cup to the parade.

You’re on the right track with the Blackhawks DVD set from last season. But five games isn’t enough. Not remotely enough.  

I want 16 games. I don’t care whose feed you use, though if you’re asking, the enthusiasm of Doc Emerick or Jack Edwards would be preferable to Bob Cole’s “meh, the Bruins win in OT,” though his calls do offer comedic value. The production effort is minimal – just chop out the ads (and the between-period analysis if you wish); no other editing required. Charge $150 for the set, and have it on the shelves before Christmas. It’ll sell itself.

Please, NHL, I’m asking you nicely. If that’s not good enough, I’ll beg. I want this with the burning heat of a thousand suns, and if you consider the number of Bruins fans out there, you’ll be making a profit on this faster than you can say “fat free-agent contract.”

Sincerely yours,

Savvy

Photo from boston.com

Well, the 2001 draft has come and gone and this goddess has some mixed feelings about her hometown Avalanche. This is actually good —  for the first time in a number of years they’ve done some things that have needed to be done and I’m not left swearing off hockey for a couple of months while I accept the fact that the Avs will suck yet again.

First and foremost, the Avs picked a solid, scoring winger that is ready to play in the NHL right now.  How many years in a row have I bemoaned the fact that the Avs have become a holding ground for a homogenous group of North Americans, waiting for them to develop, fall out of favor or be traded?  How many drafts have I anxiously awaited the arrival of a skilled European to give us the diversity every team needs to succeed?  Well, we finally got it with the big Swede Gabriel Landeskog.  I’m not alone when I say that the Avs desperately needed this piece of the puzzle – a big left winger with wonderful hands.  And don’t forget our second pick Duncan Siemens who they’re calling a “throwback defenseman” for his stay-at-home, crushing mentality.  Goodbye Liles, hello real defense!

That is the good.

The bad?  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that ol’ Kroenke clearly meets the  criteria for that role – especially when you have a team that is costing you $28 million in salary and you are $36 million under the cap.  That’s right, folks.  The owner of the NHL Rams, soccer legend Arsenault, the Pepsi Center and numerous other teams and business ventures, can’t seem to spend any of his hard earn cash on the team that has given so much to him and his fortune.  It might be excusable if he were struggling for cash flow but the money is there in abundance.  So why is Kroenke refusing to open his wallet?

That, my friends, could be the ugly in all this.  The Avs have money.  The Avs need a goalie.  There are no legitimate goalies available (I will shoot myself if we get another struggling goalie such as Vokoun as people are speculating) and the Avs’ don’t even have a semi-developed goalie ready to step in.  This may mean that the Avs are banking their money and a couple of stellar players for a trade to acquire a big time netminder.  Ugly because while they desperately need a bona fide goalie, I’m not sure I’m ready to say good-bye to Stastny, Duchene Johnson, or whomever else it would take.

The solution?  With the CBA ending this year and next year being a potential strike year, maybe they just call up one of those youngsters and give them a shot. If they’re lucky, they end up with an up-and-coming breaking out into the league.  At this point, they’re better off going with an unknown than with a mediocre known quantity.  If it doesn’t work out so well, they can snag a well-known name after this year.  Lord knows there will certainly be enough cash flow for it.

Unfortunately, this seems to be the best way out of the pickle the Avs have gotten themselves into.  So maybe we can end up with The Good, The Bad and – the Not So Ugly.  Could be worse, I guess.

Click on BBC World News and remember that this is just a game. Look around your city and see those less fortunate. Contemplate for a minute that you could have a disease with no hope for a cure. Imagine the many, many things that would be worse than your city losing a hockey team.

That’s what I did today. Yes, I spent about 15 minutes with tears in my eyes. Then I shook myself and (hard as it was to do) forced myself to acknowledge that it could be so much worse. What happened in Atlanta is very upsetting but, in the end, the sun will rise tomorrow.

Tomorrow, God willing, I will still have my family, my friends, my health. I will have a home to live in. There is no war in the streets. My city hasn’t been destroyed by a tornado. There was no tsunami here. No nuclear meltdown. I have the freedom to choose what to do with my life. I have food on my table and money in my pocket. I am blessed with the leisure time to worry about such things as sporting events, where grown men play a child’s game for a living. Though I feel like I’ve lost my best friend, the most important things in my life are real and unchanged.

I guess I have arrived at the last stage of the grieving process. I accept what has come to pass.

Don’t get me wrong, I hate the idea of my Thrashers in Winnipeg. I hate that I will never get to take my daughter to a Thrashers game. I hate what the Atlanta (no)Spirit Group has done to the image of the city I love. But I will get over it. As goofy as it sounds to paraphrase Sting, I am going to do it anyway.

I love this team and I’ve been forced to set it free. Because I love the team, I have chosen to mentally release them, along with all of the anger and hurt. It’s a relief. In so doing, I have realized I can remain a fan. This is still my team too. And, in spite of it all, I still believe in Blueland. I hope the people of Winnipeg will cherish this team and honor its past. I hope that fans in both cities will someday realize we were really fighting over the same thing. We all love hockey and, in the end, we are on the same team.

Photo: Thrashers fan from Reuters.

In this edition, we have a letter from a family outlining the downward trajectory of the Atlanta Thrashers after a very promising start. The writer brings up several points that are seldom mentioned when discussing this issue: The effect of the NHL lockout on a fledgling market and the impact of losing Dany Heatley, an immensely popular player in the market. In addition, she mentions a lack of marketing to the unique market that is Atlanta and explains the needs (which were unmet) in an up-and-coming market. Let’s take a look:

May 19, 2011 12:44:50 AM
To: GBettman@NHL.com

Dear Mr. Bettman,

I doubt I can say anything that hasn’t already been said about my team, the Atlanta Thrashers. I will just say that I feel the city deserves a real chance to succeed. Despite 10-ish years (I am excluding the lockout lost season), the Thrashers have never given fans a chance to love them.

The ownership group has been outstandingly apathetic, never marketing the team well when it did have super stars and just throwing up their hands, letting star after star walk away.

What a Mess!

There are many things that have added up to a perfect disaster for the Thrashers:

Dany Heatley’s departure seemed to start the decline — people here adored him and we lost a relatable, marketable personality when he left town. A personality like this goes a long way in attracting curious would-be fans.

The loss of countess other super stars (Heatley, Marian Hossa, Marc Savard, Ilya Kovalchuk, etc.).

The lockout year killed the excitement and momentum of the early years — a brutal thing to happen just a few years into our franchise. No season, no All Star Game (it was our year that year).

Open hostility on the part of the owners toward the fans (ask any season ticket holder about this).

Inability to sustain any on-ice success.

A mere four playoff appearances. The 2006-07 playoff failure also seems to be a huge turning point in the franchise’s brief history.

Not to mention the economy, which has hit Atlanta harder than many cities.

A fan base that doesn’t know the game as well needs a teacher. I think Nashville and Dallas are two shining lights. Their example was not followed here.

Constant rumors of relocation don’t do anything to help lure fans either. Why come out for a team that won’t be around next year?

The diversity of the city needs a different, unique approach. The ownership group never courted diverse audiences or tailored their marketing message to reach different audiences. The potential is here to have a truly unique team and fan base. The team already boasts the largest number of black players of any team and that’s so perfect for this city! That kind of diversity is one of the foundations of this city. Think what this team could do for would-be players of diverse backgrounds if ownership committed to doing so! What a legacy to leave for generations.

But perhaps above all of this is ownership locked in a battle against itself in court for years and years. What a mess!

All of the above is a recipe for disaster. How could any team in any market succeed like this? Wouldn’t you like to know what solid ownership could do here in this vibrant, now recovering market — the capital of the New South?

Making it Work

With so many examples of how once-troubled franchises turned it around, I — a simple, humble fan — just ask for one real chance with committed, passionate owners. I am a native of Houston, where I have seen the Dallas Stars come to the state and enflame the love of hockey in kids and adults all over our great state. In point of fact, my old high school, just 30 minutes from Galveston Beach on the Gulf of Mexico now has a successful hockey team. Wow! The Stars, and to a lesser extent, the Houston Aeros, made that happen. The Thrashers have done good things for hockey in Georgia, but it could be so much better! I am a journalist in Atlanta and have lived here for 10 years. I truly believe this market can work. It worked early in the franchise’s history with Heatley and Kovalchuk, before the ownership and year after year of dreadful teams made it nearly impossible to lure fans.

Your Vision

I dislike the term “deserve” in reference to any city and a sports team, but I believe you made a visionary plan for expanding into non-traditional markets. This plan can work. The fans that exist in Atlanta — and there are many — will come back, and I truly believe that with the right ownership, new fans can be created thereby expanding the game we so love.

I know you’re very busy and probably do not have time to read messages like this, but should you get it and take the time to read it, I want to thank you. Thank you for reading and thank you for your vision of hockey in the South. You are not wrong to believe in that vision and you would not be wrong to trust in the people and the city of Atlanta.

Thank you again for your time.

Sincerely,

The B Family,
Three true Southern hockey fans

* I have replaced names with initials.
** These letters appear as they were sent to me. No editing has been done.

Photo: Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk from atlantathrashers.com.

As you might be aware, I asked the Blueland faithful to send me their letters to NHL Commish Gary Bettman. In this third edition we hear from a passionate fan who pleads with the NHL brass for a fair chance for Atlanta to succeed as a hockey market. She also touches on many of the issues the hockey fans in Atlanta want people who don’t live here to understand.

Got a letter of your own? Please e-mail kaatiya[at]hockeygoddesses.com. We’d be delighted to post your letter here too. In the meantime, Thrasher fans STAY STRONG!

Mon, May 16, 2011 at 12:22 AM
Dear Commissioner Bettman,

I am writing to you in hopes of helping keep the Thrashers in Atlanta. There are numerous reasons why I believe we should not lose our hockey team. I know you already know the stats about the growth of Atlanta, the TV market and the corporate promise of Atlanta. However, I don’t know if you’ve thought about the impact of losing hockey in Atlanta will have for the game of hockey.

There has been a constant fight amongst the fans and the poor ownership, and can best be described as toxic. As a result, I do not believe the owners invested money, time, energy or passion into the hockey team. I fell that ii is apparent they are willing to just give up and sell the team without any hard and time consuming search. They have only been able to legally and seriously discuss selling the team for a few months. Mr. Bruce Levenson has never cared about the fans and created animosity when he told season ticket holders to “just deal with it”. I can’t believe the NHL cares about their fans, but allowed owners to have such a volatile and untrusting relationship with its fans. His comment for us fans to have interested buyers to contact him showed how serious they are about being owners of a team. Your average fan does not have enough money or contacts to just call up in a short period of time, if ever. If we are given time, maybe we as fans can find owners with the help of the NHL though. It would be a dream come true if I could own even 1% of a hockey team and I’d never forget the passion and love I have for the game and loyalty to the fans.

It’s been up to the fans for the most part to market and sell the team. I strongly believe the grass root efforts to grow the fan base is working. Also, after all of this we know how close we are to lsoing them. Despite, the team’s struggles and no marketing late in the season, attendance was there for the games on the weekends. We continue to bring friends, family, and co-workers to games. Most people can’t help but to fall in love with the game after watching it live. I remember numerous times when I’ve heard people say they couldn’t wait to come back to see a game. The owners have not put forth the effort and energy to market and sell this time to the community effectively.

If you question hockey’s growth here, I can give you just a few personal examples of how it is. My brother-in-law grew up loving the Flyers. He still is devoted to the Flyers, but the Thrashers are his second team and even admitted to me theThrashers may actually be his favorite now. My five year-old-nephew, Noah, LOVES the game of hockey. His favorite athlete is Zach Bogosian. He tells everybody his favorite thing to do is go see Bogie and the Thrashers. I’m an Auburn University alum and huge fan of the football team. This past season, I missed two AU games to attend Thrashers games. If you would have told me that even a year ago, I would have never believed it. I missed games in AU’s magical national championship season to watch Thrashers hockey! I remember watching Coach Chizik and the players after their first spring scrimmage and thinking that group would accomplish something special. I never knew it would happen in two years and result in a national championship. I get that same feeling with the Atlanta Thrashers team. I leaned over to a friend and told them I had that same feeling and he looked at me and said he agreed, there’s something special with this group. Please, don’t just take that away from a group of devoted fans without a fight.

The team is finally just that, a team. I know Ilya Kovalchuck was a great player, but the team was centered around him. After he left, it felt like a shift had occurred and people were more positive about the Thrashers. We have a team with multiple players fans have found something to appreciate in and grown to admire both individually and as a team. Just when we have a team that fans are starting to watch come together and develop is just the beginning. I can’t help but have the feeling that if this group stays together in Atlanta, you’ll have a team that we will love because we watched them come together through all the growing pains and struggles into a competitive, fun and successful team. The signings of Dustin Byfuglien, Chris Thorburn and Mark Stuart to extensions of multiple years this past season finally gave us fans excitement, hope and optimism. Please don’t take that away from us so fast and without an attempt at a fight and search for new owners. This team was pieced together so beautifully last year by Mr. Dudley (in his first year as GM) and in some odd sort of way (intentional or not) resembles the city of Atlanta. It really feels like our team. The fan base is growing and minorities are probably the fastest growing group of fans. The city is just starting to embrace this team and with infectious personalities like Buff, Evander Kane and Andrew Ladd, growth is limitless regardless of skin color and social and economic classifications.

Also, just look at the youth of Atlanta. Darren Eliot said there were 270 players at the Thunder AAA tryouts this past weekend. That despite all of the uncertainty of the home town NHL team that these kids follow and get inspiration from. One of the youth teams last year won a national championship and this past season I know I saw a story on another youth team winning a national tournament. If the Thrashers leave, the NHL loses these youth. High school hockey is just now taking off. If the Thrashers are not in Atlanta, the youth (and the public) will lose interest and the much needed support the Thrashers and the NHL provide. You never know, but the NHL leaving will stunt the growth of these players and the sport itself. We may just have the next Cam Fowler, Blake Geoffrion, Sidney Crosby, Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien or Tim Thomas in our growing hockey market. You take away the team they know, support and love and you take away their support system, love of the sport and any devotion they had because the NHL turned their back on them. The Thrashers being here provides the youth with inspiration, support, a goal to work towards and role models. Please don’t abandon the youth in one of the fastest growing hockey markets.

This franchise has had to endure a lot. The horrible accident and death of Dan Snyder left an indescribable mark on the franchise. Dan Snyder is still remembered and loved in Atlanta. I remember how everybody said we would fall apart after the Kovalchuck trade. We didn’t, and I think you could ask anybody associated with the Thrashers, but it finally feels like we have a team, hope and potential. I will never forget Feb. 6, 2010, the first home game after the Kovy trade. The team had endured a trip from hell in the middle of the worst blizzard to get from DC to Atlanta. The game was delayed, but the fans were there in full force to support our team. The arena was loud and showed support for our new look team. There was no negativity and players’ post game comments thanked the fans for their support. It feels like we are finally a team and building together as a “family”. To have that ripped away so suddenly, would abandon the region and the future of the game of hockey.

I don’t understand how the NHL could preach about fan loyalty, but then rip a team away from an emerging market. Fans of the Thrashers wouldn’t even get the chance to say good-bye or thank you to their team. Even if all we get is a guarantee of one more year, it buys us time to search for an owner(s), who do care and will share our love and support t for the team. Maybe a grassroots effort from fans will be what gets our team new owners.

Wow, this turned out to be a lot longer then I intended. I will admit if felt cathartic to get that all out in this time of confusion, rumors and uncertainty. Thank you for your time and bringing the best game of all to this Southern belle’s life. Please, don’t let it leave without helping us fight for our beloved Thrashers.

Sincerely,

S.W.

* I have replaced names with initials.
** These letters appear as they were sent to me. No editing has been done.

Photo: Thrashers fan tailgate from Getty Images.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I am posting some of the letters Atlanta Thrashers fans have sent via e-mail to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on the subject of relocation. Below are several passionate letters sent on different days by the same fan.

This man’s growing frustration and exasperation is evident. And why wouldn’t it be? This drama has been dragging on for weeks now. It is high time for someone in an official capacity to level with the people of Atlanta (and, let’s face it, Winnipeg too). Even if the news is the absolute worst, we deserve the truth. We deserve to know we are being heard! We spent thousands of dollars over the years “investing” in the team as management asked of us fans. Instead of our ticket reps. calling and asking us to re-up, let’s hear from someone in a position of power who can tell us just why, exactly, we should bother re-upping when the team is moving?! Where is the common courtesy we fans, er, customers (perhaps I mean suckers?) deserve?

As before, I have substituted initials for the author’s name. The letters are otherwise unaltered. Keep those letters coming Thrasher fans!

To: gbettman@nhl.com
Wednesday, May 11, 2011 3:00 PM

Good Afternoon,

Keeping this brief: I appreciate all you’ve done to keep the NHL in Phoenix, Tampa, and Carolina. I hope you will exercise similar efforts in keeping my Thrashers in Atlanta. We have awful ownership that has hamstrung us for years.

Respectfully,
E.M.

To: gbettman@nhl.com
Monday, May 16, 2011 2:00 PM

Hopefully this subject line isn’t already in the “mark for deletion” bin, but I am writing again to plead on behalf of Atlanta NHL fans facing the loss of yet another NHL franchise. I appreciate your statement last week confirming my suspicions that folks are just making stuff up. Supposedly Winnipeg is driving hard to grab my team and shuttle them up north. I have several points:

1. Atlanta has not had quality ownership for 8 years.
2. Other NHL cities have had the benefit of the NHL fighting hard to keep them in their cities.
3. Atlanta deserves just as much effort.
4. The NHL has invested a large amount of money keeping the Coyotes in Phoenix. Please don’t try to recoup those expenditures to the detriment of Atlanta fans.
5. No threats of boycotts. Just a heartfelt plea to keep my Thrashers in Atlanta.
6. If you build it, we will bring our friends back. We have never left.

E.M.

To: gbettman@nhl.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 2:31 PM

Many of us watched in horror as the Flames were dispatched to Calgary. I even witnessed my hometown Minnesota North Stars relocated to Dallas. While the Wild has been a well run organization, our Atlanta Thrashers have been run more poorly than any franchise in professional sports. The misnamed “Atlanta Spirit Group” never wanted the Thrashers, in my opinion, and only took them as a part of a package deal to obtain the Atlanta Hawks. Now the guys want neither. We as Thrashers fans are devoted to our team. And have watched approvingly as you fought well to keep Nashville, Carolina, Tampa, Pittsburgh, and recently, Phoenix in their locations. Please remain consistent and help us look out for the local interest, which seems very prevalent in your bylaws. There appear to be local buyers. We deserve at least as much effort as Phoenix. While I know the situation is moderately different, the loss of the Thrashers would be devastating to the Atlanta community, and the NHL as a whole would look bad.

Thank you,
E.M.

To: gbettman@nhl.com
Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2011 10:18 AM

Swirling unconfirmed reports continue to call the move to Winnipeg a “done deal”, yet the NHL is silent. We deserve better than that from the NHL. Winnipeg fans deserve better than that. If this is a done deal, made months ago as some in the media are speculating, then all this “working to find a local buyer” is a sham. If no deal is done, and the Thrashers remain in Atlanta ultimately, Winnipeg fans will be understandably devastated.

Hockey fans are proud and passionate. We will spar with one another, but there is a measure of mutual respect that binds us together, both north and south of the border. Does the NHL actually care about us? More than lip service and autoresponses? Make all the claims that Phoenix and Atlanta’s situations are different that you want to, the fact remains that Phoenix was fought hard for. Atlanta is being allowed to swing in the breeze. We have had abysmal ownership the past 8 years and we have endured it, while still making a respectable showing to games. We have been publicly excoriated by our ownership group when we dared to question a rise in season ticket prices after consecutive losing seasons. “Deal with it,” was the message, verbatim. Such contempt for fans, yet we still do NOT rank as the lowest attendance in the league. You have allowed this to go on. If the Thrashers are ultimately moved for 2011-2012, the NHL will be the laughingstock of professional sports. It is common knowledge how awful the misnamed Atlanta Spirit Group is. You know it firsthand.

Assuming no NHL official goes on the record between now and Saturday afternoon, my son and I will be at our tailwake party. He’s been a hockey fan since 1998, right before the first year the Thrashers played. We discussed the Flames, and how “this was going to be different, and the NHL has a good market down here”. He played roller hockey for 4 seasons in Snellville, one of which I coached (primarily because there was a team without a coach), and he joined a travel league of under 8 year olds. From then until now, we’ve followed the Thrashers, but no time more than 2010-2011. He was excited to see his favorite player from the 2009-2010 cup champion Blackhawks in a Thrashers uni (Dustin Byfuglien). We watched every game televised, listened to Kamal call untelevised games and made it to a few games at Philips, including the final game vs the Pens. That place is a great atmosphere, even with all the turmoil of “imminent sale to Winnipeg”. And next season he is going to college in Nashville. I had considered buying him a partial season ticket package, just so he’d have a chance to remember the great times (and great “shouting at the TV” evenings) this season. He is my last kid to leave the house, and I will be devastated if the Thrashers leave. I have no delusions that my presence at a tailgate will change a gutless ownership group that just sucks more than gravity, but we will be there in our Thrashers jerseys. One from 1999, one from 2011. Potential bookends to a team franchise that had so much squandered potential. From dumb decisions such as the one to hang ones goalie hats on Damien Rhodes, through the Dany Heatley/Dan Snyder tragedy, the Kovalchuk departure, the Marian Hossa “hired gun”, all the way to possibly end with not so much as a real chance given to our great city to support a franchise that was hamstrung from 2003 on. Atlanta Spirit Group should keep the acronym, but change to Atlanta Shame Group.

E.M.

Thrash Fans: Have a Letter to Share?
Send an e-mail to kaatiya[at]hockeygoddesses.com

If you have been following the saga of my Atlanta Thrashers, you know all of the arguments being made for — and against — relocation of the franchise to Winnipeg. Though I have so much in my heart for the Thrashers, I have found myself unable to post about it here. Maybe I am still in denial.

Nevertheless, I have answered the call to action from Thrashers fans far more organized than me. I’ve written letters, I’ve debated with Winnipeg fans, supported the tailgate/rally, contacted my ticket rep., badgered members of the media, begged, pleaded, taken the insults being thrown at my city and the fans of this team, even cried a little bit in private. Not that it matters. It seems the Thrashers’ ownership group has been hell bent on moving this team all along, having worked a backroom deal months ago. I can honestly say I did what (little) I could.

I’ve asked some of the great people I’ve met through social media to forward me some of the letters they sent to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman (and others). I received quite a few. I will post them here as a small sampling of the sentiments of Thrashers fans everywhere. These people say what I cannot. My heart is too full, too broken. Here’s our first installment of “Letters to Gary…”

Mr Bettman,

Please don’t allow the Atlanta Spirit to relocate my Thrashers this soon after beginning their search for a buyer. I am aware they have been wanting to sell my team for the entire time they’ve owned them, but did not have clear title to do so until December 2010. Given the unknown duration of litigation, I’m sure you can imagine why no outside buyers would have seriously considered the purchase from the Atlanta Spirit until after their lawsuit was settled.

Five months is not enough time for due diligence. Five months is not enough time to determine relocation is the only answer left. Five months is not enough time for Atlanta Spirit and the NHL to determine that there are/aren’t local buyers interested in the purchase, and it’s not enough time for local buyers to complete their due diligence required to determine whether or not the purchase of the Thrashers is a real prospect they want to pursue.

Given the NHL by-laws regarding relocation requests (have to be entered by Jan. 1st) there is not reason to rush this sale. If it turns out on December 31st that a relocation deal is the only deal on the table, then I completely understand the need to enter the request to the NHL to move my team. I implore you to allow more time for this process to take place.

Best regards,

M.W.

* I have replaced names with initials.
** These letters appear as they were sent to me. No editing has been done.

Thrashers Fans: Have a Letter to Share?

We would love to have any letters you wrote to Gary Bettman, team representatives, NHL brass, city council members — anyone you might have been appealing to. Please send copies of your letters to kaatiya [at] hockeygoddesses.com . Thanks!

Photo: Ilya Kovalchuk by Goddess Kaatiya. Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved.

Just like the awesome vintage 1990s computer game, television show and book series “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” the location of the Washington Capitals has become a game fans are tired of playing. They will play balls-to-the-wall one game, disappear for long stretches, then reappear in period-long spurts before bombing out again. Going from a team that would battle back from a two-goal deficit, to a team that can’t beat the worst teams in the league on a good night, this is a far cry from what I was thinking they’d be going into this season. That said, there is still plenty of hockey left to change my mind, but how much is too little?

With trade deadline not two weeks away, time is of the essence and the outcome continues to look rather bleak for this highly talented Caps team. The recent 4-1 loss to a struggling Los Angeles Kings team being another bullet to the brigade. A good game here and there is not enough to convince me this team is “getting better.” Maybe a couple new player acquisitions can shake things up. I’m hoping to see the very first coaching trade on the busiest day of the year for National Hockey League GMs.

There have been a few rumblings on if the Caps will be buyers or sellers come February 28, and right now I’m kind of wondering about this myself. Why? Call it a fan wanting some answers or maybe a fan who is beginning to get fed up with people in the Caps front office sitting on their hands and wishing for a solution instead of actively trying to find one.

People have been talking about it since the team failed to snap a dismal multi-game losing streak back in November. I’ve been talking about it; NHL press conferences have been abuzz about it. What has gone wrong with the Washington Capitals?

The answer is about as simple as it is complex.

A lot has gone wrong and these problems were there long before the puck dropped on the regular season back in October. So what are the most obvious and over-used reasons (excuses?) that the team is failing? Let me see if I can sum it up in one sentence.

Alexander Ovechkin is a horrible captain who competes with Backstrom for fattest player on the team, which means Alexander Semin is a useless sack of bones who flat out sucks as much as Jeff Schultz does trying to play hockey or defense, while Bruce Boudreau, Ted Leonsis and George McPhee are the irreplaceable blowhards who reinforce optional practices that pilots this team of partiers who repeatedly fail on power plays and can’t hold onto leads to save their lives.

That about cover it?

Personally, I’ve finally jumped on the Fire Boudreau bandwagon. I tried to defend him, I tried to stay positive, but now it’s clearly not working with him behind the bench. After last year we screamed for him to change the system to focus more on defense. He did that. I’m satisfied. Unfortunately that system squeezed the offensive prowess out of the team to where they have forgotten how to take control of hockey games. They can’t balance offensive spark with defensive grit and they wind up floating around the ice for at least 40 minutes a game like headless chickens. That is where the coach needs to step in, and Bruce can’t do that anymore. You can tell by the look on the players faces that he’s lost them.

People like to argue with me when I say he’s lost the team. “But, but … the players say they like him and don’t want him to leave. They don’t think he’s the problem.” Well do you really expect them to openly criticize the guy? Most of them have been with him since his Hershey glory days; others since he picked up a losing team and turned them into playoff contenders. How could you openly criticize a guy who has made you into a winning team — even though he has taken you as far as he can? Simply put, I think the players realize Boudreau has taken them as far as he can, but respect him too much from all that he is done to say so. Put yourself in the players shoes, doesn’t it seem a little audacious to say that about him? Some may see it, some may deny it, some may not even care, but they know it — whether they’ll say it to reporters or not.

What is interesting to me is that the Philadelphia Flyers fired their coach and made it to the Stanley Cups Finals. Tampa got rid of John Tortorella and now they are a commanding force again in the East. Sure none of them have won cups since their coaching changes, but the team I’d most compare the Caps with fired their coach and went on to win the Stanley Cup the same year. In professional sports, if you don’t win, you fire your coach and bring in someone else.

The University of Michigan lost to Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl this year by a record score of 52-14. Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez was fired even after a “good” season because they didn’t produce when it mattered. What will it take for Leonsis to see things from this perspective? Sure it’s college football vs. professional hockey. Apples to oranges, I know. Bottom line is, Bruce has yet to get this team to win in the post-season and now he can’t get them to win in the regular season. What more needs to happen before this season is completely wasted too? At the current rate, if they manage to squeak into the play-offs they’ll crash out in no time from being out-coached. Hate to be negative, but sometimes the truth ain’t pretty folks.

To sum it up comically (paraphrasing the words of an Adam Sandler movie): This team has all them teeth and no toothbrush and something is going to have to stop these cavities from getting worse. Whether it be firing the dentist or getting a root canal, a few teeth might need to be pulled before we can think about flashing these pearly whites again.

I just hope it’s not too late.

It’s not surprising that the plot of the classic hockey movie “Slapshot” (yes, it does actually have a plot, not just Paul Newman one-liners and the Hanson brothers) concerns the future and viability of a minor-league team. Those of us who follow minor-league hockey are well aware that this is a recurring theme.

Even one of the original American Hockey League franchises – Springfield, Massachusetts – was and is not immune to the spectre of losing its team. In fact, it’s already happened relatively recently, when the Springfield Indians were sold and moved to Worcester in the fall of 1994, only three years after winning their last Calder Cup.

Fortunately for Springfield, General Manager Bruce Landon was able to secure a new AHL franchise, and with help from a group of local investors, ice the Springfield Falcons that fall.

Unfortunately, instability at the NHL level with the Falcons’ parent franchises has filtered down to the AHL level for more than a decade. Originally a farm club of the neighboring Hartford Whalers and Winnipeg Jets (an odd situation, caused by their being one more NHL team than possible AHL affiliates), the Falcons lost the Whalers when they moved to North Carolina and became the Hurricanes. The Jets carried on their affiliation through their move to Phoenix, but then the Falcons moved on to connections with Tampa Bay for two years, and then Edmonton until this year. None of them were particularly happy marriages, mostly because struggling NHL franchises don’t usually sustain successful AHL franchises. And the bottom line, of course, is always winning.

Accustomed to a successful hockey franchise (the Indians won back-to-back AHL championships in
’91 and ’92), soured by bad and way too distant relationships with their parent franchises, and put off by horrible teams, fans lost interest and attendance dwindled. The worsening economy of recent years didn’t help either, nor did a perception of downtown Springfield as an unsafe place.

Constant appeals for season-ticket purchases accompanied by dire warnings that Springfield could lose its hockey franchises appeared in the local news every summer and fall in recent years, but many hockey fans shrugged them aside until last month, when news broke suddenly that the franchise had indeed been sold.

However, the purchaser — Charles Pompea (“Who?” everyone said) a retired steel executive who lives in Florida – announced immediately that he purchased the team with the express purpose of keeping it in Springfield. Turns out he’s originally from Connecticut, and plans to be in Springfield this weekend to see his team in person for the first time.

After the announced sale, news came out that the team had been closer to disaster than anyone had imagined. Landon reportedly spoke to more than two dozen other possible ownership groups, and all but two (and those two were not serious candidates) would have moved the franchise away from Springfield.

On the heels of the announced sale, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Falcons’ latest parent team, announced that they will pick up their option for next year and remain in Springfield for the foreseeable future.

Unfortunately the Blue Jackets are struggling, and those struggles have had ramifications for the Falcons in the form of call-ups and a shorthanded team. Springfield has a very good chance of missing the playoffs, which are the lifeblood of a minor-league franchise.

However, they’re giving a good effort every night, fans seem interested, and Pompea has said he wants his team to be involved in the community. The marriage is back on solid ground, which is great news for one of the storied franchises of the AHL, and for minor-league hockey.

I have to say I gasped, then laughed like crazy when I saw the latest in Ilya-gate. The arbiter ruled in favor of the National Hockey League! WHAT?! As the late, great Johnny Carson would no-doubt have said (if he’d been a hockey fan), “that’s some weird, wild stuff.”

What is it with these ex-Atlanta Thrashers who become drama queens when they leave the team? Maybe Kovy has always been a bit of a diva (yeah, he has been), but we’ve had a string of interesting former Thrasher players all mixed up in the drama: Hossa-gate (and all the unnecessary rudeness surrounding it, of which I disapproved), Dany-gate (and all the rudeness that he did deserve), now this. A high-profile player cannot leave the Thrashers without drama ensuing — either immediately, during or after his departure. (So we stand on alert waiting for Kari Lehtonen to implode, get thrown from a bucking bronco at a dive bar in Dallas and tweak his groin, or eat himself into a fast food coma.)

Kovy, Kovy, Kovy. You could have avoided all of this ages ago by just taking the sweetheart deal the Thrashers begged you to sign.

This is all very amusing to me. Is it just me?! Perhaps “drama queen” is overstating it, but really. This is crazy. Kovalchuk is a free agent again! A little more than a month after he became a UFA, Kovalchuk could flit off to the Kontinental Hockey League and join the super team SKA St. Petersburg seems to be amassing over there. He could crown himself a Los Angeles King after all. Or, the humble and loving Thrasher fan in me naively, somewhere in the back of her mind thinks, he could come home to Atlanta. Yes. Go get him Dudley! (Oh! Silly me. We are not a “class organization” in his eyes, so never mind the bollocks!)

Am I spiteful? Just experiencing a wicked case of schadenfreude and am all giddy? Feel free to leave a comment and let me know. Until then … LOL Kovy. Oh dear!

Photo: Ilya Kovalchuk from kiltmen.com. If I am not mistaken, that photograph originally appeared in a fashion spread in a magazine many years ago. The Hockey Goddesses regret not knowing the original copyright owner, but would welcome this information (as much as we would welcome knowing how the author of the story and/or photographer persuaded him to pose in this garb — delightful and oddly sexy as it is.)