A face the (Canadian) media loves to hate — why?

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?

Members of the Canadian media, including Pierre McGuire, seem to enjoy denigrating Russian players.

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. 

Bust out the 10-gallon hats and whoop it up — Jaromir Jagr is going to Big D.

On learning Jaromir Jagr signed a big one-year deal with the Dallas Stars, most hockey watchers seemed either confused (Why would the Stars bring in yet another player over 40?) or snide (Ha! Another has-been player for an irrelevant team in a city that doesn’t care anyway). As a Texan, born and bred, I get my back up when anyone starts in on our fair state. And, as a hockey fan from Texas, I feel the Northern media has once again missed the point.

The Stars are not bringing Jaromir Jagr to Big D expecting him to be what he once was. They aren’t expecting him to win any scoring races. Heck, I’d argue they aren’t even bringing him in for leadership or to share his Zen philosophy of training or eating. Dallas has secured the services of Jaromir Jagr for one reason: Star Power.

It’s no secret the Dallas Stars have suffered in recent years. Times have been hard, with the team coming oh-so-close to the playoffs and petering out at the bitter end.  The reasons (excuses?) are many:  Ownership difficulties, bad marketing, loss of focus, exorbitant ticket prices in a dreadful economy, and competition with collegiate and NFL football and MLB, as well as a popular championship-winning NBA team …  Really, the list of the Stars’ woes seems endless.

All of these factors have contributed to the franchise’s downward spiral, but none of these has hurt more than the loss of the face of the franchise, Mike Modano.  In Dallas, star power is required to get the public’s notice.  It is football country and in order to turn heads away, a team needs to either win or have a true super star (preferably both).  That person must have the cocky swagger we Texans like, but he also must be humble and human (see Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, or, say, Matthew McConaughey).  He needs to have a presence that demands notice and skills that make people say, “you gotta see this guy!”

Jaromir Jagr meets all of those criteria.  He has the kind of personality Texans adore.  He has massive talent that he attributes to a higher power.  (Texans doubly love that.)  He is confident in himself and his skills.  He works hard. He’s personable, quirky, has a good sense of humor and is quick to laugh.  And he is the kind of player who flirts with the media.  He winks and smiles and teases — and Texans like their personalities big — the bigger the better.

Is he slowing down?  No doubt.  Will he shine like he did in his mulleted glory days?  Perhaps not.  But he is almost guaranteed to provide enough dazzling moments of otherworldly brilliance to get people in Dallas talking about hockey again.  He is the kind of  player who transcends the sport he plays.  He is the kind of player people mark their calendars to come and see.  He is the kind of guy you want to see before he retires.

He is what hockey in Dallas has been missing:  He is a true star, now with a capital “S.”

Photograph:  Geneen Pipher/Hockey VIPs Magazine

Editor’s note:  The following is a rough translation of an interview with Pavel Bure on his election to the Hockey Hall of Fame.  The interview appeared in the Russian publication Sovietsky Sport.

Bure joins six other Russian-born players in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Q:  Are you surprised that in 2012 you were elected to both the IIHF Hall of Fame and the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Pavel Bure:  Oh, for sure. I did not even care!  So, I made a double?  A funny coincidence!

Q:  Do you think the Hockey Hall of Fame’s decision was affected by Igor Larionov’s presence on the selection committee?

Bure:  I have seen Igor often in recent years — in Helsinki, when I was accepted into the IIHF Hall of Fame, at the funeral of [Russian hockey great] Vladimir Krutov … On this subject he did not say for sure. But I have many things in common with Larionov. I lived in his house when [I] first came to the Vancouver Canucks.  Igor was a great player and a very good man.

Q:  For you to get into the Hall of Fame, where only six Russian players have been accepted, is very prestigious?

Bure:  Yes, it is very honorable. I know that the NHL Hall of Fame is a conservative organization. They consider greatly before making a choice. But, [if] I had my way, I would have even more of our [players] in the museum.

Q:  They are mostly taking those who distinguished themselves in the NHL?

Bure:  Not a fact. What?  Vladislav Tretiak and Valeri Kharlamov played for the Montreal Canadiens?  Or  Anatoli Tarasov coached the Toronto Maple Leafs? Look at what they contributed to the development of hockey.

Q:  What do you say to critics who write that Pavel Bure has no business in the Hockey Hall of Fame without a Stanley Cup?

Bure:  To be honest, I do not read them.  And the attitude is simple — do not change the past. Some things happened, some things not. This is life.  And I’m glad it worked out that way.

Photograph:  Wiki Commons

Semin is getting noticed for his post-season play.

If you’re familiar with our blog, you know that I’m an unapologetic Russophile. And there is no Russian more deserving of my love than Alexander Semin of the Washington Capitals — especially during this post season.  In fact, he’s been so dominant in all aspects of the game that sportscasters, play-by-play and color commentators alike have been forced to acknowledge his stellar play.

You’d think I would be happy that he is finally getting his due, but I’m not entirely pleased.  As a matter of fact, I become a bit more exasperated every time I hear his name, because you never just hear what a great job he’s doing.  Rather, it’s always preceded by something like “not known for his defense …”

Maybe he’s not “known” for his defense but he’s not known for his lack of defensive play either.  He has been a plus player for most of his career and, while he was a mere +9 this year, he was a +22 in 2010-11 and a +36 in 2009-10.  Mike Greene has made more defensive errors in half the games this year and he is a defenseman!  Do you hear the experts make such qualified statements about him?  No.  Am I surprised?   Not at all.  The bias against Russians has emerged in this absurd, covert and undeserved bashing of Semin.

“In a rare effort, Semin dives for the puck,” the NBC Sports team raves.  Rare effort?  Let’s face it, Semin is never going to be an overly physical player.  It’s not his style.  He is deceptively fast as he is a smooth skater trained under the Soviet sports system, and could most certainly out skate the majority of current NHL players.  Yet for whatever reason, the rough-and-tumble skating style of most North American players gives spectators — and even Semin’s former teammates – the idea that these players are trying harder.  If you’re not willing to put your body on the line every shift, you’re accused of not putting out a decent effort.  Again, I’m crying xenophobia.

Then there’s the age-old accusation that Semin just doesn’t care.  Case in point:  “Semin one minute looks like a complete player, then the next looks like he’s not interested in the game,” a color commentator opined during the Boston series.  Earlier this year, his former coach Bruce Boudreau said Semin really does care, claiming no one on the team takes losing as hard as he does.  Taking a two-minute penalty is so devastating to him because of the consequences it might have on the team, Boudreau asserts, that he has a hard time not letting it affect the rest of his game.  This is an insight those highly critical of him apparently choose to ignore, forget or simply not believe.  After all, he’s not Sidney Crosby!

Maybe the North American media are coming around.  Before game one of the second round, they highlighted Semin as the top Cap the playoffs — without a hint of criticism.  I’m not ready to completely forgive the folks at NBC Sports just yet though.  If he fails to live up to his performance in the first round, I’m willing to bet he’ll be the first one blamed.  Still, with his contract up at the end of the year, the long-overdue positive PR can only increase the value of the overly criticized and extremely underrated Alexander Semin.

Photograph: Shannon Valerio

Val Bure interacts with Canucks fans on Twitter.

Who knew Canucks fans were so easy to rile?  The same fans who have spent the entire season questioning/groaning about/cursing Bobby Lu (that’s Roberto Luongo to those of us outside of YVR), were quick to jump to his aid when former NHLer Val Bure Tweeted that he didn’t believe the team had the chops to make it to the Stanley Cup Final and pointed to goaltending as one of the reasons why.

“I will not pick Vancouver to Win stanley Cup that’s for sure,” Bure had the audacity to opine.

“How dare you?!” Those reading in Canucks nation cried in almost universal outrage.

His reply to all comers, in between discussing the carrot cake he was sweetly making for his wife’s birthday, was a steadfast “I’m sorry, that’s what I think.”

During the course of the day, Bure was hit with a barrage of nasty comments:  Some pointing out his own lack of a Stanley Cup ring, some questioning his hockey knowledge and one wanting to know how he could fail to support the team his brother played for all those years ago.

Throughout the day, he put on a clinic for would-be NHLers and ex-NHLers on how to be engaging and interesting on Twitter.  He didn’t get all huffy and self-righteous the way Dan Ellis did when fans took him to task on Twitter a few years ago.  Instead he used a mix of humor, humility and straight talk (e.g. “I think I know hockey way more then you ever will.”)

While some may take the last remark as arrogance, Joe and Jane Fan at home can’t deny this is true.  And, like his opinion that the Canucks will once again fail to capture hockey’s holy grail, the truth sometimes hurts.

We urge you to follow @ValBure for opinions and discussions on all manner of topics from hockey and religion to fitness, wine and the best ingredients for a carrot cake.

Image:  From Twitter

Henrik Lundqvist is one of several NHLers to appear in the the 'You Can Play' ads.

The National Hockey League has embraced the fight against homophobia — and it’s about time.

With the death of Brian Burke’s son Brendan and the subsequent ceasing of one of the first advocate for potentially gay professional hockey players,  many in the LGBT community wondered if the efforts would continue.

Well, they have. Not only has Brian Burke continued the advocacy, but his other son Patrick has put his efforts into raising awareness about gay athletes.  After his brother’s death, Patrick hit the road with Glen Whitman, the founding member of GForce, a Denver based hockey organization that has morphed from an all-star, all-gay hockey team to a full-fledged advocacy group.  Focusing on college athletes, the group presented panels at the University of Denver, Boston College and the University of Toronto.  Now, he’s created a new non-profit, called the “You Can Play” project.  With several NHL players as spokesmen, appearing in video clips, the support for gay athletes appears to be moving full speed ahead.

More and more pressure is being put on professional athletes to be accepting of teammates and opponents of all backgrounds.  The LGBT community has traditionally lagged behind in public acceptance, but hopefully with help from current NHL players and the efforts of supporters like Glen and Patrick, things will slowly begin to change.  Where it was once commonplace to hear not just the uneducated, homophobic slur, but to hear conscious bigotry against homosexuals, the locker room seemed to take on a “don’t ask, don’t tell” mentality with teammates that were either rumored or suspected to be gay.  Now, the doors of understanding are opening and players will soon be faced with accepting teammates who refuse to hide their sexuality.

Take the March 17 episode of Hockey Night in Canada’s ”After Hours” program.  Vancouver Canucks forward Chris Higgins was asked by a gay Tweeter for his opinion on the “You Can Play” campaign, and how he would feel if he had an “out” teammate.  Kudos to the HNIC staff for allowing the question to be asked, or for literally making Chris Higgins sweat!

Who will be the first NHL player to come out?  Probably someone we least expect.  After all, being in the NHL to begin with defies all stereotypes.    And in my opinion, this is a good thing.

 Photograph:  Screen capture from “You Can Play” ad

Sidney Crosby arrives at the Consol Energy Center

November 21,2011 wasn’t an ordinary day in the NHL. November 21 marked the retun of the greatest player in the history of hockey – nay, the greatest player in the history of any sport! The only reason the NHL exists is to provide a platform for his awesomeness. The King has returned: Sidney Crosby.

But it’s not only for a lowly hockey goddess to remark upon the blessedness of the return of Sidney Crosby, which has saved the NHL from the End Times. There are many in the chorus of the lowly peons who are dancing in joy and weeping in ecstacy.

Versus spokeman: Of course we dumped the Bruins-Canadiens game for The Return. After all, who cares about the greatest rivalry in the history of sports when you can show The King scoring at will against the sorriest team in the NHL? It’s a no-brainer!

ESPN spokesman: Hockey? What’s that? Oh, Crosby’s back? Hey, we love hockey!

Tim Thomas: Yeah, I know Cary Price and I were both coming off shutouts, and I extended my personal shutout streak to 133 minutes in a nail-biting 1-0 win in Montreal, but Sidney Crosby is much, much more important than the defending Stanley Cup champion playing a team that had beaten them twice last month.

Anders Nilsson: I may be a 21-year-old rookie who was making my first NHL start, but I’ll put my 4.25 GAA up against anyone in the league! Oh, um, sorry. Ahem. I’m honored to have been the worthy challenger for His Majesty in his return.

Pierre McGuire:  You talk about the all-around superstar that Sidney Crosby is, it’s been a Crosby-palooza tonight.*

NHL: Let’s hope every player in the league has learned an important lesson. Headshots were fine as long as the targets were guys like Marc Savard. But Sidney Crosby is our bread and butter. He and Ovechkin are the only players ESPN viewers can name. It behooves us all to pay proper tribute. All together now!

NHL players: Hail Sidney! All hail The King!

* I am not making this up.

Photo by Terry Moore

They obscure a player’s vision. They’re uncomfortable. Tough guys don’t wear them. Hockey is becoming overprotective.

Sound familiar? Those were the arguments used by hockey “purists” not so many decades ago against goalie masks.

Fast forward a couple of decades, and you can trot out the same old arguments against helmets.

Fast forward a few more, and now it’s visors. Some things never change.

It took the visionary Jacques Plante to make goalie masks acceptable, and it didn’t hurt that he was one of the best at his position. It took the death of Bill Masterton – and ten long years of debate and heel-dragging - for the NHL to bow to the obvious and protect the players’ craniums. Will it take the death of another player to finally convince the league and its players to protect their eyes?

Perhaps it will, because it didn’t take this:

Manny Malhotra after being hit with a shot. He might as well have BEEN shot.

And it didn’t take this:

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Johnny Boychuk’s slapshot has been clocked at 105 mph. Everyone praised Stamkos for returning to the game after the shield dug a substantial chunk out of his nose, but everyone seems to have dismissed or not even considered the very real possibility that if he had not been wearing it, the puck would have struck him right between the eyes, and it’s very likely the Lightning would have been dedicating this season to a dead teammate.

The NHL is the only hockey league in the world that does not require its players to wear visors. Rookies come into the league today having worn visors their entire lives. Thankfully, the majority of players are keeping them on – the NHLPA, according to the Associated Press, says more than 65 percent of players under 30 wear visors. But if one player is killed or disabled because he doesn’t wear a visor, that’s one too many.

Visors aren’t magic. Nobody believes that wearing one will keep a player safe from all harm. But protecting eyes, like protecting genitals, should be a no-brainer. Anyone want to suggest players forego playing with a protective cup?

And to paraphrase Mae West, macho (like goodness) has nothing to do with it. A puck, stick or skate doesn’t care who is or isn’t a tough guy. If a player wants to fight, he can take a second to flip his lid, just as he drops his stick and gloves.

The CBA is up for renewal this summer, and hopefully the leadership will take these warnings to heart and protect the players from themselves. If a few holdouts are adamant, follow the protocol established by the helmet rule and grandfather visors in. And hopefully a couple of decades from now, we can all look back and laugh at the idea of NHL players not protecting the most valuable of God’s gifts – their sight.

Photo via Getty Images

Peter Forsberg speaks at his jersey retirement ceremony

Saturday night was one of the most moving, emotional nights for me as a hockey fan.  It was the night that the jersey of one of my hockey heroes, Peter Forsberg, was retired.

Like all retirement ceremonies these days, it was more than just the raising of a banner, a nice parting gift and video montage of the player’s career.  In fact, by Avalanche standards, this was exceptionally extravagant.

For the first time ever, a player actually entered from the concourse, down the arena stairs, shaking hands with fans, and entered the ice for one final victory lap while waiving to fans one final time.  Pierre Lacroix was there, along with Stan Kroenke and son Josh, now owner of the Avs.  By pure chance, we were sitting rinkside on the isle that Peter walked down.  Both my husband and I got to shake his hand in what will be one of the most memorable moments in hockey for me.

Peter Forsberg will always hold a special place in my heart.  I rediscovered hockey in 1990, after meeting my now-husband.  My dad had been a Colorado Rockies season ticket holder when I was a kid, and once the team left town, I lost interest in hockey.  Back then, I love Rene Robert and Lanny McDonald.  As a born-again-hockey fan, I saw Wayne Gretzky in his prime and watched Jaromir Jagr and Teemu Selanne in their first years.  But as a Colorado Avalanche hockey fan, I saw Peter Forsberg from the beginning of his career, day in and day out.  While the Eastern Conference media personalities were shrugging their shoulders at his name, fans in Colorado and players all over the league were talking about this amazing player.

I had the opportunity to meet him once before.  Cody McCormick was playing for the Avalanche and his father was in town.  A family friend, he took us down to wait for Cody, and with his encouragement I asked Peter for a photo.  He was friendly, smiling – not the stereotypical stoic Swede.  Whether he was or not, he seemed real.  For all my years as a fan, it was my first, and one of my only, pictures with a player.

Number 21 banner is raised in honor of Peter Forsberg

On Saturday night, the finality of it hit and I was overcome with emotion.  To see a player begin and end his career, one that you had love to watch so much, along with the realization of how much of your own life has passed, is quite an emotional experience.

I will remember every detail of the night – the hand shake, Pierre Lacroix having to be delivered directly to his chair on the ice (does anyone know what his ailment is?), to watching Peter cry as they lifted the banner with his number to the ceiling to hang next to Joe Sakic’s and Patrick Roy’s.

While the finality of his goodbye finally hits me, perhaps I can take a bit of inspiration from a career that was too short and attempt to make my own accomplishments equally as great.  Our opportunities will be gone before we know it, after all.  Or maybe I just bask in the memories of watching one of the greatest players to ever play the game.

Photos: Peter Forsberg and jersey raising by Goddess Sasha. Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved.

Army man Yashin.

Cha-ching! Yashin Back in Moscow

After a brief fall flirtation with the New York Islanders, Alexei Yashin has joined CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League. The former NHLer spent a few weeks working out with his former club, prompting speculation he might rejoin the team. The magical reunion did not happen and he signed with the venerable Russian squad known as the Red Army team. Yashin is cashing in though, as remains on the Islanders payroll through the 2014-15 season.

Kozlov Reclaims Lucky Number

Slava Kozlov suits up for Dynamo.

When Slava Kozlov signed up to play in the KHL, he seemed to have resigned his signature No. 13, opting instead for No. 72 — a number he donned in the days of the Soviet Union and during his first go-round with CSKA Moscow. He took this number again, wearing it once more for CSKA Moscow, whom he signed with at the end of the 2009-10 NHL season. What’s old is new again this season as Kozlov is once again donning No. 13, the number he made lucky during his 18 seasons in the NHL.

Photographs: Alexei Yashin from cska-hockey.ru; Vyacheslav Kozlov from dynamo.ru.

Can this man help heal a broken heart? Here's hoping!

It’s the start of the hockey season — normally a source of great excitement and joy in my family — but I am bereft. My team is gone, spirited away to a better place. A real hockey market — where people actually deserve it.

Right.

I can’t express how tiresome those sentiments have become. But before I spiral into despair over the loss of my Atlanta Thrashers, I thought I would attempt to compile a list of things that are keeping the gossamer thread of love for the NHL intact for me. You know, the kind of exercise completed by depressed people and Oprah disciples trying to force themselves to be more grateful. So here is my self-indulgent, things-that-keep-me-hanging on list…

1.) Fantasy Hockey
If it weren’t for my long-standing fantasy teams, I may have thrown up my hands in disgust and just gone back to being a college football fan like I (as a person living in the South) am expected to do. But I have built many good friendships through my involvement in fantasy hockey and am the commish of a 12-16 team all-girls league. Looking forward to helming my own virtual teams once again has helped me through the bleakest of bleak times.

2.) Boomer Gordon, on-air personality for Sirius/XM’s Home Ice channel
Oddly, I used to kind of dread hearing his voice. It’s not your typical “Hey! I’m a radio guy!” voice, and I used to think he sounded a little drunk on air, but over the five or six years I’ve been listening, he’s become a true favorite. He can be excessively harsh, but has always been fair about the Thrashers, where most people haven’t. Maybe it’s because he is an Islanders fan. No matter, his show has been the one hockey program I could bear to listen to this summer.

3.) Jaromir Jagr
Thank you Jags for returning to the NHL! The anticipation of seeing one of my longstanding favorites has given me something to look forward to, now that I have no team to call my own.

4.) The KHL
I know it sounds crazy, but bear with me. Regular readers know that Sasha and I are Russophiles. We’ve been studying Russian and have traveled to Moscow several times now to watch hockey and raise some hell. My all-time favorite player (anyone care to name him?) is still playing over there, and I try to follow his career from afar. Being able to still be interested in hockey (any hockey!), I think, will help me pull out of this funk so I can one day love again.

5.) Anger
Now that my team has been stolen away, I have powerfully negative feelings toward certain players who dissed Atlanta and, of course, the team I used to love. Hate is the other side of love after all. And just maybe looking forward to cheering against a team will help heal my broken heart.

I’d love to hear from other Thrashers fans — how are you coping with the loss of the team? What keeps you hanging on?

Since the brutal play-off exit of the Washington Capitals in April by the sticks of the Tampa Bay Lightning in an embarrassing 4 game sweep in the Semi-Finals, a lot of fingers have been pointed and a lot of blame has been shifted on what went wrong YET AGAIN. I don’t want to beat a dead horse here. I’m tired of talking about, tired of reading about it, and tired of people trying to tell me I’m not a true Caps fan for bashing my own team.

I think most will agree after digesting that embarrassment and hearing what the players and team personnel had to say, it is obvious this team has problems. I think the biggest problem is the stars of this team are coddled and not called out by the proper authorities when they need it. ALEXANDER SEMIN I AM LOOKING AT YOU. However, I’m not just talking about coming into practice when they feel like it, I mean, let’s face it they are still human and the grueling schedules they keep is enough to run everyone down at some point. My point is letting certain star players play when they need to be benched for their own good.

Now, I’m not on the inside exactly, I don’t know all the things that go on behind the scenes, but I can tell you that Alex Ovechkin was not suffering from one ailment this season, but three.

Yes, count them: One, Two, Three.

A wrist injury (which got one giant cortisone shot before every game for months), a groin injury, and a knee injury. Now, I’m no expert, but after a pitiful showing in the playoffs most likely due to said injuries, why would you let this guy go play for Worlds knowing he could injure himself further and potentially put him in the press box for months? Maybe it’s the old Soviet mindset clouding my judgment on this, but I’d tell him he was going to sit Worlds out.

I’ve also heard what was wrong with the lackluster Nicklas Backstrom this year… let’s just say I hope he stops hanging out with a certain defenseman who is known for his alcohol consumption and has gotten himself back together over the summer. Have I said too much by saying this? Potentially. I’m just still surprised even though I really shouldn’t be.

On that note, I might not have said this much before, but I am a HUGE Mathieu Perreault fan. I can’t get enough of Mighty Mouse and his perfect flow. I was interested to find out that the apparent reason he was suddenly sent back down to the minors back in mid-spring was that he showed up to practice still intoxicated from the night before. Do I insert a “Short French-Canadian Lightweight” joke here? Or do I once again shake my head?

All I know is, I’m happier than a hornet we have Matty P for another year, got my other hockey love in Chris Bourque back, and that we acquired Troy Brouwer so I can ask him to do the Kaner Shuffle with me, Brouwer Style!

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

Imagine if everyone bought a DVD set.

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

Destiny's darlings: The Boston Bruins

One May 29, venerable hockey writer Stan Fischler tweeted the following:

The Bruins have less of a chance to win The Cup than Atlanta has of retaining the Thrashers.

He wasn’t alone. The vast majority of hockey experts, from Puck Daddy to ESPN to THN, picked the Vancouver Canucks to easily skate off with the Stanley Cup against the overmatched Boston Bruins. After all, the Canucks had scoring powerhouses Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Selke Trophy finalist Ryan Kesler, and Olympic gold-medal winner and Vezina finalist Roberto Loungo. The Bruins? Sure, they had their own Vezina candidate in Tim Thomas, but their top regular-season scorers (Milan Lucic and David Krejci) had totaled just 62 points each. Zdeno Chara was a Norris finalist and former winner, but had been panned by some as overrated and overhyped. Thomas? A freakishly lucky goalie whose success rested largely on the Bruins’ defense-first system. Or so many said.

The Canucks, NHL royalty as the Presidents Trophy winner with the best regular-season record, looked down their noses at the rag-tag Bruins as the media all but crowned them champions before the first puck drop.

The disrespect manifested itself in Game 1, when Alexander Burrows bit Patrice Bergeron’s finger during a scrum, and continued in Game 2, when Max Lapierre taunted Bergeron by shoving his fingers at the Bruins center’s mouth.

And that’s when Nemesis stepped in.

Today, nemesis refers to someone’s particular enemy, but in ancient Greece, Nemesis, according to Wikipedia, “was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris (arrogance before the gods). The Greeks personified vengeful fate as a remorseless goddess; the goddess of revenge. The name Nemesis is related to the Greek word νέμειν [némein], meaning ‘to give what is due’”

Nemesis showed up at the TD Garden with revenge on her mind; the Bruins blew the Canucks out in Games 3 and 4 by scores of 8-1 and 4-0, respectively, to even the series.

The Canucks pulled ahead 3-2 in the series after returning to Vancouver and winning 1-0, but apparently hadn’t learned their lesson. Loungo criticized Thomas’s goaltending technique, calling the one goal allowed one he himself would have stopped due to his superior positional play. Given a chance to clarify his statement the next day, he plaintively said he had “pumped (Thomas’s) tires all series,” and that Thomas has said nothing nice about him.

What kind of professional athlete, one making $10 million per year, needs validation from his opponent? As Thomas said after Game 6, “I didn’t know it was my job to pump his tires.”

Perhaps Loungo took his cue from his coach, who whined that Thomas played too far out of his crease and made a formal complaint to the NHL about him. Or Daniel Sedin, who allowed a 5-foot-nothing rookie (Brad Marchand) to use him as a speed bag late in Game 4. What kind of a man – what kind of a hockey player? – allows that to happen? What member of the Bruins wouldn’t have knocked Marchand into the middle of next week?

So Nemesis had to be smiling on Game 7 as Thomas solidified his Conn Smythe trophy, as Marchand and Bergeron scored two goals each (talk about divine retribution!), and Chara lifted the Stanley Cup to the rafters as  the Bruins celebrated their first Stanley Cup since 1972.

Postscript: The night of Game 7, there was a total lunar eclipse over parts of Africa and Asia. The last time the world witnessed a lunar eclipse was Oct. 27, 2004, the night the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals to win their first World Series since 1918.

Photo from boston.com